Which of the Top 6 Teams Has the Strongest Squad for the 2017/2018 Season? Manchester United?

[Mike09]

You want to tell me Pogba won't get into their XI while Alli will get into us ? Explain this to me.

Both teams played different style. Alli is more suitable than Pogba in the role that Spurs has given to him. A role who plays behind striker like a second striker or shadow striker and also able to score goals. Pogba is more central in 2 man and also 3 man midfield while Alli is more advanced behind striker. Obviously they would rather have Alli than Pogba for that role.
They don't need Pogba because they have Dembele who is more matured in 2 man midfield and more consistent in big game "at the moment".

Right now Spurs has better balanced in their squad to play the way how Poch wanted. While we are still lacking a few spot to balanced with how Jose expected his team to play. But having a worse XI doesn't mean we can't beat them or win the league. Manager's tactic also play an important role.

 

[el3mel]

The issue about this thread is that every teams in top 6 don't play with same style. Some teams have worse players than what we got but those "worse players" are more suitable for their system and style. Spurs & United aren't exactly playing the same style.

Spurs is happy with what they got so apart from DDG, they probably don't need any other players from our XI. Why do you think Spurs isn't trying to sign players to fix their XI because they don't need any? The players that they need are world class to upgrade what they have right now but world class is too expensive. For example they are not going to spend a lot on Lemar or Dembele as an upgrade since they know Son or Lamela will do the job for them. No gamble because both of them have prove what they can offer last season & 2 seasons ago.

As what we have right now. Our left back is still in doubt & we are taking a big risk for not signing a left back once again. There is a big doubt in Shaw's fitness & ever since we lost Evra we don't have a regular left back and the worst part about our left back situation is that a non elite left back like Bertrand is good enough to replace with what we have at the moment.

Jose Mourinho has indicated his disappointment not to sign his 4th player. He wanted Perisic which is a natural winger and his level is similar to Son/Lamela. Having a natural winger is something that Jose thinks as an improvement for his system.

That's a very good logic but you must apply it to us also not just on Spurs. Not having a proper LB is a problem, sure but it's hardly the point that makes another team better than us on the whole level. We don't have a proper LB but that doesn't mean the options we got in this position aren't doing the job. They're doing the minimum expected. We just want better options, that's it.

Regarding Perisic, Mourinho said he wanted a player who can play as a wingback when he goes for 3 at the back. The point here is Mourinho wants a proper LW while the RW is only on paper but he always drifts inside and Valencia is the one providing the width on the right so not having a proper RW isn't a hole, it's in our tactical setup and here you must apply the logic you applied on Spurs. Our proper wingers are on the left ( Martial and Rashford ) and they're doing fantastic job so far. If we had had signed Perisic. I expect him and Martial would have been rotating in the left while Rashford would have been a sub striker for Lukaku, and Mata will probably still playing on the right flank also, because that's Jose's tactical setup since last season.

I think City have the best squad in the league but all other teams are very near to each other and you can hardly pick a team better than the other.

 

[el3mel]

Both teams played different style. Alli is more suitable than Pogba in the role that Spurs has given to him. A role who plays behind striker like a second striker or shadow striker and also able to score goals. Pogba is more central in 2 man and also 3 man midfield while Alli is more advanced behind striker. Obviously they would rather have Alli than Pogba for that role.
They don't need Pogba because they have Dembele who is more matured in 2 man midfield and more consistent in big game "at the moment".

Right now Spurs has better balanced in their squad to play the way how Poch wanted. While we are still lacking a few spot to balanced with how Jose expected his team to play. But having a worse XI doesn't mean we can't beat them or win the league. Manager's tactic also play an important role.

But applying this means we also don't need Alli then ?

 

[el3mel]

Pogba probably has to compete with Eriksen, for the top of the midfield 3.

Alli will get into our system playing behind Rom. Just like Griezmann as SS

And you think Eriksen will keep Pogba out of their team ? That doesn't make sense tbh.

 

[Mike09]

But applying this means we also don't need Alli then ?

Tough to answer. Because Mkhi didn't perform as what we expected last season, while Alli performed similar to what we expected from Mkhi. And it's too early to judge Mkhi this season if he can deliver what we expected. May be the reason why Jose wanted Griezmann because he didn't trust Mkhi or Mata to play behind Lukaku.

 

[el3mel]

Tough to answer. Because Mkhi didn't perform as what we expected last season, while Alli performed similar to what we expected from Mkhi. And it's too early to judge Mkhi this season if he can deliver what we expected. May be the reason why Jose wanted Griezmann because he didn't trust Mkhi or Mata to play behind Lukaku.

I think Griezmann would have taken Mata position on the right, a supposedly RW but keeps drifting inside the box as an additional forward.

 

[Mike09]

That's a very good logic but you must apply it to us also not just on Spurs. Not having a proper LB is a problem, sure but it's hardly the point that makes another team better than us on the whole level. We don't have a proper LB but that doesn't mean the options we got in this position aren't doing the job. They're doing the minimum expected. We just want better options, that's it.

Not having a proper left back showed that we do need one. And the fact that a left back like Bertrand can improve our current left back sums up our current left back problem don't you think. There are big doubts in Shaw, Young, Darmian & Blind for the role. The reason why we don't sign a left back because we can't fix everything in one window.

While if you look at Spurs XI. Can you find any doubt in their XI? The only players who can take over their XI are world class and elite players. I can't see player like Perisic to be much much better than Son or Lamela at the moment the only ones who will for sure put them on the bench are the elite ones like Hazard, Dembele and Lemar. The same goes to the others players in their XI.

They didn't really need to spend a lot to upgrade their XI but we need to spend something to upgrade our XI.

Regarding Perisic, Mourinho said he wanted a player who can play as a wingback when he goes for 3 at the back. The point here is Mourinho wants a proper LW while the RW is only on paper but he always drifts inside and Valencia is the one providing the width on the right so not having a proper RW isn't a hole, it's in our tactical setup and here you must apply the logic you applied on Spurs. Our proper wingers are on the left ( Martial and Rashford ) and they're doing fantastic job so far. If we had had signed Perisic. I expect him and Martial would have been rotating in the left while Rashford would have been a sub striker for Lukaku, and Mata will probably still playing on the right flank also, because that's Jose's tactical setup since last season.

I think City have the best squad in the league but all other teams are very near to each other and you can hardly pick a team better than the other.

He wanted Perisic because he wants to have a natural winger as an improvement and at the same time Perisic will give him a flexibility to change his formation. So not exactly he said that he wanted Perisic as a wingback.

The logic I have applied on Spurs is that there is no big doubt in Spurs XI right now. 90% the players on their XI have been their regular XI for 3 seasons in a row. While as for United, there are big doubts in some of the position in our XI which forced Jose not to be able to play his fully 100% what he wanted and decided to put gamble on the left back options & wingers option that we have right now.

 

[Mike09]

I think Griezmann would have taken Mata position on the right, a supposedly RW but keeps drifting inside the box as an additional forward.

Griezmann's best position is more central. I think Griezmann would have played in where Mkhi plays right now. Mkhi & Mata would have fight their spot for that RW spot. To me this is a better solution, forcing Mkhi to play on the right is better than forcing Griezmann to play on the right.

 

[el3mel]

Not having a proper left back showed that we do need one. And the fact that a left back like Bertrand can improve our current left back sums up our current left back problem don't you think. There are big doubts in Shaw, Young, Darmian & Blind for the role. The reason why we don't sign a left back because we can't fix everything in one window.

While if you look at Spurs XI. Can you find any doubt in their XI? The only players who can take over their XI are world class and elite players. I can't see player like Perisic to be much much better than Son or Lamela at the moment the only ones who will for sure put them on the bench are the elite ones like Hazard, Dembele and Lemar. The same goes to the others players in their XI.

They didn't really need to spend a lot to upgrade their XI but we need to spend something to upgrade our XI.



He wanted Perisic because he wants to have a natural winger as an improvement and at the same time Perisic will give him a flexibility to change his formation. So not exactly he said that he wanted Perisic as a wingback.

The logic I have applied on Spurs is that there is no big doubt in Spurs XI right now. 90% the players on their XI have been their regular XI for 3 seasons in a row. While as for United, there are big doubts in some of the position in our XI which forced Jose not to be able to play his fully 100% what he wanted and decided to put gamble on the left back options & wingers option that we have right now.

Again I think you're making not having a proper LB having a bigger impact on our lineup more than what it's IMHO. Remember that Jose won the league with Chelsea by playing Azpilicueta, who is a natural RB, as a LB the whole season. IMO not having a proper fullbacks will affect us in CL against elite teams, but in EPL the choices we have are enough for us to compete domestically. For sure we want better options than what we have but I can't see this specific position affecting our chances this season, because we're very good in other positions on the pitch.

Regarding Perisic, here's Mourinho quotes :

http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-F...tial-and-expects-improvement-this-season.aspx

“I have faith in him,” Mourinho said of Martial. “Probably, the player I was looking at [in the transfer market] was not a pure winger, because I have pure wingers. The player I was looking for would allow me to play three at the back and do the wing-backs. As a pure attacking player, Martial is a good player.

 

[el3mel]

Griezmann's best position is more central. I think Griezmann would have played in where Mkhi plays right now. Mkhi & Mata would have fight their spot for that RW spot. To me this is a better solution, forcing Mkhi to play on the right is better than forcing Griezmann to play on the right.

He's better centrally, but as I told you the player we play on the right flank in our team spend most of the time drifting inside to the center of the pitch, not really on the flank. He's just RW on the team sheet only.

 

[Mike09]

Again I think you're making not having a proper LB having a bigger impact on our lineup more than what it's IMHO. Remember that Jose won the league with Chelsea by playing Azpilicueta, who is a natural RB, as a LB the whole season. IMO not having a proper fullbacks will affect us in CL against elite teams, but in EPL the choices we have are enough for us to compete domestically. For sure we want better options than what we have but I can't see this specific position affecting our chances this season, because we're very good in other positions on the pitch.

Proper LB doesn't mean a natural LB. A proper LB what I meant is someone who is good enough for our XI LB. I'm sure you know what I meant & Azpilicueta is a very good and quality LB.

And also it's too early to judge players right now based on "this season" only. I judged based on what players have done from the past until now and we have a massive issue with our LB ever since we lost Evra. I don't think a few games from this season is enough evidence to call that we have no issue with our LB anymore.

And I already told you for 3rd times that we still can win the league as well with what we have right now. Having a worse XI doesn't mean we can't win the league against teams who have better XI than us. Manager's tactic is also vital. It's not like LB is more important role than a holding midfielder or striker or centre back.

Regarding Perisic, here's Mourinho quotes :

http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-F...tial-and-expects-improvement-this-season.aspx

Do you actually think Mourinho will be honest and told media that "I wanted Perisic to be my LW because I don't have faith in Martial".

That would have killed his confidence and a stupid thing to say in public in mid August after Jose realised that the club couldn't get Perisic. Of course he has no choice to take the gamble and believe in what we have right now on the wing.

 

[el3mel]

Proper LB doesn't mean a natural LB. A proper LB what I meant is someone who is good enough for our XI LB. I'm sure you know what I meant & Azpilicueta is a very good and quality LB.

And also it's too early to judge players right now based on "this season" only. I judged based on what players have done from the past until now and we have a massive issue with our LB ever since we lost Evra. I don't think a few games from this season is enough evidence to call that we have no issue with our LB anymore.

And I already told you for 3rd times that we still can win the league as well with what we have right now. Having a worse XI doesn't mean we can't win the league against teams who have better XI than us. Manager's tactic is also vital. It's not like LB is more important role than a holding midfielder or striker or centre back.



Do you actually think Mourinho will be honest and told media that "I wanted Perisic to be my LW because I don't have faith in Martial".

That would have killed his confidence and a stupid thing to say in public in mid August after Jose realised that the club couldn't get Perisic. Of course he has no choice to take the gamble and believe in what we have right now on the wing.

I don't think you got my point here. I hardly disagree with you on the necessity of getting a top and high quality LB and we shouldn't be content with what we have as we need much better than Blind and Young, but at the same time, the choices we have in this position aren't that poor that can cost us our chances in competing for the league. They're doing the minimum expected from a LB. They aren't great options but also not that terrible. Still definitely need an upgrade in this position but now I think you understand what I mean.

Mourinho was talking about Martial here and there wasn't even a necessity for him to talk about the fourth player he wanted. He just brought it in these quotes out of nowhere so sure I'll tend to believe him here. He didn't have to talk about that fourth player from the start.

 

[Mike09]

He's better centrally, but as I told you the player we play on the right flank in our team spend most of the time drifting inside to the center of the pitch, not really on the flank. He's just RW on the team sheet only.

You don't get it. Let me rewrite my post into rhetorical questions.
Why can't Mkhi/Mata plays on RW and let Griezmann to stay behind a striker? Why Griezmann has to be the one who plays on the right? Are you trying to tell me that Mkhi/Mata cannot drifting inside to center of the pitch?

 

[el3mel]

You don't get it. Let me rewrite my post into rhetorical questions.
Why can't Mkhi/Mata plays on RW and let Griezmann to stay behind a striker? Why Griezmann has to be the one who plays on the right? Are you trying to tell me that Mkhi/Mata cannot drifting inside to center of the pitch?

Mata can and is doing it currently. Mikhi showed multiple times he can't because his movement is awful.

Griezmann can play centrally but that will on the expense of Mikhi not Mata. If he played on the right then he'll be in expense of Mata not Mikhi.

 

[Mike09]

I don't think you got my point here. I hardly disagree with you on the necessity of getting a top and high quality LB and we shouldn't be content with what we have as we need much better than Blind and Young, but at the same time, the choices we have in this position aren't that poor that can cost us our chances in competing for the league. They're doing the minimum expected from a LB. They aren't great options but also not that terrible. Still definitely need an upgrade in this position but now I think you understand what I mean.

Mourinho was talking about Martial here and there wasn't even a necessity for him to talk about the fourth player he wanted. He just brought it in these quotes out of nowhere so sure I'll tend to believe him here. He didn't have to talk about that fourth player from the start.

If you said so that means you don't get the point of this thread & my original post. It's to determine who has the strongest squad and I have stated that we can't exactly determine who has the strongest squad since it can also based on how manager change their tactic & rotate their players to counter against injuries & different opposition team. That's why I changed it to if everyone are fit in XI we are the 4th one at the moment IMO.

Mainly because we have big doubts in some role that the manager decide to take a big gamble. Failed to sign a natural winger like Perisic forced Jose to take a big gamble on Rashford & Martial who didn't meet his expectation and Martial disappointed him last season. Didn't sort out a left back's issue ever since Evra left because we couldn't solve everything in one window led Jose to take a big gamble to trust the same players.

Compared to Spurs, Poch didn't take big gambles on his XI players because they have performed very well. That's why they didn't exactly do too much business this season and their XI 90% has been the same for 3 seasons.

Never mind top quality LB, I already told you even Bertrand will take the LB spot over what we have right now.

 

[Mike09]

Mata can and is doing it currently. Mikhi showed multiple times he can't because his movement is awful.

Griezmann can play centrally but that will on the expense of Mikhi not Mata. If he played on the right then he'll be in expense of Mata not Mikhi.

What makes you think Griezmann can if Mikhi cannot?

 

[el3mel]

If you said so that means you don't get the point of this thread & my original post. It's to determine who has the strongest XI and I have stated that we can't exactly determine who has the strongest XI since it can also based on how manager change their tactic & rotate their players to counter against injuries & different opposition team. That's why I changed it to if everyone are fit in XI we are the 4th one at the moment IMO.

Mainly because we have big doubts in some role that the manager decide to take a big gamble. Failed to sign a natural winger like Perisic forced Jose to take a big gamble on Rashford & Martial who didn't meet his expectation and Martial disappointed him last season. Didn't sort out a left back's issue ever since Evra left because we couldn't solve everything in one window led Jose to take a big gamble to trust the same players.

Compared to Spurs, Poch didn't take big gambles on his XI players because they performed very well. That's why they didn't exactly do too much business this season and their XI 90% has been the same for 3 seasons.

Well,because I said multiple times that I don't think not having a top LB is such a big thing that makes Spurs have better XI or squad overall than us. LB aside we're settled in our starting lineup in all other positions even the flanks are constant ( Rashford and Martial rotating on the left and Mata on the right ). Our options in LB aren't even that terrible to cause us any troubles so far.

What you're saying is applicable only if we were continuously changing formation and not settled on a lineup but we already have a certain and main lineup bar the LB. We don't have any other doubts in our line up as you're thinking, that's what I'm saying.

If Mourinho really wanted a winger that badly he would have told Ed to get another player than Perisic but we didn't, why ? We had about 2 or 3 targets in each position he asked for but we only pursued Perisic in his position and once the deal we didn't make any try to get another winger. That indicates Jose wanted Perisic for a certain role and not getting him wasn't something that will affect the team much, otherwise we would have pursued another winger. Mourinho will never enter his second season without his team well prepared.

 

[el3mel]

What makes you think Griezmann can if Mikhi cannot?

Because Griezmann has far better movement than Mikhi, who is more of a dribbler.

 

[Mike09]

Because Griezmann has far better movement than Mikhi, who is more of a dribbler.

And don't you think it's better not to have Mikhy as well on central since a player who tends to dribble too much, tried to nutmeg players and end up lose possession easily like him is worse choice than Griezmann who is far better than Mikhy on central role?

 

[el3mel]

And don't you think it's better not to have Mikhy as well on central since a player who tends to dribble too much, tried to nutmeg players and end up lose possession easily like him is worse choice than Griezmann who is far better than Mikhy on central role?

Sure, but Mata will hit his 30 next season and he'll need to get replaced as well because his decline will be starting. Mikhi is inconsistent but he's not declining yet.

If you ask me, I have no problem upgrading on both starting from next season anyway.

 

[Mike09]

Well,because I said multiple times that I don't think not having a top LB is such a big thing that makes Spurs have better XI or squad overall than us. LB aside we're settled in our starting lineup in all other positions even the flanks are constant ( Rashford and Martial rotating on the left and Mata on the right ). Our options in LB aren't even that terrible to cause us any troubles so far.

What you're saying is applicable only if we were continuously changing formation and not settled on a lineup but we already have a certain and main lineup bar the LB. We don't have any other doubts in our line up as you're thinking, that's what I'm saying.

If Mourinho really wanted a winger that badly he would have told Ed to get another player than Perisic but we didn't, why ? We had about 2 or 3 targets in each position he asked for but we only pursued Perisic in his position and once the deal we didn't make any try to get another winger. That indicates Jose wanted Perisic for a certain role and not getting him wasn't something that will affect the team much, otherwise we would have pursued another winger. Mourinho will never enter his second season without his team well prepared.

I can't believe you still don't get the point. Spurs has no major issue in their XI. They are good to go with what they have right now & only world class or elite players will take over their XI. As for United, I can see that even a non elite LB like Bertrand is good enough to take over our current LB spot. That's why Spurs has better XI than us but having worse XI doesn't make us unable to win the league.

Lloris
Aurier Alder Vertong Rose
Wanyama/Dier Dembele
Eriksen Alli Son/Lamela
Kane

Tell me, can you see big doubt in that XI. Any big gamble from Poch?

DDG
Valencia Bailly Jones Young/Blind/Darmian/Shaw
Matic Pogba
Mata/Rashford Mikhi Rashford/Martial
Lukaku

And tell me can you see big doubts in that XI. Any big gamble that Jose has taken?

Because not having holding midfielder & clinical strikers are much bigger problem than not having natural winger. That's why we didn't get Perisic and the club told Jose to stick with our current ones. Remember the board has the final decision not the manager Jose has indicated his disappointment for not able to sign the 4th one, the same reason why Chelsea forced Conte to sell Matic.

 

[Mike09]

Sure, but Mata will hit his 30 next season and he'll need to get replaced as well because his decline will be starting. Mikhi is inconsistent but he's not declining yet.

If you ask me, I have no problem upgrading on both starting from next season anyway.

But what we are trying to discuss is what will happen this season if we sign Griezmann in the summer window not what will happen in the next season or two when Mata will start decline.

 

[el3mel]

I can't believe you still don't get the point. Spurs has no major issue in their XI. They are good to go with what they have right now & only world class or elite players will take over their XI. As for United, I can see that even a non elite LB like Bertrand is good enough to take over our current LB spot. That's why Spurs has better XI than us but doesn't make

Lloris
Aurier Alder Vertong Rose
Wanyama/Dier Dembele
Eriksen Alli Son/Lamela
Kane

Tell me, can you see big doubt in that XI. Any big gamble from Poch?

DDG
Valencia Bailly Jones Young/Blind/Darmian/Shaw
Matic Pogba
Mata/Rashford Mikhi Rashford/Martial
Lukaku

And tell me can you see big doubts in that XI. Any big gamble that Jose has taken?

Because not having holding midfielder & clinical strikers are much bigger problem than not having natural winger. That's why we didn't get Perisic and the club told Jose to stick with our current ones. Remember the board has the final decision not the manager Jose has indicated his disappointment for not able to sign the 4th one, the same reason why Chelsea forced Conte to sell Matic.

No. I get your point very well and replied on it already. I see no doubts or gambling in our starting line up except the LB position. Other than that the rest of the team is picking itself up.

Your point about the wingers positions has no evidence to back it up. Mourinho has never been the kind of manager who let the board get the final decision on which is important for the team and not him. He wants to be in full control. On the contrary, in each position we got 2 or 3 options to choose from. In defense we pursued Keane and Lindelof, in DMF we pursued Dier and Matic, in striker we pursued Morata and Lukaku but in the winger we pursued one player only throughout the whole. If Mourinho saw a winger is necessary that much he would have given the board another option than Perisic, but he didn't. It's obvious from that he didn't see Perisic a necessity but a good option to allow him to play 3-4-3 mre efficiently and give him more flexibility but that's it. It wasn't that necessary signing for him.

If the manager himself said he wanted a fourth player to play as a wingback and he already has pure wingers isn't enough to convince you then I don't think I can tbh, but 2 things for sure : Jose won't allow the board to have the final word regarding transfers because he's not Anchelloti or Wenger, and that he will never enter his second season gambling on an important position. He's not that kind of manager and that's for sure.

 

[el3mel]

But what we are trying to discuss is what will happen this season if we sign Griezmann in the summer window not what will happen in the next season or two when Mata will start decline.

If he had signed this season, I predicted already he would have taken Mata position. No one will know for sure though. We're just claiming here because we don't know what was in Jose's head regarding Griezmann.

 

[Mike09]

If he had signed this season, I predicted already he would have taken Mata position. No one will know for sure though. We're just claiming here because we don't know what was in Jose's head regarding Griezmann.

That's why I said "May be" & "To me this is a better solution". And you said that Griezmann is better on central but he will play on the right. And I stated that it'll be much better to have Griezmann who is a better player for the role to play on his best position and let Mkhi & Mata fight their own spot on the spot. And also Mkhi did play on the right a few times this season so it's not like Jose thinks he can't.

 

[Mike09]

No. I get your point very well and replied on it already. I see no doubts or gambling in our starting line up except the LB position. Other than that the rest of the team is picking itself up.

Your point about the wingers positions has no evidence to back it up. Mourinho has never been the kind of manager who let the board get the final decision on which is important for the team and not him. He wants to be in full control. On the contrary, in each position we got 2 or 3 options to choose from. In defense we pursued Keane and Lindelof, in DMF we pursued Dier and Matic, in striker we pursued Morata and Lukaku but in the winger we pursued one player only throughout the whole. If Mourinho saw a winger is necessary that much he would have given the board another option than Perisic, but he didn't. It's obvious from that he didn't see Perisic a necessity but a good option to allow him to play 3-4-3 mre efficiently and give him more flexibility but that's it. It wasn't that necessary signing for him.

If the manager himself said he wanted a fourth player to play as a wingback and he already has pure wingers isn't enough to convince you then I don't think I can tbh, but 2 things for sure : Jose won't allow the board to have the final word regarding transfers because he's not Anchelloti or Wenger, and that he will never enter his second season gambling on an important position. He's not that kind of manager and that's for sure.

So you agree that we have worse XI than Spurs? Because my point was our LB isn't a first choice XI quality & Shaw hasn't shown any sign that he can stay fit in one season ever since he joined us. While Spurs XI all of them are good enough for XI first choice quality. That's why Spurs didn't do too much business to fix their XI.

The winger is not a big problem here. I only mentioned it because Jose wanted a natural winger but we couldn't give him and he showed his disappointment. Lindelof was already in radar in January. And I told you already that Holding midfielder & clinical striker are more important than a winger. But that doesn't take away the fact that Jose wanted a natural winger from the start. I have used his interview when he showed his disappointment as an evidence that Jose wanted a winger but the ridiculous market didn't allow us to sign him & everyone know that holding midfielder & clinical striker are more important than a winger that's why we pursued those two first. That's why I told you we can still win the league even though we don't have the best XI because we signed or fixed the most critical ones.

 

[Infordin]

combined XI of Spurs and United

De Gea
Valencia - Alderweireld - Vertonghen - Rose
Dembele - Matic - Pogba
Alli - Kane - Eriksen

combined XI of Chelsea and United

De Gea
Azpilicueta - Bailly - Luiz - Alonso
Kante - Matic - Pogba
Pedro - Lukaku - Hazard

combined Xi of City and United

De Gea
Walker - Bailly - Kompany - Mendy
De Bruyne - Matic - Pogba
Sane - Aguero - Silva

I have to say, arguably United only have the 4th best XI in England. However, you guys certainly have great depth. I'm just not that sold by your first 11. There's room for improvement in the wide areas (fullbacks and wingers).

 

[sunama]

I agree. We have a stronger spine, but also a more cohesive team unit marshaled by a far more pragmatic manager.

That's it.
What MCFC have is a mouth watering array of options in attack. They have outscored everybody and it's not surprise.

 

[Treble]

There's little difference between ours, City's, and Chelsea at the moment. The only difference will be the manager who can galvanize his players to punch above their collective weight.

What's your take now?

 

[Treble]

To compare squads while abstracting from managers and tactics isn't very smart. A given squad may be nothing special when used in one way and very good when utilized in another way.

I think United have more depth than the other teams but in terms of star players isn't superior to Chelsea and City.Only the first XI wise, Chelsea, United and City are pretty even, IMO. Probably Spurs too.

My own take looks pretty optimistic now.

 

[Adisa]

Good bump.
Look at how many people were saying we've got a strong squad and not much between us and City.
Now, some would have us believe our squad is full of complete shite.
We are comfortably second despite none of our attackers being great and looking poor as an attacking unit.
I think people underrate our squad imo.

 

[Siorac]

Good bump.
Look at how many people were saying we've got a strong squad and not much between us and City.
Now, some would have us believe our squad is full of complete shite.
We are comfortably second despite none of our attackers being great and looking poor as an attacking unit.
I think people underrate our squad imo.

It's all part of the constant moving of the goalposts.

 

[Woodzy]

We have a very strong squad, that hasn't quite clicked yet and is being massively let down by uninspiring tactics, a few weak areas and underperforming 'stars'. While my pitchfork isn't firmly pointed at Mourinho quite yet, I do feel like hitting him with the tail end so that he can sort this shit out.

Still, a second place finish and an FA Cup would be our best season in years, so while we are all getting our reality check about how far behind the top dogs we actually area, we should be thankful that the stats show that we are actually making progress, even if the progress is even more laboured than our style of football.

And let us not forget the 2011/2012 season. Lost the out on the title to City and never even made it through our CL group. Granted City are going to be much harder to topple now, especially with there being 3 or 4 other top teams all competing in the league... but we all know what happened the following the season in the league.

 

[Smores]

Good bump.
Look at how many people were saying we've got a strong squad and not much between us and City.
Now, some would have us believe our squad is full of complete shite.
We are comfortably second despite none of our attackers being great and looking poor as an attacking unit.
I think people underrate our squad imo.

Erm as many were saying City are superior and its only our depth thats a strength. City have not had a normal season anyway.

Agenda driven drivel

 

[NinjaFletch]

Good bump.
Look at how many people were saying we've got a strong squad and not much between us and City.
Now, some would have us believe our squad is full of complete shite.
We are comfortably second despite none of our attackers being great and looking poor as an attacking unit.
I think people underrate our squad imo.

What I took from it is how laughably over-rated our squad was at the start of the season tbh.

6th placed finished one year, replaced Zlatan for Lukaku, added Matic and signed a no mark centre-half and half the website thought we had suddenly got the best squad in the league?

 

[Adisa]

Erm as many were saying City are superior and its only our depth thats a strength. City have not had a normal season anyway.

Agenda driven drivel

As you can see on the first page, I rated our squad as second best.
Our squad isn't as good as City but I won't accept those making out like the fact that we're second as some sort of miracle.

 

[RichMet]

We have a very strong squad, that hasn't quite clicked yet and is being massively let down by uninspiring tactics, a few weak areas and underperforming 'stars'. While my pitchfork isn't firmly pointed at Mourinho quite yet, I do feel like hitting him with the tail end so that he can sort this shit out.

Still, a second place finish and an FA Cup would be our best season in years, so while we are all getting our reality check about how far behind the top dogs we actually area, we should be thankful that the stats show that we are actually making progress, even if the progress is even more laboured than our style of football.

And let us not forget the 2011/2012 season. Lost the out on the title to City and never even made it through our CL group. Granted City are going to be much harder to topple now, especially with there being 3 or 4 other top teams all competing in the league... but we all know what happened the following the season in the league.

I largely agree, arguably you are stronger in attack than defense where de gea makes you appear better than you are - but you have some very talented attacking players who are being used very badly.

 

[Scarecrow]

Cheeky bump that.

I was higher on City than most, it seems. Although I didn't expect that big of a difference, admittedly.

 

[Smores]

As you can see on the first page, I rated our squad as second best.
Our squad isn't as good as City but I won't accept those making out like the fact that we're second as some sort of miracle.

Where has anyone said that its a miracle? You'd think people were popping champagne at that suggestion.

2nd/3rd is really where we should be as we've got equal squads to Chelsea and Spurs. That's where we currently are, no ones ecsatic at 2nd place though ffs.

 

[Trizy]

To be fair on paper in September there wasn't much between City, Chelsea and United's starting 11.

City for example. In September KDB hadn't reached the heights he has, Sane was just a good winger who is now one of the best in the league. Sterling was an overpriced English player then went on to win them like 10 fecking late games, Silva was pushing on, their back line was weak.

Their manager made the difference, simply.

On paper now, they're better than us in almost all positions and it's all down to Pep getting the exact talented players to suit his style. It's already not looking good for us next season considering Pep will bring in a marquee signing to add to their already immense squad. Hazard I'm guessing.