Anyone else concerned with the lack of transfer activity?

I'm not complaining about Jose, it's the squad that bothers me.
 
I really want to get behind him. He certainly improved us over the last 2 years without it being spectacular. However we must get some better quality into the team and improve again. At least we need to be closing the gap on city and putting in a title challenge. It's a big year for us which I believe could go either way.
 
the only worry is, we haven't strenghtened anywhere yet. There must be a reason, I can't believe their tactic was to do nothing.

I do wonder if we are waiting on Madrid to buy, and then sell Bale
 
I have no problem if we don’t bring anyone else in but the manager and players can and must do better. I don’t think we saw the best of any player last season, Lingard probably the only one after De Gea of course and Mourinho has to find a way to get the best out of them on a consistent basis, that’s his job.
 
the only worry is, we haven't strenghtened anywhere yet. There must be a reason, I can't believe their tactic was to do nothing.

I do wonder if we are waiting on Madrid to buy, and then sell Bale

We can't be waiting on Madrid to get a CB or CM in? That's no excuse at all to get other positions in.
 
I think replacing Carrick with Fred is strengthening the squad as Carrick wasn't really available last season.

My personal opinion is the lack of signings is down to a lack of funds the club has spent fortunes the last few years on players and got very little back from sales that money has either come from blasting through any cash reserves the club had or borrowing more money. Boosts in TV money and new sponsors will have helped but I doubt it would cover what we've spent on that squad.

In 2 of the last 5 seasons we haven't had CL football either which leaves a hole in the books.

My gut feeling is this summer is the summer the board might have turned the tap off in terms of investment certainly eased the flow and told the club if they want to buy they have to sell if you want a left back you need to sell a left back.

I personally think we are wasting our time with Bale if he wanted to leave he'd have said something by now my guess is he'll hold out for one more year and see how it goes without Ronaldo.

This summer prices have been crazier than every due to the impact of the Neymar deal last summer and the fact the PL decided to shut their window early every other league still has 6 weeks to sort stuff out whereas we only have 3.
 
In an ideal world, we'd buy another 6 players and sell a few too but Mourinho should be getting more from this lot in my opinion. Shaw, Bailly, Lindelof, Pogba, Matic, Herrera, Martial, Rashford, Mata, Sanchez and maybe a few more all capable of playing much better than last season I feel. Mourinho needs to do his job and get more out of what he's already got.
 
I've already disproved that too. It's happened once.

So Mourinho's career

Benfica - Ended quickly due to a change in president when the club were on a good run
Leiria - Left due to getting the Porto job
Porto - Left as double winners due to the Chelsea job
Chelsea - Left on bad terms
Inter - Left as treble winner adored by players and fans
Madrid - Left due to falling out with Perez over the United saga
Chelsea - Ended poorly.

What exactly are you disproving here?
 
He didn't leave Madrid because he fell out with Perez.

He left Madrid because he'd totally alienated the dressing room dropping Casillas & Ramos didn't go down well in the dressing room as people saw it as a power play and by the end it was almost mutiny, they were sick of him.

He remains on good terms with Perez who some suggest would happily welcome him back but he'd split the fan base as well some liked his tough guy persona standing up to the players others couldn't stomach his playing style watching his sides play defensive football at home to Barcelona to avoid defeat as unnacceptable to some Madrid fans.
 
What exactly are you disproving here?

The 3 year Mourinho myth only exist at Chelsea.

People always say he and Ronaldo had a fallen out and there were tensions between them but after Mourinho left Ronaldo had this to say

He later described Mourinho as the best manager he has ever worked with - more than father figure Ferguson - adding: "I would put him at the top, I always say that." Ronaldo wouldn’t say that if he thought badly of Mourinho
 
In an ideal world, we'd buy another 6 players and sell a few too but Mourinho should be getting more from this lot in my opinion. Shaw, Bailly, Lindelof, Pogba, Matic, Herrera, Martial, Rashford, Mata, Sanchez and maybe a few more all capable of playing much better than last season I feel. Mourinho needs to do his job and get more out of what he's already got.

Absolutely spot on!!
 
For me we have the squad to play a 3-5-2 much better than anything else. It suits what we have with Sanchez and Lukaku up front.
 
The 3 year Mourinho myth only exist at Chelsea.

People always say he and Ronaldo had a fallen out and there were tensions between them but after Mourinho left Ronaldo had this to say

He later described Mourinho as the best manager he has ever worked with - more than father figure Ferguson - adding: "I would put him at the top, I always say that." Ronaldo wouldn’t say that if he thought badly of Mourinho

So what about Real? He still left Madrid on bad terms. And regardless of whether its on bad terms or not... He tends to stay 3 years then moves on.
 
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I hate these type of twitter accounts.

The full quote:

BBC Radio Manchester's Bill Rice: "The arrival of Brazilian midfielder Fred gives United added steel and grit in midfield, and should allow Paul Pogba to flourish further upfield on his return from a successful World Cup, while teenage full-back Diogo Dalot's arrival led to Daley Blind's departure after just four Premier League starts last season.

"A commanding central defender and another hardworking wide player are the areas manager Jose Mourinho will look to strengthen, with Tottenham's Toby Alderweireld and Chelsea's Willian among the names in the frame.

"Don't rule out a statement signing too, United - having opted not to pursue re-signing Cristiano Ronaldo nine years after he left the club for Spain - would surely be near the front of the queue if Gareth Bale also decides to leave Real Madrid this summer."
 
More often than not, United does business quietly so I would not worry too much. It's clear that management knows improvements are needed, so either they are working on deals or the necessary types of players are not available.

Another possibility would be that the management has finally realised the mistake it made when appointing Mourinho and are setting him up for failure in order to sack him some time during the season. I'd hate to learn that that is indeed the case, but it's definitely a possibility.

What's really worrisome is that Liverpool seem to have done really good business and have plugged some major holes in their squad.
 
i doubt for 1 minute they’d be setting him up to fail they gave him a new deal 6 months ago meaning sacking him next season would cost the club a fortune as no manager ever resigns. I think they’ve committed to the Mourinho plan for at least 1 more season the only reason he leaves is if he makes it toxic like he did at chelsea or Utd don’t qualify for CL which is what cost Moyes & LVG their job.

It’s simple for me it’s a sell before you can buy policy so until they get players out the door they can’t bring more in either due to the squad size or tightening of purse strings after a few years of big spending.

I mean if we want a CB I think we have to sell 2 of the current ones, if we want a LB we have to sell Shaw, if we want a right wing then sell Martial but currently we can’t seem to move these players so he might have to stick with what he has.
 
There’s no way the club are setting him up to fail. Or think he’s the wrong person. Unbelievable.
 
I don't think it's even a sell before buy scenario. I just don't think there are many players available in the positions we need, at the right price. Alderwereild and Willian both too expensive.
 
I don't think it's even a sell before buy scenario. I just don't think there are many players available in the positions we need, at the right price. Alderwereild and Willian both too expensive.

This is getting back to the old Fergie "value in the market" argument.

Utd don't dictate the prices the market dictates the prices and right now players of that level of quality will cost you 70m unless you find players with release clauses that you can exploit or clubs that for some reason are desperate to sell. If Utd find alternatives of similar quality their clubs will likely ask for the same fee.

The way the market is now if you want a top quality player you best be prepared to pay 70m for him.
 
José Mourinho on the remainder of the transfer window: “One thing is what I want and another thing is what is going to happen.“
 
That doesn't sound good.

Once again board, manager and fans all being on different pages is not good for the club.

He was annoyed last summer that the club didn't push the Perisic deal through.

I think he knows it would take a massive slice of luck to win the league with this squad as for 5 years now it's shown they're nowhere near it.
 
There’s no way the club are setting him up to fail. Or think he’s the wrong person. Unbelievable.

Oh please! Do you really believe that every statement from the club or Mourinho is 100% true?

Manchester United is not just a football club. It's also a business and a very profitable one. With shares currently trading at $20.95, the business has a market value of $3.44 billion (how much did the Glazers pay for the club?). And just like with any other business, there is a lot of office politics going on behind the scenes. The club tells the media what is expected of them to say, not what is really going on. So you'd have to be very naive to take everything at face value.

Now, if Woodward is to make a choice between admitting that he has appointed the wrong manager for the third time in a row and setting Mourinho up for failure in order to have a reason to dismiss him, I'd bet on Eddy going for the second option.
 
You’d be throwing your money away. What do you think has changed between now and when he signed his contract literally just months ago?
 
Woodward is judged by the clubs performance off the pitch not on it as long as profits and share price is up the Glazers would have no reason to sack him and there will be very little interest from them in intervening they’re in it for the money not the glory.

The board which includes the Glazers signed off on his new contract 6 months ago setting him up to fail so you have to pay him off would be a ridiculous idea because if the owners worked that out which they would it would be you they come for next.

As long as Mourinho keeps qualifying for CL his job is safe unless he starts criticising the owners if he was to do that they’d have to sack him.
 
Like I said on the other thread, who are they goig to get to replace him, who can get us closer to the title. If there is no money for Jose then there is no money for the next man. There is no way the club woukd risk missing CL football in some sort of ruse to oust Jose.

The lack of purchases I can only think is because things are going on in the background. There is a lot of bids going in by every club but no purchases if you believe the papers. So someone has got to bite first.
 
My guess is Utd haven't been able to negotiate down the fees as much as they hoped on players like Sandro or Alderwiereld both selling clubs are sticking by their valuation at the moment same possibly for Willian these seem to be the 3 most heavily linked with Utd through the summer.

Now these clubs might panic last minute and decide to drop the price but equally they're hoping Utd panic and come up.
 
I think they are overpriced, wait uuntil next summer and get them at half that. Chelsea have turned down 65m for Willian from Barca, they must be crazy.
 
I think replacing Carrick with Fred is strengthening the squad as Carrick wasn't really available last season.

My personal opinion is the lack of signings is down to a lack of funds the club has spent fortunes the last few years on players and got very little back from sales that money has either come from blasting through any cash reserves the club had or borrowing more money. Boosts in TV money and new sponsors will have helped but I doubt it would cover what we've spent on that squad.

In 2 of the last 5 seasons we haven't had CL football either which leaves a hole in the books.

My gut feeling is this summer is the summer the board might have turned the tap off in terms of investment certainly eased the flow and told the club if they want to buy they have to sell if you want a left back you need to sell a left back.

I personally think we are wasting our time with Bale if he wanted to leave he'd have said something by now my guess is he'll hold out for one more year and see how it goes without Ronaldo.

This summer prices have been crazier than every due to the impact of the Neymar deal last summer and the fact the PL decided to shut their window early every other league still has 6 weeks to sort stuff out whereas we only have 3.
I think its the board finally losing patience, it must grate to spend over 600m pounds in the five years since Fergie retired and not see a credible title or CL challenge. Serve for Fellaini almost every player we have signed since then has been a shadow of the player we thought we were buying. Then Jose comes in and stabilizes us but he has spent 300m and still wants us to spend money on a CB when he has already signed a CB in each summer he has been here, tells the board that he wants shot of Martial and Shaw but the club made huge investments on those two believing that we'd be sorted for years. For example it seems easy to just play Sanchez on the right, Martial and Rashford alternating on the left but we drop the two, play Sanchez who isn't pulling up trees on the left and have to see Mata/Lingard stinking up the place on the right when they are at their best centrally. Its not my money but it pisses me off now imagine the Glazer siblings! Rather than a funds issue I think its a trust issue.
 
My guess is Utd haven't been able to negotiate down the fees as much as they hoped on players like Sandro or Alderwiereld both selling clubs are sticking by their valuation at the moment same possibly for Willian these seem to be the 3 most heavily linked with Utd through the summer.

Now these clubs might panic last minute and decide to drop the price but equally they're hoping Utd panic and come up.
If Mourinho wants both then he has to meet the board half way by selling off some deadwood. I doubt anyone with a bit of financial knowledge would countenance signing a sixth CB at 29 for the fees being touted about nor would they want to sign Sandro with the likes of Shaw and Darmian still stinking up the place. Mourinho should lood to sell Jones, Rojo and Darmian so as to raise part of the 120m outlay required to get those deals over the line and then look to promote youth like Tuanzebe to cover the gaps left by the departure of the former.
 
If Mourinho wants both then he has to meet the board half way by selling off some deadwood. I doubt anyone with a bit of financial knowledge would countenance signing a sixth CB at 29 for the fees being touted about nor would they want to sign Sandro with the likes of Shaw and Darmian still stinking up the place. Mourinho should lood to sell Jones, Rojo and Darmian so as to raise part of the 120m outlay required to get those deals over the line and then look to promote youth like Tuanzebe to cover the gaps left by the departure of the former.

I honestly don't think he's standing in the clubs way of selling deadwood players but the club can't attract offers it's not Mourinho's job to man the phones to sell players. Utd tend to use agents to do this because they don't have a sporting director but currently apart from Martial & Darmian I don't think there are guys desperate to leave the club. Mourinho I think has made it quite clear he'd happily sell Blind, Darmian, Shaw & Martial. I don't think he'd stand in the way of offers for the likes of Rojo, Smalling or Jones or possibly even Mata & Herrera but the reality seems to be the offers just aren't coming in for these players so he's stuck with them. The club seem reluctant to sell Shaw & Martial given what was invested in them when we bought them as long terms targets despite the manager seeming to have little interest in working with them.

Without players going out it's hard to make room for new guys to come in the squad is already at maximum capacity personally I'd sell Shaw & Martial if it meant we could get a left back & CB in then I'd force one of the current players out by telling him he's not in the first team squad even if it was just a loan move.

The longer this goes on the more it just makes me feel Utd need to get some sort of sporting director in place to manage this because modern managers aren't equipped with the skills to do it and Woodward certainly isn't which is why we've ended up with a squad that's a complete mess and players on contracts that give them a very comfortable life.
 
I honestly don't think he's standing in the clubs way of selling deadwood players but the club can't attract offers it's not Mourinho's job to man the phones to sell players. Utd tend to use agents to do this because they don't have a sporting director but currently apart from Martial & Darmian I don't think there are guys desperate to leave the club. Mourinho I think has made it quite clear he'd happily sell Blind, Darmian, Shaw & Martial. I don't think he'd stand in the way of offers for the likes of Rojo, Smalling or Jones or possibly even Mata & Herrera but the reality seems to be the offers just aren't coming in for these players so he's stuck with them. The club seem reluctant to sell Shaw & Martial given what was invested in them when we bought them as long terms targets despite the manager seeming to have little interest in working with them.

Without players going out it's hard to make room for new guys to come in the squad is already at maximum capacity personally I'd sell Shaw & Martial if it meant we could get a left back & CB in then I'd force one of the current players out by telling him he's not in the first team squad even if it was just a loan move.

The longer this goes on the more it just makes me feel Utd need to get some sort of sporting director in place to manage this because modern managers aren't equipped with the skills to do it and Woodward certainly isn't which is why we've ended up with a squad that's a complete mess and players on contracts that give them a very comfortable life.
What you say makes a lot of sense in that it takes three parties to conclude a transfer deal so its difficult to shift players on good contracts.
On the outgoings of the above in bold I think this is where the club and Mourinho could be in conflict. I fail to see how a board that is fixated on long term asset values and has a deliberate policy of buying players with potential resale value in mind would ever accept selling Martial to buy Perisic or Willian both of whom would cost unacceptable amounts for just a three year stint at their prime and possibly an acute decline afterwards. Remember long after Mourinho is gone, its the board that will be left with the task of fulfilling long contracts whilst funding the recruitment of replacement talent, like we are doing with Rojo, Blind and Darmian -his predecessor's mistakes.
 

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