It was a poor window because we left ourselves a defender and a forward short, too many players were let go and the squad has been mismanaged.

I would of kept Evans, nani and Hernandez for all their faults they would have added depth and we would have been better off with those three instead of McNair, lingard and no-one which is who we effectively replaced them with. Football is fine margins, those three probably were deadwood but a few small contributions and things could look very different.

Too many players were let go without being replaced and we are now seeing the consequences.

I would have kept Hernandez but nobody questioned our signings, i thought they were logical

Hmm. It started off well. But by September 2nd I think most people were looking at our attacking options with a bit of concern.

I don't think anyone predicted it would be this bad, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that we might struggle for goals this year.

Darmian - he told us all that Valencia was his first choice and as the season has gone on Darmian has hardly looked a certain starter for us on the right

Bastian - Past it. Really didn't need to sign him at all. Should have brought in Gundogan

Morgan - Good signing but kept dropping him for our biggest games.

Romero - n/a

Depay - LVG seems to have lost faith in him again.

Martial - we paid way over the odds and he has been shunted onto the wing to make way for Rooney

Other than MS they are all from foreign leagues... So it should come as no surprise they have taken time to settle. It's always a gamble. I don't think LvG necessarily takes the blame for this... They are quality players.

There have also been injuries to BS and Darmian.

For me the only real disappointment is Depay... he's been given ample opportunity too. Luckily he has time on his side, so not given up on him yet...

Most fullbacks would look awful with Mata playing where he does. He doesn't stay wide and he doesn't track back.

Darmian got tortured at arsenal and hasn't looked same since. I haven't given up hope though.

Lvg bought well, sold not so.well and managed awfully.

The jury is very much still out on Memphis but other I think out signings under LvG has been generally quite good.

Where it's gone wrong is:

a) Let too many players go without adequate replacements in key positions

b) Failed to utilise or get the best out of the players he has signed.

I think we can all agree (with a few obvious exceptions) that he bought well. That is six additions to a team of which most were starters from another league. It hard enough to blend 1 or 2 but 6?

Considering we actually still needed more players at CB and F (and tbh a game changer in attack) that would have made 8 players. Lots of newly promoted teams do that and to no ones surprise they usually drop back down and become even worse in the championship because those players never settle fast enough.

He decided that if jones and rojo get injured we would use our youth. He could not see shaw and rojo and getting injured and maybe he expected too much from Rooney and Mata.

At the end, except for the big name signings which have Woodward all over it, Lvg has bought mostly solid players that add to the squad, he just did not buy a game changer, something he has spoken of many times

Darmian - Good player but is still getting used to things and getting too many injuries (bit like our last RB).

Bastian - For the price I'm sure he provides valuable experience, mainly off the pitch. On it though I don't think he's been great and was sceptical of the signing to begin with.

Morgan - Very good player but used completely wrong. He's a B2B, LVG uses him as a 2 man DM.

Romero - Not that great and lost us points in a game de Gea could have (and supposedly wanted) to play in.

Depay - Talent but it was always a concern whether he had the right attitude. Of course not all LVG's fault, the player has to get that kind of thinking out of his head but LVG could have probably managed him better. Never expected him to storm the PL so early, still deserves more time but needs to get his head out his a$$.

Martial - Great signing, the kind we all like to see. Maybe too much but who cares with the money we have.

I wonder which of the signings were LVG's choice and which were the clubs.

I think they were all good signings.

To say Bastian is past it, then make excuses for schneiderlin is a bit moronic and short sighted, especially given how schweinsteiger has been no worse, if not better than schneiderlin.

Let's wait and see how they play under a manager who knows how to use them before we fully judge.

The difference being that Bastian is being used in the role he was purchased, Morgan isn't.

Morgan is a B2B with plenty of energy and the ability to push forward and help offensively. We use him sitting deep as a DM and it's a complete waste.

I think they're all good signings, but there is no world class talent there (right now). They are players who can do a good job in a good team but we need top players who they supply.

I've said it before but City just added £130m worth of talent on 3/4 players adding to a squad with players like Kompany, Silva, Toure and Aguero.

We spent that on 6 players, one of whom isn't going to blossom for a good couple of years. We only hve De Gea in that bracket of player. We need more if we are to compete.

But we should have enough to get top 4 as last season showed where we achieved it by not playing that great. Of course this squad can be improved on but when the side can't even get the basics right and we fail to threaten sides on a weekly basis then it's clear that there's more wrong than just not having a strong enough squad.

LVG is failing.

Sorry, I didn't realise the season had finished and we failed to make top 4.

Just out of curiosity, who should we be there ahead of, because as far as I can see, Spurs, arsenal, city and Leicester are there on merit

comment by manutd1982 (U6633)
posted 1 minute ago
But we should have enough to get top 4 as last season showed where we achieved it by not playing that great. Of course this squad can be improved on but when the side can't even get the basics right and we fail to threaten sides on a weekly basis then it's clear that there's more wrong than just not having a strong enough squad.

LVG is failing.
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That is the lack of confidence that creeped in with a drop in our form. More often than not that "world class player" drags the team with a bit of magic and we get the result and some form comes. But the team seems to know there is nobody to look to on the team. I think that's why he has really not lost the team yet. Because no player can go out and take over the mantle and be the dissenter because none of them is good enough. They are all lookin at themselves and the manager is wondering, hoping they kick on.

We lack 2 things. A go to guy and a leader and for this I blame Lvg tbh when he made Rooney his choice for both.

Everyone is where they are on merit. We have a squad that should be more than capable of finishing in the top 4.

I think it's brilliant what Leicester have done but are you genuinely suggesting that they have a better squad and are above us because of that? If we played to our potential we would and should be higher than Leicester and arguably Spurs. Don't forget that both these clubs have managers that have been at their club for the same or shorter period than LVG.

I'm sure city and arsenal both think the same too, but they're both still behind Leicester with far better squads.

Everyone is where they are on merit. We have a squad that should be more than capable of finishing in the top 4




I'd argue City and Arsenal have much, much better squads than us, Chelsea also have a enter squad.

Spurs may not have as many good players, but hey have got Kane, Alli and a solid CB partnership.

Swap Kane and Rooney for example, and we swap positions in be league.

Dunc

Yes they both should be but they are both at least in the top 4 positions which was always the minimum requirement for us this season as it was theirs.

Busby

I don't think they would. They have a more solid defence IMO that does not rely on too much midfield support like us, they also have Alli who has been excellent for them this season, far better than any of our midfielders.

They have a more solid defence IMO that does not rely on too much midfield support like us,

They play Dier and Dembele in CM, usually very deep, most weeks.

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I also mentioned Alli as a player better than what we have. But take away Kane and Spurs go down to about 7th, he's their spearhead up front and everything involves him.

But you basically agreeing with my point, that they have Kane, Alli and a CB partnership much better than we have, and are rightfully battling with us for 4th.

We need our Kane, Alli and a CB. Not more squad players.

And Alli and the quality of their CBs were available at very reasonable prices but the club ignored them.

Other than Lamela Spurs have bought relatively cheaply and done very well. Yes we could do with better players but that doesn't mean we have to spend sh-t loads.

And it isn't just about having better players, it's even more important having a manager who can get the squad ticking and get the most out of those players, something Poch is doing better than LVG.

Depay has been shocking and I had high hopes for him.

I can't remember a player so consistently bad in his first season, maybe fellaini.

But he has been attrocious.

He has all the physical tools but he has less of s football brain than Theo Walcott

We entered a period where we had west ham, Norwich, Bournemouth, stoke, a woeful Chelsea side, Liverpool and saints to play.

It doesn't matter how good arsenal, spurs, city and Leicester are. A capable manager would have seen us well inside the top 4 with most of those fixtures.

Memphis is a tricky one because he has talent, no doubt but you sense that there is a bit of an attitude problem, a bit as if he feels like he doesn't have to prove anything. But then at the same time that self belief (or cockiness) is what makes him tick and allows him to be the player he is. It's a fine balance that needs to be worked on and that is able to thrive in a less demanding league like back in Holland.

It's mainly Memphis who has to fix things but the manager can also help.

I've still got hope for him but it really could go either way, reminds me a bit of Babel at Liverpool.

i won't be judging any of our players (other than Fellaini) until theyre playing under a competent manager