Thoughtful, intelligent, thorough piece, as always. However, the primary thesis is a sort of narrative based truism. “If things go well, they did the right thing by keeping their powder dry until summer” vs. “if things go poorly, they did the wrong thing by not bringing in winter reinforcements.” It’s difficult to argue that this analysis will prove itself true in the long run, whichever way things go, but the conclusion arrived at is not really about determining whether United’s approach is fundamentally sound, so much as arriving at a (very sound) prediction as to how it will be perceived - by fans, media, rivals, etc - depending on how the rest of the season plays out.
In the end, a truer measure of whether United’s approach in this transfer window was “right” or “wrong” will probably have to wait for longer term results over multiple seasons (assuming they adhere to this same “walk to the right answer, don’t run to the wrong one” philosophy over multiple windows and seasons). Only then can we really determine if it is an approach that laid the foundations for sustained stability and success.
Well I think that's my point really. I didn't take a "this is right" or "this is wrong" position, just laid out the strategy and the potential points of success/failure of each approach. I write 2500 word pieces and do long-form podcasts so I can do into depth and not have to fall into the trap of everything having to be binary for a social media audience.
Hi Ed. I think you make some great points. But I’m confused about the Antoine Semenyo non-transfer. I can understand your argument that United should have brought in central midfield cover. But what would have been the point of Semenyo? Where would he have played in Carrick’s team? Who is he an upgrade on?
I didn't take a position. I know in these days of everybody having to express a binary take that might be confusing 😀
The reason United were interested is that they believed they needed a left sided attacker (I know he played off the right for Bournemouth). I think we can see that in the light of selling/loaning Rashford and Garnacho and Cunha being more of an inside forward than and outside one. And also in the context of the club pushing Amorim (hard and in the end over the edge) on moving to a different system.
Yeah good point. If Semenyo were signed it would have been for wingback back presumably. Where would that leave us now? Semenyo, Dorgu, Cunha, Mount all vying for one position with Amad and Mbuemo vying fpr the other side.
I actually said st the time that I didnt understand the signing of Cunha and Mbuemo together in one window for 135m whem the squad already had Amad, Mount, Bruno, Zirkzee, Dorgu who could play in those roles.
Nice article as always. Although I noticed you didn't call out Trump, that's really in vogue in the last 24 hours. All about those clicks. Imagine what a flimsy Trump lawsuit could do for the brand!
"We won't be bullied in the market" is just sparkling "There's no value in the market". Going after Jacquet smacks of old-school Woodward United. We went after him in a panic because our rivals were. Then in the summer they'd be like "we spent half our budget on Jacquet tho...". It would also be classic United to sign Yoro, the pre-Jacquet, have him be a bust while Jacquet blows the doors off for the next decade. Just like we signed Martial and a year later Mbappe showed up.... and many others I can't remember 'Cause I've had 3 hours sleep in the last 48....
We need a CB, no doubt about it, but at this time of year? With this budget? And a deal localised entirely within next summer? I do not want to see it. I wouldn't have been mad if we did it (mostly 'Cause we'd be bantering Liverpool big time and he's a good player) but yeah nah. How does that even work going forward? Is Yoro done? Are we binning off de Ligt? Also it totally undermines their position of "planning for the next manager" then having a deadline day freak out and nearly spunking 60m on a CB doesn't it?
We could have signed a CDM. It doesn't matter what formation we play. Pick one, any one. No matter what, the squad needs an energetic ball playing, ball-winning 100m midfielder. Because we don't have any. So whoever we get in it makes no difference.
And again I'll die on the hill that our summer business should have been one energetic ball playing, ball-winning 100m midfielder and an energetic ball playing, ball-winning 100m midfielder and nothing else except maybe a RWB to cover for Amad.
I do think they should have got someone in on loan in the position. Not a classic Woodward 33yo cast off from a bottom feeder or Amrabaat but there's plenty of people out there riding the pine that are better than Poo-garte (he's a much worse Gattuso. He only works in a midfield 3 where his job is kicking people and giving the ball to better players 3ft away), 'Cause that bar is in the Mariana Trench. I'd give some names if my brain worked or Fbref wasn't worthless now. Marc Bernal, there you go. We couldn't get him on loan? Is he young? Yeah, but he's Barca young which isn't the same and he fits the bill on the face of it and isn't a total manlet and can't be worse than Diarrhoea-garte and is a body in midfield for 6 months. Andrey Santos ain't getting no minutes. I dunno, whatever. Point is there were likely moves to be made and anything is better than what we have as depth. We don't even have depth. We have him and that's it. Like legit. God forbid what happens if say Mainoo runs into Casemiro going for a ball and they're both out of commission? We play Ugarte and a log? de Ligt in midfield? Play Bruno and it's back to Amorim-ball? Carrick laces up.. ... ...[insert Shrek meme]? Tyler/Jack Fletcher in the deep end? So to answer your question; no.
United have been following for Jacquet for quite a while and probably would have moved in the summer. Got caught with their pants down by LIverpool doing the deal now but letting the player stay in France. Seems pretty inevitable given these moves that they're preparing to let Harry Maguire go.
Is that not again Classic United? They have a tendency to do one of three bad things more than I'd like; Pursuing players we don't totally need because other teams emerge and it damaging either future deals or tactics and squad building, not being able to let players go and saying "Fair enough, we got played, best to just bow out and not do a deal that results in the above issues" and not pursuing players we really should be and giving rivals a free run.
I'd not even considered Maguire tbh. I was just thinking RCB = Yoro and de Ligt and LCB = Martinez and Heaven, with a prospect (Ngwashi probably) as 5th choice. You're not gonna sign Jacquet for 60m and have him behind everyone except Heaven... and he seems like a carbon copy of Yoro profile-wise. What's done is done. Now it's about manifesting De Cat/Eichhorn (or both!) and a Tonali/Guimaraes-type into existence for the summer, positive waves and all that.
United have effectively wagered four months of competitive relevance on two assumptions: continued fitness and continued form. Neither is unreasonable on its own but together, they are a gamble.
Great article Ed. I have a few counterpoints. Casemiro earns 350k per week and can only play 70 minutes and only once a week. Considering extending a guy like that is fucking mental. Over the course of his 4 years he has been below average to poor, bookended by 2 periods of good form. I like the guy but extending him is absolutely the wrong choice. Who would you propose signing to strengthen midfield in January? Genuine question, I can't see anyone available.
Spending money in a January transfer window with no permanent manage in place is nuts in my opinion, champions league be dawned.
All followers of united need to get away from this short term chasing of results. United are a 3 year rebuild off a title, at least. Fans and directors need to act accordingly. United supporters cannot help themselves, they accept a rebuild is needed but bloe their loads when champions league qualification is in sight and demand transfers.
Short term pain for long term gain, that's what we need.
Yeah the short-term pain for long term gain is totally fine as a strategy. I'm on board. But everyone has a plan until they're punched in the face. We're one Casemiro injury away from probably dropping out of the Champions League places. And that's a £100m risk.
But at the start of the season noone expected the champions league. So you would hope they budgeted for Europe league. Anyway, this is a decent squad and welll able to compete as it is. Other teams have similar issues. Let's hope uncle Cas and Kobbie stay injury free. They only play one game a month, or so it feels
Good piece as usual Ed. Just to flag that Sesko hasn't scored in back-to-back games as you mentioned, he came on against Arsenal and played a part in the 3rd goal but didn't score.
I would also add to your great points about the lack of depth in midfield that Mason Mount picked up an injury that kept him out of the game against Fulham. Another unfortunate instance of him being unable to generate consistent, positive momentum in the side. Depending on how the rest of the season goes he could end up also be added to the list of departures in the summer. Especially if Wilcox etc are serious about the previously stated idea of moving players on after 2 years if it isn't working.
Thoughtful, intelligent, thorough piece, as always. However, the primary thesis is a sort of narrative based truism. “If things go well, they did the right thing by keeping their powder dry until summer” vs. “if things go poorly, they did the wrong thing by not bringing in winter reinforcements.” It’s difficult to argue that this analysis will prove itself true in the long run, whichever way things go, but the conclusion arrived at is not really about determining whether United’s approach is fundamentally sound, so much as arriving at a (very sound) prediction as to how it will be perceived - by fans, media, rivals, etc - depending on how the rest of the season plays out.
In the end, a truer measure of whether United’s approach in this transfer window was “right” or “wrong” will probably have to wait for longer term results over multiple seasons (assuming they adhere to this same “walk to the right answer, don’t run to the wrong one” philosophy over multiple windows and seasons). Only then can we really determine if it is an approach that laid the foundations for sustained stability and success.
Well I think that's my point really. I didn't take a "this is right" or "this is wrong" position, just laid out the strategy and the potential points of success/failure of each approach. I write 2500 word pieces and do long-form podcasts so I can do into depth and not have to fall into the trap of everything having to be binary for a social media audience.
Indeed. Appreciate both the pod and written articles. UTFR.
Won't make me Goldbridge rich from doing the content. It's my gift to the community. 😂
Ha. Yeah, but at least you’re not a disingenuous tw@t (like Goldbridge)
Hi Ed. I think you make some great points. But I’m confused about the Antoine Semenyo non-transfer. I can understand your argument that United should have brought in central midfield cover. But what would have been the point of Semenyo? Where would he have played in Carrick’s team? Who is he an upgrade on?
I didn't take a position. I know in these days of everybody having to express a binary take that might be confusing 😀
The reason United were interested is that they believed they needed a left sided attacker (I know he played off the right for Bournemouth). I think we can see that in the light of selling/loaning Rashford and Garnacho and Cunha being more of an inside forward than and outside one. And also in the context of the club pushing Amorim (hard and in the end over the edge) on moving to a different system.
Yeah good point. If Semenyo were signed it would have been for wingback back presumably. Where would that leave us now? Semenyo, Dorgu, Cunha, Mount all vying for one position with Amad and Mbuemo vying fpr the other side.
I actually said st the time that I didnt understand the signing of Cunha and Mbuemo together in one window for 135m whem the squad already had Amad, Mount, Bruno, Zirkzee, Dorgu who could play in those roles.
Nice article as always. Although I noticed you didn't call out Trump, that's really in vogue in the last 24 hours. All about those clicks. Imagine what a flimsy Trump lawsuit could do for the brand!
"We won't be bullied in the market" is just sparkling "There's no value in the market". Going after Jacquet smacks of old-school Woodward United. We went after him in a panic because our rivals were. Then in the summer they'd be like "we spent half our budget on Jacquet tho...". It would also be classic United to sign Yoro, the pre-Jacquet, have him be a bust while Jacquet blows the doors off for the next decade. Just like we signed Martial and a year later Mbappe showed up.... and many others I can't remember 'Cause I've had 3 hours sleep in the last 48....
We need a CB, no doubt about it, but at this time of year? With this budget? And a deal localised entirely within next summer? I do not want to see it. I wouldn't have been mad if we did it (mostly 'Cause we'd be bantering Liverpool big time and he's a good player) but yeah nah. How does that even work going forward? Is Yoro done? Are we binning off de Ligt? Also it totally undermines their position of "planning for the next manager" then having a deadline day freak out and nearly spunking 60m on a CB doesn't it?
We could have signed a CDM. It doesn't matter what formation we play. Pick one, any one. No matter what, the squad needs an energetic ball playing, ball-winning 100m midfielder. Because we don't have any. So whoever we get in it makes no difference.
And again I'll die on the hill that our summer business should have been one energetic ball playing, ball-winning 100m midfielder and an energetic ball playing, ball-winning 100m midfielder and nothing else except maybe a RWB to cover for Amad.
I do think they should have got someone in on loan in the position. Not a classic Woodward 33yo cast off from a bottom feeder or Amrabaat but there's plenty of people out there riding the pine that are better than Poo-garte (he's a much worse Gattuso. He only works in a midfield 3 where his job is kicking people and giving the ball to better players 3ft away), 'Cause that bar is in the Mariana Trench. I'd give some names if my brain worked or Fbref wasn't worthless now. Marc Bernal, there you go. We couldn't get him on loan? Is he young? Yeah, but he's Barca young which isn't the same and he fits the bill on the face of it and isn't a total manlet and can't be worse than Diarrhoea-garte and is a body in midfield for 6 months. Andrey Santos ain't getting no minutes. I dunno, whatever. Point is there were likely moves to be made and anything is better than what we have as depth. We don't even have depth. We have him and that's it. Like legit. God forbid what happens if say Mainoo runs into Casemiro going for a ball and they're both out of commission? We play Ugarte and a log? de Ligt in midfield? Play Bruno and it's back to Amorim-ball? Carrick laces up.. ... ...[insert Shrek meme]? Tyler/Jack Fletcher in the deep end? So to answer your question; no.
United have been following for Jacquet for quite a while and probably would have moved in the summer. Got caught with their pants down by LIverpool doing the deal now but letting the player stay in France. Seems pretty inevitable given these moves that they're preparing to let Harry Maguire go.
Also, I can't call out Trump. I'm a foreigner Brit living in America. That'll get me deported to a gulag in El salvador. 👀
We'll just have to wait for your inevitable Super Bowl LXI Half-time show I guess....
Is that not again Classic United? They have a tendency to do one of three bad things more than I'd like; Pursuing players we don't totally need because other teams emerge and it damaging either future deals or tactics and squad building, not being able to let players go and saying "Fair enough, we got played, best to just bow out and not do a deal that results in the above issues" and not pursuing players we really should be and giving rivals a free run.
I'd not even considered Maguire tbh. I was just thinking RCB = Yoro and de Ligt and LCB = Martinez and Heaven, with a prospect (Ngwashi probably) as 5th choice. You're not gonna sign Jacquet for 60m and have him behind everyone except Heaven... and he seems like a carbon copy of Yoro profile-wise. What's done is done. Now it's about manifesting De Cat/Eichhorn (or both!) and a Tonali/Guimaraes-type into existence for the summer, positive waves and all that.
United have effectively wagered four months of competitive relevance on two assumptions: continued fitness and continued form. Neither is unreasonable on its own but together, they are a gamble.
Great article Ed. I have a few counterpoints. Casemiro earns 350k per week and can only play 70 minutes and only once a week. Considering extending a guy like that is fucking mental. Over the course of his 4 years he has been below average to poor, bookended by 2 periods of good form. I like the guy but extending him is absolutely the wrong choice. Who would you propose signing to strengthen midfield in January? Genuine question, I can't see anyone available.
Spending money in a January transfer window with no permanent manage in place is nuts in my opinion, champions league be dawned.
All followers of united need to get away from this short term chasing of results. United are a 3 year rebuild off a title, at least. Fans and directors need to act accordingly. United supporters cannot help themselves, they accept a rebuild is needed but bloe their loads when champions league qualification is in sight and demand transfers.
Short term pain for long term gain, that's what we need.
Keep up the good work.
Yeah the short-term pain for long term gain is totally fine as a strategy. I'm on board. But everyone has a plan until they're punched in the face. We're one Casemiro injury away from probably dropping out of the Champions League places. And that's a £100m risk.
But at the start of the season noone expected the champions league. So you would hope they budgeted for Europe league. Anyway, this is a decent squad and welll able to compete as it is. Other teams have similar issues. Let's hope uncle Cas and Kobbie stay injury free. They only play one game a month, or so it feels
Good piece as usual Ed. Just to flag that Sesko hasn't scored in back-to-back games as you mentioned, he came on against Arsenal and played a part in the 3rd goal but didn't score.
I would also add to your great points about the lack of depth in midfield that Mason Mount picked up an injury that kept him out of the game against Fulham. Another unfortunate instance of him being unable to generate consistent, positive momentum in the side. Depending on how the rest of the season goes he could end up also be added to the list of departures in the summer. Especially if Wilcox etc are serious about the previously stated idea of moving players on after 2 years if it isn't working.
Fair enough typo on Sesko.