Transfers | United Rant

Reds ready for return as pressure to deal mounts

Ed July 2, 2017 Tags: Ed Woodward, José Mourinho, Transfers Opinion 19 comments

Picture the scene. Thursday, 17 December, 2015. Chelsea’s annual Christmas lunch at the club’s Cobham training ground has just concluded. The mood is downbeat. The Blues had lost 2-1 at Leicester City the previous Monday to record a ninth Premier League defeat of the season. José Mourinho’s low-key pre-lunch training session does little to lighten the atmosphere. The manager is sporting a newly shaven head and the stubble of a man too distracted to shave. As the players drift home, chairman Bruce Buck and director Eugene Tenenbaum arrived to sack Mourinho as Chelsea manager for the second time. A brutal assasination.

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Mourinho’s Pragmaticos

Magnus Henderson June 21, 2017 Tags: Cristiano Ronaldo, José Mourinho, Transfers Opinion 8 comments

Some of Manchester United’s more cynical fans let out a sigh of dismay when Cristiano Ronaldo announced that he was no longer happy at Real Madrid, after accusations of tax fraud unsettled the superstar. Few enjoy the tedium of a summer transfer saga, it creates uncertainly, and United fans have been offered false hope too often in recent years. Some fans cling to the bdlief that Ronaldo will once again grace Old Trafford; plenty felt an anxious twang of déjà vu this week.

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Mourinho’s summer strategy takes shape

Ed June 12, 2017 Tags: José Mourinho, Transfers Opinion 11 comments

One down, how many more to go? Victor Lindelöf’s impending arrival, for a fee reportedly in excess of £30 million, is the first of what manager José Mourinho hopes will be at least four summer signings. The quartet will address Manchester United’s most prominent challenges last season: goalscoring, creativity, consistency at the back, and bite in midfield. It is likely to be an expensive summer – and not necessarily one replete with household names if Lindelöf’s capture signals a sensibly pragmatic turn in United’s transfer strategy.

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Van Gaal’s rotten transfer legacy: 13 players, five departures and lots of questions

Ed March 24, 2017 Tags: Louis van Gaal, Transfers Opinion 21 comments

Bastian Schweinsteiger’s long-proposed move to Chicago Fire was finally completed this week, with the German heading Stateside ahead of the new MLS season. The World Cup winner left with a classy parting message to Manchester United fans and seemingly no bitterness, despite what has been a difficult and unproductive 18 months at Old Trafford. Schweinsteiger’s departure means that five of Louis van Gaal’s 10 signings as United manager have now left the club. Of those who remain perhaps only two can be considered successful, each with caveats attached. It is a truly rotten legacy.

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Griezmann factor highlights United’s summer strategy

Magnus Henderson February 8, 2017 Tags: Antione Griezmann, Transfers Opinion 2 comments

The transfer rumour machine that surrounds Manchester United can be a frustrating affair. More often than not gossip claiming the imminent arrival at Old Trafford of big names fails to materialised into anything concrete. Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement the fourth estate has confidently predicted the acquisition of Thiago Alcântara, Cesc Fàbregas, Sergio Ramos, Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thomas Müller and, everyone’s favourite, Nicolás Gaitán. None have ended up gracing the Old Trafford turf. Is Antione Griezmann the latest in a long line, or another record-breaking buy in the making?

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José’s confrontational style will cost United, so the rewards must be significant

Ed November 13, 2016 Tags: Bastian Schweinsteiger, Chris Smalling, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, José Mourinho, Luke Shaw, Memphis Depay, Morgan Schneiderin, Transfers Opinion 5 comments

Chris Smalling, Luke Shaw, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Memphis Depay, Morgan Schneiderin, Henrikh Mkhitaryan: six players, almost £100 million in transfer fees, and one big falling out. For differing reasons each of the sextet could be headed out of the club, caught in José Mourinho’s demand for total commitment. Once again the Portuguese has demonstrated a single-minded drive to do things his way, one that will cost the club millions in depreciating player values. It had better be worth it.

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Three records, £200 million, one question: why hasn’t United got the best out of world-class talent

Ed October 27, 2016 Tags: Angel di Maria, Juan Mata, Paul Pogba, Transfers Opinion 12 comments

Paul Pogba’s tough start to life at Manchester United is reflective of the struggle the club has faced in turning record acquisitions into real success since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. In fact United has failed to extract the most from its last three record purchases: Pogba, Angel di Maria, and Juan Mata. While the players’ performances, attitude and commitment can sometimes be called into question, it also clear that the United has made precious few plans for what to do with the club’s shiny new toys.

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Idrissa Gueye the perfect man to partner Pogba?

Adam Joseph October 21, 2016 Tags: Idrissa Gueye, Transfers Opinion 2 comments

N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba were two of the star midfielders that dominated the transfer talk during the summer as records tumbled and serious cash was spent. Manchester United broke new ground with four shiny new acquisitions, including lavishing a world record sum on Pogba. Sometimes, though, clubs do not get what they need most. United might just have missed out on a bargain amid all the spending.

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Van Dijk’s All Right

Thariq Amir October 12, 2016 Tags: Defence, Transfers, Virgil van Dijk Opinion 9 comments

There are a couple of things to be said about United’s last transfer window. First, it was the most successful window that the club has enjoyed since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Yet, there is still work to be done to fine tune the squad. One position is at centre-back, and more specifically who should partner the impressive Eric Bailly.

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You are the weakest link: Mourinho must not be ruled by the squad’s flaws

Adam Joseph September 26, 2016 Tags: José Mourinho, Tactics, Transfers Opinion 7 comments

As the saying goes you’re only as strong as your weakest link. It certainly applies in football. For all a team’s strengths, opponents will target and exploit any weakness. World’s best attack? There’s little point if the midfield can’t deliver the ball or the defence can’t keep opponents from scoring. This is the difficulty of team building, as José Mourinho is discovering.

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