Really nice article Pauly as always. I would say though, Manchester united not only have made poor signings but also made questionable extension to players in the hopes to retain value to add to the overall bloated wage structure. Extending players like Mata, Bailly, Jones, Matic and Axel to name a few who are not first team starters by now is just why?...
The signings we made for the current season weren’t entirely bad aside from cr7. Varane was okay to add as a better first choice depth for centre back. Reason for this is Maguire was superman playing in almost every league and cup game since joining which caught up to him by the end and he couldn’t play in Europa final and Euros. Axel and Bailly were not fit enough to be backups. We also had to try and limit Victor’s game time as well because he had a back injury if I recall. All this to say that going into yet another full season with these centre back choices wasn’t going to be wise if the entire plan was to hope that Maguire would be bullet proof again after coming back from an injury. Varane was very opportunistic considering the price we got for him up front.
I mainly hope that the club can find some sort of structure that works for them and is streamlined. If it involves deep data science like what Liverpool do, then great. But it must be a process that is subjective and not something that will be interfered with by the glazers or whoever is above John Murtough now. Also, we should totally stop trying to go for players that Man City "Might" buy all because of pride at preventing them getting a player. Totally hasn't slowed them down at all. In fact, some cases, it has helped to get a better player...
On the bright side we have a new shiny data science department set up earlier on in the season if I recall that may or may not be listened to (Probably not for now since we are so all in on Declan Rice). Ralf will advise the club after his interim role that we may or may not listen to.
@Yongle I agree with what you're saying except the part about Varane.
Yes we were in the market for some CB depth, yes that's because Bailly and Axel weren't reliable enough (or good enough). Yes Lindelof had the back issue last season - but that got fixed over the summer. Yes relying on Maguire to be superman year after year is not sustainable.
But if you're trying to provide depth for Maguire, Varane ain't that guy. Completely different type of CB then what Maguire is. He's the type of guy you pair WITH Maguire (hence why they've been very successful together) but he can't replace him. Which leads you to problems now when he fills in for Maguire because he doesn't partner well with Lindelof, so as a depth piece for Maguire, it doesn't really work.
And as you said, he was "opportunistic." That's part of the problem. Stop going for opportunistic signings and go for players that you NEED. And while he did come on a pretty team friendly price, that price was only a good price if it allowed you to go out and make other signings.
As soon as they signed Varane the tone changed to "we can only sign more players if we sell players." That means they only had the budget to sign two players this summer, so you have to prioritize what you need. Failing to look at this team and say, our defense last season wasn't that bad but it could certainly get better, BUT if we signed a proper midfielder who could protect them, suddenly the guys we have will naturally get (or at least look) a lot better. Not only would you then be able to make do with Bailly and Jones as backups but the attack will get better too! Win win. But poor analysis leads to poor prioritizing.
Instead they went with the same method they always did. "Need to improve defense = sign centerback, worry about midfield later." Not surprisingly, it hasn't helped
Yeah, Varane and Maguire are not similar players at all. With how the Varane transfer played out, it seemed like the intention was to make him first choice along side Maguire since he paired with him immediately from wolves until his or Maguires injury happened. This would have moved Victor as the reliable rotational player that can fill in.
I share the same sentiment with how we really needed a defensive midfielder as well before the season started! Sancho was always going to be a lock in considering how we didn’t get him the season before. Yes, I would have totally foregone the Varane signing (Plus CR7) as well if it meant we were in for a defensive midfielder because that is a NEED as you rightly pointed out.
I am just trying to at least understand why the club are making the decisions they are. I think that there is some naivety in decisions like you have mentioned with "Need to improve defense = sign centerback, worry about midfield later." But also, the criteria set by the club for their midfielder has always been very broad and not specific. Any noise on the midfield front was always how we wanted a midfielder that can “Do it all” rather than a specialist defensive midfielder. The decision to not target a specialist is in part due to Mike Phelans influence I believe (from the interview he did with Rio on YouTube around the 19-minute mark). He mentioned how he saw midfielders as just that. Midfielders. That can defend and attack etc. rather than specific roles assigned like number 6.
Only name that stuck around has been Declan Rice which wouldn’t surprise me if that is indeed the clubs first choice. West ham was not going to let him go this season, so we decided to go for Varane and wait another year. Also considering the overestimation of the squad on where they finished last season probably made it easier in their eyes to forgo the midfield signing. We were doing it with the striker situation (until CR7) in the hopes to go all in on Haaland.
I do think that Scott and Fred are seen in a positive light, despite what we point out, from Ole and the club. Ole has shown that he will not hesitate to phase players out eventually if they are not good enough (Andreas, Lingard, Jones and even Martial). Poor decision if that is the case.
Those reasons are at least how I think the club sees the situation on why did not sign a midfielder. In my opinion, the club should have learned from the whole Bruno signing that getting a midfielder that can play with Pogba will make the team better. So, getting another midfielder to add to that duo should have been our priority considering how well the Matic-Pogba-Bruno trio worked post lockdown.
It remains to be seen how the change in structure post Ole and Woodward will play out. It will be rocky so I am not setting my expectations to be high even with Ralf having some influence.
Does Manchester United even have a vision what they need their players to do? I don't think United have two players that could be used in a same way. For example Dalot and AWB or Shaw and Telles are totally different player profiles and work differently in a match.
Really nice article Pauly as always. I would say though, Manchester united not only have made poor signings but also made questionable extension to players in the hopes to retain value to add to the overall bloated wage structure. Extending players like Mata, Bailly, Jones, Matic and Axel to name a few who are not first team starters by now is just why?...
The signings we made for the current season weren’t entirely bad aside from cr7. Varane was okay to add as a better first choice depth for centre back. Reason for this is Maguire was superman playing in almost every league and cup game since joining which caught up to him by the end and he couldn’t play in Europa final and Euros. Axel and Bailly were not fit enough to be backups. We also had to try and limit Victor’s game time as well because he had a back injury if I recall. All this to say that going into yet another full season with these centre back choices wasn’t going to be wise if the entire plan was to hope that Maguire would be bullet proof again after coming back from an injury. Varane was very opportunistic considering the price we got for him up front.
I mainly hope that the club can find some sort of structure that works for them and is streamlined. If it involves deep data science like what Liverpool do, then great. But it must be a process that is subjective and not something that will be interfered with by the glazers or whoever is above John Murtough now. Also, we should totally stop trying to go for players that Man City "Might" buy all because of pride at preventing them getting a player. Totally hasn't slowed them down at all. In fact, some cases, it has helped to get a better player...
On the bright side we have a new shiny data science department set up earlier on in the season if I recall that may or may not be listened to (Probably not for now since we are so all in on Declan Rice). Ralf will advise the club after his interim role that we may or may not listen to.
@Yongle I agree with what you're saying except the part about Varane.
Yes we were in the market for some CB depth, yes that's because Bailly and Axel weren't reliable enough (or good enough). Yes Lindelof had the back issue last season - but that got fixed over the summer. Yes relying on Maguire to be superman year after year is not sustainable.
But if you're trying to provide depth for Maguire, Varane ain't that guy. Completely different type of CB then what Maguire is. He's the type of guy you pair WITH Maguire (hence why they've been very successful together) but he can't replace him. Which leads you to problems now when he fills in for Maguire because he doesn't partner well with Lindelof, so as a depth piece for Maguire, it doesn't really work.
And as you said, he was "opportunistic." That's part of the problem. Stop going for opportunistic signings and go for players that you NEED. And while he did come on a pretty team friendly price, that price was only a good price if it allowed you to go out and make other signings.
As soon as they signed Varane the tone changed to "we can only sign more players if we sell players." That means they only had the budget to sign two players this summer, so you have to prioritize what you need. Failing to look at this team and say, our defense last season wasn't that bad but it could certainly get better, BUT if we signed a proper midfielder who could protect them, suddenly the guys we have will naturally get (or at least look) a lot better. Not only would you then be able to make do with Bailly and Jones as backups but the attack will get better too! Win win. But poor analysis leads to poor prioritizing.
Instead they went with the same method they always did. "Need to improve defense = sign centerback, worry about midfield later." Not surprisingly, it hasn't helped
Thanks for the reply!
Yeah, Varane and Maguire are not similar players at all. With how the Varane transfer played out, it seemed like the intention was to make him first choice along side Maguire since he paired with him immediately from wolves until his or Maguires injury happened. This would have moved Victor as the reliable rotational player that can fill in.
I share the same sentiment with how we really needed a defensive midfielder as well before the season started! Sancho was always going to be a lock in considering how we didn’t get him the season before. Yes, I would have totally foregone the Varane signing (Plus CR7) as well if it meant we were in for a defensive midfielder because that is a NEED as you rightly pointed out.
I am just trying to at least understand why the club are making the decisions they are. I think that there is some naivety in decisions like you have mentioned with "Need to improve defense = sign centerback, worry about midfield later." But also, the criteria set by the club for their midfielder has always been very broad and not specific. Any noise on the midfield front was always how we wanted a midfielder that can “Do it all” rather than a specialist defensive midfielder. The decision to not target a specialist is in part due to Mike Phelans influence I believe (from the interview he did with Rio on YouTube around the 19-minute mark). He mentioned how he saw midfielders as just that. Midfielders. That can defend and attack etc. rather than specific roles assigned like number 6.
Only name that stuck around has been Declan Rice which wouldn’t surprise me if that is indeed the clubs first choice. West ham was not going to let him go this season, so we decided to go for Varane and wait another year. Also considering the overestimation of the squad on where they finished last season probably made it easier in their eyes to forgo the midfield signing. We were doing it with the striker situation (until CR7) in the hopes to go all in on Haaland.
I do think that Scott and Fred are seen in a positive light, despite what we point out, from Ole and the club. Ole has shown that he will not hesitate to phase players out eventually if they are not good enough (Andreas, Lingard, Jones and even Martial). Poor decision if that is the case.
Those reasons are at least how I think the club sees the situation on why did not sign a midfielder. In my opinion, the club should have learned from the whole Bruno signing that getting a midfielder that can play with Pogba will make the team better. So, getting another midfielder to add to that duo should have been our priority considering how well the Matic-Pogba-Bruno trio worked post lockdown.
It remains to be seen how the change in structure post Ole and Woodward will play out. It will be rocky so I am not setting my expectations to be high even with Ralf having some influence.
Does Manchester United even have a vision what they need their players to do? I don't think United have two players that could be used in a same way. For example Dalot and AWB or Shaw and Telles are totally different player profiles and work differently in a match.