I kind of see Barcelona regressing once Messi slows down. It can be anywhere between Barcelona, United and Milan IMO.
I agree with the Messi thing. Once Messi gets into his 30s, it is going to be tough for them to hold off.
The problem with United is not their lack of talent, but that for some reason they don't really produce the results you would expect. How much money did United spend the past two seasons? And what did they achieve? The conclusion is that so far they preformed quite poorly compared to what they should have achieved for that amount of money.
United never lacked talent, I agree with you here. About the results, I agree they aren't good as compared to money we spent, but the problem is, we are going through the transition phase. Take any top team from the modern time and then you will find that a good team needs amalgam of good youth prospects plus some proven experienced players to guide them. We lack in the proven players department, typically after Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Scholes, Giggs departed in last two-three years. It was bound to happen and it takes time for teams to recover.
About transfer market policy, the only thing I want to say is, we need to work on weaknesses and 'buy smartly'(note: not over-smartly) and then we can produce a team that can be competitive at world stage.
Such as, we needed pace down the other wing(Di Maria, no longer there and Depay at one wing), Pedro was an ideal target, but then you know the rest.
We needed a striker after the departure of RVP, Falcao and we still haven't gotten one. Our secondary striker is Chicharito, who SAF used as a super sub, but not as a primary striker. Wayne Rooney can't carry everything on his soldiers and not get injured, typically at the age of 29 and when he lacks firepower of being the primary striker.
We needed a proven center back and we are searching for him from a while. Otamendi was available, yet we let him go to City.
The problem is, LVG is so engulfed in his 'philosophy', that he doesn't care about the blatant things(typical Van Gaal, mind you). Also, this year's transfer window was better transfer window for us as compared to last year's transfer window. Darmian, Depay, Schneiderlin and Romero are all proving to be useful additions till this point.
Like Cali said, United aren't producing results and the reason for that is not only does the manager not know his players best positions, the players themselves don't know their best positions. Rooney was a good striker 3-4 years ago but, over the past few years he's lost a yard of pace and his positioning is horrendous. When playing as the focal point of a team, you don't drop into midfield to receive the ball because the team is left with no1 in the opponents half to begin the attack. He's best position is and always will be as a no.10 but, the problem with this is that United already possess a world class no.10 in Juan Mata who the manager is also playing out of position. The there's Januzaj who is not a no.10 playing as a no.10, the entire attack is playing in wrong positions. This creates several problems for the team when things aren't going well because these players will often drift out of position to receive the ball to try and make something happen which leaves the rest of the team exposed.P
Rooney was a good striker 3-4 ago, because he used to play as a 'striker'(pre-RVP united) and he was at the peak of his career and was 25 years old. Today he is 29 years old and hence lacks pace and positioning, because he had to change his game with the age, rather United transition made him change the way he used to play.
First of all, Rooney isn't Falcao or Costa like striker or never was. You can't expect him to stand in the box, get a cross and score. He rather likes to get involved with number 10/wingers and then deliver the final blow. That's why when RVP arrived(who certainly had better pace than Rooney at that point of time and was the highest goal-scorer), Rooney was shifted to a supporting role by SAF and then later was shifted to even deeper position, typically due to lack of good midfielders and he changed his game for the sake of team. Now, after the departure of RVP, arrival of center midfield duos, he is completely exposed and hence naturally, it is difficult for him to change his game again and then shift to goal scorer role, typically when he is 29 years old. If I am manager, I would rather go buy a decent striker and then put Wayne Rooney as number 10 because that's what suits him the best or rather I would simply sell him.
Juan Mata is world class number 10 and should play there, but question is then who will play at the wings??
Janujaz is too inexperienced and inconsistent to produce crosses in or do the job of winger. Valencia is too inaccurate with crosses, even if he has pace and Young is inconsistent, but still is a better winger as compared to Janujaz.
Janujaz needs some time to develop and just like my response to Cali, we need settled and proven players rather than the young ones, who need time to develop.
Moving into midfield, because the players ahead of them are constantly moving around, they're left open to attack and they lack any kind of pace so they're forced to make rash challenges and get booked. This means that they then have to be careful not to get booked for the rest of the game which allows attackers to run at them because they're aware that they won't be challenged and have a free run at the defense.
Pace is a problem with midfield, rather it is problem of entire team and that's why we wanted Pedro, but you know the rest. I don't think Midfield is bad, rather I would like to say that it is the one of the best in PL. Bookings due to challenges?? Really?? Just google, how many yellow cards our midfielders have gotten in last three matches and you will find that claim lacks any supportive proof. Basti, one yellow card and Herrera one yellow card. Morgan started in all three matches, no yellow card whatsoever, despite of the fact that he is our primary ball winning midfielder.
If there is something that is encouraging for opponent attacks then it is our defense and the fact that we don't have a genuine center back to support Smalling(who is doing some good job, this season).
Defense time lol, Blind isnt central defender in any world. I actually feel sorry for this guy, he was bought as a left back and they turned him into a Defensive Midfielder and now a Central Defender. He's not sure of his natural position and even when he is starting to get to grips with it, he's moved to a new position.
I agree with Blind point, but I guess Van Gaal had to do this because we don't have genuine center back option.
Jones in injured(he is overrated guy, imo), Evans isn't high quality defender, but look at the bright side, we have got two most notable side backs in the squad, Shaw and Darmian. They can put some good runs on the wing and have pace to return back to their original position and defend.
The entire team is in shambles, the manager doesn't even know what type of player he needs to buy, he just says he needs a world class player. A world class what, striker, goalkeeper, winger? Now he's planning to play Fellaini as a striker, no offense to Fellaini but, no way in hell he's a striker. His best position for Everton was as a deep lying midfielder making late runs into the box. If United are to even get into the top 4, the manager needs to figure out what's the players best positions instead of buying more players and creating more problems.
I think you are exaggerating the situation by saying that the team is in shambles.
We have still won two out of last three PL matches and won comfortably against Brugge.
I know, we aren't as good as Chelsea or City, but no way we aren't top 4 contenders. Allowing Fellaini to play as a striker was tried because he can bring pace into the attack, most necessary thing atm. It is obvious what his position is, but you know what, you can't allow players to play at their favorite or best positions, when you have loads of players competing for one position and lacking players in other positions(that's what we call imbalance). That's why we need major overhaul in transfer market policy, we need to 'buy smartly'.
After Romero transfer, I would have bought Otamendi, Pedro and if possible Harry Kane/any other genuine striker.
