That’s that then, the English Premier League transfer window is shut. So what should we talk about now then?

Well let’s start by looking back on Manchester United’s own transfer window. It was pretty uninspiring to be perfectly honest.

While I believe that the Fred signing can really help the United midfield, that Diogo Dalot could be a fine full-back for years to come and even admit that the Lee Grant arrival makes sense on most levels, I cannot help but feel the business done by Man United this summer simply wasn’t good enough.

The Red Devils clearly needed another centre-back, possibly another left sided full-back and maybe another creative force that can play wide on the right.

To go into the season without another experienced centre-half seems ridiculous. The likes of Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof can’t be trusted not to breakdown with yet more injuries and lets face it they also have history of suffering from dips in form. Eric Bailly is probably the best central defender at the club but he too has been pretty injury prone in the last eighteen months.

Earlier in the summer, manager Jose Mourinho himself suggested he needed at least two new faces:

“One thing is what I would like,”  

“Another thing is what is going to happen.”

“I would get two more players.”

You could tell that he wasn’t particularly hopeful and he was right to be pessimistic.

Reports suggest that the Man United hierarchy are at loggerheads with Jose on who he should be signing. He wants already established, older players and the board want younger players that have a resale value.

Now I hope to God that isn’t true.

For one, United knew exactly what kind of manager Mourinho was/is when they appointed him and when they agreed to give him a new contract at the start of the year. Jose isn’t one for long-term fixes, he’s a gaffer that wants titles and will spend lots of cash to do that in the quickest possible timeframe.

Secondly, United can’t be seen as a club that buys players to potentially then sell them on. I think whomever has spun that story has caused a PR boo-boo for the team. They should have said that the board want young, hungry talent that’s capable of being world stars at Old Trafford. When it comes to assessing what the squad needs to become better, that should come down to the manager.

A big issue for Man Utd at the moment is that Ed Woodward, the club’s main administrator, is a figure that seems to have very mixed results and doesn’t have the confidence of the fans and probably now has a strained relationship with the coach. Tottenham Hotspur didn’t sign a single player during the summer window but at least Mauricio Pochettino and Daniel Levy sing from the same hymn sheet and trust one another.

Woodward might argue that Jose hasn’t done brilliantly well with the talent that’s been available to him and that he hasn’t brought the best out of his own signings but in truth Mourinho has a very successful CV to show that he’s a talented boss and in footballing terms Ed has done very little and his standing hasn’t really improved in his years as executive vice chairman of the football club.

From the outside looking in, the board have tied an arm behind Jose’s back and I’m not entirely sure why?

Their ultimate end game has to be to win major titles. If you don’t believe Jose Mourinho is the man to get you those trophies then sack him and move on. There’s absolutely no point in hampering him in the transfer market and then expecting him to work wonders with pretty much the same team that finished way behind Manchester City last term.

In all honesty, I think this summer has shown the Man United board up as being clumsy, unambitious and indecisive.

As I say they should have either backed their manager or if they don’t believe in him, then they should have sacked Jose.

Going with the status quo might just have the fans on their backs from day one this season!

 

 

 

Posted on August 10th, 2018 by scott
Filed under: Article