Annoyed AF, especially since Arsenal also lost.

That is Pre Glazer era, Pre-Glazer we used to spend the most among every other team as well.

The thing is that even Ole's style was pressing high at first, then later onwards the players are no longer pressing. For me i only wanted RR for the club building aspect, and i really hope they involve him as much as possible for that (with reports claiming that it isnt the case). Clean slate with the new manager, sell whoever that doesnt fit the new philosophy of the club.

Thats why most of those players gotta get axed.

Atletico managed to frustrate City in 2 legs so i guess shouldn't have been so disappointed with United.

Cavani is defo not staying. I hope Ronaldo stays for another season.

Ideally sell Maguire, Bailly, Martial, AWB, Henderson, Perreira, Jones, Tuanzebe and Chong.

Cavani, Lingard, Pogba and Mata can all leave.

De Gea keep for another season till his contract expires, so we need to look for a young GK that is more in the mold of a modern GK (was hoping for Maarten Vandevoordt but Leipzig just signed him).

Ronaldo can leave when his contract expires, so we defo need to get 2 attackers if we are going to let Martial leave as well. Not sure how concrete the Nunez links are.

We need a new CB for sure, Josko Gvardiol or Jurien Timber or Schlotterbeck that we have been linked recently. Personally really like Josko.

We need new fullbacks if we want to be challenging for the top again, but we wont be able to sign so many players, so maybe just recall Ethan Laird to challenge Dalot for the RB slot.

We definitely need some reinforcements in midfield, VDB will be back from loan, maybe sign Neves, i doubt he is super expensive, but i am not sure what ETH would go for, as he has played with a holding CDM as well as a midfielder that can swap roles with the other midfielders. Doubt we will go for Rice, he is way too expensive. Personally wouldn't mind Phillips if he is on the cheaper side.

I am sure we can make up 100mil+ from sales alone, and with Cavani, Lingard, Pogba and Mata all leaving, their wages will also free up money to be spent.

For Ten Hag to be a success at United, however, there must be no doubt in the minds of those in the club hierarchy, and that is the case after a process of multiple stages that began in earnest in January. United are sure about their selection, the decision process having been led by football director John Murtough, assisted by technical director Darren Fletcher, and signed off by principal owner Joel Glazer and CEO Richard Arnold.

This is a modern, diligent coach; a man United are getting on an upwards trajectory after reaching an agreement in principle for him to join the club. That confidence must now translate to fully supporting Ten Hag in shaping the squad to suit his requirements.

He has shown adeptness at unearthing new qualities in established players — squeezing more from Dusan Tadic, repurposing Daley Blind, reinvigorating Sebastien Haller at Ajax — so perhaps there are those within the United squad who will find fresh inspiration. Donny van de Beek would be forgiven for counting down the minutes to their reunion.

Ajax
Van de Beek and Ten Hag together at Ajax in December 2019 (Photo: Laurens Lindhout/Soccrates/Getty Images)
But it is clear that work is required in the transfer market to give Ten Hag the type of player with which he has thrived in Amsterdam. Ten Hag likes a high-pressing possession game, with emphasis on wide players. There are different modes within his style — he moved from the false nine of Tadic to the outright centre-forward in Haller for instance — yet the overarching principles remain. Finding and signing players to fit Ten Hag’s vision, rather than those who happen to be available, should be the underlying principle at all times. The same applies to selling players not in Ten Hag’s plans.

The Dutchman is not expecting to have total control of club affairs. He is primarily a grass coach, savouring in the sessions at the training ground. He worked with a technical director at Ajax in Marc Overmars, before the former Arsenal winger resigned in February after sending inappropriate messages to female colleagues, and will fit into a structure at United where manager and recruitment team have equal power of veto. He and Murtough need to be on the same page, though, making decisions that reinforce the idea for the team.

United would argue the manager has always been backed, and the enormous amount of money spent on signings can be held up as proof in one aspect. But when and how that cash has flowed leaves questions over United’s strategy.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer began with a fierce mindset on incomings and outgoings, making the firm decision to get rid of Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku in his first summer. United signed Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James, three players fitting the Solskjaer brief, but failed to add a striker to replace Sanchez or Lukaku. They then endured an excruciating start to 2019-20 on the creative front — only scoring more than one goal on a single occasion in their first 13 games — and only when Bruno Fernandes arrived in January 2020 did United gain momentum to reach the Champions League places.

Solskjaer Bruno Fernandes United
Fernandes’ arrival kick-started United’s 2019-20 campaign (Photo: Manchester United/Manchester United via Getty Images)
The episode seemed to make Solskjaer more cautious on sanctioning sales, and some close to the club believe he compromised to make sure he had enough options. Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard were two players Solskjaer kept last summer to guard against being left short.

There are other examples where Solskjaer was left disappointed, including the pursuits of Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham.

It was July 2020 when Solskjaer approached Nathan Ake after United had beaten Bournemouth to say: “We need a left-footed centre-back, so keep going.” Ake moved to Manchester City instead and United waited until the following summer to sign right-footed Raphael Varane.

Circumstances affect every transfer and even Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp do not get it all their own way. City did not sign a striker last summer and Liverpool are still wrangling over Mohamed Salah’s contract. But in crucial moments the Premier League’s two best managers are given elite service from their colleagues at Manchester City and Liverpool.

Take the example from January when Liverpool swooped for Luis Diaz after Tottenham Hotspur had set the price with Porto. Liverpool’s recruitment team quietly used connections with Diaz’s Colombian agent to establish what Tottenham had agreed to pay Porto and circumvent a direct bidding war. Tottenham, via the agent Jorge Mendes, had a signed document with Porto, thought to be for €45 million (£37.6 million) plus €15 million (£12.5 million) in add-ons. Liverpool used those figures as a benchmark and completed the deal instead.

Liverpool, Diaz
Diaz joined Liverpool from Porto in January (Photo: OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)
Daniel Levy was said to be so angered at Liverpool’s approach he told his counterparts at Anfield his thoughts. Sources say Liverpool owner John W. Henry only saw the Spurs chairman’s frustrations as the mark of a job well done by his employees and he passed on his congratulations to them. United supporters would doubtless admire that kind of Machiavellian streak at Old Trafford.

Tottenham, of course, got their own January injection by signing Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski. At the same time United declined to move for any player in winter in a decision made at the start of the month, despite the prospect of missing out on the Champions League. Ralf Rangnick still allowed Martial’s departure on loan but has given the impression in press conferences he would have liked a replacement, given Edinson Cavani’s injury issues and Mason Greenwood’s arrest.

Ten Hag is set to oversee a tumultuous first summer in charge at United, with Paul Pogba, Lingard, Juan Mata and Cavani all out of contract. If none renew that would mean about £750,000 per week in wages spare. Martial and Dean Henderson are expected to look for moves, while the futures of Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and maybe even Nemanja Matic are unclear.

Big salaries mean offloading certain players is easier said than done, but if there are several exits — and even accepting there is fat to trim in the squad — then Ten Hag must be given the requisite number of signings too. Focus will inevitably fall on head of recruitment Steve Brown to present viable targets. Talks are expected over Benfica’s Darwin Nunez.

Agents have been told that United are looking for a striker, two central midfielders and a right-winger. Getting players to compete in all of those positions is unlikely, of course. In the last eight transfer windows, United have signed 12 players for the first team. For a champion club topping up a winning squad, that feels like a good ratio. For a club trying to get back to title contention, that feels piecemeal.

The tempo is ultimately set by Joel Glazer. Messages back and forth with United’s principal owner, who often works out of Washington DC, mean dynamism can be an alien concept.

Ten Hag’s chances of getting off to a fast start will be influenced by a pre-season tour that includes stops in Bangkok and Melbourne. It will be some welcome to United and, just as in the transfer market, a place where Ten Hag could do with strong support.

Manchester United have appointed a team of master planners as they take their first concrete steps towards a redevelopment of Old Trafford.

The 74,140 seat stadium has been United’s home since 1910, but has not undergone significant restoration work since second-tiers were added to two stands in 2006.

Legends International and Populous, who also worked on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, have been selected.

United appointed master planners for their Carrington training ground back in December 2021.

The Athletic understands that United aim to upgrade and modernise the fan experience at Old Trafford while preserving the historic stadium’s identity.

A United statement read: “Manchester United has appointed a team of leading consultants to begin work on creating a Masterplan for the redevelopment of Old Trafford.

“The team will be led by Legends International and Populous, both of which have a wealth of stadium development experience from across the globe.

“Work will begin immediately on developing options for Old Trafford and studying their feasibility, with the aim of significantly enhancing the fan experience.

“Fans will be at the heart of the process, starting with a meeting between the consultants and the Manchester United Fans’ Advisory Board later this month.

“A similar process is already underway in relation to the club’s training facilities, with KSS appointed to develop a masterplan for an expanded, state-of-the-art facility for the men’s, women’s and academy teams.”

Hopefully that puts pressure to sign a new midfielder.

Hat trick again for Big Problem CR7. With Arsenal and Spurs both losing, i really hope we can somehow make top 4. If we avoid losing to Liverpool, i think we have a chance.

Maguire is already on thin ice with the fans, really despise him larh, hopefully he gets sold.

And PSV look more dangerous in attack as well.

It wont be 30, we have more money than them. We still pay stupid wages to players to come here.

Ah i hear Alexis' contribution with the piano playing LOL

Not as if we spent 100 mil on him, and his wages arent crazy.

Hopefully ETH just straight up gets rid of him then i wanna see if he is still full of himself.

Yea Ole lost 5-0 to this team ....he is also the reason why we are in this mess.

Who else is he going to pick tho? McFred arent fit, Ronaldo absent for obvious reason, no STs since Cavani only shows up for international break, Rashford being off form...

He cant do that if we are trying for Top 4. I think if Arsenal beat us, then we should play youth and all those players that have a long term future here, i dont want to see Pogba, Maguire etc.

Well LFC were lucky to beat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup, so i wouldnt brush CFC aside, City still have the advantage in PL. CL beats me, could be City or Liverpool.