LAM09

I can just see a scenario where we go for a last minute loan move for Rashford.

I feel you are doing Duran a bit of a disservice. He isn't an all-action striker that might be nipping at defenders feet all game, but he has a more rounded game compared to Delap and actually offers a presence, which is something I truly believe we miss dearly. There's no consequence that the last two CFs that led us to a league title were just that. However, in a perfect world, having both with NJ permanently moved outward would cover our CF's concerns in the long run.

We all need to accept the fact that we aren't buying a proven CF. It's Duran/Delap or bust. All I know is, NJ can't keep leading the line for us.

Villa did bring Malen in who could play CF. I'd just be surprised if they actually let Duran go after their supposed reluctance to do so. I guess it all depends on whether these Felix rumours are true or not.

I'm still very cautious about the idea of spending big on an attacker from Portugal. All you need to do is look at Nunez to rethink the prospect. If we are going to go big for someone over 23, we have to give Isak some real consideration. At a reasonable price. The idea this club thing they can get €80m~ is a joke. If we get Tel and sell him for €50m, we should be pleased.

Another project buy. The only real upside would probably be offloading Nkunku in the process.

I think it's becoming more apparent that he has players he likes and others he doesn't. At this point, the lack of any real consequences for underperforming players is going to cost us. Palmer is probably the only one who has been rather poor in recent matches but understandably won't be dropped despite us having a direct replacement.

Two men have been stuck to Haaland for absolutely no reason most of the game and they still aren't able to stop him. I'm tired of us scoring first and turning off of the rest of the game. Maresca's future should seriously be on shaky grounds right now. GK situation will say a lot next week.

In all fairness, we were the better side in all three encounters last season. If you can't finish teams off, you only have yourself to blame. Jackson effectively had an open goal today but decided to control the ball instead of shooting. No one in their right mind can honestly think he's gonna turn into Drogba.

Haaland is actually embarrassed to score. Is Maresca going to defend the moron again?

I'm pleased to see Maresca remembers Nkunku exists, but he really should have come on for Sancho with Jackson going outwide.

I presume Maresca is banking on James' superior technical ability to be the difference. We are still in the game, so he has time to wake up.

I have no idea why our gameplan is. Just giving the ball back to City, as we have no presence to hold it up. and don't get me started on James. He has literally offered nothing on either side of the ball. We are very lucky to be level.

It's lucky we didn't get him when we first bid for him, as he'd have even few league games under his belt. I honestly can't think of a youngster his age to be injured this much who hasn't suffered from ACL tears.

The two most important positions in a football team are held by players that are exactly that: untouchable. Sanchez & Jackson can effectively do no wrong, and we have paid for it multiple times already.

It's such a stupid way to look at things. Those "four mistakes" have led directly to goals while Caicedo's misplaced passes haven't.

Son, Dzeko are two that come to mind who did alright. We'll see if Marmoush follow suits as well.

Yoro got toyed with by Sulemana a matter of weeks ago, so despite the hype around him, my thoughts are reserved right now. Mainoo doesn't seem to have anything notable in his game that would warrant a similar fee either. I wouldn't say it's worrisome, as they are in the red where PSR is concerned. They need to sell now. Dortmund's model of picking up young English talent for peanuts and selling them for a huge profit is working wonders for them.

Napoli have shown plenty of interest. The price is putting them off. If we drop £60m+, the board haven't got a plan at all. Diallo is the only player United have that is worth looking at and probably could have been bought for peanuts last summer.

Separate budgets 🤪

I'm still wondering how no other side challenged City for his signature. He was on around £32k at Frankfurt. If we were serious, that wouldn't have been a stumbling block. City offering him a crazy wage increase of almost 9 times that is its own thing.

Marmoush has effectively been that for Frankfurt and is going to be announced as a City player any minute now. Money talks!

I know. However, the club has to realise this "project" won't be fruitful in the long run if they actually want us to start winning things again. That Alan Hansen quote, "Can't win anything with kids," is still relevant for the most part today. You need some experienced heads to help others when times are tough during games or if we ever reach cup finals. Add to that, James' is anything but captain material. I wouldn't say the players you mentioned were in a similar position to Ugo, as they were multiple year loan deals, which made more sense to keep them where they were. Also, AC's loan deal seemingly didn't include a recall clause anyway -Andreas Christensen to reject Chelsea recall? - Sports Mole Before Juric took over, I would have said recall Ugo ASAP because he wasn't getting game time regularly. That has since changed with new management and would probably do him good to remain despite their impending relegation (arguably their best player V Forest).

I'm still left scratching my head as to why we didn't even consider De Gea. He was a free agent for months & has shown he still has it at Fiorentina.

It seems that way. More money being thrown away for little reason (I'd imagine there's some truth in the Mudryk termination rumours). There's no shot we go for another CM with Lesley & Santos out on loan.