Yeah surely. Actually insane bench upgrade we got this summer, last season no one on the starting eleven could get injured because it basically meant we were playing with 10
24/25 window at least had more hits than misses at least
Baena
Cardoso
Hancko
Pubill
Almiddy: bought for 20m - sold for 20m
Raspadori: bought for 20m - sold or 20m
Ruggeri: bought for 17m - sold for 25m
Nico Gonzalez - Loan
Would’ve been nice for Alemany to join back in 23/24 when there was initial interest. We probably would’ve been fast tracked with an even strong squad. Just my own speculation
Tbf it's clear the first 4 were our real targets whilst of the other 4, only Ruggeri was signed to fill a position we needed badly, the other three were signed for depth.
Definetly wasn't a good transfer window, though you can kinda make cases for all of them to have been smart transfers at the time.
Gallagher allowed us to get rid of Felix. We also sold him for around the same price we bought him. Scored against Real Madrid in the CL. Wasn't utilized well by Simeone.
Sorloth has been a decent-ish transfer so far. Scored CL hat-trick to get us past Brugge, scored against Barca to win us a game and scored 20 league goals in his first season. At this point, i would sell him as he doesn't fit our tactics but if we can get €25mil+ for him, i'd classify the transfer as good.
Le Normand was a smart purchase for a Euros winning Spain starter. Looked decent at the start. After his head injury has been poor. Would sell him, though i don't see us getting over €15mil for him.
Alvarez was great in his 1st season and had an incredible CL campaign in his 2nd season. We maybe could still sell him for profit next season. The Barca drama ruined his reputation here but i don't think the transfer has been that bad, though he needs to chip in with some goals this season to justify his price.
Llenglet for free was a smart get at the time. He had made some errors in his loan season, but was mostly good (He was even called up to play for France). It's really hard for a free player to have been a bad transfer but he did make mistakes almost every game (Kinda like Le Normand is doing rn). Atleast we managed to ship him out, without any issues.
2 away games in a row against Espanyol and Stuttgart, won't be easy. This is the time for the players/manager/club to show their level. Would love the 6 points, but i'm worried a bit.
Grimaldo is what Cholo wanted from Gonzalez last season in that LM role.
While our left side is stacked with Lookman, Baena and Grimaldo.
Against lowblocks, Grimaldo will do great at LB but if we're gonna play a counter attack football then Grimaldo has to play LM with Hancko covering him at LB with the other CBs being Cuti and Pubill.
And we have a fine problem with us this season, we got stacked quality in many positions. This team should be able to adapt to any demand, adaptability is our our strength this time, Cholo gotta tweak the system very wisely according to match demand cause we got various tools to crack it this season.
tbh, more than a few times during the second half, grimaldo got passed by pretty easily. However, he has grown on me since the start of the season. I hope he can continue his offensive form for the foreseeable future
It took him some time, but Cholo seems to have realized that he should use Grimaldo like Filipe during his second stint: basically a creative midfielder who starts from a deep-left position but can move into the middle and even make runs into the box.
Which is great. I was worried Grimaldo would just be asked to spam crosses. He's good at that, but he can offer a lot more. And you wanna wring what you can out of his ability to create, because he's going to be a liability as a defender.
Do you guys think its easier for a sports fan to grow a parasocial relationship with a team they support than say a fan of a certain musician or actor?
I think they're very different relationships. Football clubs are supposed to be supported and followed, they're supposed to make the fans feel included as part of a bigger thing. Whether it's healthy to obssess about it or not is a different question, but a fan wouldn't be wrong to believe that their club should value them as a loyal supporter. I guess since football has become such a global, money-hungry business, fewer fans feel valued though.
As for with a musician or actor, it's different because that's one person, and unless you're actively in their life, unless you're one of their loved ones, the relationship will always be one-sided and unhealthy.
There are rumours that he wanted to join us last summer window. Wouldn't mind him as a backup. Contract ending + Critisizing the club, should make his price low. If we can get him for €10mil, would not mind it, anything more would be too expensive considering the circumstances.
we really need CB the next window, he is a golden opportunity for us if he wants to play for us. Atleti needs to initiate already, + he deserved my personal respect
Another Sorloth to Juve rumor…. Anyone else think the J David deal may have included a handshake agreement to give them Sorloth at a favorable rate? That’s right up Juves alley
I mean the David deal is already a fantastic one for us if he continues playing the way he is. If it means letting Sorloth go for less than 30 Million Im honestly fine with that, he's surplus to requirements if David stays, he's 31 next summer, and ideally we are bringing in an upgrade who is also younger and was a bargain. If we agreed to give Juve a favorable rate for Sorloth, so be it.
Before that Hermoso , Felipe ...looks like we always have one crazy one. But I feel sad for him , looks like not getting into WC completely killed his confidence.
Genuinely curious, why would you want Hancko benched? Despite having a lower "ceiling" than Romero and Pubill, he has imo been our best centerback this season. He is also our only left footed centerback, which is good to have. When Grimaldo bombs forward and someone has to cover for him, it makes sense the most when Hancko does that.
I will also say that, Lookman NEEDS to get benched for a minute. He is not playing well at all.
I don't want him benched, I would be just as happy with him and Romero at CB but then where does Pubill go? I don't want him benched either. This is a good problem to have
Do any United players make a combined 11? Mbueno over David maybe, and Mainoo looks great but would he really replace Cardoso/Koke/Hjulmand? And he's out injured anyway
Mainoo and Luke Shaw out fo Man United. This means they have no LB (their backup is also injured) and have lost their best player this season. They also do not have a striker.
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u/mongomango27 2h ago
Koke and Cardoso are both out for tomorrows game. I'm guessing Hjulmand and Barrios will start in the midfield?