I think the standards that have been set are enormous and it’s a big ask for anyone to meet them, so I get the skepticism. But the point is this is at least different from the past decade and so we shouldn’t expect them to continue making the same mistakes, or least not for the same reasons.
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There is a saying here that you can bring down the strongest tree if it’s roots are weak.
On surface, United have a good squad. Pretty close to excellent if you are only looking above THAT surface.
But underneath, they have big problem. Ole and the backroom staff to be precise. They can buy whomever they want but it isn’t going to make groundbreaking improvement. Their roots are as weak as they were when Ole took over the wheel.
It’s going to be a long season for them with all their spending, just to prove it was worth it. Fairly confident they will start well and tank down to top 4 contenders by the time the season ends.
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No good managers available that’s why they would keep him even longer.
You’d have to have your head in the sand to say that Sancho and Varane aren’t good signings that will strengthen the team.
That being said, we were told that Maguire was going to be United’s van Dijk, so it’s a bit curious to think that they now need Varane. Does this mean that Maguire isn’t as good as previously thought, or that United’s backline is still a work in progress? Maybe a bit of both?
I think United are improving, but the fact that they only beat us by five points with virtually no injuries bar Maguire for a few games at the end of the season says a lot (while we had 20 different CB pairings, thank you very much). Wonder how they will cope when Fernandes faces a lengthy layoff (statistically, it’s a question of when, not if).
Additionally, not sure that Dean Henderson is a title-winning goalkeeper at this age, and David De Gea certainly isn’t at this point. Then again, neither was Barthez, but City weren’t as strong as they are now. If they get Kane, I think it’s game over.
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New moneymen may set higher expectations on wages and fees they pay out.
No one other than Utd fans thought that about Maguire though. If we were only judging the quality of Sancho and Varane as signings based on Utd fans getting excited and hyping them up, their track record of over egging the quality of their previous signings would be valid. But that isn’t the standard by which we’re saying Varane and Sancho are great additions. That is our own eyes.
It’s obviously both - Bailey has been frequently injured and isn’t the same player he was when he first joined them, and Lindelof hasn’t developed into the player they hoped he would. They are nowhere near as good as Gomez and Matip, who despite their injuries have been much better players than those two.
hopefully they go for the glamour manager, ZZ would be nice, but preferably an ex player, Giggs would be nice and distracting.
I actually thought Varane was more injury prone than he actually is, he’s quite robust. It must have been Umtiti I was thinking of. Varane will strengthen them, a step up from what they have.
Sancho will strengthen the attack a lot more.
I don’t think any of those players significantly strengthen our attack, or defense. We have extremely good balance in those area’s.
Saul would be an outstanding signing for them, hopefully that Barca move works out, and then he cant be registered. A Saul in that midfield would be a very, very significant improvement.
Sancho improves their playing eleven. He would improve our squad depth.
How long before United finds themselves in a Barcelona like fiasco???
They very safe. Income to wage ratio is extremely good, and its genuine income, not that MC fake income. They could probably afford a couple of Messi’s, and Ronaldo’s.
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Well, that’s disappointing 
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As @nobluff says, their wage to income ratio was about 56% last year up from 53% about 3 years ago. prior to that it had spent much of the decade around 45% I think. Where as we float around the 58-60% range.
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Like I said before, that’s disappointing 
45% wage to income ratio is stupendous. I know our high ratio has more to do with our previously low income, but 45% is gold standard.
The trouble with that wage Bill, is that it’s very easy to see how it escalates. And I wouldn’t be comfortable with the debt being carried by the club. And Old Trafford is in major need of attention.
What exactly does a ‘technical director’ do and what qualifies Darren Fletcher for that role, apart from being an ex Man Utd player? The last time I saw Fletcher, he was a pundit on TV.
Their %age is increasing and will only increase more. I believe the Chevrolet deal offered quite a lot of money and that’s off the table now. But financially, they still are in a good state. Good enough for Glazers to earn dividends and still pay over the odds for players.
The stadium might make it a deal breaker and push them towards where we are at the moment.
None of the top English PL clubs are in a bad financial state. Chelsks get enough biz now with their youth academy etc to even need to go to their Sugar Daddy. City are an endless cash reserve run by a country. I don’t mean outliers like Derby ofcourse. Tottenham with their new stadium might have just picked a bad time because it’s Covid19.
Sure. Escalation is possible but I wouldn’t get your hopes up, the Glaziers aren’t going to want to lose their dividends.
I suspect if cash flow became a problem they have enough fat they can trim from the squad going forwards, and about one quarter or a possibly a third have come through their youth system and so most of them won’t be on massive contracts.
A decade ago they were paying 16% interest on some of their debt. I dont think they are now. There should be more space to borrow, should they need it.
The Glaziers have built a massive property empire through the use of debt and probably understand its intricacies better than most.
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Well ‘technically’ they are a director 
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