100% no from me. Don't solve Man U's problems for them. Rashford can be effective but more often than not he isn't. I just feel he lacks some fundamental football ability at times having relied on his pace and athletic attributes from a young age he hasnt had to develop them.
Also, if we were happy paying £20m and £325k a week then just go and pay Nico Williams release clause of £45m and his rumoured £300k a week wages instead

Ta Rich. On checking, there would be extra time.

Can't quite see the logic of not using VAR. If the point of VAR is to improve decisions, use it when you can. If the ground is equipped, use it.

yes from me. 21 million ? relatively nothing. 5 million more than 31 year old chris wood.

offer him reduced wages on a 3 year deal. sorry marcus we can do 170 not 300. That would be another Jorginho type deal. Suits all.

can play wide left and up front and has a habit of banging in long range shots and is a free kick expert unlike Odegaards effort this week. has something to prove.

Would I rather we sign Nico Williams sure but that’s not happening. Feels like he just wants to wait until barca have the money. All his mates are there.

beggars literally can’t be choosers and apparently it’s virtually impossible to sign elite strikers. As things stand we are going to going to need Martinelli and Trossard to play virtually every minute until mid February.

Way better than nothing.

yes from me. 21 million ? relatively nothing. 5 million more than 31 year old chris wood.

offer him reduced wages on a 3 year deal. sorry marcus we can do 170 not 300. That would be another Jorginho type deal. Suits all.

can play wide left and up front and has a habit of banging in long range shots and is a free kick expert unlike Odegaards effort this week. has something to prove.

Would I rather we sign Nico Williams sure but that’s not happening. Feels like he just wants to wait until barca have the money. All his mates are there.

beggars literally can’t be choosers and apparently it’s virtually impossible to sign elite strikers. As things stand we are going to going to need Martinelli and Trossard to play virtually every minute until mid February.

So Rashford on the left and Sterling on the right. Bit 'yesterday's men' isn't it?

Nah. Not for me.

Rashford:
Free kick expert - can't agree - smashes them hard but not seen him score many free kicks
something to prove - maybe, but he's had something to prove for a while as countless people have been writing him off and he's not got himself going
2 managers have questioned his professionalism now
£21m - 3 year deal on half his wages is not exactly enticing for Rashford, I cant think of many players who'd sign up for that deal - and it's still a £35m outlay for us.
Rashford has no idea how to work off the ball, his defensive side of his game is non existent, he doesn't know how to press - playing with 10 when we don't have the ball, he's selfish on the ball as well.

I think it shows how desperate we are for a signing if we're seriously considering Rashford

Trossard and Martinelli are starting currently, Sterling was on the bench for Newcastle so is fit and it wouldn't surprise me to see him start v Man U. Nwaneri is back by the end of the month. Yes we still need to add players sooner than that.

At the moment we only seem to have rotation options at left back, central defence and central midfield. If we wanted to change things up I wouldn't mind bringing Zinchenko in to left back and MLS in to central midfield. I think they'd help move us on from the slow sideways rut we can find ourselves in

Sterling isn’t being played ! anyway hes off in the summer. As is Trossard apparently.

Rashford is only 27. It’s not entirely a Sterling situation.

It’s him or the invisible man . Like I said a few weeks ago, one more decent hit. 3-4 week lay off for martinelli or something. Yep that’ll do it.

Unless Nico Williams or Sesko turn up it makes sense.

He’s quite adept

https://youtu.be/EDUwOfAni38?si=FZ-s2eGXzYkMK9sz



https://youtu.be/UkhMNryOUSQ?si=4SKPlIVn3SoLhgXR

To be honest I’m just at the stage where I want to see something different.

Didn’t you just know Gabby would follow up his goal crazy rampage (2 games) with some barren matches. Watch him put together another goalless run now.

Anything that comes at Havertz quickly he isn’t set for he fluffs. Even when it’s real close.

Again the question is if Rashford had been on the bench Tuesday sat alongside the 4 left backs would he have got minutes. Yep, without question. 21 million isnt massive money for a back up

https://x.com/manutdheritage/status/187 ... -j6VVZXEoA

Arsenal v Man U in 2004 fa cup. What a fierce rivalry that was, nothing like it since. I reckon I counted at least 10 yellows and 2 reds in this clip by todays standards

https://x.com/bbcmotd/status/1877841824 ... -j6VVZXEoA

Villa controversial equaliser in the cup. I don’t think there is anywhere near enough in the clash at the back post but it’s pretty shocking that the officials gave an incorrect corner from which they scored.

There is a lot in the media about ‘why didn’t Arsenal sign Isak 3 years ago?’ I get it in that it’s timely, he’s playing well, just scored against us and we would like a top striker. But the same question can be asked of every top club in this country except City who got Haaland. Each of the other big 6 clubs has signed a striker for the £60m odd that Isak went for.
So why do Arsenal get the most criticism for not signing the guy that could make the difference between 2nd and 1st rather than the Liverpool where the difference could be similar for the last 2 years and for Chelsea Man U and spurs to get back in the top 4. And we’ve been miles better than those last 3 in the last 3 years. I get the narrative but not why so many others get away without criticism when their need is even greater

Eddie Nketiah played in 27 league matches for Arsenal last season. Many of those were as a sub, but nonetheless, that is a lot of games in which a centre forward outside of Jesus and Havertz was needed. Not only did we fail to bring in a top level centre forward, but we didn't replace Eddie either. And whatever arguments can be made about the difficulty in getting a world class striker, we could certainly have secured a replacement for Eddie.

Me too .... to judge Rashford on his United record might be flawed . if Marcus has any brains or a father with a couple of clues ; it could be the case of thinking / being told

" Okay you haven't exactly covered yourself with glory here ; so give it a damn good crack at the next club "

He has plenty of potential ; 21 mill is not that big a punt ; if he doesn't work out we'd surely recoup that money selling him to the likes of Ipswich or Southampton

Okay ... listen up ; here is the reason .

We are an enormous club ; with a rich chequered history , Sir Henry Norris , the Bank of England club , Anfield 89 , Battle of Highbury involving seven Arsenal players blah blah

More people are going to pay attention to story about " The " Arsenal than similar involving West Ham , Ipswich , Leyton Orient , Wolves , Spurs

So instead of getting all twisted out of shape whenever someone dares criticize the object of your adoration ..

..BE HAPPY ...... that we are newsworthy , is testament to our stature .

Morning Kiwi, thanks for untwisting me back to shape

100%, He was involved in 37 games in all competitions and started 13. That’s a lot of minutes to cover between the other 2.

Sign a younger prospect from an under 21 national side in Europe or if you are restricted by budget try and pluck someone young from South America.

Or just sign someone unconventional who is not going to win you a champions league but can contribute well over a premiership season. Think Mateta or maybe even Evanilson at Bournemouth.

To just sit on your hands and say we didn’t like the options….

Omar Marmoush is close to City move for £50m, he’s had a strange trajectory. He’s 25 now and hasn’t shown anything until last year when he scored a few and then exploded this year. Was at Wolfsburg who sent him on loan twice then left on a free transfer to Frankfurt where he’s found his groove.
Equivalent career in England would have been to start at Newcastle, get sent on loan to Everton, do nothing, then get a loan to Brighton - not pull up any trees, then your contract runs out and you move to Villa and do really well for 18 months and then Bayern pay £50m for you

City making some big moves, Rich. Shows it can be done in Jan.

Yep, city desperately need a replacement for Rodri as their midfield looks old and slow, they also need a RB walker replacement. they are close to signing 2 CB aged 18 and 20, and a winger. Who knows how they will fare but they’re not currently signing players in positions that they really need.

Okay ... listen up ; here is the reason
We are an enormous club ; with a rich chequered history , Sir Henry Norris , the Bank of England club , Anfield 89 , Battle of Highbury involving seven Arsenal players blah blah

More people are going to pay attention to story about " The " Arsenal than similar involving West Ham , Ipswich , Leyton Orient , Wolves , Spurs

So instead of getting all twisted out of shape whenever someone dares criticize the object of your adoration ..

..BE HAPPY ...... that we are newsworthy , is testament to our stature .[/quoteExactly Kiwi. As is said in showbiz....when they stop talking about you or no longer hold an interest in you, that's when you should start wondering why and be a bit concerned.
Then again, one shouldn't always garner bad/negative press to ne impressive.

Trossard has rejected the contract offer I expect him to be sold in the summer.

I'd not go for Rainford on long term deal.

Outlay would be total he'd be over 30 by time deal expired. Plus hugely risky given form.

However if he'd come for 5 month loan at outlay of 3 to 4 mill wages (50% of total wage) - then not a bad option as he'd be very motivated to prove himself on shorter deal.

Typo. Long term deal for Rashford would be total outlay of 80mill for 3.5 yr deal. Not a good gamble.

I agree with your views. A number of very good managers have failed to get the best out of him or improve him as a player. IMO he reminds me a little of Theo Walcott. Nice bloke but just never at the level to get you the big trophies.

Looks like very good long term signings nonetheless.

Who was the last outstanding young prospect we brought in?

Edu was supposed to be the guy who gave us the edge in the South American market but it never really happened.

Big week ahead.

Not entirely confident about any of the games.

Our players look tired physically and mentally and out of ideas attacking-wise. It's not like we have a lethal finisher to to bang home any chances we do create or many game changers who can conjure up a goal out of nothing.

In essence, our play is slow, boring and predictable and without the genius of Saka to dig us out of holes and Ødegaard's poor form it feels like it could be a tough watch.

We surely have to rotate heavily today. It's far from ideal, given that we've probably blown our chances in the league cup and because we really don't need to help Manure get some momentum.

However, we simply can't risk going into the Spurs game half baked. A bad result at home in the league could put the skids on I fear.

Not confident either Soc. We are marginal favorites because we are at home but Utd will cock-a-hoop after the Pool result. I just read in the Observer it is highly unlikely we'll buy anyone.

That's the spirit !

Man Utd are shite and a draw at Anfield doesn't change that. We are facing two home games against mid-table sides, albeit one is the NLD. We should be dealing with both relatively comfortably.

My goodness Calafiori picks up a lot on injuries. This has a Tomiyasu feeling about it.

Calafiori muscle injury and is out of todays game

So what actually was the point in signing Sterling. Absolutely *%^@ all

Playing bloody Jesus on the wing

Rice on the bench. Man Utd playing their strongest side.

22,
David Raya
Number
49,
M. Lewis-Skelly
Number
6,
Gabriel Magalhães
Number
2,
W. Saliba
Number
12,
J. Timber
Number
23,
Mikel Merino
Number
20,
Jorginho
Number
8,
M. Ødegaard (c), Captain
Number
11,
Gabriel Martinelli
Number
29,
K. Havertz
Number
9,
Gabriel Jesus
Substitutes
Number
37,
N. Butler-Oyedeji
Number
15,
J. Kiwior
Number
32,
Neto
Number
41,
D. Rice
Number
30,
R. Sterling
Number
5,
T. Partey
Number
3,
K. Tierney
Number
19,
L. Trossard
Number
17,
O. Zinchenko

Rice and Partey benched!!!!

I don't know about comfortably. At home and against mid-table teams, but three tough games in a week for our already jaded-looking team, and with very little scope for rotation. I don't trust any of Villa, United, or Spurs to play badly against us.

No let up after that either.

Spurs taken to extra time by Tamworth. Amazingly bad.

Rice and Partey on the bench today. Probably the right call, will need them both v Spurs midweek.

Looks like Jesus right wing, not really seen him have many good games there

I can t see any comfortable wins coming up, unless we can find some excellence in our finishing.