2019/20 Marcel Brands

[davek]

Identifying your targets and being able to snatch them away from the club are two entirely separate issues. Juve have an abundance of attackers and needed to sell to make a run at UCL. Brands took advantage. Mainz needed money. Brands took advantage. Multiple spots covered by Delph. V good cover for Coleman. Gomes secured early.

A team comes out with a ridiculous price point on your Sept identified player, then you wait. You've negotiated before yeah? Sometimes you have to walk away or wait.

Then have a plan to SWIFTLY move on away from primary targets to secondary ones. Is that what we did over Zouma? No.

 

[davek]

Weakened my anus.

No comment.

 

[davek]

Naaa. All down to Silva to get that squad performing now Dave - the players are there, so he needs to get a tune out of them.

Top 6 went that-a-way ------------------->

 

[ToffeeTim]

I find it mental that he didn't get a centre half. It's the equivalent of Walsh trying to replace Lukaku with Sandro.

This is his fault and his responsibility. He's put his manager in a very risky position and Silva will pay for it, not him. Why it went to the final day is beyond me.

That's two summers now where lots of business has been left last minute. It's time he pushed the boat out a bit more and got things done earlier because this is not a model for success.

 

[JLW]

Remember when we used to not spend a carrot for years and constantly lose our best players.
Wake up we are in a healthier position now, on and off the pitch than we have been for 30 years..

 

[peteblue]

Of course. But you;re not sayting we shouldn't assess what we have right now are you? It is legitimate to look at what we have and what we lost and come to a conclusion that it's a poor window given what was promised and what was spent.

Well, we lost Zouma and Gana, Lookman is no loss, everyone else gone was deliberate. We kept Gomes and added a few decent players. It might have been nice to have got Zaha, but really who knows, and we may still get him in January. I like Mina and think he will be a great CB, so I don’t see us being weaker and actually think we will do ok. I like the look of this Gbamin lad who looks as though he can fill a couple of roles.....as I said, let’s see.....

 

[JLW]

Top 6 went that-a-way ------------------->

Nah

 

[Milkman]

Pretty funny that anybody can say anything negative about Brands. We are all literally clueless as to how a football club is run. What we can all see though, is that a lot of crap players have left and a lot of good players have joined.

As if anybody is cryarsing about a back up centre back, or not paying £80m for Yannick Zaha.

 

[Daytripper]

Remember when we used to not spend a carrot for years and constantly lose our best players.
Wake up we are in a healthier position now, on and off the pitch than we have been for 30 years..

True but fans got slagged off by other blues for not being happy about that also. I mean, which is it, there’s always the extremes and trollers, they aren’t everyone, know what I mean mate?

 

[Michael81]

What it the Zouma deal was still a possibility, until Luiz went AWOL and ruined it all? I'd like to think I could trust Marcel, and it was just an unlucky turn of events

 

[davek]

Nah

Top 6?

Pffft!

Kean would have to have a Lukaku season from 2016/17 for that.

 

[Haydn]

The negativity on here is completely bizarre. If as happened many years ago the incoming signings gel we fly.

There is a strategy underpinning who we have bought. Not just random Gravy flavoured purchases.

If they work we will all be delirious. Why all the nay saying ?

Unless any on here have had approaches from Marcel to join his team sit back and enjoy the ride....

 

[stretford blue]

What it the Zouma deal was still a possibility, until Luiz went AWOL and ruined it all? I'd like to think I could trust Marcel, and it was just an unlucky turn of events

Would be good to know the goings on over zouma and alternative's to him Maybe some of the jurnnos like king or Hunter will give us an idea of who we went for .

 

[Storm_Cloud]

Another CB would have been ideal, but I'm relaxed about Holgate and Gbamin can slot in. Come to think of it, Digne was questioned when he signed and he said he could play there. Gibson is also a possibility.

We don't have Europe and we'll get tonked by Bolton or Preston in the League Cup 2nd round, so we're not overloaded with games. Overall, the lack of another CB is unfortunate, a misstep, but we'll no doubt rectify the error in January.

 

[Toffe3m4n]

Then have a plan to SWIFTLY move on away from primary targets to secondary ones. Is that what we did over Zouma? No.

My opinion on the Zouma/CB situation in general is this:

We knew since the end of last season that we wanted him perm since the loan overall was successful and he was open to the idea of it, but the situation at Chelsea was always going to be a complicated one. I think we knew we were going to have to wait it out.

In the meantime - Silva would've been of the mind that his CB pairing this coming season was always going to be Keane & Mina. Zouma would've definitely been a 'nice to have' to add to this, as was the case last season, but not the end of the world if it ultimately didn't come to pass.

We made the effort for Zouma but, ultimately, nothing could be done. It happens. The next option was to bring a 'senior' player in for additional cover (i.e. Rojo) but only on loan, just as Zouma himself was last season. As it sounded like United wanted it to be a perm we simply moved on.

I think both Silva and Brands would've looked at Holgate and even Gibson in pre-season and decided that they could contribute this season, hence why neither of them were loaned out. If they couldn't agree a sensible loan deal for Rojo (or anyone else for that matter) then I think they would've also accepted that Gbamin could also fill in if push came to shove.

We can always revisit the Zouma situation in January, possibly even beyond that, but in no way do I think this has now presented a 'crisis' at centre back nor is it something that both Brands and Silva wouldn't have been prepared for.