2018 / 2019 season prediction

Think the 7 will remain vacant until we see if Asensio can establish himself next season imo. Then next summer he gets it and Rodrygo probably gets his number. Regiillon will probably get a number. Most possible Theo's old one. That leaves one number + Kiko's number too for 2 players. Hopefully Odegaard and a striker

Needs for me go: CF>CB>CM

RDT can go on loan, Vallejo can go on loan or stay (doesn't matter because he is injured constantly), and Llorente can go on or stay, but that keeps the squad at 23 if they leave and we replace all of them, and 25 if Llorente and Vallejo stay, but we still add a CF, CM, and CB.

Apparently Lopetegui is asking specifically for a CF and CB according to reports, but he is also unhappy with Llorente's preseason, so hopefully everyone in the world including Lopetegui and Perez are on the same page in thinking we would increase our chances of doing well if we made the moves in my above post.

I'm not the biggest Llorente fan, I think Valverde is way more talented but like a year too early.

The report just fits what we see, whether it's true or not.

Our squad would be much better if we sign a CM, CB and CF. I posted my all French version of that

Pavard
Rabiot
Martial

Rabiot wants to leave on a free and bank... no fee equals huge salary. This is his last year. Wants to be assured to be a regular.

Pavard wants to be an undisputed regular where he goes.

Martial is a possibility but I don't think he's on our radar. He should be. A talent like that at his age is well worth the 50-60 Man U will ask for.

The problem is none of these players will accept rotational play. So I think it's a no go.

I'll give an all Spanish lineup then:

Jorge Mere, Herrera/Thiago, Rodrigo/Mina

Rodri formerly of Villareal would have slotted fine in our midfield.

Also, the fact Rodrigo and Mina belong to Valencia and they hate us badly, you could scratch those two names off. If they belonged to any other club, yes, would have totally like Madrid to pursuit either.

I think the only saving grace with Valencia is that they made a bad move by overloading their C.F. position. Last season they used both 1 and 2 striker formations so either way, they will have at least 1 striker too many.

And yeah, I’m bummed we didn’t go for Rodri. He was an absolute steal for what Atlético paid for him. The only thing I can do to conceptualize it is if we were banking on Llorente stepping up, impressing Lopetegui and having a good preseason. Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way, so now we need to scramble for a CM.

Madrid has an overload of keepers, Valencia has an overload of forwards. And from what I read, no one particularly wants Zaza so he's more than likely gonna stay right there. So it's Gameiro, Rodrigo, Zaza, Santi Mina and Batshuayi and these cucks won't even negotiate properly with Rodrigo.

God, I really hate that club a lot.

Panic transfers here we come

Well if it does force Perez's hand to buy a legitimate striker, and backup CB then it could be a blessing in disguise. I'm still not sure it will happen this summer. We may be preparing for next summer though.

legitimate striker? why do we need that? what does that even mean?

no need for panic buys.

Turok_TTZ wrote:legitimate striker? why do we need that? what does that even mean?

no need for panic buys.

Panic transfers?

Yeah let’s not buy anyone like last year. I’m sure Mayoral will do wonders for our attack when Benz is hurt or we’re a goal down.

This loss was the best thing that could’ve happened to us.

I taking the panic transfers over fking Mayarol as our super sub.

Saw a twitter post that reflected that in 16/17 we had James, Asensio, Morata, Kovacic, sometimes Isco, Mariano, Pepe,  all as bench options.

Now we have Mayoral, Lucas, and Vinicius in the bench, with Llorente and Ceballos who are too average, and Vallejo who to top it off is perma injured... Perez is being too cheap and relying too much on these kids. It's starting to sink in more now how we have the worst squad in years and how bad things may get if things go eerie with injuries.

we have discussed this i believe, the fact that we need 3 players to close the squad, a CM, a CF and a CB. if we can sign three top players in these positions, our bench will be just as strong as before.

that squad we had in 2016/17 was also ridiculous, and things did not last because these guys on the bench all left to get the chance to play elsewhere. It's also not reasonable to assume we can have players like that all the time.

Trusting young players like Ceballos or Marcos does not seem unreasonable to me.

I feel the board is set on trusting the current players and with the CL cup-tie gone, they'll make signings in January if needed which is dumb af since we'll get even more ripped-off.

It’s not about not trusting the current players. It’s about finding players that can offer anything, which Vallejo and Mayoral can’t at all.

Mayoral wouldn’t start for a top half Danish league team. He’s that bad.

I don't even know if I would pick Mayoral for a 5-a-side match with my friends, excluding his superior fitness level. If we had a ruthless finisher, there'd be absolutely no need for him outside of an injury crisis. Yes, Chad, I don't give a *bleep* about your feelings.

I don't rate Mayoral either but the club clearly does since he's still around, it is what it is.

If it were up to me i'd bin Vallejo and sign De Ligt at any cost, biggest CB talent since Varane. If we lose out on him, it'll end up being a Mbappe scenario in a few years.

Obviously bring in a proper ST backup as well, i wouldn't mind Willian Jose who played for us in the past. Proven La Liga goalscorer and offers different qualities from Benz and Borja.

Midfield depth is sufficient imo with Llorente, Ceballos and potentially Isco as backups.

Vallejo needs to get loaned, Llorente sold since allegedly Lopetegui doesn't care much for him and neither did Zidane, and Mayoral banned from ever wearing this shirt again. We will see what the club does, we at the very least need the striker and can survive with the rest but it would not be optimal situation. My main point is that our refusal to spend and who we are spending on no doubt raises question marks.

Someone mentioned De Ligt. I would have normally said no, but if he is able to get playing time with Ramos and Varane out, he could turn into an absolute world beater. He has the physique, the technical ability, and he is incredibly young with plenty of time to grow. What is certain is Vallejo has to go, he is just below the level of quality needed and is far below the level need regarding staying fit.

I'm cool with anyone replacing Vallejo as long as they can stay fit, and De Ligt fits the bill plus some.

@Doc, i think Valencia would love nothing more than to sell us Rodrigo for big money. They still have not agree a price for Guedes and they are a club which need money. i think if we can offer 50-60 mil, they will sell but is that a reasonable amount for him?

I think 50m is fair in this market for a striker. Would prefer that figure to be closer to 35 though, he is just a backup.

yeah, there is no way they sell for 35 mil but 50-60 i wonder if we can make a deal for that.

I know his speed will be welcome here.

It's funny you look at all our kids and we are gonna be in a situation where they have to be good for us to succeed, simple as that. Asensio needs to step up big time this season, likewise for Ceballos, Llorente and Valverde if they both stay; we are also betting on Reguilon to be that back up for Marcelo.

We'll be top 3 this season... and either QF or SF in the CL depending on the draw.

Unless something drastic happens between now and the end of the month, i see us as the underdog among the elite.

Big reason is that CR is gone and we're asking Benz to become a match winner. Even if he has a good season, he's not that kind of player anymore.