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K3V0
The board at Old Trafford have entrusted me with a transfer budget of £60 million with the expectation that I secure Champions League football for the 2015-2016 season. Personally I don't believe I'll use any of that money before the transfer window slams shut on the 1st September as I'd like to potentially give younger players like James Wilson, Jesse Lingard, Tyler Blackett, Ben Pearson and Timothy Fosu-Mensah first team opportunities if the chance arises.
My first competitive game in charge will be against fierce rivals Liverpool and I'm sure it'll be a baptism of fire at Anfield on the opening day of the Premier League season. I'm going to set a minimum target of six points for the month of August as I feel we should really be beating West Brom at Old Trafford and QPR at Loftus Road.
The first big decision of my reign at Old Trafford could be seen as quite controversial. I've decided that not only will there be 0% chance of us making the Falcao loan deal a permanent one for more than £46 million, I'll also be terminating his loan deal before the Columbian star even plays a single minute of football for the Red Devils.
For me paying the Columbian a whooping £275,000 a week when he's likely to be third choice behind Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie just didn't make sense. Also throw in the fact we've got bright youngsters in James Wilson and Marcus Rashford on our books and you can see why I've decided to let Falcao return to AS Monaco.
bmg033
K3V0
That's the amazing Thomas Broich btw, not Mile Jedinak
K3V0
How I turn this around I don't know and I wouldn't be surprised if my next update is about my search for new employment. The only saving grace has been the outstanding performances from Angel Di Maria and Wayne Rooney, the pair creating and scoring basically all our goals. I need big performances from the pair against City.
The table below does truly paint a horrible picture. We've one of the worst defences in the Premier League and when you concede on average two goals a game that's going to make it very difficult to pick up maximum points. The only consolation is the fact Sunderland, who occupy the final Champions League place, are only seven points above us which isn't that much of a gap. If we could string together a good winning streak we'd close that gap quickly.
Johno
K3V0
It's been pretty bad hasn't it?
Just fingers crossed we can deliver in the Manchester derby.
K3V0
Shedender
K3V0
Certainly been struggling with this version of the game lad
K3V0
As you can see those draws against Aston Villa and Swansea at home weren't good at all and the shock loss at the hands of Leicester City set us back further. We've dropped seven points at home in fixtures that included two teams in the bottom three. Also we conceded in stoppage time against Swansea which adds salt to the wounds. If we'd done better in those games we'd be currently sitting level on points with Arsenal. Getting knocked out of the Capital One Cup at the hands of Nottingham Forest was a disaster, but in fairness they got us at the perfect time with Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie both out injured. We're struggling for goals and will be relying on James Wilson for most of January as Rooney is out with a torn hamstring until late February and van Persie will miss most of January.
It's January 1st which means the transfer window is again open and I've wasted no time in bringing in new recruits. One is very much for the future, one will create competition at the back and the other is a world class central midfielder that I feel we've been lacking. I've also made the tough decision that the Manchester United futures of Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley and Anderson are all over. They'll leave the club when their contracts expire during the summer so the addition of Gundogan was crucial to soften the blow of their departures.
Johno
K3V0
Definitely better, but still not really good enough I think.
Should have beaten Villa, Leicester and Swansea at home and hopefully those games don't cost us!!
bmg033
K3V0
That's what I was thinking, but to be honest I just want us to make sure we keep winning and do the job ourselves.
I don't want to be relying on others slipping up or falling away to make the top four.
K3V0
Unfortunately as you can see January wasn't the greatest month as we suffered for large parts of the month.
We let leads slip against Liverpool and QPR at home, whilst dismal displays against West Brom and Newcastle ensured I went into the final game of the month against Arsenal under severe pressure. A defeat, according to the media, would see me sacked, but thankfully we rose to the occasion and beat the Gunners.
As you can see it's still anyones guess as to who will finish in the final Champions League place. I can only hope Liverpool suffer some heavy defeats or simply start dropping points because they've a huge advantage with their 16+ goal difference. There's 42 points left on offer to all of us, excluding City of course who can pick up a remaining 45 points due to their game in hand. I have a feeling we're going to need a minimum of 60 points to secure fourth spot and that would be the absolute minimum. That means we must win 9 of our remaining 14 Premier League fixtures.
Tommo.
K3V0
Yeah I'd say a few eyebrows are beginning to raise as we continue to struggle. However I changed our formation and tactics for the Arsenal game and we absolutely dominated. Hopefully it's the start of something special and at least we're still within touching distance of that last Champions League spot.
Johno
K3V0
I've so far survived two board confidence reviews, so I've probably used up my lives already.
Hopefully though that win over Arsenal will spur us on.
K3V0
The board expects us to challenge for the Premier League title next season and if we're to close that gap on Chelsea at the top we'll need to tighten things up in defence. Only six teams had worse defensive records during the course of the season and three of them were relegated, which in my opinion says an awful lot. In truth the magnificent performances from Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Angel Di Maria, Adnan Januzaj, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling from February onwards helped us achieve our minimum target of Champions League football.
Chelsea completed the treble as they beat Arsenal in Champions League final and Capital One Cup final. The FA Cup was won by Manchester City as they beat Leeds United. Sunderland, West Brom and Burnley were relegated and will be replaced by Sky Bet Championship winners Watford, runners up Nottingham Forest and playoff winners Wolves.
I've decided there will be a considerable amount of first team players departing Old Trafford this summer. The likes of Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young, Javier Hernandez, Jesse Lingard, Tom Cleverley, Darren Fletcher and Marouane Fellaini will all be free to leave as I make room for new arrivals like promising young Belgian midfielder Dennis Praet and Spanish international Asier Illarramendi. The former joins us on a free transfer after his contract at Anderlecht expired and the latter left La Liga giants Real Madrid in a deal worth just £12 million.
I've my eyes on one more signing, a world class individual, but whether we can do a deal or not I'm not sure, but I'm quietly confident. So I'll keep you guys posted in regards to that, hopefully, just didn't want to come out and say I'm going to sign this world class midfielder and then end up with cake all over my face looking like an absolute clown.
Tommo.
Johno
K3V0
It truly was a remarkable run of form after the Arsenal game. To be fair we only had one really tough game away against City in that run, which we passed with flying colours, but still it's a very good run of form. I'm hoping we can start next season better so we can challenge for the Premier League title. Yeah I think Praet could become a top midfielder. I'm not sure he'll make the breakthrough here with Mata, Herrera, Illarramendi and Gundogan around.
K3V0
I did say in my previous post that I was chasing a world class midfielder and I've finally landed him.
We've invested a big chunk of money in Dutch international Kevin Strootman, an initial fee of £39 million, but the deal could eventually cost us almost £47 million if certain clauses are activated during the midfielders time at Old Trafford.
Strootman, 25, has signed a five year deal on £170,000 a week and will no doubt be a key player as we push for Premier League and Champions League glory going forward. We succeeded in landing the Dutch international despite offers from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG which is really pleasing and I'm delighted he's chosen to spend what should be his best years at Manchester United. Alongside Ilkay Gundogan and Asier Illarramendi he should strive and I honestly feel like we've got arguably the best midfield in the Premier League now.
Johno
K3V0
He's a world class midfielder and other teams were after him so I had to make sure we'd land him.
I think we're probably paying him about £20,000 more a week then probably necessary.
K3V0
In the Capital One Cup we've a mouth watering semi final against rivals Manchester City and should we beat them we'll either face QPR or Wigan in the final. Our FA Cup journey will begin against struggling Sky Bet Championship side Peterborough United at London Road in a game we should be winning comfortably.
There's been some January departures as well which has seen the club raise an additional £35 million. That means I'll have £51 million at my disposal during this January transfer window and I do intend to use it.
Surprisingly Nani wanted away, he'd achieved everything he could at the club so we sold him to Roma in a deal worth £9.25 million and Anders Lindegaard joined Everton for a small fee of £1.5 million. The biggest deal was for Eder Alvarez Balanta who joined PSG in a deal worth £25 million after just one season at Old Trafford. The Columbian, whilst he's got potential, has struggled to settle and we made a healthy £19 million profit from his sale.
K3V0
There was one more departure from Old Trafford and unfortunately it was Ander Herrera to make way really for Gotze. With hot prospects Nick Powell and Dennis Praet at the club along with Kevin Strootman, Ilkay Gundogan and Asier Illarramendi the former Athletic Bilbao and Zaragoza man wasn't going to get a lot of opportunities in the first team. In the end he's joined Serie A side Sampdoria for £12 million after less then two seasons at Old Trafford.
K3V0
I'm not sure if it's just a bit of bad luck or if my tactics against those sides are a little bit to aggressive in terms of attacking and underestimating their threat. We crashed out of the Capital One Cup losing 2-1 on aggregate to Manchester City who went on to thrash Wigan Athletic in the final. We didn't have much luck in the Champions League either against Juventus as we went down 3-1 in Italy before forcing penalties at Old Trafford.
Unfortunately David De Gea smashed the crossbar and Juventus won 10-9, the Spanish international the only person to miss a spot kick. I feel a sense of bitterness about the result as we looked truly in control until Marcos Rojo got himself sent off for two bookable offences and I think in the end we didn't have the legs to win in extra time.
The target for the rest of the season is to finish within the top four and qualify for next seasons Champions League. We'll face either Everton or Swansea in the FA Cup Semi Final and I'm really confident we can book our place in the showpiece event on May 14 at Wembley. We've never lost a game to Everton or Swansea under my management.
There was bad news for Robin van Persie when we played Hull in February, the Dutch striker rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament which will rule him out for 8 to 10 months. Upon his return he'll be 33 and with James Wilson now developing well, he's scored 15 times in 26 appearances in all competitions, the Dutch international could find it difficult to break back into the first team. I'll have a big decision to make as his contract expires in June 2017 and unless he's willing to accept a significant decrease in his wages it could be the end for him at Old Trafford.
K3V0
Every cloud has its silver lining though and James Wilson has taken his chance with both hands. The 20 year old scored 11 goals in 21 Premier League games and scored an impressive 21 times in 36 games in all competitions, a fantastic return for a player of his age who is only beginning to get regular first team football at this level.
He recently signed a new deal until 2020 worth £25,000 a week, but to be fair come December we'll probably be offering him a new deal with a larger wage that reflects his importance. I'm hoping that Wilson will be a part of the England squad that'll travel to the European Championships during the summer to cap off a stellar year.
Two big issues heading into the summer will be the futures of Argentine internationals Marcos Rojo and Angel Di Maria. The pair have both expressed their desire to leave in search of Champions League football and it's a delicate situation. I could probably get away with allowing Rojo to leave for about £20 million. In regards to Di Maria the fans love him, he creates and scores goals so allowing him to leave would be a gamble and also replacing him would be difficult. Unless we could replace him with say Gareth Bale then I don't feel like letting him go is even an option.