08 Aug 2026 16:27:49
A fit Lavia is like a 100m new midfielder signing in today's market!
Had a great game today and I'm pretty certain lasted the whole 90mins.
08 Aug 2026 19:54:12
Hdkn, I couldn't agree more mate. Fingers crossed he can stay fit.
08 Aug 2026 21:02:58
A fit Lavia next to Moises is a £300 million pound midfield, but, more importantly, a key component in the mighty Chelsea returning to dominate again.
The chaps who signed them were actually on the ball after all.
09 Aug 2026 07:39:02
I hope Lavia stays fit, but K, how many games has he played since joining us?
So far, he has been a bad piece of business for us, so it's weird that you say the chaps, which I take are our SD's, know what they are doing.
09 Aug 2026 10:07:21
That was the first game since joining us that Lavia played the full 90 minutes, I think. He has featured in 29 games since joining us in 2023. It would be utterly wonderful if he could stay fit, but at this stage the club surely cannot be certain of that.
09 Aug 2026 10:58:02
Bill, I actually think the recruitment has been decent. Some very good players have come, some will take time to develop, and some will, of course, flop, but overall I think the chaps have done well.
09 Aug 2026 11:19:29
K, after a dodgy start to player recruitment under our new owners, generally I have been happy enough with our squad.
I've not been happy with the manager choices.
09 Aug 2026 11:37:39
Tom, the manager appointments have been what has let us down, and particularly the Liam one. Whoever made that decision cost the club European football this season, but it might prove to be a blessing in disguise, as the owners have changed direction and appointed a manager who has control and direction of player ins and outs, which has been lacking.
09 Aug 2026 11:46:29
I see the media and Utd fans are raving about Santos, another good move by the chaps?
09 Aug 2026 11:56:01
Bill, it was a good move to sign him. Time will tell if it was a good move to sell him.
It reminds me of the outcry by so many on this site when we sold CG, particularly after he started well at AM. Strangely, not many comments after that period.
I personally think we should have kept Santos, particularly as it looked like we might sell EF, but we can't just keep players because players "might" leave or players "might" get injured.
09 Aug 2026 12:02:52
There is still a fair bit of uncertainty over who is yet to leave among our better performers from last season. Cucurella, Santos and TC are already gone, of course. Will Neto, EF and Gusto all follow, and if so, we would surely need to replace EF at least, but with the same quality re goals and assists?
Palestra is looking as though he could be a pretty good replacement for Cucu, though still EPL-untested.
Will Lavia remain fit enough, for long enough, for us not to need reinforcement after Santos leaving? Essugo not looking great thus far, though our 16yr old in the no 32 shirt looks v promising.
We will need a replacement too for TC if Disasi, Badiashile and Tosin are also off.
There is still a question mark over Sanchez as GK for many of us, and Penders is EPL-untested and v young.
And, finally, the question is who are backup strikers for Joao P? Obviously Wellbeck will have a role to play, but I would still favour retaining Jackson, who has looked keen and ok in preseason and, of course, has EPL experience and a degree of goal-scoring success, ahead of Delap or Guiu if we are bringing in, eg, Osimhen! Jackson can play as a wide/second attacker too, if needed. It might be a matter of whether Neto leaves (and he has also looked pretty good in preseason, especially v Milan).
09 Aug 2026 12:31:04
Bill, the decision to recruit Santos by the chaps was a very good one, picked up for £8 million and sold for £50 million. I have no idea why he was sold, but I guess our new manager preferred a different profile.
09 Aug 2026 16:32:04
But he may well prove to be a world class acquisition for United, and I personally thought he looked generally excellent for us. Given Lavia's fitness question, it might have been wise to keep Santos. Only time will tell.
09 Aug 2026 18:15:47
JBS, as you say, time will tell about the decision to sell Santos. However, it has been done and, whatever the outcome, we move on. Also, let's face it, we need to bring in some money to cover new signings.
Once again, it looks like we will start the season with no FOS sponsorship.
Some people will suggest that it's a difficult market because of the ban on betting companies. However, that has been known for at least two years. What is going on?
09 Aug 2026 18:44:20
The FOS sponsor remains a mystery, and has now become impossible to mathematically defend. Just one minor point. I think we have had a sponsor for at least part of every season under our current ownership. On a game-by-game basis, the fee received was apparently very good. Having a full-season, long-term sponsorship deal would be preferable.
09 Aug 2026 18:52:30
Tom, it certainly is a Toya Wilcox.