Robbie Savage casts his infallible eye over the United squad...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25665649

Manchester United must spend £200m if they are to rebuild their squad to the standard that once made sides visiting Old Trafford feel helpless.

United lost for the third time in a row with defeat at Sunderland on Tuesday and I think as many as 12 of the 27 players who regularly feature for them are now on borrowed time.
Blunt United

Wayne Rooney tops the Premier League's assist-makers this season but he is the only United player in the top 40.

Manchester City, meanwhile, have eight players on the same list

The players are getting shot at by people like me, but they should look at themselves. Are they running hard enough? Are they tackling hard enough? Are they putting the same effort in as they did for Sir Alex Ferguson? These are the questions I'd like to ask them, because they do not seem to be.

The fear factor I faced at Old Trafford when the likes of Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and David Beckham were lining up has gone but I think a dozen players should make way as part of the rebuilding job David Moyes faces.
Good goalkeepers

There were question marks at first about David De Gea but he has matured into a fantastic Premier League goalkeeper. Understudy Anders Lindegaard is a good back-up. Both should stay.
Changes at the back

Chris Smalling: I am not convinced by him. His passing is not good enough for a Manchester United player. He should go.

Did you know? Smalling has given the ball away seven times per game on average this season and his pass completion rate stands at 80%. Only Rafael (76%) fares worse among United's defenders.


Alexander Buttner: I'm surprised he is there in the first place. He is not good enough to be a Manchester United player and has not played enough games for that reason.

Did you know? Since joining Manchester United at the beginning of last season, Buttner has completed just two of his 25 open crosses in the Premier League.

Fabio: He is not as good as his brother Rafael. He did not do it at QPR so what chance has he got of doing it at a club like Manchester United? Not at the level he needs to be at and has to go.

Did you know? Fabio has made only nine Premier League starts for Manchester United since joining the club in 2008.

Rio Ferdinand: He has been one of the best central defenders in the Premier League and a great servant for Manchester United but injuries and age have caught up with him. There has to be a role for him at the club but not as a starting member of the first team. I would suggest he should join the coaching staff.

Did you know? Manchester United have won only 29% of their league games with Ferdinand in the side this season, compared to 62% without him.

Who stays? Nemanja Vidic can blood a young centre-half despite his best days being behind him and Patrice Evra's experience remains an asset, though defensively he is vulnerable. Rafael and Jonny Evans are in good shape, but Phil Jones must settle in one position soon if he is to fulfil his potential.

A midfield overhaul

Marouane Fellaini: I am not sure what his best position is. He is not good enough for the middle of the park in a United team and not quick enough or dynamic enough to play off the front. On that basis, he should go.

Did you know? The Belgian has not scored or provided an assist in his past 18 Premier League appearances (eight for United, 10 for Everton), last scoring against Manchester City in March 2013.

Anderson: They paid a lot of money for him and he has only played four league games this season. He has not recovered from injuries and cannot hold down a regular first-team place, so he should go.
Stuck in the middle

"How many of their midfielders would get into a top-four team? You compare their options to Manchester City and I think it's a given - there are shortcomings.

"They are all good players, make no mistake. What they are not is consistent enough to play for Manchester United.

"Dealing with the pressure and delivering the consistent level of performance is what it takes and I don't think there is enough of it in that midfield."

Did you know? Since the start of last season, Anderson has only played 21 times for United (979 minutes). He has completed 90 minutes once in that time (the 5-5 draw with West Brom at the end of last season).

Ryan Giggs: The best Premier League player ever, but if they are going to rely on a 41-year-old to produce next season, it does not say a lot for the rest of the midfielders. He will stay on as a coach and possibly be the next manager, but playing-wise, he should go.

Did you know? The United veteran has created just seven chances in nine league games this season and has no assists.

Nani: I'm surprised he got his new five-year contract. He has not scored or created a goal in eight league games this season. He's just too inconsistent and should go.

Did you know? Only five players (Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas, Ashley Young, Robin van Persie and Steven Gerrard) have produced more assists than Nani since he moved to the Premier League in 2007 (43).

Ashley Young: At times he looks great and scores some great goals but he's only completed one league game this season. That says to me he is inconsistent, so what is he in the team for? To produce goals? He has not been doing that enough, so he should go.

Did you know? Despite being third on the list of Premier League assists since 2007-08, Young is yet to register one this season, creating only eight chances in 10 appearances.
Tom Cleverly

Tom Cleverley has only provided three Premier League assists in 48 appearances for United

Tom Cleverley: Has played in all but four of United's league games this season but I am not sure what he contributes. Does he pass it well? Does he score goals? Does he tackle? What does he actually do? He plays for England and I think he is good but I am not sure what he contributes and, for me, he is not a Manchester United player.

Did you know? In the Premier League, 22 midfielders have made 900 passes this season. Six are yet to produce an assist: Mile Jedinak, Jose Canas, Gary Medel, Michael Carrick, Lucas and Cleverley.

Antonio Valencia: I was torn on this one. I am not sure he has ever recovered from his injuries. He had a blistering yard of pace in previous seasons but I think he has lost it and does not get around the full-back enough. He should go.

Did you know? Only three players (Stewart Downing, Morgan Amalfitano and Ahmed Elmohamady) have completed more open crosses in the Premier League this season than Valencia (16).

Who stays: Michael Carrick's consistency makes him indispensible in this current squad. Darren Fletcher is a quality player if he has overcome his health issues and I want to see what Shinji Kagawa can do, as he is proven at a top club in Borussia Dortmund. Wilfried Zaha should be allowed to prove he belongs at the top level, while Adnan Januzaj clearly does.
A tweak in attack

Javier Hernandez: Does not do it consistently enough when he starts games. He is a good impact player but is no Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Did you know? Though he scored in the FA Cup defeat by Swansea, Hernandez has not netted in his past eight Premier League games, his longest drought at the club.

Who stays: Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie are the only world-class players in the squad, while Danny Welbeck offers an alternative option.
In conclusion

I think United's slip from champions to where they are now boils down to the loss of Sir Alex Ferguson's genius more than Moyes's shortcomings. These are not bad players, they are just not United players, so for Ferguson to win the league with them shows just how special he was.
The 15 who should stay

De Gea, Lindegaard, Rafael, Evra, Jones, Evans, Vidic, Carrick, Fletcher, Kagawa, Zaha, Januzaj, Rooney, Van Persie and Welbeck

In the past, the average players at Manchester United had world-class ones to pull them along. Beckham, Keane, Scholes and Eric Cantona got the average players into positions to win league titles.

Some will now question Moyes, but if I was in that dressing room, I'd be questioning myself.

It will take an awful lot of money to rebuild this squad, but I think he is the man who can do it.



He might be a welsh gobshite, but it's difficult to disagree with much he's said there. Apart from the fact I'd add Evra to the list of course. And I like Smalling.

Yeah, I think he's a secret poster on here.

Pure, with a ghost writer?

He's bang on in the main.

He seems alright at times and then you read the stuff he said to Le Saux and you think odious £#%&!ing cretin. He's just braindead. I don't think he's particularly vicious.

Starting XI for most Fredsters would come from the XV.

Definitely the back IV.

Hard to disagree with much of that.

......................DDG

Rafael.....Jones........Vidic......Evra

....Fletcher......Carrick.....Januzaj

.....................Kagawa

.............Rooney.......RVP.........

Zaha.
Bring Powell back.
Still keep Nani.
Hernandez to stay, create chances and he will score.
I'd keep Smalling.
Welbeck.
Evans.
Give Fellaini a chance.

The rest, adios amigos.

Pretty much spot on.

The guy is a #@&%! though. Once went into the refs room at half-time, took a shit with the door open, then when asked if he was going to wash his hands, he wiped them on the refs coat. Think it was Graham Poll.

Total bell.

I don't often find myself agreeing with Savage but he's pretty much nailed it there.

Spot on

Utterly thick @#%&!.

Remember when the BBC had him and Hartson in the studio for the Confederations Cup last summer. Actually felt sorry for Lineker.

Absolute %@#$&!s.

Originally Posted by Thrush

Pretty much spot on.

The guy is a #@&%! though. Once went into the refs room at half-time, took a shit with the door open, then when asked if he was going to wash his hands, he wiped them on the refs coat. Think it was Graham Poll.

Total bell.

You can't call him a bell for that...he should have shit in polls pocket.

His head is shaped like a shark.

Originally Posted by fergieslovechild

You can't call him a bell for that...he should have shit in polls pocket.

Wasn't actually Polls jacket. I was close!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...I-stomach.html

Terrible behaviour.

I agree with everything he says tbh.
Although moyes doesn't rate kagawa imo.
If he did he'd be playing every week.

Can't believe things are so bad so soon that i'm finding myself agreeing with such a despicable human being.

I think we should all kill ourselves now to avoid the shame of agreeing with Robbie @#%&!ing Savage.


Dear god.

Originally Posted by Aman27deep

Can't believe things are so bad so soon that i'm finding myself agreeing with such a despicable human being.

Bloody hell, Fabio has nine starts in 5 and a half seasons .

Originally Posted by Liu Jian

Bloody hell, Fabio has nine starts in 5 and a half seasons .

Surprised at that stat myself, thought he had stank the place out more often than that.

Originally Posted by Liu Jian

Bloody hell, Fabio has nine starts in 5 and a half seasons .

One of which was the European Cup final, ladies and gentlemen.