Manchester United Talk/Gossip/Rumours Superthread 2013

Pj! · 15-07-2013 11:17pm

homerjay2005 wrote: »

well its much bigger than 2% for starters considering that the bid seems to have gone in and almost 12 hours later, Barca have yet to say "he is not for sale".

Barca have said "The player is not transferable"

VW 1 · 15-07-2013 11:18pm

Reece James gone on loan to Carlisle until January 1.

At 19 and with no involvement with the first team to date you'd have to thin it's a loan with a view to buy if it goes well for him there.

Kerrydude1981 · 15-07-2013 11:19pm

homerjay2005 wrote: »

well its much bigger than 2% for starters considering that the bid seems to have gone in and almost 12 hours later, Barca have yet to say "he is not for sale".

only a small factor of course, but at least the interest is there and while it is, we have a decent chance im sure.

any indication around that Arsenal would want him back?

If Barca do agree to sell Cesc I thought Arsenal had first refusal on him?

G.K. · 15-07-2013 11:19pm

I'd never even heard of him, and I know the United youth team (Or at least which players are in it) pretty well.

homerjay2005 · 15-07-2013 11:19pm

Pj! wrote: »

Barca have said "The player is not transferable"

today?

Blatter · 15-07-2013 11:19pm

Mr Alan wrote: »

It was reported that you bid for Thiago though wasn't it?

In fact, many of the same places reporting the bid for Fabregas were saying the Thiago signing was pretty much done & dusted. Further along than a mere bid in my view.

Re: Fabregas, the most interesting thing is the timing.

Supposed Utd target signs for Bayern. Utd fans are dismayed.
Turn off Sky Sports News
Stop frequenting paper sites etc
CESC BID!!!!!!!

Traffic/viewership back up instantly.

It's incredibly transparent.

It was widely reported that Utd had agreed terms with Thiago's agent and father, and it was up to Thiago from there on in.

A fee would have been sorted out with Barca if Thiago had chosen to go.

Mikeyt086 · 15-07-2013 11:19pm

Mr Alan wrote: »

It was reported that you bid for Thiago though wasn't it?

In fact, many of the same places reporting the bid for Fabregas were saying the Thiago signing was pretty much done & dusted. Further along than a mere bid in my view.

Re: Fabregas, the most interesting thing is the timing.

Supposed Utd target signs for Bayern. Utd fans are dismayed.
Turn off Sky Sports News
Stop frequenting paper sites etc
CESC BID!!!!!!!

Traffic/viewership back up instantly.

It's incredibly transparent.

There was something going around earlier that a Barca spokesperson said United never tried to make a deal or indicated they would trigger the release clause.

Very strange.

Even stranger is the bid for Cesc. I can honestly say I do not know what is going on.

Pj! · 15-07-2013 11:21pm

homerjay2005 wrote: »

today?

Yep. Will be in tomorrow's Guardian and Independent amongst others.

homerjay2005 · 15-07-2013 11:23pm

Mikeyt086 wrote: »

I can honestly say I do not know what is going on.

the last 2 months have been strange to say the least, the past week has just added to it.

one plausible explanation is that players like Strootman, Thiago, Garay were all on Uniteds radar a few months back BUT since Moyes came on board, he switched focus to the likes of Fabregas and Baines.

i would think there is a certain element of truth there anyway in that.

GSPfan · 15-07-2013 11:25pm

Pj! wrote: »

Barca have said "The player is not transferable"

They were talking about his tattoo's.

Awful joke.

VW 1 · 15-07-2013 11:27pm

G.K. wrote: »

I'd never even heard of him, and I know the United youth team (Or at least which players are in it) pretty well.

Quick google shows that he came to us in July 12 having been at Preston, Rossendale and Blackburn. Haven't seen much of the reserves in the last year so not all that familiar with him tbh.

Pj! · 15-07-2013 11:30pm

Mikeyt086 wrote: »

I can honestly say I do not know what is going on.

It's strange alright. I'd forget the Thiago thing now. Even if Utd wanted him he was probably always going to go to Bayern once they showed some interest.
But the bid for Fabregas is pretty unexpected, especially that it has been made so public.

Fabregas has always wanted to be at Barcelona hasn't he?
Barcelona put great effort into signing him didn't they?
I'm told he started more games than any other Barca player last season (true?)

I really hope United have something up their sleeve on this one.

Headshot · 15-07-2013 11:31pm

Blatter wrote: »

Under SAF over the last several years, generally we didn't bid for a player unless the target seemed open to coming.

I'm sure clubs tap players up all the time before they go through the bother of negotiating a fee.

The Thiago deal was a bit different as it wasn't a case of really needing to bid for him. The most important thing was his approval to join the club, then the fee was easily sorted due to the release clause being present. Once Bayern got the green light, it was tied up in a few days after minor negotiations to get around paying the release clause tax.

ya thats where im coming from. Surely if they bid first they must have some encouragement from the player himself then or its a propaganda bid

GSPfan · 15-07-2013 11:32pm

I'm loving the renewed optimism in here today. But i'm dreading the fallout.

Tomorrow will be very interesting. I have a mad feeling Barca are willing to sell. And Rooney's little trip home still feels a bit suspect to me. I wouldn't be surprised if he is being prepared for a transfer and they don't want him injured.

It's the most fascinating transfer since way back when that Alcantara fella signed for Bayern.

homerjay2005 · 15-07-2013 11:39pm

GSPfan wrote: »

I'm loving the renewed optimism in here today. But i'm dreading the fallout.

well from my perspective it shows a couple of things -

we have a little bit of ambition after all in terms of looking to sign big names.
finally after 5 years we recognise that theres a need for at least 1, but probably 2 world class midfield players.
im still 100% confident we will sign a midfielder, i just not sure it will be Fabregas.

now, whether the bid is unrealistic or not is another thing, but lets remain cautious for a few days anyway.

master-t · 15-07-2013 11:44pm

IF Cesc did go to us, I'd love to be a fly on the wall in the Alcantara household

homerjay2005 · 15-07-2013 11:46pm

michael owen ‏@themichaelowen
Rumour has it United make a 25m bid for Fabregas. No real surprise as acquiring a central midfield player has to be the priority for Moyes.

i think at this stage, the entire football world feels we need investment in CM as a priority!

TheTownie · 15-07-2013 11:57pm

If Barca sell Fabregas then Rosell might as well resign the same day.

In one summer to sell two top La Masia graduates must be unprecedented.

It would require Barca sign a top quality replacement to possibly appease the fan's outrage.

And then you would think Barca would want to have a Fabregas replacement signed before they let him go otherwise they would potentially leave themselves in an awkward situation in negotiations with other clubs demanding over the odds for Fab's replacement.

From Barca's POV this transfer just makes zero sense.

chris445 · 16-07-2013 12:01am

G.K. wrote: »

I'd never even heard of him, and I know the United youth team (Or at least which players are in it) pretty well.

Played a good bit for the reserves last year and was decent enough looking left back but doesn't look like he could make the step up to first team football. His brother Matty played in the reserves too but was released at the beginning of last year i think. Can't remember who he went to but I'm sure it was a championship club.

homerjay2005 · 16-07-2013 12:01am

report from tonights reserve game - 4 or 5 players involved who would have been expected on the senior tour surely especially given our lack of striking options.

one thing that is apparent however is the fact that right now in the club, we could field 4 teams of players over 20 and still have subs - our squad is insanely large.

Reserves 1 Club Brugge 0

United's Reserves opened the pre-season campaign with a gritty 1-0 win over Club Brugge at Leigh Sports Village.

Substitute Tom Lawrence scored the only goal of the game with 11 minutes left against a side that finished third in last season's Belgian Pro League. Some of the challenges were far from friendly at times to ensure this was a real work-out as two players were booked and Ryan Tunnicliffe withdrawn on the referee's orders.

The pace was furious from the start despite it being the first match of Warren Joyce's squad's 2013/2014 campaign with Bebe lashing an instant chance wide following some wonderful skill by Larnell Cole on the right flank. The Belgians replied with a decent effort by Lior Refaelov before some controversy at the other end.

Bebe's shot-cum-cross drifted over Mathew Ryan but the assistant referee flagged, presumably for offside in the middle, and the referee, after consulting his fellow official, opted to rule the goal out. The ball was in the net again via Federico Macheda who had strayed too far forward after Marnick Vermijl latched onto a disguised pass by Davide Petrucci.

Brugge enjoyed a spell in the ascendancy with Maxime Lestienne bending off target and former Chelsea star Eidur Gudjohnsen, who has always enjoyed a fine record against the Reds, showing glimpses of quality as he drifted into a more attacking role.

Scott Wootton and Macheda were both booked for crunching challenges as the sparks began to fly and the match became better for it as Petrucci started to exert his influence in the middle of the park. It was the Italian's free-kick that appeared to lead to Macheda flicking wide after Cole helped the ball on, although a corner was given.

Petrucci saw a drive blocked at the start of the second half while Scott Wootton made a tremendous saving tackle to thwart Lestienne after he was teed up by Gudjohnsen. Ryan comfortably held a curler by Petrucci and Joyce decided to make a tactical reshuffle with Cole shifting to right-back and Ben Pearson and Lawrence getting a taste of the action.

The Belgian side should really have gone ahead but spurned a couple of gilt-edged chances, firstly when Refaelov's superb turn released Lestienne and then when Lestienne unselfishly squared to Timmy Simons. However, on both occasions, the ball was blazed wildly over Sam Johnstone's bar.

Andreas Pereira almost carved out an opening at the other end but his delightful chipped pass was agonisingly out of the reach of Petrucci, who broke forward through the middle. Predictably, it was Petrucci who had a hand in the winner with 11 minutes left as he guided the ball into the path of Lawrence, who finished calmly, prodding beyond Ryan.

A flare-up led to the referee instructing Joyce to substitute Tunnicliffe and his replacement, the impressive Jack Barmby, almost added a second but Ryan won a one-on-one duel and Pereira's drive from the rebound deflected for a corner. Both sets of players embraced sportingly at the end of a feisty encounter.

United: Johnstone; Grimshaw (Lawrence 53), Thorpe, Wootton, Vermijl; Cole, Ekangamene, Tunnicliffe (Barmby 82), Petrucci, Bebe (Pearson 53); Macheda (Pereira 63). Subs not used: Gollini, Rowley, Love, Wilson, Rothwell.

NTMK · 16-07-2013 12:05am

TheTownie wrote: »

From Barca's POV this transfer just makes zero sense.

financially it makes sense for them tbh

afaik barca have a lot of debt (more than us iirc) and a very hefty wage bill

after dumping a fortune on neymar and with a weak defence needing investment barca need to find a way of funding some necessary players

homerjay2005 · 16-07-2013 12:10am

SoulTrader wrote: »

Tomorrow's Guardian is going with Fellaini and Fabregas to Utd.

Wasn't keen on Fellaini if he was going to be the only signing but I think that we would have a great trio if we had those two and Carrick.

http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/manchester-united-target-evertons-fellaini-barcelonas-fabregas-for-50m-guardian/#.UeRiIISfNDY.twitter

apparently tomorrows Telegraph have Fellani as only a back up if other targets fall through, which would make sense.

no way we would be able to spend around €65million on Fellani and Fabregas in one summer, its just not what United do especially if we have to replace Evra also.

the next couple of weeks are going to be torture, expectation levels are far too high.

Kylo Ren · 16-07-2013 12:10am

Who would win?

United.

De Gea

Vidic

Valencia---Zaha---Kagawa---Rooney---RVP---Chicho----Welbeck---Young---Nani

Bayern.

Neurer

Lahm

Robben---Muller---Gotze---Martinez---Shaqiri---Schweinsteiger---Thiago---Kroos---Ribery

kryogen · 16-07-2013 12:14am

You know im bored to answer this!

United obviously, Bayern have no defence, no height or particular strength at the back at all.

If it had been another defender rather then Lahm then maybe

Doff · 16-07-2013 12:15am

Keno 92 wrote: »

Who would win?

United.
De Gea
Vidic

Valencia---Zaha---Kagawa---Rooney---RVP---Chicho----Welbeck---Young---Nani

Bayern.
Neurer
Lahm

Robben---Muller---Gotze---Martinez---Shaqiri---Schweinsteiger---Thiago---Kroos---Ribery

IS Howard Webb reffing it :P

SK1979 · 16-07-2013 12:17am

Anyone with decent knowledge of the young lads have any views on how good Pereira is going to be? I remember there being a big deal made when he signed a couple of years ago.

Think he played a few u21 games at the tail end of last season.

Presume Januzaj has eclipsed him though as I think both are around the same age?

Kylo Ren · 16-07-2013 12:17am

Doff wrote: »

IS Howard Webb reffing it :P

No.

tupac_healy · 16-07-2013 12:17am

Keno 92 wrote: »

Who would win?

United.
De Gea
Vidic

Valencia---Zaha---Kagawa---Rooney---RVP---Chicho----Welbeck---Young---Nani

Bayern.
Neurer
Lahm

Robben---Muller---Gotze---Martinez---Shaqiri---Schweinsteiger---Thiago---Kroos---Ribery

Considering Vida is a one man defence and Lahm well isn't....

Would have to be us!

GSPfan · 16-07-2013 12:19am

The question is Why would Barcelona sell?

But is it a bit like the Rooney scenario regarding a player who has a massive value but possibly doesn't have a defined role in the team. Fabregas is a midfielder playing as a second striker. And Rooney is a striker playing as an advanced midfielder. There are some good reasons why clubs would sell a very good player. Can either club afford to have £30 million sitting on a bench when other areas of the team need improvement?

BUT, the reason for why they would keep Fabregas is - He is a fantastic player.

Rayne Wooney · 16-07-2013 12:19am

Who'd win

DDG
Raf Vidic Garay Evra
Carrick Fabregas
Nani Kagawa Rooney
RVP

Or

Neuer
Lahm Boateng Dante Alaba
Martinez Schweinsteiger
Muller Kroos Gotze
Mandzukic

Kylo Ren · 16-07-2013 12:22am

Rayne Wooney wrote: »

Who'd win

DDG
Raf Vidic Garay Evra
Carrick Fabregas
Nani Kagawa Rooney
RVP

Or

Neuer
Lahm Boateng Dante Alaba
Martinez Schweinsteiger
Muller Kroos Gotze
Mandzukic

You're just getting ridiculous now. We don't have Fab or Garaaaaaaay. My one was plausible!

adox · 16-07-2013 12:24am

Rayne Wooney wrote: »

Who'd win

DDG
Raf Vidic Garay Evra
Carrick Fabregas
Nani Kagawa Rooney
RVP

Or

Neuer
Lahm Boateng Dante Alaba
Martinez Schweinsteiger
Muller Kroos Gotze
Mandzukic

Ha. Thiago still not getting his game.

GSPfan · 16-07-2013 12:25am

Oh and a summer signing spree of Fabregas Fellaini and Baines would be outrageous. Financially.

But you'd have to assume at least Nani and Evra would be sold for a combined fee of around £20 million to offset some of the damage. And possibly the big daddy of them all Wayne Rooney for £30 million.

Don't kill me for suggesting selling those players I'm just assuming the club would sell them if those 3 players came in. Maybe not Rooney though.

What a mental 24 hours.

tupac_healy · 16-07-2013 12:25am

GSPfan wrote: »

The question is Why would Barcelona sell?

But is it a bit like the Rooney scenario regarding a player who has a massive value but possibly doesn't have a defined role in the team. Fabregas is a midfielder playing as a second striker. And Rooney is a striker playing as an advanced midfielder. There are some good reasons why clubs would sell a very good player. Can either club afford to have £30 million sitting on a bench when other areas of the team need improvement?

BUT, the reason for why they would keep Fabregas is - He is a fantastic player.

In the end I genuinely believe that it will boil down to - does Cesc want to sit on the bench anymore?

He is now in a strong position to negotiate more playing time at Barca, if they can't offer that to him I think he will ask to go. Also, I can't see him going back to Arsenal, especially since RVP is gone...

I can see him at Utd if our interest is firm, which it appears to be

Rayne Wooney · 16-07-2013 12:26am

Keno 92 wrote: »

You're just getting ridiculous now. We don't have Fab or Garaaaaaaay. My one was plausible!

Interesting that there's 7 German players in the Bayern team and only 2 English in the United one.

I know it's hypothetical, but it's interesting to see if people think those improvements would beat the best in the world at the moment.

Rayne Wooney · 16-07-2013 12:28am

adox wrote: »

Ha. Thiago still not getting his game.

There's no place to put him in really, they have better players all over in that 5 man midfield.

GSPfan · 16-07-2013 12:28am

tupac_healy wrote: »

I can see him at Utd if our interest is firm, which it appears to be

We all hope.

Maybe we just bluffed Bayern into taking Thiago as a way of keeping them away from the real prize. They do it on Storage Wars all the time. Try get other bidders to waste money on the rubbish so they've nothing left for the real good stuff.

adox · 16-07-2013 12:29am

tupac_healy wrote: »

In the end I genuinely believe that it will boil down to - does Cesc want to sit on the bench anymore?

He is now in a strong position to negotiate more playing time at Barca, if they can't offer that to him I think he will ask to go. Also, I can't see him going back to Arsenal, especially since RVP is gone...

I can see him at Utd if our interest is firm, which it appears to be

But he is getting plenty of playing time, just not in CM.

Despite there being practically no chance of this transfer happening I am finding myself wildly excited by the thought of it.

adox · 16-07-2013 12:33am

GSPfan wrote: »

We all hope.

Maybe we just bluffed Bayern into taking Thiago as a way of keeping them away from the real prize. They do it on Storage Wars all the time. Try get other bidders to waste money on the rubbish so they've nothing left for the real good stuff.

Barca to Bayern when we are on the verge of signing Thiago:

"You guys interested in Thiago?"

"Yuuuuuuuuuup"

tupac_healy · 16-07-2013 12:43am

adox wrote: »

But he is getting plenty of playing time, just not in CM.

Despite there being practically no chance of this transfer happening I am finding myself wildly excited by the thought of it.

Yeah, I think I'm getting carried away as well, it may well not come off, few things bother me about it, the initial bid.... It's low, very low...... And Utd generally (I know we are under Moyes now, new era) keep the cards very close to the chest on transfers.....

But whatever about it, it certainly has lit up a dull transfer window, well bar Monaco!!!!

IvySlayer · 16-07-2013 12:44am

Fabregas has been played advanced in midfield than he wants to/is used to. As a result his performances has suffered, to a point where he was dropped. He'd fit in here perfectly though.

Xavi is 33 though and in the Confederations Cup you could see he was tired.

G.K. · 16-07-2013 12:44am

We're up to the post limit. New thread incoming.

Manchester United Talk/Gossip/Rumours Superthread 2013

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