Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2017

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Anyone any idea of where to try for an autograph/photo

I think the best bet is to wait by herberd road entrance if I'm correct. Team bus comes in that way....I think

Mitch Connor wrote: »

Not a fan of that type of attitude from Matic, if true. You signed a contract. Play to it.

Really not picking an argument here Mitch, just curious. What is the ideal way for a transfer to be completed in your view? It's coming across as you being a little hard to please here, and apologies if that's not the case.

I know we all can be hard to please from time to time, but you were voicing frustration over United not fronting the cash to get the likes of the Matic deal over the line. Since the deal was completed, Jose has thanked Matic for his efforts in getting the deal done, and said it would not have happened only for Matic's efforts to push it through. He even hinted that he'd like to see that from other potential signings in future as it can be necessary to get the deal done.

From that, it can be suggested (although not stated as fact) that United were offering enough money all along for Matic but Chelsea were still resistant. It wasn't a much-improved offer in the end which got the deal done and Chelsea to break that contract, but the player telling the selling club that he badly wanted to leave for United and be released from the contract.

If that's the case, then it wasn't as simple as United not offering enough cash - which you were vocal about before the signing, it was about the player going above and beyond their part in the transfer process - which you have been vocal about here. How should it have been done? I wouldn't be a fan of that reported attitude of Matic's either, but I wanted a DM and that deal done. We really can't have it every way.

I value loyalty and contracts, but in today's Football Inc., I believe it to be a different beast to most other big businesses. These players, humans, are traded like numbers on a page when it suits clubs, they are also used as items of pride at times (Perez won't sell Morata to United for €83m, but will sell to Chelsea for €67m ) and it's not always about the most money and/or a contract ending at the right time.

Sure, we don't like the thoughts of Matic threatening to go strike with Chelsea because, among other things, what if he did it with us? Never mind Matic, we wouldn't like any of our current players doing similar to try to leave OT. However, Matic would be dropped and shipped out like a broken asset if it didn't suit Chelsea, no matter what his contract says. Same happens at all clubs, look at us and Rooney.

If a player expresses a desire to leave and goes above and beyond to see a transfer through, like Matic, it's in the minority compared to how regular the opposite can happen with 'club to player' loyalty. Sure there are rare times when the player goes way overboard and starts moaning to the media, social and regular, and it can be petulant in the least. However, we didn't see any of that with Matic. It all happened behind closed doors and now we are going on reports of what Matic might have done next.

Had it have gotten to that point of Matic refusing to play for Chelsea to get the transfer through - I can't honestly say that I would have been more disappointed with his oath-breaking than I would have been impressed with his desire to play for United/Jose.