Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

parker kent · 11-04-2010 06:44PM

Mitch Connor wrote: »

Whatever way we go, it would cost a lot of money to fix the united side and get it right up there again.

Might not cost a lot of money. It is not always big money signings that turn out to be the most valuable. I wonder who here said United had to sign Vidic or Evra? There might be a few others out there like them. Plus I think 2-3 max are needed. I'd make sure Joe Cole was one of them too if I were Sir Alex.

Lukker- · 11-04-2010 06:48PM

parker kent wrote: »

Might not cost a lot of money. It is not always big money signings that turn out to be the most valuable. I wonder who here said United had to sign Vidic or Evra? There might be a few others out there like them. Plus I think 2-3 max are needed. I'd make sure Joe Cole was one of them too if I were Sir Alex.

No way United can afford Joe Coles contract demands.

parker kent · 11-04-2010 06:50PM

abouttobebanned wrote: »

I'll state the obvious and say that man utd, the team we know and love, is in decline...not as badly as dunphy would have you believe but it's going to get worse unless we get in a manager who
can see the wood for the trees.

You are honestly saying that after he has won 3 leagues is a row in a period where Chelsea were expected to dominate all before them??? That is just such a short sighted comment to make.

United could well be in decline soon BECAUSE Ferguson goes. That is the greatest challenge United will ever face, replacing the irreplaceable. Do you think there is another manager who would have improved United's record in the last 5 years?

keane2097 · 11-04-2010 06:50PM

Am I alone in having absolutely no interest in Joe Cole?

parker kent · 11-04-2010 06:51PM

Lukker- wrote: »

No way United can afford Joe Coles contract demands.

They manage to pay Rio, Rooney etc wage demands.

abouttobebanned · 11-04-2010 06:51PM

Before I go on....has anyone ever
found themselves fighting two
contradictory arguments? I'm on another forum fighting with people that united are far from finished.

The clear out days of fergie haven't been seen in a long time. I'm worried, that's all.

GuanYin · 11-04-2010 06:59PM

Do United have money to buy?

I think they've had a couple of bad seasons (compared to previous squads) and obviously rely far too much on Rooney, which just goes to show how far ahead of the opposition they (and Chelsea) have been recently.

I would worry though, about the future. If City make the CL, they will suddenly become a very attractive place for top players to go, it looks more and more likely that Arsenal will become the Arsenal Rapids this summer and I expect Kroenke to allow Arsenal a once off indulgence in the transfer market without worrying about balancing books. For the record, I know Kroenke's US franchises very well and they're incredibly well run, I think he'll suit Arsenal far more than Liverpool's and United's US owners.

United need to rally stronger than in previous seasons where the title was (potentially) conceded.

By the way, I'm not entirely convinced the title race is over yet. I think think it very much a 3 horse race.

Headshot · 11-04-2010 07:02PM

keane2097 wrote: »

Am I alone in having absolutely no interest in Joe Cole?

your not alone

I dont want him near the club

if utd do some simple summer cleaning we easily get over 30m to spend

carrick
berba
foster
tosic
and plenty more in the reserves that need to be shipped out

it's gone very stale at utd imo

The Muppet · 11-04-2010 07:07PM

Lukker- wrote: »

No way United can afford Joe Coles contract demands.

What's he demanding?

herbieflowers · 11-04-2010 07:17PM

GuanYin wrote: »

By the way, I'm not entirely convinced the title race is over yet. I think think it very much a 3 horse race.

I think this is a pertinent point. Many fans seem resigned to losing the title, and rightly so. All three teams have tricky games remaining. nd given how this season has gone, it wouldn't surprise me if any of the three finsihed top.

antod · 11-04-2010 07:23PM

Headshot wrote: »

your not alone

I dont want him near the club

if utd do some simple summer cleaning we easily get over 30m to spend

carrick
berba
foster
tosic
and plenty more in the reserves that need to be shipped out

it's gone very stale at utd imo[/QUOT
fair play headshot thats a brillant post i would agree with that summer clearout.

11-04-2010 07:23PM

The Muppet wrote: »

What's he demanding?

A private dressing room and a statue of himself outside OT.

Cheeky fúcker.

Skud · 11-04-2010 07:48PM

Headshot wrote: »

if utd do some simple summer cleaning we easily get over 30m to spend

carrick
berba
foster
tosic
and plenty more in the reserves that need to be shipped out

it's gone very stale at utd imo

wouldnt be surprised if those lads all leave.

We got way too many strikers atm with hernandez coming in

rooney, macheda, wellbeck, berba, diouf, hernandez and still being linked with benzema and villa. At least 1 striker out of them lot and berba or owen are the logical choices unless macheda and wellbeck are both going on loan.

Central defenders too appear to be a lot - Rio, Vidic, Brown, Evans, Smalling so wouldnt be surprised if someone went there too - if neville doesnt retire that is.

What we really missed is Anderson and Hargreaves in the run-in. Someone to liven up the middle of the park and it really showed in the last week or so. We got decent wingers, we got decent defenders, we got decent strikers - we badly need to tighten up central midfield.

killwill · 11-04-2010 07:50PM

antod wrote: »

Headshot wrote: »

your not alone

I dont want him near the club

if utd do some simple summer cleaning we easily get over 30m to spend

carrick
berba
foster
tosic
and plenty more in the reserves that need to be shipped out

it's gone very stale at utd imo[/QUOT
fair play headshot thats a brillant post i would agree with that summer clearout.

I would have to agree too even though I rate Berbatov he is not what United need right now unfortunatley. Carrick is a spent force too.

RandolphEsq · 11-04-2010 08:06PM

If Anderson and Hargreaves were there and available this season we would have done far better. Obertan is going to become excellent.
Rafael; showing good signs. Evans; solid. Berbatov doesn't have to go. We just need to have faith in him.
Owen should go and a decent back up striker, who is older than Macheda and Diouf, should be brought in. That being said, I could see Berbatov going and an offer made for Benzema. Van der Vaart perhaps at United

MagicMarker · 11-04-2010 08:08PM

Hargreaves should have been on the bench today. He's fit and SAF has already said he'd be on the bench before and then didn't go through with it.

You could say the game isn't suited to him, but you can say the same for any of our remaining games.

It's time to put up or shut up tbh.

blinding · 11-04-2010 08:13PM

Has Rio got that much left on the clock. He is beginning to miss a lot of games through niggling injuries.

flahavaj · 11-04-2010 08:17PM

blinding wrote: »

Has Rio got that much left on the clock. He is beginning to miss a lot of games through niggling injuries.

And seems to have lost a little pace.

While central defence is an area United have alot of bodies at the moment its gonna require serious attention over the next couple of years IMO.

You can't really rely on Brown any more (not that he was ever the most reliable man in the world), he's almost permanently injured.

Headshot · 11-04-2010 08:19PM

MagicMarker wrote: »

Hargreaves should have been on the bench today. He's fit and SAF has already said he'd be on the bench before and then didn't go through with it.

You could say the game isn't suited to him, but you can say the same for any of our remaining games.

It's time to put up or shut up tbh.

magic it wouldnt surprise me if we dont see hargo in the 1st team this season, i look back and still think it fair fishy after 45mins game time he gets moved from the reserves into the 1st team training. Somthing not right there

PHB · 11-04-2010 08:30PM

Kev_ps3 wrote: »

Your mad, Tevez has been one the the seasons top strikers, Berbatov has been one of the worst.

Except, Tevez hasnt been rotated. I said at the start of the season that I had no doubt that Tevez would "out-perform" Berbatov and Owen this season, but I don't think he would have done that had he been at United. He needs game time, he needs to be playing reguarly, he gets that at City and he is the better for it. Wasn't working at United.

On another note, This season, more than any, I think we've been really hit badly by injuries. But ultimately, I think our squad was just a little bit weaker than seasons before, and really its a testament to Fergusons man management that at times he's got them ticking so well. He made a system which certainly got the best out of this squad of players, and considering the state of our central midfield, we did absolutely outstanding this year. Let's just hope we can fix that problem and start next year driving forward.

One thing that happened today that nobody has noted so far. Ferguson is definately going to be United manager next season. Not a chance in hell he's going out on a whimper. Had we got number 19, I think he might have called it a day.

blinding · 11-04-2010 08:57PM

PHB wrote: »

Except, Tevez hasnt been rotated. I said at the start of the season that I had no doubt that Tevez would "out-perform" Berbatov and Owen this season, but I don't think he would have done that had he been at United. He needs game time, he needs to be playing reguarly, he gets that at City and he is the better for it. Wasn't working at United.

On another note, This season, more than any, I think we've been really hit badly by injuries. But ultimately, I think our squad was just a little bit weaker than seasons before, and really its a testament to Fergusons man management that at times he's got them ticking so well. He made a system which certainly got the best out of this squad of players, and considering the state of our central midfield, we did absolutely outstanding this year. Let's just hope we can fix that problem and start next year driving forward.

One thing that happened today that nobody has noted so far. Ferguson is definately going to be United manager next season. Not a chance in hell he's going out on a whimper. Had we got number 19, I think he might have called it a day.

I don't think that Tevez wanted to leave Utd. Money was the reason in my opinion that Tevez left. If Utd had put up the money then Tevez would be at Utd. Ferguson may have not played Tevez as often as he could last year because if Tevez had been truly outstanding then it would have looked even worse when Utd could not afford to sign him.

Mitch Connor · 11-04-2010 10:13PM

it is tough to say who we should sell and who we should buy, as we don't really have a formation to base the calls on. Will we go 451 as we have done in many big games, or will it be 442? The difference is fairly big with regards to who we could sell and who we should buy.

As stated earlier, I would like to see a first choice team of this:

Van der Saar

Rafael--Rio--Vidic--Evra

--Hargreaves--Fletcher

Gourcuff
Valencia

Left Wing Option

Rooney

As can be seen from above, my opion is that for the most part our squad is fine (if Hargreaves is fit) and I am happy enough with the players we have if deployed correctly.

For a second team...

Kuszczak

Brown--Evans--Smalling--Fabio

----Rodwell--Anderson

Scholes
Park

Nani

Berbatov

That team (if my unspecified left winger is over 21) woud result in 18 registered players, 8 home grown players. So we can add 7 senior players to that list. From the current squad, I would add the following players: O'Shea, De Laet, Scholes, Giggs, Gibson, Owen, Chicharito (5 home grown players). This would be Diouf heading out on loan, Foster being sold, Carrick being sold. Kiko and Welbeck could be added to the squad without taking up a squad place too (under the age of 21). As could Obertan, Cleverly etc and Amos to step up to the 3rd keeper spot maybe.

So, for next season - based on the above, I would like to see Rodwell, Gourcuff and a left wing option (Silva, Mata, Di Maria, Young, Arda Turan...not sure who really) coming in to the club, with Foster, Carrick, Tosic as players I could easily see leaving. There are other positions I would like us to sign in (Such as keeper, a replacement for Park who I just don't rate) but I think the three positions I have listed (DMC, AMC, LW) are the positions I would like brough in this summer.

Mikeyt086 · 11-04-2010 10:25PM

Mitch Connor wrote: »

it is tough to say who we should sell and who we should buy, as we don't really have a formation to base the calls on. Will we go 451 as we have done in many big games, or will it be 442? The difference is fairly big with regards to who we could sell and who we should buy.

As stated earlier, I would like to see a first choice team of this:
Van der Saar

Rafael--Rio--Vidic--Evra

--Hargreaves--Fletcher
Gourcuff
Valencia
Left Wing Option
Rooney

As can be seen from above, my opion is that for the most part our squad is fine (if Hargreaves is fit) and I am happy enough with the players we have if deployed correctly.

For a second team...
Kuszczak

Brown--Evans--Smalling--Fabio

----Rodwell--Anderson
Scholes
Park
Nani
Berbatov

That team (if my unspecified left winger is over 21) woud result in 18 registered players, 8 home grown players. So we can add 7 senior players to that list. From the current squad, I would add the following players: O'Shea, De Laet, Scholes, Giggs, Gibson, Owen, Chicharito (5 home grown players). This would be Diouf heading out on loan, Foster being sold, Carrick being sold. Kiko and Welbeck could be added to the squad without taking up a squad place too (under the age of 21). As could Obertan, Cleverly etc and Amos to step up to the 3rd keeper spot maybe.

So, for next season - based on the above, I would like to see Rodwell, Gourcuff and a left wing option (Silva, Mata, Di Maria, Young, Arda Turan...not sure who really) coming in to the club, with Foster, Carrick, Tosic as players I could easily see leaving. There are other positions I would like us to sign in (Such as keeper, a replacement for Park who I just don't rate) but I think the three positions I have listed (DMC, AMC, LW) are the positions I would like brough in this summer.

I love this. Can you make this happen please?

If we signed Yoann Gourcuff i would lose the plot. He oozes class. I watched the Champions League Magazine show this week and he was going on about how he loves and trusts Laurent Blanc, i was thinking the whole time, ahh Laurent, put in a good word there.

Headshot · 11-04-2010 10:28PM

hey mitch

Van der Saar

Rafael--Rio--Vidic--Evra

--Hargreaves--Fletcher
Gourcuff
Valencia
Left Wing Option
Rooney

For a second team...
Kuszczak

Brown--Evans--Smalling--Fabio

----Rodwell--Anderson
Scholes
Park
Nani
Berbatov

concerning the above would you have Nani in the first team and obertan in the second or do you think (like myself) that nani is to inconsistent?

flahavaj · 11-04-2010 10:31PM

Mitch Connor wrote: »

it is tough to say who we should sell and who we should buy, as we don't really have a formation to base the calls on. Will we go 451 as we have done in many big games, or will it be 442? The difference is fairly big with regards to who we could sell and who we should buy.

As stated earlier, I would like to see a first choice team of this:
Van der Saar

Rafael--Rio--Vidic--Evra

--Hargreaves--Fletcher
Gourcuff
Valencia
Left Wing Option
Rooney

As can be seen from above, my opion is that for the most part our squad is fine (if Hargreaves is fit) and I am happy enough with the players we have if deployed correctly.

For a second team...
Kuszczak

Brown--Evans--Smalling--Fabio

----Rodwell--Anderson
Scholes
Park
Nani
Berbatov

That team (if my unspecified left winger is over 21) woud result in 18 registered players, 8 home grown players. So we can add 7 senior players to that list. From the current squad, I would add the following players: O'Shea, De Laet, Scholes, Giggs, Gibson, Owen, Chicharito (5 home grown players). This would be Diouf heading out on loan, Foster being sold, Carrick being sold. Kiko and Welbeck could be added to the squad without taking up a squad place too (under the age of 21). As could Obertan, Cleverly etc and Amos to step up to the 3rd keeper spot maybe.

So, for next season - based on the above, I would like to see Rodwell, Gourcuff and a left wing option (Silva, Mata, Di Maria, Young, Arda Turan...not sure who really) coming in to the club, with Foster, Carrick, Tosic as players I could easily see leaving. There are other positions I would like us to sign in (Such as keeper, a replacement for Park who I just don't rate) but I think the three positions I have listed (DMC, AMC, LW) are the positions I would like brough in this summer.

I really think its unwise to bank on Hargo as being a first team player you can depend on tbh. Best to see him as a bonus if he does make it, but not to rely on him.

Agreed that midfield needs new blood. Gourcuff would be great. Arteta, if he wasn't so injury prone would be nice, but the last thing United need is another sicknote.

Smegball · 11-04-2010 10:32PM

Personally I'd give Nani the first team birth, I think he has the potential to develop into a top winger.

Mitch Connor · 11-04-2010 10:32PM

Mikeyt086 wrote: »

I love this. Can you make this happen please?

If we signed Yoann Gourcuff i would lose the plot. He oozes class. I watched the Champions League Magazine show this week and he was going on about how he loves and trusts Laurent Blanc, i was thinking the whole time, ahh Laurent, put in a good word there.

I wish I could make it happen.

Money wise, it could be a problem though, with the 3 players/positions I have listed, I reckon you are looking at around 60/70million spent. If the Ronaldo money is there, as Gill/Fergie say it is then it should be no problem. If it is gone as many people suspect it is, then we would need to raise about half that (maybe more, maybe less, just guessing) in player sales to spend the cash needed.

Mitch Connor · 11-04-2010 10:37PM

flahavaj wrote: »

I really think its unwise to bank on Hargo as being a first team player you can depend on tbh. Best to see him as a bonus if he does make it, but not to rely on him.

Agreed that midfield needs new blood. Gourcuff would be great. Arteta, if he wasn't so injury prone would be nice, but the last thing United need is another sicknote.

I agree - which is why I think we need to sign a DM, Rodwell listed in my second team, to back up him. Maybe a more experienced player would be needed to be bought if hargreaves will be as unreliable next season as many think he will be.

Smegball wrote: »

Personally I'd give Nani the first team birth, I think he has the potential to develop into a top winger.

I wouldn't be disappointed if that were to be the case, but I do think we need to bring in a winger (preferably a left footed winger at that) and that player should be of sufficient quality to be able to take that position off Nani.

Smegball · 11-04-2010 10:37PM

Seen this quote in the Times and lold.

What a great Champions League week for England. Yes, really. Bear with me. Take, as a starting point, that a reality check is always useful. Then think how the quest to meet soaring standards in Europe guided some great English team-building, that of Matt Busby, the men of the Liverpool Boot Room and Alex Ferguson pre-1999. So, now there are new levels to aim at. The gauntlet, thrown from overseas, once again lies at the feet of England’s leading clubs. Earlier this season a newspaper felt glib enough to ask: “Is the Champions League the new Carling Cup?” Thanks to Messi, Munich and Mourinho, the mystique is back.

Being in the Camp Nou and Old Trafford in midweek was both sobering and yet intoxicating. English clubs can learn from the lessons offered by Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Lionel Messi, Xavi and Arjen Robben showed English kids something more marvellous to emulate than the tracking runs of the power athletes seen at their nearest Premier League ground. It is time to take stock. The Premier League’s marketers trumpet the “closest title race in years” but quantity (three clubs challenging when there are usually only two) should not be mistaken for quality. Domestic football has dumbed down. Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal have lost 18 league games between them, and not because a fixture list in which 40% of matches are against Hull, Wigan, Burnley, West Ham, Wolves, Bolton, Blackburn and Portsmouth is fiendish.

The Premier League table lies. The Champions League doesn’t. Season 2007-08 was a high point for England, while 2009-10, the first in seven without an English club in the semi-finals, is a low. Perhaps Arsenal have improved marginally but, since the final of 2008, United, Liverpool and Chelsea have been static or gone backwards. The continentals, led by Barça but with the rise of Bayern, Inter Milan and the French and Russian teams significant, have advanced.

English clubs can move on now because this season’s Champions League exposed the lies they told themselves. Chelsea, after exiting at his hands, can no longer pretend it was okay to sack Mourinho. Liverpool, thoroughly embarrassed, chirp no more about a return to the glory days being just round the corner. Arsenal, after meeting Barça, were left a little less in love with their own football and a bit more fixed on what it takes to be a top team. Arsène Wenger even said he might spend. And United can put away fantasies that they don’t actually miss Ronaldo or, having been willing to play him with only one good leg, that they aren’t over-reliant on Wayne Rooney.

RELATED LINKS
Juve look to Torres as well as Benitez
Ferguson defiant over Bayern ‘bullies’
Ferguson’s team summoned one of their great surges to go 3-0 up and leave Bayern facing a task their players admitted seemed impossible. “The first half was the best football we played all season,” said Ryan Giggs. Yet United couldn’t close it out from there. In the first leg they’d spent 74 minutes leading but lost. Two notable collapses. Forget Fergie’s sour and diversionary talk about the Germans, his side are unable, now Ronaldo has gone, and Paul Scholes and Giggs are older, to maintain control or keep the ball adequately in big games. Then there’s their defending. Rio Ferdinand claims to be free of back pain but seemed stiff and fatigued trying to keep up with Ivica Olic and it was difficult to know whether Rafael’s red card in the second leg was more stupid than Gary Neville’s handball (leading to Bayern’s first goal) in the first. Michael Carrick, in the holding role, seems no more effective a screen than factor two sunblock on planet Mercury.

Arsenal have even more defensive shortcomings than United, exposed with puckish glee by Messi. The masterful Xavi exposed the callowness of Wenger’s midfield. In both legs there was some sharp attacking from Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner but also moments of dullard link-up play. It’s not all bad. The resilience of Wenger’s young group is extraordinary; in both legs they came back at Barcelona after sustaining punishment that would have killed the spirit of 99% of teams. United could also cherish youthful verve. Nani, Rooney and Antonio Valencia, none older than 24, look a forward line that should be stretching defences for years. “There are so many positives to come out of the game. Nani’s performance, (Darron) Gibson’s performance. Rafael was brilliant and didn’t give (Franck) Ribery a kick, it’s just unfortunate he was sent off. Learning from these disappointments is what being a Manchester United player is all about,” Giggs said.

But revamps are required, for United beginning with new support for Rooney. Ferguson may talk about still having “trust” in Dimitar Berbatov but, since last season’s run-in, he has kept the Bulgarian on the bench in big games, wouldn’t field him ahead of one-legged Rooney on Wednesday and didn’t introduce him until the 80th minute. Eleven of his 12 goals this season have come against sides in the bottom half of the league table and last season’s story was similar. A languorous flat-track bully.

Given Ferguson’s preference for a lone striker and that he is now well stocked with centre-forwards, having just signed Javier Hernandez, perhaps he needs a withdrawn attacker. Let Rooney develop as a No 9, helped by a quality No 10. A controlling and commanding midfield player is also required.

Arsenal, as Wenger is finally acknowledging, need experience and they could reinforce every defensive position, including goalkeeper. Chelsea require new blood. Where do you start with Liverpool? One element holds true for all England’s Champions League hopefuls, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham included. This year’s competition has been a triumph for artistry, for the likes of Robben, Ribery, Sneijder, Xavi, the divine Messi. There is a dearth across the whole Premier League of purveyors of rarefied skill.

“I’ve played football around the world for many years in many countries and, for me, the top four here are stronger than in any other league,” said Sylvinho. “But when you talk about the 20 teams then this league is not the best one. And Barcelona are playing the best football I’ve seen in my life. I’m a Brazilian and I remember the team of the 1982 World Cup with Zico, Socrates, Falcao. It’s difficult to compare Barcelona with anyone, not just English teams. Barcelona is a long way in front.”

It’s time for a massive game of catch-up and isn’t that, for England, more interesting than the Champions League being as perfunctory as the Carling Cup?

Mitch Connor · 11-04-2010 10:39PM

Headshot wrote: »

hey mitch

concerning the above would you have Nani in the first team and obertan in the second or do you think (like myself) that nani is to inconsistent?

I think Obertan is too inconsistent. I'd have him as back up to the 4 first team wingers (inclusive of a new option)

Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

Comments