Transfer Talk/Gossip/Rumour Thread - Summer 2014 - Mod note in OP

Christy Browne · 24-08-2014 05:24PM

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

Whether it's £60m or £75m (as suggest by the BBC today), its a hell of a lot of money for player who doesnt score goals, who's 27 years old and with no resale value, and when you have huge holes in your defence.

Blackett and Keane are currently struggling to keep Sunderland at bay, and then youve Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia playing at wing back. Thats not a Man United team. It reminds me of when Liverpool were playing guys like Plessis, Insua, Poulsen, Koncheskey.

Meanwhile, United have Kagawa, who can offer a lot of what Di Maria does, languishing on the bench, and one of Europe's most promising attackers in Januzaj struggling for game time.

and, its easy to rack up assists when youve the likes of Ronaldo or Bale ahead of you. I think Ozil had the most assists in La Liga the previous year, and hasnt exactly set the league alight here. Mata also led the Premier League in assists a couple of years ago.

Di Maria will allow us to switch to 4-3-3, which means more game time for Januzaj. And I challenge you to show me a team who could put out a good defence with 5 of their first choice defenders missing in Rafael, Smalling, Evans, Rojo, Shaw. I don't see your point about Mata, he's class. And Kagawa has never shown up in a United shirt, nor is he a winger, which is where Di Maria will be played. So that's irrelevant too...

Talib Fiasco · 24-08-2014 05:28PM

Christy Browne wrote: »

Di Maria will allow us to switch to 4-3-3, which means more game time for Januzaj. And I challenge you to show me a team who could put out a good defence with 5 of their first choice defenders missing in Rafael, Smalling, Evans, Rojo, Shaw. I don't see your point about Mata, he's class. And Kagawa has never shown up in a United shirt, nor is he a winger, which is where Di Maria will be played. So that's irrelevant too...

Sagna/Richards-Nastatic-Demichellis-Kolarov after you take out:

Kompany, Mangala, Zabaleta, Clichy

Not a bad defence at all, in fact I'd be comfortable with seeing that for a few games

Christy Browne · 24-08-2014 05:32PM

Talib Fiasco wrote: »

Sagna/Richards-Nastatic-Demichellis-Kolarov after you take out:

Kompany, Mangala, Zabaleta, Clichy

Not a bad defence at all, in fact I'd be comfortable with seeing that for a few games

3 first choice centre backs and 2 full backs so take out Kompany, Demichelis and Mangala, along with Zabaleta and Kolarov and you're left with: Sagna - Nastasic - Boyata - Clichy? I wouldn't be confident if I was a City fan going into a match with that back four.

Dont be at yourself · 24-08-2014 05:35PM

Christy Browne wrote: »

Di Maria will allow us to switch to 4-3-3, which means more game time for Januzaj. And I challenge you to show me a team who could put out a good defence with 5 of their first choice defenders missing in Rafael, Smalling, Evans, Rojo, Shaw. I don't see your point about Mata, he's class. And Kagawa has never shown up in a United shirt, nor is he a winger, which is where Di Maria will be played. So that's irrelevant too...

LVG is on the record saying he wants to play 5-3-2 so he can accommodate Mata, Rooney and RVP in their best positions. Thats why hes persevered with it, even though it means playing the likes of Blackett, Young, Lingard and Keane.

Spending this money on Di Maria to play 4-3-3? Sure, he's an excellent winger. But it also means youve no place for Mata (last year's big money signing), and Rooney will be out of position.

Chelsea can leave Philip Luis on the bench, City can leave Mangala on the bench, Arsenal spent £16m on a backup defender, Liverpool have Sakho, Agger, Flanagan all kicking their heels... And sure, its unfair to compare your second string defence to other teams. But looks at your first string: Jones, Evans, Rafael -- that needs the £60m more than the final third does.

hadepsx · 24-08-2014 05:41PM

63.9 million sterling fee quoted on ssn news there now for di maria. Wow

Christy Browne · 24-08-2014 05:41PM

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

LVG is on the record saying he wants to play 5-3-2 so he can accommodate Mata, Rooney and RVP in their best positions. Thats why hes persevered with it, even though it means playing the likes of Blackett, Young, Lingard and Keane.

Spending this money on Di Maria to play 4-3-3? Sure, he's an excellent winger. But it also means youve no place for Mata (last year's big money signing), and Rooney will be out of position.

Chelsea can leave Philip Luis on the bench, City can leave Mangala on the bench, Arsenal spent £16m on a backup defender, Liverpool have Sakho, Agger, Flanagan all kicking their heels... And sure, its unfair to compare your second string defence to other teams. But looks at your first string: Jones, Evans, Rafael -- that needs the £60m more than the final third does.

De Gea
Rafael - Evans - Rojo - Shaw
Carrick
Herrera - Di Maria
Mata
Rooney - Van Persie

or

De Gea
Rafael - Evans - Rojo - Shaw
Herrera - Carrick
Mata
Di Maria - Van Persie - Rooney

with the front three interchanging all accommodate Rooney, Van Persie, Mata and Di Maria.

Van Gaal is also quoted as saying he prefers 4-3-3 but can't play it because we don't have quality wide men like Di Maria or Ronaldo. Oh look we're signing Di Maria, wonder what happens now....

Talib Fiasco · 24-08-2014 05:44PM

Christy Browne wrote: »

3 first choice centre backs and 2 full backs so take out Kompany, Demichelis and Mangala, along with Zabaleta and Kolarov and you're left with: Sagna - Nastasic - Boyata - Clichy? I wouldn't be confident if I was a City fan going into a match with that back four.

Fine so. Sagna, Nas, Richards and Clichy.... I'd be comfortable with that for a few games certainly.

Christy Browne · 24-08-2014 05:48PM

Talib Fiasco wrote: »

Fine so. Sagna, Nas, Richards and Clichy.... I'd be comfortable with that for a few games certainly.

Also doesn't account for the fact we're playing 5 at the back, so Sagna - Richards - Boyata - Nastasic - Clichy. I'd be about as comfortable with that defence as a lying on a bed of nails :pac:. You're a less nervous man then me if you're happy with that

Dont be at yourself · 24-08-2014 05:49PM

Christy Browne wrote: »

De Gea
Rafael - Evans - Rojo - Shaw
Carrick
Herrera - Di Maria
Mata
Rooney - Van Persie

or

De Gea
Rafael - Evans - Rojo - Shaw
Herrera - Carrick
Mata
Di Maria - Van Persie - Rooney
with the front three interchanging all accommodate Rooney, Van Persie, Mata and Di Maria.

Van Gaal is also quoted as saying he prefers 4-3-3 but can't play it because we don't have quality wide men like Di Maria or Ronaldo. Oh look we're signing Di Maria, wonder what happens now....

Both of those teams are ridiculously unbalanced. If youre going to have to play one of Di Maria or Mata in midfield, why not buy an actual central midfielder like Vidal or Khedira?

Bayern, Barca and Real can load up on forwards because they have the likes of Neuer, Lahm, Varane, Ramos, Pepe, Pique Macherano to keep things steady at the back. United have, err, Johnny Evans.

Sounds to me that Jorge Mendez is throwing a bone to Woodward and he's jumped on it wholeheartedly.

Talib Fiasco · 24-08-2014 05:50PM

Christy Browne wrote: »

Also doesn't account for the fact we're playing 5 at the back, so Sagna - Richards - Boyata - Nastasic - Clichy. I'd be about as comfortable with that defence as a lying on a bed of nails :pac::pac:pac:. You're a less nervous man then me if you're happy with that

Why play with 5 at the back though if you're short of natural defenders? It doesn't make sense to make things difficult before ye even kick a ball with playing lads in positions not natural to them but it's not my fault Van Gaal wants to do that so I'll stick with that solid 4 thank you very much :pac:

Christy Browne · 24-08-2014 05:55PM

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

Both of those teams are ridiculously unbalanced. If youre going to have to play one of Di Maria or Mata in midfield, why not buy an actual central midfielder like Vidal or Khedira?

Bayern, Barca and Real can load up on forwards because they have the likes of Neuer, Lahm, Varane, Ramos, Pepe, Pique Macherano to keep things steady at the back. United have, err, Johnny Evans.

Sounds to me that Jorge Mendez is throwing a bone to Woodward and he's jumped on it wholeheartedly.

Obviously I would hope a proper DM is signed to replace Carrick in the line up but I was basing it on what's there at the moment. As for Evans, I think he's a quality centre back and you're severely underrating him there. And those line up's aren't unbalanced at all, evidenced by the fact the likes of Dortmund, Madrid and Barca can all play those formations.

Christy Browne · 24-08-2014 05:56PM

Talib Fiasco wrote: »

Why play with 5 at the back though if you're short of natural defenders? It doesn't make sense to make things difficult before ye even kick a ball with playing lads in positions not natural to them but it's not my fault Van Gaal wants to do that so I'll stick with that solid 4 thank you very much :pac:

Di Maria allows us to switch to a back four, so we won't be short of defenders much longer

Quazzie · 24-08-2014 05:57PM

Christy Browne wrote: »

Obviously I would hope a proper DM is signed to replace Carrick in the line up but I was basing it on what's there at the moment. As for Evans, I think he's a quality centre back and you're severely underrating him there. And those line up's aren't unbalanced at all, evidenced by the fact the likes of Dortmund, Madrid and Barca can all play those formations.

Evans wouldn't even make the bench of any of the other teams trying to win a CL place.

Christy Browne · 24-08-2014 06:02PM

Quazzie wrote: »

Evans wouldn't even make the bench of any of the other teams trying to win a CL place.

Evans > Zouma
Evans > Chambers
Evans > Nastasic

I'd say he's about on par with Skrtel for Liverpool, and he'd definitely start for Spurs and Everton

Quazzie · 24-08-2014 06:04PM

Christy Browne wrote: »

Evans > Zouma
Evans > Chambers
Evans > Nastasic

I'd say he's about on par with Skrtel for Liverpool, and he'd definitely start for Spurs and Everton

You're severely overrating him, although there seems to be a lot more people doing the same

Dont be at yourself · 24-08-2014 06:04PM

Christy Browne wrote: »

Obviously I would hope a proper DM is signed to replace Carrick in the line up but I was basing it on what's there at the moment. As for Evans, I think he's a quality centre back and you're severely underrating him there. And those line up's aren't unbalanced at all, evidenced by the fact the likes of Dortmund, Madrid and Barca can all play those formations.

Hammer, nail, head.

United have, and are further spending £60m+ on improving, a CL-standard attacking line-up.

The problem is, keeper aside, they also have a mid-table standard defense and central midfield.

You can talk up Evans, Rojo, Fletcher until the cows come home, but look at the teams United should be competing with, and the gulf in class is obvious. If you can't see it, it's because you have your head in the sand.

Talib Fiasco · 24-08-2014 06:06PM

Evans better than Nastatic? B*tch please....

LuckyLloyd · 24-08-2014 06:08PM

hadepsx wrote: »

63.9 million sterling fee quoted on ssn news there now for di maria. Wow

Mad Ted!

Christy Browne · 24-08-2014 06:08PM

Dont be at yourself wrote: »

Hammer, nail, head.

United have, and are further spending £60m+ on improving, a CL-standard attacking line-up.

The problem is, keeper aside, they also have a mid-table standard defense and central midfield.

You can talk up Evans, Rojo, Fletcher until the cows come home, but look at the teams United should be competing with, and the gulf in class is obvious. If you can't see it, it's because you have your head in the sand.

Talking up Fletcher? I haven't mentioned him once and he was appalling today. Don't put words in my mouth. The defence is Europa League quality, as is the midfield, but the attack is world class. So a compromise could be made and say 4th would be the expected finish, which is what I think every fan is hoping for.

eagle eye · 24-08-2014 06:08PM

£63.5 million agreed for Di Maria. That sounds like the right price for him tbh when you consider other recent transfers.

Christy Browne · 24-08-2014 06:11PM

Talib Fiasco wrote: »

Evans better than Nastatic? B*tch please....

The Nastasic that City are trying to sell against the Evans who has 115 appearances for United over 8 years? I'd take Evans every time

hjkl · 24-08-2014 06:11PM

Christy Browne wrote: »

Evans > Zouma
Evans > Chambers
Evans > Nastasic

I'd say he's about on par with Skrtel for Liverpool, and he'd definitely start for Spurs and Everton

Skrtel is better than Evans. He would not start for Spurs. Vertonghen and Kaboul are both better than him.
He's on par with Natastic and Evertons two centre backs. But he wouldn't be guaranteed to start with Everton at all.

KERSPLAT! · 24-08-2014 06:13PM

Christy Browne wrote: »

The Nastasic that City are trying to sell against the Evans who has 115 appearances for United over 8 years? I'd take Evans every time

But sure Madrid want rid of Di Maria and Chelsea wanted rid of Mata, that means f-all

Talib Fiasco · 24-08-2014 06:14PM

Christy Browne wrote: »

The Nastasic that City are trying to sell against the Evans who has 115 appearances for United over 8 years? I'd take Evans every time

It's not Nas' fault he has to compete with the best CB's in the world at the raw age of 20/21 whereas Evans has to compete with the likes of Smalling...nuff said. He wants to play but it's hard when you're fighting it out with the best in the world. And that's all rumour. I'd be shocked if he was sold.

24-08-2014 06:15PM

Quazzie wrote: »

Evans wouldn't even make the bench of any of the other teams trying to win a CL place.

I love statements like this. How many times have you seen him the last 2 years out of interest?

Utopia Parkway · 24-08-2014 06:15PM

eagle eye wrote: »

£63.5 million agreed for Di Maria. That sounds like the right price for him tbh when you consider other recent transfers.

Bit rich for my taste but United and Woodward are under pressure to make signings. Usually leads to overpaying.

Christy Browne · 24-08-2014 06:16PM

KERSPLAT! wrote: »

But sure Madrid want rid of Di Maria and Chelsea wanted rid of Mata, that means f-all

Yes but Di Maria was one of Madrid's best players last year and their president is just a nutcase, while Mata was Chelsea's player of the twice and Mourinho didn't think he suited the style of play he wanted to use. While Nastasic on the other hand has Kompany, Mangala and Demichelis ahead of him and is not good enough for City's starting 11

Dont be at yourself · 24-08-2014 06:16PM

Christy Browne wrote: »

Talking up Fletcher? I haven't mentioned him once and he was appalling today. Don't put words in my mouth. The defence is Europa League quality, as is the midfield, but the attack is world class. So a compromise could be made and say 4th would be the expected finish, which is what I think every fan is hoping for.

I don't know where to begin. You're not talking up Fletcher, and yet in the same breath saying your midfield is Europa League standard. Herrera, Fellaini, Carrick, Fletcher: where do you even begin to make a sensible midfield out of that?

You're also saying that your defense and midfield are weaker than your rivals, and you have a world class attack. So how can you be happy to be spending £60m+ on Di Maria, mainly, as you say, for his assists?

cson · 24-08-2014 06:18PM

eagle eye wrote: »

£63.5 million agreed for Di Maria. That sounds like the right price for him tbh when you consider other recent transfers.

Jesus I dunno...

When you consider the calibre of player who's gone for less;

Mata, Sanchez, Costa, Cavani, Ozil, Falcao, Hazard...

All of the above would be at or above ADM's level but he's trading at a 20-100% premium on them.

I know fees are gone mental but even still. That's a ****ing huge amount of money.

Soups123 · 24-08-2014 06:19PM

Fantastic signing for United, he can improve any team in the world.

Was quality for Real last season.

Transfer Talk/Gossip/Rumour Thread - Summer 2014 - Mod note in OP

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