21 Aug 2015 17:30:15
Just been reading today's posts and saw down the page that the manager said he wanted to strengthen the spine of the team but hasn't done that? I personally think he has definitely done it. We've signed a goalkeeper to replace de gea who seems to be very well positioned all the time, his kicking needs a bit of work but that's not the end of the world. He's got the full back spots sorted and has picked a defensive partnership that he's happy with which actually seems to click, although I was skeptical of blind. He's bought one of the best midfielders in the world in the past 10 years In and arguably one of the best centre mids in the league last season. He's chosen his main striker and said he will stand by him and trust him and we all know that as much as we like to moan about Rooney he is a proven goalscorer in the past. Although he looks to have dropped off, give him a chance to get going and he might score 20+. Lvg has also now picked a formation which seems to be working and that he's happy with. Hopefully we don't see the return of the dreaded 532! People just don't seem to be happy unless we sign a cb for 40m and a forward for 60 because our 'net spend' is low. Some of the things I read on here is what I would expect from a city fan!


1.) 21 Aug 2015
21 Aug 2015 18:04:30
Brad, I usually agree with you but that's a somewhat rose tinted view of where we are. As I have said elsewhere I am ok with CBs but if Rooney is injured, what happens then? We remain very short up front.


2.) 21 Aug 2015
21 Aug 2015 18:17:18
We are very light upfront, need a partner for rooney. In defence we might be able to cope but it is the goals we are struggling with.


3.) 21 Aug 2015
21 Aug 2015 18:17:51
Agree with what you say AJH. I am backing Rooney but we're in trouble if/when he's injured. LVG has said that Memphis can play the striker role. Would be good to see what happens keeping same formation as Tuesday apart from Young coming on the wing and pushing Memphis upfront. Food for thought.


4.) 21 Aug 2015
21 Aug 2015 18:20:42
I would think "strengthening the spine" may have meant sorting out the Central Midfield and Right Back. And we done that brilliantly

I hope the club brings, at least, striker or a top CB. If not, the squad is looking good enough.


5.) 21 Aug 2015
21 Aug 2015 19:36:28
All I'm trying to say is that we've signed players which have given us a great squad and i think we have plenty of cover in all areas. Ajh I understand what you mean about if Rooney gets injured but Hernandez is a perfectly capable back up striker and can definitely score goals! I think we should only be signing the very best players. If we can make a deal for muller, greizman or bale then brilliant do it. But I don't think we should go for 3rd, 4th and 5th targets cause we're not in that much need


6.) 21 Aug 2015
21 Aug 2015 19:47:27
I would see the spine as centre back, midfield and centre forward. Midfield has been done. Centre back looks alright, Smalling is settling in well, Blind playing well, Rojo, McNair, Evans and Jones all as back ups so unless we see any CB leave I can't see any come in.

Centre forward needs strengthened imo. We need a proven goal scorer. Very difficult to sign a player like this. Chances of trying to set up a deal in January for Kane to come in the Summer eds? Would give us a chance to see how he performs from now until Jan and then if all goes well we could try and strike a deal with Mr Tightarse


7.) 21 Aug 2015
21 Aug 2015 20:00:53
This is the direct quote from Giggs: “With any good team, the spine is important. Midfield, striker, centre-backs, goalkeeper. I’m sure we’ll be looking to strengthen the spine all the way through."

So they were clearly planning to bring in players for each of these positions.


8.) 21 Aug 2015
21 Aug 2015 20:21:38
Brad, I agree entirely re to class as opposed to fillers. So, if Stones is the real deal (I don't know if he is), why don't we offer £26M plus Evans? Allegedely Benzema is available. Would Bayern turn down 80M Euros for Muller, or 50M Euros for Lewandowski? These are the players who could makema difference to us.


9.) 21 Aug 2015
21 Aug 2015 22:12:52
I agree completely. We should be signing players who will take us to the next level rather than signing players who are mid table standard. We should be aiming for centre backs like stones, Laporte and giminez from atletico who are great players and young. We seem to have a settled back 4 right now and don't want to ruin it by signing a new centre back who isn't much better than what we've got which is what we would get with some suggestions on here such as howedes. An attacking midfielder or winger would have to be a top class one otherwise we would be ruining the chance for Januzaj, pereira and lingard to improve when they could be better than a lot of options out there. If we sign a winger it needs to be someone like muller, greizman, Reus, bale, neymar. Only players of this standard would make sense. Up top is a real issue because Rooney is our captain and will not be dropped. I would have loved to see dybala signed or henriquez kept but I think we will struggle to find a top young striker out there who won't be too demanding


10.) 22 Aug 2015
22 Aug 2015 01:11:04
Since when was 'right back' part of a team's spine?

{Ed007's Note - Ed004 will know that!}