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12 Apr 2012 22:38:20
Eds any truth in the dempsey rumors im reading on the net? I really hope they arent true. Although a good player i really dont think he'd set europe alight next year.
GALWAY RED {Ed002's Note - I have no idea what you are reading.}
12 Apr 2012 20:27:46
Calmed down a bit after the bad result last night now and im hoping it serves as a little reminder to the team that the title isnt over yet. I think after going 8 clear and with all the bad press city had in the week maybe a few of the players took their eye off the ball a little thinking the job was done. As we all know fergie wont stand for any of that and id expect him to have the players whipped and ready to go on sunday. Last night could just be the result that wins us the league in a funny kind of way, big performance on sunday and back to winning ways. Fair play to wigan, played brilliantly.
On the signings, ive said before id like to see cabaye brought in, looks a really good player and after a bedding in season at newcastle i reckon he'd be a great signing.
Parks
12 Apr 2012 20:07:43
Everyone loves a good ol poll!
Paul Pogba to be a United player next season?
Agree: Yes
Don't Agree: No
Gar
12 Apr 2012 18:23:02
Another point is that we are lacking a true leader. I do not see anyone at this club who has the Robbo or Keano leadership qualities. You might argue for Vidic but I disagree. We need a midfield enforcer who drives everyone on with both deeds and words and action. We need a captain!!!!
J Bones.
12 Apr 2012 18:20:28
''mankini displaying his premier leagu title
race expertise there. city manage to close the gap on us, and how does he motivate them? he tells the press that the race is over, that city don't have a chance. is that his pathetic attempt at mind games or is he just being realistic?
nov00''
Its football management 101, he publicly declared the title race over to reduce public and supporter expectations thus taking some pressure off his team. Obviously behind the scenes, he is telling his team to win every game as there is every chance united could slip up 1 more time.
All top managers do this, pep said something similar and now barca are waitin for Madrid to slip up just one more time and swing things back in their favour. Mourinho said madrid had no chance of getting to the C.L final after a disastrous first leg semi final against barca and yet Madrid came close to pulling off a major upset in the second leg at the nou camp, do you think jose told them they had no chance durning training and in the dressing room? No way! But you have to realise that what managers say to the media and what they say to their team in the locker rooms are completely different!
Millz
12 Apr 2012 18:08:28
A lot of people on here are discussing Carrick's influence on the game. Carrick is good at what SAF wants him to do, that is sit in front of the back 4 and keep the ball moving. The problem is that he is not a defensive midfielder. He doesn't have the 'bite' of a good defensive midfielder. When Carrick has someone like Fletcher beside him he does ok because Fletcher does most of the donkey work. when he has someone like Scholes beside him he does ok because Scholes always looks for the ball so Carrick can relax a bit more, etc, etc. When Carrick has someone as bad as Giggs beside him, then everything falls apart. He then has to do everything himself and he is a good professional but is not superman. Even Keano would have had difficulty holding a midfield with the current Giggs beside him.
Why, oh why does SAF not start Pogba, he cannot be as bad a Giggs. And before anyone comes on here saying Pogba is kept on the bench for this or that, I don't care. If SAF does not believe that Pogba would have been better than Giggs last night than he shouldn't even put him on the bench.
What is it with SAF and Giggs? I just can't understand it? Every time I think see Giggs in midfield I think of the CL final, what was SAF thinking?
A lot of posters are also questioning Phelan. Phelan is not the boss, SAF picked Phelan so has to be held responsible for all decisions.
Sorry for the rant.
J Bones.
12 Apr 2012 17:38:32
Damien Comolli resigns at Liverpool. Stuart Downing claims it as his first assist of the season!
12 Apr 2012 15:04:29
Time to wake up to reality..... this is probably the weakest United squad I have seen in my 35 years watching them.
We are carrying too many average players in the squad who have little or no impact anymore.... Owen,Park,Berbatov(?),Welbeck
Midfield is a disaster area with an average Carrick , an aging Scholes & Giggs , injury prone Anderson along with the unproven Cleverly & Pogba.
Giggs is on his last legs while hopefully we can get another season out of Scholes
I just don't rate Carrick..he is a very limited if steady player.
Up front without Rooney we have very little threat down the middle.
If we do go on to retain the title this year it will be more down to failings of other teams than our own success.
We need to spend & spend big
12 Apr 2012 14:44:16
Well,
I think that Glazers will have to bring money for transfer next season.
I'm sure Chelsea will be stronger than this year and they will make sure they build a team good enough for PL at least.
City will break the bank again for sure, no doubt.
We'll probably stick with Giggs and Schooles, I love them but we need players for the entire season not for 15 games season(1st 11 players). SAF experience and luck have been our best company this season cause this squad is truly poor and was proven in Europe.
Players like: Park, Giggs, Ferdinand, Evra, Berbatov, (Nani), Owen, Carrick and... they not longer offer what we really need on the moment of truth.
I don't see any youngest player apart from Wellbeck playing regularly this season as promised in the beginning of the season. The so called promissing star (Pogba) is yet to start is first game, so I don't see the point of not buying to give one player opportunity in only one position.
12 Apr 2012 14:11:42
Hi eds and syd,
Do you guys have any concrete evidence with regards to incoming players this summer?
I'm just worried that we may be left for dead in Europe next season unless we buy 3-4 players.
Thanks in advance for any responses
PHS93 {Ed002's Note - "Concrete" no - just cast iron.}
12 Apr 2012 13:50:37
mankini displaying his premier leagu title race expertise there. city manage to close the gap on us, and how does he motivate them? he tells the press that the race is over, that city don't have a chance. is that his pathetic attempt at mind games or is he just being realistic?
nov00
12 Apr 2012 12:27:50
As poor as we were last night, I can't say I didn't see it coming. Yes, there has been an over-reaction by many but we are Manchester United after all - but for the past few weeks we have been grinding out victories. Undoubtedly its a great quality but you can only get away with it for so long. We were fortunate to beat Fulham, had a valiant victory at Blackburn, largely thanks to DDG and unconvincing against QPR. Full credit to Wigan they were superb and I can see them escaping once again.
From our perspective last night highlighted exactly why we have to invest in our squad. Carrick has performed relatively well but I still don't think he does enough in a United shirt. Giggsy is a legend and the criticism of him has been totally unmerited however the only way it works with him in CM is in a 3. Ashley Young is also a player we can't rely on over the course of a season, far too often he becomes predictable and he has shown why he is such a frustrating player at times as his form can go brom blistering to below par in an instance. Defensively Phil Jones started the season sensationally but as we have progressed I think it's become apparent just how much learning he has to do, the potential is there in abundance, SAF needs to determine his best position and stick to it because it doesn't helped when he is maneuvered from A to B all the time. Evra has been way below par for the past 18 months surely all this talk of signing Nathaniel Clyne is nonsense a LB must be a priority over RB. As for in our attack, Welbeck has faded away over the past weeks and his form has considerably dipped, Hernandez has also looked a shadow of the player he was last year perhaps due to the injuries in pre-season, for me it begs the question why Berbatov isn't being used? He had his best year last season, has the ability and is surely worth a run given the time of the season, he would freshen things up in attack. Hopefully SAF realises this too. The only positive about last night was the return of Nani who could be a key individual for us between now and the end of the campaign and Tom Cleverley who was by far our best player, he seemed to be the only one with the hunger and passion to make things happen.
SAF has done amazingly with this squad, not any where near a quality United team but he continues to get the best out of them and compete for trophies along the way. Few other teams, if any, would have managed that this year but surely now even the master must have realised that the time is upon us to go into the market and make some serious and significant investments. As for the remainder of the season, I feel last night may have been the wake up call we needed and may turn out to be a blessing in disguise because to many people were convinced #20 was in the bag. Hopefully we can respond in the only way we know possible by hammering a few by Villa, pathing the way for a memorable night at the Etihad on Monday 30th April!
Bert.
12 Apr 2012 11:53:46
In the forward position what does everyone think about ricky van wolfswinkel? Seems to score goals for fun and would cost a lot
12 Apr 2012 10:55:28
On the back of yesterday, and in matches were similar losses have been suffered, there is one thing that is blatantly obvious. Carrick, whilst being excellent in many games, cracks when he is closed down and rushed. He misplaced countless passes when he was rushed by two or 3 men. The unfortunate thing is, when he plays with Giggs he is the man that makes us tick and when he is crowded out we don't keep the ball.
Its been a very interesting couple of days with Meulensteen's comments about certain targets. I just hope that SAF was impressed with Hazard as i think that he should be the number one target. That would fix the problem of needing a world class striker as Rooney could play in front of Hazard with Nani and Valencia on the wings.
Another thing i'd like to mention again is suddenly how people are praising Nani and were calling for him to come on. Many of the people who are now praising him were slagging him off for the last few weeks, very fickle. Nani is a top player, him and Valencia on the wings create a lot of chances. When he plays well, we win games.
In terms of a central midfielder, Modric is well overpriced, Strootman haso nly had a year at the top level so i would be apprehensive about taking him on. Martinez would obviously be the one, Martinez is by far the best option out there, as is Hazard. Whenever we wrack our brains and suggest things, we tend to come back to Hazard and Martinez and i think SAF might realise that we need investment to 'complete' the squad. Signs may point to United spending as the Glazers sanctioned a couple of big deals for their baseball team (?) recently so maybe they are in the spending mood. On top of that our massive profits would facilitate this.
The wage bill will also not be a problem as big wages will be coming off the wage bill with in the next 2 years. This season probably Park, Berbatov and a couple of others will come off, and then the following year we could get Evra, Ferdinand, Giggs and Scholes off the wage bill as well as Carrick and a few others. The younger players that would come in would be on considerably less than these.
Overall i still think that we will get title number 20, it will be a struggle but i think we will beat City at the Etihad and that will confirm it. SAF has done wonders with an average squad who have been blighted by terrible injuries. But we have come through it and we will get stronger.
RedDevil19
12 Apr 2012 10:01:52
Eds do you know of any reputable websites that show which players will be available on free transfers in the summer
Mad Hatter {Ed001's Note - try this: http://goo.gl/lYO2p you might want to filter the search a bit though. I forgot to take out loan contracts that are ending this summer, but it is a good starting point and a good website.}
12 Apr 2012 09:51:05
everyones needs to stop believing that united are going to buy this player and that player because realistically we can't afford any world class player as we have no money, The debt is only going to increase and unless we sell one of
Our best players I can't see any world
Class player coming in, nowadays players don't care about the shirt it's all money which is ashame because some players would have actually had a better career if they didn't take the highest bidder! realistically uniteds transfer budget will be around 35 million and I can't see us using that and buying one player, unless we get rid of at least 5 players!
Outs
Berbatov
Park
Nani
Carrick
diouf
12 Apr 2012 09:49:43
Only managed to catch the last 20 minutes of the match last night, but from the updates that I read, it's clear we didn't play that well.
I was concerned about that match because the previous 3 matches against Fulham, Blackburn and QPR we hadn't played that well. A nervy 1-0 at home against Fulham, an excellent 2-0 win against Blackburn but it could have been much different if it weren't for DDG and whilst we dominated against QPR it was hardly a convincing performance.
Hopefully the loss last night maybe the kick up the backside that the players need and to actually realise that the league is far from over. We should get 6 points out of our next 2 games against Villa and Everton both at home. City on the other hand have to go to Norwich which is by no means easy and Wolves (which in all likelihood will be easy) in their next 2 matches.
Rudderpost
12 Apr 2012 09:41:56
Can United drop 5 points in their last 5 games and hand the title to City ?
Personally I doubt it but stranger things have certainly happened. Its certainly squeaky bum time and Im not sure ALL the squad have the same bottle as the likes of Scholes and Giggs. Strange team choice last night, no Scholes and no wonder you lost.
Without Scholes it is an ABSOLUTE FACT that you would not even be in the top 10 in the prem this season. Before he was dragged back to help save the season United were plunging. He steadied the ship at a very crucial stage, but lets face it hes 37 and nearly as old as me !
City could certainly beat you at their ground, they have proven they can give you a good slapping, but Im sure Fergie will ensure his pals are both ref and linseman, so who knows. I predict another City sending off early on, Fergies new tactics these days.
Will United win the title, unfortunately for me the answer is YES....far too much experience even though they have not really had a decent game all season despite the points tally accumulated due to too many 'dodgy' decisions. You know Im telling the truth so be gentle with me.
The next game is vital for United, and if Scholes gets injured or misses a few, you may just lose it boys. He is the key and the rest of the prem know it.
I hope City win it as they have played some great football this season and on balance as a neutral, they probably deserve it too....but its a funny old game so lets just see who leaves the most gravy trails in the dressing room before the next few games.....always a good sign
ps I heard a rumour of Fergie kicking shoes again and Rooney giving him a mouthful back? If true it is not good, but if false you have to admit its a good rumour, and after all that is exactly what this wonderful site is all about eh ?
Must go, time to change my incontinence pads...hope Fergies got some on order for your boys ?
Tel 1949
12 Apr 2012 09:13:07
Hi everyone, 1st time iv posted but been avid follower of site for quite a while. Just wanted other people's thoughts on our overall performances this season as I think we've actually been fairly average. I know people will come on and say we're top of the league etc and that's fair comment but can anyone honestly say we've had a good season?. Not just on about the really bad performances, Bilbao(twice), Ajax at home, Newcastle away, Basle, Palace in cu, but even games we have won, Spurs away 1st half we were very poor, and last night was a shambles, it's interesting that when scholes is not in squad we seem to struggle a lot more, should we realy be depending on a 37 yr old that much?, as great a player as he is. Agree with lot of posts over past couple days re: Giggs and Carrick not able to control midfield when played together(too many gaps, especially when playing against a back 3 with full backs pushing into midfield like last night), and as for taking Rooney off, normally our main threat, well, words fail me.Wellbeck for me not the sort of player you can depend on when you may only get 1 or 2 chances a game, fine if you get 5 or 6, he may grab a goal or 2 but you're not goin to get that against top class sides, especially in Europe.Another player mentioned on here a lot this season has been Cleverley, and agree, think as he gets experience he will be a decent player but he's never going to be world class, , the amount of people on here earlier in season saying that we were struggling because he was injured?, do we realy have to rely that heavily on a player that was on loan at Wigan last season to make us tick?!. Looking back at midfield, it was always our strong point, the basis for being able to control a game, a mix of skill, power and raw determination(Keane, Scholed, Beckham, and before that generation Robson Muhren etc), I look at our midfield now and if anyone plays with a hogh tempo, such as Bilbao and Wigan last night, we're like rabbits caught in headlights. Yes there are players out there, Goetze, Martinez, Hazard etc who could bring that strength back but iv a horrible feeling that we'll be going for cheapest options possible in the summer and we'll be no further forward. You have to pay top money for top players, broke British records for Robson, Ferdinand, Keane etc but we got value for money from them in terms of success and moving the team forward. There's little doubt s**tty will be spending big in summer again and just hope that as well as bringing through our own talent, which is def there, we supplement that with proven quality, something which has been the cornerstone of our success over the past 20+ years.
12 Apr 2012 08:17:15
Big fan of the kid but watching Hernandez last night was cringeworthy. if he is not in front of goal hes awful, touch is woeful really is, if we get a 20 mill offer for him we should accept i think
ms85
12 Apr 2012 07:47:35
Having got back from the game I am amazed at the mass hysteria on here, worst performance for 28 yrs, Jones isn't Utd standard, Carrick is rubbish, Giggs is past it, even Park was slagged off and he never even made it onto the pitch. Funny how the same posters were so certain title number 20 was sealed, it was all over, City had cracked etc etc, how fickle they are. No doubt the clamour for numerous signings will follow today, also lists of players to offload.
We got beat by a team that seemed to want it more than us, they got about us like Bilbao and Newcastle did with the same result.
We had our two wingers playing behind the full backs for most of the first half. The midfield of Giggs and Carrick doesn't work, Jones had a poor game by his standards, up front Chico was non existent and Rooney had an off night. For some reason Toni rarely got wide and we relied on Jones to do that job, sadly not very successfully.
Sure we need some signings, in my view we desperately need a quality striker, the lack of quality in depth in our midfield has been discussed at length, so no point going over it again.
Here is something to think about for all those posters who are slagging the players off, who signed Carrick etc, who picks them week in week out, who decides on the team / tactics, surely if there is any blame then that is where it lies. If as all you people say Carrick is rubbish then surely Fergie is a useless manager as he keeps picking him, see how stupid that sounds.
We had an off night and we can't say it hasn't been coming, we have been less than impressive of late. So a little less hysteria and let's get behind the team for the final 5 games, I am sure there are another 19 teams who would swap places with us.
Keanooh
12 Apr 2012 06:40:50
Woeful performance yesterday! Welbeck and Chicha aren't performing....
I feel berbatov should be given a start onn sunday with danny and chicha having such a hard time! He gives us something different....would love to see him on the team sheet against villa!
#20 on its way! In SAF we believe!
K10
12 Apr 2012 06:03:39
this is just my opinion
poor performance from everyone tonight and a good clearout is needed with some serious investment,the days of giggs starting games is long gone,he was poor tonight i forgot he was still on the pitch in the second half as he touched the ball so rarely!i can see why pogba is reluctant to sign a new deal when you see the players picked ahead of him,giggs, carrick, cleverly, all offer nothing and seem to only able to pass the ball sideways!
Evra defending has been poor for a while only his attacking play has merited him starting but the last few games he has hardly contributed in any attacks at all.
dont know whats happened to chicaritto but his link up play is awful, when he has the ball at his feet it seems like a hot potato,Welbeck offers more at the moment but still not enough,Valencia only seems to play well when up against slow defenders as all he does is use his pace, he has no trickery to beat a man, at least nani can do both, Ashley young was a strange signing for me and is only good enough as a squad player.
So are we going to sign average players in the summer like dempsey, dembelle, who might be good enough to win the league again, but we need to sign players to compete with barca and real if we manage to get far enough to play them because they will both sign top players.
i think we need lb cissoko,dm,martinez,fw hazard,lw,rodreguez.cf ?
fergie needs to spend big and get top players in now theres no point in letting the likes of hazard go to spurs and then want to buy him next season for double the price as he has done in the past, berba, modric etc
out owen park berba evra anderson and a few more
12 Apr 2012 02:01:04
Clyne,strootman,kovacic and hazard/ericksen/rodriguez what do ye think?
12 Apr 2012 01:20:56
im gonna have a little rant here at giggs and park i like the players but they have been poor this season
and hes some stuff to back me up
giggs has started 12 prem games this season
7 wins swansea-bolton-wigan-fulham x2-norwich-liverpool
4 of them by 1 goal
3 draws chelsea-liverpool-newcastle
2 losses wigan-newcastle
he started v bilbao in both games 2 more losses
started v pool in fa cup loss
started v basel in both games loss + draw
started v benfica draw
park also started both basel games
started v bburn cm loss
started v palace loss
started same benfica game as giggs (i think)
started v ajax in the home leg which we lost
12 Apr 2012 00:50:22
Still can't believe what happened 2nite. Getting completely outplayed by the 7th best team in Spain is 1 thing, but by a team that is struggling to survive in a poor English league is something else.
Couple points:
1- what is all the hype with Jones? I still haven't seen much from him all season! A few driving runs through the middle that lead to nothing because he ends up be tackled anyway! Maybe a central defender in the future(bit sloppy there now) but definitely not a right back. Doesn't have the pace nor the delivery! Should be used as a sub if things are going well!
2 - Giggs in central midfield?? Really?? Its not his position FULL pork chop STOP!! Has got som clever through balls into the box but that's about it. He tries way too hard to mimic Scholes type of play but fails miserably with his long wide balls. I'll bet anything Pogba will do more then a better job.
3 - the team that finished was the team that should have started!! Rooney's head was not in the right place and Hernandez only thrives on those clever through balls or whipped in crosses. Nothing else. He's got zero ball control, hardly any skill and is crap at passing!
4 - Young has been way too one dimensional and predictable. Couple moments of brilliance but not enough to start him week in and week out.
5 - Cleverly was immense 2nite, I think as soon as he came on he changed the game. His passing was spot on and he had the drive to win which sadly I felt know one else did. He was the spark in the middle.
6 - Looks like Nani's break due to injury has brought back the player we all know he can be. He created more chances on the short time he played then any player that was on for 90min. Hopefully what I saw 2nite can continue!
All in all this loss isn't the end of the world. I feel city will stumble again having to still travel to Norwich and Newcastle. 2 very tough games for them. I think if we can our next 2 games we'll be in the driving seat come the derby. I still believe in SAF the greatest manager of all time, and we have the potential to lift title number 20.
Nik Legend SA
12 Apr 2012 00:43:09
Any chance of Michael carrick going at the end of this season?i think it's time !!