Manchester United Banter Archive December 16 2014

 

Use our rumours form to send us manchester united transfer rumours.


16 Dec 2014 18:02:39
Anderson looks like he has dropped a lot of weight from the pictures of the hospital visit. I wonder if we will get a surprise in him yet and maybe he will give us a glimpse of the player that was signed 6 years ago.

Believable1 Unbelievable3

16 Dec 2014 18:07:42
I'm going to put my neck out and say no lol

Agree8 Disagree0

You are very brave lol. Hey you never know just an observation but looks like he has dropped a lot of weight. Is he playing any reserve games, does anyone know?

Agree0 Disagree0

I hope he's after shedding a few pounds, that way we can save on postage when we ship him out of here.

Agree2 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 18:37:33
Probably just lost a bit of weight so he can enjoy his Christmas dinner a bit more

Agree2 Disagree1

He's a joke of a player. He cannot be called a professional footballer. His ship sailed three years ago. Waste of time. Get rid. Get the message?

Agree0 Disagree1

He must have been in hospital for a fat reduction operation then ! The only thing he dropped was his pizza

Agree1 Disagree0

LVG could maybe get the best out of him. he has managed to do so with Fellaini and Young, 2 players who were certain to leave United

Agree0 Disagree1

Come on NoMidfield, stop beating about the bush and tell us what you really think. Although I agree with you! And I'm assuming you are staying with your name, it has a kind of retro feel to it nowadays

Agree0 Disagree0

Anderson?
Give it a rest, he is pointless as a United player. Maybe Sunday league.

Agree2 Disagree0

I think Anderson is a lost cause to be honest. We have tried all sorts including loaning him out. Move him on.

Agree1 Disagree0

There may be a surprise . u never know!

Agree0 Disagree0

mbd              

Thanks Ajh, thought about changing it, but thought you guys will miss it, haha. Nomidfield but who cares when we have Dr Gea!!!

Agree0 Disagree0

I think once he's given birth he might lose a few pounds!!

Agree0 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 13:14:58
For almost 6-7 years we practically played with only 1 recognized first team left back with not so good backups like O'Shea, Buttner but such was the fitness level Patrice Evra maintained that we did not really need another LB when he was in his prime.

Now we have 3 players Shaw, Rojo and Blind who have played at left back at some point of their career for extended periods but they are all injured.

Believable3 Unbelievable0

16 Dec 2014 14:18:17
I think Evans has even played there too.I would have liked to still have fabio as a back up.

Agree0 Disagree0

Hey MB did u go to the MUSC LIVE screening at the Bpl live thingy the other day??

Agree0 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 15:59:08
Blackett has played at left back more than CB during his short career. Find it funny how Ashley is playing ahead of him but to be honest can't fault the guy he's been pretty decent defending and going forward except for a few mistakes.

Agree2 Disagree0

I liked Heinze as LB during his stay with us.

Agree4 Disagree0

mbd              

17 Dec 2014 02:59:24
Yea pippy I did attend that event.awesome experience

Agree0 Disagree0

Evra was incredible, if only we could find more like him

Agree2 Disagree0

Evra was good in his prime but he was no Denis Irwin, Irwin was the best LB united ever had IMO.

Agree2 Disagree0

We could definitely use another left back. I loved having Heinze and Evra as one was more attacking than the other so it was a very balanced position. With Shaw's problems I still wouldn't be shocked to see us interested in Rodriguez.

Agree0 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 12:47:37
There's been a massive debate over the last few weeks about how good Dave the save really is!

For me, he's the best in the world, or was until last night when I was researching Neuer's season.

Now, big Dave has saved 71% of all shots put his way this season, which is remarkable! Especially when you consider the shots he's faced this year.

However, this is where Neuer comes into a class of his own.
Shots save percentage; 91.2%
Shots saved in the 18 yard box percentage; 91.3%

It may be true that Neuer has less shots to face compared to Dave, but the shots he put at him he saves with ease by the looks of it.

For me personally, De Gea is a world beater but Neuer is far, far superior.

Have a great week guys!

Believable0 Unbelievable6

I think and it's just my opinion, that Neuer and Courtois are better keepers, but Dave is right up there with them albeit slightly behind. What Dave needs is a better defence ahead of him so he doesn't need to do so much. Hummels and a top right-back would make a difference. Also a very mobile, but tough tackling midfielder would be very helpful at this point. Rafael is a decent RB, but he's injured almost all the time and he's still very rash at times.

Agree1 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 13:03:29
Let me put my hands up here - a few months back I commented that ddg still has deficiencies to his game and areas to improve on. Since that post he has played like a cross between schmeichel and superman!

Way to make me look silly, Dave! Keep it up

Agree0 Disagree0

He still has one weakness to be fair HB, although he has improved somewhat. Collecting the ball from crosses is still his achilles heel. Dave had a shaky start, but he has got there in the end. I hope we do not lose him to RM, well unless they were willing to offer one of their top players.

Agree0 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 13:46:54
I'm sure if you looked at Valdes stats for the period 2008-11 it'd show something similar. Was Valdes called the best? Not even close. Neuer is no doubt a wonderful keeper but the stats don't show the full truth, they compliment the defence of Bayern if nothing else.

Agree1 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 14:16:07
Sydney, Courtois looks more composed and is more of a presence, which is why I rate him highly. So calm for such a young GK. Both he and Ddg will keep improving so we will see how they both end up but right now Courtois just takes it for me, not much in it though.

Neuer has age and experience on his side and it shows in how good he is right now.

Agree0 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 16:21:52
Wonder what Jono thinks about all this? ;)

Agree0 Disagree0

'Far, far superior' is a massive exaggeration. He's the 2nd best in the world for me behind Neuer. But not far behind at all.

Agree1 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 17:22:07
Neuer is much more of a, 'sweeper keeper', than Dave, an ability I love in a keeper. I would rate Dave the more agile shot-stopper.

I'd still take Neuer for his all round ability, but De Gea isn't far behind. Improve on his distribution, and command of his area, together with the mental maturity that comes to a goalie with age, and he'll be up there challenging for best in the world before too long.

Agree0 Disagree0

I think Dave the Save has been superb for us. I share Gav's sentiments, almost feel guilty that I pointed out loopholes in his game. I still think Courtois is slightly better than him and Neuer is the best GK in the world currently. 1 thing is for sure, in terms of how valuable they have been for their respective teams, De Gea is head and shoulders above anyone else.

Deeps.

Agree0 Disagree0

Bayern does not exactly open up like we do so the neuter stats are bs if you have watched them play. Aguero put him to the sword a few weeks ago. The shots that deg has allowed for goals were goals no matter who was in there.

Courtois struggles with low shots and does not get down fast enough. I reckon DDG with a proper back 4 will be like a wall because let's face it our defending is a joke at the moment.

Agree0 Disagree0

Watching games dosen't lie De Gea one on one with Sterling and Wilshere both saved Neuer one on one with Aguero goal

Agree0 Disagree0

Meant to be Neuer and DDG auto spell lol

Agree0 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 19:20:35
Matas beard, would you possibly say aguero is a slightly better finisher than sterling and wilshere?

Agree3 Disagree0

I agree with GCU, put de gea in Chelsea, bayern, Real Madrid etc and he would look even better! I'm not saying I think he's a better keeper yet, but I honestly don't think Neuer would do as good in this team!

Agree0 Disagree0

17 Dec 2014 15:30:20
I also thin De Gea, with a better defence in front of him would be as good or even better than Cortois. Also seems that Cortois is a bit earlier matured than De Gea and he came to the club with more pressure and younger than Courtois when he went back to chelsea.

Agree0 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 10:46:12
Wanted some views on what people think of the stories floating around that the players don't really like LVG and his man management skills are poor.

Also something to that effect on DDG and why he is holding out on renewing.

Would be interested what the EDS think as it goes in line with what Rene said the other day, whether you like him or not his history tells us that there is some truth behind it.

Believable2 Unbelievable10

Gcu
It wouldn't be the first time

Agree1 Disagree5

It couldn't be more obvious that LvG is hard to get along with. So wouldn't be surprising at all to me.

Agree1 Disagree1

16 Dec 2014 13:52:08
If they didn't like him or his methods then form would have dropped off and we'd be turning in the same lethargic couldn't be bothered displays like we saw last season under Moyes. A manager most of the squad genuinely couldn't stand or his methods.

Instead we're unbeaten in 6. Yes it hasn't been pretty, but the squad genuinely looks united, looks like the belief is back.

Remember the media had there fun bashing us last year and during the start of the year. Now their running out of things to bash us with and are resorting to making crap up based on the managers past record. Some of you are sounding so desperate for Louis to fail so you can be proved right you'll believe any old tripe.

Agree9 Disagree2

16 Dec 2014 15:16:11
Seems strange timing seeing as the players look so unified right now, both during and after games. They e not looked this 'together' for a long time now Imo.

Agree2 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 16:04:35
Yeah sounds like bullcr@p to me.

Agree2 Disagree0

I think papers are peeved off that we're doing well again so they're stirring things up. I'm in Portugal at the moment, I spoke with a mutual friend of lvg today, he said lvg was really enjoying life at United and that the players were very united behind the management and the club.
He also said that lvg told him our training methods from last year were archaic and that he had never seen such bad training.
Nowadays, they train, sleep, train again. And that's the way it will stay.

Agree2 Disagree1

And in addition, lvg does not think much of fellaini but is being played as we need some physicality in the team.

Agree0 Disagree0

Management is not a popularity contest, motivation does not come because you like the boss but it does come from respect and belief in what he or she is doing or trying to do. A good manager and leader doesn't need to be liked, just be able to lead the team United behind him. SAF would not have been liked by everyone but he was respected and people believed.
To be honest this sounds like the press or someone being mischievous, trying to cause trouble. Last season I did hear rumbles from early which seemed to eminate from a lack of belief and respect on what was being asked or direction given but this season I have not heard any such rumours of any unhappiness, at all. One thing in management is you can't make populist decisions and if you study leadership, being liked is not the key trait to have.

Agree2 Disagree2

I should add that the rumbles of discontent are down the East Lancs road about Rodgers not at Old Trafford. If you saw Rodgers walking off at half time head bowed and Gerrard who didn't look as bothered as I expected at full time it appeared there was something not quite right. I would look in that direction.

Agree1 Disagree1

Anything on cb's nomid??

Agree0 Disagree0

I would take what Rene says with a pinch of salt . He is just still trying to say how great he was and it was really him who did everything under Fergie. He is full of it !

Agree1 Disagree0

Redman

Football is a fickle game and today a hero and tomm a goat. BR is good example of that. Whilst we are winning the new manager might get away with it but if the results go the other way, the winds of discontent and doubt appear very quickly.

Fergie was a great man to man manager by any account and most of the players who played for him had a connection with the man.

LVG is not fergie as fergie never walked around with the arrogance of portraying himself as a football genius and a tactician better than everyone else evident by having Mclaren, Quiroz, Rene etc. He was an incredible competitor and winner and that fed down to the team and the spirit of the way we played.

Agree3 Disagree5

GCU

SAF was a great leader and able to inspire as great leaders do. Man to man he didn't do too well with Keane or Beckham did he? You can't please all the people when you lead but if they follow and perform that is what it is about

You talk about SAF not being arrogant yet I refer you to how we came to have these owners and the horse story or has that been forgotten ?

It seems funny that we win 6 games, should be feeling more confident and suddenly bereft of a story the old LvG is divisive is trotted out

Agree1 Disagree0

Another post comparing lvg to fergy.
Gcu
You should know the script by now i wouldn't waste your time pal

Agree5 Disagree1

Redman

He managed the club for 20 years and had two run ins with one who is a nutter and one who got into the celebrity pages more often than the football pages. If you look at the volume of players who played for him, i would say eh was a great man to man manager.

Agree0 Disagree0

Redman

FYI the 6 game winning streak has nothing to do with it. It was just a subject I was interested to get peoples views and came form someone who is quite knowledgable and got me thinking.

Agree0 Disagree0

You already believe it yet my understanding is there is no such thing happening and likely it is just stirring. Up to you if you want to let people try to undermine LvG.

Agree0 Disagree0

Fergie had far more run inns than most people know about even with his own fans telling loyal match going fans to pop off and support chelsea could give critisism but couldn't take it.

Agree2 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 04:27:50
Hi Ed002. Is it possible ...........

Believable0 Unbelievable0

{Ed002's Note - I explained weeks ago and do not want to open this up again.}

16 Dec 2014 10:50:01
"02 Sep 2014 06:25:19

I think we had a great transfer window, really improved the squad.

Looking forward to the season ahead.

See you in Jan.

Cheers

Macca"

Saw this and had to share the giggle :)

Believable3 Unbelievable0

16 Dec 2014 11:47:19
The vast majority of scousers on their site were delighted with the transfers, spent plenty of time gloating about how well they had done in the market.

Now their site is full of 'i always said they were poor signings' type posts. Good times.

Agree0 Disagree0

Liverpool were flying last season, playing with freedom and buckets of confidence. They were very lucky with injuries and they (like us now) didn't have many games to play. They had no pressure whatsoever as nobody expected them to achieve anything. This season they were always going to feel the pressure after last season. I said during the summer it will be interesting to see how they cope without LS, not just his ability on the field, but without the inspiration he provides to the players around him. They have struggled and looked a different side to be fair. No dodgy decisions have gone their way like last season. The fans are on their back and they look scared.

The summer was always going to be a big one for them. They couldn't replace LS man for man, so they needed to spend well. What they actually did was spend large on mediocre and unproven players. They bought more players than they needed, when they should have bought quality ahead of quantity. Balotelli (one plum for another) was a silly move. Lovren was never a £20m+ defender. Lallana a decent player, but they already had Coutinho and is Lallana worth £25m+? I don't think so. Markovic deemed too expensive for Chelsea even though they could have got him for a pittance. Liverpool paid £20m+. BR has spent around £250m since he started.

What has he built? Gerrard still hasn't been replaced. Sterling wants out. They need a new keeper. Balotelli needs selling (unlikely), they need a top class striker to play alongside or instead of Sturridge whose whole career has been in a injury room. Liverpool look like they need a massive overhaul again even though BR has spent a fortune. Problem is Liverpool do not have this kind of money and without UCL football money, they really will be in big trouble financially. Liverpool should be just tweaking at this stage of their transition, but it really does look like they need an overhaul and more millions to be spent.

Agree1 Disagree0

Liverpool conceded goals last year but had pace and fire power which put the other teams on the back foot.
Gerrard played well last year but this looks a season to far and LS and sturridge are a big miss .
Them 3 players where vital for liverpool last year and imo have been a huge miss for them

Agree1 Disagree0

Sydney, they're not playing well this year but they managed to create at least 5 guilt edged chances which they proceeded to miss. Thankfully for us.
I don't think they're as bad as they're playing, but let's hope they keep up the good work! Haha.

Agree1 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 06:56:53
Haven't posted for a while.

It is amazing how getting the right results changes the mood. We haven't played particularly well, but have created those 2-3 genuine goal scoring opportunities every game and been very efficient in finishing them off. Credit should go to our strikers and an excellent keeper who plays with a different defense in front of him every time but makes world class saves to make the difference. We really need to sign him up on a new deal and that should take priority over any other signing. Carrick has been top class too.

We haven't played particularly well, as admitted by Van Gaal time and again and the style and control over the game needs to improve.

Moving on, a 6 game winning streak and I am very optimistic now about this season. let's take a look at our next few fixtures.

Aston Villa A
Newcastle H
Tottenham A
Stoke City A
Southampton H
QPR A
Leicester City H
West Ham A
Burnley FC H

Apart from an away trip to White Hart Lane and perhaps the Brittania, the other fixtures look tricky ties, at best, where dropped points would be termed as a "slip up" and are very winnable games. We could really make this into a long winning streak and keep chipping away at City and Chelsea. Van Gaal's teams usually do start kicking into gear this time of the year.

We are third and we can now start looking higher up and if we can get a top center back in January, with the likes of Di Maria, Shaw, Rojo, Blind coming back into the team, you just never know. The most important thing is, that the belief of "We can win even when we are not playing well." is back and that brings a lot of calmness into the side.

Believable3 Unbelievable0

16 Dec 2014 08:17:47
Think you've overlooked the ties against Newcastle, west ham and Southampton. Newcastle away will be a very tough game to win given their recent form, west ham have been very solid all season and are a very physical team, and yes we beat Southampton recently but they were probably the better team. I'd say these fixtures are more than tricky

Agree0 Disagree0

I would expect at least 22 points from those next few games. Away at Wst Ham will be tough, as will away at Spurs and Stoke but the rest 'should' be fairly cut and dry.

Agree0 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 09:36:09
Andy,

Newcastle and Southampton are both at home and would be deemed slip ups if we lost. I do think REDFAITH is underestimating West Ham a little, but if we have had the run he is expecting before that game we would be in amazing form and would have to back ourselves to win that game.

I have been looking to January and February as the months we cement our place in the top 4, could only have dreamed of a run like we have had before then. We do not play City or Chelsea until April, my only worry is that we aren't actually as good as some people think we are at the moment, the wins feel a bit like we are cheating based on our performance (not that we are relying on dodgy decisions or anything, just like we aren't really deserving of a 6 game winning run), and we could easily lose at Villa or Stoke bringing the run to an end.

Agree0 Disagree2

I think spurs and west ham away are tricky but the rest should be in the win column. Spurs can be awful or really good. They are doing a bit of united this year with I believe 4 or 5 games won in the 88th minute or later.

Realistically if spurs slip up a few more times the top 4 is pretty much settled between chelsea arsenal city and united.

Liverpool will be even further out after this weekend and they are gone and no way do is see them getting back into the mix as some of us predicted pre-season :)

Agree0 Disagree0

Hate these posts. If you think back to pre season, we would have a healthy lead after 6 or 8 games! Look how that turned out!!!
We are assuming nothing will change, form will stay as it is now. If it was that predictable, there wouldn't have been Football Pools!
Liverpool were nailed on with 3 games to go, it didn't end well.
All things considered I think top 4 is realistic as I see this season like Sir Alex's last. Not playing particularly well but gaining points. It'll do for me.

Agree2 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 11:39:09
Really any game in this league is a potentially hard game, and it only takes one of those games where nothing goes in and you can easily drop some points, and given the amount of chances we are creating don't be suprised if this happens sooner rather than later. 22 points out of 27 would be a very good haul but I think to say that's the least you expect fresh might be a bit naive

Agree1 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 12:04:39
OT7,

Tell me about it, 18 points from 18 from out easy start and then we will be top of the league and go from there. We have won a few games and now people suddenly expect us to win the league when top 4 has been the target this season from the start.

People should calm down a little or they could end up quite disappointed, Christmas is always a tricky time, 2 games in 3 days is never easy and it is unlikely we will pick up full points from the next 3 games, never mind the next 8.

Agree2 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 12:14:34
Aston Villa has had two wins in a row after a awfull periode, wouldn't say we can just pick up three points, nor Newcastle home. But then again, i thought we would lose against Arsenal so i hope i'm wrong.

Agree0 Disagree0

Villa just lost over the weekend mate and westwood is out which is an important player for them.

Agree0 Disagree0

I used to remember spurs home or away was a definite 3 pointer!! Let's hope we can start beating them again as we hadn't done well against them in recent past.

Agree0 Disagree0

17 Dec 2014 15:51:14
Ah, GCU the last Villa result went over my head, so thanks for the update. :-)

Agree0 Disagree0

16 Dec 2014 00:06:42
Hi ed's, I've heard that Red Bull are in fairly advanced talks regarding taking over Leeds utd. Is it old news? I checked a bit of the Leeds page but didn't see anything about it. I'm sure one of if not all of you might know about it. If true and baring in mind red bull are a big company and a move for Leeds would be shrewd, how much ambition do you think they will have. Would they be almost imediately catapulted financially in with the top 5, 6, 7 clubs in the country?

Believable0 Unbelievable0

{Ed002's Note - Try the Leeds page.}