Manchester United Banter Archive November 18 2013

18 Nov 2013 13:44:18
Read that both Ever Banega and Blaise Matuidi(free next summer} will be quitting their clubs next summer.

What do you guys think? Worth a shot?

I think both players would do well for us. Matuidi in particular would give energy and quality to the midfield and is an underrated member of PSG's title winning team and played a key role in their Champions League run.

18 Nov 2013 11:32:05
Interesting to hear Moussa Dembele isn't happy at Spurs. I've always felt that we missed out on him when he went to Spurs, he is very under rated.

With the likes of Gundogan likely to be unavailable in January then maybe a move Dembele who is premier league proven might make sense. Spurs have an interest in Hernandez who is also looking to get more game time ahead of the world cup which he might not be able to get with us. Maybe a swap deal could be done. I would be sad to lose Hernandez but with Carrick injuried and Fellaini needing an op, a top class prem proven midfielder would be a much welcomed addition.

He's very good and reliable player, would've been a great addition to our team. I'd love to see him here.

Hernandez for Dembele? You have had too much to drink on your birthday, maybe a cup of coffee would help.

18 Nov 2013 12:35:00
You say that Redfaith but imagin both Dembele and Hernandez are in our squad and everyone is fit.

Now which one makes it into our starting eleven?

Hernandez is one of my favourite players in our squad, but he is only ever going to be a sub or get the odd game when one of Rooney or RvP are out injuried and in fairness he probably would still start on the bench if one of them were injuried with us more likely to switch to a formation that plays one upfront.

So he is never going to get the games he needs or deserves at our club, so sadly he is likely to look to move on at somepoint soon anyway.

Now Spurs supposedly have an interest in him. And they have far too many midfielders, which has lead to Dembele not getting enough games to keep him happy.

Now Dembele is an excellent midfielder, he is great technically, physically strong, likes to drive forward and is creative. He also happens to be prem proven.

There really isn't going to be many if any better players available in january, and with the injuries suffered by Carrick and Fellaini we are in desperate need for midfield reinforcements in january.

So maybe letting our 3/4th choice striker leave to enable us to bring in a midfielder who would be first choice makes sense.

Doing so would also mean that we haven't spent much cash, which would hopefully mean we have abit more left to spend in the summer to try and bring in a world class midfielder such as Gundogan.

Dembele has been utter tosh at Spurs why would we want him?

Well don't you think Dembele has proven to be a bit injury prone?

And in my opinion we need a playmaker more than a box to box midfielder.

Fact is I believe Fellaini to be a great player and given time will become our best midfielder. But to get the best out of him he needs a Cleverley next to him. A technical player capable of passing the ball around creating play. A player to complement his physical and static style of play.

Modric, Gundogan and Herrera would be much better suited for the role.

18 Nov 2013 13:31:24
Pardoe, have you watched many Spurs games? Until they signed Paulinho he was Spurs best midfielder. Also the season he played in midfield for Fulham prior to signing for Spurs he completed the second most tackles on any midfielder and compeleted the third most dribbles of any player in the league. So he's hardly a bad player.

Mick when you mentioned his injuries I looked into it, he had 2 and a half months off injuried in 2010, a couple of weeks out injuried in 2011, and a month out in 2012.

So i'd hardly say he's injury prone, at least not more so than any other midfielder.

Can anyone name a better midfielder who will be allowed to leave by his club, will want to move in a world cup year and will settle into the premier league staright away?

Cus i'm struggling to name a better one.

I have no problem with having Dembele in the squad, in place of Anderson. Its the swap with Hernandez idea that I completely disagree with.

Spurs need a striker and giving exactly what they need to our rivals is suicide. Also Hernandez converts at least 3-4 draws into wins for us every season. Selling him would be madness.

He is a very low risk signing, but I think Witsel is better and he has European experience.

I rate Dembele, even since the arrival of Paulinho I think he's their best all round midfielder. Some of his powerful runs forward with the ball are great, good passer to. If we had him right now without a doubt he'd be starting every game because he is better than any midfielder we have bar Carrick who is a different type of midfielder. If he's unhappy and we could get him cheap then I'd say go for it.

Chances are he wouldn't want to force a move and Levy wouldn't take anything except its a fantastic deal for them so I don't see it as being very likely.

Having said all this I hope we go all out for Gundogan, even Rene Meulensteen was saying last week that he's the main midfielder we should be going after.

18 Nov 2013 16:50:33
Fresh, Witsel will cost a minimum of 25m probably over 30m, which I think will rule out signing him. Although I agree that he is better than Dembele.

Redfaith, I understand that. But I get the feeling that Hernandez will be off in the summer regardless. He wants games, and he can't get them with us. He's 25 now and he needs to be playing every week or he'll risk never stagnating on our bench. I also get the impression that once Welbeck is back he'll also be ahead of Hernandez in the pecking order.

Now I get what your saying about strengthening a rival, but Spurs are a hard club to deal with and our best chance is offering them a player they want in return for one we want.

I also feel that Dembele would strengthen us more than Hernandez would strengthen Spurs. Hernandez is a great finisher of chances but his link up play is poor and he offers nothing in the way of build up play. Where as Dembele would bring exactly what we are missing to our midfield.

Its a calculated risk at the end of the day, but that's about the best we can hope for when it comes to january shopping.

For some reason I was talking about Sandro. Apologies there

I completely agree Shappy, Although losing Hernandez would force us to move for another striker our promote one from our youth system as Welbeck will not score enough goals.

Dembele would be ahead of Cleverly, Anderson and Giggs, He would also provide so much for our midfield. Since he came to Fulham from AZ He has impressed me with his strength and drive during matches. When he joined Tottenham I felt we missed out on someone who would have really improved our midfield.

As you mentioned above Shappy, we would struggle to find another top quality midfielder willing to move during world cup year, A stumbling block we could face is Levy as we all know he is not going to let go of a player unless he really has to.

I would hope if it does happen it happens in January as we, tottenham and both players would benefit from it. Spurs need a decent striker, we need a decent midfielder and both players need first team action to go to the world cup and stay in top condition.

All spurs need is a goal scorer and they'd be a real treat, why should we give them a true gem

Shappy I agree when he was at a small club he did play great then he went to a bigger club he has been underwhelming in my mind, what would he be like at United the biggest of clubs. He'd be on the bench with the other flops Nani and Ando

18 Nov 2013 22:06:31
Pardoe mate he was Spurs best midfielder last season. It's only since they signed Paulinho that he has dropped down the rankings at Spurs.

He was an okay forward who since he has dropped back into midfield has consistantly got better.

Shappy. Dembele has been rubbish for spurs. Hernandez is a fantastic player. If we are going to buy midfielders, let's try and buy some of the best. Dembele is average at best.

Do I really need to mention his name again? ;)

Why would spurs want another striker with such similar strengths and weaknesses to the ones they already have?

18 Nov 2013 10:17:40
I see Dembele at Spurs is not happy
Didnt SAF rate him at one point .I
remember him destroying our midfield
a couple of times with fulham.Might
be worth a bid in Jan .We need at least
3 midfielders and would link up great
with Fellaini!!

18 Nov 2013 08:14:45
took my 7 year old lad to old Trafford for the tour Saturday. we had a great time and he loved it. when he saw the pitch for the first time I thought he was going to start crying. he was desperate to get on there and have a kick about. tour guide was very nice man with more information than I could ever imagine. the museum was immaculate with tributes to the legends and the busby babes. great day, can't wait to take him to his first game after christmas

Nice one, mate. Enjoy these moments, before they start turning into surly, grunting teenagers. Mine's started the change early :) {Ed007's Note - I was born moody and surly, Plus I weighed just over 14lbs :)

All very typical Scottish characteristics, ED07 :) {Ed007's Note - You're probably right there Stevie!}