Manchester United Banter Archive May 20 2014

20 May 2014 22:57:50
Hi ed, posted a little but about Daryl Janmaat earlier today but don't see anything. He is feyenoord and in the Dutch wc squad for RB. He's been linked to is today, another Dutch link, I remember seeing something about a month ago suggesting he was on the way to arsenal, I'm guessing as a replacement for sagna. Is there any info on the above. Thanks.

{Ed002's Note - See above or below.}

Sorry ed, I just read your reply on rumours page. Thanks again. You got put on the graveyard shift tonight then.

{Ed002's Note - Seemingly man. The parents of the other Eds won't let them stay up so late.}

20 May 2014 23:15:18
Since we've been linked with some top class players this and obviously won't get them all. Who's the one player that's alluded us in the past you would have liked to see in a United shirt.
Mine was Batistuta, always loved him as a player!

20 May 2014 23:42:21
Del Piero without a doubt, although Nedved was another I really admired.

{Ed007's Note - Batistuta for me as well Mumbles.}

Shearer or Ronaldinho. Either would have made us unstoppable. I doubt Ronaldinho would have declined the way he did under SAF either. Batitsuta isn't a bad shout but not quite as good as the other 2 for me.

I don't really have one, but if we'd gotten Shearer, it would've game over both in England and Europe.

Gascoigne for me. He would have been perfect for us for many years. I remember a game he played for rangers in the CL after his injury of course against top Dortmund side. There was some moments when the Dortmund side just could not get the ball off him. Outstanding on his day. A very good chance he could have became the player he should have been had he not been lured at the last minute by tel. And the above mentioned, particularly batistuta and I also remember missing out on Di Canio. At the time he would have been a perfect marriage for us. Another slightly nutty/off the wall genius who could have given us a few good years.

Ah Ed007, he was a monster. I used to watch Gazzetta del a sport. Great time for Italian football in the mid 90's. I think if we had of got him we'd have another European cup under our belt!

Nedved was a class act Shappy. He had everything about him. Were we ever close to signing him?

{Ed007's Note - Batistuta is second only to Roy Keane as my favourite ever football player. Keane is THE only player/sportsman I have ever felt jealous of lol I'd have gave my right nut to be Keano!}

Zidane without a doubt what a player. Shame he went out as he did but a true gifted legend.

Shearer for me, I honestly think we probably would of won about 8 titles in a row with him in the team. Best striker of his generation I think

Gazza for me, it could of been very special

Ronaldinho and the other Ronaldo. Ronaldo is probably the best centre forward I've ever seen yet he could have been even better without injury hampering him and his attitude not always being what it should have. Ronaldinho in his prime was amazing and made even the most boring games exciting as he'd always throw in some daft trick and leave a defender looking stupid. Another would be Edgar Davids.

Agree with Mumbles Batigol was the main man for a number of seasons - Marcelo Salas as well. Either of those two at the club would have been amazing!

20 May 2014 21:53:32
Wullie Ballache has said that €40m would get Cesc Fabregas. That's just £32.5m. City are interested, Arsenal could get interested. MU will not want to get into a saga like last summer, but he's there if we want him. Part of me thinks Kroos is 1st choice, Cesc 2nd. But would love us to buy both. Greedy Syd :)

City will snap him up with the help of Txiki Begiristain, wouldn't be surprised to see Kroos go to Madrid/Barca.

I don't think that there is room for both unless Rooney goes.

Plymouth, you hope you mean. MU may also take Kono from your grasp.

With City having a roof on their spending I doubt they will spend the majority of it on a player they don't currently need.

Arsenal Seem unlikely as they need a striker more than anything this summer I wouldn't right off a Chelsea bid though as they seem keen on almost everyone.

Plymouth red getting involved again saying things that aren't true and nothing to do with Liverpool.

I think PR is a closet united fan . Either that or he lives in a closet!

City will not be restricted as much as some might think.

They can spend £49m plus whatever they raise from outgoings. With some of the none-starters they have on their books they could easily raise another £70m without weakening too much (Garcia, Nastasic, Milner, Richards, Rodwell, Sinclair). Toure could still force a move as well.

Since Plymouth Red started visiting us, I haven't missed Morcambe and Wise half as much!

Redseven,

The players you mentioned would come to nowhere near 70 million, not even half of that.

21 May 2014 08:20:44
Sydney, I don't hope, that's where I believe they'll end up, we're no longer after Kono (according to Ed02), so snap him up.

I would sign Nastasic. Him and someone like Hummels would be great.

Plymouth, perhaps he's a little out of your price range? Hence the reason you failed to sign him in January.

GDS2 - I missed Dzeko off my list.

Redseven, haven't City offered Dzeko a new deal? I do not see him going.

Fair enough with Dzeko it would be a fair amount, I don't see him leaving though, or Garcia. If them players were really worth that much they wouldn't be selling them.

20 May 2014 20:11:49
So what do we make about Yaya?

We should offer him £150k per week, plus a birthday party and cake every 3 months.

On a serious note Eds, thanks for the hard work. Do you expect us to get some business done in the next two weeks?

{Ed007's Note - I'd think Utd would like to announce at least one signing before the WC starts.}

20 May 2014 19:57:37
Interesting quote from Van Gaal

Van Gaal: "I've seen a lot of Kagawa when he was at Dortmund. He was the best player in Germany, I expect the same in Manchester."

There were some quote from LvG last week, but they are not confirmed to be true. He was 'apparently' saying Moyes was stupid for not signing Strootman when he had the chance. Like I said these are unconfirmed.

An interesting point from a Manchester based Journalist on MEN. He says Mata is more of a LvG type player, whereas Rooney is more of a free spirit.

Where would he fit in? No idea.

Well he would know .
Is he an expert on lvg?

Yeah I'd say under LVG, Rooney will have to hold his position a lot more and whether he can do that will be interesting

David Winner, author of Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Football, told SI.com. "He is not quite as rigid with his 4-3-3 as everyone thinks he is. He likes his system, but he knows formations are fluid anyway and what also counts is attitude, energy and state of mind."

Winner interviewed Rooney in 2012 and was struck by the English forward's intelligence. Behind the lurid headlines and salary disputes, he found a thinker about the game, and someone whose appreciation of space and movement came from studying former Ajax (and Liverpool) forward Jari Litmanen. Rooney described himself as like a snooker player always thinking three or four shot (or passes) in advance.

20 May 2014 19:02:40
If we could get him would verratti be good for the no.6 role?

Would be a great buy imo

Something I don't like about Verratti, but not sure what.

The best DLP in the world for me. I know I may be exaggerating it, but I would give him a piggy back to Carrington if need be. Cracking player, but zero chance we would get him though :(

Deeps.

I agree with Jred and Deeps, exceptional little player. I think Kroos is more likely though. As long as we don't push our luck and penny pinch.

Got to agree, cracking little player. More versatile than he is given credit for and reads the game superbly. He will have an excellent World Cup. Pirlo, Veratti, Motta and Marchisio! That is some midfield. I doubt we'll see him in a United shirt though.
On a earlier point, the three players I would of loved to have seen in a United shirt: Maradonna, Ronaldo(Brazilian) and Maldini.

20 May 2014 18:16:56
Just had a look at some transfer bets, we are 1/5 to sign Shaw and 1/1 to sign Fabregas. The Fabregas odds seem a surprise to me.

Looking at odds is pretty pointless. I assure you that the bookies know the same or less than us and betting patterns generally come about due to report in the press or the all knowing ssn which people still believe it gospel truth even when they put betting odds after every 'ssn believe' story.

20 May 2014 17:45:22
Now that Van Gaal has been confirmed as our new manager what youngsters might get a chance in the first team next season?

Januzaj will be a regular, Wilson will get games. They are the main two. But during his reign I think that Janko will come through the ranks also.

Wilson and Michael Keane might/should get the most opportunities.

Not sure Keane will, he has Smalling, Jones, Evans and potentially two new centre backs ahead of him, I think he will be out on loan.

I want Powell & Zaha to be given a run.

Rumours both of them don't have the right attitude not sure it's right about Powell but Zaha definately, can't see him getting a kick in United with Van Gaal

20 May 2014 17:23:03
There is still some debate on here about Robben or not Robben. I can see where Jred is coming from when he says that it isn't building for the future, but realistically, is buying one older player that would do the job straight away be that senseless? LVG will know that he is guaranteed goals if he has Robben and RVP up front - he and we need instant success so by buying someone he knows works well with our best player makes perfect sense. That is not to say that we need to buy all the older world class players, but as a quick fix it is more than worth it. If I was a betting man I would say that he still wants Reus who would be a better signing, but the fact is that next year is a better time to sign him. Apart from Sanchez and Pedro the options out there are not fantastic, Robben makes perfect sense if he wants to come in and would bring great experience with him.

Fresh
The full deal including wages for robben would be 40 + mill imo.
Now next summer why would we buy another very expensive wide man if we have robben and Adan has a good year this year this year.
If we go for robben I think it will be instead of a Sanchez or reus, at least for the next 3 year until robben left.
Robben is a top player and it would be great to watch him in a united shirt but I don't want the club to go down that route I would rather we tried to build a team for the future than a quick fix.
But everyone to there own.

I just get the impression that they club are going to get whoever is necessary and wouldn't turn down someone like Reus. It is a squad game after all as they say. I'd like to see a blend, some young players with some top class players in their peaks or slightly older.

I prefer Sanchez. He is younger, more unselfish on and off the ball, and classier. And he plays with a hunger that win the hearts of Old Trafford.

Sanchez work rate is brilliant. He would be a great number 7 for us but I fear he may go elsewhere.

20 May 2014 15:46:35
What do people make of van Gaal planning on playing 532 with the Dutch national team?

Could he play that with us? Would he? And what would all those people who said they didn't want Conte because he plays 532? Lol.

I think it could work, it might be the answer of how do you fit RvP Rooney and Mata into the same team.

Looking at who we've been linked with how about DDG in goal, Rafael and Shaw providing width with Jones Hummels and Martins Indi as the back three, then you have Fabregas and Kroos in midfield with Mata slightly ahead of them behind Rooney and RvP in attack.

With van Gaals attacking system then the team will he quite high up the pitch at which point the formation would look more like a 3412?

Could that work? Interesting times ahead that's for sure. This way would allow him to get our best players on the pitch in their best positions, while also cover for the fact that we don't have a controlling No.6 like LvG likes to play with in his 433 formation.

Food for thought.

{Ed004's Note - I was thinking that myself. I reckon it would work but only if one centre back is good enough to step into midfield to make it a midfield 3. That's why I was think carvalho might be a target as he can step back into the defence. Also it still lacks a lot of pace surely we would need a quicker midfield? Or a striker with speed?}

20 May 2014 17:01:50
I think it could work too. Shaw, Hummels, Kroos and another CM and then we would be very strong. Would also allow Jones and Smalling to both play which I'd like to see. The more I look at the, the more I like it - providing our fullbacks can provide the width.

Where does Shaw fit in? He isn't a winger. I don't think it would work and I don't think that he will do it here.

Not going to happen he is only going to this formation because of injures and he does not the right players to play the formation he would prefer, I wouldn't look too much into the formation he is playing with the dutch team

I have thought about it as well. The wingbacks could be Shaw on the left and Valencia or Rafael on the right.

Maybe a wingback is an ideal position for Valencia, where he could give us pace and width, without his downside at either RW or RB. He does not score enough for a winger, and he has lapses at RB, but in the 5-3-2 there would be more cover for him.

I can't see Valencia as a wing back as defensively I don't think he is solid enough imo. When he has been forced to occupy that position he often gets beaten too easily especially when he tries to tackle with his left foot. I think Valencia is a good player but only in his strongest position as a winger.

20 May 2014 14:57:17
As you would expect loads of rumours out there at the moment and if you are Dutch and played football in the past 3 year you have probably been linked to the club . A lot of seems to be journo's giving there opinion who THEY think lvg will go for .
But there is a common theme
1. The club not lvg have identified Shaw and we will try to sign him .
2.lvg has identified strootman, robben, kroos, hummels and cavani as targets.
Now strootman, fair enough we need a cm player lvg rates him so I can see where that comes from even if he is out with a cruciate injury.
Robben good player gets on well with lvg so again I can see where that comes from.
Kroos and hummels both top players imo areas that we need and we have been linked with them for a while so again no surprise.

But what about cavani, reports say lvg sees him as perfect for the EPL but he would cost a fortune and is not really a player we need

Some papers even suggesting mandzukic from Bayer. I can't see either fitting

To be fair I haven't seen a single media source saying LvG wants Cavani. Top player though.

I posted something earlier regarding our links to Mandzukic. If the Mandzukic and Robben rumours were true then I imagine RvP would play left of the front three, Robben on the right and Mandzukic central. This could be the same if it was Cavani instead of Mandzukic. It's all rumours and what ifs at the moment though. I haven't seen a single Cavani link since LvG has been appointed. But would most certainly prefer him to Mandzukic.

Syd
Type van gaal cavani in and check the internet.
Every single paper bar none have run the story.

I did Jred, I have found none since his appointment. One from the Express and Caught Offside (both shocking sources) 2nd/3rd May before his appointment. Well before. The rumours of Cavani originate from January time when Moyes was in charge. Since the LvG appointment I have seen several lists from several newspapers and none of those lists have Cavani in it.

If RVP is as tight with LVG as most people think and it was obvious that there is an element of friction between RVP & Rooney not to mention the fact that Rooney may present other issues then I can see Rooney being moved on and Cavani coming in.

If Rooney is not being moved on then I don't see us going for Cavani because we need to strengthen elsewhere and he would cost a fortune.

I would hate signing Manzukic, he is not the type of player we need.

Syd
Ok pal ;) I must have a better search engine. Also there have been storys about who lvg would sign before he was appointed on monday

Just for the record I don't believe any of storys just journo's putting 2+2 together imo .
Interesting u think rvp could play out wide front 3 of rvp, rooney, robben next year

Beast, I do see a place for Rooney, but slightly deeper than he's used to. You never know, Rooney may play central, RvP left and someone like Robben left. Unlikely, but you never know. Stranger things have happened.

{Ed007's Note - I think LvG will be looking for a better balance in the team, Syd.}

Jred, it would accommodate Cavani.

007, oops meant Robben right :)

{Ed007's Note - :)

To answer your OP Jred, I think like you said Shaw is a club buy. I also think Mata was a club buy. I don't think he was a Moyes type player like we both said at the time. I think Cavani would be a club buy. Like Bale or Ronaldo would have been. SAF has said before that if a special player becomes available we would buy them.

20 May 2014 14:13:12
The investment of 150-200k will be well worth it if it hastens United's return to CL qualification. In simple terms, the 30-50m boost in revenues that qualifying gives the club will more than finance the investment. This is even more the case since the transfers may be able to be completed without a significant increase in the wage bill because a number of highly paid players will/may be leaving. Ferdinand, Evra, Giggs, Young, and Vidic average 100k per week, creating plenty space for new signings.

For the above reasons I really do expect United to splash the cash. What with England winning the world cup (haha) and United signing enough players to win the EPL next season, it's going to be a fun summer, with way to much time spent monitoring the football news.

Plus if we sell cleverly we could double it to 400k.

20 May 2014 13:38:50
So we all are posting about possible signings, so let's change direction for a moment.

Whats the opinion of the board in regards to who LVG will let go?

I personally believe the following will be packing their bags (not that I agree or disagree just what I feel):

1. Young
2. Cleverly
3. Hernandez
4. Nani
5. Evra
6. Fletcher

I would add Anderson, Macheda and Bebe to that list and potentially Lindengard as he will want first team football.

I imagine that Young, Fellaini, Evra, Lindegard, Fletcher and even Rooney will be sweating on there Man U careers.
Dependant on who he brings in I think Nani an Cleverly could have a squad roll to play as they could fit Van Gaals system.

Would anyone add Rooney to that list?

Would love to see Young leave but would pay for him and his 100k plus contract

I expect Rooney to Chelsea post world cup

20 May 2014 12:08:40
Bit late now I know, but couldn't help myself:)

To the tune of the Kaiser Chiefs classic:

Looking at pictures of Louis
He's not very pretty I tell thee
I think he'll favour van Persie
But what will he do with Wayne Rooney
Robin is fitter and faster
And links up well with Juan Mata
Wayne always struggles pre-season
And so for that reason
I predict a diet
I predict a diet
I predict a diet

Sorry, couldn't resist. I'll get me coat :)

Enter the Rooney defence regiment.

I predict a riot, I predict a riot :)

Ha quality

Very good Betty :-)

Quality Syd, by the way do you need some re-inforcements for the "Tom Cleverley is my baby" squad? I have a few in mind though ;)

Deeps.

It really is getting a bit like us and them.
Just for the record I rate Rooney I also rate rvp

Deeps, don't you mean "give youth a chance" squad?

Jred, I hear you mate. lol.
Just for the record too, I also rate, and like both, although I don't see either as irreplaceable.

Honestly, I wasn't trying to start another Rooney / RVP debate. They just happen to be the names that fit best into my silly little song. It was really meant to be (loosely) about LvG. :-)

20 May 2014 11:58:23
The more I think about it the more sense signing Robben makes.

This summer we will be losing Giggs, Vidic, Rio and Evra from the playing staff, that's 138 years worth of experiance.

We will likely be signing or bringing up several younger players and they will need to have some experiance around them to help lead and guide them.

Also van Gaal has an ego to match Mourinho and he will not want to just come to the club to sort everything out for the next manager, he will want to win things in the next year or two so that he can keep his record of winning the league at every club he's been at, and i'm sure he'd like to maybe have another UCL title to his name.

The point is he won't be able to just do that with youngsters.

He will also be implementing a new style and way of coaching to our players, he will need as many allies within the camp as possible to stop the potential back lash Moyes had when he tried to change everything. So having a few players who he has worked with before and who believe in his methods will only quicken the process of change and smooth over any potential bumps in the road.

Also when the next guy comes in he will want to but his own stamp on the club, to do that he will want to bring in a couple of his own players, so having a couple of older players to move on and replace with younger players in 3/4 years time will benefit the next manager too.

Sanchez for example is available why go for robben?
We have plenty of cash why not buy a top player that could be at the top of his game for a number of years?
Robben plays right side do we need him?
Imo we need a lb maybe 2 cb 2cm maybe a rb.

It seems people now want to go down the buy big name players at the end of there careers every 2 years along with changing the manager every couple of years route.

im really hoping lvg wants to build for the future in fact i'm hoping woody and co have told him that's exactly what he has to do

I think it's more to do with getting a quick fix. Someone who can go straight in next season and do a job. Someone who knows how LvG likes to play and who can execute it. I think it's also to get the best out of Van Persie. If RvP has a good season, we will be challenging for the title. I would choose someone like Reus over Robben, but if Reus is unavailable until next season then Robben will do well. It's only a 2-3 year stop-gap, then Adnan & Wilson will be established enough to replace Robben & RvP.

Jred, to be fair buying one 30 year old player doesn't mean the manager isn't building for the future.

Syd it was only yesterday you where saying we are after the 31 year old sagna.
like I said I hope woody and co have told lvg to build for the future.
over 3 year how much do you think robben would cost transfer and wages don't forget tax etc

Jred, I have no idea about Sagna, just repeating what Duncan Castles was saying.

Not sure what Robben would cost, £20m perhaps. Wages £150k maybe. Tax is reclaimable.

Like I have said repeatedly, I would definitely rather go for Reus, but LvG is the manager.

I would say it would be 20 at least wages 150 to 200 as it would be his last big contract.
It's major cash for a 3 year spell imo.
Add to that if adan established him self as a first team player this season with robben at the club why would we buy a player like reus .
For me if we go for robben it will be at the expense of a player like reus it Sanchez.
If we go down the route of buying robben sagna it's a short term fix the kind of thing the sugar daddy clubs have done over the years.

Jred, remember he is 30 years old. £20m for a 30 year old is a lot of money. He only cost BM £20m five years ago.

I wouldn't expect his wages to jump from £85k to £200k a week. Doubled perhaps? It's a good question though.

I would be interested to know this myself.

Syd
Madrid sold him cheap .
If I was Munich I think robbed would be worth 20mill to me .
No idea how much he is on but read his contract extension was more than that

I really don't see a problem in 1 over 30 to play in a postion we currently suck in, all our wingers are rubbish and adnan is not ready for a full season of first team

I really don't see a problem in 1 over 30 to play in a postion we currently suck in, all our wingers are rubbish and adnan is not ready for a full season of first team

20 May 2014 10:32:58
Considering we have Valencia, young and Nani as our established wingers. How would people feel about selling all 3 and getting robben and Sanchez in. Unlikely we would get both but two quality wingers along with Januzaj and perhaps lingard/ zaha would be great.

But the defence must become our priority first. A lb and at least 1 CB and a rb to challenge Rafael. Our injury prone defence has been an issue for a few years now and definately needs to be addressed.

That all important defensive/ holding midfielder we've been needing for years needs to be rectified this summer.

I'm just hoping Evea leaves now. Great servant and once a world class lb, but now is not capable of playing lb at the highest level

I would personally carry Young and Nani to their next club to get rid of them. I would sell both for around £20m and would happily take both Sanchez and Robben for about £40-50m in total. I think a spend of £20-30m to get 2 useless players off our books and get 2 quality players in, even with Robbens age, would be very good business. I'd keep Valencia as a squad player as he can play a few positions and looked good in the middle against Holland the other night.

Yes I agree Mad. We have lots of areas to address, but the timing is ideal (aside from World Cup), that said it will force us to act quickly so we aren't doing another Fellaini.

Barcelona & City being in difficult positions will mean they have to get certain business done, which will mean a very active market - loads of clubs have to strengthen this summer. I think there will be a record number of deals this summer, I just hope we can strengthen all the areas quickly rather than dragging it out over 4-5 windows. Could be a few bargains with clubs changing systems, managers and squad numbers etc

I'm totally with Brendan81 on this one. Valencia is a good enough squad player, for the time being at least, Nani and Young simply have to go for me, even though there is no way we'll get much for them.

I would put Valencia at rb so we don't have to buy one this summer and let rafa re claim his form

20 May 2014 08:52:46
So, which club will be the best represented in the World Cup? How many of Utd players are likely to take part? I rem the WC in Germany Arsenal had the most players (15). Not sure about the last WC in SA

Chelsea got the most read an article in the mail the other week 16 I think they got I think we were joint second not sure though chelsea definitely have the most according to them

20 May 2014 09:05:01
Wow, based on Yaya Toure's agent quotes he is very p**sed off! All over forgetting his birthday!

Another pay-rise?

Don't think it's a pay rise. Either the agent wants one last big pay day or the player feels that he has achieved as much as he can at City and wants to play for a new club (PSG?) before he retires.

Sounds like he wants to finish his career at barcelona

20 May 2014 02:50:25
Until yesterday I was finding all these Robben rumours as just the usual attention seeking articles. However, come to think of it, if I was going to be the Manager of Manchester United for 3 years and have '150 million' to spend, then ill make sure I get the players I want for that period of time and would leave it to Giggs to then build his team.

Leaving out kulivert and making Giggs number 2 is a clear indication that SAF and the Glazers want to make Giggs the future of Utd by having him working alongside a coach, who if it goes according to plan, to get back into the CL and having a real go to win the league while he is here.

Just my opinion, but I really wouldn't be suprised if rubben joins, after all, his old and has won almost all in germany. So why not a new challenge and a lucrative deal? Also not to forget, it is Manchester United he will be signing for

REDSTER

I think Robin Van Persie would be superb in this role. He is a worldie, he should fit in seamlessly, should'nt he?

Deeps.