Manchester United Banter Archive November 20 2012

20 Nov 2012 22:21:09
These are games when they can play with the pressure turned down a notch and it gives the manager a chance to look at how they perform with a passionate crowd against them. So how did they do.
Fletcher looks only half the player he was and has lost a bit of pace when he wasnt quick. Anderson did ok but this was the type of moment when he should stand up and dominate the midfield and he didn't. Cleverley buzzed around and looked busy, passing it short but what did he actually contribute?
I felt Powell for his age is outstanding and with a decent midfield player next to him could be something special. He deserves more of a run. His touch is good and has a real chance, started to look tired in the second half.
Up front Hernandez didn't have the balls to run on to and that limits him. On Welbeck he flatters at times but again another non scoring game, he does some good things but nothing brilliantly.
Phil Jones looks a quality player for me, hope he now has a run of games.
Overall a decent game but we lack a spark, that touch of quality that is special, take Rooney and RVP out and we look ordinary at times and it probably explains why the manager looks for a special talent.
The arrival of Powell made it worth watching, just a shame we didn't get a look at Petrucci because we know Macheda isn't good enough.

Red Man

Agreed Red Man

Powell looked good and against a team that knew they had to win. Linders looked good aswell.

Macheda? Jesus what's he still at us for? He will not make it and as long as he is here he will clog up spots and minutes for another young striker like keane or henriquez.

Jones played well but Ando played like he normally does IMO. He wont be the difference we have been looking for.

We did well in the cauldron I thought and well done to most on the park.

Jono

I agree Fletcher looks a yard short, but he just isn't getting enough games to fully get back his fitness imo. I doubt he'll be the same player again, but he can still be a useful squad player.

Anderson is a mystery, he has so much talent but his fitness is questionable and so is his form.

Cleverley i feel i the kind of vital player that all teams need in modern football. He keeps the ball moving and the team ticking over. He isn't that crunching defensive player nor the kind of attacking player who'll get lots of goals or assists but he is always available for a pass and he very rarely gives the ball away. In a year or two's time he'll be the most important midfielder in our team. I think he looks like a more tenacious Modric type player.

Powell does look abit special, i have high hopes for him.

Shappy

20 Nov 2012 21:39:13
I must point out how impressed I am with Phil Jones after being out for a long time. Get him a few more games and make sure he stays fit and he will certainly improve our defense, him and Smalling could do great together.

-JakeW

20 Nov 2012 20:38:03
Nick Powell and Tom Cleverley have stood out for me in this first half, they seem to work very well together. Unlucky for Powell to not get his first Champions League game, hopefully he will get another chance in the next half!

-JakeW

Goal*

-JakeW

20 Nov 2012 20:31:53
I must say, I'm absolutely loving this game of football! End to end stuff, Galatasaray are putting up the fight that we knew they would. But I have to say, I'm most enjoying how we look as a team tonight. A really fluid attack of Welbeck, Chica and Powell playing in the AM role. Cleverley pulling the strings in midfield is great to see and Anderson is looking very sharp. They should both be showing Nani and Young how to deliver a corner!

Andy!

20 Nov 2012 19:42:58
If Wanyama is really 21 then i'm a monkey's uncle, looks nearer 26.

20 Nov 2012 19:09:02
Does fergie believe that carrick is a better cb than wooton, if so wooton must be terrible great confidence boost for the kid a 31 year old slow cm player gets the nob ahead of him, ludacris. Rafael should get a deserved rest hes played the most from our squad and people might say experience but he has already played in the 1st 4 games. Petrucci & tunnicliffe not even on the bench what a waste of an oppurtunity cheers gaffer
Sulei

2 cm's at cb is odd, no petrucci yet macheda?

Jones is a CB.

Mad Hatter

Spot on Mad Hatter, he'll be a top one at that (I hope)

Gav

I presume that should read "gets the nod" unless there are some strange goings on in the dressing room....

20 Nov 2012 19:04:24
looks like chelsea have gone for the spain look, no recognized striker
jred

To be honest having gone 458 minutes without scoring a league goal, I'm not sure if any still recognises Torres as a striker anyway.

Danny Pughnite

20 Nov 2012 18:58:27
Petrucci isn't on the bench! Ridiculous.

Caolán.

Exactly! Hope we don't lose him like pobga!

kdevil10

A few Italian teams were sniffing around Petrucci in the summer. I'm sure he signed a 3yr deal with us instead. If he did he'll be regretting it. I'm not gonna be so upset about Pogba leaving now.
We can all see NOW why he left. Fergie is missing a trick :-(

I am not sure Petrucci signed any deal.

Sydney!

Well if he didn't then he's playing while not under contract as his last contract ran out in july. So he must have signed some sort of deal, as to how long that deal is i don't know.

Shappy

20 Nov 2012 18:46:42
is that going to be a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3
jred

Looks like 4-1-3-2
jred

20 Nov 2012 18:20:50
The challenge on Ronaldo & the lack of support from his team and club may push him out the door. I think he was already troubled at Madrid, that might be the last straw. He is constantly overlooked for awards and doesn't get the support from Madrid like Barca give to Messi. And, we can finance the deal as Nike will help a lot as it will be financially beneficial to them to have him back in a Nike kit. He's coming home!

Viva Ronaldo!! #CR7

What's this challenge you speak of?

Andy S

Course he is, and i've got a date on Friday night with Katy Perry. Great player but he'd be an awful signing for us, we're struggling at the moment to provide support for van Persie due to the shambles in midfield and the constant injuries in defence, so how is signing Ronaldo going to help those issues?

I would never sanction a ronny return in favour of sortin out the many other issues the team has currently!

CM, LB, CB and a top LW are massive priority over spunking the same amount on one player.

Jono

Exactly my point Jono. For what it would cost to buy him and pay him we could bring in 4 players and sort the team out.

Nike could help with the transfer fee. And no one can say signing him would be bad business, hed tranform the team instantly. However there are areas to work on. I don't see it happening though I'm afriaf.

Fresh!

It would be nice but we have to sort out out midfield problems first.

19-20 MUFC

20 Nov 2012 17:12:12
People are forgetting that we have to have englsih players!

Fergie will not buy all foreign players, i could see maybe a shawcross or caulker,hummels, and then maybe a cabaye and a young english defensive midfeilder. and then zaha to the mix this is for next summer

You lot may not like it but fergie will do something similiar to this

Big V
also looking forward to seeing powell tonight and to see if petrucci gets game time

Regard Caulker very highly indeed. Would be nice to see him replace Ferdinand to be honest!

Fresh!

Cabaye eh?

I think he would do alright ;-)

Jono

20 Nov 2012 16:52:34
{Banter Please ED}

{Ed002's Note - It is not banter - it goes on the team page.}

So all the other teams and line ups on the banter page are?

nobody reads the teams page ... {Ed002's Note - They should not have been posted - I will see if we can allow responses on the team pages.}

20 Nov 2012 15:19:06
i think jones might start at RB tonight.
jred

I was thinking the same earlier, but I went with him playing alongside Carrick with Rafael at RB as my final decision. I think the manager will want Rafael to get this game under his belt as it will be great experience for him. He also have plenty of time to get a rest before Saturday. I am not convinced Wootton has a future at the club so I think Rafael, Carrick, Jones & Buttner will be the back for. However I do think Jones will be playing either in midfield or at RB in the near future, with Rafael holding down his place this season I think a spot in midfield isn't out of the question.

Sydney!

Syd
i think raf might get a rest, i would like to see powell get a chance and if he does i think he might start along side either carrick or prob fletch
jred

Jred, I thought that earlier as he has played a lot of games, but I think the experience in tonight's game will be key for his development and I think he may get the nod. With us having CB issues I think Jones may play there tonight as he will be needed there if Rio or Smalling gets an injury.

Sydney!

Raf starts, quite surprised to be honest
glad to see powell starting
jred

20 Nov 2012 15:04:42
Just thought that I would add my two pennies to the 'which midfielder' debate that is going on. As I have said before, I have a pretty small list of players that I would want to help 'transform' our midfield:

- Bender brothers.
- Fellaini
- Strootman
- Wanyama

The two that most interest me are Wanyama and Fellaini. Some might say that the Bender's are the best, but thats not necessarily so. Essentially, one of the weaklinks in midfield is Carrick, this is notable as people are praising the a*** off of Fletcher who has always been a squad player. Cleverly, Anderson and Powell should be fighting it out for a spot alongside a player with presence. This is where Carrick lets himself down, despite his height he is pretty weak on the ball and very poor in the air. I'm not saying that we should necessarily sell him, but there is no way that he should be a starting regular for a team such as ours - perhaps for someone like Newcastle.

This is why Fellaini or Wanyama are my preference. I don't really mind which. The problem with Wanyama is that he is a standout player in a poor team in a poor league. Fellaini on the other hand is thee standout player for a good team in one of the worlds best leagues. This implies that Fellaini is the better player. He has also excelled against the likes of us, Chelsea, City etc. Both players break forward and score and both have a high work rate.

The only problem that I have with Fellaini is his hair - LOL. But surely £20 million for either player would be great. Zaha probably will come in too.

Fresh!

As a defensive midfielder I would have all of the above over Fellaini, well I have only seen one Bender bros play so I cannot vouch for both. I do not believe Fellaini is best suited as a defensive midfielder and I think he and Moyes agree.

Sydney!

As I've said, Wanyama is probably my preference. But I do rate Fellaini.

Fresh!

20 Nov 2012 14:40:25
I don't often wish good fortune on Liverpool,however with all the speculation surrounding Suarez and with little hope of him playing Champions League football in the near future , i do hope that they can hang on to him and avoid selling him to one of our rivals.
Raffa

He'll go to PSG.

Fresh!

20 Nov 2012 13:33:20
Wouldn't be surprised if Beckham returned.

Giggs-Scholes-Carrick-Beckham
38-------38-------31--------37----

You'll win nothing with kids... what about o.a.p's?

Red Joe

Don't forget Evra, Ferdinand - we might even get Neville to come back.

Fresh!

Thats a proper midfield.......i would swap Carrick for Keane though

Plus Nicky Butt is coaching the kids could he do a Scholesy lol
CardiffRED

20 Nov 2012 11:52:54
With Chelsea rumoured heavily to be setting up a deal for Falcao and then Torres becoming surplus to requirements, would everyone write-off United putting a cheeky £10 Million/£15 Million Maximum bid in for Torres?

I know his goals have dried up since his move to Chelsea but could that maybe because he does not have the service with those? Their midfield is full of players who likes to run and dribble round defences, instead of little intricate one-two passes round the box that, I believe, are our strengths.

What I'm saying is, would everyone condone his move to United? If we had him for the price I mentioned and he found half the form he had at Liverpool, that would justify £10 Million well spent if you ask me

ALDUtd

Chelsea will try and keep both I imagine. One striker in a whole squad is insufficient.

Fresh!

I can't see Torres leaving for another english side, think he'll head back to spain, also 10-15m? would imagine chelsea would try to get rid for at least 30m, personnelly i can't see it but cant imagine chelsea willing to lose such a fee.
As for your question? no, we have enough firepower, on his day partciular in his early liverpool days he was unplayable - vidic found that out first hand but since then he's been poor.

Giants14

If he was available for 10-15m i wouldn't turn him down..

torres rooney RVP upfront would be scary.

So Chelsea get to buy the best and we get their cast-offs. No thanks. We should be buying Falcao ourselves ! He is awesome and is knocking them in for fun for Athletico.
NoMidfield

Chelski will use him as part of the deal to get Falcao! it would suit all parties.
CardiffRED

20 Nov 2012 09:21:37
Hiya all, I know people ask this on here all the time but i havent ever read the answers as not needed too before. So .... does anybody know a decent website where i can watch the match tonight? Love the site bu the way Ed's.. avid reader !

Try wiziwig.tv :)

Usagoals.com ALWAYS WORKS

20 Nov 2012 08:33:24
How I think we'll start the match tonight...

---------Lindegaard---------
Rafael-Jones-Carrick-Buttner
------Fletcher-Cleverley-----
Young----Powell----Welbeck
--------Hernandez---------

I'd expect maybe a switch to 4-4-2 in the second half with Cole coming on and hopefully Petrucci as well.

Andy!

_________Lindegaard
Vermijl__Jones__Wooton__Buttner
__Cleverly__Fletcher__Powell
_Young___Chicharito__Welbeck

Seriously hoping however that Petrucci starts ahead of Young.

Fresh!

I would agree with Fresh apart from Anderson in for Powell.

Oxred

I think Jones will play RB Carrick CB and Ando for Powell
CardiffRED

20 Nov 2012 07:53:56
Manchester united will continue there policy of trying to get the best ageing has beens with no legs, and will be attempting to lure david beckham back to old trafford!

If rumours are to be true this could also see a move to reunite beckham with gary neville down the right flank. The big stumbling block will be persuading neville to come out of retirement but the manager is confident that he can having already convinced 38year old paul scholes to come out of retirement by stating that he can still dominate games at his young age.

The transfer coupe will happen as the manager is still living in the past and wants to relive 1999 as much as possible and is reluctant to play any of his current crop of youngsters, therefore at 37 beckham would add even less pace in man utd's midfield and will suit there new style of play!!

G.N.G

Lolss.. Good word mate.. Anything is possible. Nd compare to saf they r young lads.. So possible
Rodio17

Great Post LMAOF

Shaharm

! Excellent.

As soon as I read 'reunite beckham with gary neville down the right flank.' I almost spat my lunch out.

20 Nov 2012 06:48:08
Becks considering retirement from MLS. I know we dont need him at united(but i ll luv to c him in united shirt again) just want to see him back in PL.
ALL THE BEST TO BECKS


REDCORE!!

His legs are worse than Giggs he's been shot for years

Pardoe

Pardoe

Biggest difference is Becks can pass but still should be nowhere near a Utd shirt again.

I quite like his team mate Juninho though. I think he could do well over here.

Jono

20 Nov 2012 04:16:56
I originally thought we should be putting a team full of young players, but after having thought about it,Im not sure: on one hand we have already qualified and we dont need to win the game, but on the other hand we dont want the players to get a their a** handed to them, and we need to give the supporters some action.

Id rather keep DDG in goal, to keep us from guetting hammered should something unexpected happens, which is possible given our defensive record.

so instead of wooton, especially since jones is just coming back from injury, I would put evans on.

I would use fletcher and petrucci in the central midfield position, with Powell, Anderson and Young in the am position in a 4-2-3-1, and Welbeck up top on his own.

That way we have a healthy mix of experienced players and younger ones. If the game is going our way we can have Cole, tunicliffe and Wooton/ Thorpe on as the game progresses.

So the starting 11 :

--------------De Gea--------------------
Vermijil---Jones---Evans/Chris---Buttner
-------------Fletcher----Petrucci----------
----Anderson---Powell----Young/Cole--
----------------Welbeck-------------------

Mick

I agree that we can't just throw all the youngsters in at the deep end, i'd expect to see three or four youngster start with a couple more coming on as subs in the second half. I have a sinking feeling that we may see Carrick in defence as we haven't taken anyone experianced at all in defence( no Rio Smalling or Evans in the squad). Also DDG isn't in the squad so I expect we'll see Lindegaard in goal, which considering we'll have a young defence a slightly older head in goal could be a good thing.

Shappy

20 Nov 2012 13:19:19
checking the squad before posting would have been a good idea. I agree with you shappy. A bad result could have a bad effect on their development at this stage.

Mick

Mick, the whole point of leaving Cleverley out on Saturday was so he could play tonight. Cleverley is almost certain to start.

Sydney!

20 Nov 2012 15:11:55
yes syd, unfortunatly i think you re right. But he is not needed against gala, he was needed in the premier league. why giggs starts ahead of him is beyond me. Cleverley is easiely our best cm and should be first choice.

Mick

So we left a young 23 year old out of a league match so he could be fresh for tonight.
there was a reason he was left out and thats not it

Mick, The manager will want Cleverley, Jones, Rafael, Welbeck, Hernandez, Powell etc to get this game under their belts. This is great experience for them as it's such a challenging place to go.

No name, this is exactly why he never played against Norwich, Cleverley in case you haven't noticed lacks UCL experience and the manager has made it very clear that the young players that I have mentioned above will benefit from playing these games. Cleverley is still 1st choice and will play in all of our big games.

Sydney!