Manchester United Banter Archive January 27 2014

27 Jan 2014 22:07:55
Just thought I'd say something positive for once.lol
I'm really happy with the mata signing which I think has given everyone a lift including supporters.
I would still prefer kagawa behind RVP with Januzzi and mata either side. I would only keep Rooney if he was willing to play cm, playing the Scholes role with maybe a Vidal alongside him.
Otherwise we should sell him, I'm sure Psg would buy him, which would work out well for Colleen and her fashion thing.
I still think he is one of the most overrated british players in a long time.
Would love us to sell wellbeck also, will never make it as a top player as he dosent have a football brain. All he is is an athlete
Don't know much about our youth team but if there are decent players in there like Powell then I'd like to see them given an opertunity.

If Zaha impresses at Cardiff there is an outside chance that he, Powell and Lingard could be part of the 1st team plans next year. Pretty exciting stuff but it also means we could lose Nani, Young easily without needing to replace them. Then we could look to sell Kagawa or Valencia too if we go into the market for a quality wide man like Reus.

Let's say for arguments sake we swapped Kags and money for Reus that would leave us with excellent options of:

Rooney, Mata, Januzaj, Reus, Valencia, Welbeck, Zaha, Powell, Lingard.

Imagine having those options for the 3 in a 4231 with Rvp, Rooney or Welbeck up top (in order of preference).

Nani, Young, Kags and Hernandez would fetch perhaps £40-45m. Reus would be maybe £35m ish, leaving some cash left over to put towards CM and defence. Lots of wages gone too.

I try not to get too involved in the fantasy manager stuff but it strikes me that with the wealth of young talent we have in these 3 positions behind the striker, it would be an excellent opportunity to move on some of the older guys who aren't good enough - reduce the wage bill, replace with 1 top talent (if not Reus maybe Sanchez in the summer?) and let youth make up the numbers.

We should not be selling hernandez or kagawa, if rooney is getting new contract then it should be rvp to go.

kagawa is our best technical player and needs players like januzaj and mata who are also technically strong around him with rooney or hernandez upfront. those 3 players behind a rooney or hernandez will create plenty of chances, rooneys best season was when he played up top and chicarito is a natural finisher who just needs games

Hernandez is very likeable and has scored some important goals from the bench. But his second touch is normally a tackle and you're bonkers if you'd let RVP go and keep Hernandez.

I have realized we can all be so fickle. For people to advocate selling RVP is unimaginable. Make no mistake he is our best player with Mata now in there.

I think this summer Hernandez will go and Welbeck will follow maybe a year later. Neither good enough if you want to compete at the highest level in Europe or even in the pl. It is no coincidence we have sucked with those 2 leading the line in the last few month against teams in the PL and cup games.

I also believe Kagawa has one last chance to prove he is good enough or will see him gone this summer. It is great to be technical good but you need to be able to tackle and stand up to a challenge as well. Just being technically good is not enough in the pl. SAF book on Barca's midfielders has an interesting comment, if I remember correctly he calls them lions and brave, which is the last thing that comes to mind when you think of Kagawa. watch how may tackles he pulls out of the next time he plays.

Finally on Rooney, There is dispute he makes us a better team with him in the lineup. The debate is always about is the lineup being messed around too much to suit one player at the detriment of the team and other players. That is really not his fault and the manager and people should not hold it against him.

The next 16 games or so will be very interesting especially if we have a fully fit squad and time for DM to demonstrate how he gets the best out of a group of players upfront with various combinations that can be quite devastating with RVP, Rooney, Mata, Janusaj, Nani, Welbeck, Valencia, Hernandez young if they click.

Shahram, it's amazing how quickly some fans can forget just how good a player is, simply because he's been out for a couple months with an injury. Fickle sums it up perfectly. I think Jred mentioned this kind of thing a while back. RvP is deadly. Mata will feed him up the arse with assists.

Oops

There is dispute he makes us a better team with him in the lineup

Meant to say "no disputing"

Sydney

I am glass someone agrees. I think for us to have any chance of making a run up the table we need RVP fit and firing for the bets part of what is remaining of the League games.

I still think he can bang in 15 goals from here if he is fit and playing and agree with Jred, mata might feed him and rooney like scholesy used to and we might start seeing some comfortable score lines in games rather than this constant angst lol.

Sell RvP? When on form he is our best/2nd best player. Kagawa and Hernandez are 2 of my favourite United players but the truth is, neither of them have reached the levels we were hoping and most importantly Moyes doesn't rate them. Hernandez' close control and all round technical ability is not at a good enough level, Kagawa has struggled from day one and we now have Rooney, Mata, Januzaj and Powell who play in his preferred position. We could get around £15m each for them and we need a 'dribbler/runner' like Reus now more than a link up player like Kags.

Why anybody would suggest selling either RvP or Rooney is beyond me. We are trying to improve not ship out our best performers.

Gav

Can I just say that I agree with you for the umpteenth time ;) .

Sell RVP, Sell Rooney . we will get to a Sell Mata scenario in a year or so. I just get a feeling Mata/Rooney/RVP/Januzaj will actually be rip teams a new one. My only concern is, our midfield. But then score more than the opposition.

Deeps.

Nice1 Deeps. I can honestly say I agree. I'm glad we agree to agree and between us we are wholly agreed on the matter. Hope you are keeping well mate.

You two should get a room LOL

Sorry Sharham but that's one I just cannot agree with, lol. What you get up to on your 'business trips' with your 'fellow board members' is up to you but don't drag me and Deeps into it ;-)

Here here, we should sell Mata, what has he done for us so far? Nothing!

HB

LOL, Believe me I would rather have gone to miami with some buddies :)

Lol Brendan, made me chuckle. I was disappointed with his press conference tbh, move him on.

Gav

Shahram has some Tony Stark like qualities.

Deeps.

Exactly HB, how dare he not say he has moved to a bigger club!

27 Jan 2014 21:00:33
Wonder why SAF Gill Moyes Lumsden and Neville were all watching the U21s tonight?

Same reason as every other Premier
League team were there too .

27 Jan 2014 20:15:20
Don't know if it's been posted yet but I thought I'd share as it made me chuckle: "I want to tell you, I might as well do about a boy who won't pay 4 anything. She wanted Rosso's, he took her Nandos, Januzaj Januzaj Januzaj"

On a serious note guys, hope we get another singing before the end of the window, what do you lot think we need most, another cm or a lb?

Coentrao. He'd serve as an option at LB, LW and even in the center of midfield. He'd be eligible for the Champions League and has enough experience to settle well into the side.

I really don't get the fuss over Coentrao. Perhaps I've just seen him I when he has been under par but he's not for me.

AJH

It's not just you mate, he is pants, moody, petulant, not great at defending and has a massive ego.

Far better LB out there. And younger aswell.

27 Jan 2014 19:27:23
What has happened to Kloot?

Wel as it turns out united actually bought a brilliant player and broke our transfer record while doing it so I imagine he spontaneously conbususted!

CAIN

Yes cain you are right about a brilliant signing but he does not solve our problems on the pitch let's just hope we sign a defender before friday. i'm really looking forward to the game tomorrow. who do you think we should sign?

27 Jan 2014 18:52:52
Just a side issue, but what happened to the "pop up" poster by the name of Attitude? He arrives on here like a whirlwind, flooded the site with posts for a few days, them disappeared just as quickly? Did post some daft things but some were quite funny in their own way and provoked some hilarious responses :)

Pretty sure he was one and the same poster as 'harry scousser' on the lfc site, pretending to be a united fan. Said so straight away as they shared the same, very distinctive writing style. All very strange.

Ah, good Old attitude, the Man who had Random capitals littering His Posts

27 Jan 2014 18:38:25
Haha. love how this site has gone from doom and gloom and people calling for Moyes head, to everyone building their 'ultimate team'. Seems Mata has given us all a lift already!

Just hope the players don't take foot off the gas because they expect to be sold in the summer!

{Ed004's Note - Hopefully they up their games as their battling for their place in the team/squad. Looks like Ed 2 was right. There will be major changes next few windows}

Good point as it is clear DM wants to get rid of certain players and wonder if they will put the effort in from now till the summer.

I makes you wonder if there is some sort of a disruptive element from some players for him to be so public about it. He even talks about deserving to wear the shirt today so obviously some guys are at the ends of their stay.

That's the effect a big signing can have. Look at Ozil (sorry Syd, Oezil :) ), he gave everyone at Arsenal a huge lift. He started brilliantly, but his performances have dropped a bit, but the positive effect on the team continues. That's not to say he's playing badly though, he is a class act. Hope Mata will have the same effect on us and help us to that CL spot.

GCU

I think it's Moyes casting the gauntlet over the squad to create the fear factor that nobody is safe and the next 6 months will decide a few players careers.

It's up to them now!

Jono

I think he genuinely does not rate quite a few of them and does not want them at the club.

The more he establishes himself, which requires some results the more I can see him cutting many out of this team with the fans and boards support.

I am kind of supportive because when you look at us having the 3rd highest wage bill in the pl, I do question if many of the current squad deserve the wages they are on and under SAF I think we haled on to too many guys on high wages that should have been taken off the books.

27 Jan 2014 17:36:50
Could RvP & Mata be substitutes tomorrow with Rooney & Adnan starting? I wouldn't mind taking another look at Fellaini too. With Carrick out for a month it's the perfect opportunity for Fellaini to show what he can do.

I am hoping to see De Gea, Rafael, Smalling, Evans, Evra, Fellaini, Fletcher, Mata, Rooney, Januzaj and RVP all in a 4231 with the 3 fluid and all over the park and the full backs as the width. Hopefully we will score more set pieces and from them more too with Mata's delivery and RVP, Fellaini, Rooney, Fletch, Evans. Smalling and even Evra in the box capable of winning aerial challenges.

I'm honestly still expecting fellaini to come good for us

I'm hoping so, Mata on after 60 mins to a rousing applause? Hopefully we'd be ahead by then mind! Fellaini will have the perfect opportunity to show what he can do with Carrick out.

Our next 3 games in the league are winnable. Not counting my chickens after our recent form but if we could get max points on top of the Mata signing that would give is the list we need. Fingers crossed

27 Jan 2014 16:27:57
Well for obvious reasons Mata's transfer is bringing a lot of positivity to united fans.

When you think about it atm we have 4 undoubted world class players in Rooney, Van Persie Mata and DDG

And then we have some players with world class potential in Januzaj, Jones and Rafael.

And then you have the players with a bit of a question mark on them, but who can turn out to be fantastic players for us in the long term, Zaha, Powell and Keane.

Not to mention the squad players who have yet to adapt to the squad, but they can bring an undoubted quality to the side if they manage to find their feet, Kagawa and Fellaini.

In the upcoming days, and the summer transfer market, the positions in which we need immediate strengthening are obvious. Creative central midfielder to replace Carrick, a top class central defender, a left back, and a right footed left winger in case Rooney leaves.

All of our serious targets seem to be players in these positions.

For centre back, I see Hummels as the best option. Experienced, solid, fantastic on the ball, and young enough to improve certain aspects of his game, like concentration. He's a significantly better version of Evans. Mangala and Garay are other options that we could buy this week.

For left back, Moreno and Sandro have been talked about. Luke Shaw is another option and if we fail to get anyone this january, Coentrao would still be an option in the summer. A target that no one, bar Shappy, has yet to mention is Ricardo Rodriguez. He is, by far, the best option available. Proven in a big league, great tackler, doesn't get caught out, and is fantastic going forward. He can dribble, he can pass, he can cross, and boy is he fast. He has improved exponentially this season, and has so far outshone Alaba. He would also be less expensive than all of our other targets, but I see him as more of a summer purchase, in order for him to prove he's really improved and it's not just a brilliant start to the season.

For a central creative midfielder, there are plenty of options out there. Kroos, Gundogan, Cabaye, Banega, Rakitic and Ander who appears to have got his form back, and even improved on last season judging by his most recent performances. Allan of Udinese is an interesting option, and might be more realistic than some of the others.
My personal choice would be Kroos, followed closely by Gundogan. Either of them partnering Fellaini would bring out the best in him, and give more balance : their technical brilliancy and passing abilities to his brute strength. If we are going for younger alternatives ( IE squad players for the moment, Kovacic, and maybe even Morrison would be my choice, but with Powell coming back, and him being just as capable of being a central midfielder as he is as a number 10, we're not desperate for it.

If Fellaini, as plenty on here expect, fails to find any sort of form, there's no shortage of midfield powerhouses in Europe. Vidal is everyone's favorite option, and for a reason, but there are less expensive alternatives. Axel Witsel, who imo is only second to Vidal in that position, might cost a fair bit of money but he would be worth every single penny.
And with Fellaini and Fletcher providing cover, we are in a pretty good position. If not than Fernando of Porto and Matuidi of PSG would be free, and very useful additions.

Now for the left wing. If Rooney leaves than we might see Kagawa staying. Kagawa, Mata and Januzaj would be a very technical creative attacking trio, but we might need a pacier alternative. Reus is the best option out there, but he's a brilliant player that most teams would kill for. But with Chelsea having Hazard in his position, Arsenal and City are our direct rivals. Ciy are more likely to be challenging for his signature though, and if we are ready to pay similar wages and transfer fee, we have just as much of a chance as they do, if not more.
Draxler would be our fall back option, but he would cost a fair amount of cash. Muniain is a less expensive option.

All in all, a starting 11 of De Gea, Rafael, Jones, Garay ( Mangala ) Rodriguez, Witsel, Kroos, Reus, Mata, Januzaj and Van Persie would cost about 120 million quids, give or take. Kagawa, Powell, Lingard, Evans, Smalling, Carrick, Fletcher, Fellaini, and many others providing squad strength, we are very capable of reaching our previous heights.

. With a couple of unwanted players leaving including Rooney, Nani, Young, Anderson, maybe Fellaini or Cleverley if neither improves, Giggs, Evra, Vidic, Rio, Bebe, Macheda and some other fringe players on their way out, we'd make over 50 mils and, along with Mata, we'd have a net outlay of 100-110 million quids over 2-3 windows.

Ed004, and other posters, what would you think of such a lineup? I know it's really, really unlikely but one can dream can't he?

{Ed004's Note - I like the suggestions but for me Vidal would be my primary target and even if Rooney doesn't leave I would still target Reus as long as the money is available. Mangala would be the perfect cb to sign}

Thought provoking post mate!

Centre back is a good option for me as there aren't a huge amount of ball playing defenders of that quality. Mangala would be my second choice but not sure about the standard of Garay from what I've seen. He's just a big lad in a small league

I mentioned Ricardo Rodriguez. All I got from Ed002 was that the interest was elsewhere so were unlikely to get him I think. Would love to have Shaw mainly because he's English, and we're in need of more English first team players, but I feel if we don't get him in January, then he's Chelsea bound considering they have yet to offer Cole a new contract

Personally, I would expect Fellaini to pick up his form and kick on. There's a reason he was bought in the first place and if he shows the form he had at Everton then should be alright. Would absolutely love a Vidal and Gundogan partnership but Gundogan is Madrid bound and Vidal is probably too expensive at the moment so possibly a summer move maybe? The man I really want to see is Kroos alongside Fellaini because of the strength and creative partnership however this lacks work rate and pace which we will get from other areas

Left wing is easily Reus for me. Draxler would be lot of money I think and he's destined for Arsenal in the summer I think. Muniain is a strange one. He shows glimpses of genius but the mental part of his game is very weak which would be a huge problem in the best league in the world and I think would overwhelm him so much so he'd be gone a year or two later claiming home sickness

So the team you've got at the bottom is reasonably nice and I would like to see youth additions to the bench making their way up like Powell, Lingard (As you've mentioned) but possibly Janko (as cover for Rafael) and Henriquez (If Hernandez leaves in the summer)?

Can't see Reus or Kroos moving this summer. Mangala would be very expensive. I don't think Rodriguez has really been playing to a high standard for long enough to take the risk with him.

For me we should be going after Garay (£15m), Zouma (£12m), Coentrao (£15m), Vidal (£30m + Nani) and Gundogan (£10m + Kagawa). Muniain too if he can be signed for somewhere around the £20m mark. Rooney should be given a new contract and the captaincy.

£100m would give us a starting 11 of
DDG, Coentrao, Garay, Jones, Rafael, Vidal, Gundogan, Muniain, Rooney, Mata, RVP.

Ed, how would you fit Mata, Januzaj, Reus and Rooney in the same starting 11? They would all expect to start every single game, but I wouldn't mind the choice lol.

On another note, you seem reasonably hopeful we have a decent chance of making a second acquisition this window, might I ask who you have in mind?

{Ed004's Note - I think it would be a case of you have to fight for your position. Probably would be Mata right Rooney Central Reus out left however Januzaj can replace any of the if injured or in poor form (Rooney)}

Bennett, I get what you're saying, which is why I said we would better hold till the summer before trying to get Rodriguez.

Kroos would work much better with Vidal/ Witsel next to him, but him and Fellaini would make a very solid, albeit lacking in certain aspects, central pairing. Fellaini would stay behind and give Kroos some freedom to attack. Their lack of pace would not be exploited with a high line of defense. Whether Bayern would let him go is yet to be seen, but I'd rather have him than Gundogan, that's how highly I rate him.

Garay is a decent proposal, he's a more mature version of Evans but we should only target him if we fail with Mangala and co.

Draxler would be my second choice after Reus and Muniain is yet to convince.

Red, I think we're better off targeting a world class centre back rather than 2 capable ones, and I rate Jones higher than Zouma. Rooney might not be worth the contract he's rumoured to get and would only create problems with more and more stars asking us for similar money.

Ed, for some reason I see an attacking trio of Reus, kagawa and Mata with Januzaj covering all the positions as a better option. This would allow a more fluid, technically superior, much more creative attack. It would also allow Lingard and Powell more chances, with all of the aforementioned starters capable of sitting on the bench without raising hell.

But for that to work, we need to be sure Kagawa is capable of making the spot his own. While he has yet to show he is capable of doing so, playing a narrower formation with players similar to himself might bring out his world class playmaking ability

Its all about squad balance imo. If Kagawa is to set on the bench for Mata to play a central role in order to accomodate Januzaj when we're in need of some width, you will not be hearing of exit rumours in the papers the next day

27 Jan 2014 16:15:14
Oliver khan has come out and said he can see schweinsteiger leaving this summer as he's only had 10 games under pep this season. At 29 he'd be superb for a few years yet. Class cm. His brother supports us and according to schweinsteiger has always going on at him about signing for us.

He picked up an injury back in November and has been out since then. Before that he'd played every game bar one. Would be very surprised if he left given his affiliation with the club.

27 Jan 2014 14:48:03
I wonder who will get our number 7 then in the summer? Reus maybe? Ronaldo return haha.

Stop going on about Ronaldo, it's getting seriously boring and ridiculous.

27 Jan 2014 16:13:01
vidal probably in the summer.

The Ronaldo ship has sailed now. He's signed a new deal and would cost upwards of £100m to buy. We spoke to him in the summer and obviously whatever we offered him wasn't good enough for him to give up his Madrid life. If Messi is worth £200m, Ronny is worth £100m at least. He may return in the future, but it will not be for a few more years.

Hit a nerve?

Adnan.

9 and likely 3, 5 and 11 up for grabs too. Not that it matters much imo.

27 Jan 2014 14:16:17
Did you notice the comment from MATA about looking forward to the signings in the summer. On the negative side we will have to wait until then but on the positive side they must be superb players and he seems to know who they are as will Rooney, DDG, RVP and all the world class players we need to keep here.

27 Jan 2014 12:49:22
just want to wish new utd manager good luck, I hope he brings in the right players, and he should get a big pay rise, he's really worth it and is Manchester United through and though, his best years are ahead of him and utd would fall apart without him.
ps, utd should sell him, get a younger better player, who, at least will be glad to play for one of the worlds best clubs.

Your name should be . i'm insane

I think this is meant to be banter but I'm genuinely not sure. I'm going to hire in a team of literary investigators to try and figure out what the chuff you are on about.

Have you been let loose in the glue factory again?

LFC, do you remember back when Liverpool won the league?

September seems like ages ago eh?

Sorry, I should of put mr rooneys name in as manager, it seems to me he's running the show at utd now, undermines moyes, makes him look like a weak manager.

Just a pity Steven Gerrard can't show that leadership anymore oh how the mighty have fallen at least when we have a bad season we buy a world class player like Juan Mata Liverpool can't get Momahd Salah

To read every thing in the press and think its all true must be a burden on you, poor fella can't wait to over take you and get top four enjoy life without Louis and Europa league footie again LOL

Lol, jokes which need and explanation are always the best ones!

27 Jan 2014 13:42:31
Mata just mentioned, the players that will come in summer, there must be plans for some big names for the summer.

27 Jan 2014 13:31:54
So as it stands I'm not sure if we realistically are going to get anyone else this Window. Mata is sure to bring that creativity that we all know United need, However it was is the only pos'n we actually had credible players for already. Kagawa in my opinion has not been given much of a shot in that number 10 Role. Obviously Rooney Loves that Role too.
Don't get me wrong I am excited that we have Mata, I'm sure he will be great for the club.

My only fear here is it does not address the Obvious short falls United have, CM, LB and CB.

Hopefully a change of formation is on the cards now with 4231.

What are peoples thoughts though on the effect Mata will have on our squad? How will we shape up?
and more pertinently will we realistically be able to bring anyone else in this week (to stop us having to get about 5 or 6 in the Summer)?

27 Jan 2014 13:08:36
If SAF is still in charge would Chelsea have sold Mata to us? I don't think so.
By the shape of current signing and potential signings in future it looks like SAF saved some 150+ million pounds for his successor, nonetheless he won PL last season, almost won PL a year before that.
SAF is a genius!
I decided to live as a bachelor for life to watch Manchester United.(I became a United fan after that 99 camp nou)

Yes, I think they would have.

I doubt it. We'd be in a much stronger position if SAF were still in charge. I have a feeling our inability to challenge Chelsea for the title this season is the main reason they have allowed him to move to us.

I'm sure Jose has looked further into the future than just three and a half months. Mata will be here for at least the length of Jose's Chelsea contract. It would have been difficult for Chelsea to sign Salah, Matic & Co without selling Mata. They seem to be taking the FFPR very seriously.

Chelsea are set in terms of FFP. People forget that they have about 20 players loaned out with a value of around £250m. If ever they need cash to bring players in they can just sell a few of their fringe players and hey presto. It looks very much like Courtois will all but fund the signing of Costa in the summer, for example.

Jose is stubborn and egotistical. He decided that Mata wasn't good enough and has relished the fact that he's been able to bench the two time best player without too much backlash from the fans. Ultimately Abramovich will have been the one to rubber stamp the Mata deal and I do not believe he would have done so if we'd been pushing Chelsea for top spot right now. The fans too, would have taken it a lot worse if it weren't for the fact that we are currently struggling.

Jose has said that if Arsenal or City wanted him, then they could have bought him too, as long as the offer was right. City and Arsenal aren't struggling.

Jose didn't think Mata "wasn't good enough", he just didn't suit the style of play Jose is trying to implement. He wants wingers that track back.

Chelsea's players on loan are certainly not worth £250m. But they do have players to sell to even things out for themselves. City & Liverpool are failing the FFPR.

What Jose says and the actuality are two different things. It's all well and good for him to say that Mata could have gone to City or Arsenal now - but I very much doubt that he, let alone Abramovich, would have allowed that to happen. Chelsea want to win the league this season and so I refuse to believe that they would strengthen City or Arsenal given that they still have to play them both. I doubt that they were too happy about selling to us - but the fact that we still had games to play against their competition along with the players desire seems to have helped a lot.

You're splitting hairs re Jose's views on Mata. He didn't think Mata was good enough to play the way Jose wanted Chelsea to play. Ergo, he doesn't think he's good enough for Chelsea (given their current style of play). If that wasn't the case he would have played more this season and ultimately wouldn't have been sold.

I may have exaggerated the value of Chelsea's loan players - but £150m shouldn't be too far off (a large exaggeration, I must admit). They still have the most valuable squad of any of the other premier league teams and many of those will probably never come close to being first team players. I wouldn't be surprised to see Lukaku, Courtois and Marin leave this summer for £60m+ - which should keep them from falling foul of the ffp regulations.

Redseven,

Lukaku £20m-£25m
Courtois £20m-£25m
Marin £5m-£10m.

£45m+ would be closer to the mark I would think. Although it's questionable if the first two are even available for sale. I think Torres, Ba & Eto'o would be sold before Lukaku. Courtois is Cech's replacement, but I think they could swap if it got them a top player in return. Then there's Moses, he's probably a £7m player. The rest are kids. Their versions of Barmby, Lingard, Petrucci, Powell etc. Nowhere near £100m's worth. But your point is right, they do have enough players to sell every year to keep them above board so to speak.

27 Jan 2014 12:01:31
I feel Mata is a great signing but a luxury signing at that. I don't think we will be able to bring anyone in now unit the summer and with that I can't see the single signing helping us enough to get champions league.
I really hope of 2 more signing this week CM and CB but cannot see it .

It isn't just the single signing though is it, it's the confidence that gives everybody else as well as the return of rvp, Rooney and Fellaini to full fitness at the same time.

If we had just signed them 4 players would you think we could finish top 4? It's only 6 points remember.

Mata is one of the if not the best playmaker in the league, we have been struggling to create chances how is Mata not going to help that situation. Mata has scored or assisted over 60 goals in the last two years, he will dramatically improve creation within our team.

If we can get RvP and Rooney back along with Mata we will have three of the best players in the league playing for us.

He could also be the key player in bringing in a new system which should make us a stronger unit.

More signings will be made, whether they be this window or next. I couldn't really understand why we bought Mata, granted he is a world class player, something we are short off, but with Rooney signing a new contract I don't see how we can accomodate all these stars.
Dont get me wrong i'm not going to moan about buying Mata, if he was available and this was the only time we where going to be able to purchase him, then well played United.
I honestly don't believe there will be any more signings this window, not because we haven't tried, but just that it is too difficult, to deal with clubs during this stage of the season, particularly for the players that will improve us.
I kinda look at it this way, there was a strong possibility we where not going to sign anyone this window, but luckily we have. Albeit not in the positions we need, but again he is a terrific player, aiding our climb up the league. You can even sense on this site what a boast the signing has brought to everyone associated with the club and hopefully he is the catalyst to salvaging the season.
I do have one question for the regulars, like I stated before I can not understand how we will accomodate all these CAM. Now I assume where going to a 4-2-3-1, however Rooney is not going to be effective from the wings, plus he is not mobile enough. Mata should be ok with this, but would not want to be stuck on the wing, due to Rooney dictating play. Then we have Janujaz, who is more effective coming in from wide, but what I have heard he will naturally progress into the centre. Then we have got the forgotten man Kagawa, who should not be let go, as he will link very well with Mata. To add to this Nick Powell, who looks like he will make an average CM, but a terrific CAM, and finally Fellani, whose best position is behind the striker. I know he plays further back for Belgium, but if United adopt this fluent football, he is not the man to link defense to attack. I would have much sooner paid the extra 7 million for Herrara, who I believe is the missing link to our midfield. I love the rumours linking us to Vidal, but to me Herrara is the player that will drastically improve our starting 11. I rate him more than Koke (Granted more creative), Gundagon and possible Martinez, Just my opinion.
Its safe to assume where losing the majority of the out-and-out wingers, but still we don't have the midfield or full backs to cope with the lack of defense, once the opposing team gets into our half.

aaallj5

People also claimed we didn't need RVP and should've got a centre mid instead.

A team of DDG, Rafael, Evra, 2 from our 5 centre backs, Carrick, Fletcher, Adnan, Mata, Rooney and RVP with a bit of rotation will clinch us 4th imo.

27 Jan 2014 11:50:56
No where near Shaw valuation more like
£25 mill and Reus will not move until
summer and will want Champions league
football something we may not be able to
give him

Shaw's current contract is to 2018 . long time to wait . unless the offers start around 30 million plus .

We will have a push for shaw in the next 2 days and expect a left back in before friday.

27 Jan 2014 10:41:12
Paddy Power has branded Manchester United boss David Moyes the Wolf of Wall Street after the club took a £150million dive.

That's how much the bookmaker said the club's value has dropped with its lacklustre performance since Moyes replaced Sir Alex Ferguson six months ago.

A Paddy Power spokesman said: "Moyes looks to be the Wolf of Wall Street as far as the investors are concerned.

"Wiping a cool $250m off the club's share price in six months is a spending feat even Roman Abramovich would be proud of."

Paddy Power has started taking odds on how low the US-listed club's share price - currently around $15 - will go by the end of the season.

It's offering 12/1 that the price will fall to $10 or less.

Id say with the signing of Mata and the returns or Rooney and RVP we will see things change. And in the summer I can only predict the stock valuation rising as their will hopefully be an influx of players.

Deutsche bank downgraded the stock this morning siting concerns about escalating players wages.

27 Jan 2014 09:55:44
Im expecting a lot of negative vibes
about my post this morning but what
about us bidding for Stokes Shawcross
He always battles hard and is young
enough better than what we have at
moment. I was thinking of emailing
DM to run it past ROONEY??

Shawcross is average. Slow, clumsy and poor on the ball.

Shawcross is decent but I think we need a Rio type centre back - and a top one who will lead the defence. As long as he wasn't all we signed to replace Rio and Vidic I'd find positives there as imo he's better than Smalling and of a similar level to Evans and Jones

Shawcross suits stokes style of play but I don't think he is what we want/need.

Shawcross is extremely average and will never be able to reach the levels of Smalling, Jones and Evans. I really do not understand this disregard shown to our own talents, just because the cow in the next field can chew grass the same way.

Smalling, Jones and Evans have already acheived more in their careers than Shawcross will ever, throughout his. Each one of the mentioned United players will become integral first team members in the near future, and the only reason their development has halted is due to the sentimentallity shown to Rio and Vidic.
Both Smalling and Jones have had to adapt their games to play at RB, on many occasions. This is due to the constant absence of Raphael, a position which really needs to be sorted. This has then led fans to make judgements on the players, based on their contributions to their unfavoured position. Kagawa has played out of position poorly, yet I still want him to stay at United.
We need to stop buying squad players and purchase players that will improve our starting eleven, the only player I would purchase to replace Rio and Vida is Mats Hummels, who sadly I believe we will never get. My back up would then be Mangala, who has the ability to cover the left back and offer the correct versatility. But again we should have a first team regular and then a specialised replacement, something we have failed with in Raphael.
Shawcross is certainly not a United player and before we look to add average players to the squad, we should look at our own youth who contain some excellent players. Michael Keane looks like a fantastic player that could easily make the transition to be a squad regular. I also would not mind to see his brother promoted if Chicarito or Welbeck where to be sold. Sadly though I suspect his injury could be the reason poor Will does not make it at United.

aaallj5

27 Jan 2014 01:08:37
Thrilled at the acquisition of Mata - genuine world class talent, proven Premier pedigree, and only 25.

Now sign Cabaye and (ideally) Shaw, get into the top four and let Moyes build HIS team in the Summer.

Guess we aren't broke after all haha.