Manchester United Banter Archive July 27 2015

27 Jul 2015 23:00:18
People are saying we need a new defender and striker to compete at the top level but we managed to accomplish that last year without those characters, since Falcao, RVP and Di Maria were passengers, and we had the same defensive unit, but with more injuries.

Our weakness last year was against the weaker teams that pack their defence, not against the teams that come to play football. Even Chelsea in the 2nd meeting played negatively against us with 2 defensive midfielders. In order to win the league we need to win those types of games. We did quite well against the top 6.

Why didn't we score goals? Not because we didn't have a top striker - we had 3 of them for Gawd's sake. No, we simply didn't crate enough chances for them. So, to my mind, our principle need is for players who can create chances because there is a correlation between the number of goals scored and the number of chances created. Other than that I believe we will have a much better balanced, deeper and tactically attuned squad than we did last year as all of them will now understand what LVG wants.

27 Jul 2015 23:41:31
Good logic Shawthing. A little like when an ageing side narrowly lost out to City on the last day of the season. Most people said our defence and midfield needed addressing (and to be fair our defence especially still does) but SAF thought the best way to close the gap was to add the league's top scorer in RVP.

However, I'd like to see a centre back sign. DDG will be hard to replace this summer or next but securing what is in front should help neutralise his loss.

28 Jul 2015 00:01:44
Sorry mate I have to disagree, we like arsenal and city done anything but compete last year.

yes we had problems breaking teams down but imo it was to do with the strikers and defence as much as anything.

We were reluctant to get forward because of the fear of getting caught which resulted in lots of side ways passing.

We now have the midfield to supply good service and I'm sure our strikers will only do better this year with the blend we have(even if we didn't sign a striker).

So we now need to strengthen that centre of defence imo. Get a top CB then we will have a good platform to start.

28 Jul 2015 07:11:07
Chris, don't disagree with that in part. With a better midfield group, that can protect the defence better, and a top quality CB, it should allow us to attack with more fluency.

But what were our results against Spurs, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and City? In that small league how did we do? And how much better was it than the season under Moyes when I think we got 3 points? So, it's simply a fact that we did not improve or even deteriorated against the rest of the pack. If we want to win the league that's where we have to better.

28 Jul 2015 07:24:14
But how many games against the 'smaller' clubs did we conceed sloppy goals to?

West brom and Swansea games are great examples of that.

27 Jul 2015 22:09:46
For all the good work done it this window so far all that will be u detained if we go into the season with Blind starting at CB. Have no idea why a CB hasn't been signed as it has been a weakness of our for 2 seasons now. Hoping something happens shortly

27 Jul 2015 22:20:57
Think rojo will be ahead of him mate

27 Jul 2015 19:12:38
Does everybody think we need a new forward regardless of who it is? There's people saying that if we lose di Maria we need to get a like for like player and that we need a new forward to be able to compete, people are also saying we need a new striker. But would people be happy to see us bring in someone like pedro, not saying he isn't a good player because he is very talented, fast and has an eye for goal, however he is not that much better than our current options and wouldn't set the league alight. Although I would be happy to see him sign I don't think he is really what we're craving. Also the striker links, what would everyone think to us signing llorente or lukaku and dropping one of mata, depay, Herrera, s'lin or s'ger to accommodate them? I would much rather us get rid of di Maria because he didn't play as much as he should have last season but he didn't live up to his reputation either, and I think unless we can sign muller, Reus or greizman we should give the game time to lingard, pereira and Januzaj. Who could all turn out to be better than the players were being linked with. We should finish our summer by signing a top centre back, begging de gea to stay for one more year and doing everything to sign muller, Reus or greizman. If we can't get them don't get any. Let me know if you agree or who you'd sign to replace di Maria and why. Thanks guys!

27 Jul 2015 19:39:18
Manchester united can't go into the season with only 1 experienced striker, we have to sign a striker. If we lose Rooney for a sustained period we would be badly exposed IMO

27 Jul 2015 19:46:14
agree completely that signing a centre back and forcing(not begging) de gea to stay another year is the best course of action for us.

with regards to bringing in pedro i'm not fussed if he signs or not in a sense that if he comes in hell compete with mata janujaz pereira depay young for a wide berth and as they say the more the merrier lol. But if he doesn't come in i'd be satisfied with those 5 aforementioned players.

Regarding a striker i'm not really a fan of bringing in a back up as they're either not going to be of the desired quality(hence them being referred to as a back up) or they're not going to have the determination to fight for a place in the team (weve had too many players whove sat on their massive contracts very comfortably)

However having said that i'm going to contradict myself slightly in saying that lukaku would be the perfect signing for united and especially LVG as he likes his NO9 to do what it says on the tin, by staying up front and occupying the 2 centre backs and play with his back to goal and that is something lukaku is accomplished at.

Also lukaku has a massive chip on his shoulder and a point to prove to mourinho who let him go (unfairly in my opinion) so to sum i'd say break the bank for him as he could easily take the de bruyne route of playing out of his skin to prove jose wrong

{Ed025's Note - not seen a lot of lukaku then DSG?..very poor at holding the ball up and a worse first touch than ched evans!, very good finisher mind, and excellent at running behind defenders mate..

27 Jul 2015 19:52:03
.

"Young and Mata had fantastic seasons with assists and goals but to win the Champions League you also need speed. That is why I think, maybe, we still have to buy a player with speed and creativity." van gaal

lvg said ADM was that player and he doesn't want him to leave.
now that it looks like ADM is off i would think out big signing won't be a striker but a winger.

i still think any new striker will be cover striker

27 Jul 2015 20:10:47
I completely agree with DSG that signing a back up striker would mean that we'll be losing out on quality just so they're happy as a back up. However with regards to what you say ken about Rooney not being enough as the only striker we would have Hernandez and Wilson as well. Even Januzaj seems to be getting nurtured to play there. I'm not saying we shouldn't sign a winger, I'm saying we shouldn't sign a winger to sign a winger. We should sign muller, greizman or Reus. Those are the players that will do wonders for us! But I genuinely feel that Rooney can be our world class striker. Depay will score goals, mata will score goals and I think that pereira, lingard and Januzaj will be really good this season!

27 Jul 2015 20:20:05
ed 025 watched quite a bit of lukaku last season and he was quite dissapointing in an underachieving everton side

but surely with his physique and upper body strength he'd make a great target man

perhaps its more of a an attitude problem with him rather than him not having the required skills to do that job? i think the former but we all have different opinions haha

{Ed025's Note - we do mate but take it from me...a target man he is not..

27 Jul 2015 21:24:32
I think we will sign a major name late in the window. There is still quite a bit of shuffling to be done by some teams.

27 Jul 2015 22:44:46
Brad would you be happy with any of those leading our line say for a 10 week period?
10 league games maybe 4 champs league games? Chich can not lead the line as a sole front man and Wilson and adnan are far from ready. They are not ready for that responsibility IMO

27 Jul 2015 07:30:05
Hello Eds Cheers!! Now that LVG has publically stated we are in for a marquee player. Can any of the Eds tell us who it might be? I know nobody will be sure of who it is but simply that who it might be a list may be
?

{Ed004's Note - I would guess and hope it's one of Bale, Reus, Griezmann or Muller}

27 Jul 2015 19:15:16
Nice wish list ed, who is on your keeper and cb wish list?

{Ed004's Note - Ideally Lloris but it will probably be Cilessen and Ramos but it will probably be Otamendi.}

27 Jul 2015 18:48:22
Ex 025 good to see you back, I hope you enjoyed your time off mate.
What's your opinion of our signings so far ed?
IMO Darmian looks like he will fit in very well and from what I have seen he has all the right attributes to cope with the demands of the epl. Morgan is all action I think his transition will be seamless. Bastian is one of the few players in the world that can dictate the pace of a game he will do that for us in all the big games I think, and depay is the unknown quantity but looks to be the real deal. But do your unbiased eyes see them as inferior or risky?
I don't think we can go into the season with only one experienced striker so we need to buy a striker, and a CB yet, but also probably a keeper, can I also ask you what you think will happen for us in those areas before the end of Aug. Thanks. K

27 Jul 2015 15:35:23
Juan Mata Debate

The new Kagawa or Not?

Been reading forum now for a few years and posted on and off. I remember posting regarding Kagawa a few years ago about how it's time he became a United player or end up being sold. Lovely touches, good movement and close control but despite him having all these qualities he never did enough to justify his place in out 1st 11.
I can't help think we are seeing the same thing with Mata. Another quality player who is very good going forward and superb with the ball at his feet. However in today's modern game i worry he doesn't offer enough going back the other way and is too slow in possession.

Every team now has everyone behind the ball when they loose it can't help but think we would look better with an attacking midfielder who can play both ways.
It's just a debate and would like to get peoples thoughts on him. For the record i thought he played well last night and one cross field ball with instep of the right foot was sublime.

Having said that we spent most of the evening chasing the ball and not sure he's the best at winning it back.
Looking at it from another point of view we won 3-1 so why am questioning him!

27 Jul 2015 15:39:48
Mata contributes with a very good amount of goals and assists, kagawa didn't

27 Jul 2015 16:02:46
I like Mata as a player and as a person. He seems like a genuine nice bloke.

I think that while Mata can perform a role in the position he is currently being deployed in, his lack of pace does harm the side insofar as his link up play with the full back won't be very effective. The left side is far more effective because there is more pace down that side; so the majority of out attacks comes from the left, which could be a hindrance in the long run, as teams will just set up to stifle us on the left in the knowledge that we don't have the pace on the right to exploit them.
For me, Mata should play the advanced role in a midfield three.

27 Jul 2015 16:03:58
He has done well even though he has been playing out of position.

Shifting Depay out wide and playing Mata in behind Rooney will bring the best out of all three.

27 Jul 2015 16:11:22
I couldn't agree more, Red. Mata behind Rooney or Depay would be my choice too.

27 Jul 2015 16:16:01
Kagawa though talented did not do enough for us ( also he was played out of position). He was a bit light weight and got thrown off the ball too often. Mata on the other hand has contributed a lot despite playing on the wings. He has got us many important goals and assists.

27 Jul 2015 17:30:59
If Mata plays the advanced role in a midfield three . where does that leave Herrera ?

27 Jul 2015 18:33:43
Bilko it leaves him fighting for a position in the team, just like everybody else. Mata playing behind the striker is his best position IMO it will be any 2 from BS MS MC & AH in midfield. Backed up by blind and fellaini. Any 3 from depay Mata young Pereira di Maria (I'm still hoping for bale in his place) and 1 from Rooney Wilson adnan up front.
A club with our aspirations can not go into a 55 game season with 1 senior experienced striker and if ADM IS leaving we need a top class replacement.
In a 55 season i'd bet a very large sum that not more than 5 of our squad will start over 40 games and the average will be less than 35 so there will be plenty of games for the likes of Herrera no doubt about that.

27 Jul 2015 19:52:34
i can see why you're comparing kagawa and mata for obvious reasons but mata is better is many ways (goals and assists and linking up play)

and also i felt quite sorry for kagawa in that he came from one of the most unique football teams in the modern era (that dortmund team was a special beast in the way they pressed, counter attacked and linked up with their short passes) and was never really given a proper run in the no10 postion behind van persie because of rooney (Dare i say it lol)

27 Jul 2015 14:56:10
LOL

You bitter little man. Go back under that rock you pathetic troll.

27 Jul 2015 14:29:18
So, ADM IS GONE! Finally we move on! Now who will fill that void? It's got to be one of two major players?

Antoine Greizmann or Kevin de Bryne?

Agreed?

What's the worst that could happen?

Now with Greizmann we have a bargaining tool in Mata?

Worth a punt hey?

27 Jul 2015 14:54:34
both good players but i would surprised if we moved for either.
city will break the bank for de bryne.
chelsea tried for griezmann but where knocked back by player and club

27 Jul 2015 14:04:59
Guys spare a thought for Marcellus Wallace and go easy on him. He is finally out from hiding after his team won a premier league title after 5 years. His club haven't been able to get the top signings they had hoped for (yet) and he seems just a little bored and frustrated and quite frankly jealous of us making some real strides in terms of recruitment. He has only seen a buy your way to the top approach and is alien to the concept of striking a balance and developing youth and giving it a chance in your first team if they are good enough.

He can close his eyes and tell us that we are miles behind, when in reality we are just a couple of players away from having the best squad in the league while Chelsea are an injury to Hazard away from being a team that creates nothing. City are an ageing squad in need of major retooling while the issues that existed with Arsenal before are still very much the same.

We have caught up in terms of quality, big time.

27 Jul 2015 14:16:37
i don't think he even knows his own teams history nevermind the fact they haven't produced a player since terry.

its nice knowing other fans are worried about united this season, so they come on here and try give abuse

27 Jul 2015 14:27:39
You have no need to worry about me fella, I never hide anywhere.

You too can close your eyes as to how far you are behind the other top 3 clubs if it really makes you feel good.

You could have purchased any of the 4 players I listed below with a bigger fee and better wages because you allegedly can. Mysteriously you didn't.

You purchased the likes of Fellaini, Mata, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger and Depay instead and want to believe you are back on a level playing field with the rest.

No doubting the are good players but why Schweinsteiger when Vidal was available.

You think that City with a spine of Hart, Kompany, Toure, Silva and Aguero are weak, with Sterling signed and more to follow and that Arsenal still have problems, I guess all the assists Fabregas gets are just fairy dust.

Wake up fella.

27 Jul 2015 14:54:34
I think we already have the best squad in the league IMO. I think we caught up with Chelsea last season in terms of performances and quality. City are over-rated and Arsenal are Arsenal so I honestly think that we will win the league next season or come very close. We need to dispatch the smaller sides. Our performances against the top four sides were very good last season. It was our performances against teams who parked the bus against us and counter attacked that we had problems with. Hopefully, with a much stronger CM and more pace in the attach, that won't be such of a dilemma this season.

{Ed025's Note - im afraid your defence is still pretty poor to be honest sam and would improve with the addition of 2 full backs and 2 centre half,s mate, then you can compete for that fourth spot.. :)

27 Jul 2015 15:01:04
wallace - amongst most of the BS you posted throughout today, you mentioned something about trophies in the last 10 years and that chelsea have won more?

as the fat spanish waiter once said "here are the FACTS"

since 2003 you have won 14 trophies to united's 18 so i think your a bit confused when you say you have won more than us in the last 10 years.

27 Jul 2015 15:04:24
Shweiny has played under lvg, he trusts him and knows his qualities. He buys players that he thinks can understand the way he wants to play and makes purchases based on who fits his systems rather than always the best player. World Cup wining Germany captain can only run off and improve the rest of our players.

Your club is a graveyard for youth coming through yet your manager calls out other teams for trying to "buy" the league. Hypocrisy at its very best

27 Jul 2015 15:11:49
LOL Ed.

You forgot to mention CM. Our CM won't be complete without Wesley Sneijder.

{Ed025's Note - wes is well past it sam but you have carrick who is still world class mate.. :)

27 Jul 2015 15:17:08
Spb, Chelsea fans use the bullmetric system when it comes to trophy counting.

:O)

27 Jul 2015 15:27:03
In all seriousness, Carrick played really well against Barcelona. I am not sure about having two holding midfielders though. I would much rather see a three man CM with one holding player.

27 Jul 2015 15:49:15
Marsellus

Fellaini dominated Liverpool, Spurs and City and was one of the best players last year in terms of impact. Not to mention he had Fabregas in his pocket at Old Trafford.

A Chelsea fan questioning Mata's quality is quite frankly disrespectful.

Schneiderlin is a top quality CM and so is Schweinsteiger and Depay is highly rated.

You seem clueless mate. We did make mistakes in the buying last summer but this year has been spot on.

Fabregas is a player that fizzles out after December, we have seen it every year. If you cannot see that you are reliant on Hazard to bail you out and without him create little to nothing then you really are living in a bubble.

27 Jul 2015 15:52:40
united have one striker, and even he likes to run to left back to win the ball so you need to buy a world class forward to be classed as title contenders. I'm sorry to all the people looking through rose tinted specs but Wilson is mid table championship quality. Rooney will not win you the title with his goals! get lewendowski in and I will take u seriously.

27 Jul 2015 17:01:28
Boddy how anyone on this page take you serious when you support spurs?

And is this the same Rooney who embarrassed your defence at OT last season?

And regardless of your opinion on weather we will be title contenders, spurs will never challenge anywhere near the top 4 never mind title.

Other than loris and Kane(going of form from last year). Who have you got that can be classed as any good

27 Jul 2015 15:42:51
@Ed025

I'm sure we will address that defense mate. The problem was playing Evans and Rojo and Shaw suffering injuries.

We have already added Darmian, Shaw looks fitter this year, add Otamendi and we are sorted.

Evans will be sold once we sign a CB and I'm sure Everton will be helping us with that ;)

{Ed025's Note - im sure we will redfaith..knowing us we will give you stones for evans and januzaj mate.. :(

27 Jul 2015 17:22:04
Rooneys touches are terrible, I agree with boddy on The striker dept, although wilson will be a good player if he can come on.
But seriously you taking man utd serious, a spurs fan.:O

27 Jul 2015 13:45:12
Lots of debate about whether to buy readymade superstars or whether to develop youth from within. It really is not a question of either or, but rather a question of striking the right balance between the two.

I look at Sir Alex's United in the 90s and it had the class of 92 but it was also supplemented by record signings of Keane, Cole, Yorke, Cantona etc. Then there is the scouting network to find bargains. In the early 2000s Sir Alex chose to go for players like Van Nistelrooy, Rio, Rooney and Veron to supplement the quality he already had. Meanwhile the club was developing players like Oshea, Fletcher, Brown to supplement that.

I look at Barcelona and they have an immense youth talent. They produced players like Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets, Pique, Puyol, Valdes etc but never forgot to buy the quality of Ronaldinho, Eto, Deco, Rivaldo, Suarez and Neymar. Its the same with Bayern. Its always about striking a balance and doing both, buying quality players and developing youngsters as well.

Sir Alex in his latter years was partially unlucky and partially failed to get the right players to plan ahead. The youth really didn't come through for various reasons. Pogba left, Morrison had issues with his attitude and other problems, Tunnicliffe couldn't make the cut while the Da Silva twins faded after showing some great early promise. Cleverley and Welbeck are good premier league players, squad player level for us, but not good enough to start. Some signings like De Gea did indeed work out well.

That, combined with some poor buying or lack there of and retiring or leaving players like Vidic, Rio, Scholes, Neville, Evra, created a sudden vaccum and exposed the cracks that Sir Alex was papering over. Our team suffered a complete identity crisis and there was no set direction or style of play, which is what LVG has tried to address. The squad needed a complete reset and refresh and to keep it immediately successful, we have to buy readymade quality players.

Doing that keeps us in the top 4 and solidifies our position there, also securing our future income and financial stability going forward. Meanwhile, young players like Januzaj, Pereira, Lingard, Wilson, Blackett and Mcnair are showing some great promise and we can give them gametime and slowly bed them in.

I don't agree with Van Gaal all the time but I can see that there is a clear plan in what we are trying to do and the direction we are heading in from the way we have bought this summer.

Depay - Young player with huge potential. One for the near future.

Schneiderlin - Premier League experience and one of the best midfielders in the league. Great engine and adds immediate quality and will hit the ground running.

Schweisnteiger - Much needed experience and know how to win the big games. Top player.

Darmian - A right back who has the balance in attack and defense. Is also tall so won't get bullied by cross field balls in the EPL.

Romero - Decent back up keeper to De Gea.

We are an experienced center back and a striker (perhaps someone like a Griezman could solve two issues, aka replacing Di Maria and getting goals as well) away from being a complete squad. (If De Gea stays). The future looks bright for us and we have bought and planned better than we did in the last few summer windows.

27 Jul 2015 14:02:06
redfaith
we have had some good youth prospects over the past 15 year but none have really made that step up.
infact a few have gone backwards .
we had a bit of a freak with the class of 92 but i don't think our youth set up is quite as good as many try to make out

27 Jul 2015 14:03:42
How dare you try to find a middle ground? Its one or the other, the end.

27 Jul 2015 14:29:02
Good post Redfaith, can't disagree with any of that.

27 Jul 2015 13:11:01
Been reading this site over 5 years now first time posting.Love this site and a very good job done by the eds thank you.Just want to put my view on the team up to now after watching the game against barcelona.I think we desperetly need a world class centre back to partner smalling who i think has improved a lot jones is far to clumsy and makes silly mistakes but its not like its every now and then with him its every time he plays i will give it him that he does try.I would say if he doesn't improve considerbly this season we would be best of selling next summer.A would also like to say what great signings we have made up to now apart from the defence i think we look a solid team maybe need a back up to rooney and a replacement for di maria hopefully bale but very unrealistic a think heres to a good season to all you united fans and hopefully bringing the league title back home where it belongs UNITED

27 Jul 2015 13:44:32
You had the perfect chance to get Hummels in at start of summer but chose not to offer him a good enough package to come. He would of been a beast for united and him and smalling would of built a good partnership. But instead you waste your time going for ramos who is obviously using you to get a new contract. Its clear as day to everyone apart from the main people at united. I don't think you have gone about your transfers the right way, Did you really need two centre mids? what's going to happen to Herrera now then? he was one of your best players in the 2nd half of the season, you desperately needs centre back and striker and none have been signed.

27 Jul 2015 14:22:10
@boddey_24

We made a real effort to sign Hummels and it had nothing to do with the package we offered him. It was ultimately Dortmund's refusal to sell and Tuchel convincing him to stay on for another year in Germany that made the difference. He just got married as well, so I am sure that played a role.

As for did we really need two center mids, the answer is yes. Carrick is ageing and has started to suffer injuries and we needed experience there to share the burden with him. Also Van Gaal wants to implement a 3 in midfield system which means we need more midfielders. There is enough room and games for Herrera, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Carrick and Fellaini to compete for 3 spots.

27 Jul 2015 15:05:01
We don't desperately need anything. The Squad will compete next season regardless of any more signings.

27 Jul 2015 16:00:34
Samthered15 just my opinion mate a don't think we will compete in all competitions against the very best teams without improving the cb position with a top class cb

27 Jul 2015 12:46:54
Morning folks
with little under 2 weeks before the season kicks off what business would you like to see us complete asap?
Would like to see Cilleson in as De gea looks more likely to go.
Defence - Otamendi in and would love to see us bump chelsea for stones, Say £26m + evans
Midfield - I honestly think we have quality by the bucket load now and for the future but would probably look to shift a couple players on if the deal was right and couple of younguns on loan.
Forwards - With the probable money from ADM, I think we could do with a major punt for Say bale or Greizman and look at bringing in LLorente if he is as cheap as reported under £10m. With money we get/have gotten from various sales and savings it would be busy and hectic but still come in pretty fairly with todays prices.

27 Jul 2015 13:38:30
So adding cilleson, otamendi, stones, di maria replacement and llorente to romero morgan bastain depay and darmian would see us bringing in 10 players in one summer transfer window

That is a squad overhaul and a half and is quite unrealistic if you think they're all going to gel and become a cohesive team unit

For me bring in otamendi and force ddg to stay forgetting e year and we have a team which can mount a title challenge

27 Jul 2015 16:34:48
DSG
didnt say it would happen as I don't honestly think it would.
Totally agree it would be too much if it came off but, realistically if de gea goes (looking likely) a no1 keeper is surely a must and personally don't see romero as no1, replacement for Valdes?
Definately need a centre back - but the Stones comments would irk the chelski fans earlier posts n all that ?
di maria replacement a requirement but llorente as a squad player for rotation. With prospective players moving on if, IF IF, at the very least we will require minimum 2 more that would be 7 players in this summer and that is still a lot to gel ;)

27 Jul 2015 20:07:16
i don't think we should sign stones just to irk chelski fans lol. Weve signed and have got two young english centre backs (smalling and jones) and they haven't developed as much as people thought they would for so many reasons. What makes you think we will make a player of stones?

For me we had to major issues last season:

1.) being defensively fragile against direct teams

2. struggling to break packed defences as we played too slow a tempo.

(stoke villa west ham hull burnley leicester sunderland were some of the many teams we couldn't beat away from home for those reasons)

1.) would be solved by signing a commanding experienced centre back (otamendi, godin etc)

and 2 can only be solved on the training pitch no matter who signs for us

{Ed025's Note - good post that DSG..

27 Jul 2015 10:57:22
Just reading some tripe about us not signing the top players.

Some clubs need to ride on the wave created by an individual player, others like ourselves are bigger than any one player. We don't need to use another players star appeal, we bring young talented players in and make them stars.

Obviously some managers lack the confidence or ability to make a young player into a world star, so just buy them ready made. Others know they can make a young player into a world star.

Its like cooking, you could order a take-away, but if your a great chef and you have quality ingrediants then that take-away will never taste as good as the meal you cook yourself.
As a side note someone who always eats take-aways will suffer serious health issues down the line.

In short I hope we don't abandon our traditions amd we continue to make world class stars, I hope we bring in young talented players and mould them into world stars. The odd take-away won't hurt, but we need to continue with what has made us a great club and not follow suit with these new wannabes.

27 Jul 2015 12:19:27
Shappy,

That analogy shouldn't work but it really does, I like it.

27 Jul 2015 12:33:27
If only some of you took the rose tinted glasses off and read through these pages looking from the outside in, you would grasp a better meaning of the word tripe.

I understand that you developed players to take over from Vidic, Keane, Scholes, Giggs, Ferdinand, Neville, Evra and the like, with Cleverley, Jones, Rafael, Evans, Smalling and erm.

Oh no you didn't, instead you seamlessly upgraded them with the likes of Hummels, Kroos, Fabregas, Vidal. oh no you didn't do that either.

Instead you phucked about panic buying anything with a pulse under Moyes and you are now buying from the 2nd tier trying to pass it off as doing what has made this club great.

I have zero problem with Abramovich or Sheikh Mansour who love football and have put their own money where their proverbial mouths are.

The are building for a future for those clubs as is clearly evident on your own doorstep should you have the balls to go and look.

You live off a legacy built by one man which has set you in good stead, you have no given right to anything and assume because of that name and money that you can now attract the best and buy the best, you clearly cannot.

Which ever way you want to cut it, demand from fans and sponsors mean you have to try and buy your way back to a title, build a team in 5 minutes to do it, what chance will youth be given and whilst you have brought in some good players we, as in City and Arsenal, already have them and will be adding to. So whilst your catching up on a previous season we all continue to move further ahead.

We are all stronger than you and that is obvious even to the most biased of you all. There is a lot still to be done at United and nothing pleases me more than Van Gaal trying to do it. Not fit to lace Mourinho's shoes.

27 Jul 2015 12:42:20
shappy
we have just spent over 250 mil in 12 month .
who was the last young player we made in to a star.
out of our first choice 11 which player will of come through the ranks.

everybody on the site has gone on and on about buying x,y and z superstar .

27 Jul 2015 12:49:00
You sound so bitter mate are you sure you are OK? you've been skipping your meds again now haven't you. Doesn't matter what you say really, Chelsea will always remain a rich man's plaything.

27 Jul 2015 12:57:13
Sign someone for 1.2 mil then dash him to another team only to go and re-sign him for 21 mil! Wallace u support an epic club mate!

27 Jul 2015 13:01:32
He sounds like your bog standard Chelsea fan: all mouth and no substance.

27 Jul 2015 13:01:51
I like this Macellus, funny guy :-)

27 Jul 2015 13:19:51
Marcelleus or whatever your name is, I love it when you come on here, and you seem to do that a lot. Is it because you're a closet United fan?

{Ed007's Note - He probably used to be a very open Utd fan, aren't most Chelsea fans like that?}

27 Jul 2015 13:21:52
Shappy

Back in the early seventies we were told United don't need to buy anyone , some more babes will just come through and we will be fine. I remember it well as yet another "youth" was paraded as the next big thing. Fact is they were not good enough and the result of not spending was relegation in 74. We had a great period in the nineties with the youth but since then cupboard has been bare at the very highest level.

I still have hopes for Pereira but for me LvG has two objectives, first have a first team that will challenge and that needed surgery and a lot of money spent. Second is to revamp the youth set up. We have a system that tries to bring them through unlike the other top teams, City and Chelsea have ploughed money into their academies to loan out 20 or 30 players, Arsenal buy at 16 from France and Spain the products of top academies. Ours needs a revamp, a total one using the trained eye of someone who knows what class looks like, he has seen Barcelona and Munich , however that will have a long lead time before it produces anything. As I posted the other day Angel Gomes is the bright young star yet it will be several years before we see him, if indeed we do.
It is too easy saying we make superstars not buy them and we need to learn from the early seventies what the arrogance of that attitude can bring.

27 Jul 2015 13:27:01
Wallace you make me laugh. We could languish in tenth place for the next 10 years and still be a much bigger in that you lot. Had a few years of success after your sugar daddy pumped billions in. Why do you think after a terrible season u see Moyes, Adidas agreed to the biggest shirt sponsor deal in football? Your sponsor yet they pay half to your small club. Greed in footballers cannot be helped, if city offer £300k then that player will end up there.

Out of curiosity where are the youth players you and city have produced? You don't. Just like city don't. Times change and it will never be like it was when we had the Giggs, nevilles , beckhams coming though. Footballs a business and you can't afford to stand around being unsucessful. Managers don't last and the money lost is too much.

But remember this mate. You will always be a small club. A club who can barely fill a 45k stadium and when you do it's still like a morgue in there. Little club with little history.

27 Jul 2015 13:33:29
News just in, only 2 players have a pulse according to Marcellus Wallace.

27 Jul 2015 13:01:48
Surprise surprise the I must be bitter comment, check out who has won the most trophies since Abramovich arrived and maybe go into depth as to what exactly I'm soooo bitter about.

No rush now, I'll wait. ;-)

27 Jul 2015 14:03:40
If only all Chelsea fans were as big-mouthed as Marcellus, their stadium could have a detectable atmosphere.

27 Jul 2015 14:17:35
I'm sorry guys and Edds, but, please excuse my ignorance, but when Adidas said ok, £750m over 10, do you seriously not want them to see a superstar in their newly prepared Adidas kit? Er, I'd say YES, I THINK THEY DO! So in August, be prepared for a biggy! Who, I'm honestly not sure, but, you bet your bottom dollar Adidas WILL WANT TO SEE A SUPERSTAR posing in the kit?

27 Jul 2015 14:25:30
"Panic buying anything with a pulse under Moyes". Are you for real? We bought Fellaini, who has turned out well and was not a panic buy but a target from the day Moyes was announced and Mata who was your player of the year for 2 years in succession and is again turning out to be a good signing even though he is being played out of his best position.

We bought just 2 players under Moyes, hardly any panic. If anything we needed to buy more players that summer (like Fabregas, Herrera, Baines, Garay) and weren't able to sign them.

27 Jul 2015 10:11:06
Memphis has posted a pic with lukaku saying 'See you soon'. Surprise siging??

He has not been linked in media.

27 Jul 2015 10:21:59
They are probably just good friends wouldn't read too much into it. Would be a decent signing but not the speedy world class player LVG appears to want.

27 Jul 2015 10:47:00
But they've not played together at club level and are on different national teams

27 Jul 2015 10:54:56
Ooooooo I don't know Redarmy, I think Lukaku would be a great signing. He would be a perfect fit with who we have.
But would still prefer Lewandowski, Muller, Gotze, Son Heung-min, or Benzema. lol 😃😃😃

27 Jul 2015 11:09:21
The speedy player is 100% Pedro. But we still miss a striker, don't know if we'll get one though. Lukaku might be a good cover, but as 1redarmy said, I don't read too much into it either.

27 Jul 2015 11:26:21
Belgium is next to Holland they probably have met somewhere along the line.

27 Jul 2015 11:41:57
I actually don't think lukaku would be a bad signing I would rather have him than Benteke under the right coaching he could be a real handfull wouldn't pay anymore than 15 million for him tho

27 Jul 2015 12:02:18
Maybe it means see u soon in england last time i looked manchester ans liverpool weren't to far apart for friends to visit

27 Jul 2015 12:07:58
£30m for a back up? Rather Charlie Austin. Don't like this back up stuff. Why can't we have someone to compete for rooneys place

27 Jul 2015 12:33:49
For a decent price I would definitely take him, he's quick and incredibly strong. However much as we want a world class number 9, I can't see it happening. Lukaku won't expect to start week in week out but he's more than good enough to cover Rooney when injured.

27 Jul 2015 13:36:53
I don't think even the players have any idea who the club are talking to and want to sign.

27 Jul 2015 15:26:38
They are good friends and have been for a long time, they went on holiday this summer and Depay even said he'd known Lukaku for years.

27 Jul 2015 10:05:07
Well well who knew ramos was only using us to get a new contract it's time we put this to bed and get our finger out and sign up otamendi before city get there first this should have been done and dusted weeks ago

27 Jul 2015 05:35:37
Hi Eds
Banter please.

Have been reading plenty about the various posts about ADM and would like to put my point about him as well.

Last year he was wanting to leave RM and PSG was also wanting him. But due to FFP PSG were not able to. Hence we got our chance to buy him. I feel that ADM could have been thinking that he comes to ManUtd and then after a short stint go over to PSG. I may be wrong on this but it seems that PSG managed to get away from the FFP and hence pushing hard for him. I do not have any real problems with this but I do have an issue with ADM having stayed 1 year and then wanting to move. More terribly the way he is doing things to get himself there.

Initially with his house being robbed and family issues with Manchester, it is fine. But I believe that can be solved with moving to a more secured house/mansion etc. I am sure there are ways to improve the security. Afterall, he earns a lot of money from the club !!!!
That said, he decided to choose the easy way out. As a professional, it should not affect him in any way how he plays football. Alas, it seems that he has deteriorated and not pushing himself to get into and start for the first team. I applaud the other teammates who tried hard despite LVG's pushing. That is being professional. Being highly paid and not trying your best and with a few simple excuses and hoping to get sympathy is not being professional. You are highly paid for what you do. Get out there and fight.

Now that worst for me is that he did not inform the club/team that he is not joining them in US and just simply gone AWOL. This is ridiculous. If you want out, just simply state your intent and face it like a man!!!! I am sure LVG or the management team will agree and split amicably. If you want to get out yet want your money, then it won't go down well. This is the last straw for me. I had liked ADM so much when we signed him and felt there was going to be different but now, I just think that he is very unprofessional and so what if he is a great footballer, but he is just another bum. I do not have such feelings for the other guys who left us but this is the worst. Even RVP is still professional. He only voiced his negativity after he left.

Anyway, I am expecting shooting from fellow fans but I just wanted to get this off my chest. I am really disappointed in ADM and despise that tactics used against a club like ours. Conclusion is just let him go and get back as much money as we can from PSG.

27 Jul 2015 07:39:56
He is probably instructed not to speak to the media until the deal is complete. And since he is leaving there is really little point in him turning up, which I'm sure United are tacitly okay with. It's better for him not to be in the public eye.

Okay, he's not Keano, but give the guy a break. With a young child born 3 months premature, the break-in experience was no doubt even more traumatic than it might have been had United been his top destination in the first place.

Then from a football point of view one questions how much we need him, or if he's even adaptable to the EPL. He's clearly not particularly tough, either physically or mentally. Nor does he seem to be the type of player who can carry a team by himself: he needs stars around him who require even more marking in order to give him the space he needs to make up for his lack of a right foot and a not great first touch.

Anyway, I hope he's brought a coat with him. Yesterday afternoon was wet and freezing in Paris!! But as Manchester like as the day was, it really is a beautiful city. And here's the benefit, the house he was renting in Prestbury is now for sale at a mere £4.1m. We could club together and buy it and turn it into a museum dedicated to Ronaldo.

27 Jul 2015 03:51:58
LvG has been quoted as saying Ronaldo is type of player that we need. Is it time for the hype to begin?

27 Jul 2015 07:30:52
LvG said "it is not possible. Because you have the club, Ronaldo and then you have Manchester United and how much Manchester United want to spend"

Interesting that he specifically mentions how much the club wants to spend.

Personally I think we need to look elsewhere , Ronaldo at 30 with the potential cost Madrid would want is not a good idea for me. Bale is another matter.

27 Jul 2015 08:41:47
Absolutely agree with you there Red Man. We should move heaven and earth to sign Bale. I see no reason why we can't sign a marquee winger like Bale, Reus, Muller, or Griezmann. For me we should get Pedro and Otamendi in, then spend the rest of the window chasing a marquee winger and a marquee striker.

27 Jul 2015 09:17:23
I'd prefer a two man tent winger and a gazebo striker but that's just me.

27 Jul 2015 09:18:29
Gilly

Bale, Ramos? And Lewandowski and I think we would have serious threat. Rooney cannot be the main striker we rely on and Depay is too inexperienced to rely heavily on. Note LVG referred to Barca's three 'Galacticos' and we have none. Bale and Lewandowski would be a serious threat and give us a chance at the top prize let alone the league. Yet I wonder if it will just be one this summer.

27 Jul 2015 11:41:18
I know that he said Ronaldo is not feasible, and that I agree, I would rather go for a younger player such as Bale for that price. But I do think the statement is a sign of intent we are after a game changer and I hope we get one.

27 Jul 2015 12:15:32
the fact that LVG has said Ronaldo's name is a guarantee that we won't be in for him we have kept our joke of a press in the dark for 2 years now, doubt he's going to start tipping them off now.

27 Jul 2015 00:38:34
An extract from an interview with van Gaal;

"No, you don't have a good vision I think. We can use much more creativity. We have Wayne, Mata, Depay, Young, Januzaj, Wilson, Herrera. Young has had a fantastic season, but he is not a Neymar and we have to compete with that kind of class.

When it is possible to buy, for a reasonable price, players from that level, we shall do that because they can contribute as they are better.

Ronaldo? He may come, but it is not possible. Why not? Because you have the club [Real], Ronaldo and then you have Manchester United and how much Manchester United want to spend".

- stop wishing for Ronaldo, Van Gaal has put it to bed.

- does he only see Young as a squad player? If so why has depay played up front? - loads of twists to come with this one I believe.

27 Jul 2015 01:45:11
Young's no Neymar but why does he have to state the obvious publicly!

27 Jul 2015 02:37:41
I was thinking earlier, are we planning to play Depay behind the striker, with a new Left winger coming in, whilst Young holds the fort until he does.

Bale or Reus wouldn't be turned away ;)

27 Jul 2015 05:27:13
Well done Louis. Sure Ashley appreciates that. not!!!!

27 Jul 2015 08:30:00
News in papers Tomorrow.

Utd's Surprise signing is Neymar :D

27 Jul 2015 09:09:14
I am pretty sure Young knows himself that he is not as good as Neymar, some people will find fault with anything the manager says. I recommend reading the whole interview, quite a good insight to be honest, people ask for honesty and I feel in that interview he was pretty honest about a lot of things.

27 Jul 2015 09:21:57
If Ashley was in any way upset by these comments he would be deluded. He's not Neymar. Obviously. Nothing wrong with that. I love having a manager who just seems to say stuff how it is.

27 Jul 2015 12:01:24
moyes got slated for saying we need more worldclass players .