Manchester United Banter Archive January 07 2012

07 Jan 2012 23:40:05
A lot of talk recently about us not having the persuasiveness of clubs like Barca, Madrid and City.

I really do think it's just a case of limited funds and Fergie's stubbornness.

Hypothetical scenario for you here.
A world class player becomes available who most of the top clubs are looking to sign. He has no preferred team out of the clubs looking to sign him. We are interested and money is of no concern - the player would choose one of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United. Purely for the history and success these clubs already have. If everybody could offer what City are offering we would see more quality here.

Like i said the above is all hypothetical. I'm not calling for a Sugar Daddy by any means - but who would say no to the financial advantage?

Fergie is just too proud to admit lack of funds i think.

RedDevil92

07 Jan 2012 22:27:05
I love Man Utd, and hate to criticise Alex Ferguson.....but things have been going wrong for way too long.
I don't know how players are chosen with regards signings for United, but we must have some of the worst scouts in all of the football world....ie Bebe, Anderson, Obertan...etc.
We have been lacking a world class midfield for years. We don't have anyone with the calibre of Keane, Scholes, Robson, Giggs etc.
Giggs is still hanging around Old Trafford and is a shadow of the player he was. Carrick can only pass a ball side ways across a pitch and Anderson like Berbatov and too many other players is inconsistent. Outside of Vidic and Rooney...Scholes was our best player. If Vidic or Rooney left we would replace them....why not Scholes?
In my view we are in need of another quality central defender (Jones in my view, suits the defensive midfielder role better). We need at least 2 more central midfielders. Either 2 attacking midfielders or 1 attacking and 1 Central Midfielders. Now Fergie says he won't buy a player that isn't as good as what he already has.......
So are Cleverley, Anderson, Gibson, Pogba and Morrison better than Cheick Tiote (£3.5 MILL), Scott Parker (5.5 MIL), these are just a couple of quality signings that could have improved our midfield. Scholes was never getting any younger, why did we have to wait for him to retire before finding a replacement? Van der Vaart has all the pedigree to play for us, yet Spurs got him for £8 MIL in August 2010.
People criticise De Gea but if he had a better calibre of midfield infront of him he would improve.

07 Jan 2012 21:28:07
After back to back defeats I hope that SAF has now realized what a lot of us have known for the past few years we are desperately short in the middle of the park. I know January is a very difficult time to bring in the top players but I hope and prey that SAF brings in a new face.

A question for the Ed. With Dortmund agreeing a deal to sign Marco Reus in the summer do you think it's possible that they could be preparing for the departure of Mario Gotze in the summer? I've heard all the rumours etc and I know Gotze himself says he will remain but I find it hard to believe that if United were to show some serious interest and make a significant bid then Gotze wouldn't be interested. Just a thought.

Finally, do you think we will do any business at all in January? {Ed007's Note - Yes.}

07 Jan 2012 20:41:18
With all the rumours of Rooney leaving I think a deal with Madrid would be amazing if we could have Higuain, Ozil + Marcelo for Rooney + cash.. Ozil providing the CM solution and Marcelo/Coentrao replacing Evra. I dont watch Real that much or keep tracks on whether these players have a big part in the team and would be available or not but that would be in my opinion be perfect for United. (I do know that Rooney & United have refused rumours of Rooney leaving, just speculating and have no sources or anything)

Cooper

07 Jan 2012 19:15:15
Rooney only stayed at utd because he was given a ridiculous wage. He is only interested in himself and when he's on the pitch glares at team mates and mumbles to himself (no doubt slagging them off) if he doesn't get the pass he wants. He is world class but annoys me when he spits his dummy out which he seems to be doing quite a lot recently. At the end of the day he is a scouser, say no more !!
I'm genuinely worried at the moment, need several class players and need to offload a few. Next few years will be new owners, new manager and new team. I think David Moyes will be the next fiery Scot to lead us.

07 Jan 2012 17:48:42
rumours about rooney seem to be buzzing, here's my thoughts on the issue:
firstly, i have noticed rooney's attitude has been different over the past few months. But i dont blame him, i mean id be p!ssed too if the club tied me to a long term contract with the promise of world class players who never arrive then we get knocked out of the CL and begin to get thumbed on a regular. But a poor attitude (which was again reflected in the newclastle game) on its own isnt concrete evidence that rooney will be sold!
However, one thing i have learned is that, in football, nothing is impossible and that impossible is nothing in football.
What am trying to say is that no one should rule out a sale of rooney now or in june, especially people who have no legitimate role in the decision making process at United. Do people here actually believe that if a mega bid came in for rooney, the glazers would just stand by and watch SAF and Gill reject it?
People need to understand that we dont always get what we want and that certain things are out of our control. Personally, i would like rooney to stay, i would also like berba to stay. I also wanted becks, CR7, tevez and RVN to stay. I also hoped we would strengthen midfield after barca danced circles around us.
Secondly, united and rooney seem to have come out furiously denying the rumours. Thought we didnt comment on transfer speculation. Anyways, why didnt we also release joint statements with progba, nani, valencia, henandez and any of our other players linked with moves away from O.T?
Do united expect us to buy this? Is this the same sir alex who has in the past dismissed with digust any speculation linking some of our ex-players to madrid? Then BOOM! Their off to spain. The same sir alex who never shys away from stating that he has no intension of selling berba and his part of his long-term plans?
At the end of the day am not saying rooney will be sold but then again non of us can guarantee that he wont. So am going to be opptimistic but am also going to keep an open mind.

Millz

07 Jan 2012 17:43:57
The likely signing in January is Rodwell, we all know that. That will depend on whether the asking price is bought down, Everton will want 20 but i don't think we will go much over 15 for him. I think it'd end up being good business. Rodwell and Cleverly for me are the next England central midfield pairing, Wilshere will get in their as well. Signing Rodwell will make sense - he will be the 'runner' in midfield paired with the 'passer' Cleverly - something i've been going on about for a while! Thats the stuff that we like i.e. Scholes with Keane. And no, im not saying Rodwell is the next Keane - not yet anyway.

If anyone else comes in it will be a deal for Erick Torres which will be put in place for Summer. 10 million for him will be sufficient if we allow him to stay at Chivas until the Summer. That would be a decent summer - City will but more quality like De Rossi or something, which may win them the title this season. But we will have longevity and a young passionate team for next year which we will add to in summer.

Lastly i think depending on Vadillo's injury, we might get a deal sorted for him - purely because we can get him for 2.5 million until be plays 10 games for the club in which it doubles. By the end of the season if he recovers from his injury he will have played more than 10 games - but we will still have to pay 2.5 million.

RedDevil19

07 Jan 2012 17:24:13
fergie really needs to buy someone new!
we need either a solid reliable keeper(de gea needs time to improve), a centre back(ferdi is too old and evans isn't good enough), a right back(valencia is having to fill in) a creative mid(you know that already) and a striker.
personally, i think the people we need are:
keeper:mandanda
centre back: raul albiol
right back: filipe(plays for at. madrid, look him up)
att.mid: kaka'( would be quite cheap)
striker: torres( if we bought him for less there would be less pressure)

07 Jan 2012 16:20:00
Was just reading an article about up and coming youngsters on give me football, Morrison featured as well as Mcheacheran and AOC and others. Although I don't particularly rate the site at all, it was refreshing to see them not mention Ravel's off field problems. Instead they went for Barcelona sniffing around. They say "He is most certainly a superstar in the making.". It's encouraging that he's getting the recognition.

Percy

07 Jan 2012 13:02:22
I was reading the article in the Independent this morning, I'm not giving it any credit, as I don't know if Rooney will leave or not. But let's say he does, we would have 50 - 60 million to spend (providing it doesn't go straight into the Glazers pockets). We could buy Hazard and a striker maybe? Although I think Hazard would be more than capable of filling the void, he can pass, score and beat defenders. Just an idea.

Percy

07 Jan 2012 12:45:23
If you ever watch the Sunday Supplment on Sky Sports then last weekends episode went on to show how much rubbish the press make up.

They asked Paul Smith fro the mirror where he got his info from and he just said that was his opinion and was based on nothing but wrote a story speculating saying this was definatly going to happen. He made himself look like a muppet

Just thoguth id share this with you all to show how much papers realy lie

Mad Hatter

07 Jan 2012 12:27:52
I bet if we all tried again to guess tomorrows team not one of us would get it right.
I believe even if we had a fully fit squad that would still be the same the chopping n changing and playing guys out of position is and has really affected the team I think.
I dont think anyone at United actually has a clue what our best starting 11 is and that in itself is a problem I know the injuries we have are upsetting things but like i said even with everyone fit we would have no idea what tomorrows team is but we could all get very close to naming cities team.

I know nowadays is all about squad rotation but surely that is knowing your best team and formation and tweaking it now n again to give players rests not wholesale changes that would surely only upset the rhythm of a settled team (if we had 1)

Devil Dust.

07 Jan 2012 12:00:44
Definition of buying the title - Listening to Mancini Shout about lifting spending restrictions and buy during the this window to confirm the title at the end of the season. This guy is a joke.

JWalk

07 Jan 2012 11:29:13
Here's a question for you all, what's the worst tackle you've ever seen on somebody? {Ed007's Note - I tend not to look at other people's tackle mate, but each to their own. I'm quite proud of mine though!}

07 Jan 2012 11:12:20
if we get hammered again tomorrow then the urgency for new players may just take a new twist, once again tomorrow we will see the midfield overrun.

07 Jan 2012 07:48:16
Scholes is coming out of retirement to help steady the midfield and give more options.

07 Jan 2012 01:55:18
This article describes perfectly what we need, and i must say i do agree with it totally!

www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/jan/05/manchester-united-midfield-tactics

The article explains that historically we have played with a passer and a battler - take for example Scholes with Keane. That combination was great. From the few games of Cleverly that we have seen we can see that he is the 'passer' of the team and thats why he was paired well with the runner Anderson. But for me we need a new runner, and i don't think that can be Phil Jones, he must learn how to play in the back four. We have enough center backs when fit, 5 who can all play there. The right back position should be the position we fill in January if suitable central players aren't available.

Martinez is my first choice for summer, he is fantastic and would be paired great with Cleverly. If necessary we can get Rodwell as a second choice.

Buying a new right back would release Valencia back up to the wing with Nani on the other side with Young and Park as rotation options. Thats our best option i think. Maybe get Cuenca in there as another option, or Vadillo - both are young talents.

Im not sure who we should go for at right back, there are three options that make sense for me:

Azpilicueta: Been a target for a few years. Can play left back too.

Isla: Can play left, right, or centrally in defense and in central midfield so he would give us cover.

Walker: My number one option, he his an absolute gem of a player and is the next English right back for years to come. Offer 15 million and i think you'd get him.

For the remainder of the season a line up of:

De Gea, Walker, Smalling, Ferdinand, Evra, Valencia, Carrick/Anderson, Cleverly, Nani, Rooney, Hernandez would be sufficient.

Then lets see where we are in summer.

RedDevil19