16 Jun 2014 06:23:46
So Shaw deal dead in the water as we refuse to pay the asking price. The usual trying to shave a couple of million away and mysteriously we don't get out man. Laughable.

And before the nay-sayers say an 18yo LB is not worth £30m etc any player is worth what the prevailing market conditions at the time dictate.

Our fall from grace and no CL means we MUST pay a premium. And that's on top of the 'but it rains every day in Manchester' we've always had to contend with.

And don't give me the transfer window not open and WC is on line. Other teams are buying players.

{Ed002's Note - Why quote a number?}

1.) 16 Jun 2014
16 Jun 2014 09:12:57
Halesini,

You are making the large mistake of believing rumours instead of fact and then using these rumours to be angry and upset. Chill out, you know NOTHING about the signing of Luke Shaw.

2.) 16 Jun 2014
Id rather pay £12m or so for Dailey Blind of the Dutch team. He looked very good. Of course I am basing this on one game but he looked very comfortable and assured, with an eye for a 50 yard pass!

3.) 16 Jun 2014
No deals will be done until after the world cup and LvG is in the country to unveil his new signings. Vermaelen is a player I think we will sign. LvG knows how to manage a budget and will know he does not need a massive squad as we have no European football he just needs to trim a little more add the right quality and blood the outstanding youth Januzaj will thrive along with Wilson and a few others from the youth so we need not worry I think were in better hands than this time last year Moyes made the mistake of thinking he had time to decide who he wanted to keep and who he wanted to let go LvG will rip this team apart if he has to and he won't take things slow let's just get to August and see what has happened by then, I cannot see us signing players last minute.com like we did the previous summer.

4.) 16 Jun 2014
Haselini, you have contradicted yourself really mate, you have just said:
"And before the nay-sayers say an 18yo LB is not worth £30m etc any player is worth what the prevailing market conditions at the time dictate."
You are dead right in theory. But nobody is prepared to pay what Southampton are asking, therefore they are asking too much. The prevailing market conditions, as you put it, do not necessarily dictate price. A player is only worth what someone else is prepared to pay, simple as that.
I got shot down by a few the other week (Syd! in particular lol) for saying that United will not pay over the odds and be held to ransom, and I still stand by that view. If Southampton are asking too much for Shaw, we will look elsewhere. Whether or not we SHOULD pay OTT to get players is irrelevant. What is relevant is the clubs willingness, or not, to pay "whatever it takes" to gat players.
I think there may be circumstances where they may well decide to pay a little extra in the case of a real top class player. Unfortunately, I don't see that as being the case for an 18 (soon 19) year old left back.
Whatever us fans want, the club is a business, and any deal will have to be right for the club.
Or on the other hand, you could say that two words completely dispel that theory.
Mouranne Fellaini. lol

5.) 16 Jun 2014
In all honesty, who cares? The price was way over the top, and there are better options out there who will cost the club less money. Blind from Ajax, IMO, is a far more rounded player than Shaw - plus he can play several roles.

6.) 16 Jun 2014
The problem, betty, is that we will need to pay over the odds at some point of the equation if we want to sign quality. For example, with Shaw we would need to cough up a big transfer fee, but the wages wouldn't be that high. Whereas, on the other hand, if the player is nearing the end of his contract, you might have to pay a massive wage.

The reality is that if we want to convince players to join us we will either have to pay big transfer fees, inflated wages, or, most likely, both. Clubs like City and Monaco have shown that you can attract top quality players to 'project' clubs without CL football, but only if you are willing to pay over the odds. The problem with the United transfer policy is that they live in a la la land in which players should feel honoured to be given the opportunity to play for us, and clubs should lower their fees so the lucky players can join. Some supporters are happy to buy into this little story because it makes them feel like they are supporting a special club with special values and ideals.

The truth is that if you continue to low ball on transfer fees and refuse to offer huge wages, you will continue to finish outside the top four. But our owners know that a sizeable number of the fans are willing to turn a blind eye to the practicalities of modern football, and even now people are (yet again) talking about Anderson as if 'this year is his year' and soon Nani will be on the verge of greatness, and even Cleverley will become the next Xavi under van Gaal.

7.) 16 Jun 2014
The problem, betty, is that we will need to pay over the odds at some point of the equation if we want to sign quality. For example, with Shaw we would need to cough up a big transfer fee, but the wages wouldn't be that high. Whereas, on the other hand, if the player is nearing the end of his contract, you might have to pay a massive wage.

The reality is that if we want to convince players to join us we will either have to pay big transfer fees, inflated wages, or, most likely, both. Clubs like City and Monaco have shown that you can attract top quality players to 'project' clubs without CL football, but only if you are willing to pay over the odds. The problem with the United transfer policy is that they live in a la la land in which players should feel honoured to be given the opportunity to play for us, and clubs should lower their fees so the lucky players can join. Some supporters are happy to buy into this little story because it makes them feel like they are supporting a special club with special values and ideals.

The truth is that if you continue to low ball on transfer fees and refuse to offer huge wages, you will continue to finish outside the top four. But our owners know that a sizeable number of the fans are willing to turn a blind eye to the practicalities of modern football, and even now people are (yet again) talking about Anderson as if 'this year is his year' and soon Nani will be on the verge of greatness, and even Cleverley will become the next Xavi under van Gaal.

8.) 16 Jun 2014
Danny, like I said in my post, my point is that the club do not generally pay over the odds. Whether we think they should or not is largely irrelevant. MUFC is a business, using its own money to buy players. They will look for "value", and deals must be right for the club. Like I also said, I think there may be exceptional circumstanced when we will pay a little over the odds for a "big" signing. I just don't think an 18 year old left back falls into that category. It is just my opinion, but recent history points that way ( with the exception of Fellaini ). There are loads of players out there who would dramatically improve our team, but the press just seem to concentrate on the "same old faces". There are numerous possible targets for every position. Some we know about, probably even more that we don't. I just think we will look elsewhere for a left back if Southampton will not budge on their asking price.
Of course for all we know, Shaw may already be in the bag, though Ed has already said that is not the case.

9.) 16 Jun 2014
Danny, I said the same couple of years ago and was shot down in flames. I was told that we should only sign players who want to play for us. Wake up people, this is not how it is any more.

10.) 16 Jun 2014
NM, in fairness you can only buy players that want to sign for you.

I have no doubt in my mind that with just these players at LvG's disposal we would do much better than Moyes did last season, BUT we do need top players in key areas and to get top players you pay top wages and transfer fees.

11.) 16 Jun 2014
16 Jun 2014 15:28:09
Think NM wants us to bundle them in the back of a van and keep them at gun point until the sign the deal ;)