Manchester United Banter Archive May 13 2014

13 May 2014 23:29:38
Syd, we're you on the juice in your heyday? I use to be able to bench 130 kg, lost a lot of strength since I've been hammering endurance though. I remember an episode of soccor AM back when Yakubu was at Everton, he said he was benching 220 kg and he was a big sod, I'd be surprised if Shaw was at 160 kg considering the amount of sprints and other endurance activities he must do.

Ed18, 600 pounds is mightily impressive, are you Haile Gebrselassie?

Danny, very good one about Fergie benching 300 pound ;)

{Ed002's Note - I could carry and Edsel under each arm. My folks made me put them down when my brother walked me to school of course.}

I wasn't on the juice mate. It really doesn't surprise me if LS can lift that amount. There were people smaller than me lifting more than me.

13 May 2014 22:32:07
Reports tonight that Van Gaal will be announced as manager on Thursday. He's having talks with Giggs on Wednesday about a coaching role.

13 May 2014 21:15:31
Hi Guys

Eds

Is there a danger that Woodward is dallying over LvG and we will miss out on him or is the delay a balancing act between the World Cup and the right time to announce his appointment.I have to admit that I was expecting it to be announced by now,

13 May 2014 22:39:28
My read on it is the initial delay was around the coaching team structure and now he is in the middle of his Dutch training camp. The chap is getting battered by the Dutch media who are waiting for a poor world cup and getting ready to tell the public that its because his mind was on united. The club have lacked class recently a bit like Chelsea announcing Costa signing before last game of season and CL final. I believe all will be announced on thur or fri after Dutch camp breaks and 2major signings to be announced the following week

Exactly where and when did chelsea announce costa signing?. At thia stage it is all paper talk.

13 May 2014 22:08:09
Hi all, I know if I was a coach or CEO at bm or bd I would rather sell to MU than to a CL rival. Less chance of being bitten on the ass immediately. Plus we will pay a bit morey

13 May 2014 21:54:36
Udinese forward Alexis Sanchez believes his is good enough to play for European and Premier League Champions Manchester United as he eyes a future in the Premier League.

The Chilean-born striker, who can also play as a winger, arrived at the Bianconeri from River Plate in the summer, and he has raised a few eyebrows.

His pace, quick thinking and ability to take on anyone has seen him become one of the best youngsters in Serie A.

The 20-year-old has a big future ahead of him and their is, perhaps, nothing bigger than playing for one of the greatest teams in world football.

"I would like to play in the Premier League and, above all, at Manchester United, " Sanchez told Udineseblog.it.

"I like Manchester United, the way they play and they have great players. Before I wanted to play in Spain, but this has now changed."

Udinese have been slipping up recently and their hunt for Europe will look in jeopardy.

The Friulani will find it difficult to keep hold of Sanchez following his hints to move on.

Back when we played good football and had a good manager, we were the place to be, like Munich atm. Hope we can get back to that level. ( I know it has nothing to do with this window, but it hopefully cheers some people on )

On a different note, Shaw aside, which player will be the most likely to sign for us? If I was a betting man, I'd put my money on Depay. Dutch youngster, greatly talented, can't go wrong there under Van Gaal

A few other Dutch youngsters particularly in midfield are Clasie, Klaassen, maher & vilhena. There are a couple more but can't remember their names particularly a couple if cb's and cdm.

13 May 2014 19:35:48
Look no further than, neymar, Aguero (if fully fit), robben, Gotze, Messi (maybe, as he is due a good one), Ronaldo & iniesta for player of the tournament.
saurez and Sanchez could do well with their respective countries but let's not get carried away shall we Al.
Top scorers could be any one of Hulk, muller, fred, Aguero, Tevez, higuain & RVP/robben, Ronaldo.
Lallana, well this "wonderful player" is going to have at best a fair to middling tournament. I fear for our countries football for the next 5 to 10 years when people are labelling lallana as some sort of outstanding talent.
I put him in the Stewart downing/Adam Johnson bracket of player.

Supasub^^
The statement about downing.
I give up' stupidity won x

Other players that could have a good one are Bernard, willian, Quintero, jackson Martinez and James Rodriguez. It's going to be a tournament for the South Americans. The only team outside South America who can win it is Spain because of the climate, a very outside chance of Germany as they always do well at world cups.
But I think brazil or Argentina will win and for some strange reason I think Argentina will be triumphant and I will have any money I bet on them.
England's best player will come from chamberlain, welbeck, sturridge, sterling or Wilshere. Hart will have a nightmare in at least one of the games especially if we've got any games at high altitude. Getting excited now, where's my panini sticker album?

I like Lallana, I think is a decent player, not a great player by any stretch, but a good player. If you asked a Liverpool fan a month ago what they thought of Lallana they would say he's a decent/good player, when he signs for them they will call him world-class. So in a month he will go from good to world-class. I remember when Coates was world-class. Paid £8m to bring him to Liverpool and they would be lucky to receive £800k for him now.

In all honesty I think Lallana for £20m would be a good buy. But with the funds we are meant to have this summer I would be disappointed with Lallana. Is that fair?

You are joking He in then same bracket as Downing or Johnson get real the lad is a very very good player and I think its good the English team is being overlooked just watch the tournament and see who does what I think its Spain England and Argentina that will show best this summer

Big Al, stupidity based on what? Both players I mentioned had great potential for English players. I don't understand how lallana is any different. He certainly hasn't done anything of note to rate him as highly as you do. Let's pick up this conversation after the World Cup when lallana the wonderful player he is has proved me wrong.

I think lallana may make the step up to be a really top player

A mate of mines (Liverpool fan) came out with this statement, " Lallana is every bit as good as Reus and would be a steal at 25 million." Now are all Liverpool fans deluded? I have to agree with supasub, I remember when Adam Johnson was flavour of the month and joined city, great at a smaller club but couldn't make the step up! And lallana is 26 so 25 million for about 3-4 decent years doesn't make sense. I think he's a good player, nowhere near a great one. I wouldn't have him ahead of Mata, Rooney, Shinji or Januzaj and at Liverpool I believe Coutinho and sterling are way ahead of him.

13 May 2014 21:36:40
I think Lallana is a good player who still has improvement in him under the right coach. BR is a great fit for him and will get the best out of him he is better than sterling by a country mile but RH will not get the best out of him as he will be more restricted in any role he is given which will be limited However I suspect he will do well at Liverpool but will play in place of suarez IMO and he is not as good as him obviously

Supasub, I think Lallana has better temperament than the other two. I agree with Jred, I think he could improve.

Ken.
We won't go there on sterling. The boys nineteen and can be anything he wants, he has everything and has just turned 19.

I don't doubt he can improve syd but lallana is the same age as Johnson. Taking into account their england careers then Johnson (who I don't think is any better than average who has the odd good game and quite rightly so when paid a lot of money to do so) has had the better career, yet there are people on here saying my post resembles stupidity and that I must be joking. Think some people need to get a grip. Lallana is ok and has the odd good game. He will be 30 by the next World Cup and he's hardly played a game for his country or played in any high profile game of any note even with the lack of any large pool of English players available to club or country.

Al, I know it's a squad game but if BR brings in Lallana, Coutinho misses out. Unless Suarez is sold I cannot see you buying another attacking player. I think defence needs work, even though BR wasted millions last summer.

Agree with Jred, he's a very smart player, good with both feet there's no reason he can't make the step up in a better, more competitive environment.

Agree Supasab! lallana is not in classy players bracket. He is good but definitely not a player that people here have been labelling.

I think Lallana has a touch of class about him. £25m prob right fee for him. Would be very happy to see him in a United shirt but think he'll do well for Liverpool. Obviously without winning any league titles ;)

13 May 2014 19:04:35
With LvG set to come in and presumably he will play his favoured 4-3-3 formation, how does everyone see:

1) our midfield looking, as traditionally he plays with one holding midfielder and two more energetic runners

2) the RVP-Rooney partnership working, how can both be accomodated in this formation

3) Mata's role in the team

4) New signings coming in?

Strootman, Kroos and either Rooney or Mata in the middle as the most advanced player. RVP as the main striker with either Mata or Rooney to one side and Reus the other. Rotate with Januzaj & Welbeck mainly. I think Shaw is nailed on now, Rafael will be reinvigorated and then have one of Smalling or Jones partnering Hummels.

Fresh - I would be in absolute dreamland if United were to sign Strootman, Kroos, Reus, Hummels, and Shaw but do you think that's possible?

I think its the aim but I will be surprised if it comes off.

13 May 2014 22:18:02
The only way Rooney will play here next season is if he is prepared to apply himself correctly and if he is prepared to be coached in order to improve. I'm not sure he has the discipline or attitude both on and off the pitch that Lvg demands. Running all over the place and neglecting your position in order to chase the ball will not impress lvg in fact its anti his philosophy. So the question Is Wayne prepared to learn or is he going to continue doing his own thing?

13 May 2014 17:11:32
Personally, I am already a little worried about our transfer activity and side for next year. It's a huge year next year and we can't afford to miss out on Champs League again. I know Vidic decided to leave, and for me Evra has been terrible for the last 2 seasons now. So I'm happy for Evra to go with a top LB signed, Shaw would be great. I think it's essential we sign a top, top CB too. I would have liked to see Rio stay for one more year, not to start, but to be there for his experience when needed. Jones, Smalling and Evans are all unreliable not to mention injury prone. So it's vital we get a top CB. Its obvious we need 2 new CM's. And for me also need a winger as other than Janazaj ours are awful. So that's 5 top players, first team players too not squad players.

5 top signings is hard to get in one window as it is, but in a window where we also have to appoint a manager and have a World Cup it's going to be very hard in the transfer market! Plus the fact clubs know we NEED players so badly that prices will go through the roof.

And if we manage to pull the signings off we than have to incorporate 5 nice signings into the first 11. Not all will adapt and gel instantly. We could have a poor start to the season until LvG gets his team playing how he wants. But we can't afford to fall behind early!

If we don't get the calibre of players being mentioned then who knows what will happen next season.

My perfect signings would be

CB - Hummels or Garay
LB - Shaw
CM - Vidal or Carvahlo
CM - Kroos or Fabregas
AM - Reus or Moura or Pedro

But I suspect it will be more something like this

CB - Garay
LB - Shaw
CM - Strootman
CM - Fabregas
AM - Greizmann

BIG SUMMER COMING UP

I agree Stand-United - we also have to look at the fact that Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs & even Everton are going to be strengthening. You then have Barcelona, Inter, PSG, Monaco & Bayern that all need to strengthen or their managers are changing philosophies. It means we have a major problem with competition for signatures.

Wouldn't be surprised if City come to the market with £75mil or so as well.

Yes, the worrying thing is, United have shown their hand by letting these players leave so everyone knows we will NEED replacements. The prices will rocket when United show interest. Maybe, on top of this, we won't get players before the WC, so if they have a good tournament, prices rise again. Now LvG isn't sounding so positive anymore! What the hell goes on at OT!

I genuinely think LvG if appointed will go all out for Hummels. He is exactly what we need to replace Ferdinand. A defender who is good on the ball and can push up into midfield. Garay can also do this, but would be the cheaper option. Shaw seems close. Would have been my first choice, but never thought he would end up here. I am surprised Chelsea didn't fight more for him, but glad they didn't.

According to the editor Vidal was our number one target before Moyes was sacked, but thought it would be difficult to achieve. Carvalho if rumours are to be believed, was agreed in principle dependent on the new manager. Rumours suggest LvG isn't keen on him. Personally I think LvG would go for Strootman if he was not injured, his injury has to be a big put off and would be too risky IMO.

I would definitely opt for Vidal. MU have spoken to BM regarding Kroos. That is very important here as it confirms our interest. I think Kroos is far more likely than Cesc. Kroos would be a great signing IMO. For the wing I would go for Reus all day long. His goals and assists are staggering and him, Van Persie and Adnan would be a great front three. However I think we will go for Mueller. LvG is a big fan.

All great options though mate. I hope we do have a big summer ahead.

Beast, yes I can see us getting outbid by Everton for Shaw. Or if Reus is available Spurs will snap him up ahead of us. Then there's Inter who have even less cash. MU will be paying whatever it takes to get their targets this summer. We can pay very high wages and we have the money this summer to pay the fees needed. Players will not be too concerned about being out of Europe for one season. They aren't that stupid. If you pay the cash you get the player. MU have always tried to penny pinch and get a bargain with a strict wage structure, not this summer my friend.

Ferdinand Vidic Evra Giggs Anderson Nani is a good half a million if not more off the wage bill if all said players leave that not including Cleverly Young Carrick and some others

Sydney! I think Kroos will be his main target and I really cannot see Bayern letting him and Muller go - two German players for them. Kroos and Reus at present looks more likely, the rumours are that Reus' comments are fake but even if they are real, it wouldn't be the first time a player says he is staying just for him to leave weeks later.

There's no way Muller will go. Kroos is playing hardball over a contract, so there's a chance. But if Pep starts tiring to getting rid of the German spine of the team he won't last much longer.

Haha Syd, you know what I mean. Tottenham could bid £25-£30mil for somebody like Shaw that would mean we pay more, it won't happen on this occasion, but a player we could buy for £15mil could easily be £20-£25mil with other interest.

Inter need to re-build and they do have money.

We also need a couple of good squad players, I was talking about Song or Vermaelen, they would be fair game for the Europa teams budget wise so could inflate the price even if the player would naturally choose us!

Also we overpaid massively for Fellaini & Mata - no other clubs bid because we paid 20-40% more than other clubs would. We can't do that ongoingly, especially if the big boys are going for them.

We overpaid on Fellaini, but Mata is easily a £35m player and we paid £37m. So he was about right. Mata is an exceptional player, but a luxury nonetheless.

Nobody else was interested in Mata for anywhere near £35mil. Chelsea wanted to sell to free up funds, he was getting restless and we were getting desperate.

IF we had a shrewd negotiator we could have gotten Mata for less than £30mil IMO. Instead we took on the role of desperado, as we did Fellaini and overpaid.

{Ed002's Note - MU paid more than £35M for Mata.}

13 May 2014 13:29:41
edds,

quick question? with vidic and ferdy going what CB's will we be looking to bring in to replace them?

or do you think jones, smalling and jones are sufficient? me, personally at least 1 needs to come in?

cheers, scott.

{Ed004's Note - I'm hoping for Garay}

Caulker would be a good option. Easy to get also, English.

I said this a few weeks back and got torn to bits on the team page, he's big strong quick scores the odd goal young and English but wouldn't cost the earth, could get him and another to replace vid an rio. caulker and garay with Evans, jones as backup! Still unsure on smalling

Hi Guys, on the CB position, If and I say IF LvG gets the post he should look at this player, but as he has not taken him to Rio, then he may not.
The player Virgil Van Dyke at Celtic. A class player that would fit in and would get him for under £10m.

Thoughts Please.

I said this a few weeks back and got torn to bits on the team page, he's big strong quick scores the odd goal young and English but wouldn't cost the earth, could get him and another to replace vid an rio. caulker and garay with Evans, jones as backup! Still unsure on smalling

13 May 2014 15:59:59
Man united fan or not
I see Rooney getting truly exposed at this worldcup, yes he.might get a few goals from the help of sturridge, lallana etc but he will be totally average compared to ronaldo, suarez etc. Martin keown and ryan giggs said rooney will and can shine at this WC. An average striker will never have a great WC IMO ;)

On a side note, whos everyones predictions for player of tournament?
Depending on how far england go, I see lallana shiningand robben/suarez shining and ofcourse ronaldo

What a load of drivel, so you're telling me Messi and Ibra are average because they've never performed at a World Cup?

It always tends to be the players you don't expect, remember Forlan? It's a different scenario entirely in the World Cup.

Rooney may not be as quick and agile as he used to be but still a hell of a lot better than most the England team.

Outside bet for England is Welbeck as he always seems to play better in international football.

I think Ronaldo will shine, I'd love to see Januzaj put on a show for Belgium.

Al talking rubbish again. Rooney average? And Suarez mentioned twice, lallana twice, kinda tells you all you need to know. Jog on Al!

Are u drunk? I can smell it

They will al be average as England is average and typical english media hypes every England team up before a tournament just for everyone to witness a very poor team.

Rooney will do nothing and neither will Welbeck.

11 of the argentina players will shine imo.

They will al be average as England is average and typical english media hypes every England team up before a tournament just for everyone to witness a very poor team.

Rooney will do nothing and neither will Welbeck.

11 of the argentina players will shine imo.

I think by the end of the tournament, lallana will be mentioned as the "white Rivaldo", Henderson will be hailed as the finest midfielder to grace the World Cup since Platini.

Ed, you did understand the rest of my post. Was it wrong?

{Ed002's Note - Not worth the grief.}

Your right ed. Thanks anyway.

13 May 2014 15:00:39
Shame rio didn't get a chance for a proper farewell.
For a period of about 2-3 years he was thee best central defender in the world. Tragic wim

Can't really blame the club for it though.

In all likelihood, it was Van Gaal who decided that Rio's contract should not be renewed. Neither Rio, nor the club, would have known it will be his last game at the time.

Vidic on the other hand had already made his decision, and everybody knew about it.

As you say, it was a shame. But we cannot blame Woodward for it though

Bit of a shame but who knows what affected the timing of the decision. Big thanks to Rio and best of luck, even more of a reason to stay away from twitter now!

He will get one of two things a bumper pay day in the Mls or a cut price deal in England to stay at home and play till he finishes his career

13 May 2014 13:34:03
antione greizmann and lucas moura or even memphis depay needed on the mind for Manchester United targets?

13 May 2014 10:17:19
007, could LvG look to VvD for a CB position? Has he given him a Dutch cap yet? I still think we will go all out for Hummels, perhaps Luiz going to Barcelona, Varane to Chelsea and Mangala to Real Madrid?

In your opinion, realistically what would Celtic want for VvD? Thanks.

{Ed007's Note - £8 million is the fee being bandied about Syd. He has been told his chance at international level will come after the WC is out the way.}

Sydney (or anyone else)

Is he good enough?

Thanks 007,

Prof, I don't know much about him, but if we were going to buy an experienced CB and a cheaper one, from what I have heard regarding his ball skills, he could be worth a try. Given his Dutchness, I thought there maybe some connection to LvG, I didn't know if he has been in his thoughts and 007 has just answered that question.

Could bruno martins indi be looked at as well? He starts for holland, he's young big and strong

Cheers Sydney. I reckon we'll only by one CB, even with Rio & Vidic off. Hopefully, he'll be a top, experienced feller and will be paired with whoever LvG thinks is best from Smalling, Jones & Evans. the other two will be back up and Keane brought in as 5th CB. Easy this management lark.

13 May 2014 12:35:37
Finally De Gea gets the call up. He deserves it certainly. Didn't expect Mata to make the provisional squad, he prob won't make the 23. Picking the Spanish team has to be the hardest job in football, so many good players

13 May 2014 09:32:33
According to the Daily Fail, Phil Neville and Chris Woods have got the boot. In more positive news they also report that Rene Muelensteen has been invited to rejoin the club. Be good if that happens, but not sure why Phil Neville should be dumped - is there really no role for him in the reserve/youth set up?

Mike B, they cannot provide roles for everyone. Butt, Giggs, Scholes will all have a role. Phil will probably get a role with Moyes again.

We would all love to see the so called class of 92 stay and guide the future of the club but realistically that can't happen with them all. neville will most likely carry on with Moyes somewhere. Giggs to assist with first team and Scholes/butt to work on the youth teams. Seems sensible to me.

Agreed, Giggs assistant and Scholes/Butt working with the youth teams. It's good to keep some but not all. Van Gaal I imagine will bring with him his goalkeeping coach and analyst as well as one or two others.

BBC now reporting that Chris Woods has left the club - no mention of Phil Neville.

If Giggs becomes Van Gaal's assistant, then in a couple of years when the job managers job is available again he will still have no managerial experience apart from the last four games.
Surely it would be better if he got out of his comfort zone at United and went and managed elsewhere for a couple of years, maybe even abroad, to get experience of management and pick up new ideas

Bilko, the plan is for LvG to manage for 2-3 seasons and for Giggs to replace him. That is apparently what MU want to do. That is why they are insistent that Giggs remains here.

You do not need to go and manage another club. Chances are it will be a lower league side and it wouldn't end well. What Giggs will do is learn from LvG and carry on his work afterwards.

So you're saying he shouldn't go somewhere else and manage because he might not do a good job and then he won't get the United job

Rumour is MU want him to continue to learn his trade under LvG and to take over in three years. He has spent the last 4-5 years working with SAF, a season with Moyes, now a few seasons with LvG and he will take over from him. It is similar to that of Guardiola.

Guardiola spent a couple of years away from Barca playing in Italy etc .
He also managed the Barca B team and got them promoted so it's not a similar situation to Giggs.
Also if LVG comes in and does really well and in 3 years time wants to carry on for another couple of seasons, are we really going to let him go to give the job to a managerial novice

LvG will already be well aware of the plan.

Im with Sydney on this its a way of keeping a player who cares for the club and will give it his all to see us at the top, he is a very smart guy and with a education under SAF and working with LvG will only hone his skills more so i'm all for Giggs staying and becoming the new Boss in time and I can't think of a better manager in world football to teach him

No matter what he's learnt from Fergie or what he learns from LVG, it will still not be the same as actually going out and managing a team himself and having to deal with the pressure and make the decisions.
Giggs wants the job now and probably thinks he should have got it, so I don't see why he'd want to be no. 2 mow, when I've no doubt he could get a good job elsewhere for a few seasons til the United job comes up again

With experience under Ferguson and a few good tactical skills from Van Gaal he could be a very good manager

What if giggs isn't a very good manager?

With experience under Ferguson and a few good tactical skills from Van Gaal he could be a very good manager

What if giggs isn't a very good manager?

Jred, they obviously believe he will be a good manager, hence all the effort to keep Giggs at the club to work under LvG. Many of the MU players have said Giggs has what it takes. Our captain said he will be a very good manager.

Only time will tell if he is of course, but it's pretty clear what the club want to do with Giggs. According to Eamonn Holmes who was interviewed by Pilib de Brun, he says this is a short term fix with Giggs taking over in three years.

This also ties in with what a local journalist said at the same time. If you look at what is happening it all makes sense.

The fact it may be happening doesn't necessarily mean it's the right thing to do . after all Moyes happened too

And what if Van Gaal doesn't want Giggs as his no. 2, does that mean Van Gaal doesn't get the job or else he takes it with an assistant manager he doesn't want

I'll be glad if Giggs stays involved under VG but to effectively give him the job already for the future seems barmy to me. Like jred said, how do we even know he'll make a good manager? We thought Keane and Robson would be remember!

Also, when you listen to Pep talk about football and his philosophy (whatever you think of it) you get a real idea of what he is all about. Has Giggs said anything that excites people about his future style of play or philosophy? TBH the way he has set up our team the last 4 games hasn't excited me much (apart from playing the youth in one game) and I'd worry from that point of view more than anything else. We know he's United through and through but that's not enough, top manager's these days are tactically aware and tend to play modern, progressive styles of play.

Maybe he will pick up a lot under VG but it's a huge risk to say today he will be our new manager in 2/3 years time. Have we not learnt our lessons from Moyes - giving someone the job to soon and without the full interview process etc.?

Bilko, I completely agree my friend, but it does seem to be the plan.

I wasn't clear in my previous post. EH and SAF are close friends and that is where EH got his info from. I don't think it's any kind of secret, but it's also not been confirmed straight from the horses mouth.

Gav, I couldn't agree more. SAF got it wrong the first time round, but I think this plan is much better. And to be fair to Jred, Red Man, Danny and a few others, they were correct when they said SAF should have been replaced by a big name manager. Even if it was just a stop-gap.

So people want to give the managers job to a player who has never managed before.
would any other top team give giggs the managers job .
if the real munich etc job became available would giggs be in the running?
it would be a major risk.
i always thought robson and kean would make good managers especially robson but neither turned out to be good enough.
in 3 years time if kloop or giggs was the choice I know who I woukd pick

Jred, I agree, I think SAF wants MU to have continuity and knows if Giggs can get in there and learn his trade he could potentially manage for a couple decades. It may not work out that way, but that is the vision. A lot can happen between now and then so I wouldn't worry about it.

To people banging on about managers needing experiance I have one name for u all sir matt busby.

13 May 2014 05:20:05
I remember few seasons ago lot of regular posters and few EDs were going on and on about Emilio Izzaguire.

What's up with him? No longer good enough?

If I remember he got a bad injury.

Izzy is a brilliant LB but as fresh said he got a very bad injury a fe years ago and that stalled his development. He isn't a bad option and I feel he would be on par with Shaw/Coentrao current ability but the injury has meant he never went on to fufil his true potential.

12 May 2014 23:32:41
So Rio &vidic are going . sad day 2 of the best ot has ever seen wish them the best of luck.!Any eds no who we've been looking at 2 replace them.?

13 May 2014 01:13:23
With Vidic and Rio leaving I think we should possibly look at 2 CBS due to the amount of time our current 3 spend on the treatment table. The first one I would want to be a big named player whom can really take control of the back line but for the second how about caulker. IMO he has been great at Cardiff scoring a few on the way and should certainly still be in the prem, probs wouldn't cost much, still young and promising and would probs jump at the chance to sign for us.

I can see us going for Vermaelen and then Hummels as the two, one proven in the prem but not world class. The other quality with the ball, potential world class and will need to adjust to the pace, a good mix and would cost £32mil IMO.

I can only see one of those two coming in Beast. Hummels first choice, Vermaelen second. A younger center back would be ideal, could it be Keane as 5th choice?

Yeah probably Fresh

Rafael, Smalling, Evans & Jones are all injury prone so we always have problems every season. Just depends how much cash is really flying around and how much Vermaelen would cost, if less than £10mil then we could see him and Hummels, any more and we have Keane and probably Carrick for emergencies.