Manchester United Banter Archive September 01 2012

 

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01 Sep 2012 22:27:37
Is it or am I the only one who is wondering why we didnt buy someone with the money we would have spent if we had brought moura?

Believable1 Unbelievable1

We did rvp and henriquez!

Caolán.

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No point spending the money on our 3rd choice, SAF would rather wait until the next big player comes through.

-JakeW

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We signed rvp and buttner

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Fergie stated that when RVP said he was not going to sign a new contract that is when we became interested, the moura pursuit was after the fact and so it seems there was money for a "special talent" perhaps, money that should have gone on a CM

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I think rvp would have signed if united had bought moura.FERguson wants to wait for the right player

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01 Sep 2012 21:31:32
so evra is injured for 2moros game so id say the team will be like this

de gea
rafeal vidic evans buttner
carrick cleverly
valencia nani/giggs
kagawa
van persie

Believable5 Unbelievable0

What is wrong with him has he realised he has lost all ability over the last 2 years so therefore retired?? Hopefully Buttner gets a start I want to see a fullback that actually can cross a ball and shoot.

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Hope buttner plays so we see whats hes like really wudnt be suprised if valencia plays rb and rafael lb u knw fergie cautiousness

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I hope your kidding including Giggs. I would rather have an inconsistent Nani any day over Giggs. He is shocking now!

Simmo

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01 Sep 2012 20:40:24
So we now know what our squad will be for the next few months at least if not for the season, as i can't see us making significant changes half way through a season.

So what is our strongest line up and the best tactic's to use with the players we have? This is the question every manager has to ask himself when faced with a new season. Get the most out of what you have.

Now i'm gonna do this alittle front to back rather than back to front as i feel it's our attack which is our best feature over our defence so we need to build from our strengths, which for us is our attack.

Now our best attacking players are Rooney RVP and Kagawa so we need a system that best suits them. All three require the freedom to move freely and find space and pick holes in oppositions defences, so we are best off playing a formation which gives them the freedon and security to do so.

For many years our strength has been on our wings but i feel this is actually a weak area for us right now. We have three wingers Valencia Nani and Young, and all of them have their faults.

Valencia is our best winger and possibly the best traditional winger in the world, but this is his weakness. There aren't any top class traditional wingers anymore. Wide players these days need to be able to cut inside and pick passes not just cross. They need to mix things up. It is Valencia's predictability which holds him back. If faced with someone who is just as quick or quicker than him and he becomes ineffective.

Young suffers from a similar predictability, though he also lacks consistancy. Which brings us to the enigma that is Nani. On his day unplayable but his day comes once every 10 games or so.

This leaves us with only one consistant winger and he is a very limited player who can be cancelled out with pace.

So we know we need to give Kagawa Rooney and RVP freedom and we shouldn't play with wingers as they would get in the way of our attacking three and suffer with inconsistancy.

So with no wingers where does our width come from?

Fortunately we have some great young wing backs who offer more going forward yet also have a reasonably solid defensive side to their game. This is also where i think Valencia should play, he isn't clever or tricky enough to be a modern winger and he isn't defensive enough to be a proper full back but he has all the attributes to be one of the worlds best Wing backs. Evra has always been a wing back at heart who has been crowbarred into a full back position. Then we have the Da Silva twins and Buttner who are all wing backs not full backs.

So with the players we have we should be playing with a floating interchanging front three of RVP Rooney and Kagawa have no wingers but provide width from wing backs instead. This gives us 5 of the 10 out field positions filled. Now we just need to look at how we build our core.

Now with wingbacks it is vitally important to have someone there to cover them when they go forward and if we get caught on the break. There is two ways of achieving this. We either have a midfielder who will just sit and cover our wingbacks. Or you play with three CB's who will do the covering.

Now looking at our central midfielders and defenders it becomes apparent that we have more strength at CB than at CM. Vidic, Rio, Smalling, Evans and Jones verses Carrick, Cleverley, Scholes, Anderson and Fletcher. So it would make more sense for us to have three CB's and two CM's rather than the other way around, as that way we are playing to our strengths.

Theres no need to go into detail about our Goalkeeping situation as it obvious who is first choice.

So we have two slightly differant way's of lining up. Either 3-4-3 which best plays to our strengths or 4-3-3 which would be great if we had a really solid out and out DM.

I think we'd best line up like this:

3-4-3:

____________DDG
___Smalling__Vidic__Evans
Valencia_Carrick_Cleverley_Evra
___________kagawa
______Rooney_____RVP

This would allow Evra and Valencia to get forward for width with Carrick sitting alittle deeper shielding the back three. If we get caught on the counter then depending which side they come down then either Evans or Smalling move out to the full back position to cover it with Carrick able to either stay central or cover the opposite full back position depending where the danger lies. Cleverley would be afforded more freedom to pass and move and link with the forward players. When in possession of the ball Evra and Valencia will tie up the opposition full backs meaning we will be left with a three vs two situation in the centre in our favour, with Cleverley able to move into the box if his midfield marker moves off him to help our his CB's. This system would require us to press high up the pitch and win back possession as quick as possible thus allowing us to launch counter attacks before the opposition can settle and decide who is marking who. I feel this line up will enable us to win games by large margins against most teams in the league and should make us much more competitive in europe.

The other option is 4-3-3:

____________DDG
Valencia_Smalling_Vidic_Evra
___________Carrick
______Cleverley__Anderson
___________kagawa
_______Rooney___RVP

This system would give us less width and would rely on only one wing back going forward at a time with the width on the opposite flank being offered by either Cleverley or Anderson moving out wide. For example if Valencia goes forward then Anderson should move wide offering width on the left, while Cleverley stays more inside so he can cover Valencia if we are caught on the break and to give us a presence in midfield along side Carrick. With Cleverley moving wide when Evra pushes forward and Anderson staying inside. This would still allow the front three the freedom to move as they see fit but this formation requires much more thought and concentration from the players. Each wing back has to think whether the other wing back has moved forward and where they should be, it also asks alot from Cleverley and Anderson as they need to be vigilant on where they should be all the time as if they get it wrong we could be caught on the break. This formation would be much safer if we had a true DM playing instead of Carrick as this would take pressure off of Cleverley and Anderson. This is why i feel 3-4-3 is better than 4-3-3.

I'd be happy to hear your views on what i've come up with and what you feel is best.

Shappy(obviously. lol) {Ed007's Note - ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz

Believable20 Unbelievable4

I've never been a fan of playing 3 at the back but I must admit you make some good arguments and for me - from those 2 formations the 1st one looks a lot better

However, I don't think we'll move to either of these formations TBH

I know Kagawa could be wasted out wide but he could play the Silva/Nasri role where he cuts in and interchanges IMO. I think we could still play Valencia on the other side - providing a constant outball whilst allowing the other 3 to interchange. In some games I would play Nani on the right as he's better there (than the left) and he can interchange with the other 3

Based on that, this would be my strongest lineup:

_________DDG_________
Rafa__Sm'ing_Vidic__Evra
_____Carrick__Clev_____
Valencia__Rooney__Kagawa
__________RVP_________

...with Nani sometimes in place of Valencia

Gav

Agree5 Disagree3

Rafael is a better wingback than Valencia, and I hate to think we will abandon width to copy everyone else. Width beats teams that are set up too narrow, and Rooney & RVP aren't a bad set of strikers to cross into?!

I would play like this:

_________DDG________
Raf__Small__Vidic__Evra
_____Carrick__Clevs___
__Tony___Kags___Rooney
_________RVP________

Front four should all switch and move, obviously Toni will tend to drift right and offer width, but he is a quality player and I'm sure could be coached to add drifting and switch play to his game. He is well capable of popping up on the left, cutting inside and shooting. Also Rafael and Tony look great together.

Would be interesting to see if Jones can do a job for us in the holding 2, he did it against Spain, so sure he can.

Good post Shappy, epic in length tho!

DodgyBanter

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Gav, I think your formation will be what is played with at least 2 of RVP Rooney Kagawa in most matches rotated with Young, Welbeck, Nani, Valencia and Hernandez. Although the line up nominally has Kagawa on the left, I would see him Rooney and RVP changing positions all the time so they play as much in another position as they do in their own. This would mean Kagawa playing out wide wouldn't mean he is out of the game.

Welsh Dragon

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In an ideal world, the 3-4-3 would be great. Uses all our best players at once and maximizes our chances of scoring lots of goals, while maintaining a pretty decent defense (however I do not think Evra could operate as a wing-back for 90 mins, he struggles these days to do a job at LB). However, given that the coaching staff have the tactical prowess of the average fly...it will never happen. We don't have the strength in midfield to operate a 4-3-3 and SAF would never play without wingers, not his style at all. A 4-4-1-1 is the most likely set up for us, especially while Rooney is out.

--------De Gea--------
Rafael-Vidic-Smalling-Evra
Valencia-Carrick-Clevs-Young
--------Kagawa--------
----------RVP----------

This can certainly work, however it could be challenged by the more tactically astute teams like City, Chelsea and Spurs (now that AVB is around!).

I'm quite keen to see how players will fir in when they return from injuries especially Rooney and Jones. If Jones could be used as a defensive mid, it would add even more weight to the argument for using 3 at the back (but again, never going to happen!). Personally i'd like to see this...

-------De Gea-------
---Vidic-Smalling-Rio---
--------Jones--------
Valencia-Cleverly-Buttner
--------Kagawa--------
------RVP----Rooney-----

I'll get stick for that i'd imagine, but it's the only way I see of making sure all our best players are on the pitch at the same time!

Andy!

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Unfortunately I agree Gav, I don't see Sir Alex being as revolutionary as playing three at the back. Its just what I feel would.be best with the players we have.

I think Kagawa would be wasted out wide. For me the only way we could make the 4231 formation work properly is if we had a proper DM to.play along side Carrick releasing the Wing backs to attack then play Kagawa and maybe someone like Gaitan and Rooney all interchanging in the attacking three. That way the width would come from our wingbacks so the wider players in the three can float more centrally. Something like this:

______________DDG
_______Smalling_Vidic
Valencia______________Evra
________Carrick_M'Vila
___Kagawa_Rooney_Gaitan
_____________RVP

Shappy

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Another great read while on the John keep up the good work ........

CAIN {Ed007's Note - John who? And where do you balance the laptop.....

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I think Rafael and Buttner will long term be the better options for the wing back roles. I think the 343 formation works well with the younger players coming through too. Imagin this in a few years:

______________DDG
___M.Keane_Jones_Blackett
Rafael_ Tunners_Powell_Buttner
_____________Lingard
_______W.Keane__Henriquez

So.we would be pretty set for a few years yet.

Shappy

Agree8 Disagree2

What about Smalling Shappy?

G.A.G.U.S

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Smalling was in the first line up in the op. He was in the more senior team, the team.in my last post was the youngsters who weren't in the original team. So Smalling is still a very important part of our team.

Shappy

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01 Sep 2012 20:29:41
Hi Guys
A lot of people are scrutinising the transfer window and talking about who we didn't buy,and yes I would like to have had a midfielder but I think we should concentrate and who we did get.

RVP - is going to be an absoloute star for us and I was over the moon when Fergie got him.

Kagawa - Wow this lad has it all and will prove to be the best bargain since Ole Solskjaer.

Powell - One for the future but already looks like he is going to be a great signing.

Buttner - Bought as cover but again could prove well worth the money.

Henriquez - An exciting youngster with a bright future.

All in all I would say a very productive window.One thing for sure is none of us can do anything about it now so we all need to get behind anyone that wears the famous red shirt and be grateful for what we have rather than moan about who we could have got,

Bazza The Red

Believable8 Unbelievable0

01 Sep 2012 19:42:27
hi guys,what do u think about todays game rubbishty got lucky tonight that line's men was blind didn't even see that the ball was qpr ball it was not corner 2 city.i just hope we kick rubbishty and chelski's ass this sesason;) cant wait to see united play tommorow southampton 0 utd 5 kawaga will score 2 and rvp 2 and i have this strange feeling that cleverly or rafael will score 1 goal to,sorry if the poster was 2 long.cheers from the icey norway and ed's im new 2 this site so can u please tell me where 2 look about players info thanks zee:)

Believable3 Unbelievable0

01 Sep 2012 18:20:20
Before everyone jumps on the Drogba bandwagon personally can't see it ever happening.

My view is this... Can't see him ever joining another EPL team, would never join anyone other than Chelsea and I don't think he would go there either, His final touch in a chelsea shirt won them the champions league and he wont want to change that.

My view is he would either join PSG or return to Marseille in France. If that doesn't happen I think his destination is Italy.

RedKnight

Believable0 Unbelievable0

Its very much a case of, we really don't need him.

RedDevil19

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01 Sep 2012 18:12:30
1999 versus 2012
Schmeichel - DDG - 99
Neville - Raphael - 99
Johnson - Rio - draw
Stam - Vidic - draw
Irwin - Evra - 99
Beckham - Valencia - 99
Keane - Carrick - 99
Scholes - Cleverly - 99
Giggs - Nani - 99
Cole - RVP - 12
Yorke - Rooney - 12

1999 = 8 points
2012 = 3 points

2008 versus 2012
VDS - DDG - 08
Neville - Raphael - 08
Rio - Rio - 08
Vidic - Vidic - draw
Ronaldo - Valencia - 08
Carrick - Carrick - draw
Scholes - Cleverly - 08
Giggs - Nani - draw
Tevez - RVP -draw
Rooney - Rooney - 08

2008 = 8.5
2012 = 2.5

To me, this shows that we are nowhere near as good as we were in the 2 seasons we won the CL.
I think the midfield especially is the area where we are lacking most.
Compare Beckham, Keane, Scholes and Giggs in 1999 to Valencia, Carrick, Cleverly and Nani in 2012. There is no comparison whatsoever.
We have gone from 4 WORLD-class players to 4 good players.

I don't think the future is as terrible as some here make it out to be. Kagawa and RVP are certainly tremendous additions, but like most I don't understand how SAF did not strengthen central midfield over the last 2/3 seasons.

J Bones.

Believable7 Unbelievable7

Fair points J, the midfield in '99 was stunning. However, my favourite team is the double winning one of '94. They could play,they could scrap, the football was stunning. Sparky and Eric upfront, 2 wingers, solid centre, great defence and big Schmeichel at the back. Whichever you pick though, we may have better strikers now (possibly), but we've never had as good a middle 4 as we did in the 90s.

AJH

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Arghhhh! Stop spelling Rafael wrong, we do not have a teenage mutant ninja turtle on our team have you ever seen him play.. he is not green.

George

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They were a great team AJH. I loved the way we had lightening break-outs with Schmeichel finding either Giggs or Kanchelskis with his fantastic throw-outs.
A great midfield with a hard-as-teak centre pairing of Keane and Ince.

J Bones

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FA Cup winning team of 94, i.e. that specific 11 players, was unbeaten was it not ?

Great team with some truly legendary players. Those were the days lol.

Halesini

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Thats just an opinion, you can only beat what is in front of you. In four years time we could be comparing how great this team is to our future team.
It is difficult to see this happening, but where two games into the season and where talking like we have no chance cause we haven't brought in a midfielder. By the end of the season we could have won the league, champs league, F.A cup and COC, you dont know, would that make this team better than the others.
Was chelseas team better last year than they where in 2005, 2006 no but they won the one trophy they couldn't win.
Lets see how the season pans out, i'm not a big lover of the players we have in midfield, however we still have cleverly fit, anderson fit and much closer to, returning to fitness, fletcher. That is better than last season. We our also playing a new formation which brings in a fantastic Kagawa. add to that a year older petrucci and tunners.
You never know what will happen!!

aaallj5

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RVP > Tevez

When Rooney is in team Tevez & Rooney were too similar, RVP offers another dimension. You've also completely ignored Kagawa who offers something we didn't have in either of those teams.

Other than that, great post, agree with everything else you've said.

DodgyBanter

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I would like to buy bread & milk at the 1999 price but i cant.

You got to go with the times

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In 2008... did we really only play with 10..

f**k me we were good...

Oxred

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Aaallj5, we may be comparing teams in four years time, but not the midfield. And I agree, everything might just 'click' and we could have a fantastic season. But we would have had a better chance with a strong central midfielder.
Dodgy Banter. I agree about Tevez and Rooney being similiar. I left out Kagawa to stay with 442. I could have put him in midfield or as striker. He just might turn into a very special player.
No-namer - I did this mainly to show how the midfield in 99 contained 4 world-class players, and today's team have not one player you could call world-class (Giggs and Scholes are not currently world-class). However, in 4 years time we might again have 4 world-class players in Powell, Kagawa, Cleverly and (Goetze?), and we could all be hailing SAF as the greatest forward-planner of our time.

J Bones.

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01 Sep 2012 18:06:01
33 mins and that tackle shows why fergie should have given fabio more of a go at left back...

fabio and pogba shold both have been given games last year and now both would be playing in our first 11

Believable1 Unbelievable3

Fabio needed games and too prove he's over all his niggling injuries. He's only on loan after all.

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Pogba would not of been in our starting eleven stop bigging him up he wasnt at that level by a long shot

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I think the point about Pogba is we didnt give him chance to prove he was at first team level or not. Its a mistake by Fergie IMO but he's entitled to a few of those every now and again!

Halesini

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Fabio was injured for most of last year.

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01 Sep 2012 17:55:11
Could anyone tell how's Fabio doing against rubbishty?

Believable1 Unbelievable1

Average at best

RedKnight

Agree1 Disagree14

Playing well made a few good tackles.

Caolán.

Agree8 Disagree0

01 Sep 2012 17:48:54
The window has shut and it was a decent effort although could have been better. I am pleased with what we have bought however have a tinge of regret we didn't buy the central midfield player that could have catapulted us into a challenge for Europe plus enabled us to control the big games better. We got the striker that can make a difference and a player who can connect midfield to attack in Kagawa but we didn't sort out Nanis position or the CM.

I cannot see the logic in what is happening with Nani as if he stays beyond the Russian window close next week then he will hold the cards like RVP did. We could lose money on him which makes it a strange financial decision. If we sell him this week we can't replace him until January at least which again is muddied thinking. I can't see him getting a new contract either.

Actually whilst we had a decent window it was the paucity of our opponents activity which helped us. City didnt buy the significant player that could have given them the next big step and Chelsea did not get Falcao which would have spelled trouble for us. I would have kept an eye on Spurs if Moutinho had signed up. In Europe, Barca and Madid are better but Munich have seriously improved plus of course the city situation is key, as last year they were better one on one than us with YaYa being a big difference.

I hope SAF gives Jones a chance in midfield and uses a bit more sense tactically. Let us not get overrun in midfield by a midfield three. In summary our window was decent , could have been better, a CM and Nani replacement would have blown our opposition out of the water, however as has often been said, we like to do things the hard way. At least our opposition , in this country, did not take advantage of our transfer shortfall. The team now need to play with the faith SAF has given them otherwise it will lead to questions as to why we danced around improving the CM for several years.

The decisions have been made , let's play

Red Man

Believable3 Unbelievable0

I wonder is Fergie trying to prove a point by not signing a midfielder?

G.A.G.U.S

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Good post and completely agree with everything. I said earlier that we should stick Jones in front of the back four as opposed to using him as a box2box midfielder and let Cleverley & Kagawa run riot ahead of him.

Sydney!

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Well said Red Man

AJH

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G.A.G.U.S

The manager is a stubborn man and the more he is pushed to buy one by fans and media, the more he will rebel.

Sydney!

Agree2 Disagree2

I don't think Jones is best suited to the sitting role in midfield. Think about it he doesn't even just sit when played at CB he sure as hell isn't gonna sit when playing in midfield. If he is to play in midfield then it will have to be as a box to box player. He is strong and is very hard to brush off the ball when he runs at people. But his vision and reading of the game is what lets him down, that is why he loses the ball too often in midfield and why he gets caught out of position in defence. Fortunately these are things which will improve in time but i feel he is best suited to playing at the back as he'll have less pressure on him and will there for make less mistakes.

He could be used this season in midfield in those few games where we need strength over guile and he will play a vital role but long term he'll be a defender.

Shappy

Agree7 Disagree0

Maybe as Pat and Raphael are more wingbacks than fullbacks - that is SAFs intention, to play 3 CB's - have been thinking for sometime that SAF wanted real ball playing CB (as opposed to blood and thunder hoofers) which is why I thought Rio and Evans were so good.

Mike

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Jones could be an exceptional holding midfielder as shown in the friendly against Spain where he pretty much kept them at bay himself.

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The option to use Jones as a defensive mid, combined with the probable return of Fletcher meant no centre mid being signed.

Anderson and Nani both desparately need replacing to improve our midfield and hopefully this is their last season as neither are United quality. If we could have sold Nani earlier I think we may have been in for a midfielder as Kagawa could play on the wing if required. If playing 4-2-1-3 any of the forwards could be utilised in the front 3 without being traditional wingers though.

Halesini

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Could teach him positional discipline for future too.

DodgyBanter

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G.A.G.U.S. & Sydney. Do ye honestly think SAF is so shallow. I know he is stubborn, but to not buy for midfield because he feels he is being pressurised into buying is frankly ridiculous, and very scary if true.

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01 Sep 2012 17:31:52
Fed up with the doom and gloom.

lets change the subject slightly, who do you guys think will be the best player for value this season?

Personally I think either Michu or Steven Fletcher.

The Moon.

Believable1 Unbelievable2

Shinji Kagawa.

G.A.G.U.S

Agree7 Disagree0

Michael Owen, LOL

AJH

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The same Steven Fletcher that cost 14 million pounds?!

-MelonRed

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Kagawa or Michu

Mike

Agree2 Disagree0

Berbatov 100 per cent complete steal

marlow

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-MelonRed;

That is the guy, It may be a little pricey but keep him fit and he'll score you 15-20 goals a season.

The Moon.

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Carroll, he cost West Ham bugger all and has already screwed up Liverpool's season.

An Dun Red Devil

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01 Sep 2012 17:26:28
Drogba has been released by his club, now a free agent.. according to Jeff Stelling..

Without Van Persie I'd have said worth a punt, maybe still on a short term deal, can't see it happening though.

TM {Ed002's Note - There has been an approach to his agent from Manchester City, amongst others.}

Believable1 Unbelievable0

He would probably cost around £12m in terms of wages and signing on fee. That's just for one year. Surely he would go to Russia or the Middle East. Perhaps even Spurs?

Sydney!

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More like £15million Syd I believe he would want closer to 300k wages plus bonuses.

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If rodgers had any sense hed make an approach

marlow

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01 Sep 2012 16:35:49
Why is everyone Saying that we've missed out on midfielders we obviously wasnt in for one get over it and get behind the team

Discountdave

Believable4 Unbelievable4

Wow. What an insightful post.
Timbo

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With our current team the prem wont be a problem when our defenders are fit i fear for europe last year we were outclassed we do need a new roy kean as regards fletcher i have the same condition beleive me the simpelist thing can set it off so i dont no why fergie is reliying on fletcher personaly the only way we are going to see if any of the youngsters are going to make it is to play them or face them getting fed up and deciding to go elswhere a red united fan

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01 Sep 2012 17:07:56
is it possible that united have signed a player and nobody knows about it ?. {Ed002's Note - No.}

Believable0 Unbelievable3

01 Sep 2012 16:02:08
No we didn't sign a CM, we don't need one, Anderson is going to be a much improved player this season, which he showed in the Fulham game, and also with Fletcher back we'll have good options. Fletcher has played 2 full 90 minutes in the past week for the reserves, i'd leave it a couple of weeks and he'll be back fighting for his place in the squad! As a whole I am very pleased with the signings, RVP needs no description, Kagawa, well he just looks amazing, he makes everything look so easy, Powell looks a very promising talent, and from what i've seen of Henriquez he does too. Now lets bring the trophy home as it screams "TAKE ME HOMEEEEE, UNITED ROADDD"

Jake F

Believable2 Unbelievable8

Anderson much improved Fletcher back to his best.You poor deluded fool. I AM KLOOT

Agree6 Disagree3

Anderson has done nothing in 5 years except being KFC's best customer,why would he start now.
About time you went to Specsavers Jake or you clearly know sod all about football.
Have been saying for at least 2 yrs now to sell that lump of lard.

Red Daz.

Agree6 Disagree5

"We don't need one"? Oh my God. That has to be one of the most certifiable statements ever made on this site.

So, your strategy is to rely on somebody that has contributed next to NOTHING (apart from crashing expensive cars outside of casinos in the early hours) in the six years he has been with us and another that
is recovering from a chronic illness (who is not all that great anyway!) I like Fletcher, but... really!?!
Timbo

Agree3 Disagree0

Scored a nice pen in Moscow and the pen to win the carling cup

Caolán.

Agree1 Disagree1

I don't see what Anderson brings to the team.

G.A.G.U.S {Ed007's Note - Half time snacks.......

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He's one of the few players we have who plays centre mid and actually drives forward with the ball (reminds me if Robo when he does this) ... He needs to work on fitness, And stay fit, yes... But when he gets a run of games I think he will be excellent in a midfield 3 as a narrow left player.

Think he'll be another Hargreves tho and just continue with on off injuries, shame.

DodgyBanter

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'Anderson is going to be a much improved player' is like me saying I'm going to win the lottery next week. Actually not quite as there is a chance I may win the lottery!!!

If Anderson is the kingpin of our midfield we wont win a thing. Luckily one would hope Carrick/Cleverly, Carrick/Jones, Fletcher/Cleverly and Scholes and Giggs input will provide better options.

Halesini

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G.A.G.U.S - Anderson brings a weak link that opposing teams will expose.

He's had 5 years. Which is at least 4 too many! Time to go.

Halesini

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C'mon guys Anderson is poor and I hope he has decent season so we can sell him for some value.shahram

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01 Sep 2012 14:59:58
I have a question for the eds or anyone, why do we mostly play in Sunday? Is it because of TV coverage or it's just like that?

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Thats excatly it. The Fa come up with a fixture list that states what weekend each fixture is played on then Sly and the other broadcasters decide what games they wanna show and what days they will be played on to suit them.

Shappy

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Sly have 2 matches a week on a Sunday and there are two matches a week on tv on a Saturday. There is also often a match on tv on a Monday night. The other matches are at 3pm on a Saturday unless either team has played in the Europa league on Thursday night then it would be 3pm sunday.

Hope that clears it up.

GDS

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I'd scrap the Monday night games to start with.

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Monday night football is great.... It is an awesome atmosphere and great night out.

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01 Sep 2012 14:57:48
Gerrard revealed he was wanted by Sir Alex Ferguson at United, as well as Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid but refused to walk out on Liverpool.

'It was flattering back then because the two best managers around wanted me to play in their teams,' said Gerrard.
'Gary Neville said he (Ferguson) wanted me but you understand that playing for Manchester United would have been impossible. I never would have wanted to play for Manchester United.
'They are a fantastic club but that rivalry is there, and it's why Gary could not have played for us either.
'Don't get me wrong, it was flattering that, after everything he has done in the game, Sir Alex Ferguson wanted me to play in his team, but that was an impossible situation.
'The Mourinho thing was different, of course - this club weren't really challenging at the time, so there was something to think about but I ended up saying no and a year later I said no again.'

jred {Ed002's Note - It was when Mourinho was at Chelsea.}

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I am amazed how dumb some journalists are that they couldn't have figured out Gerrard meant Chelsea in 2005.

Sydney!

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The article in the Mail clearly indicates an attempt was made when Jose arrived at Madrid

Red Man {Ed002's Note - It seems to be sloppy journalism.}

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'The Mourinho thing was different, of course. This club weren't really challenging at the time, so there was something to think about. But I ended up saying no and a year later I said no again.
'But he came back when he arrived at Real Madrid two years ago. I look at some players who get interest from clubs like Real Madrid and Barcelona and they cause absolute wars to get out and get there. But that has never been me and, again, it just wasn't going to happen. I was happy here. I was settled. I thought all that had gone really.'
Gerrard

jred

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Sydney, it is both at Madrid and Chelsea....Gerrard says this too.

MPez

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MPez, I know mate and I can remember Jose enquiring after Gerrard (if true) when he first went to RM, but when Gerrard talks about a team "not really challenging" he is talking about Chelsea.

Sydney!

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I think you'll find when he says "this club" he is refering to the club he is currently at not the club that was enquiring about his services. Think about it, Jose won the league in his first year and challenged for it every year he was at Chelsea, and he Challenged for it every year he's been at Real. Gerrard was referinng to Liverpool.

Shappy

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Syd. His refering to liverpool how can he be taking about chelsea they were champions when they tried to sign him. Also come on pal if you can remeber jose trying for gerrard are the journs really that dumd. I can't remember rm trying for gerrard I'm gueSssing oo2 can't so maybe u jumped trhe gun on this pal. Jred

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01 Sep 2012 14:52:01
chelsea played of the park by AM
United played of the park twice by AB

The EPL is great to watch but the quality has dropped over the last couple of years.
jred

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Or maybe the quality of the Spanish league has improved

Mike

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I do not think it is quality that has dropped I believe they style of play that the Spanish use is very effective against the British teams plus the fact that Spanish football seems to have a sudden influx of extremely talented players in the last 10 years and they are brought up to play football and not care about the winning where the British are taught to win at all costs and much more hysical where they should be taught to pass etc

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The prem is great to watch as there are more upsets by the "smaller" clubs against the "bigger" clubs. Real and Barca are so far ahead of everyone else in Spain that they only slip up once or twice a season. Also it's worth pointing out that the spanish clubs are much more tactically adept then the english clubs that still rely on athlectiism over tactical know how.

Shappy

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Prem is definitley getting worse. If you believe most pundits we were an average United side last season but only finished 2nd in the final minutes of the last game of the season on goal difference!

Halesini

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01 Sep 2012 14:50:35
for those asking about henriquez he was in the official team photo earlier. Mort

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01 Sep 2012 14:50:21
a lot of people myself included are disappointed that we never bought a CM but like i said when when we bought Kagawa i dont think we were looking for a big name CM.

I think fergy rates carrick and will play him and i think he wants to give clevs a chance so any CM bought IMO would of been understudy to them 2.

i think if we were going to spend big on a CM we prob would of bought one before spending 25 mill on a 29 year old striker

in short i would say fergy is happy with his starting 11
jred

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You did say that Jred, I remember that well, but that doesn't explain why we bid for Witsel and Dembele.

Sydney!

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As i said syd a big name cm .
we bid a reported 5 mil for dembele and god knows how much for witsel.
I think fergy saw his first 2 CM's as carrick and clevs.
maybe it was a case if he could get dembele or witsel on the cheap he would of took them but wasnt really that bothered , hence the low bid for dembele and not returning with a second bid (even with berb going there).

25 for RVP + big wage , 5 for dembele I would say he was more interested in a striker than a CM.
jred

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Jred, I 100% agree. I think the manager tried his luck to see if he could get them on the cheap. Sort of testing the water.

Sydney!

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01 Sep 2012 14:38:50
Little task for everyone.

We all know Scholes and Giggs are retiring at the end of the season, unless they stay for another year ( Hope not ).

With a budget of.. Lets say 50-60 Million to spend to replace these two legends and any extras next summer. Be realistic with the prices of the players.

I would hope we got Erikson for around 25 Million to replace scholes, Or maybe even Gotze who would cost around 35 million. For Giggs I would like J.Rodriguez or Muniain to replace him.

Also if Nani is sold I would like Gaitan or one of the above Wingers to replace him.

-JakeW

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Well I think the plan was to replace Nani with Hazard. Giggs hasn't been a winger for some time now. I think the next in line maybe Gaitan? I think Scholes will be replaced by Cleverley and someone like Witsel will be signed to play alongside Cleverley. But someone else may become the new Hazard over the next year and they maybe on the manager's radar.

Sydney!

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Goetze and Muniain.

G.A.G.U.S

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I would have Witsel or Strootman, not necessarily to replace Scholes as I would argue Kagawa has done that but because they are what we need. Then any of Muniain, Bale or Rodriguez to give a left footed attacker.

Welsh Dragon

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I would like James Rodriguez for around £30million then Christian Eriksen for around £25million.

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Bale 30mil
wilshere 30mil

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I think both will be retired and we'll sell nani and sign Eriksen, Herrara and Munian. Mort

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Haha Syd,Scholes replaced by Cleverley that's a funny one.
Cleverley isn't fit to lace the Ginger Magician's boots.

Red Daz.

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Witsel £25m and Muniain £25m would be great IMO

If you could shave a bit off each of those pricetags I'd give the difference to SAF to bring in the next hot prospect from the lower leagues, the next AOC or Nick Powell

Gav

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Cleverley is already looking like Scholes. You can see he has learned a lot from him in the way he plays. Of course he will never replace Scholes properly as no one can. But he will certainly be taking Scholes' role. You would be a fool to think otherwise.

Sydney!

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Scholes now adays plays more as the deeplying playmaker rather than the creative box to box player or the AM in a sense his previous roles have been covered by Cleverley and Kagawa. So if i was looking to replace him in his current role i'd go for Kevin Strootman. As for Giggs' replacement its hard to look past James Rodriguez. If we got them two and someone who is a CB and cover LB to replace the out going Rio and Evra next summer then i'd be very happy.

Out:
Scholes, Giggs, Rio and Evra

In:
Strootman, Rodriguez and either Rakitskiy or Rojo.

Shappy

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I think Kagawa is seen in the mould of scholes as unlocking defences but as for scholes midfield abilities to pass the ball so accurately is more difficult. I reckon scholes can't be replaced by just the one player. He has been in the same class as xavi or iniesta. Schweinsteigger or ozil? Replacing Giggs, ronaldo aside not bale, lots of wingers mentioned, Isco maybe? Not as good as Giggs in his prime but better than young!

Bryn mez

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When Giggs and Scholes retire, replacements I would like are:

Giggs - Bale, Rodriguez or Gaitan £30 Million. Preferably Rodriguez

Scholes - Vidal, Wilshere or Fabregas for £25-£30 Million. Preferably Vidal

Would rather younger players although it would be a bad thing to buy an established player.

ALDUtd

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01 Sep 2012 12:19:51
Watching the transfer window last night, when Dempsey arrived at WHL from nowhere, it took me back to being a kid watching WWF wrestling! Pure entertainment, the equivalent of your fave wrestler turning villain/hero in a split second and the crowd going wild!

Poor window in some respects, we didn't strengthen the most important area of all but at least we aren't the Anfield mob!

RED_SKY

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RED_SKY, nearly got there mate didn't we? Just that elusive midfielder and we would have all been buzzing.

Sydney!

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Aye Syd, really disappointing on the midfield front but other than that, we made some very solid signings.

I hope Butnner plays tomorrow, along with RVP and Kagawa.

RED_SKY

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Best window in years for me, rvp, kagawa absolute class.

GDS

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01 Sep 2012 13:25:55
Watching Fulham you can really tell how good Dembele really was there non existent with him gone.

Believable8 Unbelievable0

01 Sep 2012 12:50:02
Amazing how so many still love Nani after 5 seasons of inept display with probably 6 decent games in all and yet a 20yo with clearly a lot of potential in areas where we are short (right back / centre half / defensive mid) gets slammed after one season!

Jones may suffer from the fact that he can cover different positions but I feel he would come on leaps and bounds if given a more fixed role.

I've stated in earlier posts that I see our midfield 2 as Carrick and Jones alternating with Carrick and Cleverley. Clearly SAF has other plans with Anderson in the frame tho I'm conscious Jones is injured at the mo anyway.

I think this time next year we will be complementing Jones on a great season for us and saying goodbye to the likes of Anderson and Nani.

Halesini

You seem to have a slight obsession with Nani, did he snub a photo with you or something? Nani was far superior to Jones last year (different positions, I know). I don't know why people bash Nani so much, he's a great player, and by the looks of things will be staying another while! Jones on the other hand is a liability at CB and plays more of an AM when in midfield because of his enthusiasm. When he matures, he'll be a good player, but until that time, I doubt we'll be seeing much of him.

Percy

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Percy, I think Nani will be sold next week.

Sydney!

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I highly doubt it, especially after AF saying he'll play this weekend. But I have no inside knowledge, so I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Percy

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Russian window still open right? like samba last year

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Nani and Jones are both class (though neither the finished article), what's the problem?

WizardOzmand

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I would prefer Nani to stay now he cannot be replaced, but I think he will be sold next week. We won't give him a new deal and he only has two years left and they will not let him leave for peanuts next summer. I expect Zenit to bid close to £30m for him next week and I think it will be accepted.

Sydney!

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So you believe SAF, who loves wingers, is going into a campaign with two wingers plus Giggs?
Are you for real?

Come on. We could just wave all trophies without a proper midfield.
Great strikers and defenders alone don't win games, never mind trophies.
I am really concerned though, that SAF doesn't seem to rate midfield all that important.
I can remember him saying Berbatov and Rooney are so good they should dominate opposition.
It's not the purpose of strikers to dominate games, that's what CMs need to do.

Hope he doesn't believe RVP, Roo and Kagawa will dominate games and all the others are mere defenders

Jonny8

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Sydney

Will Nani accept it though? You saw the issues we had with Berbatov.

Red Man

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Red Man, that is an issue of course. I understand he wants a £5m bonus for going to Zenit. I imagine the club will weasel it so Zenit pays him that. January is always another option to sell, but I think he will be gone next week, what do you think mate?

Sydney!

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Syd I hope you are right. Shahram

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Sydney

It will be poor timing if he goes next week but unless we give him a new contract it is the only thing that makes sense. You may not like it but if Nani is sold and not replaced it does add to the argument it is an effort to balance the books.

Red Man

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01 Sep 2012 12:10:22
It's gonna be hard seeing Berba play for someone else. But I'll move on. Someday.

Sychlops

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01 Sep 2012 11:47:09
Ok so having looked at our window lets look at our rivals.

Arsenal: Well they've had a bit of a 'mare haven't they? Lost last seasons 2 best players in Song and RvP, haven't strengthened the defence either. And next summers big contract controversy is already set up with Walcott unless he goes in January. cazorla does look good, but how long is he going to stay for? Giroud needs to settle before scoring but fan pressure isn't going to help and the longer the drought goes on the worse it'll get. Podolski, well i'm not a fan and said he could struggle but he should come good in the end.

Chelsea: Well they certainly strengthened their attacking options all but one. If anything happens to Torres, like injury or loss of confidence then who's going to score? I think they could have problems with the number of attacking mids that they have as well. And the backline to me looks a couple of injuries away from diaster. I did say weeks ago that they would come out flying in August, batter a couple of teams in their easy starting games and media would go mad for them. I also expect the wheels to come off big time at some point. But still tough challengers.

Liverpool: Well they had a 'mare as well. Paying for the Dalglish/ Comolli massive overspend last summer. Adam out, Carroll as well. They did clear out guff like Kuyt and Maxi btut some average signings as well. Allen is a good tidy player but Borini is not that good at all. And Suarez still misses more than he scores. They needed a goalscorer in and failed, could be a long few months till January.

City: Well an odd window. Maicon is terrible as we all seen when Bale destroyed him, never seen Bale destroy anyone domestically. Zabaleta is better and he's got to be a little annoyed. Rodwell i do lik shame he's chucked his career away. Nastacic is one for the future but how much will he play? Potential to be better than Vidic but City won't help his development, a mistake in moving there. Garcia is a decent player just a better De Jong though. And Sinclair for Johnson is strange and Johnson is the better player, looking forward to him playing regluar for Sunderland. Richard Wright?

Newcastle: Didn't lose anyone which was there main priority.

Spurs: Good window, Lloris, Verthonghen, Siggurdsson, Dembele, Dempsey, Adebyorful all good signings.

Mort.

Believable9 Unbelievable1

But have lost Modric, VDV, King, Corluka, Pienaar, Kranjcar, Bassong. They also had Adebayor last season and Lloris isn't an improvement on Friedel. They needed Moutinho and a striker to improve their team IMO. They are still a long way off challenging for the title.

Sydney!

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Syd i disagree Lloris is a good keeper and is a lot younger than Friedel, not sure who else they would have signed as a keeper.

King needed to retire, and VDV couldn't make it past the hour mark in games, you yourself have said this on many a time. Siggurdsson should replace VDV.

Yes Modric was a loss, but i think Spuds will be ok.

Corluka, Pienaar, Bassong and Kranjcar were all average squad men and will be replaced by their youngsters.

In truth Spuds squad was too top heavy because of Impulse 'Arry and needed thinning out.

Mort

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Mort, what I meant is Freidel is such a good keeper, Lloris will not make them any better this season than Freidel made Spurs last season. He is a good signing but will not improve them this season. Vertonghen will not make them stronger than what King made them this season. I am not saying they aren't good signings, just that they are not any stronger this season than they were last season. Moutinho and a striker would have made them stronger though.

Sydney!

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01 Sep 2012 11:39:32
We really need a bit of optimism on this site. Last season we lost the title on goal difference due to a few sloppy results from us and a few lucky ones for city. Vidic, cleverly and hopefully soon fletcher have recovered. Vidic especially will help stop us conceding sloppy goals.

We've also signed a world class striker who is established in the premier league. Kagawa is also looking top quality and in my opinion could turn out to be the deal of the summer. Buttner will add competition at left back so evra will now be forced ro perform or face getting dropped. Hendriquez and powell are great prospects for the future and will add to our already exceptional youth system.

Man city didn't get the players they wanted in the end - Martinez, van Persie and agger all moving elsewhere or not moving at all. Signings like Sinclair and Rodwell will find themselves on the bench a lot. Chelsea, the only other team really challenging for the title, are also beatable (proved by athletico madrid) and still like a replacement for drogba that they need and this (Falcao) is a big problem for them.

So, i feel when are injury problems are over which they soon should be, our squad will be on its way to title number 20.

Enjoy the season everyone

Red steph

Believable6 Unbelievable1

01 Sep 2012 11:32:08
can't see title coming this term.

Believable8 Unbelievable7

01 Sep 2012 11:31:35
Its not been that bad a window.

Based on events last summer and this then it seems that we have around £50 million to spend each summer.

Last summer we bought in a top keeper rather than settling for 2nd best, although it seems we got rushed into buying Jones a season early as other teams were sniffing, but good to have him on board already although i do see him in misfield for the short to mid term at least. Not sure on why we bought Young in but hey ho i'm not the manager. i think we might have got a midfielder if not for buying Jones/ Young.

This summer i think the only main transfer traget we actually signed was Kagawa who is top class. i think once van Persie was available we had to go for him too good a player to miss out on, and with Rooney out of shape and now injured just as well we did. it was Red man who almost alone on here kept pushing for us to sign a top class striker incase anything happened to Rooney.Regards the other signings well i think the plan with Powell was to leave him at Crewe for another season but like Jones clubs started sniffing so we had to move quick. Likewise with henriquez, once City started looking we moved fast but those 2 signings took £8 million off the budget. Lastly we all knew we were in for a leftback, Baines was top target, didn't get him but instead got Buttner. Lets see how he goes.

Ok so no midfielder again which is concerning but look at the options. Essien is injury prone, Garcia no way would we have matched City, Martinez looks like we were priced out. Dembele i don't think we were interested. Rodwell i would have had but many on here don't seem to like him, just a shame he's chucked his career down the pan going there. Lastly i would have gone for Cabaye weeks ago, but not sure we had the budget left over without sales.

Regards sales well we shifted some deadwod, Kzuzcak finally got the hint and left, Owen also departed quickly as well and James and De Laet who weren't going to make it moved on. Followed by Park who needed to go as he looked ashadow last season. Lastly we finally shifted Berbatov, although i'm sure he wanted to drag it out and not move in the end got persuaded to go. There is still deadwood here but its mostly junior deadwood now and i expect to see a few loans out over the next week.

I suspect we have something in place for January regarding midfield, possibly the Mexican Herrera. Correct me if i am wrong but even with Fletcher in the 25 man squad we still have a space?

Next summer could also be busy for us as well. Giggs and Scholes retiring, i can also see Evra and Ferdinand departing and Nani or Young or both being sold. Rooney? Who knows. We will be in the market for a centreback, and my tip would be Zouma at st Etienne. Not sure if we'll get a leftback but we will be in for a centremid and a wide left player.


Mort

Believable3 Unbelievable1

01 Sep 2012 11:21:14
I think a lot of people got deadline day fever yesterday, would you have all been happy if we had left RVP to sign on deadline day? I think everyone would have been buzzing if we had jus cos it was deadline day. Yh I wanted Dembele, Witsel or Moutinho but I'm really happy with what we've got already. Got a feeling were gonna b seeing Jones a lot in cm this year. Plus I seen a lot of people raving about Javi Garcia goin to Man City, I honestly don't even rate him, he's not better than De Jong anyway. Let's get behind the team guys, I'm excited bout the end of the year

Big Mac

Believable2 Unbelievable0

01 Sep 2012 11:13:10
going to be an hard season no defensive midfeilder you wil be out muscled in midfeild

Believable1 Unbelievable6

01 Sep 2012 11:06:56
Well relatively pleased by the window. pre season was disjointed so hard to tell but the kagawa influence told. we did well against barce could of won had good chances. even bebe looked half decent in the shanghai game, powell looked at home. very impressed by tunnecliff. maybe thats the hesitation? that simple? he has been in the reserves against midfields of age. maybe this year a few first team outings.

Cause on the face of it Alex is either mad and or stubborn or if we have a little faith he thinks tactically hes got it covered. once this team clicks possesion will counter balance power?.

is carrick better than biscuits? well he has proved he was underated. he does interceptions,but subtle. somtimes we need in your face your not getting through though: glaringly obvious is lack of power and when teams attack us, instead of breaking it up before it hits our defence teams are allowed more time on the ball giving them time to pull support .

a solid dm would even support the full backs taking pressure off and maybe thats why evras looking more suspect. if we had a dm chasing up would he be tested that much? would de gea have as many crosses coming in to deal with? less power in front of the defence means more chances were gonna have to ride. however that can mean soak up pressure and with the personnel we have now we are more likely to excell again and counter attack. but its gonna be nerves sometimes and riding luck.

and when the plan a fails who do we have to take the game by the balls? vidal martinez dembele and the like it look so obvious we needed it. we are still searching.

so it has to be about possesion football and counter attacking and a settled back four and a frontline that clicks.

plus points on last season. kagawa. van persie. goals and creativity. and competition for roooney. vidic being back, a more confident evans, rafael on good form, competition for evra, an ever maturing cleverly. if we avoid injuries we are already better than last season.

shakey points anderson young and nani and a settled back four. anderson and young have it in them to make an impact. but they make it hard on themselves in the eyes of the fans. i think they can do it but they could also not.

I believe if this team clicks and over the years our transition has certainly been better than chelseas in terms of getting players bedded in and id still say the magic of our club supercedes city, if we do click and all players play to thier best form and that really is what makes a great team, then we are more than capable of taking full honours home and europe. possesion link up creativity goals solid back four. whatever they score we score more. if all players find thier best form together it can work.

with kagawa cleverly van perse at least theres a genuine reason to be excited.

roll on the season.

..constantine..

Believable2 Unbelievable1

01 Sep 2012 10:41:18
We lost on goal difference last season.

DDG said he struggled to settle in first season. He's beefed up & will be more at home this season round.

Vidic was out for a massive portion of the season we were lucky Rio managed back to back games. Fergie won't swap & change unless he has to (Bruce & Pallister). Rio & Vidic.

Scholes only returned in January and him & Giggs will know they'll have to do something very special in their last season.

Fletcher will be back after a few more games in the U21's.
He'll play against Newcastle for sure. Good cover in front of the defence.

Cleverley & Anderson have been promising taking the burden off the strikers by scoring double figures this season.

Valencia has had a full pre-season for once & is fully fit.
With that legendary number 7 on his back he'll have his best season yet. 10 goals with a shed load of assists.

Rooney had a rubbish Euros, and a slow start so far. He'll be back in 3 weeks determined not to play second fiddle.

Kagawa is what we've been needing. (not a defensive midfielder) let teams worry about us and not vice-versa.
GOALS FROM MIDFIELD. Since Scholes hey day we've missed a double figure goalscorer.

RvP we don't have to wreck him by over playing him. Keep him fit & he'll score 25+.

Welbeck 7 goals Sunderland 12 goals United is improving every season.

Chicharito 20 goals, then 12 in a difficult 2nd season. He may not get a lot of game time, but if he gets 10 as our 4th striker that's great.

Fergie is ANGRY and wants his Title back (nuff said)

Summer 2013-14
Another 60m in the bank for Giggs & Scholes replacement.
ALL IS GOOD

Believable5 Unbelievable2

01 Sep 2012 10:37:40
So, summarising the transfer window? Despite not signing a central midfielder we have done pretty well if I am honest. We have signed the one of the best playmakers in Shinji Kagawa, he could reach the height of Ozil I think. RVP is also the signing of the summer anywhere in the world, he has ensured that we have the best forward line in the world. Powell and Henriquez are also two of the hottest prospectso out there and Buttner looks as though he could come good as he is a good attacking full back, a bit like Jordi Alba.

Yes, we missed out on Asamoah, Xhaka, Martinez, Garcia and Dembele. But it does seem as though we weren't interested in them as we never put any significant effort into signing them. I expect until January we will give Fletcher chances and Tunnicliffe may get Cup games - although being drawn against Newcastle may not be kind to the youngsters. Petrucci will also get his chance I am sure. In January I think we are going to capture two players in what would be a rare January transfer window for us. Liam Moore and also Hector Herrera look odds on to join, Herrera probably would be at the club despite his injury and Liam Moore looks a great prospect, much like Smalling was.

As for the following summer, we will probably have another good £50 million to spend. I imagine that we will sign Cristian Eriksen to replace Scholes, we may sign Jamie Rodriguez to replace Nani and also perhaps a left back if we are unhappy with the progression of Fabio.

Overall by this time next year I think that we could have signed some new young, exciting players, Hector Herrera, Liam Moore and Cristian Eriksen which would improve the squad no end.

RedDevil19

Believable1 Unbelievable1

01 Sep 2012 09:45:00
Well window shut and no defensive midfielder as a large majority wanted(but not me). I believe our squad is strong enough and this will be a good season. My question is what do you guys think would be termed a successful season. I think winning the league is what I would like however I appreciate this will be tough. Europe may be a step too far but expect us to qualify from the group. I think ath madrid ripping chelsea a new one shows the technical ability in spain is slightly higher than in england but then again chelsea havent really been tested so dont know how good they are compared to us, city etc. Bookedredmole

Believable2 Unbelievable1

01 Sep 2012 09:44:33
The squad is ok, better than last year with vidic back and fletcher available. We know he's not world class but can do a job breaking up other teams rhythms etc. Kagawa is awesome and RVP oozes class, it will be interesting to see where Powell, buttner and henriquez fit in. Evans is back in defence and rio and jones will be back soon so defence should be sorted. Another plus is that young is out for 2 weeks, to me he seems a bit lazy compared to Valencia and even Nani. Looking forward to tomorrows game, C'mon the reds!

Believable0 Unbelievable1

01 Sep 2012 09:09:15
For all the dissapointed posters who have complained about the lack of a CM how about you sneak over to the Liverpool site where they are complaining about the lack of anyone especially as Rogers was promised two players if they got rid of Carroll and Adams the fans are even bombarding the Eds asking can the sign players on loan now the window has shut
so please cheer up
ARB

Believable2 Unbelievable0

01 Sep 2012 09:00:51
So what will turn out to be the shrudest signings of the window in your opinion? Based on quality and size of fee. I would say Kagawa, but i have to admit Dembele and Garcia also look like great deals. We potentially missed a trick or two.

Believable1 Unbelievable1

Based on quality/fee - Berbatov for £4m every day of the week. Lloris, Michu and Maicon aren't far behind.

Hazard will tear the smaller teams apart and will probably prove to be the best out and out signing by the time the season is over.

T0MB0Z

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Pablo Hernandez to Swansea i'd say! 5.5mill was an absolute steal!

Agree0 Disagree0

01 Sep 2012 08:42:40
Just a shame those Lovely Glazer boys recently took their 75 million from the floatation. That would have bought the quality midfielder or 3.

When I look at American owners in the Premiership Villa, Arsenal, Liverpopl I think it fair to say that none enjoy their success of years ago. Let's hope that don't continue to fall in the same direction.

Busby 68

Believable4 Unbelievable0

01 Sep 2012 08:03:37
So...after all the complaining and because I was bored...I had a peek at other teams' sites. It appears doom and glow is contagious. The scousers are in meltdown and the Gooners are distraught. Spurs fans think their team has been weakened and Chelsea fans are also up in arms (particularly after last night). The only ones who are positive and the City fans, which is odd given Sinclair, Rodwell, and Maicon are not going to improve them.

Yes, we needed a CM but we have signed well and have some key players back. Confusious says 'if man has negative thoughts, rubbish happens', so let's cheer up, particularly you Simmo :-) and enjoy the season.

AJH

Believable1 Unbelievable2

01 Sep 2012 07:59:45
Sir Alex has said that the club will do all they can to support Fletcher and aid him in his recovery. Now Sir Alex has said Fletcher is back to his normal weight, and he has come through a few reserve games. If this is true and he trains fully and keep playing reserve games then he could be ready for the first team in 4/6 weeks. This is why I think Sir Alex has chosen not to sign a box to box midfielder, I think their was a deal in place to sign Hector Herrera but he isn't a player who'd comand a first team place straight away and will take awhile to settle in, plus being 22 would be happier at that stage of his career to be a sub and be rotated alot. But since he got injured the deal has been delayed. Witsel would comand more of a starting role and this would make it harder for Fletcher to return, and get game time. This is why I think we went for someone like Herrera over Witsel. We may see the Herrera deal completed in january.

I think alot of us have totally written Fletcher off, but other top sports men have competed at the highest level with the same illness, Moody and Redgrave are examples.

So would we all be happy with our summer dealings IF we get Fletcher back to full fitness and form? He is the type of player we've been crying out for.

I also think some people have rubbished a midfield of Carrick and Cleverley. With Carrick back in midfield shielding the back four(which is stronger with Vidic back) and Cleverley offering more energy and movement then Scholes is able to, plus Kagawa dropping deeper and linking play further forward and Scoring from midfield. I see no reason why this midfield can't be successful. I think during a transfer window we have a tendancy to undervalue what we have and overvalue what everyone else has.


Shappy

Believable9 Unbelievable2

Couldn't agree with you more Shappy. Alot of fans seem to think the players we have are hopeless because they aren't the glamorous signing we were hoping for but a midfield 3 of Cleverley, Carrick and Kagawa is still a very good midfield.

If Fletcher comes back the same player he was I will be very surprised but delighted. 2 years ago Fletcher was one of the best box to box midfielders in Europe, obviously since then he has had been ill which is a massive shame but if he is only a month or two away and there is the possibility of Herrera (who I have to admit I have only seen in the Olympics where he was great) in January then I can see why we haven't bought anyone in central midfield.

I would say out of the sides going for the league we have had the best summer. Yes Chelsea signed Hazard, Oscar, Marin, Moses, De Bruyne and Azpilicueta but as shown yesterday they are not to be feared and are not well balanced at all. Arsenal will do there usual and finish 3rd or 4th without threatening much else and we took thee best player off them but Cazorla is a great buy. City panicked, Sinclair and Rodwell are average, Maicon is past it now he is not the same energetic right back of 2009 but Javi Garcia is a very good buy. We have sold Berba and Park who were surplus and replaced them with RVP and Kagawa which is brilliant, we got Powell who is potentially a fantastic player and we have cover at left back with Buttner who looks like he will challenge Fabio next season when IMO Evra will be sold. Fabio is getting first team experience as well so all in all I'd say we have had the best window out of the potential title winners.

Rjmanutd

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01 Sep 2012 07:49:46
essian to madrid on season long loan there must be a good reason we didnt go for him mabye fletch is very close to being back or chelski didnt want him in england , thoughts ?

Believable0 Unbelievable3

I wouldn't expect them to loan someone to a main rival.

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Chelsea wouldn't let him go to Arsenal, never mind us who are a direct rival.

RedDevil19 {Ed002's Note - Nonsense. Chelsea loaned a player to Arsenal last year.}

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Yeah SAF's ego
CardiffRED

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01 Sep 2012 07:22:05
Oh no, we didn't sign anyone, now we'll get relegated! Fergie must be sacked, Gill hasn't a clue, we're all doomed, this is the worst team ever, everyone can see it apart from the most successful Manager in the history of the game. Come on peole, I agree there a few CMs who might have strengthened us but...

1. Last year, the issue for me was ourstyle. We weren't great to watch and one-paced.
2. We seemed to at times and had to work way to break average teams down.
3. Cleverley missed most of the are now back. Jones was also (lol, he still is)
4. RVP and Kagawa great signings and will deliver and goals.Everyone is entitled to their opinions but lets keep things in perspective. I think we have strengthened the team and the squad, the remaining concern is CM but lets see how things pan out. I think when the team gels, we will start to see some great attacking play and way more goals.

Bring it on!

AJH

Believable2 Unbelievable2

Interesting, and I fully understand your sentiments, honestly. My problem is the answers to your points:

1. Invest in the midfield to improve style and pace.

2. Invest in the midfield so that we have the creativity to break teams down. Carrick, who seems likely to remain a central figure, reduces our ability to do this. Too slow and lateral.

3. Invest in the midfield, as additional resources needed to cover the injury prone (Anderson, Clevs) and aging (Carrick, Scholes, Giggs) midfielders we have.

4. Modern football teams have their style and pace dictated by their midfield. It is a fact. Until points 1,2 and 3 are addressed it is unlikely we will gel in the style you rightly crave.

Now we can all be positive. And we will all continue to pledge our unwavering support for the team. Let's just take this as fact. However, we deserve a bit more than having to continually offer our blind faith. We are supposed to be moving towards Barcelona's style of play. LOL. With what?

So to spend almost £50million whilst ignoring our primary weakness is ridiculous. Our percentage of possession, particularly in the middle and final thirds against the top opposition is woeful, and a pale shadow of many past United teams.

Kagawa is a creative step forward, but (as harsh as it sounds) he arguably reduces the defensive qualities of the team, which were already painfully exposed last year.

SAF's motivation in this window was to 'not make sure we lose the title on goals scored again.' I would suggest it should have been to concede (one) fewer (against Everton for example) then that statistic would have been less pertinent.

Show me any manager that could have succeeded SAF this summer and I guarantee you their priority would have been to strengthen the middle. Mourinhio, Guardiola, Moyes, Blanc, Queiroz etc. etc.

Timbo

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Oops! Sorry for the illiterate post. I meant to say Cleverley and Vidic are back and that at times we where very pedestrian...

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01 Sep 2012 05:41:36
Good morning guys.

I had that sinking feeling yesterday when the central midfielder didn't materialise. I have woke up this morning feeling great about the season ahead. If anybody on here would have offered up kagawa and Rvp at the start of the window I would have been made up. Well the old man delivered 2 of the best signings in the window. If we had started the season with rio, smalling, Evans or jones fit, I don't think we would have been beaten at everton. Well jones is back in training and Evans is fit for the saints game, so I believe we will see the real united this weekend with carrick and cleverly in the middle of the park. I am not nanis biggest fan, but let's get behind him now he is here for at least another season. City didn't get there main transfers in (mainly because we got Rvp instead) , arsenal lost there best two players, Chelsea look to have improved yet had there arse handed to them on a plate last night, so boys nothing to fear in my opinion.

Enjoy the 20th title

Parkie mufc

Believable5 Unbelievable2

01 Sep 2012 01:26:30
Funny how everyone was going on about Chelsea strengthening their midfield. Think Athletico didn't get the memo as they went forward at will. Falcao is very impressive and scores for fun would be scary if he were at one of the top teams in Europe. I'm sure someone will move for him next summer or City will open their pocketbook in January. I think United could be very good this season imo at this point in time teams aren't scared to play against us. The team needs to move the ball forward faster and I think Carrick holding will free Cleverly to move forward and link with Kagawa better. I agree that the midfield could have used some reinforcing but I would not write us off at all. I see good things for United this season and I will back all who wear the shirt. I would say that we didn't play well consistently except for the start of the season last year. Gives us a lot to look forward to guys we do NOT have a bad team it may not be the best team ever but it is still good. Some guys on here say 1 more player and we can challenge on all fronts but without them we will finish outside the top 4 and not win anything. I would rather be optimistic and say once we gel and play to our potential we will be good enough to win it all. Chelsea showed how poor you can be and still win things well not the Super Cup lol. We can be better and I'm sure we will be so cheer up guys big season for us.

Darren-Bermuda

Believable8 Unbelievable0

I agree with you. I think it's more about our style as opposed to a missing midfielder. The pace and directness we displayed early last season quickly faded and we became pedestrian and often seemed bereft of ideas - our usual swashbuckling style was seen rarely. If we can get the players we have confident with each other and moving the ball quickly, we have the talent to cause real damage to teams.

AJH

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Surely being crowned European Super Cup champions would suggest that they are already a top European team? Just a thought..

Flimbo

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Flimbo, surely just winning the super cup doesn't make you a top European team. I can well assure you not every team that has won it is what you would call a top team. Plus really they only smashed Chelsea who were poor anyway they are a good team but not a top team.

Darren-Bermuda

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01 Sep 2012 01:14:38
Wow Liverpool were expecting Dempsey and Sturridge/Walcott/Llorente/Soldado and got no one.

Arsenal expected Cabaye or Tiote and at the very least Wanymana and signed no one.

Chelsea fans were expecting Cavani/Schurrle/Falcao/Hulk and got no one.

City fans have bought a very good Garcia, but probably never heard of him. They were expecting a Cavani.

Spurs missed out on Moutinho and a striker. But got Dempsey.

I am not too disappointed when compared to the other clubs, but do believe a Witsel would have put us in a very strong position. I doubt we are the most unhappiest fans in the league though. Not by a long stretch.

Sydney!

Believable10 Unbelievable2

Lets not forget Mancini's first choices were Thiago Silva, Javi Martinez & RVP. They signed Nastasic, Garcia & Sinclair. They have lost Johnson, Savic & De Jong. They are still the team to beat, but I would have been devastated had they signed their first choices.

Sydney!

Agree10 Disagree2

I agree. The whole point of the transfer window is to improve your 1st team / overall squad and I think we've done that in spades. New better attacking players allied with players returning from injury and young players with a years more experience makes us a far better team / squad than the one we had at the end of last season. We'll beat 'em all.

An Dun Red Devil

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Syd - gotta love your rose tinted glasses, you forgot to add that on this site alone Utd fans expected one of Moura / Hazard / Dembele / Witsel / Moutinho to name but a few and got none of them. Before you mention RVP / Kagawa etc you forgot to mention the likes of Hazard going to Chelsea.

Yougottalaugh

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Chelsea signed Oscar and Hazard and Torres looks dangerous. However, I think their defence is pants asvAthleticomso ably demonstrated. I think they will concede too many goals this year. City's signings were overall poor but their squad is still very deep and strong.

AJH

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Syd, I know you were drunk but you've started commenting on your own posts!

AJH

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Syd,
don't forget their BEST signing of the summer, the massively famous and talented richard wright.

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Could be worse Syd we could be scousers ,seems they broke the interweb with their whining posts last night, always guaranteed to cheer me up a visit to the scousers pages

Pardoe

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What are you on about,who cares about other fans,y the positive spin,im happy with kagawa and rvp,the rest are squad or ones for the future but we needed a garcia,what we didnt need is city to get him and they have strengthened key areas,hopefully we will have enough but doubtful afyer citys business,i fear we are too easily dominated in the centrd of the park,but tge fact we have signed and others havent means nothing.
Mick the red fireman.

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Sorry fella just read u were. pi**ed,let u off lol.
Mick the red fireman.

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I barely remember posting last night but surprisingly the posts look okay. The way I see it is we have strengthened whilst keeping our best players. Only City and Newcastle can say the same. Liverpool look very thin squad-wise and if they were to lose Suarez to an injury then they are a team all clubs will look forward to playing against. I cannot see them finishing in the top half of the table. Swansea look a threat, Fulham look decent as does Stoke and Sunderland. Then you have the obvious seven that will certainly finish ahead of them. Arsenal are much weaker than last season and will struggle to score goals this season. Chelsea bought a decent Hazard and Oscar, but lost Drogba and a lot of experience in the team, experience which they were clearly lacking last night. Chelsea will sign a top striker in January when everyone else is skint like they usually do, but the only team I am worried about this season is City and luckily we only have to play them twice 2-5 times, although we did beat them twice last season. rose-tinted glasses or not I am not too disappointed after yesterday's outcome when compared to other club's spending. Perhaps the manager sees Jones as a midfielder in certain games this season? As a box2box midfielder he struggles, but if he was to sit in front of the back four like a Mascherano or De Jong, then IMO he would be very useful with Kagawa & Cleverley ahead of him.

Sydney!

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Mick, basically I come home last night from a night out and expected all of the teams above to have improved their squads somewhat, I knew about Garcia before I went out, but only Spurs have improved their squad from the time I went out til I came home and I was pretty shocked.

Sydney!

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I've got to admit I had to have a chuckle at Arsenal and more especially Liverpool's lack of activity in the latter stages of the market. Liverpool are left totally lacking in attack and Arsenal could really do with a good CM/DM, especially with Song gone

I agree we're left in a decent position compared with some of the others. We have definitely improved our squad and starting 11 with RVP/Kagawa. I also agree with Witsel brought in we would have looked formidable. Perhaps Fletcher will return at some point and at least provide a solid option for us in CM?

Chelsea - I was worried about them at the start of the window but for me they look short in CM and up front. I also think they will concede a fair few goals. My prediction is 3rd for them

City - signed 5 players in last 48 hours but the only one I'm gutted they got is Garcia who will add to their CM and be good cover for when Yaya goes to the ACON. The other 4 will hardly improve them IMO

I think we have slightly narrowed the gap on City - I predict a close run rase between us and them for 1st/2nd

4th spot looks to be a free for all for me though, can't wait to see how it pans out! Might be worth a sneaky punt on Everton given their start to the season, vastly improved squad and no European competition to contend with

Gav

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01 Sep 2012 01:08:27
Lads we can all moan as much as we want, but tonight Spurs, Chelsea, City, Arsenal & especially Liverpool are very disappointed with their club's deals. Newcastle are happy because they didn't lose players, but they haven't strengthened. We never got that midfielder that we all wanted, but the rest of the clubs are more disappointed than we are.

I am soooo drunk and hope I am not chatting sh1t.

Sydney!

Believable5 Unbelievable0

Haha, the debut of boozey Syd!

Look, we're gonna pay DEARLY for not signing a midfielder but time to forget about that til January or next summer. But the Liverpool banter board is lovely at the minute, absolutely gorgeous!

RED_SKY {Ed007's Note - We'll get the truth out of drunk Syd now! Syd, have you ever seen a naked female in real life, did she let you touch and did you think of RFT as you done it?}

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Oh good shout Bond

Pardoe

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Haha... That was classic BOND!

Take a bow son ......

Deeps...

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007, funny enough I only think of one thing when I see my missus naked. 'Put some clothes on' LOL. I was talking in my sleep the other night about Fiorentina. My missus said I was yapping for ages. I just live and breathe football ;)

Sydney! {Ed007's Note - Your good lady has my deepest sympathies Syd.}

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01 Sep 2012 00:56:33
Anyone else think Spurs did fantastic this window? Dembele, Vertonghen, Lloris, Dempsey, Sigurdsson, Adebayor, all great signings and Tottenham will have a great side!

Believable9 Unbelievable1

They had Adebyor last season and look what they lost - they did OK ish but not great

Mike

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Adebyor was only on loan and considering they lost an over rated player and Van der Vaart. good summer i think.

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They would have been in for a shot at the title if they had snared Moutinho but
not now
ARB

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Yes, wish we had signed Demoseey, Sigurdsson, Adebayor.... Come on, they may have signed a few but they're not exactly A listers are they?

AJH

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01 Sep 2012 00:46:17
My question is why has SAF not invested in midfield. It appears to be a conscious decision on his part not to. Does anybody (Eds, Syd etc) see any of our youngsters becoming our next rock-in-the-middle?

Timbo

Believable4 Unbelievable3

I think SAF justhas faith in the young midfielders IE kagawa cleverley petrucci lingard jones
nov00

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01 Sep 2012 00:42:30
So Essien to Madrid?? Someone else thinks as I do?!

The much hated: PJ

Believable1 Unbelievable1

Di matteo? ;-)

Jono

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McVities Digestives?

G.A.G.U.S

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01 Sep 2012 00:36:11
Lets hope this is fergie's last year so we can get a manager who can address the midfieldand who's sstubbornness doesn't affect us not only in Europe but more freq in the PL
CardiffRED

Believable9 Unbelievable18

No, just no. He is the best manager we have ever had and the day he leaves the club will be a very sad one, nobody should be hoping for it to happen.

Every single one of us loves Alex ferguson!

GDS

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What a ridiculous post - out of interest, how old are you CardiffRed?

AJH

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Disagree! There must be a reason why SAF has strengthened us in AM and up front but not in CM. I'll keep my faith in him for now I think!

Gav

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01 Sep 2012 00:33:18
Wasnt expecting much today but still where is henriquez ? Can he still sign ?
Sparky

Believable4 Unbelievable0

He's already signed and was at the under 21 match the other night proudly wearing his United track suit.

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01 Sep 2012 00:12:33
Thank God that's over - now back to proper football business - if you're feeling down just think of the scousers - at least Utd chose not to do business today - they've been left pis*ing in the wind

N.I. Devil

Believable5 Unbelievable0

01 Sep 2012 00:12:24
The Cabaye rumour was rubbish, Utd didn't even bid for him, let alone hold talks. Was jyst a twitter troll

Believable1 Unbelievable1

It wasn't even me haha.

Jono

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31 Aug 2012 22:34:44
Heres a quick game for everyone including the Eds!

Make your own starting 11 and bench from £400million pounds but make the valuations as realistic as possible and don't just put cheap players on the bench to use as much money as possible for your starting eleven...

4231

GK - Hart £30million
RB - Richards £14million
CB - Kompany £30million
CB - Vidic £15million
LB - Alba £12million
CM - Modric £32million
CM - Fabregas £40million
RW - Oezil £35million
CAM - Kagawa £14million
LW - Hazard £34million
CF - Falcao £60million

SUB - Howard £4million
SUB - Evans £8million
SUB - Van Der Wiel £5million
SUB - Cleverley £15million
SUB - Dembele £15million
SUB - Nani £24million
SUB - RVP £24million


George

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Alba kagawa wudnt cost that ,they only cost that cos they wer in the final year of their contract

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4-1-2-3

How do you value players that will never be sold?

GK - De Gea £20million
RB - Rafael £10million
CB - Vermaelen £15million
CB - Vidic £15million
LB - Alba £12million
DMC - Martinez £32million
CM - Iniesta £40million
CM - Khedira £22million
RF - Gotze £30million
FW - Ronaldo £80million
LF - Higuain £30million

Sub-Total:£306m

SUB - Lloris £12million
SUB - Vertongen £10million
SUB - Van Der Wiel £5million
SUB - M'Vila £14million
SUB - Michu £4million
SUB - Reus £18million
SUB - Benzema £31million

Sub-Total:£94m

Total: £400m

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01 Sep 2012 00:03:31
hi guys ,what do u think about chesea's performance today,i'm 100% sure that if we where playing today we wouldn't have lost the game and city is not that good! 1utd 2chelski 3city 4tottenham/newcastle good night guys and ed's love this site;) zee(we are on hour ahead in norway) cheers guys

Believable0 Unbelievable1

Be honest but don't be deluded, City are that good. Sorry to burst your bubble. And I don't support them. Cheating tossers.
Ezdee

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It will be city or united. Chelsea finished 20 something points behind us and even though they bought quite a few players, they are still short in defence and upfront and will fall off as the season goes. City is all about Silva and Aguero and when these two are on they can look devastating, However they enjoyed a injury free season last year whilst we were devastated by them. United first 11 if no injurues are still the best team in the league, Cleverly, RVP, Kagawa, Vidic are key players that need to stay away from major injuries and we will be ok. Fat boys Rooney and Anderson hopefully get their s...t together and make a commitment to keep their fitness levels high and can have or they are gone next summer. I have a sense chicarito will have a big season as the style of the team and the set up will suit his playing style. Shahram

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31 Aug 2012 23:57:23
I'd just like to follow up my earlier post with this. Yes I would LOVE a new CM as much as the next guy but whatever we say does not change Fergies mind. There is no point in posting endless complaints about it, it is getting really tedious. The day we eventually do sign one I think we should all have a big party in hell which will of course have frozen over.
SB

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31 Aug 2012 23:50:57
Thank God that's over - now back to proper football business - if you're feeling down just think of the scousers - at least Utd chose not to do business today - they've been left pis*ing in the wind

N.I. Devil

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31 Aug 2012 23:31:08
Jones cost 18 million not to play second fiddle to Rafa at RB but to be the CM everyone is moaning for. Our best 3 players this season will be Anderson Kagawa and De Gea.

Norn Iron

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I would love Anderson to prove me wrong but just cant see it happening. I dont think he is Premiership quality let alone United class.

Please please please prove me wrong Anderson! Hope he stays fits, gets some consistency to his game and has a stormer of a season. However I feel its last chance saloon for him and if we are looking to win Prem back as a MINIMUM and reach Champs League semis + we should have a midfield we are confident with rather than someone like Anderson, in a highly important position, who has not delivered thus far in his time at United.

Halesini

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I think Jones can be fantastic in the middle and this may well be the plan for this year but Anderson? Come on, he's had several years and simply hasn't done it.

AJH

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31 Aug 2012 23:25:55
Bit of a naff transfer day all round. Apart from Sparky Hughes, who seems to be playing his own real life version of FIFA 13.

An Dun Red Devil

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