Manchester United Banter Archive June 20 2012

20 Jun 2012 22:02:35
There's a lot of talk about Nani not being good enough, i'd just like to say thats a load of crap. He is one of our best players. Yes he can be frustrating but that unpredictability is one of his strengths as we don't know what he'll do next so what do you think the defender marking him is thinking he'll do next. His stats make a fair point that he does actually make a big impact on our team and is one of our most creative players. I think his biggest problem is we as a team don't play a style of football that suits him, which considering he is still one of our best players playing in a system that doesn't get the best out of him shows his quality.

Next season though i think if we are going to be playing a more possession based game with creativity coming from the midfield as well as the wings instead of exclusively from the wings then this more expansive and controlled way of playing which will put less pressure on Nani to perform will bring out the best in him. In which case do we wanna sell him just as we change to suit him? Look at how he plays for Portugal and how important he is to them. We are all about crosses but we don't have any strikers who are what you could call a target man in the traditional sense so the crosses need to be pin point, as a winger Nani's crossed aren't so our current system works against him. But if we are looking to keep the ball and have runners from the midfield and movement giving license for our wide players to cut in and make a pass rather than try and cross then Nani will definately be the best winger we have for that kind of game.

If the club do sell him then i'd be gutted to lose one of our best player, especially at a time we could be about to see the best of him too. Which is why i hope we get his contract situation sorted soon.

Shappy

Sense has been spoken.

Percy

Well said Shappy

Mike

20 Jun 2012 21:34:10
Hello ladies!

Just popped into receive an apology on behalf on Steven Gerrard. From every single one of you, who said he was 'finished'. Then i'll let you get back to your BS and Disney's ramblings about your tax returns.

Cheers

Blair Mayne YNWA JFT96 {Ed007's Note - F**k off Blur, why would anyone owe 'that' an apology? He sounds like a VHS recording of old Brookside episodes, he should be apologising to us for having to watch and listen to him. Scotland are $h1t but it is laugh a minute stuff that he is Engurland captain, remember Davie Weir? That is how Scots look at Stevie Me.}

I think the countless previous times he has underperformed and let england down even itself out. Over the past decade he, in my opinion, has barely made an impression in an england shirt (exagerration granted but true to an extent none the less) yet he puts in a couple of good performances and your getting a b0n3r saying hes now 'it'

also virtual round of applause for bonds reply, pure gold

redboy

Go and blow the dust of your Betamax Blair, sit back and watch the good old days.

Supasub

He has been decent and possibly one of the stand out performers in a team not performing partically well and playing some of the worst football i've seen from a side i'm supposedly supporting. But i think the point that he is finished as a top level player could still be a valid one. Can you garrentee that Gerrard will play as well for 80-90 percent of liverpools games next season and that he'll be playing in a similar percentage of liverpools games? If not then i think the point that he's finished as a top level player is a valid one.

Shappy

Watch the language Ed mate there's kids about. And take caution in your tone mate. You are after all talking about one of the greatest midfielders ever. Don't take my word for it, just ask Zinedine Zidane

Just remember in your reply. That Steven Gerrard is definitely no Neil Lennon (thank f*ck).

Blair Mayne YNWA JFT96

Ps. Davey Weir in the same paragrath as Stevie G? Cheers Ed mate that made me chuckle lol. {Ed007's Note - At least you can understand what Neil Lennon is saying!! And NL will always have the memories of Stevie Me in his back pocket in 2003.}

Stevie who ? more like Stevie wonder the way he was passing.

Mad Hatter

20 Jun 2012 20:54:30
Hi just thought I'd add my little bit
I never really rated fryers
But I used to teach Tyler blackett and He is onestly the nicest lad you will ever meet he kept his head down and worked hard and I'm pleased to say he is a fellow lad and to top it all off he has endless amount of potential
ShaunMUFC

20 Jun 2012 18:53:36
Hi Guys

Does anyone else find it galling that Sepp Blatter now thinks GLT is a must after England get a bit of luck yet he wasn't so keen after Frank Lampards goal that never was in the World Cup.The man is a joke and should not be in such a position of power.

Bazza The Red

Bazza, we knew that before last night.

I can't believe he survived the last issue.

A

I said exactly the same last night Bazza, i even said to people last night and again earlier at work, expect Blatter to come out and support video tech now that England have benefitted. Was nowhere to be seen when others benefitted against us. Surely its prejudiced?

He's on par with Bernstein at the FA.

Clowns!

Ports

I would have thought the suggestion, that disgusting racial abuse from one player to another could be forgiven and forgotten with a manly handshake, had already sewn up the argument about Sepp Blatter.

StevieK

20 Jun 2012 17:31:15
Anyone else think veloso may be worth a look? I remeber us being linked with him a few years ago when he was at sporting lisbon, think he's at genoa now. Can play box to box or as a dm and im sure he can play at lb, good set-piece and good work ethic. Maybe our mate nani could have a word with him and im sure ronaldo would only have good things to say about us.

Parks.

20 Jun 2012 17:08:30
I feel a world class midfielder and a beast type player (CDM) is needed someone who is a box to box midfielder. He needs to be able to compete with Yaya. Who do you think is that type of player, physical presence, tall, strong and powerful?

Bastian!!

Tiote. He has a great presence and is a beast.

Devil for Life

Bastian is a midget, no way would he be able to compete with yoyo

OTSPY {Ed007's Note - Never heard of Midget Gems, they are sweeeet!}

M'Vila

T0MB0Z

20 Jun 2012 16:57:28
In an ideal world i would like to add a LW to the squad and keep Nani. WE don't want to weaken the squad by selling players like Nani unless we get a good price for him. I think the fact we are going to play high tempo fast passing game next season will get the best out of him. But Valencia is class too. Rotating both players will help us in the EPL and CL.

I say this as Fergie seems to play weaker teams in the CL and we tend to lose these games and having to rely on the last game to qualify as opposed to try win the 1st four games and play weakend team to build experience. This is why keeping Nani and adding players to the squad will improve us and bring us on leaps and bounds. Particularly if we have a CL and Chelsea on sat we will play a weakend CL team.

I know we have Park but i feel a younger player will offer us more. Will Robbie Brady be given a chance?

I also hope tunnicliffe, Petrucci are blooded next season or put out on loan. If Martinez stays at Wigan id send both of them there. BUt perhaps Hull City beckons for a few of our younger players.

I hope we add a box to box tough tackling midfielder, a LW and perhaps a LB. Wishful thinking, but not impossible with Owen leaving, Kuzcsak gone, Berbatov on his way out and maybe even Anderson or Nani if he doesn't sign a new contract.

Mad Hatter

20 Jun 2012 15:44:12
what do people think about Luc Castaignos ?
sparky

I rate him very highly and think he would be a great buy if it was at the right price plus he is very versatile being able to play up top behind the striker or outwide he has bags of ability

20 Jun 2012 14:26:59
Terrible news about young Irish fan James Nolan (21) who has been found dead in Poland, He went missing on Sunday night. R.I.P

Was he murdered?

Sydney!

Rip in james nolan my thoughts are with your family

He was found in a river Syd.
he could of fell in whilst drunk or got into a fight with some other fan which resulted in the tragic outcome.
thoughts are with his family though.

JK92

Body found in a river syd.not sure yet what happened.

RK16

I feel for his family, whoever went with him must feel so bad.

Sydney!

20 Jun 2012 13:30:02
Ed001 I seen your posts about Nick Powell and I was wondering why you rate him so highly as I see him as the next Jon-Jo Shelvey unfortunately ... {Ed001's Note - you clearly haven't seen much of either then. They are nothing alike, though Shelvey has shown he has a lot of potential anyway, he was superb for Blackpool and he is still only 20. Obviously a viewpoint based on ignorance of either player, just watch Powell, the lad has class oozing out of him.}

Sadly I think the OP is a biased and bitter Liverpool fan, unlike yourself Ed.

Sydney! {Ed001's Note - but a lot of Liverpool fans have warmed to Shelvey, following his performances last season. He showed a few flashes of real talent, just didn't get enough time on the pitch to really show what he could do.}

Why were teams so late to notice him do you think? {Ed001's Note - which one? Because both were tracked while academy lads. The main issue with both of them was purely the league they were in. Most clubs don't like to take a chance on lower league players any more. But Crewe's academy is producing a whole crop of gems right now, thanks to Dario Gradi taking over full time, in my opinion. The likes of Max Clayton, Ryan Colclough and Liam Wilson are names to watch out for.}

I did read somewhere that buying Powell hasn't just got us Powell, but would also make us favourites to get Max Clayton when the time arises. If so this Powell deal could be a great deal for more reasons than one.

Sydney!

Actually Sydney im a lifelong Man united fan and was curious as to why he wasnt picked up earlier and it was my opinion on him and i have seen him quite alot aswell i just have a feeling hel be another could of and should of player when looking at his career but hes got years to prove to me what hes got and i do think hes talented but not stand out potential imo

Didn't Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain play for a Division one Southampton club and was also picked up at 18? Is he another Jonjo as you put it? Why didn't none of the 'big clubs' go for David villa until he was 23?

Sydney!

Clubs did go in for Villa - but he wanted to stay with Sporting Gijón due to his time in the youth ranks and relationship with the manager. When Antonio Maceda left he decided to leave too.

T0MB0Z

20 Jun 2012 13:26:30
Hopefully Nani can sort everything out and sign a new contract, as I do not believe he deserves a lot of the stick he is getting. If we can improve the squad then we can rest him a bit more and then I think perhaps we will see more consistency from him, and also in a time of transition, it makes sense to keep players with experience of the club, which Nani has especially when the likes of Scholes and Giggs are nearing the end of their club playing days.

In an ideal world I would like to see us move for Rodriguez and Modric, as this would give us unbelievable attacking options (Young or Rodriguez on the left, Valencia or Nani on the right, and then better central options). Accompanied by the likely departures of Berbatov, plus Owen freeing up money from the wage bill then I don't see why this would not be possible, as in all honesty £55m should seal both, then perhaps look at the free transfer market to bolster the squad with promising youngsters such as Dzagoev, Kovacic, Clyne etc (although not as simple as them being available on a free, they should be obtainable for minimal fees).

In terms of strikers I would go with what we have got, as I think Welbeck and a rested Chicharito will give us plenty, and Kagawa can also play off the striker. This would free us from being quite as dependant on Rooney playing every match, although I still think he will play the vast majority. The left back slot is also an issue, but hopefully Evra can recover some sort of form there, and then if Fabio's loan can go well then he can come in the following year and claim the position for his own.

Possibly then look to sell Anderson and maybe bring in Strootman, although this is not an essential requirement, and then we should be set for the foreseeable future, with a nice healthy blend of experience and youthful exuberance in the squad.

Any comments/thoughts are as always welcome :)

RomanRunner

20 Jun 2012 12:26:19
I try to avoid arguing with the Nani haters because its clear that most people that want nani kicked out of the club have already mind up their minds and nothing anyone says would convince them otherwise. Infact, if Nani scored 40goals and created 30 assists next season, these people would still Insist we sell him.

The other thing i fail to understand is, people say get rid of Nani, he is not good enough, Valencia and young are better....yada yada yada...moan moan moan. then they suggest we get 25-30m pounds for him. Does anyone see the irony there? Valencia( who is a faster version of Milner) and young are "better" yet none of them would fetch anything even remotely close to the 30m pound nani is supposedly worth. Surely if Nani is as bad as some peolpe on this site suggest, no one would pay that much for him.....dah!
I thing people usually forget is that Nani is a Right Winger. Playing him on the left is playing him out of position. How consistent would valencia be on the left wing? Nani is very consistent on the right wing, infact on right wing, he does not cut accross to shoot as much because his letf foot isnt as good. If you watch Portugal in the euros, you will notice how many dangerous crosses nani delivers from the right, why? because thats his natural position.

Why can we have Young and Rodriguez for the left wing with Nani and Valencia for the right wing? It is a squad game afterall. In 2008, we had, Giggs, Park, Nani, Ronaldo even rooney at times all playing on the wings.
People have already forgotten how much we struggled with unlocking teams that sit deep last season. valencia lacks that spark thats need to create something special. When valencia faces a leftback with pace and strength e.g taiwo or abidal he becomes useless and only passes the ball backwards. He is a trick pony like young who can only hit in-swingers.
We need different options for different opponents.

Millz

"Why can we have Young and Rodriguez for the left wing with Nani and Valencia for the right wing? It is a squad game afteral"

Because we will need to balance the books so to speak. I like Nani, but it does seem the club are trying to cash in on him.

Sydney!

Valencia and Young are better than Nani.
And we wont get anywhere near £25m for him.

If we got £15m I'd be happy.


Halesini

£15m for Nani, you have absolutely no idea, whatsoever what you're talking about. Your opinion in any subject has just been reduced for saying something so stupid.

Percy

£15 million for Nani, are you winding me up?

He had an inconsistent season but my God that is the most ridiculous statement I have heard in a while.

GDS

"Valencia and Young are better than Nani"

Not when all three are on form. Then Nani is better than the other two.
It's consistency that's the issue. ...But his stats hold up regardless.
Personally, I'm undecided and will trust in the wisdom of Sir Alex!
Also, at least £20m for Nani, surely?

M.D.

Halesini are you drunk or just deluded 15million for Nani lol we would get 25-30million without a worry 15million do you rate him lower than Downing,Henderson,Young,Di maria,Lavezzi etc he is a great player but very inconsistent i would like to keep him but then he would have a year left on his contract

Halesini, Nani would fetch a bare minimum of £25m. Probably would go for £30m.

Sydney!

If young can get 130k a weeek, surely nani's demand of 120k a week is modest to be honest! on his day nani can terrorize any opposition, the match against benfica at OT last season, he was a beast!

Couldn't agree more Millz, I have stated this fact about Nani being played out of position but it's like hitting your head against a brick wall with some people! I really think we should sign a player more suited to the left (muniain would be my 1st choice) and bulid a fluid attack, with the option of switching positions during play, Valencia, for all his good points, does not provide us with this option so keeping Nani who is one of our most verstatile and also a gamechanger, is a no-brainer IMO.

Fabio No2

There isn't a chance in hell Young is on £130k a week. £75k-£80k a week would be closer to the truth.

Sydney!

Whichever position you play nani in either left or right wing shouldnt effect his corners or freekicks.
johndenton

On the right wing nani tends to be more consistent and better than on the left but tbh hes not near as good as valencia. on a bad day you can expect from valencia good crosses, defensive stability and 80-90% passing completion. While nani on a bad day is close to cr*p. On a good day both will torture the leftback, valencia guetting assists and the odd goal, while nani concentrates on both. But valencia has more good games than bad games, the same cannot be said about nani so overall valencia is a better player and thats a fact. In the second half of the season he was motm in most games he played in. Nani is a worldclass player in his own right and if we didnt have valencia he would be first choice and nobody would want him sold, but the fact is we do and wel let saf deal with this headache.
Mick

20 Jun 2012 12:07:26
forgot modric or strootman or any els . we just need a good player who can replace scholes

So we forget the player who could replace Scholes (Modric) because we need a player who can replace Scholes?

GDS

20 Jun 2012 11:03:13
Ed001, if you are not too busy can you give us your opinions on Nick Powell. It's always nice to get an outside and unbiased opinion. Thanks.

Sydney! {Ed001's Note - excellent young player, he is, in my opinion, better than Rooney at his age, slightly different type of player, but plays a similar role. Where Rooney was a tank and used physicality to bully the opposition, Powell uses his ability. He is something special, I think he is the best signing of the summer, he can beat players with the ball at his feet, has good vision, can pass, can tackle, good in the air, strong, quite quick, an excellent all round player. Like Rooney, you can stick him anywhere and he will do a job for you, even if it is not his best position, he will still play it as well as most that are naturals there. He is comfortable on the ball, like all Crewe Academy graduates, but he is their best yet. I could go on all day, I rate this lad as the best in his age group and have been talking about him on the sites for a couple of years, at least, now. Fergie is right, he is good enough to play in the Prem, he was so far ahead of the rest in L2, well it was almost embarrassing at times. You have a gem, a future England star.}

Thanks Ed, do you see him staying at OT til mid February to play in the League Cup, lower rounds of the FA Cup, then perhaps out on loan to another EPL club? Or do you see him going out on loan to a EPL team straight away or staying at OT all season? Should he have been named in the Olympic squad?

Looking forward to seeing him and Kagawa play in the preseason tour, both look like good signings. Would like to see Clyne brought in. Could be another good signing for a nominal fee.

Sydney! {Ed001's Note - I see him staying at OT for now, being given a chance to prove himself and Fergie assessing it as the season goes on. It is really up to him what happens then, if Powell plays to his best, well I can see him pushing for a regular first team midfield berth. He certainly has the capability to play that Scholes role, not yet as good as Scholes, but he is a slightly different player. I can see him playing a similar role to Modric does for Spurs, could be what United were missing last season.

I certainly think he is more than good enough for the Olympics squad, though I would be glad he doesn't have to work with Stuart Pearce, who is an abysmal coach. It will also do him good to have the summer off, he is a young lad, his body is still developing, he needs to have more rest than a player in his prime.

I just hope this lad fulfils his potential, Crewe get more money if he does and I have a soft spot for them. They are unique in England's lower leagues, they always play football and they always try to bring through their own players. Also, they show that good coaching can make major improvements to players, as they don't get the pick of the best players in the area. It is hard not to like the way they work. Dario Gradi should have been given full control of the England set up years ago!}

Shame Pogba is leaving as these two could have been the future. Oh well I hope Tunnicliffe can break into the team and make the position his own.

Sydney!

20 Jun 2012 11:09:19
Would just like to say that Sepp Blatter is an absolute joke of a human being. Countless examples down the years but it is last nights game that makes him say that goal line technology is a necessity, simply because England benefited from a bad decision.
SqueakyBum

Mr Blatter has been championing technology for a long time, and was one of the main people to come out after Lampard's in the world cup. Platini is the one that is against it. Blatter is terrible at his job, but get facts right before slagging him for something he hasn't done.

GDS

Yes, he may have said that we need goal line tech after the world cup, but did it happen? Did it heck. You can bet your life it will happen ASAP this time round.
SqueakyBum

Well that is quite clear because they have been testing it and it is ready to be used as soon as possible anyway.

Nothing to do with last night.

GDS

I don't think there is an Englishman within the FIFA or EUFA administration positions and has'nt been for some time.
There may be a reason for that also.

Supasub

20 Jun 2012 11:03:14
Barcalona are unable to sign J Martinez according to bbc,Do you think fergie will make an attempt to sign him? He is a decent player although the transfer fee could be quite high.

quinner99

I think your on about the gossip section? if so I have two points one: the gossip section is pulled from other sources and secondly: it says IF they can't afford him it doesn't specify either way.

I do however hope this is true, shame no one else has any info on it.

LUKE CHADWICKS LOVE CHILD

20 Jun 2012 09:13:52
it was 7-4 in the lads v dads in heywood on sat,with tunners scoring 5,hope if any of you turned up you had a good time,and youll agree he looked immense against us old tarts.
big red bob.

20 Jun 2012 07:00:10
Something that confuses me often (which seems to be how most of my posts have started recently) - is why people are constantly saying that the level of the premiership is dropping. From watching this last year, and the previous few years my opinion is completely opposite.

Consider, (though I realise we weren't particularly happy at the end of the season) this season, and especially the last day were certainly the most exciting of my lifetime.

The quality of the football at a lot of clubs has improved. Look at Swansea as an example, a team newly promoted pushing a different style of football and being successful - they were, as everybody said, a breath of fresh air.

Despite all of the amazing mid-fielders we have, this was most definitely a strikers year. Early on it was Rooney, Demba Ba, Yakubu, Adebayor, RVP. Then Everton and Newcastle brought in Jelavic and Cissse respectively and freshened things up - certainly two players who's quality shone through in rays until the end of the season.

Unlike most seasons there were basically two goals of the year, both of break taking quality. Plus every Goal of the Month video on match of the day, seemed to be the one for the whole year.

Concerning United, we played some incredible football at the beginning of the season, and did ourselves proud with the rest. City have certainly added a glamour to the league. Chelsea have seemingly strengthened their team inexorably for next season and Arsenal are plugging away as usual..

I think the premiership is getting stronger - and perhaps just struggling to keep in in Europe some years because of our different style of play being dated maybe.

Dev

20 Jun 2012 04:45:01
Just responding to a post further down - best PL team of the last 10 years.

---------Cech----------
Ferriera--JT--Carvalho--Cole
-----Lampard--Essien-----
Robben--Gudjohnsen--Mata
--------Drogba--------

:-)

I think we all agree ;-)

OsgoodIsKing

Boy you are on wrong site.. How old are you 11.?

I would swap Mata for Zola, then swap the other ten for United players ;)

Sydney!

Yeah apart from the fact Juan mata did not play in that team so we can swap with malouda. I agree that chelsea had an awesome team back in the 03-04, only problem was they didn't keep that team fresh and let them slip into mediocrity (albeit they had a great season 3 years ago scoring over 100 goals!) its in a way a shame for chelsea they started buying the 'fashionable' players as none have shone at all, ranieri and mourinho and his scouting team Brought in some real world talents.

although.....as a Manchester united fan from birth I love seeing chelsea buy the torres' and shevchenko's as it thrills me to see our own welbeck constantly proving people wrong, should be a main stay in the team within a year at this rate

Safwetrust87

2002-2012:
Best only on footballing ability only( ignoring everything else)
____________VDS
G.Neville___Terry__Ferdy__A.Cole
C.R7___Scholes__Gerrad___Giggs
_______Henry___RVN

World 11:
___________Iker
Lahm___T.Silva__Kompany__A.Cole
______Bastian____Xavi
___Messi___Rooney___Ronaldo
__________Falcao

For me the best 'out and out' forward is either falcao, cavani. I picked Falcao because he is the most complete striker i have seen for while. He has pace, fantastic movement and link-up play, he can dribble( i have seen him go past 2 or 3 defenders with easy several times), strong, good heading ability, highly consistent and most importantly, he is absolutely lethal in front of goal.

Millz

How can Rooney get in a World XI and not a Prem XI...mental

So from 2002-2012 Falcao is the best Striker? You must be about 15 years of age...i'm going to say a fit Brazilian Ronaldo is much better...for me the best striker i've ever seen...

No Zidane (better than Schweinsteiger)? No Iniesta (for me better than Rooney)

I suppose it's all your opinion...but you seem to be leaving out a golden generation (I know they all cant go in/dont deserve to be in but should be considered) of Zidane, Figo, Raul, Del Piero, Ronaldo, Van Nistelrooy, Nedved, Zambrotta, Zanetti, Cannavaro, Nesta, etc.

20 Jun 2012 00:58:16
Left back seems to be the main position needing an.addition I think with Fabio going out on loan and 'contract rebel' fryers apparently likely to leave annd evras not going to be around forever. In my opinion i do not think we need to spend more than needed on Baines or alba as a replacement as I think Fabio will be able to do that soon. Instead I suggest going for jetro williems as he is young fast and has potential, although he would not be able to challenge evra for the spot next season he would provide support for evra and would be a better competition for Fabio when he returns and evra leaves.

Opinions ?
94jackc

Jetro isn't ready to play at our level, if he is gonna be our cover for Evra then we might as well not sign anyone and just use Blackett as cover. We need someone who can at least challenge Evra for his place next season and then be competition for Fabio the season after. If We signed Willems then Evra had a season ending injury we'd be screwed. Young Jetro will be a good player.but with Evra being 31 and on his last legs we need.someone who can have in impact.now and not.in a few years.

Shappy

19 Jun 2012 23:33:14
All gone a little quiet do you think our summer spending is over? {Ed007's Note - Are you serious? Haven't you heard the news...maybe your internet connection is down!!!!!!}

What are you referring to Ed007? {Ed001's Note - it was meant to be a joke, don't take it too seriously, he is Scottish....}

You got to love Bond. one of the reasons I love this site is coz the Eds join in the banter.keep up the great job guys

Love the post at 1:12 thinking that Bond was genuine, the lack of sense of humour / common sense on this website makes me chuckle at times.

GDS