Manchester United Banter Archive July 21 2012

21 Jul 2012 22:28:41
whenever has any of fergies friends spoke about a possible big signing even on lower profile signings so for one of them to come out and say that he wants van persie seems odd unless the canny scot wants man city to a, think he is a good signing and b, think we want him and pay more . we dont want him we want citeh to get him and have to pay over the odds for a very unreliable "fitness" 29 year old when we have good talent in that area. we have other area's that are of more importance to be filled than up front. go get him sh**ty i say but PAY

21 Jul 2012 20:56:08
Right just a thought if we are prepared to spend over 30m on a player with potential in Lucas Moura then wouldn't it make more sense to spread the risk and sign three top young prospects for the same about of money? That way we could get three top players.

If we signed Viktor Fischer, Angelo Henriquez and Juan Manuel Iturbe for less than the 30m we are planning on spending on Lucas Moura then surely long term we will be a much better team. Imagin this midfield and forward line in 4/5 years time:

_____Tunners__Powell
_________Lingard
__Fischer________Iturbe
________Henriquez

and with them all playing together from the ages of 18/19 they would have fantastic understanding and talent. They would dominate for years IMO.

Shappy

Good plan but what about the next 2 seasons? If we let City win the next couple of PL's it could be disastorous. We have a lot of youth already that can learn to play together. We need one or two gems IMO

Gav

All i'm talking about is not signing Lucas and signing three super talent youngsters instead. Lucas himself is only 19 and won't make a.huge differance.in our ability to.win the league next year. He'll have a similar impact as Ronaldo had in his first two years at the club. Exciting to watch but no real end product and certainly.not enough or consistant enough to make the differance in the title race. Nani Young Rooney Welbeck Kagawa Valencia and Hernandez will all be more important players in us winning the league next year than Lucas would be. I'm sure the three players.i mentioned would.be able.to have a similar impact.on.our season as Lucas would.

If we are.serious.about winning the league next.year.then we.need.a.solid central midfielder like Witsel and probably a LB.

Shappy

Sorry mate - thought you meant only bringing in those 3 youngsters. I would still argue that Moura would make a bigger impact though. From those 3 you named I can only see one of them pehaps being given much game time if they came in. Fischer/Henriquez would be behind many in the pecking order IMO whilst Moura I imagine would be given a fair run of games bearing in mind the price tag

Gav

21 Jul 2012 19:38:09
Can now see why old Fergs want RVP so much. Good business to sell Berbs now (sadly) as well as Macheda and flash in the pan Hernandez. Getting this lot out would riase the best part of £20m. So that is the way forward.

JS bach

The problem with that idea is RVP is very injury prone to the point that last season was his first in seven years where he didn't have a major injury lay off. And being 29 i don't see that improving. The only other strikers we'll have left if you sell everyone else would be Welbeck who has on going growing concerns which can limit the number of games he can play. And Rooney who has had a injury in every season following an international tourdament. We need to either keep Hernandez or sign someone who isn't injury prone like RVP.

Shappy

21 Jul 2012 19:19:39
Hello boys,..everton fan speaking,...after the bids you put in for Lucas I thought I'd have a look on you tube having not seen any footage of the guy,I spent around 40 mins watching various clips and I have to say the boy looks special he might be the next big thing,if 32 mill gets him ,...do it,..remember Liverpool paid 35 for a.c....so your getting a bargain,..........tristen

When Andy Carroll is the yard stick you use to evaluate value for money then every deal looks like a bargin;-)

Shappy

Is this David Moyes in disguise trying to put us off his own players I wonder? lol

Flimbo

21 Jul 2012 18:50:02
Do youll think well be in the shop for a relatively cheap cb due to smalling being out for 10 weeks or promote a reserve player as back up?

Daniel

Why when we have Vidic, Jones, Ferdy and Evans and Veseli ??

Wooton was outstanding today. He may deserve a chance. Played very well with Rio today.

Mad Hatter

If we bought a player every time someone got injured we would have a 50 man squad!

GDS

Too true GDS especially after last season. lol.

Shappy

I agree Wooton has played well in both game. Would keep him around until Jan n then try send him on loan if Smalling Evans return to full fitness.

Also impressed by Veseli Vermijl and Blackett. All need improvement but they look promising.

Red Rebel

Im just asking, chill out everyone. Considering vidic is injured and i thought someone else said evans was too. We cant rely on wooton and Veseli. Yea he was good as of late but lets be serious, agaisnt Amazulu and Ajax South Africa? Please dont tell me youll rate them more than any premier league team. Basically we have jones and ferdinand until evasns and vidic are back.

Daniel

21 Jul 2012 17:57:50
we should be chasing moura and rvp ( not so sold on rvp ) but why not m'vila he will cost around 15 million and he wants to play in the prem league and he is young and strong and will fit well in the prem league would chase him aswell

21 Jul 2012 16:59:13
Kagawa was brilliant earlier on, you could already see him playing great through balls for Chicharito to run onto. Bebe was also generally pretty good, I still maintain he has the attributed to be a successful footballer. Also, does anyone think that Wooton could be like the next Shawcross? His performances on loan and in preseason so far have been top notch, it would be nice to see the young lad do well here. Vermijl also has a bright future, he was great for the reserves and his showing his class, he's one that we don't talk about much, but I think we should do.

RedDevil19

I thought Vermijl looked uncomfortable on the ball, but I agree with you about Wooton, he looked solid. Tunnicliffe and Lingard looked like real players again. Anderson was shocking today, he constantly gives the ball away. Hopefully it is just a matter of fitness.

Like the next shawcross !! Are you for real , your posts get more ridiculous , oh my I can see barca , real and city getting the cheque books out and breaking the bank to buy the next shawcross !

21 Jul 2012 18:25:09
It's all quiet on the transfer front today, could we be closing in on a deal?

Or playing a game?

Cban

21 Jul 2012 18:16:15
I would love to see RVP in the red of MAN UTD i have a feeling he would be for us what sheringham was for us. He has the same footballing brain as sheringham, RVP is not lightning quick speed wise, but he knows how to link up play, create space for him and others, And score goals.

21 Jul 2012 17:35:42
Although he scored, did anyone else think bebe was shockingly bad?
Berbatov oozes class but I think his mind and heart are away from Manchester now, so the £5 million there should be used towards pushing the Moura deal through.
Honestly feel other than a left back, mourn will do for us. Anderson has looked lively and has completed 100 minutes of football which is great. Cleverly is getting football ATM and I like the look of lingard, Patricia and tunnicliffe. Very promising!

I don't think he's interested anymore, he knows he's on his way. Apparently he is in talks with Galatasary.

RedDevil19

Just one question:

who the hell is Patricia ???

oxred

She lives up the road. But i much prefer Alice from next door. lol

Shappy

Think he means petrucci

21 Jul 2012 16:59:39
I do like how the answer to create extra transfer funds to bring in 3 of the half dozen we are linked to (Baines, Witsel, Sahin, Eriksen, Moura, van Persie) is to sell Anderson, Nani and Berbatov.

Just who is interested in any of those 3?

I think both Nani & Anderson will start the season with us.

Supasub

21 Jul 2012 16:42:34
Premier League Fantasy Football

Just go to:

fantasy.premierleague.com

and use league code:

22720-8435

*Apologies in advance for posting this every few days or so.

TK-Red

No keep it up, whats the deadline for entering? {Ed007's Note - I think the deadline is 3.00 p.m. on the first day of the season.}

Unlimited transfers until the 17th August...

oxred

Ah plenty of time then cheers Bond.

The deadline is 11:30am on the opening day of the season. To be honest you can register and join after that, you'd just be a week behind thats all.

TK-Red

Also G.A.G.U.S has started a mini league with The Sun so get signed up for that too.

TK-Red

I'm in! (until I get bored, forget to make signings and end up at the bottom of the league, lol)

Gav

Thanks for the plug TK ;)

G.A.G.U.S

21 Jul 2012 16:34:26
lets just get ganso and neymar..

21 Jul 2012 16:21:53
Quite a few things to take away from that game... A couple of positives and a couple of negatives.

One of the obvious positives was the debut's of Kagawa and Powell. Powell was good when he came on and was unlucky to score with the give and go with Lingard. Kagawa was my MOTM he was quiet in the early goings but grew into the game and was unlucky not to score.

Another positive for me was Tyler Blackett, wasn't impressed against Amazulu but today he was our best defender. Was solid at the back and had the confidence to go forward and help out with the attack.

One negative for me however is Chicharito... I think the kid is quality but he is in a slump at the moment and I thought he would have got out of it by now but he really has struggled for quite sometime. One or two goals should get him back to normal but it is a concern going into the new season.

Anderson was poor through the game, I know he was out of position on the left but he looked really unfit compared to the levels of the other players, linked up well second half however when he tucked inside but that is a problem.

Finally the formation we played was a problem, Back to our boring 4-4-1-1 shape of last season and we struggled to break down a team from South Africa. I thought on wednesday when he used a new shape that we were excellent and he would try new shapes throughout the tour but it was back to our same old boring self today

fearny

Maybe he was just convincing himself that that shape doesn't work. I think he wanted to see how Kagawa and Hernandez performed as an attacking 2 with a solid back 8 behind them. Probably answered more questions though.

I had to miss the game today so thanks for the info.

I was worried with Hernandez and Anderson's performances in the last game TBH. I realise they may be building up their fitness but they should look good against these teams. I wouldn't mind Ando being sold if we can bring in one top CM. Hernandez is a keeper - I love his style of play and like you said hopefully he can get a goal or two to regain his confidence

Good news on Kagawa, Powell and Blackett - I have high hopes on these three. Can't wait to see them in the next game

Gav

21 Jul 2012 16:08:48
Does anybody know if the Brazil olympic team will be playing at Old Trafford? In danger of adding 2+2 and getting 49, if a bid is accepted, would contract negotiations and a medical be sorted there and then?

Ste-Utd

They do have a match at Old Trafford.

G.A.G.U.S

Yes I believe that they have 1 group game there and the possibility of a knock out match.

On the 29th

oxred

Medicals are completed in Bridgewater, do Brasil have a match in Bridgewater lol :)

21 Jul 2012 16:00:33
I'm going to say this once, it's only the second game of pre season no one is going to be unreal!

Caolán.

21 Jul 2012 15:49:38
Oh no, how long until this site is taken over by people saying we are awful because we have been beaten in a preseason friendly?

Rjmanutd

21 Jul 2012 15:43:34
God, you are all so supportive of Chica who is going through a bad spell.

I can't wait till he hits his form again and you will all be saying "Always knew he would get back to his best", "Brilliant player", "Form is temporary, Class is permanent" etc...

Great support of your team, and it's only pre season FFS.

MPez

No one remembers when Rooney went 9 months without scoring from open play!!

Caolán.

Its not just the fact he isn't scoring... he isn't performing well either. And this is coming from one of his biggest fans. He seems to have just lost his spark

fearny

Rooney is a completely different situation because scoring goals isn't the only thing to his game. Hernandez is a goal scorer, that's what he does and it's where his value lies. He has been out of sorts, but I do think he will get his form back at some stage this season. However, the major problem with the lad seems to be that the development of other aspects of his game are stunted. He is one of the worst passers of the ball I have seen at the top level and his first touch is inconsistent at best.

If he doesn't improve his overall game then barren scoring spells will become increasingly problematic, especially when he gets older and starts to lose some of his pace.

Danny Pughnited

Chicarito is class, he's been injured and not really played alot to get a decent run and make a real impact.

A few games in the starting 11 and he will be back to his best.

I prefer a not on form Hernandez than welbeck.

MUFC1990

21 jul 2012 15:24:29
lucas moura £32m and van persie £17/18m would be united players by wednesday next week.

ferdcoast

Doubt it considering Arsenal would not deal with any offer under £20 million

fearny

21 Jul 2012 15:21:02
chicha is pathetic.. no proper touch.. no passing.. i will just call him " LUCKY BEBE " now.. even bebe got a goal when played as striker. looks like we need a new, proper st apart fron welback and rooney.. not rating chicha at all. lewandowanski may be??
rodio17

Question for you are you a professional? Are you playing for the biggest club in the world? NO but hernandez is, he has lost a bit of form. So maybe some fans should wise up and get behind him.

Caolán.

21 Jul 2012 15:04:52
i have got a feeling that we may be able to sign moura by monday or tuesday... or else chapter wil be over. just feeling guys..
rodio17

21 Jul 2012 14:56:58
We've been linked with three Belgian midfielders but if price was irrelivant which one would you want?

Fellaini, Dembele or Witsel?

Shappy

Fellaini for me
jred

Witsel

JK92

Fellaini any day, proven in the EPL and is also is an all round good player.

-JakeW

Witsel everytime
Tommy

Does one of them come with chocolates....

as that would seal the deal for me..

otherwise unable to really say as I have not seen enough of witsel....

ferdinand gave him glowing praise recently and said he would become a quality quality player... so that would do it for me....

witsel..

oxred

Dembele for me

millz

So it looks like Witsel has edged it against Fellaini. Which funnily enough is how i feel.

Fellaini has the Prem experiance but Witsel on average plays more passes during a game and his pass completion rate over the season is 85% to Fellaini's 78%. Also Witsel managed a insane 98% pass success rate in the friendly agaisnt england. So he's the better passer of the ball which i think is the most important thing so he just shades it for me even though i am a big Fellaini fan.

Shappy

21 Jul 2012 14:43:56
The manager has rated carricks potential contribution as more important than the likes of Wayne Rooney, Nani and Paul Scholes.

"I think Michael Carrick is the key to it. He did really well in the second half of last season and I think he's going to be the key man. Scholes will obviously play his part, Ryan Giggs as well and Tom Cleverley hopefully as well as Anderson if he keeps fit," The Sun quoted Ferguson as saying.

"They will all play a part - but, for me, Carrick is the key player. If you look at the central midfielders in the Premier League, he can match up against any of them in terms of quality," he added.

for all the people who keep leaving carrick out there teams for next season just a little food for thought
jred

Pele's player of the world cup a few years back.. Jus sayin ;)

DodgyBanter

Ummm looks like the precurser to not signing a central midfielder to me. I like Carrick a lot but i wouldnt say he would be the player to build the team around which is what i believe the boss is inferring in his statement.

Togthered.

I've been confident all along Carrick will be a regular starter nest season, regardless of whether we bring in a CM. It's clear SAF rates him

I must take the manager up on one point though:

"If you look at the central midfielders in the Premier League, he can match up against any of them in terms of quality"

I'm sure Yaya Toure would have something to say about that!

Gav

21 Jul 2012 14:37:15
i posted over a week ago that i was talkin 2 a man on holiday who said he had close ties to united, he told me that van persie, modric, baines, was first targets and park,anderson, macida,berbatov was being sold, wen i came back from holiday qpr bought park witch was a shock as i didnt think he would b sold, now united have made a bid for van persie witch is a bigger shock, i thought he was talkin s**t but now im starting to realy believe him. gazza

Every summer there are countless fans who go on holiday and meet somebody with ''close sources'' to utd. Show me a picture of you jet skiing with the glazers and I might believe you.

Ste-Utd

He told me he'd been handgliding with Gill! Right that's it I'm starting not to believe this one ; )

Gav

21 Jul 2012 14:15:31
Smalling out for 10 weeks after having operation on foot for a broken bone

Do we have enough cover for CB?

Is this now going to affect our transfer targets and force SAF to change his defensive targets?

Any suggestions?

MuffinMan

Won't make any difference, Ferdinand,Jones,Vidic,Keane,Wooton,Veseli and Evans wont be far behind so should be fine

Maybe if another gets injured then there might be cause for concern

fearny

I believe this is why Scott Wooton is playing as ofteb as he is on tour.

To get him in the mix and used to the setup, so he is not unfamiliar.

MPez

Wootton will just remain in the squad until Smalling is back. Then he will go out on another loan.

Sydney!

21 Jul 2012 13:57:13
Smalling out for 10 weeks with a broken metatarsal.

G.A.G.U.S

21 Jul 2012 13:47:19
Smalling out for around 10 weeks.

Metatarsal Injury. Man Utd's injury curse has re-appeared

fearny

21 Jul 2012 13:43:53
I cannot get past the screen to confirm my team. It sticks on the field of which days I buy the papers?

I have tried all combinations and have also realised it is just a details confirmation screen but still cannot get passed it.

Any ideas or has anyone else got a similar issue?

Jono
----------------------
You probably haven't filled one of the fields. There's a little red * next to the fields that MUST be filled. Try that.

G.A.G.U.S

I did that mate. As I said tried all combos through the seven days and never selections but keeps highlighting the field as unmarked? I have used this account for 4 or 5 years and never had a problem.

I'll wait till tomorrow and look at it again. If no luck I'll contact them about it.

Ps I have a beast of a team haha

Jono

21 Jul 2012 12:56:59
I hear Fergie is overwhelmed and happy about the players who have stated their desire to turn out for United and this may prompt him to sign 3 instead of 1 or 2 he mentioned last time.....,Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen has put talks with Zenit on hold to push for a move to Old Trafford,Lucas Moura has urged his club to accept United's next bid as he is ready to move for he may not get another chance like this,Robert Lewandowski although has a £18m bid for him rejected from Chelsea still feels Old Trafford is his favöured destination and RVP has made United his first choice destination before City and Juve and then Baines wishes for a move to Old Trafford........Waal Edd who would you sign(only 3)

In my eyes it would make us unstoppable if we got Moura, RVP and Erikson all in one team, along side Rooney, Toni, Chicha, Welbeck, Nani?, Young and so on.

-JakeW

Sign Lewandowski next summer, Moura and Eriksen this summer see what happens with Baines, don't bother with van persie.

21 Jul 2012 12:24:25
With the players we are linked with and in talks with it seems to me that SAF is just going to go all out attack next season. Firstly Kagawa and Powell are both attacking midfielders and then there's RVP, granted we probably won't get him but we have tried, then there is Lucas Moura, a winger/ attacking midfielder. the first line of defense is attack and I think SAF is playing on this so we can keep possession in the opposition half.

Jake F

21 Jul 2012 12:03:15
Summer signings of RVP, Kagwa, Moura and Baines would make make this the best transfer window ever. These signings would give us so many options and would allow us to challenge on all fronts. Although, i would stil like to see a central midfielder come in. I know its a squad game but if we managed to sign all of the above, i would predict a regular 11 of:

Gea
Rafa Vidic Ferdy Baines
Carrick Scholes
Moura Rooney Kagwa
RVP

For a more direct approach, we could bring on or start with valencia and young.
I still feel that selling nani would leave us short of wingers who can play effectively on the left. Moura plays brilliantly on the right and centrally. He is very average on the left, if fergy plays him there, he ll flop. Kagwa is an attacking midfielder, but he does o.k on the left. Valencia has one leg. This leaves us with young and a 38 year old giggs. Nani should only be sold when a top class left winger is brought in.

Millz

Valenica is pretty good at football for a guy with only one leg...

1redarmy

"Manchester United's Antonio Valencia is the best winger in the world" - Pep Guardiola. Pretty good for a guy with just one leg yeah?

When has Giggs had a right foot?

REDFAITH

Valencia is class and is easily our best player with vidic and Rooney behind.

MUFC1990

So you take pep's word as gospel truth? Pep as a reputation for being sarcastic, just ask Jose. Ronaldo neymar silva nani ribery sanchez mourn hazard.......thats just off the top of my head.

Millz

21 Jul 2012 10:53:18
ed, do you guys ever have a day off? or do you rotate shifts with other eds, like does ed004 go off for a break when ed007 is editing? thanks, and keep up the good work.

JK92

21 Jul 2012 10:12:12
From watching the game last night I think we need to get moura before he plays a full game. Although he only played for 20 mins you saw his control, turn of pace and his dribbling skills. He even had a pretty powerful shot. The talk of him being selfish he was setting people up last night not just going it alone, but on some occasions made the wrong choice but that could be changed. I think we need to sign him up before he shows it on a full game

Tab {Ed002's Note - Everybody is aware that he is a decent player but clubs are not going to pay wildly over the odds.}

You seem ignorant to the fact that he plays full games every week with his club. All of the top clubs (and anybody who watches Brazilian football for that matter) know and have known about Mouras' talent for a few years now.

I think our best bet now is to put in a final offer. Although they're looking for a sponsor they will also lose another 10% of the players rights come August making any deal very expensive.

At the moment the fee will need to cover the 10% owed to the player and the amount that they will lose in sponsorship caused by losing their best player.

I think he's worth £28m max - so a bid of £31.1m should be enough to pay off the 10% they'd owe to Lucas from that amount and an extra £1-2m should deal with the sponsorship issue (although I'd rather we stayed below £32m!).

T0MB0Z

21 Jul 2012 09:30:36
COMMENT
By James Goldman

As the manager of the world's most famous football club it's not unreasonable to assume that you are capable of winning any fight you pick, but by declaring so publicly that Manchester United had joined the race to sign Robin van Persie, Sir Alex Ferguson has risked further undermining his side's reputation in the transfer market.

A player of Van Persie's calibre, one potentially available at a knockdown price, a Premier League thoroughbred whose goalscoring pedigree is unquestionable, would of course be of interest to United, regardless of their glaring need to strengthen in other areas.

There was, however, little to be gained by going on the record in such a clumsy fashion, one that was so out of keeping with Sir Alex's usually guarded approach to discussing his transfer dealings with the media.

SIR ALEX SHOWS HIS HAND

FULL STORY: Man Utd boss claims interest in Arsenal star Van Persie Playing a straight bat to any Van Persie-related line of questioning, rather than the wild swing of the sledgehammer the Scot opted for, would have been far more advisable.

Already this summer United have been blown out of the water by Chelsea, whose financial clout eventually proved decisive in the unseemly scramble for Eden Hazard's services, while the recently dethroned Premier League champions have been alarmed by the £110,000-a-week salary demands of Brazilian teenager Lucas Moura, one of their primary targets - though they are in the process of preparing a new £32 million bid for the Sao Paulo player.

Money, it appears, is increasingly talking more effectively than Sir Alex when it comes to the top end of the Premier League transfer market and it is likely to be the case again, despite his protestations to the contrary, with regards to Van Persie's future.

The 29-year-old, who has taken a depressingly despicable approach to forcing his way out of Arsenal by effectively going on strike before the club's pre-season tour of Asia, claimed in the poisonous statement that he released earlier this month that financial gain was far from the principal reason why he wants out.

With Manchester City leading the chase for Van Persie, any remote hope of Sir Alex luring last season's Premier League top goalscorer to Old Trafford surely depends on the veracity of that claim. The Gunners captain would be the rarest of breeds were he to look the £198,000-a-week gift horse reported to be on offer at Eastlands in the mouth, while Roberto Mancini would think nothing of offering over the odds for a striker who he, in truth, does not need. The confused way in which news of Sir Alex's revelation broke suggests that he already knows the battle has been lost before it has truly started. Having seen Samir Nasri slip through his fingers in eerily similar circumstances 12 months ago, you can hardly blame him for lacking conviction and certainty. You can, however, attribute blame for raising hope where there would appear to be little.

Could it be that, having embarked on a high-profile tour of South Africa, the United boss had been instructed to reinforce his club's brand in an important market with a statement of serious intent? It's a cynical and unlikely scenario, but one that cannot be discounted in a sport where image and perception are of such importance.

Indeed, Sir Alex's cautious and tentative confirmation of his interest in Van Persie smacked of public relations spin doctoring, something you could never have imagined him indulging in. Only an unlikely transfer coup could repair the damage of Friday's messy episode.

Apologies for the cut and paste but it is an interesting point of view that has been expressed on here before

Red Man

Red Man

It's nonsense, and you probably know it. SAF's comment on RVP came only after Arsenal had released news of the bids made to them to the press and he was asked a direct question about it. The article hasn't even got RVP's age right - he's 28 for another week or two yet.

As for Hazard, it wasn't financial clout that took him to Chelsea, as has been discussed here before - it was United rightly refusing to pay over the odds to his agent.

It's lazy rubbish.

DarkLard08

I have never heard so much s**t before, the sole reason we lost out to hazard was because Hazards agent wanted 5mil for pretty much doing nothing, even city thought that was extreme hence the reason they pulled out. Utd have and never will pay over the odds for any player int world, we have our own valuation on every player that we target and if the exceed our valuation then we simply wont buy them (this is the main reason sneijder wasn't signed last year).

I know its frustrating for us fans to say we can't compete on the financial side but we are succesful on the pitch for the reason we don't buy merchanieries who just want £250+ a week, we buy players that are willing to give every thing for the famour red shirt.

question for you out of the 3 of the following players sneijder, nasri and hazard why do you think they didn't sign for utd.

Answer, simply because utd pulled out of the race to sign them because they were higher than our valuation and we are not city or chelsea and pay over the odds for players. If we offered these players the wages they wanted then all of the above 3 would of been utd players.

Lets just see what happens and trust fergie whatever he does cause he has done it for years and is the master.

Neil

Agreed Red Man.

The whole situation stinks of misdirection and hopefully allows us the window to press on with Moura and a CMer without much competition and press speculation. If we managed to con the press into a Utd - City head to head again for the Prems top scorer they would run the story till the cows come home, all the time we can concentrate on actual targets.

I have read that Utd's bid has been dismissed out of hand where as City and Juves have just been regarded as not enough. That alone would suggest the misleading nature of the bid allowing the press to believe they have it right.

I would like to have him instead of running the risk City could add him but if we were to now spend 20+M on him that will effect the teams finances in our need for a CMer and a LB then I would say 'Good luck at City buddy!'

Jono

Like the writer said it's "cynical and unlikely".

Sydney!

I totally disagree with this. Van Persie wants to win trophies. I think winning trophies is more important to him then cash. If he came here I imagine that he will be on 120 - 160k per week. This is not over the top when you think of the players that have left/leaving and how much this will free up.

Obviously there is marketing potential in him too. When Beckham left for 24mill I thought Madrid got him on the cheap as his marketing potential is enourmous. Arsenal know that rvp has a huge following in Holland and I think they are factoring that into their valuation.

S.A.F has not conceded defeat. The biggest club in the world has declared an interest. Van Persie will listen to our offer and not just reject us for cash. He sat with the Arsenal supremos and wanted to know where the club was going. Im sure he will sit with clubs that have offered him a deal and ask the same questions. Sir Alex very rarely gets turned down when he puts his football case across. Linking up with Rooney must be very tempting to R.V.P and if we did get him, this will keep Rooney happy as he was told there will be some stellar signings.

So, I think fergie has played a masterstroke. hes admitted we want him. When Manchester United publicly announce that we want a player, other clubs start listening. We can offer stability at this club that many clubs cant. City, although champions, are very unstable. There is no gurantee that Mancini will still be there in a year. The problems with Tevez, Balotelli and Toure etc show that it is a volatile dressing room that can explode at any time. They buy and discard players easily.

Money wise its city - football wise its United. I think R.V.P will base his decision on football.

Jamesmack8

About six months ago I stuck my neck out and said that if RVP doesn't sign a new deal with Arsenal that we will try and sign him this summer. I also said that City will likely be where he ends up. I got quite a pasting from what I remember mainly from United fans. People saying he loves Arsenal and wouldn't do that to them. I even said he wouldn't sell for the ridiculous £35m that some were valuing him at on here and said he would cost between £15m-£20m, again getting a pasting for that. But what made me believe we would be in for him was SAF's comment near the time, he said he tried to sign RVP years ago. This made me wonder why he would say this and that's what made me think he was lining up a move for him the coming summer. I believe we have been talking to his agent for some time now, just like we did with Nasri the year before. We stayed silent over that affair and Nasri ended up moving to City. I wonder if the manager has gone public to convince RVP of his desire to sign him? I don't know it is a strange one though.

Sydney!

It did seem a bit strange his comments, can't really work our his motives in confirming our interest. Though we all know his comment would have been well thought out and planned whatever his motive

This article highlights a point I've been trying to make to those who believe we are making 'token bids' to appease the fans....surely if we seemingly keep going for top players and failing to land them this would be just as bad PR as not going for them at all? SAF isn't stupid and I can't see him purposefully building a perception that United cannot compete by making superfulous bids for top players and then even confirming our interest in them

Gav

I wouldn't rule any thing out the whole thing seems un fergy like.
Just one more thing did arsenal actual say united were 1 of the clubs to bid I've been away but the only reports I've seen have said 3 clubs bid

Still not convinced he'll join; if it's not about the money and he wants trophies, surely he should join Celtic? ;)

One the the worst articles i have ever read, the guy come across as clueless. According to him we might as well not bother trying to sign anyone.

Clumsy fashion? He got asked a question after Arsenal had already splashed all across Sky.

Blown out the water by Chelsea? Really, i must have missed that as we equaled their bid and offered decent wages as well.

Not sure where the Moura wants 110k a week have come from either as no-ne knows what he's asked for.

Confsued way the news broke? Er that was again down to Arsenal.

Hmmm so offering 32 for Hazard and the 38 euro bid for Moura isn't a statement of intent then?

damage of Fridays messy episode? what is he on about, the guy is a total abu and cluless.

21 Jul 2012 02:23:15
Well Lucas is getting some serious 'Agree' love on this website. Is everyone pro signing him now?

I'd be glad to see the gamble taken.

Joe

At the end of the day none of us have watched him as much as our scouts will have, so I'll trust SAF on this one! I think fans are just pleased we look like we're in for a top talent. Personally I would have thought £30m should be spent in CM but if the boss thinks it should be spent on Moura, then fair play!

I would certainly be excited by his arrival as he brings real flair and speed which are attractive qualities to watch week in week out : )

Gav