Manchester United Banter Archive August 22 2013

22 Aug 2013 23:20:39
If the rumours are true of mata being involved in any deal for Rooney along with baines and fallaini, well I would be happy with that although We would still need to buy a striker.

If rvp got injured I cannot see welbeck or Hernandez getting the goals up front, plus there link up play and movement just isn't the same as rvp.

I know there young and have great potential, but I can't see them scoring 20-25 goals(hope I'm wrong)

So my question to any of the eds or my fellow readers who would we replace Rooney with?

Cause we can't just rely on rvp. {Ed007's Note - Nobody can replace Rooney :-(

If Chelsea are so desperate to sign Rooney, then we should hold out for a straight swap: Rooney for Mata and Lukaku.

23 Aug 2013 10:44:00
haha, wind your neck in mike. Matas worth as much as rooney alone

That's as maybe, Mr NoName, but as I said, if Chelsea are desperate for Rooney, that deal would be to our advantage rather than theirs. Simples!

Completely agree, Mike. Why should he wind his neck in? I agree that Mata is as good a player as Rooney but fact is, Chelsea are more desperate for Rooney than we are for Mata. Our stance is that Rooney is not for sale and Chelsea will have to make an offer that forces us to change our mind. Mata on his own may not do that.

22 Aug 2013 22:48:10
To all the dreamers on here that think Mata will be leaving a
Chelsea and joining you lot when will you learn have you not been embarrased enough already if one of you just one of you reads Mourinho's quotes on Mata and them reads Eds post on the liverpool and the chelsea you will soon realise you are so wrong As for Sydney saying Mata plays on the left read JM's presser from last week. 'mata is the only player that can play on the right' we have a lot of players who can play on the left, Chelsea have been after a versatile forward all summer we have a long standing interest in Willian can we not have a good squad? Moses and Mikel and Ba will be leaving Oscar and De Bruyne can easily play in the pivot you really think we will sell our special Juan our olayer of the season 2 years in a row ultimate chap who loves london who studying 2 degrees while playing the ultimate professional you are in for another disapointment as I guarante Mata will not be sold


Bluetinted Mike

Nice rant, you must be worried or why would you bother to post.

Shame your manger doesn't feel the same about Mata. He alienated the Madrid fan base and I would love to do the same in this case. Everybody knows that Mata doesn't fit into his plans and isn't his type of player. Shame your favorite player won't be playing for your team anymore.

Mourinho has often used a left footed player in that role and he has revealed he thinks Mata has the qualities to perform in that position.

“Of course he fits into my plans, ” Mourinho said. “I have my idea about him, about where he produces better and where he has more difficulty.

“We will try to help him perform better in those situations. I’ve always liked a right-sided player to be left-footed.

“I started with (Arjen) Robben and (Damien) Duff, then (Goran) Pandev at Inter, and (Angel) Di Maria and (Mesut) Ozil. Many clubs do it. It’s more than a tendency.

“I like wingers coming in on the inside for the penetrative movement, for the pass, for the shot. And Juan is the only player we have to do that on the right.

Gonna be a fun game on Monday.

Jackson

What ever mate we don't need any Chelsea players all the money u lot spent this season and still spending man u still beat u Monday as aways united r a team who play for each other

No name, its utd, man utd, mufc but not I repeat not man u! please can we stop this now!

22 Aug 2013 20:54:27
With Sevilla apparently in for Mbia who could by Kondogbia's replacement we should be lodging a bid for the lad who is young and already looks a player. He looked like he was auditioning for a contract the night of Rio's testimonial. I would prefer him to Fellani any chance it will come to pass ed's?

Related to the above does anyone know if kondogbia has a clause in his contract? I thought I read somewhere he did and its only about 8 or 9 million but that came from media so it might be garbage

Fellanini is better at the moment and whilst the boy might turn out to be great he is nowhere ready for the Pl as a starter and more a squad player with about 15 games max.

Kondogbia has a 17.2 mil release clause according to his manager

Red Spark

22 Aug 2013 20:27:22
I'd rather keep rooney than make new signings.

The only way I wouldn't mind Rooney leaving the club is if it meant Fabregas or Ronaldo were coming but both seem v unlikely at this time so I hope he stays and gets on it!

I would rather we keep Rooney and we sign some decent players. That would be a novel idea wouldn't it. {Ed007's Note - Be careful Gilly, you could go to the bad-fire on here for talk like that.}

22 Aug 2013 19:58:52
Just watched Spurs and noticed they have a different sponsor in europe to the prem, is this because of the FFP so they can get extra income? If so why are all clubs not doing it?

We could have a main sponsor, a european sponsor and an FA/Capital sponsor. The way we are rattling off sponsorships at the moment surely this would be the perfect way to earn extra money.

This also makes me think how long will it be until teams have shirts covered in sponsors al a F1 style?

1redarmy

Thing is with multiple sponsors, a single sponsor would pay so much more to be the lone sponsor on the shirt, compared to the combined revenue of several sponsors to have a small logo.

22 Aug 2013 19:40:41
Is it just me that thinks spurs/chelsea are taking a gamble on Willian? He's very unproven for me. Yes looked good in a very average league but 30 million is steep for someone who may not adapt to the EPL. look what happene to Veron. Glad we are not in for him.

Hmm but did you see what Rene recently say about him? I think he'll do well but I'm not fussed we're not in for him.

Me too! Veron is far too old now. although still a step up on cleverly!

22 Aug 2013 19:25:41
haha same old Jose the quickest way to win the league is to buy everybody available that way no one else can get em! I hope this means Mata/Rooney deal could happen, its not like there short of attacking mids after all.If not Mata then DeBruyne think that kid will be a world beater. {Ed044's Note - Ed02 said the available player is Victor Moses.}

Great! I hope to god not it would be the worst deal ever brokered although I can see this being the kind of deal that would appeal to DM and unless we are all being duped and we do sign the"the best" as quoted by DM I think we will panick buy worse than Arsenal:(

So much for my positivety it has now gone :(

Victor Moses - there's a poser (and I don't mean he likes mirrors).

I think a lot of posters here would be quick to dismiss him but he's got a lot going for him as a footballer.

My concern though would be whether he has a touch of the 'nani's' - unplayable on his day but no consistancy.

Shappy, you got any thoughts/stats about Moses?

Have they really offered Moses for Rooney?

That's a total joke and to me shows that they aren't serious and are just playing games to try to unsettle Rooney and the club.

Moses is garbage.

If Rooney goes to Chelsea, then it is only right that we take one of their top players. That is the only way that transfer can happen IMO. It is the only way the united fans' will be appeased.

Moses was always going to leave this summer, never really understood why they signed him. I think they panicked about the homegrown ruling.

All I can say is Willian, Hazard, Schurrle & Mata are left forwards that like to drift in. I would say that Mata could well be made available if MU push for him.

Sydney!

22 Aug 2013 20:58:18
they won't get willian then imo no way could a lad as talented in worldcup year play as little as VM will.

Or they will line up willian on the right or left same with hazard an mata through center my brother chelsea fan sadly an he said the plan with oscar is to play him cm an always has been the reason why they bought him do not no if true but tht makes sense mostly all of them get time

Moses should stick to the bible crap at football

Hazard Mata Oscar Schuller etc can all play anywhere in the 3 as can willian.

A certain sports tv station broke the news that willian was in advanced talks with Chelsea and at the same time re opened the betting on him moving .
Jred

I still wouldn't want rooney going to chelsea

Victor Moses. please tell me that is a joke!?! Mata or Rooney stays, end of!

Jred

shurrie is left sided and likes to drift to the middle and so is hazard and putting them on the right is pretty much nullifying them as they would be quite easy to defend against. Willain is also a left winger who likes to drift to the middle and whatever happens it does not improve chelsea one bit. they need a central defender and a striker to fill the gap and their weakness.

Victor moses is a headless chicken and all our wingers are better than him.

Most players can play in other positions, point is Mata was a left winger for Valencia. Hazard was a left winger for Lille, Schurrle was a left forward for Leverkusen and Willian played left for Shakhtar. Add De Bruyne, Possibly Rooney, Torres, Lukaku, Oscar, Ba. I understand Mata can play central or left, but there will be other players wanting to occupy them positions. I imagine Mata himself would be wondering the same thing. It's a squad game, but Mata will want to be playing in the big games. Is Mata a Jose type player? He usually likes them more solid and taller but then again Willian isn't big, could be wrong, but I wouldn't 100% rule out him being available in a swap deal for Rooney. I would say it's unlikely, but we can hope.

Sydney!

Jred,

Add De Bruyne to those 5 AM'ers then how on earth do you fit them into 1 team? They would occupy 3 positions max. Also, Lampard played as AM for spells the other night. I understand squad rotation but most of those names would expect regular 1st team action.

22 Aug 2013 23:48:43
Andrew, I haven't ever specifically watched Moses, from what i've seen he looks a tidy little player, quick strong and direct. He does seem to have consistancy issues and having opted to play for Nigeria rather than play for England who he had played for at youth level, means he will have to keep going to the African cup of nations ever other year. Which is damn inconvieniant. I think he is a good player for a team that will aim to finish somewhere between 10th-4th but he is just a good sqaud player for those who play in the Champions league and challenge for the title. As has been proven with his move to Chelsea.

Personally I wouldn't want him at our club as I don't see where he fits in, he isn't good enough for our first team and he isn't any better than our sqaud players. He would just get in the way of the likes of Januzaj and Lingard both of whom I feel have the ability to be better than him.

God
Schurrie played a lot of his football as a striker as well he can play a few positions, hazard can play either side.
Plus Jose likes inverted wingers so left footer playing right side will be no big thing.
Schurrie played right side when he came on at the weekend.
Oscar played cm for Brazil on numerous occasions.
Jose will use all of them in different positions to play very fluid. I agree willian doesn't really improve them though bit of a strange one.
Hb
I agree but out of them 5 which ones are the stand out players, I don't think there is one of them who could say he was top dog and should play every game so could Jose rotate them try and keep them fresh . They are also quite young he maybe doesn't want them being overplayed.
Truth is I'm not sure why spend 30 mill on a player that isn't better than what you all ready have, with the exception of Moses of course who is said to be the one making room.
Syd
It was said Jose thought Mata wasn't quick enough to play his style of counter attacking football so who knows.
Jred

Thanks shappy, I appreciate your opinion. his absence for the cup of nations hadn't occurred to me.

I wasn't suggesting utd should sign him up but I've seen him have some really good games where his directness has caused problems.

I certainly think he's a lot better than some of the posters on here are giving him credit for. I could imagine him doing well at perhaps Everton or Swansea.

Jred, Mata does lack pace which is true and I think there may have been something in the Luiz and Mata rumours. I think if Barcelona agree a deal for Luiz, then that may indicate the rumours were true. Then it may come down to who Jose needs the most, another Mata type which he has plenty of in his squad, or a striker which he is lacking due to missing out on Falcao, Lew, Cavani & Neymar this summer. I still think it's unlikely unless MU push hard for Mata and Mata is on board which will be difficult as Mata is a true gent and would want to fight for his place.

Sydney!

Syd
Lol it's getting desperate
Jred

22 Aug 2013 19:22:21
I think Moyes is getting to JM by not getting involved in a war of words with the darling of the press. IMO its only a matter of time before he (morewhinio) does or says something to turn the pess against him for a spell and that's when moyes will turn the knife. Moyes is not exactly the new kid on the block I don't think he will ever lose in mind games to JM. Mind games is the least of our worries Midfield reinforcements is what i'm sure Moyes is working on and he is too busy to entertain the press and Mourhino

I think Jose is still pi.sed he never got the United job.

After seeing how obsequious he was after Madrid beat us in the CL, I was convinced he was United bound. I have a feeling he was too.

I personally think the guy is top quality.

22 Aug 2013 20:47:08
Mourinho is trying to get into Moyes' head and interupt our start to the season bmy distracting him. Moyes isn't biting as he is concentrating on what matters.

22 Aug 2013 19:12:47
Willan is about to sign for Chelsea and not spurs. Could be the end of the Rooney to Chelsea chase. God I hope so!

Mufc parkie

22 Aug 2013 18:47:33
Rooney will not be sold has been the consistent stance, he won't be sold but he will be swapped, if we get Mata + cash we should by happy. Mata can play a variety of positions across the pitch, technically super, free kick specialist, can win games in an instant, world cup and euro winner, CL winner a truly world class player who appears to be a model pro, and i'm sure there would be wanted by most of the top 10 clubs in europe if he were on the market like rooney is. but nobody wants rooney bar chelsea. so if he wants out and we can get true world class in his place we will be stronger

Getting Mata for Rooney does not solve our midfield problem. We still would have no bite in midfield.

22 Aug 2013 18:29:42
My 2 cents regarding Rooney: We can't sell him at any price to another English club. Whether he's on form or not he wins matches and revels in the big occasions, if he goes to Chelsea without us bringing in Fabregas, Bale or Ronaldo then we won't retain the league or make a decent push in the CL. I wouldn't even do it for Mata in the deal, for a few reasons. Mata will go back to Madrid eventually, despite all the covers of "he's not a Mourinho type of player" Mata is obviously angling for a move back to Spain. He'd just do that to us in a year if we got him. We don't need the money, we are pulling dozens of 1-2m regional sponsorship deals out of the air every year to add to the extra 30m per year in PL money. We'll probably more than double our Nike sponsorship package when its renewed and the Chevrolet sponsorship deal is about 50m a year compared to the previous 12m a year. We'll have more than an extra 100m a year when these come into play in a year or 2. Chelseas squad are in disarray when you look behind the scenes, Luiz wants to move to Barca, there's something wrong with the Mata situation, Chelseas older stalwarts like Terry, Lampard and Cole will be gone in 2 years and hazard will join Real as soon as they come sniffing as he has said many times when at Lille and hinted at throughout the year. We should make him leave for free after his contract expires because who knows, even then he might realize RVP is a better number 9 than him and he should still be a world class number 10 if he can put his attention seeking ego to the side.

Dan

Madrid have just purchased 3 midfielders, not everybody can play for Madrid and Barcelona. I would take Mata + cash for Rooney in a heartbeat.You wrote about Rooney's quality but the fact remains that right now he's acting like a spoiled brat. RVP, at the moment is not only the best striker on the team but in the entire league. Rooney doesn't want competition and doesn't realize that it will only make him a better player.

22 Aug 2013 18:14:26
Some good news to take your minds off the humiliating circus that we have become with our transfer activity or lack of it. Of our present squad 17 have come through our youth system and there are another 15 in premiership squads. Good luck to every single one of them, even the Brand who as soon as he finds his level will do very well. {Ed007's Note - MEOW Kloot ;-)

KLOOT are you taking Prozac or something? You've mellowed sir ;)

22 Aug 2013 16:33:31
Eds when anyone here says that we missed out on Thiago, we missed out on Vidal(before moving to Juve), we missed out on Martinez he is mocked by people saying that "how do you know we were in for him", "united were not interested in him" .


The question beckons is why aren't we interested in these players? Are we interested in wrong players?

Is out scouting/transfer department at fault here for not being interested in these players?

Now I understand that we cannot sign every player that the fans want but even a blind man would say that Thiago, Vidal, Martinez were brilliant players and would have suited us yet we didn't try to sign them at all (Moyes confirmed that we weren't in for Thiago and it doesn't look like he's lying considering very open attempts to sign Fabregas, Fellaini, Baines)

In Fabregas we were interested in a correct player but again we fell flat on our face.


Every fan is crying out for reinforcements in midfield and what we get is rumours about Fellaini(most realistic rumours associated to our club have been for him)


The thing that frustrates me is if we are trying to sign midfielders why aren't we making a serious realistic attempts to sign(1-2 seasons ago) the Vidals the Martinez' etc. Why the realistic and serious attempts are being made to sign Fellaini?

I realise we cannot put effort in following every friggin player but WHY ARE WE NOT INTERESTED IN THE RIGHT PLAYERS?


I am not the biggest expert on here so guys go easy on me :P {Ed044's Note - These would be the "right players" in your mind.}

ED I think majority of the people here(if not all) would feel Vidal, Martinez and Thiago would be the "right players" as compared to Fellaini. {Ed044's Note - I guess it is simply fantasy football to you all then.}

Your right! our transfer policy is terrible we only signed players that managed to win the league 5 out of the last 7 seasons and one of the seasons we missed out on goal difference. I don't know what some of you people expect, some of you need a reality check or stop playing football manager.

It simply means we didn't and still don't have money to pay for those players and their agents. I think most of us should get that by now.
anyone else think otherwise is making fool of him/herself.
how many quality players moved in past 3 windows? a lot. but we didn't get any,, so it was not stubbornness of SAF everytime. its MONEY. which we don't have despite all the claim of unlimited funds.

do any1 really think if we throw 40m to juventus and 150k in salary to vidal, any of them would refuse it?

it says all. all the money is either going out or there is unwillingness to invest properlly.

Rodio17

ED I don't think you are getting my point here. I am saying why are we not interested in players like Vidal, Martinez etc.actually signing is a totally different proposition and I understand that.

But I just feel that we are settling for Fellaini.

The only reason why a team would choose Fellaini over Vidal or Martinez is due to lack of money. And if that's our reason then I completely understand us going for Fellaini.

Just my opinion. {Ed044's Note - So your question is why are the club not interested in the players you like. Which is what I said.}

There is a lot more to a transfer than he's a good player, let's sign him!

ED i'm really sorry, maybe i'm not able to convey properly what I want to say. But you have inferred is not what I wanted to say.

The reason we did not go for the players you mention, is because they are NOT the players Moyes wants SIMPLE. There WILL be 3 players coming and one of them is a marquee name. People you really need to have faith & be patient. We are Man United, WE DO WHAT WE WANT!

Mumbai boy, if it was lack of money, can you explain why we bid £30 mill for fabragas but ignored Gustavo and paulinho at £17 mill, plus van ginkel at £9 mill and lots of other excellent mid fielders who are probably available at lower prices?

I've no idea why we're bidding for an average big lump, but I don't think the club lacks the funds to sign expensive players. it seems to me the problem is a touch of the arsenals where the club is too interested in 'value for money' rather than just paying what's needed to get the job done.

I also think Moyes is best being a bit blinkered if he thinks fellaini is the best bet at around £20 mill. then again, what do I know?

Mumbai boy

Do you mean why aren't we spotting these players earlier?
If so I kind of get your point.Players like martinez, hummels, jovetic, falcao, cavani and subotic all moved from smaller clubs earlier in their careers for under £5m and are now all worth £25m+ so perhaps there's an argument as to why a club the size of ours wasnt aware of them and i'm sure we looked at falcao at river plate but work permit was an issue back then BUTwe weren't the only club to miss them.
I don't think money is an issue tbh but we have tended to overpay for players most of the time

Mumbai, just because you think a player is the 'right' player doesn't mean SAF did, or Moyes does. It's really that simple and that's what the Ed is saying.

For every Thiago, for instance, there is others like Fabregas, Modric, Veratti etc. Even if Moyes wanted a Thiago style player maybe he prefers one of these other options.

At the end of the day we don't know what Moyes truly thinks so can't 2nd guess him. I'm pretty sure he and SAF only do what they think is best for our club.

22 Aug 2013 16:32:40
Evertonian, but this has nowt to do with either team, bale & ronaldo - I think the world is waiting in awe to see the sheer awesomeness, I doubt Ronaldo will leave if nothing else other than his mahoosive wage demands.

Baz

22 Aug 2013 14:22:02
I was hoping to return home from holiday to hear about at least one signing - unfortunately not! I still see no reason to panic, major business I think is left to be done. The Bale deal I think will trigger us signing one Madrid attacker, we need an attacker and I think Madrid will have a couple that are available. The Ozil story is interesting, I think that he or Di Maria will be the first ones to be made available once Bale comes in. There will be little space in the squad given that Ronaldo & Bale will not be rotated, they will play in every game. Isco will start behind Benzema or a new forward and then players like Jese may be given chances under Ancelotti who seems up for giving Morata and Jese goes in the first team. I would of said a double deal for Ozil and Modric would be on the cards but given that Alonso is out for three months then I see no way that Modric will be allowed to leave. Ozil, Di Maria and Coentrao will be the players that Madrid put up for sale and I think Ozil is the man that we want.

People on here say that Ozil isn't right for us, but I think he is. He can play centrally, right or left, he is two footed with a stronger left foot. He gets around 20 assists a season and doesn't seem to suffer too badly with injuries. He is mid 20's so is coming into his prime and he doesn't get enough game time for Madrid. Also given that its a World Cup year he needs playing time to cement his place in Germany's 11.

The second issue is the Everton bid. I think Fellaini will be the midfielder that we get, but I fear we may have pissed Everton off with our bid as it was so low. I do not know why we let Fellaini's contract clause expire as we will probably have to pay about £25 million to get him (seems a ridiculous fee). Who else out there is looking plausible though? I can't think of anyone to be honest and Fellaini is known to want a move to a Champions League club. In my eyes that will eventually be a done deal.

The third issue is left back. Evra was brilliant against Swansea. Fabio will knock on the door and Buttner is going out on loan so there is space for a left back. Will Everton let us get a hold of Moyes, Fellaini & Baines? Unlikely. That is why we have looked at Luke Shaw. He would be perfect and would learn under Evra. Yes, he is a Chelsea fan - but is John Terry not a United fan? Shaw will not turn down a bid from Manchester United, especially if he is likely to be second choice to an ageing defender who he is more than capable to take over from.

My ideal summer was Ronaldo, Fabregas & Baines. But Ozil, Fellaini & Shaw wouldn't be all that bad. Welbeck seems to have found his goal scoring form and is a year older, as is Cleverly, Jones, Rafael etc. RVP still is the best striker in the League, Rooney may come good and stay but if he leaves then Ozil is every bit as good if not better. The squad is a title winning squad, additions to that will improve it.

"The third issue is left back. Evra was brilliant against Swansea."

We must have been watching a different game. On numerous occasions he was caught out of position and was slowly jogging back whilst Vidic covered for him.

Fresh!

Agree mate I think ozil and fellaini would be brilliant tbh.
Ozil, kags and welbeck? behind RVP with fellaini and carrick deeper would work well even though fellaini wouldn't be my first choice moyes knows him and knows exactly what he brings better than any of us.
I think RM will need to balance somewhere and I just can't see them selling ronaldo because of merchandising as well as his ability so we may have a chance of ozil who IMO is far better than modric and younger.
I think wed have to act fast though because if arsenal do offer £60m for di maria and benzema then RM would certainly not need to sell anyone else

We do have to act fast, that seems to be a problem to be honest. But I think the intricate passing between Welbeck, RVP, Kagawa & Ozil would be quite something. Then Young and Valencia if we need some width and Chicharito guarantee's goals. Still waiting to see what happens with Nani and Rooney though! I can't call it right now!

I think a lot of people will be disappointed if we sign baines I don't think he is that much better than evra. ask everton fans they will tell he gets caught out of position a lot so I think money would be better spent elsewhere!

We will regret pissing Everton off in the long run when the time comes for them to sell Barkley, as i'm sure they will do everything in their power to make sure he doesn't end up at Utd, and it's not like the time we got Rooney as their is another team down the road now with lots of money, so I fear we have blown it big time now.

It would definitely give us a lot of options with janujaz hopefully getting a bit of playing time too before a prem loan next season maybe?
Think nani may be given til january to show consistency which I think would be good but rooneys body language against swansea didn't look like he wanted to be there tbh.
Think everyone knows my feelings on him but I do think he's being badly advised by his agent he had everything to become one of our legends but that won't happen now.
Itl be interesting to see if he plays monday

John terry is a utd fan? seriously?

Easy there all this bs about pissing off everton blah blah.

We will not pay 25 million for fellaini, I guarantee you that and will pass on him if that is the price they are looking for.

Chelsea just bid 20 for rooney, but that will not stop us talking to them.

Transfer fever has taken its toll and it is like a bunch of kids who want their toy because the neighbor's kid got one.

If the guy was worth 23 million someone would have activated his release clause get it!!!

Andrew B

Iv heard JT grew up a united fan too.
Dnt know how true it is but he wouldn't be the first cockney red so its possible

Baby faced assasin

Nani was injured for the swansea game and in January can negotiate with any club on his next move.

I know the situation with nani but I still don't think there will be a rush to give him a contract and we will wait to see how consistent he can be before xmas.
If we sell now he'd need replacing and we need to strengthen other areas first.
We wouldn't get much more than £8m for him anyway at the moment IMO

Now I understand Terry's penalty in the champions league final

22 Aug 2013 13:43:23
MU's derisory offer for the Everton boys has worked very well. Martinez is worried their heads have been turned. So the offer has served it's purpose, now to move in with a more acceptable offer and get the two of them signed up. Neither are my first choice admittedly, but the benefits of signing these pair is that they are EPL experienced/proven and neither need to uproot and relocate. They would be able to come in and do a job straight away. We will still need that creative midfielder mind, but IMO signing these pair would be two of the three positions sorted.

And we all know what Meatloaf said? Or the geezer that wrote his song for him, so don't be sad, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

Sydney!

In your opinion then does the Shaw rumour have no legs? And what happens to Evra? I don't know how wise it would be to let such an important and vocal squad member leave.

Syd
has Martinez said that
Jred

Fresh, sorry only answered one part. I think Evra will probably be sold if Baines is signed. Baines with Fabio as back-up, Rafael will have Varela or Jones if he doesn't get a work permit. That being said it isn't impossible for Evra and Baines to both be here, just unlikely IMO. As for vocals, we have Rio, Vidic, Giggs, RvP, Carrick.

Sydney!

Fresh, Evra hasn't been cutting it for three seasons now. He is a defender first, attacker second. Aren't you fed up with seeing Vidic/Evans and our left winger constantly doing his defensive work for him? Baines is a massive improvement on Evra, but people won't realise until Baines is signed. I think Shaw is a non starter and it's to put a bit of pressure on Everton and Baines to make the deal happen. That's my opinion.

Sydney!

I think we will keep Evra, am I right in thinking this his final year of his contract? If so then we may let him leave quietly next year. What are your thoughts on Rooney or Nani Syd? I have a very undecided mind on those two.

I think Rooney will go if Chelsea make an acceptable offer and Moyes is happy with who he has signed. I do not see Rooney signing a new deal and I do not see us letting him run his contract down. Chelsea will offer a suitable amount I'm sure, a lot will depend on if we get our targets IMO.

Nani will probably be sold, but I am not too bothered if he stays. On his day he is a match winner and a handful. The £8.5m mentioned is far too low to accept, I'd rather let him leave for free next summer. if a bid of around £14m/£15m arrives then I'd accept and invest in someone like Vadillo.

Sydney!

Roberto Martinez has said nothing remotely resembling that outlandish statement. Keep dreaming, you're not getting Baines, you may get Fellaini but you WON'T be getting Baines. You can wait for him to agitate for a move but you'll be waiting forever. He's happy at Everton and doesn't want to leave, if Everton choose to sell him it's different ball game.

22 Aug 2013 13:16:28
I think we all need to take a collective chill pill. MU are still a huge draw for the world's best players and we have a stack of cash. So if there were no 'grand plan' we would have seen three or four reasonable signings by now. I think this 'grand plan' is just waiting for the Bale to RM deal to be finalized (its been agreed in principle for weeks otherwise Spurs could not be spending like a WAG buying handbags). So I still stick with predictions of Ronny, Fabregas and Mata (swap deal for Rooney) although it sounds like Ozil is on his way so the Fabregas prediction may not come to pass. Fellaini and Baines too if the price is right. Then Moyes can say he has stamped his mark on the squad even though Fergie will have had loads to do with it.

The chill pill idea sounds great. Personally I think Madrid will sign Bale and then either, they will allow Di Maria, Khedira and Ozil or Modric to leave, or they will allow Ronaldo to leave. If we sign Ronaldo, we will win the league, we will just score too many goals. Equally, if we sign Khedira, Di Maria and Ozil, I think we will win the league.

Dont want di maria he's over rated and spends more time rolling around ground than actually being productive and we don't need wingers we need central midfielders

22 Aug 2013 12:12:09
So Mike Phelan has said in a recent interview that Moyes is trying very hard to "get that player everyone is craving. "

Interesting! Also said he thinks Woodword is struggling in his new role haha no sh!t.

Leon Osman is not leaving Everton ;)

He could mean position (IE midfielder), not a particular player?

Sydney!

Where did you read that?

Thats hilarious, poor Equaliser!

Yeah well everyone was obviously thinking Ronaldo straight away but when I listened to the podcast it sounded more like he meant a top class CM seeing as that's what they were speaking of a few minutes earlier.

Very interesting. Surely can only be Ronny. Suppose a case could be made for it to be Fabregas too.

Mr Phelan will know all about struggling in a role, not the best as a player and I think he was just Fergie's bitch as a coach.

22 Aug 2013 11:22:26
Rumours are going round suggesting Arsenal are looking at pogba, a player I believe we should never have let go and should look at if becomes avaliable

We would never bring him back, it just wouldn't be right. The only player I would resign would be Ronaldo, but I don't think that is likely just yet either.

22 Aug 2013 10:49:33
reading between the lines and rumours.
Bale to Real Madrid is done but the delay in completing the signing is down to Real Madrid still trying to work out how to hold on to Ronaldo. I'm guessing it FFP related as bringing in 108 million euro player + wages somewhat exposes them.

Ronaldo is holding out for more money and there is a bunch of activity taking place to help passify CR7 without having to make a drastically improved wage offering.

Their preferred option is to sell a couple of first team players (Modric and Di Maria seem the most likely) and are actively trying to find deals for both. This would free up funds to cover some of the transfer and extra wage bill for Bale + Ronaldo.

RM want to be able to offer Ronaldo an improved contract BEFORE Bale arrives as they feel he will look for another club otherwise. MUFC are not his only option and rumour is PSG are also waiting for the Bale deal to complete before making an offer.

22 Aug 2013 11:29:14
just want to put this out there, I appreciate there is still time left in this transfer window, but I get the feeling if nobody is signed then the "this is the squad that won the league" line will be trawled out, when you look at Bayern, won the treble and still strengthened, Barcelona won the league signed Neymar, my point is you should always strengthen after success, not wait until failure to re-strengthen
i appreciate not everybody will agree.
burnaldo7
p.s (love the site, long time reader, newly registered user)

RM fall within the FFPR comfortably.

Sydney!

Why do you say that regarding RM, Syd?

RM have no problems with the FFP regulations.

Sydney!

I musy say syd I too would like to know how u no this?

Swiss Ramble baby!

That's how I know.

I will break it down for you in a nutshell if possible. RM may go out and spend £200m this summer and sign players on a six year deal. £200m over six years is £33.3m. That is the amount that will be considered. BUT! when you sell a player, the WHOLE amount is subtracted in a lump sum. So if they sell players to the tune of £100m, the accounts will show a £66.6m profit in player sales. £100m minus £33.3m equals £66.6m.

MU could go out and spend £150m on players who have signed a five year deal and as long as player's sales is more than £30m this summer, we would actually post a profit in player sales.

Sydney!

We can all dream! 150million, imagine! Ronaldo, Ozil, Fellaini and Baines job done! would be really happy with 3 out of those 4 sadly I think it will be 2

I agree with syd that RM would have no probs with FFP, no definite knowledge but if citeh are spending without worrying then I can't see it being a problem for RM who probably have 3/4 x the income citeh do.
I did hear that levy was looking for cash not instalments on the bale deal and that's a lot even for RM and with the state of the spanish economy its not a given the banks would be willing to support them with nearly £100m so maybe a bit of balancing is needed?

They would have no problem because Platini has no issue with Spanish clubs spending huge money. Other than that, they signed Casemiro for £6 million, Carjaval for £6 million, Isco for £30 million, Illaramendi for £34 million, a total of £76 million, and sold Higuain for £32 million, Albiol and Cajellon for £16 million and Pedro Leon for £6 million, a total of £22 million. These figures are not exact, but Madrid could easily afford Ble at £90 million and with their commercial revenue they could easily afford to pay Ronaldo 20 million per year and Bale 10 million or so a year no problem.

Sydney that would be 33 million over the next 5 year plus money they have already spent in previous years which could be as much again . At some point they would have to stop spending such vast amounts as selling 100 million worth of talent is unachievable

No name, that is correct. It would be £33m plus previous amortised cost from previous buys in previous years. But they will spend big this summer and that will be it. They will be more careful in future and by selling a few fringe players each season they would be able to keep on top of the future spends and this summer's big spend.

Sydney!

22 Aug 2013 10:34:18
All the rumours of CR7 coming home makes me think that all our eggs are in that basket.
Maybe this year should be the year of the youth coming through.
Now is the opportunity for utd to do it as everyone is writing them off for the prem anyways.

If spurs can sign him why can't utd sign him. Thts not fantasy footbal ed

22 Aug 2013 10:09:13
Now that Mr Levy has finally come to an agreement with RM for Bale (If this proves to be the case) then this will finally unlock some transfer business for us. Modric on route and let's hope he packs Ronnie in his suitcase!

As much as I feel Rooney has not given 100% commitment over the past 2 seasons to UTD with his attitude and condition I do feel he will up his game (to make a point) if he goes to chelsea and let's face it underneath these problems he's still absolute world class.
So for me the addition of Modric, Ronnie and Fellaini (Not world class but will add something different) would put us in a better position in recent times to win the lot once again.
If we don't make such signings along with holding onto Rooney then i'm afraid we are probably looking at a runners up spot at best, let's hope not.

Come on Moyes pull off a stunner :)

Renn

How can you say Rooney has not been committed for the past two years.
He has sacrificed his position to play in the midfiled whenever Fergie has asked him to and has never once moaned about it.
The final nail in the coffin was when Fergie dropped him against Real Madrid and he was wrong to do that.
If I was Rooney I wouldn't be happy.

Simmo

Simmo

That then means his problem was with SAF not Utd or the fans so why wouldn't he have then moved instantly to quash rumours of him wanting to leave when Moyes took over?

Probably because he A. Doesn't care about the club and B. Wants to move.

22 Aug 2013 11:27:01
And how many games did he play in midfield. I think you can count them in one hand. Hardly the excuse most of you use to justify his frankly childish behaviour. MrE

Simmo

Must be horrible playing out of position for the biggest club in the world, on 200k plus a week & playing with quality players. Rooney has had it tough. He needs to show respect to our club.

U say his problem was with SAF not Manchester United but SAF was/is man utd.

It's a stand off so he cannot say anything to the media right now, not until MU give him a new deal or they agree to sell him to Chelsea. MU either need to pay him what he wants or he will join Chelsea. He cannot say he is leaving as he will forfeit his 5% and cannot say he's staying as he wants the new improved contract. It is a contract negotiation and Rooney must keep schtum at this point. MU are well within their rights to let his contract run down, but I think they will cash in if the right offer comes in and we have successfully brought in our own targets. That being said, people are saying our £30m plus add-ons bid for Cesc was derisory and possibly a token bid, well what do they make of Chelsea's £20m bid for Rooney and the latest £25m bid with add-ons? Are they token bids?

Sydney! {Ed044's Note - I am told by another Ed that Chelsea will make a third bid for Rooney but they are also in discussions over another forward as well.}

Strebor83

If you don't like your boss then he leaves and works in a different branch but still in the company would you still move if you were happy doing that job for that company?

Rooney doesn't want to be here so I say let him go and milk Chelsea for 50m. No less for them!

Simmo, If I recall, the day of the Swansea game last season, you had a good old moan about Rooney and his lack of fitness. So you clearly had an issue with his fitness like a lot of fans have had for sometime now, so if he wasn't 100%, then why was SAF wrong to drop him for the RM game? You could also make an argument for Welbeck being our best player over the two RM games so was it wrong for SAF to drop Rooney for Welbeck?

Sydney!

Ed044, Jackson Martinez?

Try and find out if Mata used in a deal for Rooney would be out of the question, or whether something could be done. I think it's a long shot, but worth asking IMO.

Sydney! {Ed044's Note - There has been no suggestions made about Mata being involved I am told.}

Syd
So you think this is all about Rooney getting a better contract than what he is on now .
So I take it you must think that Rooney wants to stop at United really.
That he's quite happy with being subbed played out of position dropped for big games as long as he gets paid more
That he doesn't want a move to Chelsea the chance to be the main man, play in his preferred role and work under Jose.

I think Rooney wants to move to Chelsea .
Jred

Why hasn't Rooney come out and said anything, quite simple he wants the move but United have told him no chance, which is why he's looking such an unhappy boy .
He won't get a new contract sulking.

Are they token bids we will see at the end of the transfer window, if United give barce a serious 40 mill bid you would have to say no but 30 mill was never going to get fab
Is it a token bid for Rooney or an attempt by to unsettle him and the club, make trouble then come in with a serious bid to buy an unhappy player, again we will see in 11 days.
Jred

Anything over 40 million would be great. Setting aside all the who has done what and all the conjecture about his current situation, I am convinced we will never see the player he was in 2010 just before his ankle injury.

I realize a lot of his supporters are clinging to this notion that we will suddenly get the wayne rooney of old but in reality it will not happen.

If he stays, I will not argue that we will get the occasional great game from him but we will get a lot more of very average/ bordering on poor performances from him.

Unfortunately, this transfer window has made it difficult for the club to move players due to the lack of any signings and hence we are in a difficult position when it comes to players like him.

The problem is Fergie is still up stairs probably pulling the strings.
There is no way back for Rooney now Fergie made sure of that by stating publicly that he wants a transfer.
What else can Rooney do but look for another club now.
I really do fear for Moyes if he let's Rooney go and he only brings in Fellaini and Baines.
Ive said it numerous times that a replacement is needed.
No matter what you think of Rooney the guy scores goals and nearly always averages 20+ a season.
Can you really see Welbeck doing that? Hernandez for me just isn't good enough to warrant a starting place, he's just a natural poacher / finisher.
I think for Moyes on sake if Rooney goes he needs a big signing.

Simmo

Sydney

Wellbeck generally plays well but he can't score goals.
I thought that Rooney was fit for the Real game, hence the reason why Rooney wasn't so unhappy with Fergies decision.
Who's to say that if Rooney would of played and considering the chances we created he would of finished them and we may have beaten Madrid.
It's all ifs and buts, i'm just saying I would rather have Rooney in my side.
It's going to be a massive mistake selling him to Chelsea because believe me he will score 20+ goals and I think will be the difference between Chelsea, us and City.

Simmo

Simmo

last 2 years being play out of position are you serious and do you even watch the games.

He was played in midfield a handful of times last year. He is not going to unseat RVP as first choice on the team sheet and depending on his fitness and form he has to compete with the likes of kagawa, welbeck and hernandez to get into the team and that is football mate and nothing personal about that and happens to all great players.

Jred, IMO Rooney wants an improved contract to stay or he will be happy to move to Chelsea. I don't think MU will offer him a new deal and that is why he is sulking.

I think Rooney would sign a new and improved contract tomorrow if offered. But I don't see MU doing it this time round. That's my opinion.

Sydney!

Jred, so £30m plus add-ons for a Barcelona fringe player isn't a serious offer? Barcelona who want two CB's and have little money to make it happen? I would say it's a fair second offer. I am sure if MU had any positive feedback that Barcelona would do business they would go back in with a higher bid. They still might.

So when Chelsea offer a low bid it's tactical, but when we do it it's just to fool the fans into thinking we are genuinely interested in signing a top player.

Sydney!

Simmo, aren't you just a little bit worried that we will get the same Rooney as last season if he stays? Poor control, losing the ball, making no effort to get the ball back. Sure, if we were getting the Rooney of 2009/10 then it would be a no brainer to keep him, even give him a better contract, but physically he has never got back to 2009/10 in three years and off the back of a very poor season will he 100% improve? I am certain we have seen the best of Rooney, I think no one will argue with that, but even if he could get back to 2011/12 standard would be acceptable. He is never going to score as many goals again with RvP being the penalty taker now, but a 2011/12 Rooney would be an asset unquestionably, I just think people are worries we will get the same Rooney as last season. That will not help anyone as when he is playing badly it will cost the team. If he was on £40k a week then he can afford to have plenty of off days, but he is our highest paid player and his performances need to mirror that.

We will never see the 2009/10 Rooney again obviously, but are we going to get the 2011/12 Rooney or the 2012/13 Rooney?

Sydney!

"U say his problem was with SAF not Manchester United but SAF was/is man utd.
strebor83"

I like to think that we the fans are Manchester United, the club can survive losing anyone person but it can't live without us.

Syd
fabergas has played 48 games a season for barcelona so hardly a fringe player.
30 mill was never going to get him but as you say barce need cash so a big offer would be hard to turn down, however I don't think we will make such an offer.
chelsea r going for an unsettled player and also unsettling there main rivals also unlike united I expect them to continue to try for the player

so you honestly think that rooney isn't unhappy at the club, isn't unhappy at being subbed etc and would rather play second fiddle at united than be main man at chelsea . don't forget he will get very good contract at chelsea

i honestly think there is a lot that points to rooney wanting out the club and not that much to point to him wanting to sign a new contract and commit his future to the club.
chelsea will offer just as much money and the chance for a new start and the strikers role
jred

Perhaps fringe player is a bit strong, but he isn't first choice in the strongest XI. That's my point.

The package offered was €40m. So if the initial amount was £30m, then £4m must have been the add-ons. Would you say a €40m offer for a second offer is derisory or a token bid? I certainly don't.

I think the Rooney thing has run it's course, we know each other's thoughts so we will leave it there I think. Although I do think he will end up in the hole at Chelsea too either this summer or next if he signed for them.

Sydney!

Syd
On the Barcelona page and this page ed001 said the fabergas bid was to appease fans, do you know better and if so how
Jred

Syd
Lol with all the players Chelsea have to play in the 3 Oscar Mata De duryne, hazard you think Jose is buying Rooney to play there .
Even though Jose has said he wants him as a striker as well,
Lol it gets better.

Jred, that's Ed001's opinion. It's not fact.

I think Rooney will eventually replace Lampard, but expect he would play as a striker this season if he signs for Chelsea. I think Lukaku or someone like Martinez will play ahead of Rooney eventually.

Sydney!

Syd
he seems to know what he's talking about and he did say nothing would come off it and we would then move for fellaini .
I always thought the fabergas thing never felt right so what he said made sense and actually happened .

So do you know better
Jred

Most people thought nothing would come of it. perhaps as high as 95% of people on here. Fellaini was always going to be a target. As soon as Moyes took over 002 said Moyes could turn his attentions to Fellaini instead of Strootman. When we let Strootman join Roma without any fight from us to sign him it was obvious Fellaini was going to be a target. Nearly if not every paper said Fellaini will join MU.

I do not know better, I know the same amount as you and him. Naff all.

Sydney!

22 Aug 2013 09:33:05
Bebe spotted getting out of a black Mercedes at Old T. It's the marquee signing. This is the one.

22 Aug 2013 08:19:48
So Guillem Balague has confirmed when RM sign Bale, Ronaldo will still not be sold. I for one is starting to get a little worried with our lack of signings.

KC

Yeh because he's been right so many times ain't he, remember Falcao?

Only just started worrying? The writing has been on the wall from the start. Unless something drastic happens in the next 10 days. This will be the worst window in our history. From the public bids for players, to Ed Woodwards "flying home for urgent transfer business". Its all come to nothing. We have been linked with about £500m worth of players and signed 1 who cost us about £1m.
I don't think social media helps though, as people cling to every word the apparent "In The Knows" but and the lack of action is proving them all wrong.
This window has been strange, all the clubs are doing things openly in the public eye. Think of Suarez, Rooney, Bale, Fabregas, Fellain, Baines etc. Yet still nothing comes of it. (for us anyway).
Even Southampton are spending well, Swansea, Norwich and not to mention Spurs and City. While we have sat on our hands.
I genuinely hope this dithering tactic doesn't come back to bite us come Sept 2nd, because despite what all the players say about "happy with current squad" we are not good enough to challenge on all four fronts.

Sambo

22 Aug 2013 07:19:05
Constantine

Noticed you had posted a few times on here recently, is this the same Cons that moved to St A's from London?

22 Aug 2013 02:33:26
im an everton fan but an admirer of your club and ex boss.i have heard that your split about buying fellaini.he would be a great signing for you he's the missing link in your midfield.can you tell me what cleverley does as I don't rate him.baines is a brilliant left back, but I know he won't join you because he does not want to play for moyes again.moyes is a very negative boss, his substitutions will puzzle you, most of us were glad to see him go, you won't win title with moyes trust me. thanks phil

Yeh I know fancy taking off giggs and putting on rooney, baffles the mind :-)

You might not like this he was defensive because he had to be everton were punching above there weight when he was in charge and he would have to hold on to points or defend a 1 0 against a bigger team. I think you will see how good moyes was defensively now you got martinez whose teams tend to be awful at the back I don't think everton will finish in the top half to be honest.

Oh deary me.methinx phil is gutted because about to lose Fellani and obviously still not over loss of Moyes.

Tragic.

Phil, you might well be right. He was not first choice to a lot of people. If his decisions on the football pitch are as slow and negative as his dealings in the transfer market, then we're in major trouble.
We recruited a very nice man as a manager many years ago, he had a very good football brain but was very conservative in his play, unfortunately, he is no longer with us, his name was Dave Sexton. A really tough guy and very polite and brilliant tactician. But he didn't make it at united, because in here we take risks, play attacking football. Non of which are traits associated with David Moyes.
I wish the man success, but he should not be United manager.
Ferguson had been making a lot of mistakes in recent years, buying average players like tosic, obertan, young, bellion etc while letting good talent go, like Pogba and Morrison. His decision to get Moyes to follow him is the biggest mistake he's ever made. Unfortunately, the powers at united, want a 'yes' man, and they've got him in Moyes.

We won the league with a terrible midfield. Now if we add (as you say) the missing link in Fellaini, then surely we have a chance?
Think Baines deal is done
Throw in Ross Barkley too
I also rate Mirallas and Coleman.

Boyley

Moyes lost points through being so defensive, a 1-1 he would (at home) take off his only striker (as he only likes to play 1 upfront) and then loose the game 1-2, this sort of thing would happen many times - dithering Dave.

22 Aug 2013 00:03:06
just noticed that vidic is evens to join byern before the transfer window closes. I personally haven't seen or heard anything about this? was just wondrring if anybody could shed some light on the situation

It was only the other day that he was saying that Manchester United is 'the best club' and why would Wayne want to move anywhere, I can't see Nemanja leaving

So far all the major transfer dealings at our club has been, Rooney leaving, vidic leaving and the gea leaving. And here we are thinking we were actually going to BUY someone!

Vidic and De Gea not going anywhere and it is just journalist writing rubbish. Rooney is another matter and I am not sure what is going on with him and what the clubs intentions are.

21 Aug 2013 23:02:45
I know I'm probably in the minority but I'm glad Mourinho isn't our manager. It really showed no class today when he gave no credit to Villa for their performance and the fact that the ref got 3 major decisions wrong. Y