Manchester United Banter Archive May 27 2015

27 May 2015 22:45:30
Feel free to correct me if what I'm saying is incorrect, but as far as I remember the bids by United and Chelsea for Hazard were very similar. Hazard chose Chelsea. We will never know the exact story but had we offered an extra £5m + £25k a week more in wages, would he have made another choice?

The reality we need to face is that Manchester United is not necessarily the most desirable team to play for. Chelsea and Arsenal have London, rather than Manchester, PSG has Paris, Barcelona and Madrid appeal naturally to the Latin players offering desirable locations and as much or more money. If we want the best established players today we are going to have to outbid the opposition because we are not going to do it on name alone.

And the same goes for managers. Objectively where would you have preferred to go these last couple of years - Bayern, Real, Barcelona, Paris, Chelsea or a Manchester United dealing with an aging squad and the SAF hangover?

I'm not saying we won't make it back to the top, but we have our work cut out for us. Some teams would kill for 4th place, but United fans in general have greeted it with negativity. Get real.

27 May 2015 22:57:26
Come on Shawthing that is ridiculous. Yes other clubs may be in more desirable locations and I can see why they would appeal to a foreign lad but we are a global brand and have plenty of appeal. Top level appeal at that. If a player would rather live comfortably in a certain city rather than win trophies (Di Maria) during their career then good riddance to them.

We are not a mediocre club, stop trying to make us sound like one.

28 May 2015 00:17:06
I can't believe that people still think that we were anywhere near matching Hazard's valuation.

In an interview shortly after Hazard was signed SAF stated that £34m was way too much, "It's all about what you think is value for a player. I am not envious of those deals at all. We placed a value on Hazard which was well below what they were talking about"

28 May 2015 01:01:45
Agree what jmb said, and the Man Utd managers job was the rarest about with SAF been there so long. Virtually all managers would jump at the chance to manage us.

28 May 2015 06:00:15
Danny

I also believe fergie wanted Lucas Moura and if you remember correctly we got stumped by PSG on fees on that one too in the same summer.

Also read something about fergie refusing to pay the agent fees in the hazard deal, which was reported to be 5 or 6 mill which he thought was ridiculous/atrocious if i remember correctly.

28 May 2015 06:17:40
Shawthing

You are kidding right? I think you are getting too hung up reading half the bs the metro or star rights. I have always maintained even at great debate here lol when people said we had the 30 million plateau that when we want a player and if they are available and we deem the numbers worth it 90% percent of the time they will come.

There is always that 10% who choose other clubs for various reasons i.e relationship with the manager or just the style of play suits their ability better. We are a lot bigger than you think and next year will surpass Madrid as the biggest club in the world and i think you will see the gap increase over the next 5 years.

I would argue in the UK and for UK based players that number is even higher no one comes even close. I know chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal fans will disagree but who cares. The issue with us has always been that it is very hard to break into the first team and that puts off some young players and we do not have the patients as club or fans to watch a player making mistakes and learning on the pitch.

Read somewhere Varrane decided on Madrid because we signed Jones and Smalling and had Vidic and Ferdinand and Evans and thought he would hardly get a game.

Our issue has been some of the young players we have banked our future on have not developed to the extent that was expected and some have been a complete miss but then again we have always as a club bought high potential young players and some turn out like Ronaldo and some turn out like Zaha, cleverly, Powell, Anderson, Nani etc etc who might still come good in a few years but we are not willing to wait that long.

28 May 2015 09:09:19
ed 002 said at the time the glazers had a issue stumping up for agent fees

28 May 2015 11:07:34
GCU that was the summer when we wanted a young winger, but only on the cheap. Chelsea got Hazard who has developed into the best player in the league, PSG got Moura who has played a big part in their last two title wins, and we got Zaha who made a total of 4 appearances for us before we finally sold him back to Palace for a significant loss.

But Fergie was totally right, £34m for Hazard was a complete waste of money. Boy is there egg on Chelsea's face right now.

28 May 2015 12:58:15
Yeh I thought it was agents fees of around £5m which were the issue?
All irrelevant now although he turned out to be a great deal even at the total price.

28 May 2015 18:24:04
Danny

The response was to hazard choosing chelsea over us and in this case it was about us not willing to pay the agent fees. Moura was coming until Leonardo and PSG just put silly offer on the table and he went the other way.


Many clubs walk away from players if the cost is to high so nothing unusual there.

27 May 2015 20:28:48
Had an intresting debate further down the page about Rooney and would like other folks opinions on this to see if I am indeed way off the mark. The post is in regards to how intelligent Rooney is as a player.

I personally do not think he is a very intelligent player but more an instinctive, natural footballer. I would class someone like Suarez, Messi, Bergkamp etc as intelligent forwards who are adaptable and can envisage situations on the park that others can not. I am not knocking Rooney. He has been a great servant to the club but I think over the years sometimes he has just ran around the pitch like a headless chicken.

Also with LVG stating several times this season "Rooney is captain so he merits a place in the team" if we sign all these wonderful players we are linked with (especially if we sign a star striker) will LVG back track and bench Rooney if someone better comes along or will he just shift him somewhere else he can't play so he is on the teamsheet?

27 May 2015 21:07:31
JMB, the Rooney debate tends to get a bit feisty as he does divide opinion. Some see him a legend who is world class. Others see him as a good player who is over hyped and fails to deliver on the big occasions. LVG has made a rod for his own back with the "he plays" comment. As you say, if we sign a world class forward, where does Wayne play? He is not good enough to play midfield, the only other option for him is as a No10. For me, I would have sold him when we had the chance and still would if we got offered decent money.

27 May 2015 21:49:56
I disagree Jmb. I can see this post getting into a long debate but I'll give my view.

First off what do you class as intelligent? Because many times Rooney has envisaged situations on the pitch. Just because he likes to work hard on the pitch and help out the team doesn't mean he is as you put it "not intelligent"

If anything his WORK RATE on the pitch makes him more intelligent, I think the fact Rooney is English always make him a target to be criticised, Rooney is our best player(even with dea gea performing as he has over the past 2 seasons) and has been since Ronaldo left. and he will be first on the team sheet every week.

People seem to forget the year 11/12 when he scored 35 goals in all comps. So he proven he be a proper striker when played there, but how many times has he played in that position?

27 May 2015 22:03:34
I think Rooney is intelligent he just can't pull off the passes or quality he wants too. If RVP was fit he'd be light years ahead of Rooney in every aspect including intelligent play. Trouble is LVG has made him captain based on years of service without understanding his lack of pace and skill. For us to play 433 we need better and as hard working and dedicated as Rooney is, he's just not good enough. Before I get battered by the Rooney lovers ask yourself how many top teams would Rooney get into?

27 May 2015 22:20:05
Welsh red - what about the pass to Rvp against villa at old Trafford for the volley? That was quality. And at the moment other than barca because their front three are on another planet he would walk into any team.

27 May 2015 22:21:05
World Class Legend!

27 May 2015 22:22:14
To me it seems like the opposite. Rooney is an incredibly intelligent footballer with gold awareness although he may lack some natural ability compared to other strikers. While someone like Suarez is blessed with incredible talent and the ability to act on instinct and react perfectly in high pressure situations, something I don't think Rooney really has.

27 May 2015 23:07:04
In football to be instinctive you kind of use intelligence don't you? Essentially you are playing out a situation in your head or putting some level of thought into where the ball could end up for a variety of reasons.

Also Welsh Red Devil, the simple fact that he's scored a lot of goals in a top league, with a large amount of them being spectacular he will always get played, whether by our manager at this club or a different manager at another top European side, if he moved.

I'm still of the opinion that he's lost his explosive pace a bit, or tends not to run at defenders as much now but has naturally changed to more of a no.10. If he's played up front with an on form winger either side and a decent midfield behind then he'll score goals, perhaps not as many as a few notable strikers out but play him as a 10 behind a top quality striker then he'll contribute a lot more.

28 May 2015 11:13:32
I agree Rooney is hard working, had the odd spectacular goal in him and is dedicated but he isn't a world class player.
Yeah that pass 2 years ago was great and yes he's scored goals but this is all past tense. He wouldn't get into any top team cz his short passing is poor, he gets robbed of the ball to easily, his goals and impact are drying up every season. Most top teams are playing with one striker and Rooney wouldn't be ahead of Aguero, Costa, Suarez, Benzema, even Giroud plays that role better cz he has more mobility. He isn't a midfielder and Mata is a better number 10. I agree with AJH, we should've sold him when his stock was high as he has declined since Chelsea bid for him even before then really.
SAF wanted to move him on and that's a good enough statement for me, we shouldn't have built around Rooney he should have been part of the building.
Anyway guys just my humble opinion ;)

27 May 2015 19:32:55
I should thank 'The Beast' for catching exactly what I mean about Gaitan in my previous post. GCU, in my previous post I did not suggest Gaitan as an alternate for Strootman in CM.Gaitan and Strootman are different players there is no doubt about that.I just tried to say both gaitan and Strootman may fit the so called LVG System.

27 May 2015 20:35:35
I agree what with you Maestro. I think LVG also has targets who in his head that he wants or has always wanted (Strootman, Hummels) and will do all he can to get them in even if the majority are not sold on the player.

It will be interesting to see how Depay is deployed next season because two touch, three step football is not what he is all about. I want to see him driving at defences and getting at the fullback and if that's the case then the 'philosophy' won't work.

27 May 2015 20:57:23
Jmb ,

Of course lvg is going to try to get the players he wants . What 'the majority' want doesn't come into it any more than it did with SAF , it's not Britains Got Talent where we all get to vote

27 May 2015 21:17:02
Bilko you have misunderstood the post. What I mean is generally the manager would give a list of targets to the football club and if a deal can't be done for a certain player they will move down the list until they get one of those players.

I get the impression that LVG is head strong in the fact he wants someone specific and likes a dog with a bone won't let go. It's not a bad trait but it worries me if this is the case that we again overspend on certain individuals, but hey-ho its not my money being spent!

You did always strike me as a Britains got talent kind of guy. You and my grandma would probably get on.

27 May 2015 21:45:47
Is she fed up of you moaning about Van gaal too then ?

{Ed025's Note - i like that bilko.. :)

27 May 2015 22:06:24
Lmao Bilko quality response

27 May 2015 22:20:22
I have never moaned about Van Gaal Bilko. I have only took off my biased United specks to give a clear view of how he is doing things. It's a shame yours seem tattooed to your little face which makes you look rather silly sometimes.

27 May 2015 22:55:40
Very hurtful and personal , I may have to make an announcement that I'm not going to post on here for at least the next hour

{Ed025's Note - now thats just hurting everyone bilko.. :)

28 May 2015 01:00:46
Very witty.

28 May 2015 10:22:24
Midfield

I find the Gaitan thing also odd as it has come out of the blue. He is very skilful and fits many teams mate and not just LVG's style. Granted have not seen any off him since last year. He can play on both wings and an upgrade on Valencia who can't cross to save his life.

Then again if you believe the papers today we are in for reus, gundogan is a done deal and hummels is a done deal lol.

It will be a fun summer :)

27 May 2015 17:17:42
Lvg may go for 3 free agents this summer too, these are Alves, Vlaar and Khedira and then easily go for his 3 top targets at their prices and so keeping his total cost low

27 May 2015 17:44:54
alves yes, not great defensively but excellent going forwards therefore an improvement on Tony V.

Vlaar. no better than smallng rojo jones or evans at this point. with mcnair and blackett last thing we need is another CB that is not world class

khedira mayb a back up for carrick/ Herrera but i'd much rather we got schweinsteiger if he is available for under 15m, a younger all round better no.6 than carrick

27 May 2015 17:46:36
I may not go for 3 free transfers.

27 May 2015 15:55:27
This place used to be actually useful this time of year, bland as hell in here now without any real info. I'll be off to redcafe where at least the discussions are sensible and not just irrational spoilt brats moaning about how we should be playing because we are the oh so superior Man United. I'll check back in once a week to see if ED002 stops punishing us for JMB's idiocy, otherwise there's not much point in using this site any longer. Peace.

27 May 2015 16:02:24
We'll so miss you Red Rosie.
Patrick

27 May 2015 16:12:39
I wouldn't bother Rosie, certain people have driven Ed002 away, makes this place a lot less useful, but we have to accept that we have a brain dead minority infecting an other wise enjoyable site.

27 May 2015 16:23:41
It's just a shame is all, it used to be we would get some good info from Ed002 then we would all discuss how X player would/could fit into the team. Now it's just monotonous moaning and then the inevitable counter arguments to said moaning. This site just serves no purpose to me any more. At least redcafe provides good discussions and reasoned debate. Also has set rules so people who are out of line get bans rather than everyone getting punished. Oh well such is life. I'm off to read about how my Minnesota Vikings off-season is going!

27 May 2015 16:38:11
Does it really matter Rosie. We will get linked to a 100 players and even the eds never pick up on half the transfers until its pretty much there for everyone to see. Shaw and Herrera come to mind.

Get used to the spin mate its the same every year.

27 May 2015 16:34:49
Stay safe Rosie.

27 May 2015 17:36:30
You can't be that bored Rosie surely? :-)

27 May 2015 17:48:04
I blame Beast for everything!

27 May 2015 17:59:44
I blame LVG!

27 May 2015 20:13:41
Red Rosie with that relentless pleading Ed002 will be back in no time.

27 May 2015 20:32:33
I blame David Moyes.

27 May 2015 21:13:47
I blame blatter.

27 May 2015 21:40:01
Think we all blame Blatter Chris!

27 May 2015 21:52:54
Edgy comment to go with your edgy new picture and persona JMB. Keep up the edginess mate.

28 May 2015 10:26:55
I agree its all moyes and fergies fault :)

27 May 2015 11:05:01
Is it true that we have agreed terms with Gaitan for a reported 21 mil? Just wanted the Eds to give their opinion on the player. I remember that in 2011, SAF tried to sign him but the move didn't materialise. Is he that good now?

{Ed007's Note - How many times is that the deal has been done?}

27 May 2015 16:38:56
Since 2010 about 6 or 7 times LOL>

27 May 2015 21:53:12
I hear he's absolutely loaded from signing on fee's and wages from both Benfica and United. Lucky lad

27 May 2015 14:11:48
I would rather spend 20-25 million on a certain Christian Benteke than spend 45-50 million pounds on Benzema.
In the right team (United)in my opinion this kid would score you a load of goals.
Add Gundogen and Otamendi and a decent right back, maybe Clyne and and i will be a very happy man.

27 May 2015 14:41:57
I agree but i would like to see 2 midfielders. one CDM and one box to box.

27 May 2015 15:51:08
Benteke is not that good. He doesn't suit to the style of football that LVG has tried to make us play this season. There's no way he would succeed at United ( though I know there's no chance of him coming )

27 May 2015 17:07:55
Would much prefer Berahino.

27 May 2015 17:12:14
Prefer The west Brom Boy.

27 May 2015 17:30:31
Can you honestly give me a valid reason why Benteke isn't good Sailor. You don't just say "he isn't that good" without a reason.
Why wouldn't he fit in to the united side. have a think how many points we dropped this season by not finishing games off without a proper out and out striker.
Benteke is easily good enough to play on his own up front with three behind and two holding midfielders, he is perfect for united. He's got great control, loads of pace to burn and is a top finisher. He's also superb in the air and he's only 24.
On Berahino, for me he's not as good as Benteke, Benteke's all round game is much better plus Berahino has serious attitude problems off the pitch.

27 May 2015 18:17:28
Simmo benteke is good for long ball approach, he is strong in the air and can bully defenders but he doesn't suit an approach where a team keeps a lot of possession. He can't run in behind defenders even though he is fast but just doesn't have those instincts. He can't beat defenders by skill and isn't that good in giving the final ball if he's in box and he has to find someone else. Now is not the time to take in such a player and teach him these things, I'd rather go for a finished article. If we go for a long ball approach mixed with countinous crossing from the wings then benteke and fellaini would be a formidable team up front but fans wouldn't like to see that.

28 May 2015 12:32:05
Sailor. you obviously haven't watched Benteke this season then if you think that all he's good for is a long ball.
He is great on the ball and can use both feet.
You say he can't beat a man. are you serious?
One of his goals i remember him picking the ball up from the half way line and beating 4-5 players and sliding it in to the corner of the net.
Sorry mate your way off with your analysis!

27 May 2015 11:13:52
"There is one team out there that would like to play without goals. That team plays well, the quality of the ball possession is really beautiful but no goals. They asked the international board of Fifa to be champions for playing like this but were told it was not possible, that the bigger possession of the ball does not win matches." - (Jose Mourinho, 2015)

This is what Jose said about us during Chelsea's team awards. He thinks we're a laughing stock.

27 May 2015 11:26:02
He sounds bitter that we dominated them at Stamford Bridge.

27 May 2015 11:30:57
He sounds like a winner.

27 May 2015 11:41:44
Sounds more like he's worried to me. Were obviously in his thoughts and he knows how LVG works. He's lucky we've been weak in front of goal this term because 28% posession gets a whole lot worse when there's 2 or 3 goals on the scoresheet and you haven't knicked the win. You go from being dubbed the master tactician to your team having the worst performance of the season from any team.

27 May 2015 11:55:39
Guys it was all in jest, he was just poking fun and did it to all the other teams including his own Chelsea!

Where is everybody's sense of humour gone? Watch the speech

27 May 2015 12:03:33
Obviously we need to sack lvg following these comments

27 May 2015 12:04:37
Chelsea are not a great side. They are not that much better than last season. In fact, they seemed to have regressed as far as CL was concerned, losing to a side they beat the season before.

The won the league in the first half of the season when no-one else could put a run together. Next season will be much different IMO.

We just need balance and quality in vital areas. With added speed and power to our attack, we will be able to turn our possession into goals IMO.

27 May 2015 12:18:21
Yeah don't get so touchy, he was having fun with LVG's claim that we should have beaten them because we dominated possession. No big deal, just a bit of a wind up after a successful season for them.

And they won the league throughout the entire season because they are good at doing enough to win games. Nobody got close to them all year and they won at a canter.

27 May 2015 12:19:21
They were head and shoulders above us this season so if they aren't a great team then what are we?

27 May 2015 12:24:32
So basically Danny he was making LVG seem a little ridiculous?

27 May 2015 12:25:33
If parking a bus won the league the possession can also win the league!

27 May 2015 12:30:26
mbd
did chelsea also score the most goals

27 May 2015 12:34:39
I agree Mbd. A lack of cutting edge possession may actually bore our opponents to death and then by default we could be champions.

27 May 2015 12:42:44
Who said United were a great team?

IMO, there are four great teams currently playing in the world of football and Chelsea isn't one of them.

27 May 2015 12:43:31
Who cares?
Certainly not me.

27 May 2015 12:43:37
Chelsea were the best team in the league this season, just like we were when we won it in SAF's last term, when if I remember correctly, everybody said we were crap, and that the league was weak. Oh wait, haven't people been reiterating the latter part this year too.

They will be good next season too, but that doesn't mean to say they will win it. An injury to Hazard, and a few people taking their chances at key moments as Rooney should have done at the Bridge, and someone else will be champions. It's not like they're scoring a lot of goals either. They're just competent enough to be on the right side of more 1-0s.

Sometimes the stars align, and sometimes they don't. We are just one creative spark and one great striker away from making a run for the title.

27 May 2015 12:49:57
Haha I guess I shouldn't be surprised that people have taken his comments seriously, it was a joke, he poked fun at Arsenal and City too, it was all in jest, laugh at it, have a sense of humour, they were better than us, they can laugh at us, next season hopefully we can laugh at them.

27 May 2015 12:55:44
i woudnt say they were head and shoulders above us jmb, i think that shown when we have played them this season, both games we were the better team, so i wouldn't say they are that much better than us, they were just consistently better than everyone else over 38 games.

27 May 2015 12:56:43
He was taking the piss like most ordinary people do, no malice in it, just having a bit of a gloat and a wind up.

Did LVG's comments after the Chelsea game make him look ridiculous?

I would say no. We were coming off a really good run of performances and the manager was attempting to maintain the belief that we were capable of competing against the best. I'm far more concerned about the subsequent free-fall in performances after that game, than any media soundbite the manager gave.

27 May 2015 12:58:37
It was he's comical reply to LVG about the comments he made about Chelsea game. come on FUN LAUGHTER AND SMILES😆

27 May 2015 13:30:58
JMB's vacation lasted as long as it took him to find a new profile pic. back with a negative bang! what's the point in comparing ourselves to Chelsea last season when they won it and we didnt?? you're telling us nothing we don't already know, but were all looking forward to next season not dwelling on the past. Pity there wasnt a change of record with the pic

27 May 2015 13:37:05
As a Chelsea fan I've got to say I'm quite surprised to see how none of you really rate Chelsea. I think in the Champions League we were slightly unlucky to go out to PSG on away goals and to be honest I think Blanc got their tactics spot on over the two legs, not to mention if we could have defended their corners better we would have went through (and then we would've got battered by Barca haha)

27 May 2015 14:13:59
It is a matter of taste, Saim. I am not a fan of Jose's teams. Yes, they are tough, durable and produce results, but they play a brand of football that I find boring to be honest. I would much rather win in style than win by being a very good defensive minded team, which Chelsea is. Take Hazard out of the equation and you would have struggled this season, IMO. He has been your major outlet when teams have been on top.

PSG played you off the pitch. That said, I believe tha the pre-Christmas Chelsea team would have beaten that PSG side. They played you at a time when you were probably at your lowest ebb, and they capaitalised on it. As it turned out though, it was a blessing in disguise and ultimately allowed you to walk the league.

I expect you will be much stronger in the CL next season, as that will be Jose and the teams main focus IMO.

27 May 2015 11:07:11
Before I start, I should mention I am not a United fan but in fact a Chelsea fan. However, I'd like to share my thoughts on how, in my opinion, United should spend their money this transfer window. First of all, if De Gea leaves (which in my opinion Man United cannot let happen), they should go for Cech as much as I'd hate to see it happen. They should sign a RB, perhaps Dani Alves on a free as he seems to have not lost his ability nor physicality one bit. A centre back (or two) is a must, and for me it's going to either be Hummels or Otamendi. Although I haven't seen much of Otamendi I have heard very good things about him, although I have my doubts as only a year ago he was loaned to the Brazilian league. Hummels is very overrated in my opinion, not to mention how slow he is- would be an upgrade on what United have got at the moment nonetheless. A holding midfielder to replace/rotate with Carrick is essential and Bastian Schweinsteiger would be perfect as it seems he's available at a fairly low price not to mention he's still one of the best. Age shouldn't be too much of an issue (reminder that Carrick is 3/4 years older). You almost certainly need a box to box midfielder as well and I've seen you've been linked with Gundogan, Vidal and Naingolan. Gundogan or Vidal would be perfect for you if it wasn't for their injury concerns which seem to be big problems for both players and to be honest with you I have never seen Naingolan play in my life. A midfield three of Schweinsteiger, Vidal and Herrera would be scary! On the wings I think you're probably covered for the time being with Depay coming in as I would give Di Maria another season to prove his worth. Up front you ill almost certainly need another striker coming in with Falcao returning to Monaco and RVP not looking anything like the player he was only 2 seasons ago. The real debate is whether or not Rooney should be the lead striker, and for me he isn't good enough anymore. You should try to sign a player like Benzema, Higuain or Lewandowski (all long shots in my opinion) and let them battle it out with Rooney and slowly integrate Rooney out of the team as you've become far too reliant on him.
I'd like to apologise for the long post but I hope you stuck through it, I'd like to hear your thoughts?
Good luck for next season (although not too much)!!

27 May 2015 11:51:39
good post Saim. agree with most of it, would love to get alves and schweinsteiger, hope we keep de gea but cech would b a decent replacement for a few years. i'd rather see a midfield of schwein, Herrera and mata simply because of the understanding that mata and Herrera hav. money can't buy interplay like that. its either there or its not.
I think i'd like 1 more year of rooney as lead striker RVP/Wilson as back up then get a top striker next summer. I think if we sign benzema or higuain they will struggle to keep rooney out of the first team as he's captain and LVG clearly rates him. I would hate to see us ruin another top striker like we did falcao

27 May 2015 12:11:10
Agree with you about the interplay between Mata and Herrera, however I think that midfield is a risk worth taking. All very good players and all different types of midfielders. It would offer the right balance in my opinion (and reading some of the comments on here apparently LVG likes his balance)!

27 May 2015 12:56:24
I certainly won't complain if we get vidal as well, always good to have options and perhaps carrick/schweinsteiger Herrera and mata lack a bit of steel. where do u think Chelsea need to strengthen Saim? Costa looked great first half of the season but then injuries/ suspensions hit. Will Zouma take over from Terry as first choice CB?

27 May 2015 13:33:08
I think we need to sign a right winger who can score goals, perhaps Griezmann (although I feel he may be a little lightweight for the prem) or maybe a cheeky bid for Bale which seems very unlikely. We need another striker to replace Drogba, maybe even 2 strikers because there's a lot of talk of Remy leaving as well (would be a massive mistake though)! I would quite like to see Lacazette come in as he's very young still and scored plenty of goals this season. There's also the Bundesliga top goalscorer who I must admit I've never watched (cannot remember his name, sorry) who is relatively unknown. A left back is also likely since Luis is probably off to Spain and we've been linked with Rahman who is pretty highly rated. Terry has to start the season at CB for me as he's been top class this season. If anything I would replace Cahill with Varane playing next to Terry and then slowly integrate Zouma into the defence- imagine a Zouma and Varane defence over the next 10 years! A centre mid would be nice as well, Veratti would be awesome although I can't stand the little rat! I guess it all depends on departures though!

27 May 2015 17:32:20
Salim very good post Mate.

27 May 2015 17:33:31
Leave verrati to us as you said he is little rat :)

27 May 2015 10:42:43
Well, it looks a proper trfr window now that we are linked with Gaitan again. A sneijder link would affirm that.

26 May 2015 23:44:00
I actually think the Alves deal will be a real good bit of business thinking about it (if it happens), myself like ed04 was really against the idea, but after watching the last 6 games I've seen how much Toni gets the ball but unfortunately he now has neither the final ball, left foot or drive to beat a man in the final 3rd.

Ive seen quite a bit of Barca this season and he has had a very good one I must say.

Stick him next to a top draw CB like Hummels or Otamendi and we could have a good platform to build with.

Yes he's 32 but right now I think we need to be a bit more clever when signing players.

Recent activity shows we have been squeezed a lot in the last 3 Windows. So on a free it would keep the balance sheet nice and give us time over the next few years to find another RB.

I don't want Clyne for over 20m or Coleman too. Top players, but that money is too high when we need to really strengthen the core of the team and if we have to over spend to get our men for the area I'd rather it be the spine.

27 May 2015 05:23:17
I agree with you Chris. As much as I think Valencia has done enough to merit being retained this season, how many times has he been at the top end of the pitch and offered next to nothing in terms of crossing and attacking threat?

Alves may be getting on but who is out there at the moment better than him? Lahm, Ivanovic, Zabeleta are the only players who are better or up there with him at the moment. He has lost no pace and he is still at the top of his game. I've said it time and time again age is just number.

27 May 2015 08:19:17
Chris

Worte something similar on the other page. Good enough for Barca I would say plenty good enough for us considering what we currently have Valencia who can not cross period and not a defender and Rafael who is getting paid for being injured all the time and when he played one good game and so inconsistent.
Barca want him to stay but want him to take a massive wage cut and on a free it is great piece of business if the wages are reasonable. He would give us so much bite down the right side.

27 May 2015 08:58:13
JMB, you back then?

27 May 2015 09:11:28
Haha busted JMB

27 May 2015 09:23:58
i wouldn't class lahm as a rb anymore jmb., since he plays cm most of the time at bayern, but given the fact Valencia isn't a rb he hasn't done that bad.

alves has been good but all his diving and play acting would just p*ss me off. no time for players who cheat. I would rather try get clyne or coleman than alves regardless of being on a free.

27 May 2015 09:36:21
As long as the one footed maestro is no longer at RB i'm all for Daniel Alves to come in and mark it as his own for the next 2/3 seasons.

Barca want to keep him, who are currently a much better team than us, so if he is good enough to be their RB is definitely good enough to be ours.

27 May 2015 09:48:03
Dani Alves is the best option. Coleman, Clyne and Darmian will all be outrageously expensive and Cancelo is a huge risk.

27 May 2015 10:07:43
Juventus have done very well with their recruitment policy: think I read whole team cost less than £94m.

Pogba (free), Vidal (7.5m), Tevez (12m), Evra (1.2m).

Believe they're also favourites to get Khedeira on a free - and weren't they sniffing around Perreira before he signed extension with us?

Wouldn't surprise me if Alves goes there!

Perhaps our money men should be a bit cleverer and not overpay every time. As a previous poster on here suggested, SAF used to buy the up and coming players with WC potential (De Gea, Vidic, Evra) When he bought the finished article (Veron) he sometimes got his fingers burned.

So, thinking along these lines, I'd (lol!) buy from the following and supplement with proven experience such as Garay and Schweinsteiger: that young German gk Leno, Laporte before he becomes huge, Will Hughes, Aleksander Mitrovic, Niguez, Kongolo etc

So Alves could be a shrewd buy in the short term while we scout and bring through a young RB (De Sciglio)

27 May 2015 11:01:18
Was never gone AJH.

27 May 2015 11:02:03
i will be amazed if united sign alves

27 May 2015 17:35:17
Jred

Why do you say that?

27 May 2015 17:48:57
gcu
football wise for all the reasons i said yesterday pal, i just don't see lvg or more importantly the board going for him
also he has said he wants to stop at barce "if the money is right " .
and if he does decide to leave the ed has said he has been in talks with psg

27 May 2015 19:20:14
Jred

He said yesterday Paris is not an option for him.

27 May 2015 19:48:43
gcu
its been kicking off for a week.
it was reported he had already signed for psg , he lost his cool on local radio.
went on to say he has barce at his heart etc etc.

wont look good him agreeing to leave before a CL final.
who knows but i think he will stay a barce ,