Manchester United Banter Archive December 29 2012

29 Dec 2012 23:39:03
We should sign bale. Looks so much like a young giggs.

Caolán. {Ed004's Note - He is changing my opinion every game he plays.... I used to think all he had was pace but he seems to be improving on his positioning and technique. His biggest improvement for me is his versatility, he no longer needs to just stay on the byline and run down it and whip in a cross, he is capable of mixing it up and can play anywhere in the front 4 of a 4231.. He is also decent defensively and we know SAF rates him as a good player.}

The lad is class. If we're going to stick to pacey, out and out wingers (as opposed to a more technical LAM) then we couldn't do much better than Bale. Would cost loads though!

Gav

Perfect replacement for Giggs, being Welsh is just a coincidence,


-JakeW

Very first time commenting about bale..
Always avoided discussion..
But i believe in todays sugardaddy era.. If everynext is worth 25m he surely is worth 35m+
He is somebody with that fear factor.
Looking at our current need we must have him.
But i kno its hard with levy nd tottenham spcl whn madrid is interested.
Rodio17

29 Dec 2012 23:09:06
would'nt mind walcott for nani, walcott is the best player in premier. {Ed004's Note - MOTD fever and an extreme case of it}

Just called emergency services, they will be with you shortly!

Hang in there!

-JakeW

29 Dec 2012 22:23:33
A lot of people on here seem to believe were gona replace nani with zaha. Am i the only 1 who thinks this is a bad idea? yes nani is inconsistent but surely you can't compare a championship player who is as inconsistent to nani who can be world class at times?

I dont mind losing nani if we replace him with some1 on the same level or better.

Sulei

It is not a matter of replacing like for like... Zaha has the ability to be top class and to be miles better than Nani.... Please remember Zaha's age!!

Ye he is only 20 years old but i remember when we got nani we tot he would turn out to be a world beater.

id rather get isco/rodriguez/eriksen/munian/schurle/draxler/fischer etc.

sulei

29 Dec 2012 20:11:59
fergie after celtic keeper fraser forster after some fantastic performaces but will have to pay through the nose to get the keeper

29 Dec 2012 19:50:30
Kagawa played some good passes today including the ball for Youngs deflected goal, but I don't know what it is, might be midfielders around him that don't move forward a lot. At Dortmund, he had Gotze, Gundogan, and other mobile midfielders that allowed Kagawa to feed balls to them, but here when he gets the ball, most of the time his back is towards goal and he is passing backwards, not always, but I think he needs to run forward with the ball. We as a team are not always passing to him and are always passing to Young and Valencia. We need to stop using the wingers because Kagawa is not really getting involved in our play as much. SAF has said before that Kagawa musn't have his back to goal and should be facing goal. If players would pass to him then he wouldn't have to track back and receive the ball. But, he may need to time to settle in again after his injury. However, he is a cracking player but still needs to improve parts of his game.

MUFC19

The problem is that Kagawa always wants to pass forwards but we as a team always go sideways to the wingers. We need to accommodate Kagawa buy playing more central and not playing on the touchline constantly but we can not do that with Valencia and Young in the team we need players like Rodriguez, Goetze, Ozil who roam around like the Chelsea formation with Hazard, Oscar and Mata.

29 Dec 2012 19:27:19
I was impressed with West Brom, very organised

We played some good football for more than half of the first half. It was pretty obvious the grass was longer than usual, the pitch heavy. It was also obvious that our usual ploy of getting the ball wide would leave Young and Valencia a lot to do as the ball stuck in the turf. We didn't use the angles enough putting balls inside their fullbacks with the ball slowing before the dead ball line. We had energy in midfield which worked for the first half but we didn't take the opportunities which left us vulnerable.
I felt before the game that Welbeck and Kagawa left us short on goal scoring. Welbeck just doesn't look dangerous around the goal. In midfield we had enough control in the first half but that changed in the second. Ferguson claimed it was tiredness and a heavy pitch but there was more to it than just that. Cleverley didn't support Carrick anywhere near enough. If it was just a heavy pitch as Ferguson claims why then was the very much younger Cleverley the one who had to come off? Surely he should have had more energy but he didn't, in fact we lost midfield in the second half and the answer at home was to go to three centre halves and Valencia at right back. Did it not occur to our manager that this is a midfield problem?
One thing we do have is RVP, what quality, he immediately made a difference, holding the ball, turning with it. Carrick also gave everything and again had a really good game. Smalling looked a little uncertain at times particularly against the pace of Odemwingie, Evans made three or four howlers before seeming to get a better grip.

The result was in doubt until the quality RVP waved his magic wand of a left foot at the same moment the 4th official put the board up. If he stays fit we will likely score more than the opposition , but the lessons and message are still clear from today, quality matters, we need to take our chances and midfield is the key to the control of a game.

There was notable relief when RVP hit that shot but credit to West Brom, a good well organised side.

Red Man

In the 2nd half WBA packed their midfield and outnumbered Carrick and Cleverley 2-1. We usually have Rooney dropping deep to help out but he didn't play. We were missing that sturdy defensive midfielder that would have allowed Carrick and Cleverley to have more freedom. We were outnumbered in midfield and the manager didn't have the personnel to do anything about it.

Sydney!

Sydney did you not say further down the page this was our strongest team apart from rvp {Ed004's Note - I thought he said strongest available team taking into consideration the injury problems etc...}

29 Dec 2012 19:07:44
Today my man of the match was vidic, everything that came into the box h got his head on also thought welbeck worked so hard and foster made a superb save to dent him. Also kagawa was pleasing to see his one and two touch passing is a delight and his ball to young for the first goal was world class. Cleverly also had an excellent game.

Caolán.

I really think we should go for him, still young,
Wouldn't cost the world, knows RVP, English, scoring,
But and it's a big but.... Coz we won't play him up front so would he want to play wide....?
But I don't want nani to go there coz I think he would do well at arse....

BowlDonBowl

29 Dec 2012 18:35:10
Anybody know the extent of Rafael's injury and when is he due back, he has been our second best player this year behind RVP

He will be fit for the Wigan game, SAF said, along with Jones.

Sydney mate i'd imagine if somebody suggested sticking a wheelie bin at left back instead of Evra you'd agree with it. i know i would- at least a wheelie bin wont go wandering!

BennyBlanco

29 Dec 2012 17:54:27
Great win today, really does show that we have fantastic depth at the club as we can still get wins without players like Rooney as well as being able to not start the likes of RVP. The other pleasing factor was that we kept a clean sheet FINALLY.

Fresh!

29 Dec 2012 17:37:35
I would be over the moon with a January of Baines and Zaha.... I have been following Zaha this season and boy does this guy have talent... he has electric pace, ridiculous strength and can finish so well..... maybe sign him and let him stay at Palace til the summer.

29 Dec 2012 17:19:37
Gr8 win today, grinding out a result like that against a very competitive WBA without some of our big guns is always a confidence booster.Still concerned about the lack of imagination in midfield but hopefully having Kags back will sort that.
Traditionally we step it up in the second half of the season so looking forward to seeing the gear being stepped up any time now.Hopefully we start that against Wigan as we owe them a good hiding after last season!
Happy New Year all.
RedKen

29 Dec 2012 17:02:24
Finally a clean sheet. Most pleasing part of the game

James

29 Dec 2012 17:01:03
Finally a clean sheet. It was about our defense today. Vidic and Evans played very well.

29 Dec 2012 16:38:35
no big name signings to come in january.

Big name signings is subjective. For example would Baines, Strootman, Vadillo or Zaha be classed as big names?

Sydney!

Baines is'nt good enough and zaha is overated {Ed004's Note - Don't understand how you can say arguably the best defender in the league so far who has been solid defensively and offered more than all our wingers in attack so far this season isn't 'good enough'.}

A big name signing is someone like RVP, Rodriguez someone who is know around the world.

Sydney is right, someone like Baines or Strootman wouldn't be classed as a big name signing would it.

-JakeW

Venegoor of Hesselink would be a big name signing!

Ports

Baines is clearly good enough

Gav

Terrible definition JakeW. I know plenty of people who have no idea who Rodriguez is, yet I personally class him as a big name player.

29 Dec 2012 16:24:21
We seriously need some livening up... Subs look needed maybe Buttner for Valencia and swap with Young to go on the left and then Chicharito for Welbeck to go up top.

29 Dec 2012 15:35:31
Having all the possession in the world but where are the goals gonna come from? Surely Chicharito should of started ahead of Welbeck.

29 Dec 2012 14:50:18
Confirmed line up:

___________De Gea
Smalling__Evans__Vidic__Evra
Valencia__Carrick__Clevs__Young
___________Kagawa
___________Welbeck

Delighted to see Kagawa back and the partnership of Cleverly & Carrick. Good to see the faith being kept with De Gea too. Should be a good game, I think we may have to bring on Hernandez/RVP or both because not sure where the goals will come from . . . no disrespect to Welbeck.

Fresh!

29 Dec 2012 14:41:26
Really liking the fact that Welbeck and Kagawa start, lets hope we see some magic, and if we struggle to get a goal we have RVP and Hernandez to come of the bench.

Great to see De Gea given another chance although his mistakes from his last game.

Also happy to see Evans partner Vidic at the back.

Good line-up lets hope we can bag another 3 points!

-JakeW

29 Dec 2012 14:32:59
Hello all,

Just thinking about all these rumours about Ronaldo leaving Madrid, does anyone really think there's a possibility of re-signing him? Don't get me wrong who wouldn't want him if he were available, However we're obviously talking about what, £100m? so this this hypothetical obviously because I couldn't see it ever happen myself BUT... Hummels, Ogbonna, Baines, Strootman, Wanyama, Bender, Isco, Rodriguez and Lewandowski.. we could get any 4 of them for that sort of money and probably with the combined wage of what is rumoured Ronaldo is looking for! this is a little optimistic and fantastical (is that even a word?) but given the choice I wouldn't even have to think about it I'd rather have 4 top players than Ronaldo back any day!


Great site, love all your work and the banter,

Cheers,
Flash.

Its plausible.

Fresh!

Fantastical is indeed a word! I'm with you Flash, I'd rather invest in 2 or 3 world classs players than pay that kind of money for Ronaldo.

AJH {Ed004's Note - I reckon you could raise 30-40 million from sales of players to sign Witsel and Baines and then sign Ronaldo with all the transfer budget and you would have a top team}

At the end of the season Ronaldo will have 2 years left on his contract ( ? ), so if he wants to come back and he makes a transfer request, 80 mils would get us cristiano. If not we can wait till the summer of 2014 where he will have 1 year left on his contract, and get him for around 40 mils.

But in order to be able to get him for this knd of money, he will have to request a transfer.

As for the salary, Nike would probably benefit from Ronaldo guetting back to united so they might be willing to pay a chunck of his wage ( 10- 20 % realistically ). Now that leaves us with around 270 gs to pay per week. So financially, if the Glazers are not holding us back, his salary is perfectly affordable for a club who would be on top of both european and English football, and a club that supposedly has the world s biggest fan base.

So it all comes down to him beeing willing to come back, and to the manager feeling that Ronaldo is worth all the money we will be paying given his age ( 29-30 at the time ).

Mick

Personally I wouldn't mind selling nani welbeck and cleverly (I know this will upset some people) and give evra away PLEASE! Ed who do you think will leave next summer? and seriously what was Witsel thinking moving to Russia!? I'm sure it was just about the money but I bet It's opened his eyes to the fact that money really can't buy you happiness, I'm guessing really... I don't have any money :(

Thanks,
Flash.

29 Dec 2012 14:29:17
i want to see this line up

de gea
rafael/smalling vidic evans/smalling evra
valencia carrick cleverley young
kagawa
RVP

29 Dec 2012 14:22:29
Van Persie benched but Kagawa back in the starting line up...... Fergie is taking a huge risk against a team that I think may cause an upset today with Lukaku, Long etc they will cause problems

29 Dec 2012 14:12:47
Kagawa's back, Van persie on the bench. Welbeck starts.


MUFC XI: De Gea, Smalling, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Valencia, Carrick, Cleverely, Young, KAGAWA! :D, Welbeck.

I really think we are going to struggle today...Where are the goals coming from (NOT Bambi)..... I think Fergie is really under estimating the Baggies... I fully expect us to concede a few today.

No name, Welbeck is actually playing as the main striker today so I would expect him to get a couple. RvP is one booking away from a ban.

Sydney!

No name, why has he underestimated WBA? This is our strongest possible line-up bar RvP.

Sydney!

29 Dec 2012 14:07:32
Kagawa starts yippppeeeee

Sydney!

29 Dec 2012 12:52:54
Anyone just been watching the Sly Sports News build up to the game today. Unbelievable!

Phil Thompson is clearly so biased against Fergy it is untrue! Cannot believe some of his comments.

Charlie Nicholos thinks Utd need to buy a keeper in Jan, then they started showing clips of Foster!? Apparently the crowd are on DDG's back and he is under massive pressure?!

DodgyBanter

I am ;-)

No in all honesty I just think we should be seeing a better keeper than we are after 3 years in the two top leagues in the world. Others will disagree and point to his age but regardless of his age the manager has trust in him to develop but I think it's happening far too slowly.

Can we give him another 18 months-2 years to show if he can make it?

It will be a hell of a waste if he doesn't!

Jono

29 Dec 2012 13:23:10
yep and merson seriously suggested we should bring in shay given. The guys lost the plot again. But what do you expect from a panel full of abu's.

I absolutely detest Phil Thompson. I think it is an absolute joke this nonsense talking 'has been' gets to ruin my expensive viewing of soccer Saturday. I find that I rarely EVER agree with his views or analysis. Most of which I do agree with is massively in your face fact that a 2yr old can see.
I do take some comfort in remembering this man has managed Liverpool, it even raises a very cringe filled smile to my face, which is a an achievement I suppose lol

Patzi

Speaking of bias - YOU only mentioned Thompson commenting on McMoan when in actual fact they ALL did. and all the comments were anti-Mcbluster

By the way - does he have a carer provided by the club or does someone accompany him from The Shady Pines Home for the Bewildered?

Puzzled

You shouldn't watch that show i never do. 5 guys who dont know nothing about football. Its bad enough we have to bear nial quinn as commentator!

You shouldn't watch that show i never do. 5 guys who dont know nothing about football. Its bad enough we have to bear nial quinn as commentator!

Puzzled - The only reason anyone is getting on Fergie's back is because of who it is and it is their only ammunition and they love to hate him.... Pardew pushes a manager and an apology is enough yet Mike Dean has said in his report that fergie did no wrong yet silly Liverpool fans and haters of our great club try to make something of nothing..

29 Dec 2012 14:20:36
jono the point is there is clearly an anti united agenda here. If de gea played for chelsea or arsenal or liverpool would they be saying this? No. But as its united. The media have been doing their best for two seasons to try and destroy the kid. Stelling flat out lied with his the crowd are on his back comment. I've never heard anyone in the stands on his back. We all want him to succeed as we recognise the potential. Ok i get you don't rate the kid, fair enough thats your choice.

I don't think we need a new keepter at all, De Gea is coming on well. Just as a side note, Mignolet is becoming a very impressive keeper from the games I've seen this season, another good performance against Spurs today.

Fresh!

29 Dec 2012 12:34:05
I watched the 'Mourinho' documentary last night, as I had it recorded. Must say it was a great insight into the man.

He has never been my 1st choice for the United job because I've doubted whether he'd look to utilise our youngster's and build a team for the future. He also has a dubious record of being punished for misdemeanours which may not sit well with some at our club.

However, I must admit my opinion has been swayed slightly having watched the docu. Why? Because if there's any one manager out there who could step straight into SAF's boots, with a similar swagger, it's this man. He's a born winner, that's all he cares about. Sound similar to someone? He also looks to use the media and his charisma to motivate his players against the world. Again, sounds similar to our current manager?

The only worry that still remains with me, is would he just overlook our academy in the search for instant success? That, I can't be sure about.

My 1st choice for next manager has always been Klopp as I think he'd look to build something special for the future. And I think I'll stick to that for now. But I'm also coming round to the idea of Mourinho as I can only imagine him winning things with us. Ideally he'd stick around for 4/5 years with someone like OGS given a chance to work beneath him.

So for me 1) Klopp 2) Mourinho - no other applicants need apply ; )

Gav

I like mourinho n he could definately step straight in.my only concern with him would be whether he'd stick around long!
Klopp for me but would he want to leave what hes building at dortmund?

BABY FACED ASSASIN

Agree re Klopp. Never heard of a Portuguese winner! They peaked in the 14th century.

Aesop

I'm glad to hear other's like Klopp too. He's done an immense job at Dortmund and built a very good squad. I'd love to see what he could do at United with a bigger budget.

Gav

29 Dec 2012 11:56:42
lescott 8mill good deal yes or no

No

AJH

29 Dec 2012 11:18:16
The Reds have been linked with a whole host of names in the media but the boss will only add to his squad if the right young player with potential becomes available.

"Don't hold your breath waiting for Manchester United to jump through the transfer window when it opens next week!" he wrote in his exclusive United Review programme column. "If you believed everything you read in the media, we would have the biggest squad in Europe, not to mention becoming bankrupt!

"It's been open season to link us with a stack of players, admittedly some very good ones, but it just isn't going to happen.

"You can never say never in football because you don't know who might become available but, speaking generally, I am not looking to do any serious transfer business in January. I don't have to because I am more than satisfied with the players I have in my squad, a group as good as any I have had in my time at Old Trafford.

"So we won't be dashing around in a panic. Of course, as always, we will be on the lookout for young players of potential who we can develop.

"We have always done that and it's the main reason why we never have to buy out of desperation. We always work for the future as well as trying our best to produce winning teams for the present. Clearly serious injuries can upset your plans and force you to go out for a replacement but, by and large, I think we are well covered to cope with the normal absence of players."

I think SAF is looking for a young player with potential and won't be doing serious business in January. Who could it be? Zaha? Strootman? Wanyama?
Sorry for the copy and paste and long post!

MUFC19

Is Strootman young enough at 22 to be classed in this category? I hope so, because he'd be the one I'd want in January.

I've not seen loads of him in honesty but he seems to have the skills/attributes to fit into our CM. A bit of an all rounder, as opposed to a DM or AM.

I think he could slot in alongside Carrick or partner Cleverly in future. Would certainly be good for sqaud rotation during the 2nd half of this season. I realise he's not the 'ready made world class CM'er' that we've craved for but I'm starting to think SAF will never get one of those!

Gav

29 Dec 2012 10:49:50
It seems the knives are out for our manager but has he really done much wrong? I am a critic of his but right now there are a lot of bandwagon jumpers and United haters taking the opportunity to vent hatred.
I felt his initial discussion with the referee depended on what he actually said, if he was asking for an explanation or expressing an opinion in reasonable language and the referee did not feel it went over the top as he did then this was a non story. However the knives are always out for Ferguson so in jumps the press to stir it up. Pardew is hardly innocent, he already has a ban for pushing an official, significantly more serious than anything Ferguson has ever done. Wenger shouts, waves his arms around the officials in every game yet never attracts the same outcry. So it was farcical in the extreme that Fergusons chief managerial critics were Pardew and Wenger. What has rankled our manager is that someone he obviously helped, Pardew has in effect stabbed him in the back and for that Pardew deserved a riposte.
Where I feel Ferguson has let us down is his comment on Newcastle, they are not a wee club but a big proud one. No they are not major, yet they didn't deserve that comment, but their manager did.

This has given every non United fan the chance to criticise both our manager and our club, stirred further by a press that crave these headlines. Whilst I disagree with our manager on the Newcastle comment it is without doubt he will use the ridiculous organised over reaction to circle the wagons, create the siege mentality he loves. So the more the opposition display their hatred the more it plays into Fergusons hands.

At the same time several other managers made comments that were far worse, One allegedly referring to excess Christmas dinner, not dissimilar to Fergusons unfit comments which rightly received significant criticism. So these other comments deserved more significant press time yet they are more focused on their main target, bringing down the manager of united. However they merely play into his hands, after all it has always felt like everyone was against us. I leave for the match shortly and I worry about his team selection and his occasional utterance like the Newcastle one but I know the wagons are being circled for the big push and no one does that better than Ferguson

Red Man

Agree with you totally. The only thing SAF did that was unnecessary IMO was the "wee club" comment. His problem should have been with Pardew, not the whole club. Still, we all love a pantimime don't we! And as you say, SAF will look to use this to his advantage in motivating the sqaud, as always.

Gav

29 Dec 2012 12:29:04
i think he was spot on, they are a wee club. What have they ever won? They have pretensions of being a big club but they aren't. They are not even a major club. Their fans come out with o we get gates of 50k fans so that makes us big. No it doesn't. Their a one club town, there's no other show in town so of course they get that many fans. Doesn't make them big. Their extravagant spending almost bankrupted them. Couple of years ago that massive club was back in the old division two.

Good post Red Man, spot on!

Open season for the ABU's but SAF loves it when its us Vs the rest n will no doubt use it to get us kicking on

BABY FACED ASSASIN

Noname. I'm not saying they're a massive club, just that personally I don't think there was need to comment about the club at all. SAF had already slated Pardew TBF and that's who his problem was with, not Newcastle. There are many "wee clubs" out there but that doesn't mean we should be identifying them in press conferences. Like I sad though, we all enjoy the pantomime, whether we agree with the comments or not.

Gav

And who is that playing widow McT****ey?

Puzzled

Ed pity you chose to asterisk out some of the letters to a well known pantomime character - this way it will look as though I have used obscene language - something I never do

Puzzled

29 Dec 2012 09:18:17
I'm starting to get a bit scared before the madrid clash.

Domestic form is unimportant when it comes to these games. Look at Schalke and Chelsea in previous seasons their domestic form was erratic then.

Add to it the presence of Ronaldo.
As per reports he's not liking it at Madrid anymore. And I feel against us he'll score 3-4 goals in the 2 legs. He would want to remind us & SAF what we are missing. We could very see him defending more than he usually does.

Their defence is worser than us, our midfield is worser than theirs, we are better at set-pieces, we have RVP, world class striker, they have out of form higuain & benzema.

I fear Ronaldo would be the difference in the tie. I could also see him play on the right exploiting Evra. I wish we sign Baines and a decent enough CM who is as injury-free as our Carrick is.

Rahn

29 Dec 2012 06:36:01
I would love to have peoples opinion on center back situation.
My guessing is in the summer prices of this players are very high.
How many do u see as proved nd class?
Lets see hw many teams need 1 straight in 1st 11..
Manchester united.
Manchester city
Chelsea
Barcelona
Real madrid
Ac milan ( if they cn afford)
Arent they enough to rocket high the price. All selling club knows this.
Ferdinand. Terry. Puyol. Are almost gone past there best days.
City need experienced nd big name partner with kompany.
Real probably needs two in center considering there performance this year..

Pls share ur thoughts lads.. Pls eds also.
Name a few option nd likely destination if any1 moves

Rodio17

28 Dec 2012 23:37:07
Fergie must stop degrading our fine club with his outdated antics and try to act in a more dignified manner. He let us all down on Saturday and looked on tv like an old person you see on a Saturday night after a few pints heading home to the old trouble and strife. A knight of the realm , give me a break. He must be relieved of his job asap as the pressure is showing. Get Jose in now before his gasket blows

What? Shussssssssssssh!
The man loves the club

You feel so strongly yet you won't leave a name on a post? You sound like a bitter Liverpool fan more than anything.

I think most united fans feel that today fergie handled himself correctly, and the headlines I see on sky are to do with fergie and nothing to do with the team, exactly how he wants it. He is the master at mind games and has obviously got you with this one exactly how he wants you, hook line and sinker.

He did nothing wrong on Wednesday, when I saw it I couldn't work out whether I had missed something what with all the talk about it. He spoke to the ref before the game kicked off 2nd half, and the ref didn't give us anything we shouldn't have had in the 2nd half so not like he was affected by what fergie did.

GDS

Yes because Mourinho would never do anything contraversial.....

Gav

Whilst I think fergie acted despicably on wednesday, I dont agree the OP. "relieved of his job?" dont be ridiculous, a little punishment sure, but try not to be quite so reactionary, or scouse

Jaxer

The man is the soul of the club for past 26 yrs
Show some respect u anonymous person