Manchester United Banter Archive May 30 2012

30 May 2012 23:20:15
Hi Man Utd supporters just looking at your site and rumours.
Can you answer a question for I support Arsenal and always found it strange that Giggs gets the best Man utd player of all time.
I'm 41 so don't remember Best, Law and Charlton
but I do know Giggs, Cantona, Rooney, Ronaldo and Scholes.

For me the best I've seen was always Scholes (my favourite Utd player also if not my favourite player including Henry but don't tell my fellow gooners as I'm a season ticket holder, but i'm also english first)
Never understood the plaudits Ronaldo also got because for me he got the space to do his thing because of Rooney drawing the opposition players away and opening things up for him. Ronaldo to me in my limited Utd watching struggled when Rooney did not play.

The other thing I've forgot to mention in my post never thought it was Cantona as Utd had better balance and success in Europe when Cantona left and Sheringham came in.
But saying that I always thought Fergie was to blame in early days of Europe as when you played away he tried to be too defensive or playing systems that were to complicated for the younger players at the time. If they just went out and played attaking football think they would have won the european cup before 99 (not including 68) with the side they had. {Ed007's Note - The three foreigners rule didn't help Utd in Europe.}

I think both Scholes, Cantona and Rooney are far more technically gifted. Ronaldo was faster, stronger, etc. Ronaldo wasn't here long enough, Rooney hasn't been yet and Cantona wasn't either. For me Scholes is and always has been a better player than Giggs. His passing, vision, awareness, goals, etc are as good as they come. But Giggs was the one who got the pulses racing, like Giggs vs Arsenal.

Percy

Oh Percy don't mention that goal Dixon shouldn't of backed of so much but Bergkamp should of scored the pen to finish it. We favourites for the double at the time top of the league also I think.

I think thats the best game ive ever seen , had everything
jred

To Ed007- yes correct but United did have an awful lot of English players at the time in key positions {Ed007's Note - There were Euro matches when Schmeichel didn't start. When the team could only have three out of Schmeichel, Irwin, Keane, Cantona and Kanchelskis it was never Utd's strongest team (at the time) that went out on the park.}

^^^ But you only had to leave two of those out, still think united was capable at that time in winning the european cup if they played their normal game. But as mentioned before Ed i'm an Arsenal and will obviously accept your opinion to be better than mine as you saw more of them.

Also Hughes I think Ed as he was welsh.

Supasub

30 May 2012 22:34:19
Hi Guys
I went on the Liverpool site earlier and posted what I thought was a reasonable post regarding their "New Messiah"d pointed out that I wasn't sure that he was the man to take them from mid-table to top 4 and reminded them that when they appointed Roy Hodgson that most of them thought it was a good appointment.Surprise to say hardly -one agreedwith me and the one responseI got said that no-one wanted Roy and wasn't happy with him. I wonder whether they will be saying the same about Rogers this time next year

Bazza The Red

I think they have done a good bit of business with rogers
jred

30 May 2012 22:00:11
Wonder if this is true, reports in Spain suggest Martinez was convinced to stay at Wigan by Dave Whelan on the basis he would be allowed to join Man Utd. Now I may be far off the mark, but doesn't it appear strange only last week he was saying SAF would be retiring 2013..... Ploy to keep him or truth to keep him.... Aren't Fergie and Whelan big mates?

David ego is only interested in promoting himself and little Wigan athletic,as he,s keen to do at the medias expense.sir Alex will be around for a few more years and when his time is up the man to replace him is portugese!

Cristiano Ronaldo?! I always hoped he would come back, just never thought it would be as manager, at least not so soon anyway...

SK

He can join as our new No2

30 May 2012 20:13:21
maybe we should sell Nani to a French side and when he scores 30+goals + assist all get a boner about resigning him for 32 mill and 200k a week,or we can keep him and hope the coaching at united improves him just a thought.

Brilliant idea! Seems like a win win.

Percy

He's been here for 5 years and still cannot take a corner properly.

Maybe the coaches need sacking.

Exactly corners,freekicks we r s**t at the lot! why is he still taking corners etc ps cant remember Giggs taking that many corners that cleared the 1st man.

I think Nani is a fantastic player, but I can not argue that his delivery from set pieces is frustrating.

what we need to actually ask ourselves though is why???

these guys train 5 days a week and must spend hours and hours on set pieces and how the ball will be delivered and where certain players should be..

if we can all see what is going on then so must the coaching team, so why is nothing changing. just maybe he has been told to deliver the ball there on the odd occasion and the player that is meant to be getting a touch on it is not doing his job...

just a thought...

Oxred

Have to admit though the talk of Nani on here seems over the top both negative and positive I certainyl couldnt agree more with some of these comments, why the hell does he take corners and some wide free kicks, he hardly ever clears the first man, always baffled me that
Invisible STUEY

Oxred, the reason Nani struggles with set pieces is down to his technique when striking the ball. He uses his laces and strikes through the ball rather than using the side of his foot to guide the ball. Watch him when he takes set pieces.then watch Young and you'll see the difference.

Shappy

For me Young can do everthing nani can and more.

Tbh I don't think Young frightens defenders like Nani does

Shappy

The mans a pro footballer. Why should this be an issue? Maybe he should, you know, stop putting his laces through it? Or isn't he capable of making such a small adjustment to his game?

RED_SKY

Check the stats lads, i think we scored more from corners than any oth pl team last year, correct me iff im wrong

30 May 2012 20:08:43
Strootman and jordi alba?

30 May 2012 20:03:44
Wow this site goes to extremes! Hazards a money grabber big head etc! To nani bashing! Earlier in the season u were all goin on about evans! Most people said young wasnt good enough! A sad dew were chatting about de gea. Now its nani yes hes annoying at times but when he gets it right hes bang up there he terrorised city in charity shield n fa cup! United are not a 1 man team nani is a excellent player imo. But what would the cost be to replace him? U get 20mill for him who would we even get? Be logical ppl! Get behind the team! We cant have everyone! N if we sold all the flavours of the month on here we would only have rooney by now!

You summed it up without even knowing it !
A whole season and you could only pick a season curtain raiser and a cup match against the arch enemy...says it all really the guy is too greedy and inconsistent and infuriates players around him Rooney in particular.

Devil Dust.

Well said, sick of hearing the doom & gloom merchants, christ we finished joint top of the league with a team decimated with injuries all season, city had their best ever squad & relatively few injuries & they still should have lost the league(we threw it away). Come on lets get positive we will have Vidic & hopefully a fit Fletcher,Anderson,Cleverley & maybe even Pogba back, aswell as maybe Kagawa and a few others. MIDDLETON RED

30 May 2012 19:57:23
Man Utd need to look at left back and a deep holding midfielder to join with Kagawa and possibly a forward if anyone comes available.

left back - Radu (from Lazio) 6m
Schennikov (CSKA) 5m
Oviedo (Copenhagen) 4m

Deep Midfielder -Martinez (bilbao) 20m
Javi Garcia (Benfica) 12m
M'Vila (Rennes) 18m
Romulu (Vasco) 5m

Forward - Lewandowski (dortmund) 15m
Van Wolfswinkel (Lisbon) 15m
Llorente (Bilbao) 20m

If Modric comes available we will look at signing him as he was Fergie's 1st choice but he expected Spurs to get Champions League Football

Also United have not offered Nani the new contract yet as waiting to see how he does at the Euro's and see if Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid or Juventus look to make an offer? If they do united will move for James Rodriguez from porto or the alternative is gaitan from Benfica who has not performed well since January for Benfica and interest has died down

Just thought would let you know and also any opinions would be good

jple23

Why the hell would we sell Nani and buy Gaitan? I thought we was improving the squad!

You obviously don't have the ability to speculate on price as the majority of them are way out. If Martinez is only 20 million I will personally donate 20 pounds towards it!

Matt4486

30 May 2012 19:36:59
Shinji Kagawa is the Bundesliga Player of the year...Thats just how good he is!

K10

How would you compare the German and french leagues? Like the EPL to the SPL?

Mike

30 May 2012 18:24:47
After missing out on hazard the obvious choice I think is James Rodriguez but Porto don't want to sell him until next summer. If he too is unavailable then I feel we have two options.

Fisrt one would be to sign Nico Gaitan, but he is our third choice and won't come cheap, also we would probably have to sell Nani to finance the deal.

Or we could go for a cheaper left footed winger and keep Nani. In this case the player i'd go for is Antione Griezmann who has impressed me every time i've seen him.

So would you rather sell Nani and buy Gaitan or would you rather keep Nani and buy Griezmann?

Shappy

Nani's better than Gaitan and Rodriguez...

Percy

Percy please give it up

As you all know I am not Nani's biggest fan but I would keep him for now and target Rodriguez and Iturbe from Porto in a double swoop next year. If dialogue about Rodriguez has went friendly this summer and we agree to their wishes of keeping him till next year we could propose that sort of deal for the future. Would be good business if we could also sell them Ando as an almost down payment this summer.

If we do keep Nani by god we HAVE to sign someone for set pieces. I would have WS for around £15-20m and reasonable wages for that job.

Jono

@Percy I agree Nani is better than Gaitan. Being left footed is the only thing Gaitan has got going for him. Rodriguez is an exciting prospect, but until he has proved himself in a better league or for a season more at Porto, i agree Nani is better than him.

Personally, if anybody was to be signed as second option to Hazard, my pick would be Muniain. Would come a bit cheaper, he will be the next Iniesta imo, very hardworking and has a rooney like never give up attitude, versatile and plays just as well all across the midfield. All the attributes SAF looks for in a player and he has seen him tear us apart for 2 full games.

Carrick Cleverley
Valencia Kagawa Muniain
Rooney

I'd love to see that next season. Hope SAF goes for Muniain.

REDFAITH

I'd wait till next year Shapps old chap.

Kagawa, a left back and a tackler in midfield should be priority. In January look at strikers. And then sort out left wing next summer.

Tell Nani, Anderson & Macheda that its last chance saloon and their gone in 12 months.

Mort

REDFAITH

Agree on Muniain as I said after the Europa final he has something and reminds me of Iniesta or even Messi to a lesser extent

Red Man

I do not rate Muniain as a left winger and would only buy him for Kagawa's role. But now we have Kagawa I see no need for Muniain. It was always going to be one or the other. Personally I would go for a more direct winger with strength, Muniain is more of a floater.

Sydney!

@Red Man

He was the same in the Copa Del Rey final. The tears and emotion being shown in the end of both of those games, really showed he had put his heart and soul into it. I personally don't see any attitude problems there, and if any, they can be sorted out i think.

REDFAITH

Percy mate I know you've got a boner for Nani atm( I think Rooney had a similar thing a few years ago. Lol). I do rate Nani which is why I think maybe keeping him and signing a player like Griezmann would be a good option. Although I have to disagree with you opinion on Rodriguez, although I think he is just short of Nani(on form) atm I think with in two years he'll he far and away the better player.

Shappy

It's because people are saying sell him, sell him, because he was a bit patchy coming back from injury. I "had a boner" for Evans and Young when people were saying sell them, same with Morrison (my bad), Welbeck, Carrick, etc. Bad form does not make someone a bad player. After all, form is temporary, class is permanent.

Percy

Greizmann plays more of the striker role now I thought? He's a prospect but I don't think he's ready just yet for a move to the prem. I'd like to see him have another good season then go for him.

Sanshine

He plays as a winger/forward and that versatility is what I think is the best bit about him, he'd allow us to.play a really fluid attacking style.

Shappy

Percy,
5 years of patchy form though.

I say Iturbe being mentioned! He is Quality and young!

30 May 2012 18:18:17
Would it be abit of a risk with RVP he had a great season and is world class but he is pretty injury prone last season was his only injury free season since he joined the gooners

30 May 2012 17:28:06
IN hopefully Kagarwa 12mill ish, M'Vila 15-20mill
a LB Cissokho 15mill 47Mmill at the most.
OUT Berba 8, Macheda 2, Bebe 50pence,
possibly Park 3 mill and Ando 8 that 21mill and 50p so thats a transfer outlay of 26mill and prob a reduction in the wage bill! Bonus signing a proper CF (Id love Jelavic from EFC(
this is arealistic list imho even if we spend 20-30 for a proven CF. or we could always snap up Huntelaar on a free!

I have liked Jelavic form months now and he would have been a really good squad player to rotate at Man United.
We should have made a bid for him as he cost peanuts and he's better than Owen and Macheda

Simmo

Exactly what i was thinking we was linked with him when he was at Rangers! Just goes to show that there is value in the market lol
CardiffRED

He got linked to us at Christmas and this place was full of people moaning that he wasn't good enough becoause he played for Rangers. Now he's moved South and bagged a few people want to sign him!

30 May 2012 16:38:12
Possible team


De Gea

Jones Ferdinand Vidic Evra

M'Villa/Strootman

Kagawa Cleverley

Valencia Young/Nani

Rooney

Thats a bad team..

It just needs a little tweaking -
DDG

Rafael Smalling Vidic Evra/New LB

Carrick M'Villa/Strootman

Valencia Kagawa Nani/Young

Rooney

Now that's a bit better :)

OP only had 10 players, so it definitely needs a slight tweak lol.

Unless you think somebody will get sent off I think it is in fact an impossible team.

GDS

I was wrong, there is 11, the slashes confused me! My bad...

GDS

I didnt say I wanted this team did I... I said possible and im being realistic

fearny

30 May 2012 15:53:25
itailian football has been great to watch for the past 4, 5 seasons..
people like you say that based on old stereotypes, i bet you havent watched any serie A before

Serie A has been poor for several seasons. I keep an eye on Serie A and every game Ive seen has bored me to tears until a goal is scored. Granted I havent watched as much lately on account of it blowing.

TK-Red

Serie A is piss poor.

G.A.G.U.S

Are you being Seria-A-ous? ;)

Gav

30 May 2012 15:36:59
CR7's Cheshire house on the market - guess he isn't coming back!

Well you are correct he isn't coming back, but not because he sold his house! If he was to move back he could just buy a new house, why would he keep an expensive house he doesn't use?

GDS

30 May 2012 15:26:15
...................ddg.................. valencia..vidic...smalling..banies ...........carrick...scholes......... nani............rooney.......kagawa ................van~persie.............. i think that team would b unreal next year. i no valencia isnt a rb but he can defend an him runnin up the wing behind nani would b pure class and rooney just off van persie. gazza

30 May 2012 14:40:35
There seems to be a lot of talk about who will get the number 7 shirt now that Owen is gone - but what about the number 9 shirt? Berbatov looks certain to leave and I really can't see Welbeck or Chico taking up the number 9 shirt for at least another 3 or 4 years. I'll be very surprised if we don't sign an established striker to fill the role while our young strikers continue to improve but am not entirely sure who would best fit the club.

Of all of the realistic targets who could be available at the right price (RVP/Higuain/Cavani/Pato/Lavezzi/Llorente/Huntelaar/Sturridge/Giroud/Lewandowski/Del Piero) - who do you guys think we should be looking at?

If we have the £20m+ available that would be needed for the first 6 I'd love us to sign RVP or Higuain as I think both have what is needed to be successful at United. If money's tight I'd rather we took Del Piero on a free than waste £15m on Giroud or Lewandowski. He can still do a job and would be an excellent mentor for our young strikers (especially Chico).

What do you guys think?

T0MB0Z

Higuain, Llorente or Lewandowski for me. Cavani would command a massive fee, RVP probably big fee and big wages for a very good player but someone who is injury prone, Huntelaar just please no. Higuain is proven quality and would be fantastic, Llorente is a big dominate presence who is still very good with his feet and Lewandowski looks like he could adapt well in the PL and has shown he can score goals in a demanding Bundesliga plus he and Kagawa would link up well. Any of those 3 and I'd be happy.

Rjmanutd

The fact is we have lacked a poacher cum Target man this year imho and del piero would be great but he isnt the poacher/target man types, he is more of the mobile forwards you have ,i would absolutely love Cavani or higuain(he isnt the target man types either but he would fit like a puzzle piece). RVP would just be dreamland, though Huntelaar on the cheap would do any harm aswell
DJ

'Mobile' isnt exactly a word Id use to describe Del Piero anymore lol

TK-Red

Why do people keep suggesting Del Piero? It is not a good idea.

G.A.G.U.S

Rjmanutd - Why would you take Lewandowski but not Huntelaar? Yes; Lewandowski and Kagawa have played together for a season or two (although I'd be interested to see how many games they've actually played together as both have had spells out!) and can score goals - but Huntelaar can also score goals and would probably be the cheaper player. 48 goals in 47 games this season is phenomenal and only bettered by Ronaldo and Messi. When you consider that Dortmund, Real Madrid and Barcelona are all better teams it seems all the more impressive (and we would certainly offer him more service than Schalke). He may have struck out on the big stage before - but really seems like he's found his game again.

G.A.G.U.S - Del Piero is far from my first choice; but I'd prefer him over Lewandowski or Giroud who I can't see doing too well for us. Unless we're going to splash out and buy a top striker that will give us three or four good years I would rather take one that will give us one or two for free. As I mentioned also - he'd teach the kids a hell of a lot!
T0MB0Z

The reason I wouldn't have Huntelaar is because he has struck out on the big stage before. Yes he may have found his game but my abiding memory of Huntelaar isn't of him scoring lots it's the amount of big games I've seen him in where he has underperformed drastically. Remember when he played for Milan against us at Old Trafford he missed 3-4 absolute sitters. Also I think Lewandowski is a better link up player than Huntelaar who is there for one reason only, to finish, and we already have a younger and potentially better predator in Hernandez.

Rjmanutd

30 May 2012 13:40:46
Only connecting the dots here but I see likely starting XI as follows:

De Gea

Jones Vidic Smalling BAINES

Valencia Carrick Young

KAGAWA VAN PERSIE Rooney

I appreciate this is an ultra attacking line-up but this would mark a move back to what I consider our heyday in more recent times of 4-3-3 a la the Ronaldo / Rooney / Tevez line up of 2008.

In KAGAWA you have a player who's favoured role is Attacking Midfield, in VAN PERSIE Out and Out Striker and Rooney is the combination of both.

I think this 3-pronged attack, and moreover a move to having 3 forward players who are totally interchangeable in their roles would reap great benefits.

Appreciate the obvious question mark then becomes around the midfield and whether its strong enough to support the front 3, especially as this formation has 2 more traditional wingers in it with Valencia and Young. I like Valencia a lot and think either in offensive or defensive duties down the right of the pitch he is a real asset. Similarly Young is a player with great running ability who I think could fulfill the same role on the left flank.

I have purposefull picked Young over Nani as a) I think pound for pound he's a better overall player / more consistent and b) I think United will sell Nani after Euro championships if a deal anywhere near £20m can be brokered.

Of our other midfield options Cleverley is the obvious candidate worthy of a first team spot and SAF will allow Fletcher a season for him to try and get back in the squad.

We have to regard Scholes and Giggs now as mere bit-part players now though and Anderson is another for the summer clear-out list as he's just never cut if for me.

Owen and Berbatov have already gone / flagged they are going and others still on the payroll but as squad players in my view now should be Evra, Ferdinand (both their legs have gone now) and Evans. Raphael I am tempted to ditch too in all honesty as I'm just not convinced he's a defender who can defend but he and Fabio will get another season.

BAINES will come if the right deal can be sorted with Everton as I think the player would jump at the chance. At 27 he represent a solid proven premiership defender.

I expect our main transfer business will be:

BAINES £13m and £80k pw
KAGAWA £17m and £100k pw
VAN PERSIE £25m and £200k pw

POWELL from Crewe would be a real 'buy em young' addition at £4m.

The likes of MARTINEZ, MUNIAIN, LLORENTE, RODRIGUEZ, GAITAIN would all be wonderful additions but I think the 3 I have highlighted, now the HAZARD debacle is over, will be our 3 main summer signings.

Views on VAN PERSIE in particular welcome!

Halesini

Would be stunned if we get van persie, I do think that formation is a little too unbalanced and I am convinced rooney will be up on his own next season, dropping deeper when welbeck or hernandez play.

1redarmy

Van Persie for 25m would be a steal! Just can't see him staying in England unless he threatens to leave on a free. If he does stay expect very tough competition from City and Chelsea.
Ummm, you're right to worry about the midfield. That would never happen. Maybe you should consider more of a diamond:
------Carrick
Valencia-----Young
------Kagawa
van Persie--Rooney
A bit more realistic. Personally I think Fergie will always play with two (or three) central midfielders.
Baines is a proven Premiership player and I'm a big fan. He is 27, however, and it would surprise me if we signed him when our tendency is to go for the younger players. I wouldn't complain if we did sign him though - but I expect to see Evra still at Old Trafford next year too.
And I'm shocked you want to sell Evans. Even if you don't consider him a starter he's a great player to have in the squad and he's come through our youth system. You've not mentioned a replacement for him so I'm wondering how you think Utd would have coped this year without him.

M.D.

I do not believe Baines is even in the manager's thoughts. He certainly wouldn't join on a staggering £80k a week, Kagawa will not be on £100k a week either and we would not pay RVP £200k a week, perhaps £150k ;)

Sydney! {Ed001's Note - MEN are running with Baines being top target Syd.}

Time to wake up now soft lad ha ha ha thats one hell of a dream you av just had.Terry

Would love to see RVP sign but Baines would be a terrible acquisition. Evra is a much better LB despite his poor form as of late and as such signing Baines would be a step backwards. Unless we're going to buy a better LB than Evra it's probably best to just leave him to it.
T0MB0Z

More chance of paul o grady dressed as lily savage playing up top for united next season

Baines 80k pw? Seriously. More near 50k.
Evans wont be sold, Fergie really Values him, Fabio is going on loan next season and Fergie will want to keep them as long as he can because he see's them as future world class!

Ed001, what do you make of these Baines rumours? If United have £12m-£15m to blow on a 28 year old LB who is too weak and too slow to ever be world-class and will not improve any further due to his age, then the manager really does have buckets of cash to spend. Why would we waste £15m on a LB when it could be better spent elsewhere? I just do not buy these rumours I am afraid.

Sydney! {Ed001's Note - too weak and slow? Baines is an excellent left back, far better than people give him credit for. He is Everton's main attacking threat, the only reason they did so well this season is because Pienaar came back and created the space for him by drifting infield. I don't know where people get the idea from that Baines is not that good! He is wanted for the simple reason you need a left back, one that is ready to slot in now. I am not convinced Everton would sell him, they don't have any kind of replacement for him. He is as close as they have to an irreplaceable player.}

30 May 2012 13:06:36
Heard from a good sauce (chef) at Carrington that the iconic number 7 shirt will be given to Paul Scholes. Posters have been seen with the new shirt and him with 7 on his shorts.
It'll be announced before fans get 22 Scholes printed surely. No.2 shirt will be Rafael. Just a guess that Fabio might be no.3 next season maybe?

Best (sometimes 11), Robbo, Cantona, Becks, CR7, Owen and now the Ginger Prince. I hope it's true and not some pre season promo pic 1 to 11 team shirts.

His reason was that Nani didn't want it when offered #7 before Owen, he's got 17 merchandise set up. Young is waiting for Giggs to retire for #11 shirt.
Also number 8 is Valencia's lucky number so 26 on his shirt
adding to 8 obviously.

Hazard would of got the #7 shirt I'm sure, now it seems Fergie is willing to give Scholes the number and give it to Eriksen, James Rodriguez or Goetz 2013-14 season start if we can get our hands on one of them.

Valenica is 25, more likely than not adding to 7.

Sanshine

Other than that Valencia is 25, and 2+5 = 7 this is brilliant lol. Makes no sense but brilliant nonetheless.

Evra will be number 3 next season, he is going nowhere. I wouldn't be surprised if Kagawa gets 7, and if he doesn't then we will be making another big signing.

I have a feeling the chef may not have been correct on this one, maybe 'cooking up' a few lies!

GDS

Cause if i was SAF and i wanted to share my transfer plans first person id tell THE CHEF

Matt4486

Kagawa enjoys the 23 shirt that he had at dortmund... I was thinking Tom Cleverley may be given the number 7 shirt as his idol was Becks thats why he got 23 this year

I love how the OP has said he has heard from a good SAUCE then says it's the chef haha

Rjmanutd

30 May 2012 12:39:45
Guys a bit worried about the rumours of a bid for modric now that hazard is gone, spurs have a reputation for being difficult to deal with, and always want way over the market for there players ie berbatov. I think the right way for united to go is with eriksen of ajax. This kid looks class, is far younger, will cost less, and will fit in perfect with the mix of youth and experience fergie loves. powell looks like he has a great future and would also be a great capture. Really looking forward to this season. united till i die, peace

30 May 2012 12:28:14
So Kagawa seems all but done, hopefully are next move would be for his dortmund team-mate Lewandowski, a goal scorer and i think we could get him for a good price... must buys!

30 May 2012 11:41:19
guys what about Van der Vaart?

Hes a decent player and would fit in with utds style of play? apparently ss news has said he may go back to shalke?

sniejder is being liked with city! i still would like him at utd - dont know about you? i dont even know how or where he would fit n at city! another bench warmer i guess!

funny one hazard has said the best player his played with is gervinho!

if thats all he can conjor up then hes in for a shock when he plays in the prem just like gervinho!

Gervinho was a massive disappointment too wasn't he?

Sydney!

Van der Vart never seems fit enough to do 90 minutes to me spurs always seem to sub him

Pardoe

30 May 2012 11:33:26
Is there any proven interest from us in RVP. Any truth that we've had talks. Even a summer including the arrival of Kagawa and rvp would make me happy.

30 May 2012 11:25:44
Hi guys, I have a question regarding the Asian market and buying players to tap into the revenue. How does buying a player from one Asian country help a club utilise the whole of the Asian market? I've heard this bandied about a bit.

If I use Park as an example it might help my question. Park is South Korean and so i would presume only South Koreans would want to buy his shirt or merchandise. I doubt a Japanese football fan would want his shirt. I guess the point I am getting at is if the tables were turned and an Asian football team signed a French player the whole of Europe wouldn't go out and buy his shirt. Am i missing something or is the fact the player is Asian the most important thing, not their country of origin? Cheers guys SHRIMP {Ed001's Note - it is a lot different, the Asian market doesn't have the strong, regional identity of their own leagues to compete with. Their own leagues are very much secondary leagues compared to Europe's major ones. Asian players are still a rarity over here, so they tend to be able to follow them all very easily and they can give them all TV coverage.}

Thanks for that ED. Makes a lot of sense. SHRIMP {Ed001's Note - I have seen it with Oceanic players, my ex was a Kiwi, so she would literally follow any player from the Oceanic region. Over time the effect will fade, as Asians become more common in European football, it will be like South America, where they just follow the players from their own country or even region.}

Ed001, what is your thoughts on Kagawa?

Sydney! {Ed001's Note - excellent player, as nailed on as can be to join United, though nothing is ever certain until they do, obviously. I rate him, I think he is a better choice than Hazard, less issues with attitude and twitter! Kagawa has the ability, but he also has the work ethic and desire to improve.}

Ed001, couldn't agree more mate, thanks for your thoughts.

Sydney! {Ed001's Note - no worries mate.}

I guess another region where this could be applicable is the Middle East. I wonder if this is Cities strategy. I don't want to nail specific clubs to specific regions however we are huge in Asia and City are well....maybe not huge!....but definitely seem to be aligning themselves with the middle east. Could we be missing a trick? Thoughts anyone? SHRIMP

Utd are also big in the middle east and run a large utd soccer school in citys owners back yard abu dabi
johndenton

30 May 2012 10:16:12
De Gea

Rafeal/Jones
Vidic
Rio
Alba

Gaitan
Sneijder
Young

Kagawa

Rooney
Higuain

DOes anyone else think this team would p*ss the EPL next season?

We would get destroyed with that midfield wheres the holding player ?

No chance we'd end up letting in about 20 goals a game

No because it is far too attackive. There is no one in midfield protecting the defenders. It just wouldn't work in the real world unfortunately.

Welsh Dragon

It'd get battered you nutter.

No, not in the slightest, that midfield would get so overrun we would have the worst midfield in the league! I can just imagine Sneijder and Kagawa in centre midfield, crazy.

GDS

Come on! We have to defend sometimes you know....

M.D.

De gea
Smalling
Vidic
Rio/Evans
Alba

Valencia
Modric
Carrick
Kagawa
Nani

Rooney

1redarmy (ps I think I would choose Higuian over most strikers too but been no link so wont happen)

30 May 2012 10:15:21
United still pocketed £30.3m from the UCL and Europa Lg last season. Not bad for dropping out of the UCL at the group stages. To be fair we only made £14m more getting to the final the year before.

The DHL sponsorship has kicked in this season so the revenue should still move above last season's £331m despite an early exit from the UCL. So just goes to show the club is not dependent on getting to the latter stages of the UCL.

Sydney!

Shhhh! Don't tell the Glazers that. They'll have us signing the bare minimum required to qualify for the CL. Oh, hang on....

I do, of course, jest. Im not turning into RFT.

TK-Red

United's revenue can only grow to a certain amount so sooner or later the debt must be dealt with and even if 50% of the debt was wiped away with the proceeds of the IPO we will be in a stronger position. Less interest to pay so that will go to paying debt instead. I think if we could get the debt down to £200m after the IPO that would disappear within a four years. Then I expect we would consider the stadium expansion and redevelopment of the South Stand. Personally I would try and get naming rights for that one stand. We are such a massive club commercially we could probably get £10m over ten seasons for the 'Nike Stand' or whatever. That would fund the expansion. If we can get £10m a season for a training kit sponsor then what could we get for naming rights to the South Stand and perhaps Carrington? As long as Old Trafford stayed as Old Trafford.

Sydney!

This really suprised me! I think most people think we have to keep getting far in the UCL to attract the lucrative sponsorship deals. The issue is will we attract them if we keep getting knocked out?

Sanshine

Sydney - simplistically from a financial view this season the club might not be dependent on getting to the latter stages of the CL, but if we want to attract top players then it is a must.
Also should we fail to qualify for the latter stages for a couple / few years then it will signal the decline of the team, which in turn will see a decline in attendances / sponsorship etc resulting in less income.
To me the two go hand in hand, the more successful we are on the pitch the more revenue we generate, so you could say we are dependent on reaching the latter stages of the CL as that signals success.

Keanooh

Keanooh

Manchester United do not need success to get sponsorships mate. The next Nike deal will be more than £450m and will last for a minimum of 12 years. Liverpool have got the Warrior deal (£25m a year) and Standard Chartered (£20m a year) and they are useless. We will always be challenging and we will usually do well in the UCL if we are taking the opposition seriously. We will continue to win it or get to the final from time to time. Look at Chelsea, scraped through the group stages, were 2nd best against Napoli, Barcelona and Bayern yet still won it. We will continue to challenge and will never decline like the way you are suggesting whether it be commercially or on the field.

Sydney!

30 May 2012 10:02:41
Hey you Man Utd fans?

Two questions:

Question 1: The debate is happening in the next few days for 72 league clubs about bringing back artificial pitches....
Could it be beneficial for premiership clubs too - like United. It will allow the stadium to be used 7 days a week for the community, for tournaments, for concerts, just to bring in more money to buy more expensive players. Glad we didnt get Hazard, but I would love the club to buy Lucas Moura. I have seen him play in Brazil and he is super!

Question 2. My dad is dying with cancer. He is a United supporter. He wants to leave $10m to United. Question would it be taken up by the Glazers, or would it be spent on a player. Yes it all depends what the will clearly states but like your views!

Im American and before you say go back home - I was asked to work here as a teacher and basketball coach! I have supported United for over 30 years and seen them live near to 150 games, home and away.

No ill jokes, or abuse - just straight forward responses would be grateful.

Please god no. Its all very well in other sports such as American football, Hockey and Baseball etc where the pitch doesnt have too much effect on play but, for me, artificial pitches only result in a fairly ugly game of football. We should stick to natural grass IMO.

TK-Red

Hi unnamed poster, Good point about the artificial pitches, would take a while to get used to but they do keep nice all season long and would save us money. Could throw more tourneys on them for youth teams and reserve matches and charity.

Sorry to hear about your dad, The only chance it would be used well by the club is if it was publicly handed to them with the promise of the club to use it to you're dads wishes, if not I think the money would be spent on the Glaziers sorry.

1redarmy

Sorry to read about your dad.

If he wishes to leave money where it would do most good - how about leaving it to some sort of a youth development fund, linked in with UTD.

Good luck

Mike

1. I dont know if the Artificial Pitches would be a good idea. If it was brought in it would mean The english game would suffer as they're grass roots programme would have to be over hauled as they would need to Put in Artificial pitches all over England for every age group and For a short time their international form would suffer until the players get used to the Surface.
2. the money would be put into the club and it would effectively become available to the glazers to do what ever they want with it be it, personal Cost, Transfers, Etc.

30 May 2012 09:50:04
For me the only major concern last year was our midfield getting overrun against some teams and conceding too many chances to the opposition.

## Defence ##

We have a bright young goalkeeper in De Gea and a more than able backup in Lindegaard. Our left back position is nailed down by Evra who plays almost every game and is club vice captain, with safe backup provided by Fabio. We don't have any worries with regards to central defence given that we have the choice of Vidic, Ferdinand, Evans, Smalling and Jones. I believe that our right back slot is firmly with Rafael, although his injury record is a concern, but in any case we still have good cover with Smalling, Jones and Fabio all able to slot in when required, although none are specialists in the position.

## Midfield ##

I think last season we lacked in providing cover for the defence in midfield areas. Scholes and Carrick are able to sit just in front of the back four but neither are the all action anchor man that alot of top teams now seem to favour. In my opinion Phil Jones may be moulded into this role. Nobody knows the extent of Darren Fletcher's illness and it isn't known when he'll be back, and if he'll redescover the form of 09-10, 10-11. This is one area that I feel we may strengthen. I don't think Anderson will be sold as this would be foolish given that Giggs and Scholes are leaving in a years time.

As far as scoring goals from midfield I think this is one of our strongest areas of the squad. Nani, Valencia and Young are more than capable of chipping in 10 goals and 10 assists each throughout the season. I really don't think we need to strengthen here assuming that we stick with the 4-4-1-1 formation. We seem to have been linked with the likes of Hazard and Kagawa so far which could indicate that we may be changing formation.

Park is an interesting topic. Does he have a place in the squad anymore? Last season he was a shadow of the player of old. I think at most he will have 1 more season with us.

## Strikers ##

In the knowledge that Owen and assuming that Dimi Berbatov will be gone next season we shall be left with Rooney, Welbeck and Hernandez. United have always favoured having at least 4 reliable striker options. I think we will look to provide cover with another young striker here.

## To recap ##

Primary Priority:

- An up and coming striker (under 25)
- A defensive minded midfielder who is athletic (in the hargreaves mould)

Secondary Priority:

- Attacking midfielder (Kagawa, Gaitan, etc)
- Any young talents or players that Fergie feels are too good to miss out on.

Jules

30 May 2012 09:27:06
Reports claim that man utd have almost agreed a deal for shinji kagawa. I think it would be a better signing than that of hazard because kagawa plays in a more competitive league than hazard does and out of 198 appearances he has 86 goals and 50 assists while hazard out of 192 appearances he has 50 goals and 30 assists see the difference is quite much so the kagawa signing would be better for us.

And we Also need a defensive midfielder like strootman, m Vila, kwado asamoah and maybe cheick tiote

And we need a left back cuz fable is going out on loan next season

Most of Kagawas stats are from the Japanese league.

DesiRed.

Been through the hazard/kagawa thing before. Kagawas stats are from the J-league mate.

1redarmy

MOST OF THOSE STATS COME FROM THE J-LEAGUE!!! Apologies for shouting but that stat has been thrown up so many times and it is mis-leading. For Dortmund he has played roughly 70 games, scored 29 goals and has 15 assists to his name. Don't get me wrong, he is a cracking little player but his stats cant be used to show he is better than Hazard IMO.


TK-Red

TK-Red, they can...

Kagawa - 210 games (x3), 87 goals (x3), 45 assists (x3).

Hazard - 192 games, 50 goals, 30 assists

MPez

30 May 2012 09:22:00
52 million Kagawa + Modric
9 million Aly Cissoko
10 million + Berba - Robert Lewandowski

Macheda 4 million - Lecce
Kuszczak 4 million - QPR

Is Kuszczak not out of contract?

30 May 2012 07:49:31
You guys have signed one cracking player in Shinji Kagawa..He'll steal the show next season, i am genuinly jealous.

Oliver (Munich fan)

We havent signed him yet have we ? i hope it gets done fast though .

Ollie, if we do sign him then I couldn't agree more. He will have just as much of an impact on us as Hazard will have on Chelsea. I am not taking anything away from Hazard as he is a tremendous player, but people do not realise just how good Kagawa actually is. He will match Hazard's stats next season I have no doubt about that.

Sydney!

30 May 2012 06:50:58
i actually believe that if fit we already have a really good squad and with a 1 or maybe 2 appropriate signings we can compete on all fronts
i dont think we need 3-4 big signings some of the posters seem we 'desperately' need
on signings what is everyone thinking? kagawa seems the most popular and likely signing to happen. any other realistic targets that are looking likely?
like to know everyone's thoughts

G-Rav

I think 3 will do it mate, not including powell or clyne though! 5 with them as I dont think they would play much next season (Powell may be loaned back).

Kagawa is a done deal by the looks of it, any suggestion it isn't is the media trying to drag it out as with all deals.

Modric/Sneijder could be exciting with modric supposedly playing next to carrick, Sneijder would play next to Kagawa behind rooney I hope. It is one or the other though.

Lewandowski would top it off for me as he looks good and with Kagawa they would be able to blend with the squad easier.

As i said powell and clyne on top of Kagawa, Modric/sneijder and Lewandowski would be a great summer and I think we will be priced out of a move for Martinez, RVP and Llorente.

1redarmy

30 May 2012 01:36:33
Just want to clarify something, hazard did not reject manchester united, manchester united rejected him, i mean seriously no disrespect to the french league but its hardly the best league in the world and hazards ego is already that big he wants rooneys number 10 shirt? Hes a great talent but unproven, imagine if we sign him he has a good season then real madrid or barca come knocking, hel leave without thinking about it, a player who sees manchester united as a stepping stone in their career doesnt deserve the shirt.

Anyway all these modric rumours started again now, great player just not worth the price, we will look to younes belhanda the montipeller midfielder, good player and at 22 has great vision and a eye for goal, think hel be cheaper and a better option for us, watch this space.

Faz

30 May 2012 00:31:41
with berbatov/owen gone, who is our "experienced" striker? it can't be rooney at 26/27, i'm thinking maybe sign yakubu from blackburn or holt from norwich. Both great scorers and strong. Proven in the pl and will be cheap as they both want to leave {Ed007's Note - Are you on the right site? Sign both of them, and you could have Yak Holt up front!!! *ahhh Martine, remember that crazy summer....* sorry my mind wandered there.}

Rooney will have been playing at United for 9 years soon, and a further 2 years before that for Everton. Seems like plenty of experience.

Percy

LOL.....ive only just woken up but i must say that your post about signing Grant Holt and Yakubu made me laugh!!
Some people on here a deluded!!

Simmo

30 May 2012 00:00:03
About this Hazard situation, I think that we did offer less money to him, not because we can't offer more, but because SAF doesn't want to.

Just imagine being a player playing for United for 4-5 years,you work hard all them years and get offered more wages, then a 21 year old from another club comes and gets double your wages! I know i'll get replies saying we need to offer more wages to players to compete blah blah. Just remember Vidic, arguably one of our best players and one of the best in the world, is on 90k a week. (I think according to most Google links)

Hoppy

2bh they should of offered him the 100k, we have lost out on a great player. Don't get me wrong trying to keep them all in check and not offer them the silly money that footballers get is great but again and in the current market its just hurting the club.

I bet if they hadn't of penny pinched and lost on some deals last year we would of had the league!

From the off I was always uncomfortable with how Hazard does so much gobbing on t**tter combined with the rumour that when subbed he buggered off for a burger (May be tosh) if thats the case he would be perfect for city anyway, combined with supposedly lack of workrate which is Utds trademark in many ways
Saying that I would have taken him in a heartbeat.
but more important is we buy those that want to play for Us not just anyone

Pardoe

29 May 2012 23:33:27
What Giggs have you been watching? He has been rubbish all year as well so an odd choice for a comparison imo.

I can see why you valiantly defend our own but come on buddy we all can see Nani's shortcomings and he has far more of them than good points. I genuinely do not understand how you cannot see the points Red man, G.A.G.U.S, myself and a few others on here have continually highlighted as to why we think we would be better off with getting rid of Nani.

Even your stats show he has had more games but a worse goals:shots ratio and less assists. All that from a player who gets free shots at goal with free kicks and takes corners giving a good chance of an assist (if he could clear the first man).

I do not see where your argument is going. Unless its just now personal with Red man?

Jono

Nani is our second, or third best player. Rooney, Vidic (if he comes back as good), Nani. Nani's consistently produces, in fact he contributes towards a goal in 62% of the matches he plays. Silva produces in 58% and Bale in 53% of theirs, but they're both obviously better than Nani.

Do some research before you start saying stupid things. It's nothing personal with Red Man, it's with idiots.

Percy

Percy, your ignorance is astounding. If you can't see that Nani is woefully inconsistent, then you're knowledge of football is either very poor, or you refuse to admit defeat in this case. Red Man an idiot? You do realise that the majority of people on this site, and the majority of United fans everywhere can see Nani is a weak link. And yet, you actually call him 'consistent'. He's consistently frustrating, wasteful, average and infuriating his team mates, particularly Rooney.

Statistics mean little. If United get a clean sheet in a match, does that make Evra a world class left back?

G.A.G.U.S

G.A.G.U.S

Nani isn't consistent like Messi or Ronaldo. He's consistent in the same way that Rooney's consistent. By the way, the clean sheet thing is pointless. It would be like United scoring 8 goals and based on that, me calling Macheda world class. Stupid comparison. Anyone that actually looks into it will find that Nani is brilliant and is actually fairly consistent.

Percy

Percy

I've held out of this debate for a while, but I feel like I should contribute my say. Nani gets so much stick from most people on here, and I don't really understand it fully. People point to his inconsistency, which I think is due to the fact that he often shoots instead of passes or vice versa. However, while Nani may be a frustrating player to watch sometimes, he's one of the few players who has that spark, and is unplayable on his day. For being an inconsistent player, he bags a solid amount of assists, and scores a few goals himself too. During the 1st half of the 10-11 season, when Rooney wasn't firing, Nani was easily our best player. Not to mention he loves United, and seems to be a good figure in the dressing room. That being said, I think Valencia should start on the right wing whenever he's available. I just don't understand why anyone would want to upright sell Nani and bring in some unproven player. Also, a few people on here have thrown around the idea of playing Nani behind Rooney, and I think that could possibly be really effective.

Ruudinthemood

Nani is far and away not as good as you seem to think he is imo.

By your comparison of stats Scholes would not contribute to anywhere near Nani's amount of goals to games stats yet would you consider him a better player?

I am not and never have doubted Nani's ability to do something brilliant but where he fails is that he is 90% a liability and in the way we have played constant wing play is far more effective than ability to produce magic 1-2 times in ten.

You are saying he constantly produces but earlier you agreed he is inconsistent so which is it?

Nani was made available last summer after arguably his best 6-8 months for us so does that make SAF an person as well as he was willing to move him on?

I applaud your devotion to our players however this seems to be a case of 'can't see the forest for the trees'

Jono

It's pointless to compare Scholes and Nani. I made comparisons between attacking players not a deep lying midfielder. I said he was consistent in the way that he's not absolutely mercurial in every match like Messi and Ronaldo. He's consistent like Rooney or other such players.

Percy

Nani is a fantastic attacking footballer who's strong,tricky,quick,has one hel of a shot,can score goals and has the ability to spark something out of nothing.yes his crossing could be better at times,but his link up play
Is brilliant.put it this way I'd rather have nani in our squad than park,Giggs and young at the moment {Ed007's Note - Please do not get abusive with posters. That is my job.}

Nani as consistent as Rooney? LOL. What Nani are you watching?

G.A.G.U.S

I can promise all the people hating on Nani comes down to one thing, Valencia's good 3 months of the season.

Nobody remembers the first 2 months of the season when Nani was the main man,everything went through him and we were on fire (playing some of our most entertaining football) until he got is injury that ruled him out for quite sometime.

Valencia will get found out next season as he doesnt have anything different to his locker, it is very much a stop start kick and run to the by-line followed by a cross. Doesn't take much to stop whereas Nani can do something different at a drop of a hat.

If you see Nani for Portugal in the Euro's he is given a free role behind the striker and he has admitted that this is his best position. He played there away to Villa and was exceptional

fearny

No name

I would rather Nani play the wing than Giggs and Park as well but I would rather get a more consistant player that does not infurriate the rest of his forward line with his selfishness and inability to play the right pass at the right time than Nani.

Percy

Giggs has played the majority of his games in CM maybe not as deep lying as Scholes but in CM none the less so if you are to give comparrisons they should be at least the same position.

I agree Nani is better than Young individually but where Young makes it up is in his team play. His and Toni's passing was 2 and 8% better than Nani's, Toni had a better cross completion % Nani and Young were almost the same, Toni was double the average minutes before being dispossed, Toni created 10 clear cut chances compared to Nani and Youngs 6 (although Young only played 1500+ minutes compared to Nani and Toni's 2100+), mins per clear cut chance created Toni 212, Nani 352, Young 262.

So when you are saying do some research then it shows that Toni and Young to an extent are both more consistant and at least just as effective in our attacking play as Nani.

Those stats were for the Prem this season by the way.

Jono

I need new glasses for next season im obviously missing what nani,s doing with the ones i wear now
johndenton

If Nani is our 2nd or 3rd best player, then maybe you should be telling Fergie that as he obviously doesn't think so. Nani had his best spell in the team on the RW when Valencia was injured, when he came back from injury what did Fergie do, picked Valencia in place of Nani. Then signed Young to play left as Nani is ineffective on the left, so Fergie decided to drop our 2nd or 3rd best player.
Red Man is right about Rooney's frustration with Nani it is plain to see, everytime they play together Rooney moans at Nani. Now I am not a big Rooney fan, but if he is 'the main man' then Fergie will pick a team that gets the best out of him and he clearly sees that with Valencia on the RW.
Nani was up for sale last summer and nobody met the asking price, so Fergie has made his views clear on whether he thinks Nani is our 2nd or 3rd best player, so I guess that makes Fergie an person in your eyes.

Keanooh