Manchester United Banter Archive September 04 2013

 

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04 Sep 2013 23:12:38
Why is everyone so down at the moment, we won the league last year and the players don't become bad players overnight.

Think of this team if everyone is fit:

De Gea, Rafael, Vidic, Jones, Evra, Valencia, Fellaini, Kagawa, Nani, Rooney Van Persie.

That is some side and we still have Ferdinand, Carrick, Cleverly, Giggs, Zaha, Young, Welbeck and Hernandez, Smalling plus some youngsters too.

Its not all bad, so get behind the boys, plus Moyes needs time to assess the players fully and may see some more activity in January Moyes has not had long in the job so as Fergie said, get behind him!! {Ed004's Note - Carrick will be one of the first names on the team sheet. Nani and kagawa haven't been getting very much game time either}

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You can't leave Carrick out mate!

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Carrick and Fellaini will be an integral part of anything we achieve this year. It is crucial Vidic, RVP, Rooney and Carrick stay fit. Fellaini has made the spine of the team stronger. The right back slot is great with Rafael, the left back slot we know needs work. The two positions up for grabs are either side of Rooney in the 3 behind RVP. I'd have Kagawa as a permanent fixture on the left and then either a confident Nani or try Zaha on the right. Many issues may be solved if we can go back in for Coentrao who is up there with the very best. If he apparently cried when his love failed then I'm sure we still have a great chance of getting him in January if we act early and give Madrid a chance to sign a replacement.

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We are down because we are greedy. Yes, we still have a good squad, and Fellaini will improve it, but we were hoping and expecting the club to cough up and purchase one truly creative midfielder. We want to stay on top in England, and we want United to build a squad that can compete with the best in Europe. Without that ball handling ability and creativity, we think we will remain second best.

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Why Why Why are posters on this site including Nani when posting their starting eleven? That guy has had more than enough time to prove himself and time after time he has flattered to deceive. Please let's see a starting eleven with no wingers ( let our fullbacks do the wide work ) now we have two holding MFs in Carrick & Fellaini. I sincerely hope Moyes is now going to play Zaha or Januzaj with Rooney and Kagawa behind van Persie. Please Mr Moyes, give the majority of fans what we want.

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If Moyes can keep his starting eleven fit we can still compete on all fronts. Fellaini joining will now allow the front 4 to attack teams more as Rooney should have no need to track back to help our defence which he found himself doing on regular occasions. I see another good season ahead & a great start to the Moyes reign.

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Firstly everyone gets behind the team and I would never question that.

Some of us fed up with being fed bs by the club and having expectations that see us competing with the elite clubs of Europe. If you look at the competition they all have made more strides than we did in this window so domestically the gap has narrowed and you could argue some are ahead now and in Europe they have widened the gap on us.

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04 Sep 2013 23:12:35
With so much talk of januzaj not in the champions league squad, has anyone realised Will Keane is! Does anyone remember he was going to be in the first team squad until he got injured! Give this guy a chance he will finish. He has was hailed as the most prolific striker we had on our books at a stage. Just read the clubs website profile on him and you will know how highly he is regarded I'm ecstatic he is in the squad because before his injury he looked destined for the top!

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The guy is a natural goal scorer and it will be interesting to see where he is at after his injury. He is definitely one that has been forgotten.

My dad had the pleasure of chatting to him a few weeks back and said he came across as such a genuine nice guy who just loved his job and couldn't wait to get back playing. He was signing autographs for kids (who probably didn't even know who he was).

Good luck to the lad and I for one will be keeping a close eye on his progress.

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I remember watching some of the reserve/youth games before his injury. It seemed like every game he played in he bagged a goal or 2. Felt so gutted for the lad when he picked up the injury. ACL if I remember correctly? I hope he can get back up to speed and recapture the form he had pre injury. Good luck to him!

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Will Keane is immense.

He will have a great career and the Keane brothers will be important to us very soon IMO.

Had it not been for his bad injury he would be in there with the first team now.

I really like the look of him and deadly is how I would describe his finishing.

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04 Sep 2013 22:23:03
By all accounts Ronaldo was very unhappy with the sale of Ozil by Madrid. Ozil not only dovetailed well with Ronaldo but bridged the gap in the cliques at Madrid.

The point, the penny pinching and indecision that let a quality player like Ozil go elsewhere when we were looking for a player of that quality all summer, (in fact for the last 4 summers) not just strengthened Arsenal but meant we missed a chance to give Ronaldo another reason to come home. It wasn't a reason to sign Ozil but a subtlety missed in all the mess.

There again £42.5m was probably not in the budget.

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I really wanted to Ozil when he went to madrid. When it seemed clear he was going to leave this year and seemed he wanted come to us I just hoped against all the odds that they would pay the fee it would cost to get him. It's ok bangiing on about defensive midfielders we are really lacking a player in midfield who can create chances like he does and beat a man rather than turning his back and passing it back or sideways because they become unstuck when a player is stood infront of them. I think he will be brilliant for arsenal unfortunately. I am niot saying frizzyhead won't be any good for us but Ozil would have great.

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Oezil is a world class number ten. We are stocked in that position. Of course he can play as a winger, but why would he want to play out of position? If Rooney went to Chelsea then he would have been a top quality replacement. I can see why he wasn't a priority, but would have been a class signing.

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Hi all -
First time post.
We can't change reality - even though we want to.
The windfall from selling Ronaldo was not properly invested, either then or subsequently.
The policy of investing in youth products was dealt a severe blow by selling Morrison and failing to retain both Pogba and Fryers in 2012, whilst bringing Scoles out of retirement. Don't tell me that there is no link between those activities.
and now, Fellaini was not signed until way after his buy-out clause expired and the club failed in all overt or covert attempts to buy or loan quality players. Contrast that with rivals in England and the UK. The change in manager did not hinder their attempts to bolster their sides and make good their deficiencies.
Moyes and Woodward had only one chance to make a first impression. Complacent; Parsimonious; No ambition
Red Setter

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We are not stocked with world class players or world class number 10's. Ozil would have played more games over a season than Rooney anyway so he would not be out of position that much if he was. Rooney has always been played out of position as the rest of the squad as.

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Rooney is not a world class number 10, he IS a world class striker. he was getting played as a number 10 because van persie is a better striker and you can't have 250k a week sitting on the bench

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DJ79, Rooney was a number ten before RvP arrived. I also agree Rooney was a world-class striker in 2010. He was unplayable.

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04 Sep 2013 21:49:41
I try not to do too much Glazer bashing as they own the club and since they have bought the club we have won many titles and appeared in more champion league finals than we did for our entire history prior to that. None the less I share your frustration they are in it for the money. But when you spend a billion quid on something in business they want the best return possible they need to re-invest substantially now so its time to rubbish or get off the pot. they will either sell or invest heavily as running the club down will only cost them huge money and they are not in it for losses they are in it for profit.

ken


Ken you really have got to be taking the piss. Even GDS wouldn't try and get away with this Pro Glazer rubbish {Ed004's Note - I have to agree with Kloot on this. The glazers haven't spent a penny on this club and we were successful because of Ferguson make no doubt about that. Do you honestly think possibly one of the best managers alive did not see we had a problem in midfield? I honestly think if the glazers had no budget restrictions we would have spent all the Ronaldo money just like spurs have done with Bale and our midfield would have been addressed long ago. We could have won a tonne of more trophies without the glazers. However, I do feel a bigger budget will be afforded now we are slipping and don't have Fergie and that the glazers need the club to be successful but nothing we do will get rid of them IMO so we need to suck it up and support the team}

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Come on Ken, it's commonly known that the Glazers never spent a bean of their own cash on the club. They bought the club with borrowed cash and then saddled the club with it. This isn't new news.

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Ken Glazer I assume?

Suspect poor KLOOT spat his Cheerios all over the kids when he read that! Haha - keep em coming!

Hopefully Big Malcolm can get us into the champion league final again this year.

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You are 100% correct kloot, I don't agree with him in the slightest. If you ever read my posts instead of just trying to get one up on me you would know that to be true as well. We have the same opinion, I just look at it from a different perspective and don't try and tell people what to think.

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I suspect ken is not that old lads so go easy on him with ure replys :-)

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Chris,

Or he is 50 and you have offended him ever more ;)

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If he's 50 and thinks like that, I feel he wouldn't he wouldn't no 2 much about it anyway ;-)

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04 Sep 2013 20:30:34
The Guardian on Woodward

1) "It is also possible that his status as the Glazers' representative on earth caused him to blanch when it came to the crunch, unwilling to risk too much of the club's money."

Some would have you believe the Glazers make all the money available, I have even seen it today on here, trying to instill into us and reassure that the money is there, it isn't the owners. There is no evidence to confirm they are willing to invest in a major way or that the money "is there" and a one person crusade on here to keep us positive about the owners doesn't wash any more.

2) Guardian again "And amid the Championship Manager meets high-stakes poker shenanigans of the final hours of the transfer window, it was easy to overlook the fact that Manchester United have not shopped at the expensive end of the international market for a long time."

RVP who at £22m in last years spend, bears liitle resemblance to the Rio, Rooney statement purchases, but they were British market buys, the last major overseas purchase was Veron. The real statement buys Rio, Rooney and Veron were all pre Glazer.

We need answers as to the ambition of our club, MUST need answers, if we want our club to challenge at the highest level we must have answers. The big question is what was our real budget?

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Red Man, MU will not pay over the odds for players. That was explained to us by 002 two summers ago. This summer is proof of how stubborn the board is with this. MU were willing to buy Fellaini, spend €30m on Herrera and £12m on Baines. The cash is clearly there, but they do not want to overpay for the players sadly. I thought they would make an exception this summer, but they haven't. That is my gripe with this summer. I really thought they needed to support DM this window.

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Sydney

Redman post from the guardian below is very accurate. We just don't compete for the top players anymore and buy at the middle tier. We just use the term over the odds to justify our lack of spending.

I am so bitterly disappointed with our summer activity that until the club goes out and buys top player will never believe a word they say.

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I agree with Redman and also ed004 above.
If every United fan knows we need a top class cm I'm sure fergy did.
I don't believe all these hard luck excuses, other teams have proved that with the correct money and ambition you can buy the top players.

Syd
You say United will not pay over the odds for a player, although we just have on fellaini but you don't buy top players for market value .if United don't want to pay over the odds they won't get the best players or seriously limit the options by going for players in the last year of there contract.

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Sydney

They needed to support their new manager, this was the summer more than any other when the Glazers needed to pay up but yet again they failed and it cannot be a coincidence. I said wait until 2Sept, well look what happened.

What we need to know is, was it Woodward or the Glazers with the control of the purse and what really was the budget. The way Woodward baulked at the prices leads you towards thinking there was a strict budget, after all he must have had guidance. It doesn't excuse how it has been handled but the CEO either followed the guidance or he didn't. It would be unusual not to follow instructions and objectives.

I can only believe the money was not made available and the CEO wasn't able to deal with the prices at hand. In 2008 we sold Ronaldo for £80m, the game has moved on in transfer fee terms, pushed forward by the level set by Ronaldo's sale, yet our owners have shown no inclination to pay much more than the £25 to £30m ceiling per player. It shows our club has not moved on. This window the attitude has seen our club embarrassed and we need answers. Sitting there saying they made the money available and pushing everything on Woodward again shows a defence of the owners. Our future success depends on the answers. Bayern Munich didn't sit on their laurels but we have. It cannot continue.

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Red Man, we bid £12m for Baines and E30m for Herrera. They are fair offers which you even said so yourself. So that including the Fellaini price that we wanted to pay (£23m) adds up to £60m. Like 002 said I doubt there is a budget per se. MU will individually value a player that the manager wants and clearly they try to stick to that valuation. I hoped that we would make an exception this summer. The decisions would have been the CEO, I get the impression he wanted to be aggressive in the market to impress the owners with his penny pinching and it blew up in his face. I'm sure he would have the power to sanction a £30m move, I think Gill would have done had SAF pressed him on the matter. I think SAF would have got Oezil.

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Jred, that's the point. MU are working on market value. It's clubs like Chelsea, City, Monaco, PSG etc that are buying above market value. Arsenal had to do it this summer, I had hoped we would do it this summer, but we never. I am disappointed. I think the club got desperate with Fellaini as he was the last chance of a singing.

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Totally agree with Most people posting on such issues above.
One part of the Quote from The Guardian struck me as weird.
"the last major overseas signing was Veron"

I looked up the fees for players since Veron and the highest oversees fee since then was Anderson from Porto FC. Does this not count as major?
We paid an awful lot for him and David de Gea is the 3rd most expensive goalkeeper. Does this also not count?
Slighty confused as to what "major overseas is classed as.
Good posts by all.

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Clearly Sydney has never taken any ecomics classes. The market value is whatever someone is willing to give you for it at that moment. The market value of bale was 80 mil, the market value of Fellaini bc that's what someone was willing to pay for him. The fact remains that united seen to have fallen behind on the modern transfer market and pining for the good old days of cheap transfers is insane. I don't see the club get upset when they keep breaking sponsorship records. How can they complain about the increased cost of players while being happy about the increased revenue also seen in recent years?

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Sydney vehemently protects the Glazers by saying the money is there and puts the blame solely on Woodward. I can see through it and hope everyone else can. Why Sydney needs to protect the owners is open for everyone's opinion. The fact is if the money was there we would have spent it not just this summer but the summers before.

We have not moved forward in the market and our owners are holding us back and no amount of Sydney's defending them will make it different.

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Red Man, I have said on this page numerous times that the people who should be held accountable for this summer is the Glazers. We know they are penny pinchers, we know that they will try and save every last penny from a deal, but the money is there. Hence the £25.6m bid for Herrera and £12m Baines bids. MU were prepared to spend these amounts on these two players. Didn't YOU say we shouldn't pay more than that for Baines the other day? I hoped the club would spend on a creative midfielder this summer so I am as disappointed as you are. Now just because I do not share your view, doesn't mean I am a Glazer protector. I couldn't give a monkeys about these people. I look at the evidence and make my own mind up. Clearly we were willing to spend £37.6m on Baines and Herrera as that is what we bid.

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Red man
I agree I don't gets syds need to defend them it excuse after excuse anything but the glazers.
Last year he even tried to claim we never bought a cm because the best manager we ever had was to stubborn.
Spurs have proved any team willing to pay can get players, Monaco have proved players will move to team's not playing in the cl, city have proved players will move to Manchester, Munich have proved self sustained team's can compete at the top of the market. Even arsenal got ozil
For me all the facts point to us not looking to compete at the top of the market but instead buy potential, I think over the past 4 years rvp has been the exception to the rule, but he was in the last year of his contract.
Look at the difference with spurs and the BALE money compared to us and the ronaldo money.
It will be interesting to see how much we pay of the debt this year

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Sydney

A club with a big budget and big ambitions would have put a 100 million on the table and taken Oezil/Modric, Khedira and Di Maria from Real who were all available.

It would have addressed all our gaps and we would be favorites to win the CL and believe me they would have all come as I do not buy this thing that players don't want to play for us.

We buy in the second tier and what makes it worse is we seem to penny pinch or not participate all together when there are high potential guys available, who will cost a fortune and in many cases not available in 24 months and lose them to other clubs.

I think the club feeds us bs and either there is no money and if there is they have very little intention of spending it. The appointment of this pompous investment banker to run a football club should be enough evidence of their intentions.

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Jred, you need to grow up. I have never defended the Glazers and you and Red Man know it. You just do not like other people having a different opinion to yourselves. Spurs have spent two seasons not buying a striker because they would not invest the money. Even this summer they paid out for one when they needed two. It's the Bale money that has funded this summer's deals. Spurs wouldn't pay what was needed for Damiao, Oscar, Hulk etc etc. City wouldn't pay what was needed to get Hazard, Cavani, Falcao etc etc. Chelsea have missed out on Falcao, Cavani, Neymar etc. They didn't get a much needed second striker and a defensive midfielder like Khedira. Don't act like it's only MU who miss out on targets.

Shahram, again you are missing the point of all of this. Moyes wanted those players. He chooses the players and the club try to buy them. Also Khedira, Modric & Di Maria were not available as none of them wanted to leave. RM couldn't force them out so they had to sell Oezil (their 2nd best player) instead.

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When Sydney is losing or has lost an argument he does the "grow up" comments or calls people a child.

Fact is he defends the Glazers every day by insisting the money is there when in fact they have yet to truly invest or show enough ambition by challenging for the very best players. Like I said we raised the bar with Ronaldo and they don't like it when trying to buy. The sooner Sydney accepts what the owners are doing the better

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Syd
Yawn excuses after excuse.
I will say it once more United are not competing for the top players but are looking for potential with the exception of Rvp who we got on the cheap as he was in the last year of his contract.
You can keep on dreaming about ozil, gotze, hazard, isco, draxler.
But when the next big thing comes along I don't believe we will be in for him.
Look at our buys over the last 4/5 years Rvp stands out like a sore thumb he is the one real quality addition we have made.
Now there is nothing wrong with buying potential and developing them but over the past few years the team have lacked real quality.
And we are falling further behind in Europe.
Who was the last youth team player to really set the world alight .
Who was the last player we bought that set the world alight.
Look at our transfers over the last 4/5 year and then compare them to Munich who are the best team in Europe at the moment .
Ignore all the rumours and players we are supposedly after and look at the ones we actually bought.

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Syd

You are missing the point mate. If you are telling me that our new manager with all the players that were available this summer thought Fellaini, baines and Herrera were his first choice, I say we should sack him now and he is clueless. The reason he is looking at those players is that he has spending curbs and limits.

The players at real were all available according to a very well respected moderator and if the right money came in and the right club they would have moved. Oezil by all accounts was not available and also did not want to move but guess what rm got the right offer and made him take the move.

I still firmly believe we had no cohesive plan and both the manager and CEO were caught with their pants down.

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Sharham
Exactly, a team with a big budget and big ambitions would of got the job done . I 100% believe top players will come to United if the money is right

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Guys, to be fair, I think Syd is only saying the money is there.

Whether they actually want to spend it or not, is a totally different point.

I think we can all see that they don't.

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Steviek

Sydney just refuses to acknowledge there is money but for the second tier of the transfer market and not top tier players.

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Steviek

Shahram just refuses to acknowledge that these are our manager's targets, not the owner's targets.

Baines was the number one target for LB.

Fellaini was always going to be the number one target for midfield muscle.

Fabregas was his first target for a creative midfielder. He wasn't available so Moyes wanted Herrera.

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Shahram, hang on a minute, was Cesc Fabregas not a top tier player? Well, while he was 'apparently' happy to join us, did we not try to sign him? £25m to test the water, then a £34m offer? He is a top tier player who played in the position we were looking to strengthen. I never said Moyes' first choice targets were Herrera, Baines & Fellaini. I clearly said his first choice targets were Baines, Cesc & Fellaini. I think it's pretty obvious that they were. Herrera was an alternative to Cesc. Are you seriously telling me you do not believe Cesc, Baines & Fellaini was Moyes' first choice targets?

Red Man, you show me one shred of evidence that the money isn't there to buy the players that Moyes wants then you can say I am "losing an argument". The truth is there is no evidence that the cash isn't there to buy players. But there is plenty of evidence to suggest there is cash there one of which being that we made bids for Herrera & Baines totaling £37.6m. We know a large bid was made for Khedira which was conformed by 002 and Khedira himself. We made bids for Cesc until it was clear he was ****ing us around to get playing time at Barcelona in a WC year.

Chelsea failed to sign Khedira, are they not backed by their owner? Chelsea failed to get De Rossi. What makes me laugh is you said on here a week ago that we shouldn't pay more than £12m for Baines. But when we don't you say it's because we have no money.

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"Exactly, a team with a big budget and big ambitions would of got the job done . I 100% believe top players will come to United if the money is right"

I agree with this so I am struggling to see what you are getting at. As I have said for the millionth time, I was hoping MU would make and exception this summer and pay over the odds to get a creative midfielder. But they never. They made fair offers for Baines and Herrera, but I hoped they would pay over the odds like they did with Fellaini.

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04 Sep 2013 20:48:55
People saying that Januzaj hasn't been submitted as part of the CL squad, but at 18 does he have to be listed? I didn't think so. Where do you think he will end up at on loan? Really need him to sign a new deal!

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Fresh!

I didn't think he did either.

It would need to be an absolutely tip-top Championship side to make it worthwhile loaning him out. Wigan with Powell might be a good idea.

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I thought at that age that they can be named 24 hrs before any CL fixture?

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04 Sep 2013 20:43:05
What is the delay in Januzaj signing a new contract? I thought he was signing a new one last month, we could use some good news.

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Flint

The people who need to sort this out have been busy screwing other things up over the last month. You might not have noticed though.

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I believe he has signed a new contract.

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He is yet to sign an extension.

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04 Sep 2013 20:29:33
I AM KLOOT "united will beat Liverpool easily at.anfield"
SYDNEY " United will finish atleast 30points above liverpool this season.

Definately blood brothers use two and two fine comedians at that ;)

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Big al,

3 games have gone pal, you are making the mistake of thinking the season is over like them celebrations on Sunday like you had won the league!

Sydney won't be far off with that prediction.

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I told people to ask me at the end of the window as to how many points will separate MU and Liverpool. I believe it will be 25-30 points difference come May. Liverpool will finish 6th/7th, MU will finish top.

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Lol

Sydney you are a brave man even though I don't agree.

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I tell you what Sydney. you are doing a damn good impression of a clown there! wait a minute . I see what you are at . Krusty the clown - make Sideshow Bob feel right at home!

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Steve gerrard, dan sturridge and raheem sterling have all withdrawn from the england squad, after finding themselves top of the league there all sufferring from altitude sickness :)

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Shahram, what a surprise, you have no confidence in your team. You do realise this is the same team that won the league last season? Hopefully a better Rooney, a fit Vidic and Fellaini and Zaha.

I have no doubt in my mind that we will win the league. Shame you don't have the same faith in your team.

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Ski, you think scraping three1.0 wins, two games of which were home games, you think you are now title contenders? LOL, you will not even manage a top four spot. You were battered in the 2nd half of all three games hanging on for dear life. You will finish 6th/7th 25-30 points behind us.

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Sydney, no way will you win the league this season and no way will you finish 25-30 points above liverpool this season! Your midfield is weak and lacks creativity, no service in to van the man, your manager is completely out of his depth, poor transfer window, you are still relying on giggs at nearly 40 years old. Your not as good as you think you are, yet you have the nerve to predict that liverpool will finish 6/7th and you will win the league. No chance!

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I think we will be well off the pace syd

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Totally wiv Sydney, we will finish 25 points ahead of Liverpool. We were nowhere near our strongest at Anfield, and deserved at least a point. Their only saving grace is Suarez returning at the end of the month (at least until his next ban)

What's wiv the doubters? We've strengthened wiv Fellaini and Zaha. Toni is looking as though he is back AND Rooney can only be better this season. Not to mention Kagawa and Zahas impending influence. Some of u need to get behind the team, and stop acting like spoilt brats.

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Liverpool fans criticising Moyes, saying he is out of his depth, have you forgotten that you have Brendan Rodgers managing your club? The same guy who was sacked by Reading when in the championship only 3-4 years ago? Winning only one out of 11 home games that season and being sat in 21st place?!

Shouldn't throw stones if you live in a glass house!

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The appropriate question is, Sydney, how many points do you think Man U will get this season?

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Sydney

It is not a matter of faith but what I see when I watch this team. You seem to be blinded by your support and will always find a silver lining in everything we do.

We paid 27.5 for Fellaini and you justify it by saying " We got what we wanted in terms of installments" having absolutely no proof of that. BTW activating a release clause does not mean you have to pay it all in one go and you can always negotiate installments.

I say we were bent over and made to look like persons by having a incoherent transfer policy this summer.

You point out to the addition of zaha which I see as being an option after Valencia, Nani, Welbeck, Young so how does adding a 4th or 5th choice winger make such a drastic improvement to our team. I agree a healthy Vidic is a major difference and rooney's form is up for debate until we see enough of him this season.

What you forget to mention is players like giggs, rio are a older and questionable on how effective their contribution is over a very long season.
I think giggs adds nothing to us and would not get into a top 10 side in the pl.

Patzi

This liverpool team is not a great team but much better than you think. They have a run of 16 undefeated games going and did a very effective job of giving us nothing in terms of an offensive output given our strikers. They can do the same to a lot of teams and will be competitive.

You and sydney are going to be eating some humble pie come May :)

Finally, I think we have good first 11 and nothing great and our summer activity has improved that by adding Fellaini but all our rivals have improved more than we have and the gap has shrunk and some would argue that a few teams have pulled ahead.

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Quite the hypocrite syd, united have won titles through scraping 1-0 wins mate, the number of times you lot scored in stoppage time is just a joke! Whether or not we have won three games 1-0 the only time we really hung on was at villa! We could have had 5 or 6 against stoke and were never really under threat against united! We contained you quite easily really! And that came from your own gary neville! The thing is, even your own are beginning to doubt you and united now, along with the expert pundits also. You are no where near the side that you once were, and with moyes who has never tasted a trophey, well your struggling! You won't win the league this year!

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Ian, come back at the end of the season and you will see I was right. If I am wrong then I will hold my hands up, but you will not finish in the top four. Not a chance. Liverpool looked vulnerable in all three games and there were times when you were hanging on for dear life. I would expect you to beat Stoke at home. Villa I expected a draw, and a MU/Liverpool game is always 50/50 when played at Anfield. You have an easy run of games which will see you around the 4th spot around Christmas time, but when the toughies kick in you will see where you truly belong and that is around 6th/7th where you finished last season. Spurs need to gel and could do with another striker, but they will still finish 4th/5th. Arsenal will be the same, they will finish strongly and also finish 4th/5th. City, Chelsea & ourselves are on another level compared to Liverpool. I think Chelsea have the edge with the new manager, but I think MU have the know how and the experience to win the league. At worst I see MU finishing 2nd. At best I see you finishing 6th. The gap between us with be 25-30 points.

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Shahram flapping again. No surprise there.

I am not positive, I'm realistic as the same exact squad won the league last season. City and Chelsea do not look any better than last season. Finishing 3rd in Moyes first season wouldn't be a disaster, but I think we will win the league. I do not see us conceding many goals, scoring them maybe a worry, but I can see us giving Palace a hiding.

I am pretty sure you can only trigger a release clause by paying the cash in a lump sum. That's the only way you can buy a player without a club stopping it.

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04 Sep 2013 19:33:23
Does anyone think rooney will sign a new contract, asking for more money?

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He would have to 1st be offered a new deal on more money

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Been saying that all along. Stretford wants that last big contract and doesn't care what club gives it to him

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04 Sep 2013 19:02:41
Lets not forget that next summer transfer window will be after the world cup.

So if any of our decent targets end up having a good world cup their price is going to shoot up.

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I think MU will act fast next summer. No mucking about, players signed on July 1st.

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04 Sep 2013 19:22:05
Here is a novel idea. do our business early like the best run clubs do. or maybe even this Jan depending on how our targets season is going

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2nd September is well after the World Cup ends though they will have all dropped by then ;)

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September 2009: I think we'll really press on with signings next summer, get that midfielder we really need, maybe a defender.
September 2010: Okay we got a defender and a forward but next year I think we will get a world class midfielder early on next summer, let them have time to settle before the start of the season, and we'll replace VDS.
September 2011: Woohoo, Jones and DDG to great young players, and Young. no sign of that cm yet, actually we could probably use 2 new ones but I truly believe next summer we will press on a sign em up.
September 2012: Shinji and RVP, great, Fergie where's that new centre midfielder? oh coming next summer, for definite? cool.
September 2013: Well what the **** was that? Its alright though because next summer we will get a few new signings in, definitely, and our business will be basically done before the window is even officially opened, and we will sign only world class players in every position that we need.
September 2014: Well we got the forward, LB, RB, new wingers and CB, still waiting on that CM but I'm sure we will sort that out next summer.
I hate September

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@Jaxer

ha, thanks for brightening my mood after that miserable transfer deadline! That really somes up our past transfer windows. Hey, we didn't get the signings we wanted but atleast they are being addressed. Progress;)

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04 Sep 2013 18:57:06
Post Monday blues have kicked in. i'm unsure about the clubs strategy on playing staff. The following players will need to be replaced in the next 18 months. Rio / vidic / anderson/ young/ nani/ carrick/ possibly rooney and RVP. we won't do that by shelling out 27m every transfer window. or with Mr Woodward at the helm with his tactical nouse. We may get 2or 3 through the youts but its not 1 marqee required over next 3 windows. to replace like for like with some of those names we are talking huge money. We are going to have to buy more pies on match days!

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We won't need to replace any of them. Some will still be here and others aren't important or have already been replaced.

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The plan was to replace Vidic and Ferdinand with Smalling and Jones, and of course we still have Evans, plus there are a few younger players coming through. Probably one heavy center back only required.

Yes Carrick will need to be replaced and who knows about Rooney and RVP. The latter could certainly stay with the club for another spell depending on the renegotiation of his contract. Anderson is a bit part player anyway.

I think everyone knows we will need to be spending 50-80m per year for the next 3-4 years to keep up.

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Ken
fully understand your concerns but the Chevrolet sponsorship kicks in next season and we are negotiating a new 10 year shirt deal with Nike so
not even the Glazers will have an excuse to spend big in the coming seasons and they might even get us out of debt by 2020
ARB

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04 Sep 2013 18:55:19
I feel I have to nail my colours to the mast. 2 years ago on this site I was encouraging United to buy Fellaini from Everton and now we have I can see him becoming a big success. I am a fan and I think he will bring steel to the side. Remember how many midfielders have just run through our midfield well hopefully now they have someone to run into. I also think he will bring much needed presence in the air and along with Vidic he is not afraid to head a ball more than can be said for the WGT. Before the obvious gags begin no I will not be buying a wig for the games or a replica shirt with his name on but I will be looking forward to the instant impact I believe he will make. We needed some steel in the team for me the highlight of the brands career was when he booted that Liverpool player for not kicking the ball out. Always good to show them we are not to be messed with.

Maybe because non of this summer has come as a surprise to me and I was expecting it I am a little more up beat than a lot of you. Its like when you discovered there is no father christmas you have now discovered what the Glazers are about. What next you may discover why Fergie would only use certain Portugese agents with off shore bank accounts

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Kloot. I haven't seen you on our page for a while, where have you been?

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04 Sep 2013 19:17:06
Kloot, I agree with you on fellaini, I have gone on record here suggesting he is the closest thing we have had to a real hard man since Roy Keane, I believe he will become a real fans hero and will have a big impact. He has some fantastic attributes and it won't take him long to settle. Unfortunately we will still be found wanting for flair and ingenuity but perhaps with Fellaini in the team Moyes will play kagawa more knowing there is some real cover for Kagawas defensive frailties. I also thing we have a couple of gems in powell zaha and Januzai. I try not to do too much Glazer bashing as they own the club and since they have bought the club we have won many titles and appeared in more champion league finals than we did for our entire history prior to that. None the less I share your frustration they are in it for the money. But when you spend a billion quid on something in business they want the best return possible they need to re-invest substantially now so its time to rubbish or get off the pot. they will either sell or invest heavily as running the club down will only cost them huge money and they are not in it for losses they are in it for profit.

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Holy crap Kloot. I've just started writing my Xmas list out and now you've told me I'm wasting my time.

Feck. So much for Ronaldo then - Subuteo obviously.

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I agree Kloot we needed the wig more than any other player in the world that was at least attainable, he will be a great player for us I am sure.

Also the dealings were farcical and nothing short of embarrassing

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KLOOT

I agree with you about Fellaini. I championed him a couple of years back and nothing's changed my opinion. I couldn't be bothered getting involved in the discussions about him because of the negativity so many people throw around without reason.

I've also said - and I stand by this - it isn't creativity the squad's missing, it's control in the middle of the park. We're not giving the ball to our creative players far enough down the pitch for them to make a difference, and they're often isolated when they get it. I think Fellaini will make a big difference in that respect.

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I don't have a big problem with Fellaini, he is a powerful unit but my concern would be fouls particularly in Europe and especially around the area.

Ken
You talk about the Glazers investment, they have not got one cent of their own money in us or at risk. It is all the clubs debt.

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Ken they didn't spend anything they borrowed it all :(

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I hope your right Ken that they see the light when it is more obvious they need to re invest! As for reaching more euro cup finals since they arrived etc . Most of the squads involved and top players involved and the manager obviously were there before they took over. They inherited a successful ship that just needed the odd tweak player wise. Plus fergie was still there. Now that manager is not there a couple of those players have gone ( for 80mil or so) and some of the others are getting on. They need to invest

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04 Sep 2013 18:21:44
What a thoroughly decent bloke Ander Herrera is. We need a player like him, not only for his midfield qualities but also his attitude!

(You watch him go and sign for Chelsea now. )

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04 Sep 2013 17:04:45
apparently some uefa youth tournament starts this season for players 19 and under so it looks like adnan januzaj will be playing in that as it starts the same time as the champ.league, I've just read about it, not saying its defo the reason but at least he would play every game.

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Pretty sure players under 21 don't need registering?

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04 Sep 2013 19:39:15
u21 do need to be registered for CL but do not need to register u21 /academy players for EPL

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How in the last few years have we brought youngsters in for the last few games then? I remember the year we played piqué and he definitely wasn't anywhere near the 25 man squad. Has something changed?

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04 Sep 2013 16:52:37
apparently some uefa youth tournament starts this season for players 19 and under so it looks like adnan januzaj will be playing in that as it starts the same time as the champ.league, I've just read about it, not saying its defo the reason but at least he would play every game.

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04 Sep 2013 16:42:24
What happened with coentrao, talk of him joining on a loan deal with an option to buy on deadline day, havnt heard confirmation of the deal since. Just been wondering what has happened?

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Read the site

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Paperwork didn't go through in time, Madrid backed away from deal after they failed to sign a defender from Grenada.

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Apparently it was down to madrid pulling the plug when his replacement signed a season long loan with benfica instead

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04 Sep 2013 16:40:40
Just started to calm down from Mondays debacle & read through this site again. I didn't know that Fellaini had waived his 4 million that was owed to him. Definitely not my first choice player but has got my undivided support as he is now one of us. And for passing up a massive payday RESPECT.

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Or £750k.

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Whatever the sum is he deserves the respect - more than #mufc who were too fecking tight to pay that sum. How does that make Fellaini feel I wonder?

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04 Sep 2013 16:28:20
I'm not the biggest Rooney fan and I have questioned his commitment and fitness at times, but have people seen his head wound? OUCH!!!

I think we can safely say he was definitely not available last Sunday. What the hell did Phil Jones catch him with? A machete?

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Brendan

He is Phil feckin Jones man. He doesen't need a machete to do such damage ;) . I heard Phil was taking his boot back at the time of impact to avoid damage. Imagine what would have happened if he had connected full pelt. KLOOT would have gone all wet.

Deeps.

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And you wonder why I like Phil Jones. Wish I had some salt to put in

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It literally looks horrible, think Jones must have caught him with a claw being the beast he is.

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Ha ha I thought KLOOT would enjoy the photos that have come out today.

Deeps - He was pulling his foot away and he caused that damage? What the hell were they doing?

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Jones has so much potential its scary. He reminds me so much of Steve Bruce and THAT IS a compliment in my book. Most underrated centre-half to play PL.

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He must smile when he looks in the mirror, it looks like an old grannies flapper :) {Ed007's Note - Experienced in such things are we John?}

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Only 1 ed007 when I was 18 on a holiday to benidorm I call it a learning curve :) {Ed007's Note - I know Vicky well John, just not in the same way as you!}

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I have recently read Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men' and used Phil Jones as my mental-template of the 'doesn't-know-his-own-strength' Lennie. A quick good search shows I am not the only one who sees the resemblance. I wonder if Moyes let's him cuddle a few puppies (under-supervision) ten minutes prior to kick-off?

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04 Sep 2013 16:26:29
I wish wayne Rooney a speedy recovery. just saw the pictures of his head Injury and feel really sorry for the guy.

He has had some back luck and freaky stuff over the last 12 months, same time last year I think he got that massive gash on his leg. We will need him firing on all cylinders if we are going to compete for the pl.

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Makes you wonder if Phil Jones is in the wrong profession ;)

Deeps.

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LOL

Yeah and surprised jones was even training as it looked like he is out for few weeks after the Liverpool game.

You see I don't hate the guy ;) and genuinely hope he gets back asap and has a great year now that is looks like the transfer thing is over.

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04 Sep 2013 15:21:54
Some news surounding ronaldo. he is very angry at the sale of ozil as most have you have read has been very public but his desire to stay at madrid till the end of his contract still stands as he has told many of his close friends and some international team mates. the loyalty bonuses in his madrid contract is his intensive to stay at madrid till his contract ends. there is also believe to be a galatico clause in his contract where madrid sign a player of perez choosing that can improve surrounding squad memebers though not his which I think s conflicting with bales arrival. not sure how this goes but non the less this is in his contract along with other things that allow him to earn mass amount of money just by stayin at madrid hense why he is still there. man is a legend but is non the less like everyone a money man.

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All this stuff written about Ronaldo is not worth trusting. I guess the proof will be in the pudding and if he has not signed a contract by next summer then everyone can start getting all excited again.

Who knows maybe Madrid would not be interested to offer crazy money and an extension to a player who will be 30 in a couple of years.

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It was before the Liverpool game shahram.

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04 Sep 2013 14:49:06
Does anyone know why Januzaj is not in the European squad!!

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Hopefully someone can clarify the rulrs but I guess he doesn't have to be bamed due to age but can still play.

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Likely to be going out on loan!

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04 Sep 2013 14:58:13
So Herrera has come and said he is flattered by United's interest but him or his agent did not have talks about personal terms with united and that he was never yold united would pay the release clause and Athletic president told him the only way he would leave is if united payed the clause. Dunno if its just me but seems like it is similliar to what thiago said after he joined bayern.

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NO, he said he never reached an agreement. IE, he never signed on the dotted line.

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04 Sep 2013 14:56:10
Well now that more than a day has passed since the realization that we really have played a shocker in the window and that the reputation on United has been sullied, it is time to look forward rather than back.

Realistically, the league is a stretch this year and more than likely we will be trophyless. But as long as we stay in the CL, the season will be ok. There was always going to be choppy waters after Fergie and Gill left. Admittedly, those waters in the window have been Cape Horn-like but lessons will be learnt and if Woodward really is incapable of making the grade the Glazers will not hesitate to make the necessary changes.

The squad is strong. Now the window is closed, all players can be considered for selection. I'm of the view that Kagawa and Hernandez were the subject of transfer activity and therefore not really considered for selection until now.

I still remember how Fellaini terrorized us a couple of seasons ago. I think he could well rise to those kind of levels with renewed motivation. Plus Moyes knows how to use him for differing opposition challenges.

Just browned off that there's another international break to delay us getting on with brushing aside opponents week after week. Three consecutive victories and our recent woes will seem like ancient history.

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I think you'll find that's only 2 games in a row.

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The league is a stretch? Possibly on your planet. We walked it last year with a disinterested Rooney, a very poor Valencia, and a very new Kagawa. Assuming Wayne's head is sorted (mentally), Shinji gets a run, Valencia already looks better, Fellaini slots in, and we start playing some youth, I think we are a match for anyone across 38 games.

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AJH I wish I had your optimism mate we have created nothing for the forwards in the last 2 games.i never get excited in transfer windows whatever happens, but I think without that creativity that's missing were going to struggle this season.we won last year but hand on heart you must admit we wernt attractive to watch and got away with murder, that won't happen this time, an ageing gerrarrd and a few young kids run rings round our midfield on sunday.

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04 Sep 2013 13:44:40
The fact is we are Manchester United. We are the biggest club in England, and we are one the biggest clubs in the world. Not only that we are one of the richest clubs in the world.

We needed world class signings, and if we have to pay huge money, then we have to pay huge money. Now we don't need five signings every summer, we need one or two world class players each year. That would help us become the best team in the world. For a club our size, that sort of ambition is surely not too much.

We needed a creative centre mid and a defensive centre mid. There are so many players we could have signed, that would have improved the team and the squad. One of Fabregas, Gundogan, Ozil and one of Vidal, and Khedira, would have been perfect. Heck, we could have kept Pogba last year. Surely, that was not too much to ask for. That may have cost around £80 million total, but that would have completed our team for several years, and in the long run would have represented good value for money.

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Gilly, first a player needs to become available, either the club or agent indicating he would be able to move. Then the club will bid for them. Vidal, Gundogan, Khedira & Cesc were not available. Oezil was available, but he was not what Moyes was looking for. I have a feeling SAF would have signed him though.

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Sydney

I think RM are persons for selling Oezil. I rate him higher than bale and all the players you have listed and think arsenal have made the signing of the window. Bale at 85 million is a joke and Perez is nutcase.

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I agree Shahram, I think he's a better player than Bale too.

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Correction, Vidal and Cesc up there with him missed that part of your post.

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And where do you think the £80 million would of come from?.

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There are quite a few players in that squad who could have been sold before Oezil. It is like chelsea buying a striker and selling hazard.

Personally, Modric, Di maria and Khedira would go first before I would sell Oezil.

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Oezil wanted to leave, the others didn't. That's why he was sold.

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04 Sep 2013 13:28:13
ached no agreement with el United. I am proud they made an offer for me, and that Athletic wanted me [to stay].I do not feel used by United, they made a formal offer. Athletic did not want to negotiate, I value that.

They had to pay the €36m clause and, then, seduce me more than Athletic. I never saw myself elsewhere else

The lawyers that were at the LFP did not represent me. I didn't even know them
At no moment did either I or my agent reach an agreement with United.

There are questions which United must answer.

- ANDER HERRERA

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What questions?

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Jred I am.not saying that we didn't screw.up.
But.Herrera has said exactly what you would expect from him! Bilbao fans.would.screw his happiness whatsoever otherwise!

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Oh I get it, he's saying that that's all he knows, for any other info you must ask MU.

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Presumably they will now increase the release clause, enabling our managerial inmates more opportunities to throw custard pies around Europe in a few weeks time.

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I don't believe we will ever see him in a united shirt. I think we will move on and no more enquiries on Baines or Herrera. January window will be a underwhelming event for us unless real decide to move some midfielders.

Expect next summer to also be a nail biting affair as most clubs and players will wait until after the world cup to make moves and a host of new names coming to the forefront.

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Spending next summer will not be as high as the FFPR kicks in. There was always going to be a flurry of activity this summer like 002 said, but next summer there will be less spending. The advantage we have is we can spend whenever we choose as financially we are very comfortable.

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04 Sep 2013 18:24:56
I just think there is so much money in the game now that good players will command very nigh fees.

I also see us needing to buy 4 or 5 players in the next 12 to 18 months as replacements for Rio, Evra, Giggs, wingers, creative midfielder are going to be needed and that will take some planning, money to get it done.

BTW who is heading our scouting now does anyone know and is he any good?

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Agreed Shahram, I think we will look at a CB, LB, CM, & left winger over the next three windows. We have Zaha and Januzaj so that's young, Nani & Valencia replaced, just need a top left winger to replace Giggs. Michael Keane will be here long-term, but won't be ready for a couple of years. For me Coentrao, a CB, Herrera & Draxler would be nice.

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Sydney

There are no guarantees Zaha or Januzaj will be ready or good enough to fulfill the expectation of playing on the wings for United.

All of our current wingers came in with huge potential and large expectations and look at them now.

I did not even mention RVP and Rooney as we will probably need to start looking at a top striker in the next 2 windows as they will both be past 30. Then there is Carrick as well.

I agree with your assumption that the club better be prepared to be spending 60 to 70 million minimum per window over the next 3 years depending on where player transfer fees and wages go from here.

We seem to have this gap between the very young and the very old. CL glory has never looked so far and unattainable and at the moment I hope we make it out of our group.

I don't get Mu channel here and not sure if there are other youngsters in the system that are bonifide first team guys in the longterm.

Everyone raved about Daehli last year and the club sold him and makes you wonder if we are overestimating these guys and people who are watching and training them day in day out know they are just not going to make it at United.

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Shahram, Daehli will be a very good player in the future. He is going to be a star. We didn't get rid, he wanted to go back to Norway. Januzaj & Zaha are arguably already as talented as Young & Valencia, they just lack the experience and Adnan lacks the physicality. I didn't say they would be first choice. I said we will buy a top left winger and Januzaj and Zaha will replace the likes of Young and Nani in the squad. {Ed004's Note - I agree 100%. Between now and the start of next season I think the club needs a left back and central midfielder and I am hoping and expecting the club to go back in for Coentrao and Herrera in January. Then next summer sell Nani and Young and bring in Ronaldo or a world class player of that calibre. Zaha, Januzaj, Valencia and Lingard will have made the step up and will compete with Kagawa. Rooney, Ronaldo and RVP and there is still Welbeck and Hernandez. Midfield will be strong with Carrick, Herrera with Cleverley, Powell, Fellaini. And then the following summer look for a world class midfielder to replace Carrick if Powell has not made the step up}

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04 Sep 2013 13:18:08
I've said all along I was against us signing Fellaini on the basis there were better players available for the money.

I'm still not expecting great things from him but I do expect he will make us better. Perhaps a collective lack of expectation will serve him well. Obviously there is the standard pressure of playing for Manchester Utd but if we're not expecting him to single handedly transform the team, this might help him grow into the role and really make something of it.

I hope I'm wrong with my doubts and the guy becomes a Utd legend. I'll happily come back on here at the end of the season and hold my hands up.

Also, Nomidfield changing his name to Fromidfield would be an added bonus!

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Andrew, I shall bow to the majority wishes.
If we beat citeh and wig does a job on Haha, then fromidfield it is! Lol

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We won't beat City and hope I am eating humble pie:) a draw would be a good result IMO and we end up with 8 points from the first 5 fixtures and have a good run of games where we can pick up maximum points.

I think 80 points will win the league this year.

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Shahram, City struggled against Cardiff and Hull City. It will be a tough game, but I think you are over hyping them.

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Sydney

I said before the Liverpool game a draw would be a good result and got some stick.

Believe me a draw will be a good result as the alternative is a loss, which will be very hard to stomach. Absolutely see no way we can win. Moyes team selections are very baffling to me and I have some concerns.

They create a lot of chances and to me it is a team on the cusp of kicking on and firing on all cylinders.

Company coming back will make a huge difference as he is their Vidic and has major influence on that team.

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Shahram, I was talking about your "we will not win" comment. We have as much chance as winning as City do.

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Andrew B you will be back in May eating humble pie, I guarantee it!.

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04 Sep 2013 13:17:00
So where is anniewithmakeup.
I hope she is not torturing her source for giving her wrong informations regarding the transfers.

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The trouble is anniewithoutmakeup may well have been right but the fact is Ed Woodward made such a balls up of every single attempted transaction that we have no idea who we went for

Appears we went for Herrera, Fellaini, Khadira, Coentrao all in the last hour alone, I even heard we went in for Ronaldo at 10pm if you can even believe we would do that so late

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You guys see a girls name on here and won't stop posting about her. get over yourselves.

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At the end of the day this is a rumours site and we shouldn't make anyone feel bad for giving us any kind of information, otherwise people may not want to share that information in the future.

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04 Sep 2013 13:12:17
Fabio Coentrao is said to have been in tears when hearing of a move to United fall through towards the end of the deadline. The Real Madrid full-back was with the Portugal camp and Record reports that the player was consoled by his team-mates.

Another player that looks like he really wanted to come

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Tears of joy?

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04 Sep 2013 13:06:38
Sorry for the cut and paste

Kagawa: "Though I am yet to play this season, nothing has changed for me. Competition for places is not surprising. I want to kick-start my fitness by playing well with Japan."

He should be starting most games after the international break I'd imagine.

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I hope so. This guy is quality, when he hits form he can be like a new signing. His technical ability is phenomenal, really want to see RVP, Rooney & Kagawa at full tilt. Best top 3 in PL & right up there in europe.

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Exactly UWS, Kagawa on form and more accustomed to the PL feeding balls to Rooney and RvP and vice versa will be very exciting. Can't wait to get him playing.

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04 Sep 2013 13:06:10
These RvP rumours are worrying if true.

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No service against chelsea and no service against liverpool, I would imagine he's over the moon

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04 Sep 2013 12:48:57
A couple of thoughts that spring to mind after getting over the shock and embarrassment of our transfer (non) dealings:

1. I think SAF decided to go at the end of last season after Gill went and he realised he would otherwise have to work with Woodward, who's clearly an person.

2. Remember all the fuss about the share option packages that were agreed after the stock exchange listing? At the time SAF was forced to come out and say he didn't have any interest in options, but obviously Woodward has his stash and I suppose we have to wonder whether some of them found their way to Moyes? It would help to explain the apparent lack of interest in high value 'targets' like Ozil.

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04 Sep 2013 11:55:06
He has the ability to score goals and play in several different positions in the midfield. I think that's an area where everybody felt we could do with strengthening. He'll give us different options in different games in terms of where we can use him. For me, he's been one of the best midfielders in the Premier League over the last few seasons.'


'He can play higher up, if we need it, behind the striker or as a defensive or holding midfielder. In any position in the middle of the field he's comfortable. Because of that I think it's definitely a position where people have said we've been short of numbers"
Moyes on fellaini

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Jred, I think he will start games as a defensive midfielder, but if we need a goal he will move further up.

It's a shame we never bought Baines as we would have been much stronger on corners with RvP & Fellaini in the box. As well as the likes of Carrick, Vidic, Evans etc

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Just my guess but I think he'll start next to Carrick in a 2 man midfield. Using Football Manager talk I'd say Carrick in the 'DLP' role and Fellaini in the 'B2B' role. When we're defending both will sit deep, as we attack Fellaini will have license to break forward and support the front 4 IMO.

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04 Sep 2013 11:36:25
hi eds hope u post this to get a bit of feedback what do u think of getting rid of woodward and replacing him with fergie as he would able to attract players and get the deals done {Ed044's Note - That is not going to happen mate.}

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04 Sep 2013 12:50:05
I think we have to look forward to Fellaini playing for us, after all, he is one of the best midfielders in the League and statistically he is better than Wilshere and Toure which is incredible. The more and more I think about it, the more positive I feel about it. I think we would be delighted if other circumstances hadn't tarnished the move. People are now looking to January, I would say we will get Herrera because he won't be cup tied and I think we will get the Coentrao deal done then hopefully - he is the one we will end up with to replace Evra. I hope that relationships haven't been damaged with how we have acted, it would be good to keep good relations with Bilbao in particular because I think we should take Herrera and Muniain off of their hands.

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I think perhaps Moyes will go back in for Baines in Jan, Coentrao was clearly his second choice, hense why it was all so rushed and didn't make it on time. But hopefully we get Herrera, cracking little player.

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We need to give up on Baines now. He's too expensive and he's not getting any younger. He will not force a transfer so it's pointless. let's get Coentrao in on loan in January and then if he impresses we can sign him up in the summer.

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Sydney

I agree it's too late for Baines now, he had his chance and I was pleased about Cointreau until it fell through.

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04 Sep 2013 12:09:28
could the lack of transfer activity be down to david moyes vanity? could he just be testing himself out to show us and himself that he can do the same job as SAF with the same team.

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In a word, no.

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Rddu, it has nothing to do with Moyes, he identifies the players he wants and then it's up to the CEO to negotiate a deal. 002 told us years ago that MU will not pay over the odds for a player which has become obvious. The club value a player and if the selling club or agent are asking for significantly more they will not pay it. It's a stubborn attitude, but very common of a self sufficient football club. I wanted this summer to be different and back the manager regardless, but it seems the club are very very strict and do not seem to panic. The money is there, but the club will not overpay for players like the Monaco's, City's, Chelsea's & PSG's of this world. I had hoped we would make an exception for a central midfielder. Sadly we never!

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04 Sep 2013 11:33:47
Now we have Fellaini who will be the one sitting infront of the CB? will Carrick go forward more and try and create or will he sit back and let Fellaini go forward? be interesting to see what happens.

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I think they will both interchange during the game mate.

Both are good going forward and good staying back so now we have that strong midfield which we have needed.

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My guess is Carrick will sit deep and dictate the play whilst fellaini will be more mobile from box to box, sometimes putting in tackles at our end then other times arriving late in opposition box.

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I'd like to think that we could encourage sufficient fluidity to allow players to make decisions during the game and not have this rigid square appearance that has been so visible.

Even Liverpool showed more flexibility to adapt their formation on Sunday than we have done all season. Really starting to hate the number 4!

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Think Weggy has got it right. They'll interchange as they can both attack and defend well.

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I think that Fellaini will break up the play with Carrick in a support role, Rooney and Kagawa will interchange around Carrick, With Valencia with additional Support dropping further in field.

Fellaini will also provide additional cover for when Evra pushes forward and leave us exposed

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04 Sep 2013 11:29:36
after the sudden departure of SAF and David Gill at the back end of the season I can't help think did they leave because their upcoming targets were unobtainable with current finances thus receiving little to no backing?

i hate that my mind has been reduced to thinking this but every year I get such a rush of excitement with the window open and am always left so dissapointed (RVP aside)

im expecting Fellaini to prove his worth though and by having him as an anchor behind the front 4 I believe our more creative players will have more licence to show their talents (kagawa? Janujaz? nani dare I say?)

i think the least we could do is bid again for herrera in january, the boys got a bright future and is a top player.

in january I hope we again go for:

Coentrao £12m
Herrera £30m

plus

Muniain
or
Di Maria

both of which could be got at the right price


lastly has anyone got any idea why clubs to make a scramble on deadline day? do prices tend to be lower? I would have thought it would be the other way around?

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04 Sep 2013 11:14:13
United refused to increase their initial £26m offer while Bilbao stuck firmly to the near £31m release clause in Herrera's contract.

A United source said: "We like the player a lot and he has been on our radar for a long time. But we thought the buy-out was the wrong valuation and were trying to negotiate a deal.

"We had no idea about the three lawyers who turned up. They were nothing to do with us."

United have not ruled out a fresh offer for Herrera in January.

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Yeah they thought Fellaini`s value was wrong and paid £5million more great business that

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Too stubborn not to pay over the odds for a player. Sometimes you have to.

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Annie, that's the point. MU didn't pay more than £23.5m for Fellaini.

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Syd
Everton have released a statement saying United did pay 27:5 mill

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Jred, I've just read it. Interestingly it does say that the buying club 'WILL' pay £27.5m. I guess we have got our way and it will be paid in installments.

Fellaini still waived his rights to his 5% bu handing in a transfer request, but it didn't affect the amount we will pay Everton.

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Sydney it was £26 plus add ons bringing it to £27.5.

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04 Sep 2013 10:47:05
A few people on here have already mentioned it this morning, but I just wanted to say how refreshing it is that Fellaini waved a £4m bonus for his dream move to us. He was not in my list of first choice signings, but the guy is here now and the fact he was willing to do that means more to me, personally, than signing someone on huge wages, who is only here for the money. No I don't think he is a world beater, but he will give us 100% and will add something to our midfield.

We will be much stronger with Fellaini/Carrick than we were with Cleverley or Giggs/Carrick. I just hope the extra steel and protection he will add, will convince moyes to unleash a front 4 of Kagawa, Rooney, Zaha, behind RVP and, in some games I would love to see Lingard, Kagawa, Januzaj behind RVP, Rooney or Hernandez, god that last front 4 has got me excited I have to say :-)

While I am here, I was against Rooney staying over the summer and though my opinions haven't changed (poor professional, on the decline etc), he is here and while in the red he will have my full support as long as he stays in shape and gives 100%. I am totally against us giving him an improved contract though, and that won't change. If we want to give him a 4 year deal then that's fine, but it has to be on less basic and more bonuses, in my opinion, as at least if he wants his huge wage, he will have to earn it.

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Good post pal. Whatever happens, we keep supporting.

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Yeah agree entirely I never wanted Fellaini but now he is here I hope he becomes a great and I'll be shouting him and all the team on. Off on hols well miss the city game ( beat em foe me) UNITED.

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He didn't waive £4 mill it was just 750k.

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04 Sep 2013 10:33:57
friend' of Van Persie, is quoted as saying
'Robin isn't happy and when that's the case he can't hide it on the pitch.

'When he's frustrated he is capable of doing something silly, and you could see that against Liverpool.

'He feels it isn't the same with the new manager as he misses working with Fergie, who he really loved playing under.

'Some of Moyes' training methods are not to his liking either.'

Hope this isn't true

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Moyes does need to let players like Evra, Carrick, Vidic, Ferdinand & RvP train as they see fit. They know what their bodies can handle and given their ages or injury records, they should be handled with care. Not overworked. I hope Moyes has the common sense to adapt.

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I wonder how RVP felt when our only signing was Fellaini rather than the quality he no doubt expected.

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I disagree Sydney if he starts letting them train the way they want it could be seen as special treatment and unfair etc

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Players know their own bodies, they are not kids K2. It isn't a PE lesson or army training. I also think the younger players would understand if our best player was taking care of himself they way he should be. This Moyes fitness regime will benefit Rooney and Anderson though.

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04 Sep 2013 10:06:35
Regardless if u dnt think Fellani is a Manchester United 'style' player, the lad gave up £4m to join us, he is defo a utd 'type' player!

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Spot on Chris. That's the type of player we want here. He'll be a success, I'm sure of it.

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04 Sep 2013 08:00:55
Just read (BBC) that we were scatter gunning targets at the last minute with even a resurrection attempt for Wesley Sneijder. The article states quite clearly it was an indirect approach, but the amount was derisory, and turned down out of hand (sound familiar?).

Clearly the poster that suggested there was a general antagonism to our CEO hence we were shunned from deals, may now have some sense of truth, if not yet confirmed publicly.

There is now a partition (Which I have endorsed) to ask
the owners to consider changes etc. One part, does suggest that once we have a fit (after hip operation) that Sir Alex considers extending his Board Duties to Director of Transfers or even Director of Football (not a role we have considered lightly before).

I will be more than happy to add the Petition URL, however, I must consider the wishes of the Editorial Staff before I consider doing so. Their decision.

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Terrible, terrible idea. This is the last thing this club (and Moyes or any future manager) needs.

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Sounds good, I'll sign it.

not sure saf is the man though. punishing travel schedules and last minute stress doesn't sound like his bag anymore.

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I won't sign it, fergie has gone now, we move on

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04 Sep 2013 09:43:52
well I am not his biggest fan and don't think he is the answer to our problems, but it is f***ing great to hear a player, willing to sacrifice bonus's etc to push thru his transfer to us. so welcome Fellaini and I hope u do well for us.
Herrera also willing to take pay cut to join us but Moyes/woodward messed that one up, hopefully we will try again in january but wouldn't be surprised if he signs new contract with Athletic with a bigger buyout clause.

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I think Felllani will prove to be a good player for Utd and a leader on the pitch. Apart from quality United are badly lacking leaders only one I can think of is Vidic. Looking at the game on Sunday we looked like rabbits caught in headlights. How many mistake were made on Sunday as players were to casual and sloppy? Can you imagine making those mistakes with Keane Robson etc on the pitch?

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His buy out clause goes up by 5mill at end of season

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I'm sick to death of everyone on hear slagging Moyes off, get a grip and give him a chance will you.See what happens this season at least before making judgements.

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04 Sep 2013 09:32:14
This has nothing to do with moyes. But the potential one day to have giggs as manager, Gary Neville as asst manager, and Paul scholes as first team coach is almost perfect any way u look at it. Giggs the wily veteran, Neville the energizer and scholes the teacher and technician. Wow.

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Sounds great, but they have to prove themselves first.
Giggs can't even realise that he should be retired. If he has hopes to be a coach/manager, and he can't see that he had a crap game against Liverpool, what does that say about him? How does he sit down with the staff when reviewing the game and not criticize himself? I have nothing against him for trying to prolong his career as a player. But he is now part of the coaching staff, and as such he has to put the teams interest before himself.
I think Gary will stay with presenting/commentating.
Scholes may yet be the only one to become a manager.

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04 Sep 2013 09:26:33
Just thinking, I have seen a few people on here that suggested if we sold Rooney to Chelsea they would definitely win the league. They seem to be the same people saying that only with Fellaini we will finish outside the top 4.

Are we that much worse than Chelsea that with one player they would win the league but with that same player we won't? As far as I can see our defence is better, and last Monday they played 6 midfielders and we matched them.

I know people are frustrated and upset at the transfer window, but I do feel people are ignoring the quality that we have in the squad already. Yes the midfield is a little bit weak (but stronger than last year), and left back will still be a problem, although now Evra knows we are looking to replace him he seems to have upped his game again.

I will probably get slated for my positivity, but I do feel as United fans we can act a bit spoilt, the transfer window was a disaster and Woodward was a joke, but we are Manchester United, and coming back from adversity is what we do.

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Fellani will be good for us, if Moyes plays someone creative (Kagawa needs a run of games badly) in front of himself and Carrick. It will also allow Moyes to play his wingers as attackers more than defenders (Zaha instead of Giggs?) because there will be more solidity in the centre. Fellani as DM will also allow Carrick to become a much more forward-looking player, and Carrick is very good at this when he has the freedom to do it. I just hope Moyes allows us be more creative!

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We have the playerz to match anyond i'm a 4-3-3 but he seems intent on a team with wingers, well we don't have a left winger, if we played summit like carrick, fellaini and shinji behind roo, rvp and maybe nani then I believe we would be a major force now I've put my toys back in my pram.

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4-2-3-1 its the future!

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Mick, we do have decent players, but are they the right ones for the tactics and formations Moyes wants to implement?

We have Rooney, RvP, Nani, Kagawa, Fellaini & Carrick, but how will they line up? I'm sure we will do fine this season. There's certainly no need to panic.

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04 Sep 2013 09:20:06
It will be very interesting to see how Bruma performs at Galatassary, a player that we have had a long standing interest in.

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04 Sep 2013 09:15:59
I believe there are certain numbers within a squad that are a little bit more special than the others. this is due to the position they represent and the players that have wore the shirt previously. no7 is the very special utd number having been worn by best, robson, cantona, beckham and Ronaldo. this season we don't even have a player to wear it.

I've read all the posts and saw the reaction to our transfer activities and although i'm happy to have signed fellaini and will get behind the manager and the players regardless, we have missed our opportunity to sign a player I had previously thought unavailable. Ozil is in the top 5 players in the world in the position he plays. regardless if we have rooney and kagawa to play there, if he's available then he should have been signed. especially as balague said on revisita last night he was desperate to sign for us.

I feel like when city won the league on goal difference a few years ago. it was in our hands and all we had to do was reach out and take it and we let it slip through our hands

anyway that's history now, come united

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04 Sep 2013 16:41:58
Yep we missed out on a really top quality player there! Anyway, onwards and upwards.

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03 Sep 2013 20:10:54
Guillem Ballague said this morning on radio that once the buyout clause for Herrera was met, there would be NO tax on top. Something to do with Basque tax laws and how they work.

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Same guy who tweeted the deal is done and united are paying the release clause.

Also same guy who said Sneijder is done. I would not waste a lot of time in what he says.

Oh forgot, Thiago was also in the bag according to him, where now we understand we never even approached the player or made a bid. {Ed044's Note - There was no tax due - the tax only becomes relevant if both sides are Spanish. This was all explained by Ed02.}

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Thanks Ed, You guys are a lot more reliable than these self proclaimed guy who pretend they are in the know.

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04 Sep 2013 09:13:18
morning chaps, just read tht fellaini gave up £4m in bonuses to come to utd. if this is true thn this IS the type of player we want here. top bloke!

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04 Sep 2013 16:39:55
Yes I agree, if this is true every credit to the guy.

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04 Sep 2013 09:11:31
The Fallaini deal only cost £23.5 million. It was However, worth £27.5 million to Everton, this is because fallaini didn't take his loyalty bonus of £4 million.

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That tells you a lot about Everton as a club then I guess. It is a shame he paid for our incompetence and hope we destroy them when we play them this year. I have a sneaky feeling my wish may be granted :)

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Reports say the deal cost United 27:5 mill, fellaini waved his right to a loyalty bonus as he handed in a transfer request so that saved Everton a bit of cash

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04 Sep 2013 08:52:17
Reports that Marouane Fellaini sacrificed his £4m loyalty bonus in order to force through his transfer
from #EFC to #MUFC. the incompetent transfer business by Ed Woodward has cost the guy that; and people don't really appreciate his joining us because imbecile Woodward caused all that.

I want to thank him for joining MUFC and to be frank he's a good player, and better than Yaya Toure and Wilsher according to stats and results on individual performance.

1. He scored 11 goals last season compared to Toure's 6 and Wilsher 0
2. Assist 6, Toure 6, Wilsher 6
3. Defensive error 0, Toure 2, Wilsher 2
4. He tackles/marks more than rest
5. Aerially he is king
6. Chances created 55, Toure 45, Wilsher47

I think the guy would add steel in DM with Carrick while Kagawa would give creativity in AM if used well by Moyes, don't forget we also have Rooney.

If we had signed him earlier and he played against Chelsea & Liverpool maybe we would have done better. Like Moyes said, I think he is someone you don't want to play against in a very good team. With Fellaini now we can curb the bully and marauding of likes of Yaya Toure, Dembele etc. Guys he's okay.

At least I thank him for his love/heart for MUFC which motivated him to push through the move unlike other players who rejected us so please let some fans give him a chance.

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Okay! Not better than Yaya Toure mate! He joined our team and I'll support him 100% but you are a bit excited. Calm down

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Nick86, the stats speak for themselves mate

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04 Sep 2013 08:22:14
With Fellaini being given number 31 does this suggest that he was no way near the marquee signings that Moyes wanted. It seems Woodward has failed to deliver a suitable number 7 or number 9.

Having these too shirts vacant is beyond an embarrassment as we cannot attract players worthy enough to wear two of our most famous shirts.

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Bit of a silly thing to say, I know squad numbers mean a lot to some people but that's because in the past the team played as number 1 to 11.

These days star players for teams are wearing all sorts of numbers. Are you suggesting van persie isn't good enough to wear either of those numbers? He just chose to wear 20 because he said he wanted to earn it.

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04 Sep 2013 08:10:33
Some people on here say its too early to play some players I disagree. Zaha and januzaj and some other youngsters need to be making starts soon. Look at players like shaw at Southampton and davies at swansea to name a couple they are very young and they are first team players I know its different at united. I just feel we are halting some young players development and they end up moving on because they don't see there chance coming. I think moyes has been cautious first few games didn't want to get beat especially heavily understandable in the first few games but I hope he feels settled enough to start taking risks on selection I can see him playing a younger team at palace and if we play well he might stick with some for the city game zaha deserves his chance good pre season and good in community shield plus he should play against palace because he will probably know the fullback and how he plays having probably trained with him a lot
Browred

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Sterling at Liverpool, pogba at jeventus.

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We are 3 very tricky games into the season, if he had gambled and played januzaj against one of them teams people who don't know much about him would be slating him because he failed.

He is going to be a top top player for the club, but ruining his confidence in a big game like the 3 played is absolutely no use to anyone. Expect to see him over the next few months slowly integrating into the side.

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GDS2 I agree I am just saying I hope it changes for the palace game. Which won't be a walk over they were very unlucky against spurs I thought. Every game has its difficulties though not many easy games in this league anymore. I just hope the first 3 starting 11s isn't the way were going this season I just feel the last 2 games we have lacked penetration and looked not much of a threat and these young lads could be the answer to that problem. Also very happy with fellaini one of the best cms in the epl. going to be a beast in the midfield for us. Shame how the window was managed though with woodwards obvious lack of knowledge on how to deal with transfers I think a director of football would be a good idea I got shot down for this by someone saying like joe kinear but it has worked at some clubs like baldini at spurs they have done good business. That would leave woodward able to just get sponsorship deals with random people like he likes to do.
Browred

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04 Sep 2013 08:08:10
Heard that Liverpool fans were really dissapointed not to get Bale.I guess they will just have to stay in prison!

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04 Sep 2013 08:02:31
Nah nah nah nah nah nah I told u so! :-P
Come on guys there are a few eating humble pie atm (me included) but let's not keep up with this leaving a, I told u so type post after every thread. We all want the best things for united! I like that word UNITED :-)

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04 Sep 2013 07:43:25
All things aside, purely on what transpired on deadline day - i'm somewhat happier with Fellaini's attitude than Ozil's

With three hours to go Fellaini forced a move, high tailed it to carrington, took a cut on the money owed to him and by all accounts did everything possible to join united.

Ozil took his medical and 8 hours later was still dithering over joining AFC, apparently waiting for other bids.

The following morning Fellaini talked about a dream come true and Ozil about being pushed out Madrid. We all know Ozil is technically the better player but can't help thinking we made the right choice.

We want people who WANT to give everything for the club.

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Good post mate.

We may not always sign the best and sexiest footballers, but we usually sign ones with the proper attitude, who are prepared to do anything for the team. We never usually have too many passengers in the side

It;s no surprise.

SAF spent as much time finding out about the person behind the footballer, as he did with the actual on-pitch scouting.

You would never get 'The Spice Boys' attitude at our club as a result.

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Well I`m getting an afro, so there!

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04 Sep 2013 06:43:13
Is it possible for you lot to get any more pathetic, even I couldn't make this stuff up. You're even bitter because the arse got Ozil and you didn't.

Some clown saying you had two world class players in Kagawa and Rooney in that role. Of course you do.

The best was that you got the fro and everyone else was after him. Truly PMSL at that one.

Still you hang in there GDS2, Brenda and honey my badger, nice one kloot, keep those we are Manchester United posts coming. Lol.

Priceless. You are the weakest link. Goodbye.

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Remind me plz, how many players did u sign to improve u?
Denial is always summit lost on Chelsea fans

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We are not bitter just would of liked him at our own club because we are all winners and have ambition. Well done to the arsenal for signing great player. We have signed many players who have turned out to be very good players at the least which nobody else was in for. Ronaldo hernandez in the last 10 years. Cantona and schmeichel quite a way before that it means absolutely nothing. We love all the ABU's coming at us it just drives us on even more. Its quite sad when the only trophy most other teams look out for is the beating man united trophy would be really sad if we ever ended up in that state like the rest of u :( pity

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Lol we drew with you last week and were the better team, we have improved the team since then and you haven't.

I get that it's banter but you are just stupid.

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04 Sep 2013 05:18:36
It's times like this that I am so grateful to be an American. While United, and football (proper footy) will always be my biggest passion and my favorite team in any sport, it is soooo nice to have favorite teams in the NFL, college football, college basketball, baseball, etc to distract me on days like yesterday. Florida State football dominated their first game of the season, and it completely took my mind off the terrible day United had. Granted, there's some negatives to being an American, but having multiple sports is one of the best parts. No off-seasons, no empty midweeks, and a new season is always starting for one of your teams to give you some hope.

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But those sports suck =)

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Spreading yourself a little thin there aren't you fella. one team one love for the majority of us.

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04 Sep 2013 05:02:29
While I don't think Fellaini is what we needed this summer, he'll still improve on Clev. I worry however that Moyes will insist on continue to play Clev, Nani and Young, which means that it doesn't matter if we improved a little at CM, as there will continue to be no service to our strikers. If Moyes wants any hope of restoring our attack, he needs to play four legitimate attackers in front of Carrick/Fellaini. That means RVP up front with Rooney, Kagawa, and either Zaha/Januzaj/Welbeck behind. If Moyes continues playing Young/Nani, who everyone in the world can see are terrible, he will continue shortening his already abbreviated honeymoon period.

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I'd set the team up differently in a 4 2 1 3. kagawa behind rvp, Rooney and well beck. all three are comfortable outside and through the middle.

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04 Sep 2013 04:36:33
Is there a chance that this debacle could wind up being a blessing in disguise?
Could it be that Woodward et al have been so pathetic, arrogant and subsequently humiliated in the summer window that the same mistakes will never be repeated again and that as of now, ALL business will be conducted early, correctly and satisfactorily?
Could there be a situation where Fellaini replaces the (in my opinion) awful Cleverly and there no more futile back passes, and that Moyes will now listen to EVERYONE IN THE WORLD and plays Kagawa and play the boy in the correct position?
Could the non-arrival of a creative midfielder mean that Januzaj and other youngsters are given a decent early crack of the whip?
Is there the possibility that the aborted move for Herrera means that, being watched (by every team) through to January, that he will impress and that if we don't move for him then (if he would ever come to us now), Barca will move for him, convincing Fabregas to come to us?

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04 Sep 2013 04:21:33
United's bid for Fellaini would have failed had the player not chosen to sacrifice his loyalty bonuses (£4m). So I'm assuming we only paid £23.5m? What a joke!

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04 Sep 2013 00:51:06
Right well i'm off for awhile, i've got a week in Marbella then i'm moving to Newcastle when I return. So busy busy busy.

I'd just like to say that I know we're all feeling abit down and maybe disalusioned atm. But were bloody Manchester f**king United, what the hell have we got to be down about really?

Yes we all wanted to see a couple more signings, and yes there is an arguement for us needing them. But we've missed out on targets before. We all agree that we've needed a new midfielder for 5 years, yet we've still managed to win 4 league titles a champions league title and a couple of league cups in that time, 7 titles in 5 years with no midfield isn't too shabby.

And get this this summer for all our failings and the shambles it decended into, we actually signed a midfielder. And in fairness to him a pretty good one. Maybe we over paid and maybe we all had different targets in mind, but at least he's here.

I think he wilk make a bigger difference than most of us expect.

I try and look at things in a positive light, and as such I feel better about myself and life. Maybe that's a life lesson some on here could do with living by atm {Ed007's Note - Have a nice holiday Shappy.}

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Snappy I echo this 100%, well said, have a great holiday pal.

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Where in Newcastle are you moveing to shappy? I live in Fehnam!

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Indeed. It is Moyes first season with a big shoe to fill. Give him time to grow into that role. He needs to make mistakes to know how not to make future mistakes. Hopefully the mistakes are not too grave. There is a big difference in managing Everton and ManU. It will also take time for him to know the current team's strengths as we start to play. So this year may not be the best but I am confident we will be even better in subsequent years. As for Woody, I won't comment.

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A week in Marbs, with your TOWIE buddies, then off to join your Geordie shore mates, next will be a move to Chelsea for you ;)

Have fun

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It's not that we missed out on targets it's the way it was done.
The owners and CEO have let down our new manager at the first hurdle. Quote from one of many articles this morning.
"Woodward allowed him to be publicly rejected by Thiago Alcantara and Cesc Fabregas, then made matters worse by self-importantly heading off from the pre-season tour of Australia to conduct urgent transfer business, only for the club to announce signings involving Bulova, Apollo and Pepsico — unfortunately not a trio of tricky Brazilians but the manufacturers of watches, tyres, soft drinks and snacks."

We have become the laughing stock and right now it is hard to see us being taken seriously at the top end of the market. There again we shouldn't worry because we don't operate at the top end because the owners don't put that level of money in.

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That's far too much perspective for this time of the morning!

Have a good trip, lad.

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Have a good one. and Shappy's keyboard heaved a huge sigh of relief!

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Have a good One.

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Have a good 1 mate, I agree 100%

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04 Sep 2013 08:02:21
Cheers guys. Heaton Shaf mate.

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Not true to say we haven't had a midfield for 5 years. During that time we've had Scholes, Giggs, Fletcher and even Hargreaves.

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Have a good one and stay out of trouble :). I am down there every year for about 10 days of golf with some buddies, love the place.

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Your Bristol accent should fit in very well in Newcastle. Perhaps you could consider sign language ;)

Have a good holiday Shaps and cover up, god knows what you will catch in Newcastle ;)

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04 Sep 2013 09:47:47
I can remember that Mr Woodward flew home from the pre season tour (whatever he was doing there is beyond me when he should have been concentrating on signings) to make some important business and what happened here, nothing.We could have had Ozil and many other names but lost out and even with finally getting Fellaini, this should have been done and dusted in July at a cheaper value and the extra 4 million would pay a top class players wages for a year.Thats good business.Im disappointed at the way this has been done.
We used to get excited at the play being an attacking side, now I get frustrated as the ball is always going backwards giving time for the opposition teams to reorganise.Get back to attacking defences rather than pass back.
Serious times ahead I think.

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Kev, I hear Ed Woodward had to leave Australia urgently as he needed the toilet ;)

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04 Sep 2013 00:28:41
On a darker note, tears of insanity ran down my face as I witnessed Nani take a corner against Liverpool this past week. We have one player who refuses to man up and pass the ball forward (too worried about his damn pass complete stats) and another who seems to have a vendetta against the first man when taking corners.

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I won £2 off my 11 year old son with that corner.

His youthful optimism and naivety cost him :)

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Its just frustrating that they have tried to sign so many players who don't want to come and their clubs don't want to sell??? that's your smoke screen!
Modric, fabregas and Di Rossi turned United down numerous times, then Khedira? Madrid were only after selling Ozil and we go for Khedira?
Offered Ozil and could had Thiago if got the finger out in time, never mind Hererra and Contrao!
Maybe he's not as useless as he's making out and just hasn't got the funds to buy world class?
Time will tell!

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03 Sep 2013 23:49:58
Woodward seems to be getting a lot of stick on the site and I can understand why, I'm sure most people would think they could of done better.
But if you take a step back could this man of really got to where he is in life and be that inept, personally I wouldn't of thought so .
I think there has been a lot of smoke and mirrors this summer

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Or perhaps naivety in his new role.

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Just b/c you're good at signing sponsors doesn't mean you're good at signing players. And now it'll be even worse bc he's not just incompetent, but he's insulted half of the clubs in Europe with his clueless antics.

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04 Sep 2013 08:03:42
I think G.A.G.U.S nailed it.

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We don't need a Equalizer we need a winner!

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Jred

I think we completely screwed up our transfers by a combination of being misled (Fabregas) if you believe some of the sources on this site, complete lack of a planning ahead because moyes thought he would get Baines and herrera then realizing they have miscalculated and panicking.

Make no mistake, offering 40 million for Khedira with a couple of hours to go is a clear sign of panic and mismanagement, especially when reading reports that Ozil told Khedira a few days earlier he was leaving and looks like Wenger unlike us clearly knew what he wanted and planned for it and the Bale deal was the hold up to get things signed and sealed.

I know woodward is getting a lot of stick as he should rightfully, but the manager for sure has been involved in all of this as well.

If we were ready to buy Herrera and Fellaini, why did we not just go for Ozil and Khedira as both were available and great mates and would have given us a CL winning team and solved all our midfield issues.

I am looking forward to Moyes next press conference as they will have a field day with him and interested to see how he reacts and what he has got to say.

Depending on how the City game goes Moyes might be in for a lashing that he has never experienced. To be honest I am very pessimistic about our chances against city and hope I am wrong, knowing fully people are going to react to my pessimism :)

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MU usually promote within and this kind of thing is new to Ed. Sure he knows how to close a deal and there will be other advisers around who have been doing it for years, but over time a Chief Ex will build rapports with agents and chairmen of other clubs. Ed is a baby in the game and I question why in such an important point our transition why the Glazers appointed someone who is so inexperienced and unknown in the field. Arsenal suffered when David Dein left as he had unlimited sources and he had a lot of agent friends. His brother is an agent. Ed always needed to start somewhere, but I think it would have been better had David Gill left in September, not June. Ed Woodward can only get so much criticism, but the overall fault must lay with his employers.

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According to one paper this morning, the Herrera deal didn't go through because Moyes wasn't willing to pay the asking price, thinking he was over-valued. He has a reputation for not wanting to pay over the odds, apparently. This seems bizarre, given that Woodward is the vice-chair and presumably more in charge of the money than Moyes, and that they desperately needed to make some kind of signing. So it was better to save £4m and do without a player? Also, Fellaini supposedly went without his loyalty bonus to force his move through, so Utd still didn't actually pay more than the release clause fee.

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John, it isn't Moyes decision, it's Ed Woodward's job. The Glazers would leave it up to him to decide and he decided the fee was over the odds. I agree, it was over the odds, even Balague said so, but we SHOULD have paid it. I have been saying all season that we need to pay over the odds this summer to get that much needed midfielder. Once that was done we could go back to penny pinching.

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