Manchester United Banter Archive July 08 2013

 

Use our rumours form to send us manchester united transfer rumours.


08 Jul 2013 23:16:52
Lots of talk on here about who we could sign to sit in front of the back four along with carrick and behind rooney/kagawa/thiago (presuming he signs)
Some people are saying Jones/Fellaini/Strootman etc. but what would people think of trying Valencia in such a position? He has shown that he is able to defend when he played at right back. He is strong so would be well able to win ball and he would be able to push forward in possession and create chances for others. Just a thought I had and wanted to see what you guys thought

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One of Valencia's best assets when he is in form is his powerful running with the ball. If he went on runs like that from central midfield, he would be caught out of position quite a lot I think.
I'd much rather we play players in their correct positions rather than trying to convert them from their natural position, something which has happened a lot in the last few years

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Wow! wasn't expecting that. Valencia would be sh*te in a central position because he refuses to use his left foot. it limits him enough playing on the wing so centrally it would be a disaster.

I swear I saw him touch the ball only three times with his left foot for the whole of last season. how the hell can a professional footballer be so limited? with Valencia its almost become a joke as far as I'm concerned.

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Andrew

Actually Valencia played in central midfield for his country and in the game I saw was actually excellent. It was prior to his injury but still he has an excellent game in that position so I would not be so dismissive

In terms of his left foot how many times do any of our players really use their non favoured foot?

Valencia was disappointing last season but let's see whether the break has done him good before being critical this season

Red Man

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Antonio Valencia is a holding midfield role I've heard it all now. No this won't happen! He doesn't have the attributes to play that role. I'm sure we'll sign another midfielder this window along with Thaigo ;-)

OT Ghost

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OT ghost

I do not expect him to play that role for us but he did have a good game in that position for his country previously

Valencia didn't have a good season but I hope he gets some time this season to see whether he has put it behind him

Midfield needs a revamp and there are no excuses acceptable from our owners this summer

Red Man

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Red man

most players use both feet all the time. I'm not saying they're all equally as comfortable shooting and passing with either foot, but Valencia's one footedness is comical. its like he's in some comedy sketch show "must not use left foot, must not use left foot"

I don't get excited when he gets the ball, I just burst out laughing when I see him trying to dribble with it.

Andrew b

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08 Jul 2013 22:50:07
Benteke has handed in a transfer request at Villa, would United be at all interested does anyone think, if Rooney moves on? I've only really seen little bits of him in highlights, as Villa aren't high on my priority of football viewing, so not really in a position to say if he is good enough or not. If anyone else has watched more of him I'd be interested to hear your opinions guys.

Brendan81

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You'd be taking a chance Brendan, in my opinion.

He looked very good at times last season, but ideally I would like to see him with another season in the Premiership under his belt, just to prove it wasn't a one-off.

There's a lot worse out there.

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Without intentionally having a dig, but he's a liverpool kind of player. 7th or 8th in the league, maybe a Newcastle or an Everton.

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He has potential, but I think he's more of a Spurs player than a United player.

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He's only had one season so far. Defenders and coaches will have a better idea of how to handle him this year, he will be marked a lot tighter, still not convinced about him. Reckon he would be ok for a mid table team like Stoke, everton, southampton Liverpool etc. but not for us.

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To be fair, he had a higher conversion rate (26%) than RvP (22%) and Suarez (16%). However, I agree, with Red Paddy, people will suss him out more next year and he won't have as much of an impact.

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I like the look of Benteke, obviously big and powerful but also great touch for a big man. He can hold it up, bring others into play and knows where the nets are. Apparently Chelski now interested, him and Lukaku could cause some serious damage. Not sure we need Benteke but would give us another option up front.
Boyley

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Cheers fellas, so for the supposed £25m fee its pretty safe to say he is one to pass on then :-)

Brendan81

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I have a feeling he will be Spurs bound!
James

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Spurs bound my friend

OT Ghost

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08 Jul 2013 22:25:18
Been gone a while, is there any reason why the eds are not making comments anymore
KevDarko

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I'll do the honours eds, 'use the search function' :-)

Brendan81

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08 Jul 2013 22:24:29
Just been wondering is there any news on who is interested in Anderson as I would think we would be looking to move him this summer?


Shahram

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08 Jul 2013 22:00:39
Defender garay to be signed shortly the main stubbling block is the fee.

Aparently real madrid get 50% of the money.

Any truth it the anyone know?

Ali g

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08 Jul 2013 21:25:35
Eric Abidal signs for Monaco. Guess that puts the Evra rumour to bed. Maybe signing baines will see evra utilised on the left wing?

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Jesus Christ.

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Ahaha to be honest I think he's better at going forward than defending but no, no he will not be used on the left wing.

Ozwald

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Why is everyone so intent on playing players out of position? fullbacks on the wing, wingers in central midfield, central midfielders on the wing.

Someone will come up with the bright idea playing a full back in central midfield next

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How about putting rafael in central midfield ;)

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How about ddg at centre forward?!:)
Nomidfield

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Using Chicharito as a centre back ;)

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How about DM as GK o_O

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RVP in goal anyone?

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08 Jul 2013 21:24:36
But I think what the fans have got to look at is: Is the balance of the squad pretty good anyway without having that type of player in? You've got to say 'yes' as we won the title by 11 points.

"Now, of course you always want to improve but you've got to look at the balance of Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young, Tom Cleverley, Michael Carrick, Ando [Anderson] and the rest.

"They are still very, very good players but you've got to look at the balance and is that right, rather than go out and try to get an individual who you must rely on all the time. "

Words of Bryan Robson. God help us!

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LMAOF

I agree with the god help us bit.

Shahram

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Well said Robbo, bang on the media have influenced you all into believing this is the worse Utd squad in years with Giggs and Rio still featuring we where outstanding against Madrid and got robbed if all we do is sign Thiago with Zaha then I for one will be satisfied a fit Anderson and rejuvenated Cleverley and Powell given a go on tour then who knows what we can do?
Dylan

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The media haven't influenced me into believing anything.
I can see myself that cleverly, young and one or two others are good squad players nothing more and are not going to take us to that next level. we were good against madrid I agree but you forget we were awful in quite a few games too.
Lets see where a midfield of carrick, cleverley and giggs gets us this year then eh?. I think you'd be disappointed if we did dylan


BABY FACED ASSASIN

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Sorry baby face assassin beg to differ why did City Chealsea Arsenal Spurs fail so miserably then with their so called superior midfield s was it just luck you underestimate our lads
Dylan

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Im not underestimating anybody but IMO the difference was SAFs ability to get the best from his players NOT our midfield who, apart from carrick, did not perform consistently.
Chelsea had a manager who everybody knew was only there 1 season no matter what, spurs basically had bale and not much else and with a better manager I don't think city wouldv imploded like they did.
Im not claiming were a poor team because were clearly not but a lot of cracks have been papered over due to the points gap and if the midfield isn't sorted then i'd be worried about starting next season with carrick, giggs, cleverley and ando i'd be worried because last season won't happen again. They key is building on what you have and not getting complacent like city did IMO


BABY FACED ASSASIN

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Baby face assassin
Agree not to rest on laurels but Thiago will take us along with Carrick Cleverly Anderson Kagawa and even Giggs to another level he's that good
Dylan

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Agree on thiago but I still feel we would be a bit light in midfield.
If the garay rumours are true then maybe DM is planning on playing jones in midfield more in which things look a lot better.
We need to get the thiago deal tied up asap and sort out what's happening with rooney soon so we can do what we need to do regarding transfers

BABY FACED ASSASIN

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08 Jul 2013 20:37:41
Strootman is a must imo. people who bash him are obviously people who don't have a clue about football, who think we will sign the likes of ozil bale lew ronaldo etc. in one window and play them all haha! midfield of carrick strootman and kagawa would be frightening.

Manny in Scotty

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So we have a Expert now. Go on tell us about us clueless.

We have been looking for a Scholes replacement for years now and have never been able to fill the void. Not saying Thiago will reach those levels but he is probably end up being our best purchase in the last 5 years.

Shahram

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We not bought Thiago yet!

Mad Hatter

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Shahram - Strootman would never be a replacement for Scholes so the comparison is unnecessary. If we are talking replacements then Strootman would be Hargo's replacement, something we've missed, especially in the big games, for the last few years. That being said, we've all done this Strootman thing to death already so let's just wait and see if we actually sign him first.

TK-Red

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TK-Red

I don't believe he is on cards for us and Hargo was much better than strootman.
I have always maintained we are after a creative midfielder and our chase of hazard and moura last year was no coincidence.

Whilst everyone is talking about box to box and let's face it it all the nedia speculation, I believe our spending will be on a left-winger, creative midfielder and a left back. I am also not convinced on Garay and will believe it once I see it, unless we are selling one of our CB's.

Shahram

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I agree with sharham I think we will def go for a creative midfielder as I have said before I think it is that type of player that will improve our midfield.
I do think garay could be on the cards tho
Jred

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08 Jul 2013 20:34:23
if people are saying that a medical will be on at bridgewater tomorrow and a portuges site said garay will be announced soon it definatley garay, s medical tomorrow

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It was definitely his medical last weekend though? Can't wait until all medicals are done in house.

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08 Jul 2013 20:21:10
I swear, if we don't sign a good player soon my head will pop. Phone never leaves my hand from July to September. But some rumours are laughable, Like the villa, thiago swap for Rooney rubbish.

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08 Jul 2013 19:51:56
Guys

Nothing new really but Garay and Alcantara will be the lay out of cash.

If DM can sell Nani and hopefully Anderson, a how much offer for Baines will go to Everton. Approx 20m.

End of,

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I really like Baines and think he is easily the best LB in the PL but I would be dissapointed if we spent £20m

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08 Jul 2013 21:08:33
Hi all

Big fan of this site and really agree with what Monk said. It would be a shame to ruin things based on some persons who can only give abuse to eds rather than contribute to the debate. Anyway on to some inside info i've had regarding some rumours.

Nani is done - just deciding where to go. looking like roma as he prefers to play in italy

Thiago should be in sometime in the next two weeks. great signing imo

Despite what Sir Moyes said. rooney will be sold apparently. The current situation is to keep his value and keep us in a strong position for negotiations (with other clubs)

HiddenRed

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No one will take Nani if the reported 8 to 9 million euros wages are true. He is not worth that sort of salary and Roma does not pay wages like this.

The only guys who might pay are the russian clubs and we know how that turned out last summer with him refusing to move there.

Shahram

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08 Jul 2013 20:51:38
"we don't need a replacement as we will be using the spanish flase no-9 system most matches this season.
lfc. "


Should be an improvement on the recent false 1 to 11 formation you've been so reliant on in recent seasons ;)

Ps - welcome back lfc. this is your time of the season, lap it up for the next few months. You're world beaters again until mid September.

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08 Jul 2013 21:24:44
Are you boys playing the false midfield again this season Dodgy ;-)

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If it wins us the title again I don't see why not

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I see what you did there no name, you took my joke about a distinctly average mid table team and repeated it back to me referring to our title winning midfield. Nice.

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08 Jul 2013 20:45:49
Kloot,
What are your thoughts of Sir Matt Busby, considering he made over 100 appearances for both Man City and Liverpool. my question doesn't have an agenda, just curious.

Whistler.

Mr Whister I appreciate your attempt to be clever but it puts me in a rather sticky situation. For those of us who watched United in the 70's and 80's and had to put up with constant taunts about a disaster that affected the club. That is all I am prepared to say on the matter as I know the Ed's do not want to open that can of worms again. So I hope that goes some way to answering your question about the greatest manager this team ever had

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08 Jul 2013 19:50:19
Today during airship unveling, When david moyes askd about new signing. he said 'Not today'
That means. Tomorow 1 new signing sure shot. 100%

Yash (manchester)

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You need a woman in your life.

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08 Jul 2013 18:53:11
Tanks eds 007 its just that we missed him and support your complain abt those who insult him. We re all behind u tanks u pp rock

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08 Jul 2013 18:12:21
Seeing that David villa is going athletico for 4.4 million. Would he not be worth a shout?

May be 31 but still a very deadly striker?

Also strootman has expressed his desire to leave psv

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08 Jul 2013 20:01:52
Good player but i'm glad he's gone there as Atlectico were sniffing around Hernandez as a replacement for Falcao. Hopefully with Villa signing they won't be looking at Chicha now.

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08 Jul 2013 17:31:33
Moyes was asked on by reporter in a video by a website asking would be he bringing in any new players and he said not today so no one will be signed today just letting yous know. Utd4Life

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08 Jul 2013 16:43:11
David Villa signs for Atletico Madrid for £1.8m rising to £4.4m if he stays for the full three years.

Bargain.

Sydney!

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Probably on huge wages

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By the sounds of it it's something Villa himself has pushed for. He apparently wanted to stay in Spain to give himself the chance of playing through the middle for Spain next year at the WC. It says a lot about him IMO, as he'd probably earn more at Spurs, Arsenal etc, and at his age most players are looking for their last big pay day.

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Sell Falcao for £50m and buy Villa for £1.8m

Incredible business!

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Call the police, Barca just got robbed. If those numbers are correct that is the deal of the summer.

Sydney are you sure and where are you getting this from. Mnd you his wages would be up there and they might have done it to get teh wages off their books.

Shahram

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08 Jul 2013 16:32:42
David Villa off to Athletico for 5.1 million euros!

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That's a steal

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08 Jul 2013 16:19:17
Some incredible value moves today Gomez and Villa both on the move for very cheap prices interesting point why are lesser teams like Norwich Fulham and co benefitting from the new TV deal but the bigger clubs arent?

Manred

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Because they are able to go out and find 3-4 players in the 5m bracket, at the end of the window u will see the top club will have spent more on one player than Norwich on 3. Just be patient mate.
CTR

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Expect Jovetic to move now as it seems like the striker merry go round is about to get started.

I still expect Lew to go this summer and all this talk by dortmund is hot air and complete shat.

They have just signed 2 new strikers and I believe are trying to force Bayern or other teams to pay a lot of money for Lew.

It looks like chelsea will now move for Jovetic and spurs and liverpool are going to be stuck.

I can see Higuain moving to Spurs as Lvey needs to get off his a. s and sign a major striker if they are going to challenge for a top four spot.

Maybe rooney and cash for Bale.

Shahram

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And we've let Wigan sign Grant Holt. What are we thinking!

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08 Jul 2013 16:11:05
So Athletico Madrid have signed Villa it seems. Now we can put those ridiculous swap deal rumors to bed once and for all.

REDFAITH

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08 Jul 2013 16:04:48
Hi Guys
Another day more rumours still no signature. On Strootman somebody said earlier that the targets may have changed now DM is in charge but Eds am I right in saying he was after Strootman when he was at Everton.
I am still hoping that we get Thiago done and dusted asap. I am also looking forward to seeing how Zaha settles in on tour I have a sneaky feeling he could be a bit special.

Bazza The Red {Ed007's Note - Moyes seen Strootman as a replacement for Fellaini, if he had left.}

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No, no, we don't want Fellaini!

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Reminds me of the good old days at school when 2 captains picked teams in games (Strootman being the kid shouting pick me pick me)!
Dylan

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08 Jul 2013 14:30:30
With moyes saying he is going to try to make a signing before the pre season kicks off, I think he meant talk is underway for a player possibly tiago that could be completed this week. thumbs up to Eds, u guys are awesome

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I think our first signing will be Garay, I would put money on it but it will probably fall through knowing my luck with things if I do.

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I bet our first signing will be something out of left field and unexpected :)

Shahram

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08 Jul 2013 14:12:04
with lewandowski adamant that he's going to Bayern, why not benteke or Jackson Martinez.

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Even more likely now Mario Gomez is off to Fiorentina

Ste.

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Lewandowski in all likelihood was a player that if free was too good to miss out on and we had to have a go. We are not crying out for a striker. I don't think we want a striker now that Lewandowski has decided to go to Bavaria.

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I know I'm in the minority but I love Benteke. Not sure where we would play him, even if Rooney leaves but he is a beast. In a top team I think he woud be incredible

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Benteke in welbeck out

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08 Jul 2013 14:02:40
its good to see lpool under br, making some shrew signings, to fit in with our style of play, I am sure utds transfer targets have been put in place by saf, so don't think new utd manager david mcvitie picked them, plus saf did really put the final nail in rooneys utd stay before he retired, he had no need to say what he did about roon wanting to leave again, it really was a bit of payback by sir alex, the big question for me is under mcvitie this season, will utd chase games, like they did under saf, I think utd will lose more points under mcvitie simply because he is not a brave manager like sir alex, he will try to close up shop when utd have a slight lead in games, and when utd need a winner don't expect a couple of more forwards put on the pitch like sir alex did, a few games into the season and you will see I am right as usual.

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Oh dear, no "Mickey", Suarez leaving, Carragher gone, one of Skrtel/Agger leaving, Gerrard another year older. A load of nobodies signed. It's not a great time to be a Liverpool fan. Chin up lfc.

Sydney!

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Welcome back lfc - thick as usual.

As a matter of interest who are lfc going to replace Suarez with?

And do you have any plans for supporting the geriatric Gerrard.

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Is this the same david moyes who finished above your so called team twice in a row with a team with no money to spend oh god lfc when you going to realize that your team is just middle table team now.

if david moyes had half the money yous spend on players eveton could easily compete for a champions. league place

Moyes4ever1984

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Lol u have got to love the quote 'u will see i'm right as usual' when exactly have u been? U have been predicting our downfall for years pal and thus far have been proved incorrect.
Shrew signings by br? Yeh that's one way of looking at it I suppose, or u could say liverpool are at the stage where they can't even compete for the 2nd tier players anymore. I mean come on u claimed shelvey was the next Gerrard, sterling will be the next big thing etc, u are delusional as always.
CTR

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I hope we DO close up shop when we take a lead in the big games. Your right, Moyes will make us harder to break down and stronger defensively. Too many times we've let an early lead slip, so thanks for the encouragement. As for lfc, thought Shelvey and Spearing were the future. Whoops! Oh and 1 word. Toure! Lol.

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08 Jul 2013 16:38:26
hi mike, stevie has got good advice off the old age pensioners giggs and scholes on how to extend his playing days, he's been told to take up some yoga and learn how to run backwards all the time in midfield to pass and recieve the ball, as for luis, we don't need a replacement as we will be using the spanish flase no-9 system most matches this season.

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08 Jul 2013 16:56:13
yes, CTR, does that stand for one of them racing cars bye the way, but listen-up, next years england world cup squad will include shelvey, not tommy cleverley, and put some money on shelvey to score 15 goals or more this season from midfield for his new team, as for sterling, he's like only 15 or so, and he's a great player allready, so I don't know what your talking about there, but then this is a utd site, where the most coommon - sence is talked by lpool fans.

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Coomon sence - stunning

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Lol u should of left name mate. Well done, it was almost lost on me.
No signing off as CTR just save having to write out the whole name as my phone is a piece of poo.

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I don't want to be rude but LFC, seriously mate, have you even finished school yet? I only ask because the way you write makes me think you're about 15. Big year for you next year though; GCSEs, College applications and another season seeing yourself fighting for a Europa League place. Good luck.

Matt

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No-name above me, why did you sell Shelvey then if he's the next big thing? And you already ruined Sterling by playing him so much at such a young age. There is not much your club does right actually. As highlighted by your cheap, low quality signings, the rest of the league is laughing at you. Honestly, if you loose Suarez you are nothing more than a slightly harder to beat mid table squad.

As for lfc, what are you talking about with false 9? Your squad lacks absolutely every single trait required play that formation, who would play the false 9 without Suarez? Where are your world class wingers? Who has the skill required to play in the midfield to enable you to score enough goals? You talk utter rubbish.
Just a bit of a heads up, successful squads that play the false 9 effectively have HAD/HAVE world class centre forwards/CAMs playing the 'false 9' position. Totti springs to mind at Roma under Spalletti (they managed to get from 17th to 5th or something) or Messi at Barcelona all who have/had world class team mates around them. Where is your world class 'false 9' if you loose Suarez who obviously doesn't need replacing? and the squad to go with it?

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1 Raheem Sterling is 18, not 15
2 shevley?, let's but a bet for 5, let alone 15 lol
so much for common sense, its hardly common these days

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Shelvey may indeed get an England call-up - international managers tend to take more notice of players when they're at the bigger clubs.

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I really hope no name was just joking. lol I've took as sarcasim am I wrong? No one could really be that stupid yeh?

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Comedy gold! maybe we should combine the utd and Liverpool sites. we don't have nearly this much fun on our own

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08 Jul 2013 13:10:36
Afternoon Gents,

Rumours seem to be changing on a daily basis at the moment for who we are targeting, also seems we have been announcing the signing of Garay for the past 2 weeks, got to love the transfer window.

I honestly thought Strootman was as good as done, maybe with Moyes coming in, targets have changed but I was thinking of some alternatives. Instead of Garay and Strootman, I would like to push for Inigo Martinez and Illarramendi.

Both players have been mentioned before on here, I mentioned Martinez a while back and Illarramendi was brought to my attention at the U21's and some others have mentioned him on here.

A young Spanish contingent of De Gea, Martinez, Illarramendi and Thiago would set us up fantastically for a few years.

Like to know The Moons thoughts on this and possibility of getting them as he seems to be the go to guy for Spanish football :)

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I think with Strootman, MU have been given a price and other European sides have been given their price. Ours inevitably much higher. Probably cost us £17m, but would cost Roma £9m.

Sydney!

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Hey man,

I think Garay is the signing that will be done before United fly out for pre-season.

Strootman I'm not as fussed about because I do see Jones being the 'tough guy' midfielder.

Martinez is a decent prospect, although he does still have a lot to learn imo he's certainly showing signs of being one of the better young deep midfielders.

I don't think he's quite ready for United just though. I do believe this season will be the one to watch for him though, if he plays as well this season as he did last year then I'm sure a lot of clubs will be looking at him.

As for Illarramendi, he looks Real Madrid bound which is a shame. for me, he's like a very young Alonso, he's decent but he definately has a lot of edges to iron out of his game.

I also find that against decent midfielders he struggles a little bit.

that said, he's could play in both the Barcelona and Madrid style set up. he seems to pick the moments perfectly when it comes to urgent direct play or slowing the play down.

so, although both would be good signings neither are going to be the answer for around 1-2 years imo.

If Manchester United do go spanish in their hunt for players I would love to see United lining up as follows in a few years;

DDG Rafael, Lomban/Smalling, Jones, Shaw, - Koke, Obiang - Zaha, Thiago, Muniain -Welbeck/Hernandez/Henriquez.

Lomban is a terrific young CB, so calm and collected on the ball. Koke and Obiang would be like having 2 love childs of Iniesta and Marchisio in midfield.

While we all know about Thiago and Muniain.

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Report we might be bidding for Verrati. I do hope it is true, for me it would be a dream signing.

Ports, your choices will also be great signings.

Shahram

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Moon

Interesting you also like Muniain, I have always rated him very highly but the guys here seem to think he is not united quality. Given his age I think he will be a cracker in a couple of years and end up with madrid or Barca.

What do you think of Benat?

Shahram

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Thanks Moon, out of interest, they players you mentioned, what sort of price you think they'd cost?

Shahram, again, not seen much of Verrati until U21's but hear good things. Is he as good as what people are suggesting? I heard he doesn't mind getting stuck in either? Sometimes a little to enthusiastic in tackling apparently?

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He is a star. Recommend watching PSG barcelona game in the CL this past year. The boy can play against barca's midfield can pretty much play against any midfield. He is very good all round and yep not shy in typical Italian midfielder fashion to get stuck in but no stupid stuff or dirty stuff.

I reckon he would be the most expensive and loftiest target out of the lot and would take some serious money to get him if he wants to come.

Shahram

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All the guys moon has mentioned would go for less than 10 million euros except Asier. Kind of Bebe money but real players :)

Shahram

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Verratti is going to be a great player
Jred

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08 Jul 2013 23:09:17
@Ports

Lomban will cost around £3M-£4M I would say but the fact he's at Barcelona means you just know they would want a buyback clause inserted somewhere. They won't want another Fabregas/Pique situation. Although, I think I would go as high as about £8M for him, providing the buy back clause isn't inserted.

Koke will be the cheapest of the lot, people talk about Illarramendi playing well last season which to his credit, he did. but yet Koke has so much more to his game imo. its like comparing Cazorla and Iniesta. Cazorla is a very good player but Iniesta is jaw dropping. well Koke in this scenario plays Iniesta.

Last season Koke played 33 Games for Athletic getting 3 goals and making 10 assists, whereas Illarramendi made 32 appearances scoring 0 goals and making 3 assists. BOTH from a deep midfield position.

Koke is also 2 years younger.

Although Koke made more appearances, he spent less time on the field as Illarramendi played 2713 Minutes compared to Koke playing 2518 Minutes.

His value? - I would hazard a guess at around £9M personally. Which, is a steal!


Obiang is difficult to predict, on one hand he's a young spaniard with promise, on the other hand he's not accomplished TONS in the game. Personally I would pay upto £20M for him, but I think you could get him for around £11M-£12M.

Well all know about Thiago and his pricing.

As for Muniain, he has matured a lot this season, his game is developing rapidly and he's looking for the simply and effective option rather than the over complicated option. I think if we're going to pay £25M for Di Maria or Gaitan then first we should try and get Muniain for £20M - A price which I think Bilbao will accept.

just to add to the Veratti debate, the guy is incredibly rash when the games pick up tempo. if someone is running at him he'll nearly always make the wrong decision, leaving the guy open or closing down to quickly (leaving another man free. etc. Great ball player but if it wasn't for the Back 4 at PSG and for Italy U21, I think you would see a lot more negative press towards him.

Great future, providing he has someone covering his defensive duties.

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08 Jul 2013 13:26:56
Rumour has it that Barcelona are willing to offer Thiago, David Villa, and 3.5 million pounds to lure Wayne Rooney to Barcelona. Am I the only one that believes this would be a good deal? Villa is still a world class striker and scores in every match that he is given the chance to play in. What do you guys think? Leave you opinions please :)

THE SHINING KNIGHT {Ed007's Note - You just made that up.}

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Give the lad credit it is on a newspaper website. I suppose that's as good as made up but like he said rumour has it.
Red Staffie {Ed007's Note - Has everyone had a sense of humour bypass on here?}

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Barca are not in control of the Thiago situation so therefore unable to use him in any negotiation.
Lazy journalism!
Dylan

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World class striker? Behave!

Ste.

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08 Jul 2013 19:25:29
No, I didn't ED:

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/413305/Barcelona-to-swap-Thiago-and-David-Villa-for-Manchester-United-star-Wayne-Rooney

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08 Jul 2013 12:50:09
Took this of the Citeh page!


04 Jul 2013 23:29:41
How much more do you need to spend to challenge in Europe or England?

Name the last club who won the champions league without spending money jealousy is a terrible thing just get over it. Blue manc

Porto, barca, bayern, Man U, inter.


It made me laugh. Jealousy.

On another note, City fans hoping to Hijack the Thiago deal? I doubt it's true, but most teams love to steal our targets.

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If we keep dragging our feet we will get gazumped by City or Chelsea. Just pay what Barcelona want and let's get the deal done.

Sydney!

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08 Jul 2013 13:42:01
why does rooney not come out in public saying he is happy at utd, that would get a lot of hecklers off his back. imo he is not happy and wanting away. moyesy got one hell of a problem keeping him happy because his form from last season will not get him in team. the knock on effect of this will affect team. make him come out in public or get rid

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Vat on goods or services bought from within th eu are liable for vat at the uk rate so it shouldn't be too complicated should it?. andog

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08 Jul 2013 11:31:47
There is still two issues to be sorted in the Thiago deal according to Graham Hunter. One issue is what I mentioned the other day, the buyout clause and VAT. That is yet to be agreed with Barcelona. There is also one or two contract details to be sorted out with the player.

Come on MU, stop playing hardball and get the player signed up.

Sydney!

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Fingers crossed syd I tthink we probably have wrapped the deal with thiago and he's agreed. Just couple of things left with barca to finalise the deal like how u explained.

I hope we sign him he's a fantastic player

Singh

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Isn't vat non negotiable. andog

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I know the glazers like to try and get every little penny off, but at this rate we will miss out on another target and for what?

If it takes an extra million, or 3 for this type of player then so be it. He is going to be a world star.

WHAT are they thinking.

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I'd rather they don't waste money which could be saved for other targets though.
DHK

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Andog

I understand there is clarity needed on how to handle VAT where a non Spanish club exercises a buy out clause in Spain and identification of how much it would be.
UK has one VAT rate but in Spain I believe the rate can vary regionally. That shouldn't be an issue here but how to handle it may be

Red Man

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Andog, I don't know if the figures are 100% accurate, but apparently the buyout clause if met and the taxes on top add up to around €30m (£25.5m). With Barcelona receiving £15m and the rest going to the tax man. If MU and Barcelona can agree a higher fee say £17m-£20m, then Barcelona will receive all of that and much less money will need to be paid in tax to the Spanish government. So both parties would be happy (although not the tax man). We would pay less than the €30m and Barcelona would receive more than the £15m buyout clause amount. It's about finding the middle ground between £15m and £25.5m. I think this is why we keep hearing an agreement on £17m or £18m and not the £15m. It looks like it's a matter of a couple million between what we want to pay and what Barcelona want.

Sydney!

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I don't understand the VAT issue. If its a buyout clause which the player has to pay then it makes sense but if its a release clause which the other club will directly pay to Barcelona what is the fuss all about? Its just like any other VAT on transfer fee then.

So basically no fee has been agreed, "a few details" remaining with Thiago so no deal agreed with him as well, and then there will surely be an issue of agent's fees to sort out.

I understand we have been pushing for a deal, but what exactly is "done" at this point? Nothing really. I see this dragging on and a few more twists to come. Hopefully we shall have him done and dusted by the end of this week and focus on other targets after that.

Strootman seems to be subject of interest of lots of other clubs now. Have we pulled out of that one? The Garay agent's fees issue hasn't been resolved yet? Nothing on Gaitan/Di Maria and the expected second bid for Baines hasn't really come yet too.

I just hope that we have a couple of transfers wrapped up or pretty much done and are waiting on Thiago to announce them all together.


REDFAITH

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Andog - it is non negotiable with the vatman - but who pays it (buyer or seller) can be up for negotiation.

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Andog,

Vat is non-negotiable but it would appear that Thiago would have to buy out his own contract meaning we would then have to pay the money to Thiago, leaving a higher amount than if the money was just paid between us and Barca. Therefore we are trying to come up with an amount to pay Barca higher than the release clause so we pay less tax and they get more money.

It is morally wrong but a workaround. This is how I understand it anyway, I am willing to be told different but from the research I have done I believe this to be the case.

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Redfaith, I have a feeling we would like to parade 2-3 at one go. It would do Moyes the world of good to have a press conference with Garay, Thiago & say Baines sat around him.

Then again with Monaco getting Abidal, does that mean they will not want Ev? If they don't want Ev, then there will be no Baines : (

Sydney!

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GDS, IMO it's also morally wrong for the Spanish government to demand tax that adds up close to what the player's fee is. That's crazy.

Sydney!

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And Moyes is away now, so all the face to face meetings with the new manager are not possible.
We need to get it wraped up and start signing other players too.
It is never wrapped up until the player and club put pen to paper.
Re the vat, it is not negotiable, but my understanding is that Barca are trying to get Thiago's camp to pay for it as this will put him off the move.
Nomidfield

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REDFAITH, if i'm understanding correctly, buyout clause is only triggered after a player (not the club) deposits the money, the value of the buyout clause, at the Spanish league and unilaterally breaks his contract. That money, of course, would be given to him by the buying club in order to buy himself out. Hence in this case 18m + approx.9m of income tax will need to be paid by Utd = 27m. I don't think Utd's bid of 18m will actually trigger the buyout clause. until legally forced to.
RumourNo. 1

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All that needs to happen is MU and Barcelona agree a slightly higher fee than the buyout clause and far less VAT will need to be paid. It's pretty simple really, MU and Barcelona simply need to agree a higher fee than the buyout figure.

Sydney!

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08 Jul 2013 16:58:18
@RumourNo. 1

That is what I was getting at with the difference between the buyout clause and release clause.

I was under the impression it was a release clause which is triggered by the buying club.

Anyways we don't know anything for sure. So like Ed002 once told us, don't get too hung up in the clauses.

REDFAITH

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08 Jul 2013 18:54:19
@Sydney! We can hope on Baines.

Garay, Thiago, Strootman with Baines and Di Maria coming late in perhaps would be a nice summer. Although I have got a sneaky feeling we will make a couple of surprise signings and Strootman and maybe even Garay might not be among them.

REDFAITH

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I get the impression Garay is done Redfaith. Everything was agreed with player and Benfica. Benfica even bought his replacement. Garay has been looking at Houses in Cheshire. The problem was the agent fees, agreeing a deal with Jorge Mendes. Which has never been an issue before ;)

I think he will be unveiled soon. Perhaps for Friday. It may take the focus away from Rooney.

Sydney!

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I hope we sign Thiago by Thursday as I am off on holidays and would like to go knowing we got our major piece of business done.

Still need a left winger and a left back.

Shahram

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08 Jul 2013 09:48:43
So it looks like no Lewandowski or Strootman. Really hope we sign Thiago but we do need a mid field Enforcer and I don't think Phil Jones has the skill level to do this permanently.

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Lewandoski, very good player but did we really need him anwyay with RVP and especialyl if Rooney stays? Strootman, were we ever interested in the first place I wonder, and does he even add anything to the first eleven as I don't think so. So in both case I dotn think we have actually really lost out at all. Thiago on the other hand would be massive. Also I remember one of the Ed's saying Garay deal almost tied up, few more contract details to sort out or something along those lines. Again as I said then, I don't understand nor believe whatsoever (just opinion) we would be signing this player. Again I bet this doesn't happen at all, I call twaddle on this
Invisible STuey

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08 Jul 2013 09:16:15
Read that Barca may consider swap Villa and Thiago for Rooney, but said that would still short 4m Euros. If it does happen, this way, I think we are saving somewhat 20m ish which can be used to buy a decent winger although it would cost more than 20m. That could really work well for us. Thoughts?
RumourNo. 1

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Pedro & Thiago and they have a deal ;)

Sydney!

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Right. He's a quality player and can play out wide too, and I guess Barca would want to play Neymar over Pedro, then maybe deal could come along. hopefully!
RumourNo. 1

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Pedro kind of goes unnoticed IMO, very underrated. Just like Xavi was for so many years. I would prefer Pedro over Gaitan and I have said that recently that if Rooney is sold, then two good central midfielders and a winger will do nicely. Thiago & Pedro for Rooney and use the Thiago cash to buy another midfielder. That being said I do not believe Barcelona have an interest in Rooney.

Sydney!

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If Thiago clause is 17m and Villa is rumoured to be around 8m, this is 25m worth in return for Rooney. As Thiago has a RELEASE CLAUSE, why would we have any interest in this deal when we can sign him anyway if he wants to come? Also why would Villa want to swap the Barca bench for Uniteds as he would be playin gsecond fiddle to RVP anyway? doesn't make sense at all, nor do I believe is it a good deal for us whasoever either. And more importantly I think its the press creating rubbish on the back of other stories to sell papers
Invisible Stuey

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What about Gerard Deulofeu instead of pedro?

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08 Jul 2013 09:08:59
A catalan newspaper told barca want Rooney for Thiago + David Vailla + 5 mp

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08 Jul 2013 08:37:43
Seeing that it is Monday and another week has gone without us knowing the Rooney or thiago situation.
If barca want rooney so much, the only way we should let him leave is to do a swap Rooney for this go and Fabergas.
No that will be some midfield.

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