Manchester United Rumours Archive April 16 2012

16 Apr 2012 23:40:05
heres a question
if you were fergie would u take drogba in the summer to replace berba or owen
i would anyway defenders still fear him he will score and will add the height in the box even if he didnt play every game he would stilll score a good load of goals he hasnt played regulary this season altho 10goals and 5 assists is still very good but the 2 previous ones he scored a combined 31 goals with 27 assists in the lge alone
at 34 i feel we could still get a few good years outta him

and what team would honestly like playing this

drogba up top
rooney in behind and nani and valencia on the wings
also we have very creative wingers something i feel chelsea lack

I think he could do a job while Welbeck Hernandez and Will Keane are improving but would he want to join and how would he feel about being a bit part player for us?

Shappy

No, not for me.
Not keen to see another big name striker arrive.
I believe Hernandez is already good enough, and if he can avoid injury and get the games he deserves, he will score. He should have had more starts this season given how wasteful Welbeck has been recently.
Welbeck is still learning, putting yet another striker in the mix will only slow his development.
Giggs, Scholes, Nevilles and Becks didn't get so good by being benched for big names.
Looking at how Will Keane has come on this year, i'd rather see him given the odd run out than someone like Drogba.
We don't need more ageing past their best players.
Rooney, Chicha, Welbeck and Owen is plenty, throw in the youngters we have and i think we'll do ok.

Put your drink down , drogba at utd no thanks

I see your point, but I don't think were going to pay a massive wage to a 33-34 year old when we we could get someone 10 years younger, with potential and at a 3rd of Drogbas wage most probably.

Sanshine

Id like to see it happen. Sign him on a one year deal and i bet he will do a job for us, He still has the quality and id like to see him play ahead of wayne. With Young, Valencia and nani providing the supply id be happy to see him play in the red for a year.

we would rather have mata setting up rooney

Although I agree with the theory - I'm sure Drogba will be after one last pay day if he leaves Chelsea and I don't think we should be the ones to give that to him. He would expect a very high wage and wants a 2 yr contract. Too big a risk IMO

Gav

Would be an interesting addition, and not only would he add another option, but he will add some much needed height, physical presense, can hold the ball up well, but also another free kick and pen taker option.

melwing28

Drogba will not play in the prem only city can afford the wages he wants most likely he will go to either PSG, USA, UAE or china he wants 2 years of 180k+ if you ask me,


Anon

16 Apr 2012 21:02:58
Congrats to the reserves who just won the reserve northern league tonight, 7 points clear of liverpool with 2 games in hand and 4 games left to play, 3-0 down to newcastle tonight and came back to win 6-3, Will Keane got 4, Petrucci and De Laet with the goals

Dylan

16 Apr 2012 20:58:12
Fantastic comeback by the reserves tonight, 3-0 down but ended up winning 6-3. Will Keane looks a real talent, bagged 4 tonight and could've had 6 IMO.

Cooper

Gutted if this is true would much rather try harder to get hazard think gaitan is overrated JT

16 Apr 2012 20:43:18
started watching reserve game we were 3-2 down
now we are 6-3 up with 10mins left :)
keane has 4 including a 11min hattrick
petrucci and de leat 1 each

16 Apr 2012 17:21:03
PFA awards are a joke Chamberlain makes the young player list when he has had 3 or 4 good games,No Newcastle players make either list,Valencia has been superb and Scott Parker get's in ahead of him,Daniel Sturrigde makes the list When Juan Mata has been superb shocking.

RED91

Seems like they are trying to raise all of the England player's confidence for the Euros.

Sydney!

Mata flutters in and out of games and everyone says he played amazing for the whole match if he has one moment of class, rather like Bale tbh

Where's jonny Evans??

Heskey misses out again. Such a shame. great bloke and a gent of a man.

16 Apr 2012 16:13:38
Fryers and many youngsters are really disappointing me with their attitude. They listen to their agents too much to a point where it seems as though they have the right to think they can sign when and to whichever tom dick and harry club they like. There is no club loyalty nowadays phhffff dear god.

-Tiger-

Have you spoke to Fryers and know this to be true? Or believing what you read in the paper and slagging a player off with no actual fact or proof at all?

GDS

Ravel, Smalling & Fryers were pretty close pals. Hopefully Fryers is listening to Smalling and not Ravel.

Sydney!

GDS all I am saying is that if a player wants to stay he should sign straight away.

16 Apr 2012 15:50:09
Hi Guys
There have been many players that have had a tremendous season for us but I feel I have to start a campaign and thats vote for Scholesey for fans player of the year.Now before some of you jump down my throat because he's only played half a season the impact he has had is greater than any one player.
Yes Johnny Evans has been outstanding
Yes Wayne Rooney has scored over 20 league goals
Yes David De Gea has performed admirably
Yes Toni has been excellent.
Since the Ginger Prince has come back w have not lost any game that he has started in.He controls games single handedly.He dictates the pace at which we want to play.He helps other players to be more effective.He has not only done this,this season but throughout his career and what better way for us fans to commemorate what he has done for our club but to vote him player of the year.
So come on Guys vote for the Ginger Prince.

Bazza The Red

I think it should be noted that we've won every game he's started and drew the 1 game he came on as a sub. He came on as a sub when we were 3-0 down to Chelsea...

Oh god i already voted for Scholesy straight away! Can safely say we would not be where we are in the league now if it wasn't for him! Think his experience would have taken us further into Europe too! He really is fantastic nothing else to say.

Ozwald

Should be down to only tony v and scholesey
johndenton

16 Apr 2012 15:39:36
not saying that this will happen but why wouldnt man utd get these players at aproximmate prices; hazard 40m, modric 35m, javi martinez or m'vila 25m, RVP free, if they dont sign modric then they could get sneijder on the cheap or eriksen about 20m, subotic 20m, loan with future fee for criscito, if RVP doesnt work probs wont then huntelaar 20-25m.

these signings are perfect for what utd need and what the fans want and would certainly get them back to their best.

it would get them around 140-160m alot of money but a great investment for the future and greatly impact the immediate success to the club and bring in lots of money from the titles they win.

this could end up being a man utd dynasty overpassing the current barca. once the team is settled they could then extend old trafford to the 95 000 seater that has been rumoured.

this is fantasy but would be great if it did happen.

What is the point in doing that. When has SAF gone on a spending spree. He is all about homegrown talent for the future. He will probable by a few players and then bring in some youths like he does every year. Spending 50m at the most

Why don't you go and try that on your generic football manager game and tell us how you get on...
You might even be better than Fergy :D

DodgyBanter

I wasnt going to respond to this post but I just felt the need to say.....WTF!

Gav

Is this guy a city fan? Thats the way they run a club!

Its just fantasy it says on the bottom line

RVP - free? :S

I think someone has been playing too much FM 2012.....

Join us in the real world

This guy knows as much about football as I know about 16th Century Peruvian poetry

Dnt think we will get modric or martinez although i would like them, defs wont get RVP and i wouldnt want schneider subotic or criscito

In lala land me thinks mate,

lorcan

16 Apr 2012 15:20:21
Even though people are saying that we shouldn't buy another winger (I.e Gaitan) I think Fergie will buy him for a CAM role, if not we need to buy a CM who can score because once Scholes retires again we are left with Carrick who is more defensive then attacking and Cleverly who I think is over-rated and is more of a play maker anyway, we cannot just rely on Rooney so we need a CM who is a clinical finisher which Gaitan is good at but someone like Sneijder would be even better.

Why does everyone still go on about Sneijder? If he was this amazing player that everyone makes out, why is his team 7th in the Serie A? Injury prone, only getting older, money grabber. No Thanks, leave him to City or PSG

Cooper

Sneijder is past his best IMO, and would unbalance the maturity and growth of the squad. I'd rather have no-one and trust the young players we've got.. Or get Hazzard!

Class is permanent, form is temporary! You guys think a player rated as one of the three best midfielders in 2010 has lost it? Probably one of the best players Ajax has ever produced.. I dont think he's mentally in the right place after what happened at the end of last season, and once i again i think it was down to his agent being.. well a standard agent - looking for more money than possible. Scholes is what 10 years older than Wesley and is probably the best deep lying playmaker in the premier league at the moment apart from Yaya Toure.

He's a gifted player and i think if a cheap deal can be agreed then i'm all for it. 'Cooper' Sneijder has been out injured for a while this season, and with Inter selling Eto'o its no wonder they're suffering in Serie A.

You've got to be careful when labelling someone as 'injury prone'. For example everyone says RVP is, while he's had his fair share of niggles this season he has been probably the most consistant in form stikers in the PL except Augero + Rooney without any injuries. Then you have someone like Owen Hargreaves who is definitely classified as injury prone..

Ozwald

'Ozwald' - I didn't state that Sneijder did not have class or the ability but if you look at the likes of Rafael, Cleverly, Anderson; they are frustrating at times due to injuries and going off your comment they wouldn't be classed as 'injury prone'. But they still leave gaps in the team when they're out. These players are younger than Sneijder and if we're being honest, fitness will not improve with age. I would much rather sign a younger player with great potential
Cooper

The thing is though filling a gap with a young player would give an inexperienced midfield and the reason Scholes is so good is that he controls the game with his experience so if the hole was filled with an experienced player like Sneijder would fill the Scholes role and help control the game and I believe an experienced midfield that can control the game is vital

Schneider is wayyy to old and is injury prone

Are you kidding me... Sneijder is incredible. Not only is he one of the best central midfielders of our time, but he still has a lot of gas left in the tank. Signing Sneijder and picking RVP up as a free agent would be a HUGE turn around for our club! I would take an experienced player over a young player with "promise" any day of the week. Scholes is the best midfielder in the Premier League this year. How do you think Barcelona has been dominating the international scene for the last half-decade?... its because of the experience of Xavi and Iniesta. Granted that Xavi and Iniesta have the young and flashy talent around them to finish the plays set up by their experienced midfielders, but ManU has plenty of young and flashy talent (Valencia, Nani, Young, Rooney, Chicharito, Welbeck)... but we need a creative midfielder to bring some solidity to our roster and starting 11. You can't teach creativity. I love Fergie, but there is nothing wrong with buying players. I respect the heck out of him for succeeding by promoting from within the ranks and training youngsters and developing them into starting talent, but we need central midfielders with creativity and playmaking abilities (like Giggs and Scholes) that Modric and/or Sneijder can bring to the table.

16 Apr 2012 14:25:56
Another reason why Gaitan would be a good signing in SAF's eyes is that he is very versatile, as well as on the wing, some believe he can play in a 4-4-2 in the center, but also in a midfield 3 so he could be also useful in the CL. At £20 million he is not going to take a massive chunk out of our budget, there is still plenty more money there for a central midfielder. You should be more concerned about the propsect of signing a central midfielder if we sign a £30 million Eden Hazard as then we would get a cheap option for sure.

At £20 million he shows good value for money, there will be at least £30 million left to go and to be honest we could get away with signing a left footed player and a central midfielder only. We would like a striker, and possibly a left back. But at best we will get a left back on loan, maybe Cissokho as that seems some what plausible. A striker would be under £15 million anyway, someone like Wolfswinkel and them money for that can mostly be raised through outgoings.

If you look at it objectively, for £50 million, if we get Gaitan and Martinez and maybe Cissokho on loan would we be all that dissapointed?

RedDevil19

We wouldn't bring in Cissokho on loan, but agree with your point. Hazard & Strootman or Gaitan & Martinez?

Sydney!

Don't forget the revenue we will make from sales.. £10mil ish for Berb? Then Owen, Macheda, Kuszczak etc. Also, if Pogba does decide to stay I'm not sure I'd want to stop his progress by signing Martinez

Cooper

Has to be Gaitan and Martinez all day, every day doesn't it? I'm not convinced that Hazard will be that much better than Nani who i think is an exceptional player. Personally i'm going for Gaitan and Martinez as the two major signings this summer (i hope). Then see where we are at with Fryers, Pogba, Petrucci etc.

RedDevil19

Why do people keep suggesting we take players on loan?
Have you ever known us to do that?
Apart from Laarson who we had for a few months, i don't think we've ever taken a player on loan.

How about tevez

16 Apr 2012 13:33:43
i know we are in the market for a left footed player, but is it really a higher priority than a central midfield player? Assuming pogba signs and fletcher comes back, both of which are doubtful, we'd still need someone else in there anyway. And if their not in next seasons squad we definitely need someone.

Left footed winger will bring balance, especially if we play 5 in midfield in big games. We have no-one who regularly goes outside the opposition RB, which compresses our play.

DodgyBanter

16 Apr 2012 13:20:04
If these Gaitan rumours are true, can somebody please explain to me why we are spending this sort of money on ANOTHER winger, when everyone knows it is centre midfield we need to strengthen, Why does SAF seem so reluctant to sign in that area?

Why? Pogba, Cleverley, Petrucci, Tunnicliffe & even Daehli could be five reasons why?

Sydney!

We do not know that we have not already agreed a DM/CM signing....
We only know what the press tell us, unless you do happen to know anyone on the inside....
If this was our only signing then yes it may be a cause for concern, but again if we change our formation and play 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 then Gaitan can easily play in the middle of the 3, the same as Nani....
I think a lot will depend on Pogba and the fitness of Clevs & Anderson..
I have always said that Martinez (or another strong DM) would be my first signing, as we have other players to play in the advanced roles with Rooney up top scoring goals..... which he does best..

If we got this and Gaitan (although not my first choice again for this position) we would have a very strong mid-field line up

Clevs, anderson, pogba, petrucci, martinez, gaitain, nani, young, velencia,

carrick, scholes, flethcher, giggs if enough money to keep them.

oxred

All of who do not start for us. i will not be suprised if we loose Pogba now.
how it cannot be seen that we need a powerhouse of a player in the center is beyond me.....
if these players cannot make the starting 11 or even be on the bench, i cannot see them being used on a regular basis next season. esp with SAF looking to offer Scholes another season nor signs of him selling Carrick

melwing28

Sydney,

you make a valid point mate. some people seem to think the only way we'll sort out our midfield frailties is through spending huge amounts on renowned / established players from other clubs. we can use resources from our reserves and be very successful. barcelona are doing exactly that, in case some people are not aware.

in my opinion, we need to tie down pogba to a new contract and use him more as from next season. him and cleverley can do a job for us (we'll still utilise carrick and to a lesser extent scholes alongside these youngsters), plus we can still benefit from petrucci if he realises his potential.

someone once said patience is a virtual...

'Melwing'

I disagree, the manager will use Cleverley and Pogba a lot at the start of the season in the same way he used Cleverley and Anderson before their injuries. Before a full blooded season for a player the manager has always said that he likes to take them on tour during preseason first. Next season we will see a lot of Pogba in the line-ups if he chooses to stay. Next season was always going to be the season he broke through, he would have been told that. I think we will use Scholes & Carrick and Pogba & Cleverley. Mixed and matched. Carrick and Scholes cannot play every game anymore so Pogba/Anderson & Cleverley will certainly play often.

Sydney!

Sydney

With regards to your first post (5 reasons why)
All the players you mention are unproven and have done nothing at the highest level. It's ok saying they all have potential but what about now....we need proven talent that is going to take us upto the next level so we can get back to where we were in Europe 2-3 years ago.
Yes there's no doubt they have potential but there are never any guarantee in Football. Just look at Mecheda, burst onto the seen with a great goal and has done nothing since.
We need proven quality now or we will still be seeing the likes of Ryan Giggs playing in the centre of midfield next year and i certainly dont want to see that again.

Simmo

Why? Pogba, Cleverley, Petrucci, Tunnicliffe & even Daehli could be five reasons why?

Sydney!

doesnt help the here and now though if he wont play Pogba he may not even be there

Sydney

Explain?
Cleverley is allways injured and has done nothing to say he is a top midfielder.
I know his season has been hampered by injuries but barring the start of the season he has done nothing to convince me that he is going to be the answer against the likes of Yaya Toure, David Silva, Xavi, Inniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Ozil etc.
People keep mentioning Paul Pogba, the guy hasn't even signed for us and for me that tells me everything. His comittment isn't 100% to Man United. Again who's to say he is going to be this great hope, Totally unproven!
Petrucci, Tunnicliffe & Daehli. Do me a favour they are about two / three years away so what do we do in the meantime just wait and keep playing Giggs, Anderson and Scholes whilst the likes of City, Chelsea and Arsenal snapp up the brightest talents in Europe because we are fickle enough to believe that all these youth players at united are going to make it and be great players.

Simmo

Syd
Are u really saying that having pogba celebs petrucci tunnicluff and daehli would justify not signing a cm
Jred

'Simmo'

I am not saying this is the reason SAF hasn't bought a midfielder, just saying it could be why he is reluctant to spend £30m on a midfielder when we have top players in the reserves. Perhaps he felt Fletcher, Giggs, Carrick, Park, Anderson & Cleverley would have been enough this season until Pogba was ready for next season and Tunnicliffe & Petrucci ready for the season after. Personally I think we will sign a midfielder, we certainly tried to last summer.

Cleverley was injured ONCE and that was because Kevin Davies fouled him injuring his ankle ligaments. Then the manager rushed him back two weeks early which backfired as he had a recurrence of the same injury. This could have happened to anyone and it's just unlucky. In terms of quality he has a lot of it and you should judge him this time next season, not a few sub appearances after being out for five months. In Pogba's case you would have to be pretty dim not to see he will be a world beater in a couple of year's time. If Pogba signs we will see a lot more of him next season and then you mat realise just how good he will be. Same with Cleverley, both need a season behind them and they will be two very good central midfielders. Yaya Toure and Cesc were like Pogba & Cleverley once you know. They all have to start somewhere.

Sydney!

'jred'

No I am not, where did you get that from? Just saying that could be why the manager is reluctant to buy a £30m midfielder. Personally I do not think he is reluctant as he looked to sign midfielders in the summer.

Sydney!

Sydney...

Cesc was a regualr in the Arsenal lineup when he was 17-18 years old. Cleverley is a lot older than that now and Yaya was pretty much a nobody until Barca signed him from a greek club (I think!)

Gaz

'Gaz'

My point is everyone starts somewhere. If Cleverley was an Arsenal player he would have broke through a couple of years ago. AW doesn't have a fear about playing smaller more technical players like our manager has.

Sydney!

Clevs is no where near cesc standard isn't cesc 1-2 years older and is world class where Clevs is average

Gaz

Your are spot on...it doesn't matter how young they are if your good enough then you will be in the team.
Sorry Syd but i don't think Cleverley is the answer. Pogba may not even sign and if he was as good as Cesc at 17 then he would be in the midfield and Fergie wouldn't have been begging Scholes to come back and playing the likes of Giggs and Park in the centre.

Simmo

'Simmo'

Of course age matters, not all players are ready at 17 like Cesc are they? Players develop at different ages. Scholes wasn't ready at 17, Beckham wasn't ready at 17, David Villa, Didier Drogba & Thierry Henry were not ready at 17 or 20 for that matter, so don't talk nonsense. Players develop at different ages everyone knows that. You clearly haven't took the time to watch the academy and the reserves so cannot properly judge Pogba or Cleverley, but both will be first team players next season if Pogba signs. Mata made his name in the Valencia side at 21, signed for Chelsea at 23, should have Valencia given up on him? Silva didn't break into the Valencia team til he was 20, should they have sold him on? Iniesta didn't properly break into the Barcelona team until 20 years old, should they have sold him? The penny didn't drop for Mesut Oezil until he was 21. Cleverley is 22 and Pogba is 19 so because they were not in the United team at 17/18/19/20 we should get rid then eh ;)

Sydney!

Sorry Mata was actually 20 when he became a firm fixture in the Valencia team.

Sydney!

It's no good pointing out how good our reserves or youths are!
HONESTLY, who has come through all those ranks and made an impact. we haven't had anyone since the golden era. yes we won't have that many at one time again, but just a SINGLE player would be nice.
and out of all those midfielders that have been mentioned, which will scare the top european clubs??

melwing28

Fletcher, JOS, Brown, Evans have all come through and made an impact, Welbeck and Cleverley & Pogba are in the squad and are still learning. Then we have Tunners, Petrucci, Blackett, Lingard, Fryers, Keane & Brady are all interesting the United staff. You ask when we will get the next lot coming through, well the manager is excited about the crop coming through now and according to Neville, the manager and Scholes they are the best lot to come through since the class of 92.

Sydney!

So Syd thinks all of the youth players at United are the dogs Boll*cks....wa hay we are saved! We don't need anyone!
Syd, age doesn't matter if your good enough you play simple as that!

Simmo

Simmo you haven't a clue my friend. Do you think David Villa was good enough to lead the Barcelona attack at 17? What about 18? 19? 20? 21? 22? 23? No he wasn't, he didn't even play for Spain until he was 24 because he wasn't good enough until then. So think logically because you are making a fool of yourself. Players develop at different ages. That isn't opinion that is a fact, it's a way of life. We have some very good youth players and you would know that if you bothered to watch them. I never once said we didn't need to bring in a midfielder, it's all in your head.

Sydney!

16 Apr 2012 10:02:21
reports everywhere that we have agreed a deal for gatain 20 mill +macheda and fabio on loan.
Not really sure if this is the man to improve us or a cheaper alternative to someone like hazard
jred

It's looking like something has been agreed perhaps in principle. If it was agreed and at that reported price then £20m plus Kiko is a great deal. Would Gaitan be such a bad move IF Nani stayed? The reason I say that is the goal he scored yesterday was like a striker's goal. Could he be our 4th striker? I find it unlikely, but would Gaitan & Nani be better than just Hazard?

Sydney!

Gaitan is not going to improve our team, he is a poor enough player and i've seen plenty of benfica games this season. this could be another expensive bebe.

Prefer Hazard 2bh

I do not know why most are against Gaitan coming , he would be a great addition. He's good at holding up play, good dribbler and strikes a good shot , he would be a decent goalscoring midfielder.


Winston

Syd
i understand what you are saying but with a fully fit squad how much will gaitan improve the first 11
jred

'jred'

We could have said that about Valencia, Vidic or Evra, but they made their positions their own. Don't get me wrong in terms of quality I would prefer Hazard, but to be fair the chances of signing Hazard would be slim with Spain being his prime destination. We also do not know where the manager wants to play him. He can play left-wing or in Anderson's position.

Sydney!

Has anyone thought about the possibility of signing both gaitan and hazard? it happened in 2007 when we all were debating on who should come in between nani and anderson. we signed both.

i also think that with macheda likely to leave, then we will probably see a striker come in because berbatov and owen are likely to leave in the summer too.

james.

It doesn't have to be Gaitan or Hazard.

It could be Gaitain AND Hazard.

Shift Rooney to a no.9 and play Hazard as a no.10 (as he has done for Lille very effectively in recent weeks).

I think Rooney's all round performances have been poor this season. His goalscoring has been excellent though - why not get him to just focus on that?

But do United have the money to do this?

'no name'

I am hoping for a big spend this summer to complete the transition. If we are ever going to spend big it's this summer as the club will be floated this year and the Glazers will want to keep the fans onside. Can you imagine the uproar if the Glazers received £600m for a percentage of the club and never give SAF a bit of it.

Sydney!

We signed those previous 3 players as we needed those positions filled by players that left or were leaving.
when Rooney played up front before the world cup, it was because Valencia was supplying crosses, we didn't really do that when Ronaldo was there, he would be more direct himself.
Bring in Hazard and let us see how teams cope with an attack of Rooney, Hazard, Young/Nani and Valencia....
add someone in the center of the mid and we can start making another impact in europe

melwing28

I think it a little unfair to slate the lad before anything has actually happened. He is a good footballer. That is a fact. We wouldn't be linked like this if he wasn't. One thing is for sure and that is we are severely lacking a left footer in midfield. Giggs days as a winger are long gone, and Gaitan can dribble and go past players and deliver with his left, so why not go for him? I think we should all stand back and hold our breath until something happens and then lets actually see if these players can stand up and be counted as United players. I am sure we will let them know either way. In SAF we trust I say!

Red Pedro

So is this the player to close the gap between us and the best in Europe . I do think he is quite a good player but if is our only midfield signing I would be a little worried
Jred

With Barcelona, City, Bayern, PSG & the Milanese clubs I would say he could be. I have to admit though I would be disappointed him just him and no one else for midfield. Unless Nani stayed and Gaitan was signed for the left side of central midfield.

Sydney!

I missed out the word "interested" after 'clubs' and before 'I'.

Sydney!

Y u say u would prefer hazard they play diffrent posistions