Jul 19
Pre-season and summer roundup
I think it’s best to stick my head out and say it—with the barely lingering hope of jinxing it and being proved wrong—that we aren’t going to sign anyone. [Fergie, prove me wrong.]
We can only go by evidence. And save for the signings we made in the close season, it’s unlikely we are going to sign any.
More worrying however is if we were to sell existing players. There are rumours that Evra and Vidic might be sold on. Now, with Evra, the rumours have intensified because he sold his house, apparently. But then Wes Brown has just put up his house for sale. We haven’t heard any rumours about his transfer now have we? So I don’t think there is much credibility to the Evra transfer.
In Vidic’s case, I can’t be sure. This is a transfer that has been threatening to bubble up to the top. Last year it was all about his wife being ‘unhappy’. This time there’s a lot more agent-driven talk. Nemanja, who is vacationing in some corner of this world, has been largely kept away from the press, so any leaked stories will have to be from his agent. But there is definite talk from several journos about him wanting to leave this summer, be it Madrid or wherever.
I have almost given up hope on Ferguson signing anyone this summer. But selling a major player like Vidic would be unacceptable, if it were to happen. It’s one thing to keep faith in youngsters and maintain that the current squad is better than the previous because they have an extra season’s experience under their belt. But selling a defensive lynch pin especially considering Ferdinand’s dodgy injury problems is baffling to put it mildly.
I don’t want to go off on the we-don’t-have-money-so-we’re-hawking-players-off-to-profit-from-it line of argument because we are yet to see us hawking off big name players this season. I’d rather reserve my judgement on that till the transfer window shuts firmly. But there seems to be some merit to the Vidic rumours even if it’s not necessarily going to translate into an actual transfer. It just doesn’t feel like a contract improvement would settle this.
A word on Joe Cole’s transfer. The Liverpool move felt a bit odd considering he wanted to stay in London. Spurs and Arsenal are obviously better choices at the moment than Liverpool. And if he were to move to Anfield, United would have suited him just as much. But, as much as I wanted Cole at United, this transfer saga tells us a few things: Redknapp, a well-known admirer didn’t want him enough to break the bank. Arsenal have been strict about their wage structure, so it’s understandable that Wenger didn’t want him enough. Liverpool were willing to buy him which probably casts doubt over their chances of holding onto the likes of Torres and Gerrard over the summer. Ferguson is a known admirer, but it’s quite possible he, Wenger and Redknapp knew something about his fitness or motivations to not take a punt on him. So I trust the combined wisdom of those three men in this case and hope they’re proved right.
However, we do need a player of Joe Cole’s quality—albeit a less injury-prone version, since we already have the likes of Hargreaves and Owen to deal with. I am willing to give the benefit of doubt to our striking department as well as our backline if Vidic stays. But I am just not willing to accept we are good in midfield. We need a midfielder who is dynamic or creative enough to make those forward runs to support our strikers. Scholes is not the solution as much as a lot of United fans believe. Many fans I’ve spoken to throw me the he’s-still-the-best-we-have argument. Which essentially defeats their point. If we have to rely on a 35 year old who needs to be nursed and cannot be expected to perform week-in, week-out, we know we’re terribly lacking in midfield. Carrick has regressed last season, and I just don’t rate Anderson. Fletcher is solid as a defensive midfielder, but any combination of Scholes, Fletcher or Carrick only serves to isolate the strikers up front. Anderson is played more defensively, again. I am not convinced by his consistency anyway. And the less spoken about Gibson, the better. A good shot does not a player make.
* * *
A good word on the pre-season before I end this. It was a welcome relief to watch the lads come on to the pitch after a long time. It was Celtic we were playing and not a Guangzhou-based outfit. They gave us a good game and the back four that we started with was solid; especially impressive was Smalling—despite his penalty-conceding gaffe.
Berbatov stood head and shoulders above everyone, and Diouf seemed to have plenty of pace to burn. Obertan showed flashes as he ran at the defence, but there was a bit of rust, and perhaps, a lack of decisiveness. It’s a pre-season game after all, so I am not going to over-analyse this to ridiculousness.
United are in Philadelphia at the moment where they will play the new MLS expansion side, Philadelphia Union.
Related items from Red Rants:- Giggs and Brown to Remain Reds | Ex-Reds Clash | Wenger Threat | Takeovers And Other Such Nonsense
- Possebon Loan ‘Cancelled’; Returns to United?
- The Red Hot Roundup: Scholes, Eggy, FIFA, Evra
- Slow Monday Roundup
- On the Kaizer Chiefs Friendly + Rodrigo Possebon
Tags: Manchester United Transfer News & Rumours · Opinions/Columns
July 19th, 2010 at 22:35
Thank you for the update and an interesting read.
Not sure I care much for Joe Cole – especially not at 90K / week. For creativity, we have Nani and Rooney, no? The way they dismantled Arsenal and Milan last year was hopefully a preview of their coming season.
Of course, with all the youngsters lining up for starting sports it should make a frustrating season. If we get off to a good start with some big wins and performances to match, we have every chance to win it all.
With a lack of experience, if we stutter early on and our youngsters struggle we will hit the wall around December and be out of contention quickly thereafter.
July 19th, 2010 at 22:50
Evra aint leaving, the lad only stated in may he intends take title back nxt season, the lad is very open about how much he loves united. Vidic wouldnt move neither, the abu yet london loving media will link these 2 out at ridiculous cheap prices as they best in world in positions play and their utd stars, meaning media hates them. I so f’n glad chelsea reject j.cole gone pool now ppl can stop wanting this vasely over-rated aging hack, Cleverley 8yr younger and twice player joe ever was.
July 19th, 2010 at 23:12
If we are not going to make any further signings and suppose Vida will leave,then we will not finish in top 4 .Remember my words.
July 19th, 2010 at 23:24
@Owen: I agree with you mate.
July 19th, 2010 at 23:24
im not too worried about evra leaving, I just dont see him wanting too. Vidic is a concern but there is no way fergie would sell him this summer.
July 19th, 2010 at 23:30
A new thread. Thank the lord and RR for small mercies.
July 19th, 2010 at 23:38
Joe Cole went to Liverpool because they were the only one’s stupid enough to sign him for four years. I’d give that guy a one year contract take it or leave it. Too much of a risk. Not since before the creation of the Premier League have I not looked forward to a new season like this one. This club has given me no reason to feel optimistic or to feel wildly hopeful or ambitious. And for those who are, you are just deluding yourselves. Same old song and dance and same old whining song about injuries, referees and the FA screwing us over. Meanwhile I have to settle for the same boring team and same boring players on a team that has increasingly become…………………….BORING. OH WHOOPIE.
What can I say? I guess I’m just not a good enough or loyal enough fan that I subject myself to the disappointment and boredom for the sake of the cause. If you look up the word ‘masochist’, trust me mates, you will not find a picture of me next to the definition. At least I’ll have fun screaming and swearing at the establishment for the crap they are offering up. Unlike the majority who will be crying in their tears blaming City and Liverpool for all their problems and bitching about Grognard’s lack of loyalty and class. And the band played on.
July 20th, 2010 at 0:46
I think if Vidic were to leave, then we would buy. Probably Gary Cahill.
We are crying out for an Arsenal style small tricky midfielder though.
July 20th, 2010 at 2:06
@Traverse: hear hear. No way we would sell Vidic without getting a Chiellini, Cahil, Rodwell, Richards, etc.. kind of player.
Evra is not leaving Utd. He was made captain of Utd on several occasions and was phenomenal last season – showing heart and desire.
This site is in great need of optimistic views with Grognard and TonyMontana sounding the alarm bells so early.
Join my crusade for optimism in the face of darkness and uncertainty… 
July 20th, 2010 at 3:02
@[OPTI]Madschester United: Mate you know i wasnt always this pessimistic. God only 2 years ago i was happy as a sandboy after one of the greatest seasons in our history. I was full of optimism for the season ahead.
But you know what happened in those 2 years since? I woke the fuck up and saw the shit most fans are too scared to admit and fear if they give their honest views will be looked down as unloyal.
Im sure some people probably do think of me like that, but i am the way i am and i am outspoken and will say things the way they are.
Im not having a go at you mate, i respect your opinions but seriously i will be optimistic when there is something to be optimistic about, and right now there is very little.
The team is a mix of too many crocks and oldies and too many kids who come under the ifs and maybes.
This team is not a patch on the team of 2 years ago. We should have been strengthening on that team, not weakening it and then leaving it to stagnate and keeping hold of the deadwood.
Something i am optimistic about is a few of the youngsters. I love to see some of our own come through and there are a few i like the look of, but just when i think im looking forward to something and about to break out into song, i go back to my old pessimistic self because of fergie and some of his crazy decisions.
We have some very talented youngsters but ones who will never be given a chance because fergie goes back to his old tried and tested of the giggs, scholes, and neville. Im sorry they are legends and all but i am so sick and tired of the same old bollocks.
Come on fergie give the fans something to look forward to. If we dont have to be depressed at things off the pitch, then we get depressed at what we see on the pitch.
Im never against being optimistic, but i will only show any optimism when the club give me something to get up and get excited about.
Truth is very little with united these days truly excites me and makes me stand up and love what im seeing, the way we used to.
But i will support this club to the bitter end, however i will not mask over the issues and pretend everything is fine and dandy.
If you want to thats good, wish i could feel the same way but sadly im seeing this club going down the crapper, things on the pitch deteriorating fast and i will sing from the rooftops because thats honestly what i feel is going on at united.
But as i said i respect your decision mate, if you want to pretend everything in the garden of united is all sunshine and light thats up to you mate. Only thing that will give me some optimism back is if we sign a top class player that will improve this team.
But theres about as much chance of that as me nailing megan fox
July 20th, 2010 at 3:21
@tonymontanna4united: ” i am the way i am and i am outspoken and will say things the way they are” — I agree. Me too.
Your loyalty is only for you to know… I don’t know you, so why would I consider you disloyal? we are all fans of the same club but see things differently.
In the end, we all cheer together when United score and win, we all scream in disgust when we lose, and we all write to strangers on redrants.com – BECAUSE we are United.
Without us fans, United is Sunday league — too bad the Glazer do not appreciate us equally!
July 20th, 2010 at 3:23
@tonymontanna4united: Just from the time you posted, is it correct to assume you are from the US/Canada/South America?
July 20th, 2010 at 3:27
@[OPTI]Madschester United: Exactly mate, were all united at the end of the day, just that to me this is not the united or the fergie i used to know and love. But its still the club i love, i am just sick to the fucking pit of my stomach the way this club seems to falling and dying a slow slow death.
Still though as i said i respect your views mate, and if you want to be optimistic the way the club is then thats perfectly fine as its your decision. I wish i felt the same, it would be a hell of a lot easier for me, rather than feeling constantly pissed off with everything we do.
God what united must be doing to my blood pressure right now
July 20th, 2010 at 3:30
@[OPTI]Madschester United: No mate, im in england, from manchester born and bred but im living in london right now and have done for the last few years.
Just lost track of the time, its about 3:30am right now so id better go hit the hay. Night red ranters.
July 20th, 2010 at 4:40
@tonymontanna4united: I agree that behind the scenes Manchester United is rotting from the inside from the debt, but I am optimistic about our squad and on-the-field potential, I still think we are the team to beat. We have some of the best youngsters in the Premier league. Theoretically, we could start are OK team with only youngsters:
Amos
Rafael – Evans/De Laet – Smallings- Fabio
Welbeck-Gibson/Possebon-Cleverly/Pogba-Eikrem/Obertan
Macheda-Hernandez/Diouf
Sprinkle these youngster over our starting 11 and we have depth and HUGE potential:
VDS/Amos
Rafael/Nevill-Ferdinand/Smallings-Vidic/Evans-Evra/Fabio
Vally/Welbeck-Carrick/Gibbo-Fletcher/Possebon/Cleverly-Nani/Obertan/Eikrem
Rooney/Diouf/Owen-Berba/Macheda/Hernandez
This team is competitive barring injury crisis a la last season. That is why I am optimistic.
July 20th, 2010 at 4:47
It seems that we are entering a new era. One in which we need to lower our expectations, and become tolerant of mediocrity!
There seems little point any more, in praying, predicting and speculating – our lot seems set, and we can either get with the cheapo-youngster-movement, or fuck-off to the nether regions of of a new sport or a new team.
Of course, I would never suggest that route, and I certainly won’t take it myself either, – but to be honest, I feel uncomfortable with how our level of support is being challenged by a ownership regime that has no interest in excellence and apparently, no interest in it’s customer base.
The idea of starting this season with no new quality additions, is not just irresponsible, but blatantly a classic case of “bad business”. Not only will we run out competitions to play in, but we soon run out of players that could be sold for a profit!!
Ferguson, is clutching at straws, and is hoping for a repeat performance of fledgling players turning into stars.
I honestly see nothing in our youngsters that could persuade me to believe that, and to be honest, I don’t think Ferguson does either – and short of spending his own money, I’m not sure what he can do about it.
So I’ll be shouting for Gibson to luckily catch one sweetly, or Macheda finding himself unmarked in the PA, or Hernandez bucking the trend of SA players and manning up to the physicality of the PL.
Of course, that’s just supposing I have a voice left after shouting at the Glazers. Come to think of it, I’m just plain tired of shouting!!
July 20th, 2010 at 5:12
@Redrich: Hernandez is Mexican ? South America. Mexicans who play in EPL:
Dos Santos – lacks professionalism, had a good world cup, great potential
Hernandez – had a good world cup, great potential
Vela – seems to be running out of time at arsenal, generally been disappointed
Barrera – just arrived to West Ham, had a good season at UNAM (but UNAM is crap).
July 20th, 2010 at 5:15
@Redrich: Hernandez is Mexican ? South America. Mexicans who play in EPL:
Dos Santos – lacks professionalism, had a good world cup, great potential
Hernandez – had a good world cup, great potential
Vela – seems to be running out of time at arsenal, generally been disappointed
Barrera – just arrived to West Ham, had a good season at UNAM (but UNAM is crap).
Seems like we have very little basis on which to judge Mexican footballers. Nonetheless, I am VERY optimistic about Hernandez.
July 20th, 2010 at 5:33
@[OPTI]Madschester United: And you know what mate, good for you. I sincerely mean that. I like and respect the fact you want to feel optimistic about the season. I personally think you are deluding yourself but that’s fine, I am all for the opposite of what I am offering as that is what makes a blog an interesting place. Varying viewpoints and beliefs make for better debate as long as there is respect for all views.
July 20th, 2010 at 5:34
@Owen: JEEZ, that really sounded very Grognard like mate. Are you taking any kind of prescription right now?
July 20th, 2010 at 5:39
@[OPTI]Madschester United: Beautifully said mate. You have me in tears. Everyone has their loyalty but in some cases we show it differently. The main thing is that we all care. I may have a personal vendetta with Fergie going but that’s only because my loyalty quotient does not tolerate traitors within the ranks of Man Utd. And whether others agree with me or whether they just can’t see straight, Fergie is looking an awful lot like a traitor to me. He needs to pull off a few wonderful acts to show me otherwise. And i do not mean buying players, although buying a german or two would make me warm up to him a bit.
July 20th, 2010 at 5:40
@[OPTI]Madschester United: OK, not quite SA, and perhaps I shouldn’t bracket the Mexican league with those of Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay. However there is an alarming dis-connect between the transferable success of players from the Americas going to England – in this respect I will withhold my optimism until I see how he handles getting cold-cocked by some Bolton neanderthal.
July 20th, 2010 at 5:40
@tonymontanna4united: You’re like me. I go to bed very late also. I guess that’s why we are so negative eh?
July 20th, 2010 at 5:49
@[OPTI]Madschester United: Yes we are rotting from the inside and I also think that 80% of our youth aren’t worth the price of fish n chips at a local kiosk. In fact I think most of them suck shit. Still, Fergie is the best manager outside of Mourinho and I believe he will keep this team in contention, but not because he got brave and started playing youth. No he will keep them because he trusted the veterans again and because Rooney will rebound from his World Cup and catch fire a third into the season. Also, I see no improvement from Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool. City will be a threat as they have bought themselves belief and confidence. As long as the rest do not improve by leaps and bounds with some late signings (ie Torres going to Chelsea), I think we will be in the running but I think we will fall short again at the end because our aging players who will once again be expected to carry us, will eventually run out of gas. And then the season will end and the same storyline will play itself out again about our need for this player and that player, who needs to go and who is being linked to us but then Fergie wills say how much he loves the present squad and how he sees no changes being made because he loves the youth he has. The same youth he underplayed last season and the same youth he will underplay this season. I personally would like to see if I am wrong about these young players and I would sacrifice one year out of the Prem to do it, but Fergie cannot do this because the Glazer’s need Champions League money for their personal coffers. But hey, there I go being negative again. Now lets see who is right at the end of the season.
July 20th, 2010 at 5:53
@Redrich: No way mate. Never tolerate mediocrity. We are MANCHESTER FUCKING UNITED. We are not mediocrity and we never should be that. When has Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, AC Milan ever considered themselves mediocrities? Try never. They are amongst the elite teams and they have been for over fifty years for a reason. They take themselves seriously and because they have built universal brands that require excellence in order for their business model to succeed. This is why the Gazer’s must go and go now. Before they force us to be forced into mediocrity. W must never ever accept it. We must have as much arrogance and pride in our team as we expect our players and managers to.
July 20th, 2010 at 6:07
@Grognard: I know – but I’m becoming weary of the rhetoric and the politics. I need a shot of reality,… – and well played football.
Maybe the new season will give us all a shot in the arm and not make us all wish for the Glazers to get a bullet in the head. I need something positive to latch onto – this whole debate has taken the joy out it for me.
July 20th, 2010 at 6:57
Guys,
I have created a private league for the Official Fantasy Premiere League 2010/11. League code is 63339-21209
Join if you want to.
PS: Register http://fantasy.premierleague.com/
July 20th, 2010 at 6:59
@AndyCR7: great, I will join your league once the preseason is over
July 20th, 2010 at 7:27
PS: It looks like City will get Drogba for 20m and then Chelsea will get Torres for 50m. I would love such transfers. It makes all teams (city, liverpool, and chelsea) weaker as we all know Torres is busted for good, Drogba is old and will just take the place of City’s other strong strikers, while Liverpool are in a rebuilding year and will suffer with Ngog as lone striker
July 20th, 2010 at 7:30
@[OPTI]Madschester United: Source: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/3060721/Didier-Drogba-is-in-talks-with-Manchester-City.html
July 20th, 2010 at 7:45
@Redrich: We could win the Treble mate and I’d still want the Glazer’s to get a bullet in the head and for Fergie to suffer a few hours on the rack. Like I have said many times before, it’s not about the on field results or buying players for me. It’s about the future of the club and about the lies. This club will continue to play decently on the pitch as long as Fergie is manager. And for that i am thankful to the Gaffer. It’s the behind the scenes politics that have me all up in arms. The big picture as many like to say.
July 20th, 2010 at 7:49
@[OPTI]Madschester United: Yes mate but Drogba looks far from finished to me. He still has two or three good years. I think Torres is developing chronic thigh and hamstring problems which make him an awful big risk in my books for that price. I’m not so sure i’d go after him if he was going for 30 million. I am also getting very disenchanted with players like him and Rooney that show a complete inability to be effective if they are carrying a minor hurt. Even worse, when they come back from injury, it seems to take them ages to get going. That’s one thing i can admire about Drogba. He seems to start scoring as soon as he returns from an injury.
July 20th, 2010 at 7:55
Grognard – if we dont buy anyone else, what do you think will be the outcome of the season? Do you think we will finish outof the top 4? Or do you think City will finish above us? If yes to either, what do you say to a friendly tenner going either way depending on the outcome? Of course, bets are off if we sign, say, Sneider, I guess?
July 20th, 2010 at 8:47
@Redrich: I agree with tht but also isn’t it irresponsible to spent £20m on Smalling and Hernandez who are both gambles, United need at least one midfield player and £20m could but you some genuine quality.
July 20th, 2010 at 9:09
@[OPTI]Madschester United: Liverpool have Jovanovic too. Is he SS or lone striker? how good is he?
July 20th, 2010 at 9:13
@AndyCR7: Jovanovic mainly plays on the wings but comes in the middle a lot and can score with powerful shots from long range.He is a good squad player.
July 20th, 2010 at 9:15
I’m not surprised!!!
July 20th, 2010 at 9:16
@Stephen: £20m was more than enough to get Diego from Juventus.
We got Smalling for around £12m where as Everton got Heitinga for only £5m who i think is a very powerful defender ,is only 25 and can play as DM also.
July 20th, 2010 at 9:30
Im nearly sure we have heard the same thing from Fergie before about not signing anyone and then he goes and spends. I wouldnt be supprised if he was saying this to drive the prices down on the players hes interested in, what wit Shitty bidding on every player wer linked with. But saying that i cant help but feel that we wont be seeing any new faces at Old Trafford any time soon
July 20th, 2010 at 9:40
@Owen: Agree also we could have signed Hangeland for that and change.
We are crying out for a left sided midfield player, one creative centre mid and and one that can put his foot in, alas we have Anderson who is awful, Carrick who has no aggression and Fletch who is a top lad but not World Class and Scholes isn’t getting any younger to say the least.
July 20th, 2010 at 9:51
@Stephen: I am afraid that if some how Mancini gets his players to gel together,then how we will compete with them.Toure alone is more than enough to keep Fletcher + Carrick in his back pocket.
July 20th, 2010 at 10:28
Over £69 Million in interest payments last year. That is the problem. Will we go further in to debt to buy the players we need? Will interest rates rise in the next 12 months and make our situation worse? Do people want Fergie to be honest and say the kids are a bit average right now and that Scholes and Giggs will be feeling the strain come March? (that would be bad management on a Rafa scale) Do you want Fergie to say the Glazers are a cancer, get the sack and let uncle Malc bring in a nice cheap Mexican manager? (mid table here we come no champions league money not enough cash coming in to pay the debt) Do we only have £20 million a year transfer kitty and we have spent it on Smalling and the mexican kid? (We only spent 20 million last year and have done so this year despite bringing money in from out going trasfers) Will Owen H ever play more than 30 seconds of football again? (I think not I am sad to say)
Over £69 million English pounds in interest payments. That is the problem, not Fergie, not the kids. Over £69 million in interest alone. We signed a record shirt sponsorship deal last year, we got about a third of that paid in advance. If we had not sold Ronnie last year we would have posted a big big loss. If interest rates spike up as expected where will the excess money come from. How many millions will uncle Malc take in fees this year £20 million or £100 million. We are a struggling business mans cash cow.
We are not a football club any more. we are a gamble for a leach of a business man. We are a big slice of the failing capitalist system. This makes me sad. Forget transfers and look at the root of the problem. Glazer out.
Red ranters the real problem is who Fergie or uncle Malc?
July 20th, 2010 at 10:33
@DRed: I think many managers are hanging on for city to finish there business for the summer. After all how do you compete with a club that will always pay that little extra and who throw 150 grand a wek contract around like a burger king worker slings burgers
July 20th, 2010 at 10:43
@Stephen: I think you would be pushed to get any of the players we have been talking about for 20 million. I think Fergie saw our injury problems in defense last year as a big big part in us not winning the league and sees Smalling as one for the future. In line with our current tranfer policy and financial situation the mexican kid was a success before he kicked a ball for united as his resale value has already gone up. I get the feeling some of our purchases are a gamble on future transfer earnings rather than being a career long success at united. Look at Tosic did not get a real sniff at first team football on low wages, spent a lot of time on loan with another club picking up the bill and generated a million plus in profit. Glazer is squeezing every penny from every area of the club he can. Commercial deals, players, tickets,burgers it is all numbers on a balance sheet and get as many numbers coming in as he can is the policy. If Smalling goes for 16 or 20 million in 2 or 3 years and the Mexican kid goes for 10 or 12 million in a year or 2 then that is good business for uncle Malc. They are young on low wages and just happy yo be at one of the biggest clubs in the world
July 20th, 2010 at 10:49
@[OPTI]Madschester United: I like your optimisem. One word on Possebon though. I do not see him making it after all he is not on tour but with the reserves playing against giants such as Curzon Ashton
July 20th, 2010 at 10:51
It makes me sick to see Joe Cole sign a contract worth about 18 million over 4 years. The scouse are welcome to him. I hope he turns in to the new Harry Kewell
July 20th, 2010 at 10:53
@Grognard: I agree Drogba is still quality and has a good few years left in him and Torres is a crock a very talented goal scoring crock
July 20th, 2010 at 11:03
@RedTanRedTan: I do not disagee with that, the only issue is that they are all unproven and that means inconsistancy. We need to stop treating the club simply as a business looking to make profit on every aspect of the club. Yes the club has to be run in a certain way, but constantly looking only with regards to making money on every transfer is simply short sighted.
Did we do that spending £30m on Berba? Carrick, Barthez, Rio ect no we did not we used to look at what players we needed like a jigsaw, now we just want to gamble and most gamblers loose.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:38
We are not a business trying to make profit. We are a loss making enterprise where the objective is for the Glazers to siphon as much money out of the club as they can while meeting its financial obligations.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:43
OK Guys.So what is every one’s prediction for the coming season.
I will go with THIRD
July 20th, 2010 at 11:49
@colver: Point taken.
July 20th, 2010 at 11:54
If we do not sign anyone I predict that we will finish fourth and get knocked out pretty early on in the Champions League.
This is why:
1) Im still not convinced Rooney is a 30 goal a season striker. Injuries, confidence crises and a tendency towards streakiness will most likely return next season and I do not see him scoring much more than twenty goals.
2) Rio is getting more injury prone each season and without his steadying influence in defence we look very shaky. Evans is not there yet. Vidic seems a bit distracted and I have doubts about his commitment. So I think we will leak more goals next season.
3) Giggs provided a dozen or so assists last season and Scholes rolled back the years the second half of the season. While both do better than most players in defying the sands of time, with another season I expect a decline in their contribution to the team…..
4)….AND there is no-one to pick up the slack. Like RR I dont rate Gibson or Anderson. Carrick plays like a mouse. Fletcher is great but can’t do it on his own. Like it or not there is a hole in our midfield and Fergie won’t plug it.
5)…Berbatov just doesnt seem to fit in this team and is too old to change his lazy ways. Hernandez is too young and will need a season or two to settle in before he can make an impact.
July 20th, 2010 at 12:07
With City spending and spending and spending they will be a genuine threat, Chelsea go into next season s favorites and bar the odd siging of Benayoun they havn’t showed their hand in the market yet.
We if don’t spend will regress, but we can as i have said recoup nuch of what we need to spend, Berba, Carrick, Diouf, Obertan, Welbeck, Brown, Anderson and if we hadn’t spent the money on Hernandez and Smalling there would have been an extra £20 to spend well.
The side simply needs some quality, we have no World Class players in midfield at all and that includes out wide, no side for me can win Championships and Champions Leagues without at least one World Class midfielder and that includes as I say out wide.
July 20th, 2010 at 12:14
@Stephen: You miss my point I am not defending the actions of the club. I am not saying that treating every aspect of the club as a means to make money is the correct thing to do. I am saying the opposite. I am stating reasons and facts as to why the club is currently being managed the way that it is.
glazer needs to generate a certain amount of revenue each year to cover the running costs and the HUGE dare I say MASSIVE ( massive always makes me laugh) amounts of revenue required to pay our interest payments. Not to mention the millions he will take out of the club for his own personal gain
If you can generate several million through the development and sale of youth. You are generating a profit. The only thing Glazer cares about is profit and he will do any thing to generate that profit.
Again the problem is Glazer the root of every problem we have is Glazer
July 20th, 2010 at 12:20
@Owen: My predication is another 70 + million in interest payments, more ways of milking every last penny from the fan base. More unrest from match going reds. More heavy handed security at OT in an attempt to stop fans having a say. Further commercial deals to sell every last element of a sporting institution. More fans blaming Fergie and the team and not looking at the root of the problem.
When I was a kid I thought the star player was the most important person at a club. When I got older I thought it was the manager, when i got older still I learnt it is the owner.
Glazer out
July 20th, 2010 at 12:27
@colver: I agree with your 5 points. Please do one thing for me in point 4 change “Fergie wont” to “Fergie can’t”
Fergie has never walked away from spending big, well untill the last 2 years that is. What do we have to pay in the last 2 years that we never had to pay in the past. 70 or 80 million in interest payments or what ever it is. We are in a world recession with interest rates about to sky rocket in comparision as to how they are now. Most businesses are holding on to what they have and not spending, In real business this fuels recession in football it means you slide down the table
July 20th, 2010 at 12:33
@Stephen: Just another point Stephen you say “most gamblers loose” Glazer is gambeling with Manchester United. How the business practice used by uncle Malc is legal amazes me.
July 20th, 2010 at 14:20
Im happy with Nani and Valencia on the wings although in an ideal world it would be nice to have a natural left winger. The real problem for me is central midfield.
And yeah I dont understand why we dont sell some of the dead wood.
We could sell Welbeck for around £5 million. Anderson for £10 million. Berbatov for £15 million. Carrick for £10 million.
That would buy two quality players and we would have a decent chance of winning stuff next season.
Also I read Ozil’s club are keen to sell as they fear losing him on a free. It is suggested a mere £12 million may be enough to snag him.
July 20th, 2010 at 14:21
We may all be in for a big surprise with Javier Hernandez. I’m not tipping him to be the next Solsjkaer but I think he is like Michael Owen of a decade ago. He seems pretty sharp and likes to go for goal often. Experience is not on his side,but I don’t think nerves will be his biggest problem having played in a couple of high profile WC games and doing well. I don’t know about Smalling,but Hernandez COULD turn out to be a very good buy.
As usual I tend to hope that Berbatov gets a reasonable go from the onset,this season. The problem is the lone striker seems to be the new black in world football,as we witnessed in South Africa. I still believe he can deliver if given a meaningful chance
July 20th, 2010 at 14:48
It would be nice if we could get some honesty from the club. Something like the following , “To all United supporters. Although the manager is reasonably happy with most of the current squad, he would like to sign some much needed world class players – a midfielder, a proven goalscorer, a right back and also to replace four of our much valued but ageing players, to ensure our competitiveness both domestically and, more importantly, from a financial viewpoint, in Europe. However, we simply do not have the money and neither will our budget provide for too many 100k a week plus players either – a major reason why we didn’t sign Joe Cole despite our manager’s admiration for him. We are therefore forced to rely on the numerous young and, in some cases, not so young,hopefuls we have in our squad who did not cost us much and who do not, as yet, demand high wages plus our ageing players whom we hope will last one perhaps two more seasons. The cash we have in the bank is earmarked to pay down a substantial part of our owners’ PIK debt which if not reduced substantially and soon will ruin the club financially within the next three to five years” – statement ends.
July 20th, 2010 at 15:37
@Julian: Such a statement would lead to a decline in sponsorship and lead to a que of agents looking to get the players they represent as far away from Manchester united as possible
July 20th, 2010 at 15:39
@colver: Replace before you sell in order top selling clubs taking the pi*s with the fees they would look for, not to mention agents doing the same thing. Ozil for 12 million in 2003 yes in 2010 no chance i think
July 20th, 2010 at 17:17
Prediction: 1st
why:
We will not have as many injuries as last season and our weaklings have a year under their belt
Chelsea older
Liverpool suck
Arsenal suck less but not strong enough
City have no team just assassins – 3rd year they spent heavily but for nought
Tottenham lack depth to compete in ECL and EPL
Villa will flop come february
July 20th, 2010 at 17:38
@Jeet: Schneijder is history as I guess I was trying to show a little optimism there knowing that the player was interested in coming here and knowing fully how badly we as a team needed him. But when you are broke and when your manager has his head embedded up Glazer’s ass, all bets are definitely off.
Where do I think the team will finish? I think there will be a small slip from last year and I am predicting third. I just don’t believe our inactivity in the transfer market is a smart move and I think our aged players are another year older if not wiser. I state again my belief that most of our young players are total horse shit
but Rooney, Fletcher and the vets will find ways to manufacture wins. I don’t think we will have the benefit of that goal poaching maestro OwnGoalinho this season. He will probably be on the bench and tally in three or four as opposed to the dozen he scored for us last year. I just believe Chelsea will do something to improve their team. So far in my books they are sliding backwards after losing Ballack and Cole and replacing them with Yossi Ben Fucking Ayoun. Arsenal is the team I am picking to win the league. And yet, I think they need to sign a quality CB, a goalkeeper and DMF in order for that to happen. Until they do, expect nothing from those misfits. An unsettled Fabregas won’t help either.
Liverpool will improve under Hodgson. The man knows how to get players to play for him and he has already won Gerrard over. Cole if healthy could really help them as I think he is an upgrade on Yossi the Chinless Jew. Chelsea just seem too old for me but getting Kaka or some big name could really bolster their chances again. Say what you want about them but they have a knack for being winners and fro being clutch.
Man City. Well in theory they may have the best team on paper but they haven’t played together and money cannot buy you championships alone. Can all these players blend well into a team unit? If they can, look for them to run away with the league. But I see them finishing 4th just in front of Liverpool. So it will be Chelsea vs Arsenal this year for top prize provided both clubs buy some players. If not, look for United to wheelchair and walker themselves into the championship. Make no mistake, even without new players and a team in massive decline due to age and debt, they have the manager who can win the title in a steadily declining league. But I’m still going to go out on a limb and select Arsenal. If they can just replace Almunia in goal, they will be the team to beat.
July 20th, 2010 at 17:53
@Stephen: I read somewhere where the price for Ozil is a ridiculously low 12 million. I doubt that is true but if that is true United should pounce on him like a big cat in heat. To not do so for such a small amount is showing just how skint the club is.
And all this BS about Balotelli and our bid being considered and the player agreeing to terms. Even if this is true all I can say is that this is this year’s Karim Benzema soap opera. The player in all of football Fergie has picked out to play the buffing game with. This time he is not playing the bluffing game with Benzema who he knew never wanted to play for us, and who he knew Madrid would eventually outbid us for his services. This year he knows that at the end of the day Man City who want to steal him from us badly will come up with an offer inter cannot refuse. So City will get him and Fergie can then go to the media just like he did a year ago and look the innocent by complaining that he made a fair offer based on market value but the greedy came in and outbid. And further more, I cannot believe Fergie would want such a cancer on this team. Perhaps he is hoping that Balotelli creates so much trouble for City, that it hurts the team. Just like he destroyed Inter’s treble chances last year right Fergie?
I don’t know what the old man is thinking but somehow I believe his only goal in all this is to yet again sell a snow job to the fans to hide the fact we have no money to spend. You heard it here before it happens. Oh how I would love to see him prove me wrong. My feelings are not based on ego. I’d love for him to prove me wrong every day until i realize I am wrong about him for some of his lies. Haven’t the summer transfer seasons become a painful experience for all United fans? Seriously, in 25 years at the club has Fergie ever gone two seasons straight without buying players? Forget Hernandez and Smalling. They were winter buys. Fergie would never ever have sat back and watched his team age without bringing new blood. As cheap as he might be, he was never cheap with other people’s money. Now he is acting as if every dime he spends is coming out of his own pocket. Who know’s, perhaps it is. Is it possible his vow of silence is tied to some financial deal he has made with Glazer that benefits him if he doesn’t spend on players? I hope not. I shudder to think what the ramifications would be if indeed Fergie’s compliance with all this treason is based on a payout or bribe. I’m probably very wrong, but seriously though folks, how can he justify his actions……or should I say inactions?
July 20th, 2010 at 17:58
@Owen: City is top heavy with strikers but still needs help at the back. Mancini is a quality manager and i expect to see them really start off very well and then go into a slump once the selfish players start bitching and griping. If they don’t, they could run away with the league. I don’t expect that to happen. To win the Prem is not about just having good players. It’s having a team that is in harmony and it takes experience to win in this league. City haven’t even figured out how to finish in the top four yet. For them to leap frog to first may be a bridge too far me thinks.
July 20th, 2010 at 18:03
@RedTanRedTan: Thank you mate for being a breath of fresh air and spelling it out as it is. I and a few others have been saying the very same thing for quite a while now and have received a lot of flack from the optimistic side who refuse to look at the big picture and who seem obsessed and concerned with how well the team will do this season. Amazing to me how that looks like a form of drug addiction. They are only concerned with their seasonal fix and refuse to address the real issue of where this club is headed and how they are headed for doom.
I welcome your contributions not just because you agree with me but that it is important that more intelligent people not blinded by quick fixes and seasonal goals can sift through the garbage bin of lies and deceit and point a finger at the real issues and problems facing this once great club. Your’s is a position of concern and responsibility and I salute you mate.
July 20th, 2010 at 18:08
@RedTanRedTan: Good point. It seems whomever Chelsea, Arsenal or United are keenly looking at, City jumps on the bandwagon like childish idiots trying to flex their muscles. They don’t seem to have a clue on how to properly build a team but instead look like a kid who has locked himself into a ice cream parlour and is prepared to gorge himself on all the treats. And yet, I am jealous of their financial strength and power as it is something we should have had based on our history, success and pedigree. Unfortunate we have not found buyers with those kinds of deep pockets to extricate this club from the clutches of the Glazer’s who are systematically robbing this club of it’s assets while allowing the debt to increase until they skip town the day before the loans default. Then what? But that doesn’t seem to concern the many fans who are only worried about players and winning games this season. It’s maddening and so frustrating trying to get through so many people’s thick heads.
July 20th, 2010 at 18:15
@RedTanRedTan: There we disagree mate. Fergie can but he won’t. Fergie has incredible power. He is Sir Alex Ferguson a knighted legend in this game and if he was to come out in favour of the Red Knights and clearly against the Glazer’s, mountains would move. He needs to expose them for what they are and force the real people with the power like the city of Manchester, the British government and others to fully realize what the Glazer’s are all about and make plans on forcing them out of the country and giving up the team. I find it hard to believe that legislation cannot force out owners who never really put a dollar of their own money into the team yet all they do is take form the club and allow the debt issue to spiral out of control. I think the Red Knights cause would grow with more investors if Fergie joined the campaign. His reputation and the respect he has garnered over three decades has got to stand for something and would get a revolt going by fans which would cripple any further involvement by the fans. Those who are presently sitting on the fence ad refusing to give up season tickets and from buying merchandise would do so if Fergie spoke the truth and allied himself with the righteous. But he hasn’t and that is hurting the team by the day. He may not realize it himself, but Fergie holds the power and the key to the destruction of the glazer’s when it comes to Man Utd.
July 20th, 2010 at 18:22
@RedTanRedTan: Add to that Fergie’s selfish ambition to pad his own legacy getting in the way of him falling on his sword and doing the right thing. Winning that EPL title one more time to beat liverpool and winning a third Champions League is paramount to him and he believes he can still do it without improving the team. He is delusional but nevertheless, he wants to give it a try as he knows he only has a few years left. Does he care where the club goes after he leaves? I used to think he did but I’m not so sure anymore. He needs to fall on his sword and sacrifice the success of the club in order to rid us of the Glazer cancer. Until he is willing to do this, we must accept the status quo and more of the same lies and garbage as well as the team’s further decline on the pitch and most importantly, in the financials.
July 20th, 2010 at 18:32
@[OPTI]Madschester United: Liverpool will suck far less with Hodgson in charge mate. They may start slowly but I expect them to improve greatly. And a lot of your predictions for United seem more hopeful fantasy rather than deep analysis of the situation. For years this club has been terrible at training and preparing players well enough to avoid injuries yet you think they will avoid key injuries and will find some kind of miracle elixir that will take them on a Joseph Campbellesque quest to the championship. I’m afraid that is nothing more than wishful thinking and not based on anything tangible or realistic. The fact is our older players are a year older and a year slower. The majority of our young player have shown very little improvement or anything tangible that makes us look like a team to beat. Add to that the fact Fergie loses faith in them far too quickly, expect them to take a back seat to the Giggs’, Scholes’ and Neville’s. Expect old players to get injured and young players to have lengthy injuries. Expect a lot of back passing and slow play and further difficulty beating teams who park the bus on us. Expect a hand full of outstanding performances that will make us feel optimistic but then expect about a dozen terrible performances that keep us from taking the league over. What do I hate the most about our team on the field these days? Predictability. And the opposition is aware of that as we are. United reminds me of the title of ‘Pet Shop Boys’ song from over decade ago. It’s titled ‘Being Boring’. And boring is what they have become. Boring in approach, boring in tactics, boring in lack of creativity and boring us to death with the same old underachieving players like Anderson, Berbatov, Park etc.
July 20th, 2010 at 20:20
@Stephen: Why are you so confident that Hernandez and smalling are gonna be busts? Hernandez for one has already boosted his value. I know you want a big name proven signing, but that’s a risk as well. Just look at berbatov.
July 20th, 2010 at 20:59
@colver: Ozzy is comming in jan if we need him(read anderson continues to dissapoint)
July 20th, 2010 at 21:01
@Julian: how many poker players tell the table that they have a hand full of nothing???
July 20th, 2010 at 21:13
@Grognard: All any one can give is opinion on the subject of Fergie and read between the lines the best we can. I think the fergie of lets say 10 or 15 years ago would have told glazer to go f8ck him self and walked. But consider the following. At fergies age he is in no position to go and start again and he clearly does not want to retire. I imagine this to be a key factor. Selfish yes, but we all are deep down so I can forgive him that. If fergie had money he would spend it, he has never been shy in the past and I would imagine was a proud man every time he broke a transfer record. And yes he does want a few more cups and good on him. That age and he still wants more. greedy and selfish the characteristics that gave him the success he has enjoyed
If fergie stood up to Glazer, he would be out and what would that do for the club besides put us in decline. yes you would get national out rage . The fans would revolt the press would go mad. Do you think that would bother glazer. he has already had death threats. He has already been smuggled out of Old trafford in a police van while the fans fought for the club we love. Glazer does not care. his business practice is legal (crazy i know) But this man does not care, i think he likes to be hated. glazer is scum
If fergie just spat the dummy and went the team and club would crumble. If fergie retires when the time is right we stand a chance. But if he comes out in the press and says i have no money Glazer is a cancer and I support the red knights I fear the wheels we fall of the united wagon and we get mr short phealen or a cheap manager he does not want much cash to spend
In staying and doing the best he can I salute him. Sir Alex I salute you. How ever he is not free from blame and perhaps a certain amount of guilt is making Fergie shut up and play the game. Why should fergie feel guilt you might ask. Do you remember a test tube full of horse spunk and a certain rock named Gibraltar.
Perhaps we would not be in this mess had Fergie not been a greedy stubborn old c*nt over several hundred grand. Did he need the money, not realy. Was he being a stubborn old fool, yes. But being a stubborn man made him what he is.
Swings and roundabouts and life is a funny old thing full of ifs and buts. Fergie has put us where we are today and deserves respect for his achievements and for sticking around to manage this mess the best he can. But he could very well be the reason we have Glazer in the first place.
A quick thought on the transfer budget, It is a culture in American business to never give a CEO large amounts of cash to spend when he is nearing retirment. That in mind and the debt we are paying. Is Glazer saving what he can for when the new man comes in , in a few years. After all if we get him Jose likes to spend as he is the special one.
That is my opinion, you are welcome to yours. I hope you are well and I look forward to your response.
July 20th, 2010 at 21:17
@gator:
Well put.
July 20th, 2010 at 21:18
@gator: Knowing United you must mean Ozzy Osborne and not Ozil correct?
July 20th, 2010 at 21:25
@Grognard:
he will bite the heads off the glazers for you 
…
if madrid dont get him then we have a chance
July 20th, 2010 at 21:29
Im sure someone will buy Ozil this summer. He has a season left on his contract. His club aren’t stupid enough not to sell him this window.
Smalling and Hernandez are good long term buys and that seems to be our transfer policy. Only spend money on cheap kids who just maybe might turn into good players in a few seasons time.
It is a bit like pin the tail on the donkey.
July 20th, 2010 at 22:07
@colver: Pin the tail on the donkey . Are we in for Heskey now
July 20th, 2010 at 23:01
Nice post. I am very concerned by our lack of activity in the transfer market to be honest. I think we should be okay up front and in defence, providing Vidic stays but I think we need to bolster our midfield for sure. I’m not surprised by Fergie’s snub of Cole as paying an injury prone 28 yr old 90k a week is not the sort of deal Fergie would want to get involved in. I just think that whatever way you line up our midfield, it is not good enough to challenge for Champoins league type standard.
I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a late swoop for a creative midfielder in the region of 10-15 million.
If Vidic goes, we have to buy as there is not enough experience and depth here.
July 20th, 2010 at 23:50
@RedTan: Put the cellophane tape on the fridge
July 21st, 2010 at 2:28
Papers reckon Werder Bremen have dropped Ozil’s asking price from £20mil to £12mil as nobody has been in contact, and they are desperate to get something for him rather than loose hiim for nothing to a pre-contract in January. Being the bargain basement clubw e are, there is a hell of a lot of value in getting the World Cup’s 2nd best player for what you just paid Fulham for a reserve.
Fergies lie of there being ‘no value’ in the market is being further exposed for what it is every passing day. Total bullcrap.
July 21st, 2010 at 2:51
in related news that made me happy…
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=809535&sec=europe&cc=3436
WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH if that happens, and they really go to jail, can you imagine three years off the field? but i doubt it will happen…. lucky we didnt buy them….
July 21st, 2010 at 2:55
http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/photo_images/Franck%20Ribery%202_1441.jpg
is the picture of the girl if you are interested
doesnt look 16 at all! well, 17 now…
July 21st, 2010 at 3:20
http://www.goal.com/en/news/11/transfer-zone/2010/07/20/2034444/ac-milan-striker-klaas-jan-huntelaar-arrives-at-manchester
Huntelaar in Manchester? Is Man Utd pulling a quiet deal or Manchester City is signing every striker in the market they can get their hands on?
July 21st, 2010 at 3:23
@PissedOffRed: My question is what kind of daft cunt would want to sleep with Quasimodo Ribery
anyway. Scarface isn’t exactly a hunk a hunk of burning love now is he.
July 21st, 2010 at 3:31
@PissedOffRed: That’s bollocks, unsubstantiated rumours from Goal.com who are basing this off TalkSPORT. No major media outlet other than Goal.com is carrying this story. So until we see a more credible source, it’s better to consign this to the dustbin.
July 21st, 2010 at 3:44
@Traverse: The lie that there is no value, is being repeated by Ferguson – he’s a mouth piece for his employer, a loyal sap, and in this particular case, a traitor to our cause!!
I just cannot support him in this endeavor, but I do have a sympathy vote for his belief that he coiuld pull off the miracle with the youngsters again – and as improbable as it is, his faith in himself and the idea that he can buck the trend of the noisy neighbors, makes for an interesting season.
Myself, logically I’m expecting a melt-down – hoping for the best, and praying for a miracle, I’ll just take a better showing (as a team) than last year, and a better understanding between the starting eleven that is put on the pitch.
July 21st, 2010 at 3:51
@Traverse: I dont believe werder will let him go for as little as £12m, but he would definitely be available i would guess for between £15-20m. That for a player who at 21 outshone most of the greats at the WC and was probably player of the tournament after forlan and muller, and yet he still wont be classified as value to old man fergie. Nor was sneijder. Just proves hes full of shit, especially when as you say he spent £12m on a fulham reserve who was non league less than 2 years ago.
I know hes looking for cheapo signings with a good resale value, which just annoys me even more. If ozil progresses the way i think he could, he might be worth £40m+ within 3 years. Is that still not value.
God im sick of the old mans shit excuses and smug bloody look on his old face when he lies to the world hes happy with the team.
We missed out on sneijder and i said that day we had missed out on possibly the bargain of the decade. We fucked that deal up, and now were going to miss out on another bargain. I know we dont have a pot to piss in right now, but for fucks sake, get carrick and gibson out asap and ozil would be a realistic signing. I mean is that not clear to the old fool.
I guess not, but hey hes the man on millions a year and im just a nobody, and yet i can see it and he cant, bloody pathetic.
July 21st, 2010 at 4:33
Apparently City have signed Balotelli for 23m pounds… If v could not match that then it is amply clear that v “trying” to sign Villa and the 29m pound bid for Snijder were all BS…
July 21st, 2010 at 8:40
@Johnsom33: I have not said mate that they are going to be busts. What I am trying to saying Smalling for £10m is a big gamble at a lot of money, he was playing non league 18 months ago. Hernandez looked promising in the WC but again a risk.
We need some proven quality a shot in the arm, the big guns in Europe are hardly going to be scared of our transfer activiy over the past two seasons we have bought, Valencia, Owen, Obertan, Smalling and Hernandez.
Let go Tevez, Ronaldo and maybe Vida you do the math.
July 21st, 2010 at 8:42
@The devil: I think the Baloelli rumour is rubbish, plus him going to City would be a good thing for us, the guy is an idiot.
July 21st, 2010 at 10:20
@Red Ranter:
Aye aye.. looks like another season down the hill for us… sigh.
@Grognard:
Hahahaha.. Apparently, the money-grabbing-attention-seeking kind. Benzema & Ribery might go to jail for 3 years but I have a feeling, a slap on the wrist punishment for them will happen.
July 21st, 2010 at 10:26
I have never been so disinterested in a season to kick-off like I am this season. Just thinking of “different year, same shit” depresses me. The only silver lining in this dull season is that in all likelyhood it might be Fergie’s last season as manager before retirement. I used to look forward to that, but then thinking of who might take over just depresses me again.
I think we have now started to become like Liverpool. Our glory days are now slowly coming to an end. Sure, we might have a good run this year (I hope), but, I just don’t see the club having the capacity or vision to maintain our good run into the future.
Like some guys will focus more on ice hockey, etc. I think I must start focussing more on our Stormers Rugby team rather this year. I have a feeling it will be much less frustrating than ManUnited.
Btw. I think our kit looks crap!
July 21st, 2010 at 11:19
The girl in question is a prostitute. And a true professional if she is willing to sleep with Frank Ribery. But I don’t see him going to jail. As the lawyer said you need to prove guilty mind and that girl could easily pass for 18 with all the make-up, hair dye and everything else.
As for Ozil, there is no doubt he is available for a reasonable price. Maybe not £12 million but no more than £20 million.
If we are willing to splash out the best part of £20 million for Anderson and Nani who barely had any international caps, £20 million is GREAT value for a player who lit up the World Cup and made the entire England team look foolish!
If we sign Ozil and hang on to Vidic and Evra we will be sorted for the new season. All you gotta do is splash £20 million Fergie. And if the Glazers won’t free up the cash sell Anderson and either Berbatov or Carrick.
July 21st, 2010 at 11:36
@Karl: I agree on the kit.
I am a Manchester United supporter through and through. I first went when I was a little kid. My grandfather was a regular for over 40 years. All the old man talks about is united. I have lived within eye shot of the ground and I used to work in the office block at the top of Busby way, my window looked over the pitch and I use to sit and stare as the grounds men kept the pitch in tip top condition. My boring days were spent looking at the work men as they developed the ground. The site of OT got me through boring days and I would eat my lunch out side of the ground as it made me feel good for an hour then back to the office.
I like one sport and one team.
If we do not buy and we slip out of the top two, I will always be a united supporter. I was before our success and I will be after it.
It upsets me to see what Glazer has done to the club I love. But that is Manchester a story of what could have been. We should be in the middle of 5 or 6 years of European dominance. The bank should have been broken to keep Ronaldo and Tevez and we should have replaced Scholes and Giggs by now, not to mention red Nev.
I do no doubt if the money was available it would have been spent on the squad and improvements to the stadium not to mention keeping ticket prices down.
I do not mind our band wagon support as they feed our success. But as soon as a sniff of not bringing in x y or z player and the thought of finishing out of the top 2 appears. I see complaints and I will go and support the hockey team. Perhaps it is different for you guys but united is in my blood.
Some supporters from all over the world have fallen in love with the club and are as passionate as I am and I respect this. One fact remains how ever. Who we sign is not important. League place, not important, Champions league success not important. What is important is the owner ship of the club. This is the problem, we should be the strongest team in Europe, look back 3 years and the football we played, we should be even stronger. BUT you can not maintain the success when you have debts of over 800 million pounds and interest payments of over 69 million a year. You can not be the top team when hundreds of millions are taken from the club to serve one mans greed. Yet short sited people say old man Fergie should spend and should do this. It sickens me. GLAZER IS THE ISSUE.
United has millions and millions of fans world wide. Yet only 125,000 have registered with the official supporters trust to make a nosie that they want Glazer the cancer to go. Joining MUST is free, joining MUST will not get rid of Glazer instantly I admit this but it is a step.
You can all sit here and moan about Fergie and us not signing Ozil but you can not be bothered to make your voice heard about the cancer that runs our club. You continue to buy official merchandise and feed that mans greed.
The first pre season game was a see of new AON kits in the crowd. The effect you could have made in taking the green and gold protest to the US and Canada would have been a powerful statement.
But it seems you do not care about the club, you just care about seeing top players and bragging that you won the league.
Get you passion in order and show some respect to the club
Love united
Hate Glazer
July 21st, 2010 at 11:43
To hammer the point home YOU CAN NOT RUN A FOOTBALL CLUB ON A PILE OF DEBT.
The richest club on the planet is now the most in debt
and all you care about is the fact we did not blow 30 million on who ever i.e stick another 30 million on the debt pile
join MUST
Dont buy official merchandise
Spray paint uncle Malcs shopping malls green and gold
Educate your selves on the situation of this club
http://action.joinmust.org/index.php/content/splash
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFYjlfZvGqA
Rant Over
thanks for reading
July 21st, 2010 at 11:52
@Karl: I have to say I am normally straining at the lead for the start of the season, this season even I fear the worst. No new signings of real note, the old gaurd yet another year older, our local rivals spend money wil nilly, and yes the kit is shite.
July 21st, 2010 at 14:01
Just to cheer everybody up, Rafa is now officially …SHIT:
http://www.studs-up.com/
How Im gonna miss him…
July 21st, 2010 at 14:14
@Stephen: fair enough, Smalling and Hernandez are both gambles.
July 21st, 2010 at 15:04
@johnsom33: As I say I hope they work out to be be super stars but if every single signing you make are “for the future” and somewhat “punts” then they are all gambles.
If we spend £20m on Ozil, £20m on Arteta, the £14m last season on Sneidger then you a are minimizing the risk as these players are established and are “good value”
July 21st, 2010 at 15:30
@johnsom33: Any player that does not have premier league experience is a gamble IMHO
July 21st, 2010 at 16:36
@RedTanRedTan: Infact any player we sign due to the stature of the club is a gamble IMHO
July 21st, 2010 at 17:24
@Stephen: I think Balotelli would be a fantastic signing. After all we r famous for nurturing talented mavericks.. Balotelli has pace, skill and a physical presence but most importantly is a great free kick taker (last season we scored only one goal from a direct free kick if i’m not mistaken).. Anyway the deal has not been completed yet.. Hoping against hope that we sign him…
but know it’ll not happen… 
July 21st, 2010 at 17:33
@The devil: He is an immature brat, a total liability and has no place at Old Trafford.
July 21st, 2010 at 18:07
@Red Ranter: Even if Huntelaar were in town, it’s not for United business. United isn’t home. If Fergie wanted a player like Huntelaar he would meet and greet him at the airport. No, this is negotiations with Man City that are going on and have nothing to do with United. That is of course if he is even in Manchester, which I seriously doubt like you. Consider the main source. The Fantasy fiction factory known as Goal.com. As irresponsible a bunch of wankers to have ever crept onto the Internet.
July 21st, 2010 at 18:11
@Redrich: Jeez mate, just a week a week ago you were all over me for my tirades against Fergie and you were getting on me for calling him a traitor and all and now you are echoing my words? What gives? Forgive me if I am not just a little bit confused by all this.
July 21st, 2010 at 18:19
@tonymontanna4united: My feelings exactly. I can see the old man not wanting him if he was worth over 25 million because at that age, you cannot be 100% sure you are getting the real deal. You cannot judge a player’s ability from one tournament (can anyone say Karel Poborsky) but Ozil has shone at several levels now for a couple of years and to see him being given away tells me right then and there that Fergie is so full of shit it’s has to be coming out his ears by now. But then again in fairness to him, Ozil is technically a “typical German” and so he is strictly verboten at OT unless as an opponent. Also, I am concerned that Bremen would offer him for such a low price. Regardless of his contract, a player like that should not be going for anything less than 20 million. And if he is at 12 million, why isn’t Real Madrid or a host of Italian clubs or Chelsea, Man City and the rest not banging on Bremen’s door? Something is smelly about this whole deal. I choose not to believe the 12 million storyline. I think it’s fantasy. I think he has been price tagged at 20 million or more.
July 21st, 2010 at 18:20
@The devil: SOURCES PLEASE??
July 21st, 2010 at 18:26
@PissedOffRed: Oh you can count on the slap on the wrist. People like that have teflon attached to them so that nothing ever sticks. High priced lawyers will get their way. I’d love to see that ugly little Ribery in prison rags though. I still cannot believe Bayern broke the bank to keep him around considering his form has slipped so badly the last 18 months or so. Instead they could have sold him to Barca, Madrid or Chelsea, made a huge profit and then gone and bought the far superior Ozil for a quarter of the amount. Bayern are a great club but that was abad bit of business. As for Benzema, I bet you Fergie could get him for a song and dance now? NAH! He still couldn’t afford 12 pound signing fee not to mention his bail bond.
July 21st, 2010 at 18:27
@PissedOffRed: Incidentally mate, I love your nickname. Pissed off Red is what i have felt like now for over two years. And it’s just getting worse.
July 21st, 2010 at 18:31
@Karl: Karl ole buddy, long time no hear. Good to see you are amongst the living. You’ve been awfully silent of late. Good to see you are back.
And yes I said the very same thing just last week. I have never been so disinterested in an upcoming season or a preseason like I have been this year. Do the idiots running the club have no sense for marketing their product as to create buzz a, interest and anticipation? Hell they should be signing a few new stars just for those reasons alone. It would get everyone interested and feeling confident which in turn improves the club’s take at the box office. But no, they are nothing more than a massive killjoy these days destined to turn off everyone before the old man retires.
July 21st, 2010 at 18:33
@colver: Kudos on all counts mate. A true professional? That’s classic.
Talk about taking one for the team or showing dedication or commitment to your craft.
July 21st, 2010 at 18:37
@Stephen: But look on the bright side mate. Rooney is coming off a fantastic performance at the World Cup, Rio is as healthy as ever and Anderson is waiting to show everyone that he will be this year’s front runner for the Balon D’Or. And if you buy that, Fergie and Malcolm Glazer have some shopping mall swampland for sale in Florida that might interest you.
July 21st, 2010 at 18:39
@Jeet: That’s giving shit a bad name.
July 21st, 2010 at 18:40
@johnsom33: I think Hernandez is the real deal but like every Mexican before him, completely unsuited for life in England or the style of play in the Premier League. He will be a royal Forlanian bust, will be sold for pennies and be the top scorer in 4 years in Spain.
July 21st, 2010 at 18:47
@Stephen: If Fergie is all about kids, fine, just buy the proper ones. They have spent a small fortune on the likes of Obertan, Hernandez and Smalling and for that money could have bought far superior young talent like Ozil and others who have already proven themselves at the highest level in Europe. Buy young players with pedigree, not lottery picks or speculative players. For me Smalling has to be one of the dumbest moves of all time based on his lack of playing experience at the highest level, his bloated price and the fact we could have bought proven young players like Alves or Kjaer for a little bit more. Nobody at OT is doing their jobs correctly when it comes to assessing and buying young talent. I have no doubt that Hernandez is fine young talent but when you buy a player, you have to ask if his style, his culture and his needs are best met and or satisfied in Manchester? I think we have a manager who has been counting on his senile brother and the rest of the worthless scouting staff we have who cannot tell the difference between class and chaff.
July 21st, 2010 at 18:50
@The devil: The first time something controversial happens to Balotelli like he gets benched for a game or is subbed off in a tie match or is brought on with only a minute left, he will explode and the cancer will then immediately start to spread like wildfire. But then again, he could be the next Ronaldo if he can learn to grow up and respect his manager and learn from him the way Ronaldo did. All I know is unlike Inter fans, if he takes off a United shirt and throws it to the ground and spits on it, the fans of United would murder him.
July 21st, 2010 at 19:45
@Wink:
damn you cant trust your underage prostitutes any more can you?
July 21st, 2010 at 19:49
@Wink: damn how much ???
July 21st, 2010 at 19:51
@The devil: or V never wanted the cunt and our link with him was pure media conjecture… or fergi conjuring bad karma citehs way
July 21st, 2010 at 19:57
@Karl: wow your gonna switch to rugby??? someone check him for pills and razors
cheer up man you go to war with the army you have… if we get the best out of our boys this year there is no reason we shouldn’t be able to compete on all fronts and bring home some glory. BELIEVE
July 21st, 2010 at 19:59
Agreed. Why buy Smalling when we could have got Kjaer? Smalling is an example of the Walcott phenomen. Just because a player is English all he has to do is show the slightest bit of talent and he will be snapped up for double figures.
Of course Fergie would argue if we didn’t move then Arsenal would have got him. But who really cares? The same logic was used to sign Anderson and we all know how that deal worked out!!
Hernandez is a class act but typically Latin American players do much better using Spain as a stepping stone. Tevez is probably one of the few examples of a player who has gone straight from Latin America to the Premier League and tore it up. But then he had played for South America’s two biggest clubs for quite a few seasons whereas Hernandez has played in only the Mexican league.
Players like Valencia are a positive footnote but even he needed a few seasons at Wigan to make his mark and we do not have the same luxury of giving players lots of games until they came good. In fact that is partly the reason the Forlan move failed-just as he was starting to come good we let him go, instead of giving him a regular run in the side.
Meanwhile on the other side of town Liverpool are acting like they have signed Messi. Gerrard is coming out and saying he feels good about Liverpool’s future now they have Joe Cole on board. And Im hearing he is on a £5 million a year four year contract.
Thank God we stayed away from Cole. That is the only credit I will give Fergie this summer.
City are welcome to Balotelli. We don’t need talented prima donnas. We need hard working team players with class who are dedicated to the cause and help us punch above our weight. The German team’s work ethic is exactly what we need and Ozil would be a great fit
July 21st, 2010 at 20:03
A Genie granted me a wish.
I said that I wanted to live forever… The fairy said that she was sorry but she couldn’t do that. She asked me to make another wish… I said,
“Alright Then… I want to Die when Liverpool win the league.”
“YOU TRICKY CUNT!!” replied the fairy!
July 21st, 2010 at 20:03
@Grognard: it seems like this story is not going away Steven Defour
July 21st, 2010 at 20:05
@Darth Red Diablo:
July 21st, 2010 at 20:29
@Karl: I have honestly never seen fan morale as low as it is right now. I cant speak for the rest of you but i have absolutely no fucking interest in this current season, i am bloody dreading it. I can just see the same old same old once again.
Let me make a few guesses for what the coming season holds.
1. Neville, scholes and giggs will be main stays in the team, and will make atleast 40+ appearances next season, which will result in all 3 being given new 1 year contracts, probably along with edwin.
2. Our team will play 4-5-1 once again for the majority of the season, boring us to hell.
3. We will score less goals next season, with owngoalinho deserting us and rooney struggling for form for the first few months of the season, and the oldies becoming less effective while featuring heavily. We will also conceed more goals next season, as rio will become more injury prone and vida will become disinterested as in his heart he dreams of madrid. Oh and neville will be there featuring for the entire season. Oh goody, where we would be without good old nev.
4. Rooney will make a slow start to the season, with goals becoming hard to come by for the first few months. Eventually though rooney and the team will start to get into some form, rooney will get into his stride and on the whole will probably once again have a good season. However towards the business end of the season he will suffer an injury that will mean we play berbatov up top on his own, and go on a bad run of a form. Even though were not a one man team right fergie.
5. The youngsters fergie is bigging up right now will probably make about 10 appearances next season, most of which are in the carling cup or other meaningless games.
6. We will finish 3rd, no where near good enough to win the title, and we will hear once again “we were unlucky” and a whole host of other reasons that bad luck struck. But theres no reason to fear because we will then be told we will win it next season, without any evidence to prove this other than its fergie word so we must believe.
7. Season after and the cycle begins again. The oldies get new contracts, fergie claims this is the youngsters year to shine, we buy 1 maybe 2 kids from abroad whilst hearing there is still no value for money and the team is good. All this whilst once again totally ignoring the top players or the positions that need to be filled right now and not in 5 years time. Meanwhile some of the players that have been mentioned on here (ozil, rodwell, neuer etc) will all make moves to other top teams and become top top players for their respective clubs while we count on gibson, anderson, smalling and hernandez to do the business and win us back the league.
Now let me bookmark this page and ill come back to this post in 12 months time, and i bet the majority of my points prove true.
July 21st, 2010 at 20:45
@colver: Tevez has succeeded in England because he plays like a chicken with his head cut off. He’s a terrier and that suits the English style and pace very well. The rest of the Latin players play a slow approaching continental game and only show pace on counters. Hernandez is ready to play anywhere but in England. It will take him a long while to get adjusted to this game and I have serious doubts whether he will. It is yet another arrogant signing by Fergie who continues to carry the myth that Brazil and other latin countries have a kinetic bond with him. He needs to look for more players who are suited to the Prem, not to his romantic notions.
July 21st, 2010 at 20:46
@Darth Red Diablo:
Long life to you then mate.
July 21st, 2010 at 20:49
@gator: I mean now we are reduced to scraps from Belgium. The best talent Belgium has developed in the past 25 years is Daniel van Buyten and thats not saying much. Where do they find these stiffs?
Fergie seems obsessed with this new policy of looking for diamonds in the rough. The only thing he is going to find in the rough are weekend golfers.
July 21st, 2010 at 21:04
@tonymontanna4united: Christ mate, that is almost exactly what I wrote the other day. Are you sure we don’t have the same father?
I can honestly I hate this Manchester united team and it’s coaching and scouting staff. I despise the owners and loathe their fucking existence. So why am i still around and hanging on? Because 35 years as a die hard fan tells me you cannot bail out on them now when hope seems almost gone. I love the franchise and the history but other than two or three players on this club, I hate the lot. Christ, I have never been a Neville, Scholes fan and I detest Anderson, Park, Foster (thank God we are rid of that git), Welbeck, Obertan and a slew of other players who just get on my bloody nerves. Who do I love? Rooney, Fletcher, Vidic (although my mood towards him is rapidly shifting), Nani and believe it or not Mickey Owen. My real favourite is Hargreaves but lets face it, he’s history. As for the rest, I can take them or leave them.
Now just to annoy those who would love to see me walk and go root for Bayern only, let me say how many present Bayern players I love. Lahm, van Buyten, van Bommel, Schweinsteiger, Kroos, Robben, Muller, Klose, and their coaches and GM’s. Hell Rummenigge is my all time favourite player and as President of Bayern it’s like having Cantona as President of United. In the end Bayern will probably also sign Ozil and Neuer or Adler and that will just add to my band of brothers that I love.
The point is Bayern are buying or developing players I like or love. Hell, I can even tolerate Scarface Ribery and that stiff of a striker Mario Gomez. United gives me nothing to cheer for and nothing to look forward to. They just keep signing up no hopers and enigmas and expect us to tolerate their lack of interest in the transfer market as we buy in to the old man’s lies. HELL NO I WON’T DO IT. I’ve had with this team and the way the conduct business and the way they piss into the faces of their legions of supporters worldwide. So my love affair with United is on hold. I am at war with them right now. Just call me the Oliver Cromwell of Man Utd.
July 21st, 2010 at 21:15
@tonymontanna4united: “Now let me bookmark this page and ill come back to this post in 12 months time, and i bet the majority of my points prove true.”
It doesn’t matter mate. You’ll still have the same optimistic numpties come on here and tell us the team had a decent season and that the young kids will be even better next season and that they think Fergie will buy such and such a player next summer. Some of these fans deserve Fergie and this present team. They deserve each other. Gluttons for punishment and masochists of the first order.
Fooled me once……..???????? shame on….????? shame on you……..Fooled me twice……you can’t fool me again. (George W. Bush)
One of the stupidist things I have heard a leader say unless you add the idiotic things Fergie has been saying for two years now. They give Bush a run for the money. Now I just wished that many of the fans of this club would wake up and stop acting like Bush and actually show some intelligence and common sense and stop buying in to the Old Trafford Propoganda machine which spouts lies upon lies. It should be “Fooled me once shame on you. Folled me twice I’ll fucking take a chainsaw to you motherfuckers” (Grognard 2010)
Stop being willing pawns for this team. If you people love something badly enough, you need to let it go so that it can purge itself of the cancer that is consuming it.
July 21st, 2010 at 21:35
@Grognard:
We think alike i guess.
As for united, i feel the same. Not only is this team not that good talent wise, it also just seems incredibly boring. We are short of leaders who will inspire the team and make the other 10 players want to run through brick walls for the cause.
We are short of confidence players who think they are the dogs bollocks (nani might come under that category which is why i love the guy and always had time for him).
Players who have the balls to try and do something magic, and score a goal most people would never even think of trying.
I am just getting sick and tired of seeing the same old faces. The same old lack of talent, lack of leadership. Just lack of something new and exciting really.
We always used to freshen up the squad, to keep it from going stale. If we were replacing first teamers, then we were adding to the squad, or the coaching staff or whatever. Now its just the same old bloody old. I am sick of seeing phelan look void of ideas on the touchline. I am sick of seeing fergie with his smug bloody face smiling and saying hes happy with the squad.
I am sick of the crap players who are either past it or were never good enough to deserve to be here. I am sick of the boring 4-5-1 shit we play and lack of flair.
At the end of the day it all goes back to fergie. He controls the club, he is more than a manager really he controls each and every aspect of the club. I think tbh he needs to get with the times and freshen up.
I absolutely hate man city but in many ways i am seeing parallels of the way we came on the scene and disposed of liverpool in the early 90s, to today.
This man utd team is a team that will not win the major prizes. A team that is putting too much faith on the hope the likes of gibson will be world beaters. A team that no longer buys the best and has no money now and for the forseeable future. A team that to me just looks old and needs freshening up from top to bottom.
City on the other hand are the team with money to burn. A team that wants to buy the best and only the best. A team that long term looks set to dominate if they get their act together.
Its not easy me praising shitty, because i hate them with a passion. Before 2 years i could have sworn their sole reason for being on this earth was just to annoy us.
But i just see so many parallels between us right now to liverpool in the early 90s, and city now to us in the 90s.
I dont know if im the only one who thinks that but i really do see us following the route of liverpool and declining and declining while city improve year on year.
That would be fucking hell to me, but this united team is just not the united i knew. It is just so fucking boring. No leaders, too many work man like players and not enough flair players. Shit football. Shit kits. Shit fucking owners who are responsible for everything wrong with our club right now.
I am just really not looking forward to the future with united, im really not. All i see ahead is the continuing decline of a once great club. How far we decline i feel we see in the next 2/3 years, but however far it is its wrong. It really should never have bloody well come to this.
July 21st, 2010 at 23:27
for those of you that are excited to see what our youngsters look like on the pitch and are not too jaded to watch them in action
Los liiiiiiiiiiiiinks
July 21st, 2010 at 23:35
@tonymontanna4united: To quote fergie “Go support Chelsea then” or in your case beyern. Go read my post that was posted this morning and went liive this evening if you would please. It starts “I agree on the kit” Seems every thing I post here takes half a day to go live, it is starting to piss me of to be hones
Sorry tony thought I was replying to Gonkard
July 21st, 2010 at 23:48
good link if the darts go off soon back and forth darts and mutv
July 22nd, 2010 at 0:06
kuz
evra? osh brown fabio
obertan scholes gigs cleverly
macheda welly
July 22nd, 2010 at 0:32
evans not evra derp
July 22nd, 2010 at 1:01
@tonymontanna4united: Several problems as I see it. I agree with what you said. This club is sadly looking for the kind of leadership Scholes, Giggs and Rio don’t offer. They are quiet players and try to lead by example. A lot of good that does when you are either injured or just too old to make the difference in games. As for Neville, well he is loud but then again, if i played for United I would have stuffed a sock full of manure up his mouth the first time he got in my face. Why? Because as a player he has always sucked for me and always been caught out of position (not a good way to mentor the likes of Rafael) and secondly, I cannot stand a screamer who is in my face but who himself sucks supremely and is injured most of the time. I’d tell him to sod off for damn sure.
The next piece of the puzzle that’s missing is like you said, players who have the dog’s bollocks and have the courage to make things happen and take risks. Nani has that and Rooney does when he is in form and then there is………………………………….NOBODY ELSE. Clearly we miss a Ronaldo or a Cantona.
I also think what we really need more than anything is a set piece taker. Our free kick takers are shite. We need a maestro and artist who can bend the ball like Beckham or hammer it with accuracy like Ballack or Koeman but right now we have nobody who can really call himself an expert at this skill. Even our corner takers are shite for the most part. Nani tries but he shows too much inconsistency with his takes. A player like Schneijder or Ozil would solve both of these problems instantly.
I am tired of 4-5-1 because unlike Germany, the Dutch and other teams, we do not play 4-2-3-1. Our wide guys play to wide and so it is a 4-5-1 and this creates so much separation from the creative players and our lone striker that it just hurts to watch it unless we get away on a nice counter. Valencia is ok and I think he is a good player and all but I’m sorry, he just doesn’t light my fire. Gibson connects with a screamer once out of every 15 tries so for me he is frustrating as hell, Park is a colossal waste of time in attack and yet he does have his days where he plays well and everyone then jumps on his bandwagon even though they have forgotten all those other times he has sucked. I don’t even want to talk about Obertan. He just plain sucks. A left winger with no left foot and the finishing skill of Gary Pallister. What a treat.
I won’t even talk about Anderson as he is the worst player to ever play for United and last more than a season. I will never ever get what Fergie or Eddy or anybody else sees in this washout. Carrick had potential but he clearly cannot cut it pressure wise with a club like this. Send him to a small team where he can excel because there is no great pressure to perform at the highest level. The guy is as slow as molasses and he has the quickness of a beach deep sea turtle. He has teased us at times but lets face it, he’s a bust. For me the only guy worth watching other than Rooney and Nani is Fletcher for his improving skills, pace and grit. He gives this club the graft and effort that is needed and then can deliver a long pass or get in the box and deliver a header or a volley.
I still love Vidic as a player but his attitude and need to leave has pissed me of and Evra for me is a good LB but a frustrating skinned sausage at times who can implode at any time. Rio is done like dinner and EVDS still is great keeper but it’s time a younger man took over that role. And finally, the man in charge should retire and open the door for you know who.
Then we have Giggs and Scholes who are just too old to take seriously anymore as players and who are just too damn quite. Certainly no Roy Keane amongst these three, that’s for sure. And EVDS is a keeper and the day I listen to a keeper as a player is the day I seriously would look to another profession. With all due respect tot he likes of Casillas and Kahn, keepers are meant to direct traffic in the box, stop shots and then shut the fuck up.
July 22nd, 2010 at 1:07
@tonymontanna4united: That long post of mine seemed to do a weird thing when I posted it. Everything got jumbled around and it was too late for me to change it. The last paragraph for example should be the second paragraph in the whole piece. OOP! Sorry if it doesn’t make sense.
July 22nd, 2010 at 1:08
@gator: Thanks mate but I so don’t give a damn about our youngsters. What the Hell have we become a bloody daycare centre?
July 22nd, 2010 at 1:16
It’s official, that has got to be the ugliest home kit United has ever had. The red isn’t scarlet, it’s like Arsenal’s and the look has the feel of the 70’s. It’s so awful that fans don’t need to think of boycotting Glazer to not buy it. They won’t buy it because it’s donkey butt ugly
July 22nd, 2010 at 2:56
@Grognard: Well, the way I see it, the upcoming season is a watershed event for United – as a team, for the manager, and for the club as a whole.
The path to the future is being paved as we speak, it’s direction has been determined, and the soldiers marching down it could well be lacking the weapons to fight the battles ahead.
But who knows, this team just might gel and become much more than the sum of it parts.
I have much more confidence in Ferguson than you do, and I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt to him at this stage, and while I have little faith in our squad, as individuals, I’m asking for a modicum of patience, hoping that some maturity and some unseen talent surfaces from the depths.
The whole idea of slaying our club with observant barbs and rhetorical epithets that support our opinion, does seem a little disingenuous and, come to think of it, a little self defeating.
We have a situation that is far from ideal (of course, they don’t want to talk about it) and there is very little that, apparently, can be done about it. The best way forward seems to be the best foot forward (I’m afraid), and without success, our future will probably depend on those that have no vested interest in the concerns of our history, and perhaps our way ahead.
I share your pessimism and I share your ire for our position. The situation is tenuous!! But our hatred for this mess does need to be tempered. We do need to support our club, it’s emblem, and the history that has brought us to this point in time.
Regardless of what happens, I will always support United. I will always celebrate their victories and always mourn their defeats.
It’s become a time of purgatory for us that have wallowed in the successes – maybe we just have to take the bad times with the good??!!
July 22nd, 2010 at 3:54
@Redrich: And that’s why I’m still around mate. Despite everything I love this club and I do support it but at the same time, I am pulling for change and for a complete overhaul at the top of the pyramid. Fergie will probably get the most out of these young kids and aging lions but like I have said so many times before, for me the battle is not about the product on the field. Sure I care about how they play and I admit to being bored silly but this present squad, but for me, the problem is ownership and and the group in management that support the owners and are helping them drain the club of it’s last lifeblood.
This has little to do with affairs on the pitch. And this is my cause and my crusade. Glazer’s have to be stopped and all those who are allied with them have to be stopped. I wish I could just bitch about the football. If it was just about football, this would be a decent time for us. But it’s about so much more. I have supported the club for 35 years and although I doubt I’ll have another 35 more, I’d like to think I can look forward to a couple more decades of excellence while I’m alive and beyond that. And right now their is a lot of doubt.
July 22nd, 2010 at 4:13
Ozil is going to Barca — currently meeting with officials in Barcelona. Sourcy
July 22nd, 2010 at 4:15
Anyone watch the United – Philadelphia Union friendly game?
I thought it was generally boring, but Obertan and Welbeck came out looking rather good. Rafael’s 30 minute cameo was impressive as well. I must admit that our midfield looked very weak in both halves and we were unable to keep possession. Fergie did not look happy either.
With Ozil going to Barca, I think only Rodwell is left in the market that would be worthy of his 20 million transfer fee
July 22nd, 2010 at 4:21
@Grognard: I agree. I do not like the shirts. It’s like they were indecisive whether to be modern or retro and went wishy-washy.
July 22nd, 2010 at 4:22
@Redrich: Hear hear!
July 22nd, 2010 at 5:09
Cleverly best performing youngster in this game with Obertan and Welbeck a close second. Rafael seems so much more steady than Fabio its unreal..possibly because Fabio is playing on the left as a ritghty..but he has played there his while career but he just seems less steady on the ball and more prone to losing it….Macheda still looks good but didn’t link up well today…he has very nice touch and is quick but needs to link up better…its funny almost like Fergie wanted to try the old youth/reserve pairing of Welbeck Macheda but it didn’t quite come off…this game should have easily been a draw or United loss but good result all the same..Obertan just needs to know when to slow down a tad and pick his moments to use his pace and skill..more often than not he looks a man in a hurry and forgets the ball or gives it away cheaply…Scholes pure class..GIggs facilitating…COrry Evans cameo was ok..looked a busy little player…
July 22nd, 2010 at 5:13
My verdict is we have very good young players but just not ready…I can’t stack up any of our kids with a Muller or an Ozil…the one player who made me take notice was Tom Cleverly…there is a hunger there and a skill and an eye for a pass which is impressive..its a shame that Scholes is STILL our best player on the pitch….the truth is when it comes to the rough and tumble of the Premier League Scholes cannot produce week in week out….anyway its only the second game of the pre-season…I think Obertan, Cleverly and 1 of Welbeck or Macheda will be an integral part of the 1st team squad this season….
July 22nd, 2010 at 6:14
@Don: I agree about your Obertan observation. I am a pre-fan of Cleverly as well and hope he does well. I think Welbecks weakness is his first touch, while Macheda’s weakness is his pace/acceleration. Macheda+Welbeck = great young striker. unfortunately on their own they still lack a little bit of class to make them wonderkids.
I agree with your that Welbeck/Macheda, Cleverly, and Obertan will break out this year. Maybe add Fabio to this as well (and we all must agree that Rafael is here to stay).
July 22nd, 2010 at 7:20
Personally, I don’t see much improvement to Macheda, Obertan or Welbeck from last season or the season before.
I believe we should be optimistic, but in Welbeck & Macheda, they remind me of Frazier Campbell, Erik Nevland.. highly rated, yet failed to shine.
Forbes just rated Man Utd the richest club in the world… sure don’t seem like it with our transfer activities…
Once upon a time, we could afford duds like Djemba-djemba… I am truly a Pissed Off Red!
July 22nd, 2010 at 7:54
@[OPTI]Madschester United: What a moron. I hate footballers. Honest to god they have to be about the thickest idiots on the planet. What fucking chance does he have of starting at Barca? There is no position open for him. Only a moron would accept a job playing for a team on the bench.
Keep in mind though that your source is one of the least reliable on the Internet. The infamous Tribal Football. Run by assclowns.
July 22nd, 2010 at 7:57
@[OPTI]Madschester United: Rodwell signed a long term extension with Everton mate. He isn’t going anywhere unless United break the bank. And they have nothing in the bank. Didn’t you get the memo?
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:05
@Don: Bottom line is I hate this tag we give the kids like promising or full of potential. What a load of horse shit. For me that is code for not fucking good enough. Fergie look around. Ozil 21, Muller 20, Khedira 22, Kroos 19, Marin 21, Badstuber 22, and these kids were all stars for Germany in the World Fucking Cup, not mediocrities playing a useless MSL club to a squeaky and boring 1-0 win. These kids we waste our time on don’t have the quality to be world class and for me if they aren’t in that calibre, we should not be wasting our time with them. We should be wasting our time with under 21’s who showed world class abilities like Giggs, Ronaldo, Rooney. Unless we have some of those kind of players, we must then go out and buy them or at least buy proven stars because I for one have no intention of sitting through boring Carling Cup matches and other games waiting for Cleverley, Anderson, Obertan, Fabio and Gibson to become first team players. It’s not gonna happen and it’s bloody time the whole lot of you took the blinders off and stop sniffing positive vibe glue and instead woke the hell up and smelled the coffee. Manchester united’s youth are a massive case of overhyped mediocrity.
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:07
@PissedOffRed: Forbes is a joke. They never ever bother to ask the businesses they rate so highly about there debt load which would knock the value of the club in half. Total muppets.
July 22nd, 2010 at 10:49
@Grognard: You dont have any thing positive to say about the club, strange
I only saw some of the game last night, it looked typical pre season. Give the lads a work out and let MUTV pretend it is a real TV station.
grognard said he did not care about youth “are we a day care centre” perhaps a witty comment in some parts of the world. United has always been about youth from the 1950s to the hear and now. I am much more pleased seeing a young lad rise through the ranks and make it than I am seeing an over seas player come in on huge wages.
Fletcher, O Shea, Ronaldo all took huge amounts of stick from fans my self included when they were comeing through. Giggs, Scholes, Butt and the Nevells when they came on the scene many supporters called for Fergies head. I imagine many thought Sir Matt was crazy back in the day as well.
Grognard you mention the German players at the world cup. They play regualr first team football as a result the progress made by them will be greater. You also refer to Manchester united as a franchise you have supported for over 30 years earlier in the thread. Franchise a terrible term. The correct term is football club.
Having seen the build up and the conversations with American fans last night I understand poster here a little more. The cultural diference is clear and I am sorry to say you will never see United in the same way as a lad from Salford or Manchester. I do not mean this as a dig it is just a fact as fat Rafa would say.
I think Grognard is so filled with hate for the club that he misses many facts. When discussing a captain you say Rio is not vocal on the field of play. If you have ever seen him play in the flesh you will know the complete opposite. Rio is a passionate leader on and of the field.
Last season we were 1 point away. If we had a fit defender for one of the games when we had Fletch and Carrick in defence or if one of the bad desisions we received at Stanford bridge had gone our way we would have been champions. Had Ribery not mugged of the young Da Silva boy we would have reached the final in Europe I have no doubt of this.
We are not even in August and again we are being written of. I hope Fergies buys and think he will. Transfers in a world cup year often happen later in the summer and I feel many clubs will sit back untill city conclude there business (for obvious reasons)
The money we have spent so far is virtualy nothing when you way the money out against player sales (all done at a profit, should keep Malc happy) If we have money it will be spent. If we do not have money it will not be spent. If Fergie keeps us in the top 2 and cmmpetative in the cups with a virtualy negative transfer out lay then he is a genious. You work with what you have (go and ask any kid in Manchester) If you dont have you do not spend. The football and financial world is fukd as every one was spending what they did not have. (Go see the Michael Moore film on Capitalisem) Manchester united Supporters need to realise that more than ever united is more about business than football. This saddens me to the core, but again as the fat one would say Its is fact. We have had the good time now we must have some bad times. That is the cycle and if you can not take the bad times, shut up and jump ship
The biggest problem faced by Manchester united this term is not Chelsea or city but interest rates. If they start to climb we are royaly up shit creek.
Stop bashing the team and manager, you are called a football supporter for a reason. Perhaps it is our time not to be dominant for a while. you can not win every thing all of the time, or are you all spoilt glory hunters who will be gone after a few bad seasons?
Dont buy official merchandise join MUST and love united hate Glazer
Thanks for reading
(probably spelling mistakes and shit but i aint checking I have money to make)
July 22nd, 2010 at 11:46
@RedTanRedTan: One is allowed to criticise players, managers and the team if he deems fit. At least on this blog. If you can’t take that deal with it and jump ship to another blog.
July 22nd, 2010 at 12:58
@Red Ranter: I say in my post that I criticise players my self. How ever it is this constant doom doom doom because we have not spent 50 million we do not have and blaming the manager for not spending money we do not have due to our owners destroying our financial footing through a hostile take over and constant draining of our resources. I am trying to focis peoples passionate argurments in the proper direction. How can you blame Fergie for not spending money he does not have? Whi is to blame for us having no money?
July 22nd, 2010 at 15:04
@Grognard:
I really don’t think we need to make wholesale changes but I don’t think our squad is good enough a Fergie purports…I think part of develoing players is getting them games..but at a club like United you just can’t heap on the pressure too young else they will lose confidence and disappear into football oblivion…the bone I have with Fergie is he is banking on the likes of Giggs and Scholes for yet another season but on evidence from last year it was clear they can’t do the business for the whole season..so in a sense it is like groundhog day unless somebody really emerges during pre-season…as for your young German pups i rate all of them except for the Badstubber (sp) kid who I don’t fancy at all…but to think Khedira would never have even made the squad if Ballack was fit is just another example of you have to give youth a chance and if they are good enough they will come through..my very early verdict right now only Cleverly and Rafael are good enough and possibly obertan and Macheda…Welbeck needs to improve…
July 22nd, 2010 at 16:10
@RedTanRedTan: Constant doom/gloom is his opinion. Not our place to tell him to shut up and jump ship. That’s self-righteous arrogance.
July 22nd, 2010 at 19:46
@RedTanRedTan: Now I have to say that your rant against my attitude and way of thinking is a fresh approach and the way I wish all members of this blog would try to debate me. I have no problem with your disagreements towards my attitude or thought process where United is concerned. I just don’t happen to agree with all of it and that’s fine too. So as much as i appreciate your friendly tirade against me, let me try to answer some of your accusations and misconceptions about me.
1. No I am not Salford born and bred and for me that is not an issue whatsoever. United is a global brand and although it should mean more to locals, I also know that half of Manchester are dumb enough to support a team wearing baby blue. Being from Manchester does not make you more enlightened and more red than me or anybody else not from that region. I have been a fan for 35 years so I have been through the highs and lows and for me, it has never been as low as this simply because the problems that i am most concerned about have nothing to do with the play or performance on the pitch. The games are just a bi-product.
2. Regarding youth. If we had youth with the kind of skill and potential that young Giggs, Beckham, Scholes and others had, then I would be for keeping the daycare clinic open 24 hours straight. But they are not. The reason the Germans I mentioned are playing regular football for their teams is because they are that good. No manager has the time to break in kids for the sake of new blood and youth. A player needs to show he belongs and the likes of Mueller, Ozil and company have shown every reason why they not only should start for their respective teams, but why they were stars in the World Cup. It’s all about skill level or as I like to say, pedigree. Too many of the youth with United haven’t got enough of that. Sure given time some may actually make the grade but United is not a team that can wait 3 to 5 years for a young player to mature and show his quality.
We are United and we are amongst the top 5 teams on the planet and so our time frame is much shorter and we have so much more on the line with much greater goals and serious ambitions. The team hasn’t got the time to coddle and nurture young players who are taking far too long to develop. How long must we wait on Anderson and Welbeck to start showing the kind of talent that makes them United starters? And that is the only kind of players we should be wasting time on other than the odd utility man who is valuable off the bench. Look at Barca and Bayern as examples. They ship off young players that don’t cut immediately. Or they send them out on loan like they did Kroos last year. And now he returns not only as a great player but probably on of the top 4 midfielders in all of Germany last year while at Leverkusen.
This isn’t some fantasy pool where we get certain points for accumulating kids. Chelsea and Madrid could care less about kids and they succeed because they utilize their deep pockets. But we don’t have deep pockets now do we? And why don’t we when we were just picked by Forbes Magazine as the richest club in the world? It’s because we are not getting any of that richness directed at club building. Not a dime. We are therefore in desperation mode where we buy speculative youngsters on the hope that a Ronaldo comes out of that.
Mate I have been a baseball fanatic for longer than I have been a fan of football and I have always taken a great interest in young prospect in baseball, especially pitchers. I study them and get the skinny on the main ones even when they are still in high school. So I am not lost on the interest many have for kids in the game. But United is playing a dangerous game that some baseball teams do. There are two theories to reruiting young baseball talent. You either draft them straight out of high school or you wait and draft them their senior year out of college. College is the safer waybecause players are usually 21 or 22 by then, fully mature and have shown what their ability is as well as overall makeup. They may not possess the ceiling of possibility a high schooler may have but then again they also do not possess the risk factor either. High schoolers may have a higher ceiling if they are truly diamonds but more often than not they are just busts who showed ability at a certain level but were not able to maintain that level as they ggrew up matured and went up levels in competition. United is playing this risky game. Rather than go out and sign semi-proven young players in their early twenties who may cost between 10 and 20 million, they are looking for teenagers they can get on the cheep and in most cases, these kids will disappoint as they are thrust into games with harder competition than they have ever been used to. Some like Rafael seem to be able to handle it but many others like Anderson, Fabio, Welbeck and others seem intimidated and very much lack the confidence and belief they can compete, so they just go through the motions. Well mate, Ozil, Mueller, Messi, Ronaldo never acted like that. Why? Because their skill set and mental strength coupled with confidence and self belief catapulted them into stardom before they reached the age of 20. United’s kids all look like ordinary players who for the most part are mediocre and who will probably mature when they are 25 or 26. Way too late for my books.
I am not appreciative of your comment where you say I am filled with hate. Well yes I am. I hate the Glazer’s with every fibre of my being and I hate that nothing is being done to rid us of these awful bastards. As for Fergie, my tirades against him are more out of frustration and hurt. A man I have loved for almost 25 years has gotten into bed with the enemy and for me, that is a hard pill to swallow. If you want to side with him and see his every move as a virtuous and honest one, that is your prerogative. I however choose to see things for what they are and it makes me angry but only because I love this team, not hate it.
July 22nd, 2010 at 20:53
@RedTanRedTan: I for one had no problem with your criticisms of my views because you never came across as rude. You just disagreed with me which is fine. I think we bot love the club mate and we both hate Glazer and want the best for the team. We are just not on the same page when it comes to Fergie’s role in this whole mess and how he is going about building this team. And the only way to prove who is right or wrong in this is to give the situation time to play itself out. As much as I admire Fergie as a manger, I honestly think he is drinking too much if he thinks these kids will keep this team in competition with Barca and Madrid. And at the end of the day, this is what we are all about. I could care less if we are a top four team in the EPL. We are United and our motto should always be SECOND TO NONE.
July 22nd, 2010 at 20:58
@RedTanRedTan: Fergie is lying through his teeth and supporting the owners who aren’t handing over a responsible amount of funds for transfers. The whole excuse about value is BS and you know it. His 25 year track record for spending above and beyond the value for players should tell you it’s BS. So he should be honest with al of us rather than continually lie through his teeth and act condescending towards us because he thinks we are all so stupid we will buy into his bag full of lies. WWell not me mate. I wasn’t born yesterday. And one more thing, your comment about my use of the word franchise is not incorrect at all. Because I am using it when referring to United as a business model, not just a football team. It is a brand and it is a franchise because of that. All teams are franchises and that’s not just an American thing. Yet again another reason why many United supporters need to stop looking at the team as the club that plays across the block from them. It’s a worldwide name brand and thus it deserves to be looked at like the Yankees in baseball, the Canadiens in hockey and the Celtics in basketball. All franchises.
July 22nd, 2010 at 21:02
@Don: Khedira has been with the German team for a while now so his pedigree is proven with Stuttgart. The fact he is second choice to a star like Ballack is no dig on him whatsoever. He just needed to wait his turn and it came early. As for Badstuber, if you watched every Bayern game last season like I did, you would have a different view of him. Another thing you may not know about him is that he is a CB who has become a transplanted LB which is no easy adjustment. He also is a lethal free kick taker with a cannon of a leg. A lot of potential considering he kept Bayern from buying a LB as he like muller just stepped in and took that position to the level it needed to be.
July 22nd, 2010 at 21:06
@Red Ranter: I am not constant doom and gloom. I never get any credit for those days when I am bright and humorous like yesterday for example. But I am fighting for a cause I believe in that is not popular with the irritating fans who see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing. One day they will get a real dose of reality and realize that I was right all along. Until then it’s shoot the messenger time. Trust me, I’m not the boy who cried wolf here. I am sure of what I speak and if that’s an example of arrogance, I wear that with pride. People who disagree with me or label me are not arrogant, they are ignorant.
July 22nd, 2010 at 21:12
@Grognard: I know that mate! He said you were constant doom and gloom, and I meant to say even if it’s constant doom and gloom it’s his opinion.
Give me credit for actually defending you. You should know better about me by now.
July 23rd, 2010 at 0:55
@Red Ranter: Oh you definitely get credit for defending mate. No doubt about it. But considering how some in the past have attacked me, this gentleman attacked my position with class and politeness. I have always made the statement that i never minded people disagreeing with me. It’s how they went about it that bothered me. As long as they stay away from getting personal and throwing f-bombs my way, I am more than fine with it. But thanks anyway. It means a lot that you do defend my right to speak my mind.
August 2nd, 2010 at 11:42
Guys, don’t get me wrong…
I Love Manchester United. Alwasy have. Always will.
At this stage, I don’t really give a rats ass who we sign, or even where in the league we finish. What bothers me most is the missing ENTERTAINMENT FACTOR. Our games are boring as hell lately and I honestly don’t see that changing. In fact, I see even more boringness to our games due to the embarrasment of throwing away the title last season. What hurts me is the fact that management is oblivious to this entertainment factor.