May 14
Random Transfer News Items of the Day
Silly season has begun even though our season’s not over yet. But we will be beset with the task of dealing with quite a few rubbish — and some not so rubbish — rumours throughout the next three months. So we will try all summer to weed out the nonsense bits and give you the ones that are probably true. Or perhaps, we will talk about the nonsense bits too because otherwise we won’t have anything to talk about.
Thank God for the Euros. That way we can decide to support one team and immediately change allegiances after a shocking performance of said team.
Don’t worry, we’ll work something out to keep this blog going, so that you don’t have to resort to watching paint dry (or your hair grow — whatever suits you).
Manchester Evening News reports that the club has posted record earnings, not including earnings from gate receipts and merchandise, of about ‘£78m in cash from prize money, TV revenue and licensing money domestically and in Europe’ — always nice to hear considering the debts we have; as I said in an earlier post, we need all the money we can get as much as the success.
It’s worried me slightly to see Patrice Evra’s contract not decided as yet. We’ve heard of Evra being offered a contract towards the end of last year, but nothing seems to have happened ever since. Whilst I’m sure we won’t let a Flamini happen if Juventus come sniffing I am keeping my fingers crossed on this one. Evra has been quoted as saying that the ball is in United’s court. Hopefully it’s just me being paranoid.
Onto the rumours: it must be clear for everyone that Michael Owen to United is bollocks. Substituting one crock for another is really foolish — and that’s being kind. Secondly, if it’s a striker that we’re going to buy, please, let it not be another midget. No I am not saying Tevez and Rooney are that — they are monsters of players — but they can’t cut it in the aerial stakes, despite the apache heading in a few this season.
Everyone is raving about Aaron Ramsey. I heard of him being mentioned in hushed tones last year, with Giggs obviously linked to him because he’s Welsh. There has been strong rumours of a deal already being done so we’ll see where that goes. The funny thing though is this: I read somewhere (can’t seem to remember where) that he was touted as the replacement for Paul Scholes. Okay, let me switch to French for a moment: For Fuck’s Sake! Where does that leave Anderson? Or perhaps, Rodrigo Possebon — who, by the way, scored his maiden goal a couple of days ago for the reserves? I wonder if United is the right club for Ramsey at the moment. He’s British though, and that will make a lot of people happy — and, of course, he’s just 17. Some one please provide me with his youtube compilations for now. Thank you.
And here’s your guess the player question of the day: __________ has said that he’s at the right club, playing with the right players and learning things all the time and has restated his desire to stay at the club amid reports that Madrid are offering £100m for him — are Madrid that mad?
Oh, and don’t bother answering that question. I wouldn’t waste keystrokes on that.
Luis Fabiano has continued to be linked with the club. I don’t want him. He was very inconsistent before this season. Last season it was Kanoute that shouldered the goal scoring burden and it’s just the one season of blistering form the Brazilian has had.
With Chelsea’s capture of Bosingwa the media will begin scouting for our next eligible full back in earnest. Watch out for Lahm, Alves et al, gather steam in the coming days — they have already, I know, but the rumours will get more and more stronger as days pass by.
Finally, Drogba insists he and Terry will be fit for the Champions’ League.
So there you go. Over to you.
Related items from Red Rants:- Today’s Tosh: Rossi to Parma | Berbatov
- Someone is going to die
- Mystery Man Advised Not to Leave United | SAF’s Big Interview | Right Backs, Anyone?
- Nani dazzles | Kieran in Denial | Manutd.com Wins.
- Madrid Win Title | Rossi Expects Chance
Tags: Daily Roundup · Manchester United Transfer News & Rumours
May 14th, 2008 at 10:46
Ah, the rumour mill - don’t we just love it?
I think the Ramsey signing (if true) is good for two reasons. First, he’s 17 so nobody’s talking about him landing in the first team next season. He’s due a season in the reserves with the twins, Danny Welbeck, etc and training with the first team to see how good he really is. If he is as good as people are saying, he might force his way into what is most likely going to be a three man midfield. If Scholes were to retire, we have three front-line central midfielders (not inc. Fletcher), one of whom is massively injury-prone. So in 18 months time we might be glad to have him.
Second, if we’re getting him for ~£5m, that represents quite a bargain. Imagine he comes in, develops, plays some really good games for us but can’t get established because of the senior players. We’ll be able to sell him on then to a lesser Premiership team for a nice profit, which can in turn finance the purchase of players we need.
It can’t be a bad thing to buy young talent, especially not on the cheap. Fergie was prepared to commit potentially huge sums for Anderson and Nani, with no guarantees of how they would develop, so why not a bit less for another good prospect?
Playing Wenger at his own game, is how some might look at it. Beating Wenger at his own game? Well, we’ll have to wait and see.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:39
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3R4XesCj3I for highlights of the Manchester Senior Cup including Possebon’s goal.
Quite impressive.
May 14th, 2008 at 11:40
As for other things to keep activity up on the blog, how about a Red Rants Euro 2008 fantasy league?
May 14th, 2008 at 11:41
i think if we get daniel alves and benzema with nani, andy, carrick/hargo, ronaldo, rooney, tevez/benzema with evra left back and vidic and ferdinand in defence would be on of the best attacking teams in the world!! and defensively strong!! i can see saha and pique going and possibly eagles and dong and i can see kuszack on loan with wellbeck with campbell breaking into the first team!
May 14th, 2008 at 11:58
Rodrigo looked good in the Senior Cup, good passer
May 14th, 2008 at 12:00
Oh my god the summer/end season is so boring, but thank god with the euros only july will be boring this time unlike last year.
Anyway I remember last year I used to go online checking for transfer news about United, and 90% of the rumours were of course false and wishing for players to come or even go wouldnt help us either, we have to find a means of entertaniment other than football which Im finding hard unless you own a Playstation 3 then only Metal Gear Solid 4 could keep you company.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:09
RR
Anderson this season has hardly seemed anything like Scholsey! Thats one position we are yet to fill. Both Carrick and Andy do not do justice to his legendary goal scoring abilities.
About Possebon I heard he was more in Roy Keane mould than Scholes. Never seen him play though (and that one goal in the video doesnt really mean much).
All top teams in the world have a great goal scoring ACM in their team. Sadly we have nobody in that vital position (or probably rooney can occupy that given his workrate and vision and goal scoring abilities (not so good for a striker really). But if rooney is played in striker position then we have noone. chelsea have lampard, liverpool have gerrard, even l’arse have febregas now as 10+ goals a season mid. If Andy continues to be that bad in scoring dept than we really need to look for one in near future.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:10
Look, Viresh stop day dreaming about Benzema. He is not going to come, because Lyon will be asking for too much and we will not want to spend that kind of money. Plus Frankly speaking he is not what we need now. We need an aerial threat. Manucho is there and if we must make a buy then Klaass will be a good buy. Benzema plays similar pattern to rooney and tevez. We do need a defender though.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:50
Alves would be a good right back buy i thinks.hes a dam good crosser of the ball.i havent seen him defend to much but im sure hes quite good.fabiano aint that good,hes a bit too old aswell.27,28 is not what we should be looking for.Benzema would be perfect but he dont wanna join so wel most likely settle for huntelaar.Anderson will start to score goals,dont worry about that.ronaldo wasnt as prolific also when if first joined either.the left footer will shine
May 14th, 2008 at 12:58
Excellent Idea Penguin ……RR can we do thatelse summer will be very boring
May 14th, 2008 at 13:09
Guys, we set up a SoccerLens fantasy football league, but there aren’t enough players so, if you want we can join the two together. RR, let me take care of this and I will try to have something by tomorrow. But if enough people show interest (we are talking 50ish here), then we will make a RedRant league.
May 14th, 2008 at 13:09
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_3565448,00.html
check this out. 15 mil sounds like a bargain for him. Really hope he comes to us!!
May 14th, 2008 at 13:13
thank god no1 has mentioned Berbatov! dont want him, we dont need another van nistelrooy, a striker that needs to be central constantly and has no flexibility in his roles. thats why i feel benzema would be quality, we dont need a 25 goal a season striker if we have 4 that can score 18 or so each. Benzema could adapt to playing the united way, switching constantly between wing, attacking midfield and central striker.
May 14th, 2008 at 13:24
Lee, Berbatov constantly drifts to the wings. Really, he is not a poacher!!
May 14th, 2008 at 13:37
Cannot agree about Berbatov, I think he would be a FANTASTIC player for United!. He probably drifts to the wings at Tottenham, because their wingers are not good at getting the ball across as our lads are. Also, why the F*** do Chelsea run after every player who is linked to United, even though they may have several players already in that position at Chelsea. I think their purpose is to buy all the players that we seek, in order to keep them away from improving us. Lunatic really, but why else do they but about 3 to 4 players for every first team position. They so want to be MANCHESTER UNITED. Wherever we go they try to follow. They said they wanted to focus on the American market, but as soon as United said they were going to concentrate on the larger market in the middle east, now Chelski are having a large tour there this year - PATHETIC!. I would love Huntelaar and Berbatov to come to us in the summer. ANOTHER VERY STRONG BALL WINNING MIDFIELD PLAYER IS NEEDED TOO. An essien type player. I think defense could be left until season after next, unless they are grossly stupid enough to let Evra go.
May 14th, 2008 at 13:57
Anderson is our new attacking central midfielder. He IS scholes’ replacement.
Taehr, alves is brilliant but he doesn’t defend. He is ridiculously attack-minded. I personally wouldn’t mind this but i could see some folk having a problem with it. Mind you, he could just be played in midfield instead.
Berbatov would be a great option, he’s class. If eto’o were available though i would like us to go for him. He’s a better goalscorer. David villa’s also worth a look if he’s not too expensive. I have a soft spot for ronaldinho too. Although he’s probably not the kind of player fergie will bring in i would like to see him in the premiership. He’s still a classy player and there’s no-one else like him in the premiership.
May 14th, 2008 at 14:27
RR, i’m fairly certain that about the time brown signed his contract, evra penned a new deal. the club had a big article about it on the website, ‘three players pen new contracts’ or something of the sort. it was rio, wes and i’m fairly sure evra. which is good, because as you say, he is an absolute class act.
May 14th, 2008 at 15:31
I see Anderson as a Viera type player not a playmaker. Carrick comes a lot closer but he does not have Scholes’ creativity, he is just a damn good passer. Neither seem to show much aptitude for scoring goals. Also Carrick and Anderson do not seem to play well together. Personally I think Carrick will be half the player when Scholes retires.
I imagine though we’ll buy a Scholes replacement the following summer. As Ferguson has made clear, his priorities are a striker and maybe a player to replace Giggs.
May 14th, 2008 at 15:57
If we bring in another playmaker he will be a deep-lying playmaker, veloso or someone like that. However, we already have carrick in that role so i can’t see that happening unless carrick, or maybe fletcher, is sold. We won’t bring in another attacking central midfielder. That is anderson’s role. Bringing in another player in that position will hamper his development. That is unless we play a different formation next year.
May 14th, 2008 at 15:58
@hunter - the other one was Carrick, not Evra - his contract is still outstanding.
May 14th, 2008 at 16:14
we dont know what ramsey is to be honest, he has played in more or less all positions apart from goalkeeper, and has done well in them all. i guess he can be cover for all postion until we find the one that best suits him and us.
May 14th, 2008 at 16:41
i would like Mauro Zarate to come to manchester united. he had a good loan spell at Birmingham City.he is only 21 years old.
May 14th, 2008 at 16:52
check out on youtube a young Brazilian attacking midfeilder called Thiago Neves. Weve been linked with him a few times, hes only 23 and has scored 11 goals in 33 games from midfeild for Fluminese this year. Sweet left foot, looks a class act. I would put a link to him here, but I dont know how so if someone could that would be brilliant.
May 14th, 2008 at 18:18
Well Well Well. it appears that the “Hot Stove League” has begun for 2008. What is the HSL. It’s a Canadian term used in hockey broadcasting for when experts and media personalities in the game would get together in the winter and snuggle up next to a hot stove to keep warm. They then would talk rumors and potential trades in the game of hockey. So who says it can’t happen in footy too. Let the rumors begin.
First off, I agree with RR that this Michael Owen stuff is just nonsense. Why in Gods name would we want to be saddled with Balsa Boy Version 2.0? It’s just not gonna happen. And if it does, it will be the official signal to all of us that Fergie has got early signs of Alzheimer’s.
Striker striker get me a striker. So who will we get. Let me start off by saying that the thought of Fabiano does not float my boat. I think he is woefully overrated like Bosingwa was. Like RR said, he has had one good season and a history of mediocrity and inconsistency that leaves me to think the only reason Fergie would be interested in him is because of a cut price. He’s bargain basement in quality. There are better options out there for sure. Obviously if all of you are familiar with my posts you already know that my boy is Huntelaar. I have wet dreams of him every night patrolling the penalty area wearing United red and scoring goals like they are going out of style. If we don’t get Huntelaar I will be emotionally destroyed. He is so much of what we need and are lacking in our already impressive team.
After my first Klass selection, there are very few strikers that I fancy. Some of them already seem to be going to other teams. Mario Gomez is right up there with Klass but doesn’t seem to be on Fergie’s radar. I’d say it’s another case of his anti German bias but having said that, it appears United are once again interested in German lad Philip Lahm. Lahm is fantastic and if we can get him great, but having really thought about it, do we really need an upgrade at RB? Lahm, Richards or Alves are all world class players but I think we are fine with a rotation of Brown, Hargo and Neville at that position for at least a couple more years. My God, we only gave up 22 goals in the BPL this season. Our defense needs no fixing. Brown concentrated more on defense and wasn’t the adventurous or attacking RB we would like, but again, let me stress that we scored 80 goals with him playing that position and we only gave up 22. And we need a little more adventure up field, Hargo can make the odd start at RB which gives us that. Do we need to break the bank and buy either of the three names out there, when clearly we have other more pressing needs? I say NO. Get a striker and be prepared to spend 25mil to get him. Then go out and get a LMF/LW to backup or take over for Giggs. Clearly Nani is not ready to take up that mantle yet. He may be our LMF/LW of the future, but he is not that player now or next season. He has a lot of maturing and growing up to do before we can seriously rest that key skill position on his shoulders. My solution has always been to switch Ronaldo to the left side and buy a player like Quaresma for the right. Or better yet, get a player who can cross and pass like a Beckham. This would open up our aerial options especially if Huntelaar shows up. A player like Bentley wouldn’t be a bad buy but there are many more from that school of play that we can go after. I personally am a fan of Nakamura at Celtic as well as that kid McGeady (I’m sure I spelled his name wrong). Both are brilliant crossers, passers ans set piece takers. Someone with more traditional skills and less flair is needed to balance us out a bit. It would allow us to better play a hybrid British/Continental/Brazilian style. And lets not forget that we have Park and Fletcher to rely on as well. It’s times like this when I cry and miss Becks. Why Becks Why did you have to marry that Posh bitch that corrupted you and placed you directly in Fergie’s dog house?
What I would give for those laser directed crosses into the box and on to the head of Huntelaar now?
It’s open hunting season and let the feeding frenzy for new talent begin.
May 14th, 2008 at 18:20
Fred the Red; We’ve talked about Neves already a few weeks back and somebody I believe did offer a link. He is an outstanding young talent and ideal AMF but with Anderson and Possebon in front of him, I doubt United are as interested as I wish they would be. He’s got more offensive attacking skill than our two and he has a vicious shot too. I’ll keep my fingers crossed regarding our possible purchase of him.
May 14th, 2008 at 18:31
Ebrahim; Zarate would cost well more than he is worth. I remember reading that he was worth over 25 mil to his owners and thus, he is definitely out of the picture until and if they wake up to his true value which is under 10 mil.
Also Colver is right about Anderson filling the role of a Vieira more than that of an AMF. This also should explain the mindset of Fergie and CQ. Their long term intentions are not to have a central attacking midfielder but to have two CDM’s instead. It’s what many of the top sides in Italy use to great success. Why? Because it works defensively if you focus your attacking attention to your wide players. As we have Ronaldo and other quick and skillful wide players, this system works well and is our system of the future. 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-2-2 is what we will play with. A system like that does not expect goals from it’s central midfielders. And lets face it, this year it showed. But then again, how many other teams you know that have a winger who can score 40 goals in a campaign? You design a system to put the ball at the feet of Ronaldo in attacking situations, not an attacking central midfielder. As he floats around all over hte place, consider him your AMF. It’s plain as day.
May 14th, 2008 at 18:36
how about Dean Aston or Bezema…
Between Chelshits are surely losing Drogba.We did see the sync between Bullock and him in United match.He had already hinted that he wanted to move.Lets see where they are running.
May 14th, 2008 at 18:42
Neves definately looks a good player Grognard and would also provide a left sided option as well as playing in the middle,I would like to see SAF moving for him.
One of the United sites linked on this page{ive looked but cant cant find the story again}is carrying the story that United are in talks with Valencias Portuguese RB Miguel, anybody heard anything about it and what kind of player is he. Apparently the media in Spain are also reporting on it so there might be some truth in it
May 14th, 2008 at 18:43
Grognard
the thing about McGeady is that although he has a lot of pace and can leave defenders for dead, sometimes his crossing and shooting is a bit suspect, but now that i think of it it reminds me of Ronaldo all those times when he comes off the wings and loses the ball or scuffs a shot although this season there has been a huge improvement in him and if he keeps developing at this rate he will be borderline world class in a few years, but definately not the short term solution. Nakamura can take decent frees and has a decent shot but other than that he isn’t that good
May 14th, 2008 at 18:52
the Miguel story is on Goal.com
May 14th, 2008 at 19:02
how ’bout glen johnson for our new right back?
May 14th, 2008 at 19:20
Guys i know that nani screwed up and we are mad at him, but he is a good player and with some tome will be ready to take the LM position on permananent bases. Don’t even touch Anderson, I want him to play, but I agree with most of you that we need and out and out striker. Heard a lot about Klass, Fabiano is a no-no, Owen is a joke, Benzema not possible, Berba is tough, so not sure what SAF will do. I also agree with some people that our RB position can wait. There several players that can feel it in, so the striker should be priorotized.
May 14th, 2008 at 19:35
Fucking Real Madrid, they don’t know when to take a hint do they. 100mil for Ronaldo. He’s worth at least 200mil.
May 14th, 2008 at 19:43
if real have so much money, they can pay off our debts, and then we might actually think about considering there offer, and quickly telling them where to get off.
May 14th, 2008 at 19:47
Real Madrid can eat my shit! They wont get our precious Ronny!
May 14th, 2008 at 20:06
You know he’ll probably leave in a few years, he’s always said that, but we’ve more to get out of him yet.
May 14th, 2008 at 20:10
Last summer we are linked with
“Fabio Quagariella” (may be mis-spelled)
What abt him? His youtube video is amaging.always score great goals.
How did he perform in this season?
Grog, DO you think, has he at all A Man Utd class??
How’s Ronaldinho as Giggs’ replalcement?
May 14th, 2008 at 20:52
Is there no stopping this nonsense by Real Madrid? Enough is enough. If you wanted ronaldo so badly why didn’t you have the good sense to buy him when he was at Sporting? You snooze, you lose! Is there not a way that United can complain to FIFA over this blatant and endless harassment and tapping up of Ronaldo by the these bastards? Why can’t they take NO for an answer? They are not dealing with Sevilla or Manchester City here. We are as big of a club as they are. Go pick on smaller fish because this whale isn’t going to get hooked. Everybody except Chelsea seem to have the common sense to realize that both Messi and Aguerro cannot be bought at any price right now. Why then does Real persist with Ronaldo. How many times must the lad come out and say he is happy here before they get it through their thick and obviously deaf skulls that he isn’t coming to Madrid anytime soon? God this is becoming tiresome and borders on stalking. Enough already Real. Get the message. Ronaldo is a happy and content United player. Go elsewhere for your yearly superstar fixation.
Sanjoy; Quagrialla (I hate any player whose name I can’t spell) is a mystery to me as I have always chosen to avoid watching Italian football. Even though Fergie has incorporated much of the Italian style in the CL, I hate Italian football and refuse to be bored stiff by it. The only team I occasionally watch is AC Milan and so I have seen Quagrialla play a few ties. Honestly, he does nothing for me but a few games does not say much.
As for Ronaldinho, I’d stay away from him with a ten foot pole. He’s got off field habits and problems with his attitude which are contrary to what United stands for. He would be nothing more than lazy overpaid and washed up bastard if he came here and a monumental mistake. No way in Hell can I see Fergie dishing out the money to get that strain of cancer.
May 14th, 2008 at 21:11
Ronaldinho is an interesting one, what a player. He could play left side and through the middle so would be a an option but will he ever recover the form of a couple of years back? Would Fergie take the risk? He would be available at a decent price but his wages are sky high. I can see Fergie getting his career back on track and chaining him up at night so he cant go out…….!
Berbatov is the player we will sign, im sure of it. If we are priced out of a move for him then Huntelaar is an option but I heard the Real Madrid boss singing his praises a few weeks back so will probably end up there with his mate Wesley Snijder.
Only other player i’d like but we have no chance of getting is Robinho, he would be amazing as part of a front 3 with Rooney and Ronaldo. The 3 R’s….
Im still keen on Richards and Lahm at the back + Evra may prove to be the best signing of the summer.
May 14th, 2008 at 21:43
If one is looking for a replacement for Giggs, look no further than the LM/LW for Zenit. Arshevin is a class player with exceptional skill. And he took it to Rangers today. He was especially lethal against Bayern and Leverkusen. His runs and passes just dissect defenses. And he would be relatively cheap.
Too bad Rangers fans but the best team won and Zenit plays the game the way it is supposed to be played. Which brings up the name of Dick Advocat as a possible manager who would suit United. He is an excellent manager and teacher and he likes to attack but understands the necessity to defend at times. Just another name to throw in to the pot.
May 14th, 2008 at 22:01
Bloody spurs ah! every player we are linked to, 2 days later, they are, which then leads to them making a bid to said player, which is most likely is turned down, except for a few. i think they want to replicate us, our style of play and our standard of players. The 1 flaw is, we can be linked with players we want nothing to do with, *cough* owen, ashton *cough* and they make pointless and not though out signings.
May 14th, 2008 at 22:17
Dan; Perhaps you can enlighten us and tell us what the heck you are talking about? Who did Spurs sign? When you write a post don’t assume that everyone has or knows the information you have. Just because I’m on this blog doesn’t mean that I am surfing the net for rumors and gossip.
May 14th, 2008 at 22:21
nani has already replaced giggs as first choice left winger. He is still immature and erratic at times but his class is undeniable. Let’s hope his disgraceful display against west ham will teach him a lesson. Fergie should suspend him for the final. I also think it is time for Rooney to step up. It is one thing to have world class potential, but I think of is time for him to step up and become truly world class next season.
May 14th, 2008 at 22:26
I watched the second half of the Rangers match and thought Arshevin played pretty well. I still think we should keep faith with Nani and see how well he develops next year. The one striker i’m hoping we will sign is Huntelaar but I think we will probably go for Berbatov instead espcially since Ramos has admitted Berbatov is likey to move this summer. Looking forward to lauging at who else the papers link us to over the coming weeks and really wish that Real Madrid will just shut up about Ronaldo because there is simply no way they are getting him, not this summer anyway.
May 14th, 2008 at 22:29
Johnsom33; I totally disagree with you regarding Nani. I think that he is the long term hope for that position but he is not ready to take that responsibility full time. He is highly skilled but he has a lack of maturity, a selfish streak and a ten cent head at present. Lets hope he grows up over the next couple of seasons and then maybe we can say he will be the heir to Giggs. Right now his ability is not enough for him to secure that spot.
I honestly think we should go after the Zenit kid Arshevin. He is being compared to Shevchenko but that is very inaccurate. For me he reminds me of a young Pavel Nedved with even more pace and skill with both legs. He would be an outstanding LM/LW for us and his style of play perfectly suits our free flowing, overlapping passing offense. Once again he really impressed me today and I would just hate to see him go to some Italian side, only to see him be a world player of the year in three years for them. Trust me, it could happen. The kid is dynamite.
May 14th, 2008 at 22:33
SAFs comments that he would like to add an EXPERIENCED striker to the squad seems to rule out a move for a young player eg Benzema or Huntelaar and makes me think that a Berbatov, Fabiano or even Vuvinic might be on the radar. Personally the only two that have been mentioned that I wouldnt be happy with are Owen and Ashton.
May 14th, 2008 at 22:38
Grog, regarding Arshevin he does look a very good player, Fergie was in the crowd watching so maybe just maybe he caught his eye!
May 14th, 2008 at 23:10
Taron, I think there are only a few people who are mad at Nani!. There are also though a good few who think the guy will come good. As mentioned before, Fergie will harness his talent, same with Anderson’s. Nani and Andi are just loveing life at United, it’s covered all over their beaming smiles. Nani the ‘giggler’ was having the time of his life celebrating after the wigan game, and having very tipsy fun on The Players Awards on MUTV later.
Dan(u-ol), I think you mean Chelsea don’t you, when talking about going in for every player United are linked with????.Supposed United should be flattered though, if everyone wants to follow their decision making. Personally, I think Fergie will have already got his buys sown up, because United always do the cloak and dagger stuff. Perhaps it will turn out we weren’t ever after Boswinga after all lol!.
May 14th, 2008 at 23:23
DON’t FORGET MICAH RICHARDS OR KLASS JAN HUNTELAAR
May 14th, 2008 at 23:58
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Ronaldinho would be an amazing warning shot at the premiership for next season. Huntelaar is the tall frontman we need to change things up, and if any manager can get Ronaldinho back to his best (read: give him a kick up the arse), then it’s SAF. A midfield of Ronaldinho Hargreaves Scholes Ronaldo, and two of Rooney, Tevez and Huntelaar upfront…. Anderson or Carrick for Hargo or Scholes. Nani for either Ron. scary.
May 15th, 2008 at 0:15
true, nani lacks maturity. But giggs lacks pace. And dont let his goal against wigan(which prolly prevented alot of heart attacks) paper over the fact his form has been average at best this season. And by average I dont mean giggs of old. Saf will bring nani down to earth this season and you will see a new player next season. Nani and ronaldo on the wings with tevez up front and Rooney in the hole is the future. And will terrorize defenses for years to come.
I love scholes and giggs, but I hope they retire if we win the double. They are still capable of breath taking performances, but at their age those are coming few and far between. And I think sentiment has gotten in the way of team selection.
May 15th, 2008 at 1:10
i dont think nani is greedy at all. He finished the season top of the assists chart! In his first season as a bit part player. Thers nothing more we can ask from the boy at this stage….apart from maybe cutting out the theatrics. Thers no need to buy another Giggs replacement as weve done so already!!!!
Was at the rangers match tonight……fuckin gutted. Love the gers but the football is atrocious
May 15th, 2008 at 2:06
Picking up on what realred has just noted, Nani finished the season with 9 assists, just behind Rooney with 10 (Fabregas had 17), and according to Opta Premier League stats (via the guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/may/14/premierleague3)he was fourth (basically on a par with Giggs) in terms of minutes per chance created. He certainly needs to mature and adapt - perhaps not so much to the PL but to MU’s system - where strikers are so mobile. Maybe he hasn’t the keenest of football brains but awareness of your teammates’s position can be something you develop and I also think that once he’s more settled into the team he won’t be so eager to prove himself or show his skills. And if we get Huntelaar or a similar type of striker I think his crossings are going to generate a lot of goals. Basically, I think he’s probably ready to take on a bigger part next season and since Giggs is still around the transition can be fairly smooth. We won’t see the best of him until a couple of years from now, but he’s definitely ManU material.
May 15th, 2008 at 3:06
I think Dan(u-ol)was talking about Spuds trying to bid for marcelo moreno(2o yr old Cruzeiro striker) he came into the limelight last season and did pretty well this season too. Rumors goes that Utd are interested in him. As far as Arshavin goes, he was quite anonymous in the first half of the Rangers game, a few stray passes but quite immense on the second half. he will be a great addition to our utd squad and he seems to be able to play anywhere across the midfield. A few weeks ago, his price was touted to be around 10mil pounds and after last night showing, i bet his price will skyrocket. Arshavin is quite an experienced player, a handful of caps for russia (he’s 26 i believe, not as young as some ppl here seems to think)..i think nani can step up next season, he was quite erratic this season but remember, ronaldo was not any better in his first season here. With a number of games under his belt, he will definitely come good. I do feel that we need a backup winger does, as far as i love Park’s endless harassing and energy, he can’t quite beat a man nor put a decent cross in. The talk of us getting Richards/Alves/Lahm is worrisome. i do think they are/will be a world class player, but i am satisfied with the job Brown did for us this season, he does offers little going forward but he was quite consistent at the back. And getting a replacement right after a breakthrough season for him is..rude?disheartening? Anyway, i do hope utd will be active in the summer market. i am starving for utd news and thank god there is euro 08( something that will keep my mind a little off united)
May 15th, 2008 at 5:18
Johnsom33; Ask yourself this question. Would United be champions of England or in the Champions League final if it were not for Giggs and Scholes? They both scored critical game winning goals that enabled united to do both. It certainly wasn’t Nani or Anderson that saved our bacon against Barcelona or put the game out of question against Wigan. I partially agree with you but I would go as far as to say that Giggs should become a very valuable substitute and I do believe Scholes is still valuable as a starter 60% of the time because he is so intelligent and tidy with the ball. His age does not allow him to start every game though.
May 15th, 2008 at 5:33
realred; Greedy does not mean he hogs the ball. Greedy means he wants to be the hero and makes mental mistakes rather than doing the simple or intelligent thing. Quite often he takes a stupid shot that balloons over the goal or he tries to dribble through two defenders and loses the ball. Most notably is his poor decision making on fast counter breaks where he countlessly misses to pick out the right player to pass to because his head is down. Why is his head down? Because he is trying to do it all himself. And sorry to say this but Rangers are bloody disgrace tot he game. If everybody played the game like that it would send the game back in to the stone age and the stadiums would be half empty. I applaud Zenit for beating them because at least they played offensive and enterprising football. They were very deserving winners.
wick3d; Arshevin should be seriously looked at as a short term (2 to 3 year) fix until Nani has totally matured and acclimated himself to the team style and the EPL. I have seen Arshevin play 5 times now and I have to say the lad is outstanding. He was massive against Bayern and Leverkusen. Just awesome skills and pace.
And I really have to disagree about Ronaldo when he first came. Yes he made mental mistakes and showed greedy selfishness too but he also made way more great plays and made it very difficult for Fergie to keep him out of the lineup. Quite often his show pony style irritated but it also quite often left defenders flat on their ass. His skill level at 17 was much greater than Nani’s is at 21. He was also very willing to learn and listen to instruction. Nani clearly seems content on doing his thing and then hanging his head afterwards. Don’t get me wrong. I may down on the lad but I see a bright future for him at the club provided he want s to learn and he wants to mature. But this will take a few years. Seeing as Giggs clearly cannot start anymore, it is vital we find an experienced winger/LMF who can fill in and contribute at the high level expected of a United player. I really believe Fergie was given the answer to that question tonight at the City of Manchester Stadium. Arshevin would be tremendous signing.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:06
Avram Grant has come out and talked about perceived unfairness of the referees against Chelsea. However hard you try Mr.Grant, you are no Fergie. Leave the mind games to the ones who can actually do it. Scott of ROM has written an article here about this here: ROM Article
Check out this site: Right Result
This shows how the Premier League table would look if the referees got all their decisions right.
Team-Points actual-Points if all decision were right:
1. Man Utd-87-91
2. Arsenal-83-86
3. Chelsea-85-79
Surprise, surprise! If all decisions had gone right, we would have got 4 more points taking us to 91, Arsenal would have finished 2nd and Chelsea would have got 6 points less and would have had to play the Champions League qualifiers next season. And we would have wrapped up the title at home against West Ham.
Erm…, what was that again that Grant was talking about?
Also check out the Premier League Fair Play Table
United are 2nd, only behind Spurs, and gang of thugs are at 12th. Actually quite an achievement for the likes Terry and Drogba.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:21
Or play without 2 wingers! (3 mids (2 of them defensive types) and 2 fast overlapping fullbacks like Evra & that brazilian dude). Nani could be backup for ronaldo till he is ready. Up front play with 3 of ronaldo/rooney/tevez/new striker. The new striker (as fergie is indicated for an expereinced signing) could be someone like Trezeguet! He, at 31 still has 2 odd years of good football left in him. Shouldnt be too expensive (so will free up funds of RB signing so that OH is free to concentrate on DMF role) and has all the pedigree to be at a club like utd. he might be interested in moving to premiership. Also Eto’o seems to be available. Definitely fight for his signature if possible (but that can take away majority of our transfer funds).
May 15th, 2008 at 6:30
Regarding the Ronaldo rumors that Madrid and their sidekicks in the Spanish media seem to be creating almost every day, as everyone else I am getting sick and fed up of this.
How many times does the boy need to come out and say he is happy at United. As some one else suggested United should seriously consider lodging an official complaint to UEFA/FIFA regarding this.
And calderon better understand that we are a bigger club than his, and we sell players only when WE think we don’t need them anymore. So if we are going to sell a player to Madrid its when we want to, ala beckham,ruud and the traitor.
And if you want ronaldo, how about 200M pounds ramos casillas robinho schneider in return. Then maybe we could consider it [;]
May 15th, 2008 at 6:59
Nice Year End review of the Premier League: United they stand
May 15th, 2008 at 7:40
shreyas
we can also be accused of the same thing as madrid. we also unsettled OH, Saha etc before bringing them over to OT. All big teams can be accused of this thing basically. Arsenal go out and ’steal’ young good players from other academies for dirt cheap. chelsea will just buy anybody they like for whatever price. and utd try to unsetttle the player they want to bring thru many means. There is no fairness in the world when it comes to poaching players from so-called lesser teams.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:54
Good financial news
Times: United set for biggest payout in world football
May 15th, 2008 at 12:06
Interesting comments…I don’t know how Anderson or Nani will develop, I’ll judge them in their second year when and if they get a decent run of games, so far they’ve done pretty well for newcomers, I’m sure most of our rivals would love to have them
As for signings, I would look at the areas of excellence in Uniteds play this last season:
Defence - Excellent, hard to find a better defensive unit.
Central Midfield - Compared to rivals, sad to say, but a very mixed bag; excellence in passing, weak in going forward through the middle, tackling? :), terrible heading , poor speed, poor physical presence…Imagine the amount of goals which would have been scored this season with Essien and Fabregas instead of Carrick and Scholes in midfield…now I don’t like saying it, but I think it’s true…
Wings - Excellence on one side, non-existent on Giggs’ side, he can’t beat a man any more, his passing was dreadful most of the time, Nani seems like he needs to play to gain confidence, he looks a bit unloved, it’s a difficult position to gain confidence with because it’s more of an individual thing, were you need to beat your man
Attack - Definite excellence, brilliant interplay and movement, a new way for United without a target man, only weakness is the heading and Rooney’s finishing (Tevez too)…By buying some big name hotshot, there is a danger of messing up this fast paced interplay, especially if the guy expects to play all the time
A big guy is needed though, just not all the time
Goalkeeping - Excellent keeper, getting on though, don’t want to go back to the bad old days of having a series of joke keepers, Kuszczak is pretty awful, he looks nervous
May 15th, 2008 at 12:20
Grognard et al; Dan was talking about Spurs’ putting in a bid for Marcelo Moreno I think.
May 15th, 2008 at 12:25
[jos]
In Hargo’s case, it was the player who was more desperate than the club for the transfer. OH kept insisting that he be transferred to United. The closest Sir Alex came to unsettling is when he said Benzema is a good player! Fergie is nowhere near Calderon in unsettling players. FIFA should definitely take some action on Calderon. He has gone a bit too far.
May 15th, 2008 at 12:50
According to manutd.com Rio Ferdinand’s new contract is a five-year deal that will keep him at Manchester until 2013 when he will be almost 35.
Having also completed contracts for Carrick and Brown the most important signing for next year will be for Evra, as his current contract was for 3 1/2 years from Jan 2006, and will run out this time next year.
May 15th, 2008 at 12:54
so raj
OH wanted desperately to leave JUST after signing a 4 year extension!!!
I know we are nowhere near to RM or Barca when it comes to unsettling other team’s players but we are not entirely sinless either. Fergie relentlessly chased OH and that made that transfer possible (I dont think Bayern would have been happy to see him go although they pocketed a pretty handsome amount for a DMF but he was a player who came thru their ranks). If you start seeing from a smaller club’s perspective then we have been sinners many times for this sort of thing (OH, Saha, Rooney, RvN etc). How are the smaller teams supposed to challenge the bigfishes if their best players are always nicked from under their noses. Utd wouldnt have been the same today if Inter, ACM or RM had managed to ‘lure’ the likes of Giggs/Scholes/Keane/Schmichael etc.
Poor Lyon! Seen them losing the likes of Essien, Malouda, Abidal, Diarra (and now impending exits of Ben Arfa and Benzema!) in last 1-2 years. Crazy amounts of talent that is!!!
May 15th, 2008 at 13:10
..pray this doesnt happen………
just the thought crept into my mind.What if United have a major injury crisis next season? just imagine: Rio, Ronaldo, Rooney, scholsy injured, Nani suspended for 5 games?? what would the 1st team be like?
May 15th, 2008 at 13:55
dun 4get Jos they robbed the clubs for selling them…
Diarra - 17m
essien - 25m
Malouda -14m
abidal -12m(corect me if am wrong here)
more over Lyon is sa selling club and i must say they are very succesful in it
May 15th, 2008 at 14:32
Barcelona have struck personal terms with Manchester United defender Gerard Pique. (El Mundo Deportivo 1337 BST)
May 15th, 2008 at 14:55
Lyon aren’t exactly a selling club, Aulus(though an outspoken idiot)tends to mould fantastic footballers in world stars and pretty much replaces them with clones. The players BOND listed are pretty much worth the money in todays market and the players who have come will be no different.
Diarra 17m - R.Madrid > Toulalan 5m
Essien 25m - Chelsea > Kallstrom
Malouda 14m - Chelsea > Ben Arfa YOUTH
Abidal 12m - Barca > Grosso 5m
Thiago 10m - Juve > Bodmer 4m
Thats not mentioning there academy which ranks alongside Barca’ Boca etc..
>Benzema, Clerc, Govou, Ben Arfa
I wouldn’t be suprised to see Aulus sell Ben Arfa(13m) and Benzema(23m), he’s gonna get millions for the pair of them!!
Lyon also have 2 excellant youth players in Yannis TAFER and Alexandre LACAZETTE.
Benzema is the player i most want to join Utd but he will stay until 2009 i reckon.
Huntelaar is my 2nd choice.
Fabiano and Alves are vastly overatted and overpriced.
May 15th, 2008 at 15:07
I do not think we need to splash out on an expensive striker. A third striker would be fine. But I would like to buy a Giggs replacement as Nani needs another season or two to develop and Giggs really is on his last legs. Scholes still has a season or two in him.
May 15th, 2008 at 15:46
[jos]
OH had signed his 4-year contract extension much before United started expressing interest in him. Read this soccerlens article. Hargo was indeed desperate to sign with United.
And I do agree that we are not entirely sinless. We are not very different from other big clubs. But, we don’t do it to Calderon’s extent. He has been speaking about signing Ronaldo,Kaka and Fabregas for more than an year now.
May 15th, 2008 at 15:51
Arshavin’s not coming. No left winger’s coming. No attacking central midfielder’s coming. We don’t need either. We have an old boy in each position and a young talented player in each position. The transition is taking place. Fergie won’t upset that. Nani and anderson have proved themselves good enough to compete this year and next year they will be expected to contribute more, as giggs and scholes(especially giggs) contribute less. I would like to see anderson and scholes playing more together next year. Scholes can play a sitting role and free up anderson to let him do his thing.
Grognard, fergie doesn’t have an anti-german bias. He always tries to get in the best players for the team. If there has been a lack of interest in german players or players from the german league it’s simply because they’re not good enough. Also, fergie will know all about gomez. He will be on fergie’s radar. Just about every player any of us have seen or heard of, fergie will know about. If he’s good enough then fergie will be interested.
May 15th, 2008 at 16:50
bit of rant here, but thanks to the actions of a few idiots yesterday, they’re now not gonna show the Champions league Final on the big screens in Manchester.. despite it being a great for the city that its team has got into a final,of a competition which i may say dwarfs its shitty sister competition. It just annoying that just because of a technical fuck up, now the greatest match in recent times won’t be shown on the big screens like it deserves.
May 15th, 2008 at 17:07
i know this is irrelevant but is the pitch in the Luzhinski stadium gonna be artificial?
May 15th, 2008 at 17:23
ashravin plays for zenit, a club bankrolled by one of the biggest companies in the world (gasprom, a 400 billion dollar giant)! In a sense they are even more rich than the roman russian! zenit dont need to sell him. gasprom has commited lot of money to the club as well so I doubt if he will leave.
raj, OH had signed his 4 year extension the same year we started courting him. Knowledgable people can correct me if I am wrong as I seem to remember him going to WC 06 with just 1 year left on his deal (or in the last year, not sure) and signing the extension (either just before the cup or just after, again dont remember exactly). He was available for dirt cheap (or perhaps on free) few weeks before WC! We had a very lengthy almost more than a year long courting process in order to acquire his services during which his price fluctuated between 7-20m UKP!
May 15th, 2008 at 17:54
What about Coupet in goal next season and let VDS back to Ajax? He’s on a free in the summer. As regards a striker Huntelaar is the best option. There’s no point spending £30m on Berbatov or Benzema considering they still won’t be first choice!I’d prefer a more defensive minded right back to accomadate Evra’s runs up the left. Micah Richards is the best option for right back but he might not leave City incase he gets killed for being a traitor. Ramos wouldn’t leave Madrid so that basically leaves Lahm who isn’t outstanding in defence but is good going forward.
May 15th, 2008 at 17:58
http://www.eatsleepsport.com/articles/733064.html
4m I thoght he was rated 10m which means 15 m euros.
He’s proven in Spain so 15m euro is reasonable
May 15th, 2008 at 17:59
I think signing Lahm, if possible will be a great deal, he can provide cover for both evra and brown. and now that sylvestre is rumoured to join up with Blanc at Bordeaux, he could provide a nice overall cover at the back. as for the left wing, i remember reading(maybe im wrong) that andersons favoured posistion is on the left, so why not try playing him there, that will provide extra cover for giggs/nani, and give him more games. as for strikes, i think most of the strikers mentioned will fall through in the english pl. so im kind of nervous about the striker situation.
May 15th, 2008 at 18:04
Magno, at last someone who sees that our midfield needs TACKLERS, someone preferably in the Essien power range, who is a ball winner, has strength, pace and goal scoring ability. There are not that many about though, not ones that the tope teams would be willing to part with anyway!. Carrick can pass, but his tackling and speed are average really, he’s not one who makes himself powerfully felt in midfield. Scholes can’t tackle if his life depends on it, but he has been good in other areas though!. We need another defensice midfielder to play with Hargo who can tackle, and has got speed, AND DARE I SAY IT, is as good as Becks at forward wing play, and pinpoint crossing into the box. He has more pace than Becks too. I have been saying all season Magno that our midfield is our weakest link, and I agree with you, if we had an Essien/Fabregas type midfield, with Hargo and Carrick, we would walk the prem again.
May 15th, 2008 at 18:47
tevez; Sorry mate but that’s a load of rubbish. Not good enough? Are you kidding me? Germany has been a powerhouse in football for 60 years and has made the World Cup final no less than 7 times and has won the Euro Championship a record 3 times and you say that German players are not good enough. Go have a cold shower and wake up out of your slumber. Over the past ten years there have been many great German players who could have been great players for United. But Fergie never really wanted them. He has a major German bias because the law of averages dictates that over the past 20 years the chances of one German player playing for us should have been very high. As far as talent goes they are in the top 5 countries in the world and their continual excellence in international tournaments shows that. They just aren’t Fergie’s cup of tea and that’s just the facts. It could be a personal thing that goes way back to history and having lost family members in the war. That’s just a guess but I do believe there is something there. To settle for players from lesser nations over German players who are just as good or even better cannot be overlooked. Fergie can do as he pleases but you will have to go very far to prove to me that there is no bias. Name me a major footballing country that has not been represented at Old Trafford over the past 20 years? I can only think of two. Germany and Italy (Taibi does not count). I honestly can’t understand why these two countries have not been better represented on our team over the years. Footballing minnows they are not. And quality players they have produced in the thousands.
Instead we have looked to many countries with a weaker footballing pedigree for our players, while overlooking two nations that have some of the best trained, most skillful and disciplined players on the planet. To quote Fergie himself, “It’s a bloody disgrace”.
Regarding Arshavin, Fergie has come out and said that he wants to find a left sided midfield player or winger. So you are in fact going against the very thoughts of the manager. Bold indeed. He like a lot of us out there not wearing blinders can tell that Nani is not ready for prime time and that Giggs is no better than a quality sub anymore. We need to give Nani time enough to mature and grow while having a player we can trust and count on in that role for the next couple of years. There was a reason Fergie was at the game yesterday and it was not to watch Rangers bore the world to sleep with their terrible brand of football. He was there to see the man that destroyed Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen with his pace, skill, vision and incredible passing ability. For crying out loud, the lad is good enough to be the replacement for Paul Scholes as well. And he is only 24. If we don’t make a bid for him I will be very surprised as there are not too many player who play the left side with as much dominance as the Russian lad. Just remember that if it happens I called it first. I just have a feeling that Fergie sees what I have seen in this kid.