Manchester United Transfer Rumours/Discussion 2006 :)

PHB

Fortune - Good servant for the club. Probably best for everyone he moves on. Thanks for the memories

homerjay2005

quinton while seemingly a very nice lad, just is not at the standard required for united. he had a few great games for us and did a good job. a versatile player, could seem him move to some team like boro or he may want to quit england altogether. is this another sign of the glazer get tough policy?i have a feeling that they want to cut the squad down to 21 + 3 keepers, similar to the mourinho stance at chelsea.this also frees up wages. thought fergusons comment was a bit unfair about having young players in his position. cruel to be honest. who is next to go? will silvestre be sold in the summer? incoming, i still harbour hopes on a decent DM like diarra and then somebody like riquelme, my view on him is changing, he is starting to really impress me and i think that he would be a great signing, he was class for argentina against england and was very good the last night against inter. anybody have a latest on the mikel saga?

Headshot

when and where can i get my hands on a ticket for the roy keanes testimontial

PHB

apply online at manutd.com

Fergie was at the Lyon vs. Milan game last night, so it's gona be Diarra or Gattuso

Headshot

PHB wrote:

apply online at manutd.com

Fergie was at the Lyon vs. Milan game last night, so it's gona be Diarra or Gattuso

thanks

gracehopper

Fortune was a decent squad player and will be useful to player for plenty of premiership teams.

On the signing of a new midfielder : It has to be Diarra, I understand why people admire Gattuso. He's committed, strong in the tackle and busy but he is no replacement for roy keane and he certainly isnt as good as Diarra who got the better of him in both matches. I just hope Milan or real dont take a fancy to him

SteM

gracehopper wrote:

On the signing of a new midfielder : It has to be Diarra, I understand why people admire Gattuso. He's committed, strong in the tackle and busy but he is no replacement for roy keane and he certainly isnt as good as Diarra who got the better of him in both matches. I just hope Milan or real dont take a fancy to him

Apart from the goal, I didn't think much of Diarra last night to be honest The valuation that Lyon have put on him is way over the top but I guess that's just done to try and keep bigger clubs away.

The rumours going around are that Real and Chelsea are both interested in him.

Headshot

wheres the best place to say near old trafford


also can any one tell me the distance from old trafford to the manchester airport
in time

Necronomicon

Fortune was a decent squad player, but if United are going to make big midfield signings then he probably would have found it hard to come back into the team after a long injury layoff.

BFassassin

he is a good player but if united get another couple of midfielders in the summer then he will be further down the pecking order and wont get his place in the squad.

wheres me jumpa

Fortune, average squad player. Useful to have but no loss.

In terms of the new midfielders I dont think Diarra is the answer to our problems. Two players I would love to see at United are Kevin Nolan and Michael Carrick. Both are proven Premiership quality. Which is what we need.

Two other players I have been impressed with are Malbranque of Fulham but also Petit of Benfica.

Jivin Turkey

On last nights display I can't see what the fuss about Diarra is. Particularly for the figures being touted around at the moment.

andyman

If United are to buy a midfielder, it has to be Riquelme. In DMC terms it would have to be Diarra or Mascherano

wheres me jumpa

Jivin Turkey wrote:

On last nights display I can't see what the fuss about Diarra is. Particularly for the figures being touted around at the moment.

TBH I havent seen that much of him, but of what I have seen I havent been impressed. Actually Riquelme is a fabolous player. Im not sure who of all these players United are capable of signing.

Headshot

{(-_-)}HeadShoT** wrote:

wheres the best place to say near old trafford


also can any one tell me the distance from old trafford to the manchester airport
in time

sorry ment to say

wheres the best place to stay near old trafford

Aquos76

Stay in Jury's Inn in the City centre. Hop on the metro for 2 quid out to OT.

Necronomicon

wheres me jumpa wrote:

TBH I havent seen that much of him, but of what I have seen I havent been impressed. Actually Riquelme is a fabolous player. Im not sure who of all these players United are capable of signing.

I just wonder how willing SAF would be to go after another South American. It seems to be a risk, you don't know how they will adapt to the Premiership. Nobody knows better than Fergie either, with Veron and Forlan.
I've seen a few Lyon games between this season and last, I certainly wouldn't mind seeing Diarra come to United. But I find it surprising that they are linked more with him than Juninho, who usually grabs the headlines. He really bosses the midfield and takes a superb free kick.

Mitch Connor

Jivin Turkey wrote:

On last nights display I can't see what the fuss about Diarra is. Particularly for the figures being touted around at the moment.

What did you think of Pirlo and Kaka in that game......

As for Riquelme - great player, not sure if he would be right for united.

Riquelme is a player that has to be given free reign to attack the opposition, the team has to be moulded around him, to get the best of him. Its why he did not succeed at Barcelona imo. At united, he would not get the same treatment he gets at Villarreal - he would be played in a 442 and expected to play the same type of game scholes has over his career - a centre mid, concentrating on attack but also helping out the defense when we don't have the ball. I'm not sure we would get the best out of him in those circumstances, and there is also the question of whether he could adapt to the pace and physical nature of the english game, he could turn out like veron.

If we had a player like Keane from 99, who could run the defensive show on his own, JRR could work, but in a 4 man midfield where he will have to balance and limit his natural game, i don't know if it can work.

Mitch Connor

i thinl Juninho is too old at this point - he's 32/33 isn't he?

As for fergie's willingness to buy another South American, apparently he is off to brazil to go see Mascherano play, so i don't think he has anything against it!

gracehopper

I think United need 2 work horses in the middle. Both players should be able to defend and hurt teams by passing from deep. Like Xabi Alonso, Ruben Baraja or Roy Keane. I've only seen Mascherano a few times but he looks quality.
I dont think Riquelme is the answer for United. Let Rooney, Ruud and Ronaldo do the attacking.

wheres me jumpa,
I take your point about proven premiership player. Nolan & Carrick have come on well this year and another proven premiership player i'd love to see in a United jersey would be Tim Cahill. His runs from deep would hurt any team. I'm not sure about Malbranque though

TheMonster

gracehopper wrote:

I think United need 2 work horses in the middle. Both players should be able to defend and hurt teams by passing from deep. Like Xabi Alonso, Ruben Baraja or Roy Keane. I've only seen Mascherano a few times but he looks quality.
I dont think Riquelme is the answer for United. Let Rooney, Ruud and Ronaldo do the attacking.

wheres me jumpa,
I take your point about proven premiership player. Nolan & Carrick have come on well this year and another proven premiership player i'd love to see in a United jersey would be Tim Cahill. His runs from deep would hurt any team. I'm not sure about Malbranque though

I think you will see one Foreign midfielder and one from the premiership.

gracehopper

So AIG are the new shirt sponsors and for cheaper than the mansion bid. One of Mr Glazers cronies no doubt!

PHB

I think you will see one Foreign midfielder and one from the premiership.

Why? Just guessing.

Fergie has stated the midfielders he wants are in teh champions league, so unless he is intending a bid for Zabi, Gerrard, Essien, Lampard, Makelele, Fabregas, or Gilberto, I doubt we'll see a midfielder from the premiership playing for united next season.

---

So AIG are the new shirt sponsors and for cheaper than the mansion bid. One of Mr Glazers cronies no doubt!

What do you mean? A cronie?

14.15 million sterling a year for shirt sponsorship. Juve's is around 15 million sterling a year, so its good to see us up there.

blastman wrote:

I'm not trying to make a big deal out of the sponsorship at all, I'm just pointing out that expecting someone to come along and offer a record shirt sponsorship deal to a team that isn't doing particularly well at the moment is optimistic, to say the least.

Big Nelly

gracehopper wrote:

So AIG are the new shirt sponsors and for cheaper than the mansion bid. One of Mr Glazers cronies no doubt!

Think it had more to do with they didnt want the image of Utd along with that of a betting company

BFassassin

i wonder what it will look like on a jersey?

gracehopper

PHB wrote:

What do you mean? A cronie?

14.15 million sterling a year for shirt sponsorship. Juve's is around 15 million sterling a year, so its good to see us up there.

Its a great deal but it wouldnt surprise me if AIG was the source of some of Malcom Glazers financing to buy the club over. you dont underbid the highest bidder and win. Although as BigNelly mentioned perhaps United didnt want their name associated with Mansion gambling

Brian017

BFassassin wrote:

i wonder what it will look like on a jersey?

http://picsrv.manutd.com/?fif=/manu/img_10_13669.jpg&obj=iip,1.0&wid=230&hei=159&rgn=0,0,0,0&cvt=jpeg

PHB

Yeh, so how would that make them cronies?
I have heard rumblings that these guys are linked to the hedge funds, but considernig how big the hedge funds are and the size of this company, I'd imagine microsoft are linked to them too

Mansion was a gambling company, and NFL people and viewers would not like it if Glazier supported them. They were reported to offer 60 million until they got rejected, at which point they offered 70 million in public. They were annoyed about the deal, so they wanted to negativly effect United as much as possible by saying they offered lots more than they actually did. It's just media crap.

p.s. It's actually quite ugly, I'd imagine it will change.

Mitch Connor

gracehopper wrote:

Its a great deal but it wouldnt surprise me if AIG was the source of some of Malcom Glazers financing to buy the club over. you dont underbid the highest bidder and win. Although as BigNelly mentioned perhaps United didnt want their name associated with Mansion gambling

So if a porn company offered 80million you'd expect to see them on the jersey?

Its a sponsorship deal - you don't go for the highest bidder, you go for the best package. Maybe that is what AIG offered.

TheMonster

could you imagine the uproar the tabloids would create if it was a gambling company(leading kids astray - focring kids into gambling at a young age)

MrPillowTalk

TheMonster wrote:

could you imagine the uproar the tabloids would create if it was a gambling company(leading kids astray - focring kids into gambling at a young age)

Dont think there would be much uproar 888.com and other betting companies are on the pitch side billboards at some premiership grounds

wheres me jumpa

gracehopper wrote:

wheres me jumpa,
I take your point about proven premiership player. Nolan & Carrick have come on well this year and another proven premiership player i'd love to see in a United jersey would be Tim Cahill. His runs from deep would hurt any team. I'm not sure about Malbranque though

I said it was a weird one but I dont think we can afford two world class players. So I would imagine one big name will come in and then we need to find a good value buy. Trilla pointed him out ot me before and since then I have taken notice also.

SteM

Brian017 wrote:

http://picsrv.manutd.com/?fif=/manu/img_10_13669.jpg&obj=iip,1.0&wid=230&hei=159&rgn=0,0,0,0&cvt=jpeg

That just the logo stuck on the current jersey, there will be a new design next season. Hopefully the AIG logo won't be quite as big on that one,

On the subject of the why they delt with AIG David Gill said:

We passed up the opportunity to do the world’s biggest shirt deal to do the right shirt deal, one that is right for Manchester United and one that underlines our position as the world’s leading club. AIG’s global operations complement our great fanbase and we are excited about the global prospects this relationship brings. This is a blue chip deal for a blue chip club.

For once I believe him, there's a lot more to organising a 4 year sponsorship deal than taking the highest offer.

Jivin Turkey

Tauren wrote:

What did you think of Pirlo and Kaka in that game......

They were not great, but they have proved enough in their careers at the highest level to warrant a £20M tag.

Being a Liverpool fan, I'm all too familiar with the risks associated with buying big from the French league. And also seeing how Essien is getting on at Chelsea, I don't think it would be a dead safe bet to be splashing £20M on Diarra.

He is a good player don't get me wrong, but I think United could spend their money more wisely.

PHB

If I had a choice between Gattuso and Diarra ( I know, what a cool choice if we actually had it) I'd pick Gattuso. He is the safer bet. Maybe Diarra would become absolutely amazing, but Gattuso will be top class for definate.

Necronomicon

PHB wrote:

If I had a choice between Gattuso and Diarra ( I know, what a cool choice if we actually had it) I'd pick Diarra. He is the safer bet. Maybe Diarra would become absolutely amazing, but Gattuso will be top class for definate.

I'm presuming you meant to say Gattuso there??

PHB

indeed

anonymous_joe

I'd accept either at this stage.

gsand

Diarra was good the other night against Milan and seems to be at quite a high level consistently but I get the feeling Madrid are keen on him and I could see AC, Inter also considering...Gattuso has about a 1% chance of leaving AC imo

LostinBlanch

Diarra is the one but there'll be competition from Chelsea and Real for him so I don;'t hink we'll get him. Fergie is also supposed to be looking for Mascherano from Corinthians but then again so are Chelsea. (I'm beginning to notice a pattern here).

So Kevin Nolan it is then.

Headshot

LostinBlanch wrote:

Diarra is the one but there'll be competition from Chelsea and Real for him so I don;'t hink we'll get him. Fergie is also supposed to be looking for Mascherano from Corinthians but then again so are Chelsea. (I'm beginning to notice a pattern here).

So Kevin Nolan it is then.

when peter Kenyon went he took united long term plans with him

PHB

Yeh, but this season is when Kenyon's knowledge is beginning to run out bit by bit, thank god.
By next season, Chelsea will have to do their own scouting.

p.s.
Essien hasn't exactly worked out has he?

Headshot

PHB wrote:

p.s.
Essien hasn't exactly worked out has he?

very good point

homerjay2005

will the obi mikel saga influence things in the summer?does anybody have any news on this?there has been nothing on it for about a month now, will it ever end?

ideally this would be the united squad for next year for me anyway

keepers

van der sar
howard(though he could requst a transfer)

i wouldnt be surprised if united spent about 3 million in the summer on a keeper, as i feel howard will want to go to get first team football

Defenders

Neville
Ferdinand
Vidic
Evra
Browne
o shea
heinze
silvestre> i would lik to see him sold which would bring in maybe 2/3 million
pique

midfielders
ronaldo
scholes
riquelme> i reckon he is number one target
park
giggs

mikel?? has this deal been paid for already?
kevin nolan possibly,

after this, im clutching at straws, the rest are just not up to it
fletcher> please let him go
richardson> sell him

we badly need at least 3 players in here, only ronaldo, giggs, scholes, and park are up to it at the moment in there

forwards
rooney
saha
van nistelrooy
rossi>he will go on loan possibly
smith

PHB

riquelme will not fit into the english game, he requires too much time juts like Veron.
We don't need a midfielder to create, we're ok with that, we need a midfielder to control and taclke

Headshot

PHB wrote:

riquelme will not fit into the english game, he requires too much time juts like Veron.
We don't need a midfielder to create, we're ok with that, we need a midfielder to control and taclke

i disagree

Riquelme has great strength,he shields the ball so well
brilliant player
holds the ball up very well
he would be the new paul scholes for me

PHB

He does, do those things, he is not the new paul scholes.

The entire Villarael team is build around him, with other midfields around him to do the rest of the work. United would have to structure their entire team around them, and it'd be a return to a 4-5-1, which we won't have the midfielders for, even with him.

sprinkles

Don't agree with riquilme not fitting in. I think he's a far more versatile player than veron and is willing to get back and do his bit for the defence. I think he would fit i nicely to the united structure however I do agree that the number 1 target should be a DM.

Lemlin

Have to laugh at the English press. I was just looking at Teletext on ITV and Ceefax on BBC.

One has it that United will have more money to spend this Summer, while the other reckons SAF has been told he won't get any funds. Which is it lads?

astrofool

they just print the opposite next week, then during the summer, whichever outcome, they print a snapshot of the article saying "we wuz right", and hence more people buy the paper and believe the stories.

Also, is it just me, or has the Mirror turned into the Weekly World News for football? I mean they were very bad before, but alot of their newer stories are just bizarre.

Also, the NOTW were saying today that alan curbishley had wrecked his chances as England manager because his side drew yesterday.