Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip Rumours Thread 2011/2012

nicklauski

There is an idea of a Sean Bateman; some kind of abstraction. But there is no real Sean: only an entity, something illusory. And though he can hide his cold gaze, and you can shake his hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable... He simply is not there.

:P


Now, what about this football talk eh.........

Samba

Rooney10 wrote: »

Tbh, speculating whether we would have won 19 if Wilkins didn't leave Chelsea is as completely and utterly pointless as discussing his aunts bits. It's a rubbish argument based on nothing but speculation.

Fact is 19 is in the bag. Move on.

The argument boils down to our MF, not whether or not we won the league, now let's concentrate on non speculative arguments as you suggested yourself, I have moved on thanks, I thought that was quite clear in my last post.

If our MF is fine, then we won't be looking to bolster our options in any major way, so if people who are arguing that there's nothing wrong with our MF are right, then I can't see many more new faces arriving before the transfer deadline. We'll see.

SSN

Speculation: According to reports in Spain, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla are both keen on Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung. Atletico have money to spend due to the expected sale of David De Gea to United, while Sevilla are only prepared to offer £7million. Reports claim both clubs have sounded out Park's agent, but have not made a formal offer for the South Korean.

TheTownie

Liam O wrote: »

has the speculation around that Pato bloke died down?

This is an article by Tor-Kristian Karlsen who has seen Rodriguez play and thinks it just BS coming from the father and the agent. Its a translated article so English is poor in places.

Many are curious on Independiente player Patricio "Patito" Rodriguez after he was linked to Manchester United.Here is a highly personal assessment of the Argentine who apparently excites many.

Before I report specifically on the player, it is useful to point to any conditions that we should take this transition was talking with a fat pinch of salt: The interest from Manchester United is not unexpected from the Argentine hold - it is the player's father and agent who have commented on the alleged attention from the Premier League in the local press.Also, Independiente in major financial difficulties, Rodriguez priced at EUR 10 million (!) And it may well be that the English big club will only be used to jazz up the hype around the boy.But even more important: Patricio Rodriguez is far away from Manchester United's class.

Talent to Rodriguez, however, well known - as an Argentine fotballfyr said to me the other day "if you'd be sold Patito on the basis of what he does on the training field, he'd already been at Real Madrid."But he delivers the pitch is a different story.Earlier this season took the team's coach, Antonio Mohamed, reportedly a alvorsord with the boy - one-way conversation sounded something like "You are a great talent, you are bursting with potential - but rarely delivers when I give you a chance from the start or as a substitute. This must be season you go from being a child talent 'Patito' a serious actress. "So a few months side Independiente hardly knew what to do with the boy.

But 21-year-old apparently took to it, any smart coach's advice, the last 3-4 months, he has performed more smoothly and at a higher level than before.Yet far from sufficient to merit a link to a Champions League finalist.

Most people have probably heard that Patricio Rodriguez is an offensive midfielder.I remember him as very thin, not skinny, during his first season for Independiente.Now he has "beef up" 3-4 pounds and is reminiscent of Pablo Aimar in body building (and to a certain degree of play).I have seen him described as a "playmaker", but he did not: to justify the designation missing his gaze, passing the registry and the strategic / geometric properties.And he has too little ball contact to put a unique stamp on the offensive plans.

However, Rodriguez - who Aimar - an offensive player that constantly seeks 1v1 situations (although he rarely come victorious out of more than 25-30% of these situations during a match so it looks great now he is successful), very fast legs and quick movements in small areas, a good shot with the right foot (the left can also be used) - a typical "handful" when he is in battle.

On the other hand Rodriguez a "fits and starts" type, with fine touches in the course of five intense quality minutes before he runs out of the action zone in the next ten minutes.In my opinion witness such behavior to mental weakness.And combined with physical weakness, I'm really not sure if this is a winning recipe for a happy story to stay.

I'm still not convinced that Manchester United were talking at all is more than fantasy.If Rodriguez was 17, he could be exciting, but four years older and still unfinished and tactical performance swinging does not beat the Argentine me as a potential Premier League here.

gracehopper

I think with Hernandez up front and Rooney playing in the hole behind we will probably only see a defensive midfielder bought in if we see any midfield signing at all. Sneijder is looking for some ridiculous wages according to the stories in the media. For me, Modric would have to improve his all round game to get into the united team. Spurs are so easy to open up its not funny. I'm not saying he is the sole responsible person for this, just saying for united he would be expected to link the attackers and defend when needed. he's probably a bit better than what we have now but i wouldnt be swapping berba + cash for him anyway. He's not worth it. If Chelsea want to pay 30m+ then fair play to them. Giggsy and co will still cut through Chelsea with or without Modric.

Someone said below that there are only a handful of players in the world that could improve our midfield. I would agree with that. It then comes down to whether they want to come and if we can afford them. We would do better to make our own superstars. The United way.

parker kent

dahat wrote: »

Nasri is only 23 and lots of improvement to come from him in years to come,his transfer though is looking highly unlikely now.

Modric while not Xavi is a player who would improve the midfield we currently have,his ability to find a player and link play is what we need with Scholes retiring.His price tag of 30 million is little hefty but with Berba a possible make weight it might work out at 20 cash.

Personally i think Spurs would rather sell to us than Chelsea owing to rivallry etc but as with Nasri i think this transfer is unlikely as it seems Modric is settled in London,He seems like a grounded player with family important to him

See I didn't say either were bad players or that they would not improve the team. I just said that Modric is over priced/over rated and that Nasri's form last year led to people getting carried away.

keane2097

parker kent wrote: »

See I didn't say either were bad players or that they would not improve the team. I just said that Modric is over priced/over rated and that Nasri's form last year led to people getting carried away.

I think Nasri's always been pretty impressive when on form despite being in and out of their team, from early on showed a lot of class, I think he's now maturing into a really excellent player.

You're right that he's not the best MF in the world or anything, but he's going to be brilliant, no doubt about it imo.

parker kent

keane2097 wrote: »

I think Nasri's always been pretty impressive when on form despite being in and out of their team, from early on showed a lot of class, I think he's now maturing into a really excellent player.

You're right that he's not the best MF in the world or anything, but he's going to be brilliant, no doubt about it imo.

I don't doubt he will be very good, I have said that. It is just that the hype machine goes into over drive when players hit particularly good runs of form. You can be a very good player yet still over rated.

elius

I wonder would fergie put in a sneaky bid for Michael Essien his career has stalled at Chelsea between injury and form we all know what he;s capable of and a move to united might be welcome he's only 28 so a 4 year deal would be ideal...

VW 1

elius wrote: »

I wonder would fergie put in a sneaky bid for Michael Essien his career has stalled at Chelsea between injury and form we all know what he;s capable of and a move to united might be welcome he's only 28 so a 4 year deal would be ideal...

I'm not too sure that Chelsea would want to sell to us just because they obviously know our problem area is mf and they know they would be strengthening our weakest area. Same as Arsenal with Nasri really. As much as a lot of supporters would love it to happen.

dahat

parker kent wrote: »

See I didn't say either were bad players or that they would not improve the team. I just said that Modric is over priced/over rated and that Nasri's form last year led to people getting carried away.

Modric at 20 million plus Berba is not overpriced for the type of player he is,players who can link play and create are few and far between.

Nasri excelled last year when playing his favoured role in the centre,this i believe is where his true ability will come to the fore in years to come.Fab returning to the centre meant him returning to the wings and a drop off in form

Nalz

Anyone know when exact fixture dates are confirmed, ie when do sky stick their nose in and confirm tv dates?

keane2097

parker kent wrote: »

I don't doubt he will be very good, I have said that. It is just that the hype machine goes into over drive when players hit particularly good runs of form. You can be a very good player yet still over rated.

lol yeah, 100% - Nani!

keane2097

Trilla wrote: »

Anyone know when exact fixture dates are confirmed, ie when do sky stick their nose in and confirm tv dates?

They can change pretty much anytime during the season. Inherent risk in booking flights to go over and stuff.

Nalz

keane2097 wrote: »

They can change pretty much anytime during the season. Inherent risk in booking flights to go over and stuff.

Don't they list dates of the first 3 months or so of their proposed televised games?

keane2097

Trilla wrote: »

Don't they list dates of the first 3 months or so of their proposed televised games?

I'll defer to RasTa or Homer who will know for sure (or Iago if he's around), but I seem to remember people complaining about getting stung in here last year when a game was unexpectedly moved...

homerjay2005

keane2097 wrote: »

I'll defer to RasTa or Homer who will know for sure (or Iago if he's around), but I seem to remember people complaining about getting stung in here last year when a game was unexpectedly moved...

we normally book in 6 week blocks as soon as the tv lists come which normally are 6 weeks at a time. they wont be announced for a few weeks yet i think, going on last year it was well into july. they will probably announce them until start of october, then sometime in late august/early september announce them for october to end november and so on and so on..i aint even looked at flights yet, never do until tv comes out.

sometimes its handy to predict them, united v city/liverpool is always likely to be sunday 1.30 though with city now in the cl, that could move to sat 12.45 to avoid problems with tuesdays. alot will depend on the CL pairing, i would think they will play united/chelsea games on one night, and arsenal/city games on the other night.

inother words, if there are "big" games on the weekend before CL, they are more than likely to be played on sat morning.

RasTa

I only got stung when I gambled. Prime example the first game last season, I booked flights for the Saturday and Sunday and the feckers moved it to Monday night! Just wait for TV fixtures but you can predict the move for some games like Homer said.

lordgoat

parker kent wrote: »

I saw almost unanimous praise for them after the Chelsea games. Credit was due and credit was given. But this is a conversation about possible transfers.

I'm not sure it was, when you see posts saying the opposite (not yours p)

Samba wrote: »

Childish, says the man talking about his Aunts balls?????! Oh :rolleyes:

Fine, you've got an issue with discussing potential outcomes, no need to come on like a keyboard warrior and try and belittle me, not the example you'd expect from a boards.ie mod tbh.

If you think its pointless, just say so, no need to make analogies about yours Aunts genitalia and then subsequently call me childish to boot!

Our MF is not "grand" and Fergie knows it and the changes that will be made over the summer will reflect this.

Yep i said i'd drop down to a level you could relate to. Also you weren't talking about potential outcomes, you were taking about what if's (on a scenario that can't happen now). I didn't try to belittle you, if i stepped on your little toes, i apologise. Also just one more thing, you will see that Soccer is not listed as a forum i moderate so while i'm in here i'm just one of the rifff raf.

Also i've never said the MF is grand, i said it handled CFC easily in those three games and when questioned on the league match quoted a pretty good article to back it up. While I do think we need to strengthen, i don't think it is as drastic a job as some are making it out to be (not directed at you). If we bring in one good player i'd be reasonably happy going into next season.


Righ I'm off to hang out with flah for a while, this place is too much like work at the moment.

Professional Griefer

Radio station in Spain claiming we may move for Xavi Alonso.

God I'd love him, can't see anything there though.

Headshot

Ix Deadmau5 wrote: »

Radio station in Spain claiming we may move for Xavi Alonso.

God I'd love him, can't see anything there though.

A load of crap

Sean Bateman

dahat wrote: »

Modric at 20 million plus Berba is not overpriced for the type of player he is,players who can link play and create are few and far between

+1

There seems to be a shortage of real quality midfielders at the moment, so if we have to pay over the odds for Modric, so be it.

Essien would be an incredibly good signing and if the rumours are to be believed, he could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge. I agree that Chelsea would be unlikely to sell him to us but with that club and Abramovich, nothing would surprise me. A £15 million bid might just get things moving.

What I'd give to see Essien and Modric lining out in midfield for United...

Samba

lordgoat wrote:

Yep i said i'd drop down to a level you could relate to.

I'll ignore your condescending and arrogant comments but I'll address some of your points.

lordgoat wrote:

Also you weren't talking about potential outcomes, you were taking about what if's (on a scenario that can't happen now).

Pedantic... the the crux of the argument was and is about the midfield, the point i'm making (without what ifs) is our midfield isn't good enough, our away form clearly showed this. Why not stick to the discussion instead of harping on about this in every post?

In football all that matters is the result but if you're not willing to look back and analyse frailties which were exposed and just concentrate on the results, you won't improve.

lordgoat wrote:

I didn't try to belittle you, if i stepped on your little toes, i apologise. Also just one more thing, you will see that Soccer is not listed as a forum i moderate so while i'm in here i'm just one of the rifff raf.

The first line of your post is quite telling. Yes, yes. I'm aware of that, so it's only on forums you moderate that you treat people with mutual respect? (that's rhetorical)

lordgoat wrote:

Also i've never said the MF is grand, i said it handled CFC easily in those three games and when questioned on the league match quoted a pretty good article to back it up. While I do think we need to strengthen, i don't think it is as drastic a job as some are making it out to be (not directed at you). If we bring in one good player i'd be reasonably happy going into next season.

That's fair enough, I wasn't explicitly talking about you either, a few people are of the opinion that we would cope with very few changes, I disagree. I think the marquis signings being touted aren't necessarily the answer to our frailties , what we need is someone with natural leadership qualities, not necessarily a superstar.

pistolpetes11

Sean Bateman wrote: »

+1

There seems to be a shortage of real quality midfielders at the moment, so if we have to pay over the odds for Modric, so be it.

Essien would be an incredibly good signing and if the rumours are to be believed, he could be on his way out of Stamford Bridge. I agree that Chelsea would be unlikely to sell him to us but with that club and Abramovich, nothing would surprise me. A £15 million bid might just get things moving.

What I'd give to see Essien and Modric lining out in midfield for United...

You would not even get his boots for 15 million !

Modric if he goes anywhere will be going to CFC, although I dont think Spurs will roll over ala Berbatov .

Good ol Charlie Adam will do for a season or two for you boys

Sean Bateman

pistolpetes11 wrote: »

You would not even get his boots for 15 million !

Modric if he goes anywhere will be going to CFC, although I dont think Spurs will roll over ala Berbatov .

Good ol Charlie Adam will do for a season or two for you boys

Essien is 28 and seemingly out of favour. I agree that we wouldn't get him for £15 million but any bid would at least set things in motion. I'd happily pay circa £20 million for him. Any more than that and his age and lack of resale value really start becoming prohibitive.

Please God let Charlie Adam go to the Scousers...

Vic Vinegar

Sean Bateman wrote: »

Essien is 28

....And therefore falls foul of our apparent no big money on 26yo+ deals policy

I don't think he's a realistic target anyway for reasons already mentioned.

Johner

Sean Bateman wrote: »

Essien is 28 and seemingly out of favour. I agree that we wouldn't get him for £15 million but any bid would at least set things in motion. I'd happily pay circa £20 million for him. Any more than that and his age and lack of resale value really start becoming prohibitive.

Please God let Charlie Adam go to the Scousers...

What are you basing that Essien is out of favour on? He was injury free all last season and played in most our games. He had a poor season last season and I'm hoping his injuries haven't ruined him. Not a chance he's going to United though.

lordgoat

Samba wrote: »

That's fair enough, I wasn't explicitly talking about you either, a few people are of the opinion that we would cope with very few changes, I disagree. I don't think the marquis signings being touted are necessarily the answer to our frailties , what we need is someone with natural leadership qualities, not necessarily a superstar.

Moving on from the other bits...

I'd agree on the leadership thing, i think we have it in abundance in other areas of the pitch but are a bit light of it in midfield. Mainly I want a midfielder who can take the ball while under pressure and make a pass, be it a simple one or killer ball. I'd take Banega in a heart beat or Martinez either

Kylo Ren

I'd love if we got Sissoko.

v3ttel

lordgoat wrote: »

I'd take Banega in a heart beat or Martinez either

Either would be a very good (and possibly realistic) option for us.

Samba

lordgoat wrote: »

Moving on from the other bits...

I'd agree on the leadership thing, i think we have it in abundance in other areas of the pitch but are a bit light of it in midfield. Mainly I want a midfielder who can take the ball while under pressure and make a pass, be it a simple one or killer ball. I'd take Banega in a heart beat or Martinez either

Couldn't agree more, I was actually off looking at his stats after my last post.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5ANoyP44H0

I'm not so worried about creativity in midfield, so I'm sceptical of all the cries to sign Modric, what seriously lacked when it mattered in those gruelling away battles was leadership. We do have this in Fletcher and maybe i'm being unfair in the wake of his prolonged absence and generally poor performances but at the same time we can't be relying solely on one player to bring stability to that area, we need at least two of these players imo. What I really like about Banega is he's very agile for his build.

homerjay2005

Keno 92 wrote: »

I'd love if we got Sissoko.

who?????

Sgt Pepper 64

Fergie out - Hughes in.

Cats out of the bag now! :eek:

Headshot

why the **** arent utd interested in Mata, hell if utd were interested in Sanchez, why not Mata?

dahat

Headshot wrote: »

why the **** arent utd interested in Mata, hell if utd were interested in Sanchez, why not Mata?

Another name to ponder..........seem somewhere that Pool were in very interested in him,was a while ago though

Half decent read on Mata and Valencia

Kylo Ren

homerjay2005 wrote: »

who?????

Moussa Sissoko. French box to box midfielder for Toulose.

Vic Vinegar

homerjay2005 wrote: »

who?????

+1

Which one does he mean?

Never mind, he answered just before i posted

eagle eye

Keno 92 wrote: »

Moussa Sissoko. French box to box midfielder for Toulose.

Gonna be one of the best imo if he continues to develop.

Mitch Connor

eagle eye wrote: »

Gonna be one of the best imo if he continues to develop.

Himself and M'Vila could make a very, very powerful central pairing in future. In a 433 with a player like Nasri/Gourcuff given a free role ahead of them.... could be awesome.

homerjay2005

alot of talk on twitter this evening about diarra now, some of the main united lads have it....and tilll talk of sanchez.

dahat

homerjay2005 wrote: »

alot of talk on twitter this evening about diarra now, some of the main united lads have it....and tilll talk of sanchez.

didn't you start the Diarra rumours?:p

Mitch Connor

homerjay2005 wrote: »

alot of talk on twitter this evening about diarra now, some of the main united lads have it....and tilll talk of sanchez.

from what I can tell it is just people discussing whether he would fit in, rather than any sort of confirmation that United are actually interested.

I do think he would be a good signing - but he would have to accept that United are a team built on rotation, which is something he hasn't shown himself favourable towards previously.

I think he would be a good partner to Carrick, and free Carrick to play a bit more forward. With those two and Rooney playing a deep lying play maker/forward role (off Chico) and wing options from Young/Valencia/Nani/Park - it isn't bad at all.

Anderson, Fletcher, Cleverley and Giggs backing up the midfield options too. It isn't too bad. I would kinda like an attacking player added to that (an attacking midfielder) but maybe Fergie feels Morrison is someone who could make an impact sooner rather than later.

Kylo Ren

homerjay2005 wrote: »

alot of talk on twitter this evening about diarra now, some of the main united lads have it....and tilll talk of sanchez.

Homer who are the players you think we are going to get? You're saying the word is 5 players. I assume De Gea is done with Jones and maybe Young?? Who are the others you fancy?

dahat

Is it possible Morrisson will be given senior game time in an effort to calm him down?maybe some senior game time might steady the wild man...........

eagle eye

Mitch Connor wrote: »

Himself and M'Vila could make a very, very powerful central pairing in future. In a 433 with a player like Nasri/Gourcuff given a free role ahead of them.... could be awesome.

Totally with you on Sissoko and M'Vila but I'd be looking at Javier Pastore in front of them. Cannot believe there isn't huge transfer talk about him this summer yet.

Actually there is another Argentinian who plays for Velez called Ricardo Alvarez, he has been linked with Arsenal a lot over the last couple of months. I watch a lot of South American football and was really impressed with him since he moved into the middle for them this year. He would be more of a risk coming from South America but I really think he is going to be huge in Europe. He has that Zidane type of coolness, time on the ball, not saying he is Zidane's level by any means just that he has the same type of movement and vision but obviously needs to show he can be the same at the highest level.

Mitch Connor

dahat wrote: »

Is it possible Morrisson will be given senior game time in an effort to calm him down?maybe some senior game time might steady the wild man...........

Possibly - or the extra fame and cash could go to his head and ruin him more. Very delicate man management required there imo.

Mitch Connor

eagle eye wrote: »

Totally with you on Sissoko and M'Vila but I'd be looking at Javier Pastore in front of them. Cannot believer there isn't huge transfer talk about him this summer yet.

Was just looking at a future France formation, for ease of the discussion. I agree though, Pastore would love those 2 behind him.

MagicMarker

If Morrison is as talented as he's made out to be then I wouldn't be surprised to see him feature a bit more for the senior team, the 'special' ones tend to step up around his age like Rooney, Wilshere etc. But I wouldn't pay too much attention if he goes on the U.S tour, that doesn't really mean anytime tbh.

Mitch Connor

MagicMarker wrote: »

If Morrison is as talented as he's made out to be then I wouldn't be surprised to see him feature a bit more for the senior team, the 'special' ones tend to step up around his age like Rooney, Wilshere etc. But I wouldn't pay too much attention if he goes on the U.S tour, that doesn't really mean anytime tbh.

I am not sure he would even be allowed into america to be honest. His recent court appearances may mean he would not be allowed in.

RasTa

What's the story with posts just getting deleted?

kmart6

Don't know....if the Mods are going to delete them they could at least give an explanation!!