Manchester United Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 11/12

#15

homerjay2005

Great Win...unbelieveable atmosphere in the away end tonight, top notch support, signing from start to finish.

first half stunning, lagged a little bit in second half, but 2 unreal goals. we are getting back to form, about f*cking time!.

hopefully this jones twitter nonsense is just bulls*it. looked like concussion to me.

and how f*cking good does Lindegaard look?

The_Kew_Tour

homerjay2005 wrote: »

Great Win...unbelieveable atmosphere in the away end tonight, top notch support, signing from start to finish.

Always has been.

J. Marston

Peyton Manning wrote: »

...and that he's out for 6 weeks

Wonder if he could play in one of those face-masks.

Eathrin

Delighted to see us playing excitingly again:D
Lindegaard looks unreal, I still want to see DDG as no.1 to maximise his progress.

homerjay2005

that jones news, is just a rumour. nothing confirmed, he is going for an Xray tomorrow though apparently it doesnt look good.

young out for the christmas period though. rio back for blackburn.

markc1184

Stick one of those protective super hero masks on Jones and throw a cape on him for good measure and there will be no stopping him!

OctavarIan

Alex Ferguson wrote:

We've got a couple of injuries. Phil Jones got an elbow to the jaw and we'll send him for an X-ray tomorrow. It doesn't look good. Rio will be back for the Blackburn game on New Year's Eve, Phil is a concern and Ashley is out for two or three weeks.

The fractured cheek rumors would seem to have some element of truth to them.

Shane St.

nani really hitting top form now. think hes our best player

n32

Who ll be the first to make a sig of Jones in a mask and cape?!:D

Eathrin

Rocky Balboa/Phil Jones sig?:D

SK1979

Very enjoyable game tonight alright. Pretty much everyone had a good game to be fair. Lindegaard was really impressive actually, he's a great back up to have. Smalling and Evans were solid too, we never really looked like conceding.

Hopefully more of the same against Wigan and Blackburn. I really hope SAF resists the temptation to change the team around completely for either game (have a feeling he will though...).

SK1979

Mitch Connor wrote: »

Injuries to Jones and Young - our central midfield options for the boxing day game being Giggs, Carrick and ...... Rooney? Pogba?

Reserves play tomorrow at 2:00 so if anyone from there is going to be promoted to the 1st team squad, they'll probably get taken off early.

I'll keep an eye on Pogba to see if he plays. Maybe Morrison might be back involved too?

Blatter

Delighted that Valencia has found his form again, he was terrific tonight even at right back. He's been a real threat over the last few games.

#15

#15 wrote: »

From the same guy who brought us ^^^^^

shadowcomplex

I would like to see Valencia permanently made a our right back, he was outstanding and better than anyone there

The_Kew_Tour

Of the first team players(regular) only Evra and Young form has me worried.

Since Smalling put Tevez in his pocket last February he been nothing short of immense ever since.

flahavaj

Dempsey was kinda high with the elbow on Jones wasn't he?

homerjay2005

flahavaj wrote: »

Dempsey was kinda high with the elbow on Jones wasn't he?

i didnt see it at all. any links up to it yet?

TheTownie

flahavaj wrote: »

Dempsey was kinda high with the elbow on Jones wasn't he?

Indeed although he said he didn't know he was there...

Highlights a bit harsh on Fulham. They had a few chances and showed one of them!

I suppose thats what happens when there are 5 goals to show.

shadowcomplex

Yes Luis, im afraid dis eight:pac:

Jimmy Iovine

shadowcomplex wrote: »

I would like to see Valencia permanently made a our right back, he was outstanding and better than anyone there

I hope this doesn't happen. He's great at attacking and he had some lovely link up play with Nani. His complete unwillingness to use his left foot is a major liability in there though imo.

He was caught out a few times earlier in the season because of it. He isn't able to play a square ball inside to Carrick or whoever because he always needs to use the right, and then invariably he turns back into trouble to try and clear it on his right.

Don't get me wrong, he's very quick and strong as a horse but as long as he refuses to use his left foot then he shouldn't be considered as a serious right back option, only as a stop gap.

I am genuinely amazed that he's managed to get this far in football by only using his right foot, granted that his right foot is pretty special at times.

TheTownie

Pogba got competition from Newcastle's Vuckic when it comes to long range shots. :pac:

The boy has an unreal shot on him.

Quandary

TheTownie wrote: »

Pogba got competition from Newcastle's Vuckic when it comes to long range shots. :pac:

The boy has an unreal shot on him.

Just watching him there, he will be one to snap up, and he's only 19 too!

Ordinary man

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Of the first team players(regular) only Evra and Young form has me worried.

Since Smalling put Tevez in his pocket last February he been nothing short of immense ever since.

I thought evra had a good game tonight considering the crap being thrown at him.

The_Kew_Tour

Ordinary man wrote: »

I thought evra had a good game tonight considering the crap being thrown at him.

Getting caught for pace far too much for my liking these days.

Was not bad tonight, but overall he needs to step up couple of gears.

Nalz

Was the Young injury bad?

Mars Bar

Trilla wrote: »

Was the Young injury bad?

To me it looked like a knee to the back of the quad near the hamstring so thought it might be a dead leg.

Fergie's interview"

...“Fulham were very aggressive and Ashley Young has paid the price for that,” Sir Alex said. “He’ll be out for two or three weeks.”

Meanwhile, Rio Ferdinand is also expected to miss United’s next fixture, against Wigan on Boxing Day.

“Rio got a knock on the foot on Sunday against Queens Park Rangers. I think he’ll be available for Blackburn [on New Year’s Eve] but not the Wigan game.

Our lads are dropping like flies.

DB21

Made this post on another forum, thought I may as well put it here too:

The only teams, imo, that presented a challenge to us so far are Liverpool (expected at Anfield) and City (Who destroyed us on our turf). I still think we're a distant third to Barca and Madrid's close first and second. We need creativity in center midfield. I hope, sincerely, that Jones and Cleverly can supply that when they come back. My ideal team, with the players in the squad right now is:

---

De Gea/Dane(honestly torn between the two)

---

Rafael

---

Vidic

---

Smalling

---

Fabio

---

Jones

---

Young

---

Cleverly

---

Nani

---

Rooney

---

---

Welbeck/Hernandez

---

Rooney can track back, and really slot into that #10 role. Jones and Cleverly can link up well. Obviously, there needs to be players added. A really good experienced CM in for Clevs for big games. Another CB,LB,RB. Another out and out goal scorer. I really think woth four or five good buys, United can close the gap with Barca and Madrid within 4 years, which is the time frame they should be looking at. By then Messi, Ronaldo, and a few other star players in Barca and Real will be on the wane. That is when United need to hit their peak and win the CL once or twice.

Frisbee

You really think that most of Barca and Madrids best players are going to have waned in 4 years?

In 4 years:

Barca:

Pique – 28 – In his prime
Fabregas – 28 – In his prime
Iniesta – 31 – Waning but for the type of player he is will still be playing at the highest level.
Sanchez – 27 – In his prime
Messi – 28 – In his prime
Thiago – 24 – Not even in his prime yet
Busquets – 27 – In his prime
Pedro – 28 – In his prime

Now obviously they are going to lose some big big players for them like Xavi, Puyol, Abidal. But the majority of their current squad will just be hitting the best stage of their careers in 4 years.

And that doesn’t even include the embarrassing amount of quality they have coming through from the B Team at the moment: Rafa Alacantra, Fontas, Deulofeu, Cuenca, Montoya.

Madrid:

Ramos – 29 – In his prime
Sahin – 27 – In his prime
Khedira – 28 – In his prime
Ronaldo – 30 – Past his prime
Benzema – 28 - In his prime
Ozil – 27 – In his prime
Marcelo – 27 – in his prime
Coentrao – 27 – In his prime
Albiol – 30 – In his prime
Higuain – 28 – In his prime
Di Maria – 27 – In his prime
Diarra – 30 – In his prime
Canales – 24 – Not even in his prime yet.

Although considering it’s Madrid half those players will probably be sold by then.

Just to make it clear this isn’t an attack on United saying they are going to be shit in four years. Obviously United will still have some brilliant players in 4 years: De Gea, The Twins, Cleverly, Smalling, Jones, Welbeck, Pogba etc.

I’m just saying that expecting Madrid and Barca to be much poorer in four years when the nucleus of both their current squads will just be reaching their prime is a bit silly.

Mikeyt086

And Neymar, yeah, Barca have agreed a deal with Santos to take Neymar... The players that want to play for the club are of a level no other club can match, bar maybe Real Madrid.

anonymous_joe

You're assuming neither of those two clubs has to stop spending for a while in the interim.

Aren't they both sitting on a couple hundred million euros of debt at least?

Frisbee

anonymous_joe wrote: »

You're assuming neither of those two clubs has to stop spending for a while in the interim.

True. The same way as United may have to stop spending.
Or United, Madrid and Barca may have to sell all their players.

But assuming all three can continue to spend and keep their squads together I can't see Madrid or Barca being much weaker in 4 years.

anonymous_joe

Frisbee wrote: »

True. The same way as United may have to stop spending.
Or United, Madrid and Barca may have to sell all their players.

But assuming all three can continue to spend and keep their squads together I can't see Madrid or Barca being much weaker in 4 years.

I've no idea if it'll last tbh.

Fairly worried about what reduced income will do to us next summer as it is tbh.

shadowcomplex

DB21 wrote: »

Made this post on another forum, thought I may as well put it here too:

The only teams, imo, that presented a challenge to us so far are Liverpool (expected at Anfield) and City (Who destroyed us on our turf). I still think we're a distant third to Barca and Madrid's close first and second. We need creativity in center midfield. I hope, sincerely, that Jones and Cleverly can supply that when they come back. My ideal team, with the players in the squad right now is:

---

De Gea/Dane(honestly torn between the two)

---

Rafael

---

Vidic

---

Smalling

---

Fabio

---

Jones

---

Young

---

Cleverly

---

Nani

---

Rooney

---

---

Welbeck/Hernandez

---

Rooney can track back, and really slot into that #10 role. Jones and Cleverly can link up well. Obviously, there needs to be players added. A really good experienced CM in for Clevs for big games. Another CB,LB,RB. Another out and out goal scorer. I really think woth four or five good buys, United can close the gap with Barca and Madrid within 4 years, which is the time frame they should be looking at. By then Messi, Ronaldo, and a few other star players in Barca and Real will be on the wane. That is when United need to hit their peak and win the CL once or twice.

Rafael and Fabio are not now or ever will be good enough for United plus we will never see that formation, its way to open

kmart6

shadowcomplex wrote: »

Rafael and Fabio are not now or ever will be good enough for United plus we will never see that formation, its way to open

Pro. F

Mikeyt086 wrote: »

Got my laptop back today after a month out injured.

Think I have 3 posts in here over that time because imo surfing on an iphone just aint something I like doing. Will be more regular in here now.

Also, I thought of something funny I could do over Xmas. You know the way all United fans think Phil Jones will go down in history as the best player of all time? And the way non-United fans are in denial and thus claim we are over-hyping him? Well I thought it would be funny for EVERY United fan (who wants one obv) on this forum to rock a Phil Jones sig, different ones of course, so that we ram his glory down the throats of non-believers. I could make 20+ handy enough, it would be my way of making up for depriving you lot of my incisive analysis and hilarious comedic relief over the past 4 weeks. Just want to gather intrest at the moment.

Yay, welcome back Mikey. You've been missed in here.

Your Phil Jones sig assault is a great idea. Sign me up. I'll send you a PM as that's probably easier to keep a track of.

Giggsy11

Great performance yesterday, we took it for granted in the second half and Fulham could have scored 1 or 2 to get right back into the game. I wont complain though as it is right tactic to take you foot off the gas when you are 3-0 up during festival period where you have games coming thick and fast.

First I thought Jones was CB and Smalling was RB, I was like WTF, then realised that it was other way around. Shame about Jones injury. We couldn't afford to lose anymore players, we are stretched to the limit and have to take my hat off that with all the injury crisis we are still in the title race.

Welbeck was class. I have very high hopes on him. He is technically very good, controls ball with ease. At times his touch was heavy but he is so enthusiastic that he gets carried away at times. But his overall play was very good.

I didn't like when Valencia was moved to RB as we had Rafael on bench. Probably he was not fully fit, if so he shouldn't be anywhere near the bench. At least when young went off I wanted Rafael to come on as Valencia was back to his best as RW. Moving him to differenct position wont do any good for him.

Evans and Smalling played well, impressed with Evans positioning. He is growing in confidence.

I'm very happy with the win as we struggled in the last 3 seasons there, if 1-0 was offered before the game I would have said "Take and run". To win 5-0 away from home is very very pleasing, considering Fulham are no mugs at home.

kmart6

Giggsy11 wrote: »

I didn't like when Valencia was moved to RB as we had Rafael on bench. Probably he was not fully fit, if so he shouldn't be anywhere near the bench. At least when young went off I wanted Rafael to come on as Valencia was back to his best as RW. Moving him to differenct position wont do any good for him.

Not as if that's the first time he's been there this year, and to be honest I think he did very well!

He was very good in defense and mad some serious runs in the second half! Some great balls into the bow...and nearly scored a couple of times himself! Got back straight away though...and a lot less erratic than Rafael!

Giggsy11

kmart6 wrote: »

Not as if that's the first time he's been there this year, and to be honest I think he did very well!

He was very good in defense and mad some serious runs in the second half! Some great balls into the bow...and nearly scored a couple of times himself! Got back straight away though...and a lot less erratic than Rafael!

I'm not saying Valencia didn't do well, it was about how well Valencia had settled as RW after run of few games, so I thought moving him back to RB could have been avoided. He was very impressive as RW so we should have allowed him to get few more games under his belt.

Also Rafael is erratic but reliable too. Not long ago people were raving about how good Rafael is and how good he will become

Jax Teller

Did jones go off injured ?

Pro. F

Valencia wasn't that good in defence. He's not a fullback I would want to rely on in any game yet.

Ordinary man

Coletrickle88 wrote: »

Did jones go off injured ?

He got an elbow in the head off dempsey and had to go off soon after

VW 1

shadowcomplex wrote: »

Rafael and Fabio are not now or ever will be good enough for United plus we will never see that formation, its way to open

Questions may be placed over the twins on their ability to keep fit for sustained periods (possibly partially due to the way they play football). But bear in mind they are still young, still developing and still growing.

However, Rafael breaking into the first team at 19 and displacing both Neville and O'Shea, coupled with the form that Fabio showed at the tail end of last season culminating in him earning a start in the CL final, nobody can ever ever question whether or not they have the ability to play football at the highest level.

Cantona's Collars

MagicMarker wrote: »

Sweet, didn't even realise we were playing tonight.

LOF FTW. :cool:

Ugh, tough away game at Fulham on a Wednesday night....

You were saying...........

Hope all tough away games were like last nights.

UnitedIrishman

Pro. F wrote: »

Valencia wasn't that good in defence. He's not a fullback I would want to rely on in any game yet.

Same as. Mind you the way Rafael and Fabio have played recently he's probably more stable. Last night was probably not the time to do it but would like to see Fryers given a go at RB if we're stuck in the future against a side in the bottom half of the table.

Granted we'd probably have to have Rio fit aswell to add a bit more experience beside him but from what I've seen from the lad he looks decent.

Patsy fyre

@OptaJoe: 3 - Only three teams have earned more points than Man Utd have now after 17 games in the previous 19 Premier League seasons. Crisis? Shared via TweetCaster Sent from Samsung Mobile

VW 1

UnitedIrishman wrote: »

Same as. Mind you the way Rafael and Fabio have played recently he's probably more stable. Last night was probably not the time to do it but would like to see Fryers given a go at RB if we're stuck in the future against a side in the bottom half of the table.

Granted we'd probably have to have Rio fit aswell to add a bit more experience beside him but from what I've seen from the lad he looks decent.

Fryer's is a left footed CB though, who can be deployed at LB. You wouldn't ask for Jones to be played at LB or Smalling, so it makes even less sense to want Zeki in there given his inexperience. Would just be a step too far for the lad at this early stage even if he has a decent right peg on him. RB is probably the one position where we have more people than can play there than anywhere else on the field.

bucketybuck

Patsy fyre wrote: »

Only three teams...

Manchester United, Man U and Man united?

G.K.

I thought Fryers was a LB who got played in the middle?