Manchester United Talk/Gossip/Rumours Superthread 2013

How Soon Is Now

Will I Amnt wrote: »

Don't think he's as good as being made out imo. Not what we need anyway.
Also, Liverpool being in for him is no reason we should be. Their transfer policy is not one I'd be trying to emulate

There seemed to be a lot of talk about him as a possible target i figured that when he did move we would be linked with United.

How Soon Is Now

Whatsisname wrote: »

I must be the only person who doesn't consider Manchester a ****hole, I think its a lovely city and I fell in love with it almost instantly?

Dont see the issue with it myself. Been there twice recently actually as recent as this week :pac:.

It lacks the glam of say a Madrid or a Paris but its not a kip outright considering every major city has issues one way or another.

Paul Tergat

I like Manchester too but then I'm from Bradford so anywhere seems decent!

wadacrack

Manchester has Old Trafford Theater of dreams should be incentive enough for any footballer

Mikeyt086

tinofapples wrote: »

So Thiago is gone elsewhere, who is a realistic midfield target that would have an immediate impact next season.

Disclaimer: I am not a manager or a scout. Admittedly I am a beast at Football Manager, and a former Irish FIFA champion, but neither of those games have had an influence on this list, the only aid I am using is the league tables for the top leagues in Europe to make sure I don't have a brain fart and forget a team, I'll look at the team name and think of their players. Also this is not a "I want him him and him" list and does not factor in any way a player's availability due to cost or contract status, I will however be looking more at younger players as that is what Moyes said he wants to continue as a transfer policy.

Here is a list of players I believe would improve Manchester United's current central midfield situation (there will be a few cheeky CAM's in there too because we are obsessed with them). The list is comprised solely of players who would not be out of our reach (and by that I mean if I woke up and saw one of the players linked to us I would not be like "Nah no way can that happen") and that I have seen play on at least 1 occasion. There will be guys on this list I have only seen once, but they will have left an impression on me. There will be players on this list who are not superstars, but would improve our options, players I believe are at a similar level to Tom Cleverley and Anderson, who they would be fighting for a spot with. Some would be good squad players, some would immediately help the first 11. This is based solely on my opinion as a person who watches football at every available opportunity, but admits he is not an expert. Get it? I'm not taking stick for this list lads. If you wish to tell me why a player on here wouldn't work, that's grand, if you are willing to discuss it and explain why.

That said, here it goes:

Marvin Martin (Lille)
Maxime Gonalons (Lyon)
Clement Grenier (Lyon)
Blaise Matuidi (PSG)
Etienne Capoue (Toulouse)
Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen)
Luis Gustavo (Bayern Munich)
Emre Can (Bayern Munich)
Granit Xhaka (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Roman Neustadter (Schalke 04)
Milan Badelj (Hamburg)
Diego (Wolfsburg)
Luca Cigarini (Atalanta)
Saphir Taider (Bologna)
Radja Nainggolan (Cagliari)
Albin Ekdal (Cagliari)
Borja Valero (Fiorentina)
Mateo Kovacic (Inter)
Gokhan Inler (Napoli)
Miralem Pjanic (Roma)
Nenad Krsticic (Sampdoria)
Pedro Obiang (Sampdoria)
Christian Eriksen (Ajax)
Tony Vilhena (Feyenoord)
Kevin Strootman (PSV)
Nemanja Matic (Benfica)
Ander Hererrera (Ath Bilbao)
Ruben Perez (Real Betis)
Gary Medel (Sevilla)
Geoffrey Kondogbia (Sevilla)
Ever Banega (Valencia)
Marouane Fellaini (Everton)
Axel Witsel (Zenit)
Christian Noboa (Dynamo Moscow)
Rasmus Elm (CSKA)
Yann M'Vila (Rubin Kazan)

If we were to sign a player from that list, I would be content. If we were to sign someone from that list and someone like Marchisio/De Rossi/Gundogan I would be ecstatic (but I don't think that is likely). I am worried by Manchester United's lack of Spanish and Belgian players. If we get linked to someone on that list that you don't know, feel free to ask me about them. If we get linked to someone not on that list then I either don't know them or forgot about them.

wadacrack

Good list..If we signed Ander Herrea and Kondogbia that would be very good. Time will tell what Moyes does. Fellaini wuldnt be surprised if he arrived

Lord TSC

Not all bad news yesterday.

Pelligrini lost his first match as City manager too :pac:

Junior D

Mikeyt086 wrote: »

Marvin Martin (Lille)
Maxime Gonalons (Lyon)
Clement Grenier (Lyon)
Blaise Matuidi (PSG)
Etienne Capoue (Toulouse)
Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen)
Luis Gustavo (Bayern Munich)
Emre Can (Bayern Munich)
Granit Xhaka (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Roman Neustadter (Schalke 04)
Milan Badelj (Hamburg)
Diego (Wolfsburg)
Luca Cigarini (Atalanta)
Saphir Taider (Bologna)
Radja Nainggolan (Cagliari)
Albin Ekdal (Cagliari)
Borja Valero (Fiorentina)
Mateo Kovacic (Inter)
Gokhan Inler (Napoli)
Miralem Pjanic (Roma)
Nenad Krsticic (Sampdoria)
Pedro Obiang (Sampdoria)
Christian Eriksen (Ajax)
Tony Vilhena (Feyenoord)
Kevin Strootman (PSV)
Nemanja Matic (Benfica)
Ander Hererrera (Ath Bilbao)
Ruben Perez (Real Betis)
Gary Medel (Sevilla)
Geoffrey Kondogbia (Sevilla)
Ever Banega (Valencia)
Marouane Fellaini (Everton)
Axel Witsel (Zenit)
Christian Noboa (Dynamo Moscow)
Rasmus Elm (CSKA)
Yann M'Vila (Rubin Kazan)

For me the bolded guys would seem like the best options, granted I haven't seen some of those listed play.

Most of the rest are very good players, but come with seperate problems, eg: Banega who seems to enjoy getting injured, or M'Vila whose attitude I would question.

Out of the ones I have bolded I think Witsel would be the best option

wadacrack

Matuidi is a brillant layer. Doubt PSG would want to get rid of him tho

IncognitoMan

Has anyone seen much of oliver torres from Atletico? Is he any use?

Timmyctc

Junior D wrote: »

For me the bolded guys would seem like the best options, granted I haven't seen some of those listed play.

Most of the rest are very good players, but come with seperate problems, eg: Banega who seems to enjoy getting injured, or M'Vila whose attitude I would question.

Out of the ones I have bolded I think Witsel would be the best option

I rate Inler myself but is he not like 30? Some good options on that list and refreshing variations to the same names recycled about the usual rumor mills

Mikeyt086

Junior D wrote: »

Most of the rest are very good players, but come with seperate problems, eg: Banega who seems to enjoy getting injured, or M'Vila whose attitude I would question.

Both true, Banega has had a tough time with injuries, but so had RVP M'Vila by and large is a muppet, but a crap year in Russia may be the eye opener that he is not gods gift. He is mega talented though and I think Moyes could do a job with him.

wadacrack wrote: »

Matuidi is a brillant layer. Doubt PSG would want to get rid of him tho

True, but I didn't want to leave himself and Veratti off the list I figured Veratti is the more prized possession for PSG.

Timmyctc wrote: »

I rate Inler myself but is he not like 30? Some good options on that list and refreshing variations to the same names recycled about the usual rumor mills

He just turned 29 yeah, so it wouldn't be a long term thing. He's be great for us though.

Junior D

Timmyctc wrote: »

I rate Inler myself but is he not like 30? Some good options on that list and refreshing variations to the same names recycled about the usual rumor mills

He's 29 now, which I'm a little surprise by, thought he was still a year or two younger.

Still though, if he could be bought for a reasonable price, I think he could still do a job for the next 3/4 years

Red Crow

I know we may be overstating it but I don't think so. Fergie's failure to keep Pogba here is a travesty. Agent or no agent ultimately the kid didnt play becuase Fergie made a lot of poor calls in midfield and still refused to play him.

This situation we are in is becuase of his failure to address the issue. I'm not saying it is going to taint his legacy becuase it isn't but its been a lot of poor calls on his part that has led to this whole situation blowing up.

Rayne Wooney

I think we all realise how badly the club dealt with the Pogba fiasco and how promising a player we lost, we know that in 3 years at United he played 7 games and in less than a year at Juve he has played 37, but I think it's time to move on and draw a line under it. He's not coming back and we should be looking forward instead of back.

Red Crow

Rayne Wooney wrote: »

I think we all realise how badly the club dealt with the Pogba fiasco and how promising a player we lost, we know that in 3 years at United he played 7 games and in less than a year at Juve he has played 37, but I think it's time to move on and draw a line under it. He's not coming back and we should be looking forward instead of back.

I just hope that we learn from it.

Rayne Wooney

Eli Manning wrote: »

I just hope that we learn from it.

I think it'll come back to kick us a few times during Pogba's career tbh, can see him establishing himself at that club as one of the best.

kryogen

IncognitoMan wrote: »

Has anyone seen much of oliver torres from Atletico? Is he any use?

Yep, I like him a lot, got huge potential there. Very popular amongst the Athletico fans

(wouldn't advocate signing him at the moment though, not ready)

Chagan

Whoever we are planning on signing, I hope it's done soon, especially given the difficulty of our start. There won't be much time for a CM to get adjusted.

shadowcomplex

homerjay2005 wrote: »

Bayern Munich would not sign Young, Jones or Baines.

Bayern had an offer for baines rejected 2 years ago

kryogen

shadowcomplex wrote: »

Bayern had an offer for baines rejected 2 years ago

Did they really? Strange

DM_7

http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/860438/everton%27s-leighton-baines-turns-down-bayern-munich-move?cc=5739

Bayern have confirmed that they tried to sign Everton full-back Leighton Baines, but the player turned down the chance to move to Munich.

"We cannot force him (Baines) to join us. He would rather live in Liverpool than Munich, and that's that," Rummenigge said.

"We cannot force him (Baines) to join us. He would rather live in Liverpool than Munich, and that's that,"

If that is/was the sole reason for the transfer not happening, that is a bit mental. Rummenigge had to have been summising whilst showing a bit of bavarian pride there.

kryogen

Id say it was a little dig a bitter parting shot even.

Chagan

Christ, so that means Liverpool > Munich > Manchester. United are screwed.

You know when you think of places and cities that you've visited and instantly get a feeling and a mental picture of the place? Mine for Manchester is dark and gloomy. I've had some great times there and hopefully will again soon but beyond match/work purposes, I don't feel the need to hang around too long. Shame that. Funny old place England is. The places I thought I'd like beforehand are the places that I'm not gone on at all i.e. Liverpool, Manchester. On the flipside, cities I thought I'd never set foot in, let alone like, are places that I really took to and love going back to, i.e. Newcastle, Bristol, Sheffield.

I do believe for many the modern footballer, location is a variable in the decision as to where to ply their trade. In this age, the lucky ones who have made it into the crosshairs of clubs like Man Utd, Bayern, Chelsea, Real, Barca are usually the kind who are looking for everything, not just the best weekly wage. Unless they have a boyhood dream of wearing the red and walking out of the tunnel into the Theatre of Dreams, it can be hard to compete with the likes of the aforementioned cities as locations. Thankfully, I don't think it is as simple as lack of faith in a clubs ambition or their (new) manager when it comes to such life-changing decisions.

As regards Man City's ability to lure world-beaters to Manchester; I'm of the opinion that the kind of player they tend to attract from that end of the pool are very much in the 'mercenary' bracket. Several have previously voiced their displeasure at living in Manchester, notably of recent Balotelli and Tevez, and inevitably packed their bags and left Man City millions richer than when they came in just 2-3 years earlier. I do recall Man City missing out on many targets that the media had them as sure things to land, despite massive money offered. Because it is late I won't be searching for which players they were, but I know you'll take my word for it and even might remember yourself??

Just to lighten things up, if you were one of these players with the world at your feet, where would be your ideal location in Europe to play? Not which club, we all know that otherwise GTFO! From the places i've been to, I'd find it hard to beat Munich. Amsterdam wouldn't be far behind, even if my contract would restrict me from sampling all the city has to offer!

Giggsy11

This will be Anderson's year.

homerjay2005

Fletcher back in full training in 2 weeks time according to the player himself.

he was playing/watching some charity match yesterday and this blogger spoke to him.doesnt look healthy at all.

Professional Griefer

Looks normal enough to me.

IamtheWalrus

Can we move on from Pogba? It didn't happen, for whatever reasons.

grames_bond

Getting fletcher back would be like a new signing! :pac:

*runs*

Danye

Giggsy11 wrote: »

This will be Anderson's year.

I wish and hope your right but it's highly unlikely!

homerjay2005

grames_bond wrote: »

Getting fletcher back would be like a new signing! :pac:

*runs*

i hope Moyes has been given PR lessons and doesnt come out with this rubbish. he will be lynched if he does.

Cypher_sounds

homerjay2005 wrote: »

i hope Moyes has been given PR lessons and doesnt come out with this rubbish. he will be lynched if he does.

Every United player is like a new signing for Moyes;) If we sign Fellaini however that would be different for him..

TheDoc

In fairness on reflection of the Thiago thing

Don't really care to be honest. I try not to succumb to bandwagon jumping, and I'll admit this time I did a little, but I'm going to go by the reliables here.

Bayern have paid £20+mill for a young player completely unproven at the highest level. Barely played for Barcalona, hasn't gotten into the senior squad for Spain, did well at a European championship. Enough people have gotten big moves after a showing of form over 2 weeks in a under age European competition to go on and flop like a fish out of water.

I'm going to have to bow to some lads here who maybe spend alot of time watching Barcalona B's and Spanish Under 20's and 21's to tell me how good Thiago is. But I dunno, now that it's done, I don't feel overly aggravated by missing out.

bad2dabone

According to this morning’s papers in Barcelona, Bayern only got involved with the Thiago deal when it became clear that Moyes wasn’t overly interested in pushing the deal through.
He had terms agreed with United weeks ago (easy enough, as SAF had tried to sign him 2 years ago), but Moyes didn’t see him as a priority.

Leftist

stankratz wrote: »

"We cannot force him (Baines) to join us. He would rather live in Liverpool than Munich, and that's that,"

If that is/was the sole reason for the transfer not happening, that is a bit mental. Rummenigge had to have been summising whilst showing a bit of bavarian pride there.

I think we need to be looking long term. Bayern, while definetly strong, were a bit embarrassing in 2010 and a little bit embarrassing in 2012. For their current standard.

They kept building and investing and are now a monster.

I don't mind a long term project. Nothing better than winning the league after waiting a few years.
But We need to be doing better than investing in people like ashley young, tony v, nani and anderson.
If we play the long game let's do it properly. We don't be a force in europe with fellaini and baines ffs.

Will I Amnt

bad2dabone wrote: »

According to this morning’s papers in Barcelona, Bayern only got involved with the Thiago deal when it became clear that Moyes wasn’t overly interested in pushing the deal through.
He had terms agreed with United weeks ago (easy enough, as SAF had tried to sign him 2 years ago), but Moyes didn’t see him as a priority.

Call me cynical but that's just textbook ass covering for being off the mark with how close the move to United was...

master-t

bad2dabone wrote: »

According to this morning’s papers in Barcelona, Bayern only got involved with the Thiago deal when it became clear that Moyes wasn’t overly interested in pushing the deal through.
He had terms agreed with United weeks ago (easy enough, as SAF had tried to sign him 2 years ago), but Moyes didn’t see him as a priority.

If this is true, I would love to know what CM Moyes thinks or sees as priority so. Great list of CMs above that was put up - has anyone sent it on to Moyesy?

homerjay2005

Will I Amnt wrote: »

Call me cynical but that's just textbook ass covering for being off the mark with how close the move to United was...

hard to know. if this and the story about the VAT complications are true, then its a f*cking disgrace.

IamtheWalrus

Nonsense. So Moyes thought 'oh I want Thiago, but I'll tie up a few other deals first and get back to him in a while'.

Complete BS. Thiago rejected Utd to play for, arguably, the best side in the world.

fergiesfolly

If that's true, he must have a cracker lined up( goes to church to say decade of rosary)

master-t

Maybe Denis Irwin was right the whole time when he said United are trying to sign Cesc as their main priority this summer.

The_Kew_Tour

Fabregas rumours starting to surface now.

It's going to be bumpy ride

IamtheWalrus

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Fabregas rumours starting to surface now.

It's going to be bumpy ride

Lazy journalism in my opinion. They can't sell papers through Thiago now. Utd need another midfielder. Must be Fabregas!

Giggsy11

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

Fabregas rumours starting to surface now.

It's going to be bumpy ride

We need inside info Kew..

The_Kew_Tour

Giggsy11 wrote: »

We need inside info Kew..

I won't get much this week bar few goings on in oz.

Way things are think that's best for everybody.

Leftist

yeah can defo see barca getting shut of fabregas now. Makes perfect sense.

Maybe we should bid for iniesta too.

Red Crow

Moyes must have something lined up also as I said before a midfield of Thiago and Carrick wouldn't exactly get me excited. I'd prefer a more defensive player so we can start using Kagawa.

homerjay2005

Eli Manning wrote: »

Moyes must have something lined up also as I said before a midfield of Thiago and Carrick wouldn't exactly get me excited. I'd prefer a more defensive player so we can start using Kagawa.

our problem is not defending through the middle, its ball retention and creativity.

Thiago was ideal for us.