Manchester United Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread - 2013/14 mod warning post#7259

Your Airbag

Giggsy11 wrote: »

Rooney did the right thing. Transfer window is over, he played superbly and all that reporter wanted to ask was about his transfer request?

Had he said Yes I asked to leave then it would have been headlines saying how Rooney wants to leave.

Had he said No, people would have called either him or SAF liar.

Had he said Yes, I asked to leave but now I want to stay, then it would be routine BS spouting by the player and everyone would have abused him.

Rooney did the right thing by not answering it. Who cares whether he asked for transfer or not as long as he stays and plays like Yesterday.

Thought the same myself at first but when asked is he happy at UTD he talks about concentrating on his football, thats apart from the asking to leave question.

A "Whatever happened is the past doesn't matter, I'm happy here and committed and thats all that counts" answer would have been easier and put it all to bed. Maybe I am reading into too much but for me he has left it open for interpretation that he is not completely happy and may be still open for a move.

Lovely Bloke

so what? all players are open to a move if the money is good enough.

it's high time people stopped expecting players who play for their club to feel the same way about the club as fans do.

homerjay2005

FutureGuy wrote: »

Kagawa was good when he was in behind the strikers.

what exactly did he do that was good? he played one great ball into Rvp, but overall he was our poorest player last night. at times he looks like a passenger for the club.

people keep going on about being played out of position, but he came in centrally multiple times and lost the ball time and time again. id love to see him on form and my god we need his creative old self, but he gets far too much leeway from certain elements of United fans - right now, he does not do enough to deserve to start. id be very happy to see nani or Janz start ahead of him Sunday.

Mitch Connor

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

My opinion is that at 25, and having worked under Moyes at Everton, it just isn't going to happen for him.

He'll never have long range passing ability.

That's ok though, Carrick has.

Agreed - I'm not expecting or demanding he become a creative tempo setter - it would be unrealistic to want that of him.

As you say - he gives the United attacking players more of a solid base to work from. His passing was a bit conservative for my liking, but I think that could improve as his confidence within the team grows.

As said above, and as I said on twitter last night - he is sitting too deep at the moment though - noticable in the (only) two games he has played for us. Again, I hope he will impose himself more on the game and get himself more involved in our attacking play as he gains experience and confidence within his role in the United side. I also wonder if it is a tactical learning lesson for Carric/Fellaini that Moyes is insisting on while we can afford it. I wonder if Moyes is telling them he wants them to sit deeper and work on their defensive positioning as a partnership so that they are comfortable when we come up against better sides/players - so that in a few games time when Moyes is confident in their defensive ability together that he will give them more freedom to attack/cover as a pairing.

FutureGuy

homerjay2005 wrote: »

what exactly did he do that was good? he played one great ball into Rvp, but overall he was our poorest player last night. at times he looks like a passenger for the club.

people keep going on about being played out of position, but he came in centrally multiple times and lost the ball time and time again. id love to see him on form and my god we need his creative old self, but he gets far too much leeway from certain elements of United fans - right now, he does not do enough to deserve to start. id be very happy to see nani or Janz start ahead of him Sunday.

No one is denying he is playing way below the level he can, but you also say he's getting plenty of chances when he is being given those chances completely out of position. It's like telling a boxer to show you what he's got with one arm tied behind his back.

Kagawa will not start vs City. There isn't a hope of it. But before we judge Kagawa, we need to see him play in the position he was signed to play.

I have a feeling that Kagawa's days were numbered as soon as Van Persie signed...and unless we drop wingers completely, I'm not sure we will ever see the best of him.

IamtheWalrus

homerjay2005 wrote: »

but he gets far too much leeway from certain elements of United fans - right now, he does not do enough to deserve to start.

Agreed. He has yet to prove is worth a place in the Utd line-up. Moyes and SAF are no fools.

homerjay2005

FutureGuy wrote: »

No one is denying he is playing way below the level he can, but you also say he's getting plenty of chances when he is being given those chances completely out of position.

people keep saying he is out of position but he is playing alot more centrally than they think....Evra is our widest left player and is pushing on alot more than he used to.

Kagawa is not playing left wing as such, he is tucking inside and it was in the center he lost alot of ball last night.

RasTa

homerjay2005 wrote: »

people keep saying he is out of position but he is playing alot more centrally than they think....Evra is our widest left player and is pushing on alot more than he used to.

Kagawa is not playing left wing as such, he is tucking inside and it was in the center he lost alot of ball last night.

It was his first competitive game of the season which has to be taken into account. His linkup play is a joy to watch and he has the ability to unlock tight defenses at times which is a valuable asset.

I do agree that he needs to stop getting pushed of the ball so easily, he won't bulk up but just needs to add some physicality to his game.

Last night, Fellaini gave the ball away more

MagicMarker

homerjay2005 wrote: »

what exactly did he do that was good? he played one great ball into Rvp, but overall he was our poorest player last night. at times he looks like a passenger for the club.

people keep going on about being played out of position, but he came in centrally multiple times and lost the ball time and time again. id love to see him on form and my god we need his creative old self, but he gets far too much leeway from certain elements of United fans - right now, he does not do enough to deserve to start. id be very happy to see nani or Janz start ahead of him Sunday.

Seems my comment post last night is coming true already...

Kagawa has barely played at all this season and is just getting over the flu, what exactly were you expecting? Nothing from his performance last night was unsurprising given the facts, in fact I was expecting worse from him.

Kagawa needs games, he's NEVER gotten a run of games in the team, has he even finished a full 90?

I'll pass judgement once I see him start more than three games in a row.

MagicMarker wrote: »

I really hope Kagawa isn't being rushed back, don't want him having a poor performance and people using that as a stick to beat him with.

Headshot

That was Val's best game for long time I felt, still thou he made a few errors but overall I was happy enough with it.

You can see Rooney getting better and better after each game now, which is great for us.

If we had a creative cm beside fell, id be over the moon. fell isnt really the type to spread the ball, he tries but majoirty of the time, its not good enough. If he keeps to doing what he does best (being a defensive cm) id be happy enough

Thought Smalling was superb last night and im hoping I never see Jones in that position ever again. I still miss raf

stesaurus

RasTa wrote: »

It was his first competitive game of the season which has to be taken into account. His linkup play is a joy to watch and he has the ability to unlock tight defenses at times which is a valuable asset.

I do agree that he needs to stop getting pushed of the ball so easily, he won't bulk up but just needs to add some physicality to his game.

Last night, Fellaini gave the ball away more

Leverkusen knew his game and had 1 or 2 players on him as soon as he received it snapping at his heels. He was a yard off pace and couldn't deal with it as easily as he normally would.
What he did was encouraging though and considering he wasn't even fit enough for the bench Saturday he did alright.

Backstreet Moyes

FutureGuy wrote: »

No one is denying he is playing way below the level he can, but you also say he's getting plenty of chances when he is being given those chances completely out of position. It's like telling a boxer to show you what he's got with one arm tied behind his back.

Kagawa will not start vs City. There isn't a hope of it. But before we judge Kagawa, we need to see him play in the position he was signed to play.

I have a feeling that Kagawa's days were numbered as soon as Van Persie signed...and unless we drop wingers completely, I'm not sure we will ever see the best of him.

He is not completely out of position at all. How many times did you see him hugging the touchline. He is being allowed to drift in central from wide but he is doing little to warrant his place in the team. I think he can be lethal with that drifting role the same kind Pienaar excelled at under Moyes. But i don't think he is match fit at all. Your boxing reference is also a total exaggeration he is still drifting inside it's not like he is being at cb.

He should not start against City on form and because he is not match fit. Kagawa has a big problem and that is Rooney. He showed last night again how he is our best player and he is undroppable right now. So important he stayed.

Backstreet Moyes

On Fellaini surely people knew who watched him it's not his passing qualities we signed him for. Although he is a better passer than he showed last night i think we can put it down to nerves or adjusting to a new club. He showed last night how he is a beast at breaking up play and it's been awhile since we didn't get run over in midfield. Sunday is the first time in years i fancy beating City as i don't think they will overrun us in midfield.

On a creative midfielder i don't think we need one. Although people forget how creative Carrick can be. We signed him for his performances higher up the field for Spurs but converted him into a deeper player. Carrick can pick passes from deep alright and we should be solid with him and Fellaini.

I really think with Fellaini and Carrick breaking up play we could really excel playing quick counter attack football. That goal last night is something i hadn't seen in a long time. With Nani, Zaha, Kagawa, Rooney, Valencia we really have some great options for quick breaks. I do agree with a poster though who said Moyes will probably have Valencia or Wellbeck playing each game to track back more.

I am really excited after last night. It's probably the best attacking football i have seen us play in a long time especially in Europe. Let's just hope Moyes keeps playing more attacking football with Fellaini signed we have the base to play more attacking.

homerjay2005

MagicMarker wrote: »

Kagawa has barely played at all this season and is just getting over the flu, what exactly were you expecting?

what exactly was he being rushed back from? a "small bit of flu" i think is what Moyes described it as...he was back in training the following day.

has he not played 3 games for his country already in the past 4 weeks and also did he not play some part in preseason? he came on in the community shield and looked poor. its now september the 18th, the club has played 6 games...how long more does the fact he had two extra weeks holidays mark as an excuse for him?

what was i expecting? the player was given the chance he didnt get in earlier games when he was left on the bench and i expected him to take that chance and play better than he did.

rooney missed preseason, has had an injury and a head wound, yet still is able to put in 3 top class performances so far this season.

ericzeking

Really liked the solidity Fellaini added to the midfield. As well as Rooney being able to do his thing with gay abandon in the number 10 role, it also facilitated Evra getting forward and thus Kagawa cutting in. While this in theory all sounds great, it was far from perfect and there is alot of room for improvement.
I thought Kagawa did ok for a first outing, you could see the flashes of brilliance are there, consistancy will come if he can hold down a place, I'd like to see him get a chance now, on bare form maybe his form doesn't deserve a first XI spot but you have to speculate to accumulate.

I don't really think Valencia was as great as some seem to think, I think he performed adequately for a winger, no better. He was lucky their keeper was having a shocker as his goal would not have got past anyone in half decent form.

Thought Smalling was very good at RB and should be the first alternative to Rafael.

Disappointed DDG conceded that goal, it stems from that thin line between the centre halves heading it away and them getting in the keepers way. He had such a quiet night up til then and the game was over as a contest so I'm going to put it down to rust/concentration.
Some of our defending was ponderous, I wonder if it's been a mistake to play Rio and Vidic in all of these games, Moyes was always a man for a settled back 4 and it looks like that is the case with United but last season Evans was really putting the pressure on the main 2 and was possibly first choice at times, this drove their performances on. Wouldn't like to think there is complacency about first team places was seeping in at the moment.

master-t

Very happy overall with last night's performance.


Sloppy 2nd goal, but the game was as good as over. Hopefully a once off this season for DDG and we don't see signs of that creeping back into his game. In fairness, it shouldn't have been a corner in the first place. It seemed DDG called for the ball, and Rio headed it out, then apologised to DDG after.


Back 4 - Good games. Thought Smalling looked very comfortable at RB and agree with above that he should be 1st alternative to Rafa there. Vidic and Rio - standard. Evra - another attacking game from Paddy, but some of his positional play when defending is terrible. Miles away from where he should be in terms of positional sense.


Fellaini - Halleluiah!! He brings exactly what we said he would to our weak midfield. Steal. He breaks up play, he wins aerial duals, his passing wasn't that bad, but that's not what we signed him for, and he protects our back four allowing Carrick to dominate with his passing ability. We didn't get over run in there, and I put it down to this man.


Carrick - what a player he has become for us. He just bosses midfield and his passing is excellent. As stated above, with Fellaini there protecting the back 4, Carrick is allowed extra freedom to utilize his passing abilities and play attacking football.


Valencia - Jesus. This is the first game in a long time that Ive seen Tony attacking!! It was a pleasure to witness. I don't know if he is ust fit now, or if Moyes told him to attack, but he was fantastic last night. I hope this Tony continues as opposed to the other Tony who forgot how to attack.


Kagawa - Poor to be honest. He needed to make a statement last night, but he didn't. Not the right one anyway. Put it down to feeling ill, or not playing much this season - maybe. But he was our poorest player last night. I don't think he was out of position to be honest. You can't say he was a left winger last night - he wasn't. HE was tucked in from the left, and Paddy played the whole left side. We caught glimpses of what he is about - lovely control and dribbling, unlucky not to score even. But improvement is needed.


Rooney - Don't need to say anything. Welcome home son.


RvP - Bit of a frustrating night for him in fairness. Blew his lid unnecessarily and was lucky not to be sent off with a stupid trip. Great athleticism with the goal though and the miss - it happens to the best of them. Good to see him an Rooney starting together and linking up. Felt there was times when both could have played the other in, but hopefully that improves as the matches come.


Moyes. Delighted with a few things. A) Attacking formation. We are at home in Europe, that is what we want to see. Started Fellaini. C) Started Kagawa D) Got Valencia attacking! E) Best United performance in Europe for a while. Welcome to Europe David Moyes.

homerjay2005

United announce record turnover of £363 million.

f*cking hell, that is insane money. makes the penny penching all summer even more strange.

Crimson King

Thought Fellaini was great at breaking up play and I put the loose passes down to nerves. Will judge him more over the coming weeks. Looking forward to Sunday now as I think with the exception of last night its a good time to catch City.

I can see the reasoning behind not having Adnan in the squad as longer term its more beneficial but genuinely thought it a shame as Leverkuson were ripe for someone like him last night, really poor defense and were lucky at only getting beaten 4-2. Still, good to see Kagawa getting a game an d stopping the silly headlines over the last few weeks. With more game time his overall game will improve no doubt.

lordgoat

homerjay2005 wrote: »

United announce record turnover of £363 million.

f*cking hell, that is insane money. makes the penny penching all summer even more strange.

Well at least we don't have to worry about ffp.

Crimson King

homerjay2005 wrote: »

United announce record turnover of £363 million.

f*cking hell, that is insane money. makes the penny penching all summer even more strange.

Still hoping to do some business in January, something Fergie never did. Herrera will be eligible for the CL as far as I know so that may still happen.

master-t

homerjay2005 wrote: »

United announce record turnover of £363 million.

f*cking hell, that is insane money. makes the penny penching all summer even more strange.

Are you seriously going down this route again????


I hope we do spend in January - there are some targets available that are still eligible for CL too.

kryogen

Kagawa did fine last night all things considered, you can already see what a difference Fellaini is going to make in a good way. Rooney had a very good game, his best for a while and hopefully it continues. RVP still looks a little off the boil and hot headed, no idea why but it should get sorted out sooner rather then later.

Valencia at least tried to be more positive last night which was good to see-feel I have to comment on him as he gets enough criticism when he deserves that too!

homerjay2005

master-t wrote: »

Are you seriously going down this route again????

no, but looks like its a route you want to go down.

Mitch Connor

near 71million spent on FINANCING last in the year. Debt still standing at near 400million. FU Glazers. bunch of leaching gits. Debt still standing at near 400million

ericzeking

homerjay2005 wrote: »

United announce record turnover of £363 million.

f*cking hell, that is insane money. makes the penny penching all summer even more strange.

Looks like 'Woodie' is doing a great job at running the business!!!!!!

PhlegmyMoses

Kagawa just needs to be played. 20/30 games in a row to get an idea of whether he can fit the team. If he doesn't excel, sure neither did Valencia last year and various other players that we've carried through games for long periods. If he does what we think he's capable of, we could have one of the best attacking midfielders in the world on our hands.

kryogen

homerjay2005 wrote: »

United announce record turnover of £363 million.

f*cking hell, that is insane money. makes the penny penching all summer even more strange.

Think we all expected the record turnover though didn't we?

Agueroooo

homerjay2005 wrote: »

United announce record turnover of £363 million.

f*cking hell, that is insane money. makes the penny penching all summer even more strange.

Emm the gross debt is still running @ £390 million and servicing that debt per annum is costing £71million.

perspective.

homerjay2005

ericzeking wrote: »

Looks like 'Woodie' is doing a great job at running the business!!!!!!

these figures are until end of June....he took over after this

master-t

homerjay2005 wrote: »

no, but looks like its a route you want to go down.

I edited the comment to ensure the comment came across as tongue in cheek, but alas you responded before I could get it in.


If you re going to go on about the summer transfer window again, then It's a route that will have to be traveled alright. I think the squad looks dapper.

kryogen

Mitch Connor wrote: »

near 71million spent on FINANCING last in the year. Debt still standing at near 400million. FU Glazers. bunch of leaching gits. Debt still standing at near 400million

Hey Mitch, would you mind linking me to the accounts so I can have a look? Not able to search at the moment but will have 10 minutes or so to look them over in a little bit!

PhlegmyMoses

Agueroooo wrote: »

Emm the gross debt is still running @ £390 million and servicing that debt per annum is costing £71million.

perspective.

Where are you getting your figures?

kryogen

I see we have a new sponsor

ericzeking

homerjay2005 wrote: »

these figures are until end of June....he took over after this

Ah ya but wasn't he drawing in all the commercial business before that!!!

Anyway I'm just having a bit of craic with you.

It's worth pointing out that in fairness given our outgoings (debt, taxes, debt, 40m in purchases, debt, new contracts, debt etc etc) we would want to be having record turnover, otherwise the whole thing wouldn't be long going pear shaped.

master-t

Serious question.


Why is there so much resentment from some fans regarding signing new sponsors and reaching record turnover etc? Surely that's a good thing given our debt?

kryogen

Its cool, someone here linked me to where you can take a look

http://www.fortmilltimes.com/2013/09/18/2964519/manchester-united-2013-fourth.html

for anyone who hasn't seen

homerjay2005

apparently our projected turnover is going to be over £420million next year:eek::eek::eek:

master-t wrote: »

Serious question.


Why is there so much resentment from some fans regarding signing new sponsors and reaching record turnover etc? Surely that's a good thing given our debt?

i dont see much resentment at all? personally i am delighted with the current financial state. however....

woodies commerical background, the lack of signings during the summer being replaced by Mr tayto and his buddies, did piss people off as we are after all, a football club first and foremost.

i guess the easiest way to explain it, is that people maybe feeling that this money is being used by the glazers for their own needs and its not beign spent on the club.

NTMK

homerjay2005 wrote: »

United announce record turnover of £363 million.

f*cking hell, that is insane money. makes the penny penching all summer even more strange.

wait until you see the turnover in 2 years time when the new kit sponsorship is up and running. Its going to be a massive deal for united.

kryogen

master-t wrote: »

Serious question.


Why is there so much resentment from some fans regarding signing new sponsors and reaching record turnover etc? Surely that's a good thing given our debt?

Financing on the debt went up by 20+m pounds this year, mainly due to refinancing and paying a premium on the senior secured notes.

The debt has not been affected really, just pushed a little further down the road while the cost increased from circa £50m to £71m

Ill look into it in greater detail tomorrow, after the Roger Waters concert*

*Shameless brag

Mitch Connor

master-t wrote: »

Serious question.


Why is there so much resentment from some fans regarding signing new sponsors and reaching record turnover etc? Surely that's a good thing given our debt?

For me - I don't resent the deals - but I got very annoyed in the summer because it appeared like United were spending more time and energy on getting sponsorship deals signed rather than transfer deals.

Every week we had a promise of work being done on transfers but all we got every week was an announcement of yet another 'partner'.

When the money coming into the club is not being used to better the team, I really don't care about it. Just more money for the Glazers, thats all it seems to amount to.

Agueroooo

PhlegmyMoses wrote: »

Where are you getting your figures?

Quarter results ^^^ up there

NTMK

master-t wrote: »

Serious question.


Why is there so much resentment from some fans regarding signing new sponsors and reaching record turnover etc? Surely that's a good thing given our debt?

The resentment comes from not getting players not from the sponsorships, if signed Fab and fell in june/july then united could have announce a new sponsor everyday for the rest of the window and no fan would care

homerjay2005

Profit/(loss) for the period (i.e. Net Income) £146.4m

is that correct? as in, did the club actually make a profit of almost £150m last year or is there another way of measuring profit apart from this?

Agueroooo wrote: »

Emm the gross debt is still running @ £390 million and servicing that debt per annum is costing £71million.

perspective.

debt down 11%, net profit up 528%, cash reserves up 33% to £95million.

perspective.

chainsawman

Mitch Connor wrote: »

near 71million spent on FINANCING last in the year. Debt still standing at near 400million. FU Glazers. bunch of leaching gits. Debt still standing at near 400million

United have 659 million fans worldwide. https://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDIQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Ffootball%2F2012%2Fmay%2F29%2Fmanchester-united-premierleague&ei=hoU5UtWZHfCf7gbNvIG4BQ&usg=AFQjCNH0wbQzZ_1qK-uOfzCcKFzjVGBPfA&bvm=bv.52288139,d.ZGU Why not ask everyone to contribute £1 per person. That will be £659 million, Pay off the debt of £400 and use the €159 change to buy back Christaino Ronaldo. I would be happy to chip in €100 .

Mitch Connor

kryogen wrote: »

Financing on the debt went up by 20+m pounds this year, mainly due to refinancing and paying a premium on the senior secured notes.

The debt has not been affected really, just pushed a little further down the road while the cost increased from circa £50m to £71m

Ill look into it in greater detail tomorrow, after the Roger Waters concert*

*Shameless brag

Debt is down about 50million ~440 to ~390. Not nearly down as far as I would like, but don't see how you can say it has not been affected really. Greater than 10% drop - unless the debt has been hidden somewhere.

Mitch Connor

homerjay2005 wrote: »

is that correct? as in, did the club actually make a profit of almost £150m last year or is there another way of measuring profit apart from this?




debt down 11%, net profit up 528%, cash reserves up 33% to £95million.

perspective.

Not sure - but in the accounts it is saying profit for the same period ending June 2012 was 23million - so I would assume they have to be using the same measurables as last time around, which would indicate a massive increase in real profitability.

Would suggest that maybe the money was indeed there for Bale or Ronaldo, we just couldn't do either deal.

TheDoc

Wow some harsh critism of Kagawa over the last few pages, Fellaini too in places.

I thought Fellaini was excellent. He was a real battler in midfield and won the ball back countless times and
and had some neat forward passes and controled the pace nicely alongside Carrick. Obviously still getting used to his new team mates, but I thought he was very assured.
Kagawa I thought did very well. Lovely neat passing and control, roamed around the final third and we looked potent all night.

Kags just seemingly got over the flu, that's pretty devastating for an athlete, nevermind a normal fella.

Lads need to get some perspective here, there is a mini saga being made of Kagawa here which is boiling into creating ridiculous critique of him over the last few weeks.


Had a rubbish pre-season
Long distance travelling with Japan (to happen again in two weeks time)

He is going to need a good few weeks to get settled, and I think he will fire on more cyclinders around November if I'm honest. But I thought he demonstrated last night why he can be a massive asset. Lovely control and passing and made some incision passes a few times.


Valencia was
powerful last night, and maybe he see's there is a real opening to lay a stake down as the club's best winger. Was powerful and fast and really went at his man, which he needs to do. Too often last season and the start of this, he stops short of taking someone on and passes. Maybe Moyes needs credit here, giving instruction to go for it. Maybe its the players decision

His work rate is phenomonal, he was sprinting back at pace in the second half when the game was over, still tracking back. He is such a valuable player on form, as much for his defensive work as his offfensive work. A sure starter against City.
Rooney looked devastating last night aswell. Really getting sharp and lean, granted a ropey incident that should have resulted in a goal, can be forgiven, was really REALLY good.

RVP is still a little concerning for me, hopefully the goal settles him. His miss was just one of those things, but I've noticed him not holding the ball up as well, being petulant and not as incredible this term. Nothing to panic over, everyone has a dip in form. He is still scoring goals which is amazing, but it just seems like he is a little below his own high standards. Hopefully can ramp up now.


RVP and Rooney partnership has the potential to be devastating, and I mean, the difference of firing us to a league title.

NTMK

Mitch Connor wrote: »

Debt is down about 50million ~440 to ~390. Not nearly down as far as I would like, but don't see how you can say it has not been affected really. Greater than 10% drop - unless the debt has been hidden somewhere.

its not been hidden from what i can see. They're just slowly chipping at it because its in their interest to hold onto the debt for as long as possible for tax purposes


The club is also estimated to be worth at least 3 times more than what it was when the glazers tookover so the debt has decreased in significance since its below 20% of valuation of the club as opposed to 80-90% back a few years ago

homerjay2005

clubs financial commitment for next year is 3rd in the PL and reaching the 1/4 final of all 3 cups.

master-t

Mitch Connor wrote: »

Not sure - but in the accounts it is saying profit for the same period ending June 2012 was 23million - so I would assume they have to be using the same measurables as last time around, which would indicate a massive increase in real profitability.

Would suggest that maybe the money was indeed there for Bale or Ronaldo, we just couldn't do either deal.

It's the words people use. 'We just couldn't do the deal....' indicates failure.


Or maybe the fact they just didn't want to come to us......