Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread - Mod Note in OP, 13/8

Giggsy11

IMO Van Gaal made very good choice in making Rooney as Captain. He is been at the club for 10 years and always gave 100% on the field.

Re yesterday's game like Van Gaal said our worst performance in a pre season. I liked how Fellaini played though. He played quick 1 touch passes which I thought he was not capable of. He looked much comfortable playing at high tempo than Fletcher and Cleverley.

Jones was a beast, still can't understand how anyone cannot rate him. Yes he makes some rash decisions but he hardly played as CB in 2-3 years. He was excellent against Madrid playing with Keane and Blackett, made one rash decision against Liverpool and again it was back to square 1. People started bitching about him. Him and Smalling are very good defensively. Pity both looks very good when they play in the middle of 3 CBs.

Blackett was very impressive in the preseason. He was good against Valencia who are very good team and had good pre season. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts against Swansea.

Reece James was good but his lack of pace is a big worry. Januzaj did more in 10-15 mins than Hernandez in the whole game. Hopefully he gets more games this season.

Soft Falling Rain

Giggsy11 wrote: »

IMO Van Gaal made very good choice in making Rooney as Captain. He is been at the club for 10 years and always gave 100% on the field.

Does he? I'm not a Manchester United fan so you will all know better, but I've seen him play plenty of times for Man U and England.

Personally to me his temperament is still in question, and he doesn't seemed committed as much as he should be. Ferguson himself alluded to this and as for last season, he wasn't alone in not doing a tap for Moyes but it was still pretty galling given his stature at the club.

He seems to buy into the whole "poor me" crap that the media peddle over him being apparently played out of position and I just would not be happy with him "leading" the team. It's a meaningless gesture IMO from Van Gaal.

duffman13

Soft Falling Rain wrote: »

Does he? I'm not a Manchester United fan so you will all know better, but I've seen him play plenty of times for Man U and England.

Personally to me his temperament is still in question, and he doesn't seemed committed as much as he should be. Ferguson himself alluded to this and as for last season, he wasn't alone in not doing a tap for Moyes but it was still pretty galling given his stature at the club.

He seems to buy into the whole "poor me" crap that the media peddle over him being apparently played out of position and I just would not be happy with him "leading" the team. It's a meaningless gesture IMO from Van Gaal.

This is nonsense. Rooney's temperament has improved dramatically in the last couple of seasons. In terms of performing for Moyes he was one of the few who constantly battled last season and saying he didn't to a tap is borderline insane. The quality in performance was not there for the whole team but Rooney cannot be accused of not trying for Moyes.

I think your last point had some merit to it but even LVG said that Rooney told him he could play anywhere across a front 3 or in behind a striker. I think he has matured a lot in the last season in this regard.

I was one of the fans looking for Rooney do be sold over the last couple of seasons for his attitude to the club however I think he has matured and is the standout choice for captain at this moment in time. If you think someone is better suited to the role by all means suggest it but he is the right man for the job IMO.

Giggsy11

Soft Falling Rain wrote: »

Does he? I'm not a Manchester United fan so you will all know better, but I've seen him play plenty of times for Man U and England.

Personally to me his temperament is still in question, and he doesn't seemed committed as much as he should be. Ferguson himself alluded to this and as for last season, he wasn't alone in not doing a tap for Moyes but it was still pretty galling given his stature at the club.

He seems to buy into the whole "poor me" crap that the media peddle over him being apparently played out of position and I just would not be happy with him "leading" the team. It's a meaningless gesture IMO from Van Gaal.

Yes he does.

His temperament was in question some years ago. Was it last year or before that he picked only 1 yellow card in a full season? He has not done anything stupid on the field to question his temperament.
He is committed on the field than any ManUtd player. Sometimes that commitment makes him to play all over the place when he sprints back to cover full back position when we lose the ball. At least now he has cut down that which is good for the team as we need to play as higher up the pitch as possible.

Not sure about this "poor me" thing. He was played out of position many times. Only thing you can question about Rooney is his Contract saga which happened twice but on the field he gives 100% every single time and that was confirmed by SAF many times.

Larry Wildman

Rooney as club captain is laughable. How many time has he tried to f..k us over? And we (i.e. the club and the fans) keep rewarding his behaviour.

A joke.

advertsfox

Larry Wildman wrote: »

Rooney as club captain is laughable. How many time has he tried to f..k us over? And we (i.e. the club and the fans) keep rewarding his behaviour.

A joke.

Who would you captain and why?

duffman13

Larry Wildman wrote: »

Rooney as club captain is laughable. How many time has he tried to f..k us over? And we (i.e. the club and the fans) keep rewarding his behaviour.

A joke.

Sure if your not happy with it feel free to boo him every time he touches the ball. Who's your choice for captain?

hufpc8w3adnk65

Larry Wildman wrote: »

Rooney as club captain is laughable. How many time has he tried to f..k us over? And we (i.e. the club and the fans) keep rewarding his behaviour.

A joke.

Who would you want? Vidal?..... Oh wait

Larry Wildman

Vidal is signing

Re the club captaincy, I would have looked at Robin Van Persie, Darren Fletcher or Jonny Evans.

In my view, Rooney's previous behaviour should preclude him from being club captain.

Mikeyt086

Larry Wildman wrote: »

Rooney as club captain is laughable. How many time has he tried to f..k us over? And we (i.e. the club and the fans) keep rewarding his behaviour.

A joke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOrOT2QKl30

advertsfox

Sidenote - to think Ronaldo only signed for £12 million... and wore a rainbow as a jumper :P

beakerjoe

Larry Wildman wrote: »

Vidal is signing

Re the club captaincy, I would have looked at Robin Van Persie, Darren Fletcher or Jonny Evans.

In my view, Rooney's previous behaviour should preclude him from being club captain.

Your consistent touting of Vidal is signing is mere guess work on your part. Come on, theres no real evidence to suggest we are in for him still.

Leftist

Larry Wildman wrote: »

Vidal is signing

nope, he's not. absolute bs. amazed anyone is still thinking this.

Larry Wildman wrote: »

Re the club captaincy, I would have looked at Robin Van Persie, Darren Fletcher or Jonny Evans.

In my view, Rooney's previous behaviour should preclude him from being club captain.

Jonny Evans? Darren Fletcher could very well be out most of the season? RVP who sulked when things got tough last season and has a history of injuries?new to football?

past behaviour is irrelavant. he's not becoming the president ffs.
Bryan Robson was a drunk.
Cantona attacked a supporter.
Keane held the club to ransom over wages.

Get a grip?

beakerjoe

Leftist wrote: »

nope, he's not. absolute bs. amazed anyone is still thinking this.

You'd be more amazed at how much he will tell you.

Will I Amnt

Soft Falling Rain wrote: »

Does he? I'm not a Manchester United fan so you will all know better, but I've seen him play plenty of times for Man U and England.

Personally to me his temperament is still in question, and he doesn't seemed committed as much as he should be. Ferguson himself alluded to this and as for last season, he wasn't alone in not doing a tap for Moyes but it was still pretty galling given his stature at the club.

He seems to buy into the whole "poor me" crap that the media peddle over him being apparently played out of position and I just would not be happy with him "leading" the team. It's a meaningless gesture IMO from Van Gaal.

This is absolute nonsense. He was one of very few players that can come out of last season and say they gave their all or anywhere close to it.
I'm usually quite critical of Rooney and if I thought the role was in any way important I would prefer he was overlooked for the position of captain for other reasons but what you said there is just not true.

FWIW I can see Rooney back at the top of his game this season. He looks in the best shape he's ever been in and just gives the impression he will flourish in this system.

The Sparrow

I don't like Rooney as captain but I can see why it makes sense from LVG's point of view.

He basically held us up twice and won and it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Not to mention the various times he was fined by or fell out with SAF because he was either taking the piss or just not as fit as he should have been.

And I think the line that people peddle about Rooney giving everything on the pitch every game is nonsense too. He doesn't. If everything is going well for him, he looks a million dollars and works more than most players. But as soon as they start going wrong or he gets frustrated, he goes missing and starts running around the place like a fool.

My theory has always been that much like Gerard, he views himself as some sort of Roy of the Rovers type player that is more important than the rest of the team. When it isn't happening he refuses to adjust and roll with the punches. And that is not captain material.

Having said that, he is our captain now and I certainly won't be booing him. But I don't have to like it.

Lord TSC

Right lads, it strikes me there are some people who need to cop the hell on and take a step back right now.

Under no circumstance am I going to be happy to see one user be hounded continually whenever he posts, no matter what that person is posting in this topic. From where I'm standing, it looks as if some posters who definitely should know better are taking every opportunity to respond to a particular poster not with discussions about what he is posting, but with sly shots and digs, sometimes about ITK claims, sometimes just telling him flat out to "Shut up".

I'm going to start issuing cards, to be frank. While some users may feel that the posting style of another poster may wind them up, the users responding to the posts are doing more to disrupt the topic than the person they are accusing; dragging up a previous topic to try and target a poster's credibility, having post after post of near harrassment, is not going to be tolerated, so do me a favour....if a user is bugging you, ignore him. You achieve absolutely nothing by taking shots at someone over and over, other than likely earn yourself a yellow card. Meanwhile, if someone is on the windup, congratulations, you have helped them achieve what they set out to do.

No more shots, no more digs. If a user is bothering you, if you are frustrated with someone who tries to be ITK, ignore him. No one forces you to read the post, no one forces you to drag us off topic, and no one forces you to earn the yellow card for bullying and harassment. If you have a problem, report it, PM a mod (if there's a charter breach, we deal with it) and move on and ignore.

Do not start a discussion in this topic about who you don't like as a poster and why.

There's a lot to be excited for as a Man United fan right now, and plenty of on-topic stuff to discuss and people are getting caught up in personal digs. Cop on.

advertsfox

Lord TSC wrote: »

There's a lot to be excited for as a Man United fan right now

Coat22

Leftist wrote: »

nope, he's not. absolute bs. amazed anyone is still thinking this.



Jonny Evans? Darren Fletcher could very well be out most of the season? RVP who sulked when things got tough last season and has a history of injuries?new to football?

past behaviour is irrelavant. he's not becoming the president ffs.
Bryan Robson was a drunk.
Cantona attacked a supporter.
Keane held the club to ransom over wages.

Get a grip?

What bullsh*t - show me a player who hasn't held out for the best deal he can get?

"Oh right so you're offering me €50k a year less than Munich. Sure thats grand. Where do I sign? I know the club will look after me when I retire and have earned 2.5 million less per year for the last 4 years. Thanks"

Coat22

Larry Wildman wrote: »

Vidal is signing

Re the club captaincy, I would have looked at Robin Van Persie, Darren Fletcher or Jonny Evans.

In my view, Rooney's previous behaviour should preclude him from being club captain.

Guy has a point.

Personally I'd have Rooney as I feel there is a lack of alternatives. Appointing RVP would have sent out the wrong message about LVG and the Dutch connection.

Copper_pipe

Just in case any poster here is getting Leaving Cert results this morning, Best of Luck! I was in the same position last year so I know what it feels like.

Larry Wildman

I loved Rooney as a player prior to the contractual City/Chelsea Paul Stretford stuff. Since then, he's tarnished in my view. Do I have a problem with him being club captain? Yes if I'm honest.

Hardly the most controversial viewpoint in the world.

beakerjoe

Larry Wildman wrote: »

I loved Rooney as a player prior to the contractual City/Chelsea Paul Stretford stuff. Since then, he's tarnished in my view. Do I have a problem with him being club captain? Yes if I'm honest.

Hardly the most controversial viewpoint in the world.

Personally I kind of (not 100 percent though) agree with you, however I trust Van Gaal as a manager who will take no BS, So ive faith in his choice.

Coat22

Copper_pipe wrote: »

Just in case any poster here is getting Leaving Cert results this morning, Best of Luck! I was in the same position last year so I know what it feels like.

Stop that Young Pipe - the day I got mine was in the same week Michael Knighton paraded himself at Old Trafford as the new owner and look how well that ended.

I can still remember the quote of the only other Man Utd fan in my year at the time (everyone in 80's was either a Liverpool or Everton fan - there were as many Aston Villa fans in my class and Man Utd fans!!)

"Under new ownserhip. Nothings gonna stop us now."

.....and then 9 months later Lee Martin stuck the ball in the Palace net and it all started.

Good Luck All

Maximus Alexander

Coat22 wrote: »

Stop that Young Pipe - the day I got mine was in the same week Michael Knighton paraded himself at Old Trafford as the new owner and look how well that ended.

I can still remember the quote of the only other Man Utd fan in my year at the time (everyone in 80's was either a Liverpool or Everton fan - there were as many Aston Villa fans in my class and Man Utd fans!!)

"Under new ownserhip. Nothings gonna stop us now."

.....and then 9 months later Mark Robins stuck the ball in the Palace net and it all started.

Good Luck All

That reminds me of the early 90s when there were Villa, Everton and Leeds fans in my class. I haven't met anyone in Ireland who supports those teams in the last ten years!

kryogen

I would still regularly see Leeds, Everton, Villa, Birmingham and a few others that would be deemed unusual these days I guess.

So many more Chelsea and City fans naturally. Had two City fans in my class in school back in the 90's, now I see City jerseys all over the place!

Leftist

kryogen wrote: »

I would still regularly see Leeds, Everton, Villa, Birmingham and a few others that would be deemed unusual these days I guess.

So many more Chelsea and City fans naturally. Had two City fans in my class in school back in the 90's, now I see City jerseys all over the place!

remember the spate of sunderland supporters

i always found it funny how older liverpool supporters would talk about united fans being gloryhunters.

of course there was some but most of these guys started following football in the 70s or 80s :pac:

redbaron_99

Back from my two week "holiday". Looking forward to Saturday now, and quite confident that we'll do very well in the coming weeks.
Still disappointed with how the transfer window has gone, though. After watching all pre-season games I believe we are still sorely lacking in the centre of midfield. We struggled to create anything in that area last night, and Liverpool nullified Fletcher too easily last week.
I do like Herrera, though. Obviously Vidal would have been a great signing, but even the likes of DeJong, McCarthy, Turan - dare I say it, even Medel, would have been very useful until next summer when we chase after Strootman.

Must say, was delighted for Fellaini last night. Disgusted by some of the fans at OT, and one or two here aren't particularly endearing.

Coat22

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

That reminds me of the early 90s when there were Villa, Everton and Leeds fans in my class. I haven't met anyone in Ireland who supports those teams in the last ten years!

Still know a lot of Everton fans for some reason – and they’re still coming through, although not at the rate they were in the 80s.

Same lads had a great laugh at me this time last year when Moyes took the helm – they knew what we were getting.

Mikeyt086

Larry Wildman wrote: »

I loved Rooney as a player prior to the contractual City/Chelsea Paul Stretford stuff. Since then, he's tarnished in my view. Do I have a problem with him being club captain? Yes if I'm honest.

Hardly the most controversial viewpoint in the world.

But thats not what you said. Had you said you had a problem with it, most wouldn't have batted an eyelid, but you called it laughable and a joke. Which is a controversial opinion as Rooney is by far and away the standout candidate.

bullvine

Fairplay to Rojo, according to Wikipedia he's already played 49 times and scored 5 goals for United!

The_Kew_Tour

Any Vidal tweets, no?

ah boo bum

Maximus Alexander

So, how do people feel about Phil Jones' performance last night? I thought he looked super and if he can keep that up over the season (and avoid injury) it'll go a long way towards relieving our defensive concerns.

Also, Fellaini looked a man reborn. Even ignoring the goal he looked a different player from the minute he came on. I wonder if it's just the lower pressure of a friendly or if something more significant has changed?

Larry Wildman

Mikeyt086 wrote: »

But thats not what you said. Had you said you had a problem with it, most wouldn't have batted an eyelid, but you called it laughable and a joke. Which is a controversial opinion as Rooney is by far and away the standout candidate.

In business, you'd identify the best candidate but then ask "okay, is there a reason why we cannot give this guy the role?".

Rooney's behaviour towards the club precludes him from being captain in my view.

Professional Griefer

But hes captain of a football team, not a business team.

Also hes third on our all time top goal scorer list. One of the better options for it we have.

tupac_healy

Larry Wildman wrote: »

I loved Rooney as a player prior to the contractual City/Chelsea Paul Stretford stuff. Since then, he's tarnished in my view. Do I have a problem with him being club captain? Yes if I'm honest.

Hardly the most controversial viewpoint in the world.

Larry your not alone, I too feel as though even considering his improved attitude and performances pre-season I still feel his past conduct should be considered when choosing the captain....

For me this is one LVG has got wrong, I know when you sit back and think about it there are actually not too many stand out candidates I.e. ones that don't live on injury tables and show that passion grit and determination to win for the club, but still for me Rooney is not the best candidate....

I suppose considering the flip side of the coin LVG is ushering in a new era and what better statement to the club and players to say the past is the past and now to look forward....

Time will tell, but Larry your not alone in that line of thinking man

Larry Wildman

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

So, how do people feel about Phil Jones' performance last night?

Great.

I've always thought that he has the potential to be one of the world's best centre halves if given the chance. He was a beast at Blackburn. Unfortunately he was messed around by Fergie which stilted his development (a la John O'Shea) but as one poster pointed out recently, he's still only 22.

Expect big things from Phil Jones this season.

thelad95

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

So, how do people feel about Phil Jones' performance last night? I thought he looked super and if he can keep that up over the season (and avoid injury) it'll go a long way towards relieving our defensive concerns.

Also, Fellaini looked a man reborn. Even ignoring the goal he looked a different player from the minute he came on. I wonder if it's just the lower pressure of a friendly or if something more significant has changed?

As we saw at Everton, the guy has the ability to change games. He's tall, strong and a perfect target for a long ball. I would love to see him stay as an impact sub/squad player.

Giggsy11

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

So, how do people feel about Phil Jones' performance last night? I thought he looked super and if he can keep that up over the season (and avoid injury) it'll go a long way towards relieving our defensive concerns.

Also, Fellaini looked a man reborn. Even ignoring the goal he looked a different player from the minute he came on. I wonder if it's just the lower pressure of a friendly or if something more significant has changed?

I thought he was excellent. Even better when he moved to the center of 3 CBs.
IMO he had a very good pre season. Except that penalty incident against Liverpool I don't remember him making any mistakes.

If Jones and Smalling can stay fit they will form a very good defensive partnership. Still we need one more CB for squad depth.

ericzeking

UNITED......leeds........UNITED......leeds...........UNITED........leeds

Ah them were the days, they are on the way back too, my brother is a Leeds fan, I've watched him toil in the lower leagues, heading to the pub of a Friday night to watch them play Rotheram or whoever.

I saw a lad in his mid twenties the other day in a brand spanking new City shirt....I could judge away because I was wearing shades :cool:

Mitch Connor

I just don't think Rooney has shown himself to be a player that will rally the troops and get a team going. He works hard himself so you can argue he leads by example, but I don't think that is enough. I don't see him as someone who will encourage his team mates or as a good go between for Van Gaal on the pitch - but LVG must think differently, given the requirements LVG said himself he has of his captain.

Coat22

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

So, how do people feel about Phil Jones' performance last night? I thought he looked super and if he can keep that up over the season (and avoid injury) it'll go a long way towards relieving our defensive concerns.

Also, Fellaini looked a man reborn. Even ignoring the goal he looked a different player from the minute he came on. I wonder if it's just the lower pressure of a friendly or if something more significant has changed?

Thought defence still looked very dodgy – but it maybe that the midfield is still too porous.

Did anybody else think LVG looked like an embarrassed school kid when Felani scored? Reckon the deal is done there. Already starting to regret it.

Mitch Connor

Thought Jones and Smalling looked very good, Smalling made some great interceptions when it looked like we were caught. Blacket did well enough too, but felt he was a liability when we were getting countered, didn't recover his position well enough. A problem of youth/inexperience though.

jameshayes

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

So, how do people feel about Phil Jones' performance last night? I thought he looked super and if he can keep that up over the season (and avoid injury) it'll go a long way towards relieving our defensive concerns.

Just after Keane came on last night, a ball was played through that he missed, he then had to make a last ditch overstretching effort to clear the ball, these are the type of situations he gets into that land him on the physio bench for 6 games.

Cypher_sounds

Larry Wildman wrote: »

Great.

I've always thought that he has the potential to be one of the world's best centre halves if given the chance. He was a beast at Blackburn. Unfortunately he was messed around by Fergie which stilted his development (a la John O'Shea) but as one poster pointed out recently, he's still only 22.

Expect big things from Phil Jones this season.

Did you expect fergie to start him ahead of Vidic or Rio at the time or how do you reckon he was messed around?

The Sparrow

Coat22 wrote: »

What bullsh*t - show me a player who hasn't held out for the best deal he can get?

"Oh right so you're offering me €50k a year less than Munich. Sure thats grand. Where do I sign? I know the club will look after me when I retire and have earned 2.5 million less per year for the last 4 years. Thanks"

It's not just about the money. I don't remember any other player releasing a statement saying the club was not matching their ambition or handing in transfer requests.

FutureGuy

Larry Wildman wrote: »

In business, you'd identify the best candidate but then ask "okay, is there a reason why we cannot give this guy the role?".

Rooney's behaviour towards the club precludes him from being captain in my view.

Am I 100% happy? No.

As you said above, Fletcher, RVP and Evans are other candidates.

Without seeing how RVP interacts with his United team mates, both on and off the pitch, there was no way he could select him as captain. If he did, I would have had a massive issue with it.

Fletcher is doing brillianty, but if Vidal comes in, it's Fletcher that loses his place. You seem to be completely confident that Vidal is arriving so Fletcher is not a good option, even though he is a superb choice. Personally, I hate the idea of captains who don't play (Vermaelen fo example).

As for Evans, I would not have been unhappy to see Evans being given the armband, and I do think he could be the next captain aftr Rooney, but for now, Rooney is the best candidate.

I also think the captaincy will do Rooney a world of good. We have seen two versions of Rooney. The aggresive hellraiser and the player who gets a single booking all season. The best version of Wayne Rooney lies somewhere in between - something SAF alluded to a few years back. Out of all the players we have, I can think of no one I would rather grab the team by the scruff of the neck when we are chasing a win.

Maximus Alexander

jameshayes wrote: »

Just after Keane came on last night, a ball was played through that he missed, he then had to make a last ditch overstretching effort to clear the ball, these are the type of situations he gets into that land him on the physio bench for 6 games.

Aye, but on the other hand I love the fact that he doesn't shy away from anything. There's not many players out there who put themselves on the line the way he does, he never gives up on anything.

I feel like he's taken a fair bit of flak in here recently, but I still feel like he has it in him to be an absolute superstar CB. I'm cautiously hoping this will be his breakout season.

bucketybuck

tupac_healy wrote: »

Time will tell, but Larry your not alone in that line of thinking man

I wouldn't put Rooney in charge of collecting the lottery sub never mind captain of the club. Charging around the field like a headless chicken does not a captain make, certainly not when you take into account his conduct off the field.

Tom.D.BJJ

Not a fan of Rojo. Thought he was lucky not to be sent off a few times at the world cup. Rash and too aggressive.