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

bucketybuck

Cookiemunster wrote: »

But the point is that the window can't be seen as a failure when we're only half way through. If we have the same squad on Sep 2nd then yes it can be called a failure.

These are the exact same things we heard at this stage last summer, almost to the letter. I hope people can at least understand why its so depressing to be hearing them all over again.

irishfeen

Headshot wrote: »

I reckon my preministion of no more signings will come true

I'm getting that vibe too - all my positivity has gone from Woodwards interview.

The_Kew_Tour

So if you were to bet right now how many more signings do you reckong we will get?

I reckon 2.

CB and CM and maybe if lucky a winger.

MagicIRL

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

So if you were to bet right now how many more signings do you reckong we will get?

I reckon 2.

CB and CM and maybe if lucky a winger.

This is what I think also.

wiz569

MagicIRL wrote: »

Is LvG playing two teams for 45mins each again this evening?

He said 60mins before switching players in his press conference m8

irishfeen

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

So if you were to bet right now how many more signings do you reckong we will get?

I reckon 2.

CB and CM and maybe if lucky a winger.

Stupidly I say my optimism is gone but I still deep down think 3 - CB, CM, RB

Cookiemunster

bucketybuck wrote: »

These are the exact same things we heard at this stage last summer, almost to the letter. I hope people can at least understand why its so depressing to be hearing them all over again.

No last summer we were promised big name signings and they failed to deliver. Woodward didn't promise this in his interview, just that if LVG wanted a player money was no object. LVG didn't promise anything other that he wouldn't sign anyone until he had assessed the squad.
I fail to see how it's the same seeing as at his first press conference (16 days ago) LVG told us he wouldn't be signing any player for at least 3-4 weeks.

Lord TSC

His "first" team will get 60 minutes tonight, with the back ups getting 30.

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

So if you were to bet right now how many more signings do you reckong we will get?

I reckon 2.

CB and CM and maybe if lucky a winger.

Would say at least 2, and exactly as you said. Would imagine a CB who can cover LB as well, another CM (once Fel is off), and a winger who would suit wing backs better than Nani and Young.

Kess73

irishfeen wrote: »

Lads the last few pages have been mostly my fault - I had a s.hite day at work yesterday and an even worse evening and was very agitated so I apologise to Pro. F for what I said to him especially this morning so Pro. F...

Mod Post: That gif actually got a laugh out of me. It takes more than one person to keep an arguement going though, so I hope that Pro F takes onboard what you have just said, and the same courtesy is offered back to you and others.

To everyone else. Please make the mods your first point of contact if things are getting snippy in the thread. Use the report post function, or if you have a specific mod that you are comfortable with, then PM that mod and ask if he/she would look into it for you. If a bit of friction in a thread can be calmed down through some PM chats with a mod or mods then surely that is best for everyone, and saves it from becoming a card fest.

Lucas Hood

yermandan wrote: »

Boards.ie Utd Superthread FF League 14/15 -

Code: 67640-22132 - For shots and giggles

PM me for my email address (PayPal) and the code - For super serious paid league with 10% going to charity

http://fantasy.premierleague.com/

Ask a mod can they leave a link to this in first post of the thread you won't have to keep posting it then just tell everyone where it is.

Adamcp898

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

So if you were to bet right now how many more signings do you reckong we will get?

I reckon 2.

CB and CM and maybe if lucky a winger.

CB and LB. But they'll both be squad signings.

We still only have one LB lets not forget.

irishfeen

Lucas Hood wrote: »

Ask a mod can they leave a link to this in first post of the thread you won't have to keep posting it then just tell everyone where it is.

Ha ya but most people just go straight to the last page/where they last stopped so probably that wouldn't work either :pac:

bucketybuck

Cookiemunster wrote: »

No last summer we were promised big name signings and they failed to deliver. Woodward didn't promise this in his interview, just that if LVG wanted a player money was no object. LVG didn't promise anything other that he wouldn't sign anyone until he had assessed the squad.

I was addressing your point that we cannot judge the window until its over, a mantra that was repeated ad nauseam last summer when many of us pointed out that the transfer dealings appeared to be a shambles.

Liam O

Headshot wrote: »

I reckon my preministion of no more signings will come true

Grand, €100 on your preministion coming true? I'll even throw in that it has to be over a 10m transfer fee.

PhlegmyMoses

*premonition

/nazi

Cookiemunster

bucketybuck wrote: »

I was addressing your point that we cannot judge the window until its over, a mantra that was repeated ad nauseam last summer when many of us pointed out that the transfer dealings appeared to be a shambles.

But quite simply, you can't judge it until it's over. Would I have liked all the signings done at the start of the window? Obviously I would. Was that likely seeing at the new manager started on July 16th? No it wasn't.
I think if we don't sign 2 defenders and a midfielder then the window will have been a failure, but I'm not panicking in the middle of the window when the manager has already said no more signing until towards the end of the window.
Remember we didn't sign RVP until Aug 15th and the first league game was Aug 20th.

Mickeroo

Lucas Hood wrote: »

Ask a mod can they leave a link to this in first post of the thread you won't have to keep posting it then just tell everyone where it is.

Done.

J. Marston

Maybe if Liverpool/City hammer us in the final of the Friendly Cup (if we reach it), it might wake up some people at the club.

City and Chelsea are miles ahead of us, Arsenal too. Liverpool have lost their best player and might be doing a Spurs with the money but they're still better than us.

LVG's confidence, while a refreshing change from the yoke that was in charge last season, isn't going to get top 4 on its own. Serious investment is needed.

MisterAnarchy

It seems a bit strange of Van Gaal to be employing 3 centre backs when he only has 3 experienced centre backs in the squad and none of them are really any good .
Even if Utd sign another centre back ,and they badly need a top class one ,that still only leaves 4 players for 3 positions which isnt great.

Nolars

J. Marston wrote: »

Maybe if Liverpool/City hammer us in the final of the Friendly Cup (if we reach it), it might wake up some people at the club.

City and Chelsea are miles ahead of us, Arsenal too. Liverpool have lost their best player and might be doing a Spurs with the money but they're still better than us.

LVG's confidence, while a refreshing change from the yoke that was in charge last season, isn't going to get top 4 on its own. Serious investment is needed.

No its not we need like 2 players pipe down

Liam O

PhlegmyMoses wrote: »

*premonition

/nazi

It took a lot to not put it in inverted commas and use auto correct on my side.

Backstreet Moyes

J. Marston wrote: »

Maybe if Liverpool/City hammer us in the final of the Friendly Cup (if we reach it), it might wake up some people at the club.

City and Chelsea are miles ahead of us, Arsenal too. Liverpool have lost their best player and might be doing a Spurs with the money but they're still better than us.

LVG's confidence, while a refreshing change from the yoke that was in charge last season, isn't going to get top 4 on its own. Serious investment is needed.

A cb and cm and i wouldn't fear anybody in the league.

tupac_healy

Nuts102 wrote: »

A cb and cm and i wouldn't fear anybody in the league.

Titus bramble and hold on to Anderson and we are sorted!!!!

Adamocovic

Say at the moment we lined up like this:

---

De Gea (1)*

---

---

---

Smalling(2)---Jones(1)---Evans(3)

---

---

-Valencia(2)

---

Shaw-

---

Fletcher(5)--Herrera

---

---

---

Mata

---

---

---

RVP(1)

---

Rooney(5)

---

*how many league titles won

Now I do think we need to sign at least two new players, mainly I would like to see a CB and a winger who can also drop in to wingback.

But theres seems to be a lot of people complaining that we are a in a shambles and are predicting doom and gloom.
It is not as if VG is inheriting a inexperienced terrible team. He has a team of players who have shown before they can win the league despite what we might think of them. Like one sunny day doesn't make a summer one bad season doesn't make the team.

As I said I still believe two signings would be needed (due to injuries etc) but I don't believe this idea that we are in a truly terrible place at the moment. We are in a lot better shape than last year and without doubt VGs organisation and tactics can help our team improve. Hopefully he can make the signings needed within the next month but I'm sure VG knows what he is doing.

eioneill

Adamcp898 wrote: »

CB and LB. But they'll both be squad signings.

We still only have one LB lets not forget.

It's a brave statement by me but in my opinion I think Blackett is a very capable cover for lb this season. He has the added benefit of being able to play cb aswell.
LVG likes to give youth a shot and I reckon he has a very big season ahead of him. We still need another a cb as Smalling is still not very convincing.

All the talk of Vidal and no official bid. The papers talk some amount of tripe. I still remember Willy Carvalho deal was being wrapped up by Woodward back in June. Drivel

bucketybuck

Adamocovic wrote: »

But theres seems to be a lot of people complaining that we are a in a shambles and are predicting doom and gloom.

That team you posted, just look at it objectively for a second.

- Jones and Smalling have already been injured this pre-season and are another injury waiting to happen, considering we have no senior defenders as back up thats a major problem.
- You simply cannot count Fletcher as a viable consistent midfield option, he is ill and has not played a consistent run of games in years. He may well improve but a manager simply cannot plan for him to be there at all times, he just can't.
- Valencia has been an utter disgrace for over two seasons now. The fact that he is still there and you are selecting him is an indictment of our transfer business.
- Herrera is a young lad totally unproven, I have hope for him but again we cannot assume that he won't take time to settle in.
- Shaw is also just a kid and already it seems he was not prepared for the step up, we cannot assume that he will hit the ground running.


There is a theme there you know. A good manager in any industry hopes for the best but plans for the worst, but with the team you posted we need every single thing to go perfectly for that team to be a viable option, and that just ain't going to happen. Far more likely one of the back 3 gets injured, Fletcher misses games and Valencia continues to be muck, then what do we do?

MagicIRL

The Guardian running with Vermaelen for 12m. Good buy at that price, especially if he regains his fitness and form.

Manchester United are ready to sign Vermaelen for about £12m, despite the fact the centre-back is suffering from a minor hamstring injury he picked up with Belgium during the World Cup.

bucketybuck

£12 million for Arsenals injured 3rd choice defender is not a good price.

dahat

bucketybuck wrote: »

£12 million for Arsenals injured 3rd choice defender is not a good price.

Must agree with that as well, very injury prone too it seems. Odd transfer.

Adamocovic

bucketybuck wrote: »

That team you posted, just look at it objectively for a second.

- Jones and Smalling have already been injured this pre-season and are another injury waiting to happen, considering we have no senior defenders as back up thats a major problem.
- You simply cannot count Fletcher as a viable consistent midfield option, he is ill and has not played a consistent run of games in years. He may well improve but a manager simply cannot plan for him to be there at all times, he just can't.
- Valencia has been an utter disgrace for over two seasons now. The fact that he is still there and you are selecting him is an indictment of our transfer business.
- Herrera is a young lad totally unproven, I have hope for him but again we cannot assume that he won't take time to settle in.
- Shaw is also just a kid and already it seems he was not prepared for the step up, we cannot assume that he will hit the ground running.


There is a theme there you know. A good manager in any industry hopes for the best but plans for the worst, but with the team you posted we need every single thing to go perfectly for that team to be a viable option, and that just ain't going to happen. Far more likely one of the back 3 gets injured, Fletcher misses games and Valencia continues to be muck, then what do we do?

Well out of the points you have made:
-I already stated I would like to see a CB brought in incase of injuries.
-Fletcher has come out and said he is fit now and his illness is gone. I still think Herrera, Fletcher, Carrick (when back), Fellaini and Cleverly could hold the midfield until January and then we could pursue Strootman who I would see as a better fit for the team.
-I already said I would like to see another player who can play Wing Back come into the team.
-Herrera may be 24 but he has played against the worlds best like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico regularly for the last three seasons.
-Shaw may be young also but VG has shown to be very good bringing in young players and adapting them to top flight game.

I really doubt any of us know more about what to do than VG. He is one of the most prepared and organised managers in the world. I am sure he is thinking of every possibility and option they have to cover.

beno619

bucketybuck wrote: »

£12 million for Arsenals injured 3rd choice defender is not a good price.

This could just be another paper seller like Vidal.

PhlegmyMoses

Vermaelen is a good signing as part of a group of transfers. In isolation, it doesn't look great.

Shaw, Herrera, Vermaelen: Wouldn't be happy.

Those 3 plus a decent CM and CB, would be a good start to the rebuild.

lordgoat

eioneill wrote: »

It's a brave statement by me but in my opinion I think Blackett is a very capable cover for lb this season. He has the added benefit of being able to play cb aswell.
LVG likes to give youth a shot and I reckon he has a very big season ahead of him. We still need another a cb as Smalling is still not very convincing.

What's giving you the confidence in Blackett? For me James >Blackett at LB.

And Blackett at CB is way down the line. Keane def ahead of him and so are some of the u21's from last season.

bucketybuck wrote: »

£12 million for Arsenals injured 3rd choice defender is not a good price.

If the choice is no CB or Verm, then I'll accept it, would much rather someone else though.

billyhead

Don't get me wrong in that LVG is the man to get the best out of average players which we have a lot of. But were Man Utd for ****s sake and should be competing for very competition we are in. Talk of us being content with a CL placing next season is complete ****e. We need to strengthen further in this window or we will be fighting for that 4th place again.

Rayne Wooney

Not only is he injury prone but he's error prone too and if people are worried about Evans' mistakes then I think Vermaelen is just as bad if not worse at times, 12 million is ridiculous for someone who is definitely leaving anyway.


Also I love how much of a cocky fecker Vidal is, he could pronounce himself king of Manchester and I wouldn't care, saying he is the best in the world in his position, I love it because he backs it up.

Cookiemunster

billyhead wrote: »

Don't get me wrong in that LVG is the man to get the best out of average players which we have a lot of. But were Man Utd for ****s sake and should be competing for very competition we are in. Talk of us being content with a CL placing next season is complete ****e. We need to strengthen further in this window or we will be fighting for that 4th place again.

You've got to be realistic. You can't build from where Utd are to where Chelsea / City are in one transfer window. Fighting for 3rd/4th is where Utd will be even if we sign a few players between now and the end of the window.

IvySlayer

I'm not that bothered by Vermaelan, he's a good squad player for LB/CB

Adamcp898

eioneill wrote: »

It's a brave statement by me but in my opinion I think Blackett is a very capable cover for lb this season. He has the added benefit of being able to play cb aswell.
LVG likes to give youth a shot and I reckon he has a very big season ahead of him. We still need another a cb as Smalling is still not very convincing.

All the talk of Vidal and no official bid. The papers talk some amount of tripe. I still remember Willy Carvalho deal was being wrapped up by Woodward back in June. Drivel

It's one thing to give youth a chance when it's Xavi, Puyol, Muller, Kroos, that whole Ajax team, etc. i.e. they're good enough to step up and give first XI performances almost immediately.

It's a completely other thing to give youth a chance because you have no other option but to do so and hope they're able to give near first XI performances from the get go.

I know which of the two categories I see us in atm and if we're not careful we'll find ourself falling down the slippery slope of ''sure we'll be ready in 2/3 years'' à la Arsenal. But even they spend money now.

Also, Vermaelen isn't a good buy imo and is madness for £12 million. He showed signs of being a good CB but to be blunt all he has had is that one good debut season for Arsenal which was a little over hyped because he scored a few goals from 20-30 yards on top of it.

Will I Amnt

Cookiemunster wrote: »

You've got to be realistic. You can't build from where Utd are to where Chelsea / City are in one transfer window. Fighting for 3rd/4th is where Utd will be even if we sign a few players between now and the end of the window.

Last year was an anomaly though. I don't look at it like it's a rebuild of a 7th place team, even if it is just that. You don't have 7th place teams full of players like De Gea, RvP, Rooney, Mata etc. 7th was not their level.
You can't underestimate the effect of a team not playing for a manager out of his depth.

MisterAnarchy

IvySlayer wrote: »

I'm not that bothered by Vermaelan, he's a good squad player for LB/CB

Utd need a quality centre back or even 2 .
Another squad player is not required ,Smalling or Jones are not up to the job ,Smalling is awful on the ball.
Smalling is only a squad player .

irishfeen

Well its only 2 weeks today. First 12 games announced for TV - this might help for anyone planning on getting any subscriptions.

The Swansea/Burnley games can be got for €1 via this deal for the Setanta/BT pack - http://www.setanta.com/ie/subscribe

Mikeyt086

Last year we saw our group of players play with no confidence and no direction. Now under LVG is seems already that the confidence is back, and the players will know exactly what is expected of them. That is a reason to expect improvement even with the squad as thin as it is.

Another reason to be excited is the fact that Juan Mata, Wayne Rooney, and Robin Van Persie will all be playing in their best positions and will no doubt be on flying form. I can't wait to see them run riot.

We do need to sign two more defenders and a midfielder. We probably won't get all 3 in this window, but even still we will be much stronger this season.

KombuchaMshroom

bucketybuck wrote: »

£12 million for Arsenals injured 3rd choice defender is not a good price.

He has had his injury problems recently, but if we manage him right and keep him fit that is a fantastic signing at that price.
He ia killing two birds with one stone in that he can cover both left back and center back, plus he was only 3rd choice last year because he wasn't available. He is the club captain for a reason. 12 months ago people would be calling this an absolute steal.

Cookiemunster

Will I Amnt wrote: »

Last year was an anomaly though. I don't look at it like it's a rebuild of a 7th place team, even if it is just that. You don't have 7th place teams full of players like De Gea, RvP, Rooney, Mata etc. 7th was not their level.
You can't underestimate the effect of a team not playing for a manager out of his depth.

Don't get me wrong, I'm convinced we'll finish top 4, but I can't see us challenging for the title.

Liam O

KombuchaMshroom wrote: »

He has had his injury problems recently, but if we manage him right and keep him fit that is a fantastic signing at that price.
He ia killing two birds with one stone in that he can cover both left back and center back, plus he was only 3rd choice last year because he wasn't available. He is the club captain for a reason. 12 months ago people would be calling this an absolute steal.

I wouldn't, he's been rubbish for 2 seasons now and was a liability everytime I seen him. For circa 10m I think he'd be ok value but nothing more really.

adox

Will I Amnt wrote: »

Last year was an anomaly though. I don't look at it like it's a rebuild of a 7th place team, even if it is just that. You don't have 7th place teams full of players like De Gea, RvP, Rooney, Mata etc. 7th was not their level.
You can't underestimate the effect of a team not playing for a manager out of his depth.

Agree with all that but the holes in the squad are bigger than last year as it stands, especially if it's 3 at the back for the season. We may have still "got away" with the midfield only for Carricks injury but it's severely lacking now.


Defence is what I'm most worried about, both the lack of numbers and the likelihood of the 3 CBs getting injured.

I think a minimum of 2 additional CBs and 1 midfielder are needed but think we may only end up seeing one CB coming in.

If we don't reinforce at the back that decision could cost us 4th place.

Mars Bar

RobertKK wrote: »

Around 9pm.
Could be 9.06pm to be exact.

Crap! That's 1pm here and I'll be at the l.a galaxy game.

Whatsisname

.

Sport Witness wrote:

Manchester United fans on social media have perhaps built up a bit of misplaced trust in La Stampa and marked them out as the Turin news source to trust. Therefore, when on Saturday La Stampa said that Arturo Vidal wanted out of Juventus and his agent Fernando Felicevich was set to tell the club that, it was taken as gospel.

The reason for the trust in La Stampa mainly comes from Juventus fans on social media who mocked Tuttosport for saying Vidal may fancy a move and then further discredited Gazzetta dello Sport for claiming similar, and then still clung on to the latter when they wrongly reported Vidal insisting he wasn't moving to Manchester United.

La Stampa was where it was at, said many Juve fans. What they say goes.

However, the same Italian newspaper insisted not so long ago that Manchester United were making a bid for Alexis Sanchez and that Liverpool and Tottenham were also providing competition for Juventus. Arsenal weren't mentioned as interested, Sanchez signed for them four days later.

In the same article, La Stampa said Arsenal were instead looking at Alvaro Morata and that Juventus were looking at Romelu Lukaku as an alternative to the Real Madrid man. Not so long later Morata was in Turin.

Whilst this isn't to rubbish La Stampa, they seem pretty good to us, it just shows that there's absolutely no reason to treat what they have to say as gospel, even if Manchester United fans would dearly love to.

Anyway, back to La Stampa's actual claims on Saturday. They say Fernando Felicevich will be speaking with Beppe Marotta soon about Vidal. This must be the umpteenth time they've been scheduled to have this talk.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the report is La Stampa insisting Juventus would only accept offers of over €40m for Vidal. That converts to around £32m and is perhaps closer to the truth than some of the claims going over €60m.

Pro. F

bucketybuck wrote: »

I was addressing your point that we cannot judge the window until its over, a mantra that was repeated ad nauseam last summer when many of us pointed out that the transfer dealings appeared to be a shambles.

You can't judge the window until it's over. Just because the window ended up going the way some people "predicted" that it would last summer doesn't mean their predictions were based in sound logic.

It's like the people who predict the weather months in advance. It doesn't matter what the outcome is, they're still wrong for thinking they're able to make accurate predictions.

Pro. F

RE Vermaelen: In terms of quality I would be interested in seeing what he can do at that price. He's the type of CB van Gaal has said he wants, somebody who can carry the ball forward. And I think that Arsenal defence don't get coached or protected properly so they end up looking worse than they really are. He could improve dramatically in a better organised defence imo.

But the issue with him I see is the injuries. IIRC he has been a complete crock. For me, he would have to be cheaper when you consider all the risk involved.