Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread - Mod Note in OP, 25/08

newballsplease

Its Center midfield that im more worried about. Di maria wont solve that issue.

A CM must be signed or its bye bye champions lg again.

J. Marston

So Di Maria wants to go and Blanc says...

https://twitter.com/RBairner/statuses/502437273385041920

and Van Gaal has mentioned our lack of quality on the wings and highlighted Di Maria as one of the world's best in that position.

If we don't actually make a public bid, it has to be public in my opinion to show the fans that the club isn't fúcking about, then heads need to roll.

newballsplease

We gave Madrid Ronaldo.... Its time they gave something back !

bangkok

ya cant just go and buy khedira and di maria... not that simple, both want champs league football, I would say khedira will wait until next week and see do arsenal make the champions league, if they do I think he will go there.

di maria wants champions league as well, he has a choice between Paris and Manchester, Manchester has no champ league but a better stadium, history etc on a par with Madrid, psg have champions league, a better city to live in and he can earn a lot more money.....

dubmick

Balotelli for 16 million. Quality on his day, just a bit mental. Scousers will love him. LVG would sort him out.

FutureGuy

It's mad how mych top quality talent has been purchased on the cheap this summer. Kroos, Fabregas, Ballotelli.

We need a slice of good news. Soon.

case885

Good business by liverpool, no waiting around either.

Whatsisname

Don't see the whole attraction around him tbh. Liability in my eyes, score a few goals but will go off sulking or get himself sent off at the wrong times.

bangkok

balotelli top quality?! don't think so

RayCun

Liverpool offered to sign the 24-year-old on loan on Wednesday but a combination of an exorbitant loan fee and Milan’s refusal to take the striker back should he cause problems for Brendan Rodgers ended that possibility

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/aug/21/liverpool-mario-balotelli-milan-transfer-close

:pac::pac::pac:

Lord TSC

It's good business for Liverpool.

Why not use the transfer threads to discuss it,

(In a calm, non-baiting way, plz)

twam2008

With Madrid saying Di Maria can go, what happens to the fee? Would they still expect to get £50/60m for him?

bucketybuck

bangkok wrote: »

balotelli top quality?! don't think so

He is mental but you simply cannot deny his ability, I think this could be a very sharp move by Liverpool.

Gone Drinking

FutureGuy wrote: »

I am 100% condifent, without a shadow of a doubt that, Di Maria is going to end up at PSG.

There isn't a prayer of him being our new number 7.

I'd be with you on this, but aren't PSG restricted with FFP rules? That's our only hope really.

MagicIRL

Delighted Super Mario is coming back. What a character.

Sgt Pepper 64

Jose Mourinho has recalled the amusing story behind a Mario Balotelli red card while both were at Inter.
In an interview with CNN, the now Real Madrid boss spoke of the challenges in managing Manchester City enigma Balotelli.
“I could write a book of 200 pages of my two years at Inter with Mario, but the book would not be a drama – it would be a comedy,” the tactician noted.
“I remember one time when we went to play Kazan in the Champions League. In that match I had all my strikers injured. No Diego Milito, no Samuel Eto’o, I was really in trouble and Mario was the only one.
“Mario got a yellow card in the 42nd minute, so when I got to the dressing room at half-time I spend about 14 minutes of the 15 available speaking only to Mario.
“I said to him: ‘Mario, I cannot change you, I have no strikers on the bench, so don’t touch anybody and play only with the ball. If we lose the ball no reaction. If someone provokes you, no reaction, if the referee makes a mistake, no reaction.'
“The 46th minute – red card!”

Mitch Connor

Gone Drinking wrote: »

I'd be with you on this, but aren't PSG restricted with FFP rules? That's our only hope really.

they are - they need to sell Cavani or Levezzi, and the suitors for both are in short supply. There other option was to loan him this season, and pay for him next season but apparently they still don't want to match Madrids asking price.

I do, however, expect it to be sorted and for Di Maria to be playing for PSG next season.

magnumbud

Gone Drinking wrote: »

I'd be with you on this, but aren't PSG restricted with FFP rules? That's our only hope really.

shhhhh future guy is doing his thing dont ruin it

twam2008 wrote: »

With Madrid saying Di Maria can go, what happens to the fee? Would they still expect to get £50/60m for him?

just cause he wants to go doesnt mean they have to sell so doubt the price will drop

Maximus Alexander

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Jose Mourinho has recalled the amusing story behind a Mario Balotelli red card while both were at Inter.
In an interview with CNN, the now Real Madrid boss spoke of the challenges in managing Manchester City enigma Balotelli.
“I could write a book of 200 pages of my two years at Inter with Mario, but the book would not be a drama – it would be a comedy,” the tactician noted.
“I remember one time when we went to play Kazan in the Champions League. In that match I had all my strikers injured. No Diego Milito, no Samuel Eto’o, I was really in trouble and Mario was the only one.
“Mario got a yellow card in the 42nd minute, so when I got to the dressing room at half-time I spend about 14 minutes of the 15 available speaking only to Mario.
“I said to him: ‘Mario, I cannot change you, I have no strikers on the bench, so don’t touch anybody and play only with the ball. If we lose the ball no reaction. If someone provokes you, no reaction, if the referee makes a mistake, no reaction.'
“The 46th minute – red card!”

And how right he was! :pac:

homerjay2005

Lord TSC wrote: »

It's good business for Liverpool.

Why not use the transfer threads to discuss it,

(In a calm, non-baiting way, plz)

only relevance to us is that its a rival getting stronger while we are declining

bangkok

bucketybuck wrote: »

He is mental but you simply cannot deny his ability, I think this could be a very sharp move by Liverpool.

take away his penalties and his goalscoring record is poor, actually not even that good with penos included. He was a joke at the world cup, one of the worst players on display for Italy. taken off at half time when they needed a win v chile, a total liability

CSF

Will Blackett play again this weekend? Does Rojo need a work permit?

magnumbud

CSF wrote: »

Will Blackett play again this weekend? Does Rojo need a work permit?

he's played more than enough for argentina for that to have been sorted already. blackett may still play with rojo at lb so as to not be playing young there or even blackett play out there

twam2008

Breaking news: Ed Woodward has launched a £5m bid for Barcelona's transfer ban.

Not mine

Pro. F

keane2097 wrote: »

I always note with dismay a sort of "meh" tone about him from people in this part of the world.

Maybe my eyes are just drawn to the "I don't really rate him" posts disproportionately.



Agree totally. Really improved Germany when he came back, and Real's actions around the ECL final are as ringing an endorsement as you'll see.

Possibly having two guys who are able to get up and back in midfield might not be the worst thing for United, could see Herrara and Khedira complementing each other although it would be the more standard thing to get a pure sitter in behind Herrera ok.

I'm one of the doubters of Khedira and I've probably said it on here before. I'll do it again now.

He is hard working, intelligent and very tactically disciplined. He can strike a good pass and shot. I agree with all of that, but I think lots of people overrate CMs when they have those qualities.

In terms of touch and close control he is lacking. Players like Verratti, De Rossi, Vidal and Schweinsteiger piss all over him in that regard and still have more than enough of the other qualities to fulfil any defensive or tactical role that Khedira would (except for Schweinsteiger having the legs to do a hard man-marking job that Khedira would be very good at).

Of the high profile players with those qualities, I can only think of Vidal who is available right now, but he is recovering from a serious injury.

Strootman has the same flaws as Khedira, although he is better all around, and he is also injured.

So for me, it would be a "meh" to Khedira's signing. Imo he would work well with Hererra positionally and he would do a lot of things spectacularly well, so fans would say he's great. But he'd still be not good enough when pressed and it would show up in a few key games a season.

Leftist

just ****ing sign kheidera. jesus :mad:

ericzeking

WRT Di Maria and Khedira....both have refused contracts so they know what's available to them away from Madrid-why leave the European champions with no plan? Therefore if we are interested, then I'd suggest contact has already been made. If it's gonna happen, it should happen quickly.

Signing both would be immense, it would give us great options as to how we would play.

Rubber_Soul

newballsplease wrote: »

We gave Madrid Ronaldo.... Its time they gave something back !

They gave us 80 million somethings back.


I get people saying we have more urgent needs that need addressing and see DiMaria as a luxury we can't afford but what about in 2 years time? What about 3? The players we want and need for CM may not be available right now. Eventually we're going to want a player of his class on the wing in order to play Van Gaal's preferred system and how can we guarantee that one will be available then? One is available now (he may not be interested in us) and while it does nothing to address the balance of the squad this season it would be a fantastic longterm signing.

Your Airbag

FutureGuy wrote: »

It's mad how mych top quality talent has been purchased on the cheap this summer. Kroos, Fabregas, Ballotelli.

We need a slice of good news. Soon.

He won't be cheap according to Miguel Delaney

Re Di Maria, those in Spain say Real won't sell for less than €70m (about £62-65m) and, as Ozil illustrates, they don't tend to drop price.

https://twitter.com/MiguelDelaney/status/502436840994258944

ericzeking

We perhaps have a need for another CB if we're going to play 3 at the back but if we signed the 2 from Madrid we would be more capable of playing the 433 LVG prefers and thus we wouldn't need so many centre backs.

Your Airbag

It looks like a sure thing that Roma and Benatia are about to part company and Bayern are set to make a new bid.

http://gianlucadimarzio.com/en/calciomercato/roma-and-benatia-break-up-bayern-munich-are-ready-to-make-a-new-bid-the-latest/

No idea how reliable gianlucadimarzio.com is.

MagicIRL

Throw a £50m big at Madrid for Di Maria and £25/30m for Khedira?

Maximus Alexander

Your Airbag wrote: »

He won't be cheap according to Miguel Delaney



https://twitter.com/MiguelDelaney/status/502436840994258944

But...

It is in our capabilities. The club are not afraid of doing that – spending
significant amounts of money in the transfer market. Whether it’s a record or
not doesn’t really resonate with us, what resonates is a top, top elite player
that the manager wants that is going to be a star for Manchester United. We are
in a very strong financial position. We can make big signings.

Rubber_Soul

Your Airbag wrote: »

No idea how reliable gianlucadimarzio.com is.

Very. Although they are publishing an awful lot more articles than they used to so quality may be dropping.

Mitch Connor

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

But...

He also said 'We are working on targets.... watch this space'. don't trust him, at all, to do what is best for the united football team.

NTMK

Your Airbag wrote: »

It looks like a sure thing that Roma and Benatia are about to part company and Bayern are set to make a new bid.

http://gianlucadimarzio.com/en/calciomercato/roma-and-benatia-break-up-bayern-munich-are-ready-to-make-a-new-bid-the-latest/

No idea how reliable gianlucadimarzio.com is.

rated highly on reddit according to the tier list on r/reddevils

This is the tier list for anyone that wants to know

Tier 1
Mark Ogden at the Telegraph, Jamie Jackson at the Guardian and James Ducker at the Times:
All of these men get updates straight from the horses mouth. They are United's direct mouthpiece to the media. It will always have United's "side" to the story, but the information is as reliable as you can get. I know many people have complained about Jackson, but he will only be judged after the Shaw transfer is settled.
Howard Nurse at the BBC:
Doesn't write directly about United in his pieces, but is a United fan and seems to have a very good source inside United. He has been very correct on transfer statuses of big moves for many summers and can be relied on. He tends to disclose the most on twitter (@howardnurse). [Under Review]
Andy Mitten of United We Stand
Runs one of United's best Fanzines and is close to many longer time players. Has sources in and around the club, but he keeps a lockbox in his information to subscribers of his site only. It eventually leaks out to the larger public, but only after a bit of a delay. His articles on ESPNFC and other places generally ramble on a bit, but every one of them contains a nugget that you do not see anywhere else.
Miguel Delaney at ESPN FC:
Has been a step ahead of many other writers for the past 6 months. He moved earlier to Tier One after being three weeks early to the Mata story and cemented his spot after being the first to start reporting the discontent at the board level with Moyes. Is generally very well measured on odds of a transfer occurring. Seems to have very different sources than the big three up top, which helps clarify overall transfer pictures.
Gianluca Di Marzio
I had forgotten to include him in prior lists, but he is absolutely the biggest man on the continent for major stories in Europe. His list of breaking news accomplishments is long, but include stories as Pep to Bayern. He very rarely gets big United stories but with a large summer shopping list coming up, a good source on the continent is key. Also, he is the real Sky Italia, Tancredi licks his plate. [Under Review]

Tier 2
Ian Ladyman at the Daily Mail:
The Mail has a reputation for nonsence but Ian is an exception. He tends to be accurate, and seems to share the same sources as Jamie and Mark. Lately he seems to be getting less and less stories, and he might be slowly losing his access to the inside of OT.
Rory Smith and Daniel Taylor
Both very good journos who check their sources. Do not focus on United, but will sometimes get involved with bigger stories. Daniel Taylor wrote some of the best and most in depth stories regarding the Moyes departure.

Tier 3
Bumper Grahmn at Sky Sports
Heavily involved with reporting on the Thiago affair, and the classic example of looking very wrong where he was right. He is normally a good source in Spain, but has been missing the mark recently and has been downgraded.
Tancredi Palmeri
Is right for every five times he is wrong. Heavily unreliable. [Under Review]
The Mirror Paul Stretford's mouthpiece. Rare to no reliable information found about United in this paper.
Bleacher Report
Rarely fact check and loves to use "reports say". They tend to be indiscriminate over where these reports are from. [Under Review]
Guillem Balague
Seems to enjoy doing favors to clubs he wants access to for writing books or agents he wants to buy him dinner and such will either tow the club line, or will "confirm" ridiculous rumors for the sake of adding agent leverage. Very low reliability.

Tier 4
Indy Kaila
Completely fake.
The Express/Star/Metro/Etc
Fond of taking twitter gossip as fact. Be warned.
Once you get past tier two, it is a dangerous game of false hope. It is already hard to sort out who is right when it comes to English media, and it is even harder when coming from the foreign press. Luckily there are some tools to help. The first is a site called Sport Witness. They do not report news, just dissect the reports already out there. Masters at disseminating planted agent stories, and sniffing out patterns, they are a must read in any transfer window. (You can also find them on twitter) If you want a United leaning slant on transfers both Tom Coast (@sardinetrawler) and Jonas Giaever (@chegiaever) have you covered. They speak multiple languages and follow stories closer than anyone. Jonas is now famous for spotting the infamous "Thiago Ball". There are endless other things I could mention, but is a great bedrock if you are looking for some sanity!

kstand

Mitch Connor wrote: »

He also said 'We are working on targets.... watch this space'. don't trust him, at all, to do what is best for the united football team.

End of the day he is a Glazer puppet and a mile out of his depth. People on here ar$e-licking calling him Woody. The shame of it.

Maximus Alexander

Mitch Connor wrote: »

He also said 'We are working on targets.... watch this space'. don't trust him, at all, to do what is best for the united football team.

I just assumed that part meant he was working on the next big sponsorship deal with Brilliance China Automotive or something.

Rubber_Soul

Mitch Connor wrote: »

He also said 'We are working on targets.... watch this space'. don't trust him, at all, to do what is best for the united football team.

We evidently were working on targets since we made offers and signings since he said that, but sure carry on.

Pro. F

Re Scholes' article:

His criticism of the centre-backs, saying they looked weak at the weekend, while not pointing out that the 3412 was a mess, providing them with no cover, means his views on defenders should be disregarded.

He did go on to say he was unsure of the formation, and talked about LVG packing the midfield at the WC and how it wasn't great football to watch. But he didn't make any mention of how LVG's implementation at United so far has the defenders making a straight line of 5 with the 2 CMs left to cover the entire width of the pitch. He didn't contrast that to how the formation is supposed to work and he didn't talk about how that left the CBs exposed. Instead he just criticised the CBs. So he really doesn't know what he's talking about.

He is brutally honest and his inside information is very interesting. But in truth, so far he is just another great player who has not gone on to being a great pundit.

Irishcrx

Utd can attract Di Maria over PSG, it's just a case if we really want to go out and do it. Utd are still a huge club, we can afford the fee and wages. LVG is an attraction , and hopefully with the right mentality we will be back in Europe next season. Man Utd are a bigger club than PSG and the premiership is a better competition for him to play in week in week out.

Utd need to get the finger out and convince Di Maria of that , he is top top winger and weather or not we really 'need' him right now he will prvide a major injection of skill ,pace, guile and assists into our front line. I agree though , sign Khedira as well if he's available.

Balotelli to Liverpool will be brilliant , they sell Suarez and buy this lunatic - frying pan into the fire.

At least Suarez had world class ability as well, Balotelli is a bell end with the mentality and professionalism of a 5 year old child. Be a great 5 a side player down the local with all his tricks but will never EVER be a world class player at this rate I don't think he has any interest in doing so either, happy enough to earn a wage be a journeyman and grab the headlines in any way he can.

Thank you Liverpool for this gift to the Neutrals.

bangkok

di maria, vidal and lucas silva all to be signed in the next 11 days

Mitch Connor

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

I just assumed that part meant he was working on the next big sponsorship deal with Brilliance China Automotive or something.

well we are announcing an extention of our partnership with an indian tyre company tomorrow.

Mitch Connor

Pro. F wrote: »

Re Scholes' article:

His criticism of the centre-backs, saying they looked weak at the weekend, while not pointing out that the 3412 was a mess, providing them with no cover, means his views on defenders should be disregarded.

He did go on to say he was unsure of the formation, and talked about LVG packing the midfield at the WC and how it wasn't great football to watch. But he didn't make any mention of how LVG's implementation at United so far has the defenders making a straight line of 5 with the 2 CMs left to cover the entire width of the pitch. He didn't contrast that to how the formation is supposed to work and he didn't talk about how that left the CBs exposed. Instead he just criticised the CBs. So he really doesn't know what he's talking about.

He is brutally honest and his inside information is very interesting. But in truth, so far he is just another great player who has not gone on to being a great pundit.

Fergie said Scholes has one of the best minds for football around - understands the game brilliantly.

But you say he doesn't know what he is talking about.

Who to side with on this.... hmmmmmmm

Irishcrx

Pro. F wrote: »

Re Scholes' article:

His criticism of the centre-backs, saying they looked weak at the weekend, while not pointing out that the 3412 was a mess, providing them with no cover, means his views on defenders should be disregarded.

He did go on to say he was unsure of the formation, and talked about LVG packing the midfield at the WC and how it wasn't great football to watch. But he didn't make any mention of how LVG's implementation at United so far has the defenders making a straight line of 5 with the 2 CMs left to cover the entire width of the pitch. He didn't contrast that to how the formation is supposed to work and he didn't talk about how that left the CBs exposed. Instead he just criticised the CBs. So he really doesn't know what he's talking about.

He is brutally honest and his inside information is very interesting. But in truth, so far he is just another great player who has not gone on to being a great pundit.

Not really , maybe he was pointing out if we had 3 better CB's that weren't 'weak' the formation would work just fine..I think Scholes has a better idea on tactical nous than we do..

homerjay2005

Mitch Connor wrote: »

well we are announcing an extention of our partnership with an indian tyre company tomorrow.

you are taking the piss here right?

the security gates at carrington will be set on fire tomorrow if that was to happen. no way would Woodward let this happen during the current mess.

hufpc8w3adnk65

bangkok wrote: »

di maria, vidal and lucas silva all to be signed in the next 11 days

And I'm really Sir Alex !

magnumbud

MrMac84 wrote: »

And I'm really Sir Alex !

will you sign my copy of your autobiography?

Will I Amnt

Mitch Connor wrote: »

Fergie said Scholes has one of the best minds for football around - understands the game brilliantly.

But you say he doesn't know what he is talking about.

Who to side with on this.... hmmmmmmm

Fergie said Moyes was the man to continue on the success at the club...

Dammit I'm back to refreshing this thread every 10 minutes hoping there's an update. Had given up once it became clear Vidal wasn't happening.