Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread - Mod Note in OP, 25/3

The_Kew_Tour

Its only a vibe from press\twitter and lack of interest it seems from other clubs, but hopefully Nani will least get a chance to prove himself under LVG.

Love see him get a decent chance next season.

GSPfan

Does anyone think Swansea would be a great loan destination for Wilson? They play good stuff and are hardly blessed with strikers.

Hope he steers clear of Newcastle or any other club in turmoil.

Januzaj would be best going to a club in European competition.

RichFTW

GSPfan wrote: »

Does anyone think Swansea would be a great loan destination for Wilson? They play good stuff and are hardly blessed with strikers.

Hope he steers clear of Newcastle or any other club in turmoil.

Januzaj would be best going to a club in European competition.

They play some decent football alright so could be a good move.

Send both of them to Villa would be my choice. Sherwood seems to look to attack most games and doesn't mind giving young players a chance. Januzaj needs to toughen up for the PL so would rather see him stay in the PL.

Lord TSC

bangkok wrote: »

rooney is world class, forget about stats and look what he brings to the team. work rate, drive, determination, skill, passion, everything you want for a player playing for your team

Listen, going "forget about stats" always seems a lazy get out to me, since it's basically saying "let's ignore stats that are actually quantifiable and base this discussion entirely on subjective opinions."

In that vein then, I believe that Diego Forlan was the greatest ever striker to play for Man United. Forget the stats, he was magnificent in his time at the club and we've never had a better striker due to his heart, work rate, and passion for the club.

(Of course, that's an extreme, but I just hate the "forget the stats" argument, cause it's usually trotted out when someone knows the stats don't show their side in a positive light...)

The Moldy Gowl

I think he means qualities that aren't quantifiable.

He is a lot like carrick, underrated. He brings good play to the field and allows the team to play.
Stars aren't the be all and end all, it's about getting the team to play as a team. There's no stats for that.

Lord TSC

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

I think he means qualities that aren't quantifiable.

He is a lot like carrick, underrated. He brings good play to the field and allows the team to play.
Stars aren't the be all and end all, it's about getting the team to play as a team. There's no stats for that.

But even Carrick gets stats posted about him. Not even a week ago, we had the stats of games won vs games lost when Carrick was and wasn't playing.

I get there's some qualities which can't be measured by stats, but there's vitally important ones which can be; goals, assists, these are the things that get points on the board, especially when you're supposedly England's star striker. There's not really any titles awarded for "heart and passion".

I get there's some qualities that are hard to measure, but when discussing a player, I personally feel that stats shouldn't just be completely dismissed and ignored, instead replaced with purebly subjective opinions that are easily disposed of by going "Yeah, but I disagree..."

Giggsy11

Lord TSC wrote: »

It's grand if it's an abnormality. But what if those busy seasons were the abnormality, and this is the norm? A quick check seems to suggest he only hit over 20 league goals twice in 11 seasons. Only hit over 15 league goals 3 times. Even throwing in non-league goals, it looks like he hit 20 or more goals 4 times in 11 seasons.

(I'm going from Wiki here).

For his wages, we really should be getting a player who is consistently hitting 20+ league goals, or at least coming closer than he is.

Drogba has scored 15 plus league goals only twice in PL and if you include goals from cups also he has scored 20 plus only 2 times.

There are many reasons why Rooney has not scored 20 goals in a season.
Till 2008-09 season he was playing second fiddle to Ronaldo and in 2007-08 and 2008-09 season he was played as winger often. Also he didn't talk penalties, he started taking them from 2009-10 season.

2009-10 he played as pure #9 and he scored 30+ goals. He was injured in March, otherwise he would have been closer to 40 goals that season

2010-11- Contract drama, didn't recover completely from the injury. Once the saga settled he was by far the best player in the league in the second half of the season, scoring and playing well in big games. Also he played 2226 mins which is around 24 games. He scored 11 goals and 11 assists. That's a superb return.

2011-12: 34 goals.

2012-13: Again he was moved a lot to accommodate RVP. He played total 2014 mins which is around 22 games. He scored 12 goals and 10 assists. So 12 goals and 10 assists in 22 games and that too not playing as main striker.

2013-14: Moyes era. Played 2448 mins which is around 27 games. He scored 17 goals and 10 assists which is a fantastic return.

If you check his overall record, positions he was played to accommodate other players, it's not bad at all. In fact it is excellent.

Giggsy11

Also when it comes to assists:
2013-14: 10 - Only Suarez and Gerrard made more.
2012-13: 10 - Only Hazard, Carzola and Mata made more.
2011-12: 4 - Many were ahead.
2010-11: 11 - Only Droga and Nani made more.

When it comes to goals + assists, Rooney is always in top 3 in the league (didn't check just assuming by stats)

Nemanrio

NoviGlitzko wrote: »

People are delusional thinking Rooney is past it or that we need to get rid. Still such a crucial player for us IMO.

Rooney peaked years ago and isn't going to get better. He's 29 next year (I think) & we have seen the best from him.

On another issue, he isn't good enough in midfield yet it seems in Lvg's eyes he is undroppable or doesn't have the balls to drop him because he's captain.

He should be playing up top or not at all.

DARK-KNIGHT

Who can you realistically see signed as carricks replacement

The Moldy Gowl

Nemanrio wrote: »

Rooney peaked years ago and isn't going to get better. He's 29 next year (I think) & we have seen the best from him.

On another issue, he isn't good enough in midfield yet it seems in Lvg's eyes he is undroppable or doesn't have the balls to drop him because he's captain.

He should be playing up top or not at all.

It's clear he had balls. Dropping di Maria for Ashley ****ing young.

Nemanrio

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

It's clear he had balls. Dropping di Maria for Ashley ****ing young.

Fair enough but I am not on about that though.

The Moldy Gowl

Nemanrio wrote: »

Fair enough but I am not on about that though.

You're trying to say he isn't brave enough to make big calls.
He clearly is.

Nemanrio

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

You're trying to say he isn't brave enough to make big calls.
He clearly is.

Re-read my post, I am referring to Wayne Rooney.

Michael D Not Higgins

DARK-KNIGHT wrote: »

Who can you realistically see signed as carricks replacement

Schneiderlin possibly

GSPfan

There is a serious lack of respect for Rooney among a lot of United fans. Forgetting all of his off field antics and his salary I am not sure I have ever questioned his commitment on the pitch. His form dips like any player and when it does it seems like there are people waiting to pounce. It'll be a bad day when he leaves United. We got a taste of it when Jose tried to tempt him away and I was dreading that.

Mitch Connor

GSPfan wrote: »

There is a serious lack of respect for Rooney among a lot of United fans. Forgetting all of his off field antics and his salary I am not sure I have ever questioned his commitment on the pitch. His form dips like any player and when it does it seems like there are people waiting to pounce. It'll be a bad day when he leaves United. We got a taste of it when Jose tried to tempt him away and I was dreading that.

For somone paid the wages he is, and billed as a world class player, his form dips way too much, to the point where he is ok/average/poor more often than he is the best player on the pitch - which he really should be.

Criticism of his passing and control of the ball are very valid criticisms - and are important aspects when he is either playing as a creative player off the front man or as the lone striker. He loses the ball in the tight spots we need him to retain it in. Also, his long, accurate ping to the wing looks great but a lot of the time a more creative pass inside would be of greater benift to the side.

bangkok

Lord TSC wrote: »

Listen, going "forget about stats" always seems a lazy get out to me, since it's basically saying "let's ignore stats that are actually quantifiable and base this discussion entirely on subjective opinions."

In that vein then, I believe that Diego Forlan was the greatest ever striker to play for Man United. Forget the stats, he was magnificent in his time at the club and we've never had a better striker due to his heart, work rate, and passion for the club.

(Of course, that's an extreme, but I just hate the "forget the stats" argument, cause it's usually trotted out when someone knows the stats don't show their side in a positive light...)

look at a player like Iniesta for example, if you wanted to base his game on stats without ever looking at him play you would think he is crap.

Plays as an attacking midfielder with Barcelona and this season has ZERO league goals, last season only 3, season before that 3 and before that 2.
8 league goals in 4 seasons and yet is considered to be one of the best players in the world

Lord TSC

bangkok wrote: »

look at a player like Iniesta for example, if you wanted to base his game on stats without ever looking at him play you would think he is crap.

Plays as an attacking midfielder with Barcelona and this season has ZERO league goals, last season only 3, season before that 3 and before that 2.
8 league goals in 4 seasons and yet is considered to be one of the best players in the world

See, I don't watch Barca play all that much, so I won't show that ignorance by commenting too much on a player I don't know much about.

A quick check on transfermarkt suggests he has played all games in a central midfield position, further behind where Rooney tends to play, and personally, I'd be more inclined to try and compare Rooney with other strikers of similiar nature and stature. But I acknowledge such comparisons are also difficult because the likes of Costa, Aguero and Kane (who I throw in due to his goalscoring contributions this season) didn't have to play some games in midfield.

Giggsy11 wrote: »

There are many reasons why Rooney has not scored 20 goals in a season.

Fair play, you're using the stats so I can completely understand your point of view.

The thing that strikes me as important though is the fact that, as you mention, he often plays second fiddle to players, be it Ronaldo or RVP, and (coincidentally), these years seem to coincide with the years we won the league.

So using what you posted...

07/08 and 08/09 - Rooney plays second fiddle to Ronaldo, but we win the league both years with Ronaldo leading the goalscoring charge for club, coming top scorer and second place scorer in the two seasons.

09/10 - Rooney is our main man and has a great goalscoring record but Chelsea win the league.

10/11 - As you said, contract saga. We win the league, both Berbatov and Hernandez score more in the league than Rooney. Berbatov is joint top scorer in the league.

11/12 - Rooney is second top scorer in the league, once again our main outlet. Once again, we lose the league (City win it).

12/13 - RVP is our main man, and top scorer and we win the league. And by all accounts, Fergie sets it up for Rooney to leave the club.

13/14 - Moyes Era, again, Rooney as main man is great but we have our worst season in PL history.

14/15 - LVG era; Rooney is captain and leader of the team. We come 4th.

Whenever Rooney was our main man up front, we failed to win the league. You have to ask yourself why Fergie seemed ready to get rid of Rooney before he left, why Moyes and LVG always seemed to want to talk of Rooney moving further back the field (be it CAM or CM), and why LVG went after a striker like Falcao when we had Rooney and RVP sitting waiting.

The years Rooney has his biggest returns on goals line up near perfectly with the years the club had it's bigger setbacks. Rooney has never been the top scorer in the league, and yet it's hard to argue he's not paid and held up as one of the greatest strikers in England, despite this fact.

Mitch Connor wrote: »

For somone paid the wages he is, and billed as a world class player, his form dips way too much, to the point where he is ok/average/poor more often than he is the best player on the pitch - which he really should be.

Criticism of his passing and control of the ball are very valid criticisms - and are important aspects when he is either playing as a creative player off the front man or as the lone striker. He loses the ball in the tight spots we need him to retain it in. Also, his long, accurate ping to the wing looks great but a lot of the time a more creative pass inside would be of greater benift to the side.

Agreed with this 100% as well.

Giggsy11

Lord TSC wrote: »

Whenever Rooney was our main man up front, we failed to win the league. You have to ask yourself why Fergie seemed ready to get rid of Rooney before he left, why Moyes and LVG always seemed to want to talk of Rooney moving further back the field (be it CAM or CM), and why LVG went after a striker like Falcao when we had Rooney and RVP sitting waiting.

The years Rooney has his biggest returns on goals line up near perfectly with the years the club had it's bigger setbacks. Rooney has never been the top scorer in the league, and yet it's hard to argue he's not paid and held up as one of the greatest strikers in England, despite this fact.

IMO this is blaming the player for the sake of it. It's not Rooney's mistake that Berbatov missed easy chance against Blackburn which could have won us the game and the league. When Rooney was injured in the march we looked more likely to win the league and in a better position in CL to qualify for Semi Finals. Once he was injured whole team dropped like a sack of spuds.

Before Rooney got injured, ManUtd were at the top of the table. After that when he came back Chelsea led the table. After Rooney came back ManUtd won all the remaining 3 games.

It's not Rooney's mistake that ManUtd team bottled it against Everton at Old trafford. Winning that game means we were champions. Also when we signed RVP, he went 10 games without a goal in the second half of the season. RVP singlehandedly won the league is a myth.

It's like blaming Ronaldo for Madrid winning only 1 league title in 6 years. Before Ronaldo was their main player they won league 2 times in 3 years but once Madrid signed Ronaldo they won just 1 in 6 years.

Or Brazilian Ronaldo, before he was signed by Madrid, Madrid won CL. Once they signed Ronaldo they didn't win CL.

Edit: In 2010-11 season when Rooney was injured or barely played here and there, ManUtd were 3rd in the table. Only after he started regularly, ManUtd were at the top.

bangkok

99-00 kevin Phillips had better stats that Dwight yorke but Yorke was one of the best strikers in Europe at the time. stats can be very misleading

Mitch Connor

bangkok wrote: »

99-00 kevin Phillips had better stats that Dwight yorke but Yorke was one of the best strikers in Europe at the time. stats can be very misleading

They can be - and no one should argue otherwise.

The point remains that there are very valid criticisms of Rooney that do go beyond stats.

Stats can be misleading both ways. That infamous game for Norwich at OT, where he was absolutely rubbish for most of the game but finished with a quality goal and some assists IIRC. His passing, control and ability to stay upright throughout the game was laughable though.

Giggs went through a good number of seasons in the latter part of his career where he would do NOTHING for 89 minutes but grab a goal or an assist and have people saying how amazing he was and how he could go til he hit 50.

Giggsy11

Mitch Connor wrote: »

They can be - and no one should argue otherwise.

The point remains that there are very valid criticisms of Rooney that do go beyond stats.

Stats can be misleading both ways. That infamous game for Norwich at OT, where he was absolutely rubbish for most of the game but finished with a quality goal and some assists IIRC. His passing, control and ability to stay upright throughout the game was laughable though.

Giggs went through a good number of seasons in the latter part of his career where he would do NOTHING for 89 minutes but grab a goal or an assist and have people saying how amazing he was and how he could go til he hit 50.

No. He was played with RVP and both struggled. In the second half Rooney played as #9 with Kagawa behind him and we played excellent game. Rooney was very good in the second half once he was moved up top.

bangkok

Mitch Connor wrote: »

They can be - and no one should argue otherwise.

The point remains that there are very valid criticisms of Rooney that do go beyond stats.

Stats can be misleading both ways. That infamous game for Norwich at OT, where he was absolutely rubbish for most of the game but finished with a quality goal and some assists IIRC. His passing, control and ability to stay upright throughout the game was laughable though.

Giggs went through a good number of seasons in the latter part of his career where he would do NOTHING for 89 minutes but grab a goal or an assist and have people saying how amazing he was and how he could go til he hit 50.

I got serious grief when I said fellaini was not good enough for Man Utd and yet there is an argument now about Rooney and he being not good enough and yet it is being discussed in a normal fashion :eek:

Mitch Connor

bangkok wrote: »

I got serious grief when I said fellaini was not good enough for Man Utd and yet there is an argument now about Rooney and he being not good enough and yet it is being discussed in a normal fashion :eek:

I agree with you that Fellaini is not good enough to be a first choice player for United, as it goes. His limitations exposed vs Chelsea and Everton.

bucketybuck

Trying to draw a correlation between Rooney as the main striker and United losing the league is taking a butchering of the stats to a whole new level.

Liam O

Mitch Connor wrote: »

I agree with you that Fellaini is not good enough to be a first choice player for United, as it goes. His limitations exposed vs Chelsea and Everton.

Yeah, all his good games should be forgotten about because of those 2 games. I think De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, McNair, Shaw, Mata, Rooney, Young, Herrera, Blind and everyone else who played in those games should be written off the same way and criticised to the same degree, but we all know that's not going to happen. It must be because he's the most easily recognisable and obvious player on the pitch that he gets more attention than others. He can't hide like Mata, Di Maria or whoever when they're not playing well.

homerjay2005

bucketybuck wrote: »

Trying to draw a correlation between Rooney as the main striker and United losing the league is taking a butchering of the stats to a whole new level.

united have not challenged for the league due to very poor team selection, tactics and approach to games earlier in the season. this rests 100% with the manager.

other factors have been signing players too late in the window, injurys and lack of quality in key positions.

its got nothing to do with Wayne Rooney.

adox

homerjay2005 wrote: »

united have not challenged for the league due to very poor team selection, tactics and approach to games earlier in the season. this rests 100% with the manager.

other factors have been signing players too late in the window, injurys and lack of quality in key positions.

its got nothing to do with Wayne Rooney.

You are ignoring all the injury problems and the inevitable hangover from last season.

bangkok

Liam O wrote: »

Yeah, all his good games should be forgotten about because of those 2 games. I think De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, McNair, Shaw, Mata, Rooney, Young, Herrera, Blind and everyone else who played in those games should be written off the same way and criticised to the same degree, but we all know that's not going to happen. It must be because he's the most easily recognisable and obvious player on the pitch that he gets more attention than others. He can't hide like Mata, Di Maria or whoever when they're not playing well.

what do you mean he cant hide like mata or di maria? They are playing in front of 78,000 every week, probably 20 cameras in the stadium there are no hiding places out there. if a player is playing good or bad you can easily see it

Mitch Connor

Liam O wrote: »

Yeah, all his good games should be forgotten about because of those 2 games. I think De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, McNair, Shaw, Mata, Rooney, Young, Herrera, Blind and everyone else who played in those games should be written off the same way and criticised to the same degree, but we all know that's not going to happen. It must be because he's the most easily recognisable and obvious player on the pitch that he gets more attention than others. He can't hide like Mata, Di Maria or whoever when they're not playing well.

I don't think his control or vision, his use of the ball in tight spaces, his ability to beat a man, his ability to dictate the tempo of a game etc are good enough to be first choice for United.

I think he can be a very good squad player and an important member of the side depending on tactical use and situational requirements - but I reckon we'd be better served with a player like Pogba in his position, for example. Or Strootman/Vidal at their best, for example.

I want United to be the best, and I don't think Fellaini is of a high enough level with regards to various attributes to be a first choice midfielder in a truly top side (which we are not). His very effective performances should not be forgotten, no. Just as the other 90% of his United career should not be forgotten.

I also think Young is a very good squad player, but not good enough to be first choice for United going forward if we want to win the CL and league. Are you also going to rip on me for that opinion? Young has been a far better performer all season that Fellaini has been, imo.

I would agree the entire team did poorly vs Everton - so his is affected within that. We did fine vs Chelsea and I thought he was poor and ineffective in that game too.

My opinion is that if we played Barcelona or Munich or Madrid, he would not have the speed of thought or movement to keep up with their midfields. Carrick also suffers in such games though his positioning keeps him at an acceptable level for me.

I really don't understand how saying Fellaini is not good enough, in my opinion, to be a first choice player for United going forward. There are very few United players I would say have proven themselves as such. A situation I back with my opinion that we need a right back, a centre back, a winger and maybe a striker along with a midfielder or two.

De Gea (probably leaving)
Smalling (might just be a bright patch)
Rojo (has done very well)
Shaw (Only in the last few appearances)
Herrera (maybe biased, but I love his play style)

They are the only players - playing in a 433 - that I would say have proven themselves to be good enough to be first choice in title winning, cl winning side. Even at that, I would buy a top class CB to take the place of either Rojo or Smalling. I'm not saying all the other players WILL be replaced, but I think they are replacable, while in most cases remaining top options around the squad as either first team regulars or rotational players.

Lord TSC

Looking towards the future...

Apparently Real have until tomorrow to activate Hernandez' buyout clause, and don't look to be taking it. (Few different sources)

Manchester United are said to have been told by Aston Villa that they will need to make an offer of £30million if they want to sign Christian Benteke, Metro reports.

Manchester United are ready to sell Jonny Evans for £10million this summer with Everton leading the race to sign him, reports Goal.

Angelo Henriquez is being eyed up by Juventus, according to The Mail. They could land him for as little as 800k despite recent form abroad.

Manchester United have been dealt a huge transfer blow after speculation that Juventus star Paul Pogba has agreed a ‘deal in principle’ to join Paris Saint-Germain, Express reports.

Mitch Connor

Lord TSC wrote: »

Looking towards the future...

Apparently Real have until tomorrow to activate Hernandez' buyout clause, and don't look to be taking it. (Few different sources)

Manchester United are said to have been told by Aston Villa that they will need to make an offer of £30million if they want to sign Christian Benteke, Metro reports.

Manchester United are ready to sell Jonny Evans for £10million this summer with Everton leading the race to sign him, reports Goal.

Angelo Henriquez is being eyed up by Juventus, according to The Mail. They could land him for as little as 800k despite recent form abroad.

Manchester United have been dealt a huge transfer blow after speculation that Juventus star Paul Pogba has agreed a ‘deal in principle’ to join Paris Saint-Germain, Express reports.

Apparently the talk is Real are looking to extend the decision date and reduce the agreed price €20million.

Wouldn't believe a word that the Metro print.

Goal are getting a lot better re. getting actual information so I can see legs/truth in that one.

Liam O

Do people just assume that Fellaini's control isn't good enough because he's tall? I've not noticed much of a problem at all with his control this season. He's not Xavi but in terms of quickly controlling and making a pass to another player I'd say he's quite good. When people were calling Yaya Toure the best player in the league last season he was putting in similar performances and has a similar level of control.

Fellaini's biggest problem is that he can draw attention to himself with silly fouls early in games and gets called on them due to referees just seeing him. I've honestly never seen a player get more unwarranted criticism after having a season like he's had, well maybe Nani. Been the most consistently good outfield player all season and people are ready to drop him after a game against the best team in the league and another where he came off after 45 minutes? Give me a break.

keeponhurling

Lord TSC wrote: »

Manchester United are ready to sell Jonny Evans for £10million this summer with Everton leading the race to sign him, reports Goal.

/quote]

Bite their hand off.

It's a well beaten path anyhow, with Howard, Phil Neville and Gibbo all gone that way
(Plus another NI man Norman Whiteside)

homerjay2005

adox wrote: »

You are ignoring all the injury problems and the inevitable hangover from last season.

am i??? read my post again

bangkok

Liam O wrote: »

Do people just assume that Fellaini's control isn't good enough because he's tall? I've not noticed much of a problem at all with his control this season. He's not Xavi but in terms of quickly controlling and making a pass to another player I'd say he's quite good. When people were calling Yaya Toure the best player in the league last season he was putting in similar performances and has a similar level of control.

Fellaini's biggest problem is that he can draw attention to himself with silly fouls early in games and gets called on them due to referees just seeing him. I've honestly never seen a player get more unwarranted criticism after having a season like he's had, well maybe Nani. Been the most consistently good outfield player all season and people are ready to drop him after a game against the best team in the league and another where he came off after 45 minutes? Give me a break.

you would swear he was after smashing in 20 goals or something. lets get a grip here, he has scored 5 league goals all season. He hasn't even won 1 man utd player of the month award. He has his best game this season v spurs when the whole team has played well.

You are only comparing him to last season, yes he has improved since then but no where near the standard required going forward

Maximus Alexander

Liam O wrote: »

Do people just assume that Fellaini's control isn't good enough because he's tall? I've not noticed much of a problem at all with his control this season. He's not Xavi but in terms of quickly controlling and making a pass to another player I'd say he's quite good. When people were calling Yaya Toure the best player in the league last season he was putting in similar performances and has a similar level of control.

I actually think his ball control is very good for the most part. One of his main flaws in my eyes would be that his passing can be wayward at times.

I recall a couple of times, for example, when he'd pass to feet for Young, while Young was already running into space, and the ball would end up behind Young with him having to turn around and come back for it.

That kind of thing annoys me.

Harry Palmr

Lord TSC wrote: »

Looking towards the future...

Apparently Real have until tomorrow to activate Hernandez' buyout clause, and don't look to be taking it. (Few different sources)

Manchester United are said to have been told by Aston Villa that they will need to make an offer of £30million if they want to sign Christian Benteke, Metro reports.

Manchester United are ready to sell Jonny Evans for £10million this summer with Everton leading the race to sign him, reports Goal.

Angelo Henriquez is being eyed up by Juventus, according to The Mail. They could land him for as little as 800k despite recent form abroad.

Manchester United have been dealt a huge transfer blow after speculation that Juventus star Paul Pogba has agreed a ‘deal in principle’ to join Paris Saint-Germain, Express reports.

Someone needs to shout HOUSE!

Interesting that Utd are suddenly linked with Benteke, not your level I'd have thought.

Liam O

Maximus Alexander wrote: »

I actually think his ball control is very good for the most part. One of his main flaws in my eyes would be that his passing can be wayward at times.

I recall a couple of times, for example, when he'd pass to feet for Young, while Young was already running into space, and the ball would end up behind Young with him having to turn around and come back for it.

That kind of thing annoys me.

I think all players could be accused of that this season though. You see it from the likes of Mata and Rooney too and that's more their strengths than Fellaini. I just don't see anyone who gives his level of physicality who offers as good ball control anywhere tbh, people seem to want this kind of Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and Jan Koller Hybrid out of him whereas what he offers has probably added more to the team than any other outfielder this season.

MythicalMadMan

Lord TSC wrote: »

Looking towards the future...

Apparently Real have until tomorrow to activate Hernandez' buyout clause, and don't look to be taking it. (Few different sources)

Manchester United are said to have been told by Aston Villa that they will need to make an offer of £30million if they want to sign Christian Benteke, Metro reports.

Manchester United are ready to sell Jonny Evans for £10million this summer with Everton leading the race to sign him, reports Goal.

Angelo Henriquez is being eyed up by Juventus, according to The Mail. They could land him for as little as 800k despite recent form abroad.

Manchester United have been dealt a huge transfer blow after speculation that Juventus star Paul Pogba has agreed a ‘deal in principle’ to join Paris Saint-Germain, Express reports.

BINGO :P

Will I Amnt

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Someone needs to shout HOUSE!

Interesting that Utd are suddenly linked with Benteke, not your level I'd have thought.

Benteke would be a great option to have for any side in the league.

Backstreet Moyes

What annoys me most about Fellaini is the amount of frees he gives away. What must annoy him is the majority of them are not frees the ref blows up eveytime he makes a challenge.

MythicalMadMan

bangkok wrote: »

you would swear he was after smashing in 20 goals or something. lets get a grip here, he has scored 5 league goals all season. He hasn't even won 1 man utd player of the month award. He has his best game this season v spurs when the whole team has played well.

You are only comparing him to last season, yes he has improved since then but no where near the standard required going forward

I love your ability to flip flop I think this guy disagrees with you though

bangkok wrote: »

forget about stats and look what he brings to the team. work rate, drive, determination, skill, passion, everything you want for a player playing for your team

bangkok

we win on Saturday and we go 2nd

bangkok

MythicalMadMan wrote: »

I love your ability to flip flop I think this guy disagrees with you though

fellaini and rooney are not even in the same league end of

bucketybuck

Liam O wrote: »

I've honestly never seen a player get more unwarranted criticism after having a season like he's had, well maybe Nani. Been the most consistently good outfield player all season and people are ready to drop him after a game against the best team in the league and another where he came off after 45 minutes? Give me a break.

I really don't get why this myth gets repeated again and again.

Felliani couldn't even get into the team for 3 whole months of the season, he only played one full game between the middle of December and the middle of March!!! And thats after only 3 sub appearances in the first 8 games of the season.

Most consistently good outfield player all season? Whats consistent about not even playing for most of the season?

This rush to deify Felliani is as boring as the rush to criticise him. He has played well recently and deserves credit, but no, he is not exactly at world class level or anywhere near it, and there is nothing wrong with being realistic about his role.

Pro. F

Giggsy11 wrote: »

Drogba has scored 15 plus league goals only twice in PL and if you include goals from cups also he has scored 20 plus only 2 times.

There are many reasons why Rooney has not scored 20 goals in a season.
Till 2008-09 season he was playing second fiddle to Ronaldo and in 2007-08 and 2008-09 season he was played as winger often. Also he didn't talk penalties, he started taking them from 2009-10 season.

2009-10 he played as pure #9 and he scored 30+ goals. He was injured in March, otherwise he would have been closer to 40 goals that season

2010-11- Contract drama, didn't recover completely from the injury. Once the saga settled he was by far the best player in the league in the second half of the season, scoring and playing well in big games. Also he played 2226 mins which is around 24 games. He scored 11 goals and 11 assists. That's a superb return.

2011-12: 34 goals.

2012-13: Again he was moved a lot to accommodate RVP. He played total 2014 mins which is around 22 games. He scored 12 goals and 10 assists. So 12 goals and 10 assists in 22 games and that too not playing as main striker.

2013-14: Moyes era. Played 2448 mins which is around 27 games. He scored 17 goals and 10 assists which is a fantastic return.

If you check his overall record, positions he was played to accommodate other players, it's not bad at all. In fact it is excellent.

Funny enough TSC wasn't talking about Rooney, he was talking about RVP. He doesn't rate RVP either. And as you showed there, Drogba also fails in this number-of-seasons-scoring-more-than-x-goals test.

Me, I'd say that when your method of measuring strikers tells you that Rooeny, RVP and Drogba were never good enough for United then your method is broken.

The Moldy Gowl

bangkok wrote: »

fellaini and rooney are not even in the same league end of

Don't know if you're blinded by your hatred of him and can't see through his fro but They play for the same team.
Rooney has probably seen fellainis dr.manhattens penis

MythicalMadMan

bangkok wrote: »

fellaini and rooney are not even in the same league end of

I think you'll find they are. The Premier League.

End of what?

I didn't compare the players but you cant use one set of rules to judge one player and a total other set to judge another just cause you don't like him.

People might say you have a bias, that your argument is defunct some may even go as far as to call your a charlatan and you definitely don't wat that.