Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2015 - Mod Post in OP 23/07

Pro. F

UnitedIrishman wrote: »

Look at it this way. How many strikers did Real Madrid have last season? Benzema and Hernandez. That was it. Ronaldo played games up front too but as a team playing 4-3-3 playing in the latter stages of all competitions - they managed with just two. We have Rooney, Hernandez and Wilson (who they have a lot of faith in) and Depay who can play there also.

Bayern last season had Lewandowski and then Pizarro behind him and that was it. Muller played up front every now and again but mostly played on the right. It's just the way football generally is at the minute with sides playing 4-3-3 and most teams focusing on having more midfielders who are adaptable and can play multiple roles and top quality wingers/attacking players. One or two strikers per team are all that sides have in reserve. Even when you look at Barca - if any of Messi, Suarez or Neymar are out then Pedro can play up front but after that they would have to push Iniesta higher up the field into one of the wide roles. The days of having four top quality strikers like we did in 1999 are gone - especially playing the formation we're playing.

Obviously I would like if we would sign a top striker but if we don't then it's fine by me too. The coaches and management know how far along Wilson is and the capabilities of the players better than me.

I don't think that a few big teams doing things a certain way for a season or two proves that it is the optimal approach. People are forever saying that the days of this or that are gone in football, only for them to reappear and be successful again a few years later.

These single striker formations certainly won't need a four man rotation like Fergie used to operate, but the idea of extra reduncy for one of the most important positions on the pitch sounds like a good idea to me and not something to be cutting corners on.

Nalz

homerjay2005 wrote: »

it saddens me that almost every team picked for next season has no Herrera in it

as ive said here before, he was our player of the year last year outside of DDG. its vital that any team we put out this year, has him in it - he is a cracking player.

Don't worry Homer he'll feature a lot I'm sure of it! I doubt we'll see many games with Schneiderlin, Carrick and Schweinsteiger as the middle 3.

Schneiderlin gets around the pitch more than Carrick but from a DM point of view doesn't read the game as well. I'm sure that will come with experience as he's only 25. He was immense vs us in OT last season.

bangkok

schneiderlin is a class midfielder, I'm nearly as excited about united signing him than I am about bastian.

Nalz

bangkok wrote: »

schneiderlin is a class midfielder, I'm nearly as excited about united signing him than I am about bastian.

Not yet imo, he's almost there. What excites me is that I think he can become class at a quick rate while at OT. It's a great signing but don't expect miracles yet ;-)

irishfeen

bangkok wrote: »

schneiderlin is a class midfielder, I'm nearly as excited about united signing him than I am about bastian.

Same here for some reason .. Of the three this weekend I'm the happiest of all with him. I really do rate the lad.

Trond

homerjay2005 wrote: »

it saddens me that almost every team picked for next season has no Herrera in it

as ive said here before, he was our player of the year last year outside of DDG. its vital that any team we put out this year, has him in it - he is a cracking player.

I cant really see a scenario where he wont be playing after the 2nd half of last season. With the new signings it frees him up more to do what he's best at...

I think Carrick and Schweinsteiger are the ones most likely to rotate. I see Fellaini becoming an impact sub.

homerjay2005

Trond wrote: »

I see Fellaini becoming an impact sub.

my fear is that LVG puts a team out every week thats got Fellaini in it.

Cookiemunster

homerjay2005 wrote: »

my fear is that LVG puts a team out every week thats got Fellaini in it.

He's not available for the first 3 games, so if we start well Felliani won't get back into the team.

irishfeen

homerjay2005 wrote: »

my fear is that LVG puts a team out every week thats got Fellaini in it.

I really don't think so .. I think LVG will rotate at will given the challenge of what the opposition holds. Against the bottom half of the league we will probably have 65%+ possession - no need for Fellani! .. In this case I only think LVG will use him in case of an where we need a goal... Last resort - there nothing at all wrong with that!

gosplan

homerjay2005 wrote: »

it saddens me that almost every team picked for next season has no Herrera in it

as ive said here before, he was our player of the year last year outside of DDG. its vital that any team we put out this year, has him in it - he is a cracking player.

Not duly up to speed with Utd squad but isn't it basically 4 players (Carrick, Sch * 2, Herrera) for 3 positions.

Then if needs be, you get Blind, Fell etc as possible backup.

Knowing that LVG likes his defensive setup, can't see Mata getting that many starts in the midfield 3.

So surely of the four players, Herrera actually has the least competition for his spot? I think he has a Fabregas type skillset that the others don't.

akelly02

bangkok wrote: »

schneiderlin is a class midfielder, I'm nearly as excited about united signing him than I am about bastian.

Im more excited, i think he could be in that Midfield for the next 10 years and be one of the leaders of the team. How many years does Bastian have in the tank? 2? 3? i think if we got 3 we would be doing very well.

py2006

According to Telegraph:

'United agree £21m fee for Benfica midfielder Nicolas Gaitan'

but won't be announced until DiMaria departure announced.

Lucas Hood

I actually think we might see Herrera in a more advanced role this season especially in the big games. He's good at going forward but also puts in a bigger shift than Mata would.

The Moldy Gowl

homerjay2005 wrote: »

my fear is that LVG puts a team out every week thats got Fellaini in it.

As we saw last season, if he deserves to start, he will start. That's how lvg is.
Look at young keeping di Maria out of the team.
Fellaini kept him out of the team.
And rightly so. You can't just play players because of their name.
Unfortunately we have to trust lvg knows more than us, which he does.
Dosent mean we can't bitch and moan and call him clueless for baffling substitutions.

I'm not accusing you of being an armchair manager, but it just came to me there while typing this out. We don't know more than someone who has been managing at the top for 20 odd years.
People find that hard to accept though.

Pro. F

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

As we saw last season, if he deserves to start, he will start. That's how lvg is.
Look at young keeping di Maria out of the team.
Fellaini kept him out of the team.
And rightly so. You can't just play players because of their name.
Unfortunately we have to trust lvg knows more than us, which he does.
Dosent mean we can't bitch and moan and call him clueless for baffling substitutions.

I'm not accusing you of being an armchair manager, but it just came to me there while typing this out. We don't know more than someone who has been managing at the top for 20 odd years.
People find that hard to accept though.

Why bother discussing any of the choices he makes then? Might as well all give up talking about tactics and team selections so.

The Moldy Gowl

Pro. F wrote: »

Why bother discussing any of the choices he makes then? Might as well all give up talking about tactics and team selections so.

I'm more talking about the posts we will bound to see along the lines of he is clueless etc etc, baffling line up etc etc. that kinda ****e were the poster is insinuating he knows better.

I didn't accuse homer of it, he will be upset if he sees Fellaini and that's fine.

I was more going off an tangent on my gripe with hyperbolic posting tendencies.

Nalz

Pro. F wrote: »

Why bother discussing any of the choices he makes then? Might as well all give up talking about tactics and team selections so.

I think there's kind of a obvious middle ground here when it comes to Fellaini.

He does a specific job, so if he's on form and is required to do something for the team that others cannot then he should get the nod. With the calibre of the signings we made and apparently still making we should be moving away from that though.

JamboMac

Sad to see looks like di Maria signed a 5 year deal with psg.

kstand

So we could see Di Maria and Rafael off to PSG and Benfica respectively and Cavani and Gaitan coming in the other direction?
I would be shocked if we dont sign another striker. Cavani's scoring record over the last 3 seasons is fairly decent, though I have question marks over him.
And thats not even to start to contemplate what happens if DDG leaves and the rumours around Otamendi.
Could well see 8 new faces in total (including the 4 we have already) by the time the window closes.

Trond

py2006 wrote: »

According to Telegraph:

'United agree £21m fee for Benfica midfielder Nicolas Gaitan'

but won't be announced until DiMaria departure announced.

:mad: This **** again.

Im now starting to get worried this time it might be true. Mendes is his agent isn't he???

Cookiemunster

JamboMac wrote: »

Sad to see looks like di Maria signed a 5 year deal with psg.

Where's that coming from? I've not seen anything concrete on twitter.

bangkok

irishfeen wrote: »

I really don't think so .. I think LVG will rotate at will given the challenge of what the opposition holds. Against the bottom half of the league we will probably have 65%+ possession - no need for Fellani! .. In this case I only think LVG will use him in case of an where we need a goal... Last resort - there nothing at all wrong with that!

and that was against the league champions in their own ground. Im looking forward to big things this year

TheDoc

homerjay2005 wrote: »

it saddens me that almost every team picked for next season has no Herrera in it

as ive said here before, he was our player of the year last year outside of DDG. its vital that any team we put out this year, has him in it - he is a cracking player.

I have him in every first XI I make for the coming season. His performances second half of season has him firmly first choice RCM, and his to lose.

JamboMac

Cookiemunster wrote: »

Where's that coming from? I've not seen anything concrete on twitter.

Nothing 100% concrete yet it's from Le Perisien, I like Twitter seems to be the source of truth from now on, I hope it's a lie think it would be step back after the signings we made.

pmasterson95

Cavani would be dissapointing. Rooney would be moved around the pitch again to accomodate Cavani and keep him happy.

Kirby

bangkok wrote: »

and that was against the league champions in their own ground. Im looking forward to big things this year

I know it's a cheap shot, but you did notice the only stat on the page that mattered right? :P

Most of United possession last year was impotent. The difference between United in possession last season and this season will be quite large. Frankly I think the summer signings have been excellent and if the Gaitan rumours are true....even better.

homerjay2005

kstand wrote: »

So we could see Di Maria and Rafael off to PSG and Benfica respectively and Cavani and Gaitan coming in the other direction?

replacing di maria with Gaitan would be a complete disaster and certainly take away from alot of the progress we have made in terms of improving our squad.

magnumbud

pmasterson95 wrote: »

Cavani would be dissapointing. Rooney would be moved around the pitch again to accomodate Cavani and keep him happy.

or dropped to the bench :eek:

py2006

bangkok wrote: »

and that was against the league champions in their own ground. Im looking forward to big things this year

That was more tactics on the part of Chelsea. Catch us on counter with false sense of security with possession.

Nalz

JamboMac wrote: »

Nothing 100% concrete yet it's from Le Perisien, I like Twitter seems to be the source of truth from now on, I hope it's a lie think it would be step back after the signings we made.

Pardon the ignorance but what is le Perisien, a paper? And why did it fill you with confidence to say that it looks like he's gone?

Kirby

homerjay2005 wrote: »

replacing di maria with Gaitan would be a complete disaster and certainly take away from alot of the progress we have made in terms of improving our squad.

But that depends on which di maria you are talking about. The world beating Madrid star, or the guy who looked completely lost. Because he wasnt very good for large chunks of last season. And if you can get 60 million for him, is that not a good option?

Polo_Mint

Di Maria wont be leaving

py2006

Guys, how are you embedding tweets? Can't get it to work.

RobertKK

Trond wrote: »

:mad: This **** again.

Im now starting to get worried this time it might be true. Mendes is his agent isn't he???

I know no United fan who wants Gaitan.

Pro. F

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

I'm more talking about the posts we will bound to see along the lines of he is clueless etc etc, baffling line up etc etc. that kinda ****e were the poster is insinuating he knows better.

I didn't accuse homer of it, he will be upset if he sees Fellaini and that's fine.

I was more going off an tangent on my gripe with hyperbolic posting tendencies.

But you use that "manager knows best" line all the time, not just when people are going overboard and calling him clueless.

Nalz

py2006 wrote: »

That was more tactics on the part of Chelsea. Catch us on counter with false sense of security with possession.

I'm sure at the same time they wanted more than 16 touches in our area, not to give away 3 great chances we wasted and a greater completed passing percentage than 72? Mourinho being smug after that game really pissed me off.

sReq | uTeK

Pro. F wrote: »

But you use that "manager knows best" line all the time, not just when people are going overboard and calling him clueless.

To be fair, he should know best. If he didn't, he shouldn't be in the job.

keane2097

py2006 wrote: »

That was more tactics on the part of Chelsea. Catch us on counter with false sense of security with possession.

This idea that Chelsea deliberately sacrificed over 70% possession leading to a dozen shots, 10+ corners and (from above) 24 possessions inside their penalty area as some sort of genius tactical ploy always seemed pretty laughable to me.

Some man, Mourinho - he thinks of everything.

The Moldy Gowl

Trilla wrote: »

Pardon the ignorance but what is le Perisien, a paper? And why did it fill you with confidence to say that it looks like he's gone?

We have a funny old way of believing every negative thing is true and any rumours of transfers out of the club is true.
We wouldn't believe them if it was the other way around.

homerjay2005

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

I'm more talking about the posts we will bound to see along the lines of he is clueless etc etc, baffling line up etc etc. that kinda ****e were the poster is insinuating he knows better.

I didn't accuse homer of it, he will be upset if he sees Fellaini and that's fine.

I was more going off an tangent on my gripe with hyperbolic posting tendencies.

what was hyperbolic and "armchair" about this?

my fear is that LVG puts a team out every week thats got Fellaini in it.

relax for f*ck sake, you acuse others of being all sorts but your as erratic as any poster on here and certainly becoming more and more patronizing every week.

RobertKK

py2006 wrote: »

Guys, how are you embedding tweets? Can't get it to work.

Go to tweet you want, press on details, this will bring up the tweet and you have the link in the address window of your browser.
On mobile for IOS just press on the tweet and option should appear including copy the tweet, so then just copy and paste link.

Pro. F

bangkok wrote: »

<Chelsea v United Stats>
and that was against the league champions in their own ground. Im looking forward to big things this year

Chelsea were sitting deep and playing on the counter for most of that game and we had Herrera at DM. Playing against top teams that actually want to have more possession and having Carrick or Schneiderlin as the DM will not result in similar possession domination.

The Moldy Gowl

Pro. F wrote: »

But you use that "manager knows best" line all the time, not just when people are going overboard and calling him clueless.

Do you know better than him?
You like your tactics and the unseen work of players.

You do in your bollox know better than him. He does know better than all of us put together.
This is a bit like Bangkok saying he is better at corners than di Maria.

Pro. F

sReq | uTeK wrote: »

To be fair, he should know best. If he didn't, he shouldn't be in the job.

Cool. So let's never discuss his strategy, tactics or player selections.

kstand

RobertKK wrote: »

I know no United fan who wants Gaitan.

Why is this? I havent seen much of him so cant comment.

magnumbud

keane2097 wrote: »

This idea that Chelsea deliberately sacrificed over 70% possession leading to a dozen shots, 10+ corners and (from above) 24 possessions inside their penalty area as some sort of genius tactical ploy always seemed pretty laughable to me.

Some man, Mourinho - he thinks of everything.

add to that a winger playing right back, an academy player in his debut season at cb, rooney and herrera(playing DM) playing out of position and a misfiring falcao up front

The Moldy Gowl

homerjay2005 wrote: »

what was hyperbolic and "armchair" about this?




relax for f*ck sake, you acuse others of being all sorts but your as erratic as any poster on here and certainly becoming more and more patronizing every week.

I'm always patronising, judgemental, and most certainly a dickhead.
I wouldn't take it too personally.

Pro. F

Gowlasauras Rex wrote: »

Do you know better than him?
You like your tactics and the unseen work of players.

You do in your bollox know better than him. He does know better than all of us put together.
This is a bit like Bangkok saying he is better at corners than di Maria.

I think discussing strategy, tactics, player selections and all the rest is interesting. I think you can further your understanding by arguing for and against all the possible choices. And I know that managers make mistakes.

Easily the majority of the discussion on this forum is taken up by such discussions. You obviously don't like it. Hard luck for you.

py2006

https://twitter.com/PortuBall/status/620184051555659776

py2006

RobertKK wrote: »

Go to tweet you want, press on details, this will bring up the tweet and you have the link in the address window of your browser.
On mobile for IOS just press on the tweet and option should appear including copy the tweet, so then just copy and paste link.

Cheers, I thought it was some form of witchcraft.