Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2016

Michael D Not Higgins

I'd take Lukaku. But not for anything over 40m. He's a proven striker and is still only 23. He blows hot and cold at times and finished the season with one assist and no goals in the last ten games. He could definitely develop and would be a good centre forward for us, the strength and height needed to bully the back line.

Hilarious that Sky Sports haven't mentioned anything about the bull**** reports they were stirring up yesterday before the game.
Gone as bad as the tabloids.

brinty

M!Ck^ wrote: »

Hilarious that Sky Sports haven't mentioned anything about the bull**** reports they were stirring up yesterday before the game.
Gone as bad as the tabloids.

same way they ignored the fact they said Gundogan had signed for us last year in April....

hmmmmmmmmmmmm

mysterious one that...

Mantis Toboggan

M!Ck^ wrote: »

Hilarious that Sky Sports haven't mentioned anything about the bull**** reports they were stirring up yesterday before the game.
Gone as bad as the tabloids.

Gone to the dogs in the last year

The sky sports "news" app should be renamed the rumours and gossip app

8-10

dr.kenneth noisewater wrote: »

I see LVG saying fans expectations are too high, cant see how any manger can say that after this season and especially one who has spent over 200 million

When the same fans are turning their nose down at the prospect of signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic I can kind of see his point! :P

Nalz

Tyson Fury wrote: »

Gone to the dogs in the last year

The sky sports "news" app should be renamed the rumours and gossip app

They've been really bad for years I thought

0gac3yjefb5sv7

Seen as Sky Sports is so bad, what is the best source of news that has some sort of credible source but it not as slow as something such as BBC.

Mitch Connor

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Seen as Sky Sports is so bad, what is the best source of news that has some sort of credible source but it not as slow as something such as BBC.

Basically nothing - or nothing people will agree on.

Some people find Red Issue Sanc, United We Stand and Red News good for information of what is happening around the club - other people will absolutely rubbish everything they say. I personally put a lot of store in what RI and UWS say, don't read RN so wouldn't comment - but, as I say, other people in here will tell you everything they say is lies.

Some people think some Italian bloke whose name I can't remember right now is an utter orcale when it comes to footie news. Some people even think IndyKalia is not an utter spoofer.

Lovely Bloke

Pheonix10 wrote: »

Seen as Sky Sports is so bad, what is the best source of news that has some sort of credible source but it not as slow as something such as BBC.

this is an impossible ask, the reason the beeb is so slow is that they take care to verify and properly source their stories. You can't have both, because other journalists take a punt on something they've been told is "close to happening" by a "source" - if that then doesn't happen then they become less credible.

Being first to break a story is more important to commercial news sources (basically anything that's not the BBC really), so you are going to get stories that appear before they really should, then everyone gets upset when the thing reported doesn't actually come to pass.

Lovely Bloke

^^ oh yeah, then there's the paid sections of the fanzine sites - journos do post there, stuff they won't even go to twitter with, never mind print, so they might get info from the club that certain players are in negotiations or whatever, but again, if that player doesn't actually sign the club is never going to confirm that talks happened by but broke down for one reason or another, and then that journo looks like a twat.

Lord TSC

Here is The transfer reliability guide from the United sub reddit.

https://www.reddit.com/r/reddevils/comments/3jmgj8/transfer_reliabiltiy_guide_updates/?

It's not a bible, but a pretty good reference on the way to finding who you trust yourself.

sky88

TheDoc wrote: »

RE:

Such a subdued ending for Carrick as well. Pretty piss poor performance followed with very little anything for him. Probably doesn't like the fuss, but even in the pages I've read post game, don't think I saw a post written about him. Sums him up entirely really for me. My ultimate marmite player. Appreciation of course for his time at the club, but never won me over. Wish him all the best

I always found carrick to be a good player but really nothing special at all. he only looked a special player when teams did not press him. same hope he goes off to america and makes a ton of money now.

Mitch Connor

I think if it was confirmed Carrick was leaving, there would be more of a fuss made over it. the fact nothing has been said in the press by the club, the player or the agent (really) means it is all flying under the radar.

Personal opinion is that he isn't certain to be leaving - if Van Gaal stays, he goes - if a new manager comes in and wants him to stay then he stays.

bangkok

brinty wrote: »

same way they ignored the fact they said Gundogan had signed for us last year in April....

hmmmmmmmmmmmm

mysterious one that...

they never said he had signed..

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/9820923/manchester-united-close-to-agreeing-deal-for-ilkay-gundogan

eagle eye

Two years ago the season had just finished and United were not in good shape.

You had a couple of players who'd given a lot to United who looked done and were leaving the club in Vidic, Ferdinand and Evra. You were left with the injury prone Phil Jones and Rafael, an unproven Chris Smalling and then Jonny Evans and Alexander Buttner. Apart from David De Gea the defense looked in poor shape moving forward.

Two years on and your defense looks pretty solid again and this despite missing Shaw and Rojo for most of the season. You now have Valencia looking like a real good option at full back and some young players got blooded this season. Borthwick-Jackson and Varela look like two really good prospects. Blind is a solid player who can move around when required but looks really good as a central defender I think.

Overall in two years Van Gaal has overhauled that defense and left them looking very promising moving forward.

The midfield seems to be where the problem in this team lies at this moment. Improvement is needed there if United are to take the step forward to become title challengers.
Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger did not work out this season and LVG has to take the blame for that. Ander Herrera has not worked out either it seems and Fellaini looks like a distinctly average player. The team is still hugely dependent on Michael Carrick and he is getting on now so it looks to me to be the key are where improvement is required immediately.

Up top everybody gave out about the signing of Anthony Martial because they knew nothing about him. I think everybody knows enough about him now to realise that he is a very special player. Youth has gotten a chance again too and Rashford looks like a very promising player for the future. Juan Mata is a good one and while he didn't have a fantastic season I think that an improvement in the deeper midfield will aid him to get back to his best. Jess Lingaard looks like he has taken a step forward too and his passing has improved immensely this season. He seems to be able to read the game a lot better and is less dependent on his speed.

Rooney is still a good one when on song but he needs to go imo. I laugh at the way the media portray his performances.
If he has a stinker they tell you he just needs a little more game time and try to share the blame with the players around him.
When he scores a goal and has a poor game they talk about how he turns up when he is needed and when he has a great game you hear about what Wayne Rooney gives you week in week out.
His wages are a huge issue because you could have two elite players sharing that money and the elite players already at the club have agents in their ears telling them they are undervalued and should be on more money. This causes players to become unsettled and that is never a good thing.

Overall I think United are in good shape moving forward if they sort out their deeper midfield. It's actually looks like a very good situation for somebody like Jose Mourinho to come into.

I would have said at Christmas that LVG should be gone but I think now that he deserves more time at United. If you think back to where the club was at two years ago before his arrival I think you have to admit to yourself that he has made great strides forward. He is now on the verge of winning United's first title since the Ferguson era ended.

If United are intent on changing manager in the summer then Mourinho will more than likely give them short term success but everybody knows that he has a short shelf life.

The man I think they should go after if they want longer term success is Unai Emery.

fuzzydunlop85

65 million for Lukaku, no thanks.

BMMachine

Strumms wrote: »

Fellaini isn't a terrible player.. far from it.. you'd be a clown to think otherwise really anyone who says so doesn't have a breeze and their opinion isnt worth much.. he has been our best player in a few games this season and been influential.. is he a Man Utd player as such ?.. no... its he awkward and at times frustrating yes... but he is a very good player in the right team and he never gave anything less then 100% in a United shirt... he gets dogs abuse from some quarters and the same people would be sticking up for the likes of Depay.. who plainly gives more of a **** about his pout and sideburns then putting in a shift.

ahhh the accepted line
I don't care about his effort. I'm sure a lot of players give "110%" and whatnot, it doesn't stop him being a really bad and horribly negative player. I'm sure he would be decent at say WBA, Crystal Palace, Everton, Stoke etc who sometimes need that kind of player, but he should be nowhere near united - effort or no. I honestly find it amazing that so many united fans defend him on here, none I know in person have even a second of time for him

Vic Vinegar

Real life? do you think Boards.ie is the matrix or something?

Lord TSC

eagle eye wrote: »

The man I think they should go after if they want longer term success is Unai Emery.

Not a shock his name is cropping up, simply with the day thats in it. But United have tried the "lets given an unproven at the top manager a chance" line, and frankly it was a disaster. We cannot afford yet another gamble on a manager stepping up. We need a proven winner at the top level, someone who might be short term but will establish United as a club to be in line with the amount of money and world wide recognition the club has. Jose is the perfect man for the job.

BMMachine

Vic Vinegar wrote: »

Real life? do you think Boards.ie is the matrix or something?

i dont know anyone on boards in person maybe I should have used a different term

adox

BMMachine wrote: »

i dont know anyone on boards in person maybe I should have used a different term

An opinion on a player is exactly that -an opinion.

Stating your opinion on a player as fact will not be taken seriously by most.

bangkok

Saul Niguez just signed an extended contract, another player we can cancel off the list.

weisses

Lord TSC wrote: »

Not a shock his name is cropping up, simply with the day thats in it. But United have tried the "lets given an unproven at the top manager a chance" line, and frankly it was a disaster. We cannot afford yet another gamble on a manager stepping up. We need a proven winner at the top level, someone who might be short term but will establish United as a club to be in line with the amount of money and world wide recognition the club has. Jose is the perfect man for the job.

Moyes was the only unproven manager, and you think because of that a promising but less established manager will not work for United ?

The worst thing you want to do is sign a short term manager .. Specially Mourinho, he doesn't give a **** about bringing up youngsters for long term gain ... He wants to be succesfull the long term vision of the club comes second. The last thing United needs is another manager who because of an inflated ego thinks he is bigger then the club.

Trigger

BMMachine wrote: »

ahhh the accepted line
I don't care about his effort. I'm sure a lot of players give "110%" and whatnot, it doesn't stop him being a really bad and horribly negative player. I'm sure he would be decent at say WBA, Crystal Palace, Everton, Stoke etc who sometimes need that kind of player, but he should be nowhere near united - effort or no. I honestly find it amazing that so many united fans defend him on here, none I know in person have even a second of time for him

Meet bangkok...

bangkok wrote: »

Hopefully he goes after Saturday and takes fellaini with him

Yeah two should get together sometime and burn some effigies

deaddonkey15

weisses wrote: »

Moyes was the only unproven manager, and you think because of that a promising but less established manager will not work for United ?

The worst thing you want to do is sign a short term manager .. Specially Mourinho, he doesn't give a **** about bringing up youngsters for long term gain ... He wants to be succesfull the long term vision of the club comes second. The last thing United needs is another manager who because of an inflated ego thinks he is bigger then the club.

What's more important to United in the short term? Bringing through young players that may or may not make it, or winning trophies and remaining relevant?

Lord TSC

weisses wrote: »

Moyes was the only unproven manager, and you think because of that a promising but less established manager will not work for United ?

The worst thing you want to do is sign a short term manager .. Specially Mourinho, he doesn't give a **** about bringing up youngsters for long term gain ... He wants to be succesfull the long term vision of the club comes second. The last thing United needs is another manager who because of an inflated ego thinks he is bigger then the club.

I think that in the last 3 years since Fergie left, we have had two managers who have presented the club with finishes of 7th, 4th (barely) and 5th. I think we've missed Champions League twice in three years.

I think that, quite frankly, the club cannot continue to worry about the long term, because in the short term, the club is imploding in on itself, at least in terms of presenting itself as a top tier club. At this moment in time, what we need more than youth, more than long term planning, is a manager who can prove the club is able to compete at the utter topmost level; that the club can attract top talent, and not just play at but successfully compete at a top level.

In the short term, the club is being shown up big time. It doesn't matter how many kids we buy, if champions league football is regularly a struggle, then the players we have will want to leave (see De Gea) and the players we want won't want to come to us.

More than anything else, what the club needs right now is someone to come in and challange for the PL title again immediately. Not in 5 or 10 years. You say "no one is bigger than the club", and yet at the moment, the club is presenting the image that it was Fergie, not the club, that was the top tier winner. Its presenting the image that Fergie was bigger than the club, and when he left, the club took a dive in quality.

We're at a point now where the next manager needs to be the smallest possible gamble. Not someone who might come good, not someone who'll need a few years to build a team. Someone with experience in the PL, preferably at the top of it, who will give us the best chance of proving the idea that Fergie was bigger than the club wrong.

Thats not to say Jose WILL win things in his first year. But he presents the best option at the moment; the best chance to show that Man United, as a club, still belongs in the elite.

weisses

deaddonkey15 wrote: »

What's more important to United in the short term? Bringing through young players that may or may not make it, or winning trophies and remaining relevant?

Both are equally important

What you don't want to do is panic ....sign Mourinho and let him buy a team

brinty

Vic Vinegar wrote: »

Real life? do you think Boards.ie is the matrix or something?

You mean Boards isn't real life.... :eek:
but you guys are all my friends.... aren't you.....

brinty

bangkok wrote: »

Saul Niguez just signed an extended contract, another player we can cancel off the list.

What list... an imaginary list of players in your head that you'd like to see...
Your posting has really deteriorated in recent weeks..
I used to think you'd turned the corner and were becoming a valuable poster but the constant fellaini bashing and nonsense opinions of the past few weeks are grating...

brinty

So anyways ladson a football note, anyone expect the big man to start this Saturday.
I think he should and he will
Fellaini to score a late late winner.....

Mitch Connor

If United stick with LVG - we are sticking with a manager who thinks challenging for the title is too much for Manchester United fans to expect. That, all on its own, should be reason enough to turf him out the door. Such a lack of ambition is a disgrace.

brinty

Mitch Connor wrote: »

If United stick with LVG - we are sticking with a manager who thinks challenging for the title is too much for Manchester United fans to expect. That, all on its own, should be reason enough to turf him out the door. Such a lack of ambition is a disgrace.

100% agreed with you Mitch..
he's been given everything he wanted in terms of players, facilities, staff etc
woodward hasn't said no and still he doesn't think we're ready to challenge..
who's fault is that
it rests on the manger

Mitch Connor

brinty wrote: »

So anyways ladson a football note, anyone expect the big man to start this Saturday.
I think he should and he will
Fellaini to score a late late winner.....

I'd be surprised if he doesn't.

I would reckon:

---

De Gea
Valencia--Smalling--Blind--Rojo (CBJ if Rojo isn't fit)

---

Carrick---Rooney

---

Fellaini
Mata

---

Martial

---

Rashford

Romero, CBJ, Varela, Shneiderlin, Herrera, Lingard, Young.

Drumpot

weisses wrote: »

Both are equally important

What you don't want to do is panic ....sign Mourinho and let him buy a team

Jose could very well be a panic appointment. Whatever about his successful CV, you are only as good as your last Job. He left the current champions languishing in relegation zone and they never recovered from how he left them. Does this actually resonate with people ? Jose left his current club in horrible circumstances and they didn't recover. Jose leaves most clubs under a cloud, there is a cost that has to be paid for success under him.

Yes, the odds are good that he could bring some sort of success to the club, but at what cost ? In 2 years time if united are finishing in mid table with a squad that needs another overhaul, is that really the kind of progress we want ?

I can understand why fans want LVG out, but I don't accept their entire arguments against him. There are positives to LVG's reign that would be stupid to ignore. The biggest one being the opportunities afforded to young players who most definitely would not flourish under Jose who has little to no pedigree at nurturing young players.

Youngsters are also notoriously inconsistent, which explains how united could win a tough game and lose a game that looks easier on paper.

I don't think there is anything suggesting that the club is suffering financially by the current trophyless spell. It would make sense to try a longer term strategy while the going is good. They always have the panic "instant success" manager option to press if things start to get hairy but I don't think they are anywhere near that yet. They finished 5 points off second spot and level with City. That's hardly a disaster.

Making Jose the club manager, particularly looking at the squad he inherits (Mata and any youngster can move on if they think they will get any football), is as big, if not bigger, gamble then giving LVG a final season with the squad he has assembled. Its not a popular thing to say, but its also not necessarily wrong.

sky88

Mitch Connor wrote: »

I'd be surprised if he doesn't.

I would reckon:

---

De Gea
Valencia--Smalling--Blind--Rojo (CBJ if Rojo isn't fit)

---

Carrick---Rooney

---

Fellaini
Mata

---

Martial

---

Rashford

Romero, CBJ, Varela, Shneiderlin, Herrera, Lingard, Young.

Lingard instead of mata and its the team i think hell go for.

Mitch Connor

sky88 wrote: »

Lingard instead of mata and its the team i think hell go for.

That was the one selection I was on the fence over, to be honest.

brinty

can't see him dropping Lingard...
he could easily stick rooney and fellaini at the base of midfield

Cantona's Collars

Mitch Connor wrote: »

If United stick with LVG - we are sticking with a manager who thinks challenging for the title is too much for Manchester United fans to expect. That, all on its own, should be reason enough to turf him out the door. Such a lack of ambition is a disgrace.

We slaughtered Moyes for that mentality,he was a man who won feck all.LVG has won titles around Europe and comes out with the same bull after spending £250 million,it smacks of somebody shifting the blame from himself.
When he started worrying more about the opposition rather than his own teams' strengths then the warning bells should have been ringing for Woodward,it was turning into Moyes mkII.
Saturday should be his last game in charge,let him win his trophy and leave with some pride intact.Another year of "transition" cannot be tolerated.

Cantona's Collars

Some nice cheerful reading:rolleyes::(

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/15115/10286798/manchester-united-stats-louis-van-gaal-wont-want-to-see

Manchester United finished the season on 66 points. Only once before have they ended a Premier League campaign with fewer - the 64 points they managed under David Moyes and Ryan Giggs in 2013/14.

United recorded their joint-lowest number of wins in a Premier League season. They were victorious just 19 times - the same total they managed in that 2013/14 Moyes campaign.

United were beaten 10 times in the Premier League - only the second time they have reached double figures in defeats. They lost 12 times in 2013/14.

United have set a new club record for the fewest goals scored in a Premier League season after netting just 49 times in 2015/16.

Anthony Martial finished as United's top scorer with 11 goals. That matches the lowest total scored by Manchester United's leading scorer in a season - Wayne Rooney scored 11 in 2004/05.
Man Utd top scorers in Premier League this season

Anthony Martial - 11
Wayne Rooney - 8
Juan Mata - 6

Manchester United's forwards may point to a lack of service for their low goals total. Van Gaal's side conjured up 312 openings this season - only Watford, Aston Villa and West Brom created fewer chances.

Of those United chances, Opta deem 44 of them to have been 'big' chances. In contrast, Arsenal made twice as many (88).

Mitch Connor

zerks wrote: »

it smacks of somebody shifting the blame from himself.

This is why I would have no faith in LVG to turn United into a prem-challenging side - he considers the problems to be (1) Injuries. (2) Not finishing chances. (3) Fan expectation.

(1) - Injuries are going to effect a small squad - he chose a small squad (cause youth... yeah?) and then says we can't compete because of injuries. We were also fairly fecking poor up the point the injuries kicked in too.

(2) When you only have 2 senior strikers and a bunch of players not known for hitting big goal numbers, thats going to happen. When you create feck all chances in the first place this becomes an even bigger problem.

(3) I don't need to go into this one.....

The problems are of HIS making, but he blames bad luck and poor players - the players HE selected and wanted to build his United side with - for the problems.

If he can't see his own role in the issues, he can't ever hope to fix them.

bucketybuck

Drumpot wrote: »

That's hardly a disaster.

See Louis, not all fans have too high expectations! :pac:

Mitch Connor

bucketybuck wrote: »

See Louis, not all fans have too high expectations! :pac:

Indeed - people say Arsenal had a poor season and that City have had a terrible one, but finishing near them isn't all that bad!:eek::rolleyes:

Many Arsenal fans want Wenger to go - and City have replaced their manager. But sure, we finished close them. Great. I mean there are no signs that things could actually improve under LVG, but fook it - wouldn't want people to think there isn't a plan...

bangkok

brinty wrote: »

What list... an imaginary list of players in your head that you'd like to see...
Your posting has really deteriorated in recent weeks..
I used to think you'd turned the corner and were becoming a valuable poster but the constant fellaini bashing and nonsense opinions of the past few weeks are grating...

utd had scouts watching him many times and if if mot mistaken we had a 31m bid for him in January but he didn't want to move

ShooterSF

Mitch Connor wrote: »

Indeed - people say Arsenal had a poor season and that City have had a terrible one, but finishing near them isn't all that bad!:eek::rolleyes:

Many Arsenal fans want Wenger to go - and City have replaced their manager. But sure, we finished close them. Great. I mean there are no signs that things could actually improve under LVG, but fook it - wouldn't want people to think there isn't a plan...

In fairness I'm pretty sure City announced they were replacing him when they were still favourite for the league (or close to it) and still in the Champions League. Not something I'd like to emulate.

BMMachine

zerks wrote: »

Some nice cheerful reading:rolleyes::(

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/15115/10286798/manchester-united-stats-louis-van-gaal-wont-want-to-see

Manchester United finished the season on 66 points. Only once before have they ended a Premier League campaign with fewer - the 64 points they managed under David Moyes and Ryan Giggs in 2013/14.

United recorded their joint-lowest number of wins in a Premier League season. They were victorious just 19 times - the same total they managed in that 2013/14 Moyes campaign.

United were beaten 10 times in the Premier League - only the second time they have reached double figures in defeats. They lost 12 times in 2013/14.

United have set a new club record for the fewest goals scored in a Premier League season after netting just 49 times in 2015/16.

Anthony Martial finished as United's top scorer with 11 goals. That matches the lowest total scored by Manchester United's leading scorer in a season - Wayne Rooney scored 11 in 2004/05.
Man Utd top scorers in Premier League this season

Anthony Martial - 11
Wayne Rooney - 8
Juan Mata - 6

Manchester United's forwards may point to a lack of service for their low goals total. Van Gaal's side conjured up 312 openings this season - only Watford, Aston Villa and West Brom created fewer chances.

Of those United chances, Opta deem 44 of them to have been 'big' chances. In contrast, Arsenal made twice as many (88).

so in all, a lot of negativity. A negative playstyle with a negative attitude on how to play. I wonder if there is one particular player who sums up these attributes who started playing with Utd since the slump. Im not saying it should be put on one or two guys, but there is a correlation.

Juan8

Random I know but I'd just like to say CBJ has one of the best deliveries for a full back out there,

Julez

Juan8 wrote: »

Random I know but I'd just like to say CBJ has one of the best deliveries for a full back out there,

100% agree, I'd be playing him over Rojo all day long. Rojo is bad defensively and going forward. I had hope, but I don't rate him at all now.

Manutd_4life

How did Schweinsteiger get into the Germany squad???

Mitch Connor

BMMachine wrote: »

so in all, a lot of negativity. A negative playstyle with a negative attitude on how to play. I wonder if there is one particular player who sums up these attributes who started playing with Utd since the slump. Im not saying it should be put on one or two guys, but there is a correlation.

I have no idea who you are talking about.

bangkok

jayo26 wrote: »

You are unbelievable your like a broken record mixed into a bit of groundhog day.

Judging by the dirt performances of the team over the past few Months compaired to Fellainis performance in the few weeks that you were conveniently missing from here he is one of our better midfielders id have him on current form ahead of Ander, Schneiderlin what bastian served up before his injury.

At least Fellaini tries to move the team forward or put in a few albeit nasty challenges but at least it's a effort more then the rest.

by the way I only missed 4 games as I was away but seen them all, just wasn't on boards to talk about them

4 games I was away for were..

1) west ham 1-2 man utd fa cup
2) man utd 1-0 aston villa
3)man utd 2-0 crystal palace
4) everton 1-2 man utd fa cup

game 1 was his best game for us this season
game 2 was average against one of the worst teams in premier league history
game 3 he came on for last 12 mins
game 4 solid game against his old team, taken off when game was still 1-1

played against Leicester and then got a 3 match ban.

look at the above teams, hardly world beaters

also, the above is not fellaini "bashing", its the facts