Manchester United Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2018 pt. 2

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Adamocovic wrote: »

A lot doubted him towards the beginning. Seemed to divide opinion like when he was at us.

Hard to find those now after his sensational end to the year! The man was on complete fire and seals it by scoring 3 to come back from behind and clinch CL on the last day of the season. If there was any doubts he certainly silenced them then! Hopefully he can step up next year, all rumours saying Fekir is on his way out, huge blow for them and Memphis will need to work harder then.

Definitely a shame he struggled with us. At one point the Shaw/Memphis combo looked so promising.

What’s with all the players wearing the socks only half way up each shin?

Adamocovic

MrMac84 wrote: »

What’s with all the players wearing the socks only half way up each shin?

Aerodynamics

Liam O

Would be great to finally pull the trigger on Mahrez this summer. Not a huge amount in cost I'd say and one of the best attackers in the league.

Trigger

Liam O wrote: »

Would be great to finally pull the trigger on Mahrez this summer. Not a huge amount in cost I'd say and one of the best attackers in the league.

Supposedly off to City for 50/60m

Edit: £75m according to Jackson, so massive cost

https://twitter.com/JamieJackson___/status/999294455181185025?s=20

bangkok

MrMac84 wrote: »

What’s with all the players wearing the socks only half way up each shin?

Prob wear tiny shin pads and dont like the socks high id imagine

Adamocovic

nullzero wrote: »

Ligue 1 isn't anything like the premier league Tbf, he wasn't at the races in England.

After failing to impress with us the first season his writing was on the wall.

Interestingly, although Memphis was playing well for Lyon out on the left wing he had some fans still frustrated. He was scoring and providing assists but a lot felt he still had more untapped potential and could switch on and off at times. There were people who weren't impressed with his defensive work and didn't think he was consistent enough too.

His storming finish to the season came from him moving out of the LW role to a more Central Striking position with some freedom to roam, normally as part of a front two.

In the last 10 games or so in this position he scored 8 goals and 6 assists. Absolutely dominated the field. Many fans now obviously are calling to keep him in that position. It will be interesting how he starts next season.

If Lyon decide to start him up top, after the end of the season I don't see how you could argue against it, then it will be very interesting to watch. It may well prove to be his best position.

Adamocovic

Also to add to the above, when he first arrived at United he argued he felt more like a Striker than a Winger, well he may just have proven this and earned the opportunity to play there for Lyon for most of next season.

jayo26

Depay cluld still be a top top player it depends on how he matures i think a problem at United is signing some of these players too early the likes of martial would of been far better off staying in France and moving around now to a top club.

The problem is if we don't another club will sign them so maybe we should be buying these players and loaning them back for a year or two.

Lithium93_

jayo26 wrote: »

Depay cluld still be a top top player it depends on how he matures i think a problem at United is signing some of these players too early the likes of martial would of been far better off staying in France and moving around now to a top club.

The problem is if we don't another club will sign them so maybe we should be buying these players and loaning them back for a year or two.

Just on this, I'm surprised the club haven't taken a page from Chelsea and loaning out players, could do either Rashford or Martial, or both a chance to perform without the pressures of being United players, not that there isn't any pressure at other clubs.

S.M.B.

How often does this model actually work? I know Chelsea do it regularly but I feel they often end up selling off these prospects at a decent profit as opposed to developing them into first team players.

Will be interesting to see what role Loftus Cheek plays next season.

jayo26

Lithium93_ wrote: »

Just on this, I'm surprised the club haven't taken a page from Chelsea and loaning out players, could do either Rashford or Martial, or both a chance to perform without the pressures of being United players, not that there isn't any pressure at other clubs.

I don't agree with what Chelsea do I don't think it benefits their players at all how many first team players have they actually gained from this?

What I was thinking about was signing a player on a five year contract but loaning him back to his club for 24 months and then we have 36 months after that to asses his level properly when he has had more season's under his belt in a first team.

I don't mean do it as a farming exercise just do it with a handful if really talented 19 year olds or 20 hear olds and allow them to develope before uprooting them.

bucketybuck

Considering the particular issues United have had this past four years, here are two things I don't want:

- To continue persevering with weak characters who have underperformed consistently for years and for multiple managers.

- To bring back other weak players who had their chances and and couldn't take them

It should be the absolute pinnacle to play for a club like Manchester United and the club should be far more ruthless about weeding out those who don't have what it takes, whether that be ability or be it mentality. The club needs to stop giving average players 4/5 years worth of chances and it definitely doesn't need to be bringing back players who couldn't hack it the first time around.

DM_7

With the amount of money United spend they should be signing players ready to go rather than buying to loan out.

The loan system for a young player rarely works as teams really don't want to develop a player for you. Chelsea came up but they found even players who do well like Lukaku or De Bruyne may want to stay on at their loan club rather than go back to be a sub.

Martial transfer at that time was an indictment of the clubs strategy and structures imo. They couldn't get an established striker.

It was thing to take a risk a young player when you are in a strong position but to go down that route at that time was wrong.

Andrew Beef

We need more leaders and stronger characters, not failed Premier League footballers like Memphis Depay.

He may very well be kicking his heels in Ligue 1 (which is merely MSL on steroids), but under no circumstances do we need a flaky fly-by-night like him polluting the dressing-room.

We need spoofers shipped out, not shipped back in!!!

billyhead

DM_7 wrote: »

With the amount of money United spend they should be signing players ready to go rather than buying to loan out.

The loan system for a young player rarely works as teams really don't want to develop a player for you. Chelsea came up but they found even players who do well like Lukaku or De Bruyne may want to stay on at their loan club rather than go back to be a sub.

Martial transfer at that time was an indictment of the clubs strategy and structures imo. They couldn't get an established striker.

It was thing to take a risk a young player when you are in a strong position but to go down that route at that time was wrong.

True. I hope we don't see a repeat of previous windows where we buy potential or second tier players. We need established world class players if we want success. I do't understand why we are heavily linked with the player from Benfica whom is on loan at Besiktas. These players are unproven at European and Premier League level.

irishchris

Andrew Beef wrote: »

We need more leaders and stronger characters, not failed Premier League footballers like Memphis Depay.

He may very well be kicking his heels in Ligue 1 (which is merely MSL on steroids), but under no circumstances do we need a flaky fly-by-night like him polluting the dressing-room.

We need spoofers shipped out, not shipped back in!!!

Sounds like you are listening to eamonn dunphy too much there

deaddonkey15

billyhead wrote: »

True. I hope we don't see a repeat of previous windows where we buy potential or second tier players. We need established world class players if we want success. I do't understand why we are heavily linked with the player from Benfica whom is on loan at Besiktas. These players are unproven at European and Premier League level.

Arguably none of City's signings in the last 3 summer windows fell into this category. Sometimes signing the right players and developing the right system in which they can realise their potential can transform a team.

J. Marston

https://twitter.com/utdxtra/status/999241404479168513

Don't know if it's true or not but I really hope it is. I don't even really like Mourinho but I will happily back him against the whiney shower of shíte that our squad has become.

How Soon Is Now

Always enjoy the buzz at the start going on to maybe the middle of the transfer window. All the big names where linked to and a few we get heavy links to more often then not though things go tits up!


Ill never forget the whole Ronaldinho saga!!



So im hoping over next few weeks we can get some well needed additions in before the world cup.


Speaking of the world cup i cant bloody wait!! A lot of the group games look very hit and miss and very unpredictable but still i love summer tournaments some of my best memory's of supporting football have come threw them. Even the video games that came along side them :pac:

bangkok

J. Marston wrote: »

https://twitter.com/utdxtra/status/999241404479168513

Don't know if it's true or not but I really hope it is. I don't even really like Mourinho but I will happily back him against the whiney shower of shíte that our squad has become.

I actually cant see him lasting beyond next season. Id say the players are delighted the world cup/summer holidays are starting

fatherted1969

Leaders, strong characters, in your face players. Call them what you want but that is what's needed. Don't care if he plays for Barcelona or Yeovil. Would have loved to see Paul Pogba hug his opposite number at a corner kick in a Roy Keane team. We're too nice and it's not good enough

How Soon Is Now

fatherted1969 wrote: »

Leaders, strong characters, in your face players. Call them what you want but that is what's needed. Don't care if he plays for Barcelona or Yeovil. Would have loved to see Paul Pogba hug his opposite number at a corner kick in a Roy Keane team. We're too nice and it's not good enough

It's rare to get players like that now a days. The whole human race is turning pussy.

Footballers are more interested in there brands then there clubs. Just a sign the times.

Lord TSC

Darren Lewis of the Mirror saying we have opened talks with Spurs for aalderweild.

Trigger

Lord TSC wrote: »

Darren Lewis of the Mirror saying we have opened talks with Spurs for aalderweild.

He’s also saying Spurs was Van Dijk money.. not gonna happen as he’s In The last year of his contract, the will he lucky to get €45m

S.M.B.

He's not in the last year of his contract though. He's got 2 years left with a £22 million buyout clause that gets activated next summer.

Levy will try take the piss and ask for a hefty fee. He won't go for £75m but I don't see him going for £40m either. Somewhere in the middle sounds more likely.

fatherted1969

How Soon Is Now wrote: »

It's rare to get players like that now a days. The whole human race is turning pussy.

Footballers are more interested in there brands then there clubs. Just a sign the times.

Probably right and maybe goes a long to to explain why I'm a bit indifferent to it all lately. Fed up with the fakeness of football. I can remember Fergies 96 team and Jesus that was 11 players who could play ball or fight and any one of them could have been a captain with the qualities they have. We have Valencia as captain and as long as he is in England in still unsure if he can actually speak English. I'm turning into a dinausor I know

Lithium93_

fatherted1969 wrote: »

Probably right and maybe goes a long to to explain why I'm a bit indifferent to it all lately. Fed up with the fakeness of football. I can remember Fergies 96 team and Jesus that was 11 players who could play ball or fight and any one of them could have been a captain with the qualities they have. We have Valencia as captain and as long as he is in England in still unsure if he can actually speak English. I'm turning into a dinausor I know

Far as I can recall, Valencia can speak English, but he just apparently refuses to..

Cantona's Collars

Lithium93_ wrote: »

Far as I can recall, Valencia can speak English, but he just apparently refuses to..

Well he apparently managed to chat up and 'have relations' with a Norwegian bird so his language skills are definitely better than his crossing skills.

brinty

Cantona's Collars wrote: »

Well he apparently managed to chat up and 'have relations' with a Norwegian bird so his language skills are definitely better than his crossing skills.

Hope he didn't keep hitting the first defender with the ball....

Cotts72

Valencia has been a solid squad member over recent seasons since becoming RB but Ive had enough of his cutting back/turning back and his limited crossing abilty. We are in dire need of an attacking RB who can take on his man and provide some width and assists. Id much prefer for our budget to go towards other areas although it would be ideal if we could pick up a younger RB to alternate with him this season ..who fits that bracket I don't know

jayo26

brinty wrote: »

Hope he didn't keep hitting the first defender with the ball....

Nah every time he got his pants off he would just pull them back up again.

bangkok

Valencia as a defender is excellent, his attacking is poor.

Evra in his final season his attacking was excellent, his defending was poor

Need to combine both

yabadabado

Both FB positions need to be upgraded this summer.Get those 2 position s functioning correctly and it should see a major impact in cm and final third.

At least there has been links to FBs in the papers ,it would suggest it's an area that the club is looking at.

Adamocovic

bucketybuck wrote: »

Considering the particular issues United have had this past four years, here are two things I don't want:

- To continue persevering with weak characters who have underperformed consistently for years and for multiple managers.

- To bring back other weak players who had their chances and and couldn't take them

It should be the absolute pinnacle to play for a club like Manchester United and the club should be far more ruthless about weeding out those who don't have what it takes, whether that be ability or be it mentality. The club needs to stop giving average players 4/5 years worth of chances and it definitely doesn't need to be bringing back players who couldn't hack it the first time around.

I agree with your post but imagine the bold part was referring to Memphis who had been discussed prior.

Memphis didn't take his chance, agree with that, not suggesting we should look at his buy-back option this summer but it's worth keeping an eye on.

He finally was put in his self proclaimed best position, striker up top in a more central role, and ran away for the last few games of the season. Double checked, he played the last 7 games with 8 goals and 6 assists while playing up top.. No doubt he has proven to Lyon that is where he should play and I imagine next season he will get a full year at it with CL to prove people wrong. People belittle his achievements with Lyon based on their perception of the Ligue 1, well he will have the CL stage next year to step up.

I'm very interested in seeing how he continues to perform in the ST/CF role. The reason why I find this is because when joining United he said that was the role he wanted to play in. Rooney starting there at the time. European form was terrific but in the league he only got 2 goals in 30 something games. What is interesting is that he played one game for us as a second striker, when Rooney was out, and he scored in that. I honestly think if he gets prolonged time in that role with Lyon he will flourish, still think he is capable of big things.

Now I get people not wanting to bother to keep an eye on him, I completely understand not wanting to go back to previous players, surprisingly I was on that side regarding the Pogba transfer. And I also understand the criticisms he got when underperforming for us, but find it odd that once he starts performing people disregard it or brush it off as him playing in some sort of pub league. The last two months he was one of the most in form players in Europe.

S.M.B.

I have to hold my hands up and acknowledge that Depay has had a cracking finish to the season. If he was to continue to thrive then we'd have to at least consider the buy back clause. It's there for that very reason. Jose would have to identify if the reasons for his failure at united are no longer relevant.

yabadabado

Depay did indeed have an excellent season with Lyon but I still don't see where he would fit in at United.
Is he better than what is currently at the club?
I would say he isn't and Jose can't get the best from those attacking options at the moment either.

Don't forget Depay looked very good in Holland as well but was a flop in EPL,maybe he has improved and matured but I'd be trying to fill the gaping hole on RW bwfore another right footed LW/Striker is signed.

Adamocovic

yabadabado wrote: »

Depay did indeed have an excellent season with Lyon but I still don't see where he would fit in at United.
Is he better than what is currently at the club?
I would say he isn't and Jose can't get the best from those attacking options at the moment either.

Don't forget Depay looked very good in Holland as well but was a flop in EPL,maybe he has improved and matured but I'd be trying to fill the gaping hole on RW bwfore another right footed LW/Striker is signed.

Agree RW is a priority, and at the moment with Lukaku and our formation he wouldn't be an ideal fit. If we had two strikers up top I actually think he would compliment Lukaku quite well but that is not the case.

Don't worry anyway, I'll be providing yearly updates to his progress

Lord TSC

yabadabado wrote: »

Depay did indeed have an excellent season with Lyon but I still don't see where he would fit in at United.
Is he better than what is currently at the club?
I would say he isn't and Jose can't get the best from those attacking options at the moment either.

Agreed overall.

I do feel though that we're heavily reliant on Rashford to be Lukaku's back up and if anything happened that put Lukaku on the shelf for a while....would that fill you with confidence?

Not saying a back up striker is a priority mind, at least this summer. Nor do I think Memphis in particular would run back to reclaim his bench spot. But it worries me how limp we looked without Lukaku in the last few games this season.

bangkok

Balotelli scored 26 goals in France this season, so i would take Depays form with a pinch of salt

bucketybuck

Adamocovic wrote: »

I agree with your post but imagine the bold part was referring to Memphis who had been discussed prior.

Depay, or Zaha who had been mentioned previously, or Keane from a year ago, or anybody who couldn't handle it and had already been moved on. There may be an exception in the future but as a general rule a club has little to gain by continually looking at players and thinking, "maybe we should give them an other chance?". **** that, they should be going for the best of the best, raise those standards and start getting ruthless.

Ben Foster left United and went on to play for England, can you imagine Fergie bringing him back in hope of him fulfilling that potential? Do you think Fergie ever considered a bid for Diego Forlan after he won the golden boot? I doubt it.

I'd also note that plenty of players have had a good run of games and goals for smaller clubs. Depay has done well in the last ten games since moving to a central role? Good for him. Still not good enough for us though.

Lord TSC

I'd take Zaha back tbh. I'd agree with Memphis or Keane.

But Zaha struggled under Moyes. Who the hell didn't. Meanwhile, since then, he's been brilliant for Palace in the Premier League, in a position we're desperate for improvements under. He'd be home grown, I think a bit cheaper due to clauses we have.

I'm not saying he'd be the best option to go for, but I wouldn't be devestated to give him a second chance right now. I'd be surprised if bigger teams aren't sniffing round him this summer. I think he'd walk into the first team for us, Spurs, Arsenal, and be a great back up for City or Pool.

Adamocovic

bucketybuck wrote: »

Depay, or Zaha who had been mentioned previously, or Keane from a year ago, or anybody who couldn't handle it and had already been moved on. There may be an exception in the future but as a general rule a club has little to gain by continually looking at players and thinking, "maybe we should give them an other chance?". **** that, they should be going for the best of the best, raise those standards and start getting ruthless.

Ben Foster left United and went on to play for England, can you imagine Fergie bringing him back in hope of him fulfilling that potential? Do you think Fergie ever considered a bid for Diego Forlan after he won the golden boot? I doubt it.

I'd also note that plenty of players have had a good run of games and goals for smaller clubs. Depay has done well in the last ten games since moving to a central role? Good for him. Still not good enough for us though.

While I get point the bit in bold is an understatement of the highest order. Doing well is one thing, like someone has been good but not brilliant. He was doing well for the majority of the season, in the strikers role he was simply unstoppable for the last two months.

I'll admit I'm bias as I am a fan of his, and so probably no point in me posting again defending him as it's a given. I feel the writings on the wall for us being paired with Lyon in the CL group stages now, we'll let those fixtures settle the debate about his ability

Liam O

bangkok wrote: »

Balotelli scored 26 goals in France this season, so i would take Depays form with a pinch of salt

Balotelli in footballing terms is the complete striker. Hardly surprising when he knuckles down he's done well.

Should Chelsea not have taken back their failure Matic? If they had a buyback on Lukaku, Salah and KDB should they not have activated it because they had been failures previously?

Sports are littered with players who are very raw at the beginning but once they work out the kinks are top class. To write off a player who joined United before most people are out of college is silly. Especially when the less talented Lingard did very well in that attacking midfield, second striker position this season shows that there would certainly be reasoning for giving him another shot.

Liam O

Also Zaha is class and would be great if he rejoined.

Trigger

So I don’t know if ye recall but I had previously had cochlear implant surgery in March, and I am currently rehabbing it. It has come on so well that I have started listening to an audiobook at the moment to try push myself further along, definitely working as I can hear the book . So with this in mind I’m wondering if ye have any good football related podcasts to listen to, preferably with clear speakers. And where would I source good ones? Take in mind I’ve never even tried searching for one :pac: thanks

bangkok

'United close to Fred deal'

http://www.skysports.com/share/11383677

Liam O

astradave wrote: »

So I don’t know if ye recall but I had previously had cochlear implant surgery in March, and I am currently rehabbing it. It has come on so well that I have started listening to an audiobook at the moment to try push myself further along, definitely working as I can hear the book . So with this in mind I’m wondering if ye have any good football related podcasts to listen to, preferably with clear speakers. And where would I source good ones? Take in mind I’ve never even tried searching for one :pac: thanks

Get an app. I use Podkicker but I know people like podcast addict a good bit more. You can search for some through the apps. The only football ones I really listen to are Second Captains and United We Stand. SC is very good, free football and all sports one on a Monday and then daily ones behind a paywall the rest of the week for a 5er a month. UWS is basically Andy Mitten or one of the other sellers of the fanzine asking fan opinions of games on the way down or after games and a lot of good interviews with ex players and staff.

Others that I have listened to are football weekly and James Richardson's new one but I've kind of gone off them with listening to Bill Burr and Kermode & Mayo taking up a lot of time every week

Lord TSC

Curious to know if "Sky Sources" are just repeating the MEN sources.

Know very little bout Fred other than City were sniffing round him too.

Lord TSC

We're also being linked a bit to Sokratis in Germany today.

Trigger

bangkok wrote: »

'United close to Fred deal'

http://www.skysports.com/share/11383677

“According to sky sources Twitter”

Ohh added to the list TSC