Summer Transfer Window

First topic message reminder :

Sunderland are apparently on for will Buckley again this weekend. Another one from Brighton.

Also after Nacer Chadli from spurs and Jonas from Valencia - along with still trying to persuade fabio borini.

John wrote:Blind is a strange one, now Rojo has signed. Another left footed player to challenge Shaw. Still no commanding central defender. Who is the 'other midfielder'?

Lucas Silva.

I really do worry about Shaw and whether Van Gaal has the faith in him. I can't imagine it was a LVG instigated transfer and being told he's overweight and now looking at signing two players who can play in his position is perhaps worrying times for Shaw.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Definite mixed emotions when it comes to Di Maria, a brilliant player but not sure he's the player we desperately need, if it does come off it will be a statement signing more than anything and could lead to more deals.

This.

Not needed and not good enough for the fee he will command.

If these rumours are true we are getting Di Maria, Blind and one other that will take our spending to over £150 million - you have to expect trophies with that kind of outlay.

Crazy spending and not ending up with 3-4 world class players. We'd be better consolidating for a year, getting into CL then going big on top players.

What is our team going to be?

De Gea
Jones Smalling Rojo
Valencia/young Herrera Blind Di Maria
Mata
RVP Rooney

De Gea
Rafael Smalling Evans Rojo
Herrera Blind
Di Maria Mata Rooney
RVP

To be honest I'd rather we just played Januzaj instead of buying Di Maria. He's very good but he'd be a luxury player in a position we don't need and we don't want to turn into Arsenal.

Crimey wrote:I really do worry about Shaw and whether Van Gaal has the faith in him. I can't imagine it was a LVG instigated transfer and being told he's overweight and now looking at signing two players who can play in his position is perhaps worrying times for Shaw.

If we've spunked £30 million on a full back (one of the most expensive defenders ever) to not play a lot of people aren't going to be happy - never mind shaw.

Is Shaw overweight? I am no expert (honest!) but he looks fairly good to me.

https://2img.net/h/i1375.photobucket.com/albums/ag475/protaras2003/4d0aRzh_zps9555af58.jpg

Pretty skinny, quite pale... meh

Van Gaal didn't say Shaw was overweight, he commented that he wasn't fit enough to play wing back having not had a full pre season because of the world, those words have been twisted somewhat.

Rojo hasn't been bought to play left back, he's been bought to play at centre back, not sure how many times that needs repeating.

Another point is we shouldn't be financing Madrid's galactico transfers - if they want rid of Di Maria the fee should be much less. Hell even if they didn't want rid of him £48 million is a ridiculous amount for him.

Look, no matter what's happened, this transfer Angel is still the second best player we have.

£50m is fair value.

kingraf wrote:£50m is fair value.

Not really he is surplus to requirements and has had 1 top season since joining you.

£50m, I don't think so. One good season, before that nothing to differentiate himself from the crowd. Ozil was £42m & was leaps & bounds ahead of Di Maria, in terms of performing at the highest level consistently. Di Maria's recent form just clouds your views on him & makes you elevate him into some world class player, which he isn't. He's surplus to requirements at Madrid.

Surplus to Real's requirements is a rather abstract thing... Makalele was surplus, and Beckham wasn't.

kingraf wrote:Surplus to Real's requirements is a rather abstract thing... Makalele was surplus, and Beckham wasn't.

They moved in the same window and one sold a hell of a lot more shirts than the other.

Di Maria has just come off of a world season before which he was a very good player, I personally don't think we need him but to make out he's not that good is ridiculous.

Have you watched us play without him? The difference is night and day.

Madrid are on Sky every week in the UK, he has been with you for 4 years - people have seen plenty to make an opinion on him.

Talented player, only 1 top consistent season and it was when he was fighting for his future at the club.

Would take him for circa £30 million, don't think he is worth the quoted fee at all.

In addition to that we have greater need for a cm and a centre half than another free roaming attacker.

Think you're in the wrong job then Ent, maybe a future in football management awaits as you seem to know so much.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:I personally don't think we need him but to make out he's not that good is ridiculous.

He's a good player, not saying he's not that good, but to spend £50m (British record) on someone you don't need is quite something. The fact you'd rather spend a considerable amount of money on not fixing the key issues which got you into this mess, is again, quite something.

King - If he was the be-and-end-all of Madrid, they would offer him all the money he desired & have him in a starring role, no?

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Think you're in the wrong job then Ent, maybe a future in football management awaits as you seem to know so much.

May as well close the football section if you have to be a manager to comment on the sports goings on.

What a ridiculous point to make.

Crimey wrote:I really do worry about Shaw and whether Van Gaal has the faith in him. I can't imagine it was a LVG instigated transfer and being told he's overweight and now looking at signing two players who can play in his position is perhaps worrying times for Shaw.

"Overweight" lolz

He's not up to Van Gaal's ridiculous fitness standards (which btw have probably onset this injury crisis)

John wrote:

Hammersmith harrier wrote:I personally don't think we need him but to make out he's not that good is ridiculous.

He's a good player, not saying he's not that good, but to spend £50m (British record) on someone you don't need is quite something. The fact you'd rather spend a considerable amount of money on not fixing the key issues which got you into this mess, is again, quite something.

King - If he was the be-and-end-all of Madrid, they would offer him all the money he desired & have him in a starring role, no?

John you know as well as me that's not how it works at Madrid, being a so called Galactico is more important than your actual worth to the team, they bought James because Barca bought Suarez then needed to balance the books.

John wrote:

Hammersmith harrier wrote:I personally don't think we need him but to make out he's not that good is ridiculous.

He's a good player, not saying he's not that good, but to spend £50m (British record) on someone you don't need is quite something. The fact you'd rather spend a considerable amount of money on not fixing the key issues which got you into this mess, is again, quite something.

King - If he was the be-and-end-all of Madrid, they would offer him all the money he desired & have him in a starring role, no?

I often wonder what Fergie would have achieved with the current finances.

In 8 years under the glazers he spent 281 million, 35 million a season. Net spend was around £100 million.

So far since he retired £140 million has been spent, with Di Maria et all rumoured to take it to over £200 million. Given Fergie went over £25 million once for Berbatov and we've done it for Fellaini, Herrera, Shaw, Mata and potentially Di Maria you have to wonder would he have bought so much Poopie on the cheap with current finances.

Mind blowing money we are spending.

Yes because that's exactly how Perez has traditionally worked, isn't it?

He hasn't had just one good reason, he was very good for three, and fenômeno in one. He may have been expendable before last season, but It's not an exaggeration to say our playing style relied on him to create the space for BBC last season. Every one in Madrid, knows that.

Well Herrera, Fellaini and Shaw were all extensively scouted by Fergie himself while he was apparently instrumental in Mata signing so who knows what he would have done but at the same time he spent a lot on Smalling, Jones, Zaha, Kagawa and Anderson none of whom you rate.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Well Herrera, Fellaini and Shaw were all extensively scouted by Fergie himself while he was apparently instrumental in Mata signing so who knows what he would have done but at the same time he spent a lot on Smalling, Jones, Zaha, Kagawa and Anderson none of whom you rate.

I do rate Smalling.

No one rates Anderson.

If Fergie had extensively scouted Fellaini and recommended him why did we go in so late for him when we'd missed other targets and pay over the odds...

So lets reinforce this, Ferguson definitely had financial constraints from the Glazers - you don't think he would have put together a better squad and signed better players than Bebe etc with our current financial prowess?

I mean he wanted the likes of Javi Martinez, James Rodriguez, Hazard and was priced out (to a lesser extent with Hazard).

What I do know is that Fergie signed Van Persie knowing it was his final year so wasn't too concerned about the squads long term future, it's easy to overlook how much faith he had in his tried and tested players.

Ent wrote:Mind blowing money we are spending.

Blind is how much £15m+?

January, you could blow £30m-£40m on Strootman because your embarrassing midfield has not been resolved. Another right back will be needed because Rafael is appalling. RVP is past his best & will need replacing in the next year or two with a world class forward. A new commanding centre back is needed, your looking at over £30m there. So expect much more money to be spent.

It's astonishing.

If (and it's a big if) we complete these transfers we'll have spent over £150 million and I'm not going to lie - I'd have expected a better side and squad with that outlay.

Don't agree on RVP, still a top top player it is just fitness that could be an issue - but that is life in top level football. If it does happen £24 million for 2-3 top years is good value really and then you replace him. Got no problem with that investment what so ever. Spunking £150million in one transfer window and ending up with 1 top level player (in a position of relative strength) is somewhat more concerning.

The thing is we as United fans have been somewhat spoilt because of Fergie in recent years, winning things that in reality we shouldn't have done. Any subsequent manager whether it's Moyes or Van Gaal will be scrutinised more for their transfer dealings than he would have been.

Herrera, Shaw, Rojo, Di Maria and Blind would represent a very good window for us and unfortunately every team knows how much we have to spend so will always be paying over the odds.

Ent wrote:So lets reinforce this, Ferguson definitely had financial constraints from the Glazers

Or just didn't feel the need to spend enormous amounts of money...

Fergie was a sentimental sod when it came down to it, he had his trusted players like Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Fletcher and Valencia, a new manager having lost five of them will not trust the squad to the same level so will feel the need to invest. Our team was finished at the end of the 2013, replacing that many players was always going to cost a lot.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Fergie was a sentimental sod when it came down to it, he had his trusted players like Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Fletcher and Valencia, a new manager having lost five of them will not trust the squad to the same level so will feel the need to invest. Our team was finished at the end of the 2013, replacing that many players was always going to cost a lot.

Fergie sentimental I've heard it all now.

Ince, keane, rvn, yorke, stam, Beckham etc etc all dumped when they became a hassle or weren't worth it on the pitch anymore. He was on his way to dumping Rooney too.

Ferguson sentimental is one of the strangest statements I've ever heard any football fan come out with.

That all happened years ago Ent when he still had a long term plan once it became a short term plan he favoured his trusted generals on the pitch and did very little to address the teams problems.

Must have imagined him dropping Rooney for the Madrid game and his last home game, then saying he's put in a transfer request.

Spent half a decade signing young players to develop to ensure the future of the club.

Very disrespectful to him to suggest he stopped caring about the clubs future towards the end of his career.

He spent half a decade signing young players who weren't good enough Ent, as pathetic as you come across he is not beyond criticism and was more than happy bleeding his trusted players dry than address the teams issues.

So one of the most motivated men and greatest winner to ever grace the game didn't care about the teams deficiencies?

The likes of jones and smalling looked top prospects as youngsters, can't develop everyone into a world beater.

He tried to get Rodriguez, modric, Martinez, hazard etc

Look this is absolute nonsense he was being sentimental and gave up trying to develop the squad further.

You're right everybody else is to blame and Fergie is beyond criticism for leaving a dire squad behind.

It was evident that the team he left was the worst Utd squad in a good 15+ years and that he'd failed to ever replace Keane. He'd brought in youth players but not ones in comparison to what other top clubs had been doing, look at the likes of Utd's u21s to that of Chelsea, Barca etc and we're light years behind, we used to have a youth set up that was envied by the world, now it pales in comparison. My son's been along to train with Utd, I'd love to say how great it was but frankly he got more out of going to play at Crewe.

A team that cruises to the league and pushed real (who won the cl a year later) to the limit in the knock out stages of the cl.

No doubt the squad had some problems, exaggerated by moyes deficiencies.

The keane thing, really?

In the 8 completed seasons from he left we won 5 league titles a cl and made 2 other finals. People get hung up on him and how great he was, you can never get a direct replacement for legends - carrick has done a very good job.

As for the youth team, they won. The old reserve league in 2010, 2012, the u21 pl in 2013 and the youth cup in 2011.

We haven't been able to match Chelsea's financial muscle for the first team why would you expect it for the u21s and 18s?

Worst since 99? Right - forget 01/02, or 04 when the likes of blanc and silvestre were starting at centre half for us?

I think Man U are doing good by buying Di Maria. But with a forward line boasting, Rooney, van Persie, Hernadez, Welbeck, Mata, Di Maria and Belgian kid can't have many more excuses for poor form.

Looks like this is Bognor or bust aswell.

Forward line is pretty awesome certainly.
Then you look at a midfield of Fellaini, Cleverley, Fletcher, Carrick and think how will those attackers get the ball.

Like I said earlier, if the league was the goal, then yes, it would certainly be problematic, the midfield. But as the goal is getting back into Europe, I think the necessities are lowered. There aren't a lot of teams that are gonna beat this team in a track meet (end to end matches).

Other thing is the Fear Factor, while United's midfield is still a weakness, teams looking to expose that do carry the risk of being ripped to shreds in transition. Maybe Chelsea, City-types don't worry about that to much (nor would the top teams in Europe), but I'm convinced there aren't a lot of teams that are going to try over run United's midfield because if they get it wrong...

Just heard along with Di Maria, LVG wants a double swoop worth £26m for Blind & De Jong & not that Lucas Silva

I really don't want de Jong, he is the antithesis of what the club are about.

Have to trust lvg though.

"@paddypower: Woodward: 'We're ready to break transfer records.

Madrid: 'Excellent, in that case, it'll be £75m for Di Maria"

£75m!? Well, we'll take it.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:Di Maria has just come off of a world season before which he was a very good player, I personally don't think we need him but to make out he's not that good is ridiculous.

To be fair, you were one of those who have previously claimed he isn't that good.

 

Madrid can urine off, there is no way in hell we should be even considering paying that sum for him.

I'd lower our offer now and say take it or leave it and then look elsewhere for players.

I said he gave the single worst performance i've ever seen but i've never said he isn't that good.