Was signed with Valencia and Obertan to replace Ronaldo.
We started playing a more classic 442.
Álvaro Morata | Chelsea player
- Thread starter Zoo
- Start date
- Status
We started playing a more classic 442.
Really hope this one goes through soon!
We really shouldn't be getting involved in the annual Ronaldo saga (even if it does have legs), but will probably get dragged in and I can't see RM selling both.
Sounds crazy but I'd take morata over Ronaldo. It's a no brainer for the prices that are quoted.
We really shouldn't be getting involved in the annual Ronaldo saga (even if it does have legs), but will probably get dragged in and I can't see RM selling both.
Sounds crazy but I'd take morata over Ronaldo. It's a no brainer for the prices that are quoted.
that's frightening
Tbh that was the first step in our inevitable decline, we may have reached another CL final in 2011 but I wasn't convinced with the team that much and the decline in the team quality was increasing over time. SAF was just too good in covering the cracks but everything exploded once he left.
Yep. Unfortunately our financial situation then was nowhere near as strong as it is now.
We should have asked for Robben + Sneijder + cash, I'm sure Madrid would have done that.
At the time though it seemed like we used the money to pay off a big chunk of debt which rightfully pissed the fans off.
We'll return to this thread in 2-3 days after Ronaldo saga is over.
I'm still sure we'll get Morata eventually in about one week or so. This deal won't and shouldn't drag long.
I'm still sure we'll get Morata eventually in about one week or so. This deal won't and shouldn't drag long.
Gosh the Morata news has really been swallowed up by the Ronaldo ones - I hope we aren't silly and miss out on Morata. Once we have got this deal over the line, then we should probe around for Ronaldo if he really wants to leave. I for one would not mind putting the money that is earmarked for Perisic into a Ronaldo fund.
I agree. There was a systematic reduction in term of talent throughout SAF's final years of reign. Players such as Scholes, Giggs, Ronaldo, Rio and Vidic were being replaced with less talented of versions of them, some not even worth being called United players at all. I was in fact, one of the first to notice that in this very forum.
Still, the rather dry/accurate way you brought it up still bring shivers in my spine. How could we possibly agree to that?
Last edited:
I don't think it was the case! In my opinion, it was SAF's insistence of not dealing with super agents which made it more difficult for us to sign the top talent. The club was still spending loads of dosh to buy players. Its just we weren't attracting the quality players we needed anymore.
I hate to say it but while SAF's tactics and man management was still top notch and way better to any current manager around he was slowly but surely becoming a dinasour in the transfer market.
I remember how we replaced Ronaldo with Valencia, Obertan and bloody Owen (wearing no.7 no less). That was a horrible feeling. Those were the years of the infamous transfer "warchest" that we never got to see. I can't even remember much about our other signings during that period bar RvP.
Yep, I would have no problem with selling Ronaldo as he wanted to leave but how we didn't use the money to replace him was criminal. SAF was probably sure that he'll win with any player anyway so he decided not to spend much. It also made me think he wasn't planning to retire at all and it comes out of the blue because he can't leave such a declining squad that only wins because of SAF brilliance. Adding Moyes didn't really help.
The ball is firmly in Reals court.
There a 3 moving parts:
Morata, Ronaldo and Morata. Real have to decide what they want to do, and then we'll pick up the scraps.
There a 3 moving parts:
Morata, Ronaldo and Morata. Real have to decide what they want to do, and then we'll pick up the scraps.
They cannot afford to lose Ronaldo surely. He sells shirts, he is on all their advertising, he wins them things more importantly. We know they want Mbappe, but he isn't Ronaldo. Just buy Morata and let Real wipe away Ronaldo's tears.
In my opinion you can cut SAF's ability in his last years in half. On one side you have the best man manager in football history, a person whose tactics were still top notch and way better then most managers around. On the other side you've got an old man, whose still stuck to values that simply couldn't be applied to modern football anymore.
For example, you can't expect players to retire out of their own will these days. There's too much money involved for them not to try and squeeze every penny they can get. Also its almost impossible not to work with super agents. They are super agents for a reason (ie they are good in what they do) and top players will, most certainly, use their services.
The result to that was that United were still able to win stuff while SAF was around but things went to cack the moment he left. The side left by SAF simply lacked the talent to compete and was in desperate need of a revamp which was going to be extremely painful. The fact that SAF opted for a friend who shared his same obsolete values - his talent didn't helped
I suspect if this is a leak on purpose from real to feck with moratas head. If Ronaldo leaves his first team minutes would increase. No confirmation yet from ronaldo or madrid on news
We're better off coming with a plan B quickly. Just in case everything goes tits up.
I am extremely suspicious.
Can't trust Madrid maybe they are on revenge for fax machine saga
or maybe they just don't want to sell Morata. I mean, see it from their POV. He's a homegrown talent who served them well. Sure they can't offer him regular first team football but the thought of replacing him is daunting and its very difficult to find top talent willing to accept the bench.
We certainly would be thrilled if Spurs or Dortmund bidded for Rashford even though he's a reserve. Same thing
100% agree. Imagine if we had dealt with Hazard's agent and finished the deal for us. for example, would have saved us many troubles nowadays and would have got a superstar for ages instead of letting him go to Chelsea that easily because we refused to pay for his agent. We were stuck to values that are not present anymore. I also still think that even if I had loved seeing Scholes for 1.5 year more, we would have been better if we bought a talented young midfielder or give Pogba a chance for the future, or if we wanted Scholes back we should at least have secured a long term option with him instead of leaving fecking Cleverly in the team.
The decline in the team after SAF left was inevitable due to the condition of squad and adding Moyes didn't help at all, it makes it worse. That leads to the panic signing of LVG and everything goes worse.
We really didn't have any long term plan since SAF last 3 years I believe.
Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes has confirmed Ronaldo's intentions. He even said he had offers on the table.
Also note that SAF was so big that his value mentality remained long after he left. I still remember Paddy Crerand having a go at a fan for suggesting signing Herrera with us. No disrespect towards Herrera whose one of my favourite players but signing him was hardly the most difficult thing in the world. He was a decent player, playing for a decent but hardly top club and whom, back then, he wasn't even wanted by a top club. That should have been a 'gettable' signing and yet, Paddy potrayed it as if Southampton were trying to sign Messi in his prime.
That mentality lingered throughout Moyes and LVG and ended when we brought a person with a nearly equal standing to SAF (Mou). I hate Moyes with a passion and I would never defend him. Having said that, Im pretty sure that if Moyes asked for Pogba then he would have been laughed at not just by the player and his agent but also by the club.
that's why I feel we need to come up with a plan B. I highly doubt Real will allow Ronaldo, Morata and James to leave.
It's possible, as they will just bring in Mbappe and keep James, who they seem to not be able to find any buyers for. However, we need to do OUR part and make sure we settle the Morata deal first as his head will be turned if he knows that Ronaldo is leaving and he has a chance to cement his place in the starting 11.
Ronaldo isn't going anywhere, it's just a stunt to get Real Madrid to pay his tax bill. As for Morata, I don't think all these nefarious schemes are in play, they are simply pricing him equivelant to the other options on the market.
Id say we should sit down and see if its worth spending 90m for Morata. If the answer is yes then we should pay the full price. If no then we need to explore other options. The Ronaldo thing can change things very quickly.
Sadly put, our declining was inevitable and was a matter of time. The cracks were everywhere in the team and were just brilliantly cover so the fans can't see it, or assume the team is good since it's winning the league but it exploded eventually and that explosion wasn't a simple one, and suddenly everybody realizes all the cracks that were present from the start.
Feck Morata. Go all out for Ronny!! 
At least the no brain part is right
100+ mills for a 32 year old with no resale value who will want a 5 year contract on what 3-400k a week... seems fairly straight forward.
I say we still need Morata, regardless of the Ronaldo situation. Ronaldo is no target man despite the number of goals he has scored. Those who think that we can play him as a lone striker and ignore Morata are surely dreaming I think. I would say that Morata is more important to our plans, and Ronaldo is the icing on the cake if it ever happens.
I love Ronaldo but in my opinion that ship had sailed. We cant afford 50m-100m on a 32 year old
Of course we can. We are the richest club in the world.
Actually we can, cause the problem is that there are no players of his quality in the price range at the moment. As for resale value, I don't think a club like us needs to consider that too much. Given a choice, would you rather spend 40m on Perisic and another 40m on maybe Matic, or take that combined 80m with some more on top of it to get Ronaldo? However, as I mentioned, we need to settle the Morata deal first.
Weve got alot of positions to fill. Even a club like ours has its limits
Revenge for what? It was clearly not our fault. We even said that we are willing to prove we sent the paperwork in time
It's annoying that this is dragging on.
True, but which positions should we fill? Where are the available players to upgrade these positions?
Not for long if you'd go about your business like that tbh.
He has no resale value and it would only be profitable if he won you a few leagues/CL's, which I doubt he can do on his own.
You think Cris doesn't score 30 league goals on that team? He'd have won them the title this year*
*a fully fit Cris for 90% of the season
- Status