Alex Song?

Don't like him. He's not the strongest defensively, he's not brilliantly gifted on the ball. Bit of an all rounder but below the level we should be looking at IMO.
 
Was immense in his last season for Arsenal, always felt like he was making the wrong choice by moving to Barcelona. Depending on the price I would not mind him here at all. Very good player.
 
Good player, but we've bought Fellaini. We should be aiming higher now, and going for a different type of player most of all.
 
I agree that we should be aiming higher and wouldn't take him as the main midfield signing but if we could get him relatively cheap, I wouldn't mind him. Carrick is now 32 and we rely too heavily on him, Fellaini has neither mobility or good passing. Ideally we'd break the bank for someone like Javi Martinez but that is unlikely. If we could get Song on the cheap, he could be of use to us, especially with the injuries we have had. If we could get someone like Martinez, I would be delighted but that is unlikely unfortunately.
 
Stobzilla said:
Was immense in his last season for Arsenal, always felt like he was making the wrong choice by moving to Barcelona. Depending on the price I would not mind him here at all. Very good player.
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Him and RVP had an amazing understanding that season.
Shark22 said:
Good player, but we've bought Fellaini. We should be aiming higher now, and going for a different type of player most of all.
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Agree with this statement though. He's alright, but not the sort we should be aiming at getting to take us to the next level.
 
AttackingFlair said:
I agree that we should be aiming higher and wouldn't take him as the main midfield signing but if we could get him relatively cheap, I wouldn't mind him. Carrick is now 32 and we rely too heavily on him, Fellaini has neither mobility or good passing. Ideally we'd break the bank for someone like Javi Martinez but that is unlikely. If we could get Song on the cheap, he could be of use to us, especially with the injuries we have had. If we could get someone like Martinez, I would be delighted but that is unlikely unfortunately.
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You might be right about Carrick and Fellaini but a) song wouldn't be a good replacement for Carrick imo and b) whether Fellaini is right for us or not he's filling what would be song's natural position in the squad and won't be going anywhere any time soon.
 
Yes, I would take him, but not as a starter. We need a couple of CM anyway, so Song + a world class CM and we're sorted. I'd also ship Cleverley and obviously Anderson out on a permanent basis. We can't rely on Fletcher and Carrick's getting a bit old (I'm one of his biggest fans, but I fear he is too slow for the type of football we want to play in the near future), so I'd have both as squad players.
We also might have the Europa League next season, so a big squad is needed.

World class CM, Fellaini, Song, Carrick, Fletcher.
 
10-15 million and used as a squad player. If I remember correctly, he had a fantastic understanding with RVP.
 
Stobzilla said:
Was immense in his last season for Arsenal, always felt like he was making the wrong choice by moving to Barcelona. Depending on the price I would not mind him here at all. Very good player.
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Id have him on that seasons form but theres something about his character or persona I just cant take to. For his style of player I don't see enough desire about him. 15mill is cheap all the same.
 
Getsme said:
10-15 million and used as a squad player. If I remember correctly, he had a fantastic understanding with RVP.
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yup. some brilliant lob long through ball through the middle finished off brilliantly by van persie.

agree that we should be aiming higher now but would not mind him being our 3rd or 4th choice CM for 10 million.
 
ricky-romeo said:
yup. some brilliant lob long through ball through the middle finished off brilliantly by van persie.

agree that we should be aiming higher now but would not mind him being our 3rd or 4th choice CM for 10 million.
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Hes not the solution we need but he would be a good addition to the squad, if the price was right. I reckon we could get him cheap.
 
I would like us to bring in 2 world class players in midfield this summer. I dont class Song in that bracket, but he would be more than useful back up option and he would also be good to use in some hard away games.
 
Might be a decent replacement for TC23 as a backup player. Veteran player who has played in some big matches. And just 2 years older than Tom.
 
£15 million is about right. At his best he was certainly a better version of Fellaini, a better passer but with the same shortcoming defensively in that he didn't track back particularly well or snuff out danger. He still makes tackles and intercepts but thats why he wasnt a top defensive midfielder.
 
Shinjisan said:
Don't need more squad players, especially in the midfield. Proven quality or promising youth only.
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Eh?
That's exactly where we need squad players.
We have Cleverly (possibly going to be sold), Fletcher (30), Carrick (32), Fellaini, Anderson (on loan, Hopefully sold)
Midfield is the one area of the pitch were you need excellent cover, it's something we have been missing for years. Any top team let alone a United shouldn't be relying on a CB and a 40yo to play there.
 
We don't need any more squad players, we need first teamers who will push our current first team midfielders into squad roles.

There's no room for Song unless we're getting rid of someone like Carrick, Fletcher or Cleverley. Bit harsh to get rid of Carrick, bit disloyal to get rid of Fletcher and do we really think we're going to sell an English international youth product like Cleverley? I don't see it happening.
 
Given Ando will be out in the summer, Giggs will probably call it a day, and I'm not quite sure we can rely on Fletcher on a long term basis, I'd definitely take him. We need someone with more grit in the middle though (I feel Song was good when he was partnered with Arteta who took on most of the defensive responsibilities), but Song would be a great addition. Knows the league and could be very useful for us.
 
Ekeke said:
Is someone seriously suggesting he wouldnt be a first choice?
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He'd be a first choice, but I think the concern is that that would be more of a reflection on our current options than a ringing endorsement of his qualities. Personally I think he'd be a good option (though not as a DM, which he lacks the discipline to do) as he'd improve us without costing the earth.
 
Brophs said:
He'd be a first choice, but I think the concern is that that would be more of a reflection on our current options than a ringing endorsement of his qualities. Personally I think he'd be a good option (though not as a DM, which he lacks the discipline to do) as he'd improve us without costing the earth.
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Well agreed, but he'd arguably be our best central midfielder especially if he gets into his best form. I know he barely gets a kick at Barcelona but neither did Yaya Toure once Busquests emerged and Barcelona have better midfield options now with Fabregas than they did then.

I think as it goes he's one of the very best options to replace Carrick out there. He has some defensive qualities even though he's no Mascherano or Makelele and he has very good long passing, which we're going to miss so much once Carrick isn't starting each game. Having already lost Scholes long passes and surely Giggs' in the summer, I think Song would be a very good solution as long as we arent conned into paying silly money for what is still a backup at his club.
 
I think Song, next to a more defensive minded player, would give us a very solid midfield. I like the idea of a defensive midfielder playing next to a sort of defensive midfielder who can do a bit more on the ball (box-to-box so to speak. Something like City's two, for example.
 
Exactly what we need IMO.

We need to build a better platform for our attacking players and he is perfect for this. Not too shabby a passer either.
 
Very solid player, decent passer and good defensively. He'd be an excellent addition imo, especially if we also get Gundogan or similar.
 
I know at least one Barca fan willing to have him gift wrapped and delivered by courier immediately. I think there may be others who feel the same way. He doesn't really fit in their team.

I guess he's another name to add to our shortlist for summer. Not perhaps near the top of the list but as an alternative depending how our other shopping goes.
 
He'd be a good addition at the right price. Can do a job at center back as well which will come in handy when our 12 proper CBs are out injured.
 
He looked on the verge of becoming an absolute monster for Arsenal but seemed to lose the run of himself when he died his hair blonde, started getting caught upfield a lot and decided he was good enough to play for Barca. Put in some absolutely fantastic performances in an Arsenal shirt though.

If he's suitably chastened by his experience in Spain - yet still improved as a footballer - he would be a brilliant signing.
 
jojojo said:
I know at least one Barca fan willing to have him gift wrapped and delivered by courier immediately. I think there may be others who feel the same way. He doesn't really fit in their team.
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It was a transfer I never understood. He's not a real DM and had his best season when he was freed up by a more tactically astute player. So he was going to be competing for a position with Xavi and/or Iniesta? I found it baffling at the time and I think we all thought he wouldn't get that much playing time. Who does he 'cover' for at Barça?
 
Busquets. And its not like Yaya Toure was a defensive mastermind. Song gave the power they lacked after they sold him. The problem was they had so many other players to fit into midfield
 
He'd be a very good signing. But as has been said so many times, we should get another CM alongside him.
 
Shark22 said:
Good player, but we've bought Fellaini. We should be aiming higher now, and going for a different type of player most of all.
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Ballache said:
I would have had him instead of Fellaini. Don't see the point now, we should be aiming higher.
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A team like ours should have 3 top CMs with couple of squad players. At the moment, we have arguably Carrick in the first bracket, Fellaini somewhere in between and Clev in the 2nd bracket. As I see it, we should get a top CM in the summer, a Kroos, Gundogan level player, and a squad player while getting rid of Ando, Giggs retiring etc.

In short, I dont see why us aiming higher should stop us going for someone like Song.
 
Varun_Utd said:
A team like ours should have 3 top CMs with couple of squad players. At the moment, we have arguably Carrick in the first bracket, Fellaini somewhere in between and Clev in the 2nd bracket. As I see it, we should get a top CM in the summer, a Kroos, Gundogan level player, and a squad player while getting rid of Ando, Giggs retiring etc.

In short, I dont see why us aiming higher should stop us going for someone like Song.
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Yes, that's the ideal scenario. Given the way Carrick has played this season that might just mean that we need to sign three top CMs :nervous:
 
amolbhatia100 said:
Yes, that's the ideal scenario. Given the way Carrick has played this season that might just mean that we need to sign three top CMs :nervous:
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Carrick has another 2 years in him. But yes, we'l need to look for a replacement for him too by the end of next season in all probability. Hopefully it will be a young player that we sign that eventually takes over his role rather than needing to sign top CMs every summer as they are pricey and tough to get. As it is, without CL next year, we cant hope for too many top players without paying obscene wages. A Song and a Kroos/Gundogan level will be fantastic summer.
 
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