We should have signed Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.
Angel Di Maria | £59.7M fee agreed I Maybe tomorrow...or the day after...
- Thread starter goin4glory
- Start date
- Status
We should have signed Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.
After his Van Gaal interview and talking to more people at the club presumably Neville seems convinced that we are gonna stick with this formation for the time being atleast.
To be fair, if at the start of the summer you offered me Rojo, Shaw, Herrera and Di Maria I would have snapped your hand off. It's hard not to want even more though, hopefully a good deep-lying midfielder.
Last edited:
Neither of what?
Again, I wasn't making a claim either way and nor was I saying Blind is as good as any of them. I was just responding to the idea that not being quick rules you out as a top central midfielder.
That's exactly how I feel. This is the most fantastic transfer window from a muppet standpoint since.. forever? The summer we got RVN and Veron comes close, but I think this one is already better.
There are still holes in the squad, but it is very difficult to fix everything in one window, especially with a new manager coming of a WC where his team reached the semi-finals.
We need both I think. Cleverley, Fletcher, Fellaini and Anderson are all shit as squad players. Herrera is good as a starter, and Carrick is mid way between starting/squad player quality I think. I wouldn't be bothered at all if we got rid of the first 4 I mentioned though, or at least 3 of them and kept Fletcher, and brought in another starter and another squad player like Blind for that position. Or both De Jong and Blind, and then Strootman later on. Either way, we have a crop of 6 midfielders and 4 of them aren't even squad player quality let alone starting quality.
The start of the season also hasn't been a true representation of the team/squad given how many injuries we've accrued at the same time.
its subjective, whether one has a sense of humour or not
I think it's fair to say at the start of the window, most people thought we needed a center back, a left back, 2 midfielders and a winger. We might actually get all this done, with brilliant players as well, or at least we are 1 midfield signing away from it.
The second midfielder normally wouldn't be as vital as it is now, but with all the injuries and our squad players being useless I think we need it. If Carrick was fit, then I think Herrera and him could be a really good partnership and normally he doesn't get injured so i wouldn't be worried. We'll see how he comes back from ankle surgery though.
Yep. People need to mostly base their worries about the squad on how it looks on paper, because it's just not fair to judge it based on games in which we've probably had a better 'injured XI' than the one we were able to put on the field. When the injuries ease off, the results will pick up.
They are top class midfielders. My point is that Blind seems he's nowhere near their level, so being slow makes it actually worse. He's also most of the time utility player rather than a defensive midfielder or CM that we're looking for. I can't see the comparison to all the players you mentioned, just because they don't have pace. And for the record Scholes was quick when he was 24.
We may not push to another worldie in an already costly window. There is a danger of us becoming like Chloe, getting the wrong car for her birthday in God Bless America.
I have trust that the Angel will save the Devils 
If we bring in 2 squad players like De Jong and Blind for example we will have Cleverley, Fletcher, Fellaini, Anderson, Herrera, Carrick - 8 players for 2 spot and no one of those as an automatic starter(given Carrick is 33 and we're yet to see how will Herrera adapt).
On top of that we'll bring in 2 more players in midfield position that needs to gel together, if we rotate them all like crazy, given we already have bought 4 new players I can't see any way to get that team playing in cohesion.
At the moment we have enough squad players/ average players we don't need to fill the squad with more. Blind and de Jong will cost how much? 30m pounds? For 15 more I'd rather get Vidal and put an end to that story.
I don't think it will be wise to go for the cheaper option for the position we need most having in mind already buying left back and a winger(wide forward) for nearly 100m pounds.
looks like we have money to spend. We need a massive overhaul in terms of investment to get things back on track after Moyes.
Yep. Our best squad on paper is really good as well, with a bit of luck our defence can work out really well too. 4 youngish defenders, all at the age that they should kick on. Surely we'll get a partnership form out of Rojo, jones, Smalling and Evans? Also the fullbacks are both very good and both young. The only problem is how injury prone Rafael is. Too soon to give up on him though IMO.
De Gea
Rafael Evans Rojo Shaw
Carrick Herrera
Januzaj Mata Di Maria
Rooney/RvP
Great mix of everything in that team. Pace, quality, intelligent players all over, work rate, defensive shield in Carrick along with someone to control the game with his passing. We'll see how it works out on the pitch, but on paper, the only question mark is can the defenders form a partnership.Rafael Evans Rojo Shaw
Carrick Herrera
Januzaj Mata Di Maria
Rooney/RvP
So, why is it now 59.7?
That's why I said we need to get rid of Cleverley, Anderson and Fellaini at the very least, and it seems like we are trying to do that (easier said then done though). Herrera I think will be a starter no question, so wouldn't be worried there. As it is, Carrick is also a starter despite the age, but after those 2, none of the others are even squad player quality. Closer to reserve quality then being useful here. Squad players are meant to come in for injured players and put in good shifts and make it not so noticeable when someone is injured. As it stands, the drop in quality when 1 midfielder is out is ridiculous.
59.7m, and then 4.3m add ons, which is the 64m Balague said a few days ago.
Agreed, and that's exactly how I'd line us up too. Plus in the areas of weakness you identify, there are solutions available. If Rafael can't overcome his injury problems, we have a very good potential replacement for him in Varela just waiting for a chance. And if Evans and Rojo don't form a good partnership, Jones and Smalling have both mostly impressed over the course of pre-season and our games so far, so there are different combinations available.
The only problem that might still require more transfers is the lack of quality back-up to those central midfielders. We're still stuck with Fletcher and Cleverley and the next best options. So that's the one area that might be worth some attention if we want to have the perfect transfer window.
Regardless, that's a really nice looking side. It's the injuries that are killing us at the moment.
It has always been 75m Euros in Spain. British journalists didn't change the currency when they reported it.
To be fair, mocking the prices opposition paid for players has been one of the most common activities in the cafe for years. It's not surprising others will do the same.
Personally I think it's the only reasonable strategy, when the alternative would be to watch the squad become increasingly average. If you can pay, you should fork it. But I guess the premium money the likes of City and Chelsea have been paying for years is not so much the result of lack of status/history as it is of them having the money, selling clubs knowing it, and them desperately needing the players to achieve their goals. Now it's time for United to feel the same. I wouldn't be overly surprised if your wage bill is very near City's when you eventually reach their competitive level again.
I see!
Yep, completely agree. The right back depth is a bit thin as it's probably too soon for Varela, but then Jones can come in and give us more defensive balance, like he and Smalling have done so many times. Center backs, I picked those 2 but really I'd say they're all at a similar level. Any of the 4 could make it, but surely some of them will make the step up and fulfill the potential.
The midfield is the problem, but Carrick has never been injury prone before, neither has Herrera. They should be fine for most of the season, and we can live with 1 of them plus Fletcher for example. Both of them out and it just turns into a disaster though.
It's painfully obvious the injuries were killing us though. So many people were panicking after 2 poor performances, but how can you expect anything else when Evans, Rafael, Shaw, Rojo, Herrera, Carrick, Welbeck, RVP and now Smalling were all injured or unavailable for 1 of the 2 games at least. All players who when fit, are arguably starters, or important players.
I don't think we'll get rid of those 3 to be fair. Anderson for me is a goner, but I can't see Cleverley going anywhere and Fellaini is tough to flock as well as he's on a high wage and I doubt the club will take 17m loss for 1 year. Fletcher has just been made vice-captain and Carrick will stay. Bringing 2 more players seems excessive for me. We'd have too many new faces this season. Besides even if they improve us (Blind, De jong, which is not hard btw) I don't think they will give us the stability in midfield we need. They are better, but our midfield will still be average.
This team for example gives us great balance:
-------De Gea-----------
Rafael--Evans--Rojo--Shaw
-----Vidal---Herrera----------
Januzaj/Rooney-Mata---Di Maria
----------RvP/Rooney------------
and can easily transform into 4-4-1-1, 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 which also gives us options and flexibility.
Depends on squad size, I guess. If we get some well paid fluff off the books, it may not change much. I can also not see City's wage bill inflating at the rate it has done.
So, with FFP rules, I think this is highly likely.
I agree, but there were reports that we tried to get rid of Cleverley, or send him out on loan, same with Fellaini, and Anderson. They do seem hard to flog though so I doubt we'll get rid of more then 1 of them. I do think Van Gaal would prefer to get rid of them and bring in the 2 dutchmen though, it improves the squad players in midfield, but we still need a starter like Vidal, or Strootman. Once Carrick and everyone else come back though, I don't think it will seem like a huge necessity though.
Agreed.
Still it's pretty ironic that we managed to splash 130m pounds so far and still haven't filled the gap between midfield and defence which has been a glaring issue for many years now. I'm sure LvG has some plan for that this week.
The GIF is a true classic.
First appeared in the Mata transfer thread and I refuse to let it die.
First appeared in the Mata transfer thread and I refuse to let it die.
The Di Maria sale by Real Madrid is a weird one. It's like Perez just can't help himself. Di Maria was the most important player last season for Madrid and Isco at the moment is better in the position that James is playing in. I just dont get it.
The gap isn't filled, but did anybody expect us to do everything in one window? LVG has said himself that building a team will take a lot of time and it won't all be fixed all at once. That just wouldn't be realistic. Herrera, Shaw, Di Maria and Rojo are all solid to absolutely brilliant additions, all in positions we're very weak in. Add Mata and it looks even better, even if he wasn't completely needed.
More signings would be great, but I won't complain if it ends here either.
To be fair we haven't spent money on a player we didn't need this window. They were all vital players to buy. Shaw like for like replacement for Evra, Rojo in for Vida and Rio pretty much, and in midfield we needed 2 players. We bought Herrera, who I think will be an excellent signing, and for the wings we've gone from Valencia/Young having to play, to Di Maria, along with Januzaj. If we bring in a top class defensive midfielder then it would be the perfect window pretty much, which is why I think it's more likely we buy a cheaper but experienced defensive mid, to be a very capable squad player, but back up to Carrick (or compete with him) when he comes back from injury.
Yea I spent 10 minutes watching this shit, didn't make me laugh for a second, that is 10 minutes I'll never get back !
Perez is just a nutter. James is hip so he had to have him. A few years time Rodriguez will be moving to the EPL. I can see it already.
He's the most reliable Dutch journo who does United news.
Bitterly disappointed that we don't have a livefeed of his hotel room window. I'm giving it another 5 years and we'll be there.
Club sends out a GoPro to all transfer targets and dumps the stream on youtube every transfer window.
- Status