I am reading that Di Maria is not a priority for Utd. Notwithstanding the fact that we absolutely need a CM and a CB we have become a very slow and predictable team. Add Di Maria and you begin to address this in your team - it absolutely is a priority!! Now in saying that LVG has a big decision to make, Rooney or RVP. He can't play both.
Angel Di Maria | £59.7M fee agreed I Maybe tomorrow...or the day after...
- Thread starter goin4glory
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'Very good' is debatable. Bear in mind he was signed on the back of being one of the top scorers in the Dutch league, with the assumption he'd carry on his prolific goalscoring form for the scouse. Instead, he got merely used as an average (albeit very hardworking and reliable) winger.
Agreed with this. For me the winger position was a bigger priority than the CB, as we seriously lack pace in attack and have become very predictable. Di Maria ticks a lot of boxes. In CB we have Smalling, Jones, Evans, Blackett is doing good and Keane. Yes, we're a bit short there, but we had noone like Di Maria in attack with pace and the ability to regularly beat his man.
no he will just drop mata.
and yeah di maira will be a awsome signing if we sort out the midfield and defense, if we ignore them and spend 60 million on a shiney new attacker and ignore the fact teams can pretty much walk through our midfileld as we dont have any one who can cover the ground and is a decent tackler... then it will look like utter folly
Have you ever heard of rotation? Rooney and van Persie suffer enough injuries over the course of a season to offer sufficient gametime to our other attacking positions. If anyones place comes under jeopardy it should be Hernandez, as he has regressed, isn't happy on the bench and is unlikely to fetch a higher fee than his current market value.
A lot also hinges on which formation LvG decides to use. It isn't a certainty he will opt for the 4-3-3, as he could go for the 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-2-1-2. The latter would mean more space for both Rooney and van Persie, while the 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 means we are one long-term injury away from having either Hernandez or Welbeck lead the line for a long period of time. Severley underwhelming and not worth the risk given the sides other deficiencies.
I agree that three strikers should suffice, but Hernandez is the obvious player to discard out of out four current strikers. I just believe selling van Persie would prove to be a calamitous error.
EDIT: On the formation, I'd go for the diamond.
Carrick
Herrera - di Maria
Mata
Welbeck - Rooney
Then we have Januzaj and van Persie as other attacking options. Maybe Kagawa. It's not as if we would be stocked on quantity, but the quality is exceptional. One thing that excites me with di Maria is his tactical flexibility and ability to excel in numerous formations and positions which should also benefit the team greatly and bode well for his teammates in terms of gametime.Herrera - di Maria
Mata
Welbeck - Rooney
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The last time we signed a left footed superstar rather than a much needed midfielder, he won us the league.
I'd sooner drop RVP than anyone else. Puts in less effort than anyone else in our squad and offers absolutely nothing when he isn't fed chances in the box.
But the other point he makes is a very good one. City have an arsenal of weapons that they can bring off the bench at any time to immediately effect the game. They have almost 2 top class players at every position. Now I'm not saying we have that but it's fine to have 1 / 2 of our better players on the bench to start a game because they can make an impact when they come on and you need that too. Players like Mata, Januzaj etc.
+ Rojo.
yeah i agree thats great for us, im just pointing out that mata will mainly be a sub used to change games over the next few months and wont be a starter, as some are arguing
Mata?
This purchase was just as necessary as a Vidal type of signing. We lack pace, someone to stretch defenders, someone who can actually beat a man. Our alternatives on the wings to do that are Young and Valencia, whereas in midfield we actually still have decent first choice options if not for injuries (which could strike Vidal as well with uncertainties about his knee): Carrick and Herrera.
Why are people saying we don't need a winger? Yes it is no priority but we still have to replace our awful wingers. If a chance to sign one of the best wingers in the world (that also can.play CM)- you take it. You don't pass on that offer and say 'Can you wait and not sign for anyone until we sign a midfielder as that position is more important?'
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In truth though we still need both. We still don't have a world class leader at centre back which is what every great team needs. I like Evans, Rafael, Shaw, and Rojo but I'm becoming less convinced of Smalling and Jones by the day. Blackett is good and ready for the first team, but Keane definitely isn't. I wouldn't mind Evans and Rojo at CB but really it should be one of those two and Benieta or someone of his quality.
A defensive midfielder is the most important signing we need to make but Nani, Young and Valencia got what, 1 assist and 1 goal between them or something stupid last season? A world class winger was definately a priority for us, it's no wonder we struggle to create anything these days.
We are not in the champions league, I just think having mata in your team he makes up for the lack of 4th striker. He scores and assists, I just find it very difficult to keep 2 strikers who play in the same number 9 position, both have very little pace. I would rather see the progress of janazaj than keeping both of rooney and RVP, the signing of di maria is pretty pointless playing 352, the squad is built for a 433. It all depends on how the midfield is shaped, but I do feel mata di maria and janazaj could easily make up for the lack of a rooney or RVP, which I feel is a big problem
Dammit I thought they'd confirm it this morning!
That's what ducker said.
Yeah you could well be right. All I'm saying is that Mata can work very well with Di Maria in attack, and having Mata, Di Maria, Rooney, Van Persie all working well together could potentially be one of the best attacks in the world. Unfortunately though, I can't see it happening.
If we compare the defence CM and wingers without Di Maria aboard when everyone fit
Defence - Rafeal smalling jones blackett rojo evans shaw
Midfield - carrick herrera fletcher cleverley anderson fellaini
wingers - valencia young janazaj
The wide position is defiantly the weakest when everyone is fit. It is pretty obvious a midfielder and a defender will be signed, so I do not see why everyone is bitching about the di maria signing, when we need a world class winger
What time is it we usually confirm transfers - 2pm BST isnt it?
I'm assuming he's having his medical this morning.
I'm assuming he's having his medical this morning.
i agree it basically come down to what else we do in the market, if we get a top defensive midfielder then di maira will look like a great signing, if we dont it will look like weve tried to cover the fact a wall in a house is falling down by hanging a new HD tv on it.
But if you feed him well, he can win you the league single-handedly. He has that special sparkle of being able to win you games by himself.
It's such a tough decision on deciding who to bench between Rooney and RVP. So many factors. Age, the fact Rooney has given his all for this club for so many years, the fact that RVP is undoubtedly technically better, RVP being a better loan striker, etc etc etc etc.
One thing for sure though, is that someone needs benching of the two.
When is his medical scheduled?
Unsurprisingly no one here knows the answer to this.
No one knows as his medical takes place inside Carrington. He is probably taking his interviews/photographs as we speak.
Is it confirmed that he's in Manchester?
Ok, with so much debate going on how to fit the players, I think we can all agree on this
De Gea
Rojo
Januzaj - Mata - Herrera - kagawa - Di Maria
Rooney - RVP - Welbeck
Chicharito
Attack is the best form of defense.
Rojo
Januzaj - Mata - Herrera - kagawa - Di Maria
Rooney - RVP - Welbeck
Chicharito
Attack is the best form of defense.
Depends what you consider as confirmed.
Obviously the club haven't confirmed a thing, but yea he's in Manchester.
I'm not sure why you decided to address a completely different point?
The poster I was replying to suggested it was Blind's second or third best position however I merely pointed out that due to the recognition he has got in central midfield we should consider that as his best position and not as a LCB or LWB. I would not consider Schweinsteiger a winger and I would not consider Bale a LB, I also do think Blind can be considered as a central midfielder.
As for your point, firstly Luis Suarez also won the award and I think he was a good player so who knows what Blind's potential is but I for one trust Louis van Gaal's judgement here and also I think Fletcher could prove to be a weak link so I would not have a problem if that's who we ended up with at the end of the window.
I'm not convinced he's capable of that any more. He is becoming more and more of a penalty box only striker and he doesn't look anything like the player he was two years ago.
Yes there was a photo with him being driving into Carrington. 100% here.
Cheers.
Can't remember being this excited at the prospect of any signing. I just hope we win our next two games at least. The clubs needs a lift. Having such top quality talents in the squad and a low morale would be strange.
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Then what was he doing at the ''AON Training Complex'' (so gay) last night? He was hardly sleeping there.
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