He wouldn't displace anyone as we're not buying him. We're well stocked on the left, even with Giggs nearing retirement. I've excited about Nani's development this year, as well as Obertan's potential.
Angel Di Maria
- Thread starter Drifter
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) are here to discuss Amad saving our blushes in a win against Southampton as well as our now annual loss at home to Brighton. They discuss Amorim's post-match comments, revisit how mid-table we may or may not be, and discuss some transfer news.
He wouldn't displace anyone as we're not buying him. We're well stocked on the left, even with Giggs nearing retirement. I've excited about Nani's development this year, as well as Obertan's potential.
I have more hopes in Cleverly rather then the Serbian midget and the French winger who can't cross.
The more I hear and see this lad, the more I like. He looks like a future top class player.
Summarize, Di Maria is an excellent player and i'd love to see him play for Manutd at the right price.
Fair enough. I take it you've seen Di Maria more than me as I've not seen him often for Benfica. I've mainly only seen him for Argentina.
To me he is more of a wide forward. Someone who gets in behind and scores a goal or two. Thats the same with Mata - although one of Mata's best attributes is his positional play and finding space whether its in the middle, wide left or popping up on the right. His finishing and crossing are brilliant when he gets it right, but the consistancy of whether he gets it right or not isnt always the best. Having said that, Mata set up a lot of goals last season for Valencia by getting wide and crossing the ball in. He didnt stick wide, but when he got free in a wide area he was accurate and created more goals than any of their players last season.
I've seen him play 6 or 7 times for Benfica and a couple of times for Argentina and his position does differ, as you say he plays as a wide forward for his country but as an orthodox winger for his club.
Mata has a greater positional freedom with Valencia I'd say, 3 of the front 4 tend to interchange position as lot. I agree with what you are saying about Mata though, from seeing him a lot more than Di Maria and what I have read about Di Maria from Arruda I'd say Mata has the greater consistency of the two and is still only 21 I believe, I was just thinking if the idea was to have a left sided winger to stretch the pitch with Valencia/Nani then Di Maria was more suited. The last I read about Mata was that Valencia wanted to keep him the most of their 3 main stars and convert him to striker when Villa goes.
That would seem quite the illogical rumour I'd have to say.
He came as a forward and played his first games as a forward, scored a couple of goals. But he really found his home on the left last season. They had to play him up front at times when there were injuries and he was really quite poor. He's miles better as a winger as it is and its hardly going to be an easy task replacing David Villa... Talk about high expectations. I'm pretty sure they'll sign another forward from la liga, maybe Soldado or Llorente to replace Villa if he does leave. And that would leave Mata on the left.
I mean, this is a player who isnt miles off becoming a starter for Spain due to his continually impressive cameos. Is it really a good idea to convert him back to a former, less impressive role? Cant see it myself.
I agree it's illogical under normal circumstances but I'm not sure Valencia can afford to buy another top level striker, so to convert Mata may be the most financially logical option.
Thats why they'll be selling one or both of David Silva, and/or Mata or Banega.
What would be the point of selling them, if doing so meant they had no chance of getting champions league prize money the next season? Thats what would happen if Valencia were to try and rely on Mata for goals like they do David Villa. No chance, they'd be finding themselves next to Atletico Madrid in mid table. If Villa goes they wont get anyone as good, but they can get someone with a proven record in la liga for half the money or less. And they need to spend on a decent defender too, because their free ones arent good enough and they constantly let them down.
Sell Villa and Silva, replace with Soldado or Llorente and maybe make Zigic a starter alongside them. Spend a bit of money on a defender and the rest can go towards the debt. If they just sell, they'll be mid table with no more money coming in. They cant afford to do that and lose out on champions league money long term. So they must maintain a side thats capable of coming in the top 3 or at worst 4th. 4th means you have qualifying matches before you get the champions league prize money I believe. So they'll always want to aim for 3rd to guarantee it.
Also, Valencia still have the Mestalla to sell. And their debts are less than ours. So to sell their players and languish in mid table would be a silly outcome. At some point they will sell the Mestalla, get that money in and that will stabalize the club and allow them to keep whatever they have at that point. So they'll want to keep their best players as long as they can and a good side, so that when the tide turns they can go back to improving and building the side. If they have to start from the bottom half of the table, they might as well have sold Villa and Silva straight away.
I agree entirely with what you are saying it was just what I had read, they owe a certain amount of money each year off their debt and in order to pay this year they will need to sell Villa at least and all of that money will be used to pay that debt installment, because unlike us they haven't got a huge revenue stream to help out.
Long term it would be more detrimental of course, I am just not sure they have much of an option in the matter. I certainly hope you turn out to be right as I've always had a soft spot for Valencia.
What a player this lad already is, going to be a sensation in the Premier league.
Angel di Maria loves Manchester United
I hope this is legitimate!
Angel di Maria loves Manchester United
I hope this is legitimate!
He looked so far out of his depth last night, it was ridiculous.
In the 2 games against Johnson I didn't see too much on offer from him.
It was the first time I have watched him last night after reading all the hype on here about him.
He looked shit last night, I'm assuming it was just 1 bad game...
He looked shit last night, I'm assuming it was just 1 bad game...
I always look at that talk as bullshit, unless it comes from a player from the British isles or near. Some people are probably true when they say that, but considering that Di María first words when he came to Benfica were something like "I want to have a great season so I can feck off to Chelsea" show that they're just the football player's equivalent to a Glory Hunter.
No doubt that he has his thought in the Premier League though, at least I never saw him realistically linked elsewhere.
And I still think he's not that good, anyone who saw the game last night can have an idea of how many of his performances look like. He's having a good second half of the season overall, but to me it's still too short of a period to consider he's really evolved. My memory from him playing in the majority of the past 3 years is very similar to what he displayed yesterday, with a few glimpses of magic here and there.
I hadn't really seen him untill last night but if that's how he usually plays, then some in here were talking out of their arses, going on pure hype from the tabloids. He doesn't look anywhere near United class and it makes stories like "Nani + £10 mill", look even more ridiculous, given Nani's form right now and given the fact that Nani's physical attributes suit the league, while Di Maria looks very slight in build.
City can have him, for all I care. I'd love it if they spent £40 mill for the privilege too.
Well, he's not THAT bad either. He seems to have a lot of those games though, not all. He did ok in the first tie for example. But he's definitely over-rated here in the cafe, I have no doubts he's not better than Nani. €20-25m seems like a fair price to me, considering he has room to improve (mainly by becoming more regular/reliable)... 40 is crazy.
I have yet to see what all the talk is about after watching him on about 4 occasions, not for me
Tbf we don't need him to be better than Nani. Being as good as either Nani or Valencia, or in between the two abilty wise is more than enough reason for us to sign him. We suffer badly from a lack of another quality natural left foot that doesn't belong to Giggs or Evra in the first team squad.
He was poor in the first leg and a lot poorer in the 2nd leg.Obviously it's not enough to make an entire judgment based on those 2 games but still ..He was also rather ok if not poor against Marseille so The mighty Di Maria is just an OK player, nothing special about him
Yeah, I do think from what I have seen that he will ever be so much better than Nani.
The idea according to the muppets was that he was a more consistent version of Nani.
But he's not actually that consistent himself, and that's actually an area that Nani has improved on greatly.
Better to spend money on a creative midfielder and a fullback.
The idea according to the muppets was that he was a more consistent version of Nani.
But he's not actually that consistent himself, and that's actually an area that Nani has improved on greatly.
Better to spend money on a creative midfielder and a fullback.
Surprised at how bad he was the other night.
Not a chance to see other players in competition with Nani
Why? We are very well stocked..
RB: Rafael, O'Shea, Neville, Brown, Fabio, De Laet
LB: Evra, Fabio, O'Shea, De Laet, Evans, Rafael
Rafael: have to be loaned out for 2-3 yrs
O'Shea: Ok, but a bit injury prone
Brown: 20 games in the last 4 yrs, an expansive ectoplasm.
Neville: End of career
Fabio: Good for a Championship club
De Laet: Good for a Championship club
Well, its fullback that has cost us in the CL: Evra too tired, Rafael too young, Nevile too old.
Maybe we'll be luckier next season with the fitness of O'Shea and Brown, but maybe not.
De Laet has never impressed me, and we don't know what to expect from Fabio.
I think its a position where a solid experienced player, that could play left and right back, would be a huge asset.
RAFAEL to be loaned out? Are you jesting? After his performance against Bayern I can see him cementing his position next season.
O'SHEA is not injury prone
BROWN was superb in the righback position two seasons ago and did a decent job of fill-in for Ferdinand.
Rafael: why? he should be first choice based on his Bayern performance.
O'Shea: far from injury prone, harsh claim!
Fabio: unfair, we have not seen enough of him to make that judgement.
De Laet: he's done well when given a chance, can see him being first choice for mid-table team...
The only one you got right was Neville.
Rafael should be our RB next year. He's ready.
Clueless post, Rafael doesn't need to be loaned out for 2-3 years, O'Shea is far from being a injury prone, he has made 175 odd appearances in the last 4 season(including this one). Brown 20 games in 4 yrs
. Fabio and Da Laet in their limited appearances have shown that they are better than what you have labelled them. Neville one is harsh but is probably the closest to truth
you couldn't be any thicker if you had lead between your ears.
Isn't this why you have newbies and mains?
Sonny's thoughts on the strikers...
Holy raving spastics Batman.
Spastic post of the year. That's for sure.
Manchester City technical director Mike Rigg has admitted the club are monitoring Benfica attackers Angel di Maria and Oscar Cardozo with a view to a summer move for the pair.
Manager Roberto Mancini was at Anfield for Liverpool's Europa League clash with the Portuguese club and is believed to have been impressed by the South American duo, even in defeat.
Earlier this season the Lisbon-based stars ran Everton ragged, while Cardozo netted three against Liverpool over two legs, and both men loom large on the transfer radar with a host of clubs across Europe keeping tabs on them.
Di Maria in particular has been heavily linked with a series of sides, including Manchester United and Liverpool, while Cardozo is Benfica's top scorer this season with 33 goals.
However, Manchester City's purchasing power could outdo them all if the players can be tempted to the north west - a prospect that may well depend on securing Champions League football next term.
Rigg attempted to generalise his comments, but could not deny the Benfica stars were in the club's sights.
"Di Maria and Cardozo are two excellent players, very strong in their respective positions, and hence highly-rated in the international market," he told Record.
"It is logical, there is no need to hide, that a club like Manchester City have to be attentive to players with such potential, who catch the interest of several clubs worldwide.
"I observe many players and I am well documented on these and also other athletes who play in Portugal, but I acknowledge that Di Maria and Cardozo are two fantastic players."
Last summer City moved quickly to snatch Gareth Barry from under Liverpool's noses, and should Mancini decide either attacker is his man, a similar raid would preempt the post-World Cup bidding wars sure to break out once teams return from South Africa.
Manager Roberto Mancini was at Anfield for Liverpool's Europa League clash with the Portuguese club and is believed to have been impressed by the South American duo, even in defeat.
Earlier this season the Lisbon-based stars ran Everton ragged, while Cardozo netted three against Liverpool over two legs, and both men loom large on the transfer radar with a host of clubs across Europe keeping tabs on them.
Di Maria in particular has been heavily linked with a series of sides, including Manchester United and Liverpool, while Cardozo is Benfica's top scorer this season with 33 goals.
However, Manchester City's purchasing power could outdo them all if the players can be tempted to the north west - a prospect that may well depend on securing Champions League football next term.
Rigg attempted to generalise his comments, but could not deny the Benfica stars were in the club's sights.
"Di Maria and Cardozo are two excellent players, very strong in their respective positions, and hence highly-rated in the international market," he told Record.
"It is logical, there is no need to hide, that a club like Manchester City have to be attentive to players with such potential, who catch the interest of several clubs worldwide.
"I observe many players and I am well documented on these and also other athletes who play in Portugal, but I acknowledge that Di Maria and Cardozo are two fantastic players."
Last summer City moved quickly to snatch Gareth Barry from under Liverpool's noses, and should Mancini decide either attacker is his man, a similar raid would preempt the post-World Cup bidding wars sure to break out once teams return from South Africa.
Their combined transfer fee and City are willing to pay is £88million. That is just plain stupid.
it doest say anywhere they are willing to pay 88m
it just says the release clause is 88m . they will probably go for a combined 50m at most
it just says the release clause is 88m . they will probably go for a combined 50m at most
Yeah, theres no way they'll pay that much. But it does look like they'll be City bound. Release fees are just about how much it would take to to take the club out of the formula so that whether they want to sell or keep the players, they have to accept the offer. Chances are that if Di Maria doesnt go to City, he'll go to someone else this summer anyway. Cant see his clause needing to be activated although I'm sure City will pay over the odds for him.