Tbh I dont give a feck when we overpay. We've penny pinched for ages. I'd rather spend the money than not if the player is worth it. We are financially capable to do what it takes to sign a player if it's possible, and we should. We are desperate for midfielders, so should do what's needed. Pretending like we won't pay up and arent desperate isnt going to make us play better. Getting the player in will make us play better.
Bruno Fernandes | Signed
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What’s so mad about just paying up and getting the deal done? I’m normally a bit funny about how we pay over the odds but sod it let’s get this done. We are lucky at the minute no one else wants him, if Chelsea decide tonight they need to score and create more (as they do they are on a similar path to us) we would all shit ourselves and odds are they’d get the deal done whilst we still fanny about
Thought Sporting were desperate for cash? why are they stalling the deal?
Funny. Weird idea, spending money on a player or keeping it within the glazers pockets/control . Jog on you right belter, I know what I’d chose.
Totally agree, we’re in with a shout of champions league, it will only strengthen our position if we get him in. Get fourth and UCL we’ll make the money back no worries. Don’t get him in and potentially it’s Europa league again and no UCL to tempt players to sign in the summer.
Pogba might end up staying if we get Bruno and he performs very well thus reducing the need for a massive overhaul in the summer. Why can't Woodward see that?
We will sign him on deadline day for 100 million.
We need bodies especially in midfield. The fact the player seems to want to come is a major bonus, over players that pick us as a last resort and a fat paycheck. He is 25 bangs in goals and creates loads of assists. £13 million extra is feck all to Utd. Get it done!
We don't know its Sporting alone stalling the deal. If we were offering players then we don't want to pay as much cash
What you want isn't good for the club at all. We need to rid ourselves of the reputation that we'll pay whatever clubs want, not strengthen it. It's nothing to do with the Glazers.
I was confident on Thursday, he would be our player before the Liverpool game and be watching from the stands, after reading on here, various news outlets, I have no confidence what so ever that he will even be a United player, this transfer window or any other.
You old enough to know what happened at Leeds? We’re a lot bigger but so are the sums we spend. You don’t run a club by buying players at double their worth.... when they aren’t players you are desperate to sign. Regardless of the state of the owners and their investment. It’s just common sense. Belter indeed kid
Stones £50m
Cancelo £50mil
Ottamendi £35mil
Laporte £56mil
Add this quartet to the above and I would say only Walker and Laporte could be called hits and not misses so the wasting of money here is mind boggling.
Spot on. Fans who do feck all but moan about transfers and investment have absolutely nothing supportive about them whatsoever. Wanting constant new players is the opposite of supporting the team. Weird
Penny pinching is exactly the opposite of what we’ve done.
It’s safe to say we’ve been taken to the cleaners over Maguire, Fred and AWB( as good as he is)
55.5 I reckon.
Sorry, my scouting methodology is my trade secret. Though I'm sure you can inferd that it would be impossible to judge a player without actually seeing them play mate.
Why aren't we? We have the same setup as far as I'm aware, so clubs will rightly look at us the same way.
Negotiate yes, but it'll only be ourselves we hurt if we walk away players we want to sign, and desperately need.
In this case no, it hurts Sporting more.
We don’t desperately need Fernandes. It’s that mistaken belief that is directing Sporting’s stance. They can feck off.
Clearly not or they'd deal, and anyone who thinks we have a Plan B this month is dreaming.
Totally different situation to what occurred at Leeds United, we are making so much money in comparison to what they were making and spending. Therefore that point is irrelevant. Let’s be honest here, no of us know what figures are being touted around be Woodward in the Fernandes deal and I’m not saying pay massively over the odds, but if it’s stalemate over 5m,10m, 15m, just get the deal done as its money spent on players and not in the greedy hands of the Glazers. Having watched Fernandes, on several occasions albeit on the tv, imo he’s currently better than anything we’ve got at present in that midfield. With him in the team it would improve us and potentially seal UCL qualification for next season and all the financial rewards that brings the Glazers. Cheers kidda
They are dealing. The transfer isn't off.
The absolute damage him and Fosu Mensah could’ve done in central midfield for us.
Okay
Don't we? Ole is very picky it seems, but obviously wants him, we are desperate in midfield, he is available, and wants to be here, so not sure why people are seeing this as some sort of moral victory for us.
I know, but if he does come here, lets see if we actually save anything for all this wasted time.
Definitely off. We are incapable of wrapping up transfer deals and it’s one of the many reasons we have a bang average team.
If this does fall through, is he even that good?
Why didn’t we negotiate in fecking December I just wonder? Everyone fecking knew that we needed reinforcements since May and here we are negotiating in January.
The problem is, as proven by the green and gold campaign, organised protests have little to no effect. The only way we will ever be rid of our current owners is if/when they get brought out.
Sure, but media ribbing is way down on the list of things that should potentially scupper a transfer we might actually need!?
We’re stuck in this weird post-Fergie limbo land where we’re so unused to the normality of how other clubs have been run in the time we had one, mercurial, 26 year manager, that everyone is now deathly scared of doing anything because we’ve failed at it once!
Can’t sack Ole because we’ve already sacked 3 managers, and even though that’s a normal occurrence these days and both Liverpool & City have sacked just one less in the same time, it’s new to us, and thus we should naturally pivot straight back to the norms of 1986 and blindly trust in “patience” now..
Can’t hire an accomplished manager because we’ve already had 2 of them fail, and even though that’s also a normal occurrence at a big club, it’s still new to us, and thus we should be super reactionary and shoot straight to the furthest possible opposite instead! Making sure to blame any poor performances on the lack of playing staff...
But we can’t sign any big players either though, because we’ve had a few of them fail, and even though that’s par for the course these days, again, and even Fergie himself signed a shit load of flops and broke multiple transfer records, we should absolutely legitimise the Glazer’s frugality and build our entire future on youth prospects and bargains, like Ferguson never once even remotely did, despite still being one of the most profitable clubs in the world!
As increasingly pessimistic as I am, I’m still pretty open to giving Ole a chance (especially as he’s obviously not going anywhere this season) but I’m finding myself endlessly frustrated by the maddening mental gymnastics needed to convince oneself that we’re going in the right direction by trusting in a novice manager because he doesn’t have the appropriate players, whilst simultaneously accepting that we shouldn’t overpay for any of these players, despite being in a globally known position of weakness, because the other managers who didn’t work bought some other players who didn’t work, and despite our poor results under Ole being entirely down to his weak and inexperienced squad, it’s important to be principled and not add to that squad if it will cost too much (despite the global notoriety of those poor results virtually necessitating a price hike) or even - according to some actual arguments I’ve seen! - inhibit the potential progress of youngsters in that position!!
Why has everyone gone fecking insane this season!?
If we need Fernandes (and it seems like we do) and Ole genuinely wants him (and it seems like he does) - just fecking buy him. FFS. We’re not Everton.... yet.
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It's not the spending so much but how we've gone about it. We spent big chucks of that on a few players but we went years ..years....without buying a midfielder. With playing failed wingers at full back rather then looking for a great full back etc. We should have been spending but we stopped and the moment when we lost crediblity is when we sold Ronaldo..announced it...and then went in the bargain basement. The owners need to go because they cannot compete.
It doesn't matter, Ole wants clearly him, that's all that counts.
I'm sure we can get better for £80 million. I'd rather wait until the summer than get taken to the cleaners. For £80 million I'd expect a Saul Niguez or a similar calibre of player.
We are currently in desperate need for any midfielder because of injuries to McTominay and Pogba. But you don't spend £60m+ to cover individual injuries. The midfielders we might actually be described as 'desperate' for, or at least in need of, are first a foremost a defensive midfielder to replace Matic, and secondly a creative midfielder who can scheme his way through defensive set-ups against smaller teams, creating chances against parked buses. Fernandes is neither - he's a goalscoring midfielder who is creative in transitional and breaking situations, which is something we already do well.
Yes, of course he'd be an upgrade on Pereira (albeit who has put in some really improved performances recently), but only in situations where we are already very dangerous. And he'd add goals from midfield, which would also be a plus. But neither of those things is something we're 'desperate' for, and spending £60m+ would surely impinge on our ability to fix the aforementioned more serious holes in our midfield in the summer.
I want Fernandes, and I'm happy for the club to spend whatever amount they deem sensible on him. But if they don't manage to negotiate what they consider a sensible fee, I won't be distraught. The DM and block-breaking AM they need to buy in the summer are much more important.
So Sporting can literally ask what they please and we should pay it?
Perhaps he doesn’t want him that badly.
You think we're 100 % planning to do that? I'll believe it when I see it.
We had no doubt made zero plans to buy anyone this month, hence us going for a player that has been offered on a plate to us, (but apparently didn't want in the summer), because we are desperate, Sporting know it, and are rightly trying to rinse us, there is no moral high ground for us to take here imo.
Well we didn't in the summer, so maybe you're right, but why go there at all then?
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