Chelsea reach agreement to sign Cesc Fábregas

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If we were to get Fabregas, would a midfield three of say, Carrick/Fellaini (holding), Fabregas (box to box) and Kagawa/Rooney/Mata (creator) be enough? Although we'd probably keep the ball well, I personally feel we'll be too susceptible to counters, which won't really alleviate our current problems. That said, I know Van Gaal sometimes played with a midfield of Strootman (holding), Van Der Vaart (box to box) and Sneijder (creator) for Netherlands, which is pretty attacking on paper, as I know Van Der Vaart is normally a no.10, but I am not sure how they got on.

Any Dutch followers willing to give me some information on how they got on as a midfield three?
 
GBBQ said:
LVG could be playing hard ball to smoke out other bidders or force Barcelona's hand but I wonder if fabregas just doesn;t suit the system LVG has in mind. He's not creating a team from scratch, he needs to buy players that compliment what he has already so that the players he has will be used to the best of their potential.

If buying Fabregas means operating a midfield formation that doesn't suit Mata or Kagawa then it wouldn't make sense to buy Fabregas no matter how good he is.
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You think LvG is doing transfer business for United now? He's not thinking about United until Netherlands get knocked out of the WC.
 
I can't see Fabregas turning up at Chelsea as a Chelsea player and playing under Jose, i seriously can't. He'll either stay at Barca or go to some team like PSG if they can't get Pobga
 
I think it's more of a matter if the Barcelona board can force him out. Seriously even if he isn't that loved among the fans and isn't a key player for them. He is still playing for his dream club and we know he did everything in his might to get that move.

Apart from Arsenal and Wenger, no other destination makes sense to me.
 
Can someone explain to me, why are we blaming LVG now? Because all we know are press speculations. Personally, I don’t believe van Gaal wouldn’t want to sign Fabregas.

On the other hand, I am 100% sure Fabregas doesn’t want to play for us. I have that strange feeling that some people keep forgetting that we finished 7th last season, and there is no certainty we will finish top 4 next season either.

Of course money can solve a lot of issues, the problem is that other clubs (Chelsea, City, FFS even Arsenal this time) are loaded with money too.

LVG or not, I don’t expect us to sign world class players this summer.
 
How much depth does Barcelona feel they have in central midfield and wherever else they've often played Fabregas? Do they feel they have the quality in place to readily sell him?

If they feel they are short their without Cesc, maybe we need to be looking more at him and less at the British press.
 
Borys said:
Can someone explain to me, why are we blaming LVG now? Because all we know are press speculations. Personally, I don’t believe van Gaal wouldn’t want to sign Fabregas.

On the other hand, I am 100% sure Fabregas doesn’t want to play for us. I have that strange feeling that some people keep forgetting that we finished 7th last season, and there is no certainty we will finish top 4 next season either.

Of course money can solve a lot of issues, the problem is that other clubs (Chelsea, City, FFS even Arsenal this time) are loaded with money too.

LVG or not, I don’t expect us to sign world class players this summer.
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Yup, same here. We'll be raiding the likes of Feyenoord, Ajax etc.
 
Distracted Steward said:
How much depth does Barcelona feel they have in central midfield and wherever else they've often played Fabregas? Do they feel they have the quality in place to readily sell him?

If they feel they are short their without Cesc, maybe we need to be looking more at him and less at the British press.
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Pretty sure they're going to bring in at least one midfielder for him. At the moment, they have Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas and Sergi Roberto playing for two midfield spots. If Fabregas leaves, I think Rafinha Alcantara would be promoted to the first team and they'll bring in a ready midfielder. Linked with Koke.
 
Walters_19_MuFc said:
If we were to get Fabregas, would a midfield three of say, Carrick/Fellaini (holding), Fabregas (box to box) and Kagawa/Rooney/Mata (creator) be enough? Although we'd probably keep the ball well, I personally feel we'll be too susceptible to counters, which won't really alleviate our current problems. That said, I know Van Gaal sometimes played with a midfield of Strootman (holding), Van Der Vaart (box to box) and Sneijder (creator) for Netherlands, which is pretty attacking on paper, as I know Van Der Vaart is normally a no.10, but I am not sure how they got on.

Any Dutch followers willing to give me some information on how they got on as a midfield three?
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I believe he never started both Snejder and Van Der Vaart in any game of the WC qualifiers. I think his favorite tactic was playing De Jong as an anchorman, Strootman as a holding midfielder and Van Der Vaart in front of them. Strootman, Van Der Vaart and the FBs had the main responsibility of keeping the lines close and providing team cohesion. Not having De Jong, Strootman and now Van Der Vaart has made him try new things.

I share your concerns and your questioning of how well can a midfield of Carrick/Fellaini, Fabregas and Mata/Kagawa operate. Fabregas is a fine player but last season he struggled and couldn't perform up to his usual standards playing in a deeper role playing alongside Xavi or Iniesta. I believe he can flourish in a more advanced role with 2 midfielders behind him providing cover. He possesses most of the necessary attributes for the position except the 2 most important ones. He is not strong enough to cope with the "battles" in the middle of the pitch and he doesn't have the stamina or the pace the role requires. I know many disagree with this but i always thought of him as one of the best "false 10s" (far better than Sneijder or van der Vaart) who can do so many things in the final third, and not a Scholes/Modric type of player.

If Carrick/Fellaini are going to share the holding CM position next season, i really believe we should go for a player like Strootman (or even better Vidal) who can press, close down opponents, add some aggressiveness in our midfield and also offer extra options in our attacking plays.
 
TheRedDevil'sAdvocate said:
I believe he never started both Snejder and Van Der Vaart in any game of the WC qualifiers. I think his favorite tactic was playing De Jong as an anchorman, Strootman as a holding midfielder and Van Der Vaart in front of them. Strootman, Van Der Vaart and the FBs had the main responsibility of keeping the lines close and providing team cohesion. Not having De Jong, Strootman and now Van Der Vaart has made him try new things.

I share your concerns and your questioning of how well can a midfield of Carrick/Fellaini, Fabregas and Mata/Kagawa operate. Fabregas is a fine player but last season he struggled and couldn't perform up to his usual standards playing in a deeper role playing alongside Xavi or Iniesta. I believe he can flourish in a more advanced role with 2 midfielders behind him providing cover. He possesses most of the necessary attributes for the position except the 2 most important ones. He is not strong enough to cope with the "battles" in the middle of the pitch and he doesn't have the stamina or the pace the role requires. I know many disagree with this but i always thought of him as one of the best "false 10s" (far better than Sneijder or van der Vaart) who can do so many things in the final third, and not a Scholes/Modric type of player.

If Carrick/Fellaini are going to share the holding CM position next season, i really believe we should go for a player like Strootman (or even better Vidal) who can press, close down opponents, add some aggressiveness in our midfield and also offer extra options in our attacking plays.
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100% agree. Our priority should be a an all action box to box midfielder this Summer. The problem is, there's very few box to box midfielders nowadays, and if there is, I'm not sure they're available. Vidal would be a perfect addition, though.
 
ThanksBoss26 said:
Hunter indicating Chelsea is most likely, though Bayern could make a late move if they sell Schweinsteiger.

http://thepeoplesperson.com/2014/06/03/reports-pep-guardiola-wants-sell-bastian-schweinsteiger/
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Huh? Weren't their rumours that he wasn't Guardiola's signing?

You have to wonder why 4 Barca managers (Pep, Tito, Tata, Enrique) haven't figured out how to use him or don't see him as a good fit or whatever, and although he is an important player for Del Bosque, he doesn't use him in midfield either.
 
So they stole the gif, turned it into a vine video for some reason and then kept Olly's name on it. WTF

Edit: would be hilarious if they now get sued/threatened by FOX
 
Raul Madrid said:
It seems that they stole it from you then. It even says olly redcafe on the bottom of that gif in the article. Sue the bastards :p
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Actually, looking around, there doesn't appear to be anything on the net where PP have even used the gif themselves.
 
A sober appraisal of our midfield would convince that Fabregas isn't the solution to our problems. It's full muppet-mode to think we should just buy someone because he's a midfielder. If Van Gaal has nobody in mind for our midfield and we sign nobody this summer, then I'd agree missing out on Fabregas would be an added source of confusion but if we get the players Van Gaal wants, I couldn't care less about the Fabregas saga.
 
Mr Pigeon said:
Actually, looking around, there doesn't appear to be anything on the net where PP have even used the gif themselves.
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They used it on Twitter (after recording the screen and making a Vine out of it :lol:)



Maybe I should take them to court. It'd probably be the first ever case over a stolen GIF.
 
Olly said:
cescnncu0.gif
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:lol:

Brilliant as usual, Oliver.
 
Snow said:
You think LvG is doing transfer business for United now? He's not thinking about United until Netherlands get knocked out of the WC.
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I'm sure he's not doing much actively, but I doubt he's not thinking about United at all. He's only human. And it will hardly hard Holland if he spends a few minutes on the phone with Woodward every day talking about transfers and who to go for.
 
Kazi said:
Pretty sure they're going to bring in at least one midfielder for him. At the moment, they have Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas and Sergi Roberto playing for two midfield spots. If Fabregas leaves, I think Rafinha Alcantara would be promoted to the first team and they'll bring in a ready midfielder. Linked with Koke.
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Rafinha will be promoted no matter what happens with Cesc but yeah if he goes they'll bring someone else in.
 
Olly said:
They used it on Twitter (after recording the screen and making a Vine out of it :lol:)



Maybe I should take them to court. It'd probably be the first ever case over a stolen GIF.
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Demand the CEO's head on a spike.
 
Olly said:
They used it on Twitter (after recording the screen and making a Vine out of it :lol:)



Maybe I should take them to court. It'd probably be the first ever case over a stolen GIF.
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You'd then get sued by Matt Groening
 
Amir said:
I'm sure he's not doing much actively, but I doubt he's not thinking about United at all. He's only human. And it will hardly hard Holland if he spends a few minutes on the phone with Woodward every day talking about transfers and who to go for.
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He can talk on the phone but that's not doing anything. You have to be focused on the matters to get the job done. Taking part half-assedly does nothing. Transfer wise he can realistically do something in terms of Dutch players. Beyond that he won't take much part. He's not under contract yet.
 
Kazi said:
Pretty sure they're going to bring in at least one midfielder for him. At the moment, they have Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas and Sergi Roberto playing for two midfield spots. If Fabregas leaves, I think Rafinha Alcantara would be promoted to the first team and they'll bring in a ready midfielder. Linked with Koke.
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I don't see them being brazen enough to sell Cesc without bringing in at least one midfielder first unless they've completely abandoned the three-man midfield. Maybe Koke is the key to likelihood of United getting Fabregas.
 
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