Declan Rice

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I wouldn't say it's over the top as that's my opinion. I see nothing special about him at all.

People in here talk like he's the next Roy Keane and that's what makes them Maniacs in my eyes. People are putting way too much emphasis on him apparently being good at positioning and being strong in the tackle.

What's he going to be like when we're sitting against a parked bus and the crowd are demanding him to get the ball forward into the likes of Ronaldo, Sancho, Greenwood? is he just going to keep playing his crab passing game?

He has Schneiderlin written all over him.

Bite your damn tongue!!!

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I like rice but this is where I’m stuck at, because I also think they will want to splash or at least try to on Haaland. Then we have the keeper situation, will one or the other find enough consistent form to make us put a new keeper on the long finger?

next season we could see Lingard, mata, matic, Jones and possibly martial gone. Pogba I have a feeling may sign again, but is that enough money off the books to increase our usually 85m net spend?

I think that Pogba will cost us like a new big signing irrespective whether he stays or not. If he stays then Mino will be asking huge signing on fees and salary which in turn will have a huge impact on our transfer budget
 
You realise the lad is at the start of his career? Nobody knows how he will turn out over the next 15 years

i do realise that but there is no chance he has the career and influence that Keano had at United no matter where Rice plays over his career
 
I’m absolutely convinced he’s going to join United in Summer 2022.

As far as I’m concerned, he’s just on loan to West Ham for a season
 
Listen I was a huge fan of Keano as a player and tbh I cannot warm to Rice as an Irishman but you cannot say that with complete certainty.

I can't, with complete certainty as i don't know the future, but you can see the dynamics of the personality and how those two carried themselves. Keano just brought that intangible/charisma with him that made guys want to follow him as the leader kind of like what we had with Cantona.

I'm not irish by birth but family is all from Cork, Keano is just unparalleled for me as a United player especially if you're using Rice as a comparison....ffs
 
Keane was at his most dynamic at around the same age though?
Personally I think he was better a few years older when he took inces role. Don’t forget he has Robbo and Ince, plus Rice so far has primarily been used as a destroyer. I’d argue he can do more than that. But that’s just opinion. Time will tell.
 
I really want one of Garner, Galbraith or Levitt to really break through this season. Its most likely going to be Jimmy Garner.
i think you'll see Hannibal make a break through at United before any of these three lads
 
Since we have 8s like Fred, McT and VdB, our 6 cannot be a limited player like Rice. We need a proper ball playing 6 to compensate for our limited 8s(because we cannot sell all of them, if we do, we will be left with no midfielders). I was watching the Argentina match yesterday, and someone like Paredes would be perfect for us.
 
Can't tell me there isn't a more talented DM out there who isn't better value for money.
 
Just out of interest - whilst I have known plenty of players that fans have previously wanted here and have turned out to be cr*p either for us or for other teams -

which players have the fans not wanted and turned out to maybe be players that we have ended up missing?

I'm just trying to see if the Anti-Rice thing has a potential accuracy that can be seen by some other players we clearly waved our hands at.
 
I think that Pogba will cost us like a new big signing irrespective whether he stays or not. If he stays then Mino will be asking huge signing on fees and salary which in turn will have a huge impact on our transfer budget

How will Pogba cost us a new big signing if he leaves? Don't we need to get a DM anyway?

Just out of interest - whilst I have known plenty of players that fans have previously wanted here and have turned out to be cr*p either for us or for other teams -

which players have the fans not wanted and turned out to maybe be players that we have ended up missing?

I'm just trying to see if the Anti-Rice thing has a potential accuracy that can be seen by some other players we clearly waved our hands at.
People were opposed to Virgil. :lol: Fun read if you want to go back and search for it.
 
How will Pogba cost us a new big signing if he leaves? Don't we need to get a DM anyway?


People were opposed to Virgil. :lol: Fun read if you want to go back and search for it.
Many on here were opposed to Kante, apparently he was finished
 
Nope, here! Apparently he needed a step up from Southampton before moving to a big club. Wasn’t ready for us etc.

Guess his step up was to PL and UCL champions

I recall Mane being very popular around her (just like Xhaka and Schneiderlin :wenger: )
 
How will Pogba cost us a new big signing if he leaves? Don't we need to get a DM anyway?

If we let him go then he would need to be replaced. If not then the Mino's pound of flesh (signing on fee and salary) will probably cost us as much as replacing him.
 
I actually think he would fit in at us. Hes good at covering spaces, but what i like is when he has the ball. He can drive forward which hes done a bit for West Ham this season and would be useful against teams that park the bus. And obviously somebody like him, we get them to just sit and cover when we play better teams (and it would work because we have Varane and Maguire as CBs)

The money it will take however is going to be huge. Unless next summer we go for him and Haaland (but that would mean spending about 150m+ on just two players, right?)
 
If we let him go then he would need to be replaced. If not then the Mino's pound of flesh (signing on fee and salary) will probably cost us as much as replacing him.

We'd replace him with a DM no? Fred/McTom/VDB all do fine box-to-box. Why would we need to replace Pogba in the "free LW" role when we have plenty of good options there? Rashy and Sancho for example.
 
We'd replace him with a DM no? Fred/McTom/VDB all do fine box-to-box. Why would we need to replace Pogba in the "free LW" role when we have plenty of good options there? Rashy and Sancho for example.

If we buy a top quality DM then we'll probably want to partner him with a more creative player then Fred or McT. Else we might as well remain with the same players.
 
I think the price tag is gonna excessive but I do believe if we signed him he'd be a good signing who has the potential to be superb in a team that wants to sacrifice defensive stability for goals via a higher defensive line. In such a approach it's important to have your two CBs and most defensive minded midfielder primed for action on the turn over because the way the team will be set up, it will require the two CBs and the DM to thwart counter attacks in a high risk approach. So I think it's very important to sign a DM who is positionally good and is also mobile enough to cover ground very quicky if Solskjaer's wish of playing a imposing brand of football is to come to fruition. The likes of Neves and Lindelof have been suggested for the role but both would get bypassed easily imo and it would expose Maguire in a potential 2 v1 situation. Declan Rice from what i've seen is strong in such situations and his tenacity along with physicality wins out more often than not.

People also need to realise that against Italy in the Euro final, Southgate had decided long before the final itself that he was gonna maintain a solid defensive structure. So he decided to start with Rice and phillips in midfield who are more industry than art. On the Italian side, their midfield had industry but they had art in abundance. So the issue there wasn't Declan Rice but rather our approach to the game, which meant the composition of our midfield wasn't conducive to actually controlling the game in possession.

I personally think Rice is technically strong and if we signed him then the composition of our midfield will need to change, where we will have to add more art to the industry which will be provided by Rice. But having said that, Rice is not as bad on the ball as some are making him out to be imo. He's comfortable on either foot with good touch and technique for a defensive minded mid who I believe will improve further in the years to come. So what it comes down to is how Solskjaer wants to construct the midfield. If the plan is to add Rice to either Fred or McTominay, then I can see why people would be against signing him. But if the plan is to bring through Hannibal Mejbri and sign Bellingham in summer 2023, then I can get on board with a midfield 3 consisting of Rice, Bellingham and Mejbri. Bellingham and Mejbri would more than help with iniatiating attacks from deeper with contributions from Maguire and Varane.
 
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Keane wasn't meant to be a DM. Paul Ince was the best DM in the country and of the best DMs of his generation. I remember him playing in the Serie A and he was pushing players aside like dust on his shoulders. Circumstances changed Keane from a B2B into a DM. First Ince decided that he could become the English Maradona and started marauding up front without SAF's permission. That costed us the FA cup against Everton. Then there was the emergence of Paul Scholes who was deemed too young to play upfront but too good to stay on the bench. Thus we moved him in CM. Circumstances made Keane DM just as circumstances made Carrick DM as well. For the latter Hargreaves was supposed to take the role not him.

Rice lack the talent Keane and Carrick have and at 80m-100m he's terribly overpriced. However to say that he'll fail at OT or that he won't improve as a player is a bit too premature.
 
If we buy a top quality DM then we'll probably want to partner him with a more creative player then Fred or McT. Else we might as well remain with the same players.

A DM doesn't have to be a destroyer, as long as they're more sound defensively than Pogba is in that role. De Jong for example is good at playing out the back, but doesn't concede soft pens whenever he tackles in the box.

Our current midfielders right now being Fred and McTominay makes me lean more towards a DLP than a Rice/Nididi. Unless we fail to sign any of the big strikers, I don't see us getting 2 midfielders.
 
Just on the last point
Rio and Cantona were not Leeds men through and through while Alan Smith was signed at a time Leeds were in financial turmoil thus NEEDING to sell.
Leeds are not in financial turmoil now and Phillips is born and raised in Leeds from infancy till adulthood like Rashford/Greenwood to us. It would take an extreme circumstance for us to have any luck getting Phillips

Excellent points. We can’t be sure as a Leeds man that Phillips would ever be interested in joining United, but we also can’t be sure he wouldn’t. But I’d really hate to see him move up the football food chain to City or Liverpool if or when they see the need to address that gap in their squad.
 
I’m absolutely convinced he’s going to join United in Summer 2022.

As far as I’m concerned, he’s just on loan to West Ham for a season

I’d agree, if not for Chelsea. He certainly wants them, the question is do they want him?
 
I’d agree, if not for Chelsea. He certainly wants them, the question is do they want him?
I don’t think they’ll want each other.

Chelsea have talent in abundance in the middle of the park whereas if he played for United today he’d be guaranteed to start every big match.

Also United trying to sign you is a different beast altogether to Chelsea trying to sign you
 
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