I don't know anything about him but he has one of the best names possible for a CB, on that fact alone I say we buy him!
Eliaquim Mangala
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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.
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I think we should buy a solid defender veteran who would be willing to sit on the bench. If we buy Mangala, we would have to pay huge money(I dont mind) + we would have to play him regularly. I think we should keep developing Smalling, Evans and Jones unless we can see clearly that one of them isnt developing. Looking at Van Gaal's track record, I think he will promote someone (Keane?) from the youth. So if we get this guy, we will have the same problem of curtailed development of the rest of the players. Unless Mangala is a mind blowing defender, I dont think we should buy him. Miss having Vidic already.
Raw and didn't look impressive from the couple of Porto matches I saw this season. Made a couple of clumsy errors.
What he has on his side is he's young and powerful/aggressive. He'll win the ball in the air and if he develops well could be Vidic-ish with his dominant physicality. He's also very ordinary on the ball with his distribution
The £30 million or so numbers being thrown around for him seem crazy to me. For that money you want the genuine article not a project who you hope will come good.
All the reports say LVG likes ball playing defenders so I expect he has more interest in Evans than he does Mangala
What he has on his side is he's young and powerful/aggressive. He'll win the ball in the air and if he develops well could be Vidic-ish with his dominant physicality. He's also very ordinary on the ball with his distribution
The £30 million or so numbers being thrown around for him seem crazy to me. For that money you want the genuine article not a project who you hope will come good.
All the reports say LVG likes ball playing defenders so I expect he has more interest in Evans than he does Mangala
The French Titus Bramble. Huzzah...
£30m or so doesn't seem at all crazy to me when you think that we paid £30m for an unproven Rio years ago. In terms of today's transfer market (Luiz for £50m) Rio's fee would equate to at least £50m today and makes £30m for Mangala look reasonable.
Rio was not unproven. He was probably one of the best defenders in the league and could actually defend.
Mangala now and Rio back then are 2 absolutely different cases.
Rio was one of the best CBs in the league and had a very good international tournament
Mangala had a less than brilliant season for Porto
Its crazy. I see the potential for him to one day be that expensive, but his current level of performance warrants about half that fee and there are no guarantees he comes in, takes to English football and improves his dodgy areas
If only Evans wasnt made of glass for Christ sake!
Vida was never given as much credit for his techinical abilities as he was for being a rock at the back - he was much more than that.
He wasnt flash, but he's distribution was 1st class. Rarely gave the ball away, not to mention his headed passes (from opposition goal-keeper kick-outs & the like) to a team-mate too. I'm sure gonna miss him & Rio (in their prime) at the heart of the team. Vida still has it though & could have played to a great level for us, for a couple more seasons in my opinion.
This new season coming in, is the real season after Fergie left. World class manager in & by the good grace of God - a shitload of world class players coming with him!
He's probably the best that is attainable after the likes of Benatia and Hummels who aren't likely to happen, but, I'm not sure how much better he is to what we have. He still looks equally raw and is very physically dominant, a lot like Jones and Smalling.
I still think thet Veldman from Ajax is a great young defender at a reasonable price. With him, Jones, Smalling, Evans, Thorpe and Kean we would be set for years.
One criticism I see of Veltman is that he does look a little weak, even in the Dutch league. Would he be able to handle the tenacity of the Premier League? Because I know he is very highly rated and is coming off the back of a great season, but he does look a little smaller than the regular CB. Maybe that's why we're looking at Martins Indi? I know van Gaal is a fan, he is a lot bulkier but can still play with the ball to a decent extent.
If we're after another young defender we should go for Stones. Closest thing to Rio and has a very bright future.
The thing that I like about Mangala is his presence. Not saying he is a replacement for Vidic but he isn't a bad place to start looking. The guy is a beast.
If I was starting up front against him, I would sub myself off before I even touch the ball. It would be like getting an onfield colonoscopy.
If I was starting up front against him, I would sub myself off before I even touch the ball. It would be like getting an onfield colonoscopy.
Will he be starting for France at the WC?
I think his size is often overstated personally. He isn't the physical monster many seem to claim he is, and is actually quite slim/skinny.
Has nothing on Smalling in that department (or any other department for that matter) .
Well thats incorrect, he's a lot stronger than Smalling/Jones/Evans. He's a powerful guy with a big leap hence good in the air.
Arruda shares this opinion. I trust him.
Presence doesn't just come from size, it's his power and strength which gives him a mental edge over a lot of strikers.
Exactly. Vidic, despite being hard as nails, wasn't actually that big - both in terms of height and in his muscular build. Same with John Terry too, you do get the Jaap Stam types, but as you say, size isn't really what makes a defender a true physical presence.
LVG loves left footed defenders, is he left footed? I am very sure if he is, we might be in for him.
He's built like a brick which is quite obvious to me, players like Smalling I don't consider to be physically strong when compared to Mangala.
Yes he's left footed and Van Gaal must've had a good look at him in March when the Dutch played France in a friendly and Mangala started.
Exactly! Too much size also slow down your tuning speed and you also loose your athleticism. Roy keane wasnt that built either.
Pronunciation please? Is it Man-ga-la, Man-gala or Mang-ala?
I pronounced all 3 of those exactly the same
The first one
http://www.theguardian.com/football...ter-united-manchester-city-chelsea?CMP=twt_gu
Mangala prefers Man Utd move ahead of City
Mangala prefers Man Utd move ahead of City
Would cost massive money. Not that I'm against spending massive money generally but some posters seem to have reservations over this guy.
You don't really need another young centre back do you?
Would prefer Hummels. Although stealing Mangala from City would be a bonus
Benatia is currently the better of the two but Mangala is a few years younger so may have sufficient scope for improvement.
Hummels is also superior but the Frenchman wouldn't be a bad option.
Hummels is also superior but the Frenchman wouldn't be a bad option.
Hummels please. I think there are probably better options of upcoming centre halves for less money. Perhaps I have underrated Mangala but I don't see him as A - list, and for a £40m centre half, he would need to be.
Ian Ladyman reporting the same thing - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ivals-Manchester-United-Chelsea-involved.html
Looks like the kind of player Jose would like.
I don't see Hummels happening. We're better just securing a deal like this instead of going after someone when their club doesn't want to let them go. Quite similar to the Herrera/Fabregas sagas in that we go after someone who looks unobtainable and turn our noses up at Herrera, then end up with a last minute overpriced player in Fellaini.
Going after someone who'd most likely never come, or go after someone who'd prefer us over city. Tough one.
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