Doing a much better job of spending their 'Ronaldo money' than we did. Personally, I think we could have done with a Lamela/Willian ourselves (in addition to midfield strengthening of course) - I think RVP aside, we still lack a bit of real top quality in attack.
Erik Lamela
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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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When he kept Spurs in it after Xmas - ie he was that important for Spurs (he's still not that good ie 90M good tho').
It seems that every slightly above average player these days costs between 20-30M € the better players go for 40M+ €. That's how the market looks these days so I feel 30M € sounds about right for Lamela.
Agree he's not worth anywhere near that amount. I remember you trashing him for ages though, calling him a winger being judged by left-back standards.
I think Spurs have done a decent job of strengthening their squad though. Getting rid of Scott Parker must be worth a good five or six points a season alone.
Rooney is still top quality, he pisses me off but you can't deny he is one of the best attackers in the league. Kagawa can reach that standard as well, as can Nani if he stays and gets his shit together.
Too many 'ifs' RVP aside. All those players could probably all be described oppositely to how you have and it not be dismissed as crazy. Watching us last season you had to ask yourself how good we would be had we not signed RVP.
Spurs really getting Lamela & Eriksen for a combined 41 million?
About 37/38m. Lamela according to Transfermarket was 26.4m deal.
He really wasn't that good until Xmas last year cf his party trick the year before of playing it square and running into the space behind the fullback to hit a head-down cross to nobody in particular (cue the ex-pro muppets 'someone shudda gambled'). What he did after Xmas is do what Jimmy Greaves recommended: 'They know what you're going to do but you do it so quick that it kills them anyway'.
I don't think there is any 'ifs' about whether Rooney is better than Willian.
The fact is despite Rooney having his worst season last year, he was still productive in terms of goals/assists. You can't say RVP is the only top quality player in attack when we have Kagawa, Nani and Rooney - especially the latter. If you do think we lack top quality with those players then signing the likes of Willian wouldn't change that would it, given he isn't as good.
35 million €
It isn't about Willian being better than Rooney, it is about us not having enough quality at the top end. This includes Rooney. If we signed Willian, for example - it would still include Rooney, only that I think we will be closer to the amount of quality that we should have up front. As for Willian's quality, I believe he will surprise you.
Also, all the perpetual mentioning of Kagawa and Nani - it is just names to be honest. Out on the football pitch, they haven't shown much of late that would indicate they should be included in the bracket of 'top quality attackers to be relied upon'.
Anyway, long and short of it - I believe we need one more very good attacking player who can consistently make the difference in attack. Realistically, only RVP has really earned an automatic starting place in our attack over the past year, and that is not down to the fact that we have been bursting with such top quality that the rest our killing each other to get in either. Essentially, we are going into a season without anyone nailed on to either start left, right or behind RVP, simply because they have all underwhelmed for one reaosn or another.
Spurs will finish 3rd this season. Some very impressive signings by them.
Lamela is far better than Zaha and around the same age. He is also better than Young and Valencia and I think he will prove that at Spurs.
Oh right, didn't realise you watched much Ukrainian or Russian football.
Unless you mean that you have just watched Willian in the Champions League, in which case you have seen as much of him as I have - and he is not as good as Rooney.
Not sure what you mean by Kagawa and Nani being just names, given that both have already shown they can be the top quality attackers you are craving. I think you are being particularly harsh on Kagawa, wanting to transfer someone else in because he didn't immediately come to a new club and start putting in world class performances. Have some patience.
Anyway, on your long and short - If Rooney stays he is certain to be a nailed on starter, whether that is on the left or centrally behind Van Persie. He was dropped for Madrid but lets not go overboard, he is still one of the first names on the team sheet and you're kidding yourself if you think he'll be frequently getting benched. As for the others I expect form will come into play, Welbeck could conceivably make the left wing spot his own, as could Kagawa. If Moyes looks to use a proper winger on the right you have Nani, Young, Valencia and Zaha all competing for one space - I agree none are guaranteed starters but any of them could becomes so, we just need one to step up and stake a claim.
I think we could possibly do with another winger, given our main three have been out of form. But even then it means at least one will have to leave IMO because there is no point having three or four sat on the bench every week.
When Francesco Totti himself declares him his heir and the Giallorossi's great hope you know he is a special talent. Totti does not do hype and when it comes to Roma and their players he speaks from the heart.
Yes, I have watched Willian almost exclusively in the Champions League in recent years, which is a good platform, and I am not saying he is better than Rooney right now, but I would not be suprised if he is considered so by the end of the season if he adapts quickly.
Kagawa and Nani are just names at the moment because, despite them being here, they have done little to suggest (depending on how far back you want to go) that they deserve to be starting weekly. Now, they are United players, so obviously they have some quality and good games can always be referenced. That said, I don't think you can ignore that they have not done enough of late to be bracketed as our top class attacking alternatives to RVP, given that even when fit, they could very conceivably not play.
I'm not saying Rooney will be dropped, what I initially said is that in the last year, only RVP of our attackers has put in performances that demand them to be an automatic starter for United. That includes Rooney. Other than the media looking for a 'does this mean he's going?' story, nobody would really bat much of an eyelid if he started a game on the bench or in an unfavoured role in the last year. It would not have been considered a travesty in the same way it would for RVP.
Your last part is essentially in agreement to my point. I also think we could use another 'winger' (whatever that is these days), and if that means a player leaving - again, to underline my point, I am hardly looking at a list of untouchable candidates. Even Rooney, for the most part of the summer, most United fans have not felt he'd be such a huge loss if he were to leave us. Again, the only attacking player who would currently justify such status is RVP, we could probably do without any of the rest. And I'm a Nani and a bit of a Shinji fanboy here.
Good read on the player, very accurate profile IMHO
Sounds like a special talent. Wish we were in for him.
Really dont understand why we arent, if the interest in Ozil was genuine then i would be really surprised we are not in for Lamela.
Ahead of one of United, City or Chelsea? Doubtful, they are still some way behind all of them. I reckon Arsenal will finish 4th too.
Don't worry lads. We'll be interested in Eriksen for £40 million and Lamela for £60 million in three years time before Madrid buy them both for £325 million + Bale.
If Real Madrid had any sense they'd be going for Lamela instead of Bale. He's a special player.
I think Spurs should invest in a quality CB. I just find their current defense is lacking a top class player. Not sure what quality defender out there is available. I also still see flaws on Lloris but perhaps he will come good this season.
Sign him up for your Fantasy teams lads 
If they get Ericssen then they would have quite an exciting side, my only concern for them would be far too many foreign based players and therefore there will be a period of settling in and also a communication issue too.
Goodluck with that. I'd be absolutely shocked to see Spurs finish ahead of us, City or Chelsea. We're all a level ahead of them. People are going way overboard about Spurs right now. I'd expect them to be where they were last season, battling for that 4th spot with Arsenal.
Lamela is bloody quality though. Great signing. Wanted him to stick with Roma but will still be great to see him playing in the PL.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23903926
Bastards, cant believe no one else was in for him. I know we have a decent stock of forwards, but this guy has so much potential.
Levy should be a our number one target next summer.
They just bought a Romanian CB. I don't know how good he is but it was a record sale by Steaua.
Again, will have to take your word for it for now. Seen Zaha about 3 times, never seen Lamela.
If he proves to be as good as you claim he is, he won't be at Spurs in 2-3 years time.
He is right. Lamela is better. Also if Spurs continue to grow and improve their squad, I dont see any reason why Lamela will want to leave Spurs.
By the sound of it, he is about to become a top, top notch player, of the quality the best clubs in the world buy.
If he is, or become that good, he won't stay at Spurs.
Agree. But the problem is Levy - He might get offers in a year or two, he might want to leave in a year or two, but in all likelyhood he'll be made to stay at Spurs for 3 or 4
But you assume that Spurs are going to be the same level as they are now. They are in the rebuilding process. Who knows what will happen in three to four years time? What happens if Spurs start competing for the title?
Rebuilding? Spurs have been rebuilding since 1961!
Even if Spurs starts competing for the title, which will take a hell of a lot of improvement to do, they will still not be a Barca, Real Madrid, Bayern, United etc.
But Kaboul is back. The season before last I thought he was as good as any CB in the Prem. I was desperate for us to sign him. I don't think most people had recognized just how good he'd become. It reminded me of the Kompany situation, when he was probably the best in the 2010/11 season, but didn't start to get mainstream recognition until the following season. Unfortunately for Kaboul he got injured and missed what should have been his "big" season. But watching him yesterday he looked like he hadn't been away. He's got everything you'd want in a top class CB and now doesn't have the lapses he had when he was younger.
Kaboul and Vertonghen will be a brilliant CB pairing. They've also got a fantastic GK and the best DM options in the league to shield the defence. So far this season they have conceded the lowest amount of shots on goal. People keep questioning their defence, but I think it's their biggest strength. It's just last season they didn't have Lloris to start with, Sandro missed half the season and Kaboul was out for the whole campaign. Now they are there from the start and they've added Capoue and the Romanian. Spurs are going to be very hard to score against this season. So far they've played 4 and conceded 0.
With our centrehalves, you were desperate for us to sign Kaboul???
Yes absolutely. But this was 18 months ago when Vida missed most of the season. But even so, I'd still like to sign him. As i said, as was the case with Kompany, I think people were a season behind in recognizing how good he'd become. He's the fastest CB in the Prem, dominant in the air, has the technical ability to play in CM and now reads the game like a top class CB. He's got it all.
I wish United had good players like other teams do.
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