Rakitic was probably Croatia's most influential player through qualification nevermind Sevilla
Ivan Rakitic
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Rakitic was probably Croatia's most influential player through qualification nevermind Sevilla
Great deal, cheap price, great player. Better him than Fabregas
You missed the whole season then. He really stepped up this season.
I think you misunderstood my question. Any time I saw him this season he was brilliant - I was never saying otherwise. I just wanted to know whether he exploded onto the scene this year as an elite player or whether it was a gradual progression. I don't remember him looking anywhere near as impressive I'm Euro 2012 for example.
Fantastic signing for them. He is an excellent player and adds some much needed pace to their midfield. To think Zubizarreta's actually done a decent deal.
Surely this means the end of Cesc now.
Surely this means the end of Cesc now.
Is it confirmed?
Not officially, but the people that really are "ITK" have spoken (Di Marzio).
United should have gone all in for him.
Got beat to it but Di Marzio said it so I'm inclined to believe it.
He was the best player in the league outside the top-3. And one of the best performers even if you include Real, Atleti and Barca's players. You can say that he exploded, yes, this performance level surely wasn't expected from him
Could be. Rakitic really wanted to stay in Spain and his father publically stated that his choice (not his son's) would be Barca. That's why I said United should have gone all in, because Barca will get him for 25 mil €, and if Woodward stormed in with 35 mil € offer, the player would be pushed by the club to go to United.
Also, he's supposed to get 3,5 mil € net salary. A million more could make all the difference.
In today's market, when clowns like Luiz are sold for absurd amounts, this is peanuts..
Doesn seem we were that confident of getting him. Di Marzio updated his report saying we didnt submit a concrete offer for him
Too bad. There are so few midfield options on the market these days. I really hate to see him go to Barca.
Story of our life right now, woody or co do seem to be piss artists if all these rumours are true
Anyone wanting to see him dominate a game, he is playing against Australia tomorrow morning.
You mean Van Gaal.....Not interested in our muppet targets....not interested in Rene......If his name wasnt Van Gaal he'd be getting similar stick to Moyes. one rule for one.......
Maybe because van Gaal has a history of being a top manager at multiple European clubs, whilst Moyes' CV highlight pre-United was making the Champion's League qualifiers... once.
Yeah apparently Rakitic wanted to stay in Spain.
@RedorDead21 if LVG had the same exact season as Moyes did in this past one, dont you think he'd be getting similar criticism?
His wife is from there and he's really settled in the country
You know a poor window and its exactly the same start Moyes had. New manager needs serious backing to get off on the right foot. Its imperative. Cesc last season during the window and its a good guess we are still managed by Moyes. Everyone at the club gets a lift. Its all very quiet from us. not surprising really a top manager like him with his expertise at improving young players....wouldnt be unusual if he wants to see them all on the tour before making up his mind.....!
Gutted, this guy was at the top of my muppet list. But he was settled in Spain and as long as he didn't go to Madrid.
Im not sure he would.
Moyes was an underwhelming appointment and the knives were out for him from very early on. The argument was largely that "this was a title winning side" - rather than a side that needed serious investment and as such Moyes was simply inept. Now, a lot of fans are having a go at Woodward becasue the suddenly neccessary rebuild isn't underway.
Evidently fans will trust a manager with a record more - which I understand. But its amazing the amount of faith being put in him by some on here. He has a mountain to climb to get the sqaud into teh neccessary shape and needs the support of the club and fans to do so. I have no issue with him being given more time.
That's a good point. What i was trying to say is even if some would give LVG more leeway there would definitely be a segment of supporters who I think would be just as upset whether it was moyes, LVG or Genghis khan. In a nutshell, there's no pleasing some people.
I think LVG will have a slow start and I'm curious if that does happen how "faithful" or cheerful fans will be at that stage.
Indeed. Dont get me wrong - Moyes did not perform to the required standard, and once he lost the dressing room, then it was only going to end one way. It seems the job was too big for him as a man and a coach.
When you look at the issues with the squad, which fans now seem to accept, and the problems that need to be addressed it puts Moyes performance in some kind of context. He believed he needed players in - as seemingly does Van Gaal. Seems that now Van Gaal believes it its true but under Moyes it was excuses. Moyes may have been a problem, but he wasnt the only problem.
He will be judged on results and it'll be interesting to see what fans have to say if it doesnt go as expected. Some seem to genuinuely believe that he's going to come in and revitalise the full playing staff to an extent that players who have been at best average over the last couple of years (even under Fergie) are suddenly going to become world beaters. Confidence goes so far - sadly, ability is the issue for some of the squad.
ah yes I think any manager would after the way the season transpired and how other clubs are improving. we need to make some ground up. however i still dont feel we need a massive overhaul as some suggested but that's just my personal opinion.
Ability is an issue for some squad members but there is definitely value of getting a team to play well as a collective. We've already seen some good examples of that. However it does take time to build that sort of togetherness and mentality within a team and right now we're in a state of limbo
Those players need to have the intelligence and ability to do the job that's asked of them, and the discipline to stick to the system. I doubt that some players have that. To that end he needs to be backed to bring in the players he feels he needs to excel in that system. We are, for me, at least 5 players shy.
for LVG? dont think he needs that many. Not right away at least. He's a coach so his goal will be to improve players more than buy ready-made stars
Well he always a solid player, for both country and clubs, for national side he had some below par performances but I think that was cause of our managers at the time, most of the time he was solid but not special. This year he burst into the scene and he was, as far as statistics go, 3rd or 4th best player in La liga.
So yeah it seems he exploded onto the scene, it seems to me like that.
I disagree. His job isnt to come in and improve players - he's employed to improve results and get us back into the top 4 (at the very least). The club needs the money from that and simply cannot afford to be out of the CL for an extended period.
That may neccesitate him spending substantial funds to get a nucleus of players that have the ability to cary out what he wants to do. He's got a 3 year deal - this isnt a long term, 10 year plan.
He didn't want to leave Spain. He made that known in January. It was always going to be one of Atletico, Barca or Real that would end up getting him.
He's a quality player though and was my muppet dream before he so rudely burst my bubble in January.
So the 2 best Croatian players at two of the biggest clubs in the world, Croatia must be proud!
Also got Mandzukic at Bayern. This current crop are very talented.
Great player, but i honestly can't see him in Real or Barca. I just can't, i don't think it's a good fit at all.
Yes but what we disagree on is how he improves results. You dont have to spend a lot of money just for us to improve results but I do think some money will need to be spent.
Improving players doesn't mean you take a dramatic hit in your results. It seems like you've primarily given up on this squad. I think with 2-3 additions this summer we can reach top 4.
Van Gaal is to be the judge of that. You said he job to come here and improve players - I disagreed. Primarily his job is to improve results, and to do it quickly.
As it is we need a left back, an experienced centre half, at least one (preferably two) central midfielders and ideally a wide player. 4 is a minimum for me.
There are numerous players who have had plenty of chance to produce and dont do enough often enough over the last few seasons. For me they need to be moved on because I don't believe players in their mid 20's are going to suddenly improve, regardless of who the coach is. Its a watershed for me. Too much average in key positions and that needs to be resolved. A new manager is a good time to do it.
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I meant that's what van gaal seeks to usually do. His transfer activity usually is to buy players he feels suits his system and his forte is working with young players as experienced players are more resistant to his methods. Obviously his job is to improve results. The bigger questions is how he seeks to do it. From what i've read on him, it wouldn surprise me if we got a couple young-mid20s signings in or 2 experienced players with an eye of drafting in a couple of young players from the ranks and going from there. Are you not factoring any of the decisions he made at Bayern?
Also you misinterpreted my original statement. I said his goal is to coach and improve players. That doesn't mean he wont have an eye on immediately improving results. I'm just trying to highlight to you what his usual coaching methods are.
to further illustrate my point here: from a guy who's pretty well connected. He got this info from Daniel Taylor at the Guardian
I again disagree that the focus is to "improve players". He is paid to get results however he needs to do that. His brief will not be - "make these better players" it will be "get us into the top 4".
Will the season be a success if we play great football with young players all over, but lack the quality and steel to finish top 4? For me, no - and I suspect the board will feel the same.
They sacked Moyes who was promised time - at significant cost I bet, because he didn't get results. They have taken that bold step and appointed a man to get us back in the top 4 at the fist time if asking and are prepared to give him big money to spend if he wants. That tells me what they want - and "player improvement" might be nice but its not the aim.
He may very well do that buy bringing in young players - that would suggest he doesn't believe the players he has are up to the task. New players are new players whether they are young or not.
This is what I was getting at. A combination of improving the players we already have as well as bringing in a couple of his own. I also wanted to further highlight how he's not known for being a big spender. Hence if it is true he's the reason we passed up on Cesc and Kroos, then we shouldn't be surprised why. He is paid to get results. I'm considering that as an understood point. I just feel his method of getting those results is by implementing his philosophy which comprises of improving players, establishing a team ethos and drafting through youth. My point was not that he wasn't going to buy players. But simply if he does, they probably wont be what we expect based on his previous record. We'll soon find out.
Hate to use this but Liverpool could have won the league this past season with a side many wouldn deem as one with all that much quality. Obviously not being in Europe certainly played a factor and it's something we will experience this upcoming season. I dont think it's without the realms of possibility that if we buy a couple young players in accordance with our existing squad, that we couldn challenge for the title. The question is whether are not those players are the right fit and what LVG is able to extract out of this squad.
The PL is a marathon. It measures not necessarily the best team in the league but the most consistent.
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