James Rodriguez | joins Bayern Munich | 2 year loan

[antohan]

Or ya know we could get some control in there and not punt it at all, we should be able to play our way out of defence up the field with the quality and money spent on our squad.

I'm tired of playing to always counter the oppositions gameplan, we should be forcing them to change and play our own game win or lose.

Agreed, but we have a terrible collection of defenders for that. Only one who can pass a ball is Blind but then people complain he is slow and will get raped by [insertcrapquickchap].

I'm not arguing for that being a key part of our default gameplan, I was just saying that Pereira "replacing Fellaini" in the squad makes no sense. The original post (bring him back to replace Rooney) was more accurate. He would be a good "rest Pogba" option.

 

[KN5]

That'd be a waste.

He's best as a number 10.

Then we won't be going for Griezmann too unless he's going to lead the line right?

 

[Alabaster Codify7]

This transfer would be my worst nightmare this summer. Easily.

I'm begging (I;m not a religious man, I ain't praying) we don't splash northwards of 40m on another Madrid outcast who doesn't wanna leave, so they can fund better players for their own top squad.

James will come and flop like Di Maria and then join PSG or someone for a third of the dough the following summer. Plus, he's the antithesis of what we need. Another slowish, creative 10 who will hate 'ucking living here and have his head turned immediately. He's a less sound version of Mata, but more skilled. Di Maria was a ridiculously more skilled Ashley Young. Look where that left us.

Don't fund Madrid's transfers.

 

[Cassidy]

Scoring goals in semifinals isn't a bad trait. He is clumsy, prone to the odd brainfart, and altogether not that good, but I don't think you realise how important he was to relieve pressure against Celta (particularly away).

It's not pretty I know, but "punt it to Fellaini and get the second ball" is far more effective than "punt it to a bunch of midgets and invariably lose the ball".

I think the point is he is not a CM hes a forward. So replace his CM role with Periera

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Then we won't be going for Griezmann too unless he's going to lead the line right?

Probably since Griezmann is best as the second striker.

Although I think he could play a lone striker role fine.

So a James singing would probably lessen the chance of Griez coming.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

Or ya know we could get some control in there and not punt it at all, we should be able to play our way out of defence up the field with the quality and money spent on our squad.

I'm tired of playing to always counter the oppositions gameplan, we should be forcing them to change and play our own game win or lose. 433 or 4231 whatever Jose fancies but play to attack and score goals not pick a starting 11 filled with players who will 'do a job'.

When you are under high press, you dont risk playing out of defence (that is what the high press is meant to prevent) but kick long to your CF or midfield, hoping to catch the opposition upfield in their press. The problem is that, since losing Ibra, we dont have anyone who can hold up the ball and bring others into the play. Best substitute is Fellaini but then he doesnt do anything with the ball.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

This transfer would be my worst nightmare this summer. Easily.

I'm begging (I;m not a religious man, I ain't praying) we don't splash northwards of 40m on another Madrid outcast who doesn't wanna leave, so they can fund better players for their own top squad.

James will come and flop like Di Maria and then join PSG or someone for a third of the dough the following summer. Plus, he's the antithesis of what we need. Another slowish, creative 10 who will hate 'ucking living here and have his head turned immediately. He's a less sound version of Mata, but more skilled. Di Maria was a ridiculously more skilled Ashley Young. Look where that left us.

Don't fund Madrid's transfers.

By all accounts, James wants to leave though.

People need to stop comparing this to Di Maria in that context. There are some similarities, but James wants to leave from reports. James wants to be a starter. Zidane can't offer him that.

 

[el3mel]

This transfer would be my worst nightmare this summer. Easily.

I'm begging (I;m not a religious man, I ain't praying) we don't splash northwards of 40m on another Madrid outcast who doesn't wanna leave, so they can fund better players for their own top squad.

James will come and flop like Di Maria and then join PSG or someone for a third of the dough the following summer. Plus, he's the antithesis of what we need. Another slowish, creative 10 who will hate 'ucking living here and have his head turned immediately. He's a less sound version of Mata, but more skilled. Di Maria was a ridiculously more skilled Ashley Young. Look where that left us.

Don't fund Madrid's transfers.

I just want to understand what is the relation between Di Maria and James. Arsenal got Ozil and nothing happened and he's still there. It was Di Maria's problem alone.

Also who said he doesn't want to leave ?

 

[el3mel]

By all accounts, James wants to leave though.

People need to stop comparing this to Di Maria. James wants to be a starter. Zidane can't offer him that.

Same post as mine in the same second

Great we are on the same wave length

 

[pocco]

Madrid will unload their cast offs on us and proceed to go and buy the players we should be looking at, like Bernardo Silva. In the meantime Woodward will think he's done good in bringing in another 'Galactico'.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Same post as mine in the same second

Great we are on the same wave length

I've seen so many posts. It's maddening haha.

I get people's concerns and I have mine as well, but James wants to leave and it seems United is his preferred destination. So I don't get people bringing up he'd be Di Maria 2.0

It's not really the same situation.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Madrid will unload their cast offs on us and proceed to go and buy the players we should be looking at, like Bernardo Silva. In the meantime Woodward will think he's done good in bringing in another 'Galactico'.

Why is Madrid cast off now a negative thing around here?

Just because Madrid don't want them, doesn't mean they're broken players.

 

[el3mel]

I've seen so many posts. It's maddening haha.

I get people's concerns and I have mine as well, but James wants to leave and it seems United is his preferred destination. So I don't get people bringing up he'd be Di Maria 2.0

It's not really the same situation.

Yes. Both situations are different. Di Maria moved to us because PSG couldn't afford him at this time. He never wanted to be here from the start and that was clear from the start. James won't be the same case and if he wants to go to PSG or other club he can easily ignore us and go to these clubs. Also both mentalities are different. Di Maria got a very weak mentality which I don't think James has.

Arsenal got Ozil from Real and he worked for them for many years now so it's just Di Maria's problem.

 

[George Owen]

I've seen so many posts. It's maddening haha.

I get people's concerns and I have mine as well, but James wants to leave and it seems United is his preferred destination. So I don't get people bringing up he'd be Di Maria 2.0

It's not really the same situation.

he wants to leave, RM wants to sell him. that's clear.

The unclear is, how many clubs are in for him? how many clubs that can pay his wages...

if the only offers are from China and us, then its obvious he will pick us, but i doubt his dream and desire is to come to United. Probably he would pick Juventus if they were for him...

Also, its kinda obvious, his agent and RM are pushing him to move here so they can get DeGea on the cheap.

This transfer doesn't smell good at any rate.

 

[pocco]

Why is Madrid cast off now a negative thing around here?

Just because Madrid don't want them, doesn't mean they're broken players.

I hate signing their players for a start. Being at Madrid seems to turn players into complete primadonnas. This guy seems to be the worst of the lot by the sounds of it with his private life. I want players that are hungry and look to us to elevate them to the next level. Fergie had our transfer policy spot on and I honestly don't think he'd have even considered this move for a second.

I predicted exactly what would happen with Di Maria when we were linked with him because you can just see these characters a mile off. This fills me with even less confidence as i don't think he's even as good a fit for us as Di Maria was.

 

[Man of Steel]

A small Venezuelan man called Steve has just informed me that Harmez has signed a pre pre pre contract contract contract, by giving some hair, bodily fluids and a cassette tape of Bon jon jovi bum bogey live 1992 bed of roses concert tour exclusive performance tdk 90.

So there's that to take on board.

 

[Borden]

Precisely the type of signing we don't need.

Which is why we'll probably sign him.

 

[antohan]

Probably since Griezmann is best as the second striker.

Although I think he could play a lone striker role fine.

So a James singing would probably lessen the chance of Griez coming.

It disappears, clearly. Can't imagine a Mourinho side without a big CF.

 

[Cloud7]

So I have two questions:

1) I'm not really versed in contracts and stuff, what exactly does a 'pre-contract' mean and entail. I've seen the term used in the past but never really understood it.

2) Why is every transfer out of Madrid compared to Di Maria? He was forced out, whereas it seems like James wants to leave. Fair enough Di Maria didn't work out for us, but why not compare this transfer to Sneijder or Robben? Two Madrid "rejects" who went on to have brilliant careers. It seems like more people are concerned about the fact that it's a player from Madrid than the actual quality of the player

 

[antohan]

Precisely the type of signing we don't need.

Which is why we'll probably sign him.

We've got plenty of midget AM types and nobody that stretches a defence providing a threat from wide areas. Signing James doesn't look a great idea.

 

[antohan]

So I have two questions:

1) I'm not really versed in contracts and stuff, what exactly does a 'pre-contract' mean and entail. I've seen the term used in the past but never really understood it.

2) Why is every transfer out of Madrid compared to Di Maria? He was forced out, whereas it seems like James wants to leave. Fair enough Di Maria didn't work out for us, but why not compare this transfer to Sneijder or Robben? Two Madrid "rejects" who went on to have brilliant careers. It seems like more people are concerned about the fact that it's a player from Madrid than the actual quality of the player

A pre-contract would be like a letter of intent with both parties agreeing on terms subject to something happening.

It makes sense to do that before chasing someone all Summer and then disagreeing on terms.

They've been trying to force out James for ages, it is only now he seems open to a move

 

[Paxi]

 

[peridigm]

This smells like bullshit to me. Since when has us being in CL been a problem signing a player and furthermore, if James is so worried about CL, how many minutes has he played for Madrid in CL since he signed?

 

[Paxi]

This smells like bullshit to me. Since when has us being in CL been a problem signing a player and furthermore, if James is so worried about CL, how many minutes has he played for Madrid in CL since he signed?

Where did you get the CL bit?

 

[Cloud7]

A pre-contract would be like a letter of intent with both parties agreeing on terms subject to something happening.

It makes sense to do that before chasing someone all Summer and then disagreeing on terms.

They've been trying to force out James for ages, it is only now he seems open to a move

Ahh yeah makes sense mate, thanks.

I think the success of this potential move entirely hinges on James mindset. He's no doubt an immensely talented player, and he could be great for us if his heart is in it and he actually comes here with a point to prove. That's what we as fans will never know I guess, we can only trust Mourinho to properly assess that. He clearly isn't at all interested in players who aren't mentally in it, so we have to hope he makes the correct judgement.

 

[Needham]

I'm getting a full back-covering tattoo as we speak. Picture of Rodriguez stretched out as if he's on a cross, oiled and muscular. Below are the words, "Pre-contract".

 

[SCP]

This transfer would be my worst nightmare this summer. Easily.

I'm begging (I;m not a religious man, I ain't praying) we don't splash northwards of 40m on another Madrid outcast who doesn't wanna leave, so they can fund better players for their own top squad.

James will come and flop like Di Maria and then join PSG or someone for a third of the dough the following summer. Plus, he's the antithesis of what we need. Another slowish, creative 10 who will hate 'ucking living here and have his head turned immediately. He's a less sound version of Mata, but more skilled. Di Maria was a ridiculously more skilled Ashley Young. Look where that left us.

Don't fund Madrid's transfers.

You should ask why good players flop constantly at United.

 

[NoPace]

and why would we want an average player like Douglas Costa who at 26yrs cant displace a 34yr old ribery? In 14 starts + 8 subs he has only 4 goals and 3 goals. Even when Bayern beat Hamburg 8-0, he could only manage one assist despite playing the entire game!

1. The 34 year old Ribery would walk into our team.
2. Those stats aren't even that bad for what is clearly Costa's worst season in years. Mkhitaryan has the exact same (in the league) figure of 14 starts, 8 subs and also has 4 goals, but 2 less assists.
3. Signing a proven player in his early prime coming off one bad season seems like a reasonable strategy to me in general. Unless you think Costa is struggling because he's lost a yard of pace, there's no reason to think he's past it. More likely he's not taken well to becoming a squad player again rather than challenging for a starting pace.
4. We badly need pace on the right side, I think.

9: Rashford-Physical or poaching 9
LW: Mkhitaryan-Martial
RW: Mata-Costa

looks real promising to me as long as we get a striker who can make the difference in those home draws against bad teams that have hurt us so badly this year. Each of the 3 forward positions would have 2 very different options for Mourinho to deploy and we'd see very little Lingard.

Whereas James basically replicates Mata completely, by being a slower, left-footed 10 who can play out wide and is an excellent finisher who can pick a pass but can't beat a man.

#NoMore10s

 

[NoPace]

No, Pogba is the CM not the DM. Cambiasso was the DM while Motta/Stankovic was the CM.

I remembered Motta starting more and playing as deep as or deeper than Cambiasso but it seems you're right, as Motta played the famous Barca games, but Stankovic played much more that year than I remember, and in any case Motta seems to have played slightly in front of or at least no deeper than Cambiasso.

But I meant Pogba might currently lack the awareness and discipline defensively to play the role Stankovic is pictured therein. It would be fun, though, and what we lost defensively we'd gain in possession and attacking play. I could also see Rashford and Martial doing well as the winger/strikers Etoo and Pandev played. I wouldn't be shocked to see Mourinho go to that sort of lineup in the CL next year, though maybe with Pogba as the 10/playmaker and Herrera and the CM/DM I expect us to buy, with 3 strikers across in Martial, a new 9/Griezmann and Rashford.

 

[NotQuiteManc]

James is no doubt is a good player, great technique with the ball and has goals in him, but like a few posters said, I am doubting his motivation especially after Di Maria.

 

[Arthur Friedenreich]

Since he's Colombian and i'm Brazilian i watched him a lot, because i tend to follow more closely our players(south americans).
So i really need to say two things that will make some of you hate me:

1 - I honestly believe many here just can't recognize who are the best players..they watch the guys in the pitch and see an alternative reality.

2 - James is FAR SUPERIOR to Isco, or Mata, or Silva...far superior.
Miki with the right mind would be better.
James is a guy who could win you a world cup.
You need to give confidence to this kind of player.

Sometimes in Spain the fans and media act like those kids everybody beat in the school, they dont know how to talk with girls, low testosteronized, etc, then they see the Brazilians or Colombian players, laughing, joking, surrounded by women..and they think: "mmm, this Dani Alves lad is not a good professional, look his Instagram posts"...
"Mmm, look those videos with James dancing...is not a good professional".

 

[elnorte]

This signing will suck if true.

 

[RAVred]

Personally voted no and I dont really want him. He's south american and they seem to be quite fair weather in cases. That being said, he'd have a mission to prove himself, especially if we go into the Champions League next year.

Sure he may wanna leave in 2 seasons, wouldn't be shocked, but we could get some short term success out of him. The things I like about him is hes a quality finisher, hes not lightning, but certainly faster than the likes of Mata and Rooney, but a fair bit slower than Mkhi.

He's good at set pieces, probably should become our corner taker, and got a decent long shot.


Personally I'd rather Lemar or Silva over him. Think they'll come at a better price for what they can give to us, especially in the years to come.


As much as it pains me to say, going forward, Mata will definitely start to be phased out regardless. Mourinho teams and systems need to play with pace, and it just isnt in his game. I also think he'll eventually tire of England and want to head back home. I really love him hes a great personality in the dressing room, etc. But we definitely have better options

 

[Needham]

Since he's Colombian and i'm Brazilian i watched him a lot, because i tend to follow more closely our players(south americans).
So i really need to say two things that will make some of you hate me:

1 - I honestly believe many here just can't recognize who are the best players..they watch the guys in the pitch and see an alternative reality.

2 - James is FAR SUPERIOR to Isco, or Mata, or Silva...far superior.
Miki with the right mind would be better.
James is a guy who could win you a world cup.
You need to give confidence to this kind of player.

Sometimes in Spain the fans and media act like those kids everybody beat in the school, they dont know how to talk with girls, low testosteronized, etc, then they see the Brazilians or Colombian players, laughing, joking, surrounded by women..and they think: "mmm, this Dani Alves lad is not a good professional, look his Instagram posts"...
"Mmm, look those videos with James dancing...is not a good professional".

So to summarize, we are all thick and have small members.

 

[Attila]

Since he's Colombian and i'm Brazilian i watched him a lot, because i tend to follow more closely our players(south americans).
So i really need to say two things that will make some of you hate me:

1 - I honestly believe many here just can't recognize who are the best players..they watch the guys in the pitch and see an alternative reality.

2 - James is FAR SUPERIOR to Isco, or Mata, or Silva...far superior.
Miki with the right mind would be better.
James is a guy who could win you a world cup.
You need to give confidence to this kind of player.

Sometimes in Spain the fans and media act like those kids everybody beat in the school, they dont know how to talk with girls, low testosteronized, etc, then they see the Brazilians or Colombian players, laughing, joking, surrounded by women..and they think: "mmm, this Dani Alves lad is not a good professional, look his Instagram posts"...
"Mmm, look those videos with James dancing...is not a good professional".

Totally agree, great post

 

[Freak]

He's not very good. We can get better players than him. Hope these reports are false and we steer well clear.

 

[Attila]

He's not very good. We can get better players than him. Hope these reports are false and we steer well clear.

He's better than 90% of this United team

 

[Freak]

He's better than 90% of this United team

We can get better if we are spending for someone.

 

[GailSpaceWynand]

You should ask why good players flop constantly at United.

They do so at all major clubs - because they buy so many who are not able to adjust to the pace, style, et al.
If we don't sign a CR when he's not yet a finished product, it'll be too late. It's risk but one that pays off, sometimes.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

1. The 34 year old Ribery would walk into our team.
2. Those stats aren't even that bad for what is clearly Costa's worst season in years. Mkhitaryan has the exact same (in the league) figure of 14 starts, 8 subs and also has 4 goals, but 2 less assists.
3. Signing a proven player in his early prime coming off one bad season seems like a reasonable strategy to me in general. Unless you think Costa is struggling because he's lost a yard of pace, there's no reason to think he's past it. More likely he's not taken well to becoming a squad player again rather than challenging for a starting pace.
4. We badly need pace on the right side, I think.

9: Rashford-Physical or poaching 9
LW: Mkhitaryan-Martial
RW: Mata-Costa

looks real promising to me as long as we get a striker who can make the difference in those home draws against bad teams that have hurt us so badly this year. Each of the 3 forward positions would have 2 very different options for Mourinho to deploy and we'd see very little Lingard.

Whereas James basically replicates Mata completely, by being a slower, left-footed 10 who can play out wide and is an excellent finisher who can pick a pass but can't beat a man.

#NoMore10s

1. We would not sign a player like Ribery (even if he is better than what we have) and thus we should not sign Douglas Costa who is a lesser player.

2. Douglas Costa bundesliga stats at Bayern
2015/16: 23(4) games 4 goals 9 assists
2016/17: 14(8) games 4 goals 3 assists
Even at Shaktar, h had never scored more than 6 goals in a league season, while Mkhi scored 25 in his last season

Mkhitaryan bundesliga stats at Dortmund
2013/14: 29(2) games 9 goals 10 assists
2014/15: 21(7) games 3 goals 4 assists
2015/16: 28(3) games 11 goals 15 assists
Mkhi struggled initially cos Klopp played him out of position in the middle. His last season, under Tuchel, he was played on the flank and was more effective.

3. The only thing proven about Costa is that he would never live up to his u21 hype.

4. We need quality, and not pace for the sake of pace. Quailty>pace. Pace without quality is an headless chicken.

5. Rashford will spend most of next season as a LWF, Martial on the bench until he proves otherwise, Mkhi as RW/RM, new CF, and new #10. we will have Lingard, Mata and Martial as backups. Costa is an average/good player that you use for squad depth like he is being used at Bayern. We cant afford such luxury when there are starting spots that need to be upgraded. If at his prime he cannot break into the bayern 11 against Robben and Ribery, he has no business at United.

6. James is a far more complete and superior player than Mata. I cant think of a single area in which Mata is better than James (and I have watched Mata since he was at Madrid Castilla)

7. Mata is the only #10 and he is not good enough to start if you want to compete for championships. James on the other hand is one of the best at that position. James will offer creativity, goals, set pieces and ability to win games out of nothing. Even if we had fifty #10s, as long as they are not at James level, I will sign James and sell the lot. Its not a game of quantity but quality.