James Rodriguez | joins Bayern Munich | 2 year loan

James Rodriguez - should we go for him?

  • Yes

    Votes: 404 34.6%

  • No

    Votes: 565 48.4%

  • I hate Silly Season

    Votes: 198 17.0%
  • Total voters
    1,167
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Fracture90 said:
Luxury signing...
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Care to highlight who we have that has proven to be better than him as a 10? Which of our players exactly do you think would make a Team of the Year? Would any of our supposed gems in attacking midfield threaten this? We struggle to score; we're easily thwarted by defensive teams and can't create openings against well-drilled units. Yet, you rate a player who would solve exactly these issues as a "luxury signing". I genuinely don't know if you have ever watched him play, so won't comment, but James is anything but a luxury signing.

He puts in a very good shift and is capable of regular brilliance. Even in an off-and-on season, his stats are better than all the United players for:
1. Goals / 90 mins
2. Assists / 90 mins
3. Key passes / 90 mins
4. Chances created / 90 mins

How exactly is this a luxury signing? We need creativity and the Caf itself has been moaning about this all season. We need quick-thinking players who also have the capability to split a defence. On the last season's evidence, are you honestly going to try and claim that Mata fits this particular bill?
 
el3mel said:
Thanks for pointing that out. What some don't know is Allegri tried to use Pogba as a number 10 during start of the previous season and it was a disaster , Juve perfomance dropped heavily and they were near relegation positions till Allegri tweaked his formation to use Paul in his correct place and they go on a winning run to win the league.

Pogba isn't as defensive minded to play deep, but also not suited for a very forward position as number 10 as he's not quick minded but loves to stop on the ball and choose what he'll do with it. CM his position.

Mata and Mikhi with all my respect for them, can't provide the solutions in number 10 James can provide. It's amazing with our lack of goals people are complaining about us wanting to sign a player that will provide solutions to score we don't have in the current team thus the predictability of our play. When Pogba is absent we have zero creativity even with Mikhi and Mata playing.
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Spot on. Seems like some people have yet to see reality and are jumping onto a dissing bandwagon; I wonder at times if these folks have actually seen these players perform for full games or just watched some YouTube videos and read random articles in the rags.

Truths:
1. We are nowhere close to the level of Real, Barca, Bayern and co.
2. We're probably not even close to their second-choice elevens with our first eleven;
3. I don't think we're too different to the rest of the PL in this regard - but we need to rebuild fast to avoid falling off the radar completely
4. In this situation, signing a first choice from the bench of these clubs is not a sign of weakness, but of realism
5. Stop using Angel di Maria as an example; there are one-offs everywhere
6. Stop using the "South Americans fail" line; so say Rafael, Rojo, Suarez, Sanchez, Costa, Tevez, Aguero, Mashcerano, Willian and several more going back to Juninho and even before...

With all due respect, I think we need to realize that we're not in the top echelon of clubs right now and our squad is in dire need of improvements. We need to sign players who will be better than those we have.

Oh and on Mata:
1. Player of season for Chelsea ... and where did they finish those seasons?
2. He was replaced with a better player ... and they won the league
3. He's not really resulted in our style or our results improving for 2.5 years now; so what makes these guys say he's the answer?
 
Mr Smith said:
So this is starting to look like it's genuinely on. While I have my reservations about signing another #10, I'd still argue he's better than what we already have, and I'd also argue that if we're in for him (or at least if we sign him) then that probably means the Griezmann deal is off, in which case I'd happily have James along. I've always been a fan, and I reckon he could really flourish as the main man.
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James Ducker from the Telegraph tweeted that United aren't pursuing Rodriguez. Real are trying to create a market for him and, as usual, we are the first name that comes to mind while doing so.

So, yeah.. I pretty much hate Silly Season.
 
He's a Mendes player, so Mourinho always gives a hand. If it's not to pricey, Mourinho will say yes, even if needs other players more.
 
TJSF said:
He's a Mendes player, so Mourinho always gives a hand. If it's not to pricey, Mourinho will say yes, even if needs other players more.
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Not one of our signings last summer was a Mendes client.
 
He's a talented player with a good end product for a no 10. Also someone that I believe who can be used to build a team around with (Just look at how Colombia set up their play in the previous World Cup) But do we need another no 10? He used to play as a winger with Porto but I must say when I watch him, his biggest strength is actually a playmaker/no 10. I don't think I like this signing but he's a very talented player for sure so I might don't mind him if Jose has a proper plan to use him to support Rashford and also a proper plan to play him together with Pogba.
 
midnightmare said:
Oh and on Mata:
1. Player of season for Chelsea ... and where did they finish those seasons?
2. He was replaced with a better player ... and they won the league
3. He's not really resulted in our style or our results improving for 2.5 years now; so what makes these guys say he's the answer?
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1. They won the CL and FA double? Season later they still won the Europa.
2. He was replaced by a player who, at that time, fit Mou's styleplay more than Mata, which was Oscar. Don't think anybody sane would say Oscar is/was better than Mata.
3. Neither have Ibra/Pogba/Mkhitaryan, what makes you say they are the answer? Get rid of them too? What makes you say James is the answer? Bringing everything down to Mata in this scenario is funny, not taking into account such variables as Moyes/LVG being our managers, being stuck with Rooney, other shite. He's still one of our most consistent performers.
 
midnightmare said:
Care to highlight who we have that has proven to be better than him as a 10? Which of our players exactly do you think would make a Team of the Year? Would any of our supposed gems in attacking midfield threaten this? We struggle to score; we're easily thwarted by defensive teams and can't create openings against well-drilled units. Yet, you rate a player who would solve exactly these issues as a "luxury signing". I genuinely don't know if you have ever watched him play, so won't comment, but James is anything but a luxury signing.

He puts in a very good shift and is capable of regular brilliance. Even in an off-and-on season, his stats are better than all the United players for:
1. Goals / 90 mins
2. Assists / 90 mins
3. Key passes / 90 mins
4. Chances created / 90 mins

How exactly is this a luxury signing? We need creativity and the Caf itself has been moaning about this all season. We need quick-thinking players who also have the capability to split a defence. On the last season's evidence, are you honestly going to try and claim that Mata fits this particular bill?
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He's a luxury signing because we're stacked in the position he plays. We got Mata, Mikhi, Lingard, Pereira next season and even Rooney. They might not be better players than him but we have so many positions we need strengthening in before bringing another number 10.

Positions like CB, DMF/HMF, RW, CF. Potentially LB, RB and GK.

And please don't say Rodriguez can play on the RW. He can play there as a makeshift winger, same what Mata, Mikhi and Lingard are doing, but we need a proper RW.

And yes I've been watching him play since his Porto days and the first time we wanted to sign him.
 
el3mel said:
Thanks for pointing that out. What some don't know is Allegri tried to use Pogba as a number 10 during start of the previous season and it was a disaster , Juve perfomance dropped heavily and they were near relegation positions till Allegri tweaked his formation to use Paul in his correct place and they go on a winning run to win the league.

Pogba isn't as defensive minded to play deep, but also not suited for a very forward position as number 10 as he's not quick minded but loves to stop on the ball and choose what he'll do with it. CM his position.

Mata and Mikhi with all my respect for them, can't provide the solutions in number 10 James can provide. It's amazing with our lack of goals people are complaining about us wanting to sign a player that will provide solutions to score we don't have in the current team thus the predictability of our play. When Pogba is absent we have zero creativity even with Mikhi and Mata playing.
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I agree that pogba isn't a no 10 and without pogba we look toothless, but he is most effective in the exact same areas of the pitch as james will be, will his signing help us get best out of pogba?

I think one issue no one seems to really talk about with regards to james signing is herrera and what happens to him, if we sign james we will still need a dm like fabinho because herera try as he might is not a dm but with james it will be a 2 man mf. Pogba is lackadaisical in defense, from what i have watched of james, he is a bit worse. This will be like chelsea with matic being left to do too much, so when fabinho is on form everything looks great the minute his performances go down our performances will go down too. I really don't see how signing james helps us build a good system unless we are selling pogba and getting someone better at defensive duties.
 
BigCaine said:
I agree that pogba isn't a no 10 and without pogba we look toothless, but he is most effective in the exact same areas of the pitch as james will be, will his signing help us get best out of pogba?

I think one issue no one seems to really talk about with regards to james signing is herrera and what happens to him, if we sign james we will still need a dm like fabinho because herera try as he might is not a dm but with james it will be a 2 man mf. Pogba is lackadaisical in defense, from what i have watched of james, he is a bit worse. This will be like chelsea with matic being left to do too much, so when fabinho is on form everything looks great the minute his performances go down our performances will go down too. I really don't see how signing james helps us build a good system unless we are selling pogba and getting someone better at defensive duties.
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They won't . James will be playing in a more forward position than Pogba and they will link with each other as any CM and AM do in any team playing 4-2-3-1 formation.

Why should we worry too much about each player future in the current squad each time we are linked to a new player ? if we brought James and a DMF then Herrera will be used as a sub in games and for rotation + when we need to play 4-3-3. There is no team who guarantees a starting position to any player because he's good. Players should compete for their position beside, we get injury crisis each season so we must have alternatives and a real squad depth to compete on all fronts otherwise this disastrous season will repeat again and again.

If Jose brought a DMF he will bring someone who can perform consistently behind Pogba. He already knows Pogba better than us. Also our problem was inability to finish chances against small teams, we didn't have much trouble defensively against them so why worry ? In big games he will play with 2 DMFs, Herrera and the new one to bring more defensive approach , just like what he was doing with Chelsea whennhe fielded Matic and Mikel together.
 
BigCaine said:
I agree that pogba isn't a no 10 and without pogba we look toothless, but he is most effective in the exact same areas of the pitch as james will be, will his signing help us get best out of pogba?
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They are different enough imo.

Pogba's strength lies in pushing up from deeper positions at the right moment, and I think it's his mix of distributing the ball from deeper zones and occasionally venturing forward Yaya style that makes him such a special CM. Played further up, he loses that balance in his game and is a tad too immobile to constantly operate in tight spaces like this.

James is exactly the other way around: He does contribute to build up by letting himself fall back, but his main tendency is playing closer to the opponent's goal, shifting to the wings and making penetrating runs into the box.

So schematically it's like this for me:
Pogba - CM with AM tendencies
James - positionally flexible AM with aspects of support striker and (to a lesser degree) #8 to him.

Should work fine offensively. A question that remains for me is how physical Mourinho wants his midfield to be, and if that could impede a switch from Fellaini (or someone similar) to James. But he has also played Rooney and Mata in front of Pogba, so it's still not clear to me what his plan A might be next season.
 
BigCaine said:
I agree that pogba isn't a no 10 and without pogba we look toothless, but he is most effective in the exact same areas of the pitch as james will be, will his signing help us get best out of pogba?
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Pogba managed just fine at Juventus with 10's in front and other creative players all around him.
 
I think it's unfair to assume he's spoiled brat just because he's Latin American. It's not like everyone from there is like Di Maria. Let us not forget one of the hardest working players we have is South American too.

If Rodriguez feels he can come here and revive his career and Mou agrees, so be it. He's a great player.
 
I've come round to this one. Plenty of Madrid players haven't had a proper chance due to the quality of their squad, and have gone on to excel elsewhere. Doesn't debar us from chasing Griezmann/a CF either. Good option to have.
 
Z_Wolf said:
I think it's unfair to assume he's spoiled brat just because he's Latin American. It's not like everyone from there is like Di Maria. Let us not forget one of the hardest working players we have is South American too.

If Rodriguez feels he can come here and revive his career and Mou agrees, so be it. He's a great player.
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Exactly this. Di Maria has corrupted people's opinions on Madrid players and South Americans ones.

I won't talk about about Valencia, just look at Sanchez and Aguero.
 
I would have him in an instant, massive upgrade on Mikhitaryan, Lingard, Rooney, Young, Fellaini and even Martial (on his current form).

This team has too many pedestrians who are not Manchester United anymore.
 
The best thing about this signing, if it were occur, would be that he's not the best player we will be looking to purchase this summer. Exciting times ahead I hope.
 
jungledrums said:
James left out of squad versus Celta. Make of that what you will.
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He might be leaving this summer, but that doesn't automatically mean he'll be coming to United. As I said before:

SirMattBugsby said:
James Ducker from the Telegraph tweeted that United aren't pursuing Rodriguez. Real are trying to create a market for him and, as usual, we are the first name that comes to mind while doing so.

So, yeah.. I pretty much hate Silly Season.
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Cassidy said:
Can't see who Jose would start ahead of him from our current side. If he was to sign him.
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There's a strong case to be made for Mkhitaryan - ok, go ahead and laugh, but after a year of acclimatisation he could great next year, and far more effective in a Mou-style team than Rodriguez.

Also, if we sign either Griezmann or Bernardo Silva, they'd also be better options, wouldn't they?
 
JohnnyKills said:
There's a strong case to be made for Mkhitaryan - ok, go ahead and laugh, but after a year of acclimatisation he could great next year, and far more effective in a Mou-style team than Rodriguez.

Also, if we sign either Griezmann or Bernardo Silva, they'd also be better options, wouldn't they?
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All of these will be playing on the right side if we get James. Need to note how Jose deploys his right wing as they're not stick to the flank as I described multiple times before, but they leave the flank and join the middle to let Valencia rushes forward for the cross.
 
Wont get the best out of pogba? stop with the excuses. We have to bring in several quality players over the pitch, if pogba wants to become the best in the world, he will have to adapt several times throughout his career to achieve that.
 
Crashoutcassius said:
Fair point. I do think though that if we had a better counter attack we wouldn't have looked so second rate vs arsenal and spurs lately. I guess those games are fresh on my mind.
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Yeah and those are games without Pogba. In all other games where we had space to counter and he was involved we looked very dangerous even with lacking in form players up front.
 
How has his professionalism and fitness been over the last couple of years? If I'm not mistaken his first season at Madrid was impressive but thereafter he often looked sluggish and sloppy at times in comparison to the player we saw at the world cup.
 
If he comes here, he would get Rooney level hate. His all-round game is pretty average, slow, average dribbler, hit and miss passing, hit and miss crossing, decent at dead balls, excellent shot. He'll get a lot of hammering here. He's like Depay with worse attitude. He comes back fat after the end of season break as well.
 
I really don't want this to happen at all. Pogba in a 2 man midfield...just not what I want to see.
 
Mickfoley said:
If he comes here, he would get Rooney level hate. His all-round game is pretty average, slow, average dribbler, hit and miss passing, hit and miss crossing, decent at dead balls, excellent shot. He'll get a lot of hammering here. He's like Depay with worse attitude. He comes back fat after the end of season break as well.
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:lol: ok mate. Hes not at the top of my list, but you are taking the mickey.
 
Cant wait to see him make his debut for us in December, after being ousted from the side for months because Jose doesnt like the colour of his under armour in training.
 
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