January Transfer Window

Pastore is a player I have always admired. I don't want to think what he would cost though. To be fair though, he isn't someone that we need badly though.

I hope he was looking at Matuidi, I think he would be great at United. Both scored if I heard right.
 
Baxter said:
Rabiot will be brilliant too.
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To be honest, I have never seen too much of him but heard very good things. From memory, I think he may have been on the books at City for a while. I don't know what happened though.
 
devilish said:
Who isn't these days? Nowadays we spend 28m on Fellaini so I guess everyone can pass the mark especially if he's working at the blue half of Liverpool

Seriously replacing Rafael with Seamus is a big step down.
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Strange post. Coleman has been the best RB in the league this season, if his form continues he'll have had a better season than any Rafael has produced so far. I'm a massive fan of Rafael and I think he'll go on to be the better player but it's plain wrong to suggest Coleman would currently represent a massive drop in quality.
 
Have to stop reading these threads.

If you believe this forum and the papers, we're basically selling everyone, and it'll be a massive overhaul this summer.
Which you just can't see from us, a club who normally have such a low turnover.

Imagine a summer of losing Rafael, Vidic, Ferdinand and Evra?! That'd be insane.
 
Sandikan said:
Have to stop reading these threads.

If you believe this forum and the papers, we're basically selling everyone, and it'll be a massive overhaul this summer.
Which you just can't see from us, a club who normally have such a low turnover.

Imagine a summer of losing Rafael, Vidic, Ferdinand and Evra?! That'd be insane.
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I don't think anyone is believing everything is happening, more just discussing it all.

And in regards to your last point, there is a good possibilty that we will lose two of them and if we don't get our way, maybe 3 of them. Rafael the one who is obviously staying.
 
After Fellaini I am very pessimistic about the prospect of buying more Everton players. Might sound silly but for me, I was in the camp that was in favour of signing Fellaini (although we overpaid) - and seeing how that has worked out just makes me think we should fork out the cash for some top European talent rather than signing another overpriced English player from a (normally) Europa League team (approx).

RB should be the last of our concerns however. We have plenty of other areas we should be looking to strengthen. IF Rafael wanted out (which I doubt) and IF it was the case that there were simply no other transfer targets available in January, only then could I see the point in signing a RB.
 
We've become a joke in the transfer market, right before our own eyes, over the years. We've believed our hype about all this 'we are United, we are different crap', and it has left us going after, well, 'different' targets to all other big clubs like Valencia, Young, Hernandez etc. All that has done is left us with a team of different quality.

I would not be surprised to see Chelsea close the Matic deal (a player we actually need) for a good price too, and even Arsenal signing Draxler while Moyes clocks up air miles and plans to beat all the competition in the summer by bidding less than them.
 
Rozay said:
We've become a joke in the transfer market, right before our own eyes, over the years. We've believed our hype about all this 'we are United, we are different crap', and it has left us going after, well, 'different' targets to all other big clubs like Valencia, Young, Hernandez etc. All that has done is left us with a team of different quality.
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We've also signed established players from the league for big money:
Berbatov, RVP, Ferdinand, Rooney(it was a record signing)

From other places:
Hargreaves, Kagawa, RVn, Veron

Highly regarded young players for serious money:
Nani, Anderson, DDG, Phil Jones

We obviously mix it up. It's a sensible policy.
 
Ish84045 said:
That's an extremely "bold" statement to make. Care to share your thoughts?

The guy's 22 years old, already one of the best in the EPL...not that proposterous a thought IMO.
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23.

Just don't see the talent for it. He'll be top class but inevitably get leapfrogged by players with better attributes and more natural talent. Injury record doesn't help either.

Maybe if he was majestic defensively or something. Compare to Cole at 23 though and he was a better player by then.

It will be due to pausity of talent if Rafel is the world's best fullback, imo.
 
Everest Red said:
We've also signed established players from the league for big money:
Berbatov, RVP, Ferdinand, Rooney(it was a record signing)

From other places:
Hargreaves, Kagawa, RVn, Veron

Highly regarded young players for serious money:
Nani, Anderson, DDG, Phil Jones

We obviously mix it up. It's a sensible policy.
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I meant in more recent times. The fact is, whatever our recent policy has been has seen a sharp decline in the quality of the current team from our last top side in 2008. The contrast between what we have brought in/through and let go/declined since then has been quite big I think.

It is NOW we need a Veron, so the fact that we got one 10 years ago(when we needed one far less) is neither here nor there for me. Today, we are getting after Fellaini's instead of Veron's
 
Rozay said:
We've become a joke in the transfer market, right before our own eyes, over the years. We've believed our hype about all this 'we are United, we are different crap', and it has left us going after, well, 'different' targets to all other big clubs like Valencia, Young, Hernandez etc. All that has done is left us with a team of different quality.

I would not be surprised to see Chelsea close the Matic deal (a player we actually need) for a good price too, and even Arsenal signing Draxler while Moyes clocks up air miles and plans to beat all the competition in the summer by bidding less than them.
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Nobody conplained about the likes of De Gea, Kagawa or Van Persie. Unfortunately not every signing can be a top name, hence the likes of those you mentioned. Still, Valencia and Hernandez have been worth their money.
 
B20 said:
23.

Just don't see the talent for it. He'll be top class but inevitably get leapfrogged by players with better attributes and more natural talent. Injury record doesn't help either.

Maybe if he was majestic defensively or something. Compare to Cole at 23 though and he was a better player by then.

It will be due to pausity of talent if Rafel is the world's best fullback, imo.
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Fair enough, though surely you can see he's got "natural" talent in abundance?

If anything, it will be his injuries that will hold him back.

Last season he was probably the best right back in the league and it's a bit unfair to say it was due to a pausity of talent.
 
Ish84045 said:
Fair enough, though surely you can see he's got "natural" talent in abundance?

If anything, it will be his injuries that will hold him back.

Last season he was probably the best right back in the league and it's a bit unfair to say it was due to a pausity of talent.
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Last season he was second best imo. No shame in they though. Lots of good rb's in England atm.
 
Irwinwastheking said:
Last season he was second best imo. No shame in they though. Lots of good rb's in England atm.
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Zabaleta?

Yeah, debatable as Rafael also played at an extremely high level and scored some absolute important (screamers they were too!) goals.

But semantics. We can agree on that. My general point though was that saying "Rafael will never be the best in his position" is a bit of a silly thing to say at this point in time.
 
I dont think of myself as a big transfer muppet but I do have a bit of an itch that needs to be scratched here, a muppet-itch. We're half way through the month and nothing is happening. Come on Moyes, scratch me.
 
Ish84045 said:
Zabaleta?

Yeah, debatable as Rafael also played at an extremely high level and scored some absolute important (screamers they were too!) goals.

But semantics. We can agree on that. My general point though was that saying "Rafael will never be the best in his position" is a bit of a silly thing to say at this point in time.
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Totally. Raf is a brilliant brilliant player.
 
Valuing players by their cost isn't always wise. It's just like the netspend argument. I don't see why over the years we should essentially devalue the contributions of the likes of Vidic, Evra or VDS on the basis that none were £25m+ signings. At the same time the way we struggle with transfers these days either indicates there's no money there - which we know isn't true, or that we've very behind the times when it comes to how the market works now. Maybe we don't bend the right ears anymore or perhaps we stick with the same approach that may have worked in the past but now the market has changed. I don't know, it's very difficult to tell looking outside in.

It does seem that other clubs, regardless of size or funds, seem to conclude deals relatively smoothly and quickly but we find it a chore. There has to be a fundamental reason for this. We can't just keep getting unlucky with unresponsive clubs/agents/players.
 
I
Ish84045 said:
Yeah, I'm not sure why B20 is going that route. It seems the "he can't defend" tag is still stuck to people who probably doesn't watch him as often.

But to claim that he's not " that naturally talented" is also a bit absurd IMO.
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B9 has gone off the rails a bit this year god love him. The lofty height of 4th has him dizzy, and lest we forget that they have the man that's redefining the right back position and the goat.
 
Zabaleta is the best RB in the league imo. Rafa isn't far off, shame he got injured. He's a much better defender then rivals give him credit for, he just has the odd moment of madness now and then which allows him to be labelled with the same "shit defender" brush.
 
B20 said:
23.

Just don't see the talent for it. He'll be top class but inevitably get leapfrogged by players with better attributes and more natural talent. Injury record doesn't help either.

Maybe if he was majestic defensively or something. Compare to Cole at 23 though and he was a better player by then.

It will be due to pausity of talent if Rafel is the world's best fullback, imo.
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Considering that last season he was second to zabaleta, who was marginally better then him, i think he has every chance he might if he stays clear of injuries. He was probably top 5 in the world last season, but as you say, it was probably due to a lack of other quality fullbacks. The only top class, or world class fullback right now is lahm, and then there are a few very good ones like Rafael, piszczek, etc., but the difference between them is that Rafael just turned 23 and the others are in their primes.

Also, he's extremely talented. Great going forward, very good and smart on the ball and has improved immensely defensively. He's a very good tackler and you always see the opposition attack us from evra's side, not his.
 
devilish said:
As they say, form is temporary, class is permanent

Also its not as if the EPL is stocked with quality full backs at the moment
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Then you will realise that Coleman has been improving with every game since the start of the 2012/2013 season. He was a good player then and now he is an excellent player.

Isn't it?

Gibbs, Sagna, Zabaleta, Clichy, Azpilicueta, Ivanovic, Baines, Oviedo, Rose, Walker, Rafael, Evra, Shaw, Clyne, Davies, etc. They're all good players at least with a few excellent ones (Baines, Zabaleta being two of the best in the world in their respective positions and players like Azpilicueta, Rafael, Shaw, Coleman having the potential to be some of the best players in their position).
 
sullydnl said:
Strange post. Coleman has been the best RB in the league this season, if his form continues he'll have had a better season than any Rafael has produced so far. I'm a massive fan of Rafael and I think he'll go on to be the better player but it's plain wrong to suggest Coleman would currently represent a massive drop in quality.
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Rafael's form last season had him as the third best player in a team that won the League comfortably. Unless Everton qualify for 4th with Coleman being one of Everton's best performers, then he will struggle to get near to Rafael's form last season.

B20 said:
Rafael will never be the best in the world in his position.
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I don't think any United fan would swap him for any other full back in the World. Along with Zabaleta he was the best RB in the League last season, with Zabaleta getting more recognition because he was by far City's best player all season, whereas United had Carrick, De Gea and RVP (hence winning the League so comfortably).

In my opinion he is already one of the best (top 5). All he needs is a couple of seasons without injury to prove it to people who don't watch him every week (the kind of opposition fans that are only just starting to believe that De Gea isn't an error prone flop).
 
finneh said:
Rafael's form last season had him as the third best player in a team that won the League comfortably. Unless Everton qualify for 4th with Coleman being one of Everton's best performers, then he will struggle to get near to Rafael's form last season.
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So if Coleman plays as good as Rafael or better, yet we only finish in 5th, he won't reach Rafael's form because we haven't finished 4th?
 
B20 said:
23.

Just don't see the talent for it. He'll be top class but inevitably get leapfrogged by players with better attributes and more natural talent. Injury record doesn't help either.

Maybe if he was majestic defensively or something. Compare to Cole at 23 though and he was a better player by then.

It will be due to pausity of talent if Rafel is the world's best fullback, imo.
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The only thing holding him back is injuries. Look at the quality of wingers he has played well against between the age of 18-21. He's immensely talented, he just needs a bit of luck with injures and to be able to get a 40 game season under his belt to really kick on.
 
The best fullbacks in the world right now aren't particularly great anyway compared to the fullbacks of old purely in terms of defense. Probably a result of modern tactics pushing fullbacks up the pitch and focusing on their play in attach and on the ball a great amount.

Except Lahm I'm not totally convinced of any other individuals defensive play as being anything more than 'good enough'. I'd say that Rafael is good enough in defense, prone to the occasional lapse in concentration, out of position, eagerness to attack. Although I think he could improve in these areas, you could say the same about Marcelo, Baines, Alaba, Alba, Alves etc. I accept that it's the downside of the modern fullback who has so much more importance in possession and attacking play than in the past.
 
Baines and Barkley expected to sign new deals today.

Woodward preparing deadline day £10million bid for the pair as a result.
 
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