City are "favourites" but I wonder if we're even involved any more.
Nicolas Otamendi | City Player
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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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I reckon we are getting Ramos. Sadly this would also mean that De Gea is on his way
If it is a straight swap between Ramos and DDG, I would not mind it at all. Get in a decent GK and we will be looking very good again. Maybe Ramos and Bastian can put a rocket under the arse on some of these players as well.
Sorry to bump this but he's due back in training tomorrow? Will his transfer go through this week assuming its been delayed for so long because of his holiday or are we waiting til our tour is finished if it is true we're signing him? His agent speaks like its a done deal to whatever club he's signing for when i have read his comments.
We would almost certainly have to pay a good sum for Ramos since De Gea's contract expires next year and he could leave on a free. If we do lose Dave, buy Cillssen and Romero, as well as pick up Ramos, I'd say that's a very good deal for us. We'd be getting a top player, who along with the likes of Schweinsteiger and Pedro, would bring a confidence, swagger, and winning mentality.
is he any good on the ball. as this seems to be the most important aspect for a defender in LVG's team
I've probably missed about 73 posts of this question, but....is he left footed?
if not, surely we wouldn't team him up with Blind!
if not, surely we wouldn't team him up with Blind!
So M.E.N. have said we aren't in for this fella (no reason not to believe them as they have been pretty good this summer) and won't be bidding at all this summer. Strange I think, as we desperately need a CB and with Giggs saying we were looking to strengthen the spine of the team? If not Ramos, or Otamendi, then who?
Always found the links to Otamendi a bit strange, right footed and not great on the ball. He would sort out the defensive part but the Ramos link tells me van Gaal is after a ball playing CB. Wonder who we'll get if not Ramos.
Nobody apparently. I for one can't wait until (optimistically) the second week of the season when we've got 3 of Jones/Smalling/Evans/Rojo out injured and Carrick is filling in at centre back.
We have Blind now, so Carrick doesn't need to bother. Blind, man of all trades, master of none.
In fairness, you can only have so many cocking players. We have a lot of CBs at the club. Smalling, Jones, Rojo, Blind, Evans, McNair, Blackett, plus the Carrick option which is really not a shabby option at all.
I'm happy with what we have. We have like 6 options.. Let's just hope Smalling continues to improve.
Delighted. So we were never interested in him. Very very good news.
Hasn't Van Gaal said that centre back is one of the areas we need to strengthen? Or am I imagining this?
But none of them are good enough to mount a serious challenge for top honours are they? Maybe Smalling alongside a more steady partner. We relied on DDG to bail us out a lot last season (and the season before)
He didn't say that.
Thanks. I think I might have heard him saying that we still need to strengthen a couple / few positions and assumed that one of them was CB
My favorite saying:
Dead in the water?
Dead in the water?
Smalling is good enough to mount a serious challenge. We do not need to rely as much on DDG anymore, because with the addition of Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger opposition teams won't be cutting through our midfield like a hot knife through butter and thus will lessen the pressure on our defence. In some ways, our defenders (and this the keeper) had an abnormal amount of attacks to endure compared to the other top four teams and part of the problem was because of our lack of a balanced midfield. Yes, the very Balance van Gaal has talked about fixing has been fixed.
Add Darmian, a defensively solid rightback to the mix and it is clear that van Gaal will only look to a CB which will aid our passing and possession game, not necessarily to fix defensive frailty which I suspect he believes has been fixed by his balancing of the team.
They've won premier league titles their good enough. Like the post above we have a better midfield and still have De Gea, hopefully.
It's a bit of a shame since he looks like the ideal Vidic replacement, i guess we have to put our faith in Jones instead 
No one knows anything tbh. Those linking us with him were probably making it all up and those saying the links were bad all along are probably just using deductive logic based on something that never was. They're all clueless.
It almost appears that no one is actually in for him
He is a bread a butter defender by all accounts. He was never in the Van Gaal mould. It makes sense for his agent to try and move him. 27 years old, first season that he has caught the attention of the footballing world, it might not happen again.
Yes, like I said Smalling alongside a more experienced CB (or even Jones / Rojo alongside one) but I am not sure whether a combination of two of these will be good enough.
Yes, they have won titles, but didn't they have Rio and/or Vidic back then to guide them?
That said, and I am contradicting myself here, I am a great believer that central defenders need to play as a consistent pairing to flourish (like Rio and Vidic did) and perhaps if LVG can settle on a regular pairing (Smalling and Jones for me) - and they can stay fit - they can really form a solid partnership - hopefully!
Not the same considering we actually bid for him in January. We just aren't willing to spend 50 on him.
Smalling & Jones & the rest of our CB's, havent a patch on Rio & Vida & it is a must that we bring in a top-class CB this window.
Otamendi looked a perfect fit for us & Stones to be signed sometime in the near future (now, if we have to due to Chelsea's interest, or next season), should have been the plan..
It's a bit of a shame since he looks like the ideal Vidic replacement, i guess we have to put our faith in Jones instead
There'll be a mass muppet suicide on here if we've not signed a top-class CB & we have to endure another season of shambollox defending & having Jones & Smalling out for large chunks of the season injured & having Carrick filling in at CB yet again - if there's more than those 2 out again..
I found the links odd as well but if he goes with Blind instead of buying a CB it'll be his Kraft moment at United.
LVG may have his ways, but he isnt stupid and going into next season without an established, top tier CB to shore up the backline would be stupid. It must be a negotiation tactic to get Valencia to lower the price for Otamendi.
You dont even need to go that far back man. It'll be his Vidal plan B moment last year, when he tried for Vidal (plan A) & then bought Blind (plan B) instead.
Good player Blind was for us last year, but talk about chalk & cheese players.
Blind should have been bought regardless - notably for his consistency in a variety of roles which proved vital for us last season; but we were after Vidal for his dynamism in CM & we ended up with Blind. What an anti-climax that was..
Lets hope you're right Ravi, but i've absolutely no confidence in that happening man. Lets hope i'm wrong & that the reports that we're not negotiating with Barca for Pedro are also wrong.
That's 2 top-class commensensical players we needed & players we all thought were a shoe-in to join us. We could have quite easily been content with no more signings after those 2.
Now we havent a feckin clue what's goin on & there's now indecision amongst the fans if we're gonna build on the massive strides we've made by gettin CM & RB sorted, and gettin CB & attack sorted then too..
I was freaking out a few weeks ago because I thought the club may have been short sighted enough to be choosing between Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger but LVG did the right thing and acquired them both. If Smalling gets injured the whole backline will turn into shit and I think after last season this much is evident. Jones is an ok backup and Evans has to go.
All this talk about Blind at CB is to throw the opposition off our our tracks, I am confident in saying that LVG and Woodie have this under control for now and I'm sure by the time the window shuts we will have the personnel we need.
Of course I probably have zero clue what is on LVG's mind because he seriously tried to sign Thomas fecking Vermaelen....if that is not lunacy then I don't know what is.
I think that Vermaelen like Rojo was about having a left footed player who could provide an option at left back if necessary. Vermaelen's experience in the Premiership would have given him the edge over Rojo.
As it turns out I think we got the right player. I love Rojo's contribution.
Let's hope something similar happens with missing out on Ramos and getting Otamendi.
As it turns out I think we got the right player. I love Rojo's contribution.
Let's hope something similar happens with missing out on Ramos and getting Otamendi.
I can't keep up anymore, are we interested in him or not?
We don't know either way. Its just speculation.
The English journos seem to think not, it wouldn't be surprising if in one of his weird moments LvG somehow preferred Blind because he can pass than an actual hard ass CB who can defend. I mean I get Otamendi is not ideal but he's better than our current resident rash destroyer.
English media is being briefed by the club that we have no interest in Otamendi and we've never had any interest in him. This could be the club winding up the journos either because hes closer to joining another club or we're keeping it as a surprise (see every non English player transfer under LvG). Or of course it could be totally true and we're content with the current crop of defenders unless we can sign a top class player.
the surprise striker lesson
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