Robert Lewandowski

[Amir]

I don't see what winning the league has to do with it.

 

[Mad Winger]

---- Rooney - Kagawa ----
Welbeck - RVP - Hernandez
----- Lewandowski -------

feck yeah!!!

 

[Giggsforever]

I'd personally prefer Falcao or Cavani, or any strikers out there with abit more pace/flair.. I don't think it's worth getting a striker who is not a massive upgrade on what we already possess.

Well, if we sign him, some of the players we have now will be playing for other teams.

 

[Castia]

Really cant get excited by another striker, Hernandez is more than capable of scoring 20 goals a season and he can barely get a game these days. Zaha and maybe a striker, how much of the budget is gonna be left for you know what? a centre back.

 

[Sarni]

This is ridiculous. We don't need another striker at all and we shouldn't be signing players just because we are available. Somehow this 'he's available so we should try' rule doesn't work with midfielders, amazingly. Fergie wasn't very interested when Bundesliga's two most in-form midfielders were available for €10m in 2011 (Vidal, well and Sahin).

 

[Raees]

They supposedly have huge buyout clauses. Plus we don't know who these strikers are meant to be replacing. Is Rooney off, is he going to move into midfield, Hernandez has been linked to clubs like Atlético, is Welbeck going to be converted into a winger? Nobody knows what SAF is thinking because he's so cryptic over these things.

Well, if we sign him, some of the players we have now will be playing for other teams.

This is true and I have a feeling Rooney isn't going to be playing upfront for us next year (far too much speculation at the moment for nothing major to go down this summer)... but I don't think Lewandowski is a big enough talent to replace a fit and firing Wayne Rooney, no doubt he's a excellent player in his own right though.

As for midfield, Fergie needs to pull his finger out.. its one of his weaknesses, he is great at signing most positions to be fair, but midfield is an area of weakness in terms of player recruitment.

 

[Amir]

As for midfield, Fergie needs to pull his finger out.. its one of his weaknesses, he is great at signing most positions to be fair, but midfield is an area of weakness in terms of player recruitment.

It's worse than that. It's like a bloody blind spot. It's not that he's signed bad midfielders in recent years. He hasn't bothered getting any fox six years now.

 

[newseasonticket]

Maybe we'll just forget about the midfield and play a 5-5 formation.

 

[Sixpence]

It's worse than that. It's like a bloody blind spot. It's not that he's signed bad midfielders in recent years. He hasn't bothered getting any fox six years now.

Those Liam Miller scars run deep.

 

[LR7]

Maybe we'll just forget about the midfield and play a 5-5 formation.

What's a midfield?

 

[Ekeke]

Had fantastic chemistry with Kagawa and this season he has shown he can be a heck of a player without him too. He has a touch of the Berbatov's about him (in terms of style on the ball, not vision) I dont think we need him at all but if we have the chance for them to replicate their linkup play I can see exactly why Sir Alex would be keen. Having said that Falcao and Cavani are better yes, but are they really going to come to United and be okay with being on the bench when Hernandez and Welbeck are picked for example? They can go to any club they choose, they'll probably choose one where they are the clear first choice and everyone else is rotated around them. Plus I'd fully expect them both to cost a lot more than Lewandowski.

 

[Sam]

Fergie just can't help himself when it comes to strikers. He turns all muppet on us.

 

[Sarni]

Had fantastic chemistry with Kagawa and this season he has shown he can be a heck of a player without him too. He has a touch of the Berbatov's about him (in terms of style on the ball, not vision) I dont think we need him at all but if we have the chance for them to replicate their linkup play I can see exactly why Sir Alex would be keen. Having said that Falcao and Cavani are better yes, but are they really going to come to United and be okay with being on the bench when Hernandez and Welbeck are picked for example? They can go to any club they choose, they'll probably choose one where they are the clear first choice and everyone else is rotated around them. Plus I'd fully expect them both to cost a lot more than Lewandowski.

Yes but to replicate Kagawa's and Lewandowski's link-up okay you'd need to drop both Rooney and van Persie. I could see Rooney leaving in the Summer but it still leaves van Persie who'd need to be dropped and he's by far a better striker than Lewandowski.

There's just no room for another forward unless we let someone go. You can't really rotate 5 forwards, we've had problems giving games to Hernandez and Welbeck up front already, add another striker to the mix and it'll be impossible to keep them happy.

 

[Ekeke]

It depends how we want to play. Despite whats said on here, Kagawa is fine playing inside from the left. RVP can play behind a striker. Rooney can play in midfield. Welbeck seems likely to continue playing a wide striker role regardless of whether we sign another striker or just keep the ones we have now. His finishing just doesnt come close to our other options and Sir Alex is hellbent on making sure we score more goals than other teams. Hernandez is the one to be a little concerned for as he doesn't have enough variety in his game to play multiple roles. I remember we tried him out on the right in his first season and that didnt go well. But maybe this forces him to work even harder on his general play to make playing another role an option and get himself more gametime. Hernandez comes across the same as Welbeck, just happy to be at the club and contribute however they can. Despite speculative comments from all over the place they seem happy to be bit part and work hard to improve and get their games.

 

[SER19]

If we sell hernandez and just replace him with another goalscorer Ill be very unhappy. We'd do very well to improve on Hernandez as a striker willing to play the role he does.

 

[Raees]

It's worse than that. It's like a bloody blind spot. It's not that he's signed bad midfielders in recent years. He hasn't bothered getting any fox six years now.

Maybe we'll just forget about the midfield and play a 5-5 formation.

This entire country has a blind spot when it comes to the qualities required to play in midfield... it amazes me when I think that the likes of Bobby Charlton and Scholes were english.. purely by luck they appeared on the scene and come through the ranks, there has been no attempt to manufacture that type of player on a mass scale.

Too much emphasis on defending and attacking with no attention paid to what goes on inbetween.. it's why guys like Gerrard who can make fantastic slide tackles and then can hit 35 yard rockets are worshipped as complete midfielders. What about ball retention? having good agility on the ball and being able to dribble past players even in midfield.. controlling the game, choosing when you want to attack and when you want to just keep the ball in order to frustrate the opposition and await for gaps to open up? Annoying.

Wilshere apart, no other english midfielder impresses me and that is a crying shame, just look at Germany for example and the quantity and quality is on a different planet.. and Spain, a guy who can't even break into their first team is a potential PFA candidate in England.. we're so behind. Fergie needs to recognise the reason why 3 of the sides in the CL semi's are there due to their ball retention and Madrid ain't too shabby in that respect either.

 

[LR7]

This entire country has a blind spot when it comes to the qualities required to play in midfield... it amazes me when I think that the likes of Bobby Charlton and Scholes were english.. purely by luck they appeared on the scene and come through the ranks, there has been no attempt to manufacture that type of player on a mass scale.

Too much emphasis on defending and attacking with no attention paid to what goes on inbetween.. it's why guys like Gerrard who can make fantastic slide tackles and then can hit 35 yard rockets are worshipped as complete midfielders. What about ball retention? having good agility on the ball and being able to dribble past players even in midfield.. controlling the game, choosing when you want to attack and when you want to just keep the ball in order to frustrate the opposition and await for gaps to open up? Annoying.

Wilshere apart, no other english midfielder impresses me and that is a crying shame, just look at Germany for example and the quantity and quality is on a different planet.. and Spain, a guy who can't even break into their first team is a potential PFA candidate in England.. we're so behind. Fergie needs to recognise the reason why 3 of the sides in the CL semi's are there due to their ball retention and Madrid ain't too shabby in that respect either.

I see some points you are making but you seem to over value possession. Real Madrid average less possession in La Liga than we do in the PL. Football isn't all about possession. Not every team wants to play like Barcelona. There are other ways to play the game.

Oh, and as for the bolded part, Michael Carrick says hello.

 

[Sarni]

All the successful sides recently had a brilliant midfield. Spain basically only have midfielders which is why they even play one of them up front, Barcelona have a terrific midfield and so do Bayern, Madrid and Dortmund. The emphasis on cental midfield is strong in football right now so I find it baffling that we continously refuse to move on with the times.

 

[kps88]

All the successful sides recently had a brilliant midfield. Spain basically only have midfielders which is why they even play one of them up front, Barcelona have a terrific midfield and so do Bayern, Madrid and Dortmund. The emphasis on cental midfield is strong in football right now so I find it baffling that we continously refuse to move on with the times.

We've been just as or even more successful than most of those sides recently, which shows there's no fixed formula to it.

On topic though, I can only assume we're going to see one of our forwards either leave or get a change in position next season.

 

[Donut]

If Rooney's not leaving or moving to midfield, than it may be that Chicarito wants to leave I'd say.

 

[Ekeke]

Rooney and Kagawa have both shown they can play a central midfield role this season. But for them to be great at it they'd have to consistantly be picked there. And both of them would need to partner Carrick if used in a 2.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

Don't worry Quinny: Darren Fletcher has about a 10% chance of becoming 50% of the player that he used to be. We are well covered in midfield.

Anderson might also eventually come good, whilst Paul Scholes can play on for another 10 years. Midfield isn't even an issue is it?

 

[Godfather]

He is top scorer in das Bundesliga this season 23 goals and 5 assists in 26(1) games.

Also has scored in 12 games in a row now I think.

He's a brilliant striker no doubt. His touch is class, great vision and technique.
Don't really need him though, as long as no one leaves.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

We dont know that but from everything he and Welbeck have said they are just happy working hard to improve and be part of the squad. Thats as much as Hernandez was hoping for when we signed him so theres no reason to think he suddenly has demands just because he's been a success here.

There is also no reason to believe that he's not upped his ambitions on a personal level and might actually want to play 90 minutes every week.

All speculation.

 

[Minkaro]

---- Rooney - Kagawa ----
Welbeck - RVP - Hernandez
----- Lewandowski -------

feck yeah!!!

Got Henriquez coming back off loan as well.

--Vidic---Jones---Evans
---- Rooney - Kagawa ----
Welbeck - RVP - Hernandez
--Lewandowski --Henriquez

 

[Ekeke]

If Rooney's not leaving or moving to midfield, than it may be that Chicarito wants to leave I'd say.

We dont know that but from everything he and Welbeck have said they are just happy working hard to improve and be part of the squad. Thats as much as Hernandez was hoping for when we signed him so theres no reason to think he suddenly has demands just because he's been a success here.

 

[lysglimt]

Maybe we'll just forget about the midfield and play a 5-5 formation.

We could buy 10 strikers and send them on loan to teams below us - they can't play against us but could do the damage against City and Chelsea

 

[Sarni]

We've been just as or even more successful than most of those sides recently, which shows there's no fixed formula to it.

On topic though, I can only assume we're going to see one of our forwards either leave or get a change in position next season.

In Europe we haven't and it's the best measure we have to compare ourselves with Bayern, Barca or Madrid. Knocked out by Basel and Athletic last season and also gone at Last 16 this year although we did lose to a class team. Domestically we're going to win another title but the competition is poor compared to what it used to be and the 2nd placed team isn't particularly strong in midfield either.

I still think you need a proper midfield when most teams line up with 4231 or 433 formations. We're still stuck in 2002 when we argue if this or that player could cope in a 2-man midfield, we need to move on.

 

[Raees]

I see some points you are making but you seem to over value possession. Real Madrid average less possession in La Liga than we do in the PL. Football isn't all about possession. Not every team wants to play like Barcelona. There are other ways to play the game.

Oh, and as for the bolded part, Michael Carrick says hello.

As good as Carrick is, he lacks the close ball control of Gundogan, Busquets, Alonso and Schweinsteiger. He is unique in that his ability to read the game defensively is superior to all of them bar Busquets and his long range passing is the equal of most of them... but where they all excel is that if you put pressure on those players (his Zidane turn apart), they will not panic and happy to turn past players and keep the ball. He's improved in this aspect but it's still not a strength that he possesses.. Wilshere on the other hand could easily be in Bayern, Dortmund, Madrids, or barca's midfield and not miss a beat. His technique on the ball is not english... carries the ball magnificently and effortlessly. Carrick is european in every aspect of his game apart from that ability to dribble the ball which is what lets him down in those elite encounters where we really need him to step up and demand the ball in games where space is a premium and we're getting pressed high up the pitch.

In the premier league Carrick doesn't get found out, but against the very top teams, we struggle for possession and he's not the type of player who can change that dynamic.

We've been just as or even more successful than most of those sides recently, which shows there's no fixed formula to it.

On topic though, I can only assume we're going to see one of our forwards either leave or get a change in position next season.

Despite Barca outclassing us in 2 finals and in recent years, going out of the Uefa Cup and despite an admittedly good showing against a fellow counter-attacking unit but ultimately going out before the QF stage of the CL, we're more successful than most of these sides.. how? even a guy like Mourinho who doesn't mind conceding control in a game as long as the end result is a win, emphasises 'resting with the ball'. His Porto sides were really good on the ball, his Chelsea team was very strong in midfield and the Madrid side has guys like Alonso, Ozil and Modric.

You don't need to have a Barca type midfield, but you need players who can confront pressure and still keep the ball whether it be through quick combination play or the ability to dribble through and be able to do this on repeat for 90 minutes and throughout a season.. hence why Anderson doesn't help us in this regard.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

If Rooney's not leaving or moving to midfield, than it may be that Chicarito wants to leave I'd say.

That would be horrible. You just know that if he moves somewhere, he's going to be starting every game, and probably scoring a daft amount of goals. If he really has to move, I hope it's somewhere far away from the Premier League, though it will probaby be Spain, and he'll probably slot in perfectly there, unfortunately.

RVP coming in and being the first name on the teamsheet has clearly had a huge effect. He's only made 15 league appearances this season, and you can probably count on one hand how many of those were full 90 minutes. It's almost impossible to pass up the opportunity to sign RVP, and at his age, you want to play him all the time whilst he's at his peak. It's just a shame it's at the expense of Hernandez, who just always seems to score when he plays. His record for Mexico, where he plays almost every game, is excellent. It's unbelievable to think he's already the national team's 6th highest goalscorer of all time. At only 24, he's probably going to take top spot well before he's 30. He only needs 17 more.

I think I'd rather we brought in midfielders, and found a way to accommodate the attackers we currently have, especially if another striker means we have to lose one of our current bunch. What we have certainly isn't a problem. All are capable of goals, even Welbeck if he was given a run as a CF. It's the supply to the strikers from the middle and outwide which is the problem.

 

[Jimy_Hills_Chin]

He is top scorer in das Bundesliga this season 23 goals and 5 assists in 26(1) games.

 

[Quinton Fortune]

FFS really? I'm pretty sure if we had the to 10 strikers in the world we still wouldnt win the champions league because the midfield is far far too weak. Sort it the feck out

 

[Jimy_Hills_Chin]

FFS really? I'm pretty sure if we had the to 10 strikers in the world we still wouldnt win the champions league because the midfield is far far too weak. Sort it the feck out

Don't worry Quinny: Darren Fletcher has about a 10% chance of becoming 50% of the player that he used to be. We are well covered in midfield.

 

[Commadus]

Fergie view is simple.

Strikers win matches.
Defenders stop strikers.
Wingers supply strikers.

Midfielders? What the feck are they?

 

[Maajid]

I seem to remember a Fergie quote where whilst talking about a player he said something along the lines of "he's playing in midfield right now but he's really talented so we'll push him further up in the near future".

 

[Escobar]

He's a bit overrated

 

[Skywarden]

He's a bit overrated

In what sense is he being overrated?

 

[Beachryan]

He's one of the top 5 strikers in Europe, easily. We don't need him at all.

Sounds about right.

 

[Sarni]

He's one of the top 5 strikers in Europe, easily. We don't need him at all.

Sounds about right.

He's not one of the top 5 strikers in Europe IMO. Van Persie, Suarez, Zlatan, Cavani and Falcao are better than him. He's still a fine player though and would improve our squad, not necessarily first team though.

 

[Raees]

He's not one of the top 5 strikers in Europe IMO. Van Persie, Suarez, Zlatan, Cavani and Falcao are better than him. He's still a fine player though and would improve our squad, not necessarily first team though.

Lets not forget Aguero as well.