Scholes and Giggs - 'replacements' before they leave?

KingMinger22

City >>> United. Moaning twat
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They are irreplacable but will bè retiring soon.

Sir Alex has said he will have to buy 'established players' to replace them.

Surely it makes sense to bring them in this summer so they can see the two legends and how they carry themselves. They always have an inspiring effect on new buys,
 
Can Anyone actually seeing us buying 'established'? Fergie appears disillusioned with the current 'value' in the market - perhaps being cautious in view of ours debts - but its unlikely to change soon.

Also, how has Linger-Whats-his-name settled in? Dò We think he'll bè our new no.1 next season?
 
What sort of replacement are we even supposed to get for Giggs? We'll need another winger, granted, but if Valencia was fit, you'd expect him and Nani would have been our two first choice on the wings. Are we supposed to go for a top player like Bale? A talented youngster who would accept being on the bench from time to time? Promote Obertan or Bebe?

So the idea of replacing Giggs is a bit of a problem. We kind of have replaced him, he's probably not first choice when everyone's fit. It's just that some of the things he's got are irreplacable.
 
Amir said:
What sort of replacement are we even supposed to get for Giggs? We'll need another winger, granted, but if Valencia was fit, you'd expect him and Nani would have been our two first choice on the wings. Are we supposed to go for a top player like Bale? A talented youngster who would accept being on the bench from time to time? Promote Obertan or Bebe?

So the idea of replacing Giggs is a bit of a problem. We kind of have replaced him, he's probably not first choice when everyone's fit. It's just that some of the things he's got are irreplacable.
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I think that Giggs lie between Nani and the kids. He does not have the stamina to challenge Nani for a first team place at long term but he certainly has the talent and the experience to eat Bebe and Obertan for breakfast. If Giggs retire then we certainly need a more estabilished winger. Someone who at least know the basics of being a creative winger at an EPL club level side.
 
Anderson and Nani. We'll buy one or two young talented midfielders to take their place as squad players and so the cycle continues.
 
Cleverley and Welbeck should both hopefully cope to contribute over the years. I don't see anyone as direct replacement, just filling the void they leave with existing players.
 
Who "replaced" Cristiano Ronaldo? Roy Keane? RVN?

I think that great players are never replaced. You can spend big money on a Carrick or a Berbatov to fill a hole left by a player's departure, but inevitably the makeup of the team must change.

Wayne Rooney replaced no one. It is better to look for young talents who can be developed into great players under United's tutelage.

We have been developing young midfield talent like Anderson so that there won't be a hole when Scholes leaves. We have been collecting wingers like Bebe, Obertan, Valencia, Nani and Park, so there won't be a hole when Giggs leaves.

We never properly filled the hole left by Stam, Keane and RVN, so we had to go out and spend big on Rio, Carrick and Berbatov. I don't think that will be the case with either Scholes or Giggs.

Van Der Sar on the other hand ...
 
I don't think they can replaced 'like for like' as the media likes to portray. Players aren't automatons, and players of the highest quality are always that bit more unique than their peers.

However, I do think the huge, gaping hole each of their departures will leave in the first team is definitely not something to be sniffed at. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that whatever success United enjoy over the next 5 years will ultimately come down to how well we fill the holes left by Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes leaving our squad.

I think we'll make one, big centre midfield signing this coming Summer. And I think the following Summer, Bale will be signed as a long term "replacement" for Ryan Giggs. But my guess is as good as anyone's really.

It'll certainly be interesting to see how Fergie deals with the midfield in the next year.
 
Ferguson said:
Who "replaced" Cristiano Ronaldo? Roy Keane? RVN?

I think that great players are never replaced. You can spend big money on a Carrick or a Berbatov to fill a hole left by a player's departure, but inevitably the makeup of the team must change.

Wayne Rooney replaced no one. It is better to look for young talents who can be developed into great players under United's tutelage.

We have been developing young midfield talent like Anderson so that there won't be a hole when Scholes leaves. We have been collecting wingers like Bebe, Obertan, Valencia, Nani and Park, so there won't be a hole when Giggs leaves.

We never properly filled the hole left by Stam, Keane and RVN, so we had to go out and spend big on Rio, Carrick and Berbatov. I don't think that will be the case with either Scholes or Giggs.

Van Der Sar on the other hand ...
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You raise good points but I feel that we need to define what "replacement" means. When a player departs from a club, rarely if not never, are the coaches going to find a like for like substitute for the departed player but most of the time, another player is brought in to occupy that niche. The new player will most likely not operate in the same mould but (like you stated), displacement will occur and players will step up and may even benefit more from the strengths of the new signing.

Valencia was brought on to replace Cristiano Ronaldo. Not like for like obviously but they both occupy the same role and our team last year played to Valencia's advantages and players such as Rooney benefited greatly from his strengths (presence on the right flank and excellent service).
 
redwhiteblack said:
I don't think they can replaced 'like for like' as the media likes to portray. Players aren't automatons, and players of the highest quality are always that bit more unique than their peers.

However, I do think the huge, gaping hole each of their departures will leave in the first team is definitely not something to be sniffed at. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that whatever success United enjoy over the next 5 years will ultimately come down to how well we fill the holes left by Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes leaving our squad.

I think we'll make one, big centre midfield signing this coming Summer. And I think the following Summer, Bale will be signed as a long term "replacement" for Ryan Giggs. But my guess is as good as anyone's really.

It'll certainly be interesting to see how Fergie deals with the midfield in the next year.
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I wonder if the spuds will have any say in that.
 
As raised by others; I doubt they'll be a like for like replacement pursued in either of the cases. You just have to look at who we ultimately replaced Roy Keane with.

Carrick was/is a completely different player to Keane and o the face of it: much inferior too. But Fergie changed the shape of his team to accommodate a new approach which didn't rely on the type of player Keane was for us.... And it seemed to work pretty nicely!
 
Giggs has pretty much already been replaced. Giggs the winger, anyway. Nani and Valencia are our first choice wingers now. Cleverley coming back next year may well take the current Giggs role of sometimes winger, sometimes attacking midfielder.

Scholes is the one I do think we'll buy big to replace. Not necessarily a like-for-like replacement, but when he retires I think Fergie will look to bring in an established central midfielder.
 
MadDogg said:
Giggs has pretty much already been replaced. Giggs the winger, anyway. Nani and Valencia are our first choice wingers now. Cleverley coming back next year may well take the current Giggs role of sometimes winger, sometimes attacking midfielder.

Scholes is the one I do think we'll buy big to replace. Not necessarily a like-for-like replacement, but when he retires I think Fergie will look to bring in an established central midfielder.
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iniesta-big? :drool:
 
Red Dreams said:
Bale would seem the obvious replacement for Giggs. Nani and Valencia would be the wingers now though.

Anderson or Cleverly would be the eventual replacements for Scholes I think.
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You mean apart from the fact Spurs wanted more than the £40 million Inter were preparing for Bale? It would have been a long, long shot for us to offer that kind of money for him. Its impossible that we will offer more than that which is what Spurs would need to let him go
 
We're fine on the wings with Valencia & Nani so in that respect we've done a pretty good job on replacing Giggs, but if i'm being honest i can't see anyone in the current set up bearing in mind we're seriously running out of time that can step right in & replace Scholes, i reckon we'll have to enter the market & spend big time on that one.
 
Sniejder or Bastian would be my choice to replace Scholes.

Anderson is a strange player. I just can't see him being Scholes' eventual successor. Just can't figure out his ideal role in the United engine room. He doesn't get into the box enough or has good enough shot to be given a title of an attacking midfielder, and he's not defensively well-disciplined to protect the back four. His lack of stamina is also a concern.
 
MadDogg said:
Scholes is the one I do think we'll buy big to replace. Not necessarily a like-for-like replacement, but when he retires I think Fergie will look to bring in an established central midfielder.
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Yep. While Anderson looks good at times, we'll still need a player who is class on the ball, comfortable, a good passer. There's no one in the squad who can do that. We'll basically need a good football brain there, which is what Scholes and Giggs are more than anything else.
 
Not sure if its true, but with some heavy investment required in goal, in the middle and perhaps on the wings, that maybe why SAF has held onto some of that £80m from Ronaldo's sale.

The strategy it seems was to stock the squad with the necessary youth for the next generation and get them bedded in before the club acquired the polished finished article's required to give that youth the necessary experience and class.

Im fully expecting a watershed moments for the club this summer with lots of players on the way out and some big new names on the way in. But it is very exciting times to be a United fan again and things look very rosy for the future.
 
Sahin to learn from Scholes for a season would be perfect. But I dont see us buying till they are gone..
 
Sultan said:
Sniejder or Bastian would be my choice to replace Scholes.

Anderson is a strange player. I just can't see him being Scholes' eventual successor. Just can't figure out his ideal role in the United engine room. He doesn't get into the box enough or has good enough shot to be given a title of an attacking midfielder, and he's not defensively well-disciplined to protect the back four. His lack of stamina is also a concern.
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The lad has been in superb form since late November. He's shown himself to be an essential part of our future and SAF handed him a new contract accordingly. He is the future lynchpin of our midfield, whether you like it or not. Yesterday apart, I'd say our team looks a heck of a lot better when he plays than when he doesn't.

He's our most dynamic midfielder by a mile, and as Fergie likes to say, he offers real penetration from midfield with his runs and underrated passing ability. More goals would be nice but he just needs to keep doing what he's doing IMO.
 
WireRed said:
He is the future lynchpin of our midfield, whether you like it or not. Yesterday apart, I'd say our team looks a heck of a lot better when he plays than when he doesn't.

He's our most dynamic midfielder by a mile, and as Fergie likes to say, he offers real penetration from midfield with his runs and underrated passing ability. More goals would be nice but he just needs to keep doing what he's doing IMO.
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Why would I be displeased if he is a future lynchpin of a successful United team? :confused:

Superb talent, very inconsistent. He needs to be a lot more consistent to be a regular feature in United's midfield.
 
Sultan said:
Why would I be displeased if he is a future lynchpin of a successful United team? :confused:

Superb talent, very inconsistent. He needs to be a lot more consistent to be a regular feature in United's midfield.
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Came across as if you were slagging him off in favour of Schweinsteiger/Sneijder. We could do with another CM, whether that be bought or Cleverley fulfilling his potential, who knows? Sneijder isn't what we need though IMO, he's more your typical number 10 who'll play well on the back of his team controlling a game rather than a CM that can dictate the tempo and get a grip of the match. His price tag is also inflated beyond belief.

I'm with you on the merits of signing Schweinsteiger though, only problem is that he's re-signed with Bayern recently so won't be moving anytime soon.
 
WireRed said:
Came across as if you were slagging him off in favour of Schweinsteiger/Sneijder.
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Didn't come across like that at all. At least not to me.

People need to understand that critique of the team, and philosophizing about the strengths and weaknesses of our own players is NOT 'SLAGGING PLAYERS OFF'.

That's what this forum is for.

If you wanna follow something blindly, join the Jehovah's Witness brigade.
 
I doubt bale will ever play for us unless we get a serious cash injection from somewhere however I would like to see him here

I defo think we need a top notch finished article player for the centre to partner Anderson. For me Gibson is a no hoper and carrick and fletcher seem to forget how to play at times. Anderson is our greatest hope and If he becomes consistent he would be a shoe in every week.

But the question is who comes in, I cant see the club forking out over the odds for anyone but I think a surprise might be coming down the line. I have a hunch that fergie likes Adam and wouldnt be surprised if he ended up at United

I have been thinking for a few seasons now that we do need a solid midfield pairing that start week in week out. I think we are ok on the wings and at the back and we have unearthed a little beauty in Hernandez to support berb and Wayne Rooney.
 
It is not about replacing, it is about enforcing.

When Giggs, and Scholes indeed do retire, we will be a lot weaker. However, this season I think despite spending only £7m, that we might have enforced our forwards immensely, both with a very successful loan deal with Sunderland with Danny Welbeck, and the brilliant signing of Chicharito whom both might end up world beaters. And hopefully Macheda might turn into that too, I hope his Sampdoria loan deal will last for 18 months rather than just thus season. We now have a bunch of forwards that are good to go for years. We have plenty of midfielders with a long time left, Carrick, Anderson (he can still develop a lot further), Fletcher, and Cleverley has been brilliant at Wigan, he will return next season and become a squad player of value. Even when Giggs and Scholes do retire our midfield coverage is pretty strong in midfield:

Fletcher, Anderson, Carrick, Gibson (central midfielders)
Nani, Valencia, Obertan (wingers)
Park, Cleverley (any midfield position)

We also have some exiting academy arrivals in the likes of Ravel Morrison and Gyliano van Veltzen (I hope Ajax became pissed for a reason, and he is said to be a left footed left winger and that is something we could need)

Now as is quite obvious both central midfielders and wingers can clearly be improved, Valencia and Nani are both great, but they are both best at the right. And as Nani, Park, maybe even Cleverley is a good option on the left, and Giggs and Scholes are good options as attacking midfielders. Whoever we bring in does not have an immense pressure to perform at once because we have a lot of quality with years to go. Same thing with whoever replaces van der Sar, if they should struggle adapting and need a bit of time, we have brought in a very talented goalkeeper in Lindegaard, and PIG is not useless neither. We have strong backup in any position we risk losing to retirement and that is a very good thing.

We have Fabio, Rafael, Evans, and Smalling behind our defenders too, very good backup and are braced for impact when they are not good enough anymore, but Nemanja, and as if he’s injury free I bet Rio has plenty of years left too. We are more braced for this generation change than any previous Generation swap. Both in goal, defense, midfield and forwards.

When we have lost key players in the past, Ferguson has always changed focus to others. When we lost Cantona, we relied on a immense midfield, perhaps the best ever assembled, in Keane, Scholes, Giggs and Beckham. When we lost Ronaldo, Ferguson built the team around Rooney, and that would work great if Rooney did not injure his ankle. This season with Rooney struggling he built it more around Berbatov, again a tremendous success. And even though it looked like Berba have a much better season this than in the past, I am not so sure. Even though he scores a lot more goals, you have to ask yourself where has all the assists gone? Same thing with Rooney this season, he does not score, but he has 10 assists in the Premier Leauge, something he had very few of last season.
 
If Cleverley does well with us then we may get away with it in terms of Giggs but Scholes will need to be replaced. Our central midfielders lack consistency and the clock is ticking.
 
O god, so many expectations... just let them go and let's remember them eternally...
 
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