Mockney
Not the only poster to be named Poster of the Year
So, are the lads back in pre-season training yet?
Two heavies drive Thiago and his dad out to an abandoned airfield an hours drive from Barcelona. A small executive jet lands, we keep the engines running while Glazer gets out with a bag of plain used 50 Euro notes. Thiago is led blindfold to his seat in the plane, strapped in and sedated. We fly out. His dad is released once they've checked the money.
Its Thiago not B.A Baracus
Do you just not get that clubs invest time and effort into their youth players? If you devote your resources to helping them develop and then they piss off for far less than their value with the club unable to do anything, it's very frustrating.
It isn't just all about the player and how much they can get, as quickly as they can get it.
I guess as a Porto fan you just see players as a commodity, and don't really get the United nurturing culture..
It's T.A Barca-Us.
My clubs nurturing culture has been destroyed by the money culture in football and the advent of the all-powerful big leagues. Porto won the CL in 1987 with a team that was not only majorly composed of Portuguese players, but of whom the majority were born in Porto and its neighboring towns. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987_European_Cup_Final Had it been nowadays and none of those players would be here by 22. So we had to adopt and start preying on weaker south american clubs, much like bigger European clubs prey on it's less powerful continental counterparts. What has the insistence in a nurturing culture brought Sporting CP for example? 7th on the table last season, with their best prospect apparently refusing to renew a contract with them on the chance of fecking off cheaper to Chelsea or whatever.
Get out of your high horse.
Pogba was an instrumental player in Juventus midfield and earned his first caps for the French National team. You people are suggesting he should have exchanged this for being a back-up option at United. Point is, Juventus needed him more than United so they've offered him better guarantees than United. Not everyone wants to go the Cleverley route. I understand the later will be more appreciated by the fans, but he won't necessarily have a happier career than Pogba. That depends on what each of them wants. And a football player in the beginning of his career should have the freedom to make these decisions.
We also have a Cleverely here at Porto. His name is Castro. He's a hard working kid that wishes nothing but succeed here and the fans love him. Yet now that we sold Moutinho we didn't chose to bet on him for that spot, even though Moutinho himself guarantees that Castro might be ready. No, we paid 10m gor a Mexican player to play Moutinho's role. Another season of bench warming awaits Castro.
TAKE A BOW, SOLIUS!The red curtain had been in front of the press since they entered the room. Voices whisper and mutter, echoing around the room with wonder. Today is the first day of David Moyes reign as Manchester United manager. It had been 15 minutes since the journalists were allowed in, when suddenly the lights dimmed.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you have all been waiting for..."
Silence.
Celebration by Kool and the Gang starts to play. The curtain lifts. There is a runway.
The music kicks up a notch... the announcers voice comes back on.
"Introducing, our first new signing. All the way from Barcelona. THIIIAAAAAAGOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Boom! Confetti bursts from the runway, Thiago comes out. He's on rollerskates wearing Man Utd speedos. He screeches to a stop at the end of the platform and does a wink and point. He skates back to the side of the runway and dances on the spot.
"Coming up next, signing number two.... KEVIN STROOOOOOOOOTMAAAAAN"
Confetti launches from the stage again, but Strootman is nowhere to be seen. The reporters gasp as they notice him ziplining from the rafters to the stage. Also sporting Man Utd speedos, he lands like a graceful swan, turns around and belts out a rendition of Oh Robin Van Persie.
The music is still blaring. "CEEEELEEBRAAATE GOOD TIMES, COME ON!". At this point the press are swaying side to side and clapping.
"Time for signing number three. We have no need for him but we signed him anyway. IT'S GARRRAAAAAYYYYYYYY!".
More confetti. Garay, donning United speedos, backflips down the stage. It's the greatest thing some of these reporters have ever seen. He flexes at the mic and then joins Thiago and Strootman in dancing at the side of the stage. They form a guard of honor.
"Time for the piece de resistance, people. Meet the man who made this all possible. DAVVVIIIIIDDDD.....MOOOOOYYYYEEEESSSS!!"
fecktonnes of confetti rain down. Moyes is in a bitching suit. He struts down the runway like a don, reaches the mic and signals for the music to stop. Suddenly everyone notices the human shaped object right by the mic that has been there the whole time. It is draped in a red sheet.
Silence. Moyes stares at the press. One journalist cannot take his death stare and runs out of the room crying.
Moyes grabs the sheet, and pulls.
It's Cristiano Ronaldo.
BOOM. the music kicks back on. Confetti is absolutely everywhere. Moyes rips off his entire suit in one move to reveal United speedos. He's also wearing rollerskates, nobody noticed this. Ronaldo, also in United speedos, starts dancing. Moyes does the best move everyone has ever seen. He is joined by all his new signings as they strut around the stage.
"CEEEELLLLEEBRRAAATTE GOOOOOD TIIIMES, COME ON!"
Pogba was an instrumental player in Juventus midfield and earned his first caps for the French National team. You people are suggesting he should have exchanged this for being a back-up option at United. Point is, Juventus needed him more than United so they've offered him better guarantees than United. Not everyone wants to go the Cleverley route. I understand the later will be more appreciated by the fans, but he won't necessarily have a happier career than Pogba. That depends on what each of them wants. And a football player in the beginning of his career should have the freedom to make these decisions.
Two heavies drive Thiago and his dad out to an abandoned airfield an hours drive from Barcelona. A small executive jet lands, we keep the engines running while Glazer gets out with a bag of plain used 50 Euro notes. Thiago is led blindfold to his seat in the plane, strapped in and sedated. We fly out. His dad is released once they've checked the money.
Pogba was being groomed for a starting place during the 2011/12 season, he wasn't quite ready but was being given opportunities during the cups and on the bench in the league. Those were opportunities he took from other, more dedicated players and he never had the intention of staying because he'd already agreed a deal with Juventus- we have every right to be pissed at him for doing that. He would have been far more important for our midfield than for Juve if he had stayed because as you can probably tell we are short of reliable first team quality midfielders. He just needed to be patient, but feck patience this is modern football, eh
Excellent post Arruda. Really it's just biterness for losing a great prospect on free, nothing more. Pogba made the right choice, as will Thiago make if he comes here. If the club don't play young players and they have better offers at other similar big clubs with more money and more playing time, they are right to make the move. I have said here before that calling Pogba a twat and wishing for Thiago to come here is a hypocrisy of the biggest order.
Big clubs have big expectations so it's normal to rely on more experienced players. But so is normal for young players to go to play to other similar clubs than to stay on bench for 3-5 years waiting for their chance which possibly will never come.
United felt he wasn't ready, but Pogba and a few on here felt he was. At that point we didn't match his ambition, like Le Harve didn't when we nicked him. To ignore what we did and criticise 'modern football' because he left for first team football makes no sense. Arguably leaving for first team football is proper old old school, not enough players do it in my opinion.
And do you really think he would have got the game time at juventus the year before? He would have been a first team player this season gone.
United felt he wasn't ready, but Pogba and a few on here felt he was. At that point we didn't match his ambition, like Le Harve didn't when we nicked him. To ignore what we did and criticise 'modern football' because he left for first team football makes no sense. Arguably leaving for first team football is proper old old school, not enough players do it in my opinion.
Pogba was being groomed for a starting place during the 2011/12 season, he wasn't quite ready but was being given opportunities during the cups and on the bench in the league. Those were opportunities he took from other, more dedicated players and he never had the intention of staying because he'd already agreed a deal with Juventus- we have every right to be pissed at him for doing that. He would have been far more important for our midfield than for Juve if he had stayed because as you can probably tell we are short of reliable first team quality midfielders. He just needed to be patient, but feck patience this is modern football, eh
Take the Pogba shite out of this thread. I want to read some Thiago mudfest
Who cares what I 'think'. He left to play first team football and got it. That is a fact. I think we are too used to speculation on here that we actually miss the odd fact.
By your own logic you must have been dismayed when he left Le Harve?
United were grooming him so he would be ready for a first team place in the 2012/13 season.
They might not have felt he was ready that year, but if he'd have been patient he would have played.
But he had 7 appearances as a sub player while last year he had 37 appearances for Juve, starting most of them. He started on UCL, he started on many important games for them. How would he have been more important for us then for them? Last year Scholes and Fletcher would have been preferred instead of him, while this year Thiago would have got that position. Pogba chose the right move, simply as that.
Thiago has had more than a hundred appearances for Barca but he doesn't think that it's enough. He thinks that he is better than coming as a late sub or starting some unimportant matches. He can wait for his chance at Barca, and that chance will likely come. Xavi doesn't have more than 2 years on top so then it will be him fighting with Fabregas for that position. But why to wait for another couple of years when he can go to another similar big team and play as a starter and get a shitload of money. And who guarantees him that when Xavi retires Barca won't get the hottest midfielder to replace him, extending his bench stay forever.
If clubs want those young players, they should play them, regardless if they are fighting for a title (Juventus was fighting for title and Champions but that didn't stop them to play Pogba). If the player is talented enough and they are not playing him enough it's normal to expect that another club will appreciate him more.
apart from the difference is that Barcelona, on an equal standing, agreed to give the player playing time in a contract that they signed and failed to meet that requirement so are losing him, while Pogba used his contract situation to try and dictate terms to the club to get more playing time knowing that he was joining Juventus all along.
But hey it's exactly the same.
And Fergie said in the beginning of the season that Pogba will play a role in that season because if he doesn't play he'll leave- IN A COUPLE OF YEARS. And yet continued playing the same players, returned Scholes from retiring and played Park and Rafael when we didn't have a single available midfielder. Clubs don't usually fulfill their promises, most of the time is okay but at times they pay for that. We don't know when Pogba agreed terms with Juve, and from a lot of interviews I have listened to him he looks exactly that he left cause promises didn't got fulfilled and he didn't get his chance.
Take the Pogba shite out of this thread. I want to read some Thiago mudfest
Two heavies drive Thiago and his dad out to an abandoned airfield an hours drive from Barcelona. A small executive jet lands, we keep the engines running while Glazer gets out with a bag of plain used 50 Euro notes. Thiago is led blindfold to his seat in the plane, strapped in and sedated. We fly out. His dad is released once they've checked the money.
you are comparing an 18/19 year old who wasn't ready and getting prepared to come into the team's playing time to a 22 year old who is playing at the club with probably the greatest midfield of all time.
Pogba should have been patient, Thiago has been
A much more sensible answer than what Drainy said.
my thiago dream's are similar to that, but it's not money he's released for.
Yep, a 19 years old midfielder didn't get more than 7 sub appearances in a midfield which consisted of Scholes, Giggs, Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson and Cleverley.
Thiago, a 22 years old player has 101 appearances for Barcelona, the team who had the best midfield of all time and a team that had Busquets, Keita, Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas and Song. I don;t know how much you have watched Barca but it isn't that Thiago has barely played for them, he got 36 games last season, and 45 the season before that. To make a comparison, Cleverley who is considered a regular got 47 games for United in last 2 seasons combined, as much as Thiago on 2011-2012. It's just that he wants more than what Barca can give him.
So, are the lads back in pre-season training yet?
Folk were pissed off alright - pissed off at Pogba!
Pogba was 18 when he left - he'd barely kicked a ball for us. Was offered a decent contract but turned it down. Juve came in & offered him more. We dont offer massive contracts to kids who havent even kicked a friggin ball for the 1st team - the same as most clubs do aswell.
Isnt that the problem with young footballers now - bunch of spoiled brats thinkin they've made it before they've even played a handful of games for their club? Look at Cleverely & Welbeck goin on loan for about 2-3 seasons each & then gettin rewarded when they came back. If reports are true - Pogba wanted the same money they were rewarded with when they returned - Pogba had only played 3 games of first-team football ffs!
United were absolutely spot on regarding his salary. Maybe Fergie could have played him more of course, but as Fergie always said - choose when to put a young player in the 1st team or risk shattering his confidence if he has a stinker - slowly but surely!
He wanted our young players to be grounded - not twats like Pogba & Morrison who wanted it all now before they've done anything to earn it. Welbeck & Cleverely are great lads & have worked their asses off & you never hear them complain about anything - thats the type of young player we try to develop at United, we dont need the Pogba-mentality at the club.
Do we not have rules for even the cars that young players drive also? No flash motors etc.. I love that!!
In Moses we trust for derailing the thread. It's better anyway than making clause jokes. We won't get anything new till tomorrow.Yeah, and sorry for derailing this, I didn't even remember what thread I was posting anymore. I'll save my next ramblings for one of my "football was better in the old days" threads.