Wesley Sneijder

[Aint gota Kalou]

He's improved a lot in the free kick-department the last couple of months. Even though he only has scored against West Ham recently, he's consistently been testing the goalkeeper.

Yeah that's true actually, same goes for his long range shooting.

 

[MadDogg]

Think Modric is on about 65k now, can't see why an offer of 120k and a mvoe to the biggest club in the country would not be enough to tempt him.

I doubt it would even be 120k a week. As far as I know, that would put him up there with Rio as our highest earner after Rooney. I know we have to look at what the other top clubs are spending as well, but for Modric compared to what he's earning at the moment I doubt we'd have to break the 100k a week.

 

[wr8_utd]

José Mourinho has 'advised' Sir Alex Ferguson to sign Wesley Sneijder from Inter Milan. #MUFC

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Think Modric is on about 65k now, can't see why an offer of 120k and a mvoe to the biggest club in the country would not be enough to tempt him. And I think if Spurs don't get Champions league he will be available for under 40million hopefully 35million

Not from Spurs.
Going by the way we the made us over pay for Berbatov. Modric who is even more important will cost almost double that. When you add wages. Sneijder would be way cheaper and he is the right age.

 

[Enigma_87]

Not from Spurs.
Going by the way we the made us over pay for Berbatov. Modric who is even more important will cost almost double that. When you add wages. Sneijder would be way cheaper and he is the right age.

Agree with that. Sneijder is the better player out of the two, and will come cheaper.

 

[Kevin]

Don't need him, we've got Rooney playing in his role now thanks to the arrival of Hernandez.

Sign Banega instead for probably a lot less money.

 

[Adzzz]

Sneijder wants to join the United wolf-pack I reckon.

 

[Mainoldo]

Don't need him, we've got Rooney playing in his role now thanks to the arrival of Hernandez.

Sign Banega instead for probably a lot less money.

He's not in Sneijder's league and last time I checked Rooney played up front.

 

[RDCR07]

Don't need him, we've got Rooney playing in his role now thanks to the arrival of Hernandez.

Sign Banega instead for probably a lot less money.

Can Rooney play in a 2 man midfield in a 4-4-2 formation? Sneidjer can and he has done it before.

 

[olesmyhero]

If we had Caf shirts made, 'Can he play in a 2 man midfield' would have to be on one of them. That phrase gets used a lot on here.

 

[GCHQ]

Nothing is set in stone, and if anything, our performances with and without Giggs surely show how much we need a creative force in the middle, a good passer who is comfortable on the ball. If Anderson had progressed as much as we'd hoped for, maybe we wouldn't need to sign a player in that mould. But he hasn't, Scholes may retire, Giggs can only play once a week, and signing a young player in the hope he'll progress quickly enough may be costly while we wait for him to mature.

Not that an older player is guarenteed to succeed, we know that. But it seems some people here have gone all 'Wenger' with the idea we'll only sign young players and won't sign ready-made players. If there's one that will take us to another level, I believe we will go for it. The idea 26 year old players are too old for us is ridiculous.

Well we tried that with Berbatov and it obviously didn't work out in terms of taking us to another level. Veron would be the other example.

Gill's comments on our transfer stategy in 2009:Manchester United refuse to get sucked into silly spending of inflated transfer market - Telegraph

My conclusion from reading those comments is that an attempt to sign Sneijder would be the complete antithesis of our transfer stategy that has proven so successful over the last five years.

We'll be looking for something like the equivalent of the 22 year old Ajax midfielder, Wesley Sneijder. Not the 26 year old Wesley Sneijder who has now enjoyed considerable success at two major European clubs, with a questionable attitude/mentality, who probably wouldn't see joining United as the biggest challenge of his career and who would demand an obscenely large salary. Not to mention the fact that it's difficult to see how he would fit into our starting 11. From what I've seen of him the idea that he'd get through anywhere close to the amount of work that Giggs does in that central midfield role, is absurd.

 

[Scoreboard Red]

Well we tried that with Berbatov and it obviously didn't work out in terms of taking us to another level. Veron would be the other example.

Gill's comments on our transfer stategy in 2009:Manchester United refuse to get sucked into silly spending of inflated transfer market - Telegraph

My conclusion from reading those comments is that an attempt to sign Sneijder would be the complete antithesis of our transfer stategy that has proven so successful over the last five years.

We'll be looking for something like the equivalent of the 22 year old Ajax midfielder, Wesley Sneijder. Not the 26 year old Wesley Sneijder who has now enjoyed considerable success at two major European clubs, with a questionable attitude/mentality, who probably wouldn't see joining United as the biggest challenge of his career and who would demand an obscenely large salary. Not to mention the fact that it's difficult to see how he would fit into our starting 11. From what I've seen of him the idea that he'd get through anywhere close to the amount of work that Giggs does in that central midfield role, is absurd.

It's nowt to do with the age of the player, it's down to the impact that player has for us.

Eric Cantona was 26 when he joined us.
Louis Saha was 26 when he joined us.
Dwight Yorke was 27/28 when he joined us.
Teddy Sheringham was 31/32 when he joined us.

It's silly to say signing an already accomplished Sneijder isn't in our strategy because of his age and we should sign a younger version of him who could potentially accomplish things for us, it makes no sense.

Some players you buy because they have talent, some players you buy because they are already the real deal and were we to buy Sneijder, he would provide us with a good five years of service and would make an instant impact, not in four years time...

 

[Wibble]

I thought our general policy was not to sign big money players 27 yo or older. And while we might aim to buy players like Smalling and Hernandez rather than spunk 50 mill on Torres that doesn't mean that we won't spend big if we have to address an obvious weakness in our side that isn't being addressed any other way.

Our midfield does lack something and Scholes and Giggs won't go on forever so a big midfield signing isn't impossible this summer. We could also spend big on a goalie is SAF thinks he needs to.

 

[Wibble]

Although I thought that Sneidjer was an attacking midfielder? If so surely he wouldn't address our need for a better defensive midfielder (unless Carrick and/or Anderson prove themselves capable of making this role their own permanently) or a combative B2B Keane/Robson type player?

So if he came surely we would also be looking for another midfielder?

 

[Scoreboard Red]

I thought our general policy was not to sign big money players 27 yo or older. And while we might aim to buy players like Smalling and Hernandez rather than spunk 50 mill on Torres that doesn't mean that we won't spend big if we have to address an obvious weakness in our side that isn't being addressed any other way.

Our midfield does lack something and Scholes and Giggs won't go on forever so a big midfield signing isn't impossible this summer. We could also spend big on a goalie is SAF thinks he needs to.

The policy announcement was players 'over 25' by Gill, then a week or so later we signed Michael Owen (albeit on a free), but rather like formations, I think many tend to take this far to rigidly.

If a player came along Fergie thought would benefit the team, he would sign him whether he was seventeen, twenty-five or thirty-three years old; it's about what's best for the footballing aspect of the club, not the financial aspect.

We might not sign Sneijder, Fergie probbaly might not even want him but the fact is to write him off because he's 26/27 is stupid because they're footballers, not gymnasts and second all this nonsence about signing him when he had potential rather than sign him when he's got the actual proven ability and impact is pretentiously taking United's 'policy' and putting your own twist on it.

Not you Wibble by the way, the ones who do this I mean...

 

[Wibble]

Sounds about right. I'm sure that it is a general statement of intent designed to keep United fans calm and trying to hose down the staggering transfer fee inflation that has been going on at the very top end of the market.

If we found a Keane/Robson clone for a few mill of course we will sign them, just like we signed Hernadez and the twins etc but I agree that I doubt this "policy" is as rigid as some people make out.

 

[Scoreboard Red]

Although I thought that Sneidjer was an attacking midfielder? If so surely he wouldn't address our need for a better defensive midfielder (unless Carrick and/or Anderson prove themselves capable of making this role their own permanently) or a combative B2B Keane/Robson type player?

So if he came surely we would also be looking for another midfielder?

I've said before Sneijder does the roles of Carrick and Scholes in one. I am not saying he is a two-man player, he isn't but he is certainly one to take charge of the game.
He can pass exquisitely, cross and shoot. He is also a great free-kick taker, preferred well over RVP for Holland who we know can crack a ball.
He has big-game experience in the Champions League and in the World Cup.
One valid concern I share when someone raised it was how we'd accommodate him with Rooney AND Hernandez although I disagree when they said 'because Rooney is doing the attcking MF role now', because he's not.
Rooney is Rooney and is best as a forward, he just drops deep.
Imagine Rooney AND Hernandez with a play-maker and two effective wingers.
And Sneijder doesn't restrict his play to around the last third, so I wouldn't call him an attacking MF either, he can pick the ball up deep and likes to drift left too, pinging balls to the wing or the box or rolling it to his fellow MF's.

He'd be a great buy but I fear would mean the end of Carrick and say Anderson if we did.

 

[Ubik]

I only checked the 4 knockout games Inter played, but he covered over 10km in 3 of those according to UEFA stats (8.8km in the other, getting subbed after 80 minutes). Not too worried about work rate in that case.

Fergie being after David Villa (according to Fergie himself, anyway) kind of puts paid to the "no older, expensive players" theory, as well, if they can improve the side by a fair bit.

 

[GCHQ]

It's nowt to do with the age of the player, it's down to the impact that player has for us.

Eric Cantona was 26 when he joined us.
Louis Saha was 26 when he joined us.
Dwight Yorke was 27/28 when he joined us.
Teddy Sheringham was 31/32 when he joined us.

It's silly to say signing an already accomplished Sneijder isn't in our strategy because of his age and we should sign a younger version of him who could potentially accomplish things for us, it makes no sense.

Some players you buy because they have talent, some players you buy because they are already the real deal and were we to buy Sneijder, he would provide us with a good five years of service and would make an instant impact, not in four years time...

He's 27 in July and of course the age of the player is a very significant consideration, particularly in Sneijder's case given the transfer fee and salary he would demand. Have you taken any notice of what Gill and Fergie have been saying over the last few years with regards to getting value for money, our faith in young players and our reluctance to get involved in a bidding war at the top end of the market?

Yorke, Saha, Cantona and Sheringham all joined us for nothing like the sort of financial package that Sneidjer would require and for all of those players, joining Manchester United was by far and away the biggest challenge of their careers.

I just don't see the sense in changing a strategy that has produced so many fantastic success stories over the last five/six years. Park, Evra, Vidic, Carrick, Valencia, Hernandez. It certainly didn't take those players four years to make an impact and it wouldn't take four years for the equivalent of a 22/23 year old Sneijder to make one either.

 

[GCHQ]

I thought our general policy was not to sign big money players 27 yo or older. And while we might aim to buy players like Smalling and Hernandez rather than spunk 50 mill on Torres that doesn't mean that we won't spend big if we have to address an obvious weakness in our side that isn't being addressed any other way.

Our midfield does lack something and Scholes and Giggs won't go on forever so a big midfield signing isn't impossible this summer. We could also spend big on a goalie is SAF thinks he needs to.

Well Sneijder is 27 in July isn't he?

And I'm not for one minute suggesting we won't spend big on transfer fees for young players. Of course we will. We have a proven track record of doing just that. It's the combination of a large transfer fee and huge salary for a 27+ year old player that we won't see as value for money (quite rightly in my opinion).

As for a ''big midfield signing'', would the likes of Carrick and Valencia, at the time we signed them, fit that description in your eyes? If so, then I agree that it's perfectly possible that we'll make such a signing this Summer.

 

[Scoreboard Red]

He's 27 in July and of course the age of the player is a very significant consideration, particularly in Sneijder's case given the transfer fee and salary he would demand. Have you taken any notice of what Gill and Fergie have been saying over the last few years with regards to getting value for money, our faith in young players and our reluctance to get involved in a bidding war at the top end of the market?

Oh my god, twenty-seven years old? Get him a wheel-chair and his slippers! Mate, come off it, he's in his peak physical condition as a footballer, human and whatever else. His wages are entirely up to the club, if they wish to pay someone of his talent a lot of money then fair play to them and good luck to him, it's no skin off my nose as it's not my money, it's the clubs and I care little if he contributes to winning United more trophies which I'm confident he'd be able to do.
I have taken notice to what Fergie and Gill have said and if they feel there is no value in Sneijder, they won't buy him plain and simple. If Fergie feels he requires a player like Sneijder, and it might take 25-30m to get him, he will.

Yorke, Saha, Cantona and Sheringham all joined us for nothing like the sort of financial package that Sneidjer would require and for all of those players, joining Manchester United was by far and away the biggest challenge of their careers.

You're wrong in that aspect; at a time when 15m was the British record, paying 12.5m for someone like Yorke was considered a hefty fee, as was laying out 3.5m for 32 year old Teddy a year earlier. Cantona is the only exception there as he was considered an absolute snip right there, right then at the time of his purchase and yes, they were challenged but also elevated into better players onto a platform which allowed their already known talents into flourishing with better players around them.
Inter are a good team of course, but at United, Sneijder could grow into a legend of the club with plenty of time to do it in.

I just don't see the sense in changing a strategy that has produced so many fantastic success stories over the last five/six years. Park, Evra, Vidic, Carrick, Valencia, Hernandez. It certainly didn't take those players four years to make an impact and it wouldn't take four years for the equivalent of a 22/23 year old Sneijder to make one either.

For every Park, Evra, Vidic etc, there have been the Liam Millers, the Klebersons, the Bebe's and let's be honest, Anderson. It's taken him four years now to shine and even aside from the other night and another couple of dozen games, he's played well over 100 games for United and has been inconsistent for the vast majority and this pains me to say. Yes, his talent is obvious but do we persist with a talented under-performer? Sometimes you need to buy consistency.
I'm not sure Carrick and Valencia belong in the bracket of the others, they were bought for decent money, 14m and 18m respectively...

 

[charlenefan]

He's 27 in July and of course the age of the player is a very significant consideration, particularly in Sneijder's case given the transfer fee and salary he would demand. Have you taken any notice of what Gill and Fergie have been saying over the last few years with regards to getting value for money, our faith in young players and our reluctance to get involved in a bidding war at the top end of the market?

On the flip side of that this is the summer where we will be losing significant experience from the squad, Neville already gone, VDS on his way, quite possibly Scholes as well, Giggs how many seasons left? It's all very well buying young players when the squad already has an abundance of experience but when those players start retiring then you then need to address the balance

 

[Scoreboard Red]

Well Sneijder is 27 in July isn't he?

And I'm not for one minute suggesting we won't spend big on transfer fees for young players. Of course we will. We have a proven track record of doing just that. It's the combination of a large transfer fee and huge salary for a 27+ year old player that we won't see as value for money (quite rightly in my opinion).

As for a ''big midfield signing'', would the likes of Carrick and Valencia, at the time we signed them, fit that description in your eyes? If so, then I agree that it's perfectly possible that we'll make such a signing this Summer.

Is 27 'old' in your view?
Do you not agree Sneijder would be worth 30m in the current market?

 

[Hellboy]

27 years old (very little re sale value), fat contract (£150k + per week), at £30m no value at all. Next.

 

[Scoreboard Red]

27 years old (very little re sale value), fat contract (£150k + per week), at £30m no value at all. Next.

Would he be valuable if he won United four League titles out of six seasons, a couple more Champions Leagues and an FA Cup or League Cup thrown in for good measure?

You raas clat!

 

[charlenefan]

Surely 30m for one of the best midfielders in the world is good value?

Especially when considering the fee's that are banded about for Fabregas and what was recently paid for the likes of Ramieres, Milner & Silva

 

[Hellboy]

There are other players out there who would do a job. He's definitely an excellent playmaker and a great fk taker, but I feel we should have bought him when he was at Madrid (Inter got him for £12m), it's too late now because his value soared. Take Sahin for example, he would be perfect for us but he's going to Madrid for peanuts. And apparently he's a bit of a cnut too, that's why I'd rather see Tunnicliffe & co given their chance.

 

[RDCR07]

27 years old (very little re sale value), fat contract (£150k + per week), at £30m no value at all. Next.

Why the feck are people considered about his re-sale value? Why do you want to sell him? Why can't he retire at OT if he comes here? Its just a stupid excuse. And its not like you are coughing up the money to get him anyway!

 

[Scoreboard Red]

There are other players out there who would do a job. He's definitely an excellent playmaker and a great fk taker, but I feel we should have bought him when he was at Madrid (Inter got him for £12m), it's too late now because his value soared. Take Sahin for example, he would be perfect for us but he's going to Madrid for peanuts. And apparently he's a bit of a cnut too, that's why I'd rather see Tunnicliffe & co given their chance.

Hellboy, these players WANT to go to Inter, Madrid or Barcelona or Chelsea or wherever else, United don't have first dibs on each and every player in the market mate!

Other clubs, believe it or not, do hold attraction to footballers of varying degree and nationality and they are also pro-active in seeking these players out.

Yes we could have had Sneijder for cheaper but then again we could have had Messi had we sent a scout to Rosario in 1999 when he was twelve, Ferguson should invest in a flux-capacitor mate, that way we could change history and eradicate that scourge of humanity, hindsight...

 

[7even]

27 years old (very little re sale value), fat contract (£150k + per week), at £30m no value at all. Next.

This!

 

[RDCR07]

And apparently he's a bit of a cnut too, that's why I'd rather see Tunnicliffe & co given their chance.

Yeah if Scholes retires this season, you want Tunicliffe, Morrison and Pogba to play in our first team next season?

 

[Ubik]

There are other players out there who would do a job. He's definitely an excellent playmaker and a great fk taker, but I feel we should have bought him when he was at Madrid (Inter got him for £12m), it's too late now because his value soared. Take Sahin for example, he would be perfect for us but he's going to Madrid for peanuts. And apparently he's a bit of a cnut too, that's why I'd rather see Tunnicliffe & co given their chance.

Tunnicliffe, Morrison and Pogba are all still very young and are a few years away from being regulars, if they make it here at all. They aren't an immediate answer to our problems, however promising they may be. Someone in their prime would be ideal to maintain the experience that will depart with Edwin and eventually Scholes, naturally ceding way to the youngsters when they're ready for it.

I still think Sneijder's unlikely, but purely because I think he'd be far more than the £30m bandied around. That'd be a great deal in the current climate.

 

[Scoreboard Red]

Yeah if Scholes retires this season, you want Tunicliffe, Morrison and Pogba to play in our first team next season?

Well they have potential; we might never win anything with them, but they have potential and that is important for these lot who would clearly have never signed the likes of Ferdinand, Carrick, Rooney, Berbatov etc and had a starting line up of Higgingbotham, Macheda, Savage etc.

I think United have a blend of promoting youth with purchasing players, we do not simply bring youth through, never have.
Even the Busby Babes consisted of the likes of Tommy Taylor who was bought from Barnsley I think it was.

Yes, we have had a great nucleus of home-grown talent such as Hughes, Neville, Beckham, Butt, Scholes, Brown, Giggs, Evans etc but there have been plenty of very promising players who have all gone elsewhere to mediocrity or average careers. Pique and Rossi probably the more notable, others have been Keith Gillespie who had a so-so career culminating in a very good mid-Nineties with Newcastle before fizzing out.

Again, I'm not saying we definitely should sign Sneijder and I'm not even sure he would come to us anyway, but what I'm saying is to those who are fobbing this off as a stupid signing were it to happen to don't be naive in thinking Gill's comments apply to this, a 27 year old excellent footballer is an excellent footballer and would be a great addition.

And if he weren't to work out, what's the money got to do with you? The bigger disappointment would be him not working out, not his re-sale value! It's not your money...

 

[GCHQ]

I only checked the 4 knockout games Inter played, but he covered over 10km in 3 of those according to UEFA stats (8.8km in the other, getting subbed after 80 minutes). Not too worried about work rate in that case.

Fergie being after David Villa (according to Fergie himself, anyway) kind of puts paid to the "no older, expensive players" theory, as well, if they can improve the side by a fair bit.

Giggs has regularly been covering over 11km. As has Carrick. Pretty sure Carrick gets close to 12km. And of course it's not just the amount of ground covered that matters, it's the willingness of the player to cover that ground in the necessary areas of the pitch that's vital.

Fergie said he considered Villa but he also stated that the combination of his high transfer fee and large salary didn't represent value for money.

 

[Hellboy]

Yeah if Scholes retires this season, you want Tunicliffe, Morrison and Pogba to play in our first team next season?

Why not ? We've seen players staring for this club at 18/19, we're famous for that. Bringing a £30m midfielder will harm their long term prospects at the club. We've been average away from home this season, because we're crying out for a strong, tough tackling midfielder that can break up play and organize our midfield. I feel we've got enough flair. Take Rooney for example, he's miles better in the hole than Sneijder, and I sill have high hopes for someone like Anderson who needs a full pre season behind him to show what he can do. Bringing a £30m + midfielder on 170k per week is not the answer.

 

[Scoreboard Red]

Giggs has regularly been covering over 11km. As has Carrick. Pretty sure Carrick gets close to 12km. And of course it's not just the amount of ground covered that matters, it's the willingness of the player to cover that ground in the necessary areas of the pitch that's vital.

Fergie said he considered Villa but he also stated that the combination of his high transfer fee and large salary didn't represent value for money.

I wouldn't care if Sneijder ran 1km per game as long as he put a ball-through to Hernandez or Rooney for a goal, took dangerous free-kicks resulting in goals and crossed in corners resulting in goals.

What good are those ESPN stats for? Who run the furthest? I'd rather see a stat who did what with the ball...

 

[Scoreboard Red]

Why not ? We've seen players staring for this club at 18/19, we're famous for that. Bringing a £30m midfielder will harm their long term prospects at the club. We've been average away from home this season, because we're crying out for a strong, tough tackling midfielder that can break up play and organize our midfield. I feel we've got enough flair. Take Rooney for example, he's miles better in the hole than Sneijder, and I sill have high hopes for someone like Anderson who needs a full pre season behind him to show what he can do. Bringing a £30m + midfielder on 170k per week is not the answer.

Who has been a regular first-team midfielder for United at age 18/19?

Ronaldo; bought for 12.5m
Fletcher; made debut in 2003, became a 'regular' aged nineteen, granted but still not nailed down a constant first team place.
Anderson? Bought for 18m, still not nailed down a first team place.

Even Scholes was 20 before he got a good run and it wasn't until Eric left he became a first-teamer full time.

 

[GCHQ]

The policy announcement was players 'over 25' by Gill, then a week or so later we signed Michael Owen (albeit on a free), but rather like formations, I think many tend to take this far to rigidly.

If a player came along Fergie thought would benefit the team, he would sign him whether he was seventeen, twenty-five or thirty-three years old; it's about what's best for the footballing aspect of the club, not the financial aspect.

We might not sign Sneijder, Fergie probbaly might not even want him but the fact is to write him off because he's 26/27 is stupid because they're footballers, not gymnasts and second all this nonsence about signing him when he had potential rather than sign him when he's got the actual proven ability and impact is pretentiously taking United's 'policy' and putting your own twist on it.

Not you Wibble by the way, the ones who do this I mean...

Of course there's a financial aspect to it as well as the footballing aspect. There has to be a balance there and over the last five years we've found it time and again. The really stupid thing to do now would be to change strategy.

 

[RDCR07]

And if he weren't to work out, what's the money got to do with you? The bigger disappointment would be him not working out, not his re-sale value! It's not your money...

If a guy has played only in one league and he comes here, he might not make it. This guy is experienced, played in the biggest leagues in the world. He has played in the biggest stages football can offer and proved himself. What makes you think he won't click?

Look at Diego Forlan. He came straight from the South American league to the Premier League. Hence he struggled to adapt. Tim Vickery was saying if United got Forlan three years ago after he had spent 4-5 years in Europe adapting, he would have flourished under us. He moved to a big club in a big league too soon.

Sneidjer is not like that. He has played for the two biggest clubs in two of the biggest leagues outside England and for Holland in a WC final and he did great for them. I know the English game is harder and maybe more physical, but if he has shown he can adapt to leagues quickly and can do the job.

 

[Ubik]

Giggs has regularly been covering over 11km. As has Carrick. Pretty sure Carrick gets close to 12km. And of course it's not just the amount of ground covered that matters, it's the willingness of the player to cover that ground in the necessary areas of the pitch that's vital.

Fergie said he considered Villa but he also stated that the combination of his high transfer fee and large salary didn't represent value for money.

You said "the idea that he'd get through anywhere close to the amount of work that Giggs does in that central midfield role, is absurd."

To me, 10km is fairly close to 11km. Can't see why he wouldn't run in the right areas of the pitch. Doesn't seem too absurd to me, is all.

Villa's the only big player I've seen him talk about recently without mentioning value, the quotes I saw just said he was wanted to stay in Spain so they moved on.