United Rant

1. Ed
   Key Master

   In the aftermath of defeat to Manchester City on Monday night, Manchester United could end the season trophyless for the first time since 2004. That is unless Papiss Cisse and his Newcastle United colleagues do the Reds a favour this coming weekend, while the Reds emerge victorious from games against Swansea City and Sunderland.

   But in a season where Sir Alex Ferguson’s side has lost 11 times, and exited early from four competitions, questions will be asked about United’s quality whatever the conclusion to the Premier League title race.

   Critics point to a degradation in squad quality over six years of ownership by the Glazer family, with the club having spent more than £500 million on interest, debt repayment and associated fees over the period. At the same time rivals such as City, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona have invested heavily in the market, on both transfer fees and wages.

   Indeed, net transfer spend since the Glazer takeover is approximately £7.50 million per season – significantly less that United’s rivals at home and abroad, save for Arsenal. Meanwhile, United has slipped to 12 in the global sports pay scale, behind the aforementioned quartet of rivals, accoring to industry analysts Sporting Intelligence.

   There is mitigation. Some fans will point to the £38 million net spent last summer on Ashley Young, David de Gea and Phil Jones as proof of United’s investment in youth. While others point to United’s extensive injury list in the current season, or the ‘potential’ of many younger players within the squad during a ‘season of transition’.

   The question is where does Ferguson go from here? Spend big in order to compete with the very best at home and abroad, or trust in the current squad and transfer strategy to regain former glories?

   How should United approach the summer transfer market?

   • Spend big (80%, 522 Votes)
   • Trust in current strategy (14%, 93 Votes)
   • There's nae value in the market (6%, 34 Votes)

   Total Voters: 649

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   Poll: how should United approach the summer transfer market?

   Posted 1 year ago #

2. Zi Indefatigable
   Member

   Posted by unregistered user: Zi Indefatigable

   I wanna see every bit of dead wood leave the club and get replaced by young players not on loan. Then I wanna see 2007-08 Summer Transfer window shit go down. Anderson, Nani, Hargreaves, Tevez. Gotze, Hazard, M’Villa and Heskey.

   I realise this will not happen.

   Posted 1 year ago #

3. VishKaush
   Member

   Posted by unregistered user: VishKaush (URL)

   We have a capable squad, bar a good midfielder who takes up the creative responsibilities. So that Carrick can lay back and do what he does best.

   Oh, and sack our assistants. Bring back Queiroz.

   Posted 1 year ago #

4. dan o\'d
   Member

   Posted by unregistered user: dan o\'d

   Can we buy a centre mid with more than 2 gears please? Scholes, Carrick, Giggs are too easily got form me. Ando doesn’t look like he will fulfill his potential and Cleverley has spent two seasons injured. Ander Herrera from Bilbao please.

   Then can we have a playmaker, forward (Papiss Cisse?), and one or two decent full-backs? If we can also have the pre-2012 Phil Jones back next season that wouuld also be great.

   Domestically we have a competitive squad, but Europe this season has been agony to watch.

   Posted 1 year ago #

5. dave kelly
   Member

   Posted by unregistered user: dave kelly

   we need to spend big…my wish list;
   1. Hazard
   2. Pique
   3. Bale
   4. Cisse

   Posted 1 year ago #

6. Ian B
   Member

   Posted by unregistered user: Ian B

   Fergie will not be able to get cisse, he will concentrate on the midfield, with rooney, wellbeck, chicharito and i think he’ll bring through some of the youngsters. In midfield he’ll possibly look at cabaye from newcastle…but never gonna happen at the figures the long contacts up there will cost…theyre all on 5-6 year deals

   Posted 1 year ago #

7. Alex
   Member

   Posted by unregistered user: Alex

   He needs a play-maker that can drift in front of Carrick, who alongside Scholes is able to totally dictate play with a short passing game. United’s problem is in the final third; they need to be able to link their swift defensive turnover into something more tangible. Carrick’s had an immense season at Man U, the unsung hero, and I whole-heartedly believe he should be an England regular. If you compare Carrick’s statistics to Parker’s from whoscored.com – possession, passes per game, pass completion, dispossession etc. – then it becomes clear that Carrick’s composed presence in United’s midfield begins a significant number of their attacks. Compared to Parker, he intriguingly makes far fewer clearances and is dispossessed less, suggesting he is a more useful player in retaining the ball and converting defending into attacking. Based on Hodgson’s preference for defensive solidity it is highly likely a defensive midfielder will be used, and his philosophy on the role of the midfielder, as he highlights in interviews, supports this theory. I actually wrote an article on this topic if anyone is interested, at http://alex-keble.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/why-michael-carricks-possession.html

   Posted 1 year ago #

8. Sagar
   Member

   Posted by unregistered user: Sagar

   I believe our current youth strategy is the best for the club specially considering long term future. That’s how a team is built and that is who we are.

   I won’t mind an established player in mid though to take burden off Carrick and Scholes. If Fletcher comes back, its good or we need some hassler in there.

   We have Cleverley, Petrucci, Larnell Cole and others who have the capacity to become starters in recent future.

   BELIEVE!!

   Posted 1 year ago #

9. Ben
   Member

   Posted by unregistered user: Ben

   We need to dig deep and get spending. It’s ok relying on youth but most of our youth team is off out on loan next year. Only cleverley and maybe Macheda and pogba (contract dependant) will be here next year.
   Scholes, Giggs and Rio are getting no younger. Giggs and Park have been poor lately. Fletcher may or may not return. Berbatov and maybe Owen will be heading for the exit doors, Fabio is also going on loan.

   We need to replace and strengthen the squad. RB and a LB, CM and ST at least, maybe even 2 CM and ST’s depending who moves on.

   Posted 1 year ago #

10. Alfonso Bedoya
    Moderator

    Look... I know some of you would trust Ferguson, pissed on turps, to shave your Johnson with a carpet knife... but ffs... some of us are sick to back teeth of some the turgid shite served up in an attempt to grind out results we don't fuckin deserve.

    I wouldn't swap Ferguson for any manager in the game... but I want the old cunt to have a proper United squad to take another run at one more Champs league title before he's gone...

    And that will take a lot... A LOT... more than just a decent midfielder.

    We need...

    A left back... Evra can't do it alone any more... £10 mill.

    At least 1, TOP QUALITY central midfielder... I'd prefer 2... Scholes, Giggs, Anderson, Park - OUT!!!... Carrick and Cleverly to compete to start... £25/30 mill each...

    A top class... proper left footed winger... Valencia, and Nani can fight over the right... and Young can be a utility player... £25/30 mill...

    And a top class front man to get the best out of Rooney!... Hernandez and Welbeck can scrap it out for 3rd... £25/30 mill...

    It's not going to happen... but to fill out my wish list "PROPERLY" would cost £100/150 million... I can hear some of you spitting your Horlicks all over your keyboards... tough shit... those figures are NOT outrageous.

    Now Perhaps Ferguson can find a couple diamonds, like he did with Vidic/Evra, and fill out that list a bit cheaper... but the very simple truth is any of the top 10 players that will go on the market this summer... all coveted by the top clubs... will cost £25/30 million easy... some a LOT more... and there will be heavy competition for their signatures... Chelsea will rebuild... City will spend, just because they can... Real and Barca never stand still... And the Italians are trying to claw back their status as a top league...

    I will be impressed if spend even £50 million... and that will probably keep us top 2/3 in the PL, and probably last 8 in Europe...

    For some... that will be enough... not for me... and especially if we're not even that exciting to watch any more.

    "Badges, to god-damned hell with badges! We have no badges. In fact, we don't need badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges, you god-damned cabrón and ching' tu madre! Come out from that shit-hole of yours. I have to speak to you."

    Posted 1 year ago #

11. brianofnazareth
    Member

    Alfonso Bedoya said:

    For some... that will be enough... not for me... and especially if we're not even that exciting to watch any more.

    My feeling exactly! Depressing seeing such crap football... I am spoilt and not used to it!

    The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.....

    Posted 1 year ago #

12. danniitronix
    Member

    fergie will say there is no value

    those we want will not come to the UK or be released to come to united

    there is so much overrated shit out there, i'd be surprised if we get anyone truly world class

    Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.
    Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice - Steven Jobs

    Posted 1 year ago #

13. Bill
    Member

    It def comes down to what we think is needed and what will actually happen. A spend of 100 mill would solve most of the problems, however that is fantasy football. realistically we could spend 50 mill pre glazers, but in the glazer era a net spend of 25 mill is likely.

    Most likely to happen:

    In

    Gaitan 25 mill
    Clyne 2.5 mill comp
    Hoilett 2.5 comp or random foreign forward 5 mill

    Out

    Berbatov 7.5 mill
    Owen
    Kuzsacak
    De Laet
    Pogba
    Fletcher (retired)

    Posted 1 year ago #

14. sidney
    Member

    Fergie will look at the 83 points currently on the board and think there is no need to spunk a shitload of cash on new players.

    There is a gulf in quality between our 11 and City's 11. It would be nice to address that, but you don't need the best 11 to win the league because it's a squad game. We can lose/draw to City and win the league by beating the rest.

    A couple of midfielders, a striker (if Owen & Berba go) and a left back would be ideal. Other than a top midfielder (which we won't sign) there is no massive signing there.

    Posted 1 year ago #

15. bman
    Member

    A very substantial investment is needed to put United back among the best in the world, where it deserves to be. Two or three seasons ago we desperately needed a top quality creative/attacking midfielder, but the situation has only deteriorated since then. To be fair to Fergie, some of it is bad luck -- Fletcher's condition, Hargo being a crock, Cleverly and Anderson being too crocked to really have a chance to show what they've got (ok not bad luck, you can blame the medical staff, but it's not Fergie's fault). But we now have only one single proven, good quality central midfielder - Carrick. Yeah we have Scholes, but he should only be used as Carrick's back-up now, since he's evolved to play the same way as Carrick, or else occasionally they can be used together against softer opposition.

    How fucking outrageous is that for a top club to have only one reliable midfielder? And at 31 or 32, Carrick is also not far from the point where he'll be getting past it. How many quality midfielders do Real, Barca, Juve, Bayern etc. have? How do we not have a single decent box-to-box battler aside from Fletcher, or a single creative attacking midfielder in the old Scholes style?

    I have to laugh about people complaining about Fletcher and Carrick a couple of seasons ago. These days, we'd be delighted to see that combo in a big game like the one against City, instead of fogey Scholes, crocked Park, and fogey Giggs helping out leaving Evra to cover nearly a third of the entire pitch all by himself.

    And don't get me started about Evra -- we play about 4 matches all season in all competitions that the poor fucker doesn't start and finish. If we got him a decent understudy and game him a few days off, we might see the old Evra again before he gets too old. We don't even have a proper left-sided player in front of him, our tactical strategy is basically "right Patrice, you've got 30% of the pitch to yourself -- make sure to get plenty of crosses in and defend like a terrier".

    Posted 1 year ago #

16. bman
    Member

    We need a minimum of three real quality players: a midfield boss and a midfield attacker for sure, and also at least one of either a true left-sided attacker or a forward (in an ideal world obviously we'd just get all four). I think you can get away with just three if the midfield attacker and left-sided player is the same person, i.e. someone like Hazard or Kagawa that you could shift into either position, and if your new midfield options provided serious amounts of goals.

    Then getting decent understudies for left back and maybe right back would be important too, but much less expensive.

    Posted 1 year ago #

17. Bill
    Member

    Squad for next season:

    Gk

    DDG
    AL
    BA

    Full backs

    RDS
    PJ
    PE
    NC

    Centre backs

    RF
    NV
    JE
    CS

    Central Midfielders

    MC
    Gaitan
    PS
    TC
    RG
    Anderson

    Wingers

    AV
    AY
    Nani
    Park

    Strikers

    WR
    DW
    JH
    Hoilett
    Macheda
    Bebe

    Loanees: Fabio, Keane W, King, Tunnicliffe, Norwood

    Posted 1 year ago #

18. sidney
    Member

    What the fuck is that, Bill

    Posted 1 year ago #

19. bman
    Member

    It's a pain in the arse to try to decipher all those initials. But I can tell if our summer business consists solely of Gaitan and fucking Hollett, then i'm going to stop watching football until the Glazers are gone.

    Posted 1 year ago #

20. Bill
    Member

    What do u think it is? I haven't got time to write out full names, especially on an iPad!

    Posted 1 year ago #

21. Bill
    Member

    NC = Clyne

    The three amigos every summer since 2009, that is how it goes, would be surprised if that changed. If SAF cuts out rotation in the cl we will get to the last 8, and finish second to 2nd. Prob acceptable to Malcolm. We might sneak a cup. Only solace is the comedy show that is KKK.

    Posted 1 year ago #

22. uncleknobheadffs
    Member

    five years since we signed a midfielder

    five years

    we will again start the season weaker than we ended the last

    LKHM
    
    hoofing

    Posted 1 year ago #

23. Bill
    Member

    If one of Fletcher Giggs or Scholes retires and Pogba leaves we will get one. I couldnt really care less if Pogba went, he's unproven at the highest level yet he seems to think he deserves the same treatment as a seasoned international, or it could be bad advice from his agent, I'd rather have Ryan Tunnicliffe come through and given more a chance.

    Posted 1 year ago #

24. bman
    Member

    uncleknobheadforfucksake said:
    five years since we signed a midfielder

    five years

    That's not true, we just signed Paul Scholes in the January window.

    Posted 1 year ago #

25. Bill
    Member

    Yep!! So retiree plus Pogba leaving means we get a new midfielder in the summer. I think Giggs and scholes will give it one more season and fletcher miight try preseason and then make a decision.

    Posted 1 year ago #

26. bman
    Member

    I see Javi Martinez got in a bit of a fight with Ronaldo in the Real-Bilbao match. Maybe there's a bit of the Keano about him, let's be 'avin 'im then.

    Posted 1 year ago #

27. uncleknobheadffs
    Member

    ed, I think bman and bill are the same person

    Posted 1 year ago #

28. Bill
    Member

    Nope, definitely different!

    Posted 1 year ago #

29. shauno
    Member

    Posted by unregistered user: shauno

    I was just thinking the same!

    Posted 1 year ago #

30. shauno
    Member

    Posted by unregistered user: shauno

    I still think we should be in for most of the Bilbao midfield and transplant them direct into the starting 11 in a 4-3-3. I don’t even know the fucking names I just remember them sweeping up and down the pitch playing like Barca but with pace and an end product.

    Posted 1 year ago #

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