as much as i love ruud, i don't think we'll miss him that much (not taking anything away from the guy) he has served man utd but i think at 30, 10 million is s good price. although we should not expect the top goal scorer coming from man utd, i think the goals will surely come with saha, rooney, smith, ronaldo and the rest.

now on carrick, i think fergie has really blown it this time,, spending 18 million on a guy with little or no international experience. only 9 caps for england (one in the world cup). he is not a natural ball winner, he does not dictate the pace of the game, all he does is release the ball when he gets it(which he does well), anyone who watches tottenham would agree. his strenght in midfield comes only when he is partnered, (davids or king, in tot). except fergie gets mascherano or a player like viera, carrick might just be a white horse,  He is way toooooooooo expensive. can u imagine riquelme was worth around 4million? a player way better than carrick, ?? Hope fergie knows what he's doin.

now that carrick has been "purchased" we still need one holding player in the defensive midfield in the likes of mascherano, and one forward player. (not carlos tevez, because he plays just like rooney. who needs 2 rooneys in a team??) maybe a player like lucas podolski,

one united,

But surely if we had 2 rooneys thats a guaranteed 30+ goals and 25 assists .

agree with you though that 18.6 is way too much.I'd have liked either macherano / Gattusso and Tevez.
Vds

G.Neville Vidic Rio Heize

macherano

Ronaldo Scholes Giggs

saha Rooney.\\
BUt then who cares!

Ur squad looks decent but i can't find any grit in the midfield.
What about this?


Van Der Sar

G. Neville R. Ferdinand N. Vidic G. Heinze

J Mascherano

P Scholes J Riquelme


W. Rooney C. Ronaldo

F. Torres

@jackal

wat is torres doin there?

he's not in your team, u guys are dreaming,

he's with atletico not manutd, y'all know that,

kitaun:

Riquelme is best only after Andrea Pirlo

A very correct assertion

Jackal:

Pirlo compared to Riquelme?
Its like comparing Rabiu Afolabi to Michael Ballack.

Riquelme in ma opinion was the best midfield player at the last world cup.
He had an outstanding 4 assists.
His free-kicks, corner kicks and killer passes all lead to Argentina's goals at the world cup.

@ Jackal Pirlo is better than any player in Arsenal. That is y he can come to the world cup and walked away with the highest number of MAN OF THE MATCH awards, EVEN IN THE FINALS WHERE ZIDANE, VIERA, THURAM AND HENRY PLAYED.

Without a touch of sentiment Pirlo is the best deeplying playmaker in the world, and that is by many miles. He has premiered a new role 4 defensive midfielders for generations to come. He is the most precise player in Europe. Dont compare him with anything u have in the premiership. He premiered a new style of freekicks and is one of the best dead ball specialists in Europe.

Once again, u have shown that u dont know much about players apart from the Premeirship.

thank you sage, jackal has a penchant for making silly analogies, especially when he knows little or nothing about the player in question.

@ sage,

even though i never will agree with u on pirlo being better than any player in Arsenal, but you all can see how Jackal makes silly analogies atimes but it is not as if he does not now about other leagues but he just likes contradicting what people like me say on some issues, pls help me remind him that at the moment PIRLO IS THE BEST PASSER OF THE BALL at the moment

yeah i am telling him.

His precision in passing is unmatched anywhere in Europe

@ sage,
I believe u will be better off analysing ice hockey.
Football analysis is not just ur thang so tape it shut.
Riquelme does not even play in the Premiership and i did not compare Pirlo with any premiership player.
Don't u read carefully before u post comments?

Roman Riquelme is by miles the best passer of the ball in the world at the moment.
Pirlo gets mentioned these days because Italy won the world cup. A kid of 5 knows that.
Riquelme's assists at this last world cup is top draw and 80% of his deliveries/passes led to meaningful goals at the world cup.
I will not even rank Pirlo in the top 5 of the best passers of the ball.
Fabregas, Zidane, Ronaldinho, Mikel Obi will rank above ur Pirlo.
Seedorf calls the shotz at AC Milan not Andrea Pirlo.
Pirlo ma ass.

@debosky,
Without shooting ma mouth off, I believe i know more football players than u do.
My scopes are wider than the EPL cos i watch over 15 football leagues constantly.
South America, Asia, America and Europe so don't make a monkey of urself.
How can u guys compare Pirlo to Riquelme?
I guess u listen more to Pub gists than u see.
Look beyind ur nose.

@ Kitaun,
I dunno what u watch.
My opinion still remains Riquelme has a better vision and superb deliveries than Pirlo.
Mikel Obi passes better than Pirlo whether u like it or not.

@Lordimpaq,
Torres has not penned the dotted lines yet so he is still available.
There are renewed interests and Athletico will gladly sell Torres off for 25 million pounds.
Who says Cash does not rule?

yeah maybe watching 15 leagues has gotten your eyes all mixed up that u can't identify quality, i'm not going to get into this with you

pirlo is better than riquelme when it comes to passes, on who's vision is better? well that would be debatable. again you call all these people
first of all remove zidane cos he's out of the picture now, fabregas and obi are nowhere even close to getting to where pirlo is, and rhonny his best skill is obviously not his passes, even his freekicks precentage is less than 50%. learn to accept when you are wrong, not pouring insults to cover your ignorance

@ debosky.
Lets profile Riquelme and Pirlo based on the world cup.
Do u know how many Riquelme's passes that led to goals?
He was a constant menace thruout the whole world cup.
Riquelme's vision was top draw and his timing and accuracy deserves mentioning.
FIFA's rating is sh*t to me so i don't even reckon with their Man of The Match awards.
R u not surprised John Terry made FIFA's 23 ahead of Joe Cole, Hargreaves and Rio Ferdinand?
I don't need to wait for FIFA to tell me who plays good football.
Riquelme was a master-class at what he does and thatz supplying the most subliminal of passes.

Check these 2 stats.
http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/player/166380_RIQUELME_Juan.html

and http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/player/177876_PIRLO_Andrea.html

Pls tell me who played better at the world cup.

Now i know u dont really know anything about pirlo

Tell me what u know about him apart from the world cup?. Have u seen him play in the league b/4?


Pirlo compared to Fabregas, Mikel? i dont need to prolong this topic coz its useless

Pirlo has been the best deeplying playmaker in the world 4 3 yrs now and one of the best freekick takers in the world.

In terms of passing accuracy and precision, Pirlo is better than both Ronnie and Riquelme. He is unmarched in precision by any player in the world

i was amazed at peoples ignorance after the world cup when somebody said big names like Lampard did not shine while Underdog names like Pirlo shone. I almost had a fit.

U dont knw anything about AC milan coz Ac Milanis built mainly on slick passing from Pirlo to counter attacks.

I dont know any Midfielder that marches Pirlo in the Premeirship over the past few years.

He is a 100% playmaker despite the fact tht he plays right in front of the defense ( premeiring a new role for defensive midfielders)

He started a new form of freekicks.

But bottom line is go find out about a player b/4 u say shit about him

anybody that has any idea about other leagues wont make any of the statements u made

I wont argue anyother thing with Jackal.

@ Debosky, i like ur largely objective view. Football is a lot more than Arsenal vs Man U

@sage,
I watched all Pirlo's game at Serie A last season.
Pirlo is a good player but he is not the best passer of the ball in the world at the moment.
Riquelme, Zidane and Dinho are miles ahead of him. U cannot even compare Andrea Pirlo to these trio.
Mind u, (Riquelme + Zidane + Dinho) don't even play in the Premiership so forget the fact that i watch Premiership fixtures alone.

U goofed it totally by saying he is one of the best free-kick takers in the world.
Where wld u put Juninho Pernambucano, Ronaldinho and Riquelme.
I am yet to see any player that matched Riquelme's overall dominance of the midfield like he did at the world cup.
Precision, defence-splitting passes, great vision and deft touches.
Maybe u need to take ur eyes off Serie A for a while and watch other European leagues.
Andrea Pirlo is great but he is not the best midfielder in the world.

yeah rite,

u wish torres came, it'll neva come true

Fergie is havin his big eyes on marcos senna, Wat do u guys think?

Fergie is havin his big eyes on marcos senna, Wat do u guys think?

Marcos Senna will surely be a good buy.
Fergie should go all out for him.

marcos senna is already 30. although his performance is still top flight, i think wat man utd needs is not someone we'll still have to replace in a year or two. i think javier mascherano will be a better buy or owen hargreaves.

wt do u guys hink bout rooney and scholes's suspension it is very unreasonable, The red card given to rooney was grossly unfair. he jumped for the ball with the other player and as he landed, his hand hit him onthe head and a red card was shown, i seriously think the are refree was trying to make a scape goat out of rooney. A bad reputation has gone before him and i seriously hope it does not follow him into the new season.

the FArce has done it again.dont know y rooney especially was banned for 3 games even scholes should have been banned for 1 game.At least they r consistent with the one rule for others and one for man utd.
Steven Gerrard and Neil Mellor were sent off in a pre-season friendly(think it was the same tourney sef) and the decision was not upheld.
Hope this decision doesnt affect us too much.

well according to the FA an 'independent' commission reviewed the decisions, I hope for man u's sake they can still get something out of those three games, the tottenham game will definitely be the hardest test.

another bad beginning to the season?

I am not too happy with the decision, methinks it was rather unfair, lets see if man utd will be able to weather the storm

Man Utd is def'ly the most hated club in England.
If the Amsterdam tournament is high profile enough to ban Man Utd players then Gerrard and Mellor should have been banned three years ago.
Saying you didn't receive a report is a feeble excuse. Rooney and Scholes have been given a 4 match ban having already served one match in the tournament itself, how can the FA get away with that?

Also a few seasons ago Wayne Rooney got banned for 3 matches for the slight push on Ben Haim of Bolton. Last Sunday in the Community Shield, Essien of Chelsea pushed both of his hands in the face of a Liverpool player and wasn't even spoken to. The FA are definitely are biased against United.
Whatever Rooney, Scholes or Ronaldo does is a capital punishment but Essien, Lampard and many other players are sacred cows.

@Jackal
You think you can hide? by reading this thread I have realised how notorious you are on Nairaland for your analogies please return to the best league thread and correct this erroneous statement

Did u say EPL reeks of veterans who had been chased from other serious leagues? I am having a giant laugh
Lemme tell u authoritatively that La Liga smells of grand-dads and great grand-dads.
Beckham was 28 when he left EPL for La Liga, Zidane was 29, Predrag Mijatovic was 27, Figo was 28, Davor Suker was 28, Van Nistelrooy is 30, Tomas Gravesen was 29, Cannavaro is 33 and Emerson is 30.
Barcelona tried to sign HeDid u say EPL reeks of veterans who had been chased from other serious leagues? I am having a giant laugh Henry at 29, Barca bought Thuram at 34 and Gudjohnsen at 28.
The average age in any La Liga team is above 28 and u have got the nerves to condemn the Premiership.
C'mon mate, take a chill pill-------U have lost this argument.

Or else I would tell you the ages of papas in walking stick who played in EPL like Weah,Okocha, Borghetti,Vialli,Diokaeef, Campo, Hierro,Ravanelli, Deschamps, Blanc,Zola, Van der Saar, Desailly should I continue?

Sorry all for interrupting the Man U gist. Man U is the best in EPL after LIverpool. records say that not me

I'm afraid for Rooney. Referees would want to make a scape goat out of him. Any little tackle, any little shove, any little out burst might come with a red. His reputation is goin ahead of him and i seriously feel for d guy. Who can stop this? The FA? that banned him for 3 matches just because a card happy referee accused him of "gross misconduct". Hope d 3 match ban would not affect man u, cos they are against charlton, watford and tottenham. D tot game might be d most difficult but we'll weather d storm. I jus thank God he'll be back against Arsenal.
One United.

I'm afraid for Rooney. Referees would want to make a scape goat out of him. Any little tackle, any little shove, any little out burst might come with a red. His reputation is goin ahead of him and i seriously feel for d guy. Who can stop this? The FA? that banned him for 3 matches just because a card happy referee accused him of "gross misconduct". Hope d 3 match ban would not affect man u, cos they are against charlton, watford and tottenham. D tot game might be d most difficult but we'll weather d storm. I jus thank God he'll be back against Arsenal.
One United.

@ Justkunmi,
Don't worry mate.
The title hopes are getting bleak by the day.
United might even start the season the way we ended it last May.
None of the new buys of 2006 is likely to feature in our first few games.
Carrick is out, Vidic is injured, Kusczack will understudy Van Der Sar and Evra will work hard to dislodge Gabby Heinze.

I'm just sick and tired with the way United has handled the transfer market.
Riquelme + Senna couldn't have been more than 10 million quid.
Why pay 14 million for a turkey like Carrick.
Just heard Liverpool has signed Dirk Kuyt for 10 million which is one of the most brilliant buys of the season.
Liverpool attack now has prodigal son(Bellamy) and Kuyt which i believe could be more dangerous than Sheva + Drogba attack.

United needs to land a striker that will deliver 20 goals a season.
Rossi is still a young lad. Solskjaer's strength might fail him and Louis Saha's form is suspect.
Rooney n Ronaldo cannot do it alone judging by the way match officials are picking on 'em.
Ruud has taken his 25+ goals a season to Real Madrid so who fills his position.
Huntelaar, Tevez, Luca Toni or Morten Gamst Pedersen(Blackburn) might just do.

MAN U FOR RELEGATION

I think we need another striker of the calbre of outgone ruud.
liverlooks ready to clinch the league title and the chelsea threat to is ever present.
get on your knees and pray for this season

@ Jackal

Brilliant and realistic analysis coming from you there

i think man u will have a few rough games, especially the one with tottenham, but really rooney needs to learn. beckham had the same issues and he learnt, and of course the great Vieira also had it but after he cooled it and focused on his game, no one picked on him anymore. let the games begin!

@ jackal
nice one there. But sometimes Fergie beats me with d way he handle issues. Now he has put man utd in a corner about hargreaves and senna. Senna was ready to move to man utd .All he was waitin for was d transfer fee to be agreed on. Fergie immediately turned his eyes to hargreaves when he said he wanted to join man u.Now bayern are sayin they r not sellin hargreaves and villareal are sayin Senna is no longer for sale, If we do not get at least a player before d window closes, (dunno wat to say).
About a replacement for Ruud,i dont think there r 20+ goals a season strikers flying about but decent ones would do. I would not mind lucas podolski.