The Madrid you all are gushing over will be dismantled by a well-organized, quality side... even last night, with a little more pace and urgency, Sevilla would have punished them.

Actually Cuadrado can play wing back, he was one of the best wing backs in Serie A 2 seasons ago then last season he was moved to wing forward and excelled also. My issue with the buy is that we should we be focusing on central midfield and defence where we have urgent needs rather than right wing back where we have 3 or 4 decent options already

RVP turned down no 9 shirt.

RuuDie: The Madrid you all are gushing over will be dismantled by a well-organized, quality side... even last night, with a little more pace and urgency, Sevilla would have punished them.

That is why i said they have to sort out their defence, but anyway when they are scoring 4 goals against the organized side that side better score goals too

Dadehmola:



Getting destroyed by an attack worth 270m, can't be said to be disgraceful jare.

When you are Manchester United, it is o.
You notice we haven't really been trounced by a wide margin in Europe lately.

RuuDie: The Madrid you all are gushing over will be dismantled by a well-organized, quality side... even last night, with a little more pace and urgency, Sevilla would have punished them.

We were only admiring their front 5/6.
It is a consensus that they need to solidify at the back.

Dadehmola:
At Madrid, Sami khedira seems to have signed a "bench contract" .Why can't see get him for God's sake? I don't see us getting turned down by the club or even the player.

Interesting.
Especially since it would seem he has turned Arsenal down.
But he should fit that mold, even though he's not available. And he might not take kindly to missing the Champions League even from the bench.

Dadehmola:
To further complicate issues...
'‘I cannot talk about Cuadrado, because if I say something about him the price will rise.’' metro.co.uk/2014/08/06/louis-van-gaal-fuels-speculation-that-juan-cuadrado-is-a-manchester-united-target-4823421

I'm reading the link below and I came up with this.
It looks like United were introduced to drive up his asking price.
apparently if this article is to believed we really never had any interest in him.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/manchester-united-transfer-news-15m-offer-made-for-marcos-rojo-but-no-interest-in-juan-cuadrado-9664831.html

RuuDie:
Man. when situation gets dire... footie philosophies go out the back door in that instant. Even Arsenal now whip crosses into the box when the "pass pass pass" isn't working.
I am not saying switch to route-1 permanently; but Fellaini and route-1 will surely come in handy at some point in some games - this we can all be sure of!

Until I see it before I believe it.
Not as if you don't make a point but Louis van Gaal will die first before going route one.
He would rather lose playing the "right way" than going direct.
He could have done plenty of that against Argentina, mexico and Costa rica in Brazil but stuck with his tactics.

afrodoc:

That is why i said they have to sort out their defence, but anyway when they are scoring 4 goals against the organized side that side better score goals too

I see where you are coming from but a near pedestrian Sevilla 'almost successfully' stifled them last night (fashi all the efizi they were doing) and still managed a few scares at the other end - now imagine if that was a perfect "park-the-bus" team like Chelsea...

StarBoard:
Until I see it before I believe it.
Not as if you don't make a point but Louis van Gaal will die first before going route one.
He would rather lose playing the "right way" than going direct.
He could have done plenty of that against Argentina, mexico and Costa rica in Brazil but stuck with his tactics.

Well, he can start by chalking off Fellaini's goal and declaring the game a 1-1 draw because that was definitely not from his tactic book... guess what!? It still counted

RuuDie:

I see where you are coming from but a near pedestrian Sevilla 'almost successfully' stifled them last night (fashi all the efizi they were doing) and still managed a few scares at the other end - now imagine if that was a perfect "park-the-bus" team like Chelsea...

No one is saying they are definitely winning all competitions, however you have to admire their attack. And i so no stifling last night. They flowed quite well from midfield to attack considering they have had very little time to train together.
Parking the bus is very effective against tiki taka teams that look to pass you to death and over-elaborate, not as effective against teams with pace and long distance shooting like this team.
I repeat nobody is saying they will win all but that attack is looking very promising

afrodoc:

No one is saying they are definitely winning all competitions, however you have to admire their attack. And i so no stifling last night. They flowed quite well from midfield to attack considering they have had very little time to train together.
Parking the bus is very effective against tiki taka teams that look to pass you to death and over-elaborate, not as effective against teams with pace and long distance shooting like this team.
I repeat nobody is saying they will win all but that attack is looking very promising

I feel you bro... perfectly! But if I was a Madrista, I'd be very worried because if and (or) when this team is found out; it may be very "unpretty"!

RuuDie:

I feel you bro... perfectly! But if I was a Madrista, I'd be very worried because if and (or) when this team is found out; it may be very "unpretty"!

LOL. i trust Ancelotti to find a solution, he is a pragmatist.
It could be solved by adding one extra midfielder(Khedira or Alonso) to aid Modric and Kroos in big matches,removing Benzema and playing Rodriguez as a sorta false 9 with Ronaldo and Bale either side of him.
There are several other alternatives, the trick is to make the adjustments without hamstringing the electric attack. That is why Ancelotti gets paid the big bucks

RuuDie:

Well, he can start by chalking off Fellaini's goal and declaring the game a 1-1 draw because that was definitely not from his tactic book... guess what!? It still counted

Lol.

how benzema still manages to start is beyond me tho

n0m0705:
I can count how many times carrick beat a man with the ball on his feet, he just Received ball and pass to another player Immediately whereas Fellaini can still run past one or two players with the ball. All in all, I will prefer to see a Fellaini as DM than the carrick I saw last season.

What else do expect 4rm a good midfielder? You must be high on dry shit!

SailorXY: how benzema still manages to start is beyond me tho

because madrid are useless.
benzema is not better than welbeck. they should get rid of him & sign falcao. that's the missing link in that madrid attack now. tevez or even aguero would do a better job for them in the attack. benzema lacks a football brain.

Nihilist: There is absolutely no need to panic.
Judging by preseason, United have a squad good enough to challenge for a top 4 finish.
With Van Gaal's extra sengemenge on the table in addition to relatively easy opening fixtures, united should be fast out the blocks and in the front of the pack early, and who knows what could happen from there?
I don't see what all the concern is about tbh, afterall most of these guys are multiple title winners who last won the league less than 2 years ago.

all our players are injury prone....
although, van gaal ordered for the pitch on the carrington complex to be ripped off & we won't have european commitment, i still want us to have 2 good players per position. rooney is one injury away & that applies to the defenders & at least half of the midfield.

Rojo,Blind, Di Maria. all left footed.....suspect it would be 2 out them not all 3

Interesting quote from Van Gaal last night

“Fellaini and Januzaj have only been with us training for one week. They can’t play any more minutes than they did tonight…I think we have a lot of injuries now. Don’t forget, Jonny Evans was injured, Luke Shaw was injured, Antonio Valencia was injured. These are three defenders. We have to wait to see if they can play on Saturday. The main thing is that we have won, despite playing our worst game.”

Valencia is officially a defender.

Could this be a reason why Di Maria and Cuadrado are yet to sign? Are the reluctant to be converted into fullbacks at this stage in their career?

Nihilist: Interesting quote from Van Gaal last night



Valencia is officially a defender.

Could this be a reason why Di Maria and Cuadrado are yet to sign? Are the reluctant to be converted into fullbacks at this stage in their career?

Di Maria is pretty expensive and PSG were in poll position to sign him until recently. The major problem with our deals appears to be Woodward.....he is as clueless in transfer deals as he is accomplished in sponsorship deals. There is something amateurish about the way we have gone about our deals. Lets hope the Manchester United brand and Van Gaal's reputation bridges the gap

afrodoc:

Di Maria is pretty expensive and PSG were in poll position to sign him until recently. The major problem with our deals appears to be Woodward.....he is as clueless in transfer deals as he is accomplished in sponsorship deals. There is something amateurish about the way we have gone about our deals. Lets hope the Manchester United brand and Van Gaal's reputation bridges the gap

you are making plenty assumptions here. firstly, majority of these media-reported targets are mere speculations. there's no evidence united tendered an official bid for di maria or the ones being touted by the media.

secondly, united are not really in a strong position to bring top talents to the club. we aren't in europe - no top talent wants to play for a club that won't be in europe so blaming woodward here is misplaced.

afrodoc:
How can u get injured doing nothing more than stretching your hand across the table asking for more food like Oliver Twist?
I can bet that he has a food related injury not a field related one.
The guy has gotten paid far too long for doing nothing......he should be sold already!

be ready to lose your money then cos he had a calf/shin injury & there's no return date yet on his injury.

if anderson comes back, he would naturally partner herrera. all the sidelined players under moyes would be the best performers under louis van gaal.

•young
•fellaini
•cleverley
•kagawa

we are waiting for anderson to prove his worth when he gets back playing. my predictions remain one player for completion. all the anti-young crew are into hiding now. young has shut their mouths with consistent top performance.

Nihilist:

Could this be a reason why Di Maria and Cuadrado are yet to sign? Are the reluctant to be converted into fullbacks at this stage in their career?

That is such an amazing stretch to deduce from that quote.

MrTA:

That is such an amazing stretch to deduce from that quote.

I tire oo.

afrodoc:

Di Maria is pretty expensive and PSG were in poll position to sign him until recently. The major problem with our deals appears to be Woodward.....he is as clueless in transfer deals as he is accomplished in sponsorship deals. There is something amateurish about the way we have gone about our deals. Lets hope the Manchester United brand and Van Gaal's reputation bridges the gap

I don't think Woodward would be messing around with Van Gaal over his targets. I still believe every transfer rests on Van Gaal coupled with the fact that they had to sort his approvals before they could buy the two they bought so far. It is only for Van Gaal to tell him who he is interested in before he goes for such.

MrTA:

That is such an amazing stretch to deduce from that quote.

Hardly 'amazing'

It's not far fetched for a winger to be skeptical about joining a side where he would be classed as a defender.

Afterall, many of you on this very thread have questioned where Di Maria and Cuadrado would fit in the current system. Is it so far fetched to imagine that the players themselves share the very same concern?

coogar:

you are making plenty assumptions here. firstly, majority of these media-reported targets are mere speculations. there's no evidence united tendered an official bid for di maria or the ones being touted by the media.

secondly, united are not really in a strong position to bring top talents to the club. we aren't in europe - no top talent wants to play for a club that won't be in europe so blaming woodward here is misplaced.




be ready to lose your money then cos he had a calf/shin injury & there's no return date yet on his injury.

if anderson comes back, he would naturally partner herrera. all the sidelined players under moyes would be the best performers under louis van gaal.

•young
•fellaini
•cleverley
•kagawa

we are waiting for anderson to prove his worth when he gets back playing. my predictions remain one player for completion. all the anti-young crew are into hiding now. young has shut their mouths with consistent top performance.

I never said we had made bids for those 3 though. Just that if we are interested in them i don't think all 3 will come. Maybe 2 of them.
Young is playing well no doubt, long may it continue. But Fellaini and especially Anderson should be sold.......why won't he cop a calf injury when the tiny legs are carrying his big tummy?
I never advocated Cleverley being sold, i have always believed he should be kept as a SQUAD player. However i am not one of those that have compared him to Kroos,Gotze,Thiago etc

tess1:

I don't think Woodward would be messing around with Van Gaal over his targets. I still believe every transfer rests on Van Gaal coupled with the fact that they had to sort his approvals before they could buy the two they bought so far. It is only for Van Gaal to tell him who he is interested in before he goes for such.

My sentiments exactly...

Reverse back to last season - on this same issue, guess who was getting all the stick!?

afrodoc:

Di Maria is pretty expensive and PSG were in poll position to sign him until recently. The major problem with our deals appears to be Woodward.....he is as clueless in transfer deals as he is accomplished in sponsorship deals. There is something amateurish about the way we have gone about our deals. Lets hope the Manchester United brand and Van Gaal's reputation bridges the gap

Given the way modern transfers work, I doubt that this the case.

Player agents hold all the aces, as was seen last year during your unfortunate Fabregas pursuit.

The agents are the ones who hawk the players and initially discuss the transfer fees with the parent club.

The buying club only discuss with the parent club after getting the green light 'underg' from the agents, when basic personal terms must have been agreed.

If the agents are only interested to eking out a new contract for their client, then there will be a lot of wooing and eye fluttering, but ultimately no puna.

And I don't really how you can blame Woodward for being led on, in this regard at least

RuuDie:

My sentiments exactly...

Reverse back to last season - on this same issue, guess who was getting all the stick!?

LOL.
I can pretty much remember it was Woodward getting most if not all the stick for the shabby transfer moves. Moyes had lots of support from fans here early on....Starboard was the earliest and loudest in oppostion to the Moyes issue. Other fans turned on him when the results kept getting worse every week. As per transfers however Woodward got most of the abuse. I remember peeps calling him Woodhead and asking why he spent so much time in Asia with the team when he should have pursuing targets in Europe

Nihilist:

Given the way modern transfers work, I doubt that this the case.

Player agents hold all the aces, as was seen last year during your unfortunate Fabregas pursuit.

The agents are the ones who hawk the players and initially discuss the transfer fees with the parent club.

The buying club only discuss with the parent club after getting the green light 'underg' from the agents, when basic personal terms must have been agreed.

If the agents are only interested to eking out a new contract for their client, then there will be a lot of wooing and eye fluttering, but ultimately no puna.

And I don't really how you can blame Woodward for being led on, in this regard at least

Because of his antecedents. By their fruits we shall know them. His only fruit was a rotten mop-haired one called Fellaini. This is starting to look similar to last season

afrodoc:
I never said we had made bids for those 3 though. Just that if we are interested in them i don't think all 3 will come. Maybe 2 of them.
Young is playing well no doubt, long may it continue.

so you admit young is playing well & the last 2 seasons performance were poor because of his injuries? why then were you guys saying he lacks the talent to play for united? if young is poor what then would you say about valencia?

But Fellaini and especially Anderson should be sold.......why won't he cop a calf injury when the tiny legs are carrying his big tummy?

so from food-related injury claim, it has now turned to big tummy over tiny legs? if i may ask, was carrick also injured cos of big tummy/tiny legs? perhaps rafael too?

I never advocated Cleverley being sold, i have always believed he should be kept as a SQUAD player. However i am not one of those that have compared him to Kroos,Gotze,Thiago etc

he's as good as those ones as far as creativity is concerned. cleverley is a gem - moyes ruined him with his pre-historic tactical nous. compare his performance under van gaal to moyes & it's clear enough.....

coogar:

so you admit young is playing well & the last 2 seasons performance were poor because of his injuries? why then were you guys saying he lacks the talent to play for united? if young is poor what then would you say about valencia?



so from food-related injury claim, it has now turned to big tummy over tiny legs? if i may ask, was carrick also injured cos of big tummy/tiny legs? perhaps rafael too?



he's as good as those ones as far as creativity is concerned. cleverley is a gem - moyes ruined him with his pre-historic tactical nous. compare his performance under van gaal to moyes & it's clear enough.....

I suspect you are very good at reading, i never mentioned injuries.Using injuries as an excuse is just that, an excuse. U neglect the fact that he is playing a different role. I said Young is playing well now. He just might make a decent wing back but as winger he is still mediocre. Only last week Van Gaal was saying we have NO WORLD CLASS WINGER . The best talent we have on the wings is Nani but he is never consistent. Valencia should not even be a footballer.

coogar:

so you admit young is playing well & the last 2 seasons performance were poor because of his injuries? why then were you guys saying he lacks the talent to play for united? if young is poor what then would you say about valencia?



so from food-related injury claim, it has now turned to big tummy over tiny legs? if i may ask, was carrick also injured cos of big tummy/tiny legs? perhaps rafael too?



he's as good as those ones as far as creativity is concerned. cleverley is a gem - moyes ruined him with his pre-historic tactical nous. compare his performance under van gaal to moyes & it's clear enough.....

How did he get the big tummy? was it not by eating too much?
Bros, your boy na grobido

afrodoc: [/b]

Because of his antecedents. By their fruits we shall know them. His only fruit was a rotten mop-haired one called Fellaini. This is starting to look similar to last season

Native doctor don turn preacher.
But that aside I agree with you.

It took him a year to iron a deal for Herrera out.
Mata was hawked to us,otherwise we would not have signed him last January.
He managed to sign Fellaini for 4million more after allowing the release clause thing to be triggered.
The guy is inept in the art of hammering out a quick deal. Even if Vidal is sent to Carrington Woody will complete the deal next January.

coogar:

so you admit young is playing well & the last 2 seasons performance were poor because of his injuries? why then were you guys saying he lacks the talent to play for united? if young is poor what then would you say about valencia?



so from food-related injury claim, it has now turned to big tummy over tiny legs? if i may ask, was carrick also injured cos of big tummy/tiny legs? perhaps rafael too?



he's as good as those ones as far as creativity is concerned. cleverley is a gem - moyes ruined him with his pre-historic tactical nous. compare his performance under van gaal to moyes & it's clear enough.....

Cleverley as good as Kroos,Thiago and Gotze in terms of creativity? Comparing him to Thiago and Gotze in that respect is blasphemous.
As per Kroos: if you took away composure,incisive passing and ambidexterous mid to long range shooting from Kroos you would get Cleverley.