Official Man United Supporters' Thread

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Randhir said:
Because we have Carrick, who is a staple in the centre of the park. Am I 100% opposed to bringing in a replacement, considering his age and inevitable decline? No. But I was assuming those parameters.

You seem to think because I'm asking for alternatives, I'm having an argument with you. I wasn't, I was genuinely soliciting opinions.
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Ok fair enough i thought you were trying to say there was no one else. Moyes did definitely say they were looking at more than one midfielder which doesnt necessarily mean a Carrick replacement, it could have been an Anderson/Cleverly replacement you need about 5 decent CM for a good squad. Honestly i wouldnt like to give names, i dont watch enough of the foreign leagues and most of the names we hear floating around is largely popular opinion and not always based on suitability.

Randhir said:
Everton and Martinez were always going to take a hard line regarding transfer to Moyes unfortunately. Fellaini was one of their big fish, we were always going to pay a premium.
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Yeah but a release clause is a release clause, we could have saved 4 million and had a full pre season with him if all was organised properly.
 
Vidal was a HUGE possiblity - I would have paid a premium to take him from Juve,
Canceres - now his not getting enough game time but his awesome in a 1v1 situation which says a heck lot more than our current defence (Rio, Smalling, Evra) he can play at CB or LB and his attacking isn't too bad.

for our CM we need 1 decent player and 1 okish... I would consider PSG's Lavezzi or Marco Verratti (both cup tied :( )

or Maximilian Arnold (Wolfsburg) and Ander Herrera

another possibility: Adam Lallana


I always wondered what happen to Magnus Wolff Eikrem

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‘I apologise for insensitive costume’


Manchester United defender Chris Smalling
has apologised for his "insensitive decision"
after being pictured at a fancy dress party
appearing to look like a suicide bomber.
Smalling's management company Wasserman
Media Group insisted that picture, which
appears on the front page of Thursday's
edition of The Sun newspaper, was "an
attempted comedy play on the popular 'jager
bomb drink'."
A statement to The Associated Press says
Smalling's costume at a party in his home
with close friends consisted of empty bottles
of Jagermeister "and cans of Red Bull
strapped to his chest."
But the statement says Smalling "fully accepts
in hindsight it was an ill-thought out and
insensitive decision, absolutely no harm was
intended whatsoever and he apologises for any
offence caused".

United declined to comment.
 
Unhappy438 said:
Ok so we would be 5th under Ferguson? Cant remember when Ferguson was last out of the top 3, sure you can say Ferguson was a brilliant manager and got a lot out of the players but then they have the potential and the ability to do better than what they are currently doing. Additions are required but tactics especially negative tactics and morale are more pressing issues atm.
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They wouldn't be at the top either. Aside from how much stronger the opposition got and how stagnated United are, we must also remember how the opposition bumbled last season as well. City were shambolic under Mancini last season, Wenger's future was in doubt and Chelsea sacked their manager early on before the fans turned on the replacement.

The sheer brilliance of one of the, if not the greatest, managers of all time coupled with the ineptitude of the opposition has greatly inflated the perceived quality of this squad.

Wayne Rooney, David de Gea & RvP are the only players who would get regular football at any of the top-3 sides.

Unhappy438 said:
Yeah but a release clause is a release clause, we could have saved 4 million and had a full pre season with him if all was organised properly.
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Fellaini was not at the top of Moyes' list of midfielders. Alcantara, Herrera, de Rossi and Fabregas were all ahead of Fellaini in the pecking order. Fellaini was signed because the others all snubbed United and in the case of Herrera, the Moyes/Woodward duo bungled.
 
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thestaggy said:
They wouldn't be at the top either. Aside from how much stronger the opposition got and how stagnated United are, we must also remember how the opposition bumbled last season as well. City were shambolic under Mancini last season, Wenger's future was in doubt and Chelsea sacked their manager early on before the fans turned on the replacement.

The sheer brilliance of one of the, if not the greatest, managers of all time coupled with the ineptitude of the opposition has greatly inflated the perceived quality of this squad.

Wayne Rooney, David de Gea & RvP are the only players who would get regular football at any of the top-3 sides.
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I believe Managers and tactics do make a difference. It has been seen many a time when an Interim manager comes in and uses exactly the same players, the team starts doing better.

Football is not just about football anymore, psychology also plays a major role nowadays. I am sure that's why clubs employ psychologists.

Utd has a good squad, but I don't think Moyes knows how to use the current players that he has. So maybe a makeover is needed.

Fellaini was not at the top of Moyes' list of midfielders. Alcantara, Herrera, de Rossi and Fabregas were all ahead of Fellaini in the pecking order. Fellaini was signed because the others all snubbed United and in the case of Herrera, the Moyes/Woodward duo bungled.
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I think Feillani was signed on the last day of the transfer window and this could be the main reason spent 4mil over the release clause. Otherwise Utd could of walked away with nothing.

I am not football expert, but a friend of mine was telling me. When Fellaini played at Everton, the ball was played long time to him and he chested the ball and laid it off or made a run. At Utd, balls are played on the ground most of the time and Fellaini can't trap a ball to save his life. And this may be the reason he is not fitting into the squad.

Its hard to go from Champions and not even in the Top 4 at the moment. But its time for patience and rebuilding. Maybe not making Champions League is the wake up that Utd needs. Hope use don't become the next Leeds :D
 
Don't think Fellaini was a target from the start. A lot of deals fell through and in the end he was a bit of a last ditch effort. Nobody could've have predicted his limited impact at United, but really if he was a target from the start, surely Moyes first day at the office would have involved writing a cheque of 24mil and sending a fax to Goodison.

Makes no sense in leaving it so late since Everton was never going to go lower as the buy-out.

Just my opinion.
 
craigdoepie said:
I believe Managers and tactics do make a difference. It has been seen many a time when an Interim manager comes in and uses exactly the same players, the team starts doing better.
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Roberto di Matteo - 42 games, 25 wins (59.2%), 8 draws (19%), 9 losses (21.4%)
Rafa Benitez - 47 games, 27 wins (57.4%), 10 draws (21.3%), 10 losses (21.3%)

Spurs look better under Sherwood at the moment, but I'd wait till the end of the season to see his win percentage vs AVB and 'ol 'Arry. Somebody posted an article in the forums last year that looked into the changing of managers mid season and it found that for the most part the norm is maintained. There have been the occasional miracle jobs but for the most part the team carries on as before. Practically every club that is relegated changes its manager at least once during the season. Reading & QPR sacked their managers last season, both were relegated. Crystal Palace, Fulham, Sunderland have all sacked their managers this season. Flashes here and there, but still at the wrong end of the table.

Utd has a good squad, but I don't think Moyes knows how to use the current players that he has. So maybe a makeover is needed.
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I tend to disagree. They have an average squad. The midfield especially is no better than what a mid-table Premier League side can offer at the moment.

I am not football expert, but a friend of mine was telling me. When Fellaini played at Everton, the ball was played long time to him and he chested the ball and laid it off or made a run. At Utd, balls are played on the ground most of the time and Fellaini can't trap a ball to save his life. And this may be the reason he is not fitting into the squad.
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There is some truth to this. He started out as a DM and Moyes converted him to a target man that sits behind the striker. Definitely reservations about his ball-playing abilities.

Its hard to go from Champions and not even in the Top 4 at the moment. But its time for patience and rebuilding. Maybe not making Champions League is the wake up that Utd needs. Hope use don't become the next Leeds :D
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No worries of that ever happening. Leeds ended up in the third-tier because they spent money they never had trying to win the league/participate in the Champions League on a regular basis. When it came time to pay for those expensive transfers and maintain the massive wage bill there was no money. Cue a fire sale of their best players (Rio to United being one), the inevitable slump down the table, no more European TV money and the arrival of the administrators. United's financial base would make this kind of decline impossible. United also have the best wage-turnover percentage of all the big clubs.
 
Uniteds biggest asset is it's revenue stream. They just generate so much income. Unless something serious happens, thats not going away over night.
 
thestaggy said:
They wouldn't be at the top either. Aside from how much stronger the opposition got and how stagnated United are, we must also remember how the opposition bumbled last season as well. City were shambolic under Mancini last season, Wenger's future was in doubt and Chelsea sacked their manager early on before the fans turned on the replacement.
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You're kidding yourself if you think that, Uniteds last 7 years: 2007-win, 2008-win, 2009-win, 2010-2nd (1 point behind leaders), 2011 - win , 2012 - 2nd (tie on points), 2013 - win. 3 points stoped United from winning 7 in a row, Ferguson would no doubt be right up there if he was still around.

thestaggy said:
The sheer brilliance of one of the, if not the greatest, managers of all time coupled with the ineptitude of the opposition has greatly inflated the perceived quality of this squad.

Wayne Rooney, David de Gea & RvP are the only players who would get regular football at any of the top-3 sides.
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Look i dont doubt that the squad has issues, i just think its being over exaggerated atm. You would not have said all this at the start of the season, Rafeal and Carrick would also have made that list then. Moyes is certainly not getting the most out of this squad atm, they're much better than what they're showing.
 
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Unhappy438 said:
Fellaini was not at the top of Moyes' list of midfielders. Alcantara, Herrera, de Rossi and Fabregas were all ahead of Fellaini in the pecking order. Fellaini was signed because the others all snubbed United and in the case of Herrera, the Moyes/Woodward duo bungled.
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[/QUOTE]

In May-August the top established players were not interested in United. Rooney was uncommitted. Shouldn't be the new guys fault all that much.

2011-12 and 2012-13 was City not knowing how to lead. 2012-3 was mostly RvP, De Gea, and City strikers not scoring the goals. De Gea made a lot of difference in your last campaign, there was a lot of saves that came from shots that should have not been allowed through the defence in the first place - this happens, but I felt it was more than average for a goalie to have to do. United as a team were not looking too good, but got the results. It is true that Moyes is not getting the best out of the squad, but I think he is building on something that had rotted a wee bit. Which is why you may play well but then crumble away...
 
Vis1/0N said:
In May-August the top established players were not interested in United. Rooney was uncommitted. Shouldn't be the new guys fault all that much.

2011-12 and 2012-13 was City not knowing how to lead. 2012-3 was mostly RvP, De Gea, and City strikers not scoring the goals. De Gea made a lot of difference in your last campaign, there was a lot of saves that came from shots that should have not been allowed through the defence in the first place - this happens, but I felt it was more than average for a goalie to have to do. United as a team were not looking too good, but got the results. It is true that Moyes is not getting the best out of the squad, but I think he is building on something that had rotted a wee bit. Which is why you may play well but then crumble away...
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Eh, i actually never said all that. I just forgot to remove it from the quote and ive fixed it now, the original was a post by thestaggy here http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...ers-Thread?p=11856158&viewfull=1#post11856158
 
You have to give Moyes some time to rebuild.
Man U have had it so good for so many years.
A couple of average seasons now isn't the end of the world.
And remember some of Alex Ferguson's early seasons in charge?

1986/87 11th position
1988/89 11th position
1989/90 13th position
1990/91 6th position

This little break might do Fellaini good.
He just might surprise everyone when he comes back from injury.
 
Unhappy438 said:
You're kidding yourself if you think that, Uniteds last 7 years: 2007-win, 2008-win, 2009-win, 2010-2nd (1 point behind leaders), 2011 - win , 2012 - 2nd (tie on points), 2013 - win. 3 points stoped United from winning 7 in a row, Ferguson would no doubt be right up there if he was still around.



Look i dont doubt that the squad has issues, i just think its being over exaggerated atm. You would not have said all this at the start of the season, Rafeal and Carrick would also have made that list then. Moyes is certainly not getting the most out of this squad atm, they're much better than what they're showing.
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I've said for years that United's squad is very workmanlike and has been spurred on by a man that most players performed for out of sheer fear. So yes, before the season started and for about the last 2/3 years I've said United's squad is not the most talented in the league. City and Chelsea have trumped United for talent for a good few years, it's just that they have bungled their assets at hand and Fergie, as befitting of the ''Greatest of All Time'', out-coached his opponents who had bigger and better toys.

And it isn't over-exaggerated. Have you not seen how the midfield has been repeatedly overrun and how soft it has looked at times in the past? For goodness sake, Fergie had to persuade Scholes to come back to bolster the middle. As good as Carrick has been for them, Fergie never replaced Keane and Scholes. Even under Fergie, Cleverley regressed and Anderson has never stepped up. Fergie misused Kagawa. Welbeck was, in hindsight, misused as well. Young, well, he's been atrocious for a while now, even under Fergie. Nani could not find consistency under the legendary boss. Not all of the players struggling now are due to Moyes. Some had been in decline or not very good under Fergie.

United also leaked a lot of goals last season, so the defensive frailties seen under Moyes are nothing new either.

Could they play better? Yes. Could they match this City? No.
 
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