Man U

[culloty82]

Obertan does look a prospect and has impressed me every time I've seen him in action.

Big game for Gibson tonight.

He's certainly taken his chance this week with the three goals, but long-term it's hard to see him being a regular starter up against Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes and Hargreaves when he's fit. I'd love to see another Irishman in the United XI, but for the good of his career, his future's probably at a mid-table side like Sunderland or Spurs.

[John83]

He's certainly taken his chance this week with the three goals, but long-term it's hard to see him being a regular starter up against Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes and Hargreaves when he's fit. I'd love to see another Irishman in the United XI, but for the good of his career, his future's probably at a mid-table side like Sunderland or Spurs.
Long term, it's hard to see him beat a player who was rated no better than him at his age, a player who is rumoured to be headed towards the exit after some mediocre displays, a 35 year old and a crock? That's some pessimistic stuff right there culloty82.

[culloty82]

I hope I'm wrong, it took O'Shea a good while to nail down his place, hopefully Fergie will trust him with more than the Carling Cup and the league minnows. If he starts against Villa next week, it'll be a real move up the pecking order.

[Acornvilla]

i hope to god he scored against wolfsburg :)

[rambler14]

United's team tonight is:

Kuszszak

Park Fletcher Carrick Evra

Nani Gibson Scholes Anderson

Owen Welbeck

Some defence there!:D

[Acornvilla]

United's team tonight is:

Kuszszak

Park Fletcher Carrick Evra

Nani Gibson Scholes Anderson

Owen Welbeck

Some defence there!:D
that has to be the worst united starting team in any match since well..... the plane crash.....??

[John83]

http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={1981432E-2416-4FCB-A1B3-9D779A923E8D}
has Gibson at right back, Park on the right wing, Nani on the left and Anderson in the middle.

[rambler14]

Nani waiting till 8th December 2009 to make his contribution for the year.
Great cross but for the other 43 minutes before-hand I could have sworn he was a magician with the rate he was making the ball dissappear.

[John83]

Seems Gibson's been pushed into midfield - Man Utd going to three at the back.

[rambler14]

Seems Gibson's been pushed into midfield - Man Utd going to three at the back.

Are you watching deferred coverage or something?:confused: United have had 3 at the back since the first minute with Park and Nani as wing backs.
Gibson has being playing in midfield with Anderson and Scholes all the time too. It's a 3-5-2 formation.

[John83]

Are you watching deferred coverage or something?:confused: United have had 3 at the back since the first minute with Park and Nani as wing backs.
Gibson has being playing in midfield with Anderson and Scholes all the time too. It's a 3-5-2 formation.
I've just been keeping an eye on it on a match tracker, which implied otherwise.

[rambler14]

I've just been keeping an eye on it on a match tracker, which implied otherwise.

Nah 3-5-2 formation till the 75th minute or so then United switched to 4-4-2.

Great cameo from Obertan used the ball really well. Owen was clinical and Evra put in a real captains performence. Fletcher definetley not a centre-back though struggled marking Dzeko.

[thischarmingman]

It's not just Errortel who get things wrong...BBC Sport headline:


A Michael Owen hat-trick helps injury-hit Manchester United beat Wolfsburg 2-1 and secure top spot in group B

[culloty82]

It wouldn't be a worry that United are struggling if they were at least making an effort to play their usual entertaining style, but the flair and drive has completely gone from midfield and Rooney seems to be single-handedly carring the team. No-one would miss Nani and Berbatov if they were sold tomorrow, and to be honest Park and Anderson are probably living on borrowed time too. Krasic and Dzeko would be good signings, also talk of the Benfica winger di Maria as a target. Would be a major blow to lose Vidic - rumours of a major bust-up with Ferguson, so looks like he's being shipped out to the Bernabeu.

[Closed Account 2]

Valon Berhami (Albanian / Kosovan / Swiss player at West Ham, ex Lazio) being linked with the club now. It does look like Vidic will go, you do wonder why he didn't keep Tevez, I'm not saying he would have solved all the problems but if anything were to happen to Rooney where would the goals come from? Tevez and Rooney would on paper be more of a threat than Rooney and Berbatov/Owen.

[shakermaker1982]

Just goes to show how **** the league is when Man Utd are still in contention when they have been playing without many defenders for the past couple of months.

Dreadful performance Saturday. Dominated possession but no threat. Carrick, Park, Rafael, Evans and Brown were woeful. New blood needed. Scholes is on his last legs but still expected to bail them out from time to time.

Berbatov is wasting away. Talented, skillful but just not fitting in.

If the defensive problems don't clear up soon then Milan will rip them to pieces.

[rambler14]

If the defensive problems don't clear up soon then Milan will rip them to pieces.

Milan are very poor. If United don't improve were looking at two of the most boring legs of football ever!



United made a £48 million profit in the last financial year!:eek:

They need to spend that to improve the squad.

[Acornvilla]

Just goes to show how **** the league is when Man Utd are still in contention when they have been playing without many defenders for the past couple of months.

Dreadful performance Saturday. Dominated possession but no threat. Carrick, Park, Rafael, Evans and Brown were woeful. New blood needed. Scholes is on his last legs but still expected to bail them out from time to time.

Berbatov is wasting away. Talented, skillful but just not fitting in.

If the defensive problems don't clear up soon then Milan will rip them to pieces.
there will probably be a massive squad overhaul in the summer until then fergeson will probably have to make do with what they have

[MaryDrummer]

We are lacking serious creativity in midfield and top that with a shaky defence is bad enough. But then Fergie decides to put out that dreaded "Flying ****ing V" formation and we were just asking for it. Talk about playing a game right into the hands of Birmingham. We saw from the LEeds game that it doesn't work, I almost lost the rag completely when I saw the line out.

With Berbatov going to have knee surgery, we are going to need Diouf to settle in fairly quickly. The amount of good crosses Valencia sends in but we have no one really strong in the air is just criminal. Hopefully, he will fill that gap.

[Acornvilla]

We are lacking serious creativity in midfield and top that with a shaky defence is bad enough. But then Fergie decides to put out that dreaded "Flying ****ing V" formation and we were just asking for it. Talk about playing a game right into the hands of Birmingham. We saw from the LEeds game that it doesn't work, I almost lost the rag completely when I saw the line out.

With Berbatov going to have knee surgery, we are going to need Diouf to settle in fairly quickly. The amount of good crosses Valencia sends in but we have no one really strong in the air is just criminal. Hopefully, he will fill that gap.
jesus galway have much better players than i taught?:p

[culloty82]

Valon Berhami (Albanian / Kosovan / Swiss player at West Ham, ex Lazio) being linked with the club now. It does look like Vidic will go, you do wonder why he didn't keep Tevez, I'm not saying he would have solved all the problems but if anything were to happen to Rooney where would the goals come from? Tevez and Rooney would on paper be more of a threat than Rooney and Berbatov/Owen.

Never understood why people wrote Tevez off, scored plenty of vital goals (Blackburn, Lyon, Spurs), always gave 100%, and already proving his worth to City. At this stage, it would be worth starting Owen alongside Rooney, give Macheda a chance off the subs bench.

[Acornvilla]

Never understood why people wrote Tevez off, scored plenty of vital goals (Blackburn, Lyon, Spurs), always gave 100%, and already proving his worth to City. At this stage, it would be worth starting Owen alongside Rooney, give Macheda a chance off the subs bench.
is manucho still at united? he scored a penalty yesterday for angola

[superfrank]

Nah, he's at Valladolid. Saw him play a few months ago and he did ok.

[MaryDrummer]

jesus galway have much better players than i taught?:p

Haha, you are quick!

In this case, "we", would be Manchester United! :D

[MaryDrummer]

Never understood why people wrote Tevez off, scored plenty of vital goals (Blackburn, Lyon, Spurs), always gave 100%, and already proving his worth to City. At this stage, it would be worth starting Owen alongside Rooney, give Macheda a chance off the subs bench.

Yes he did but was he really worth €30 million? He did more complaining and whinging in his final few months at United. I agree that Owen should be given more of a chance. We probably would have seen Macheda against Birmingham but he is injured.

[DmanDmythDledge]

there will probably be a massive squad overhaul in the summer until then fergeson will probably have to make do with what they have
Not a hope, Man Utd are utterly screwed financially.

[TheBoss]

I can not see how the current structure of club is going to survive, they have severe debts, The Glaziers have to sell the club, cause they will get their profit from which is what they want, and then Utd get bought by some Chinese Billionaire firm, I would think.

[Closed Account 2]

Valon Berhami (Albanian / Kosovan / Swiss player at West Ham, ex Lazio) being linked with the club now. It does look like Vidic will go, you do wonder why he didn't keep Tevez, I'm not saying he would have solved all the problems but if anything were to happen to Rooney where would the goals come from? Tevez and Rooney would on paper be more of a threat than Rooney and Berbatov/Owen.

Tevez had a great game tonight, I've no idea why Ferguson didnt sign him. I know people go on about him not doing much in his last few months at Old Trafford (but even then I would say he chipped in with crucial goals like at Wigan) but at that stage the schism had set in, around this time last year Ferguson should have made more of an effort to sign him. Berbatov is a total waster, given Giggs and Scholes's age you cant expect Rooney to carry the attack on his own. I dont see where the attacking threat will come from, Valencia is still a bit of a rookie in terms of big games.

If I were a Man Utd fan I'd be worried about the Milan matches. You would have to hope the defence gets back up to speed with both Vidic and Ferdinand back. Milan looked very decent in Turin the other night and turned Juve over 3-0 away. Beckham hit some very decent crosses and Ronaldinho looks to have lost his tyre and is hitting some form. Man Utd could do it, but they would need to rest Giggs and Scholes for weeks before the two legs and rely on the defence coming back. If the match were to happen tomorrow Milan could just tell Ambrosini and Nesta to double up on Rooney and let Thiago Silva mop up any other central attacking threat. Im sure they would be content to play percentages and try their luck from set plays. With Pirlo, Beckham and Ronaldinho they have some deadball experts.

[DmanDmythDledge]

Tevez had a great game tonight, I've no idea why Ferguson didnt sign him. I know people go on about him not doing much in his last few months at Old Trafford (but even then I would say he chipped in with crucial goals like at Wigan) but at that stage the schism had set in, around this time last year Ferguson should have made more of an effort to sign him.
Why do people keep saying this? Fergie wanted him. Man Utd simply couldn't afford Tevez.

[De Town]

Why do people keep saying this? Fergie wanted him. Man Utd simply couldn't afford Tevez.

Did he actually though? He may have said it every now and then but I genuinely believe he didn't really want to keep him.

[KK77]

Six members of the Glazer family have borrowed £10m from Manchester United over the past year, according to a report in The Guardian.

The club's financial results revealed yesterday that the club only made a pre-tax profit because of the £80m sale of Ronaldo to Real Madrid, and yet the Glazers borrowed money that does not have to be repaid for five years.

The Guardian also claims that a further £10m has been paid in "management and administration fees" over the last five years to members of the Glazer family involved in a company called SLP Partners.

That information was found in an offer document issued for the £500m bond that will be used to re-finance the £509m debt secured on the club that cost a massive £41.9m in interest payments last year.

The total debt of the club is reported to have surpassed £700m for the first time since the Glazers took over the club in 2005.

[old git]

Did he actually though? He may have said it every now and then but I genuinely believe he didn't really want to keep him.

personally i think fergusons hands were tied financaly on deal i think he would have signed tevez if a deal was agreed for less money with tevez ( don't forget tevez kept saying how much he loved utd and yet he was willing to walk away ).. tevez did not also help his case moaning and playing to crowd near end of season and this may have p***ed fergie off also ... don't forget the agent involved here this was his last chance to make money of tevez so guess what he made sure he was sold for as much money as possible :ball:

[Acornvilla]

oh well.. to games they really should be winning coming up[ so the rose tinted glasses will be back on for a lot of the fans soon :)

[KK77]

Manchester United's owners could sell the training ground and lease it back to the club, according to the prospectus for their new bond scheme.

The Guardian have trawled through the 322-page prospectus and found a passage that suggests Carrington could be transferred to a holding company controlled by the Glazers.

This follows Tuesday's revelation that the family have taken over £20m out of the club in 'administration fees' and loans.

Talk of selling Carrington will ring a bell with football fans who followed Leeds' financial disintegration, which featured the sale and lease-back of their training ground at Thorp Arch.

'The Carrington training ground will not be encumbered and may in due course be transferred to a holding company or affiliate of the Parent. In the latter event, we will be granted a lease in respect of the Carrington training ground,' says the prospectus.

Figures released on Monday revealed that United are burdened with over £700m of debt and only made a profit in the 12 months to June 2009 because they sold Ronaldo to Real Madrid for £80m.

[MaryDrummer]

It's all a big mess over there. We are going to need to buy a decent goalie, a decent defender to probably take Vidic's place and must also work well with Evans, a midfielder who can pass the feckin ball (I'd like to see Cory Evans in midfield, I hear he is a better player than Jonny is) and an out and out striker, someone who can score lke Ruud Van Nistlerooy did and who would also work well with Rooney. Maybe we have that striker in Diouf, we'll just have to wait and see.

I hope the Milan match is a good one coz I'm going over to it! :D

[rambler14]

Glazers Out!

[culloty82]

Akinfeev has long been touted as Van der Sar's replacement, unlikely to see the squad break-up and mass signings that are needed as long as the Glazers are in charges. If you were rating the players by the quality needed to win the European Cup, only Van der Sar (for now), Vidic, Evra, O'Shea, Giggs, Scholes, Fletcher and Rooney are up to the mark, so like MaryDrummer says, we need an extra player in every area.

[old git]

Akinfeev has long been touted as Van der Sar's replacement, unlikely to see the squad break-up and mass signings that are needed as long as the Glazers are in charges. If you were rating the players by the quality needed to win the European Cup, only Van der Sar (for now), Vidic, Evra, O'Shea, Giggs, Scholes, Fletcher and Rooney are up to the mark, so like MaryDrummer says, we need an extra player in every area.

the so called biggest club in the world should not relying on 2 legends like giggs & scholes ( but both begining to show age now), fletcher still not sure be he is improving every season, evra / rooney class players , vidic was a rock for utd but very strong rumours of wanting a move to spain and his form has been shakey this season with a load of strange injuries in recent games.. utd seem to have alot of problems on and off the field at the moment and more worried that at the moment they seem to be a feeder club to real madrid ..could be a few more twist n turns before this season is finished :ball:

[Closed Account 2]

Manchester United's owners could sell the training ground and lease it back to the club, according to the prospectus for their new bond scheme.

The Guardian have trawled through the 322-page prospectus and found a passage that suggests Carrington could be transferred to a holding company controlled by the Glazers.

This follows Tuesday's revelation that the family have taken over £20m out of the club in 'administration fees' and loans.

Talk of selling Carrington will ring a bell with football fans who followed Leeds' financial disintegration, which featured the sale and lease-back of their training ground at Thorp Arch.

'The Carrington training ground will not be encumbered and may in due course be transferred to a holding company or affiliate of the Parent. In the latter event, we will be granted a lease in respect of the Carrington training ground,' says the prospectus.

Figures released on Monday revealed that United are burdened with over £700m of debt and only made a profit in the 12 months to June 2009 because they sold Ronaldo to Real Madrid for £80m.


Sweet jesus that's from the Ron Noades book of how to destroy a club... What on earth are they doing ?

[shakermaker1982]

Man Utd need Spurs to buy back Berbatov and Carrick.

[MaryDrummer]

They took Keane back from Liverpool so they might do!

But they are planning a massive new stadium so they'll be tightening the buckles too.

[gustavo]

the so called biggest club in the world should not relying on 2 legends like giggs & scholes ( but both begining to show age now), fletcher still not sure be he is improving every season, evra / rooney class players , vidic was a rock for utd but very strong rumours of wanting a move to spain and his form has been shakey this season with a load of strange injuries in recent games.. utd seem to have alot of problems on and off the field at the moment and more worried that at the moment they seem to be a feeder club to real madrid ..could be a few more twist n turns before this season is finished :ball:
:confused: On the basis of one signing?

[old git]

:confused: On the basis of one signing?

David Beckham
Ruud van nistleroy
Cristiano Ronaldo
Gabriel Heinze

some big names & star players at utd before moving to madrid :ball:

[gustavo]

David Beckham
Ruud van nistleroy
Cristiano Ronaldo
Gabriel Heinze

some big names & star players at utd before moving to madrid :ball:

Tbf in all cases except C.Ronaldo Man United were willing sellers

[Closed Account 2]

but equally well you could argue that all except Heinze went on to have very good spells at Real. Van Nistleroy's admittedly blighted by injuries, though his goal scoring record was pretty good at Real from what I recall. I would argue that none of those players were past it when they were sold (again Heinze maybe a bit iffy) and there weren't direct immediate better replacements for any (again Heinze being the exception). Most of those departures were like Jaap Stam's situation - falling out with the manager.

Big team rise and fall, they go through good years (or couple of years) and then bad years. Juventus are in the doldrums now, so are Boca, Real were not much cop in the mid 1990s (Atletico did better in the league), Barca were slippy in the early 2000s, Bayern Munich went off the boil pretty much after winning the Champions League. The big question is will United slip away into that "not quite contenders" bracket like Dortmund in Germany, Marseille in France, Lazio and Roma in Italy - all these teams were the strongest in the countries for a time (won the league in the last decade or so) but all have slipped into the ether. With Man Utd it's hard to say much will depend on the other English teams around them like City, Chelsea (both rich in terms of ownership) and perhaps Arsenal (very fiscally tight).

[culloty82]

Hard to imagine United drifting that far off the pace, even in the Seventies and Eighties they were qualifying for European semi-finals and reputation alone should ensure the top names will always consider joining. It's worrying about the drift to Real, but they've hardly reaped the rewards and only van Nistlerooy wasn't properly replaced (Valencia doing OK and Rooney making up the goals).

[endabob1]

Man Utd need Spurs to buy back Berbatov and Carrick.

I'd take Carrick back in a heartbeat, top class player. Berbatov burnt his bridges with Spurs with his actions before the move, you can keep the sulky bugger

[KK77]

Man Utd need Spurs to buy back Berbatov and Carrick.

And resign Tevez;) What a mistake that was letting him go.

[gaiscíoch]

And resign Tevez;) What a mistake that was letting him go.


Carlos Tevez did the right thing for Carlos Tevez and that was to go somewhere where he would be the main man which he is now at City.

Utd didn't have the money to buy him simple as that.

At least it was for genuine reasons as opposed Benitez who sold Bellamy and Crouch and Murphy and Keane.

The good thing about it is that with any bit of luck they will come back bite him on the bum.

[KK77]

[QUOTE=gaiscíoch;1306817]Carlos Tevez did the right thing for Carlos Tevez and that was to go somewhere where he would be the main man which he is now at City.

Utd didn't have the money to buy him simple as that.

But had £30 million to spend on Benzema:confused: