***Official Manchester United Thread***

Status
Not open for further replies.

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Shinboners

Brownlow Medallist
Joined
Feb 18, 2000
Posts
27,229
Likes
25
Location
pellegrini's espresso bar
AFL Club
North Melbourne
The silly season is starting.

The Sun is 'reporting' we are trying to sign Dani Alves and Luis Fabiano
Same shit, different year.

Last year's signing of Anderson caught everyone by surprise. I don't recall any newspaper predicting that one.

It wouldn't surprise me if we signed another goalkeeper. Van der Sar can't have too many years to go, and Foster is going to have his good days and bad. Kuszucak looks to be strictly a back up 'keeper.

We might buy a back up left back. Brown has been very solid as right back, Gary Neville will be back, and Hargreaves has done well when Brown has moved to centre back.

The final position will be another striker, probably someone who can add something different to Rooney, Tevez, and Ronaldo.
 
Joined
Nov 9, 2005
Posts
12,730
Likes
21
Location
Dublin (not Belfast)
AFL Club
Essendon
Other Teams
MUFC, Sporting, Bohs
Now we've won 10 Premier League titles, how does everyone else rank them?
Was thinking about this question this morning on the train while reading a little potted history of them in the paper.

Here's my ten:

1. 1998/99. Can't look at the league campaign in isolation from winning the other two trophies, because the successes in each kind of built on each other. The amount of comeback wins, cavalier football, spectacular goals, fan camaraderie... it really was the perfect season in every way.

2. 1992/93. They say you never forget the first time. After the humiliating scenes at Anfailed the previous year I was starting to think we'd never ever win it. I cried like a baby when we did... and I never dreamed it'd be the first of ten I'd see in my lifetime, let alone in the next 16 seasons!

3. 2006/07. We hadn't won it for a while, and Chelsea looked to have raised the bar impossibly high. Sold Van Nistelrooy, Rooney and Ronaldo were supposedly hating each other after the world cup, and everyone said we hadn't a hope in hell. We showed 'em.

4. 1993/94. For the sheer quality of football. That side were unstoppable.

5. 2007/08. Mightn't stay that high in the long run, but I'm still buzzing. CHAMPIONS!!!!

6. 1995/96. "You won't win anything with kids." Wanna bet, Hansen? The dogged pursuit of Newcastle was particularly memorable - we loved it, loved it!

7. 1999/00. 97 goals and some absolutely breathtaking football. We were really tearing teams to shreds that year. Except when we picked Taibi and the roles were reversed...

8. 2002/03. Wenger - with one title win - had been talking of a "power shift" in English football; we shifted it back again.

9. 2000/01. Is there such a thing as "just another title"? Never!

10. 1996/97. A bit of a slog, this one, results were more ground out than spectacular. And we lost Cantona at the end of it. Felt like the beginning of the end, rather than the kick on to the next level it actually turned out to be.
 

TheNextBigThing

Premiership Player
Joined
Feb 19, 2003
Posts
3,596
Likes
71
Location
Victoria
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Other Teams
Chelsea, Mavericks
Haven't been on here for a few days for obvious reasons, but anyway well done on winning the league this season, after a slow start you guys were just too consistant, played the better brand of football and are deserved winners.

Now to look forward to the CL Final, can't wait.
 

Shinboners

Brownlow Medallist
Joined
Feb 18, 2000
Posts
27,229
Likes
25
Location
pellegrini's espresso bar
AFL Club
North Melbourne
2. 1992/93. They say you never forget the first time. After the humiliating scenes at Anfailed the previous year I was starting to think we'd never ever win it. I cried like a baby when we did... and I never dreamed it'd be the first of ten I'd see in my lifetime, let alone in the next 16 seasons!
Where were you when you heard United won the title?

There was very little internet access or content in those days, and if you wanted to keep up with the English football, you needed to buy the British Soccer Week newspaper.

I was at work when I found out. I was speaking to a client and somehow, we ended up talking about the Premier League. I was fretting about United's chances of winning the title, and he said that he heard on radio that United had won it. I just clenched my fists and said, "Yeessssssssss!!!!!!".

belfast_bomber said:
3. 2006/07. We hadn't won it for a while, and Chelsea looked to have raised the bar impossibly high. Sold Van Nistelrooy, Rooney and Ronaldo were supposedly hating each other after the world cup, and everyone said we hadn't a hope in hell. We showed 'em.
Did the Liverpool players know that Ronaldo was about to take the next step? In the weeks after the World Cup, senior Liverpool players started talking in the media about how they'd never accept one of their players doing what Ronaldo did to Rooney. The implication was that Ronaldo should just leave England.

Thank Cantona for Fergie's skills of persuasion.
 

Shinboners

Brownlow Medallist
Joined
Feb 18, 2000
Posts
27,229
Likes
25
Location
pellegrini's espresso bar
AFL Club
North Melbourne
I'm convinced SAF/the board etc make bogus bids/enquiries on players as red herrings in order to try and conceal who their real targets actually are.
It wouldn't surprise me.

With Chelsea's ability to easily outbid us for any player, United have had to get smarter with how we identify and purchase players.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

davey_magik

Brownlow Medallist
Joined
Nov 27, 2004
Posts
12,795
Likes
51
Location
central vic
AFL Club
Melbourne
Other Teams
west ham
Do you guys think it is a realistic option that SAF might target Ashton as a true target man?

Rumors are going around you offered us 10 million for him, personally I wouldn't sell as he's one of our few players who has star potential but Curbs might think differently.
 

Embers

Cancelled
Joined
Apr 27, 2005
Posts
28,343
Likes
27
Location
8th place
AFL Club
West Coast
Other Teams
West Ham, Tony Pulis hat
Do you guys think it is a realistic option that SAF might target Ashton as a true target man?

Rumors are going around you offered us 10 million for him, personally I wouldn't sell as he's one of our few players who has star potential but Curbs might think differently.
Straight swap for Tevez ;)
 

bus24

Cancelled
Joined
Sep 23, 2006
Posts
18,013
Likes
1
Location
Heppenheim
AFL Club
Adelaide
Other Teams
Sebastian Vettel
I'm convinced SAF/the board etc make bogus bids/enquiries on players as red herrings in order to try and conceal who their real targets actually are.
I think all clubs do. Leak a few names to "good sources" and let the media take hold of it.


It wouldn't surprise me.

With Chelsea's ability to easily outbid us for any player, United have had to get smarter with how we identify and purchase players.
Correct. But it also depends on the player themselves.

For example, Torres. Chelsea bid for him, said he didn't want any of that. Despite the insane wages he would have recieved. Also had larger offers from City and Inter last summer and turned them down.

Just an example I used, but I'd be absolutely certain that plenty of players that come to Man Utd are in the exact same situation.
 

Shinboners

Brownlow Medallist
Joined
Feb 18, 2000
Posts
27,229
Likes
25
Location
pellegrini's espresso bar
AFL Club
North Melbourne
For example, Torres. Chelsea bid for him, said he didn't want any of that. Despite the insane wages he would have recieved. Also had larger offers from City and Inter last summer and turned them down.
As I said in the transfer thread, I think Torres has an exceptional loyalty to the clubs he follows. Fergie said during the year that he tried to sign Torres, but he just wasn't interested in joining.
 

Rocco_S

Club Legend
Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Posts
1,111
Likes
30
Location
New York
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
Boston Bruins, BoSox, Patriots
It wouldn't surprise me if we signed another goalkeeper. Van der Sar can't have too many years to go, and Foster is going to have his good days and bad. Kuszucak looks to be strictly a back up 'keeper.

We might buy a back up left back. Brown has been very solid as right back, Gary Neville will be back, and Hargreaves has done well when Brown has moved to centre back.

The final position will be another striker, probably someone who can add something different to Rooney, Tevez, and Ronaldo.
Completely agree with everything there esp the keeper situation, do you think silvestre is on the way out? We still have O'Shea who is more than capable holding down left back. Would be interesting to know whether Hargreaves likes to play right back as i'd probably pick him in our best 4 mids...I also heard somewhere Browns contract negotiations have somewhat stalled and is being difficult.

It was interesting to hear (i think maybe one of the commentators said it when the boys were waiting to lift the trophy) about the depth of the team and I totally agreed that this could be one way we could improve.

I'm convinced SAF/the board etc make bogus bids/enquiries on players as red herrings in order to try and conceal who their real targets actually are.
Another way this could happen is through the transfer speculation page on the Man Utd website has to say;

http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={C2572DA3-8A1C-457F-9926-899EA5639CB4}&newsid=550257

On it it speculates Saha + 8 Mill for Palacios. What do you think?
 

Shinboners

Brownlow Medallist
Joined
Feb 18, 2000
Posts
27,229
Likes
25
Location
pellegrini's espresso bar
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Completely agree with everything there esp the keeper situation, do you think silvestre is on the way out? We still have O'Shea who is more than capable holding down left back. Would be interesting to know whether Hargreaves likes to play right back as i'd probably pick him in our best 4 mids...I also heard somewhere Browns contract negotiations have somewhat stalled and is being difficult.
I'm pretty sure that Silvestre signed a contract extension last year and that Brown re-signed a few weeks ago.
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2006
Posts
2,927
Likes
681
Location
nowhere
AFL Club
Essendon
Thread starter #3,171
Hargreaves best position is defensive mid. I'm hoping he plays with Carrick in the middle against Chelsea, although I know this won't happen.

As far as our keeper situation goes, i think we do need to go out and splash out for the best young keeper available. Akinfeev or Ochoa are the two that spring to mind immediately. Apparently Arsenal were chasing Ochoa.
 

Shinboners

Brownlow Medallist
Joined
Feb 18, 2000
Posts
27,229
Likes
25
Location
pellegrini's espresso bar
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Hargreaves best position is defensive mid. I'm hoping he plays with Carrick in the middle against Chelsea, although I know this won't happen.
Why not? I reckon there's a good chance that Hargreaves and Carrick will both start.

I think Fergie will go with Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Hargreaves, Carrick, Ronaldo, Scholes, Park, Rooney. It'll be a 4-2-3-1 formation, although Park will be expected to cover for whichever one of Ronaldo or Rooney goes forward. We will defend deeply against Chelsea and try and get them on the break. It won't be pretty football, but Fergie just wants a win.

On the bench will be Kuszczak, Tevez, Anderson, Nani, Fletcher, O'Shea, Giggs. Tevez will be on the bench as fresh legs. If we've got the lead, expect Fletcher and/or O'Shea to come on. If we need to chase goals, then it'll be Tevez, Anderson, Giggs, or Nani. I don't think Giggs will be used unless we're 2-0 up with a few minutes left.
 

Rocco_S

Club Legend
Joined
Jul 28, 2006
Posts
1,111
Likes
30
Location
New York
AFL Club
Richmond
Other Teams
Boston Bruins, BoSox, Patriots
Fletcher is an interesting one. Don't laugh or scoff but he's my favourite player because I love the scottish connection. He's interesting because he only seems to start 4 matches a year, 2 against Arsenal and 2 against Chelsea. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he started.

I also don't think Nani should be included in the squad after the West Ham calamity although going back to the depth argument we don't have players with experience/talent who can fill spots on the bench.

if you look at those who are certainties to start you have; VDS, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Scholes, Rooney and Ronaldo. Which leaves in my opinion; Brown, Hargreaves (mid), Carrick and Park.

Park gives us great width on either side with Ronaldo playing anywhere he wants but offering no defence whatsoever

Edit: Just realise shinboners our teams are the same.:thumbsu:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom