Man Utd - Marseille

[barassie_afc]

It was what Manchester United needed last night, they were giving the ball away far too easily at times, and with the game on a knife edge, keeping the ball was priority.

 

Carrick has definitely gone backwards as a player, seems more safety first than any sort of creator these days.

 

Yes would agree, just feel he doesnt really do enough more of a water carrier now.

[Dynamo]

93% pass completion last night. Best on the park.

 

Simple but effective.

 

 

That'll be about 50% for over the 2 legs then given how sh*t he was in Marseille

[fine-n-dandy]

ah the pass completion stat, Lucas at liverpool had the highest in the league at one point..........

 

 

Exactly & if anyone watched the game they'd see that his 93% 'stat' means nothing compared to the passes that Rooney made.

He had a fantastic game, pretty much every ball he played was inch perfect.

 

Heard Man Utd are spending big this Summer & it's the last chance for most teams before the new UEFA ruling comes in.

 

Expect some crazy deals by a few clubs

[zig-a-zig-ah]

Exactly & if anyone watched the game they'd see that his 93% 'stat' means nothing compared to the passes that Rooney made.

He had a fantastic game, pretty much every ball he played was inch perfect.

 

Heard Man Utd are spending big this Summer & it's the last chance for most teams before the new UEFA ruling comes in.

 

Expect some crazy deals by a few clubs

 

Rooney did have a very good game, although I though he tried too many flicks at times.

 

Point is, without being amazing, Carrick had a very steady game.

[Bluto10]

was a decent game.

plenty of chances for both sides.

united lucky not to go out, but they really should have finished the game in the first half.

 

rooneys pass to giggs for the first goal was typical old rooney.

 

next season will be very interesting to see how united move on.

no van der sar, no neville, no schools.

maybe some others like brown being moved on, or the perennially injured hargreaves.

 

i like anderson, but not sure he is ready to take over from schools as the creative force just yet. his game has changed dramatically at united, and not necessarily for the better, but he showed glimpses this season of how good he can be.

 

fergies joke that theres no value in the transfer market is rubbish (look at van der vaart and sneijeder moves from real).

wonder if he's been saving up pennies for a big overhaul now that the players above are retiring ? ? ?

[barassie_afc]

was a decent game.

plenty of chances for both sides.

united lucky not to go out, but they really should have finished the game in the first half.

 

rooneys pass to giggs for the first goal was typical old rooney.

 

next season will be very interesting to see how united move on.

no van der sar, no neville, no schools.

maybe some others like brown being moved on, or the perennially injured hargreaves.

 

i like anderson, but not sure he is ready to take over from schools as the creative force just yet. his game has changed dramatically at united, and not necessarily for the better, but he showed glimpses this season of how good he can be.

 

fergies joke that theres no value in the transfer market is rubbish (look at van der vaart and sneijeder moves from real).

wonder if he's been saving up pennies for a big overhaul now that the players above are retiring ? ? ?

 

 

Good scouting delivers value in the transfer market, Hernandez looks a bit of a snip

[fifered]

was a decent game.

plenty of chances for both sides.

united lucky not to go out, but they really should have finished the game in the first half.

 

rooneys pass to giggs for the first goal was typical old rooney.

 

next season will be very interesting to see how united move on.

no van der sar, no neville, no schools.

maybe some others like brown being moved on, or the perennially injured hargreaves.

 

i like anderson, but not sure he is ready to take over from schools as the creative force just yet. his game has changed dramatically at united, and not necessarily for the better, but he showed glimpses this season of how good he can be.

 

fergies joke that theres no value in the transfer market is rubbish (look at van der vaart and sneijeder moves from real).

wonder if he's been saving up pennies for a big overhaul now that the players above are retiring ? ? ?

I think if Man U get some of the players they have been linked with, ie Rodwell, De Gea and Ashley Young I'd be pretty happy with that. Add them to Anderson, Nani, Smalling, Valencia, Rooney, Vidic, Evra and Hernandez and they would have a good core of really good players either at the right age or with loads of potential. I can't believe that they just dished out a 3 year deal to Carrick though, he has been looking short of pace and quality of about a year now, despite how many passes he completed last night.

[Bluto10]

Good scouting delivers value in the transfer market, Hernandez looks a bit of a snip

 

true.

but with all due respect to hernandez whilst he looks good he seems like a step back to the ruuuuud van nistelrooij times at old trafford.

 

what man united need is a creative force in midfield to replace schools. often they look predictable and unable to break down defences.

 

as has been said carrick has got worse as his man united career has progressed instead of him growing into a truely world class midfielder that fergie hoped/expected.

fletcher isnt and never will be a creative force, thats not his style. and anderson needs to continue his progress so the jurys still out on him.

 

the midfield for next season looks worryingly short of inventive quality.

[fifered]

true.

but with all due respect to hernandez whilst he looks good he seems like a step back to the ruuuuud van nistelrooij times at old trafford.

 

what man united need is a creative force in midfield to replace schools. often they look predictable and unable to break down defences.

 

as has been said carrick has got worse as his man united career has progressed instead of him growing into a truely world class midfielder that fergie hoped/expected.

fletcher isnt and never will be a creative force, thats not his style. and anderson needs to continue his progress so the jurys still out on him.

 

the midfield for next season looks worryingly short of inventive quality.

The return of Valencia will make a huge difference to the midfield. Nani on the left and him on the right will cause most teams problems. You're right about the middle of the park though, little in the way of creativity at the moment without Scholes.

[Bluto10]

The question is, does he have the money available to him too buy players?

 

Are the Glazers going to dip their hands?

 

 

nae sure roberto.

thats why i thought his no value in the market stance is weird cause there was and there always is, if you knwo where to look.

 

perhaps he's been saving for some big costly purchases ??

[Ando]

Good scouting delivers value in the transfer market, Hernandez looks a bit of a snip

 

For every Hernandez there's always a Bebe. Yin yang, clever/dumb balance restored etc.

[Bluto10]

For every Hernandez there's always a Bebe. Yin yang, clever/dumb balance restored etc.

 

 

fergie's has made some real joke market moves.

[fifered]

 

fergie's has made some real joke market moves.

Zoran Tosic - 8 million - 5 appearances - sold.

[Bluto10]

Zoran Tosic - 8 million - 5 appearances - sold.

 

maybe these two are gambles and fergie is aware they may backfire.

 

but even some of the players he has sold have baffled me. and the prices he gets for them.

compare man united with spurs - spurs will get every single penny out of players they sell.

[barassie_afc]

Zoran Tosic - 8 million - 5 appearances - sold.

 

Aye he has a penchant for a lemon

 

Obertan, Djemba Djemba , Bellion, Saha, Kleberson, you could add Veron to that list but he was played out of position

[Bluto10]

Taibi

Veron

Hargreaves

Diego Forlan (albeit he went on to be a cracking striker)

Kleberson

Djemba Djema

 

 

i reckon hargreaves was a brilliant purchase. just a shame he got injured.

and veron was weird, his career just stopped after leaving italy - maybe the style didnt suit him ?

 

i was thinking in selling pique, rossi, van nistelrooij, beckham and stam all at bargain prices.

and foster too.

[Dynamo]

Getting half their money back on Veron from Chelsea was brilliant business. Signing him in the first place, not so much.

[fifered]

I suppose over the length of time that Fergie has been at Man U there are bound to be a good few duds. For every dud though there is a Ronaldo, Evra, Vidic or Cantona who were all picked up for relatively little money compared with either what they were sold for or what they contributed.

[King Street Loon]

Zoran Tosic - 8 million - 5 appearances - sold.

 

Was he not a makeweight in a deal to bring the young lad Laljic to OT??

 

But aye, there has been some honking signings down the years.

 

Ricardo, Taibi, Kleberson, Djemba-Djemba, Poborsky, Bellion, Veron, Tosic as others have mentioned.

 

I think Roberto is being slightly harsh on Hargreaves.

Were it not for his injuries he's be playing and running Utd's midfield week in week out.

 

There is value in the trnafer market and it's strange that Fergie's not dived in.

I alway's felt that Van Der Vaart would have done well in the Man Yoo midfield/attack.

 

The usual suspect are being trotted out as potential signings.

Adler, Neuer, De Gea, Rodwell, Young, Bale, Modric, Schnieder.

 

Be an interesting summer.

[Bluto10]

I wouldn't say I'm being harsh at all, Man U knew they were signing an injury prone midfielder for 18 million, but yet they still went ahead and did it...

 

that may be the case.

but quality-wise 18 million is a very good price for a player of his quality.

he performances in the first season at united attest to that, helping them win the champions league.

 

that signing is not one of fergies low points.

[Sonoftherock]

I suppose over the length of time that Fergie has been at Man U there are bound to be a good few duds. For every dud though there is a Ronaldo, Evra, Vidic or Cantona who were all picked up for relatively little money compared with either what they were sold for or what they contributed.

 

That is the bottom line.

 

Of course there are going to be duds - it's inevitable. Every manager signs them. Some players, for whatever reason, may not take to, or be able to flourish at a given club - footballers are only human. Some, like Gabriel Obertan, who is absolutely rubbish, flatter to deceive.

 

Veron and Forlan have both, at various points in their career, operated at a level, many would define as "world-class." Things didn't work out for them at Man United... so what? They moved on. It was no big deal.

 

I think these duds only become a problem when they cause your team financial problems (e.g. Leeds, 90's Nottm Forest and towards the end of Dick Advocaats time at Rangers ), or when a manager fills your team with them (e.g. Liverpool under Roy Evans and towards the end of Rafa's reign).

 

This is why no-one give Fergie a hard time - because United remained successful and keep winning trophies. It's easy to pick out a managers bad signings, but ultimately it's a results driven industry.