27 Apr 2015 11:30:24
Regarding Ed002, fair play to you for sticking to your guns and not letting the internet trolls get their way. Looking forward to having you're input again in the next season.
Now a question for the rest of you. Do you want Robin Van Persie to stay at the club?
Now a lot of you want to see the back of him due to poor form and the injuries he has had. But then again you seem to forget this man was the reason why we won our 20th league title.
I would personally like to see him stay and rotate with Rooney as the single striker, this would also include the likes of Ings as a backup and maybe Wilson going on loan?
We will be in Europe next season and we need players who can change games out of nothing and RVP in my opinion is a player who can do that for us.
27 Apr 2015 11:52:58
I agree Weggy.
Keep RvP, get Ings and loan Wilson and then in the season after that sell RvP and hopefully Wilson will be ready to take his place.
We cannot start next season with just Rooney as the only experienced striker.
With LvG and a good summer's rest I think RvP can get back to his earlier form as he anyway does not rely much on pace.
27 Apr 2015 12:04:55
rvp will only have a year on his contract this summer so we either offer him a new contract ,sell him or let him run it down .
i would sell him
27 Apr 2015 12:11:12
Weggy - For me this is the precise problem, sticking with players because they were good enough at one point. Whilst we "hope" players rediscover form our competitors will be more ruthless. Look at the effect Yaya is having on City, Gerrard on Liverpool for example. Players of quality that are now past their best.
I would argue we have both Rooney & RVP that have reputations larger than their potential to deliver consistently.
Rooney's season has been messed around by the constant positional change, but can you remember many games he has stood out at all? RVP, Falcao, ADM and I would argue Rooney are going to hamper our future development if we don't move them on.
27 Apr 2015 12:24:06
I see where you're point is coming from Beast.
However I can't help but imagine that if we let RVP and Falcao both leave, then sign a striker like Ings. That we would then be left short up front, I can see Rooney ending up getting injured for a few months which would leave us with very little fire power.
If the scenario was us signing a striker in the fold of Benteke then I wouldn't be too fussed to see RVP go, as Benteke is arguably better at this current stage.
But if LVG is planning on just signing Ings for the attacking area (which seems more likely), RVP must stay. He is one the only players on our team that can score a goal from nothing and despite his current form I believe he still has a place in our side.
27 Apr 2015 12:27:27
And regarding to your point that "we hope players rediscover form our competitors will be more ruthless".
On some level I do agree, but look at the likes of Felaini, Young and Smalling. All have picked up a bit of form and started to offer something to the the team again. I think under the right care, RVP could do exactly the same.
27 Apr 2015 14:03:46
Hope so Weggy fair points.
27 Apr 2015 13:21:17
with Beast on this one. RVP has been poor for two seasons now, and he isn't getting younger and he has been having injuries. In my opinion, we should let him go and get another striker in.
27 Apr 2015 13:33:33
Maybe LVG has plans for Hernandez next season. I would be gutted if we sold him. He may not be World Class, but he always scores. Put faith in him and I genuinely believe he will score a lot of goals.
On current form, I'd rather have Welbeck and Chicharito than Falcao or RVP. Welbeck at least worked hard and had a better hold up play. And had pace.
Chicharito is a very fine finisher, and some one like Di Maria would relish Chicharito, who would always remain in the box.
Rafael too is a player who should be kept. If Rafael was fit today, he would play ahead of Valencia.
27 Apr 2015 13:49:12
The options would be to either put faith in RVP and keep him at the club. This will more than likely mean that Fellaini drops to the bench and we go to the 4-1-4-1 shape with Rooney dropping deeper and RVP up top with Ings or Benteke coming in as back up along with Wilson. Or, we could do the same but with a new striker like Benzema if we could get one. Equally, we could get rid of him and put all our eggs in the Rooney basket with Ings and Wilson deputizing.
Now, the option I prefer (and the more attacking of the two) is the 4-1-4-1 with RVP starting up top, Rooney alongside Herrera as advanced midfielders with a couple of classy wingers, backed up by Gundogan in that defensive midfielder/deep lying playmaker role.
Either way I would definitely pack Falcao back off to Monaco and sell Hernandez or use him as part of a deal. I would certainly sign Ings on a free, would go for Benteke who would be an excellent option to offer us something different and I would maybe even consider loaning James Wilson out to a Championship or newly promoted side so that he does not stagnate.
One way or another, Rooney is going to drop into midfield as an advanced midfielder. For me he is not the best goal scorer around but he brings so much energy and drive to the team that he has to play. Despite being our leading goal scorer I still would play other strikers who are more clinical than he is ahead of him.
27 Apr 2015 14:25:00
it doesn't matter how clinical a striker u are u still need to be in a team that create chances.
i wouldn't want to be a striker in this team .
the way we play i don't think our strikers first role is to score its more to link play
27 Apr 2015 15:05:20
jred, that's why I think Van Persie still has a place in this squad.
He has the ability to pass and score from outside the box, something we need right now. Despite not being the fastest either, he is able to use a bit of skill to get through some players.
I don't think he should be our main striker, I just think he should still be considered as a squad player who can rotate with Rooney.
27 Apr 2015 15:12:47
But Jred, in practise we haven't had a traditional goal scorer. Rooney is part striker, part midfielder. RVP has been terrible and injured and Falcao has been useless. A big feature of our play has been width, no one has had the height to get onto crosses, attack corners etc. We need a powerful forward who is good in the air like Lewandowski, Benzema or dropping down a level, Benteke.
27 Apr 2015 15:13:08
weggy
rooney won't be rotated imo
rvp won't be happy to sit on the bench imo
27 Apr 2015 15:18:55
But who's to say that Rooney will be able to stay fit for 40+ games? We will be back in Europe and rotation is the key to success on all fronts.
If were to be in the situation that RVP is fit and on form as well as Rooney, we would be able to accommodate both within the team, if one is a little off form or injured, the other is able to take the main striker role for their selves.
27 Apr 2015 15:30:19
Too much money to sit on the bench as well.
27 Apr 2015 15:41:41
fresh
why is width a big feature of our play if no one has hight to get on crosses?
falcao has been poor but I've never seen him have to come as deep.
also even against everton have a look how many times he made a run of the defender in the box only to be ignored and see the ball played out wide
27 Apr 2015 15:42:20
I agree that RVP won't be happy sat on the bench and that Rooney won't be rotated. If we persevere with the 4-1-4-1 the only way I see it working with them both is if RVP is the main striker and Rooney is part of the 4. Either that or a new striker with Rooney as part of the 4.
Players like Mata and Di Maria are getting balls into the box trying to find the striker. But, when they look up they don't see our striker as he is on the edge of the D or even deeper, Rooney is not the long term answer upfront but has done okay the back end of this season.
We need a striker who isn't going to put the leg work in getting back, and is going to stay on the shoulder of the last defender and give them a torrid time and bag a lot of goals. Lewandowski is the best at this in the world for me, but I think Benteke is a more realistic purchase.
27 Apr 2015 16:25:43
fresh
or maybe the manager tells the strikers we have to do that ?
its falcao natural game.
chica also plays on the shoulder , we sent him to madrid
27 Apr 2015 16:27:15
its also hard to give the defence a torrid time when it takes so long fir the ball to get into the last 3rd .
27 Apr 2015 16:00:59
Van Persie has one more season left in him and with more players leaving/joining we need to keep hold of a few experienced ones just to help us through the European campaign and league.
27 Apr 2015 16:03:38
The system uses width Jred. Young especially is clearly told to provide width and a lot of our play is going through him, but we have no striker to get on the end of his crosses.
27 Apr 2015 16:47:32
Falcao has been unfit and in poor form. He has missed nearly every good chance he has had apart from a fortuitous touch against Everton earlier in the season and a header from point blank against Villa.
I think Jred you have to accept that it is not the managers fault that Falcao missed all of his chances. And Hernandez is no where near good enough for us, a one hit wonder and nothing more than that.
27 Apr 2015 16:49:46
fresh
then why play with width ?
27 Apr 2015 17:06:33
fresh
i said further up that falcao has been poor