25 Aug 2015 06:28:58
And we move into the last week. Here's hoping to a cheerful end to the window.
Cheers.
25 Aug 2015 07:53:53
Lets hope so. I have thought all along that once we (hopefully) qualify for the CL this week something big will happen.
25 Aug 2015 09:36:13
I just want it all to be over, the whole thing is just a load of nonsense and people believing it. £240million for Neymar today, sounds realistic.
25 Aug 2015 09:38:00
Ed Woodward : “Don’t worry, we have bigger targets - the Pedro thing will eventually be forgotten."
25 Aug 2015 10:30:59
It's August 25th and Ed is talking to the press about this fantasy transfer of Neymar, hope he seriously has something planned that doesn't result in us signing a new commercial deal or a new contract for a high profile player.
25 Aug 2015 10:51:05
bgolgo that quote comes from an article in the Daily Fail where they claim that this is the 'thrust' of what Woodward supposedly said the morning after Pedro signed for Chelsea. Even if he did say it, this is the same man who flew back from Asia on urgent transfer business that eventually turned out to be signing Fellaini on the last hour of the transfer window for a fee higher than his original buy-out clause.
Every reputable source is certain that we will not sign any of the big names we are linked to, and that the only realistic options are Mane (if we over pay), Berahino (if we over pay), and some 17 year old Norwegian.
25 Aug 2015 11:14:20
Danny,
What is it with you bringing up things from 2 years ago to try and prove a point, you know this terrible Ed Woodward has also sealed deals for a lot of players since the Fellaini disaster, he admitted himself he made a lot of mistakes that summer and was learning from them, so bringing it up 2 years later to try and prove a point doesn't really work.
Shame, because a lot of what you are saying is true, it just feels like you are trying to lecture us and you sound so angry about life and everything United related it is hard to get on board with someone who refuses to see a balanced point of view and gives everything a negative twist.
25 Aug 2015 11:29:15
GDS2 I think Danny is just trying to make sense of it all and on the whole I agree with his post. He isn't swinging anything in a negative way, he is just saying it as he is seeing it.
Everyone on here is quick to slam and to shame the tabloids when they report something they dislike but then when the tabloids have a 'sources close to United' quote that they like then they are happy to go along with it.
In my opinion I would be inclined to say this, I don't think any of these mishaps or (maybe mishaps) are happening from Woodward's side of things. EW knows the fans will he pi$$3d with him if he doesn't deliver on the transfers and on his back again. I believe he is doing his uptmost but is being thwarted from the men upstairs who I believe will be gone from Old Trafford long before the end of this decade.
Just my two cents of course.
25 Aug 2015 11:51:18
Your problem GDS is you start from the assumption that you occupy a "balanced" position. This is simply another way of assuming a position in which your views are the right views to have. The reality is that there is no position of balance: there are just different arguments about the club, and instead of engaging in these arguments you trot out things like 'you sound so angry about life', as if (a) you have anything to base this on (as if being annoyed about United's transfer dealings is the be all and end all of my life), and (b) as if it has any relevance for the arguments that I am making.
Of course Woodward's actions two years ago have some relevance because they show evidence of his propensity to put the cart before the horse and that he doesn't learn from his mistakes. Isn't the Fellaini debacle the exact same issue with the Pedro transfer? Haggling over a release clause and it coming back to bite us in the bum.
Before making the usual, why so negative claims, answer the following questions:
Do you think we have addressed the main issues in our squad so far in the transfer window?
Do you think our transfer strategy has been a success considering the goal was to have finished our business before the US tour?
Do you think have a genuine chance of winning the league this season with our current squad?
If not, do you think that we will bring in players of sufficient quality in the next week to enable us to challenge for the title?
A sizable proportion of our supporters would answer no to all of these questions, and they are rightly annoyed that, despite record sponsorship deals, huge profits and promises of world class players, our club still seems to be incapable of bringing in the players necessary for us to get back to challenging for the biggest trophies. Being annoyed that your club isn't doing everything in its power to win isn't being spoiled or negative, wanting the best for your club is what a supporter should do.
25 Aug 2015 12:18:01
JMB,
I know and I am desperately not trying to get into a big argument with Danny because I can see the basis of where his posts are coming from and like I say, most of the things are true. It is not necessarily a negative twist, maybe that is worded badly, more that there is a distinct lack of anything positive and there are certainly a lot of positives so far this season that seem to be being ignored.
I just can't wait until this is all over because the window brings out the worst in people, once it's done whoever we sign at least we can all just agree to support whoever is wearing the shirt and get behind the lads.
25 Aug 2015 12:24:46
Maze i don't think that is true we have the money and we are willing to spend it but you have to look at the players we want and the teams they play for if you say offer stoke or everton 35m for a player then generally those sort of clubs will accept because they cannot afford not too but if we offer say 50/60m to munich for muller they can afford to say no as they are a rich club who will make that money by keeping him and winning things barring a handful of players all the top players already play for these sort of clubs so in my opinion we should be looking at players like griezman or reus who should be easier to pry away as they don't play for one of the top clubs yet.
25 Aug 2015 12:45:12
Shame you posted that before my post came up, I said I agree with a lot of what you write but you are unwilling to see any positives. Like I said I don't want an argument, this is a banter site why does everything have to be an argument and trying to cause problems? I have not once said my opinion is correct, just that I can see both sides.
To answer:
1. We needed a right back, addressed, we needed to strengthen midfield, addressed. We have not addressed the striker but we have a week left to do so.
2. I think we did well before the US tour, brought in some cracking players who have all hit the ground running, pretty sure the club were happy with that business as were most of us, we obviously just struggled to get the attacking player we needed, can't kidnap people if they don't want to come and I would prefer us to wait than buy someone who doesn't want to be here.
3. I think City have a stronger squad than us as do Chelsea, but yes, I think we have a genuine chance, we look very solid defensively and we have a lot of quality going forward, we are just lacking a couple of players to really give us a huge chance but we aren't far off.
4. I have no idea, but I am willing to wait until the end of the transfer window before slagging off the club or people who make decisions and see what the squad looks like. It wouldn't surprise me if we brought in a striker, it also wouldn't surprise me if we didn't.
We are certainly stronger than last year, and last year we performed well against the top teams, do that again this year hopefully we will be in a better position to capitalise. If you don't think your posts over the last week have been negative to the extreme then there isn't much hope that this discussion will go any other way than you shouting my opinion down again.
25 Aug 2015 13:46:58
You see now we can actually have a discussion on where we think the club is.
1. I agree that we have made some good signings and have improved a few areas of the team. However, you're ignoring two key positions CB and RW.
At the start of the summer it was obvious that we were looking for a CB. We enquired about Hummels, Ramos, and were in negotiations for Otamendi. We all seem to accept that Blind is now our first choice CB and that this was the plan all along. The reality is that we would have signed Otamendi if Valencia lowered their price.
As for RW. This is the position that LVG publicly stated we were looking at after we sold Di Maria. We also know that we were in negotiations for Pedro, but refused to meet his buy-out clause.
That's two more key positions that the club have failed to secure (three if we sell our three keepers who are banned from the first team) in addition to a striker.
2. Following on from the point above, we have four potential positions that the club would prefer to have filled prior to the close of the window. We can't kidnap players, but the issue in the two negotiations we know we failed in (Otamendi and Pedro) the deciding factor was money not a club's reluctance to sell or the player's reluctance to sign.
3. Do you think we have closed the gap on City and Chelsea this season? Not just in one off games, but in terms of a squad capable of winning week in week out. I don't see it. And these clubs are still looking to bring in new players too.
4. Again bringing in one striker (the only plausible name is Berahino and he won't come cheap either) isn't the final piece to the puzzle. It's obvious that our lack of pace and width on the right is a problem, we are relying on the completely untested Johnstone as reserve keeper, and we are currently one injury to Smalling (an injury prone player) away from a McNair Blind defensive partnership. It's a squad game and our squad is wafer thin in a few important areas, and this won't change over the next week.
25 Aug 2015 15:11:47
See, it doesn't have to be an argument, I agree with most of what you say, I think we are in a slightly better position than you think we are though and I also am not desperate that we MUST win the league this season, obviously that is what we all want, but I would rather we don't sign somebody who isn't worth it this summer and improve again massively next summer if players are available.
I do understand the apparent need for success, it is what our club is built on and it is all a lot of the younger fans especially are used to (this is fact, not suggesting people are spoilt or anything like that), but I would take the club being built and success in a couple of years, for me it doesn't have to be this year. It would be hard to integrate 8/9 new players into a team anyway.
I do think we have closed the gap on Chelsea and City yes;
Chelsea haven't really improved massively, signing a player who wasn't good enough for us and an unknown left back and Pedro the only players who will go into the first team.
City have overpaid for Sterling who I don't think is good enough for their first team at the moment, Fabien Delph who will be a bit part player and Otamendi who I'm not sure they need but will improve their squad.
I think Darmian, Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin, Depay who have gone straight into our 1st team are better signings and that we have closed the gap, whether its sufficiently enough and who else we may get in we will find out soon enough.
25 Aug 2015 16:41:28
Danny. Your post has hit the nail on the head.
GDS, do you honestly think we have closed the gap on City? You are kidding, right? Have you seen City playing and the depth of squad they have. You think they've overpaid for Sterling? Wait two years and tell me that when Real come calling for him and are prepared to pay £80m for him.
We will not challenge or win the league with this squad and anyone of the view that we will, is going to be seriously disappointed.
25 Aug 2015 17:09:25
Schmid,
All of that is your opinion, my OPINION is that Sterling isn't that good at the minute, he isn't helping to improve City at this moment in time, his lack of end product really hurts him, if that improves he will be a top player but at the moment for me he is not worth 50 million and may not improve to that level, we don't know.
City have won 3 games and everybody is talking about how amazingly wonderfully brilliant they are, would be interested in how many picked them in AJH's competition to win the league if they are so good or whether people are judging them on 3 games.