Ronaldo money is going to pay off the debt according to United bankers

1/ united have a £#%&!ing brilliant squad.

2/ aside from the superb signing of valencia, united were in the market for one major signing last summer. only a very small number of clubs were in the market for any more than that.

3/ united is a business so the idea that £40m of the ronaldo transfer cash should go towards reducing ST costs by 20% to rise with inflation for 20 years is quite comical. i mean, i wouldn't be against it, but where is the call for similar practices across the business world? all profits could be used in this way couldn't they?

4/ ronaldo was worth £80m to united. get over it ffs.

5/ united have a £#%&!ing brilliant squad

I would say our squad is good, maybe very good, but there are areas that need improvement.

Whether we can rely on our young players coming thorugh or not, we are need a new no.1 asap, we could do with a left-sided attacker to compliment Valencia and Nani (especially if Obertan turns out to be a dud), and we need a long-term partner for Fletcher and possibly Anderson.

It was put to me yesterday that Obertan has the lot to be a superb player.

Erm, fingers crossed.

Tosic scored two yesterday fwiw.

Originally Posted by Whalefish

It was put to me yesterday that Obertan has the lot to be a superb player.

Erm, fingers crossed.

Tosic scored two yesterday fwiw.

I still don't know if Obertan will be quality, or a quality dud. Has some talent that needs coaching that's for sure.

If we really do go for Joe Cole though, it signals a change in emphasis for me because of the debt situation.

Fergie has often gone back for players he tried to sign previously, but rarely for players well past there best (Blanc being the obvious exception). If we get Cole that will be twice in a year, albeit on free transfers.

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

1/ united have a £#%&!ing brilliant squad.

By the end of next season Giggs, Van Der Sar, Scholes, Neville and probably Owen will have retired.

The moment that happens, we're no better than Arsenal and certainly behind Chelsea in terms of squad strength.

We have to invest this summer in a world class number 1 (Julio Cesar, Akinfeev or possibly Lloris) a creative midfielder (still can't believe we didn't go for Sneijder) and a couple of decent squad players.

I'd love it if we signed Julio Cesar, Pjanic and a couple of squad players. What we'll probably get is Joe Cole (for free) and Akinfeev (for £10m) and some players from Norway/Africa and a random Asian who we've never heard of. All of whom represent value but will not play more than 3 games in a row for the club. All of which will be funded by the sale of Welbeck, Gibson and Cleverley. Net spend = -£3m.

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

1/ united have a £#%&!ing brilliant squad.

no we don't. 1 main striker, a deep lying centre forward as backup. and owen. 3 strikers, only 1 of which consistently delivers. we need at least another striker, and we need another centre mid to replace hargo and the woefully disappointing anderson

2/ aside from the superb signing of valencia, united were in the market for one major signing last summer. only a very small number of clubs were in the market for any more than that. Because gill said so? We offered 35m (apparently) compared to madrids £40m-odd. We would have at least matched that before

3/ united is a business so the idea that £40m of the ronaldo transfer cash should go towards reducing ST costs by 20% to rise with inflation for 20 years is quite comical. i mean, i wouldn't be against it, but where is the call for similar practices across the business world? all profits could be used in this way couldn't they? Some of that money back into the club would be nice

4/ ronaldo was worth £80m to united. get over it ffs. yeap. and wanted to leave so can't be moans about that

5/ united have a £#%&!ing brilliant squad see first reply

^

i think we're more likely to see cleverley and welbeck on the bench next season, with a look to cleverley taking over scholes' role in time. we'll see a few on the way out - gibson, possebon, kuszczak, maybe foster and anderson. giggs and scholes have got another season at least in them and so obertan will get some time to see if he can learn.

i'd expect a quality central midfielder and a keeper to come in. apart from that i think we're fairly well set tbh. nani's development has been the big plus this year, looks like the left side of the attack is sorted there.

Originally Posted by Lok

By the end of next season Giggs, Van Der Sar, Scholes, Neville and probably Owen will have retired.

The moment that happens, we're no better than Arsenal and certainly behind Chelsea in terms of squad strength.

We have to invest this summer in a world class number 1 (Julio Cesar, Akinfeev or possibly Lloris) a creative midfielder (still can't believe we didn't go for Sneijder) and a couple of decent squad players.

I'd love it if we signed Julio Cesar, Pjanic and a couple of squad players. What we'll probably get is Joe Cole (for free) and Akinfeev (for £10m) and some players from Norway/Africa and a random Asian who we've never heard of. All of whom represent value but will not play more than 3 games in a row for the club. All of which will be funded by the sale of Welbeck, Gibson and Cleverley. Net spend = -£3m.

Is the money fro the sale of Vidic is going streight to the Glazers?

Originally Posted by borsuk

yep. £75m if i remember correctly. as i said, the club will spend because they can't afford a season like liverpool's, but it's just running up yet another credit bill.

I can't recall the bond document word for word, but it went something along these lines ...

If the value of incoming players far exceeded the value of outgoing players, then the Club could call on that credit facility.

In all honesty I doubt the Club really want to go anywhere near even more debt under the circumstances, so I wouldn't expect a major net spend - pretty much how we have been operating in the Glazer years, so no real change.

Funnily enough that probably wouldn't cause us much of a problem, we have such a huge squad that we could easily shift 5 or 6 squad players to fund 2 or 3 bigger names, and not make too big an outlay.

Even if we did make a huge net spend, it would be clawed back somewhere down the line ... e.g. Berbanator in followed by Ronnie out.

Originally Posted by Barracuda

I can't recall the bond document word for word, but it went something along these lines ...

If the value of incoming players far exceeded the value of outgoing players, then the Club could call on that credit facility.

In all honesty I doubt the Club really want to go anywhere near even more debt under the circumstances, so I wouldn't expect a major net spend - pretty much how we have been operating in the Glazer years, so no real change.

Funnily enough that probably wouldn't cause us much of a problem, we have such a huge squad that we could easily shift 5 or 6 squad players to fund 2 or 3 bigger names, and not make too big an outlay.

Even if we did make a huge net spend, it would be clawed back somewhere down the line ... e.g. Berbanator in followed by Ronnie out.

that's about right. most of the spending is spread over a few years anyway so it's very hard to comment sensibly if it's based on calendar years. the biggest outlay this year iirc was the last installment of the berbatov deal, for example.

for about 5 years now people have been banging on about how the squad is weak and how you need to factor in imminent retirements. basically, the argument is %@#$&!s. for example, VDS was signed for virtual peanuts in 2005. he was 35 years old that year.

there is no reason whatsoever to declare that Giggs, Scholes, Neville and Owen will all retire at the end next season either btw. and even if they did it would have been managed. are you actually suggesting that Ferguson would allow his squad to be shorn of 3, 4 or 5 players all at the same time without any contingency? the very idea is frankly a joke.


on Benzema, united's record transfer fee is near on 10m shy of the figure quoted here that Real paid. there is absolutely no grounds at all to declare that United would previously have matched such a figure.

united have a £#%&!ing brilliant squad. i see it as a simple fact. we all have ideas about how that squad might be improved, as no doubt does the bloke who £#%&!ing assembled it in the first place.

the squad is in line for 4 titles on the trot. it is in line for 3 CL finals on the trot. it may not quite achieve either of these feats, but it sure as hell has a better chance than any previous united squad.

and incidentally, for a wage bill of around £120m a £#%&!ing season it's not surprising united's squad is so good

that's one hundred and twenty million pounds a season


if you want to see why football is where it is now then just think about that obscene figure. just think about the way the media bandy figures around regarding pay negotiations, like Fletcher is supoposedly ready to sign on for 80 £#%&!ing K a week; Rooney wants 120 £#%&!ing K a week, or is it more? i forget now. benzema 150k? terry and lampard 150k was it? ronaldo 200k? and people just go round talking matter-of-factly about slashing ST prices with transfer profits. how about these @#%&!s get paid a bit less for a start off?

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

for about 5 years now people have been banging on about how the squad is weak and how you need to factor in imminent retirements. basically, the argument is %@#$&!s. for example, VDS was signed for virtual peanuts in 2005. he was 35 years old that year.

there is no reason whatsoever to declare that Giggs, Scholes, Neville and Owen will all retire at the end next season either btw. and even if they did it would have been managed. are you actually suggesting that Ferguson would allow his squad to be shorn of 3, 4 or 5 players all at the same time without any contingency? the very idea is frankly a joke.


on Benzema, united's record transfer fee is near on 10m shy of the figure quoted here that Real paid. there is absolutely no grounds at all to declare that United would previously have matched such a figure.

united have a £#%&!ing brilliant squad. i see it as a simple fact. we all have ideas about how that squad might be improved, as no doubt does the bloke who £#%&!ing assembled it in the first place.

the squad is in line for 4 titles on the trot. it is in line for 3 CL finals on the trot. it may not quite achieve either of these feats, but it sure as hell has a better chance than any previous united squad.

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

and incidentally, for a wage bill of around £120m a £#%&!ing season it's not surprising united's squad is so good

that's one hundred and twenty million pounds a season


if you want to see why football is where it is now then just think about that obscene figure. just think about the way the media bandy figures around regarding pay negotiations, like Fletcher is supoposedly ready to sign on for 80 £#%&!ing K a week; Rooney wants 120 £#%&!ing K a week, or is it more? i forget now. benzema 150k? terry and lampard 150k was it? ronaldo 200k? and people just go round talking matter-of-factly about slashing ST prices with transfer profits. how about these @#%&!s get paid a bit less for a start off?

Boom.

Err, Fletch, 80K a week? Well worth it.

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

for about 5 years now people have been banging on about how the squad is weak and how you need to factor in imminent retirements. basically, the argument is %@#$&!s. for example, VDS was signed for virtual peanuts in 2005. he was 35 years old that year.

there is no reason whatsoever to declare that Giggs, Scholes, Neville and Owen will all retire at the end next season either btw. and even if they did it would have been managed. are you actually suggesting that Ferguson would allow his squad to be shorn of 3, 4 or 5 players all at the same time without any contingency? the very idea is frankly a joke.


on Benzema, united's record transfer fee is near on 10m shy of the figure quoted here that Real paid. there is absolutely no grounds at all to declare that United would previously have matched such a figure.

united have a £#%&!ing brilliant squad. i see it as a simple fact. we all have ideas about how that squad might be improved, as no doubt does the bloke who £#%&!ing assembled it in the first place.

the squad is in line for 4 titles on the trot. it is in line for 3 CL finals on the trot. it may not quite achieve either of these feats, but it sure as hell has a better chance than any previous united squad.

Good post.

I just don't understand where all this 'we need him, him and him' etc comes from. We have won the league 3 times in a row ffs, there is no obvious weakness in our squad whatsoever. 'I'd love us to sign Pjanic'...and do what with him? There are very few players around good enough to get in our current side, you are probably talking about a group of 20 or so players, of which only maybe Ribery is potentially gettable. If Fergie is of the opinion that our squad is good enough and doesn't require the signing of over-priced signings with over-inflated reputations I am inclined to agree with him. I struggle to see how some on here see fit to disagree. Laughable when you think about it.

Secondly, is the forum's latest conclusion that Anderson is finished as a United player? Young, supremely talented latin footballer, still learning the game, capable of brilliance but all too often flatters to deceive. Get rid. All sounds a bit familiar does it not? Nani wouldn't have pulled on a United shirt again had the vast majority of this forum got there way. Thank god we have the manager we do.

Originally Posted by Pudge_Bear

Secondly, is the forum's latest conclusion that Anderson is finished as a United player? Young, supremely talented latin footballer, still learning the game, capable of brilliance but all too often flatters to deceive. Get rid. All sounds a bit familiar does it not? Nani wouldn't have pulled on a United shirt again had the vast majority of this forum got there way. Thank god we have the manager we do.

nani has turned it around big time and credit to him - the penny has dropped, as phelan said. anderson started well and has gone the other way.

it would be great if anderson could get back to his first season form and as long as fergie thinks he will then that's good enough for me. the signs aren't promising though.

Originally Posted by borsuk

nani has turned it around big time and credit to him - the penny has dropped, as phelan said. anderson started well and has gone the other way.

it would be great if anderson could get back to his first season form and as long as fergie thinks he will then that's good enough for me. the signs aren't promising though.

Agreed, there are issues with Anderson, he could easily fall off the radar. I just don't see Fergie paying £20 million for a 19 year old and giving up on him as easily as this. He has shown enough on occasion to suggest he has eveything he needs to be a United player. I just hope for Anderson's sake Fergie has another 3-4 years in him.

There's a great article about Spanish football's ever increasing debt in the observer, seems that the banks and local councils are barely keeping things together. It also highlights the great disparity of income between Real and Barca because of the individual tv deals(i'm sure everyone is aware of this), but I did not realise that Sevilla, who finished third last year, received less in TV revenue than Portsmouth! I also didn't realise the number of Spanish clubs that have gone into administration. Platini's proposals could be coming into play sooner than everyone expects and even more surprisingly with the support of the clubs. I still remember United breaking their wage structure to keep Keane, was it around 60,000 p/w? and this was only ten years ago!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/b...l-madrid-spain

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

for about 5 years now people have been banging on about how the squad is weak and how you need to factor in imminent retirements. basically, the argument is %@#$&!s. for example, VDS was signed for virtual peanuts in 2005. he was 35 years old that year.

there is no reason whatsoever to declare that Giggs, Scholes, Neville and Owen will all retire at the end next season either btw. and even if they did it would have been managed. are you actually suggesting that Ferguson would allow his squad to be shorn of 3, 4 or 5 players all at the same time without any contingency? the very idea is frankly a joke.


on Benzema, united's record transfer fee is near on 10m shy of the figure quoted here that Real paid. there is absolutely no grounds at all to declare that United would previously have matched such a figure.

united have a £#%&!ing brilliant squad. i see it as a simple fact. we all have ideas about how that squad might be improved, as no doubt does the bloke who £#%&!ing assembled it in the first place.

the squad is in line for 4 titles on the trot. it is in line for 3 CL finals on the trot. it may not quite achieve either of these feats, but it sure as hell has a better chance than any previous united squad.

Belter of a post

In fergie we trust.

Originally Posted by Sparky***

I can't quite recall the names of the plonkers on here who actually bought into that "no value in the market" spiel.

Their name is throb.


Oh and stop squabbling over transfer fees and wages. The point should be we were lied to about the 80m. However much Throb goes off on his own agenda, please stick to the point

Originally Posted by Lok

By the end of next season Giggs, Van Der Sar, Scholes, Neville and probably Owen will have retired.

The moment that happens, we're no better than Arsenal and certainly behind Chelsea in terms of squad strength.

We have to invest this summer in a world class number 1 (Julio Cesar, Akinfeev or possibly Lloris) a creative midfielder (still can't believe we didn't go for Sneijder) and a couple of decent squad players.

.

Bingo! Are we really looking to the likes of Gibson to step up when 2 of the best players we've ever had in our club's history call it a day?

They can't go on forever and when they do eventually retire, we're going to have to spend serious money to compete.

The likes of macheda, cleverly, welbeck will all be farmed out to lower division clubs.

Originally Posted by Sullingtons

Their name is throb.


Oh and stop squabbling over transfer fees and wages. The point should be we were lied to about the 80m. However much Throb goes off on his own agenda, please stick to the point

Exactly. Some people really can't see the woods for the trees. After all the success we've had in the last few years, the untold millions the club has had pouring into it and STILL we had to rely on a world record transfer fee to keep us in the black. Incredible.

What massive cash injection is going to keep see us make a profit next financial year? Selling Rooney? Vidic?

I honest to god cannot get this "value" %@#$&!s, they talk about it and then pay something like £10m for a player from fulham who (let's be honest) looks a bit raw to put it midly.