Bayern Munich refuse to budge over Hargreaves

I'm not saying he's shit; he's a good player.

But I don't think he's worthy of all the hype. Indeed it seems one good performance against Portugal and a couple of good performances against shite international teams since is the only reason for the hype.

I'm not saying he's a backup at Bayern, or someone they would love to get rid of. But I don't think he is important enough to them that they wouldn't sell for decent money when he says he wants to go.

Like I say - I think this probably would have been the case, until the relationship between the clubs went sour.

It's got little to do with Utd '£#%&!ing' Munich off or so I'm told. Apparently Gill is very pally with their Chairman/CEO etc and dines out with them often. It's got everything to do with perception and the fact that Ballack and Ze Roberto left in the Summer and they were hardly replaced by 'top' players. They've struggled to bring in new faces of the right quality, even those in their own league, and now they have Englands midfield dynamo ( ) they are reluctant to be seen to cash in on him at the earliest opportunity. Although I suspect if you speak to their fans they'd say sell him after what went on over the Summer and in recent weeks.

There is also the small matter of Munich allegedly wanting in excess of £20million.

I'd tell them to £#%&! off for that and pick up one of those I mentioned earlier.

I was surprised they let Ze Roberto go, actually.

The deal appeared imminent before that England game at Old Trafford. Even the commentator, Jonathan Pearce I think, was saying before the match that he'd heard it was close. How often does that happen?

Something went wrong - and I don't think it was the price. Perhaps the main problem was a lack of replacement and quality signings, but it seemed strange for them to just pull the plug like that.

£20million is a joke price. Surely Fergie can't wait until next summer for Hargreaves, possibly costing us the league. He can't rate him that highly, otherwise he would have signed him in years gone by when his stock wasn't half as high.

I'd prefer fernandes for cheap than h for loadsamoney

would be a gamble at £10mio. hargreaves would be a cert at £20mio.

sure, hargreaves isn't worth £20mio, but at least it would be money well spent.

fernandes would not be a 1st 11 player, or a similar quality alternative to what we have in the 1st 11. hargreaves would - i rate him, tbh, and think he would be a great buy for us.

i suspect there are several problems. one is the ruud situation - bayern were keen on him, which would have enabled them to cash in on hargreaves (who clearly wants to come to the prem) without seeming to be a selling club. when ruud chose real, after stringing them along, it seems, they had no choice.

beyond that is the problem that is bayern's m/f. after selling ballack and ze roberto they are not so strong in there and would need a replacement, which would be hard to find. incidentally, i don't agree that hargreaves wasn't a first choice - from memory (yes, i know) he was securing a central m/f position pretty much every match before the injury

thirdly, even assuming united had 20 mil to blow on a m/f - which is quite possible, since the glazers are not spending their own cash here - i doubt fergie would want to get a player who is cuptied in europe and still not playing after a serious injury. it's summer or not at all.

finally, i think fergie is more concerned with the attack. larsson was a great player, but i wonder how much he'll bring to our attack in such a short time. i can't help but think that he wasn't the first (etc.) choice, but is rather a way of keeping the fans happy.

with a bit of luck we'll at least see the back of some of the players who should never have worn the shirt in the first place - smith, richardson et al.

sick of this hargreaves bullshit, £#%&! it.

Originally Posted by jem

sure, hargreaves isn't worth £20mio, but at least it would be money well spent.

Not if he can't get in the side.

If he can - we'll be playing 4-3-3.

I'll be interested to see the forum reaction when Hargreaves is signed and Giggs is dropped to accommodate him.

If we lose either Carrick or Scholes in the New Year to injury or during the run in we're £#%&!ed. Simple as that. There is no one in reserve.

We need to - no must - sign a central midfielder in January. If Munich don't want to sell Hargreaves fine, go elsewhere, and for it's worth whoever Utd eventually buy I wouldn't break up the Scholes/Carrick partnership at the moment.

Originally Posted by Whalefish

If we lose either Carrick or Scholes in the New Year to injury or during the run in we're £#%&!ed. Simple as that. There is no one in reserve.

We need to - no must - sign a central midfielder in January. If Munich don't want to sell Hargreaves fine, go elsewhere, and for it's worth whoever Utd eventually buy I wouldn't break up the Scholes/Carrick partnership at the moment.

Agree with all of that, which is why Hargreaves for a big fee makes little sense.

Whatever you think of Hargreaves, if you're going to be spending 20m on him you are going to have to fit him in to your starting eleven.

Some would drop Carrick, but Fergie will undoubtedly drop Giggs and go 4-3-3. As most seem to hate the idea of a three-man midfield, I'm surprised so many want Hargreaves.

I personally would go for a Fernandes/Makoun for half the price to give us cover. Those players wouldn't demand an automatic first team place.

Our first eleven is fine. It's the cover that needs addressing in Jan.

Scholes won't be around for too much longer. Not for 30-40 games a season anyway.

If Hargreaves/Scholes/Carrick get to sit out home games v's Wigan, Newcastle, Charlton etc for the next 12 months (plus have a few opportunities to play together in Europe - 4-5-1 anyone, which then means Rooney, Saha get more chance to rest) then all the better.

The odd 4-3-3 would also mean Giggs/Ronnie can get a rest as well.

One thing not said so far is that United's bargaining position is massively improved from the summer by the performances so far. No incoming player will be able to demand first team football. And club's taking the piss too much can be told where to get off.

I've heard from my Bavarian contact () there's plenty of pride involved in the Bayern stance. Reckon United should go in around the Carrick fee and swoop for Schneider (or the French-based players mentioned) while no-one's lookin. Should probably try and get them on standby a bit more subtlely than the Senna situation of the summer, though!