silly season transfer thread

Our midfield might need tweaking but its not as bad as people make out. We got 50 or so goals from midfield last season, and thats with Hargreaves missing for all of it and Anderson for huge portions of it. And with Giggs and Scholes supposedly fading

Originally Posted by Tumescent Throb

we don't have a "weak midfield" at all. we have a terrific variation and choice to play in midfield. maybe it's the combinations thjat need working on?

this came up once before when sparky declared that what you need to win at the top is players with technical excellence, which he said our midfield lacks

i pointed out that if you can't win at the top without technical excellence in your midfield, then how come United's midfield is virtually no different now to what it was when we won the PL, the CL and the World Club Cup. and that midfield was still in place when we retained the PL for a 3rd straight season, returned to the CL final, and won - and retained - the League Cup.

as for the goals, well we scored more league goals last season than we did in the previous one, we weren't shy for goals in the CL either, and we have just signed a striker. nobody knows yet how he will get on.

The midfield certainly has an abundance of technique - just look at Scholes and Carrick.

Everton away in February though was endemic of the weaknesses we have there. Early goal by Berbs, then we gradually get worse as the game goes on, the midfield bullied and hustled by a workmanlike Everton team.

Relative to the other top sides in Europe, I honestly couldn't give our central midfield more than 3 out of 5. Not enough goals, not enough assists, no pace, a lack of ability in tracking midfield runners from the other team (other than Fletcher), and a lack of ability to physically impose themseleves on the opposition (again other than Fletcher, and Scholes' ill-timed tackles).

I hope Hargreaves can play at least 30 games for us next season, AND we buy an attacking midfielder, otherwise I honestly think we struggle, relative to the past 3 seasons.

And before someone jumps in shouting 'Cleverly', he is just a kid with no Premier League experience whatsoever.

Originally Posted by JakeB

tbf if you look at Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool this season their second choice strikers haven't been scoring more than Berbatov.
From the very top teams in Europe I can only think of Inter and Barca who have more than one striker that have all scored a lot of goals. Probably others in europe though

Anelka and Kalou both scored more than berbatov last season.

Crouch scored more than berbatov.

Pavlyuchenko only scored 2 goals less than berbatov.

Berbatov only scored 2 more goals than van persie, who was in a wheelchair for most of the season.

Berbatov only scored 4 more goals than N'gog.


None of the above cost £30m.

Originally Posted by JakeB

Our midfield might need tweaking but its not as bad as people make out. We got 50 or so goals from midfield last season, and thats with Hargreaves missing for all of it and Anderson for huge portions of it. And with Giggs and Scholes supposedly fading

this

Total

33 - Rooney

13 - Own Goal

12 - Berbatov

9 - Owen

7 - Giggs

7 - Scholes

6 - Valencia

5 - Fletcher

5 - Gibson

5 - Nani

4 - Carrick

4 - Park

2 - Welbeck

1 - Anderson

1 - Diouf

1 - Macheda

1 - O'Shea

1 - Rafael

1 - Vidic

________

Only one stand out individual performance there. No midfielder getting into double figures. Poor return from defence as well, although our set pieces are abysmal.

Originally Posted by Sparky***

Anelka and Kalou both scored more than berbatov last season.

Crouch scored more than berbatov.

Pavlyuchenko only scored 2 goals less than berbatov.

Berbatov only scored 2 more goals than van persie, who was in a wheelchair for most of the season.

Berbatov only scored 4 more goals than N'gog.


None of the above cost £30m.

It's because Berbatov misses almost as many chances as he creates opening.

Too much pressure on Rooney, Nani and Valencia to do everything at the moment. If 2 of those were to get injured for an extended period, we would be screwed.

Originally Posted by Darth Vidic

Total

33 - Rooney

13 - Own Goal

12 - Berbatov

9 - Owen

7 - Giggs

7 - Scholes

6 - Valencia

5 - Fletcher

5 - Gibson

5 - Nani

4 - Carrick

4 - Park

2 - Welbeck

1 - Anderson

1 - Diouf

1 - Macheda

1 - O'Shea

1 - Rafael

1 - Vidic

________

Only one stand out individual performance there. No midfielder getting into double figures. Poor return from defence as well, although our set pieces are abysmal.

I don't see how anyone can say our midfield has contributed enough goals this season. Fair enough there is a lot of rotation, but if we're going to play 4-3-3 a lot, we need more goals from them.

Not sure it is realistic to expect Rooney to have 26 goals by April again.

Also, 86 goals last season, but 5 defeats where we failed to scored. All those extra goals against Wigan, Hull etc mean shit at the end of the day, other than keeping us entertained.

Originally Posted by Sparky***

Anelka and Kalou both scored more than berbatov last season.

Crouch scored more than berbatov.

Pavlyuchenko only scored 2 goals less than berbatov.

Berbatov only scored 2 more goals than van persie, who was in a wheelchair for most of the season.

Berbatov only scored 4 more goals than N'gog.


None of the above cost £30m.

Berbatov scored more than all of them in the league tbf

I'm not even a big fan of his Just think there's a bit of hysteria on here at the moment

• in 08/09 season we drew 0-0 about 10 times
  
• in 07/08 we lost 5 times in the league but still won the title from Chelsea who only lost 3 times
  
• the own goals we scored last season were nearly all out of desperation to stop one of our players scoring a tap-in
  
• the fact that Berbatov was our second top scorer in the league with 12 goals is entirely in keeping with stats for our second top scorer over the past SIX seasons and his goals to games ratio was actually better.

Originally Posted by Sparky***

I think most people are just angry to be honest.

With good reason too. Have a read of this if you feel like getting any angrier:

http://andersred.blogspot.com/2010/0...l-sources.html

Then that @#%&! Gill has the nerve to sit there and go on about how well "the business" is doing. When I saw his grinning face on SSN this morning I almost punched the tv.

This summer will be just as bad as the last, I think that much is pretty obvious. No doubt when the transfer window does eventually close, there'll be some clown on here claiming it's the 'United way' with all the usual revisionist history about how we've never bought anyone decent in our history.

Originally Posted by JakeB

Our midfield might need tweaking but its not as bad as people make out. We got 50 or so goals from midfield last season, and thats with Hargreaves missing for all of it and Anderson for huge portions of it.

Surely that would increase the goal tally rather than reduce it?

Originally Posted by The Watcher

With good reason too. Have a read of this if you feel like getting any angrier:

http://andersred.blogspot.com/2010/0...l-sources.html

Then that @#%&! Gill has the nerve to sit there and go on about how well "the business" is doing. When I saw his grinning face on SSN this morning I almost punched the tv.

This summer will be just as bad as the last, I think that much is pretty obvious. No doubt when the transfer window does eventually close, there'll be some clown on here claiming it's the 'United way' with all the usual revisionist history about how we've never bought anyone decent in our history.

Dunk and Crumps are probably making notes .

Originally Posted by borsuk

dunno. depends on what's coming through from the youth teams.

i think it's pretty clear that most of the people on here are fairly newish reds tbh. that's not a criticism btw, just i'm a bit older than some and i remember a bit further back, gives some perspective. i watched united for near two decades before i buggered off out of the country and i never saw a title-winning team, £#%&!ing jinx that i am. obviously this is a different united now but these things come and go, there are always cycles to these things. juve and milan are nowhere at the moment, real haven't got past the first ko round for £#%&! knows how long, marseille have won the french league for the first time in yonks. the whole dutch league can't manage to produce a single decent club. and so on. the genius of fergie has been to make us all but immune to that law, it's been us + a.n.other for so long now that it's easy to forget that that is not normal.

there will be years when we win nowt, chelsea might win three on the spin now, city might come up etc. that's just the way it goes, i think some people have been seriously spoiled by success.

i'm not saying we don't need to strengthen in a couple of positions, we clearly do and fergie has said as much. but it's may ffs. no english club has signed anybody yet, the only transfer anywhere is villa to barca. it's a bit too early for all the doom yet. and using our not signing anybody by mid may as proof of the debt burden is a bit £#%&!ing daft as well. if we use the credit line and go out and blow a shitload of money on two or three big names does that suddenly make the debt not a problem? of course not. the debt is a problem irrespective of transfers that do or don't happen. it's a £#%&!ing albatross around the club's neck whether we spend or not.

If you really think i'm bothered about spending lots of money or not you've got the wrong end of the stick.

I'm just bitter about the Glazers and the sooner people realise that "we will get 20 games out of Giggs this year" is a pitiful cover up and insult to the thousands that have made this club great the better.

I'm proud of what Fergie has done for us and I don't share the same bitterness of others, I truly believe that he is doing what he can to get us through this nonsense, but I don't think it's right and I don't think that the Glazers getting one more penny helps anyone.

We can keep covering the cracks and we can keep chucking the gimps a few million quid each year. We need to wake up and get rid, it's not big or clever just the right thing to do.

Fully agree there Jaffa. They're the major problem right now, anything else is of secondary importance.

Originally Posted by RedMenace

Fully agree there Jaffa. They're the major problem right now, anything else is of secondary importance.

It is - they need to go simple as

But if we were to win 19 next year i'd be over the moon
mental innit

Originally Posted by Harri Jaffa

I'm proud of what Fergie has done for us and I don't share the same bitterness of others, I truly believe that he is doing what he can to get us through this nonsense, but I don't think it's right and I don't think that the Glazers getting one more penny helps anyone..

Very good post Harri, especially that bit. It's heartbreaking what the current owners are doing to our club.

don't think anybody disagrees with that harri. just think looking for evidence of the debt in our transfers is barking up the wrong tree.

Originally Posted by borsuk

don't think anybody disagrees with that harri. just think looking for evidence of the debt in our transfers is barking up the wrong tree.

Fair enough - It's true it isn't an absolute, it's a guess just seems that way to me.

Originally Posted by The Watcher

Very good post Harri, especially that bit. It's heartbreaking what the current owners are doing to our club.

It's criminal - No more no less

Originally Posted by borsuk

don't think anybody disagrees with that harri. just think looking for evidence of the debt in our transfers is barking up the wrong tree.

I am also a Utd fan since the 70's and find it frustrating as £#%&! that we probably would have overtaken Liverpool in titles had the financial situation been different last summer. We sold our best/most influential player for 80m and didn't get to use it to alleviate his loss and still only lost the league by 1 point.

Fergie performed miracles tbf.