the pique deal

Originally Posted by Stickman

Ive got to confess, in the rare times he did appear for us I didnt think he looked that good.

Hes perfect in a team like Spain and Barcelona where they always keep possesion.

I don't judge players on just 2 months so I still think Evans staying was the better fit for us long term.

BTW, Pique said Fergie tried to make him stay only recently;

Gerard Pique says the difficult decision to leave Manchester United for his native Barcelona in 2008 was made even harder because of his attachment to his “second father” Sir Alex Ferguson.

The Spain international defender quit Old Trafford as he started to make the breakthrough but has since gone on to lift the game's major honours with club and country within two years of his departure.

Speaking to Graham Hunter exclusively for STV Sports Centre, the highly-regarded 23-year-old – who got his hands on the World Cup trophy this summer a season on from winning the Champions League – says the influence of the Scottish manager on his early career went a long way towards his achievements.
Pique: Sir Alex Ferguson was like a second father to me

Spending four seasons in Manchester from the age of 17, Pique revealed Sir Alex immediately took him under his wing upon his arrival from Barcelona's youth system. Then, faced with the difficult task of telling his manager he wanted to return to Spain, he recalls the emotional response from a character better known for his ruthless nature.

“When I arrived there I was 17 and it was really hard for me to leave my family here, to change club, to change all my friends,” said Pique. “For me, Sir Alex Ferguson was like a second father.

“He helped in all the ways, not only in football terms but also how to find a house and all my relations out of football. I think that, for me, he was a really helpful person. For me, Alex Ferguson will always be a second father.

“I remember when I went to his room to say that I wanted to leave because Barcelona was coming for me. It was my town, it was my club when I was young and I wanted to come back. He didn't want me to leave and said I had a future at the club and he expected a lot from me.

“But I wanted to leave and he wrote me a letter saying that it was really difficult and really hard for him to let me go to Barcelona.”

Pique's years at Manchester United saw him train every day with Paul Scholes, a player who he regards as one of the finest midfielders in the game. There is only one player who is on a level par with the evergreen star though according to Pique, his current club and international team-mate Xavi, who holds a mutual respect for his English counterpart.

“I think they are two of the best players I have ever seen,” Pique said. “With the ball they are fantastic. I remember one day I was talking with Xavi and he said, for him, Paul Scholes was one of the best players he had ever seen.

“I think the two like each other because they like the same football and it's really beautiful.”

It just makes me laugh that people keep bringing it up as an attack on Fergie, yet this is a player that wasn't suited to English football and nobody said a word when he left.

Just smacks of typical smacked arse spoilt United fans crying at everything because theyve not won the league 5 years in a row.

Originally Posted by Stickman

Ive got to confess, in the rare times he did appear for us I didnt think he looked that good.

Wrong thread

I think it was quite apparent that piqué was never that happy here and always regretted leaving barca

Originally Posted by safingtons

Hes perfect in a team like Spain and Barcelona where they always keep possesion.

I don't judge players on just 2 months so I still think Evans staying was the better fit for us long term.

BTW, Pique said Fergie tried to make him stay only recently;



It just makes me laugh that people keep bringing it up as an attack on Fergie, yet this is a player that wasn't suited to English football and nobody said a word when he left.

Just smacks of typical smacked arse spoilt United fans crying at everything because theyve not won the league 5 years in a row.

Exactly. The same ones that would have been calling him shite after he £#%&!ed up away to notlob.

His contract didn't have that long left, he wanted to go home, Fergie understood and we still got a fee for him. Get the £#%&! over it.

Evans was on loan at Sunderland for a year, and been outstanding. Piqué been on loan in Spain, and barely got a game.

Just a thought: if you had two players of the same age, same position - one seems a brighter prospect than the other, only one position in the squad is available, at maybe one in three games at the most.....wouldn't you let the poorer one go for a £6m profit?

Originally Posted by BulgarianSpectator

Evans was on loan at Sunderland for a year, and been outstanding. Piqué been on loan in Spain, and barely got a game.

Just a thought: if you had two players of the same age, same position - one seems a brighter prospect than the other, only one position in the squad is available, at maybe one in three games at the most.....wouldn't you let the poorer one go for a £6m profit?

yup. just our bad luck that the poorer one looks world class now and the better prospect looks like a rabbit caught under headlights

Pique looks "world class" in Spain. That is no guarantee he would do in the PL (see also: Forlan)

Pique didn't look too bad in the champions league final, while he was keeping our strike force at arms length for 90 mins.

having said that he could have probably got a deckchair out after the first 10 mins whilst xavi and iniesta were doing their 'harlem globetrotters' pisstaking against our midfield. Park and Anderson running around like lemmings ball chasing. 'you want the ball parky? here it is...whooops now it's over there...go get it..."

"He's just spinning the ball on his finger - JUST TAKE IT"

Top lad. Future Barca captain for sure. Bit more time he would have been awesome. Always looked a bit sluggish to me.

Originally Posted by rafabio

yup. just our bad luck that the poorer one looks world class now and the better prospect looks like a rabbit caught under headlights

I love it how you now think Evans is completely shit because he's had a few dodgy games.

pique was in top form in barca's treble season but he's had some dodgy games for both barca and spain since. and la liga has nothing like the strength in depth of the premier league, the gap between the top two and the rest in terms of finance is so great that teams rarely turn up and really have a go.

I didn't say evans is shit. But I don't think he is going to be as good as pique. He doesn't have the same technical ability as pique.

Went down in my estimation when he spat on an old bloke tbh.

Originally Posted by safingtons

Hes perfect in a team like Spain and Barcelona where they always keep possesion.

I don't judge players on just 2 months so I still think Evans staying was the better fit for us long term.

BTW, Pique said Fergie tried to make him stay only recently;



It just makes me laugh that people keep bringing it up as an attack on Fergie, yet this is a player that wasn't suited to English football and nobody said a word when he left.

Just smacks of typical smacked arse spoilt United fans crying at everything because theyve not won the league 5 years in a row.

who? eh? what?

Originally Posted by Liu Jian

Trust Crumps to go OTT .

Sounds a bit like Evans.

Liu baby 'a bit of a fanny' OTT? Jesus what's going on these days? Maybe if I would have called him a Zlatan sucking mincer who's middle name is cowardice you'd have a point.

Yes I agree
Evans has been off the boil of late but hopefully he'll be back to his good form of last season, form I fear Pique would not be capable of replicating in the Premier League btw.

Originally Posted by rafabio

2 of those in bold are true about evans tbh

£#%&! off Slumdog

Crumpers is spot on again, one of the more sensible voices in this place which is becoming a bit of a madhouse recently...

who's had a go at fergie?

the deal looked great, money for nothing really. now he's playing very well and our back 4 is leaking. his presence would be more of an asset than the money.

tis all.

we had a great potential who has now realised it. if he had gone they way of heinz the deal would have been perfect.

Originally Posted by Crumps

Liu baby 'a bit of a fanny' OTT? Jesus what's going on these days? Maybe if I would have called him a Zlatan sucking mincer who's middle name is cowardice you'd have a point.

Yes I agree
Evans has been off the boil of late but hopefully he'll be back to his good form of last season, form I fear Pique would not be capable of replicating in the Premier League btw.


£#%&! off Slumdog

No need for racism mate. I'm Chinese remember.

Originally Posted by Liu Jian

No need for racism mate. I'm Chinese remember.

In that case I'll have half rice, half chips and curry please.

Pique wanted to go. I was very disappointed because to me he always looked the better prospect when compared to Evans, acceleration could be a problem but he was strong, great on the ball and he had real leadership potential.

That mistake at Bolton is always pointed to as evidence of his unsuitability to the English game, but late in the same season at 19 he was thrown into 2 key games in a row, the second leg against Roma in the CL QF and at home against Arsenal in a hugely pressurised match. He acquitted himself well in both games.

They were also the last games he played for Utd. He made 9 starts and 4 sub appearances that season, hard to break up the outstanding Vidic/Rio partnership but perhaps greater involvement would have lessened his desire to leave.

evans doesn't roll off the tongue like pique does either .