I think that Will Keane will go out on loan next season. There's quite a few clubs interested in getting him for a season. I'm not sure Macheda will be playing in a United shirt next season either, we'll probably sell him or loan him out again. Personally I'd get rid now, he's had plenty of chances and failed to shine at United and on loan. I would probably keep Owen, if nothing else he's a got to be a good influence on the younger strikers we have. He's also not going to complain about not playing often and when he does play he's good, he's got more ability with the ball at his feet than our other strikers imo he just doesn't have the stamina or pace he used to have.
If we send Will Keane out on loan and as expected, we sell Berbatov and also get rid of Owen then we would have the following strikers : 1) Rooney 2) Welbeck 3) Hernandez 4) Macheda Then i think that we could perhaps get a back up striker but should not be a big priority in the transfer market.
I was watching ssn last night and they were howing the players going to the cardiff city stadium and it showed Anders Lindegaard walking without crutches, i hope he is abck soon.
That would be terrible. Macheda is simply not good enough and that would mean just one injury giving us no options. Berb looks to be gone so its keep Owen else we'll need someone new.
Jonny Evans and Danny Welbeck have both been ruled out of Manchester United's final home game against Swansea on Sunday. Balls.
I think so, with Berbatov on the bench. I would love Berbatov to score in these two games to win us the title, with Newcastle getting a point (please let it be Obertan or Simpson to score the equalising/winning goal)!
Jones keen to bounce back Phil Jones admits he will learn from the bitter experience of losing out on the Barclays Premier League title on goal difference in dramatic circumstances on the final day of the campaign. Last summer's recruit from Blackburn took the news of Manchester City's two late goals as hard as anybody at the Stadium of Light but at least he received a boost with a call-up to England's Euro 2012 squad. Despite his international commitments, the 20-year-old is already relishing the chance to claim the title back from Roberto Mancini's Blues once the new season gets underway in August. "It was mixed feelings at the final whistle," he recalled to ManUtd.com. "I thought we’d pulled off the impossible at first, we thought QPR had done us a massive favour with a difficult task of going to the Etihad. But then City scored two goals in quick succession and that killed us. "I’ll take that on board with what I’ve learned this season. It’s been a massive learning curve for me and I’ve played a lot of games this season and I’ve really enjoyed playing.” Such a fine line between success and failure brought things into perspective for Jones who admits to experiencing a 'whirlwind season'. "Of course, that’s football," he admitted. "Things like that can happen and we’ve perhaps been a bit unfortunate this season but so be it. City have won it this year but hopefully we’ll be back next season, fighting and ready to go again. "It’s been a whirlwind season for me. We’ve been unfortunate with injuries this season which has Jones keen to bounce back Phil Jones admits he will learn from the bitter experience of losing out on the Barclays Premier League title on goal difference in dramatic circumstances on the final day of the campaign. Last summer's recruit from Blackburn took the news of Manchester City's two late goals as hard as anybody at the Stadium of Light but at least he received a boost with a call-up to England's Euro 2012 squad. Despite his international commitments, the 20-year-old is already relishing the chance to claim the title back from Roberto Mancini's Blues once the new season gets underway in August. "It was mixed feelings at the final whistle," he recalled to ManUtd.com. "I thought we’d pulled off the impossible at first, we thought QPR had done us a massive favour with a difficult task of going to the Etihad. But then City scored two goals in quick succession and that killed us. "I’ll take that on board with what I’ve learned this season. It’s been a massive learning curve for me and I’ve played a lot of games this season and I’ve really enjoyed playing.” Such a fine line between success and failure brought things into perspective for Jones who admits to experiencing a 'whirlwind season'. "Of course, that’s football," he admitted. "Things like that can happen and we’ve perhaps been a bit unfortunate this season but so be it. City have won it this year but hopefully we’ll be back next season, fighting and ready to go again. "It’s been a whirlwind season for me. We’ve been unfortunate with injuries this season which has Jones keen to bounce back Phil Jones admits he will learn from the bitter experience of losing out on the Barclays Premier League title on goal difference in dramatic circumstances on the final day of the campaign. Last summer's recruit from Blackburn took the news of Manchester City's two late goals as hard as anybody at the Stadium of Light but at least he received a boost with a call-up to England's Euro 2012 squad. Despite his international commitments, the 20-year-old is already relishing the chance to claim the title back from Roberto Mancini's Blues once the new season gets underway in August. "It was mixed feelings at the final whistle," he recalled to ManUtd.com. "I thought we’d pulled off the impossible at first, we thought QPR had done us a massive favour with a difficult task of going to the Etihad. But then City scored two goals in quick succession and that killed us. "I’ll take that on board with what I’ve learned this season. It’s been a massive learning curve for me and I’ve played a lot of games this season and I’ve really enjoyed playing.” Such a fine line between success and failure brought things into perspective for Jones who admits to experiencing a 'whirlwind season'. "Of course, that’s football," he admitted. "Things like that can happen and we’ve perhaps been a bit unfortunate this season but so be it. City have won it this year but hopefully we’ll be back next season, fighting and ready to go again. "It’s been a whirlwind season for me. We’ve been unfortunate with injuries this season which has http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-F...chester-united-will-bounce-back.aspx?pageNo=2
Saw an interesting thread on the Liverpool board where they analysed their squad based on whether their players were (1) not yet peaked, (2) at their peak or (3) past their peak. My opinion: Not Yet Peaked 1. David De Gea 4. Phil Jones 6. Jonathan Evans 8. Oliveira Anderson (debatable) 12. Chris Smalling 14. Javier Hernandez 19. Danny Welbeck 20. Fabio 21. Rafael 23. Tom Cleverley 40. Ben Amos 42. Paul Pogba Peak 10. Wayne Rooney 15. Nemanja Vidic 16. Michael Carrick 17. Luis Nani 18. Ashley Young 24. Darren Fletcher (assuming he recovers from illness, otherwise Past Peak) 25. Antonio Valencia 34. Anders Lindegaard Past Peak 3. Patrice Evra 5. Rio Ferdinand 7. Michael Owen 9. Dimitar Berbatov 11. Ryan Giggs 13. Ji-Sung Park 22. Paul Scholes Summary Not Yet Peaked 12 Peak 8 Past Peak 7 I think this is a feature of Fergie's squads throughout his reign, a good balance of experience as well as a lot of trust in young players yet to reach their peak. Compared to other squads: City: Mostly Peak players, and a few Not Yet Peaked ones. Very few Past Peak players. Chelsea: Mostly Past Peak players and the rest mainly Peak players. Arsenal: Mostly Peak players and Not Yet Peaked players. Very few Past Peak players. Spurs: A fair number of Past Peak players, and many Peak players, with a few Not Yet Peaked players. Liverpool: Mostly Peak players with the rest balanced between Past Peak and Not Yet Peaked. I think we're well set up for the future, as are City obviously. Chelsea and Spurs will need significant investment once their Past Peak players need to be replaced. Arsenal are decently set up for the future as a squad but obviously they need key individuals like RVP to stay. Liverpool look decent on this basis but their problem is that their Peak players are not good enough at the moment. Thoughts?
Good analysis. It is a good balance. The point you made about whether the peak and pre-peak players are good enough is crucial. In fact, I would say it is more important for long term sucess that the pre/not yet peaked are of the highest calibre. That is why they are now so prized and so expensive. Arsenal used to spend loads on those: Walcott, VP, Clichy etc. We have invested ourselves in Jones, Smalling, DeGea, Hernanadez. As for the scousers, you are right, they do not have enough high calibre peak players. And there is a question mark about their pre-peak players too. That is why I would see them languishing in mid table for a very long time unless they decide to splash out on some expensive peak players now.
According to the BBC, Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has signed a new one-year contract at Old Trafford and Ben Amos has signed a new three-year deal which will run until at least 2015.
I have been impressed with Amos when I have seen play in the reserves, and he's did well in the few senior appearances he's had, glad he's signed a new contract.
You need to update the squad list Alan. Any idea where Powell will be played? I've heard he's striker, but I've also hear he's an attacking midfielder, but honestly don't know anything about him.
He can play both, but he's been used primarily in midfield during pre-season and scored a decent goal for the reserves against Scunthorpe with a late run in to the box and a tidy finish.
