All of which took place before we'd established ourselves as a top 4 hopeful and the two teams in question were far far stronger than they currently are, especially United. Even though we do have a bit of a label as a 'selling club', to Levy's credit we haven't sold to a direct rival in over half a decade. That's far more than could be said about all of our immediate rivals (Nasri, Clichy, Van Persie, Welbeck, Cech, and probably Sterling now too). I fully expect Hugo to be told the same thing as Modric was: you can leave with pleasure, just not to a rival.
It's the casual acceptance by the so-called professional pundits that if United want one of our players we'll roll over and let them have him, that gets me! As though we're a nothing team, with no ambitions of top 4. I expect that Levy is as pissed-off with that casual attitude as I, and others, are, and that he will act accordingly if, and when, United come sniffing around.
HIAG, that is exactly how I feel. No one seems to have the slightest comprehension that selling our image for magic beans after financing a new stadium would be financial suicide--and if there is one thing Levy and ENIC have not looked like doing over the years, it’s committing financial suicide. I don’t believe we’ll get Schneiderlin at all. People are talking only because Schweinsteiger is going to Man U. Nothing that I know of has changed with Schneiderlin wanting the CL. Plus, while I would have hoped we had 19 million for Martial or Orrasco, or 10 million for Cabaye, 20 million for McCarthy, or 27 million for Schneiderlin, seems too much. There are more sensible targets out there for us.
I still don't believe that we will get Schneiderlin, because I don't think Levy will pay the asking price. However, I'm beginning to doubt that he will go to Utd. Schweinsteiger hasn't gone there to sit on a bench, I don't believe Schneiderlin wants to either. They both expect to start. Whether there is room in the same side for both, I'm not so sure.
interesting view mate (sorry could not resist the edit(. Seriously i hope u don't sell Lloris or Kane to United as they are both quality which will enrich their side. I prefer LVG to buy overpriced flops like DiMaria and Falcoa, or players past their sell by dates like Schwienstiger !
United is the last club that Levy will sell to, of that I am convinced. If they try to unsettle Lloris and encourage him to go on strike (as Berbatov did), I trust that Levy will slap a "£50 million or **** off!" price-tag on his head, and stick Lloris in the reserves for 2 years, or until he buckles down (to be sold abroad), like rat-boy eventually did.
Sky bet have suspended betting on Schneiderlin to United. Twitter sources claiming that it's as good as done
Schneiderlin to Man U is done folks. Not sure why any of us held a hope of him coming here since we missed our window and he started talking about Champions League. Man U needed to make that signing, if not only just to keep him from us. Very interested to see what we do with our CM positions, also what Southampton do. I imagine we might be in for the same players.
I'm in the minority opinion of giving the Bentaleb-Mason pairing another season, using Stambouli more often and Demebele for added muscle. I think that our biggest problem is attacking players who can mix it up to pick apart a stubborn defense - a common problem since more or less the day we stopped using 2 natural wingers about 3 years ago. At the moment only Eriksen has the nous to do this but he cannot be relied upon alone, as the tail-end of last season showed. Maybe Pritchard will be that player, Lamela, Chadli, Townsend and Dembele are all far too predictable and very easy to defend against unless both Kane and Eriksen bring their A game. We need to invest in 'the 3' imo.
.... ....and who would you get to realistically improve on what we have in those positions? I like the idea of giving Mason more time to develop, but I feel that the Bentaleb / Mason pairing is only as good as our backup pairing should be. Similar to how Alderweireld should be a step up from Dier, one if not both of the CM positions needs 'pimping' if we are gonna compete at the same level again.
Correct. Our build up play has been far too laboured and predictable for a while now. What M.P. Has against Lennon, I don't know. But he, at least, could turn a defence, get behind them. Right now, stop Eriksen and you've pretty much stopped Spurs.
As Spain said, bringing Lennon back into the fold is a must. No idea what MP has against one of our most reliable performers in EPl history. True, he isn't world-class and doesn't score enough goals. But he can stretch a defense so that a CB drifts wide to help his FB deal with the pace and dribbling ability (both sorely lacking in Lamela), thus exposing gaps through the middle for Kane and Eriksen to exploit. I sincerely hope that Pritchard will be the answer to this question. A good friend of mine is a season ticket holder at Brentford and he was absolutely raving about him the entire season. But if he's not yet ready to step up a notch, you've got a very good question. Although the exact same question can be asked in reverse: with the inevitable Schneiderlin-not-going-to-spurs now transpiring, who would you go for for the DM position? If anything, that's an even harder question to answer. I'd say even Mirallas is a step up from Lamela tbh. The biggest problem with playing a 2-3-1 as we do is that 'the 3' are exceptionally easy to defend against. Any well-drilled team will have their CM's watch out for late runners or overlapping full backs (who in turn need the pace of Walker, Rose or Yedlin to work), and have their FB's slot in next to their CB's in central positions to essentially make playing anywhere within 30 yards of the goal like trying to have a kickabout at Kings Cross during rush hour. The stupidity of a system without width and pace to stretch the FB's away from their CB's is that you basically need your '3' to be as good as Hazard, Willian, Oscar etc. We currently only have one player in that bracket of class - Eriksen. The rest of our midfield are sadly a poor man's Chelsea, which is an insult of the highest order. In Kane, I belive we've finally found a player perfect for the '1'. Now we owe it to his continued development to invest in the '3'.
I'm pretty sure that coaches these days have access to all sorts of analytical data that doesn't support the common wisdom held by fans. One thing that I'm pretty sure is true is that creating width, turning defenders and putting in crosses is a very bad tactic because it loses the ball too often in comparison with the number of goals it makes. Lennon is a reasonably good winger in a 422 but can't do things like see a pass and score goals which is necessary in a 4231. A top 4 club has never come in for him which tells you all you need to know.
All I need to know is that we look predictable, laboured, even sterile. Lennon turns defences, which they don't like. No, his crossing was never the best, but it was improving.
It looks increasingly like the Stambouli to Watford rumours are true. I'd be really surprised if we let him, Paulhino and Capoue go without being fairly sure that we could bring someone else in (beyond Alli and Carroll). So who is it? Obviously not Schneiderlin. And I doubt we'd pay what it would take to get McCarthy (though he is HG, which makes sense). Cambiasso is being suggested as the right type, but surely that's not a Levy move. Who else?
So that's Carrick, Blind, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger and Fellaini all vying for central midfield berths. Anyone else seeing the obvious flaw with that?
I agree, a much harder question, which is why I am watching keenly. James McCarthy would be a step up from Mason in my humble opinion, even though a small one. I figure McCarthy, Mason and Alli would provide options for the forward driving element in the 2. Bentaleb is a harder prospect to deal with improvement wise, although McCarthy could probably cover his role at times too, just not improve on his play as much as he would Mason's.
I personally don't see McCarthy as much of an upgrade, especially at the price Everton are likely to hold out for. As for the point about common wisdom (not sure if it was you LS so apologies if it wasn't); I think that ultimately what we see with our own eyes week in week out is more than enough wisdom to acknowledge that the 2-3-1 system cannot work well without 3 attacking players who are all of the calibre of an Eriksen. Our other players there are nowhere near his level of natural ability. Nothing frustrates me more than watching Chadli or Lamela (usually the latter) almost collide with Eriksen because everything and everyone 'must' go through the middle. I understand that Lennon doesn't really fit into a 2-3-1 system; my point is that for such a system to work the 3 need to be MUCH better than what we currently have. There is very little point in replacing a system with natural width and pace for one that will inevitably prevent you from getting the best out of your best players (Kane and Eriksen). There's no question that Lamela was signed with this in mind, but it hasn't quite worked to plan so far. As for the point about crossing the ball being too hit and miss to rely on....I would say that it's better to lose possession either on the flank/byline or in the six yard box whilst causing panic in your oppositions box than it is losing possession in a central area 25 yards out of the goal with half your players caught upfield in the hope that the eye-of-the-needle pass works, except it didn't, because Eriksen wasn't on the ball. It's much of a muchness really. The bottom line is that there is no logic in stubbornly insisting on a system if you don't have the personnel to pull it off. There's a fallacy that certain 'systems' are more effective than others. This was one of AVB's biggest weaknesses imo. The reality is that as long as you have the right players, any system will work wonders. I fear that many 'modern' mangers have this the wrong way round.
Perhaps Lamela will be more effective in a side that has a rock solid defence, and one that can press higher up the field?
