Aye, and you have to take the punts on the Andersons in order to find the Ronaldos. And that first statement is the same for any player. Proven players at one PL can flop at another just as much as unproven players. For my witnesses I'd like to call Messrs Downing, Carroll, Berbatov, Adam, Lallana, Lambert, Torres, Ba, Jo, Rodwell and Adam Johnson.
Of course it is. It was Smithy saying 'this is a great deal'. We won't know whether that is the case for quite some time yet. I'm not even saying it won't be a good deal, I just don't know yet. I think the fee is ****ing ridiculous for an unproven player none of us have heard of, that's just my opinion and I don't buy into this borderline arrogant 'so what, we've go the money' attitude. I guess it's just me. (and plenty others)
No. Just realistic and aware of the current premiership financial situation. Just waiting for others to catch up... I do understand the fans being worried about the £36m. Would you honestly have if the fee had been £20m? When everybody (United fans) have been fuming about transfer fees being paid by United, I said we should expect at least a 25% premium whenever United come calling or otherwise it wont happen. Just look across the road at Arsenal. They want the players at the "right" price and they wont do any deals. because the price of staying in the premiership is so high now that the likes of WBA Everton do not need to sell unless an enormous amount of money is put in front of them. Why risk losing £100m+ for £20m after losing a good striker? No brainer.
It's not even about whether Martial is worth £36m. That's secondary.... in fact no, it's way down on the list of things. The point for me, is could we have bought someone better, someone proven, whether that was £36m or £16m isn't really the issue (although having allocated £36m towards buying one, surely we could have done better for that amount). Buying a player with "potential" considering the position that needs filling just doesn't make sense. This isn't about replacing a winger, or a DM, where you can take a punt because of cover. This is the guy who's going to lead the line in 4 competitions and will be called upon to score 20-30 goals this season, having absolutely zero knowledge he can do this. Martial could turn out to be a great signing, but every inch of my being is telling me he'll be another Bebe.
You mean you don't have any evidence but you believe it will be a very bad buy. Wow. Just remind me not to talk to you when I am feeling down In fact I was feeling exactly the opposite. All the evidence so far point to him being a success. The only negative everyone can and have picked on is the huge price. No one has even questioned his ability or his potential. From what I can see and read about him, he is already a very good player at 19 years. One of the best prospects arriving at United and I've seen a few (since the Busby days). And to address the other point about another proven striker: all the premiership clubs are in a strong financial position and as the Kane, Mane , berahino, situations showed, the main objective is to hang on to premiership status and selling your best striker is going to threaten that. So who will you get? The RS donkey who does not even fit in the RS system ( nor our system for that matter) cost £33m and he is 30+ years. After 4 years he'll be worth nothing.not that money is a main issue for United. When a talent appears, all the top clubs are interested and you'll have to compete. As a matter of interest, who should United have bought?
Deluded? What exactly makes him a more promising propect than say a januzaj? Is it his awesome 1 in 5 strike rate at a big club in an A grade league? Or cause you are paying 36m for him? As for the donkey at scouseland he has been a 1 in 2 striker for a poor club and has battered teams singlehandedly. Hes also only 24 and still cost less than your yaya sanogo clone
I would have gone for Beneteke. If Martial is worth 36m, then Beneteke should be worth more. Why? Because he is a proven performer rather than a prospect. His age is also very well positioned to get much better. I'm by no means suggesting that Martial would not be a good signing, but he is definitely more of a gamble for 36m than other options out there. But I surely hope there's just something we don't know given LVG had been scouting him for number of years. Oh yeah, another thing... If we take into consideration that Anderson cost us £26m ten years ago, then this doesn't sound so much out of the ordinary.
Why does having a realistic view suddenly sound negative? He's an unknown. That's the reality I'm afraid. We all keep our fingers crossed he turns out to be a gem, but the truth is nobody I know (on or off this site) knew anything about this kid before we signed him. That doesn't mean he'll be sh1t but it does mean that it's a long shot he'll score 20-30 goal we'll need him to in 4 competitions this season. What evidence? What you've read about him. That's not evidence because anyone can be made to sound good or bad on paper. And for me, the negative isn't his price so it's not the only negative thing. He's unproven and an unknown with a massive responsibility on his shoulders to cover a usinque position. THAT is questioning his ability and plenty have done that tbh.
Questioning is good. Saying he is unproven is even better. But to believe he will be a failure despite the reports from people (from spurs, PSG, Barcelona as well as United) who probably know more about his ability and his prospects than you and me is strange
Since the departure of SAF I've predicted a few things that have come to pass: Many years of chaos that will be very difficult to sort out The winning team will be dismantled because piecemeal tweaking will be ineffectual It will need at least £300m (and several managers!) to rebuild a new winning team. Of all the new arrivals I was most excited about was mata. Not so for Fellaini, or Herrera or even di Maria. I was impressed that we seemed to have captured a top player in ADM but I was not sure how he would fit in. This kid is the most exciting prospect we've had even though I will admit that I've not heard of him before. Most of the above have turned out to be true. No boasting from me as I've seen these before.
I've already heard of him. I signed him on FIFA last year and he became one of the best players in the world I've got a feeling someone in the team who plays it regularly has done the same and recommended him to LVG
It's not a prediction, it's more a feeling based on everything I've experienced and seen as a football supporter over the last 33+ years. An unknown 19 year old that isnt on the radar anywhere and that nobody's ever heard of? And we're not talking about a MF or a CB or a winger where you can say ok, yeh I can understand how he got missed. We're talking about a striker who's scored 11 goals iirc. If these reports are true how come we've never heard of the achievements of this rising starlet prior to this? I think the fact he's "unknown" is actually being spun by some ppl in their refusal to accept he could be a flop
I would say this... Just because he is unknown is not exactly an indicator of whether or not he would succeed. He is very much known in France, btw. Otherwise, he would not have been called up to the national squad. Of course, there's also the case of Arsenal fans who were aware of him. My main gripe is that £36m and rising to 58m is way too much for 19yr old regardless of his potential. And to top it off, he only signed a four year contract. Like wtf?? That's the problem I have with the transaction. I would not suggest that because I had no knowledge of his skills means he must be the ultimate gamble. Definitely not my stance. LVG had been tracking him for at least a year and I trust that more that I trust what I know.
Fair enough mate, I hope you're right and I mean that. There's ofcourse a part of me thinking he could be banging in a load of goals and really take to the prem like he's a natural. Lets hope so.
