http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14208972.stm Is this the biggest clue yet that we're not going to sign a central midfielder? This article and Fergie's recent interviews suggest that our transfer market activity (at least in terms of buying) is done for the summer. We're well covered in attack, goalkeepers and defence (maybe need a backup full back but not essential as Evans and Smalling can cover) so realistically we were only going to sign a midfielder. I for one won't be disappointed if we don't sign any more players. We've got a lot of promising youngsters from the reserves (Cleverley, Pogba, Morrisson) and Anderson isn't exactly old either. I say give them a chance! Sneijder's a great player but his wage demands and transfer fee are ridiculous. Modric and Nasri are too expensive. United have always been about giving youngsters a chance and this bunch seem to be the best (in terms of potential) to come through in a while.
It is all going as I expected. Fergi did say 2 or 3 signings and we have our 2 or 3 signings. From Fergi's interviews he seems content with our midfield and will only buy a suitable replacement if the player is available and comes at the correct value.
We are in the market for a new midfielder. SAF said as much really when he said signing Sneijder was difficult ( he wouldn't know that if he hadn't tried ) and Sneijder dad also confirmed as much. I doubt it will be Sneijder but I think if the right player is available in midfield then we will try and sign them.
Get Keano out of retirment and stick himn in the centre, probably even at his age still better than what we have now
I think we could sign maybe one more player if the price is right, but i wouldn't be shocked if we've done all our business for this year and i wouldn't be too disapointed. As for nolhman well with so many negitive predictions its always likely he'll be right at some point. Its like the way newspapers come up with bullshit so they can say "you heard it from us first" if by some fluke one actually comes true.
The team in my eyes is good enough to compete next season. Winning trophies is always a privilege and in such a competitive league it is a great luxury. We can't expect to stroll the title but a team like ours always expects to be there till the last day. That is something we surly will do again.
Beating Barca in a one off match if they are having a terrible day is possible. However, expecting to overtake Barca overnight has been tried and failed. Look at Madrid. Barca are in a great moment and beating them on form is simply impossible regardless of who you buy. They have by far the best team in the world. We are simply going to have to wait for their era to end because they surly won't be producing another Messi, Xavi, Inesta and Pedro. However, they will lose one off matches.
I agree completely Its just a matter of seeing how close we can get. (if we get closer then barca would only need a smaller drop from their usual performance for us to beat them) The people who expect the signing of a CM to fill the gap between us and barca are dreaming.
Julius Caesar Agree. Sir Alex understands the importance of improving as that is our nature as a club but to improve and reach Barca's level is a task that all the billions in the world won't accomplish. People forget that Barca themselves are not standing still. They are also improving and have quite a young core. Getting as close as possible is the aim and I know it sounds defeatist but we are simply going to have to wait for their time to pass. However, football has shown that if a team is on their game and if a team is not on theirs, then beating them can be done. However, as a fan base we must accept that we are 2nd best to Barca and our aim is to stay just behind them in 2nd place.
I'm inclined to agree with this. There's no point in splashing out on 8 or 9 new players in one summer in order to usurp them as it won't work, nor could we afford it. But the people who say that we should just accept that Barca are the best and we should just stick with what we have, need to have a look at what United are all about. United and Fergie always strive for excellence so to simply settle for being 2nd best will not happen. Right now, our central midfield is not excellent and in fact even a good, as opposed to a top player, would probably greatly improve it. But I think the manager is looking at the bigger picture and rather than go for someone who is just good, wants to find a truely top player. The downside to this ambition is that we could miss out on players who would strengthen us in that area, as there simply aren't that many really top midfielders about right now.
People are reading SAF's comments over the last while and perhaps getting into a panic prematurely. Yes some of his answers to Chris Wheeler were not encouraging with regard to the strengthening of CM. Not the answer Utd fans want but read on. I do not believe SAF is very happy with his CM options otherwise he wouldn't be talking about looking for that key midfielder. Also with regards to the Sneijder option, he clearly is uncomfortable talking about him and I wouldn't believe his other public comments about we're not signing him. I imagine negotiations are on going behind the scenes with Inter and obviously to discuss his desire to sign the lad, would just jeopardise any possible deal with Inter. However I'll believe it when I see it. Finally to those saying we would only ever sign three players, while SAF did publicly say that may I remind you he was very close to signing Raphaël Varane and also had bid serious money for Sanchez in addition to the other signings. Don't be pessimistic for heaven's sake. We do have good CM options coming through but I do believe we may still sign at least 1 CM before the window closes.
I think we will sign a Midfielder before the transfer window closes. BTW Constcrepe - I love your gif.
I agree in the sense that we as a club strive to improve but how do you go about improving to beat Barca when they are on their game? Come on be realistic here. Their team has took many years to get this good. Even if we sign a world class central midfielder and De Rossi next to him we would still be beaten quite easily by Barca. Look at Madrid squad. Ronaldo, Higuain, Benzema, Ozil, Alonso, Kadera and Di Maria and yet they have to defend with 10 men to beat them. I am sorry but you can throw as much cash as you want, you will not topple Barca. There is no players like Messi, Xavi and Iniesta and they run the show. Not to forget they now will have probably Cesc and Sanchez and they also have Pedro and Villa. Not to forget Busquets. Explain how we will topple them. By the way Shaun, our 442 game can not be used against Barca again. With their formation, they have too much of the ball and they are too good on the ball. We need to play defensive and hope to beat them. This is the reality and this means 451. As Ferguson said “Barcelona are the team of the moment,” said Ferguson. “It is a cycle. It is the same players. They can dominate any game and could have probably done that to any other team"
Nolhman I would agree beating Barca is a very difficult task however stop saying things like This is defeatist and by your argument Utd next time shouldn't even bother leaving the changing room. Also talk like this only increases the chances of people writing articles about you.
Why should we not bother leaving the changing room? Winning the league and domestic cups are a great reward for a great season and getting to the final of the Cl is always a great feat. Barca won't be in every final as they may and probably will slip up a few times so we may not even meet them if we reach the final. So no, I disagree, we should always strive to win but if we played Barca when they are on their game, then we need luck. I am sorry if this is defeatist but this is reality. Evra is always one to state that Utd are the best. However, even he knows that Utd are behind Barca. “Even though I play for Manchester United and we always want to be the best in the world, this time Barcelona were the best. “For the moment we have to accept that for the last four years Barcelona have been the best team in the world, and United the second.” We know each other, but they know each other so well, so perfectly,” said Evra. “Every time Messi gets the ball he knows Xavi is going to be there, Pedro is going to be there, or (Andres) Iniesta. “It was very difficult, Barcelona keep the ball really well.”
As Evra has stated, they know each other so well, this is due to the youth team and the philosophy of Barca beaten into the core of their team. Our best chance of getting anywhere close to them is in the future. To get near them we need Pogba and Morrison and Rafa and Fabio and Jones, Smalling, De Gea etc to all become top players. These are all young players who can learn and gain a great chemistry. However, this task is very, very hard. I really doubt any of them will be anywhere near as good as Messi, Xavi, or Inesta. The task is one of the most difficult in football. With Barca producing more talents like Thiago, their cycle could last more than 20 years.
Nolhman - My point was in the context of the European Cup final and has nothing to do with the league etc. By your attitude if Man Utd faced Barca again we'd be better not leaving the changing room or getting off the coach. You have repeatedly and tbh admitted you have said Utd would often lose when the opposite has happened. Stop being so negative. So Barca are the best team in the world. So what? Go out there and try and beat them. Its called football.
1. We wont be waiting for Barcelona to do anything. Thats loser talk. Leave that for the Arsenals of the world. 2. We will likely sign a midfielder if the deal fits. 3. Barcelona wont win anything next season.* *Just watch!
