Manchester United Thread

[thered]

i wish we would sign someone quick im getting restless ,i think we need a central midfielder a winger and a striker all other positions are pretty strong

thing is i dont really fancy anyone we are linked with apart from ribery who is far too overpriced anyway

[opsmonkey]

i....i think we need a central midfielder a winger and a striker all other positions are pretty strong...

thats just under a third of your starting team then ..

[ruudvandan]

thats just under a third of your starting team then ..

as opposed to Liverpool who need 7 new players!

[grecian1red]

United will be ok.

[boomer39]

as opposed to Liverpool who need 7 new players!

yep, you could be right ... but where does that leave the other 18teams????
ynwa..

[gmb45]

?80million in the bank but nobody to spend it on

MANCHESTER UNITED will get the most expensive headache in history today ? a cheque for ?80million and no superstars to spend it on.

The world-record fee for Cristiano Ronaldo will be paid in full this morning but the massive injection of cash has put Alex Ferguson in an invidious position.

Fergie has lost his best player and, while he has splashed out ?17m on Wigan?s Antonio Valencia, there is still no one who can replace Ronaldo.

In fact, Ferguson?s memorable barb last December that he wouldn?t sell Real Madrid a virus could yet leave the Scot more red-faced than usual.

Not only have United flogged the family silver, they have been gazumped for the one player who might have been just as valuable to them... Kaka.

And who bought the brilliant Brazilian? Real Madrid of course.

As he enjoys the last few days of his summer holiday in the south of France, the United boss will have time to reflect that even the omens are against him.

The last time United sold their star No 7 to Madrid ? David Beckham ? they failed to win the title for three years.

United may have won three trophies last season and were runners-up in the Champions League but their boast to be the ?biggest club in the world? is sounding a bit hollow.

Real?s response to Barcelona?s triumphant treble has been a spending spree that makes United look more Sunday League than Champions League.

Worse, the fact they secured the signature of Kaka for ?62m before they even tied up Ronaldo is the most damaging blow.

Knowing of Ronaldo?s intention to leave this summer, United attempted to put in place a contingency plan which would have seen the Brazil midfielder move to Old Trafford.

They met and discussed terms with Kaka?s father and agent, Bosco Leite, in March but the move failed to materialise.

Then Kaka signed for Real ? who have also bought defender Raul Albiol ? to kickstart a spree that has cost ?155m so far.

Is there a silver lining for United? Not at the moment.

Should, as expected, Carlos Tevez join Manchester City this week, the crackling dissent among the fans will start to boil over.

They have sold their leading goalscorer and most effective player and, with respect, Valencia is not on the same plane as the Portuguese.

Worse, United have lost two of the famous three attacking players ? Wayne Rooney, Ronaldo and Tevez.

Earlier this week, Rooney made yet another plea to his manager to be played in his ?correct position?, which he reckons is through the middle.

It?s not the first time in the last four months Rooney has dared defy his club manager by speaking out about his dismay at being shoved wide left.

All of which points to the sowing of seeds of discontent despite the trophies won last term.

Ferguson, however, should be the last person to be shocked by that. After all, it?s his insatiable ambition to win again and again which has driven the club and its players to new heights.

But without suitable new recruits to freshen up the squad and replace those who have left, the Red Devils will find their own standards hard to live up to.

Some are even beginning to question Fergie?s authority at the club he has run like a personal empire for 20 years.

Sources close to the Glazer family insist they gave the manager no choice on the sale of Ronaldo as the profit from the transfer was too valuable.

Indeed, it?s believed that up to half of the ?80m may be used to pay interest charges. The debt owed by the Glazers on United has grown from ?556m in 2005 to ?699m in April of this year.

Easy to see why the Ronaldo cash will come in handy then?

As for recruitment, United?s next target is Lyon striker Karim Benzema.

The France ace can play on the right of a three-man attack or through the middle but, with the summer market in meltdown, he will cost more than ?30m.

United need more than attacking players, with the lack of creativity in midfield so crudely exposed by Barcelona in the Champions League final defeat.

Michael Carrick, Anderson, Darren Fletcher, who was banned for the final, even the injured Owen Hargreaves are decent footballers but don?t have the finesse of Andres Iniesta or Xavi.

Paul Scholes is now semi-retired and many fans feel there is an imbalance in their midfield compared to the old Roy Keane/Scholes partnership.

Meanwhile in Madrid, attempts to buy Franck Ribery from Bayern Munich for ?90m and David Villa from Valencia for around ?52m are ongoing as Real president Florentino Perez spends money like it is going out of fashion ? backed by the banks, who will happily lend the club ludicrous amounts because it is effectively underwritten by the state.

Real have yet to ask Fergie to sell them a virus but their spending is enough to make every other football fan sick.

[cunny]

http://www.digital-kaos.co.uk/forums/f38/manchester-united-sign-wigan-winger-valencia-43752/

[thered]

we now need 2 more now we have the new ronaldo, a central midfielder who can score goals and a centre forward who scores goals (unlike tevez who's 5hite )

id take villa or benzema for a striker even drogba and maybe gerrard as a goalscoring midfielder to replace scholes who's goals have dried up i have heard a rumour gerrard wants to play for as big club so you never know

[Bulld0g]

we have the new ronaldo

~~~~in hope not m8 the other crying diving cheating ~~~~er was bad enough

[andy4]

utd got a bargain with valencia,he made a vast improvement under bruce so when the utd team get him sorted he'll be the next ronaldo without the crying or quivering lip

[thered]

~~~~in hope not m8 the other crying diving cheating ~~~~er was bad enough

which cheating diving ~~~~er do you mean

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GKXAKQY-0Y]YouTube - Steven Gerrard - Diving hypocrite[/ame]

[cunny]

I dont know how many others feel about him, but i for 1 am glad we have seen the back of him, he has been in great form for man utd but i will NEVER FORGET THE WINKING incident with Rooney, so i have never been a big fan of him but a big fan of Man Utd, Glad we can finally move on with an astonishing ?80 Million for him...

[thered]

benzema on his way too real madrid according to sky sports wtf do they get the money from its unreal

[THE GENERALIST]

Footballer misses drugs test (allegedly)

Rio Ferdinand Failed A Drug Test? - UKPatriots Forums

[opsmonkey]

ha ha.. i wouldnt take my Premier League rumours from a NFL fan forum and a couple of Twitter pages from some yanks..

all the players are on summer breaks.. there's no training / matches