Manchester United Thread

[alom5]

I seen a few of these pics today.... And he looks like he's on the catwalk

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[andy1967]

[aftermath]

classic that Andy, Phil Jones`s face epic.

[andy1967]

Interview on MUTV

Mata

Says squad and manager very good, fans unbelievable. Says he's really grateful for Chelsea for how they've been with him. Last 6 months difficult for not playing as much as he wanted to.Chance to come to United a great moment.

Says De Gea texting him last 5/6 days asking when are you coming and was factor in him coming, or something along those lines.

When asked about his best position, he says 1st of all playing. Says he can play in the 3 positions behind the striker. Left , right or behind, doesn't matter as long as the manager wants him to play. Says he wants to win the premier league, special trophy, would be amazing. This club you can achieve it. Says he'll try his best, he's still young and wants to win a lot more. Looking forward to 1st game, debut, to score.Hopefully score soon. Old Trafford unbeliebable, been here 2/3/4 times, now chance to play at home, fans in stadium are incredible.

Moyes:

Really pleased, interested in for a long time. Couldn't say much about it but on radar for certainly a couple months. Didnt think Chelsea would sell buit thankfully we got there and he's here today.

Bit surprised chelsea sold, doesn't tend to happen between PL teams. We've got a really exciting player. Done a great job for Chelsea; goalscoring & assists, looking forward to him doing it to us. Think he's best available in January. Didn't think there'd be many Jan signings (for anyone). Credit to Woodwood and rest of club. Me and players are looking forward to it, we've lacked a bit of creativitiy in final 3rd. Want to build an exciting team. Want to win, give supporters something to shout about. This is the 1st and many more to come in time. When you can play as well as he can (he can handle pressiure). Players 1st to test him in training, make him aware of what club is and traditions. Here for a long time, hopefully playing soon (poss tuesday). Like to be involved on Tuesday. Doesn't think any more signings in january, still working on it and know what we want to do, could change but 1st of signings, more likely in summer. Hope boost to fans and club, see this as a start. Try to bring in new players to make it happen. 1st of hopefully several

[andy1967]

[maca]

Have they just been told they can leave soon .

[leotheloin]

[maca]

yeah ones kissing a camera the other is trying to blow an inflatable balloon up

[andy1967]

Fantastic read on what went on behind the scenes to get this deal done.

Manchester United keep Chelsea at arm's length before Mata transfer | Daniel Taylor | Football | The Guardian

Perhaps the most intriguing part of the long, complex process that finally led to a helicopter carrying Juan Mata arriving at Manchester United's training ground on Saturday is that a ?37.1m deal can be arranged without as much as a telephone call between the clubs. Several months of positioning, mutual suspicion and political bargaining, and everything was done without a single word being exchanged in person.

Chelsea certainly tried. On more than one occasion, a message reached Ed Woodward, United's chief executive, that the relevant people at Stamford Bridge were open to sitting at the other side of the negotiating table. Each time, he politely declined. Everybody in football knows Chelsea want to sign Wayne Rooney and Woodward reasoned that it would be virtually impossible to keep them sweet on Mata while also informing them they could forget about anything happening the other way.

Instead, the background to the Mata deal is a case study about how complicated and sensitive these big-money arrangements can be, and an insight into the high influence of agents in the modern business. Without them, both clubs recognise the chances of the deal going through were nonexistent. Seven different agents approached United since August to say they could make it happen. As it turned out, they used Mata's father, Juan senior, and Colin Pomford, a Madrid-based agent who specialises in Spanish business going back to Steve McManaman's time at Liverpool and, later, the Rafael Ben?tez era.

What has never come out before is that United first heard Mata was open to leaving Chelsea, and keen on moving to Manchester, late in the August transfer window, after he had picked up strong vibes from Jos? Mourinho that he would be used only sparingly. Woodward never actively followed it up because of the Rooney situation. He did, however, establish that David Moyes liked the player.

Their next information ? after the window closed ? was that Mata was so unhappy he had been to see the top people at Chelsea, among them Roman Abramovich, and been given a verbal agreement that if he carried on being left out of the team, and maintained his professionalism, he would be allowed to leave in January. Chelsea would later harden that into a written agreement that included a ?45m buyout and ? possibly still thinking about the Rooney issue ? one proviso: that the figure could not be activated by United.

That could easily have been the end of the deal. Except Mata and his father went back to Stamford Bridge, once it became clear there was interest from Old Trafford, and asked for the condition to be removed. One of the people involved in the negotiations has told this newspaper that Mata and Abramovich are "almost like friends". Mata had kept to his side, bar one fit of pique after being substituted, and Abramovich respected that.

Chelsea gave him a verbal promise, but nothing in writing, and then sent a message, via Pomford, that maybe it was time the two clubs met face to face. Woodward said no. He simply did not want to risk changing the temperature by getting involved in any talks about Rooney and, with nothing in writing, he was not willing to take any chances about the price suddenly going up.

A separate message came back to United that Chelsea would welcome an official bid on a specific day. Woodward declined again. Instead, his lawyers faxed through a "transfer agreement" informing Chelsea that United had met the buy-out clause and would pay the money, as stipulated, in three parts.

But the game of cat and mouse continued. Chelsea indicated again they wanted to talk and would even let Mata travel to Manchester to take his medical. Except Woodward knew, again, that Rooney would crop up and potentially kibosh the whole deal. "He couldn't risk it," according to one source. So he sat tight, while Mata and the relevant agents went to work behind the scenes. Then Mourinho went public that Mata could leave and that was always going to speed up the process. Finally, the deal was closed on Saturday.

For Woodward, it is the biggest coup of his time in charge at Old Trafford. United have been accused of panic-buying and maybe, in light of the new detail, that is an unfair slant to put on it. The club had, however, advised journalists to "ignore" any speculation about Mata earlier in January, and sources say they still felt as recently as Tuesday that it was far more likely to happen, if at all, in the summer.

If Mata still feels like a strange buy, it is largely because Moyes has insisted for several months that all he wants is a central midfielder and a left-back. Questions about Mata were knocked back on the basis United already had Wayne Rooney and Shinji Kagawa for the No10 position, in line with the club's explanation for not challenging Arsenal for the signature of Mesut ?zil.

So why Mata and not ?zil? Timing, basically. ?zil was offered to United in the first week of the summer transfer window, but Moyes had barely seen Kagawa at that point and wanted to learn more about a player about whom Sir Alex Ferguson had left glowing reports. As it has turned out, Kagawa has been disappointing. United, however, would prefer to keep him for now, not least because Mata is ineligible in the Champions League.

[Wolfpack]

Defense wins games? Lol....... I think you'll find 0-0 is classed as a draw. Attack will always win games.... Best form of defence is attack is what the saying is....... Another words, if your attackers have the ball and are attacking then the defence dint need to worry too much.

Still those trophies in cabinet weren't from us defending I can tell you that much...

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Of course you also need an attack but teams can win with solid defense and a so so offense but rarely the other way around. If you can't defend you can't win but you could always score a lucky one. Those trophies were won by parking the bus. Ha Ha

[mtv1]

joke ok

[ricky23079]

Mata did well today for us guys, we grab the win, hope we will create winning streak from now on...

[thered]

Whilst over the moon with Mata signing im not sure he is the answer to our problems, we are a little unlucky with injuries RVP missing a lot and other players in and out but we are shipping goals left right and centre and look vulnerable whenever anyone ventures into our half

I watched Mata's debut first game i been to for ages and we were pretty poor, against Stoke we were same although injuries to Jones and Evans and a wicked deflection didnt help.

I think the bad luck may be due to run out but i reckon top 4 is now a minimum of 10 wins from 14, not impossible but unlikely atm

Moyes certainly making new ground

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[thered]

fergie-box.jpg


They keep on coming

[andy1967]

Another year has passed.





The Flowers of Manchester - YouTube

Gone but not forgotten. RIP.