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Football Thread 13/14 |OT11| Schlong Days, Kipless Nights

AndresON777

shooting blanks
When he was known, cum shots were born, does he know, that nobody is more amazing. Andres plz, suicide is lame, when I die, angels will cry
 
The shiteness of Tom Cleverley is the result of karma for all those terrible 5 frame gifs people used to post of him playing a simple pass. Or something like that, I don't really know how karma is supposed to work.
 
The reliance on crosses is part of a wider problem at United in their quest to impose themselves in the final third. Moyes was clearly fond of this tactic during his reign at Everton - which no doubt influence his interest in Baines - but his methods have not yet yielded the sort of success or free-flowing football his new position demands. United have attempted more crosses from open play than any other team in the top flight this season (correct as of half-time against Tottenham) but rank 17th in crossing accuracy. It is clearly a strategy that requires revision.

Yeah, it's definitely not the same clank. I can't remember the exact difference but we ranked significantly lower in attempted crosses last season, even if wing-play was still the cornerstone of our game. I see a lot of people saying we dominated two spells of the match: yes, there was tempo, but I never saw any real fluency of possession or clear-cut chances being made. When the pressure is on, all we seem to do now is move the ball to a winger or fullback and pile into the box for a cross that never reaches any discernible target, or hope that Rooney or Adnan does something special. Or maybe this is just extreme clank. Clank being taken to the next level.
 

Lightning

Banned
He certainly didn't iron out the cocky mistakes.
He doesn't make that many mistakes. Certainly the most improved goalkeeper this season so far. Been very good, has 9 clean sheets in the PL for it.


Missing out on the CL would be annoying more than anything for United. They don't really need the money from it, their club status alone carries a lot of weight in the transfer market, so missing out this season wouldn't hurt them that much. Top 4 still very open anyway, only 5 points separating them and Everton have dropped 5 points now in their last 3 games against non top 6 competition which is not good for their chances.
 

Salazar

Member
Great response.

Well, "somewhat catastrophic" is a vague and confusing condition to consider, anyhow. Catastrophes tend towards the absolute, not the partial.

Bolton, for example, are economically proper fucked. That's catastrophic.

It can perhaps be assumed that the club would try to bandage any severe wound with transfer funds before our CL failures began to inhibit our ability to do that. How effective that might be is anyone's guess. The timeframe for those procedures and eventualities is something Viva might be able to comment on.
 

Messi

Member
Well, "somewhat catastrophic" is a vague and confusing condition to consider, anyhow. Catastrophes tend towards the absolute, not the partial.

Bolton, for example, are economically proper fucked. That's catastrophic.

It can perhaps be assumed that the club would try to bandage any severe wound with transfer funds before our CL failures began to inhibit our ability to do that. How effective that might be is anyone's guess. The timeframe for those procedures and eventualities is something Viva might be able to comment on.

Do you not think missing out on the CL would have a direct impact on Man Uniteds ability to sign top top players right away? The great players want to be in the CL.
 

Salazar

Member
Do you not think missing out on the CL would have a direct impact on man Uniteds ability to sign top top players. The great players want to be in the CL.

As Meus doggedly suggests (attempting, tragicomically, to argue that us signing RVP was a bad decision), this generally hasn't been something we do. If we take "top top" to refer to, say, folks like Mata, Vidal, Falcao et al.

I don't think we would miss consecutive CLs. But hey. Rooney wanted out even before things went pear-shaped.
 

Leg-End

Member
Do you not think missing out on the CL would have a direct impact on Man Uniteds ability to sign top top players right away? The great players want to be in the CL.

We haven't ever been in a situation where its a possibility, who knows but football waits for no-one. As much as rival fans would love it to be true it simply isn't a reality that Man Utd without CL football would suddenly not still be a draw for great players. If Barca or Madrid lost CL football for a season, would that stop them being an iconic club? Nope.

And besides how often do United actually buy top top players? RVP and arguably Kagawa in the last few years. United's strength lies in promotion of youth and identifying young talents to develop over a number of years, very rarely do we just go an grab a £30 million man anymore.

It's more the financial impact, CL football is a big chunk of change to lose when you are padding down debts every year.
 

Messi

Member
As Meus doggedly suggests (attempting, tragicomically, to argue that us signing RVP was a bad decision), this generally hasn't been something we do. If we take "top top" to refer to, say, folks like Mata, Vidal, Falcao et al.

I don't think we would miss consecutive CLs. But hey. Rooney wanted out even before things went pear-shaped.

I'd assume if Rooney was sold the fans would expect/demand a big name to replace him. Which is why selling him is a bad idea.
 

Lightning

Banned
United should give Rooney to Chelsea in an attempt to get Mata. That is the best scenario for all parties.


Being without CL football won't harm United that much. Most CM's can be gotten without CL football, Baines won't give a fuck, most young defenders won't care either. It won't be a big deal for only one season, if it drags on then that's an issue but chances are it won't, too much talent in that United team and too many resources backing them.
 

Messi

Member
He's not signing a new contract.

As someone said here yesterday. Maybe Clegg. That Rooney is incredibly hard to replace. Like honestly who would be a target if/when he gets sold. I mean like a realistic target. Rooney has that game changing ability mist of the time that is rare in players. He is always dangerous.
 

Salazar

Member
As someone said here yesterday. Maybe Clegg. That Rooney is incredibly hard to replace. Like honestly who would be a target if/when he gets sold. I mean like a realistic target. Rooney has that game changing ability mist of the time that is rare in players. He is always dangerous.

We didn't "replace" Ronnie.

We adapt, we compensate, we plug the holes deeper in the formation that Rooney runs around attending to.

I'd do the Mata deal if the rest of our transfer plans were working out. Considered alone, that deal isn't quite so attractive. In the context of successful replenishment elsewhere, it's outstanding.
 

Clegg

Member
As someone said here yesterday. Maybe Clegg. That Rooney is incredibly hard to replace. Like honestly who would be a target if/when he gets sold. I mean like a realistic target. Rooney has that game changing ability mist of the time that is rare in players. He is always dangerous.
No use in finding a like for like replacement as there isn't one. Someone who can play as a striker, number 10 and can also spread passes like Scholes in his prime? Yeah, you won't find a player like that easily.

Only thing we could do is change the dynamic of the team. Everything revolves around Rooney. Obviously that's the first thing that'll change if he goes. We'd have to strengthen the midfield as we'd no longer have him to drop deep and spread passes. Then we'd need a new forward to replace his goals. Basically strengthen the midfield and attack with good players because we won't find one player who can do everything Rooney can.

We could've and should've started that process last summer. In fairness, Moyes tried to do it but missed out on his targets. He was horribly misguided in his attempts, but I can't fault him for attempting to improve the team.
 

Leg-End

Member
We didn't "replace" Ronnie.

We adapt, we compensate, we plug the holes deeper in the formation that Rooney runs around attending to.

I'd do the Mata deal if the rest of our transfer plans were working out. Considered alone, that deal isn't quite so attractive. In the context of successful replenishment elsewhere, it's outstanding.

The Mata deal being the swap him for Rooney one? Crazyness! You would give away our best player to a direct rival for one of their spare parts giving them the 25-30 goal a season striker they have craved for?

I wouldn't sell Rooney to anyone in the league for all the tea in China. If we absolutely had to sell him else lose him on a free then I would be making absolutely sure he goes and melts in Spain for a tidy sum.

If Chelsea really wanted him, the fee is Oscar and Hazard minimum.
 

K1LLER7

Member
I'd assume if Rooney was sold the fans would expect/demand a big name to replace him. Which is why selling him is a bad idea.
If he leaves this summer then yeah. However, Januzaj's main and future position will be behind the striker. Depending on Adnan's growth and play, which is already beyond what you see normally for an 18yr old in their first PL debut season, he could possibly take that position if Rooney was to leave.

I still think it's a little early for him to play that role in the big games but in a few seasons he should be ready.
 

sohois

Member
As long as Man Utd are a wealthy PL club they'll have no trouble attracting top players. For as much as people go on about the dominance of the PL, sometimes it seems like a lot of people really underestimate the draw of the clubs. How many 'big clubs' do people think there are actually are?

By my reckoning, there are maybe 6 clubs that can legitimately out-muscle the PL clubs, otherwise even a Europa League team with enough cash will have no trouble attracting CL quality players.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern, Juventus and the oil clubs in France. These teams are going to be bigger draws, certainly than a Europa League team. But otherwise, there isn't any club that can compete.

For as much as fans like the attacking play and the underdog status of Dortmund and Atletico, they don't have the prestige, and they sure as fuck don't have the money to match a PL team. The likes of Diego Costa are the exception, not the rule. Meanwhile, teams like Ajax and Porto, which make the CL every year, aren't going to be attracting any top players. Again, there is the money issue, as well as the fact that such teams are never going to be consistent challengers. Even big Italian teams like Inter and AC Milan are simply blown away by the wealth of Premier league teams. look at how easily Tottenham plucked Lamela from Roma, historically a much larger team.

To go back to Costa, when Arsenal were linked all their fans were saying "No chance in the summer, loads of bigger teams will be in for him." What bigger teams? Football fans seem to believe that Real Madrid are just going to sign everyone, or something. Realistically, the only teams on Arsenal's level that will be going for a striker are Real and Chelsea. Still tough competition, but certainly not loads of bigger clubs blocking Arsenal's path. For a club in the Europa League, there'll be maybe 10 or 12 teams ahead of them, but it seems to me there are more than enough players to go around for that number.

tl:dr
PL teams are so much richer and more famous they can easily attract big names even without the CL.
 

Lightning

Banned
We didn't "replace" Ronnie.

We adapt, we compensate, we plug the holes deeper in the formation that Rooney runs around attending to.

I'd do the Mata deal if the rest of our transfer plans were working out. Considered alone, that deal isn't quite so attractive. In the context of successful replenishment elsewhere, it's outstanding.
You say, get a Cabaye, who is not outstanding but can certainly get a job done and get Mata to replace Rooney.

You could have a United team looking like this:

De Gea
Baines, Jones, Vidic, Rafael,
Cabaye, Fellaini/Carrick
----------------Mata-----------------
Adnan --------- RVP --------Nani


Bench - Fellaini/Carrick, Rio, Smalling, Welbeck, Chicta, Valencia, Kagawa

I didn't bother including Evra as he's on his last year and is not getting an extension so he's gone long term. In my opinion that's a strong team, could do with additional attacking strikers maybe and replacement defenders but that team does not finish out side the top 4 and can all be gotten in January.
 

Leg-End

Member
As things currently stand, we're losing him on a free, fairly soon really, and he will regard our wishes to flog him to Spain with justified contempt.

Summer 2015, that is really quite a ways off. If he wants to go this summer then by all means he can go to Spain or Italy, we absolutely cannot sell him to a league rival, Arsenal fans will tell you why not.

In fact I would let him walk away for a free before I sold him in-league, that would mean we got another season out of him, potentially time for him to change his mind and pushed his age to nearly 30, traditionally a time when a player of his ilk tend to start declining.
 

Clegg

Member
It shouldn't be that difficult for Uniuted to strengthen midfield as there are plenty of "gettable" midfielders out there who are better than most of our current options.

I said this last summer and it kind of backfired but the premise still stands. We just have go make sure that he's the right kind of player.
 

Lightning

Banned
Summer 2015, that is really quite a ways off. If he wants to go this summer then by all means he can go to Spain or Italy, we absolutely cannot sell him to a league rival, Arsenal fans will tell you why not.

In fact I would let him walk away for a free before I sold him in-league, that would mean we got another season out of him, potentially time for him to change his mind and pushed his age to nearly 30, traditionally a time when a player of his ilk tend to start declining.
And you miss out on Mata doing this.

Mata got 20 goals and 35 assists in 64 games last season and is only 25. United can't win the league this season anyway so who cares if you hand this season to Chelsea? It's about doing what's best for United and Mata is more valuable than Rooney only Mou is too stupid to realize this.
 

K1LLER7

Member
No use in finding a like for like replacement as there isn't one. Someone who can play as a striker, number 10 and can also spread passes like Scholes in his prime? Yeah, you won't find a player like that easily.

Only thing we could do is change the dynamic of the team. Everything revolves around Rooney. Obviously that's the first thing that'll change if he goes. We'd have to strengthen the midfield as we'd no longer have him to drop deep and spread passes. Then we'd need a new forward to replace his goals. Basically strengthen the midfield and attack with good players because we won't find one player who can do everything Rooney can.

We could've and should've started that process last summer. In fairness, Moyes tried to do it but missed out on his targets. He was horribly misguided in his attempts, but I can't fault him for attempting to improve the team.
Rooney, a jack of all trades, master of none?

United will need rebuilding starting this summer. RVP is 30+ and Rooney will most likely leave/not sign contract. Chicha (could leave) and Welbs aren't good enough as leading strikers who you rely on to get you 30 goals a season. A new CF will need to be signed eventually.

More pressing issue in midfield. Carrick is 30(?), Cleverley isn't all that, Fellani will need time but he and Carrick are not a mobile midfield. We need another CM for this position. Someone young, capable of dictating play, a real box to box player.

Defence in CB positions is pretty good. Evans & Jones should be the starting CB's, Smalling and another CB as backup. Rafael will need cover, hopefully Janko/Varela will be able to step up in the future. Evra needs replacing. Fabio doesn't get a chance and Buttner could be gone.

CM and LB this summer. CF the summer after. At the same time, comtinue to bring in youth players and the loaned players such as Powell and Lingaard.
 

K1LLER7

Member
And you miss out on Mata doing this.

Mata got 20 goals and 35 assists in 64 games last season and is only 25. United can't win the league this season anyway so who cares if you hand this season to Chelsea? It's about doing what's best for United and Mata is more valuable than Rooney only Mou is too stupid to realize this.
Remember when there was a rumour of Mata and Rooney swap in the summer. Everyone at that time was thinking United would get a better deal. Mata is a very good player, but doesn't track back. Meaning of he was to play as our #10, we would definitely need to get a new CM in. Someone of a similar ilk to Vidal. Pogba would have been perfect :(
 

Clegg

Member
Remember when there was a rumour of Mata and Rooney swap in the summer. Everyone at that time was thinking United would get a better deal. Mata is a very good player, but doesn't track back. Meaning of he was to play as our #10, we would definitely need to get a new CM in. Someone of a similar ilk to Vidal. Pogba would have been perfect :(
I agree with your other post about our midfield needing a proper overhauling. Just one correction tho; Carrick is 32. We'll need a replacement for him in the near future too.

The Mata/Rooney thing will never happen, but if we were to lose Rooney and sign a few good cm's and a decent forward then we'd have an overall stronger side. Obviously we wouldn't be able to replace the x factor which Rooney brings, but we could sacrifice that for the sake of a stronger squad and first 11.
 

K1LLER7

Member
I agree with your other post about our midfield needing a proper overhauling. Just one correction tho; Carrick is 32. We'll need a replacement for him in the near future too.

The Mata/Rooney thing will never happen, but if we were to lose Rooney and sign a few good cm's and a decent forward then we'd have an overall stronger side. Obviously we wouldn't be able to replace the x factor which Rooney brings, but we could sacrifice that for the sake of a stronger squad and first 11.
Damn, thought he was younger. Getting on at 32 then lol

Agree with you on Rooney. This summer window will be a big one for Moyes and United. Will be a help if we finish in the CL places.
 

Salazar

Member
At least the consolation goal was baller

3tlNTxz.gif
 

Lightning

Banned
Remember when there was a rumour of Mata and Rooney swap in the summer. Everyone at that time was thinking United would get a better deal. Mata is a very good player, but doesn't track back. Meaning of he was to play as our #10, we would definitely need to get a new CM in. Someone of a similar ilk to Vidal. Pogba would have been perfect :(
Ozil never tracks back for Arsenal, This is compensated by Ramsey who does, along with Arteta/Flamini who don't come forward unless we're chasing the game.

Your midfield would need to operate in a similar manner, Mata your Ozil, Cabaye your Ramsey, Fellaini/Carrick your Arteta/Flamini and this is defensively very solid and Mata has the ability to unlock defenses down the middle. Aside from the Man City game we've only conceded 12 goals in 19 games playing like this.
 

K1LLER7

Member
Never played enough passes like that one behind the defence, especially after the first 20 mins. Too many sideways passes and hoping for Tony.V to get a cross right.
 

K1LLER7

Member
Ozil never tracks back for Arsenal, This is compensated by Ramsey who does, along with Arteta/Flamini who don't come forward unless we're chasing the game.

Your midfield would need to operate in a similar manner, Mata your Ozil, Cabaye your Ramsey, Fellaini/Carrick your Arteta/Flamini and this is defensively very solid and Mata has the ability to unlock defenses down the middle. Aside from the Man City game we've only conceded 12 goals in 19 games playing like this.
Arsenal have a good balance to them. Midfield is incredibly strong. Although Ozil has had an impact, imo Flamini re-signing has been another good move. He's played well since his return and gives you a bit of bite in midfield.
 

Zabojnik

Member
All this CL talk is making me depressed. We seriously fucked up in Europe this year. Especially considering how important it is for us financially, given that Serie A is pretty much in the toilet right now and will likely stay there for the forseeable future. Granted, we would have crashed out of CL sooner rather than later anyway, seeing how there are teams that are clearly better equipped to win it, and I've seen the reports about how we won't be losing that much money because of EL after all. Maybe 10-15M€ or something like that. Regardless, it's still a pretty big blow, reputation and prestige-wise, if nothing else.

We Juve-bros like to talk and joke about how cursed we are in Europe and there have been times in the past where bad luck certainly did play a role. The latest example being the two-day snowfest that was Istanbul. At the core though, it's our fucking mentality that needs to change once and for all. It is my firm conviction that a substantial part of our problems in Europe stem from our historic, club wide obsession with winning the scudetto. Which is a consequence of us being the most loved & hated club in Italy and the one with the biggest fanbase. It feels like the pressure is always there, unlike with, say, Milan. Also, we'll sometimes go for the italian player rather than the "exotic" foreigner, because he's already used to playing in Serie A. We'll insist on playing with a certain formation - Conte's current 3-5-2 comes to mind - that works very well in the domestic league, but clearly isn't well-suited for Europe. We'll go for a type of condition training that is supposed to keep us in "solid" shape throughout the year, rather than having our players in top, top shape in the two, three months that are crucial for CL football. And so on.

Conte pls.
 
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