Shak

Oldtype, have you lived abroad at any point?

Young's a good signing for Man U, as has been said Ferguson will do wonders for him and he's a vastly better option on the left than anything else they have at their disposal. He and Valencia down the flanks will be tough to deal with. They still need at least one top class central midfielder though, two ideally.

Gonna be good craic when some of my students tell me they like Sunderland. Yeah, well let's see how much you like a fuckload of homework, mate!

Good to see Phil Babb back on the scene tbh, how'd the operation to remove that goalpost from your arse go mate?

Will be really annoyed if we sell Jonas, too many question marks over Marveaux and Ben Arfa should be playing up top IMO. Ideally would like to see Marveaux being viewed as first reserve for both wing positions, at least until he can prove he's both capable of staying fit and a better option than Jonas or whoever else we can sign to play out on the right. (Barnetta or N'Zogbia perhaps) Think Jonas will look a hell of a lot better with some more quality around him. We've had nobody capable of producing a bit of magic in the final third for years, with Ben Arfa and hopefully N'Zogbia in the team a solid workhorse like Jonas who can carry the ball 40 yards upfield will be very useful, and his lack of end product won't be such a big deal.

If he was a true great he'd have stepped in and vetoed those substitutions tbh.

correct, and in his first world cup he was coming off an injury and barely used at all iirc - remember specifically the game they were knocked out screaming at the telly to shove him on 'cause this is where players like him make the difference but nope, best place for messi was the bench apparently That game was a shambles. 1-0 up and they take Riquelme, who was the focal point of the team, off to rest him for the next round. They then use their last substitution make a like for like switch with Crespo coming off for the vastly inferior Cruz. So here we are, 1-0 up against the Germans with 10 minutes to go, no substitutions left and your two best players sitting on the sidelines... what could possibly go wrong? Manger should have been shot.

What's the craic with Pastore? He's absolutely immense on FM, but honestly haven't seen the lad play. Seems highly rated young central midfielder, could he be the the guy that make them tick in the middle of the park? Shame for them Riquelme isn't 10 years younger like.

Like two people commented on the pass. Was a really nice pass tbf, no need to lose your rag because a couple of people were a bit hyperbolic in their praise of it. Honestly haven't watched Argentina outside of the World Cup but to say he hid in the WC is absolute guff tbf. If anything he tried too hard to do too much by himself, essentially that team never had a chance with the way Maradona was managing it.

How many people expected us to get three very good players in by mid June though? So what, teams should only sign bosman transfers then? I do think we've gotten better so far this summer, but if you're honestly happy with this as the bulk of our summer activity then I don't know what to tell you. It's a good start, but in terms of showing ambition to challenge for Europe then it's not enough yet, especially given what happened in January. No my point is this is an excellent start and much more than anyone would have expected by this stage of the window. There's no reason to think this is the bulk of our summer activity either. IMO what we've done so far bodes very well for the rest of the window. I don't actually disagree with anything you've said here, and I'm very encouraged by what we've done so far. However, my original point was that expecting Enrique to sign a new deal on the back of these 3 signings was premature, as we haven't proven yet that we sold Carroll to improve the team rather than the bank balance. If we reinvest that money then there'll be a case, but until then he's right to wait and see (if that is the issue for him, which I have my doubts about tbh.)

I've spent half a weeks wages in a night before tbf.

How else would you decapitate someone like?

How many people expected us to get three very good players in by mid June though? No I don't agree, I think the better move would have been to keep Kuqi, Campbell and Nolan and not even bring in those three players. We'd still have the same size squad, therefore we'd be no worse off obviously as squad size is all that matters. and we'd have saved £1m. We could then leave our transfer moves to the right time, which is surely the last day of the transfer window. That would put us in the enviable position of spending £30m on three desperation signings and we could all celebrate the sense of ambition that comes from spending lots of cash on overpriced flops So what, teams should only sign bosman transfers then? I do think we've gotten better so far this summer, but if you're honestly happy with this as the bulk of our summer activity then I don't know what to tell you. It's a good start, but in terms of showing ambition to challenge for Europe then it's not enough yet, especially given what happened in January. Shak man, think you're conflating the issues. Nobody is content with the signings so far. But the fact that we've got some good signings and by mid June (when most other clubs are doing nothing) does show that we are heading in the right direction and that we are ambitious. Whether that will be enough to get into Europe, nobody knows, in fact given how unpredictable the Premiership is, we won't know till end of the season next year. Now for Jose, as a player who is not just a mercenary (hopefully), he has a moral obligation to the fans and club. If he is waiting for a Drogba/Torres sort of signing, that's just not going to happen and if he waits till last day of the transfer window before declaring that our deals have not been up to his expectations and he is buggering off, then that is unacceptable. At some point he has to either show some faith that we are heading in the right direction and sign on or just declare that he has his heart somewhere else and request for a transfer. This dilly dallying is not doing him, the club or the fans any favor, well maybe it works well for him coz he can wait it out to get a big club to bid whilst holding us to ransom coz he knows we want him to stay, but that is really unfair on the club and the fans. Sure we all like Jose, but I can't understand why anyone would take his side against the club. I want him to tell us straight on his plans by early July (hopefully we'll get 1 or two more deals done by then). Then we either have him on board or get the replacement in. I'm not taking his side at all, think he should grow some balls and either sign a new deal or else tell us why he isn't. My point is simply that making three solid, but far from spectacular, signings hardly shows massive ambition and a commitment to using the Carroll sale to improve the team as a whole. Again, not having a go at the signings we've made because I think they all look like decent deals, I just don't see us having proven our intent this summer yet.

Myself and my older brother once convinced my little brother that 'How Bizarre' by OMC was actually a song about Chapuisat, and the chorus was just them saying 'Chapuisat' over and over again.

How many people expected us to get three very good players in by mid June though? No I don't agree, I think the better move would have been to keep Kuqi, Campbell and Nolan and not even bring in those three players. We'd still have the same size squad, therefore we'd be no worse off obviously as squad size is all that matters. and we'd have saved £1m. We could then leave our transfer moves to the right time, which is surely the last day of the transfer window. That would put us in the enviable position of spending £30m on three desperation signings and we could all celebrate the sense of ambition that comes from spending lots of cash on overpriced flops So what, teams should only sign bosman transfers then? I do think we've gotten better so far this summer, but if you're honestly happy with this as the bulk of our summer activity then I don't know what to tell you. It's a good start, but in terms of showing ambition to challenge for Europe then it's not enough yet, especially given what happened in January.

Why does it matter how much we spend? He wants the club to be fighting for Europe and CL in due time. All our 3 signings have been those that show we are heading in the right direction and there's nothing to say that we won't splash the money we have later on in the transfer window. If Jose wants to see our ambition, then the signing of Cabaye, Ba and Marveaux shows that in spades. If he is still not impressed, then he is either waiting for an impossible or have made up his mind on leaving. Did anyone really expect that we'd buy nobody this summer though? Some signings were a given, especially with the club selling Nolan and making it clear Barton wasn't really wanted anymore. I'm hopeful the new players will do well, but the odds of any of them being top class difference makers that transform us into a Top 6 team are slim to be honest. If it is a case that Jose is waiting to see our ambition then he's right to wait a while more IMO, though I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's already decided he's leaving.

I'm happy with the new signings and all but people saying Jose should be signing a new deal off the back of them are a bit mad tbh. We've essentially spent nowt this summer so far.

http://i51.tinypic.com/5bb9dj.gif

Good job to all involved, sounds like the right kind of deal given his issues. Now, fucking sign N'Zogbia.

He'll be gone this summer though surely, if not to us then someone else. Wigan won't want to lose him for nowt.

He's nowt special at all so if there's a good offer for him I can see the sense in getting rid of him while his stock is as high as (IMO) it'll ever be. Is a bit worrying though because as poor as he is, he's still comfortably the best striker at the club as it stands.

DEY TOOK AWHR JAWB!!

As is the case with most departures, it'll depend on who we bring in as a replacement. I'd have been inclined to keep him around another year and phase him out of the team gradually, but I can see the thinking in selling him while his value is at its highest. With the addition of Cabaye and hopefully Gosling coming back and Barton still on the books for now, we do at least have some depth in midfield even with the departure of Nolan. Meanwhile we have one winger and no strikers, so upgrading those positions at the expense of losing a midfielder does make sense to some degree. I'll believe it when I see it though, of course.

It'd be a good plan if Steven Ireland wasn't completely shit, tbf.

Will be quite worrying to lose him. Never have rated him that much, and I think the chances of him repeating last season's goalscoring form were almost nil, but he's proven a very useful player to have on and off the pitch. Would have wanted us to keep him in the squad at least another year and try to phase him out of the first team gradually, looks like we're just cutting him loose completely. Worried.