Shak

We need 3 or 4 players who will come in and really improve us, get them and I think we could be a pretty useful team and would expect us to be finishing in the top half. There's some very good players at the club, we just lack a few very key components in putting together a good team that will bring out the best in them. A centre-back that organises the defence, a main playmaker in midfield and a frontman who we can play the ball into feet to and will give us a bit of a physical presence up front. Three key components in any good side, and we have none of them, barring Viduka maybe when he's fit and in the mood. Get those three players and we're a whole new animal. Not an easy task though.

What has this thread done to warrant being a sticky?

Oh dear ... another ITK wannabe. SWP and Chris Eagles is it? Yeah, yeah believe it when I see it pal. I reckon you've missed the point of his post entirely. Or maybe I have. I know who my money's on though.

Didn't require much encouragement as I recall.

I'd agree with this, Marcelino FTW. You're not serious? Hard to say, I have been drinking heavily. Seriously though, I'm not sure I would be able to see the value in carrying on the relationship if the two sides are on a completely wavelength. My gut instinct though is that the problems are minor and that both sides will work things out and find a common direction to take. How that works out in the long term is anyone's guess but it's surely the best course of action to take for now, as long as the problems aren't absolutely critical. Don't back out now man. Sorry, it just dawned on me that I might not be online for another few days after tonight so thought it best to not leave on such a hysterical note.

I'd agree with this, Marcelino FTW. You're not serious? Hard to say, I have been drinking heavily. Seriously though, I'm not sure I would be able to see the value in carrying on the relationship if the two sides are on a completely wavelength. My gut instinct though is that the problems are minor and that both sides will work things out and find a common direction to take. How that works out in the long term is anyone's guess but it's surely the best course of action to take for now, as long as the problems aren't absolutely critical.

I'd agree with this, Marcelino FTW.

Concerned, mostly about the working relationships within the club. I'm not really arsed about how we did last season. It's how we intend to move forward that's important, and if Keegan isn't on the same page as the rest of the staff then it can only end in tears.

Spurs battered them in the final tbh.

You were going so well too.

I'd assume that if Keegan were to leave, someone else will be brought in. A reasonable assumption I think. I don't doubt that his heart is in the right place, but the man isn't infallible. He may think he's trying to steer the club in what he thinks is the right direction, but who's to say that he's right? Loving the club doesn't make him automatically the all-knowing oracle of NUFC. The rest of your post is just living in a fantasy land tbh. He's more capable than the others, after all he is the manager here. Who is to say Ashley et al are right? Again it all boils down to trust. I trust KK, and they should too otherwise they've made a grave error in appointing him. If it doesn't work, you can't really complain if you've done everything to make it work, the manager is to blame then. And as the manager, KK demands everyone pulling in his direction, not the other way around. That's why you appoint managers, to lead the club. If that's me living in fantasy land, then I'm sorry but what do you want me to say? I think expecting everyone to bend to Keegan's whims, especially when they've gone to the trouble of appointing all these new guys for various roles, is the living in fantasy land part. Ideally it's what I would want too, one man in charge of it all. But it doesn't appear to be the setup we're going for, so we're going to have to get used to it and find the guys that'll make it work. If, and again I stress the if, there are problems with Keegan within the new setup then I think there's certainly something to be said for finding someone who can work within the structure we're going for. I'd rather the club backed down from the new set-up and go with whatever the manager has in mind, if it does come to that, rather than try and find someone else willing to work under the new setup. I don't think it will though, I think the two will find a happy medium and co-exist. It serves both their interests to do so, most of all the club's. I'm inclined to believe you're right, both sides have too much to lose from a split at this point. So I expect some sort of compromise to be reached, if there even is a problem in the first place of course. Can only hope all these rumours are bullshit though, as if Keegan is pulling in a different direction to the rest of them then it doesn't bode well for the future.

Not even that, doesn't officially open until July 1st. So it isn't even open yet and people are speculating that KK is dragging his heels and therefore potentially f***ing up our chance to sign all these promising youngsters we seem to be linked with but haven't signed yet in the few days since the season ended... You couldn't make it up Commonplace for deals to be agreed well before that, but they only become official on July 1st. Suspect you were well aware of this though already, no?

I'd assume that if Keegan were to leave, someone else will be brought in. A reasonable assumption I think. I don't doubt that his heart is in the right place, but the man isn't infallible. He may think he's trying to steer the club in what he thinks is the right direction, but who's to say that he's right? Loving the club doesn't make him automatically the all-knowing oracle of NUFC. The rest of your post is just living in a fantasy land tbh. He's more capable than the others, after all he is the manager here. Who is to say Ashley et al are right? Again it all boils down to trust. I trust KK, and they should too otherwise they've made a grave error in appointing him. If it doesn't work, you can't really complain if you've done everything to make it work, the manager is to blame then. And as the manager, KK demands everyone pulling in his direction, not the other way around. That's why you appoint managers, to lead the club. If that's me living in fantasy land, then I'm sorry but what do you want me to say? I think expecting everyone to bend to Keegan's whims, especially when they've gone to the trouble of appointing all these new guys for various roles, is the living in fantasy land part. Ideally it's what I would want too, one man in charge of it all. But it doesn't appear to be the setup we're going for, so we're going to have to get used to it and find the guys that'll make it work. If, and again I stress the if, there are problems with Keegan within the new setup then I think there's certainly something to be said for finding someone who can work within the structure we're going for.

I'd assume that if Keegan were to leave, someone else will be brought in. A reasonable assumption I think. I don't doubt that his heart is in the right place, but the man isn't infallible. He may think he's trying to steer the club in what he thinks is the right direction, but who's to say that he's right? Loving the club doesn't make him automatically the all-knowing oracle of NUFC. The rest of your post is just living in a fantasy land tbh.

But what chance does he have of turning us around if he's pulling in a different direction to everyone else behind the scenes at the club? None, IYAM. As for being the only man at the club capable of turning us around, how do you mean? The others have all been there less than a year, hardly enough time to judge them is it?

Hypothetical situation here, I've heard nowt and never do. But say what Baggio is saying were actually true, that Keegan was in fact being difficult about the new setup and was struggling to co-exist with Wise & co regarding what direction our transfer policy should take. Then say that they also believe this Marcelino to be a really top manager in the making, a guy they believe they can build well into the future with and see as their ideal manager. What would people want the board to do? Try and find a happy medium, look to co-exist and give the fans a couple of years of stability with KK in charge, allow him bring his own men in and play a bit of good football and maybe challenging for a UEFA Cup spot or have a good cup run perhaps at the very best? Then move to replace him at a more stable time, at which point there may not be an ideal option for them to replace him with, and maybe not a good core of young players to work with. Or take the plunge and piss everyone off and make the move that you believe is in the best interests of the club, knowing the shitstorm it will cause but really believing it's for the best? I would want the club to have the balls to take the hard choice, as upsetting as it would be to see KK be the casualty that gets caught in the middle.

Perhaps the club see him as a highly rated young manager who would work well with the youth policy they're trying to implement into the club. I don't think Keegan is as popular behind the scenes as he is on the terraces lets just say. It's certainly not an outrageous concept that they may be thinking of moving Keegan on and bringing in a younger man who they may feel more comfortable with, if there are problems with Keegan behind the scenes that is. It'd be an incredible risk to take mind you, getting rid of a fans hero like Keegan and replacing him with someone that 99% of our fans will never have even heard of. Marcelino has done well in his very short managerial career so far, but he's not proven class by any means and could easily be a complete disaster. That said this guy could be the next big thing in management for all we know, and getting him in now could end up being an absolute masterstroke. I think it's probably too risky for them to seriously consider though. They'd instantly lose the backing of most if not all the fans if they got rid of Keegan now. It'd be PR suicide, and they'd have to be utterly brainless to not know it. Aye, as I said I really can't see it unless there are real problems with Keegan behind the scenes that they don't think they can solve.

Perhaps the club see him as a highly rated young manager who would work well with the youth policy they're trying to implement into the club. I don't think Keegan is as popular behind the scenes as he is on the terraces lets just say. It's certainly not an outrageous concept that they may be thinking of moving Keegan on and bringing in a younger man who they may feel more comfortable with, if there are problems with Keegan behind the scenes that is. It'd be an incredible risk to take mind you, getting rid of a fans hero like Keegan and replacing him with someone that 99% of our fans will never have even heard of. Marcelino has done well in his very short managerial career so far, but he's not proven class by any means and could easily be a complete disaster. That said this guy could be the next big thing in management for all we know, and getting him in now could end up being an absolute masterstroke. I think it's probably too risky for them to seriously consider though.

Everybody in the room I was in called him missing, you could see it in his body language. Penalties are about bottle, and you just know Anelka has none. Terry on the other hand I fully expected to score.

Picture the worst nightclub you've ever been in. Dozens, upon dozens, of horrible Man U fan types celebrating a victory for "their" team, when you know for a fact that you know more about their own club than 90% of these apparent supporters do. That was my night. Still though, was happy when they won it in the end. Some of my best friends are what I would consider proper fans of the club, and I'm happy for them to be honest. I'd explain it better if I could, but I'm fucking hammered quite frankly.

They've only gotten to a couple like, it's not like they're perennially good in the Champions League. If anything, they've underachieved in Ferguson's time there, given how consistently good they've been in that time. This season is the only one where they've really played "defensively", for me. It's not great to watch, of course, but it's f***ing worked for them. They've been like that to an extent for years IMO, ever since they bought Veron and started playing 5 in midfield in Europe. It's just that it's worked better this year. So you're wrong, basically... I'm not having that! Semi-finals last year, where they lost to the eventual CL winners in a tie that was 5-3 on aggregate and where they apparently "weren't defensive enough" according to some at the time. Admittedly they've had a rocky spell prior to these last two seasons, but I personally haven't seen them as cautious as they've been at times this season in Europe. Perhaps I have a bad memory, but I honestly can't recall it. Too much man-bumming, that's your problem. Much of last year's semi-final being high scoring was the brilliance of Kaka at Old Trafford, forced them to come out and play. To be honest though they probably have been a bit more defensive this year. But it's hurt them in year's past as much as it's helped them this year IMO.

They've only gotten to a couple like, it's not like they're perennially good in the Champions League. If anything, they've underachieved in Ferguson's time there, given how consistently good they've been in that time. This season is the only one where they've really played "defensively", for me. It's not great to watch, of course, but it's f***ing worked for them. They've been like that to an extent for years IMO, ever since they bought Veron and started playing 5 in midfield in Europe. It's just that it's worked better this year. So you're wrong, basically...

They've only gotten to a couple like, it's not like they're perennially good in the Champions League. If anything, they've underachieved in Ferguson's time there, given how consistently good they've been in that time.

As things stand, yes. Our glaring weakness this year (well, one of them) has been we have no right side whatsoever. No right sided midfielder, and no right back. He'd have got plenty of games last season, it just depends who else we buy this summer. You lot generally play a 4-3-3 with Agbonlahor on that side though don't you? Whenever I've watched Villa you seem to play with the big powerful target man with two pacey outlets either side. Surely Agbonlahor is a better option when Villa's style of play is a fast, counter-attacking one? Milner in either wide position pretty much annihilates that tempo.

He's no Amdy Faye though, you'll surely admit?