tmonkey

The big problem hes had is that he can only play in one position effectively - behind the striker, in front of the midfield, ie in the "hole" - and the problem with that is that although hes still a good footballer, he doesnt contribute enough in terms of goals or assists. Bit of a less injury-prone Emre so to speak, someone who can control the ball well, dribble and pass nicely, but wont rack up on either goals or assists come the end of the season. Hence why he was eventually ousted from the team at Valencia, a side with top wingers meaning they had the choice of either playing a lone striker with Aimar behind them and two wingers either side, or playing two forwards to complemenet the wingers and therefore dropping Aimar. Easy choice to make given Aimar's aforementioned lack of contribution. He's been half decent for Zaragoza whenever I've seen him play, but he'd often not be in the game for large periods. As always, its a risk, a pretty big one as he could easily be another Duff, but it could pay off extremely well in the current formation, because that slot currently occupied by Owen is perfect for Aimar. Plus, its that Keegan factor, we should know more than anyone just how well Keegan can use players with flair and ability in their locker. Look at the transformation of players like Butt and Barton under Keegan, going from woefully mediocre to relatively decent/impressive, then imagine him doing that with someone like Aimar - we could be laughing if he pulls it off.

Would be a good squad signing in terms of adding a footballer with ability into a workhorse and boring midfield, but not sure where he'd fit into the first team or if hes good enough to warrant moving Owen back up front.

He's a perrenial loser though.

"Orange is bright again, and has a future". :-[

Arda looks like he he has the makings of a good player. Modric looks like he has the makings of a top player.

Agent trying to get more money before the move to Schalke.

Replacing Messi with Ronaldo would be a big loss for Barcelona, because they'd lose their chief playmaker, the heartbeat of the current team. Ronaldo is in amazing form and is a good player to boot on top of the goalscoring, but that form is down to others in the ManU side being able to pull the strings and create chances whilst Ronaldo pops up on the end of them. In a Messi-less Barca, he'd not have the service, and as we've seen on a frequent basis, he isnt that good a creator/playmaker. Ideally, Barca should be breaking their backs trying to sign Ronaldo to add to a team that has Messi in it. One would assume it'd be a commercial dream too. As a football fan though, I would like to see him go to Real, purely to spread out the world stars and add some competition - on top of which, Real currently have no real world class stars. Five years ago they had Zidane, Ronaldo, Figo and Raul all at the top of their game (at least two of them would be amongst the greatest or most talented players ever), and that team produced some of the best football at club level in the last decade or two imo, now they only have a squad full of good players at best that has won the title twice now purely by default.

Robinho might be too lightweight for the Premiership. I think Ferguson would take Robben, as hes always liked his pacey wingers.

Terry/LeSulk won the CL for ManU. only in the final. a lot of work was done before that. Did nothing against Barca in the semi's, and was OK against Roma in the round before. He had a good tournament overall of course, but its stretching things imo to claim that he was the driving force behind ManU winning the CL. At no stage in the knockouts did he actually look like a great player, and that is the crux of this debate - merely getting on the end of chances created by others on a frequent basis isnt quite the same as being able to carry a mis-firing team on your own and create things out of nothing against the best, and generally being someone who the top opposition cant stop or keep quiet.

Terry/LeSulk won the CL for ManU.

ManU should do the sensible thing - sell Ronaldo to Barca for a relatively knock-down price just to piss Real off.

Thank God Nani did that bit of play and not Ronaldo. Otherwise there'd have been a massive wankathon.

What about 3? http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y111/GonzoTheGr8/ectoplasm.jpg

As long as he continues in this attacking midfield role, where he's been a revelation. If he goes back up front, we must sign someone like Elano or Arteta, otherwise he'll just be running around hopelessly up front again.

But Abramovich could afford to buy ManU if he wanted.

Could the sky dish not work, so one can just buy the box and the card and attach them to the current cables?

Postcode first, then first line of adress and your name.

Got the same offer, £7.50 for next 6 months.

The thrill.

In his defence, he's young and like Owen, its not possible to know for certain what a player might be like in a different position until he plays there.

I think he'd have done quite well in the Geremi role in our 4-3-3. Has the short passing, less reliance on crossing, and certainly has the legs on Geremi. Its pure opinion, but I think he'd be poor in Geremi's role in compariosn. He doesnt have decent short passing, he's like Zog, gets the ball in certain areas and from there its head down whilst he does his own thing, irrespective of what the rest of the team is doing - when he's not doing that, hes not in the game. For example, when is the last time he made an assist that wasnt a cross? When's the last time you can remember him playing a good pass or two forwards? He's just not a team player, its either solo goals or his monotonous, repetitive wing play. Im no fan of Geremi, but I think he's a better central midfielder than Milner is, or would be - better first touch in tight situations in central areas, plays the game simply for the most part, etc. In that position, the only thing I see Milner providing over Geremi is youth/legs, but that doesnt mean he's automatically capable of playing well there, just as he wouldnt be a good replacement for Butt. For the exact same reasons, I wouldn't have Zog in central midfield. Both are incapable of playing a sharp pass 'n' move game imo.

Alot is made of Duff and Smith's absence from the first team towards the end of last season being a big factor in us starting to play on the deck and getting some good results/performances. Surely the same conclusion should be made with Milner's injury during the same period? IMO it was a blessing in disguise that went unnoticed.

Eh? Would've thought we're a team full of grafters with little quality or ability. The only player with a bit of class on a consistent basis is Owen, the rest are either s***, overrated, workhorses, or very inconsistent.

What a game. Please dont let it finish.

When the fuck did they decide Cech is better than the likes of Buffon and Cassillas?