Stottie

63 goals conceded last year, second worst in the league, i.e., worse than two clubs that were relegated. fwiw, bottom-placed QPR outscored us too (42 vs. 40) so had our goals not come in opportune matches, we would have gone down with them. I think the biggest lesson for also-ran clubs in the Premiership in recent years comes from Pulis at Crystal Palace. And that is, don't let your club be easy to beat. Be a club that is organised enough to not lose matches of its own accord. Getting beaten by a better team is fine, just don't give away easy goals because that's what makes you lose match after match like Carver did. I think McClaren is a big step up from Carver (and the other perennial hangers on with him), but there is only so much better organisation can add to the players we've got. Some of them simply need to be replaced. They're just not good enough.

Our preseason certainly doesn't suggest any major improvement at the back If we come out playing anything like we did in that Leicester game ....

Sorry if this is common knowledge or Giggs, but the video of SBR and Mourinho got me thinking about how the latter got where he has and his wiki came up with The source is Mourinho's biography.

Didn't realise he was 30. For that reason and his reported wages I can't see it happening. No-one in the Prem will give him close to 120 grand a week. He'll have to go to somewhere he can be the big fish in the rich little pond. Given his performance last year, I reckon Man U should keep him. The money is nothing to them and he was pretty useful. Depay could get injured/struggle, Van Gaal didn't play Januzaj much, and di Maria sounds like he's off.

The young Micah Richards had pace to cover any mistakes he made. I can't say I've seen him much for a long time, but the injuries may have slowed him down. I remember him having some great games against us, fwiw.

I doubt it too and question whether its an upgrade, but I think we could offload Cisse at very short notice if Austin goes close to the deadline. Which means that we can wait for QPR to lower the price. Other clubs interested in him mightn't have that option. The all-too-imaginable Ashley-era mistake would be to sell Cisse first and then fail to buy Austin or anyone else.

He'll leave QPR, it's just a game of brinksmanship to see who cracks first on the fee. As the deadline approaches, the two sides will come together. So long as Cisse is still around, we could leave it very late to make a move. The minus is that Austin would miss preseason, though ours is pretty shambolic anyway.

The players you mention don't have our old coaching staff speaking up for them, so I hope they're only being getting a chance first as a mark of respect for the number of games they got last year. Hopefully McClaren and the coaches will see them for what they are, and the "so that's why they were nearly relegated" penny will drop.

Well excited about this! I wouldn't have expected it after the long barren spell, but Cisse scored a lot off the bench last year. It suggests he'd be a better option as a backup striker than he looked twelve months ago.

Image rights for anyone playing for Man U will be huge too. The chance to appear in all kinds of adverts. I think a player of Muller's undisputed quality could do with going to a club with a more settled team and approach than Man United at present. It may well have affected Falcao and di Maria. With the chopping and changing, I don't think we've seen the best of Juan Mata either.

Surely that leaves only Barcelona and Real Madrid then? Without the need to debate. I guess that's down to opinion. But they are certainly two . As Man U stand vs. Bayern, it would be a step down for much more money. I guess that's also what many people would say if he went to Man City. (In fairness to them, in the past four seasons, Man City have gone 1st 2nd 1st 2nd)

Maybe someone could fill in the last bit? Ba de ya! Say do you remember? Ba de ya! One Chancel M'bemba! Ba de ya! ..............

If it's the Scout Nation one, the general play in that league looks a bit scrappy, but - good in the air - a number of sidefooted finishes, hinting at composure - takes up good positions and gets across defenders - looks strong for 20 years old - good on the turn Some promising signs there if you ask me!

Maybe the ones in the Premiership, but I remember watching the CL semis and actually counting their ex players. Pogba Evra Tevez Ronaldo Pique Chicharito (soon to be ex) Some of them are ex players and definite non "cast offs", but there are still six of them. Upgrade Tim Howard to de Gea and an ex players select team would look stronger than anything LVG could put out. That's some going for the third richest club in the world.

And the team still has gaps! ManUtd seem to have lost their way man. Ferguson left and the struggles that season under Moyes made them completely lose their s***. They're just spending and spending, but there doesn't seem to be a coherent plan. Just my own observation but I thought they lacked pace and dynamism last year. Their midfield play was ponderous possession football. The player I thought did most to break the monotony was actually Ashley Young. Herrera has a good shot on him and made some good late-arrival-in-the-box type runs, and as ever Mata is a fantastic footballer. But whatever the system was, it just looked ponderous most of the time, especially compared to Chelsea and Arsenal. di Maria started well and indeed, looked very dynamic, but soon ended up with no space in front of him and running into blind alleys. Their best results, vs. Tottenham and then Liverpool, came from very high quality finishing of half chances, first from Felliani and then Mata. I'd like to see them walk it in a few times (i.e., create numerous high quality chances) before the "back to their best" type comments start coming.

In the fifteen years before Moyes 7th and LVG 4th, the team with the largest wage bill never finished outside the top three. Even Citeh didn't manage it. Man U's money people projected third for LVG's first season in their reports. Rather than looking at it as some kind of "project", it sounds like the pressure is on for results soon, if the sacking of Moyes after little opportunity to change the squad doesn't indicate that already.

Yep, medical in the next 48 hours Getting his head examined Major facepalm if he's chosen Palace over Athletico Madrid. He must be behind Schneiderlin by now, so I don't see how playing for Palace would help his Euro chances.

Christ, put an owld coat on Mclaren, he'd pass immediately for a hobo http://cache1.asset-cache.net/gc/479258342-newcastle-head-coach-steve-mcclaren-and-gettyimages.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=X7WJLa88Cweo9HktRLaNXs7AFuyxN%2BLzuLpOmFw4nzYyol%2B72w09Mm3xOlwKaebsoQEnmP9%2FsgcISf1zeRgfqA%3D%3D He looks like he's been down a pit. Have they struck coal in the bore hole? (sorry dunno how to resize the image)

England's penalty came from a slight touch of the hand on the waist. It was a dive. The Japanese player was pushed for their penalty, but it was outside the box. I thought the game as a whole today was quite dull and hope that Japan can up their game for the final.

While that's true, do you think the French management will take in many Crystal Palace games? Midfielders at French teams in the CL would have higher profile exposure. It also sounds like a high profile club will sign Morgan Schneiderlin. Even without it, Southampton are higher profile than Crystal Palace.

Why? Cabaye is a pretty good footballer, as demonstrated by PSG wanting him in the first place. As a regular France international, I'd imagine he'd still have options at European teams in the CL, rather than just Crystal Palace. He basically went on strike when with us to try to get a move to Arsenal, and Crystal Palace can only be a comedown compared to them. So I'm going to conclude that London is still a go-er for him and his missus, and more so than a CL team in a different country, but Arsenal mustn't be interested, as mustn't Chelsea. So he's happy to join Palace in London and prepared to come out with some spiel about liking Pardew if its good for PR. I can't believe that a midfielder as skilful as Cabaye rates Pardew as a football brain.

I've not given up on him, and hope McClaren can set the team up with more passing options to save him from having to beat three men every time he gets the ball. His height and weight won't actually be that far off Floyd Mayweather's at the recent Pacquiao fight, but he certainly doesn't have the same impression of solidity about him. Hazard and Silva look much heavier and lower center of gravity to me, and if I had to name a footballer as proof that a similar physique can be no impediment, the one I'd choose is Neymar.

Must be a London thing with his agent finding no other interested parties. I can't believe that he'd want to play for Pardew as a deciding factor.

I like the way Kolarov plays for Citeh as number 11. Its like saying I'm not in the team to defend. When I was a kid, the most famous number 7s were Keegan and then Dalglish, but that was at Liverpool. They had Steve Heighway as number 9 on the wing.

I saw the video of his goals and he doesn't really look very elegant, his goals are mostly close range and he looks quite ponderous. Still, he does look like he sniffs out the chances, definitely a goal scorer in there, whether he's good enough to keep scoring at this level is still a doubt. He looks like a Fletcher from Sunderland sort of striker. Doesn't look good but has scored goals. He's close to 85Kg, putting him in the big man category where elegance usually isn't part of the package. However, according to squawka, his shot accuracy and chance conversion rates are very high, backing up the idea that he can't be clumsy and did well to score so many for such a poor team. We should see an improvement under McClaren, especially compared to Carver, but chance creation hasn't exactly been our forte of late. As with Papiss, we need someone who can make the most of what little we give him. In that sense, Austin would be a good signing.