Greenlizard0 Weekend Football Thread ** spoilers ** [23rd - 25th August 2014]

[drunkenmaster]

In theory utd could have had a midfield of herrera pogba Strootman for about 45 million. Now to achieve that would cost in total 130 million lol.

Well aside from that they do have that money and just seem to be slow about doing it, they do need these other players as well. Imagine spending 60mil on Pogba and £40mil on Strootman and both get injured and you're back to Cleverley and Fletcher.... this is where the £5mil Mulumbu would be great value and help the team loads. If not you get those two, even not injured they need a rest before a big CL game, you play Cleverley/Fletcher against someone and lose.

You used to have the O'shea's, Browns, not great players, but solid, reliable and with a few top players mixed in enough to get results when you have injuries or need to rest players. Utd miss the first team quality but so many of their first team currently is worse than the old back up players and that would be so easy, quick and basically cheap to fix.

Why aren't they picking up a few £5mil players off Spanish teams, or older experienced players looking for a last year or two, a Lampard style buy. Why are they only looking for £50mil big names, it's fine if you have a brilliant first team and solid back up, just a bit of added firepower, but with Utd's squad they need to buy all types. Including some youngsters with promise, another area they don't seem to be targeting. Why the hell didn't they buy guys like Eriksen, was pretty cheap, lowish wage demands, loads of quality and potential.

 

[Jono8]

Blacket is the only minor positive out of all this

Indeed. He looks quite handy.

 

[fez]

Feels like half the team is passing it to avoid being the one to lose the ball.

 

[Robbo]

Phil Jones's face.

 

[Jono8]

Fletcher is awful

 

[The Running Man]

Until fletcher cannons a pass to Sunderland?

 

[Hutchy]

I actually think theres 2 fletchers playing for Sunderland right now.

 

[manic111]

Phil Jones's face.

Is that a general point, or had something happened to it?!

 

[fez]

What has been depressingly apparent for years is that United have the amazing ability to have few players in attack yet at the same time get overrun at the back. I don't understand it.

 

[Robbo]

Is that a general point, or had something happened to it?!

General point.

Rough first half, if we don't buy midfielders then we're officially insane.

 

[NeedAUsername]

Fletcher of. Kagawa on. Young of. Januzaj on.

 

[Stewy]

Honestly one of the worst halves of football I've seen in years.

 

[Shamikebab]

Just woeful. It's like playing 8v11 and the 8 are crap. Rooney and Mata can barely get a game and Van Persie is having as much impact as he did against Swansea. Spending 70 odd million on Di Maria is madness, we need 10-15m on several good players who can increase the quality of the squad.

Sell Kagawa or play him, if Van Gaal honestly thinks that he isn't as good as Cleverley or Fletcher in this role then he is a complete idiot.

 

[Rusty0611]

Agonising first half.

 

[Robbo]

Just woeful. It's like playing 8v11 and the 8 are crap. Rooney and Mata can barely get a game and Van Persie is having as much impact as he did against Swansea. Spending 70 odd million on Di Maria is madness, we need 10-15m on several good players who can increase the quality of the squad.

I'm really hoping those reports of us wanting two more midfielders are true.

To be fair we'd look better if we had Evans/Rafael/Shaw/Carrick/Herrera in their respective positions. A lot better.

 

[Rich_L]

What has been depressingly apparent for years is that United have the amazing ability to have few players in attack yet at the same time get overrun at the back. I don't understand it.

I think that's what happens when you are effectively playing 4-0-3

 

[Shamikebab]

I'm really hoping those reports of us wanting two more midfielders are true.

To be fair we'd look better if we had Evans/Rafael/Shaw/Carrick/Herrera in their respective positions. A lot better.

But the thing is unless you can play football on paper, we will never have that. We have one of the most injury prone set of players in the league, and every single year we have people acting surprised (not saying you, pundits, managers etc) when we're left thin.

 

[Tunney]

Nacer Chadli's 48-pass 2nd goal

Just back from White Hart Lane. Lovely stuff. QPR were chasing ghosts all afternoon.

Spurs looked really up for the game - winning 50:50s, winning second balls, pressed with energy, supported each other well. Really could have been more.

 

[Fulax]

£15-20m for Blind suddenly looks like it would be a bargain. Fletcher's touch has been particularly awful, and he has no pace, no energy, no power, no creativity.

 

[Robbo]

But the thing is unless you can play football on paper, we will never have that. We have one of the most injury prone set of players in the league, and every single year we have people acting surprised (not saying you, pundits, managers etc) when we're left thin.

As DM said, we need to indentify and bring in a few cheaper players who can provide squad depth and a great increase in quality. Cleverley wouldn't be a star player in League 1 nevermind mid-table. It's embarrassing.

£15-20m for Blind suddenly looks like it would be a bargain. Fletcher's touch has been particularly awful, and he has no pace, no energy, no power, no creativity.

Exactly. Blind and De Jong and then at least we've got some presence.