I agree that getting in there ahead of Chelsea is key.
They look nailed on to sign Diego Costa. Potentially, they'll have an insanely good side, next year.
Yup. Chelsea are a danger although i still have the sneaking suspicion that RA will do something to screw it up. I think they are a couple of players away from being dominant. To be so close to the title when clearly lacking in the striker department is quite impressive.
Potentially though, throw a couple of signings into our squad and there is no reason why we couldn't challenge them, but as i said yesterday, throw the baby out with the bathwater by making wholesale changes and have Moyes continue as he has started and we won't be within 30 points of them next season.
Potentially though, throw a couple of signings into our squad and there is no reason why we couldn't challenge them, but as i said yesterday, throw the baby out with the bathwater by making wholesale changes and have Moyes continue as he has started and we won't be within 30 points of them next season.
That's what's so frustrating. It's exactly what should have happened this year.
As much as I'd love to be wrong, your last sentence is precisely what I see happening.
I find Shaw absurdly overrated and overpriced as a full back. I can't pinpoint one thing that stands out about him above anyone else other than the fact he's a youngster playing in Southampton's first team.
Ask me the difference between him and Ben Davies for Swansea and I couldn't give you one. Certainly I see no reason why on the other side Callum Chambers isn't as equally trumpeted as a £30M right back.
That's what's so frustrating. It's exactly what should have happened this year.
As much as I'd love to be wrong, your last sentence is precisely what I see happening.
Im surprised that Moyes hasn't been pushed to speak about what his vision is and I'm equally surprised that Moyes himself hasn't been more forthcoming about explaining it.
The absolute key for me is that he signed Mata at exactly the same time as Rooney was being tied down to a long-term deal so its not unreasonable to ask how he plans on fitting these two outstanding talents into the same team. Once we know this then we will have some idea of what we need to bring in round them.
I also think that the Kagawa situation could be potentially back in the melting pot. Ive been critical of him because he has been largely bloody awful but you can see he has clearly got a hell of a lot of talent and for me if he ends up leaving the club i think we need to ask what it was that meant we didn't see the best of him (people will say its the position he was played in but i think there is more to it than that).
There is no doubt that RVP, Rooney, Mata, Kagawa and Januzaj are a hell of a talented attacking set of options.
Im surprised that Moyes hasn't been pushed to speak about what his vision is and I'm equally surprised that Moyes himself hasn't been more forthcoming about explaining it.
The absolute key for me is that he signed Mata at exactly the same time as Rooney was being tied down to a long-term deal so its not unreasonable to ask how he plans on fitting these two outstanding talents into the same team. Once we know this then we will have some idea of what we need to bring in round them.
I also think that the Kagawa situation could be potentially back in the melting pot. Ive been critical of him because he has been largely bloody awful but you can see he has clearly got a hell of a lot of talent and for me if he ends up leaving the club i think we need to ask what it was that meant we didn't see the best of him (people will say its the position he was played in but i think there is more to it than that).
There is no doubt that RVP, Rooney, Mata, Kagawa and Januzaj are a hell of a talented attacking set of options.
It is interesting. Moyes MUST have a good idea of how he wants the team to look, come August (despite all evidence to the contrary, so far).
If I was being uber-positive, I guess that I could suggest that he's spent this year gauging the players and their ability to fit into his 'system'. Perhaps this was always the summer where everything is supposed to line up, 'Moyes-style'.
Unfortunately, I'm not a naturally positive person, so I'm inclined to believe that he's simply out of his depth and has spent this year trying to find any kind of system that works.
As for Kagawa, I too would have happily binned him in January, but his recent form has been pretty impressive, especially against Munich. I would be inclined to keep him for another year and hope that whatever was holding him back (as I agree that it's not as simple as being slightly out of position) has been permanently lifted.
Im surprised that Moyes hasn't been pushed to speak about what his vision is and I'm equally surprised that Moyes himself hasn't been more forthcoming about explaining it.
I remember him saying he had ideas and he was waiting for the "right time" to implement them. I, too, find his reluctance to divulge these ideas suprising and worrying. I find myself concluding that the closest we have come to the truth regarding a plan is probably when he commented that he didn't know what we had to do to get a win.
I also think that the Kagawa situation could be potentially back in the melting pot. Ive been critical of him because he has been largely bloody awful but you can see he has clearly got a hell of a lot of talent and for me if he ends up leaving the club i think we need to ask what it was that meant we didn't see the best of him (people will say its the position he was played in but i think there is more to it than that).
We simply don't look to find him enough, tending to favour passing out wide. He's so comfortable recieving the ball on a half turn, he can do a lot of damage if he were allowed to run at a defence. The players aren't deliberately ignoring him so it's a coaching problem.
I find Shaw absurdly overrated and overpriced as a full back. I can't pinpoint one thing that stands out about him above anyone else other than the fact he's a youngster playing in Southampton's first team.
Ask me the difference between him and Ben Davies for Swansea and I couldn't give you one. Certainly I see no reason why on the other side Callum Chambers isn't as equally trumpeted as a £30M right back.
18 years old and this season has been arguably the best left back in the league or at the very least among the best. Sign him and you have the potential of having that spot sorted for over a decade. Overall a quality player who's already very good defensively and good going forward.
He's worth every penny of the prices being thrown around and at 18 years old is looking about as reliable as most top full backs I see today. Would be stupid to pass up on the chance for a guy like this, even more so when you consider a) it'll mean one of our top rivals getting him and b) we actually need a new left back.
Im surprised that Moyes hasn't been pushed to speak about what his vision is and I'm equally surprised that Moyes himself hasn't been more forthcoming about explaining it.
The absolute key for me is that he signed Mata at exactly the same time as Rooney was being tied down to a long-term deal so its not unreasonable to ask how he plans on fitting these two outstanding talents into the same team. Once we know this then we will have some idea of what we need to bring in round them.
I also think that the Kagawa situation could be potentially back in the melting pot. Ive been critical of him because he has been largely bloody awful but you can see he has clearly got a hell of a lot of talent and for me if he ends up leaving the club i think we need to ask what it was that meant we didn't see the best of him (people will say its the position he was played in but i think there is more to it than that).
There is no doubt that RVP, Rooney, Mata, Kagawa and Januzaj are a hell of a talented attacking set of options.
The lack of a defined set-up or vision for the first team is rather frustrating, as we can see other clubs having that, whilst we flouder going from 4-4-2, to other different formations, from one week to the next.
We should have some flexibility, but with an organised idea behind it all, which we are lacking somewhat at the moment.
As for the people you mention, yes they are all very talented players, but to get the best out of them all, you really cannot fit them all into the same team at the same time can you?
If we could find a way to do so, then we would be rather more potent then we have been for the majority of this season (espcially at home where we have been rubbish really).
"We have not received any official contract offer [from Manchester United]," Struth told BILD.
"There is also no need to submit an offer as Toni will be with Bayern Munich until June 2015."
I have seen that quote, part of me thinks there is still time, but another part of me thinks that it is still a ploy and they (him and his agent) are using any potential interest on our part, to get a new bumper deal with Bayern.
If we could somehow get him though, I would be over the moon, as he is a very talented player indeed.
18 years old and this season has been arguably the best left back in the league or at the very least among the best. Sign him and you have the potential of having that spot sorted for over a decade. Overall a quality player who's already very good defensively and good going forward.
He's worth every penny of the prices being thrown around and at 18 years old is looking about as reliable as most top full backs I see today. Would be stupid to pass up on the chance for a guy like this, even more so when you consider a) it'll mean one of our top rivals getting him and b) we actually need a new left back.
The guy has star written all over him.
I agree with you here, he is a very talented player, whom we could use for well over a decade, which would stop us worrying about that area of the pitch for a good while.
Yes any fee now, would be very high, but it could work out to be a steel if he helps us to win back the major trophies.
18 years old and this season has been arguably the best left back in the league or at the very least among the best. Sign him and you have the potential of having that spot sorted for over a decade. Overall a quality player who's already very good defensively and good going forward.
He's worth every penny of the prices being thrown around and at 18 years old is looking about as reliable as most top full backs I see today. Would be stupid to pass up on the chance for a guy like this, even more so when you consider a) it'll mean one of our top rivals getting him and b) we actually need a new left back.
The guy has star written all over him.
I get the point about getting a lengthy few years' service out of him, I just don't get why he specifically has been made out to be the one and worth 30M. Like I said, Davies, Chambers, even Nathaniel Clyne are all young and reliable - to use your description - but don't get the same spotlight.
As for the people you mention, yes they are all very talented players, but to get the best out of them all, you really cannot fit them all into the same team at the same time can you?
I don't think that was ever the suggestion was it? We are trying to move on from "they can't all play" to looking at what can happen and what is likely to happen based on the information we have.
Hernandez - Gone already IMO. Moyes doesn't fancy him at all.
Welbeck - Will continue as he has done this season lurching between "crap" and "shite"
Januzaj - By your own admission you expect him to play more but it begs the question how and where and also why he seems to have been pushed down the pecking order since Xmas. Maybe just taking the pressure off him but I would expect him to be more involved given that Moyes was delighted to give him his trust early on.
Kagawa - Would have said he was out and not Moyes cup of tea at all but then suddenly brought back in by Moyes fairly inexplicably and has done well. Begs the question why it didn't happen before if Moyes actually likes him or why it is happening now if he doesn't.
Rooney - Clearly the number one by virtue of the huge efforts to get the new contract. No idea where he's meant to play though. Up top or off the striker. If its up top that suggest no RVP which i think is a mistake and if its off the striker it begs the question……
Mata - Why sign him if Rooney is going to play in his position? You don't spend £40m unless you are giving the player the freedom to play where he wants and the player wouldn't sign without those assurances.
RVP - A different type of forward to the rest and I would say when fit the most potent scoring threat so it makes little sense to me to get rid of him. Firstly he would need to be replaced and secondly a player of his equivalent quality won't come cheap. However you wonder how the dynamic of Rooney and Mata is going to work if RVP is still a first choice option.
These are all the questions that we are asking and looking at rather than a simple "they can't all play". There are so many options and there isn't much that Moyes is doing that on the face of it offers up many clues as to how he sees things developing.
Hernandez is a goner, he knows it already I think. When he came on and scored against Villa the other week he had a face like a slapped arse throughout.
It's a shame but part of me is surprised it hasn't happened sooner. He wants regular starts, and I don't think that'll happen here with the other players we have.
I just don't think that Van Persie is reliable enough (fitness wise) to plan for him to be our 'main man' up top.
I have a feeling that Moyes will sell him and play Rooney as the top striker. Mata, Kagawa and Januzaj to interchange behind him, with Welbeck able to cover for any of them.
Actually, I don't 'have a feeling' that Moyes will do this at all. It's what I'd do.
Not sure if we will see RVP in a Utd shirt again this season. Moyes has pandered to him so much this season he will probably give him the rest of the games off so RVP can prepare for Brazil.
Not sure if we will see RVP in a Utd shirt again this season. Moyes has pandered to him so much this season he will probably give him the rest of the games off so RVP can prepare for Brazil.
They said on the radio this morning that he's doing gym work and will be back in big girls training next week.
I get the point about getting a lengthy few years' service out of him, I just don't get why he specifically has been made out to be the one and worth 30M. Like I said, Davies, Chambers, even Nathaniel Clyne are all young and reliable - to use your description - but don't get the same spotlight.
Carvalho and Shaw for a combined £65m is an extra-ordinary amount of money.
That would mean Felliani, Mata, Carvalho and Shaw for in excess of £130m. I think i would be expecting more for that sort of outlay if I'm honest.
Comments
Okay then, sorry to have somehow said something that you thought was "meaningless".
Yup. Chelsea are a danger although i still have the sneaking suspicion that RA will do something to screw it up. I think they are a couple of players away from being dominant. To be so close to the title when clearly lacking in the striker department is quite impressive.
Potentially though, throw a couple of signings into our squad and there is no reason why we couldn't challenge them, but as i said yesterday, throw the baby out with the bathwater by making wholesale changes and have Moyes continue as he has started and we won't be within 30 points of them next season.
That's what's so frustrating. It's exactly what should have happened this year.
As much as I'd love to be wrong, your last sentence is precisely what I see happening.
Hopefully we have learnt our lessons from last summer, and will get some deals done early on in the window.
Ask me the difference between him and Ben Davies for Swansea and I couldn't give you one. Certainly I see no reason why on the other side Callum Chambers isn't as equally trumpeted as a £30M right back.
Im surprised that Moyes hasn't been pushed to speak about what his vision is and I'm equally surprised that Moyes himself hasn't been more forthcoming about explaining it.
The absolute key for me is that he signed Mata at exactly the same time as Rooney was being tied down to a long-term deal so its not unreasonable to ask how he plans on fitting these two outstanding talents into the same team. Once we know this then we will have some idea of what we need to bring in round them.
I also think that the Kagawa situation could be potentially back in the melting pot. Ive been critical of him because he has been largely bloody awful but you can see he has clearly got a hell of a lot of talent and for me if he ends up leaving the club i think we need to ask what it was that meant we didn't see the best of him (people will say its the position he was played in but i think there is more to it than that).
There is no doubt that RVP, Rooney, Mata, Kagawa and Januzaj are a hell of a talented attacking set of options.
"We have not received any official contract offer [from Manchester United]," Struth told BILD.
"There is also no need to submit an offer as Toni will be with Bayern Munich until June 2015."
It is interesting. Moyes MUST have a good idea of how he wants the team to look, come August (despite all evidence to the contrary, so far).
If I was being uber-positive, I guess that I could suggest that he's spent this year gauging the players and their ability to fit into his 'system'. Perhaps this was always the summer where everything is supposed to line up, 'Moyes-style'.
Unfortunately, I'm not a naturally positive person, so I'm inclined to believe that he's simply out of his depth and has spent this year trying to find any kind of system that works.
As for Kagawa, I too would have happily binned him in January, but his recent form has been pretty impressive, especially against Munich. I would be inclined to keep him for another year and hope that whatever was holding him back (as I agree that it's not as simple as being slightly out of position) has been permanently lifted.
I remember him saying he had ideas and he was waiting for the "right time" to implement them. I, too, find his reluctance to divulge these ideas suprising and worrying. I find myself concluding that the closest we have come to the truth regarding a plan is probably when he commented that he didn't know what we had to do to get a win.
We simply don't look to find him enough, tending to favour passing out wide. He's so comfortable recieving the ball on a half turn, he can do a lot of damage if he were allowed to run at a defence. The players aren't deliberately ignoring him so it's a coaching problem.
18 years old and this season has been arguably the best left back in the league or at the very least among the best. Sign him and you have the potential of having that spot sorted for over a decade. Overall a quality player who's already very good defensively and good going forward.
He's worth every penny of the prices being thrown around and at 18 years old is looking about as reliable as most top full backs I see today. Would be stupid to pass up on the chance for a guy like this, even more so when you consider a) it'll mean one of our top rivals getting him and b) we actually need a new left back.
The guy has star written all over him.
The lack of a defined set-up or vision for the first team is rather frustrating, as we can see other clubs having that, whilst we flouder going from 4-4-2, to other different formations, from one week to the next.
We should have some flexibility, but with an organised idea behind it all, which we are lacking somewhat at the moment.
As for the people you mention, yes they are all very talented players, but to get the best out of them all, you really cannot fit them all into the same team at the same time can you?
If we could find a way to do so, then we would be rather more potent then we have been for the majority of this season (espcially at home where we have been rubbish really).
I have seen that quote, part of me thinks there is still time, but another part of me thinks that it is still a ploy and they (him and his agent) are using any potential interest on our part, to get a new bumper deal with Bayern.
If we could somehow get him though, I would be over the moon, as he is a very talented player indeed.
I agree with you here, he is a very talented player, whom we could use for well over a decade, which would stop us worrying about that area of the pitch for a good while.
Yes any fee now, would be very high, but it could work out to be a steel if he helps us to win back the major trophies.
I get the point about getting a lengthy few years' service out of him, I just don't get why he specifically has been made out to be the one and worth 30M. Like I said, Davies, Chambers, even Nathaniel Clyne are all young and reliable - to use your description - but don't get the same spotlight.
I don't think that was ever the suggestion was it? We are trying to move on from "they can't all play" to looking at what can happen and what is likely to happen based on the information we have.
Hernandez - Gone already IMO. Moyes doesn't fancy him at all.
Welbeck - Will continue as he has done this season lurching between "crap" and "shite"
Januzaj - By your own admission you expect him to play more but it begs the question how and where and also why he seems to have been pushed down the pecking order since Xmas. Maybe just taking the pressure off him but I would expect him to be more involved given that Moyes was delighted to give him his trust early on.
Kagawa - Would have said he was out and not Moyes cup of tea at all but then suddenly brought back in by Moyes fairly inexplicably and has done well. Begs the question why it didn't happen before if Moyes actually likes him or why it is happening now if he doesn't.
Rooney - Clearly the number one by virtue of the huge efforts to get the new contract. No idea where he's meant to play though. Up top or off the striker. If its up top that suggest no RVP which i think is a mistake and if its off the striker it begs the question……
Mata - Why sign him if Rooney is going to play in his position? You don't spend £40m unless you are giving the player the freedom to play where he wants and the player wouldn't sign without those assurances.
RVP - A different type of forward to the rest and I would say when fit the most potent scoring threat so it makes little sense to me to get rid of him. Firstly he would need to be replaced and secondly a player of his equivalent quality won't come cheap. However you wonder how the dynamic of Rooney and Mata is going to work if RVP is still a first choice option.
These are all the questions that we are asking and looking at rather than a simple "they can't all play". There are so many options and there isn't much that Moyes is doing that on the face of it offers up many clues as to how he sees things developing.
Especially with Wilson ready to step in and do the business.
Hernandez I think will go, Van Persie I reckon will stay one more season.
I have no idea about young Wilson, don't really know very much about him.
It's a shame but part of me is surprised it hasn't happened sooner. He wants regular starts, and I don't think that'll happen here with the other players we have.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2605806/Sir-Alex-Ferguson-auction-3million-vintage-wine-collection-Manchester-United-days.html
I have a feeling that Moyes will sell him and play Rooney as the top striker. Mata, Kagawa and Januzaj to interchange behind him, with Welbeck able to cover for any of them.
Actually, I don't 'have a feeling' that Moyes will do this at all. It's what I'd do.
Didn't we have another player called Wilson back in the day?
You tease.
They said on the radio this morning that he's doing gym work and will be back in big girls training next week.
It just rings a bell but I never heard anything again - he just disappeared off the face of the earth!! Damn you promising youth players
Carvalho and Shaw for a combined £65m is an extra-ordinary amount of money.
That would mean Felliani, Mata, Carvalho and Shaw for in excess of £130m. I think i would be expecting more for that sort of outlay if I'm honest.