[Archived] End Of Manc Dominance?

[philipl]

Valencia and Young adequate replacements for Ronaldo and Tevez?

[tcj_jones]

Personally, I think that Young would be a good signing for United. He's better than Park, Giggs, Nani and Valencia.

I was saying to my United supporting mate that it seemed Fergy was collecting mediocre wingers at the moment. He replied that there simply aren't that many wingers out there who compare to Ronaldo and who would be available for transfer. I can think of Ribery, but who else is there? Silva maybe, but he's left footed.

Also, does anybody know anything about this Tosic guy? Is he right or left sided? If Fergy knew that Ronaldo would be off this summer, then it made sense to bring in his direct replacement last summer. In any case, I reckon we'll be seeing a fair bit of the Serb next season.

[neekoy]

You can only assume that C Ronaldo and Fergy had this chat last year and Fergie has given the go ahead for the move based on him being able to find a suitable replacement. He wouldn't be that dumb.

[thenodrog]

Personally, I think that Young would be a good signing for United. He's better than Park, Giggs, Nani and Valencia.

He'd get lots of free kicks at OT.... and blagging them out of weak refs is his real strength at Villa. Unfortunately MU don't have Carew do they?

[tcj_jones]

Good point, Young is so much more valuable banging in crosses for a Carew-type player.

[Rovermatt]

Personally, I think that Young would be a good signing for United. He's better than Park, Giggs, Nani and Valencia.

Better than Giggs? Do me a favour. Giggs may be getting on now but he's clearly still one the best footballers around.

[tcj_jones]

I wouldn't agree with that. I think that Young, at this moment in time, is a better player. Giggs in his prime, however, was far the better player.

[philipl]

Young is a good player.

But Ronaldo good or Tevez good?

No way.

[Iceman]

Young is a good player.

But Ronaldo good or Tevez good?

No way.

Are you asking if Young is as good as Ronaldo or as good as Tevez? Personally i think Ronaldo is a talented player, but doesnt step up to the plate when it comes to the big games. I like Tevez, he works hard, and scores goals and should have been ahead of Berbatov and played as the 2nd striker with Rooney.

[philipl]

I am saying United will be weaker if Young is a replacement for either of those two.

Sure he is better now than either Giggs or Scholes are but they are still at Man U whilst Tevez and Ronaldo are not.

Ipso facto, my speculative topic start of three weeks ago is not looking a bad punt at this stage.

[BuckyRover]

Ronaldo only scored at two premier league grounds last season, Old Trafford and The Hawthorns.

Fancy that!

[alexanders]

One simple question, didn't know where to put it and didn't want to start a new thread.

How will I as a Rover be welcomed in the VIP area at Old Trafford when United plays Rovers?

A friend of mine said he had a spear ticket to the VIP, but I am a little bit anxious that I will get some stick being a Rover.

[Rovermatt]

I wouldn't worry. Nobody in the Old Trafford VIP area is likely to be a United fan either.

[neekoy]

I wouldn't worry. Nobody in the Old Trafford VIP area is likely to be a United fan either.

*Badoomboomching*

[BRFC1995]

no benzema, no ronaldo, no tevez...................shrek is gonna have to do one hell of a shearer impression to bag the goals required.

berbatov and rooney...not the scariest prospect

[blue phil]

I wouldn't worry. Nobody in the Old Trafford VIP area is likely to be a United fan either.

....and take a plate of prawn sandwiches in with you . You'll be made most welcome

[BRFC1995]

owens odds of joining man u slashed from 20/1 to 7/4............................what odds united being mid-table lol

[Rovermatt]

owens odds of joining man u slashed from 20/1 to 7/4............................what odds united being mid-table lol

One can only dream.

He'll still get goals for them when fit, such is the quality of the service he'll receive.

[The Caveman]

The people writing off United before a ball is kicked may be well advised to think back at the last times United have been written off. Most notably in the summer of 95 and the summer of 2006 in recent times. In 1995 we let Ince, Hughes and Kanchelskis leave without replacing them, even though we finished the season behind your lot. Well, the kids brought in to replace them won the double. In the summer of 2006 there was turmoil at Old Trafford. A third consecutive season way off the pace of the champions, our two hottest prospects of the club were reportedly not on speaking terms and to add to the misery the only player brought in to strengthen the team was a player widely accepted as overpriced in Michael Carrick. Three years, three championships, a european cup, a league cup and a world club cup later the history seems to repeat itself. Ronaldo joins the ranks of Keane, Cantona, Beckham, Robson and the other irreplacables who have been replaced in later years. To be frank I would be more concerned about replacing Van der Sar than Ronaldo because if it's one thing Sir Alex have had some troubles with during the years it's finding decent goalkeepers.

Now, I'm not saying United will have an easy season. We have a massive challenge ahead with replacing Ronaldo which I think will result in a change of style back to a more traditional 4-4-2 but I would be careful about making claims the Fergie has lost it. He has apparently "lost it" countless times in his tenure at Old Trafford but have so far had a habit of coming out on top.

I think this may become quite an exciting season for Blackburn too. To be fair I can see you everywhere from a european spot (although optimistic with the likes of Spurs, Everton, Villa, City behind the top four) to fighting with relegation.

[philipl]

Quick whip round the faithful to rustle up £1.5 billion Glazer money as well?

Winning the Champions League is rapidly going to be beyond the Mancs as they slip roughly £150m more behind Real Madrid and Barca every year now because of the Glazers. In fact even qualifying for the Champions League from the EPL in 09/10 could be a tough ask for the Mancs.

[The Caveman]

Quick whip round the faithful to rustle up £1.5 billion Glazer money as well?

Can you explain?

[philipl]

Debt plus interest to be paid if you don't re-schedule. If you do re-schedule, interest payments of one Ronaldo per year continue into the far distance.

[Ritchie]

Quick whip round the faithful to rustle up £1.5 billion Glazer money as well?

Winning the Champions League is rapidly going to be beyond the Mancs as they slip roughly £150m more behind Real Madrid and Barca every year now because of the Glazers. In fact even qualifying for the Champions League from the EPL in 09/10 could be a tough ask for the Mancs.

Hang on, they've lost Ronaldo and Tevez, not half of their first team. It's highly likely that they'll qualify for the Champions League.

Madrid and Barca have great players of course, and I expect Milan to strengthen after Kaka's departure, but United will remain a force until SAF packs it in.

The financial situation is rather perilous, granted. In fact it's bloody morbid.

I think that Arsenal will win the league this season.

[The Caveman]

Debt plus interest to be paid if you don't re-schedule. If you do re-schedule, interest payments of one Ronaldo per year continue into the far distance.

True. I was commenting on the sporting side of the club which I thought was the object of this thread, although I haven't read all of it. The debt is an issue, a major issue and cause for concern. Even with the massive success of the club on the pitch, increased ticket prices and non-sporting profit the debt haven't decreased since the takeover and personally I can't see how the Glazers plan to service the debt. My bet is that they would bite the arm off anybody willing to make them a nice profit on their investment. It's sad to see massive amounts of money generated by the club being ###### away on interests without even touching the debt.

EDIT: Thinking that United will struggle to qualify for the Champions League is of course nonsense. It's wishful thinking from your part, at best.

[Ritchie]

True. I was commenting on the sporting side of the club which I thought was the object of this thread, although I haven't read all of it. The debt is an issue, a major issue and cause for concern. Even with the massive success of the club on the pitch, increased ticket prices and non-sporting profit the debt haven't decreased since the takeover and personally I can't see how the Glazers plan to service the debt. My bet is that they would bite the arm off anybody willing to make them a nice profit on their investment. It's sad to see massive amounts of money generated by the club being ###### away on interests without even touching the debt.

Bang on the money, and that is precisely the intention of the prats who've done the same to Liverpool.

United's best bet is to sell the club to some rich billionaire benefactor - and it will probably happen. The question is when, not if, because the Glazers are only interested in making a profit.