2014/15 Premier League and General Football Discussion

[Ellis]

So predictions people, who is going down this season?

Mine would have to be:
Aston Villa
Sunderland
Burnley

 

[Ross]

Do you think it's the owners at fault?

Or is it that the chief exec (woodward?) hasn't managed to close any deals?

Or is that players don't want to come to Man U?

Always easiest to blame the owners.

Well what the Glazers did at United is disgraceful anyway because they borrowed money from the club to buy the club which surely can't be right. And don't forget they also put Woodward in that role in the first place.

Before he was CEO, he was head of the commercial and media operations which he is very good at. He's tied up so many sponsorship deals including this new kit sponsor.

However, he's not suited to the role he's currently in. When we had David Gill, things ran much smoother.

Also a lack of European football could be one of the factors but football is driven by money nowadays and if you offer the right amount, most players will take it.

 

[Stotty]

Well what the Glazers did at United is disgraceful anyway because they borrowed money from the club to buy the club which surely can't be right. And don't forget they also put Woodward in that role in the first place.

Before he was CEO, he was head of the commercial and media operations which he is very good at. He's tied up so many sponsorship deals including this new kit sponsor.

However, he's not suited to the role he's currently in. When we had David Gill, things ran much smoother.

Also a lack of European football could be one of the factors but football is driven by money nowadays and if you offer the right amount, most players will take it.

I understand your finances looked sketchy a few years back, but you're in a very strong position now, so not sure where the criticism of the owners comes from.... they would seem to have done a decent job putting you in a very strong long-term position.

I do agree Woodward hasn't proven himself in his new role yet... maybe he needs a director of football to handle the transfers?

And of course you can always overpay to get players... but then you've paid too much in transfer fees AND you're tied to massive long-term contracts. If they don't deliver you're still paying silly wages.

The thing that is strange is making the same mistake as last year - leaving the business until too late in the window!!

 

[Saidur_Ali]

Always dangerous to do this when your own team haven't played yet... But impossible to resist...

Mau u... New season, same ****

Yes I hope it is normal service resumed this season and Man Utd get back to winning trophies such as the Premier League again which a certain team has yet to win .

 

[Stotty]

Yes I hope it is normal service resumed this season and Man Utd get back to winning trophies such as the Premier League again which a certain team has yet to win .

Van Gaal might be a proven manager, but like Moyes, there's only so much he can do with the squad he's been left with. Teams have moved on over the past couple of years and United haven't kept up (with Fergie to blame for that).

At best, United have 6 decent players - RVP (who seems to spend half the season injured), Rooney, De Gea, and maybe Mata... plus maybe Shaw & Herrera; time will tell if they are going to turn into quality players.

The rest of the United team wouldn't get on the bench of any of the other top sides. There's no pace in the side, little trickery, and central defense in particular, is poor.

I giggled at the optimism of United fans prior to Saturdays game; they seemed to think Van Gaal was some kind of miracle worker who was going to immediately make everything like it used to be

It's going to be at least a few years before they have any chance of competing for the league. Though they could conceivably win a Cup.

 

[V8-Johnboy]

Do you think it's the owners at fault?

Or is it that the chief exec (woodward?) hasn't managed to close any deals?

Or is that players don't want to come to Man U?

Always easiest to blame the owners.

Combo of all I fear.

Not the most exciting news but the Rojo deal seems close with the strong possibility of Nani going in the opposite direction on a season long loan.

 

[Stotty]

with the strong possibility of Nani going in the opposite direction on a season long loan.

You'll be well rid of him... has loads of talent, but no end product.

 

[V8-Johnboy]

You'll be well rid of him... has loads of talent, but no end product.

I'd have ditched Moyes for no other reason than giving the waste of grass a new 5 year deal

 

[Stotty]

I'd have ditched Moyes for no other reason than giving the waste of grass a new 5 year deal

Did seem a strange decision at the time... hopefully it wasn't some silly >£100k/wk deal, or you may end up paying a share of that as part of the loan deal.

 

[V8-Johnboy]

Did seem a strange decision at the time... hopefully it wasn't some silly >£100k/wk deal, or you may end up paying a share of that as part of the loan deal.

Don't laugh but we are paying pretty much all of it if not all. Woodward to bring in Di Maria? Don't make me f'in laugh!

 

[Stotty]

Don't laugh but we are paying pretty much all of it if not all. Woodward to bring in Di Maria? Don't make me f'in laugh!

I think most teams will be in the same boat... overpaying, then loaning them out and still paying the wages.

Not related to United transfer, but I hope Di Maria doesn't find his way in to the Prem. He's a class player, but by far THE worst diver I have ever seen. He's rolling around on the ground when anyone comes within 5 yards of him. Terrible.

 

[V8-Johnboy]

I think most teams will be in the same boat... overpaying, then loaning them out and still paying the wages.

Not related to United transfer, but I hope Di Maria doesn't find his way in to the Prem. He's a class player, but by far THE worst diver I have ever seen. He's rolling around on the ground when anyone comes within 5 yards of him. Terrible.

Better he than Ashley Young.

 

[Stotty]

Better he than Ashley Young.

Di Maria is at least as bad.

 

[V8-Johnboy]

Di Maria is at least as bad.

Mate were desperate anything will do!

 

[Saidur_Ali]

Van Gaal might be a proven manager, but like Moyes, there's only so much he can do with the squad he's been left with. Teams have moved on over the past couple of years and United haven't kept up (with Fergie to blame for that).

At best, United have 6 decent players - RVP (who seems to spend half the season injured), Rooney, De Gea, and maybe Mata... plus maybe Shaw & Herrera; time will tell if they are going to turn into quality players.

The rest of the United team wouldn't get on the bench of any of the other top sides. There's no pace in the side, little trickery, and central defense in particular, is poor.

I giggled at the optimism of United fans prior to Saturdays game; they seemed to think Van Gaal was some kind of miracle worker who was going to immediately make everything like it used to be

It's going to be at least a few years before they have any chance of competing for the league. Though they could conceivably win a Cup.

I think Fergie left the team in good health, season before his last, only a big loss of points towards the end, cost Man Utd title on goal difference. In his last season he again had big points loss towards end of season but still managed to win the title by 11 points setting a new record of 25 wins out of first 30 games. Moyes inherited that same squad and spent over £64 million on two players, one being club record signing and managed to finish 7th, one point better than he managed with Everton the previous season and his club managed to beat their points record once he left.

Suddenly proven champions are considered too rubbish for top four but pundits have been saying for many years Man Utd will struggle to be in top four, funny considering last time before that Man Utd finished outside the top two was in 2004/2005 season and won many titles since all while getting written off time and time again by the media. Manager makes a big difference, I would have expected Sir Alex to win the title last season comfortably if he had stayed on. Look at Crystal Palace, massive change of fortune once manager got changed and it is quite interesting seeing how what managers are known for carry quite a lot into their team. Man Utd got transformed from Premier League domination under Sir Alex to similar level performance of Everton. Likewise manager at Crystal Palace thought they were going to get relegated and previous record at last Premier League team was relegation but then got taken over by manager that has proven record that he can make team hard to beat and stay in Premier League did wonders for the club. Point is no need for completely different team for Man Utd to compete especially with team with so many players who have been there and won Premier League at least once.

I expect Van Gaal to get Man Utd to win the Premier League this season or at least compete for it right towards the end of the season, anything less than that is a big disappointment. Losing one game does not suddenly mean Man Utd will struggle this season.

 

[V8-Johnboy]

^ Fella you can't make a Robin Reliant go 200 mph it just won't happen, unless it's falling off a very high cliff.

 

[Cobra_GT500]

So predictions people, who is going down this season?

Mine would have to be:
Aston Villa
Sunderland
Burnley

Manutd should be in that list I really don't care who wins or loses. Man utd is my team though but yeah fans are fickle we expect to much because we've won so much we need to give new managers time or we will never rebuild our squad. I'd put QPR in that list instead of Burnley though. I want to see one of the top clubs get relegated one day. Guys we will spend its just a matter of time I am predicting 3 deals by the end of the summer weather it's deadline day or not. Remember Van Gaal said you can sign players within 24 hours so we've probably got them all wrapped up just waiting on the go ahead.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

^ Fella you can't make a Robin Reliant go 200 mph it just won't happen, unless it's falling off a very high cliff.

It is more like they had Michael Schmuacher at helm for many years but got succeeded by Luca Badoer for a season, does not suddenly make calibre of everyone around them really low all of a sudden. Record going into new season for Moyes was out of the 21 Premier League seasons 13 x 1st, 5x 2nd and 3 x 3rd. This is why I consider last season to be an anomaly especially considering last year the team had added to the squad but club just performed similar level as Moyes managed at Everton. Van Gaal can be excused in a way more than Moyes in my opnion though as there has been quite a big loss of some of the senior players but without Champions League football this season, winning title should definitely be the aim, winning mentality is what made Man Utd one of the biggest clubs in the world.

 

[V8-Johnboy]

Manutd should be in that list I really don't care who wins or loses. Man utd is my team though but yeah fans are fickle we expect to much because we've won so much we need to give new managers time or we will never rebuild our squad. I'd put QPR in that list instead of Burnley though. I want to see one of the top clubs get relegated one day. Guys we will spend its just a matter of time I am predicting 3 deals by the end of the summer weather it's deadline day or not. Remember Van Gaal said you can sign players within 24 hours so we've probably got them all wrapped up just waiting on the go ahead.

Im going to remember this come the end of the month. I hope you can run fast if your wrong.

 

[Cobra_GT500]

Im going to remember this come the end of the month. I hope you can run fast if your wrong.

Trust me Van Gaal is a man who gets what he wants weather it be 1-3 players we will be buying defenders when you least expect it

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Woodward needs to be a bit more assertive when it comes to transfers, he doesn't seem ruthless enough...but this Glazer out thing I feel people are over reacting a bit

Burnley v Chelsea tonight, which does have some David v Goliath about it..

 

[Akmuq]

Sky Sports reporting Courtois as the starting keeper tonight. I want to know how they got that information though, surely Chelsea wouldn't let any of their starting line-up be revealed. 🤬

That being said, Courtois is the good option. 👍

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Pretty much everyone predicting a massacre by Chelsea tonight and that could be the case but when Burnley played their first ever home game in the PL a few years ago they came up against Man United and everyone though it would be a comfortable United win then but Burnley won 1-0....and that was when United were good!

 

[Stotty]

I think Fergie left the team in good health, season before his last, only a big loss of points towards the end, cost Man Utd title on goal difference. In his last season he again had big points loss towards end of season but still managed to win the title by 11 points setting a new record of 25 wins out of first 30 games. Moyes inherited that same squad and spent over £64 million on two players, one being club record signing and managed to finish 7th, one point better than he managed with Everton the previous season and his club managed to beat their points record once he left.

Suddenly proven champions are considered too rubbish for top four but pundits have been saying for many years Man Utd will struggle to be in top four, funny considering last time before that Man Utd finished outside the top two was in 2004/2005 season and won many titles since all while getting written off time and time again by the media. Manager makes a big difference, I would have expected Sir Alex to win the title last season comfortably if he had stayed on. Look at Crystal Palace, massive change of fortune once manager got changed and it is quite interesting seeing how what managers are known for carry quite a lot into their team. Man Utd got transformed from Premier League domination under Sir Alex to similar level performance of Everton. Likewise manager at Crystal Palace thought they were going to get relegated and previous record at last Premier League team was relegation but then got taken over by manager that has proven record that he can make team hard to beat and stay in Premier League did wonders for the club. Point is no need for completely different team for Man Utd to compete especially with team with so many players who have been there and won Premier League at least once.

Fergie left Moyes with 2 old, slow centre halves (Rio and Vidic), a left back at the end of his career (Evra), no solid right back, and one of the worst mid fields United have had in the past 20 years.

If Fergie had stayed, United might have scraped a top 4, but no chance they would have been anywhere near competing for the title.

I expect Van Gaal to get Man Utd to win the Premier League this season or at least compete for it right towards the end of the season, anything less than that is a big disappointment. Losing one game does not suddenly mean Man Utd will struggle this season.

You are going to have a very disappointing year if you think they have any chance of challenging for the title... UNLESS they somehow manage to buy 5 or 6 top class players in the next 13 days, and these players immediately fit in to the squad.

Other than the front 3, the current team just isn't good enough.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

There is absolutely no way we are going to challenge for the title with the current squad, Van Gaal is not a miracle worker!

 

[2clicks]

If you look at the value of the acquisitions that United have made, then it amounts to nearly £120 million. But Real Madrid have also spent round about that amount on players like Kroos, Rodriguez, and Navas, so I don't see why some United fans are always thinking that they need to buy another key player or two. There is a very naive approach to world class players as transfer targets, as opposed to creating and nurturing talent from nothing, which Ferguson always did, and it worked, but it's obviously something Moyes failed to do, and Van Gaal will take a while to do, so United need to have a master negotiator on board, or else.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

Fergie left Moyes with 2 old, slow centre halves (Rio and Vidic), a left back at the end of his career (Evra), no solid right back, and one of the worst mid fields United have had in the past 20 years.

If Fergie had stayed, United might have scraped a top 4, but no chance they would have been anywhere near competing for the title.

Yes like you said with them slow centre halves (Also Man Utd have a lot of young defenders) and worst midfield United have had in the past 20 years, they were comfortably top of the Premier League that even lifting off towards end of the season, they still managed to win by 11 points and setting a record of 25 wins out of 30 games (Shame they never kept it up afterwards as breaking Premier League point records was on the cards). They have been challenging for titles relentlessly, 5 out of last 7 were won going into that season and the other two a point and goal difference at max in it.

That is 7 straight years less than a point of top of league at max going into season Moyes took over when he finished but now where Moyes finished is representative of the team. I wonder what the odds would be for a manager like Sir Alex to try and scrape top 4 in Premier League considering the lowest he ever finished was 3rd in the league history especially considering how comfortably he won it on his last season.

You are going to have a very disappointing year if you think they have any chance of challenging for the title... UNLESS they somehow manage to buy 5 or 6 top class players in the next 13 days, and these players immediately fit in to the squad.

Other than the front 3, the current team just isn't good enough.

Don't really need any more players, current ones are good enough but it will be a bonus to get some more experience in. Just need the work of management team to make the players perform every game to a high level. That is most important thing. Miracles are not needed, just the blip to be overcome which means getting rid of Moyes mentality.

 

[Fuzzy]

I expect Van Gaal to get Man Utd to win the Premier League this season or at least compete for it right towards the end of the season, anything less than that is a big disappointment. Losing one game does not suddenly mean Man Utd will struggle this season.

More chance of a bird pooping in Young's mouth again then Man U winning title this season.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Burnley starting XI cost just £6 million compared to Chelsea's that cost £194 million, Courtois does start in goal..

 

[Ross]

I understand your finances looked sketchy a few years back, but you're in a very strong position now, so not sure where the criticism of the owners comes from.... they would seem to have done a decent job putting you in a very strong long-term position.

I do agree Woodward hasn't proven himself in his new role yet... maybe he needs a director of football to handle the transfers?

And of course you can always overpay to get players... but then you've paid too much in transfer fees AND you're tied to massive long-term contracts. If they don't deliver you're still paying silly wages.

The thing that is strange is making the same mistake as last year - leaving the business until too late in the window!!

The problem is the Glazers are not fully committed in the club as most of the money they are making isn't being reinvested in the club when it should be.

Also, a director of football is what we had in David Gill. Woodward should have stayed in his previous job.