Soda Jerk Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 I think United will sign a centre back and Carrick will play. De Gea Rafael - Smalling - XXX - Shaw CarrickVidal - Herrera Mata - RooneyRvP Width from full backs, with Carrick stepping in to protect the defence. Fluid front three with Mata, Rooney and RvP. Kagawa will be swapped in and out depending on fitness/games/injuries. If Vidal signs, I think this team is likely, with possibly Kevin Strootman replacing Carrick in January or next summer, when he returns from his knackered knee. Van Gaal loves Big Kev. Midfield three of Vidal, Strootman and Herrera would be huge. All three are excellent defensively. Herrera is great on the ball. Vidal can do everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Milner Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Good for Josh, hopefully he gets a good welcome when he comes home next season. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain America Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 (edited) Chelsea have confirmed Filipe Luis today after confirming Costa the other day as well. Feel sorry for Madrid but damn Chelsea are splashing the cash this window. Pretty easy to though when you get 50mill for David Luiz... Edited July 16, 2014 by Captain America Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 So I assume that means Azpilicueta will go back to the right. I hope this doesn't mean we don't get as much of big bran. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Easy Wishes Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 So Nouveauchateau Utd have signed yet another Frenchie in Riviere. Anyone know anything much about him? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 (edited) The full extent of my knowledge on his is this post I read on another forum about 5 minutes ago. I remember spending big to bring in Emmanuel Riviere for Rochdale in FIFA and he was a massive flop in the Championship. Newcastle will regret it. Edited July 17, 2014 by Paranoid Android 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrr Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 From what I gather, Riviere is fast, explosive, strong and good in the air, but a very inconsistent finisher and his goal record isn't brilliant. Sounds like a second Obafemi Martins. Should be a fun option off the bench, at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrr Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delboy1969 Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 Man United have to be better this year, they actually have some quality in Midfield for the first time in years. Kagawa, Rooney and Mata in the same team wont work though. He'll have to juggle them in and out of the squad. Michael Owen has predicted Arsenal out of the top 4 again this year and Liverpool in. For like the 3rd/4th year in a row. Keep it up Michael, throw enough shit against a wall and all that. Owen talks a lot of shit, I think Liverpool might struggle to break the top four this season, Suarez - like him or hate him - is a massive loss for them and a number of 15-20 million quid players is not necessarily going to fix the problem. And then there is the scouse pressure which will befall upon the team, they will expect them to be challenging now that Rodgers has raised the scouse goalposts and of course they have the rigours of regular European football as well. Meanwhile Man Utd will be a force, I like Van Gaal, a proven winner, he will take no shit - already rumours of up to 10 dead wood players leaving the club. He said in the press conference he's not in it to finish 4th but 1st. The players took the piss last season under Moyes, thinking they were better than him but all that will change under Van Gaal I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 I agree. I don't think Liverpool will manage top 4. Not overly impressed with their signings so far, yet they've spent a lot of money. Markovic isn't as good as what they already have in Coutinho and Sterling. Emre Can has been awful every time I've seen him. Lambert and Lallana are decent, but I don't see them being Champions League level players. Arsenal look stronger than Liverpool to me, and Alexis only solidifies that. If they get Khedira, then they are incredibly balanced. If they snag a top striker as well, I'd even put them as favourites. I optimistically think United will be back in the mix with a tactically astute manager, and not a total clogger like Moyes. I think they'll bring in a couple more faces, especially now Carrick is injured for 3 months. The only other good midfielder other than Herrera. That should force the club into the market, and they need midfielders anyway. A centre back is the other necessity if Jones and Smalling aren't going to be given the nod. A top class explosive wide forward/winger would be a bonus. I'd have hoped for Alexis, but Di Maria could be available, though he might be off to PSG, which could possibly make Lucas Moura available, but Van Gaal should focus on the areas with low numbers. United have alot of wingers. They are just garbage now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paranoid Android Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 (edited) My early predictions: 1st Chelseas2nd City3rd Arsenal4th Man U5th Liverpool Edited July 17, 2014 by Paranoid Android Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Owl PhD Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 Liverpool's signings so far this summer have mainly been about strengthening the depth of the squad, which is something they needed to do. They're mostly about increasing the range of options, particularly in attack, and I think the signings do that. I'm not totally convinced Lallana was worth the money they spent, but he's a good player and will no doubt contribute. I guess the question for them is whether they'll be able to bring in defenders who can help them improve in that area and whether they can bring in a 'marquee' player in attacking positions. They also seem to be keener than some of the other big clubs to bring in the best young players - Rodgers seems to like developing younger players and has had a lot of success in that area so far. They're working on all these things and have the money to do it, so we'll see who they bring in by the end of the window. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Easy Wishes Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 Philipp Lahm has retired from international football. I thought he'd press on and try and win a European Championships, but fair play. Arguably the best modern full back ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camie Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 Philipp Lahm has retired from international football. I thought he'd press on and try and win a European Championships, but fair play. Arguably the best modern full back ever. He is only aged 30?! Surprising stuff but fair play to him. Gives another player a chance I guess. Still looks 16. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 My early predictions: 1st Chelseas2nd City3rd Arsenal4th Man U5th Liverpool ChelseaArsenalUnitedCity Big talk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrr Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 Liverpool are total gimpshits for not signing at least two new defenders. They won't finish near the top four if they don't address that gaping hole, imo. I think Markovic and Emre Can are being underestimated though: a lot of European football "experts" reckon that Markovic is one of the top 2-3 prospects in Europe, and the European Football Show (BT Sport) panel was bigging-up Emre Can a few weeks ago. ChelseaCityArsenalUnitedLiverpool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Easy Wishes Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 ChelseaArsenalUnitedCity Big talk. I'm on board with this. Liverpool will finish 6th behind Spurs in 5th. Everton 7th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Owl PhD Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 Liverpool are total gimpshits for not signing at least two new defenders. They won't finish near the top four if they don't address that gaping hole, imo. I think Markovic and Emre Can are being underestimated though: a lot of European football "experts" reckon that Markovic is one of the top 2-3 prospects in Europe, and the European Football Show (BT Sport) panel was bigging-up Emre Can a few weeks ago. ChelseaCityArsenalUnitedLiverpool It's pretty much expected that Liverpool will buy Lovren and if they don't they'll buy another centre-back. They will also buy a left back, though it's a bit less clear who that will be. They're not being 'gimpshits' they just haven't signed the players yet. Markovic looks very promising - a bit similar to Sterling, though that's not really a bad thing. Very quick and looks a very confident player. I've seen less of Can but he's played quite a bit in the Champions League and is still only 20, so probably not a bad signing for a relatively low fee. We'll see. I'm kind of puzzled by United's transfer policy. There squad clearly needs a big overhaul, particularly in defence and midfield and there's (rightly) a lot of talk of a clear out of up to ten players. As far as I can tell though their strategy seems to be to just bring in a small number of big names for big money rather than looking to build a new squad. Given that a couple of big money signings didn't work that well for them last season they seem to be putting a lot of faith in the same approach this season, along with the 'magic' of van Gaal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 (edited) Only one big money signing from last season didn't work out, because David Moyes pushed the panic button. Fellaini is toilet. But Juan Mata came in in January and was mostly excellent, in spite of David Moyes not really knowing how to use him. I don't really believe the squad needs to be overhauled. United just need a couple of actual midfielders, and possibly a centre back, and shitters like Ashley Young and Anderson need to be given the boot. Goalkeeping department is excellent. De Gea is one of the best in the league. Lindegaard is as good as any number two. If Lindegaard goes, Amos is also very good. Defence needs a bit of work, or at least some stability. Shaw replaces Evra, which is a good move. Evans is okay. Smalling and Jones are both very promising and need to be shown some faith in their actual positions. Rafael is getting better all the time. Evans can cover at LB if necessary, Smalling or Jones can cover at RB if really needed. Michael Keane (CB/RB) and Guillermo Verela (RB) are going on the pre-season tour, and looked excellent last season. Michael Keane has frequently captained England U21. He's grand. Perhaps a good CB should come in, but that's only if Smalling and Jones aren't going to be given a go. They were expensive players, and have both been reduced to utility roles. Both are too good to be glorified John O'Sheas Central Midfield is mince. United need at least two more midfielders. Herrera is ace. Carrick is good, but ageing (and now injured for 3 months). Cleverley didn't pan out like many expected, and should play a minimal role. Fletcher probably won't return to his former self. Fellaini and Anderson are wastes of carbon. United need to start handing out blank cheques to any side who has a worthy midfielder. Write any number on it you want. Hand over midfielder. Not much in this department in the academy either. Ben Pearson and Joe Rothwell look handy, but probably not ready. Forward line is fine. RVP, Rooney, Mata are all tip top. Welbeck and Hernandez are great for depth. I still have faith in Kagawa, and he might prosper under a manager who doesn't just play kick and rush defensive football. Januzaj is great. Valencia is a reasonable squad option, especially for RB cover. Wilf Zaha still exists, and is supremely talented. Perhaps van Gaal will give him a colossal boot up the arse get him to stop fannying about. Nani and Young should go. Nani is explosive, but he just doesn't turn up enough. Young is shite. Jesse Lingard, Tom Lawrence and James Wilson are fresh out of the academy and look very good. Angelo Henriquez will be returning from loan, and is also very good. Out: Young, Nani, Anderson, Fletcher/Cleverley (one can remain and be a back up, preferably Fletcher), Fellaini if Van Gaal finds no use for such a clogger, Van Gaal has said he wants a 22 man squad. Two players for each position De Gea/Lindegaard Rafael/Varela Jones/New CB Smalling/Evans Shaw/? Herrera/Carrick New CM/New CM Januzaj/Valencia Rooney/Mata Kagawa/Welbeck Van Persie/Hernandez Pad that out with the youngsters as well. Narrow front four, width from the full backs. Herrera and possibly Vidal in midfield. If not Vidal, then a defensively capable box-to-box man. Smalling and Jones playing in their actual positions. Maybe bring in Daley Blind for LB and CM cover. Good team IMO. Top 3, easy. But it's all dependent on bringing in midfielders. Two more, minimum. Edited July 18, 2014 by Soda van Jerk 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murrr Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 Soda Jerk is the only Man United supporter I actually like, and that was a mega-post. DOUBLE REP. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 Aberdeen will play Real Sociedad if they get past Groningen in the Europa League. Huge tie. Sociedad are a very good side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
givemeasmile Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 Aberdeen will play Real Sociedad if they get past Groningen in the Europa League. Huge tie. Sociedad are a very good side. It's been quite an unkind draw in terms of the level of quality Aberdeen have been put up against this year. I understand Riga weren't very good, but it'll be tough to get past Groningen and Sociedad are probably one of the tournament favourites I imagine. This is the kind of tie I would be delighted to get in the group, but I don't see us getting there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moose Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 Yup. I thought the next round was the playoff, but if we get as far as Sociedad, we play them in the 3rd qualifying round, then a playoff to determine if we get into the group stages!! That's insane. I suppose we only came 3rd in the SPL, not really a big deal in terms of European football. Still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camie Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 Boou-efa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted July 18, 2014 Report Share Posted July 18, 2014 A mad man in a pub has just told me that Darren Mackie has signed for Dundee Utd. I can't see him leaving ACE Winches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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