Football 2013-2014

[thetime]

Hmmm, it depends what criteria you're working from.

I'd say utd are very nearly at that point, because they certainly can't be out of the top-4 at the end of the season.

[kaosmark2]

A signing in January? I can't see a big one happening, and a small one won't sort Utd out.

[The Nal]

My take on the summer was that it was all bluff to keep fans on side, and while they over-paid for Fellani I think that was done as it was the only game in town.

A signing in January? I can't see a big one happening, and a small one won't sort Utd out.

[thetime]

It's a CB they need to replace Rio, rather than a marquee signing. If they don't play Kagawa centrally then they need a creative mid, but I'm not sure they need to spend ridiculous money.

[kaosmark2]

We don't need a CB, we just need to give Michael keane a chance. I don't see the point having great prospects in the youth set up and not playing them.

Buying players will just leave these players with no way of getting in the team. Play these kid's like janusaj/w keane/m keane/lingard/Cole even if it leads to a couple of years outside the champions league.

[thetime]

Well whoever you do play, I don't think you can play Rio any more. He's lost a lot of pace over the last 6 months and hasn't adjusted his game to compensate. And at 35 in a few weeks, he's got to be pulled away from being depended on anyway. Whether you thrust a youth player in or make a signing, you have to stop relying on Ferdinand if you're to make top 4.

I've never seen any of these supposedly great prospects you have play (Januzaj aside), but then I doubt you've seen anything of our supposedly promising academy players.

[pink_triangle]

We don't need a CB, we just need to give Michael keane a chance. I don't see the point having great prospects in thoe youth set up and not playing them.

Buying players will just leave these players with no way of getting in the team. Play these kid's like janusaj/w keane/m keane/lingard/Cole even if it leads to a couple of years outside the champions league.

[kaosmark2]

We're not relying on Rio though? When did he play last? It will be evans/Jones/smalling mostly and vidic for the biggies and the champions league.

So CB is not the priority for man utd as we have plenty there, people might say there not top notch but there good enough.

Like I said earlier it's more fine tuning than anything. Most teams play 3 or more in midfield so it doesn't take Einstein to realise were going to be outplayed by playing just 2.

That's the man utd way though and is not going to change.

Saying that fergies stock goes up by the week.

[thetime]

I'm all for giving the youth a chance, but there is a tenancy to think youth equals future star and we all know it rarely works out like that. Liverpool, look at most of the big teams and they have produced 1 or 2 top players in the last 10 or 15 years. Growing up we had the daily post which covered wrexham, Chester, Liverpool and everton. I lost count of how many great prospects Liverpool had, I have seen many of these names playing league 2 / conference level in recent years.

[kaosmark2]

If you keep buying then there not given chances and time to develop. People criticise to many foreigners and not enough English players but if teams don't give them chances how will this change.

Man it'd gave very good youngsters at the minute, the best bunch for a long time. Yes you will say there only kids and anything can happen, saying that people were calling janusaj the new mecheda a couple of weeks ago.

Saying that the premier league us a big beast now.

[thetime]

And if you never buy it doesn't work out either.

The best example has to be Barcelona surely? They continually bring through top quality players, steadily introducing youngsters more and more often into the first team, but still make a big signing or two every summer.

[eFestivals]

Explain?

they can't afford to miss out on the Chumps else they're screwed.

Edited October 21, 2013 by eFestivals

[eFestivals]

The attempt at signing Cesc was a disaster and it set the tone for the rest of the window. It was a public mess. If they didn't go for him there would've been other signings I'm sure.

I'm not sure.

Why keep on banging on about how they aimed to sign the unsignable?

To me that looks like bait for the stupid, to make them think they were looking to spend big.

The combined bid for Fellani and Baines and then what they ended up paying for Felleni suggests to me that the pot was less than £30m, and Cesc was merely a deception.

[pink_triangle]

If you keep buying then there not given chances and time to develop. People criticise to many foreigners and not enough English players but if teams don't give them chances how will this change.

Man it'd gave very good youngsters at the minute, the best bunch for a long time. Yes you will say there only kids and anything can happen, saying that people were calling janusaj the new mecheda a couple of weeks ago.

Saying that the premier league us a big beast now.

Edited October 21, 2013 by pink_triangle

[thetime]

they can't afford to miss out on the Chumps else they're screwed.

Edited October 21, 2013 by thetime

[eFestivals]

Are they? Facts? Figures? Proof? Or is it just fancible thinking?

Are you going by the Liverpool model?

"the liverpool model" is about apt I think, because the similariuties are rather big.

Owners with no money and hocked up to the eyeballs but trying desperately to convince everyone they're loaded ... but loaded people don't move their companies to Delaware for the financial secrecy it gives them.

[thetime]

More like the Leeds model

Edited October 21, 2013 by thetime

[thetime]

"the liverpool model" is about apt I think, because the similariuties are rather big.

Owners with no money and hocked up to the eyeballs but trying desperately to convince everyone they're loaded ... but loaded people don't move their companies to Delaware for the financial secrecy it gives them.

[eFestivals]

So we're not going to be screwed then? Just a few years out of the champions league.

depends what happens.

The liverpool owners wanted to drag the club down with them, but luckily for liverpool there was a UK based owning company, a debt with RBS, a bankrupt RBS, and a govt that wanted the debt repaid. It was a very lucky set of circumstances that helped with Liverpool.

The Utd situation is going to be a hell of a lot more complicated, unless the Glazers willingly give it up ... and that doesn't seem like them on history to date.

But yeah, it's cyclical. I don't expect Utd to disappear entirely, but whether they're a liverpool or a leeds we've yet to see.

[pink_triangle]

I cant see man utd going the way of leeds, they are nowhere near as dependent on champions league money to pay bills as their Yorkshire rivals and are able to generate far more income in other ways. I think the Glazers are probably more intelligent than Hicks/Gilette and will keep the club at a certain level of success to maintain the money they can take out. They are also clever enough to know the most they can get away with, without causing the majority of fans to complain. Who knows though a season without a trophy and we may get an eyecatching protest, maybe yellow and green onesies this time!

[thetime]

I cant see man utd going the way of leeds, they are nowhere near as dependent on champions league money to pay bills as their Yorkshire rivals and are able to generate far more income in other ways. I think the Glazers are probably more intelligent than Hicks/Gilette and will keep the club at a certain level of success to maintain the money they can take out. They are also clever enough to know the most they can get away with, without causing the majority of fans to complain. Who knows though a season without a trophy and we may get an eyecatching protest, maybe yellow and green onesies this time!

[kaosmark2]

Good win for Fulham tonight.

Hard to see Palace doing much this season if they can't get a home win against Fulham after taking the lead though. I'm convinced they spent over the summer and negotiated with the assumption that they'd go down and only a vague hope they'd stay up rather than trying to get in players who wouldn't be prepared to play in the Championship or on Championship wages.

[pink_triangle]

The reality is that you put that palace squad in the championship, they would do well to make the play offs. Hope holloway doesnt get punished for overachieving last season. The likes of fergie, wenger and mourinhio wouldn't keep that team up.

[kaosmark2]

The reality is that you put that palace squad in the championship, they would do well to make the play offs. Hope holloway doesnt get punished for overachieving last season. The likes of fergie, wenger and mourinhio wouldn't keep that team up.

[pink_triangle]

Who do you think is going down with them?