Tonight's football thread

[IainR]

lainr, the glazers are raping our club. there is no money to spend. these yank thieves sold the worlds best player for 80m and told us that it would be placed in a special account to strengthen the squad...well where is that money? in glazers pocket, that's where.
who will come to our club next year with no champions league and no money?
fact is fergie left us with an aging team and poor players....cleverly, young, nani, Valencia and evans are not up to it. why did the greatest manager in history leave us in this mess? could it be because the American rapist wouldn't spend any money?

We just are not an ageing team... Rio and Vidic have not been first choice partnership for a long time, Evra is a loss, but otherwise Giggs has been a squad player for years not a first choice starter.. 2 max 3 players and we'll look totally different. I'm not sure Baines is the answer for Evra, top player but 28-29.. so you are bringing in someone with 3-4 seasons to give realistically, not the 7-8 or so that Evra has given. Buttner looked good when he arrived but hasn't stepped up.

Evans is now a top centre half..
Valencia is a great pro but lacks the confidence to beat a man consistently.. We've still to see how Zaha will develop.

Young, OK, but we still spent what £18 million...

Ferguson had money, he says so in his book, but who to buy?

I just dont see that we are in a mess. That team just won the title winning 25 of the first 30? games...

Our average age is superb, best young keeper in the world.

We do need a new central midfield because Carrick is entering the final few years..

But we also have young players coming through, see where Jones ends up, Nick Powell, Januzaj...

I hope we don't just throw 100 million at it, that's never been United's style, Ferguson always combined the youth with the buys and gave space for players to develop.. Keane for example.

When Ferguson sold Ince, Hughes, Kanche there was huge opposition and feelings that Keane was not ready to step up and take the mantle yet he did and became our greatest ever captain.

United fans are playing into people like Danberts hands moaning on that its the end just because we've had one bad half of a season in 25 years.. turn a few of those stupid defeats into wins and we'd be sat in the top 4 going well in the CL and league cup.

Had Fergie left and Moyes had won at a canter Danbo would be moaning on how Fergie was overated.. now he's left and the team struggle he's left us in a mess.. there was always going to be a dip whilst Moyes puts his stamp on the team.

[tidemark]

fact is fergie left us with an aging team and poor players....cleverly, young, nani, Valencia and evans are not up to it.

Can't disagree with this. It's refreshing to see an unblinkered view from a United fan on this thread. I would say Cleverly and Evans are highly overrated, but have they ever been rated?

[IainR]

WHy? Carlos is doing exactly what Danberts wants...

Evans is rated, he has really stepped up, his nose was put out when United signed Jones and Smalling but he's responded and been the number 1 choice this season.

We are still not a unit at the back but I don't think its a player issue..

Cleverly is an issue, he can be superb but isn't being consistent at all and can go missing. As I said I think we need 2 midfielders, I think Cleverly is another Phil Neville... decent squad player but not a regular in the team.

The way people gripe on you'd think it wasn't less than a year since we had the best start of a season in the history of the EPL..

I do think Nani and Anderson have had their chances, Anderson is class on his day but clearly isn't fit enough and I'd get rid of both.

As I said though, look at the average age.. Danbert keeps saying we are aging but refuses to actually quote ages because our average age is superb, one of the youngest squads in the league.

Kagawa could yet step up, he was superb for Dortmund, maybe he'll go back but he was a good buy, sometimes they don't work out but the suggestions he was a buy for marketing reasons are extremely ignorant and anglo-centric at best, anyone who watched German or European football will know how good he was. Even now the Dortmund fans have a free Kagawa campaign to get him back..

Zaha, Young, Valencia, Van Persie, Buttner, De Gea, Jones, Kagawa all came in in recent seasons.. Fergie was backed and has bought good young english talent for the most part.

[Richard Head]

What a start to the play offs last night, the Colts come back from 28 points down to win 45-44 and the Saints win with a field goal on the last play of their game against the Eagles

[IainR]

Cant support the eagles because of Vick...

Not watched much this year but will try and get over there for the superbowl.. highlight of the year, good pub, wings and football..

[Richard Head]

Cant support the eagles because of Vick...

Not watched much this year but will try and get over there for the superbowl.. highlight of the year, good pub, wings and football..

Not the NFL's finest moment when Vick was named Comeback Player of the Year in 2010

Tried the wings in the Anchor Bar when we were in Buffalo in September but I bottled it and went for the medium rather than the suicidal

[IainR]

Not the NFL's finest moment when Vick was named Comeback Player of the Year in 2010

Tried the wings in the Anchor Bar when we were in Buffalo in September but I bottled it and went for the medium rather than the suicidal

US hospitality... they'll normally let you pick and choose...

What gets me is the 5-6% beer.. a nice UK ale is often not much over 4%.. I was drinking moonshine last night, lovely locally brewerd light 4% ale, wake up not a hint of a hangover..

Vick is supposedly working with animal charities but I'm just not convinced it's a publicity stunt to rebuild his image.. but getting a 300 million $$ contract straight from a federal prison wasn't a great move by the Eagles..

[Danbert Nocurry]

WHy? Carlos is doing exactly what Danberts wants...

Evans is rated, he has really stepped up, his nose was put out when United signed Jones and Smalling but he's responded and been the number 1 choice this season.

We are still not a unit at the back but I don't think its a player issue..

Cleverly is an issue, he can be superb but isn't being consistent at all and can go missing. As I said I think we need 2 midfielders, I think Cleverly is another Phil Neville... decent squad player but not a regular in the team.

The way people gripe on you'd think it wasn't less than a year since we had the best start of a season in the history of the EPL..

I do think Nani and Anderson have had their chances, Anderson is class on his day but clearly isn't fit enough and I'd get rid of both.

As I said though, look at the average age.. Danbert keeps saying we are aging but refuses to actually quote ages because our average age is superb, one of the youngest squads in the league.

Kagawa could yet step up, he was superb for Dortmund, maybe he'll go back but he was a good buy, sometimes they don't work out but the suggestions he was a buy for marketing reasons are extremely ignorant and anglo-centric at best, anyone who watched German or European football will know how good he was. Even now the Dortmund fans have a free Kagawa campaign to get him back..

Zaha, Young, Valencia, Van Persie, Buttner, De Gea, Jones, Kagawa all came in in recent seasons.. Fergie was backed and has bought good young english talent for the most part.

So if all this is true, why are United so shit?

Are you saying that a competent manager should have this United squad in the top 4 right now?

It seems to me that you are saying that a manager with the right background and record should be capable of motivating the players you've got and getting them to play for him? But that isn't happening Iain.

You're argument seems to suggest that the players are good enough, in that case it must be the manager who isn't. Perhaps then United needed a manager that had operated at United's level before arriving at United. A manager that would have a knowledge of players the World over that were of the required quality and been able to identify 1 or 2 that even United could afford. A manger with experience of managing a big squad over a 60 game season, would have a back room staff with the understanding of the fitness and training requirements to navigate such a schedule.

Unfortunately Iain..... Moyes has none of the above, and that's without getting into tactical nous and playing style.

[Richard Head]

US hospitality... they'll normally let you pick and choose...

What gets me is the 5-6% beer.. a nice UK ale is often not much over 4%.. I was drinking moonshine last night, lovely locally brewerd light 4% ale, wake up not a hint of a hangover..

Vick is supposedly working with animal charities but I'm just not convinced it's a publicity stunt to rebuild his image.. but getting a 300 million $$ contract straight from a federal prison wasn't a great move by the Eagles..

Forecast to be minus 18 in Green Bay for the Packers/49ers game tonight

[IainR]

So if all this is true, why are United so shit?

Are you saying that a competent manager should have this United squad in the top 4 right now?

It seems to me that you are saying that a manager with the right background and record should be capable of motivating the players you've got and getting them to play for him? But that isn't happening Iain.

You're argument seems to suggest that the players are good enough, in that case it must be the manager who isn't. Perhaps then United needed a manager that had operated at United's level before arriving at United. A manager that would have a knowledge of players the World over that were of the required quality and been able to identify 1 or 2 that even United could afford. A manger with experience of managing a big squad over a 60 game season, would have a back room staff with the understanding of the fitness and training requirements to navigate such a schedule.

Unfortunately Iain..... Moyes has none of the above, and that's without getting into tactical nous and playing style.

change of manager... A lull... Give him time, let them get used to each other...

if moyes is so shit how come he took Everton to consistent top 6.. Built a team out of selling his best players... And if he's such a shit judge of player why did you raid him so often.......

And let's not list desperation buys...... I'm on an iPad I'll run out of room listing your lots....