TAKE THAT SHIT TO THE-BRITS.COM

I know I slipped about five places this week after getting the lowest score two weeks in a row. The sacrifice of Cole and Bale has pretty much gutted my point scoring central spine. Add to that Drogba's loss of form and Tevez's injury and I'm a hollow shell of the man who was riding high in early October. I just really can't muster the enthusiasm to read all the sky stuff anymore so I guess it's my own fault.
 
DocMcCoy said:brought in United players.




BAN.





;)





I think Tricky would have been ideal for this, no?


 
Paul said:


What does Duder make of John O'Shea on 80k a week..




I think Rooney's new wages are the bigger issue for Manure





Wayne Rooney's contract extension at Manchester United has presented the club with a tricky problem: to pay him what he wants may risk being unable to deliver the squad strengthening he has also demanded. Rooney's ??180,000-a-week wage will add at least another ??4.5m to the total staff costs. But while United think declining wages for some of the older players will ease things and point out that other players have at least two years on their contracts, Rooney's package has set a difficult new benchmark.





United's accounts, released this month, showed the wage bill had already risen from ??123.1m in 2008-09, when they won the Premier League, to ??131.7m last season, when they won only the Carling Cup. Other factors, not least a higher-rate tax increase from 40% to 50%, and the pound's weakness against the euro, the currency in which the big European clubs pay their players, will have a significant impact.





In their bond prospectus released in January, United stated: "There is a risk that ??? increasing player salaries and transfer fees [and Uefa's] financial fair-play initiative could limit our ability to acquire or retain top players and, therefore, materially adversely affect the performance of our first team."





Which all makes you wonder whether Rooney's little fit of pique ever really was about ambition at all.
 
Yeah, there's nothing to say about Man U that hasn't been said in the past and proven wrong, but in the past Man U would simply spend their squad back into contention (Carrick, Hargreaves, Nani, Anderson, Tevez all around the 20 mil mark, Rooney closer to 30 mil, Ferdinand, Berbs, around the 30 mil mark). Aside from Hernandez, who is looking absolutely brilliant btw, you're not weighed down with exciting young talent pushing for squad places. In the immediate aftermath of the Rooney saga, I read that Ferg has been promised a 60 million war-chest. Could be hot-air to placate Ferg. Could be that he really will be allowed to spend some of that Ronaldo money. And if he does, it will only prove that Ferg's no-value-in-the-transfer-market comments were a huge load of fucking bullshit coming from a guy who's never in the past even blinked at spending massive sums on players.





Will be interesting to see what luck he has in actually attracting big names now that his neighbours are paying the kind of corn only the Glazers can afford in the red half of Manchester.
 
There's no doubt that Fergie likes to spend but he rarely blows his cash on big-name finished products that the media's always crying out for. Last one being Berbatov and before that Veron. (and look how that turned out).





Out of all the players you listed as part of the injection of cash/talent, only two (Rio & Roo) have moved past being merely squad players, most were purchased with a strategy that extends beyond ?????? for immediate Prem titles.





In an ideal world, every transfer would offer the type of value as the deals for Van Der Sar, Evra and Vidic.
 
Paul said:There's no doubt that Fergie likes to spend but he rarely blows his cash on big-name finished products that the media's always crying out for. Last one being Berbatov and before that Veron. (and look how that turned out).




I thought I'd save your blushes with Veron! If 20 mil isn't blowing cash then I don't know what is. You're either buying unproven talent at unproven talent prices, or you're spending big on players that you think are worth the money - there aren't that many teams in the world that have spent 20 million on a player, let alone 30 million. If those 20 million players represented good market value when they were bought, what the hell has changed? Only possible answer is Ferg's wallett.








Last season UTD had lost Tevez & Ronaldo. Obviously needed some attacking players to help Rooney (who did a great job of carrying the fight on his own, but the league & Champs league challenges both fizzled out as soon as he went awol with injury). Still can't believe that Ferg had the money to spend, as he declared he did, and didn't put in a bid for Sneijder for example for 11 mil, yet 7.4 mil was spent on 'Bebe' a season later after UTD had won nothing... which infers that it was only on-field failure that pushed the Glazer's into releasing some funds, and it was a paltry amount compared to spending in previous seasons.





Who's Ferg tapping up then? Bale won't come cheap.
 
I'm happy to see Fergie willing to take risks on expensive up-and-comers, C Ronaldo being the best example of this policy. I'd rather see Smalling at United for 12 mil than any number of 27+ year old 'name' defenders or 8 million on Bebe as opposed to Van Der Vaart.
 
8mil for VdV is a steal, he's practical a world class midfielder.


8mil for Bebe is a joke compared.
 
No doubt that VdV is a steal at 8million but he's also 27.





Bebe is only 20 and has played one game for United (one he did pretty well in). Let's give the lad a chance before we write him off.
 
Hey, I go back to the first point - teh UTD have been written-off before and come back strong. My point is that I've never seen Ferg do it on a budget, and I've often heard UTD fans deny that any of their success might be down to spending power...


Now I have seen Ferg on a budget, the Carling Cup isn't something you can really taunt Liverpool with.
 
Paul said:He scored on his first start. He's big, strong and quick with a decent touch. I ride.




His 'goal' was very debatable to whether the ball even crossed the line and it definitely was cross and not a shot. I'm more impressed with Obertan than Bebe.


But yes he's young and maybe he'll come good. I didn't mean he was a joke of a player, just the circumstances under which he signed, the fact that had only just been bought by the Portuguese club for under 1 mil, before they immediately shipped him on the United for a 7mil profit. The fact SAF (or anyone from United?) had never actually seem him play. All very dodgy.
 
just a thought it would be interesting to count brazilian soccer players as an export commodity


it must bring in a couple 100 million dollars a year on the international trade market


b/w


VdV is proving to be the best aquisition for the price so far


although i thik ozil/khedira will be strong with real for a while


(as well as humble instead of some of the players, we have seen)


i hope ibrahimovic does not pull a sneijder/robben and excel after being traded


because he makes robinho look like sean penn
 
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Great way to become the highest scoring player this season.
 
Classic poacher goal. If 'Arry has any sense he'd be focusing his rage on Gomes for not playing to the whistle. Clattenburg's gesture after it goes in is classic, need to find a clip of it.
 
We have to wait now for some Man United hating 'neutral' to poast about how Nani should have picked up two yellows for the dive and handball.





I'll take the 3 points.