Modric

[WillieRedNut]

James Ducker who's usually spot on with United transfer news said, he's been told United aren't in for Modric. Unless Spurs offer him up(his words) which seems unlikely to me.

[bharris]

Modric was impressive the other night, albeit against Ireland (no offence to them), he did shine in that game. He is very forward thinking & now we have Kagawa I'd much rather have somebody who is more of an all rounder (yes Modric gets stuck in but he's not exactly a bull who is going to terrify somebody off the ball is he?), more of a typical centre midfielder would be my preference.



If there is a carbon copy of Rossi anywhere I'd snap him up, the other night watching Rossi playmaking & pinging passes from a CB position & throwing his weight around to stop Spain made me drool. (It's a shame he is Roma through & through)

I hope we get to see Stootman at some point for the Dutch, then we can see what he's all about. Having watched very little of him myself, he looked box to box, more of what I would prefer to buy.

[bharris]

Jun 12, 2012 17:40:40 GMT WillieRedNut said:

James Ducker who's usually spot on with United transfer news said, he's been told United aren't in for Modric. Unless Spurs offer him up(his words) which seems unlikely to me.

I myself cannot imagine why Spurs would sell to us, especially when they were offered £40 million last year. Not only that but Modric has publically stated last year he wanted to move to the Chelsea mugs. Levy will drive a hard sale & we are best just staying clear of him, he's a p****. But it appears the press have managed to create a storm out of nothing.

[Deleted]

Fergie's talking bollocks if he thinks we've never had a holding midfielder.
Butt, Phil Neville, Smith, O'Shea.
They were all in midfield for no other reason than to sit and tackle.
They didn't get forward, didn't use the ball that well, didn't take on players, didn't score. They just tackled and gave the ball to a better player.
And I would bloody love to have Butty back in there now.

[jimbonda]

Jun 12, 2012 20:52:30 GMT dazjoe said:

Fergie's talking bollocks if he thinks we've never had a holding midfielder.
Butt, Phil Neville, Smith, O'Shea.
They were all in midfield for no other reason than to sit and tackle.
They didn't get forward, didn't use the ball that well, didn't take on players, didn't score. They just tackled and gave the ball to a better player.
And I would bloody love to have Butty back in there now.

but none of those players were ever a fixture in the team, on top of that only nicky butt was a genuine midfielder. smith was a striker, o'shea and neville utility players.

so no, fergies not really talking bollocks, certainly in terms of spending big money on a player who sits in there and is a fixture in the side, we've never bought that type of player.

[Deleted]

Jun 12, 2012 20:52:30 GMT dazjoe said:

Fergie's talking bollocks if he thinks we've never had a holding midfielder.
Butt, Phil Neville, Smith, O'Shea.
They were all in midfield for no other reason than to sit and tackle.
They didn't get forward, didn't use the ball that well, didn't take on players, didn't score. They just tackled and gave the ball to a better player.
And I would bloody love to have Butty back in there now.

Butt - 21 Goals
P. Neville - 5 Goals
Smith - 7 goals
O'Shea - 10 goals



see - they do score

[ginger18legend]

Jun 12, 2012 21:05:18 GMT jimbonda said:

but none of those players were ever a fixture in the team, on top of that only nicky butt was a genuine midfielder. smith was a striker, o'shea and neville utility players.

so no, fergies not really talking bollocks, certainly in terms of spending big money on a player who sits in there and is a fixture in the side, we've never bought that type of player.

Bingo!

[Deleted]

They weren't fixtures in the team, but still played a lot of matches. We have had them, maybe we haven't went out and spent big money on one before, but it is still talking bollocks to say we have not had one.
Yes we have, whether they played evey game, or cost 20 million, is beside the point.

I'm not saying we need a Makalele type player, one who does nothing except tackle, but with Fletchers illness we have no one who can really do the constant graft in there, just a lot of ball players. We need one ball winner to give the ball to the ball players.

[mkahmed89]

Jun 12, 2012 9:48:35 GMT Jayrannasaurus said:

You guys are missing his point, Parker is a purely defensive player (better than Modric defensively), what many think we need.

i rather see us go for someone younger. Parker only has a couple of years left in him. i think Sir Alex would prefer to invest in much younger player that is similar in playing style to Parker.

[mkahmed89]

Jun 12, 2012 17:44:04 GMT bharris said:

I hope we get to see Stootman at some point for the Dutch, then we can see what he's all about. Having watched very little of him myself, he looked box to box, more of what I would prefer to buy.

i have been hoping he doesnt play for the Dutch at all in the Euros so that he doesnt interest other clubs and spark a bidding war. plus, if he plays well for Holland, and assuming only we are genuinely interested, then PSV could just add a few more millions to his asking price.

[Jayrannasaurus]

There's a difference between having had a defensive midfielder and having deployed a player specifically as a defensive midfielder, in terms of the latter the Gaffer is spot on.

[Deleted]

Jun 13, 2012 5:40:40 GMT Jayrannasaurus said:

There's a difference between having had a defensive midfielder and having deployed a player specifically as a defensive midfielder, in terms of the latter the Gaffer is spot on.

So when Neville and O'Shea played there they played there because of their ________?

Answers on a postcard, please note that defensive skills is the incorrect answer so it must be one of the following:

1 - Their attacking goalscoring prowess
2 - Their defense splitting passes
3 - Their running with the ball
4 - Their, Christ knows, I give up.

[Stew]

5. Fellow midfielders being injured.

[mightyez]

there are options we can go for all undr 20 million which i expect is what we will do.
tiote, mvilla, strootman (never seen him play), asamoah and lasanna diarra (cheapest option) to be fair even jones can be converted.
i think all those players can do a really good job 2 of them have played in the prem successfully whlst the other options are young but talented they are also good with the ball at their feet.
likely fergie will have faith in scholes and cleverly to kick off the attacks whilst carrick and someone to be bought will hold back as pr say.

[sleel6]

If we end up signing nobody which will probably be the situation come September, I wouldn't mind seeing Jones in midfield alongside Carrick (maybe a bit deeper).

Gets up and down effectively, gets stuck in and he isn't bad on the ball either.