The North Remembers - Winter 2018/19 Transfer Thread

Precisely, the point. He adds value to teams who are dominant. He doesn't really create that dominance, but he does thrive on it. To say he's a passenger is harsh, but it isn't that inaccurate.

 

I’d go along with that. In an ideal situation we’d be dominant and he’d be a fantastic squad player who can facilitate others (which G+A doesn’t account for - yes he scored the free kick but what is the measure of how he turned the game the rest of the time?). I also think he’ll make an excellent coach.

We would be better off looking to become dominant in our front three and in the 6, with Mata as an option to change up out shape. Pogba’s our alpha in the middle.

If we want to give those minutes to Angel then fine. But we will sorely lack that professionalism and character when trying to show AG how to control a game, how to carry himself, and how to apply himself.

 

Like i said football goes beyond stats look at xavi iniesta. Lampard Gerrard scored more goals and assists than scholes and feck Milner has more assists than Scholes but Scholes was far better footballer far creative than them and could dictate the tempo or flow of game. I still maintain Mata is far creative outlet than rooney.

 

Lazio owner said Sergej will stay in for one more season and they actually received a bid from Acmilan which was quoted/translated as "obscene" and no one in italy would have rejected it but it was few days before transfer window shuts and they had no time for replacement. The fans know he will leave at the end of the season and probably has a suitor already talking with his agent so he is not giving his all.

Forget Saul he recently said he he has no intention to leave club and already in talk with club to sign long term contract and see out his playing days in athletico shirt.

 

Nothing worth being overly worried about (yet at least) due to the dubious sources. But there are troubling reports concerning Bailly being possibly shipped out.
Bailly has been disappointing last season, especially since returning from his ankle injury, but he's clearly shown his quality with us as he was the best CB we had, pretty much as soon as he arrived.
Besides, if there are defenders and particularly CBs we are looking to get rid off, Jones and/or Rojo are the guys we should be looking towards, at this time.

 

Would you guys take Meunier at this point or is it a few seasons too late?

 

The need for Meunier is nowhere near as pressing now with Dalot present. Granted, we still don't know exactly what we have in him, but the potential appears to be there and he needs to be playing to develop and grow.
If available (at a reasonable price), Meunier is hard to turn down though. But there are other, more urgent needs that need to be addressed first now IMO. Furthermore, unless there is some kind of issue with Tuchel or PSG management, it's hard to see him leaving. Even when he returns, Dani Alves is no long term solution and we don't know how he'll return either.

 

Another rumor that has popped up today is apparently Mourinho and United interested in bringing Zlatan back for the remainder of the season in January.

www.espn.com/soccer/club/manchester-united/360/blog/post/3666214/why-jose-mourinho-desperately-needs-zlatan-ibrahimovic-back-at-manchester-united

 

His legs are gone but his holdup, linkup play is far better than Lukaku and still a predator in box. Lukaku needs rest and Rashford for me is not the man to lead united line given his poor form (dont blame all on Jose) and brainfart decision making in final third. So Zlatan on bench is no brainer.

 

Except for the fact stats already support your argument about Scholes and Xaviesta.

You just have to know what stats to pull and how they should be interpreted.

We no longer live in the age of the 1990's from a data perspective.

 

Agree. This season needs to be rescued and with the dearth of leadership and finishing quality on this squad it's not a bad idea at all to bring back Zlatan for a half season to help us escape from the hole we've dug for ourselves already.

Still need to bring in a proper CB in January as the top priority, but that may not be possible.

 

Jeez, why not bring back Rooney and Schwini on loan in the winter while we're at it?

Rashford may as well just leave if Zlatan is brought back to spot Lukaku. I love Zlatan but no.

Unless we bring him back to replace Mourinho. Now that would be fun.

 

There are different sides to this, as far as I'm concerned. First, if we knew for sure that Mourinho would be fired soon or would not finish the season (fired by Feb/Mar at the latest), then Zlatan should not be brought back. With someone new coming in (even on a temporary basis), the hope is that we will be playing more open and attacking football with more pace. Playing that way, there simply is no room for Zlatan and bringing him back makes no sense.
On the other hand, if Mourinho is going to stick around (as it could very well be the case by the looks of it), then adding Zlatan is not the worst idea. It's not like playing vibrant, fast and athletic football will be the norm under Mourinho. Ever. In his slower and ponderous style, Zlatan even at his age, could work to a certain extent.
As it's been suggested, Zlatan has the personality to perhaps keep the team together and more importantly, lead it. And with Mourinho at the helm, he might just help us limp to 4th place, perhaps help with winning an FA Cup. In this system, we need an alternative to Lukaku, who has been poor so far and Zlatan could probably do the job until the end of the season.
But bringing him back completely depends on whether Mourinho is still in place or not in January.

 

expressing my opinion.. i didnt brought stats into arguement, was merely replying to other poster.. Just stating the stats isnt benchmark to evaluate a player.

 

Do you think Rashford is good enough to lead our attack ?? I have come to accept that Jose will not leave mid season, unless we are languishing in bottom half, and there is no Lukaku replacement in current Jose system and Zlatan may come to help us out and we may keep Lukaku fresh.

 

Mundo deportivo has claimed United have given contraction extension to Herrera and new deal will be agreed and signed before Jan transfer window.

https://www.mundodeportivo.com/futb...-league-athletic-bilbao-ofertas-mourinho.html

 

Every knows (or at least should) that Mundo Deportivo are pure tabloid, BS trash. They're on the same level as British tabloids (or the likes of Tribalfootball) in terms of credibility and are not trustworthy in the least...

 

Yes if given a run at that position Rashford would be better than a 37 year old Zlatan. Even when Zlatan was here, whatever small speed we have, he makes our game even slower and at times drifts too deep.

 

You said Mata was more creative than Rooney when I compared the two. Unless you are talking about ********ing finger painting, there's CLEAR evidence to support that Mata isn't very creative. He's not Ozil, he's not David Silva, he's not even Rooney. He's probably close to Scholes level output for assists but he doesn't control the game or open play up by making those defense splitting passes that lead to chances.

 

He is way creative than rooney in final third .. I never claimed he could control the tempo of game but he can make team tick over with fast runners around him. Do you even read properly ?? It was for Scholes in comparison with lampard or gerrard. I see game differently, you can rely on your stats all day.

 

Can we afford to give that time?? Even fergie couldnt rossi that opportunity and we are in worst transition of last 25 yrs we havent competed for league in 5 yrs and you want Manager, who hardly nurture young talent, to give him x amount of game while his Job is online and we are languishing in 8th position. Wishful thinking.

 

Mata at his best was more of a SS than a 10. He played off the 9 and because he’s a good finisher and has smart movement he excelled. But that’s when he was more mobile and surrounded by pace on the wings. In our crowded and narrow system he’s useless. Even more so when played at RW.

 

Funny you talk about credibility when you post BR articles all the time

 

By that logic every single one of our players is useless. Our system benefits nobody in the team.

He shouldn’t be a RW, we all agree on that. But if we were a better, ball playing team, we wouldn’t be debating whether or not we should give Mata’s space to a kid, we’d be talking about how great it is to have Mata around for these kids to learn from.

We keep shunning intelligence for athleticism, whereas Man City value both. Imagine the shit we’d be talking about Bernardo Silva after sticking him on our RW, as people preemptively did when we were linked with him.

We rate the speed of a player across the ground more than speed of thought or precision of delivery. We fail to appreciate that athleticism alone doesn’t produce mobility.

 

The vast majority of articles from B/R I post regarding rumors are taken and cited from other reliable sources or outlets.
The others are opinion pieces... Major difference in terms of credibility: one I'd assume even you would understand.... or maybe not (wouldn't be surprised either way tbh).