Some nostalgia in this thread...I remember Keane most of the time for that 99 CL semi up in Turin. Man that was badass!
Maybe. But then, we didn't really try going after him. If we just put half the effort we put into getting him that we put with Hargreaves, we would've had a decent shot... Especially with Keano being his favorite player and Keano being in our team at the time.
I'm surprised that giev nHargreaves' performances last season against Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal inparticular, that so many people are willing to write him off as a player, regardless of his injury record. I think as a player he has all the qualities we need. What we need is a midfielder that gets back and covers the runs from midfield. Against Porto and Liverpool our main achilies was that they played it out wide and we didn't track the late runners from midfield. Hargreaves cover this area pretty well, regardless of his skill on the ball. I think he's tidy enough on the ball to be the solution myself. Just got to get him fit, which is another question entirely.
Hargreaves is great, as long as he doesn't have the ball to feet right outside our box. I think next season we should explore midfield trios involving Carrick, Hargreaves and someone else.
Hagreaves would be useful in certain situations but he is not the complete answer. As others have mentioned, his lack of skill on the ball plus his general lack of positional awareness means that another central midfielder is required (in addition to Carrick).
See, I thought Anderson could have maybe been the 3rd in that triple, but I don't think he's shown enough attacking prowess yet to justify it. He has the motor to engine around box-to-box, ala Lucho Gonzalez, but a midfield of Anderson/Carrick/Hargreaves doesn't have the ability to slot through a great ball like Scholesy did, or even Keano. We'd inevitably see Rooney or Berbs drop back and keep collecting the ball from midfield.
One of Carrick's greatest strengths is that he knows where to be when the other team has the ball. Anderson is similar to Hargreaves in that he is going to pursue the ball and forget that there are opposing players who are moving without the ball.
Actually...that's exactly what Anderson does when he plays as the cap-stone of a midfield pyramid; slide through perfect through balls. Look at the pass he played to Tevez last season against Wigan, or the pass he played to Berbatov against Liverpool in the build up to Tevez's goal. Anderson in his natural role is a completely different player.
Yeah....I guess I haven't seen him in that role that much, considering he's hardly played it since joining us. I never watched him at Porto either.. Have to wonder if Possebon of Gibson will get a couple games to stake a claim before we go and buy someone again.
Disagree. Reason? Egos. Roy Keane has a bigger ego than any of: Rio, Ronaldo and Rooney and his personality is extremely autocratic and oppressive. The way Rooney and Ronaldo have been moddycoddled and barely taught right from wrong (relative to how players were kept in check during Keane's time) - they would not take kindly to Roy Keane completely and utterly keeping them in check. Ronaldo is a primadonna of the major kind and it would take some serious biting of the tongue for Keane not to unleash on Ronaldo with the fury he would go after our opposition with. Rooney cannot be repremanded by anyone. The kid that he was when Keano was here is very different to the young man that he is now - he has a massive sense of self-entitlement now that comes to the fore with tremendous force when he is angry. It would take an almighty compromise on Keano's side for him to tolerate that and if he didn't.. well...KABOOM. Rio would shrink into a shell in the presence of Keane. Keane's personality and our pampered stars simply do not go together anymore. We have changed dramatically since he was here and I am certain that the players those lads were when Keano was here compared to now, could not cope with his demands and level of expectation. I also think our level of expression and daring would lessen for fear of the furious bollocking Keano would dish out.. Then... you add him basically telling Park, Carrick, Berbatov and whoever else he considered to either not be outright MUQ or pulling their weight enough to meet his standard and you literally have a recipe for anarchy - very similar to the way he left the club under such acrimony, actually. Robson was not like that. He didn't bollock people or put an overbearing shadow of expectation upon them - as a captain, for the team around him, he did not get the best out of his men because of that. Robson would just load all the burden onto himself and do his thing. That would not rub any of those aformentioned egos the wrong way and would have him slot into the camp we have with the minimum of fuss and no restriction of expression. Robson's long-range shooting and ability to play others in with certainty would also be of massive benefit to this side. -- If you'd have asked me the same thing 2yrs ago, I'd say Keano for certain, but our lads have grown into what they are because there is no restriction upon how they play and you can't take that away from them and not expect a massive amount of fallout. Without a doubt. Keane's passes were much more lateral and non-probing than Scholes'. It's misleading to just compare them as numbers because there was often twice or thrice as much daring in Scholesy's passing compared to Keane's. I love Keano, but appreciating what he is and the force of nature that he was means something will always have to give i.e. complete autonomy and that is something I don't think the players we have now would be prepared (or able) to give without a huge dip in their performance levels. Keane might make Carrick cry such is his timidness, lol.
Not to mention how angry Keane would be if Carrick showed up wearing 16 on his back. *mushroom cloud*
We could get Michael Bradley for probably 3 or 4 million. Not realistic I know, but I have high hopes for that kid.
What, to join Ljajic, Gibson, and Rodrigo in the reserves? We don't need more backups. I like Bradley, don't get me wrong, but he wouldn't be MUQ for awhile. And we need a class midfielder now.
DS, you make it sound like adding Keane to this side would be a recipe for disaster....surely he wouldn't be a net negative? Also, implicit in your post is the idea that we currently play with a pampered bunch of superstars and underachievers. Were the squads while Keane was here really that much tougher mentally?
Beckham vs Ronaldo mentally...? 1-0 Beckham. Prime Giggs vs Ronaldo/Nani/Park mentally? Giggs 3-0 Irwin vs Evra mentally? Irwin 1-0 Prime Scholes vs Carrick mentally? 1-0 Scholes Schmeichel vs Van der Sar mentally? lol do I even need to go there? You get the idea.
Roy Keane is a powder keg and we have a number of little sparks that would make that keg go boom. I've said many times in many different threads on BS that Roy is (and has to be) the epicentre of any side he is in, it would have to be made in his image with him in complete control of the team with no player in his side stepping out of line. You don't meet those conditions with Roy and trouble won't be far off. I think it would be a disaster, truth be told. Roy would be an outlier. Relative to what we were, this side is soft. I wouldn't call them underachievers, no. But Fergie has had to take a completely different approach to get the best out of them. As for the mental toughness, I think it's unequivocally clear that we're not a patch on the old sides fot that. But that's true of a lot of sides and not just us, imo.
Manuel Fernandes? He's always been the one portuguese player that i felt would be amazing in a man united shirt, as hes got so many qualities to him and a great work ethic..hes a reall runner in the middle of the field. one of Valencias few bright spots this season with token performances against Barca/ Both madrids/Sevilla/Villareal where he really dominated and imposed himself...Valencia fans are really happy with him and was the one player they didnt ridicule after they lost to barca earlier in the year Hes great at moving the ball, good on both sides of the pitch attacking and defending, tremendous foot skill, and is tough as a SOB in tracking back and muscling players. Last weekend he played the whole gasme for Valencia, but it was only determined after that he played with a broken leg for the 60 minutes!!! .So hes missing the next 2 months This just outlines how hardworking and tough he is to go along with his skillset. He's already performed really well in the EPL for Everton..hes had some great matches against chelsea, arsenal, tottenham when they were quality, etc..the way he made fabregas fall on his ass and trounced Arsenals midfield was majestic. I just think he really fits well with the makeup for your club and the style they play..he has alot of qualities to him and can be nurtured into a truly dominant force. There is really no realistic top quality DM out there..and after spending big on berba maybe Manelele is a good option. Hagreaves-Fernandes-Carrick in the middle offers alot in defending and attacking, really balanced. Andershow can also play more forward as well in his more natural position if you get a quality CM box to box too. It would add alot of versatility to your lineups as well in terms of formations and pairings etc. Just my two cents. Of course there are other good options out there to, so im just being selfish in hoping a great player has the chance to develop in a great enviroment.
I think people are being very harsh on this side, especially the mentality side of it all. I think this side has some very strong characters who are mentally strong and that has been paramount to our recent success. Maybe they're not mentally strong in a way that see's them squaring up to people, or fighting with opposition players, or telling everyone else what to do, but they have their strengths and they srve their purposes. Having a side that'll fight anyone and everyone isn't going to see you succeed in Europe. Ronaldo get's verbally abused and kicked mercilessly for 90 minutes in some games, but he always get's up and keeps demanding the ball. Lesser players would lose the plot and go sick but he doesn't. Yes, he throws his arms around like a big girl but some of the challenges that he's subject to are crimina,l but he has a little moan and then pulls himself up and readies himself for another go, undeterred. Rooney is a fighter who never lets any ball go and relentlessly chases down the opposition.. No cause is lost, no chance ever written off. He chases and tries for everything from the first minute to the last. Lesser players might give up but he doesn't. Coiupled with his skill and vision he's a major character. Ferdinand too has grown in his time with the club. He's a genuine leader of men now. Decisive, strong, vocal and almost peerless on his position. He might not be violent or as aggressive as Keane but I disagree strongly that he'd "shrink" in the presence of him. Vidic too has a presence about him which boosts this side imensely. Van Der Sar's calming influence has seen our defence (the last 4 games aside) become far more assured and stable than it has been since Bruce and Pallister. He might noyt be as athletic as Schmiechel but as a Keeper he's easily amongst the bestx we've EVER had. I think the sentamentalists here are giving the current squad far too much of a hard time.
You're not talking about Ricardo Quaresma, are you? That guy is a flop. He's only decent in Portugal. Barca bounced him. Inter bounced him. He's barely gotten in a sniff for Chelsea. He's shite. His time has come and gone IMO.
Actually he was referring to that bigsoccer user, whose name is Quaresma... lol yeah Sdot, I felt the same way, like how in the ******** could someone name him in this thread... or anything for possible purchases.