Buff or DK, feel free to merge this with another thread if necessary. News this evening regarding Manchester United striker Diego Forlán possibly being on the move... Forlán hopes for Atlético switch -- sportinglife.com This could be a case of what's one man's floor being another man's ceiling, it's been no secret that Forlán has been forlorn, very frustrated with his lack of chances in Man Utd's first team, but Kenny Cooper could reap the benefits if Forlán's move goes through. Is this a realistic or viable expectation? And would we, as American fans, be cheering for Diego Forlán to win a transfer elsewhere?
Not really. There's still Smith, Saha, Van Nistlerooy and a bunch of guys who play both forward and in the midfield (Scholes, Fletcher, Ronaldo, OGS). IOW, if Cooper has a shot to play 1st team minutes at forward, Forlan wasn't about to get in his way.
Also,don't forget that often ManUre have often gone with one "pure" striker,placing a Giggs or Scholes(Fletcher up front?When?) behind RVN. Cooper is behind RVN Saha and (maybe) Smith at that "central strker " position.
SAF has said he wants to play a 4-4-2 and he wants/needs 4 top forwards to do that. With OGS out for 3 months, Cooper could have a chance to step up and prove himself because right now its only RVN, Saha, and Smith (probably in that order) ahead of him.
At any big club, you are not going to win a spot by default -- at least not while the transfer window is open. If OGS is out for awhile, Man United will buy someone. Cooper has a great chance at his age and with the start he has had. He doesn't need to worry about who is in front or behind him, he just needs to keep banging in goals in the reserves. It's like the lower level of any sport in any league. To move up, you need to stand out as the best or one of the best in the reserves. If you do that, they will find a spot for you. Btw, Smith is ahead of Cooper right now at ANY position.
It's very easy to forget about Bellion. I think SAF already has. Worst choice last year. Shown nothing, has nothing, will be nothing. Can anyone say D1 loan? He's not just raw. He is as far away as charcoal is to a diamond.
Chris M has it right...all Cooper has to do is keep doing what he has been doing...banging in goals for the reserves...sooner or later he will get his chance...( don't give me the kirovski comparisons...he was NEVER eligible to play for the first team...couldn't get a work permit)...Cooper already has one...
What?!?!?!?! Seriously people, think before you speak. And you being a ManU fan, at least listing it, I'd expect better than this. So somehow Cooper who's still so wet behind the ears that ManUtd doesn't even list him on their 1st team becomes 4th choice if Forlan is out, thus implying that he's 5th now. So he's ahead of Bellion? Eddie Johnson? Nardiello, Jones (or is he a mid?) and Wood? What are you basing this on? At least some of the other young pups I just listed are officially part of the First Team. Heck, some of even gotten in some actually appearances for ManUtd. Ok, so maybe Cooper has played well for the reserves. To me that's still a big leap to conclude that he's somehow 4th. It's going to be a couple years before he gets there.
Oh, he had plenty of chances. He just couldn't finish them. That's why he's out of there. I doubt that ManU are ever done loading themselves with offensive talent (their lack of picking up defensive players over the last couple of years has been mystifying). Forlorn & Bellion or anyone else leaving would mean ManU picking up some other players. Doubtful it would mean Cooper would jump higher on the depth chart.
I'm not saying Cooper's going to play, but Nardiello, Johnson, and Wood are not around. Nardiello and Johnson on loan for the season, and Wood is just gone. Edit: ...and Bellion just plain sucks.
FACT: Johnson and Nardiello are on loan FACT: SAF wouldn't loan out Cooper because he "has plans for him" What would you get from those two facts, plus learning OGS is out for 3 months and Forlan is halfway out the door? Seriously, think before you post.
I wasn't really- it was more along the lines that I've seen speculation that Smith might play a right mid role. I also think Smith is a thug with the maturity of a four -year-old,but I agree he's still likely ahead of Cooper till the first time he beats up someone outside a bar.
Yeah, but he doesn't need them to be just forwards. Ronaldo, Scholes and Fletcher are all perfectly capable of playing up there. I believe it's the natural position for both Fletcher and Ronaldo (I think it's Ronaldo's best position) and certainly Scholes is no stranger to the spot. That's 6 guys he could play at forward who are all pretty much locks for the first team. Also, Ferguson can say he wants to go to a 4-4-2, but that's most likely only because he probably wants to be able to play RVN and Saha at the same time, and neither is really capable of being a midfielder. But the rest of his forward options all are, so if Saha or RVN are out, he could very well switch back to a one striker setup to simply get his best players on the field. Such as: Code: --------------Saha/RVN--------------- -------Scholes----------Smith-------- Giggs-------------------------Ronaldo ----------------Keane---------------- O'Shea----Brown---Silvestre--Nevilles ---------------Howard---------------- I agree with the other poster. For Cooper to break into a regular spot, he'll have to fight his way into it, which means he has work to do at the reserve level still. I think it's reasonable to think he may see a couple first team subs and maybe even one start this year, but for the most part his concentration should be on forcing SAF to notice him by dropping goals by the bucketfull in the reserves. Kid has time, he's not yet 20.
Fletcher's natural position is central midfield, as far as i know, he has never been played at striker at any level for united ronaldo is more of a withdrawn forward type than an out and out forward and he won't be played there as he is needed on the wing and will probably be rested until at least november (damn worthless olympics, 2 intl. tournaments for a young player after a long season are rediculous) scholes actually started out as a striker but was moved deeper into midfield cooper's chance will most likely come in the league cup and if he does well then he might get a look in for the first team, but i'm not holding my breath because ruud, saha, and smith can all play as a lone striker so despite ole being hurt cooper has no chance unless there is an injury situation of catastrophic levels to break in through default