They'll drive the price up, but he will never go there !
Luka Modric / Signs for Real Madrid
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) is joined by CEO Duncan Drasdo and Financial Director Andy Green from the Manchester United Supporters Trust for a special episode on all things behind the scenes at Old Trafford including a brief history of MUST and their aims today, views on INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe so far, and the Old Trafford regeneration.
They'll drive the price up, but he will never go there !
Paris is quite nice in fairness, but the EPL should be way more attractive than the French league and as a football player you should prioritise that over the Paris lights.
Paris is a dirty shit hole.
A lot depends on whether you think Fletcher is going to make it back.
Only the club and the doctors know the truth, but the impression I got was that this sickness is manageable from previous discussions with some who had the problem. Although it is a general diagnosis, so the severity of Fletcher's case is hard to guess.
The impression I get from the club is that Fletcher will be back next season. If that is the case, then getting a backup for Carrick is superfluous. If Anderson stays and heals up, that is doubly the case.
Only the club and the doctors know the truth, but the impression I got was that this sickness is manageable from previous discussions with some who had the problem. Although it is a general diagnosis, so the severity of Fletcher's case is hard to guess.
The impression I get from the club is that Fletcher will be back next season. If that is the case, then getting a backup for Carrick is superfluous. If Anderson stays and heals up, that is doubly the case.
If you're super rich it's not.
It is a certain possibility, which is what makes it all very tricky for SAF. But even with all going well, he would not be back until January and it would take him time to find any kind of form (let's face it, Scholes was the exception, not the rule). In that sense you are still in a pickle regarding next season. But it does affect what sort of player you go for as eventually you could have Carrick+Fletcher+New Guy. That's where I don't see us spending big money for Fellaini.
It's all very fine on FM, just stack them up, but SAF really has a hard job this Summer. He has always had this philosophy of always having two good players for any position + one coming through, but right now he has waaaay too many unknown scenarios to deal with and could easily find himself with one or four in some roles. His patience with perma-injured players hasn't paid off in the last few years and to make it worse the "coming throughs" he keeps allowing for in his planning just leave as soon as their agents get a few bob from someone. Then add on top the fact he probably doesn't have so many years left and the temptation to abandon all his principles and stack up world beaters must be huge.
And then there's City aiming for his perch...
Not an easy Summer, by any means.
It's a bit of a Catch-22.
If Ando and Fletch are healthy then the midfield has plenty of backbone.
If they are not, then Scholes, Cleverley, Kagawa, and Modric (???) would be a pretty lightweight group. Though there is always Jones, but I've always thought United looked slower and less imaginative with him in there.
I think United's over-reliance on Carrick this season has made everyone gun shy at the thought of him being injured, but this season's injury crisis may not be next season's.
If SAF ships Anderson off to Portugal or if Fletcher's condition is showing little improvement, then maybe we will see a move for a Tiote or Strootman. But past experience says that SAF will be loyal to Fletcher and Anderson to a fault before cutting them loose (cf. Hargreaves, plus Carrick had a long dip in form due to what turned out to be injury not too long ago but SAF stuck with him).
If Ando and Fletch are healthy then the midfield has plenty of backbone.
If they are not, then Scholes, Cleverley, Kagawa, and Modric (???) would be a pretty lightweight group. Though there is always Jones, but I've always thought United looked slower and less imaginative with him in there.
I think United's over-reliance on Carrick this season has made everyone gun shy at the thought of him being injured, but this season's injury crisis may not be next season's.
If SAF ships Anderson off to Portugal or if Fletcher's condition is showing little improvement, then maybe we will see a move for a Tiote or Strootman. But past experience says that SAF will be loyal to Fletcher and Anderson to a fault before cutting them loose (cf. Hargreaves, plus Carrick had a long dip in form due to what turned out to be injury not too long ago but SAF stuck with him).
I'll stick by my guns - Both positions do need cover / replacements, but I'm more worried about getting a player to challenge for Scholes's position, than a player to cover/challenge for carricks.
Modric / M'vila / Martinez all seem like good targets, although admittedly I've only watched the former for more than 1-2 games (I watched Europa, so a little of Martinez). M'vila's passing percentage was around 90%+, so I'm sure he can certainly spread the play well, or at least get the simple passes right (Carrick was doing Scholes-esque passes throughout the season, although this got curbed a little when Scholes came back - he let him do those crazy 40 yard crossfield passes), and I'd be happy with any of them, on paper (The litmus test is watching them, obviously!).
With a player more in the mould of Carrick, we do get a player that can play alongside him, as well as covering for Carrick himself, so that is useful. Furthermore, those targets ARE younger.
But in the medium term; the next 4-5 years, I think a Modric player would bode very very well for our fortunes; like having a young Scholes joining the team, and then us supplementing our midfield for a "Carrick" type player next season.
That's my preference, although SAF knows best, and obviously the availability of players will help dictate which type of player he may look to gain more cover for.
Just a small (pedantic) thing; but if we get Clyne, we have cover / replacement for Evra and Rafael, as Clyne can play either full back position (not ideal, but hey. Evra's still great). Also, if we get Powell, and another midfielder say Martinez for example, that's 2 CM's
Ideally we will get two midfielder, but realistically I doubt that we'll do that. We work on a budget and spending 40-50m on 2 quality CM when we still have to get a left full back and after spending 12-17m on Kagawa may be overkill for us. Not to forget, that SAF tend to stick to his guns too. I won't be surprised if he leaves one free first team slot for Fletcher, Cleverley and Ando to prove themselves and win it.
Regarding the full back slot, it seems that for some strange reason, SAF is aiming for an experienced left back (Baines) rather then just a young cover/future competitor for Evra. However maybe SAF knows something we don't
Wtf? Paris is a stunning City.
-James Ducker
Admittedly it's from Twitter so I put it in the other thread. Should it stay here, also?
I wish I was a senior source at MUFC. The thought of having the honour to call up James Ducker and tell him the secret happening in the club that no one else is privileged to is already sending shivers down my spine.
Good journos do have contacts... but they only let out what they want to.
Not really a surprising story though, is it?
No one expects us to break the bank for Modric. Even if we want him, it will only go ahead of Spurs are willing to negotiate.. we arent going to get him by offering spurs crazy money which they have to accept.
Not really a surprising story though, is it?
No one expects us to break the bank for Modric. Even if we want him, it will only go ahead of Spurs are willing to negotiate.. we arent going to get him by offering spurs crazy money which they have to accept.
What? Probably the 2nd best place to live if money is no object.
For you maybe. If money was no object, Paris wouldn't be in my top 3 places to live or even holiday. We're funny like that us humans, with our differing opinions.
Not saying Manchester is better mind you cause its obviously not.
I didn't like Paris when I went there just as I didnt like Miami. Others will love both cities though.
Modric is top quality player especially watching him for Croatia but I don't think we should spend over £25M for this player.
Do not like the feel of high prices, and high wages , he has not been loyal to Tottenham sometimes, he may want to come to United and then leave for higher wage after his contract is ending.
I think Modric is great but also is Cleverley. I would not complain if we sign this player at all but I just do not like the feeling of paying high amounts and salaries.
Do not like the feel of high prices, and high wages , he has not been loyal to Tottenham sometimes, he may want to come to United and then leave for higher wage after his contract is ending.
I think Modric is great but also is Cleverley. I would not complain if we sign this player at all but I just do not like the feeling of paying high amounts and salaries.
Paris is filthy and drab to be fair, how anyone can think of it as 'stunning' is beyond me. A city that gained its reputation through marketing.
Disappointing if true.
Our pursuit of a player should not be dictated by money. If we want Modric we should be after him, not holding back because of a fear that Spurs might ask too much. That shows timidity, lack of ambition and a poor transfer strategy. Not surprising we lose out on so many players with an attitude like that.
It's probably bs though.
Just like London I guess, another dirty shithole...
Surely pursuing transfers regardless of their fee is a far worse transfer strategy? Money is always going to dictate transfers - it's no good blowing our transfer budget for the next 3 windows on Modric and then whinging about how we're not spending.
Singapore is the place to be if cleanliness is important, but very boring though.
Thats bullshit.
We shouldnt be spending beyond our means just because its fashionable to.
We must draw a line somewhere. That'll depend on how good the player is and how much we want him...
We probably made inquiries. If Spurs arent willing to talk or consider a reasonable bid, the sensible thing would be to step back and let Spurs make the next move. Either keep the player or come to the negotiating table.
He is their player.. they are entitled to reject all bids and keep him.. thats completely fine. There is no point pursuing it if that is the case.
Having a budget is a poor strategy and cowardly? That makes no sense.
100% agree with this
Seems to be our general philosophy when we go for a Spurs player. ''Deny Deny.. Player admits interest.. We jump in a pursue.''
I strongly disagree.
Agreed. What Will talks about as an "attitude" is actually the reality of football clubs with a budget. I honestly don't get how spending silly money has suddenly become essential to building a good squad. It often is necessary on one or two players, but not always.
Making inquiries constitutes pursuit in my book. If we inquired and were quoted an unreasonable figure that's a different matter. And not the situation Ducker described, when he said we weren't after him.
Spurs want to keep the player - they're not going to come to us. They'd be quite happy to tell Modric's rep that, even though they're willing to consider offers, no offer was made. We can't possibly land Modric by being passive.
I think it is entirely reasonable/likely that United are aware (as anyone who knows football would be) of the mountainous sum Spurs will demand for Modric and decided not to get involved in protracted negotiations, with Chelsea the player's stated preference as the kicker.
Could also be that Ducker is being fed the line to dampen any thoughts Spurs have of mugging us about the price, but I doubt it.
I think this is pretty much bang on. At the end of the day Modric would be nice but he's not a necessity and really is just going to make some games easier for us to dominate better. Having another midfielder, who can contribute attackingly but importantly is solid defensively could be the difference between success and not, particularly so if Carrick gets injured for any considerable period.
If Harry's gone it should hopefully make it easier for us to sign bale.
feck 'Arry, it is Levy pulling the strings in that department, (aka: Omarlogic). Doesnt matter who is in charge.
great post
Paris is stunning, so is London. They are incredible places bursting with history, culture and dynamism.
You have a strange way of looking at places if you disagree.
You have a strange way of looking at places if you disagree.
This. I know it's a Modric thread but Paris is a magical city. Really baffled me to see people calling it a 'shit hole'.
evra is a terrible defender, rio is old and vulnerable, vid is a complete question mark coming off a knee. raf is...better going forward than evra, an aggressive, scrappy defender, getting better with experience but is an injury concern.
WUM? There's so many things wrong with that post.
Hasn't Ferguson said he's never played with a 'defensive' midfielder and never will? Or something to that effect?
I personally want a proper midfielder, a box to box as it were. You know the ones of yesteryear when they weren't classified as AM or DM as it is now. There's not many players out there that fit that role now though unfortunately. I guess Martinez is probably the closest one I can think of?
I watched Modric closely the other night against Ireland and impressed me, all be it against a poor Ireland team.
I personally want a proper midfielder, a box to box as it were. You know the ones of yesteryear when they weren't classified as AM or DM as it is now. There's not many players out there that fit that role now though unfortunately. I guess Martinez is probably the closest one I can think of?
I watched Modric closely the other night against Ireland and impressed me, all be it against a poor Ireland team.