Luka Modric / Signs for Real Madrid

[sammsky1]

Couldn't think of a better thread to put it in, but I'm entering new muppet levels - yes - a starting XI based on muppet signings. Here goes:

----------Welbeck-------
--Young---Kagawa---Nani
-------Carrick---Modric---
Alba---Vidic---Ferdinand-Clyne

*opens Fifa case*

----------Rooney-------
--Young---Kagawa---Nani
-------Carrick---Modric/Martinez---
Evra---Vidic---Ferdinand---Jones
-------------DdG---------------

With Lindegard, Rafael, Evans, Cleverley, Valencia, Hernandez and Welbeck on the bench

is more than good enough to take on anyone in Europe.


And that still leaves the likes of Smalling, Park, Giggs, Scholes, Anderson and Fletcher (if he returns) in the stands!

 

[Will Absolute]

I would love to get Modric but it's not something we should lose any sleep over. I think with time and experience, Cleverley can do everything Modric can. I would love to see a midfield 3 of Carrick, Cleverley and Kagawa. I think the potential interchanges between Cleverley and Kagawa would be particularly exciting. I'd be loathe to stall Clev's development by putting Modric in the team instead of him.

Yes. If he becomes a completely different, much better player.

I like Cleverley, but I've never understood the assumption that a young Utd player will develop all kinds of attributes which he's never shown any signs of possessing. Bebe could be Zinedine Zedane if he learned his composure on the ball, balance, vision.............. But is it likely?

 

[simonhch]

Yes. If he becomes a completely different, much better player.

I like Cleverley, but I've never understood the assumption that a young Utd player will develop all kinds of attributes which he's never shown any signs of possessing. Bebe could be Zinedine Zedane if he learned his composure on the ball, balance, vision.............. But is it likely?

Obviously you are trying to be ridiculous here. Mission accomplished. Comparing Bebe to Zidane is nothing like comparing Cleverley to Modric.

I never said they were the same players but whereas Modric is clearly coveted for his ability to maintain possession, be calm under pressure and move the ball around at a crisp one touch pace, Cleverley is a player that possesses many of the same qualities (albeit under development). I don't see what is so controversial about that.

 

[Pexbo]

Yes. If he becomes a completely different, much better player.

I like Cleverley, but I've never understood the assumption that a young Utd player will develop all kinds of attributes which he's never shown any signs of possessing. Bebe could be Zinedine Zedane if he learned his composure on the ball, balance, vision.............. But is it likely?

I'd say that's pretty unfair. Cleverley has all the attributes, he just needs to mature, improve of course and gain consistency. Everything that will come in the next 4 years.

 

[Ash_G]

I'd say that's pretty unfair. Cleverley has all the attributes, he just needs to mature, improve of course and gain consistency. Everything that will come in the next 4 years.

Don't think he's got his long passing, one of his main attributes. Clev looks to be a different sort of player.

 

[Ole'sbodyguard]

I would love to get Modric but it's not something we should lose any sleep over. I think with time and experience, Cleverley can do everything Modric can. I would love to see a midfield 3 of Carrick, Cleverley and Kagawa. I think the potential interchanges between Cleverley and Kagawa would be particularly exciting. I'd be loathe to stall Clev's development by putting Modric in the team instead of him.

I'd like United to sign Modric as well but if you look at our options in the position in Scholes, Cleverley, Anderson, Giggs and with Kagawa as an alternative to Rooney, we are not really lacking a playmaker, dribbler or ball player to partner Micheal Carrick.

We lack an alternative to Carrick or a Fletcher type player. In the interests of balance, we really should be looking more towards a defensive player. I don't want United to sign Tiote but he's more along the lines of what would improve our options than Modric IMO. If we sign Modric and Carrick gets an injury the problem is still there.

 

[gza the genius]

I'd like United to sign Modric as well but if you look at our options in the position in Scholes, Cleverley, Anderson, Giggs and with Kagawa as an alternative to Rooney, we are not really lacking a playmaker, dribbler or ball player IMO.

We lack an alternative to Carrick or a Fletcher type player. In the interests of balance, we really should be looking more towards a defensive player. I don't want United to sign Tiote but he's more along the lines of what would improve our options than Modric IMO. If we sign Modric and Carrick gets an injury the problem is still there.

I think Modric would be the best addition to our starting 11, but as you say the actual squad could use cover for Carrick more. Adding Modric would give us an amazing midfield in my opinion (assuming Carrick is playing). When you lose Carrick it's a totally different prospect. Modric would still be my number one choice but Martinez/M'Vila would be more useful to the squad as a whole and still be great alongside Carrick.

 

[davisjw]

Last time we over spent on a Spurs player, Fergie dropped him after his best professional season and was ridiculed for spending so much on a bench player. Don't think he'll dip into that well again.

 

[moses]

I would love to get Modric but it's not something we should lose any sleep over. I think with time and experience, Cleverley can do everything Modric can. I would love to see a midfield 3 of Carrick, Cleverley and Kagawa. I think the potential interchanges between Cleverley and Kagawa would be particularly exciting. I'd be loathe to stall Clev's development by putting Modric in the team instead of him.

Based on what? The lad has promise, no more in my opinion.

 

[acnumber9]

Last time we over spent on a Spurs player, Fergie dropped him after his best professional season and was ridiculed for spending so much on a bench player. Don't think he'll dip into that well again.

I doubt anything that happened with Berbatov would influence Fergie if he wanted Modric. That would be stupid. He once signed Neil Webb from Nottingham Forest to much disappointment. Thankfully the boss didn't let that stop him from going back to Forest for another years later.

 

[Cheesy]

Could you explain why?

I've always felt that he's overrated as a player. No doubt that he's good, but to be quite frank the fees that have been banded about surrounding him are ridiculous. He's a good player yes, but he's not worth £30m and I think that spending that on him could potentially be a massive waste of money.

The reason I feel he's overrated is because he has a tendency to go missing when Tottenham come up against midfield's that can match them, and like some of our current players, he struggles in high pressure situations a lot of the time. It's no coincidence that Tottenham were overrun in many of their games against bigger sides last season, which lead to some heavy defeats. He can control a game against smaller sides and do his best impression of looking like a world class deep lying playmaker, but the reality is that he's not.

I don't have anything against us being linked to him, as he is a good player and I don't want it to look like I don't rate him at all because I do, but for £30m+ we should really be looking for a world class player who is going to completely change our midfield. He will only offer a slight improvement, and for me his signing would be a case of just buying someone because we can.

 

[finneh]

I've always felt that he's overrated as a player. No doubt that he's good, but to be quite frank the fees that have been banded about surrounding him are ridiculous. He's a good player yes, but he's not worth £30m and I think that spending that on him could potentially be a massive waste of money.

The reason I feel he's overrated is because he has a tendency to go missing when Tottenham come up against midfield's that can match them, and like some of our current players, he struggles in high pressure situations a lot of the time. It's no coincidence that Tottenham were overrun in many of their games against bigger sides last season, which lead to some heavy defeats. He can control a game against smaller sides and do his best impression of looking like a world class deep lying playmaker, but the reality is that he's not.

I don't have anything against us being linked to him, as he is a good player and I don't want it to look like I don't rate him at all because I do, but for £30m+ we should really be looking for a world class player who is going to completely change our midfield. He will only offer a slight improvement, and for me his signing would be a case of just buying someone because we can.

Totally agree, particularly with the bolded part. It's no coincidence that Spurs have such a terrible record against the big teams.

 

[Steven Seagull]

I've always felt that he's overrated as a player. No doubt that he's good, but to be quite frank the fees that have been banded about surrounding him are ridiculous. He's a good player yes, but he's not worth £30m and I think that spending that on him could potentially be a massive waste of money.

The reason I feel he's overrated is because he has a tendency to go missing when Tottenham come up against midfield's that can match them, and like some of our current players, he struggles in high pressure situations a lot of the time. It's no coincidence that Tottenham were overrun in many of their games against bigger sides last season, which lead to some heavy defeats. He can control a game against smaller sides and do his best impression of looking like a world class deep lying playmaker, but the reality is that he's not.

I don't have anything against us being linked to him, as he is a good player and I don't want it to look like I don't rate him at all because I do, but for £30m+ we should really be looking for a world class player who is going to completely change our midfield. He will only offer a slight improvement, and for me his signing would be a case of just buying someone because we can.

He wasn't as good last season but in 10/11 he was brilliant in probably 9 out of 10 games against the top 5 clubs in the league. So this theory kind of falls down.

The way you and finneh have now repeated your opinions that he's not very good in pressure situations leads me to believe you have in fact been watching his mate with the shit hair who plays next to him.

 

[peterstorey]

He wasn't as good last season but in 10/11 he was brilliant in probably 9 out of 10 games against the top 5 clubs in the league. So this theory kind of falls down.

The way you and finneh have now repeated your opinions that he's not very good in pressure situations leads me to believe you have in fact been watching his mate with the shit hair who plays next to him.

He's never been good against us and you always roll Spurs over so I don't think he's been much cop against you.

 

[antohan]

The main reason Modric is interesting is we need a Scholes replacement and neither Ando nor Cleverley have shown the fitness, let alone consistent form to bank on them.

That said, we still have Scholes for another season, while we desperately need backup for Carrick AND someone who can strengthen the midfield alongside him for the big games so we don't get bulldozed.

With Kagawa on board creativity through the middle should no longer be as big an issue and the emphasis should be in defensively sound good ballplayers:

Martínez > M'Vila > Modric, in that order, i.e.

Brilliant but unlikely > Why the feck are we not in for him? > Getting raped by Levy

We get M'Vila and I would be over the moon

 

[Will Absolute]

Obviously you are trying to be ridiculous here. Mission accomplished. Comparing Bebe to Zidane is nothing like comparing Cleverley to Modric.

I never said they were the same players but whereas Modric is clearly coveted for his ability to maintain possession, be calm under pressure and move the ball around at a crisp one touch pace, Cleverley is a player that possesses many of the same qualities (albeit under development). I don't see what is so controversial about that.

It's not terribly controversial or outrageous, but Cleverley is almost 23 and has played a handful of games for us, and to assume that he'll develop into a player of Modric's stature, one of the best players of his kind in the world, is a big leap.

Your judgement of Cleverley may be vindicated in the coming years, but he'll be beating the odds if he becomes as good as Modric.

 

[Ole's_toe_poke]

Modric has a much better passing range than Cleverley. He can hit those long cross field passes with immense accuracy like Scholes, whereas Cleverley is more of a runner who plays accurate short passes.

Completely different players who would actually compliment each other really well. That is if Cleverley plays consistently to the kind of form he showed pre-injury.

 

[simonhch]

It's not terribly controversial or outrageous, but Cleverley is almost 23 and has played a handful of games for us, and to assume that he'll develop into a player of Modric's stature, one of the best players of his kind in the world, is a big leap.

Your judgement of Cleverley may be vindicated in the coming years, but he'll be beating the odds if he becomes as good as Modric.

So Cleverley is 22 and hasn't yet quite made it yet at United (reasonable to say he might have done had he not been so unlucky with injuries last season). Yes he is a whole lot of potential right now but this is a player that Fergie called "Potentially the best midfield player in Britain" just a few months ago. A club that has the great tradition of youth development we do, if we're not going to put our faith in someone described in those terms, then what young player would we do it with?

 

[KingMinger22]

I thought Clev was 24

 

[RDCR07]

He is turning 23 in mid August.

 

[Ash_G]

He'a got time on his side but he needs to have a relatively injury free season. If by the end of next season he's approaching 24 and has still barely featured for us then he'll be a big question mark over whether he can be more than a squad player. He'll have virtually no experience of the big games or Europe and if he hasn't stepped up and with scholes likely to be gone for good after next season then I would be suprised if we don't sign another creative player.

 

[RedThaiDevils#7]

I'm not sure about 32m Modric, high hopes on Ando and Clev still and if we win feck all next season i'm sure SAF will get Scholes-replacement right in there with the person he thinks suits our style best.

TBH, I was never worries about our creativity, as we have Giggsy, Scholes, Ando, Clev and as long as all four stay fit next season I'm sure we'd do much better.

What I'm more worried about is the engine of our MF, or in other words the person next to the creative player. I know Carrick's regained his form and all and Fletcher will be back but to be honest, to be a top side again we needed Roy Keane's replacement, which Carrick is really doing his job but still after we lost OH, we don't have a sturdy and strong replacement when he's out. We dont even know how Fletcher will turn out after his recovery and if we look back in 07/08, our main men that won us big matches were those like OH and Park running everything down and played like we have extra men. IF we can look for a decent OH replacement, young and not over priced, I"d reckon the prepared Hazard money should go there, won't cost more than Kagawa and buying a potential MF to replace Pogba should be more worth it in the long run.

Still have high hopes for Clev, we've watched a lot of him and if that feckin bastard K.Davis didn't tackle him, who knows what he could have done last season.

 

[Cheesy]

He wasn't as good last season but in 10/11 he was brilliant in probably 9 out of 10 games against the top 5 clubs in the league. So this theory kind of falls down.

The way you and finneh have now repeated your opinions that he's not very good in pressure situations leads me to believe you have in fact been watching his mate with the shit hair who plays next to him.

What Peter said. He was better against some of the top teams that year, but it still doesn't deny the fact that he often struggles when he comes up against better midfield's.

As well as that, he just happens to have a problem under high pressure, which is a problem that many of our midfielders have as well. Why spend £30m when it doesn't even solve a problem that we have at all?

 

[Still ill]

The main reason Modric is interesting is we need a Scholes replacement and neither Ando nor Cleverley have shown the fitness, let alone consistent form to bank on them.

That said, we still have Scholes for another season, while we desperately need backup for Carrick AND someone who can strengthen the midfield alongside him for the big games so we don't get bulldozed.

With Kagawa on board creativity through the middle should no longer be as big an issue and the emphasis should be in defensively sound good ballplayers:

Martínez > M'Vila > Modric, in that order, i.e.

Brilliant but unlikely > Why the feck are we not in for him? > Getting raped by Levy

We get M'Vila and I would be over the moon

This sort of thing has no place on this forum. Or to put it another way, this is perfect sense from start to finish.

 

[Ash_G]

Yeah I think one of the problems with the current options we have in midfield is that the majority of them are only competing for one spot. Atm carrick has to play and his only real competition is fletcher who might never return. Sure the others could occasionally partner each other but it'd be very rare and not against good teams. In reality you have scholes, giggs, clev and ando all competing for one role and until fletcher returns only carrick around to play the defensive role. As this is the case if be suprised if we moved for modric this season unless we could get him for a decent price somehow.

 

[lysglimt]

Totally agree, particularly with the bolded part. It's no coincidence that Spurs have such a terrible record against the big teams.

Yeah - they have a mediocre goalkeeper, a questionable defense and strikers that don't score enough goals.

Against us - they completely played us off the park at home - but failed in defense and attack. In the away-game - Modric wasn't playing.

 

[Trigg]

I'm still not convinced on Modric myself so I can understand why they'd baulk at the £32M price tag. It's a risk in my opinion. I've watched Spurs quite a bit and there's games where he goes missing - to the point of not really noticing him!

I reckon we'll probably get someone in, what with the uncertainty of Fletcher and Anderson woeful past when it comes to injuries and fitness. Not sure it'll be Modric or if Modric is the right player.

 

[KingMinger22]

I'm not even sure what is we're missing in midfield. All I know is that we have been overrun in Midfield time and time again by teams who are half decent. In the CL it has been worse and we have been made to look very bad on a few occasions. We need a top, top draw CM, if not two, to compete in the CL. That much is clear imo.

 

[KingMinger22]

I reckon we'll probably get someone in, what with the uncertainty of Fletcher and Anderson woeful past when it comes to injuries and fitness. Not sure it'll be Modric or if Modric is the right player.

Fletch and Ando can play the best they possibly can, be the fittest they have ever been and will still not be good enough to handle the big CL teams imo

 

[Ash_G]

I'm not even sure what is we're missing in midfield. All I know is that we have been overrun in Midfield time and time again by teams who are half decent. In the CL it has been worse and we have been made to look very bad on a few occasions. We need a top, top draw CM, if not two, to compete in the CL. That much is clear imo.

Don't think we need anything major. We just need another defensively strong player to come in alongside carrick for tougher games. He would give us an alternative too for when carrick needs a rest or isn't playing well. That's been our problem. Virtually every other too team field two defensively capable midfielders and for the last two years due to fletchers absence we've only had carrick.

 

[Trigg]

Fletch and Ando can play the best they possibly can, be the fittest they have ever been and will still not be good enough to handle the big CL teams imo

If you could tell me that both players next season were going to fit and healthy then I'd have no problem in not signing another midfielder. The problem is we have to assume that Fletcher won't be the same player again I don't think and that Anderson will have niggles/injuries throughout the season as per his United career to date.

 

[Ash_G]

Fletch and Ando can play the best they possibly can, be the fittest they have ever been and will still not be good enough to handle the big CL teams imo

Really cause they helped us get to a champions league final before. Both of then with carrick would be much better suited to playing a defensive game life Chelsea and we would have a lot more on the counter. Or if we wanted to be more attacking then fletch and carrick will give you as solid a base as anyone.

 

[Steven Seagull]

He's never been good against us and you always roll Spurs over so I don't think he's been much cop against you.

Looked alright in the 2-3 at your place that season after you'd gone 2-0 up. Did ok in the 3-3 at WHL too when you again lost a 2 goal lead. He also pissed on us at WHL in a very one sided 0-0.

What Peter said. He was better against some of the top teams that year, but it still doesn't deny the fact that he often struggles when he comes up against better midfield's.

As well as that, he just happens to have a problem under high pressure, which is a problem that many of our midfielders have as well. Why spend £30m when it doesn't even solve a problem that we have at all?

We'll just have to disagree then. I think it's about as close as you can get to a fact that he's good in tight situations, and that would be backed up by Spurs fans who have seen him 100+ times in the last few years.

Even if you do believe he's not as good against better midfields, wouldn't it be to our advantage to have him alongside Nani, Valencia, Carrick and Kagawa? That's better than 95% of midfields out there, including Spurs. He'd excel here and Ferguson knows it. Whether he wants to pay £30m+ is another matter.

 

[Still ill]

Looked alright in the 2-3 at your place that season after you'd gone 2-0 up. Did ok in the 3-3 at WHL too when you again lost a 2 goal lead. He also pissed on us at WHL in a very one sided 0-0.



We'll just have to disagree then. I think it's about as close as you can get to a fact that he's good in tight situations, and that would be backed up by Spurs fans who have seen him 100+ times in the last few years.

Even if you do believe he's not as good against better midfields, wouldn't it be to our advantage to have him alongside Nani, Valencia, Carrick and Kagawa? That's better than 95% of midfields out there, including Spurs. He'd excel here and Ferguson knows it. Whether he wants to pay £30m+ is another matter.

I really like him, but does he not seem a bit superfluous now that Kagawa is in the bag? Should we not be concentrating on someone who can aid/ stand in for Carrick at the base of the midfield? Who offers a bit more dfensive solidity?

 

[finneh]

Yeah - they have a mediocre goalkeeper, a questionable defense and strikers that don't score enough goals.

Against us - they completely played us off the park at home - but failed in defense and attack. In the away-game - Modric wasn't playing.

Strange that they were the fourth best team in England with mediocre defenders, goalkeeper and strikers. Strange also that Adebayor was 4th top goalscorer in the league, Tottenham were 4th top scorers in the league and they conceded less goals than Arsenal, Newcastle and Chelsea.

The games he played against Arsenal, Chelsea, City & us last season aggregate at a 10-23 loss. I'm not suggesting that Modric is the reason for their poor results against the good sides, as you could argue they have an inferior side than all 4 of the above teams, so an aggregate loss is expected. However I also watched the majority of those big games and can't remember thinking he looked any better than his inferior teammates, even when they beat Arsenal 2-1 I didn't think he stood out.

To be honest I think he would be a good signing for c. £15-20m, but the figures quoted (you'd be looking at least a £60m 5 year package) you'd expect a proven World Class player, someone who has proven European pedigree, in my opinion Modric hasn't even shown his best against the quality Premier League sides, let alone in Europe.

 

[Steven Seagull]

I really like him, but does he not seem a bit superfluous now that Kagawa is in the bag? Should we not be concentrating on someone who can aid/ stand in for Carrick at the base of the midfield? Who offers a bit more dfensive solidity?

I agree. Carrick is a quality defensive midfielder when he's in good form but at 31 he can't play 50+ games a season and he'll need a back up or a long term replacement to play alongside him at times.

Regarding Modric I don't see it as superfluous. I see it as absolutely ideal if we play him and Kagawa in the roles they play for their respective clubs. I'm not sure how Ferguson sees the development of Anderson and Cleverley at the moment and whether he wants to give them the opportunity instead of bringing in quality. All Cleverley is at the moment is a young kid with good potential and a few injury problems. feck knows what's happening with Anderson. What we do know is when Scholes and Giggs retire (in 12 months?) we'll have a huge hole in midfield.

A front 6 of

Carrick Modric

Valencia Kagawa Nani

Rooney...​

is frightening. Factoring in a returning Vidic, a fitter Rio, an improving Evans and Smalling.. that excites me. But I'm not the club accountant

 

[vuc]

Modric would be the perfect player to replace Scholes.

Fergie wants him, and could probably have him but he won't be forced into overspending - which is why he probably won't get him.

 

[peterstorey]

Looked alright in the 2-3 at your place that season after you'd gone 2-0 up. Did ok in the 3-3 at WHL too when you again lost a 2 goal lead. He also pissed on us at WHL in a very one sided 0-0.

Spurs have been outplayed in CM against us in every game I can remember for years.

 

[iSparky]

Sadly we wont get Modric because Levy is a cnut.

 

[Cheesy]

Looked alright in the 2-3 at your place that season after you'd gone 2-0 up. Did ok in the 3-3 at WHL too when you again lost a 2 goal lead. He also pissed on us at WHL in a very one sided 0-0.



We'll just have to disagree then. I think it's about as close as you can get to a fact that he's good in tight situations, and that would be backed up by Spurs fans who have seen him 100+ times in the last few years.

Even if you do believe he's not as good against better midfields, wouldn't it be to our advantage to have him alongside Nani, Valencia, Carrick and Kagawa? That's better than 95% of midfields out there, including Spurs. He'd excel here and Ferguson knows it. Whether he wants to pay £30m+ is another matter.

What do you mean by excel though? Do you mean that he would be a good player and on a good season, do better than Carrick did this season? If so, then yes he would be a good player but what I'm saying is that he isn't what we've been crying for. He's not going to solve the problems of the Bilbao game where they beat us by applying high pressure to us.

He will slightly improve our midfield and help out, but for £30m? It would be spending big for the sake of spending big in my opinion.