Discuss our midfield.

[pass_me_a_rizla]

I'm going to talk about the gaps/opportunities in midfield where we could add to give us a whole specturm of midfield pl;ayers. [n.b. mods, the primary objective of this thread is to talk about midfield, should persons (i..e me and others) talk about targets, so long as it's intertwined with analysis it shouldn stay in the chat room. Otherwise should it go into a tangent of midfield trasfer targets then feel free to move it into the transfer room).

In light of recent transfer notes we've been linked iwth Veloso, Mouthinio, Valencia and the other hondouran lad from Wigan. It makes me think where do we need to recruit? Where could our options be better futureproof? Orrr do you think, our midfield is complete?

My personal view is we could do with another winger, it'd take the pressure off Nani to perform well and hopefully relieve him (no pun intended!) while allowing him the time and space to improve his shooting!. nan has great shots, but they're not bloody accurate!!

Attacking midfieler as well, Anderson-son-son is a wee bit young to take the full mantle of being our focal attacking midfielder; Scholes surely can't have many more years left in him, and we'll be stuffed without him. So, an attacking midfielder to soften the blow of a retired Scholes. So this is my logic for the link with Mouthinio, Alexis Sanchez and this new south american kid we've been linked with in the past couple of days.

Me thinks we could do with a solid defensive midfielder as well. veloso comes to mind,m we were linked with him last year as well. At the moment we don't have a outright primary defensive midfielder; hargreaves is a tenacious all action hassler and hustler midfielder who'll run his legs 10miles a game,, Fletcher is an all action can defend and attack, but not a sitter, back4 protector and blocker. This type of player could come in very useful for us, the makalele role for example.

So, mupteeerrs.. have your say :p

[yangch0000]

scholes, carrick, anderson, fletcher, hargreaves, ronaldo, nani, giggs, park, oshea(?)

if we are to buy, we have got to sell. and i dun think any of the above players mentioned will leave, at least for next season

[Stephen]

We don't need another midfielder. We need a right-back and/or a striker, the latter more importantly.

We have: Scholes, Carrick, Hargreaves, Anderson, Fletcher, Giggs, Ronaldo, O'Shea, Park, Nani; Rooney and Tevez can notably used as an attack-mided midfielder when needed (see Barca away). Then we have Possebon, Sean Evans and Eagles who are from the reserves. Danny Wellbeck can play down the wings.

WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER MIDFIELDER.

Scholes is not near the end. Plenty of years left in him.

[RememberTheName]

I agree with the sentiments above.

With Hargreaves, Scholes, Carrick, Ronny, Nani, Anderson, O'Shea, Fletcher, Giggs and Park, we have the best midfield in the world.

The last thing we need is to recruit more midfielders, we're more in need of another striker, goalkeeper and possibly a right back.

[Stephen]

I agree with the sentiments above.

With Hargreaves, Scholes, Carrick, Ronny, Nani, Anderson, O'Shea, Fletcher, Giggs and Park, we have the best midfield in the world.

The last thing we need is to recruit more midfielders, we're more in need of another striker, goalkeeper and possibly a right back.
Goalkeeper?

:s

[RememberTheName]

Goalkeeper?

:s

See my thread on Tomas Kuszczak.

[versa]

Our current midfielders are not just full to the brim but overflowing. Ten in total?! Unless there is another midfielder somewhere that can add a different dimension to our game and also provided we sell, I can't see any more space for a new player or anybody would be crazy enough to join us at all.

Although Carrick is slightly off track in the last 2 games, I still believe he would come good as the best defensive midfielder for us. And he would be a classy one as well, not by brute force but by intelligence, clever positioning and timely intervention in winning back the ball, and spraying the necessary killer passes. His composure these days and the ability to find that wee bit of space and time with the ball are signs of his class and growing stature in our engine room.

Likewise for Nani, my faith in him as an accomplished attacking winger in due time remains steadfast. Let me remind you gently that no other United player has scored as much as him from outside the box and his number of assists still ranks pretty high up among the assist list. He is still raw and immatured of course but with enough experiences, games under his belt and with the proper guidance from Fergie, I think he would be another gem discovered. He already has the necessary ball skills closest to Ronaldo's and just has to work on his game and more notably, his footballing decisions with the ball. Well, Ronaldo wasn't better in the first 2 seasons with us....

What about Hargreaves? I think he is just a marvellous acquistion, being so capable of playing in different positions and the closest one we have to bend it like Beckham in freekicks. I am very tempted to leave him as our RB if I have my way as he has the fitness and speed to run the flanks and his crosses must be the best we currently have. Contrast Brown's. Lol.

Anderson, as we all know, is a swash-buckling type of powerful midfielder we have. Direct running, strong on the ball and absolutely fearless. Think his duel with the seasoned Steven G and the some-say-best-midfielder-in-the-world Fabregas. Lol. Except like I said elsewhere, he has yet to develop his attacking instincts properly, which when he does, will be an awesome attacking midfielder in our ranks.

And Park, the tireless workhorse, recently seems to have won some favours from Fergie and richly deserves it for his industry. Could do better if he has more cutting edge to his offence play though.

Nothing much to talk about Giggs and Scholes after all these years, except maybe Giggs can do a thing or two as a fresh reserve when legs are tired towards the end of the game and that Scholes still manages to find some reserves in his tank.

Skip Player of the Year, Ronaldo, who has a thick thread dedicated to him already.

Fletcher and O Shea will always be squad players, I am afraid.

So maybe what we need is just a striker, not another fox in the hole or linkup man like Tevez and Rooney please. Either a proven goal scorer like Huntelaar or some powerful target man. Manucho? I actually can't wait to see him in action for us after what a stunning display in the recent African Cup. And I am not a bit worried that he will be cowed by the speed and robustness of the English game at all as African teams these days are no longer slow and weak but just as quick and aggressive.

[red devil jeff]

While getting a few young midfielders is a good idea, our primary concern should be signing a striker and a right back. Those are the positions that needs to be strengthened before we go out to buy a midfielder.

[pass_me_a_rizla]

i think people are forgetting about future proofing ourselves. Giggs won't be around here for many more years, neither will Scholes. I think this but i see on pitch that Scholes has adapted his game to peak effectiveness; no longer running to and fro all the time, but sits, tackles and starts attacks spreads passes. I think judging by his form and class now, i think he can stay on till the end of next season at least. Then after 1 season at a time, how he feels and all that lot. But he won't be around in 3 or 4 years time like wise for Giggs.

This may sound funny but Veloso could be a bit like the current paul scholes doing the job of sitting in front of the back4, tackling, defending and Orchestrating the attacking play.


our current tteam. O'Shea should never be used in either a 4 or 5 msn midfield. He's a much better defensive left back who can play Rb and Cb. He's a versatilie defender that's what he is; a midfield player he is not (maybe for 10-15mins at the very most but 100% not starting).

When Scholes and Giggs retire, we'll be 2 midfielders short, i was talking about getting replacements for them. "fuiture proof"; Wingers -1 = 3. I don't think Chris Eagles is going to make the grade here now. SO another Winger would be natrual.. :)

centre midfield - scholes = Carrick, Anderson, Fletcher, Hargreaves. These are the only good enough central midfielders (post-scholes). What about a defensive midfielder, someone to do the makalele role for us and an attacking midfielder totake the pressure off from Anderson to be creative.

we don't have anyone in central midfield who can create chances other than Carrick and Anderson [Fletcher 50/50]. So i really do think we could do with a couple of midfield boys to fill these potential gaps. Also note that Giggs isn't really as effective on the wings for 70% of the season.. No longer can we see Giggs running down the wing whiile we hear United sing... ANother winger in my opinion is critical, Park doesn't score as many goals as i'd like him to while, Valencia yesterday got a couple of goals that were well taken. he seems to have good composure in the box 'e does.

Mouthinio, Valencia, Veloso, (Hargreaves could be our wing back, Wesley Brown could be our defensive Rb, Gary Neville our 1st Rb (Simmo and Da Silva can also play n the right of defence...). So Whether we should pursue a R wing-back is questionnable. Asd it stands Hargreaves can be well utilised in defence or in midfield.

A striker is critical, though Campell Welbeck and Manucho have yet to coem in to prove what they can do. If Manucho can have the Adebeyor effect, i'll love it. I'm sure Welbeck or Campell could fight it out for the final striker spot, or maybe they#ll both be our strikers (#4 and 5). ANd soo, i question whether Ferguson will go for a striker.. I know one thing = Saha is most certianly going to be shed away from Old trafford (and go on to score buckets of goals for Lyon)

[jd_united]

We don't need another midfielder. We need a right-back and/or a striker, the latter more importantly.

We have: Scholes, Carrick, Hargreaves, Anderson, Fletcher, Giggs, Ronaldo, O'Shea, Park, Nani; Rooney and Tevez can notably used as an attack-mided midfielder when needed (see Barca away). Then we have Possebon, Sean Evans and Eagles who are from the reserves. Danny Wellbeck can play down the wings.

WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER MIDFIELDER.

Scholes is not near the end. Plenty of years left in him.

I can't really argue with that logic. We definatly need another striker in my opinion, as well as a young promising right-back that will rise to superstardom :D

As for arguments placed saying we need another attacking midfielder, my argument to that would be if we bought another striker this would no longer be an issue. With a big target man in the mould of RvN, Rooney and/or Tevez would be free to drop deeper and set attacks up from there.

[antdevil78]

midfield is one area i think dont need strengthening

carrick hargreaves park giggs scholes anderson nani fletcher just to name a few.

strength in depth and good mix of experience and youth

[RedForceRising]

Our current midfielders are not just full to the brim but overflowing. Ten in total?! Unless there is another midfielder somewhere that can add a different dimension to our game and also provided we sell, I can't see any more space for a new player or anybody would be crazy enough to join us at all.
.

I have nothing more to add to this post. This thread can be closed.
Versa has said it all.

No need to baby Nani, he needs to grow up, and i agree he can become what we hope will. He was my dream siging along with Torres. He needs to mature A OT.
So all the more he needs to play. When he gets injured, Park is there. I don't wanna hear anything about him being in the squad to sell shirts. The guy plays like his life depends on him and I looooooooooove him.

Midfield is complete!

Buy a striker. Don;t even need a right back. Neville+Brown+Simpson+Hargreaves = Covered.

Depending on Foster's fitness maybe a goalkeeper, because Kuszczak gives me nightmares.

[chipolopolo]

i personally feel that the mdfield at present time is perfect an does not require the dominanting figure being expressed by some due to the phisophy of football presently at united.yes we dont have a gerrard but with such a type of player you can not fot a player of rooney or tevez's style of play your require deep lying player makers such as carrick and scholes of course they arent as entertaining as or as tireless as gerrard but if you compare watchin the 2 teams as a whole you would have to say united are better on the eye.

[haggler]

scholes will be our makelele . anderson our forward looking midfielder

[fazman]

Im going to run off a list of midfielders I think we could sign thats could so no kaka , messi player like that because we cant sign them can we . Ok so these are players I would add if we could get them daniel di rossi , ashley young , gareth barry , frank ribery , basten schweinstiger and gattuso

Id go for gattuso for the reason Ive always wanted to see him play for united

[Jazz 16]

Im going to run off a list of midfielders I think we could sign thats could so no kaka , messi player like that because we cant sign them can we . Ok so these are players I would add if we could get them daniel di rossi , ashley young , gareth barry , frank ribery , basten schweinstiger and gattuso

Id go for gattuso for the reason Ive always wanted to see him play for united

They are great players you mention but as stated by EVERYONE else above you:
we DONT need any midfielders..........
actually.......(Ill come back to this later, I have an 80's night to get to :o :cool: )

[manutd004]

Why do we need another midfielder?

We have the widest selection of central-midfielders in England, possibly even Europe in Scholes, Carrick, Fletcher, Hargreaves and Anderson. 4 of the 5 (excluding Scholes obviously) and young, younger (Fletcher) and very young (Anderson.)

And thats just our central midfielders. Ronaldo, Nani, Giggs and Park are battling it our for 2 wide positions. Obviously Giggs will need to be replaced in a year or too, but not at the moment.

Then of course you throw in the likes of Welbeck, Possebon etc, and, a player who everyone seems to be forgetting Manucho (he can play on the left wing) who can all play out wide.

What we need is a striker and possibly Lahm if we can get him. We've got plenty of cover elsewhere.

[sparkic]

Nani was bought to replace Giggs and to be a 2nd option for the wing after Giggs and Anderson was the same thing just for Scholes but once they both retire (Giggs and Scholes) we will need a 2nd player in both positions to keep up the squad depth and for backups and stuff hence in the long run we need a AMC/MC and a LM or winger for those two...its ideal to have 2 players in one position and that is what we have at Man United at the moment and once Scholes and Giggs retires we need to keep that up and sign two players in those positions…

To me we need that strong bull-dog type of midfielder in the dmc role like Keane was or Davids, Viera, Mascherano and so on...we still lack that and for me Hargreaves is one of the best dmc's in the game and should be our first choice next to an attacking midfielder (Scholes, Anderson) and Carrick is a good passer and a good attack breaker and counter attack initiater but for me lacks that strong physical prescence which imtimidates players...hargreaves does give it but he is versitile and if we play him say in another role like he did vs roma as a rm or as rb vs barca and west ham we would need another physical player like him in midfield....at the moment both Carrick and Hargreaves are doing an excellent job as the defensive midfielder BUT I think we should invest in another one like Gattuso or Pirlo...as well as a winger (left winger would be good) and an attacking midfielder...I also think Fletcher should be sold to make room for these players and also because he should play first team football and is not doing so at OT and should move to like say Portsmouth or Aston Villa or Blackburn or back to Scotland with Rangers or Celtic where he could hold down a first team starting place because he deserves to imo...then again there is that kid possebon in our reserves who could be that player so yeah...

Basically I think we need to invest in a left winger for the post giggs era and an attacking midfielder centre for a post Scholes era and maybe Fletcher should go out and play first team football for another club as he deserves and we should invest in a tough dmc like Gattuso or Pirlo or even maybe Veloso…the Giggs and Scholes replacements can happen when they retire because for now we got cover but the fletcher issue would be best this summer imo

[eoininho]

We're top heavy on midfielders at the moment, Nani, Fletcher and Carrick aren't top level quality so we may need to buy one more as Scholes ticks away

[pass_me_a_rizla]

Wow.. that must be th first intelligent and critcal post from an Aussie chap.. :o. Are there more like you down under? lol, im joking. incisive and critical post though, absloutley spot on. Future proofing ourself is important. being an oxymoron though, the 'replacement' for scholes may have to wait for a while. Scholes looks vintage these days, like he's 23 not 32(3), and really could play for another 3 years easilly. BUt sooner or later he will retire, and when he does i think it will be the saddest day in the Ferguson era.

Maybe, if Scholes and Anderson(Fletch as backup) can keep on going for a few years we won't need another back-up. To be fair I think we can get away without getting a Scholes replacement until he does indeed retire from playing to go into a managerial role. Scholes the next man Utd amanger? What about Scholes, Giggs and Keano with Quieroz as head coach as a dream team managerial team?

[CROoney]

I'm going to talk about the gaps/opportunities in midfield where we could add to give us a whole specturm of midfield pl;ayers. [n.b. mods, the primary objective of this thread is to talk about midfield, should persons (i..e me and others) talk about targets, so long as it's intertwined with analysis it shouldn stay in the chat room. Otherwise should it go into a tangent of midfield trasfer targets then feel free to move it into the transfer room).

In light of recent transfer notes we've been linked iwth Veloso, Mouthinio, Valencia and the other hondouran lad from Wigan. It makes me think where do we need to recruit? Where could our options be better futureproof? Orrr do you think, our midfield is complete?

My personal view is we could do with another winger, it'd take the pressure off Nani to perform well and hopefully relieve him (no pun intended!) while allowing him the time and space to improve his shooting!. nan has great shots, but they're not bloody accurate!!

Attacking midfieler as well, Anderson-son-son is a wee bit young to take the full mantle of being our focal attacking midfielder; Scholes surely can't have many more years left in him, and we'll be stuffed without him. So, an attacking midfielder to soften the blow of a retired Scholes. So this is my logic for the link with Mouthinio, Alexis Sanchez and this new south american kid we've been linked with in the past couple of days.

Me thinks we could do with a solid defensive midfielder as well. veloso comes to mind,m we were linked with him last year as well. At the moment we don't have a outright primary defensive midfielder; hargreaves is a tenacious all action hassler and hustler midfielder who'll run his legs 10miles a game,, Fletcher is an all action can defend and attack, but not a sitter, back4 protector and blocker. This type of player could come in very useful for us, the makalele role for example.

So, mupteeerrs.. have your say :p
mate - you seem to think that we need midfielders on almost every situation. i disagree - i think we're fine - especially in that compartement. we have anderson, carrick and hargo as our first choices ( once scholes retires or starts playing like giggs ), and we have fletcher and sheasy as backups- fletcher has proved that he can perform against the big boys and that there's no player in the world that he fears playing against.. having said that i think we're well equipped for now... only - it's a shame that SAF hasn't transformed rooney into a cmf /amf - he's got keano's qualities and great playmaking skills- and he's almost "useless" in front of goal to be harsh....

[pass_me_a_rizla]

not for every situation, but a whole spectrum of midfielders. Everywhere runner, sitter, passer, play creator, positional master... we've got DSheasy as an absloute every last option. i shudder when i see him in midfield, mind you to come on and secure the game i don't think i'd have anyone else in there really. But a defensive midfielder i would likes.

[CROoney]

not for every situation, but a whole spectrum of midfielders. Everywhere runner, sitter, passer, play creator, positional master... we've got DSheasy as an absloute every last option. i shudder when i see him in midfield, mind you to come on and secure the game i don't think i'd have anyone else in there really. But a defensive midfielder i would likes.
why ? fletcher can keep almost everyone quiet ( if he can get totti and cesc in his pocket that means he can get pretty much anybody, plus - he's usually one of the best against chelsea ). not to mention hargreaves who's absolute class - but i'd like to see him at rb really. he 's been a revelation there

[dazzaq07]

I DON'T THINK Anderson will be here for much longer. Rumour has it that he is on a warpath with Fergie and we know what happens when people get on the wrong side of him!!! He is unbelievale though.

[antdevil78]

I DON'T THINK Anderson will be here for much longer. Rumour has it that he is on a warpath with Fergie and we know what happens when people get on the wrong side of him!!! He is unbelievale though.

Where had this come from. Not heard anything in press etc. Got link!!!!

[burnzy1987]

Where had this come from. Not heard anything in press etc. Got link!!!!
seconded....link???

i think its rubbish.hes only young and played more than expected this season anyway!

[dckyfoxes]

Our current midfielders are not just full to the brim but overflowing. Ten in total?! Unless there is another midfielder somewhere that can add a different dimension to our game and also provided we sell, I can't see any more space for a new player or anybody would be crazy enough to join us at all.

Although Carrick is slightly off track in the last 2 games, I still believe he would come good as the best defensive midfielder for us. And he would be a classy one as well, not by brute force but by intelligence, clever positioning and timely intervention in winning back the ball, and spraying the necessary killer passes. His composure these days and the ability to find that wee bit of space and time with the ball are signs of his class and growing stature in our engine room.

Likewise for Nani, my faith in him as an accomplished attacking winger in due time remains steadfast. Let me remind you gently that no other United player has scored as much as him from outside the box and his number of assists still ranks pretty high up among the assist list. He is still raw and immatured of course but with enough experiences, games under his belt and with the proper guidance from Fergie, I think he would be another gem discovered. He already has the necessary ball skills closest to Ronaldo's and just has to work on his game and more notably, his footballing decisions with the ball. Well, Ronaldo wasn't better in the first 2 seasons with us....

What about Hargreaves? I think he is just a marvellous acquistion, being so capable of playing in different positions and the closest one we have to bend it like Beckham in freekicks. I am very tempted to leave him as our RB if I have my way as he has the fitness and speed to run the flanks and his crosses must be the best we currently have. Contrast Brown's. Lol.

Anderson, as we all know, is a swash-buckling type of powerful midfielder we have. Direct running, strong on the ball and absolutely fearless. Think his duel with the seasoned Steven G and the some-say-best-midfielder-in-the-world Fabregas. Lol. Except like I said elsewhere, he has yet to develop his attacking instincts properly, which when he does, will be an awesome attacking midfielder in our ranks.

And Park, the tireless workhorse, recently seems to have won some favours from Fergie and richly deserves it for his industry. Could do better if he has more cutting edge to his offence play though.

Nothing much to talk about Giggs and Scholes after all these years, except maybe Giggs can do a thing or two as a fresh reserve when legs are tired towards the end of the game and that Scholes still manages to find some reserves in his tank.

Skip Player of the Year, Ronaldo, who has a thick thread dedicated to him already.

Fletcher and O Shea will always be squad players, I am afraid.

So maybe what we need is just a striker, not another fox in the hole or linkup man like Tevez and Rooney please. Either a proven goal scorer like Huntelaar or some powerful target man. Manucho? I actually can't wait to see him in action for us after what a stunning display in the recent African Cup. And I am not a bit worried that he will be cowed by the speed and robustness of the English game at all as African teams these days are no longer slow and weak but just as quick and aggressive.

Well said Versa... :D

Every player in the midfield was taken into careful considerations. Indeed I agree with many here, we are heavy on the midfields but rather thin on strikers... Rooney is not a pure finisher... Really miss Ruud on this. Manucho was proably our only hope at the moment with Mr. Injury Prone (Saha) still sun tanning most of the time. We do need alot of firepower... In one of my previous thread, I did compared the strikers of Team 99 and now... Back then we have Cole, Yorke, on the bench we have Ole and Teddy, as of compared to now, we have nothing much actually. Beef up the Strikeforce... The only acceptable Midfielders must be of WORLD CLASS standards...

[versa]

Every player in the midfield was taken into careful considerations. Indeed I agree with many here, we are heavy on the midfields but rather thin on strikers... Rooney is not a pure finisher... Really miss Ruud on this. Manucho was proably our only hope at the moment with Mr. Injury Prone (Saha) still sun tanning most of the time. We do need alot of firepower... In one of my previous thread, I did compared the strikers of Team 99 and now... Back then we have Cole, Yorke, on the bench we have Ole and Teddy, as of compared to now, we have nothing much actually. Beef up the Strikeforce... The only acceptable Midfielders must be of WORLD CLASS standards...

On second thought, I don't think I want to have a target man too. An astute and proven scorer may be better, for the last thing I want to see is our team pumping high ball to the target man persistently, conveniently and... lazily. Lol. An option as Route One perhaps when things are 'desperate' but should never be a regular approach. Not United way of playing I suppose.

[sparkic]

Wow.. that must be th first intelligent and critcal post from an Aussie chap.. :o. Are there more like you down under? lol, im joking. incisive and critical post though, absloutley spot on. Future proofing ourself is important. being an oxymoron though, the 'replacement' for scholes may have to wait for a while. Scholes looks vintage these days, like he's 23 not 32(3), and really could play for another 3 years easilly. BUt sooner or later he will retire, and when he does i think it will be the saddest day in the Ferguson era.

Maybe, if Scholes and Anderson(Fletch as backup) can keep on going for a few years we won't need another back-up. To be fair I think we can get away without getting a Scholes replacement until he does indeed retire from playing to go into a managerial role. Scholes the next man Utd amanger? What about Scholes, Giggs and Keano with Quieroz as head coach as a dream team managerial team?

lol...maybe its because iv lived in europe for 8 years!

[RedForceRising]

Next season's starting eleven and back up

Park - Scholes - Carrick - Ronaldo
(Nani - Giggs - Hargreaves - Anderson - Flatcher)

Yes, Park to start the season as first choice, because of Nani's ban and nani will have to win back his place. Even our second string is good enough to win matches.
Anderson and Hargreaves can rotate with Scholes and Carrick as needed.

O'Shea is a utility back up for the defence.

Now here would be my dream midfield

Ribery - Anderson - Pirlo - Ronaldo

How's that?!

[yangch0000]

Next season's starting eleven and back up

Park - Scholes - Carrick - Ronaldo
(Nani - Giggs - Hargreaves - Anderson - Flatcher)

Yes, Park to start the season as first choice, because of Nani's ban and nani will have to win back his place. Even our second string is good enough to win matches.
Anderson and Hargreaves can rotate with Scholes and Carrick as needed.

O'Shea is a utility back up for the defence.

Now here would be my dream midfield

Ribery - Anderson - Pirlo - Ronaldo

How's that?!

i will have scholes, always......

[RedForceRising]

I'm thinking that Scholes might be getting a bit old next season and was off the pace against some of the faster teams, so I went with Anderson.

To me Pirlo is a great all-around midfielder. It will be interesting to see how good Flamini will become being surrounded by all those great players at AC Milan.

[fazman]

jesus scholes will be far to old what we going to do roll him out in a wheelchair get real scholes has to worked out

[CROoney]

On second thought, I don't think I want to have a target man too. An astute and proven scorer may be better, for the last thing I want to see is our team pumping high ball to the target man persistently, conveniently and... lazily. Lol. An option as Route One perhaps when things are 'desperate' but should never be a regular approach. Not United way of playing I suppose.
this is where you get wrong...we've had many great target-men during the years , but none of them made us play laizy... we still make plenty of crosses and useless high balls - imagine if we had someone as tall and as strong as drogba to pick them up...perfect

[versa]

this is where you get wrong...we've had many great target-men during the years , but none of them made us play lazy... we still make plenty of crosses and useless high balls - imagine if we had someone as tall and as stronge as drogba to pick them up...perfect

Well and fine but I don't mind if the high ball is insightful and purposeful but it should not be done out of convenience or merely hoping for the best just because we have a viable target man in the box. In that case, I would rather we thread through the box and score with a proven goal scorer waiting in the wings.

P.S. Think we are all off topic here. Lol.

[manutd43va]

Next season's starting eleven and back up

Park - Scholes - Carrick - Ronaldo
(Nani - Giggs - Hargreaves - Anderson - Flatcher)

Yes, Park to start the season as first choice, because of Nani's ban and nani will have to win back his place. Even our second string is good enough to win matches.
Anderson and Hargreaves can rotate with Scholes and Carrick as needed.

O'Shea is a utility back up for the defence.

Now here would be my dream midfield

Ribery - Anderson - Pirlo - Ronaldo

How's that?!

ya indeed a dream midfield.
U'VE GOT TO BE DREAMING..LOL

[RedForceRising]

ya indeed a dream midfield.
U'VE GOT TO BE DREAMING..LOL


Wow...... this post might be the contribution of the day! I'm so enriched and enlightened now. AND I'm still dreaming....

[CROoney]

Well and fine but I don't mind if the high ball is insightful and purposeful but it should not be done out of convenience or merely hoping for the best just because we have a viable target man in the box. In that case, I would rather we thread through the box and score with a proven goal scorer waiting in the wings.

P.S. Think we are all off topic here. Lol.
don't worry - it won't be for that reason...we will see plenty of long balls in our future i think - as long as we have brown in the team - every ball he sends is a high one. we tend to send a lot of high balls - regardless of the size of our strikers - that won't change i think

[versa]

don't worry - it won't be for that reason...we will see plenty of long balls in our future i think - as long as we have brown in the team - every ball he sends is a high one. we tend to send a lot of high balls - regardless of the size of our strikers - that won't change i think

:confused: What... what do you mean? Sarcastic? :eek: :D

[CarlitoTevez]

I can see Fergie investing in some more young players, as he said he will do...

I expect us to sign a RB, and maybe a class CB, (Back-up for Vidic and Ferdinand) almost deffinatley a striker ( Klose, Huntelaar, Augusto etc)

[pass_me_a_rizla]

nah, it's alright, on topic. it's a discussion about the options isn't it.
O#Shea, he makes a good back up, but doesn't give me much confidence in midfield or centre defence. he#ll do a job tyo his best, but his best ain't good enough. I just think we could do with a couple of more midfielders to futureproof ourselvs from Giggs (1st) retirement and maybe later get another central attaking midfielder for Post Scholes.

ABout upfront, i agree with the clinical finsiher argument. This season we relied on Ronaldo to score bags of goals at the expense of setting goals up. Next season if he can reach for a target of 30goals + 20 set up-s then i'llbe just as delighted as this season. He'll have more chance to "perform in the big games" because his whole onus won'#t be on scoring a goal but more of a creative goal scorer; he#ll practise his silly skills before scoring.

And, a big target man - Manucho looks massive against some of the greek players there. 25yr old powerhouse he looks, and he has a good eye for goal - scored a couple yesterday. 3 in 3 games now for Olmypiakos (1 0 2) :). Me thinks he'll make an impact once he learns to play football our way...

[CROoney]

:confused: What... what do you mean? Sarcastic? :eek: :D
no - i'm not sarcastic...how many times this season have i been left fuming about those often boring and desperate long balls - i've said it a couple of times really - we need to cut that down..just look at roma, barca,chelsea matches for example - every 30 seconds you'll see a long ball to rooney or tevez - but hey - that tactics seems to got us results so----one can't complain

[versa]

no - i'm not sarcastic...how many times this season have i been left fuming about those stupid long balls - i've said it a couple of times really - we need to cut that..just look at roma, barca,chelsea match for example - every 30 seconds you'lle see a long ball to rooney or tevez - but hey - that tactics seems to got us results so----one can't complain

My Buddy!!! My Buddy!!! :eek: :D

Thank God someone in this forum finally talk about our high ball...

Look up, see some team mates upfront and pump a high ball towards them as if it is easier to control with the head than with the feet...

Dribble, run down the flanks and cross a high ball, even if it is Rooney or Tevez in the box...

Where have you been, Buddy? :D

[CROoney]

My Buddy!!! My Buddy!!! :eek: :D

Thank God someone in this forum finally talk about our high ball...

Look up, see some team mates upfront and pump a high ball towards them as if it is easier to control with the head than with the feet...

Dribble, run down the flanks and cross a high ball, even if it is Rooney or Tevez in the box...

Where have you been, Buddy? :D
just look at my posts at "huntelaar thread" and you'll see what i've been saying all along

[versa]

just look at my posts at "huntelaar thread" and you'll see what i've been saying all along

Er.... you think you want to start a new thread on high balls so that members can contribute specifically on it? The Huntelaar thread may not be too appropriate to discuss on such balls. :D ;)

[CROoney]

Er.... you think you want to start a new thread on high balls so that members can contribute specifically on it? The Huntelaar thread may not be too appropriate to discuss on such balls. :D ;)
nah - i was just saying that we tend to play more high balls than everyone believes we do... they can be so frustrating to watch - especially away. That's why i'm affraid of our wigan trip... if we end up as losers it will be because our performances away which have inluded plenty of high balls imo

[akash_reds]

high balls are certainly a problem......we tend to give the ball away too much doing it....:(
we have the players who pass well....we have carrick who has a hig passing range and scholes who can pass well too.....we have to take the ball forward...sometimes the high ball is done to get the ball up front quickly.....thta si good esp if we have a pacy player up front.....sometimes high balls are good.....but we should cut down on it a little