[RDJ]

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_4516546,00.html

Giuseppe Rossi is being handed is first senior start for the Italian nation team. Rossi has been in fine form for Villareal scoring 7 goals from 9 games including 2 assists. Now European giants such as Juventus are stalking him willing to pay around 20 million pounds for him.


Did we miss a trick here? Am i the only one disappointed with the sale of Rossi? Sure, he wasn't the biggest of strikers, but players like Zola will tell you that size isn't everything in the premiership.


Rossi doesn't do the 'headless chicken running' stuff, neither does he drop deep to the midfield hoping some winger would do the scoring for him. He is a clever fox in the box type of striker whose primary aim is to score goals. Something we don't have atm, something we could have used. And unlike the current crop of youngsters, Rossi didn't get his fair share of first team football and was sold at the first opportunity.


So, my question is this. Was it a right decision to sell Rossi? What do you make of his buyback clause? Do you think it is worth triggering considering the ridiculous prize touted by the media for the permanent signing of Carlos Tevez?

 

[CROoney]

AS I SAID - rossi actually said that he doesn't have a clue about a buyback clause, and i'm not taking in for granted



also saf said that gill mentioned him a buyback clause so....


it would be stupidity similar to what inter did with adriano...

they bought him from some brasilian team for 7million euros then loaned him out to parma and ultimately they gave them the ownership which was shared by fiorentina ....and then they bought him back for a massive sum



now that's stupid business -

 

[versa]

Think there were much discussions here after Rossi was sold and most, if not all, expressed their disappointment albeit in different manners and to different degrees.

Also think he will balance us nicely by being the clinical fox in the box. We have none now, would you believe it?!

Same reason why the Huntelaar camp campaigned laboriously but fruitlessly for his services over Berbatov's when it was pretty clear last season that both Rooney's and Tevez's work rate and industry would be best complimented by such mould of players to finish off the good works.

While some of us did object to the signing of Berbatov in the summer, with his lack of work ethics as one of the reasons, the main reason still remained the compliment issue. No doubt he has surprised us with some work ethics, most of us are really taken aback or even secretly appalled by how much he has now dropped deep. And ironically, I would like to see slightly less of him doing that and more of him exerting his presence in the box to balance things up in our offence. A high cross with Park as the sole target in the box in a recent game may sound absolutely brainless but it does accentuate the point.

Back to Rossi.

He is a very intelligent player and his abstute finishing was even praised and admired by Rooney himself too. Personally, I do think it is a shame that we let him go even though he wanted much first team action. But I still suspect to this day if there could have been an alternative to accomodate his ambitions in our squad. Although we were all 'comforted' by a buy-back clause, in reality, we probably all know deep inside that the chances of him returning is close to none. Price is one. Having moved on and now found his feet, recognition and first team action is quite another.

 

[spellbound]

Im sure most of the United fans think of Rossi as a guy not good enough for United. Ive seen a few Villarreal games and the little fellow have the skill, pace and eye for the game to torment the defence. The only down side is the areal game but he got other skills to compensate what he lacks in the air.

But I cant see why we would go for Beppe. Do we need seven strikers? We just brought from London a striker and in the summer we're getting back the decoy from the spuds to the other four strikers as Rooney, Tevez, Manucho and Welbeck. Dont forget that Ronaldo is playing like more a free role or wide striker rather then a winger. I would like to see Beppe back in the United shirt but it wont happen I guess.

Btw, I heard Juve have already placed a bid for Rossi but Villarreal dont want to sell. Rossi wouldnt mind returning to Italy so a summer transfer to Turin could happen.

 

[Clarky101]

im not to disapointed. his a good player but i dont think he would ever turn into a 25 goals a season striker in the premiership. could prove me wrong in the future but doesnt mean im disapointed. only shame is that we sold him for such a cheap price cause he was worth a lot more than what we got for him

looks like his got a lot to give the game tho, hope Juventus get him. would be a nice set up for him back in his homeland

 

[RedForceRising]

I'm a big fan of Rossi's but I have doubts about whether he could handle the physical side of the game in England.

That being said, Micah Richards said in an interview that Rossi gave him the hardest times he ever experienced against the striker and I don't think he meant it in a sexual sense..hur hur..

Two friends of a colleague saw him 'live' when he was on loan in italy and said he was a phenomenon ....

That's a lot of good noise for such a young striker.

However, I don't think he is as good as the three main strikers that we have, but he sure can score.

As I said, top talent, but maybe not quite right for the EPL. I hope we have a sell on clause, cos I'm sure he'll go for 20mil. and we only sold him for somewhere in the 7mil range.

 

[Jazz 16]

Very good player and I hope he makes it but he was never going to get first team
football at United, which tells its own story. Anyroad, Id much rather have Rooney, Tevez and Berba.
Good luck to the lad. I hope he does well for club and country.

 

[marty davidson]

I still think it was a mistake selling him

 

[sweet fa]

about 4 seasons ago when i used to have the man utd channel , rossi was easily the most talented player utd had coming through and i thought he was really something special. i even mentioned him many times to other utd followers in my area , and the lad was not given a fair chance at all , if he was at utd now he would easily be our most deadly striker he is only small {personly i like bigger forwards} but he is a very good finisher and thats all that matters , he is a much better finisher than rooney or tevez and the decision to sell him was and still is quite baffling .

 

[ScholesHeScoresGoals]

You're not the only one cuz i was devastated! Class of a player! Small but skillful and great controller of the ball with a deadly instinct!

 

[piazza]

I was sad too, he's a hell of a talent, plus he's from New Jersey. Anyone doubting if such a small player could succeed in the Prem need only look at Zola and Robinho(thus far). He's playing quite well against Greece atm.

 

[thekeanefella]

i was disappointed when he left , i thought he was in for a great career at OT, unfortunately it nver happened for him.
he has gone on to be quiet successful since he left, its a little like the forlan situation, bags of potential , flashes of brilliance but never the consistency to to really make an impact on the first team.

 

[RDJ]

You're not the only one cuz i was devastated! Class of a player! Small but skillful and great controller of the ball with a deadly instinct!

True. Reminds me of Solksjaer in some ways. He was unlucky to be injured in he home match against Villareal in the CL. I reckon he would've received a warm welcome from the United faithful. Will be interesting if he scores against us in the away tie against Villareal. Would he celebrate the goal?

 

[Mufc-Taff]

i think .. its a big miss ..
he'll gonna be a good talent and a good scorer..

Im sad , we lost him.

 

[reddwarf]

His goals record for the reserves was phenomenal and I was a bit surprised and disappointed that he was not given more of a chance in the 1st team.

However, there is no point in buying him back now because we have so much quality up front with Ronaldo, Rooney, Berbatov and Tevez. Also, with players like Campbell, Manucho, Welbeck and Macheda in reserve you would hope that at least one of them will make the step up.

 

[SriLawi Red Devil]

I loved Rossi and was sad to see him go.
I knew he'd be a good striker, at the time when we sold him, although admittedly didn't think he'd be doing this well so soon!

I would love to see him back at OT, however if it's at the expense of signing Tevez, I'm not so sure anymore.
Rossi is great, I'll still enjoy watching him, but I think Tevez is a better option for us...having said that, if Tevez is going to cost us that much, getting Rossi back would be great!

 

[ronaldo_7]

It was a shame he left but ideally a young player wants to be playing every game and we had Van Nistelrooy, Saha on fire and of course Rooney at the time. So moving abroad was the best option for Rossi personally. As mentioned his goal records in our reserves was incredible.

 

[United_OG]

Very good player and I hope he makes it but he was never going to get first team
football at United, which tells its own story. Anyroad, Id much rather have Rooney, Tevez and Berba.
Good luck to the lad. I hope he does well for club and country.

Yes sir

Fergie knew what he was doing selling him because he made a decent amount of money for a reserve team player essentially at the time and he would not be the player he is today if he had not gone to italy, so fergie not only got united a good amount of cash by selling him, he helped produce rossi into a better player at united before letting him further his education on spain.

its all ifs and buts i doubt he'd be where he is now if he stuck with united simply because he would not have got the chance with those mentioned in front of him IMO.

Fergie usually gets it right and the fact we have won the league the last two seasons and champions league, its not something of a sale which can be argued of much imo.

pz

 

[RedForceRising]

Sir Alex Ferguson looks at bringing Giuseppe Rossi back to Manchester United
Manchester United head for Villarreal on Tuesday intent on taking control of their Champions League group - and assessing the possibility of bringing Giuseppe Rossi back to Old Trafford.

Ferguson revealed he is interested in exercising his option to re-sign the American-born Italian striker, who joined Villarreal for £6.7m last year.

Ferguson reluctantly allowed Rossi to leave but insisted on a buy-back clause in the transfer deal, giving United first refusal if the Spanish club decide to sell him.

Rossi, granted the regular first-team football Ferguson was unable to promise him, has responded by leading Villarreal's challenge to the traditionally dominant forces of Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

''We would be interested in bringing him back,'' Ferguson said of the 21-year-old Rossi. ''When Villarreal offered the money they did, we put in a buy-back clause. You always keep your options open.

''It was difficult to let him go. It was based on the fact that he wanted first-team football and we couldn't guarantee it. Simple as that. He's doing very well now. He's an excellent player.''

Ferguson's admission appears to cast more doubt on Carlos Tevez's future. The Argentine forward is still on loan at Old Trafford and the United boss said there had been no developments in negotiations to secure a permanent transfer.

Tevez is frustrated at being cast as the 'third man', behind Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov, in United's attacking options.

Presumably, Rossi would again be confronted with that problem, but as an out-and-out front player he might give Ferguson a different choice.

Ferguson yearns for a return to his 1999 scenario, when he had four senior strikers, all of whom played significant roles in United's treble success. He has already indicated he may recall Fraizer Campbell from Tottenham in January and has no intention of releasing 17-year-old Danny Welbeck on loan.

United still have the four regular trophies on their radar and Ferguson is adamant they want to be the first British team to win the revamped and expanded Club World Cup, to be contested in Japan next month. He knows strength in depth and consistency of performance will determine the credibility of that ambition.

 

[versa]

''It was difficult to let him go. It was based on the fact that he wanted first-team football and we couldn't guarantee it. Simple as that. He's doing very well now. He's an excellent player.''

Ferguson's admission appears to cast more doubt on Carlos Tevez's future. The Argentine forward is still on loan at Old Trafford and the United boss said there had been no developments in negotiations to secure a permanent transfer.

'Simple as that" and not because he is just not going to be good enough or that Fergie 'knew exactly' what he was doing or to milk him for a small profit (he left on the cheap by the way).

Not surprised too why Fergie is toying with the idea of bringing Rossi back:

1. He is a clinical fox in the box which we do NOT have. A totally different proposition from what we currently have.

2. Besides already having difficulty of keeping Tevez happy, he is going to cost at least 30m. You do your sums.