The days from Dj2 bellion and kleberson really times changes,credit to fergie and utd for turning things around,i really cant see a more belter of a squad in europe now than us...
The Squad Right Now
- Thread starter ehsanul
- Start date
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
I'll be smashed for saying this, but also kudos to the Glazers for not being hesitant on the transfer front. They let the football people do their jobs, and by allowing discretionary signings, the nature take its course.
so yesterday our squad was shit?
feck fergie, I think it's all you enhusal. When you joined this forum in 2004 our squad was the joke of all europe. But you persistantly posted articles from tribal football and clubcall until the bosses upstairs took notice. Sure you pissed everyone off with your constant posting of spam, duplicate threads and putting stuff in the wrong forum, and your run ins with Goldem Blunder were legendary, like the time you told him that a article you posted about us signing Stewart Downing was United Forum related because we were playing them next week, but it paid off in the end.
Because of you we now have the greatest squad in the history of the multiverse, ever. But at the same time I feel for you en. What are you going to do now? Heaven forbid you might actually stop playing FM and reading sites like transferumours.com and actually watch a full game of football. Wouldn't that be nice?
Ramadan Mubarak, Ehsanul.
Think you can do a thesis with your knowledge of transfers. Keep the ball rolling.
Think you can do a thesis with your knowledge of transfers. Keep the ball rolling.
It wasn't shit,not by a long way,but now the squad is fully complete...We have options in every position now...
I think Fergie is really doing his best to leave a great squad capable of sustained success once he calls it a day, i just hope the next manager we get is half as good as Sir Alex. Well done Fergie.
no , but its better now
There are many words to describe our squad now but I will go with 'Formidable'. In every area there is quality and talent that we have never seen before. This is without a doubt the best Manchester United squad ive ever seen.
Been thinking about this at lunch and I think now with us signing Berbatov and Chelsea failing to replace Wright-Phillips with Robinho as they planned to we've definitely moved ahead of them and have the finest squad in the world.
Goal Keepers
VdS vs Cech
Kuszczak vs Cudicini
Foster vs Hilario
Chelsea edge us here with Cech being one of the best around and Cudicini being exactly what you need for cover, we have a better 3rd choice but that's not really important.
Defence
Evra/Vidic/Ferdinand/Brown
vs
Cole/Carvalho/Terry/Bosingwa
We have the best left back and the best central defensive partnership around. I rate Bosingwa higher than Brown personally but ours is the stronger unit overall.
Neville/O'Shea/Evans/Fabio+Rafael
Ferreira/Ivanovic/Alex/Bridge
Although we have huge amounts of raw talent there with Evans/Fabio/Rafael they have the experience which gives them the edge for me.
Central Midfield
Scholes/Carrick/Anderson/Hargreaves/Fletcher
vs
Lampard/Ballack/Deco/Essien/Mikel
Both have awesome variety and depth with virtually any combination. A draw.
Wingers/Wide Attackers
Ronaldo/Nani/Giggs/Park
vs
Cole/Kalou/Malouda/Belletti
Chelsea have made a mistake selling SWP and not replacing him imo, he's not great but they had to use Belletti on the right against Spurs and that's a step backwards for me. Anyway just the presence of Ronaldo means we win this battle, he's a monster of a player. J. Cole is the best of the Chelsea boys and he's not in the same league.
Forwards
Rooney/Tevez/Berbatov/Manucho
vs
Drogba/Anelka/Di Santo
This is hugely in our favour imo. Drogba is the wrong side of 30 and has had injury problems for about a year now and Anelka hasn't looked settled at Chelsea, I have a hard time seeing either player reproduce their peak form this year. We've got Rooney who, while not as good as he was for me, is still an immense player. Tevez who looks much fitter and sharper than last season and seems set to explode this year. Plus Berbatov who has been one of the best forwards in the league for the past two seasons and will excel playing with players as talented as ours. Manucho and Di Santo are both pretty unknown quantities and I'd be surprised if either of them had more than a minor role this year.
Overall then I think they are better off than us in terms of goal keepers and experienced cover for the defence but we have a better starting defence, better wide men and better forwards. I reckon title number 18 is ours for the taking.
Goal Keepers
VdS vs Cech
Kuszczak vs Cudicini
Foster vs Hilario
Chelsea edge us here with Cech being one of the best around and Cudicini being exactly what you need for cover, we have a better 3rd choice but that's not really important.
Defence
Evra/Vidic/Ferdinand/Brown
vs
Cole/Carvalho/Terry/Bosingwa
We have the best left back and the best central defensive partnership around. I rate Bosingwa higher than Brown personally but ours is the stronger unit overall.
Neville/O'Shea/Evans/Fabio+Rafael
Ferreira/Ivanovic/Alex/Bridge
Although we have huge amounts of raw talent there with Evans/Fabio/Rafael they have the experience which gives them the edge for me.
Central Midfield
Scholes/Carrick/Anderson/Hargreaves/Fletcher
vs
Lampard/Ballack/Deco/Essien/Mikel
Both have awesome variety and depth with virtually any combination. A draw.
Wingers/Wide Attackers
Ronaldo/Nani/Giggs/Park
vs
Cole/Kalou/Malouda/Belletti
Chelsea have made a mistake selling SWP and not replacing him imo, he's not great but they had to use Belletti on the right against Spurs and that's a step backwards for me. Anyway just the presence of Ronaldo means we win this battle, he's a monster of a player. J. Cole is the best of the Chelsea boys and he's not in the same league.
Forwards
Rooney/Tevez/Berbatov/Manucho
vs
Drogba/Anelka/Di Santo
This is hugely in our favour imo. Drogba is the wrong side of 30 and has had injury problems for about a year now and Anelka hasn't looked settled at Chelsea, I have a hard time seeing either player reproduce their peak form this year. We've got Rooney who, while not as good as he was for me, is still an immense player. Tevez who looks much fitter and sharper than last season and seems set to explode this year. Plus Berbatov who has been one of the best forwards in the league for the past two seasons and will excel playing with players as talented as ours. Manucho and Di Santo are both pretty unknown quantities and I'd be surprised if either of them had more than a minor role this year.
Overall then I think they are better off than us in terms of goal keepers and experienced cover for the defence but we have a better starting defence, better wide men and better forwards. I reckon title number 18 is ours for the taking.
Lot_49, not giving Chelsea the midfield is a bit biased. Nothing against ours, but Essien is probably the best midfielder of his kind in the world right now, Deco is looking like a great buy, Ballack on his day is very hard to control and Lampard knows his stuff in the PL.
Until Anderson grows into the player we know he can become, and Hargreaves plays on a consistant basis, I think we have to give them that one. Carrick is IMO our best midfielder and Scholes, although still fantastic, is on the wrong side of 30 even more so than Drogba.
Until Anderson grows into the player we know he can become, and Hargreaves plays on a consistant basis, I think we have to give them that one. Carrick is IMO our best midfielder and Scholes, although still fantastic, is on the wrong side of 30 even more so than Drogba.
VDS - Foster - Kuszczak
Rafael - Brown - Neville - Rio - Vidic - Evans - Evra - Fabio - O'Shea
Scholes - Carrick - Hargreaves - Anderson - Fletcher - Possebon - Gibson
Ronaldo - Nani - Park - Giggs
Rooney - Berbatov - Tevez - Manucho - Welbeck
Rafael - Brown - Neville - Rio - Vidic - Evans - Evra - Fabio - O'Shea
Scholes - Carrick - Hargreaves - Anderson - Fletcher - Possebon - Gibson
Ronaldo - Nani - Park - Giggs
Rooney - Berbatov - Tevez - Manucho - Welbeck
Centre midfield a draw? That's ridiculous. Their centre-mid's miles better. We've got excellent players, but they've got by far the best range of centre midfielders in the world.
Essien, Ballack, Deco, Lampard, Cole, Mikel...that's unbelievable
Defences are even: they've got the best goalie in the world. We've both got great centre-halves, ours slightly better. Evra's better than any of their full-backs, but Cole and Bosingwa are both better than Wesley and probably Gaz.
We've got miles better wingers - but then, they don't play with wingers - and miles better strikers. So I'd say we shade it, but not by much.
Essien, Ballack, Deco, Lampard, Cole, Mikel...that's unbelievable
Defences are even: they've got the best goalie in the world. We've both got great centre-halves, ours slightly better. Evra's better than any of their full-backs, but Cole and Bosingwa are both better than Wesley and probably Gaz.
We've got miles better wingers - but then, they don't play with wingers - and miles better strikers. So I'd say we shade it, but not by much.
I'd say their squad is slightly better, but we've got Fergie
Yea, was thinking similarly. I'd say their central midfield is better. The squads are very closely matched though, i'd say we just shade it.
A quick look at our squad from a position overview. These are the players I think can realistically get games for us in major competitions (PL, CL, FA Cup) leaving out youngsters like Gray and Martin and Gibson that I don't think are close enough to our level of quality (at least yet).
Goal: VDS PIG Foster
Left Back: Evra Fabio, O'Shea
Right Back: Brown Neville Rafael
Centreback: Rio Vidic Evans
Left Midfield: Giggs Nani
Right Midfield: Ronaldo Park
Centre Mid: Scholes Carrick Anderson Hargreaves Fletcher Possebon
Strikers: Rooney Tevez Berbatov Manucho Welbeck
So we have at least a main player and a specialized backup player in every position. In central midfield , full back and (surprisingly) the striker department we have more than one straight replacement.
Looking at this, I'd say the squad is very balanced, despite a fair few players getting shipped out (Silvestre, Saha, Campbell, et cetera)
Add to that utility players like Brown (also a centreback), Hargreaves (a very solid right back), O'Shea (right back, midfield, goal) and the striker capabilities of Ronaldo and to a lesser extent Nani, we should have answers for most situations that arise.
Fantasmo!
Goal: VDS PIG Foster
Left Back: Evra Fabio, O'Shea
Right Back: Brown Neville Rafael
Centreback: Rio Vidic Evans
Left Midfield: Giggs Nani
Right Midfield: Ronaldo Park
Centre Mid: Scholes Carrick Anderson Hargreaves Fletcher Possebon
Strikers: Rooney Tevez Berbatov Manucho Welbeck
So we have at least a main player and a specialized backup player in every position. In central midfield , full back and (surprisingly) the striker department we have more than one straight replacement.
Looking at this, I'd say the squad is very balanced, despite a fair few players getting shipped out (Silvestre, Saha, Campbell, et cetera)
Add to that utility players like Brown (also a centreback), Hargreaves (a very solid right back), O'Shea (right back, midfield, goal) and the striker capabilities of Ronaldo and to a lesser extent Nani, we should have answers for most situations that arise.
Fantasmo!
My thinking on the centre midfielders was that:
Essien is amazing and better than anyone we have right now and in the conceivable future. Even though Chelsea tend to waste him slightly as a defensive midfielder he is still far better than Hargreaves.
Scholes is marginally better than Deco.
Lampard and Ballack are 30+ and are declining, Lampard wasn't quite as good as he normally is last season and Ballack has never been as good as in the premiership as he was in Germany. In contrast Carrick was our best midfielder last season and Anderson should kick on another gear as well, I reckon our two players will show themselves to be better than the two Chelsea players this year.
Mikel is a better player than Fletcher but neither will play that regularly so it's not that important.
Essien is amazing and better than anyone we have right now and in the conceivable future. Even though Chelsea tend to waste him slightly as a defensive midfielder he is still far better than Hargreaves.
Scholes is marginally better than Deco.
Lampard and Ballack are 30+ and are declining, Lampard wasn't quite as good as he normally is last season and Ballack has never been as good as in the premiership as he was in Germany. In contrast Carrick was our best midfielder last season and Anderson should kick on another gear as well, I reckon our two players will show themselves to be better than the two Chelsea players this year.
Mikel is a better player than Fletcher but neither will play that regularly so it's not that important.
Scholes isn't better than Deco, at least not now. I know i'll get the usual bollocking for that statement, but truthfully, why is he better?
Scholes isn't better than Deco or Ballack at all. They have the same level.
Agreed
Utter bollocks. FFS you're so clueless...
He's proven a vital part of this team, is well settled in, and knows our playing style perfectly. Deco is yet to settle in yet, and even though he got off to a good start he will need to familiarize himself with the team a lot more before becoming as important to Chelsea as Scholes is to Manchester United.
Essien isn't better than Paul Scholes...
He is far better in general defensive terms which allows him to play in a successful 4-4-2 team which Deco hasn't been capable of doing in years (if he ever was, I've only followed him since his Porto days). I would also say his reading of the game is better and he's a better long passer.
Deco is certainly an excellent player and has better technical ability than Scholes and can actually dribble/run with the ball a bit but overall I think Scholes is better, although only marginally as I said.
Deco is also better at diving.
That's not really a fair argument though. I know it is an extreme, but had Chelsea signed Messi, we could safely say he was better than all of our wingers, perhaps bar Ronaldo.
The fact is, Deco is not an unknown quantity, and can be compared to Scholes in the same way Pirlo can, they don't need to play in the same league for a number of years. Otherwise Scholes simply wins by default, and generally, whichever team buys the most new players is the weaker of the two then?
What if his team doesn't want to play 4-4-2? You can't call Scholes better because he is better defensively in a 4-4-2, there is more than one way to play the game.
The 4-4-2 was just an example. It's the whole being far better defensively that I was using to explain why I think he's a better player.
Some of you lot need to quit the bias FFS!
Chelsea's midfield group are better than anyone else's - by a mile.
But our defensive unit and attacking players make our squad superior imo.
Chelsea's midfield group are better than anyone else's - by a mile.
But our defensive unit and attacking players make our squad superior imo.
That would be my analysis as well. Though I think they are missing a proper winger in their squad. Someone who can take on players and dribble past 3-4 players. Someone like Robinhio.
Also if Drogba can't stay fit, it will hurt them big time. Anelka is not really that good.
Of course he fecking is.
Fine. In terms of ability, Scholes still edges it. Actually, he's just plainly a better player, he doesn't edge anything.
It seems at times you try to be overly objective to the state where you look down upon United players when comparing them with others, obviously not intentionally.
The fact is Deco will take a while to dully adapt, and so that gives Scholes an advantage for this season.
Different type of players. But if we separate Scholes the United legend from the player, I would swap him Essien for sure.
And there is not much between Deco and Scholes either and I say that when Scholes is my current fav player and Deco one of the most hated. Infact given Deco still have legs to get in the box, he probably edges it. There is still a chance Deco will bottle it in the winters, so let's wait and see.
Did you see some of Scholes passes last friday? That's something Essien could never do. Scholes is a footballers' footballer.
Technically, Scholes is something else. I'd go as far as to say that his ball retention and passing is unmatched anywhere else in England.
But let's be honest...we're talking about Michael Essien. His skill level doesn't match that of a Bergkamp or a Scholes, but he's pretty much Roy Keane all over again.
If Berbatov is worth £30m, then the money needed to get this guy could be used to buy an island.
Keane could never pass like that as well. I still rank him above Scholes as would most people.
He's such a dominant CM, that he was played right back last season.