He has given about 3/4 interviews saying he wants to stay since the summer started. The rumours just wont go away.
Ángel Di María | Transferred to PSG
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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There isn't a chance in hell that we are going to let him go..
This rubbish again. 60 million for a world class player who by the end of the season was playing so badly that we had to play Ashley Young in his place every week. How productive was he when he was sitting on the bench? Face it, that's hugely disappointing.
I'd be very disappointed if we let him go. I fully believe he can turn things around assuming he wants to.
If he wants to go and we recoup most of our money then that's fine for me.
If he is not happy and committed then we won't see the best of him so might as well sell
If he does want to stay then great and let's hope he can consistently produce the good performances he put in some games last year
If he is not happy and committed then we won't see the best of him so might as well sell
If he does want to stay then great and let's hope he can consistently produce the good performances he put in some games last year
I really hope he gets it going next season. One thing about Di Maria though, I never get the feeling that he ever wanted to come to United, which the reason for my apathy about him. This is also the reason I don't want Ramos. It's hard supporting a club with players you don't really like in it.
Louis van Gaal likes left footed players on the right wing, Juan Mata took his place.
This is his productivity:
David Silva has played 32 premier league matches with 0 sub appearances totalling 2661 minutes, he has 12 goals and 7 assists averaging an assist or goal every 140 minutes.
Eden Hazard has played 38 premier league matches with 0 sub appearances totalling 3379 minutes, he has 14 goals and 9 assists averaging an assist or goal every 147 minutes.
Alexis Sanchez has played 34 premier league matches with 1 sub appearance totalling 2953 minutes, he has 16 goals and 8 assists averaging an assist or goal every 123 minutes.
Angel di Maria has played 20 premier league matches with 7 sub appearances totalling 1645 minutes, he has 3 goals and 10 assists averaging an assist or goal every 127 minutes.
Are you honestly suggesting Angel di Maria's contribution was not important to us achieving top four? He alone assisted 16% of our goals this season.
And as for why the manager chose Juan Mata, statistics suggest Angel di Maria had the highest percentage of key chances created, that is to say 25% of his passes led to a key chance or something but of course Falcao, RVP and even Rooney all struggled for goals, if the strikers are not on form then it doesn't matter how many chances he creates, furthermore we weren't exactly solid defensively and Angel di Maria loses the ball more than Juan Mata, for the manager it made sense to play it safe to secure top four.
Angel di Maria was not 'a huge dissapointment', he simply wasn't compatible with our team this season, with a stronger defence / team better at winning the ball back and an attack that can score (both RVP and Falcao are now gone) then he should be compatible with the team. But despite not being compatible with our team this season his contribution was still important in us achieving top four.
It's fair to stay when he got sent off against Arsenal in the FA Cup that his form and confidence suffered but we need to keep him and LvG needs to figure how to get the best out of him. He didn't all of a sudden become a shit player when he transferred to us.
You can rationalise just about anything if you want to enough. Truth is he was more than compatible with the team until he started playing like shit and giving the ball away constantly. He got dropped because he was longer contributing enough to justify his inclusion in the team. I'd expect a player of his quality and transfer fee to at least be able to get into the starting XI of a team that includes Ashley Young. Pretty much everyone including the player himself has admitted it was a disappointing season. To argue otherwise seems just kind of silly to be honest.
Hang on so getting assists isn't valuable? You are yet to answer this question.
I'm simply looking at the situation and in my previous post I have accepted he was disappointing when compared to our expectations but when you look at his contribution to the season then he was not a 'huge disappointment', his contribution was actually important and during the minutes he played he was very productive but also did things that weren't so good, it cancels out, he was not great but he wasn't terrible either.
Rooney also got moved into midfield ahead of Herrera whilst Falcao played up top, the manager tried to get a team where players were compatible, in the end the partnership of Fellaini, Young and Blind and on the other side of Herrera, Valencia and Mata proved effective, this was not about individuals but about the team.
Angel di Maria was brought on from the bench when we were losing quite a number of times, clearly the manager felt he could create something. At that point there was no need to play it safe, if he was 'shit' then why would the manager bring him on to make something happen?
Also in your last line you now say 'disappointing season', looks like you've changed from 'a huge disappointment' to just 'disappointing', well to the post you first replied I said:
"He was disappointing when we compare him to the level he is capable of performing at but due to his productivity I don't think he was 'hugely disappointing'
To state he was a 'huge disappointment' despite being more productive than Hazard and Silva, and almost as productive as Sanchez is silly.
What sort of pedantic crap is this? I've been pretty clear in my assessment of his season. Whether I say disappointing or hugely disappointing the point remains the same. He had a bad season.
I'm not even sure what point you're trying to make at this stage. He was disappointing but not shit? Not great but not terrible? Not shit because the manager thought he could create something off the bench? I've no idea.
He started the season quite well but became shittier and shittier as the season went on to the point where we looked a lot better without him in the team. Every moment of decent play was accompanied by several moments of really terrible play. He needs to improve a lot to even displace Ashley Young right now.
Well considering I said in my original post "He was disappointing when we compare him to the level he is capable of performing at but due to his productivity I don't think he was 'hugely disappointing', you then replied disagreeing with it, now you're saying the terms mean the same thing, well then why disagree with my original post in the first place?
I've asked this three times now, are assists not valuable to performance? You seem to be ignoring the question, clearly the answer is yes they are and Angel di Maria assisted 16% of our goals. He wasn't as bad as you're making out.
This is the harsh truth. People can bang on about his productivity all they like, but he went from bad to worse. His reputation means bugger all when you play like he did for the majority of last season.
Ok. This is getting tedious. Let me spell it out for you. Di Maria had a very disappointing season. Assist are important. But assist stats do not tell the full story of a player's performance over the season. He had a nice spell at the start where he scored and assisted plenty and played well. After that he scored less, assisted less and generally played very badly resulting in him spending a lot of time on the bench. For any player it must be considered hugely disappointing to start the season as the teams best player and finish it outside the regular starting XI. Agreed?
As for the assists themselves; I agree that Di Maria has had a good number of assists. 5 or 6 of them were beautiful passes/crosses. He's got a great delivery when he wants to. I'm also pretty sure at least 2 maybe 3 of the assists were off target shots that worked out.
I don't have the stats to hand but I would suggest you dig a bit deeper. Have a look at the sheer volume of crosses he put in this season. Then have a look at the amount which found United players. The amount of times he seemed to just whip aimless balls into the box this season was staggering. If every time you get the ball you cross it or go for the killer pass you are bound to have a good number of assists. It doesn't mean that's the right thing to do. He lost his place because he was consistently giving the ball to the other team in the form of sloppy passes and aimless crosses.
I don't know whether it was caused by him struggling to adapt to the lack of space he was being afforded in the PL or just a complete lack of confidence but being a top class footballer means knowing when to go for the killer pass and when to keep possession. Di Maria is not exempt from this expectation. No team can afford to carry any player, even a winger who constantly coughs up possession.
Ah ok, I get you, you're saying his season is disappointing because he started well but then in the second half of the season he wasn't as good and in that sense it's hugely disappointing, just like Cesc Fabregas who started well, was on form and then in the second half of the season his influence dropped drastically evident by very few assists in the second half of the season but he was the highest amount of assists in the premier league and I'd say overall his season was good and in the same way when we assess Angel di Maria's season overall he wasn't that bad considering he was the second highest assist maker.
Angel di Maria scored 3 goals and got 10 assists in 1645 minutes, Cesc Fabregas 3 goals and 18 assists in 2890 minutes.
Obviously assists aren't everything but as you say 'Assists are important'. Fabregas averaged an assist every 161 minutes compared to Angel di Maria's assist every 165 minutes.
Whilst I accept both Fabregas and Angel di Maria started well but ended poor, I do think it's unfair to say their season was disappointing as a result.
Well that's true of anybody, Ashley Young who you keep mentioning scored a lucky goal against City because of how it rebounded off him, he was lucky that could have gone anywhere but it doesn't mean it's any less of a goal.
2 maybe 3 maybe even more beautiful passes or crosses probably weren't put in the net denying Angel di Maria assists so it works both ways, according to Opta Angel di Maria had the highest chances created compared to the passes made ratio, they said 25%, 1 in 4 of his passes led to a chance for United.
Well one in four of his passes led to chances therefore I don't think he was 'just whip aimless balls into the box', they most likely were not aimless. I've also already explained why Louis van Gaal preferred Juan Mata, keeping possession was important to protect our defence, he doesn't mind players like Angel di Maria or Robben doing risky things but he needs a team that is effective at quickly winning the ball back.
I don't think the premier league leaves less space for him than La Liga, also teams in Spain close players down too. He did poor passes but also excellent passes, overall it was probably quite neutral, certainly not as bad as you made out but obviously he does need to improve on the things that he did that were poor.
Lets just agree to disagree.
The point you highlighted was about Cesc Fabregas, so now you are disagreeing that Cesc Fabregas overall had a good season
Want to explain your reasons for that now?
Sorry. I'm pretty fed up with discussing this with you and barely read your last post. Let's agree to disagree on the whole Di Maria thing. I think he had a very disappointing season. Most level headed supporters seem to agree. You think he did ok because he got 10 assists. You're entitled to your opinion. Let's leave it there.The point you highlighted was about Cesc Fabregas, so now you are disagreeing that Cesc Fabregas overall had a good season
Want to explain your reasons for that now?
I realise your frustration and I myself, have been disappointed by his performance in the EPL, so far.
But this guy can walk into any World Cup final squad.
If Argentina (or any team) were in the World Cup final, they'd pick him, if he was available.
He was also in the FIFA World XI, last year.
He is absolutely World Class.
Not based on last season, he's a level or 2 below. Needs to prove himself this season, with all likelihood a strong midfield to support him and 2 static forwards removed he will have no excuses
So rumors are that PSG might be willing to pay 65m euros for him? It's a lot of money and we're better off with him in the squad and hoping he does come good... but it would make sense, especially at that price. Would give Memphis the left wing position on his own which could work out in our favor anyways.
This better be bullshit.
How it would 'especially' make sense to sell for over 20% less than we paid?
He probably meant he can create goals
65 million euros is a bit of a joke tbh. If they want him let them bleed as feck.
Really want Di Maria to click for us. Unfortunate If he left so soon.
65m a good price? With the euro absolutely tanking, they can add another 15-20m to that before it becomes a good price.
Because his price inevitably dropped a lot after last season, he might want out, he's not a guaranteed starter next season anyway as we have Mata on the right and Memphis on the left... It's only 10m pounds less then what we paid, and we blatantly overpaid because he was coming off the best season in his career to date.
It's a fair price. Probably what his real value was last summer, and he's had a bad season, not a guaranteed starter, not the happiest person and all that. Of course I'd be delighted if he stayed and proved himself, but if they offer that much, I can see United accepting it and just moving on to somebody who suits Van Gaal's style more.
We'd look stupid if we got rid of him so soon.
PSG are rich and with no ffp restrictions for them then forget 65m euros, if they want him and we're going to sell then we better get all of our money back at least. Don't want us to sell him at all though, he contributed to 17 g+a in 32 games in a new country, new league, in a new team who weren't playing well. imagine what he could do if he really got going for us and we really got going as a team. He's a special player and to me he's the kind who can get us challenging for the major trophies, he's the potential difference between us getting top 4 and winning the league IF he clicks, there's no way I'd even consider selling him tbh.
I hope the rumours are false. If he genuinely wants to go and play in a second rate league because his first stint in the PL has proved too hard then he will never have the mentality to succeed for us and we should cash in. I really hope its rubbish and he does want to fight for his spot here.
He's not looked happy all season, something just feels off with him. I wouldn't be too disappointed to let him go, if we invested the money back in to the squad.
Would be a huge mistake to sell, he needs time to adjust to the league and regain his confidence. It's just a matter of time before it clicks.
I think we already have enough changes to our team. This wouldn't be helpful, especially since we would need to replace him. He's too talented to not give him another season.
65m euros is about 47m pounds. I'd probably take it, even though we would only recoup 80% of the transfer fee. He's only had one season where he could justify such a huge fee, and that was in a very specific system that we won't play under Van Gaal.
This move makes sense, gotta make room for Gaitan. 
I wonder how many times he's gonna have to come out and say he's not leaving before people stop saying he wants out?
It wouldn't surprise me at all, if the club can get the full amount back I think it will happen. Di Maria is very talented but a free spirit type of player, I think under managers like Fergie, Klopp and Ancelotti he thrives, but LvG is so rigid in the way he wants the team to perform that I don't think it's a fit with Di Maria.
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