crackerjack

Well-known member
so arsenal, man utd...

utd have to be the favourite - they were definitely stronger at old trafford, and we will be missing Arshavin. but i have a feeling that arsenal will score first.

I predict (though would rather be more optimistic): 1:1, Man Utd go through.

Problem is if Utd score once (and they will) Arse need three. Can't see it happening, regrettably.
 

nomos

Administrator
i'm crossing my fingers for rooney to get a straight red early on ;) at this point i'm just glad they've secured a spot in next year's competition when arshavin will be available. and i wouldn't mind if they offloaded adebayor this summer and used the cash to fill some gaps.

i think they can do it tomorrow. it might just have to be their best performance of the season.
 

hucks

Your Message Here
Thanks for all the commiserations. I was in North Wales for the weekend, so followed developments by text, a great improvement on actually going to the game like I did when we got relegated from the prem. Looking forward to the Brighton and Tranmere games next season ;)
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
Summer starts here:

Manchester United have made an offer of about €70m (£62.5m) for the Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribéry as they close in on a deal that would shatter the world transfer record.

Sources in Munich confirmed the bid has been received for the France international, who has made his desire to leave Germany known in the past few weeks. United scouts have repeatedly watched the 26-year-old in recent Bundesliga matches and sounded out his friends and entourage in Munich.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/...franck-ribery-bayern-munich-cristiano-ronaldo
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
'Kin hell.

What I don't understand is how Bayern are even in a position to demand that kind of money, tho' I suppose he is their prized asset. But still, in current Bundesliga terms, that money would buy you a whole championship-winning side, no?

And that begs the question of how much is Ronaldo gonna go for (if it said in the article, I missed it)? 90 million?
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
'And that begs the question of how much is Ronaldo gonna go for (if it said in the article, I missed it)? 90 million?

It didn't, but the figure quoted last summer was £75m iirc. If they can get that now, that would be a right result. He's only intermittently brilliant and his value must be dwindling for Utd - it's obvious he doesn't want to be there much longer and he's not been half the player he was last year.

Ribery, Tevez and Rooney would certainly make a pin-up frontline;)
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
It didn't, but the figure quoted last summer was £75m iirc. If they can get that now, that would be a right result. He's only intermittently brilliant and his value must be dwindling for Utd - it's obvious he doesn't want to be there much longer and he's not been half the player he was last year.

Ribery, Tevez and Rooney would certainly make a pin-up frontline;)

Yeah, that sounds right. Haven't watched him often enough this season, but anyone would struggle to live up to a 43-goal season. But he is a narcissistic Brylcreem-ed twat, on the other hand, and Ferguson has a mostly good record in shipping out key players at the right time.

Can't help but feel he should have been in the market for Arshavin though (or was he?).

Yeah, try playing marry/shag/kill with those three, ladies...
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
I'm afraid that this is really pedantic but it's a personal bugbear of mine...

"And that begs the question of how much is Ronaldo gonna go for (if it said in the article, I missed it)? 90 million?"
... to "beg the question" doesn't mean "raise the question" it is a specific phrase which describes the use of a disputed term as an argument for that term ie it identifies a circular argument. It's misused so often in the press and it bugs the hell out of me.

Anyway, however tasty that forward line would like I think that's still way too much for Ribery.
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
Anyway, however tasty that forward line would like I think that's still way too much for Ribery.

Where would you spend £75m?

Villa would be an obvious one (he actually outclassed Torres in Euro 06) and is up for grabs - that might mean the loss of Berb, but that's no bad thing.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
I'm afraid that this is really pedantic but it's a personal bugbear of mine...

... to "beg the question" doesn't mean "raise the question" it is a specific phrase which describes the use of a disputed term as an argument for that term ie it identifies a circular argument. It's misused so often in the press and it bugs the hell out of me.

Anyway, however tasty that forward line would like I think that's still way too much for Ribery.

true, true. I suppose it's a term rarely used in the sense you mention outside of philosophy, and has been bastardised in popular speech for this reason. But still, no reason for me to misuse it.

Why not try to snap someone up from one of the non-big 4 English teams, a la Carrick/Rooney/Berbatov/Keane? At least then they wouldn't need bedding in to the Premiership pace. As to who, dunno....
 
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IdleRich

IdleRich
"Where would you spend £75m?"
Do they have to spend seventy-five million though? Right now? And if you do have that kind of money burning a hole in your pocket it seems to me that it's better to get several players than risk it all on one who may not fit into your team/the premiership etc
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
Do they have to spend seventy-five million though? Right now? And if you do have that kind of money burning a hole in your pocket it seems to me that it's better to get several players than risk it all on one who may not fit into your team/the premiership etc

Of course, they could always service some of the debt - that'll keep the Old Trafford fans happy, while they fork out for the only season ticket price increase in the premiership.

They don't have to spunk it all one player, but i'd anticipate two massive signings (£20m+) - they already have a gigantic squad, so 7 £10m players would just be filling up the sub's bench and reserves.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
"Of course, they could always service some of the debt - that'll keep the Old Trafford fans happy, while they fork out for the only season ticket price increase in the premiership."
Fans aren't gonna complain if they win stuff.

"They don't have to spunk it all one player, but i'd anticipate two massive signings (£20m+) - they already have a gigantic squad, so 7 £10m players would just be filling up the sub's bench and reserves."
It just seems strangely knee-jerk to me to suddenly decide on a massive purchase just after a massive sale. Don't you think that Bayern would let him go for less than that if it wasn't common knowledge that they (United) had just received loads for Ronaldo (assuming that all happens as predicted of course)?
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Maybe they could attend more to the 'destructive powers' side of Rinus Michels' famous dictum for creating a team, and use that £75m to hire hitmen (Ricky Hatton has a freer diary these days :eek: ) to take out Messi, Torres, Mourinho and anyone else globally who could threaten Old Trafford's inevitable destiny of universal domination.*

*maybe Malcolm Glazer?
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
Maybe they could attend more to the 'destructive powers' side of Rinus Michels' famous dictum for creating a team, and use that £75m to hire hitmen (Ricky Hatton has a freer diary these days :eek: ) to take out Messi, Torres, Mourinho and anyone else globally who could threaten Old Trafford's inevitable destiny of universal domination.*

*maybe Malcolm Glazer?

There's kids in Salford who'd do it for much, much less than £75m.
 

crackerjack

Well-known member
It just seems strangely knee-jerk to me to suddenly decide on a massive purchase just after a massive sale. Don't you think that Bayern would let him go for less than that if it wasn't common knowledge that they (United) had just received loads for Ronaldo (assuming that all happens as predicted of course)?

Sure, but that's kinda unavoidable. Otherwise, what? Buy Ribery now, weaken their bargaining position with real over Ronaldo (even the idiots running that club know five top attackers into three or four places won't go) and sell him for less or not at all.

edit (2nd attempt): and the knee-jerk response thing is an inevitable by-product of the transfer window.
 
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