It's Official...Tim Howard joins Man U.

[Ajaxab]

The Ferdinand suspension seems ridiculous by North American standards. Sure Fifa wants its member associations to be tough on drug violations, but if Rio played in the NFL he would have been given a slap on the wrist and the next violation would have led to a suspension. Does anyone else think that the FA should reconsider its policy on drug tests? The first offense should not warrant an eight month ban.

Are Man U still looking at Boumsong?

[cornbreaD]

Originally posted by daedalus
Also, supposedly United will be chasing a striker to partner with Van Nistelrooij when the transfer window open. Any idea who the main target will be?

I've heard that their main targets are Saha (Fulham) and Viduka (Leeds). I think Fulham is asking for too much for him, so Man U will probably go after Viduka. The Leeds board has said that no one will be sold when the transfer window opens, but this is just crap. Everyone knows how desperate Leeds is for cash, so if Man U comes in with a good offer, Duke is gone.

As a Leeds fan, I'm torn on this. I really like Duke when he is playing his best, but all too often he seems lazy. He has talent, but I'm not convinced about his heart. I wonder if Leeds would be better off without him. The only problem is that there is no one left to replace him. And I would hate to see him go to Man U. It was bad enough watching Ferdinand go, but Duke following suit would be too much!

[Mac Howard]

From an interview with Sir Alex Ferguson - Man Utd manager:


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Tim Howard has been the star of the show this season,' Ferguson told MUTV.

'He is quick, alert, agile, courageous and has speed. It's all there for us to see.

'I thought I would have to leave him out for a bit in October, but it hasn't happened.'
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quote:
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'If you look at the other players we brought in during the summer Kleberson had played in a World Cup final; Eric Djemba-Djemba was a Cameroon international; Cristiano Ronaldo had been playing in Portugal's top league with Sporting Lisbon, and David Bellion had been in the Premiership with Sunderland,' said Ferguson.

'Tim didn't have any of that experience, so there was bound to be a question mark over him.

'But Tony Coton was insistent and said `Once you see him there will be no questions'. That was a big statement, but he was right.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



quote:
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Howard is not the only American to impress at Old Trafford this season. Teenage duo Jon Spector and Kenny Cooper are making their mark at junior level.

Ferguson believes Spector in particular has a big future and he is not ruling out the possibility of further shopping trips to the States.

'There is an untapped market in America,' he said.

'The kids over there have a fierce will to win. They are real competitors, probably something to do with the way they are brought up.'
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[daedalus]

That's awesome! I didn't even know there were other Americans at United. Hopefully, this means we'll get additional good coaching coming toward here and even more good players coming out of it.

[GoldenEagle]

Originally posted by daedalus
That's awesome! I didn't even know there were other Americans at United. Hopefully, this means we'll get additional good coaching coming toward here and even more good players coming out of it.

You need to keep up daed!

Head over to bigsoccer.com to get caught up.

[Francis_Cole]

Incase it hasn't been mentioned Man U are selling Barthez (their old #1), which shows how Ü Howard is

[SirFozzie]

He's still a bloody Metroslut in my book.

Speaking of the MLS.. I got an awesome Christmas present from my bro (more like a combo Christmas Present and late late birthday present)..

Season tickets to the Revs.

If any of you FOFCers are in the area and want to attend a game, let me know.

[GoldenEagle]

Just because he left MLS?

[3ric]

As a huge Henrik Larsson fan, I'm surprised that he's only courted by the likes of Newcastle and Birmingham. Although I despise ManU, part of me want him to get the recognition from such a team that's looking for a striker to sign (but as he's played in the Champions League this year, he's ineligible for another team).

Also, I'm happy to see that Liverpool seems to be set to complete the long-awaited transfer for Djibril Cissé after the season.

[BreizhManu]

Originally posted by Francis_Cole
Incase it hasn't been mentioned Man U are selling Barthez (their old #1), which shows how Ü Howard is

he is on loan to Marseille, not for sale (with his huge contract nobody can buy him anyway)

[SirFozzie]

Originally posted by GoldenEagle
Just because he left MLS?

No.. I meant he's a New York/New Jersey Metroslut.

Fucking Metros tried to take over the Fort (The Revolution General Admission Cheering section) when I attended a game betweeen the two teams (we were there for a US game too )

Trust me, they got the message they weren't wanted reallll quickly.. the funny thing was, they had their own section next to the fort after it all got sorted out, and we spent most of the time chanting songs concerning their ancestry (and they responded in kind.)

It ended in a 3-3 draw, was a fun game.

[daedalus]

Has anyone heard anymore news on the transfer front? Both Houllier and Wenger seems to be insisting that they're making no move during this window. I'm at least glad that Wenger doesn't seem to be chasing either Alan Smith or Jermaine Defoe.

*shudder* All we need at Highbury is yet ANOTHER hothead.

I'm a little disappointed to see Volz leave. He's supposedly been doing well, it would've been nice to see a kid developed by Arsenal actually play at Arsenal. Y'know . . . unlike Matty Upson. But . . . we . . . have . . . Cygan! [Who I've heard has actually been doing fairly well this year.]

It could never happen in a million and a half year but I wouldn't mind seeing . . . eeks . . . Nicky Butt toiling for the Gunners instead.

Apparently, Herr Klose is going to leave Germany for greener pasture. His skillset seems fairly limited but he'd be an interesting mix with Henry up front.

Out of curiosity, does anyone else think the Ferdinand ban is rather harsh? That SAID . . . this done up by the Gooners fanzine made me giggle a smidge:

[SirFozzie]

oof....

Nice to see MLS made some money out of the McBride Transfer (600K either to I think Southampton or Fulham)

[Mr. Wednesday]

600k pounds, around $1 MM, and it was supposed to be to Blackburn, although there were rumors of late interest by Fulham. Haven't had a chance to check Yanks Abroad at BigSoccer for the latest yet.

I assume everyone already knows about Bocanegra going to Fulham on a free transfer and Clint Mathis getting a trial at Hannover 96 in Germany?

[SirFozzie]

Actually it's a 2nd trial at Hannover

[daedalus]

It might be just me but I just have never been impressed by Mathis. Am I missing something?

[SirFozzie]

He's got a deft scoring touch... but he doesn't CREATE.. he just finishes.

Plus he's a Metroslut, so my opinion's biased

[SirFozzie]

Dola: With regards to McBride..

apparently Fulham have decided to acquire him as Saha insurance, and it's just about finalized. He's talking with them this weekend. If it falls through, then he might go back to Blackburn.

[Mr. Wednesday]

Mathis had a run of terrific form right up until he did his ACL. Then he was a little slow coming back and there were questions about his fitness after he returned. He's never really regained the form he was showing before the injury.

[daedalus]

Supposedly we've signed Jose Antonio Reyes.

Good News: According to everything I've read, he's incredibly talented.

Bad News: What did this cost us? Does it mean there is someone leaving the Gunners that we'd prefer not to (as in someone other than Sylvain Wiltord)?

[Katon]

Yes, I was surprised by that too. I have no idea where Arsenal are getting £20,000,000 from, but hopefully I'll run across an explanation in the papers tomorrow. This is especially aggravating as a Chelsea fan because our right wing corps is currently Jesper Gronkjaer and Geremi, neither of whom is in the same league as a Duff or, well, a Reyes, and both of whom are having extremely below-par seasons.

[condors]

i have seen clint mathis play alot.

he is a clinical finisher can score from outside the 18 (not an easy thing to do)
can finish as free kick as well as anyone (although his service isn't top line)
his workrate has been questioned
he is a hothead
he is injury prone
in the mls could play well in the air(at times) and show terrific pace(neither of these since his last injury that i saw)

i would guess he has a tremendous upside and its not uncommon for a player to be better after being 2 years removed from an acl injury. I just wouldn't expect him to be anything more than a player who sometimes shows flashes but is never consistant.

although i am a dc united fan so...

[Easy Mac]

I really like Mathis because when he wants to play, he's the best player America has. He can score with both feet, can pass well, is pretty good on the dribble, and can take a free kick well. The problem is getting him to play, as he tends to disappear for long portions of the game. I remember seeing him in the world cup, and while he may not have been fit for the whole time, he just didn't do anything for long stretches of the game. If he is going to be one our best players, he has to work on being more involved and hustle, he can't afford to just stand around and let things come to him.

[condors]

i would rather have mcbride than mathis any day of the week

has a tremendous workrate (has been known to look like an extra midfielder out there)

best USA target striker ever (not best striker but the best target striker)

has to be marked closely on free kicks and corner kicks

has the ability to head the ball to a teamate making a run creating a scoring chance for the team

i have only read/heard good things about him as a person on and off the pitch

[Easy Mac]

I think Conor Casey could be the target man upfront for the next generation of US soccer, but he needs to get out of Germany, because he keeps getting stuck on loan at small clubs. He's scoring, but I think he could develop in a better environment.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by condors

i would rather have mcbride than mathis any day of the week

I agree completly, McBride is in a different class than Mathis. Apparently a good number of other clubs agree too as Mathis had failed a number of trials at other clubs before being picked up by Hannover (Glasgow Rangers, Leicester City, Sunderland all turned him down, a few others as well).

Mathis is too much of a hothead, one interesting statistic I read about him was that in his last season with New York he'd got more cards (4 red and 8 yellow I think it was) than goals.

Be interesting to see how McBride does at Fulham, his game is fairly different from Saha's, McBride's stronger and better in the air but nowhere near as quick. I think he's got the talent though if he settles into the team well.

[klayman]

Originally Posted by daedalus

Supposedly we've signed Jose Antonio Reyes.

Good News: According to everything I've read, he's incredibly talented.

He should be a good fit since he's already suspended for a game

[Mr. Wednesday]

McHead's foot skills are also underrated, he's good at holding the ball.

I suppose I should mention (in case anyone was interested and missed it) that all concerned parties reached an agreement to loan Landon Donovan to Portsmouth, but it's currently run afoul of the FIFA transfer window regulations (if subject to the MLS window on the return, he can't come back until August 15).

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by klayman

He should be a good fit since he's already suspended for a game

It's all about fitting in, baby! Can't be a Gooner without a suspension or four!

I'm just thankful we stayed clear of Alan Smith and Jermaine Defoe.

[daedalus]

One thing I notice about McBride is he knows his limitation and work with and within it. I DEFINITELY like his work rate.

I did not know about Donovan's possible loan to Portsmouth. Why is it afoul of the transfer window?

[Easy Mac]

Originally Posted by daedalus

One thing I notice about McBride is he knows his limitation and work with and within it. I DEFINITELY like his work rate.

I did not know about Donovan's possible loan to Portsmouth. Why is it afoul of the transfer window?

I think it is because the loan would end outside of the MLS transfer window, but within the FIFa transfer window. SO therefore he couldn't move back to SJ until August.

Here is the official line:

FIFA told the U.S. Soccer Federation that it must limit transfers to two periods per year, and MLS can obtain players from foreign teams only from Jan. 1 until March 31 and from Aug. 15 until Sept. 15, rules that are being enforced for the first time this year. "The FIFA regulations, which we're trying to follow, require that we set in conjunction with our league a transfer window, which we've done,'' USSF spokesman Jim Moorhouse said. "That concludes on March 31, and any players coming into the United States have to theoretically arrive before that day.'' Under those rules, Donovan may not be able to return to the San Jose Earthquakes until August. But because the parties are discussing a loan instead of an outright transfer, it's not clear whether the window applies.

[Critch]

One thing I didn't like about Brian McBride was that headband he used to wear to tie back his goldilocks curls. Made him look like a slightly less butch female soccer player. Hopefully he's stopped doing that now.

FIFA trying to control the transfer windows worldwide is part of their campaign to try and enforce standards that all leagues must stick to, next up their going to try and force through a limit to league sizes where there can be no more than 16 teams in a division. They've gone power mad.

[daedalus]

I haven't seen McBride wearing any headband recently so perhaps he has stopped.

What's-his-name Blatter just sounds like a PHA [power-hungry asshole].

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by daedalus

It's all about fitting in, baby! Can't be a Gooner without a suspension or four!

Heh. From the Soccernet article: Then again, as his new manager, Arsene Wenger, joked: 'That just makes me think he has all the qualities to be an Arsenal player!'

Supposedly, the transfer is for £9M initially. With performance, appearances and team success, it could increase to £20M. I guess Wenger figures to have more money by the time that he'd need to send anymore money to Sevilla since the 9 probably cleans out his current budget.

[Mac Howard]

Or he could be taking a leaf out of Leeds' book

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Mac Howard

Or he could be taking a leaf out of Leeds' book

Heh. I hope not!

I'd expect more or at least hope for more from Wenger.

Here's more information on the transfer:

The initial consideration is ?15 million (£10.5m), of which ?10 million is payable (75 apps) immediately. 6.9 m Additional consideration of up to ?9.5 million may become payable, subject to various appearance and performance criteria being satisfied. Arsenal does not expect any of the above sums, other than the initial ?10 million fee, to become payable in its current financial year.

So . . . I guess we start with the 10M that Wenger just got and then the rest of the money to be paid out as it (hopefully) trickles in. Not a bad move, really. I'm surprised he went for this instead of going up to 5M on Van Persie, though. Either he really likes the kid or he's really peeved about them going public about his bid for Van Persie.

Entirely unrelated . . . How do you like the Saha signing? Do you expect Manchester United to sign a centreback to cover for Ferdinand or just go with Brown and hope for the best?

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Katon

Yes, I was surprised by that too. I have no idea where Arsenal are getting £20,000,000 from, but hopefully I'll run across an explanation in the papers tomorrow. This is especially aggravating as a Chelsea fan because our right wing corps is currently Jesper Gronkjaer and Geremi, neither of whom is in the same league as a Duff or, well, a Reyes, and both of whom are having extremely below-par seasons.

Isn't Geremi more of a defensive midfielder than a winger? Why doesn't Renieri put Cole out there on the right side?

[MIJB#19]

Hey Daedalus, since you seem to read this thread at least once a week, have you heard about the rumors surrounding Feyenoord's Robin van Persie going to Arsenal?

As off now, Van Persie has the reputation of being the Dutch version of Nicholas Anelka, a very gifted player with a very bad attitude.
At Feyenoord he used to play on the left wing (until recently), but he only wants to play a la Bergkamp, behind the deep striker.

BTW, Van Persie's half sister and my (full) sister are classmates at the moment.

[Katon]

Joe Cole is really a central midfielder. His instinct when he gets the ball out wide isn't to look for the cross, it's to make a run inside. He's playing on the right a fair bit, though, because Frank Lampard also plays in the attacking central midfield slot and Lampard's been the best central midfielder in the league this year.

Geremi can in theory play either on the right or in defensive midfield. He hasn't looked as good as Makelele or Petit (or Scott Parker, if we sign him) in the middle, and he hasn't been given much of a chance on the right since a horrendous performance against Besiktas. Before that, he'd been looking okay on the wing.

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Hey Daedalus, since you seem to read this thread at least once a week, have you heard about the rumors surrounding Feyenoord's Robin van Persie going to Arsenal?

As off now, Van Persie has the reputation of being the Dutch version of Nicholas Anelka, a very gifted player with a very bad attitude.
At Feyenoord he used to play on the left wing (until recently), but he only wants to play a la Bergkamp, behind the deep striker.

BTW, Van Persie's half sister and my (full) sister are classmates at the moment.

I heard they made an initial offer in the range of 3.5-4 million but Feyenoord wanted 5 so they rejected Arsenal's initial bid. Feyenoord then announced the fact that they rejected Arsenal's bid, I guess to try to drum up competition for Van Persie. From an interview, Wenger seemed bothered by the fact that Feyenoord made it public. I can't tell if Wenger was so annoyed by the announcement that he decided to go back to Sevilla with a big bid for Reyes or if he'd been chasing both and was going to go with whoever got it done first. They seem to be similar players (a left winger who can play up front or behind the striker as well).

I still want Van Der Vaart in a Gunners uniform, darn it!

[condors]

Carlos Bocanegra is a player for you overseas people to keep an eye on. He is now a defender for Fulham but he got man of the match playing in the midfield in the last game. I really thought he and eddie pope were the 2 best defenders for the US. Bocanegra is still 24 i believe and i don't recall seeing him ever have a bad game (although i haven't seen all of the Chicago Fire's games). He has pace hops and makes all the right plays. I think he could really turn eyes towards the MLS although i don't know there is anyone else as good as him in there (outside of eddie pope who is now 32? and may not be attractive due to his age for a european club) danny califf is probally the most talented/cardprone defender though maybe Arsenal should send out some scouts.

[Mac Howard]

>So . . . I guess we start with the 10M that Wenger just got and then the rest of the money to be paid out as it (hopefully) trickles in.

Sounds very much like Leeds to me - buy now, pay later

But Wenger is right to do this and base so much of the cost on his performances with a 20 year old striker. I'd hate to count the number of times I've seen young players at Utd who are going to be the next George Best only to have them disappear from view as they tried their skills in the Premier League.

>Entirely unrelated . . . How do you like the Saha signing?

I have a great weekend coming up - first seeing how Saha will fit in at Utd and then the SuperBowl. Hopefully Saha will succeed and we'll see Utd revert to the exciting, attacking soccer they were known for before Alex Ferguson decided he wanted a more sophisticated game and bought Veron. The soccer from them this season may have been successful but it's been ugly.

>Do you expect Manchester United to sign a centreback to cover for Ferdinand or just go with Brown and hope for the best?

They should but I'm not sure the board are allowing Alex the money. If they do go back to the 4-4-2 formation they will no longer be able to play two defensive midfield players and central defence will come under greater pressure. I don't see Brown and Silvestre being good enough and god knows what happens if they have a couple of injuries

It's an unnecessarily shallow squad for a club with supposedly the best finances in the world. So much for PLC status!

And with my New England father-in-law coming over to watch the SuperBowl I guess I'll be shouting for the Patriots Monday morning. Or maybe I should be contrary .

[rufusjonz]

The US has to be up and coming worldwide...unless Arena is just a weak coach tactic-wise and technique-wise. I still have questions about that.

We now have:
3 world class Goalkeepers (Howard should definitely be US #1)
2 Premier League level strikers (McBride, Donovan)
1 Premier League captain midfielder (Reyna, when not injured)
1 up and coming finesse winger (DeMarcus Beasley)
1 14 year old prodigy (Freddie Adu)
plus several other players playing in top euro divisions (Bocanegra, Lewis, a few others I cant think of right now).

Optimism time!

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Mac Howard

Sounds very much like Leeds to me - buy now, pay later

That's possible but I don't think so so much. It seemed to me that Leeds spent an enormous amount (in the neighborhood of 90M, I think?) on the premise that what they make in the Champion's League will cover the bill. In this case, Wenger is buying one player where the initial outlay of the cash is with money that's in his spending budget (10M). Then, as team and player performances and Reyes' appearances for Spain comes about, pay further. (As a Gunners fan, of course, I hope they end up having to pay EVERYTHING else since, y'know, that'd mean we've done pretty well.) Given that future payment should be in the range of 6-10M (depending on which report you read), it sounds fair sum to expect to be in Wenger's transfer budget in the next year or two (since he had 10M to work with this winter) even from just league and TV money and nothing to do with pinning all hopes on Champion's League money or appearance. I'm guessing selling Volz helped added further fund to this budget (although I'm rather sad to see him go without having gotten a chance at Highbury).

Originally Posted by Mac Howard

But Wenger is right to do this and base so much of the cost on his performances with a 20 year old striker. I'd hate to count the number of times I've seen young players at Utd who are going to be the next George Best only to have them disappear from view as they tried their skills in the Premier League.

Hee hee. Absolutely! I always wondered why more teams do not do so. Especially when buying younger players.

Originally Posted by Mac Howard

I have a great weekend coming up - first seeing how Saha will fit in at Utd and then the SuperBowl. Hopefully Saha will succeed and we'll see Utd revert to the exciting, attacking soccer they were known for before Alex Ferguson decided he wanted a more sophisticated game and bought Veron. The soccer from them this season may have been successful but it's been ugly.

As a fan of Arsenal who've had to deal with them not always being able to close the deal, I'd take some "ugly but successful"! As Vieira has said, Manchester United just seems to knows how to win when it counts - ugly or attractive - and Arsenal has to learn that. (We will too! Darn it!)

How do you see Saha fitting in with Van Nistelrooij? At least as far as how their games will work together.

Originally Posted by Mac Howard

They should but I'm not sure the board are allowing Alex the money. If they do go back to the 4-4-2 formation they will no longer be able to play two defensive midfield players and central defence will come under greater pressure. I don't see Brown and Silvestre being good enough and god knows what happens if they have a couple of injuries

It's an unnecessarily shallow squad for a club with supposedly the best finances in the world. So much for PLC status!

What about O'Shea as a centreback cover? Or is he out on the flank nowadays?

And with my New England father-in-law coming over to watch the SuperBowl I guess I'll be shouting for the Patriots Monday morning. Or maybe I should be contrary .

Be contrary! Just for kicks!

[Mac Howard]

>How do you see Saha fitting in with Van Nistelrooij? At least as far as how their games will work together.

I really don't know and that's why I'm looking forward to the game in the hope I might get some idea.

Van Nistelrooy is one of those strikers that utterly dominates the penalty area and makes it difficult for other strikers to play with him. You need a mobile selfless player to move around him and support him - put in a few goals but mainly create the space and chances for the other guy. Beardsley did it for Lineker, Bellamy does it for Shearer (notice how their performance has deteriorated since Bellamy was injured?). Liverpool have a similar problem with Owen. Not many of this type of player around.

I'm not sure Saha will be that sort of player but at least he seems to complement van Nistelrooy's abilities - he's fast, mobile and good in the air (desperately needed by Utd with so many crosses going to waste) while van Nistelrooy is the goal poacher supreme (sometimes difficult to understand why he scores so often his dominant skills are so elusive to define). Hopefully the two of them together will provide defences with much variation to deal with - occasionally, recently defences have wrapped up van Nistelrooy on his own.

So, I'm looking forward to the next few matches to see how it all pans out.

>What about O'Shea as a centreback cover? Or is he out on the flank nowadays?

O'Shea is one of those young players that came through with a bang but disappoints in the following season. He's not nearly the player he was last season. His confidence seems shattered, he's making simple mistakes. Never quite sure what it is that causes this drop in form (I've tried to duplicate it in SaaP with limited success) but it occurs so often (hence my George Best comment). I wouldn't like to see him back at CB in this season's form - but one injury to Brown or Silvestre and that's what we'll have

>Be contrary! Just for kicks!

Being a Utd fan I'm used to being on the winning side and, though I don't pretend to be a great judge, I believe that may well be the Patriots. Maybe I should do what my 8 year old daughter does:

"Who's winning, dad?"

"The team in red, Georgie"

"I'm backing the team in red, dad, your's is the one in blue. Icecream for me if red wins!"

Never mentions what's in it for me if blue wins

[Mr. Wednesday]

Originally Posted by condors

Carlos Bocanegra is a player for you overseas people to keep an eye on. He is now a defender for Fulham but he got man of the match playing in the midfield in the last game.

Not midfield, outside back. U.S. observers tend to think he's more naturally a center back (or an outside marking back in a three-D formation), because he doesn't have quite the attacking skills you'd like in an outside back in a four-D formation. Hence, he was playing out of position, but not as drastically out of position as if he'd been in midfield.

[daedalus]

Originally Posted by Mac Howard

Van Nistelrooy is one of those strikers that utterly dominates the penalty area and makes it difficult for other strikers to play with him. You need a mobile selfless player to move around him and support him - put in a few goals but mainly create the space and chances for the other guy. Beardsley did it for Lineker, Bellamy does it for Shearer (notice how their performance has deteriorated since Bellamy was injured?). Liverpool have a similar problem with Owen. Not many of this type of player around.

By sheer luck and because Manchester United gets televised on the Tuesday Fox game a lot, I've gotten to see Van Nistelrooij more than I've seen Henry play and I have to admit, I really like Van Nistelrooij. He's an awesome player. (As an aside, in the one game I saw Kluivert play for Barcelona during the preseason tour, I thought he was really similar to Van Nistelrooij. Perhaps that is their problem when playing together for the Dutch team?) So does Van Nistelrooij need more of a speed guy like, say, Vassell to draw attention away from him or does he need more of a target man like, say, Emile Heskey to get connect with (arguments of the qualities of said names aside)? Didn't he and Solskjaer worked together pretty well?

Originally Posted by Mac Howard

O'Shea is one of those young players that came through with a bang but disappoints in the following season. He's not nearly the player he was last season. His confidence seems shattered, he's making simple mistakes. Never quite sure what it is that causes this drop in form (I've tried to duplicate it in SaaP with limited success) but it occurs so often (hence my George Best comment). I wouldn't like to see him back at CB in this season's form - but one injury to Brown or Silvestre and that's what we'll have

That sucks. Is it just poor form or is he just not up to the quality that United need? At least if it's just poor form and a confidence problem, maybe he'll recover next year and be back to his old self.

Originally Posted by Mac Howard

Being a Utd fan I'm used to being on the winning side and, though I don't pretend to be a great judge, I believe that may well be the Patriots. Maybe I should do what my 8 year old daughter does:

"Who's winning, dad?"

"The team in red, Georgie"

"I'm backing the team in red, dad, your's is the one in blue. Icecream for me if red wins!"

Never mentions what's in it for me if blue wins

Heh.

[daedalus]

As an aside, further details on Reyes' signing:

An immediate £7.1m will be paid this financial year, £3.55m next year, and a potential £6.79m over the period of the four-and-a-half-year contract, dependent on various criteria including the club's success in Europe.

Something interesting about this is that this means that Wenger didn't use up all of his supposed £10m for this winter. That leaves the door open for a possibility, however remote, of the supposed £1.5m transfer for Patrick Kluivert this summer if Wenger thinks they can get along or even another possible approach for Van Persie if Feyenoord would be willing to work out a deal with some deferred payment and some performance clauses like Sevilla did. The one game I saw Kluivert in during the preseason tour, I was really impressed with him. Still, I'd rather see Kanu be given a full chance with Aliadiere popping in from time to time along with Bentley. (Assuming Reyes stays with Pires out on the wing next season.)

[MIJB#19]

Daed,

Kanu and Kluivert made a fine couple at Ajax, but Kluivert is really more of a deep striker. Kluivert and Henry? that will not work, I think.
Kluivert and Van Nistelrooij only had one succesful game together in Oranje, when they tore the German defense appart in a friendly. Kluivert is now demoted to backup for Ruud and Van der Vaart.
Van der Vaart could be more of an addition to Arsenal, though I'd rather see Van Perise leave the Dutch league. And with ManU trying to get Robben to play around Ruud, the top of English football could get even more Orange in the future.

The Van Persie deal is said to be off overhere, as Reyes is said to play the same position (Arsenal still has Ljungberg and Pires to play there as well, right?) But if Reyes is the same type of player, why would Arsenal rather pay double to get Reyes?
Van Persie was demoted back to the left wing at Feyenoord, yet the guy keeps on playing like he is supposed to be on the right wing, left wing and in the center... He does get involved in most of the goals, but wheter it is good to not do what the trainer wants is something different...

BTW, Kluivert had a limited transfer fee of 1M Euro last summer, yet not a single team took the bait. The most serious club was rumoured to be the current laughing stock of the Dutch eredivise, FC Zwolle...

[Blade6119]

Originally Posted by rufusjonz

The US has to be up and coming worldwide...unless Arena is just a weak coach tactic-wise and technique-wise. I still have questions about that.

We now have:
3 world class Goalkeepers (Howard should definitely be US #1)
2 Premier League level strikers (McBride, Donovan)
1 Premier League captain midfielder (Reyna, when not injured)
1 up and coming finesse winger (DeMarcus Beasley)
1 14 year old prodigy (Freddie Adu)
plus several other players playing in top euro divisions (Bocanegra, Lewis, a few others I cant think of right now).

Optimism time!

It looks up, but despite my enthusiasm i have to be a little careful with my dreams...were still new at being able to compete