Leif

I'd like to see Lampard, Terry, De Rossi & Totti all on at the same time please.

Guess it's time to order a new kit with Rooney on the back of it then. Never did I think this would happen. And if he doesn't join I'll just get a crayon and colour the top red and donate it to a homeless shelter where some United fans should be hanging out.

So Cahill - Terry doesn't work for us. We know that now. Cahill - Ivanovic has never worked. Cahill - Luiz hasn't been tried much but it's safe to say that very few of us would feel safe going into games with that being our duo. (See a trend?) Yet despite this, Cahill continues to get votes of confidence and comments (or excuses made for him) like "HES A GOOD SQUAD PLAYER!! SQUAD-DEPTH IS WHAT WINS TITLES!!!!!!!" (Barcelona and Bayern pre-Guardiola say hi.) I'm putting this down to his nationality. Being English and being in the national team has swayed people's opinion on him from what I gather. If Cahill was South American he'd get triple the bashing Luiz gets. Probably rightly so based on performances. For me this should be his last season with us. He's good at putting the ball in the back of the net but too often he lets the opposition do exactly that to us.

If he wants Champions League football, literally the only clubs in the Champions League next season who can afford his transfer fee/wages & actually have space for a striker in their team are: Chelsea: Depending on which paper or Twitter account(s) you want to believe, we've signed Rooney, are trying to sign Rooney or definitely won't sign Rooney. All we know is that we're genuinely interested in him. If we can't get Rooney though, is Mou really happy with our current strikers? In the past, in title-winning seasons, he's had Higuain/Benzema/Morata/Ronaldo [if needed],Eto'o/Milito/Pandez/Balotelli, Drogba/Crespo/Gudjohnsen - combinations like those. A strike-force of Torres/Lukaku/Ba is absolutely amateur compared to those others. Mourinho works with top class players. He has no top class strikers now (Lukaku is potential, Ba is just Ba and Torres doesn't even need to touched on). He will want one. He wants a superstar name in attack. A ready-made player. This is why we're currently pursuing Rooney and not some unknown talent who'd cost a fraction of either Rooney or Suarez. Real Madrid: If they sign Bale I think there's much less chance of this happening. If Bale doesn't join for whatever reason, I think it's clear they want to sign one more top forward, and that would most likely be Suarez. Arsenal: Obviously prolifically linked with him at the moment, but they're not even guaranteed to be playing CL football next season and they have a very strict wage policy. Would they bend that wage policy? Would they actually splash so much cash on one player? They're not known for it. You could put the Manchester clubs, but Liverpool selling to United? No. As for City, they had clear targets this window and are following a slightly new policy than what they've followed previous seasons. No Suarez for them. Point is - I think people are too quick to dismiss Suarez. He's surely in Jose's head as a potential target if the Rooney deal doesn't happen. My prediction however: He goes on-loan to Real Madrid with an option to buy. Voila.

The moment I sat down on my toilet and brought up Twitter I saw that Sky Sports tweet and, well, it relieved me of the need to squeeze. Plop. Hopefully we don't sell him. Unless we get Messi as part-exchange.

He starts off saying that Rooney won't want to play abroad and agrees that there's no clubs abroad who'd be willing/able to pay the fee for him. After ruling foreign clubs out of this transfer saga, he goes on and talks about the club (Chelsea) that is available to Rooney. 'Chelsea - Rooney' is the only discussion going on at this point. He then says during this discussion, quote: "We've said on numerous occasions with players, once you leave a club like Manchester United, there's only one way you'll go [down]." How isn't that saying we're a step down from United?

Ray Wilkins saying we'd be a step down from Utd: http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/130806/exclusive-ray-wilkins-warns-wayne-rooney-joining-chelsea-would-be-step-d-2031

15 goals in 15 games vs. Arsenal

Kinda reminds me of Dzeko. He's a perfect option for our youth if we're slotting him in those ranks as opposed to loaning him out. Feruz as much as I like him just doesn't offer too much aside from goal poaching. While this guy seems to poach around the penalty area too, he's a lot more well-rounded, obviously thanks to his physique.

I've missed these Good job.

He reminds me of Dede before his injury - which is a great thing.

Chalobah simply must impose himself more.

Not sure what it is about her but Gigi Salmon really annoys me.

With Hooper seemingly off to Norwich City I hope he doesn't think that being in the Premier League magically puts him in contention for getting a spot in the England squad. We all saw that's not the case when Holt was banging them in. Gotta be at a 'top club' to be in contention. Good move for him regardless.

Whatever role Zaha was used in last season at Palace is basically the role I see Piazon making his career out of so I'd definitely have them as my number 1 destination for him. Not exactly a striker role, not exactly a playmaker role, not exactly a winger role. Kinda all of them meshed together.

I really want our defence to be tested more in this match. Terry's passing at times these past few games would have had my heart in my mouth had they been in Premier League or CL games. I also want to see more of Kalas. He was one of my favourite players to watch last season in Holland. He's going to surprise a lot of people if given a decent chance. Perhaps an odd comparison but his playing style kinda reminds me of Kompany. Not too much pressure then

Knowing Wenger he'd turn Suarez into a target man or a winger to try and accommodate Giroud aka The next coming of Henry.

What interests me is this - Gustavo is currently in Brazil's starting 11. The starting 11 which dominated Spain and looks set to start dominating world football altogether. He often has Oscar playing ahead of him and Paulinho beside him. It's an incredible trio which works well; Gustavo anchoring and Paulinho putting in the shifts in both attack and defence. We already have Oscar, and honestly, I think Van Ginkel & Paulinho aren't exactly worlds apart, so then you slot Gustavo into the equation. We could have 2 out of 3 players of Brazil's first choice midfield (and Ramires who was originally in that starting XI spot over Paulinho I believe). Gustavo is about to enter the peak of his career it seems and Oscar will just keep getting better and eventually make that central attacking spot in our team his own like he's done for Brazil. Maybe our future midfield could be: Gustavo - Van Ginkel Oscar I certainly think that could work. A very good balance there of technical skill, physical skill & mental skill. In a few years Gustavo would be the one offering us experience and leadership there with Oscar being our gem. Van Ginkel, as stated, would do the often-under-appreciated work of a proper box-to-box player like Paulinho currently does. We could probably capture Gustavo from Bayern with considerable ease. He's not getting into that Bayern midfield as a first choice player and Guardiola typically sells off fringe players unless they're really rather old and won't bring in much cash. After seeing the damage his country can do together and after playing a big part in helping Brazil win the Confed Cup, there is absolutely no way he'll want to sit on Bayern's bench and lose his role for his national team. So, he comes here, and he cements a starting place in both a top European club and his country. It makes sense for everyone.

A terrible attitude is this guy's main attribute from all that I've heard about him. No idea how he plays. I like signing free-agents though since there's almost always some sort of resale value so why not.

Makes the "He's the best striker in the world" comments which plagued his thread on here even more laughable.

I find it funny how Kagawa is saying he wants a Dortmund return It's getting United fans all anxious. The lil' bastard won't be wanted by Dortmund fans now I bet and United fans will be turning against him. Again, signs that this 'United empire' is crumbling.

He's been great. He's clearly been told to restrict his usual box-to-box duties so that there's less pressure on Essien who obviously shouldn't just be left alone to work by himself on the pitch after his injuries, and when paired with Ramires we all know which one is going to be used in the B2B role! They can't both go forward and leave acres of space behind! This is why he's opting for holding his ground at the moment, making the more simple passes (which in fairness we were actually missing last season) and putting in defensive shifts. He does it all. I guess this is where Mikel or a new defensive midfielder (unlikely) comes in handy. Someone strong with good legs who holds their role is what's needed if we want to see this Lampard-like blueprint that is Van Ginkel. Alternatively Jose could be molding him into an Xabi Alonso type player, something he definitely has all the tools for and a bold move which would save us from splurging cash on a playmaker in the long run assuming it works out. Sometimes the very little things go unnoticed. It's the little things which Van Ginkel specialises at.

So I say he's shit BEFORE he (Schurrle) arrives after watching him all season last year, and the "you're judging him on 2 games" comes out by the very people saying he's still a good purchase after seeing only those 2 games? If I shouldn't judge a player which as a football fan I have every right to do, then you very people don't have the right to say he's a good purchase. "Lack of match fitness" is not an excuse for his 2 games so far. First of all, Ivanovic, Chalobah, Cole, Wallace, Essien, Van Ginkel, Kalas, Bertrand, De Bruyne and so-on aren't suffering from this mythical idea that footballers don't move an inch when the season ends. Secondly, it's his decision making I bashed before he moved here and that I'm bashing (or at least probably going to) again now. Always attempting the shot when he should pass, never taking on a defender - cutting in every time, giving away a foul but having it overlooked 'because he has a high workrate'. The fact of the matter is, if you haven't watched Schurrle before it's probably wisest to just sit tight and keep your lips shut and reserve judgement before spewing that rubbish that I'm being unfair towards him. Not everything in football is roses and pretty colours. If someone is bluntly shit it should be stated so. Just trying to keep some people grounded after the whole Marin transfer. It's no coincidence I believe that it's the people who believe our current strike force is enough for next season or believe that Sturridge (basically Schurrle but English) was the greatest thing since sliced bread are the ones delusional over this transfer. Also, a note: If we're not supposed to judge players during Pre-Season, why do managers constantly use it to ease the headache of who starts the first game of the season? If we're not supposed to judge players during Pre-Season, why has there been a complete wank-fest in the De Bruyne thread? Don't be fickle. Either all players can be judged both positively/negatively or no players can be judged at all - which would be lunacy as a football fan. That was so long.