The talk of Adem Ljajic has started to gain momentum over the past couple of months, with more videos of his goals floating about the internet, in anticipation for his arrival in January.
“Given all the talk about him and the fact he plays for Serbia’s Under 21s even though he’s only 18, we hope we will be granted the permit. I am looking forward to seeing him,” Ferguson said last month, after United applied for a work permit to enable the Serbian to join us in January.
The deal for Ljajic was agreed at the same time as Zoran Tosic, with both players set to join us from Partizan Belgrade. Tosic arrived first, although his appearances have been few and far between.
Maybe light-weight Tosic has turned the club off Ljajic, with news just breaking that the deal is now off.
United were set to pay £10m for the teenager but have now deemed him not worth it. Whether this means Tosic will be sold in January or if Fergie is now going to use that money elsewhere is still unknown. Or maybe we’re just skint.
The Telegraph has more…
Man Utd News 24/7
Well thats a kick in the nuts…
Really? Shit. I was looking forward to seeing this kid.
its aload of bullshit..it came from the mirror…papers chatting shit again
Can it be really true? I thought we had already signed him and loaned him back. Looks naughty to me.
Source of this information ?
That would be a shame, because Ljajic looked like the real deal..
WHAT? I was really looking forward to see him playing for us…
Didn’t see this one coming. Fergie is quite resilient when it comes to promising teenagers, so i wonder what must have changed his mind here.
nothing on ssn or manutd.com plus we’ve already signed him
This has got to be bullshit
If my football manager knowledge is correct, we cannot pull out! Nor do I want us too! He’s clearly the better of the two players and he’s made trips to OT a few times, I really don’t want us to pull out at all! I’m still sort of a Nani fan but i’d much rather get rid of him and bring in Ljajic. I’ve JUST read the news on the Mirror website but they spout alot of shite, really don’t want to believe it!
absolute trash. if the mirror didnt have tits it would be perfect for analysis by nasa to attempt further exploration of the properties of a black hole.
Well now even Telegraph are reporting it and have quotes from a “United spokesperson” denying the club doesnt have money.
Why a team like us with money to spend is acting like Scrooge in the fucking Christmas Carol pisses me off.
Obviously some cunt up in OT is siphoning everything back to the Glazers.
rubbish he is already bought
Sorry guys, not bullshit, the club have released a statement, as have Partizan.
Its bollocks. From the mirror. By the way the Citeh fans are well giddy after their result.Reckon they are gonna hammer us. Cannot wait to see that smug cunt Hughes’s face when we knock his horrible fucking team out. Hope Bellamy gets s kicking from Vida.
Actually it may well be true. Have just seen Mark Ogden’s report on it.
where abouts scott?
It says he hasn’t developed as much as they thought and there is alot of talent already in the ranks. Hmm. This will really appease alot of fans. A lot have our season pinned on him.
Scott
where is the statement?
Cant find it on manutd.com at least..
Die die glazier fucking die.
My worst fears yet.
Are we officially broke?
if we don’t win anything this season are we gonna have a fire sale?
god no!
where is the statement? there is no statement as far as i can see
The abu’s will have a field day, and the Citeh fans. There will be fuck all in it. It says that Fergie has monitored him over the last twelve months and recently at Carrington and does not think he is any better than what we have already at the club. Over hyped? Has anyone actually seen much of him or just youtube clips? I can’t say I have.
Here’s the telegraph article with quotes.
It’s embarrasing
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/manutd/6711461/Manchester-United-dismiss-suggestions-of-financial-crisis-over-Adem-Ljajic-move.html
Well, if he was rated at 10 mil, then I see that the blonde dude from CSKA is rated 9 mil, is 25 and would be ready to step into the squad right away… Maybe thats the thinking?
I admit that I’ve only seen the blondy twice, the two games against us, and he looks decent enough. But he plays on the right side of midfield correct? And i don’t imagine him coming in and pushing out Valencia who is is really starting to fire now.
Confusing times indeed..
Oh and, hurry up Hargo! We want you back
Calm down. Do you honestly think that United haven’t got TEN million? Furthermore do you think Fergie would stand for it?
Ok, lets assume it’s true, what about Dzeko?
Happy?
Fergie probably has someone else in mind.
thats alright
have any of you’s tried putting this guys name into a chant
Dzeko? No not really. I don’t particularly rate him. One and a bit good seasons in the bundesliga and no real pace. Not as good as we already have at United.
answer me this. has he not already been bought and just loaned back to Partisan? that’s what was reported at the time.
Saying that the club is in financial crisis might be a stretch. However, maybe we realised that our January budget could be used for more established players.
D.A.V.I.D.
S.I.L.V.A.
@ GHTT I love how you put this in perspective, yeah he’s name no good in a chant
just been on the official website, no word yet. Do you have a link, Scott? Worrying if true – given his reputation. Something dodgy might be going on here…
Must confess i normally pride myself on rating players but just haven’t seen anything of Dzeko to rate.
If he really has a lack of pace it’s difficult to see him in a future United line up. We need pace! (skill helps as well!)
This is Google translation of an article published in leading Serbian media house B92 (b92.net)
1. decembar 2009. | 11:42 | Izvor: B92
B92: Ljajić is United’s since last year
B92 has learned, write in some media about the possible failure of Adem Ljajic transfer to Manchester United is not correct.
Hum club is to advance the transition of young Serbian national team player at Old Trafford has already received a salary Ljajic arrived from England for over a year, or more accurately, since the agreement reached and when the black-white football player signed a contract in Manchester.
Recall, Ljajic Tosic and are presented together with manager Alex Ferguson January this year. Tosic was immediately joined the ranks of the champions of England, while as a loan player Ljajic English club, playing in Belgrade, because the rules of FIFA before 18th birthday party was not entitled to move to Old Trafford.
One of the most talented Serbian players in recent years was born on 29 September 1991. year, so the January transfer period 2010th the first in which he could move the island.
Manchester United, as we learn, already initiated the procedure for obtaining work permits Serbian players, which in the last match played against Partizan jersey Šahtjora League in Europe.
http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?hl=en&sl=sr&tl=en&u=http://www.b92.net/sport/fudbal/vesti.php%3Fyyyy%3D2009%26mm%3D12%26dd%3D01%26nav_id%3D395671
i hold a great respect to you GHTT
but Silva is not an established player in the EPL, i think he will fail due to his lack of strength, like tosic.. I put David Villa in that boat too.. spain is so different..
bought then loaned out that’s what i thought. but his profile isn’t there on the Utd website….
hi all new here…
well to my points,
the abu cunts are gonna love this..
whether we being tight or just don’t rate him, they will be blowing shit outta proportion about our debt as usual.. but fuck em
i”m loving our kids and to be honest i see us being the next barca in terms of homegrown stars with flair and passion in ravel, kiko, danny and obertan
we don’t need to spend on more “potential” there’s already enough
Have people actually thought that maybe the kid ain’t as good as his reputation?
The whole point of our transfer policy this summer was that we shouldn’t throw money around anymore. If this kid isn’t making the progress we thought he would, it would be a waste of 10 million. Maybe Obertan’s progress also put a halt on this transfer.
I have my doubts about the amount of money Fergie has at his disposal, but this time, i think it’s more a case of tabloid rags and a disgruntled Partizan chairman airing their bitterness.
@ Tony, the point of whether he is good is irrelevant. We’re Man utd, we have a great scouting network and then to sign a deal and pull out at the last minute considering we had already applied for a work permit for this kid is embarrasing, and the quotes from our spokesperson in the telegraph is not on, it’s classless. I really hope its not true.
Don’t panic bros!! I think — looking on the bright side — that this might mean that Hargreaves is making a good recovery and coupled with Obertan’s good start and Ando deciding it’s time to step up to the plate that Ljajic is now be surplus to our needs.
The “financial crisis” is just some Bitter bluenose at the Telegraph asking Santa for a present that won’t come latching onto an equally snide comment by the Partizan twonk.
They won’t pay £10m for Ljajic but they’re happy to have that useless sack of shit Nani on the books when it’s clear his progress ground to a halt ages ago. Obviously United’s scouts know far more than we do but when have United ever pulled out of a deal for an exciting youngster with such a lame statement? This just stinks of trying to save money. 8 years ago United would have paid that money and gone for it but now because of the financial problems they just won’t take the risk. Just embarrassing.
Didn’t united just get 12 million for the last16 of the champions league arrivel, don’t think moneys the problem. Have you seen the price of a beer in old trafford. I could pay a painter to do my toilet on that. Diouf has just arrived and maybe with obertan diouf tosic nani welbeck park to go on he wings this guy was just 10million too much.
nothing on either United’s or Partizan’s official website. I was going to call bullshit, but came across this
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=6628268&page=3
notice how he ‘cannot join United OFFICIALLY until Jan 2010′.
I await more developments.
Tony Starks – exactly mate. I couldn’t give a fuck to be fair. Looked good on “clips” but as we know this means fuck all. Fergie is probably more impressed by the development of certain players like Valencia, Gibson, Ando, Eikrem, Cleverly etc. Lets be honest we have a right selection of midfield players. Gotta hate. Can’t agree about Silva mate. For a start he is out for a few months I believe. I agree he is a top player in Spain but do you reckon he is made for the Premier league? How many Spaniards has Fergie bought? Fuck all. Perhaps there is summat about there mentality or style of play that he doesn’t favour.
GHTT:
Isn’t David Silva just Yossi Benayoun requiring a plane ticket?
Grrrrrr, this is bugging me now. C’mon where’s the bloody official statement so I can go to sleep
Seems a strange one considering he was pictured with SAF and Tosic holding a Utd shirt when we apparently signed both, He was even interviewed on the official site a while back saying hed signed is happy to be a Utd player.
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={79A08487-FD7F-455F-8553-D25CE87F047A}&newsid=6628268&page=1
Above anything I cannot believe that people think Fergie would be dictated to by the Glazer’s. Fergie runs United and IS United. If he thought he wasn’t getting the funds he thought he required he would never stand for it. Simple as.
Imy – Mcr
I am not sure it will ever come..
Probably it will come like this:
Papers: Ljalic deal off
the mirror and telegraph are reporting…
then we will get a statement towards christmas..CHRIST
He got Real Madrid-ed didn’t he?
Somehow you know those dirty assholes are involved.
We know how Fergie is a sucker for the odd impulse buy if they put in a performance against United. If Krasic is valued at nine million I would not be surprised if he joins United.
@ Sprite, if it is true, i’m sure Partizan will release an official statement blasting United and then we’ll have to release a rebutal of their claims.
I’m actually quite happy with this news! Really do believe that we have so much quality in the reserves and academy hopefully this means the ones that are good enough will be given a real chance to prove they are good enough!
It’s a shame if this was really true, I couldn’t wait to see him play for us. Looked really decent on the youtube videos. Don’t think he’s over-rated, I mean, Obertan looked decent on youtube and is impressing in real life when playing. Utd in debt? bollocks. Fergie has something else in mind, although it’s strange that he was saying he’s looking forward to seeing him just last month.
Maybe he decided the squad doesn’t need any more additions, or some of the the 80 million will be forked out on a big-name player in jan. I hope that’s not the case.
Imy – Mcr
Yeah but do we really know what deal was signed or what terms? It’s all speculation isn’t it? Although I do hope it’s not financial problems – that would be ridiculous considering the amount of money the club has made in transfers recently..
Who knows maybe a signing or two is lined up for January? That would be so cool
I don’t think pulling out is embarassing. In my opinion, considering how he turned out, 28 million pounds for Veron(a player i like a lot by the way) was embarassing. 17 million for Nani was embarassing. Smart spending is never embarassing. And truth be told, in the current financial climate we have to spend carefully.
http://www.pressonline.rs/sr/vesti/sport/story/89730/Partizan+gubi+10+miliona+evra+od+Ljaji%C4%87a.html
Says otherwise…
Can’t believe we’ll not be seeing Ljajic. Been looking forward to that all season.
Yes, we already have some good kids, but surely we have room for another, especially an under-21 international who is only 18. What next, will we be selling Cleverley, releasing Petrucci, offloading King? And remember, we were supposed to be tracking Douglas Costa until last summer, when suddenly all sorts of negative stuff (disinformation) got pumped out about him. Where did that all come from – surely not an Old Trafford leak?
Also, what about Possebon? He was going to be the next best thing until that Middlesbrough thug whacked him. We loaned him to Braga, they reportedly sent him back, and we’ve heard nothing since.
What is going on?
If it’s all financial, get rid of Nani (who, like Forlan and Veron, looks like he can’t hack being at United) and one of the two reserve keepers. Simpson, too, and some of the other reserves who’ve no real chance of making the first team but could make a career for themselves at a Championship or lower league club. That would free up enough cash for one of the world’s most sought-after young players. It’s not as if we sold someone for £80million cash and didn’t spend any of it!
Anyway, I thought we were supposed to be going through another rebuilding phase. How can we rebuild if we let outstanding kids slip through our fingers.
If it is the Glazers, this is so much like what they did at Tampa, where their team became the best in the NFL – and they then run them down by asset-stripping and profit taking.
No doubt we’ll get some Ljajic flannel from the club, but unless someone comes clean, the ABUs (principally, the London-based press) as well as City and the Scousers will be celebrating. If someone dares ask Fergie about it at a press conference, he’ll just refuse to answer, fix the questioner with a steely stare and scare the life out of the interviewer. He should remember when he’s talking to the press he’s talking to the fans: the people who buy the season tickets and the souvenir shirts, etc. The people who have been with him every step of the way (and spent their hard-earned cash to boot) as he has rebuilt the club. If we don’t get an honest answer, the club is treating the fans with contempt. But do they care about the fans?
Why will other people be celebrating the fact that United chose not to sign him? Is he Messi, or Ronaldo? Do you think our scouts are stupid or something..
This is how United works. Glazers may want something but Fergie doesn’t want it, Glazers don’t get it. Glazers may not want something but Fergie does, Fergie gets it.
Sir Alex Ferguson is Manchester United and HE IS BOSS.
Sir Alex said 2 weeks ago that he wants to buy in January. Now we ain’t even got £10 million. Hhhmmm Manchester United, the ultimate cash cow in all of sports, ain’t got £10 million. Fuckin yeah right.
He’s signed anyway for a start.
Krasic WHY?
David Silva
Igor Akinfeev
Adem Ljalic
put your money on Ljajic playing in manchester come january
MKred I dont think that was there plan with tampa , Its not like they just buy a club to ruin them. by the by United have won things and spent 30 millions a few times since theyve been here
what has diouf been doing in training for the last 6 days that means ljajic is coming I dunno but It must be good . Hows Hargeaves recovery doing that the ljajic deal has been pulled off the table, I dont know but it sounds good. Obertan must be doing the right things off the pitch as well as what we see on the pitch for this deal to be stopped on our end . sounds good to me. parks back ljajic isnt coming sounds good to be. Sir Alex said he can see us buying someone in january and maybe they are good enough that we need an extra 10 million , sounds good to me. 19 titles sounds good to me, chelsea first team players bolloxed tired after a game they shouldnt be in that got there club no further just before we hit the christmas time while wayne had his feett up rocking a buggy in his home, sounds good to me, knocking leeds and city out of cup comps sounds good to me,
i’ll just repeat what everyone else has said, isn’t he already ours? signed and loaned back to partizan as part of the deal? why the fuck would he have his picture taken with SAF if he hadn’t actually signed.
as for the torygraph article, a “united source” usually means it’s complete bollocks!
there’s nowt on uniteds website, so i’ll see it as being twaddle until i see otherwise.
Mabye its because David Silva is Coming !
I wouldnt be suprised to see Tosic and Vidic leaving soon. Tosic seems to be one of those players bought to help other ‘better’ players / wife’s adjust. Reading between the lines of all the Vidic reports, his wife wants to go somewhere sunny, while the man himself wants more money to stay, which United aren’t willing to do. Other reports have questioned his recent commitment, so perhaps that’s not going down well with Fergie.
hotbertaa
wow, you just got me laughing..
Tosic helping vidic’s wife adjust..
http://www.goal.com/en/news/1710/manchester-united/2009/01/07/1047315/adem-ljajic-and-zoran-tosic-speak-out-over-manchester-united
now reported by the guardian also. still waiting for anything official
Scott?
His agent knows nothing about the deal falling through, neither does partizens president. And we had already signed him according to all the reports back in jan plus the fact we applied for and got a work permit for him already seems to confirm that. Also by all accounts it’s been united paying his wages since Jan which if the deal hadn’t gone through already would we really be doing that.
Personally it seems like a bullshit story with made up quotes
Also in the Times and Express. Not in the Mail yet, but they’re probably too busy crying over intergalactic champions Chelsea and Brave John Terry being cheated out of the Carling Cup!!!
We need a proper official statement, and it’s about time United got their act together to keep the fans informed with facts, not spin or Fleet Street waffle.
If the Ljajic stuff is true, watch City go out and buy him just to rub our faces in it.
To me the lack of anything official also adds weight to it being rubbish. Surely a press release would have been drafted ready to go live when needed if the plug had been pulled. The papers know they can get traffic before united can officially deny it by posting the story so late in the day. At 10am united will release a statement denying the deal is off IMHO
he’ll be here he looks fucking awesome, 10 million will be a good deal
01:10 am Im going to work
I get the feling offical word is not coming any time soon
there is no statement on partizans website either, wtf, will somebody official please confirm or deny this crap
im going to bed
night ghtt x
Guarantee he’ll be a United player January. Typical gutter-press worthy article, quotes from a “United Spokesman” despite there being no evidence of such a thing? Partizan’s president said as well that the only problem was the work permit. A complete non-story.
Definitely a case of wait and see this, lots of conflicting stories. The ‘facts’ seem to be:
- English media are saying the deal is off, including the Telegraph quoting ‘a United source/spokesman’, but that’s far from an official statement, and there’s nothing on the official site to back that up.
- The Serbian media are saying that the reports in the English media of the deal being off are false. They carry quotes from Ljajic’s agent saying the deal’s still on as far as he’s concerned, and quotes from the president of Partizan saying they have heard nothing from United about calling the deal off.
- Ljajic’s signing was announced on our official site back in January, alongside pictures of him holding the shirt along with SAF. In interviews, he has spoken of his pride at being a Manchester United player.
It does seem unlikely that the Telegraph would entirely fabricate such a quote but not impossible.
If we assume these stories are true and the deal is off (and I hope that isn’t the case) – let’s not kid ourselves, the reason will be entirely financial.
Just a few weeks ago, we applied for a work permit for Ljajic and Sir Alex said “Given all the talk about him and the fact he plays for Serbia’s Under 21s even though he’s only 18, we hope we will be granted the permit. I am looking forward to seeing him in January”.
Now if the United source/spokesman is to be believed, we’ve evaluated him over the last year and decided he’s not good enough/any improvement. And yet less than a month ago the manager was looking forward to seeing him over here. We’ve changed our mind in the space of 2/3 weeks, really?
In addition, by all accounts Ljajic’s has been excellent for Partizan this season, and for Serbia U21s too, so these stories of us deciding now that he’s not up to it just don’t ring true.
Hopefully United will deign to clarify things for us tomorrow…
Goodnight vidic and the rest
good football day today with kiko signing Chelsea getting tired fir no good reason city going true was bad but good new that united can now knock them out. At the moment this is paper talk with both teams players agent and player saying nothing even thou this “story” broke4 hours ago
To be honest it’s quite a random story for a newspaper to do. Having looked at videos on YouTube (i know they don’t exactly prove much) he looked a promising player when he was 15 / 16 (which a lot of players do), but the videos for Partizan haven’t exactly got me buzzing, he doesn’t really stand out as an excellent prospect. When you do put it into perspective, £10m for him or £9m for Krasic, it’s a hell of a lot of money to pay for an unproven 18 year old. Be interesting to see the outcome, it wouldn’t suprise me if it’s true though.
not many reporting this story scott, any that are are refering to the telegraph? any word on who the spokesman is??
Just 1 comment. Why the fuss about Adem? What has he done to convince all that he is the real deal? Surely Sir Alex knows something we don’t if this is true
Marq – as I said in my comment above, less than one month ago Sir Alex said the following:
“Given all the talk about him and the fact he plays for Serbia’s Under 21s even though he’s only 18, we hope we will be granted the permit. I am looking forward to seeing him in January”
Now unless you think he was lying when he said that, or that he has changed his mind in the space of about three weeks, Sir Alex was clearly looking forward to the player joining up in January. So the ‘fuss’ would probably be down to the fact that if (and it is ‘if’ for now) the deal is off, most people don’t believe the explanation that we suddenly decided he wasn’t good enough, and instead believe that this would indicate Sir Alex not being able to bring in players he wants to bring in due to financial constraints. And that is most certainly something worth making a fuss about.
I’m still not convinced the deal is off, but if it is, I’ll say now that I don’t for a minute buy the ‘er, we looked at him over the last 12 months and decided he wasn’t the player we thought he was’ argument for one second. If this deal is off, in my humble opinion that is entirely down to the money-men telling SAF the deal is off, and if that’s happening, we’re in real trouble.
“If this deal is off, in my humble opinion that is entirely down to the money-men telling SAF the deal is off, and if that’s happening, we’re in real trouble.”
oh please. Deciding not to pay 10mil for an 18-year-old with unproven potential while we’ve got plenty of midfield talent does not equal “real trouble.”
@ sprite.
The free scoring dude Fernando Torres has gladly proven you wrong..
If Torres can do it, why not Villa!
I will be really disappointed with the conduct of the club if this is true. They have told this boy he is a United player, given him official interviews and press on their website, magazines and television channel and have talked about him many times.
If they pull out now they are screwing over this player, and I hate those teams that treat their players like shit ie. Madrid. That’s not the United or SAF I know.
Well said Jessie. Thats exactly my feeling.
Amen. Something is not quite right here.
who really cares? I don’t…..Tosic is shit, from what i’ve seen Ljajic isn’t that great either….all those glory supporters from South Abujabbestan and Vietlaoistan or whatever on Red Cafe creaming themselves over him coz they saw some grainy video on youtube……we should get a marquee signing instead. I.E. Silva or Villa
kelvin- torres is big and he came to liverpool still relatively young and he adapted to the EPL well. villa turns 29 tomorrow and he’s average height, thin-ish build. very different players.
hell, this is really sad
i feel sorry for the lad, it should be difficult to try to play 1 year just to be on united, and in the last instant they refuse the offer they made for you
this is really really sad, poor Ljajic, im sure he will shine in other club, i was just expecting united to be THAT club..
A statement by a club spokesman to the media would definitely be put on the website. I think this is just the usual ABU media BS. It can’t be that we don’t have the money and it can’t be that he isn’t up to scratch – why would the gaffer talk about applying for a work permit then?
Just wait and watch. Too soon to be sure one way or the other.
I dont think that this news has any credibility to it. Where are the public statements? They’re supposed to be on the official site, rather than mirror and telegraph, aren’t they?
If SAF said just one month back about work permit, I don’t think we can change our perspective on his development in one month.
It may be possible, but I don’t think it is. Not with SAF, who has spoken to the player, assured him of his future with United, and then backing out.
aint we been payin his wages for the last 11 months??
if is true that we are in financial trouble 2 raise 10mil than we should sell that slack nani and get this kid he has a promisin future my GOD we brough ronaldo 12.5mil at d same age it can’t be true
I call BS on this, it makes no sense. The deals were described back when we got Tosic about how Ljajic had signed but was being kept at Partizan on a loan deal until this winter to give him more playing time and to not drag him away from everything at too young an age. Very strange if this is true…
Bestie.
I am more concerned about Hargo’s progress. CMon Owen, we need you.
I’m not worried at all, I still think we got plenty of players for that position already, bigger worry for me is the fact we still haven’t offered Cleverly a new contract, his current one is due to expire next summer..
@ NickOGS20
Fergie has a very busy schedule. He doesn’t have time to watch every single player throughout their progress. There are many people called scouters who are responsible for that.
Fergie said that he is looking forward to seing him and i don’t see here nothing stonewall.
The fact that the club hasn’t made an official statement doesn’t say much. Actually, things seem suspicious when the club is quiet like this. It was the same last June just before we sold Ronaldo. Rumors were flying around and we weren’t confirming or denying them.
If it was 100% lies i think the club would have denied it by now. We will see. January is not far away now.
Is it confirmed or what? Very odd if it’s true. Worrying.
must be true. Many breaking news are like this. Same as Ronaldo and beckham leaving united which the news broke out days ago.
Ljajic meant to be the AM, not the wing. how about saving money for Hamsik?
im at work and ive jus seen this so i text my dad to tell him the rumours and he said its just been on skysports news and its true, due to him not improving.
It has been confirmed by United. When they signed Tosic they secured first refusal on the option of signing Ljajic. It appears now they have decided not to take up that option! They say it is because he hasn’t developed like they’d have liked over the year! I think he’s been looking good for Partizan. The no money tripe has been banded about by Partizan because they’re a bit pissed off at losing £10m which they’d probably earmarked for their christmas party! I guess if it’s true that we’re fucking someone off due to lack of development, Nani should be on his way out the door shortly!!
i thought he was already ours ????? strange 1 , espec when saf was talking about him only last month ?? not sure why or how this is going on , but just hope some m oney is spent next month ..i was really looking forward to him joining us …i guess we have a few of our own that can play there , gibson , eikrem , cleverly , n possebon (if he returns from his loan ) ..only time will tell !!!
still waiting for confirmation now on manutd/skysports websites, i do hear its true tho
Sounds weird to me. How can we buy junk like Manucho that has almost no chance of succeding but we can’t take a chance on a potentially great talent like Ljajic when we have money in the bank (I hope!) after the Ronaldo deal?
He’s just a kid and surely he’s not shit all of a sudden? Hope we don’t come to regret this.
From Skysports
However, president Dragan Djuric claims work permit problems are proving the sticking point for any transfer to be sealed.
“I read the news in our media about the possibility that Adem Ljajic will not go to Manchester,” Djuric told the Serbian media.
“All this is in the field of speculation. The truth is that Manchester United has not yet arranged a work permit to our players, but so far none of them refused.
“Maybe the news came because Manchester United is in financial crisis, but believe me we did not get anything official.”
Ljajic’s agent, Mladen Furtala, is refusing to panic and remains hopeful the move will eventually go through.
“As far as I know, the only problem is the work permit,” said Furtala.
“Manchester can solve this quickly. Journalists called me, asking what was happening, but I am confident that everything will be OK at best and that from January Ljajic will be officially a Manchester United player.”
latest news….http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_5742387,00.html
nothing utd yet tho, seems the eariler quotes were wrong going off the latest ones.
i can’t say this enough – who cares?
if Ljajic comes to United, great, I hope he turns out to be the dogs bollicks, if not, I couldn’t give a crap either, because he is just some kid, and as articles have stated, and what I have seen, no better than what we currently have..
I have to admit, I did laugh a bit at this though, because the way some people on this website carry on, all hope is lost because this kid was called little Kaka and we couldn’t possibly lose a game with him in this squad, can’t wat till he gets here etc.. etc… get a grip he is an 18 year old kid and probably wouldn’t get a look in for a season at least… develop a sense of perspective people.
Manchester united are saying its because ljajic ist getting any better
Partizan Belgrade are saying its for the money
now…..hold on a sec Ive to put me red pecs on
If Manchester United sign both him and Tosic but loan one back and play the other it means they wanted to watch his development which they did which they say they are not liking. . . . Partizan Belgrade could well be stuck with a player who flopped when trying to impress a big side in world football. Its all down to Protecting there Investment .
Manchester United dont want another Manuchio /Dong etc
Partizan Belgrade ant to sell there good enough for Manchester United player to a team with deep pockets. so they say that they have not got 10 million cough couch 80million player sold 25 million for Tevez not used(thankfully) cough cough http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/england/2009/04/10/1202037/manchester-united-declared-the-worlds-richest-club-ahead-of-real- cough*
I am taking Manchester Uniteds word on this
Just seen something on skysports news about this saying that the deal is in doubt.United spokesperson apparently said that we had enough talent coming throughthe ranks and didn’t need him.Lets get fucking shot of nani at least £15 million Man u ain’t skint we still have £60 million left from the ronaldo sale. We bought ljajic last jan the problems are apparenlt with work permits partizan and his agent are still confident of the deal going through. Get dzeko too then we will dominate
Its been confirmed guys , Ben Hibbs just confirmed it on his twitter account
http://twitter.com/benhibbs
Obertans quick progress fucked up ljajics arrival
g’day GHTT
I think you are right mate – I for one personally didn’t expect Oberwan Kenobi to slot into the first time so quickly – sure he is by no means the finished article, but United are certainly developing that midfield nicely, with Hargo coming back, there would be no place for Ljajic if he hasn’t impressed the scouts enough…
That’s a shame if it is true, Glazers strike again
Its official
Oops, forgot the link
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={F9E570E6-407E-44BC-800F-4A3110258114}&newsid=6643712
Ben Hibbs – “Story to follow shortly, just checking with press office. Told it’s not about money, just that players already here have more promise”
He’s was just not good enough. That’s it. Now go and get Hamsik and Ozil.
O well… Just hope for our sake that this kid does not go on to be a star
why are people blaming the Glazers
If he’s not worth 10 million,no forget football money and thik cash here , 10 million then they have every right to not spend ,once again, 10 million more money than Sierra Leone Niger Eritrea Central African Republic Somalia each have to spend in a year. If they say no to 10million and sir alex says yes hen they’ll give 10/20/30/34 million as has been proven. Sir Alex can say this kid is 10 million but he’s going to develop and win united trophys he’s gonna help the team he’s gonna make you people money. If he’s not then they”pullout of the deal”
It’s true… And it’s quite sad since this kid is supposed to be something to look forward to…
Anyway, Fergie knows better… He might have someone else on his radar…
The Glazers would have absolutely nothing to do with this decision you morons. If the scouting network don’t think he is good enough, then he isn’t good enough – the Glazers want to protect their investment, and they would not block a transfer for a supposed ‘wunderkid’ who they could sell on at an 800% profit in 6 years… simple economics r-tards.
something isn’t right here,
just of the top of my head maybe we were targeted to be potentially screwed by going ahead with it- that being banned from further signings like chelsea cause we did ”oficially” sign him at 17 which i think may have potentially linked us to tapping up…
i know its not like us but i’m just as confused as the next
@curtis
Imagine if say stoke where watching the development of Tom Soares stoke player on loan at Sheffield Wednesday. he wasnt developing the way they want so they dont take the kid. thats all manchester united did
Shortsighted by the club imho. Fisrt of all next season we are limited to a squad of 25 players over 21. He is the kind of talent and international star who would have provided good back up. He would have also qualified as HG by the time he was 21 which will be important
Also with Obertan while showing glimpses of promise does seem like he needs to develop an awful lot to really be useful, at this time he is largely just about having speed. He is like a poor mans Valencia (who himself while impressive isn’t the World Class star you would ideally want) and Nani atm has more about his game. He could develop well but I think its borderline
And Gibson isn’t United Quality, sure he has a great shot but apart from the two goals against Spurs he really did nothing in the last two games. He is like a lightweight version of Carrick meets Beckham and at 22 I think he is past the point where he is going to turn it around. Ofc he could do a Fletcher but imho with the squad restrictions next season he is just taking a squad place.
And sure theres some good talent in the youth setup but 10mill on a player of his potential was a steal. It will come back and bite us when someone else gets him and he becomes a star or when we have to pay 25mill to get him down the line. Plus we have been paying his wages for a year
Curtis
This was a transfer deal between agreed clubs, so this transfer ban theory can be dismissed.
Anyway it must be devastating for the kid, but am sue he will go to some other top club (like city!)
Wakey -prob the most negitive point one could make
@ghtt
yeah agreed
honestly i’m not bothered and i’n not assuming the worst, just some silly scenarios i’m thinking of.
but i can’t say our club really does keep us fans in the dark a lot… lol
wish they’d let us know early and not let the abu get hold of our breaking news 1st
anyway in SAF i trust
sorry, meant cant say our club doesn’t like to keep us fans in the dark^
It’s simple, really:
- Tom Cleverley’s got 6 goals in 13 appearances at Watford and is joint top-scorer there (at least according to Wikipedia)
- Eikrem’s beginning to knock on the first team door. Players like Matty James still have potential to make it
- Obertan/Anderson/Gibson et al in the first team squad already, not to mention Possebon whenever he returns.
- Players like Petrucci, Ravel Morrison in the U-18s already.
We’ve plenty in that position already, and I think Cleverley more than anyone has probably demonstrated that Ljajic, while he has great potential, is surplus to requirements. Additionally, remember he won’t be considered a home-grown player under the new Champions League rules, whereas players like Cleverley and Eikrem are.
I’m not sure on the rumours about Hamsik, though he would come with much more international experience and is probably more versatile than Ljajic.
As for Tosic, I’m on the fence. He’s looked the part for Serbia on occasion, perhaps he hasn’t been impressing in training.
@ wakey
at 22 a player is more than capable of developing and getting better and where better than at united around players who constantly strive for improvement, just off the top of my head lumpard for starters, only became “class” in the chelski era where he was surrounded by better players.. so dnt write off gibbo yet although i myself dnt have high hopes.
and on the ljajic saga its disappointing we didn’t sign him, yes. but why not? surely we could afford 10mil so maybe not good enough… but hopefully i decision dnt come back to haunt us like lets say arsenal and co not wanting to take a risk on cr7
If Fergie thinks it’s the right decision then I’ll go along with him. The people here who are claiming that we’re missing out by not signing him are fools. How often have you actually watched him play? Have you monitored his training? Do you know the guy? There are so many reasons not to sign which we have no idea about.
Fletcher
Giggs
Hargo
Park
Carrick
Obertan
Nani
Valencia
Gibson
Anderson
Tosic
Scholes
@Wakey – Just explain to me where you have seen all this potential for it to be a steal at £10m?
Having broking into the first team this season for Partizan he’s hardly excelled. With the talent coming through i’d much rather spend it on a more established player.
Muggaz – Spot on pal.
There could be plenty of reasons this has happened.
Firstly, the increase in the higher band tax rate from next April. All our first team players will still need to receive their negotiated wage after tax. The Ronaldo transfer fee is being spent, it’s keeping all our best players here.
Secondly, if Vidic has successfully renegotiated a new deal then there will be other players (Rooney, Ferdinand) who probably have clauses in their contracts to keep them on a par with any increases in the wage structure.
Thirdly, if Vidic has decided to leave then there’s no point bringing in another young Serb who may not settle. And with Tosic not being cup tied he can be loaned out/sold in January.
Fourthly, maybe Fergie’s realised that although switching back to 4-4-2 has made us more entertaining, it hasn’t improved Berbatov or Rooney’s heading. What’s the point of wingers if you’ve got two strikers who can’t score headers regularly? Maybe he’ll buy Dzeko (or Carlton Cole)…
I say bring back Dion Dublin!
Wakey – 10 million a “steal”. Is it fuck pal. He is basically unproven. United have a huge plethora of midfield talent coming through. Gibson not good enough? Didn’t do owt but SCORE two belters. Ridiculous.
Once again, the fans learn about it last. I really don’t mind that we didn’t get the Serbian. I won’t even mind if the club is going through a “financial crisis”. What pisses me off is how secretive we are. From Ronaldo’s transfer, to Tevez’s departure to the injuries the team has, no one bothers to inform the fans. For example, Brown suffered a recurrence of his injury last January, yet we found out about it 3 weeks later, just before the Inter Milan game. I realise that the club likes to keep somethings to itself, but i hate finding out about United affairs from the Mirror or the Telegraph.
Saw the story pop up on the mirror website last night and dismissed it as the usual mirror bollox.
Woke up this morning to see it on skysports and the united website.
I am kinda gutted, he’s been spoken highly of by lots of people, and fergie last month said he was looking forward to him coming in jan, then all of a sudden to change their minds. but if Fergie and the Scouting network think he is no better than what we already have in that age group, they why spend 10 million?
Its like one of us going out to spend £500 on a new tv which is the same as the one we already have.
Just gotta trust the club, but he had seemed to be playing quite well and put in a few decent performances in the europa league this season too.
Find it bizarre that people say Gibson won’t make it. The lad looks a great talent. A big fucking lad as well. Once he gets a run and develops a bit more he will boss the middle of the park.
Maybe they found a dippers jersey in his locker.
Deal breaker in my opinion.
Besides our current heroes I think DM is where we are really lacking in world class depth. We really only need to have that spot covered ill they master titanium implants for Hargo’s knees while the rest of the boys playing further up come into their own.
Slightly off topic – Does anyone else think that the way Gibbo holds himself and runs on the pitch, he physically looks a bit like Keano? Not saying he is that quality of player, but physically on the pitch he looks like him! Hopefully Gibbo will really push on this season, but Hargo coming back in may stunt his progress.
Would have been nice to see Cleverly back in Jan and given a chance, but he’s staying at watford – and his contract is up in the summer.
I feel like we need a spark in jan, a player who can excite fans, change games with a real creative gift around the box. Rooney can do it, but thats one less striker in the box when he drops deep.
Im not suggesting these players to buy, but this kind of player: Modric, Arshavin, Rosicky, even Benayoun. Players who play wide but love to come inside to create chances, i dont thiink we really have anyone quite like that in the first team squad (i was kind of hoping that ljajic was gonna be that player for us! oh well!)
Costa buddy I think manchester united have to make sure every end is tied up before they make an offical announcment , its not that they want to keep you the fan in the dark they just dont go gunho on a story like the news papers do so manchester united dont end up lookin stupid if anything changes in the 11th hour http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/images/at0069_4s.jpg
Darren Gibson Has Screwed the Deal.
We only bought Tosic to seal the deal for Ljajic, so this is defo bullshit!
I cannot believe that we renege on this deal because we realised an 18 old did not develop as expected. If anything, this is ABU’s trying to unsettle the club by spouting bullshit about the deal and making us all think we have financial difficulties.
Read no more into this crap!!
People saying we stopped the Ljajic deal cause of Gibson is utter rubbish, completely different players and besides Gibson is not good enough!
where has my comment gone?
OMG!!
United’s official site has the story……We must be in financial trouble, Glazers you fuckers…look what you are doing to my club, especially after we won the league three times in a row in the last htree years, champions league winners once and runners up!
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={B4CEE8FA-9A47-47BC-B069-3F7A2F35DB70}&newsid=6643712
@GHTT. Hi. Nice link by the way. I realise what you mean. I would have liked it though if they announced it at Manutd.com before they started making statements left and right. It would have saved us from a lot of confusion.
Rewind
first your 12 hours short on the news and 2 hours short on it been offical and wrong about gibson
seems unlike fergie to pull out like that, hows diouf getting on?
Haven’t seen him but if he isn’t playing well and we can spend the money on a proven player why not?
that dzeko looks a right handful to me big strong and knows where the back of the net is.
the cska boy looks class and if he is on offer for the same money as a guy 7 years younger with less caps and less cl experience why not go for him?
I wouldn’t be too concerned , I believe the statement…… that the guy is just not that special. For me its £10m squids saved that we can spend on some one who is a promising talent……roll on Jan!!
I normally just read what people are saying and dont comment but this article has got me going.
Like everyone ive seen the clips-Ive also seen him play-I thought he looked very good for his age-I also watch alot of the academy and reserve games and would say he would add value to the squad but we already have lots of talented youth desperate for a chance but then when has that been an issue?
Fergie has had his fingers burnt spending big on youth with Nani and maybe that has made him think.
If we can get this lad from cska then that would be a very good deal
However
Only one month ago fergie said the lad was on his way and he was looking forward to it.
The lad has had offical interviews been parraded in our shirt-pictured with Fergie.What message does this send out to other young players dreaming of playing for us?This stinks of a much bigger problem and those who are falling for the “he is not good enough”line is being mislead.christ we spent 17million on nani and look at him!!!
Benayoun or Rosicky? Are you serious. No way near good enough for United.
Some strange opinions on here today. Need a defensive midfielder? Do we hell. Fletch can play there as can Carrick, Scholes, Hargreaves, Gibson. More than enough in that role. We ain’t the dippers and play with two of the fuckers at home.
Was really looking forward to seeing him playing for us. Hope he doesn’t end up burning our eyes playing for Madrid or something in the future. If he does then our own like Ravel Morrison will hopefully make this decision not so bad.
Glory Glory Man United! Fergie is always right.
@Gotta hate tiny tears I saw it yesterday when the mirror “broke” the story, seemed like speculation to me and was surprised to see it was officially the case. However I am confident that I am not “wrong about gibson”, the boy can shoot but has done little else to prove he is a manchester united player. Good players don’t make it at our club, only great ones….and if he does stay he will be little more than a backup player until he can prove he has more about him than the odd shot!
Got to feel sorry for the lad. He does get these decision right most of the time, I hope Fergie is not proved wrong on this one.
can people stop mentioning possebon, he’s fucking awful. braga sent him home he was that bad!
@Rewind
you think Manchester United is made up with Wayne Rooneys
John Oshea Park Jonny Evans Valencia Carrick Anderson are fantastic players. I dont think they are all world class that could tear the world alight where ever they go. they fall into your good player list. . Manchester United are a team always where always will eb . its the Sir Matt Busby way. Darron Gibson is as good as anyone when everybody players for the team. Alonso is a great player but got fucked around at the dippers because he got in stevie mes way. So dont give me that “only great players make it at united” cause thats shite. Manchester United are the great side full of players who play together to keep it great. and once ruud becks heinze tevez charley taught they were the great in the team the get there pink slip
Really feel bad for Ljajic, must be feeling worse than most utd fans who were eager to see him play. I hope he has a successful career and becomes a brilliant player.
By the way; we are NOT in bloody financial trouble. Cut it out, for fuck’s sake.
It’ll be interesting to hear from saf on friday about this, im more worried about the financial crisis than missing out on this kid and the other stories about cut backs at ot, or maybe im getting flusterd about nothing. ps did any 1 hear that cunt durham on talksport the other day saying giggsy is nicking a living at united but alvin put him in his place hope i bump into durham 1 day ill put him rite on a few things
Unfortunately there is no room for him since we have more than enough talented kids as it is.
We ARE in financial trouble, and i have absolutely no idea long term how we intend to deal with it.
ghtt..
I find myself agreeing with your statement about United the team!
Sorry I should have made my point more clearly! you cant get a regular game with us unless your a great player…ie rooney, Ronaldo, Vidic, VDS, Rio….If your a good player, you will squad rotate. Gibson is not enough so will be back up.
Tony Starks
Thanks
Rewind
what would John Oshea be to you a world class player or adverage back up. Manchester United are built on loyal players who play play there heart out for the love and the chance to play in the red of manchesters Jersey that denis law George best bobby charlton eric cantona billy whealen duncan edwards whiteside Roy Keane Denis Irwin Ruud van Nistelrooy Peter Schmeichel David Beckham Dwight Yorke Andy Cole Ryan Giggs Bill Foulkes
Harry Gregg Nobby Stiles,Paul Scholes Ronaldo Gary Neville
Wayne Rooney , built with an Andrei kanchelskis dion dublin Moses mark robins phil nevilles brian kidds of the world. Darron Gibson is no Roy Keane but Roy Keane was no Roy Keane at that age . He’s a wonderful player with all the gifts in the world I for one and happy that he’s here would love to see him pop up with a few starts in “lesser(?)” games in the league
GHTT
David Silva is out for at least a month. We dont need our own
version of Aquilani !!!
There will never be another roy keane they dont make em like that any more. Anyway, gibbo’s more like a carrick scholes type, than keano.
I dont think it had anything to do with the Glazers, just dont think Fergie wanted him nomore, nothing to do with money either,we’ve got like 90 mill to spend if need be.
NEGOTIATIONS are often carried out in this way – after all, it’s easy to buy but hard to sell any commodity.
My guess – and, let’s face it, I’m only guessing – is that UTD decided that they paid waaaay too much for Tosic and want some sort of “rebate” on the second part of the deal.
On the other hand, the rapid progress made by Tom Cleverley, Magnus Eikrem, and a few of the academy/reserve midfielders might have made Ljajic “surplus to requirements”, as someone wrote earlier.
Fair point denton davey but knowing our luck someone else will buy him and turn out to be a superstar.
I dont believe any Silva’s & Villa’s of this world are going to be moving clubs before the world cup. The only bit of business you will see of note is maybe Robinho leaving city and any other player that is desperate to leave or get first team footy in the run up to said WC. There will be no Agueros or any other such fantasy football manager signings in the premier league never mind United. Why would they move to a new league 4 months before the world cup and risk loss of form and potential injury?
King Eric -
I didnt mean the we should sign Benayoun or Rosicky, but that type of player, a wide man who like to come inside and create, i think modric would be a good signing, especially with evra bombing down the wing on the overlap, i think that kind of player on the left wing would be a good option for the club
Baffled…is the 1st thing that I though when I heard/read the info.
Baffled because it was only last month or so that Fergie was saying that he is excited to have the player arriving.
And from what has been mentioned of the player it would seem that all was set for him to come.
Tosic’s lack of 1st team games may have a baring but that same Tosic performs well enough in our reserves to get a game for Serbia…again baffling.
Money cant be an issue as Fergie has the Ronaldo money and anyways the fee was agreed at the start of the year.
My concern is that the player ( Llajic ) will end up being a class player for someone else.
But the flip side to that is that Utd have alot of talented youngsters coming through aswell, whether they turn out to better than Llajic remains to be seen…I certainly hope they are especially for Utd and Fergie’s sake!
GHTT – how can you possibly put Kanchelskis in the second tier! the man was my favorite player before Le Roi came along!
that aside, this Blog sometimes reminds me that a lot of Manchester United supporters are absolute dickheads without a clue about anything… I think a lot of people here would tend to agree with me!
Muggaz
“a lot of Manchester United supporters are absolute dickheads without a clue about anything” is that a shot at me mate
Kanchelskis is a player I could never seen chalking out a legendary status in uniteds history book but was wonderful to have playing for United
same with phil neville same John the god oshea
my point was just that they are second teeir doesnt make them second best while playing for manchester united. oh remember his hattrick against the bitters in 94, god I miss Cantona guy could creat more than “god”
GHTT- I love John O’Shea. My favourite United player by a mile.
I also meant to add that even though he’s not world class, he’s one of the most important players at the club.
We have plenty of talented kids in our ranks. We surely do not need to pay 10 million pounds for a younger Tosic.
We do have money, for sure. We planned on spending 25mills on Tevez but in the end we didn’t (thank God), and we got 80mills for Ronaldo. We spent 16 mills on Valencia, 3-4 mills on Obertan and I’m not sure what price Diouf had.
I just think Fergie has something else in mind at the moment, perhaps to buy someone who is an established player and can jump straight into the team in January. Nani seems to be out in the cold.
We don’t need to overfill our academy by paying too much for reputed starlets from foreign countries. We have enough quality there and if we have too many of them at once that just means fewer players will progress into the first team…
theboogeyman Said,December 3rd, 2009 @17:32 I also meant to add that even though he’s not world class, he’s one of the most important players at the club.
If only I could of put it as simple as that
Willierednut @ 16:51 – I don’t think that this will be a case of a missed opportunity. IF Ljajic was as good as claimed (the “Serbian Kaka”)then the deal would go through and UTD would bite the bullet.
Besides, apart from Michael Essien, Fernando Torres, and Karim Benzema (?), which so-called UTD “targets” have turned out to be the dog’s bollocks. And the question-mark behind Benzema’s name is because he’s still not been able to dislodge Gonzalo Higuain and become the undisputed first-choice striker for TheVirus. And, Essien was signed when Roman was flashing-the-cash and, for some reason, Torres only had eyes for TheVermin. So, I’m not in agreement that this will be a missed opportunity.
GHTT, I don’t think Muggaz was taking a shot at you (if anything you’re one of the few guys that talk sense around these parts), more the plastic fans that jump on the “WE HAVE TO SIGN ALL ZE BIG PLAYERS” bandwagon and denounce young players after a slightly disappointing performance. It’s those kinds of fuckers that continually whine about Rooney not winning every game single-handedly and believe everything they read in the rags.
Really hope this is a load of tabloid BS, I feel he could become an excellent player for us.
i was kind of worried about it. i was excited to see him and his youtube highlights got me frothing at the mouth but i mean…after reading alot of these comments i agree w/ the guys who don’t think it’s that big a deal. if you really look at who we’ve got we don’t really actually need him outside of it being a luxury. people have mentioned the guys who have broken into the first team as our depth and the reason…but we have some guys in youth that have just as much upside as that kid…petrucci, pogba, cleverly, ravel. we’ve got youth depth in spades and unless he was gonna crack through this year certainly i dont think it’s a loss.
GLAZERS – SELL UP AND FUCK OFF.
What happened to the 80 mill we got for Ronaldo?
Christovski
I just like to learn about uniteds history and if anything Sir Alex Ferguson isnt the greatest manager of all time becasuse of all trophys ,he’s he greatest because he has studied football and has learned everything right and wrong about what to do as a team. he read and will forever rewrite the book on managment. and I trust what Manchester United do under him and in fergie /sir alex we trut is a good slogan to put on the end of the message but unless you truely believe it dont write it. also the man u thing that should not be said my long winded reason for that has just been approved and If you dont really dont know the full real reason why not to call you Manchester United man u. its on http://therepublikofmancunia.com/ron-i-dont-want-to-play-against-friends-at-united and I think Everyone should read it
Chan the man – Probably sat in United’s bank account till Fergie sees soemone he REALLY wants. Its fuck all to do with money. We were gonna sign Benzema for 30 million plus .
As I have stated numerous times before is anyone really that foolish that they think Fergie would be dictated to by the Glazers? He wouldn’t stand for it, no way.
I think we all have to ask ourselves if this is the way we expect our great club to do things. Is it Manchester United’s way to lie to us by saying he was signed, to lie to us by telling us he was on his way in January, to lie to us only a few weeks ago by confirming he would be on his way?
Is it the way of this great club to treat a young person – to treat anybody in fact – in such an arrogant and quite frankly disgusting manner? As reported elsewhere, the poor kid was denying any truth in the rumours that the deal was off (seemingly on his Facebook) up until the early hours of this morning!
A poor kid’s dreams and hopes in absolute tatters – and the Daily Mirror gets to report it before the kid knows anything! The justifications we are trying to discuss amongst ourselves, on this and other blogs/forums, do not exist. It is absolutely pathetic of us to be attempting to talk in terms of team make up and strategy when the club we love, with all of it’s proud traditions, is reduced to treating young players and the fans of the club in this soulless and disgusting manner.
If this is the way we will be doing our business in the future then the Glazers can finally count me out of their attempted rape of this club. I made the decision, when they arrived, to continue investing my time, money and love in Manchester United – despite the obvious worries and misgivings – but I can’t support any organisation or entity that lacks integrity, honour and goodwill in its communication and interaction with the very people who wish to commit to it, either by supporting or playing.
The question my friends is not in why we have done it, but how we have done it. It is there the problem lies and it is there it stinks to high heaven!
As this seems to be the case, I will just say that I trust Sir Alex’s better judgement, and wish the player the best whatever he goes on to, as long as it isnt against United!
I wish we could have made a better statement though.
The Red C
so what should happen, Sir Alex pulls the plug on him coming, we got 30 million to sign whats his name that sits on real’s and frances bench, but now we dont have 10 million?? in the mean time united got past the group stages of the champions league and signed new sponsership deals one of the the biggest shirt sponsership in sporting history , and you think so this poor kid who was prob not putting in 100% because he was signing for a bigger team in january should just get a Manchester United contract left for him under the tree 508 hours time to make it a wonderful christmas story?? the poor kid??? if you wanna pack up because an 18 year old wasnt putting the effort in for the club you think you can drop in a heart beat then do it, prawn sandwiches??? glory hunters??? plastic marks who look like the megastore puked on them?? daytrippers??? none of them would say a sentence like
If this is the way we will be doing our business in the future then the Glazers can finally count me out of their attempted rape of this club.
then go. The Glazers did everything in there power to buy this club which brought on debt and ever since then they’ve done whatever Sir Alex Ferguson wants to show the fans there here to win they are here to succeed and they are here to make money. Get you fc united jersey and take a walk, bbut I dont think they’d want you there either althou those guys dont dig the glaziers they still love Manchester United that you want to give up on because of a few 40 second clips of a fella from youtube.
Gotta hate tiny tears – I was standing on the terraces before you were probably born. I have so many United shirts I would need a transit van to ‘take a walk’, I was born and bred in the City of Manchester… and you do not want to listen to what is being said.
I am not at this point interested in who, what, where or how you think we should sign players, spend money, save money or whatever you want to discuss. Those are matters for another time. The main point that has arisen from this episode is the downright shabby and disgusting way that the people running Manchester United have treated the player and fans.
There are a hundred ways this could have been handled in a mature and honourable way – try issuing a statement that aknowledges the pain that young boy must be feeling now for a start. There is no way on earth that fans of Manchester United should just push this kind of behaviour under the carpet.
This is a club that has highlighted and lauded its youth policy – both in and outside of football. In Sir Matt Busby and Sir Bobby Charlton we have had an integrity, graciousness and honour that is second to none. What we have done in this matter is not in any way recognisable as Manchester United. We have pulled out of signings before but we have always acted in an obvious and propper manner.
So you can feel you are showing your loyality on this forum by being insulting and rude in the manner you address me. I honestly don’t give a shit about your opinion when you address me or other people in that manner. It doesn’t show loyalty or intelligence. It is just a further example of disrespect for other people and their feelings or opinions, and where I might expect it of mere mortals, I expect better of Manchester United!
The Red C
when you take your walk you could leave those jerseys behind what disgusting and disrespectful way did manchester united treat this poor kid and there fans, The Mirror should not be allowed report this story untill manchester united do so first, so get on to Piers Morgan and tell him his boss is in the wrong .
Gotta hate tiny tears – I suppose the Daily Mirror just made it up first and then hoped it came true. They do that with most things I agree, but this. The boy should have been informed. The fans should not have been lied to and told he was signed and was on a 4 1/2 year contract. Manchester United should have been the first to make a statement, especially after it was obvious the story had broken.
They should not have paraded the player as a United player, they should not have interviewed him for articles or reported him on MUTV as a United player. They should not have informed the fans he was coming in January. They should not have praised his progress in September and October, issued confirmation that a work permit was applied for – and then blame his progress over the last 12 months for not signing a player they had told us they had already signed…shall I go on?
If I leave my jerseys anywhere it will be with people I trust to respect and embrase the traditions I recognise. It will not be with one who wishes to provoke irrelevant debate and ill feeling in the wake of an obvious misleading series of actions and events that have affected this young player – who you so brasenly dismiss as not worthy of the respect and attention that any person should expect from our club.
I personally have always been very forgiving to our club and especially on the field of play. Regarding actual football I will not here a bad word said by any other club’s supporters against United. I appreciate sensible and open discussion amongst ourselves – where people allow it – but what I simply cannot tolerate and utterly detest is big mouthed smart arses who can not devorce their passions from the correct and proper manner that things should be done in life.
The integrity and good name of this club is in many ways more important than any trophies you wish to mention. That needs protection and any deviation from that needs to be brought to task. If we as fans are not prepared to hold the ‘governance’ of Manchester United responsible to do things in an honourable, principled and moraly sound and transparent manner, then we might as well sign Henry and talk about what a fantastic basketball player he really is because we then become the circus, a corporation that has nothing to do with sport or football and everything to do with money and tainted success – at any cost.
Well said, Red C.
There appears to be neither dignity nor honour in the way the club have behaved. As a dad whose son (an England boys player) was dumped on from a great height at 16 by a Premier League club (not United), I know the pain the lad Ljajic must be suffering (it was so bad my son vowed never to kick another ball for a pro club – and he hasn’t – despite the pleadings of a queue of other clubs and his agent).
Yet, as I mentioned earlier, if any timorous reporter dares ask Fergie about Ljajic at tomorrow’s press conference, the boss will refuse to answer, fix him with a withering stare and the matter will be dropped. I know it can be quite amusing when Fergie blanks a reporter, but really he should never forget that, through the press, he is talking to the fans.
And it is clear that, on this occasion, fans are upset at what has happened and the manner of it.
This seems to be a PR disaster for the club. And has no-one thought through the possible repercussions? Say in a few years’ time, we find ourselves bidding for another precocious youngster, who has the choice of perhaps United, City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Real Madrid, AC Milan, etc. Will that player be reminded of Adem Ljajic and the shameful way he was treated? Will he want to sign for United, a club who could pick up and toss away a young man’s life and dreams in an instant? Would any parent want their child to be a part of that kind of organisation?
The Yanks who run Liverpool might be not be your cup of tea, but at least they attempt to make some sort of contact with the public. What do we get from our lot? Nothing. We are told the Glazers are reclusive, as if that should be sufficient. We get Fergie only talking to his tame favourite reporters, and never answering a difficult question. He doesn’t do post-match press conferences, doesn’t speak to the BBC. We get rumour and innuendo through the tabloids, but no one ever fronts up.
There are huge questions that need answering, and the Ljajic situation is just one of them. Questions like: What is the real reason we didn’t we spend the Ronaldo money? Just what is the true situation with the debt? Why do United conduct their affairs like some sort of masonic secret society? Why do they treat their fans, who are the lifeblood of the club after all, with such contempt?
I would suggest the next signing United should make is a strong media man: someone who is not afraid of Fergie and who can give the club proper PR guidance – someone who can make sure the fans stop feeling disenfranchised. We have a shocking image (no wonder so many people hate us) and surely, as the world’s so-called biggest club, we should go out of our way to make the fans feel that they matter again.
@The RED C…you talk alot of sense mate, I agree with most of the points you made, if not all. There is a very good write up about this debacle on
United Youth, a must read!!
http://manunitedyouth.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/confirmed-united-pull-plug-on-ljajic-deal/
First of all, spot on Red C. Part of me feels that the traditions and integrity of the club have been damaged by this whole incident. Secondly, am I correct in thinking that Fergie said he was looking forward to seeing the lad arruve at OT. Something is not right here. Don’t know what but it worries me.
OK guys i heard that Fergie wont be doing the press conference 2morrow, so that kinda tells me, that this decision was not one of his but one of the boards and it leaves him in a very unhappy state, well it will for anyone who have said so much good things about the player! Lets realy hope this whole things was mis-represented or mis-interpreted because it really hurt me to hear this, and i am from quite in the Caribbean, it have alot of people down here wondering whats going on.
Manchester United forever, in SAF we Trust!
Have to agree with KamalRD. After pondering this for a bit, If Fergie had his way, none of this would have happened I believe. Besides, apparently, Partizan’s President has dismissed the news as speculation.
I hope he’s right.
The Red C – Its all hearsay pal. Nobody knows the facts of what has happened. I suggest we find out the exact circumstances before saying the kid has been treated disgracefully. Wasn’t there problems with his wage deal and they tried to extract more out of United? Their side may well not be whiter than white.
King Eric I’ve read that from a few places about the wage but I couldn’t see anything to back it up, I dunno what to think but I won’t be writing glazier on the back of myanmar united scarf and buring it in disgrace. I feel for the kid but if I hire some one I put them in a 6 month trial if it doesn’t work out I let them go. Am I a disgrace because that guy lost his job
I am happy there are people prepared to put aside our obvious allegiances for just a moment and address the seriousness of this matter, because it IS serious. Mkred, that was a very articulate and relevant comment you made and Rewind, that article is, as you said, a must read for everybody on this blog. It is also fair enough that you don’t agree with all I say.
Bingo, your uneasiness is something I recognise myself and you have encouraged me to put voice to it. I have had it from the moment it became clear we had no intention of using the money we collected from the sale of Ronaldo for the purchase of new players. The statements that have come from Sir Alex recently do not seem to carry conviction.
They do not make total sense and one is left with the uneasy feeling that he is sacrificing his own honesty and integrity in an attempt to protect a dynasty he has built. I have an uneasy feeling that he is so attached to the club, it’s players and staff that he see’s justification in helping to hide and disguise the true state of the club.
While this is understandable to an extent, the fallout – if this proves to eventually be true – could be so catastrophic. A young Fergusson might have chosen to take on the Glazers, as it seemed he had when they first arrived on the scene, but have his ‘paternal’ instincts turned him to conspire to pervert the course of true footballing justice?
Might we finally find out that Ronaldo was sold by the Glazers after all (remember at one stage of the transfer saga it was reported that they had agreed to sell to Madrid behind Sir Alex’s back) and might we find out that they are now embarking on the first stages of the asset stripping we all feared was on the cards?
An even worse scenario is one I read a couple of months ago where the Glazers could conceivably get away with asset striping the club and then moving all the debt back to the football club instead of their holding company. Once done they would be free to walk away debt free and with all the proceeds from sales of said assets. United would then be a club with massive, unserviceable debt and obviously no assets.
We heard a statement from someone at Barcelona that they believe it would be possible to make the Glazers an offer for Wayne Rooney that they couldn’t resist. What is wrong with this statement (besides the obvious)? Since when have clubs talked in terms of making the Glazers offers? Almost since the first day Sir Alex occupied his office at OT it has always been taken that he has full control over the transfer of players.
All previous reports and newspaper articles have only talked in these terms. Now we have sold our best player to Spain and another big Spanish club talks in terms of making the Glazers offers they can’t refuse. This suddenly implies that they are the guys to do business with, What they decide goes, regardless of the managers position on the matter?
I am worried by recent events and today’s fiasco is hugely upsetting when you consider its possible implications, the manner things have happened and the far reaching consequences this could have on our great club. This could be the beginning of the end of a great era for Manchester United and of a very shaky and uncertain future – maybe without the guy who has put together everything we have enjoyed for the last 20 years and maybe his exit will not be in the manner we all hoped and expected.
Sir Alex put his weight behind the perception that we had signed this young player. He said directly that he was a united player we had loaned back to get experience. That has been exposed as blatant lies today and more will come from this episode that may even mean Sir Alex’s position as manager of the club is now under severe scrutiny.
And Gotta hate Tiny Tears – please understand mate that the ‘disgrace’ is not in the loosing of the job, it is in the manner it was lost. We have had the main figure head, leader, inspiration for our club endorsing lies. Untrue statements made to fans about the status of this young player. It is also said United were paying his wages, so the player himself has in all probability believed he was a United player, and certainly did up until 4 o’clock this morning according to the article on United Youth and was assuring visitors to his Facebook that the Daily Morror reports were untrue.
Then we have the fact that so little respect is paid to the player that an English tabloid and the club who had supposedly ‘sold’ him to Manchester are making staements before the boy himself has found out. TO top it all we hear nothing from our club until much later in the day, by which time there has been a lot of discussion about the statements Sir Alex and United made in the past, confirming at that time that we had indeed bought the player – not got an option on him….this i just not the way our club, the greatest club on this planet, should be seen to be doing things.
Then we get into the reasons given that contradict stements Sir Alex made in September and October concerning the good progress the player was making and the application for his work permit.
Any possible disagreement over fees should be irrelevant because we were informed he was bought last January
Fuck me red c,dont ever get a job at the samaritans will you?
rooneyisclass Said…”Fuck me red c,dont ever get a job at the samaritans will you?”
Yeah, depressing isn’t it? But you know what? I’d advicate that we all committed suicide with integrity and honesty!
The Red C – you’re making too much about “a business decision”. Adem Ljajic is a professional athlete – he’s in the business of selling himself and his talents. His contract’s owners must have thought it was a good business deal to sell him on to a club that would pay them ten million quid and pay Ljajic a huge weekly wage. But, that was last year’s news; NOW, the situation has changed and it’s not such a good business decision. Like I wrote before, I think that this news has the smell of NEGOTIATION. UTD obviously paid too much for Tosic; UTD quite obviously don’t want to throw good money after bad and pay too much for Ljajic so the lad’s “feelings” are inconsequential in that he has already sold himself to Partizan Belgrade so what all parties are haggling about NOW is the price, it has nothing to do with the morality of the situation.
And, for what it’s worth, it now seems pretty obvious that Ronaldo’s mind was made up that he was going to move to Madrid but that SAF convinced him to stay in the summer of 2008. SAF said he wouldn’t sell a virus to “that mob” which was the Calderon clique; when the circus-master’s job switched and Perez came back with more politeness and a big bag of money then it was a done-deal.
SAF knew he couldn’t keep an unhappy player – whose body language made it clear that he wasn’t ever going to be a team player, regardless of how talented he was. I think that that’s why SAF went so hard for Berbatov last summer because had to be a few steps ahead of the curve and start planning for a post-CR team.
The post-CR team might not have worked out exactly as planned but it’s not doing too badly, either. Let’s wait a while to judge how the sly old fox has done in reinventing UTD yet again. Right now, it’s too soon to tell if the doom-and-gloom merchants are right or if the FootieKnight has confounded them YET AGAIN.
The Red C
Manchester United are evil they took some poor kid out of a small town in portugal built him up to believe he was going to be a manchester united legend like George Best made him settle in England which he built a house in only to see him off to another team because they got 80 million for him. Manchester United used this kid to get as many goals and trophys out of him and when a better offer came along they sold him. This football is a business is a fuckin disgrace
Denton Davey (I’m originally a Denton lad aswell) Again, I need to point out that the problem does not lie with the non-signment of Ljajic. As I have pointed out several times, it is entirely acceptable not to take up an option. The point to all this is, who knew it was only an option we had?
This is central to the problem because Sir Alex, the club, the club’s media…etc had all informed us in one way or the other that the player was already a United player, a United player that had been LOANED back to Partizan to gain more expereince and to wait on his work permit.
The player had been rolled out by Sir Alex in front of the cameras, United shirt in hand. He has been back to Carrington on occasions and done interviews for the clubs various media – as a United player. He has had his wages paid by us since the deal was announced (if true as reported) and has talked himself only in terms of being a United player. The supporters have been kept informed of OUR players progress and Sir Alex has given very positive reports of his progress in the last few weeks weeks.
Now today’s developments open up the ethical questions we have to place against the way things have been done and the obvious effect this will all have on this player, who has not had the benefit of any explanation before the point at which all this kicked off – and that is a disgusting state of affairs for our club to get involved in.
It also opens up other questions. How can we trust a manager who tells us things that turn out to be so catastrophicaly untrue. And they are catastrophic because all the previous times we have had to hear difficult things from the manager can now be thrown open in a free for all.
I have no doubt that Sir Alex tries to do what he thinks is best for our club by the way, and would blame the Glazers totally for putting him in that position if my fears were to become reality. However, his defense and seeming support of the Glazers could be bullshit, his explanation of why we are not in the transfer market could be bullshit (as indeed it has sounded to many off us). It seems to me that Sir Alex could have chosen to prematurely declare Ljajic as a United player so as to deflect any immediate scrutiny of why we had not paid upfront. This wasn’t just a simple option because we were paying his wages.
This seems more on the lines of a deferment of payment – which points to fiancial difficulties – and then raises the question of how the deal could be called off for financial reasons if we still have the money for Ronaldo lying around and available as the Glazers insist is the case, and accepting that official reasons given as ‘lack of progress’ do not add up at the side of Sir Alex’s recent positive assesments,?
I’m done now. I just see the need for us all to be aware that today is not a good day for our club, but we should not close our eyes to the very shabby way we have done things. Again it is not what we have don in essence – disgarded an option to buy a player – it is how this was all presented to the media, the fans and the player himself
Red C, you talk a lot of sense. Tiny Tears, you’re out of your element.
Love United, Hate Glazer.
Gotta hate Tiny Tears…You’re out of your fuckin tree!
Start making sense boy! Get rational! What the fuck is your point? Your only point in communicating with me seems to be to try and put me down. You’re wasting your fuckin time pal! Your statements just get more irrational and obscure as you attempt to come up with them.
I’ll say it once more…and slowly. This has fuck all to do with selling players! It has everything to do with the manner in which this particular transaction has been handled by the club and the very obvious doubt it now places on any previous communications the club or manager have made regarding our transfer position and the financial state of the club. This is very obvious and opens up a large can of worms that we supporters should be able and prepared to address.
You are obviously not prepared to do that and actually prefer to attempt to patronise and mock peoples views. You are behaving like a right fucking arsehole – maybe you are or maybe it is just the way you react when you don’t like what somebody has said. The two are more or less the same, but I would still have hope you could grow up if your problem is the latter.
Otherwise I don’t give a flying fuck about your performance tonight. Get a grip and I’ll read what you have to say tomorrow – as I usually do – and will resist any urge to patronise a lot of the irrelevant crap you write, because occasionally you shine through with some good and valid observations
Good night mate
red c
bang on partner, its about time ghtt had a good dressing down, like someone else stated hes out of his elemnet here, every one of your posts have been outstanding, thank you
Red C – I don’t see this as an “ethical” issue whatsoever.
Ljajic’s “feelings” are beside the point. When he signed on as a professional he had to put away “childish things” – if he didn’t know it then, he knows it now.
And, I don’t take your point that Ljajic was “already” a UTD player – the ink on that contract never dried. It’s all about business and, like my grandmother taught me a long, long time ago, “In business, when they spit in your eye you have to say that it’s raining”.
I suspect that this “story” will take some time to get resolved and that when it does we might see a smaller fee being paid to Partizan and Zoran Tosic being “loaned” back to them.
This is true, on utd’s website. http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid={F9E570E6-407E-44BC-800F-4A3110258114}&newsid=6643712
The red c
mate I am making the point that football is a business and people get hit in the process
I can understand your points that ethically its wrong which your bang on about but theres no ethics in business im afraid. the problem I think we are having is the confussion around why and how this happened has the both of us coming in and looking at it from 2 different perspectives .
@Ulster Red mate ever since ,once, I didnt agree with you over coincedentally Ljajic you’ve been jumping on my case . If you had the knowledge and vocabulary skill about say a “the red c” then why didnt you give me a dress down a few days ago. by the way ofturns out I was right about Sir Alexs way of looking at him.
@ The red C I agree with me but also Agree with you when I opened my mind to the pther side of the coin
@The red sea
I hope we can still be friends
just to add
I only read what was said at @0:12 and I must say that hurt
players come and go at united all the time in all circumstances and at all ages why is this such a big deal?
if united paid the 10mil and ljajic was rubbish like liam miller, manucho, kleberson or djemba djemba, and then they tried to get rid of him after spending the money, would that be the smarter business move rather than having had the foresight to abort their contracts before they even started? of course not! would that make it more ethical? does it matter?
if you look at rafa’s transfer business since joining the dippers, his poor evaluations and waste of club money are glaring. would you rather have fergie giving huge sums of money to every chance prospect and have united eat those wages if the player fails? or would you rather have fergie preemptively pull out of a deal after looking over a player for over a year and deeming him as a surplus talent? it is unfortunate for ljajic, but isn’t that just life as a professional footballer? besides if the lad is good enough he should be able to sign with another big club elsewhere.
it may not be the nicest business deal and ljajic and his family may be gutted but football is business and money is the bottom line. if obertan only cost 3 mil and fergie rates him higher than ljajic who would cost 10 mil, why on earth would united go through with the deal if they are able to back out of it? out of honor? please.
none of us are in the board meetings. none of us are at every training session. none of us are scouting every united prospect out in the world. if fergie says the deal for ljajic is dead he must have a good reason. a better reason than us civilians know about. if it is purely financial than so be it.
players like shawcross, eagles, rossi, spector, bardsley, pugh, richardson, etc. etc. etc. were all told that they were good enough for united when they were brought in as kids. yet they were eventually sold off for various reasons except for one thing in common- they really weren’t good enough to break into the team straight away.
i’m sure all these players and their families were gutted after leaving, but there was hardly any indignation or claims of wrongdoing by united supporters when they were let go. so what’s the difference here? ljajic was told he was coming and then that was sent back? it’s sad, but is it that immoral? isn’t the end result the same for all the other players who had to leave for first team football elsewhere? united and fergie evaluated those players and let them go. united and fergie evaluated ljajic for over a year and decided to not sign him permanently and let him go. it’s part and parcel of football business.
long ago gazza said he would join united and went to spurs last minute. obi-mikel signed a deal and then tried to go to court to get out of it. these things work both ways at times. fergie thought benzema was a united player and real swooped in at the last hour and he never came.
sometimes united get the worse end, and sometimes the player does, as is the case for ljajic. it’s all business and money at the end of the day. every single united player can retire or hold out for more money, and would probably refuse to play for free no matter how much they profess their love for the club, and would we blame them? gary nev bleeds united red the most but do you think he would play for united for no money and strictly for the honor and love of the club? he plays for money and united pay for play that’s how it forever works.
so why should we berate manchester united for canceling a deal that they feel is not in the club’s best interests when they had the opportunity? even if it is as some say, the glazers fault. players come and go, players sign on or sign with someone else all the time. this ljajic incident is no big deal and not out of the ordinary in the grand scheme of football business, not even at manchester united.
lastly, since when has fergie ever tipped his hand to the public? he is a cagey old dog and everyone else, especially the press are just pawns at his disposal. he bragged about ruud just before letting him go to madrid, and he is saying nani and foster still need to fight for a spot even though most of us believe their days are numbered. he even said he wouldn’t sell madrid a virus and he sold them our greatest asset in ronaldo. all this talk about fergie and united bragging up ljajic and then shattering his dreams… bollocks! fergie has always been able to be ruthless since the beginning (got rid of fan favorites like whiteside, ince, sparky, keano, ruud, becks, etc.) but is right almost all the time. in the end i’m sure we’ll see his judgement and handling of this affair to be right.
sorry about the long post, just my humble opinion on something i believe is being taken way too seriously around these parts. doesn’t mean i don’t respect the posts of those who see this as an injustice and stain on united’s good name.
hi all
i’ve been away for 4 days, attending a camp in a place without internet.
This is shocking. But my comment will be just this:
IN FERGIE WE TRUST
Are we sure that the youngsters will get their chance? After what has happen? Are Man Utd gonna be like Chelsea with players over 30? Then pay silly money for star player n become the greatest flop
@ GHTT – Got to agree with almost every point made there mate!!
Also Mike Phelan has just said it was a work permit issue and it wasnt worth paying the 10 mill for a player that wouldnt be able to play coz he didnt have a work permit!!
Listen if we havent signed this lad then its not the end of the world. We have missed out on many superstars over the years and we have still gone on to win trophies coz SAF knows what he is doing. I remember seeing Kaka while he was still in Brazil and hoping Utd would sign him, we didnt but utd still won trophies, I remember almost messing my pants when Ronaldinho was almost signed (FUCKIN KENYON!!) we didnt but Utd still won trophies and when Torres signed for the rat eaters I was gutted but guess what UTD STILL WON TROPHIES!! Im not happy we havent signed the lad coz from most reports he is going to be a star but as many post’s on here have already stated we have some cracking young talent coming through the ranks and Im not overly bothered we have given this deal a miss. The fact is players come and go and you miss out on some greats and you sign some greats but Utd go on forever!!
IN FERGIE WE TRUST!!
Yep Mick Phelan has said there was virtually no chance of getting a work permit through in time for jan, and that was a contributing factor.
He also states ‘As it stands Adem Ljajic wont be coming to Old Trafford in january’
this to me implys there is still a small chance that things could change, or that he could potentially join in the future.
Have a [url=http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Manchester-United-coach-Mike-Phelan-Money-not-an-issue-in-collapse-of-Adem-Ljajic-transfer-article243407.html]read[/url]
Looks more like work permit issues from what mick has said. If it is why didnt the club just say this initially?
He also says ‘As it stands’ ljajic wont join in jan, which doesnt sound definitive, so maybe the situation could change?
Have a read
rooninho – great post.
The Red C – Some great posts last night, very articulate and interesting.
Here is some points from Phelan’s interview….
“We made a tentative approach to getting a work permit and the word we got back from the Home Office was we couldn’t get that through in time to get Adem signed in January,” said Phelan.
“I don’t think money is an issue.
“The point is do you lay out money for Adem knowing there is a possibility that you might not be able to get him? As it stands Adem Ljajic won’t be coming to Old Trafford in January.”
“tentative approach”?? why, this is a kid worth 10 mill apparently and will surely get a work permit under the exceptional young talent basis on appeal…
“I don’t think money is an issue.
He does’nt think so?? Well that’s reassuring!
Lay out money?? we’ll we were told the money had already been laid out, we now know they were lies and nevertheless are you telling me that we would not have stipulated a work permit being granted before handing over any money…
Raises up more questions than answers…
I Think what Mick was saying was that the process involved in getting a work permit, including appeals etc would have taken us beyond the date that the agreement says the transfer would have to be completed on (Jan 1st?) So if United signed the boy anyway, they would not know for sure whether he would be granted a work permit. I guess they didnt want to lay out £10million on a player they may not be able to play anyway.
He still spoke in fairly positive terms about the boy, so he must be someone they still rate as a good young player.
He also says they decided that ‘now wasnt the time to do it’
I think this story is a runner and we havnt heard the last of it. Wouldnt surprise me if we went back in for him in the summer (if the boy makes the serbia WC squad for example, that would certainly help any work permit appeals)
I think the reason a lot of people (fans) are upset is not because we’re not signing him now, or because of the ‘financial crisis’ rumours etc, but the fact we feel we have been messed about a bit with the boy. Told we’d signed himlast jan and he was loaned back to partizan, then told we’d pulled out the deal because he hadnt progressed enough and we had youngsters just as good, then told its due to work permit problems. I know united arnt in the business of letting on more than they have to with regards to transfers, but i just feel a little more honesty would have been nice!
I Agree with Red C, and for GHTT and Denton gotta say that maybe it’s all business all right. But We are not known just for the business we make, but for the posture we assume while doing it.
Remember the post about Diouf, when we sent flowers to the boy’s mother. This is not just simple transaction, the club and what it represents it’s way more, and maybe you’re trying to defend the wrong attitude we had, but it’s still wrong. Too wrong.
The matter of letting the kid go, maybe good business, but the way it was conducted and spread all over news, while having no official statement was not. By a thousand miles.
I feel sorry for Ljajic, when the signing news got out, we knew even that he had a United banner on his dorm. Can you imagine getting your dream crushed like that, knowing that you won’t play for a club like United through newspapers and facebook or twitter?
Passing this situation, I’m really worried about the money problems we may be having. The debt is huge, and it is certainly affecting United, even if now it’s only against club legends that can’t have a seat and a meal, or workers that can’t have breakfast for example…
@Dani i agree with you. The second thing i thought after i read the headline was about Ljajic’s feelings.. (The first one was of course, IN FERGIE WE TRUST). I imagine myself in his position, erm, i would feel very sad, feel almost betrayed by United. We told the world about signing him (i thought we signED him, his arrival is imminent), but suddenly in less than a month from the dream date, we tell the world it’s off. But i believe in Fergie’s man management, i am sure he would speak to the boy and not let him crushed.
Some good old fashioned arguing on here….notably…. GHTT and Red C…..got a bit tetchy but no matter…. we all still follow the Reds ….!!
Dani – It was Paul Pogba’s mum mate not Diouf.
Seriously who gives a flying fuck? Whats all this about “poor little Adem’s feelings”? Get a fucking grip. We are not talking about an orphan child living on the streets we are talking about a very well paid young footballer. Do you honestly think that the first he knew was on the net? He will have been kept up to date all the way through in my opinion. None of us have a clue what goes on in the boadroom and deals etc. Its all speculation.
I don’t really want to re-enter this debate or rub salt into open wounds, but….
I’ve just returned from a pre-Xmas shopping ordeal, and while in WHSmith’s I happened to spot an official Manchester United yearbook, published by the club and clearly aimed at the Christmas market.
Naturally enough, I thumbed through it and after the expected pictures from last season, and player profiles of the first-team squad, there is a section on our stars of the future. And who should be at the top of the page? None other than Adem Ljajic, pictured in action in United training gear and accompanied by words saying how the club had such high hopes for him and that he would be a foundation stone (or words to that effect) for our future.
He is clearly described as a United player (backed up by the personal data) and it unequivocally states that he had been loaned back to Partizan Belgrade but would be back here in January 2010. There is no suggestion about an option deal or the like: he was signed by United and is a United player.
And no, this was not some cowboy operation trying to cash in on United’s success. This was unquestionably an official club publication, according to the imprint.
I saw the Micky Phelan press conference earlier today, and he was asked about what had gone wrong with the Ljajic move. He was clearly following the party line when he tried to explain things. But, to me, he seemed less than convinced by what he was saying, nor convincing in the manner he delivered it. He said there was a work permit problem, and while I wouldn’t suggest for one moment that that was being used as a smokescreen, it would be interesting to see if similar problems were to arise should City, Liverpool, Arsenal or Chelsea swoop for Ljajic.
Each of these clubs would love to embarrass United, and were they to sign the lad it would confirm everyone’s worst fears: that the Glazers have pulled tight the pursestrings, that the Ronaldo money has been used solely to service their debt and that asset-stripping, in the shape of player sales, is about to begin.
Remember, there is a World Cup coming up and Ljajic could well be in the Serbia squad. That would meet any Home Office work permit criteria. Would United then go back for the boy – after all, Mick suggested the door might not be completely shut?
As I said previously, this whole affair is starting to whiff a bit. It would appear the club are not being straight with us, the fans. Something has happened that has forced United – the club with a previously impeccable record in dealing with and looking after young players – to dump a young man they thought so highly of and were confident would be a cornerstone of the Old Trafford future.
Will someone please tell the truth? The story and spin being put out by the club have more holes than Jim Royle’s vest.
Just seen the TimesOnline report about the Glazers. It seems that the family – not United – are in deep financial s**t. But it is impacting on the club.
Perhaps the Partizan Belgrade chairman was telling the truth about why the Ljajic deal fell through.
As I have asked countless times, will someone please come clean and tell the real story?
gutted at not landing ljajic shame tosic never gets a sniff thats makes me wonder will we see any quality coz valencia obertan and owen havent cut it out. united will regret this. if they let tosic go even more keep playing deadwood like neville, rio, scholes, owen and berbaslob and let the chavski walk away with the title we aint got no chance with the squad we got even the dippers have more depth. i hope united fans realise that tevez wanted to stay but greedy glazers wouldnt pay. forget this season coz its trophyless boring like last year when barca battered us.
MKRed – Yeah have just read that article where it says the Glazers are having trouble re -financing for hundred and odd millions worth of the debt. Cannot see how it would ever come to anything though. There would always be someone willing to buy United for treble what the debt is. Seems a bit of a coincidence that this story should come out after and include the Ljijac deal.
Anyone know why Fergie didn’t do the press conference today?
i think i’ve lost a lot of respect for United after hearing this news.We signed mediocore Tosic but when it comes to the real deal Ljajic,we give up.Didnt we fight for Anderson’s work permit? Dont you see whats happening guys? while other teams are improving, we are again going downwords.Phelan as assistant manager,no promising signing of players, mediocore football that we are playing for more than a season, selling ronaldo after publicly declaring we wouldnt sell a virus, then again disrupting the balance of the team and clubs general policy to keep ronaldo, the deal of tevez etc etc. There was a point from where we could go and rule the europe for several years, but we chose not to
United didn’t “choose not to” rule Europe. We were back in the European Cup final the year after winning it. There’s no accounting for that dire performance in Rome. On another night, we might have beaten Barca. There’s certainly no shame in losing to such a great side. Who knows, we might make it to a third final in a row this season.
We couldn’t have kept Ronaldo. He had his head turned by Madrid during the 2006 World Cup. Fergie did well to keep hold of him for those three amazing seasons.
As for Mike Phelan, I’m sure you’d prefer some exotically-named foreign “tactician” wouldn’t you?
You’re right about Tosic though. Absolutely bizarre situation. Hopefully one day soon an insider will lift the lid on this baffling Tosic/Ljajic farce.
mcarticlep – Are you a dipper? Ridiculous post. “deadwood” like Scholes, Rio, Berbaslob, Nev yet “gutted” we haven’t paid ten million for an unproven 18 year old? Valencia hasn’t “cut it”? Four goals and getting better by the game. Dippers more depth? Clueless idiot.
sunny – How could we keep Ronaldo? He wanted to go and some of his antics last season were an embarrasment. Why we would pay £25 million plus for Tevez? He went for the money pal and if the reports are true Citeh have paid £47 million for the Judas. Kia was always gonna get the best deal for him. Pair of greedy bastards. Mediocre football? United are just starting to get out of first gear. How are we going downwards and other teams are improving? Have you seen how much talent we have coming through? We have the best squad in the Premier league and do tell me which other teams are improving as we are going downwards please. As for Phelan if he is good enough for Fergie he is good enough for me. You only have to see what Keano thought of him in his book. Good coach and knows United inside out.
King Eric-we all knew Ronaldo was going to leave.But Fergie and others declared that they are not going to sell.Similar things have happened now,you could see Adem Ljajic as a United player in players profile of official website,But now we hear that he is not.Now,how do you feel about being lied to? The same thing happened with tevez,it was as much as tevez’s fault as the club’s.Personally i never rated tevez and didnt want United to sign him.
As for going downwards,can you remember the last two champions league final? how we were out played by Bercelona and just won in Moscow? when your team reaches 2 consecutive finals,you expect the team to further improve,But we’ve sold Ronaldo and let tevez go, but didnt improve much.Yes,there are a lot of young players coming through,but we’re still depending on players like Giggs and scholes.Where is Anderson and Nani? they are supposed to step up their game by now.last season we did play mediocore football and was dependant on our defence.Even in this season,we are not coherent and we dont have enough threats in our team(from midfield and attack).As a supporter i hope club management acknowledge the problems we have now.
acknowledge
Ronaldo and Tevez were bad apples Sunny. The team in the long run will be better off rid. As for Nani I don’t particularly like him but what are you expecting from Anderson? He is 21 for fuck sake and in a few of our games this season he has been superb. Rentboys, Spurs in the league and Wednesday for example. As for Rome we just didn’t turn up and on another day with a fit Fletch and Hargo the score could have been very different. Don’t forget Rio, Carrick and Ando were all playing with injuries. Anyway Ronaldo and Tevez were playing. Further improve than 2 successive Euro finals? How much improvement do you expect? That isn’t many teams that have done that. You my friend are spoilt as a United fan. What do you expect the treble every season?
Sunny – What was that pal?
I don’t know if any of you are still paying attention to this thread, but thanks for all of you who didn’t decide to take exception for me pointing out what I feel was a totally unaccetable manner for a club as big, important and traditional and ours to carry out their business.
I am still greatly supprised at the people who seem to want to simply avoid the main concerns this incident raises and still want to talk purely in terms of whether the boy was good enough or not. That is simply not the issue of concern. If that is all there was to this then there would be no use discussing anything because none of us know what the truth is in that respect. All I know is that the reports in the press have been glowing and Fergie has given his own backing to the player and his progress as recently as September and October.
The main issues of concern are to do with the way the club has misrepresented this transfer in every detail you look at, from the way the signings were announced, the way he was paraded as a United player, the statement that he was indeed a United player and he was being loaned back to Partizan, the way the boy has been absolutely shafted by the club, the way the organisation that is Manchester United has introduced the boy to the fans, through it’s own media as a United player, the way that the gutter press where allowed to break the news without Partizan or the boy having been informed by our club and the fiasco that has followed with contradicting statements coming from Gill and then Phelan.
WE as United fans must not accept everything with totally blinkered viewpoints, just for the sake of being United fans. That is not good for any organisation or it’s members and supporters. It is a responsibility of all who care for this club not to do a Nero and just fiddle as Rome burns. We have a duty to hold our club responsible for it’s actions and the way it engages with it’s players, supporters and the environment it functions in. We have a duty to address the difficult questions and not carry on as if nothing has happened. Questions of whether a player is good enough or not to play for United are fine but they are just not relevant to the question of how the club has acted in it’s dealings with both the pl
I don’t know if any of you are still paying attention to this thread, but thanks for all of you who didn’t decide to take exception for me pointing out what I feel was a totally unaccetable manner for a club as big, important and traditional and ours to carry out their business.
I am still greatly supprised at the people who seem to want to simply avoid the main concerns this incident raises and still want to talk purely in terms of whether the boy was good enough or not. That is simply not the issue of concern. If that is all there was to this then there would be no use discussing anything because none of us know what the truth is in that respect. All I know is that the reports in the press have been glowing and Fergie has given his own backing to the player and his progress as recently as September and October.
The main issues of concern are to do with the way the club has misrepresented this transfer in every detail you look at, from the way the signings were announced, the way he was paraded as a United player, the statement that he was indeed a United player and he was being loaned back to Partizan, the way the boy has been absolutely shafted by the club, the way the organisation that is Manchester United has introduced the boy to the fans, through it’s own media as a United player, the way that the gutter press where allowed to break the news without Partizan or the boy having been informed by our club and the fiasco that has followed with contradicting statements coming from Gill and then Phelan.
We as United fans must not accept everything with totally blinkered and unquestioned loyalty, just for the sake of being United fans. That is not good for any organisation, club, or it’s members and supporters. It is a responsibility of all who care for this club not to do a Nero and just fiddle as Rome burns. We have a duty to hold our club responsible for it’s actions and the way it engages with it’s players, supporters and the environment it functions in. We have a duty to address the difficult questions and not carry on as if nothing has happened. Questions of whether a player is good enough or not to play for United are fine but that is simply not the question I and many others are concerned with in this matter.
It is just not relevant to this serious question of how the club has acted in it’s dealings with both the player and the fans, not to mention that Phelan has then gone on to contradict this statement by blaming work permit problems – an even more ludicrous situation than the previous excuse in my opinion because he is suggesting that the club are so inept that we go a full year without sorting this out ( the boy is probably going to play in the World Cup for Serbia which will more or less give him the permit anyway by the way). We are asked to believe that we allow our manager to inform us again in October that we will be seing Ljajic in January… and then Phelan offers that we haven’t bothered to get the Work Permit sorted out actually – we made a ‘tentative’ approach…what a load of bollocks!
By the way, Got to Hate Tiny Tears, thanks for what you said in your last post. I know I am banging on a bit, but there has been a fear and frustration building in me for a good year and a half now.
I was banging on about the ‘Youngsters getting a chance’ – the statement made to justify the lack of big signings this season, and rolled out whenever Sir Alex has been questioned about lack of signings – not so long ago, and that was connected in it’s way to the feelings I am having about this episode. I am suddenly getting a real cold chill because I have got the unshakeable feeling that we are being taken for a ride.
I don’t mind Fergie standing up tomorrow and saying to all the players that their time is up and he believes he can find better players elsewhere. Getting rid of players is not the problem I am seeing. It is the way the club is going about it’s business that is a huge worry, because when you start seeing this type of behaviour from any organisation it spells just one thing…trouble.
Maybe the Glazers put the kibosh on the Ljajic transfer after the expensive flops of Tosic and Berbatov. Nani, Anderson and Hargreaves were very expensive too.
M. Night Shamalamadingdong
Well I am sure the Glazers are behind it, but again that doesn’t matter in the context of integrity and ethics. As long as they put the ‘kibosh’ on it in a proper and correct manner. As far as we, the supporters were informed, the only way the ‘kibosh’ could have been put on it was by a termination of his contract because we were informed United had bought him and he was a United player,