Sir Alex Ferguson has been harping on about there being no value in the current market. Granted, with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester City chucking money away there has been some shift. When a club is paying £24m for Joleon Lescott or £80m for a player who is already desperate to leave their current club, you have to wonder how far you can stretch your cash.
But then that statement just doesn’t add up when you look at how much money United are spending at the moment. The £10m for Javier Hernandez could prove to be one of the best bargains our manager has ever pulled off, with the young Mexican striker scoring against World Champions Spain in a 1-1 draw last night, to add to the goals he scored against Argentina and France at the World Cup.
However, we apparently spent £10m on Chris Smalling, which again might prove to be a good buy, but you have to consider this last couldn’t even get in to the Fulham team towards the end of last season and was plying his trade in the Isthmian League Premier Division just two years ago. His place in the England U-21 side again suggests that there is real potential there.
Then there’s Mame Biram Diouf, who was also wanted by Arsene Wenger, who scored on his home début and set us back about £5m. We’d been watching him for a couple of years and he came from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s former club. He has recently gone out on loan with Blackburn, scoring on his début in a friendly against Hearts, but we’re still waiting to see whether he’s got what it takes.
It’s too early to say what kind of careers these lads are going to have but Ferguson’s claims about “value in the market” don’t seem to add up with splashing out a considerable amount of money and generally unproven youngsters. Those three haven’t even celebrated their 23rd birthdays yet, have less than 20 International caps between them but cost us close to £30m.
Then yesterday, totally bizarrely and out of the blue, it’s revealed that we’ve signed this Bébé, who currently plays in Portugal’s third division, grew up in an orphanage and has represented his country… at the Homeless World Cup. Seriously, even Disney couldn’t come up with a story like this. The Guardian reports the 20-year-old cost us a massive £7.4m under the recommendation of Carlos Queiroz.
Is that the kind of value Ferguson has been talking about? Surely a good value player is a player with some pedigree and who costs a fair price. Is £7.4m a fair price for a player fit for Portugal’s third tier? Is £10m a fair price for a player who can’t get in Fulham’s first XI?
All these deals may very well turn out to be great bargains but if Fergie is going to repeatedly talk about good value, he can’t then splash out close to £40m on totally unproven players. It just doesn’t add up.
Man Utd News 24/7
didnt spain and mexico draw 1-1
Very good point. Also, if he just signed to Vitoria, and we’ve paid the £7.4m get out clause, then surely we should have signed him 5 weeks ago before he he signed for Vittoria. As its being reported now, the whole deal just doesnt make sense. In Fergie We Trust though.
Should have just bought ozil and left smalling at fulham..
SAF knows what he’s doing…
That’s why he bought a Nani
…to look after the Bebe
A rare mistake from STR
You can be pretty much garaunteed that the prices you’ve quoted aren’t the actual prices United have played up front for these players. The four players you’ve mentioned have, I’d guess, only cost 20 million in up front fees.
These fees are all maximum fees that could be paid and include add ons based on appearances, international caps and what Utd go on to win.
In most cases they also include the players wage for the length of the contract.
Utd have to date paid nowhere near the reported fee.
Why would Fulham play Smalling when they knew he was off and his head was already at Utd? More in there interests to play their own.
I don’t know what all the fuss is about.
Bebe is unknown to all of us, so clearly we are not in a position to judge whether he is a good signing or not. I’m sure Sir Alex however has heard of him, given that he has spent 7 million, so maybe we should just have a bit of faith in his ability to spot a star player.
Who here had heard of a certain Javier Hernandez before his signing was announced? or Ole Gunnar Solskjaer?
Some valid points there.
He seems to contradicting the issue. I mean, he also spent £4m on Manucho who was eventually shipped out after spending less than a year at United. I have repeatedly said that I would welcome the addition of Ozil, as I think he is quality, and the price Werder are willing to accept indicates to me that this is definitely value, especially for someone who has been consistently performing at the top of his game for the last two years, coupled with the fact that he is only 21. This latest signing is bizzare to say the least and to be honest, I think it is a waste of time and effort, although if he proves me wrong and turns out to be a hit, then fair play, but we are fully stocked in the attacking area now and this transfer was unecessary in my opinion. A new CM is a priority for us this season, with a new goalkeeper to be targeted the next.
Surely it would have more sense to spend say tops 12m more and get Ozil who is still again young BUT proven to be a class player already! Ozil IS value for money!!!! We have too many strikers anyway, wouldnt have minded if it would have been someone like Benzema, But bebe?
Hopefully hes gonna be class but could turn out an expensive Manucho!
Just dont understand why he hasnt got Ozil for such a small price! Or someone similar, thats what we are lacking a creative center mid!
@bruce thomas
We also have the mother. Mam(e Biram Diouf). All that’s missing is the father: Papa( Boupa Diop).
I agree Scott. I couldn`t beleive it in the morning what United bought. right, it could turn out to be a good bargain, but it is quite a jeopardy with money.
e.g. Manucho cost like 1m, now 7.4m? come on
all saying, Chicharito was unknown, right, but he played for Mexico national team!!!! where he scored few goals yet. while Bebe played for Homeless squad and in third division in Portugal. guys, read your posts before you publish it. it is all crazy!!
You’re missing the point. He’s saying there’s no value in the market for established players, the kind that the fans always clamour for him to sign. Just look at how everyone wanted us to spunk £30m on Benzema. Now he’s found Hernandez everyone’s gone quiet on that one. Or look at the criticism he gets for paying £30m for Berbatov. Would any United fan, even those that like Berbatov, really say we got value for money there? He’s right that the fees for established players have gone ridiculous, mostly because selling clubs are holding out for massive windfalls from the likes of City and Real Madrid. Would Aston Villa consider a reasonable £15-18m bid for James Milner? No, because they know they can get about £30m off City.
The value for money comes in signing young players before their fees triple. And anyway, even with Bebe our net spend this year is only about £11m after the sales of Tosic and Foster.
Bebe
Nani
Mame
Pape
and Brian Kidd!
playing for a national team is no proof that a player is any good Chep
shall we sign Emile Heskey then?
This is really fishy.Its like that tosic and ljajic case all over again.
Maybe there is plans to play him as an attacking midfielder and not a striker. I think it was mentioned he was a very versatile player.
You only read what you want to hear. SAF stated earlier on that club policy has changed and getting in young players is on the agenda. The money spent is nothing even if only one of them make it to the very top it would have been worth the money. Anyway what guarantee have you got that if one pays 20 odd million on an established star he would do well? None at all, anyone remembers a certain Mr. Veron.
He’s going to be good, he can play an attacking midfield role. He’s big, quick, and very creative. Trust in the SAF.
Maybe Carlos got some money off this transfer too?
agree Scott. It dosent make any sense. our dealings. Hernandez looks the only good buy on what we have seen so far. Diouf and Smalling havent exacltly started off well but both are young so have time on their side.
I’m sorry to say but you either have two options to compete with the best. Buy top value players like Villa or Ronaldo for crazy amounts of money or buy expensive youngsters and hope to unearth the next Ronaldo. I happen to find the points made in the original article pretty poorly thought out. I mean is the suggestion that looking to bring in a great batch of young players is not a valuable enterprise or that these youngsters should be cheaper.
Personally I smell some sour grapes with the fact that the Glazers have coughed up 40m on players that are somewhat of a gamble which flatly contracts what people have said about their intentions. Add to this Ferguson’s support of them going down like a lead balloon for some people but tough titties- he has a strategy and he has the backing to pull it off.
I am personally excited about Hernandez and Bebe and see no reason to complain.
Sorry, but this article made no sense to me. Why can’t he splash out these money on “unproven talents”? You contradict yourself when you claim that these players might well turn out to be bargains, and then imply that they are not value for money. If only one of them turn out to be a class player, then three or four of them can be complete failures for the price of one Berbatov…
Surely it must be much better value for money to buy Hernandez, Diouf, Smalling, Obertan and Bebe for the same price as one Berbatov, or half the price of one Ribery.
Again, this article made absolutely no sense to me.
exactly franco
if we buy 3 players for 7 million, and only one of them turns into a top player, we have spent 20 million and gotten one top player
if we spend 20 million on one player, then he could be a veron or dare i say berbatov
Not a Smalling fan yet ( I think he’s a boomballer instead of a footballer who tries to create), but I will concede this: If a player on my books had already signed with another club for next year, I’d be pretty tempted to shut him out of the set-up. I wouldn’t look to his diminishing appearances last season as a barometer of anything but a guy with zero future at the club in question.
Typical Fergie – if it’s not a 6 month long, dragged through the press transfer saga, it someone that has even the most versed footie heads racing to the internet to find info and Youtube clips. Since I know as much as just about anyone else on the topic, I’ll reserve judgement. As for the fee, unless I know all the ins and outs of how the sum is derived (not to mention the actual sum in question), I’ will, once again, hold judgement. For all we know, this might have been £2M for the player and £5M to formalize ties, tap into scouting networks, become a gateway club for Non-EU players United want, and a right of first refusal on any outgoing players from the selling club. Maybe Unied had to shift a chunk of cash to avoid paying outrageous tax penalties. Any number of oddities could be in play. Time will help clear the murky waters on this one.
SB
@costa
ur post really got me rolling on the floor…..hahaha. good one!
I am confused with the buying of this Bebe because we have a load of strikers already. Owen,Rooney,Berbatov, Hernandez first four choice then Macheda,Welbeck,Diouf and now Bebe surely this guy must be going on loan for a season. Now to go onto value for money anyone who watched the world cup would say that Ozil for £12 million is good value given the fact he is 21 years old and Man utd need a creative spark in the centre even if Scholesy looked like he was 21 again against chelsea. Maybe Fergie hasn’t signed Ozil on the hope that Ando comes back and show his true potential my belief is Ando has till January to do that.
Welbeck is off out on loan to Sunderland:
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11667_6307679,00.html
Wonder what the plan is for Bebe, could he be staying in Portugal for a season?
@Jonny
Yes, but he could be a Rooney or a Ferdinand. Anyway, I don’t think anyone is arguing with bringing young players here. My arguement is that for the amount of money we spent for Bebe, plus 5-10 million more, we could have made a bid for Ozil. Someone around the same age, but a lot more proven.
who says we arent bidding for Ozil?
difference to the fascist or the virus and shitty is? the fascist are buying quality for heart attack prices which is hilerious, while shitty there is no thought process going into their buys, they just buy anything with a pulse almost like how jason voorhees kills anything with a pulse
Costas – I get the feeling if bebe is a midfielder the boss thinks bebe is allot stronger than ozil, that he can handle the prem better and maybe bebe is what we thought anderson was going too be, a box to box midfielder
12. 5 million on a one trick pony once upon a time at Old Trafford
Sold as the virus to the mob for 80 million record to go have a dream – oh world player to boot
Granted not all players are sold for world record fees but I trust the gaffer
The only thing I have to say is
Have we signed Ozil yet?
No you say? Back to bed then : )
its obvious smalling is a project at 20 and clearly has ability,sir alex must trust queiroz’s judgement a great deal so who are we to second guess them both and finally one day utd are broke and sir alex is a liar about having money now he’s throwing money away like a drunken sailor the anti glaziers carn’t have it both ways its seems sir alex is damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t and its complete hypocrisy
@Jonny
Who says we are?
@RTNK
Sounds more like an attacking midfielder to me. If Fergie is planning to use him like a box to box midfielder, then he will probably need some time to develop.
Apparently the lad is very good at dummy runs…
And it proves that SAF hasn’t lost his bottle…
brett1985 – Couldn’t agree more. Like someone else said, there’s no guarantee any player will be a success when moving clubs, no matter how much you pay.
in terms of how our strikers will fit in, i think we are pretty set
rooney, berbatov, macheda and hernandez
bebe isnt gonna be a first team player straight away is he
two out on loan
which just leaves owen. personally i think he can be gotten rid of seeing as he only scored 3 in the league last season
i also read yesterday that after the fulham game utd had talks with bremen officals again how does anyone know we haven’t made a bid for him there is also another 4 or 5 clubs interested just because utd make a bid doesn’t mean the player ends up at old trafford
Maybe this farce only goes to show how much trust SAF has in Berbatov.
Indeed, why would you want to add another (unproven) striker to an already respectable strikeforce?
Imagine this: Blackburn away three games before the end of the season, a victory mandatory, Rooney and Chicharito injured, and he plays the homeless guy instead of Berbatov and he wins us the league.
Maybe Ferguson has seen “Inception” one too many times or Quieroz has planted an idea into his head.
@ Costas
*Just* another £5-10 million? I say we use your money instead of mine!
SB
Hernandez looks like a lad who is really enjoying himself at United — bloody hell, he’s even perked up Berbatov! Cleverley looks good. Who knew who Ronaldo was at first. So don’t throw the Bebe out with the bathwater.
FFS — I’ve pissed off enough people on here with my anti-Glazer rants in the past, and now I’ve got smile on my face again. We might even get Ozil as well, or not.
Even so, it means we can look forward to a regenerated attack without Rooney having to shoulder all the responsibilty. I can’t believe I’m saying it — but don’t be so fucking negative about this signing!
@Bishopville Red
Ok, it’s not a small figure but a club like United should have no problem covering that?
bebe might have grown up playing football on the streets, but it worked for pele!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i5KjchN3I8
I disagree that he cant spend 40m on unproven talent! It makes sense to me to bring in 5 or 6 very promising youngsters or young players and develop them to become stars! In 4 years time if it doesn’t work out you can sell them on for 60% of their purchase price if not the same amount!
If i had the choice of spending 7.4m on this kid or 13m on Ozil, i would have chosen Ozil! However i dont know what BEBE is like! However if real Madrid where set to pounce then he must not be that bad !! eh?
Looking forward to seeing him
I love whenever united signs any player because it is very rare that we sign someone and i am more happy because we have signed a young player but why a striker and that too a player who we have not even heard of.But bebe(good name lol) i think would be a talented player and thats why we must have bought him.But i would have preffered if he was a midfielder.I hope now fergie doesnt say we have finished our transfer and there is no value in the market.
Costas – yea I think fergie is smarter than signing another striker, hernandes what more does the guy have too do now, he scored against the prem champions and the world champions, that says too me we have maybe got one if not the best striker in the prem along with wayne rooney. if he becomes a star hernandes lets hope he never does a cristiano ronaldo but I would not be suprised
Scott: I think the reason behind the reported £7.5m for Bebe is that other clubs were about to move in for him and SAF has again had to act quickly. This is a similar scenario to Ronaldo, Anderson and Nani when outside interest forced the club to buy quickly at arguably inflated prices (not so Ronaldo of course).
I’m quietly excited by this lad’s signing and despite what all the pundits are saying; that the 2010/11 title will be the closest ever, I think United will win it comfortably.
Can I ask Who M Vermil is that united bought for £270k from st liege
Why have United fans got a fixation with “Marquee signings” What did Ozil do for Bremen last year, is he any better than Cleverley? if he is a Barça fan do we want a Ronaldo transfer saga all over again/ Leave it to fergie, sure he gets things wrong but more often he gets them right
@ash some articles are calling bebe an attacking midfield player so i don’t think we should just tag striker on him
@RTNK
Wayne hasn’t scored in his last 10 games, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he was dropped on Monday. Sorry, that’s the England mentality. But seriously, it’s a pleasant headache to have. I think Rooney and Chicha will be starting most games with Berbatov used as a sub if we need to calm things down or to unlock a tight defence.
As for him doing a CR, we can’t control that, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon.
GTHTT – Vermijl is a young Belgian defender who plays at right back – I think he’s about 19/20 years old.
IMHO, In these youngsters, what SAF wants at the end are players who can follow the united way, be loyal and dont mind being a squad player. Do you think if SAF sign Silva or Ozil, they will be happy to be on the bench week in week out? Do you think they can follow the United way of playing and life? No sir.. so i guess these are good bargains considering the fact that they can be groomed and sold in the future for porfit. DUH! Its not all about playing football… its about making money. Remember, Manchester United is not just a great football Club, its also a Great BRAND!. A player with that brand may just cost more if we sell em. Just my 2 cents.
with ronaldo he’s more self driven to turn himself into a world brand like beckham he never put the team first and knew they’d be more endorsement deals if he moved to spain i don’t get the impression hernandez is like that seems like a nice kid not a selfish dick
Btw, its funny that this transfer came up almost immediately after SAF went to Fulham. Maybe he did meet up with Ozil and discussed things. Most probably Ozil and SAF can’t find a common interest, therefore SAF opted for this Bebe. This is just my speculation.
Costas – I was thinking hernandes was going too be the impact sub but the plans have been changed totaly. I remember chicho saying about how he did like spanish clubs like the fascist but he is noity as cocky has ronaldo. bebe will be handled like anderson in 07/08 when PPL thought he played behind the striker. the 18 for newcastle I can see
and the 11
vds brown vidic evans fabio scholes fletcher valencia nani rooney hernandes
kuszszec oshea smallen cleverly giggs berbatov owen
Dubzy
Thank you very Much- never heard a thing about him
ozil might seem like a good value for 12 mil and he very well may be, but the thing is he has one year left on his contract so we are looking at spending 10-15 million extra pounds to bring him here one year earlier. i personally dont think we are in that desperate a situation to spend that much extra money for him for one extra year when we will still have scholesy this year. surely if he was such a great steal at that price, official bids would have been launched by either united, barca, arsenal, madrid, chelsea, etc. instead of media hype and interest. 15 million pounds is alot to spend on a player for one year.
Based on this video, Bebe doesn’t look like a striker to me. More like an AM just like Ozil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72zjoSuN-6w
@RTNK
Yeah mate, that’s how I imagine us lining up more or less. But I do expect Carrick to be in the squad. I wonder how Evra is coming along.
Chicha could also be an impact sub if an opponent is pushing their lines high up the pitch and we need someone to catch them on the break. But in terms of hierarchy, I think it’s Rooney first and Chicha a bit ahead of Berba. The best thing out of all this, is that we probably won’t suffer a lot if Wayne picks up an injury.
3 reasons why i think Bebe may be a good buy.
1. £7.4m for a Portuguese 3rd division player…he must be worth every penny.
2. Carlos Quieroz recommended him…if i remember well Queiroz also recommended Nani and Ando.
3. Real Madrid wanted him as well…always a pleasure when we screw Madrid xD.
£40m on unproven players seems too much. But if any one of them contributes half as much as Ronaldo did to the team then i say we splash £40m on unproven players every season.
@styy u r right…last night mexico and spain drew 1-1. Shitty’s Silva equalised during extra time.
Magne – Well I thought I spelt it out clearly enough, but try this.
If there’s no value in the market, that means players are overpriced, right? Ferguson hasn’t wanted to go out shopping for players because there’s no value in the market.
I would say spending almost £8m on a player from Portugal’s 3rd division is MASSIVELY overpaying. 5 weeks ago, this player cost NOTHING. How has Ferguson got good value for money, spending more than he spent on Vidic for an unknown player from Portugal’s 3rd division who would have been free for us to sign a month ago.
So it doesn’t make sense for Fergie to complain about there not being any value in the market… then do this. Premiership club Stoke have just broken their record transfer fee spending what we just have done on a nobody.
He may well turn out to be brilliant. He may well turn out to be shit. But taking a massive, massive risk on a player for almost £8m is not the behaviour of someone who has spent months with a tight-fisted nature complaining about there not being any value.
Who says it was £7.2m?
Are the Glazers that stupid to spend that much money on an unknown
He probably cost us £3m max, plus add ons and perhaps a feeder club agreement
Costas – take out the french game, chicho has scored a goal a game. rooney for stat he always picks up a injury.
rooney was injured in 02/03 season I think
same in 03/04
he was injured in euro 2004 and was not back until september
05/06 he broke his foot in april
06/07 I think this was rooney’s first injury free season
07/08 he picked up 2 injurys
08/09 he missed over 2 months of that season and he still picked up knocks after that
09/10 picked up the injury in march april and he never scored again after munich away
so really every season rooney rearly goes through a season without picking up a injury that will see him miss atleast 3 to 4 games.
yea carrick or cleverly will make the bench, I would start with cleverly because he has this ability too make the impact.
The Bebe signing does make no sense…I think we’re all a little caught out with that one…
But… it seems a lot of our signings these days make good financial sense rather than anything else, if Bebe turns out the be a failure, plays 1 or 2 carling cup games they’ll still get a few quid for him. If he goes on loan to another club and succeeds, again, they’ll recoup a fair amount of that outlay. At the end of the day, if you’re not quite good enough for United, you’re probably good enough for everyone else.
But I guess the ultimate plan is – should Bebe turn out to be a superstar then the rewards are obvious. His value rockets, he helps the team, bringing revenue into the club indirectly (particularly with a story as unique as his) and if United choose to sell him, the money generated will make that initial outlay seem a great investment.
Even with Hernandes we’re seeing the same kinda thing, I know we all have high hopes for ‘Chicarito’, but if he doesn’t succeed, he’s still young enough with enough obvious potential to sell him on and recoup most of the initial outlay, if not more.
It’s not like Berba who is ‘the finished article’. Whatever happens with Berba, whether he succeeds or not, the club will never see that 30m back.
This is another reason why I believe Ozil may yet happen, it’s definately good business for the price he’s available for.
In many ways, I love that United is building a young side bristling with potential and ability, particularly when compared to what Citeh are doing. However, I also think that these ‘low risk’ – ‘good business’ signings are a blatant and sad indication of where our club is at right now.
in 06/07 season he was suspended in august september, and he still never got the sharpness and he did look at times tired and unmatch fit, partly because of his injury in april 2006, and? the FA screwing united
Scott
What do you know about this player to be making these judgements?
And what does value for money mean to you?
In the end we are in a very good position to take calculated gambles in the transfer market at or about that price mark.
Every player has his value and as such who are you to say he isn’t worth said amount? I’ve no idea personally but does anyone?
if fergie hadnt gone to fulham on sat we wouldnt be talking about ozil anymore.
the rumour that he talked to werder breman officials was prob fodder to pad out the news story plus it only appered in one paper. exclusives very rarely happen in the football world so i wudnt put too muck stock in that.
i think fergie means when he says there is no value in their market when it comes to the ‘names’ coz madrid and city and stretching the top of the market so makes everyone think they shud worth more. id rather us spending 40 mllion 4 players then 40 on one player who might not even be able to hack the league.
shevchenko, crespo,veron, spring to mind.
bebe was only 7mil coz we triggered a buyout clause which are always higher then the value of the player eg messi buy out clause is 200mil
does anyone think we are providing a service. coz all the players who dont quite succed at united go on to have succesful careers and any manager would be gratful to have a player with good ability and a great football education like we always produce (just a thought)
What I don’t get is that he was free 5 weeks ago and only an average club of portuguese premier league made an offer. He played 5 friendlies and United and Madrid want to sign him. Means our scouts didn’t take a good look at him before. That transfer is simply crazy
Been reading comments about this kid, Bebe, all over the place. Never heard of him but then who had heard of Chico before he signed and how exciting does he look now. Gets the hairs up on the back of my neck just waiting to see Chico play a proper competitive game. Trust in SAF.
I like most people I would love to see Ozil brought in. But if we had paid £12 million before the WC how many people on here would have been dancing with joy saying what a bargain he was?
Anything I have seen/read about this Bebe he seems more of an attacking midfielder/ winger than a forward. Bebe looks a big strong lad with blistering pace.
Scott the red…. how can you declare that Fergie hasn’t got value for money when you never seen the player??!! I hope he makes you eat your words and if he does I’m sure you’ll have the humility to admit it.
In the meantime surely it’s premature to judge SAF’s valuation of this unproven player.
What Fergie is refering to when he says there’s no value is that any established player’s price tag seems to start at 20m / 30m.
For Bebe and our sakes I do hope he makes it. It would be a
fairytale story of epic proportions.
That being said, for Fergie signing him sight unseen after only meeting him a day
before on CQ’s recommendation, Bebe either has so much raw potential it’s just pouring out of his taint to be paying more than what we paid for Chicharito, or Carlos has some really incriminating photos of Sir Alex stashed away somewhere.
We’ve gone from having a slight shortage of forwards to having
a plethora of them.
Midfield still boggles though.
And there’s still that 25 man limit to look forward to.
Scott I think this is a piece of tabloid journalism to raise the hits on your site. Sorry to say this, I am a huge fan of RoM, but you are attacking our Manager’s integrity and decisions based on a half baked theory.
First Rule of tabloid journalism: Take statements out of context. CHECK
SAF’s statement about value in the market was clearly aimed at the established stars. Heck he even said he would never pay 80 million pounds even for Messi!
Second Rule: Use rumours as facts. CHECK
The amounts being “quoted” are all speculatory, as all have been bought for undisclosed amounts. And even if SAF HAS splashed out 40 million pounds for 5-6 players, who are potentially in the CR7 category of buy cheap sell for WR fees, I definitely see more value in that than say buying Sneijder for the said 40 mil and seeing his value dip less than half of that by either an injury of age.
Which brings us to the Third Rule of TJ: Baseless argument. CHECK
I am really sorry that a blog I so admire and love has stooped to such a level.
And if this is not a cheap stunt, but your actual opinion, then it is even more appalling, as someone who has followed the team for over a decade should know better how our club and manager have always functioned.
I already said that but i will ask again….
If RM earnd 96 mil in 3 months on selling Ronaldos dress, why we wouldn t do the same? for example to buy Messi…
Great post @red.monkey.
Scott, 99% of the time your make a great argument even if I don’t agree with the point. This time I can’t begin to get the connection your trying to make between Fergie’s comments on the lack of value in the market and him trying to be a value buyer by going for the less than fully proven players.
start a campaign to get him sacked, he obviously does’nt know what he is doing.It’s nearly Eight mill now goodness how much will it be tomorrow.
Maybe he wants loan these guys and then sell them to some club for more money. Maybe they want to earn that way? I wouldn t be suprised, as we have the Galzers.
I dont understand where were the those chines rich people or rich arabs when our club was on sell?…
the Bebe’s not yours,oh Stevie Gerrard, the Bebe’s not yours.
I agree totally. 7.4 million for someone who was playing in the 3rd division in Portugal? An 8th striker? Totally unnecessary. Of course he could turn out to be a very good buy, but I fear his arrival will limit the likes of Macheda’s, Welbeck’s, young Keane and King’s chances to make it here. A striker is not needed at the moment. I was glad when we signed Hernandez, despite not knowing a thing about him, but at the time a new striker was welcomed because we clearly needed someone else to lift the load off Rooney and potentially form a partnership with one of our other strikers – and with Hernandez impressing I thought we were completely covered in this department. I am all for signing promising unknowns, but we have signed one too many recently, for hefty sums too. Instead of buying a unknown who seems to be able to play in midfield according to some, using some of that money on buying an established, quality midfielder like Ozil or on a defensive midfielder which is very much needed would be money well spent. They would be ready to play for the first team in their first season. You can’t say the same about someone like Bebe, I imagine. But hey, what do I know, I am not the most successful manager in the world, so for now, despite being disappointed, I’ll trust Fergie on this, he did sign this guy for a reason. I await to hear his thoughts on this signing eagerly.
@Mara,
Because United sells shirts coz of the name on the front, not on the back,
Madrid NEED a Ronaldo #9 on the back to sell their jerseys. United just need the red devil on the front. David Beckham, Ronaldo, Nistelrooy, they may all leave, but it won’t affect our shirt sales. Nor will the addition of Messi simply skyrocket the sales overnight.
*added time
@ GTull…excellent analysis
@ Manchuchu…incriminating pics…ROFLMAO
@ mara…u got a point here. Maybe this is where we are going now. Bring in a player for cheap and offload him somewhere else with a profit after he has acquired good football education with us as rachreddevil said. It’s sad but with the Glazers, i wouldn’t be surprised neither.
Mara, Our clubs valued at $1.8 BILLION (Forbes) and the current owners don’t want to sell. What does that tell you? They’re probably not that worried about a debt ratio of around 50%.
Fergie concentrates on football and has consistently said the the Glazers are terrific owners and he has no interference from the owners on financial matters related to players.
So I guess that mean Fergie thinks Bebe’s got great footbal talent and that’s why he bought him. (Maybe that’s too simple and you’d prefer a complex conspiracy theory?!!)
2 points here.
Point #1 – Where has this figure of 7.5m come from? Oh that’s right it’s been plucked out the air by a journalist. According to United the transfer fee is undisclosed. Get a grip people.
Point #2 – For the people moaning about why we didn’t sign him 5 weeks ago to save money it wouldn’t have mattered since he signed a pre-contract agreement with Vitoria last January. We’d have had to pay whatever we paid regardless.
Oh actually I have a point #3..
Point #3 – He’s not a striker he’s an attacking midfielder/wide player.
Bebe videos popping up all over the place
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwq_E4Pg144
Someone must have really combed to dregs of the video archives for this footage.
NEGATIVES:
- Vitoria are some kind of crap team!
- I am sure that Renaldo and Nani both looked better as 2yr olds, 8 year olds, 12yr olds, etc.
POSITIVES:
BEBE is the best player in the video,
BEBE is the fittest guy on the park in all the games,
Never seems bothered when everyone else is bent over panting.
BEBE, is a big guy who is not afraid of much and seems to have some close ball control and speed.
Highlights (are few and far between):
1:10 Goal
2:15 good speed display
4:45 Goal after decent control
5:45 Nice power on the wing
A second vid is more polished, but the first is much more reflective of the reality.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXm-BsgYYpE
Jorge Paixão was Bebe’s coach at Estrela da Amadora and although the striker made his name later on at Victoria Guimaraes having signed for them just five weeks ago, his former manager believes Manchester United have brought a player to the Premier League who is the very essence of street football.
Paixão told the radio station Antena 1:“He’s a player who is the fruit of street football,
“Nowadays players are schooled in the clubs, but he has none of this. He’s an old-school player.
“He learned to play in the street and has that natural creativity, an irreverence, and that makes all the difference.
“He improvises very well, because he has quality, and he has a set of characteristics that are difficult to find in a single footballer: he’s tall, he’s good in the air, he’s technically gifted and he’s very fast.”
i just watched all bebe actions in youtube, i think sir alex not only use him as a striker ,will change him be a multi functional player in midfield. just wait to see
Scott, come on man.. You’ve done this before, suddenly – and bizarrely – going back on everything you preach. Trust the manager, dont slag off our players(questioning their abilities the way you’ve done is slagging off in my book even if you do mention that they may make it big someday).. Hell, 40m may or may not be accurate but our transfer market deals certainly dont point towards owners who dont give a shit about the club and aren’t supporting the manager.
What i see from our signings this season is that SAF is rebuilding, he wants to create one more brilliant team before he retires and is spreading the cash on these youngsters to increase the probability of a few of them being our new Cantona or what-have-you.
Either way, Im disappointed with this article.
Mozza79 – exactly, its like PPL are moaning we payed 20 million for the guy, 7 million could be a bargain, and I am glad it is 7 million because it says too me there is something about the guy.
buytheclub2012 – yea I think fergie has bought a midfielder not just a striker, and fergie is not dumb he would not overload our squad with strikers, I think the guy is flexible that he can play 3 or 4 positions
izzy @ 14:27: “its funny that this transfer came up almost immediately after SAF went to Fulham. Maybe he did meet up with Ozil and discussed things. Most probably Ozil and SAF can’t find a common interest, therefore SAF opted for this Bebe.”
That was also my sense that this new signing must be seen in the light of – afterglow ? – SAF’s little excursion to Craven Cottage. Perhaps he decided that Ozil lacks something ? Perhaps he thinks that Ozil has maxed out ? who knows – well, SAF knows and he’s not telling.
This new guy’s physical attributes – 6′ 2″, fast and right-footed – are interesting. So is the suggestion that he’s more of a Ruud Gullit than a Marco Van Basten – and he sure looks like Gullit did back in the day. If he’s half as good then this is a great signing.
More to the point, what this signing tells us is that it is not only UTD who are beating the bushes for talent – and cheap talent like the 14 year old midfielder from Burkina Faso who was just signed by the RentBoyz – but also that no matter how many prospects you might have in the reserves, there’s always room for another one.
Furthermore, the speed of this acquisition is reminiscent of the signing of Chicharito, Manucho, Diouf, and – best of all – Ronaldo in that SAF (or his sources) thinks he might have unearthed a gem and he has the available funds to take a gamble. If the gamble works – as with CR7 – then you get the very best years of a player whose value rose by almost 70 million quid while also contributing to a shitload of trophies. If not, well then it’s Manucho-time and from what I’ve read the club has more-or-less broken even on that gamble. If that’s so then it’s good business practice – not exactly “conventional business practice” – but not much of a losing proposition.
And, finally, what these shot-in-the-dark transfers tell is is that it is really, really hard to judge these “hidden gems” in what amounts to uncontrolled situations.. It’s only when these guys are brought to Carrington and played against known quantities, as it were, that SAF and his mates can properly run-the-rule over them, judging their ability and their character.
For a “hidden gem” to make the grade at UTD is always going to be a long-shot – first, because the players in the first-team and senior squad are all outstanding professionals and, second, because the new guy has to be better than, say, Darron Gibson or Tom Cleverley or KikoTheKid because UTD’s own kids also deserve a shot and probably are considered to have a slight home-town bonus working for them.
We should’ve signed Kenwyn Jones instead of bebe :@:@
if this kid was raised playing on the streets, i’m quite sure he is adept in multiple positions. whenever i see kids play football on the street or wherever, they generally don’t line up in strict formations.
@denton davey
“SAF (or his sources) thinks he might have unearthed a gem and he has the available funds to take a gamble.”
Exactly. I completely agree.
Watched the kid on youtube and fuck me he looks like a fast, tough footballer who plays like he’s fighting for his life! The way he won the ball back in that video really excited me.
FZE @ 15:25: “A striker is not needed at the moment.”
Yeah, BUT this guy was bought “at the moment” but, rather, as a future/prospect.
Also, when SAF talks about “no value in the market” – he’s talking about transfer fees PLUS wages. Joe Cole was supposedly “free” but he was going to get something like 100,00 a week for five years which is – feel free to correct me if I’m wrong – more than twenty million quid. Similarly, Mesut Ozil might “only” cost, say, 12 million quid for his transfer fee payable to Werder Bremen but he, too, wants another twenty million over the next five years.
Lanaya @ 16:14: “We should’ve signed Kenwyn Jones instead”
I’ve been a big booster of Jones, too. He always seemed to me to be big, strong, athletic, and fast BUT, obviously, there seem to be issues with his consistency and also a big question mark about how he would fit in with a NewUTD that is built-for-speed in the forward, attacking positions (which is why Dimitar Berbatov so often looks like a fish out of water)
Denton Davey is spot on, it’s about wages too not just the transfer fee.
according to the portugese they class him as more of a attacking midfielder or wide player than an out and out striker. he looks like a powerful f*cker anyway with good technique & pace to burn. he’d scare the shit out of me if he come hurtling towards me, jesus!
Great point @ Denton Davy.
Fact is it’s impossible for anyone to argue the value of one deal versus another unless they know the facts about the whole deal. Price, payment terms, buyout clauses, top up fees, wages, bonuses, contract length etc.
And that still leaves debate over a players quality and how he’ll fit a system and / or a league!!
@whiteside85
reminds me of Fellaini physique
between this signing, chicharito, an angry wayne rooney, performances of some of the youth during the preseason, nani hitting form late last season, berba showing promise, and the win on sunday at wembley.. i’m fucking excited for this season.
It does appear that we are doing an Arsenal.
I agree it is right out of left field. But clearly, Sir Alex feels it is justified, so unless he has gone completely senile, I’ll go along with it for now. As to Bebe having grown up in an orphanage and having played for his country in the Homeless World Cup, I honestly don’t see what that has got to do with it. Except to say that perhaps that might explain why he has fallen under the radar of the estbalish scouting network that the big clubs employ. If that’s the case, and he turns out to be a real talent, then more power to SAF.
It seems clear that SAF is building for the future. The majority of these young players probably won’t become first team players for us (because there are too many of them, for one thing), but they may still go on to be good players for other clubs. With all that young talent on our books, it must be a highly competitive environment right now. What that means is that those who do rise to the top are likely to be very good indeed — not just in skill, but in mental toughness and all the other traits needed to succeed at the highest levels, too.
As for the others that don’t work out for us, we can likely sell them on and at least recoup our investment, and maybe even turn a small profit. With the general inflation in the market now, we are already seeing some pretty ordinary players moving around for 15m or 20m+. A young player we buy now, even for 5m or 8m, could well be worth 12m or 15m after a few years of training, education and experience with us, even if they don’t quite fit the bill for our own first team.
Firstly, I dont agree I think that in terms of value fergie is right, look at aqualani and too a certain extent berbatov for the price of one aqualani or berbatov that is hit and miss at the best of times we, have 4 players that although somewhat raw have real potential.
Secondly, with regards to Ozil i think we are well in the negotiations but i dont think united want to show their hand to early and be out bit or worse ozil choices to go to barcalona or real madrid over united. in terms of PR this would do more damage that never being seen to bid for him in the first place. With all the talk of uniteds debt troubles etc the headlines would right them selves.
I dont think it will be the end of the world if we dont sign Ozil no matter how good the value would be. I believe anderson will come good.
I think smalling is a good buy. He’s the huge Rio type centre back and he’s under 21 and homegrown. I think what everyone has been saying is this:
1- let’s hope he’s not another Manucho
2- let’s hope we get Ozil
I think no matter what happens, In Fergie We Trust
Well living in the states I might be wrong on this but over the past few years with inflation and all the problems in the economy players who would used to have cost us a small amount such as a couple million now cost us upwards of 10 million or a little less. I know that in the US a dollar today would only get you around $.80 a few years back so I would guess that it’s similar with the Pound or Euro and therefore the actually cost of players has just adjusted with inflation.
From the the little Ive seen of this lad in the videos dotted around, he reminds me abit of Drogba to be honest, especially in his preseason games for Vitoria. Hopefully he isnt a cheating shite and whinging twat like Drogba and we might well have a decent player here!!
I’m still shocked!!
Street player?I’ll give you two others Best and Dalgleish they were’nt to bad and I’m sure guys on here can call up scores more.
@ parryheid
Pele, Maradona, Romario and many more!!
@Scott
Very raw talent has a different definition of value. Rooney for example was worth a punt even at 30mill due to his potential.
Also you have to take into account the work involved in getting the player. It’s seems Bebe like Mame, Hernandez, Smalling and others were being watched by us for a while but we were seeing how they develop. When others came sniffing around we completed the deals early to prevent the work being wasted.
@pablo
Sometimes you want to leave a player to develop before making an offer. It’s much like the way that we have signed players like Carrick who we were interested in earlier but let them join another side to develop before deciding. If SAF could predict the future he way have signed him 5 weeks back but the likes of real came calling
@mara
Reals shirt sale stats never add up. I believe what they do is just take the whole shirt sales figures and declare it’s paid off the fee. This isn’t true as the majority of sales would happen anyway, it’s the extra they sell due to the player that’s important and Ronnie hasn’t increased sales by anywhere near that.
On your loan to make profit, that’s hardly a solid or viable business plan. It’s about developing a young squad for the future. The younger players will command more fee when sold on but will generally make a loss
Lets give STR a break ffs, he’s entitled to his opinion, regardless if we think it’s the wrong opinion. Someone already said, every transfer is a gamble, but as always i trust the manager. He’s got more right than wrong down the years and given us all trophy after trophy.
Resign QUINTON FORTUNE!! i heard he is looking for a new club since january
i can’t understand the skepticism and negativity going on here. Oh SAF has lost it ? Will Bebe make it?, Progress of players will be hindered. Why won’t we add a few more million and buy Ozil? Does this represent value? Blah blah blah blah blah
For the record i’m sick of the Ozil Ass Kissing its becoming pathetic. Who is to say he hasn’t made up his mind about not joining United or any other million and one reasons. I like the player but jeez.
Someone mentioned we need a CM as opposed to an CAM and i’m inclined to agree. What i dont understand is how fans aren’t excited about what is going on at OT. I mean other clubs are whining and being general pussies about their squad and the season ahead, yet we got a manager who puts the image of the club first and foremost, making sure we don’t just become another statistic.
Just read David Gill’s statement on manutd.com saying the guy will be part of the first team. I mean he’s the CEO or whatever and he’s saying they are definitely gonna work with him to see if he can be integrated straight away. I said this when the news broke out late last night. Rooney,Nani,Valencia,Chico,Berba,Owen and fingers crossed Bebe along with the midfielders we have presently will Rip into teams across the country, it’ll be a fucking massacre. I am MEGA chuffed with SAF and this type of move. Forget his no value speech, he’s a football man and this move proves it. He sees a guy playing football and he says to himself : I want this player and poof he gets him, i dont even care if he was got for the reported 8M , at least we know money ins’t a problem .
Finally we all know about Fergie’s love for strikers, he cant help it.George Best questioned the sense in anyone shelving 30M for Rooney just before he left Everton and i remember in his column in the United magazine him saying SAF would never for him. What happened ?
SAF is taking us on a journey and i’m fully strapped in and ready to FUCKING ROCK
Oh and for the record Bebe is going to be FUCKING AWESOME. There i said it
I absolutely cannot believe that some of you people are sitting around questioning Scott’s right to maybe raise an eyebrow or two at the fact that we just signed a homeless person. This is a third division Portuguese player, who from the videos, looks pretty much like a third divison Portuguese player. By the way, the Homeless World Cup, is 4 people playing indoor soccer at a level that is at best equal to your local five a side games. Bebe better have been the leading scorer in that. This is absurd. When his guy is on his third loan spell at Macclesfield, we’re going to be getting shredded by Ozil and Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final, because we wanted to save 3 or 4 million. I know Fergie’s a brilliant man, but he’s not above criticism as we see EVERY week on these boards. Good points Scott. I’m bewildered at our transfer policy this year.
A lot of people on here who before the season ended wanted an attacking midfielder and now have changed their tune to wanting a defensive one. I even got into a few duels with some of them. I don’t know anything about this guy and neither does anyone else but to pay the reported £7.4 million on another (reported) striker who was in Portuguese Division 3 does seem a bit strange, especially in light of Fergies speech about value in the market. I’ve not read anywhere about him being an attacking midfielder is this just hearsay or any source to this. If he is then people criticising the pro Ozil brigade needs to criticise this transfer just to be consistent. When Fergie was talking about value he never mentioned established players or up and coming players, so I like many others assumed he was talking generally. This isn’t a criticism just an observation.
Our manager doesn’t always stick by what he says and thats not a bad thing either, he did say in December 2008 we wouldn’t be signing anybody in January and lo and behold 10 hours into New Years Day we signed 2 Serbians! No doubt more shall be revealed at the next press conference. We’ve signed a few players in the last 5 years who have done just little more than gain a squad number. Hopefully the reported fee suggests Bebe isn’t one of them.
The mysterious nature about this guy may prove to undo certain teams. We shall see, I am excited but simultaneously am perplexed about the recent chain of events.
@Slim
As much as I worship Fergie, he is prone to the odd whimsical indulgence at the transfer market. Quinton Fortune, David Bellion, Eric Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson, Manucho… I could go on all day.
I am not one of those losing my sleep over whether or not Fergie signs Ozil, but think about it- we could have had him for less than twice what we paid for this player noone has even heard of. Bebe could very well go on to make it big but how does 7.4 million for a Portuguese 3rd division player make any semblance of sense?
If you want some perspective, consider this: if the figures on goal.com are to be believed, Real have spent lesser money on Carvalho than we have on this Bebe kid.
dela – Two things, I couldn’t give a fuck what Madrid do, it’s no concern of ours. You say it’s 7.4 million, how do we know that, the fee hasn’t been disclosed. Lets not speculate, until we know more.
Correct if I’m wrong here but bar Berbatov and Carrick and maybe no more than 2 others haven’t all our transfers been undisclosed since the glazers took over. At least officially anyway.
Maybe it was 74 million, and the Glazers are fucking with ya’s all.
@ dela
I’ve had my fair share of issues with SAF over the years, but the timing and manner of this signing makes me believe that it may be worth the trouble. On the subject of the list of players listed i.e Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson etc, what about those he got right, Ronaldo,RVN,Ole,Vidic,Stam,Rio,Evra, tthe list in endless. With reagrd to Real spending more on Crvalho, check this out Darren bent cost more than Henry when he moved to barca
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/aug/12/manchester-united-mesut-ozil
An update on the praying mantis.
@willierednut that paper is just rehashing old shit we’ve all known for a longtime theres pleanty of clubs interested and the ozil is a barca fan far as i’m concerned this thing has played out in regards to speculation its just a matter of were he wants to go
Just had to come to the bottom to laugh about mame nani bebe. Belter. Ha.
I agree with this post 100%. Until Fergie explains himself I am at a loss for why we would spend that amount on a third-tier unproven player who most can’t agree what position he will play in.
I do think he looks a good player but we have seen two videos, two. In this digital age video can be found of nearly every young talent. I know Real were tracking him but it seems so strange to me. It is purchase for the future but that future is not far off. Owen can’t have too many seasons left and Berba is close to out of the club all though I sincerly hope he proves me wrong with a strong season. But even then he is nearly 30 and maybe has two-three “peak” seasons left. If so Bebe will need to begin to produce in the next 2-3 years. Maybe the bright lights of Old Trafford will help, maybe he is a rough diamond in need of polishing, bottom-line is only time will tell. When we first signed Hernandez I was surprised but excited. Time has shown it a good piece of business. Even though the Bebe signing surprised but also worried me.
I do think Fergie is building his final squad to continue forward after he leaves and his scouts have gotten better over time and younger in the more recent times. I like the policy of buying young players I just don’t see how this is a bargain and 13 million for Ozil isn’t? Surely that is a bargain. Fergie must not agree with the player judgement of the majority of onlookers and simply does not rate Ozil. That is the only thing I can think of. He is sticking a big middle finger up to those who try and tell him how to do things. He will splash the cash when and only when he sees fit.
@rooney the new king
Hello mate, please don’t compare Hernandez with C. Ronaldo, i’ve heard that hernandez dreamt of playing in Europe but Spainsh clubs? i’ve haven’t heard him say anything about that. Hernandez did say that he grew up admiring Man Utd since he was a nipper and “hoity as cocky as ronaldo” he might send that message because of his “looks” I don’t know, but no this kid is too humble and just a fact about Hernandez his idol is Ronaldo from Brazil and he wishes to meet him one day.
Well for one thing Bebe never played in the Homeless World Cup.
Secondly – how do you know that Utd knew about him 5 weeks ago? What big teams outside of Portugal have scouts in the Portuguese 3rd Division? It seems that Quieroz only recently recommended him to Sir Alex and upon scouting him in pre-season games decided to take a gamble on him.
Thirdly, he does not come from the 3rd division – he comes from Vitoria, who are in the 1st division.
7.4 million should not be a huge gamble on a young player for a club like Utd – worst case he doesn’t pan out and we sell him for a manageable loss.
People seem to think that signing big names players like Ozil is a straight forward enterprise these days – but it is far from it – indeed it is more difficult than ever.
I for one am proud that Utd takes risks on bringing lesser known players through the ranks – building for the future with players who are taught to play for the club and not just for the paycheque.
Appreciate this post scott. Without you, no one canvoice some doubt without being called a scouser.
Smalling has me worried the most, though bebe threatens to end up like tosic.
Still in Sir Alex with Trust neh.
I fail to see what part of signing an athletic and technically gifted youngster has people upset. I am sure these are the same people who will take the piss out of their mates who support rival clubs if the signing works out. If it doesn’t we can sell him to Benfica or Sporting or whoever for 5-7m and no harm done. If he does, then we have a playmaker to be marvelled at. As for Ozil, if Sir Alex wants him and he wants to come, funds can be raised for that. However, i think one of those conditions is not being met.
@ Slim
I agree with you wholeheartedly. If Bebe fulfils his potential, some of the fans will be eating humble pie after their comments.
It’s great that we’re investing in youngsters, don’t get me wrong… building for the future, smaller transfer fees, lower wage bill… But that’s what all the Arsenal fans were saying, right before they won fuck all for 5 years and now they’re all berating Wenger for not splashing out on proven talent.
It’s quite exciting signing these ‘unknowns’, and I hope Bebe is another little gem like Hernandez, but here we have Ozil who is proven, young, cheap (relatively speaking) and Fergie has been a fan of his for years. Plus he plays in a position in which we are arguably most lacking. I will be left baffled if we don’t at least make an attempt to sign this guy, he really does tick all the boxes.
Not sure I agree with you on this one STR.
Make mine a Schmeichel, a Soslkjaer, a Ronaldo and a Hernandez any day of the week as opposed to the Veron’s of this world.
Every manager makes mistakes or gets unlucky with signings and given the years SAF has been with United he has had his share of bad ones of course, but the good ones by far over shadow that, especially when it comes to unknowns…. No one here can claim that they heard of the ones I mentioned before we signed them, yet we all heard of Veron right?
And please for some here still going on about Ozil, how many of you actually heard of him before the WC? He was basically invisible against Spain, had two cracking games v England and Argentina and yet all I hear here is let us sign him up as if he was genius. I am sorry but 2 games do not warrant all this excitement and the money required.
Watch us roar to the title this season, watch Hernandez take the PL by storm and watch even Bebe make an impression and most of all watch as SAF silences his doubters YET again….
UNITED for life
@Kevlar
SAF does rate Ozil at a Skill level. We were tracking him for a fair bit before he joined Werder.
What I wonder is does he feel that for all his skill that he has the attributes to be a United player. There is after all a lot more than just having the skills to be United quality
Mind you I think perhaps as one of the papers is mentioning that it may be Ozil himself that is putting all clubs off making a bid atm. While he doesn’t want to stay are Werder he doesn’t seem ready to leave right now, he wants to play one more season. Certainly if you have a player doing this if you are going to bid for him you leave it late rather than give him time to wait and wait further letting others to come in with contract offers. Maybe wait till transfer deadline day, put in the offer that Werder cant turn down and then leave it to him
@McQueen
Arsenal were and have been basically just building a young side though. We have a great set of experienced players who we are supplimenting with youngsters who will in future step into their shoes.
i love sir alex hes a fucking genius!
we will never have a better manager ( at least not a british one lol)
@Slim Good posts ( Rooney was also a decent buy, don’t you think!)
For those who are criticizing us for criticizing Scott for criticizing Fergie …. no ones saying Scott can’t critize Fergie. I think our point is that 1.) if it’s whether Bebe is a good buy or not isn’t it a bit premature to say he’s messed up? and 2.) buying Bebe doesn’t contradict Fergie’s views re the value in the current market.
Anyway, as someone else posted, it doesn’t matter what Fergie says publicly about the market. It’s all designed to keep buyers and sellers guessing about what he really thinks!!
Wakey @ 12:25: “What I wonder is does he [SAF] feel that for all his [Mesut Ozil] skill that he has the attributes to be a United player. There is after all a lot more than just having the skills to be United quality”
Absolutely right.
I find it incredibly coincidental that almost immediately after watching Ozil against Fulham – i.e, a known level of comparison as opposed to his play in the Bundesliga and in international footie – that SAF turns around and signs this unknown kid from Portugal. Of course, I’m also something of a conspiracy theorist ! BUT the timing seems to invite such theories.
@ red.monkey.man.banana, well said, i like your point. But i asked about the shirts, becuase if some idea is good, and brings money, why not to use it?
@ Dave Mack…look i dont care how much we worth, as long as we can buy goog players and perform well. If some way, like selling shirts, give s us opportunity to buy good player and get our money back fast, why not?
And about Chico, i would like him to succeed, but i wouldnt give him such a validity. We didnt seen a lot of him accept on the world cup. Berba played well at Tottenham, but in our club he dont. So let the time show us. But as i said i wish him luck.
@ Wakey
Good points and it answers some questions for me. Hell if Ozil wants to stay and doesn’t sign a new contract under Bosman, he can sign with us in 6 months and join at the end of his contract with Bremen.
And pigs will fly.
guys Bebe’s story is very touching . . . check this http://www.footballrealm.com/2010/08/a-fairytale-from-streets-to-the-theatre-of-dreams/