[jmddis]

I hope he doesnt repeat the beckham story.I believe that its becks move to real that dimmed his prospects.

Everything is pointing to another GALATICOS in the making

[JVH]

Originally Posted by akhilesh51

And any Football pundit would agree that this deal has left fergie in a WIN-WIN situation. 80 mil is a lot of money to find another winger and maybe few other world class players and also in the mean time, sign Tevez to a permanent deal.

Actually, I'm in a fix. Who could replace him immediately? I can think of no one to adorn the nr. 7 shirt.

As you pointed out, the best way to start is offer Tevez a permanent deal and look for a decent winger who doesn't take much time to settle in the BPL.

[adithyav]

Originally Posted by JVH

Actually, I'm in a fix. Who could replace him immediately? I can think of no one to adorn the nr. 7 shirt.

As you pointed out, the best way to start is offer Tevez a permanent deal and look for a decent winger who doesn't take much time to settle in the BPL.

I can think of quite a few people whom United can now sign with the kind of money they have. I heard a transfer rumor somewhere that they want Torres from Liverpool but I don't see that happening unless there is a fairly ridiculous amount of money involved.

In terms of a new no.7, you can go for Ribery who is a Winger/Playmaker/Goal Scorer and is also most probably available for a transfer. And you would do well to get a new RB (Maicon maybe) and GK (Frey or someone just as good).

I'm an Arsenal fan but I love transfer seasons as you can come up with so many possibilities and being a big FM fan just makes it all the more fun for me.

[JVH]

Originally Posted by adithyav

In terms of a new no.7, you can go for Ribery who is a Winger/Playmaker/Goal Scorer and is also most probably available for a transfer. And you would do well to get a new RB (Maicon maybe) and GK (Frey or someone just as good).

.

On paper, Ribery looks a perfect fit. But am somehow not covinced that he would be productive atleast in the coming season. Besides he's already an established star though he is yet to win anything substantial and Fergie has rarely tasted success when he bought established ones (remember Veron?).

Regarding RB, I don't think there is an immediate need for one. Rafael is doing a good job. Brown and O'shea can fit in as replacements.

I think it is now absolutely necessary to sign Tevez. ManU cannot afford losing two imporant players in one season itself without adequate back up.

Where the hell is Owen Hargreaves?

[nkapoor777]

Did you hear about David Villa? I don't think its gonna happen though as he has stated that he wants to remain in Spain if Valencia decide to sell him. We could do with David Silva though on the right flank but I am a little sceptical about his ability to handle the physical nature of the EPL.

[JVH]

If David Silva can't settle, I have my doubts on David Villa as well

Spanish league is all about technique and possession. So, players with good technique and skills will always be successful. In English league in addition to the above, we need physical presence too. Ronaldo had it and thats what makes him difficult to replace.

I'm all ears to the transfer market.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Man to Man I dont think United could replace Ronaldo, he was a very very good winger, very good Centre Forward at times, very good aerial threat in the box, good dead ball expert as well (though it was sublime or row Z / the wall and nothing in between), he is an exceptional footballer.

Having said that I am taking solace from the fact that United faced the same situation when Van Nistelroy moved to Real Madrid, where would the goals come from, it came from the free flowing football which United started playing now that there was no target man. I think we could see Berba stepping up this year with a better Pre-Season.

[JVH]

Originally Posted by pypkmsrikanth

Having said that I am taking solace from the fact that United faced the same situation when Van Nistelroy moved to Real Madrid, where would the goals come from, it came from the free flowing football which United started playing now that there was no target man. I think we could see Berba stepping up this year with a better Pre-Season.

Agree with that. The only difference was United won peanuts when Ruud started his goal feast and with Ronaldo United won almost everything.

[pypkmsrikanth]

Just realised the poll is all wrong, Chelsea should have been blue and United should have been red.

[JVH]

How come no one discusses Italian serie or Spanish premiera liga or for that matter the Indian league?

All the talk has been on EPL alone

[adithyav]

In India, EPL is more widely supported than any other league. It helps that people actually get to watch the games at prime-time weekend slots so more people watch. Only die hard La Liga fans (like me) are willing to put the effort and stay up to watch a 1am IST kickoff.

I've supported Arsenal and Real Madrid from the time I discovered European club football a good 10-12 years ago. So I've seen all the greats come and go, seen some becoming great and now seeing others just starting on that path. Right now it seems like two conflicting footballing philosophies but when I started supporting the teams with Arsenal under Wenger even back then and Madrid under Del Bosque, it was pure beautiful football at its very best.

These last few madrid years under Calderon and Mijatovic have been utterly painful for me though, as they had no idea what to do. With Perez back at the helm and the team spending more money than some countries do in a year, lets see how things go. Already it is clear from the Galacticos policy that they don't care about the defence one bit which is bad because I would hate to see Heinze playing LB again.

[JVH]

Originally Posted by adithyav

I've supported Arsenal and Real Madrid from the time I discovered European club football a good 10-12 years ago. So I've seen all the greats come and go, seen some becoming great and now seeing others just starting on that path. Right now it seems like two conflicting footballing philosophies but when I started supporting the teams with Arsenal under Wenger even back then and Madrid under Del Bosque, it was pure beautiful football at its very best.

Real Madrid with Del Bosque were a pleasure to watch, weren't they? I too have been watching Euro football for about 15 years now and Del Bosque's team comes closest to being perfect. It's just a pity that a great side like madrid are again depending on the galacticos

My personal favourites are the Cantona led Manu Kids of the mid-90s

[akhilesh51]

Originally Posted by JVH

My personal favourites are the Cantona led Manu Kids of the mid-90s

Cantona was the true rockstar of footbal. Fearless, Brash, and obviously the very best footballer of his time. Also, to add he had just the right amount of eccentricity to fame (remember, the karate kick).

You could never be sure with Cantona. He could turn the game on its head in matter of minutes at the same time, a red card was never too far away when cantona was on the pitch.

Now, true to the rockstar image, he even has a movie on him starring him.

Ooh Aah Cantona

[JVH]

Originally Posted by akhilesh51

Cantona was the true rockstar of footbal. Fearless, Brash, and obviously the very best footballer of his time. Also, to add he had just the right amount of eccentricity to fame (remember, the karate kick).

You could never be sure with Cantona. He could turn the game on its head in matter of minutes at the same time, a red card was never too far away when cantona was on the pitch.

Now, true to the rockstar image, he even has a movie on him starring him.

Ooh Aah Cantona

Thats precisely why I have him as my avatar

[meerkat]

Originally Posted by adithyav

In India, EPL is more widely supported than any other league. It helps that people actually get to watch the games at prime-time weekend slots so more people watch. Only die hard La Liga fans (like me) are willing to put the effort and stay up to watch a 1am IST kickoff.

It's not that Indians support EPL more, rather EPL is what they are fed on
by the sports channels, for whatever reasons. One learns to like what is
easily available. I am a La Liga fan like yourself, and really miss the good old
days from 10-12 years back when ESPN-Star used to show a lot more of
La Liga matches, and I used to stay up late to watch the old Real Madrid,
for example. Now I don't care to watch EPL apart from Arsenal and ManU.
..And they keep on feeding us hours of trash like Hull City and Portsmouth
and the like! Yuck!