2 hours ago, evissy said:

Why are people hurting their feelings over this.. Lukaku wanted to go there to play with his mate Pogba. Good chance for him and he's already tried Chelsea. Good luck to him and now lets focus on getting a striker of his level.

I don't want a striker of his level. I want someone better.

9 minutes ago, Deino said:

So he wasn't a hardcore Chelsea fan then? Who'd a thunk it

he's probably more of a fan of money than he is of Chelsea. i call bollocks on his interview. it was like when Falcao said he "always wanted to play for Monaco". you flirt with your new employer, nothing new about that

1 minute ago, magichat said:

he's probably more of a fan of money than he is of Chelsea. i call bollocks on his interview. it was like when Falcao said he "always wanted to play for Monaco". you flirt with your new employer, nothing new about that

Just like Jose then?

3 hours ago, Valerie said:

Eversh*t, Manure, Pogdonkey...how old are you? Could you stop being so childish, please? 

I wonder if the mods could set up an auto-filter for these kind of things? It brings down the level of discussion across the board.

21 hours ago, Argo said:

The "PL proven" line has become extinct ever since we choose Torres over Suarez and Aguero. Bellotti may have not played in the PL yet but anyone who has seen both on as much as a few occasion's should be able to tell the Italian will cope in this league and is a far, far better fit for the system we play.

So your saying he is worth the same as lukaku based on having one good season at Torino?

Torres is one player that didnt recover from his injury. RVP to United proved that, PL proven is not extinct. Angel di Maria and Falcao at United and then Falcao at Chelsea showed great players in other leagues dont always cut the mustard in the Premiership. Falcao is excelling now in Monaco, and well ADM is having a better time of things in Paris. Belotti does look the type that would fit in perfectly in the Premier league but theres still doubt as to if he can reproduce the same form over and over again.

3 minutes ago, evilsanta said:

So your saying he is worth the same as lukaku based on having one good season at Torino?

Torres is one player that didnt recover from his injury. RVP to United proved that, PL proven is not extinct. Angel di Maria and Falcao at United and then Falcao at Chelsea showed great players in other leagues dont always cut the mustard in the Premiership. Falcao is excelling now in Monaco, and well ADM is having a better time of things in Paris. Belotti does look the type that would fit in perfectly in the Premier league but theres still doubt as to if he can reproduce the same form over and over again.

Lukaku isn't worth what he went for, the guys an awful footballer technically. At least Belotti can control a ball and dribble 

Id also wager if Michy got punted on loan to Everton like Lukaku ged be getting those numbers too. 

I don't see the hype with Rom bar the goal tally, he constantly gets grief from his own teammates with his lack of effort and running.

 

Just now, Chelsbear said:

Lukaku isn't worth what he went for, the guys an awful footballer technically. At least Belotti can control a ball and dribble 

I agree he isnt worth the money hes went for but what other options were available out there? Technically he is very weak, but that can be worked on and improved. If he scores the amount of goals hes has been scoring regularly then the fee wont look so big. After all the going rate for players to English clubs is phenomenal due to the money available.

 

Belotti? Moratta? Aubamayang?  Thats the only alternatives available, and they will all command a fee of 70m plus.

Every player is a risk, especially when the transfer fee is big. Lukaku is proven in a sense that he's been scoring big numbers in the league for a few seasons now but whether he can handle the pressure of doing it week in week out on the big stage in a club like Man U remains to be seen.

4 minutes ago, evilsanta said:

I agree he isnt worth the money hes went for but what other options were available out there? Technically he is very weak, but that can be worked on and improved. If he scores the amount of goals hes has been scoring regularly then the fee wont look so big. After all the going rate for players to English clubs is phenomenal due to the money available.

 

Belotti? Moratta? Aubamayang?  Thats the only alternatives available, and they will all command a fee of 70m plus.

I think physical form and tactical awareness can be worked on and improved fairly easily. In modern top clubs they have top experts that specialize in gettting players into great physical shape and teaching them tactical knowledge in order to improve their performances on the pitch in those particular aspects.

When it comes to technical ability I'm afraid there's not much you can improve by the time you're in your 20s and have been playing professional football at the highest level for a number of years already. 

2 hours ago, I Am Gay 4 Diegod said:

It's laughable everybody kicking off about losing out on lukaku.. when we was the favourites to get him nobody wanted him. Everyone said he doesn't suit our style of play and he's a donkey and will flop at Chelsea and the board should be sacked for forcing him on Conte !! Now UTD have got him the board should be sacked for missing out on lukaku and he was contes first choice... absolute joke people on here just moan for the sake of it 

people are probably mad because they have been told constantly by the media he was our no.1 target. we don't know this for 100% so it's speculation by the media. when we've been told he was our no.1 target, and then lukaku has had interviews where he's been somewhat cryptic about his future, but then people are putting 2+2 together and coming to the conclusion he's coming back to chelsea, only then to sign for a direct rival in man utd, it's understandable people will be a bit frustrated. the problem is when the media make out seem as though the board are always the ones to blame and then a minority of fans latch on to this and point the blame at our board, all the while forgetting about how successful we've been with this board and the talent that's been signed in the past. let's not forget manchester utd f**ked up twice on two signings we eventually got in hazard and mikel, so is the utd board not to blame for those mess ups? 

19 hours ago, Barrettinator said:

Another fantastic post, Davey. Completely agree with everything you've said and I'm surprised more people aren't wishing for Belotti over Morata. As you say, there's just something about him that screams "elite striker", a lot more so than Morata. Apart from his dribbling, link up play, positioning, creating space for other teammates, aerial prowess and of course very good finishing, there's just this never say die attitude about his game that I love. He chases down every ball and never gives up on any opportunity. It's something Costa at his best is quite good at and essential to our formation, something we wouldn't have gotten from Lukaku who can be lazy at times on the pitch. It's something I don't think we'll get from Morata either. I sincerely hope we make the bid for him. Don't pay the 88m being quoted but we can make up for it in add ons and promise Torino a few loan deals with some of our youngsters. Maybe that'll do the trick. Hopefully Conte fancies him over Morata.

 

Thanks mate. Here is an article I've just found about Belotti from January. It only whets the appetite even more.

 

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11854/10723452/andrea-belotti-how-good-is-the-torino-striker

What you expect him to say ? Every fuc**** one said same b.s, after a transfer to a big club like United. What you have really expected him to say ?

I`m not happy, it`s all about Raiola and Chelsea fault, cause they was too late. I love them, but they was so late, so i decide to go to United ....

Or i was a Chelsea fan while i was kid, but when i mature i became United fan .....

If he was come to us, he would have said exactly the same sh**.

I don`t see nothing wrong in his interview.

But as always grapes are sour/acidly.

To me board fuc*** hard with this one. And someone should take responsibility for this. Their last minute bid just show how much they was fu***.

End of the thread, great player, who can became the world best, but we once again missed great opportunity.

My opinion.

 

 

 

 

It could go either way, for £75m he's a risk. Yes he can score goals, but he does seem limited in other areas. Will he come back and defend a lead and fight for every ball when required? Can he hold up play reliably without the ball bouncing off his shins? Could he link up with Hazard and Pedro like Costa does? Not so sure.

 

In a way it's disappointing we 'lost' to United on his signature, but if we really wanted him we would of got him. IMO the club was just as unsure on signing him as the fans were, and made a panic bid when they saw United had made the first move.

 

There's a couple of better forwards out there that we could go for, but whether we actually bid for anyone remains to be seen.

Dude Costa was ruining most of our attacks. Costa link with Pedro and Hazard, don`t make me laugh. And you all talks about Costa defending and fighting, and i watch all of our matches and did not remember, even 1 ball that Costa stole from enemy defenders. Even one.
He doesn`t f**** go for air balls. You send an airball to him, it`s a lose ball. He doesn`t even bother to try to reach our crosses from wing-backs.

Not to mention how many easy balls he loses. They touch him, he fell to the ground. Sorry but in that aspect Lukaku is 100x better fighter then Costa.

And the thing you need from your striker is GOALS and some assist. Lukaku and Kane is the best for that. Lukaku also have the most assist. So don`t tell me he can`t link up with his mates.

He is better dribbler then Costa and it`s a lot faster, 10x time better in the air then Costa, and doesn`t play just a half season.

United bought the perfect striker. And with 2-3 new signing will have 1 of the best team in Europe, behind only to Real Madrid. It`s up to Mourinho and if he change his antics and his too much defensive play and come with some new strategy.

As much as i don`t like it, their are favorite to win the title.

 

 

If someone could sort Costa's head out, we'd already have the top man. Brain transplant? 

1 hour ago, abramovich said:

I don't want a striker of his level. I want someone better.

The question is will someone better be bought? To replace the other better one sulking to return to Spain

I'm properly bored of talking about the dabbing diva hopefully we will get some Chelsea targets to talk about soon the only reason he is still getting air time is we have no other news to discuss unfortunately. 

19 hours ago, abramovich said:

No thread is worth reading without your take, Davey. Personally, I think the news about the possible reconciliation between Costa and Conte are planted by the club to let Atletico know that we're in no rush and are willing to wait for the acceptable fee.

I agree on Belotti, by the way, I just have a good feeling about him, he's got the speed, physicality and looks a scrappy bar steward that seems the right fit for the league. 

 

Thanks for the kind words Mr Abramovich.

 

I was thinking of Rooney this morning and his move to Everton. Rooney has been a brilliant player for Utd, there is absolutely no doubt about that. Let's not let his recent decline obscure what a great player he's been. He played for a great manager of course and he won everything, playing up front most of the time and banging in a record number of goals, though of course his game was never only about scoring. Skill, strength, desire, vision, that little bit of devil, dribbling ability and goals. Maybe he didn't quite fulfil his potential but there's no doubt he was England's best player for a very long period of time. When Utd signed him they really gained an advantage over their rivals. Is the same true of Lukaku? Is Lukaku really worth us getting hot and bothered over? I don't think so. I rate Lukaku and I would have been happy if he'd come to us but I would have had my reservations, particularly about his influence on our style of play, but the way I see it, Utd have replaced a great goalscorer in Zlatan with another great goalscorer in Lukaku (although of course we have no guarantees Lukaku can cope with the pressure though I suspect he can). Zlatan didn't stop Utd finishing 6th last season, despite his goals, because he didn't bring much else to the party. I don't think Lukaku brings much else to the party either, in the way Rooney did for instance. Yes Lukaku is more physical than Zlatan and he'll bully defenders a bit more but his all-round game is pretty limited and I doubt very much that's going to change. I fully expect Utd to be far stronger in the league this season but I don't think this signing is the game-changer for them although I do of course expect Lukaku to score goals. As others have said, despite Van Nistelrooy's goals, Utd were far more successful in the league before they signed him and after he left. In fact despite being at Utd for 5 seasons, he only won 1 PL title, 1 FA Cup and 1 LC, which is pretty incredible. Missing out on Lukaku may prove a blessing, at least I hope it does, particularly if it provokes our board into baring their teeth and making sure we purchase a few key players, including of course the striker we all know we need, a striker that with any luck will make us forget about Lukaku pretty quickly. Lukaku is an effective player but he'll always be a limited player, and because of that my excitement about his possible signing was always tempered.

20 hours ago, lchk said:

Nice one Davey but there's just one point that I cannot agree with you which is the Board sanctioning a purchase of a stellar name striker. Note that a formal bid was only lodged for Lukaku AFTER Man Utd lodged theirs and there were a good few months when they could have tied up everything instead of trying to wheel and deal to save a few more pennies and allow Utd to swoop in and close the deal.  If the Board were hesitant to commit 75 million pounds to buy their first choice striker, why would they pay a larger sum which is 87 million pounds to trigger Belotti's transfer release clause? Torino is adamant that belotti will not be sold for anything less than that and they are certainly under no financial pressure to sell.

I fear the likes of Batshuayi and Llronte will be leading the line come the charity shield match. We have usurped Arsenal as the penny pinching club.

 

Well you may be right but I hope you're wrong, as you do too undoubtedly.

11 minutes ago, brakeit said:

Dude Costa was ruining most of our attacks. Costa link with Pedro and Hazard, don`t make me laugh. And you all talks about Costa defending and fighting, and i watch all of our matches and did not remember, even 1 ball that Costa stole from enemy defenders. Even one.
He doesn`t f**** go for air balls. You send an airball to him, it`s a lose ball. He doesn`t even bother to try to reach our crosses from wing-backs.

Not to mention how many easy balls he loses. They touch him, he fell to the ground. Sorry but in that aspect Lukaku is 100x better fighter then Costa.

And the thing you need from your striker is GOALS and some assist. Lukaku and Kane is the best for that. Lukaku also have the most assist. So don`t tell me he can`t link up with his mates.

He is better dribbler then Costa and it`s a lot faster, 10x time better in the air then Costa, and doesn`t play just a half season.

United bought the perfect striker. And with 2-3 new signing will have 1 of the best team in Europe, behind only to Real Madrid. It`s up to Mourinho and if he change his antics and his too much defensive play and come with some new strategy.

As much as i don`t like it, their are favorite to win the title.

 

 

Costa had the touch of a rapist after Christmas and an obvious drop in form, but that seemed to coincide with the rumour of him leaving us. He still made some awesome one touch moves with Pedro and Hazard. Aerially he's no Drogba, but he is a champ at holding up the ball and please don't tell me Costa doesn't know how to fight for his team (when he's in the right frame of mind). 

 

IMO and most others Lukakus all round game is worse than Costas.

 

Oh and Costa had one more assist than Lukaku last season. http://www.worldfootball.net/assists/eng-premier-league-2016-2017/

11 minutes ago, Davey Baby said:

 

Well you may be right but I hope you're wrong, as you do too undoubtedly.

I love to be proven wrong as this means the club wins trophies.  But the severe tightening of the purse strings since two years ago and the reluctance to close deals more than The Torres fee doesn't bode well for star striker or the sandro deals.

I'm sure I'm not alone in being heartily sick of all this pre season nonsense, which has become positively ugly. In a way I hope another Leicester City emerges and blows all the money grabbing spoilt brats away

 

1 hour ago, Davey Baby said:

 

Thanks for the kind words Mr Abramovich.

 

I was thinking of Rooney this morning and his move to Everton. Rooney has been a brilliant player for Utd, there is absolutely no doubt about that. Let's not let his recent decline obscure what a great player he's been. He played for a great manager of course and he won everything, playing up front most of the time and banging in a record number of goals, though of course his game was never only about scoring. Skill, strength, desire, vision, that little bit of devil, dribbling ability and goals. Maybe he didn't quite fulfil his potential but there's no doubt he was England's best player for a very long period of time. When Utd signed him they really gained an advantage over their rivals. Is the same true of Lukaku? Is Lukaku really worth us getting hot and bothered over? I don't think so. I rate Lukaku and I would have been happy if he'd come to us but I would have had my reservations, particularly about his influence on our style of play, but the way I see it, Utd have replaced a great goalscorer in Zlatan with another great goalscorer in Lukaku (although of course we have no guarantees Lukaku can cope with the pressure though I suspect he can). Zlatan didn't stop Utd finishing 6th last season, despite his goals, because he didn't bring much else to the party. I don't think Lukaku brings much else to the party either, in the way Rooney did for instance. Yes Lukaku is more physical than Zlatan and he'll bully defenders a bit more but his all-round game is pretty limited and I doubt very much that's going to change. I fully expect Utd to be far stronger in the league this season but I don't think this signing is the game-changer for them although I do of course expect Lukaku to score goals. As others have said, despite Van Nistelrooy's goals, Utd were far more successful in the league before they signed him and after he left. In fact despite being at Utd for 5 seasons, he only won 1 PL title, 1 FA Cup and 1 LC, which is pretty incredible. Missing out on Lukaku may prove a blessing, at least I hope it does, particularly if it provokes our board into baring their teeth and making sure we purchase a few key players, including of course the striker we all know we need, a striker that with any luck will make us forget about Lukaku pretty quickly. Lukaku is an effective player but he'll always be a limited player, and because of that my excitement about his possible signing was always tempered.

I like the young Rooney comparison. Unfortunately the times have changed and now you have to pay an exorbitant amount of money just to try and find out if someone like Belotti is a real deal or just a one season wonder. I believe he's worth the risk but it's not my money and we as a club are not known for spending big on one player.

Agree on Lukaku. I'm sure there'll be days when he'll score goals for United and we'll feel bad about "what might have been". But I've never been never a fan of him as a footballer and still feel we can do better. It'll take a lot of money but that's the reality of the modern transfer market.

 

Edited July 9, 20179 yr by abramovich

4 hours ago, terryble things said:

Dybala's not even a striker though

Yes he his he plays either up front or as second striker for Juve