Manchester United

[Sparkles]

United Sign Valencia For An Undisclosed Fee.

redissue

Tuesday, 30th June 2009

Manchester United is delighted to announce it has completed the signing of Antonio Valencia from Wigan Athletic on a four-year contract for an undisclosed fee.

The 23-year-old Ecuador international has played 34 times for his country, scoring four goals.

Sir Alex Ferguson said: "Antonio is a player we have admired for some time now, having spent the last two years in the Premier League with Wigan. I am sure his pace and ability will make a significant contribution to the team."

Antonio Valencia said: "Joining Manchester United is a dream come true for me. I have enjoyed my time at Wigan, but I am thrilled to have the chance to challenge for the biggest honours in club football here.

"Playing in front of 76,000 fans alongside players like Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs will be an amazing experience. I can't wait to get started."

redrus

Rumours are now geting stronger that Benzema ,from Lyon,is on his way to United. Fee being touted is 38 m quid and I guess that seems high but still leaves a lot of change from Ronaldo's fee which is in the bank. He is only 21 but immediatly,if true, creates a big selection problem .How can you fit Rooney , Berbatov and Benzema up front ? musical chairs . Nice problem to have though if it comes off and the average age of the team is getting lower,great for the future.

Anybody seen photos of Fergie after his vacation in France, looks 20 years younger. No doubt that new fresh lok will be reversed in a very short time.

[LeungKen]

I'm going to stick my neck out and say Benzema is the boy for us, he ticks all the boxes for me and would be a welcome addition to the squad.

If Hargreaves isn't fit for next season then we have to look at another midfielder, but my fingers are crossed that he'll come good and could easily make club captain given the blessings of an injury free spell.

[StevieH]

38m is 'sticking your neck out'? fuc_k me.

[rixalex]

38m is 'sticking your neck out'? fuc_k me.

Yep i agree. It's too much. 28m would be on the generous side.

Don't get me wrong, i think he's a good player and hope we get him, but he's yet to do it on the big stage and as always with foreign players, there's the question of how he'll adapt to the Premiership.

[LeungKen]

I've only seen him play in Champs League games, but they showed he is a big strong lad who fights for the ball and wants to score goals. He is French, so "Karim the Red" has a nice ring to it...

PS Stevie with the amount of slush fund we've got sloshing around what's another 10 Mill ?..

Edited July 1, 2009 by LeungKen

[StevieH]

38m is 'sticking your neck out'? fuc_k me.

Yep i agree. It's too much. 28m would be on the generous side.

Don't get me wrong, i think he's a good player and hope we get him, but he's yet to do it on the big stage and as always with foreign players, there's the question of how he'll adapt to the Premiership.

he's got loads of ability but he is a bit moody. he was brilliant a couple of of seasons ago but like you say that was in france, and he was disappointing last season. aulas the lyons chairman is an expert at getting over-inflated fees for his players though.

[Sparkles]

I'm going to stick my neck out and say Benzema is the boy for us, he ticks all the boxes for me and would be a welcome addition to the squad.

If Hargreaves isn't fit for next season then we have to look at another midfielder, but my fingers are crossed that he'll come good and could easily make club captain given the blessings of an injury free spell.

If Benzema does comes in it still does not solve the problem of a player to fit into an attacking left sided player ,like Giggs of old.With Kanchjelkis (wrong spelling) they formed an atacking wing force thta was devestating. Nani was earmarked for this role but will have to show a huge improvement. So will Fergie pull one out of the hat ? Could Lennon from Spurs ,who normally plays on the right,fill that left sided role.He ran Evra ragged in the Carling Cup,no mean feat. Coming through are Wellbeck, Maceda , Tosic, Gibson and a few others all needing match time or do they go out on loan, Decision time. With United going on their Asian tour soon I am sure Fergie will want ALL players in the squad to get to know each other. If you remeber last Year Berbatov joined at the very last minute and had no chance to bed in. And on Berbatov he could have gone to City for more money and wanted to play for United that gives him extra marks for me.

[LeungKen]

Now Sky sports is reporting that Benzema almost certain to go to Real ?

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11800_5409334,00.html

Espn reporting deal now done for 35 Mill GBP ?

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id...ers&cc=4716

jeez - how much money have they got ?

Stay tuned

Edited July 1, 2009 by LeungKen

[StevieH]

50m euroes apparently. fuc_k me. madrid get about 125m GBP a year from their TV deal alone by the way, that's how they can afford it. plus all the merchandise they shift in south america. i do though love how they're determined to piss on united's chips this summer.

[BigSnake]

[sanmiguellight]

Theyre making ManU look silly by buying all the players they want.

[StevieH]

Theyre making ManU look silly by buying all the players they want.

and i think that's a philosophy we can all applaud.

[sanmiguellight]

Theyre making ManU look silly by buying all the players they want.

and i think that's a philosophy we can all applaud.

Maybe but what will make it even sweeter is if Real win <deleted> all for the next few years.

[StevieH]

Theyre making ManU look silly by buying all the players they want.

and i think that's a philosophy we can all applaud.

Maybe but what will make it even sweeter is if Real win <deleted> all for the next few years.

i don't care about that. if a team wins trophies by spending 200m then fair enough, it's only what chelsea did and they should. real have at least attempted to address their defensive woes by signing raul albiol.

[Sparkles]

Theyre making ManU look silly by buying all the players they want.

and i think that's a philosophy we can all applaud.

Maybe but what will make it even sweeter is if Real win <deleted> all for the next few years.

If their defence plays the way it did last year,without strengthening it, its quite likely they will finish up with very little silverware but that has been Real's approach for quite some time. We dont know what players United want, its all speculation, we just surmise that from the media reports and United have been linked with just about every player on the planet,except Michael Owen !

[redrus]

38m is 'sticking your neck out'? fuc_k me.

Yep i agree. It's too much. 28m would be on the generous side.

Don't get me wrong, i think he's a good player and hope we get him, but he's yet to do it on the big stage and as always with foreign players, there's the question of how he'll adapt to the Premiership.

he's got loads of ability but he is a bit moody. he was brilliant a couple of of seasons ago but like you say that was in france, and he was disappointing last season. aulas the lyons chairman is an expert at getting over-inflated fees for his players though.

Hmmmm, moody Frenchman, I'm remembering someone....................... Nah its gone............

Lyon confirm Benzema bid

Ligue 1 club insist no deal has been struck for star striker

By Richard Bailey-Sky Sports Last updated: 1st July 2009

Lyon have confirmed that they have received a bid for Karim Benzema from an unnamed club, but insist that any agreement over the France international's transfer is yet to be reached.

The side in question is thought to be Real Madrid with strong reports in both Spain and France linking them with a £35million move for the 21-year-old.

The striker is also been rumoured to have interested Manchester United with manager Sir Alex Ferguson said to be a big admirer of the gifted youngster.

The Premier League champions have £80million burning a hole in their pocket after the confirmed sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Real and know that they must find someone to take on the scoring burden left by the Portugal winger.

Benzema would fit the bill perfectly, with 66 goals in 149 appearances for Lyon, but it now seems Real have stolen a march on the Red Devils despite the Ligue 1 side's defiance.

"We certainly did receive an offer of a sum appreciably superior to the sum that has been mentioned, but nothing says that it comes from Real," Lyon director Olivier Blanc told L'Equipe.

"There is no agreement with anyone."

Deals done then if there's definately "no agreement"....!

redrus

[redrus]

"There is no agreement with anyone."

Deals done then if there's definately "no agreement"....!

LOL, Bit annoyed but, not surprised.....

Lyon confirm Benzema deal

French club reach agreement with big-spending Real Sky Sports

Lyon have announced that star striker Karim Benzema is to become the latest player to join Real Madrid.

The French forward had been linked with Manchester United, but big-spending Real - who have already captured Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo in record deals - have won the race.

Lyon have said the transfer will be worth at least £30million as new Bernabeu president Florentino Perez continues to build a new era of 'galacticos'.

A statement on the French club's official website said: "Lyon announces the agreement with Real Madrid of the transfer of international attacker Karim Benzema for a net minimum value of €35m.

"It will also be possible to add various no-claims bonuses related to athletic performances, allowing the deal to reach a maximum amount €41m."

Preference

It was thought that Benzema would remain at Lyon for one more season in order to concentrate on the 2010 World Cup.

However, the Ligue 1 outfit have announced that the attacker told the club's hierarchy that he wanted to join Real, who he preferred to United, this summer.

The statement continued: "A few days ago, Karim Benzema informed president Jean Michel Aulas of his wish to join Madrid, which has always been his preference after Lyon, quicker than it was initially considered.

"The player wished to seize the opportunity that was offered to him by Real, which was to be one of the major elements of the club's new, ambitious policy built around some of the largest players in the world.

"Lyon accepted the decision of Karim Benzema and negotiated the conditions of a transfer which satisfy the various elements.

"The club wishes Karim the greatest success with Real Madrid."

redrus

[nev]

50m euroes apparently. fuc_k me. madrid get about 125m GBP a year from their TV deal alone by the way, that's how they can afford it. plus all the merchandise they shift in south america. i do though love how they're determined to piss on united's chips this summer.

glad our miss fortunes are giving you a good chuckle

i think the 50% tax on foriegners income to spains 23% has a lot to do with them not wanting to come to england now.

now that is a very hefty tax,and players play for money now not for the love of playing the game and winning trophys.

[MSingh]

Benzema would be a big one to slip through the net in my opinion..

Thdere's not that many good Players, Players that can make up what Ronaldo gave your Team, left out there to be honest..

Benzema would have got between 15 - 25 Goals in all Comps, Valencia will get between 5 - 10 if your lucky so that's still Goals to be made up elsewhere, along with his, & i hate to use this word, assits..

[nev]

yes true what you are saying but we now have a natural right winger bring rooney in the middle up front we will be a better balanced team.

would like to see ashley young come in to fill the left wing position,and maybe huntlear.

wehave a excellent squad remember we played our reserves v hull and still won easily.

[StevieH]

yes true what you are saying but we now have a natural right winger bring rooney in the middle up front we will be a better balanced team.

would like to see ashley young come in to fill the left wing position,and maybe huntlear.

wehave a excellent squad remember we played our reserves v hull and still won easily.

optimistic viewpoint that i think nev.

[nev]

not really everything last year was the ronaldo road show remember ronaldo had to take the penalties take the free kicks,players had to play out of position to accomadate him,i am looking forward to this season and we have some good young players comming through and hope they are given there chances this year.

yes we will miss ronaldo but we have carried on being a good team after loosing great players like keane cantona beckham van nistleroy ect.

[StevieH]

that's what i mean really - you've got to re-jig your entire formation, hope that valencia is up to scratch for the right and still find someone for the left. plus you probably need to replace hargreaves and you certainly need to replace giggs and scholes. jury's still out on berbatov too really isn't it?

[MSingh]

Valencia's a good Player, no doubt..

But the mor ei think about it, i can't see how you're gonna become a better Team without Ronaldo as he literally scores on average, over the past 2 Seasons, of 35 Goals & probably makes 20 more per Season..

That's a huge void to be filled & Valencia isn't gonna score a fraction of the goals that he scored & it remains to be seen whether he will set up the same amount, but he is a good Player who i think will do well at Man Ure, but i'm not sure if him " doing well " is gonan be enough to fill the position of the best Player in the World..

The key to next Season for Man Ure, is Berbatov i think, it's time to step up to the plate for him...

[StevieH]

Valencia's a good Player, no doubt..

But the mor ei think about it, i can't see how you're gonna become a better Team without Ronaldo as he literally scores on average, over the past 2 Seasons, of 35 Goals & probably makes 20 more per Season..

That's a huge void to be filled & Valencia isn't gonna score a fraction of the goals that he scored & it remains to be seen whether he will set up the same amount, but he is a good Player who i think will do well at Man Ure, but i'm not sure if him " doing well " is gonan be enough to fill the position of the best Player in the World..

The key to next Season for Man Ure, is Berbatov i think, it's time to step up to the plate for him...

united need two or three players to replace what ronaldo gave them and that's before they address the issue of replacing giggs, scholes and hargreaves. while madrid are going out and signing all the top class players in europe united are plumping for a potential lad from wigan and ruling out signing david villa, eto'o, ribery and others because of their age. interesting stuff this summer.

[nev]

that's what i mean really - you've got to re-jig your entire formation, hope that valencia is up to scratch for the right and still find someone for the left. plus you probably need to replace hargreaves and you certainly need to replace giggs and scholes. jury's still out on berbatov too really isn't it?

i like berbatov andthisseason he has to bethe focal point of our attack he has had a year to settle in nowtime to deliver,danny wellbeck is very highly regarded by fergie he even said he will be in the england squad for the world cup,so i can see him being brought in to the first team.

last year we stumbled over the line for the title we did not play really great just did enough to win and many 1-0 wins andi wasfrustrated in a lot of games why we was not finishing teams off,we was to reliant on ronaldo the whole team was just give the ball to ronaldo and most players got lazy,now they all have to step up,and hopefully united will be back entertaining again.

i liked when we played with 2 up front and two speedy wingers like giggs and kanchelskis hope with valencia on one wing and maybe nani on the other we can start playing that way again.

anyway this should be a cracking season i cannot wait!!!

[nev]

Valencia's a good Player, no doubt..

But the mor ei think about it, i can't see how you're gonna become a better Team without Ronaldo as he literally scores on average, over the past 2 Seasons, of 35 Goals & probably makes 20 more per Season..

That's a huge void to be filled & Valencia isn't gonna score a fraction of the goals that he scored & it remains to be seen whether he will set up the same amount, but he is a good Player who i think will do well at Man Ure, but i'm not sure if him " doing well " is gonan be enough to fill the position of the best Player in the World..

The key to next Season for Man Ure, is Berbatov i think, it's time to step up to the plate for him...

[/quot

ronaldo takes the penalties and all the free kicks of coure valencia will not be soi no way he will replace ronaldos goals if he can chip in with 8-10 and supply berbatov with assists it up to berbatov and rooney to score more that i can see happening with ronaldo gone.

dont bet against us i think we will be in with a shout again this year,europe we are to weak.

[MSingh]

ronaldo takes the penalties and all the free kicks of coure valencia will not be soi no way he will replace ronaldos goals if he can chip in with 8-10 and supply berbatov with assists it up to berbatov and rooney to score more that i can see happening with ronaldo gone.

dont bet against us i think we will be in with a shout again this year,europe we are to weak.

I won't bet against you, but i think Stevies Post a couple up that quoted me, is bang on..

How many Free Kicks did Ronaldo score last Year, anyone know ??

[redrus]

Bitter....?

Thursday, 2nd July 2009

The Guardian on Carlos Tevez's transformation into a full on div.

'Carlos Tevez is not the first player to believe his own publicity but he might be the only man alive who thinks he, too, possesses the hindsight that allowed Lord Griffiths to pronounce on football matters not as they were but as they might have been had they not been as they were.

'Griffiths, as students of the supernatural will recall, was the chairman of an independent Premier League tribunal which was able to peer into the past and declare with certainty that West Ham, and not Sheffield United, would have be relegated at the end of the 2006-07 season had not the Argentinian been allowed to play for the Hammers.

'We won't revisit that subject, you will be relieved to hear, especially not now that Tevez has chosen this moment to make his debut contribution to what I believe literary types like to describe as counter-factual history, arguing that the outcome of the European Cup final between Barcelona and Manchester United might have been different had Sir Alex Ferguson used another starting 11, one featuring, well, I think we can all guess.

"You cannot argue with Alex Ferguson," Tevez said. "He is like the president of England. It is impossible. You always lose. But he made a mistake to leave me on the bench. That was the only final the team had lost since I had been at Manchester United."

Tevez's notion of a republican England is certainly appealing (albeit with a different president) but the suggestion he would have altered the course of the European Cup final stretches credulity tighter than a Lycra bandana round the circumference of Cristiano Ronaldo's ego. The Argentinian did, after all, come on at half-time in Rome to no noticeable effect, although I seem to remember that Barcelona were even more dominant after the interval than before.

'It was hardly Tevez's fault that Xavi and Iniesta ran the show almost from the start, but in accepting his limited culpability for United's defeat it is also worth asking, how on earth would his presence on the pitch from the first minute have halted Barça's midfield pair? Those inclined to debate Ferguson's team selection and tactics in perpetuity are welcome to do so, but most sensible people would choose to accept the result as fair, move on and interpret Tevez's latest criticisms of his now former manager as the bitter words of a player still playing to an Old Trafford audience he has left behind. Sour grapes, some might call it.

'So he didn't play from the start in Rome, or start in as many league matches as he would have liked. Big deal. Perhaps if he had scored more frequently when he did play, things might have been different.'

redrus

[Sparkles]

Bitter....?

Thursday, 2nd July 2009

The Guardian on Carlos Tevez's transformation into a full on div.

'Carlos Tevez is not the first player to believe his own publicity but he might be the only man alive who thinks he, too, possesses the hindsight that allowed Lord Griffiths to pronounce on football matters not as they were but as they might have been had they not been as they were.

'Griffiths, as students of the supernatural will recall, was the chairman of an independent Premier League tribunal which was able to peer into the past and declare with certainty that West Ham, and not Sheffield United, would have be relegated at the end of the 2006-07 season had not the Argentinian been allowed to play for the Hammers.

'We won't revisit that subject, you will be relieved to hear, especially not now that Tevez has chosen this moment to make his debut contribution to what I believe literary types like to describe as counter-factual history, arguing that the outcome of the European Cup final between Barcelona and Manchester United might have been different had Sir Alex Ferguson used another starting 11, one featuring, well, I think we can all guess.

"You cannot argue with Alex Ferguson," Tevez said. "He is like the president of England. It is impossible. You always lose. But he made a mistake to leave me on the bench. That was the only final the team had lost since I had been at Manchester United."

Tevez's notion of a republican England is certainly appealing (albeit with a different president) but the suggestion he would have altered the course of the European Cup final stretches credulity tighter than a Lycra bandana round the circumference of Cristiano Ronaldo's ego. The Argentinian did, after all, come on at half-time in Rome to no noticeable effect, although I seem to remember that Barcelona were even more dominant after the interval than before.

'It was hardly Tevez's fault that Xavi and Iniesta ran the show almost from the start, but in accepting his limited culpability for United's defeat it is also worth asking, how on earth would his presence on the pitch from the first minute have halted Barça's midfield pair? Those inclined to debate Ferguson's team selection and tactics in perpetuity are welcome to do so, but most sensible people would choose to accept the result as fair, move on and interpret Tevez's latest criticisms of his now former manager as the bitter words of a player still playing to an Old Trafford audience he has left behind. Sour grapes, some might call it.

'So he didn't play from the start in Rome, or start in as many league matches as he would have liked. Big deal. Perhaps if he had scored more frequently when he did play, things might have been different.'

redrus

Tevez's comments are completely unnaceptable. You have just left a club where the fans adored you , your medals are in the cupboard and you bag the manager. Gone down a lot in my estimation and 1000's of others. I hope he gets plenty of time on the bench at City and has time to reflect on his behaviour.