If we get Mata for Nasri, then okay.
Cesc is irreplaceable. Ramsey is not a thoroughbred genius (yet) like Cesc. Perhaps we will change the way we play? To something more of wing & forward, keep CM functional & not overtly adventurous.
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Folks, a gentle reminder to join the premier league fantasy... Code for H2H : 37556-15658
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Cesc to Barcelona. Deal done. 36m pounds. Explain that to me while I wish him farewell. You'll be missed but hope you'd miss us even more.
JW or ramsey shud step up big time i guess! hope we buy someone like mata/hazard soon!
Help! I’ve become a United fan!
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/o...-a-united-fan/
AUG 13 — After more than two months of suffering from withdrawal symptoms due to the lack of English Premier League (EPL) football, it’s celebration time with the season due to start this weekend.
Let’s hope that the London riots earlier this week won’t result in some fixture postponements for the matches set to happen in the city this weekend — especially the one involving my beloved Tottenham Hotspur, despite damage to our stadium’s ticket booths due to the rioting.
Like many other football fans, in addition to our own favourite teams, we’ll also have a second team that we root for, for reasons that are too varied to mention and particular to the each fan.
It might be because we love rooting for the underdog that a newly-promoted team with all the odds stacked against them might represent. It might also be that we love to see some attractive, attacking and “kamikaze” football that we choose a particular team as our second team.
As for me, ever since I became hooked on playing the computer game Championship Manager (now called Football Manager), I’ve developed a soft spot for teams that are not afraid to bank on young players, especially young English players.
This is because whenever I play Football Manager, that’s the exact approach I take as manager of my own team, my beloved Tottenham Hotspur. So when I see that same approach taken by another team, naturally, my sympathies will lie with them.
I never thought that I would ever say this, but after witnessing the very exciting Community Shield game that pitted local rivals Manchester United and Manchester City against each other, I think my second team for this season will be the much detested (by fans of other teams that is) Manchester United.
Yes, I still can’t stand a large portion of the Manchester United support, what with all their bragging and expectations of success, but the second half of that Community Shield game totally won me over.
The first half of the game was standard United in my eyes, with them dominating and poking at Manchester City’s defence without much success, and City surprisingly successful at their “sit back, absorb and counter-attack” tactics that saw them go 2-0 up at half time.
Like most other fans sick of United’s dominance in the EPL, I actually felt quite glad to see the status quo being rocked a bit by the cash-rich City, even if it was only halftime.
But what Sir Alex Ferguson did after the break was quite simply inspired. After relying on experience in the first half — and quite unsuccessfully, I might add — Ferguson surely surprised everyone by taking out two experienced defenders, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, and replacing them with youngsters Jonny Evans and Phil Jones.
I’ve read quite a bit about another youngster, Tom Cleverley, who had a good season on loan last year, and he was also brought on to replace Michael Carrick. But I think the biggest surprise was seeing yet another youngster, Chris Smalling, who previously played as a centre back mainly as cover for Ferdinand, deployed at right back.
Add to that the impressive Danny Welbeck, another youngster who started the match as striker alongside Wayne Rooney; the new 20-year-old goalkeeper David De Gea; the still-young Nani; and Ashley Young (pun not intended), and this second-half United team is suddenly brimming with youth.
Not only were they mostly English youths, they were also not brought in when the game had already been won (as is usually the case with young players being given a taste of first team action), but to actually chase the game and try to win it.
And if you actually did watch the game, even the most fervent United-hater will have to admit that United simply blew City away in the second half with their exuberant attacking play and their very obvious hunger to win.
The match finished with United winning 3-2, despite trailing 2-0 at half time, and praise was almost unanimous for the excellence of the kids brought in to change the game during the second half, especially for Cleverley.
For me, though, it was Smalling who stole the show at right back, marauding along the right flank like a pro who’s been doing that job for years. City didn’t help their cause much by basically only playing one striker upfront during the second half, but the young bucks brought in by United to play at the centre of defence barely gave anyone a sniff. You also have to admire the youngsters’ spirits to find it in themselves to scrounge up three goals to win the game.
And after all that excitement watching the kids strut their stuff last weekend, I’m absolutely looking forward to more of that during the course of this season from United, and you can bet that in addition to sticking my face in front of the TV to watch my beloved Spurs, I’ll be keeping a close watch on the United kids as well.
Now, how about that for strange?
I still think it'd take more time to replace Cesc. Expect us to finish in midtable this season.