What a weird season.

22 game unbeaten streak in the league...finished 6th
Lost fewer games at home than Chelsea...won fewer games at home than Burnley
Struggled beating teams like Anderlecht and Celta Vigo in the EL...won the EL

And that, my friends, is ultimately what made this season tolerable. Jose put all his eggs in the EL basket and it paid off.







But that isn't a long term solution and everyone knows that. Can we actually challenge the top teams in England? Are we going to get bounced in the group stage of the CL and fall back into next year's EL? Will we bring in any new players to help make sure the answers to those questions are "yes" and "no" respectively?

Juan

Carrick signs a new 1 year contract. A little surprising. Most assumed he was going to call it quits after this season what with his testimonial and all. Mourinho loves him though and I guess he doesn't mind being a squad player (at best).

In other rumors...

Stoke to offer 45 million for Rooney. That would be a dream for United but I say this is complete BS.

Lucas Moura, Ivan Perisic, Antoine Griezmann, Jan Oblak, Kasper Schmeichel, Victor Lindelof, Michael Keane all rumored additions.

Similar to last year, Mourinho is supposedly looking for 4 signings. A central defender, a striker, a central midfielder, and a utility defender who can play anywhere in the back....and if De Gea leaves a GK.

According to reports, Griezmann has informed Atletico that he wants to leave. I'd be a little surprised if it didn't happen at this point.

should be interesting to see who is brought in and who leaves....

I have no idea what to think about Griezmann coming to Manchester United. I know he is a good player just not sure if he is the type of player they need. Will his style of play fit in the EPL? Obviously the ones making the decisions know 1,000,000,000 Xs more than me but just not sold....

Griezmann is a definite take if he wants to come, but I wonder how he would fit in Mourinho's system with Pogba. Pogba plays best in a midfield trio, and Griezmann seems to fit best when he has another striker to work off of from what I have seen and read. The only way I can see that happen is if United switch to a 3 defender formation. 3 defender formations do seem quite popular these days, so maybe that will happen.

In other news, I see United linked with Fabinho and/or Mendy from Monaco too. Fabinho especially excites me, I think he would be the perfect fit in a midfield trio with Pogba and Herrera. Mendy would be a definite upgrade at LB, and would be a great LWB if United do go to a 3 defender formation too.

Interesting article on De Gea

Key points:

He hasn't indicated he wants to leave but if he does want to leave, United are in a much better position than they were in 2015. They have a very capable number 2 and De Gea has 2 years remaining on his contract. If he wants to play for Real, his window might be closing. At some point, Real will move on and get someone else.

In other rumors, United reportedly looking at a defensive midfielder this summer. Dier, Matic, and Bakayoko have been mentioned. I highly doubt the first two will happen. Dier just signed a new contract and United would have to massively overpay for him. And I think he's overrated. I don't see Chelsea letting Matic go to a rival. No opportunity to pull a RvP here because Chelsea don't need the money. Bakayoko would be interesting. Young and performed well with Monaco. If he came in and succeeded, it would free up Herrera and Pogba to play their more natural roles.

Monaco had a few really good young players. They were a fun team to watch.

Sky reporting that United turned down a 60 million pound bid for De Gea from you know who.

Everytime I watched Monaco Bakayoko was playing more of a box to box role, similar to Pogba. I don't think he would be the best fit, but I definitely trust Mourinho to make good defensive acquisitions.

Now reports are that Griezmann is off as United want to focus on a number 9. It's as if Mou reads TexAgs...

Can't wait for 3 more months of this "on again off again" nonsense.

Clearly he checks to see what we think about potential moves.

The one thing I do not like about soccer is the insanity in which EVERY player seems to be linked to Manchester United. You cannot reasonably rely on any of the "source close to Manchester United" information. I might be crazy thinking this...but that sort of random linking of players to teams does not happen here in the US. Silly rumors are quickly squashed and typically only "serious" links remain reported. In the UK, a drunk guy at a pub says XYZ is going to go play for ABC and then somehow that gets reported as truth.

Need to post something to get this on my watchlist.

Soccer rumors are basically the sports equivalent of fake news. Mou has tons of money to spend and one of his strong suits is that he knows who he wants and generally is able to get them. If he wants Grietzmann he will get him. All they have to do is pony up the transfer fee.

The Griezzman dream is dead. He is staying in Madrid after their ban was upheld.

With Griezmann no longer in play, rumor has it that United will look to Romelu Lukaku or Alvaro Morata.

In 4 posts we have Griezmann, Grietzmann and Griezzman. If we can't spell it I don't want him anyways.

And the CAS showed Atletico who's boss in Spain. Nail Real and Atletico, cut Real's ban in half but uphold Atletico's in full force. But to be clear, that ruling only keeps them from registering new transfers in. They can accept back players on loan and transfer them out. If we want Griezmann we just have to pay the transfer fee. They can't stop if if we pony up the cash.

Edit. Atletico can also take new players in they just cannot play in 2017.

Greaseman would still have to approve the transfer, and apparently he is staying at Atletico on his own accord because he doesn't want the team to suffer by not being able to bring someone in to replace him. I can respect that reason, even though it sucks for United.

Either that or he just played United to get a new fat contract from Atletico. If that happens, then I hope he is stuck at Atletico after Simeone leaves soon and they never win anything again.

Skitch05 said:

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Greaseman

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Well played.

Greaseman- elicited a solid chuckle after reading Mathguy's post

Alright then. Bring on Real Madrid Aug 8 in Macedonia for the EUFA Super Cup.

mathguy86 said:

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Alright then. Bring on Real Madrid Aug 8 in Macedonia for the EUFA Super Cup.

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Looking forward to that.

First real chance to see the new full squad I would think. Just 2 months away.

I'm watching the Carrick testimonial match right now. Scholes is pinging balls all over the pitch and Park is everywhere. Man I miss these players.

Scholes is my favorite player of all time!

He's one of the few English players who is universally respected throughout Europe. I distinctly remember Barca players like Iniesta and Xavi being effusive in their praise for him back in 08 and 09 when the two played each other in the CL. Love Scholesy.

"Paul Scholes is a role model. For me and I really mean this he's the best central midfielder I've seen in the last 15, 20 years. I've spoken to Xabi Alonso about him. He's spectacular, he has it all: the last pass, goals, he's strong, he doesn't lose the ball, vision. If he'd been Spanish he might have been rated more highly. Players love him."

Xavi

"Out of everyone at Manchester United, I would pick out Scholes he is the best midfielder of his generation. I would have loved to have played alongside him."

Pep Guardiola

"There is no doubt for me that Paul Scholes is still in a class of his own. He's almost untouchable in what he does. I never tire of watching him play. You rarely come across the complete footballer, but Scholes is as close to it as you can get. One of my regrets is that the opportunity to play alongside him never presented itself during my career."

Zinedine Zidane

The Carrick testamonial ended with the '08 team drawing with the all-star team 2-2. It was great seeing that squad (minus Ronaldo of course) back out there with SAF on the touchline. Vidic had a great header off a corner and Carrick tied it at the end with a 25 yard perfectly placed shot, definitely Theater of Dreams material. I was slightly bummed we didn't see SAF yelling at the ref for some extra Fergie time at the end.

Rooney looked pretty upset the whole game. It's probably just because that's the way he always plays, but a part of me was wondering if it was because that was his last game at Old Trafford and he really wanted to end it on a high note.

Reliable sources claim United bid 60M Euros for Morata, but Madrid want 90M. That is a ridiculous price for him, and gives me hope that United will hang onto DDG this summer since it seems Madrid don't want to play ball with them. Rumor is United will turn to Belotti as a CF target now.

90M for Morata is just plain nuts. The silly season has officially started acting its name.

It looks like United are going to be paying somewhere in that ballpark for one of Morata/Lukaku/Belotti, so be prepared for that. Seems crazy, but that's the price of goalscorers for PL teams these days. United are partly responsible for that so we can't really complain.

Skitch05 said:

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Rumor is United will turn to Belotti as a CF target now.

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Further rumor says Belotti has a 100m buyout clause that Torino will enforce. I have no doubt that can be negotiated down to some degree but that is a metric **** ton of money.

Seems like no matter what big name striker we pursue - we are going to pay a premium just because other clubs know we have the money and the need

Am I crazy to want both Morata and James? I saw the article with Morata stating "maybe we will be teammates."

I like the idea of both as they come from a team like Real Madrid with experience at the highest level (yes, I know DiMaria etc did too but ignoring that fact for now).

My only thought then is how do we expect to compete in the Champions League if we are grabbing players from a better team's bench? I guess the thought is they are still young and can develop more...

I also admit I have no clue how they would fit into Manchester's system.

Just rambling. Wish next season would start already....

Lukaku seems destined for Chelsea. And Conte seems to not be a fan of Costa and wants him gone. I have not seen a peep about this but does anyone think Costa could end up at OT?