I might as well carry on with silly season. Messi will be known as an overrated diving $hitehawk when he joins United.

My opinion too.

Although been sensible, if the Gnome takes the money for the debt, we'll end up with Young and Viduka.

Rooney will be played in the hole hopefully, Nani may step up also I still feel we need more creativity in midfield.

I think Carrick's pretty creative, you could do with Hargreaves back to add a bit more pace, and the anchor man in the middle. With this probably being Scholes' last season, a playmaker is definitely required. Somebody like David Silva could replace him, but he's a player you'd have to build your side around to get the best out of, he'd be better in a 4-2-3-1 formation in the hole, but I can't see Rooney's career as a '9'.

How Fergie must rue Aaron Ramsey signing for Arsenal, could have been a replacement for Scholes in the coming years.

Hargreaves-Carrick-Anderson

Rooney
Benzema-Berbatov

If Fergie does get the full amount I'm thinking Lampard and Essien from Chelsea, Torres from Liverpool and from Arsenal....from Arsenal....

Erm....

yes genius's are flawed

but mentioning cantona's name in the same breath as gob$hite barton's is like comparing titus bramble with paolo maldini

there's been quite a lot of talk about torres.

are liverpool stalling on his new contract with the current turmoil?

No, he signed a deal for 2? years with the option of another at the end IIRC

Signed, isn't it?

Pretty sure it was just an improvement on salary with the option of another year, when he signed he signed a 5 year deal, so I guess he signed a 3 year deal with the option of 4.

it may be, it wasn't [url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/may/28/fernando-torres-liverpool-rafael-benitezthis one[/url - but i read something at the weekend that suggested liverpool were stalling on starting some of the new deals that had been offered - i.e. been offered, been 'agreed', but not signed. it was all in relation to the current mess / refinance / rbs boycott etc

actually just read that properly now

'Torres follows Benítez, Gerrard, Dirk Kuyt and Daniel Agger in agreeing new contracts at Liverpool over the past two months, although several of the deals are as yet unsigned, including those of Torres and Gerrard. The agreement, however, emphatically confirms Torres' commitment to Liverpool and ensures Benítez has long-term assurances over his major assets and the spine of the team.'

I think they'll sign, I'm sure I read that we've just refinanced the loans, so I guess they'll all sign now. I think Rafa would rather see his current key players re-sign, than have to sell others to raise funds etc.

Rafa has said we have money, so I'm sure they'll all re-sign, Torres without doubt above all.

Lets be honest. We refused point blank to sell you Heinze *cough* judas *cough*, you would do the same with Torres and us, plus unlike Judas, he won't want to travel along the M62 to join his club's biggest rivals IMO.

Correct.

Joking aside I sincerely doubt you will ever see Torres in a Manchester United shirt.

City maybe.

When he leaves us, it will be to Atletico I think.

[url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/2476386/Uniteds-top-six-transfer-targets.html?offset=0Top 6 targets according to [iThe Sun[/i[/url

[url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/2009/06/11/football-spy-video-manchester-united-transfer-special-who-s-going-to-replace-cristiano-ronaldo-115875-21433261/Targets according to [iThe Mirror[/i[/url

i find it very interesting the different make ups of the 2 sqauds. aussies being along way from europe.but half the sqaud have european heritage names. england sqaud being in the middle of europe having mostly english heritage names

It will be interesting to see how the Glazers define Fergie getting the full amount.

Apparently Real are paying the £80m over 4 years. I'm sure that in 4 years time United will have spent over £80m in transfer fees. But then they'd be expected to spend about that without the sale of Ronaldo. Didnt they say at the time of the acquisition that Fergie had a transfer budget of £25m pa?

United would need to spend over £150m over the next 4 years for it truly to be the case that the proceeds from the sale of Ronaldo had been spent on transfers.

1) How long before you get it into your head that English names ARE European names?

2) Of course most of the Australian squad will have European names – they're mostly ethnic Europeans from immigrant stock.

3) The England football squad is a multi-ethnic squad of players. Simple as. The historic nature of immigration to these islands means that many earlier immigrants with what you think of as "European" names have Anglicised them or they have become considered 'normal' English names. The use of 'son' (as in 'Harrison' etc) is a Viking naming convention. Many German names have been Anglicised – if memory serves me, Beales is one that was originally a German name. 'Ingham' has been around centuries but is from the old Saxon. More recent immigration has come from different parts of the globe. In the case of football, many players now come from ethnic backgrounds that are African (England U-21 skipper Nedum Onuaha, for instance) and many from backgrounds where slavery was involved – and this is what I mentioned earlier but you have ignored: that such people often have European names that were given to their ancestors by the slave owners. Or they are from mixed-race relationships and have a European name.

And then different sports attract participants from different communities – thus the England cricket team has players with Asian names (or if you want a "European" name, try Strauss).

There is not, within much of Europe, a pattern of footballers moving from, say, France to England or visa versa before making international commitments to a team. It does happen, as that squad that you listed clearly shows, but it is not a large-scale phenomenon. Perhaps it will happen more in the future, if youngsters born to footballers playing in another country follow in the paternal footsteps and then have the opportunity to make a choice as to which country they represent internationally.

[url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/8095917.stmNowt like carrying on rubbing salt in the wound[/url

"They are entitled to laugh, after all, we laughed at them when they were relegated in 2003 and then again in 2006."

He should have added on, "...and we'll laugh again when they are relegated in 2010."

I'd love Silva, Benzema and Ribery in an ideal world but I doubt that is going to happen.

A striker is a certainty and Benzema looks the most likely. A wide player is also a cert and I think it's more likely to be Valencia than Silva. That would still leave a huge wedge for an attacking midfielder, fun and games in the next few weeks I would have thought.

There's coverage around today that Vidic could go too, with his wife apparently hankering after warmer climes.

[url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/article6482285.ece[iTimes[/i story.[/url