Yup it was daft. Letting him go wasn't daft, but letting him go to Man United was daft. Cescy over Matic is simple, with Kante and Matic in midfield we lack any penetration in the middle of the field. Kante will run around all day and reclaim possession but as for penetrating passes? No Matic will tackle anyone that comes near him, but he doesn't have legs. Cesc, will quite immobile too, is far more attack minded and our midfield is more balanced with Cesc next to Kante. Hopefully Bakayoko will be the missing piece of OUR jigsaw. But I agree, selling Matic to United was dumb, even if we didnt want him anymore, if United want him, then we need to do our utmost to make sure they dont get him, rather than hand him over on a plate.
As for this, that may be true, but they will probably also only score 2 goals in their opening 4 or 5 games too.
Pre season?? How long have you followed football? Pre season gives zero indication of how a player or team will fare
Agreed. He will get at least 50 assists this season and Lukaku will hit treble figures.... Title's Jose's to lose. I expect United to break 100 points easily and everyone else to be relegated.
Yup, all other 19 teams will be relegated and United will win the following seasons title by default as they will be the only team in the PL. Stan, while I appreciate that you are a bit of a negative nelly, do you not think your hysterical nay saying is a little premature? Did you learn nothing from last season? You said before kick off that its United title and we will be lucky to get top 4 yada yada. United were nowhere near challenging and we won the league by 7 clear points. Now I expect United will be a lot stronger this season, and I think we will find it much harder to win the league given the improvements made by the Manc Clubs and Arsenal, but you are bordering on hysteria again mate......take a few breathes and calm down before you post.
We have gotten rid of some known quantities in Matic, JT and (eventually) Costa, and replaced them with unknown Quantities like Morata, Rudiger and Bakayoko, so I am cautious, I will admit, but you are in full blown panic mode, give the team 10 games to see how they fare before you begin the madness yeah?
Does JT really count. He barely played for us. The known quantities really are costa and Matic. Even then we can replace 1 known quantity (matic) with fabregas for the time being.
Yeah, I know. Our seasons success really rests on Morata to be honest. If he can adapt and grab 15-20 goals then we have to be the favourites.
To be honest think we'll be lucky to score 10 goals between the entire team if Cahill plays. If Alonso AND Cahill play we wont even score 5 and Conte will be sacked by 2nd game of the season. Roman will then appoint himself manager, we will get relegated and go into administration, move to Milton Keynes and start a new club called AFC Chelsea. if Cahill and Alonso don't play we will win the Champions League and League double by October (even though the comps don't end until May). I'm super serious....
FFS, I have been fcuking right with Ivan, Mikel, Cescy last season. Don't know why when I criticize our weakness, I have been called?? And I am not too far off with Alonso & Cahill. 2 of the most sort after position for Conte. Even levels of desperation on Sandro shows how good Alonso really is. Just remember Kante made Huth, Simpson & Morgan play like World cup winners That really illustrates what Alonso & Cahill's level really is. And yes - I will take Drinkwater over Cescy any given day I don't see United conceding in their first 5 or 6 games. Not just because of Matic, ofcourse he is a mountain there. But the opposition isn't too great. Perfect start for Jose to runaway with the title. I will be very very very glad if Jose & Manu fcuk up. But honestly I don't see it happening.
I have to say I am slightly concernened by the depth of our squad this season. We either have to start bringing through a lot of the youth, which seems unlikely, spread an awful lot more money, but on who I don't know or we remain very weak in squad numbers. I really hope someone comes up with a plan soon!
Me neither. United will have the title won by September. Unless we can replace Cesc with Drinkwater, and then we'll have it won by the end of August. Keep the predictions going Stan, worked so well for you last year....
Cesc was fine. Its not that you claimed Ivan and Mikel weren't good enough, I agreed with that, particularly when it came to Mikel. It was all the hysterical, "If we play [insert name here] we will get beat 4-0, not even worth turning up" etc And yes you are way off on Alonso, he was great for us last season. Could he be improved upon? Yes, but again, the hysteria from you was hilarious. I remember you saying we would get hammered if he played in a certain game (cant remember who it was against), and in the match he scored twice, set up a third and got MOTM If you would take drinkwater over Fabregas, then you certainly havent been drinking water. Maybe Absinthe. You said the exact same bollocks last season. Look what happened, they finished 6th ffs.
What was all the more frustrating is that he spent most of last season actively hoping Alonso and Cahill would make mistakes in games so he could be proven 'right'. Not the stance of a true fan in my opinion and I'd be amazed if Stan followed us pre Roman. The Alonso game was away at Leicester I think. Don't remember Stan being so pro Matic last year when he was fairly average yet now he is a superstar that guarantees United the league....Jesus H Christ. Boy never learns.