The fact that you're comparing players to one of the best players currently in the world shows how much you know. Not everyone is a Messi/CR who are prodigious from a young age. Even CR took a while to get going.


Robin Van Persie who we just paid 20m for from Arsenal even though he's already 29 years old and only had one more year contract at Arsenal, at 21 years old(same age as Welbeck last season) only scored 10 goals for Arsenal. He only got to 20 goals or more in his 5th season there at 25 years old.

And I really don't understand the dislike for Welbeck, even before his breakout year last season or previously before he shine while on loan at Sunderland. His touch is glorious much like Berbatov although it can be a bit erratic at times, and he combines it with work rate and his link up ability is as good as any in the squad. The tiki taka we played last season, he formed a very big part of it along with Cleverley, Ando, Nani, Rooney and Young before injuries struck to every one of them except for Rooney and Welbeck.

RVP


Rooney: To Rooney Haters.. **off


Bunch of noobs! Expecting all players to be born with that ability that match the stars and perform miracles in their breakout years.
Most players only perform well consistently around 25+. Only those freak of natures like Messi, Fabregas, CR(though he took a few seasons to be the worlds best) and Rooney + the others are able to play like the big boys and beat most of them consistently while still in their late teens.

This post has been edited by Wan: Sep 4 2012, 01:50 PM

There's no doubt that Welbeck in the future would be a very good player for us. He's shown last season what he's all about. His poor performances can be put down to youth and maturity. He's only about to be 22. So in time that inconsistency will be ironed out of his game bit by bit. Question is, will he get enough goals..time will tell. What we know for certain, his instinct isn't as good as say Macheda/Hernandez in front of goal, but at youth level he does get his good share of goals.

As for Berbatov, even when he was still favoured over the others to partner Rooney especially in the first two seasons, he still loses out in the big games since generally, we only play with one striker in those kinda games, which would be Rooney. And towards the end of that first two seasons, IMO he already lose SAF's trust to be able to perform in the big games.

We bought him to be a #10, and while he did well enough, SAF expected him to perform a lot better I guess. That 3rd season when he became the top scorer, we switched him and Rooney around. Berbatov played as the #9, and Rooney played behind him. He got the goals, but damage has already been done in SAF's mind. He bought Hernandez and he instantly made a big impact so Berbatov loses out. And last season it was Welbeck who after a very good spell while on loan at Sunderland, perform well enough in pre-season and kept his place throughout last season for us.

Wonder why SAF is so blind that in our most successful period ever, Carrick is ever present in the first team. Won the CL once, and got to the finals another two times. Same goes for Fletcher who was performing miracles in the big games for us before illness took his form away in the last two+ seasons. As for Ando, young and learning. He was massive for us in his first season, and early last season he showed that again but as we know injury have always wreck his season each time. As for Evans, apart from the season before last, he's been very good generally for us. There's not many young defenders as good as him around.

If you can't see that, you really are blind.

This post has been edited by Wan: Sep 4 2012, 02:23 PM

Talking to our fans, it looks like we have a bunch of amateurs playing regularly for us.

Our CL runs.. not bad I'd say.
11/12 - disaster blip. Knocked out in group stages
10/11 - Final
09/10 - Qtr Finals(away goals to Bayern, shitty blind ref the cause)
08/09 - Final
07/08 - Winner
06/07 - Semi Finals(got schooled by AC Milan and Kaka, defensive injuries and blunders in that game didn't help)
05/06 - disaster blip. Knocked out in group stages

Well, if Chicha had played really well, he would have gotten games ahead of everyone else like he did when he just came and ousted Berba(even though he was top scorer that time). Simple really. Fact is, he didn't. And Welbeck for most of last season, played well for us. That's why he was favoured. The only negative thing about him is that, he doesn't get enough goals. But like plenty have said enough, it's forgiven when he's only 21. He does need to improve on that, and he will. Will it be enough, nobody knows.

A bit like RVN's case lah. Even though he was still banging in lots of goals, but he still lose out to Saha in that final stretch of his last season here. For SAF, it's always whats best for the team. Not any individual player.

True. SAF himself said, 3 years at most, then need to do some overhaul. We've been through it a bit, and right now we are probably starting another cycle. Whether it works out, end of season will tell. But we are in better shape than those Veron/Kleberson/Djeba2 days where we struggled a bit.

Chica did play, and his form was understandably worse.

It's been only three games to the season where generally apart from a few, the whole team have been playing poorly.

First, you need to create chances before being able to be in a position to score. And with the league getting better and better, you need more than pure finishing ability to survive in the game, and help the team overall play. There are games where Hernandez is a better fit, but we play a lot better with a 'toothless' Welbeck.

That's why we have plenty of experience options while also bringing in young players through(either bought, or from our own academy). Besides, we have plenty of finishers throughout the squad. Goals is not a problem.

Valencia, Smalling, DDG, Lindegaard, Jones, Hernandez, RVP, Kagawa..
We've bought very well.

As for that new striker, there's always room for a talented kid/player(like RVP have shown in just 3 games!) in the squad no matter how good we are in that position.

The fact that we chose not to search for an upgrade for our midfield when its blatant that we have the money but chose to spend it in other positions just goes to show SAF is sticking with what we've got which he thinks is good enough for now. Heck, we were about to spend 30m or so on Hazard/Lucas before they snubbed is. So the money is there. SAF just chose not to spend it on one for now. When the time comes, he will get someone in next season or two depending on what happens to Cleverley, Ando and Fletcher.

He's banking on Ando and Cleverley being fit. If that fails, there's still Carrick and Scholes. Both Ando and Cleverley probably need someone as dynamic as them as partners to shine so not sure if Carrick wud be a good fit alongside one of them. I would like to see Ando-Cleverley being given the go again once the defence is settled. Early last season was certainly refreshing.

I just hope SAF stops dropping DDG and rotate around the GK position again like last season.

That weak ass penalty miss certainly put a dampener on things that time. Kagawa went off, and we still didn't look anywhere near scoring and then somehow we equalised and got that winner. Even the best writers could'nt write a script as good as that for RVP. Instant hero.

Now I wonder how we are going to fit everybody in. Rotating horror for us fans I guess.

Maybe. But I doubt we wud be seeing him in goal.
RB, CB, CM.. Wonder where he ends up eventually.

Ando and Nani's first season here.. It took twelve games for us to explode into form. We only scored more than once in two games before that. Hope it won't take that long because this time unlike those days, our defence is leaking badly(so far).

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Added on September 5, 2012, 1:47 pmSo we continue to rotate the GKs? Choose one, and stick with the guy whoever that is. Doesn't do anybody good when we keep rotating them, although I very well understand the reason for it..DDG is young so need to 'teach/protect' him a bit now and then by benching him everynow and then. And Lindegaard need games as well. Still don't agree with it though after what happened last season.

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Added on September 5, 2012, 1:53 pmHe joined Real because it was his dream club... or failing that, Barca. To almost everyone out there, they have a bigger pull. It was never about money. We just need to face the facts that we're not the #1 stops for most players when those two are involved.

It has always been that way.. it's just these days, we hear it more. Plus the money the others can offer really make the players big headed asking for more from every other club.

This post has been edited by Wan: Sep 5 2012, 01:53 PM

Neil Custis. I hate him. Write shit all the time.


As for Fabregas.. wud love to see him here. Never in a million chance of it happening tho. Xavi will slow down soon, and he will take over. He was awesome even when he's still a teenager bossing games in the EPL. Awesome player.

Same goes for Wilshere.

Or that 30m we were about to spend on one of Lucas/Hazard. Would'nt even be able to afford one of Dembele(15m)/Moutinho(22m)..

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Added on September 6, 2012, 12:46 pmWell, he bought Powell and he sees him as a CM.
Money is not a problem. He probably feels we have good enough options for now.

This post has been edited by Wan: Sep 6 2012, 12:46 PM