Winter Mercato 2014

[Jay Crisp]

Rami is huge muscular wise , 6'4 too he isnt chubby he's just SWOLE haha

I expect no midfielder of any substance not a one , whoever it is will be free or loan.That I guarantee

[ACMILAN1983]

I've not been able to find anything about Jorginho leaving for 5.5m on co-ownership, but if true then oh well. We need to move on and look ahead. We now have Seedorf, so at least we know who's in charge (I presume until 2016 as rumoured).

In this market I don't want the club to act. Let's give Seedorf some time to assess the current group without worrying about expectations. He's got enough talent in the group to know that we can do a lot better, so for the next 5 months, let's just try and get to a state where the team is doing the minimum expected of it. During this time he, with the upper management and the 7 ex-teammates he's bringing in, should spend a little time to devise a long term strategy and work out a plan for the summer.

[xudong]

Can Seedorf himself play? Let's strip Honda of #10 jersey and return to Dorf and register him for Atletico Madrid. He would be our marquee signing this winter.

@Dev: interesting thought there. by "not wanting the club to act" did you mean not buying and not selling at all?

The first bad consequence of Seedorf returning has already shown: I read that Amelia withdrew his transfer request. Oh whatever.

[reza]

So Allegri did what to Amelia to make him want to leave? I doubt Gabriel being second choice was anything but merit based.

[honsano]

I've not been able to find anything about Jorginho leaving for 5.5m on co-ownership, but if true then oh well. We need to move on and look ahead. We now have Seedorf, so at least we know who's in charge (I presume until 2016 as rumoured).

In this market I don't want the club to act. Let's give Seedorf some time to assess the current group without worrying about expectations. He's got enough talent in the group to know that we can do a lot better, so for the next 5 months, let's just try and get to a state where the team is doing the minimum expected of it. During this time he, with the upper management and the 7 ex-teammates he's bringing in, should spend a little time to devise a long term strategy and work out a plan for the summer.

I sort of agree if you are saying we should think before we act. Let Seedorf's regime play out and build on the weaknesses for his system rather than weaknesses in Allegri's now old system.

I think that is sensible as we can all agree the players are grossly underperforming individually and as a team. I would say, however, we also know that the CB issue is a big problem no matter who is coaching so that is one position I am for upgrading if the right person/price comes along. Otherwise, I would like to see what Seedorf can do with the players at his disposal as they are honestly a pretty good bunch with lots of potential.

[Arildonardo]

So Allegri did what to Amelia to make him want to leave? I doubt Gabriel being second choice was anything but merit based.

Amelia is almost 32, he probably wants to play a few matches before retiring. No big loss really.

---

I wonder if Seedorf have got a transfer budget for January?
Are we signing Doria?
Will we be able to get rid of more deadweight?

We're far from fixed yet. Next step is to start winning matches...

[Mathias]

So Allegri did what to Amelia to make him want to leave? I doubt Gabriel being second choice was anything but merit based.

Amelia is almost 32, he probably wants to play a few matches before retiring. No big loss really.

---

I wonder if Seedorf have got a transfer budget for January?
Are we signing Doria?
Will we be able to get rid of more deadweight?

We're far from fixed yet. Next step is to start winning matches...

My mercato would be complete if we sold the useless people like zaccardo and silvestre. Matri.... even if we have to let them go for free. I don't even care about new signings as this is already lost. Doria is something for this summer i think.

[xudong]

Is Doria eligible? I mean does he have EU passport, otherwise we don't even need to think about anything in January.

[ACMILAN1983]

Edit: Xu I doubt Doria's eligible with his non-EU status. I mention him below, but purely as an example.

Can Seedorf himself play? Let's strip Honda of #10 jersey and return to Dorf and register him for Atletico Madrid. He would be our marquee signing this winter.

@Dev: interesting thought there. by "not wanting the club to act" did you mean not buying and not selling at all?

The first bad consequence of Seedorf returning has already shown: I read that Amelia withdrew his transfer request. Oh whatever.

My words were a bit definitive for what I meant I'm not against transfers in or out, but what I meant is unlike before I don't want the club to go out trying to reinforce for the remainder of the season. Nainggolan, Essien and Banega etc are all players that might offer short term benefits, but if they don't have a place in the long term plans, then it would be a waste.

I'm not against minor deals or ones which are viewed to be critical. For example, players like Robinho, Nocerino and Zaccardo probably can be sold without worrying too much about the effects, as it seems very unlikely they will have any long term role in the club. That said if we need to replace these guys in the squad and don't have a long term prospect lined up (i.e. we're just going to buy a quick fix to replace them), then there's no point in selling them now, just keep them and lineup replacements over the next 6 months.

At the same time, if Seedorf views someone like Doria (I say his name because of rumours) as indispensable to his game and there's an opportunity to get him now, then by all means we should go ahead. That said, if buying Doria now actually ends up costing us more than if we were to get him for June, then we shouldn't push for him now. Also, if we can't get Doria now, but can in June, then we should stick to what we've got rather than looking for another player, as again there's little to play for this year and we should be aiming to get who we want for next season.

So Allegri did what to Amelia to make him want to leave? I doubt Gabriel being second choice was anything but merit based.

That's what I think personally. Allegri saw Gabriel as second choice and not Amelia, who obviously wanted to play. Gabriel is now likely to go out on loan to get regular game time, so it seems Amelia accepts fighting for a spot with Abbiati and trying his chances with a new coach.

I sort of agree if you are saying we should think before we act. Let Seedorf's regime play out and build on the weaknesses for his system rather than weaknesses in Allegri's now old system.

I think that is sensible as we can all agree the players are grossly underperforming individually and as a team. I would say, however, we also know that the CB issue is a big problem no matter who is coaching so that is one position I am for upgrading if the right person/price comes along. Otherwise, I would like to see what Seedorf can do with the players at his disposal as they are honestly a pretty good bunch with lots of potential.

I think we're very much on the same wavelength as you can see from my reply to Xu.

[RIO]

Did they specify WHICH United wants Nocerino in the rumor? It could be Hartlepool.