Sunderland v the rags

[aguero93:20]

According to the BBC Vidic's agent says he's off in the summer.
That'll be Camelgob, Evra and Vidic then.

no, not camelgob! they should give him a 10 yr contract imo

 

[Castiel]

Alternatively, winning the Capital One Cup or finishing 5th in the PL, or 6th if City win the COC and free up a EL place for the PL finishers. I think a EL place is all they can hope for this season. Fourth place, in competition with Liverpool, Everton, Spurs and Newcastle (and the top three) from where they currently are and how bad most of their team is must surely be beyond them.

Does a EL place go to a PL finisher if both teams in the FA Cup final qualify for European football via their final PL position?

To be safe, I'd like them to finish 8th!

I think the EL would be more of a hindrance than a blessing. Liverpool have made great progress this year without the EL distraction and may well qualify as a result. Though doesn't the EL winner get a CL place in the near future?

is that next season though?
edit: it is sorry, but they're nowhere near good enough to win the el.

Winners of the 2015 Europa League onwards will get a CL place which isn't affected by their home league's quota. So in theory if an English team won it in 2015 we could have 5 teams in the CL the following year.

 

[aguero93:20]

I think the EL would be more of a hindrance than a blessing. Liverpool have made great progress this year without the EL distraction and may well qualify as a result. Though doesn't the EL winner get a CL place in the near future?

is that next season though?
edit: it is sorry, but they're nowhere near good enough to win the el.

Winners of the 2015 Europa League onwards will get a CL place which isn't affected by their home league's quota. So in theory if an English team won it in 2015 we could have 5 teams in the CL the following year.

spuds and toffees England's best hope of that tbh

 

[IrelandSuperman]

is that next season though?
edit: it is sorry, but they're nowhere near good enough to win the el.

Winners of the 2015 Europa League onwards will get a CL place which isn't affected by their home league's quota. So in theory if an English team won it in 2015 we could have 5 teams in the CL the following year.

spuds and toffees England's best hope of that tbh

Tell me more about this health regimen concerning potatoes and sweets.

 

[aguero93:20]

Winners of the 2015 Europa League onwards will get a CL place which isn't affected by their home league's quota. So in theory if an English team won it in 2015 we could have 5 teams in the CL the following year.

spuds and toffees England's best hope of that tbh

Tell me more about this health regimen concerning potatoes and sweets.

a potato or a random item of pick 'n' mix confectionary has more chance of winning a European trophy than the rags atm.

 

[bowdonblue]

According to the BBC Vidic's agent says he's off in the summer.
That'll be Camelgob, Evra and Vidic then.

Can't see on BBC,. but Daily Mail and ESPN are reporting it.

Vidic unlikely to sign new United deal
ESPN staff January 7, 2014 »
This season's Community Shield win could be Nemanja Vidic's last trophy at Manchester United

Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic is not expected to sign a new contract with the Premier League champions but won't be moving to Napoli, his agent has said.

Martina told Italy's Radio Crc that Vidic "wants to finish the season with Manchester United" but also suggested it is unlikely he will remain at Old Trafford beyond this time.

"Manchester United have already offered him an extension and there are lots of clubs approaching him, but he wants to finish the season at Manchester United - and then we'll see.

"He's a very big player and he'll not have any problems finding a new club. For the moment, we're remaining calm because the situation could change from one moment to the next. However, at the moment, I feel I can rule out him signing an extension with the Red Devils."

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/271929.html

 

[IrelandSuperman]

Everything on BBC Sport website's Gossip section is sourced from other media. Maybe backheel didn't know this?

 

[aguero93:20]

According to the BBC Vidic's agent says he's off in the summer.
That'll be Camelgob, Evra and Vidic then.

Can't see on BBC,. but Daily Mail and ESPN are reporting it.

Vidic unlikely to sign new United deal
ESPN staff January 7, 2014 »
This season's Community Shield win could be Nemanja Vidic's last trophy at Manchester United

Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic is not expected to sign a new contract with the Premier League champions but won't be moving to Napoli, his agent has said.

Martina told Italy's Radio Crc that Vidic "wants to finish the season with Manchester United" but also suggested it is unlikely he will remain at Old Trafford beyond this time.

"Manchester United have already offered him an extension and there are lots of clubs approaching him, but he wants to finish the season at Manchester United - and then we'll see.

"He's a very big player and he'll not have any problems finding a new club. For the moment, we're remaining calm because the situation could change from one moment to the next. However, at the moment, I feel I can rule out him signing an extension with the Red Devils."

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/271929.html

guardian had it yesterday link on page 80 odd of the united thread.

 

[Pigeonho]

Rooney will go in the summer, IMO. Good god, they could be so fucking average next season, like 13th/14th in the league average.

 

[The Pink Panther]

There are too many players at that club that are 100% institutionalised in the way of the Taggart; this was always going to be the problem after so long at the helm and I really think they all need a completely fresh start with some drastically altered expectations.

They have two choices as far as I'm concerned:

1. Sack him, bring in someone who will garner instant respect and try to piece things back together with the current squad and some big money signings. This approach might help stabilise things short term, but will probably bring them on to the same merry go round as everyone else, changing managers every 2-4 years.

2. Keep him and get rid of the old guard and those who've made it clear they don't want to play for him (Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Giggs, RVP etc). Then start again with the younger players and a mix of new hungry signings, with sights lowered to just pushing for the top 4 for the next few years and building up slowly over a longer period of time.

Wee Davey might just possibly get things right eventually if they take the second approach and back him to properly build his own squad in his own image without Taggart breathing over his shoulder every 5 minutes, but I don't think for one second that they're willing to move that slowly.

Instead it seems they expected him to instantly succeed with the same ageing rubbish that GPC over performed with, in which case they brought in someone who was wholly unsuitable for the task at hand, something we all spotted a mile off.

Heard an interesting theory on the radio yesterday
It's not that the players don't respect him, it's because Baconface has gone and the players have relaxed by thinking "we survived that reign"
We all saw it coming with their ageing squad and the younger players not being anywhere near as good as in the past
Apart from Rooney,they haven't got a player who can get the rest going and he looks totally pissed off. It should make for an interesting summer

As for ferguson, charlton and robson being at the game. Remember when ferguson was having a hard time at the start of his united career! He always said that the support he received from the chairman (edwards) was crucial for him. The reason they are always there is to give moyes that support. The difference is that now the television cameras are everywhere and pick up on every single facial expression

Really could do with them grabbing a draw at Stamford Bridge. I have a feeling it will be a dire 0-0