RoyHodgeGone

It's definitely worth noting that the guy is 6"3 and has pace. However the King is far too smart to sign a player simply on that basis. I know we all get at annoyed at international shit, but the truth is that Wickham, at 18, has already broken into the England Under 21 squad, Ngoo hasn't. The guy MUST have something about him.

What's this obsession with writing off Wilson. Is it just because we paid money for him? Would be be writing off a 19 year old from the academy who was already a Scottish international? The Mancs (and I hate to admit it) have a pretty good record of discovering young talent but a few years ago Old Bacon Face couldn't see much of a future for 21 year old (not 19) Giuseppe Rossi and sold him for 6m. Now at 24 Rossi looks pretty world class. Only a fool would be writing Wilson off at this stage. I think he's also 6"1 and good in the air.

No doubt Fergie would be on the phone to Bruce insisting they don't sell for less than £25m. Next thing you hear he's signed for Utd for £5m + Darren Gibson.

120k a week for Ashley Young! Nothing we've seen so far from FSG would suggest they would do anything like that.

McGarry is a big name journo so it's worth listening to. But why would Young choose us? We're not in the CL after all. I hope it's not about wages. It could be he figures he'd get more opportunities here. It could be that he's realised Utd only want him as a money saving exercise - get Young in for £15m, sell Nani for £20m+ and help the Glazers pay their mortgage. Or perhaps it's the magic of Kenny? Don't know, but I'm still skeptical about this.

That must have been the one Kenny saw then.

I don't want to stake my entire reputation on it but I've good reason to think that something is going on. An ITK on RAWK posted a thread, it got locked, he then showed evidence to the mods and they unlocked it. Suggests something is going on.

Fee of £9.7m. I'd take that with a pinch of salt however.

Big rumour going around that we've signed Diego Perotti. Even up on wikipedia. But then so was Scott Dann a few days ago.

As a fresh twist on the Aquilani deal, what about a swap with Marchisio? He'd be more suited to the PL and would be more like the sort of player we need. I seem to remember his contract was running down when the Mancs were interested.

I'm just trying to counter the idea that Rafa was some crazy spendthrift who bought a load of s*** to Anfield. It's basically what Hansen (who should know better) accused him of when he was sacked. I disagreed with some of the later buys as over-priced or downright bad - Keane, Aquilani - but I think there's a forgotten side in all this.

I've been doing a bit of research into some of Rafa's signings, particularly in the early days and trying to see how much cash we got from sales. So far I've found: Sebastian Leto - £5m Panathaniakos Mark Gonzales - £5m Real Betis Mikel San Jose -£3.5m (I think) Krisztian Nemeth - £1m Olympiakos (+sell on fee!) Can you think of any other bits of business by Rafa that bought in a few bob that have been forgotten about? I was amused to see Utd let Rossi go for £6.5m. Still I won't be laughing if they have a sell on fee!

I can only assume we've done all the medical checks on Marveaux. From what I've heard he's a good player, but a perma-crock is no use to anyone.

How much money have United got. Glazers have to keep up their mortgage payments. They already need a new keeper. Going into next season Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Carrick, Giggs, Scholes are all 30+. Selling Berbatov would help but they won't get a huge sum because he's 30. All depends whether the Yanks are prepared to put their hand in their pocket. Current evidence would suggest that's unlikely.

Good point about Flanagan. Of course most of US didn't expect him to break through so quickly, but then Kenny knows better. Suso is only 17 and Sterling 16. Perhaps they might get loans but if not I'm sure a season in the reserves wouldn't do them harm. It's a step up from where they've been. I get the impression that the under-18s will become next seasons reserves + 1 or 2 extras and that's why Rodolfo has moved up in anticipation. You'd then have room for some of the under 16's - named in England's under 17s - to play for the U18 next season as first years.

Hmmmm. He sounds a bit like Raul. I just worry atm where we would be if Lucas got injured? No real cover at DM. Depends how much faith Kenny has in Spearing.

I really haven't seen much of McCarthy. What are his main strengths? I guy who can play centrally as well as out wide is obviously a bonus for us.

I could handle £12-13m for him. 15 million would be my absolute tolerance level. Some people are incredibly harsh. He was Villa's player of the year for a reason.

I get what you mean. However most teams aren't looking to sign players in January. They might also have been a little put off by his temperamental issues. Sometimes you get lucky, but if Mata is as good as people say, I'd be surprised if we can get him for a bargain this summer. Not without a fight anyway. (Last minute bid for Uncle 'Arry excepted obviously).

I don't know a lot about Mata but it seems TGTBT. If he's so good, where are the other teams after him?

Just one point we're all forgetting. Talk of bringing in players is fine but we've got to ship people out to reduce the wage bill. Also why are people blaming Dann for Birmingham's relegation? He's been injured! Until he got injured they had a reputation over the previous 18 months for not conceding goals. Go figure.

According to wikipedia Scott Dann has signed for us on a five year deal. Okay, admit it now, which one of you was it? Seriously though, he's not necessarily 2nd rate. 24 isn't old for a centre-back and he's been injured the last few months - which would actually be my biggest concern. If we can get a decent fee, which given Birmingham's predicament we should, then go for it. If we're sorting those positions for peanuts then that'll be more money to spend on maybe 1 or 2 big ones. The big question is whether those big names would come to us at the moment given the absence of the CL.

I reckon Spearing would be about my level. Maybe Aurelio too. Hope he injures himself then batter him.

I bet the conversation with Adam went something like this: Charlie hears his phone ringing Charlie Adam: Hello King Kenny: Hi it's King Kenny from Liverpool. Is that Ashley Young? Charlie Adam: No it's Charlie Adam. King Kenny: Who? Charlie Adam: Charlie Adam. Blackpool midfielder. King Kenny: Oh right. Sorry, wrong number. Bye.

I bet people will laugh at this. But think about it! Jock was very close to Kenny when he was our manager first time. Not as official assistant manager but as club captain and confidant. They remain very close to this day. No-one knows the King better. Perhaps with Steve Clarke now here it isn't necessary. However there is a nice symmetry to the fact that both Jock and Kenny left the club at virtually the same time - 20 years ago - when we were league champions and top of the table. Thinking about the Damned United movie it was interesting to see how close Clough and Taylor were and perhaps Clough wasn't the same without him. Also having Jock back would only remind people of the glory days. Silly? Maybe. But perhaps he's bored after 20 years sitting on the MOTD sofa and might fancy a change?