[quote author=Ryan link=topic=34210.msg890364#msg890364 date=1245292317]
[quote author=refugee link=topic=34210.msg890363#msg890363 date=1245291914]
[quote author=Ryan link=topic=34210.msg890354#msg890354 date=1245288998]
[quote author=refugee link=topic=34210.msg890352#msg890352 date=1245288730]
[quote author=Ryan link=topic=34210.msg890347#msg890347 date=1245288164]
2 - With that in mind, get as much as we can for him. Starting at minimum 30M. If that 30M+ gets us a Villa or whomever, then what's the fucking problem?
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The gaping hole in the midfield is the problem. I refer to the Chelsea game in the champions league where Masher was suspended and Chelsea ripped us apart, or AC Milan in the champions league final where Masher was subbed and Kaka ripped us apart.
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Pffft.
We were top of the league in January, and he hadn't played a game worth talking about.
Yes, he improved significantly in the second half of the season - but we're a fucking quality side without him.
He's replacable, and if the 30M (or whatever we'd get for him) went straight onto buying a better player, I'd sell in a heartbeat.
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I think you are significantly underrating his importance to the team and the difficulty we will have in replacing him (not to mention exaggerating about how long he was out of form for). A quality direct replacement will demand a sizable fee and as it is likely we be buying from abroad, represents a significant risk in whether they will adapt to the Premiership. Even if we do buy an established Premiership player there is no guarantee they will settle into the system as we have seen already this season with Keane.
Even if we do try and indirectly replace him by signing Villa (or whoever) and switching to 4-4-2 I question the logic in changing the system when we did so well last year.
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He's obviously an integral part of our team, but I'd be more worried if we were selling a Reina, a Carragher, Alonso, Gerrard or Torres.
United have won the league for three years running, and got to the last two European Cup Finals without a proper defensive midfielder, so teams can patently play without one - as we've shown on plenty of occassions.
Selling him wouldn't be the end of the World. Ideally, we'd keep him, but there's plenty of upside to him leaving too.
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I'm not so sure Ryan. He's an ntegral part of our team.
I agree with an earlier point that he is more important to the team when we are playing quality sides, whereas we can afford to rest him against "lesser" teams (this is where Lucas is supposed to prove his worth).
It's the old story, we're in a position of strength, and we have a group of players who have been at the club playing together, bar a few, for a couple of years now. I'd say retaining our current squad is argubably more important than adding to it thsi season.
Consistencey of team wins titles.
However, if this really is because of issues in his personal life and not the standard "money grab" then there isn't a lot we can do except ensure we rip every last penny off Barcelona in the same way Arsenal always seem to do.
I'm with Jules though, if Mascherano does go, it'll be a big blow and create a problem not easily solved.
