[quote author=Wizardry link=topic=37283.msg992756#msg992756 date=1258668872]
[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=37283.msg992484#msg992484 date=1258646980]
[quote author=Rafa4PM link=topic=37283.msg992448#msg992448 date=1258644458]
[quote author=Vlads Quiff link=topic=37283.msg992439#msg992439 date=1258643717]
[quote author=Rafa4PM link=topic=37283.msg992436#msg992436 date=1258643465]
If we were interested in this type of striker, then surely Owen would have been signed in the summer (cheaper, younger and probably happier to sit on the bench).
He's old and slow + I'd suspect that he'd want to play more than a bit part role.
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I think RVN would still be more effective than Owen, but we should still have gone for Owen anyway, but Rafa does not like him. We only need someone for a few months to slot some goals in.
As has been said, he may be slow now, but I still think he could score goals, and for what it would cost we don't have a lot to lose
regards
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Well we'll only find that out if he signed Vlad, so i guess thats still open to debate.
Do you honestly think he'd even consider it though? I would have thought that one of his main reasons for moving on, would be to go to a club where he'd play.
I can't see Rafa moving SG out wide to accommodate a 33 year old personally (or leaving out Mascher or Aquilani for that matter).
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Mate, I don't think Van Nostrilboy has a simple choice to make here. He wants to play, and if he went to some middle-ranking club he probably could still get a regular place, but he's not going to do so at a big club at his age and with his recent injury history. So yes, I think he would consider it, and if he was up for it I'd sign him. The difference between RVN and Owen, which makes RVN a better bet than Owen would have been IMO, is that RVN could play as the one up front if needed.
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I agree with that. I still think he has been one of the top strikers in the world during the last 15 years but one thing Owen has never been able to do is play up front on his own. RVN has shown himself capable of doing so.
Having said that I still think if Rafa makes a genuine attempt at signing Ruud then he demonstrates two things;
1) A failure to comprehend the depth of distaste for all things manc.
2) Allowing his personal feelings to interfere with the needs of the club. Owen in the summer would be a far better option than Ruud in January.
It's all very easy to say that Owen wasn't needed in the summer because we had Torres and he didn't have a crystal ball. 85% of this fourm knew and stated repeatedly that N'Gog, Voronin and Babel were not going to provide adequate cover for Torres. Given he was signing a key midfielder with long term injury then cover for Torres was a gimme.
RVN is obviously a bandaid cause he's not going to be around for long - certainly not as long as Owen is likely to be and it still doesn't solve our issues out wide. In short we get a very temporary, possible solution to one problem but still missing our major issue - yet it may be necessary in order for the manager to keep his job and the club to make the top 4 this season.
It really reflects a manager trying to fight spot fires all over the place rather than one implementing the overall vision and strategy the club needs. I guess that is where we are at.
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Your usual interesting post, but I'd take you up on a few things in it:
1. Sensitivity may not be Rafa's middle name, but I can't believe even he's in any doubt about how the Mancs are regarded by LFC and all who sail in her.
2. I genuinely don't understand your "personal feelings" point. Are you saying they prevented Rafa signing Owen or that they would in the future? Whichever, I have to say I don't agree. Either Rafa's the ultimate cold-eyed pro (which I would agree with, and which would lead him to go for players such as RVN if he thought they could do us a job) or he isn't. I don't think any criticism of him can fairly have it both ways.
3. You're assuming Rafa chose not to go for a back-up to Torres. It's possible, but I doubt it. My guess at a more likely scenario would be that such a deal was the biggest casualty of the decision by H and G to tell Rafa any proposed wage increases would have to come out of the same kitty.
4. My biggest disagreement with you is over your final para. I simply don't accept the "either/or" you set up there. To me Rafa is demonstrably trying to implement an overall vision and strategy. Along the way there are fires to fight - and yes, some of them can be traced back to errors of judgment by the man himself - but when has that not been the case in football?
