We just don’t know what’s going on. But if the possibilities are:

- Rabiot has been monitored and on the list, United have been exploring a transfer for months and have decided to make the possibility of pulling the trigger public right after an opening day loss, or

- United have lost a game, panicked, and picked a name out of the hat,

then I know which one I would guess at.

As I mentioned above, Mitten has said that he’s known about the management team’s interest in Arnautovic for weeks.

Rabiot isn't a good signing. Panic buy or not. Just another waster.

comment by N2 (U22280)
posted 4 minutes ago
So Diallo, Pelestri, Dalot, Telles, etc were recommended by the scouts, weren't they?

So how come the hierarchy accept their rubbish suggestions?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Is that a rhetorical question?

How reliable are calciomercato? Genuinely have no idea and no other journalist or outlet seemed to report it.

Let’s say it’s true so that means over 2 months ago we intensified dialogue with Juve and were told he’s ours for £15m and 2 months later he’s still available for £15m, great work. Would maybe seem we looked around early and he was one option and then we went back to concentrating on FdJ which we dont know how it’s going?

If he really is the player the club and EtH want them fair enough but I’m pretty disappointed personally.

comment by Rosso out here drippin’ in finesse (U17054)
posted 7 minutes ago
comment by N2 (U22280)
posted 4 minutes ago
So Diallo, Pelestri, Dalot, Telles, etc were recommended by the scouts, weren't they?

So how come the hierarchy accept their rubbish suggestions?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Is that a rhetorical question?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well for the scouts to be ignored when they find talent, but not when they find mediocrity is incredible. You would expect a little bit more of an even distribution of hit and misses.

So Mitten has known about the interest for weeks but decided to never actually make it public? Isn’t that a large part of what journalists do these days, especially during transfer windows? Why would he choose to not tweet about it like journalists usually do?

This is the same Mitten who reported a month ago that Barca and United were close to a deal with FdJ.

comment by manutd1982 (U6633)
posted 1 minute ago
So Mitten has known about the interest for weeks but decided to never actually make it public? Isn’t that a large part of what journalists do these days, especially during transfer windows? Why would he choose to not tweet about it like journalists usually do?

This is the same Mitten who reported a month ago that Barca and United were close to a deal with FdJ.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It depends on the source. Some might tell him to only do it a day or two before it closes, others might not care. If they don't listen to the source then they will lose them and no longer get any information from them.

comment by manutd1982 (U6633)
posted 2 minutes ago
So Mitten has known about the interest for weeks but decided to never actually make it public? Isn’t that a large part of what journalists do these days, especially during transfer windows? Why would he choose to not tweet about it like journalists usually do?

This is the same Mitten who reported a month ago that Barca and United were close to a deal with FdJ.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The point the three journalists were talking about on the podcast was that they’re always aware of all kinds of stuff that’s going on that we don’t know about, but that they’re told they can’t speak about.

Yeah that’s true

I can believe that Rooso, but odd to tell these journalists to keep quiet about transfers and then make it public the day after an embarrassing defeat instead.

Not really odd, it’s like clockwork that clubs do that to deflect away from the defeat.

But don’t they realise that it doesn’t really work? Maybe it’s just here but most fans have slaughtered United for the defeat and the Rabiot/Arnoutovic rumours.

It’s like when we kept hearing the club we’re actually going to get a DoF which we could all tell was BS.

Did they think ‘hey guys can you leak the Rabiot rumour now? I just know the fans will love it and forget all about our defeat to brighton!’

Whether it works or not isn’t relevant to the fact it happens all the time.

comment by N2 (U22280)
posted 7 minutes ago
comment by Rosso out here drippin’ in finesse (U17054)
posted 7 minutes ago
comment by N2 (U22280)
posted 4 minutes ago
So Diallo, Pelestri, Dalot, Telles, etc were recommended by the scouts, weren't they?

So how come the hierarchy accept their rubbish suggestions?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Is that a rhetorical question?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well for the scouts to be ignored when they find talent, but not when they find mediocrity is incredible. You would expect a little bit more of an even distribution of hit and misses.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, they'll be recommending tons and tons of players, and by the nature of the game, both the majority of those chased and the majority of those passed up on won’t turn out to be world class players.

As recommendations and signings, each one needs to be looked at in context though.

Dalot, for example, I wouldn’t consider a terrible recommendation. He was signed at the age of 19, and four years later has gone on to become a full Portuguese international and a useful squad option for United. Considering his cost, his wages, and the stage that he’s at in his development, I’d wouldn’t say that he has been a poor signing.

The scouts don’t get to decide which players are signed; they can only make recommendations. And they’ll be making plenty of those, for each position, and for very different reasons.

Dalot’s definitely been a poor signing. Alexander Buttner was better ffs.

comment by manutd1982 (U6633)
posted 1 minute ago
Did they think ‘hey guys can you leak the Rabiot rumour now? I just know the fans will love it and forget all about our defeat to brighton!’
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if someone in the hierarchy thought it wouldn’t be a terrible time to contact a journo or two and tell them that there are deals ‘in progress’ for this player or that one.

Sometimes you’ll have a really useful dead cat you can dump on the table. At other times, I guess that any old cat will have to do.

But Dalot has been pretty useless for us. Is getting into the Portuguese squad that tough at the moment and a fair barometer of how good a player is?

We’ve struggled so far to get rid (Milan weren’t interested) and I’m guessing he’ll just run down his contract and leave for free.

comment by manutd1982 (U6633)
posted 1 minute ago
But Dalot has been pretty useless for us. Is getting into the Portuguese squad that tough at the moment and a fair barometer of how good a player is?

We’ve struggled so far to get rid (Milan weren’t interested) and I’m guessing he’ll just run down his contract and leave for free.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From memory, he was very much a Jose signing anyway. Not sure how much our scouts had to do with that and how much it was Jose and his staff who wanted him.

Yeah that’s how I remember it. It was a terrible transfer window, the only other transfers we got were Fred and Grant.

comment by manutd1982 (U6633)
posted 20 minutes ago
Did they think ‘hey guys can you leak the Rabiot rumour now? I just know the fans will love it and forget all about our defeat to brighton!’
----------------------------------------------------------------------
It could be a 'the fans will hate it and forget about Brighton' moment though. And, to an extent, it worked!

Rumours of Rashford to PSG surfacing now as well. I'd hate to see him go but maybe that would be better for him and suit us too as he hasn't been great. Let's hope he can get back to his best for us though of course.

Trying to remember the last time we didn’t have a terrible transfer window.

Would that be pretty strange logic? Give them a rumour of a player we know the fans will hate who we actually want to buy.

Seems to be more noise about the PSV LW lad who could give Rashford a kick up the arrrse. But surely a RE is of far more importance although I’ve heard we’re not loaning Pellistri now so maybe he’s our RE alternative this season.

2007, that was only 15 years ago.

*RW