Still Following the Trawler

The MailOnline   has published their Top 50 most influential people in the history of the Premier League, and unsurprisingly Sir Alex Ferguson - who won an unrivaled 13 Premier League trophies during his 27 years at United (as well as 19 other domestic titles) - comes in at no.1 ahead of Sky Sports mogul Rupert Murdoch...who incidentally tried to sign United in 1998. Also in the Top 10 is heroic captain of our Double-Double 1995/96 campaign, Eric Cantona (3) and David Beckham (6) who went on to become the biggest superstar football has ever seen. Other members of the United family (both past and present) include: Roy Keane (18), Ryan Giggs (21), Wayne Rooney (23), Peter Schmeichel (27), Peter Kenyon (29), The Glazer Family (34), Cristiano Ronaldo (37), Rio Ferdinand (40) and Carlos Tevez (43). See the full list below... 50. Steven Gerrard (Liverpool) 49. Peter Ridsdale (Leeds United) 48. Didier Drogba (Chelsea) 47. Karren Brady (West Ham United) 46. Philip Don (Referee) 45. Sol...

This time last week the rumours linking United to world football's elite were endless and, depending on who's story you read/believed in, many of these players were on the verge of putting pen-to-paper. Lloris was already lined up as a replacement for De Gea, while Gundogen and Firmino  had basically signed. So, where are we now with these stories? Well... 24th June 2015 | The Independent 23rd June 2015 |  Daily Star And most disappointing of all... 23rd June 2015 |  BBC Sport By the 27th June 2014 we had already signed Ander Herrera from Athletic Bilbao and Luke Shaw from Southampton - so far Depay is ours...but given the inaccuracy of the stories that have surfaced from the media regarding the players we are 'interested' in, I have absolutely no idea who is next?

via www.facebook.com/bewarmers

The news on the rumour-mill today suggests that a transfer for Hoffenheim's Brazilian midfielder, Firmino, to Liverpool in " imminent ". This is the same man who less than a week ago was featured in my blog as one of seven players potentially heading to Old Trafford this summer , with the national press convinced that he was on the verge of becoming a United player. Getty Images So either the world's top football journalists have no idea what is going on here...or United are genuinely set to miss out on this immensely talented player to our bitter rivals? Bad news if the latter turns out to be true.

Hugo Lloris Getty Images Manchester United tipped to sign Hugo Lloris but miss out on Harry Kane  | International Business Times | 18th June 2015 Hugo Lloris to Manchester United: Tottenham management to remain firm over goalkeeper transfer situation  | The Independent | 17th June 2015 Club:  Tottenham Hotspur Position:  Goalkeeper Value:  £20 million How much do we need him?  That all depends on what happens with our current no.1. 10/10 if De Gea goes to Madrid, but zero if he stays on for another season. Likelihood of him coming to United?  See above. Mats Hummels Getty Images Mats Hummels remains Man United's top defensive target, sources say  |  ESPN FC | 16th June 2015 Is Mesut Ozil trying to convince Mats Hummels to SIGN for Man United?  | The Daily Star | 15th June 2015 Club:  Borussia Dortmund Position:  Centre Back Value:  £25 million How much do we need him?  10/10 Likelihood of him coming to Unite...

From 9am BST today the full list of the Premier League season’s 380 matche s, from the opening fixtures on 8th August to the season’s final matches on 15th May 2016, became available. Here's how United's PL season looks... Sat Aug 8. Tottenham Hotspur H Sat Aug 15. Aston Villa A Sat Aug 22. Newcastle United H Sat Aug 29. Swansea City A Sat Sep 12. Liverpool H Sat Sep 19. Southampton A Sat Sep 26. Sunderland H Sat Oct 3. Arsenal A Sat Oct 17. Everton A Sat Oct 24. Manchester City H Sat Oct 31. Crystal Palace A Sat Nov 7. West Bromwich Albion H Sat Nov 21. Watford A Sat Nov 28. Leicester City A Sat Dec 5. West Ham United H Sat Dec 12. A.F.C. Bournemouth A Sat Dec 19. Norwich City H Sat Dec 26. Stoke City A Mon Dec 28. Chelsea H Sat Jan 2. Swansea City H Wed Jan 13. Newcastle United A Sat Jan 16. Liverpool A Sat Jan 23. Southampton H Tue Feb 2. Stoke City H Sat Feb 6. Chelsea A Sat Feb 13. Sunderland A Sat Feb 27. Arsenal H Tue Mar 1. Watford H Sat Mar 5. West Bromwich Albion A Sa...

So it's begun - the summer-long transfer rumour-mill is well under-way. And as per usual, United's name is associated with anyone and everyone out there - from "hot prospect" to "urgent replacement" to " unknown Portuguese player who the manager had never seen play before signing him ". Of course we're all used to it by now, and almost immune to the majority of the drivel that comes out of the tabloids. That said, who doesn't love a bit of gossip!? So here's my attempt at slotting in some of the possible transfer targets into United's line-up for the upcoming season. As I mentioned, the body of the deceased 2014/15 season is still warm and yet United are apparently out to sign a million new players this summer. Of course, we won't; but a good few players are definitely needed if we are to improve on last season's anti-climatic display. First up is the issue of replacing David de Gea - United's player of the year and the ...

Via  Mail Online : When Vidic and Evra left United at the end of last season - both players leaving the club in their 30's after eight-and-a-half successful seasons at United - many thought that that was pretty much the end of their footballing careers. However, as they both opted for life playing in the Serie A, they have experienced very different fortunes, with Vidic struggling (along with his team, Inter) while Evra and Juventus are on course to win a treble by beating Barca in this weekends Champions League final... They were two much-loved defensive mainstays who left Manchester United for Italy last summer.  But since saying their Old Trafford farewells it has been a very different 12 months for Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic. On Saturday night, Evra will step out of the tunnel in Berlin ahead of his fifth Champions League final. The French left back, now 34, will be looking for a third trophy in an incredible Indian Summer of a season with Juventus. For Serbian centre ...

Via  Daily Star : Getty Images Dayot Upamecano, the 17-year-old centre back from Valenciennes who is also a target for Arsenal and Man City, has supposedly arrived in Manchester to seal a move to United... The young centre-back has reportedly attracted the attention of rivals Manchester City and Arsenal. But Louis van Gaal's side seem to have won the race for his signature. It's claimed that a fee of around £450,000 has been agreed with the French Ligue 2 side. And the 17-year-old Valenciennes starlet has visited the club's training ground ahead of his impending move, the Metro report. Read the full article  here .

Via  Mail Online : According to the Mail Online, Real Madrid's interest in United's Player of the Year is hotting up, with the goalkeeper thought to already be informing his team-mates that the move is imminent... Real Madrid are now convinced that David de Gea will join them from Manchester United this summer. The Spanish giants have held two meetings over summer transfer policy this week and sources close to the club have confirmed that president Florentino Perez is sure that De Gea will leave Old Trafford for a price-tag in excess of £25million. United are still fighting to keep their goalkeeper and will not comment on the state of play. The Barclays Premier League club have offered De Gea a British record deal for a goalkeeper of £200,000-a-week to try to tempt him to stay and have still not heard officially from Madrid ahead of a transfer window that opens at the end of the month. However Madrid believe De Gea will be their man once negotiations formally open and it is al...

United will find out on 7th August who they will face in the play-off round of the Champions League - however the full list of the opponents we could potentially face has been revealed: Possible opponents for ManUtd in the Champions League qualifiers. pic.twitter.com/KI5t3kT755 — UtdData (@UtdData) June 1, 2015