Home > Football > Enter £30m Nani and Anderson as Manchester United become the Premiership's Portuguese colony
by Steve Bott on 31 May 2007
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by oli on May 31, 2007
do you know anything about football? how is hargreaves mediocre. he is a proven defensive midfielder with bundles of energy and has bundesliga, cl etc medals under his belts. how is tht mediocre? sort your life out
by Fido on May 31, 2007
How dare you say Hagreaves is a mediocre player and compare him with the likes of Richardson and Fletcher. Do you think he would be in Bayern for that long if he was just an average player. Get serious!
by mcv on May 31, 2007
Anderson will be the best nº 10 in 2 years time!! Be prepared for his magaic!!!
by richard on May 31, 2007
WHAT A silly moron this guy is. hargraves is exactly what man u have been lacking. remember milan vs bayern, kaka was hardly as impressive there as he was against man u. sames story against liverpool, u know why, cos they had a top notch defensive midfielder harrying him out of the game. hargreves is much better for the new man u team than the old roy keane, keano want everything to be his way, probably would have lead to huge ego clashes, hargreaves is neat and efficent player and the only ego running man u will be the one belonging to ferguson.of cos i think 30 millions pounds for a couple of teenagers is risky but thats the current climate nowadays, u can only buy what the market offers u/, does alex have enuf money for a top notch striker now?
by Loki on May 31, 2007
How clueless is whoever wrote this. He's giving these opinions while still admittin not to knowing these players and in his ignorance labelling Anderson as an 'up front' player and saying he is there a a striker. Anderson is a player in the Ronaldinho mould postion wise...attacking midfield or left attacking midfield. He can play up front but not his main position. And Hargreaves as a 'proven mediocre England international...wasn't given a chance for many years becasue not based in England, but outplayed all the flopping Englis superstars in the team in the world cup, and has put in solid perfomances otherwise.
by Andy on May 31, 2007
how everybody labels O´Shea and Fletcher as mediocre players. Remember 05/06 season? We ended up runners up with O´Shea playing regularly in our midfield.. How is that possible for a mediocre player? That means that alle the teams we beat that year are even worse than mediocre...hmm. I hope Nani and Anderson will succeed, seems like to likeable youngsters, but I know Hargreaves will fit well in our midfield and he will do a good job. As will our other "mediocre" players like O´Shea, Fletcher, Park ec. when they´re called upon. This article shows a writer who lacks respect for people, the gae, the players and ultimately, him/herself...
by Adil on May 31, 2007
You now have cristiano ronaldo that u have taken from my club SPORTING (BEST SCHOOL OF PLAYERS OF THE WORLD) now you take nani and anderson from oporto. what a nice players.. you will see and will not going to upset they really good!
by Carlitos on May 31, 2007
I think Man Utd went a bit nuts too pay that much for those player , but maybe theire worth it ... I watch almost every game in the (Portuguese) BWin league and I say that Anderson is without a doubt the next Ronaldinho , hes 19 and hes one of the best in Porto . VERY Creative ... Nani is not that good ... hes fast and has good control off the ball , but sometimes he plays really bad ... But I agree they have both great potential and could become great players . Anderson like Ronaldinho .... Nani like Figo And btw , Anderson is not Portuguese!!
by harold on May 31, 2007
I am not only a United fan but a Hargreaves fan, and I think all the three signings will definitely benefit United a lot!! We have to admit that Nani is not Ronaldo but I believe SAF bought him because he saw the potential in Nani to replace Giggs who still has 2 or three years of his career left. And I am quite sure SAF is confident that he will make Nani as good as any of the best left wingers in the world within these two years!! Meanwhile, United definitely a Gattuso type of player who is a ball winner and dynamic and I would say that Hargreaves is one of the best of this type of players as he showed playing for England!! He is also only 25 or 26 and has won everything in Germany he could so he offers a lot of experience as well!! Since his family was from Bolton I have no doubt he will settle down very quickly!!
by sdam sharif on May 31, 2007
I like nanni and anderson to join man united. man united are my favorite team. they have good players. and they also have best coach in the world.
by Gallius on May 31, 2007
I cannot believe that Hargreaves has been hit with the label "Mediocre". The guy is a class act, hes won the Champions League, numerous German titles and everything else it is possible to win in Germany. His pace is immense, he has a 90 % pass rate and an 80 % tackling rate. For me, that does not constitute for being Mediocre. If Fergie has been after him for over a year, desperate to sign him, there is something there and to get a World Classs English Player for £17 million, what a bargain. As for Nani and Anderson, im not exactly familiar with them but i have saw glimpses of them and i think they are quality too. We may not know much about them but you are forgetting that Carlos Queiroz is Portuguese and he will have a great mass of knowledge on these players. Judging on the fact that Gill and Carlos went in for the transfers so quickly, suggests they have hit Gold and if they want a player that much, you cant help but think theyre going to be good. As for the fees, like i said, hargreaves wa
by top pundit on May 31, 2007
need i say anymore? this guy is a joke!!
owen hargreaves "mediocre" record. Player Factfile Born: Calgary, Canada, 20 January 1981 Position: Midfielder Team Honours: German Bundesliga 2001, 2003, 2005, 2006 Champions League: 2001 Intercontinental Cup: 2001 German Football Federation Cup: 2003, 2005, 2006 German League Cup 2004 Individual Honours: European U21 Player of the Year 2001 England Player of the Year in January 2007.
by bibi on June 01, 2007
Hargreaves's not mediocre dah, probably one of the better players in the last england world cup team. just under appreciated. but i do think carrick IS mediocre, pls get rid of carrick n use hargreaves.
by bonzo on June 01, 2007
united won't be challenging for the champs league next season. they will struggle to emulate their form this year.
by J. Khan on June 01, 2007
Does this baldy 'Steve Bott' know what he's talking about? In case he's confused let me remind him that its the global version of football we are talking not the American Barbaric version!
by Roberto da Costa on June 02, 2007
Hargreaves is a proven player. All of England is a mediocre team and you can't go past Rio, Rooney, Terry and Gerrard, possibly Beckham if he is to stay, when you are looking for world class players. When on form, it is easy to say any one world class. I think he is an astute buy specially that he will get United through matches like Milan if need be. As for Nani and Anderson, for god's sake consider their age. They are 20 and 19. Yet you want impact equivalent to a proven player. You may not watch portuguese football but then you got the chance to watch Anderson in action last year in Ajax Tournament. Did you see him play then. He was quality and he has been a quality for Porto. He has the potential to be as good as Ronaldinho as he plays the exact same role. It was the best time to buy him as any player would take at least a season to get familiar to the new team. In 2 years time when Scholes will retire, the price of then Anderson type player would have soared up 4 folds. Plus, it will be guaranteed that
by damien on June 02, 2007
Totally agree. Get Steve Bott out put this guy in. Read his logical answers
by Jose Rocha on June 02, 2007
I'm from Portugal and I couldn't resist to give you my opinion about Nani and Anderson. Nani is a winger, like Ronaldo, he plays at left or right wings. He's not like Ronaldo, his technique is not that good but he's strong like him and I think he will succeed in the Premiership. I like him, but here in the Portuguese League he's not regular, sometimes he plays really bad. As for Anderson, my opinion is... Man Utd much probably have the next best player of the world. He plays in the same positions as Ronaldinho, is technique is superior, you'll see it how he touches the ball and runs... I'm really sad to see Anderson leaving Porto but I'm really happy for him. Unfortunately Anderson is short although he's powerful, I don't think he will adapt so soon to the English football. Be patient... someday you'll have the chance to see the 2 best players of the world together in the theatre of dreams: Ronaldo and Anderson. I agree with you guys about Hargreaves. He's good, very good. He's not the type of player that m
by jonathan on June 03, 2007
You must be a ABU (Anything But United) writer! SAF's transfer dealings have been anything but exemplary. He has had his transfer failures eg. Juan Sebastian Veron, Diego Forlan, Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba, David Bellion, etc. Also, Chelsea had hijacked numerous Manyoo targets - Damien Duff, Arjen Robben, Michael Essien, Mikel John Obi, Michael Ballack, etc. Lately, Spurs have also got into the act with Dmitar Berbatov and Gareth Bale. SAF learnt from his transfer mistakes and transform his transfer policies into: 1. Buy only the best british for the team's spine 2. Buy or recruit the best young foreign talent for team's creativity. Added the home groomed squad players - Wes Brown, John O'Shea, Darren Fletcher, Keiran Richardson.
by Ronald Etyang on June 03, 2007
Given the fact that Giggs and Scholes are becoming good old guards i think nani and Anderson are the perfect replacements 4 the 2 respectuvely
by D on June 11, 2007
they should make a real difference if they are anything like Ronaldo and the quality midfielders we have now!
by luffers on June 11, 2007
for someone who coversfootball for a paper you know remarkably little, anderson is no goalscoring striker for a start, he plays like bergkamp etc off the main forward or in attacking midfield, hargreaves isnt intended as the replacement for giggs?! he IS however the balwinning midfielder you say they still need, as for mediocre, how much german football etc do you watch? either way id still say , and im an arsenal fan, that im sure ferguson has maybe a tiny bit of a better eye for quality than a journalist who propagates crap rumours and lies
by re dumb ass on June 11, 2007
yeah he wasnt effective at all against liverpool, he only created the second goal and one the free kick for the first one?!
by ryano on December 03, 2007
for one thing how was kieron richardson in the same mould as owen hargreaves.you obviously know nothing. the main reason united didnt beat mlan last year was missing a defensiv mid who can tackle. owen hargreaves englands best player of the last world cup, fact! also nani is a winger and anderson centre mid, not striker. anderson is going to be a star, he has the passing of scholes, but can also run with it, he will be a star im sure