Alright...let's hear your transfer rumours...(look, I even spelled rumours correctly!)

Jeffari-al-Texani wrote: All I know is that ManUre have signed 24 players in the last five years, and a whopping four of them were English...so I guess I should change my statement to there is a 1 in 6 chance that they will sign Richards...

That's actually quite an interesting fact, Jeff. Where did you get that from?

Who are the four then? Carrick, Rooney, Hargreaves (presumably) and ... how long ago did they buy Ferdinand? He's been there more than five years now, shirley? Who's the 4th in that case?

PETER COATES'S BELATED REDEMPTION wrote:

El Jarvo wrote:

Jeffari-al-Texani wrote: All I know is that ManUre have signed 24 players in the last five years, and a whopping four of them were English...so I guess I should change my statement to there is a 1 in 6 chance that they will sign Richards...

That's actually quite an interesting fact, Jeff. Where did you get that from?

Who are the four then? Carrick, Rooney, Hargreaves (presumably) and ... how long ago did they buy Ferdinand? He's been there more than five years now, shirley? Who's the 4th in that case?

Ben Foster from Stoke?

Really? I thought he was a homegrown talent.

I say 'talent' when I really meant 'scum' - as he played for them in the top flight one season. Filthy yellow-stained scummy cunt. Just saying, like.

Biginoil wrote: Good rumour in the Guardian today. City are planning to sign Brazillian strikers Jo and Ronaldinho:

I heard the 200k p/w bit on the news this morning. Mind boggles.

A striker called Jo though? We've had Fred and Cris from Brazil. When they gonna churn out a Pete, Bob and Dave?

PETER COATES'S BELATED REDEMPTION wrote: EDIT: just realised you are referring to his time at W&tford. How little I understand the rivalries in your little corner of just-north-of-London.

Yup. The word 'yellow' should've given it away. I would've usually said 'piss-stained' but that sounded like one churlish comment too many!

"your little corner of just-north-of-London."?

You're starting to talk down to me like a Premiershi* fan already!

Uncle Liam wrote: Smith, Rooney, Carrick, Foster, Hargreaves. This doesnt include elevations for the youth set up like Chris Eagles and Danny Welbeck, or players who have been in the senior sqaud but are out on loan like Lee Martin.

United are linked with a lot of the top quality English players, they have an exceptional youth system (not as good as productive as it used to be) and the spine, if you will, of Uniteds team has always been English.

Liam, are United your 2nd team?

Hargreaves really ain't English, he just plays for England, there's a massive difference. He's half-English at the very least, in that his father is English. He was born and raised in Canada, and could've qualified for Germany if we hadn't picked him when we did. He didn't even live in this country 'til one year ago!! I doubt he even considers himself English, does he?

Chris Eagles is clutching at straws, shirley? Not going to be a star. He's had his chance but will have to move elsewhere if he's going to make it, and I fear it's too late for him now. Should've done a David Bentley and jumped ship (like DB did from Arsenal) when he had a chance. You have to seriously doubt someone's ambition when they're happy to play in the stiffs week in / week out, even if it is for United. Couldn't hold down a first team place in the Prem with W&tford. He's a decent Championship player, little more.

And United's spine hasn't always been English. Schmeichel? Giggs? Keane? Cantona? All of who probably opitimise everything that United were about in the late 90's.

Uncle Liam wrote: Neville, Scholes, Butt, Beckham, (dare i say it) Cole?

Even back in 92-93, they had Bruce, Pallister, Ince, Paul Parker.

Oh, come on. Straight choice - Roy Keane against either Ince or Butt? One man always first on the teamsheet out of those three, and it ain't either of the Englishmen.

Paul Parker? I'm still of an age when I think of Parker as a QPR Legend. He had - what? - two good seasons at United? Hardly a 'spine' of anyone's team. Compare that to the United career of Denis Irwin - who started alongside him at United, and was still doing it at the top level with United many years after Parker had lost his way.

And Mr Cole set the world alight as a Newcastle player. Was the most sort after (English) player on the planet when he signed for United, but never delivered the way he did to the Geordie faithful.

At the end of the day, if Jeff's stats are right - then United only buying 4 (out of 24) English players in the last five years does negate any assertions that they're an 'English' team in the main. And I certainly don't think anyone could ever claim they've got an English spine - in 1999 for every Roy Keane there was a Scholes, for every Beckham, there was a Giggs, and for every Cole there was a Yorke. This year, for every Brown, there's an Evra, for every Ferdinand there's a Vidic, for every Carrick there's a Ronaldo. Like most Premiership teams they've got a decent blend of homegrown talent and Johnny Foreigner. Neither one way, nor the other.

Uncle Liam wrote: Jeffs points was that United dont go in for English players, a fact which, no matter what way you interpret it, is wrong. Like I said earlier in the thread, they have more English players than any other nationality. In a squad of thirty, then have ten English players.

Eh? Which bit am I missing?

They've got 10 English players out of 30 players?

Which means they've got 10 English players and 20 non-English players!

Blimey, Liam - do the math-s!

Anyways, I'm sure that United's team demographic is probably no different to any other Premiership teams at the end of the day. Arsenal can probably even scrape together ten English players if you include all the yoof and reserves.

EDIT: I just had a think about that and the last comment about the Arse was a tad naive. Walcott, Hoyte, Gilbert ... er?