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FM 2008: Manchester United - Home of the Red Devils

Dayle Wood

By Dayle Wood,
in Good Player & Team Guide

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R00NEY

R00NEY

Posted
Posted

Hello everyone,

This is my first post though i have been browsing through this forum for a year.

Iam in my second season with united.

Won the premiere league with chelsea right behind me. Lost to newcastle in the FA cup finals. Won the league cup and community shield. lost to barcelona in the quarters of champions league(henry raped me...scored 4 in all)

TRANSFERS

----------

I only bought pazzini for $25M.

sold chris eagles,faghzou,saha and some of the other reserves.

FORMATION

---------

4-2-3-1. I was playing this formation home/away and attacking irrespective of the opposition. I just changed the match tactics and player tactics like long shots and high creative freedom for scholes.

ROONEY/PAZZINI/TEVEZ

NANI/GIGGS ANDERSON/TEVEZ RONALDO

CARRICK/HARGREAVES/FLETCHER SCHOLES/CARRICK

EVRA/OSHEA RIO/PIQUE VIDIC/BROWN GARY/OSHEA

VAN DER SAR/KUSZSZACK

RESULTS

--------

1) Rooney was awesome. he scored 39 goals in all competitions. he played almost the entire season.

2) Tevez was mostly restricted to the bench as anderson was brilliant. He scored 20 goals. I only used tevez when either of rooney/anderson was injured.

3) Pazzini also didnt get many chances. Also he didnt do that well when he came on. waste of money.

4) giggs also was mostly restricted to the bench. but he did decently well. his assists were too good. he didnt score many though. nani was ok. not exceptional. ronaldo was gr8 in some matches but sometimes he drifts away from the match. but iam happy with him. he performed exceptionally when required.

5) scholes was injured most of the time. he gets tired easily and doesnt recover from a full match as quickly as others. carrcik and hargreaves were average. fletcher didnt get many chances. hargreaves in particular disappointed me. he was pretty bad. loses the ball quite frequently.

6) the defence was rock solid. that is the reason i think i did decently in my first season. conceded only 19 in premiere league. vidic and rio are automatic starters and rio is god. didnt make a single imstake whole season.evra played every match. gary was also solid.

7) van der sar was also solid. kuszszack was really unhappy for not getting any chances.

-------------

I started my second season yesterday. got 56M for trasfer budget.

Sold pazzini for 25M,fletcher for 14M, kuszszack for 7M, gibson,bardsley also. I also put hargreaves on the transfer list. but no one is bidding for him.

I think scholes and giggs time is now over and i felt it is the time to replace them.

Bought the following

asmoah gyan (25M)

van der vaart (24.5M)

ever banega (10.5M)

philip lahm(30M)

In my first season i bought quite a few youngsters like marko marin, mohammodou sakho, alex, aaritalo and few others.

aaritalo is knocking on the doors. Iam planning to give him the chance this season as iam trying to replace giggs. Alex and welbeck are also developing really well. They will take a couple of more seasons to get in to the first team though.

the formation i plan to use is this

ROONEY/GYAN

NANI/AARITALO ANDERSON/TEVEZ RONALDO

BANEGA/CARRICK VANDERVAART/CARRICK

EVRA/LAHM RIO/PIQUE VIDIC/EVANS GARY/LAHM

VAN DER SAR/FOSTER

of course oshea can play anywhere.

scholes/giggs will only play minor roles in the next season.

all the wingers can play on either side so i feel i have sufficient cover.

I still have 6M + $(hargreaves)M (if i manage to sell him). Any suggestions?.

planning to buy a good defender. dunno if evans can do well so soon.

will keep you guys posted.

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Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

Having a great time playing with Man U.

Started out at Rangers, won the treble in my first season, league and cup double in my second and same again in the third. First season was Quarter Finals of UEFA, then Quarter Finals of CL, same again in year three.

For whatever reason the expectations of the board were huge though and I was feeling the pressure of having to win every trophy every season, with the exception of Europe of course. So ... with the board still weighing up a new contract offer and noticing Mr Ferguson at Old Trafford had retired earlier than expected I decided to take a risk. My name had been touted for several top posts, including Newcastle, Valencia and Liverpool. I resigned my post mid way through pre-season at Rangers after three very successful years.

I applied for the Manchester Utd job and waited three weeks for a decision. It came off! They offered me a 2 year deal with a 40 million transfer budget. Phenomenal compared with the measly 1.5 million Rangers were offering. With an expanded 90,000 seater Old Trafford who could be anything but excited?!

Coming into the dressing room on the first day was a bit of a disappointment. This was a tired and drab team, devoid of morale after 3 trophyless years despite coming close every time (twice CL Finalists, 2nd place in EPL last two years running.). It was time for some changes.

Benched and then reserved went Giggs, Neville, Van Der Sar between them making up 20% of an overinflated wage bill. Rooney was nervous but he could rest assured he would be the centre piece of my new team. Promoted to Vice-Captain the dressing room seemed at first surprised and then pleased that their tenacious young striker would be leading the line when the new captain was not present. Who would that be though? I kept the decision for a week whilst watching the team train.

With the departure of older players I was left with a young squad, looking to the transfer market for new blood I immediately picked up Jack Hobbs from Everton, they had bought him from me at Rangers when David Murray overruled my asking price for the young English Under 21 star. Everton were soon relegated not long after and Hobbs wanted away. He signed for a paltry 5 million pounds - a bargain as a backup Central Defender who would mature well I was certain.

Next to the reserves list went Nani. Not impressing in training and his impetuous attitude left me with a difficult decision. Here was a young lad with potential, talent and drive - but was not good for the team. His time in the reserves would serve him well. This left me with a need for cover. I had signed young Brazilian Alex to Rangers two years earlier, touted in the press as a Wonderkid I decided to take a chance.

Murray held out for longer than expected and eventually a 9.4 Million transfer deal concluded with the signing of a multi talented pacy winger. The fans were pleased with what they seen as a forward thinking signing.

My search for a keeper extended, I had scouts scouring every continent on the planet for a new signing. The obvious names came out of the hat at first, none of which seriously impressed me. Craig Gordon was commanding a 20 Million transfer fee, and whilst he was impressive in the games my scouts watched I didn't feel my fellow countryman merited that sort of fee. I then got an email from my chief scout, he had found a 27/28 year old keeper who was being chased by the top clubs in Europe - why had I not heard of him before? No matter. With the backing of the board I struck intent on capturing my man. 18.5 Million pounds later and he arrived through the doors of The Theatre of Dreams. Marco Amelia was Manchester Uniteds new Number 1.

Satisfied with bolstering my squad with three new signings we set foot into our first friendly. What tactics to choose? At Rangers I was a staunch supporter of a 3-5-2, flooding the midfield with biting hard tackles and a gritty defence. I tried it in our first game but it was clear from the outset that it just wouldn't work. We have a strong midfield with Alex, Anderson, Van Der Vaart, Fletcher and Ronaldo but something wasn't right - these were flair players and flooding the middle of the park was restricting them. In at half time level with a Championship side - I reassured the players not to worry this was only a friendly. I decided to change things up, making a half arsed joke about bringing back sexy football. Some of the older players caught the joke, Alex looked a bit confused.

We changed to a flat back four, Hobbs accompanying Ferdinand, Evra on the left and O'Shea on the right. Fletcher had made way for O'Shea with few qualms. Alex and Ronaldo were instructed to go hell for leather down the wings, I wanted Anderson and Van Der Vaart supporting the front pairing of Tevez and Rooney. The result? 4 friendlies and 13 goals with 1 conceded. Something was lacking though, Fabian Brandy as a backup striker still wasn't ready for the role so I went back to the transfer market.

With season ticket sales boosting the transfer pot I had 20 million left to play with, I looked around and quickly targetted Issiar Dia, a man who would later score 26 goals for me that season. The other strikers were disgruntled, they didn't like the competition. Tough I said, everyone will get their shot - it'll be a long campaign.

Our first silverware of the season came in the Charity Shield (community?) - Chelsea trounced 3-0, I have never been a Manchester United fan but I felt satisfaction in knowing my new revamped team had destroyed the Cream of the EPL for the last few years. Our season rolled on, qualification for the group stages of the CL was secured and we were sitting tightly behind Newcastle.

Christmas came and went, the transfer window opened and my scouts were sending me reports on a Mr Rosina, an attacking midfielder who was playing superbly for Newcastle week in week out who were by now 6 points clear of me at the top of the table. Expensive, and outwith my budget I told them - not to mention the fact that we are top heavy in the midfield department as it is. I dismissed their reports but it kept niggling. I got a phone call a week later - Jose Mourinho no less. I asked him if he was still serving up The Special One in the Bernabaus cocktail bar, he seemed to take it well. He wanted Pique. Honestly I was surprised, he was a Defensive Midfielder who had played little part in my season so far - we rated him internally at about 15 million but I decided to play it by ear - this was Real Madrid, no strangers to large transfer fees. I asked for 30 million. They scoffed and renegotiated for a few hours and we settled on 25 million plus a 20% onward sale clause. There was 6 hours left til the end of the transfer window. The board satisfied with the sale, I immediately called the Newcastle chairman. Give me Rosina I say. No chance he says. 30 million I say. Done Deal he says.

Rosina signed the faxed paperwork and arrived at Old Trafford the next day. I got an elbow in the side at the signing, our Commercial Director was beaming - he was expecting shirt sales to sky rocket as a result of the Rosina signing. An added bonus, this lad was special.

I spoke with Alex and assured him that at his age he was still in my long term plans but that Rosina would take first choice - he was understandably disappointed but was happy to learn from the slightly older Rosina.

And so that brings me up to date so far. My adventure with Manchester continues, we are in the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup going strong. The Final of the League Cup. 2 points off top spot and with Newcastle now without their influential playmaker its looking rosy. The Champions League is still a reality in my first season although the board will be delighted with the Quarter Finals.

What an experience, what a game, there are now only a select few jobs which could possibly tempt me from my seat of power at Old Trafford - maybe Birmingham would be a good choice eh Eck?

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Tom R.

Tom R.

Posted
Posted

Anybody, please, what a good tactic for ManUtd, when team very little conceded goals or tactic which help me win Premier League.

I'm played in EPL 13 games and conceded 14 goals - almost every match (Chelsea in 12 games conceded only 1!!! goal).

My team:

VDS/Kuszczak/Foster

Brown/Neville

Evra/Cassani/Silvestre

Ferdinand/Pique

Vidic/Pique

Ronaldo/Wijnaldum

Nanni/Giggs

Hargreaves/Carrick

Alex/Anderson/Scholes

Amauri/Doyle/Saha

Rooney/Tevez

THANX!!!

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morton2003

morton2003

Posted
Posted

Won the treble once again Utd are back as kings of europe with number 3 in the bag,

Rooney and Tevez was oustanding together and when one was injured Ronaldo took his chance upfront and set the prem on fire ,

Key factors , Ronaldo Tevez, Rooney,

Players in and out,

Transfer's

league table

first team

manager info

fixtures

fixtures

Looking at bringing in a new Keeper,

Gordon,ustari,akinfeev targets,

Carrick being sold , new mid coming in

Need to add a little more upfront ,

Evra may be sold not for a penny less than 30mill so maybe a new left back too

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Hitchy

Hitchy

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by carrick777:

how much did you all sell kuszczak for?

I can't remember exactly but it was a lot more than I thought I'd get for hime. Somewhere around the 7 - 9 million mark.

I'm in my third season now and I'm having great difficulty in selling both Eagles and Dong Fanz-whatshisname.

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-Only one Ronaldo-

-Only one Ronaldo-

Posted
Posted

Hello folks...

Started with United as im a United fan, thought id have a little clear out so took the advice off Carlos Queiroz and alot of my youth teamers were released as they wernt anything special.

Brought these in for the youth team... De Gea, Saunier, Sakho, Tuia, Wijnaldum, Torje, Saivet, Fleck, Barazite, Dalle Valle and Piatti.

For my Reserves i sold Martin, Bardsley, Eckersley, Dong and Eagles.

For my 1st team i sold O'Shea for 4.5 million and Silvestre for 4.7 so i went and bought Matias Fernandez for 9 million and Armand Traore for 4 million.

I think my defence could do with one more addition, got around 8 million, anyone got any suggestions?

Thanks!! icon_smile.gif

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nch

nch

Posted
Posted

Restarted my game after the patch.

Signed Saivet, Sakho, Veloso (Banega not good in my game), Akinfeev, Kroos (will be better than Scholes in my game!) ..

Sold Fletcher, Saha, Silvestre and some reserves.

Then I sold Vidic and bought in Barzagli, earning some cash and getting a leader! Pretty good to me as Neville getting old and no one with good influence. Made a change to the backroom staff and now I only have got 6 stars and 7 stars training. My scouts are new with people like Rolland and physios are all super. Evra wants to leave now arrgh! Maybe I would try Baines?

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nch

nch

Posted
Posted

Evra's not leaving, yet. I might want to sell him as the tactic I use Viscosus tactic

requires left/right backs who contribute crossed and not runs, well so perhaps I will get Chiellini to replace him should I be able to sell him for a lot of money. Also Barzagli is doing great with the fans, they totally love him and Nani is a great performer. Veloso/Hargreaves/Carrick rotate around my 2DM positions and Anderson/Scholes get the AM part. Ronaldo will occupy the AMR and Giggs/Nani rotate at the left. My strikers are Rooney and Tevez although only one will take the role.

Might sell Scholes as he doesn't fit in the DM role and Anderson is better at AM. Any good LB with good crossing to recommend who are available cheap at January of 1st season?

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Ulisses

Ulisses

Posted
Posted

OK this Glazer loan is just killing me.

I'm losing 3M euro on average EVERY MONTH!

What the hell can I do and does it improve after first season (TV money and all..)?

Selling is not really an option, I sold 40M worth of back-ups and haven't even bought anyone but promising youngsters for less than 1M...

Need. Help. Quick.

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NozEE

NozEE

Posted
Posted

Hmm, I don't really know what to do with the financial problems - maybe get yourself a feederclub?

I've just started over as Man Utd and in the two saves I've had with them now I haven't had any kind of financial trouble.

Anyway, just a quick update. I've started a new game leaving the squad as it was and only bought some youngsters.

I'm currently in april and on a 51 games unbeaten run (only lost one game all season, 1-2 against Chelsea) and a 10 games winningstreak. The league title has just been secured and I'm about to meet Barcelona in the Champions Cup semis and Man City in the F.A. Cup final.

I'll report back when the season's over icon_cool.gif

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Shenny

Shenny

Posted
Posted

Hi all

Just completed my 2nd season in charge of Man Utd

Heres a quick summary:

1st Season - EPL and League Cup Winners (offered 2 year contract)

2nd Season - EPL and League Cup Winners (offered 2 year Contract)

3rd Season - Just started, offered 2 year contract but i asked for 5 year contract instead and was offered it

Man Stats:

Highest Fee Spent: 33M for Sergio Aguero

Highest Fee received: 10m for Nemanja Vidic

Time at Man Utd: 726 days

No. awards won: 7

No. of players bought: 8

No. of players sold: 11

No. of players released: 15

Total value of players bought: 48.5mil

Total value of players sold: 37mil

Total Career earnings: 4.1m

Match Stats

League Wins: 2

Cup Wins: 3

Games Played: 123

Games Won: 86

Games Drawn: 23

Games Lost: 14

Goals Scored: 268

Goals Conceded: 108

Tactics:

442

Adventurous

Finances Summary:

Turnover: 268.4mil

Expenditure: 230.1mil

Net Transfer Spend: 21.5mil

Profit: 94mil

Transfer Budget at start of 3rd season: 51mil

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speightman

speightman

Posted
Posted

can anyone help. i play as united. i assume as im unknown then thats the reason why the players have low moral.

beat chelsea in the charity shield, won first 3 games. their morale goes to superb for about a day. then over the next few days prior to the match reduces. WTF am i doing wrong

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R00NEY

R00NEY

Posted
Posted

PART 2:

-------

Iam in the middle of my second seoson (jan 31st).

After my spending spree in the transfer window i had some money still left so bought Adrien from sporting with a view of selling carrick next seoson.And finally i was able to get saivet for $14M...(ooops thats too much..most of you might have got him for free)

Till now everything is going fine. Topped my CL group. Drawn against Benfica in the first knockout round. 1 point behind chelsea in PL with a game in hand. Finals of the league cup and 5th round of FA cup.Thinks are looking quite good and scoring loads of goals.

Banega has been exceptional.Gyan is also doing really well. But the man who is on fire is Tevez. I thought about selling him at the end of first season and buying aguero. I compared both their stats,aguero has only higher flair i think. so, i decided i would give him one more year.

I changed my formation a little. 4-1-3-2. with my DM at the central midfield.

I am playing rooney as amc. That seems to be the best formation for me because they have been socring loads with that,though i have two of the best amc's om the game. anderson has been playing bits and parts but he is doing really well when called upon.

The problem is with vandervaart. he hasnt been bad but nothing exceptional. he scored some beauty freekicks and set up quite a few. I actually bought him to be a replacement for scholes. A player with hight creativity and who can score goals. As iam no longer playing a MC iam unable to figure out how to fit him in. Even fans and the board keeps on saying i have to justify his purchase.

Another problem is with the wingers. Ronaldo has been exceptional but nani as usual has been average. i have been rotating aaritalo and nani and both of them havent been that good.

planning to get veloso in the summer. his stats are amazing.

Lahm is now out for 1 month. looks like iam screwed. i only have evra and gary as DL and DR.

Iam at the end of my jan transfer window tried to get cassani. inter wouldnt sell him.

Any suggestions would be welcome:

1) what to do with van der vaart?

2) should i buy a new winger. if so who?

3) how to manage without wingbacks?

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NozEE

NozEE

Posted
Posted

Update on my new game:

Season 1 transfers:

manutdtrans1zl1.th.jpg

No need for strenghtening the squad, and I've decided to play this game with another approach; not buying anyone else than talents for pennies.

The season went really well, finished the league 14 points ahead of Chelsea in 2nd spot with a record of 31 wins, 5 draws and 2 defeats and a goalscore of 89-22.

The F.A. Cup was a succes aswell with me winning 1-0 against Man City in the final.

The Champions Cup went well, too - until the final were nothing went as it should, which resulted in a deserved 1-2 defeat against Chelsea.

During the season I was on a 55 game unbeaten run from 15th of september to 3rd of may but this run came to an abrupt end when Bolton (!) defeated me 1-0.

Cristiano Ronaldo was without a shade of doubt my biggest profile last season with 38 goals and 16 assists in 58 games.

Start of season 2:

The season hasn't started well to be honest with 3 defeats and 1 draw in 10 league games. I'm still placed 3rd but I'll have to play better soon or later to be able to compete in the long run.

Transfers season 2:

manutdtrans2qe4.th.jpg

Again no highprofile signings but I've offloaded a few. I just can't manage to sell Saha and Park though.

Juan Francisco León is a really promising midfielder regen I snapped up from Barca's youth team.

Youth update:

Stevan Jovetic is my 3rd choice striker at the moment - he looks really great for a 18-year-old.

Evans has played quite a few games this season and is looking like a great defender.

Gibson has broken into my firstteam squad aswell, but hasn't played much yet.

Adrien is currently out on loan but there's no doubt he'll be in my firstteam next season as he just looks amazing already.

Out of those not already in my firstteam, Jose Baxter, Sakho, Cathcart, Lulinha and John Fleck look like the biggest prospect at the moment.

That must be enough for now icon_smile.gif

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NozEE

NozEE

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by R00NEY:

how come cristiano scored so many?....what tactics did you set for him?

I'm playing him as an AMR with FWR, RWB and Cross often, with attacking mentality and an arrow towards the SC spot.

Ryan Giggs who played in the similar AML spot last season scored 16 and assisted 19 in 39(9) games.

On the other hand, my SC isn't scoring as much as he could.

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NozEE

NozEE

Posted
Posted
Originally posted by graham78:

how good does kieran lee become just starting 2nd season but getting offers for £4-5M

He looks decent but I doubt he'll ever become better than he is at 2nd season. For 4 mio I'd definately sell him and use Fabio as a DL backup instead.

He does provide good cover though, and if you don't need the money and he isn't unhappy, why not keep him and see if he'll be able to take over from Evra/Neville?

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NozEE

NozEE

Posted
Posted

4 games left of second season:

2 Premiership games - one at home against Arsenal and one away against Middlesbrough. I'm currently 1st with 1 point down to Chelsea.

F.A. Cup final against Chelsea and Champions Cup final against - believe it or not - Newcastle.

Hopefully it'll be a treble icon_cool.gif

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wigs7

wigs7

Posted
Posted

Started again with the patch and had a reasonable start . Lost 2-1 away to the scouse scum then almost went hunting for Uriah Rennie in real life after his shocking display in a 1-1 draw away to West Ham where he booked 6 and sent off Anderson . Have Tevez out for 2 months and really struggling upfront i just can't seem to get Saha motivated at all . I have no money left and may punt him along with Carrick , tried to get Owen and Huntelaar but they would budge offering 9 million and ending up getting Arshavin (fans on my back for signing him) does he come good?

On a side note i got St Mirren as a feeder club and sent J.Evans , Simpson and Campbell ther and they currently sit 3rd behind Old Firm unbeaten after 8 games (2-2 home draw with Celtic and a 2-1 win at Ibrox in the bag icon_biggrin.gif )

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NozEE

NozEE

Posted
Posted

On the SC issue you have a few options:

a) You could play and retrain Ronaldo as a striker and he'll do an equally good job as Tevez or even Rooney.

b) You could use your youngster. You have some decent - especially Febian Brandy - and it'll help them develop too.

c) Loan in a player. Usually you should be able to get in Adriano, Julio Baptista or someone like them on a loan deal.

Good luck icon_smile.gif

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likesiamesefish

likesiamesefish

Posted
Posted

ive got kieran lee in 2013 and he's good enough to be in my side. i took over this year though (12-13) and cathcart and evans are both continental class centre backs and danny simpson is keeping out lorenzo de silvestre who was signed for 28.5million a year ago. kieran lee is still back up to evra mainly at left back but he can play all over the pitch and is great for big games if i need someone to step in.

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likesiamesefish

likesiamesefish

Posted
Posted

oh and in the third season of the game i had frazier campbell at reading on loan and he was absolutely brilliant. i didn't play him much because i knew i wouldn't be able to get him full time but he had better than a goal every other game ratio (i'm a very attacking manager, at reading it wasn't uncommon for me to score three and lose) and then just before i took over at utd he was sold to boro and has since got into the england squad, i was gutted not to be able to meet back up with him. darron gibson is really good but doesn't suit my formation at all and i can't seem to sell him, it's a shame because he really is worth keeping i guess but if he's not gonna play... his stats now are close to carrick's at the start of the game. febian brandy is a pretty good player but nowhere near as good as campbell, not had as much first team experience and certainly won't play under me as i'm a one up front kinda guy and i've got rooney and okaka.

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