Quote Originally Posted by Loony BoB View Post
Hargreaves has only really consistently played in one of our recent seasons since Keane left. How many of those seasons have we won the title?
It was the season that we won the Champions League.

Quote Originally Posted by Loony Bob
We don't need to replace him. We have players who can play defensively if the need comes. We have both Jones and Fletcher who can play with a defensive head in midfield and have done so on numerous occasions at current/former clubs.
Hargreaves may be more defensively minded, but he wasn't a player to sit around the halfway line like a Carrick or Alonso. He was a very energetic player. Fletcher fits the mould but not Jones.

And Scott Parker started out life as an attacking midfielder. He may have become more defensively capable and played in a more defensive role (especially for England), but he is still a force going forward. And he is a relatively cheap gamble.

Quote Originally Posted by Loony Bob
Personally, I'd say our #1 requirement would be a fullback, as we only have three that are proven fullbacks. Three is not good enough.
Yeah, but we also have Fletcher and Valencia who can both cover suitably well at right-back. Evans can also go either side and if Jones can play as a defensive midfielder, he can play as a full-back too.

It's our midfield that's been weak for ages. Our most creative player in the midfield is Ryan Giggs. And he won't play every game. Fletcher, Carrick and Anderson have been inconsistent lately (okay, they have had virus and injury woes, but still) and once we go through them, we have the choice of playing Park as a central midfielder or throwing in Cleverley.

I don't understand why Scott Parker is so underrated by fans. He won the Football Writer's Player of the Year award playing for a team that was utterly dreadful.