i wasn't sold on pique for a long time but he impressed me on sunday in two areas i was a bit concerned about: his strength against a physical player (in terrrible conditions) and his positioning. i had a little look at an old game i had on video as well and i'm coming around to him. with rio and vidic as the first choice pairing brown and pique would be fine as cover imo.

we certainly need a rb whether brown stays or goes. johnson is the obvious choice but might cost silly money. very limited options, tbh.

we need a striker, of course. it would be very nice to see wellbeck given a few chances as a 4th choice but we still need somebody with some experience and some physical presence, who won't mind not being a first choice. so here are my kites, a mixture of sheringham-type experienced players and younger, talented but troubled lads:

1. a cheeky bid for super john carew? very intelligent player, powerful, good finisher, offers something different, certainly wouldn't turn down a chance to finish his career at united. no problems settling in.

2. miroslaw klose? hasn't had the best of seasons but would be reasonably priced and is another player with the intelligence to play up front for us. good movement, holds the ball up well and excellent at bringing players into the play.

3. lukasz podolski? a risk, but might be worth a punt - certainly cheap, certainly got the talent, and maybe getting away from his problems and getting to work with somebody with the authority of fergie would help him to turn it around.

4. adriano? scoring again, may have got his head on right at last. wonderful ability if... not really in favour of this one, tbh, as i think he'd be a terrible influence on anderson et al.


now, where's my tin hat?