[funkdoctorspock]

Manchester City, Liverpool, Leeds and to a lesser extent Arsenal and Chelsea.

If a world class player or a player who is young and has a tremendous upside is available from one of these clubs. Would you respect the decision of Manchester United to put in a bid for that player if the need required?

Keep in mind that United have done this before. So state your reasoning for either yes, no or depends.

For me it, I'm going to state depends. I'll state my "logic" later on in the thread.

Have a quick read at this article which raised the question.

City risk losing Richards with offer of ONLY £50,000 a week

Manchester City are to adopt a hard-line approach with England defender Micah Richards that could spark a £20million transfer war between Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United.

Richards, 19, is due to meet City for contract talks once the transfer window closes on Thursday, when he will be told the club are not prepared to break their pay structure to give him £70,000 a week.

He will then have to decide whether to accept a long-term deal for about £50,000 a week or leave in the summer. Indications are that City's ultimatum may work and the player will drop his initial demands and sign.

The deal offered by City would make him the highest-paid player at the club, but it is below what many of his team-mates in the England dressing-room would earn.

Richards has two-and-a-half years left on his current deal and delayed talks because he was in the process of changing agents. His availability would create the hottest transfer chase of the summer, with Avram Grant, Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson all huge fans.

Richards has become a fixture in the England team at right-back but plays in the centre of defence for City. His pace, strength and aerial ability marked him out as the best youngster to emerge since Wayne Rooney.

He will be absent today against Sheffield United, leaving the way for another of City's England hopefuls to take the limelight. Goalkeeper Joe Hart has been tipped to follow his hero David Seaman into the England team, but he is more interested in the Arsenal star's FA Cup record.

Surprisingly, Seaman is the only English goalkeeper to have won the FA Cup since 1990, something Hart can put right this season, particularly if he keeps a clean sheet to help City progress past Bryan Robson's Blades in the fourth round.

Since Les Sealey was in goal for Manchester United in 1990, the only goalkeepers to win the FA Cup apart from Seaman have been foreign. The stellar list includes Bruce Grobbelaar, Peter Schmeichel, Erik Thorstvedt, Tim Howard, Jens Lehmann, Pepe Reina and Petr Cech.

City boss Sven Goran Eriksson says Hart, 20, would not be fazed if he was called up by Fabio Capello in the Italian's first England squad to face Switzerland on February 6. With only five English keepers currently first choice in the Premier League, there is pressure on Hart's 6ft 4in frame.

But he believes Eriksson's faith in him — he is picked ahead of Sweden's Andreas Isaksson and Peter Schmeichel's son Kasper — shows English goalkeepers are up to the job.

"It's ironic that a foreign manager has been the one to give me a chance," said Hart. "It was a massive decision by him and I want to prove in every game he made the right decision.

"If I can help raise the reputation of English keepers by doing well, I'm happy. We've got enough ability in this country to provide more keepers in the Premier League. I've seen six or seven in the Championship who would do as well as some of the foreign keepers. It's a question of being given the opportunity."
Click

[randy420]

It depends.

Pool have no one worth buying, so that would be no.

All the players at Chelsea are mercenary cnuts, so no thanks

Arsenal probably wouldn't sell to us, and I don't really want anyone from there in over any of our players, except maybe fabricass but he's a snotty little shite of a player so I might pass on that too.

Leeds have no one good enough anymore.

C*ty don't really have anyone worth getting except maybe Richards, but I don't think that he'd come to us. Not because of any rivalry, I just don't see him getting that many starts if he came here. He'd have to fight out Rio and Vida in the centre, Nev on the right, and if we wanted to play him in central midfield, then there's Carrick, Hargs, Scholes and Anderson and Fletch

[ROONEYGR]

I agree to buy players from rival teams if they are good enough to play for our team!!! We also weaken them and we will get even stronger!!!!!

The best transfer for me would be Gerrard!!!!!Something that never will happen

[GocartMozart]

no thanks, the last thing i want is to add a full blown diving cnut to my team. liverpool deserve him. right now there are very few players I could think of that would improve us from our rivals in the first place, but I'm not against to pulling players from opposing teams.

[Rockynaldo]

If we keep the topic at the general level, without getting to the specifics of individual players, then the answer has to be yes.

As soon as a player signs for United, he is immediately accepted by the club and fans. His previous employment becomes a matter of complete irrelevance. When I look at Tevez and Rooney, I see only two United players, not an Ex-Hammer or an Ex-Evertonian.

[Dirtycheat]

manchester united have bought players from leeds before. Giggs was bought from man city at youth level.

I think its alright for united to buy players from "rival" clubs but there are limitations to it, for instance we tried to buy A.Cole from arsenal once, thats big no no. Basically if the player is respectable i see no harm in them joining man united IMO.

I also agree with Rockynaldo, i still dont look at rio and smith as ex-leeds players. They're man united and ex-man united. Fans might give the players grief at first but if they are good players they will be accepted straight away.

It's probably more about whether rivals would sell to us IMO.

[TeKnIcIaN]

Sign a player from a rival club? Absolutely, not a problem! Depending, of course, on the player being a worthwhile aquisition. If the player would be a valuable addition to the team, then I really don't care where they came from be it Sporting Lisbon or Liverpool.

Speaking more specifically about the player that inspired this thread, unlike some I think Richards would be a good and valuable addition to the team. I have no idea why Sven is playing him in the centre of defense since he is a very good right back. Probably because City don't have any good central defenders - which is not a problem United suffers from.

Don't get me wrong, Gary is a great player but the reality is that he is now a lot closer to the end of his career and we had better start planning for his replacement. Wes doesn't really cut the mustard in my book and might be leaving anyways, and O'Shea is a superd general purpose player and a fantastic sub, but he's not a natural right back.

[Torque]

If a player is good enough and worth the money the club asks for him, than why not?
At the moment, there are no players at our rival clubs that i would like to see playing for United.

[macca247]

if a player is class and worth buying then yes

[BigMic]

I voted "depends" although I think we don't need to buy any players right now.There are a couple of good players who play for rival clubs I would like United to sign eg Terry, Gerard, Adebayor but let's be more realistic.These players will never come to Old Trafford.They already play for big clubs and they are not for sale.On the other hand I have a dozen of good players at United for whom our rivals would like to buy. Oh and something last but not least.From City I would never buy anyone.Not even for free.Not even if Ericsson came on his knees and begged me for it!!!