Manchester City Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours

eagle eye

I just checked the City Website to make sure this one was true. Huge addition for City imo.

Manchester City Football Club are delighted to announce that the signing of Nigel de Jong from Hamburg SV for an undisclosed fee has been completed.The 24-year-old Dutch midfielder with 29 international caps inked in a four-and-a-half year contract after agreeing personal terms and passing a medical earlier today.
De Jong, who played against City in the pre-season friendly at the HSV Nordbank Arena in July, joined Hamburg from Ajax in 2006 and was a team-mate of City’s summer signing Vincent Kompany.
Nigel becomes the Blues' second signing of the week following the arrival of Craig Bellamy, and along with the former Hammer, de Jong's squad number is yet to be confirmed.]

Instant Karma

de Jong is a quality player indeed and will do well in the premership. With all this hype about Kaka in recent weeks, thats 3 quality signings this window that city have quietly aquired (yes bellamy too), and I wouldn't be surprised if city do well in the final run in of the league and a European spot is not a massive stretch of the imagination.

Also, I see rumors on some of the city boards that predict a deal for Shay Given is on the cards too, which imo would be a massive boost for the club.

Also, some of the comments about Cook, I think are a bit unfair, the guy is a masivly experienced businessman and I think he's a great asset for city at the moment.

redout

Instant Karma wrote: »

Also, I see rumors on some of the city boards that predict a deal for Shay Given is on the cards too, which imo would be a massive boost for the club.

.

Not unless they up their offer. £5 Million as reported in the press wont do it in my opinion. At least £8 Million or so I reckon will be required. As for De Jong I have only seen him at Euro 2008 and he looked decent enough but £18 Million is a joke for a virtual unknown in my opinion.

mayordenis

redout wrote: »

Not unless they up their offer. £5 Million as reported in the press wont do it in my opinion. At least £8 Million or so I reckon will be required. As for De Jong I have only seen him at Euro 2008 and he looked decent enough but £18 Million is a joke for a virtual unknown in my opinion.

Virtual unknown? Ahh now he's anything but that. Just because you don't know him. It's money very well spent.

redout

mayordenis wrote: »

Virtual unknown? Ahh now he's anything but that. Just because you don't know him. It's money very well spent.

Ahh.......Bollox. How many on here new him ? I only heard of him at the Euros and I would put money on it that most others did also. I doubt many here could of even told you he played for Hamburger ffs and £18 Million ! Jesus age christ. Tell me why I have never heard any big clubs chasing this guy please ? Now I read the papers, internet most days on football news and have never heard of any club and this guys name mentioned. He is a virtual unknown in my books and I like to think of myself fairly up to speed on footballing matters in fairness. Maybe you new a lot about him but I still stand by what I said that the guy is a virtual unknown to most of us on here.

mayordenis

redout wrote: »

Ahh.......Bollox. How many on here new him ? I only heard of him at the Euros and I would put money on it that most others did also. I doubt many here could of even told you he played for Hamburger ffs and £18 Million ! Jesus age christ. Tell me why I have never heard any big clubs chasing this guy please ? Now I read the papers, internet most days on football news and have never heard of any club and this guys name mentioned. He is a virtual unknown in my books and I like to think of myself fairly up to speed on footballing matters in fairness. Maybe you new a lot about him but I still stand by what I said that the guy is a virtual unknown to most of us on here.

Fair enough but he has been linked with a huge amount of teams before he moved to Hamburg - he was one of the hottest properties when he was playing at right back for Ajax - I'm pretty sure all of the "big 4" were linked with him at one time or another.
Also being the main man at Hamburg is also a fairly big deal, they are a pretty big club.

redout

mayordenis wrote: »

Fair enough but he has been linked with a huge amount of teams before he moved to Hamburg - he was one of the hottest properties when he was playing at right back for Ajax - I'm pretty sure all of the "big 4" were linked with him at one time or another.
Also being the main man at Hamburg is also a fairly big deal, they are a pretty big club.

Sorry to take away from your 4000th post brother. I am sure it could have been better used if I hadnt opened my gob.

Apologies.

Instant Karma

From what I've read he had a 1.8m release clause for the summer, which yes, may make the 18m deal seem excessive but it's better to get him signed now rather than let him go to the likes of real madrid(who were sniffing around) for that pittance.

His value is surely around the 10>15m mark regardless and his value will be priceless if he lifts the club's performance on the pitch and gets us nicely into the safety zone.

eagle eye

redout wrote: »

Ahh.......Bollox. How many on here new him ? I only heard of him at the Euros and I would put money on it that most others did also. I doubt many here could of even told you he played for Hamburger ffs and £18 Million ! Jesus age christ. Tell me why I have never heard any big clubs chasing this guy please ? Now I read the papers, internet most days on football news and have never heard of any club and this guys name mentioned. He is a virtual unknown in my books and I like to think of myself fairly up to speed on footballing matters in fairness. Maybe you new a lot about him but I still stand by what I said that the guy is a virtual unknown to most of us on here.

I've known about him for a long time and where did you get the figure. The fee has remained undisclosed, but of course the media have to make one up and its always on the high side. It might be right of course but really for City now a couple of million is irrelevant. They are going to inflate the price of transfers for everyone else as well. All they have to do is say they are interested and the club who currently has a player will up the ante.

GLaDOS

I imagine the Sheik reached into his pocket and happened to have 18m there and threw it on the table

redout

eagle eye wrote: »

I've known about him for a long time and where did you get the figure.

BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/7834076.stm

Xavi6

Absolutely delighted with this acquisition. Exactly the sort of player we need. Might give Vinny K a chance to move back to centre half. Only 24 as well so it's absolutely perfect for our long term plans.

As said, this has been a fantastic transfer window for us.

eagle eye

redout wrote: »

BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/7834076.stm

As I said the media. lol

Two lines say it all.

The 24-year-old has moved for an undisclosed fee after agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.

However, German media reports that Mark Hughes's side may have paid as much as £18m to sign him.

Xavi6

http://www.fobazo.com/en/latest_news.asp?AjrDcmntId=5947

ROBINHO: I LIKE LIVING IN MANCHESTER

Robinho is in Brazil, at the city of Santos, and will return to Manchester in the next few days after solving family matters.

"I like living in Manchester and I have made many friends at the club and at the city, since I arrived last year. I admire the Manchester City fans, who are truly lovers of football and loyal to the club players. I am looking forward to delivering as many goals as possible to help our team move to the next level".

" I have a good relationship with coach Mark Hughes and have always respected his decisions. He is the boss!"

Case closed.

mayordenis

redout wrote: »

Sorry to take away from your 4000th post brother. I am sure it could have been better used if I hadnt opened my gob.

Apologies.

lol don't you be apologising - I'm all for debate we don't have to agree - and thanks hadn't noticed the 4k milestone

redout

eagle eye wrote: »

As I said the media. lol

Two lines say it all.

Well in fairness both itv and RTE say in the region of £17 Million. The BBC and the times both say in the region of £18 Million so its safe to say we are in the same ballpark as regards figures. The four hardly picked the figures from obscurity and ended up with the same ones.

Savman

Xavi6 wrote: »

http://www.fobazo.com/en/latest_news.asp?AjrDcmntId=5947



Case closed.

Not even Mancunians like living in Manchester :D

busted flush

Savman wrote: »

Not even Mancunians like living in Manchester :D

LOL

eagle eye

redout wrote: »

Well in fairness both itv and RTE say in the region of £17 Million. The BBC and the times both say in the region of £18 Million so its safe to say we are in the same ballpark as regards figures. The four hardly picked the figures from obscurity and ended up with the same ones.

What part of it don't you get?

They are all saying that the German media are reporting that they may have paid as much as 18m.

Read that again and then again and again until you understand that they are not in any way saying its true.
Now you are depending on German media sources, and just like everywhere else they will write any rubbish about soccer.

And you point out clearly that there are different sources claiming different figures and while its 17 and 18, its just shows that neither is certain by any means. Anyways this is the Man City thread and I don't want to derail it with this rubbish.

Lets just each make our minds up and leave it at that.

spiderdan

seems like a solid player from the Euro's but 18m FFS, first Bellamy now this, I know they have the money but they are paying way over the odds. Jol jumped at the chance to sell him, far too much to turn down. Be interesting to see if Kompany will play at CB now.

Mr Alan

Xavi6 wrote: »

http://www.fobazo.com/en/latest_news.asp?AjrDcmntId=5947



Case closed.

not really, Hughes today has said that Robinho had no permission to leave & they will have to talk about it when he returns. Robinho must obviously need to check out wat the definition of "boss" actually is.

Xavi6

spiderdan wrote: »

seems like a solid player from the Euro's but 18m FFS, first Bellamy now this, I know they have the money but they are paying way over the odds. Jol jumped at the chance to sell him, far too much to turn down. Be interesting to see if Kompany will play at CB now.

The reason we paid so much now is because he would be available for around 2 million in the summer. That would see a load of Champions League clubs sniffing around and we wouldn't have a hope of picking him up. We offered a massive amount to guarantee the player now, and seeing as money is no object it was the right thing to do.

There was definitely method to the madness.

redout

23/01/2009 10:11

Robinho May Have Escaped Manchester City For Birthday Bash

Mark Hughes continues to play down the importance of Robinho's sensational walk-out...

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has insisted that Robinho didn't march out of the Citizen's Tenerife training camp because the club failed to land Kaka from Milan. The Welshman says that the walk-out came before that development.

However, that revelation only makes the situation more strange. 'Personal issues' have been cited for the Brazilian's departure, although now sources claim that he merely wanted to celebrate his 25th birthday with family and friends.

In any case, Hughes has reiterated that Robinho will spend his special day explaining his actions.

The gaffer said: "He made the decision to leave the camp and go back to Brazil. Obviously that wasn’t with my permission, and it's not practical.

"I spoke to Robby, though. He rang me and we had a brief chat, although it was difficult with the language constraints.

"We need to address this and we will - we'll sit down, then move on.

"Will he remain a City player? Absolutely. That’s not up for debate."

Still reeling from the Kaka rejection, he added: "We should be given a little bit of credit. We weren’t able to conclude the deal but we got very, very close.

"Anyway, criticism just makes us stronger as a group and as a club."



http://www.goal.com/en/news/710/manchester-city/2009/01/23/1073973/robinho-may-have-escaped-manchester-city-for-birthday-bash




Jesus christ the media must be running out of crap to write by stating this. I would take that with a pinch of salt.

ShoulderChip

so palacio is in talks in valencia apparently, does that mean villa/albiol are on their way?

and any word on diego/veloso?

Mr Alan

you're constantly going on about Villa going to Man City......do you have any reason to think this? They've already bought Bellamy.

ShoulderChip

no its mostly just blind hope, and the ramblings of city fans on blue moon unfortunately.

Mr Alan

fair enough.

are you a city fan?

Mgoraf

Villa doesn't want to move to the EPL. He'll be at Real/Barca in the summer I reckon.

Was Diego ever linked with City :S Only heard him linked with Juve. City were linked with Veloso today though.

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/67039/Exclusive-City-hunt-70m-Villa/

Smegball

Daily Star lol

Charlie

This probably won't go down all that well here (seeing as most of the forum loathe Brand) but in his weekly Guardian column, imo, the man sum things up quite well:

Those swaggering braggarts of Eastlands talk a lot of hot sh*t and deliver miserable little blow-offs. "Hey, how do you fancy Kaka – the world's finest midfielder – we've got trazillions of euro-bucks." Then who comes a'sidling through the back door? Want-away journeyman Craig Bellamy.

If that Middle-Eastern consortium that runs Manchester City ever offers you a deal, give it a swerve because the disparity between what it promises and what it delivers is bigger than the Gulf from where its wealth is derived. Were City's owners to become pimps and regale you with the prospect of an evening of celestial decadence with Penélope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson, it would surprise me not an iota if you arrived at the bedsit that you'd been promised would be a penthouse to discover you'd be spending the night with Henry Hoover and Dean Gaffney in a wig.

Of course, City fans will now be frantically pointing in the direction of Robinho, as if his presence alone is an emblem of the club's changing fortunes. Well, they'll be pointing a long way, as he's cleared off to Brazil to celebrate his 25th birthday. A man's 25th birthday is not so magical an occasion as to warrant such wanton globetrotting; one's mid-twenties are an indifferent blur, descending with indecent haste towards the quagmire of one's thirties. Why's he going home for that? It's a bit childish – is he getting a new BMX? With mag wheels and mushroom grips? Or is he hoping to negotiate a bargain with the tooth fairy whereby his plaque, if correctly harvested, could constitute a tiny dental windfall?

Robinho does not seem happy at City – he's received a record fine of £320,000, or as he calls it, "a fortnight's wages". That fine will literally make no difference to him. I can't imagine that Robinho, a man who considers birthdays more important than work, pores over his accounts week after week, scrutinising the implications of exchange rates and pension plans. In the simple terms of a tangible penalty it would probably be more effective to throw an apple at his head – at least he'd notice, before doubtlessly flicking it on to his shoulder, then his heel and jinking off on a delicious run to nowhere.

Arrigo Sacchi, the former Real Madrid technical director of whom Robinho was once a charge, said of the Brazilian's move to Manchester: "It was not a football choice and he has lost the happiness that football gave him." That is rather poetic. Sacchi suggests that football is a deity, a judicious entity that rewards those who respect its ethics but condemns those who disregard them. What Robinho did, he appears to say, was disrespectful to his own tremendous talent, the talent that took him from poverty to glory. This gift demands only that you are a responsible steward and that you cherish it. In this instance Robinho's actions ought be a living tribute to the blessing he has received – not to Mammon.

Interesting then that Kaka, his compatriot and friend, remains at Milan, having rejected the lure of the shimmering albatross that currently rests upon Robinho's chest, where medals once did hang. Kaka is well into the ol' Christianity and therefore is attuned to ideas beyond acquisition, and decided that as a footballer his priority must be football. It is a magical thing to be a professional footballer and the gift does not alight for long before departing and leaving bland mortality where once its sheen did linger. The deficit that excellence-departed exposes is almost impossible to grieve. Paul Gascoigne daily does battle with the torturous abyss left by his fleeting talent.

None of us then should be seduced by the transient glow of money and superficial splendour, as for all of us the presence of wonder is all too brief. Burnley for a while were level with Spurs in Wednesday's Carling Cup semi-final, ahead on the away goals rule. All they had to do was hold on through extra time, to reach the final against Manchester United. But the glory proved impermanent, Roman Pavlyuchenko scored and then Jermain Defoe, and the dream was all undone. Like the end of Bagpuss, when the sprightly mice are once more ornaments, the haughty professor a bookend and even Bagpuss, so full of slovenly vitality, becomes again a stuffed cat.

Don't. Waste. A. Second.

Smegball

Charlie wrote: »

This probably won't go down all that well here (seeing as most of the forum loathe Brand) but in his weekly Guardian column, imo, the man sum things up quite well:

Always enjoyed Brands columns tbh, just like most of the columns on the site they are all excellently written and is my first stop for football news.

keane2097

Good article imo

Mgoraf

Gianluigi Buffon would leave Juventus if he was the subject of a "fantasy football bid" like AC Milan playmaker Kaka, the goalkeeper said on Saturday.

Xavi6

So Robinho didn't sign for City for football reasons? Shock horror, OMFG, etc etc. Has this clown actually pointed out anything that we didn't already know? An absolute waste of a rant and a pointless dig at the fans. Thanks. For. That. :rolleyes:

keane2097

Xavi6 wrote: »

So Robinho didn't sign for City for football reasons? Shock horror, OMFG, etc etc. Has this clown actually pointed out anything that we didn't already know? An absolute waste of a rant and a pointless dig at the fans. Thanks. For. That. :rolleyes:

I didn't go to the trouble of re-reading it but I'm fairly sure there was no dig at the fans whatsoever.

Mgoraf

RE David Villa

"We will not pay ridiculous money," Hughes is quoted as saying in the British tabloid the Daily Mail.

He continued: "If a club wants us at the table, it has to talk sensibly.

"Valencia wanted £90 million for David Villa and the fact is he isn’t worth £90 million, so no deal."

Have to laugh at the bit in bold

Xavi6

keane2097 wrote: »

I didn't go to the trouble of re-reading it but I'm fairly sure there was no dig at the fans whatsoever.

It's implied imo with the jibes at the club. The article is a waste of reading time and offers nothing more than a platform for some over opinionated idiot to goad a reaction from City fans.

Charlie

Xavi6 wrote: »

It's implied imo with the jibes at the club. The article is a waste of reading time and offers nothing more than a platform for some over opinionated idiot to goad a reaction from City fans.

Take off those blue tinted specs my friend.

keane2097

Xavi6 wrote: »

It's implied imo with the jibes at the club. The article is a waste of reading time and offers nothing more than a platform for some over opinionated idiot to goad a reaction from City fans.

It isn't imo. There's nothing vitriolic or spiteful or anything of the sort in there.

An awful lot of what he's saying is stuff that's being said on here every day to a much less frosty reception. The main point he makes in the whole thing is the same as the one your signature is making in fairness.

If you didn't know who had written it you wouldn't be half as wound up imo.

Xavi6

I'm posting off my phone so I don't actually know who wrote it. Just read the text. As you said yourself he's saying what everyone else has been saying so what's the point of the article? It offers nothing more than another dig at the club. Hardly original at this stage.

redout

Manchester City: The brazen hussy
Psychologist Dr Cliff Arnall, a former academic at Cardiff University, predicted that Monday 19th January would be the most depressing day of the year, and my god he wasn't wrong. Not only did Manchester City's highly publicised bid for Brazilian playmaker Kaka fall through after the club failed to reach an agreement with A.C. Milan, but Robinho went AWOL and we also signed Craig Bellamy. In Manchester it never rains, it bloody pours.

I loathe Bellamy. There's something undefinable about his face that I cannot abide. Maybe it's the permanently aggressive, yet slightly bemused, expression of a man who feels wronged by the world, which is perhaps understandable, given that he has no neck. I too would be angry with life.

Bellamy's arrival has polarised City fans into two distinct camps: those who revile him and never want to see him in the sacred sky blue shirt, and those who believe that his direct style and wholehearted approach to the game will benefit a City side currently languishing in 11th place in the Premiership. Needless to say, I'm in the former camp. He falls into that select band of footballers that you never want to see at your club, alongside the likes of Lee Bowyer, Alan Smith and Ashley Cole. Ah well, he's here now and as such will have my full support, albeit through teeth clenched so hard that they may grind to powder in my mouth.

Just to invoke my ire further, we're paying over the odds for him; £14m seems an excessive fee for what is essentially a journeyman striker. I'd say he's had more clubs than Jack Nicklaus, but the analogy seems a little inappropriate after his assault on then team mate John Arne Riise with a 4-Iron. Local charities must be nervously awaiting confirmation of rumours that the club will now have to cancel any future charity golf days, just to be on the safe side.

At least we can look forward to some of his interviews, which are invariably entertaining, albeit unwittingly. Whilst covering the story of his transfer to City, Sky Sports News wheeled out some classic footage of an interview that led to him being transfer listed by Newcastle, after a fall out with then manager Graeme Souness. "Not only has he gone behind my back...", he stated incredulously, "...but he's done it in front of my face and on live television". Eh?! What the hell do you mean Craig?! Great stuff.

Meanwhile the collapse of the Kaka deal resulted in much ridicule from both the media and rival supporter's alike. "You tried to sign one of the greatest players in the world!", they chortled. Oh, the shame and humiliation. The very fact that we got as far as the negotiating table, and came close to pulling off what would have been an amazing coup, is testament to how far we've come in such a short space of time. I don't recall any other club getting as near to prising Kaka away from his beloved Milan as City did.

I have full respect for Kaka's integrity, as even such a lucrative contract couldn't lure him away from the San Siro and the Rossoneri fans he holds so close to his heart. Or at least I did, until he starting making "come and get me" eyes at Real Madrid less than 24 hours later, the brazen hussy.

Still, we won't lose any sleep over it. We'll just get him in summer instead. Arf. As Garry Cook deadpanned, "it doesn’t deter us from what we are trying to do. If we don’t get Kaká, it is not the end of the world. We have got Craig Bellamy". It's reassuring to see that our self-deprecating humour has filtered through to very top echelons of the club. You were joking Garry, right?



http://timesonline.typepad.com/fanzine_fanzone/2009/01/manchester-ci-1.html

Charlie

redout wrote: »

I loathe Bellamy. There's something undefinable about his face that I cannot abide. Maybe it's the permanently aggressive, yet slightly bemused, expression of a man who feels wronged by the world, which is perhaps understandable, given that he has no neck. I too would be angry with life.

Brilliant

Mgoraf

City linked with a 25M move for Diego.

Paul Tergat

Is Bellamy likely to start against Newcastle?

Just wondering for my FF team and also out of general interest, can see a debut goal and a 3/4 nil win to city to kick start the season

Mgoraf

Can't see why he wouldn't be in line to start. I think he definetly will tbh.

Mgoraf

How do you think yas will be lineing up at the end of the window? I can see something like this...

---

Given

---

Zabaleta

---

Dunne

---

Richards----Bridge

---

Kompany--De Jong

---

Arshavin

---

Ireland

---

Robinho

---

Bellamy

---

Or you think Kompany will be CB?

Xavi6

Well Given doesn't play for us so....

---

Hart

---

Richards

---

Onouha

---

Kompany

---

Bridge

---

Zabaleta

---

De Jong

---

Wright-Phillips

---

Ireland

---

Robinho

---

Bellamy

---

Subs:

Schmeichel, Sturridge, Garrido, Elano, Caicedo, Dunne, Vassell

Mgoraf

Not yet I think he'll be there at the endof the window, and Arshavin too...

Dunne ain't been great, but is he gonna drop the captain though?

Xavi6

Well he should be dropped. Onouha was MOM after Zabaleta in the last match and Kompany is our best centre half so if they play well while Dunne is suspended for the next 4 games then there's no way he should jump straight back in.

Mgoraf

How many times has Zabaleta played DM? Not sure I've seen him play there.