January transfer window

mayordenis

Bubs101 wrote: »

Also, Kevin Nolan is far too crap for a midfield that has Kompany, SWP, Robinho and Ireland

Well SWP, is a right winger, and robinho is more of striker/support striker.
And kevin nolan is a better footballer than either kompany or Ireland.

Dave!

Sportinglife say that Villa may make a bid for Heskey.

_blank_

There'll be a lot of coming's and going's at Sunderland now, I'd say.

spiderdan

looks certain Heskey will become a Villa player- not exactly the signing I was hoping for- we have 30m to spend and he'll cost 3m ish so plenty more there. Santa Cruz is a player that should be on his way and I'd love it if MON got him. Also looking for quality left back, Wayne Bridge possibly?

noodler

Wouldn't take Nolan over Masch, Alonso or Gerrard.

Lucas yes but that would still but him 4th in the pecking order.

Xavi6

premierstone wrote: »

As a gunner i would definitely take Kevin Nolan over what we have at the moment and lmao at a city fan saying that the likes of Kevin Nolan arent ''big'' enough to play for City, jaysus didnt take long for the delusion to set in, sign one misfit wantaway brazilian, get turned down by everyone else in sight and suddenly one of the most consistent midfielders in the premiership isnt good enough for ye, all i can say is i hope it stays fine for ye!!

Turned down by everyone else in sight? What are you shittin on about? We had one day of the transfer window and signed Robinho. Wait til we have a full month before spoutin off about delusion and all that other crap.

He wouldn't get in the first XI of any of the top four so why would a team aspiring to be in that spot take him? He'd be a sidewards step.

Trilla wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Good contribution.

mayordenis wrote: »

Well SWP, is a right winger, and robinho is more of striker/support striker.
And kevin nolan is a better footballer than either kompany or Ireland.

I simply can't agree. Ireland is a technically more gifted footballer and has his best days ahead of him. Nolan peaked a few years back.

Draupnir

Xavi6 wrote: »

Turned down by everyone else in sight? What are you shittin on about? We had one day of the transfer window and signed Robinho. Wait til we have a full month before spoutin off about delusion and all that other crap.

I think your biggest problem is that City will only get mercenary players to sign for them right away, players with the personality of Robinho who will dive at huge piles of cash in salary ahead of the chance to play in the Champions League or in title winning sides.

I'm not having a go at City at all with that opinion, it's just a fact that to get into the CL next season, you'd need to replace at least 5/6 first team players in January with genuinely world class players and also hope that one of the big four + Villa will go on a complete horror run in order for you to close the gap which is 9 points now and could well grow before January with your limited squad depth right now.

Realistically you won't be in the Champions League next year so it will be hard to attract players to the club this January. As I say though, you will definitely be able to attract players of a certain "money orientated" mentality a la Robinho. This list includes some very, very good players but if you assemble a squad of them, it is quite unlikely that they will gel well as a team.

The other problem that I think you will have is that United, Arsenal, Liverpool and in particular Chelsea will probably compete with you for every single transfer you try to make in order to push up the price and hopefully stop you signing too many top players so that they can protect their own top 4 place.

Finally, there is no way in hell that the Robinho deal was done in 1 day, I'd imagine that early feelers were put out by your owners for a lot of players, long before the bought City (Berbatov included).

*EDIT* Just adding that I think City will progressively get top players over the next 3 seasons or so and then start to really push for the CL spots and even the title itself, I just don't think they will do it in January 2009. Or at least, I don't think it will work out for them if they do buy 6+ huge money players.

Draupnir

Xavi6 wrote: »

I simply can't agree. Ireland is a technically more gifted footballer and has his best days ahead of him. Nolan peaked a few years back.

Agree, I never really even rated Nolan, he scored a few long range goals and then the whole "Can he play for Ireland, not being picked for England" thing seemed to blow him up from decent pro to excellent player.

premierstone

Draupnir wrote: »

Realistically you won't be in the Champions League next year so it will be hard to attract players to the club this January. As I say though, you will definitely be able to attract players of a certain "money orientated" mentality a la Robinho. This list includes some very, very good players but if you assemble a squad of them, it is quite unlikely that they will gel well as a team.

Exactly and thats why a signing like Nolan would be a good idea, someone to hold things together (Hamman used to but is past it) and add a bit of solidity to the team. The four midfielders that were mentioned before:

Robinho - not really a midfielder in the true sense of the word, more of a striker

SWP - couldnt get he's game at chelsea so is that not a sideways step

Kompany - personally think he should be CB as its he's best position

Ireland - In the form of he's life at the mom, but sure if someone slags him or something he could be gone in a shot, or attendind a number of funerals

And thats only four you have mentioned, your going to need a far deeper squad than that to break into the top four.

noodler

Ireland is showing more overa technique, pace and ability than Nolan did in his peak right now.

I would prefer Nolan if an aerial presence was a neccessity. Otherwise no.

Peaked two years ago, maybe even 3.

Seaneh

I'm just pissing myself aughing at the people who think Ibra is "reliable" or "decent" or "comparable to drogba"

The man is the best striker in the world at the moment, get a ****ing grip lads, he's immense, no way in hell he'll be leaving Inter any time soon.

noodler

torres is better

eirebhoy

mayordenis wrote: »

kevin nolan would get a game for at least 2 of the top 4 right now. I'm not saying they would buy him but if kevin nolan was in the Arsenal Squad it would be criminal not to play him and in the centre of midfield I think likewise the united squad, I know I'll get assaulted for that but I think Sir Alex was sniffing around a while back.
I reckon if Liverpool didn't have gerrard he'd be a club legend.

Last time I checked with Bolton fans, which was probably about a year ago, the majority of them wanted shot of Nolan. Maybe he was off form for a couple of years and has got it back now?

eZe^

Seaneh wrote: »

The man is the best striker in the world at the moment,

Debatable tbh. He's up there, but not the best imo.

Bubs101

eZe^ wrote: »

Debatable tbh. He's up there, but not the best imo.

Generally you'll find that the people who don't watch Serie A say things like the above or normally much worse but those who contribute to the Serie A threads most weeks, like Sean, Nipplenuts myself etc. rate him very very highly

redout

Seaneh wrote: »

I'm just pissing myself aughing at the people who think Ibra is "reliable" or "decent" or "comparable to drogba"

The man is the best striker in the world at the moment, get a ****ing grip lads, he's immense, no way in hell he'll be leaving Inter any time soon.

Samuel Eto'o is the best forward in the world at the moment on current form. I really dont see how anyone could dispute that. He has 16 goals in 17 appearances for Barcelona this season and a record of 90 in 119 games. Zlatan Ibrahimović has 7 goals in 16 appearances. Anelka even has 14 goals in 16 appearances sure. Current form Eto'o is top.

Raskolnikov

Ibrahimovic the best in the world? Don't make me laugh! He's a decent footballer in Serie A, but when he's tested against proper teams in the Champions League, he's a flop. 8 goals in 33 Champions League games while at Italy and that figure would be worse but for penalties.

PHB

In terms of the top 4:

In order to perfect their squad:

United need another left winger. That young Serbian kid would be good.
I also think we need a replacement for Hargreaves if we plan to try and retain the CL.

Chelsea:
Need width, desperately. World class wingers required.

Arsenal:
Need a replacement for Flamini desperately. DM a must.

Liverpool:
World class winger also required, preferably on the right, with a real goal threat but most importantly, lightning pace.

As for the other squads, general thoughts would be,

Spurs defo need a DM. Diarra would be a good and possible move. They also need another CB. I think Brown might be a great move, but I can't imagine he'd leave, and I wouldn't want him to, hes a local lad.

PHB

Personally I think Eto is the best, but Ibrahamovic is just unreal.

Smegball

For me, top 5 strikers are..Torres, then Etoo, then Ibra, then Benzema, then Aguero.

eZe^

Smegball wrote: »

For me, top 5 strikers are..Torres, then Etoo, then Ibra, then Benzema, then Aguero.

Villa is definitely better than most of those strikers this season.

I'd go with (for this season);

Eto'o
Villa
Milito
Anelka
Ibrahimovic

Bubs101

Del Piero has been awesome since Juve got relegated whereas someone like Eto'o wasn't at his best last season

eZe^

Bubs101 wrote: »

Del Piero has been awesome since Juve got relegated whereas someone like Eto'o wasn't at his best last season

Great shout, completely forgot Del boy.

dreamers75

Seaneh wrote: »

I'm just pissing myself aughing at the people who think Ibra is "reliable" or "decent" or "comparable to drogba"

The man is the best striker in the world at the moment, get a ****ing grip lads, he's immense, no way in hell he'll be leaving Inter any time soon.

Done deal so, pretty sure you said Shevchenko would never leave Milan as he was the best and loved the club about 6 months before he signed for chelsea.

i doubt Ibra will be leaving Inter as i dont see Chelsea spending money unless its a swap, but with Adriano getting in some games i reckon jose going with the "if we smack the ball at the big guy" tactic adriano would be the one being swapped. Drogba Ibra would work if jose was the manager Ibra gets to do whatever he wants in a free role and Inter get rid of Adriano.

Nalz

Xavi6 wrote: »

Good contribution.

A picture tells a thousand words... in this case, the rolleyes smiley tells a million

Dave!

Anyone want Carlos Tevez? Cos Fergie doesn't... dropped again today... after scoring 4 (read: FOUR) goals in his last match

A 5er will do ye

Frisbee

Dave! wrote: »

Anyone want Carlos Tevez? Cos Fergie doesn't... dropped again today... after scoring 4 (read: FOUR) goals in his last match

A 5er will do ye

Yeah sure why not.
Wouldnt want the Berbatov character at all at all...

Dave!

Michael Owen says he's staying put til the end of the season anyway

Roque Santa Clause looks set to leave in January

West Brom are looking for a couple of strikers on loan (obviously not getting RSC)

Should be interesting to see who Blackburn and Man City will get

eZe^

I'd still love Arshavin tbh, he'd be perfect for reinforcing and adding a little depth to our left side of attack. Benzema a few years ago was saying how he loved Barcelona and that they were his favourite team, now it's Real Madrid, which probably means they put a big bid in for him this transfer window, guess we won't see him at the Camp Nou bar Clasico's then....


Abidal has been playing very very well lately and if we signed Zhirkov we'd have adequate cover for all positions and barring an injury to Xavi/ Messi we'd be capable of challenging on all fronts for phase two of the season.

ShoulderChip

Today's Rumour mill;

Sir Alex Ferguson and Luiz Felipe Scolari plan to swing the title race in their favour by resorting to a highly controversial and very, very smelly strategy. Reports this morning claim that Manchester United and Chelsea are preparing to pay upwards of £20m to sign a player whose preferred ploy for distracting opponents is to climb into a tree and piddle on their heads. "Be careful: he's small but he has no decency!" confesses the young star's official website.

Unless, of course, the Mill has made a terrible error and this is the website of some Belgian boy other than the zippy Standard Liège midfielder, Axel Witsel, who isn't even that small unless you compare him, as the Mill momentarily did for the purposes of a convoluted intro, to recently departed team-mate Marouane Fellaini, who, coincidentally, is so tall that many of his young compatriots have clambered atop him to whiz on invading armies.

Mark Hughes, so far as is known, has no plans to pursue a similar approach, although he is on the verge of extracting the urine from his cash-crazy employers and splashing out £40m on Roque Santa Cruz and Craig Bellamy (whose website, come to think of it, could also feature the above intro). Rather than complete his Blackburn reunion by bagging Tugay and Robbie Savage too, he'll splurge the remainder of his kitty on Kolo Touré and Marcos Senna. Brazilians, then, are oddly absent from his wish list.

Juande Ramos's hallucinations involving Middlesbrough reserve Adam Johnson appear to have ended and now that lucidity has returned Real Madrid covet Wigan's Antonio Valencia instead. There is some good news for Johnson, however: Spurs plan to remove the obstacle to his first-team action — Stewart Downing. Boro will replace him with Elano, and then scratch their heads when they get relegated.

Arsène Wenger will shatter his transfer record to bring Andrei Arshavin from Russia. He will not, however, swallow his pride to bring Matthew Upson in from the cold. The imposing centre-back could be available in January but Wenger will instead serenade Michael Turner. They're wasting their time, however, because Turner apparently has no desire to leave his current club, explaining, as AC/DC once did, that Hull ain't a bad place to be.

Not-at-all-loopy Portsmouth manager Tony Adams is planning to replace Lassana Diarra with a dandy purple shirt and gold tie combo. Oh, and Jimmy Bullard.

It turns out that the butt of all those Jermaine Pennant and £5m jokes could be Celtic.

Gary Megson hopes to further his mystifying turn-around of Bolton by convincing Kieran Richardson to make a mystifying move there from Sunderland. Perhaps less mystifyingly, Lyon reckon they could convince Niall Quinn to part with Pascal Chimbonda for a couple of bottles of plonk and a cheesy smile.

eZe^

Who wrote that article? Unfortunately for him Marcos Senna is actually Brazilian.. :pac:

ShoulderChip

Paul Doyle, one of the best irish exports,

yeah I thought of that too.

spiderdan

eZe^ wrote: »

Who wrote that article? Unfortunately for him Marcos Senna is actually Brazilian.. :pac:

LOL- I was thinking the same- what an idiot!!

monkey9

Yeah, but he's a Spanish international, maybe that's what he means.

eZe^

I felt kind of sorry for Senna when he won the Euro cup, and all his team mates has Spanish flags dancing and there was people criticising him for doing the same. He was in my eyes their most important player, and that gave him the right to celebrate as a Spaniard, but I wonder how he truely felt. If he thought it was awesome to win with all his team mates, or for a country that was willing to play him. Was their any sense of Spanish pride for him?

Realistically though, he is a Brazilian man, he lived there till he was 26/27 (I believe), both his parents are Brazilian and the only reason he played for Spain was because he gained citizenship in 06 and the likes of Gilberto Silva were ahead of him for Brazil. I do still think that it doesn't take away from his right to celebrate as a Spaniard though.

Corben Dallas

Santa Cruz will prob make a post Christmas move to Man City(most likely) and he will leave 20million from Santa's sack

Big Sam dropped him(i believe) from the first game and from his comments on RSC, if the moneys right he'll sell to the highest bidder.
Blackburn need to buy someone like Essien >a blood and guts Midfield player someone to play alongside Reid (when hes fit ) a younger Tugay and maybe a full back Finnan<<<??? perhaps. also Bentley hasnt been replaced.

Arsenal need to go for Ashavin, they are so thin on players its a joke. Fabs is out and they are just a one man band mostly relying on Aderboyor, Van persie gets good few goals but never has a run of 5/6 games where he in top form. Gallas should be sold if he wants away. Also Alumia is average, Arsenal need a top class keeper. Why doesnt he go for Frank Ribery again?

Man City need RCS and I hope ManCity put in a massive bid for Ronaldo 80 million+ just for a laugh, because they can and beside it will wind up SAF
( he wouldnt go, and ManU wouldnt sell to Man City.)
They should go for Kaka, Ruud Van, Del Piero, Gattuso,Canavaro, Eto'o and their No1 big money offer>>> 100million+ Messi.

Ronaldo isnt fit to clean Messi's boots.

bigstar

i cant see city getting anyone near the likes of messi, kaka etc. not many players want to be in a relegation battle. we might get someone like sant cruz because of hughes, but he hasnt been great this season. anyway with the price of oil going down the arabs probably need to keep some of their cash

ShoulderChip

eZe^ wrote: »

I felt kind of sorry for Senna when he won the Euro cup, and all his team mates has Spanish flags dancing and there was people criticising him for doing the same. He was in my eyes their most important player, and that gave him the right to celebrate as a Spaniard, but I wonder how he truely felt. If he thought it was awesome to win with all his team mates, or for a country that was willing to play him. Was their any sense of Spanish pride for him?

Realistically though, he is a Brazilian man, he lived there till he was 26/27 (I believe), both his parents are Brazilian and the only reason he played for Spain was because he gained citizenship in 06 and the likes of Gilberto Silva were ahead of him for Brazil. I do still think that it doesn't take away from his right to celebrate as a Spaniard though.

you are a fucking brilliant poster,

a cut above the rest of us.

noodler

I thought it WAS a good post.

Bounty Hunter

wonder what happens to RSQ if hughes gets the sack?

eZe^

ShoulderChip wrote: »

you are a fucking brilliant poster,

a cut above the rest of us.

If only mate, I couldn't even construct that post without one stupid error. :pac:

bigstar

eZe^ wrote: »

If only mate, I couldn't even construct that post without one stupid error. :pac:

Buts its substance not style that count in these trying times

Frisbee

At christmas I really need to see:

Veloso/Aquilini/Yaya/Alonso
Upson/Chiellini(not too sure)

I don't want Arshavin in the side myself, he's a player who was overhyped after two good performances and landing him would probably require us to break our wage cap (which if we do after refusing to do so for Flamini, the type of player we need, will be infuriating) and will most likely require all the money we have available to spend.

Xavi6

Senna to City?

mayordenis

Frisbee wrote: »

Alonso

I don't want you to feel left down, I really recommend removing Alonso from your wishlist.

Frisbee

mayordenis wrote: »

I don't want you to feel left down, I really recommend removing Alonso from your wishlist.

I know it's probably the least likely along with Toure, both being pretty much no chance of it happening, but I can dream...

mayordenis

Frisbee wrote: »

but I can dream...

Never!

mike65

Heskey to Anfield reported this morning.

Sorry I mean speculated

jesus_thats_gre

Wouldn't be the end of the world..

mike65

I have said it for months now. If I were to sign one player it would be him or a decent full back.