Soldato
indeed, he's not exactly the commanding centre back I would hope we sign
All New Summer 2008 Transfer Merry Go Round/Rumour Mill
- Thread starter Twinblade
- Start date
indeed, he's not exactly the commanding centre back I would hope we sign
Out
El Flapper is likely to be gone
Rochemback as well
Lee Dong Gook is out of contract thank God.
In.
A new keeper.
A creative Midfielder (Linked with Michael Bradley and Zvejdan Misimovic so far)
Also linked with Vagner Love whom we tried to sign in January but we ran out of time.
El Flapper is likely to be gone
Rochemback as well
Lee Dong Gook is out of contract thank God.
In.
A new keeper.
A creative Midfielder (Linked with Michael Bradley and Zvejdan Misimovic so far)
Also linked with Vagner Love whom we tried to sign in January but we ran out of time.
Exactly, the 4-1 against Spurs should be enough to convince Keegan that Dawson is worse than both Taylor and Faye.
Soldato
We need:
RB: We've been linked with Bosingwa and Daniel Alves, but I'm hoping we snap up Rafinha who, for me, is a better defender than either and can get forward just as well. Because he plays in the unfashionable German Bundesliga he'll no doubt be cheaper than the more fashionable Portuguese and Spanish players.
LB: Could do with cover for Evra, or even a player to replace him if he goes. I can't really think of any top LB's though, the best choice for me would probably be Urby Emanuelson of Ajax who looks like he can whip in a mean cross, but I've only seen him on Goalissimo.
ST: Been linked with everyone here, personally I think we need 2 as we only have 2 at the moment (Saha doesn't count and will go), so Huntelaar and Fabiano would allow us different styles, both are more forward players than we have and both can head the ball. Depends if you want a more dynamic side or a more structured side.
I would hazard around £35-£45m to be spend in the summer on players, we're at a position now where we are on the cusp of something special and we need to spend big to fill that little piece of the jigsaw left.
I think it will be a bit less than that with Fergie told to look at whats currently on the books and cull some of the dead wood. I think Fergie has pulled off a bit of good deal already in signing Wes Brown upto a new deal. The ideal stop gap for 2-3 years whilst Danny Simpson or one of the Brazillian twins are old/mature/good enough to be the long term successor to Giggs
Neville will take time to get back to full match fitness and I suspect it will be at least end Sept start of Oct before he looks match sharp. Him along with Giggs and Scholes must surely have no more than one season left in them for us. More importantly, Nani needs to get a good 20-30 games under his belt next year. He won't be the finished article by any stretch of the imagination but by season 2009-2010 he should be able to fill Giggs boots.
For me the priorities are to get a top draw striker in and a long term captain. Said it numerous times, Giggs and Neville are not my ideal choice and I would be happy if we had Rio as 1st team captain with Rooney as his deputy. Get rid of HaHa and get Wellbeck or Campbell some games in the first team. As for who that striker is then it's open to debate. Benzema has been touted. However would we want someone like him or Huntelaar coming in at the expense of the very fluid football we play at the moment. Benzema or Huntelaar would see us going back to how we played with RvN up front. Personally I would like someone who is hard working, techincally gifted but less of a reputation. Diego Milito for me.
Edit: We also have Muncho coming in as well this summer.
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I wonder if this is where the game has lost its magic.
Fans from the top teams still expect their clubs to spend 50-100mil or whatever in the summer even though they have huge squads bulging with a lot of the talented players. Whats wrong with getting on and making the best of what they have?
It takes any shine off of trophies won as these teams should be winning them through sheer financial clout.
Fans from the top teams still expect their clubs to spend 50-100mil or whatever in the summer even though they have huge squads bulging with a lot of the talented players. Whats wrong with getting on and making the best of what they have?
It takes any shine off of trophies won as these teams should be winning them through sheer financial clout.
Well look what happened to Arsenal. They simply didn't have the depth for them to cope with the sheer amount of games they had to play with their small (i say small as their "first" team selection is small) squad.
If Arsenal had spent say an another £30m on 2 more players they may still be sat at the top of the league, as they would have been able to cope with the injuries and tough fixture list.
Spurs have apparently being linked with a £3m swoop for Getafe defender Daniel Diaz and also there are rumours on Setanta News that we are also preparing to end Tal Ben Haim's hell at Chelski.
Why oh why we will want that muppet is anyones guess. We appear to be going from 1 extreme with not enough defenders to the other end with far too many.
Also, Cerny has come out and said he will be leaving WHL this summer, and if the rumours are true that we are letting Robinson go ('Boro look interested in him as it is suggested Schwarzer is leaving there) then we need a new keeper. We already have Alnwick who would make a capable number 2, but wouldn't mind us stealing Carson from under Villa's nose.
Personally I don't think we need to spend heavily in the summer as we have the players there to finish in the top 5, just need to ensure we spend enough to keep Berbatov at the club.
Why oh why we will want that muppet is anyones guess. We appear to be going from 1 extreme with not enough defenders to the other end with far too many.
Also, Cerny has come out and said he will be leaving WHL this summer, and if the rumours are true that we are letting Robinson go ('Boro look interested in him as it is suggested Schwarzer is leaving there) then we need a new keeper. We already have Alnwick who would make a capable number 2, but wouldn't mind us stealing Carson from under Villa's nose.
Personally I don't think we need to spend heavily in the summer as we have the players there to finish in the top 5, just need to ensure we spend enough to keep Berbatov at the club.
Aye but Arsenal clearly need to invest in a bit of depth. How Man Utd or Chelsea need to is beyond me when you look at their benches.
It seems to be a clear attempt to buy up all of the best talent to prevent other teams from doing so and would be considered a monopoly in most other businesses.
Its mostly the attitude of the fans though that still expect their team to spend and spend regardless of current squad.
Thats the problem though. Wenger doesn't appear to want to spend big money on signing established players. He would rather buy in young and unknown talen and hope they can cut it.
I have heard reports that Carlos Vela is going to be used more next season by Arsenal, but again, he isnt proven in the Premiership. He is currently playing on loan at Osasuna and has only netted 3 goals in 24 appearances. Is he realistically the goal scoring answer that Arsenal need?
If you look at United though. They have signed Hargreaves, Anderson and Nani last season with the intention or phasing out Giggs and Scholes because they are past their best and cannot compete at the top level game in game out this season.
It is what United do better than many other clubs. Sir Alex recognised that Scholes and Giggs can no longer cope, and knew they would have 1 at most 2 bit part seasons left in them. So bringing in the replacements early to get used to the way United play, get them the experience early, so when the old guys retire the young guns are ready to slot straight in without upsetting the team fluidity.
well... you say better than anyone else but do you remember djemba djemba and bellion?
i prefer to think he's learnt from his mistakes
Soldato
We had to learn the hard way on that though. We left it to the death to get replacement for Keano and we bought a right load of tosh in Djemba Djemba and that Brazillian lad
Soldato
He's played on the left wing in Spain in a 4-5-1. Skinned Ramos with ease too.
Soldato
Jack Wilshere is the future. 16 and already being compared to Brady and Bergkamp!
I understand this philosophy and from the outside I agree with you (but only for about 5 seconds at most
)Because no matter what, there will always be games (like against Man City, or Bolton ) where even a very strong strike force cant click, and then the team need A N Other option - which was meant to be Saha, but for his permanent illnesses
the top teams all want to win more games, get more points, concede less goals, than the season before - this means bringing in sesoned pro's along with younger under studies (the former costing the big bucks)
At the moment Utd just dont have an out and out striker (Giggs, Park and the usual culprits all try and play there, just doesnt usually work)
Manucho and the "kids" will take time to get used to the Premiership and dont need the pressure to perform, so being subs at the beginning of the year will help in the long run (hopefully)
Well the rumours are that Dawson, Gardner, Kaboul and Chimbonda are on their way out of WHL. Bringing in two new players isn't over the top but I'm afraid we're going to do our usual trick of replacing mediocrity with mediocrity.
