** Summer Transfer Window 2011/12 Season Rumours/Signings **

[Biz.Kid09]

What SAF did was build with a combination of signings and youth, he rebuilt the club from the bottom up. You know this. Yes there were some expensive players thrown in but the point is it wasnt a case of buying a player and dismissing him in 5 minutes if he didnt hit the ground running.

Maybe im not explaining myself very well here TBH. If City play with 1 up front and have Tevez then £20m on Balotelli is buying a squad player, then add in Dzeko at £30m and you have 3 strikers who realistically would normally expect to start. Why sign Dzeko if you believe in Balotelli? Now over half a season Balotelli and Dzeko havent been roaring successes and suddenly there are new strikers being linked with the club. Do you see what i mean?

We play with one up front because Mancini has kept with what works until he can tweak it. Mancini started with the defence which is now solid, moved to midfield which is now solid albeit not that productive and now he can move to the forwards.
Who is to say that we wont play 2 up front next year?
We signed Dzeko because we need more than just 2 good strikers? Should we have signed Heskey instead? Why do Real want Aguero when they already have Higuian, Adebayor, Benzema and Ronaldo? They only use one upfront.

Well Balotelli has had two serious injuries and off field problems, not a bad return of goals though for your first season and the same with Dzeko, 6 goals in a brand new league in 6 months is not bad when your third choice and dont play

We are always going to be linked with players? What does that prove?
If we had Messi/Ronaldo/Kaka/Sneijder/Ramos/Pique/Torres/Rooney/Casillas we would still be linked with Higuian/Aguero/Maicon/Villa.

Now this is my final post on this subject because this thread is for 2011/12 season signings not signings from last year.

 

[placeholder]

I've never seen him as anything more then "average" and that's at best. I saw him play a fair few times for the England under 21's and he always looked quite... average in those games as well.

He's seriously got to be the Worlds best trainer, bit like "Garry Barry", how either of them get near the England first team is beyond me. We should be bringing through young exciting players, not painfully average middle career ones.

I think there was a point where Milner was actually a promising player to be fair.

Barry on the other hand.........dont get me started!

Same with Parker.

 

[Biz.Kid09]

Milner is not the greatest player and never will be. What he is though is a good, reliable midfielder that can play in multiple positions and will be key for our team next year when we need rotation to work perfectly so we can stay in challenge for every trophy.
24m is expensive as was Lescott but their prices that we had to pay to get good English players, and the money is hardly a big factor.

Had we got him for 10m everyone would have been saying what a good deal that was because he is a good player who can play nearly everywhere but because he joined Man City and for 24m he will always be over priced and average.

 

[placeholder]

Well Balotelli has had two serious injuries and off field problems, not a bad return of goals though for your first season and the same with Dzeko, 6 goals in a brand new league in 6 months is not bad when your third choice and dont play

Now this is my final post on this subject because this thread is for 2011/12 season signings not signings from last year.

Dzeko has scored 2 goals in his new league.

If its your final post on the subject that is your privilege but it is completely relevant as we are discussing a signing policy and ethos that you will continue into the 2011/12 season. Its perfectly normal to look at previous signings and current players when discussing the merits of new signings surely?

 

[Tummy]

Balotelli's off field problems = He's ****ing mental.

Wasn't he throwing water balloons at FIFA delegates instead of being on the F.A. Cup open bus tour?

Ronaldo isn't a striker. Real just sometimes play without a natural forward. They have Higuian and Benzema. One was injured and t'other didn't really fit their style.

Ade was a loan signing and only came in due to injury to start with.

Anyway, do hope Wednesday can sign some more players / better players. Told we have plenty of money to spend and reinvest but we've only bought in two players at the back end of their careers. Meh.

 

[Tummy]

Milner is not the greatest player and never will be. What he is though is a good, reliable midfielder that can play in multiple positions and will be key for our team next year when we need rotation to work perfectly so we can stay in challenge for every trophy.
24m is expensive as was Lescott but their prices that we had to pay to get good English players, and the money is hardly a big factor.

Had we got him for 10m everyone would have been saying what a good deal that was because he is a good player who can play nearly everywhere but because he joined Man City and for 24m he will always be over priced and average.

Jags at Everton was a far better player then Lescott ever was and ever will be. You literally bought the wrong player, but I doubt you'd have gotten Jags for 24 million.

Milner, wasn't even the best midfielder / attacking midfielder at Villa and why you bought him at 24 million again, is beyond me.

 

[placeholder]

Had we got him for 10m everyone would have been saying what a good deal that was because he is a good player who can play nearly everywhere but because he joined Man City and for 24m he will always be over priced and average.

Yes but the very point is you DIDNT get him for £10m!!!

As a free transfer he would have been great too, thats completely meaningless.

You paid top money for a player who you admit is nothing more than a jack of all trades.

 

[Tombstone]

i would like to know the figures involved.

say i was earning £40K a year doing a average job and someone offered me £40.1K a year to do a job i would hate then someone else offered me £39.9K a year to do a job i love, i would take the £39.9K job.

its all relative though.

if i was earning £60K a week to turn up to football training and then sit on a bench and watch liverpool play football every week and someone offered me £30K a week to turn up to training and play football every week for standard liege, i would tell them where to go.

if he is passionate about playing football he can always join a local pub team to get his fix , means he is £30K a week better off and can still play the game he loves.

I havent heard anywhere actually say its 30k.

Unless you meant me? Mine was a drop of around 25%, the job I was in was just under 31k and I dropped to 23.7k and some change.

 

[placeholder]

I havent heard anywhere actually say its 30k.

Unless you meant me? Mine was a drop of around 25%, the job I was in was just under 31k and I dropped to 23.7k and some change.

Thats unusual you have to admit. Most people live close to their means and wouldnt be able to take such a drop. It certainly wouldnt be the norm.

 

[Tombstone]

Thats unusual you have to admit. Most people live close to their means and wouldnt be able to take such a drop. It certainly wouldnt be the norm.

Oh its definitely unusual. Which is a pity really.

(I'd have to say in the case of a footballer its a slightly different case, its exceptionally unlikely they are living close to their means with either potential wage packet of 30k or 60k per week, given that a weeks wage is equivalent to many peoples annual one)

 

[neil3k]

woo hoo demba ba

 

[placeholder]

Oh its definitely unusual. Which is a pity really.

(I'd have to say in the case of a footballer its a slightly different case, its exceptionally unlikely they are living close to their means with either potential wage packet of 30k or 60k per week, given that a weeks wage is equivalent to many peoples annual one)

Its not really that different. They will have property worth millions and the upkeep that entails. They will be used to buying the best of everything. They will have expensive cars. They will pay 50% in tax. Their agent will take a cut. They will have huge pension plans and investments for the future after football.

Im not saying they HAVE to live like that but they will move in circles where that is normal behaviour and therefore it is unrealistic to expect them to "downsize" their income just because it is large to start with.

 

[placeholder]

woo hoo demba ba

Cheap name for the back of your shirt!

 

[Tombstone]

Its not really that different. They will have property worth millions and the upkeep that entails. They will be used to buying the best of everything. They will have expensive cars. They will pay 50% in tax. Their agent will take a cut. They will have huge pension plans and investments for the future after football.

Im not saying they HAVE to live like that but they will move in circles where that is normal behaviour and therefore it is unrealistic to expect them to "downsize" their income just because it is large to start with.

Well I'm not saying that I am expecting them to do it, I'm just pointing out that where you say its unusual because most people are living essentially on the borderline and cannot afford to take a drop, a footballer could if they wanted to. You're right that they move in circles of flash houses and flash cars, but they arent living on the borderline. Whereas as you rightly say most people simply cannot take a drop, they actually could take a drop and still live a lifestyle better than many peoples. Hence why I said its somewhat different for them compared to the drop I made, and its still a pity that more folks cant make the drop.

 

[placeholder]

Well I'm not saying that I am expecting them to do it, I'm just pointing out that where you say its unusual because most people are living essentially on the borderline and cannot afford to take a drop, a footballer could if they wanted to. You're right that they move in circles of flash houses and flash cars, but they arent living on the borderline. Whereas as you rightly say most people simply cannot take a drop, they actually could take a drop and still live a lifestyle better than many peoples. Hence why I said its somewhat different for them compared to the drop I made.

Having said that their take home pay over maybe 10 years has to last maybe 50 years.

I totally agree with the point you are making though, dont get me wrong.

 

[Tombstone]

Having said that their take home pay over maybe 10 years has to last maybe 50 years.

I totally agree with the point you are making though, dont get me wrong.

Well for some of them that take home pay should darned well last them 50 years ! If I was on £400,000 a month for 10 years, for a total pre-deductions of £48 million for 10 years, not counting any sponsorship/advertising/tv appearances/magazine interviews/appearances etc, I'd be expecting the millions to last the next 50 years too (minus of course the monies I'd be making post football career working for Sky Sports )

(to be honest, I could probably make 1 million last me 50 years, let alone more than that )

 

[placeholder]

Well for some of them that take home pay should darned well last them 50 years ! If I was on £400,000 a month for 10 years, for a total pre-deductions of £48 million for 10 years, not counting any sponsorship/advertising/tv appearances/magazine interviews/appearances etc, I'd be expecting the millions to last the next 50 years too (minus of course the monies I'd be making post football career working for Sky Sports )

(to be honest, I could probably make 1 million last me 50 years, let alone more than that )

Thats not really how it works though? If you gave me that cash in my early 20s id be dead by now!!

I bet there will be a lot of these "super-rich" footballers who will be broke 10 years after retiring. Im not saying feel sorry for them but they are living in a different world.

 

[Tombstone]

Thats not really how it works though? If you gave me that cash in my early 20s id be dead by now!!

I bet there will be a lot of these "super-rich" footballers who will be broke 10 years after retiring. Im not saying feel sorry for them but they are living in a different world.

Well thats the fault of the individual though isnt it. Lack of self control. You're right that they are living in a different world but their ability to take a drop in wages is imo vastly different to the average persons ability to take a drop in wages, which is what I meant when I said its different for them.

 

[placeholder]

Well thats the fault of the individual though isnt it. Lack of self control. You're right that they are living in a different world but their ability to take a drop in wages is imo vastly different to the average persons ability to take a drop in wages, which is what I meant when I said its different for them.

But you only know that speaking from the outside. Of course £30k a week is super-rich but if i put you in an environment where everyone else was earning £60k plus would you want to take the drop in cash?

 

[Tombstone]

But you only know that speaking from the outside. Of course £30k a week is super-rich but if i put you in an environment where everyone else was earning £60k plus would you want to take the drop in cash?

Hard to say as I'm not in the situation, but if I took my existing persona and plonked it into that situation then yeah, I'd take the drop in cash. As I've mentioned before enjoying what I do is my top priority, I wouldnt enjoy sitting around on a reserves bench much at all , I'd enjoy playing competitive football, if I had to take a drop down to "just" 30k per week to do that then I'd be fine with that. Thats about as close as I can get to an answer, I've already taken a 25% pay cut in life in order to do something I enjoy more, admittedly thats not on the same scale of figures, but it does lend some evidence to the fact that money just isnt something I place much weight on. The last thing I care about is how much the people around me are earning, what house they have, what car they have or what items they have. I think it would take a persona and principals change (effectively making me a different person) in order for me to change in that regard.

(I should add as a caveat to that, that I wouldnt actually enjoy sitting on a reserves bench OR playing competitive football, so I wouldnt be in the situation anyway of course )