Football 2010-2011

[The Nal]

Balotelli is gonna be an absolute smash hit at Citeh. He is CLASS.

[jump]

Was Balotelli better or worse behaved under Mancini than Jose, out of curiosity?

[minute5072]

And don't let the door smack you on the arse on the way out! We're not paying for a new one!

[Cardboard Box City]

Was Balotelli better or worse behaved under Mancini than Jose, out of curiosity?

[Cardboard Box City]

JURGEN KLINSMANN has been slashed by Stan James from 66-1 to 6-1 to become the next Fulham manager.

Sven-Goran Eriksson remains the 6-4 favourite to fill the role vacated by new Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson, while Cardiff boss Dave Jones and Mark Hughes are both 4-1 with the firm.

Klinsmann has been out of management since 2009, when he was sacked as Bayern Munich boss after a disappointing campaing, although he was widely admired for his stint as Germany manager from 2004-2006.

[Steve P]

Sounds like big Sol is going to join the barcodes. He should do a decent job for them, although he's missed a big chunk of pre-season already so it might be a while before he's fit.

Leaves us very short at the back though, really hoping this means that another signing is on the cards rather than settling with what we've got.

[The Nal]

Sounds like big Sol is going to join the barcodes. He should do a decent job for them, although he's missed a big chunk of pre-season already so it might be a while before he's fit.

Leaves us very short at the back though, really hoping this means that another signing is on the cards rather than settling with what we've got.

[Steve P]

So who do you have then apart from Vermaelen?

[The Nal]

Still plenty of time for signings before the end of the transfer window and i'm sure there'll be a few more players coming in

Edited July 27, 2010 by The Nal

[Wooderson]

Masch need only gimme a call if he wants help with his bags on the way to the airport.

[The Nal]

Masch need only gimme a call if he wants help with his bags on the way to the airport.

[Wooderson]

How much do you reckon he'll go for?

[eFestivals]

£25mill seems to be the expected fee. If Wodgeson gets to spend a bean of that I'll post a piccy of meself in a Blues shirt on here.

Hmmmm .... I reckon Woy is going to have a decent-ish transfer kitty (at least, he should do if everything is equal on the wages front - tho Cole stuffs that a little I guess), even if Mascho isn't sold. There's been quite a few of the more minor players sold, and while most (all?) of them have gone for less than £5M, the bits and pieces have totalled up to a pretty decent sum.

Those sales aside, there was paper talk of him having £15M or so to spend if he took the job, so my take is that he's got that £15M plus the money raised from sales - and that's quite possibly more to spend this summer than any other club bar Chelski and Shitty.

But talking of sales, I read somewhere yesterday that there's an offer for Ngog, but that it won't go thru cos he's demanding £2M a year in wages. Who does he think he is, Joe Cole?

I can't make up my mind if it would be good or not for Liverpool if Torres left - i guess it depends in the end how much he might go for. If he went for £30M or less then I reckon it'd be taken as L'pool downsizing for a few years at least, and it'd be hard for them to get the better players. But if he went for £40M+ then I reckon (bearing in mind Torres' injury history) it wouldn't be too bad business as it would release funds to build up a new team.

Woy has said that Torres has "a beef" with the club. Does anyone know why? My guess is that he's unhappy at how his injuries have been managed, and how that affected him at the WC. But with Rafa gone, things might be worked differently from now on.

[The Nal]

Woy has said that Torres has "a beef" with the club. Does anyone know why? My guess is that he's unhappy at how his injuries have been managed, and how that affected him at the WC. But with Rafa gone, things might be worked differently from now on.

[eFestivals]

No its because he was promised investment.

Torres back in March: “We need four or five top-class players to compete, better than we have here, who will make us grit our teeth and do everything we can to try and keep our places."

He meant big names. Instead they've lost Mascherano, but got Joe Cole, which sort of evens out. They're f**ked in midfield now unless they sign someone.

That said, Cole, Gerrard and Torres is a great front three, if Torres stays clear of injury, which unfortunately he wont.

Ahh, thanks.

Yep, that's defo a potentially great front three, and it'll be interesting to see how they get used. Tho it's not just Torres who's injury prone.

And to add to injury-prone front players, Aquilani is still on the books. ... and woy is saying he'll have a much better season. I guess as a £20M player he can't really be as duff as he looked (overall) last season - unless Rafa had caught that NW England "I buy duds" disease.

(Oh ... he had )

[The Nal]

Aquilani is still on the books.

Edited July 27, 2010 by The Nal

[eFestivals]

Gill now saying Utd have money and might spend.

along with saying (essentially) "... but we have such a great squad we don't need to". It's the same bollox as ever, designed to deflect fans' flack.

And if you've seen the full statement, he actually says something about that if they'd be spending, the money would come from the Glazers. Given that they've got no money and can't even get decent credit, how would they be finding that money?

[Wooderson]

along with saying (essentially) "... but we have such a great squad we don't need to". It's the same bollox as ever, designed to deflect fans' flack.

And if you've seen the full statement, he actually says something about that if they'd be spending, the money would come from the Glazers. Given that they've got no money and can't even get decent credit, how would they be finding that money?

[minute5072]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9zAXMmhobI

[eFestivals]

Utd will always find the money.

No doubt in my mind that Defour will be signed. Also a striker of some sort. They'll spend 40 mill by the end of the window.

As I've said previously, I don't doubt they could find money for big signings if they felt there was someone worthwhile out there and they were in desperate need. So to some extent, what both Fergie and Gill have said is true - they don't feel they need to sign players now and believe the squad is good enough*.

(* tho, it's possible I guess, that 'good enough' could mean for a season or two they're competing to stay in the top 4 rather than to win the league, and that Fergie has accepted that that's how it has to be).

But I'd be amazed if they've spent £40M by the end of the window, unless there's players who go out to afford that spend. The club don't have the dosh sitting around spare, and neither do the Glazers.

[eFestivals]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9zAXMmhobI

Nice!

[minute5072]

Nice!

[pink_triangle]

He meant big names. Instead they've lost Mascherano, but got Joe Cole, which sort of evens out. They're f**ked in midfield now unless they sign someone.

[beLIEveR]

I was supposed to be going up the Boro tonight. Then I found out it was £18 a pop.

In context, my season ticket was £200.

[Wooderson]

I wouldnt say losing mascherano for cole evens things out. You ask all the big clubs in europe who they would prefer of the 2 and the vast majority would say mascherano. Even if coles contract wasnt expired mascherano would be worth far more money.