Football 2013-2014

[pink_triangle]

. Demichelles is a bit of a different matter, as it's not like they anticipated Kompany getting injured in the first game of the season.

[kaosmark2]

Surely a team like city has to be able to anticipate injuries in every position and ensure there is adequate cover. I always felt city were lacking in centre back cover.

[eFestivals]

In other words, it would be very surprising.

But it happens to clubs all the same.

So in my book that negates the 'very'. It would be very surprising if they never changed around at the top.

[eFestivals]

Have heard Moyes get a bit of stick about this, I would have thought its more the fault of the new chief executive. There should have been a tighter dealine about when they would give up on Baines, giving ample time to recruit someone else if they felt it was needed.

I'm starting to think that Utd only had £30M to spend this window (just consider their first Felani/Baines offer, and the failure to follow thru on Herrera) and that the bid for Cesc was something they knew would never come off and was done to suggest ambition.

[VCK]

Is Neil a Leeds fan? Echoes a lot of sentiments about the fake United that us fans of the real United often say!

[thetime]

I'm starting to think that Utd only had £30M to spend this window (just consider their first Felani/Baines offer, and the failure to follow thru on Herrera) and that the bid for Cesc was something they knew would never come off and was done to suggest ambition.

Edited September 4, 2013 by thetime

[the_hedge]

I think I've heard everything said here ever year for the last 5 years.

[eFestivals]

I think they had limited budget but it was more at the 40m mark. Which to be fair is the norm at utd, I think it's only on occasions they have spent more than that in a window.

except of course every Prem team has an extra £20M to play with this season.

[eFestivals]

Arsenal's first 11 is as good as anyone in the prem but their squad is very thin. If they lose a couple of their big hitters then they are screwed.

and that's been said in previous seasons too.

I'd say they've got more depth now than they had last season, if not the season before too.

[thetime]

and that's been said in previous seasons too.

I'd say they've got more depth now than they had last season, if not the season before too.

[thetime]

except of course every Prem team has an extra £20M to play with this season.

[eFestivals]

Well that would be pretty short sighted spending it just on transfers.

but not as short sighted as not spending it and dropping out of the top 4.

[eFestivals]

More depth? They have sold a few first teamers haven't they? Players like gervinho, arahavin, chamaque.

Although no big shakes but only signing ozil, flamini and a couple of frees haven't improved the depth of there squad much.

Not much. But improved all the same.

Arshavin had turned to shit after a promising start. The other two didn't even have the promising start.

Flamini and Ozil are both solid players.

It's an improvement.

[thetime]

but not as short sighted as not spending it and dropping out of the top 4.

[eFestivals]

I would of thought spending a truck load of money and not getting champions league football is more short sighted.

Nah, they're much the same thing ultimately.

The big prize is Chumps footie. If any one of those 'premium' clubs is not getting Chumps footie, they've fucked up hugely. But spending a hundred million to try to get Chumps footie is at least a decent-and-makes-sense plan.

Not spending and losing out on Chumps footie as might possibly happen* for Utd strikes me as off-the-scale stupid, if it were to happen - tho of course they'd have to have the money to spend in the first place.

(* it's possible, that's all I'm suggesting there).

Edited September 4, 2013 by eFestivals

[LondonTom]

Carlton Cole to return to West Ham?

Must hurt both player and club that after saying goodbye both have had to resort to returning. I think he's a decent player who can still do a job for a Prem team, but it can't be good for morale of either.

Edited September 4, 2013 by LondonTom

[TheGayTent]

I don't doubt they will be off as soon as a good offer comes in near/after the move to Stratord but I don't think we can really say they spend as little as possible on players at least (Ignoring other penny pinching going on at the club) considering we broke our transfer record in consecutive seasons.

Edited September 4, 2013 by TheGayTent

[The Nal]

A few of the Madrid players giving out about Ozil leaving.

[eFestivals]

A few of the Madrid players giving out about Ozil leaving.

at Bale's presentation, the crowd stopped singing Bale's name to start singing "don't leave Ozil".

[kaosmark2]

Arsenal's first 11 is as good as anyone in the prem but their squad is very thin. If they lose a couple of their big hitters then they are screwed.

[kaosmark2]

except of course every Prem team has an extra £20M to play with this season.

[eFestivals]

And some of us support clubs who've spent nothing and had their owners pocket all of that...

Sigh.

It's Newc for you, isn't it?

I'd say that's an improvement on Hall & Shepard.

At least Ashley is doing it openly, rather than claiming to pump money in while really extracting that money from the club in the first place via a complicated company set-up that ended in Spain and which was charging the club for services which no one was able to identify.

[The Nal]

at Bale's presentation, the crowd stopped singing Bale's name to start singing "don't leave Ozil".

[eFestivals]

Really yeah? Extra pressure on Bale so. It could all go tits up on him.

Well, I presume it was true, I only read reports of it happening.

But as it was on transfer deadline day and I read it from multiple sources, it's probably more based in real facts than most footie stories.

[kaosmark2]

It's Newc for you, isn't it?

I'd say that's an improvement on Hall & Shepard.

At least Ashley is doing it openly, rather than claiming to pump money in while really extracting that money from the club in the first place via a complicated company set-up that ended in Spain and which was charging the club for services which no one was able to identify.