Geez Bids, sounds like I wrote this! Demps has shown us a lot of loyalty since he has been here, he's the longest serving player in the team currently, having been here since the Coleman days, which is why I would not begrudge him leaving in the slightest. He came, he saw, he conquered, for which I will be eternally grateful. If you watch the video of him on YouTube of him explaining how he came to be involved in football and talking about the tragic death of his sister, it's obvious that money could not motivate this guy any less. He only aspires to be the best he can be, which in this modern age is astounding. He's not the perfect footballer, but it's not for his talents that he has become quickly one of my favorite players in the world but for his attitude and determination. He wears his heart on his sleeve and plays with passion. True lad.
I've no doubt he's a genuine bloke, he's never courted any other clubs or spoke out about any negativity - he's certainly several cuts above the likes of Tevez in that respect! I also don't doubt he's probably given us his best years, and he'll probably never replicate what he's done for us with another club. But I also have to be honest and say that if he went to a side not in the CL and rotted on their bench it would be a bitter pill to swallow. He's earned a move to a top club and I wouldn't begrudge him that, but I hope he does go to a top club, not bloody Liverpool Prove me wrong Deuce!
Kenny seems to be on a one man mission to turn Liverpool into an England youngsters wasteland (Carroll, Downing, Henderson) so I think it's pretty safe to say Dempsey won't be going there, especially if we finish above them! (Imagine that). Spuds may also be out of the running if they fail in their push to get 4th. I honestly can't see the top four *(currently) who would sign him. Chelsea need to trim the average age of their squad, he isn't good enough for Utd, Arsenal don't usually buy players over 25 and Newcastle won't be in the CL for long enough for it to be worth Clint's while to leave FFC. He stays!
I could definitely see him sign for Spuds or Newcastle, CL or not. Arsenal are a big possibility too, especially after their exploits in the transfer window last summer (Benayoun, Arteta). But I do hope you're right, Bandito!
Well Everton Signed Jelavic (aged 27) for an alleged £5m and they will wish to put up some money for Pienaar in the summer, so not sure they'd have much money sloshing around. Anyway apart from it being a non-story, Roma have alledgedly bid £7m. On Roma, young Trotta apparently has said, in an interview with the Italian media, that Demps is "..ready for a big club like AS Roma". Ah well, that's Trotta joining Kasami in the sin bin.
AS Roma are not what they used to be. Serie A in general has gone vastly downhill and can no longer compete with the best England, Spain and Germany have to offer. Juventus are walking away with the title this season but if they were in the CL, could anyone realistically see them getting further than the QF's?
On the CL point I recall Clint himself saying recently "you can join a club in the Champions League and then they're quickly knocked out of it" (that wasn't exactly what he said and of course he said it with that texan drawl of his) which was good way of expressing the fact that the grass isn't always greener. I really hope he doesn't leave or if he does we get good money for him - £4m sounds like an insult both to him and the club!
I remember the interview Penguin, he said that if he were to join a club in the CL, they could only play a handful of games before being knocked out (look at Utd this year) which would make his decision to leave a poor one. It's an interesting stance to take, one Nasri should have contemplated before leaving Arsenal for City.
Even leaving aside having a weekly pay packet that takes a truck to carry home, Nasri probably made the right move in terms of which club is more likely to see him put winners medals in his sideboard. I know everybody poo-poos people who sign for City as money-grabbers, but there are also some very valid footballing-ambition reasons for a player to choose them over the teams such as Arsenal, Liverpool, etc. I remember Gareth Barry being criticised widely for choosing City over Liverpool in the early days of the Manchester City 'project'. At the time I thought it was a bit harsh, as City looked like a club who were potentially going to be more successful over the short to mid-term, even if at the time there weren't noticeably better than Liverpool.
I think everything will be clear on May 6th, when we play Sunderland at home. At the final whistle I'll be keeping my eye on Dempsey and Dembele.
Dembele's interview in the programme for Saturday's match gave me cause to hope that he's going to hang around for at least another season. He talked a lot about the importance of having a settled group of players and how he's still learning to adapt to playing in CM. Hopefully he'll feel that another year or two playing regularly at Fulham will make him into a better player than sitting on the bench at Spurs waiting for Modric or van der Vaart to pick up an injury.
IMO I think that most of the players at City are mercinaries Captain. Medals would be a bonus, it's the money all the way. Take Tevez as an example, he took the money first for sure. Cynical and harsh I know. I actually think it's extremely sad though.
Fulhamish. I dont think if Dembele went to Spurs,he would be warming the bench much. Why ? nothing is certain, except that Moderic will go in the close season window. No matter how Harry may postulate,If a substantial offer is put on the table the Spurs board will accept. IE : out Moderic 15/18m. in Dembele 10m
I wasn't talking about success as a whole only the CL, which City realistically could fail to quality for when the Fair Play comes into effect, whereas Arsenal are probably the league's most financially sound team. Nasri was also offered the chance to sign for Utd but chose City. In my opinion, he is a mercenary.
Very true, I'd forgotten he turned down United. And I doubt City will fall foul of the FFP rules, they'll always have a dodgy lucrative sponsorship contract waiting for them. Unless UEFA decide to rumble them on that.
