Might have been this? http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/fo...dge-20m-bid-for-valencia-star-roberto-soldado There is actually a quote in there so maybe there is some truth to it. If Valencia won't budge on £30m then we should just stop and move on - we won't pay it and they won't budge. The transfer window continues to creep shut - there's no point wasting time and energy on a transfer that won't happen.
Yep that's the one. I was just reading from a site called Spursweb and they had an article on reaction to our current transfer dealings. One quote was that we don't actually know who the club is bidding for, so we can only get our info from the red tops . We have never done our deals via the media and those close to the club keep it that way. I'm sure Baldini , Levy and AVB are trying their best to get the players they want, we are just guessing.
Well, I am disappointed we didn't sign Bentecke, but more as a signal of intent than in the belief he'd be a substantial improvement on Ade/Defoe & sort of Dempsey. I actually feel good about the team sticking to more or less what worked last year. We would have been fine if it weren't for early season chaos and all our "2" players getting injured at once. Now there won't be any early season chaos (especially if we don't sign anyone!) and we've got an extra world class player for the "2." The glass is looking pretty half full to me, in other words. Top it off by signing a promising young striker for 5-10 million so at least we can say we got a striker. Though the more I think about it, the more I believe Levy/Baldini/ will pull a rabbit out of the hat soon, a lethal striker for not very much. In case you're wondering what I'm drinking, it's Two Hearted Ale, a fine India Pale Ale microbrew, helped along by that great friend of humanity, Mr. Jim Beam.
Would also be happy with 1 or 2 up and coming strikers. At least it would get the monkey off the back as Roo says
I think we all are pretty much thinking along the same lines. We are not Chelsea or City who can just throw money at a player in the hope that they do well. If we sign someone from say the age of 26-30 for 20 million plus and they flop then it would be a disaster for us. We just don't have the money to gamble like that. Whether or not we were interested in Benteke we probably will never know. I think the fact he was young and half proven in the premier league and had put in a transfer request it was obvious we would be linked with him and the rumours just snowballed from there. Don't get me wrong I would have loved us to sign him but I don't honestly believe he is better than what we have already. I have faith the club are doing all they can to sort out the new striker. I'm going to be glass half full for the time being as well! We finished 1 point from fourth last season. That was with the Adebayor situation at the beginning of the season, no Kaboul and Sandro for large chunks and we have signed what looks like a top player in Paulinho. A lot of clubs would love to be in our position and its not that bad really however frustrating this new striker search is!!
I just tend to look at it this way at the start of each season. 1. Is our team stronger than last year? 1A. Yes! We have added Paulinho and list no one. 2. Do we have any long term injuries returning this season? 2A. Yes! Sandro and Kaboul - arguably our 2 best players after Bale 3. Is our manager still sending the right signals? 3A. Yes! Completely dismissing links with barca and outright saying "NO" to Bale talk. 4. Have the other teams around us last season improved more than us? 4A. Yes & No! City have massively improved their squad signing some very good players (Yes) Arsenal have signed no one and look set to lose Cazorla to Atletico Madrid (No) Chelsea have arguably improved simply by having Mourinho (Yes) United signed no one look set to lose Rooney and have lost SAF (No) Liverpool have made some signings but all very risky unproven players at any level (No) Everton lost Moyes and Kone / Alcaraz is no real improvement (No) 5. Are any of the teams below us improving more than we are? 5A. Swansea are probably the only one. Newcastle have some very good players if they can pull them together and avoid injury. 6. How does our players attitude seem to be? 6A. For the first time in a long time all of our players are flat out dismissing moves away (Bale, Defoe, Sandro) and if Spurcat is correct the attitude in training is much better than last year. We even have our main striker saying 'we need another striker!' 7. Are there any seriously weak points in our squad? 7A. Maybe left back! Other than that No. Even if we find them frustrating Defoe & Adebayor could play for anyone in the league bar maybe united & city. 8. How is our squad depth? 8A. Excellent really. Maybe short of 1 winger and 1 striker but you could argue we're okay for wingers if you consider gylfi being able to play there & I'm fairly sure we'll sign a striker even if its just for cover / a youngster not a £20m one. Plenty of reasons to be excited if you ask me
I am happy with our squad apart from a creative midfield player and another forward, we have Rose back to provide competition at LB and Townsend on the wings. All other areas are well stocked, if we can just add a creative midfield spark to unlock stubborn defences and another striking option I will be happy.
exactly where i'm at, CB. I'd like to see another winger, but it's not essential IMO. I think we'd benefit more from having a creative player instead.
ITKs fail again. Pretty disappointed to miss out on Benteke but at least he hasn't gone to a rival. Well done to Lambert and Lerner who did very well to keep him, there's always a part of me that prefers to see the best players stay at their clubs for awhile before the magnetic pull to the top clubs or money clubs kicks in. Might as well just keep Ade and Defoe then with another like Cisse, or a young talent, added for depth at a cheap price so we can strengthen better elsewhere.
He is, in my opinon, one of, if not THE, best left back in the world. One of my absolute favourite players. If we sign him I'll probably cry. A left side of Bale and Coentrao would tear people apart. *Edit* Although worth mentioning I have never and will never fully believe ITK - I have yet to find a single one that has actually been consistently correct. The only person I tend to believe about anything close to "ITK" is Spurcat.
LOL that's because spurcat is ITK. (Although he'd probably hate the fact i've just given him that title ) We've very lucky to have him on here! Will Bale be playing on the left next season though? I very much doubt we'll see much of him in that position anymore. I'll miss those epic runs where every right back gets torn a new one.
Baldini picked up Marquinhos from Corinthians last summer for €3m. He's been sold today to PSG for £27m. That's quite a mark up. Let's hope he's looking to bring in some similar talent for us right now.
Did you seriously expect that it would be? I had faint hopes that they may, at least, make a perfunctory show of trying to rein the City's and PSG's of the world in, but no such thing has happened. Only the other day, the chairman of PSG threatened to trigger Messi's £250mil release clause if Barca didn't end their pursuit of Thiago. The really sad thing is that he probably means it! £250mil is pocket money to these guys.
£250m was Messi's old release clause (an unamed russian club triggered it but messi turned them down - presumably Anzhi) it was increased in his last contract to a rumoured £1bn (how accurate that is I don't know). Which frankly makes the whole situation even more ridiculous.
Like you, I hoped it would. I didn't see any sense in being as skeptical as some were, if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.
Just read this - ESPN Brazil reporting Bernard will not announce his next club before Libertadores final Wednesday night, his club will be in Europe. I'm getting flashbacks of Eden Hazard doing something similar before he moved to Chelsea. Remember that sign vid he did - what a douche (this one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLtMdA4SWvQ)
In fairness to Hazard (although he was abit of a dick about it all) that video was NIKE rather than him. He will have got paid a fortune for it and if I NIKE came up to me and said "Give you £20 to sit down and look like a dick for 30seconds" I'd do it.
