Not sure to be honest, I was really surprised at the time that we got Gio though so maybe Bojan had something to with it. It was straight after the season where Gio took Ronaldinho's spot for a while so the hype on the guy was crazy. And we got him for about £7m if I remember rightly, peanuts for a so-called wonderkid.
I thought the same regarding Gio and why they'd let him go and why he'd come to us (he'd just got a hat trick in a Barca league game i think) and remember reading about Krkic and how the Barca people thought he was the better prospect. Not an official reason for letting Gio go of course, but i definitely heard of Krkic because of the Gio transfer.
Van Gaal is continuing with his mission to make us thankful he didn't take over at Spurs, this time whinging about Man Utd's pre-season tour of the US.
Dos had about the same number of goals and assists as Bale last year. He's always been a good player, but you have to build your team around him. I was just thinking the Dutch went from the most impressive team at the World Cup to the biggest disappointment bar Brazil and Spain. Van Gaal had no business parking the bus against Costa Rica and Argentina when he had Van Persie, Robben and Schneider.
Anyone remember Freddy Adu? He was an American kid who was being tipped for big things, to the extent that he was even referred to as "the next Pele". Inter tried to sign him for six figures when he was ten and he made his MLS debut at fourteen. He's now 25, failed all over the world and most recently blew a trial at Blackpool, a club that's in so much trouble that they can't field a full team and don't have a keeper on their books. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackpool_F.C.#Current_squad His career's nosedived so badly that he's being linked with a move to FK Jagodina in Serbia. Makes Bojan Krkic's Stoke move look positively stellar, doesn't it?
A highly-rated youngster, Riera has progressed from Barca’s famed La Masia to captain the club at every youth level, winning the inaugural UEFA Youth League with the team in April. He's set to sign for Nottingham Forest after Barca failed to offer him a contract.
Fat Frank has joined New York City FC, becoming their second major player and fourth player overall. There was some rather negative local press about him in the run up to this announcement, connected with his behaviour at an airport following 9/11. It'll be interesting to see if he gets any uncomfortable questions about it in the coming days. Wonder where he'll spend the next few months, prior to the first fixtures of his new club? His uncle's probably had a word, at least.
They're a new club and won't be part of the MLS until next season. They'll be added alongside another new "franchise" Orlando City SC.
Andy Carroll's slight ankle injury has turned out to be a massive understatement. He's actually done his ligaments and now has to have an operation, followed by several months of recuperation. Back in November, at the earliest.
Oooh just been chatting to a guy about Pochettino from his time at Southampton... Apparently he trains players like there's no tomorrow...double training sessions frequently etc. Lots of running. Should see good fitness with your players this season.
Yes, I think it's already well known here what he expects. He likes to play at a high, one pass tempo with pressure on the opposition when they're in possession. To do that, you need to be very fit.
It always surprises me how double training sessions aren't par for the course in professional football clubs. When you're paying a player millions of pounds a year, the least requirement should be a peak level of fitness, and a solid 8-9 hours work a day (not all exercise based of course). Does anyone know how much classroom based training goes on at clubs?
My point is more in relation to the relative training of Pochettino compared to Koeman. Koeman far less intensive and everything with a ball.
Who did you speak to, was he involved with the club? Lambert said a lot of the second training sessions would be tactical so it's not like he's got the players doing circuits for 6 hours a day.
