The real question is would you drop Eriksen or Lamela for him? I think I can guess the answer to that one.
The real question is whether we think Eriksen and Lamela are sufficient as squad CM playmakers for where Spurs aspire to go. Injuries included. Eriksen/Lamela vs Ya Ya Toure will ask such questions.
I still don't really know why Arsenal bought Ozil. He's a good player, but they already had good players in his position and he was pretty expensive. Wenger seems to want to replicate the feat that he performed with Henry, converting someone from one role to another with remarkable success. It's like he wants to prove that he knows better than everyone else, at the expense of results, money and common sense. Odd.
So he could say "Look, here is our big signing, so there's no reason to complain that we've been also-rans for a decade" - in other words the same card he played when signing Arshavin for a considerable fee without any considerable upturn in the club's fortunes.
"So he could say "Look, here is our big signing, so there's no reason to complain that we've been also-rans for a decade" That is how it comes across. The counter-argument of course is whether a Madrid cast-off (Galactico they may be) is the missing piece by default for your particular squad.
Moyes was interested in Ozil and was derided for not moving swiftly enough to get him. Van Gaal ended up with another Galactico reject in di Maria, but even at the absurd price of £59M, he's looking better value for money. In fact, he looks real quality.
VdV was very much the real deal for us after all. But I guess the key thing is that playing for Real Madrid doesn't make you World Class by default. Ozil was an expensive mistake for Arsenal. They should have split the money between buying a better defensive mid and a centre back. Santi Cazorla (or even the resurgent Ramsey) worry me far more than Ozil, Cazorla in particular who seems to me to be one of those rare truly two-footed players. If Arsenal had bought wisely instead of splurging on the big shiny player then they could have been so much better, so I'm sure we are all glad that they got sucked in by the promise of a Galactico.... Ozil's not a bad player, he's actually a very good one, but he's never going to be worth close to £42.5 mill. He was made to look better than he was at Madrid and I don't think he has made massive progress since his breakthrough season culminating in the 2010 World Cup. He's a bigger-money, and admittedly a more successful, Paulinho - good players (yes even I have to admit that there is a good player somewhere inside Paulinho) but not what was needed for either club at the time, just expensive signings with fancy foreign names to parade around.
He sure has a lot to say for himself these days. From what I have seen of his performances this season, he would be much better off if he zipped it and put in some hard graft on the training ground. Frankly, his displays so far this season have been awful.
Rio has looked finished for a couple of seasons now. I don't know why Redknapp went for him, or what on Earth he's doing on the FA "committee" for that matter. Great player in his prime but I can see why so many people dislike him.
Methinks poor old Rio disappeared up his own fundamental orifice a while ago. He now seems to be irretrievable!..
Punch up in Serbia.Apparently a Kosovan flag was flying above the pitch pulled by a drone.A Serb player grabbed and all hell was let loose with the game abandoned.English ref too! What fool put Serbia in the same group as Albania (Kosovo)? It's only a football game lads.......famous last words!
They were in the same qualifying group as Croatia for the WC. I know the draw is supposed to be impartial, but surely UEFA should be leaving the numbers of Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia on the radiator for ten minutes before the draw?
didn't two central American,countries go to war after a football match,years ago?,think one might have been Panama
Why so much concern about Lloris not being totally fit, I've a lot of confidence in Vorm? I agree about Chadli as he's been the star for us this season and could make the difference against City. I'm not predicting anything for this match, it's wait and see.
On Lloris and Chadli... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...ache-picking-injuries-international-duty.html It would seem that the Belgian and French FAs deem Chadli and Lloris's injuries respectively to not be too serious. Even though Lloris has been our best player this season so far, I think we would miss him less in this one, mainly because Vorm will be more than adequate cover. Chadli is more difficult to replace, especially because for me this is a game for him at no. 10, as his size and physique will make him more of a challenge for City's big midfielders to deal with than Eriksen. Although actually we could see Dembele behind the striker if we need a physical presence there and Chadli isn't fit.
Juventus have hired a Spanish model to front their TV channel. No idea why... please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
