Summer Transfers 2020 - Sponsored by Corona™

[Spikey M]

It should be EXACTLY half way through each half for maximum lol's when they have to disallow goals that go in 10 milliseconds late or as someone is one on one with the keeper.

[Shindig]

Or we should get long spells of possession to deny the opposition the Lucozade they so desperately need.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I’m not claiming conspiracy theory but Arsenal have scored 2 goals since lockdown football started and they’ve both been followed by an immediate drinks break. Surely that is a massive disadvantage?

Not if you subscribe to the Official Football Knowledge that the most dangerous time in the game is just after you score (even more so if it's a goal that takes you ahead 2-0, the Most Dangerous Lead).

[niko_cee]

:D

You sound like the sort of proper football man that Rooney Rule no process exemption is designed to fast track to greatness.

[SincereTheRebel]

Pedro off to roma for 50k per week seems lite

[Jimmy Floyd]

He's pretty past it these days, so a middling Serie A side seems a good fit.

[SincereTheRebel]

He's pretty past it these days, so a middling Serie A side seems a good fit.

Given the current climiate with salaries and such. A free transfer, i would exspect his agent to get him at leasy three times that amount.

[niko_cee]

He's a mid-30s pace merchant, and, you know, there's that dodgy tax thing they do in Italy so the basic wage goes a lot further.

[Waffdon]

I don’t think Pedro has ever been a pace merchant. Certainly not now anyway.

[Jimmy Floyd]

He's like his own category of player, do they have it in FM? Dentista or something.

[Shindig]

Manquillo and Carroll have extended their contracts. Rob Elliot is now a free agent. Mark Gillespie has moved to us on a free so I guess he takes Elliot's spot.

[John Arne]

Marco Van Ginkel, he of 2 games in 7 years for Chelsea... Has signed a 12 month extension.
What. An. Agent.

[niko_cee]

I'd love to see the numbers on Chelsea's loan farm. Does it pay for itself through loan fees, the occasional big money departure and subsidised wages, or do the initial costs of getting the players in in the first place always offset that? Weren't UEFA meant to be cracking down on it as a practice?

[Waffdon]

Hakimi to Inter for £36m seems a bit of a steal.

[randomlegend]

The stuff about Guendozi wanting out is true, the stuff about Utd wanting him is obviously not. Thomas Partey will most likely join Arsenal.

[SincereTheRebel]

Arsenal need a mega clearout. I dont think they have it in them, to make it happen though.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I'd love to see the numbers on Chelsea's loan farm. Does it pay for itself through loan fees, the occasional big money departure and subsidised wages, or do the initial costs of getting the players in in the first place always offset that? Weren't UEFA meant to be cracking down on it as a practice?

Bit of sell on fees, bit of the odd player turning out to be good (like Christensen), bit of soft power, and probably a lot of helping out preferred agents.

[Giggles]

Arsenal need to be wiped out and started again.

[niko_cee]

Yeah, that last bit is probably it isn't it, and it pays when you shift the likes of the Brazilian pair for insane money to parts unknown. First in line when a new mug comes into the market.

[Don]

On Arsenal, this is class.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EbYLqG0XQAgyUvd?format=jpg&name=large

[randomlegend]

Pogba will sign a new contract in the next few days.

[niko_cee]

Highest earner at the club?

What could possibly go wrong.

[Lewis]

Think of it as reparations.

[Baz]

Youssoufa Moukoko to Liverpool. :happycry:

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

1276894304342904832

[Manc]

Only 420 club appearances in two decades. Stealing a living.

[niko_cee]

I bet he basically looked like that when he left them at 17 or whatever it was.

[Lewis]

The third best player of the decade.

[Don]

https://twitter.com/TheAnfieldWrap/status/1277278181574225923?s=20

Jesus, could you imagine if we took him this summer to compete with Naby for that 4th CM spot? :drool:

[The Merse]

KdB being 29 is fucking terrifying.

Partey is both meh and yay, I guess. Meh, he’s 27; he’s good but not exactly on an upwards trajectory (the converse if joining us), he could easily be just a Wolves player; Yay, he’s precisely what we could do with.

I’d happily walk Ghendouzi out of the door, he’s been shite in all but one game this season. High ceiling with lot’s of technical ability and decent athleticism, sure. But he’s a fucking idiot in the footballing and non-footballing sense, constantly giving the ball away. If eejits want to pay 50m for him, snap their hands off (albeit I do have some fondness for him). So, hopefully any one of these big clubs after him think they can turn him into the new Vieira.

At least Tierney is looking good finally, and Pepe is showing good signs of rounding off some of the (largely defensive) edges under Arteta. Nketiah can replace Laca as a no. 2 striker with no issue, especially with Martinelli able to play up front too and Folarin Balogun absolutely knocking on the door. So, he can feck off too (albeit with far more fondness for last season and a wonderful derby goal this campaign). So, hopefully Atletico want him after all.

Leno is player of the season but I’d let him go for the big bucks that his consistency in the past 24 months is surely worth. Emi Martinez has a good run now to stake a claim, and has better distribution. A serviceable keeper who might be very good and £50m to spend on areas where we have naff all Would be grand compensation (full fondness levels, Leno is a don, but we should be pragmatic here) so, hopefully Bayern rumours have a degree of truth.

TLDR; I’d sell almost any one of the saleable assets who don’t look equally difficult to replace (Saka, Tierney, Auba).

[John Arne]

Arsenal's four centerbacks of Sokratis, Luiz, Holding and Mustafi kinda may be the worse 4 centerbacks of the top 6 teams.
Holding should perhaps stay, but as 4th choice behind some actual decent defenders.

You have that french guy coming in, right? Saliba or something?

[SincereTheRebel]

Don't arsenal also have some giant black left-footed youth in their under 23 squad who can also play CB? Promote him and get him playing now

[niko_cee]

Is Leno seriously injured? I doubt anyone is going to pay big money for him if he is.

Guendouzi is a funny one. He's obviously got some talent, but he doesn't show it nearly enough and struts around like he's the finished article. I wouldn't say he'd be worth risking big money on. It's a good racket to get into though - the completely baseless 'future great' - he must have an excellent agent (probably the same one as Adrien Rabiot).

More Koulibaly rumours, now with Lovren going the other way. Hold me.

Sadly there are many reasons that one isn't going to happen.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Having big hair seems to add 50% to your value/perception of your talents.

[SincereTheRebel]

Guendouzi is just a french version of Jack Wilshere at the same age.

[Ian]

More Koulibaly rumours, now with Lovren going the other way. Hold me.

Presumably need to add on a chunk more cash if that's the case.

[randomlegend]

Angel Gomes looks to be gone from United on a free. Always thought he looked like he had something about him in his few appearances but oh well.

United apparently made a last ditch attempt to get Bellingham but he's off to Dortmund.

[The Merse]

Arsenal's four centerbacks of Sokratis, Luiz, Holding and Mustafi kinda may be the worse 4 centerbacks of the top 6 teams.
Holding should perhaps stay, but as 4th choice behind some actual decent defenders.

You have that french guy coming in, right? Saliba or something?

Saliba, yes. Him, Chambers and Holding and one more much better CB should be enough.

Mustafi and Sokratis have had good careers with top clubs and international football for a reason. They’re chancers of a kind, but the issues is less of their individual talent and more of the issues with the collective here and of not being the right ‘sort’. Mustafi has been pretty solid this season, actually. Still, I’m sure we’ll likely ship both out if we have the chance.

Holding/Chambers have both had good spells and not much by way of individual mistakes. They’re just never going to be top players, either. But as 3rd/4th choices they’ll do for now.

@sincere that’s Zech Medley. Absolute unit and quick, but yet to prove much.

[Spikey M]

The whole squad is chancers. Aubameyang aside.

[The Merse]

Is Leno seriously injured? I doubt anyone is going to pay big money for him if he is.

Guendouzi is a funny one. He's obviously got some talent, but he doesn't show it nearly enough and struts around like he's the finished article. I wouldn't say he'd be worth risking big money on. It's a good racket to get into though - the completely baseless 'future great' - he must have an excellent agent (probably the same one as Adrien Rabiot).

More Koulibaly rumours, now with Lovren going the other way. Hold me.

Sadly there are many reasons that one isn't going to happen.

Nah, Leno is 4 weeks apparently.

[Lewis]

Angel Gomes looks to be gone from United on a free. Always thought he looked like he had something about him in his few appearances but oh well.

United apparently made a last ditch attempt to get Bellingham but he's off to Dortmund.

It's an odd one this, and the most obvious explanation seems to be that he actually isn't all that.

[Don]

He weighs the same as my ballsack and is the same height as me lying down, he'll be in Willem/Rio Ave at the height of his powers

[The Merse]

Hasn’t Gomes been described as one of those players who looked incredible in the kids and a little less amazing at each step up? Or is that Perreira (who just seems anonymous to me when I’ve seen him - bit of a Lingard clone without the occasional worldies).
Spikey M they’re just average as fuck really. We’ve lots of those players who could make a decent squad member or starter for the odd top team, but you can’t be fielding ten of the fuckers and hoping Auba pulls it out of the bag every week. Of the recent signings, Torreira has something about him and Tierney/Pepe I’m convinced will work out well (maybe not £85m worth of well in the latter case), but otherwise it’s difficult to pick out a success story in an outfield position.

[randomlegend]

Gomes has always been spoken of alongside Greenwood and Sancho in that group of England players. As I said when I've seen him come on for us I've thought he actually looked like he had a spark; much more impressive than the likes of Chong.

Apparently Chelsea are interested.

[SincereTheRebel]

Saliba, yes. Him, Chambers and Holding and one more much better CB should be enough.

@sincere that’s Zech Medley. Absolute unit and quick, but yet to prove much.

Good enough for what, mid-table? I wasn't sure of his name, but is he the one who has been nominated for the golden boy?

[Jimmy Floyd]

Like every other footballer, he's the best player ever when he joins a club and the worst player ever when he leaves it.

No idea what we would do with such a person other than loan him out to FC Middle-Tier.

[randomlegend]

Like every other footballer, he's the best player ever when he joins a club and the worst player ever when he leaves it.

No idea what we would do with such a person other than loan him out to FC Middle-Tier.

He came through our academy and has always been talked of very highly. Captaining England whilst playing up an age group etc.

[Lewis]

If it was Jose at the wheel I would be questioning it, but Ole Gunnar Binman has played the good youth enough to be given the benefit of the doubt.

[randomlegend]

Yeah I'm not overly bothered.

[Manc]

I see Buffon has signed on for another year. Where does he rank on the all time great keepers list?

[Lewis]

At the top of it.

[SvN]

Angel Gomes is Terry Cooke with an afro.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I see Buffon has signed on for another year. Where does he rank on the all time great keepers list?

Not as highly as he thinks he does.

[Giggles]

He’s no Packie Bonner.

[The Merse]

Good enough for what, mid-table? I wasn't sure of his name, but is he the one who has been nominated for the golden boy?

Saliba and say, an Upamecano would have the upside required to be starters. Holding and Chambers are mid table players, but what other options might we have in front of us with funds needed to be directed throughout the side, no longer being a very attractive prospect and we're talking about 3rd/4th choice anyway...

Yes, Saliba is nominated for Golden Boy. Donning it in a shite team, in a weaker league maybe, but again - we're beggars not choosers out here.

[Yevrah]

On Buffon, is he the last player left playing who was in Championship Manager 01/02?

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Wasn't Rooney on 01/02 as a youngster? He's still technically playing.

[Yevrah]

He definitely was after a patch, as a good player, and maybe as a shit one before. Now you mention it.

[Danny]

https://thesetpieces.com/gaming/27-surviving-players-cm9798-fm18/

This is from 97-98

[SincereTheRebel]

Saliba and say, an Upamecano would have the upside required to be starters. Holding and Chambers are mid table players, but what other options might we have in front of us with funds needed to be directed throughout the side, no longer being a very attractive prospect and we're talking about 3rd/4th choice anyway...

Yes, Saliba is nominated for Golden Boy. Donning it in a shite team, in a weaker league maybe, but again - we're beggars not choosers out here.

Is there real truth around Upamecano and partey? They sound like great additions but is it realistic?

[Shindig]

Wasn't Rooney on 01/02 as a youngster? He's still technically playing.

I swear I've seen a 14 year old Cabaye and Ben Arfa but he might be on 3.67 or whatever the last official patch was. Cristiano Ronaldo's in the database though.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Another summer, another Arsenal prince across the water.

[Lofty]

Folarin Balogun absolutely knocking on the door.

He's off mate.

I didn't see the hype when I watched him, he scored a hat trick but they were all penalties and two of them looked soft to me. Seemed a bit of a Walcott esque pace merchant who likes to beat his man and wait for the foul.

[SincereTheRebel]

He's off mate.

I didn't see the hype when I watched him, he scored a hat trick but they were all penalties and two of them looked soft to me. Seemed a bit of a Walcott esque pace merchant who likes to beat his man and wait for the foul.

Arsenal have had a few youngsters of late leave and look really good. Gnabry being number. That dutch Malen at PSV has some hype around him, but it is the dutch league. Even Jeff was bought recently by Lyon for 20m.

[The Merse]

Arsenal have had a few youngsters of late leave and look really good. Gnabry being number. That dutch Malen at PSV has some hype around him, but it is the dutch league. Even Jeff was bought recently by Lyon for 20m.

Mitigating circumstances with Gnabry, who had a bad injury, a shite loan spell and a bad attitude yet still was offered a new deal. That was ready to sign when he went to the Olympics and made a star of himself and then Bayern did their shenanigans to guarantee his move to Werder. Malen similarly had injuries kill his time here but I always liked him when fit and it is frustrating to see him having kicked on. I don't think Jeff would have progressed with us, though.

Balogun will do well somewhere, he's more than just a pace merchant. He's got good technique, some lovely evasive skills and is powerful.

Hopefully Trae Coyle, who is training with the first team, will get a chance in the side soon. There's plenty of talent coming out of the academy, which is one positive of the past couple of years.

[The Merse]

I swear I've seen a 14 year old Cabaye and Ben Arfa but he might be on 3.67 or whatever the last official patch was. Cristiano Ronaldo's in the database though.

Yeh Rooney was on 01/02 but one of the weird ones where he was an AM/FL IIRC and random attributes in the original database so was shite, basically.

[Don]

The thing with the Arsenal academy is they have a continual stream of intelligent and hard-working talent coming through.

#doingbetter

[Jimmy Floyd]

I did all this shit at SOAS ten years ago. In the colonies, the good old British used to label the favoured local tribe 'clever', 'cunning' etc while the subjugated scum version would be 'savage', 'strong' etc. Don't think it's something limited to 21st century football commentary. I'm 99% sure that the Belgian version of this phenomenon is how we ended up with Hutus and Tutsis killing each other in Rwanda.

[Waffdon]

Sky running a story saying Man Utd won’t pay over £50m for Sancho. lol at that, shame they’re as reliable as the Sun

[randomlegend]

Media cycle well and truly underway.

Reports selling club won't sell for less than X --> Reports Man Utd won't play more than Y --> Blah Blah Blah ---> Simon Stone tweets negotiations are ongoing but an agreement is "not close" --> Romano "Here we go!" --> transfer announced. Same for about the last 5 of our transfers.

[niko_cee]

Club want £X.

United spend 3 months saying they won't pay £X.

United pay £X.

Sancho is presumably heavily dependent on United getting Champions League football. Can see him staying there for another season if that doesn't happen, maybe even if it does. Dortmund must be thinking his value is only going to increase in all likelihood (what with there being a Euros next summer and all) and so are going to want crazy money for him. Like Dembele crazy.

[Jimmy Floyd]

If you go to United that's the endgame (unless you think you're good enough for Barcelona to spaff £200 million on in five years, which I suspect Jadon Sancho isn't) so it wouldn't matter about CL football right now if he thinks his career will be spent there.

Obviously doesn't work out for everyone (hi Poggers).

[Don]

For £50m they can have him ship a pair of his signed boots for Ryan Fraser to wear.

[niko_cee]

AFCON postponed until 2022.

:joy:

[randomlegend]

He'll be at United before next season Champions' League or not, and the fee will be eye-watering (£100m+)

[Ian]

Club want £X.

United spend 3 months saying they won't pay £X.

United pay £X.



Wait, who told you Woodward's secret strategy? That's confidential.

[Lofty]

Sol Campbell leaves Southend United by mutual consent, timed as Barrow AFC manager Ian Evatt is set to be poached by Bolton Wanderers. Going to be a circus :D

[niko_cee]

I wonder how much Dwight McNeil would be worth if he played for Dortmund?

[John Arne]

Dwight McNeil is fucking ace.

[randomlegend]

Wait, who told you Woodward's secret strategy? That's confidential.

It actually worked reasonably well with Bruno in the end, although having him for those extra games may have been the difference between making Champions League and not, which is worth more than the difference in what we paid, sooo....

[Waffdon]

Is Sane out of contract next summer? £50m seems very cheap for the best winger in the league when fit.

[phonics]

Yes.

[niko_cee]

Is that to Bayern?

I can understand why he is frustrated at maybe not getting the game time he should have at City - although hasn't he featured fairly heavily before being injured all this year? - but isn't he just going to be in the same situation at Bayern? It's not like he walks into the team there. Is it just a being German thing?

[phonics]

Pep is not a fan. Thinks he’s too flash off the field. They’ve done well getting that much for him.

[Lewis]

'Pep' is a racist. FACT.

[Giggles]

Black players should cost €10-20m more.

[SincereTheRebel]

Is that to Bayern?

I can understand why he is frustrated at maybe not getting the game time he should have at City - although hasn't he featured fairly heavily before being injured all this year? - but isn't he just going to be in the same situation at Bayern? It's not like he walks into the team there. Is it just a being German thing?

He gets into the Bayern team 100%. His competition on the left side where they could play him is Coman.

[Don]

Gnabry left, Coman right last time I watched them. Either way, Sane is a top 5 in the world winger so lol at City and lol at everyone else bar Bayern.

[randomlegend]

Micky Targaryan is staying at Roma permanently. No fee. Lol.

[Lewis]

United ruining Dortmund superstars. :cool:

[SincereTheRebel]

Gnabry left, Coman right last time I watched them. Either way, Sane is a top 5 in the world winger so lol at City and lol at everyone else bar Bayern.

Confirmed for £54m

[The Merse]

Micky Targaryan is staying at Roma permanently. No fee. Lol.

22m saved from this years salary, mind. If they’re absorbing the lot.

[niko_cee]

Sane is a top 5 in the world winger so lol at City and lol at everyone else bar Bayern.

I like Sane but really? Is a winger the same as a wide-forward?

It's certainly a good price (assuming his knee works) but it's not really an open market deal, is it? He's not available to anyone else. It's a stitch-up that's been in the offing for ages.

[SincereTheRebel]

Chump change. You couldn't even buy a David Luiz for that.

[Don]

I haven't heard anything said about Greazy being linked to any one. Chelsea are done for that but Utd and City should be all over that. I assume Pogba could have a word with him.

[Gray Fox]

Liverpool Twitter has suddenly come up with a deal being very close to bring in Thiago from Bayern. Rumour states that the player has an agreement with Liverpool, but they don't want to pay the asking price (€35m) in one hit, preferring to defer payments whilst they see how next season unfolds money wise.

Seems an odd one to me.

He's 29 already and is on more than anyone at Liverpool is now. He does add a potential creative option at CM, but then The Ox and Naby do that pretty well.

[Waffdon]

Thiago would be your best midfielder. That’s an absolute bargain - I assume he’s out of contract?

[phonics]

Rumours of Santi Cazorla in as a coach. Make him a player. Man could be 47 and still doing it.

[Don]

My mushroom would obviously be red raw and at risk of falling off if it were to happen but Thiago has no place in our team and we need a CM like I need a penis extension.

[Manc]

It's an odd one. Wijnaldum might be the casualty.

[Giggles]

My mushroom would obviously be red raw and at risk of falling off if it were to happen but Thiago has no place in our team and we need a CM like I need a penis extension.

If they need one that badly they better buy two :henn0rz:

[niko_cee]

I can't believe Alcantara/Thiago/whatever he goes by is 29. I'm sure he hasn't, but it feels like he's wasted his career at Bayern.

[randomlegend]

Messi to leave Barca in 2021

[Ian]

They'll throw more money at him and he'll stay.

They probably should let him go though, the whole setup is too subservient to him. Yes he's their / the best player ever or in the conversation for it but the whole thing isn't just built around him as a player but also massaging his ego.

[randomlegend]

I think he'll really go this time. Barca are apparently absolutely crippled financially behind the scenes, to the point it wouldn't be a suprise if it all came tumbling down.

[SvN]

He's posturing so they'll get rid of Bartomeu.

[John Arne]

Barca's transfer business really is awful. Langlet, Semedo, Umtiti all pretty crap. Vidal, Rakitic, Messi and Suarez all getting old. Then they sign Coutinho, an attacker, and play him in midfield. When was the last time Barca signed a good defender.... Pique 10 years ago?

[niko_cee]

When is their next president coming in? And is Xavi then going to be the manager or are they going to let Koeman loose on them this summer?

They can never really collapse that much as the whole system in Spain is set-up for either them or Real to win. Real have been an absolute shit show for years (it feels) and yet they're going to win the league after a summer of unparalleled failure in the transfer market. It takes more than gross incompetence for either to really fail.

[Don]

https://www.espn.com/soccer/spanish-primera-division/story/4122091/barcelona-swapping-arthur-for-pjanic-was-a-business-move-but-for-all-the-wrong-reasons

This is a good read of their business. Top three most expensive signings are Coutinho, Dembele and Greazy and a billion Euros of wasted spending. They'll go the way of Milan soon.

[Giggles]

I'd love to see them fucked.

[Manc]

Coutinho, Griezmann & Dembele all flopping is pretty special.

[SincereTheRebel]

Coutinho, Griezmann & Dembele all flopping is pretty special.

They overpay for players that are never going to delivery 40 goal contributions a season. They expect a lot from the signings. This was always going to happen. They would lose out on the resale.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Griezmann is an empty shirt. Late capitalism in shorts. Goes out in blackface and gets a World Cup 'ring' made for himself because he's such a big basketball fan, wishes he wasn't a short white Frenchman, and the mere medals that football doles out aren't enough for his ego.

[Andy]

Keep expecting Barca to bring through a handful of youngsters and start smashing it up, but it just doesnt happen.

Post Messi Barca is going to be ten times worse than post SAF United.

[Ian]

I'm sure the next batch of chosen ones from Mes Que Un Training Academy will be right along to save them just after United's Class of [insert year here] has come into the first team.

[mugbull]

Griezmann is an empty shirt. Late capitalism in shorts. Goes out in blackface and gets a World Cup 'ring' made for himself because he's such a big basketball fan, wishes he wasn't a short white Frenchman, and the mere medals that football doles out aren't enough for his ego.

You have to realize that, once people outgrow the Harry Potter phase, nobody wishes they were English

[Jimmy Floyd]

Most of Hong Kong seems to. I recall a Jamaican poll saying they wanted back into Empire a while ago too, or certainly wanted the Queen back as HoS.

[SincereTheRebel]

I'm sure the next batch of chosen ones from Mes Que Un Training Academy will be right along to save them just after United's Class of [insert year here] has come into the first team.

it would be interesting to see how many great football classes there have been over the past 40 years or so. There are the obvious ones like the Ajax one with Davids, Seedord and them. The Barca one with Iniesta, Xavi and all that. Man Utds and even the smaller ones with Bale, Walcott and Lallana at Southmapton.

[Ian]

it would be interesting to see how many great football classes there have been over the past 40 years or so. There are the obvious ones like the Ajax one with Davids, Seedord and them. The Barca one with Iniesta, Xavi and all that. Man Utds and even the smaller ones with Bale, Walcott and Lallana at Southmapton.

And as a follow-up how many of those didn't consistently produce much of note after.

I mean it took a few years for people to believe that the likes of John Curtis weren't going to be legends just because they'd come through the United youth system and I'm sure Barcelona has had its share of that in recent years.

[mugbull]

Most of Hong Kong seems to. I recall a Jamaican poll saying they wanted back into Empire a while ago too, or certainly wanted the Queen back as HoS.

To be fair, people wish they were Chinese even less

[Spikey M]

You have to realize that, once people outgrow the Harry Potter phase, nobody wishes they were English

Makes you wonder why people keep moving here.

[mugbull]

Probably due to jobs would be my wild guess

[SvN]

What a bizarre comment out of nowhere that is.

[mugbull]

I'd argue Jimmy's was bizarre-r

[Lofty]

And as a follow-up how many of those didn't consistently produce much of note after.

I mean it took a few years for people to believe that the likes of John Curtis weren't going to be legends just because they'd come through the United youth system and I'm sure Barcelona has had its share of that in recent years.

Bojan.

[randomlegend]

Admittedly it's Duncan Castles (who claimed we put an offer in for Fati a few weeks ago lol) but more noise about Sancho to Utd.

Grealish rumours picking up pace again also.

[Giggles]

Always said we’d miss Grealish more than Rice. The former is miles above.

[Waffdon]

Declan Rice is great. Will do much better than Grealish in the long run, albeit completely different players

[Lewis]

I've been saying it for years, but everybody too old for a Twitter fan account should realise that Barcelona have always been the worst run club in the world. The 2006 to 2012 period was their exceptional historic team, like seventies Ajax and whoever those bots include in their polls, and then they had 2015 off the back of just putting a good team together. Their current situation is typical of what they have always done, which is to have an absolute superstar toiling against waves of shit.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I've always wondered how they managed to fuck up having Maradona and letting the likes of Athletic Bilbao win titles in those years.

[phonics]

Getting Saka, Martinelli and Aubameyang on new contracts while bombing out Lacazette and Guendouzi for 70 million quid would be top stuff.

Only way to improve it is getting rid of Ozil at a loss of 350k a week just so I don’t have to hear about him for a year.

[niko_cee]

Who's going to pay £70m for Lacazette?

[Lewis]

I've always wondered how they managed to fuck up having Maradona and letting the likes of Athletic Bilbao win titles in those years.

Johan Cruyff also won the league once and then spent the rest of his spell not winning the UEFA Cup. They've been run by Ed Woodward for fifty years.

[Don]

Was literally about to post Niko's post word for word. Liberties.

[phonics]

Who's going to pay £70m for Lacazette?
40 for Guendouzi 30 for Lacazette.

[niko_cee]

Is that pence for the former?

[SincereTheRebel]

With two years left on his deal, it sounds generous. Give him to a.madrid where he was supposed to end up if all that funny business went on.

[Gray Fox]

Seems there may be something to this Thiago thing.

Füher Rummenigge has said he'll be sold in the summer to avoid losing out on a fee for him. He does however also say Liverpool haven't yet been in contact. If that's true then said €30m fee may be bollocks.

[Manc]

It's nonsense.

[Raoul Duke]

Gotta be some Italian team that could do with some creative FFP accounting who could pick him up for £87m

[Lofty]

James Rodriguez being touted as a target for English clubs this summer. Is he essentially Özil mark 2 now?

[niko_cee]

Probably harsh on Ozil.

[Spikey M]

Ozil had about 5 solid seasons. James had 1 World Cup.

[Giggles]

Is that Hammeth?

[randomlegend]

Sancho transfer agreed all round as per latest ITK info. Official offer, signatures, legal stuff etc. all that's left.

I'd guess it won't be announced for a while so it can be timed to achieve maximum social media interactions and all that bullshit.

[Luca]

Sancho transfer agreed all round as per latest ITK info. Official offer, signatures, legal stuff etc. all that's left.

Is your ITK info from r/muppetiers?

(For those not in the know: it’s a United subreddit that posts info from alleged ITKs. They posted a thread today alleging the Sancho deal has been agreed, similar to what RL said above).

Note: this isn’t meant to be disparaging. Just curious if you’ve got a different source.

[randomlegend]

Obviously

Edit: sorry that was a bit blunt, but yeah I've made no secret I'm just relaying from Reddit (previously reddevils but then moved to muppetiers)

[niko_cee]

Reckon they'll roll out a Welcome to Manchester poster for him?

[randomlegend]

Lol.

I reckon they'll announce him August 7th with the 7 shirt.

[Ian]

I suppose Sancho might prove a solid enough backup to Greenwood when we need to rest him for the easy wins.

[SincereTheRebel]

Lol.

I reckon they'll announce him August 7th with the 7 shirt.

You're taking the piss lad

[Danny]

Reckon they'll roll out a Welcome to Manchester poster for him?

Welcome (back) to Manchester

[phonics]

Kroenke has bought the entirety of Arsenals stadium debt. Weirdly, it seems to be a way of them putting in money to the club without bolloxing FFP.

1281264487711092739

[niko_cee]

FFP, like all financial reporting mechanisms, is a load of on-paper-only bullshit.

[phonics]

FFP, like all financial reporting mechanisms, is a load of on-paper-only bullshit.

Yeah, its been annoying being one of the only clubs that seemingly pay attention to it.

Whole thing should have been ripped up the moment that Pjanic - Arthur transfer happened.

[niko_cee]

Or that 'keeper swap they did with Valencia, or whatever Bayern and Juve have been up to for the past god knows how long swapping players about (Barca are in on it too - the Arturo Vidal merry-go-round). It all stinks to high heaven.

City's CAS ruling must be due soon.

[randomlegend]

Or that 'keeper swap they did with Valencia, or whatever Bayern and Juve have been up to for the past god knows how long swapping players about (Barca are in on it too - the Arturo Vidal merry-go-round). It all stinks to high heaven.

City's CAS ruling must be due soon.

13th I think.

If they don't get a serious punishment then FFP is done.

[John Arne]

I suspect City will have their ban rescinded, given that UEFA broke their own rules whilst investigating them. CAS won't like that.

[randomlegend]

Sancho offer going to be around £80m base + around £20m easy add-ons + another £20m silly add-ons (win the Balon d'Or etc).

[randomlegend]

Alexis Sanchez will go permanently to Inter, loan with obligation to buy.

[phonics]

1281703649660604424

Get the swap deal done immediately.

[phonics]

Alexis Sanchez will go permanently to Inter, loan with obligation to buy.

The post above this may be calling for a swap deal while acknowledging that the last 2 swap deals we've been involved in were absolute toilet for the club.

Mykhitaryan on 200k a week and William Gallas being made captain for Ashley Cole...

[Mellberg]

Yeah, its been annoying being one of the only clubs that seemingly pay attention to it.

Whole thing should have been ripped up the moment that Pjanic - Arthur transfer happened.

:lol:

One of the only clubs who pay attention to it. That's why you're shit. Roger.

[Lofty]

It's not the only reason but I have heard some decent takes on how when we had 'the best bank balance in the league' we were done over a bit because it turns out investing in players was better than saving money due to the way the transfer market never stopped expanding: you could double your money on an average player within 18 months at points, making our fiscally responsible approach redundant in the long run.

But yeah there have been terrible decisions and mismanagement all round from the club regardless. Supposedly our record fee received for a player is still £29.5m for Fabregas.

[Shindig]

Cheaper than Perez and Carroll. What a time to be alive.

[Lofty]

Coutinho being touted on loan to Arsenal. No prizes for guessing who his agent is.

[Jimmy Floyd]

The post above this may be calling for a swap deal while acknowledging that the last 2 swap deals we've been involved in were absolute toilet for the club.

Mykhitaryan on 200k a week and William Gallas being made captain for Ashley Cole...

That Gallas/Cole swap was absolutely mental, looking back. I can't remember if Cole was playing up, but Gallas was threatening to score own goals in order to force the move and somehow from being saddled with him we ended up acquiring the best player in his position in the world by miles for £5 million.

EDIT: Now I remember, 'Cashley' Cole swerving off the road because he was offered 50 grand a week. lol.

[Ian]

Mention of mental transfers had me look up the Eto'o / Ibrahimovic one and it turns out I'd forgotten Eto'o's post-Inter career entirely. Chelsea, Everton and then a load of other shit until only retiring last year.

[Don]

Coutinho being touted on loan to Arsenal. No prizes for guessing who his agent is.

I'll be fucked if I'm bothering to watch Barca/Bayern league games but there is absolutely no way on Earth a 28 year old Coutinho is failing to tear EPL up given another chance. You don't lose that technique and agility.

[The Merse]

That Gallas/Cole swap was absolutely mental, looking back. I can't remember if Cole was playing up, but Gallas was threatening to score own goals in order to force the move and somehow from being saddled with him we ended up acquiring the best player in his position in the world by miles for £5 million.

EDIT: Now I remember, 'Cashley' Cole swerving off the road because he was offered 50 grand a week. lol.

You may be able to forget. I’ve not. Actually, I think for us it was more the meeting with Mou and whoever was the Director of Chelsea at the time (Martin Edwards?) that was caught on camera before the move, and for which we accused Chelsea of tapping up. In 2005 these things weren’t going on quite as explicitly as nowadays, and we’d just won a 3rd league title in 6 years as the first unbeaten team, and the Emirates was on its way to being built. It felt therefore far more of a case of a cash grabbing, grubby bit of a business.

You had us over a barrel on it, and Gallas seemed the right man to replace Big Sol. Then he was a big part of us fucking up the league title in 08 when we should have won it at a canter, and goes down in history at the Arsenal as perhaps our least revered captain.

Saying that, after over a decade I am now able to acknowledge he’s the best left back I’ve seen play the game and celebrate what he did here, somewhat.

[The Merse]

The post above this may be calling for a swap deal while acknowledging that the last 2 swap deals we've been involved in were absolute toilet for the club.

Mykhitaryan on 200k a week and William Gallas being made captain for Ashley Cole...

Oddly, we still got the better deal out of the last one. Miki had a decent 12 months before dropping off a cliff. Sanchez was already shite for us before he moved and proceeded to have two decent games for United IIRC. Have they stopped paying him yet?

[Ian]

The best left back until he ran into Tony V and his one move, anyway. :cool:

[The Merse]

I'll be fucked if I'm bothering to watch Barca/Bayern league games but there is absolutely no way on Earth a 28 year old Coutinho is failing to tear EPL up given another chance. You don't lose that technique and agility.

In fairness, he’s probably what we need but I can see the deal being outrageously expensive (25m for a year I think it was with Bayern?) and given Szobzalai is being touted at 15m, It seems disingenuous to look for a quick fix at that kind of money when we’re already so far behind the pack in so many areas of the side. I’d probably rather we spunked that on someone like Tierney, who cost 25m on account of being from a minor league. There’s got to be a few more of those deals around.

[Jimmy Floyd]

You may be able to forget. I’ve not. Actually, I think for us it was more the meeting with Mou and whoever was the Director of Chelsea at the time (Martin Edwards?) that was caught on camera before the move, and for which we accused Chelsea of tapping up. In 2005 these things weren’t going on quite as explicitly as nowadays, and we’d just won a 3rd league title in 6 years as the first unbeaten team, and the Emirates was on its way to being built. It felt therefore far more of a case of a cash grabbing, grubby bit of a business.

You had us over a barrel on it, and Gallas seemed the right man to replace Big Sol. Then he was a big part of us fucking up the league title in 08 when we should have won it at a canter, and goes down in history at the Arsenal as perhaps our least revered captain.

Saying that, after over a decade I am now able to acknowledge he’s the best left back I’ve seen play the game and celebrate what he did here, somewhat.

I think it was definitely a case of the old football clashing with the new - Cole, king of the wag scene (this was right around the time of Baden Baden) and swerving off the road at the thought of 50 grand a week, must have really offended the clean-living old school types that still patrolled the Marble Halls and who were so well personified in Wenger. In many ways, Arsenal never recovered from that and have never adapted to the bling-flashing realities of modern football since, so much so that Gazidis, hiring and then firing the Dortmund guy, and now this strange Kia Joorabchian setup all feel a bit 'how do you do, fellow kids'.

[niko_cee]

Coutinho's a bit of a sad case really. Got all the medals to look at now, but he's really had little of note to do with any of them, and now doomed to play out his career at some middle tier shitshow or be the modern day Robinho for whichever new money side emerges next (Newcastle?). Still, dream move and all.

Would love him back, Rush style, everyone makes mistakes and there's no harm in ambition, but I can't see it happening. Feels like Klopp was laying a marker down with him and letting him back would undermine that.

[Baz]

Swap him for Lallana.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Speaking of mad swaps, Talksport are saying Skriniar (or however it's spelled) plus cash for Martial.

Pass.

[niko_cee]

I have no idea how good that Skriniar guy is, but if he's as good as he's cracked up to be (in terms of media valuation) then that would probably be a good deal (depending on the 'cash'). A rock solid defence is more important than an extremely ephemeral French forward, especially with Greenwood emerging and Sancho apparently on the way. Actually, no, United get cash as well as the defender? No brainer. Martial is a world beater about 25% of the time and does piss all for the other 75%.

[Baz]

Swap him for Lovren.

[The Merse]

I think it was definitely a case of the old football clashing with the new - Cole, king of the wag scene (this was right around the time of Baden Baden) and swerving off the road at the thought of 50 grand a week, must have really offended the clean-living old school types that still patrolled the Marble Halls and who were so well personified in Wenger. In many ways, Arsenal never recovered from that and have never adapted to the bling-flashing realities of modern football since, so much so that Gazidis, hiring and then firing the Dortmund guy, and now this strange Kia Joorabchian setup all feel a bit 'how do you do, fellow kids'.

I talked about this with my best mate recently, he’s a big Chelsea man. There’s a direct correlation between Chelsea and Mourinho forging their modern identity and Wenger and Arsenal slipping into ours as the soft nearly men. Wenger was previously perceived, with good reason, as an adaptable and visionary coach, but become a stubborn, dogmatic figure seemingly fixated with being the antithesis of Mou’s Chelsea.

He was never careful with money on his arrival - we did get some great bargains, but we also spent a good deal of money (for the time) on a few filler players like Jeffers and Wright. We always had aggressive, athletic players - I only really recall Ljungberg and Cole being ‘smaller’ guys in those early Wenger teams, and suddenly that changed to us fielding a whole team full of midgets with dodgy ankles week in, week out. He were direct and efficient, ruthlessly so at our best, but became a side constantly trying to out-Barca Barca, always attempting the perfect goal.

All of that in stark contrast to Abramovich’s spending, Mou’s pragmatism, and the big strong athletes of Chelsea that bullied us in the way we used to bully teams (ironically, this was normally very evident vs Chelsea).

When Mou said Wenger was a voyeur, he was right. I love him, but he seemed almost scarred by the emergence of Chelsea and what he perceived as foul play, to the extent that his purist, dogmatic tendencies totally took over and him and the club moved backwards for years. I was too loyal to see it at the time and bought into it wholesale... But in retrospect it’s frightening. He turned into football’s Harvey Dent.

[Lewis]

Alternatively, he was just past it by about 2006, and then he got by on Arsenal being the third/fourth best draw in the competition and a big enough cultural figure to keep everybody happy. He was his own binman.

[SincereTheRebel]

Look at what Arsenal have become since he left town.

[The Merse]

I love him, and he didn’t become awful.

But, there is a narrative there that seems all too obvious with the benefit of hindsight. It’s not definitive, but it is compelling.

[Lofty]

Alternatively, there is a middle ground where you are both kind of right. Wenger applied his knowledge of real economics to football and bet the farm on Arsenal's model working, failing to account for the bubble never bursting. This combined with his distaste for 'financial doping' and actual doping, and the fact he had become the unwavering power at the club in charge of everything to do with the football meant that any misjudgements he made were compounded as he tried to play 'the correct way' and achieve some kind of moral victory, as if Bobby Pires didn't secure the invincibles season with Olympian dives.

[randomlegend]

Skriniar got donned senseless by Tahith Chong in our preseason friendly against Inter.

[Lewis]

He came in to a solid side with his bags of pasta, nailed a few excellent foreign transfers when a) signing from abroad was literally pot luck; and b) their non-United rivals were wasting their money on domestic bollocks (and United themselves could be complacent), and it all worked out for a few years. Their transfer business was pretty bollocks even from about 2002, so stadium or not was he capable of sustaining it? Apart from the obvious exception every great manager has run out of steam somewhere, it's just that Bayern, Juventus, Liverpool, etc. have tended to sack them rather than coast along. It's all well and good blaming the board and the stadium, but he could have gone and managed Real Madrid at the time of his choosing, so it obviously suited him to sit in his comfort zone. I don't think he was sticking around to prove a point to Chelsea.

United not pushing Patrick Vieira to force a move in 2001 is the great counterfactual. It would have all fallen to pieces if they had.

[Lofty]

He waan't sticking around to prove a point to Chelsea, he was sticking around to prove a point to everyone by winning on last major trophy his way, but it never happened. It should have happened the Leicester year but the side was made in his own image. It's easy to say 'he should've left' etc but I think he genuinely cared about the club more than any other and he was basically doing a one club FM save by the end. The new methods and scouting were always going to provide a temporary edge because everyone quickly imitated them. Especially scouting, nowadays even a second tier team in a minor european league can scout far and wide.

[Gray Fox]

Window to open in England on the 27th July and close on October 5th.

An EFL only window will then open until the 16th October.

[John Arne]

What on earth are Real Madrid doing letting Hakimi leave for €40m? The guy is quality, certainly better than Dani Carvajal. Strange.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Apparently we're about to airdrop £30 million into Trabzonspor for some goalkeeper. What could possibly go wrong.

[John]

One of the redtops were saying you were ready to complete a ninety million deal for Oblak.

I imagine some skinny Turk with fifty games under his belt will be just as good though.

[Don]

The Turkish have a very cool and calm temperament which is why they have a proud tradition of producing top class keepers, wouldn't worry

[Giggles]

Lock up your daughters.

[Don]

[Insert favourite Arsenal FanTV character seething here]

Phonics rn.

[Manc]

BILD suggesting Sancho is off the table if United don't make the top four. randomlegend

[randomlegend]

BILD suggesting Sancho is off the table if United don't make the top four. randomlegend

Where?


BRUH suggesting Sancho will go to City regardless.

Not a chance.

[Don]

Look at the poor lad's dreams be crushed. You hate to see it.

[randomlegend]

He's not going to City.

[Manc]

Mahow is definitely a wolf.

[Ian]

:sherlock:

[Giggles]

I don’t really know who he is but I really want him to go to City now.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Mahow is definitely a wolf.

Mahow is someone who has never welched on a bet...

[bruhnaldo]

Sorry you're right, I tend to read the forum at work regardless to pass the time so when folks were talking about trying to search 'bruhnaldo' on twitter and asked about me the second time I just couldn't resist but say hello. Should've just fucked off directly after but the cookie kept me logged in, so the lack of self-control fucked me again :cry:

Anyhow, I hope you all have great, fulfilling lives. Going forward just assume i died if for some reason Florida pops up in your news feeds again.

[Baz]

Sorry you're right, I tend to read the forum at work regardless to pass the time so when folks were talking about trying to search 'bruhnaldo' on twitter and asked about me the second time I just couldn't resist but say hello. Should've just fucked off directly after but the cookie kept me logged in, so the lack of self-control fucked me again :cry:

Anyhow, I hope you all have great, fulfilling lives. Going forward just assume i died if for some reason Florida pops up in your news feeds again.why not just carry on hanging around?

[Spikey M]

Sorry you're right, I tend to read the forum at work regardless to pass the time so when folks were talking about trying to search 'bruhnaldo' on twitter and asked about me the second time I just couldn't resist but say hello. Should've just fucked off directly after but the cookie kept me logged in, so the lack of self-control fucked me again :cry:

Anyhow, I hope you all have great, fulfilling lives. Going forward just assume i died if for some reason Florida pops up in your news feeds again.

There's lots of reasons to be bullied of the bored. Mahow (Fucking Mahow) isn't one of them.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

I didn't make him go full mental and make a bet to leave the board.

[Kikó]

https://as.com/futbol/2020/07/16/primera/1594897927_451725.html

Real Madrid 17 year old right back on the way in: Álvaro Fernández Carreras

[Jimmy Floyd]

Very strong mullet game for such a young man. Are the 80s coming back in?

[Boydy]

Heard from an inside source that City are going to bid for Sancho and he's very interested.

[Ian]

How many Reddit.... things... (points? karma?) does your source have, Boydy?

[Spikey M]

That would be the end of his career.

[Andy]

Surely Man City need a proper left footer to play out wide.

[niko_cee]

Mahrez?

They don't really need to be consolidating their forward positions unless they think Aguero is done for. Even then there are other areas of more obvious concern.

[Raoul Duke]

They already have Silva and Mahrez, so seems superfluous

[SincereTheRebel]

Foden isnt good enough.

[Spikey M]

Foden is brilliant.

[randomlegend]

City want Lauturo Martinez and Ferran Torres.

[Manc]

Foden isnt good enough.

Nonsense.

[mugbull]

Foden isnt good enough.

Racist

[SincereTheRebel]

If man city go and sign another top wide man, he clearly isnt.

He is competing with three other players. Sterling, b silva and mahrez or is someone missing?

[mugbull]

If they sign another wide man Foden is going in the middle

[randomlegend]

Foden is seen as David Silva's successor, he's a central player.

[SincereTheRebel]

First choice over b.silva?

[Don]

Foden is showing a much bigger eye for a goal than the Iniesta comparisons era of a year or two ago. He looks to be being modelled on KDB.

[Spikey M]

I'm not sure there's an easy comparison for what he does. Not from within the City line up, anyway. He should be a nailed on starter in the middle of England's midfield though.

[randomlegend]

Semi-negative Simon Stone story on Sancho. Virtually confirmation :drool:

[phonics]

You spend more time reading transfer stories than watching the games mate. Enjoy your life better.

[Kikó]

Jorge Jesus back to Benfica.

[phonics]

When him and Fatih Terim die, football outside of central europe and the UK go with it.

[niko_cee]

Semi-negative Simon Stone story on Sancho. Virtually confirmation :drool:

Best bit of this being that Sancho is currently on £190,000 a week a Dortmund? What the fuck? Has he always been on that as, with only two years left to go on that contract (also how does that really put Dortmund in a strong position?) he must have signed that a while ago - is that what they gave him as a 17 year old? I know being shocked by player wages is a mug's game, but that took me aback slightly.

[Giggles]

Just another step towards the glorious implosion of the game.

[phonics]

He signed an improved contract with no extension so they could justify their price.

[randomlegend]

You spend more time reading transfer stories than watching the games mate. Enjoy your life better.

Getting enjoyment out of simple, pointless things is an enviable trait imo. I'm having fun.

I'm just jealous of the people who can do stuff like play one game for a billion hours and still enjoy it. Must be great

[randomlegend]

United have apparently decided to pull the trigger on VDB over Grealish

#ITK

[SincereTheRebel]

Van der Beek?

[Shindig]

Nice to see Anthony Vanden Borre out of retirement.

[Raoul Duke]

Virgil Dan Bike

[SincereTheRebel]

Vicente Del Bosque

[Bob Sacamano]

Isn't VDB just another version of that Ajax midfielder who was wank at Everton?

[Kikó]

Van Der Wank.

[Luca]

Van Der Binman

[phonics]

Got to say, Saint Ettienne kicking off at us because Arsenal won't pay St. Ettienne 2.5 million to play the central defender they no longer own in their cup final is proper proper madness.

[John Arne]

A player I've never heard of is about to complete a £74m transfer to Napoli. Victor Osimhen.
#OutOfTouch

[John Arne]

Santi Carzola joins Al Sadd :/

[SincereTheRebel]

1285137895712600064?s=20

[Don]

Sheff Utd looking close to signing John Swift for £3.5m. That is bloody good business. Wilder taking advantage of the discount on unfashionable white men :drool:

[Manc]

Alcantara to Anfield looks to be on. Who is the casualty here?

[niko_cee]

Keita? Has Wijnaldum signed a new deal yet? Would be surprised if either was let go really.

[Mike]

I hope if he comes in nobody goes out, be good to have an extra man available to cover for any injuries.

[SincereTheRebel]

Thiago has played as a deep lying play-maker for bayern for how many years. Its Henderson who probably get cut if Thiago goes in as the first choice. Fabinho would be the shit kicker next to Thiago and then then either Wij or Ox as the 3rd CM?