Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

Hodgson confirmed at Liverpool, a completely underwhelming appointment imo

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...ol/8721942.stm

Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

Cant see either move happening

Tottenham are set to enter the race to sign Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and are prepared to offer as much as £25m for the Sweden international.
Full story: footylatest.com

West Ham are expected to make an improved offer for Brazilian teenage star Neymar after Santos rejected a £12m bid.
Full story: Daily Mail

Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

Zlatan has done well despite the failed assassination attempt by Mido back when they played for Ajax ;)

Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

Spurs are after so many players, you could run a Spurs2, I think that Spurs will only buy two players, one of them will be Cole, and the other one will definately be a striker, as they will probabley sell Keano to Celtic, and Pav could go, as Gudjohnsen has said that he will sign on a perm basis.

And don't forget Spurs have a salary cap WHICH ALL clubs should have, and they won't go above that.

Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

Its so difficult because every top name we've chased has publically turned us down. So far: Fabiano, Ibrahimovic and now Cavani. Also Eto'o (but that was last season). We need these players to maintain 4th, but they won't come unless we're solidly 4th. Catch-22

Latest Spurs ITK says we're closing in on Micah Richards. He's young, talent and Harry must think he can bring his career on track a bit.

I think we do have far too many players but i'm not going to question Harry/Daniel Levy. They know what they're doing.

Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

glad Hodgeson got the Liverpool job. I was thinking that we wouldn't see another English manager at a top four club for ages.

The only problem is with the state Liverpool are in he will have a hard time and then it will enforce the "foreign managers are better" thinking everyone seems to have these days

Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

It was a shame when he bulked up as he was a fast mover with tons of talent, now he's heavier he doesn;t seem to have the flair he used to have. He is though a great long throw-in specialist

Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

Someone on a podcast I listain too made a very similar point about Heskey. That when Heskey first emerged as a player he was a fast winger, but the culture of English football caused him to bulk up and he lost a lot of pace and flair and this was put forward as one of the possible reasons we don't do well on the international stage.

I happen to agree. I think there is too much emphasis amongst the British talent to be powerhouses, and a slight disrespect towards creativity, technique, and speed with is not the case with the South American teams or a lot of the European ones such as Holland and Spain.

As international players make their mark in the UK I think that is started to change amongst players who will be just coming though the ranks now (Arsenal have Wilshere for example) and ones who will be there in a few years.

Surely this is the reason there is such few British players coming though, they continue to get trained in the way they always used but when it comes to the Premiership, the Champions League, they can't handle it whereas the foreign players can.

Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

It'll be easier once the qualifying rounds are out of the way, trouble is you'll have to move quick to get them registered in time and players without a club like Joe Cole might not wait that long

Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

West Ham have tabled an improved £11.1m offer for Nice striker Loic Remy, and are also maintaining their interest in Santos forward Neymar.
Full story: Daily Mail

Top player, doubt we'll get him, doubt we have even bid tbh or if we have we have done so in the hope they wont accept...

Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

Always liked Sidwell + think he'll do well with Scotty Parker

The Hammers also seem set to capture Aston Villa midfielder Steve Sidwell, who will reject Fulham to join them. (News of the World)

Manchester City 's new signing Yaya Toure will become the first Premier League player to smash the £200,000-a-week wages barrier. His weekly wage of £220,000 will earn him £55.6m over his five-year contract.
Full story: News of the World

£55 million is disgusting no matter how much cash you have burning a hole in your pocket

Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

I find the wages to be paid to Toure, are disgusting, and l feel that the City Board need a good kick up the backside for even agreeing to it, the fans will have to pay for this in the long, why we are having to make drastic cutbacks, City go ahead with a disgusting sort of financial behaviour, NO PLAYER IS WORTH THAT SORT OF MONEY.

Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

Few things in football surprise me but that has absolutely astounded me. How can anyone, even Barca, Real, Chelski compete with that?

Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

I've got a feeling these wages are as much about City making a statement as anything else. Just like Chelsea back in 2003 they are determined to buy success and status at any cost with money they didn't earn. To be fair I don't blame them, they've spent more than 100 million over the last 2 years with nothing to show for it.

Re: Close Season Football Thread
 

Not even Chelsea spent this much though. I thought not getting into the Champions League would stop them but if they are willing to pay 200k then what can you do? Players are going to swarm to them, they will buy more this summer as well. They are determined to win the league and, let's face it, probably will. Hope other clubs don't feel pressured to increase wages in the worry City will swoop into any deals they are going to close. Spurs after all had the issue last year with, I think Bellamy? Where City came to them and hold them to drop their interest or they will go after other players Spurs were targeting at the time.