Transfer frenzy 04/05

[hoverdonkey]

why has Kanoute been transfer listed?  He did alright for you last year didn't he.

Well he hasn't been listed as such but Spurs are trying to offload to him to Fulham. Santini sold him to the Spammers when he was at Lyon and Kanoute's stock fell when he went to the African Nations Cup and then didn't score a goal when he got back. His last league goal was December I think.

Having said that if he goes, we need to replace him. I can't wait for next season. I'm usually grateful for the break, especially given my job, but because I gave up on Spurs in February this year (remember 3-0 up against 10-man City at half-time, next thing you know it's 4-3 to them)  instead of the usual March, I've had an extra month's 'rest'.

[Mr Colossal]

Fergie is going for my 'a la champ man' first season tactic of bag the 16 your old...

He's signed Pique and Rossi, a  center-back and a striker, and is 'supposedly' interested in Duff as a replacement for Giggs, who admittedly has underperformed for the past 3 years... (and im welsh as well)

He has also apparently moved interest to barca's Javier Saviola having accepted Rooney is never going to go there...

It will be interesting to see how Chelsea gel next season... Speaking of tottenham last time I checked  they have about 3 first teams worth of average players...

[phes]

Dean Richards

Spurs 3 - Man City 4
Southampton 3 - Tranmere 4

Please God, not Pompey.

[Regular John]

This is a sight I will have a hard time adjusting to!

[hoverdonkey]

Speaking of tottenham last time I checked  they have about 3 first teams worth of average players...

Apart from Robinson, King, Carr, Davies, Davis, Defoe, Keane I agree with you. Still, not a bad start.

[phes]

Speaking of tottenham last time I checked  they have about 3 first teams worth of average players...

Apart from Robinson, King, Carr, Davies, Davis, Defoe, Keane I agree with you. Still, not a bad start.

Think you've just made MrColossals point.

Oh, ok, Defoe doesn't count. He hasn't got the knack of it yet.

[king mob]

I can see Chelsea winning it with Arsenal a close second, Man Utd will come in third again i reckon.

Superb as I am at predictions (see the Euro 2004 thread) I suggest this is bollocks.

Why do you think Chelsea will win it?  They are rebuilding a team again with a manager and players new to the premiership.

What if Arsenal lose Pat? (doubtful I know).

Bearing in mind United get back Rio, have made some good signings with possibly Roonaldistutadona to come I think (obviously) that they will clean up.  Especially with there fancy new kit (oh dear it's a bit shit actually isn't it).

Chelsea came second last year with some players who were really not bothered & had a manager who as decent as he was, made some bizarre team selections and substitions.

Jose is someone who wants to win & will make Chelsea actually win something as long as they have a striker who will put 20 odd goals a season in.
If Arsenal hadn't had the unbeaten season they did then Chelsea would have been a lot closer than they were.
Arsenal should be there but it depends if Henry can maintain his top class form & if the midfield remains as good as they were last season.

Man Utd have made some good buys but Ferdinand has been out for months & it still remains to be seen if his wacky mistake in the 76th minute syndrome has been purged from his playing skills.
Fergie needs to be very ruthless in his culling of the old team, only Scholes & sad little Gary Neville are worth keeping beyond this season, Butt looks to be gone if they can find a buyer & Big Phil Neville- Midfield General is still laughable & will probably be even more of a squad player then he is.

[Dick Sparkle]

Blues can fuck off back to the lower divisions where they've spent the majority of their history, and take their knuckle-dragging hordes of supporters with them.  How anyone can like that club is beyond me.


Being a knuckle dragger myself it's beyond me how you can spout shite like that and still think that you have an opinion that anyone gives a shit about.

[king mob]

Blues can fuck off back to the lower divisions where they've spent the majority of their history, and take their knuckle-dragging hordes of supporters with them.  How anyone can like that club is beyond me.


Being a knuckle dragger myself it's beyond me how you can spout shite like that and still think that you have an opinion that anyone gives a shit about.

Huh?

[rjpeters]

Blues can... ...gives a shit about.

Huh?

Me thinks there is supposed to be a quote mark there. Otherwise, yes, I'm as equally bemused by that post as you obviously are.

As for my Premiership predictions,

1 - Arsenal - Still have Vieria (for the moment) and Henry. Will be hard to beat again. Van Persie is a canny buy too.

2 - Liverpool - slighty biased as I am a LFC supporter myself but Benitez brings renewed hope after 2 years of banality under Houllier. New signings needed though.

3 - Chelsea - Cocky Mourinho will be brought down to earth during first season, you mark my words. Will be a threat though.

4 - Man Utd - New signings will bring some depth but not a great deal of quality. Question marks over Smith's goalscoring record?

5 -  Newcastle - Same old. Focus will be on Shearer hanging up his boots and finding a replacement for Mr. Charisma himself. Kluivert could be useful.

6 - Aston Villa - Repeat of the O'Leary magic. Carlton Cole could strike gold with Angel.

7 - Middlesbrough - Hasselbaink and Viduka as opposed to Nemeth and Maccarone. Nuff said. European challenge or else for Mclaren.

8 - Birmingham - Some good captures, particularly Izzet and Melchiot. Top ten at least.

9 - Tottenham - The Santini revolution aint gonna happen overnight. Defoe will continue to mature. Top ten, challenge for Europe at best.

10 - Man City -  An improvement over last season but that's hardly a challenge. Form over midseason will be critical.

11 - Southampton - Same old. Same old. Nowhere near europe but under no relegation worries. Mid table safety/obscurity

12 - Bolton - Allardyce to keep them up, no problems. More goals from Okocha would be nice to see, though not against LFC please, Jay Jay.

13 - Charlton - Rommedahl is canny business but much like Southampton, under no threat.

14 - Fulham - Honeymoon is over for Coleman. Back down to earth. Cup run vital, as is a new striker. No threat either.

15 - Blackburn - Still struggling after selling Duff and Dunn. De Pedro wont inspire this lot. More goals from Stead and maybe an England Call-up?

16 - Portsmouth - The wizard Harry to do it again. Needs all his transfer spells to keep them up though. Hanging onto Yakubu vital though.

17 - Everton - Wont be a shock to see them in the relegation zone for most of the season but Rooney will pull them through before moving on.

18 - Norwich - A few goals from on-loan Bentley, the driving force up front (sorry), but relegation all over this lot from day one.

19 - West Brom - Ditto. Megsons a decent enough bloke but West Brom simply haven't got the resources. Yo-Yo club for the foreseeable future.

20 - Crystal Palace - Some nice memories and maybe the odd shock result here and there but enjoy it while it lasts lads.

There we are. Argue yourselves silly on that little lot for a while.

[phes]

Hmm, thanks, this is a transfer thread though. For what it's worth, my moneys on !7 teams to remain in the premiership, whilst three are relegated to the  'Co-Co pop Chump shop',  with the strong possibility of three others heading in the opposite direction and taking their places.

Latest insane rattlings from the 'Porstsmouth News'  suggest Harry and Milan are to use the tried and tested formula of bringing in one big golden oldie ( Merson, Sherringham ).

Gabriel Batistuta to drop his wages from 95,000 to 20,000 and move to a violent, homophobic seaside resort with no sand.

Gianfranco Zola. This definitly gets Phes seal of approval as a possibility and a great move. Please,please,please,please...............................

Roberto Baggio. I've no Idea as to the credibility of this.

Dwight Yorke..... No thanks.

Ps - any other transfer tittle-tattle from local rags much appreciated.

[king mob]

Its looking more and more likely Veira is off to Real Madrid, if he does go that kind of fucks Arsenal up good and proper.
Cant see Arsenal retaining the title without Veira, its not a case of Arsenal being a one man team but they need him to hold the team together in the same way Roy Keane used to with Man Utd.

As for my predictions....


1/ Chelsea- Old Jose is a canny sort clearing out some of the mistakes made last season & has proven he can get the best out of players in a short time.

2/ Arsenal- Need to keep Viera to stand a chance of retaining the title, even with him it's probably too much for Arsenal to repeat last year.

3/ Man Utd- Some good buys in Smith & Liam Miller & Ronaldo & Fletcher should continue to improve but there's still question marks over the defense.

4/ Liverpool- no change in league position but they should close the gap if they clear the shite out & start playing as they should be able to.

5/ Aston Villa- O'Leary has proven himself to be a quality manager, Angel is a top class striker capable of 20 plus goals a season and should help them get into eurpoe.

6/ Newcastle -Still the great nearly club, Shearer needs to be slowly faded out this season but his ego suggests he'll hang around this season blocking progress for a new striker.

7/ Birmingham- Some very canny deals, Izzet especially should ensure a top half finish.

8/ Charlton- More canny buys should make them a regular top half finsher.

9/ Tottenham- Surely they should get top half with the strikeforce they have?

10/ Middlesbrough- Not enough to get them into europe, a good run in one of the cups is likely.

11/ Southampton- Mid table safety, cant see anything spectacular happen to them.

12/ Fulham- No Saha but should be fairly safe, can see them doing well in a cup run.

13/ Blackburn- will improve slowly but need to be injury free, if they lose Stead or Ferguson again then they'll struggle.

14/ Bolton- Big Sam's army of mercs should do enough to stay up.

15/ Portsmouth- Will struggle but experince should mean they stay up.

16/ Man City- Danny Mills & David James means a leaky defense, also Anelka will piss off at Christmas if they're struggling.

17/ Everton- No money, no good young players bar Rooney coming through, each game will be hard.

18/ WBA- Will fight hard but will just miss out staying up, depends if they can score goals.

19/ Norwich- Just the one season for Delias lot, not whipping boys but not good enough to stay up.

20/ Crystal Palace- Whipping boys, cant see them getting out the bottom 3 for most of the season.

[rjpeters]

Hmm, thanks, this is a transfer thread though.

Gee, I'm sorry. I wont fucking bother next time. I saw people making predictions as to what would happen in the Premiership this season and thought I'd throw in my tuppence worth. Which clearly isn't worth much. But  then it appears that you are a Pompey supporter so you views are worth fuck all.

Roberto Baggio. I've no Idea as to the credibility of this.

That would be quite a coup for Pompey given that he retired at the end of last season.

[phes]

Interesting how no-ones given any chance to the newly promoted three. I'm looking at Everton at the mo and thinking this could be West Broms year.
Blackburn kind of suck as well.

[king mob]

Interesting how no-ones given any chance to the newly promoted three. I'm looking at Everton at the mo and thinking this could be West Broms year.
Blackburn kind of suck as well.

It's depending if WBA can get a goalscorer, they've proven their defense is decent but they really need to find someone who can score goals in the Premiership.

Everton do have a average side but Rooney & Graveson should do enough to keep them up, just.

[phes]

Hmm, thanks, this is a transfer thread though.

Gee, I'm sorry. I wont fucking bother next time. I saw people making predictions as to what would happen in the Premiership this season and thought I'd throw in my tuppence worth. Which clearly isn't worth much. But  then it appears that you are a Pompey supporter so you views are worth fuck all.

Roberto Baggio. I've no Idea as to the credibility of this.

That would be quite a coup for Pompey given that he retired at the end of last season.

Nothing personal rjpeters, just gets tiring reading lists of predictions and I thought I'd try and nip it in the bud, otherwise, like yourself, people will see lists of predictions and quite rightly decide to throw in their tuppence worth.
The bit about being a Pompey fan and therefore knowing fuck all I just cant fathom. Sorry If i upset you, but ther's really no need for abusing people you don't know just because they trod on your toes a little for the greater good.
And finally, I believe players are allowed to come out of retirement, so there's no point being sarcastic.

[rjpeters]

Nothing personal rjpeters, just gets tiring reading lists of predictions and I thought I'd try and nip it in the bud, otherwise, like yourself, people will see lists of predictions and quite rightly decide to throw in their tuppence worth.
The bit about being a Pompey fan and therefore knowing fuck all I just cant fathom. Sorry If i upset you, but ther's really no need for abusing people you don't know just because they trod on your toes a little for the greater good.
And finally, I believe players are allowed to come out of retirement, so there's no point being sarcastic.

Fine, I can understand about the whole prediction thing. People just listing 20 teams every time could, and probably, would get very boring. I apologise too about the Pompey thing. I think I'm still smarting after you beat LFC twice last season. Probably explains why GH was sacked. Playing poorly against sides we should be beating, no offence intended.

As for the whole Baggio thing, his knee problems have been well documented over the years and he gave up because of those troubles. He spent the last few years of his career at Brescia (the Italian Pompey) and unless Pompey are going to offer him some obscene amount of money, I can't see that happening. You do need a striker though. Yakubu on his own wont be enough.

[phes]

No probs, sorry if it appeared that I had picked on you.
Beating Liverpool twice was great, cup win was my highlight of the season...sorry. Don't forget Pompey have Lua Lua now, and the forgotten but promising Svetoslav Toderov. unlikely that Pfc will pay anyone an obscene amount of money. Milan seems to have his head screwed on. See recent stuff with Amdy Faye using interest from Fulham to try to hike up his wages. He will be sold and rightly so, shame though, he's a great player and one to watch out for this season.

[chand]

Cant see Arsenal retaining the title without Veira, its not a case of Arsenal being a one man team but they need him to hold the team together in the same way Roy Keane used to with Man Utd.

I always think of Arsenal's success as being built around Campbell, Vieira, Pires and Henry, and their consistency last season was for me largely down to retaining that spine of the team most of the way. I do think think that losing one of those four would really hurt them, and Vieira is a fantastic player who along with Pires is really key to those lovely passing moves and counter-attacks that Arsenal excelled at last season. So yeah, as a United fan I'll be rubbing my hands with glee if Vieira leaves.

This morning's transfer news is that Andy Cole may well be on his way to Fulham. Hard to see how that will work out. With good service Cole could still be a 20-goals player, but I'm not sure if Fulham can provide that.

[phes]

This morning's transfer news is that Andy Cole may well be on his way to Fulham. Hard to see how that will work out. With good service Cole could still be a 20-goals player, but I'm not sure if Fulham can provide that.

Think if they're successful in their bid to land Amdy Faye that could change their midfield somewhat. He's a bit of a Midfield General in the making. I can see Malbranque spending even more time in the penalty area, and with Andy Cole there to toe poke them in from 5 yards it could yet prove a success.

[king mob]

Some nice stories in the Sunday papers, James Beattie to Celtic, Patrick Klivuert to Bolton, Nicky Butt to Everton & Kanu to WBA.

[phes]

I hope Kanu does head to a team like WBA, where he'll get games week in week out. Medical problems in his past aside, he was a terrific player when he first joined the Gooners. He just seemed to have all that skill and flair beaten out of him. Would love to see him get that confidence back.

[king mob]

Andy Cole has finally signed for Fulham today, Drogba looks to have sorted out signing for Chelsea at last & cheeky old Juventus are planning to get Sol Campbell.

[phes]

65 000 a week for Cole I think. Ouch.

[hands cold, liver warm]

cole was a good player for blackburn, he helped us stay up the season after promotion and scored a goal in the league cup win. His problems started when we signed dickhead dwight yorke, whose attitude has been awful. He dragged andy cole down with him and for the first half of last season cole was shite. Its a bit of an arse signing a player for 7.5 million and losing him for nothing.

Hopefully rovers can now get rid of yorke. By getting rid of both those two players we will save a total of £100,000 a week in wages, so we'll hopefully be able to offer a decent contrat to a top striker. So thats who rovers are in the market for, a decent striker.

65 000 a week for Cole I think. Ouch.

maybe he is on a bit less that that, £55,000 is probably more accurate. Although goal and win bonuses will bump it up

[king mob]

Big Sam Allardyce has told Rivaldo to fook right off after he decided to come back crawling to Bolton because nobody in their right mind wants to pay him 100 grand a week.

[hoverdonkey]

Its a bit of an arse signing a player for 7.5 million and losing him for nothing.

It is indeed. Getting nothing for 11m-man Rebrov and losing Campbell for nothing to the Goons were obviously hard to take too.

[SetToStun]

As a lifelong fan of the Mighty Arse I have to say that losing Viera would be a very big blow. But (isn't there always a "but"?) not necessarily a terminal one. You can't directly replace a player like Viera but the midfield could be reshaped. Gerrard springs to mind (sorry LFC fans, but that's a transfer I'd love to see). Mind you, I can't see Liverpool selling so it's all a pipe dream.

News just in: looks like Chelsea's Tiago deal may be scuppered...

Edited to disguise the fact that I can't spell "directly" (except just then, obviously).

[Vermschneid Mehearties]

I hear Arsenal have a couple of young midfield generals in the making, so I wouldn't worry too much.

And Toure seems to do well WHEREVER he's played.

[SetToStun]

I hear you there. And Edu + Gilberto is a good central midfield link-up anyway. But we would miss his presence immensely.

Still, things don't look all that grim when you take into account the new lads and the youngsters.

How's your lot's youth policy looking - you've got some tired old legs to replace pretty soon...

Edited: I can't even spell "youth" now. Guinness at lunchtime, you're a harsh mistress...