2009 football/soccer summer transfer rumors

[king beef]

Yaya Toure > Xavi Alonso when it comes to Center Defensive Midfeilders. Which is what Xabi pretty much is going to be in Madrid.


Not being a homer here but to me Yaya is so dominant in the center. He makes some mistakes when it comes to his first touches (being too long sometimes) but healways makes up for it when it on the defensive end. But anyways, Alonso is an Amazing signing for Madrid, he seems like the only option for Madrid, they needa facilitator in the middle to feed the ball to Ronaldo/Kaka. Alonso knows spanish football and is familiar with alot of players on that team, so chemistrywill not be a problem. He is their best signing next to Ronaldo.


Edit: Dont get me wrong, Alonso is lighyears ahead of Yaya as a player but when it comes to being a defensive Midfielder, Yaya is better in my eyes. Xabi isgoing to be covering for Madrids joke of a defense a lot this season. We all know what Yaya can do when he has to cover for a lacking defense. SEE FC BarcelonaVs Chelsea FC in the 2008-09 Champions League Semi-Finals 2nd leg.

 

[zizou]

Originally Posted by King Beef

Yaya Toure > Xavi Alonso when it comes to Center Defensive Midfeilders. Which is what Xabi pretty much is going to be in Madrid.


Not being a homer here but to me Yaya is so dominant in the center. He makes some mistakes when it comes to his first touches (being too long sometimes) but he always makes up for it when it on the defensive end. But anyways, Alonso is an Amazing signing for Madrid, he seems like the only option for Madrid, they need a facilitator in the middle to feed the ball to Ronaldo/Kaka. Alonso knows spanish football and is familiar with alot of players on that team, so chemistry will not be a problem. He is their best signing next to Ronaldo.


Edit: Dont get me wrong, Alonso is lighyears ahead of Yaya as a player but when it comes to being a defensive Midfielder, Yaya is better in my eyes. Xabi is going to be covering for Madrids joke of a defense a lot this season. We all know what Yaya can do when he has to cover for a lacking defense. SEE FC Barcelona Vs Chelsea FC in the 2008-09 Champions League Semi-Finals 2nd leg.

while i agree that yaya is a better CDM, it's not really a fair comparison though since that's not really xabi's position. that's like sayingessien is light years ahead of fabregas as a defensive mid. it's not really a fair comparison.

lass will be the destroyer or retainer for madrid, and i agree with you that xabi will be used to link the defense and attack. hopefully, gago can learn fromxabi. that said, xabi does his fair share of defensive duties.

 

[king beef]

Originally Posted by zizou

Originally Posted by King Beef

Yaya Toure > Xavi Alonso when it comes to Center Defensive Midfeilders. Which is what Xabi pretty much is going to be in Madrid.


Not being a homer here but to me Yaya is so dominant in the center. He makes some mistakes when it comes to his first touches (being too long sometimes) but he always makes up for it when it on the defensive end. But anyways, Alonso is an Amazing signing for Madrid, he seems like the only option for Madrid, they need a facilitator in the middle to feed the ball to Ronaldo/Kaka. Alonso knows spanish football and is familiar with alot of players on that team, so chemistry will not be a problem. He is their best signing next to Ronaldo.


Edit: Dont get me wrong, Alonso is lighyears ahead of Yaya as a player but when it comes to being a defensive Midfielder, Yaya is better in my eyes. Xabi is going to be covering for Madrids joke of a defense a lot this season. We all know what Yaya can do when he has to cover for a lacking defense. SEE FC Barcelona Vs Chelsea FC in the 2008-09 Champions League Semi-Finals 2nd leg.

while i agree that yaya is a better CDM, it's not really a fair comparison though since that's not really xabi's position. that's like saying essien is light years ahead of fabregas as a defensive mid. it's not really a fair comparison.

lass will be the destroyer or retainer for madrid, and i agree with you that xabi will be used to link the defense and attack. hopefully, gago can learn from xabi. that said, xabi does his fair share of defensive duties.

I get you. Im just saying with Madrid terrible defense, Alonso will have to play CDM or at least help Diarra out becuase they have enoughattacking. My question is will Xabi accept the role of being more defensive? or will he refuse, becuase if I was Alsonso coming to a team like that, I wouldwant to be the MAN in the middle controlling the attack.


Can't wait for El Classico

 

[zizou]

Originally Posted by King Beef

Originally Posted by zizou

Originally Posted by King Beef

Yaya Toure > Xavi Alonso when it comes to Center Defensive Midfeilders. Which is what Xabi pretty much is going to be in Madrid.


Not being a homer here but to me Yaya is so dominant in the center. He makes some mistakes when it comes to his first touches (being too long sometimes) but he always makes up for it when it on the defensive end. But anyways, Alonso is an Amazing signing for Madrid, he seems like the only option for Madrid, they need a facilitator in the middle to feed the ball to Ronaldo/Kaka. Alonso knows spanish football and is familiar with alot of players on that team, so chemistry will not be a problem. He is their best signing next to Ronaldo.


Edit: Dont get me wrong, Alonso is lighyears ahead of Yaya as a player but when it comes to being a defensive Midfielder, Yaya is better in my eyes. Xabi is going to be covering for Madrids joke of a defense a lot this season. We all know what Yaya can do when he has to cover for a lacking defense. SEE FC Barcelona Vs Chelsea FC in the 2008-09 Champions League Semi-Finals 2nd leg.

while i agree that yaya is a better CDM, it's not really a fair comparison though since that's not really xabi's position. that's like saying essien is light years ahead of fabregas as a defensive mid. it's not really a fair comparison.

lass will be the destroyer or retainer for madrid, and i agree with you that xabi will be used to link the defense and attack. hopefully, gago can learn from xabi. that said, xabi does his fair share of defensive duties.

I get you. Im just saying with Madrid terrible defense, Alonso will have to play CDM or at least help Diarra out becuase they have enough attacking. My question is will Xabi accept the role of being more defensive? or will he refuse, becuase if I was Alsonso coming to a team like that, I would want to be the MAN in the middle controlling the attack.


Can't wait for El Classico

see, i don't think madrid's defense is really that bad. it's just a lot of unknowns, imo.

adding albiol is definitely an upgrade to cannavaro. they still need to shore up that LB role..whether or not arbeloa can play LB fulltime needs to be seen.i'm not convinced that marcelo and/or drenthe are the answer. and last season, they really didn't have much cover for the defense in betweenm.diarra's injury and when lass arrived.

and i agree that xabi will have to help out in defense. but he had to do that role at liverpool too. xabi's always come across as being a greatprofessional. i don't think he's the type of player that would complain about having to play more defensively. it's not like he's an attackingmid like, say, sneijder, who doesn't normally help out on defense. and because of xabi's professionalism and demeanor, i don't think he's gotthe kind of ego that would demand or even want to be the man controlling the attack. besides, even with the defensive duties, he's still going to be giventhe reins to orchestrate the attack anyways.

 

[xblaze23]

The sun and heat was so intense. It was at least 95 with no humidity. Little kids couldn't handle it. This one family in front of me were forced to leavethe game because their son couldn't handle the temperature past the 13th minute.. $300 in tickets down the drain. If I was that father, I would have beenpissed. Imagine how the players must have felt. Cristiano looked affected by it.

Met some great people from as far as New Mexico and California. Dedication right there. I thought I had it bad coming from NY. It was refreshing to seeMadridistas of all races. Yes, there were hot girls ^^.

I have little reason to believe Robben is leaving Real Madrid. He wants to stay. If the club found a team that meets all critieria of 1. Champions League club2. Willing to meet the 30m price 3. Willing to meet wage expectations, he'd be sold by now.

I took alot of pics that maybe I'll post later. I wore a Raul jersey and I definitely wasn't the only one. Raul's career is generally underratedbut he is held in such high regard by Real Madrid fans. Tons of Kaka', Ronaldo, and Sergio Ramos jersey wearers too. Pepe was really cool. We cheered himat the start of the second half and he was appreciative, clapped it up.

 

[airjordanseattle23]

Originally Posted by 5dividedby4

Originally Posted by Curious24

Originally Posted by Carlos Tevez

Originally Posted by Curious24

why didnt liverscum go after silva instead of aquilani? doesnt make any sense to me

Uhhh...maybe because they lost a central midfielder and needed another central midfielder to replace him?

Aquillani living up to his injury prone reputation...dude is out for the first 2 months of this season recovering from ankle surgery

isnt that why they have benayoun? i dont think aquillani is better than him. From my understanding last year they had trouble attacking from the wings with babel...riera on the right and silva on the left would fit well.

Carlos Tevez i dont take into consideration anything you say based on the prediction you made. 20m for an average player vs 30m for a star is idiotic for liverppol

Xabi Alonso a star? Honestly I'm a fan of his but he only had one good season with us and that was last year. Last year at this time we couldn't get rid of him.

xabi IS a star.and he sure as hell helped you in the 2005 ucl finale....

 

[zizou]

Originally Posted by xblaze23

The sun and heat was so intense. It was at least 95 with no humidity. Little kids couldn't handle it. This one family in front of me were forced to leave the game because their son couldn't handle the temperature past the 13th minute.. $300 in tickets down the drain. If I was that father, I would have been pissed. Imagine how the players must have felt. Cristiano looked affected by it.

Met some great people from as far as New Mexico and California. Dedication right there. I thought I had it bad coming from NY. It was refreshing to see Madridistas of all races. Yes, there were hot girls ^^.

I have little reason to believe Robben is leaving Real Madrid. He wants to stay. If the club found a team that meets all critieria of 1. Champions League club 2. Willing to meet the 30m price 3. Willing to meet wage expectations, he'd be sold by now.

I took alot of pics that maybe I'll post later. I wore a Raul jersey and I definitely wasn't the only one. Raul's career is generally underrated but he is held in such high regard by Real Madrid fans. Tons of Kaka', Ronaldo, and Sergio Ramos jersey wearers too. Pepe was really cool. We cheered him at the start of the second half and he was appreciative, clapped it up.

i think robben staying would be crucial to RM. if he starts, they'll have 3 players (ronaldo, kaka, robben) who are lethal and deadly atrunning at players. if he doesn't start, he can come on in the 60th minute or so and be a nightmare to defenses. i just think he's a bit selfish withthe ball, though. there have been too many times when i thought he kept the ball for two or three too many dribbles. he just needs to be healthy because theguy is a beast. if he and ronaldo played on the wings, the interchanging between the two would be insane.

i agree about raul. i feel that he is and will be remembered as a forgotten player. for all his brilliance, he was overshadowed by the likes of zidane,ronaldo, beckham, figo. i agree with the saying about him: he's not particularly great at any category, but he's exceptionally good at all of them. idunno how many years he has because even though he's only 31/32, he's an old 31/32 as he's had a lot of miles in his legs. always been a fan ofhis, and he's been a model professional.

 

[airjordanseattle23]

Originally Posted by xblaze23

The sun and heat was so intense. It was at least 95 with no humidity. Little kids couldn't handle it. This one family in front of me were forced to leave the game because their son couldn't handle the temperature past the 13th minute.. $300 in tickets down the drain. If I was that father, I would have been pissed. Imagine how the players must have felt. Cristiano looked affected by it.

Met some great people from as far as New Mexico and California. Dedication right there. I thought I had it bad coming from NY. It was refreshing to see Madridistas of all races. Yes, there were hot girls ^^.

I have little reason to believe Robben is leaving Real Madrid. He wants to stay. If the club found a team that meets all critieria of 1. Champions League club 2. Willing to meet the 30m price 3. Willing to meet wage expectations, he'd be sold by now.

I took alot of pics that maybe I'll post later. I wore a Raul jersey and I definitely wasn't the only one. Raul's career is generally underrated but he is held in such high regard by Real Madrid fans. Tons of Kaka', Ronaldo, and Sergio Ramos jersey wearers too. Pepe was really cool. We cheered him at the start of the second half and he was appreciative, clapped it up.

your from ny? i always thought u were in cali for some reason. and no humidity? this was in dc right? od for now humidity in dc.

anyway....



1209 BST: Portsmouth are interested in signing Lyon's Ghanaian central defender John Mensah on a loan deal. (L'Equipe)

1047 BST: Midfielder Patrick Vieira will stay at Inter Milan rather than take up the chance of a return to England with either Tottenham orArsenal.
Full story: Sky Sports

0955 BST: Notts County say there is no truth to reports linking out-of-contract defender Sol Campbell to Meadow Lane.
Full story: NottinghamEvening Post

0931 BST: Aston Villa deny manager Martin O'Neill is interested in signing forward Tuncay from Middlesbrough.
Full story: Birmingham Post

0814 BST: Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will fly to Germany to try and tie up a £40m move for Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery.
Full story: The Sun

http:// TRANSFER GOSSIP

Barcelona have warned their fans that they will not spend over the odds to bring Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas back to the Nou Camp.
Full story: The Sun
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606: DEBATE

Your thoughts on today's rumours
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Joleon Lescott is finally bound for Manchester City after the Eastlands club made a final offer of £20m to Everton for the defender's services.
Full story: DailyMail

West Ham's £15m-rated Matthew Upson has given Manchester City further hope in their hunt for a central defender by rejecting contract extensiontalks at Upton Park.
Fullstory: The Telegraph

But City manager Mark Hughes may prefer to turn his attentions to securing an Eastlands return for Portsmouth defender Sylvain Distin.
Full story:The Independent

Everton are lining up a £14m bid for Paris St Germain midfielder Stephane Sessegnon.
Full story: The Sun

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson has told Arsenal they will have to stump up £15m if they are to take centre-back Brede Hangeland across London.
Full story: DailyMail

Everton are still hopeful of landing Arsenal's Switzerland international defender Philippe Senderos.
Full story: TheIndependent

Aston Villa are preparing a raid on Championship outfit Middlesbrough with defender Robert Huth and Turkey international striker Tuncay in their sights.
Full story: The Guardian

Defender David Wheater could also be leaving the Riverside for Villa Park if boss Martin O'Neill decides to pursue his interest in the EnglandUnder-21 international. (Daily Star)

Hull are closing in on the signature of Reading's Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen Hunt. (Various)

The Tigers are also poised to offer free agent Henri Camara a contract after the striker's departure from Wigan.
Full story: The Times

Fulham have agreed a £2.5m deal for striker Kalu Uche from Spanish side Almeria.
Full story: The Times

Hull are also in the market for former Liverpool midfielder Boudewijn Zenden.
Full story: The Sun

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish wants to sign Rangers defender Gregory Vignal who he managed during his time at Ibrox.
Full story: The Sun

Wolves are considering a bid for former Marseille midfielder Modeste M'Bami. (Daily Mail)

Midfielder Radoslav Kovac is close to signing a permanent deal to join West Ham from Spartak Moscow after a successful loan spell last season. (Various)

Defender Sol Campbell, whose contract with Portsmouth ran out earlier this summer, is considering an offer to join Notts County. (DailyExpress)

Arsenal are to step up their interest in Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul after the Dutchman's impressive opening-day performance against West Brom.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Blackburn are poised to pounce for out-of-contract defender Michel Salgado after the Spanish international departed Real Madrid.
Full story: Daily Mirror

West Brom have signed free agent Jerome Thomas after the midfielder's deal at Portsmouth expired. (Daily Mirror)

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce is also close to landing Nantes midfielder Aurelien Capoue on a season-long loan. (Daily Star)

http:// OTHER GOSSIP

Midfielder Javier Mascherano is ready to commit his future to Liverpool after manager Rafael Benitez blocked a possible move to Barcelona. (DailyTelegraph)

Former Chelsea boss Avram Grant has been offered a return to management by friend and Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov. (Daily Express)

Ipswich manager Roy Keane wants to make former Manchester United coach Brian Kidd his right-hand man at Portman Road. (Daily Mirror)

http:// AND FINALLY

Manchester City have admitted that they forgot to tell the Football Association of Wales that striker Craig Bellamy would not be joining up with hisinternational team-mates for Wednesday's friendly against Montenegro. Officials were left bemused by his non-appearance. (Various)

Football Association chairman Lord Triesman was soaked by the sprinkler system while inspecting the Wembley pitch ahead of the Sunday's Community Shieldmatch between Chelsea and Manchester United.
Full story: Daily Mail
Middlesbrough defender Andrew Taylor is to launch Platinum Players, a website designed to protect professional footballers frombeing ripped off.
Full story: The Guardian

 

[roman736]

Yo guys join my niketalk fantasy football league! We have 10 members and could use some more. Just check out my thread in the sports forum.

 

[Sinner]

Anyone watching the international fixtures???

England @ the Netherlands (friendly) right now... and a few others as well...

 

[777]

Originally Posted by SinnerP

Anyone watching the international fixtures???

England @ the Netherlands (friendly) right now... and a few others as well...

I am.
Lol at England giving away that goal.

plus good finishing by Kuyt

 

[Sinner]

10' ~ Kuyt (Asst. Ferdinand)

38' ~ Van der Vaart (Asst. Barry)

 

[back1ntheday]

Van Der Vaart!

2 bad back passes, 2 goals

 

[777]

VDV !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[brian cushing]

Wow terrible mistake again.

 

[xblaze23]

Capello is going to make these guys pay in training lol..

 

[trelvis tha thrilla]

Yeah, I was watching the England game. Netherlands will be a force in the World Cup.

GO U-S-A!!!!

 

[aplx2]

I can't find the link the the Fantasy soccer thread.

 

[Sinner]

Originally Posted by Trelvis Tha Thrilla

Yeah, I was watching the England game. Netherlands will be a force in the World Cup.

Yeah, well they're the 3rd-ranked team in the world... they better be contenders!

JD scraping one two back... great run by Milner

 

[i3]

Apparently Fabregas is heading to Milan on Monday?

I wouldn't be surprised with this due to recent events. However, I don't know if this does happen if its a matter of protests against Berlusconi or ifthey had it all along..

 

[king beef]

Originally Posted by I3

Apparently Fabregas is heading to Milan on Monday?

I wouldn't be surprised with this due to recent events. However, I don't know if this does happen if its a matter of protests against Berlusconi or if they had it all along..

Wow. Now I don't have to worry about Barca signing him. He isnt' better than inesta. But still an upgrade for milan.


Fabregas and Ronaldinho on the ball?

Ac Milan needs to go after Sniedjer (sp). That midfeild would be sick. Ronnie, Fabregas, Sniedjer and Gattuso. Pirlo is going to Chelsea.

 

[xblaze23]

Two things, that report says the agreed price is between 30 and 35m. That seems too low. The other thing is that Barcelona have openly admitted their interest.If they want the player, they can afford that price. I'm sure Cesc would prefer back to Barca.

Edit: According to Marca, Chelsea are pushing hard to sign Sergio Aguero. They quote the offer at 57m.

 

[carlos tevez]

Fabregas isn't going anywhere this year. None of the sources reporting this "story" are legitimate anyways.

After the Arsenal/Celtic game kicks off on Tuesday, all the "Fabregas to ________" rumors will be completely dead as he'll be cup-tied.

I can see him leaving in 1-2 years though.

 

[king beef]

Should I make that official La Liga thread Xblaze or do you got it?

 

[carlos tevez]

Originally Posted by King Beef

Should I make that official La Liga thread Xblaze or do you got it?

Still too early...wait about 8-9 more days.