The Ultimate Soccer Thread 2011-2012. VOL 2 (EPL,LFP, SERIE A, BUND, ETC.)

[mastamind89]

Laurent Blanc resigned

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18659024

Maybe Zidane might replace him

 

 

[steamin beamin]

Balla Jigga word on twitter is Clint's agent met with United, Chelsea, and Arsenal after two meetings with each club they decided on Arsenal. It came down to playing time, the problem is there still needs to be an agreement on terms with Dempsey and Fulham so it's far from done. To make things cloudier he is one of 5 AM targets for the gunners at this point the only two that are public are Clint and Belhanda from Montpellier, Gunners only have room for one signing at this position currently. Follow @sport_trend on twitter for updates

 

[trunks206]

Originally Posted by Steamin Beamin

Balla Jigga word on twitter is Clint's agent met with United, Chelsea, and Arsenal after two meetings with each club they decided on Arsenal. It came down to playing time, the problem is there still needs to be an agreement on terms with Dempsey and Fulham so it's far from done. To make things cloudier he is one of 5 AM targets for the gunners at this point the only two that are public are Clint and Belhanda from Montpellier, Gunners only have room for one signing at this position currently. Follow @sport_trend on twitter for updates

Makes sense as Clint will easily bench Rosicky and Ramsey. 
In a perfect world:

In: M'Villa and Dempsey

Out: Diaby and Ramsey 

Arteta/M'Villa --Song/Coquelin

Dempsey/Wilshere

Theo/Ox--RVP/Giroud--Podolski/Gervinho

Next summer

In: Gotze as he'll be ready to leave Dortmund and we made an serious offer last summer. 

Out: Rosicky as although he's a great squad player he isn't good enough at AM to dive us to silverware. 

 

[ham city]

Originally Posted by trunks206

Originally Posted by Steamin Beamin

Balla Jigga word on twitter is Clint's agent met with United, Chelsea, and Arsenal after two meetings with each club they decided on Arsenal. It came down to playing time, the problem is there still needs to be an agreement on terms with Dempsey and Fulham so it's far from done. To make things cloudier he is one of 5 AM targets for the gunners at this point the only two that are public are Clint and Belhanda from Montpellier, Gunners only have room for one signing at this position currently. Follow @sport_trend on twitter for updates

Makes sense as Clint will easily bench Rosicky and Ramsey. 
In a perfect world:

In: M'Villa and Dempsey

Out: Diaby and Ramsey 

Arteta/M'Villa --Song/Coquelin

Dempsey/Wilshere

Theo/Ox--RVP/Giroud--Podolski/Gervinho

I grew a lil bit.

Realistically what are the chances of signing M'Villa?

 

[steamin beamin]

M'Villa wants to be a Gunner and all the other teams (Inter and Bayern) have pulled out of the race for him. The problem is that Arsenal have the same concerns about his behavior off the pitch that stopped their pursuits , my biggest worry is that Arsene tries to pinch pennies and someone comes in late and snatches him like Mata last year.

 

[the sauna]

Originally Posted by Jesus Saved Edwin

• Spurs' Giovani Dos Santos, 23, is expected to leave White Hart Lane for either Sevilla or Atletico Madrid at the weekend.

I dunno man.... i've been hearing that the way things stand right now he's going to Malaga and it should be announced soon.. we'll see, this whole Gio saga is always up in the air.. But Malaga will be in the champions league so it would be a good move for Gio.. 

 

[cool hand Luka]

Originally Posted by trunks206

Originally Posted by Steamin Beamin

Balla Jigga word on twitter is Clint's agent met with United, Chelsea, and Arsenal after two meetings with each club they decided on Arsenal. It came down to playing time, the problem is there still needs to be an agreement on terms with Dempsey and Fulham so it's far from done. To make things cloudier he is one of 5 AM targets for the gunners at this point the only two that are public are Clint and Belhanda from Montpellier, Gunners only have room for one signing at this position currently. Follow @sport_trend on twitter for updates

Makes sense as Clint will easily bench Rosicky and Ramsey. 
In a perfect world:

In: M'Villa and Dempsey

Out: Diaby and Ramsey 

Arteta/M'Villa --Song/Coquelin

Dempsey/Wilshere

Theo/Ox--RVP/Giroud--Podolski/Gervinho

Next summer

In: Gotze as he'll be ready to leave Dortmund and we made an serious offer last summer. 

Out: Rosicky as although he's a great squad player he isn't good enough at AM to dive us to silverware. 

Is there any actual merit to RVP leaving Arsenal? I can't see it happening but obviously I want it to

. How close is Wilshere to coming back?

Edit--- Regarding GDS at Spurs, I would hope with AVB coming in that Dos Pantos might get another shot at that right wing, as he would seemingly fit in AVB's 4-3-3, too bad Levy seems determined to get rid of him. If we can get 8 million pounds for him I will be very happy.

 

[imasoleman18]

Hugo Lloris can leave Lyon for the right price, i wonder where he will go

 

[demps]

Longtime admirers AS Roma have reached a package deal with Chievo for midfield general Michael Bradley, leaving only completion of a personal terms agreement to send the US ace to the Eternal City.

A source close to the negotiations told MLSsoccer.com that Chievo will receive €3.5 million and midfielder Leandro Greco in exchange for the 24-year-old New Jersey native, if not also the free loan-out of Roma wing prospect Giammario Piscitella. It is expected that Bradley will ink either a contract that ties him to the Giallorossi until the summer of either 2015 or 2016, with the transfer potentially completed by Monday. Neither his agent nor Chievo replied to requests for comment.

 

[mastamind89]

Originally Posted by HAM CITY

Originally Posted by trunks206

Originally Posted by Steamin Beamin

Balla Jigga word on twitter is Clint's agent met with United, Chelsea, and Arsenal after two meetings with each club they decided on Arsenal. It came down to playing time, the problem is there still needs to be an agreement on terms with Dempsey and Fulham so it's far from done. To make things cloudier he is one of 5 AM targets for the gunners at this point the only two that are public are Clint and Belhanda from Montpellier, Gunners only have room for one signing at this position currently. Follow @sport_trend on twitter for updates

Makes sense as Clint will easily bench Rosicky and Ramsey. 
In a perfect world:

In: M'Villa and Dempsey

Out: Diaby and Ramsey 

Arteta/M'Villa --Song/Coquelin

Dempsey/Wilshere

Theo/Ox--RVP/Giroud--Podolski/Gervinho

I grew a lil bit.

Realistically what are the chances of signing M'Villa?

Ramsey gets a lot of %!%$ but for being back from injury and playing as much as he did, it's obvious that he was exhausted at the end of the season. I think AW wants to make him into a box-to-box MF. But I don't think he should be should , a loan will help him find his form and consistency. I'll try to find his stats but I remember them being good. 
Diaby

 I've been done with this dude. He's never coming back, #foreverinjured taking up space and money.

Rosicky, I don't really see him being sold. But as side, he can be benched.

Demps would be a great addition to the team but Fulham isn't gonna sell him for cheap. I don't see Arsenal buying him and M'Vila. Our budget is what 50-60mil and we've spent about close to 20/25mil so far?

I also think AW wants to break Lansbury into the team. But we'll see 

 

[demps]

15 mill is what fulham are asking for.

 

[trunks206]

Originally Posted by hpscots0906

Originally Posted by trunks206

Originally Posted by Steamin Beamin

Balla Jigga word on twitter is Clint's agent met with United, Chelsea, and Arsenal after two meetings with each club they decided on Arsenal. It came down to playing time, the problem is there still needs to be an agreement on terms with Dempsey and Fulham so it's far from done. To make things cloudier he is one of 5 AM targets for the gunners at this point the only two that are public are Clint and Belhanda from Montpellier, Gunners only have room for one signing at this position currently. Follow @sport_trend on twitter for updates

Makes sense as Clint will easily bench Rosicky and Ramsey. 
In a perfect world:

In: M'Villa and Dempsey

Out: Diaby and Ramsey 

Arteta/M'Villa --Song/Coquelin

Dempsey/Wilshere

Theo/Ox--RVP/Giroud--Podolski/Gervinho

Next summer

In: Gotze as he'll be ready to leave Dortmund and we made an serious offer last summer. 

Out: Rosicky as although he's a great squad player he isn't good enough at AM to dive us to silverware. 

Is there any actual merit to RVP leaving Arsenal? I can't see it happening but obviously I want it to

. How close is Wilshere to coming back?

Edit--- Regarding GDS at Spurs, I would hope with AVB coming in that Dos Pantos might get another shot at that right wing, as he would seemingly fit in AVB's 4-3-3, too bad Levy seems determined to get rid of him. If we can get 8 million pounds for him I will be very happy.

If I'm being honest I believe there is a pretty good chance he could be off.

If its about money then we all know we cant compete to keep him. He's on somewhere between 80-90k and if we do break our strick wage structure and offer him the guardian reported offer of 130k a week + 5m "loyalty" bonus he could still go to City and double our wage offer and get 250k a week and make more in the first year even with Arsenal's bonus pay out. Over 3 years the total amount made with those 2 offers are Arsenal at 25.3m and City at 39m. No brainer there really. 

If its about wining things and our board showing they are serious about competing for silverware then I just dont now what to think as I just dont trust our board. Yes we signed Giroud and Podolski but I cant see us really trying to appease a single player regardless of how good and important they are to the club. It mirrors the Cesc fiasco after this sensational 09-10 season carrying players like Denilson and Silvestre to CL football. He believed the board that we were serious about wining things so he stayed and in the summer we signed......Squillaci and Chamakh (who we even waited a year to sign for free) and penny pinched Fulham for Schwartzer and back out thus starting the year with that clown Almunia in goal. We are business first and foremost and a football club second. I want to believe that Podolski and Giroud are to strengthen the team but with this board they could just be direct replacements to Theo an RVP who both only have a year left on their contracts and we dont want to start the season destabilized like last year.

From the boards perspective RVP is soon to be 29 and has a bad injury record. He finally had a injury free year and a half and we all saw what he could do but no player is bigger than the club's bottom line. I dont have faith in the board turning down 30-40m for him....shades of last year with Wenger saying you cant call yourself a big club if you sell your two best players...then the board sold our two best players.  

As for Wilshere's return, with our medical staff god knows honestly. He is scheduled to be back for preseason but I'm dont know how many times Ive been disappointed. 

/Rants

Cliff:

I dont trust Arsenal's board of directors and medical staff. 

 

[trunks206]

Originally Posted by Mastamind89

Originally Posted by HAM CITY

 

Realistically what are the chances of signing M'Villa?

Ramsey gets a lot of %!%$ but for being back from injury and playing as much as he did, it's obvious that he was exhausted at the end of the season. I think AW wants to make him into a box-to-box MF. But I don't think he should be should , a loan will help him find his form and consistency. I'll try to find his stats but I remember them being good. 
Diaby

 I've been done with this dude. He's never coming back, #foreverinjured taking up space and money.

Rosicky, I don't really see him being sold. But as side, he can be benched.

Demps would be a great addition to the team but Fulham isn't gonna sell him for cheap. I don't see Arsenal buying him and M'Vila. Our budget is what 50-60mil and we've spent about close to 20/25mil so far?

I also think AW wants to break Lansbury into the team. But we'll see 

I understand that he had a horrific injury and with us losing Cesc and Nasri and with Jack being out he was forced into the playmaker role and he played far more games than he should have, but I just dont know about Ramsey mking it at Arsenal. What's he god at? just being a hard worker? He was horrendous at the tail end of last season and yeah he was burt out but he shouldn't have been on the pitch. His confidence was/is shot and like you said a loan would be a godsend. No Arsenal early expectations of silverware 

 and he can just play his game and we can hopefully find out what his best position/role in midfield is.
Diaby 

 Dont get me started.

As you said we have a budget and I'm not saying go on a Roman-esque spending spree, but realistically we could do it i if we sell all the crap players we have on the wage bill that dont contribute anything at Arsenal.

Denilson

Diaby 

Chamakh

Arshavin

Vela

Bendtner

Squillaci

Fabianski

Park

Djourou

 

 @ the quality of players in the Arsenal squad. Sell them all at a cut price (just get them gone!) and with their fees and wages off the books we can easily afford to sign more players. 

 

[babam11218719]

I think Djourou will stay if he wants.  Diaby may end up staying too because its not like he will be able to stay healthy for anyone else either.  The others are as good as gone.  I am very interested to see who else we target.  We have the front line shored up completely now its time to move to the midfield and D.

 I really hope we end up with M'Vila but I would like to pursue a CAM as well.  I'm not sure about Dempsey personally.  What role would he play for Arsenal?  Does he have the skill or even  the mentality to be a facilitator?  I think he thrives in that Fulham system where he is able to roam freely off of a target striker and find pockets of space to get his shot away.  I would love him on Arsenal as a utility player across the front 3 and he is fantastic in the air.  Clint just has a great nose for goal but I don't see him walking into Arsenal's 4-3-3 as of right now.  Not saying he wouldn't get a ton of games though. I honestly wouldn't mind going back to the Montpellier well for Belhanda.  I think he is fantastic and would fit right in especially since they played a similar system at Montpellier. 

For the D, I am hearing a lot of people saying we need another CB.  I think we need another fullback that can cover on the Right and Left.  Sagna won't be ready for the start of the season and Jenkinson isin't there yet.  Its not like Santos and Gibbs are the model of consistency and health either.  We need at least 1 more full back and maybe add a utility Defender that can play some CB and at Fullback. We are fine at CB with 3 solid players.  Verm just needs to play more consistent but I am confident he will bounce back from his blunders.  Djourou is ok as 4th choice in my book. 

Other than Belhanda and maybe Dempsey who are the other CAM's Arsenal is being linked with?  I haven't seen too many.  Wenger better not be relying on Wilshere to come back.  I think its gonna be a tough year for Jack.

 

[mastamind89]

Mancini said that it's unlikely that they will get RvP.
http://msn.foxsports.com/...-arsenal-man-city-070112

Apparently Arsenal is interested in Hugo Lloris, we do need another GK.
A fullback is what we really need.

AW is interested in Dzagoev but reports are saying because of how Arshavin was handled, well it lowers our chances. And Zenit aren't planning to buy Arshavin back.
All those players posted, I agree that they should be sold. I know for Djorou the Swiss manager wants him to leave Arsenal.
Almost forgot that we still need to sell Bendter. But props to him for the playing so well in the Euro, his value certainly went up
I know at one point Hernanes was looking to leave Lazio and was interested in Arsenal. Not sure if we were interested in him at all. I think he could fit in well, his versatile and is good with both of his feet.
Who knows, maybe we might pick up Strootman or Javi Martinez

Yea it's gonna be tough for Wilshere, he needs to really be eased back into team. And on top of that he shouldn't feel that some sort of burden is placed on him...I mean a lot is expected of him.
I think the only downsides to signing M'Vila would be that Coquelin would obviously get less playing time, a hinder. And the obvious one, we're more exposed at the back...we know how Song be

I see him and Lansbury(if Ramsey isn't loaned, he probably will be) doing the bench/sub routine

As for younger players, I'm hoping Afobe, Miquel, Eisfeld and Campbell are loaned within the EPL. I heard that Wellington's loan isn't going that great so maybe we can call him back....well if him and Campbell get their work permit situations fixed out
Ryo and Frimpong will prob go back to the teams they were loaned to before

 

[Nawzlew]

Starting to get interested in soccer.

But it's such a huge sport, it's tough to follow

 

[demps]

egypt chose to not fire bob bradley.

 

[eiddyfouw]

Originally Posted by Nawzlew

Starting to get interested in soccer.

But it's such a huge sport, it's tough to follow

I would suggest start with either the English Prem or the German Bundesliga...
Both are very entertaining and competitive...

Chelsea are favourites to capture right-back Maicon from Inter Milan after Real Madrid ended their interest in the Brazilian.

Newcastle have agreed a £5m fee with FC Twente for Brazilian defender Douglas, 24.




Paris Saint-Germain are lining up an £8million bid for Chelsea captain John Terry.




Tottenham are set to sign CSKA Moscow's Russia international Alan Dzagoev, according to his father.

 

[jesus saved edwin]

• Manchester City have put an £80m price tag on Real Madrid target David Silva.
• Andre Villas-Boas is ready to make a move for Arsenal winger Theo Walcott if he is made Tottenham's new manager.
• Manchester City must offload striker Emmanuel Adebayor to Tottenham before making a £20m bid for Arsenal striker Robin van Persie.
• LA Galaxy are keen on Frank Lampard, 34, and hope that the prospect of joining forces with David Beckham will tempt him to head to America.
• Hoffenheim's Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, on loan at Swansea last season, will choose between Liverpool and Tottenham in the next 24 hours.
• FC Twente coach Steve McLaren says only an "absurd offer" would tempt him to sell Luuk De Jong, 21, to Newcastle.
• Leighton Baines has admitted that cash-strapped Everton may be forced to sell him to Manchester United.
• Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle are lining up a bid for Crystal Palace youngster Reise Allassani.
• New Birmingham boss Lee Clark has only 14 senior players to work with and is prioritising new recruits despite the club's current transfer embargo.
• Swansea City want to sign £3m Spanish centre-back Jose Manuel 'Chico' Flores, 25, from Italian side Genoa.
• Arsenal are keen on Palmero goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano, 26.
• New Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is keen to sign Rangers midfielder Steven Davis, 27, who is available as a free agent.
• Former Tottenham and West Ham striker Fredi Kanoute, 34, has joined Chinese club Beijing Guoan on a two-year deal.
• Peterborough United are set to report Gianni Paladini to the Football League for allegedly tapping up Darren Ferguson on behalf of Nottingham Forest.

 

[jesus saved edwin]

• Tottenham are set to sign CSKA Moscow's Russia international Alan Dzagoev, according to his father.
• Wigan have warned Liverpool and Chelsea that they want at least £12m for Victor Moses, 21.
• Paris Saint-Germain are lining up an £8million bid for Chelsea captain John Terry.
• Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is playing down the chances of a move for Arsenal striker Robin van Persie.
• Croatian striker Danijel Pranjic, 31, says he would be "honoured" to join Everton after leaving Bayern Munich as a free agent.
• Lyon goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is available at the right price according to club president Jean-Michel Aulas - and that has put Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool on alert.
• Newcastle have agreed a £5m fee with FC Twente for Brazilian defender Douglas, 24.
• Chelsea are favourites to capture right-back Maicon from Inter Milan after Real Madrid ended their interest in the Brazilian.
• West Ham are close to a deal for Senegalese defender Abdou Kader Mangane of Rennes.

 

[jesus saved edwin]

Nesta has apparently signed with Montreal Impact.

Ederson has signed with Lazio.

Thiago Silva has signed an extension with AC Milan.

 

[ham city]

Originally Posted by Nawzlew

Starting to get interested in soccer.

But it's such a huge sport, it's tough to follow

I definitely recommend limiting yourself to following just a single league or two to start off.

EPL is a great choice, I wouldn't necessarily recommend the Bundesliga right away, I'm a fan but it's probably the least accessible of the big four.

I'd invest my time in the EPL and MLS. The quality of MLS isn't on par with the top leagues but it's good enough and improving every year. There are just certain aspects of following a domestic league that can't be replicated following a foreign one.

MLS, EPL, and Champions League would be more than enough soccer to keep you interested.

 

[abovelegit1]

And yet if you want to watch the very best players in the world, and the highest quality of technical football you should watch Spanish La Liga - in my opinion the best domestic competition in the world. Where you'll find tenth placed teams capable of passing English powerhouses off the park.

You're not alone in finding in tough to follow, as there's just so much football, and so little time. I find myself missing days past when I watched just about every game of significance free of any real responsibility.

sigh

 

[eiddyfouw]

Originally Posted by abovelegit1

And yet if you want to watch the very best players in the world, and the highest quality of technical football you should watch Spanish La Liga - in my opinion the best domestic competition in the world. Where you'll find tenth placed teams capable of passing English powerhouses off the park.

You're not alone in finding in tough to follow, as there's just so much football, and so little time. I find myself missing days past when I watched just about every game of significance free of any real responsibility.

sigh

I don't know about that.  Take out Madrid and Barce (outliers) and that league is okay
Bundesliga is the most competitive. 

English is the most accessible and because of this, probably the most exciting to watch.

Italian can be interesting, but I feel like the games can be at awkward times.  But I don't like Italian's style of play.

 

[jesus saved edwin]

Napoli have sold Ezequiel Lavezzi to PSG for 30 mil. That's a great pickup by PSG. I need to pay more attention to French Football, mainly PSG. They got Lugano, Pastore, Motta and now Lavezzi.

http://www.football-itali...fficial-lavezzi-sold-psg