hardly a rodgers type player but Lambert wants him out and Liverpool are really struggling with the exception of Suarez for goals Expect a trade with some of the misfits coming back our way. Henderson and Downing probably.
At B6 - Villa will be trying to get rid of Bent, Nzogbia, Ireland, Dunne and Given. We have been linked with Charlie Austin who has been banging them in at Burnley.
Whatâs the story with NâZogbia? Is he gone to shit? Iâd forgotten he was at Villa.
Hard to see who would be willing to pay big money for him in both a transfer fee and wages. PSG donât really need another attacking midfielder, neither do United while neither Real or Barca would be interested. Doubt he would want a move to Russia either. Maybe City might be interested if the price is right.
No doubting he is a fine player when fit and on form but I have always felt he is somewhat overrated in the grand scheme of things
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++==
Are Inter better without Wesley Sneijder?
By James Horncastle
Recently asked by La Gazzetta dello Sport if he had ever got a 10 out of 10 for anything at school, Wesley Sneijder replied: âYes, in mathematics.â Thatâs probably just as well because Inter Milan have presented their playmaker with a difficult equation.
Theyâd like Sneijder to take a 30% wage cut.
He is currently Inter and Serie Aâs highest earner with an annual salary worth 6 million euros a year after tax. Itâs a colossal amount. Inter are prepared to honor his existing deal but they would like to restructure it, paying him what he is due between now and 2015 in 2017 instead. So, in short, Sneijder would be committing to longer for less.
It explains a lot. Suspicions that not everything was right between club and player had been aroused earlier in the month.
Before Interâs trip to Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League, Sneijderâs wife Yolanthe Cabau tweeted: âMy husband can no longer write on Twitter. Itâs the clubâs choice. [Itâs] strange. But weâre ready for this eveningâs game.â
The official line out of Inter was that by revealing he was to fly to Los Angeles for treatment on a muscle tear before the news had been made public by the club, Sneijder had violated their social media policy. That didnât wash with everyone. Teammate Gaby Mudingayi had also tweeted he was to undergo a scan after suffering an injury in Belgrade and then later revealed the outcome to his followers. Was it really one rule for Sneijder and another for Mudingayi? And why hadnât he made his comeback as expected against Cagliari a week ago? There had to be more to it.
Confirmation came at the weekend when Interâs technical director Marco Branca spoke to Sky Italia. âThe situation with Wes, who is part of the history of this club and a player we all care about,â he said, "is that weâve been discussing a possible â and for us necessary â adjustment to his contract for a while.
âWe want to give the player and his entourage all the time they need to consider the terms of our proposal carefully,â Branca continued, âso the coach and the club have decided not to use the player in this period until things are clearer. This also allows our coach to more playing time to the other players.â
The action taken by Inter appears harsh on Sneijder. Itâs legality is questionable, too. Should things deteriorate any further and Sneijder find himself ostracized, then an accusation of mobbing could be brought against Inter. But for now, it hasnât got to that stage.
âI talk to [President Massimo] Moratti and Sneijder every day,â coach Andrea Stramaccioni said, âand the situation is simpler than you think. I hope we can all sit around a table and resolve this situation, conscious that this summer Inter took a clear and precise line that I respect and share.â
The line Stramaccioni alluded to was that of slashing the wage bill by almost 50 million euros. Julio Cesar, Lucio and Maicon, all of whom were members of Interâs treble-winning team, either had their contracts rescinded or were sold. Sneijder is only too aware of the predicament Inter are in. Back in 2011, he was told up front by the club that, because of his status as a lucrative asset (and his wages) they had to consider offers for him.
âI had never thought about leaving. I donât know about other people. As a matter of fact, I do know,â Sneijder insisted to La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I had left my holidays [that summer] with the idea that Iâd be coming back, then my agent called and said: âCome, we have to talk with Interâ and Inter told me that if there was a possibility they might sell me.
âIt wasnât a technical question,â Sneijder added. âI really donât believe that âŚ. It was a question of money. Something had changed, then I changed my mind, too. I arrived at [Interâs pre-season training camp] Pinzolo. I found more or less the same team again. I spoke with Moratti, who for me is a very important person, with Branca and with [Interâs director of sport Piero] Ausilio and they all said that I would be very important for Inter.â
Samuel Etoâo was sold to Anzhi Makhachkala instead. âOne of us two had to leave,â Sneijder revealed. âI understood on the day of Etoâoâs goodbye that I would be staying and was very happy to do so.â That he did, however, was in no small part because interested parties, said to be both Manchester clubs, balked at matching his wages. They have become a millstone around Interâs neck and thatâs their own fault.
Moratti shouldnât have offered to nearly double Sneijderâs wages from 3.5 million euros a year to 6 million euros after his first season at the club. True, Inter had just won an unprecedented treble, Sneijder went on to reach the World Cup final with the Netherlands, he was thought to be among the principal contenders for the Ballon dâOr and his club wanted to reward him.
The problem is that, since then, they have got so little value for their money. For close to two and a half years now, Sneijder has flickered without ever really recapturing the form he showed under Jose Mourinho. Laying to one side their differences in position, itâs a slump that calls to mind Fernando Torres at Chelsea.
In fairness, a lot of it is down to niggling injuries. Sneijder has missed 43% of Interâs games since 2010. His last appearance was against Chievo two months ago when, as mentioned above, he tore a muscle.
Inter have learned to play successfully without him. When Sneijder was out last season, rather than suffer in his absence they won seven games in a row. His return to the starting line-up against Lecce coincided with the end of that run. Inter then only won one of their next 10 and Claudio Ranieri got the sack.
A similar trend has occurred this season. When Sneijder came off injured in the 26th minute of Interâs trip to Chievo, the score was 0-0. His replacement Antonio Cassano was among the goalscorers in a 2-0 win and it was the beginning of another streak as Inter racked up 10 straight victories in all competitions.
Although Inter have lost three of their last four, few believe Sneijder would be the answer to their problems. He is a luxury. Since 2010, Inter have won 66.7% of games without him. Their average possession and pass completion rate is lower, yet they also average more goals per game (1.97 compared to 1.52), have a greater percentage of shots on target (47.11% to 43.61%) and see more of their shots converted into goals (17.11% to 11.84%) than with him in the team. In short, theyâre more balanced and effective. Guys like Cassano, Rodrigo Palacio, Philippe Coutinho and Ricky Alvarez are happy rotate. They wonât throw a strop like Sneijder did when he was hauled off against Torino in mid-September.
âIâd sum it up in one phrase,â the 1960 Ballon dâOr winner and Inter great Luisito Suarez said. âWesley is definitely important, but he is not indispensable.â
That much has dawned on Inter. Theyâd like Sneijder to stay, but on their terms. Six million euro a year is a lot to pay any player never mind one that your team has proven over time it can cope without. And Sneijder doesnât need a 10 out of 10 in mathematics to work that one out.
Wesley has done fcuk all since last world cup. He was 3rd after messi and Ronaldo in a lot of opinions a few years ago. He needs a move badly,if only to show heâs not in football for the money.
He has been a flop in Serie A, saved all his big games under Mourinho for Europe. Think he could do with dropping down to the EPL, a very pleasant guy however.
The Irish skipper is still undecided about his plans for the next three months but his current scoring form makes him an attractive option for Paul Lambert[/url] at Villa Park and [url=âhttp://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Everton_F.C.â]Everton[/url]âs [url=âhttp://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/David_Moyesâ]David Moyes[/url], as well as [url=âhttp://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Chris_Hughtonâ]Chris Hughton at Norwich.
Former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp[/url], who has a long history with [url=âhttp://searchtopics.independent.ie/topic/Keane,_Inc.â]Keane, could also do with some help at Loftus Road.
âItâs not something that Iâve sat down and thought about much,â said Keane.
âOf course, I do miss the Premier League and I watch the games every week on Fox Soccer. I do miss it, but who knows,â claimed Keane.
His loan spell at Villa Park last season produced three goals in six games and proved that at that point, Keane was more than capable of holding his own.
Keane will make a decision after his second successive MLS Cup final on Saturday, against Houston Dynamo.
Ba is on the move from Newcastle according to various sourcesâŚLiverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal rumoured to be in the hunt.
From twitter and other fan sites⌠Liverpool supposedly after two out of Huntelaar, Eriksen, Walcott, and Holtby. Nothing new there, been linked with all four for months now. Eriksen would be my least favourite out of them and tho I never really rated Walcott, he works in the premier league. Iâd be happy enough if an out and out srtiker was the only acquisition as that also frees up Suarez to play his favoured free role off the striker.
Paulie what would be your opinion of Shane Longâs transfer to Liverpool which I broke a few weeks ago? Iâd imagine a fee of approx ÂŁ8m-wouldnât be a bad bit of business and better than whatâs there.
Eriksen from Ajax? Weâd hardly get him.
No to Walcott. We have enough ordinary English players as it stands.
No thanks.
No doubt he would break his hole for the team but as an out and out striker, whch is what is needed, I donât rate him. Weâve had his kind in abundance over the last few seasons - Bellers and Kuyt immediately spring to mind, but what is needed is a striker who can produce 15+ â leagueâ goals regularly and I dont see Shane having that, not yet anyway. However, I would certainly take him over that Chelsea reject, Sturridge, who is also heavily linked.
How much money have Liverpool to spend? Very hard to get a striker guaranteeing 15+ league goals per season without spending ÂŁ12-15m. Is that money there?
Bellers was a super player.
Sturridge is a cunt.
I was just about to go on a rant slating Eriksen when I realised I was completely mixing him up with a swedish player we were previously linked with!! How embarrassing⌠My apologies :shakefist:
I have only seen 45 mins of Ajax this season and I would like to retract my previous comments about not wanting him until I watch a youtube montage of his best bits, then Iâll judge whether he is up to it.
Like I said, iâm not a fan of Walcott, but if the price was right he is the kind of player we need to unlock those titanic defences of the likes of Stoke and Swansea that we so regularly struggle against. Iâm obviously hoping we have other targets, but not knowing what funds are there we maybe forced to move for a Sturrige, long or Walcott- and Iâd take him over the others.
Who knows, pal. Instead of splitting whatever funds he has, Rodgers may have to take a gamble on the current squad and wait until the summer to spend big-ish. There are more young lads coming through, but you ainât gonna see the best of them for 2/3 years. That gap needs to be bridged and these young lads need to be learning from an out and out goal scorer daily too. Robbie is always regaling us with stories about how Ian always took him aside and schooled him in the ways.
Walcott struggles at Arsenal because Wenger plays him as a winger, imo he is ideally a second striker. When he has played that role for Arsenal he has being pretty effective.
Is he the answer to Liverpools problems? Def not, he would need to play off Suarez and many feel Suarez needs to play off a main striker as well. Shane Long would suit that fit perfectly i would have thought.
Very similar player to Kuyt and in fairness Kuyt scored a fair amount of goals while at Liverpool (51 in 208 app according to Wiki).
51 in 208 is not a fair amount of goals for a striker, especially when you consider a large proportion of them were from the spot.
Rodgers, if he were to acquire Walcott, would certainly play him as a forward, not a winger as such. He gets his width from his full backs and wants 3, or at least 2 of the 3, forwards to be interchangable.
In fairness he never played up top that much while at Liverpool CM, his record as an out and out striker for Feyenoord of 71 goals in 101 appearances proves that.
I think Long would suit Liverpool bigtime, willing to work back & help midfielders while giving an aerial threat also.
There was a reason he didnt play up top much⌠and he had his chance to prove himself there.
Iâll go nuclear if sturridge signs⌠as is being suggest all over twitter at the moment. Obviously Iâd be more than happy to be proved wrong, but I just dont see it with him.
Nothing compared to what Suarez would do if they told him his new strike partner was a black lad mate.
Juventus are supposedly moving in on a deal to sign Droga, should be a good signing for them in Europe anyway.