I presume you mean that this deal will be comparable to the Chimbonda one in Jan. I wonder who is Noe Pamarotâs agent. I always thought the time Redknapp signed him at Pompey was very strange
There is no way that Brown is better than Palacios, Huddlestone or Jenas. Jenas could be off tho he wants to go to Inter, Zokora is shite and is probably off also so maybe Brown could be used for cover.
[quote=âKIB manâ]I presume you mean that this deal will be comparable to the Chimbonda one in Jan. I wonder who is Noe Pamarotâs agent. I always thought the time Redknapp signed him at Pompey was very strange
There is no way that Brown is better than Palacios, Huddlestone or Jenas. Jenas could be off tho he wants to go to Inter, Zokora is shite and is probably off also so maybe Brown could be used for cover.[/QUOTE]
rumopured that Muntari will go to spurs with Jenas going the othr way in a swap dealâŚ
[quote=âBandageâ]I donât think Celtic are interested in either of those two and Portsmouth would also be required to pay cash in addition to player swaps for a player of Brownâs quality and potential - cash they donât possess.
Will OâNeill have much money to spend in the summer, KIB man? I donât buy the âVilla are unfortunate that they have a small squadâ line thatâs been flouted in the media as an excuse for their pitiful record over the past few months.
He had significant funds last summer and could have spread the cash around and signed more players if he wanted to. 12m for Milner or 3 players for 4m each, 8m for Cuellar or 2 players for 4m each etc etc. He could have added more depth but he tends to shop primarily in England where prices are exorbitant.[/QUOTE]
They have been linked with them anyway. Think their city rivals also were but there may be no truth in it.
Didnt Pompey bid for Brown in January? Glen Johnson will bring a good bit of cash in the summer. Man City/Everton my prediction for him. Pompey are broke as a joke but will need to buy a few players to stay up. Brown may see it as a suitable half way house to a better club.
I dont know really how much funds MON will have in the summer. His dealings last summer have been poor really. Luke Young has done well at right back, Shorey is only coming good lately but his value has plumeted, Cuellar has been very poor alright. Wouldnt believe the figure Glasgow Rangers published tho. Milner at 12m was well overpriced but he has done pretty well. Sidwell for 5m hasnt been a success. Heskey has been and will be a disaster. Friedel has been shocking, tho he is a friend of the chairman so dont expect a change of keeper. But still even despite all that we are on target for 5th and more points than last season.
Progress has been maintained but not as much as expected maybe. MON doesnt strike me as having any real knowledge of the European market. His one dalliance into it was his most successful transfer dealing for Villa. The swap deal Carew for Baros has turned out brilliantly. But he tends to overpay for British based players rather than taking a long term punt. Steven Duffour has been linked with us but all I have seen of him is youtube clips but he has the kind of profile we should be aiming for.
I dont believe that line either. MON doesnt rotate and will have to change his mindset in this matter. He leaves the likes of Shorey, Sidwell, Reo Coker rotting in the reserves for months on end. MON simply has to change it around every now and again if even to give the likes of Petrov a badly needed rest. That to my mind is the main reason for fatigue in the players.
Randy Lerner has a decision to make in the summer either we are going to make a massive push for it next season and invest 40m plus or replace Barry and Laursen and go with the same again and aim for fifth. Look at the others. Arshavin could lead Arsenal to the title next season and Wenger will change around the squad a bit more in the summer, Chelsea may rebuild totally and if so will be spending big, United are about to pay 50m for a single player. Funds are rumoured to be tight at Liverpool but they will prob by our captain. Big money will have to be spent to even maintain the status quo as City, Spurs and Everton will be pushing next season too.
Whether MON is the right man to take us forward from now is a point to which I will be referring at the end of season report on the Villa thread so be prepared.
Thought Ribery to Barcelona was a done deal.
This lad any good?
Spaniard linked to Celtic
Xabi Castillo has issued a come-and-get-me plea to Celtic.
The Real Sociedad left-back, 23, is out of contract at the end of the season and is keen to move overseas.
Because he is under 24, a Spanish club would have to pay 2m to secure his services.
I have interest from Italy, from Bolton in England and Greece, Castillo said in the Daily Mail.
But what I want most of all is a proposal from Celtic.
I wanted to make some money for Real before I left but, in football, things do not always work out as you like.
No idea but Iâm fond of the Basques. Get him signed.
You condone the actions of ETA?
An exceptionally non-Basque sounding name though, so he might be one of these new-breed non-Basques at Sociedad.
No harm in a left back though.
I think he could be NCCâs cousin actually.
Fook him so. Seriously, weâre going to have to put up with a ridiculous amount of these stories all summer long before we sign some cunts for peanuts from Hibs and Derry City.
Gora Eta Militar
Paddy Power has a market for Cristiano Ronaldoâs club on the first day of next season.
Man Utd 5/6
Real Madrid 5/6
Others on request*
[quote=âthedancingbabyâ]Paddy Power has a market for Cristiano Ronaldoâs club on the first day of next season.
Man Utd 5/6
Real Madrid 5/6
Others on request*
Theyâre really nailing their colours to the mast there
Sean St Ledgerâs apparently had an excellent season for Preston and heâs been linked with a Stg4m move to Everton today. Moyes has been successful in recent years with his punts on Championship players - Lescott, Jagielka and Cahill come to mind.
Moyes knows the score. An exceptional manager.
I predict Fabian Delph of Leeds to be snapped up by a biggish club this summer.
Moyes would have an inside track at Preston too if Iâm not mistaken.
ARSENE WENGER has opened the door to Emmanuel Adebayor leaving Arsenal this summer by stating he would have no problem in selling a player to Chelsea or any other big four rival.
Adebayor, who has endured a turbulent season after he came, in Wengerâs words, âclose to leaving the clubâ last summer, has emerged as a possible target for Chelsea. Roman Abramovich, Chelseaâs owner, admires the Togo striker and so does Carlo Ancelotti, the Milan manager, whom Chelsea hope to install as Guus Hiddinkâs successor.
Ancelotti thought he had a deal to take Adebayor to San Siro last summer only for Silvio Berlusconi, the Milan owner, to step in at the last moment and insist the club sign Ronaldinho from Barcelona. Wenger said Adebayor remained a part of his plans but, while he has argued passionately players such as Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie are going nowhere, his stance over Adebayor sounded less convincing.
âI donât want to go especially into any individual assessment of who we want to keep and who not, and normally Adebayor is part of our plans for the future,â he said. âIf I feel a player should go, or could go, why not sell him to one of the other top four?â
It was put to Wenger the top clubs rarely sold to their domestic rivals. âYes, of course, itâs unusual,â he said. âBut we sold [Ashley] Cole to Chelsea and we bought [William] Gallas [from Stamford Bridge] so you can never say I never do it.â
Adebayor sent out mixed messages at the end of last season when, after scoring 30 goals in all competitions, he became one of the hottest properties on the market. He said he would be âdelightedâ to play for Barcelona who, together with Milan, led the chase for his signature but he also stressed he was âvery happyâ at Arsenal and would return to them for pre-season training. When he did and duly turned out for the Premier League club, he felt the wrath of supporters.
âI believe he was disturbed at the start by a little bit of bad feelings from the fans because he was close to leaving the club and it unsettled him a little bit,â said Wenger as he assessed Adebayorâs contribution this season, in which he has scored 16 goals. âAnd after, he had a big [hamstring] injury [that kept him out for two months from early February]. He looks now in training very, very sharp and back to his best.â
Wenger was asked whether he wished he had sold Adebayor last summer, when his value was at its peak. He had opted to keep Thierry Henry for one more season in the summer of 2006 and the France international went on to have an indifferent campaign before he completed his long-mooted move to Barcelona.
âIn this path, you are always in a very delicate position for two reasons,â Wenger replied. âFirst, I cannot tell you all the truth, what happened behind the scenes and secondly, when you want to keep the players, you keep the players. You do not really look at how much money you get. On the other hand, people say you do not want to spend and when you have the good player, you sell him. We are in a position where we have . . . when I look in training today, the quality of our offensive sector is very strong.â
Adebayor is aware Ancelotti covets him, just as he would acknowledge the difficulties of a move across London to Chelsea. A parting of the ways with Arsenal, however, seems likely, although Wenger, who is tracking the Blackburn Rovers striker Roque Santa Cruz, sounded a note of caution. âNo matter how much money you have . . . you will see Manchester City now, for example, will be in the market . . . the number of players available who make a difference is not as big as people imagine,â he said.
Meanwhile, Ancelotti will meet Berlusconi on Sunday with Chelsea quietly confident their candidate to replace Hiddink as manager this summer will not be persuaded to remain at San Siro by the Italian prime minister.
Berlusconi was quoted in the newspaper La Repubblica this week criticising the coach for his tactics and team selection. The club president denied having made the comments yesterday but intends to explain himself to his manager face to face, by which time the club may have secured a return to the Champions League with victory at Udinese tomorrow.
from rte.ie
Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro will return to Juventus from Real Madrid on 1 July despite widespread supporter anger over the move.
The Serie A club, who are also interested in signing Werder Bremen playmaker Diego, said in a statement on Tuesday that 35-year-old centre back Cannavaro, soon out of contract at Real, had signed a one-year deal.
Juve fans were upset by Cannavaro leaving for Real in 2006 when they were demoted for match-fixing, while other top players such as Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon stuck with the club for their season in the second tier.
A small group of fans have protested at recent matches against Cannavaroâs return after club bosses admitted they were in talks with the 2006 European and World Player of the Year.
âI am sure I will be able to convince even the most sceptical fans thanks to my hard work, professionalism and passion with which I will approach this new adventure,â the World Cup winner said.
Cannavaro won two league titles in his two years at Juve, but they were both revoked in the match-fixing affair.
âFabio is a world champion, a Ballon dâOr winner and a great man in the dressing room,â Juve sporting director Alessio Secco said in a bid to calm supporter unrest.
âDuring the summer of 2006 the club had to sell him for urgent economic reasons.â
The Turin team, who sacked coach Claudio Ranieri on Monday and are at risk of slipping out of the automatic Champions League spots with two Serie A games left, are also hoping to sign Brazilian playmaker Diego from Werder Bremen.
German media said the deal was worth around âŹ29 million but the transfer was still up in the air despite weeks of talks, Werderâs General Manager Klaus Allofs said.
âThere are still open questions that must be discussed thoroughly,â Allofs told reporters in Istanbul ahead of the UEFA Cup final on Wednesday against Ukraineâs Shakhtar Donetsk.
Allofs ruled out any decision before the UEFA Cup final, for which the 24-year-old is suspended.
Diego has steered Werder to the UEFA and German Cup finals with some exhilarating performances, which also attracted interest from Bayern Munich before they pulled out of talks last week.
id say the assumption would be that cannavaro is finished due to how he played this season but a move might make all the difference for him - he was woeful when he played for Inter & the move to Juve helped him back then 0 might get another few seasons out of him
would love to see him go back to Napoli though
This does not sound promising. Clearly the carrying on of Rafa last summer has pissed Alonso off but his answer in the season just finished has been superb. A top quality player and a massive loss if he decides to leave.
Liverpool supporters seem set for another summer of uncertainty surrounding midfielder Xabi Alonso.
A year ago, Alonso seemed to be on his way out of Anfield as boss Rafael Benitez tried to raise money for the purchase of Gareth Barry from Aston Villa.
Alonso was then linked with Juventus and Arsenal. This time around it is Real Madrid who are believed to be hot on his trail.
Liverpool fans made it very clear to Benitez last summer they did not want their hero to leave and they will do so again if they get the chance.
But Alonso left Anfield last night, after a significant role in Liverpoolâs 3-1 win over Tottenham, unwilling to talk about his future and clearly unable to say anything other than âI donât know,â when asked if he was leaving.
Earlier, Benitez had tried to quell the rumours by saying: âHe is not for sale and we do not want to sell.â
But with money tight still at the Premier League runners-up, Benitez could well cash in on Alonso now if a 20million offer came in.
But Benitez did confirm he had held âprivateâ talks with Alonsoâs agent on Friday. Real Madrid are believed to be interested in the Spain international, if Florentino Perez wins their presidential election.
And it is now rumoured Alonso may well be persuaded to move to the Bernabeu, with the prospect of Barry finally arriving at the club.
Benitez was quizzed on the possibility of Alonso leaving and Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez arriving this summer, but would only say: 'Clearly I cannot give any names (of players leaving or arriving). Alonso has three years left on his contract and we are really pleased with him, so we do not want to sell.
'But I have had a private conversation with his agent and it was interesting to see who then had that information. For me it was a private conversation, and it will stay that way, but it is clear he has three more years of his contract and we do not want to sell him.
'I repeat. We do not want to sell, he is not for sale. He has said he is happy here in Liverpool, in every single press conference, in every single interview.
âWe have some ideas for the future, without losing any of our key players.â