Summer transfer rumours, speculation and out-and-out b*ll*cks.

[UsualSuspect]

Any likelihood Given is signing anytime soon?

It is taking a while. Maybe it's Foster were going for after all.

yes Steve Foster

[eastie]

Let's hope Joe hart doesn't get injured on city's tour or we may find ourself starting the search again-we keep hearing imminent and yet we are still waiting .

[Fuse]

I agree John

Burger me how we could do with Milner

It's just that with our current central midfield ie, petrov, makoun, bannan, delph I wouldn't be comfortable with any of them in a middle 2

Milner would ne perfect for us playing in CM. I'd rather we sold Downing and got Milner back than keep him and spunk best part of £15m+ (fee and wages) on a potential crock such as Parker. Parker would be a massive gamble and to be fair even if he stays fit, the way he plays he probably has 1-2 good seasons left full stop.

[Mazrim]

Milner > Parker that goes without saying.
But in the likely even we can't get Milner, Parker would do a fine job for a few years.

[Villafirst]

Let's hope Joe hart doesn't get injured on city's tour or we may find ourself starting the search again-we keep hearing imminent and yet we are still waiting .

I wouldn't get too excited, after all Paul Faulkner is involved in the negotiations. We'll probably start with Marshall in goal at Fulham on the opening day. It will be a scramble to get a new 'keeper in by deadline day 31st August. The club aren't capable of concluding a transfer quickly - Given will probably be snatched from our grasp at the last minute.

[UsualSuspect]

I agree John

Burger me how we could do with Milner

It's just that with our current central midfield ie, petrov, makoun, bannan, delph I wouldn't be comfortable with any of them in a middle 2

Milner would ne perfect for us playing in CM. I'd rather we sold Downing and got Milner back than keep him and spunk best part of £15m+ (fee and wages) on a potential crock such as Parker. Parker would be a massive gamble and to be fair even if he stays fit, the way he plays he probably has 1-2 good seasons left full stop.

I posted the other day that I feel that parker has 2 seasons in him due to the way he plays and the injuries he picked up.

I cant believe that mancini doesnt play Milner.

Every time I watched him during the 2009/10 season he was my man of the match, and the amount of ground he covered was amazing.

I think that Chelsea and Man ure are missing a trick as for me he is a perfect replacement for Scholes or Lampard

[Villafirst]

Faulkner would make more sense.

Since when has Faulkner made any sense?

[Mister E]

I must admit, if I'm looking forward to anything this season its seeing how McLeish is going to fit Gabby and Bent (as strikers) into the same starting line up and make it work.

I really don't see why this would be so difficult.  Bent is always going to do what Bent does best, ie feed off any free balls in the area and slot them home.  I'd have thought having another decent striker who is supremely quick pulling defenders out of position would make this easier by giving him more space.  We just need to make sure the two of them get the supply, which is going to be difficult if we keep selling our best players.

Well, that's the thing. It's not so much playing them two up front as how the rest of the team is set up in order to get the best out of them and not be more accomodating than Jordan's glammity at the back.
They're both extremely quick, Gabby peerlessly so. They're both strong and hold the ball up well. They're both tidier in possesion than they're given credit for and bring midfield into play. However they're both very similar and you need somebody to be directly responsible for feeding them. That means playing some sort of bastardised 4-4-2 and also means its difficult to use two wingers at the same time.

Can you play Gabby, Bent, Downing AND Albrighton? Maybe but you then need two holding midfielders one of which still needs to get foward (box to box) or it becomes too predictable to counter and nullify. If you involve Ireland then a winger or striker is forfeit surely? Obviously flexibility is key and its nice to have options. Or it will be.
My gut feeling is he'll play two strikers but only press one flank at a time.

Like I say, he's made noises about what he wants to do and it will be interesting to see how it comes to life.

The point is he wouldn't use two wingers with 2 CMF - MON did that and we found that opposition just murdered us through the middle, putting unsustainable pressure on the CB's. We'd go three CMF and one wide player, and use the other FB to join the attacks when in possession.
Depending who we have in the squad, I suspect he'll play with one striker and use two wide players to make the 4-3-3 when we have the ball / 4-5-1 without the ball.

[Concrete John]

Let's hope Joe hart doesn't get injured on city's tour or we may find ourself starting the search again-we keep hearing imminent and yet we are still waiting .

I wouldn't get too excited, after all Paul Faulkner is involved in the negotiations. We'll probably start with Marshall in goal at Fulham on the opening day. It will be a scramble to get a new 'keeper in by deadline day 31st August. The club aren't capable of concluding a transfer quickly - Given will probably be snatched from our grasp at the last minute.

Darren Bent would disagree with you on that one.

In truth the length of a transfer negotiation isn't all that significant compared to when we find out about it.  Bent looked quick, but for how long were we talking to him and his agent before he signed?  And would Given seem quicker if we hadn't heard about it until a few days before he signed?

[Mister E]

The imperative is to sort out the team's 'spine' with experienced reliable player at GK, CB, CMF, CF.
- We have a CF in Bent, and a good back-up in GA.
- Dunne (with Cuellar / Collins as back-up) will hopefully refind his form and be the CB we all want and hope he'll be.
- GK should be covered by Given, but there is a possible weakness in terms of cover. And if Given does not come we really will have to move effectively to cover this position.
- CMF: this is the slot that is really the weakest - Parker would do it (with Petrov as cover) but I don't see us persuading PArker to join us and Petrov is not a 90-minute man any more. So, this is the slot that is most important to fill. Nolan might have done it but he's gone to WetSpam. McCarthy at Wigan or Holden at Bolton might do it, but we'd be into a lot of dosh to get them (since they are well-regarded at their current clubs). So, we need to identify the CMF with the skills-plus-experience combination.

We have good experience at FB with LY and a possibly-resurgent Warnock, with Lichaj, Clarke and Baker to cover - but if Warnock's a mare, then an experienced LB becomes a priority. We have a strong mix of youth and experience in MF (Petrov, Downing, Makoun and Ireland for experience) and reasonable cover up front.
It's potentially a strong basis on which to support the introduction of our talented youth players as long as we cover the GK and CMF positions with reliable, experienced players.
If Downing does go, then Charlie Zog is an obvious replacement ... if we do not get him then we should nonetheless be looking to bring in additional experience for a midfield / wide role.

[VWBelgian]

Sanchez to Barcelona finally
SKy : Alexis Sanchez's future finally looks to have been resolved with Spanish reports claiming Barcelona have agreed a €40million deal with Udinese

Zapata ( Undinese ) => Villareal

[Can Gana Be Bettered!?!?]

Parker will go to Spuds to replace Chelsea bound Modric.
   

That's the equivalent of NRC replacing Ronaldo.

[Salsa Party Animal]

Who is Alex Sanchez ? I never seen him play. I don't even know what he look like or what position he play.

[Mazrim]

EffDee, that's what I meant when I said "My gut feeling is he'll play two strikers but only press one flank at a time."
As in be aggressive on one wing or the other but not both.

[PeterWithe]

Who is Alex Sanchez ? I never seen him play. I don't even know what he look like or what position he play.

A Chilean winger playing for Udinese. The only clip of him playing that I've seen involved him stepping over the ball twelve times before belting his cross into the crowd.