Season 2011/12
 

Chelsea have offered Tottenham 22 Miliion pounds for Modric, here is another club that want to buy players on the cheap.

Modric is worth double that, he is a great player.

If Chelsea came back and said ' we will give you THREE top players plus 22 mil, then we could think about it, otherwise don't waist out time.:D

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

£22 million to kick a bag of wind around in-front of a bunch of mugs who pay a fortune to watch it :td:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13789159.stm

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Why are they kicking Rooney about, I would pay £22 million to watch that:erm::D:D:D:D

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Modric is Spurs' best player by far, that was overlooked in the hype around Bale who, while a decent player, was very overrated on the back of a few good performances. I think it would be a massive loss for Spurs but also United who would be an ideal player for them, I can't think of a better (realistic) buy for United right now than Modric.

£22 million low but I don't think he is worth more than £30 million and that's pushing it. He will leave in all likelihood because he wants Champions League football and Daniel Levy, Spurs' chairman, is nothing if not pragmatic. He will accept a decent offer for Modric. No player is invaluable.

---------- Post added at 18:53 ---------- Previous post was at 18:39 ----------

In other news the 2013 Champions League Final will be held at Wembley for the second time in three years:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13783154.stm

Which means it will host the Champions League Final only 2 years after hosting the previous one. Next year the final will be held at Bayern Munich's Allianz Arena before coming back to Wembley the year after.

Cool.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

I think IF Modric goes, then l think Harry will go to.

We Spurs fans want success, and that will continue with good players, It always saddens me that if a player signs a long term contract, which he has done, then he should honour that.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Nah. You can build a better squad even if you lose your best player when the amount reaches a certain level. Harry will leave because he is obsessed with buying players, it's like a addiction, not a healthy way to run the club. Your in good hands as long as Levy is in charge.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Fixtures finally released for the 2011/12 season, first weekend looks interesting for Swansea

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Yes no player is indespensible as my team Liverpool proved with Torres going.

---------- Post added at 09:47 ---------- Previous post was at 09:45 ----------

Yes l am quite happy with my team at home to Sunderland for the opening match.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Something interesting about the fixtures - United will play home games after all six of their champions league group games. City have away games after each of their champions league games, which includes playing United, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Swansea are 5000/1 to win the Premiership :D

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Thats worth a couple of quid them.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

What's the odd on them surviving relegation?

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

What l was thinking their price should be more like 100000/1

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Nottingham Forest have generated a new club badge since the signing of McClaren

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Ah the wally with the brolly.:D:D:D

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Classic :D:D:D:D:D

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

I see Jack Wilshere is doing his best to make friends with Spurs fans on twitter...

"Don't see all the fuss about Modric wanting a move..he has done welll at Spurs but he needs to play champions league!"

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

The problem with players nowadays is that they have not got a ounce of loyalty.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Hes 25 and wants to play at the highest level and win trophies, i dont think you can blame him.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

....and why exactly should he be loyal to Spurs? Were the Spurs fans bitching and crying about loyalty when he wanted to progress his career by leaving Dinamo Zagreb for them?

When your next offered a better job with better pay are you going to reject it just out of loyalty?

I really wish people would get over the simple, obvious, inevitable fact that players transfer to and from clubs. This Modric situation isn't even a controversial case.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Strangely, I do actually agree with you here. ;)

Unless you gain all your players from an in-house academy from youth, every club is guilty of obtaining most of their team from so-called "disloyal" players.

Transferring to your arch-enemy is an exception to getting angry because your player has been sold ;)

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Newcastle have signed another frenchman

- Sylvain Marveaux (completed)
- Demba Ba (Completed)
- Cabaye (Completed)

Possibles

- Melvut Erding
- Gervinho
- Neil Taylor

Not a bad midfield come next season.

--Marveaux---Tiote----Cabaye----Ben Arfa---

Erding or Gervinho up front alongside Demba Ba.

Top 10 finish surely. Lets see if the 'Arsenal' approach pays off.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Gervinho is not going to Newcastle, even if the Arsenal deal falls though.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

What really irritates supporters is that players declare their loving loyalty and kiss the badge for their club and also sign a new contract and then 2 or 3 months later change their tone totally and then say they want to leave the club.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

l see Chelsea are set to appoint the special one II Andre Villas Boas in the next few hours.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...o-reports.html

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

I thought that this was the main point of football:erm:

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

And Barnsley are set to sign Lionel Messi later this week.:D:D:D:D

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Whats that then? Boring people to death? Playing 64,228 passes between each defender? Getting all the way to opponents 18 yard box...and passing? :LOL:

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

No, I was referring to Arsenal's transfer policy and squad. Build young and develop rather than spend a stupid amount of money on a few players that could fail to justify a price tag, Note that one of our players that came through the academy was sold for a British transfer record.

Chris Hughton and Villas-boas set to be managers in the premierleague later today.

Villas-Chelsea
Hughton-Birmingham.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Only one of them are in the premier league. ;)

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

oo Indeed! Really sorry Birmingham fans :D

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Looks like newly promoted Swansea need a new goalkeeper
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/13875692.stm

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Not quite but we have got this player?

http://www.barnsleyfc.co.uk/page/New...379919,00.html

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

How much did you put towards the transfer fee.:D:D;):D:D

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

All of it;):D:D:D:D

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Well with your millions l suppose you can pay his fee with the interest you get.:D:D:D

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Typical Welsh football management. I bet Huw Jenkins is hoping we get relegated purely for the parachute payments.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

You really cant make it up! Hope to god that is a typo haha!

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Looks like Nasri to City for £20 Million. Mostly because they are able to afford £180,000 a week wages for him :(

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

And no footballer is worth wages of £180,000 a week in my mind and especially in this worldwide age of austerity.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Arsenal generate loads of money and we can't afford £180,000 a week. One of the most profitable clubs in the country. What's the point really. Might as well make the league a franchise.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Yes and that is what it is increasingly becoming like with all these American owners.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Not really profitable if you're club is over a hundred million pound in debt like Arsenal are ;)

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

But quite a lot of the big clubs are in debt in Europe apart from some of the German clubs.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

No. Arsenal are a profitable club. The repayments and Interest for that debt is actually less then the extra income the new stadium, the cause the debt, has generated. So that debt incurred, being paid off in double quick time, has actually made the team more profitable.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

So Wes Brown and John O'shea have signed for Sunderland.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14059071.stm

They will both be missed at United, especially O'shea who brought some of my all time favourite United moments, like nutmegging Figo, playing in goal against Spurs, chipping Almunia at highbury and scoring in the 90th minute in front of the kop. I hope they do well at Sunderland and play regular football.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Charlie Adam has signed for liverpool and l believe he will be a great signing for them.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14051735.stm

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Excellent. A nice little windfall for Rangers with Adams sell on clause. :tu:

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Yes its good to spread the money around.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/foo...-football.html

Nice article on Craig Bellamy and what he does for others.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Yes the perception is that footballers are greedy but they do a lot of good work as well but the media never mention this.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Looks like Man City have found their way out of the FFP rules:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...etihad-airways

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

I think Nasri will either stay at Arsenal or transfer to United for around 23 million.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

It will still be Wastelands to us ;)

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

England Ladies just miss out on playing in the semi finals of the World Cup, a very good effort from them. :clap:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14094533.stm

Maybe the men's team should take note.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

There were several great things about watching this game, It was brilliant, the commitment from the girls, the passion to win Take note England men, and the girls were not on the same sort of money as the pansies that play in the PL.

Excellent game of football.

We should have a regular weekly game of females games of football on tv

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

I think the mens team are already pretty good at getting knocked out on pens.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

The England pansies might keep getting on knocked out on penalties, but the ladies gave more effort and sweat then the men.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Give over with the criticism of the England male team. England winning the world cup would be comparable to Spurs winning the Premierleague except the Spurs players weren't boo'd off the pitch at the end of their campaign.

Too many England fans that have expectations above the roof.

Lastest transfer news

Corinthians make £35m bid for Man City's Carlos Tevez
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14117887.stm

Bendtner has options of staying in the Premierleague with a 12m move, possible clubs being Villa, Bolton, Newcastle and a few others... Presumably half of the league bar Chelsea and Man United

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Didn't you see this coming? :shocked:

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

For someone on astronomical amounts of money Tevez is nothing more then a selfish mercenary who only cares about himself.:mad:

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Liverpool have finally agreed a fee with Aston Villa for the transfer of Stuart Downing

Should be up on the official site shortly

medical is supposedly tomorrow

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Liverpool are making some odd buys at high prices this window...

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Odd buys? perhaps and I suppose the product of the "moneyball" way of doing things where the best candidates are determined on statistical analysis with a few other metrics behind the system such as age and resale value.

In terms of the transfer fees. What has been quoted in the media thus far is a long way from reality.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

What about last transfer window when they splashed out £35million on an injured player with barely 15 EPL goals to his name.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

They are paying far too much. £20 million for Downing? It's insanity.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Go Go Liverpool! Another flop season incoming then.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

They've spent a combined £75 million on Carroll, Henderson and Downing.

I didn't think it would be possible to spend so much money for such average players.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Where do you get the impression that they are odd buys.:)

---------- Post added at 05:35 ---------- Previous post was at 05:31 ----------

l supposing that they might be average have something to do with you not supporting Liverpool and supporting some other team is the premiership.:rolleyes:

---------- Post added at 05:36 ---------- Previous post was at 05:35 ----------

Not another non Liverpool supporter.:rolleyes:

---------- Post added at 05:37 ---------- Previous post was at 05:36 ----------

That is the market rate Damian.:)

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Well some sections of our media were reporting a transfer fee of £20M for Jordan Henderson!

Bottom line is that things are now being done well and truly behind closed doors, just as they were before Moores and Parry started dragging our tradition of having respect for other clubs into the mud. The upshot is that "pet hacks" are no longer getting their scraps to feed on. Filling up column inches when there's no news is pretty much restricted to reporting vastly over-estimated transfer fees when very few people know the reality of the situation, then waffling on about how much over the odds we've paid.

Predictable and tiresome lazy journalism and people buy it. Also doesn't help when you get idiots like David Pleat and co. rambling on about such things on national radio.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

They're giving clubs like Newcastle and Sunderland tens of millions for their little-to-no investment. Works out great for the smaller clubs.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Because they are average players, albeit promising ones. Liverpool are paying the price for the players they may turn out to be rather than the ones they are now. Downing and Henderson are not, yet, players for a Champions League competing team they are players for the kind of team they are at. Downling fair enough at £10 million or so - he would fit in - Henderson again would be good for £8 or so million as he has promise.

They are pay over the odds because they are English players which command an absurd premium.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Henderson's transfer fee was closer to £8M than most people have been led to believe. Media, media tsk tsk

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Maybe they did pay a premium for them but we will know in a couple of years if they are average players and l remember the so called critics at Arsenal in the last 10 to 15 years saying why have you signed another average player or players and those players turned out to be Vieira, Petit, Bergkamp Henry and many more and despite my average knowledge of football l am sure they were not average players.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Newcaslte and Sunderland are among the 30 richest clubs in the world so really It is them laughing all the way to the bank whilst offloading an average player for a stupid sum of money.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Downing got more goals and assists than Modric last year and those fees have a lot of add ons included, I think they are doing the right thing buying British based, they are proven and that's why theres a premium, Liverpool can't afford to give anyone a season to bed in like they did with Alonso they need to hit the ground running and I for one think they will.

I don't remember anyone saying Bergkamp was average and when Henry, Viera and Petit signed people said who rather than they're average.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

The Downing deal was done in the press and through agents. Nothing behind closed doors about it. One minute he wants to sign a new contract with Villa and is thanking them for their faith in signing him with a major injury and sticking with him when he wasn't playing well and saying how he owed them a lot, and then he has a meeting with his agent, refuses to discuss a new contract, talks about leaving in the press, and hands in a transfer request.

You've got a strange idea of what behind closed doors means.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

l remember them saying that they were failed players when they played in Italy and basically said they could not cut the mustard at the higher club level.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Higher club level? Juventus and Inter were and arguably still are bigger clubs than Arsenal and Serie A was a much better league 15 years ago than it is now.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

What Downing's agent does is his business

If you think that the financials of that and any of the other deals have been aired in public then think again.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

I think that has to be disputed as to who is the bigger club and yes Serie A was better 15 years ago but has declined due to several factors which are the rise of a cash rich Premiership and Primera liga which are able to offer higher wages and a more competitive league especially in England and also their club have had a lot of huge debts and there is also the hooligan problem which is much worse in Italy then it is in England and also by the way who do you support.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

There's no real dispute they are bigger clubs, you only have to look at the clubs trophy cabinets in recent years and throughout history.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Did Inter Milan or Juventus go through the season unbeaten like Arsenal and also remember the Italian league has generally always been less competitive then the English league throughout history so it is easier to win trophys in Italy.

Now which is the bigger club as the facts say Arsenal according to the renowned Deloitte list.:);):)

http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GB/u...56f00aRCRD.htm

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

How many of those trophies were won, and how many were bought? That's the problem with the Italian league, it's corrupt to the core.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

On that there is no doubt.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Yeah.

AC Milan: 7 times Champions of Europe, 4 times runners up.
Juventus: 2 times Champions of Europe, 5 times runners up.
Arsenal: 1 time runners up.

I like Arsenal, but there's no comparing them with Milan and Juve.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

How many trophys have Arsenal won in the last 6 years and how many European Cups have Arsenal won full stop, they have 5 between them and 45 league wins and where does it say in the "renowned Deloitte list" that they are bigger, looks to me like it lists the amount of money they make per season, which is part of all what's wrong with the modern game imo. Plus I'm sure teams like Lazio, Sampdoria, Roma, Parma etc would object to being called less competitive when compared to the likes of some that have "graced" our top flight over the years.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

If you look at matches between English and Italian clubs in the last 10 years it will tell you that Englishs clubs have a superb record against Italian clubs in Europe so l have no doubt which is the superior league and also when Arsenal have played Italian sides in Europe in the last 10 years they have won the vast majority of matches.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Who was in any doubt about what's currently the better league? In terms of trophies even in the last 10 years they aren't comparable as Arsenal have just 2 leagues and 3 FA cups to show for their efforts where as Inter have 4 leagues 5 cups and a Champions League win, Juventus with all their problems have the same number of league wins as Arsenal which speaks volumes + if Arsenal are the bigger club why is their talk of Nasri leaving them to join Inter?

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

l think we better call this a score draw as we are both using different stats and viewpoints to state our points.:);):)

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

It's not really a score draw though. Inter, AC Milan and Juventus are all bigger clubs than Arsenal and i say that as an Arsenal fan (though admittedly, i have a big soft spot for Inter and Italian football in general as well).

I don't think anybody with a full, unbiased view of world football would think otherwise. Arsenal may be richer and have more fans on a worldwide scale, but this is purely because of the surge in popularity of English football - the popularity which Italian football had during the 90's. Outside of that, those Italian sides outdo Arsenal in pretty much every area. The same goes with clubs like Benfica, Porto, Bayern Munich etc etc - it's only the money and popularity of a league (or lack of) which distorts the prestigiousness of certain clubs.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

They're all big clubs with great traditions and history. Wasn't it the Woolwich Arsenal that the Italians were expecting to represent England in the "first World Cup" in the early 1900s

If the Dennis Waterman film of the Lipton trophy was accurate, the Italians expected the world renowned Woolwich Arsenal because they had the same initials as the mining team who were actually there.

In typical Alf Tupper fashion the miners beat the best that Europe could muster to win the trophy, hammering Juve in the final. :D

edit... and a quick google finds the site of the Durham miners, West Auckland AFC:

http://www.westaucklandweb.com/

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

A few years ago maybe. Newcastle couldn't get sold at £100m now they've just sold a player for £35m making one player worth nearly half of the club.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Just takes one good season for the Value to rocket back up.

Been a very good start to transfer business for us with money being spent wisely and not all on one player. Can see a above average season ahead with the Completely revamped Midfield and revamped strikers. We expect one more striker incoming but its all being kept quiet. Local sources claim its Bendtner but I never believe them.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

AC Milan did in 1991, when their league was in full pomp, infact they went 58 games unbeaten 9 more than the invincibles.

---------- Post added at 06:45 ---------- Previous post was at 06:43 ----------

Yes one of us is using trophies and the other cash, wonder what most Arsenal fans would rather have in the bank.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Well l know what l want at my club Liverpool and thats the Premiership.:);):)

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Here is a nice picture for all the Gooners, pity it won't last for long.:p::D

League table

Jim.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Big club status isn't confined to either money or trophies although it's the former that makes the difference in transfers. Historically AC Milan and Juventus are bigger clubs than Arsenal but that's not really true anymore. Juventus are let to really recover the status they lost after the scandals and Italian football itself has fallen behind the Premier League in terms of audience and money.

I think it's hard to define a club or big or not so big anyway. Man City can command some of the best players in the world and their trophy count isn't brilliant but they can pay £200,000 a week.

Re: Football Season 2011/12
 

Newcastle strikers are absolutely terrible. Shola should have gone years ago, Lovenkrands is past it, Demba Ba was a strange signing but providing his wages aren't too high he's acceptable, Best was an impulse waste of money buy and Ranger should be put out on loan or sold because he's not up to a good enough standard (yet).

Multiple strikers need to be signed, Gutierrez has an ego and no skills to back them up and Barton should have gone for the trouble he stirred a month or two ago.

If these promotion teams are any good we're in trouble.