Football The 2015/2016 Season Thread

[Shagrat]

4 games in and Man City already have a 5 point lead over Man Utd and Arsenal and an 8 point lead over Chelsea!!

 

[Embattle]

The worst thing about yesterdays result is I can't honestly mock Man U atm

 

[soze]

Williams is superb.

Swansea fan I know reckons he is a "big game Charlie" he is great in a big game but on a Tuesday night at Stoke with no cameras he can be on the crap side. Arsenal have nearly bought him about 4 seasons on the trot if you listen to the press.

 

[Ch3tan]

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/34107092

No idea about him.

 

[Shagrat]

£36.6 million?!? what was it van gaal said, no panic buys?

 

[caLLous]

Ridiculous money. Spurs were in for him for about half of the value that's being thrown around now (£36m) and then he signed a new contract. He's good, there's no doubt about it, but £36m for a 19 year old is crazy.

 

[Trem]

Ridiculous money. Spurs were in for him for about half of the value that's being thrown around now (£36m) and then he signed a new contract. He's good, there's no doubt about it, but £36m for a 19 year old is crazy.

Is it anymore crazy than what was paid for Sterling though? Especially how he's been playing.

 

[caLLous]

No, that was batshit as well. Although Sterling has prem experience, I suppose.

 

[Trem]

No, that was batshit as well. Although Sterling has prem experience, I suppose.

...and he's English :/

 

[caLLous]

Some thoughts on Anthony Martial: in terms of characteristics/role he's something between a second striker & a centre forward.

Outstanding features: smart movement, excellent close control/touch (and overall technical ability), makes everything look simple

Very strong in 1v1 situations, obviously very quick/change of pace, surprisingly composed in front of goal for such a young player

As a vague reference he can in some way be reminiscent of a young Thierry Henry (not the spitting image, but there are similarities)

On the flip side there are issues about consistency, ability to impose himself physically and possibly a certain lack of determination

As for the price, Monaco clearly believe Martial is to become a world beater in a 1-2 year perspective (many "insiders" seem to agree)

So it's all about future projections & pricing of potential. Could be worth 10 million in a year, could be worth 80 million...

https://twitter.com/karlsentk (ex-Monaco DoF and scout)

 

[Trem]

I see these things, I hear about these players from France and Spain and Italy and they never ever do well hear apart from the ageing legends (Zola, Ravanelli some others my brain forgot). If they begin their career early enough here they seem to do very well. So many big money flops in recent times (all seem to be bought by Newcastle or Liverpool). More clubs need to adopt Southamptons approach (and scouts).

I like LVG and I like Rodgers but I am rapidly thinking neither are very good at buying the right players for this league. I would keep Hernandez for starters.

 

[caLLous]

...I would keep Hernandez for starters.

It looks like he's on his way to Leverkusen.

 

[Trem]

It looks like he's on his way to Leverkusen.

Aye I know, I just don't get it, not at all. Fat lad is doing nothing for you and they are sending another really quite decent striker away. Beggers belief.

 

[soze]

Papers are saying West Ham rejected him because he wanted £50k+ per goal on top of his wages.

 

[Trem]

Greedy shit.

 

[CorNokZ]

The Danish talent, Pione Sisto, turned down a major deal with West Ham; where the manager promised him a role in the starting 11. He didnt feel ready for the Premier League and he didn't think that he would fit in at West Ham.

 

[caLLous]

I heard talk of € 60m + Rojo for Martial and thought "lols whatever" but now L'Equipe is (unofficially) saying that Martial to United is done for... € 80m!

 

[caLLous]

Looks like De Gea might be heading Spainwards after all (with Navas going the other way as part of the deal). Keep your grubby mits of Lloris though.

 

[Billargh]

Now is as good a time as any to post this again:

 

[Ch3tan]

Hernandez gone, lindegaard gone, januzaj gone on loan. De Gea fee agreed, navas the other way.... What is LVG up to?

 

[caLLous]

Di Marzio thinks Martial is done for € 60m.

 

[soze]

That guy is anything from €30-€80mil It must be like €30 raising to €50 with extras or something.

 

[Raven]

A bit of a risk (an understatement!) could come back to bite him but could be an excellent addition. At least 10mil of that will be because Monaco know how desperate UTD were for a forward.

 

[Trem]

United are rapidly becoming as big a joke as Liverpool in the transfer market. Pathetic.

Where are the Beckhams, Scholes, Giggs etc.

Feels like they are trying to compete with City who are a bought team. United have a history of home grown players and its being pissed up the wall.

Makes me dislike them even more.

 

[CorNokZ]

Talked to some Frenchie friends of mine and they say French media has him as potentially the new Henry

 

[caLLous]

It's true he's very highly regarded.

I remember when City were just the "noisy neighbours" and Ferguson was moaning about them saying United just weren't the sort of club to go out splashing 10s of millions on players... Oh how the times have changed.

 

[soze]

I am not going to enjoy tomorrow I just do not see us doing anything. 5% shots on target though we need to do something. I suspect a big article about how close Welbeck is to match fitness tomorrow. Followed by Wenger talking about what a natural finisher he is.

 

[Embattle]

I can see why Man U fans are concerned, LVG just doesn't seem right nor how the club is currently being run.

 

[Raven]

It is something that started under AF and he did little to resolve it, there were/are few world class players coming through the ranks at UTD these days.

They were extremely lucky with the golden generation, plus the had the patience.

The games changed now though, clubs want instant success.

 

[DaGaffer]

I do get the feeling that a lot of players are crossing United off their potential clubs list because of LVG's reputation. There doesn't seem to be a lot of room for individuality in his setup. He's 100% "adapt to the system" with no variation to allowances for the player's abilities. Thing is, when his system works, it works brilliantly, but when it doesn't (which is more often than not over the last few years, not just at United) you end up with a system that spins its wheels and goes nowhere.