[Football] Summer Transfers
 

Interesting day on the transfer front.


Im quite liking this whole center midfielder merry go round between the nearly-clubs. Its a strange one particularly because its not clear out of Barton/Parker/Reo-Coker, who is actually the better player. All three of them are troubled at their current clubs; for different reasons, and all three have question marks by their names.

Barton for 5.5m to either Newcastle/West Ham
Reo-Coker for 7m to probably Aston Villa
Parker to Wham for 7m

All three of them are gambles and im not really sure what i think of the fees. You can make cases for all of them but the issue is really that theres a ridiculous premium on English players. It would be difficult, for example, to see a player from Celtic go for the same amount of money, even if they were a more proven goalscorer, had played well in europe and on the international stage, and didnt have disciplinary/motivational issues.

Speaking of which, Villa apparentally want Nakamura.

If Celtic have any ****ing clue whatsoever they will sell; for a number of reasons;

1/ Nakamura is absurdly overrated because hes a flair player in a non flair league
2/ Nakamura is 28 or something so he's not going to get any better
3/ Nakamura lacks a little bit of pace at the top level (shown up against AC milan in particular)
4/ Nakamura has had a season full of high profile goals and skills etc that would be impossible to replicate next year, for example hes never going to score 2 amazing free kicks vs Man Utd in the same year again, so theres not going to be a better time to sell him than now.
5/ Despite all this Nakamura is still probably celtics best or second best attacking player. But our team next year is going to be so ****ing shit that theres no point hanging on to any of our assets in a desperate attempt to stem the flow of our shitness. We might as well just liquidate, asset strip, and come third or some shit because it would be less embarrassing than pretending celtic have a title worthy team.

Given all the merchandising potential that comes with the Nakamura brand i'd be suprised if we got less than 7m for him; probably more.

Re: [Football] Summer Transfers
 

Incidentally; http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...ck/6718219.stm

This is probably the most disrespectful bid i've ever seen in football history.

400k on a half now half later basis! Hilarious for a player;

with 34 goals in 87 starts in Scotland.
20 years old and in the scotland squad
who Arsene Wenger ran the rule over earlier in the season
still with 3 years of his contract to run.


Should be going for at least 2.5m and i wouldn't be suprised to see his value go up further once he's at a bigger team.

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That Naysmith offer is a joke, just shows how arrogant the Old Firm clubs can be I guess. We were fairly close to signing him but decided that he'd be better off in Scotland for a while. In fact, I'd call that offer reprehensible. Naysmith needs a year or so more in Scotland to run riot against defences and then to come down to an English club that plays in Europe.


You're right about Barton/Parker/Reo Coker all being worth about the same amount - Barton's just got a lower release fee I think, if not, it's probably because of his history and the reason that he's leaving the club - they want to sell. I'm not sure which one is better - Barton had a great start to the season, Parker was superb for Charlton and Reo Coker is a good prospect but a ****.

As for Nakamura, you make a good argument. It's worth getting the money in for him considering the amount that Lerner is pumping into Villa.

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Usuallly; 99% of time, re the old firm and arrogance and disgraceful offers, you are right.

However, considering we've just spent 4.5m on scott brown, we're free from that tag for a while. We're also free of money and free of common sense.

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It's a lovely summer evening, my mates are in the pub and I'm at home on my laptop watching a shitty stream of Portugal vs. Al-Salmiya (A club side from the Kuwait first division) just so I can run my eye over United's new winger Nani.

:(

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Sure as fk dont hope we buy Nakamura for that much. 4m sounds about right :)

Im also hearing were interested in as many as 3(!) WBA players none of which shockingly enough is Curtis Davies.
Im fine with us buying Reo Cooker, hes greatwhen in form, but we need to start buying in a class foward soon before we spend all our cash elsewhere.

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why do you need another forward when you have carew/agbonlahor/moore/maloney?

Also for £4m, i'd keep nakamura, as he's worth that to us in TV rights and shirt sales.

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That's because we're signing him :cool:

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We need a proven goalscorers. At the moment all we have is great 'partners' and wide players. We need someone who is a guaranteed 20 goals a season.

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I don't think 7m is too much for an England international.

I am not sure i even want barton he sounds like a total thug! Newcastle have enough injury problems as it is!

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Have you watched an England international lately? ;)

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Remember that hilarious brazil scam when club teams were paying the manager to play shit players so they could sell them on for vastly inflated fees to stupid european clubs? Yeah, at least that'd be understandable.

PS I don't think 200 odd minutes of football between three players makes them "internationals" in any meaningful sense. After all phil neville.

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If you do he will be a star.

By far the best player at West Brom and I would probably add to that the Championship.

This kid is young, hungry and commands the back line. Reminds of Sol Campbell or John Terry. Likes to get stuck in and is a true leader.

I wish to god villa would sign him. Him, Kamara and McShane for me. Koumas is a tad bit overated imo.

Out of Barton, Parker and Reo-Coker.

For me Parker is overated.

Barton is a class player, I really rate him. He was probably the difference between Man city staying up and going down last season, not Micah "I'm injured" Richards. But he is a cnut. His brother killed someone. He smacked up a team mate and in general has serious mental problems.

If Brian Clough was alive, he would sort him out. I reckon though Barton will be quality and a bit like Roy Keane as a player.

Reo-Coker is probably the safe option of all three.

He had a fantastic season 2005/2006. West Hams player of the season. He is a brilliant box to box midfielder and can command his role well. He can also score a fair few goals, which is needed from a midfielder these days.

He is also the England Under 21 Captain and potentially a huge sucess. He has years ahead of him and I believe amongst players like Agbonlahor, Moore, Young, Cahill, Gardner he will fit right in. Young, hungry and bags of energy.

Maloney is no where near the finished article yet. He is good but I don't think he is quite up to speed with the premiership (he has said so himself). Moore and Agbonlahor are both young. In my opinion Luke Moore is the best striker we have at the club, but gabby and luke shouldn't at there age be playing 40 odd games a season.

We should have Carew and say Defoe, with moore and agbonlahor pushing for a place in the team. Keep it competitive, keep them on their toes etc. For good sake O'Neill don't sell Luke Moore.

Villa also have a couple of wonderkids coming through. One in particular is Zoltan Stieber, so that's a name to look out for and also a 16 year old called Nathan Delfonso.

I hope Villa sign Sneijder. Apparently the Valencia deal has fallen through. So I want to see Villa go in with an offer Ajax can't refuse and bring him into the squad.

Then all we will need is a striker, right back and goalkeeper (craig gordon please) and Villa will be challenging in the top 6.

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if Villa has 15 millions euros, they can buy him.

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We do, as long as a more sucessful club of late don't come in and try to buy him I think he could be ours. He was splashed across the back of the Birmingham Mail tonight (Birminghams daily evening paper) so fingers crossed.

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there are stunningly few players guarenteed 20 goals a season

(although that is premiership only not overall goals for the season obviously, still the point stands)

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We need someone like McCarthy\Berbatov\Bent then

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Spotted this and thought you might appreciate it - Skysports link



:rolleyes:

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400k -> 1.4 within the space of a day. you get the feeling even the huns knew what a comedy offer it was. Naismith looks like a good player; i reckon 2.5m is fair.

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Interesting Carew, Maloney and Young have had a good couple of days in the Euros

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Parker is overated. £7k is good business. He was exposed by Butt in the latter half of the season. Speaking of the latter, I've rarely seen a player turn around the fans like he has. Don't say a lot though really.

I have regular correspondence with a WHFC supporter. RC is also overated according.

As for Joey, I reckon Big Sam must of had him pinned against the wall by the neck to sign. Maybe, that's just what the kid needs.

I hope 5th place is not going to be the only interesting highlight of next season.

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5th is an outside possibility at best for your mob.

Also, i exposed your mothers butt the latter half of the season.

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I get the impression that of the three Barton, Parker and Reo Coker, Barton is undoubtedly the best player despite him being an utter ****.

I think Big Sam might be the kind of figure who can look after him and get the most out of him.

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on current form, for sure. On potential at their peak, probably reo-coker. I think its just easy to think barton is the best of the three because hes the most noticeable attacking player currently

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On the other hand you could just argue that he's dragged a really bad team up to being one that survived quite easily in the end.

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this is one transfer I didn't see going though.

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She's still smiling.

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It's a surprise but not unwelcome. The talk up here is that whilst he remains as chairman for the time being, it's not going to be long before he's wheeled into the wings. The clubs listed, I guess they want some stability in the city before Ashley takes it private.

Sulky has signed today, Haim could be next. I'm getting that little excited feeling in my belly, experience tells me not to, but I just can't help myself.

Never mind your 5th place Deffah :p

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Don't you get that feeling every season when you sign a Geordie Galactico and forget how shit your team actually is.

Newcastle will need a lot of work on it. Hope Allardyce doesn't **** it up by signing one year wonders like he did at Bolton.

With newcastle he should build a team which is strong and has good mix of youth and experience. Not rely on paying stupid wages (although newcastle do that already) and mercenaries.

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Pig, did you direct The Man Who Fell To Earth, because I feel like David Bowie right now?

It goes without saying we need a lot of work, from the top down.

Anybody fancy Carr or Babayaro?

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Gotta be having a laugh.

We are getting rid of our dead weight but beyond that our future starts now.

We have the academy (something newcastle should invest more in), we have one of the best training grounds in the world (once again, newcastle have a bad rep here, injuries lol.) and we have a brilliant manager.

We also have a few cracking players, a bloody brilliant chairman who hates the spotlight and a CEO many would die for.

The futures bright.

Aston Villa, the beautiful name, in the beautiful game.

As a villa fan my only bit of advice to you would be dont expect miracles overnight. Organic growth is a lot better, give the board and manager a couple of years. The current newcastle team smells of bobby robson, souness, roeder.

You need allardyce to invest and put a stamp on the team. I am sure he will do that.

Good times ahead for giants of the premiership

Just need Everton to be taken over and the premiership becomes interesting again, with a good 8 big clubs (fans, stadia, revenue, spend power etc).

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i think aston villa is the ugliest name

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Paging one more Soviet oil billionaire slash thief.

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Not as bad as Crewe Alexandria or Port Vale.

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You fellas arent the only ones feeling optimistic... fixtures out next thursday, exciting times...

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I personally think Scott Parkers better than Barton and Reo Coker and I'm surprised that Big Sams let him go for Barton.

Reo Coker has the talent to be a top player but his attitude is all wrong and I don't see that changing at Villa. Villa is too much of a 'small club' nowadays and he will just spend his time thinking hes a big fish in a small pond and trying to engineer a move to one of the big 4 likes hes done this season with WH.

Barton I think isnt that good from a talent pov. Not that hes a bad player mind you, he's one of these players imho who may lack natural talent but gets around that with grit and determination. The problem is he lets himself down with lack of discipline.

Parker on the other hand can do the tough role that Barton can do but also has the natural ability and flair of Reo Cocker. In the games ive seen Newcastle play this season he has always shone out and he his commitment has always been brilliant

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Villa are a small club?

Since when? Get your facts straight before you post drivel on these boards. To add to that, if anyone out of the three managers can have an impact on a player it is Martin O'Neill. All this "Allardyce works miracles" is bollacks. He works "miracles" because he gives the players short contracts, pays them a shitload and ships them out if they don't perform. No miracle in that sunshine.

Once again, get your facts straight.

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In the last ten years they haven't won a trophy, or made it to the final of a meaningful trophy or finished higher than sixth in the league. Their top ten transfers in this time period include Stan Collymore and Bosko Balaban. It's hilarious how quickly football fans can become ridiculously disillusioned and in turn vehemently supportive of their club.

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The other day Yeovil town on their official website called Portsmouth "premiership giants". My head actually exploded.

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Collymore was good, very good, when Villa bought him. It's not really a criticism of Villa as a "big club" to mention him.

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You can be a club based in a major city, with massive support and a great history but in football terms you are only a 'big club' when you winning things and achieving good league standings.

As JBG said you haven't won a trophy in 10 years (and then it was the weakest of them) and since then haven't appeared in a major cup final or finished above 6th and players joining aren't joining what they consider a big club and are probably joining as a stepping stone to a 'big club'

Yes Villa are probably on the up but Lerner isn't Abramavich and isn't going to buy a complete squad of world class players so getting the big club tag back is still a good few years off.

Reo Coker has made it clear he thinks he should be playing for Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool or Arsenal and while Villas probably a step up from WH your his stepping stone because the top 4 don't want him atm (probably due to his antics this season) and I think no manager will get over that problem unless they can almost overnight make the club a serious contender to replace one of the big 4


On the Allardyce thing I think your being a little harsh and clearly dont know Boltons situation if you think he just throws money at it. Boltons Budget is low and Villa have probably thrown more money at players in both wages and transfers over the last few seasons. Admittedly the fact that alot of signings are free signing will mean theres more money available for signing on fees but I doubt it rivals the small clubs that should be big clubs (Man City, Spurs, Newcastle, Everton, Villa and such like). Thats not saying I think hes some Messiah or anything. This season will tell but I think he may be a 'low expectation' manager that works well on low budgets and smaller clubs but who might struggle at a club with money and high expectations unlike O'Neill who will do well and can do well at any level

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Back in the days (the 90s), Liverpool were unable to win the league and qualify for the Champions League yet they were still classified as a big club. It was only in the late 90s that they started winning trophies again.

Your definition of a "big club" is pretty distorted in my opinion. Villa has always been a big club... just a sleeping one.

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Liverpool were the most successful club in British footballing history over a period of several decades, whereas Aston Villa at their peak had a couple of years success where they won a European Cup and a single league title. If Aston Villa are a big club based on that then so are Aberdeen.

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Blackburn were thought of a big club because, no offense to Blackburn, they had money poured into them, and they were thought of as "a big club" for about 2 years. Looking at the league finishes after Jack Walker bought the club:

Division 2, 91: 19th
Division 2, 92: Playoffs, promoted to the Premiership, the first time in the top division for 26 years
Premiership, 93: 4th
Premiership, 94: 2nd
Premiership, 95: 1st
Premiership, 96 7th
Premiership, 97: 13th

with relegation following 2 years later.

They were not throught of as a big club because of the fanbase (Blackburn isn't a large city, and they have large amounts of local competition from the other NW clubs, such as the Manchester pair in the top division), or because of a history in the top flight. They were thought of as a big club because they won the premiership after spending an enormous amount of money, and as soon as this was not the case they were no longer, as you say, a big club.

Big clubs are more about just winning things - Spurs haven't won anything in a while (League cup in 99, wooooo), but they're always going to be able to pick up, and keep, better players than Middlesbrough - and that, in the end, is what being a "big club" means. Having a large fan base can make you a big club, being rich or having a good location can. So can winning things, but it depends what you win: a cup victory doesn't mean diddly squat in the long term, and the league title is a harder club to break into now than ever before.

To say that there only exists, in terms of "big clubs" the so-called "big four" is to oversimplify the situation somewhat. They are the biggest clubs, but there still exist teams that they cannot buy players from, even players without ties to the clubs.

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I can't see how blackburn could ever have been considered a big club in recent history! Sure, a club capable of winning the prem, but not a big club.

In terms of what these clubs have achieved in their lifetimes, I can't separate four clubs from the rest. There's huge differences across the board. I'd say Everton and Spurs have achieved far more than say Newcastle and Villa. Likewise, there's a huge gap between Liverpool's successes and what any of the above have achieved.

I find it inevitable that Chelsea will be up there with the best teams, but I certainly wouldn't say they are now, or for that matter anywhere close.

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I wouldnt say that being 'big' has much to do with what youve won - I'd say its more to do with history, the size of your fanbase, and (most importantly) how much you matter on a global scale. Villa arent a big club because noone outside England is likely to support or care about them, and even within England you arent likely to find many fans outside Birmingham. The big clubs in the UK are probably Man United, Liverpool, Celtic and then maybe Arsenal somewhere behind since theyre the only ones that have had any sustained relevance to people outside Britain and their respective cities.

Chelsea arent a big club at all; theyre currently successful but theyll be back to their normal level of mediocrity within 15 years or so since their fanbase cant sustain what theyre currently doing without huge cash injections at the top which arent going to keep up long term.

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All this Blackburn bashing :(

Rovers never have been a big club and there isn't a single supporter that would say we have. I am pretty sure we are the only team in the Premiership that actually comes from a town rather than a city, we have the smallest population of any Premiership team (~120k), yet we regularly get into the top 10 and win the occasional trophy (Premiership and Worthington cup). Yes we had money pumped into us but unlike most other Premiership clubs Jack Walker was a true supporter born and bred in Blackburn.

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Though, if they're successful for a decade or so, I don't doubt they'll pick up a lot of new genuine* fans along the way. It's not just about the town/city the club's based in. Unfortunately, at a grand a season ticket or whatever Chelsea's on now, a lot of the real fans are priced out of the game anyway.


*Sure, most won't have any ties with Chelsea the place, but they'll stick with the club for better or worse. They'll also pick up a lot of worthless fans, but we know that they aren't going to make a difference in the long run.

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Saying Blackburn isn't a big club isn't necessarily knocking it. I actually enjoy watching first division football to the prem and have done for years. I'm certain I'd have more fun being a Wolverhampton fan to a Villa fan for example (though the manager does my head in).

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All this talk on who is a big club or not is giving me a headache it's all relative.

Newcastle have great outside UK support, most likely cos of Kevin Keegan :)

I never really thought of Aston villa as a big club but apparently they 4th most successfully club in England.

But having said that pig are you really happy with Villa's 11th place Newcastle finish 13th with the worst injury criss ever and the manger goes. Whilst Martin O'Neil is proclaimed the best thing since sliced bread.
I'm not bating you or anything pig I highly rate him too and was so disappointed when i heard he was turned down for the England job!

Big Sam spend next to nothing at Bolton so i dunno where the impression splash the cash came from?

P.S someone tell Big Sam he can spend some money if he wants to :D
Ok lets try to get back to the purpose of the thread.

I'm actually more excited about Mark Viduka than Joey Barton i rate Viduka very highly and he is a proven player and i'm still worried about Owen. Also can you guys tell me what you think of Tal Ben Haim? As i know nought about any football club outside of Newcastle :)