Summer 2010 Transfer Talk / Unfounded Speculation

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

if he was anywhere near as good as people think he would be in WC squad

Yeah that's nothing to do with his torn hamstring at all.

[Guest av1]

Would any one take piquionne from lyon? west ham rumoured to interested.

[OutByEaster?]

I'm not talking about image, I'm talking about the current standard of the 2 teams

Who exactly do we have who is as good as Pato, Ronaldinho, Zambrotta, Nesta, Gattuso or Pirlo?

We don't have anyone who is as good as they've been, but we've plenty of players who are as good as they're going to be. Milan is an old folks home.

[beasley14]

Agree there, the last 4 are way past there best.

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

Pirlo and Gattuso are pst their best but still better than any midfielder we have to be honest.

[beasley14]

Not better than Milner last year for me. So one paced its unture aswell. They get away with it a bit due to their league been shite and so slow its death. If they came here they would be shown up now imo.

[CarewsEyebrowDesigner]

I'd have Pirlo here in a heartbeat.

Gattuso, he'd probably get sent off every match.

[VillaChris]

I would be happy with something like this...

Ireland + Onouha (both in a Milner swop).

Clyne or Matthews (maybe Clyne with Palace in administration so possibly cheaper)

Veloso (long term Petrov replacement)

Rodallega (only one of the striking links that actually excites me).

Would give us a decent range of options, either 4-5-1 or 4-4-2.

[VillaChris]

Pato is a tremendous young striker, Dunga just dosen't rate him.

He should be in the world cup squad if he was fit, much better than Grafitie for a start.

[carew_villa]

I want Mohammed Diame. He's just the type of player we need, he defends well, is strong, fast and is the best tackler in the Premiership. He's only 22 and will improve a lot. Would be fairly cheap and could become a monster of a player! Just see his goal against Sunderland to see what he can do.

He would be great alongside Milner and just playing him instead of Petrov will mean that our players can generally attack more. Oh and he's a decent passer of the ball aswell.

I've heard that we are interested in him as well as Kalinic and Altidore as a cheap option.

I think any of these three would be great as well as Matthews or Clyne.

That would mean we could get Beye's high wages off our wage bill as well as Sidwell and maybe Heskeys for players who would be on low wages compared to some in the Villa squad.

[the_eristic]

I've heard that we are interested in him as well as Kalinic and Altidore as a cheap option.

Altidore, in ~30 apps in his first season in England, picked up a goal and seven assists in a Hull team that couldn't score to save their lives. Would be an excellent Heskey replacement, as he's younger (only 20!), faster, holds the ball up nearly as well, but can actually do something with it. He'd score a LOT more in team that plays fast and puts good crosses in, too. Good shout, methinks.

[knoppy1987]

Boriello is a poor excuse for a striker, not CL quality, nowhere near in fact

Pato's technique and touch leave a lot to be desired imo don't get the hype around him

if he was anywhere near as good as people think he would be in WC squad

Borriello has been good when given a chance and he has a knack of scoring goals. Not the best, but not a poor excuse.

I am in total agreement with the Pato debate though. I don't get the hype, he just frustrates me most of the time when I watch Milan but for the fact he has a very good scoring record.

[naughty_by_nature]

This summer I'm expecting a massive clearout. I'm expecting the following players to be replaced: Carew, Heskey, Sidwell, Reo Coker, Beye, Shorey, LYoung and Davies.

Therefore we need two improvements on our strikers. Two new centre mids, two right backs and a left back.

Davies needn't be replaced in the transfer market. Dunne, Cuellar and Collins are all better than he is. Ciaran Clark is a nice prospect and should be 4th choice. Centre backs were sorted last season and don't need any replacing.

Right backs as per usual are a problem area for us. LYoung moving on is a shame but i really like the idea of Micah Richards. Thought he was poor as a centre back but feel he has excellent potential to excel as a right back and would give us some serious impetus going forward that Cuellar doesn't. Man City's pursuit for big names works to our advantage as it did with Dunne. Can't imagine he would cost over the odds.

I like Nathaniel Clyne as our backup right back and cover on the left to. Really mature footballer who is good defensively. Can't imagine we would be breaking the bank for him tbh.

At a cut price I like the idea of Nader Belhadj. He was a prick when he played us but I like him as a player. He has his flaws defensively and is brilliant going forward. If need be he can play at left back but for me he can challenge Downing. Hes underrated imo on the left of midfield and represents excellent value for money.

Petrov for me doesn't have the legs anymore and should be a fringe player. Considering our high tempo football Stephen Ireland is a must in my opinion. Real energy and stamina. He can pass and he can unlock defences. Him and Milner would be immense. Delphs injury means another good centre mid is a neccesity and im liking the look of Graham Dorrans. Another guy with an eye for a pass and a good engine. Give us four quality centre mids and one fading one. A huge improvement on Reo Coker and Sidwell and more versatile positions wise.

Downing/Young/Albrighton/Belhadj works for me. Not sold on Downing yet but heres hoping he can perform next season.

The less said about Heskey the better. Don't like Carew either. His deficiencies outweigh his benefits. He loses the ball, is lazy, inconsistent and generally don't feel he fits into our way of playing.

Providing the price is right I would love Robbie Keane at the club. He is an intelligent footballer. Will link up well with Milner and Ireland and will score nearly as many as Carew whilst providing more for the team. Him and Gabbi to start for me. The other striker I like is Kevin Doyle. Again another smart footballer who I can just see doing so well at a better club than Wolves. A seriously underrated footballer. Also with Delfouneso likely to get more game time we have a solid and varied set of strikers.

GK Friedel/Guzan

LB Warnock/Clyne

RB Richards/Clyne

CB Dunne/Collins

CB Cuellar/Clark

CM Milner/Dorrans/Delph

CM Ireland/Petrov

LM Downing/Belhadj

RM Young/Albrighton

CF Gabbi/Delfouneso

CF Keane/Doyle

Outs - Carew swap for Keane? , Heskey 2m, Sidwell 3m, Reo Coker 4m, Beye 1m, Shorey 2m, LYoung 3m, Davies 5m = £20m gained

Ins - Richards 7m, Belhadj 2m, Clyne 2m, Ireland 6m, Dorrans 8m, Keane - swap for Carew, Doyle 10m =£35m spent

That means £15m spending in total and a huge improvement to the squad. Values may be slightly off but we certainly don't need to spend £30m to significantly improve the side.

[rjw63]

Belhadj????? He's **** demented.

Did you see what he did in the ACN? I bet MON saw it too, dirty bastard

[AshVilla]

How much would Nzonzi cost?

[AshVilla]

Birmingham City: Aston Villa tried to snatch Nikola Zigic from Blues

May 28 2010 by Colin Tattum, Birmingham Mail

ASTON Villa made an 11th hour attempt to snatch Nikola Zigic from Blues clutches, it has been revealed.

The Serbia star’s agent took a desperate call from Villa as negotiations over his £6 million transfer to Blues were in full swing.

According to Milan Calasan, Villa ‘begged’ Zigic to hold off committing himself until he had met with Martin O’Neill.

Talk Blues with Colin Tattum in his live Q&A from 12.30pm today

They requested that he waited for a couple of days because O’Neill is on holiday and has to be present and ‘hands on’ when transfers are being negotiated.

But Calasan said there was no question of Zigic not going through with his move from Valencia to Blues – and that is despite Manchester City being on the scene too.

“We were contacted by Aston Villa on the day that we had already arrived in Birmingham and were talking to them,” said Calasan.

“They begged us to wait a while. Without Martin O’Neill no decision can be taken, and he’s on holiday.

“In that case, there was nothing more logical than to finish a job with the club where all the doors were open.”

Calasan added: “In Birmingham, we had a great welcome.

“We were soon joined by Alex McLeish in the Radisson Hotel, who was accompanied by his wife, and he spent an hour chatting with Zigic.”

The revelation will delight Blues fans and enhance Zigic’s standing with them and dismay supporters across the city divide, who have now seen their rivals act swiftly to splash out £12 million on Zigic and Manchester United’s Ben Foster.

O’Neill had been tipped for a double swoop on Zigic and Valencia right-back Miguel, but Blues had done plenty of groundwork on the striker, who has made no secret of his desire to play in the Premier League.

Calasan revealed that he and Zigic stopped off on their way to Birmingham in Zurich to talk to a contingent from Eastlands.

In Switzerland we met with a representative of Manchester City, we wanted to listen, to hear his plans, before we met with the leadership of Birmingham.

“They introduced into the game the eventual sale of Adebayor, so it was immediately clear that everything was long-term - and so it was no surprise that we automatically withdrew from everything.”

McLeish impressed Zigic when they came face to face for the first time on Wednesday, said Calasan.

And assurances that he would be central to his plans was what Zigic wanted to hear.

Zigic suffered due to a lack of regular starting action at Valencia, and was loaned back out to former club Racing Santander in the second part of 2008-09.

“McLeish believes in Zigic, that he’ll be the main trump card for Birmingham in the coming seasons,” said Calasan.

“For players, it’s really important to have the support of the coach, it’s immediately easier, to know that he’s going to play every minute, and that’s exactly what Zigic didn’t have during his stay in Valencia.”

Zigic penned a four-year contract, worth in around £50,000-a-week that makes him Blues top earner.

Zigic said it was important to settle his future quickly.

“I am delighted to get the deal sorted way before the World Cup starts,” he admitted.

“I can now concentrate on my World Cup commitments and as soon as that finishes I’ll be really looking forward to starting work at Birmingham.”

Serbia take on Ghana, Germany and Australia in Group D in South Africa, with their first match on June 13 against Ghana in Pretoria.

Zigic flew out of Birmingham immediately after concluding his transfer and linked up with Serbia at their Austrian training base.

Shame would have been a decent addition at that price.

[naughty_by_nature]

Not a defence for him but Algeria/Egypt was always gonna end up with sendings off. Hes a hot headed guy but sometimes thats indicative of a will to win. His challenge against us that he didnt see red for was pretty bad too. But imo he's a really talented player, hes quick, can dribble, real strong and he can cross. He better more so up top than at the back and considering the price he would probably come at I can't see better options available.

[lexicon]

Keane - past it and would offer us very little.

Doyle :| - so average.

Any Irish striker ever

Belhadj :bonk: Nuts

Richards Technically he has pretty much zero ability and lost pace when he bulked up.

Ireland :| an inconsistent pisshead.

Dorrans - I've never seen play so can't comment.

I'd quite like Clyne though.

[fran_villa]

Keane - past it and would offer us very little.

Doyle :| - so average.

Any Irish striker ever

Belhadj :bonk: Nuts

Richards Technically he has pretty much zero ability and lost pace when he bulked up.

Ireland :| an inconsistent pisshead.

Dorrans - I've never seen play so can't comment.

I'd quite like Clyne though.

Im sure you where one of the peoe saying dunne was shit last summer,Doyle is a great player and would do very well in in our team.

[YankeeinMadrid]

I want Mohammed Diame. He's just the type of player we need, he defends well, is strong, fast and is the best tackler in the Premiership. He's only 22 and will improve a lot. Would be fairly cheap and could become a monster of a player! Just see his goal against Sunderland to see what he can do.

He would be great alongside Milner and just playing him instead of Petrov will mean that our players can generally attack more. Oh and he's a decent passer of the ball aswell.

I've heard that we are interested in him as well as Kalinic and Altidore as a cheap option.

Diame is very, very good. He has a non-stop motor and is an excellent tackler. I don't recall how much Wigan paid Rayo Vallecano (Spain's 2nd division) for him, but it couldn't have been more than 2m.

If I recall correctly, he had a hear murmor scare or something like that. Does anyone remember that?

Altidore is American, scored a solid goal against Spain (who we beat) in the Confederations Cup last summer. He still belongs to Villareal I believe and was only on loan to Hull. They paid close to 9 or 10m for him 2 years ago. Maybe they'd sell him for a bit less?