Probably, they seem to get into England squad for just being at a big club and putting in 1 or 2 decent performances, at a smaller club they really have to prove they're good enough, bit of a hitch for him though.
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I think moving abroad might have been a better option, he needs to improve his game and that will only happen abroad, I guess he only had Fenerbahce after him so not a great choice, but better than nothing I guess.
Should have sold him to City a few years back.
The aim is to get us into the top 4 to generate more revenue and open up more streams then we can think about longer term and younger players. But in the short term it's all about experience + getting us back into the top 4, and for a squad lacking toughness and experience, buying tough experienced players is good news IMO.
And if the club really wanted to they could add more to the transfer kitty. But they want to do it on a tighter budget. Nevertheless we are rolling in money.
I have no problem with a bit of short-termism. It seems like all we ever did under Wenger was plan for a future that never came to fruition, so if some old cunts are what we need to bring us back to life that's fine. Besides, I think these days you can get way more out of a player who's hit 30 than you used to be able to.
A move abroad for him would have been good develop plus the leagues shouldn't be as physically demanding which would suit him his fragile body but I guess he and his family are very settled in London. Same reason Cech demanded to move to Arsenal and not move abroad. People and families are settled and not everyone wants to move countries.
Like it or not, the players that we've been bringing in do address our current needs, which for several areas is a crippling lack of experience, leadership, professionalism and basic depth. Where an area needs a more long-term solution then I'm sure that's what we'll go for (e.g Torreira, Leno, possibly a winger)...