Winter Transfer Speculation and Shit.

[Munchies]

I love talking about players knowing we can actually afford them now...

We could before aswell tbf

Chances of actually spending it though still remain to be seen. We supposedly had £70m last summer, spent £32m net. Could have brought in a top striker and we'd have walked the title.

[Munchies]

That Norweigan reporter has just said that Holtby is in Germany, presumably signing for Shalke

https://twitter.com/JanAageFjortoft/...41319070625792

Surely it won't happen again ?

[JonasTC]

I'd keep a close eye on the management / chairmen situation at Southampton, and maybe have another look at Wanyama in the summer? Thought he was looking good before he got injured...

Yep, he's a beast. Had an amazing game when Celtic won over Barca, scored and defended the midfield like he was 3 men. Wouldnt mind him here.

But as others are saying, Pogba would be ideal. He will be as good as Yaya Toure (if he isnt already), but seems to have more discipline when being played as the holding midfielder. Juventus have already said they will never be able to offer him more than smth like 70k/week, so they know the richer clubs will get him one day. We should call them up, offer 40m and offer him 80k+/week. I think he would love to come here and help us win something and rub it in ManU's face for not playing him :D

[Grebbo]

We have zero chance of signing Pogba. We had the chance to buy him for peanuts but he snubbed us for Man U, we then had another chance to buy him for peanuts but he joined Juve. No way will we spunk £30m+ on a player who we had two chances to sign for peanuts.

[JonasTC]

We have zero chance of signing Pogba. We had the chance to buy him for peanuts but he snubbed us for Man U, we then had another chance to buy him for peanuts but he joined Juve. No way will we spunk £30m+ on a player who we had two chances to sign for peanuts.

Dat logic

[Marc Overmars]

Yeah Pogba is great, one of the top all round CM's in the game at the moment.

[AFC Leveller]

Pogba is the best young CM out there and everyone in Europe is after him so i doubt we'd get him.

This window is a real opportunity for us to strengthen and go for the title properly, sign drax, Vucininc/Berbatov and we should be good to go.

[I am invisible]

We could before aswell tbf

Chances of actually spending it though still remain to be seen. We supposedly had £70m last summer, spent £32m net. Could have brought in a top striker and we'd have walked the title.

Yeah, I know what you mean but I can understand why we kept things cautious until all these new deals were officially signed and set in stone - there's a big difference between spending that kind of money and knowing it will be back in the bank at the start of every season, and spending that kind of money knowing it's all you have left. IMO these new deals we've signed are as much about the sense of freedom it gives us to spend as they are about the increased numbers...

[Munchies]

Yeah, I know what you mean but I can understand why we kept things cautious until all these new deals were officially signed and set in stone - there's a big difference between spending that kind of money and knowing it will be back in the bank at the start of every season, and spending that kind of money knowing it's all you have left. IMO these new deals we've signed are as much about the sense of freedom it gives us to spend as they are about the increased numbers...

Yeah, everything is certainly on the up now

We're strongly linked with Matuidi right now (PSG). He's available on a free in the summer, so PSG want to sell now
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2892/...idfield-crisis

---
Manchester City in their annual report show an incredible £610m spent on transfer fees since 2008 when Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi took over.
https://twitter.com/david_conn/statu...60941534289920

Cost £210m more than our stadium . What a joke.

[Power n Glory]

One bad game (Arteta's first after an injury lay-off) at a tough opponent away from home in which most of the team was rubbish is vindication for years of Song's meandering lethargy and brainfarts? I don't think he's a bad player. He's almost like David Luiz in that any position you play him in, he just doesn't quite fit. An in-between player, if such a thing exists.

I don't think Flamini is good enough to be a regular either. He's basically a slightly better version of Scott Parker. Just because he's the only one who shows a bit of physicality, he seems to have been turned into a mythical figure who has transformed the team. Even though he's not started that regularly or been crucial to our results at all.

Arteta isn't perfect. Ideally, we'd have someone with Arteta's calmness in the centre, but with more mobility and athleticism. But our results and performances with Arteta in the side over the last three seasons have been much better than when he's been missing. It's not one of those factual anomalies you can twist, it bears out if you watch our games.

People still advocating Flamini over Arteta must be watching something else entirely.

I think you’ve been a tad bit harsh on Song in your initial post. Song played at time where our defensive philosophy was keep the ball, keep a highline and out score our opponent. They score 1, we score 2. Our CB pairings were terrible and they really needed protecting because they couldn’t defend for toffee. I seriously doubt he’d struggle to win a place from Flamini and Arteta. I like Flam but his passing can be poor, he’s not great when it comes to ball distribution and I wouldn’t say he’s miles ahead in the discipline and intelligence department.

Arteta is the brains of the duo but he lacks the physicality and engine. Just look at the second goal and he struggles to cover ground. His distribution is better than Flamini’s but he struggles to play on the pivot because he’s slow and he’s not that great technically when the ball is played into his feet. He can’t turn away from his man to pass it off smoothly and he isn’t big enough to ride the challenge.

Song had good days and bad but he was a very dominant player when on his game. If he could have learned the positional discipline we’ve seen with Arteta and the leadership/organisation qualities of Flamini, he’d have been great. But his time has come and gone. We should be looking for such a player in the summer because Flamini and Arteta are getting old. Would be good to see Coquelin get some games there. I remember seeing him at the Emirates for one game where he looked very tidy. He’d need a run during the summer preseason to see if he’s learned new tricks from his loan spell.