Summer Transfer Speculation and Shit

[Niall_Quinn]

Daily Mail in Made Up Shit Sensation.

Arsenal don't want to sell - tick
Ramsey doesn't want to leave - tick
Therefore, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...rn-Munich.html

[Munchies]

^

[Niall_Quinn]

These rumour merchants are all shit heads. We really need to get a rumour mill going here on GW. We could easily create a ton of shit and even though we wouldn't be paid (which for some unknown reason journalists are) it would still be fun to watch twats like John Cross and Dopey Draper lap it up and spew it out.

[GP]

[McNamara That Ghost...]

These rumour merchants are all shit heads. We really need to get a rumour mill going here on GW. We could easily create a ton of shit and even though we wouldn't be paid (which for some unknown reason journalists are) it would still be fun to watch twats like John Cross and Dopey Draper lap it up and spew it out.

It's ridiculous. In the last few days the Telegraph have said we're front runners but actually no because we aren't interested but Man City are interested although they may not be so it's actually Liverpool.

Some other shitheads say Liverpool are the front runners whilst at the same time another papers says Chelsea are the front runners with Man Utd not interested but keeping a keen interest and then you have Balague contradicting what Sport in Spain say; that we're leaders in this 'race'.

[Munchies]

And now..

Barcelona have received three formal offers for midfielder Cesc Fabregas: [sport]
Manchester United 43M - Chelsea 40M - Arsenal 36M

This is going to drag on all summer isn't it ..

[selassie]

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I know exactly what you mean mate, but that's also kind of the point of it - we need to get away from this way of thinking that tells us that we have to shoe-horn all of our best players into the starting XI whenever we can, and start thinking more along the lines of a modular squad that we can effectively rotate across a long season. On the face of it, it seems counter-productive to suggest that you only play someone as good as Ramsey in half your games, but if the guy coming in for him is someone as good as Fabregas then you shouldn't really feel the loss. And, of course, the pay-off is that you're making sure that those players will be as fresh as possible and on top-form whenever you do play them (and you'll also be keeping everyone happy with a fair amount of game time). Besides, as we've seen over the last few years, you only end up getting about half the game time out of your players anyway if you don't rotate them, as they inevitably start to break down through fatigue and injury, and/or start losing form as the games mount up - might as well do it out of choice, and have quality cover arranged in advance.

There's a lot to be said for rotation... and I'd understand if Fabregas and Ramsey were likely to share a relationship similar to that of Lampard-Gerrard over the years, but I actually think the product of Cesc-Rambo complimenting each other on the field is greater than the benefit of Ramsey replacing Cesc or vice versa, though I don't mind that happening from time to time when it needs to.

As it stands there are still a handful of very good players at the club who can replace the pair of them.....namely, Chamberlain, Wilshere, Rosicky and even Ozil and Cazorla which would free a place for Gnabry and Podolski.

Ramsey and Cesc would practically be the best two midfielders in the league and we would be fortunate to have such ability in 2 players that actually compliment each other. I think that whenever we dropped a point the decision not to play one of them would come into the question and probably for good reason given the capabilities of the pair. I think once one of them is in the fabled 'red zone' or showing signs of fatigue, that would be the time to give whomever that is a rest and switch it up a little.

I've heard it said a few times that Wenger will never let Cesc join another prem team but I am baffled by that. Wenger is not nearly so partisan about ex players or even current players playing for other prem teams.

How about:

4-1-2-1-2

----Chesney----
Aurier---Kosc--BFG---Gibbs
----- CDM ---------
--Ramsey---Cesc---
-----Ozil--------
Feo-----Striker

That is lovely but a little narrow perhaps....

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I can understand why some people might not want Fabregas back because of how he left but I don't understand people who say we don't need him.

If we had Fabregas last season, we wouldn't have run Ramsey and Ozil into the ground, we would have three world class options to rotate with and also, our injury curse struck and we didn't have Ozil or Ramsey at the same time, Fabregas would have been a god send. He improves not only us, but any other team so this whole notion of we don't need him, let him go somewhere else is just a bit odd.

Also, I don't buy that Arsene doesn't want him. Last year Arsene said that he would stay one more year at Barca but if Cesc was available, he would be on the case. That suggests they are still in regular contact (ok it was a year ago) but it does seem that Arsene was right, one more year. We know their relationship and why would we fight to put in first options and buy back clauses etc etc if we will just let him go to city/chelsea/united

I think the point is that a central midfielder is not the most pressing of concerns and I think that is pretty hard to argue with given the dearth of quality at Centre forward. We had a rookie who should have been out on loan lining up against possibly the best Bayern side of all time.....not to mention an impending departure at right back & cover CB, a our captain and still no stand out DM of note.

Arsene likes a lot of players and would be willing to bring them in...at a PRICE. He isn't the sort of Texas-hold em player that bluffs....... He has a price for a player....and he is seldom willing to exceed it. He will play the game, but he is often telling the truth about not exceeding the value he has for any given player.

I as much as anyone else would love Cesc back I want as far as saying that I believed Cesc to be a superior player to Ozil at the start of the season(there weren't too many agreeing then)... but I don't want us to sign a midfielder at the expense of a world class forward (I know there are hardly many around) or other positions we really need to strengthen in. That said, there's no doubt that Cesc back here is the stuff of dream but I am still sceptical about the whole thing.

Barca and Cesc have said next to nothing so far. It's all the media circus chomping at the bit so far....

[fakeyank]

SS had said yesterday that we agreed personal terms with Remy. Any updates on this?

Arsene, please dont make this a long shitty summer for us!