Liverpool need speed. They are not scaring Arsenal. They can't get behind the defense and while that is all fine and dandy 80% of the time, against the biggest and best teams, they need that added speed dimension.
Well seems like LD will not be making a move this summer window unless a great amount is spent to get him now. I guess maybe in January he goes and hopefully Everton is the destination he would be getting lots of pt. I like Man City but would not be a great place for him based on pt although you can not say for sure.
screw landon going to man city. I hate that club. They epitomize disgusting gluttony. They've got a number of great players sitting at home or on the bench (bellamy, ireland, shit even given) and they still can't get a result. Tottenham threw them off the pitch on saturday. It's really gross to me what Man City has done, I hope they never win anything at this point... And I also hope Hughes gets bellamy
"Gluttony" is a great word to describe them. So damn much money and no real plan, except to buy everyone they can who's "good" and gets their supporters excited about having yet another celebrity (probably soon rendered useless) at their club.
The funny part is, seemingly no matter how much money they throw around, they still can't nab the best of the best players in the world. That is how unattractive of a club it is. I would venture a guess that even if they threw 100+ million pounds at Messi, he wouldn't leave Barca. If you look at their roster, while they are certainly stacked with very good players, the fact that they struggle with Tottenham even with a seemingly unlimited budget, and could not make the CL last year, does not bode well for them or show well on their players.
I don't see how paying a crapload of money for a good, but definitely overpriced player like Milner and giving away a very good player in Stephen Ireland (who doesn't play for his national team) in is fair at all. It's comical how badly they are "building a team." Landon knows to stay away from that type of situation, where the manager won't even talk to you.
Ireland doesn't play for Ireland because he doesn't want to, not because Trap thinks he isn't good enough. But the 25-man rule is at fault with the ManCity roster shuffling. And Bellamy has gone to Cardiff City.
He will absolutely dominate that league, its unfathomable that he left the Prem, regardless of wanting to return home. Far too good a player for the Championship.
What does Bellamy care where he plays? He isn't taking a pay cut. Might as well chill out at home on ManCity's dime.
Not surprised that Man City is paying some of his salary (I mean, it was almost a certainty they would be on the hook for a lot of it), but that much...when they certainly could have found a PL club to pay more than Cardiff City is paying, no wonder Bellamy looks so happy...
No they are paying 20k a week for Craig and paid Eddies 15 k a week... but close and a prime example as to why they are in financial hardship... They keep plugging though because they think they can get to the prem and get the big pay out... very much a buy, cover, buy, cover....
Anybody think it is extremely hilarious that Citeh is paying that much money for a player that Donovan embarrassed so bad that he had to be taken off in 30 minutes in the USA v England match.... Yet people get all up in arms about MLS wanting 9 million pound for Landon who has no history of major injuries and amazing fitness... not to mention pace that Milner will never have...
Yes, Milner played awful that game (he was also ill ), but last season he was quality in CM for Aston Villa, and made team of the season, won Young Player of the season, etc. He was being tracked by United, Chelsea as well as City. City inflate the prices of ANYONE they go for, add in the fact he is English (which really does have an effect on player prices here) then that is why they paid a big fee, plus he is still pretty young and has the potential to be even better. City would not sell or loan to a team that was challenging them for places in the table (same with Given who they are refusing to sell to Arsenal). He wanted to play for a team that could challenge (which he wasn't allowed to do) so in the end he decided to go back and play for his hometown team, where he still lives and travels from, to be able to spend more time with his family. Simple really.
No, not really. Player's values are bigger than just a World Cup. As Arteta's girl aptly stated, Milner was very ill in the lead-up to the opening match. In fact, it was doubtful that he would be available to play. He was poor but that was largely it & just one of Capello's gambles that didn't pay off. If you've seen Milner play for Villa or Newcastle or Villa pt. 1 even or some other England matches you know that he was not even worthy of being considered a shell of himself. Add to this that he's a quality English player, and there are a few more restrictive rules regarding foreign players in the Premiership, and that pushes up the price even more. He's also 24 and has more years in front of him and has gradually moved up and up over the years. Mix in that it's Man. City and that it's no secret the kind of deep pockets they've got... I think it's a lot of money, but Villa are losing a very important & proven player & they know what it means to Man. City. "Proven" player is one of the important things to remember - Donovan did well with Everton but to be fair to all involved, people really saw just a glimpse. He could've ended the season stronger, or maybe weaker - we'll never know. I don't know if people are 'up in arms' about the fee or not. I'd say MLS/Los Angeles should try to get whatever they feel is reasonable (or not reasonable... try to get even more ,why not?) to recoup what would be a signfiicant loss to them. If 9-12 million pounds is it, that's it. People can argue about the differences in the amounts of money but it's not always so cut and dry. MLS loves Donovan & won't just give him up. Donovan signed a new contract, so they don't have to. I think it's kind of a win-win for MLS unless Donovan emphatically states and makes it clear he wants out - which I don't see him doing. Won't get into the 'who's the better player' bit, because that is kind of a waste of time. But I can certainly understand why Milner would be considered a bigger commodity than Donovan now, with all due respect to Donovan's quality.
Funny how so many on this board judge players to be worthless based on one performance. Ledley King got the same treatment after the US game.
I certainly know that Milner is a good player but the fee was astronomical even taking into account that he helps with the homegrown rule and being Man City... I don't think he is worth anywhere near that much and considering Ireland went the other way who I would actually value about the same as Milner and also counts as a homegrown... I also don't think the MLS should be asking for 15 million US for Donovan... I know he is worth a lot to the league being the face and all but 10 million seems more reasonable for a player who is 28
But even this isn't taking everything into account, TBH. The fee was a bit high to me too, but that's the way this game is played right now with Man. City. He well could be an important player for them in a lot of ways, while knocking the wind out of Villa among many other things. Milner is worth it to City though. Disagree regarding Ireland. He's a fantastic talent, but a rather loose canon. What Villa can expect from a guy who had his then girlfriend inform the Irish FA that his grandmother died to get out of a match & visit his GF... is anyone's best guess. I also think Milner's a better all around player & should fit in well there, begrudgingly I might add since I'm not too happy to have seen two important Villa players strengthen a rival (Barry as well). But Villa's known for strange things and strange characters. From the Santa Claus mishap of 98, to Stan Collymore, Alpay and loads of others... Ireland just might fit in perfectly. Or maybe Villa could move for Donovan... which would be a great move IMO. the Donovan fee is tricky. Some parts of his history are against him, to be honest. But you never know, it's always a gamble. He could go and end up mediocre, or go and end up a revelation for 4 years. It's never an easy call but MLS holds a lot of weight and IMO Donovan loves MLS & it'd be more surprising to me if he did something to sour the relationship he has with the league. He tied his hands with that contract, which allowed him to go to Everton in the first place. In Donovan's favour - at his current age, some attacking US players have moved over and done well. TBH, I don't think 15 million USD is too much for MLS to ask. In fact, maybe I value Donovan more than that because I think it's a little bit low. Never thought I'd say that...
Correct, it was. Regardless, while I won't get into a Donovan v. Milner debate, watch the next couple of years as Milner fades into (relative) obscurity. He's not that good.