The New Summer Transfer Market

Forlan and Ferdinand (Rio that is) for me

Morientes is out of the question if he was ever in question.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=368590&cc=5901

The Scousers are in for Daniel Alves aswell.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=368583&cc=5901

Really a great way to start off the thread.

hands off Rio..unless you throw in Eto'o, Deco, and whichever defender gets benched for Rio.

I AM SOOOOOOOO JOKING ABOUT RIO........the only trade we would give for him is a fine plate of paella

Rio is a code word for Anton.

Speaking of, one of the funniest things I've heard in a while is Franco Baresi's "critique" of Rio:

from: http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/aaapr1-30.html

Baresi knocks Ferdinand
Milan legend Franco Baresi believes that Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand is too flashy to be a great defender. “Ferdinand has too much regard for himself and plays as though he is looking at himself in the mirror,” said the three-times European Cup winner. “It is all very well to be elegant and to look good on the ball but you need to be aggressive and dependable, a really solid presence when you are in defence. Ferdinand doesn't generate that sense of security and trust. He is responsible for conceding too many goals.”

You don't want Rio because he lacks the concentration. I have seen him trying to dribble as the last defender one to many times for me to trust him at the CB. Skillwise he is probably one of the best CBs in the world but his lack of concentration has ruined it to many times.

I hope you're kidding about Forlan too then...

kompany(REMEMBER HIM) and a top striker/winger. This type of player is hard to find but the worldcup will be a big help

A few days back I had a lapse in judgment about Forlan, who I normally have zero respect. Although he could be a decent back up compared to what we have (Maxi & Ezquerro).

But a good point has been consistently mentioned....he is not worth more than a quarter of Riquelme!!!!!!!!

What I want to know is, if Barça isn't intending to try to mold Maxi into the immediate backup role, then why the hell are they holding on to him? It seems like he would serve no real purpose in the forseeable future. Loan him out and let him get some actual playing time I say.

They tried over the winter. Instead he decided to "stay and fight for his place in the squad". Talk about being a glutton for punishment.

I think he'll go somewhere on loan for the new season, then they'll let him down easy by selling him for a pittance to whomever he's loaned out to. I think we've seen this before a few times.

He wont agree to any loans.......he was signed to a nice contract and he doesn't want to lose out ....especially being forced to play for some second rate la liga outfit...He had an opportunity in January, during the transfer window, and he stated his commitment to barca ..blah blah... he wont leave, its all his decision not Laporta or Rijkaard

Now you're just overstating it. Typical football fan. A player has a bad patch of form for a month and all of a sudden he is crap for the rest of the season? Give me a ********ing break.

Lack of concentration? You give me three examples of Rio losing concentration after November. Or in the last season. You tell me how many times he has ruined it.

You've seen him try and dribble defenders, SO HAS CARLOS PUYOL, RAFA MARQUEZ AND OLEGUER. Only difference is, Rio rarely loses the ball.

Im not even his biggest fan, but sometimes people go over board with their critique. Baresi has his opinion, but I disagree with it, because for one, you dont have to be a rugged player to be a center back. Even then, he should be saying this about his own national protege Nesta.

Calm down. I'm not saying he is crap I'm just saying that he is overrated which would make him extremly expensive for what you get. At 15-22 million euro he would be a good buy but United would probably demand 50+ million euro for him. Don't come and say that he is worth that much.

I have never seen Puyol dribble as the last defender if there was some other option available.

I've seen Marquez dribble a striker with only Valdes behind him. Hell, he's done it for Mexico as well.

But like I said, Rio is a code word for Anton.

Here is the bad news.....
According to elmundo, Barca are in negotiations for Forlan....
(sidenote...negotiations usually mean inquiry in spanish)

Here is the good news....
Gudjohnsen appears to also be on the radar

Of the two, Eidur would be more consistent off the bench and a hell of alot cheaper. He seem like he would be a reasonable buy. I have only seen him play on a few occasions but he appears to have good technical skills and some pace but not alot, but Larsson also wasn't to quick at 34.

Other names mentioned are Real Zaragoza's Diego Milito as well as Juventus duo David Trezeguet and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The latter two are very doubtful unless Juve has a "going to jail" clear out sale.

Plus Zlatan is way too good to be on our bench but he could provide more options in the starting XI with a true to forward front when Messi doesn't play. IMO, Trezeguet is garbage, always has been always will be.

Lastly, a few days back many of us were surprise to hear comments from Cruyff bashing Henry for not coming to Barca saying he made a mistake. The surprising part is he didnt take any shots at the Barca board for failing to negotiate, well it only took a few days for Cruyff to blast Barca's transfer policy.....although I do agree with his assessment.

.....

I expected to need to berate Cruyff, but he's got it right. We can do more by spending a little. But I think Laporta wants to buy winners. That's been Laporta's ideal. Buy players who know what it takes to win trophies. Unfortunately, those players are expensive. And clubs that regularly win trophies are not keen to sell. Chelsea are beginning to sell a bit, so maybe we should go in for Gudjohnssen but I don't think he'd leave, or accept being Eto'o's backup.

What I liked about Larsson was that he was a model professional, extremely fit and knew how to score goals at all levels.

dirk kuyt anyone?
he can play anywhere up front, and he's scored 71 goals in 101 games for feyenoord. i'd prefer kuyt to gudjonsson, because he scores more goals. gudjonsson is a good footballer, but i'd prefer a more accomplished finisher than another link-up player.

I doubt Kuyt wants to be a backup thought. Plus he wants to play for Newcastle.

Yeah and 'Pool are in for him too. He has already stated he wants to go to the EPL.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=368664&cc=5901

party poopers!

I think Gudjohnsen would be the perfect replacement for Larsson. He's got the ability to come off the bench late in games and affect the outcome much the same way Henrik did. Plus an Icelander on the team would be great for cultural diversity. Iceland is a great place.

Love the Gudjohnsen news! He'd be perfect. Way to go Rijkaard!

Now he just has to convince Laporta that a smart purchase is better than "big" purchase. I'm worried about Liverpool being in for Alves. They have money to spend, and love bringing in players from La Liga. I'm praying that Laporta can get this deal for Alves done. If Sevilla sell Alves to Liverpool, we should immediately recall Saviola and sell him to someone else.