I still heard Berbatov is expected in Bulgaria to sign and has told Leverkusen he wants to talk to us. Apparently his manager is due in London today for talks and it could be sorted by Friday. Although obviously he will only join properly when the window reopens. Also heard the club has been trying to sign Ben Arfa from Lyon and may want a young midfielder at Derby called Giles Barnes. Barnes is another defensive midfielder though, like Huddlestone.
not likely. you see, henry possesses a level of class that your mr campbell so conspicuously lacks. unlike sol, i suspect henry would never jump over to his club's archrivals just because, over the next few years, his prospects for success appear so much greater there. so barca it is.
I'd be surprised if Lyon let Ben Arfa go to Spurs. I think it'd have to be a large club with deeper pockets. His value isn't that high right now since he doesn't play often and is very young. I know/think Juventus would sell Zebina to Spurs for a cheeseburger. I hope Spurs don't go after him. He'd barely be an upgrade over Stalteri.
Im studying Nigeria in my comparative class and I came accross this while reading a newspaper: http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/sports/article06 Looks like Inter might swap martins for henry. Don't know how reiable it is, but it's something to consider.
yeah, the oba and money for henry has been floating around for a while. as much as id hate to see oba play for arsenal, id love to see henry in the nerazurri colors. henry and adriano, now thats a strike force
As far as fullbacks go, I thought we were getting Trabelsi on the right? Is this still on? It would be a magnificent pick-up on a free transfer. He'd instantly solve the right back question. As far as left side...I still like Arca as cover for both winger and fullback, plus a starter at each position. Left back, I'd love Matt Taylor, but Pompey are staying up. Left Wing...I'd love Pederson, but I doubt it would happen. I'm really at a loss for who I would like there.
apparently Huddlestone has asked for talks with Jol over his lack of first team chances. I feel sorry for him as we have so many centre mids and centre backs. I can't see him and Carrick playing together in central midfield as a partnership, and Carrick seems to never miss a game. Hudd will probably have to be loaned out, maybe to one of the newly promoted teams.
I hate to appear to be soliciting my countrymen, but what about DaMarcus Beasley? He's the best left sided player in the US player pool, plays regularly for PSV and has the pace to succeed in the Premiership. Think of it as an upgrade over Convey.
It's an interesting one. Personally I think it could work. He's quite light but tough as nails. Just gets up and gets on with it. Very pacy too. How is he defensively? He played on the left with Lee, no? If they played together then I wouldn't mind it at all. That partnership seemd to work quite well. I would like us to get some more cover for the left too though. Someone who can play LB or LM at a push. Bridge for example. Taylor at a push.
A player i like the look of is Liam Rosenior (and not because i just saw him make a superb goal-line clearance). I thought he played well against us at the Cottage and did well against Aaron Lennon. If he can do it against Lennon he can do well against anyone.
He's surprisingly capable defensively. He's not going to dole out any bone-crunching tackles or anything but he's very adept at pestering opposing players and poking balls away. He doesn't play a traditional left wing at PSV, he plays Left Forward in a 4-3-3 (I think). But I'm sure he's familiar with Lee's style of play and tendencies.
Just as long as he'd get back there when Lee goes storming on one of his mazy runs. How much do you think PSV would want for him?
Beasley is actually quite good defensively. He uses his pace to the fullest in recovery, gets stuck in, and surprisingly has very good positional acumen. But, his problem is that he is small. In the English game he can contest crosses--which is a left back's main defensive duty--but he's a non-factor on defending set pieces, and he can be muscled over easily and regularly ... which isn't very good in a physical league like the Premiership. IMHO, Convey is the better prospect for the English game. Both can actually create, both are fast, and both are good dribblers. Convey is the better passer and makes the better runs. Convey uses his speed against his defenders better than Beasley most of the time. Beasley is the better defender though. Dunno if that helps you or not, but that's my analysis. I am confident that Convey will show himself to be a strong left winger in the Premiership. Then again, Routledge proved that last season, and he's been shipped out then replaced by a teenager this year ... so who knows. I think the best cases for Spurs would be either A) wait until Reading bounce back down then pluck Convey relatively cheaply, or B) trade Routledge for Convey now before Convey establishes his skills at the Premiership level, which I feel confident that he will do. Neither Convey nor Beasley are true left backs. Both primarily get forward and are better fits as left midfielders or left wingers in a 352. I would definitely prefer to add fullbacks (one for each side) that are first and foremost solid defensively and get forward to deliver crosses. I'd like someone in the mold of Gary Neville, but those are hard to come by. Convey or Beasley would solve our left wing mid problem, but IMHO, just be cover at left back. -Digital
Nice analysis, Digital. I didn't mean to say Beasley would be cover for LB. I meant during the game they can interchange once in a while i.e. Beasley is the LM but when Lee does decide to go walkabout Beasley could at least drop back and cover every now and then. As far as rating the 2 players, Convey and Beasley, I'm going on you and Maitiu. I haven't seen enough of either to judge them. Beasley looked good in the couple of CL games I've seen him in.
I like Beasley too and agree that the only problem is that he's a little lightweight. But then again, look at Lennon. You just have to learn how to ride the challenges. I was one of the few non-Americans to be genuinely bummed when Convey's move to Spurs didn't materialize. I'd been watching him for a while and think he's an excellent prospect, athough we probably would have sold him once Hoddle left. Personally, I'd take Beasley this summer, but would wait to buy Convey, as he won't be useful until he adapts to the Premiership (which will take at least one season).
There's been recurring talk for some time that Gallas or Carvalho will leave this summer, and Mourinho wants to buy King. Chelski did ask about Ledley some time ago but Levy gave them a very high figure of 20 million + as a deterrant, and they went with Carvalho. Gallas was in the newspapers again today, apparently got itchy feet and wants to move on. Carvalho had a row earlier in the season and hasn't looked too impressive. So it's said Chelski have been back again with a bid between 20 to 28 million, although Levy has allegedly told them 35 million. Hopefully all being well Chelski will keep Gallas and Ledley will sign a new contract. However if Ledley doesn't sign and Chelski keep a high bid on the table, then maybe the club will decide to cash in on him. He's a great player, but not irreplacable or a one man team like Henry is for the goons.