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Mes que un Thread (22-23 Domestic Football, unless domestic is Scotland)


Duke

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Blimey, who saw City offloading Joao Cancelo to Bayern this month coming??

I know there clearly wasn't something right as Rico Lewis has been picked ahead of him a fair bit lately and also Ake playing at LB, but he's still arguably the best full back in the league and has been a vital part of City's success in recent seasons. I'd go as far to say him, KDB and Rodri have been their key players over the past two seasons.

Next two days could be very interesting. Porro to Spurs is off as it stands, Enzo Fernandez to Chelsea could still happen and Arsenal are surely deciding how much they are willing to spend to try and bring in Caicedo. That tap-in merchant Romano has also been exposed twice over the past week, with HERE WE GO signings not going through after all. Tilde Romano.

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I’m starting to think Only Connect are not going to go with my “Up next, Manchester City’s Portuguese defender continues his tour around the galleries and museums of the UK. That’s Cancelo Culture next on BBC2. Goodnight” closing joke  

Their loss. 

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7 minutes ago, Keith Houchen said:

I’m starting to think Only Connect are not going to go with my “Up next, Manchester City’s Portuguese defender continues his tour around the galleries and museums of the UK. That’s Cancelo Culture next on BBC2. Goodnight” closing joke  

Their loss. 

A shame Whose Line Is It Anyway? isn't still on over here.

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14 minutes ago, PunkStep said:

Blimey, who saw City offloading Joao Cancelo to Bayern this month coming??

I know there clearly wasn't something right as Rico Lewis has been picked ahead of him a fair bit lately and also Ake playing at LB, but he's still arguably the best full back in the league and has been a vital part of City's success in recent seasons. I'd go as far to say him, KDB and Rodri have been their key players over the past two seasons.

Definitely didn't see it coming this month - but from what I've seen Man City seem to be playing a strange formation 3-2-4-1 formation since the World Cup with no full backs and Lewis and Rodri as midfielders taking turns to drop into defence - which actually makes selling Zinchenko stranger as that sounds the exact role that would have suited him at city.

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42 minutes ago, The Curious Orange said:

Definitely didn't see it coming this month - but from what I've seen Man City seem to be playing a strange formation 3-2-4-1 formation since the World Cup with no full backs and Lewis and Rodri as midfielders taking turns to drop into defence - which actually makes selling Zinchenko stranger as that sounds the exact role that would have suited him at city.

Absolutely, and also makes it odd that Cancelo isn't considered for that Lewis role seeing as he's effectively been doing it over the past 2 seasons anyway. Whenever City were in position, he'd push into midfield like Zinchenko does and it was a fundamental part of their setup. There's surely something behind the scenes going on. 

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Another twist- looks like we are about to sign the THIRD BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD* for just £12m! Arsenal fans on Twitter are up in arms over this, believing that instead we should have paid Brighton £80m for Caicedo to warm the bench. Even if you argue that we'd be paying that amount for a long term replacement, bear in mind our top target this summer is Declan Rice. He won't be cheap and will play in the same position. Turn of FIFA career mode and get real, for fuck sake. We're not Chelsea, spunking money left right and centre.

This deal makes sense. PL proven, good on the ball and can fit the style of play, short term solution (1.5 year deal), inexpensive and has experience of winning things at the highest level. With Elneny out for the season and Lokonga being such a drop-off in quality from Partey/Xhaka, this is exactly what is needed for the run-in. This isn't the same as offering Willian, David Luiz or Cech lucrative long term deals with a view to be regular starters- so the mundane 'Chelsea retirement home' bantz can quietly go away.

 

 

 

 

*as per the 2021 Balon d'or, and who am I to argue

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30 minutes ago, PunkStep said:

Another twist- looks like we are about to sign the THIRD BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD* for just £12m! Arsenal fans on Twitter are up in arms over this, believing that instead we should have paid Brighton £80m for Caicedo to warm the bench. Even if you argue that we'd be paying that amount for a long term replacement, bear in mind our top target this summer is Declan Rice. He won't be cheap and will play in the same position. Turn of FIFA career mode and get real, for fuck sake. We're not Chelsea, spunking money left right and centre.

This deal makes sense. PL proven, good on the ball and can fit the style of play, short term solution (1.5 year deal), inexpensive and has experience of winning things at the highest level. With Elneny out for the season and Lokonga being such a drop-off in quality from Partey/Xhaka, this is exactly what is needed for the run-in. This isn't the same as offering Willian, David Luiz or Cech lucrative long term deals with a view to be regular starters- so the mundane 'Chelsea retirement home' bantz can quietly go away.

 

 

 

 

*as per the 2021 Balon d'or, and who am I to argue

I'm quite happy with Jorginho. He's not the long term superstar signing maybe some wanted, but it's a relatively low risk option for experienced back up. Seems like a hugely sensible bit of business. It feels a lot like last year when we were in for Vlahovic and when that didn't pan out we opted to wait and spend on the right person. Undoubtedly we need bodies in this window, but spending out huge on a player who would in all likelihood be on the bench seems insane.

Apparently we also don't want to damage our relationship with Brighton, which makes sense given we might well be back in for other players in the future.   I always felt like the January window should be for shoring up the squad for the second half of the season, rather than a squad refurb and this one fits that criteria. 

I do wonder if this is the sensible option done, and we might take a risk on a second signing late in the day. Maybe a Tielemans with a late, low-ball bid. 

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54 minutes ago, SuperBacon said:

If Matt Doherty wins a trophy at Atletico and I have to add him (and fucking TANGUY NDOMBELE!!!) to my "People who have left Spurs and won trophies since they last won one spreadsheet" I will kill myself.

Genuinely got 'Faubert just joined Real Madrid on loan' vibes from this news. His agent isn't getting paid enough.

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1 hour ago, mim731 said:

I'm quite happy with Jorginho. He's not the long term superstar signing maybe some wanted, but it's a relatively low risk option for experienced back up. Seems like a hugely sensible bit of business. It feels a lot like last year when we were in for Vlahovic and when that didn't pan out we opted to wait and spend on the right person. Undoubtedly we need bodies in this window, but spending out huge on a player who would in all likelihood be on the bench seems insane.

Apparently we also don't want to damage our relationship with Brighton, which makes sense given we might well be back in for other players in the future.   I always felt like the January window should be for shoring up the squad for the second half of the season, rather than a squad refurb and this one fits that criteria. 

I do wonder if this is the sensible option done, and we might take a risk on a second signing late in the day. Maybe a Tielemans with a late, low-ball bid. 

Agreed, sensible bit of business bringing him in. We have learnt from last January, where we ended up with nobody. Some quality along the lines of Trossard and Jorginho to supplement the squad is good business and reminiscent of the kind of deal you'd see from United back in the day when they were still the dominant force. Fergie loved a bit of PL experience to come in as squad options. A Louis Saha here, an Alan Smith there. 

The eye-watering amount we'd have ended up paying for Caicedo would make no sense for ultimately a back-up option, see also Mudryk.

I think it's time to call it a day on the Tielemans links now. If truth be told, he's been pretty shit for the past couple of seasons now and definitely doesn't look like the kind of player that will fit Arteta's team- which asks a lot from our players. That recent video doing the rounds of him lightly jogging back says it all.

 

1 minute ago, SuperBacon said:

Nothing will ever top Gravesen at Real Madrid for me. 

Completely derailed Everton's season as well. He was rubbish when he eventually went back to them again, wasn't he?

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