January Transfer Window - rumours, chinese whispers, and FACTS

[dan]

Spurs to spend millions and millions of pounds and still be nothing better than shit.

Arsenal to buy more "exciting and promising players" that are not good enough to win us the league.

liverpool will spend 7/8/9 million pounds on average players and still rely on Gerrerd(if he gets out of nick)

Chelsea to panic buy still finish just short in the title race and then offload them a few months later for half the price.

Man Utd to buy an overpriced and overhyped player but still win the league because they already have the quality to do so.

Man City to get any player that wants more money just so they can finish mid table.

Newcastle to buy players that have had better days elsewhere.

Everton to buy that one extra player to give them the push for the top 4 but still finish 5/6th.

Portsmouth to sell most of their players, sack Adams and finish just above relegation zone. (Redknapp knew this was coming, thats why he jumped ship)

Stoke to buy Mike Tyson and play him alongside Ricardo Fuller.

The rest of the league will just get in some random loan players nobody has heard of.




There you go no need to buy anymore newspapers or to watch sky sports.

[Longy]

Spurs to spend millions and millions of pounds and still be nothing better than shit.

Arsenal to buy more "exciting and promising players" that are not good enough to win us the league.

liverpool will spend 7/8/9 million pounds on average players and still rely on Gerrerd(if he gets out of nick)

Chelsea to panic buy still finish just short in the title race and then offload them a few months later for half the price.

Man Utd to buy an overpriced and overhyped player but still win the league because they already have the quality to do so.

Man City to get any player that wants more money just so they can finish mid table.

Newcastle to buy players that have had better days elsewhere.

Everton to buy that one extra player to give them the push for the top 4 but still finish 5/6th.

Portsmouth to sell most of their players, sack Adams and finish just above relegation zone. (Redknapp knew this was coming, thats why he jumped ship)

Stoke to buy Mike Tyson and play him alongside Ricardo Fuller.

The rest of the league will just get in some random loan players nobody has heard of.




There you go no need to buy anymore newspapers or to watch sky sports.

Lol, nice work

End thread.

[Graham C]

I did lol hard at the rumour (albeit quashed by HR) that Spuds were looking at buying Dafoe

[The Baron]

Man United fan here. I'd still like us to sign an out and out goalscorer. I think Berba (who I also think is teh laziest 20 million + player in the world), Tevez and Rooney are too similar.

I can't really think of anyone tho- maybe it's a dying trade- how many strikers are akin to Gary Linekar/Tony Cottee these days?

Oddly enough this turned up as a topic of conversation for Andy Gray on Sky yesterday. He made the valid point that there really are very very few quality strikers about, which has led to a lot of very average players being sold for silly money.

Where are all the Gary Linekar/Ian Rush/Ian Wrights of today?

Andy Gray analyses as an ex-player. He needs to get with the times and not live in the past. How many times can he say "this is only my opinion, I'm not a manager but..." and be so wrong. In the EPL today centre halves are lightning quick as well as being huge, plus defences are very well drilled at the offside trap and different types of marking other than "watch your man". Semi decent strikers of his day, who were good poachers, wouldn't do that half as well today. They need so many more attributes to get by in today's game.

The three listed above were all great admittedly, but they didn't scores 30 goals a season at the same as each other like it was a golden generation and they were easy to come by. They were very rare and gifted strikers.

There are more gifted strikers in the EPL now than there have ever been, they're just not all British.

Van Persie
Adebayor
Eduardo
Torres
Berbatov
Tevez
Rooney
Owen
Pavlyuchenko
Santa Cruz
Drogba
Anelka
Robinho to name a few, all of which score goals regardless of their style of lack of ability to poach.

I doubt there has ever been a list that good at any one time in the top flight here.

Add recent departees Henry, Van Nistlerooy, Forlan, Shearer and I think Andy Gray is talking complete bollocks. There is a lack of decent British strikers yes, but a lack of good goalscorers? Seriously? The game has moved on from goal poachers. Someone like Rush did a lot of work, defending from the front but someone like Cottee wouldn't cut it today IMO.

An example is Michael Owen, England's 3rd highest goalscorer now? Lost his pace and doesn't do the dirty work like a Tevez would - I doubt he'll ever be back at a top 4 club regardless of still being a very good player. (Unless it's a squad player for us at the fans demand)

[The Baron]

Glen Johnson makes sense.

Arbeloa and Degen injured (Degen looks pants anyway) and we need to bring the English quota up and Johnson has improved massively in the last 2 seasons.

[George2Loose]

No doubt Berba has quality but not nearly consistent or hardworking enough imo- certainly not a 30m pound player.

We have only scored 28 goals in 19 games- Ronaldo kinda skewed our goals tally last year but he was never gonna score as many this year from midfield.

Sounds silly but I wouldn't mind seeing Jermaine Defoe at United

[GlasgowBandit]

My wish list for Celtic.

Decent left back
Proper Right mid-field power house
Decent Striker

And please no more promising "youth projects"

[bolt pp]

man city will buy everyone

[mondatoo]

Seriously do liverpool want to buy average over priced players for stupid money as thats what johnson is he looks good in a mid table side like pompey but was out of his depth for chelsea and also looked completely clueless for england  

Man United fan here. I'd still like us to sign an out and out goalscorer. I think Berba (who I also think is teh laziest 20 million + player in the world), Tevez and Rooney are too similar.

I can't really think of anyone tho- maybe it's a dying trade- how many strikers are akin to Gary Linekar/Tony Cottee these days?

There are quite a few knocking about who are better than cottee and as good a goal poacher as linekar was but none imo as good and as complete a striker as what alan shearer was and that it ain't me being biased

[mondatoo]

man city will buy everyone

Inc Scott Parker according to the BBC, PMSL @ that this morning

[kinboshi]

Seriously do liverpool want to buy average over priced players for stupid money as thats what johnson is he looks good in a mid table side like pompey but was out of his depth for chelsea and also looked completely clueless for england  

Who do you recommend who could walk into the Liverpool team at right-back (and also act as cover for left-back I guess), who has Premiership experience and would be an 'addition' to the Liverpool side?  Oh yeah, he can't be CL-tied.

[mondatoo]

Seriously do liverpool want to buy average over priced players for stupid money as thats what johnson is he looks good in a mid table side like pompey but was out of his depth for chelsea and also looked completely clueless for england  

Who do you recommend who could walk into the Liverpool team at right-back (and also act as cover for left-back I guess), who has Premiership experience and would be an 'addition' to the Liverpool side?  Oh yeah, he can't be CL-tied.

Does CL tied matter that much when it's a 10million pound player,as for prem experience i would rather take the risk buying someone like rafinha for instance who maybe world class than johnson who will never be good enough to play for a title winning side,imo of course.Asking for someone who can also cover for left back is a bit much since that isn't why you would be buying him.

[kinboshi]

Seriously do liverpool want to buy average over priced players for stupid money as thats what johnson is he looks good in a mid table side like pompey but was out of his depth for chelsea and also looked completely clueless for england  

Who do you recommend who could walk into the Liverpool team at right-back (and also act as cover for left-back I guess), who has Premiership experience and would be an 'addition' to the Liverpool side?  Oh yeah, he can't be CL-tied.

Does CL tied matter that much when it's a 10million pound player,as for prem experience i would rather take the risk buying someone like rafinha for instance who maybe world class than johnson who will never be good enough to play for a title winning side,imo of course.Asking for someone who can also cover for left back is a bit much since that isn't why you would be buying him.

Rafa likes players who are versatile.  He's shown that with lots of his signings.  Don't under-estimate the ability to play in a number of positions as a factor in Rafa's decision-making when signing new players.

Also the idea that every player needs to be 'world class' isn't the case.  Kuyt isn't 'world class', but he's an integral part of the Liverpool side, and there are other players like him in the side.  Not everyone can be Gerrard or Torres.  Buying a player like Rafinha in the January window is a risk - how will he adapt to the Premierleague?  He's a quality player (and one we were linked with in the summer), but is he going to give the side more than a Johnson - and I mean this season as well as going forward?  I don't know, and I'd have either of them to be honest.  Johnson is also English, which is going to be an important factor going forward.

[Karabiner]

Seriously do liverpool want to buy average over priced players for stupid money as thats what johnson is he looks good in a mid table side like pompey but was out of his depth for chelsea and also looked completely clueless for england  

Who do you recommend who could walk into the Liverpool team at right-back (and also act as cover for left-back I guess), who has Premiership experience and would be an 'addition' to the Liverpool side?  Oh yeah, he can't be CL-tied.

Does CL tied matter that much when it's a 10million pound player,as for prem experience i would rather take the risk buying someone like rafinha for instance who maybe world class than johnson who will never be good enough to play for a title winning side,imo of course.Asking for someone who can also cover for left back is a bit much since that isn't why you would be buying him.

Rafa likes players who are versatile.  He's shown that with lots of his signings.  Don't under-estimate the ability to play in a number of positions as a factor in Rafa's decision-making when signing new players.

Also the idea that every player needs to be 'world class' isn't the case.  Kuyt isn't 'world class', but he's an integral part of the Liverpool side, and there are other players like him in the side.  Not everyone can be Gerrard or Torres.  Buying a player like Rafinha in the January window is a risk - how will he adapt to the Premierleague?  He's a quality player (and one we were linked with in the summer), but is he going to give the side more than a Johnson - and I mean this season as well as going forward?  I don't know, and I'd have either of them to be honest.  Johnson is also English, which is going to be an important factor going forward.

Eboue might be available..

[TightEnd]

ARSENAL

Budget: £20-30m

January previous: A mixed bag. In 2006 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger signed Emmanuel Adebayor, Abou Diaby and Theo Walcott for a combined £14m. Two years previously he spent an initial £10.5m to bring in Jose Antonio Reyes from Sevilla.

What they need: A central midfielder and a domineering centre-half - particularly if William Gallas is sold. "They desperately need leaders," says BBC London commentator Nick Godwin. "Arsenal's lack of strength in depth was horribly exposed against Burnley in the Carling Cup, when their midfield was blown apart."

Who they might buy: Midfielders Xabi Alonso (Liverpool) and Yaya Toure (Barcelona) have again been linked with the club, as has Zenit St Petersburg's Andrei Arshavin. Former Gunners defender Matthew Upson (West Ham), Brede Hangeland (Fulham), Philippe Mexes (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus) and Steven Mouyokolo (Boulogne) could be options to bolster the centre of defence.

Who they might sell: Questions marks surround the futures of Gallas, Kolo Toure,Emmanuel Eboue and Nicklas Bendtner. A number of younger players such as Gavin Hoyte, Kieran Gibbs and Jay Simpson are set for loan spells in the Championship and Godwin believes midfielder Alex Song might go out on loan, while Philippe Senderos, on loan at AC Milan, could leave permanently.

What the fans say: "Alex from Chelsea would be a good buy if at all possible. Arshavin seems to be a possibility also. Alonso would probably be out of the question now with his form for Liverpool."