Breaking news...Benzema to Madrid for 35m euros!!!

DS wrote:For me, you are expecting too much from Alonso Jaime.

To pass the ball forward is too much to expect? You're having a laugh.

To link up defence and attack, help protect that defence, light up that attack with incisive final third passing, yes.

There will be a certain Lassana Diarra next to him to help as well

DS wrote:To link up defence and attack, help protect that defence, light up that attack with incisive final third passing, yes.

I didn't say that he would give incisive final third passing. I said it was his job to get the ball TO the final third.

Like 110% used to say keeping possession is a team job, a team cant retain possession because of one player, neither Pirlo, Xavi etc can do this on their own, a team must be built to keep possession.

DS wrote:Like 110% used to say keeping possession is a team job, a team cant retain possession because of one player, neither Pirlo, Xavi etc can do this on their own, a team must be built to keep possession.

I agree which is why we still need more players that are good at this.

TM wrote:There will be a certain Lassana Diarra next to him to help as well

Who himself isnt a DM by nature and isnt that great keeping possession, anyway we will see, it would be interesting how RM set out and how they play, success or failure depends on very little things, maybe you will click and everything would be fine or maybe not.

DS wrote:

TM wrote:There will be a certain Lassana Diarra next to him to help as well

Who himself isnt a DM by nature and isnt that great keeping possession, anyway we will see, it would be interesting how RM set out and how they play, success or failure depends on very little things, maybe you will click and everything would be fine or maybe not.

Lass is not bad at keeping possession, the problem is he's has no vision. He can play little one twos in the middle of the pitch because he's a pretty good footballer but then we end up going nowhere because he can't see what is on the pitch ahead of him. This is where Xabi Alonso would greatly improve our situation in midfield.

DS wrote:

TM wrote:There will be a certain Lassana Diarra next to him to help as well

Who himself isnt a DM by nature and isnt that great keeping possession, anyway we will see, it would be interesting how RM set out and how they play, success or failure depends on very little things, maybe you will click and everything would be fine or maybe not.

He did the quite well last season to be fair.

Jaime wrote:

DS wrote:

Jaime wrote:

TITO wrote:Goal.com is reporting that u got Albiol.

Yup, it's official - 15m euro. On the website and everything.

So you rate him, I really dont, he is decent and all that but not worth 15 m specially as a defender.

kas wrote:Take the prices with a pinch of salt DS...Madrid have self-inflated the transfer market.

Says the geezer whose club paid 17m euro for Martin f*cking Caceres last year. Albiol is still learning but he still the best young centre back in the country. He struggled last year because he was playing with the likes of Helguera, Maduro, and Marchena (who I don't rate). He's good in the air, a good man marker, good playing the ball from the back and not great pace but not slow like Pique either.

I'm not dissing Albiol, I rate the guy. But I agree with DS that he probably shouldn't cost more than 10m, 12m at most with objectives. Obviously we overpaid for Caceres, but you paid 30m for Pepe. That's not the point.

In this case I'm referring to the fact that not only have you spent a lot and everyone knows you have cashloans, but also Madrid have clearly stated they want Spanish players, and everybody knows they need defenders. Hence Valencia got a high-ish price.

Jaime wrote:

DS wrote:Like 110% used to say keeping possession is a team job, a team cant retain possession because of one player, neither Pirlo, Xavi etc can do this on their own, a team must be built to keep possession.

I agree which is why we still need more players that are good at this.

how many more players like this can you fit into your starting XI



Ronaldo---lass--Alonso--Kaka

----------Villa--Raul

none of these players bar alonso are comfortable in possession, they all want to get forward as fast as possible and have a shot at goal.

Yes we overpaid by 3-4 Million tops.

You have to take into consideration he signed a new deal last year with a €60m buyout clause so when you take that into consideration €15m is peanuts.

I really like Lassana though, he isnt great at keeping possesion he isnt bad at it though, I doubt he has the discipline of Masch to play the classical DM role, 2ndly he tries too much for someone playing that deep in that role.

kas wrote:

Jaime wrote:

DS wrote:

Jaime wrote:

TITO wrote:Goal.com is reporting that u got Albiol.

Yup, it's official - 15m euro. On the website and everything.

So you rate him, I really dont, he is decent and all that but not worth 15 m specially as a defender.

kas wrote:Take the prices with a pinch of salt DS...Madrid have self-inflated the transfer market.

Says the geezer whose club paid 17m euro for Martin f*cking Caceres last year. Albiol is still learning but he still the best young centre back in the country. He struggled last year because he was playing with the likes of Helguera, Maduro, and Marchena (who I don't rate). He's good in the air, a good man marker, good playing the ball from the back and not great pace but not slow like Pique either.

I'm not dissing Albiol, I rate the guy. But I agree with DS that he probably shouldn't cost more than 10m, 12m at most with objectives. Obviously we overpaid for Caceres, but you paid 30m for Pepe. That's not the point.

In this case I'm referring to the fact that not only have you spent a lot and everyone knows you have cashloans, but also Madrid have clearly stated they want Spanish players, and everybody knows they need defenders. Hence Valencia got a high-ish price.

No, I know you aren't dissing him. The first bit about Caceres was for you, the rest was for DS.

Look at what has been paid for young defenders in the last year or so by la liga teams:

Martin Caceres (Barcelona) - 17m euro
Ezequiel Garay (Real Madrid) - 11m euro
Johnny Heitinga (Atletico) - 10m euro
Henrique (Barcelona) - 10m euro

I don't think 15m for a Spanish international is out of the market personally.

Messiah wrote:

Jaime wrote:

DS wrote:Like 110% used to say keeping possession is a team job, a team cant retain possession because of one player, neither Pirlo, Xavi etc can do this on their own, a team must be built to keep possession.

I agree which is why we still need more players that are good at this.

how many more players like this can you fit into your starting XI



Ronaldo---lass--Alonso--Kaka

----------Villa--Raul

none of these players bar alonso are comfortable in possession, they all want to get forward as fast as possible and have a shot at goal.

As we said, Lass is not bad in possession he just lacks the vision to move the team. Alonso is great in possession. Kaka is not bad in possession. I don't know what this is about. Ronaldo plays more direct these days ok. But if we add a player like Silva then I think we'll be in very good shape.

And believe it or not, Albiol is going to help us keep possession as well because he can actually pass the ball instead of just hoofing it like Cannavaro did any time a player got with in 20m of him on the pitch.

Jaime wrote:

Messiah wrote:

Jaime wrote:

DS wrote:Like 110% used to say keeping possession is a team job, a team cant retain possession because of one player, neither Pirlo, Xavi etc can do this on their own, a team must be built to keep possession.

I agree which is why we still need more players that are good at this.

how many more players like this can you fit into your starting XI



Ronaldo---lass--Alonso--Kaka

----------Villa--Raul

none of these players bar alonso are comfortable in possession, they all want to get forward as fast as possible and have a shot at goal.

As we said, Lass is not bad in possession he just lacks the vision to move the team. Alonso is great in possession. Kaka is not bad in possession. I don't know what this is about. Ronaldo plays more direct these days ok. But if we add a player like Silva then I think we'll be in very good shape.

Silva would be perfect at the moment so we could push Kaka further up the pitch where he can do more damage. Kaka's role in the system will be very interesting and im not sure how he will play now that he has lost a bit of pace. He has the vision to keep the ball more but he has naturally been more direct. If he changes he adapts more to the team/league and his loss of pace it would fit us well.

Super Real Ronaldo wrote:

Jaime wrote:

Messiah wrote:

Jaime wrote:

DS wrote:Like 110% used to say keeping possession is a team job, a team cant retain possession because of one player, neither Pirlo, Xavi etc can do this on their own, a team must be built to keep possession.

I agree which is why we still need more players that are good at this.

how many more players like this can you fit into your starting XI



Ronaldo---lass--Alonso--Kaka

----------Villa--Raul

none of these players bar alonso are comfortable in possession, they all want to get forward as fast as possible and have a shot at goal.

As we said, Lass is not bad in possession he just lacks the vision to move the team. Alonso is great in possession. Kaka is not bad in possession. I don't know what this is about. Ronaldo plays more direct these days ok. But if we add a player like Silva then I think we'll be in very good shape.

Silva would be perfect at the moment so we could push Kaka further up the pitch where he can do more damage. Kaka's role in the system will be very interesting and im not sure how he will play now that he has lost a bit of pace. He has the vision to keep the ball more but he has naturally been more direct. If he changes he adapts more to the team/league and his loss of pace it would fit us well.

I don't think Kaka has lost any pace, he still is as fast as he ever was...

bluenine wrote:

Super Real Ronaldo wrote:

Jaime wrote:

Messiah wrote:

Jaime wrote:

DS wrote:Like 110% used to say keeping possession is a team job, a team cant retain possession because of one player, neither Pirlo, Xavi etc can do this on their own, a team must be built to keep possession.

I agree which is why we still need more players that are good at this.

how many more players like this can you fit into your starting XI



Ronaldo---lass--Alonso--Kaka

----------Villa--Raul

none of these players bar alonso are comfortable in possession, they all want to get forward as fast as possible and have a shot at goal.

As we said, Lass is not bad in possession he just lacks the vision to move the team. Alonso is great in possession. Kaka is not bad in possession. I don't know what this is about. Ronaldo plays more direct these days ok. But if we add a player like Silva then I think we'll be in very good shape.

Silva would be perfect at the moment so we could push Kaka further up the pitch where he can do more damage. Kaka's role in the system will be very interesting and im not sure how he will play now that he has lost a bit of pace. He has the vision to keep the ball more but he has naturally been more direct. If he changes he adapts more to the team/league and his loss of pace it would fit us well.

I don't think Kaka has lost any pace, he still is as fast as he ever was...

You sure about that? I think he has seemed slower after his injuries. It might be that he hasn't been able to get in good form or the injuries nagging.

He's still quite quick, he's even quicker with the ball at his feet. He was the one leading the counter attacks against Italy

Looks like DS might get his wish after all:

Real Madrid are considering entering the race for Chelsea centre-back Ricardo Carvalho, who is close to joining Inter, according to Tuttosport.

Inter director Marco Branca is reportedly in London trying to secure the services of the defender and Deco from the Blues, but los Blancos may thwart the deal after having failed to lure Maicon from the Nerazzurri.

After securing the services of Raul Albiol for Valencia, the Primera Division giants see the Portuguese as another good addition to their back-line, meaning Sergio Ramos would remain in the right-back position, while Carvalho would pair up with national team-mate Pepe in the centre, if he were to arrive.

It remains to be seen if the Merengues will make a bid in time to stop the Nerazzurri from acquiring the defender.

Carvalho spent a large portion of last season out with injury and has admitted he is open to offers after being critical of the medical care he was given by the English club. At Inter, he would reunite with his former coach Jose Mourinho.

TM wrote:Looks like DS might get his wish after all:

Real Madrid are considering entering the race for Chelsea centre-back Ricardo Carvalho, who is close to joining Inter, according to Tuttosport.

Inter director Marco Branca is reportedly in London trying to secure the services of the defender and Deco from the Blues, but los Blancos may thwart the deal after having failed to lure Maicon from the Nerazzurri.

After securing the services of Raul Albiol for Valencia, the Primera Division giants see the Portuguese as another good addition to their back-line, meaning Sergio Ramos would remain in the right-back position, while Carvalho would pair up with national team-mate Pepe in the centre, if he were to arrive.

It remains to be seen if the Merengues will make a bid in time to stop the Nerazzurri from acquiring the defender.

Carvalho spent a large portion of last season out with injury and has admitted he is open to offers after being critical of the medical care he was given by the English club. At Inter, he would reunite with his former coach Jose Mourinho.

It would be smart dealing if we keep Pepe-Carvalho in centre and let Abiol work his way in the side butI don't think Abiol would be happy about such an arrangement. Also I don't think we will go for Carvalho after getting Abiol.

Carvalho would be more suited to the Italian game IMO. He's a great reader of the game but he doesn't have that much pace.

Super Real Ronaldo wrote:

TM wrote:Looks like DS might get his wish after all:

Real Madrid are considering entering the race for Chelsea centre-back Ricardo Carvalho, who is close to joining Inter, according to Tuttosport.

Inter director Marco Branca is reportedly in London trying to secure the services of the defender and Deco from the Blues, but los Blancos may thwart the deal after having failed to lure Maicon from the Nerazzurri.

After securing the services of Raul Albiol for Valencia, the Primera Division giants see the Portuguese as another good addition to their back-line, meaning Sergio Ramos would remain in the right-back position, while Carvalho would pair up with national team-mate Pepe in the centre, if he were to arrive.

It remains to be seen if the Merengues will make a bid in time to stop the Nerazzurri from acquiring the defender.

Carvalho spent a large portion of last season out with injury and has admitted he is open to offers after being critical of the medical care he was given by the English club. At Inter, he would reunite with his former coach Jose Mourinho.

It would be smart dealing if we keep Pepe-Carvalho in centre and let Abiol work his way in the side butI don't think Abiol would be happy about such an arrangement. Also I don't think we will go for Carvalho after getting Abiol.

I like Carvalho but now we have Pepe, Metzelder, Albiol, and Garay on our books. We definitely don't need a fifth CB. Either Garay or Metzleder would have to go before we should think about another CB and we should really get the LB position sorted first as well.

Plus I wouldn't be surprised if Carvalho really wants to link back up with Mourinho.

You can have Clichy

I think having three quality CB's: Pepe, Albiol and Carvalho with a youngster: Garay wouldn't be a bad situation. Especially when you consider we will be competing for three trophies. You also have to taken into consideration Pepe is banned for the first 6 games of the new season.

LB spot is a concern, we've not been linked seriously with any *quality* LB's, we've been linked with Arbeloa who's played at RB for most of his Liverpool career. I still think Capdevilla on a two year deal would be the best solution, even tho he was piss poor last night.

Tweedle wrote:You can have Clichy

Yeah, for 18m euro apparently. I like him but not for that price. Canella for 10m euro would suit me just fine.

TM wrote:I think having three quality CB's: Pepe, Albiol and Carvalho with a youngster: Garay wouldn't be a bad situation. Especially when you consider we will be competing for three trophies.

I would think that would be a very good quartet (well, who knows about Garay) but Florentino is not going to be two centre backs I don't think. We've got Albiol who will be first choice along with Pepe. Metzelder did alright after Juande came, he put in some very respectable performances and I like that he feels great compromise towards the club. Garay...he is a big question. I don't know if he'll stay or not. But even if he goes we have Sergio Ramos who can play in the middle as the 4th choice. Or if we end up signing Marcano for left back, he can also be used as centre back so I think we have enough cover.

i find it a bit strange that real haven't been liked with any villarreal players, normally a coach would try and get at least 1/2 players from his former team, that understands his approach to the game

@ Jaime

Yeah, Perez signing two defenders?! But Pepe is banned for the first 6 games in the leauge so that has been taken into consideration.

@ Messiah

Im suprised he hasnt tried to sign Carzola, after all we're going after Ribery.