January Transfer Window

Luis wrote:Mata Rooney and RVP (along with Januzaj) should be enough for United to finish 4th even with a woeful defence and Moyes as manager.

Spurs, Everton and Liverpool can't compete with that and rely on two players each.

Spurs signed about 9 players in the summer, Everton haven't got a pot to piss in but I'm not sure what our excuse is. We had the opportunity to capitalise in this window, we needed 2 midfielders and a fullback and we've got no one. With Lucas out we're going to have play Gerrard or Allen in a holding role which is pretty rubbish.

It's very frustrating but we seem to have accepted mediocrity for the last 5 years so not surprised.

Are you definitely not signing anyone? If Rodgers hasn't come out to say there won't be signings (a la Wenger) then who's to say someone might not arrive in the next week?

And you're still 4th. Obviously still a long way to go but it seems you've got as good a chance as anyone to stay there that would be a big improvement over the mediocrity of the last 5 years.

He has to finish 4th. That fenian bastard already spend 100m already I believe. 

I wish we signed either Vidal or Gundogan though.

Jaime wrote:

Luis wrote:Mata Rooney and RVP (along with Januzaj) should be enough for United to finish 4th even with a woeful defence and Moyes as manager.

Spurs, Everton and Liverpool can't compete with that and rely on two players each.

Spurs signed about 9 players in the summer, Everton haven't got a pot to piss in but I'm not sure what our excuse is. We had the opportunity to capitalise in this window, we needed 2 midfielders and a fullback and we've got no one. With Lucas out we're going to have play Gerrard or Allen in a holding role which is pretty rubbish.

It's very frustrating but we seem to have accepted mediocrity for the last 5 years so not surprised.

Are you definitely not signing anyone? If Rodgers hasn't come out to say there won't be signings (a la Wenger) then who's to say someone might not arrive in the next week?

And you're still 4th. Obviously still a long way to go but it seems you've got as good a chance as anyone to stay there that would be a big improvement over the mediocrity of the last 5 years.

We won't get any one. We didn't value Salah high enough and made no attempt to even bid for Mata.

We have all our first choice defenders injured and some probably for a few months. Lucas out for a few weeks/ a month and we needed a midfielder anyway. If Suarez gets injured or bites someone we won't have enough to finish 4th.

PSG bid £14m for Cabaye.  

West Ham mulling a move for Man City's Lescott. They've agreed to loan terms, with an agreement to make it permanent, but are having 2nd thoughts on paying 90k-a-week wages for the rest of the season.

Fee agreed with the slave owning paedophiles for Cabaye. Shame.    Tiote, Anita, and Sissoko from here on, black power.

Dat midfield

Fey wrote:Dat midfield

It does lack a creative player. We might try to replace Cabaye but with agent Kinnear around I don't hold much hope.

In the summer we're going to need a huge rebuilding job at this rate.

We need

a Cabaye replacement
a Colo replacement
a Remy replacement
a Cisse replacement
a Shola replacement(this will probably be Shola   )
and ofcourse the striker we were supposed to get last summer

4 strikers, a CM, a CB, and we'll probably need a winger aswell. We're a horribly mismanaged club.

Also Fey, atleast none of them are Tom Cleverly.   

Kimbo wrote:Also Fey, atleast none of them are Tom Cleverly.   

What's wrong with Cleverley?

I haven't been Cabaye's biggest fan. I thought he was inconsistent across his first season with us, defending energetically earlier in the season, but only excelling with the ball towards its final third when we switched to a 4-3-3. Last season, he was awful like much the rest of the squad; but he was more petulant than most, and given that we had essentially made him one of our key players, and that he became the leader of our growing French contingent, I thought his bad attitude was especially damaging. I'm still not convinced that he has the pace or the footwork to excel in an advanced role for a top side; while playing him deeper robs him of his creativity and goal-scoring ability.

Still, he has been excellent for us after a difficult start to this season: he has been the creative centre of our team, and his goals have been vital. Without him we look slight in the midfield: with Remy and Shola our only striking options, with Gutierrez gone and Marveaux seemingly on his way also, we have only Gouffran, Sissoko, Ben Arfa, Tiote, and Anita to cover five positions: after those five, we are looking at Sammy Ameobi, Bigirimana, and Obertan. The situation ought to guarantee Ben Arfa a place in our side, but we really need to buy at least one first-team player before the window shuts. As Kimbo says, in the summer we are likely to require a hoard of players, with Remy unlikely to sign, and with Coloccini presumably set to depart.

I don't think £20 million is a terrible fee for Cabaye, but within the context of similar recent sales, and given who we are selling to, I'd have liked £5 million more. The issue with us is that we're always looking to sell without having any intention towards replacing players in a timely or coherent manner; there is no plan towards building a squad that can progress year upon year.

Pras_tama wrote:

Kimbo wrote:Also Fey, atleast none of them are Tom Cleverly.   

What's wrong with Cleverley?

He's shite.

Bashmachkin wrote:I haven't been Cabaye's biggest fan. I thought he was inconsistent across his first season with us, defending energetically earlier in the season, but only excelling with the ball towards its final third when we switched to a 4-3-3. Last season, he was awful like much the rest of the squad; but he was more petulant than most, and given that we had essentially made him one of our key players, and that he became the leader of our growing French contingent, I thought his bad attitude was especially damaging. I'm still not convinced that he has the pace or the footwork to excel in an advanced role for a top side; while playing him deeper robs him of his creativity and goal-scoring ability.

Still, he has been excellent for us after a difficult start to this season: he has been the creative centre of our team, and his goals have been vital. Without him we look slight in the midfield: with Remy and Shola our only striking options, with Gutierrez gone and Marveaux seemingly on his way also, we have only Gouffran, Sissoko, Ben Arfa, Tiote, and Anita to cover five positions: after those five, we are looking at Sammy Ameobi, Bigirimana, and Obertan. The situation ought to guarantee Ben Arfa a place in our side, but we really need to buy at least one first-team player before the window shuts. As Kimbo says, in the summer we are likely to require a hoard of players, with Remy unlikely to sign, and with Coloccini presumably set to depart.

I don't think £20 million is a terrible fee for Cabaye, but within the context of similar recent sales, and given who we are selling to, I'd have liked £5 million more. The issue with us is that we're always looking to sell without having any intention towards replacing players in a timely or coherent manner; there is no plan towards building a squad that can progress year upon year.

I've not always been a big fan, but this season he has been one of the best CM's in the league. Also...




I'm just disappointed to lose arguably our best player halfway through his best year, i'm not sure the fee really matters given that we have no idea what will happen to that money now.

I'm surprised Newcastle didn't get more money from PSG for a player who has been a big performer, French international, leaving in winter. At least 25M imo.

Super Progress wrote:I'm surprised Newcastle didn't get more money from PSG for a player who has been a big performer, French international, leaving in winter. At least 25M imo.

He's only worth what someone is willing to pay, and I suppose with him being 28 they think they will never get a better offer. The club is also in an ideal position to sell, we're safe from relegation and we don't want to be in europe, midtable is our ambition.

Apparently De Jong is coming on loan. I don't count loans as signings Joe.  

Kimbo wrote:Also Fey, atleast none of them are Tom Cleverly.   

Well we dont have to play



In our midfield!

Nontheless, perhaps it will work in the EPL. Lots of body strength and pace on the counter against the top teams, though I have not much hope in the smaller games at home.

Sure but this is PSG we're talking about plus several clubs were interested in him so I think they failed here.

EDIT: My bad I thought it was Euros we were talking about. Now I read it was €24M which isn't too bad.

Fulham are signing an expensive Greek, another club that apparently has more spending power than us.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25944411

West Ham sign Abdul Razak on a short-term deal from some Russian club.

Well we've fucked up another window.

Something has to be done about the loan system. Now that Chelsea are getting this Zouma guy and loaning him out they have 26 players out on loan, it's an absurd situation.

What difference does it make though? If players join Chelsea and get loaned out they were stupid to go there over somewhere else where they'd be starting.

Luis wrote:What difference does it make though? If players join Chelsea and get loaned out they were stupid to go there over somewhere else where they'd be starting.

Because they're hoarding players, they're taking them out of the market. Where does it end though, with Chelsea having 40 of Europes best young players on their books, deciding who gets to have them? How will you feel if Everton push you out of the CL places because of Lukaku? Maybe next season they will have Lukaku and this Zouma guy and do it again? It distorts both the transfer market and the competition. Also the fact that Courtois has spent 3 years on loan at Atletico, and could be looking at a 4th year is ridiculous.

The players are perhaps stupid for going there, but this Zouma will be getting paid atleast twice what he was getting at St Etienne, and it's not like a more appropriate club can compete with Chelsea in regards to the transfer fee.

Kimbo wrote:

Luis wrote:What difference does it make though? If players join Chelsea and get loaned out they were stupid to go there over somewhere else where they'd be starting.

Because they're hoarding players, they're taking them out of the market. Where does it end though, with Chelsea having 40 of Europes best young players on their books, deciding who gets to have them? How will you feel if Everton push you out of the CL places because of Lukaku? Maybe next season they will have Lukaku and this Zouma guy and do it again? It distorts both the transfer market and the competition. Also the fact that Courtois has spent 3 years on loan at Atletico, and could be looking at a 4th year is ridiculous.

The players are perhaps stupid for going there, but this Zouma will be getting paid atleast twice what he was getting at St Etienne, and it's not like a more appropriate club can compete with Chelsea in regards to the transfer fee.

There really is no point to enforcing these 25 man rosters if you can loan out as many players as Kimbo is saying. He is right, it's still hoarding which is what the roster limits were supposed to counteract.

are there limits on how many players you can loan out to teams in the same league as yourself? I know you can only loan 2 per club, but perhaps more strict rules could be added there as that can be used to manipulate the competition (i.e. we'll loan this player there 'cause we've already played them twice and they've still got our rivals to come).

I don't really see a way of stopping the hoarding in general though because whatever rule you make, the clubs with bottomless pits of money will always find a way around. e.g. instead of signing and loaning the player, they will give the club a big chunk of money to get first dibs on the player in the future. or they buy and then instantly sell to one of the clubs they use as feeders: a 'permanent' deal but with contractual guarantee that they get first bid to buy in the future.

pretty dull deadline day anyway.

Kallstrom probably a smart signing by Arsenal, specially with Ramsey injured.

I agree with our pot bellied friend from Newcastle

You could probably make a decent mid table prem team out of Chelsea's on loan 'squad'. It's an amazing situation. Are there any other clubs in the world who have a similar level of players on loan ?

http://www.chelseafc.com/on-loan-players

Any promising young player who signs for Chelsea is a fool. Look at the profile of this Christian Atsu guy. What does he get out of being plucked from Porto's first team to be sent immediately on loan to Holland, with the best case scenario being a return to Chelsea for a bench spot behind Hazard, Willian, Schurrle, Oscar, Salah and whoever the hell else Chelsea buy in the summer.

We play Chelsea's reserve tonight for the league, they own defacto Vitesse now as well, so that's even more loanplayer to put somewhere.

We need a ban on Chelsea.

Oh look, we failed to sign another one of our top targets.

Ian Ayre   

Kimbo wrote:

Luis wrote:What difference does it make though? If players join Chelsea and get loaned out they were stupid to go there over somewhere else where they'd be starting.

Because they're hoarding players, they're taking them out of the market. Where does it end though, with Chelsea having 40 of Europes best young players on their books, deciding who gets to have them? How will you feel if Everton push you out of the CL places because of Lukaku? Maybe next season they will have Lukaku and this Zouma guy and do it again? It distorts both the transfer market and the competition. Also the fact that Courtois has spent 3 years on loan at Atletico, and could be looking at a 4th year is ridiculous.

The players are perhaps stupid for going there, but this Zouma will be getting paid atleast twice what he was getting at St Etienne, and it's not like a more appropriate club can compete with Chelsea in regards to the transfer fee.

If Everton did that then we'd only have ourselves to blame. We've benefitted from Chelsea dishing out players anyway - Sturridge.

So what if Courtois spends 3 years somewhere? Atletico are entitled to loan him and Chelsea don't need him.

Chelsea and City have all the money and therefore will dictate the transfer market. That's just how business works. Most of the players Chelsea loan out aren't good enough - if they want to loan out someone who is good enough then more fool them.