Football - Aftermath of the Euros

[Tinker]

8 hours ago, Fuchs, himself! said:

Allardyce's England starting 11:

.............Carroll....Defoe

...................Rooney

.........Noble..........Cattermole

.....................Dier

Cresswell.......................Walker

.........Smalling.....Shawcross

.....................Hart

 

Actually, I was joking when I started this post, but now I could kind of see this working...

Side is missing Nolan. 

[Spockydog]

So. Riyad Mahrez. Oh yes baby.

 

[mormont]

Another attacking midfielder?

Wenger does understand that you can't play eleven attacking midfielders, right?

[Spockydog]

Well, it's not as if we're bursting with viable options for the right wing. And I'm pretty sure if we sign Mahrez that will be the end of Walcott.

 

[Raja]

14 minutes ago, mormont said:

Another attacking midfielder?

I'm not convinced we're in for him, but he's a goal scoring left forward - there's no one in our current line up, besides maybe Iwobi, who fits that description. We've been looking for a wide creative player for ages, tbh. 

[Mark Antony]

It would be a good signing though I have my doubts about Mahrez being able to repeat his magic from last year. 

What are the chances Arsenal sign him and a striker though? Would have to be pretty frustrating for Arsenal fans if Giroud/Welbeck (isn't he injured) are your only strikers again.

[polishgenius]

24 minutes ago, Raja said:

I'm not convinced we're in for him, but he's a goal scoring left forward - there's no one in our current line up, besides maybe Iwobi, who fits that description. We've been looking for a wide creative player for ages, tbh. 

 

Right. Which is better since he's displacing Walcott rather than Sanchez, if you get him.

[Jeor]

Wenger has a known fetish for attacking midfielders, so if we're in for Mahrez I'm not surprised. Obviously he's a very good player and at only 25, he would be a great buy.

However, I am worried that if we are getting him, the real reason for it is insurance in case Alexis and/or Ozil are leaving. I really hope that he's more a replacement for Walcott.

EDIT: And we still need a bloody striker.

[Jeor]

44 minutes ago, Mark Antony said:

Would have to be pretty frustrating for Arsenal fans if Giroud/Welbeck (isn't he injured) are your only strikers again.

Welbeck's apparently out until at least 2017. Giroud will be the only senior striker available, with Walcott also able to play centrally. There's Sanogo, Akpom, and the new Japanese youth signing, but if they get on the pitch this season for any length of time then we're doing something terribly wrong.

[Mexal]

3 hours ago, Spockydog said:

So. Riyad Mahrez. Oh yes baby.

I don't buy it. I'd love it, but I don't buy it.

3 hours ago, mormont said:

Another attacking midfielder?

Wenger does understand that you can't play eleven attacking midfielders, right?

As everyone else said, we have no one who can play the right wing. Walcott blows, Chamberlain is inconsistent and lacks end product, leaving Wenger to put Ramsey, Wilshere or Cazorla there, none of which are ideal options. Mahrez would be great.

2 hours ago, Mark Antony said:

It would be a good signing though I have my doubts about Mahrez being able to repeat his magic from last year. 

What are the chances Arsenal sign him and a striker though? Would have to be pretty frustrating for Arsenal fans if Giroud/Welbeck (isn't he injured) are your only strikers again.

Slim. I know Wenger and Arsenal say we're still in but I can't see us shelling out the kind of money we'd need to get the players we need, especially as they're already saying we can compete for the title. That, of course, is ridiculous with our only striker being Giroud and 4 competitions to compete in.

[Iskaral Pust]

Mahrez would be great on the right wing for Arsenal, especially adding some goals and with Bellerin offering width.  The only problem is it takes Ramsey out of the first XI, unless Coquelin and Cazorla are dropped to allow Ramsey & Xhaka to be the holding 2 (seems unlikely, and not a good role for Ramsey). 

It's a good problem to have so many quality players but they have over-loaded on too many similar players which dilutes their impact and creates a problem with a system to accommodate them all.  But the big surprise is why strengthen where they are already so strong while ignoring striker and CB?

Liverpool also have a fetish for attacking midfielders in recent years but now most fans are speculating that Klopp will play 4-3-3 with a 1-2 midfield (Can at the base and Wijnaldum, Grujic, Milner or Henderson in the two).  The signings don't suggest a 4-2-3-1. 

[Iskaral Pust]

A couple of weeks ago 34m was looking very expensive for Mane, then 15m for Ibe, 6m for Brad Smith and13m for Joe Allen (basically recovered our original price, despite only a year left on his contract, and he sat on the bench for most of his three years) fully recovered that outlay.  The 4.5m for Sergei Canos was just gravy.  Prices have gone mental.  It's a good year for us to finally trim our bloated squad.

And now Higuain is on the verge of a move for 79m.  No doubt he was a very consistent and prolific scorer for Napoli and Madrid, but he turns 29 in a few months and Juve are already dominating Serie A.  Even if they have silly money from the Pogba sale and need to replace Morata, there have to be more economical choices available.  I'm surprised they didn't take a look at Benteke instead.  Perhaps Napoli will.

All figures in pounds sterling.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

1 hour ago, Iskaral Pust said:

And now Higuain is on the verge of a move for 79m.  No doubt he was a very consistent and prolific scorer for Napoli and Madrid, but he turns 29 in a few months and Juve are already dominating Serie A.  Even if they have silly money from the Pogba sale and need to replace Morata, there have to be more economical choices available.  I'm surprised they didn't take a look at Benteke instead.  Perhaps Napoli will.

 

Well, 29 y.o. proven goal scorer and forward means he has 3 or 4 (maybe 5) years of a very high level of play left. And there are atm not that many high class strikers in the game.

Transfer fees have left the realm of sanity a long time ago anyway. But modern football is basically entertainment, so whether you produce a movie for 200 milion or pay 80 mil for a player, does it really matter? As long people pay to see it, there will be a market and those prices will be paid. 

[Iskaral Pust]

38 minutes ago, Notone said:

 

Well, 29 y.o. proven goal scorer and forward means he has 3 or 4 (maybe 5) years of a very high level of play left. And there are atm not that many high class strikers in the game.

Bill Barnwell wrote an interesting piece about strikers declining after age 29 article .  It was about Vardy but applies to Higuain.  I will grant you that Higuain is more of a target man and relies less on pace, and he plays in a slower league, so he won't decline as sharply as others.  But the odds are that his goals and playing time will decrease over the next 3-4 years, not persist at his prior level for 3-4 years and then decline.  He might be an outlier who defies aging but that cannot be predicted today with any confidence.  Paying top dollar for Higuain at this age just doesn't make sense, especially since Juve is not desperate and right now has more spending power and pull than any other team in Serie A.  They have other options. There aren't many proven top class strikers available but they could have bought Morata back for a lot less, and still had money to replace Pogba.  Putting all their eggs in an aging basket looks foolhardy.

 

On an unrelated note, I'm shocked by the height/weight reported in that article for some of the strikers.  Yakubu at 6'0 and 182lbs?  He looked a lot heavier than that.  Same for Rickie Lambert at 6'2 and 169lbs.  Neither of them were fat or overweight, but they looked heavier built than those height/weights would suggest.

[baxus]

13 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

A couple of weeks ago 34m was looking very expensive for Mane, then 15m for Ibe, 6m for Brad Smith and13m for Joe Allen (basically recovered our original price, despite only a year left on his contract, and he sat on the bench for most of his three years) fully recovered that outlay.  The 4.5m for Sergei Canos was just gravy.  Prices have gone mental.  It's a good year for us to finally trim our bloated squad.

But when Liverpool brought him in he wasn't in the top XI of the European Championship, was he?

Don't get me wrong, I do think that's a great bit of business, considering his track record in Liverpool. On the other hand, his performance in this year's Euros kind of left me thinking if Liverpool made the most of him during his time at the club. He's had great seasons at Swansea before joining Liverpool and has shown in the Euros that he still has a lot to offer.

It's just one of those deals where everyone involved is happy - Liverpool for getting a decent amount of money for basically a squad player, Stoke for getting an experienced and pretty reliable player for not too high a fee and Allen for finally getting a shot at playing regularly.

[Lucailduca]

14 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

And now Higuain is on the verge of a move for 79m.  No doubt he was a very consistent and prolific scorer for Napoli and Madrid, but he turns 29 in a few months and Juve are already dominating Serie A.  Even if they have silly money from the Pogba sale and need to replace Morata, there have to be more economical choices available.  I'm surprised they didn't take a look at Benteke instead.  Perhaps Napoli will.

You must be kidding... Higuain is 100 times better than Benteke! He is probably the best striker (I mean a proper number 9) in the whole world. Juventus are not content to dominate Serie A, their aim is now the Champions League. That's why they want a player who's at the pick of his career. I agree the cost seems exagerate, but if they win the Champions, money well spent!

If Pogba goes to Man Utd is a moron IMHO. Ok, a lot of money for him! Then? No Champions, a mediocre team that is not what it used to be, a manager who is better at creating enemies than at finding tactical solutions (he's not Conte or Allegri), a lot of pressure given his price. I'm not even sure he will continue to be as good as he is now in another team, just look at him playing for France.

Anyway Tevez at 29 was still a beast, Messi is now 29 and C. Ronaldo is 31... 

 

[Mme Erzulie]

What the absolute fuck, Sakho? 

[polishgenius]

34 minutes ago, Lucailduca said:

 He is probably the best striker (I mean a proper number 9) in the whole world.

 

 

Even if you discount Suarez as not being a proper number 9, Higuain is not better than Lewandowski. Or Aguero. Or, probably, Harry Kane.

He's better than Benteke, right now, but Benteke can reach his level and the price is obviously going to be a lot less.

[baxus]

1 hour ago, polishgenius said:

Even if you discount Suarez as not being a proper number 9, Higuain is not better than Lewandowski. Or Aguero. Or, probably, Harry Kane.

He's better than Benteke, right now, but Benteke can reach his level and the price is obviously going to be a lot less.

Maybe it would've been more accurate to say Higuain is the best proper number 9 that can be bought this summer.  

[Philokles]

Higuain is a little underrated. That is probably because he is most remembered for his time at Real Madrid, where he was not the main man, and the last few finals with Argentina, where he choked. Since leaving for Napoli and becoming the undisputed main man he has improved remarkably - 36 goals last year in Serie A (the joint most ever) shows he is a world class striker along with Lewandowski, Agüero and Suarez, a bit ahead of the likes of Kane currently. Although the quality in Italy isn't what it was 15 years ago, there is still a good number of obstinate defences.

However, the problem is that he is 29 so will have a significantly lower resale value than say a 24 year old would having moved for a similar fee. Juventus are taking a huge gamble, they do not need Higuain to win the scudetto, but see him as the something extra needed to win the Champions League. Given his age, they now have two or three seasons in which to do so for their investment to pay off. The other issue is that he seldom does well under pressure - not just with Argentina, but also with Napoli where he missed a crucial penalty to qualify them for last season's Champions League and a few months back got a stupid red card when the title was slipping out of their grasp that basically confirmed Juventus' win.