Football: The grind begins

[Philokles]

55 minutes ago, Consigliere said:

Monaco are being completely decimated should Lemar leave especially since lots of reports are now coming out that PSG have reached an agreement for Mbappe as well - a loan deal with an obligation to purchase next year for around €180m inclusive of add-ons (this structure apparently allows PSG to remain FFP compliant). Wouldn't be surprised if Fabinho starts pushing for move as well.

Apparently he has also agreed a move to PSG.

 

1 hour ago, Mark Antony said:

Pretty awesome news! Coutinho will surely be off next summer but wow was not expecting to have Keita confirmed. 

That is an outstanding signing. If he ends up replacing Coutinho in the midfield of the 4-3-3, then I'd say that is an upgrade at a much lower price and would give more balance to the side. Good job AFCON has been moved to summer when Salah, Mane and Keita will be the spine of the team.

[ljkeane]

I don't think the Keita deal is too much of a surprise. It makes sense for all concerned really; Leipizig get to keep him for a year like they want plus they get more than the £48 million they'd have to take next summer, Liverpool get to nail down the transfer and avoid a bidding war next year and Keita gets the move he wants without having to do anything stupid to try and force through a transfer.

Getting Lemar would surprise me. Surely Monaco have to draw the line somewhere? How much money could they really need?

ETA: Apparently Chelsea have signed Oxlade-Chamberlain. Did they miss yesterday's game?

[Mark Antony]

Oxlade Chamberlain to Chelsea

[Melphis Amekia]

Honestly, good riddance at this rate. Means that, if Wenger keeps the formation, there won't be an issue in starting Kolašinac at the LWB, and Bellerin can be used at a more natural position for him. Now, if we only just got rid of the rest of the dead wood...

[Calibandar]

5 hours ago, Consigliere said:

Bale or Benzema will be dropped when Ronaldo gets back. While team sheets show Ronaldo on the left he doesn't actually play there anymore and hasn't for a while. He's a box player now. Last nights game showed just how important Ronaldo still is. Real played very well yet squandered alot of opportunities. Ronaldo is the one who consistently turns one point into three for them.

Makes all the sense in the world to bench Bale or Benzema instead. I'm not sure which of the two under performing ones I'd bench. 

4 hours ago, Mark Antony said:

Liverpool have reportedly put in a club record bid for Thomas Lemar from Monaco. 

Already spending the money they expect for Countinho, or would they have it anyway?

They're linked with Renato Sanches as well.

[ljkeane]

9 minutes ago, Calibandar said:

Already spending the money they expect for Countinho, or would they have it anyway?

The plan was to get Keita (who they put in a bid of £66 million for this summer) and Van Dijk who you'd have to expect to be £50 odd million minimum without selling Coutinho this summer so you'd think they have the money. 

Every Premier League team gets about £100 million in tv money every year so barring significant non transfer expenditures you'd think most of them have the money for spending like this if they really want to.

17 minutes ago, Calibandar said:

They're linked with Renato Sanches as well.

That seems to be a potential loan though.

Klopp doesn't generally seem to like loans but in light of getting Keita next year it might make more sense as a bit of a stopgap measure.

[Mexal]

26 minutes ago, Mark Antony said:

Oxlade Chamberlain to Chelsea

I'm praying this happens. How the fuck does Wenger play a guy who told him he wants out? He played like it. So stupid.

[Iskaral Pust]

Good news on Keita.  If Leipzig was going to stick to their guns, at least we avoid a bidding war next season and the fans will stop criticizing FSG for not getting deals done. 

AOC provides Chelsea with good cover for Moses and Willian, and even an alternative to Fabregas when they need a change in style, but I doubt he displaces any from the first XI.  But from his perspective he just improved his coach, teammates and chances of winning a league. 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Can one of our resident gooners explain what on earth is Wenger doing there?

They have a pretty good squad, with 1-2 addition it would be great squad. And he gets like nothing out of it.

Ok, he needs a decent DM to cover and play alongside Xhaka and to add some grit to their midfield (somebody like Vieira), but that doesn't explain or excuse whatever they were trying yesterday. That formation yesterday made no sense, and looked somewhat ill suited to the squad he has assembled. The most natural formation for them would probably be 4-2-3-1, but what do I know?

[Rorshach]

Seems Arsène is trolling Arsenal at this point. He is close to the point where I think Frank de Boer would be a better option. 

..the Everton game? Don't think we played. Or, considering it was our third away game in six days, it was sort of expected that we couldn't keep our energy levels up. Sucks to lose, but sometimes it happens.

[Nas!]

On 26/08/2017 at 8:52 AM, Notone said:

So how long before West Ham are in the market for a new manager?

I think they've been in the market for a while now, actually. 

What a terrible performance that was against Newcastle.  I really have nothing to qualify, either.  Just terrible through and through. 

Bilic needs to go. Usually, I back clubs when they give managers time to sort things out, but Bilic needs to go.  He's been close to the sack before, and we still have the same problems we had two seasons ago, except no Payet to paper over the cracks. Every season West Ham start out looking off the pace and easily tired, the players look confused about where they should be and what they should be doing.  Except for the occasional wild tactical gamble that catches the bigger clubs off guard (Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool have all been victims), his tactics are generally ineffective at this level.  He's an illusionist more than a football manager.

 

[Consigliere]

1 hour ago, Calibandar said:

Makes all the sense in the world to bench Bale or Benzema instead. I'm not sure which of the two under performing ones I'd bench.

My guess would be Bale. Looks like the injuries over the past two years have taken their toll - his athletic prowess is not what it once was and his form hasn't been all that good either. Plus, Benzema has a great understanding with Ronaldo and the two of them work really well together which is why Morata couldn't get into the starting lineup despite his excellent goal scoring record last season.

[Mexal]

50 minutes ago, Notone said:

Can one of our resident gooners explain what on earth is Wenger doing there?

They have a pretty good squad, with 1-2 addition it would be great squad. And he gets like nothing out of it.

Ok, he needs a decent DM to cover and play alongside Xhaka and to add some grit to their midfield (somebody like Vieira), but that doesn't explain or excuse whatever they were trying yesterday. That formation yesterday made no sense, and looked somewhat ill suited to the squad he has assembled. The most natural formation for them would probably be 4-2-3-1, but what do I know?

We can't which is why we complain so much. We've had the same issues for the last 5 years.

[The Sunland Lord]

After yesterday's debacle, I think Wenger should resign. But, the owners want him still there also for some reason.

Arsenal haven't won anything of significance for more than a decade, and now they aren't even in the Champions League as well, which was kind of Arsene's ace every year. Mind my words, Ozil and Sanchez will demand transfers in January already.

[Mexal]

2 hours ago, The Sunland Lord said:

After yesterday's debacle, I think Wenger should resign. But, the owners want him still there also for some reason.

Arsenal haven't won anything of significance for more than a decade, and now they aren't even in the Champions League as well, which was kind of Arsene's ace every year. Mind my words, Ozil and Sanchez will demand transfers in January already.

They don't have to demand a transfer as they have no contract next season. I would like Sanchez to stay but I give no fucks about Ozil. He can go.

[The Sunland Lord]

3 minutes ago, Mexal said:

They don't have to demand a transfer as they have no contract next season. I would like Sanchez to stay but I give no fucks about Ozil. He can go.

Yes I even read somewhere after that City tries to lure Sanchez this transfer window. There are three more days til the deadline, so I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[Mexal]

11 minutes ago, The Sunland Lord said:

Yes I even read somewhere after that City tries to lure Sanchez this transfer window. There are three more days til the deadline, so I wouldn't be surprised.

 

I don't think Arsenal sells him. The backlash would be immense.

[Mark Antony]

3 minutes ago, Soylent Brown said:

Securing Keita for next year is great, but I'd really like to see us strengthen this year's squad still. I expect the next few days will be interesting / bonkers.

Agreed defintely still need to improve for this season. Van Dijk and Lemar would be a dream. 

[Jordan La Cabra]

John Cross reporting that Man City have offered Arsenal a cash plus player bid for Alexis. Rumours that the player is Sterling. 

I'd be shocked by that, as I thought Sterling was a player Guardiola was fond of. Depending on the fee, it could be a good deal for Arsenal.

[baxus]

16 hours ago, The Sunland Lord said:

After yesterday's debacle, I think Wenger should resign. But, the owners want him still there also for some reason.

Arsenal haven't won anything of significance for more than a decade, and now they aren't even in the Champions League as well, which was kind of Arsene's ace every year. Mind my words, Ozil and Sanchez will demand transfers in January already.

Wenger has taken the club through a difficult period where they needed money to build the new stadium and also keep them near the top where they can keep making enough money through Champions League bonuses. He'd done a great job at that. He kept Arsenal in the Champions League for 17 or 18 consecutive years and I don't think that people appreciate how big of a success that itself is. In addition, he's won a few FA Cups in recent years, so "he hasn't won anything of significance for more than a decade" really does not have basis in reality.

That being said, it has become clear in recent years that he is not the manager that could take Arsenal back to the top of the league and turn them into a serious Champions League contender. To make matters worse, he has signed some world class players and failed to make the most of it.

There is only one reason why the board wants to keep Wenger, and it's not sports-related, it's purely financial. As long as he keeps them in the black with quite a margin, they won't see the need to make the change.

58 minutes ago, JordanJH1993 said:

John Cross reporting that Man City have offered Arsenal a cash plus player bid for Alexis. Rumours that the player is Sterling. 

I'd be shocked by that, as I thought Sterling was a player Guardiola was fond of. Depending on the fee, it could be a good deal for Arsenal.

That would definitely be an interesting move.

I don't see why Sterling would want out of City, though. It's not likely that Arsenal can increase his City wages, he'd be leaving a Champions League team and a serious Premiership title contender for a Europa League team that's not really given people reason to think of them as title contenders. After all, it's not as if he is not playing for City, even when he's not starting. The only plus for Arsenal would be that Sterling would be living in London, which I assume would be quite an improvement on Manchester.