You know the market is as it should be when you see Feyenoord signing one Liam Kelly from Reading on a free and hailing him like the second coming of the lord jesus christ tbf
On topic: I don't understand why ManC or Liverpool or ManU hesitate to fork out 100m for De Ligt, when they seem all to keen to waste their money on filler like Stones and Maguire etc.
― Uptown VONC (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 8 July 2019 21:46 (four years ago) link
xp Poch arguably improved Vertongen, but not defensively imo
well he'd have to want to go there in the first place
― Number None, Monday, 8 July 2019 21:47 (four years ago) link
De Ligt is proving he's the anti Frenkie 'Barca has always been my dream club so I'm going there' de Jong. He's about the money, coupled with a club w/ some prospects, true. So that rules out ManU. ManC and Liverpool still very much asleep imo.
― Uptown VONC (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 8 July 2019 21:53 (four years ago) link
seems like an unnecessary extravagance for Liverpool
City, I guess, but they can't spend 50m+ on a centre back every season
― Number None, Monday, 8 July 2019 22:01 (four years ago) link
Liverpool's defence could be immense with a Van Dijk/De Ligt center, and relegate trash like Lovre/Gomez/Matip to the bench. I don't think that's too extravagant. For City, perhaps.
― Uptown VONC (Le Bateau Ivre), Monday, 8 July 2019 22:05 (four years ago) link
Gomez was great first half of the season and matip was excellent in the second half of the season so this 'trash' talk is hysterical nonsense.
― oscar bravo, Tuesday, 9 July 2019 09:23 (four years ago) link
yeh thought gomez looked promising
― nxd, Tuesday, 9 July 2019 09:41 (four years ago) link
Calling Gomez trash is just rude and ignorant. And Matip was superb when he stepped in, really upped his game. He was the equal of Virgil in several games
― or something, Tuesday, 9 July 2019 10:10 (four years ago) link
lol howay the fucking Magpies on suicide watch when Brucey is announced!
― calzino, Tuesday, 9 July 2019 13:12 (four years ago) link
yeah wtf Gomez and Matip are not trash. ridiculous statment.
― . (Michael B), Tuesday, 9 July 2019 14:06 (four years ago) link
FWIW I think Pep has improved even Stones although not anywhere near to the level he should be. FWIW Maguire is already better than Stones ever was but is likely to be brutally exposed with a United midfield that's starting to look like it'll be very short of anyone that can tackle.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 9 July 2019 14:17 (four years ago) link
our midfield as it stands (and minus, presumably, Pogba) is laughably poor in every respect
― Number None, Tuesday, 9 July 2019 14:24 (four years ago) link
Really quite excited at the idea of Newcastle replacing Rafa with Steve Bruce. Has any other club managed to collect all four of McClaren, Allardyce, Bruce and Pards?
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 9 July 2019 15:07 (four years ago) link
Maguire is much better than his detractors claim. Newcastle is lol.
― Wes Wood (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 9 July 2019 15:54 (four years ago) link
Bit o' hyperbole, be cool lads.
― Uptown VONC (Le Bateau Ivre), Tuesday, 9 July 2019 16:10 (four years ago) link
all good
is trippier even gonna start this season? i've somehow ended up with him in our draft we've got going
― nxd, Wednesday, 10 July 2019 10:02 (four years ago) link
There have been rumours for months he's going to Napoli. The lure of playing alongside Vlad Chiriches must be strong.
― ShariVari, Wednesday, 10 July 2019 10:29 (four years ago) link
thats a rumour that time and repetition have made no less bizarre
hes our best rb, if we need two new rbs (we do) then ive not seen solid links to them yet
― phil neville jacket (darraghmac), Wednesday, 10 July 2019 11:38 (four years ago) link
because historically this is how your owner thinks
― Wes Wood (Noodle Vague), Wednesday, 10 July 2019 11:39 (four years ago) link
ive not seen that lately tbh.
getting rid of trippier for 30m is good half-business
maybe poch thinks its kwps turn to become ok, maybe trippier was just that wrecked from wc
surely aurier is first out the door after fuckery on-off pitch and wages
― phil neville jacket (darraghmac), Wednesday, 10 July 2019 11:41 (four years ago) link
Toby to Roma with Zaniolo coming the other way?
― groovypanda, Friday, 12 July 2019 11:59 (four years ago) link
been touted for a week now, but:
- swap deals never happen
- why would he go there
― phil neville jacket (darraghmac), Friday, 12 July 2019 12:44 (four years ago) link
yeah Rome is awful compared to North London
― Tim, Friday, 12 July 2019 12:47 (four years ago) link
we can only presume his last chance at a big contract decision will rest upon the quality of piazza available yes
― phil neville jacket (darraghmac), Friday, 12 July 2019 12:49 (four years ago) link
I'm just saying it's imaginable that someone might choose to do a thing for reasons other than the bottom line, dude.
― Tim, Friday, 12 July 2019 12:53 (four years ago) link
villa after trezeguet too
never heard of the team he plays for
― nxd, Friday, 12 July 2019 13:18 (four years ago) link
xp not to be testy tim but yr response practically sighed and blew its hair out of its eyes tbh- the question wasnt thrown out there as a parochial slur on anywhere
'there' is roma the club, we can obv build in the quality of life factors (weather aside, are they so different for an athlete multimillionaire celebrity between london and rome? who knows?).
is roma the club a step up? id have said not, history and all that say its level at present.
is the salary on offer (after tax and all whatnot) at roma now (inc years offered) going to beat any spurs offer (likely, likely) as well as any other offer coming in (id really have thought not)
and then the old "am i in the right place now, is the risk of a move a factor"
theres a ton of places id have thought were obvious better options on a range of relevant items....idk do spurs fans overrate him or what but id have him walking into pretty much any first xi in the world, and 30 isnt any age for a centre back without any real history of injuries.
its a curious one, is all. maybe hes decided already to run down the last year?
― phil neville jacket (darraghmac), Friday, 12 July 2019 13:21 (four years ago) link
All of which does beg the question: why on earth are Spurs considering letting him go?
― Good cop, Babcock (Chinaski), Friday, 12 July 2019 13:30 (four years ago) link
It's not long before the £25m release clause in Toby's contract expires. Given his age and the fact he has one more year on his contract it's unlikely that, great as he is, he'll be worth much more than that. So I guess Levy is desperate to offload him.
The alternative is he signs a new contract, which I personally would love, but that's the likely end of any major resale value.
― Matt DC, Friday, 12 July 2019 13:35 (four years ago) link
Vertonghen has been the better CB over the last couple of seasons but Toby's playmaking abilities and long passing ability from CB are a really underappreciated aspect of the way the team plays. There aren't many CBs who can do that.
― Matt DC, Friday, 12 July 2019 13:37 (four years ago) link
He's technically good enough, not to mention smart enough to have at least 4 more years in him (arbitrary figure, probably) - that's the value, innit? Strikes me there aren't many of Toby's quality around so unless he's agitating for a move, you do everything you can to keep him?
Or what Matt said.
― Good cop, Babcock (Chinaski), Friday, 12 July 2019 13:39 (four years ago) link
yeah pref to resign him on decent money, imagine that the length of contract is the major prob.
pref after that is another year out of him at current salary. 25m isnt that much to forego for the calibre of player in it, and if nothing else it reinforces levys hardman ego
― phil neville jacket (darraghmac), Friday, 12 July 2019 14:05 (four years ago) link
xxp I'm feeling untestily Fridayish, even in the face of unwarranted and hurtful hair jibes directed at one of ILx's baldest men.
'there' can be Roma the club if you like but 'there' is also unavoidably Roma the city, and Italy the country, right? Also Italy the footballing culture. I understand the requirement for close reading of your communiques but insisting on only one of these 'there's as a subject for your speculation is a bit bleedin' rich I'd say.
There are only a few reasons why a football club would want to retain the services of a player but there are loads of reasons why an individual might want to make a move, even a sideways move. I mean, we can play a game of imagining personal motivations if you like?
― Tim, Friday, 12 July 2019 14:07 (four years ago) link
ill put my scantily clad pate up against any non-finn here tbh
― phil neville jacket (darraghmac), Friday, 12 July 2019 14:10 (four years ago) link
Promises, promises.
― Tim, Friday, 12 July 2019 14:11 (four years ago) link
I'll out-bald you pretenders all day, any day.
― Good cop, Babcock (Chinaski), Friday, 12 July 2019 14:15 (four years ago) link
Wondering if the 'sideways' comment is acceptable to Tottenham ILXspurs fans.
― Orpheus Knutt (Tom D.), Friday, 12 July 2019 14:16 (four years ago) link
anyway, if i ought to clarify that the *why there* carried the unspoken *instead of * of ~all of the supposed options~ and not just stayin at spurs then im happy to do so.
like imagining personal motivations is p much baked in to what we are discussing but its very hard to not imagine madrid, barca, juve and a host of others not offering a better overall package from cafes to dusky evening sunlight year-round but being an obviously more appealing destination career wise.
utd or city for cash while stayin in england if for family reasons or whatever thats a concern
ajax for sentiment
i stand by the confusion over roma being:
- especially appealing to him as an option
but more, i suppose
- being the best offer he has, that we know of
― phil neville jacket (darraghmac), Friday, 12 July 2019 14:16 (four years ago) link
― Orpheus Knutt (Tom D.), Friday, 12 July 2019 14:16 (twenty-eight seconds ago) bookmarkflaglink
i for one am enjoying even the opportunity for such magnanimity tbh, its lovely up here
― phil neville jacket (darraghmac), Friday, 12 July 2019 14:18 (four years ago) link
My "sideways" was a ref to deems's "history and all that say its level at present" fwiw. I try not to get into "which club's bigger" anymore because I can't make sense of the arguments involved; was happy to rely on the opinion of a hairy expert.
― Tim, Friday, 12 July 2019 14:19 (four years ago) link
* trying desperately not to make a comment about Exeter City *
― Orpheus Knutt (Tom D.), Friday, 12 July 2019 14:21 (four years ago) link
anyways spending even five mins imagining such a dilemma has put me in right good form tbh
now pondering a transfer-column style breathless reporting of rumours linking me with a move to the office of public works
"he likes their style of operating, but the location on the southside could be an issue for him, we hear"
"the salary package is fine, but the departments are wrangling over the final details and hes asked for a window desk which will upset a number of long-serving incumbents"
― phil neville jacket (darraghmac), Friday, 12 July 2019 14:22 (four years ago) link
two bald men fighting over a rome at this stage
― phil neville jacket (darraghmac), Friday, 12 July 2019 14:23 (four years ago) link
"there was a fall-out in the weekly team meeting in which two cups of coffee were spilled"
― Tim, Friday, 12 July 2019 14:24 (four years ago) link
xp haha
griezemann to barca is done?
― phil neville jacket (darraghmac), Friday, 12 July 2019 14:34 (four years ago) link
Apparently, which makes Neymar seem far more unlikely to me but fuck it, small club mentality
― jou're much too jung, girl (Noodle Vague), Friday, 12 July 2019 15:24 (four years ago) link
BREAKING - #AtleticoMadrid confirm they are taking #FCBarcelona to court on signing of Antoine Griezmann, they believe they are entitled to an extra €80m https://t.co/3LtlBZBggO pic.twitter.com/168zwRkjPb— footballespana (@footballespana_) July 12, 2019
― Number None, Friday, 12 July 2019 15:58 (four years ago) link
Juventus 'complete £63m deal for Ajax star Matthijs de Ligt' https://t.co/An6xS6tS3d— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) July 12, 2019
― Number None, Friday, 12 July 2019 16:03 (four years ago) link