Surf's Up: Summer 2015 Transfer Rumors

Bailey10

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Zomp said:
Given the owners the smear campaign was a given...
 
 
cjdmadcow said:
 
 
 
Have I missed something here? What smear campaign has been waged by FSG or any employee of the club? Rodgers has done nothing but praise him over the last 12 months or so - at one point calling him the best youth player in Europe - and he's continually said to the media that he trains well and gets on with his team mates.
 
Privately behind the scenes he may be ripping him to pieces but he's not uttered a word of criticism publicly since Sterling made the ill-advised decision to give an exclusive interview with the BBC that spectacularly back-fired on him. And neither has anyone else from FSG, come to that.
 
As for taking football comment from Deadspin seriously...really?
 
While you can debate how much FSG smeared Suarez when he was trying to force a move to Arsenal/sold a year later to Barca, there is an irrefutable history of smear campaigns directed by FSG against people leaving the Redsox.
 
Francona, Manny, Damon, Lowe, and Nomar just to name a few.
 

SoxFanInCali

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Yes, there are a bunch of ex-Liverpool guys in the media.  That doesn't change the fact that Sterling and his agent have said a lot of idiotic things publicly.  When an agent comes out and says the day before a scheduled meeting with the club that the player won't sign even if he is offered 900,000 a week, how exactly are the media supposed to interpret that?
 
He's a young, talented player with a ton of potential, but hasn't accomplished anything at this point in his career.  The club went out of their way to protect his health by giving him a mid-season break, which looked brilliant when he came back and played well.  They offered him a big raise even though he still had a couple of years left on his deal.
 
Everything has clearly broken down at this point but it's not an unreasonable position to take that the issues are at the very least as much the fault of Sterling and his representatives as they are the club.
 

cjdmadcow

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I don't understand your problem, teddy. Your intimating that there's a orchestrated corporate message coming out of Anfield, messages passed from management to external mouthpieces and it's complete & utter nonsense. You give our ex-players to much credit for their intelligence. They're football players, not political spin-doctors.
 
Sure, ex-players are vocal as to their criticism of said player but 1 - he deserves every single word of it and 2 - to suggest they need to be told what to say is laughable and shows how little you know about LFC and the way MOST (not all) ex-players are held in such high regard by staff and supporters.
 
It is correct that he's asked not to go on the pre-season tour - against the terms of his contract - and it's true that he cried off training today at the last minute citing illness. He's making himself such an easy target it's no surprise everyone's taking shots at him. 
 
The club has done nothing wrong at all - NOTHING. Everything headed Sterling's way is down to his own management team and his own poor decision making process. Maybe you shouldn't have signed that huge contract then, Raheem?
 
The sooner he fucks off the better but not before we've fleeced £50m out of whoever is stupid enough to pay it. £50m? Hahahahaha, I'll be laughing all the way to the bank when they cash the cheque (Bank of Qatar, probably).
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Rumors are pretty strong that RVP will go to Fenerbahce, signing a new four year deal.  Fener will supposedly pay United a 6m euro fee and there is some speculation that United will actually use that money to help pay out (or do so partially) the final year of his current contract.
 
That seems like the first of a few dominoes.   LVG doesn't seem to rate Chicharito and their only other strikers are Rooney and Wilson, who isn't close to ready, so I have to think they will try to buy another striker.
 
There is some chance that United ends up playing Fener in the Champions League qualifying round in August.  That would be interesting, with Nani and RVP lining up against them.
 

SoxFanInCali

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Bailey10 said:
 
 
 
While you can debate how much FSG smeared Suarez when he was trying to force a move to Arsenal/sold a year later to Barca, there is an irrefutable history of smear campaigns directed by FSG against people leaving the Redsox.
 
Francona, Manny, Damon, Lowe, and Nomar just to name a few.
 
The clubs have the same ownership, but it's not like FSG owns the Liverpool Echo or any of the tabloids, unlike the Globe.
 
Suarez is still liked by Liverpool fans, and he has already come back and played a charity game at Anfield, so it doesn't appear that he has animosity towards the club at this point. 
 

Zomp

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Looks like Darmian should become official today or tomorrow, while the club is still looking at Schneiderlin.
 
RVP looks to be off to Fenerbache after The Guardian reported the few was agreed to between clubs.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Sterling called in sick again. Seemingly coincidentally, Sterling's agent Aidy Ward lost his only other big-name client in Saido Berahino.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Steven N'Zonzi moves from Stoke to Sevilla for 7m pounds.  He's a good player who was somewhat wasted at Stoke IMO and I'm surprised that Premier League teams didn't make a stronger run for him at that price, although maybe he wanted to get out of England (and get to a team likely to play in Europe).  This transfer is also interesting because it suggests Sevilla might be planning to sell Krychowiak.
 

Bailey10

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Sevilla aren't just likely to play in Europe. They are guaranteed a spot in the Champions League group stages after winning the Europa League. 
 

teddykgb

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SoxFanInCali said:
Yes, there are a bunch of ex-Liverpool guys in the media.  That doesn't change the fact that Sterling and his agent have said a lot of idiotic things publicly.  When an agent comes out and says the day before a scheduled meeting with the club that the player won't sign even if he is offered 900,000 a week, how exactly are the media supposed to interpret that?
 
He's a young, talented player with a ton of potential, but hasn't accomplished anything at this point in his career.  The club went out of their way to protect his health by giving him a mid-season break, which looked brilliant when he came back and played well.  They offered him a big raise even though he still had a couple of years left on his deal.
 
Everything has clearly broken down at this point but it's not an unreasonable position to take that the issues are at the very least as much the fault of Sterling and his representatives as they are the club.
 
I'm going to bite even though I know I'm going to regret it.   Everything was progressing with Sterling until around January.  While I have no doubt that the player's agent and the player have made some mistakes here, Liverpool's ever present desire to be a victim in this is amusing to me.   Here is your manager, on Sterling:
 
http://nesn.com/2015/02/brendan-rodgers-lfc-offering-raheem-sterling-incredible-contract/
 


“What the club has offered is an incredible deal for a young player. I have spoken to Raheem a number of times. He is very happy here and you see that in his game. What he has been granted at this football club is an opportunity. We see that with lots of young players they are getting the opportunity to play here and they get rewarded for that.
 
“But we are certainly not a club that is going to give out way, way above what a player is worth at a certain time of his career. It is not a case of giving any player, and I am talking generally here rather than just Raheem, what they want. We want to reward our best talents, they are a big part of our future and we are confident that will all be in hand and resolved soon.”
 
While a reasonable stance, inside of 5 months Liverpool slapped a 50m price tag on him.  So is he worth that or not?  What you've seen over the last few days is what happens when a player has an unreasonable price tag.  Sterling's only real options to move at this point are to do the same thing Lallana did last season Link or Lovren did before that LINK, just to name a couple.  This type of thing happens in football all the time, only in Liverpool is it some sort of an affront to humanity that a player has someone willing to pay him more than his own team is willing to pay and the team who won't pay the salary believes the player is somehow offending them by not professing fealty to his master.  At the end of the day, Liverpool have lined up every former player and pundit they could find to comment on what this player should do and how this 20 year old should genuflect at the altar of the club.  I listen to a fair amount of Talksport and it's been laughable how this player has been treated by his own supposed fans, let alone his number being leaked and all the booing at the onset of this saga.
 
For me, this has very little to do with the fact that Sterling may end up a City player.  I was talking about how he was England's best at the WC and never dreamed I'd see him in a City shirt.  Even when this whole thing started, it seemed crazy that Liverpool would end up in a war with their best young player so soon after getting Suarez money and going through the same saga with him.  From a big picture perspective, I think Liverpool handled this player and his ego completely wrong, leading to what transpired over the winter.  And as things went south, there were constant leaks and all kinds of negativity about a player you were somehow trying to still re-sign.  It just makes very little sense to me and the uproar over the way this man should act in regards to the club is extra cult like.
 
As a City fan, Yaya Toure said and did probably 30x worse things.  While it certainly angered me and plenty within City's hierarchy, City didn't spend the next 6 months submarining his value and leaking bad things about the player while trying to get him to agree to a contract extension.  I guess that's the part that's so bizarre to me -- the Liverpool media machine has collectively decided that he's not even that good and that Liverpool were right to not pay him huge wages but that Liverpool absolutely must get at least 50m pounds for him.  If you're Liverpool's next great hope, Jordan Ibe, how are you watching this and feeling good about what's going on?
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Good post teddy.
 
IMO, both parties look pretty bad in this saga.  Everything you say about Liverpool is true.  At the same time, a 20-year-old player who hasn't accomplished anything turning up his nose at 100k per week is extremely unusual and, frankly, hard to defend.  I can't think of a player that made more at that age, including Messi.
 
Edit: It seems to me that because players have so much power over their destinations and contracts are only seen as semi-binding in soccer (especially compared to American sports), unwritten rules and norms regarding player behavior are particularly important to clubs, pundits, and supporters.  And two of those unwritten rules and norms are that young players (roughly 18-22), while perhaps holding ambitions to make more money and move to bigger clubs, (a) don't hold out for too much money and (b) are willing play at least for a few seasons at first team level to reward the clubs that developed them, as long at they're getting the opportunity to get on the pitch.  If you're young and you aren't getting opportunities at your club, you can move (ie, Pogba).  But don't start demanding 200k per week and to only play for a team that is winning silverware every season when you're 20 years old and haven't really accomplished anything yet. 
 
Second edit: Pretty good new ad actually.  Maybe he's signing for Arsenal.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3Jf99_5WIs
 

SoxFanInCali

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Hey, I'm not putting all the blame on Sterling. As I said in my above post, I just think Sterling and his agent are at least as responsible as the club for the breakdown.
 
I guess where I disagree with Teddy is the characterization that the club has "lined up every former player and pundit they could find to comment on what this player should do and how this 20 year old should genuflect at the altar of the club".  Did you watch Sterling's BBC interview, and have you read the things his agent has said?  They have given the media all the ammo they need to bury Sterling, the club hasn't had to say anything.  Yes, I am sure Carragher and others still talk to people at the club, but do you really think that the only way they could come to a conclusion that Sterling is greedy and hasn't accomplished anything is because they are being fed info by the club?  As MMS said, he's a 20 year old who turned down 100,000 a week.  He has won nothing, and didn't exactly impress in the Champions League last season.  He hasn't earned 200K per week or whatever he is asking for.  That doesn't mean that his transfer value isn't extremely high, though.  He's still a 20 year old English homegrown player with tons of potential.
 
He has 2 years left on a contract that pays him 35K a week.  He's turned down a new deal that would triple that.  Yes, Lallana and Lovren did some things to try and force moves to Liverpool, but the reason they both ultimately did move is because Liverpool paid Southampton's asking price.  Liverpool have every right to put a price on Sterling, and him pouting doesn't mean City get a discount from that valuation.  Maybe the club would take less from another club outside England, but if City want him now, that's the price.
 
You also seem surprised that this could happen when the club had gone through this with Suarez.  Are you talking about how Liverpool didn't sell Suarez to Arsenal for 40M GBP, made him come back for another season, and then sold him to Barca for somewhere between 65M and 75M?  What lesson, exactly, should the club take away from that?
 

cjdmadcow

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Teddy, this ain't personal it's just that you're so wrong :) Maybe this particular discussion / argument / disagreement* is better served in the LFC thread so I'll just leave this final comment here.
 
Yaya was one of the world's best players at the time of his dummy-throwing (or was it birthday cake?) and so had a considerable back-catalogue to point to and say 'this is what I'm worth' Stirling does not...he's only just got a catalogue, let alone one with a back.
 
As SFiC states, Southampton set the price for Lallana & Lovren (over market value imho), Liverpool wanted them so paid the fee. That's all LFC are doing with Sterling
 
Again, I'll use Suarez as an example as he's the most recent one in our case. It was never about money for him, he wanted to move to Barcelona pure and simple. Of course, the cash follows such a move but that was never his motivation, so we set expectations for the following season and he did more than enough for us to say 'Ok fair enough, if Barcelona meet the fee you can go" There was never a hope in hell we would have sold him to another English team because we knew just how good he is.
 
Sterling is decent, not great, but he's a young English player under contract so if you or anyone else wants him, cough up. If he'd had the balls to say that he'd got an opportunity for a massive pay rise (above the 100k we'd offered!) then most LFC fans would say "fair enough, at least you were honest". He can't even do that.
 
Ibe is very happy and appreciates the fantastic wage rise he's just got knowing full well that if he has a couple of sensational seasons we'll happily rip up the contract well before the 5 yr term and give him another great deal. It's all about attitude - good and bad.
 
In addition, one of the reasons he & his team it's been leaked he wants a move is that he wants to return to London (the video above also could be read that way). Maybe he could spend some of that 35k a week he earns now on some map-reading skills as I don't think Eastlands is in the right direction.
 

Schnerres

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Bundesliga rumors:
 
***Immobile from Dortmund to Sevilla for 13.5mil Euros almost perfect.
 
***Schweinsteiger considers ManUnited offer:
If he goes, the transfer should be announced until tomorrow (SAT), at the latest until monday. Why? Saturday is the official roster party where Bayern are showing the players to the fans, so it seems unlikely they are showing Schweini to the fans and then send him away three days later (for example). And on monday, ManU leaves for their Asia tour. Makes sense to join them.
At Bayern, Thiago is a save bet to play in defensive midfield, if he is not injured (which could happen, ofc). But he is favored by Pep. Then you have one more spot in defensive midfield for players like Schweinsteiger, Xabi Alonso, Joshua Kimmich (new signing with lots of potential), Hojbjerg (another superb talent, who just came back from loan at Augsburg), Rode (played superb last season and overachieved many expectations) and possible midfielders like Alaba and Lahm. At ManU, he could join van Gaal, who loves him (and Müller), but could be gone in an instant, it seems.
 
***Schalke made a (16mil.Euros?) bid for Inters Xherdan Shaqiri.
 
***Bobby Wood joinst Union Berlin in 2nd Bundesliga. (I officially hate him now. Former 1860 (that´s ok), last year Aue, this year Berlin, while refusing an offer from Kaiserslautern...)
 
(everything from sport1.de)
 

Cellar-Door

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Ogbonna from Juventus to West Ham is done, Alex Song to West Ham on a free was apparently agreed, but he injured his ankle and so it is on hold while they wait to see if he needs surgery.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Bild and other outlets are now claiming that Schweinsteiger will go to Man United.  He was Bayern through and through but it doesn't surprise me given the lukewarm endorsement of the Bayern brass, as well as the points Schnerres makes above regarding the other, younger options the club has in central midfield.  I think a transition makes sense from Bayern's perspective and they're probably happy that he is leaving (although don't want to say it).
 
If he can stay fit, this should be a great deal for Manchester United, at least in the short term.  Schweinsteiger has a ton of miles on his tires and has lost a lot of time to injury the last few years but he is still top class when healthy and fit.  It was only a year ago that he was one of the best players at the World Cup.  He probably only has 1-2 more years at top level but Van Gaal has a pretty short term time horizon himself so I can understand the fit.
 
Edit: Reports are that its a three year deal for 10m euro per year with a transfer fee in the 18-20 euro range.  I believe that is in the ballpark of his current salary but United essentially tacking on two more years, whereas Bayern didn't want to commit to any extension.
 
Edit2: Other reports say its a 13m euro salary, so a substantial increase.  That's even more of a no-brainer from a financial perspective for the player, basically Bayern guaranteeing him 10m euro for one year and United guaranteeing him 39m euro over three.
 

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Well, Sterling showed up for training today, after calling in sick the last 2 days.
 
The team leaves for Thailand on Sunday to start their pre-season tour of SE Asia and Australia.  We will see if he ends up on the plane or not.
 

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re: Schweinsteiger.  I'd obviously be thrilled if it happens as I think Schweinsteiger could walk into almost any team in the world (certainly in the Premiership) but I hope this doesn't happen at the expense of Schneiderlin.  Bastian was never the quickest player in the world but I do think he'd do wonders pulling the strings for a team with Schneiderlin and Herrerra being the legs in the midfield.  I suppose Carrick or Blind could also work but I was starting to get really excited about Schneiderlin.
 
 
Darmian looks done.  
 

swiftaw

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Looks like Villa have agreed to sell Delph to Man City, even though he just signed a contract extension earlier in the summer.  I understand it from a Man City perspective, they get depth and a player who counts as home-grown, but if I am Delph I would worry the same thing will happen to me as happened with Scott Sinclair. 
 

soxfan121

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He'll never play again, but he will be paid lavishly to not do so. That should be on the Man City crest somewhere.
 

swiftaw

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soxfan121 said:
He'll never play again, but he will be paid lavishly to not do so. That should be on the Man City crest somewhere.
Yet somehow he'll keep his England place.
 

swiftaw

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PedroSpecialK said:
I wouldn't be so sure - Richards, Johnson, and Sinclair didn't
 
 
soxfan121 said:
 
Nor Rodwell
 
Richards' case is a little different as he was a starter for Man City then fell out of favor.  The others though all suffered the same fate as awaits Delph. 
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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swiftaw said:
So, the Daily Mirror (I know, I know) are reporting that the Liverpool owners are willing to let Sterling rot in the reserves rather than sell him for less than they think he's worth (50 million quid).  It says they are also discussing with the PFA as to what they can do if Sterling doesn't show up for the flight on Sunday.
 
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/liverpool-raheem-sterling-rot-reserves-6044517
Thats not a credible threat. They're really going to let him sit in the reserves all year and then sell him for even less next summer, when he has one year left on his contract? Sure.

Unless another buyer enters the picture, Liverpool don't have much leverage. Sterling has fucked them good.
 

swiftaw

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Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:
Thats not a credible threat. They're really going to let him sit in the reserves all year and then sell him for even less next summer, when he has one year left on his contract? Sure.

Unless another buyer enters the picture, Liverpool don't have much leverage. Sterling has fucked them good.
Very true, but would find it immensely amusing if they decided to eat the money and did it to make a point.

If soccer worked like the American sports they could just trade him to Dynamo Kiev or somewhere like that.
 

Mighty Joe Young

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swiftaw said:
Very true, but would find it immensely amusing if they decided to eat the money and did it to make a point.
If soccer worked like the American sports they could just trade him to Dynamo Kiev or somewhere like that.
This is something I've always wondered about. Players seemingly almost always get what they want in World Soccer. From a fans perspective is this a good thing? Growing up with North American sports the reverse is more the norm. I'm old enough to remember when baseball free agency was introduced. And, to this day I'm convinced that most fans still dislike, if not out and out hate it.The NFL has the fewest Players Rights with practically no guerenteed contracts. And it seems that fans love it when their favourite team cuts some poor overpaid schmuck.
 

Spacemans Bong

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The Bosman ruling made the Peter Seitz decision on the reserve clause look like a minor inconvenience - overnight it completely transformed European football. EU players had the right to work anywhere without restrictions (previously countries usually limited teams on the pitch to three foreigners) and they could leave at the end of their contract without compensation.
 
Whether it was good is a matter of who you root for. If you root for a big club in Spain, England, Germany or Italy, by and large it's been pretty good - your club has probably bought in loads of talented foreign players you had never seen play for your club before. Especially in England.
 
If you're a smaller club or a big club in a small country (Ajax are the definitive example of this), it's been a disaster. You just can't compete economically and if you get some good kids together they pretty much get sold off right away.
 
The crux of it is that the lack of compensation at the end of a contract forces clubs to sell with at least one year left on a deal so they get money for the player, and they'll get even more if they sell with two years left. The other thing is that UEFA/FIFA have done a shit job of reigning in agents and the transfer market, so it's total anarchy and you only need one club to play ball. MLB and the players union get together to cut out agents being too unethical, but there isn't really a functioning players union in soccer (I have no idea what FIFPro does) and FIFA/UEFA are out to lunch.
 

Cellar-Door

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PedroSpecialK said:
Sterling to City for £49m. After the 20% sell-on, Liverpool retain ~£40m.

Nicely done
City is crazy, how do you spend that much for someone who isn't good enough to be in your first XI?
 

teddykgb

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Cellar-Door said:
City is crazy, how do you spend that much for someone who isn't good enough to be in your first XI?
 
Don't believe the hype in either direction.  8 months ago, Liverpool pundits would have you believe Sterling was the best young player in Europe (hence the award) and the future of England.  Once he decided he wanted to leave he was a boy too big for  his britches who was overrated.  The truth, of course, lies somewhere in the middle.
 
City lost Milner to Liverpool (without all the drama -- he was linked to Liverpool as early as Jan and City lost him on a free as a result of him winding down his contract, and yet, he'll get a great ovation at the Etihad because he played hard and made a professional decision).  Milner and Navas started the vast majority of City's matches as a midfielder.  Navas has plenty of pace but can't actually beat a man off the dribble, he has a single move to push the ball to the goal line and whip in a cross.  It's semi effective and he's a useful player, but City have been crying out for a player who can dribble to unlock a defense.  They've apparently identified Sterling as that player, and there are stats that make that make sense (along with his English heritage, of course).  I think you're going to see Sterling nearly every week and in every big match, probably as part of a 4-2-3-1 which is effectively how City played at the end of last season.  City are also linked with De Brunye and were linked with Firmino, so it seems they're intending on having a lot of AM types on the pitch at the same time.
 
The biggest question related to Sterling's pitch time will be Nasri, who was benched by the end of last season.  You could imagine Silva, Sterling, Nasri all behind Aguero in a very fluid front 4 or Yaya coming forward with one of Sterling or Nasri to the bench.  I don't think the Sterling will have much difficulty earning a spot over Nasri at this point, and it still wouldn't shock me if Nasri is moved before the season anyway.  In any case, I don't see how you figure Sterling won't make the first XI because I'm pretty sure he's going to make the team sheet in both 4-4-2 (RM) and 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 formations.
 
edit: as to the fee, I struggle with it because in my head a 50m pound player is someone who is out of this world good, but my head probably isn't correctly adjusting fees for this day and age.  So I don't feel comfortable with the amount, but in a world where Shaw and Carroll are 30m pound players, then I can stomach Sterling at 50.  The rules surrounding Homegrown players have really bubbled the English player market but City needed to find HG players this season with Milner and Lampard leaving.  More than anything, I find myself impressed with Wenger and Mourinho for getting Sanchez and Fabregas for so little last season -- they went for very reasonable prices given where the market has been otherwise (Ozil, Carroll, Mata, Willian, Fernandinho, Fellaini)
 

Cellar-Door

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teddykgb said:
 
Don't believe the hype in either direction.  8 months ago, Liverpool pundits would have you believe Sterling was the best young player in Europe (hence the award) and the future of England.  Once he decided he wanted to leave he was a boy too big for  his britches who was overrated.  The truth, of course, lies somewhere in the middle.
 
City lost Milner to Liverpool (without all the drama -- he was linked to Liverpool as early as Jan and City lost him on a free as a result of him winding down his contract, and yet, he'll get a great ovation at the Etihad because he played hard and made a professional decision).  Milner and Navas started the vast majority of City's matches as a midfielder.  Navas has plenty of pace but can't actually beat a man off the dribble, he has a single move to push the ball to the goal line and whip in a cross.  It's semi effective and he's a useful player, but City have been crying out for a player who can dribble to unlock a defense.  They've apparently identified Sterling as that player, and there are stats that make that make sense (along with his English heritage, of course).  I think you're going to see Sterling nearly every week and in every big match, probably as part of a 4-2-3-1 which is effectively how City played at the end of last season.  City are also linked with De Brunye and were linked with Firmino, so it seems they're intending on having a lot of AM types on the pitch at the same time.
 
The biggest question related to Sterling's pitch time will be Nasri, who was benched by the end of last season.  You could imagine Silva, Sterling, Nasri all behind Aguero in a very fluid front 4 or Yaya coming forward with one of Sterling or Nasri to the bench.  I don't think the Sterling will have much difficulty earning a spot over Nasri at this point, and it still wouldn't shock me if Nasri is moved before the season anyway.  In any case, I don't see how you figure Sterling won't make the first XI because I'm pretty sure he's going to make the team sheet in both 4-4-2 (RM) and 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 formations.
I think Nasri is a better player than him, and I think his being (from what I've seen) pretty useless chasing back will hurt him in the 4-4-2. I also am assuming they get De Bruyne. I'm not a Sterling fan at all though (nothing to do with the Liverpool backlash, I always thought he was much more potential than actual performance) so maybe I'm underrating his ability to beat out Navas, Nasri and whoever else they add.
 

Mighty Joe Young

The North remembers
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Sep 14, 2002
8,401
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Cellar-Door said:
City is crazy, how do you spend that much for someone who isn't good enough to be in your first XI?
And The Guardian is reporting Sterling has agreed personal terms of £200,000 a week! I hope, for City's sake Sterling gets along with The Gaffer. That's just nuts. Excellent business by Liverpool.
 

SoxFanInCali

has the rich, deep voice of a god
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California. Duh.
teddykgb said:
edit: as to the fee, I struggle with it because in my head a 50m pound player is someone who is out of this world good, but my head probably isn't correctly adjusting fees for this day and age.  So I don't feel comfortable with the amount, but in a world where Shaw and Carroll are 30m pound players, then I can stomach Sterling at 50.  The rules surrounding Homegrown players have really bubbled the English player market but City needed to find HG players this season with Milner and Lampard leaving. 
 
And that's exactly why Liverpool were able to hold out for the fee they wanted.  Yes, Sterling had a bunch of leverage because the relationship was beyond repair, but Liverpool also knew that City were desperate for a homegrown player that could actually play now that Lampard and Milner are gone.
 
I'm sure he will play well for City.  He's really not a player that can single-handedly win a game (at this point, at least), but he can play off other great players, and I'm guessing he will develop a good understanding with Aguero as he did with Suarez.  Time will tell if he ends up being worth the fee and the weekly wages.  At this point I'm just glad the drama is over and Liverpool got a good return for him.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Jul 2, 2006
22,345
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Win/win I guess.  Liverpool did really well to get that kind of fee given their weak negotiating position.  City did well to sign the best homegrown player possible and with FFP relaxed they just don't care about the money anyway.
 
Fwiw, I would be shocked if Sterling isn't starting regularly for City.
 

Zomp

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Aug 28, 2006
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Schneiderlin medical was today.  Looks like he's done too.  
 
 
WE SIGN WHO WE WANT, WE SIGN WHO WE WANT, WE'RE MAN UNITED, WE SIGN WHO WE WANT
 

bosox4283

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Mar 2, 2004
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Schnerres said:
Bundesliga rumors:
 
***Immobile from Dortmund to Sevilla for 13.5mil Euros almost perfect.
 
 
Why "almost perfect"? To me, it seems that Sevilla has had a great summer. Is Immobile a good player or not?
 

Schnerres

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1,554
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bosox4283 said:
 
Why "almost perfect"? To me, it seems that Sevilla has had a great summer. Is Immobile a good player or not?
At the time i wrote that, it was not done. And as it´s now reported, Sevilla loans him for 3.5mil € for a year, i don´t know about possible buying clauses.
Immobile was said to be great when he was in Italy and starting for Torino. When he came to the Bundesliga, he didn´t impress at all. I believe that Klopp gave him chance after chance after chance, but a) he was a totally different player than Lewandowski (who could defend the ball vs. multiple opponents and that´s what many expected) and b) he just didn´t fit in @ Dortmund, it seems.
At first, he didn´t score for them last season under Klopp (i would guess something like 4 goals in 25 matches), which was somehow contrary to his scoring rate in Italy. Later, he did an interview, in which he said smth like he felt alone and everyone does their own thing after going home..in Italy he was used to many team activities, like going out to dinner with the entire team, having a BBQ back at some guys´ home, etc., while in cold Germany, it´s more like he goes out to dinner with Marco Reus alone and goes for a drink with Mats Hummels and Ilkay Gündogan, but not the whole team...this wasn´t liked by the fans, which are very emotional in Dortmund. So combined with the low scoring and high price tag, he wasn´t seen as a fan favorite.
Now Thomas Tuchel came in and basically everyone had a new chance. He also said that in many interviews, also regarding Ciro Immobile - it was up to him and his output on the field (same for other last seasons disappointments like Adrian Ramos and even Kevin Kampl). But there was some interest in Immoble and he obviously was very unhappy at Dortmund and maybe saw little chance to stay in Italy´s national team for next years Euro, when he doesn´t get regular playing time for them.
 
He is a true No.9, a finisher, which needs to break the knot and then can start scoring again. If he has the trust of his coach, this can end well. I think, this might have also been related to being troubled by tiredness from the long WC summer. So if the guy had a nice summer break and then a complete season preparation with the new team, there will be more goals than at Dortmund. It´s also warmer :buddy:
 

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2004
27,164
Cambridge, MA
Looks like Southampton will get Jordy Clasie from Feyenoord for a mere £7m. Great buy for Koeman, but not sure why Feyenoord would let Clasie go for so little
 

Cellar-Door

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Aug 1, 2006
34,460
In ridiculous pricing news... Stewart Downing from West Ham to Middlesbrough for£5M rising to 7 if they get promoted.