Summer Transfer rumours

[nottsblue]

Apparently we've agreed to buy Aymeric Laporte from Bilbao

http://www.theguardian.com/football/201 ... tic-bilbao

Manchester City have agreed to pay the €50m (£39m) release clause to sign French defender Aymeric Laporte in the summer from Athletic Bilbao, according to reports in Spain.

As revealed by the Guardian last month, City have identified the 21-year-old as their top defensive target for new coach Pep Guardiola despite the centre-half being ruled out until August with a broken leg and dislocated ankle.

40 mill for a 21 year old with a broken leg and dislocated ankle. What could possibly go wrong?

Really hope this is not true. It has fuck up written all over it in big neon letters

[bigblue]

Really hope this is not true. It has fuck up written all over it in big neon letters

Laporte seems to be known as one of the best CB's with a ball at his feet. Fits Pep perfectly.

As long as Denayer is still a big part of the plans I think it's a good idea. My guess is that Demi and Mangeler or Otter are shipped out. Then we'd have Vincent, Otter/Mangeler, Laporte, Denayer. Would be a great mix of youth and experience.

Or ship out Demi and Zabba :( then put Denayer at RB for a bit.

[nottsblue]

Really hope this is not true. It has fuck up written all over it in big neon letters

Laporte seems to be known as one of the best CB's with a ball at his feet. Fits Pep perfectly.

As long as Denayer is still a big part of the plans I think it's a good idea. My guess is that Demi and Mangeler or Otter are shipped out. Then we'd have Vincent, Otter/Mangeler, Laporte, Denayer. Would be a great mix of youth and experience.

Or ship out Demi and Zabba :( then put Denayer at RB for a bit.

I could be doing the lad a big dis-service but when I hear the phrase "ball playing centre half" I fear the worst.

I like my centre halves to defend, rough up the opposition forward a bit, be pacy, and chip in with a few goals from set pieces. If I want the ball played out from the back I expect one of my midfielders to drop deep and come and collect a five or possibly a ten yard pass from the said centre back. He then gives it to the fella who sprays the ball about. Ideally any midfielder should be able to do this.

I know the vogue these days is different, but for the life of me I don't know why coaches and managers try to further complicate things

[freshie]

Really hope this is not true. It has fuck up written all over it in big neon letters

Laporte seems to be known as one of the best CB's with a ball at his feet. Fits Pep perfectly.

As long as Denayer is still a big part of the plans I think it's a good idea. My guess is that Demi and Mangeler or Otter are shipped out. Then we'd have Vincent, Otter/Mangeler, Laporte, Denayer. Would be a great mix of youth and experience.

Or ship out Demi and Zabba :( then put Denayer at RB for a bit.

I could be doing the lad a big dis-service but when I hear the phrase "ball playing centre half" I fear the worst.

I like my centre halves to defend, rough up the opposition forward a bit, be pacy, and chip in with a few goals from set pieces. If I want the ball played out from the back I expect one of my midfielders to drop deep and come and collect a five or possibly a ten yard pass from the said centre back. He then gives it to the fella who sprays the ball about. Ideally any midfielder should be able to do this.

I know the vogue these days is different, but for the life of me I don't know why coaches and managers try to further complicate things

Couldn't agree more

[bigblue]

I know the vogue these days is different, but for the life of me I don't know why coaches and managers try to further complicate things

One reason is the more complicated their tactics seem, the more sophisticated they appear as managers. Easier to add a few extra 0's to their salary during contract negotiations

[Fidel Castro]

Laporte broke his angle doing an Otamendi style dive to try cover up one of his fuckups. That alone makes me not want him anywhere near our squad

[Clowncrete]

I am tired of us blowing cash on a centre back every year while we keep pushing Denayer to the sidelines. Why not spend the money on a winger to replace Navas? If we had bought Sanchez instead of Mangala 2 years back, I am pretty sure we would have won the league that year.

[Ray78]

Full backs need the most attention rather than buying two new centre backs but none seem to be on our wish list which will mean more defensive problems, even with Guardiola in charge. Denayer might be one solution but he has had his fair share of injury problems and left back is our weakest area.

[MARKMAKAVELI]

Laporte & Stones. Def at least one of them.

[Wonderwall]

Really hope this is not true. It has fuck up written all over it in big neon letters

Laporte seems to be known as one of the best CB's with a ball at his feet. Fits Pep perfectly.

As long as Denayer is still a big part of the plans I think it's a good idea. My guess is that Demi and Mangeler or Otter are shipped out. Then we'd have Vincent, Otter/Mangeler, Laporte, Denayer. Would be a great mix of youth and experience.

Or ship out Demi and Zabba :( then put Denayer at RB for a bit.

I could be doing the lad a big dis-service but when I hear the phrase "ball playing centre half" I fear the worst.

I like my centre halves to defend, rough up the opposition forward a bit, be pacy, and chip in with a few goals from set pieces. If I want the ball played out from the back I expect one of my midfielders to drop deep and come and collect a five or possibly a ten yard pass from the said centre back. He then gives it to the fella who sprays the ball about. Ideally any midfielder should be able to do this.

I know the vogue these days is different, but for the life of me I don't know why coaches and managers try to further complicate things

Couldn't agree more

Yes me too. Mr Ranieri plays his players in their best position and keeps it simple. Amazing isn't it.

[Nigels Tackle]

Really hope this is not true. It has fuck up written all over it in big neon letters

Laporte seems to be known as one of the best CB's with a ball at his feet. Fits Pep perfectly.

As long as Denayer is still a big part of the plans I think it's a good idea. My guess is that Demi and Mangeler or Otter are shipped out. Then we'd have Vincent, Otter/Mangeler, Laporte, Denayer. Would be a great mix of youth and experience.

Or ship out Demi and Zabba :( then put Denayer at RB for a bit.

I could be doing the lad a big dis-service but when I hear the phrase "ball playing centre half" I fear the worst.

I like my centre halves to defend, rough up the opposition forward a bit, be pacy, and chip in with a few goals from set pieces. If I want the ball played out from the back I expect one of my midfielders to drop deep and come and collect a five or possibly a ten yard pass from the said centre back. He then gives it to the fella who sprays the ball about. Ideally any midfielder should be able to do this.

I know the vogue these days is different, but for the life of me I don't know why coaches and managers try to further complicate things

Couldn't agree more

Yes me too. Mr Ranieri plays his players in their best position and keeps it simple. Amazing isn't it.

the tinker man hasn't tinkered

[Tokyo Blue]

Yes me too. Mr Ranieri plays his players in their best position and keeps it simple. Amazing isn't it.

the tinker man hasn't tinkered

He might when he has had money to spend next season.

It will be quite interesting to see how they develop over the next twelve months actually. Many of his major players are in their thirties and will need replacing at some point.

[bigblue]

Yes me too. Mr Ranieri plays his players in their best position and keeps it simple. Amazing isn't it.

the tinker man hasn't tinkered

He might when he has had money to spend next season.

It will be quite interesting to see how they develop over the next twelve months actually. Many of his major players are in their thirties and will need replacing at some point.

They also have had the least amount of injuries and no European competition to worry about. All the stars aligned to make an extraordinary season for them.

Unless you have a solid 25 man squad, there'll be a big hangover from winning the league. Big question will be how much does their owner invest now. Leicester shirts must be selling like hot cakes at the moment and the owner was never poor to begin with. Even if they do invest, a bundle of transfers at the same time is very difficult to get right

I'm guessing they finish top half but outside of Europe next year. Not a bold prediction, I know

[DoomMerchant]

Yes me too. Mr Ranieri plays his players in their best position and keeps it simple. Amazing isn't it.

the tinker man hasn't tinkered

He might when he has had money to spend next season.

It will be quite interesting to see how they develop over the next twelve months actually. Many of his major players are in their thirties and will need replacing at some point.

They also have had the least amount of injuries and no European competition to worry about. All the stars aligned to make an extraordinary season for them.

Unless you have a solid 25 man squad, there'll be a big hangover from winning the league. Big question will be how much does their owner invest now. Leicester shirts must be selling like hot cakes at the moment and the owner was never poor to begin with. Even if they do invest, a bundle of transfers at the same time is very difficult to get right

I'm guessing they finish top half but outside of Europe next year. Not a bold prediction, I know

i'm guessing they'll be closer to relegation. They'll lose their two best players for sure in Kante and Mahrez. And then they are fucked. End of story. This isn't a movie we've never seen before.

Anyway, back to the point about Pep and ball-playing defenders...it's not a "complexity" imho, but a style of play that dictates how you have to be and where you have to be when you have the ball and what you do to win it when you get it. If you're playing like Leicester then a ball-playing CB would be a massively fucked up luxury which would be like a marzipan dildo for a side playing tight at the back and looking to break.

Pep isn't going to stand for hoofing the ball around like i've seen us do way way too much this season, and i frankly cannot fucking wait.

Call these "in vogue" defenders anything you want, but Pep wants people who can play football and not just a massive clogger to win some aerial duels. You've got to have more than that.

cheers

[bigblue]

i'm guessing they'll be closer to relegation. They'll lose their two best players for sure in Kante and Mahrez. And then they are fucked. End of story. This isn't a movie we've never seen before.

Anyway, back to the point about Pep and ball-playing defenders...it's not a "complexity" imho, but a style of play that dictates how you have to be and where you have to be when you have the ball and what you do to win it when you get it. If you're playing like Leicester then a ball-playing CB would be a massively fucked up luxury which would be like a marzipan dildo for a side playing tight at the back and looking to break.

Pep isn't going to stand for hoofing the ball around like i've seen us do way way too much this season, and i frankly cannot fucking wait.

Call these "in vogue" defenders anything you want, but Pep wants people who can play football and not just a massive clogger to win some aerial duels. You've got to have more than that.

cheers

Agree that the game has evolved. Pep and others use possession as a form of defense. After all, if they don't have the ball they can't score.

But I prefer massive cloggers who can play football.

Cheers

[sheblue]

We're not about to spunk trillions on a young centre back with a broken leg! That is very risky.

[Wooders]

Surely pep can do something with what we've already got - look at boateng

[Wooders]

Lots of rumours about sanchez from the arse - would be a massive upgrade on navas

[gillie]

Well our owners fat wallet will have to get a lot slimmer this summer as we need a full fuckin overhaul in playing staff as most will not be good enough for Pep's style of play Wednesday night was proof of that.

[Tokyo Blue]

I wonder if real madrid would sell Varane.