Incoming ...

[AG7]

Tomorrow's papers carrying story that Mangala has said he'd rather join Chelsea than City and that he is in no mood of closing any deals till after the WorldCup (while we clearly would like to do our business sooner) ... He is also quoted something about PSG might also come for him ... this is Hazard all over again, don't like the player one but when they start talking this kind of shit while being negotiated.

"City or Chelsea? Chelsea because it is London”

[Sue Perb]

Tomorrow's papers carrying story that Mangala has said he'd rather join Chelsea than City and that he is in no mood of closing any deals till after the WorldCup (while we clearly would like to do our business sooner) ... He is also quoted something about PSG might also come for him ... this is Hazard all over again, don't like the player one but when they start talking this kind of shit while being negotiated. "City or Chelsea? Chelsea because it is London”

If he doesn't want to join us, in preference to other 'interested' clubs, then he's not for us; surely?

I really don't like this media posturing; waiting to see which club will sycophantically 'woo' them with offers and gestures!

If you don't want to join the team that consistently out-performed ALL the other teams, then join those who came second to MCFC.

It's like 8 year olds in the playground "do you want to be in my gang?" Phew!

[Bianchi on Ice]

papers will have so many sticks to beat us with re mangala ffp milner etc its like they are on the fuckin forest floor. spoilt for choice.
news for em....prem title, cunts x

[Peter Doherty (AGAIG)]

Tomorrow's papers carrying story that Mangala has said he'd rather join Chelsea than City and that he is in no mood of closing any deals till after the WorldCup (while we clearly would like to do our business sooner) ... He is also quoted something about PSG might also come for him ... this is Hazard all over again, don't like the player one but when they start talking this kind of shit while being negotiated.

"City or Chelsea? Chelsea because it is London”

That's a Mark Ogden story, Ogden is a degenerate rag cretin.

[The Original Special One]

City and Porto have agreed a £16.2m (€20m) deal for defensive midfielder Fernando (26) according to Portuguese journalist Goncalo Lopes ...

The latest theory doing rounds in media in Portugal is that City doing a double deal with Porto but could pay more for Fernando while Mangala's price dropping because Porto own a bigger % of Fernando's rights.

Bacry Sagna on free transfer, witha hefty sign-on bonus for him is also a done deal ... All three deals to be announced soon after the window officially opens on July 1st.

I'm not fully convinced by Sagna; his Cup Final performance was probably the best I've seen from him all season so clearly it was a 'shop-window' performance.
But if Micah Richards is on the way out - and, critically, we need to keep up our home-grown quota - then we've got no option.

[Dameerto]

wtf has become of our john guidetti???

JOHNNY FOOTBALL.... Just drafted by the browns. Feel bad for him, Cleveland is such a shit town.

And brown isn't much of a colour.

Brown is so good it has a sauce named after it. Second only to orange in the 'colours that have things named after them' stakes.

[TheBlueCatsWhiskers]

Brown is so good it has a sauce named after it. Second only to orange in the 'colours that have things named after them' stakes.

Greens!

[Hutch's Shoulder]

papers will have so many sticks to beat us with re mangala ffp milner etc its like they are on the fuckin forest floor. spoilt for choice. news for em....prem title, cunts x

Between now and the start of the season I expect a story in some paper or other about each of our players wanting to leave and each of our targets, real or imaginary, not wanting to come. The summer's too short, and hopefully too warm, to worry about them all.

[Ted Hughes]

City and Porto have agreed a £16.2m (€20m) deal for defensive midfielder Fernando (26) according to Portuguese journalist Goncalo Lopes ...

The latest theory doing rounds in media in Portugal is that City doing a double deal with Porto but could pay more for Fernando while Mangala's price dropping because Porto own a bigger % of Fernando's rights.

Bacry Sagna on free transfer, witha hefty sign-on bonus for him is also a done deal ... All three deals to be announced soon after the window officially opens on July 1st.

I'm not fully convinced by Sagna; his Cup Final performance was probably the best I've seen from him all season so clearly it was a 'shop-window' performance.
But if Micah Richards is on the way out - and, critically, we need to keep up our home-grown quota - then we've got no option.

Sagna is not home grown.

[Goaters 103]

Spot on Ted, Sagna isn't homegrown nor is he worth a 3 yr megabucks deal at age 31.

We'd be better keeping Richards and him seeing out his contract, given the FFP quota we've agreed to with Uefa purely on the basis that we must have at least 8 serviceable homegrowns - cant get by with a squad full of Boyata's, Wrights and Lopes's. Mind you I think our CL chances next year are zilch anyway.

[Benjay]

I'm not fully convinced by Sagna; his Cup Final performance was probably the best I've seen from him all season so clearly it was a 'shop-window' performance.
But if Micah Richards is on the way out - and, critically, we need to keep up our home-grown quota - then we've got no option.

I thought he played pretty well against us at the Emirates. I know its difficult but I would like to see some UK players in our team or some of the kids playing. I was one of the ones who thought it ridiculous that Arsenal never played an englishman, a few years ago, so it would be hypocritical to say that I don't care with City. Perhaps its cos I grew up idolising the likes of David White and Steve Redmond.

[Ted Hughes]

Spot on Ted, Sagna isn't homegrown nor is he worth a 3 yr megabucks deal at age 31.

We'd be better keeping Richards and him seeing out his contract, given the FFP quota we've agreed to with Uefa.

Sagna, (imo like Negredo, Navas, Fernandinho, Demichelis) will be a 'stop gap' player whilst we put the final touches to the academy, & evaluate what we have so far, then we will figure out which positions we need cover for & which positions we can fill with academy players.

We have spent absolute fortunes on squad fillers over the years. I'm optimistic that figure will drop enormously over the next five years & the money will be spent on a few world star players, & young players who we have a need for & the other places will be filled by our own kids with perhaps the odd Sagna or Demichelis thrown in where needed.

Also Sagna imo is a great crosser of the ball & would get much more assists under Pellegrini.

[DoomMerchant]

I'm not fully convinced by Sagna; his Cup Final performance was probably the best I've seen from him all season so clearly it was a 'shop-window' performance.
But if Micah Richards is on the way out - and, critically, we need to keep up our home-grown quota - then we've got no option.

I thought he played pretty well against us at the Emirates. I know its difficult but I would like to see some UK players in our team or some of the kids playing. I was one of the ones who thought it ridiculous that Arsenal never played an englishman, a few years ago, so it would be hypocritical to say that I don't care with City. Perhaps its cos I grew up idolising the likes of David White and Steve Redmond.

the hard part is that the English talent that we've got are teenage kids.

Unless we go out and buy the Luke Shaws and Ross Barkleys with a very very steep English tax included then we've got no chance to making our team "more English."

cheers

[Ted Hughes]

I'm not fully convinced by Sagna; his Cup Final performance was probably the best I've seen from him all season so clearly it was a 'shop-window' performance.
But if Micah Richards is on the way out - and, critically, we need to keep up our home-grown quota - then we've got no option.

I thought he played pretty well against us at the Emirates. I know its difficult but I would like to see some UK players in our team or some of the kids playing. I was one of the ones who thought it ridiculous that Arsenal never played an englishman, a few years ago, so it would be hypocritical to say that I don't care with City. Perhaps its cos I grew up idolising the likes of David White and Steve Redmond.

the hard part is that the English talent that we've got are teenage kids.

Unless we go out and buy the Luke Shaws and Ross Barkleys with a very very steep English tax included then we've got no chance to making our team "more English."

cheers

Not immediately but it will happen naturally in the coming years imo. We will still have a lot of non English players too, some of them 'club trained', but I think we will end up with some kids from the home countries making the grade.

In the meantime we have the 'Greg Dyke' problem of what to do with them when they reach 20 ish & how to evaluate them.

I'm wondering if, in a few years, we will have to suck it for a season & just go with half a squad of kids, in order to make the transition.

[DoomMerchant]

I'm not fully convinced by Sagna; his Cup Final performance was probably the best I've seen from him all season so clearly it was a 'shop-window' performance.
But if Micah Richards is on the way out - and, critically, we need to keep up our home-grown quota - then we've got no option.

I thought he played pretty well against us at the Emirates. I know its difficult but I would like to see some UK players in our team or some of the kids playing. I was one of the ones who thought it ridiculous that Arsenal never played an englishman, a few years ago, so it would be hypocritical to say that I don't care with City. Perhaps its cos I grew up idolising the likes of David White and Steve Redmond.

the hard part is that the English talent that we've got are teenage kids.

Unless we go out and buy the Luke Shaws and Ross Barkleys with a very very steep English tax included then we've got no chance to making our team "more English."

cheers

Not immediately but it will happen naturally in the coming years imo. We will still have a lot of non English players too, some of them 'club trained', but I think we will end up with some kids from the home countries making the grade.

In the meantime we have the 'Greg Dyke' problem of what to do with them when they reach 20 ish & how to evaluate them.

I'm wondering if, in a few years, we will have to suck it for a season & just go with half a squad of kids, in order to make the transition.

i can see in the next 3-5 years a season, or two, like that. This place will turn into the Poseidon Adventure when it happens. Should be fun.

cheers

[Ted Hughes]

I'm not fully convinced by Sagna; his Cup Final performance was probably the best I've seen from him all season so clearly it was a 'shop-window' performance.
But if Micah Richards is on the way out - and, critically, we need to keep up our home-grown quota - then we've got no option.

I thought he played pretty well against us at the Emirates. I know its difficult but I would like to see some UK players in our team or some of the kids playing. I was one of the ones who thought it ridiculous that Arsenal never played an englishman, a few years ago, so it would be hypocritical to say that I don't care with City. Perhaps its cos I grew up idolising the likes of David White and Steve Redmond.

the hard part is that the English talent that we've got are teenage kids.

Unless we go out and buy the Luke Shaws and Ross Barkleys with a very very steep English tax included then we've got no chance to making our team "more English."

cheers

Not immediately but it will happen naturally in the coming years imo. We will still have a lot of non English players too, some of them 'club trained', but I think we will end up with some kids from the home countries making the grade.

In the meantime we have the 'Greg Dyke' problem of what to do with them when they reach 20 ish & how to evaluate them.

I'm wondering if, in a few years, we will have to suck it for a season & just go with half a squad of kids, in order to make the transition.

i can see in the next 3-5 years a season, or two, like that. This place will turn into the Poseidon Adventure when it happens. Should be fun.

cheers

Haha yeah it would actually be fucking hilarious.

[The Original Special One]

I'm not fully convinced by Sagna; his Cup Final performance was probably the best I've seen from him all season so clearly it was a 'shop-window' performance.
But if Micah Richards is on the way out - and, critically, we need to keep up our home-grown quota - then we've got no option.

I thought he played pretty well against us at the Emirates. I know its difficult but I would like to see some UK players in our team or some of the kids playing. I was one of the ones who thought it ridiculous that Arsenal never played an englishman, a few years ago, so it would be hypocritical to say that I don't care with City. Perhaps its cos I grew up idolising the likes of David White and Steve Redmond.

I seem to recall him starting a major strop with Zaba a couple of seasons back - and trying to get him sent off; and wasn't him that did a big back-somersault on Saturday when a Hull player barely touched him?

If Micah is on the way out/his injury record won't clear up, then fine, because he's 'home-grown' and we need him for FFP, but I'm not fully convinced by him. Too hot and cold, and we know what Clichy's done for us.
And Adebayor; and even Kolo, for the most part.

[AG7]

I'm not fully convinced by Sagna; his Cup Final performance was probably the best I've seen from him all season so clearly it was a 'shop-window' performance. But if Micah Richards is on the way out - and, critically, we need to keep up our home-grown quota - then we've got no option.

Difference between Sagna and Richards is that Sagna will probably be available to play and play out 20 odd games that Zaba can be rested for ... which Richards never seem to be available for and even when he is for to play, needs to be subbed off and Zaba brought on to get a grip on the game (remember Watford?) ... do we end up using Zaba for ALL our games ... that is one lad who needs resting or else we will burn him out so Sagna over Richards any day for me ... yes home grown and the rest issues but that's for the club to sort out, what the point of having all these home grown players in squad who are all sick notes or not good enough to even be considered an option ...

[DoomMerchant]

I'm not fully convinced by Sagna; his Cup Final performance was probably the best I've seen from him all season so clearly it was a 'shop-window' performance.
But if Micah Richards is on the way out - and, critically, we need to keep up our home-grown quota - then we've got no option.

I thought he played pretty well against us at the Emirates. I know its difficult but I would like to see some UK players in our team or some of the kids playing. I was one of the ones who thought it ridiculous that Arsenal never played an englishman, a few years ago, so it would be hypocritical to say that I don't care with City. Perhaps its cos I grew up idolising the likes of David White and Steve Redmond.

I seem to recall him starting a major strop with Zaba a couple of seasons back - and trying to get him sent off; and wasn't him that did a big back-somersault on Saturday when a Hull player barely touched him?

If Micah is on the way out/his injury record won't clear up, then fine, because he's 'home-grown' and we need him for FFP, but I'm not fully convinced by him. Too hot and cold, and we know what Clichy's done for us.
And Adebayor; and even Kolo, for the most part.

All those players you listed have actually contributed to our rise and success over the last 4 years so i'm not sure exactly what your point is. We weren't going from where we were to where we are now without some stepping stones and i think we actually can thank each of those players to contributing in some fashion to our progress.

cheers

[sheblue]

what do we want sagna for, why not just sort Richards out, much better option.