Kostas

Is the first Swift long ranger a goal he scored in last year's Milk Cup?

Been there done that. 12 months ago. I wasn't a fan of that signing by any stretch of the imagination but while it could be argued that he didn't improve our thin squad he could not possibly worsen it.

FFS. The European transfer window has been open for a grand total of 10 days. I'm with Warnie's points on this one but I'd rather join the discussion when the squad is close to being finalized.

You're crazy.

How dare we produce players that may be ordinary?

Can any signing actually make a squad worse?

The transfer fee is still unknown but we definitely got more that the reported 750.000£.

Thank you, I truly appreciate it.

Mind if I use that as my status?

Interesting, although unpopular appointment. The Technical director role is quite different to the Director of Football role because recruiting youth players (ie U17) and being in charge of the academy won't be Emenalo's work. Moreover we don't yet know whether he will have be part of the Football Board as our previous DoFs were. Having a technical director who is not the Head of the Academy is going to be an improvement over the previous situation as there won't be anymore a conflict of interests like mismanaging the squad to promote your own work at the academy... Seeing as there is bound to be some (unjust) negative response to this move I'll post this detailed profile of him from the Irish Independent. Journeyman Emenalo'sunlikely rise to big time It should be read by even the most informed fans as it goes beyond the overplayed U12 girls coach bull. Of course the writer couldn't avoid making assumption on his relationship with Roman Abramovich but he can be forgiven partly because some might have thought his write-up was incomplete without something like that and partly because he fell into the same trap everyone falls when trying to figure the connections of a man who doesn't even speak Russian. Juni also wrote a good article (The Emenalo Controversy) on the unfair criticism he gets, analyzing both the problem people have with his role and the accusations of having no experience. Knowing this might make this post even more annoying I have to admit that he looked quite intelligent to me in his short interview. Nothing like the bloke who the fans turned into a scapegoat during our last season.

He had the main attributes a 3rd goalie needs, he was free and homegrown. OT: What's with the attempts to justify woeful players by comparing them with woeful footballers from other teams we think are shit? This has happened with super subs and now Turnbull, please if you really need to feel superior or big-up our players try to find a stronger case for them.

I was on the same boat before his injury and I'm on the same now. Essien at his best was so good that he deserved another shot this season, no matter how bad 10/11 was. A lot will depend on when he returns for his new injury and what he'll show us once he's back, I'm not optimistic.

Arsenal It is possible.

Erm..I wasn't referring to your post.

10m Euros?! The Bavarians have a good sense of humour..

Don't see the fuss around thim to be honest. How many of his goals came from set-pieces again? His signing signals the end for Meireles and/or Aquilani which is a good thing as far as I'm concerned as they are both better players.

We ain't going to sell him while he's injured so might aswell stop whining now. A terribly unlucky player and this injury only strengthens my doubts of him returning to his best since his injuries have been pretty severe and his style of play depended much on his physical attributes.

10m a year? Not bad at all.. The fact that the company is quite close to Mansour means that City establishing themselves amongst the top teams and the "Manhester City" brand getting bigger wouldn't have made much of a difference on the sum they will get. "City of Manchester" was so bloody generic that changing its name is going to be easy, certainly easier than renaming Stamford Bridge which is why its naming rights are probably worth much less.

^ROFL

What I think should be our targets or what the club requires of him?

Never actually got his Chelsea debut, one of the few along with Mancienne that came from our academy and wasn't brought from another English club. Southhampton got a U21 international for peanuts, good for them.

I'm pretty sure I pointed that out when the first rumours about us hiring him came to surface. Even so the blame for Torres' horrific injury record can't layed solely on Ortega. Torres being injury prone is a truth we can't hide from and the well-documented lack or rest along with Benitez's exhausting training methods (which hurt other players apart from Torres) probably contributed more to the injuries he's had than the work of his fitness coach.

FYI, playmaker is not a position, it's a state of mind.

You're right about that. I still anticipate some noise from Hiddink's camp once his contract with Turkey ends. Don't believe Emelano will be either permanent or all-powerful.