LDN Blue

Definitely Schurrle. A Chelsea player who went on to win the World Cup is a feat we're not used to.. Milk it

Lmao did you read how Wenger is trying to buy back Carlos Vela, because he has a clause where he can for £3.5m or something. But the manager of Vela's current club said he doesn't want to go back

The backlash for Messi was hilarious and embarassing from so called "football fans" around the world lmao. Yes, he hasn't won the World Cup for Argentina & I guess he won't surpass Maradonna when speak of them both. I guess he could never do it on a cold night in Stoke either Get a grip. Anyone who thinks Messi, on his form, wasn't the greatest player of his generation is the same people who watch big names for 2 matches and aready decide they're overrated/rubbish (see Cavani v Chelsea this season). The World Cup this season wasn't won by a team with an outstanding individual, it was won by the best team. Messi will still stand out as the greatest of his generation, he earned his stripes already and he shouldn't continue to have to keep proving that. 5 time ballon d'Or champions and his numerous records & accoldaes speak for themselves. So I wholeheartedly believe in the title of this thread.

Exactly. Arsenal get wantaways, but Wenger is still true to his principles (stubborn more like..) and he's not going to break his wage structure. He probably still insists Giroud is good enough

Yeah they could probably strech their finances. But then again, City will be renegotiating soon. Nike now have 1 top 4 club in England signed with them now and if we're not going to move to Nike then they're going to pool all their resources to keep hold of Man City.. I'm sure they can renegotiate before we can even begin and on a mere £12m/year, they will certianly be looking for more than £30m+/year.

Arsenal have the money, your real statement should be "the moment Arsenal are willing to pay his wages.." -- But well, well, well. Isn't this flipping the table upside down. We secure our £30m+ signing in Costa and suddenly Cavani wants in on England. I have no doubt we'll see Manchester City's name crop up soon enough. I'd be delighted if we hadn't already spent big on Costa (a signing which I'm not saying is a mistake though!).. Having Costa & Cavani will be a headache for Mourinho & one he probably wouldn't want.. Our next striker should be cheaper. Much cheaper.

I don't really know why there's so much surprise from people about this. Manchester United are a brand manufacturer's dream, they market themselves and even when they're not as successful they still generate impressive numbers. Adidas predict they'll mak $1.5bn over the course of 10 years, hence why they're offering so much per year and those aren't numbers they just plucked out the air. What does suck is, as I read before, we may be pushed out of Adidas' big PR campaigns. Chelsea & Bayern Munich have been Adidas' unofficial brand ambassadors for their sportswear. On their adverts you generally see us and Bayern. With Manchester United as the 'other' big English club we risk losing our place on the mantle. So there's reason to be skeptical. Unfortunately, we just signed our deal with them last year, so renegotiation can't really happen for another year or so. We can't jump ship yet. Nike probably won't even be an alternative. Adidas are paying what Nike refused after all.

Fabulous! Passed my first year exams for law . Treating myself with a trip to Amsterdam at the end of the month

Agreed Jype, but I agree with Special Juan too. Varane will be a shoe in ahead of him, solely because he's going to cost as much as he will (not that I'm discrediting Varane's talent). There's no way we'd sign Varane and Zouma or Kalas would be given a fair chance in comparison. You can argue that Varane did earn his stripes already in France and at Madrid, but what if Zouma is our Varane already but we just never knew because the fair chance never came? I think for this season we're actually well covered at centre back. Terry and Cahill will start with Ivanovic as a back up, for this seasona alone it works because JT is not suffering any fatigue. That's why it's the perfect season to have Zouma/Kalas (now probably the former) to be our 4th CB that will make the last 10-15minutes of already dead games. Ivanovic would provide essential cover, of course, but Zouma to close out a game aside JT/Cahill would be ideal.

You're right. Planning life after Terry, Iva & Cahill has to begin now and players like Zouma, Kalas & Aké are already available to begin their intergration/training into making that step up. But when you're spending a sum of, I'd imagine to be, £20-30m on an u23 year old when we have Zouma, Kalas & Aké it sends the wrong messsage entirely and these youth players will engineer moves away.

I always kin this to "Best general knowledge" so my nomination usually remains.

We've come a long way from when Steve, Alex & Jim used to dominate these awards

What happened to Shon3x?

100 reminds me of Justin for some reason, though in a positive way!

This was a difficult one (wtf is that LDN Blue guy?!).. Fulham Broadway edges it

Glad to see Max post more around here & all the other make significant contributions to demonstrate their knowledge. I always look out for a DYC post. They're usualy concise, accurate and to the point.

Not sure if patronizing Torres or serious..

How to channel emotions the right way..

No you moron, I think you mean the Azpilicueta thread

If this signing is happening, then it's got to be happening soon. He didn't take part in Brazil's summer so it would be ideal if he could take part in pre-season training with the squad.. On the other hand, i'm sure the club have a plan b if this doesn't happen.

Yes but Zidane will still remain an influential figure at Madrid, even if it's just to make a phone call to a prospective target. & yes, Madrid have been linked to all these attacking players. But they're not going to let go of a their best young defender yet, he's still only 19/20 isn't he? Either way it will take big money to lure him & after signing Zouma you wonder if that's worth the punt.. yet.

It's more than Mourinho v Real. It's incredibly difficult for Varane himself is Carlo, for example, asked him what he wants to do. Real Madrid and Chelsea aren't on different levels for him. Though Real Madrid are current European Champions he'll know Chelsea are always competing and go further than most. Money won't be an incentive because I can imagine he already earns a bucket load. He'll look at where he'll play and be settled more.. Carlo is a good man manager, he will not need Zidane even, if he guarantees Varane a starting role then Chelsea are powerless. As for a buyout, this kid is probably one of the best young players in the world and they would have probably priced that as appropriate.

Newcastle don't do conventional short term deals do they? 6 years for De Jong and Cabella

Stingray, what do you think about Norman Finkelstein?

Often forget David Luiz is 27.. He's not a 'young' player with 'potential' anymore, he should be at his very best like his buddy Thiago Silva. I agree that Luiz will never be world class now if he's not reached it by now. But now he is PSG's problem, so good luck to him!