ponsaelius

Yep as i said he'd played for Japan for a while, but he missed out on the world cup squad iirc and even played in their 2nd division for a few years so there *IS* a degree of obscurity there. Also with the release clause i imagine that was a lot harder to find out than when we heard about Cabaye simply because fewer clubs have insider networks in the J League. his agent being german probably helped, but it shows you have to cultivate extra networks over there to reap the benefits, something the bundesliga clubs are now doing. I think the Japanese moving abroad which is quite a recent trend in such numbers has also been largely an initiative off their own back. a. they've rebuilt their coaching set-up and are now producing a higher standard of player technically b. they're actively encouraging them to move away from the J-League, when it the past they were encouraged to stay or at least not actively told to move abroad. In the past players might have had more chance of a call-up if they were at home in the public eye but now more stock is placed upon 'making it' in Europe. Germany does seem to be a prime destination, but many German clubs have an open mind to where they scout and sign players from anyway.

True. It was a late switcharoo since he only became eligible when they changed the rule (He had friendly caps for Brazil). It's less confusing when they've atleast been with that country a while like Deco or Eduardo.

Definitely. There's always room to expand our scope. We're being hailed as having a good scouting system when what we've done is not really that complex, it's just as massive improvement on what most of the mid-low range clubs in England do. The Premier League has massive economic resources yet most teams piss it down the drain signing expensive, safe Prem based players. Where we've done well is we have a man who is clearly very knowledgeable in his regions of expertise and also understands exactly the kind of players that will be suitable for this (and his) club. We've made sure that they are suitable both from a technical standpoint but also from a personality point of view. Couple that in with making sure the players are treat well and settle and it is a recipe for success.

Another one being Hernandez who was hailed as 'plucking from obscurity'. Even though he was a full international, starring in a league that has higher attendances and viewing figures than most leagues in Europe and cost like £8 million.

I don't think Kagawa is really that different to our signings johnny. He'd been built up as the biggest talent in Japanese football for a long time, played and starred for all their youth teams and was their #10 at the last Olympics. Was a full international etc. I imagine a lot of big clubs knew all about him, it was just a case of Dortmund being the first to pounce once his contract ticked over and the extremely cheap buy-out clause was activated. It's more obscure than us buying from France, but not that much. I really don't think there is any that fall under 'hidden-gems' these days, such is the globalised nature of the game. It's more a case of making sure you sign the right players for your club, which we have done well.

There isn't a strong defensive unit in the whole tournament IMO. All have weaknesses.

Sigh. Such a shame.

xx

@Sewellyy he'll run over trying to win the ball off everyone.Instead of waitin for them to come to you,he runs out leaves us wide open in CM Never heard so much shite in all my life.

I mentioned Tioté on twitter as #BestTransferYourClubHasMade and got this response from somebody: @Sewellyy personally I don't like him. He's to eager to leave midfield and find the ball, leaving cabaye in the middle by himself @Kingfunkel Who do you support? @Sewellyy Newcastle. He runs round like a headless chicken. We're better when Guthrie plays @Sewellyy hes decent for 45mins til he tires himself out.A foot hold?He does nothing but give away freekicks and leaves an open space in MID

Easy when you're partnered by probably the best CB in the world. Lescott was found out in the Champions League and will get found out eventually at international level. He's average.

He's a great Premier League defender but at international level he's extremely average. He lacks tactical discipline, he lacks technical ability, he lacks pace and he lacks all-round awareness. If its a battle between him and a burly centre-forward with similar traits, i.e. lack of pace, tactical discipline and tecnnical ability, he is a beast. Likewise when crosses are flung in or the backs are to the wall. In the strictest sense, he is a very good defender, but he's an average footballer and at this level against the better sides you need a good defender who is also a good footballer. See Carvalho for example or even an old Chelsea defender, Leboeuf. He could defend but he was also a very good footballer. Lescott is much better than Terry. I was with you all the way until the last line. Lescott is a very good all-rounder. He's not an outstanding defensive defender if you like but his pace, reading and general footballing ability makes him, for me, the better option, especially at international level. I think he got found out in the Champions League and I think the same will happen in international competition.

He's a great Premier League defender but at international level he's extremely average. He lacks tactical discipline, he lacks technical ability, he lacks pace and he lacks all-round awareness. If its a battle between him and a burly centre-forward with similar traits, i.e. lack of pace, tactical discipline and tecnnical ability, he is a beast. Likewise when crosses are flung in or the backs are to the wall. In the strictest sense, he is a very good defender, but he's an average footballer and at this level against the better sides you need a good defender who is also a good footballer. See Carvalho for example or even an old Chelsea defender, Leboeuf. He could defend but he was also a very good footballer. Lescott is much better than Terry. I was with you all the way until the last line. Lescott got found out massively in the Champions League.

Sounds to me like he's the one being pressured into doing interviews rather than being desperate to do them.

Eh? How the hell do they get the horse into that?

Always been wank at international level.

Birmingham are selling players behind his back and are essentially fucked. Wouldn't be surprised if they were after the compensation money here too. Which club losing their manager isn't after compensation money? Forgot norwich gave away Lambert to Villa. No I mean that they're happy to lose him to bring the cash in. His exit has been on the cards for months, they're fucked. Yeah I know, was just being a twat. Like you say sinking ship, only hope short term was promotion back first time asking, hasn't happened and the vultures are circling. Yeah most of their fans don't seem to blame him for going but will be annoyed if he goes back in for their players. Rumours about Curtis Davies apparently.

Sorry just find myself thinking that everytime I see a horse.

Soon.

So we shouldn't sign South Americans then?!? WHAT ABOUT OUR CURRENT CAPTAIN AND VICE CAPTAIN?! WHAT ABOUT SOLANO?! EH! EH!

Birmingham are selling players behind his back and are essentially fucked. Wouldn't be surprised if they were after the compensation money here too. Which club losing their manager isn't after compensation money? Forgot norwich gave away Lambert to Villa. No I mean that they're happy to lose him to bring the cash in. His exit has been on the cards for months, they're fucked.

Cattermole is a fucking fraud. If that game was one where 'starred' and 'dominated' the opposition I'd love to know how shite he is when he's playing poorly. The bloke made 17 passes all game, as a team's main central midfielder. Then embarrassed himself after the game by getting sent off. Absolute shite.

Birmingham are selling players behind his back and are essentially fucked. Wouldn't be surprised if they were after the compensation money here too.

:lol:

I've just put a similar one on