Village Idiot

Nor could do those around him!

I thought I had to put a DM in there to make it somewhat balanced. Screwing that, yeah, I'd go with that trio.

Just seen the Kondogbia OG I know it's a friendly so who gives a fuck, but that's no way to pass it back to your keeper.

Gonna try a La Liga best XI for the same period (1992-2017). Boringly, it's all Real Madrid / Barça players. Casillas Dani Alves Pujol Ramos Roberto Carlos Busquets Xavi Zidane/Iniesta (utterly split on this one) Ronaldo Proper Ronaldo Messi

Yeah, the whole "it's better for Brazil" argument falls a bit flat given he'll spend one year running at Ligue 1 fullbacks. Whatever.

Yeah, that's just the excuse cooked up to make him look less money-driven. Again, I don't fault anyone for chasing the money in their professional lives. I'd do the same if somebody offered to double my wages. But don't sugar-coat it, please.

If we get Coutinho + Dybala out of it, I'll call it a success. None can replace Neymar individually, but it should lift the overall quality of the squad.

The whole affair, at the end of the day, is about money. If PSG follows through with the stupid amounts of money they reportedly want to throw at him, his father + the fee, nothing can keep him at Barça (we just won't match what PSG is offering him). Which is totally fine, I'm on record here saying that I don't fault footballers for attempting to make the most of very short professional careers, and I'm not going to change my tune because it happens to us.

I've seen €36m reported in our media. Ney's dad PSG sign-on bonus, that is.

Over here it's being reported that the loan has to be made permanent if Merino plays an undisclosed number of games.

I'd also assume that if UEFA/FAs attempted to regulate how many players clubs can have on their rolls, it would be a massive legal minefield.

Merino is a defensive midfielder with lots of engine - he just happens to not treat the ball like a hot potato. He seems a very Benítez player to me in that regard, but don't expect him to be a creative force. I'd expect him to be a Colback upgrade, provided he's successful in the league.

I honestly don't understand why Chelsea keep doing this. Do they really earn that much by selling those wasters down the road?

Yeah, I think we've punched above our weight here. Nice to see. He's a Spanish U-21 who's done the grand sum of f*** all in his career, we haven't fallen off that bad Christ! You beat Athletic for his signing though, who were willing to pay the fee upfront. That's gotta count for something.

love that There was this video someone once posted on here, where Taylor is running around like a clown inside the box, trying to be a nuisance to the oppo defenders and keeper, which is absolutely hilarious.

Too late, your wings are already falling apart. You should've have signed Ojo.

This thread greeks of desperation like.

I can see how at one point Taylor could've tricked some into thinking there was a good centreback there, with the deranged Superman act and all, but Colback? He's such a nothing player.

To think Colback was just one injury away from becoming an England international...

So with this and Manquillo, that's two former U-21 Spanish internationals that didn't quite get there after being highly rated. I guess there's worse transfer strategies.

Looks like the club senior staff is travelling to England for showdown talks re: Coutinho. I'm seeing €80m bandied about, but at least this one is not crap.

We are guilty of many things, but we no longer have ties with Qatar.

I really want to see if odds are offered for the entire corps of City's senior fullbacks being on the pitch at the same time during the season. Pep played 4 fullbacks at Barça some point.

Is Mbappé that good? All I have really seen is a few games in the CL. This fee is truly absurd.