Village Idiot

Was Arsene ever that good in the transfer market? He always seemed to buy 3423524 youngsters of which a few came good. Scattershot approach. Unless you mean waaaaay back when he first joined and built up The Invincibles.

He has great technique and flair but also a tendency to overplay and slow down stuff. Can't say I have watched Leganés that often, though.

Silky left foot, but I'm always a bit wary of players of his ilk that make it big in youth football, where they enjoy oozles of space. I highly rate Benítez's eye for midfielders though.

Also, I think it's totally wrong that the last official match played at the Calderón didn't involve Atlético. But they volunteered the stadium themselves.

Yay, a trophy! *nods approvingly*

40m for a 16 year old. Says it all really.

Are you a Catalan VI? Yeah, of course. Barcelona born and bred. Don't you live down the road from the Camp Nou? Used to. Last year I moved to a larger flat out of town. It was down the road from the Camp Nou, and a couple blocks off the gymnasium where the club was founded. But for the same rent I live on a place twice as big now.

Are you a Catalan VI? Yeah, of course. Barcelona born and bred.

Here's a list of players that made the switch between Barça and Espanyol, some pretty big names: http://futbol.as.com/futbol/2017/04/27/album/1493324728_762976.html#1493324728_762976_1493325628

Ignoring that, yeah. But if he now made the move - having said that - it would be different and lots of PR would be needed. Plus Espanyol fans would be livid themselves (moreso than Barça's). But it would be more due to the fact that he played the superfan card.

Previous Espanyol connection not going to be a hindrance? Nah, not really. That never plays a part. Countless examples of beloved players that went to play/manage across town without issues. Some even became legends for both clubs (like Zamora).

Athletic have announced that Valverde is leaving, which makes him 99% cert to be our next manager. I'm of two minds. I like his work, but I'm not sure he has the character to manage our dressing room.

Former Barça prez Sandro Rosell arrested under accusations of money laundering It's unrelated to Barça though, it dates the times were his company worked with CBF.

Looks like the taxman is going to charge Cristiano Ronaldo with tax fraud, according to the Spanish press. Makes me feel better that not all the fraudsters play for us.

Congratulations on the championship of the Championship! I wasn't expecting that.

Looks like Emery just can't manage outside of Spain.

That "190 weeks in the bottom half" graphic is outstanding What an achievement. I mean, five seasons? Even the shittiest teams in any division will luck out once in a while winning a game or two in the first weeks of a season to get them momentarily in the top half.

He's been the frontrunner for a while. Can't say I'm too excited, but there were worse options. I definitely don't want Unzué to become manager; hasn't shown anything as Lucho's assistant.

Looks like Sampaoli will leave Sevilla to manage Argentina. Well, that was short. Strange.

Sports journalists man, so f***ing lazy.

Oh please please please find out that Pardew took bungs.

Interviewed on Marca today: http://www.marca.com/futbol/premier-league/2017/04/27/5901bb4dca47415a398b45a9.html He remains coy on his future: "I only think about defeating Cardiff and Barnsley, and nothing else".

Incidentally, I was kinda hoping to see Riviere in the flesh yesterday (such a honor!) but he missed because of injury. He's 0 in 15.

Yeah, what I'm saying is that in Spain suspects are detained and then released a few hours later once the search is completed. This is made so that they are questioned and they can't move to get key evidence destroyed before the police finishes the search.

Considering how Charnley has been released and will be questioned later you have to assume nothing has been found. Dont assume anything, I worked in the Criminal Justice System for 32 years, it's normal for people to be released after initial questioning and then re-interviewed at a later date whilst they build a case. HMRC will have Forensic IT experts trawling through computers and mobile phones for evidence. It could take years if it is to go before the Courts. If it's anything like in Spain, is pretty much common MO to detain suspects while their property is searched, so they can't destroy evidence or contact anyone. Then they get released after everything is secured.