Sven Botman back late December/early January 'at the earliest' (Howe)

[Tiresias]

4 minutes ago, Nun tumblers said:

Maldini wanted him.....they divvint grow on trees man

 When you're in champions league, you just won league and you're ac milan you can get plenty of defenders. if you cant somethng is wrong.

[Lazarus]

39 minutes ago, Milanista said:

Gattuso I felt was more honest about his tackles, but he seldom got reds. I don't think he was cheap. Walter Samuel, hard defender, tough, but not elegant, I can respect him, even if he played for the ugly half of Milan. Materazzi though? I'll pass.

 

I used to love watching Walter Samuel and Paulo Montero. Great defenders.

[mighty__mag]

Wow this has been a right saga, he's 100% going to be saying his intention was to always come here, even though I doubt it was, it won't take long for him to realise he did get the choice right after, he will fall in love with the fans in no time.

 

 

Edited June 24, 2022 by mighty__mag

[Milanista]

3 minutes ago, HTT II said:

I’ve always thought, and I could be wrong, despite Pirlo being amazing, that’s one area - midfield - Italy haven’t produced anywhere near enough quality compared to the defenders and forwards and I think that may be because, especially in the last two decades, the game is so fast and frenetic where as in Italy it’s slower and more technical. In England we have technical players now who play at a high tempo and at a fast pace. Having said that, it didn’t do us a whole lot of good in the Euro final against Italy…

 

I’ve always loved Italian football, the tactical side of it, the pioneering side of it like AC developing mental health and player psychological studies and the whole coaches coaching DNA element. nutrition and diet, exercise, training camps which I believe the Italians pioneered. I’ve said on here many a time, Italian managers are likely to succeed the most in England and elsewhere, or even non Italians who have played in Italy.
 

There have been more Italian managers and former non Italian players who have played in Italy turned manager to have won more trophies here in our own game since the start of the PL than English or British managers. It’s staggering. 
 

There is talk of a football tournament next year in Italy for my son’s team, he’s currently 8 I do hope it happens. 

I never rated Pirlo that highly, I always thought that Albertini was better than him.

 

I think English and Italians have very different views of what their ideal midfielder is. I think English midfielders are really tasked with these box-to-box duties, that Italian midfielders seldom are asked to do.

 

While we are obviously dealing in generalities, I'd say that Italy puts a huge emphasis on the regista, CDM, a Pirlo, Albertini, Ancelotti, Jorginho, those types of players. We love them, but I get the sense they are usually very annoying to English fans. They don't play in an exciting way, they don't do flashy things, but they keep the machine moving. It's like the old guy in the pickup game who wears Copa Mundial Turf boots to play, he just passes the ball around, maintains possession, and sure, his knee is shot, but he'll still do the right thing, lol. Jorginho had a bad season (as did Chelsea) but I think he showed previously why he is so highly regarded by so many coaches, and I'm not even his biggest fan.

 

The thing is, Italian midfielders have seldom been our calling card, I think our intense emphasis on defense contrasted with our love of world class forwards, of all types, from Totti to Inzaghi, from Rivera to Vieri, there are so many different kinds. But our midfielders have not been flashy, but they are crucial to our tactics, they just do unseen things. It's like foundations in a house or electrical, they're expensive, not flashy, but important in houses. What we enjoy in our midfielders I think is very different to what the English enjoy, and I think the Spanish do the sort of fancy stuff that is greatly appreciated by English.

 

Right now, Italy is producing a lot of midfield talent. Our European Cup winning midfield of Verratti-Jorginho-Barella is world-class, and I think the only midfield that bests our is Spain's, but Tonali is probably one of the best young midfielders in the world. We also have Pellegrini, Locatelli, and a bunch of others who are good (but you probably haven't heard of them [Pobega, Frattesi, Esposito, Ricci]) let alone the useful ones like Cristante and Pessina.

 

I think we have more midfield talent than usual, but our crisis in attack is staggering. I think coverage of Italy's woes make it seem like there is a problem top-to-bottom, when really, our only attacking player who could get into England's squad, for example, is Chiesa, and he torn his ACL. Scammacca might be able to, and that's because CF are rare these days. Otherwise, I don't see any of our wingers getting into your team, nor Spain's, nor Germany's, let alone France, lol.

 

Italians are still innovating tactically, and Serie A is very attacking now. I think the issue is that our talent is not in our attack, and to think that Insigne wears our 10 shirt? All of our big clubs don't use Italians in their attack, save Chiesa, and Immobile, who scores for fun for Lazio (in Europe too) but when he wears an Italy shirt, he's... a different person.

 

So I don't think it's about our tactics or the style of football today, I think the only reason we were able to beat England was because of the quality of our midfield and defense. If we had an attack, I think we would have won easily. I also think Southgate hinders England, he has a good generation. I think midfield is probably England's weakest position. Declan Rice is... good? 150m good? Dear God, no. Phillips isn't good enough for England, and the fact Southgate plays with a back 5? I think that's beneath England. It's cowardly.

 

Your attack is class though, and Kane is good, even if he annoys me.

 

I hope you enjoy your time in Italy! I'm sorry for the length!

[MrRaspberryJam]

37 minutes ago, KaKa said:

 

My God that is pitiful

 

We only just agreed a fee with Lille, which was always the sticking point.

 

No idea who that guy is or what he's on, but he's so rattled it's ridiculous.

 

Funny how so many people think that once you're in the Champions League everyone will fall at your feet. It never really just comes down to that alone though. He's young enough to make that kind of move down the line if he doesn't achieve it with us first. In the meantime the Premier League is a massive pull and the chance to be a marquee signing for a team on the up is a big draw in itself. Also think the Prem has a big history with Dutch players past and present and so that will always play a part also.

 

This post has been the calming influence I was wanting. 

[Tiresias]

I mean kane annoys us all too, he keeps doing this illegal rugby tackle that is really dangerous and refs dont do anything in league, and scissor tackling. Swear every season we lose a game he should be sent off in. Good for england mind!

[Happinesstan]

1 hour ago, Keegans Export said:

Poor Sven. He'll be sobbing throughout that Amsterdam to Newcastle flight, forced to sign a lucrative contract to join the "great project" he said would be "fun to be a part of" less than six months ago...

 

Honestly, I had nothing against Milan or the Italian press, but the way they've gone on has been absolutely pathetic.

I'm pretty sure they're no different to our press in relation to the top 6.

[Newcastle Fan]

We've been handling this transfer window brilliantly so far, if we can a good quality striker and winger it will be almost perfect.

[Sima]

I’m greedy and still want Paqueta.

[Guest HTT II]

3 minutes ago, Sima said:

I’m greedy and still want Paqueta.

Just…

 

 

[Stifler]

5 minutes ago, Sima said:

I’m greedy and still want Paqueta.

And on top of that, Ekitike, David, a LB, and a RW.

[Milanista]

41 minutes ago, Keegans Export said:

The fans maybe, but the way some of the press have been going on has been nauseating tbf

Good point, I forgot that the English press is renown for their restraint, understated headlines, and that English pundits are notorious for their appreciation of foreign players and foreign leagues.

 

 

Edited June 24, 2022 by Milanista

[Milanista]

8 minutes ago, Sima said:

I’m greedy and still want Paqueta.

Please buy him.

[Ikon]

 

[Happinesstan]

1 hour ago, HTT II said:

My worry is we lack serious pace at the back, we need to play higher up the pitch to squeeze the opposition and to push teams back. I don’t want us playing deep anymore and looking to bypass the midfield or get sucker punched by the press of the opposition because we are too deep.

We've just bought the best sweeper keeper in the PL, I don't think we're intending to sit back.

[Gaztoon]

Just now, Milanista said:

Please buy him.

 

Milan would have gotten a fee from any sale of paqueta.   I'm wondering if we've tried to get botman over the line before we go for him .  So Milan doesn't have money in the bank.

[Keegans Export]

4 minutes ago, Milanista said:

Good point, I forgot that the English press is renown for their restraint, understated headlines, and that English pundits are notorious for their appreciation of foreign players and foreign leagues.

I'm not quite sure what your point is? I'm no fan of the UK press (not just the sports journalists either...) but that doesn't mean what I posted was inaccurate. 

[TRon]

18 minutes ago, Milanista said:

I never rated Pirlo that highly, I always thought that Albertini was better than him.

 

I think English and Italians have very different views of what their ideal midfielder is. I think English midfielders are really tasked with these box-to-box duties, that Italian midfielders seldom are asked to do.

 

While we are obviously dealing in generalities, I'd say that Italy puts a huge emphasis on the regista, CDM, a Pirlo, Albertini, Ancelotti, Jorginho, those types of players. We love them, but I get the sense they are usually very annoying to English fans. They don't play in an exciting way, they don't do flashy things, but they keep the machine moving. It's like the old guy in the pickup game who wears Copa Mundial Turf boots to play, he just passes the ball around, maintains possession, and sure, his knee is shot, but he'll still do the right thing, lol. Jorginho had a bad season (as did Chelsea) but I think he showed previously why he is so highly regarded by so many coaches, and I'm not even his biggest fan.

 

The thing is, Italian midfielders have seldom been our calling card, I think our intense emphasis on defense contrasted with our love of world class forwards, of all types, from Totti to Inzaghi, from Rivera to Vieri, there are so many different kinds. But our midfielders have not been flashy, but they are crucial to our tactics, they just do unseen things. It's like foundations in a house or electrical, they're expensive, not flashy, but important in houses. What we enjoy in our midfielders I think is very different to what the English enjoy, and I think the Spanish do the sort of fancy stuff that is greatly appreciated by English.

 

Right now, Italy is producing a lot of midfield talent. Our European Cup winning midfield of Verratti-Jorginho-Barella is world-class, and I think the only midfield that bests our is Spain's, but Tonali is probably one of the best young midfielders in the world. We also have Pellegrini, Locatelli, and a bunch of others who are good (but you probably haven't heard of them [Pobega, Frattesi, Esposito, Ricci]) let alone the useful ones like Cristante and Pessina.

 

I think we have more midfield talent than usual, but our crisis in attack is staggering. I think coverage of Italy's woes make it seem like there is a problem top-to-bottom, when really, our only attacking player who could get into England's squad, for example, is Chiesa, and he torn his ACL. Scammacca might be able to, and that's because CF are rare these days. Otherwise, I don't see any of our wingers getting into your team, nor Spain's, nor Germany's, let alone France, lol.

 

Italians are still innovating tactically, and Serie A is very attacking now. I think the issue is that our talent is not in our attack, and to think that Insigne wears our 10 shirt? All of our big clubs don't use Italians in their attack, save Chiesa, and Immobile, who scores for fun for Lazio (in Europe too) but when he wears an Italy shirt, he's... a different person.

 

So I don't think it's about our tactics or the style of football today, I think the only reason we were able to beat England was because of the quality of our midfield and defense. If we had an attack, I think we would have won easily. I also think Southgate hinders England, he has a good generation. I think midfield is probably England's weakest position. Declan Rice is... good? 150m good? Dear God, no. Phillips isn't good enough for England, and the fact Southgate plays with a back 5? I think that's beneath England. It's cowardly.

 

Your attack is class though, and Kane is good, even if he annoys me.

 

I hope you enjoy your time in Italy! I'm sorry for the length!

 

 

Man, I wish someone like you wrote the football columns in one of our national newspapers. I could just download it and read it on a tablet in the morning with a cup of tea. Genuinely fascinating stuff re the difference of football culture, especially about midfield. So many different factors can make a difference though: pitch size, climate, local culture regarding acceptable body contact, etc.

[wormy]

Holy shit this one is actually happening!? 

[Milanista]

Just now, Keegans Export said:

I'm not quite sure what your point is? I'm no fan of the UK press (not just the sports journalists either...) but that doesn't mean what I posted was inaccurate. 

The Italian press does not like Milan, they favor Juve and Inter, heavily, so I think you were looking for slights where they did not exist, to be quite frank.

 

4 minutes ago, Gaztoon said:

 

Milan would have gotten a fee from any sale of paqueta.   I'm wondering if we've tried to get botman over the line before we go for him .  So Milan doesn't have money in the bank.

We don't need money from a Paqueta sale to buy players. Milan has money but they plead poverty. For those who dislike Milan (in Italy) they are citing this as a failure and loss, many Milan fans--who did not even rate Botman--are taking this as some sort of win for banter with EPL fans. Milan fans enjoy talking about their club as if they are the cusp of relegation, they think it shows their "objectivity." I find it tiresome, personally.

 

Milan has shown that they do not raise their offer. We will not know about how Maldini saw Botman until he finalizes his renewal, which is what Milan fans are more concerned about.

[Fantail Breeze]

Is there any actual rumour about Paqueta or is it entirely a fan-made one based on the fact he’s friends with Bruno and came to Newcastle once?

 

 

Edited June 24, 2022 by Fantail Breeze

[Milanista]

3 minutes ago, TRon said:

 

 

Man, I wish someone like you wrote the football columns in one of our national newspapers. I could just download it and read it on a tablet in the morning with a cup of tea. Genuinely fascinating stuff re the difference of football culture, especially about midfield. So many different factors can make a difference though: pitch size, climate, local culture regarding acceptable body contact, etc.

I really appreciate that, you are too kind.

 

I am actually thinking of leaving my work in the finance/legal world and getting into football. I played seriously when I was younger, and still play now, and while I thought about going into coaching, I want to get into management.

[Comegetasample]

4 minutes ago, Fantail Breeze said:

Is there any actual rumour about Panqueta or is it entirely a fan-made one based on the fact he’s friends with Bruno and came to Newcastle once?

 

Pancetta

[Nun tumblers]

45 minutes ago, Tiresias said:

 When you're in champions league, you just won league and you're ac milan you can get plenty of defenders. if you cant somethng is wrong.

Well obviously somethings not reet

 

[Decky]

A new striker, RW, starting CM and decent backup CM and I’m delighted.