Football Banter

Top 7

1. Man United - The signing of Van Persie has changed my mind, plus Kagawa could be one of the signings of the season

2. Chelsea - Strong squad, a strong manager, but are short in the striker department

3. Newcastle - Will be my dark horses for this campaign. Alan Pardew will surprise a few this season.

4. Liverpool - would like to see have a goosd season.

5. Man City - I expect them like Dan G to concentrate on the Champions League which I think would hinder them mounting a serious challenge domestically.

6. Arsenal - Persie's departure in will a be a blow to their chance, but if thery can put a good run together maybe they can finish higher than this.

7. Tottenham - i agree with Dan here Villas Boas doesn't have a chairman or certain players that will undermine him as a manager, so he can go about his business as normal like at Porto. Good defence, good midfield, but really short in the striker department and if they don't solve it then 7th place is likely. Good cup runs will probably define their silver overall. I would expect them to maybe reach at least one cup semi - final.

Relegation

18. Southampton - They look at bit short and flaky in defence, but I think they will be like Blackpool and be exciting to watch. But they will concede too many goals, which will cost them

19. QPR - I might have said before that i'd love to see us acheive a mid table finish, but I'm wonderng if we haven't sorted out the problems we had at the start of last season then I think we are in for another rollercoaster ride this season.

20. Wigan or West Ham - I would expect these two team to be battling relegation, bnut i'll plump for Fat Sam to have a short stay in the Prem.

Surprise package - Swansea. Again I agree with Dan I would like to see them buiid on last season and again like TottenhamI expect them to look to having good cup runs. I think again Semi - Final in either would probably be ambitious, but I think they are capable of acheiving this. Michael Laudrup, could be one who may pick up a few 'Manager of the Month' awards too.

Relegation

18. Southampton - They look at bit short and flaky in defence, but I think they will be like Blackpool and be exciting to watch. But they will concede too many goals, which will cost them

19. QPR - I might have said before that i'd love to see us acheive a mid table finish, but I'm wonderng if see a repeat of the problems that we had at the start of last season then I think it is possible we are in for another rollercoaster ride this season, being a 'R's fan.

20. Wigan or West Ham - i would expect these two team to be battling relegation.

Surprise package - Swansea. Again I agree with Dan I would like to see them buiid on last season and again like TottenhamI expect them to look to having good cup runs. I think again Semi - Final in either would probably be ambitious, but I think they are capable of acheiving this. Michael Laudrup, could be one who may pick up a few 'Manager of the Month' awards too.

Personally i think the top four this season will be, Man Utd, Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal but as for the order haven't got a clue as i think its gonna be a lot closer this season and don't forget the transfer window will be still open till the end of the month and open again in Jan so we could see some bargain deals. Everyone one else will be pushing for 5th place with a possible dark horse gunning for 4th.

(16-08-2012 09:51 )kalel76 Wrote:  Once again Daniel Levy's done it, all this time he wanted 40 million pounds for modric and now his pretty much gonna go for 23 million pounds plus over time 3.9 million pounds in add on's. So his pretty much wasted all this time knowing he wasn't gonna get the amount he wanted, he said modric won't go till he finds a replacement(unless he pulls a rabbit of his hat) well his left it a bit late and with only one recognised striker Defoe. This is the same man that wanted Spurs to get into the champions league don't make me laugh, i want Levy out of that club.

Are you sure its 23 million? I thought Real Madrid and Tottenham would compromise on 30 million

Being a bit tad harsh on Levy, he was just trying to get the best deal possible to make funds available for AVB to buy new players.

He is one of the toughest chairmen in football to buy a player off and he has proved that with the Modric transfer saga. Ok perhaps it dragged on a bit too long, but at least he wasn't getting bullied by Real Madrid to get a deal that suited them and not Tottenham

I heard the replacement for Modric is Moutinho, a very good player if ye manage to buy him

i heard it was £23 mill with add-ons and agree with kal'el that levy tried standing his ground ( fair enough) not giving into player power but he caved in and now has to rush out and buy a replacement and then try to improve the squad... clock is ticking

(16-08-2012 19:58 )LODOS Wrote:  i heard it was £23 mill with add-ons and agree with kal'el that levy tried standing his ground ( fair enough) not giving into player power but he caved in and now has to rush out and buy a replacement and then try to improve the squad... clock is ticking

2 and a bit weeks is plenty of time to find a replacement and a couple of strikers

(16-08-2012 19:58 )LODOS Wrote:  i heard it was £23 mill with add-ons and agree with kal'el that levy tried standing his ground ( fair enough) not giving into player power but he caved in and now has to rush out and buy a replacement and then try to improve the squad... clock is ticking

Levy should have got rid of him ages ago, i think the 40 million was too high but if it had been 30 million plus i would have taken it no problem but now it makes levy look like tit which he already was lol. Now i've heard some people say that last year modric was promised he could leave this season but what does he do signs a extra 4 years on his contract, now if he had any sense he wouldn't have signed it leaving 18 months or less on his contract then he could have forced levy to sell him before he becomes a free agent but then footballers aren't that bright lol. Just shows you that transfers need to be done early and then maybe some last minute deals can be done other wise you end up panic buying. The same Levy wants to challenge for the top 4 and champions league do me a favour, you don't need to spend millions upon million and go into debt but if you want win things you gotta invest an not be so tight like how levy is lol.

(16-08-2012 20:05 )dan g 27 Wrote:  2 and a bit weeks is plenty of time to find a replacement and a couple of strikers

but the league starts sunday and when you buy a player you would ideally have them train with you for a few weeks( pre season is perfect for this) before throwing them in a match so they can get used to the other players and tactics ect

Newcastle complete the signing of Vurnon Anita for 6.7 million on a 5 year contract

I'm a bit concerned though Pardew has said only 1 more signing will be made.

So if its 1 more signing, I hope we sign a striker, but then again we might not lose Ba and Cisse to the African cup of Nations, so do we need, however its not good having Ameobi as the back up striker, so I change my mind we need another striker

That would mean Danny Simpson would be staying and be our first choice right back.

Also it looks like Good and Williamson will be the second choice centre back partnership