Kyle Walker

[moomba]

Levy will take the piss cause we're seen as a soft touch in the transfer market.

Ultimately it shouldnt matter but Spurs have finished above us two years in a row and I wouldnt want to give them the funds that would allow them to strengthen 2 or 3 positions in their squad.

And while saving a few million here or there might not matter to some, maybe it might reduce the need to scrape together an extra million or so in ticket revenue every season.

 

[domalino]

Not usually one to bother about transfer fees. Not my money etc. But £50m+ for Walker is astounding and in my view won't do us any good in negotiating for other players. Sanchez is mentioned a lot. If Arsenal see us paying £50m for Walker what will they want for him?

It makes a difference to the player as well. The instant pressure, media sensation and spotlight can ruin a player if they do anything other than hit the ground running.

Mangala is the most obvious case of this, you could see the price tag was weighing him down and the pressure got to him. If he'd come for £20m I still think he could have gone on to be really good under Pellegrini but once the "most expensive defender flop" tag got glued to him he couldn't shake it off and every small mistake he made was blown up.

 

[Marvin]

People need to stop worrying about what money is being spent. We've wasted absolutely loads on players who have barely even played for the club and we will do again in the future.

If we're going to spend £80-100 million on two full backs and we can afford it then I'm not arsed as long as they are good. We're absolutely desperate for them and getting the players we want is much more important to next season than saving £20 million in the clubs account.

As long as the full backs aren't undergoing exploratory knee surgery - see Spurs statement on Danny Rose.

 

[BillyShears]

It makes a difference to the player as well. The instant pressure, media sensation and spotlight can ruin a player if they do anything other than hit the ground running.

Mangala is the most obvious case of this, you could see the price tag was weighing him down and the pressure got to him. If he'd come for £20m I still think he could have gone on to be really good under Pellegrini but once the "most expensive defender flop" tag got glued to him he couldn't shake it off and every small mistake he made was blown up.

Nah I don't agree with that. Any player who can't handle the weight of their transfer fee aren't mentally tough enough to play for us.

 

[ADegenerate]

It makes a difference to the player as well. The instant pressure, media sensation and spotlight can ruin a player if they do anything other than hit the ground running.

Mangala is the most obvious case of this, you could see the price tag was weighing him down and the pressure got to him. If he'd come for £20m I still think he could have gone on to be really good under Pellegrini but once the "most expensive defender flop" tag got glued to him he couldn't shake it off and every small mistake he made was blown up.

You keep bandying this about but what do you expect? We're trying to be the biggest club. They're big boys and we're a big club. Who gives a flying fuck about the price. Hell, they should embrace it with swagger. When you sign up for City you sign up for the pressure. No excuses.

 

[domalino]

Nah I don't agree with that. Any player who can't handle the weight of their transfer fee aren't mentally tough enough to play for us.

Sorry, I think that's just clichéd rubbish, an excuse for any player not working out, "oh he just couldn't hack the mental pressure, he's too weak".

It creates an environment which is suffocating, and gives new players no time to get their feet under the table. Yeah, some players might be able to take months of abuse and criticism constantly and not let it get to them, but others might not, and that doesn't mean they are bad players, or aren't good enough, it just means we've created a scenario in which everything is stacked against them and ultimately have lost out on a good player because of it.

Bravo is another example. He has managed the mental pressures of playing for Barcelona, winning trebles, captaining his country to Copa America titles, but he arrives here under a complete media storm because he's the most expensive 33 year old ever and even worse, he's not Joe Hart, his first mistake is front page news for a week and he naturally takes a huge hit of confidence.

Bravo isn't a shit keeper, he was plenty good enough to play for Barca, but he arrived into a scenario where absolutely anything except instant perfection was going to be instant failure, and the more often we do that the more often we're going to see big money signings fail because sometimes they'll not hit the ground running for whatever reason.

 

[BillyShears]

Sorry, I think that's just clichéd rubbish, an excuse for any player not working out, "oh he just couldn't hack the mental pressure, he's too weak".

It creates an environment which is suffocating, and gives new players no time to get their feet under the table. Yeah, some players might be able to take months of abuse and criticism constantly and not let it get to them, but others might not, and that doesn't mean they are bad players, or aren't good enough, it just means we've created a scenario in which everything is stacked against them and ultimately have lost out on a good player because of it.

Bravo is another example. He has managed the mental pressures of playing for Barcelona, winning trebles, captaining his country to Copa America titles, but he arrives here under a complete media storm because he's the most expensive 33 year old ever and even worse, he's not Joe Hart, his first mistake is front page news for a week and he naturally takes a huge hit of confidence.

Bravo isn't a shit keeper, he was plenty good enough to play for Barca, but he arrived into a scenario where absolutely anything except instant perfection was going to be instant failure, and the more often we do that the more often we're going to see big money signings fail because sometimes they'll not hit the ground running for whatever reason.

Life at a big club. You can call it cliches nonsense but it's also a reality. Sink or swim.

 

[domalino]

Life at a big club. You can call it cliches nonsense but it's also a reality. Sink or swim.

Yeah, it is sink or swim, but we make sure they've got a few gold bullion weighing them down and making it as hard as possible, and other clubs don't.

 

[BillyShears]

Yeah, it is sink or swim, but we make sure they've got a few gold bullion weighing them down and making it as hard as possible, and other clubs don't.

I don't care what other clubs do. But you're being a bit dramatic when you say we are doing something other clubs don't. Chelsea United PSG Madrid Barca Bayern all pay inflated fees. Especially for young players. This is life at a big club.

 

[Zin 'messiah' Zimmer]

He is really unlikable or maybe thats just me
He is no zabba

Yep, you're definitely unlikable (:

Only messing, you're my favourite poster after dad, Karen...