FanchesterCity said:I think one area of weakness we've had so far is player sales. That may well be just a consequence of the way we've progressed rapidly, but players leaving (generally) haven't been great business for us.
Suarez to Barca seem like a dizzying 75m (thereabouts) deal, but it's funded by Fabregas and Sanchez leaving.
Chelsea's purchase of Costa and Fabregas only comes in at a net spend of about 22 million or so after a 40 million sale of Luiz.
We on the other hand aren't seeing much return on outgoing transfers (yet). It seems we're just happy to get some wages off the bill for starters.
Of course, when you're talking about receiving decent figures for outgoing players, that will mean they'll be players we still think are very good. That will happen when we start selliing the bigger name players in the hope of improvement. In that regard, we're still a country mile behind the likes of Barca and Real etc. Tevez and De Jong are probably the last two we sold that were much sought after players, but Tevez was a bit of a fire sale in the end.
ColinLee said:I was going to reply to 'Exeter Blue I am here' but you covered it all here.FanchesterCity said:You can't buy players on the basis that they'd strengthen our rivals.
If rivals did the same, we'd all end up with a bunch of players none of us wanted, whilst our rivals had the ones we did want!
Our team is our team, and we can only buy those we believe will work for us. If a rival beats us to that player, so be it, that's part of the game, and so we're then forced to choose a different player and work with that.
The better we get, the harder it will become to improve. That's not to say it's impossible, but it will get harder. It's not so long ago fans (including myself) were wondering if Aguero might be a slightly backwards move over Tevez, or that Cavani / Falcao would be fantastic buys. Know we are a bit wiser, and realise Aguero was indeed a great buy, even with his injuries, and Cavani / Falcao might not be quite as great as we thought.
We don't know for sure if our rival's purchases will be successful or not. Some undoubtedly will be, but some won't. Has Ozil been a revelation? I think not. Who's to say Sanchez will fare any better?
And let's not underestimate that stability can be an improvement in itself. There's no need to massive changes. Of course there are weaknesses in our team, and areas where we think we could improve, but improved team ethic and understanding can have some fantastic effects too.
+1
Instant_Offense said:FanchesterCity said:I think one area of weakness we've had so far is player sales. That may well be just a consequence of the way we've progressed rapidly, but players leaving (generally) haven't been great business for us.
Suarez to Barca seem like a dizzying 75m (thereabouts) deal, but it's funded by Fabregas and Sanchez leaving.
Chelsea's purchase of Costa and Fabregas only comes in at a net spend of about 22 million or so after a 40 million sale of Luiz.
We on the other hand aren't seeing much return on outgoing transfers (yet). It seems we're just happy to get some wages off the bill for starters.
Of course, when you're talking about receiving decent figures for outgoing players, that will mean they'll be players we still think are very good. That will happen when we start selliing the bigger name players in the hope of improvement. In that regard, we're still a country mile behind the likes of Barca and Real etc. Tevez and De Jong are probably the last two we sold that were much sought after players, but Tevez was a bit of a fire sale in the end.
Part of this is the age at which the player is purchased. Jovetic is the only player under the age of 35 we have signed the last couple of years.
cheddar404 said:Instant_Offense said:FanchesterCity said:I think one area of weakness we've had so far is player sales. That may well be just a consequence of the way we've progressed rapidly, but players leaving (generally) haven't been great business for us.
Suarez to Barca seem like a dizzying 75m (thereabouts) deal, but it's funded by Fabregas and Sanchez leaving.
Chelsea's purchase of Costa and Fabregas only comes in at a net spend of about 22 million or so after a 40 million sale of Luiz.
We on the other hand aren't seeing much return on outgoing transfers (yet). It seems we're just happy to get some wages off the bill for starters.
Of course, when you're talking about receiving decent figures for outgoing players, that will mean they'll be players we still think are very good. That will happen when we start selliing the bigger name players in the hope of improvement. In that regard, we're still a country mile behind the likes of Barca and Real etc. Tevez and De Jong are probably the last two we sold that were much sought after players, but Tevez was a bit of a fire sale in the end.
Part of this is the age at which the player is purchased. Jovetic is the only player under the age of 35 we have signed the last couple of years.
What about Negredo, Navas, Fernandinho...? Even Demechelis is under 35
bluechampion7891 said:cheddar404 said:Instant_Offense said:Part of this is the age at which the player is purchased. Jovetic is the only player under the age of 35 we have signed the last couple of years.
What about Negredo, Navas, Fernandinho...? Even Demechelis is under 35
Yep, I can't remember the last team that only signed one player aged under 35 that went on to win the title. Record, eh? :)
Exeter Blue I am here said:ColinLee said:I was going to reply to 'Exeter Blue I am here' but you covered it all here.FanchesterCity said:You can't buy players on the basis that they'd strengthen our rivals.
If rivals did the same, we'd all end up with a bunch of players none of us wanted, whilst our rivals had the ones we did want!
Our team is our team, and we can only buy those we believe will work for us. If a rival beats us to that player, so be it, that's part of the game, and so we're then forced to choose a different player and work with that.
The better we get, the harder it will become to improve. That's not to say it's impossible, but it will get harder. It's not so long ago fans (including myself) were wondering if Aguero might be a slightly backwards move over Tevez, or that Cavani / Falcao would be fantastic buys. Know we are a bit wiser, and realise Aguero was indeed a great buy, even with his injuries, and Cavani / Falcao might not be quite as great as we thought.
We don't know for sure if our rival's purchases will be successful or not. Some undoubtedly will be, but some won't. Has Ozil been a revelation? I think not. Who's to say Sanchez will fare any better?
And let's not underestimate that stability can be an improvement in itself. There's no need to massive changes. Of course there are weaknesses in our team, and areas where we think we could improve, but improved team ethic and understanding can have some fantastic effects too.
+1
Unfortunately, you've both got the wrong end of the stick. I wasn't advocating buying any of those players to stop our rivals getting them. That would be idiotic. The only one I would have been interested in, in terms of augmenting what we already have, was Sanchez. When I said what we should be concerned about is how Fabregas et al would strengthen our rivals, I meant it from the point of view that they would all be serious challengers to us next season because of those purchases. That is all
So, just the one from yourself (who would Sanchez replace BTW?) and George is unusually quiet.Exeter Blue I am here said:George Hannah said:We'll all see the effectiveness of UEFA's attack at the end of the season for sure, probably before the turn of the year actually. I sincerely hope you and the others who take your admirably optimistic view are right and we've negotiated ourselves out of danger. It seems however that on the current evidence we are in grave danger of being overtaken by a number of our rivals.FanchesterCity said:It's swings and roundabouts...
We've splashed the cash over a number of years, and now have a reasonably settled quality side. This year, rivals have splashed out a bit, next year could be us. We can't do it every year. Admittedly, maybe this year we've been slightly hampered, but it's not an insurmountable issue.
As we have learned in recent years, only 50% (at best) of the buys clubs make will actually work out well for them.
I think you're absolutely right. I was gutted today to see Sanchez go to the Arse, and I fully expect to see the rags spend at least another £60 or £70m this summer. With our rivals having all strengthened significantly, the fight for a CL place next season will be desperate, and if we cop for the kind of injury problems we got last year we may struggle to make the cut. Those that say FFP won't affect us are fantasists. It already is......and significantly. If we can finish top 4 next season and break even, then all bets are off, but if we don't then we could be in more trouble than we think in the long term.
cheddar404 said:Instant_Offense said:FanchesterCity said:I think one area of weakness we've had so far is player sales. That may well be just a consequence of the way we've progressed rapidly, but players leaving (generally) haven't been great business for us.
Suarez to Barca seem like a dizzying 75m (thereabouts) deal, but it's funded by Fabregas and Sanchez leaving.
Chelsea's purchase of Costa and Fabregas only comes in at a net spend of about 22 million or so after a 40 million sale of Luiz.
We on the other hand aren't seeing much return on outgoing transfers (yet). It seems we're just happy to get some wages off the bill for starters.
Of course, when you're talking about receiving decent figures for outgoing players, that will mean they'll be players we still think are very good. That will happen when we start selliing the bigger name players in the hope of improvement. In that regard, we're still a country mile behind the likes of Barca and Real etc. Tevez and De Jong are probably the last two we sold that were much sought after players, but Tevez was a bit of a fire sale in the end.
Part of this is the age at which the player is purchased. Jovetic is the only player under the age of 35 we have signed the last couple of years.
What about Negredo, Navas, Fernandinho...? Even Demechelis is under 35
ColinLee said:Exeter Blue I am here said:ColinLee said:I was going to reply to 'Exeter Blue I am here' but you covered it all here.
+1
Unfortunately, you've both got the wrong end of the stick. I wasn't advocating buying any of those players to stop our rivals getting them. That would be idiotic. The only one I would have been interested in, in terms of augmenting what we already have, was Sanchez. When I said what we should be concerned about is how Fabregas et al would strengthen our rivals, I meant it from the point of view that they would all be serious challengers to us next season because of those purchases. That is allSo, just the one from yourself (who would Sanchez replace BTW?) and George is unusually quiet.Exeter Blue I am here said:George Hannah said:We'll all see the effectiveness of UEFA's attack at the end of the season for sure, probably before the turn of the year actually. I sincerely hope you and the others who take your admirably optimistic view are right and we've negotiated ourselves out of danger. It seems however that on the current evidence we are in grave danger of being overtaken by a number of our rivals.
I think you're absolutely right. I was gutted today to see Sanchez go to the Arse, and I fully expect to see the rags spend at least another £60 or £70m this summer. With our rivals having all strengthened significantly, the fight for a CL place next season will be desperate, and if we cop for the kind of injury problems we got last year we may struggle to make the cut. Those that say FFP won't affect us are fantasists. It already is......and significantly. If we can finish top 4 next season and break even, then all bets are off, but if we don't then we could be in more trouble than we think in the long term.
So surely we've not been 'significantly' hamstrung then and we've quietly strengthened where we needed it (once the CB is sorted). I for one think our starting 11 is as strong or stronger than anyone else in the PL with top drawer backup regardless of any further signings from our rivals (short of the rags just buying Real Madrid's entire team).