Ross Barkley

[BillyShears]

Total fucking bollocks. SWP was hot shit in his first spell at City. He pissed all over Sterling.

No he didn't. I admire your revisionism and I loved SWP. Sterling's in a different league though. He's miles better than SWP ever was and he's only a kid.

 

[Zin 'messiah' Zimmer]

Total fucking bollocks. SWP was hot shit in his first spell at City. He pissed all over Sterling.

No he didn't. I admire your revisionism and I loved SWP. Sterling's in a different league though. He's miles better than SWP ever was and he's only a kid.

Yeah but this is fuelled by his CSA payments, can he be trusted??

Agree though, complete different level to SWP, he's a genuine worldy imo... I'd get both him and barkely, however, don't think we'll get either!!!,

 

[BillyShears]

however, don't think we'll get either!!!,

I'm surprised Zin, you got a good steer on either or just a gut feeling?

 

[Zin 'messiah' Zimmer]

however, don't think we'll get either!!!,

I'm surprised Zin, you got a good steer on either or just a gut feeling?

Just can't see them in city shirts bud

Also think we shy away from circuses nowadays, Pagliacci himself would give this a miss, it would be carnage in the press, the propaganda machine would be in full flow, even if they did want to sign, they'd be convinced that the mighty chelsea or manure would be better for the national game....

Unfortunately, we just don't get players like this.... Imo!!!

 

[Matty]

Ross Barkley is a fantastic, young, English player and I'd love to have him at City, however £60m, if that's what he'd eventually cost, is simply too much money. He's not got close to the standard as yet that should demand that kind of fee, it's only because he's English that those kinds of figures can be mentioned and it isn't laughed at by all. To me Barkley is an English version of Isco, so yes I expect to pay a little more as he fills a quota spot so is of more value, but Isco cost Real €30 million, so the "English premium" here is a touch steep!

 

[BillyShears]

however, don't think we'll get either!!!,

I'm surprised Zin, you got a good steer on either or just a gut feeling?

Just can't see them in city shirts bud

Also think we shy away from circuses nowadays, Pagliacci himself would give this a miss, it would be carnage in the press, the propaganda machine would be in full flow, even if they did want to sign, they'd be convinced that the mighty chelsea or manure would be better for the national game....

Unfortunately, we just don't get players like this.... Imo!!!

I see fully where you're coming from - I do wonder though whether privately there is an acceptance that if they don't go the by any means necessary route for these two lads, they'll never really change the wider perception which IMO would be problematic. City want to be where Bayern, Barca, et al are. Those clubs without fail at build around the best Spanish and German players available first and foremost.

I guess what i'm trying to say is that if we don't get these deals done then we may well perpetually be the foreign mercenary club. That's not gonna fly for Abu Dhabi IMO, which is why I have a feeling certainly one of them will end up in City blue.

My steer is Barkley's the one and he's already convinced!

 

[Centurions]

Ross Barkley is a fantastic, young, English player and I'd love to have him at City, however £60m, if that's what he'd eventually cost, is simply too much money. He's not got close to the standard as yet that should demand that kind of fee, it's only because he's English that those kinds of figures can be mentioned and it isn't laughed at by all. To me Barkley is an English version of Isco, so yes I expect to pay a little more as he fills a quota spot so is of more value, but Isco cost Real €30 million, so the "English premium" here is a touch steep!

Even with the 'English Tax' he's only worth around £30mill, I'd be disappointed with City if they paid much more than that. That would also have the added attraction of pissing off the blue dipper on here.

 

[OB1]

I'm surprised Zin, you got a good steer on either or just a gut feeling?

Just can't see them in city shirts bud

Also think we shy away from circuses nowadays, Pagliacci himself would give this a miss, it would be carnage in the press, the propaganda machine would be in full flow, even if they did want to sign, they'd be convinced that the mighty chelsea or manure would be better for the national game....

Unfortunately, we just don't get players like this.... Imo!!!

I see fully where you're coming from - I do wonder though whether privately there is an acceptance that if they don't go the by any means necessary route for these two lads, they'll never really change the wider perception which IMO would be problematic. City want to be where Bayern, Barca, et al are. Those clubs without fail at build around the best Spanish and German players available first and foremost.

I guess what i'm trying to say is that if we don't get these deals done then we may well perpetually be the foreign mercenary club. That's not gonna fly for Abu Dhabi IMO, which is why I have a feeling certainly one of them will end up in City blue.

My steer is Barkley's the one and he's already convinced!

We are a club going through a massive, long-term, transition and we have to change things so that we do get players like this.

My question marks over the players are somewhat inevitable because they are young and I do not know enough about them to be sure that they have the personality to make the most of their obvious potential.

My current opinion is that Barkley is going to be very special and I would like to City get him, even if they have to risk a lot of dosh doing so.

 

[Matty]

I understand your stance because you don't want to believe the truth, and to some extents I wish it wasn't true, but sooner or later, if Barkley fulfils his potential, he's going to want to be playing regular Champions League football and have a chance of winning major honours. With football the way it is (this is the bit I don't like) there are only a few clubs who can guarantee these things, and so Ross is going to move on. The difference with Gerrard was that Liverpool could offer him what Everton can't offer Barkley.

With Ross wanting to move Everton lose some of their power. He's on a long contract, so they're still in a good position to ask for good money, but if they refuse to let him go for a reasonable amount he'll start to kick up a fuss. This could result in him running his contract down, but that would obviously take a while and would suit no party as Everton would end up with less money and an unhappy player and the buying club would have to wait. The more likely result is that he'll be sold for around £30-£40m.

You might not like it, but that's just the way the game works at the moment. As City fans we're lucky that Sheikh Mansour came in, but I can empathise with fans that don't have wealthy backers and realise it's a bit shit.

Patronising, condescending, ad infinitum. This is a Man City forum and I'll respect its rules but if a person doesn't like a City fan, this is the reason why. You run into money and become quite snobby. The rest of your post is, like I have said earlier, assumptions with no actual facts.

I think you probably need a better grasp of how football actually works.

Ross Barkley, you would assume, at some point will want to play in the Champion's League, and will want to challenge for major honours such as the Premier League title. You'd have to be the most unrealistically optimistic Everton fan to think that they could be in the position to offer him those kinds of things. To be successful takes money, and shitloads of it. That isn't an arrogant, patronising or condescending statement from your "typical City fan" it's a statement of fact, a fact made even more accurate in the last 20 years by the dual factors of TV money in the Premier League, and in the Champion's League. The rich clubs have never been further ahead of the rest of the pack as they are right now, City are just lucky to have attracted a wealthy owner, and at a time before the established elite had quite managed to block that route via Financial Fair Play. The best Everton can hope for is that they "do a Spurs", by which I mean they sneak 4th place one year and then hope, unlike when Moyes did it for Everton a fair few years ago, they make the group stage. City, Chelsea and United have financial strength, and Arsenal are on the brink of that too now the stadium payments are starting to tail off. Liverpool have the Worldwide appeal and fanbase that they can exploit. That's 5 sides with a substantially better chance of finishing in the top 4 than Everton, for the forseeable future.

For as long as Barkley's ambitions can be met by Everton I expect him to stay put (unless Everton themselves decided they need/want to "cash in" on him). However I suspect Barkley's ambitions will exceed Everton's abilities pretty swiftly, potentially during the 2015 summer transfer window. Is this whole think based on a series of assumptions? Yes, of course it is, but these aren't exactly blind assumptions with no precedent. Time and time again we see the same, or at least very similar, scenarios played out and, ultimately, the player always moves. Modric and Suarez were held onto for 12 months longer than they wanted to be, but they were eventually sold, to bigger clubs, to clubs with more chance of success. Do I think Barkley leaving Everton and joining City would be a move to a bigger club? No. Do I think it would be a move to a club with more chance of success? Absolutely, and so would anyone else.

 

[Matty]

You ALWAYS sell though. You put a firm front on but it's gone within a month and the player is sold.

Just to confirm a few things about City. City have made a profit for season 13/14 and that is after spending £100 million on the likes of Negredo and Fernandinho. Once the restrictions are lifted in the summer we can spend big.

I'm not saying Barkley will go to City but you're naive to think he won't be sold in the next year or so. Probably for around £40 million.

Everton no longer need to sell. That was the case last season. That's even more true this season.

Don't believe your finances have been released yet mate, so I don't know how you can state that City have made a profit.

You final sentence is an assumption. The word "probably" just sums up your knowledge on the subject perfectly. He isn't going for £40m.

"Everton no longer need to sell", now whose making blind assumptions?! Why not exactly? Because you spent a huge sum of money on Lukaku? I'm not sure why you think Everton are suddenly a cash rich club that can say no to a £30m - £40m figure for a player, especially if he wants to leave? Kenwright is still your chairman, so there's still a real lack of ability to invest from the top, and unless you've simple missed what FFP is actually all about, even if you did have a wealthy benefactor, he couldn;t invest in your club anyway, as owner investment flies in the face of FFP. You need to spend what you generate and, TV money aside (which the other 19 Premeir League clubs get too) Everton don't exactly have huge external revenue streams. The stadium, whilst historic, simply isn't built to cope with modern football's demands. The capacity can't be expanded, the facilities can't cope with the modern corporate fan (where the real money is) and the success on the pitch isn't enough to generate anything too substantial. I love the way you moan about the assumptions being made by City fans, then end your post by saying "he isn't goinf for £40m". Do you actually understand what the word "assumption" means?!

On City's finances, yes we haven't officially released them as yet but there have been quotes direct from people at the top of the club, people like Ferran Soriano, that state we will, at least, break even for the 2013/14 season, and will be making a profit going forward.