The Summer 2014 TRANSFER THREAD

[Swifty]

Watched Pogba in Juve v A-League last night - quality!

[TeeCee]

Quite a lot of reports this morning that Galatasaray are trying to tie up a double deal for Poldi and Campbell.......I bloody hope that's not true, would decimate our options up front and there's not a hope in hell Wonga would sign two front players, we'd end up getting one mediocre one at best and the squad will be much weaker than last season!

[augie]

Quite a lot of reports this morning that Galatasaray are trying to tie up a double deal for Poldi and Campbell.......I bloody hope that's not true, would decimate our options up front and there's not a hope in hell Wonga would sign two front players, we'd end up getting one mediocre one at best and the squad will be much weaker than last season!

Campbell is unproven at this level and crucially only has 12 months left on his contract - should we risk giving the guy a contract when he is yet to prove he is worthy of it ? Personally I dont think we should cos it would be too much of a risk unless he signed for another 12 months at a similar wage, and given his current profile he aint likely to sign that when he could go elsewhere. Should sell him imo especially if he is behind le postman in the pecking order

Podolski is a different story altogether - a proven goalscorer at any level, and a player singled out as the best finisher in the club by the same manager who is marooning him out on the wing That move has been detrimental to both podolski and our team so as much as I like and rate the guy (as a striker), I think it was be best for all parties if he moved on

[donaldo71]

Quite a lot of reports this morning that Galatasaray are trying to tie up a double deal for Poldi and Campbell.......I bloody hope that's not true, would decimate our options up front and there's not a hope in hell Wonga would sign two front players, we'd end up getting one mediocre one at best and the squad will be much weaker than last season!

I would agree with you if the old fool played Podolski upfront.The best finisher at the club is stuck on the left wing

[QuartzGooner]

I am worried that we will not now buy a Vermaelen replacement, that Wenger thinks Chambers is the replacement.

In an ideal world we buy a centre back and defensive midfielder, if it is a choice between one or other I now see centre back as the priority.

At least we have numbers in midfield, Ramsey would always be my first choice for a central midfield box-to-box role.
Flamini, Arteta, Chambers, Wilshere, Hayden, Coquelin and even at a push Oxlade-Chamberlain could try the more defensive midfield role between them.
Though I would like a bid for Carvalho or Vidal if possible.

But aside from Koscielny and Mertesacker our other centre backs seem very inexperienced, Chambers is a work in progress, I have yet to see signs that Miquel can make it for us, and Ajayi seems to be set for the reserves this season.

[goonersid]

The Vermaelen sale for me is a great piece of business, for an injury prone player who hasn't turned in a performance worthy of note for over 2 years, my only regret is that he didn't go to united.
Wenger however must sign another cb.

[DB10GOONER]

TOP MAN.

Good luck Verms.

TV5 was, and is, a class act. Never went bad mouthing to the press when benched, no childish parting shot at the manager that benched him. Fair play to him. Best of luck, TV5.

[spendsum4uckingmoney]

Quite a lot of reports this morning that Galatasaray are trying to tie up a double deal for Poldi and Campbell.......I bloody hope that's not true, would decimate our options up front and there's not a hope in hell Wonga would sign two front players, we'd end up getting one mediocre one at best and the squad will be much weaker than last season!

I would agree with you if the old fool played Podolski upfront.The best finisher at the club is stuck on the left wing

Podolski isnt god enough to be the CF thats why. He' a 1 trick pony: great finishing. Admittedly that is a great trick to have for a CF but he is sooo slow.

[Theoperator]

Podolski isnt god enough to be the CF thats why. He' a 1 trick pony: great finishing. Admittedly that is a great trick to have for a CF but he is sooo slow.

Ah yes, flog him with ozil and Sanchez- buy 2 get one free maybe

[DB10GOONER]

Quite a lot of reports this morning that Galatasaray are trying to tie up a double deal for Poldi and Campbell.......I bloody hope that's not true, would decimate our options up front and there's not a hope in hell Wonga would sign two front players, we'd end up getting one mediocre one at best and the squad will be much weaker than last season!

I would agree with you if the old fool played Podolski upfront.The best finisher at the club is stuck on the left wing

Podolski isnt god enough to be the CF thats why. He' a 1 trick pony: great finishing. Admittedly that is a great trick to have for a CF but he is sooo slow.

Jesus. I don't know if you are a WUM or really just this dim anymore...

Pod is a finisher. He's the type of CF that needs a partner, a ball winner, a link up man, or a runner (or preferably a bit of all three). Playing off a ball winner higher up in a 4-4-2 he doesn't need lot's of pace to be effective. Played in a 4-4-2 with Giroud (or someone better) Pod would bang in 20+ PL goals a season.

[DB10GOONER]

Podolski isnt god enough to be the CF thats why. He' a 1 trick pony: great finishing. Admittedly that is a great trick to have for a CF but he is sooo slow.

Ah yes, flog him with ozil and Sanchez- buy 2 get one free maybe

Yep! They are shit as well!

[spendsum4uckingmoney]

Quite a lot of reports this morning that Galatasaray are trying to tie up a double deal for Poldi and Campbell.......I bloody hope that's not true, would decimate our options up front and there's not a hope in hell Wonga would sign two front players, we'd end up getting one mediocre one at best and the squad will be much weaker than last season!

I would agree with you if the old fool played Podolski upfront.The best finisher at the club is stuck on the left wing

Podolski isnt god enough to be the CF thats why. He' a 1 trick pony: great finishing. Admittedly that is a great trick to have for a CF but he is sooo slow.

Jesus. I don't know if you are a WUM or really just this dim anymore...

Pod is a finisher. He's the type of CF that needs a partner, a ball winner, a link up man, or a runner (or preferably a bit of all three). Playing off a ball winner higher up in a 4-4-2 he doesn't need lot's of pace to be effective. Played in a 4-4-2 with Giroud (or someone better) Pod would bang in 20+ PL goals a season.

4-4-2? Oh I remember that....it was 14 years ago before everyone played 4-5-1

Podolski cant play that lone striker role which is defacto these days. He isnt that fast, strong or TBH even that skillful to hold the ball up.

[DB10GOONER]

Quite a lot of reports this morning that Galatasaray are trying to tie up a double deal for Poldi and Campbell.......I bloody hope that's not true, would decimate our options up front and there's not a hope in hell Wonga would sign two front players, we'd end up getting one mediocre one at best and the squad will be much weaker than last season!

I would agree with you if the old fool played Podolski upfront.The best finisher at the club is stuck on the left wing

Podolski isnt god enough to be the CF thats why. He' a 1 trick pony: great finishing. Admittedly that is a great trick to have for a CF but he is sooo slow.

Jesus. I don't know if you are a WUM or really just this dim anymore...

Pod is a finisher. He's the type of CF that needs a partner, a ball winner, a link up man, or a runner (or preferably a bit of all three). Playing off a ball winner higher up in a 4-4-2 he doesn't need lot's of pace to be effective. Played in a 4-4-2 with Giroud (or someone better) Pod would bang in 20+ PL goals a season.

4-4-2? Oh I remember that....it was 14 years ago before everyone played 4-5-1

Podolski cant play that lone striker role which is defacto these days. He isnt that fast, strong or TBH even that skillful to hold the ball up.

And yet nearly every team uses it at some stage throughout the season. This myth that 4-4-2 is from years ago and has been left behind is total bollocks. All of the following have used 4-4-2 successfully at different times last season; Madrid, Citeh, Manure, PSG, Athletico…

Look at how Podolski strikes the ball. Always knee over, foot through. Clinical, never panics. Places the ball (with power when needed). He is by a long shot the best finisher at Arsenal. But he is NOT a lone striker. No one at our club is. Wenger cannot see this for whatever reason. Podolski doesn't play that often because Arsene doesn't trust him as a lone striker, yet Arsene persists with this 4-5-1 formation and thus bench's our best finisher or plays him out wide inneffectively, to accommodate the system! This is probably Wenger's greatest weakness; wedging players into his idea of the system, rather than formulating a system that works to the players' strengths.

Giroud, when you look at it clinically, has done brilliantly given that he is obviously not a lone striker either and yet has managed to bag goals with limited talent in a role that doesn't play to his strengths. If we played Giroud with either Feo or Sanchez or Podolski (Pod for me) in a 4-4-2 I think we'd get a higher goal return from our strikers.

I’m not saying play 4-4-2 every game, or even every part of a single game. I accept that with 4-4-2 against 4-5-1 there is a risk of being overrun in the centre of midfield because of the lack of numbers. The solution is flexibility, one of our centre-forwards drops deeper when we don’t have the ball and adds an extra central midfielder. Basically we shift temporarily to 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-1-1 or indeed flat 4-5-1.

Flexibility is key.

[QuartzGooner]

When Podolski was tried as a lone striker in our current formation it did not work.
He is a great shooter and an under-rated passer, but he lacks that bit of explosive pace that a Suarez type has, and did not seem accustomed to the back-to-goal holding the ball up work that Giroud does.

I think Podolski would be best as a number 10, but cannot see him getting that role with the others we have.

As part of a two man attack, I think he would get 18 - 20 goals a season.

Playing just off Giroud, or just behind Sanchez....love to see it if we went 4-4-2 or 3-5-2.

[kiwomya]

Borussia Dortmund ‏@BVB
@matshummels is the new BVB club captain http://bit.ly/1oVxOLP

He ain't going anywhere by the look of it.