This post will be updated throughout the day.
Guardiola could announce the continuation of Eto'o tomorrow during the press conference ahead of the Champions League qualifying game on Wednesday (As - Mundo Deportivo)
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Guardiola and Eto'o will have a final meeting today, after which it will be announced that the player will stay (Sport)
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Manchester United manager Ferguson doesn't rule out a bid for Thierry Henry and says a striker could be signed this week (The Sun)
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A renewal deal between Silva and Valencia is close (As)
Silva's agents and Valencia will meet on Wednesday and decide whether to renew the contract or to look for an exit (Mundo Deportivo)
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Valencia vice president Gómez has assured Silva and his father Fernando, who works at the club, that the issue will be solved in a satisfying way for the player (Super Deporte)
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Barcelona could make a first bid of 20-22 million euro which could rise up to 25 million euro, Txiki and Guardiola already talked to Silva, Silva is the last possible transfer, if he doesn't come the squad is finalized (Sport)
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Barcelona could have left the Diego Capel option because he's not the kind of player Guardiola likes or because Barcelona didn't want to transfer three Sevilla players in one summer (Mundo Deportivo)
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A Barcelona spokesman as well as Guardiola say that Yaya Touré is a key player and will not leave (Sky Sports)
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Second division team Levante is interested in getting Jeffren on loan although the good pre-season of the player will make a deal difficult since there are many interested clubs (Super Deporte)
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Monday 11 August 2008
News of the day - Monday
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34 comments:
whats going on with the new format?
It's during the Olympics as it says when you enter the blog:)
Thanks, Iniestar... ;)
You'r welcome mate. And thanks to the greatest blog. It's really awsome the job you have and are putting into this site!
Henry to Man United for 25 million would be a dream, I guess.
hey pep great blog mate,do u know where i can watch the game on wednesday?cheers bruv
You can watch the game on www.myp2p.eu (go to softwere download TVU or TVants or...and then go to livesports)and watch your game in this case barca -wisla 6-0 :).Crido.
hello pep what do you think the chances of barca getting silva are? i'm english and i cant see henry ever playing for man u so is the transfer of silva dependent on etting money from henry/etoo?
great site, thanks mate
As far as i have heard the silva deal isn't depending on Henry/Eto'o sale. They have the money for it. The issue is if Silva will get what he demands in Valencia. He wants a better contract in Valencia and if we can't get what he demands he wants to leave for Barca.
About Henry, it also seems odd if Henry should play for UTD. But the price its rumoured they would get is fine, 25 mio euro i believe. But in my opinion Henry should get the chance to prove his worth anyway.
so that means, arshavin is not on their list anymore :(
hi sjp
It's difficult to judge what will happen with Silva. Valencia has clearly stated they want to keep him, so if they let him go now that would be a blow for the new board (even when they can "compensate" that by keeping Villa).
Barcelona isn't ready to break the bank for Silva so it's not likely they'll make Valencia an offer they cannot refuse (let's say over 30 million), even with Valencia having financial problems.
Silva's not the guy who will make trouble although of course with agents involved you can't predict how things will turn out.
I think that if Valencia can get some credit from the banks they could reach a renewal agreement with a little bit of creativity. As things stand now, I would say:
Silva stays with Valencia 75%
Silva joins Barcelona 25%
On your second question. There's money for a left winger. If Henry or Eto'o leaves, that extra money will be reinvested in a new centre forward. So the arrival of Silva (or someone else for the wing) is not dependent on a transfer of Henry or Eto'o.
thanks pep and iniestar. hope they do get as can't see any others decent options for that position. i kinda want henry to stay and prove himself to all his doubters but i think a 25 mil offer is too good an offer to refuse. have to wait and see.
we've been dicking around with Silva for the past month when we should have been signing Arshavin for the left wing for 5-10m cheaper. i really don't get the Silva obsession our board has.
an Arshavin-type left winger should be our final summer signing. we have 2 world-class center strikers already, with a burgeoning one waiting in the wings. our biggest problem isn't that we don't have a central striker, it's that we don't know what to do with the ones that we have. meanwhile, our left wing is populated by converted midfielders who aren't that effective there (like Iniesta) or unproven, barely pubescent B-teamers (like Jeffren).
that's not to say that players like Iniesta or Jeffren aren't talented; they are. but we should learn from last season that playing good players out of position doesn't get us the results we want.
Arshavin isn't a real left winger either, ba. He's more like a second striker/attacking midfielder.
And if Zenit asks 27-30 million euro for him, I can't imagine him being 5-10 million cheaper than Silva.
What BA said.
I think that we definitely have an attacking imbalance, but I'm not sure that Silva is the way to solve it. I would love to see, presuming that Eto'o stays, to have someone brainwash Henry and get him to actually commit to playing left wing all proper-like. Right now, he plays left wing like an out-of-place striker. When he plays left wing properly, he's a potent force.
Then we can use that money that was planned for Silva to have a pool party for the lads or something.
Zenit is being too crazy. Arshavin will be staying put. When they screwed around, we signed Hleb, which put paid to that possibility.
It was also aces that we came right out after the Yaya rumors and said "Nope. Ain't gonna happen."
You'll see Henry playing for Man U when you see humans flying to Europe aboard donkeys. That, or Henry's a bigger weasel than anyone gave him credit for, with his empty words to Arsenal fans about never playing for another English side.
Arshavine is 6-7 years older than Silva, has no experience in spanish leage, never played in CL, and not even a natural winger, he is not an option unless if he cost barca 10M+5M incentives.
Silva will be the greatest signing for barca both on short and long term. I cant even understand how some people cant c it:)
Kxevin I understand ur point but i think having keita+toure+Xavi+hleb(who pass the ball forward more than seek fruitless possession) make me believe its easier to customize iniesta to play as a natural winger rather than trying to achieve that with henry.
Henry is a guy who have/or had pace, but he need space to use his explosive speedy muscles. In spain its obvious that u need a winger who dribble and sneek, and thats something iniesta is better with. henry physic will never offer him the mobility needed to play as a winger in spain, may b england, germany or even italy, but not spain.
And i totaly agree with u regarding henry-man UTD issue.
Henry have or will never work as a left wing. He started in Juventus at that position and flopped. Changed club to Arsenal and played striker and forfilled that position to an A+. He should get his chance to play forward again this year in Barca. Him and Eto'o. Because neither of can play a decent wing. I think bojan should be used sometimes on the wing, since we did it quite well last year.
Though the best solution would be to get Silva. Or Arshavin. I prefer Silva and he is not any more expensive that Arshavin. Nearly the opposit.
Santos should have stayed and we should have started to use him on the left wing. No good with 2 lefty's on the right wing.
Just my thoughts:)
there is actualy one thing bara never tried...y dont they switch the triangle, play using 2 strikers and give messi the free role behind the strikers.
1)it will solve wings delamina
2)will help the strikers to link and move to create more spaces.
3)will make it even more defficult for other teams to mark messi because he will scan the deffence weakness and use it wheather its on right/left/middle
putting messi in that possition will make him closer to the midfield and that what will make it easier to move the ball forward, because thats what he do perfectly.
The thing is, Arshavin plays good in left wing as well. Also, he is cheaper than Silva by 5 mil. Zenit dropped their asking price to 20mil but Barca is still holding on to 15mil.
See what happens to Silva, if he's not available, get Arshavin.
Barca should sell Henry, and use the 25mil to get Pavluchenko or Keweyne Jones if Adebayor and benzema are not available.
Zenit haven't dropped the price, as Tottenham discovered. It's still 25 million, last anyone heard. Rumors come out saying the price has fallen, people talk to Zenit, and come away scratching their heads.
The Henry complexity is also why I like the 4-2-4, with a front line of Henry, Eto'o, Messi and Xavi. Keita and Yaya are the mids. Rijkaard played it a few times last season, and it was glorious, but was always thwarted by something. Milito picked up a red one time, something else happened another time. And then, the two mids were Xavi and Yaya. Keita and Yaya would be even better.
Eto'o and Henry in the box, Messi and Xavi raising hell behind them, Keita pushing up just a tad.
And I repeat. Hleb put the knife in the Arshavin thing. Ain't gonna happen. As BA said, frankly I don't know why the Silva thing is happening, unless somebody just doesn't want to play Iniesta or Hleb that much any longer.
Henry's a flop at left wing. When was the last time we got 19 goals and 20 assists from a left winger? Henry is a "flop" because of the expectations that he would become exactly the type of player that he was at Arsenal, with the same productivity. But short of revamping the system for him, that just wasn't going to happen.
the differences between Arshavin and Silva don't need to be examined any further than the fact that the former scores goals and the latter doesn't. Arshavin's strike rate is nearly double what Silva's is, and his assist rate is as good.
i've said it before, but i will again: Silva doesn't bring anything to the team we don't have already. Iniesta, Hleb, and Pedro can all do what Silva does. not only that, but he's not pacy, he doesn't drag defenders, and he's not a goalscorer. these aren't abilities he's likely to just discover in himself in the next 5 years. and that's the exact kind of player we need on the left to augment Messi's similar skills on the right and provide Eto'o or Henry with the space they need to score a bajillion goals. Arshavin does all of this.
add to this the fact that Arshavin is every bit as creative and every bit as good a passer of the ball as Silva, and it becomes a no-brainer.
people saying he's too old are talking crazy talk. since when is 27 too old? that's the prime of a career, and should we keep him past 30 he's perfectly capable in a playmaking role behind the strikers (a role he often played for Zenit).
people saying he's unproven against La Liga defenses are not thinking straight. the other 2 options for the left wing are Henry (who is 30+) and Hleb (who is clearly decrepit at the ripe old age of 27), neither of whom are "proven" against La Liga defenses. you're essentially questioning Arshavin's quality, which you wouldn't if you watched Russian football with any regularity.
all of this aside, though, i think Kxevin is probably right. i doubt he'll leave Zenit over the summer, but hopefully by Christmas we'll see that a Crazy-Glued stopgap for the left wing isn't our best option and Zenit will have come to their senses. with any luck, that will happen before the 31st of August, but i'm losing hope rapidly.
Ok, I never really watched Henry when he was at Arsenal, so can someone correct me if I'm wrong? I was under the impression that Thierry was known for sneaking to the outside and hanging out over there... just like a left wing. Is that not right? Why is he having such a hard time adapting? I say sell him while we can... his value is just going to continue to decrease as he gets even older.
he loved to drift to the left he didnt play from the left. Play R10 of 2005 as a no 9, he would flop.
Titi has played as a left winger and got us 19 goals and 20 assist.. not bad by any standard. I say keep him. Everyone asking for Benzema would be shcoked he would score less than this if played on the left wing all season... ENUFF SAID
You are speaking truth noubarca
henry himself isnt happy playing there and iniesta doesnt look happy either, it makes much more sense to buy someone who genuinely wants to play that position, which is silva. as far as i'm aware he hasnt played the forward left postion that he will play at barca, so to judge him there is not fair, valencia we a counter attacking team which limits oppertunities.plus we dont need some one to come in and replace ronaldinho, as messi is going to fill this role, we need a guily who scored but not prolifically but provided genuine width, and again silva is the only player that fits. buy him and lets see what happens, if he flops he is young enough that we can still get a good price for him and use pedro/jeffren after a years experiance.
it just makes sense to buy him, if he flops he
BA...Arshavine played as second striker in Zenit scoring 10 goals and making 11 assits...lets say if he played as a winger he would score 7 and 6 assists(to be optemistic), then how much will he score in spanish league?(much more stronger than russian).
all that in a team that was in its peak (Zenit) so everything was working perfectly for him.
In Valencia last season no one achieved anything,but lets c his statics one year before (2006/7) he scored 9 goals and made 8 assists (BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!!) in the league he scored5 goals and made 4 assists in 31 game he played.
now will u take a player who score 9 assist8 in spain and who is 21 years old, or a player who score almost the same but in russia and who is 27+ years old?
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/stats?id=43815&&cc=3888
this link may help u to make scientific evaluation.
those stats are simply wrong.
here's a pretty fair analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the 2 players: http://barcelona.theoffside.com/team-news/david-silva-and-andrei-arshavin-just-another-big-question.html
Go for Arshavin for the below reasons:
1- Tactics: Arshavin can play on the left, middle and left, which offers Guardiola the chance to be creative on the tactical side (e.g. swap sides with Messi, move Arshavin to the middle and play allowing 1 more striker etc..)
2- Better dribbling ability: compared to Silva (for reference: watch the UEFA cup last year).
3- Price: @ 20 mil. still 5 mil. cheaper than Silva.
4- Age: in Barca's case @ 27 is an advantage, Barca needs maturity on the left wing.
5- Leadership: Led Russia thru the whole qualifying campaign, I watched almost all the matches he played and the man was the leader on the pitch (especially those against England).
time will tell...i think its a never ending subject...time will tell:)
I think probably me. man utd, liverpool and real madrid are wrong for crawling after silva over arshavine...time will tell;)
I agree with who ever said that it would be best to go with Iniesta as left-winger. It would save us considerate money, both on transfer fees and paychecks (don't think for a minute that players that arrive to a club like Barca this late in the transfer season does'nt push for a fat contract).
As backup we have a string of players (pedro, hleb) that kan cover up for him if he gets injured or suspended. Bojan, Henry and Eto'o will fight for the centre position, and messi is of course untouchable. On the midfield i would like to see Hleb, Xavi and Touré. Keita and Marquez will act as backups. It's always good to have a big squad, but in the end you must find a balance where all players feel happy about thier role in the team. Otherwise it most definitely an imbalance in the squad.
Silva stays with Valencia 75%
Silva joins Barcelona 25%
?????
Silva joins Manchester 100%
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Silva
AND WTF IS THIS PEP?
2008- Man Utd.That stupid old bastard sir A.F.I hope it's a mistake.
.GO FOR D.Capel!!!.MQUC.
Excuse me but i don't understand anythings of what you wrote?
LOL.. good to see some ol' post. Good to see post from KXEVIN..
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