Sundays transfer rumour round-up

[ChRiStOpHe]

One issue I do have with Appiah is his age or rather his real age. Apparently he is 27 in jan, but that means he was playing International football for Ghana since he was 15 or 16. Now I can believe that maybe a winger or striker could potentially play for their county at such a young age, but a central midfielder playing International football at 16 does seem a little unlikely.

According to Wiki:

He received his 1st senior cap on his 16th birthday when Ghana played Benin on 24 December 1996

The only was a 16 year old could start playing Internationally at that age would be if they were playing weak nations, and Benin do come under that catagory (ranked 84th in the World).

 

[Loque]

Of all of those mentioned I'd like Diaby most (for £7M). Not that it's gonna happen at all but he's a fantastic player.

 

[Partizan]

There are a few of posters here who really want to see us sign Appiah in Jan

:hello:

 

[hashmander]

it's not only diaby, the people says it's armand traore and denilson as well.
http://www.people.co.uk/sport/footb...objectid=20123731&siteid=93463-name_page.html

 

[ChRiStOpHe]

it's not only diaby, the people says it's armand traore and denilson as well.

Eek

According to that article, we want:

- Diaby
- Traore
- Denilson
- Martin Laursen

:|

 

[yanno]

Eek

According to that article, we want:

- Diaby
- Traore
- Denilson
- Martin Laursen

:|

Diaby - could be legit. High-tempo, technically sound CM. Ticks a lot of Juande's CM boxes, and Comolli would be happy.

Denilson - possible, though more of a DM playmaker type.

Traore - why? We have Bale, Lee, BAE, plus Daniels & Berchiche - which is plenty even if Juande sees Bale as a LM.

Martin Laursen - ever since his Milan days, he's had a terrible injury record. If he was a top-class, dominating CB, then he might be worth a chance. But there are plenty of other decent CBs without his injury record. So, not for me, thank you very much.

 

[General Levy]

I would cut my arm off for Diaby, he is a very good player, with huge potential.

 

[joey55]

Diaby is totally one footed. I'd be amazed if he came to Spurs. I think he has no real potential at all outside of Arsenal. He is well versed in Arenals quick one touch passing game, but he allround game looks very average to me and therefore I see him struggling to find a place at a top side. If he leaves Arsenal, which he may well, then i see a career in mid table football for him.

 

[mkkid]

Diaby is totally one footed. I'd be amazed if he came to Spurs. I think he has no real potential at all outside of Arsenal. He is well versed in Arenals quick one touch passing game, but he allround game looks very average to me and therefore I see him struggling to find a place at a top side. If he leaves Arsenal, which he may well, then i see a career in mid table football for him.

Havent you answered your own question?

Spurs it is then!

 

[hashmander]

if he has no potential outside of arsenal, why the heck are the french of all people giving him international caps? what do they know about football anyway. diaby maybe one-footed, but so are many top players, it's what you do with that one foot and he's an excellent ball striker and dribbler. his problem right now is that he doesn't play the arsenal game. he likes to hold onto the ball and carry the ball forward instead of releasing it quickly and more accurately. it's a fine line that hleb just seemed to grasp this year after holding onto it too long the previous two seasons. he's still a work in progress from an arsenal game perspective. his current skillset could be utilize elsewhere with minimum change to his game, unlike at arsenal where he's currently undergoing reeducation.

 

[kishman]

Nobody's mentioned Villa yet. If Berbatov leaves(which i don't think he will) what a signing Villa would be. But it is only from the NOTW and it's probably rubbish. But Villa>Torres.

But is Villa>Berbatov?????:shrug:

 

[joey55]

if he has no potential outside of arsenal, why the heck are the french of all people giving him international caps? what do they know about football anyway. diaby maybe one-footed, but so are many top players, it's what you do with that one foot and he's an excellent ball striker and dribbler. his problem right now is that he doesn't play the arsenal game. he likes to hold onto the ball and carry the ball forward instead of releasing it quickly and more accurately. it's a fine line that hleb just seemed to grasp this year after holding onto it too long the previous two seasons. he's still a work in progress from an arsenal game perspective. his current skillset could be utilize elsewhere with minimum change to his game, unlike at arsenal where he's currently undergoing reeducation.

The French give International caps to loads of players that aren't good enough for top sides. As do England. When i say Diaby is totally one footed, i don't mean in a conventional sense, i mean that virutally everything he does in with his right foot. If you watch how teams defend against him, if he attacks from the left they will simply not let him cut inside, if it's from the right, they won't show him the outside. You say he likes to hold the ball and run with it, but that is his stregth and particualry in the Arseanl system, when they break so quicky. He's at his best running at defenders, but I assure that by now virtually every coach in the prem will be aware of his reliance on his one foot. Watch clips of him on MOTD or Youtube and you'll see so many situations when he could have just laid the ball off with his left, just a simple flick of the left foot, but because of his reliance on his right, he misses the opportunity to score or make something happen.

 

[hashmander]

i don't need to watch clips, i've seen games. and he gets caps for france because they feel he has a big future. they have big hopes for him and diarra.

 

[joey55]

i don't need to watch clips, i've seen games. and he gets caps for france because they feel he has a big future. they have big hopes for him and diarra.

OK then what would we do with him? He's criticised for not being aggressive enough, and his passing range is limited. Yet Ramos likes his CM to press up and keep the ball moving. Where could we play him? To me he seems like a tall, athletic player, who has some nice skills, but doen't seem to have the suitable attributes for any position. At Arseanl, they break so quickly and stretch teams that a player like him can always "join in", but away from that system, where could he play. For example, if he went to Utd, what would Ferguson do with him?

 

[hashmander]

well he's better than zokora, jenas, huddlestone ... pretty much any central midfielder on the spurs roster. his passing may not be fabregas standard, but it's certainly good enough. i don't watch much manchester united, but i do watch some la liga and he could just easily slot in at barca in yaya's role. he could definitely play in france for marseille or lyon. from what i've seen of sevilla he could definitely play for them as well. most teams could use a 6'3" powerhouse with very good speed, good passing, excellent dribbling and ball striking ability.

and this arsenal break quickly thing is so patrick vieira/thierry henry at highbury days. quick arsenal counter attacks are things that occur about once or twice in game these days (most recent being the incorrect offsides goals against reading) with fabregas and hleb pulling the strings. they move the ball quickly between each other, but there are less passes that involve quick movements towards goal. the game has slowed down considerably and it's now about dominating possession while passing and moving, a more continental approach as opposed to the gung-ho approach of arsenal's last title winners.

 

[joey55]

well he's better than zokora, jenas, huddlestone ... pretty much any central midfielder on the spurs roster. his passing may not be fabregas standard, but it's certainly good enough. i don't watch much manchester united, but i do watch some la liga and he could just easily slot in at barca in yaya's role. he could definitely play in france for marseille or lyon. from what i've seen of sevilla he could definitely play for them as well. most teams could use a 6'3" powerhouse with very good speed, good passing, excellent dribbling and ball striking ability.

and this arsenal break quickly thing is so patrick vieira/thierry henry at highbury days. quick arsenal counter attacks are things that occur about once or twice in game these days (most recent being the incorrect offsides goals against reading) with fabregas and hleb pulling the strings. they move the ball quickly between each other, but there are less passes that involve quick movements towards goal. the game has slowed down considerably and it's now about dominating possession while passing and moving, a more continental approach as opposed to the gung-ho approach of arsenal's last title winners.

I find it difficult to see any comparison between YaYa Toure and Diaby. Toure is a complete midfielder, whilst Diaby isn't a good passer, tackler and has poor positional sense. He hasn't been able to play one game in Arseanl's CM in the Prem this season. Toure would start every game for them. As for him playing in Seville's midfield, I think he is totaly unsuited. Keita and Poulsen play very disciplined roles and keep the ball moving through midfield very quickly. At Lyon Toulalan, Bodmer, Kallstrom and Junhinho are on another level to Diaby. MArseilles are near the bottom of the table so he may well find a place there. That is the sort of side I'd expect to see him at. To suggest Arsenals 4th or 5th choice CM, is good enough for some of the best sides in Europe is an exageration.

He may be a power house, but he doesn't play like one and his lack of aggression is something Arseanl fans complain about. Also he isn't a good passer. He can play the occassional final ball when teams are stretched, but he isn't particuarly good. He's much more Zokora than Carrick. He occassionally strikes the ball well and has scored the odd goal (ie Derby), but to call him a great striker of the ball is an exageration again. Any great striker of the ball will have numerous compilations to view, yet i expect you'll find it very diffiuclt to dig up many examples other than the goal against Derby. He isn't an excellent dribbler either. He often makes little burst, but due to his reliance on his right foot, these usually end in nothing. He is a player that has ability and great physical attributes, but doesn't seem to have a sufficent game in enough areas to have a true position that he can play to a standard good enough to play in a top side. You say he's better than any CM on our roster, but what are you judging this on? Last season he started 8 Prem games for Arsenal in CM and the lost 3, drew 4 and won just 1. This season he hasn't played in CM for them.

 

[SpurSince57]

He started off very promisingly and showed a fair bit of aggression; I remember that in one of his very first games he put Campo out for several weeks (something Wenger unaccountably overlooked when Diaby himself had his ankle broken by a similarly rash challenge). Since returning, he hasn't shown anything like the same promise, and a lot of Gooners have picked up on this. Perhaps Wenger's inexplicable decision to play the planet's most right-footed player at LM has something to do with it (which makes the complaints about Jol's playing players out of position pretty laughable); we were effectively playing against ten men until Wenger finally brought Rosicky on.

Passes well (but no better than anyone we have), seems to have lost some of his combativity, nothing special. There are rumours he's unsettled, but so, apparently, is Gilberto, and I know which I'd sooner have.

 

[Kurtzen]

whilst Diaby isn't a good passer, tackler and has poor positional sense.

Lacks composure. Another Jenas.

 

[rez9000]

*** BREAKING NEWS! ***

SPURS TO BUY PREMIERSHIP!!!

"WE WANT THEM ALL" SAYS SPOKESMAN

An audacious move this morning by Tottenham Hotspur Football club has caused controversy in the print media.

Through unofficial channels, representatives of the club have been reported to have stated that the club intend to buy every player in the Premiership as part of a long-term solution to the lack of depth in the Spurs squad that sports journalists are convinced exists.

A source close to the club is rumoured to have stated that a conversation between Damien Comolli's rubber plant and the man who refills the third floor coffee machine raised the issue of this provocative move, which is likely to have a massive impact on sports journalists.

A spokesman for the journalist quasi-union, Lazy Bastards Who Can't Be F****** Bothered, reacted angrily to the news. Mr H Uphisownarse said 'This is intolerable. We will complain in no uncertain terms to Tottenham Hotspur over this flagrant disregard for the rights and priveleges of sports journalists. We resent the steamroller attitude of the club in preventing us from printing exactly what we want, when we want, with no recourse to facts or official statements.'

When asked about the concept of journalistic ethics, the use of facts, and the idea that perhaps some semblence of work shoudl be part and parcel of any journalist's day, the representative responded, 'Facts? What have facts got to do with anything? I'm a sports journalist and I work for The Sun. And I do work hard, we all do. Do you know how difficult it is to come up with jingoistic, borderline racist headlines whenever England play? We're far too busy to actually find out if any of the transfer targets are within the realm of possibility. Christ, sometimes it's hard enough waiting for the Wikipedia page'

However, again through unofficial channels, Tottenham Hotspur have defended their decision. 'We want them all' said a spokesman. 'This is a long-term plan to really add depth to the Tottenham Hotspur squad. We will start with the Premiership, before branching out to La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga and beyond'.

Damien Comolli was not available for comment.
​

 

[michaelden]

There are a few of posters here who really want to see us sign Appiah in Jan...

Dude, I've been singing his praises for years now! I would love this to happen!