The Daily ITK Discussion Thread - The Weekend Edition 3/4 August 2013

[Mouse!]

May only be a friendly but take our game vs Sunderland in a swimming pool. Sunderland started pre season a couple of weeks earlier than us and what a difference it made. We were nowhere near their standard and they have a whole team of new players

That was just fitness though. As you say they had a team of new players, while we fielded a team who know each other well, and they beat us. They were collectively fitter and the double sessions should sort that problem out.

 

[Spursidol]

We are going to be very strong this season and really be a force to be reckoned with.
Sorry but i do know what is happening with Gareth currently as of today and a load of crap being spoken. I appreciate all the other ITK's passing on info but you really have to take with a pinch(like mine) as you dont know how far they are from the source and who is telling their source. What i can guarantee (this is why i'm retiring)that they arent as close to the actual story as me. I dont mean that in a derogatory way at all its just a fact.
I personally really hope this all falls over and we get to keep Gareth however its just not the case unfortunately at this point in time.
I wont comment either on why AVB is saying something different.
Either way its going to be an exciting season for us IMHO.
COYS

Thanks for this - we obviously need a few players (eg CB) whether GB goes or not, If GB goes how many rplayers will be brought in with the extra cash ?

Will the rest of the cash be retained for other purposes (eg stadium ) ?

 

[EJWTartanSpur]

I'm gonna say it...

If we get what is mooted in the press for Bale, and it's reinvested, we will be a stronger unit than if we keep him.

If we bring in another 3 top class players, and lose one through injury, we will still have 2 of those top class players in the team.

If we keep Bale and invest little more in the squad and he goes down with injury (which he WILL at SOME point in the season), we will struggle without him.

I'm also itching to see some other members of the team take some responsibility and think that's more likely to happen without him.

I hope this as well. If we can get Coentrao, Morata and a pile of money, we can most definitely make ourselves a stronger team than we are currently. Coentrao instantly fixes our left hand side defensively, also giving us a great drive going forward as well. Morata is a very very very good talent who can come in and learn from/buddy up with Soldado.

Judging by JJ's positivity despite Bale looking like he is going, you have to think that we have some plans afoot for the pile of money.

I keep thinking back to that small piece of ITK on Alexis Sanchez and wondering if he could be gettable if we blow money on him. Probably not, but I do feel we will get in someone either great or with stupidly high potential. We could also fill in CB without worrying about scrimping and tidy up one or two other small gaps.

Sanchez
Lamela
Hulk ( logical in a lot of ways even if I'm not too keen )
Pastore
Bernard
di Maria ( I think he is massively underrated by a lot on here )

the list wont be too long. I dread Bale going, but at the same time the potential to re build excites me.

We are not looking in great shape right now for the start of the season though, and gelling issues would worry me. There would be a certain percentage of pissing into the wind and hoping it pulls together if we had to sell Bale and get players in, but if it happened we could be very strong the further into the season we go and beyond

 

[JJetset]

Well, the two posts of info in the RO today by Jasper and the other guy. I've got some info on the whole situation. My stance stays the same on the whole Gareth saga, I just have a bit more information on it all.

I won't be able to post it until tomorrow morning, I just need to check with someone that the info I post won't implicate my new contracts, and that someone at the club won't get in the shit, since literally only 4 people including myself know this. It's all very fresh at the moment, but will probably be filtered down to the media in a few days.

As I said, I stick with what I've always said, and the information I received today is far from bad news.

P:S - I'm not slating anyone info.

Cheers

M

I really want you to be right !!

 

[Bill_Oddie]

I'm so confused! Am I drunk, or are jj and mystery saying different things?

I reckon a little from column a and a little from column b.

 

[Snarfalicious]

I'm fairly confident a team that consists of Dembele, Paulinho, Chadli, Soldado, Siggy and Townsend will have enough firepower to break down Crystal Palace. The defense will be the biggest worry for me. Seriously, if we play either of Livermore/Fryers at CB we might need 3 goals to win. The most important thing is ensuring that defense is squared away first. Either by a couple of additions or by some good luck with injury recovery.

I'm sure we will add some more attacking talent either in the Bale deal or after via separate deals. But, for me the defense needs to be addressed ASAP.

 

[Yorkville Spur]

Well, the two posts of info in the RO today by Jasper and the other guy. I've got some info on the whole situation. My stance stays the same on the whole Gareth saga, I just have a bit more information on it all.

I won't be able to post it until tomorrow morning, I just need to check with someone that the info I post won't implicate my new contracts, and that someone at the club won't get in the shit, since literally only 4 people including myself know this. It's all very fresh at the moment, but will probably be filtered down to the media in a few days.

As I said, I stick with what I've always said, and the information I received today is far from bad news.

P:S - I'm not slating anyone info.

Cheers

M

Cheers M. Thanks for posting.

 

[beats1]

I think the whole 'pre-season team gelling' thing is slightly overstated. how much are our players going to have learned about each other in this pre-season? How well each other performs in a low-risk situation? Players do not perform in pressure situations as they do in pre-season friendlies. You'll only see what the team and each individual player is made of when the chips are down.

As long as we actually have the players in before the season starts then I think good players can play with good players. How many of the Brazilian national team actually play club football together? They beat a team in Spain made up of basically Barca and Real players who know each other very well.

I agree and Disagree, remember international teams are often in training camps together before to gel together but I think it is often impossible anyway for premier league teams with a earlier start and competition summers anyway.

Also worth noting that core of the brazilian team played together since the olympics whereas Spain if anything had unusually more non barca/Madrid players than usual

 

[Waiwonder]

That was just fitness though. As you say they had a team of new players, while we fielded a team who know each other well, and they beat us. They were collectively fitter and the double sessions should sort that problem out.

What double sessions though? The majority of our first team haven't had a pre-season because of injuries and extra time off because of the confed cup and u21 championship

 

[jimmyh]

Cheers JJ for the info but really getting pissed off with the will he wont he being conducted by the agents, the franco scum and the media.

I know you think we will be strong this season but is this based on the fact that you know who else we are after or who we have already bought.

I think this season we will see how good a manager AVB is because I think Bale pulled us out of more holes than enough last season and nobody was probably more relieved than AVB because sometimes tactics, substitutions and selections left a bit to be desired and if it wasn't for some Bale magic we would have been in trouble.

 

[jimmyh]

Cheers JJ for the info but really getting pissed off with the will he wont he being conducted by the agents, the franco scum and the media.

I know you think we will be strong this season but is this based on the fact that you know who else we are after or who we have already bought.

I think this season we will see how good a manager AVB is because I think Bale pulled us out of more holes than enough last season and nobody was probably more relieved than AVB because sometimes tactics, substitutions and selections left a bit to be desired and if it wasn't for some Bale magic we would have been in trouble.

 

[What Lies Beneath]

I really want you to be right !!

will we be stronger than are rivals in your opinion ?

 

[beats1]

I will be honest I dont care about Bale going or staying but I question his ambition, for the first time we are building a title challenging team and for someone who wants to be as good as Ronaldo, him winning title with us would be up there with what Ronaldo did over his spell with United

Because at the moment he has only matched Ronaldo's stats when he season where he was struggling with a ankle injury.

 

[beats1]

If we replace Bale with Hulk, I may take a break from footy for a while!

Also what pisses me off the most about a potential Bale deal is that in a year or two, I can see him not liking it and returning to United or even Chelsea(if Mourinho is still there).

 

[Mouse!]

What double sessions though? The majority of our first team haven't had a pre-season because of injuries and extra time off because of the confed cup and u21 championship

Well Soldado and Paulinho were playing competitive football into July, same for our under 21s. They shouldn't have lost much fitness from last season. We can't do anything about injuries unfortunately.

I am worried about our defence. I think THE most important position where a 'partnership' is required is CB and anyone we bring in now is either going to have to play with someone coming off the back of an injury, someone played out of position, or a youth team player.

 

[hutchiniho]

I will be honest I dont care about Bale going or staying but I question his ambition, for the first time we are building a title challenging team and for someone who wants to be as good as Ronaldo, him winning title with us would be up there with what Ronaldo did over his spell with United

Because at the moment he has only matched Ronaldo's stats when he season where he was struggling with a ankle injury.

Trouble is, it's seemingly all about the Champions League. And like it or not Madrid have a better chance of winning their league. We'd have to have an incredible season to finish above city, utd and chelsea. Our ambitions lie in getting top 4 and CL football, not winning the competition like Real.

Ambition says leave - Loyalty says to stay.

 

[Bill_Oddie]

JJ, in the spirit of the current questioning, could you answer a) how many points we'll get this season? b) how many goals we will score and conceded? and c) what will be the aggregate official home attendance for league and cup matches you remove all the left-handed people?

What's that? You can't predict the future?

Well, what's the ruddy point of coming in here, then?

 

[knilly]

If we replace Bale with Hulk, I may take a break from footy for a while!

Also what pisses me off the most about a potential Bale deal is that in a year or two, I can see him not liking it and returning to United or even Chelsea(if Mourinho is still there).

As is often the case big transfers, clubs refusing to sell to rivals so sell abroad to not lose face with the fans.

 

[Waiwonder]

Well Soldado and Paulinho were playing competitive football into July, same for our under 21s. They shouldn't have lost much fitness from last season. We can't do anything about injuries unfortunately.

I am worried about our defence. I think THE most important position where a 'partnership' is required is CB and anyone we bring in now is either going to have to play with someone coming off the back of an injury, someone played out of position, or a youth team player.

You think spurs will snap me up on a free transfer?

 

[Mouse!]

Trouble is, it's seemingly all about the Champions League. And like it or not Madrid have a better chance of winning their league. We'd have to have an incredible season to finish above city, utd and chelsea. Our ambitions lie in getting top 4 and CL football, not winning the competition like Real.

Ambition says leave - Loyalty says to stay.

Is it illegal to play the Champions League music before a Europa League game? Everyone who says they miss playing in the CL goes on about how Zadok the fucking Priest touched them so much.