***Transfer Rumours Thread*** [ALL RUMOUR TOPICS MERGED]

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Disagree massively about Onuah - out of all the fallings out this one seems to me to be the oddest one to me - in my opinion he's the best right back out of Micah, Zabba and himself

Onuaha is quality in my eyes too Wooders...but is he really top 4 quality? The answer is no...nor is Micah either...and Zabs will probably only be used as a utility man

Fact is the club is outgrowing some of these players at a rapid rate...Bobby is not daft...he watches them on the training ground and he knows the standard required to build winning teams...he has done it throughout his managerial career

sentimentality doesn't come into it...as I had to learn the hard way when Dunnie went

Harsh but true.
Don't get me wrong, before his outburst I was probably the biggest Nedum Onuoha fan out there. Watching him turn into quality player has been heart warming. Having said that, is he really top 4 quality? And are Micah and Zabba either??? Probably not.

[Wooders]

I don't think Micah and Zabba are but he is certainly decent enough as backup to Boateng - he also performed well and scored against some of the "bananaskin" teams last season

we should keep him and fuck the other 2 off

[Mike J]

if we agree to pay £30m for milner we are fucking stupid.

[avoidconfusion]

How the fuck can Ireland be 21m cheaper than Milner????

[DoomMerchant]

How the fuck can Ireland be 21m cheaper than Milner????

ireland has had one good season and has been largely a bag of wank on either side of that season while Milner has been steadily gaining acceptance as a high quality player over the last 3-4 seasons, working his way into the England setup and powering Villa to a nice set of results last season. Milner has a leg on him which is better than Stevie. He's better at finishing and a better dead-ball player as well. He looks to be in better shape, despite all the Karate Kid training that Stevie does offseason. Also, Milner doesn't have any pretend dead grannies. or a pink rig.

i'm just giving some simple thoughts off the top of my head. Could Ireland return to form and surprise us again like he did 2 seasons ago? maybe. But i'd say both his and Ned's mentality and body language is that of two players who aren't either capable or willing to fight for their place in our new squads. i find it heartbreaking if we see them go, but i understand.

cheers

[Goaters 103]

Harsh as it is the general comments on Ireland and Onouha are fair. Ireland has had one good season, thats the nub of it.

Onouha is a solid player but is a complete liability in possession when he gets near the half-way line; is he a top 4 defender? Probably not I'd say and neither is Richards or Zabba whilst we are on the subject but thats another debate.

City have been crying out for 2 decent full-backs this summer and hopefully Boateng and Kolarov or an other will sove that problem.

Its also worth stating that a £30m valuation for Milner is something I wouldn't pay either.

[mcfc1632]

Disagree massively about Onuah - out of all the fallings out this one seems to me to be the oddest one to me - in my opinion he's the best right back out of Micah, Zabba and himself

Onuaha is quality in my eyes too Wooders...but is he really top 4 quality? The answer is no...nor is Micah either...and Zabs will probably only be used as a utility man

Fact is the club is outgrowing some of these players at a rapid rate...Bobby is not daft...he watches them on the training ground and he knows the standard required to build winning teams...he has done it throughout his managerial career

sentimentality doesn't come into it...as I had to learn the hard way when Dunnie went

Good points IBH - we are entering a time when heads must rule over hearts etc

I think a deal that sees some players move - but without a big wedge as well is the way to go - or we keep players and their wages on the books for no purpose

Still have hopes of Stevie though as cover for Silva - but would he get his head straight?

[Ted Hughes]

Disagree massively about Onuah - out of all the fallings out this one seems to me to be the oddest one to me - in my opinion he's the best right back out of Micah, Zabba and himself

Onuaha is quality in my eyes too Wooders...but is he really top 4 quality? The answer is no...nor is Micah either...and Zabs will probably only be used as a utility man

Fact is the club is outgrowing some of these players at a rapid rate...Bobby is not daft...he watches them on the training ground and he knows the standard required to build winning teams...he has done it throughout his managerial career

sentimentality doesn't come into it...as I had to learn the hard way when Dunnie went

Harsh but true.
Don't get me wrong, before his outburst I was probably the biggest Nedum Onuoha fan out there. Watching him turn into quality player has been heart warming. Having said that, is he really top 4 quality? And are Micah and Zabba either??? Probably not.

Imo, Ned, with a run in the team, is the best defender at the club, on the ground that is.

In the air, he's not good enough to play CB against any team with an 'old fashioned' style CF. If he plays right back, he lacks quality & football intelligence coming forward. He's 23, so it's unlikely he's going to learn it quickly & even if he does; not quickly enough. City is no longer the club to learn your trade in the 1st team. Unfortunately, we probably need a footballing defender at RB so that may be that.

Unless Mancini drastically changes his mind, It seems to me that Ned already knows he's gone, he just can't go through with it until our incoming deals are done.

[Blue Blood]

It's been well known for awhile that Ireland and Ned want out for varying different reasons, so with that in mind if we can do a deal for Milner, using one or both as part of it then i'm all for it.

Keeping players who don't want to be at the club is always a bad thing, regardless of values when a player wants out he has to go.

Milner is a very very good player who too many people are needlessly flaming on here, if he came, he could do a job in not one but three different areas of the team to a very high standard.

Like someone else said in an earlier post, Milner is top 4 quality, Stevie was for a season and then for whatever reason has totally lost it, i actually think what mancini said is spot on, he's lost his head, even when he did play you could see he wasn't right, maybe it's extra competition for places, maybe its injuries, who knows. As for Ned, as good as he is, he is probably just a squad player at best now and as someone who with the incoming defensive additions which no doubt will come this summer, knows his place in the squad will drop even lower, he has to leave for the sake of his career.

So shifting basically 2 unhappy squad players for 1 happy young top four quality versatile english midfielder isn't really a bad deal when you think about it.

Sticking my neck out, i think if Milner signs, he'll make a big impact here.

You don't win PFA Young player of the year without some talent after all.

[Ted Hughes]

It's been well known for awhile that Ireland and Ned want out for varying different reasons, so with that in mind if we can do a deal for Milner, using one or both as part of it then i'm all for it.

Keeping players who don't want to be at the club is always a bad thing, regardless of values when a player wants out he has to go.

Milner is a very very good player who too many people are needlessly flaming on here, if he came, he could do a job in not one but three different areas of the team to a very high standard.

Like someone else said in an earlier post, Milner is top 4 quality, Stevie was for a season and then for whatever reason has totally lost it, i actually think what mancini said is spot on, he's lost his head, even when he did play you could see he wasn't right, maybe it's extra competition for places, maybe its injuries, who knows. As for Ned, as good as he is, he is probably just a squad player at best now and as someone who with the incoming defensive additions which no doubt will come this summer, knows his place in the squad will drop even lower, he has to leave for the sake of his career.

So shifting basically 2 unhappy squad players for 1 happy young top four quality versatile english midfielder isn't really a bad deal when you think about it.

Sticking my neck out, i think if Milner signs, he'll make a big impact here.

You don't win PFA Young player of the year without some talent after all.

Milner has often been used like a replacement for Barry in Villa's team but has done the job better. Barry has the edge in reading the game but Milner is better at everything else. It's likely that Barry will get slower & worse as Milner gets better. He could pick up more tips from Barry's experience & take over from him in the squad.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Disagree massively about Onuah - out of all the fallings out this one seems to me to be the oddest one to me - in my opinion he's the best right back out of Micah, Zabba and himself

Onuaha is quality in my eyes too Wooders...but is he really top 4 quality? The answer is no...nor is Micah either...and Zabs will probably only be used as a utility man

Fact is the club is outgrowing some of these players at a rapid rate...Bobby is not daft...he watches them on the training ground and he knows the standard required to build winning teams...he has done it throughout his managerial career

sentimentality doesn't come into it...as I had to learn the hard way when Dunnie went

Harsh but true.
Don't get me wrong, before his outburst I was probably the biggest Nedum Onuoha fan out there. Watching him turn into quality player has been heart warming. Having said that, is he really top 4 quality? And are Micah and Zabba either??? Probably not.

Imo, Ned, with a run in the team, is the best defender at the club, on the ground that is.

In the air, he's not good enough to play CB against any team with an 'old fashioned' style CF. If he plays right back, he lacks quality & football intelligence coming forward. He's 23, so it's unlikely he's going to learn it quickly & even if he does; not quickly enough. City is no longer the club to learn your trade in the 1st team. Unfortunately, we probably need a footballing defender at RB so that may be that.

Unless Mancini drastically changes his mind, It seems to me that Ned already knows he's gone, he just can't go through with it until our incoming deals are done.

You are pretty much spot on.
And then there are obviously the injuries. You can't overlook the fact that he is ALWAYS injured. Even if he did step up his game dramatically, you can't really count on player who will get injured after three or four starts without an exception. Especially not in defensive line that should be pretty stable imo.

I know all that sounds pretty harsh and my heart bleeds saying it all as I really truly like Nedum. But that's the way it is with City now.

[Ted Hughes]

Disagree massively about Onuah - out of all the fallings out this one seems to me to be the oddest one to me - in my opinion he's the best right back out of Micah, Zabba and himself

Onuaha is quality in my eyes too Wooders...but is he really top 4 quality? The answer is no...nor is Micah either...and Zabs will probably only be used as a utility man

Fact is the club is outgrowing some of these players at a rapid rate...Bobby is not daft...he watches them on the training ground and he knows the standard required to build winning teams...he has done it throughout his managerial career

sentimentality doesn't come into it...as I had to learn the hard way when Dunnie went

Harsh but true.
Don't get me wrong, before his outburst I was probably the biggest Nedum Onuoha fan out there. Watching him turn into quality player has been heart warming. Having said that, is he really top 4 quality? And are Micah and Zabba either??? Probably not.

Imo, Ned, with a run in the team, is the best defender at the club, on the ground that is.

In the air, he's not good enough to play CB against any team with an 'old fashioned' style CF. If he plays right back, he lacks quality & football intelligence coming forward. He's 23, so it's unlikely he's going to learn it quickly & even if he does; not quickly enough. City is no longer the club to learn your trade in the 1st team. Unfortunately, we probably need a footballing defender at RB so that may be that.

Unless Mancini drastically changes his mind, It seems to me that Ned already knows he's gone, he just can't go through with it until our incoming deals are done.

You are pretty much spot on.
And then there are obviously the injuries. You can't overlook the fact that he is ALWAYS injured. Even if he did step up his game dramatically, you can't really count on player who will get injured after three or four starts without an exception. Especially not in defensive line that should be pretty stable imo.

I know all that sounds pretty harsh and my heart bleeds saying it all as I really truly like Nedum. But that's the way it is with City now.

I feel the same; Ned's a blue & loves the club, but if Mancini's asked people for details about Ned's previous career & gets a talented but technically flawed player who can't string 10 games together, what's he supposed to do?.

[johnny crossan]

scanned this off today's Times ( you have to pay for it online now!)

[brite blu sky]

Ned is still young and has still got potential.. whether it comes out is another story. Micah had potential but has been quite flat since his england days, could he get it together again? Ireland is potentially one of the playmakers we need, he may be a gamble to wait on and see but imo it is a gamble worth taking.
It is easy with all this change going on and big signings and the frenzy of the rumour mill, to simply forget what happened at City last season.. an unprecedented year of change and some extent turmoil. Manager changed mid season, new system and regime to adapt to and get right on the fly playing important games, more new faces, pressure to get it right in every game.

You wouldn't want that if you could avoid it, and for the home grown pack of City players they must have felt everything was going out of control of any kind of handle they had on things, suddenly a complete minority within the team and possibly without many staff left at the club who genuinely understood where those boy blues had come from etc..

As someone posted sentimentality does not come into it, however that doesn't mean you have to throw an understanding of the context of last season out of the window too.
In my view it would be sensible of City to retain those who want to stay and play their part in trying to be one of the main men to take us forward, it isn't to do with the idea they deserve it for service to the club or anything it is more about last season being a fucl up in stability terms, particularly for these original blues and it would be unwise in my view to judge them on the season gone. They have had the summer to have a good think and assess themselves and decide if they are up for it, this season is a fresh 'normal' one with stability in Mancini and most of the players known to each other. It is now or never, but they should be given the opportunity of this season to get in and go for it and judge at the end who of them is not going to cut it whatever the weather.

[Ted Hughes]

I don't get the 'Ireland as a playmaker' bit.

How many top playmakers ever in history can't take a decent free kick or at least drift wide & fire a top quality cross in?

Imo Ireland is the bloke who plays next to a playmaker & compliments him. He could be great doing that for City but it appears he wants to be 'the man'. He won't be 'the man' at a top club (if he ever gets the chance to play for another one), he'll be the bloke who plays next to him.

[brite blu sky]

I don't get the 'Ireland as a playmaker' bit.

How many top playmakers ever in history can't take a decent free kick or at least drift wide & fire a top quality cross in?

Imo Ireland is the bloke who plays next to a playmaker & compliments him. He could be great doing that for City but it appears he wants to be 'the man'. He won't be 'the man' at a top club (if he ever gets the chance to play for another one), he'll be the bloke who plays next to him.

i can see where you are coming from on that Ted and as always in viewing players people see different things. One of my appreciations of Ireland is his distibution and through balls and regular creative killer slotted passes, to me that is a major part of being a playmaker. others might see the Iniesta type play of being good on the ball and retaining it to get in a position to pass or cross or whatever.

[BobKowalski]

Said from the off that Milner is our must buy this year. Still do even at £30m. And its not just about talent anymore. Its about attitude and mentality. Milner has talent and the mentality and just gets on with it. He doesn't moan, bitch or sulk. He can play right and center midfield and at a pinch left side as well. City need English players like Milner and there is no way Marwood is not going to sign him.

Ned is a great lad but it frankly makes no difference to City whether he goes or stays so he might as well go. Ireland I am more ambivalent over. Ireland has the talent but only seems able to apply it if the circumstances and the set up are just right for him. There seems to be no adaptability or versatility to his game which means he becomes a peripheral influence. That said I would love for us to keep Ireland but I know this is more sentiment and a hope that he suddenly discovers what he has to do and everything clicks into place.

So go on Bobby I know its your job on the line but give Stevie another season.

[Beeks]

according to the mirror it is going to be a straight cash 23 million take it or leave it final bid to villa

apparently the first offer was 18 million plus 2 million in add ons

Has the Mirror gone sensible or something?

Not much sensation there!

[Ted Hughes]

I don't get the 'Ireland as a playmaker' bit.

How many top playmakers ever in history can't take a decent free kick or at least drift wide & fire a top quality cross in?

Imo Ireland is the bloke who plays next to a playmaker & compliments him. He could be great doing that for City but it appears he wants to be 'the man'. He won't be 'the man' at a top club (if he ever gets the chance to play for another one), he'll be the bloke who plays next to him.

i can see where you are coming from on that Ted and as always in viewing players people see different things. One of my appreciations of Ireland is his distibution and through balls and regular creative killer slotted passes, to me that is a major part of being a playmaker. others might see the Iniesta type play of being good on the ball and retaining it to get in a position to pass or cross or whatever.

I agree that he can do that but so can most of the world's best midfielders. I'd back Colin Bell or Asa Hartford against Ireland in all of those things but I wouldn't back them against Ronaldinho or Kinkladze, who to me are playmakers

[gillie]

Dan Gosling has left Everton and is availiable on a free transfer.The kid is only 21 and i think he is a very good player we should in my opinion sound him out.Thoughts.