Sunny's Football Thread Part Twelve.

[Vicky]

Oh and Trapper John did you watch the videos about Rangers and the Taxcase? Probably not, it would just prove yet again, that you know nothing about Rangers and whats gone on in the last few years.

You hope Rangers go out the game? You dismiss us as shite, because we play in Scotland? You call our trophies "meaningless?" But you expect me to be in awe of Arsenal and the EPL?

Hell will freeze over before anything about English football impresses me.

Especially that team you support, who have won one trophy in ten years.

[Vicky]

I'm off.

[Vicky]

Chelsea striker Islam Feruz, is keen on a loan move to Cardiff City for the rest of the season. He has also said he isn't ready for the Scotland national team yet. I wasn't aware Gordon Strachan had asked him.

Talk about being presumptuous.

[Vicky]

He's a good prospect, but he is only nineteen and Scotland have enough good strikers at the moment. Perhaps Stracs, will give him a shout in a year or two.

[LordRaven]

£18 Million for Rangers? What a cheeky bid!

[Vicky]

£18 Million for Rangers? What a cheeky bid!

I was mentioning it in the Scottish football thread, Lordy. No wonder Rangers told Robert Savers to get stuffed.

[LordRaven]

£18 Million for Rangers? What a cheeky bid!

I was mentioning it in the Scottish football thread, Lordy. No wonder Rangers told Robert Savers to get stuffed.

I was reading an article about Messi's interest in a Chelsea move...

The cost of signing Messi and why it may be too high even for Chelsea

The cost of signing Messi can be broken down into three components: the fee paid to Barcelona for his registration, a commission paid to the players representatives and the salary.

Messi’s current market value is estimated at £172m by the CIES Football Observatory, part of the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, which predicts fees using a complex algorithm based on five years of data.

That amount is double the world record sum Real Madrid paid Tottenham for Gareth Bale in 2013 but tallies with figures mentioned in recent reports of renewed interest from Paris Saint-Germain.

For the sake of caution and simplicity, we will use £170m. Agents’ fees are typically around 12 per cent on top, which in this case would equate to £20.4m.

Messi is believed to earn around £16m annually (£308,000 per week) at Barca. Assuming any buyer would have to offer at least a modest increase, he could expect to bank £16.9m (or £325,000 weekly).

A five-year contract at that rate plus a £170m fee and agent’s commission would stand to set Messi’s suitors back around £275m in total.

Even setting aside the agent fee, that is £255m over five years, or an accounting cost of £51m per year, as transfer fees are spread over the length of their contract for book-keeping purposes. For comparison, Chelsea’s biggest summer signing Diego Costa costs them £16m per year in accounting terms.

http://www.cityam.com/206550/cost-signi ... en-chelsea

And that shows just how ridiculous an £18 Million bid for a major Scottish institution really is.

[Trapper John]

The transfer rumour mill is in full swing with the sports media desperate to be first with the biggest stories - if they haven't got anything concrete, they'll make them up.

Here is my choice of the most outrageous from today:

Lionel Messi to Chelsea/ Man City/ PSG - A start on the bench in Barcelona's first game back from Spain's mid season break, coupled with the subsequent defeat to David Moyes', Real Sociedad, has the tongues wagging and keyboards tapping with an 'imminent' departure for Messi.

The reality is, Messi has only ever started one game after the break in his career at Barcelona, managers have always allowed their top players an extended break, this was no different as with the rest of the £300million worth of players who also sat it out in that game.

It is the usual 'club politics' game being played out, which happens every few years at Barca, when the top players use their influence to rid themselves of management they don't get on with. It is clear Messi and others haven't much regard for Luis Enrique and the rest of the football management and already their 'toys out of the pram' antics have seen the departure of Barca's sporting director and some of his assistants.

My guess is, no move now or in the summer, Messi and Co. will get their way and everything will be hunky dory again before the season gets much older.

Gareth Bale to Man Utd/ Man City/ PSG - Another move which has been mooted recently, has just got itself some extra legs after Real Madrid lost to Valencia in their first game back, ending a 22 game winning streak for Real.

According to reports, Bale was instrumental in that defeat by not passing the ball and going it alone, shooting and missing an open goal which would have given Real a chance to equalise. This apparently made him the target for the wrath of fans and more importantly, Ronaldo and Benzema who were said to be 'furious' with the Welshman.

As with Messi, the media leave out the important matter of 'Money' and FFP rules, instead concentrating on little matters like on field spats between players.

The reality again is that Bale and Real are happy with each other and any 'friction' between players will ebb away before the next game, as they usually do.

Karim Benzema to Liverpool - This is one of the newer rumours and appears to be based solely on the fact that Liverpool need a top class striker and that Benzema would fit the bill. There is no more in it than that.

In reality, Benzema is happier now at Real Madrid than he has ever been. Linked with Arsenal for several seasons, he preferred to stay in Spain and fight for his place. He now plays regularly for Real in their devastating front line attack along with Ronaldo and Bale.

There is absolutely no need for Benzema to even contemplate a move, not that Real would let him go anyway.

Isco to Arsenal - This is the latest to spring up in the past 24 hours. Apparently Real Madrid's attacking midfielder is a £64million target for Wenger. Where this comes from is anyone's guess as the last thing Arsenal need is another attacking midfielder.

It appears to be based solely on the player being unhappy at playing second fiddle to Ronaldo and Bale and that Arsenal are one of the few clubs to have the funds and FFP credits to buy him, no more than that.

Can anyone really believe that Premier League clubs are going to shell out £hundreds of millions in a January transfer window? I just can't see legs in any of these.

[Vicky]

[LordRaven]

How could Real fans be mad at Bale??? Remember this? He was knocked off the pitch and down tunnel into car park, stopped and had a cigarette beer and a hot dog, ran back on the pitch and still beat the defender to slot it in

[LordRaven]

The transfer rumour mill is in full swing with the sports media desperate to be first with the biggest stories - if they haven't got anything concrete, they'll make them up.

Here is my choice of the most outrageous from today:

Lionel Messi to Chelsea/ Man City/ PSG - A start on the bench in Barcelona's first game back from Spain's mid season break, coupled with the subsequent defeat to David Moyes', Real Sociedad, has the tongues wagging and keyboards tapping with an 'imminent' departure for Messi.

The reality is, Messi has only ever started one game after the break in his career at Barcelona, managers have always allowed their top players an extended break, this was no different as with the rest of the £300million worth of players who also sat it out in that game.

It is the usual 'club politics' game being played out, which happens every few years at Barca, when the top players use their influence to rid themselves of management they don't get on with. It is clear Messi and others haven't much regard for Luis Enrique and the rest of the football management and already their 'toys out of the pram' antics have seen the departure of Barca's sporting director and some of his assistants.

My guess is, no move now or in the summer, Messi and Co. will get their way and everything will be hunky dory again before the season gets much older.

Gareth Bale to Man Utd/ Man City/ PSG - Another move which has been mooted recently, has just got itself some extra legs after Real Madrid lost to Valencia in their first game back, ending a 22 game winning streak for Real.

According to reports, Bale was instrumental in that defeat by not passing the ball and going it alone, shooting and missing an open goal which would have given Real a chance to equalise. This apparently made him the target for the wrath of fans and more importantly, Ronaldo and Benzema who were said to be 'furious' with the Welshman.

As with Messi, the media leave out the important matter of 'Money' and FFP rules, instead concentrating on little matters like on field spats between players.

The reality again is that Bale and Real are happy with each other and any 'friction' between players will ebb away before the next game, as they usually do.

Karim Benzema to Liverpool - This is one of the newer rumours and appears to be based solely on the fact that Liverpool need a top class striker and that Benzema would fit the bill. There is no more in it than that.

In reality, Benzema is happier now at Real Madrid than he has ever been. Linked with Arsenal for several seasons, he preferred to stay in Spain and fight for his place. He now plays regularly for Real in their devastating front line attack along with Ronaldo and Bale.

There is absolutely no need for Benzema to even contemplate a move, not that Real would let him go anyway.

Isco to Arsenal - This is the latest to spring up in the past 24 hours. Apparently Real Madrid's attacking midfielder is a £64million target for Wenger. Where this comes from is anyone's guess as the last thing Arsenal need is another attacking midfielder.

It appears to be based solely on the player being unhappy at playing second fiddle to Ronaldo and Bale and that Arsenal are one of the few clubs to have the funds and FFP credits to buy him, no more than that.

Can anyone really believe that Premier League clubs are going to shell out £hundreds of millions in a January transfer window? I just can't see legs in any of these.

I know, it's a bit like all the Wenger is off rumours

[Vicky]

£18 Million for Rangers? What a cheeky bid!

I was mentioning it in the Scottish football thread, Lordy. No wonder Rangers told Robert Savers to get stuffed.

I was reading an article about Messi's interest in a Chelsea move...

The cost of signing Messi and why it may be too high even for Chelsea

The cost of signing Messi can be broken down into three components: the fee paid to Barcelona for his registration, a commission paid to the players representatives and the salary.

Messi’s current market value is estimated at £172m by the CIES Football Observatory, part of the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, which predicts fees using a complex algorithm based on five years of data.

That amount is double the world record sum Real Madrid paid Tottenham for Gareth Bale in 2013 but tallies with figures mentioned in recent reports of renewed interest from Paris Saint-Germain.

For the sake of caution and simplicity, we will use £170m. Agents’ fees are typically around 12 per cent on top, which in this case would equate to £20.4m.

Messi is believed to earn around £16m annually (£308,000 per week) at Barca. Assuming any buyer would have to offer at least a modest increase, he could expect to bank £16.9m (or £325,000 weekly).

A five-year contract at that rate plus a £170m fee and agent’s commission would stand to set Messi’s suitors back around £275m in total.

Even setting aside the agent fee, that is £255m over five years, or an accounting cost of £51m per year, as transfer fees are spread over the length of their contract for book-keeping purposes. For comparison, Chelsea’s biggest summer signing Diego Costa costs them £16m per year in accounting terms.

http://www.cityam.com/206550/cost-signi ... en-chelsea

And that shows just how ridiculous an £18 Million bid for a major Scottish institution really is.

Some say, the transfer would cost as much as £350 million in costs and wages and Chelsea would get that back through merchandise sales.

He's a great player and arguably the best in the world, but nobody is worth that kind of money, that's just ridiculous. I think it's about time, there was a limit put on the amount of money a transfer can cost.

The derisory amount Robert Savers offered for Rangers was an insult. No wonder he was given short shrift.

[LordRaven]

£18 Million for Rangers? What a cheeky bid!

I was mentioning it in the Scottish football thread, Lordy. No wonder Rangers told Robert Savers to get stuffed.

I was reading an article about Messi's interest in a Chelsea move...

The cost of signing Messi and why it may be too high even for Chelsea

The cost of signing Messi can be broken down into three components: the fee paid to Barcelona for his registration, a commission paid to the players representatives and the salary.

Messi’s current market value is estimated at £172m by the CIES Football Observatory, part of the University of Neuchatel in Switzerland, which predicts fees using a complex algorithm based on five years of data.

That amount is double the world record sum Real Madrid paid Tottenham for Gareth Bale in 2013 but tallies with figures mentioned in recent reports of renewed interest from Paris Saint-Germain.

For the sake of caution and simplicity, we will use £170m. Agents’ fees are typically around 12 per cent on top, which in this case would equate to £20.4m.

Messi is believed to earn around £16m annually (£308,000 per week) at Barca. Assuming any buyer would have to offer at least a modest increase, he could expect to bank £16.9m (or £325,000 weekly).

A five-year contract at that rate plus a £170m fee and agent’s commission would stand to set Messi’s suitors back around £275m in total.

Even setting aside the agent fee, that is £255m over five years, or an accounting cost of £51m per year, as transfer fees are spread over the length of their contract for book-keeping purposes. For comparison, Chelsea’s biggest summer signing Diego Costa costs them £16m per year in accounting terms.

http://www.cityam.com/206550/cost-signi ... en-chelsea

And that shows just how ridiculous an £18 Million bid for a major Scottish institution really is.

Some say, the transfer would cost as much as £350 million in costs and wages and Chelsea would get that back through merchandise sales.

He's a great player and arguably the best in the world, but nobody is worth that kind of money, that's just ridiculous. I think it's about time, there was a limit put on the amount of money a transfer can cost.

The derisory amount Robert Savers offered for Rangers was an insult. No wonder he was given short shrift.

The single best footballer ever is well worth it.

[Trapper John]

How could Real fans be mad at Bale??? Remember this? He was knocked off the pitch and down tunnel into car park, stopped and had a cigarette beer and a hot dog, ran back on the pitch and still beat the defender to slot it in

You know how it is in football, you're only as good as your last game. Apparently it was a bit of a howler though, a casual square ball would have given either Benzema or Ronaldo a simple slot into the net.

Reports say that Ronaldo and Benzema haven't spoken to Bale since ..... but apparently no-one has mentioned the fact that Ronaldo missed an absolute sitter in the same game.

[Vicky]

Talking of Wenger, a lot of reporters say they know what his responses in interviews are going to be before they start. He just recycles the same few words over and over again and the easily pleased Arsenal fans lap them up.