Summer 2015 Transfer Market

[ImperialOrange]

They make a lot of money from shirt sales and match day revenues. Isn't their stadium the biggest of the Prem. clubs?

There stadium is huge but they can't get the same price for tickets as the London based clubs.

PREMIER LEAGUE - MOST EXPENSIVE SEASON TICKET
Arsenal £2,013
Tottenham £1,895
Chelsea £1,250
Manchester United £950
Queens Park Rangers £949
West Ham £940
Liverpool £869
Manchester City £860
Southampton £853
Leicester City £730
Crystal Palace £720
Everton £719
Newcastle United £710
Burnley £685
Aston Villa £615
Stoke City £609
Hull City £574
Sunderland £525
Swansea City £499
West Brom £449


PREMIER LEAGUE - MOST EXPENSIVE MATCHDAY TICKETS
Arsenal £97
Chelsea £87
Tottenham Hotspur £81
West Ham £75
Queens Park Rangers £70
Liverpool £59
Manchester City £58
Manchester United £58
Newcastle United £52
Southampton £52
Hull City £50
Leicester City £50
Stoke City £50
Everton £47
Aston Villa £45
Swansea City £45
Burnley £42
Crystal Palace £40
Sunderland £40
West Bromwich £39

Still looking at their net spend vs sales over the past 2 seasons on bigger money transfers...

Bought:
Ángel Di María 75,00 Mill. €
Juan Mata 44,73 Mill. €
Luke Shaw 37,50 Mill. €
Ander Herrera 36,00 Mill. €
Marouane Fellaini 32,40 Mill. €
Memphis Depay 27,50 Mill. €
Marcos Rojo 20,00 Mill. €
Daley Blind 17,50 Mill. €

Sold:
Danny Welbeck 20,00 Mill. €
Shinji Kagawa 8,00 Mill. €
Alexander Büttner 5,50 Mill. €

I just can't figure, with FFP in place, how much they can actually spend. I get really confused, in light of these figures, how they are being linked with huge money moves for Bale, Ronaldo, etc. The season long loan of Falcao alone cost them 16 mil.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Yes, 50M or any figure like that is crazy. But for 30-35M, he's better than anything either Liverpool or Arsenal have up front right now. He's good for around 20 goals.

I think he'd get beat up by EPL center backs tbh. He's tall but he's not super physical and you can't simply run past most fullbacks in the England.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I think he'd get beat up by EPL center backs tbh. He's tall but he's not super physical and you can't simply run past most fullbacks in the England.

Well, he has great pace and makes terrific diagonal runs from the wing. In Liverpool's offense, it's not like Sturridge is a big strong guy. Cavani is similar, but faster on the break. He's certainly better than Welbeck. I see him fitting in with a team who plays with a lot of movement and interchange, and who moves the ball quickly. He certainly knows how to finish.

 

[Orangezoo]

You would be relatively small across the back with that grouping. Probably a non issue in most open play but would we very interesting on set pieces.

This is true. Although as good as Mert is sizewise he is slow to get up in the air and still gets beat on set pieces. Koscielny does a better job in the air. Haven't seen enough of Paulista on that front. If Khedira was brought in that would help on that front as well. Currently they bring back Giroud at times to help given his quality in the air.

 

[Orangezoo]

Well, he has great pace and makes terrific diagonal runs from the wing. In Liverpool's offense, it's not like Sturridge is a big strong guy. Cavani is similar, but faster on the break. He's certainly better than Welbeck. I see him fitting in with a team who plays with a lot of movement and interchange, and who moves the ball quickly. He certainly knows how to finish.

Yeah for 30 million he would be a good fit for the Gunners. Like Giroud he can be a head case thus making them a good off-setting pair. Letting Walcott go and bringing in an affordable cavani, khedira and clyne/coleman would be a dream. Def would make us contenders. As for GK - knowing the mourinho-wenger history no way in hell Cech goes to the Gunners. Thats also a lot of money to be spent so likely need to part ways with more than Walcott. Need to see what Zelalem is made of too.. hes only 18 but can he play a Cazorla like role in the future or will he not meet his potential. Lot of decisions there..

 

[ImperialOrange]

Well, he has great pace and makes terrific diagonal runs from the wing. In Liverpool's offense, it's not like Sturridge is a big strong guy. Cavani is similar, but faster on the break. He's certainly better than Welbeck. I see him fitting in with a team who plays with a lot of movement and interchange, and who moves the ball quickly. He certainly knows how to finish.

Fair enough. Most of my watching Cavani has been when he's on the Uruguayan national team. When on the pitch next to Suarez he's simply looked average which, while most do, I would expect more of someone in the aforementioned 40m+ 200k/week price range.

Sturridge is actually bigger than most think. Given how fast he plays I think the common assumption is him being smaller than he is. See 6'1ish Sturro with to 5'6ish Coutinho:

Here's a younger Sturridge w/ Drogba who is 6'2 at least

I'm not even sure a 100% healthy Sturridge would be worth Cavani's asking price and wage... Welbeck isn't even in the same conversation.

 

[ImperialOrange]

This is true. Although as good as Mert is sizewise he is slow to get up in the air and still gets beat on set pieces. Koscielny does a better job in the air. Haven't seen enough of Paulista on that front. If Khedira was brought in that would help on that front as well. Currently they bring back Giroud at times to help given his quality in the air.

Like us, you struggle with bigger physical teams. Swansea this past weekend is a prime example.

 

[Orangezoo]

Like us, you struggle with bigger physical teams. Swansea this past weekend is a prime example.

Uggh yeah.. so pissed on that one. Typical for us though.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Uggh yeah.. so pissed on that one. Typical for us though.

Everyone has bogey teams. Aston Villa always give us a game which is perhaps why I rate Benteke as highly as I do.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Yeah for 30 million he would be a good fit for the Gunners. Like Giroud he can be a head case thus making them a good off-setting pair. Letting Walcott go and bringing in an affordable cavani, khedira and clyne/coleman would be a dream. Def would make us contenders. As for GK - knowing the mourinho-wenger history no way in hell Cech goes to the Gunners. Thats also a lot of money to be spent so likely need to part ways with more than Walcott. Need to see what Zelalem is made of too.. hes only 18 but can he play a Cazorla like role in the future or will he not meet his potential. Lot of decisions there..

Clyne is going to be mega-expensive. Coleman is probably a better value. I agree that Cech likely doesn't get to stay in London with his young family, unless he's willing to play for West Ham or Crystal Palace. LOL Khedeira is asking for too much money, and I don't think he's that great. He wouldn't start for Chelsea over Matic, for instance. But he would be an improvement over what either the Gunners or Liverpool have in that spot right now.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Fair enough. Most of my watching Cavani has been when he's on the Uruguayan national team. When on the pitch next to Suarez he's simply looked average which, while most do, I would expect more of someone in the aforementioned 40m+ 200k/week price range.

Sturridge is actually bigger than most think. Given how fast he plays I think the common assumption is him being smaller than he is. See 6'1ish Sturro with to 5'6ish Coutinho:

Here's a younger Sturridge w/ Drogba who is 6'2 at least

I'm not even sure a 100% healthy Sturridge would be worth Cavani's asking price and wage... Welbeck isn't even in the same conversation.

I'd put Sturridge at around 5-10 or so. Cavani is about that size, too.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Clyne is going to be mega-expensive. Coleman is probably a better value. I agree that Cech likely doesn't get to stay in London with his young family, unless he's willing to play for West Ham or Crystal Palace. LOL Khedeira is asking for too much money, and I don't think he's that great. He wouldn't start for Chelsea over Matic, for instance. But he would be an improvement over what either the Gunners or Liverpool have in that spot right now.

To be fair, we don't have anyone similar to Khedira. Lucas can play the part and I believe Can can do the same but Lucas doesn't offer anything going forward and Can is still young and inexperienced. We don't have the money to even dream of Khedira though I was thoroughly impressed with him in the World Cup. He would certainly do a job for us though.

 

[ImperialOrange]

I'd put Sturridge at around 5-10 or so. Cavani is about that size, too.

Cavani is a bit taller I believe. He just plays small. Again though, I've been comparing him to Suarez when they've been on the pitch together so maybe I under rate him.

 

[CanadianSU]

I know Europa league ain't everyone's cup of tea but Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk are in the final vs Sevilla !

it is actually one of the greatest stories in sports this year, the club was bankrupt just a few years ago and were kicked out of there stadium this year because of the ongoing war in Ukraine. It's a huge under dog story, if your into that.

Idk if the board has any Spurs supporters but if your out there, make sure to watch Konoplyanka in the final, he's of to white hart lane next year by all accounts.. Or he could end up in Liverpool... Which I hope he does, anyways, great story.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I know Europa league ain't everyone's cup of tea but Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk are in the final vs Sevilla !

it is actually one of the greatest stories in sports this year, the club was bankrupt just a few years ago and were kicked out of there stadium this year because of the ongoing war in Ukraine. It's a huge under dog story, if your into that.

Idk if the board has any Spurs supporters but if your out there, make sure to watch Konoplyanka in the final, he's of to white hart lane next year by all accounts.. Or he could end up in Liverpool... Which I hope he does, anyways, great story.

I saw a great suggestion from Gab Marcotti on ESPNFC.CO.UK. He said that they should do Europa League on Tuesday nights, and Champions League on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so that you build up the importance of the games during the week, instead of Thursday night being the anti-climax to Tuesday and Wednesday night's action.

He also suggested that they create regional "pods" - 4 areas of Europe where the teams that qualify from the region play each other, kind of like the regions in March Madness, except exclusively geographically based to cut down on travel expense. It would also stimulate more regional rivalries among quality teams that never get much sunshine in Champions League, bringing more intensity and higher TV ratings to the Europa League product.

I would add one more thing to make it work - any Champions League team that plays on Thursday automatically gets that week's league game moved to Sunday by their country's football association.

http://www.espnfc.us/blog/marcotti-...could-be-better-heres-how-writes-gab-marcotti

This is what the regional grouping would have looked like if applied this year.

Southwest: Villarreal, Estoril, Rio Ave, Seville, Napoli, Fiorentina, Torino, Inter, Rijeka, Dinamo Zagreb, Saint-Etienne and Young Boys.

Southeast: Apollon Limassol, Trabzonspor, Qarabag, Besiktas, Asteras Tripolis, Panathinaikos, PAOK, Partizan Belgrade, Steaua Bucharest, Astra Giurgiu, Zurich and Red Bull Salzburg

Northeast: Slovan Bratislava, Legia Warsaw, Sparta Prague, Dynamo Kyiv, Dnipro, Metalist Kharkiv, Kuban Krasnodar, Dynamo Moscow, HJK Helsinki, Dinamo Minsk, Copenhagen and Wolfsburg

Northwest: Celtic, Everton, Tottenham, Feyenoord, Club Brugge, Lokeren, Lille, Guingamp, Standard Liege, Borussia Monchengladbach, AaB Aalborg and PSV Eindhoven

There are some tantalizing match-ups here, for fans in any region of Europe. Celtic against Spurs or Everton would be huge. Look at all the interesting match-ups in the Southwest Region where you have Spanish, Italian, French and Swiss teams all playing each other. Much better than playing teams from so far away who nobody knows about, except their neighbors.

 

[IthacaMatt]

To be fair, we don't have anyone similar to Khedira. Lucas can play the part and I believe Can can do the same but Lucas doesn't offer anything going forward and Can is still young and inexperienced. We don't have the money to even dream of Khedira though I was thoroughly impressed with him in the World Cup. He would certainly do a job for us though.

Don't get me wrong, Khedira is a world class player. But he's not in the t0p 5 in Europe in his position, and he's not worth the money he's asking for.

 

[ImperialOrange]

I saw a great suggestion from Gab Marcotti on ESPNFC.CO.UK. He said that they should do Europa League on Tuesday nights, and Champions League on Wednesdays and Thursdays, so that you build up the importance of the games during the week, instead of Thursday night being the anti-climax to Tuesday and Wednesday night's action.

He also suggested that they create regional "pods" - 4 areas of Europe where the teams that qualify from the region play each other, kind of like the regions in March Madness, except exclusively geographically based to cut down on travel expense. It would also stimulate more regional rivalries among quality teams that never get much sunshine in Champions League, bringing more intensity and higher TV ratings to the Europa League product.

I would add one more thing to make it work - any Champions League team that plays on Thursday automatically gets that week's league game moved to Sunday by their country's football association.

http://www.espnfc.us/blog/marcotti-...could-be-better-heres-how-writes-gab-marcotti

This is what the regional grouping would have looked like if applied this year.

Southwest: Villarreal, Estoril, Rio Ave, Seville, Napoli, Fiorentina, Torino, Inter, Rijeka, Dinamo Zagreb, Saint-Etienne and Young Boys.

Southeast: Apollon Limassol, Trabzonspor, Qarabag, Besiktas, Asteras Tripolis, Panathinaikos, PAOK, Partizan Belgrade, Steaua Bucharest, Astra Giurgiu, Zurich and Red Bull Salzburg

Northeast: Slovan Bratislava, Legia Warsaw, Sparta Prague, Dynamo Kyiv, Dnipro, Metalist Kharkiv, Kuban Krasnodar, Dynamo Moscow, HJK Helsinki, Dinamo Minsk, Copenhagen and Wolfsburg

Northwest: Celtic, Everton, Tottenham, Feyenoord, Club Brugge, Lokeren, Lille, Guingamp, Standard Liege, Borussia Monchengladbach, AaB Aalborg and PSV Eindhoven

There are some tantalizing match-ups here, for fans in any region of Europe. Celtic against Spurs or Everton would be huge. Look at all the interesting match-ups in the Southwest Region where you have Spanish, Italian, French and Swiss teams all playing each other. Much better than playing teams from so far away who nobody knows about, except their neighbors.

The western leagues are stacked... the eastern not so much. I do agree with reversing the orders of the games, especially given some leagues hesitancy to reachedule league games for teams in europa the same way the will for champions league.

 

[IthacaMatt]

The western leagues are stacked... the eastern not so much. I do agree with reversing the orders of the games, especially given some leagues hesitancy to reachedule league games for teams in europa the same way the will for champions league.

Well, I wouldn't underrate some of the Russian and Ukranian teams. By Europa League standards, those teams do pretty well. We are more familiar with the western teams because they get more TV coverage, but the eastern teams are pretty good too for this level. It's like the NIT.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Well, I wouldn't underrate some of the Russian and Ukranian teams. By Europa League standards, those teams do pretty well. We are more familiar with the western teams because they get more TV coverage, but the eastern teams are pretty good too for this level. It's like the NIT.

You're right and the Russian, Turkisk, and Ukrainian teams are tough but when I'm looking at the Western leagues and see:

Southwest: Villarreal, Estoril, Rio Ave, Seville, Napoli, Fiorentina, Torino, Inter, Rijeka, Dinamo Zagreb, Saint-Etienne and Young Boys.

and

Northwest: Celtic, Everton, Tottenham, Feyenoord, Club Brugge, Lokeren, Lille, Guingamp, Standard Liege, Borussia Monchengladbach, AaB Aalborg and PSV Eindhoven

those are some stacked groups.

The Northeast group you mentioned would also have some hellacious security issues.

 

[IthacaMatt]

You're right and the Russian, Turkisk, and Ukrainian teams are tough but when I'm looking at the Western leagues and see:

Southwest: Villarreal, Estoril, Rio Ave, Seville, Napoli, Fiorentina, Torino, Inter, Rijeka, Dinamo Zagreb, Saint-Etienne and Young Boys.

and

Northwest: Celtic, Everton, Tottenham, Feyenoord, Club Brugge, Lokeren, Lille, Guingamp, Standard Liege, Borussia Monchengladbach, AaB Aalborg and PSV Eindhoven

those are some stacked groups.

The Northeast group you mentioned would also have some hellacious security issues.

Still, I like that structure of the competition much better than what they do now.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Still, I like that structure of the competition much better than what they do now.

It has a structure now?! I loved our Thursday night game in kerplakistan this year followed by our Saturday AM game vs City how hadn't played since Tuesday.

 

[IthacaMatt]

It has a structure now?! I loved our Thursday night game in kerplakistan this year followed by our Saturday AM game vs City how hadn't played since Tuesday.

That's why the regional pods make sense. Even if you think the quality of the football is worse in the Northeast or Southeast regions, that's where the most interest in those games will be, and they will generally be pretty evenly matched, which is what you want in the early rounds. Play the pods for the group phase, and then you will have a knockout phase where the regions are equally represented. And if you are looking at say the top 4 from each pod, those are still enough good teams to make a pretty good tournament.

 

[ImperialOrange]

That's why the regional pods make sense. Even if you think the quality of the football is worse in the Northeast or Southeast regions, that's where the most interest in those games will be, and they will generally be pretty evenly matched, which is what you want in the early rounds. Play the pods for the group phase, and then you will have a knockout phase where the regions are equally represented. And if you are looking at say the top 4 from each pod, those are still enough good teams to make a pretty good tournament.

I like the idea of having Europa games prior to CL. Dnipro v Napoli is a good matchup... but not as much the day after watching Real v Juve

 

[CanadianSU]

Benitez is going to leave Napoli after he got Dnipro'ed lol

Wonder if anyone in the EPL will be interested?

 

[ImperialOrange]

Appears we've got Milner and Ings confirmed. Not world beater signings by themselves but very solid players are a great start to what we need to be a VERY good transfer window. Allows us to sign best avail moving forward regardless of position and whether they are homegrown or not.

Potential midfield diamond of:

Which I'd be quite happy with.

Also some serious rumblings of us going for Mateo Kovacic from Inter. Younger Croatian CM but one I've been impressed with and did well for their National team yesterday.

Anyone else have confirmed ins/outs for this Summer transfers that technically doesn't open until July 1?