I'm not sure why there's so much surprise about this to be honest. Nicollin's a well-known jackass and he's been very vocal about not wanting to sell Cabella to Newcastle, he mouthed off in January if I recall correctly.

#168550 Transfer Rumours 2013/14

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28 May 2014 12:23:59

By Telegram Sam | On 28 May 2014 - 12:55 PM

Can £24m spent on a 30-year-old centre-back ever be described as a bargain, though?

If United have the money (and it looks like they do) then I guess it's not an issue if he plays three seasons or so at the top level. They desperately need some sort of organisation at the back now that Vidic has jumped ship.

You've basically answered your own question there to be honest.

#168535 Transfer Rumours 2013/14

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28 May 2014 11:04:49

£24m's a bargain to be honest. Doubt the wages would be massive either, Atleti won't have been paying him a massive amount.

#168529 Transfer Rumours 2013/14

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28 May 2014 10:29:59

How's he a 'yes man'?

By Slashman X | On 28 May 2014 - 10:54 AM

United apparently struck a deal to sign Miranda off Atletico for €30m. Bit pricey for a 30 year old but they do desperately need an experienced head at the back

Gutted if that's true. The best defender in Spain over the last couple of years.

#168370 2014/15 Kit Thread

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27 May 2014 16:15:23

They look very nice.

#168301 Transfer Rumours 2013/14

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27 May 2014 12:55:17

By Ninja | On 27 May 2014 - 12:31 PM

Yeah, the way he plays I can't see him lasting long in to his 30s. Those lung busting runs are bound to take their toll.

Massive loss for City whilst he's still good though, if he does go.

He'll last into his 30s it just won't be in the same role. Despite the attention he gets for the lung-bursting runs most of the time he's controlling the game.

I can see him leaving at this point. He's doing a fantastic job of destroying his reputation with the fans.

#167831 The Lower League Thread

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24 May 2014 16:23:43

Fucking terrible match.

#167797 Old Trafford Lounge

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24 May 2014 13:45:30

He's a joke of a journalist.

#167540 Transfer Rumours 2013/14

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23 May 2014 15:08:48

I'm amazed they've managed to convince somebody that David Luiz is worth that much money.

#167097 The Manchester City Thread

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21 May 2014 19:15:46

No, it wouldn't but it would make it a lot easier to cope with.

#167059 Old Trafford Lounge

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21 May 2014 16:24:53

This is from Ian McGarry. Have any of his rumours ever turned out to be right?

#167058 The Manchester City Thread

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21 May 2014 16:22:27

Wouldn't be confident about that to be honest. UEFA don't seem to have made up their minds.

#166949 2014/15 Kit Thread

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20 May 2014 21:41:16

By Number 1 | On 20 May 2014 - 16:05 PM

I'm not a fan of the colours but I do like the look of that as a template. Much better than the weird psychedelic vomit on Liverpool's change kit from last season.

By Warrior's standards it's really nice, it's just a shame about the bit across the chest 'cos that bit looks shit.

#166820 Transfer Rumours 2013/14

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20 May 2014 13:03:34

Jokes aside. Please do not take words that do not come out of MY mouth seriously. Judge my commitment to @MCFC by my performances.
— Toure_yaya42 (@Toure_yaya42) Permalink

#166788 Transfer Rumours 2013/14

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20 May 2014 06:18:47

Not news. His agent did this exact same routine last year only for Yaya to come out and say he had no intention of leaving, and then sign a new contract.

#166550 Transfer Rumours 2013/14

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18 May 2014 23:20:49

By Telegram Sam | On 19 May 2014 - 00:13 AM

bluemoon, do you reckon Milner could be trained into working as effective defensive midfielder?

If we are in for him that's what Wenger might have in mind.

I think he'd make a serviceable defensive midfielder but not much of a step-up from Arteta. He's tenacious, hard-working and pretty good defensively but it's not his natural role - and that's his problem generally, he's good at a lot of things but he doesn't have a natural role. Frankly for a defensive midfielder it'd make more sense to sign Gareth Barry (if you want a City player), he's better at it.

#166549 Transfer Rumours 2013/14

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18 May 2014 23:16:46

By Ninja | On 18 May 2014 - 23:26 PM

Call me cynical, but the timing stinks of him thinking that his new found quota related importance, his age, and contract status means he should be earning more money.

Can't see him leaving, especially not to Arsenal or Liverpool who aren't particularly natural fits.

Can understand why you'd come to that conclusion. That said, Daniel Taylor, who's usually bang-on with his City stuff, wrote in his piece that Milner told City he wants to leave last month (and that he also wants to be play in central midfield) which would slightly go against that theory. Neither outcome would particularly surprise me though, even if he wants to stay at City it makes sense for him to go down this route.

#166535 Transfer Rumours 2013/14

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18 May 2014 22:18:52

He won't be the star midfielder but I think he'd still be good for you, although as usual I think it'd be hard to define exactly what role he'd fill for you. As for selling him: We definitely won't be willing, it's whether he forces a move this summer or he leaves on a free next year.

#166530 Transfer Rumours 2013/14

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18 May 2014 21:53:28

The Times say Arsenal and Liverpool want James Milner:

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bn8s_8wIYAASOdY.jpg:large

I'll be pretty sad if he does leave.

#166232 The FA Cup 2013/14

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17 May 2014 11:14:38

By Telegram Sam | On 17 May 2014 - 11:35 AM

Nice to hear - almost every neutral wants us to lose horribly.

Normally so would I but I just can't quite bring myself to support Hull. Or Steve Bruce, to be honest.

#166219 The FA Cup 2013/14

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17 May 2014 09:48:37

I think I actually want Arsenal to win today. Not sure why, though.

#166190 The Manchester City Thread

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16 May 2014 22:52:40

Pretty much.

#166149 The Manchester City Thread

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16 May 2014 19:00:08

UEFA have announced the FFP sanctions: €60m fine (to be taken from any revenues from UEFA competitions from 2013/14 onwards) and a 21-man squad limit for next season's Champions League squad.

Having read the UEFA statement (here) it looks like the issue was the two IP sales rather than the Etihad deal.

The summary from City's website:

- MCFC will lose 10m Euros of its share of income from UEFA for competing in the Champions League completion in season 2013-14.
- MCFC will lose 10m Euros of its share of income from UEFA for competing in the Champions League for season 2014-15
- Rather than having an accumulative allowance of 30m Euros of losses over the next two reporting years (like all other clubs), MCFC will have specific stipulated allowances for 2013-14 and 2014-15 of 20m Euros and 10m Euros respectively. Significantly, MCFC plans to be profitable in 2014-15 and in the years that follow.
- The MCFC Champions League squad for the 2014-15 competition will be limited to 21 players. In 2013-14 the club registered 23 players for the competition and used 21.
- The Club’s expenditure on new players for the upcoming summer transfer window, on top of income from players it might sell, will be limited to 60m euros. This will have no material impact on the Club’s planned transfer activity.
- The wage bill of the whole club (playing and non-playing staff) for 2014-15 will need to remain at the same level as that of 2013-14 season. It is important to note that additional bonuses for performances can be paid outside this number. Importantly, in reality, the existing MCFC business plan sees a natural decline in that wage bill.
- Given the unique nature of the new City Football Group structure – which incorporates MCFC, New York City, Melbourne Heart and a number of other companies, the Club has agreed to certain non-material terms in order to make FFP reporting as easy as possible for UEFA to discern.

#166001 World Cup 2014 Thread

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15 May 2014 19:16:53

By Ninja | On 13 May 2014 - 22:29 PM

No Tevez?

That was never going to happen. His record with Argentina is average at best, he doesn't really get on with Messi and he would expect to start.

By Hibee | On 14 May 2014 - 22:15 PM

Any defense with Federico Fernandez in it is suspect by default... Shame Gino Peruzzi didn't make it, he's been good whenever I've seen him with Catania, even got a goal against us in Sicily.

Sabella likes to play favourites. Peruzzi's not the only disappointing omission, he's made a number of bizarre choices over the last year when it comes to his goalkeepers and defenders.

#165378 The England National Team

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12 May 2014 18:21:04

By Deano | On 12 May 2014 - 14:49 PM

Barry has been phenomenal this season for us, completely revitalized under Martinez. Yet overlooked. Typical.

Hey, he was brilliant at City too, he's always been overlooked and underrated though.

#164558 New four-point plan to boost England football

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09 May 2014 15:21:26

By Ninja | On 08 May 2014 - 23:47 PM

Isn't this what the Next Gen thing already is?

Unfortunately UEFA basically forced NextGen to end so that they could start their own inferior version.

#164403 New four-point plan to boost England football

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08 May 2014 20:47:35

Mills got it because he played every England game in the 2002 World Cup and still has some sort of profile 'cos he's on the radio a lot.

#164263 New four-point plan to boost England football

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08 May 2014 15:28:54

By Slashman X | On 08 May 2014 - 16:19 PM

Yes, I said it was treated as secondary, and that is true, otherwise a radical shake up of the entire league structure would be a last resort

How does only playing against English players increase the quality of those English players and help them at all in international tournaments?
I'm willing to bet that Rodwell is a lot better off playing with and beside Yaya day in and day out than playing with Mark Noble or Scott Parker.

Instead of copying the worst parts of foreign leagues (B Teams), why not copy the other parts like get players to focus on their development when they're younger rather than focus on winning pointless games.

EDIT: They're not even doing anything about coaching right now, they just highlighted it as a problem

Listening to 5Live last night, they were saying they're releasing a second report at a later date about youth coaching and stuff like that.