I doubt it, the reason seems to be the players coming in. The pressure was on Conte to make a real impression on the Champions League in 2014/15 and he wanted Sanchez and/or Cuadrado, instead their going after Iturbe.

Now Conte has gone I really doubt we'll see Vidal or Pogba leaving Juve, the board wouldn't have the balls to sell them after losing Conte.

Conte's displeasure, if you will, with the board has been known for sometime. He was basically put in a position where selling a star player was the only way he would get the funds required to invest further. I'm absolutely fuming that he's gone and how the board have decided to not hold their end up and opted to take matters re: player sales from the control of Conte.

I have no idea who is going to come in now, there really isn't anyone that I want besides possibly Spalletti or a super long shot in Vialli. Unless we once again look towards a former player who hasn't coached before. Genuinely would not be shocked if sides come in for the kill for Vidal and Pogba now though, perfect time to strike in all honesty.

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15 Jul 2014 10:26:33

By Ninja | On 15 July 2014 - 18:25 PM

If we are genuinely in for him, which seems at least likely given the Italian and Chilean reports, I would doubt the refusal to meet fee stuff is much more than posturing.

Saying that being tight has cost us players in the past, but we've already spent so much on Herrera and Shaw that it would seem ridiculous to start being tight about it now.

Well I guess it depends on how many other positions LvG wants to strengthen. Spending £40m on another midfielder when it could probably be better invested down back would be a reasonable enough reason to pull out of a deal, since I would imagine some serious wages would need to be included on top of the transfer fee.

Maybe it's partly down to already spending a big on two previous signing that a little more consideration needs to be taken now. Who knows.

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By The Platypus | On 15 July 2014 - 17:18 PM

What's the deal with Pogba?

In general or regarding transfer stuff?

I'll presume it's the latter, which at this stage doesn't appear that he'll be moving. Chelsea have been heavily linked because of his trip to London but that seems to have been squashed by his agent saying he'll be staying at Juventus. Which has more or less been the case anyway, even when being linked elsewhere during the year. That said, he does only 2 years left on his current deal I believe, meaning an extension has to come soon otherwise Juve will seriously need to consider moving him on if he isn't going to commit long term. If Pogba is sold for a ridiculous price this transfer window, Vidal will not be sold, and visa versa.

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By Ninja | On 15 July 2014 - 08:35 AM

Yeah, I agree, I'm just saying what I've read. The £35m fee seems to be coming from Italian press more than English most of whom (I say most, I mean all the shit ones you wouldn't trust if they told you the sky was blue and the grass was green) are reporting the deals off because we won't pay more than £32m. Honestly I'd be happy whatever we spent.

I suspect a £35m deal and Nani might suit all parties quite nicely.

Anyway, Vidal apparently said in an interview today:

"I'm in a big team already, which relaxes me if the United option fails".

Everything I've seen from Italy has been that Man Utd are offering £35m, while Juventus are wanting a figure closer to £40m, which I think is around €50m or so. He's already at a big club and one that will push for a 4th Serie A title on the trot, while looking to have a bigger impact in the Champions League. I think his contract extension he signed last year gives him a deal until 2017, so there's certainly no rush to make a deal happen if their valuation isn't met. Which will be the only way the deal happens because it's implausible to consider Vidal forcing a move.

Any deal could also hinge on what happens with Pogba also.

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15 Jul 2014 01:19:47

By Poe | On 15 July 2014 - 10:43 AM

I just think many expect way too much from him.

He is the best in the world so I suppose it's expected.

4 goals and an assist in a World Cup is not "sub-par" by anyone other than a completely unreasonable person's estimation.

His stats aren't the tell all though. His general performances weren't that great, much like the rest of the Argentine forwards, what he did manage to do was pop up and score a couple important goals. I certainly wouldn't consider his overall World Cup display as anything more than average though. He wasn't the only highly rated player that under performed or didn't quite deliver what had been anticipated; Ronaldo and Hazard for example.

He'll be 31 at the next World Cup, which given the way he plays I don't think he'll have the impact like he does now. His game is built largely around his pace and ability to get past opponents, depending how his body holds up between now and then this may have been his greatest chance of showcasing himself at the highest peak.

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15 Jul 2014 00:16:06

By Poe | On 15 July 2014 - 09:04 AM

I'll reference the fact that Messi scored or assisted around 80% of the runners up of the tournaments goals.

Messi was phenomenal in the group stages, definitely the best performer. He lacked the same spark in the later knockout rounds but had more than an average tournament. Way more.

He scored 4 goals and had a single assist. The whole 80% is such a warped and misleading "stat" to use.

Not hard to contribute to such a high percentage when your team only scored 8 goals for the entire tournament. He was lucky that the defence was exceptionally solid throughout.

Clearly our definition of "phenomenal" and "best performer" differs, he was neither for the tournament or his own team. Which I believe you agreed that Mascherano was Argentina's best player. I find it hard to be phenomenal and still not be deemed your sides best performer.

Obviously we all have a different opinion regarding how good, or sub-par Messi was, hoses for course.

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14 Jul 2014 22:56:07

By Poe | On 14 July 2014 - 23:46 PM

Nah, Mascherano did.

But still Messi was definitely in the top 5 players in the tournament.

Wouldn't have even had in amongst top 10 to be perfectly honest.

Kroos
James Rodriguez
Muller
Neymar
Robben
Hummels
Neuer
Rojo
De Vrij
K. Navas

All had better overall tournaments, along with a few others I could have thrown in. Messi was made to look better than what he actually was because people would continuously reference to how he never scored in the World Cup before, once he did, everyone jumped on the wagon.

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14 Jul 2014 22:26:30

By Ninja | On 15 July 2014 - 05:01 AM

According to 'the same source that broke the RVP news' Emmet Kennedy reckons Vidal for £35m is done.

Guarantee you Vidal doesn't move for anything below £40m. There is absolutely no reasoning for Juventus to sell him other than for a huge transfer fee, which £35m is not for a player of his importance and quality. Only reason Juve may accept less and around the £30m-£35m region would be if Nani or someone was included in the deal.

And there are reports from Italy that Evra has already signed for Juventus for a fee of about £2m on a 2 year deal. This was a few days ago, so that interview seems a little old/off. Apparently the only thing holding up the deal being official is Evra wanting to pen a goodbye letter first.

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14 Jul 2014 09:35:44

Gasol has joined the Bulls from the Lakers and Melo has re-signed with the Knicks.

Parson's has also left Houston and gone to the Mavs after the Rockets decided to not match the Mavs offer sheet. While Pearce seems to have joined the Wizards from Brooklyn, and Deng has joined the Heat on a 2 year deal.

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14 Jul 2014 09:27:52

No surprise Messi picking up an award and getting his ass licked once more, despite being incredibly average throughout the tournament.

Definitely feel there were more worthy winners.

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12 Jul 2014 07:06:29

Germany better trounce Argentina.

Would love nothing more than to see the pain and disappointment plastered over Messi's face as he see's the World Cup slip from him. Would be even sweater if he misses a crucial penalty or cocks up one way or another.

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12 Jul 2014 07:04:02

I expect Brazil to bounce back and be more competitive, but I can't see them having enough to beat the Dutch. Scolari is woeful and his selections and and lack of tactical sense will be their undoing once more. Plus, can't see who is going to stop Robben.

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12 Jul 2014 02:07:29

Will be interesting to see how Neymar, Messi and Chewy Luis all work together, given they all work best in central roles.

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12 Jul 2014 00:09:34

Bosh has apparently re-signed with the Heat.

Big move for LeBron to head back to the Cavs. Will be a very interesting year.

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11 Jul 2014 13:27:05

By Sam | On 11 July 2014 - 22:34 PM

So glad he's leaving. Liverpool are one of the greatest clubs, but with him being around their image was damaged.

I miss the days when Barcelona were respectable. Since the Qatari deals they've just gotten morally worse and worse.

Barcelona have always been c*nts though. The whole Uni-cef situation did well with portraying them in a more positive light than how they really operate.

Glad Suarez is gone, hopefully this hinders Liverpool and I don't envision Sturridge being as prolific this time around. Will genuinely be interested through with what Liverpool look to do with finding a replacement. There really isn't many viable options out there at the moment that are genuinely available.

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10 Jul 2014 01:07:49

I don't understand why LvG just didn't start with Krul from the beginning, particularly if he knew he was going to play two half fit players to begin with and there being a chance of penalties.

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09 Jul 2014 22:52:58

I genuinely hope Argentina don't win the final.

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09 Jul 2014 13:07:31

By Ninja | On 09 July 2014 - 22:58 PM

It's precisely because of the situation we're willing to spend so big.

No shit. But you'd think those running the club wouldn't be stupid enough to put all their eggs into one basket though. Just incase everything doesn't go accord to plan.

£60m has effectively been spent already without really strengthening the squad in an overall capacity. You look at the defence and it's definitely going to require more than just one more signing to really stack up.

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09 Jul 2014 12:55:51

By Ninja | On 09 July 2014 - 22:49 PM

I explained this on here the other day, but we've got shit tonnes, iirc our FFP outlook suggests we could spend £300m this summer and still be in compliance when/if we come back into the Champions League.

But yeah, we're not really spending on attacking players at all. We've signed a midfielder and a defender, and are being most seriously linked to a midfielder, a centre-back and a winger. I'd argue we need a winger with genuine pace more than anything else, our options there are horrid.

That might be the case, but you wouldn't think they'd risk spending it all in one window and leave it all resting on getting it right. If they don't and for wherever reason Man Utd don't make the CL again (which I personally doubt) then it would cause a bit of an issue.

By Slashman X | On 09 July 2014 - 22:50 PM

Morata is shit though

I've never seen him play outside of a few CL cameos. Don't really follow La Liga.

By Franck | On 09 July 2014 - 22:50 PM

What, you're surprised that United have money? Really?

No. Just the amount they're seemingly willing to spend given their situation.

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By tmatthew | On 09 July 2014 - 22:41 PM

Sponsorship deals.

It would't be all put into a transfer fund, at least you wouldn't imagine it to be. Some of that would be set aside of wages, signing on bonuses and other similar things too.

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09 Jul 2014 12:40:22

Honestly can't see where United are getting this money to spend. Let alone spending it basically on all attacking players when their defence is horrible, more so now that they've also lost Evra, Rio and Vidic. Big risk if they don't produce and miss out on the Champions League again (which they shouldn't).

At this rate with the players purchased and being linked with, you'd have to be looking at around £150m being spent.

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09 Jul 2014 12:34:35

Alvaro Morata is set to sign for Juve for €22m on a 4 year deal, with a option of a fifth. Apparently Real will have a buy-back option of around €30m-€33m.

Juve have also sold Vucinic to Al Jazira for around €6m.

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09 Jul 2014 04:47:45

By Franck | On 08 July 2014 - 21:41 PM

So apparently Del Piero would consider coming out of retirement to play for Celtic.

When exactly did Del Piero retire? I know he left Sydney and had offers to play elsewhere.

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08 Jul 2014 10:20:49

Some headline going around that Yaya won't return to City and is still pushing for a move away. PSG, Chelsea and Liverpool (yeah, I know) being linked with a possible move.

Highly unlikely but man, a midfield of;

Hazard - Cesc/Oscar - Willian/Oscar
Matic - Yaya

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05 Jul 2014 06:21:33

Out of sheer curiosity, how long do most Man Utd fans think LvG will be manager for? Given his age.

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03 Jul 2014 10:03:18

By Eric Portapotty | On 03 July 2014 - 19:14 PM

Is Alexis Sanchez that good? Forgive my scepticism, and he was a world-beater at Udinese, but he hasn't done too much at Barca.

As someone who watched quite a bit of him in Serie A, given my Juve attachment, his move to Barca hasn't benefited him one ounce. He was quality at Udinese and played usually just off Di Natale, though both would kinda rotate position at times too. Moving to Barca shunned him from a more central role into a wider one and thus hasn't seen his game benefit like it really could have. The one thing I incredibly dislike since he moved to Barca is how much his attitude changed for the worse- which has stemmed from the attitude Barca seem to instil into their players.

I suspect wherever he moves to, as long as he plays centrally again, he'll excel.

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03 Jul 2014 08:59:55

It's a sad moment calling time on my career. Would have liked to have squeezed another season or two out of the body but it wasn't to be.

Have I retired from football all together or is there a chance I'll take up a off field role?

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03 Jul 2014 08:54:37

I'm not too sure why he'd want to go to Arsenal either to be honest, though he'd definitely be a focal point there, particularly if Cazorla leaves. Just don't see it from a sporting point of view if he is aiming to win stuff.

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03 Jul 2014 08:10:25

Tiago Mendes will rejoin Chelsea on a 2 year deal.

Good signing and pleased to have him back at the club, even if he is 33.