I'm beginning to get the impression you're not that fond of Messi, Bernard. In comparison, how do you feel about Ronaldo?

Damn, I thought I’d hidden it. In comparison to Ronaldo I’m not keen on either. I think Messi has been the better player, but he also annoys me the most.

In a post covid market that seems a heck of a lot.

Then again if he stays at the club 10 years and matures into a worldclass ball playing CB its money well spent.....a big "if" though.

Hi Bernard,
Yes I just picked up a thread of discussion and added my two pence worth rather than quoting anyone on the forum in particular. I realise you compared Maradona rather than Ronaldo - I never really saw enough of Maradona at his best so it is difficult for me to make the comparison.
All these things are subjective and will be debated until the end of time so I have no problem with who anyone else thinks is better as long as they aren't bringing in ridiculous suggestions.

Ronaldo and Messi have been the worlds best for some time and they probably still are and yet they are 34 and 36 I think. It reminds me a bit of men's tennis. Nadal, Federer and Djokovic have continued to dominate the sport well in to their 30's. Are they still really that good or is there a lack of credible challengers - probably a bit of both. Only recently have I seen some men's tennis players who seem like they can compete with the big 3. In football there is talk of Mbappe and Haaland taking over from Messi and Ronaldo but neither are there yet.

Should just ask for one of their players instead.


http://sportwitness.co.uk/club-chief-re ... rm-stance/

Yeah, can’t see someone else willing to pay this guy 200 grand a week for the next 2 years like we are

https://www.caughtoffside.com/2021/07/1 ... ans-react/

The UK Football Policing Unit said, as of 13 July, 897 football-related incidents and 264 arrests had been recorded across the country in the 24-hour period surrounding the final.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57848761

Staggering

.... yeah keep moaning about the protest instead of the problem eh.

Palace sign Marc Guehi from Chelsea for supposedly £15-20m and with a sell on clause for Chelsea. 21 year old CB who I have never heard of and who has never played a game for Chelsea's first team - £15-20m! and Chelsea have already made £4m or so from a couple of loans to Swansea.

They may spend billions but their loan and selling system is a very well oiled machine that puts us to shame

If he's on Chelsea's books at some point he showed promise beyond his peers and years. Maybe he regressed, maybe he was good but not enough to break through those big international signings. May turn out to be canny business for Vieira.

Seen on Twitter:

"Queen Victoria died 44004 days ago. Tottenham Hotspur last won the league 22004 days ago.

That means Totts most recent league title is closer to the Victorian Age than the present day."

Now that's funny.

Not necessarily. If you're loaded, you just hoover up everybody, whether they're half-decent or not. When you're Chelsea, it isn't a science.

Nice. Things and events that are more recent than Spurs' most recent league title are always good value. I've always liked: 'the invention of the pocket calculator'.

Hi john1. I think it’s even funnier that someone actually bothered to work out how many days it is since Queen Victoria snuffed it in order to compare it with the number of days they’ve also calculated it is since Tottenham won the league.

I think we can all take a big lesson from Messi who will some how try and survive on half his wages for the next few years. This kind of sacrifice is rare.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/57836300

Smith Rowe wearing ozils number 10 shirt in training now. Obviously completely unconnected and unrelated to him getting a new contract

I'd have thought that something that showed someone went to such an involved level of detail would have been right up your street Bernard?

Apart from obviously preferring the charming self-effacement of Ronaldo to the rampant ego and endless self-promotion of Messi, what else tilts you towards the Portuguese chap?

The thing I like most about Ronaldo is that he isn’t Messi.

Even if Willian was in Miami to discuss joining Inter Miami, more than just his high wage demands would scupper that deal. Just one look at that little belly bulge would be enough for Becks to say, "No can do".

My gut feeling on a lot of the nearly transfers is they will get done because we're desperate. It will likely mean us accepting a lower bid than we want or paying more than we want.
Xhaka to Roma - I just find it hard to see a way back on that now
Ben White to Arsenal - unless someone gazumps us you don't bid £45m for a guy and not go to the £50m the club want
Nketiah will probably leave for less than the £20m we want

The ones that concern me more are finding any way possible to trim the squad and shift the absolute deadwood or no future.

I can see a lot happening in the last few weeks for us in a case of he who blinks first. The only certainly is it was probably effect the start to the season as the squad gets a big shake up, various players haven't had a full pre-season and a lot have had their mind on transfers rather than football. Fast starts are essential but with our fixture list and transfer business required I can see a very sticky first 8-10 games where we could easily be down in the bottom half of the table again

I would keep a strong eye on links from Crystal Palace to our players considering who their manager is now. Not just Nketiah

Do you find Messi himself irritating or do you find the hype around him irritating?

I'm guessing its not just the hype, because surely Ronaldo is just as hyped?

If it is Messi himself, is it his character, appearance, or playing attributes you find irritating?

He's a regular Tom Pinch, isn't he?

I would say Ronaldo is more hyped. The amount of praise lauded on him in the Euros was nuts. A late penalty and injury time goal when his team were already beating Hungary was heralded as another masterclass by him. Great player and I would say the best finisher I have ever seen, which makes the over the top praise of regular goals and performances annoying and of course he loves it.

I think we should walk away from it. You are right. £50m+ is huge money. Man Utd are getting Sancho for £73m. Consider that Sancho is bona fide one of the absolute top young players in Europe and that Man U always have to pay extra. Did anyone mention White as a target for top clubs before the England call-up? He looks well over-priced to me.

It probably is mostly the hype. I disagree with dec on this. I find Messi significantly more hyped than Ronaldo. I’d say Ronaldo is seen, rightly, as one of the best two players of his generation (in second place). I’ve often heard Messi denoted as the greatest player of all time, at least by those who didn’t see Maradona. Ronaldo isn’t.

This I do agree with you about dec. Look, £50m+ is a loony price for a central defender in a depressed market who, as I seem to recall, Top Gun pointed out a while back wasn’t considered good enough for England’s Euro squad.

Unlike Saliba I have seen White play. I think he was in Brighton’s team in the final league game of last season. If he played for Leeds against us the season before I would have seen him then as well. But I can’t honestly say I noticed him. He didn’t strike me as brilliant (or useless) enough to make me notice him whenever he has played against Arsenal.

I thus can’t give a reliable viewpoint on what he’s really like. I fully accept that. But regardless of this admission, is he really outstanding enough to justify Arsenal blowing well over £50m on him, if that’s what Brighton will let him go for? That will be a huge proportion of Arsenal’s transfer budget this summer, unless Stan has decided to financially dope us, which I really doubt. I remain to be convinced the money couldn’t be spent more wisely.

It’s an even loonier price when you consider our finances.

There are loads of people who contend that Ronaldo is the best player of all time. And there are even more who will argue that Ronaldo and Messi are the top two.

I am old enough to remember Maradona but not Pele (although I have seen plenty of footage). I didn't think I would see a better player than Maradona but then Messi came along and has kept doing it for well over a decade. A discussion of the greatest players in history that didn't consider Messi would be very strange indeed.

There’s somebody somewhere who will say anything. You’ve probably seen a lot more reports on this than me, as it’s not the type of report I take much notice of. But I don’t recall anyone saying Ronaldo is the best of all time. I’ve seen many claims that Messi is.

I accept your point Messi should come into any discussion about the greatest of all time. But for me Maradona is better. Messi is one of the greatest I’ve seen though. However, I don’t consider him the best.

Quite frankly, if it's midfielders that are needed, Youri Tielemans, 24 years old at Leicester is alright. Played well.

Thought £50M a bit absurd.

Have to say the best to Vieira for all the success he can muster while at Crystal Palace. Even if it means poaching a few fringe players.

If I had to choose between a CB and playmaker and we can only fill one, I'd go with a playmaker. We have a desperate need in both positions. However, Xhaka has to go and we need someone in the Fabregas mold in that position. Someone who can make the right pass at the right time.

Holding is good enough for the time being but I'd love to have the Brighton defender instead and Holding be the 3rd defender. I'm pretty much writing Saliba off. I don't know what the behind the scenes drama is about but whatever it is, the end result is he's not playing for us. If he ends up with us, all well and good, but I'm not counting on it. At all. Sadly.

I'm expecting Partey to improve after a full season of injury and adapting. He'll help shield the central defense to a large extent.

If we get Smith and a playmaker, I'll be a wee bit confident going into the season. If not, I'll just cross my fingers week to week. In any event, I am hoping to see Smith-Rowe and Saka improve. I'm hoping to see Martinelli get more playing time and improve. Those 3 are the main ones I watching of the young players. Oh, and the new boy.

Saliba’s contact will have just two years left to run when he returns from Marseille. Right now it’s hard to imagine him signing an extension with us. So statements that he ‘remains part of the club’s long term thinking’ seem odd.

Even though football is far more widely followed than when I first got into it some 20 odd years ago (has it been that long?), some holdouts, some 'old school' friends still tease me from time to time. I had to laugh at this one though.

Arsenal being a big club or not, it's hard to imagine as you say. Why should he? He was highly touted when we signed him. There are more than enough clubs of a decent size I would think who would sign him within and outside England.

I would think if they can match his current wages or of course increase it, he would go. I wouldn't be surprised if we got a few offers for him. Although, any club would have to ask the glaring question of why aren't we playing him.

He’s currently linked with Liverpool for £65m. Agreed though, he’s a classy player

Seems like the club want a home grown GK, linked with Ramsdale and Sam Johnstone. I hope Sheff Utd price us out of Ramsdale because they were meant to be asking £30-40m which is crazy. West Ham just had a £6m bid turned down for Johnstone. He only has 1 year left on his deal, that’s the guy we should be going for if we want a getable home grown GK.
At the time backing the more experienced Leno over Martinez seemed right, especially as it seemed we couldn’t really keep both. But now with Martinez as home grown, flourishing and Leno itching for a move it looks a disaster

If you believe various trusted journalists of the actual bids we’ve made we are ready to spend up to £45m on a centre back, up to £40m on a central mid and up to £30m on a creative mid. Those are the supposed bids for Ben White, Locatelli and Buendia.
It shouldn’t be a case of only being able to get 1 or 2 of those bids because all 3 play in very different positions.

Lokonga seems like it will be announced today, new home kit launch today as well.
Lokonga is the Ceballos replacement and Tavares is the back up left back. Neither improve the first team yet, and whilst depth is required we’re facing a season with maybe only 45 games rather than 60+ so a smaller squad with a quality first 11 is even more important