Again?

I imagine City will just be pushing them to see how far they will bend. I mean whats the worst that can happen for City, UEFA coming back and saying you are only allowed (for example) £200mil. They can't have any sanctions imposed on them, all that will happen is that UEFA will force them to dilute the deal to an amount which they feel is acceptable. It's a way of City forcing UEFA's hand to essentially declare how much money they can invest in the club this way.

City have nothing to lose, they should have said £1billion.

[url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jul/11/sir-alex-ferguson-samir-nasri?CMP=twt_guManchester United are unlikely to sign Samir Nasri[/url
[i"I don't think he is coming to United," said Ferguson. "That is all I can tell you. I think that he has agreed to go somewhere else."[/i

City then



Does it not get incredibly boring being a City fan? Knowing none of the achievements the spending will eventually make mean anything?

Talking of big spending. I've just got back from holiday in Spain and I met a couple of fellas who were members of a Malaga supporter's club. Anyway, they were telling me about the possible new stadium and the vast sums for players; I've not read too much lately, but how is this allowed? How on earth can Malaga fund a 60k seater? Madness.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nassar Al-Thani is how. I posted a few weeks back that they'd spent over €30 million and still had money in the pot. Pelligrini has recently signed an improved contract and I really believe he's the right man for the job. They brought in experienced players like Ruud van Nistelrooy and Joaquín who'll not only do a job, but they'll also be perfect footballing models for the club's youngsters to follow.
I think next season the aim should be to push for European football, but it'll be too early for Champions League. First game? Barcelona at home.

The little I had read on Malaga (literally rumours retweeted) I tried to bring up. I mentioned Cazorla, which he seemed to think would be quite likely (dunno if anything has happened since). I was quite shocked to be honest.

As for Pellegrini, well, he's a fantastic coach who does the old 'wheeling and dealing' perfectly. I like a few of Malaga's signings, but Pellegrini's true quality - his ability to work the South American market - will be the key to their potential rise, IMO.

Cazorla, Sneijder and Pastore have all been the subject of reported interest/bids by Malaga but I'm a little sceptical. More realistic signings are Borja Valero, Piatti And Pedro Leon. Piatti is a favourite of mine and would be a quality signing for an ambitious club like Malaga.

I think we will definitely sign a midfielder. I'd prefer Schweinsteiger as I think we're okay with players that go forward. I would love Nasri or Senijder though.

With every day it seems less likely either will be on their way to OT. I wouldn't want to pay over £22 million for Nasri and I reckon £35 million is about right for Sneijder. Could Nasri see out the last year of his contract then walk out on a free? I think that would be a disadvantage to United as both City and Chelsea could offer him daft wages on top of Champions League football. Schweinsteiger is contracted for another four or five years and Munich aren't going to sell him for anything less than £30 million. You know Daniele De Rossi is out of contract next summer


Riccardo Montolivo at Fiorentina is ooc after this season and has impressed when I've seen him, but I think he's more of an attacking midfielder. Maybe someone like Robbie would know more about him.

I actually do know a bit about Montolivo. Seen him a while back for one of the Italian U20whatevers, and he was played in the '10' role at the top of the midfield. He's struggled for consistency but has shed loads of ability, when I last seen him play he had moved deeper into the midfield. He could end up being like Pirlo, i.e. moving from the top of midfield to the deeper part, but I still feel he has too much skill and flair to sit in front of the defence like he was doing. Not sure if a move to a big foreign club would suit him, Serie A's definitely his league, for me. Montolivo has one of my favourite shooting techniques ever ever, absolutely fab.