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It wasn't Just Alberto though was it? Everyone KNOWS Rafa' Wanted to buy both Alberto Aquilani And Stevan Jovetic together but was scuppered by the Board withdrawing ALL transfer funds in Summer 2009 - Given what Jovetic then did to us in the CL in the Away Game at Fiorentina just AFTER Rafa' and everyone else caught out George Gillett as Publicly lying to a member of this very site during an innocuous interview? And given the fact that awful perfomance in Florence was the REAL beginning of our current slump - It wasn't the wisest decision by the Board or those tw*ts who claim to 'own' us was it?

 

Does Anyone Remember our Best performances towards the end of Last season? Those like our demolitions of Sunderland, Lille, Pompey, Burnley (A) and Benfica? All coincidentally involving Aquilani who also played Very well against Atletico as well. Well? THAT is what we Could have played like All the time IF Rafa' had got the Two Attacking Midfielders he was after in Aquilani and Jovetic - He always meant for BOTH of them to replace Alonso and cover for each other when the other was injured - Do you think we'd have been So bad when Alberto was out last season if we'd had someone the quality of Jovetic to fill in for him? No, I didn't think so either.

 

Basically, Rafa's intention was to provide an Advanced (I.e. Attacking Midfield) Replacement for Alonso - Not another Holding Midfielder in his mould - He was trying to evolve us so the Focal Point of All our attacks which Alonso used to be was in the Attacking Third of the pitch rather than OUR half as when it worked it brought us Many more goals - Our Home Record last year brought us even more wins than in 08/09 and we were damn near invincible then. Clearly that was different for our team to learn in terms of tactics and formations compared to before and would have took them a while to get used to under Rafa'. However, If he'd had TWO players of the sort he wanted brought in, the team would no doubt have found it MUCH easier to adapt no?

 

In the end? Rafa's plan for the team was perfectly logical and IF successful would have at least kept us competing last season far better than we did. In hindsight? Rafa' would have been better off negotiating a deal for Meireles in place of Aquilani with Jovetic or in addition to Aquilani and instead of Jovetic since Jovetic eventually ended up severely injured. Isn't it possible though that maybe Rafa' felt So boxed in and opposed by the board re signings after the twin Robbie Keane and Gareth Barry Carry-on's the previous summer That he wasn't thinking clearly and thus missed this chance? One things for sure? Rafa' Would NEVER have played Meireles as a fcuking winger as his not-fit-to-Lick-his-boots so-called successor as manager has - Rafa' KNOWS where players like that go and it isn't on the wings.

 

After all how can Rafa' be blamed? It's not HIS fault the Board first starved him of funds and then stupidly allowed one of their number in Gillette to be caught actually Lying in public by Rafa' which I'm convinced started our downward spiral (you know? The interview a member of THIS site did with him when he SWORE he put in his own money in despite us all knowing he didn't) - The latter event I'm convinced sucked the soul and what fight was left out of our team come the end of last September (2009) and I don't think we've even come CLOSE to finding it yet - We won't do either until the Twin Horrors are Long gone and the Road to Recovery can finally begin...............................

 

Brilliant post!

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Reluctantly negged you for that Diouf statement there fella.

 

And let's be honest Aquilani didn't stink the place out did he?

 

Out of interest. If Defour is so good how come he is still in Belgium, and nobody other than United are constantly linked to him.

 

What is so good about him that makes you think we would finished higher?

 

I said "someone like Defour" who could have actually played in a similar position to Alonso, and like Alonso, liked to mix it up physically.

 

We wouldn't have had someone who could be a like-for-like swap, which I speculate would have helped our overall game.

 

Now, seriously? A neg? Aquilani was an absolute disaster of Titanic proportions, and arguing it because he didn't play a lot and stank the place out is ridiculous. There was a reason that he wasn't playing, and that's because he couldn't perform in that position...

 

I have negged Lance too

 

Seriously? We were going to make you Queen of the Winter Carnival. So much for that...

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  • 2 weeks later...
It was absolutely senseless to loan them a player they intend to pay £16m for and then buy an inferior reserve off them for £4.5m.

 

At the very least, we should have just had Poulsen on loan in return for Aqualani. I bet they can't believe their luck with this one.

 

That was Purslow's decision approved by Hodgson.

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Del Neri; "Juventus, at the moment, is the team with most scorers (9) and since Aquilani entered, Krasic exploded". With regards to these two considerations, Del Neri said: "The first shows that the quality of the Juve players are not to be doubted and Aquilani is within this context. I knew him as a youngster and he has matured from a tactics point of view. Together with his, there was an important improvement by all the players".

 

 

Well Done Roy: good bit of transfer business.

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Del Neri; "Juventus, at the moment, is the team with most scorers (9) and since Aquilani entered, Krasic exploded". With regards to these two considerations, Del Neri said: "The first shows that the quality of the Juve players are not to be doubted and Aquilani is within this context. I knew him as a youngster and he has matured from a tactics point of view. Together with his, there was an important improvement by all the players".

 

 

Well Done Roy: good bit of transfer business.

 

He never looked like he could make it England, terrible signing given he replaced the player who made the team tick who we'll do well to get our money back for, I think Merelis will fit in much better, I wish him all the best

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I dont blame roy for aquilani, riera,yossi, insua and whoeevr else went as i dont think he had a choice but i blame him for the 2 he brought in.

 

If he did have a say in them going then I think he should have kept them to pad out the squad as when we nearly won it Yossi was very useful late on and Riera, Torres and Kuyt were the front 3.

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Has anyone been keeping one eye on how Aquilani is playing over there?

 

Yeah.

 

Caught all three of the league games he's started in (bar the second half of yesterdays game, which I'll watch later tonight). Bearing in mind he's had little football, he's done well. Was superb in the first half yesterday. Uses the ball intelligently and creatively and gets around the pitch. I've even seen him tackle a few times (including this one time against Inter when he slid in and won the ball off Cambiasso). He's improved with each game he's played. So much so that Claudio Marchisio - who is their main midfielder and a product of their academy - has been moved out to the left to accomodate Aquilani in the centre.

 

Still gutted we let him go.

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Yeah.

 

Caught all three of the league games he's started in (bar the second half of yesterdays game, which I'll watch later tonight). Bearing in mind he's had little football, he's done well. Was superb in the first half yesterday. Uses the ball intelligently and creatively and gets around the pitch. I've even seen him tackle a few times (including this one time against Inter when he slid in and won the ball off Cambiasso). He's improved with each game he's played. So much so that Claudio Marchisio - who is their main midfielder and a product of their academy - has been moved out to the left to accomodate Aquilani in the centre.

 

Still gutted we let him go.

 

Pretty much confirms what I was told yesterday by a Juve fan. Says he's been excellent and their best player in the games he's played.

 

Here we are, crying out for someone with a bit of craft and game intelligence and we've sent him out there to save his wages. Ridiculous.

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He never looked like he could make it England, terrible signing given he replaced the player who made the team tick who we'll do well to get our money back for, I think Merelis will fit in much better, I wish him all the best

 

 

When Yossi Benayoun jumped ship for Chelsea, the Italian was one of the few faces who has the technical ability and vision of passing that can unlock a stubborn Premier League defence.

 

Combined with recent OPTA statistics that placed Aquilani as the best assist to minutes played ratio in the top five European leagues for last season, I think it's fair to say letting Aquilani go and paying Joe Cole a whopping 90k a week looks like utter folly.

 

Surely a fair assessment of the player was required before he was loaned out? It's utter madness to let go of a player of such calibre without properly seeing him, first hand.

 

Everybody knows that some foreign players require a year or so to settle down in the premiership before they show their true worth. It's not as if Aquilani didn't show glimpses of his undoubted talent last year. And if it was a matter of money then surely selling Babel for £10m and taking him of the wage bill completely would have been sufficient?

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