legal_alien

But have Chelsea been in for him? Your points explain why he might prefer City to Chelsea, not why Chelsea haven't expressed interest (or have they, and I missed it?).

Does anyone else find it odd that it's Man City and not Chelsea that's linked with Nasri? Man City have Johnson, Milner and Silva already. On the other hand, Chelsea only really have Benayoun who is that sort of player.

Any word on the Affellay front? I saw some articles at the beginning of June, but nothing since. While he's only been at Barca a very short time, if the get both Cesc and Sanchez (or even just one), I don't see him getting much run, so a move is in the realm of the possible.

I was responding to your statement that athleticism should be way down the list. I disagree. Outstanding athleticism is always an asset. Prototypical blood-and-thunder long ball English football devalues technique, and so players suited for this often lack technique but are athletic. This style of play turns out to be ineffective and so it is better to play a passing, more technically demanding style, and thus have technical players. That does not mean, however, that technical styles of play don't value athleticism. France circa 2000 is an example of a team that married physical talent with technique. If you devalue athleticism too far, I worry that someone like Sissoko would be missed. I agree Spain would outplay and out possess Euro2000 France, however I would not be surprised if it played out much like when a poor French team beat Spain in 2006.

I would be wary of the pendulum swinging too far here. I certainly agree that if a player has great technique they should be kept on in spite of an apparent lack of athleticism. I would also keep on great athletes even if their technique is a bit wanting. While Spain/Barcelona are the current favoured paradigms, not long ago it was Euro2000-winning France, in which athleticism played a far bigger role.

Are you sure? Isn't this the same situation that Milan found themselves in with Gourcuff, when Bordeaux were able to buy him for a knock-down price?

Didi was 32 when Rafa came vs. Masch's 26 when Roy came.

@Aldonose Under Benitez it is certainly true that the football could be stagnant, and we some times lacked penetration. However, when playing the shite teams, one could almost always tell that we were the big team in terms of possession, shots etc. That was not the case under Houllier.

Balague is reporting an initial 16 with another 6 based on performance and results.

When this happened before, Owen got 2 late.

? So are you agreeing that Xabi's decision to leave is attributable to what Real have to offer instead of the events of last summer?

My thesis is more that, independent of what happened last summer, the opportunity to be a part of Real's insanity would turn anyone's head. Particularly if the Spaniard in question has never had the opportunity to play for one of Spain's Big 2. The relevance of last summer was that other teams might have the view that Liverpool was open to selling. However, Real, under Perez, have never displayed the least concern for the selling club's position on their targets.

Putting Alonso's decision to move down to the Barry saga last summer is almost certainly wrong. He is a Spaniard who wants to return to Spain to be a part of one of the most exciting (but hopefully ill-fated with the end result being bankruptcy) projects ever. To top it off, he is almost guaranteed to start there. Was Ronaldo's move of Ferguson's making?