Summer transfer window 2017
Thanks. We had it in the bag till we lost to a couple of minnows. It seems Montella is the one who wants Kalinic the most and if that's the case then I question him as a manager.
I'd wait to pass judgement. I just can't comprehand why we woupd be willing to pay that much money for Kalinic, no matter if Montella wants him. The management should be the first one to be questioned if they do that. Spending around 70mil on Kalinic and Kessie should be considered a crime....

About the EL, there are still 4 games left and we are in a good position to finish 6th. Let's not give up. We had a couple of setbacks and instead of possibly wrapping up the EL early, it'll now have to go down to the wire. My guess is that it will be decided in the very last game.
(05-06-2017, 05:57 PM)nefremo Wrote: I'd wait to pass judgement. I just can't comprehand why we woupd be willing to pay that much money for Kalinic, no matter if Montella wants him. The management should be the first one to be questioned if they do that. Spending around 70mil on Kalinic and Kessie should be considered a crime....

About the EL, there are still 4 games left and we are in a good position to finish 6th. Let's not give up. We had a couple of setbacks and instead of possibly wrapping up the EL early, it'll now have to go down to the wire. My guess is that it will be decided in the very last game.

Finishing 6th doesn't help, does it? I thought we needed to finish top 5 for Europe. And we're 5 points behind Atalanta in 5th.
Quote:Teams finishing fourth and fifth qualify for the UEFA Europa League tournament. A third UEFA Europa League spot is reserved for the winner of the Coppa Italia. If the Coppa Italia champion has already qualified for the major European tournament by placing in the top three of Serie A, the third UEFA Europa League spot goes to the sixth-ranked team in Serie A. If both Coppa Italia finalists finish among the top five teams in Serie A, the sixth-ranked team in Serie A is awarded the UEFA Europa League spot.
Musacchio looked awful today. Would love to sign de Vrij but it looks he'll either re-sign with Lazio or head to Inter.

re Europa: I don't think we'll beat Roma nor Atalanta.
(05-06-2017, 06:25 PM)Arildonardo Wrote: Finishing 6th doesn't help, does it? I thought we needed to finish top 5 for Europe. And we're 5 points behind Atalanta in 5th.

Because the Coppa Italia winner will qualify for Europe that spot will go to 6th place.Like it did last year for Sassuolo

Musacchio didnt look awful , playing against Suarez Messi Neymar not mention Barcas midfield isnt exactly easy.Especially away.Judge him on 1 away game to Barca if you wish.
I'm not judging him based on one game. His partner at CB had a better game. He hasn't been bad every game but he's had more bad games than good. One that comes to my mind is his performance vs. Roma at home in Europa. I just fail to see how people think he's our answer at CB. It's almost as if there are no other options. Call me crazy but I feel Paletta & Zapata have had a better season than Musacchio. Are they the answer at CB? Certainly not.
Kovacic' agent say there is no chance he's going back to Serie A now. He's happy in Madrid and has a contract until 2021.

Keita from Lazio is close to agreeing a deal with Sevilla.

On the Musacchio discussion, I must say that I'm not too convinced by him. That said, I haven't seen too much of him. I would think there would be other good options out there as well.
(05-07-2017, 12:47 PM)AC_Troy Wrote: I'm not judging him based on one game.  His partner at CB had a better game.  He hasn't been bad every game but he's had more bad games than good.  One that comes to my mind is his performance vs. Roma at home in Europa.  I just fail to see how people think he's our answer at CB.  It's almost as if there are no other options.  Call me crazy but I feel Paletta & Zapata have had a better season than Musacchio.  Are they the answer at CB?  Certainly not.

But there aren't that many. Musacchio may not be THE answer to for the CB position, but he would certainly be an absolute steal at 15mil + 3mil in bonuses. You are not going to find many better CBs for that price. Paletta and Zapata have not had better seasons. They are not at the same level. Paletta has had good games, only to do something stupid within the same game and cost us points. If it wasn't for Paletta's stupidity (red cards, PKs) we'd have a lot more points now. Don't even get me started on Zapata. 

I just don't see many other options that will be available for us. We have no chance at someone like Marquinhos. Manolas for example will cost 45mil. Now he is a good CB, I would take him over Musacchio, but no way would I pay 30mil more than for Musacchio. Surely Musacchio is the better deal. 

De Vrij is a name being thrown around, but it's a debate if the guy is better than Musacchio. It will also not be easy to get him as there are other big clubs sniffing around and Lazio is demanding a lot of money. Also, when it comes to who is the better partner for Romagnoli, in my opinion, it is Musacchio. Romagnoli needs someone that's explosive, physical, aggressive, and good in 1v1 situations next to him. Musacchio (even though not perfect in those things), fits that bill a lot better than De Vrij, who although is a good player, is too similar to Romagnoli. We are going to have one pretty slow and "immobile" partnership at CB if we pair up Romagnoli and De Vrij. Not saying it won't work, but I prefer Musacchio. In terms of overall quality, the two players (Musacchio and De Vrij) are quite equal...it's just that they offer slightly different things to the game. I think Musacchio offers more of what we actually need.
Tough market for CBs. Too bad we couldn't sign Glik a few years ago.