Benzema

one of our management veto'd the move

Let me guess its Berlu, is he?

Originally Posted by hany.Egypt

Let me guess its Berlu, is he?

yep berlu did that wtf for i don`t know

^^ its simple cause he is loosing his mind,old people tend to do that.Milan needs a revamp ,a big one ,we could use some new managers also.

Anyway about this kid,its not worth it,we have pato as a future star,we now need a striker in his prime ,a good one like etto or something like that to play next to pato.

Guy, guys, guys...why do you picture a board made of fools everytime a player pops up???? This board that consistently keeps us on the top of the world...
As Clint Eastwood says in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly ... "such ingratitude.."

Toni could reach Bayern for a price tag of 15 M Euro because there was a clause that freed him for a minor price on the international market, while an italian club should have paid the double to sign him..

The price is just to scare people away, i'd be highly surprised if that is his true cost.

Lyon are basing Benzema's price on that of Essien, Diarra & Malouda, though these players had obviously played many seasons for Lyon and had become established. Benzema's Lyon career is much less and his price should be more in line with Pato's than anything else.

I'm not so sure Toni would score as many goals for us as he's doing for Bayern right now. Think of the players around him, Ribery, Schweinstieger, Podolski, Klose, plus fullbacks in Lahm & Sagnol who can cross. He's surrounded by pace and width, here it would not be the same. I'm probably wrong, but that is my initial thought.

Originally Posted by Jim_UK

I'm not so sure Toni would score as many goals for us as he's doing for Bayern right now. Think of the players around him, Ribery, Schweinstieger, Podolski, Klose, plus fullbacks in Lahm & Sagnol who can cross. He's surrounded by pace and width, here it would not be the same. I'm probably wrong, but that is my initial thought.

I whole-heartedly agree with you, amico mio... Good observation

It's becoming a Toni thread now...

Nonetheless, we do have to start taking chances in the market. I dont want to compare ourselves to Real Madrid, who IMO spend way too much and buy too many new players. But for instance, look when they bought Sergio Ramos---they spent a fortune on a 19-20 y/o youngster---and look what they've got now---a gem that can lead their backline for years to come and if they ever decide to sell, will make an enormous profit. We on the other hand, throw away 18M on so called "established" players like Oliveira who make about as much impact as Ibrahim Ba...

Someone on the SoccerPulse forums had a great post outlining why Benzema most likely won't be sold anytime soon.

Originally Posted by Inara

Anyway, the reason Lyon have pursued the path of making profits was to have enough money to purchase a big striker. It's twhy they've never been able to get deeper into the Champions League.

Lyon won't be selling Benzema at least for another 2 years, maybe 3. Aulas has been looking for that special striker for so long, and now he's popped out of our academy. He's getting regularly capped for France, plays in the CL - and scores - every year, and is now a starter at Lyon. What other big club out there would allow him to start? It's not like his development is being hindered at Lyon.

And Lyon won't let him go for anything less than 30-35million pounds. Essien went for 24m, but the fact of the matter is that an Essien type player is easier to replace than someone like Benzema, who is one in a million.

Lyon manage to stay afloat because they always have cover for departing players. Essien left, but they had Diarra and got Tiago. Diarra left, but they had Tiago and got Toulalan and Kallstrom. Tiago left, but Lyon had Toulalan, Kallstrom, and got Bodmer. Malouda left but they had Ben Arfa and got Keita. Notice a pattern?

Yes, Lyon sell important players, by they almost always have a good replacement waiting in the wings (with the exception of Abidal, whose departure wasn't adequately compensated). And those replacements have been around for 6 months to a year, to avoid awkward settlement periods.

But for Benzema, there isn't anyone who could replace him. Lyon would never be able to buy a striker as good as he is, and it's not like they have another player just like him in their academy. Even as a teenager, everyone knew Benzema was special. So unless Lyon have someone to replace Benzema even to consider selling him for top money (which they don't), they won't sell. The failures of Elber, Carew, Nilmar, Baros, and maybe even Fred have taught the club a lesson.

Instead, Lyon will keep their team together for two seasons to have a chance at the CL. Key players such as Govou, Juninho, Toulalan, Coupet, Benzema, possibly Kallstrom will stay. The only player up in the air is Ben Arfa, who isn't as committed to the club.



I do want to mention that it's been Benzema's dream for a long time to be the #1 at Lyon. When he was promoted to the first team back in 2005, the older players teased him for being a kid. Benzema kept his cool and told them to stop laughing because he'd be taking their place.

Last year, when Lyon were in the middle of a big striker hunt, he got really annoyed with Houllier's refusal to trust him in the center (Houllier tended to play him as a winger in support of Fred and Baros).

He said this little gem:

"I am not young anymore. I am not 17 years old, I am 19 and I have been working with a team full of internationals for three years. Everyday in training they don't ask my age, just to make sure I am at the right level. My best position is centre forward, not on the left or the right sides. I would like to be tried in the centre for several matches."

"I hear Lyon need to find a great forward, there's no need to go and find a forward anywhere. Fred is the coach's number one at the moment, but I will go on working and one day become the number one at Lyon."

And now that day has come!

It just amazes me that Benzema is that confident, that as a 17 year old he knew he could do the job. This kid will go far one day, and I'm just so glad that I've been following him on his journey since the beginning.

We don't need any French on our team.

Originally Posted by LutherBlissett

We don't need any French on our team.

What an insightful comment somehwere ZZ has a headbutt waiting for you

Originally Posted by LutherBlissett

We don't need any French on our team.

Hopefully this isn't the level of intelligence all your posts will provide.

Originally Posted by Jim_UK

Hopefully this isn't the level of intelligence all your posts will provide.

We don't need any French because...

Carletto hates the French

Originally Posted by LutherBlissett

We don't need any French because...

Carletto hates the French

If Carletto hates the French why did he ask for Ribery in the summer?