Splashing the Cash. But Not All Of It.
By: Daryl | March 23rd, 2009
The Newcastle board finally dug deep and offered me £53m to spend, provided I could guarantee European qualification. I took it. I took it so fast that chairman David Williamson is currently being treated for bitemarks to his arm.
Here’s how I’ve spent it so far:
Frederico Laurito, young Argentinean striker, £13m from Udinese.
I’m banking on this young man to be a reliable source of goals. Much as I love The Pog, Lewandowski and Bendtner… I still don’t 100% trust any of them to put it away.
Christian Maggio, 29 yr old Italian RB,RM, £11m from Napoli.
I’ve usually had the more defensive Taylor or Jiranek playing, but Maggio will bomb forward and terrify opposition left backs. He’s also a right mid, which could come in handy.
Ryan Bertrand, 21 yr old English LB,LM, free from Chelsea
I expected N’Zogbia to leave this summer (who was originally a makeweight in the Laurito deal, but turned down the move to Udinese). Still glad to have Bertrand on board though, mostly because he’s English.
Looks like Arshavin will be staying after all, as he just signed a new contract. The move for Akinfeev is still in the works, but he veers between asking for a fortune in wages and refusing to negotiate with me. Not sure what the guy’s problem is.
I’ve agreed a deal to buy Phil Jagielka off Man City for £4m, but to be honest I’m not sure I really need him. He’s decent, but no better than my other CBs Colo, Rusol or Steven Taylor. Plus I’ve got Matts Hummel coming through.
Meanwhile… Arsenal are interested in Lewandowski, both Liverpool and Chelsea are eying up Marquinhos, Lien, Diego and (despite the new contract) Arshavin. Last and – to be honest – least, Valencia want Skjelbred.
There’ve been some staff changes too. Chris Hughton is out, and my new assistant manager is Mr. Neil Sullivan, of Wimbledon goalkeeper fame:
Yeah, I know. There are better ass men out there. But Sully has high marks for tactical knowledge and motivation, which is really all I’m looking for right now. Although I do wish he wasn’t so cautious. Always doublecheking his car door is locked etcetera.
I still have a whopping £29m burning a hole in my transfer trousers, but I’m leaning towards keeping it, for now at least. I already have too many players (especially in midfield where good good players like Sneijder, Dzagoev, Wijnaldum and Mascio are going to struggle for playing time) and don’t want to upset the squad with too many new faces.
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Comments
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Some good signings there, although it looks like you may have paid over the odds for Maggio, €11M for a 29 year old is quite a lot.
Maybe you should loan some of the younger MFs out. If they’re good enough some top teams might take them on loan.
Posted from
United States
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Yeah, agree Maggio was pricey. But he was exactly what I wanted and I’ll get at least two/three seasons out of him, so figured it was worth it.
I’ll definitely try loaning out a few of those youngsters.
Posted from
United States -
Go for saivet. In FM08 he is absolutely class! Your attack looks quite good though newcastle being newcastle not too sure about the defence!
Posted from
United States -
You may want to pick up one more CB. A backup would suffice, but with the money avail., you could go for a starter. Chrisitan Zapata still at Udinese? He would jump at Champions League football…
Posted from
United States -
good buys!..laurito looks the perfect striker!…and i wouldnt worry about your defense, hummels is a beast in my game for madrid, i’d give him one more year and he could be your best cb
Posted from
United States -
forget akinfeev, (unless you can get him for free after his contract is out, of course) get sergio asenjo! he is “twice the player of our best young goalkeeper, fiorillo” according to my scout who is also Italy’s ass man. he is a starter at valladolid at only 19 and is definitely the next iker. hes probably going to cost a pretty penny and might even have a few caps in your day and age, but you’ve got a lot of dough.
Posted from
United States -
I think you should contemplate splashing around 20 on a real class player, youre into the champions league now, and you’ll have another busy season, it wont hurt to add some depth or get a new starter. even if youre happy with the current first team it doesnt mean you can’t improve, after all whats the point in entering the champions league if you cant have a real go at it.
i forget what your midfield is like but maybe check out angelo palomboPosted from
United Kingdom -
Did you get Rafinha too? Maggio is definitely better, just wondering what happened on that end.
As for Akinfeev, yes get him or Asenjo. Never had Asenjo but a good goalkeeper can save you about 10 points a season so definitely worth splashing the cash
Posted from
Australia -
Colin,
Yes, sorry, forgot to mention. Rafinha’s work permit application was turned down, as was his appeal.
Posted from
United States -
Here’s the latest. I’ve almost definitely bagged Akinfeev for a bargain £4m. Just waiting on a work permit.
And have managed to negotiate a deal for Zapata (as suggested by Tim above) but it’s kind of pricey. £22m was the best I could do. Great defensive attributes, including pace (which we lack) but a lot of money. Especially as there’s no guarantee he’ll adapt to England straight away.
Alternative is to spend a similar amount on Miguel Veloso and give myself two stellar options at DM.
I’m literally at the point of accept/cancel with the Zapata deal, but was hoping for a bit of feedback/advice before proceeding.
So, two questions:
1. Who do I need more: Zapata or Veloso
2. Is £22m too much for either of them?Posted from
United States -
I’d say £22m is too much for either of those two, especially considering the other defensive signings you’ve made.
Posted from
Australia -
hmm, sounds tough daryl, but in my season (i’m all the way in 2013, btw) miguel veloso is on liverpool and he’s been retrained to play left back, and for him, he’s actually at “natural”, so perhaps you could do the same, and really increase his versatility
Posted from
United States -
check if theres a brazilian dc called miranda,should be 27 by now in your game, i found him after thiago silva wnt to ac milan. or you could go english and try chelsea’s jack cork.
Posted from
United States -
Yeah, I’d say €22M is too much for them. But I’d try to haggle over the price of Veloso if I were you. You could possibly get Veloso for a few million less and he really is quality.
He’s brilliant at CB and DM, and if you play him in CM he scores loads of goals.
I’d go for him.
Posted from
United States -
if you want a solid CB you could try fazio, solid and unless he re-signed has a buyout of 16million.
Veloso is very good but i dont think you need to worry about a DM/CM at the moment, unless they cheap. Maybe try Jack Cork, he plays for chelsea but is quite random so scout him a decent amount of times. Also check out Kompany from ManCity he usually gets relegated to the bench in my games.
For a good CB try miranda or raul albiol as well as fazio.
Another thing you can do is raid spain, try going through players there. For some reason in my games they always re-sign with smaller buy out clauses.Posted from
United States -
I’ve been bidding for Fazio, but he’s expensive too. I’ve gone as high as £20m, but they’re not accepting. His buyout is £30m.
Posted from
United States -
CB – M. Sakho? Always a nice fall back for FM managers out there. Probably not at PSG anymore though.
Sorry Zapata was so expensive. He’s great in the critical stats for a CB: heading 16, Marking 18, tackling 18, positioning 18, Bravery 16, Composure 16, Physical attributes all between 15-17.
Posted from
United States -
Sakho’s still at PSG, but would likely be expensive too. I know he’s a beast and all, but he’s no quicker than anyone I’ve got. The great thing about Zapata was his pace, which is what I really want to add back there.
Have put in a bid for Micah Richards too (very quick, and great average rating (about 7.5 or so) last season).
Posted from
United States -
Hey, I discovered your site a number of weeks ago and have read all the posts and comments slowly. I thought might make my firstpost. Not really sure what to comment but anyway. Interesting blog. Will call back in a while to see what else youd like to say.
Posted from
United Kingdom -
A week or two ago I discovered your blog and have been following along. I thought I might give my opening comment. Im not sure exactly what to write except that Ive really loved reading. Cool website. I will carry on coming back to this website very often. I have also got your rss feed to get any updates.
Posted from
United Kingdom
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