January 2014 Transfer Window

[brenchill]

I dunno what's a Mata with Utd this season. They're just not playing well.

[Baddar]

Why can't United get CL football this season? Aren't we 6pts behind Liverpool? Granted, no one can really expect it on this form, but 6pts isn't a lot. Liverpool still need to come to OT.

[Jimmy]

Seriously, if mata's even remotely interested we should try and get him at Spurs. Sadly we lost AVB who could've tempted Mata just so they could walk around together, looking similar with their amazing beards.

[TCO]

Why can't United get CL football this season? Aren't we 6pts behind Liverpool? Granted, no one can really expect it on this form, but 6pts isn't a lot. Liverpool still need to come to OT.

Not saying they can't but given that they've been absolute shite so far this year, would give an indication that it's unlikely. Liverpool have most of their toughest games out of the way too. I'd fancy Liverpool to go to Old Trafford and get 3 points as well.

[Jimmy]

What? They've still got to play all the top 6. Granted, most of those are at home, but I still wouldn't call any of them anything but tough.

[Baddar]

Sunday League Footy @SundayChants

2h

Man Utd have been linked with Mata, Dante and Cavani...

...meaning they'll end up with Naismith, Distin and Arouna Koné on Deadline Day.

Sounds about right.

And I said earlier in the season that we'd finish above Liverpool - I need to stick by it!

[Nerf]

Why can't United get CL football this season? Aren't we 6pts behind Liverpool? Granted, no one can really expect it on this form, but 6pts isn't a lot. Liverpool still need to come to OT.

FORTRESS OLD TRAFFORD

[Asuka's Gonna Kill You]

Why can't United get CL football this season? Aren't we 6pts behind Liverpool? Granted, no one can really expect it on this form, but 6pts isn't a lot. Liverpool still need to come to OT.

Not saying they can't but given that they've been absolute shite so far this year, would give an indication that it's unlikely. Liverpool have most of their toughest games out of the way too. I'd fancy Liverpool to go to Old Trafford and get 3 points as well.

Which says it all really. We've been shit and average for good chunks of the season while Liverpool have basically been hitting close to the best form you'd probably expect they could hit for the most part and yet it's still only six points. Moyes has had half a season to settle a bit, key players are returning from injury. I'd expect us to be much more consistent and much better in the second half of the season.

Either way, it's hardly looking bleak just because we're having a season of massive change and are in 7th in the league.

[brenchill]

I'd be surprised if the club were still in existence this time next year, tbh.

[Colly]

What? They've still got to play all the top 6. Granted, most of those are at home, but I still wouldn't call any of them anything but tough.

The Beeb put a minileague on Sportsday live the other day showing only results among the top 8, and Liverpool were right near the bottom. Even consider ing they've been away games they've been better at smashing 'lesser' teams than those around them.

[Mad Jack]

Plymouth Argyle have signed defender Matt Parsons from Premier League side Crystal Palace on a deal until the end of the season.

Is this a loan or permanent deal?

[stokeriño]

Guardian and Sky Sports reporting that a £40m deal has been agreed in principle for Mata by Manchester United.

Which if true means that Mourinho is an idiot, no question about it.

If you read the report, what it actually says is this:

Chelsea and Manchester United have provisionally agreed a £40m fee for Juan Mata, though the champions are yet to make a formal bid and any deal to take the 25-year-old to Old Trafford remains dependent on him personally informing José Mourinho of his desire to move.

Negotiations between officials from the two clubs are at an advanced stage, with the transfer said to be "almost complete" by sources close to the discussions.

To break that down...

* The two clubs have agreed a £40m deal "in principle".

* Despite agreeing this fee, United haven't actually said they'd pay it.

* And despite Chelsea apparently agreeing that they'd happily take £40m for Mata, the move can't happen unless Mata formally requests it.

Am I the only person who looks at those statements and gets the sense that they've been thrown together in some mystical recipe to get the right kind of THE DEAL IS CERTAIN BUT AT THE SAME TIME POSSIBLY NOT balance to get dubious claims through your average newspaper reader's plausibility detector?

Not to mention that of all the articles I've seen on the matter, only two journalists have yet to point out that "actually, there's no real motivation for Chelsea to sell Mata in January". In the summer, sure, anything's up for grabs - and the money brought in would count against next year's FFP figures too (we're already fine for this year). But the best reason I've seen for Chelsea sanctioning a January sale is "um...Mata will get to play for United against City and Arsenal?", which really is clutching at straws.

[brenchill]

I usually agree with you 9/10 in this forum, but I'm a bit confused as to why you think this deal is crazy and unrealistic?

Mourinho doesn't fancy Mata. That's been quite obvious this season from his team selection and press conferences.

Sure, selling to Man Utd wouldn't be wise, but £40m for a fringe player (I realise that sounds ridiculous given his quality) is great business, IMO.

[stokeriño]

The main reasons it doesn't make sense IN JANUARY (this being my point) is where it leaves Chelsea's squad.

Having already sold KDB, we'd have Hazard/Oscar/Willian as starters and only Schurrle as backup. That is, one injury away from not having any possible substitutes for three of the most active/tiring positions on the pitch.

You can try and get a bit liberal with those positions and say "well...Ramires can play there [poorly]...and Frank could fill in [for about an hour before he keels over and dies]..." and so on, but these alternatives are not only obviously inferior but also undo the meagre sliver of squad depth we've just about managed to scrape together in central midfield (aka the pivot) with the purchase of Matic. Said depth having previously been on a level of "if Ramires gets injured we are soooo fucked".

Unless we get absolutely ridiculous and see Rooney come in exchange - and he can drop back to play in the central AM role if we're in desperate need - then the move makes no sense for Chelsea in this window. Would we otherwise be able to acquire a suitably good replacement in the last 9 days of the window? Would we hell.

[Baddar]

Just let him go, Stoker.

Please?

[brenchill]

Perhaps they have something lined up?

These windows can be crazy, as seen in the past.

[Twist]

The main reasons it doesn't make sense IN JANUARY (this being my point) is where it leaves Chelsea's squad.

Having already sold KDB, we'd have Hazard/Oscar/Willian as starters and only Schurrle as backup. That is, one injury away from not having any possible substitutes for three of the most active/tiring positions on the pitch.

You can try and get a bit liberal with those positions and say "well...Ramires can play there [poorly]...and Frank could fill in [for about an hour before he keels over and dies]..." and so on, but these alternatives are not only obviously inferior but also undo the meagre sliver of squad depth we've just about managed to scrape together in central midfield (aka the pivot) with the purchase of Matic. Said depth having previously been on a level of "if Ramires gets injured we are soooo fucked".

Unless we get absolutely ridiculous and see Rooney come in exchange - and he can drop back to play in the central AM role if we're in desperate need - then the move makes no sense for Chelsea in this window. Would we otherwise be able to acquire a suitably good replacement in the last 9 days of the window? Would we hell.

The argument I saw on Sky Sports for a January sale was that it would strengthen the Man U squad for games against Chelsea's rivals. I can see the logic in that. THe same article also says 32 million or Rooney (which Man U have said no to both), no agreement has been reached in principle or not, but Mata wants to go, and all parties want the move to happen.

This article.

[stokeriño]

The argument I saw on Sky Sports for a January sale was that it would strengthen the Man U squad for games against Chelsea's rivals. I can see the logic in that. THe same article also says 32 million or Rooney (which Man U have said no to both), no agreement has been reached in principle or not, but Mata wants to go, and all parties want the move to happen.

This article.

For two games? We'd sell him now and undermine our own squad for the rest of the season purely so that United could possibly have a tiny bit more of an advantage for two whole games in the coming weeks? Really?

And it would only be the City/Arsenal games. Because if we're extending the definition of "Chelsea's rivals" to include Liverpool and Spurs then United themselves are virtually in the same bracket and the whole notion comes tumbling down.

Yes, those quotes from Balague about "United rejected both £32m or a Rooney swap and there's no deal although they're working on it" were yesterday's news. As you can see, the rumour mill can move at a million billion miles per hour when it really wants to - either at least one (if not both) of these stories is a lie, or United have done a huge 24 hour U-turn in agreeing to pay £8m MORE than what they had apparently just rejected.

[Crybaby Bunting]

Part of me hopes that it's just the Guardian being spectacularly wrong and that Sky just picked up on the story because the Guardian is a mostly reputable source.

Because I still remember that "GUARDIAN EXCLUSIVE: INTER MILAN TO BID 40M EUROS FOR BALE" article that lead to every Guardian sports columnist writing an article about the move, each article being a comment piece attracting thousands of unique hits. As it turns out, it was complete and utter horseshit and could have been easily debunked by any respectable journalist who probed Inter's financial situation.

[EddieG]

Apparently Liverpool are looking to sign Nigel De Jong to replace the once again injured Lucas.