The 2012 Summer Transfer Window thread

[Nerf]

They are far from the only examples of teams to splash the cash, but they are basically the only ones to take it to such extreme levels as to win the league "overnight."

[Dingle]

We've been through this already about a month or so ago, but no they aren't.

[Sam]

Has anyone confirmed the Oscar deal yet?

I know it's a done deal, won't reveal how but I know.

[Dingle]

Are you Abramovich?

[brenchill]

I know it's a done deal, won't reveal how but I know.

[Rafael]

Palermo have signed Uruguayan Edigio Arevalo from Tijuana. He was good here in Brazil, not sure if he will be in Europe.

Fulham announced that Marcel Gecov is out. He signed for belgian club KAA Gent for an undisclosed fee.

And, oh man....Michael Owen has received offers from Flamengo (Brazil), Al Rayyan (Qatar), Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia) and Sivasspor (Turkey). If he wants money, he'll join Al Rayyan. If he wants to play at a competitive league, he should join Flamengo. If he's dumb, he joins Sivasspor. If he wants money and competition, he will join Lokomotiv Moscow.

Edited July 23, 2012 by RafaelFms

[Lineker]

And in real life, he rejects all of them.

[Pesci]

Coming from Bristol pretty much every small child eschews City or Rovers for one of the big teams. Usually it'd be Man United or Liverpool at a ratio of about 70:30, a few I've met supported Leeds back when they were good. I've never met a Bristolian Arsenal or Spurs fan. I think there's a pretty big tradition of supporting Liverpool or Man United because they've almost exclusively dominated the last forty years of the English league. When people hit their teens they tend to take more of an interest in the local sides and a lot of us take City or Rovers as our main team, but I don't think you can blame people who don't have a top flight team for liking a Prem team, especially as a youngster. You're just attracted to the glitz and glamour of it all. You have Sky Sports hammering home that football began in 1992 and there's only one league worth caring about in the country and it's very, very hard not to be drawn to a Prem team. For most of my early years Bristol City and Bristol Rovers were in what's now League One. The nearest Premiership team to me has historically been Vila and that's a solid two hour drive. So I don't feel guilty about supporting Liverpool one bit. I don't see why I should miss out due to geographical location. So people from the Midlands or the North West can preach supporting your local team but when they're so spoilt for choice I can't take them seriously.

But I support Liverpool purely because my dad does and he's the one who got me into football. If things worked out between my biological dad and my mum, I'd be a Man United fan. Thank fuck they didn't. And to be fair I take a big interest in Bristol City too. If they'd have been good enough to be an occasional challenger for promotion to the Prem they'd probably be my first team. As it is I try to get to games when money permits it. And I'd definitely say I support them as opposed to following them or looking out for them. Don't get the notion of only being able to support one team. First and foremost I'll always be a Liverpool fan, but I'm a Bristol City fan too, and because I lived there for four years I look out for Bournemouth. Now my football-mad mate recently started 'supporting' Newcastle because they came up in a random number generator, which is a different matter all together

[therockbox]

Owen won't go abroad. He's looking for one last payday in the Premier League, and if he doesn't get that he'll retire. He's more interested in his horses nowadays.

[Sam]

Are you Abramovich?

I wish.

[Blue Rosler]

Owen won't go abroad. He's looking for one last payday in the Premier League, and if he doesn't get that he'll retire. He's more interested in his horses nowadays.

Yeah, he's pretty much directly said that too. He's hoping one of the lower teams signs him up for a year or two. Knowing West Ham, he'll get a £50k a week contract.

[Matt]

We've officially signed Jamie Ashdown (presumably free transfer) and Andy Gray (free transfer), meanwhile Sky Sports seem to think we've completed the Varney deal. Ashdown is a good signing, much better than Rachubka and I'm more confident in his ability to step up than the untested Cairns; hopefully won't have to see him play though. Snodgrass has started tonight's game so maybe he's not going just yet after all.

Oh and Fleetwood Town want to loan Barton until January... the fuck?

[stokeriño]

Has anyone confirmed the Oscar deal yet?

I know it's a done deal, won't reveal how but I know.

Chelsea have shown in the past to be perfectly happy sitting on an official transfer announcement until it suits their PR machine. Having everything sown up but waiting until after the Olympics just because they want their Stamford Bridge photo op/exclusive interview would not be surprising in the least.

[9 to 5]

Oh and Fleetwood Town want to loan Barton until January... the fuck?

Fleetwood have money, but yes, that is a bit crazy.

[Sam]

Has anyone confirmed the Oscar deal yet?

I know it's a done deal, won't reveal how but I know.

Chelsea have shown in the past to be perfectly happy sitting on an official transfer announcement until it suits their PR machine. Having everything sown up but waiting until after the Olympics just because they want their Stamford Bridge photo op/exclusive interview would not be surprising in the least.

They had the work permit appeal the other day and it went through fine, and yeh I understand the holding off thing, I dont really understand why so many midfielders are being signed though..

Edited July 23, 2012 by Sam

[stokeriño]

They generally do, provided at least one person on this entire continent knows who the player is.

[Matt]

Luke Varney and Rodolph Austin both confirmed, the latter subject to a work permit which he should get since he's a regular for Jamaica. 4 signings in a very short space of time. There was a rumour earlier that the takeover was completed but not going to be announced until tomorrow. At first I thought it was just bollocks but given that we've just signed more players in 2 hours than we have in the last 12 months, maybe tomorrow is party day.

[Dan]

I'm a Hartlepool fan but living near Fleetwood and them now being in the league means they're now my second team.

Joey Barton though...

[Khain]

Can I join the multi-clubs conversation? I was born in Chile and lived all my life there but now I'm studying in Buenos Aires. As a kid I supported Universidad de Chile, actual three times in a row champions in Chile, we won Copa Sudamericana and reached semifinals in Copa Libertadores and now is on their way to Japan to play Kashima Antlers (btw, I know there is someone who lives in Japan, so I'll be glad if I can get some information on how they do), I'm glad my team is getting noticed just when I came to Argentina. My grandfather lived in Argentina for political reasons (you know, we had a dictator here 20 years ago), so he got pretty attached with Racing Club de Avellaneda, so as a kid I used to watch the games with him, now I can go to El Cilindro and being there is awesome. In the Premier League I support Liverpool, it started with Liverpool winning the UEFA Supercup 2001, I don't now why I like the team so much, I can't explain it, maybe I'm a glory hunter, maybe I will never be in Anfield but something makes me support the club through and through.

On a side note, what are the requirements to the work permit?

In Universidad de Chile we have a Striker, 18 years old named Angelo Henriquez, who has a precontract with Manchester United but he hasn't played an International game or anything. He is an awesome striker, scored twice against Northern Ireland U-20 two days ago (you can watch the goals here)

[stokeriño]

To get a work permit on first attempt has specific requirements, e.g. playing in 75% of their country's international games in the past two years. These requirements are cut and dry and most players don't meet them, which is why most automatically go to an 'appeal'.

To get a WP on appeal the club simply has to convince a panel that the player is good/important enough to be let into the country. Splashing out a lot of cash in signing them will pretty much be convincing enough on its own.