It’s official: Dani Alves is in the house

Great thoughts. It is pretty illogical to drastically change a relatively youthful team that dominated the league for one ridiculously priced, arrogant, egotistical player.

I'm firmly, firmly against it. Especially when players like Robinho or Sergio Ramos enter the conversation. All in all, we have a team that's clicking, that just won consecutive titles, and have at least a decent bid on European success.

While I'm not terribly concerned about the impact Ronaldo might have in the locker room, I'm more worried about what will happen on the pitch. Assuming Ronaldo's role will be a right winger, as we're stocked on the left and center of midfield, we'd be going from a team who's forward strength was the left side, creative strength's middle and left, to a team that would most likely focus it's attacks toward the right. That's not a huge shift, but it will take a long time to adjust, and most likely ruin (not help) Madrid's immediate hopes of European success.

Another reason I'm opposed, is that I'm a fan who's happy to see Madrid leave the Galactico era. With a lot of our youth developing and returning to the Bernabeu (Grenaro, De la Red, Torres, and possibly Garcia) and the bright youth recently brought in (Sneijder, Drenthe, Robben), adding in a Galctico will displace kids like that, who could grow with the team. I'm opposed.

And lastly, I'm of the camp that believe La Liga will humble a player of Ronaldo's talent. After years of partial success in La Liga, Torres can go to the EPL and make it look easy; I sincerely doubt a player can accomplish the reverse. If Ronaldo comes to Spain, he'll probably, well, make the EPL look easy. (For this same reason - Isaiah - I think Henry deserves more credit, and - Kevin - you all should stay far, far away from Adebayor.)

Thanks for asking jake, and sorry if my response is a bit lengthy

I agree with you john, but I still think that he has the talent to shine in any team in the world. And john, I've been wondering, do you want Ronaldo? It seems that alot of RM fans are split, and I was just curious as to what you thought.

Oh, man - I think Sevilla was completely built around Alves, in a way that realized a lot of the talent around him. Sevilla's style of play was exactly Alves' stength: charging directly up the field. It was like watching a pack of horses, and it was thrilling, and Alves was the leader of the pack.

alves is easily the best right back in the world going up, he is also one of the best in defense. Since attacking rightbacks are so important in CL its a very smart move.
Now we have the right, centre(toure, keita, iniesta, xavi) and the defense sorted. The left is still much weaker then many teams especially in CL competition and attack is great if you want an early service kind of play which barce doesnt do, get a target man to bring the wingers into play and goals will be scored.

Word is that the Glazers have all but said "sell Ronaldo," recognizing that if they are offered crazy money for a player, they'd be crazy not to take it. Man U fans will find that Ronaldo is not irreplacable.

And John, I would argue that Sevilla wasn't really built around any one player, which made them so dangerous. Yes, Alves was a big part of their attack, and he'll be a big part of our attack. I suspect that part of why we got him is to add some aspects of that fast vertical game to our bag of tricks.

I think he's going to kick ass and take names. I can't wait.

john, you are definately right that Alves probably won't shine like he did at Sevilla, but I still think that he can be a key player. He is the best wing-back in the world, and I think he can be deadly in any system.

Good comments Ciaran. I would assume that Txiki knew who was leaving. He did say that Deco, Ronnie and Eto'o would leave, and it is only logical to assume that he knew about the others. And we really only need to replace four players. Ezquerro doesn't count.

And believe me, I have been hoping for Nasri for a long time. I would take him over Arshavin, Silva or Moutinho any day of the week. I was really hoping that he had a good Euro so that he would demand more wages and screw Arsenal over. Still, I would love to ambush their plans. It would be karma for stealing our youth products.

And Robinho would be hilarious, but I don't want that ego anywhere near our team. I would love him to screw over the Evil Empire, though. That might put a dent in their Ronaldo plans.

We may also take note of the fact that Samir Nasri still hasn't completed his move to Arsenal se may be another option for the midfield role. He could push up to a forward role too even though he does not score many goals. His immensely talented and said before that we were his favourite team to watch. The way we play football made us the team he enjoyed most.

On another note, Robinho is rumoured to be thinking about buying out his EE contract for a mere €10million and walking away from them because of the way they treated him. Ha ha ha. I love when this sort of thing happens to them. They are broke, by all accounts, and instead of raising funds by selling him for around €25-30million as reported he'll just walk away with his middle finger raised.
Not that it would happen or that I want it to but I'd wet myself laughing if he joined us. It would be hilarious.

Word from Txiki is that Henrique will be loaned out if the transfer happens, I'm guessing to a low-to-mid table team in La Liga. It would make sense. Get him some European experience and let him play 30+ games in his first season as a real tester. An example learned from Villareal who made a cool €14million profit on Caceres for one season not even having to pay his wages.

If Arshavin joins Chelsea then we'll look somewhere else but I do think that he would be a good 'fit' into our system. I do think that for €15million it's not really a gamble as he brought Russia both to the Euro's long with playing a couple of great games there and won the Uefa Cup for Zenit. There are alternatives but he may be the best value.
Inter still haven't tied up Roma's Mancini so he may be another value option, probably available a €15million also.

When Txiki said that he still wanted an attacking midfielder, a left winger and a no.9 I wonder did he take into account all the probable outgoing players...
Zambrotta for Alves, Thuram for Caceres, Edmilson for Pique and Keita for Deco so far. We will still probably lose Gudjohnsen, Ronaldinho and Eto'o, Giovani was sold and Ezquerro's contract expired.
That means replacing five players with three. With all of the talk about depth, we don't have a lot of depth upfront. I would still sign two forwards and a versatile attacking midfielder who can also play on the wing... Arshain or Silva. Then a forward to play on either wing like Palacio or Sergio Garcia and the big no.9 like Huntelaar or Berbatov.
But I'm not the one spending the money...

Although I think Alves will be a quality signing for Barca, and a true threat to their opponents, I doubt he'll have the same impact he had with Sevilla. Bear in mind that that Sevilla team was built around Alves, whereas in Barcelona he'll be just one piece of the puzzle. Also, Barcelona like to play possession, passing and lateral football, while Sevilla's system was fast paced vertical attacking. Alves will have a very different role to play, one I think he can adapt to, but I'd temper my anticipation if I were a Barcelona fan.

If we are risk taking, then we can think that Malouda might just fit very well in the left hand side connecting with the frenchmen Abidal and Henry. But we will have to be optimistic to believe that. I dont like his age or height but he compensates that with some good experience gained at French ligue, EPL, champions league and international football. Good thing is that if the above rumours are true, we are able to take this risk at the best price, which would be = (price of Eto`o) - 23 million. NOW, ETO`O have sold for a lot if we it wasnt abundantly clear that we desperately want him off (guadiolas statement). It would only take further comments from Eto`o saying that he wants to leave to a top club and price wud further fall. On the other hand, some hard work might make this deal look not so good. There are loads of genuine good wingers out there who are - young, pacy , skillfull, tall and not yet recognised. Some hard work put into talent searching can bring returns in the same. Such a thing along with good luck and good negotiating for Eto`o might provide a better scenario than this one.

But, like so many other rumours, i dont think this one is true either. Also, i wanted to know why we are looking for options only from outside. And that too for not only first team options but substituitions and depth options as well. Aren`t there players in our youth team who can be integrated with the big boys. Guardiola surely knows the players inside out having coached them last year.If we are set on taking risks with young not-so-proven players, Shudnt we take some risks with the youth products? Dont we feel really good when we see Bojan, Messi, Puyol, Xavi or Iniesta perform really well. It wud definitely add to cohesiveness, long term planning and wud enable us better in our efforts of keeping our talents. Also, creative midfielders have been produced in over abundance in the past from the youth academy and i am sure there are lots of them right now too. With a little risk taking policy, our youth team can become an even better supply of players for the first team.

Lastly, just like the Ezequiel saga, every barca fan seems to be disapointed with chelseas interest in Arshavin. Is that really such a bad thing to happen? I mean how can everyone be so sure that he will fit into that role just because of good performances in Euros? Is he almost worth as much as Moutinho (who had a bad performance in Euros, agreed) who is younger. Having seen Arshavin only in Euro, only attraction for me was his publicly stated love for barca. Now if that is true, then he will join our club anyway now that we have made an offer. If not then, is it such a bad loss?

A side comment, Instead of Seydou Keita, i wud have preferred if we got Jesus Navas from Sevilla as the attacking midfielder and looked for the second defensive midfielder elsewhere. And I Still want someone with good long range shots (hopefully midfielders not strikers) confident enough to pull the trigger often. That combined with wingers providing genuine width (The way Giuly used to do after recieving diagonal aerial ball from ronaldinho. I think Alves will be able to do that recieving balls from crative central midfielder) by stretching the play should make our attack more potent.

And lastly, Dani Alves is a superb signing. If he can match up to his own performances in the last three years, then we`re set. I hope he stays with us for a long time and becomes the permanent right back solution for Barca the way Roberto carlos filled left back for EE(This is in reference to his comments saying that he wud like to go back to sevilla sometime in the future). Best thing about having Dani Alves on the pitch is that it can be compared to putting two players on the wing at the same time - One wingback who is not that good with tackles but definitely works hard covering his territory and second midfield winger who leads penetrating attack from the wing. His free kick abilities will be a god gift to barca.

I don't think so, JC. Abidal is a keeper, and he showed why the last matches of last season, as he was more stable, which meant that he roamed less and consequently got into less trouble. That howler of a penalty in Euros is why he should never, EVER be allowed near central defense.

Apparently, Martin Caceres play's left back for Uruguay. So shud we get rid of Abidal?

Like any player, Messi's head can be prone to getting big. If he wants to leave at some point, he will. We'll get a ton of cash for him, and be able to replace him. No player is irreplacable.

Looks like Chelsea and Milan have taken a good look at Gordinho and said "Whoa, baby! One at a time! We're out until we see that he can get in shape." Looks like we might be stuck with him until January, at least. But he does have some motivation, unless he wants to just sit his fat ass around and collect a paycheck for being too out of shape to play.

There's also the rumor that Milan will want to do a loan deal, to be made permanent if R10 can get himself into playing shape. If not, he and Ronaldo can check out the Italian travestis. Stay tuned for further developments.

News on the Arshavin front: Some places are reporting that Chelsea, thanks to the Abramovich connection and being prepared to overpay for him, have a deal with Zenit, and Arshavin is headed for London for physicals, etc. We're planning a last-ditch bid, in the hopes that Arshavin's love for us will sway him. It might him, but Zenit is out to get paid. Frankly, anything more than 15 million Euros for this guy is silly. He's still an unknown quantity in a league of real quality. If Chelsea wants to splash for him, they can have him.

Over at Pep's most excellent fcbtransfers, rumor is that Chelsea has floated a Malouda plus 22 million for Eto'o. I know people are going to flip over this, because they are over there, but I would say yes to that deal in two seconds. Malouda was a terrible fit for the English game, but he'd be dynamite over here. He can play both wings, and works exceptionally well with Henry. He's a legitimate attacking threat and has pace for days.

I know, I know. We don't know if the Eto'o thing can be worked out, he's one of the best strikers in the world, etc, etc. But I ask you all: Does anyone REALLY think that we're going to be able to re-sign Eto'o after his term ends in 2010, no matter what kind of season he has for us this term?

So we're going to need a striker anyhow. What we don't know is if the rumor was being floated to see what the mood would be on both sides. That happens quite a bit, as we all know.

Two posts coming up, so things will be hot and heavy. Pique was presented today, so look for that one. Also, I will have a post that will lay out the full deal on the upcoming confidence vote, pros and cons.

Mat is right, btw....we will end the season better than we will begin it. If we can stay close to the top of the table by mid-point in the season, we'll go top, I think.

We need to cool off guys...more important than potential is to actually make it happen on the field...granted we have many good players and back ups this year, but as long as they don't know how to play as a group all this does not matter...Did we not have the best striker list last season (and with Bojan and Gio upgraded from Barca B we had depth too) but by the season end Barca's attack was toothless, not in terms of possession but in terms of balls in the back of the net...
I would be much more humble and hope people do understand that with a group that has had so many changes it will take time for Guardiola to make them work like a team...not something we want to hear but the truth...

Not that I know of, Lobo, but we don't need a LB. We have Abidal, and Sylvinho has re-signed. If you meant right back, though, the only top quality backs in Barca B that I know of are Fali and Marc Valiente (who, on Barca B's wikipedia page, has apparently signed with Sevilla, although his own page says otherwise).

This is, without a doubt, the most exciting signing of the season. We now have the best right back, the best right winger, the best defence (arguable, but Puyol will destroy anybody, anywhere, ever), possibly the best midfield combination (Yaya- the best DM, Keita- who compliments him just perfectly, and Xavi- who is offically the best player of the Euros, and is also one of the best passers in the world, if not the best) and the best potential (Bojan, obviously).

Messi has started to worry me, first he's adamant to play for the olympics, then he's pretty vocal about his support for Roonie, and now he's dreaming of Serie A..

do we have any good LB from Barca B?

Oh no, not Mr. Ogre!!! Ballbeav,we are doomed!!!

@ JC. i believe it is and will be Oleguer.

I cant wait to see this guy blast shots from outside the box... with eto/messi/xavi tapping in some winners

One Question, Who is Dani's replacement, in case of suspension or injury?

Alves will be amazing, if for his workrate alone. He has amazing stamina and strength for a little guy. His ball control is very good. His short passing is not the best but his recovery always makes up for it. His crossing is about as good as there has been - on par with Mr. Beckham. And he scores goals.

I'll make up for Isaiah's absence with some funny stats;
1 goal every 9 games over the past 3 seasons, an average of 5 a season.
Even more impressive is that he has got in double figures with assists in each of his last three seasons also. Right Back??? Well we'll say right wing-back.
He lost the ball more than anyone else in La Liga last season
He also won possession back more than any other player in the league.

On the other matters, Ronnie spent three great years with us. Two seasons ago he was well below average. Many were thinking he should have been sold last summer but he was given another chance. Remember, he took the Coppa America off to recover his fitness in order to be back to his best for the start of last season. Well seemingly he took last season off to put on weight for the long cold winter ahead.
If there was any possibility that we could have the old Ronnie back everyone who take it, and I'm sure Ronnie would be happier too. It is not going to happen though, as much as we want it to. We can find him a new home before we lose him for next to nothing next summer. Thats our only option.
Forget about the transfer fee, we also pay rather sizeable wages to the man too. Aswell as losing around €15million more of a transfer fee, we would also spend another €8million in wages for a player who won't play if you believe the wages in the newspapers.
I have one feeling about transferring him to Man City though... we should include a first option on Jo should he fulfill the potential he has showed in Russia. With Elano and Ronaldinho feeding him balls he could progress unbelievably.

Eto'o is an entirely different thing altogther. He is still the best striker on the planet. Forget Adebayor, forget Torres, forget Ibrahimovic, Eto'o will regularly score more goals than any of those.
The question of Ronnie is of his ability, Eto'o ability has nothing to do with it. And his main problem in his personality is more to do with hunger to win rather than his ego. When others around him don't play to his standard he lets them know. A fit, firing Eto'o will get into every team in the world, and that should include ours.
If we HAVE to sell him, we should not let me go for a little fee and spend more for his replacement, but we more than likely will.

On Dani Guiza, I have a bad feeling that he may do an Ezquerro, and not be nearly as good as the player he was at Athletic. Santi got 19 goals in his last season for Bilbao from the left wing but couldn't make the step up. Guiza doesn't seem to have the ball control or class for our needs.
I would still expect us to sign Huntelaar or Berbatov before him.

We are very nearly there though. Henrique is tying up the loose ends before completing his move also. We have to sign a left winger as priority 1. Even if we didn't sell Ronaldinho, he can't be played as winger anymore as he can't run. He could be played as an attacking midfielder if we can't find a place for him but we don't have any left winger. Palacio, Mancini, Silva and Arshavin have all been linked at different times; and I'm happy with any of the above

And this just in: Messi's father is talking stuff about him wanting to play in Serie A, if you believe what you read.

Some quotes:

"For the moment we are thinking of Barcelona, which is like a second home for Leo, and he wants to redeem himself after last season where he was plagued by injuries," said Mr. Messi.

"But it's also true that playing in Serie A is a dream for many players, including my son.

"And since no one knows what the future might hold, let's say it's possible that this desire may be realised sooner or later."

Asked about a possible approach by Inter, whose president Massimo Moratti is known to be a huge admirer of the player, Messi's father said: "Let's say there hasn't been any serious contact. But, I repeat, things might change in the future."

Oh and frankly, when I look at the present striker market, except for the fiscal complexities, I'd be all for keeping Eto'o. I think that he and Henry can tandem well together, if the coach makes it happen. You can't just roll them out there and expect them to play together perfectly.

Jim and John, very good comments. My only problem with Ronaldinho is that he didn't put out for the side. Yaya is taking a needle to play, and Ronaldinho is saying he's injured, while dancing the night away and getting fat. I'm calling BS on that one.

Oh, yeah....Ronaldinho. I know that Alves doesn't start many Brazilian national team matches, either.

As John said, our transfers fit Guardiola's policies so far. Rather than stars, let's get players who fit into the most likely system. They don't have to be spectacular. If they do their jobs, the system will work beautifully.

In many ways, that was the kludgey part about Henry. All he had to be was what he was at Arsenal, but out of position in a new system. He didn't realize that. Duh. Lots of injuries, and some clubhouse complexities that I wonder if Rijkaard wasn't the real catalyst for.

I expect the season won't start as well as it will end for us this year, as everyone learns how to play together. But on paper, Keita playing in front of Yaya, even if he is just okay, closes the midfield down. He pushes up and does his thing, and it's another threat outside of Messi, Iniesta and Xavi (and the unnamed striker signing....or Eto'o?) also rushing in.

Suddenly, you have what we had in the year of the double. I would argue that with Eto'o, Deco, Messi, Xavi and Ronaldinho (with Iniesta and Giuly thrown in). The box was jam-packed with action.

This year, it was Messi getting the ball at midfield and running at three defenders, while Eto'o ran about, and Henry dangled out there on the wing. No Deco type pushing up, and Xavi was forced to hang back to prevent counters because of the funky back line.

Caceres and Alves have addressed the back line funk, with Pique in case of any injuries. Then Milito returns, and we're deep and strong in back.

I like the summer signings because they've made us deeper, and brought tip-top role players into the side.

But we'll see. Most importantly, we aren't one key injury away, which is why I think Guardiola wants the striker type. Depth.

Very astute comments Jim. I think Barcelona's transfers have a lot of potential, but the first task on Barca's (Guardiola's) checklist should be establishing team unity, and that's hard to do with a boat load of new guys coming in. Madrid managed it last year, but in an unexpected way: the new talent coerced steller performances from the old gaurd. Everyone was playing well, the young guys were happy to get their chances and prove their worth, and Madrid was winning. That's not an easy model to reproduce, but time will tell.

One thing worth mentioning: Now that Alves is involved, Eto'o, Caceres, and Toure look much more deadly.

A class act that is extremely hungry to prove his worth. Excellent buy.

I'm with you Hawk, as I've said before. I find myself answering posts which are negative to Ronaldinho not because I thought he had a great season ( because he didn't) but because people seem to be re-writing history at times - so apologies for going over the same argument :)

R10 played most of his games in the first half of the season. Barca ( and he ) didn't play well but were still up level with Madrid. The game against Madrid we lost narrowly but the last third of the season was where we lost the title. R10 hardly played at all. Don't blame him. As i've said before if you were all right the team would have improved without him. They stunk the place out, including incidentally, Iniesta and Xavi ,who created virtually nothing over that period yet are (rightly) applauded for their inspirational football in the Euros ????

Andacagar, I'm assuming you mean R10 when you say he's not even getting a game for his national team. Could that be because he is injured? You can't have it both ways. Either he feigned injury and would have played for Brazil (my God, they could have done with him ) or he's injured in which case the statement isn't valid.

Nolan, I'm not sure what you mean about him being responsible for Marquez's bad behavior to Gio. Could you explain? I must have missed that one.

Again, i'm not defending him but let's keep it in proportion. We're talking about one of the best players ever to play for the club. Kxevin, your financial reckoning is pretty accurate and presents a decent reason for selling but only if we're getting going rate. You could just as easily argue that another great season would boost both of their prices. At the moment we're struggling to give them away.

Unlike many, I'm not all that excited by the summer signings. Didn't like the signings last summer (I was wrong about Toure) and i'll wait to see how the defence shapes up before I'm happy this year. If you're talking about Bojan and Iniesta being an improvement on R10 and Eto'o though I think a reality check is overdue.

If both of them are to move on let's let them do it with our thanks for the football we played during those two seasons. Our football may never be the same to watch again.

PS And can you imagine being a defender with both Messi and Alves running at you on that wing? Man, pick your poison, talk about pesadillas....

The thing I like about Alves more than any of his other attributes is his attitude. Every game Barca played against him that I saw he ran his socks off. And you do have to love those whipped in free kicks.

Speaking of guys running their socks off, I hate to admit it but Sergio Ramos looked very good playing for Spain in the Euros. I think he deserved to have gotten some more attention for his work rate and aggressiveness on the wing.

Along those lines, Xavi has really started to get a nose for goal. He came up with some big ones for Barca this year when the strikers weren't making chances and was frequently ghosting into the box in the Euros to add more threat to Spain's attack.

Right you are, Colin. Puyol isn't the man he once was, but in his zeal to support the colors, he sometimes forgets that and roams farther afield than he should. We see him get caught out sometimes, or he'll have to cover for someone else (Eric Abidal....paging Eric Abidal) and can't quite get there.

The speed, not only in Alves but in Caceres, will make Puyol and Abidal much better.

Andacagar, salaries have been going crazy for years, and will continue to. Five years ago, Arsenal wouldn't have asked 30-40 million for a player such as Adebayor with a straight face. But times have changed. Is Alves worth it? Dunno. In context of current salaries, yes. But that context is admittedly, a crazy one.

I got more excited about this signing after seeing how Puyol played really well at Euro 2008 with a young wingback next to him. Puyol will let Alves get forward, and Alves will be able to provide some cover for Captain Courageous' super aggressiveness. I like the synergy, not to mention the combination with Messi when Leo drifts right.

I also like the trend of bringing in young, quick defenders who can run all day and cover counters. Pep has got all sorts of players to mix around in defense and defensive mid, I'm really looking forward to seeing what tactics he draws up.

he doesnt even start on his national team. I mean he's very good but not good enough to be getting paid that much.

Gordinho has nothing less to offer us. Not to taint his memory, but he has already been given too many chances too redeem himself and is clearly a negative influence in the dressing room, and can be credited with poor behavior from Marquez to Gio.

Eto'o I have more mixed feelings about...his attitude is nothing new, it creates problems but Adebayor's actions have shown that he could possibly be worse, and Henry's attitude itself has caused problems before. While the likes of Guiza are still worth looking into - he'd provide a great contrast to Bojan and Henry (who I personally have no faith in, but accepted that he will stay and he deserves a chance in that case), I'd even be fine and bringing in Crespo - a poacher, perhaps past his best but they said the same about Ruud, he is unwanted at Inter and will be a fraction of the cost that Trezeguet or Drogba would be, who are both over 30 themselves.

Hawk, the only danger with not selling Ronaldinho and Eto'o now is the crap shoot aspect. If they suck and we waste another season with them, we've not only lost that season, but we're hosed because they'll be in the last year of their contract, with even lower value because a) they will have sucked and b) last contract year means we'll have to sell them for something, rather than losing them on a free transfer.

I'm even beginning to think that Eto'o deserves another shot. Not Gordinho, certainly, but Eto'o might well have been corrupted by the environment.

Which doesn't negate the fiscal complexities of keeping them.

Alves is a great player and a great signing. We don't need a new striker!
And we should not sell Ronaldinho. He is a great player adn just because he had an off season (and gotten a bit fat...) doesn't mean that we should just sell him (and cheap at that). We forget what he has done for this club and what he still can do. Same goes for Eto'o. And we need to put Henry in the middle.
And there is nothing wrong with having these big names as subs because when they come on:
1. They will be fresh.
2. They will be trying to prove that they deserve to be starting XI.
-Hawk

I'm over the moon. We have the best right back in the world, to add to the best holding mid, and one of the best back lines with Puyol and Caceres. Then we have Messi, the best player in the world, whatever those C. Ronaldo fans say.

Alves is also young, fit and durable. And I haven't heard any word about him having any ego problems. Given Guardiola's inclinations, I don't think he would have splashed for a pain in the butt.

Mind you, he has the ego of a great player in that he demands the best from everyone all the time, but Messi has that. So does Puyol, and Xavi, and Yaya. It's what makes great teams go.

Speaking of Xavi, everybody get ready for a good laugh:

Mourinho will nose around him, as well as other clubs. Okay, don't hurt yourselves howling. Xavi, like Puyol, is Blaugrana through and through. I can't even imagine him playing for another side. There aren't many players I can say that about, including Messi (though I would love it if he stayed with us forever, obviously). But Xavi is part of the core. He isn't going anywhere, and not just because of his 150 million Euro release clause.

Adebayor appears dead (again). Arsenal is wanting crazy numbers, and we just don't want to play that game, which is good. At 20 million, I'm in. 30 or 40? No freakin' way.

Villa is now saying he wants to stay at Valencia, and he's too short anyway.

The question now, is who?

Yes, welcome Dani Alves. Here's hoping you leave some of your ego in Seville. Bring your A game, bring your work ethic and bring your team spirit - and in return, we'll give you our loyalty. Oh, and lots of Euros.

what I don't like is that we are buying high and selling low!!
anyway, hope dani does well!

you sound really excited. let's hope this alves guy will be a good purchase.