Seeing that most of the top leagues are already decided, let the silly season begin!

Guidelines:

• Thought it would be interesting for discussion's sake if people would do write ups on the club you support on what you think the team needs, who your transfer targets are, and players you think your club should buy.
  
  
• Please provide a link to any new rumor or signing. If seen/heard on media outside the internet, please produce a source.
  
  
• Reposting anything goal.com produces should lead to a 3 day temp ban (only sethypooh21 and 72off can enforce this unfortunately)
  
  
• Mild trolling is encouraged if a rival club signs anyone with a funny name and/or is a homeless man.

Luka Modric one time!!

Expectations started high coming off a historic double in 2010 and a perfect start to the season, but things unraveled quickly when the ball changed colors, and the league’s best team in August and September turned into the league’s worst team in November. After scoring 103 goals in 09/10, Chelsea averaged almost 1 goal less per game in 10/11.

Out
Carlo Ancelotti
Jose Bosingwa
Yuri Zhirkov
Paulo Ferreira
Salomon Kalou
Nicolas Anelka
Henrique Hilarious

Carlo is sure to get the sack on the 23rd of May after a trophyless season. None of these should be a big surprise to anyone that follows the Premier League, as most have been heavily rumored for months. Kalou will make his way to Turkey for regular playing time, and Anelka can retire to MLS or whatever league will have him.

I believe the club will not let Drogba leave as he only has a year left on his contract and is much more valuable than any price we would conceivably fetch for him (if someone offers 20m for him, all bets are off though).

If Neymar is in than Malouda is out as well.


In
New Manager (bookies top 3 bookies are Guus Hiddink, Andre Villas-Boas, and Jose Mourinho)
Van der Wiel
One of Neymar/Alexis Sanchez
A MF (hopefully not named Kaka)

I believe that one of Guus or AVB will be the manager next season, should we bring in anyone else (not named the Special One) please come visit me and put me out of my misery. Should it be Guus or AVB, we will almost certainly be set up in a 4-3-3.

Van der Wiel has been rumored for months to be joining the club as our new modern RB, and would be surprised if it didn’t happen with Bossy and Ferreira both set to leave

We will certainly need a MF who likes to get forward if there are to be blue ribbons on the trophy next season. This season saw the decline of Lampard, who in my opinion should play a reduced role next season, but will undoubtedly play 50+ games if he doesn’t get another hernia from shagging Christine Bleakley too much this summer. Essien too showed signs that he is not the player that he was 3 years ago after missing much of the last 2 to injury. While we focused on our back line and forward positions in the January market, it was our disappointing and pedestrian midfield that cost us the title.

Squad

Cech*
Turnbull
Delac (possibly back to Vitesse on loan)

Cole*
JT*
David Luiz*
Van der Wiel*
Ivanovic
Alex
Bertrand/van Aanholt

Lampard*
Mikel*
Ramires*
Essien
Benayoun
new transfer tbd MF

Torres*
Neymar/Sanchez*
Malouda*
Drogba
Sturridge
Kakuta

*projected starting XI

Youth
Langerdang is much more qualified to give a youth status report on who is staying and going, but I feel I read enough to take a stab at it.

While most of you know that I think he could have had a place in our starting XI most of the season, Josh McEachran will most likely be going out on loan (to en vogue choice Bolton thanks to successful loan spells by Wilshire and Sturridge over the past 18 months.

Mancienne and Jack Cork are sure to leave, as there’s no open spot for them to come through (though something tells me Cork is our next Scotty Parker)

Kaka's mom says they will be in London next August

Kaka gonna dominate the Championship with WH

Hope Carlo doesn't get the sack, it's hard to get a better manager than him plus it'd be nice to have some stability in the club especially with a manger as classy as him.

If he does get the sack Hiddink as sporting director with Villas Boas as manager sounds good. Saw Van Basten mentioned as a possible manger under Hiddink as well but I don't think they really went into it.

Nice post BfC. I might post some thoughts on United tomorrow if I can find the time/energy. I'm not entirely sure what my thoughts are though tbh (this whole Sahin to Real thing has really knocked the wind out of my transfer muppet sails) so it will probably be a lot of rambling.

If Oski or someone who can do a better job then I doesn't put up an Arsenal writeup I'll do one tomorrow.

Van der Wiel has been close to awful this season tho. Still think it's purely motivational and he would do better for Chelsea but doubt any scout that saw him play this season is convinced by what he showed for us. The bastard.

A dismal end of the season has yet again got pitchforks out for Arsene Wenger as a 6th season without a trophy is six seasons too many. Though in mild contention for four trophies in February, this latest run in failure has exposed the all too familiar cracks within this Arsenal squad. The big question still beckons: will Arsene spend? If not, it will be another long year. Besides our overwhelming excess of midget sized central attacking midfielders, we have glaring weakness in nearly every other position.

Primary needs

• Defensive midfielder: Alex Song is not the answer. Because he lucksacked a few important goals early in the season, Arsenal fans thought he finally combined his defensive prowess with a newfound nose for the ball in the final third. By now, most of us realize he has neither. He still hasn't learned how to properly defend (kicking the opponent in the shin as they are countering does not qualify as defending) and has been worthless in more advanced positioning. No, he is not wearing a metal boot. He just has the touch of someone that used to be a central defender. More concerning is his lack of a back up. Diaby is too inconsistent and offensive minded for a CM and Denilson is Denilson and Arsenal was cursed when he got his "special talent" permit to play in England.
• Second central striker: As opposed to the voices in his head, Nicklas Bendtner is not the next Pele. His second, most recent outburst about lack of playing time surely signals the end for the confident Danish striker and I would be surprised if he's wearing the Gunner crest come August. Chamahk has provided useful, but is not the answer for us.
• Winger: There's a good chance Walcott plays centrally for us next year and Arshavin may leave (though I think I might be his only fan remaining), so a winger that can provide width and cross would be great. This is even of more importance because our fullbacks cannot provide any attacking presence.
• Central defender: I don't think we will go after a CB which seems bizarre because we have shown consistent weaknesses there. I just don't think Arsene views guys like Cahill or Samba or Jagielka as clear cut upgrades over Djourou/Kos, assuming Vermaelan is back healthy next year. And we sure as hell won't dish out the 20M+ needed for a quality CB.
• Left Back: Clichy doesn't know how to defend anymore and his positioning is ****. Gibbs has regressed and has glass limbs to boot. This is one spot that we NEED to upgrade but definitely won't because Wenger gonna Wenger. I would like to see someone like Leighton Baines or Fabio Coentrao though.

Who will we target?

• Defensive midfielder: a guy like Toulalan would be perfect, but a more realistic option is Yann M'Vila. He's young and French. Sound familiar? He also has a high work rate and can put in a good tackle. Invariably, we will be linked again with Felipe Melo for the 5th straight transfer window, at which point you can find me standing by the nearest cliff.
• Second central striker: we are rumored to have put in a 25M offer to Benzema which would be amazing. Also rumblings with Falcao (unlikely) and some French guy named Gameiro who I've never seen play before.
• Winger: Hazard has to be the primary target here
  
  

Will Cesc Leave?



No one knows, hopefully not, FU BARCA.

Who else can leave?

See ya Bendtner, Arshavin , Denilson, Rosicky

Tactical changes?

I would like to see a return of a 442 variant where RVP can drop into deeper positions. Of course, this can only happen if we sign another striker but this is my dream post after all. Also, the double CM pivot we used this year just was totally ineffective. Wilshere played his part, but Song is not talented enough to play that role.


----------Benzema-----RVP-----------
-----Nasri------------------Walcott----
---------------Jack--Cesc--------------
-Clichy------Verm--Djourou---Sagna-
----------------Chezzers---------------

Bench: Chamahk, Hazard, M'Vila, Song, Ramsey, Koscielny, Fabianski, Almunia

This would probably be too lightweight vs top 6 teams so probably Song or M'Vila would get the nod in those games. Or sacrifice a striker/AM for one of the defensive mids.


Full Squad:
Forwards: RVP, Benzema, Walcott, Hazard, Vela, JET
Midfielders: Cesc, Wilshere, Nasri, Ramsey, Song, M'Vila, Diaby
Defenders: Vermaelen, Djourou, Sagna, Clichy, Gibbs, Eboue, Squillaci, Bartley
Goalkeepers: Szczesny, Fabianski, Mannone

One time?

nice write-up phil, pretty much agree with all of it. Hazard and M'Vila my two main hopes.

Im going to do Liverpool it if nobody does by June

I would like to believe that Hazard, Benzema, M'Vila and Sakho are all out of your price range but maybe Kroenke and Arsene loosen the purse strings a little this season as a gesture to the fans of look new owner lots of money to spend. Hopefully not though.

Some quick thoughts on your post: If you buy Hazard he will go straight into the starting 11. Nasri will move to the right or the middle. Also you said Toulalan would be perfect but M'Vila is already better than Toulalan and is seven years younger. Also I would be very surprised to see Arsene switch back to a 4-4-2.

i was torn over Carlo during the bad 'moment' that we had over the winter. but some of the decisions he's made this year have been mind-bogglingly poor. sort of came to a head sunday. seems to be incapable of midgame tactics, sticks with the same players on reputation rather than where they should fit, inability to incorporate the youth that we have coming up into the team, etc.

as for hiddink as sporting director, i'm pretty much meh on that happening. his one recommended signing was zhirkov, and he hasn't really worked out, though malouda peaked under guus and YZ kinda got stuck. i'd rather we not blindly hire a director until we know who the manager is going to be anyways, and ideally they would be on the same page.

Toulalan offers more versatility since he can play in central defense, as well as offer intangibles like leadership that this team deeply needs. I still am not convinced that a "winning mentality" exists but this season has made me at least possibly understanding of that.

With Hazard, I think he starts by midseason but I think he's the type of player that needs a few months to adjust to the physicality of English football.

Good post Phil, think every Arsenal fan on here will agree with just about all of it.

You don't have Almunia as leaving. Are we assuming we're just taking him out behind the barn and putting an end to his misery rather then letting him torture the fanbase of some other club? I think we let Almunia and Mannone go, it's best for both sides.

I can see us spending 20+ on one player with the pressure on Wenger and Kroenke becoming the majority owner. This is amplified if it is known Cesc wants to leave. There would then be pressure to replace him with a big name. Benzema, Sakho and Hazard seem to be the only serious options in this price range.

I hope it was just because of the World Cup that the Cesc saga dragged on so long last season. It was really bad for the club, even though we ended up retaining him. We need to know early on in the window if he is staying or going. We can't go throughout most of the Summer not knowing with Barca putting bids in and contradictory reports coming from both sides.

I think it's more likely Lansbury gets a shot then Vela and especially JET. I could see Vela sold as well as Bendtner. Lansbury will probably start the season for us and get in some CC games before deciding if he will stay in the squad or go back on loan.

Only problem I have with Phil's roster is the squad needs to be slightly trimmed and more varied. As you say, we have too much CAM type players, even without listing Lansbury. We have too many mediocre bench players who do the same thing. Your squad rectifies this more then what we are ending this season with, but we're a frail bunch and need to prepare for the games RVP, Cesc and others will undoubtedly miss.

Who do we think is better at this moment, Benzema or Hazard? Saw Hazard 2-3x last season, but only like once this season. I just can't see us getting both (one would make me very happy), two attacking players that are young, proven and cost over 20? Count be as skeptical.

That was the one question mark I had in phillipsaurus' post. Are Arse fans are happy with Sza(pdkhfakdfjajdfk)sny in net?

I think it will be unlikely we will win the title in the next 2 years if he is our starter for 50+ games. Not impossible, but he is still very young and pretty raw. But an improvement in GK has gone from the top of the list last summer to now 3rd or 4th priority.

aofrantic,

I honestly forgot Almunia existed. I guess that all the mental harm he's done to me as caused me to permanently block him out of my memory.

About Lansbury and JET: you are probably right as I don't really follow what goes on in the youth ranks, nor do I really pay attention to how are youngsters are doing on loan besides general reports now and then. Vela, I don't know what do think of. He's flopped at West Brom so could we even get any value from selling him? Who knows, I just think Wenger will give him one more shot.

If we can only get one of Benzema or Hazard, I'd probably take Benzema since he is more likely to help us now and gives us a unique presence up front. I'm not sure how much the values of potential GOAT, Arshavin, Denilson, Rosicky, and Almunia have plummeted in the last 2 years, but we still should be able to squeeze 30M euros out of them.

Apparently, that Japanese kid Ryo Miyachi is doing well at Feyenoord and might be able to play winger for us if we can't get Hazard (probably not next year though since he's also not ready).

as for GK, meh, I just don't see Wenger spending money on someone better than Chezzers. I'm not sure I share Wenger's sentiments that he can grow into an elite GK, but I think he'll be at least manageable next year.

Pretty sure QPR have Routledge are set to sign Wayne Routledge from Newcastle on a permanent basis.

They generally plays a 4-4-2 formation where the wingers are more attacking and the central midfielders are more defensive. Derry is almost a fifth defender, while Faurlin does tend to get a bit more involved in the attack, but not to the extent of Taarabt and Routledge.


----------SIGNING-----Tommy Smith-----------
-----Taarabt----------------Routledge----
---------------Faurlin--Derry--------------
-SIGNING----Hall--Gorkss---SIGNING-
----------------Kenny---------------

I am okay with the above. I think both Bradley Orr and Clint hill at the fullbacks need to be replaced, and an additional center back should be purchased because Fitz Hall has not proven he can stay fit. Tommy Smith is a guy who will come off the bench because he can play either of the winger spots or fill in up front, but I don't think he should be starting in the Premier League.

As far as targets, who would it be reasonable for QPR to acquire? I'd really like Kyle Walker as a RB and Peter Crouch as a striker up front, both from Spurs, but I doubt Harry will part with either of them.

I'm hoping to be able to bump this thread with big QPR signings this summer

I forgot about Frimmpong as well as Miyaichi, but Frimmpong coming off the ACL/MCL tear will most certainly be out on loan in the Championship and the only decision for Miyaichi is if we keep him on loan at Feyenoord for a year or loan him to a Championship side. The fact we're still forgetting players just accentuates the fact we need to sell off those who haven't performed this year. I like Arshavin, but if Hazard signs, the second ink is to paper, goodbye comrade. Chamakh is also omitted from your full squad listing.

30 for GOAT, Arshavin, Denilson, Rosicky, and Almunia might be pushing it, 20m and a couple dozen of balls? Think Traore gets sold, not sure about Vela.

Full squad wishlist
Forwards: RVP, Benzema, Walcott, Hazard, Chamakh
Midfielders: Cesc, Wilshere, Nasri, Ramsey, Song, M'Vila, Diaby, Lansbury
Defenders: Vermaelen, Djourou, Sagna, Clichy, Gibbs, Eboue, Squillaci, Bartley
Goalkeepers: Szczesny, Fabianski, Shea

on loan: JET, Frimmpong, Miyaichi, Miquel, Eastmond, Watt, like 5-6 other not as notable players.
N

Anyone can tell me about Sunderland? I have not followed very closely this year and am curious of potential changes.

I think we have little to no chance at winning the league next year unless we improve our back line and GK and unfortunately, I don't see Wenger allocating enough funds to do that. Outside of England, most people haven't caught on that Clichy sucks so maybe we can recoup some decent $ for him and get either a real solid defensive LB or a really good attacking LB, assuming we couldn't afford one that's good at both (current form Clichy is good at neither). As for center back, Vermaelen's health is the key and I think our central defense will be much better next year. If an effort is made to improve the defense overall, then yeah, I'd like to see a upgrade at GK (even if it's in the short term until Chezzers matures.

I've heard Muntari is basically out the door as they are unable to pay his high wages any longer (commentator during last Sunderland game). Getting healthy will be the main thing for them as well as if Welbeck is good enough to get into the United squad. United fans will be more knowledgeable about his situation.

After selling Bent, Sunderland ran pretty terribad with injuries to their strikers. They were literally playing with zero first team strikers. I think they will be able to invest some money into the squad and should be one of the teams that is not in danger of going down but not really competing for one of the european spots

yeah - we have way too many fringe type players. Also forgot about Frimpong, wasn't he doing awesome at reserves before the injury?

I think 30M is reasonable.
potential GOAT - 12M
Arshavin - 10M
Denilson - 5M
Rosicky - 4M
LOLmunia - 1M/free

I think those are actually conservative. I can foresee a scenario where a team like Shaktar decides to completely over pay for Denilson because Brazilian and they love Brazilians. And GOAT was rumored to be up for sale for 15M to Bayern this January.