I guess you know the formation we are playing and Hughes' plans for using Tevez.

I would guess that he is going for a 433 (with Tevez, Eto'o and Robinho as the front three).

On the subject of Eto'o, there is going to be a little twist by the sounds of it. There are rumblings that Eto'o is looking to try and extract a loyalty payment of about £10m from Barca before he leaves. I don't know much about this but it is alleged that Eto'o will turn to Barca and state that he doesn't want to leave. I woudl imagine his aim is to force their hand. If Eto'o doesn't leave, Barca will struggle to pay the fee for David Villa. I guess we will see.

I'm guessing the back up front three would look like this:

Bellamy - RSC - SWP

?

It sounds to me as if Barca are keener to see him go than the player himself. They see his contract running out and are more interested in Villa as he is likely to be there for a significantly longer period of time.

I believe City have said that they will not be offering the sky high wages as suggested and they would be in line with Robinho's as not to cause player unrest. All very sensible and I applaud that but it might just tip the scales against us getting our man.

Personally, I would be very surprised if he signed for us. The vibes from Spain are not good.

I can see that being the case. TBH that's a very good first choice.

Agreed.

I know many would disagree but in terms of value for money, I would think Adebayor is maybe a better option for us. <i>

Nobody knows for sure what players wages are. If he signs he'll be on "£250k a week" no matter what the truth is. I've heard that Barrys wages are anything from £70k - £150k depending on who you speak to. When you're rich, that happens.

Adebayor would be great alongside Tevez and Robinho.

If Citeh sign all the players they're linked to, he may have to play in goal.

Looking forward to the England game tonight





(is it just me who can see the feckin Germans winning on penaltys)

It's inevitable.

And the money saved on Eto'o could be spent on a solid gold bathroom for the Sheikh's football pitch sized motorhome. WTF do you give a schit about value for money for? You get Eto'o and you're getting a guy with 2 CL medals from the present European Champions. You'd be getting the guy who just helped Barcelona beat United in the final. You get a guy who's scored 108 goals on 145 games. You'd be getting a guy who has scored in two CL finals. With Adebayor you'd be getting a bit of a donkey who's had a couple of good seasons at Arsenal.

One of those signings would be an awesome signing. One of them would be a "Meh" signing". But yeah, worry about the billionaire's bank balance and try to make out your better off with Adebayor.

if eto'o is worth the type of wages they are quoting in the press, i shudder to think what torres, villa, ronaldo, and gerrard are worth....................

England U21: Loach, Cranie, Richards, Onuoha, Gibbs, Cattermole, Muamba, Noble, Milner, Walcott, Johnson.
Subs: Lewis, Taylor, Stearman, Gardner, Rodwell, Tomkins, Mancienne, Driver, Rose.

West Ham player as captain. Good omen. We last won this in 1984.

I can only compare torres with Eto'o. Eto'o was far superior to Torres in Spain so I guess the Spaniard would be worth less

Bollox. Guess the score. As suspected we're well short up front. Walcott isolated and no-one filling in. Get a grip, Psycho. It's not rocket surgery.

Very different now from then. Eto'o is older than Torres, Torres has improved so much since his Atletico days. Back then he was 'potential', a diamond in a sh'it team, since then his value has probably tripled compared to what we signed him for.

Torres would cost more to sign that Eto'o, seen as Eto'o has a year left on his deal and is a few years older. Plus, I think Torres is a better player now, but that's just me.

Very true. I cant believe that City dont have some salary structure and are prepared to make each new signing the highest paid player in the league. I'd imagine that Eto'o would "only" be paid the same as Robinho and Tevez. I'd also expect that there would be some parity when it comes to players such as Barry, Santa Cruz, Ireland, Bellamy & De Jong. Otherwise it would be a recipe for player strife.

Doesnt matter too me its not our money and he will improve us no end up wiht tvez in the middle and eto and robinho either side with the 3 across the midfeild (Barry, ireland and Swp) Wouldnt like to see the goals scored at home)

actually yeah i would

Jesus, is there a Citeh conference today?

no its just that united and liverpool realise there going backwards

2-0 to the Germans now, horrendous keeping.

that was a shocking peice of keeping

Goodnight Vienna. Or possibly Berlin. Pearce hasn't changed anything. They're running on empty. Disappointing.

We were always going to struggle with our suspended players. Still, can't knock the lads for getting to the final.

True, they were a big miss, and Welbeck was supposed to be in the squad as well. Hopefully this will teach Joe Hart to cut down on the 'sledging'.