Fabio - taking care of business

It will have been a long week for John Terry - probably similar in length to the wait for Christmas when you’re a toddler, or for STD results if you’re the kind of teenager who just can’t be bothered with Rubber Jonathans when you’re getting your groove on. Time to wise up, kids.

Anyway, the good/bad news for Terry is that Fabio Capello has touched down in Blighty, so it’s only a matter of hours before he sits down his captain and mumbles in broken English something along the lines of: “so, JT, tell me all about this horrible sex you’ve been having.”

Should be fun.

Might it look a little something like THIS?

Over the weekend, there was much speculation - mostly coming from the throbbing football brains at The Times - about which names might appear on the Mancini wish list for the January transfer window, the combined cost of which would be absolutely astronomical.

But, should all of Mancini’s wildest dreams somehow come true, Man City can look forward to seeing the Juventus centre back/left back Giorgio Chiellini putting serious strain on the Lescott/Bridge axis of defensive unsophistication, with Inter’s Brazilian right back Maicon on the other side essentially putting paid to any hopes that Micah Richards might have had about coming good again.

Matthew Upson’s name is also in the mix.

In the midfield, there is talk of scuppering Mascherano’s move to Barcelona, and taking Yaya Toure from the Nou Camp while they’re at it. Whilst any potential Robinho/Bellamy-shaped holes should be easy enough to fill, should the rumours be true about Franck Ribery and Benfica’s Angel Di Maria. Both are marked men.

And so to the front, where Adebayor, Tevez and Santa Cruz have been slugging it out. The biggest whisper on the street is that City could yet be moved to spend around £80 million to tempt Fernando Torres to cross over from Liverpool, whilst there are also busy nattering voices suggesting that Thierry Henry and Sergio Aguero would provide the extra glitz and firepower that the men in robes so desire.

Hence, might this be the Man City line up for the new decade?

Given, Maicon, K Toure, Upson, Chiellini, Ribery, Mascherano, Y Toure, Di Maria, Aguero, Torres

It would be quite a team. 

Thoughts?

The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies

Frank Ribery to Manchester City
Ribery was keen to leave Germany in the summer, but Manchester United swallowed hard and balked at the price tag. The owners of Manchester City by contrast, don’t balk at much, and could no doubt find a spare shekel or two down the back of the couch to pass on to Bayern. Robinho’s replacement in January perhaps?

Thespoiler truth-ometer: If Bayern get out of their qualifying group, Ribery would be unlikely to walk out on a Champions League campaign. Having kept his powder dry, the French hunk is surely most likely to wait an extra few months, and attempt to engineer a move to one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Romelu Lakuku to Arsenal
This 16 yr old striker has been keeping Tony Adams off the streets of late, with the ex Arsenal skipper being dispatched to spy on the Anderlecht striker. (Thanks to Caughtoffside for bringing the link to our attention)

Thespoiler truth-ometer: Given Adams’ scouting reports back to Wenger regarding Thomas Vermaelen (”I think Thomas is a very good player but I don’t think he’s ready for the Arsenal,”) and Emmanuel Adebayor (”Adebayor was playing for Monaco against Lille and he said what do you think of the left winger and I actually said no!”), it’s unlikely the Arsenal boss would send Big Tone to watch anyone he wanted to sign. It might be a decoy.

Vadis Odjidja to Tottenham
Premier League commentators everywhere will be praying this transfer doesn’t go through, but today’s Sun reveals Spurs are monitoring the 20yr old from Brugge. Odjidja can play anywhere across the back line or midfield, so should be a suitable replacement for any of Spurs’ injury-prone defenders / midfielders.

Thespoiler truth-ometer: A signing more in tune with the imaginative Comoli regime, rather than Harry’s transfer plan of just bringing back old Spurs players or anyone managed by Willie McKay. The Current Bun quote Odjidja simply as saying, “I cannot rule anything out,” which is simply the Sun saying, “We need to fill some space here. Anyone got a quote?”