Nope that was streller
Shaqiri to Stoke city
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Shaqiri would be a good signing for almost any club, let alone Stoke... they pulled that one out of their asses.
was pretty good for Inter until he got injured... didn't played much after that. Behind the striker is where he looks more comfortable and dangerous.
Hopefully he quickly adapts to the premier, good addition.
was pretty good for Inter until he got injured... didn't played much after that. Behind the striker is where he looks more comfortable and dangerous.
Hopefully he quickly adapts to the premier, good addition.
Seems like a dream signing and price for Liverpool. I'd feel like a dick having missed out on £12m Shaqiri to pay 2.5x more for Firmino.
Good player. Has to count as a major coup for Stoke, think no one saw this coming. But question is, can he do it on a cold, wet Wednesday night at ... errm ... home?
I remember when this bloke went to Bayern and there was an outcry, how we missed out on him because the Glazers were leaches and won't invest into the club thus we lost a "Top" player to Bayern.Stoke are going to be very interesting this year.
With Nzonzi and Begovic off and Bojan coming back from 12 months out....
They'll struggle IMO
With Nzonzi and Begovic off and Bojan coming back from 12 months out....
They'll struggle IMO
the perfect move to rekindle his career if he accepts
Few years ago who would have thought that Shaqiri and Bojan would be at Stoke lol.
Meanwhile in the real world Spanish teams have just won back to back Champions League and Europa League titles.
He wants to join Sevilla and has refused to sign a new contract with Stoke.
Got absolutely nothing to do with what is the best league.
Fair enough but that's open to interpretation. Everyone has their own idea but 'by a mile' is stretching it by any perspective.
Best ≠ most successful.
I could tell you right now which two teams will finish first and second in the Spanish league next season, and with reasonable accuracy for the next few seasons after that. Its boring.
Only two? I've been predicting which 4 teams will finish top four in PL for the past 10 seasons with a pretty good accuracy. I guess its also boring.
Overpaying for average players who have failed in other big leagues while underperforming in Europe doesn't make a strong league.
Poor Sassuolo still have a stronger attack than Stoke, despite the latter's spending.
That's an odd comment. He was mostly awful since Guardiola took over and had by far his best season at Bayern in the treble winning year when he got to start quite a lot of games in Heynckes' rotation. But that was before we signed Thiago and Götze. He got worse with each passing season and I don't remember more than 2 or 3 good games from him under Guardiola.
A player not becoming as good as expected, shocker!
It is quite interesting that while that Basel team which eliminated us had two top young players, Shaqiri was always the star, while Xhaka just looked good. A few years later, Xhaka has become one of the best midfielders in Bundesliga while Shaqiri will do it on a rainy Wednesday at Stoke.
Title winners in the last 10 years:
EPL: 3
La Liga: 3
Teams that have finished 2nd besides the 3 title winners in the last 10 years:
EPL: 1
La Liga: 1
Teams that have finished top 3 besides the 3 title winners in the last 10 years:
EPL: 2
La Liga: 3
I didn't bother looking up top 4 but I have a feeling it won't flatter the premier league.
Yes, la liga is just super predictable compared to the wild and open premier league.
EPL being the best/most competitive league in the world is the world's oldest legend.
For what is worth, in the last 10 years, 10 La Liga teams finished in top 4, while only 6 EPL teams did so.
I wonder might at least one of them have a change of mind if Stoke continue to bring in players like Shaqiri and Bojan.
Are either of them going to find a club who will guarantee them first team football, offer them the chance to play in Europe and can afford the same wages as Stoke? If they could get N'Zonzi to sign, Butland is an able replacement for Begovic and they could really push on.
Jaysus if this is "tubster".
Then i'm a fecking whale!
Or, I noticed that this incredibly healthy professional footballer wasn't a tubster, but decided to make my not-at-all-well-received 'Shakira - The (c)hips don't lie' gag anyway.
I want the chips he is having.
Number of La Liga winners in last 10 years outside that were not Barcelona or Real Madrid: 1
Number of times in last 10 years Barcelona and Real Madrid have failed to finish first and second: 2 (on both occasions they came third)
As I alluded to earlier in this thread, Shaqiri should have followed a similar path to Xhaka. He looked a prospect at Basel but I was shocked a team of Bayern's calibre went for him, especially given they had far superior players playing in his position. He obviously wasn't going to turn them down but I fully expected him to join a lesser team, and if he filled his potential, move onto bigger and better things. I feel Bayern came way too early in his career. I was never overawed by him and felt he was pretty overrated for a period of time when he was younger. Granted I had only seen him in the CL and at international level.
Also worth a mention from that Basel team is Sommer, he was excellent for them.
I've been saying this about Albanian players for a long time. Tons of potential never materialise.
I know them too well.
Don't expect great things from Januzaj, or Granit Xhaka either.
I know them too well.
Don't expect great things from Januzaj, or Granit Xhaka either.
I don't think he accepted the move, but he has been kicked out by Inter along with Vidic and Kuzmanovic-Obi (already sold).
It is a very weird comment, I guess based on just a very small sample. Also, while they are genetically Albanians, I don't see how it can be generalized in that way considering that Shaqiri for example was born and raised in Switzerland while Januzaj was born and raise in Belgium. In fact, I don't even know if Januzaj speaks Albanian in the first place. Education and country when they lived IMO is more important than pure genes.
Anyway, while IMO Januzaj is the most talented and Shaqiri was an early bloomer (cause of his physique), at the moment Xhaka seems to be the best one. I guess that is because unlike others he made gradual steps and didn't join a big club in the first place, limiting his playing time. I think that in a year or two, most of European teams will want him, and by then - unlike Shaqiri/Januzaj - he'll be ready for the next step.
Really surprised by this.
Be a great coup if Stoke end up with Bojan and Shaqiri either side of a striker at the start of this year.
Be a great coup if Stoke end up with Bojan and Shaqiri either side of a striker at the start of this year.
Its very difficult to uproot mentality. It would take 3-4 generations to do that and will never be done as you say in one generation. I see it every day (I hope you remember that I am Albanian too
)I have met all three of the aforementioned and can confirm to you that Adnan does speak Albanian. As he is so young the problem is currently his controlling father who is an absolute idiot.
Cana too had maybe the greatest potential from the current generation of Albanian players and that was also wasted by the misguidance from his father. Mustafi is in the same boat with his father as these two as well.
Once you grow up with a certain mentality around you it is very difficult to shake it off and that is why I say that their potential will be wasted.
I hope it does not but I've seen it time and again and find it difficult to see how it could possibly change at least in my generation.
Well yeah, the mentality is a bitch, but then being raised in completely different places should make them, a bit diverse.Its very difficult to uproot mentality. It would take 3-4 generations to do that and will never be done as you say in one generation. I see it every day (I hope you remember that I am Albanian too
I have met all three of the aforementioned and can confirm to you that Adnan does speak Albanian. As he is so young the problem is currently his controlling father who is an absolute idiot.
Cana too had maybe the greatest potential from the current generation of Albanian players and that was also wasted by the misguidance from his father. Mustafi is in the same boat with his father as these two as well.
Once you grow up with a certain mentality around you it is very difficult to shake it off and that is why I say that their potential will be wasted.
I hope it does not but I've seen it time and again and find it difficult to see how it could possibly change at least in my generation.
It might be as you said that their fathers are the problem. Cana was on a very good career, being the captain and best player of Marseille, then for some reasons moving to Sunderland and becoming immediately captain (and fan favorite). Then for reasons known to no-one, he moved to Galatasaray and since then his career hasn't been great. If he had styed at Snderland for an another season, then he could have moved to a bigger team. There were words that Arsenal had started being interested on him.
From an interview, Januzaj's dad looks an idiot, I agree.
At the moment, Xhaka and Mustafi are at best position and hopefully they take things one step at the time, even if they have offers from bigger clubs (Bayern for Xhaka, Madrid for Mustafi). Shaqiri could have been better than them but he wasted a few years at Bayern and now will apparently play for Stoke. Januzaj might be in the same boat in a year or two.
No one tell them...but why are Liverpool not back in for him?
Whichever team he goes to in England, i think going to be a excellent buy, hes very well suited to the league
Whichever team he goes to in England, i think going to be a excellent buy, hes very well suited to the league
Number of PL winners in last 10 years outside that were not Chelsea or United: 1
They just signed Firmino for big money. They now need a striker, not someone to play behind the striker.
He predominantly plays as a winger though, thought they will be straight on him if Sterling is to be leaving
His father is his agent and he is a massive gambler as well. The only reason why Cana moved so many clubs in such a short space of time was for the commissions. It ruined him as a player as it was no longer about his career but about the money and that's how it sadly goes for many of the others. Januzaj chose to play for Belgium because of all the money his father received. Being biased I would say he should have chosen Albania as we are on the rise and he would have had a guaranteed place in the side. Even England would have been a better choice career wise as unfortunately Belgium have such a flurry of young attacking midfield talents that it will be hard for him to even make the bench!
Zaza nor Berardi would neither start for Stoke over Crouch or Walters in a Premier League match..
Is that price for Shaqiri an overpayment?
Not rubbish, but not anywhere as good as he thinks.
He'll join the likes of Bojan and Arnautovic who were also potential superstars but never really reached that stage. All of them will be solid PL players, nothing more really.
I can't shake this feeling that Stoke are still a league 1 club. Shaqiri, what da feck?
Stoke could be a good move for him. Hughes is a decent manager who seems to be able to squeeze a fair bit extra out of average players and the club have ambitions of the top 8. As someone said above - a couple of good seasons at Stoke could earn a move back to a club with Champions League aspirations.
I'm surprised Newcastle haven't been linked to him. Would be a 'statement' signing for Ashley to placate the fans at a price that isn't ridiculous.
I'm surprised Newcastle haven't been linked to him. Would be a 'statement' signing for Ashley to placate the fans at a price that isn't ridiculous.
This is great. At Stoke, he will probably play most games and his price won't be too high on fantasy league. Will snap him up!
Nzonzi will be a big miss. Begovic was bang average last season though and not much better the season before. Good opportunity for Butland.
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