2016 Premier League Offseason Thread

[War Machine Dawg]

Basically no movement from Arsenal or Hull right now. Wenger looks like he's back to form and will Wenger the transfer window aGAIN. He apparently hasn't figured out that sometimes you might actually have to pay more than you think a guy is worth to get him, especially if it's a striker. We're down to chasing Lacazette, it seems. Unless Madrid finally bak down on their ridiculous 60M quid valuation for Morata.

Did see the rumour re-emerge that Arsenal is in the hunt to sign Koulibaly for Napoli. And we sold Isaac Hayden to Newcastle. He was surplus, but has a good rep as an up-and-comer. Played at Hull on loan last season. There was some speculation Bruce might try to buy him this offseason. Speaking of The Bruce...

Apparently he wants to bring in 4-6 new players to Hull. Hopefully it's solid young talent ready to break out, but I'm not holding my breath. I just wish this damn sell of the team to the American group would happen already. For all the good things they've done, the Allam clan needs to get their shit together and get gone already. They've already fractured the fan base and holding up the sale for so long isn't helping the situation. You want out, so get out already. So long as Hull avoids relegation, I'll consider 2016 a successful campaign for the Tigers.

[DudyDawg]

Looks almost 100% Kante to Chelsea. ?36 million

[DawgHouseUnited]

Looks almost 100% Kante to Chelsea. ?36 million

Was just coming along to mention that. I've seen it on the twitters, for what that's worth. I'd seen 32mil.

Southampton has been over here doing some preseason work. They played the DC United U23's and won 2-0. Kinda cool that they are over here for some preseason stuff.

[TheRef]

*sigh* I hate to see Kante go, but I knew deep down we wouldn't be able to keep him. Chelsea got themselves a good player for their midfield. Going to suck not seeing King Power across his chest this season. He's going to be one helluva problem in the midfield.

[DudyDawg]

Really upset real madrid missed out on Kante. For only 30 million.

[War Machine Dawg]

So Napoli's official radio station is saying today that Higuain is "almost certainly" coming to Arsenal. Supposedly the Gunners have offered to swap Giroud + 50M euros. And Giroud's agent has talked up the move, hinting that Giroud is keen on moving. Really, really hoping this move happens. Higuain would be a huge upgrade.

There's also chatter that Mahrez has snubbed a new contract offer from Leicester. If true, don't be surprised to see Arsenal make a strong push to land him.

Hull is supposedly closing in on a deal for Hal Robson-Kanu. I don't expect them to make many early deals, based on what Bruce has said. Basically we gotta wait for the big teams to get their business done and then see who's left and who we can afford.

[War Machine Dawg]

Hull City is Arsenal lite when it comes to injuries. The season hasn't even started and two of our key players, Michael Dawson and Moses Odubajo, have sustained major injuries. Dawson, our team captain and a starting CB, is set to miss 3 months. Odubajo was a breakout star at RB on last year's Championship Promotion squad and is set to miss 6 months.

In positive Hull news, it looks like we're on the verge of signing Hal Robson-Kanu. He'll be competing with or playing alongside Abel Hernandez in front of goal.

Arsenal appear to be chasing Mauro Icardi. Icardi's wife, who is also his agent, dropped a major hint yesterday with a tweet geotagged in London. Supposedly Arsenal is set to bid around 41.8M quid for him. Would love to see this happen. Arsenal is also on the verge of signing Rob Holding from Bolton. He's in London for a physical and working on personal terms. Bolton has already agreed to a purchase price of just over 2M quid. Signing Holding probably will allow Callum Chambers to go out on loan. Not the starter Arsenal fans were hoping for on the back line, but he's a very good up-and-coming player who could become a real star.

[BrunswickDawg]

Hey Ref, my Bhoys face the Evil Empire of the Foxes in a pre-season tune up Saturday. Does Celtic have a chance of defending our honor in Paradise or will y'all come and burn Glasgow down?

[DudyDawg]

Hey Ref, my Bhoys face the Evil Empire of the Foxes in a pre-season tune up Saturday. Does Celtic have a chance of defending our honor in Paradise or will y'all come and burn Glasgow down?

Imagine losing to a team from Gibraltar and then beating the English Champs ha. What a turn of events

[BrunswickDawg]

Imagine losing to a team from Gibraltar and then beating the English Champs ha. What a turn of events

No joke. At least we rebounded in the return match earlier this week and just flat out dominated the Red Imps. I was not thrilled about the Brendan Rodgers hire, and that 1st match was typical Rodgers. I bet we lay a Rodgers@Liverpool style turd tomorrow - because his teams tend to wilt on the big stage.

I'm hoping having Rangers back in the premiership will help Celtic get a little more edge and compete better in Euro.

[TheRef]

No joke. At least we rebounded in the return match earlier this week and just flat out dominated the Red Imps. I was not thrilled about the Brendan Rodgers hire, and that 1st match was typical Rodgers. I bet we lay a Rodgers@Liverpool style turd tomorrow - because his teams tend to wilt on the big stage.

I'm hoping having Rangers back in the premiership will help Celtic get a little more edge and compete better in Euro.

We've only lost Kante from our squad who won the Premier League. You know that Ranieri will have the squad ready to roll. Personally, I'm calling a 2-1 ending to the match with your Fox Overlords taking the victory in Glasgow.

[DudyDawg]

Higuain completed a medical with juventus. Looks like he's going to move

[TheRef]

In International Champions Cup news: Leicester defeated Celtic 1-1 (7-6 shootout) in Glasgow today. Your Fox overlords shall face off against Paris Saint Germain next weekend in Los Angeles. Oh how much money I would pay to watch that game in person.

[BrunswickDawg]

In International Champions Cup news: Leicester defeated Celtic 1-1 (7-6 shootout) in Glasgow today. Your Fox overlords shall face off against Paris Saint Germain next weekend in Los Angeles. Oh how much money I would pay to watch that game in person.

I was relatively pleased with what I read about Celtic's performance today. Maybe we can make some noise in Champions League this year!

[DudyDawg]

I was relatively pleased with what I read about Celtic's performance today. Maybe we can make some noise in Champions League this year!

As politely as I can say, I don't think you'll make more than a barely audible peep haha

[DudyDawg]

Higuain completed a medical with juventus. Looks like he's going to move

Its official. He moved for 94 million dollars. Wow.

[War Machine Dawg]

Hull City is in complete disarray. Steve Bruce resigned unexpectedly last week, just 3 weeks before the season opener with our defending Champion Fox Overlords. Reports say he was fed up with Vice Chairman Ehab Allam and the inability to bring new players onboard so far this summer. It all boiled over during a meeting between the two last week. Apparently the inability to sign 3 players in particular were the last straw for The Bruce. He desperately wanted the Sane brothers and Hal Robson-Kanu. Bruce also apparently wanted to sign Hayden from Arsenal, following his successful loan still with Hull during last season's Promotion run. But the foot dragging of Allam the Younger saw Hayden go to Newcastle instead.

Reports suggest that Hull already have a shortlist of 5 candidates they want to take the job. At the top of the list is supposedly Roberto Martinez. I'm gonna hurl if he's who we hire. He did a decent job with Swansea and was awful with Everton. Throw in the Hull injury crisis and relegation looks almost certain.

If you aren't a Hull fan and follow the ongoing saga, it's impossible to describe just how much damage the Allams have done to the team and supporters. While they've brought in money, they aren't big spenders. And then there's the ill-fated attempt to change the club name which totally fractured the fan base. They've been trying to sell the team and supposedly were deep into discussions with an American consortium. But the club announced talks have now been put on hold until the end of the transfer window. Lots of speculation that means the deal is dead. I really hope not, because the sooner Hull can get rid of the Allams, the faster they'll be competitive at the top tier.

Arsenal continue to chase a striker without success. Lyon publicly outed a proposal Wenger made for Lacazette and rejected it. Supposedly Wenger is lining up an improved bid, but I'm not holding my breath. I don't the The Cheapskate is willing to pay out the cash necessary to get an upgrade. And in other bad news, The BFG - Per Mertesacker - has sustained a major knee injury. Wenger confirmed he'll miss "months." Media reports are saying it's 5 months and could wind up being longer. Arsenal are now desperate for an experienced center half at the back. It's appearing likely that Callum Chambers and new kid Rob Holding could see some extended PT.

[DudyDawg]

Id take martinez gladly if I'm a Hull fan. He won an FA cup with Wigan. He will keep you up

[War Machine Dawg]

Id take martinez gladly if I'm a Hull fan. He won an FA cup with Wigan. He will keep you up

I just wasn't impressed with him at Everton. That club should have done way more than they did with what they had. And his philosophy of building from the back offensively was a major problem that wound up making Tim Howard, who I'll admit is a little past his prime, look worse than he was. Lots of cheap, unnecessary goals because of terrible possessions that left Howard exposed with no chance.

That said, Martinez could be one of those guys who just doesn't do well in the major club environment. He might need the challenge of building smaller clubs. Wouldn't be the first manager in sports who struggled handling all the other stuff that comes with being the boss at a big club. Still, unless the Allams spend some money for players and finally sell the team, I don't see the situation improving much.

If I might ask, Dudy, why are you so high on Martinez after his run at Everton? Other than his job at Wigan, I should add.

[DudyDawg]

He wasn't great at Everton, but I think the expectations were unfairly high. They can't expect to be fighting for Europe. They aren't big enough and don't have the talent. So I don't think he was great there but he wasn't as bad as he was made out to be.