2016 Premier League Offseason Thread

[War Machine Dawg]

Yup, gotze is gone from bayern. All signs pointed to anfield, but since they lost the Europa League final and get no champions League play he is apparently skeptical. It would be huge if they got him anyways though

Gotta wonder who else might come sniffing. Doesn't Pep have a clause to prevent him from poaching current Bayern players? Not a ton of clubs will be able to afford him, even if his price will be a little down due to it being obvious Bayern wants to move him. Maybe an Italian or Spanish club? Return to Dortmund? Spurs and Arsenal won't go after him. He may have to miss CL for a year regardless.

[War Machine Dawg]

Anyone else watching the Championship promotion? Hull and Wednesday are tied at nil at the half. Hull dominated the last 20 minutes or so, but just couldn't get one to go. Had a couple of damn good chances, though. If it keeps up, it's just a matter of time. Let's go Hull!!!

[War Machine Dawg]

And your Championship Promotion Winners: Hull City!!!!!! City 1 - 0 Sheffield Wednesday is your score at full time. Mo Diame hit a thunderbolt from long range into the upper corner in the 73rd minute to put Hull ahead. It was going to take a fantastic strike to beat Wednesday's keeper, who was brilliant all day, and Diame delivered. Steve Bruce becomes the first manager to win promotion to the Premier League 4 times. Unbelievable match and game. And now I finally get to say:

HULL CITY IS BACK!!!!!!!!

[TheRef]

Welcome back Hull City after a short hiatus. Just hope you're ready for your Fox overlords when you decide to come back to the King Power.

[DudyDawg]

****ing champions of Europe again, best club in the world. 11 European titles for Real Madrid, and it couldn't have been anymore nervy. On to the Euros!!

[War Machine Dawg]

****ing champions of Europe again, best club in the world. 11 European titles for Real Madrid, and it couldn't have been anymore nervy. On to the Euros!!

It was a great game from what I saw, Dudy. Fell asleep for most of the middle, but woke up in time to see the last 5 minutes of extra time and the penalties.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

So Hull is back in the premiere league? I'm swapping back to them. I preferred to be a fan of the scrappy underdog as opposed to a perennial power. Being a life long State fan and graduate, I don't know any other kind of fandom.

I feel ya, that's why I'm toiling on as a Newcastle fan. The good news is that Rafa is staying. So the future looks somewhat bright for us.

I'd say top 6 would be expected. You'll add some talent with the money you won, which will help with depth, but you'll be in the EPL, CL, FA and League cups at least. Thats a lot of games to succeed in for a smaller club. So I'd say top 6 and decent showings in the other tournaments would be considered a great year for Leicester. I agree you'll keep vardy, Huth, Morgan, Smeichel (spelling is off), and I think Drinkwater. Someone may buy him for more than he's worth, but I think he would be a flop. He's a system guy (luckily for you it was your system he fits perfectly) so I think he'd best served to stay. I'd be amazed if you don't lose Mahrez, Schlupp, and Konte at the least. Maybe a few others, but I think you'll keep enough of the core to have another good year. The question is, do the Premier League giants (City, United, Chelsea, Arsenal) the past few years all completely flop like last year? My guess is no for 1 or 2, so that makes your job much harder.

I heard in a Men in Blazers podcast that Leicester become something like the 12th wealthiest club in Europe by winning the Premier League. It will be interesting to see what they're able to do going into next season since they actually have a fair amount of money to throw around.

[TheRef]

I heard in a Men in Blazers podcast that Leicester become something like the 12th wealthiest club in Europe by winning the Premier League. It will be interesting to see what they're able to do going into next season since they actually have a fair amount of money to throw around.

I'm just waiting to see how the Transfer window goes in the offseason.

[DudyDawg]

Ilkay gundogan has officially signed for Manchester city from Dortmund on a 4 year deal.

[DawgHouseUnited]

Well after saying that negotiations with Ronald Koeman are going well, I read that the Southampton boss is close to inking a deal with Everton. Koeman has 1 more year on his current contract with the Saints, and they were/are in negotiations, but he may head out.

It's also looking like we may wind up losing Victor Wanyama. Contract work is not going well and he may wind up being sold off.

[Liverpooldawg]

I feel ya, that's why I'm toiling on as a Newcastle fan. The good news is that Rafa is staying. So the future looks somewhat bright for us.


I heard in a Men in Blazers podcast that Leicester become something like the 12th wealthiest club in Europe by winning the Premier League. It will be interesting to see what they're able to do going into next season since they actually have a fair amount of money to throw around.

Two words: Blackburn Rovers

[War Machine Dawg]

Arsenal triggers Jamie Vardy's release clause. We gonna poach him from our Fox Overlords!!!!

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

For some off season discussion: Does anyone here have a 2nd team/lower tier team they pull for? I know one of the Liverpool guys pulls for Norwich as a 2nd team, are there any others out there?

Personally, I started a career mode in FIFA with Burton Albion two years ago and figured it would be fun to follow them in real life as my lower tier team. Only now they aren't my lower tier team, as they've been promoted in each of the past two seasons and will be playing in the Championship along with Newcastle next season. Which is incredible when considering that Newcastle plays in front of 52,000 people at St. James' Park while Burton Albion's home capacity is just below 7,000.

[Liverpooldawg]

That would be me. Norwich became my second team last May. We were in Norwich for a few days between the first and second legs of their playoff tie with their great East Anglian rivals Ipswich. We actually had to leave town the morning of the second leg at Carrow Road. We drove by the ground as the early bird fans were arriving and met the Ipswich supporter's club coaches on the road between Ipswich and Norwich on our way down to our cruise ship at Harwich. They were down 2-0 and the ones we could see through the bus windows were a grim faced lot. The pub next door to the hotel kept us awake with the Norwich fans singing thier songs the night before the game. It was hard not to get caught up in it. I loved the town too.

I have a few others I have picked up for various reasons over the years: Nottingham Forrest, Derby County, Altrincham, Salisbury City, and Portsmouth, along with current EPL side Crystal Palace are the main ones. There are some others that I have a passing interest in.

[War Machine Dawg]

For some off season discussion: Does anyone here have a 2nd team/lower tier team they pull for? I know one of the Liverpool guys pulls for Norwich as a 2nd team, are there any others out there?

Personally, I started a career mode in FIFA with Burton Albion two years ago and figured it would be fun to follow them in real life as my lower tier team. Only now they aren't my lower tier team, as they've been promoted in each of the past two seasons and will be playing in the Championship along with Newcastle next season. Which is incredible when considering that Newcastle plays in front of 52,000 people at St. James' Park while Burton Albion's home capacity is just below 7,000.

Yeah, I'm all in with Hull City. Damn glad they'll be back in the EPL next season. Side note, their promotion is going to be worth nearly 120M, I think I read. Talk about a much needed cash infusion for a small club. Holy shit! And best of all, Hull can afford to keep some of it's up-and-coming young talent now like Josh Tymon. Going to be interesting to see what they do in the transfer window. Gotta figure out if Steve Bruce is staying first, though. For those who have been following longer than I have, what's your opinion of Brucey? Personally, I think he's a damn good manager. He's earned EPL promotion 4 times, which is two more than anyone else ever. That's crazy.

I've been doing a FIFA career mode with Fleetwood Town. Just started another with Hartlepool. May start keeping an eye on Fleetwood. Also worth noting, Fleetwood is the club Leicester signed Vardy from a couple of years ago.

[War Machine Dawg]

I thought it might be a smokescreen at first, but it looks Vardy to Arsenal is actually happening. Claudio Ranieri confirmed it this morning and said a medical could happen as early as tomorrow. We could have an announcement as early as Monday. Holy shit!

[Liverpooldawg]

I thought it might be a smokescreen at first, but it looks Vardy to Arsenal is actually happening. Claudio Ranieri confirmed it this morning and said a medical could happen as early as tomorrow. We could have an announcement as early as Monday. Holy shit!

The Foxes' story was fantastic, for my money it's the best one I have ever seen in sports in my 50+ years. That being said they are still a small club. They will always have trouble holding on to really good players. I thought Vardy's age might see him stay unless the Plastics or possibly City came in for him. I'm surprised at Arsenal if it happens. Buying older dudes for inflated prices is more the Plastics or City. It certainly doesn't keep the plot for Arsenal under Wenger. If this actually happens Wenger must REALLY be feeling the heat.

[WeWonItAll(Most)]

I thought it might be a smokescreen at first, but it looks Vardy to Arsenal is actually happening. Claudio Ranieri confirmed it this morning and said a medical could happen as early as tomorrow. We could have an announcement as early as Monday. Holy shit!

The real winner if this goes through is Fleetwood Town. They will supposedly get $6.8 mil of Vardy's transfer fee due to clauses in their agreement to sell him to Leicester a few years back. $6.8 million dollars for a League 1 team is absurd. I think that Arsenal can do better than a 30 year old striker though, and I think Leicester could have found someone desperate enough for a proven striker that would have paid a lot more than $20 million for him. That being said, if I was Leicester I would rather lose him than Mahrez or Kante.

[War Machine Dawg]

The real winner if this goes through is Fleetwood Town. They will supposedly get $6.8 mil of Vardy's transfer fee due to clauses in their agreement to sell him to Leicester a few years back. $6.8 million dollars for a League 1 team is absurd. I think that Arsenal can do better than a 30 year old striker though, and I think Leicester could have found someone desperate enough for a proven striker that would have paid a lot more than $20 million for him. That being said, if I was Leicester I would rather lose him than Mahrez or Kante.

Yeah, I'm a little surprised this seems legit. Personally, I'd rather cough up the cash for Morata. He's younger and less likely to be a one hit wonder. But if this happens, I'd be a big fan of the move. Hell, Vardy can't be worse than Giroud. Still lots of talk about Mahrez to Arsenal, too. Liverpool hit the nail on the head: Leicester is going to get some offers they basically can't refuse for these guys.

From everything I've read, this definitely seems like a very unusual move for Wenger. But someone made a point that made sense: Wenger doesn't splash the cash unless there's a deal that's basically too good to pass on. And 20M for the EPL goals runner up is an absurd deal. Plus Wenger is also widely known as having an eye for talent, so he obviously thinks Vardy can play and won't be a one-off. And a point that seems to be in his favor is that Vardy isn't your typical 29 year old striker nearing the washed up stage. He's still got plenty of life in his legs compared to most players his age.

Where the hell is Ref? I'm guessing he's crawled in a hole and died. Definitely going to have to keep an eye on Fleetwood now. It'll be interesting to see what they do with all their cash if this deal does indeed go through. You gotta think they'd upgrade the squad a little and try to push into the Championship.

[DudyDawg]

Marc Bartra moving from barca to borussia Dortmund