2026 Summer Transfer Speculation ( with digression into Falklands - be warned -scroll past)

MrsGrey

Is it just me slightly bemused by the Man City signings ( and the spend on Enzo)?

alderz

MrsGrey said:

Is it just me slightly bemused by the Man City signings ( and the spend on Enzo)?

Yeah really weird goings on

Fortuneseeker

It’s not as if Enzo is the best midfielder in the world is it?

alderz

Are you being sarcastic and suggesting he is the best midfielder in the world? I’m confused.

EXETERHAMMER

Prem clubs overspending deliberately with each other to balance books.

Fortuneseeker

Me sarcastic how dare you 😄. No the point is it’s a lot of money for a player who isn’t the best in the world in that position. As someone said earlier, apologies I can’t remember who, if he hates England so much why does he hang around here apart from just taking the mick?

MrsGrey

What are you basing on the idea that he 'hates England'?

He thinks the Falkland Islands should be part of Argentina.

That is a political view.

It's got nothing to do with his views on England as a place to live and ply his trade.

EXETERHAMMER

No more leaving or arriving I feel.

MrsGrey

Having said that, it seems odd to me that they would really pay such a huge amount for a player in a position where they are probably ok. And he's not head and shoulders above other players. Perhaps the owners had this as part of the deal with the new manager - a wodge of cash for whoever he wanted, no questions asked.

But then you have a new manager parachuted iin to a club which is quite settled and the players mostly loved the old manager. You'd think he'd adopt a softy softly approach. Instead he brings in a not necessarily needed player, who is one of HIS players from a former club, and that player having ( it might seem) an attitude problem. And on huge fees and thus probably huge wages.

I can see massive disruption ahead.

( Hopefully 😂)

Lukerz

I think a manager always makes that statement signing that transmits their mentality & energy onto the pitch for them, who knows how they work - like Sam did with Nolan

That’s all I see this signing as

EXETERHAMMER

Igor to Burnley

I am sure he played 30 mins or so for us

MrsGrey

I take your point Lukerz, but Nolan was,in my view, able to be a unifying figure. And add a lot of value on the pitch and in the dressing room. And I think (although I was sceptical initially at the time) a really good decision. The signing wasn't a 'look at me , I'm such a fab manager, I can get these guys to step down a level' type of boast.

If that's Maresca's plan here, I'm not convinced it's going to work out. We'll see.

claretandbluesky

Would you not suspect they go hand in hand? A belief that the Falklands is Argentinian and a dislike of the country who killed his people during the war that prevented them taking them. The Argentine behaviour during the World Cup was as though they particularly dislike England' and due to the war. It didn't seem to be at the senseless nature of war but a tribal nationalistic support of Argentina over England, as their enemy.

I don't doubt he likes England as a place to live and work, but my point was that if you feel that a certain country is your enemy why would you want live among them?

I personally never got the impression that he and many of the Argentine players had objectified the war as a war, a military conflict which had nothing to do with football and felt no animosity towards England as a nation, and left it in 1982, but rather felt they were playing against their enemy and they dislike Great Britain...still.

I believe both home and away fans let him know what they thought of his antics on his first game back this season. I don't think Martinez got the same reception as he just played football.

MrsGrey

So much to unpick there.

Were Argentina only thuggish when playing England?

thornburyiron

The Falklands became British before a unified Argentina republic was officially formed.

claretandbluesky

MrsGrey said:

So much to unpick there.

Were Argentina only thuggish when playing England?

No they are always thuggish. But I certainly got the impression they were still fighting their enemy and that they dislike England and the English in particular.

At the time did you?

MrsGrey

I struggle with all of that, tbh.

I don't understand how someone can hate a country.

A country is just some areas on a map with a line drawn around it. Over time, those lines have changed, so countries aren't even something that is fixed. And some of them come into existence suddenly and then a few decades cease to exist. They are just social constructs.

MrsGrey

claretandbluesky said:

MrsGrey said:

So much to unpick there.

Were Argentina only thuggish when playing England?

No they are always thuggish. But I certainly got the impression they were still fighting their enemy and that they dislike England and the English in particular.

At the time did you?

No, I thought they brought the same attitude to all opponents.

alderz

Do we need a Falklands thread?

alderz

Fortuneseeker said:

Me sarcastic how dare you 😄. No the point is it’s a lot of money for a player who isn’t the best in the world in that position. As someone said earlier, apologies I can’t remember who, if he hates England so much why does he hang around here apart from just taking the mick?

Ok, that makes more sense to me. I couldn’t tell if you actually really rated Enzo, which confused me a lot.

EXETERHAMMER

Politics and football.
They should not go hand in hand.

claretandbluesky

I don't think they hate a country as in the land, but rather the people of that country. I certainly got the impression the Argentinian players identify us as their enemy still and dislike us. I didn't get the impression they saw us as just another match but happened to make an objective political point as an afterthought.

claretandbluesky

EXETERHAMMER said:

Politics and football.
They should not go hand in hand.

That's what FIFA try and achieve, the separation of them, but although after the event they did get a small fine there was no real condemnation immediately after the match. I think the FIFA President almost condoned it as understandable.

MrsGrey

Maybe Enzo loves England but hates the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
If we are talking about countries....

MrsGrey

claretandbluesky said:

I don't think they hate a country as in the land, but rather the people of that country. I certainly got the impression the Argentinian players identify us as their enemy still and dislike us. I didn't get the impression they saw us as just another match but happened to make an objective political point as an afterthought.

Why would they hate ' the people ' of a country when gazillions of them were not alive 40 years ago.

Almost like .. It Makes No Sense!!

claretandbluesky

I have no idea but the Argentinians in general and the Argentinian players at the World Cup certainly seem to not like us. I don't think they have rationalised it necessarily. It's probably to do with identity and tribal grievance at root.

BubblesNeverDies

I always thought Lanzini loved his time here.

jay_in_cpt

Not on the official site, from SSN…
“West Ham sign Boiro
Adama Boiro has joined West Ham on from Athletic Club.
The 24-year-old defender joins the Hammers on an initial loan with an option to buy.
Boiro, whose contract runs until 2029, has made 45 appearances for the Spanish club's first team, one of which was this season against Barcelona.”

Fortuneseeker

A lot of movement on this thread but very little to do with any transfers! 😞