BUY BUY BUY!!!!

Rumors have been rampant about our transfer targets for the coming summer. Who will we sign? How much are we willing to spend? Will cules be suckered into voting for a particular presidential candidate based on who he promises to bring to the club? Well, it’s been narrowed down a bit, so here we go, let’s compare the two major players currently in the Barcelona orbit to see who is the better fit.
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I am wearing all black, because I am a jinx.

So. Here’s what we officially have to say on the Cesc Fabregas matter:

“Given the exceptional repercussions created by the stories that have appeared in different media with respect to an agreement with Arsenal FC player Cesc Fabregas, Barca flatly deny that there have been any negotiations or agreements with the player.

“In accordance with FIFA regulations, FC Barcelona’s contract policy has always made it a priority to negotiate with the club of origin before making any particular agreement with the player. FC Barcelona wishes to stress that it has always maintained excellent institutional relations with Arsenal FC.”
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Money! Yeeeaaah, that's what I want!

The price of success can almost be quantified. Whether justified or not, every player involved in that success, if they have a contract that is anywhere in the realm of being up for renewal, wants more money. Mo, mo, mo, mo.

Dani Alves is no exception. We have fiscal complexities at every turn. Gerard Pique is up for a renewal, and we have to deal with the kids. But also, we have our Brazilian Hummingbird who, dependent upon who you read, is either unsettled or not going anywhere.
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Dammit, Wayne! I said no, dude!

Guess who is 23 years old today? If you guessed Gerard Pique, you guessed right. The central defender, a canterano who returned home last season, also has the distinction of being one of only three players to have won Champions League glory in consecutive seasons, with different clubs.

He’s been capped 13 times, but you can look for many more, as the man whom we have all affectionately dubbed “Piquenbauer” for his dashing forward runs with the ball, is only just learning to become the defender that he is. And who remembers that Piquenbauer’s first Spanish goal was a match-winner, in a Copa tie against Espanyol? Very cool.

So happy birthday, Pique, and many more (in the colors, of course!)
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What just happened??!!

So, JMo is right: That was rather a pessimistic liveblog during that second half, and for good reason, right? We couldn’t put the ball in the net, and Sporting Hee-hone was playing with pluck and determination, pressing hard and playing for the equalizer that was going to screw up all of our Saturday.

Right?

Right?

Wrong.
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Hmmm .... we must improve, but how?

Is it already that time of the season?

–EMD is saying that Guardiola has been asked to choose between Ribery and Silva for our soon-to-be-vacant left wing. Apparently he likes both, but Silva fits the Barca profile better in terms of ball and player movement on the pitch, and being Spanish. Stay tuned for lots more in that shell game. Personally, I’m not sure that my preference sits with either. What say ye?
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You want to pay me HOW MUCH?

Wayne Rooney?

Wayne Rooney

WAYNE ROONEY??!!

Sure, why not?

In this week’s hot rumor, the Manchester United hitman is rumored to a “priority” for us. Apparently he calls Piquenbauer all the time to talk about what it’s like to play for us (“Dude, they make me polish all the trophies!), and he is purportedly our main summer transfer target.

This week.
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So, here is our list of the knocked, or potentially knocked: Ibrahimovic, Puyol (sorta), Abidal, Keita, Txigrinski (sorta). This kind of sucks, given that two giNORMOUS matches loom in the coming week.

So what can we do to top that? I know, let’s add some H1N1 to the party. Why not? Abidal has been diagnosed with the mis-nomered “swine flu,” and The Yaya is suspected to have also contracted it. Now, “la gripe” is no biggie if properly treated, but you can rest assured that part of the medical plan for getting over it is not “Go play a crucial football match.”

Augggh!
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Right-o, kids. The freakin’ January transfer window isn’t even open yet, and we supposedly have a deal with Javier Mascherano for just north of 40m. Or we don’t. It might only be about 34m. One complexity is that we want him in January, but Liverpool don’t want to have him leave until the summer.
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Now, let’s think about this for a minute: Alves was injured and we’re now apparently talking about buying Gregory van der Wiel from Ajax. Besides being several months late (at the very least it’s two days late since Alves is already injured). The expected time out for Little Dani is 3 weeks–I’m assuming that’s human weeks and not Dani Alves weeks since we all know that the closer you get to the speed of light the slower time moves, so 3 Dani Weeks would be like 8 months and that’s obviously not acceptable–so we kind of need that backup now, not in January, right?

But what’s more interesting than van der Wiel, a 21-year old Dutch international with 5 caps under his belt and 52 appearances for Ajax since 2006, is who van der Wiel plays with. There’s this other guy on Ajax named Luis Suarez who we’re also considering purchasing.

Remember that we have a penchant for buying two players from one club at a time, for whatever reason. Maxwell and Ibra, Hleb and Henry, Thuram and Zambrotta. Obviously we also buy players one at a time (Ronaldinho, Deco), but if we buy van der Wiel it seems that we’ll probably have the inside track on getting Suarez as well, though the Robinho rumors will not go away. It’s hard for me to say whether or not van der Wiel is good enough to make it in our squad because I have never seen him play (I need to catch more Ajax matches, obviously), but if he’s good enough and can be purchased for under €10million, then I think it’s probably worth it. Any more than that and we’re just buying another Caceres, who won’t get any time on the field but who will come with an ego that matches his price tag.

What are your thoughts on van der Wiel? Is he good enough to make it at Barça?