Real Madrid goalkeeper Ilker Casillas knows something about ‘keeping. Alongside Petr Cech, Edwin van der Sar and Gianluigi Buffon, Casillas has arguably been the world’s finest over the past decade. Casillas now believes Manchester City’s Joe Hart is ready to take over the mantle – if he makes the crosstown switch to United first!
“Teams like Manchester United and AC Milan have ageing keepers and Joe would be perfect for either of them,” said Casillas.
“If I am being honest, over the last five years I don’t think there has been a keeper close to Gigi Buffon, or myself. But from what I have seen of Joe Hart, he really can be great.
“When Buffon and I are well into our 30s Joe will be at his peak and I expect him to be the number one keeper in the world. Everything he does is so natural and he has that goalkeeper’s instinct, which you can’t just learn.
“But like so many of City’s players, Hart needs to play Champions League football. If he doesn’t get it, he won’t stay. I think it’s fine if you want to go and be part of the revolution at City. But I would suggest all players write clauses into their contract about being able to leave the club if they don’t make it into the Champions League.”
Not that Hart would be the first City play to want out. To date Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz, Robinho (now departed), Steven Ireland (also departed), Emmanuel Adebayor, and even new signing Mario Ballotelli have professed a wish to play their football elsewhere.
Who can blame them?
Why ia a ‘United Rant’ writing about City??
Perhaps you should reread the first quoted line from Casillas. A more pertinent question would be: why is a Blue Moron (you guys always leave out the ‘r’) reading United Rant?
PAR
United have always been a bigger club than City and as a City fan I have had to accept that but the truth is the gap between the clubs was not that much until the last 15 years.
United have grown massively on the back of Sky TV, prem and champions league money. Sky TV beaming live football around the world for the last 15 years has allowed United to grow huge in a way that say Liverpool couldn’t when they were the best team in the land.
Will City ever be a bigger club than United? Probably not but what they will do is close that gap considerably and relatively fast.
In ten yers time City will have be regulary winning things, they will have a much bigger stadium which will be full. All of this is clear.
Whats not clear is what situation United will be in if the Glaziers have been in charge all tht time. I predict United will be nothing like as successful as they have been and a smaller club than they are now.
Russ the blue, you are right in saying that television revenue has enabled United to grow into the club it is today.
What you are forgetting is that United is the most commercially powerful team in the league. United have the most supporters, globally, of any EPL team. All these supporters want to watch United on TV and are prepared to pay for it.
Yet despite this phenomenal market power United still agree (under no real compulsion) to collectively (with members EPL) to sell rights to screen games.
If United broke this agreement and decided to sell rights alone, like is done is some leagues in Europe, we would have ridiculous amounts of cash and by your very own logic of “cash=success” we would be rolling in even more trophies than our very large trophy cabinet already holds.
It would also mean that City would have had even less success..if that were possible.
Also try not let you blue tinted glass blind you to the fact that any money United spends has been because United have earned it and not because we happened to be a novelty purchase of some rich Arab.
Lets accept for the time being what you say that United could break away taking loads of TV revenue with them leaving other clubs poorer and lets ignore the reasons I gave for them having so much money in the first place, Sky tv etc
If United did try to keep more than their share of the revenue the other clubs in the Prem could do what they did in Scotland and resign on mass from the Prem League and set up their own league. Who would United play then? Which TV companies would pay United anything? How would United get into the Champs league?
United need the other clubs more than they need United
It’s interesting to see how City have moved on in the three years since this thread was started. Won the Prem and FA cup, Opened half a dozen training schools around the world, building a 100 million pound training ground next to the stadium, announced plans to expand the stadium to 60,000 work starting Jan 2014, CITY HAVE BOUGHT an MLS franchise called New York City for £100 million and are spending £200 building a new stadium for the club in conjunction with the New York Yankees, that should see our already high profile boosted in the USA. (Citys game with Chelsea in St Louis sold out in four hours, 48,000 tickets) If you go to New York now you will see City shirts everywhere. Oh and I nearly forgot to mention the fantastic City Square. Three large screens bars and stage with bands and interviews with old players before the game
And after all that I have to say United are still much bigger than City but United have also stood still for the last three years so City have closed the gap. The next three years will see United stand still again whilst City close that gap some more.
Within ten years City will have completely closed that gap at every level except trophy count
Oh yeah….
So with City growing fast why would Joe move to United on less money to be just another united player when he can be a legend at City for the next 15 yers
Come on now Russ, its just a bit of fun. We all know City are massive really. Honest. Biggest floodlights in the land too.
Talk about conceit.
Why the sudden influx of City supporters on this blog; are the guys at Republic of Mancunia being too mean again?
RobDiablo – sadly I had to delete comments from about 50 Bitters. Most of which included the words “rags” “bacon face” and “tick tock” – you get the gist. You’d think they’d be busier admiring the magnificent lights at the Bertie Dome?
I see you left comments containing ‘Blue Moron’ and ‘Wastelands’.
No hint of double standards there eh?
Then again what would one expect from both United and its supporters other than the usual duplicitous, bigoted, onanistic comments?
Erik – please stop leaving the same comment over and over again. Some of us have jobs you know. I trust you’ve heard of that….
See the masthead > now look right. There, in red, black, yellow.. its a Manchester United logo on a Manchester United website for Manchester United fans. You expect equality, go to the BBC.
I don’t mind having some banter or even a debate, but I really don’t see what a variety of expletives including “bacon faced cunt” and so on, which no doubt makes you snigger, adds to it. Hence the delete button. End of.
Perhaps if some of you had jobs then you wouldn’t have to rant about City? Maybe you could try and have a reasoned discussion about the team you are supposed to be supporting?
The only reason you attract comments from city fans is beacuse you keep writing about the club. I wonder why that is?
If you stopped writing things about City you would not keep being flagged up on the Manchester City page of ‘News Now.’
It’s not that hard you know? Unless you have been possessed by some obsessive,compulsive behaviour disorder; brought on by fear perhaps?
Just one final point. where have I used language like that you quote? Oh, I haven’t but it doesn’t stop you leaving supposedly derogatory slurs in posts when it suits you, does it?
Erik – I have posted your first comment, which was in the moderation queue. I know you’re important Erik, there there. Happy now?
You then posted six further comments that say *exactly* the same thing over and over, which were also in the queue … although with increasingly paranoid additions at the end. I’m beginning to wonder who has the obsessive compulsive problem. Or perhaps its just bitterness?
Honestly what’s wrong with you Berties? Too much time being bitter and angry that you’re still bitter and angry. You’ve got it all. Rejoice. The rich owners, the council house, the big tall floodlights, the bitter footballers who hate life but enjoy the oil money, and the big tall floodlights. Did I mention the floodlights? Enjoy Erik and please do not darken our door again. Thanks.
“Onanistic”, eh? You have an unusually large vocabulary for a City fan. BTW, your, since deleted, quote of Johnny Cash about “Not pulling the trigger if you can’t stand the recoil” was taken out of context. The man in black originally directed this admonition to Blewmoon48 when he was having difficulty swallowing after going to his knees to bring some temporary relief to a fellow City supporter.
He’s calling us wankers, essentially. Mum probably bought him one of those ‘My First Thesaurus’ for his birthday.
I don’t imagine most of them can afford the bus fare to get out to Wastelands, never mind the price of admission to a match.
RobDiablo – true, its a long way from Stalyvegas and Stockport.
Its nearer than London and Singapore
How will untied afford to do this ?
fuckin hell Ed.
Has Rant descended into the realms of ROM in the top red shite.
ffs
Haha.. oh dear. No comment
Aw, poor Iker is just a bit miffed that we wouldn’t pay the transfer fee madrid wanted for him and now he’s just rrying to get one back on us.
P.S. Joe Hart at yoonited? HAHAHAHAHAHA! Why in the name of hell would we ever sell him to you, and for that matter, why would he want to play for you?
I think what you reds forget is the sight of the protests, geen and gold scarves, etc. etc. is going to put more than a few players off signing for you.
united supporters often make the statement “players go to united to make history, to City to make money”.
Well, you have history all right, but players choose clubs that are stable and look like they are going to win things – united are no longer looking the dead certs for trophies they were a few years back, whilst City have come on in leaps and bounds and have a very bright future ahead of them. So players choose clubs where they think they will have a chance of winning things – not to look in the trophy cabinet at what players won 10 or even 20 years ago.
fifthcolumnblue – Deluded much?
Am I the only cunt who can see Joe Hart making an embarrassing gaff in an England shirt and consequently never being considered a top flight keeper ever again?
Maybe it’s different because he’s very young for a keeper – 22 – so if he fucks up, managers and the like will show more patience
But still, we’ve had a few of these ‘potentially world class’ goalkeepers and all it takes is one fuck up in an England shirt and your career is no more
I don’t see the hope & belief surrounding this cunt to be any different than that which followed Foster around after his loan spell at Watford, and look what happened to him – he never recovered
Tevez wants out?No boys im afraid he doesnt.Dont believe everything you read in the tabloids
CTID
Mike – “There is only a little time remaining before I retire. It is very difficult to play football if you are not happy. Football doesn’t make me as happy or as fulfilled as before. It becomes difficult to play like this.”
Don’t worry though. I’m sure he’s just doing it for the love, not the money
“Erik Bloodaxe”???
*snigger*…
Any relation to “Leeroy Jenkins” by chance?
Dwayne Dibbly, more like. Say, weren’t the blue moonies the villains in The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine film?
I think that we all agree that MU managed to finally win the league at just the right time, financially. Whilst Liverpool were dominant, attendances were dropping, revenues fell and hooliganism both kept the middle classes away and created the English ban in Europe.
Since Ferguson’s empire building, we have had the Premier League, Champions League and Sky TV which have all made the successful clubs cash rich.
Agreed?
To now propose to individually divide the TV money would just exacebate this situation. Yes, MU would be rolling in it. But surely this would merely go to pay off the huge debt. It would be teams, potentially, like MC that would benefit the most. If successful (and I assume we are all agreed that success is but a matter of time) then they would find it even easier to pass UEFA’s financial criteria.
On a separate issue of the Council House, MU fan’s seem to forget that they rented Maine Rd. after the war, MC inadvertently creating a stadium legacy that MU would exploit in the future. Without MC moving into Eastlands, we would never have hosted the Commonwealth Games, which went a large way into persuading the IOC into granting the Olympics to London. All this has (and will) bring massive investment into the country. Attendances above the old Maine Road capacity, bring revenue to the Council, keeping Council Taxes down.
Finally, all the Abu Dahbi cash is new money, not borrowed or milked from fans. How much of the fans cash is wasted by clubs in debt, because millions must be lost in interest payments?
NB – trying to morally defend the Abu Dhabi money really is on a hiding to nothing. Just admit you’ve taken the coin to buy your way to a level of ‘success’ that is not the natural habitat of City. As for City coining it in from TV money if the collective agreement was broken.. only if fans abroad thought they were buying PPV for ‘Manchester’. But as when players sign for City and are disappointed they’ve signed for the wrong Manchester, fans would cotton on quick enough. Spend now my friend because come 2013 you’ll be selling all your players to meet the wage bill and break even.
Well 2013 is here and City seem to be buying even more players and spending even more money on training grounds, the stadium expansions and building two new stadiums one just across the road from the Etihad and the other 3000 miles away in New York
I’m afraid he does. Don’t believe everything that your imaginary friend tells you.
I have no doubt that City will win a few cups… their new owner won’t tolerate wasting his money for nothing.
He’ll invest, change manager, invest some more, and eventually he’s bound to win something… and if he’s got the patience, and financial stamina… by that I mean, as long as he never expects to recoup his investment… he may even win the title and perhaps even the Champs League…
However… he’ll have to maintain that level… create a dynasty… and court the young international fans of tomorrow, and the next generation to even come close to establishing a fan base that approaches just the foothills of the mountain that is Manchester United.
What happens if their owner tires of just throwing money into the club, and never getting it back… because that’s the reality for teams like City, and Chelsea…
It’s possible to build a team capable of winning with money, but it takes years and years to build a club that can finance it’s own success… as it is… there’s only a handful of clubs in the whole of the game that can do that.
And even many of them are running a tab.
It is a massive task to build a club the size of United after all it has taken 20 years to build United so there is a lot of catching up to do.
This is why City have opened several training centres around the USA supply coaches and City shirts for the kids. The most famous of them being the pitch City built for half a million on top of a school in New York, other facilities are in place in Washington, Miami, Los Angeles, and Chicago. I think I read 200,000 kids have passed through Citys training programes so far and the facilities themselves are used every day day schools whose kids know Manchester City donated those facilities.Obviously there is a soccer school in Abu Dhabi
Last week City announced a similar arrangement in South Africa
City cannot compete with United over night but any united fan who thinks City won’t be generating as much money as united in 10 years is deluded. True the owner may have to throw away a billion or two to get there but he can afford it and when City generate as much money as United it will be used for the club not to service debts.
City are still miles behind United but what about other clubs. A couple of years ago I looked on facebook at how many likes City had compared to other teams. United blew us out of the water but I noticed City and Spurs, similar sized clubs both had about 700,000 likes. since then Spurs has increased its like to 1.9 million but City have grown to 5.5 million. This gives an indication of how fast City is growing.
What happens when the owner get tired of throwing money into a club and getting nothing back?
I don’t see any sign of that he has just announced City are to spend 50 million to increase the south stand capacity by just 6000 seats. That,s going to be some special expansion at that price. At the same time plans for a similar expansion to the North stand (another 50 million) are to be submitted. Work started on a 100 million training ground this year, he announced that City (not the owner, yes I know its his money at the end of the day) are to spend a total of 300 million on an MLS franchise and I think City have spent pushing 50 million on transfers with another 50 million likely before the start of the season
Citys owner is not trying to create a dynasty. He is going to create the dynasty, the best club in the world. He is not spending all this money to be second best to United and hopefully just nick a title once in a while and win the odd FA cup. He wants to be clearly the best.
Nottingham Forest would be the Chelsea of the PL if the cash-cows would have landed earlier. They have almost changed places in the last 25 years. What’s to say other clubs won’t trade places over the coming years? MU, as you say, is almost certain to survive, as it seems more of a brand, than a club. But I fear a little for the likes of Liverpool, Everton, if they continue without Champions League football.
Yes, MC have not ‘earned’ their fortune but have others? Fourth place ‘earns’ you the right to compete in the CHAMPIONS League. I didn’t hear many fans complaining when Runners-Up have gone on to win the CL. Why not seed the FA Cup (like the CL) as we wouldn’t want the non-league sides to draw a PL side in Round 3. Not when they haven’t ‘earned’ it.
NB – rank nonsense from start to finish. It helps when talking about football business if you know what you’re going on about. But look if it makes you feel better to pretend City isn’t just some spoilt brats toy then go for it. I’m going to love watching City try and go from a income/ wage ratio of 120% to 50% in the next couple of years. The Blue Moon is some way from rising.
who is actually going to replace VDS? lloris? akinfeev?
FootballFarrago – well the homeless world cup is on right now in Rio. Sure Fergie will have his scouts there 🙂
Come off it
He’ll be replace by a cheap nomark we’ve never heard of with the idea that he’ll become a top player in 5 years time
‘kuszsack has been patient and we need to give these young players a chance’
muhahaha
tried and tested line
Fook me, it only takes a bit of oil money, a few wins under the belt and the Bitters are getting cocky! Bring it on slummers, we relish a bit of…wait for it………. Agro (so very 70s) here at Rant!
The only thing massive these days is the debt !
Edward??….ffs…shit name for toffs and vampires
valid point though re debt tbf
Cornforth’s an awesome surname though
Man Utd boss Ferguson concedes Man City title threat
24.09.10 |
READ MORE NEWS ON: Arsenal, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Sir Alex Ferguson, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson concedes Manchester City are a title threat.
Ferguson also says Everton have been a big disappointment so far this season.
On United’s progress and that of other teams in the English top flight, he said: “We (United) have started quietly just like Arsenal. But us and the Gunners will battle with Chelsea until the end.
“It’s too early to make any predictions but we cannot forget the progress done by Tottenham.
“Houllier at Aston Villa needs time. The disappointment is Everton. I considered them favourites but they have just two points.
“Manchester City didn’t have the best of starts but with the squad (Roberto) Mancini has, they will be contenders.
“I saw them beat Liverpool 3-0, with power and quality. Mancini has changed half of the squad, it’s difficult to find rhythm yet.
“When they get continuity they will be a threat to everyone.”
What’s your point?
Surely you don’t think it’s money you’ve earned?
Your owners will be pissing money to the wind for years, and years before they ever start to earn more than they spend, if ever… how much do you think they will have spent by then? £1 billion, 2???
By the way… do you know anything at all about baseball, or the MBL???
You do know that United were there before you, and decided against continuing their deal with the Yankees… in other words… you were second choice… again.
Welcome to Rant Russ!
Russ…ffs