john_ro

It's been a while since my last post here (so little free time, changing jobs and all) but I've been following you guys. I had to find the time to be able to share the overwhelming joy I've experienced today after the United game. Part of this is due to the fact that in Romania, pretty much everybody cheers for either Manure or the dippers so I get a bit frustrated when going to the local Pub to watch BPL. Back to today's game... Awesome performance, tremendous tactics, RK really showing LvG who's "that fella" (as LvG called Koeman in his autobiography) The whole team deserves a shout out with some special remarks for Fonte (outstanding in the defence), MS (putting tons of pressure on Mata and DiMaria and being able to stand ground just in front of box, providing cover for his CBs) and a particular one for Gardos, who seems to be settling in. 13 out of 15, wins against Arsenal and at OT... Not too shabby, ain't it...

They were lucky against West Ham, they were lucky last night with Lloris (which I highly rate) and some glimpses from Lamela coming on as a sub... Villas Boas and Sherwood all over again, imo...

Townsend is a character... He's got speed, he can dribble and short pass but his shooting and through-balls are disastrous. Remember the beginning of last season when I believe Villas Boas and his teammates told him to calm the fook down and let the other shoot the ball... Air traffic was seriously threatened by his shots towards goal... He represents quite a dilemma to me, I have never seen a player with very good tactical awareness who can play so erratically...

Townsend, 25 matches, 1 goal, 0 assists, 36 shots, 74 crosses Eriksen, 25 matches, 7 goals, 8 assists, 33 shots, 88 crosses Epl only... Eriksen's first season in the epl... What are we talking about?!?! I am not saying CE is the next big thing coming out of WHL, but he is a damn good player, been following him close since his Ajax days

No way in hell they're gonna sell their best player of last year. Eriksen has been brilliant, especially the latter part of the season, they depend on his abilities and knowledge of the game far more than they need Adebayour for example, top scorer last year.

Read about it on Twitter, 10 mil

Read about it on Twitter, 10 mil

Read a report with Koeman saying Gardos will be assessed in training today and tomorrow in order to see if he'll be able to make the team for the Liverpool game

Welcome!

According to Steaua prez, the fee was €6.8M Done at 6PM EET, 4PM GMT

From what I know, he does speak (some) English. I am not sure of his full proficency in English but two things make me an optimist 1. Steaua informed UEFA about all the players and their foreign languages skills and Gardos is listed as an English speaker 2. He is a bright kid (not your average jock), I am sure it would be a question of time.

Just read the same source in Romanian and the bolded part is, apart from a small nonsense, not in his statement. Doesn't matter much, I am glad this will finally happen As for him being ready to play this week-end cuz of his muscle injury, I am not convinced but I will tell you that for me it's a deja-vu feeling because the exact same thing happened with Chiriches: he got injured in one of the last matches of the season, there were rumours about Spurs being interested in signing him and Steaua boss decided not to risk his golden goose and never played him again despite the fact that he was in top condition (he took part in Tottenham's training sessions from day 1) You guys need to understand that, generally, 6-7 mil quid is a sh!tload of money for Romania as a transfer fee, usually our talented youth get scouted and signed very early by big clubs in Italy, Spain and even UK (I know Spurs just bought a talented Romanian kid). They offer decent contracts and conditions for them and their families. Gardos was abit of a late bloomer, his moving to Steaua was the perfect him for develop and grow. I fear that if he were to leave Romania at a younger age, he could have wasted his career. Now is the perfect time for him to leave as a football player.

Apparently the amount is £6m / €7.5m, not 4,8m as presented before. "Sources close to the player and team"... How legit those sources are, we shall see. To me it makes little difference if the fee is 6 or 4.8 mil, I just want this sorted out... ASAP

Transfer info, yet to be confirmed: £6M, wage £20,000 pw Should be announced later today or tomorrow morning latest

Thanks and glad to be of help! I am pretty sure I will enjoy my time here

Steaua's manager gathered the players and staff today for a diner or something and guess who showed up, to everybody's surprise, media included? When questioned, his kinda-****ed-off reply was "I am here, aren't I?" He definitely wants to come to EPL, dunno who's to blame for all the stalling but, from my experience Steaua has a weird way of selling players (happened in Chiriches' case too) Will keep you guys posted with what goes on in the Romanian media after some filtering, of course... We got our own Daily Mail, CaughtOffside aso... Sent from my Nexus 5

All the media here in Romania (yes, I am Romanian ) claims this is a done deal and that Koeman is eager to have him asap, even reports suggesting he will start this weekend Lpool match. I am not buying that, I doubt any sound minded manager will start with a newcomer with zero EPL experience. On the other hand, Steaua's chairman said tonight there is not an official offer for the player from Southampton but there have been plenty of talks...

Not sure I follow you. I know my English is not that good, I hope you can forgive that No, mate... He'll drop them off in London... Maybe just his GF, she's quite a hottie Nope, I am more of an Acid type of guy

His pace is good, I'd say above average for a 6'4" defender. He is similar to Chiriches, has great ball abilities, physically is better prepared. Needs also to improve his weaker foot, not quite as good as Chiriches'

Forgot the most important idea... Do I think he is ready for the EPL? Hell, yes! Same answer if I believed he is good enough for the Saints...

First of all, it's good to be here. I am Romanian Steaua Bucharest fan who doesn't work in the UK and a Saints admirer for more than a decade, eversince that 2-1 agg win in Uefa Cup - I admit it, we should not have won that one, Southampton were clearly the better side. I will try and give you fellas my opinions and maybe shed some light over this Gardos possible transfer (btw, it is pronounced Gardosh). Last year, following Chiriches' departure to Tottenham, has been the first year when FG was able to put in a full season and really show his capabilities. He is very similar in terms of style to his former team mate, better in the air, improved alot his passing this past year and his game awareness. Also bulked up a lot, seems stronger than before Still has some work to do in positioning and his last man tackling has improved by miles but could use some more (there is a big wall in my yard with the bricks I've shat watching him tackle) but I do have high hopes with the lad. IMO, his current flaws can be easily corrected by a good manager, he is a smart, decent guy. He hasn't played this few matches this year due to a muscle problem but, from what I understand, things are ok now. This reminds me that he is not very injury prone, quite a tough fella If you guys have more questions, fire away!