Then again you could understand not spending £8m+ on any of those you mentioned if Cesar is available basically for free.

Don't think we need to worry about the long term with Cesar. He's only 33, if he signs and it works out he could be our number 1 for 3 seasons or so easily.

I appreciate there's a risk involved, but keepers are always tricky no matter who you go for, and if Cesar can get back close to his best he'd be a terrific signing. He was genuine world class not that long ago. And he's had a good first season in England, so maybe he's primed to kick on now.

Clrnc wrote:

Ultimately in the long run those players would be much more worth it

Or they could flop badly playing for a big club for the first time. And the two Germans could struggle with adapting to a new country. Cesar has more top level experience than those four combined.

Really hard to predict how a keeper will go, probably more so than any other position.

The problem that I have with Cesar, and it's admittedly mostly down to my own imagination, is that I can see his signing being a "let's not kill Chesney, but we could do with an alternative" type of deal, rather than really going out and getting the best available.

Who was the last experienced, decorated, old man keeper we signed? LEHMANN!

[size=xx-small]Or was it Poom...[/size]

Anyway, I don't feel strongly about this signing either way. If it allows us to concentrate on bringing in the big buys further forward, then cool.

... of course, that's somewhat unlikely 🙁

Isn't Cesar extremely dodgy on crosses as well?

He had a fantastic season with QPR though, can't remember much gaffes though he is extremely capable of fuck ups.

In the games I have seen last season - he had a season on par with Sneezey. I am well happy with Sneezey as first choice. Needs to improve mainly on mid range shots, but other than that he is a better goalkeeper than Cesar has proved in the last 3 years.

César has loads of experience, plenty of trophies, and has been excellent in the past. He is young enough (for a keeper) to still compete for a first team role, yet old enough to not hinder Szczesny's development or block his path.

He's just had a solid season, has adapted to the premiership, already (presumably) has decent English, already lives in London, his family is already here and there will be no adaptation period on the pitch or off the pitch.

So what if his wages may seem a bit high, this signing would be excellent in my opinion. We don't need a world class keeper imo, Szczesny will be great, he just needs some solid competition and César would certainly provide that and may even usurp him for the next season or two.

Cesar is capable of spectacular saves, no doubt, and is a very good shot stopper. However, he struggles in the air due to his height, and he is unreliable. Last season he easily made more clear mistakes leading to goals than Sneezey made. No joke.

He also had a shit load more to do. For me, judged objectively and without looking at age, Shezny is a bog average keeper at the moment. And his weaknesses are the same now as they were 2 years ago. His kicking is the worst in the league.

Remains to be seen whether Cesar can do better, or if we even sign him. He's not been world class for a little while now and i don't know if he can get that form back. My strong suspicion is that if we do sign him he'll usurp Shezny pretty quickly and prove to be a much better goalkeeper, at least in the short-medium term.

Timothy wrote:

He also had a shit load more to do.

Doesn't that usually make average keepers look better?

Sometimes.

What's that got to do with Cesar?

It does. Also, at a lesser team like QPR you tend to have your back 4 close to you much of the time due to them being under pressure a lot. Playing for Arsenal is very different.

Not saying that Cesar can't handle that though since he did just that playing for Inter Milan. He was just not very good there in his last seasons.

Anyway, if he is really coming he will be coming here as first choice certainly for the world cup.

Mentally prepared for Szczesny's father comments already

Clrnc wrote:

Isn't Cesar extremely dodgy on crosses as well?

He had a fantastic season with QPR though, can't remember much gaffes though he is extremely capable of fuck ups.

He's always been, even when he was very good few seasons ago.

Cesar is done at the top level IMO. I'd rather have Reina who's also past it, but at least he still remains the best footballing keeper in the league.

Show some ambition and put in a serious bid for Handanovic ffs!

A cheaper alternative(to handanovic) could be Lopez. He really impressed me in his 2nd spell at Madrid. Not fazed with all the pressure that came with replacing Casillas and was actually one of Madrid's better performers in the 2nd half of the season. Pulled off some unbelievable saves(Casillas like). Word is, he's looking for a move away from the Bernabau this summer.

I also liked Lopez every time i saw him. Wouldnt be crazy to think he wants out now that Casillas will probably reclaim his no1 spot.

As for Cesar, its really hard to judge him fairly as Inter was a total mess in his last year and QPR had defenders like Traore and Hill.

Actually Lopez is a very good shout. Thought he was excellent at Real.

Yeah agree. Some unbelievable saves by him this season.

Cesar is comfortably better than Reina though.