Posted on August 19th, 2009 by David
 You know finances are tight at Anfield when newly promoted side Burnley are able to out spend them in the transfer market. Burnley have confirmed the signing of Andre Bikey from Reading for a reported fee of around £2.8million.
Meanwhile over in Liverpool, where as demonstrated against Tottenham the defensive squad depth is seriously depleted, Rafa has been given a shocking £1.5million transfer limit. Given the fact that Liverpool have sold a number of players it actually equates to them having no transfer budget at all, only being able to spend funds generated from player sales.
Reportedly Liverpool are about to announce the signing of 30 year old Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos from AEK Athens. I had said Rafa was gambling by bring in Aquilani, but now he really seems to be snatching at straws to fill the gaping whole in his defensive squad.
I think Burnley have made a good move for Bikey, he may not be the best defender, but he has premier league experience, he is powerful and will not be pushed around by any team. He also managed to grab a few clutch goals for Reading when they were in the premier league, and is a good offensive asset for set pieces.
As a Manchester United fan I just can’t help grinning at the news that keeps coming out of Anfield.
Posted in Player Focus, Team Focus, Transfers | No Comments »
Posted on August 11th, 2009 by David
 The upcoming season looks very bleak for Portsmouth, and many are tipping them to get relegated this time around. They seem to have been in decline ever since their FA Cup win a year and a half ago. It’s difficult to say whether the departure of manager Harry Redknapp caused the problems, or if he was just abandoning a sinking ship.
This summer has seen them in financial turmoil and losing a lot of key players such as Peter Crouch, Glen Johnson and, back in the January transfer window, Jermaine Defoe.
They have now been dealt another big blow with Niko Kranjcar, by far their best player, announcing that he will see out his contract until the end of the summer and then move on. One has to assume that Portsmouth will try and sell Kranjcar during the January transfer window in order to collect a transfer fee while he is still under contract.
I think Pompey will really struggle this season, but if the new owners could grab a few new signings before the end of summer they may be able to turn things around.
Posted in Player Focus, Team Focus | No Comments »
Posted on August 10th, 2009 by David
 There are so many topics that could be written about the great community shield match between Manchester United and Chelsea. But one subject which has been bothering me is Sir Alex Ferguson’s penalty taker selection.
First he sent up Giggs with his years of experience, and having won the community shield 7 times already; you can’t fault that decision. Giggs uncharacteristically missed, but these things happen some times.
Next he sent up Carrick; not a striker, but he can put the ball just about anywhere he wants. Carrick stuck the penalty away well.
This is where SAF lost me; his third penalty taker was Patrice Evra?? At which point I assumed Evra was in fact a secret master of penalties, which he had proved to Ferguson on the training ground. But his penalty was predictably terrible; not sure he was trying to score or warm up the keeper.
Why when you have players such as Rooney, Owen, Scholes, would you pick Evra to take a penalty? He really has got me baffled.
Posted in Manager Talk, Matches, Player Focus | 1 Comment »
Posted on August 10th, 2009 by David
 I know in my previous post about Ben Foster I said that he would probably make a few bad mistakes in his first games but Sir Alex should stick with him and let him gain confidence…but even I am having trouble agreeing with that advice now.
Foster’s performance in the Community Shield yesterday was, in my opinion, a shocker. I can’t remember one back pass that he didn’t slice off into the stands, or get the ball stuck under his feet and almost get caught in possession.
Even the few saves he had to make, from average long distance shots, he managed to spill; luckily there were no Chelsea players running on. He did make one decent save to deny Drogba, but everything else he did was suspect.
He almost always stayed at home on corners allowing Chelsea free reign in the 6 yard box; looking like they were going to score from every corner.
I still have to stick by my original post and say that Ferguson has got stick with him, but I think if he doesn’t perform in the next 2 or 3 games he will have blown his chance big time.
Posted in Matches, Player Focus | No Comments »
Posted on August 9th, 2009 by David
 Fabio Capello has named his England squad for the upcoming friendly match against Holland on Wednesday and Michael Owen was notably absent from the team sheet.
Many had expected Owen to reclaim his England spot after his unexpected summer move to Manchester United. Capello went to watch Owen playing for United against Valencia last week, but he obviously was not impressed with the golden chances that the striker squandered.
Personally I think it’s for the best that Owen has not made the team yet. He is still bedding in at United, after four terrible seasons at Newcastle, and it is still baby steps at this point; rushing back onto the International scene could have complicated things, especially if he picked up another injury.
Although even at his currently level of performance Owen could probably top some of the players who were called up, such as Jermaine Defoe or Carlton Cole, I think Capello knows that Owen is capable of much more and will not select him until he reaches that expected level.
I have no doubt by the time the next international match rolls around, and Owen has been banging in goals for United, he will be in the squad.
England squad: Foster (Manchester United), Green (West Ham), Robinson (Blackburn); Bridge (Manchester City), A Cole (Chelsea), Ferdinand (Manchester United), Johnson (Liverpool), Lescott (Everton), Terry (Chelsea), Upson (West Ham); Barry (Manchester City), Beckham (Los Angeles Galaxy), Carrick (Manchester United), Gerrard (Liverpool), Lampard (Chelsea), Milner (Aston Villa), Walcott (Arsenal), Wright-Phillips (Manchester City), Young (Aston Villa); Cole (West Ham), Heskey (Aston Villa), Rooney (Manchester United), Defoe (Tottenham).
Posted in International, Player Focus | 1 Comment »
Posted on August 8th, 2009 by David
 Liverpool have just signed midfielder Alberto Aquilani from Roma, for a reported fee of around £20million, and it’s believe his salary to be around £80,000 per week.
I have to be honest I’ve not seen this guy play much, but looking at the stats it seems like a pretty big gamble by Liverpool manager, Rafael Benitez.
Aquilani is 25 years old, so not that “young” any more in football terms. At 25 you’d expect a player to be reaching the peak of their career. He has only ever played in Italian football; so will need to make a big transition to the Premier League pace. He does have a lot of experience at international under-21 level and below, but only 11 full international caps.
The biggest question mark is his injury status. During the last three years he has only managed an average of 24 games per year, which for a team competing in Europe is pretty low.
To top if off Liverpool have just announced that Aquilani will not be fit for another 4-8 weeks as he is still recovering from an ankle injury.
Rafa could prove me wrong, but £20million for a 25 year old, injured, untested player is a big time gamble, only time will tell if it pays off.
Posted in Player Focus, Transfers | No Comments »
Posted on August 5th, 2009 by David
 Edwin van der Sar, Manchester United’s long standing first choice goalkeeper, has confirmed he will be out for about 8 weeks recovering from a broken finger.
This is the ultimate chance for Ben Foster to prove his worth, if he is given the nod ahead of Tomasz Kuszczak. Ferguson has said time and time again that he thinks Foster has great potential, and it seems he sees Kuszczak as peaked out as a backup goalie, whereas Foster has the talent to permanently replace Van Der Sar when he retires at the end of this season.
At the moment it seems Foster is lacking confidence and consistency; which can be seen in some of the blunders he made last season, and in pre-season. You can get better at shot stopping, collecting corners and punching crosses on the training ground, but the only way to gain confidence is with a solid amount of match time.
I’m sure that Foster will make a few more awful mistakes in his first few games, but if Ferguson could just stick with him, at least until Van Der Sar returns, I think he will show just how good he is.
This would also be good news for England, as if Foster plays as well as I think he will this season, he will surely be on the plane for the world cup. My prediction is that the #1 spot in the world cup squad will come down to Robert Green or Ben Foster.
Posted in Player Focus | No Comments »
Posted on August 4th, 2009 by David
 Everton have confirm they are in talks with Arsenal to sign Philippe Senderos for a fee of £6million. Although they have said he is not a replacement for Joleon Lescott, who is currently being targeted by big spending Manchester City, it seems fairly obvious that he is in fact the replacement.
I think it would be a good bit of business to sell Lescott to City, who are reportedly ready to table a massive £22million bid. Lescott is a decent player, but he’s not in the same league as the top defenders such as John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, etc… Whenever he plays for England I have my heart in my mouth, as he always seems to make some awful mistakes on the international scene. It seems to me he cannot handle the pressure at the very top, and £22million is way over the top.
Having said what a good deal it would be a to sell Lescott, I’m stunned by the move to sign Senderos. He is, in my opinion, terrible. He plays a solid game most of the time, but it’s guaranteed that he makes at least one or two mistakes that cost a goal per game! Arsenal seem to have a policy of hiring poor defenders, and to be signing Arsenal’s rejects is pretty low…
You’ve got £20million, surely you can find someone better than Senderos…such as my grandmother…Ok I’m joking, but seriously!
Posted in Player Focus, Transfers | No Comments »
Posted on July 30th, 2009 by David
 As I previously wrote, I thought Mark Hughes made a mistake in signing Emmanuel Adebayor from Arsenal. Who could blame Arsene Wenger for cashing in on a player who was not putting in enough effort, and becoming a disruption in the locker room. Adebayor could be replaced with the money he brought in.
Kolo Toure is a totally different story, he is a natural leader; can play as an out and out defender or as a defensive midfielder and can become the heart and soul of a team. Wenger, in my opinion, is either crazy to let him go, or had very little control over the situation due to lack of funds.
Selling a key player to a direct opponent, who have declared their goal as stealing your champions league spot this season, is… ill advised to say the least.
I used to think Arsene Wenger was a great manager, but over the last few seasons Arsenal have deteriorated. I think even a few people in the Arsenal camp are starting to doubt him. He will surely live or die by this Toure decision, if he manages to successfully replace the players he has sold, and goes on to do better than last season he will sure gain a new level of loyalty, moving into the realm of “unsackable”. But if Arsenal fail to finish in the top 4 this season it could well be the end for Wenger.
Posted in Manager Talk, Player Focus, Transfers | No Comments »
Posted on July 28th, 2009 by David
 I’m a great admirer of Harry Redknapp as a manager, he is not only a good manager but he always seems to also have his eye out for a good bit of business in the transfer market.
But I have to say I can’t seem to understand his obsession with Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe. He brought them together when he was at Portsmouth hoping the two England Internationals could forge a formidable partnership…but frankly it failed.
Now for some reason he has decided to purchase the pair again, bringing them back together at Spurs. Harry could prove me wrong, but in my opinion Crouch and Defoe had plenty of time, in their half a season together, to show at least a glimmer of brilliance, which they failed to do.
It wouldn’t be much of gamble to bring in Crouch except for the fact that he has also decided to sell Darren Bent, who did net a good amount of goals for Spurs last season, and is a proven goal scorer. It might come back to haunt me, but I think Harry has made a big mistake this time.
Posted in Player Focus, Team Focus, Transfers | No Comments »
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