Tapped Up [25/08]
Okay, first things first: anyone who knows me will know that I do not tolerate things to be anything other than the best they could be; what’s the point in doing something if it’s not done to the best of your ability? Showing off shoddy, half arsed work is not who I am, or inspire to be.
Secondly: you may have been expecting a podcast today. Despite pre-production and recording last week all going effortlessly well, something about the sound quality during recording (that I only heard back yesterday, after converting it to mp3) has made it impossible to release, which has really annoyed me, especially as I was plugging and advertising the hell out of it. As good as it sounded during recording, and as good as the 44.01 minutes were, I’m not at all happy with releasing a podcast with a feint hiss and hum in the background and the occasional crackle, I’ve decided to scrap it, and share with you the written version. This version has had a little bit of post-editing in comparision to what was recorded, I’ve tried to tidy it up as much as I could, but there may be a few irregularities here and there.
I apologise for these awful excuses. Maybe one day in the near future I’ll get round to perfecting a recording so I can attempt again.
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[deleted introduction and opening paragraph]
I’m writing this not far from a landmark location for British football, albeit a soggy, drizzly location right now; I’m a stones throw from the Hamilton Crescent ground, in Partick, in the west end of Glasgow, a ground that turned out to be the birthplace of international football matches, as England played Scotland there for the first time, 132 years ago. Sadly, such momentous occasions in football are no longer to be found in this little area; Hamilton Crescent is now fitted out for cricket, the team known as Partick Thistle actually play a mile and a half away in Maryhill, whilst their more successful neighbours Rangers can be found the other side of the Clyde. However, describing what happens at Ibrox as football is like describing the weather of a typical Scottish August as “Florida-esque”. So although it’s not a momentous occasion, this is my attempt of bringing back some football from the area.
The football specific section of thelump.net gained a lot of interest after my post-Euro 2008 write-up, so much so that I’ve decided to keep it going, and have followed it up with this 45 minute ramblings revolving around the signings and transfer speculations from the English Premier League over the past couple of months, as well as a few other bits and bobs towards the end.
[deleted paragraph]
So lets get started.
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It’s been a busy time for journalists since Euro 2008 came to a close, even though the main stories that everyone wanted to write and read about didn’t actually involve anything other than rumours and hype. These transfer speculations are usually started because club X need a player in a certain position, and player Z just so happens to be either out of favour, or has an agent trying to get him a better deal. 2 and 2 are added together, and as you’d expect, more often than not it equals 7.
This seasons theme with regards to transfer speculation is ‘midfielders’. Frank Lampard was rumoured to be reuniting with Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan, Ronaldinho was apparently heading to Manchester City on 200 grand a week, before choosing Milan instead, Ronaldo was supposedly Real Madrid-bound almost every day for 3 months. In fact, there’s one player in particular that can be filed under both ‘rumours’, ‘rifts’ and ‘midfielders’, so let’s start on Merseyside.
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It’s been a busy time for Liverpool, seeing both established players leave, and exciting new faces arrive. However the main news revolves around a transfer that’s been on and off more times than a whores drawers – Gareth Barry, will he stay or will he go? Villa set a personal deadline, Liverpool missed it, then Barry announced he still thinks it could go ahead, Martin O’Neill then scraps the personal deadline on Barry’s request, saying they will give Liverpool until the actual transfer deadline, Liverpool’s owners still showed little interest in matching what Villa rate of him. All the while, the Villa fans can’t decide whether to boo him or cheer him. The saga was not helped by Liverpool spending over £20 million on Robbie Keane from Spurs, and many are suggesting they won’t even consider Barry again until someone comes in with a decent offer for Xabi Alonso.
Barry was set to be Benítez’s missing link, described by many pundits and fans as the missing catalyst for the current side. Apparently, with his signature, Liverpool could honestly look every other team in the eye at the beginning of the season, and declare that they would keep the pace, and they would last the distance. They will no longer be a team capable of impressing in Europe, and running out of breath in domestic competitions, but instead a side capable of doing both.
Villa, of course, were doing everything they could to keep one of their best players from the last 30/40 years, who is also their current team captain, well worth every penny of the £18 million.
Liverpools Rick Parry said that Villa’s asking price for Barry was too high, but look at the prices paid for other English midfielders- Michael Carrick will eventually cost Man Utd £18 million by the end of his playing days, while his teammate Owen Hargreaves was a hard fought £17 million, and Bayern Munich were unlucky not to get more. Yes, they were younger at the time, but the main point is that they were England internationals, and England regulars. Gareth’s good friend Steven Gerrard isn’t a stranger to transfer speculation; Chelsea were not afraid of admitting £32 million was their estimate a few years back, so why is £18 million proving to be a stumbling block? To me that seems a bargain for a player you could give a 5 year contract to. If they could win the league with the addition of Barry, surely he’ll pay for himself?
For Liverpool, this is a missed opportunity, but having watched them in their first few games of the season, I can’t see how or why they’d want someone else in that role, especially now he’s cup tied for european games. And Villa will be even more keen to keep him after his performance against Man City on the opening game of the season.
In other news, Harry Kewell left for Turkey, Andrea Dossena comes in from Udinese as a left back replacement for John Arne Riise, who has left for Roma, Brazilian goalkeeper Diego Cavalieri comes in to replace backup Scott Carson, and although not a direct replacement for Peter Crouch, striker David N’Gog is now also on the books at Liverpool, costing £1.5 million from PSG.
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For Manchester United, it’s been a pre-season where the main question was not “who is coming?”, but “is he staying?”
The Ronaldo saga aside, only Mikael Silvestre, Chris Eagles and Gerard Pique have left for pastures new, all leaving for more regular 1st team action. Last seasons signing Manucho is still awaiting a work permit to play in England, and may spend another season on loan until it arrives, whilst Brazilian twins Rafael and Fabio, who have been training with the club since January are now officially United players, but may only be fringe players for the first few years of life at Manchester.
The teenage twins aren’t the only sign that the emphasis seems to be on youth progression this summer. 19 year old Rodrigo Possebon made an appearance during the game against Newcastle, as did Fraizer Campbell, who Sir Alex has admitted is very much in his 1st team plans, leaving the door open for permanently injured Louis Saha to leave, but apparently not closing it for any arrival of 27 year old Dimitar Berbatov. The distinct lack of out-an-out striker for United may only be temporarily solved with Campbell; if any of the other strikers fall injured, or if United allow Hull to talk to the £5 million rated striker, the backup looks worryingly thin. Ferguson has said that he hopes to bring in a new goalscorer before the close of the transfer window, with names such as Valencia’s David Villa, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar of Ajax, Lyon’s Karim Benzema and Lucas Podolski of Bayern Munich all being mentioned, all four of them costing at least £20 million each, although I’d welcome any of those over the the one currently in the Premiership.
Even with all the rumours of players coming in, its the news that Ronaldo will be staying that must have United fans everywhere breathing a quiet sigh of relief.
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Chelsea’s two signings so far this pre-season are actually former pupils of Jose Mourinho, and in signing for Chelsea they become the 4th and 5th captures from the great FC Porto side that won the Champions League in 2004.
The more expensive of the two is Jose Bosingwa for £16.2m. As a right back, he’ll eventually be a natural replacement for Paulo Ferreira, who coincidentally was also replaced at Porto by the exact same player. Bosingwa’s style of play mirrors another Portuguese right back in Carlos Secretario. Confident in going forward, great passer, who isn’t afraid to try the occasional long cross field pass; Chelsea should be able to get the best out of this 25 year old.
Another former Porto player, Deco ended his 4 year stay at Barcelona by moving to London for an £8m fee. In the 2004 final, Deco was MOTM, scoring the 2nd of 3 goals, and dominated the midfield which such class that he was awarded the MVP of the tournament.
Deco’s arrival, coupled with the departure of Claude Makelele to Paris St Germain could see the defensive holding midfielder role disappear, and feature Deco playing in his best position- just behind the strikers, playing in front of players like Lampard and Ballack. Deco will have experience in this role under Scolari, as it’s the role he’s been playing for his country for the last 4 years, its a role similar to one Ronaldinho played in under Scolari at the 2002 World Cup. The main worry is, that at 31, Deco could possibly only have 1 or 2 good seasons left at this level, a story which could also be said for Ballack and Lampard.
Not many worries in who they’ve let go – Sidwell was nothing more than a reserves player, squashed out of the 1st team by other multi-million pound signings. Boulahrouz, despite had a great Euro 2008 for Holland, was surplus to requirements with the arrival of Bosingwa, whilst Tal Ben Haim was nowhere near Chelsea standards from day 1.
Scolari has done wonders, not in bringing Deco in, but managing to convince Frank Lampard to sign a new 5 year £151,000 a week deal. I don’t expect Frank to play every game of the whole 5 seasons, and like Deco may only stay at his very best for 2 seasons maximum. The argument that he’s Chelsea’s best player is debatable, but like John Terry, his presence in the starting 11 has an amazing effect on the rest of the team.
The only problem Chelsea will have to worry about this year is actually the complete opposite of last season- injury’s last year could be argued as a deciding factor in costing them the league, this season if they manage to keep a squad in top condition, could also be their downfall. Yes, it is a downfall that most, if not all clubs in the Premiership would love to have, but for a centre midfield with such huge names like I’ve mentioned, where does this leave the wingers? For every game that Joe Cole and Shawn Wright-Phillips aren’t a part of, it affects their England chances. Malouda will struggle to keep his form if he isn’t considered a first team regular, and after those 3 players the backup is worryingly thin, especially if that includes Anelka, who sulked everytime he wasn’t playing in his favoured central role. The match against Pompey showed that they don’t need to play a conventional 4-4-2, instead opting for the full backs to play attacking (which they both do well) and having Obi Mikel playing as the least attack-minded midfield, leaving Joe Cole, Lampard, Ballack and Deco all moving around so much you couldn’t tell who was playing where, not that it mattered – especially as three of the four goals came from that position.
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Gunners manager Arsene Wenger shows no sign of losing his vagueness and high levels of secrecy, admitting quote “It’s better I don’t speak about names. It is better I leave things to your imagination and creation”.
His own imagination must be working overtime at the moment, as Gilberto Silva, Alex Hleb and Mathieu Flamini have all left in the summer, leaving a rather large unavoidable hole in his midfield. Both Aaron Ramsey and Amaury Bischoff are surely considered too young to be thrown into the deep end of Premiership football, but don’t disregard them to the reserves too early, Wenger may include them in his plans based on talent, rather than age.
Speaking of talent at a young age, Samir Nasri has it in abundance, he already has 12 caps to his name. The right wingers arrival may mean Theo Walcott will have a more central striking role for the new season, the fact his squad number has changed from 32 to 14 could hint at more 1st team action, and his managers belief in him, especially as the last person to wear that number was Thierry Henry.
But as for someone to partner Fabregas, that hunt is still ongoing. Just how much more money Wenger has left to spend from his transfer kitty is debated, but established names like Gokhan Inler and Ruben de la Red have all been linked recently. In the opening game against West Brom, Denilson was selected for that role, but has big shoes to full if he is to ease the worries of the Arsenal fans.
That being said, if any manager goes into a match against Arsenal and underestimates just how great they can be when they want to, it will definitely be their downfall. The Gunners IMO still have a squad of Champions-League quality, and have depth in nearly all positions. The signing of Mikael Silvestre may be a strange one, especially as he was nearing his testimonial year at United, but I think thats more for cover than anything else.
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Next up, those teams considered to be in the chasing pack, or there or thereabouts towards the end of the season.
Where do you start with Tottenham? Ramos has not been afraid to sell former first team players to other Premiership clubs such as Robbie Keane to Liverpool, Paul Robinson to Blackburn, and Pascal Chimbonda, Steed Malbranque and Teemu Tainio all to Sunderland. He replies with some very impressive signings indeed. Heurelho Gomes becomes the new number 1, arriving from Dutch champions PSV, where he let in just 24 goals in 34 league games, and is reknowned for his clean sheet records at club level.
Giovani dos Santos is a great young player with a bright future. An attacking midfielder who seems an ideal partner for the more defensive-minded Tom Huddlestone, and will relish in fighting for a 1st team place with Luka Modric.
The best signing is David Bentley from Blackburn for £15 million. I’m a strong admirer of the midfielder, who has done brilliantly to beat the likes of Wright-Phillips and Lennon to the right midfielder slot for his country, and once Beckham finally decides to call it a day at international level, Bentley is surely an immediate and permanent replacement. These signings will join an already strong foundation of quality British players such as Hutton, Bale, Woodgate, Dawson, Huddlestone, Bent, and Lennon.
IMO, Spurs, despite the terrible start they’ve made to the season, are the best contenders to break into the top 4.
Villa are not far behind Spurs for the award ‘top summer signings’, Carlos Cuellar being the highlight. He was the standalone star of a rather unimaginative Rangers side last season, and was a rock in the centre of defence will helped them reach the UEFA Cup final. Cuellar joins an Aston Villa defence already bolstered by the permanent signing of Curtis Davies, and full backs Nicky Shorey and Luke Young from Reading and Middlesbrough respectively. This covers for the loss of Olof Mellberg to Juventus, and the possible long term injury to Wilfred Bowma.
Not content with ending their signings there, Villa have renewed their interest in Newcastle midfielder James Milner, who was on loan at the midlands club a few seasons back, and is currently valued at £6m.
Portsmouth now have a little and large partnership up front, bringing back memories of Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips at Sunderland. The rest of the signings do little to spark talk of them breaking into the top 6- an example would be Younes Kaboul arriving from Spurs. Couple that with the loss of Sulley Muntari and Pedro Mendes, its one step forward, two steps back.
Blackburn haven’t really set the transfer market alight just yet either, Robbie Fowler and Ince’s former captain at MK Dons Keith Andrews are not really Premiership material, but they still have the money from Bentley’s transfer, and since they bagged Paul Robinson for a bargain deal, I think Ince has the chance to do it again before the 1st September.
Fans of Everton may have been scratching their heads over the last month or so, wondering when their clubs transfer activity was going to start, especially since the cash from selling Andrew Johnson to Fulham started to weigh heavy in the chairmans pocket. However confusion should now be replaced with delight with some of the names they’ve been linked to; the two that have stood out so far is Brazilian striker Vagner Love, and Portuguese creative midfielder Joao Moutinho, the former available at £12 million, the latter at £18 million. Vagner Love is a naturally gifted little player, comfortable passing and finishing with either foot, with a similar poise and style to Man Utd’s Anderson, whilst Moutinho is a player I’ve waxed lyrical over for a few seasons now, with such great eagerness to get involved in plays going forward, and not afriad to help out at the back.
Also linked to a move to Goodison include Newcastle’s Alan Smith and Rennes midfield man Stephane M’bia.
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Now those that still need something special:
Debt riddled Newcastle have been given cash to spend despite their fragile financial position, but its their pre season that leaves a lot to the imagination. After eventually losing Emre back to Turkish side Fenerbache, the replacement midfielder came in the shape of Danny Guthrie from Liverpool, who has been given the number 8 shirt, despite his relative inexperience of 1st team action. Joining him is Jonas Gutierrez, a winger formally with Mallorca. Speculation continues to grow over 2 new defenders making up for the loss of Peter Ramage, Stephen Carr and David Rozehnal. Blackburn’s Stephen Warnock has apparently handed in a transfer request in an effort to force a £4million transfer to Newcastle, whilst the permed Fabricio Coloccini made his debut at Old Trafford.
Despite a decent performance against the champions last week, and still have players out injured, I’m still not convinced that Keegan is the man to take Newcastle into the top 10. My thoughts and reasoning on this could go on for hours, so I’ll leave it for another day.
The only signing of real interest at Man City is £18 million Brazilian Jo, who is currently at the Olympics. At the time of recording, I’ve only just heard a rumour about belgian Vincent Kompany being of interest to the club based at Eastlands, and if this is true this will certainly turn their season around. Kompany is another player whose reputation is well known around Europe, he is the unsung star in the HSV side, who have also lost Van Der Vaart and Zidan during the summer. However, Mark Hughes seems to have gone from having lots of money to no money at all, and as the saying goes, there’sno smoke without fire- all the talk over his future arriving just months after he joined must have some element of truth in it. Worrying times.
Sunderland seem to have become the Spurs reserve side over the summer, a whole host of names leaving London for the North East. El Hadji Diouf leaving Bolton was a formality, but he’s not the best striker in the world, joining him will be his former Liverpool teammate Djibril Cissé, who wasn’t getting 1st team action at Marseille.
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Now for the newly promoted sides: Hull, Stoke and West Brom. Hull have found a bargain in experienced George Boateng from Middlesbrough, who I think came off injured in their opening game. They also have a decent signing in Anthony Gardner, they have a dash of midfield flair in Geovanni, who was tipped as the next big Brazilian thing when he was in his youth. They have hardworking, respected players in Peter Halmosi, and Marlon King, who really have to step up to perform at this level, and it’ll be interesting to see how their other signings in Bernard Mendy and Craig Fagan fit into the first team plans. Sadly, no Jay-Jay Okocha, who has retired.
I hope Stoke haven’t exhausted their funds with the two signings they’ve made, and I’m sure they’d like to make a couple more to strengthen things, Seyi Olofinjana and Dave Kitson were the first two, with two Faye’s coming in afterwards. Opening day jitters very really apparent during the match against Bolton, a side who have also been predicted to be struggling come next Spring.
Of the three sides, West Brom have made the best purchases of the summer, the highlight has to be Scott Carson for a mere £3.25 million, joined by full backs Marek Cech, Gianni Zuiverloon, and £3 million striker Luke Moore, however some of the players who have moved on may have a bigger effect, there’s no Kevin Phillips, no Zoltan Gera, but some new names before the window closes may see them stay in the Premiership for at least this season.
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Right, okay, lets move swiftly on: Sacking odds, as of today, which Thursday the 21st sound like this:
4/1 Hughes (MC)
5/1 Curbishley (WHU)
13/2 Megson (Bolton)
7/1 Keegan (NU)
7/1 Ince (BR)
9/1 Moyes (Ev)
No room for any of the three managers of the Promoted sides, very interesting. Okay, so now onto my predictions for who’s finishing where.
Predictions:
1. Man Utd
2. Chelsea
3. Liverpool
4. Spurs
5. Arsenal
6. Villa
West Ham will be safe, Middlesbrough should be okay, with or without Gareth Southgate, Wigan should be finish above both of them, Sunderland and Newcastle will be in the bottom half, but wont be troubled with relegation, leaving something that look like this:
15. Middlesbrough
16. Hull
17. West Brom
18. Bolton
19. Fulham
20. Stoke
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My two Fantasy Football sides:
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[ deleted chat about Wednesday's international friendlies and 606 forum topics]
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And there you have it, that’s as much as I could squeeze into a respectable timeslot. Apologies if I haven’t mentioned your team, it’s nothing personal, I could in all honesty talk for hours on what’s good and whats bad about players coming in and players leaving for every club.
[deleted 2 closing paragraphs]
Until we meet again
ttfn.
x
A.D. Winn
lynseyk