Method in the Madness

And so concludes the summer transfer window of 2011. Once again this final day of madness did not disappoint in terms of drama, surprises and excitement. As per usual the final hour left football fans all over the country chewing their nails as they waited anxiously to see whether their club would resist selling their star players, or give in to the temptation of recruiting with last minute offers. As the clocked ticked towards the 11pm deadline there were still many futures to be resolved. Would want-aways Carlos Tevez and Luka Modric be granted permission to leave their clubs? Would Arsenal sign some much needed reinforcement to strengthen their fragile squad? And would Newcastle United sign anyone at all? The answers eventually unravelled amongst the usual dramatic twists and turns of the evening. Carlos Tevez will reluctantly stay in Manchester although will be joined by his wife and children. Daniel Levy will be highly praised for sticking to his word and rejecting an offer from Chelsea for Modric, again. Arsene Wenger finally appeared to listen to his repetitive critics and invest in experience, eventually signing five players on the final day of the transfer window. Whereas, Alan Pardew was left frustrated as he was unable to bring a strike to St. James' Park. In addition to these clubs there were other deals being sealed throughout the rest of the league. Peter Crouch ended his miserable stay at Spurs and headed north to Stoke City for £10million. Owen Hargreave's controversially swapped the red of United for the blue of Manchester City in a desperate attempt to rescue his injury plagued career. Although a lot of the deadline days completed in the Premier League seemed somewhat strange and that they were caused by panic, I believe there was method behind these signs of madness. Furthermore, it did not reflect previous deadline days of ridiculous amounts of money being spent on unproven talent. With no Brazilians confused at what club they had signed for and no Geordie's becoming multi-millionaires and over-rated over night, this summers transfer window seemed to instead reflect the economical state of the game and add a huge dose of reality to everyone involved in it. In the last transfer window Roman Abramovic smashed the British transfer record by spending £50million on Fernando Torres. This summer not even the richest club in the league attempted to equal that figure. At £38million, Sergio Aguero was the most expensive asset to the Barclay's Premier League. Although this figure is still too much to spend on one human being no matter how great his talent is, it now appears that the current global economic climate is finally effecting football. UEFA's financial fair play regulations that are soon to be installed are also preventing wealthy foreign club owners from turning our nations league into a reality version of a Football Fantasy League that can be found in any tabloid newspaper. Club's like Chelsea and Manchester City may be bathing in the glow of their recent success but if their owners became bored and departed to fulfill a new 'hobbie' then the overnight success would turn into overnight disaster as their star players imported from overseas would scurry off in search of new pay packages. However, my opinion on money and football is not an assumption that all clubs are this corrupt. Loyalty and passion still remain in the game and can be found at the highest level. A prime example of this is the consistent dedication shown by Everton manager David Moyes which is admirable, or Wigan Athletic's dramatic survival last season helped highlight how chairman, Dave Whelan, turned his clubs history into a fairytale. If the question of whether foreign investors are good for the fame or not is asked then look back to Wigan fans' jubilant faces on May 22nd and you are reminded that they are simply not needed.

New Chelsea Manager Must be Given Time to Build and Succeed

This summer Andres Villas-Boas has taken the most difficult job in football, becoming manager of Chelsea FC. The wealthy London club don’t have the best repertoire of hiring and firing managers due to their multi-millionaire Russian owner Roman Abramovic’s desire for glory. However, winning the Barclay's Premier League or the FA Cup will not satisfy Abramovic, as former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti cruelly discovered in May. Having proved his success at his former club AC Milan and winning two trophies in his first season as Chelsea Manager, Ancelotti was fired for coming second in the league in his second season but mainly for losing a quarter final in the Champions League to arch rivals Manchester United. This cruel act of power displayed by Roman Abramovic demonstrates that the Russian’s iron fist rules Stamford Bridge and no matter how close you are to fulfilling his wishes, if you fail to become the champions of Europe then you will discover the harsh consequences. But although Ancelotti was unsuccessful at bringing the Holy Grail to Stamford Bridge, he was still a successful and experienced manager prior to being appointed by The Blues. This was also the case for other previous Chelsea managers such as Phillip Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Jose Mourinho. That is why it is so interesting and intriguing as to why Mr Abramovic has placed his faith in unproven 33 year old Andres Villas-Boas. Although he had a great debut in management last year with top European club in FC Porto, he does not have the experience that is so crucial to becoming successful at the highest level. However, it does now finally appear that Roman Abramovic has invested in the future by hiring such a young coach. Furthermore, it also appears that AVB wants to add young blood to his aging squad. Chelsea have made 4 signings this summer and at 23, creative Spanish midfielder Juan Mata is the eldest of these. This clearly indicates Villas-Boas' desire to build for the future at Stamford Bridge. Mata's signing has been hailed as a great success for the London club, with the Spaniard showing promise to becoming one of the finest midfielders in European football. Mata left Valencia for a reported £23.5million which makes him Chelsea's most expensive signing of the summer so far. Having also recruited Romelu Lukaku from Belgian club Anderlecht and still hot on the pursuit of Tottenham's Luka Modric, Andres Villas-Boas clearly wishes to add more younger players with creativity to the club. If Abramovic gives his newest employee time to adjust as Chelsea manager and bond with his players like Mourinho was able to then Chelsea could become a more dominant force in England as well as Europe. Andres Villas-Boas needs this reassurance as much as the players in order to form a winning relationship both off and on the field.

Another Season to Remember

So week one of the Premier League is over and already a familiar pattern can be seen. Once again Manchester United seem like the team to beat although they will be closely followed by money spending rivals Chelsea and Manchester City. Whereas, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool will battle for that all important fourth spot. Mike Ashley appears likely to continue to struggle to bond with the Geordie faithful, no matter how often he wears his Newcastle top accompanied by his infamous plastic beer glass. And Blackburn's rapid decline will see them witness another agonizing May. Yet although there are these similarities between last season and this one, football fans can look forward to witnessing just why the English Barclay's Premier League is the best football league in the world for entertainment.

Although there were not as many goals in the first week compared to previous seasons, the games did not fail to disappoint. Alex Ferguson has once again proven 'you are never too old' by beginning the 2011/12 campaign in style. His summer signings, particularly Ashley Young, look to become important factors in retaining the coveted Premier League trophy. His shrewd activities in the transfer market have given his side a whole new style. Although this may also be due to Wayne Rooney's new hair implants. After cruising past West Brom at The Hawthorn's, Man Utd look to have hit the ground running and seem in good form for a tough August. Over at the Britannia Stadium where Stoke City hosted title challengers Chelsea a new player turned out for the blues wearing the number 9 shirt. Fernando Torres didn't get on the score sheet but it certainly wasn't from lack of trying. He seemed much like the old Torres, making intelligent runs, holding the ball up well for his team mates and shooting at goal whenever he got the chance. If his confidence continues improving then Roman Abramovic will have a genuine reason for displaying his smug Russian grin as his £50million investment will finally appear to be paying off.

With La Liga gaining one of the biggest stars of the Premier League in Cesc Fabregas, it looks like England may have gained another player of that calibre after he moved in the opposite direction. Sergio Aguero's mesmerising debut against Swansea will have the little Argentines name on every Manchester City's fans' lips and replacing Carlos Tevez on the back of their shirts. Being dubbed the 'next Maradona' earlier in his career propelled the forward into the spotlight. But after performances like this one, those similarities do not seem so far apart.

Down at the other end of the table there are six teams all with a high chance of facing the drop come May. Along with the newcomers Blackburn, Wolves and Wigan will once again face a nail biting end to the season. I personally don't believe either Norwich, Swansea or QPR have the strength in depth to be able to challenge in this league and all three could make an unwelcome return to The Championship next season.

With the pressure on each team higher than ever it would appear that this season will be the most unpredictable, controversial and excitable season of the Premier League era.

Change the Toon

In recent years it seems like any news coming out of St James’ Park is bad news. Since Newcastle’s relegation to the Championship in 2009 the northern club have continued to struggle in an unstable fashion. Although their promotion back into the Premier League made the Newcastle faithful believe that their luck had changed, things continue to spiral out of control at a club once contending for the title only a few years ago. Having already sold Andy Carroll and Kevin Nolan, it appears that Newcastle are prepared to let another star name, Joey Barton, leave the club. Having criticised the clubs ambition on his twitter account for selling key players, it now looks as though Joey Barton will be following his former team mates out the exit door. Today the official club website issued a statement stating that “Joey Barton has been placed on the transfer list today (Monday). The player has been advised that he can leave the club on a free transfer”. Placing Joey Barton on the transfer list as a result of his recent controversial twitter posts is clearly debatable, but allowing him to leave on a free transfer is absurd. Last season Newcastle’s three best players were Carroll, Nolan and Barton and now the already troubled club will begin next season without any of these players. I find it hard to believe that the club owner can continue to anger the teams’ fans by making rash and questionable decisions. It is already common knowledge that Mike Ashley is not popular amongst the toon army, yet he has only himself to blame. Sure, what Barton publicly declared may have been unprofessional, but he was only saying what everyone else was thinking. It is also clear that Barton loves this club and is fearful of it being harmed by a board of spoilt businessmen. After receiving the news that he will be leaving the club in the coming weeks, Joey Barton responded in a noble fashion stating on his twitter account “I am on a free but the honour of wearing those B+W stripes, surpasses that. One day the board might realise, what the shirt signifies. HONOUR and PRIDE. Thanks for your continued support. #toonarmy." This act of loyalty to the club will surely only cause more protests by angry supporters for allowing one of their best players to leave.

 With the days of Keegan, Ginola and Shearer long gone, it appears that the patriotic fans of Newcastle United should be prepared for things to get worse before they get better. That is, of course, if Mike Ashley remains in charge.

In Arsene We Trust?

"We will fight to the end to sign Cesc". Although Pep Guardiola may have sounded confident of signing Cesc Fabregas this summer with this quote, Arsene Wenger continues to express his desire to keep his captain. Whether this is because of what Fabregas brings to the Arsenal team or simply because Arsene knows he will be unable to replace the Spaniard is debatable. However, with only 6 weeks until the transfer window deadline day, some Gunners fans are questioning Wenger's methods. Having only brought in one major signing this summer in Gervinho, fans are becoming impatient and fear that Arsenal will not recruit the big names they were promised in time for the new season. Being an Arsenal fan myself, I know the frustration that is felt between July and September as the team I love consistently fail to spend the money available to the club on a marquee signing. In my last post I purposely resisted mentioning Arsenal as I believe that their transfer policies are the most controversial in the English game and would be impossible to sum up in one paragraph. Sure, Manchester City might be spending ridiculous amounts of money on unproven talent but as much as I hate to say it, it seems to be working for them. In this blog I want to avoid sounding bias towards Arsenal as it is not something I believe is ethical in journalism.

It emerged earlier this week that Arsenal have had a bid rejected by Everton for their defender Phil Jagielka. Although the bid was rejected, I was delighted when reading this story. Not only did it prove that Arsenal were attempting to sign a genuine proven Premier League star who has played internationally for England, but that Arsene had kept his promise and had listened to the fans wishes. Furthermore, this headline also provided me with more confidence in media stories of other players speculated to join Arsenal such as Gary Cahill, Christopher Samba and Juan Mata. In addition to this attempt to lure Jagielka to the Emirates, Arsene Wenger also stated on Saturday that Arsenal "Must find one more defender". I do not believe that Arsenal have had a 'proper defender' since the likes of Tony Adams, Martin Keown and Sol Campbell but after this promising comment from Wenger I have strong belief that we might acquire one.

In addition to resolving Arsenal's defensive woes, Arsene Wenger must also find a solution to the ongoing saga of Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas staying with club. Although Nasri has been pipped to stay at Arsenal by Wenger, many clubs (notably Manchester City) still continue to pursue his signature. If Arsene's worst case scenario does become reality and he loses two of his best players then I believe they will be hard to replace. Valencia's Juan Mata is a proven talent in La Liga but the Premiership is a different style of football. In addition to this, he is also more of a replacement for Nasri than Fabregas. Players in the same mould as Arsenal's skipper are a rare breed and would be hard to come across in the transfer market which could cause trouble for Arsenal's title challenge. However, with the return of Aaron Ramsey, the continuous blossoming of Jack Wilshire and the skill of Gervinho I have trust in Arsene.

As for the main big spenders of the transfer market, Manchester City can continue to spend vasts amount of money as although its winning them trophies, they are losing more dignity, respect and admirers than any other team and that is one league I am happy for them to be at the top of.

Money Can Buy Happiness

Although some Real Madrid fans might disagree with my title, it seems that in modern day football money is the major factor contributing to a teams success and to a fan's happiness. In this summers transfer window, already the Premier League champions have spent over a whopping £50million. If this is the action that the defending champions must take to ensure a repeat of last seasons success then what must their challengers do? The answer is simple. Spend! Spend! And spend! Although no other premier league club have matched the amount spent by Manchester United, more transfers are imminent. United's "noisy nieghbours' Manchester City are hoping to confirm the arrival of Argentinian wonder kid Sergio Aguero by the end of the week, even if Carlos Tevez is forced to stay for one more season. Aguero was originally lined up as an ideal replacement for Tevez, but after the lack of interest from clubs for the teams controversial captain, City officials are growing inpatient and must progress with the Aguero deal, which is reported to be around £40million.

Elsewhere, Liverpool have also been splashing the cash on British talent, recruiting Jordan Henderson (£20m), Charlie Adam (£6m) and Stewart Downing (£20m) to announce that they are once again title contenders. However, the big wait now is to see if wealthy Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic will provide new manager, Andre Villas-Boas, with the funds needed to land Croatian and Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric. Harry Redknapps continuous fight to keep his starlet midfielder is becoming increasingly difficult after it appeared last week that Modric is prepared to force a move to Stamford Bridge and handed in an official transfer request. If Chelsea are unsuccessful with their plans to land Modric then their attention will again turn to the Brazilian sensation Neymar. Although he is still a teenager, Santos are demanding at least £40million for Neymar.

Whether these arrivals of foreign talent is benefiting the league or damaging England's home grown talent is up for debate, whereas one thing that is certain is that the amount being spent by clubs has become out of hand and could be put to better use within the game. But as for now no changes appear to be on the horizon and the bank accounts of money grabbing football agents will only get bigger. But if the smile on the fans faces gets bigger with them when their clubs new signing scores the winning goal in the cup final then who are they to complain?