Manchester United – life after Ronaldo

The jury is out on whether or not Manchester United should have sold their star player Cristiano Ronaldo this summer. The £80million deal is a footballing world record transfer fee but can any amount of money really fill the void left by the awesome Portuguese play-maker’s presence. Ronaldo was United’s top goalscorer the past two seasons and was undoubtedly a huge part of the reason for their success. At times his playing style would mesmerise players and fans alike. The loss of Ronaldo is not just going to effect United but also the Premier League who have lost an iconic player to La Liga. Perhaps the best player in the world Ronaldo could go on to be one of the best ever.

Life goes on, however, and United have shown time and time again that they can cope with the loss of their main stars. Much was made of the departures of big names such as David Beckham, Jaap Stam and Ruud Van Nistelrooy at their prime but United coped with the losses and continued to build stronger squads. Sir Alex Ferguson is the master of this, somehow despite losing his best players the United boss turns his teams into better sides. This is why Sir Alex is more than happy to let go of players who he believes feel that they are too big for the club. Fergie has made it clear over the years that no player is bigger than Manchester United and that certainly no player is more powerful than the manager. Sir Alex adapts squads time and time again does it by signing great young talents who more often than not go on to produce the goods, the likes of Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and Ronaldo himself all have proved wonderful signings. It also helps that United’s world class academy keeps throwing up players, some great stars like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, and Gary Neville others great squad fillers like Darren Fletcher, John O’Shea and Jonny Evans. So if any fan in the world does not have to worry about the sale of their best player it is a United fan.

The problem this time, though, is that Ronaldo is just that bit more special than any other player who has played under Sir Alex. Never in Fergie’s reign has such a great talent been on show at Old Trafford, so it is a bit of an unknown as to how well United will cope. Yes, the losses of Beckham, Stam and Van Nistelrooy were big news but all of these players were expected to only have a couple of years left at the top level. Ronaldo is 24 and could have another 6-8 years of great football left in him and being so young he could even improve as a player in the next few seasons. No-one has really carried the United team in the same way that Ronaldo has done in certain games and on certain occasions. There were games last season that you felt United definitely would not have won had Ronaldo not been playing.

So the loss is huge for United and worryingly Fergie has not done too much to rectify this. The signings of Wigan’s Antonio Valencia and Newcastle’s Michael Owen are not going to inspire fans too much. Whilst they will be decent first team players, Valencia and Owen can hardly be expected to fill Roanldo’s boots. In watching Valencia’s first game yesterday it became apparent that he would need time to adjust to United, Valencia seemed to drift in and out of the game and was not exactly pounding at the defence of a very poor Birmingham side.

Yesterday’s 1-0 victory at home to Birmingham was less than convincing. Birmingham were very very poor and displayed little heart in their defeat and the fact that United could not score more than one goal will concern the fans. Had Ronaldo been playing yesterday you have to wonder if the scoreline would have read more like 4-0 or 5-0.

However, it is still early days. Rooney looked in good shape yesterday getting on the score-sheet and United will need him to step it up a gear this season and produce a 20 plus goal season. Players like Nani, Berbatov and Anderson all have the potential to go on and do great things but it really is time for them to reveal it. If they don’t then it is tough to see where all of Ronaldo’s missed goals are going to come from. Maybe Sir Alex will buy a forward in January, maybe not but only time will tell if life after Ronaldo will be just as sweet or if it will be sour at least for the next couple of seasons anyway.

The verdict on Ancelotti’s first game for Chelsea

Chelsea started the new season yesterday with an uncomfortable 2-1 win at home to Hull. With this match being many people’s home banker for the weekend, it will have surprised many to see that Chelsea won with a 90th minute Drogba goal.

The scoreline, however, was not a real reflection of the match. Chelsea totally dominated proceedings and with 26 shots on goal were unfortunate to only score twice. If Chelsea had not won it would have been a travesty.

So to assessing the result and Ancelotti’s first competitive match in charge. The problem with Chelsea for many parts of last season was their inability to win at home and create lots of clear-cut chances. For some reason Scolari’s men could not break down the teams who came to defend, draws against the likes of Hull, Tottenham, West Ham and Newcastle prove this.

However, this was not the case yesterday. Chelsea created chance after chance and but for some rustiness in front of goal could have scored a bag full. Drogba showed glimpses of his world class talent his Ronaldo-like free kick at the end of the first half was incredible. The link up play between the wing-backs, the midfielders and the forwards was breath-taking.

Chelsea’s shape was fantastic and even when Ancelotti made changes to the team, in the second half, the team remained as a unit and everyone played their part well. Ancelotti has perhaps incorporated a good team spirit that has been sadly lacking from Stamford Bridge in the past couple of seasons and this may have begun to change many people’s thoughts that Chelsea need a couple more world class signings to compete with the ‘big boys’.

A reality check is needed however as it was only Hull who Chelsea were facing, many people have written off Hull as certainties to go down, but in truth Hull played very well. Hull were very solid defensively and even looked a threat on the rare occasions they went forward. Boo boy Stephen Hunt was in great form on his debut and even scored to put ‘the Tigers’ into an unlikely lead.

The impressive thing for Chelsea fans was that despite Hull playing very well defensively and taking the lead, Chelsea had no problems breaking them down easily finding the gaps to create chances. If this was last season there is no way Chelsea would have won this game and it is a very positive sight to see Chelsea winning games against teams who are very difficult to play through. If you are to win the league then this ability is of paramount importance, just take Liverpool for example last season, they only lost two games compared to Manchester United who lost four yet Liverpool did not win the title.

Chelsea’s finishing was certainly rusty but that is to be expected at the start of the season, Ancelotti is sure to have the lads working on their shooting practice in training before Tuesday’s away date at Sunderland.

Obviously, it is very early days to judge teams yet. The title is certainly not won during the first game of the season and despite the positives the 2-1 scoreline is still a little disappointing. Ancelotti has passed his first test and of course the most important thing is to get the three points, which he did. Chelsea’s real test this season will be to see how they fare against the other sides in the top four. Last year Chelsea faltered against United, Arsenal and Liverpool only picking up one point from their three home games against them. If Chelsea can beat the lowly teams like today and perform well in the big matches then they have every chance of winning the league this year. However, nobody will be counting their chickens yet and it looks to be a very exciting season all around.

Premier League Preview: Manchester United-Sunderland

Manchester United

A strange off season for the ‘red devils’ has seen the world’s most expensive player leave the club. The big talking point of the summer for most United fans has been the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, the footballing sensation leaving for an amazing £80 million. Losing Ronaldo can only be seen as a huge blow to the team, there were many times last season when Ronaldo single handedly won them games and looked the best player in the world. However, £80 million is a lot of money even to a massive club like Manchester United and given Alex Ferguson’s track record of signings the money will almost certainly be well spent. So there are definitely two sides to the argument on the sale of Ronaldo, some fans are gutted at losing perhaps the best player in the world, whilst others believe the money will help Fergie strengthen his squad to be better than it was even with Ronaldo.

The strange thing is Ferguson has had no intention of spending the money this summer. Earlier in July Ferguson announced he had made all the signings he wanted to and was happy with the squad he had. The only really notable signings being Antonio Valencia from Wigan for £16 million and the surprise signing of Michael Owen on a free transfer from Newcastle. Fans are unlikely to believe that either of these players can fill Ronaldo’s boots.

Michael Owen is a world class forward when fit, the problem is he is hardly ever fit. Ferguson has taken a gamble on him but should Owen get injured United’s squad begins to look a bit bare. With the loss of loanie Carlos Tevez, United’s forward line is weaker than it was. Berbatov has not justified his big money move yet and Rooney will need to score a lot more goals if United want to win the title for the 4th season running. Ronaldo’s goalscoring will be sorely missed and some players will have to step up and fulfill their potential to help United lift more trophies this season.

Always strong at the back, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand will be hard to get past, there is no reason to expect any different.

The nucleus of the team has been kept but the holding core has been withdrawn, it is hard to see how this will not draw the other teams closer this year. This season may be one too many for United to win the title and without some more world class signings they may lose out.

Prediction 2nd

Portsmouth

What on earth has happened to this club? Last season talk was rife of massive foreign investment, rumours of an Arab takeover and even talk of Sven Goran Eriksson taking charge. Whilst this has failed to happen the club has hit a downward spiral, reporting massive debts and scrapping plans for stadium expansion, it is tough to see how the tide can turn.

The sale of Glen Johnson and Peter Crouch for a combined £26 million may seem acceptable but none of the funds have been invested in new players. With two star players gone it looks like this season will be a real struggle for Pompey. Fans are seething and with such a passionate following the club will be in for a rough ride should they not perform this season.

A shame perhaps because manager Paul Hart has done such a wonderful job since taking over, he has saved the club from almost certain relegation in the hands of Tony Adams. Portsmouth may just have enough in their ranks to survive this season but their future looks bleak and it probably will not be too long before they are relegated.

Prediction 16th

Stoke City

The heroes of last season return to fight again. Stoke were undoubtedly the overachievers of last year finishing a fantastic 12th having come up from the Championship the season before. Perhaps not the most beautiful football team to watch but they could not be criticized for their resilience and incredible home form. The Britannia Stadium was a fortress last year and if Stoke can repeat this then there is no chance of relegation.

Manager Tony Pulis was probably the manager of the season in the Premier League and although his tactics are not liked by many they get the results and at the end of the day that is all that matters.

Probably the least busy team in the transfer market this off-season, Stoke have only signed Sunderland’s Dean Whitehead for £3 million. The only sale being Seyi Olofinjana to Hull again for £3 million. This will not worry fans however as last years team has more than enough battling qualities in them to survive this league.

Stoke will look to capitalize from some poor sides down at the bottom this season, not just promoted teams but also the Hull’s and Portsmouth’s who really look set to struggle. Staying alive should be no problem for Stoke this year.

Prediction 13th

Sunderland

Sunderland fans should be buoyed by the signing of manager Steve Bruce. One of the best out their with mediocre teams on limited budgets Bruce could finally be the man to help Sunderland reach the heights their fans so desperately crave. With one of the best chairman in the game in Niall Quinn, there is no reason Sunderland cannot start to think about Europe in years to come.

Darren Bent is a great signing for Sunderland, a bit pricey at £16.5 million but he is a proven goalscorer anywhere he goes and guarantees you at least a few each season. Lorik Cana is again not cheap at £5.4 million but the former Marseille player could be a star of the future is he develops well.  Frazier Campbell has also been signed and fans will be hoping this former Manchester United youth starlet can fulfill his promise. Bruce does have the knack of picking out players of great potential, look at Antonio Valencia, Wilson Palacios and Amir Zaki all top class players who were found by Bruce.

Selling Michael Chopra, Dean Whitehead and Greg Halford will not set alarm bells ringing in the North East, Sunderland have done well to hang on to their main stars.

This is a big season fro Keiran Richardson, Manchester United’s academy product has always had the potential to be a quality player and certainly showed glimpses of that last season. If Bruce can get the best out of him then Sunderland will be a creative attacking force. Sunderland should also benefit from Bruce’s defensive knowledge making them a tough team to beat.

Relegation is not an issue that Sunderland will have to deal with but this is a building season and fans should be happy with a mid-table finish looking to push on next season.

Prediction 12th

Premier League Preview: Fulham-ManCity

Fulham

Roy Hodgson was one of the managers of the season last year. Getting Fulham into Europe is no easy task, en route Fulham beat Manchester United again no easy task. With a limited transfer budget it is tough to see Fulham matching their exploits of last season but with such a solid squad atmosphere and very proffesional players who knows?

Having signed Bjorn Helge Riise for 1.5 million and Stephen Kelly for an undisclosed fee and no key departures this summer it it is not easy to make a case for Fulham improving as a side. However, continuity would be more than enough for Hodgson this season.

Prediction 9th

Hull City

Wow, what a season Hull had last year. Their first season in the Premier League was less a roller coaster and more a large mountain. After a wonderful start, winning at Arsenal in the process there was even talk of European qualification for the ‘Tigers’, however, after a mauling by Manchester City and that infamous half time team talk on the pitch Hull fell dramatically perhaps a little fortunate to stay up on the last day of the season.

Having signed Steven Mouyokolo and more importantly Stoke’s Seyl Olofinjana, Hull will hope they have enough to survive again. The reality, though, is that if they do not significantly strengthen further they can only go one way…down. Manager Phil Brown has complained that players do not seem to want to sign for Hull and this could ultimately be their downfall.

They have kept the nucleaus of their squad but this does not seem enough to rectify the fact that during the last half of the season Hull were the worst team in the division.

Prediciton 19th

Liverpool

This is a massive season for Liverpool. If they fail to capitalise on last season and do not improve to take the league title then you have to wonder how long Torres and Gerrard will put up with it. The two stars seem to be carrying the team and with the loss of Xavi Alonso a huge blow, Alberto Aquilani will have to be one hell of a replacement to help improve the side.

The signing of Glen Johnson should provide a boost to the attacking elements of Liverpool, however, he is yet to convince defensively and at £17 million he could prove another costly mistake a la Craig Bellamy and Jermaine Pennant.

With apparent financial worries this may be the last year Liverpool can hold their players together and you have to think that if the season does not go to plan players will leave in the summer. Also Benitez may buckle under the pressure and decide to move on should a top job in Spain beckon.

Keeping Gerrard and Torres fit will be the key, if they do this they could make a real title challenge, if not they will most likely be well off the pace.

Prediction 3rd

Manchester City

A year on from the Dubai big money take over, it is still a shock to many to see Mark Hughes as manager. Hardly known for his elegant teams Hughes has somehow kept his job despite a disappointing first season in charge. He will have to deliver the goods this season to keep his job and if he fails to do this transfer budgets cannot be the excuse.

The talk of the off-season (bar Real Madrid), Manchester City have spent big and have got everyone talking. Not least by their signing of former Manchester United player Carlos Tevez, it is strange to see City have the financial advantage over their fierce rivals but they fought off apparent interest from Chelsea and Liverpool also to secure Tevez’s signature.

Arsenal also seem to have given in to City selling two of their best players in Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor. City will now feel they have a chance of taking the ‘Gunners’ expected last Champions League place.

Another coup is the signing of Gareth Barry who last season said he would only leave Aston Villa for Champions League football, however, it turns out that money is more of a factor and after rejecting Liverpool last year. £12 million could look a bargain come the end of the season.

The most expected transfer of the summer also happened as Roque Santa Cruz’s sulking finally won through and Blackburn let him go for a cool £18 million.

With so many forwards it is hard to see where they will all fit in. Tevez and Adebayor are unlikely to accept anything other than starting roles and Robinho and Santa Cruz won’t be expecting to miss out either.

Reinforcements at the back are still needed and should City sign Lescott then they could possibly challenge for Europe. However, missing out on John Terry, Samuel Eto’o and Kaka could prove their undoing as most of their signings will not be majorly feared by the top clubs. Adebayor, Toure and Santa Cruz had poor seasons last year and Tevez was mainly a substitute at United.

Prediction: 6th

Premier League Preview: Bolton-Everton

Bolton Wanderers

This season will probably turn out to be another also-ran season for Bolton, which is not a bad thing. Gary Megson has done a brilliant job of continuing the club’s Premier League status after the loss of Sam Allardyce.

Having picked up the likes of Zat Knight, Paul Robinson and Sean Davis, ‘the Wanderers’ have signed experienced Premier League players who will play good solid football but are unlikely to inspire the fans. Bolton will be expecting another season of grinding out enough results to stay up, with no real notable losses to the first team squad it should be pretty much as you were.

Prediction 15th

Burnley

Having come up from the Championship last year Burnley have bought in a lot of players, although no real stand out stars. The play-off winners look set to struggle in the Premier League and without spending more money it is hard to put up a real case for them surviving.

It seems Burnley have no intention of spending big and will try to punch their way through matches much like Stoke did so successfully last season. Burnley have kept almost all of their squad from the Championship and will hope that everyone can perform to their best.

The likes of Robbie Blake and Chris Eagles will have to step it up to the big time and play their hearts out to give Burnley any chance this year, although even that may not be enough.

Prediction: 20th

Chelsea

With a new world renowned manager in Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea have looked a refreshed force in the pre-season. No more so than evidenced by their Community Shield winning performance against Manchester United.

There have not been many changes to the team, the additions of Yuri Zhirkov and Daniel Sturridge may prove to be good signings but they are hardly the massive names that have been constantly linked with the club over the summer. Ancelotti himself has said he does not want to make anymore signings and whether you believe this or not it seems that Chelsea will have the familiar line up of last season.

The lack of creative flare that has stumped Chelsea over the past few seasons has not been resolved and if Chelsea want to win the league title they will have to use all their strength and power to overcome their rivals. A good creative midfielder would seem a must but perhaps Abramovic is still having nightmares about the signing of Deco to even consider signing another.

The reccession may have stopped Chelsea’s spending but there is still a feeling of optimism around Stamford Bridge, the sale of Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo has given all the big clubs a sense of opportunity this season. Ancelloti is a wise head and if given the freedom to manage properly he could become one of the greatest in the club’s history.

If the likes of Drogba, Ballack and Essien stay healthy Chelsea could again be the force they were a few years back. Lampard and Terry should provide the leadership in an aging squad. Should Chelsea not win the league this year then there will be many people calling for wholesale changes and the need for a better youth development system.

Prediction: 1st

Everton

No matter how well David Moyes does he never seems to get gifted with decent transfer funds to spend. After another 5th place finish Everton fans must be wondering if they can ever go any higher without serious investment. Moyes immediate concerns must be that his side will drop down the table this season as free spending Manchester City look set to charge towards the Champions League places.

Without any major changes to the squad thus far Everton will be heavily relying on top scorers Marouane Fellaini and Tim Cahill. Keeping these two fit will be the key. Everton must also hope that someone elses shines through this season and has a breakout year.

Although lacking in top quality fire power, Jo and Yakubu are quality forwards who could have good seasons, if they work well together up front Everton should be ok.

Everton are always a solid team. Moyes has built a side that is so tough to break down, rarely do they get thrashed even against the big boys. This season should be no exception and should they hold onto star defender Joleon Lescott and Mikel Arteta it looks as though a repeat of last season is very much possible.

Prediction 5th

Premier League Preview: Arsenal-Blackburn

Arsenal

Arsenal football club have been one of Europe’s best for some time now. This is greatly thanks to Arsene Wenger who has really established his policy of bringing through the world’s best youth talent. Wenger also has the great managerial gift of being able to get the best out of under-performing players, remember Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira were nothing more than averagely good players at their previous clubs.

However, a worrying trend is beginning to emerge. Arsenal are starting to sell off their best players leading many to believe they are becoming a selling club. This all started with the sale of Henry and Vieira, admittedly when they were believed to be declining players. More worrying though is the recent sale of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor, again two players who have prospered greatly under Wenger, to their main rivals for the fourth Champions League place Manchester City. There is a feeling aroung the Emirates that this may come back to haunt them in later weeks.

Arsenal have not really strengthened in the off season, the £10 million signing of relative unknown Thomas Vermaelen is hardly likely to have inspired the fans but Wenger has been known to do well in the transfer market so only time will tell.

Two major pluses, however, are the return of Tomas Rosicky and the first full season for Andrei Arshavin. Both of these players are world class and whilst they are injury prone if they can be kept fit Arsenal could challenge for honours this season. After holding onto Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal with their great youth system are still well placed to make a challenge. Defensively, though, they are still weaker than the rest of the top four and this could ultimately prove to be their downfall. Arsene really needs a solid centre-back in before the end of September.

Prediction: 4th

Aston Villa

Martin O’Neill will always play down Villa’s chances. He seems content to settle for European qualification, which given Villa’s budget is still an achievement. However, a part of every Villa fan would love to see them playing Champions League football and for a while last season it looked as if they would. If not for a major downturn in results after Christmas O’Neill’s men could have been playing Europe’s finest.

It certainly looks tougher for Villa this year, with Manchester City spending millions to try and claim that elusive Champions League place you have to wonder where Villa will fit into the mix.

A thin squad at the best of times it is probably a little disappointing to the fans to see more more exits this summer than arrivals. The loss of Martin Laursen is huge, Gareth Barry likewise and Zat Knight not pleasing.

Stewart Downing and Fabian Delph will have huge holes to fill but could prove good signings in time. However, their youth factor has to cast a shadow of doubt over whether they can be stand out performers this season.

Another team that really needs some central defensive cover before the end of September, which is not easy to come by in the modern day over-inflated market.

Villa will still probably be one of the best of the also rans.

Prediction: 7th

Birmingham City

Newly promoted Birmingham have made a habit of flip-flopping between the Championship and the Premier League. Whilst this season looks like it will be a struggle Birmingham have spent a bit of cash and will hope that they have invested enough to stay up. After watching the heroics of Hull and Stoke last season they know that anything is possible.

With many players coming in Birmingham seem to be going from strength to strength, although one of the key factors of their season will be how expensive £9.2 million striker Christian Benitez performs on unknown European soil. Relative unknowns Roger Johnson and Scott Dann will have to step up a gear to play in the Premier League but Barry Ferguson could be a wise acquisition at only £1.25 million. Lee Bowyer on a free is worth a gamble and the experienced midfielder could help his new side side to survival. That said it looks like a tough season ahead which may well end in failure.

Prediction: 18th

Blackburn

Blessed with one of the best low-budget mangers in the league in Sam Allardyce, Blackburn escaped almost certain relegation. When Allardyce took over Blackburn last season they were in dire straits but the ‘grinder’ big Sam got the team playing again and they survived comfortably in the end.

There is no real reason to expect anything else this season. The loss of Roque Santa Cruz is a huge blow but many Blackburn fans would argue that he was not really playing for the team last season anyway. The want-away striker making it clear he did not want to stay. Somewhat more surprising is the sale of Matt Derbyshire, the young talented English forward had impressed in his limited appearances for the first team often popping up with vital goals.

A few usual low-key signings will probably turn out to be good enough. It will be interesting to see how highly rated Gael Givet and Nikola Kalinic perform in the Premier League. Though it is hard to see anything other than relatively easy safety for Blackburn this season.

Prediction: 14th

Has the football league ever had it so good?

The new football league season kicks off today and fan of the teams in the lower divisions of English football must be licking their lips at the opponents they will face. 

In the Championship, Newcastle and Middlesborough will be the big scalps of the season. Teams like Peterborough and Blackpool must be so pleased to be able to say that they are in the same division as these massive football clubs. It is only a few years since Kevin Keegan’s famous, ‘I would love it if we beat them rant’ at Alex Ferguson, when it looked as if Newcastle United would be Premier League champions. Middlesborough themselves were playing in Europe only a handful of seasons ago.

A league including other big clubs such as with Leicester, Nottingham Forest, Derby, Bristol City, West Brom and Sheffield Wednesday is sure to rouse the fans. Clubs that could all make a case for deserving to be in the Premiership for the size of their fan bases, will be sure to throw up a lot of interesting match-ups and fierce rivalries in the coming weeks. It looks like it could be one of the best Championship seasons in years.

Yet it is not just the Championship that now has all the big non-Premier League teams. League One can now boast an wonderful line up of once great clubs. Playing in the third tier of English football this season are most notably, Leeds United, Norwich City, Southampton and Charlton. All of whom have played in the Premier League within the last five years. Leeds United of course made the semi final of the Champions League in 2001 but since then have infamously collapsed into relative obscurity in League One.

Even League Two has hit the headlines in recent weeks. Although not boasting the same array of big clubs, the oldest club in the world Notts County have just signed up Sven Goran Eriksson as director of football. Eriksson is one of the highest profile managers in the world and arguably one of the best. With new rich Arab owners Notts County could be a club to watch in the next few seasons as they look to climb from the fourth league to the top.

Whatever happens it looks as if it will be a very exciting season this year.

The Problem With Manchester City

So you are a club who lose your last game of the season 8-1 against Middlesborough. Your manager has just been fired despite getting the club into Europe for the first time in five years. The club’s owner, who may be arrested for corruption, has expressed a desire to sell your club and your captain has voiced huge discontent at the whole situation.

This was Manchester City seven months ago. The club was in disarray and the future looked bleak for their fans.

When highly regaurded young manager Mark Hughes was hired the mood was lifted slightly. But there were still rumblings from skeptical fans who thought Hughes would not encourage his players to play good football. Hughes is a manager who was focused on physical aggression and assertiveness from his players during his time at Blackburn.

There was some light at the end of the tunnel though when Abu Dhabi United Group Investment and Development Limited completed a takeover of Manchester City. This instantly made the club the richest in the world. Sadly, the deal was made on the transfer deadline day and the club only managed to sign one player Robinho who was previously on the verge of signing for Chelsea. This was a huge coup for the club and broke the British transfer record costing £32.5 million.

So, with a renewed confidence around the club the new season started but Man City have not set the league alight. They are currently hovering just two points above the relegation zone with nearly half the season gone.

With the transfer window opening again at the start of next month the press and the fans are already buzzing with transfer rumours. Sky Sports News reported yesterday that Man City had offered £128 million for Real Madrid’s goalkeeper Iker Casillas. A ludicrous amount perhaps but it is certainly money that the owners can afford to spend in abundance.

The problem is that Man City do not have the pulling power of the big four. They will struggle to attract the huge names they have been linked with such as Kaka and Messi because of the lower prestige of the club. Okay, they did sign Robinho from under Chelsea’s nose but the fact remains that money is not everything in football. Yes, it counts for a lot but Casillas has apparently rejected Man City and many of the big players will follow suit. The club is still considered to be a smaller club than the Premier League’s famous ‘big four’ of Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal. It is unlikely that players will reject the chance to play in the Champions League to play in the UEFA Cup for City.

It is hard to see how they can break into and establish themselves in the top four with such a high standard of football being set by the ‘big four’. The Man City revolution is not likely to have a big impact for a few seasons yet.

So maybe City should set their sights lower down. The huge European clubs will not sell their best players. Perhaps the likes of Lazio’s Pandev and Weder Bremen’s Diego should be main and realistic targets. It seems a waste of time chasing after players at the top clubs such as Barcelona and AC Milan but there are still great players with huge potential playing for smaller European Clubs.

Who knows if the owners are willing to be patient. Maybe they will get fed up without Champions League football and will sell the club on again. Only time will tell, but City fans should be a bit cautious in their glee. The future may not be as bright as the fans hope, they may not be challenging for the title even with the huge cash injection.

Premier League Weekend Afterthought

The story of the weekend has to be Arsenal’s surprising win at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea who had gone over four years without a Premier League home defeat lost their second home game in recent weeks under dramatic circumstances. Arsenal, however, started the match very shakily and did not look comfortable as Chelsea seemingly dominated the possession and dictated the pace of the match. This was compounded by Djorou who put into his own net to give Chelsea a 1-0 half time lead.

Chelsea deserved their lead and looked good for it until a terrible referreeing decision allowed Arsenal to level midway through the second half. Denilson’s flick fell to Van Persie, who was visably a yard or two offside, no flag was raised and Van Persie slotted home.

A shell shocked Chelsea were outraged by the assistant referees mistake and were further made to pay when a sluggish Chelsea defence failed to clear allowing for Van Persie to turn on the ball and fire home the winner past a helpless Petr Cech a couple of minutes later. Chelsea never looked like scoring and again failed to come from a goal behind against strong opposition.

The Blues can look back on the match as an unlucky defeat but in truth Chelsea did not have enough spark at the Bridge to deserve anything from the match.

Scolari was surprisingly critical of the refereeing after the game. The Brazilian’s cool, calm and colleted reputation is quickly disappearing. The pressure may be getting to Big Phil, Chelsea are not looking they force they did at the start of the season. As the injury list grows and following the annoucement that Chelsea will not be buying players in January it is difficult to see how the home forn will be turned around.

As for Arsenal this result may have saved their season. They now are within 8 points of the top of the league and although it will be an uphill struggle the league title can still be theirs. Arsenal still lack a clear cutting edge but this result is sure to boost their confidence. Hopefully they will spend in January as the board have made it clear they have the funds to. Chelsea have now played all of the other three so called ‘big four’ at home this season and have only taken one point from those games not exactly title winning form.

Perhaps the fiercest derby in English Football went the way of Manchester United this weekend. United dominated the match and were good value for their win. Manchester City could not find the magic of last season to oust their rivals. Rooney scored a rebound tap in to seal the win for the Red Devils.

All did not end well for United, Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for a needless handball late in the second half. The win has meant United have closed the gap significantly at the top and are starting to look like the team of last season again. City are now hovering dangerously close to the relegation zone. People at City will be starting to wonder how much longer their ridiculously rich owners will stand for the poor league position.

Liverpool claimed top spot despite failing to capitalise on Chelsea’s loss and could only draw in a drab match at home to West Ham. The Reds were booed off at full time and the Anfield crowd were less than impressed with another goaless home draw against weaker opposition.

It was the same result at Villa Park as a gutsy Fulham earned a good point. Villa missed out on the chance to consolidate their position in the top four and have now fallen to fifth. The league has tightened even more this week and no one at the top is taking control over their rivals.

Towards the foot of the table things are so close that a win can take some teams up six or seven places.

West Brom lost again despite leading away to Wigan and look like the real certainties to go down at the moment.

The other team on a downward spiral are Sunderland, hammered at home 4-1 by Bolton of all teams. An embarressing result and it looks as though Roy Keane has become disillusioned with life in the North-East. He will not sign a new contract and has admitted he may leave the club which is hardly reassuring to the players and fans. It is difficult to see how they can turn their fortunes around under such a fickle manager. Maybe Keane should just leave now so that the club can appoint a new manager and raise the spirits on the club before it is too late.

There were also good wins for Everton away at Spurs and Portsmouth at home to Blackburn. Stoke and Hull managed a draw as did Middlesborough and Newcastle.

1	Liverpool	15	13	34
2	Chelsea	15	27	33
3	Man Utd	14	16	28
4	Arsenal	15	8	26
5	Aston Villa	15	6	25
6	Hull	15	-2	23
7	Everton	15	-2	22
8	Portsmouth	15	-4	22
9	Bolton	15	1	20
10	Fulham	14	1	19
11	Wigan	15	-1	19
12	Middlesbrough	15	-6	19
13	West Ham	15	-5	18
14	Stoke	15	-10	18
15	Man City	15	6	17
16	Tottenham	15	-4	15
17	Newcastle	15	-5	15
18	Sunderland	15	-11	15
19	Blackburn	15	-12	13
20	West Brom	15	-16	11

The foreign players versus home grown players debate

Anyone who has followed football over the last few years will have heard many different views on how foreign players have effected club and international football. There has been a huge increase in foreigners across most of Europe’s leagues in the past decade. This has caused suggestion that the amount of foreign players playing for a club should be capped. FIFA president Sepp Blatter and UEFA president Michele Platini have both backed proposals thata their must be a minimum of 6 home grown players and a maximum of 5 foreign players per team.

Whilst such a proposal would expect to result in an increase in standard of certain national teams whose youngsters will get the chance to play top flight football, it is of little doubt that the standard of football in these leagues would decrease.

Maybe the argument is purely a club versus country debate. Which is more important and which do the fans prefer.  Well, it is tough to judge whether international football is preffered to club football. Fans tend to like both types of football and without polling Europe to find out, it is very difficult to draw any significant conclusions because of the undeniable popularity of both.

So rather than try to determine which is favoured it is probably easier to analyse whether foreign players have improved the top European leagues and whether less foreign players will help national teams to prosper.

Using the English Premier League as an example, most people will agree that the quality of football has dramatically increased over the past few seasons. With English teams dominating the champions league’s latter stages not many would deny that the English Premier League now has the highest standard of football anywhere in Europe and probably the world. The bigger nations in Europe such as Spain, Italy and Germany also seem to have gained something with the increase in foreign players. This has seen the revenue of these leagues increase by millions and millions in recent years.

Perhaps this increase in revenue and popularity still would have occurred without foreigners and of course there is no definite way to judge it but it is hard to dismiss the impact of foreigners in the bigger European nations.

The countries that have suffered most from the increase in foreign players in the top leagues in Europe are the smaller European countries and the rest of the world. Countries such as Holland, Brazil and Argentina are finding it increasingly difficult to hold onto their home grown players. As soon as players within these countries start attracting interest from the big European footballing nations they have an impossible task to hold onto their players.

So on the upside in England, Spain, Italy and Germany the standard of football has improved over the last few years. On the negative side pretty much every other country’s club football is suffering because of it.

The next question is whether or not the state of the national teams in England, Spain, Italy and Germany are deteriorating because of the influx of foreigners into their leagues.

A lot of Englishmen will point to England’s failure to qualify for Euro 2008 as a prime example of how foreigners have ruined the state of their national team. However, even before the decrease in English players in the Premier League England failed to qualify for the 1994 World Cup, a tournament in which they made the semi-finals four years earlier. Of the other main European footballing nations who have a similar amount of foreigners in their league, Spain won Euro 2008, Germany were the beaten finalist’s and Italy are the current World Cup holders. So on the whole it can be argued that in fact the impact of foreign players has not had a negative effect on the leading European nations national sides and may have even had a good effect. Even England, who can have the most complaints in this respect, are having a great qualifying campaign this time around.

It is unclear if countries should limit the number of foreigners playing in their club teams. It would be a great shame to see the worlds best clubs being limited in talent and the top European leagues would probably lose a lot of global appeal. Maybe this is the reason FIFA and UEFA have failed to sanction such a proposal despite their head henchozs both being in favour of it.