There we go, the football season is now officially “ON” with the closure of the summer transfer window.
Richard made a comment about staying up until the end of the transfer window to get the comings and goings and I must admit, so did I ... but so too did all of my mates!
I think as transfer windows go, it doesn’t get much more exciting.
Manchester City:
Who the hell envisaged Thaksin whatever-he’s called selling the blue side of Manchester to a gaggle of Arabs? I certainly didn’t and I sure as hell didn’t see them bidding on Dimitar Berbatov or Robinho.
Robinho:
I’m not sure what Robinho is going to bring to the Manchester City side. I don’t think he really wanted to play for them, rather, I think he sees his time at the Eastlands as an opportunity to sit in the shop window until January when it becomes clear that he’s not adapted to life in Manchester, at which point Mr. Abramovich will come calling with his millions and take him to the bright lights of London. There is no doubt he is a good player, but is he worth over £30m? I’ve seen him a few times for Real and I really think that the price tag is grossly over inflated and that Real Madrid must be laughing at the price they got.
Dimitar Berbatov:
As a Liverpool supporter and with it being a VERY important season this year (Manchester United have the ability to make it 18 league wins, equaling Liverpool as the most successful domestic club in England) I was fascinated by the Berbatov saga and really hoped that he’d sign for the blue side rather than the red side, but alas it was not to be. I think I was deluding myself thinking that he’d go to City over United, but what I was hoping, was that Spurs wouldn’t allow United to ‘talk’ to the striker.
Richard made a comment about staying up until the end of the transfer window to get the comings and goings and I must admit, so did I ... but so too did all of my mates!
I think as transfer windows go, it doesn’t get much more exciting.
Manchester City:
Who the hell envisaged Thaksin whatever-he’s called selling the blue side of Manchester to a gaggle of Arabs? I certainly didn’t and I sure as hell didn’t see them bidding on Dimitar Berbatov or Robinho.
Robinho:
I’m not sure what Robinho is going to bring to the Manchester City side. I don’t think he really wanted to play for them, rather, I think he sees his time at the Eastlands as an opportunity to sit in the shop window until January when it becomes clear that he’s not adapted to life in Manchester, at which point Mr. Abramovich will come calling with his millions and take him to the bright lights of London. There is no doubt he is a good player, but is he worth over £30m? I’ve seen him a few times for Real and I really think that the price tag is grossly over inflated and that Real Madrid must be laughing at the price they got.
Dimitar Berbatov:
As a Liverpool supporter and with it being a VERY important season this year (Manchester United have the ability to make it 18 league wins, equaling Liverpool as the most successful domestic club in England) I was fascinated by the Berbatov saga and really hoped that he’d sign for the blue side rather than the red side, but alas it was not to be. I think I was deluding myself thinking that he’d go to City over United, but what I was hoping, was that Spurs wouldn’t allow United to ‘talk’ to the striker.
I know that Liverpool are not squeaky clean following “Barry-gate” but what has really disappointed me is that the whole transfer process has been turned on its head, with teams now contacting players directly (or indirectly through agents – all of whom should be banned from the game and sent to Siberia in my opinion) before a fee has been agreed with the club. Effectively they are holding the club that own the player's contract to random by agreeing with the player before the club and it puts the club in the awkward position of having a player who isn't 100% focused.
Liverpool:
I’m glad that we’ve seen the end of “Barry-gate” for this year, I personally thought that £18m was a grossly over inflated price tag for a midfielder who has had one very good season and a number of mediocre ones. I didn’t see where he’d fit into the side and I don’t think he is that much better than the incumbent, Xabi Alonso.
The signing of Espanyol winger Albert Riera was another that’s been on the cards for a while. Admittedly I’ve not seen him as much as I’d liked to have and I hope that he doesn’t become another Josemi or Jan Kronkamp and not step up to the Premiership plate. We also said goodbye to Steve Finnan who has left Anfield bound for Espanyol as a make weight for the Reira deal, he did a sublime job in his time at Anfield and I’m sure Liverpool supporters will wish him the best in the twilight of his career.
The rest of the singings were just no-marks really, the young Hungarian lad had been brought over on loan last season with the agreement that we’d buy him permanently this year and Vitor Flora ("who are you?" I hear you say) from Botofogo.
The rest of the Prem:
£15m for Standard Liege midfielder Marouane Fellani seemed steep in my opinion and speaking to my bitter mates it seems that they are not particularly impressed with David Moyes’s transfer dealings. Louis Saha from Manchester United – I can only hope they didn’t pay anything for him because I can’t see him keeping fit for an entire season.
Spurs were quite active too – buying Corluka is a great move as was buying Pavlyuchenko who I think will shine in the Premiership. They’ve started VERY slowly, but I certainly think they will pick up as the season moves on.
Moving on to looking at Charlton ... I’ve got to echo what Richard said – the whole Primus melarky is very odd and I don’t know whether he is worth the effort really. Martin Cranie – if I’m brutally honest, I don’t even know who the fella is, so I can’t really pass judgment … I’ll wait until I see him in action before I comment.
I think that from a squad perspective, we are nowhere near having a squad that will be challenging for automatic promotion. It’s going to be a real battle this year and I think that January will see a strengthening of the squad if we are in the top four… but otherwise, we better had get the trenches dug and dig in for the long winter!
The rest of the Prem:
£15m for Standard Liege midfielder Marouane Fellani seemed steep in my opinion and speaking to my bitter mates it seems that they are not particularly impressed with David Moyes’s transfer dealings. Louis Saha from Manchester United – I can only hope they didn’t pay anything for him because I can’t see him keeping fit for an entire season.
Spurs were quite active too – buying Corluka is a great move as was buying Pavlyuchenko who I think will shine in the Premiership. They’ve started VERY slowly, but I certainly think they will pick up as the season moves on.
Moving on to looking at Charlton ... I’ve got to echo what Richard said – the whole Primus melarky is very odd and I don’t know whether he is worth the effort really. Martin Cranie – if I’m brutally honest, I don’t even know who the fella is, so I can’t really pass judgment … I’ll wait until I see him in action before I comment.
I think that from a squad perspective, we are nowhere near having a squad that will be challenging for automatic promotion. It’s going to be a real battle this year and I think that January will see a strengthening of the squad if we are in the top four… but otherwise, we better had get the trenches dug and dig in for the long winter!
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