A tribute to the man, the legend, Mario.
I know the League season isn't even over yet, but as a fan of a team outside of Manchester, I am already looking forward greatly to the Summer transfer window.
The question is, who will be going where. No doubt, we will see Manchester City dip into their never-ending transfer budget and sign a few players. Who will those players be? Who knows. RVP perhaps, although I can't see him leaving Arsenal, at least not for a team in the Premier League. No doubt they will sign someone of considerable quality, it will be very interesting to see who that player(s) is.
Manchester United = sign a midfielder, simple. The fans have been crying out for a world-class midfielder after becoming sick of seeing the likes of Michael Carrick and Anderson in the starting line-up.
Arsenal, all they need is a few defenders ( 3 at least ) who have some defensive qualities and not just attacking ones. A good CDM ( Yann M'Vila ) and another striker wouldn't go astray.
Chelsea, badly need to one or two top quality wingers to compliment their strikers. Torres is not a bad player, I don't care what anyone says, he just needs better service.
If Spurs sign a prolific striker, I am confident they will challenge strongly for the title next season. Big IF though, I can't think of anyone affordable they could tempt to White Hart Lane.
Where do I start with Liverpool, get rid of the rubbish. You know who I mean, Carroll, Henderson, Adam, Downing, Maxi and use the money to buy 2/3 good attacking players. Also, get a decent CB, a new RB wouldn't go astray either.
It's not just the big team's transfer antics I'm looking forward to though. Newcastle, Sunderland, Everton and dare I say Fulham are all teams with very solid squads, and with the addition of a decent player or two ( and also keeping their best players ), they could all be in contention to strongly challenge for a spot in the top 5/6.
It's really starting to heat up now. The race for fourth place is almost as intriguing as the two Manchester clubs fighting it out for the Premier League title. Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle and even Sunderland and Everton all have a shot at that coveted Champions League spot.
Of course, one of those teams will finished third, a position which will more than likely be filled by either Arsenal, Tottenham or Chelsea. Fourth position will be contested by the two teams who lose that third place battle, along with all the other teams I have mentioned. It's hard to think of Chelsea not making the Champions League, what will all the money they have spent over the years, it would almost be a crime for them to play in the Uefa Cup.
Spurs, on the other hand, are not regulars in the Champions League, although they have featured there this season. They were on top form at the start of the season, but a recent string of poor results has cost them a 7 point lead on their neighbours Arsenal, who overtook them in the table and are now sitting pretty in third position. With the team Spurs have, they should really be playing Champions League football, more so than Arsenal in my opinion. Their team is full of quality players, and they are a prolific striker away from something special.
Liverpool, a whole new team from that of 3-4 years ago, are still some way off the standards they are so used to. The players they have brought in (Carroll, Henderson, Adam, Downing ) are all not performing to a high enough standard. Newcastle, with a bit of cash injection, could be a real force to be reckoned with next season, providing they keep their big players. For Arsenal, it's really a case of invest or prepare for another trophy-less season. Sunderland and Everton, lets face it, are not going to be playing Champions League football this year, but with a very strong backbone of players, it could be an interesting summer for them.
The top four this season will be, in no particular order and in my opinion, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. In my opinion, Arsenal and Chelsea are a
TopBet for this weekend, both need to win. Arsenal play QPR away, a difficult but manageable test, whilst Chelsea are away to struggling Aston Villa.
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Lately, you can't look in the papers without seeing something about North Londoners, Arsenal. The problem for them is, the news has not been very good of late. Some might say Arsenal are a club in crisis, and I would have to agree.
We all know about Cesc Fabregas' high profile move back to him first club Barcelona, but to be honest that move was coming and any Arsenal fan who didn't predict it, was frankly, clutching at straws. With the sales of Emmanuel Eboue and Gael Clichy adding to the departure list, it's safe to say there is something not right in the Emirites stadium this summer.
Who is to blame? I don't think its problem with the board, otherwise we would have heard it from some source. Most of the blame has been put on Wenger, which in my opinion, is fair enough. He has been told over and over again where he needs to strengthen his squad, and instead he buys a mediocre right-back from Charlton, a 17 year old wonderkid who although screams potential, is not the finished article. His only other signing was Ivory Coast international Gervinho, who signed from Lille. A good player yes, but the type of player Arsenal need? No.
Perhaps the most worrying thing for Wenger and his staff is the astonishing lack of support from the fans, but can you blame them? Last weekend during their 0-0 draw with Newcastle a chant from crowd could be heard ''Please spend some money''. There was also some abuse for want-away midfielder Samir Nasri, with Arsenal fans letting there feelings towards his lack of loyalty to the club be known. Tonight's game against Udinese is perhaps one of the most important games of Arsenal's season. A two legged affair. Victory could win back the fans, defeat could see more empty seats at the Emirites for games to come.
So with Fabregas gone, Nasri seemingly destined to make a switch to Manchester (the blue side) and the fans getting sick of Wenger's procrastination in the transfer market, it's safe to say Arsenal are not having their best period. Your
move Mr Wenger, your move.
At this time of year, the prospects of the national side are firmly on the back-burner of many fans minds, and rightly so, it’s the exciting start of the new season, full of hope and expectation, which carries many fans along until they meet their more familiar friends of despondency and ennui as their team squanders yet another half-time lead, the referee robs them again of 3 points for 4 weeks on the trot etc, etc, etc…
Yet come the end of the season, attention will turn to the national side as they struggle to qualify out of their group and barely make it to the knock-out stages, normally to be dispatched by a far fitter, energetic, enthused and committed side.
Why is this? Why has England not really turned up to a tournament in any meaningful way since 2002? If we look at other countries, the winter break is an obviously identifiable feature that football in this country lacks and would probably benefit from. But the heart of the problem is something deeper.
The effect of European football’s expansion since 2000 to 2 leagues, the Champion’s (ironic since the last true champion’s league was in 1999) and Europa leagues, that sit above the premier league and have turned the season into not one marathon, but something akin to a triathalon that features a marathon.
The result of which is that a large amount of the games in the premiership are being played in front of reduced crowds, by players who are operating at 80-90% peak performance.
If the FA were serious in setting about winning England’s 2nd major international trophy, perhaps they ought to take a leaf out of the governing bodies of other UK sports?
The England cricket team had similar struggles in international tournaments until recently. They failed to qualify out of their group during the world cups of 1999, 2003 and performed abysmally in 2007. Since 2009 though, England have reached the knock-out stages of every tournament they’ve played in, culminating in that 2010 Twenty20 World cup win in Barbados.
How have they achieved this? Well in part the ECB (the game’s governing body) have made ‘Team England’ their top priority. England players are salaried not to their clubs, but to their national team.
This means that the ECB can direct players to rest and ensure that they arrive at tournaments fit, and hungry for international success.
Whilst those looking at football betting tips don’t doubt the current England side’s desire to perform to the best of their abilities, the current set up of English football is not designed around producing the best quality national side, and it’s been showing for a long while now.
Arsenal chief Arsene Wenger has apparently today made an astonishing £18 million bid for Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing. Downing has been with a move away from Villa Park after a rather sluggish season from Villa.
Villa have already lost a key player in Ashley Young, and will be keen to hold to Downing. However, such a high bid could tempt them to part with their English born winger. Arsenal have thus far been very quiet in the transfer market, and Arsene Wenger is coming under increasing pressure to make some signings.
However, is Downing the right man for Arsenal? First of all, £18 million is a ridiculous amount to pay for him, that would be more than Man United payed for Ashley Young (a better player), but still less than Liverpool payed for Jordan Henderson if that's any consolation to the Arsenal faithful. Personally I don't think Downing is good enough for Arsenal and if anything, he is not needed
If you have been following the summer of transfer dealings so far, you will know that there is plenty of money changing hands. Some deals are not completed quite yet, but as well as the ones that have gone through, the price tags of some players has surprised many.
There are a few examples. England Under-21 international Jordan Henderson has moved to Liverpool for £20m, Connor Wickham has gone to Sunderland for £12m and England international Ashley Young has completed a £15m move to Manchester United.
This is just three deals for English players and the spending has reached £47m. Quite incredible when you think of it like that isn’t it? Speaking of incredible, it was reported that Stoke City offered £16m to secure the signatures of Birmingham’s Cameron Jerome and Scott Dann.
Where am I going with this I hear you ask. Well, as well as pointing out the amount of money being spent by English clubs this summer, it got me to thinking about another recent expensive transfer.
Football betting pundits will tell you how Andy Carroll moved to Liverpool in January for £35m. This was a lot of money of course, but when put with the transfers going through this summer, it fits quite nicely.
This means that the pressure of being the big money new signing will be lifted somewhat on Carroll in the new season.
Of course he will be expected to perform, but with plenty of other intriguing transfers going through – not least Carroll’s new team-mate Henderson – not all eyes will be on the former Newcastle striker.
Combine this with the fact that the Liverpool crowd took to their new striker straight away last season and it looks good for Carroll to have a very productive first season at Anfield. In fact, let’s go as far to say that it will be the season where he really shows everyone what he can do.
He has all of the attributes to be one of England’s leading strikers and now he has the club, the team-mates, the manager and the atmosphere to succeed.
It is all there for him and with the pressure off slightly following his big-money move, Liverpool could really start to see some reward for their ambitious January signing and one of my many football bets might be for him to hit the 20-goal mark before the season is out.
Here is a list of 4 players who I believe are the most in demand in the current transfer market.
1. Samir Nasri - He has been in the tabloids constantly for the past three weeks. Manchester United, Manchester City,Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid are all keen to sign the French midfielders, who showed significant improvement last season. Personally, I think he will leave, but I think Wenger would be an idiot to sell him to any club in the Premier League. It would only make the teams around Arsenal, that much stronger. He only has 1 year left on his contract, and I think Arsene Wenger needs to stop with this nonsense contract policy which has seen him lose several key players in the past.
2. Luka Modric - Speculation surrounding the future of this little Croatian midfielder has died down over the past few days, but I expect it won't be long before the rumours start up again.
Again, Manchester United and Chelsea have been linked with the Tottenham midfielder, who would no doubt love to be playing Champions League football again this season. Will he leave? I doubt it, I can see Tottenham hanging on to him for one more season.
3. Scott Dann - The 6'5 centre-back is very much in demand at the moment, with Stoke, Chelsea and Arsenal all very keen to secure his services. I'm sure that given the choice Dann would prefer to be joining Chelsea or Arsenal, and in my opinion he would be a valuable asset to either club, providing height and muscle at the back, something Arsenal need more than Chelsea.
4. Alexis Sanchez - This is a three way battle between Manchester United, Manchester City and Barcelona. He was apparently close to signing for Barcelona and Man City at one stage, but there is still a chance he will stay at Udinese. I would love to see Sanchez playing in the Premier League, but it would be very, very difficult to resist Barcelona, should they have the funds to afford him.
As most of you know, Brazilian wonderkid Neymar is currently one of the hottest properties in the World in terms of football. He is currently plying his trade with Santos is the Brazilian league, but several clubs across Europe have signalled their intent to sign the 19 year old.
Apparently, Chelsea are the extremely keen to win Neymar's signature, having had a bid rejected last year and another bid rejected in this summers current transfer market. Neymar has a buy-out clause of £40 million on his contract, and even though Chelsea are thought to have met that clause, Santos remain confident he will not be leaving the club.
"In light of continuous speculation in the national and international press about the future of our player, I feel obliged to communicate the departure of Neymar is non-negotiable.''
Neymar himself has not said much on the case, but I'm sure if Chelsea/Barcelona/Real Madrid came knocking with a lucrative contract offer, he would not refuse. Admittedly I have not seen much of Neymar, apart from when he plays with Brazil. However, when I have seen him play, he does look like a very good prospect. One thing which might work against him, particularly in the Premier League, is a lack of strength. He would certainly have to bulk up to deal with the hustle and bustle of the Premier League.
