The Eleventh Hour

As the old block of cheese – which has been holding the transfer window open – gets chewed by some vermin, I’ve decided to have a look at some of the recent deals and evaluate what they might mean for the clubs involved.
Confirmed

Andriy Shevchenko (Chelsea – AC Milan, loan)
Well, that didn’t work.  Roman Abramovich paid [...]

More on the Bore-batov saga

You’ll hear several different stories about what really happened on Saturday.  Some say that Dimitar Berbatov considered himself mentally unfit to play; others say that it was the manager who dropped him from the match day squad due to his attitude and state-of-mind.
One thing is for sure, if Berbatov’s move to Manchester United does not [...]

Random football comment

Well, it’s not entirely random.  It will be thought-out and specifically about certain events or people.
Mad Rafa
He’s still bleating on about not being able to sign Gareth Barry.  It seems the board do not share his view that Gareth Barry is good value for money and don’t believe that he is needed to compete for [...]

Current Spurs squad appraisal

Given the pasting Spurs got at Middlesbrough this weekend a knee-jerk reaction from some fans was expected.  The message boards have been frothing with a sizable minority lambasting manager Juande Ramos for his team selection and tactics; other fans hitting back, saying that the “fickle” nature of Tottenham supporters is well earned.
But I defend these [...]

Middlesbrough v Spurs post-mortem

Middlesbrough 2 Spurs 1
Vantage Point: Setanta Sports, big screen TV.
Middlesbrough
Jones, Wheater, Huth, Pogatetz, Taylor, Aliadiere, Shawky, O’Neil, Downing, Alves (Mido 82), Sanli (Digard 72).
Subs Not Used: Turnbull, Emnes, Adam Johnson, Williams, Grounds.
Booked: Digard.
Goals: Wheater 71, Mido 86.
Spurs
Gomes, Zokora, Dawson, Woodgate, Assou-Ekotto (O’Hara 76), Lennon (Bale 65), Jenas, Modric, Bentley, Giovanni (Berbatov 65), Bent.
Subs Not Used: [...]

Premier League Preview 2008/9 [Part 2]

It’s part 2 – the part that contains Newcastle.
11th Manchester City
Last season: 9th
Transfers in: Jo (CSKA Moscow, £18m), Tal Ben-Haim (Chelsea, undisclosed)
Transfers out: Andreas Isaksson (PSV Eindhoven, undisclosed), Sun Jihai (Sheff Utd, free), Geovanni (Hull City, free), Georgios Samaras (Celtic, undisclosed), Matthew Mills (Doncaster, £300,000), Paul Dickov (Leicester, free)
While Manchster United top the top half [...]

Premier League Preview 2008/9 [Part 1]

It’s that time again.  Time to second-guess how the English Premier League will pan out.  Here’s part one of our preview.  Part two will be later in the week.
1st Manchester United
Last season: 1st
Transfers in: None
Transfers out: Chris Eagles (Burnley, undisclosed), Danny Simpson (Blackburn, loan)
I wouldn’t say Man U retaining is a banker.  They will be [...]