English Premier League
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Liverpool
are offering Joe Cole 90k a week to come play for them.
Now I am a huge, huge fan of Joe Cole. He is one of the few Premier League players I would happily pay to see regardless of what club he was playing for. I spent half the summer on my knees in front of Fabio Capello telling him to just play him.
Liverpool are in absurd debt. There was talk of them, without the Champions League this season of course, having to flog off Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard just to help out with those debts. Instead they are spending 90k a week on a 28 year old midfielder.
Alright, so there’s no transfer fee, but that is still quite a lot of money to be throwing at a player week on week in a presumably fairly long term contract. For a club which is so badly in debt, its madness really.
Though, I do think Joe Cole could do really great things at Liverpool. So there you go.
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Arsene Wenger sent me an email telling me I had to stop talking about Cesc going to Barca*. So I will respect his wishes. Unless there is another slow news day. Come on Arsene, buy someone and I’ll talk about that instead.
Speaking of which, my sources say** Ashley Cole is going nowhere, and neither is Fernando Torres. Didn’t transfer windows used to be fun? Wake me up when the season starts please.
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Do you remember when transfers were exciting and fun? Or perhaps they were never exciting and fun really, but when your younger they seem more fun that they are? I don’t know. All I know is, these days transfers can be preeeetty boring. Mainly because they take SO long to complete.
Yes, Arsenal captain Cesc Fábregas is going to join Barcelona. Apparently we may have to wait yet another 12 months (can you handle that?) before they actually sign him. Despite the fact they apparently have £50m in the kitty waiting to be spend on World Class midfielders.
The interesting thing is that Barca don’t want to play over the odds for him, apparently only wanting to pay his market value. But these days, what does that even mean?
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So apparently, Cesc, left, won some trophy or other yesterday? Whatever. The Premier League is on its way back, and the big question is – are you going to pick Cesc to help you lift the most important trophy of all? The EPL Offside’s Fantasy League Cup?
This season its back with a twist, thanks to the official Premier League site. This year, everyone enters into a league, and then every week everyone in the league is paired with someone else and you outscore them to win. So its a proper league table.
So first click here, then enter a team, and then The code to join the league is 12531-5022 – and everyone is welcome. My team is Round the Bendtner, post in the comments as to who you are.
With the new format, I plan to update every week, and hopefully we’ll all feel a community when my inevitable mid table run stutters to mean my season is over by Christmas just like [insert name of mid table club you don't like]
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So we got excited last year at the prospect of a full summer of Man City spending and how that would equate to them in the title race. Would they nick in the fourth place in the Champions League? Could they possibly be title contenders? The answer to both eventually, was nope. City got distracted by marquee names and prestige signings, who of course, were mostly attacking players.
Mark Hughes didn’t seem in control of the transfer policy at the club – however true that it is irrelevant, he didn’t seem in charge – but Roberto Mancini is making the right noises this year. Not only are the club apparently on the verge of grabbing Barcelona workhorse Yaya Touré, but they’ve just signed David Silva, Valencia’s explosive winger, who has been linked to Arsenal, Man United and Liverpool at various times.
I know he’s yet another attacking option, but he’s a useful player, and it looks as if Mancini is shaping the side to suit himself. A couple more impressive signings like that, and perhaps, City could even be title contenders.
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In news that looked somewhat inevitable since Rafa Benitez cleared his desk, Fulham manager Roy Hodgson is about to be confirmed as manager of Liverpool.
Hodgson has been a miracle worker at Fulham. He took over as the club was staring relegation in the face, before leading them to a last day reprieve, followed by qualification for the Europa League, and then getting to the final of the Europa League in successive seasons.
This won’t be Hodgson’s first go at a bigger club, he’s managed clubs like Inter before. But it will probably be his last. Mind you – how much of a charge Liverpool are going to be able to put on the top four this season after last season’s disaster and Man City/Spurs inevitable spending remains to be seen.
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Eyes are obviously fixed on the World Cup at the moment, but the fixtures for next seasons Premier League have come out and crikey, they are really exciting.
On the opening day, Arsenal kick off against Liverpool, while Manchester City can try and exact revenge on Spurs for nabbing that fourth Champions League spot. Elsewhere on the opening day, Man United kick off against Newcastle (exactly as they did in Newcastle’s relegation season), while Chelsea also face new blood, in West Brom, whose manager Roberto di Matteo is of course a Chelsea legend.The third newly promoted side, Blackpool take on Wigan.
The first game between the top two last season, Chelse and Man United will take place in early December.
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First up an apology. I’ve been stuck into all things England over the last week or so, what with it being the World Cup, and there hasn’t been all that much going on in the Premier League. When there is stuff to talk about, I promise i’ll bring it to the table, I haven’t abandoned you entirely.
Anyway, the big news at the moment are of two potential exiles from the Premier League. Rafa Benitez has been offered £3m to get the hell out, which is quite a clear indication that Liverpool want rid of him, but can’t afford to be rid of him. He would be owed about 5 times that if he was sacked.
Its tough to see him staying now – he could play hardball and stick around to get a better offer to go, but that’s probably as far as it’ll go. Not sure where he’d go next though – perhaps Italy or back to Spain. As for who Liverpool would replace him with – the talk at the back end of the season was Jose Mourinho, but he’s managing someone else now. Roy Hodgeson was also supposed to be in the running.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have turned down a £30m+ offer from Barcelona for their captain Cesc Fabregas, who suggested he wanted back to Catalonia ASAP. Where the stand off goes from here is hard to tell, but it probably depends on Cesc himself. If he pushes, Arsenal will have to let him go, if he doesn’t Barca will probably take another look at their midfield and shrug.
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As Morrissey once sang (possibly not about football) I Know Its Over. Still after something’s finished, its only logical to stare blankly at the entirely random events and presume to make sense of it all – or better yet to presume you knew what was going to happen all along.
So what follows is a team-by-team review of the season, including where I predicted they’d finish at the start of the season. Gasp at the one’s I got right, and wonder if I’m Derren Brown. At least untill you see the prediction for Liverpool. Or Spurs. Part One today, Part 2 to follow.
Anyway, onwards and sidewards. In order of the position they finished.
Chelsea
Finished 1st
Predicted Finish 1st
I Said in August: John Terry can make everyone forget about the summer by reminding people of his defensive quality
I said in December: …they will likely be Champions.
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So, another season has finished and the withdraw symptoms can begin. One of these withdraw symptoms might be being over analytical, which suits me fine.
Its been a tricky season for the Premier League – a tricky 12 months in fact. A year ago the Premier League was still the biggest league in Europe, but a loss for Man United against Barcelona in the Champions League final, coupled with Real Madrid’s new spending power (emphasised by Ronaldo’s move to Spain)was supposed to represent a changing of the guard.
Certainly the Big Four have all looked flawed and uncertain this season. At their best Chelsea have been unplayable, and should have walked to the title by a far bigger distance than they did and exited Europe early. Man United withered whenever Wayne Rooney wasn’t on the field, Arsenal lack leadership, and Liverpool had a nightmareish season that saw them exiled from the Big Four.
So where does the Premier League stand now? Read the rest of this entry »
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