In the spirit of the transfer window, I thought I would review past transfers which have not met expectations and disappointed the manager, the fans and the board who approved of paying good money for them.
1. David Bellion: He came to Old Trafford with high expectations as being dubbed as 'the next Thierry Henry' because of his pace. Yet that was all he could offer with no end-product. As usually the case with young French players, they tend to be snapped up by Arsene Wenger who is very familiar with the talent pool in France. And yet he was not signed by Wenger, as he probably knew that his potential was limited. I can see history repeating itself with Gabriel Obertan. However, in all fairness to him, he has been injury-plagued to start off with. Yet he will probably remain as a squad player to cover the flanks rather than a star in the first team.
2. Sebastien Squillaci: It may be unfair to dub him as a flop as he has only been at Arsenal for less than a season, but he has been less convincing than Laurent Koscielny who arrived during the same transfer window. This may be viewed as an unorthodox signing by Wenger as Squillaci is over 30. Nevertheless experience is usually required in the back four. However, the preferred defensive partnership is Vermalan and Koscielny. I doubt Squillaci will be remaining at the Emirates for much longer and Wenger is likely to buy someone younger such as Cahill or Mexes.
3. Shaun Wright-Phillips: The re-signing of the once prodigous winger was an expensive mistake. It was expected by many that he would recreate the form he once produced when he was at the beginning his career with Manchester City. Now that his development had been stagnated at Chelsea, he is no longer feared by defenders and is being overshadowed by the stars at the Eastlands. He has also been disappointing in the England set-up and so the his peak of his career came too early. A loan move to Fulham seems likely and he may benefit from a new challenge and new surroundings.
4. John Obi Mikel: A young player who was fought over between Manchester United and Chelsea, and it was the Blues who were victorious in signing him, but the real winners were United as they dodged a bullet in a transfer flop. He remains as Essien's understudy, and yet when the time came for Mikel to step in for Essien, he was ineffectual. However, it could be argued that Chelsea did not do a good enough job in developing him into the defensive midfielder he should be, and maybe Sir Alex Ferguson would have moulded him into a world-class player. Mikel may remain as an understudy for a few more years, but I think it would be best for him to move on if he wants to rejuvenate his career.
5. Sandro: He was arrived at White Hart Lane in the summer of 2010 as an unknown figure and he still remains as an unknown figure. His position is as a defensive midfielder and my previous assumption was that he would slot into the side from the start of the season and be the 'Makelele' for Tottenham Hotspur. He may need more time to settle into England and the Premiership, but he could be a signing which gets lost amongst the shining gems like Bale, Van der Vaart and Defoe. The question is whether he will get an opportunity to shine or will he dwindle like Giovani Dos Santos.
6. Ryan Babel: He was one of many signings by Rafa Benitez that only made up the numbers in the squad. He came with high expectation as he came from the illustrious Dutch club Ajax and was known for his pace. However, he was never given the regular run in the Liverpool side which was centred around Torres and Gerrard. Babel is looking to move this January and would probably benefit in a change of scenery. He is still young and needs a mentor to help him mature as a footballer and as an individual.
7. Emile Heskey: He was once a legend at Leicester City and was labelled as the perfect foil for Rooney in the England set-up. Now he has become a 'has-been'. O'Neil was hoping for Heskey to recreate the form he once knew at Filbert Street and bring it to Villa Park. However, age has crept up with him and was past his peak when he joined Aston Villa. He was much admired during his Leicester City days, but will now be remembered as the butt of most jokes from last year's World Cup.
8. Nicola Zigic: Known for his outstanding height, he was brought to St Andrews to become their main target man. However, he has been short on goals this season, which has lead to Birmingham flirting with a relegation battle of late. He may still need more time to settle into the Premiership, but it does not help that McLeish is in need of a goalscorer and Zigic may be displaced by a January signing.
As seen, many of these transfers can turn sour. Sometimes, it may not be the right club for them and the best thing to do is to move on. Darren Bent was frustrated by the lack of opportunities at White Hart Lane, and then became one of the top goal-scorers in the Premiership last season at Sunderland. Diego Forlan suffered a similar situation and yet when he moved to Spain, he became of the most prolific goal-scorers in La Liga. Dealing in the transfer window is a tricky business and there will always be risks associated with it. Spend too much and you can take the club into administration (as in the case of Leeds United). Spend too little, and you can end up with a squad that is not competing with your rivals (as in the case of Arsenal). Some players will need time to settle in, and the faith to succeed as seen with Evra and Vidic at Manchester United. With time running out, many teams will want to and need to strengthen their sides and I think we will have some surprising and big transfers to be made on deadline day.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Manchester City: Mid-season review
Manchester City have surprised us all with their current position in the league table. They have brought in quality signings, churning out the right results and are taking advantage of the dwindling form of Chelsea, Liverpool and Aston Villa, which has made it easier for them to be chasing a Champions League place. They boast an exceptional squad and are now a worthy opponent to face in the Manchester derby. At this critical point of the season, it important to review I shall review how this club as progressed.
Goalkeepers: Mancini placed a lot of faith to replace the experienced Shay Given with the rising star that is Joe Hart, and it has paid off. Joe Hart has produced some excellent saves, shown great maturity and has a commanding presence. This is encouraging for all England fans as Joe Hart can become a great England goalkeeper such as Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton and David Seaman. The real test will come when (and if) he faces the European greats such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter and AC Milan, and will be dealing with different attacking threats like Messi, Villa, Benzema, Eto'o and Pato. As a result of his scintillating form, Shay Given will leave, whether it be in January or in the summer as he will not tolerate any longer in warming the bench.
Defenders: One of the marked differences in Manchester City has been their defence. It has been leaking less goals and the additions of Kolorov and Boateng have made a difference in solidifying their back four. Vincent Kompany's move to the back four has been vital in this sturdy defence. I have always rated him as one of the best defenders in the game and surprised that he was not picked up by one of the major clubs at an earlier age. One player which I hope will develop is Micah Richards. He was an exciting young prospect at the age of 18 with his power and pace on the right flank. Yet his lack of form and concentration has let him down, and he cannot hold a regular first-team place. City will endeavour to keep hold of him as he is a product of their academy and is needed to be part of their home-grown quota. However, his confidence will be undermined if Manchester City ends up buying Dani Alves to complete a world-class back four.
Midfielders: Again, Mancini has strengthened this area of the team in the summer, with the signings of David Silva, Yaya Toure and James Milner. My preferred midfield line-up would be Toure as a holding midfielder, James Milner in the centre of the park whilst having Silva and Johnson on the flanks. However, Mancini likes to have 3 defensive midfielders in Barry, De Jong and Toure which I believe makes them a negative side. The consequences are that Adam Johnson is kicking his heels on the bench too often than he should and the speculation has already started of him moving to another club to find regular first-team football. Although James Milner was an excellent acquisition, I believe that Manchester City can splash the cash and buy someone that extra bit special. My recommendation would be Diego of Wolfsburg. Like what Rafael Van der Vaart is doing at White Hart Lane, Diego can play as an attacking midfielder or in the hole to support the strikers and even score plenty for himself. He has not been able to showcase his full potential yet at club or international level. However, he is approaching his peak and if given the opportunity to be part of an ambitious and progressive team, I believe he can set the Premiership alight.
Strikers: With the recent acquisition of Edin Dzeko, the pressure to score from Tevez has been relieved. This attacking partnership is an exciting prospect and will help Manchester City to challenge Manchester United for the title, and it may even come down to the wire, if the pair are free-scoring. With the young Balotelli continually maturing and developing, Manchester City could do with having a fourth striker to provide strength in depth. Ideally, it would be best to have someone young and talented who has progressed from their Academy. However, Daniel Sturridge moved on to Stamford Bridge and there has not been anyone like him since. My recommendation would be to buy Connor Wickham of Ipswich Town. He is only 17 years old, but alerted many of the English top flight clubs when he scored England's winner in the Under 17 European Championships against Spain last May. He is tall, powerful and highly rated by Arsene Wenger. Under the right tutelage, he can become a rising star in English football.
The Manager: He has lasted longer than I expected as I thought the Man Ciy hierarchy would replace him with the likes of Frank Rikaard or Guus Hiddink. But Italian has been able to create a squad, instil his system of football and display his tactical nous. With early wins over Liverpool and Chelsea, he has shown that he can compete against the traditional top 4. His objective for this season is to gain a Champions League place, which he is on track for. But it could be next year where he will be expected to win the Premiership, and that will be a tough task considering that Manchester United will still be the team to beat, and Tottenham Hotspur will be another challenging team. Mancini will need to instil consistency into the team to be able to grind out wins on a regular basis, and ensure dressing room harmony in a club full of stars.
The Owners: The Abu-Dhabi United Group have not disappointed the fans and have invested beyond the dreams of those supporters who were at the terraces at Maine Road. They have signalled their intent for Manchester City to become a global club and want the club to progress at a rapid rate. Money is no object and the fans hope it stays that way. Also I would not be surprised if they were to build a super stadium, which would be a 100,000 capacity stadium that would eclipse the Nou Camp and Wembley. My recommendations for them would be to invest in their Academy and start producing talented youngsters again as they previously did with Daniel Sturridge, Michael Johnson and Stephen Ireland. This would help them to become a sustainably financial club, contribute to the British talent pool and create a legacy in which Barcelona and Manchester United are doing.
Goalkeepers: Mancini placed a lot of faith to replace the experienced Shay Given with the rising star that is Joe Hart, and it has paid off. Joe Hart has produced some excellent saves, shown great maturity and has a commanding presence. This is encouraging for all England fans as Joe Hart can become a great England goalkeeper such as Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton and David Seaman. The real test will come when (and if) he faces the European greats such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter and AC Milan, and will be dealing with different attacking threats like Messi, Villa, Benzema, Eto'o and Pato. As a result of his scintillating form, Shay Given will leave, whether it be in January or in the summer as he will not tolerate any longer in warming the bench.
Defenders: One of the marked differences in Manchester City has been their defence. It has been leaking less goals and the additions of Kolorov and Boateng have made a difference in solidifying their back four. Vincent Kompany's move to the back four has been vital in this sturdy defence. I have always rated him as one of the best defenders in the game and surprised that he was not picked up by one of the major clubs at an earlier age. One player which I hope will develop is Micah Richards. He was an exciting young prospect at the age of 18 with his power and pace on the right flank. Yet his lack of form and concentration has let him down, and he cannot hold a regular first-team place. City will endeavour to keep hold of him as he is a product of their academy and is needed to be part of their home-grown quota. However, his confidence will be undermined if Manchester City ends up buying Dani Alves to complete a world-class back four.
Midfielders: Again, Mancini has strengthened this area of the team in the summer, with the signings of David Silva, Yaya Toure and James Milner. My preferred midfield line-up would be Toure as a holding midfielder, James Milner in the centre of the park whilst having Silva and Johnson on the flanks. However, Mancini likes to have 3 defensive midfielders in Barry, De Jong and Toure which I believe makes them a negative side. The consequences are that Adam Johnson is kicking his heels on the bench too often than he should and the speculation has already started of him moving to another club to find regular first-team football. Although James Milner was an excellent acquisition, I believe that Manchester City can splash the cash and buy someone that extra bit special. My recommendation would be Diego of Wolfsburg. Like what Rafael Van der Vaart is doing at White Hart Lane, Diego can play as an attacking midfielder or in the hole to support the strikers and even score plenty for himself. He has not been able to showcase his full potential yet at club or international level. However, he is approaching his peak and if given the opportunity to be part of an ambitious and progressive team, I believe he can set the Premiership alight.
Strikers: With the recent acquisition of Edin Dzeko, the pressure to score from Tevez has been relieved. This attacking partnership is an exciting prospect and will help Manchester City to challenge Manchester United for the title, and it may even come down to the wire, if the pair are free-scoring. With the young Balotelli continually maturing and developing, Manchester City could do with having a fourth striker to provide strength in depth. Ideally, it would be best to have someone young and talented who has progressed from their Academy. However, Daniel Sturridge moved on to Stamford Bridge and there has not been anyone like him since. My recommendation would be to buy Connor Wickham of Ipswich Town. He is only 17 years old, but alerted many of the English top flight clubs when he scored England's winner in the Under 17 European Championships against Spain last May. He is tall, powerful and highly rated by Arsene Wenger. Under the right tutelage, he can become a rising star in English football.
The Manager: He has lasted longer than I expected as I thought the Man Ciy hierarchy would replace him with the likes of Frank Rikaard or Guus Hiddink. But Italian has been able to create a squad, instil his system of football and display his tactical nous. With early wins over Liverpool and Chelsea, he has shown that he can compete against the traditional top 4. His objective for this season is to gain a Champions League place, which he is on track for. But it could be next year where he will be expected to win the Premiership, and that will be a tough task considering that Manchester United will still be the team to beat, and Tottenham Hotspur will be another challenging team. Mancini will need to instil consistency into the team to be able to grind out wins on a regular basis, and ensure dressing room harmony in a club full of stars.
The Owners: The Abu-Dhabi United Group have not disappointed the fans and have invested beyond the dreams of those supporters who were at the terraces at Maine Road. They have signalled their intent for Manchester City to become a global club and want the club to progress at a rapid rate. Money is no object and the fans hope it stays that way. Also I would not be surprised if they were to build a super stadium, which would be a 100,000 capacity stadium that would eclipse the Nou Camp and Wembley. My recommendations for them would be to invest in their Academy and start producing talented youngsters again as they previously did with Daniel Sturridge, Michael Johnson and Stephen Ireland. This would help them to become a sustainably financial club, contribute to the British talent pool and create a legacy in which Barcelona and Manchester United are doing.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Blackburn's Ambition
One of the big stories of the week was Blackburn's attempt to sign the former Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldinho (albeit unsuccessful). My opinion is that he has now burnt out and is surplus to requirements at the San Siro. None of the major clubs across Europe will move for him and the only contribution he would have brought to Blackburn is off-the-field in terms of a commercial windfall in shirts purchased, club merchandise and improved PR. As expected with the new foreign ownership, they will want to invest significantly into the club and demand results straight away. The Venkys' actually want to break into the top four and bring Champions League football to Ewood Park. This is rather unrealistic as Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur have recently broke into this pack and they had to spent a considerable amount of money to get there, as well as possessing better managers. If Blackburn is to realise their Champions League dream they will need to do the following:
1. Spend like City: Manchester City are now title contenders because they have spent a lot and brought it quality signings like Tevez, Kompany, Silva and the Toure brothers. Along with the signings they have, they are building up a squad to have 2 good players competing for each position. Manchester United and Chelsea enjoyed success and it was mainly due to the heavy spending of buying star players. The Venky Group will have money to spend, but I doubt it will be as extravagant as Manchester City. The likelihood is that they would buy players who have fallen out of favour at a cut price such as Emmanuel Adebayor from Manchester City, Stephen Ireland from Aston Villa and Ryan Babel from Liverpool.
2. Have an excellent manager: The exeception to heavy spending and still be consistently in a good league position is Arsenal. And the reason they are where they are is Arsene Wenger. He is one of the most intelligent and shrewd managers in the world, who has consistently recognised young talent and developed them. However, there is only one Arsene Wenger and not even a lucrative contract from Blackburn will entice the Frenchman away from the Emirates. Chris Hughton, Roy Hodgson and Alan Curbishley are available and are good managers who drive the club forward. But I reckon the new owners would rather have someone with a greater reputation to bring in the big players. A wildcard would be Diego Maradona. He would bring attractive, attacking football and the English media will love his persona and passion. However, a more sensible choice would be Martin O'Neil. He was doing a fantastic job at Aston Villa until his relationship with Randy Lerner had soured. He would thrive with the new challenge and the backing of fresh investment. He can also develop young English talent as seen previously and he could mould Phil Jones into one of the best defenders in the Premiership. Combined with a good assistant manager like Steve Clarke, and Blackburn would have strong management in place.
3. World-class stadium: Investing in a new stadium with a 60,000+ capacity will provide the income required to compete with the big 4. Liverpool recognised this, but no action has followed and are suffering the consequences. But investing a large capacity stadium would be all in vain unless they can fill those seats. Ewood Park struggles to fill its capacity in most games and Blackburn are not an 'attractive' club to support like Manchester United and Chelsea. To resolve this, Blackburn will need to change its image and strategy in developing their fanbase.
4. Stronger support: Blackburn may struggle to become a well-supported club as they do not boast the strong histories such as Manchester United and Liverpool. However in saying that, the new owners are reporting of an increased supportship in India (the origin country of the owners). I believe that India is the untapped market that has not been fully exploited yet. It is only a small section of middle-class Indians who do follow the Premier League. But for a country that boasts a population of more than a billion people, there is the potential for other Premier League clubs and not just Blackburn to develop a strong supporter base, drive the development of football as a national sport and even scout for talent. Manchester United and Chelsea place great efforts in developing their 'brand' in the Far East and in the States, and so Blackburn could do the same in India.
Blackburn have an interesting journey ahead of them and it will be interesting to see if they can realise their owner's ambitions. The Premiership is becoming ever more competitive and the added competition from Blackburn can only be good for the game. However, my prediction for Blackburn is that they will engorge in a spending spree for about a year, and then the bank balance will dry up and the owners will be in a dire financial situation (as seen with West Ham and Portsmouth). Will ambition be the saviour or downfall of Blackburn?
1. Spend like City: Manchester City are now title contenders because they have spent a lot and brought it quality signings like Tevez, Kompany, Silva and the Toure brothers. Along with the signings they have, they are building up a squad to have 2 good players competing for each position. Manchester United and Chelsea enjoyed success and it was mainly due to the heavy spending of buying star players. The Venky Group will have money to spend, but I doubt it will be as extravagant as Manchester City. The likelihood is that they would buy players who have fallen out of favour at a cut price such as Emmanuel Adebayor from Manchester City, Stephen Ireland from Aston Villa and Ryan Babel from Liverpool.
2. Have an excellent manager: The exeception to heavy spending and still be consistently in a good league position is Arsenal. And the reason they are where they are is Arsene Wenger. He is one of the most intelligent and shrewd managers in the world, who has consistently recognised young talent and developed them. However, there is only one Arsene Wenger and not even a lucrative contract from Blackburn will entice the Frenchman away from the Emirates. Chris Hughton, Roy Hodgson and Alan Curbishley are available and are good managers who drive the club forward. But I reckon the new owners would rather have someone with a greater reputation to bring in the big players. A wildcard would be Diego Maradona. He would bring attractive, attacking football and the English media will love his persona and passion. However, a more sensible choice would be Martin O'Neil. He was doing a fantastic job at Aston Villa until his relationship with Randy Lerner had soured. He would thrive with the new challenge and the backing of fresh investment. He can also develop young English talent as seen previously and he could mould Phil Jones into one of the best defenders in the Premiership. Combined with a good assistant manager like Steve Clarke, and Blackburn would have strong management in place.
3. World-class stadium: Investing in a new stadium with a 60,000+ capacity will provide the income required to compete with the big 4. Liverpool recognised this, but no action has followed and are suffering the consequences. But investing a large capacity stadium would be all in vain unless they can fill those seats. Ewood Park struggles to fill its capacity in most games and Blackburn are not an 'attractive' club to support like Manchester United and Chelsea. To resolve this, Blackburn will need to change its image and strategy in developing their fanbase.
4. Stronger support: Blackburn may struggle to become a well-supported club as they do not boast the strong histories such as Manchester United and Liverpool. However in saying that, the new owners are reporting of an increased supportship in India (the origin country of the owners). I believe that India is the untapped market that has not been fully exploited yet. It is only a small section of middle-class Indians who do follow the Premier League. But for a country that boasts a population of more than a billion people, there is the potential for other Premier League clubs and not just Blackburn to develop a strong supporter base, drive the development of football as a national sport and even scout for talent. Manchester United and Chelsea place great efforts in developing their 'brand' in the Far East and in the States, and so Blackburn could do the same in India.
Blackburn have an interesting journey ahead of them and it will be interesting to see if they can realise their owner's ambitions. The Premiership is becoming ever more competitive and the added competition from Blackburn can only be good for the game. However, my prediction for Blackburn is that they will engorge in a spending spree for about a year, and then the bank balance will dry up and the owners will be in a dire financial situation (as seen with West Ham and Portsmouth). Will ambition be the saviour or downfall of Blackburn?
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