There Is Only One Sinnacle

Can’t believe this is the 4th EPL preview I’ve done. Time flies. Also thanks to the BBC for the players in and players out recap.

20th Norwich City

Before I doom Norwich City back to life in the Championship let me first give a tip of the cap to their head coach Paul Lambert who took this club from League One to the EPL in two seasons. When you are a club coming up to a new division there are two ways you can go about it. You can make wholesale changes and bring new players in at the expense of many players who took you to the top tier or you can pocket all the TV money and go with the players who brought you to the dance. I can’t fault Norwich for taking the latter route and in a way I’m glad these Norwich players will be rewarded with playing in the top league after making their way through the Championship. On a side note it will be interesting to see how Canadian Simeon Jackson can handle himself playing against the best players English football as to offer. In the end there just isn’t enough depth in this squad to think it can stay mid table at the end of the season but stranger things have happened.

Players in: James Vaughan (Everton) £2m*, Steve Morison (Millwall) £2.8m*, Bradley Johnson (Leeds) Free, Anthony Pilkington (Huddersfield) £2m*, Ritchie de Laet (Manchester United) Loan, Elliott Bennett (Brighton) £2m*, Kyle Naughton (Tottenham) Loan

Players out: Jed Steer (Yeovil) Loan, Luke Daley (Plymouth) Free, Owain Tudur Jones (Inverness Caledonian Thistle)

19th Queens Park Rangers

On a side note I’ve always liked the name Queens Park Rangers. It has a ring to it. Last year Q.P.R got off to a quick start in the Championship and never looked back, winning the division and punching their ticket to the EPL. Over the summer head coach Neil Warnock has bumped heads with Q.P.R’s billionaire owners to fund him in the transfer market to little avail. While Adel Taraabt appears is staying foot how happy will he be with a move to PSG falling through? It will be interesting to see if Warnock can keep Q.P.R up after failing to do so with Sheffield United a couple of years ago, losing to Wigan on the final day of the season. I also loved the first coach to get fired bet and with Warnock not being well liked by those in charge plus the cloud of new ownership on the horizon it wouldn’t shock me if Warnock if the first to go.

Players in: DJ Campbell (Blackpool) £1.2m*, Kieron Dyer (free agent), Danny Gabbidon (free agent), Jay Bothroyd (free agent), Bruno Perone (free agent)

Players out: Mikele Leigertwood (Reading), Peter Ramage (Crystal Palace) Loan, Lee Brown (Bristol Rovers), Angelo Balanta (MK Dons) Loan, Joe Oastler (Torquay), Max Ehmer (Yeovil) Loan

18th Blackburn

Blackburn were awful the second half of last season and I’m still not sure how Steve Kean got to keep his job. Even more curious is how Kean compared his only signing thus far David Goodwillie to a young Wayne Rooney doesn’t help matters either. Losing Phil Jones to Manchester United and Niko Kalinic to Dinpro doesn’t help matters. Blackburn does have a decent back line with the likes of Christopher Samba (If he sticks around) and Ryan Nelsen but it wouldn’t shock me if their midfield gets over run week after week. I can somewhat understand going into the tank last season but to have no real plan heading into the summer transfer period signals big problems in store.

Players in: David Goodwillie (Dundee United) £2.8m*, Myles Anderson (Aberdeen) Free, Radosav Petrovic (Partizan Belgrade)*

Players out: Phil Jones (Man Utd) £17m*, Frank Fielding (Derby) £400,000, Jake Kean (Rochdale) Loan, Michael Potts (York) Free, Zurab Khizanishvili (Kayserispor) Free, Keith Andrews (Ipswich) Loan

17th Swansea

Just about every season at least one club that comes up from the Championship stays up the following season and for this honour I’ve picked Swansea to manage their way into safety this season. Andre Villas-Boas can smile knowing he won’t be the only EPL manager who will be asked questions about his Mourinho days since Swansea head coach Brendan Rodgers also has a connection to the Special One from their Chelsea days together. Despite Swansea getting headlines in the papers trying sign players like Marcos Senna who are long in the tooth Swansea has wisely signed players who excelled in the Championship last season bringing in the likes of Danny Graham from Watford, the well travelled Wayne Routledge from Newcastle and Leroy Lita from Boro. It will be interesting to see if Routledge and Lita can kick start a once promising career in their return to the top flight.

Players in: Danny Graham (Watford) £3.5m, Michel Vorm (FC Utrecht) £1.5m, Jose Moreira (Benfica) £750,000, Wayne Routledge (Newcastle), Leroy Lita (Middlesbrough) £1.75m, Steven Caulker (Tottenham) Loan

Players out: Dorus de Vries (Wolves) Free, Darren Pratley (Bolton) Free

16th Wigan

I like the relationship Roberto Martinez has with the suits in the ivory towers. The owner backs Roberto Martinez and in return Martinez knows when it comes time to cash in on a player like Charles N’Zogbia the club will do what it needs to do. On the flip side when Martinez does drip his toes in the transfer market it’s usually for the likes of promosing young players such as James McCarthy and Victor Moses. Despite that I just can’t place Wigan any higher, the back four has always been poor and when the player who kept the team up last year moves on it’s tough to say the club will do better next year without him.

Players in: Dave Jones (free agent), Ali Al-Habsi (Bolton) £4m*

Players out: Charles N’Zogbia (Aston Villa) £9.5m*, Antonio Amaya (Real Betis) £250,000, Mauro Boselli (Estudiantes) Loan

15th Wolves

Loved the drama on the final day of the season last year when despite losing 3-2 the all important second goal by Stephan Hunt kept Wolves up. There really isn’t nothing flashly aout this team. The nicest thing I can say about Wolves is the fact they generally don’t roll over but Mick McCarthy doesn’t have anyone on this club who can be considered a game changer. Do like new signing Roger Johnson who will be a big boost to their back line however. It may not be pretty but Wolves should have enough professional players who know their role to keep them up for a 3rd season in a row.

Players in: Jamie O’Hara (Wolves) £5m, Dorus de Vries (Swansea) Free, Roger Johnson (Birmingham) £7m*

Players out: Greg Halford (Portsmouth), Scott Malone (Bournemouth) Loan, Carl Ikeme (Middlesbrough) Loan, Danny Batth (Sheffield Wednesday) Loan, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (Sheffield United) Loan

14th Stoke City

Great home fans, great story for them making it to the FA Cup final, play boring but highly effective football. Sums up Stoke City who finished 13th last year and I expect them to stay right around that mark this year. A credit to Stoke City as I don’t think they will sneak up on teams anymore, no one is shocked when Stoke takes points against the big clubs at home but when you really only play one style of football that catches up to you after awhile and I feel teams will game plan better against Stoke thus preventing them from making the next step up to the top half of the division. Aside from the tin man Jonathan Woodgate Stoke hasn’t been able to bring anybody in, most notable failing to sign Cartlon Cole from West Ham.

Players in: Jonathan Woodgate (free agent)

Players out: Abdoulaye Faye (West Ham) Free, Matthew Lund (Oldham) Loan, Carl Dickinson (Watford), Andrew Davies (Crystal Palace) Loan

13th Fulham

After bouncing around in Holland and Germany the last couple of years former Tottenham coach Martin Jol returns to English football taking over from Mark Hughes who left the club this summer. On one hand credit to Mark Hughes for leaving when his heart just wasn’t into it but hey how is that big club search coming along for Mark Hughes? Maybe Hughes and Martin O’Neill can have tea together watching the games this weekend wondering how come no club has called yet. I do like Fulham bringing in former Liverpool defender John Arne Riise to play along side his brother Bjørn Helge Riise and fellow countryman Brede Hangeland. It will also be interesting to see if these whispers of Clint Dempsey leaving the club grow louder as the deadline comes close. I also like the signing of former Palermo midfielder Pajtim Kasami. With a bit of playing time Fulham may have themselves a good little player there. Even without Bobby Zamora last year Fulham finished 8th, they may take a step back with a new coach and new system in place but they have the depth to stay out of the danger zone.

Players In: John Arne Riise (Roma), Pajtim Kasami (Palermo), Marcel Gecov (Slovan Liberec), Dan Burn (Darlington), Csaba Somogyi (free agent)

Players out: Jonathan Greening (Nottingham Forest), David Stockdale (Ipswich) Loan, Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace), £600,000*

12th West Brom

Here you have another club who has done little aside from a few free agent signings in the transfer market this summer. You know what your going to get out of a Roy Hodgson team. Nothing will be flashy but nothing will be given away. Except a lot of ties and low scoring games as West Brom have done a 180 from the style of play under former coach Roberto Di Matteo to Roy Hodgson. The best signing this club can make would be tieing down leading scorer Peter Odemwingie to a new contract.

Players in: Zoltan Gera (free agent), Ben Foster (Birmingham) Loan, Billy Jones (free agent), Gareth McAuley (Ipswich) Free, Marton Fulop (Ipswich) Free.

Players out: Boaz Myhill (Birmingham) Loan, Scott Carson (Bursaspor) £2m*, Borja Valero (Villarreal), Chris Wood (Birmingham) Loan

11th Newcastle

I’ve always taken shots at Alan Pardew and think he is a hack of coach but I do like how he has gone about his business in the transfer market. A new french revolution should be on display this season with new signings Yohan Cabaye, Sylvain Marveaux, and Gabriel Obertan to go along with Demba Ba who wasted no time leaving West Ham after they went down. It will also be interesting to see if Hatem Ben Arfa can stay fit long enough to display his talents. If It wasn’t Newcastle it wouldn’t shock me if they made it into Europe but since it is Newcastle I’m sure something will go wrong during the season.

Players in: Yohan Cabaye (Lille) £4.3m*, Sylvain Marveaux (Rennes) Free, Demba Ba (West Ham) Free, Mehdi Abeid (Lens) Free, Gabriel Obertan (Manchester United) undisclosed

Players out: Kevin Nolan (West Ham) £4m, Wayne Routledge (Swansea), Kazenga LuaLua (Brighton) Loan,
Daniel Leadbitter (Torquay), Michael Richardson (Leyton Orient) Loan, Ben Tozer (Northampton) Free, Patrick McLaughlin (York) Free, Jose Enrique (Liverpool) Undisclosed

10th Bolton

I like the way Owen Coyle goes about playing the game and more importantly so do his players. I’m sure Coyle is still hoping to snag a top young player on loan from one of the big clubs as Bolton has been quiet on the transfer market this summer. I do like the pick ups of Nigel Reo-Coker and Chris Eagles. Reo-Coker should add some toughness to the midfield and Eagles has that little something that can turn a nothing play into a goal. I don’t see Bolton making it to Europe but they should be comfortably outside of the drop zone all season long.

Players in: Darren Pratley (free agent), Nigel Reo-Coker (free agent), Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears (both Burnley), joint £3m*

Players out: Ali Al-Habsi (Wigan) £4m*, Matt Taylor (West Ham) £2.2m*, Danny Ward (Huddersfield) £1m*, Joey O’Brien (West Ham) Free

9th Aston Villa

I don’t like Alex McLeish but they finished 9th last year with Martin O’Neill taking his ball and going home on the eve of the season then Gerald Houllier having heart troubles. Having a steady coach week in and week out should mean they stay right about the same area as last season. Gone of course are Downing and Young, I do like N’Zogbia as a replacement and I also like Shay Given giving another shot at starting in goal. Most people’s key player will be Darren Bent but you know at this point what you are going to get out of him. He’ll bag 15-20 goals a season. If Aston Villa plan to have success this season Gabriel Agbonlahor will need to raise his game. Stephen Ireland coming back from the dead wouldn’t hurt either.

Players in: Shay Given (Manchester City) £3.5m*, Charles N’Zogbia (Aston Villa) £9.5m*

Players out: Ashley Young (Manchester United) £16m*, Stewart Downing (Liverpool) £20m*, Brad Friedel (Tottenham) Free

8th Sunderland

Truthfully, I have no idea what to make out of Sunderland this season. They can finish 5th or 15th you just don’t know. I like the players they have bought in, I also like the fact they seemed to have a plan and how to spend the Jordan Henderson money after he was sold to Liverpool. What I don’t know however is how this Sunderland team will gel with so many new faces.

Players in: Ahmed Elmohamady (ENPPI) £2m*, Conor Wickham (Ipswich) £8.1m, rising to £12.5m*, Sebastian Larsson (Birmingham) Free, Kieran Westwood (Coventry) Free, Ji Dong-won (Chunnam Dragons) £2.1m*, Craig Gardner (Birmingham) £4.5, rising to £6m*, David Vaughan (free agent), Wes Brown (Manchester United) £5m*, John O’Shea (Manchester United) £1m*, Roarie Deacon (Arsenal) Free, James McClean (Derry City) £350,000

Players out: Jordan Henderson (Liverpool) £16m*, Cristian Riveros (Kayserispor) Loan, Steed Malbranque (St Etienne) Jean Yves Mvoto (Oldham), Nathan Luscombe (Hartlepool), Robbie Weir (Tranmere), Michael Kay (Tranmere), Liam Noble (Carlisle) Loan

7th Everton

I worry about Everton and it wouldn’t shock me to see this club slide down the ladder this season. It seems like year after year Everton get off to slow starts only to dig themselves out of a hole and finish the season in a respectable position. The problem I see is the fact with no new players, there is no new blood and after awhile your current crop of players just check out mentally. They may not have a ton of depth but the starting 11 is still talented with the likes of Tim Howard, Arsenal bound? Phil Jagielka and Tim Cahill but unless one of their young players makes a break through it may just be another ho hum year for Everton.

Players in: Eric Dier (Sporting Lisbon) Loan

Players out: James Vaughan (Norwich) £2m*

6th Tottenham

I do understand the fact Tottenham are in a tricky position. To get Champions League caliber players you need to be in the Champions League. Without that it’s hard to find players who are better then the players you currently feature. So far they have fought the good fight keeping hold of Luka Modric from Chelsea but what they really need is rebound years from the likes of Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe who each had dissapointing years for Spurs. Going down the list player but player there are many top players but they are missing something and it’s not money that will vault them back into the top four of English football.

Players in: Brad Friedel (Aston Villa) Free, Soleymane Coulibaly (Siena), Cristian Ceballos (Barcelona) Free

Players out: Jamie O’Hara (Wolves) £5m, Bongani Khumalo (Reading) Loan, Nathan Byrne (Bournemouth) Loan, Ryan Mason (Doncaster) Loan, Kyle Naughton (Norwich) Loan, Stephen Caulker (Swansea) Loan.

5th Arsenal

Yes, I am aware I’m really being edgy calling for Arsenal to drop out of the top four as I’m sure 100′s of other previews of also said the same thing. What is there to say what hasn’t already been said about Arsenal? They dig there heads in the sand and hope something changes. When Manchester United sold Ronaldo they didn’t wait until the final weeks of the transfer window. It was done and dusted two weeks after the end of the season. That allowed Manchester United to move on where as Arsenal fans have had to drag on with this silly Fabregas and Samir Nasri saga for far too long. News flash Fabregas wasn’t that good last year if anything I truely believe Thiago will have more of an impact in Barcelona then Cesc will. The second Fabregas heart wasn’t set on leading Arsenal anymore it was time for Arsenal to sell him. I do like the singing of Gervinho from Lille but the story will remain the same. Arsenal will run over the poor teams and look great doing so then get bullied against the top clubs.

Players in: Gervinho (Lille) £10.7m*, Carl Jenkinson (Charlton) £1m*, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain £15m* (Southampton)

Players out: Gael Clichy (Man City) £7m*, Denilson (Sao Paulo) Loan, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas (Ipswich) £1.5m-£2m*, Mark Randall (Chesterfield) Free, Roarie Deacon (Sunderland) Free, Wellington (Levante) Loan, Kyle Bartley (Rangers) Loan

4th Liverpool

Now that Jose Enrique is signed all that is left for Liverpool to do in this busy transfer season is sign a centre back. My only question about this Liverpool team is the fact there is a lot of dead wood on this club. With no European football this seaosn it’s not like they can give the likes of Joe Cole and Christian Poulsen those games as a run out. Dead wood can easily rot into other areas of the club. For all the heat Torres took over his awful play at Chelsea last season Andy Carroll didn’t exactly light it up either. It will be interesting to see how he starts the season but he can’t blame lack of weapons around him with the likes of Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam being able to cross a ball from 20 years right into his forehead. I’ve already gone on record to say Carroll will be the next Stan Collymore. Good player but you always sensed there was more to give. Another interesting question will if Liverpool gets off to a hot start how will Kenny Daglish fit Steven Gerrard back into the starting lineup.

Players in: Stewart Downing (Aston Villa) £20m*, Jordan Henderson (Sunderland) £16m*, Charlie Adam (Blackpool) £8.5m*, Doni (Roma) Free, Jose Enrique (Newcastle) Undisclosed

Players out: Paul Konchesky (Leicester) £1.5m*, Milan Jovanovic (Anderlecht), Gerardo Bruna (Blackpool), Martin Hansen (Bradford) Loan, Stephen Darby (Rochdale) Loan, Tom Ince (Blackpool)

3rd Chelsea

Simply put I’ve seen nothing to suggest Chelsea has closed the gap on Manchester United this summer. New coach Andre Villas-Boas is in a very tricky spot. You have so many egos that need to be stroked on this club and he simply can’t make his mark on Chelsea with the likes of Terry, Lampard and Drogba leading it. Those are Mourinho’s players, Villas-Boas needs to push them aside at some point and build around his core group of players which won’t be easy. It also doesn’t help when Michael Essien blows out his knee at the start of pre season. I like all of the young players Chelsea have signed this summer but the key question is how much will they play and at whose expense?

Players in: Oriol Romeu (Barcelona) £4.35m, Thibaut Courtois (Genk) £7.9m*, Lucas Piazon (Sao Paulo) £10.7m**
**Sao Paulo confirmed a fee of 12m euros in March 2011. Piazon will join Chelsea in January 2012.

Players out: Yury Zhirkov (Anzhi Makhachkala) £13.2m*, Michael Mancienne (Hamburg) £3m, Jack Cork (Southampton) £750,000*, Thibaut Courtois (Atletico Madrid) Loan, Jeffrey Bruma (Hamburg) Loan, Fabio Borini (Parma) Free, Sam Walker (Northampton) Loan.

2nd Manchester United

I’m a bloody fool for picking United to finish 5th last season but considering Liverpool never got out of the gate, Arsenal was Arsenal again, Chelsea fell apart and Manchester City weren’t quite ready, the title was almost defaulted to Manchester United who to their credit never lost focus at the ultimate goal. I also love how they have gone about retooling their club. David DeGea has all the talent to replace Edwin van der sar, Phil Jones and Ashley Young are so happy to be at United they would be ok with not playing week in and week out cause they trust Sir Alex Ferguson in the overall picture. It’s true that the title is United’s to lose and while it wouldn’t shock me to be wrong I do believe they will come up just short.

Players in: Ashley Young (Aston Villa) £16m*, Phil Jones (Blackburn Rovers) £16.5m*, David de Gea (Atletico Madrid) £17.8m*

Players out: John O’Shea (Sunderland) £5m*, Wes Brown (Sunderland) £1m*, Bebe (Besiktas) Loan, Ritchie de Laet (Norwich) Loan, Corry Evans (Hull) Loan, Robert Brady (Hull) Loan, Ryan Tunnicliffe (Peterborough) Loan, Scott Wootton (Peterborough) Loan, Nicky Ajose (Peterborough)

1st Manchester City

Roberto Mancini isn’t the type of coach players run through a brick wall for but he is no dummy. If he is smart and I’m sure he is Mancini is going to use the Charity Shield as a perfect reminder to these players that they need to play 90 minutes because against the top teams they are going to keep coming after you. You let your guard down and just like that it was 2-2. I worry with City about the fact there is too much talent 4-5-1. 4-4-2, 4-3-3 they pretty much have the players who can excel in any of those systems. For example I can’t see Sergio Aguero leading the line in a 4-5-1 but he can kill it in 4-4-2 so finding that right balance will be interesting if they can find it early and stick to it Manchester City can make the step up from being FA Cup Champions to EPL Champions.

Players in: Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid) £38m*, Gael Clichy (Arsenal) £7m*, Stefan Savic (Partizan Belgrade) £6m*, Costel Pantilimon (Poli Timisoara)

Players out: Shay Given (Aston Villa) £3.5m*, Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Jo (Internacional), Michael Johnson (Leicester) Loan, Kieran Trippier (Burnley) Loan, Ben Mee (Burnley) Loan, Donal McDermott (Bournemouth) Loan, Andrew Tutte (Rochdale) Loan, Scott Kay (Macclesfield) Loan,

By the way, yes I am working on an EPL preview. I’m trying to have it done and up on the site late tonight or early tomorrow morning. I’m actually humbled people kinda look forward to it.

Manchester United have given up on their bid to sign Wesley Sneijder from Inter Milan, with the Old Trafford club now tired of a saga that has dragged on since the end of last season. Full story: Daily Mail

I’m sure Inter would much prefer to sell Eto’o anyway.

Chelsea look set to derail Real Madrid’s bid to sign Santos’s young Brazilian striker Neymar.
Full story: Inside Futbol

I doubt that, besides with Santos in the Club World Cup later on this year I don’t see Neymar leaving this 2012.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger will reinvest money from selling Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri to buy Valencia forward Juan Mata and at least one centre-back. Bolton’s Gary Cahill, Everton’s Phil Jagielka, Werder Bremen’s Per Mertesacker and Birmingham City’s Scott Dann are all on his list.
Full story: Daily Mirror

The second Arsenal announces Fabregas and Nasri have been sold they should turn around and announce the signings of Mata, Mertescacker and another player to give Arsenal fans some hope again.

Aston Villa have joined the race to sign French striker David Trezeguet. The former Juventus forward is a free agent after leaving Hercules. Full story: Daily Mail

Sadly Trezeguet is done but boy what a run he had.

Sven-Goran Eriksson’s ambitious Championship side Leicester want to buy Tottenham striker Robbie Keane for £3m. Full story: Daily Mirror

Shrugs shoulders…..Keane needs to leave Tottenham, it will be sad if Leicester in the second tier of English football is his best option.

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has backed midfielder Tom Cleverley, who impressed in a loan spell at the DW Stadium last season, to make a major impact for Manchester United this term.
Full story: talkSPORT

I’m sure Martinez will use Cleverley as an example when he rings up Sir Alex asking for loan players.

West Bromwich Albion boss Roy Hodgson has said he would like to manage England when Fabio Capello steps down after Euro 2012, but he would need to have the backing of supporters and the media.
Full story: the Guardian

Have a feeling there is one city in the country Hodgson won’t get a lot of support in. The English media would rip Hodgson as the National team head coach.

As I like to make short term investments on sporting events I get the Rogers Super Sports Pack so I can watch just about every game under the sun. One of the side benefits is the fact I get to watch American commericals and this one for 1800 Tequila I quite enjoy.

Right off the bat I could nit pack and say Michael Imperioli is trying too hard to be like the Dos Equis guy. Plus Chrisy was the weakest mob guy on the Sopranos so him playing this big and bad old school gangster type is tough to totally believe. On the flip side who else were they going to get for this spot? You know James Gandolfini wasn’t going to do something like this. Pauly Walnuts? Too much of a cartoon, plus he is old, no one sells to old person.

What I do like about these ads is the fact they are straight to the point with just enough cool to it. I like the music, I like the message, I’m sure I’d like the drink also. Here is another one in their series of spots below.

Arsenal have opened the door for Samir Nasri’s £25m move to Manchester City.
Full story: the Guardian

Arsenal should knock the door down and say take him before he leaves for free next summer.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will look to sign Bolton defender Gary Cahill following Thomas Vermaelen’s injury. Full story: Metro

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish will make a move for £8m­-rated Birmingham defender Scott Dann.
Full story: Daily Star

Arsenal should also look to sign Scott Dann. He is riped for the picking with all the troubles at Birmingham.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp’s bid to bring Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra to Tottenham has hit a snag in a row over the ex-Chelsea man’s £20m price tag. Full story: the Sun

With Huddlestone and Sandro (when fit) around I’m not even sure Tottenham needs Diarra, they surely don’t need him at 20 million.

Tottenham will make one last attempt to sign Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor, with boss Harry Redknapp desperate to sign the former Arsenal striker. Full story: footie-online

I’d push Peter Crouch out the door if I could bring Adebayor in.

While, Real Madrid are ready to offer midfielder Fernando Gago to Manchester City in exchange for Adebayor. Full story: Inside Futbol

Interesting from the point of view that Gago makes a lot less than Adebayor. If Man City can’t cash in on Adebayor they should consider it.

Chelsea are facing a battle with big-spending Paris Saint-Germain over Porto wing-back Alvaro Pereira. Full story: Daily Mail

It will be interesting to see if Porto do as promised and only sell players for their release clauses. They do have cover with Alex Sandro and David Addy

Chelsea-bound striker Romelu Lukaku described Monday as the “most beautiful day of my life” as he arrived to complete his £20m move from Anderlecht. Full story: Daily Mail

Wonder how many beautiful days Lukaku will have watching from the bench this season?

Real Madrid have beaten rivals Barcelona to the signing of a seven-year-old Argentine prodigy.
Full story: caughtoffside.com

Won’t be the last thing Real Madrid beat Barcelona in this season.

Arsenal are set to complete £12m signing of midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Southampton.
Full story: Daily Telegraph

Oxlade-Chamberlain may very well become a fine young player for Arsenal but it kills me how Arsenal just have their heads in the sand. They refuse to do anything to make their fans happy.

The Gunners have pushed on with their pursuit of Bolton’s Gary Cahill after Thomas Vermaelen was injured in Saturday’s 2-1 friendly defeat by Benfica. Full story: Daily Mail

I still like seeing this 2-1 score line. I’m sure Arsenal will make a 6 million dollar bid to insult Bolton in the coming days. Arsene Wenger is like the kid on your block who still plays Madden 05 cause he is good at that version of the game.

Tottenham’s pursuit of a new striker could lead them to 25-year-old Costa Rican international Bryan Ruiz, who plays for FC Twente. Full story: Daily Mail

Sign somebody Tottenham. I do like Ruiz mind you. Reminds me of a poor mans Falcao.

Tottenham have been linked with a move for £8m-rated Celtic playmaker Ki Sung-Yueng.
Full story: fanatix.com

I know I send sign somebody Tottenhak but don’t let it be Sung-Yueng.

Bolton boss Owen Coyle has been given the go-ahead for talks with Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips. Full story: Daily Mirror

It will be interesting to see if Bolton can sign Wright-Phillips considering he must be on big money playing for City.

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has backed team-mate David de Gea to recover from an underwhelming debut in goal during their 3-2 win over Manchester City in the Community Shield.
Full story: talkSPORT

Somewhere Ben Foster is thinking I could of let that goal in too. What a game, the second Nani was on the break you just knew he was going to score. Considering he is a wide player it’s impressive he can score like a striker when in front of goal.

Tottenham’s Kyle Walker is expected to make his full England debut against the Netherlands on Wednesday at right-back. Full story: the Daily Telegraph

Yet he can’t play for Tottenham. In any other country it’s a mandate that young players from through the system and into the first team. In England where a coach can be fired after three games few coaches trust a talented yet unproven kid with a starting role.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini jokes that Mario Balotelli’s unusual behaviour since joining the club have left the manager needing a psychologist. Full story: Metro

I’m sure Mancini will need a psychologist after yesterday’s game as well. This better serve as a wake up call to City they need to be focused for all 90 minutes against the top teams. You let up you lose.

Manchester City could allow Carlos Tevez to leave as part of a swap with Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto’o, who has had a row with the Italian club’s new coach, Gian Piero Gasperini. Full story: Daily Mirror

With or without Eto’o mood swings this makes too much sense for Inter and Manchester City to explore.

Tottenham are expected to hold talks with transfer target Fernando Llorente when the giant striker visits White Hart Lane with Athletic Bilbao for Saturday’s pre-season friendly. Full story: Metro

If I was Tottenham I’d lock up Llorente, Mikel San José, Javi Martínez, and Iker Muniain til they sign for the club.

Spurs and Liverpool have been told to forget a move for Barcelona winger Ibrahim Afellay, who was also thought to be a target for Juventus but is happy to stay at the Nou Camp.
Full story: talkSPORT

Too early for both the club and the player to cut bait but there will be a time Afellay will need to move on in order to get playing time week in and week out.

French striker Karim Benzema has dismissed reports he is poised to leave Real Madrid for Arsenal.
Full story: talkSPORT

This would be like Steve Perry (Portuguese by the way!) leaving Journey to sign for Europe….It’s the final countdown da da ta ta a. I loved how Europe use to open and close there concerts with the final countdown.

Everton, Aston Villa and Fulham have all contacted Real Madrid about taking former Spanish Under-21 midfielder Pedro Leon on loan. Full story: The Sun

Scored a late goal to give Real Madrid a 2-2 against A.C Milan in last years Champions League but can’t see him playing any more than last year. Can’t see him playing in England either.

His final game for Manchester United was against Barcelona in the Champions League final in May, but Paul Scholes isn’t ready to hang up his boots quite yet after turning out for a ‘dads versus coaches match’ at his 12-year-old son’s club. Full story: Metro

I’m sorry but if I was some other’s kid dad’s I’d take little timmy right back home. There is no way you can look good in your kids eye playing on the same pitch as Paul Scholes.

Sure it’s pre season but I loved this scoreline. I also love this clip because it didn’t show the Barcelona goal. Puyol is already banged up, maybe once Cesc signs for them they can play one at the back in Pique 10 midfielders and 1 forward.

Sad to hear the news of Bubba Smith passing away yesterday at 66 which is considered ancient for former football players sadly. Most will recognize him from the police academy series but I’ll always remember him for this guess spot on Married with Children as Al Bundy former football rival. This show was by far my fav Married with Children episode. The episodes with Anthrax in it was a close second.

R.I.P Bubba

Inter Milan are keen to swap Brazilian defender Maicon for Carlos Tevez but Manchester City do not agree with the Italian club’s valuations of the players. Full story: Daily Mirror

This makes sense since no one should pay big money for Tevez. Manchester City should be looking at a swap deal instead.

Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o has pleaded with his club Inter Milan to sanction a move to Manchester City after falling out with the Inter management. Full story: Daily Mail

Like this one for example.

Arsenal target Juan Manuel Mata is likely to stay with Valencia, according to the club’s manager Unai Emery. Full story: talkSPORT

Like the Valencia coach has any say in the matter.

Chelsea will step up their efforts to land Spurs midfielder Luka Modric this week by tabling a £30m bid for the Croatian. Full story: Daily Mirror

Chelsea all show and no go so far in the transfer market.

Jose Enrique will follow Joey Barton and Kevin Nolan out of Newcastle after Liverpool agreed a £10m deal for the Spanish defender. Full story: Daily Mail

Yesterday it was 5 million, today it is 10 million. If the figure is closer to 10 million that isn’t bad business for a player a year away from the open market.

Manchester United could turn their attention to Borussia Dortmund’s German international midfielder Mario Gotze if their pursuit of Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder fails. Full story: Caught Offside

Shocked more clubs haven’t come knocking for players from Dortmund. Good to see however them keeping most of their team together for a Champions League run.

Sevilla are leading the race to sign Tottenham’s out-of-favour forward Gio Dos Santos. Full story: talkSPORT

Makes too much sense for this not to happen. Someone needs to resure Dos Santos from English football.

Liverpool’s new £20m signing Jordan Henderson has urged fans at Anfield not to compare him with Steven Gerrard. Full story: talkSPORT

For example Jordan Henderson will be fit for most of this season. It will be interesting to see how Gerrard handles not being the star of the team in the coming seasons.

If you read my tweet last week about Beyonce you would know my feeling on how Beyonce is a hack. A hard working hack but a hack none the less. As a side note I loved it how Jennifer Hudson stole the show in Chicago cause you know Beyonce wanted that spotlight.

Every bloody cd is the same. Man hating song like best thing I never had and a women empowerment song mixed in with some ass shaking song but now that she is married to Jay-Z it takes away that fantasy. If you are a sex symbol in anyway the worst thing you can do is get married. Look at Usher, he got married and here I stand flopped (well, compared to confessions) he got divorced and his next album is a hit.

Now back to this song. I know Beyonce is trying to get your mind off the truth here by starting off this video in lingerie but there is one point which needs to be addressed. Why on fucking earth (pardon my language) are you singing about some guy who you wanted in your pants ten years ago on your wedding day of all bloody days. The happiest day of her life and she is singing about some guy she didn’t make it to second base too? Does no one see the crazy here? Somewhere there should be some low rent rap group writting a song called never wanted it anyway in reply to this cause I doubt whoever this make believe guy is thinking ten years later, “Hey I wonder what happened to so and so, boy I really screwed that up not scoring with her.” Another thing I wonder if hubby to be knows about his future wife pining about some guy on their wedding day. I wonder how happy he will be knowing about that? Sounds like death due us part to me.

In other words this video is crap. Aaliyah should be rolling around in her grave right now seeing Beyonce’s success. Now Aaliyah had talent and all her words weren’t the same crap just repeated. Weird with the whole R.Kelly thing however. What a senseless way for her to die. Some dumb management type wanted all their gear packed onto the plane when anyone with a half a mind knew the plan couldn’t handle it. Of course it nose drives soon after take off. The end