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English Premier League Off Season News : June 4th 2009
Published by Ian John on June 4, 2009
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Well, the season has only just finished and already there has been several big news stories breaking over the past couple of days to whet the appetite of fans over the summer in readiness for the recommencement of hostilities in August.
The first news was that Burnley will take their place alongside Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the top flight next season. This is an outstanding achievement for Owen Coyle’s men. It seems absolutely incongruess to think that Hull City and Burnley will, deservedly, be in the Premier League next season while the likes of Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Leeds United will be outside it. Rumours abounded that Celtic were keen on taking Coyle North of the border after Gordon Strachan’s resignation, but it seems now that the Bhoys will have the ‘dreamteam’ (and I use the speechmarks with no hint of irony or sarcasm) of Wim Janssen and Tony Adams at the helm. Burnley’s arrival into the top flight will be a big step up in class for them but as Hull City and Stoke City have shown, it is possible to avoid relegation without spending vast sums on your squad. Coyle certainly seems to have a gift for bringing the best out of his Burnley side and they will be an interesting addition to the Premiership next season.
Also on the move is Steve Bruce. Who has left Wigan Athletic to take over at Sunderland. While Bruce may feel he has got a bigger job at Sunderland I can’t help feeling that this is a step backwards. Wigan at least seem to have some security about their Premiership future. Sunderland much less so and they have become something of a yoyo club. Certainly the infrastructure is there to become a bigger side than Wigan and I suppose that is the challenge which Bruce feels he must take, but as a Premiership entity, for me at least, this is a step backwards. Wigan meanwhile have earmarked Swansea manager Roberto Martinez to become their new manager although the Swans have not given permission for Wigan chairman Dave Whelan to speak with the manager as they are poles apart on agreeing a compensatory figure should Martinez take up the post at the JJB Stadium.
The big transfer news of the week has been Manchester City signing Gareth Barry for £11m or £12m depending on where you source your information from. What is particularly galling about the move is that Barry made such a fuss last season of wanting to leave Villa to better himself as a player and play Champions League football. He made no mention of the extra £60,000 a week Manchester City were offering him in his missive to Villa fans published in the local press. At 28, I suppose Barry felt the money was too good to turn down, and few would argue against that. However it does smack something of hypocrisy to tell fans you want to leave the club to join a top four side in the Champions League, only to sign on the dotted line quickly when you realise the one of the worlds richest men is willing to double your salary if you sign for his mid-table, consistently under achieving side. I don’t think Villa fans will be too unhappy. Martin O’Neill will, I am sure, use the money wisely not only to bring in a replacement for Barry, but also a replacement for Martin Laursen who was forced to retire shortly before the season ended.
Other big transfer news sees the Carlos Tevez saga rattle on with papers now reporting that Manchester United are “close” to an agreement with the players representative. Yesterday Manchester City were set to “hijack” the deal. My one concern for United fans would be if Tevez actually wants to sign for the club after the way he has been treated by Sir Alex Ferguson. I would not be too surprised to see everything agreed, only for Tevez to turn it down and move to Real Madrid or Man City instead. I can’t see him moving to Liverpool as the Reds won’t have the cash available to sign him. Another transfer deal in the news is Kaka’s proposed switch to Real Madrid ready to be gazumped by Chelsea and their new manager Carlo Ancelotti. Kaka is still adamant he wants to stay in Milan but market forces may well decide differently, especially with the messages being sent out by Galliani at Milan who seems to be inviting bids for Kaka with the wording of his recent press releases. While I think Florentino Perez and Real Madrid will eventually sign Kaka, it has at least stopped the speculation of Cristiano Ronaldo moving to Madrid, which to be honest has bored every football fan rigid over the past few months, let alone the player himself.
So what is to come in the future? Well I think Carlo Ancelotti has a lot of work on at Chelsea and I expect to see a fair few new faces at the Bridge, and a fair few old faces being shipped out. I think Ricardo Carvalho, Deco and Soloman Kalou will definitely be on their way and if Chelsea do not land Kaka, I can see them making a real attempt to land Alexandre Pato from Milan. At United, I think Nani will be departing and I think the likes of Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Wes Brown may find they have to accept lesser roles (or maybe land player-coaching positions). Much depends for United on Cristiano Ronaldo and Tevez. If they sign Tevez and Ronaldo stays, then I can’t see a huge number of changes needed to be made by Sir Alex. I think they will look possibly at a midfielder or striker. Silva of Valencia or Benzema of Lyon seem to be the popular choice. However if they do not land Tevez or Ronaldo goes then Sir Alex will probably be very busy and I think his target will be Ribery from Bayern Munich and a certain move for Benzema. Liverpool seem to need to sell before they can buy and one wonders if Xabi Alonso will be at the club next season, with Juventus and Real Madrid said to be keen. If Alonso goes then I expect Liverpool to make a move for either David Villa or Silva from Valencia. Rafa Benitez won’t be able to afford the pair, but one would soften the blow of losing the elegant Alonso. I also think the Reds will be keen on Portsmouth’s Glen Johnson. Expect a host of Premiership sides to pick up the offcasts from Newcastle and Middlesbrough. I expect Everton to renew their interest in Steven Hunt of Reading and if there is one name to look out for moving to England this summer who you may not have heard of, then I think Standard Liege’s Axel Witsel could be the player who comes in and surprises a few. A very talented left sided player who I am sure is interesting a few teams, not least due to the success Fellaini had with Everton this season.
As for Man City, the money bags of Manchester, who will they get? Kaka? Ribery? Ronaldo? Pato? The problem Mark Hughes has is that money is a good incentive, but it isn’t everything for the top players. Playing Champions League Football, challenging seriously for honours every season also matters hugely. A club with a glittering history also helps. City can claim none of this. Sure they have money to burn and that will attract a few of the Gareth Barry’s of this world. But it won’t be enough solely to attract the very best. For that we should be thankful. City will sign a few big name players, Roque Santa Cruz will be one I am certain will be a City player shortly, but they won’t sign the very, VERY best.
And finally, here’s one to ponder. Michael Owen in an Everton shirt? Will it happen? I think he’ll be wearing blue next season. Not sure if it will be Everton or Man City however.
Photo Courtesy of **cvrcak1** at Flickr.com
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3 so far
Nabyl Charania on Sat, 6th Jun 2009 2:49 pm
Man U should retain Tevez, but like you said, given the way Sir Alex has treated him you never know how it will end…
Al-Nashir Charania on Sat, 6th Jun 2009 3:37 pm
Not too sure that SAF treated Tevez badly; the fact that a deal that was agreed 24 months ago in a time of financial flourish does not make financial sense in today’s market, is indeed the basis for the delay in signing up Tevez.
Tevez has been given every opportunity to play for ManUtd, while giving him trophies, status, and developing him as a player. Tevez should understand the financial realities, the status and trophy potential; and weigh that against playing in either ManCity (likely as they could probably buy all but 2 of God’s angels)/ Liverpool(they can barely afford sliced bread right now)/Real Madrid (Of course he’ll play over Kaka or Ribery or Robben…not!).
If he still feels like he wants to move from ManUtd, I’ll donate a day’s earning to ManUtd to help pay for his flight from Manchester.
If it were up to me, I’d let Tevez go, buy Ibrahimovic; let Ronaldo go, and buy Benzema. With Hargreaves coming back, here is what my side would look like:
GK:VDS
DEF: Da Silva, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra
MID: Fletcher, Hargreaves, Carrick
FOR: Benzema, Rooney, Ibrahimovic
SUBS: Foster, Wes Brown, Park, Berbatov, Anderson, Giggs, O’Shea
Don’t think anyone will doubt that this team is stronger than the current one.
Nabyl Charania on Wed, 10th Jun 2009 7:04 pm
Benzema, Rooney, Ibra… if Man U can pull that off its game over…