Neymar the Brilliant Pt. 8

"Show de Neymar!" The title says it all. Four goals for the Brazilian wonderkid last night; Two penalties (first was in off the post), a opportunist strike and a wonderful solo goal. 

Most exciting player, on the ball, in the world. 

Fantastico de Neymar.

Two Cents on John Terry

Image from The Guardian

Last March, for a reason that escapes me, John Terry said; "I know I'm not everyone's cup of tea", which was a nice way to say "A lot of people think I'm a huge, filthy bastard." If these racism allegations surrounding him turn out to be true, he won't be anyone's cup of tea and it'll be confirmed that he's not only a huge, filthy bastard but also a racist one too. I'm not exactly a fan of Anton Ferdinand, I see him as a extremely poor version of his completely overrated brother Rio, however racism allegations can never simply be ignored if you don't like the player involved. I'm just disappointed that the player firing these alleged racial slurs out is a player I used to love watching.

Way back when Terry wasn't a racist or a teammate-wife-shagger, he was an incredible defender. He was never the quickest, but made up for it by reading the game well and positioning himself perfectly to cut out the cross/make the tackle. He still does all that stuff occasionally, but let's face it, he's a shadow of his former self. What little pace he had disappeared rapidly as he aged, and subsequently, so did his positioning. This is all natural stuff though; Alessandro Nesta isn't exactly a whippet, and look at Rio's positional play now. What's really worrying for Terry and everyone involved around him though is that his concentration looks absolutely shot to pieces.

Now, he's forever making mistakes. Mistakes that may have gone unnoticed had he not been partnered with David Luiz, who's attitude toward defending is akin to a toddler's on vegetables. Terry has looked incredibly unreliable since the departure of Ricardo Carvalho - who was an brilliantly subtle defender at Chelsea - in 2010. Gradually, his frailties - on and off the pitch - have came to the fore hand-in-hand, and his latest one threatens to completely ruin his reputation and standing in the game. Racism is a moronic, intolerable and detestable thing, and if Terry is guilty of calling Ferdinand "a fucking black bastard", then a fine or a ban as punishment simply won't suffice.

I want to see some unprecedented punishments rolled out. I want to see him handed such a severe wage cap, he might as well be living on Job Seeker's Allowance money. I want to see him forced to coach black kids. I want to see him broken down. I want to see him striving to clear his name and rebuild his career. I want to see him humiliated, exposed and full of regret. But most of all, I want to see him look Drogba, Sturridge, Anelka, Cole, Mikel, Essien, Kalou, Malouda, Lukaku et al, directly in the eyes and tell them, individually; "I am a racist." See how he handles that.

The problem is, none of this will happen. He won't be punished severely enough because I doubt anything will be proven.

Ashley Cole says he didn't hear anything. Clint Hill will testify against Terry (apparently). The FA want to hear from Branislav Ivanovic. A nigh-unsolvable mess. It's essentially one man's word against another with a collection of people chipping in - which isn't exactly conducive. The only positive thing to come out from the entire situation is that everybody seems united on just how despicable racism is.

And that's surely got to scare the shit out of John Terry.

A Brief, Accessible Look at the Scottish Communities League Cup

As the Carling Cup fixtures were being played down in England on Tuesday night, some equally unimportant cup fixtures were being played out in Scotland. Unimportant if your team's not involved, imperative if they are, but in general - nobody really cares.

There were a couple of upsets on Tuesday; nobody really expected Ayr United to knock out St. Mirren or for Falkirk to bump Dundee United out either, but everyone's in agreement that they were both joyous results. Ayr have now put three SPL teams out of the competition - which is undeniably great - however, with an attendance of just 4,570 at St. Mirren last night, just how much are fans valuing this competition? To further show just how low that is for a Cup quarter-final; Shrewsbury played at home to Accrington Stanley in the English Npower League Two on Tuesday. Their attendance was 5,076. Their were just 4,188 at Dundee and a very disheartening 4,029 at the Kilmarnock - East Fife game.

Low attendances aside, the Cup's been pretty entertaining. There's been plenty of upsets; Falkirk knocking out Rangers, Ayr knocking out St. Mirren etc. There's been a healthy number of lovely goals scored; two of The Side Netting attended the Killie - QOS tie in which Paul Heffernan scored a wonderful hat-trick. However the League Cup will always be seen as the ugly, moronic brother of the attractive and talented Scottish Cup. Much like how Anton Ferdinand is seen in comparison to Rio. Now that only four teams remain in contention to lift the Anton Cup; Ayr United, Celtic, Falkirk, and Kilmarnock, I'm sure everyone is bursting to know the answers to these three vital questions:

Somebody must care about this competition?
Seeing as the league's already pretty much over - Neil Lennon will. He's two wins away from his second piece of managerial silverware here, and a Cup win might just stop the bulk of Scottish media talking of the pressure, that they invented, enveloping him.

What might happen?
We might get an Ayrshire derby final.

What will happen?
We'll all grudgingly watch Celtic glide to the trophy at nothing more than a canter.

Prove me wrong Scottish Communities League Cup. Prove me wrong.

Ballon d'Or

The FIFA Ballon d'Or short list isn't officially announced until the 1st of November, however, Mundo Deportivo somehow managed to get a hold of, and release, 34 names today. If true, one fifth of the players (TEN!) on the list play for one club; the imperious FC Barcelona. Bayern Munich have six players nominated, and Barcelona's rivals Real Madrid have five on the list. Wayne Rooney is the only Englishman named (so far), but this might be because the paper that released the names is Spanish, hence the heavy Spanish focus.

Here's the list (so far);

------------
Barcelona
- Lionel Messi
- Cesc Fabregas
- Xavi Hernandez
- Andres Iniesta
- Gerard Pique
- Carles Puyol
- David Villa
- Dani Alves
- Alexis Sanchez
- Eric Abidal
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Real Madrid
- Cristiano Ronaldo
- Mesut Ozil
- Iker Casillas
- Xabi Alonso
- Sami Khedira
------------
Bayern Munich
- Philipp Lahm
- Arjen Robben
- Mario Gomez
- Bastien Schweinsteiger
- Thomas Muller
- Franck Ribery
------------
Inter Milan
- Wesley Sneijder
- Diego Forlan
------------
Manchester City
- Sergio Aguero
- David Silva
------------
Manchester United
- Javier Hernandez
- Wayne Rooney
------------
Arsenal
- Robin van Persie
------------
Lazio
- Miroslav Klose
------------
Tottenham Hotspur
- Rafael van der Vaart
------------
Anzhi
- Samuel Eto'o
------------
Liverpool
- Luis Suarez
------------
Udinese
- Antonio Di Natale
------------
Santos
- Neymar

My immediate thoughts?

• Delighted there's a lack of Englishmen in there, just shows how far behind they are internationally, despite what those crazy FIFA rankings say. 
• Thrilled Neymar is included, without a doubt the most exciting player on the ball on the planet (excluding Messi of course). 
• Completely convinced Messi will win again; he's just way too good. 
• Dark horse? Antonio Di Natale. The only Italian on the list is scoring goals for fun right now.
• Little bit overwhelmed by the amount of players from Barca in the list. Not too sure Abidal, Puyol, Sanchez, Fabregas and Villa should be in there.
• Very confused at how Sami Khedira got his name on the list. Very confused.  

There's still 16 more spaces that need to be filled on the list though. Speculation surrounding who should fill the slots is swirling around on Twitter and fans' blogs, with people suggesting names like nobody's business. With that in mind, we'll be no different and join right in! Below are fifteen names that I sort of, wishfully, expect to see and one name that I'm certain won't, but I'd love if he was there:

Andrea Pirlo (Juventus) - He's almost timeless. Had an excellent season with AC Milan then was snapped up by Juve in the Summer for free, where he's started flawlessly.

Mario Balotelli (Manchester City) - Admittedly, he shouldn't really be crowned the "best player in the world", but he's absolutely hilarious and actually starting to play incredibly well of late. This won't be his year, but if he continues to improve like he has been then maybe, just maybe, he'll be in with a shout soon.

Eden Hazard (Lille) - After the season he's just had with Lille, he's got to be on the final list. His wonderful close control and marvellous vision have been a vital catalyst for Lille for the past year and a half and at only 20 he's only going to get better.

Javier Pastore (PSG) - Bought for a huge amount in the Summer from Palermo after a strong season for the Italians, and he's continued playing well in France. Very comfortable on the ball and starting to get a bit of playing time internationally, I think it's only a matter of time before he leaves PSG (they've got money, so what?) for a bigger club.

Mario Gotze (Borussia Dortmund) - Dubbed by many as the "German Messi", Gotze's creativity, ball control and passing were all vital to Dortmund's success last season. At just 19, he's maybe a little too young to win the award ahead of the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, but in a few years he'll be fighting for it.

Radamel Falcao (Atletico Madrid) - Had an superb season for Porto last term, and caught the attention of the World with his performances in the Europa League. In the air, he's the best striker on the planet and I'd love for anyone to try and disprove that.

Hulk (Porto) - Much like Falcao, he had a phenomenal season last term. However unlike his former teammate, much to a lot of people's surprise, he never left. Extremely talented and should be involved in the final 50.

Juan Mata (Chelsea) - After an amazing Summer captaining Spain's U-21's World Cup winning side, he arrived at Chelsea for what seemed like a subdued amount. Brilliant on the ball and is now offering his new club a completely different style of attack; a more attractive and effective style.

Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United) - Not a huge fan of him, but next to Rio Ferdinand he looks like Franco Baresi and United really miss him when he's not around.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (AC Milan) - Personally, I don't see much in him (I've only seen him play well once), but plenty of people absolutely adore him. For that reason alone I reckon he'll be involved.

Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund) - Hummels is something of a pioneer in a time where this new libero-esque centerback is all the rage. He's got an exceptional passing ability but his defensive atributes aren't compromised in any way; still makes big challenges and is imperious in the air. Dare I say he's the best defender in this entire post? Yes. Yes I do.

Vincent Kompany (Manchester City) - Amongst a very shaky (JOLEON FUCKING LESCOTT) defence Kompany has been very consistent for City. He's cut out his mistakes (or maybe they're just outshone by Lescott's) and taken up the captaincy after the Tevez-debacle. Safe bet (to be nominated, not win)?

Edinson Cavani (Napoli) - The most complete striker in Europe. Great in the air, brilliant with both feet and gives Napoli such a lethal striking threat. Scored 26 goals last season and already has three in six this season.

Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich) - Went on an incredible run of eight Bundesliga games without conceding a goal this season and was inspired at Schalke in the last half of last season. With a severe lack of goalkeepers mentioned in here, I'd like to think Neuer will get a nod.

Thiago Silva (AC Milan) - Had a superb 2010/2011 season in Milan in which he and centerback partner Alessandro Nesta conceded just 24 goals in 38 games. Hasn't started the season particularly strongly but should definitely be considered.

-------------

And finally, here's my not-going-to-happen-but-I'd-love-to-see-him-nominated name...

Rivaldo (Sao Paulo) - Currently enjoying a wonderful pre-retirement stint at Sao Paulo in Brazil where he's playing both frequently and strongly. It would be amazing to see the legend nominated for the Ballon d'Or twelve years after he winning his first (and only).

-------------

There we have it. 50 of the best names in football. Obviously there's some missing names; Gareth Bale doesn't make my grade. Luka Modric is undeniably great, but he's made to look much better by the poor, stagnant players that surround him. There's an almost endless list of names that could have been named, but we all know that it's practically pointless in the end as long as Messi is involved. As a sign-off, and a way to back up my claim about Neymar being the most exciting player in the world on the ball, here's six minutes of the man himself earning his nomination for football's most prestigious award.

God I hope he wins it.

Adam.

Previewing La Liga

A combination of luck (I happened to produce this for A Different League) and a willingness to post something/anything relevant (we've not posted on here for a while now) has led to this. As most seem to be aware of Barcelona and Real Madrid, thus claim to love Spanish football, I've decided to post 600ish words previewing this weekend's Spanish Primera Division action. I hope that this will enlighten you a little, and show that there are more than two teams in Spain to watch and admire. Real Betis, with their incredible interesting forwards, are a joy to watch. Sergio Garcia of Espanyol has been very impressive in the early stages and Levante's 36-year-old captain, Sergio Ballesteros (above), recently beat Cristiano Ronaldo in a sprint in the last minute of the game.

I understand that you might read some names here that you don't care about, but remember, a couple of years ago Charlie "LOOK AT ME NOW" Adam was playing for St. Mirren where I can guarantee very few people gave a shit about him. As a final incentive/plea to read this, there's a brilliant stat that could happen this weekend in Spain, and I've mentioned it. If it does happen, it'll get repeatedly pummelled into your ears by everyone. Shoot them down by telling them that you knew about it BEFORE it happened. Anyway, enjoy (all times are UK).

Racing Santander - Espanyol (Saturday 17.00)

Racing Santander host Espanyol on Saturday in the weekend’s first game. Hector Cuper has already used 24 Racing players in his search for his ideal eleven, and Gonzalo Colsa could add to the already high number as he returns to full fitness after his ankle injury. Striker Thievy Bifouma was dropped to reserves this week, so he might not be available for Espanyol, who are looking for their first win over Racing in over two years.

Sporting Gijon - Granada (Saturday 17.00)

Granada will travel to Sporting Gijon, where Coach Manuel Preciado is still searching for his first win this season, but he has no real selection problems going into this game. Granada, however, are without midfielder Carlos Martins due to a thigh strain and defender David Cortes, who has returned to training, but is still some way off being match fit.

Malaga - Real Madrid (Saturday 19.00)

Malaga are without Willy Caballero and Julio Baptista for their clash against Real Madrid in Saturday’s first evening game. However Duda, Apono and Joris Mathijsen have given Manuel Pellegrini a boost by returning to the squad. Nuri Sahin could feature in Madrid’s midfield for the first time as Lassana Diarra is out with a hamstring problem. Should he score another hat trick, Gonzalo Higuain will equal a 77-year-old record set by Oviedo legend Isidro Langara.

Barcelona - Sevilla (Saturday 21.00)

Current Liga leaders Barcelona will then conclude Saturday’s action as they host Marcelino Garcia Toral’s Sevilla. Gerard Pique is unavailable due to a hamstring injury but, after recovering from his thigh problem, Cesc Fabregas is set to return to the first team, who face a very stern test against the unbeaten Sevilla. However the visitors look like they will be without in-form striker Alvaro Negredo, who has a troublesome hamstring.

Real Betis - Rayo Vallecano (Sunday 11.00)

Real Betis and Rayo Vallecano kick off Sunday’s action in the early fixture. Los Beticos have suffered a massive blow as young talent Alvaro Vadillo has been ruled out for six months with knee ligament damage. After losing three consecutive games, Pepe Mel will be looking for his side to rekindle their excellent starting form. Rayo players Javi Fuego and Raul Bravo both pulled out of training mid week with niggling injuries, so they could be a doubt.

Real Sociedad - Getafe (Sunday 15.00)

Real Sociedad Coach Philippe Montainer faces a selection headache ahead of his side’s clash with Getafe. Asier Illarramendi, Carlos Vela, Diego Ifran and David Zurutuza are all a doubt to start. Getafe midfielder Mehdi Lacen believes this is the start of an important week for his team, and is looking to take all three points.

Atletico Madrid - Mallorca (Sunday 17.00)

Atletico Madrid are suffering from a goal drought, scoring only one in their last five games however Coach Gregorio Manzano is still has full confidence in his team. Defender Gianni Zuiverloon will be unavailable for Mallorca after pulling a muscle in his leg but striker Emillo Nsue will return after a suspension.

Osasuna - Zaragoza (Sunday 17.00)

Osasuna are without Roland Lamah after his dismissal in their 3-1 defeat at Athletic Bilbao on Monday and defender Roversio, who has a hamstring injury. Zaragoza have not beaten Osasuna in a Liga fixture in over four years, and will look to Helder Postiga to fire them to victory after his brace against Sociedad last week.

Valencia - Athletic Bilbao (Sunday 19.00)

Valencia defender Adil Rami will be unavailable for his side’s Sunday evening game against Athletic Bilbao after being sent off against Mallorca. Unai Emery’s side were beaten in Europe but will look to maintain their good league start. Marcelo Bielsa will hope Fernando Llorente carries on where he left off, after scoring a brace against Salzburg on Thursday, and fire Los Leones to victory over Valencia for the first time in six attempts.

Villarreal - Levante (Sunday 21.00)

In the last game of the weekend, Levante will be chasing an impressive sixth consecutive win in La Liga and will be buoyed by the return of Xavi Torres. Villarreal come into the game off the back of a late defeat in Europe at the hands of Manchester City. Having struggled to finish teams off lately, Villareal will face a tough challenge against Juan Ignacio Martinez’s confident side. 

This was originally produced for the website "A Different League" and I totally urge you to check it out. It offers an unbelievable amount of coverage and often breaks important news that goes completely unnoticed. Bookmark them.

Neymar the Brilliant Pt. 7

Content is becoming quite thin here of late. There's a number of factors contributing to this sparcity; Craig now has a job, Andy's returned back to University and is rightly focussing on his studies and even Adam's got a fucking job (starting soon).

Fortunately though, amidst our inactivity, our favourite Brazilian has stayed on top of his game. We came across this video last night and, although it's just 30 seconds long, we deemed it worthy to add to our growing collection;

A new article will be posted within a week. There's a guarantee. 

Neymar the Brilliant Pt. 6

Lovely skills again from Neymar, this time against Argentina in last night's Superclasico. Brazil won the game 2 - 0 with Neymar getting his name on the scoresheet.

Top man.

Neymar the Brilliant Pt. 5

Lovely bit of skill and the end product is there:



Currently stuck in a really tedious transfer saga with Real Madrid, let's just hope he arrives soon and his skill isn't compromised by the change of scenery.

Neymar the Brilliant Pt. 4

A wonderful bit of play from the Santos man in the Argentina - Brazil game last night.



Does incredibly well to work the space for himself, then plays a crackin' pass to Leandro Damiao, who somehow hits the post.

Andy's Huge Transfer Round-Up.

After a busy summer of wheeling and dealing in the English Premiership, you could be forgiven for missing some transfers. Here at The Side Netting we realised this and Andy gallantly took it upon himself to provide you with a club-by-club walkthrough of the Summer window. He's detailed not only all the ins and outs of each club, but also identified their best value signing, as well as who the club should have signed and rated how each club performed. 

With a lot of new faces coming into the Premiership, reading this will keep you on top of all the possible conversations you'll have about English football.

ARSENAL

Ins - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Southampton, £11m), Gervinho (Lille £10.7m), Chu Young Park (Monaco, £3m), 

Carl Jenkinson (Charlton, £1m), Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen, undisclosed), Andre Santos (Fenerbahce, £6.2m), 

Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea, loan), Mikel Arteta (Everton, £10m).

Outs - Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona, £35m), Samir Nasri (Manchester City, £24m), Gael Clichy (Manchester City, £7m), Emmanuel Eboue (Galatasaray, £3m), 

Armand Traore (QPR, undisclosed), Jay Emmanuel-Thomas (Ipswich, undisclosed),

Best Value Signing - Per Mertesacker

Should Have Signed - A real replacement for Fabregas (not a goalkeeper).

Transfer Window Rating - 6/10 - Lost their two key players and replaced them with good players, but not world beaters.

ASTON VILLA 

Ins - Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan, £9.5m), Shay Given (Manchester City, £3.5m), Alan Hutton (Tottenham, undisclosed), Jermaine Jenas (Tottenham, loan).

Outs - Stewart Downing (Liverpool, £20m), Ashley Young (Manchester United, £16m), Luke Young (QPR, undisclosed), 

Brad Friedel (Tottenham, free), Nigel Reo-Coker (Bolton, free), John Carew (West Ham, free)

Best Value Signing - Alan Hutton

Should Have Signed - An experienced winger.

Transfer Window Rating - 5/10 - Lost two of their key players and replaced only one of them.

BLACKBURN 

Ins - Simon Vukcevic (Sporting Lisbon, £2m), David Goodwillie (Dundee United, £2m), Radosav Petrovic (Partizan Belgrade, undisclosed), 

Bruno Ribiero (Gremio Prudente, free), Scott Dann (Birmingham, £6m), Yakubu (Everton, undisclosed).

Outs - Phil Jones (Manchester United, £16.5m), Frank Fielding (Derby, undisclosed), Nikola Kalinic (Dnipro, undisclosed), 

Zurab Khizanishvili (Kayserispor, free), Benjani (Portsmouth, free), Brett Emerton (Sydney FC, free)

Best Value Signing - Scott Dann

Should Have Signed - A right back who is under the age of 25.

Transfer Window Rating - 6/10 - Phil Jones is a loss but he's been well replaced in Scott Dann, and they have bought some useful attacking players.

BOLTON

Ins - Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears (Burnley, joint £3m), David Ngog (Liverpool, undisclosed), Darren Pratley (Swansea, free), 

Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa, free), Tuncay (Wolfsburg, loan), Dedryck Boyata (Man City, loan), Gael Kakuta (Chelsea, loan),

Outs - Ali Al Habsi (Wigan, £4m), Matt Taylor (West Ham, £2.2m), Johan Elmander (Galatasaray, free), Tamir Cohen (Maccabi Haifa, free), Joey O'Brien (West Ham, free)

Best Value Signing - Chris Eagles

Should Have Signed - Someone to replace either or both fullbacks.

Transfer Window Rating - 6/10 - They've gone for quantity over quality but the squad has slightly improved.

CHELSEA

Ins - Juan Mata (Valencia, £29m), Romelu Lukaku (Anderlecht, £20m), Thibaud Courtois (Genk, £5m), Oriol Romeu (Barcelona, £4.4m), Lucas Piazon (Sao Paulo, undisclosed),

Raul Meireles (Liverpool, undisclosed)

Outs - Michael Mancienne (Hamburg, £3m), Slobodan Rajkovic (Hamburg, £1.8m), Yury Zhirkov (Anzhi, undisclosed), Nemanja Matic (Benfica, undisclosed), 

Fabio Borini (Parma, undisclosed), Thibaud Courtois (Atletico Madrid, loan), Jeffrey Bruma (Hamburg, loan), Ulises Davila (Vitesse Arnhem, loan), Patrick van Aanholt (Wigan, loan), 

Gael Kakuta (Bolton, loan), Yossi Benayoun (Arsenal, loan)

Best Value Signing - Juan Mata

Should have Signed - Another centre back. Terry and Alex are both aging and David Luiz needs a partner for the future.

Transfer Window Rating - 9/10 - Bought some exciting young players to try and solve the problem of an aging squad.

EVERTON

Ins - Eric Dier (Sporting Lisbon, loan), Denis Stracqualursi (Tigre, loan), Royston Drenthe (Real Madrid, loan).

Outs - Mikel Arteta (Arsenal, £10m), Jermaine Beckford (Leicester, £4m), James Vaughan (Norwich, £2.5m),

Best Value Signing - Royston Drenthe

Should Have Signed - A striker, or three since they sold two.

Transfer Window Rating - 3/10 - Another disappointing window for Everton who have sold some of their best players and failed to replace them adequately.

FULHAM

Ins - Pajtim Kasami (Palermo, £4m), John Arne Riise (Roma, £2.4m), Marcel Gecov (Slovan Liberec, undisclosed), Csaba Somogyi (Rakospalotai, free), 

Zdenek Grygera (Juventus, free), Bryan Ruiz (Twente, £10.6m), Orlando Sa (Porto, free)

Outs - Jonathan Greening (Nottingham Forest, £670,000), Kagisho Dikgacoi (Crystal Palace, undisclosed), Zoltan Gera (West Brom, free),

Diomansy Kamara (Eskisehirspor, free), John Paintsil (Leicester, free)

Best Value Signing - Zdenek Grygera

Should Have Signed - A young, creative midfielder to help their somewhat stale midfield.

Transfer Window Rating - 7/10 - Some smart signings from Jol, and some gambled that may pay off.

LIVERPOOL

Ins - Stewart Downing (Liverpool, £20m), Jordan Henderson (Sunderland, £16m), Charlie Adam (£9m), Jose Enrique (Newcastle, £6m), Alexander Doni (Roma, free), 

Sebastian Coates (Nacional, undisclosed), Craig Bellamy (Manchester City, free)

Outs - Joe Cole (Lille, loan) Christian Poulsen (Evian, undisclosed) Alberto Aquilani (AC Milan, loan), Paul Konchesky (Leicester, £1.5m),

Emiliano Insua (Sporting Lisbon, undisclosed), Daniel Ayala (Norwich, undisclosed), Milan Jovanovic (Anderlecht, free), 

Sotirios Kyrgiakos (Wolfsburg, free),Christian Poulsen (Evian, undisclosed), David Ngog (Bolton, undisclosed), Raul Meireles (Chelsea, undisclosed)

Best Value Signing - Jose Enrique

Should Have Signed - They signed everyone.

Transfer Window Rating - 9/10 - Spent so much money, but it's lead to a greatly improved squad.

MANCHESTER CITY

Ins - Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid, £38m), Samir Nasri (Arsenal, £24m), Gael Clichy (Arsenal, £7m), Stefan Savic (Partizan Belgrade, £6m),

Owen Hargreaves (Manchester United, free).

Outs - Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich, £10m), Shay Given (Aston Villa, £3.5m), Felipe Caicedo (Levante, £880,000), Jo (Internacional, undisclosed),

Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham, loan), Dedryck Boyata (Bolton, loan), Roque Santa Cruz (Real Betis, loan), Vladimir Weiss (Espanyol, loan),

Michael Johnson (Leicester, loan), Shaun Wright-Phillips (QPR, undisclosed), Craig Bellamy (Liverpool, free).

Best Value Signing - Despite being extremely pricey - Sergio Aguero

Should Have Signed - A top quality centre back to partner Kompany.

Transfer Window Rating - 8/10 - Have spent the most, but Aguero and Nasri have made their attacking line-up terrifying.

MANCHESTER UNITED 

Ins - David De Gea (Atletico Madrid, £17.8m), Phil Jones (Blackburn, £16.5m), Ashley Young (Aston Villa, £16m).

Outs - Gabriel Obertan (Newcastle, £3.25m), Wes Brown (Sunderland, £1m), John O'Shea (Sunderland, undisclosed), Owen Hargreaves (Manchester City, free), 

Paul Scholes (retired), Edwin van der Sar (retired), Bebe (Besiktas, loan), Ritchie de Laet (Norwich, loan).

Best Value Signing - Ashley Young

Should Have Signed - Creative (and good) central midfielder ie Luka Modric.

Transfer Window Rating - 8/10 - Bought young, talented players to create a well, balanced team but have spent a lot in the process.

NEWCASTLE

Ins - Davide Santon (Inter Milan £5m) Yohan Cabaye (Lille, £4.3m), Gabriel Obertan (Manchester United, £3.25m), Sylvain Marveaux (Rennes, free), 

Mehdi Abeid (Lens, free), Demba Ba (West Ham, free).

Outs - Jose Enrique (Liverpool, £6m), Kevin Nolan (West Ham, £4m), Wayne Routledge (Swansea, undisclosed), Joey Barton (QPR, free), 

Ben Tozer (Northampton, free), Sol Campbell (released), Shefki Kuqi (Oldham, free), Kazenga Lua Lua (Brighton, loan), Xisco (Deportivo La Coruna, loan), 

Fraser Forster (Celtic, loan),

Best Value Signing - Yohann Cabaye

Should Have Signed - A small, quick striker to partner their three tall ones (Peter Lovenkrands doesn't count).

Transfer Window Rating - 7/10 - Controversially, I think Newcastle have improved over the window despite selling their best players. Santon is a very good replacement for Enrique and Cabaye is better than Barton/Nolan.

NORWICH

Ins - Steve Morison (Millwall, £2.8m), James Vaughan (Everton, £2.5m), Anthony Pilkington (Huddersfield, £2m), Daniel Ayala (Liverpool, undisclosed), 

Elliott Bennett (Brighton, undisclosed), Bradley Johnson (Leeds, free), Ritchie De Laet (Manchester United, loan), Kyle Naughton (Tottenham, loan).

Outs - Owain Tudur Jones (Inverness, undisclosed), Cody McDonald (Coventry, undisclosed), Luke Daley, Steven Smith (Preston, free), (Plymouth, free), 

Matt Gill (Bristol Rovers, free), Sam Habergham (Tamworth, free), Jens Berthel Askou (Vejle Kolding, free), Stephen Hughes (released), 

Cody McDonald (Coventry, undisclosed).

Best Value Signing - Bradley Johnson

Should Have Signed - An effective winger.

Transfer Window Rating - 6/10 - Unsurprisingly better since they've been promoted but not improved as much as they could have done.

Q.P.R

Ins - DJ Campbell (Blackpool, £1.2m), Armand Traore (Arsenal, undisclosed), Danny Gabbidon (West Ham, free), Kieron Dyer (West Ham, free), 

Jay Bothroyd (Cardiff, free), Joey Barton (Newcastle, free), Shaun Wright-Phillips (QPR, undisclosed), Anton Ferdinand (Sunderland, £3m).

Outs - Mikele Leigertwood, (Reading, undisclosed), Georgias Tofas (Anagennisi Dherynia, free), Josh Parker (Oldham, free), Joe Oastler (Torquay, free), 

Lee Brown (Bristol Rovers, free), Pascal Chimbonda (released), Gavin Mahon (Notts County, free), Romone Rose (Muangthong United, free), 

Peter Ramage (Crystal Palace, loan), Angelo Balanta (MK Dons, loan), Leon Clarke (Swindon, free), Kaspars Gorkss (Reading, loan), Michael Doughty (Crawley, loan).

Best Value Signing - Joey Barton

Should Have Signed - Another centre back - still the area where they are poorest.

Transfer Window Rating - 7/10 - Rangers have improved impressively for their first season in the Premiership.

STOKE 

Ins - Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham, free), Matthew Upson (West Ham, free), Cameron Jerome (Birmingham, £4m), Peter Crouch (Tottenham, £10m), 

Wilson Palacios (Tottenham, £8m).

Outs - Carl Dickinson (Watford, undisclosed), Eidur Gudjohnsen (AEK Athens, free), Abdoulaye Faye (West Ham, free), Ibrahima Sonko Ipswich, free)

Best Value Signing - Jonathan Woodgate 

Should Have Signed - A creative midfielder to give them another option if they go behind.

Transfer Window Rating - 8/10 - Despite getting terrible value for money, they have certainly bought effective players for their style and are definitely better as a result.

SUNDERLAND

Ins - Connor Wickham (Ipswich, £13m), Craig Gardner (Birmingham, £5m), Ahmed Elmohamady (ENPPI, £2m), Ji Dong-won (Chunnam Dragons, £2m), 

Wes Brown (Man United, £1m), James McClean (Derry City, £350,000), John O'Shea (Man United, undisclosed), Sebastian Larsson (Birmingham, free), 

David Vaughan (Blackpool, free), Keiren Westwood (Coventry, free), Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal, loan).

Outs - Jordan Henderson (Liverpool, £16m), Steed Malbranque (St Etienne, undisclosed), Bolo Zenden (released), Cristian Riveros (Kayserispor, loan), 

George McCartney (West Ham, loan), Anton Ferdinand (QPR, £3m).

Best Value Signing - Sebastian Larsson

Should Have Signed - Much like Stoke, a creative central midfielder - one who is better than Cattermole.

Transfer Window Rating - 6/10 - The most active side in the window are better off but could be accused of going for quantity over quality.

SWANSEA 

Ins - Michel Vorm (Utrecht, £1.5m), Danny Graham (Watford, £3.5m), Leroy Lita (Middlesbrough, £1.75m), Wayne Routledge (Newcastle, undisclosed), 

Jose Moreira (Benfica, undisclosed), Steven Caulker (Totteham, loan), Federico Bessone (Leeds, undisclosed), Darnel Situ (Lens, undisclosed).

Outs - Dorus de Vries (Wolves, free), Darren Pratley (Bolton, free), Albert Serran (AEK Larnaca, free), Cedric van der Gun (released), 

Gorka Pintado (AEK Larnaca, free), Yves Ma-Makalamby (released)

Best Value Signing - Michel Vorm

Should Have Signed - A strong, defensive midfielder - Swansea are a quick but lightweight team.

Transfer Window Rating - 7/10 - some good signings to benefit their quick style as well as a target man, which they needed.

TOTTENHAM

Ins -  Brad Friedel (Aston Villa, free), Cristian Ceballos (Barcelona, free), Souleymane Coulibaly (Siena, undisclosed), 

Emmanuel Adebayor (Man City, loan), Yago Falque (Juventus, loan), Scott Parker (West Ham, £5m)

Outs - Peter Crouch (Stoke, £10m), Wilson Palacios, Stoke, £8m), Jamie O'Hara (Wolves, £5m), Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy £1.8m), Alan Hutton (Aston Villa, undisclosed), 

Jonathan Woodgate (Stoke, free), Kyle Naughton (Norwich, loan), Steven Caulker (Swansea, loan), Bongani Khumalo (Reading, loan), 

Ryan Mason (Doncaster, loan), Jonathan Obika (Yeovil, loan), David Bentley (West Ham, loan), Jermaine Jenas (Aston Villa, loan).

Best Value Signing - Souleymane Coulibaly

Should Have Signed - A centre back who isn't made of glass.

Transfer Window Rating - 8/10 - Have shifted alot of dead wood and have bought sensibly for the present and the future.

W.B.A

Ins - Shane Long (Reading, £6.5m), Zoltan Gera (Fulham, free), Marton Fulop (Ipswich, free), Gareth McAuley (Ipswich, free), Billy Jones (Preston, free), 

Ben Foster (Birmingham, loan).

Outs - Scott Carson (Bursaspor, £2.1m), Ishmael Miller (Nottingham Forest £1.2m), Borja Valero (Villarreal, undisclosed), Marek Cech (Trabzonspor, undisclosed), 

Abdoulaye Meite (Dijon, free), Gianni Zuiverloon (Real Mallorca, free), Giles Barnes (Doncaster, free), Dean Kiely (retired), Boaz Myhill (Birmingham, loan), 

Chris Wood (Birmingham, loan), James Hurst (Blackpool, loan), Marek Cech (Trabzonspor, undisclosed), Pablo Ibanez (Birmingham, undisclosed).

Best Value Signing - Zoltan Gera

Should Have Signed - Some good defenders, the area they need most improvement, but which they seemed to ignore.

Transfer Window Rating - 6/10 - Again, shifted a number of fringe players (mostly to Birmingham), and brought in some good players, but in the wrong areas.

WIGAN 

Ins - Ali Al Habsi (Bolton, £4m), Shaun Maloney (Celtic, £1m), Albert Crusat (Almeria, undisclosed), David Jones (Wolves, free), Nouha Dicko (released, free), 

Patrick van Aanholt (Chelsea, loan).

Outs - Charles N'Zogbia (Aston Villa, £9.5m), Antonio Amaya (Real Betis, undisclosed), Daniel de Ridder (Grasshopper Zurich, free), Mauro Boselli (Estudiantes, loan),

Steven Caldwell (Birmingham, free), Jason Koumas (released).

Best Value Signing - Patrick Van Aanholt

Should Have Signed - A better winger replacement than Shaun Maloney.

Transfer Window Rating - 4/10 - Lost their best player and bought a lot of mediocrity.

WOLVES

Ins - Roger Johnson (Birmingham, £7m), Jamie O'Hara (Tottenham, £5m), Dorus De Vries (Swansea, free)

Outs - Greg Halford (Portsmouth, undisclosed), David Jones (Wigan, free), Geoffrey Mujangi Bia (Standard Liege, free), Marcus Hahnemann (released), 

Steven Mouyokolo (Sochaux, loan),

Best Value Signing - Roger Johnson

Should Have Signed - Another defender, as well as Johnson.

Transfer Window Rating - 6/10 - Relatively inactive but Roger Johnson could be the key to improving their terrible defence.

*****************

As an added bonus, here are the Premier League teams who I think have grabbed a bargain and who has been the victim of daylight robbery:

Top five best value Premier League transfers:

1. Yohann Cabaye - Lille to Newcastle - £4.3m

2. Zdenek Grygera - Juventus to Fulham - Free

3. Michel Vorm - Utrecht to Swansea - £1.5m

4. Souleymane Coulibaly - Siena to Tottenham - £1.7m

5. Jose Enrique - Newcastle to Liverpool - £6m

Top five worst value Premier League transfers:

1. Jordan Henderson - Sunderland to Liverpool - £16m

2. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain - Southampton to Arsenal - £12m

3. Cameron Jerome - Birmingham City to Stoke - £4m

4. Stewart Downing - Aston Villa to Liverpool - £20m

5. Peter Crouch - Tottenham to Stoke - £10m

*****************

And, as an even sweeter bonus, here's a round up of the ten best value transfers from the rest of Europe this window:

1. Nuri Sahin - Dortmund to Real Mardid - €10m

2. Diego Forlan - Athletico Madrid to Inter Milan - €5m

3. Goran Pandev - Inter to Napoli - Loan

4. Arda Turan - Galatasaray to Athletico Madrid - €12m

5. Phillipe Mexes - Roma to Milan - Free

6. Miralem Pjanic - Lyon to Roma - €10m

7. Jeremy Toulalan - Lyon to Malaga €10m

8. Taye Taiwo - Marseille to Milan - Free

9. Pablo Piatti - Almeria to Valencia - €8m

10. Blaise Matuidi - St. Etienne to PSG - €8m

Neymar the Brilliant Pt. 3

After the hangover of the Scotland - Czech Republic game, we're in some need of light relief.

I can honestly say I have never been disappointed by Neymar, or for that matter, the Brasileirao. Defensively, it's not the best, but for pure footballing entertainment it's better than the English Premier League. Here's an example, both these goals happened in the same game:

You should probably give Brazilian league football more of your time.

Scotland - Czech Republic Preview

Ahead of tomorrow's European Championship Qualifier, Adam (AH) and Craig (CH) take a look at the two sides and make an assessment so that you don't have to. To refresh your memory, here's what the Group I table currently looks like:

Clipped from Wikipedia

SCOTLAND

CH: The Tartan Army will be hoping for a much more positive approach from Craig Levein after he played no strikers when these two sides met in Prague last October. Only Iain Turner has dropped out of the squad, being replaced by David Marshall but barring an injury Allan McGregor will start in goal. Kris Commons was a surprise exclusion but returns from injury from Alan Hutton, Steven Naismith and Darren Fletcher will hand Scotland a boost. However Hutton and Fletcher have not yet played a competitive game this season and so giving them a starting place may be a risk. Levein also has to decide who will partner Gary Caldwell at the heart of the defence and whether he will play Miller up front on his own or with a strike partner, as Scotland need a win. Scotland will be hoping for a similar display to their last game against Denmark which they won 2-1 following an impressive defensive performance. Defeat in this game could spell the end of Scotland’s pursuit of a place in a major finals for the first time since 1998. Victory however closes the gap on the Czechs to two points and Scotland still have a game in hand, against Lithuania next week. Scotland will hope to have these two victories in the bag before heading to Spain to play the group leaders in October.

AH: After a decent performance against Denmark in a friendly last month, Scotland fans might get their hopes up for three points tomorrow. When these two last met in Prague, Craig Levein adopted a horribly defensive approach and was duly punished for it. That game, coupled with an equally shit performance in Lithuania, mean that Scotland now have to win this game to stand any realistic chance of reaching the play-offs. With no first team injuries, Levein can select a strong, attacking eleven and go for the win from kick off. Alan Hutton, Darren Fletcher and Steven Naismith have all been passed fit, but don't be surprised if they start on the bench; Hutton and Fletcher haven't played yet this season. Kenny Miller should start, but it's practically impossible to say for certain whether he'll start with a strike partner or on his own. Rather than the usual 4-5-1, Scotland need to be able to play a 4-4-2 or at least a more attacking 4-4-1-1 and really take the game to the Czechs for this must win game. Anything other than a win and Scotland simply will not qualify for another major tournament again.

From:
Goalkeepers: Matt Gilks (Blackpool), Allan McGregor (Rangers), David Marshall (Cardiff City)

Defenders: Phil Bardsley (Sunderland), Christophe Berra (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Gary Caldwell (Wigan Athletic), Stephen Crainey (Blackpool), Grant Hanley (Blackburn Rovers), Alan Hutton (Tottenham Hotspur), Steven Whittaker (Rangers), Danny Wilson (Liverpool)
Midfielders: Charlie Adam (Liverpool), Barry Bannan (Aston Villa), Scott Brown (Celtic), Don Cowie (Cardiff City), Graham Dorrans (West Bromwich Albion), Darren Fletcher (Manchester United), James Forrest (Celtic), James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion), Barry Robson (Middlesbrough), Robert Snodgrass (Leeds United)
Forwards: David Goodwillie (Blackburn Rovers), Craig Mackail-Smith (Brighton and Hove Albion), Kenny Miller (Cardiff City), Steven Naismith (Rangers)

CZECH REPUBLIC

CH: Czech Republic only have one notable absentee for the clash at Hampden, Petr Cech misses out through injury so head coach Michal Bilek will look to Jaroslav Drobny or Jan Lastuvka to deputise. Other than this Bilek has a full strength squad to choose from and will be able to select a strong side. The Czechs will be looking to improve on their performance following their last game, a disappointing 3-0 loss to Norway. Currently sitting five points ahead of Scotland, having played a game more, a draw would suit Czech Republic better as both teams chase Group I’s runners up spot behind Spain.

AH: The absence of Petr Cech will be devastating for the Czechs, regardless of what striker Milan Baros believes. Jaroslav Drobny looks likely to replace him, but with only three previous caps, he could well prove to be a liability. They might not be as strong as they were a couple of years ago, but the Czech Republic are still more than capable of causing Scotland a lot of problems. Baros will trouble Caldwell, and although he's looked sluggish at Arsenal, Rosicky has the vision and passing ability to put Scotland on the backfoot. A draw would certainly suit the Czechs, and they might well play for one, but I'm sure head coach Michal Bilek won't copy Levein's embarrassing 4-6-0 formation.

From:
Goalkeepers: Jaroslav Drobny (Hamburg), Jan Lastuvka (Dnepropetrovsk), Ales Hruska (Pribram)
Defenders: Zdenek Pospech (Mainz), Jan Rajnoch (Ankaragucu), Tomas Sivok (Besiktas), Theo Gebre Selassie (Slovan Liberec), Roman Hubnik (Berlin), Daniel Pudil (Genk), Petr Jiracek (Viktoria Pilsen), Michal Kadlec (Leverkusen)
Midfielders: Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal), Tomas Hubschman (Shakhtar Donetsk), Daniel Kolar (Viktoria Pilsen), Jaroslav Plasil (Bordeaux), Kamil Vacek (Sparta Prague), Jan Rezek (Famagusta), Vaclav Pilar (Viktoria Pilsen), Milan Petrzela (Viktoria Pilsen)
Strikers: Milan Baros (Galatasaray), David Lafata (Jablonec), Tomas Pekhart (Nuremberg)

Form (All Competitions):
Scotland (Last five at home): L-W-W-W-W
Czech Republic (Last five away): D-L-L-D-L

SPL Transfer Window Round Up

A number of sides in the SPL have had to cope with the loss of key players this season and may still be considered to be in transition as new signings and younger players try to settle in. Following the shutting of the transfer window, we will have a look at who has left and who has been brought in and how this will affect their respective teams. Who has recruited well and who looks ill equipped to cope with the demands of the 
league this season?

Aberdeen
IN: Kari Arnason; Jason Brown; Mohamed Chalali; Chris Clark; David Gonzalez (loan); Youl Mawene; Isaac Osbourne

OUT: Sone Aluko; Myles Anderson; Nick Blackman (end of loan); Zander Diamond; Paul Hartley; Mark Howard; Nicky Low (loan); Chris Maguire; David McNamee; Michael Paton (loan); Joe Shaughnessy (loan); Steven Smith; Nikola Vujadinovic (end of loan); Derek Young

Aberdeen have signed players that few in Scotland will know much about. They will have to settle in and prove themselves quickly in order to please the Dons support. David Gonzalez may prove to be a good loan signing as cover, or a possible replacement, for Jamie Langfield and Youl Mawene looks to be a big strong player so defensively Aberdeen could be solid. However they will miss the creativity of the likes of Sone Aluko and the talented Chris Maguire so may struggle for goals this season. Michael Paton will hope a loan spell at Stockport leads to more starting opportunities in order for him to reach his potential.

Celtic
IN: Mohamed Bangura; Badr El Kaddouri (loan); Fraser Forster (loan); Adam Matthews; Victor Wanyama; Kelvin Wilson

OUT: Graham Carey; Ryan Conroy; Sean Fitzharris; Jos Hooiveld (loan); Ben Hutchinson; Efrain Juarez (loan); Fredrik Ljunberg; Shaun Maloney; Niall McGinn (loan); Paul McGowan; Daryl Murphy (loan); Darren O’Dea (loan); Josh Thompson (loan); Richie Towell (loan)

Celtic seemed short of options up front so the signing of Bangura, who is fast and powerful with a good scoring record, may prove an important one. However he seems a similar type of player to Gary Hooper and Anthony Stokes so doesn’t offer much in the way of different options. Kelvin Wilson looks to have settled in well and El Kaddouri will provide cover at left back until the return of the injured Izaguirre in January. Young Adam Matthews looks like a good acquisition. He was reportedly courted by Manchester United and Arsenal before signing for Celtic and should develop well under Neil Lennon. Lennon will hope that the likes of Juarez, McGinn, Thompson and Towell will benefit from their loan spells and force themselves into his reckoning on their return. Celtic have also lost Shaun Maloney to Wigan and may miss his creativity from the bench. Georgios Samaras was linked with a move away from Celtic Park but Celtic were holding out for a larger sum and he will now remain until January at least, much to the displeasure of a number of Celtic fans.

Dundee United

IN: Lauri Dalla Valle (loan); Willo Flood; Gavin Gunning; Gary Mackay-Stevens; Keanu Marsh-Brown (loan); John Rankin

OUT: Prince Buaben; Craig Conway; Darren Dods; Morgaro Gomis; David Goodwillie; Ross McCord; Ryan McCord; David Robertson; Andis Shala

Dundee United have had to cope with the loss of a number of key players this season. The loss of Buaben, Gomis, Conway and Goodwillie will have a major impact on the team. Willo Flood had a successful couple of loan spells and will hope to emulate these now that he is back and John Rankin has SPL experience and is technically a good player. These two may step in to the void left by Buaben and Gomis in the centre of the park. Gunning performed well on loan at Motherwell last season and will continue to develop as a player. Supporters will hope that loan signings Dalla Valle and Marsh-Brown will be able to provide goals to fire the Arabs to a top four finish.

Dunfermline

IN: Andrew Barrowman; Paul Burns; Patrick Boyle; Craig Easton; Paul Gallacher; John Potter; Kevin Rutkiewicz; Jason Thomson (loan)

OUT: Graham Bayne; Alex Burke; Chris Higgins; Jake Hyde; Neil McGregor; Greg Paterson; Calum Woods

Dunfermline have brought in experienced players in John Potter, Kevin Rutkiewicz and Paul Gallacher, and these players could be crucial in the Pars maintaining their premier league status. Andrew Barrowman will hope to bring the sort of form and goals he showed during his time at Ross County but may struggle in the country’s top division. Likewise, Patrick Boyle and Paul Burns have made the step up from the first division and may take some time to adapt to the demands of the SPL.

Hearts

IN: Danny Grainger; Jamie Hamill; John Sutton; Mehdi Taouil; Callum Tapping

OUT: Ismael Bouzid; Dawid Kucharski; Jamie Mole; Ruben Palazuelos; Mark Ridgers (loan); Craig Thomson (loan); Jason Thomson (loan); Lee Wallace

Hamill and Sutton are established SPL players and will improve an already good side. Mehdi Taouil however can be a bit hit or miss, he is capable of great skill but at times his work rate is lacking. Callum Tapping, who has been capped at under-19 level for Scotland, will join the youth squad and looks to be a player for the future. The loss of Lee Wallace is a bit of a blow as he is a talented player, but Hearts got a great price at £1.5m for him. Danny Grainger should be a decent replacement.

Hibernian

IN: Junior Agogo; Phil Airey (loan); Leigh Griffiths (loan); Adam Mitter; Garry O’Connor; Sean O’Hanlon; Isaiah Osbourne; Ivan Sproule; Richie Towell (loan)

OUT: Kurtis Byrne; David Crawford (loan); Francis Dickoh; Darryl Duffy (end of loan); Edwin de Graaf; Kevin McBride; Kevin McCann; Liam Miller; Colin Nish; John Rankin; Derek Riordan; Scott Smith (loan); Steven Thicot; Valdas Trakys; Ricardo Vaz Te

Hibs have lost some good players in Miller, Rankin and Riordan and look as if they may struggle again this season. The departure of Colin Nish is less of a blow, although he is 10^th in the all-time leading scorer charts in the SPL. Junior Agogo is an experienced player and if Calderwood can get them playing well together the combination of Griffiths, O’Connor and Sproule could provide goals. Sean O’Hanlon and Richie Towell will hope to form a good defensive line along with Paul Hanlon and Callum Booth as Hibs haven’t started the season well defensively.

Inverness Caledonian Thistle

IN: Aiden Chippendale (loan); David Davis (loan); Aaron Doran; Roman Golobart (loan); Billy McKay; Josh Meekings; Thomas Piermayr; Andrew Shinnie; Gregory Tade; Greg Tansey; Owain Tudor Jones

OUT: Gil Blumenshtein; Russell Duncan; Stuart Golabek; Chris Innes; Roy McBain; Grant Munro; Eric Odihambo; Adam Rooney; Dani Sanchez

Losing Adam Rooney is a massive blow to Inverness and they will miss his goals this season. Gregory Tade will have to quickly step up to fill Rooney’s boots and Terry Butcher will look to other players to provide goals as well. Greg Tansey looks a decent acquisition and can contribute goals from midfield, he has scored two in three games already. David Davis and Roman Golobart come from English premier league sides and could add quality, as might Aaron Doran who joins following a successful loan spell last season. Andrew Shinnie, signed from Rangers, will get more starting opportunities and may develop into a good player.

Kilmarnock

IN: Patrick Ada; Danny Buijs; Jorge Galan (loan); Gary Harkins; Paul Heffernan; Ben Hutchinson; Zdenek Kroca; Rory McKeown; Leon Panikvar; Daniel Racchi; Dean Shiels; Mohamadou Sissoko (loan); Jonathan Stynes; Jude Winchester

OUT: Kieran Agard (end of loan); Craig Bryson; Tim Clancy; Alexei Eremenko (end of loan); Jamie Hamill; Rui Miguel; Mehdi Taouil; Frazer Wright

There are a number of new faces at Rugby Park this season and it remains to be seen if they can match the impressive performances of last season. Killie have struggled for goals since the departure of Conor Sammon in January and will hope that Hutchinson and Heffernan can contribute. Killie have also lost a lot of creativity from the likes of Jamie Hamill, Craig Bryson, Mehdi Taouil and, of course, Alexei Eremenko. Jorge Galan, on loan from Osasuna, and Dean Shiels may be able to provide a bit of flair, but don’t look as good as the players they have replaced. Following Wright and Clancy’s moves to St Johnstone and Motherwell respectively, Kilmarnock look short at the back although Kroca looks to be a big solid centre half and many fans will be pleased to see the return of Sissoko on loan from Udinese. Ada and Buijs appear to be getting to grips with the SPL and reports suggest that Ada may leave, just over a month after joining, as he is not suited to Kilmarnock’s style of play. Stynes and Winchester appear to be signings for the future and possibly won’t feature much for the first team this season. Kilmarnock reportedly have at least one player, Mark de Man, on trial and may sign him in the next few days.

Motherwell

IN: Tim Clancy; Omar Daley; Nicky Devlin; Michael Higdon; Nicky Law

OUT: Esteban Casagolda; Angelis Charalambous; Gavin Gunning (end of loan); Steven Howarth (loan); Francis Jeffers; Steve Jones; Ross McKinnon (loan); Maurice Ross; John Sutton

Tim Clancy is a versatile player and can play anywhere along the back line so should provide good depth to Stuart McCall’s side. Michael Higdon has a big task ahead of him to fill John Sutton’s boots, but he is a good player with a good scoring record from last season. Motherwell had hoped to re-sign Gavin Gunning but he opted to join Dundee United. Nicky Law has started his Motherwell career in excellent fashion and may prove to be a great signing. Nicky Devlin appears to be have been signed with the future in mind, although Motherwell are a club with a reputation for giving younger players first team opportunities.

Rangers

IN: Kyle Bartley (loan); Alejandro Bedoya; Carlos Bocanegra; Dorin Goian; Matt McKay; Juan Manuel Ortiz; Lee Wallace

OUT: James Beattie; Madjid Bougherra; Archie Campbell; El-Hadji Diouf (end of loan); John Fleck (loan); Richard Foster (end of loan); Kyle Hutton (loan); Andrew Little (loan); Vladimir Weiss (end of loan)

Rangers perhaps haven’t made the sort of signings the fans would have expected following reports that Craig Whyte would be providing a high degree of transfer funds. Lee Wallace is a good young Scottish player but Rangers perhaps paid over the odds at £1.5m for him. Goian and Bocanegra bring with them a lot of experience but Ortiz is yet to impress the Rangers support. Kyle Bartley provides decent cover as he can play in defence and midfield, but still seems to be learning the game and at times can be a little petulant. Looking at the signings it would appear that Rangers have bought what some would call squad players, and not the kind of players who can make an impact on the first choice eleven. Hutton and Little will benefit from their loan experiences as will John Fleck, who was tipped for stardom but never made a great impact. Hopefully a good loan spell will get his development back on track. Holding on to Nikica Jelavic and Steven Davis will please the fans, but not the bank. Reports suggest Rangers rejected a last minute £9m bid for Jelavic from an unnamed English premier league side. The degree of truth in these reports however remains to be seen as, financially, Rangers are not in a position that they could turn this kind of money down.

St Johnstone

IN: Callum Davidson; Carl Finnigan; Willie Gibson (loan); Marcus Haber; Sean Higgins; Alan Mannus; David McCracken; David Robertson; Francisco Sandaza; Cillian Sheridan (loan); Frazer Wright

OUT: Scott Dobie; Michael Duberry; Danny Grainger; Danny Invincibile; Andy Jackson; Jonathan Lindsay; Peter MacDonald; Steven Milne; Jordan Robertson; Kevin Rutkiewicz; Colin Samuel; Graeme Smith; Cleveland Taylor

St Johnstone appear to have done some good business in this transfer window. The only notable losses seem to be Grainger and Duberry. St Johnstone’s biggest issue last season was a lack of goals but the signing of Sandaza may solve that problem. Sheridan and Gibson are capable of contributing goals also. Frazer Wright adds solidity to their defence and along with Callum Davidson provides good experience. Carl Finnigan looked a promising player at Falkirk and is still young so may yet develop further.

St Mirren

IN: Graham Carey; Ilias Haddad; Nigel Hasselbaink; Paul McGowan; Joe McKee (loan); Graeme Smith; Gary Teale; Jeroen Tesselaar; Steven Thompson

OUT: Garry Brady; Patrick Cregg; Craig Dargo; Paul Gallacher; Michael Higdon; Dominic Kennedy (loan); Sean Lynch; Jamie McKernon (loan); Paul McQuade; John Potter; Conor Ramsay; Jure Travner; Gareth Wardlaw

The Buddies have also done well in this summer’s transfer window. Securing a permanent deal for Paul McGowan was a great piece of business as he is a talented and creative player. The addition of Teale and Thompson should also excite the fans and Nigel Hasselbaink has started the season well. However St Mirren may miss the experience that was provided by John Potter, Paul Gallacher and Michael Higdon.

A Rambling Post About Arsenal.

"ARSENAL BUYING SANTOS/MERTESACKER/MARTIN/GOTZE/HAZARD/M'VILA/KAKA/CAHILL/JAGIELKA*"


*Delete as appropriate

With Arsenal suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of Man United, the newspapers have been able to riot for two days, free to write anything they want safe in the knowledge it'll be gobbled up by desperate Gooners. It's obvious Arsenal need to buy; they lost Fabregas and Nasri, arguably their two best players, over the summer and haven't yet replaced them. Journalists and avid tweeters have used this situation to pointlessly name-drop hundreds of potential targets, players that could leave their current clubs, but probably won't. A quick twitter search of "Arsenal target" brings up a huge list of names. Here's just a few:

Arteta, Baines, Cahill, Fellaini, Jagielka (Everton), Johnstone, Tevez (Man City), Cahill (Bolton), Samba (Blackburn), Hazard (Lille), M'Vila (Rennes), Kaka (Real Madrid), Sneijder (Inter), Dann (Birmingham), Elia (HSV - possibly transfered to Juventus today), Bent (Villa), Alex, Benayoun (Chelsea), Gotze, Hummels (Dortmund), Martin (Sochaux).

The list goes on. Obviously I'm well aware that these are mainly wishful thinking fans simply expressing opinion, but it's such a naive opinion. Here's three tweets I've selected to illustrate my point:

Breathe them in, and look at how many exclamation marks are involved. These are your average Arsenal fans. Look how ridiculously optimistic they are. Look how they all seem to think Gary Cahill is a worthy signing. Look how they've been completely influenced by the way the media has hyped up English football. Inspirational.

As a firm believer that the EPL is not the best in the league, it's no surprise to me that instead of signing Cahill/Jagielka or Baines for ludicrous amounts of money, Wenger has cleverly went abroad and picked up two experience players (Santos & Mertesacker) on the cheap. Mertesacker is a year older than Cahill, and has 72 more caps at international level. Looking at honours, Gary Cahill has a goal of the season award, and a players player of the year award at Bolton. Mertesacker came third at two World Cups and was a runner up at Euro 2008 with Germany, he also has a Europa League silver medal, after getting to the final with Werder Bremen in 2009.

Cahill plays for Bolton and is valued at £12/15m. Reports suggest Wenger's signed Mertesacker for roughly £7m. From what I can see, Cahill's a decent player, but Mertesacker is better than him, by a fair distance, yet he's valued a lot lower. Why? There seems to be this current belief that an Englishman playing in the EPL is instantly better than any foreigner playing in any league. Look at this tweet from a Birmingham fan on how much he thinks young English defender Scott Dann, who was also linked with Arsenal, is worth:

By my calculations, that means he's suggesting that Dann is worth £15m. How? In my opinion he's done very little to justify a £5m price tag, let alone double figures.

Arsenal are doing things the right way; buying established players from abroad for cheap. Unfortunately, this seems to confuse some incredibly dumb fans, who can't understand why they're not stumping up for unproven players like Cahill/Dann/Samba etc.

Neymar the Brilliant Pt. 2

Another lovely video showcasing the brilliant skills of Neymar.

***NOTE*** For those who think this is showboating, grow up. He waits until the defender commits, then goes by him. 

Neymar the Brilliant.

Inspired by this simply sublime goal:

We'll be (more) closely following and sharing all that the little Brazilian does. 

Here's two more little slices of football porn from last nights Santos - Sao Paulo game, which ended in a 1-1 draw:

 

Superb.

The Predictable Super Cup.

As the insufferable image of Andy Townsend unnecessarily droned on about the difficulties the English clubs would face in this year's Champions League in ITV4's build up to the Super Cup, I had a little think;

"This'll be a doddle for Barca; they've already seen off Madrid and Porto have lost Falcao! Another trophy for Guardiola."

To an extent, I was right, but Barcelona were made to work a little harder than I anticipated for their victory. Right from the kick off Porto reminded everyone exactly why they were in the final. Hulk and Kleber harassed and annoyed at a decidedly weakened Barcelona defence, putting them under pressure that they didn't seem to expect. Eric Abidal in particular looked uncharacteristically uneasy on the ball, frequently misplacing his passes and even getting tackled by the industrious Porto forwards. However, as is the problem with most teams that play Barca, Porto couldn't convert the half-chances they created, and as the game wore on, Barca found their feet and fired up the carousel.

Their style of play was hampered by the poor Monaco pitch which, because it was ridiculously built on concrete, is infamous. The ball bobbled around and Barca's slick play became a lot less cohesive than usual. They struggled to trouble Porto in the opening half an hour and if Hulk had managed to get his head on a cross that Valdes had flapped at, Barcelona would have found themselves in a very compromising position. Dani Alves was firing in some truly awful crosses and David Villa was doing his utmost to stay offside. They looked vulnerable. 

Frustratingly for new coach Vitor Pereira, Porto didn't look sharp either and, on the 39th minute, gifted their opponents the lead. Breaking from defence, Freddy Guarin ran into a bit of trouble in the Barca midfield, at which point he sensibly played the ball back to his 'keeper. Messi, still trotting back from the attack, latched onto it, jinked by the onrushing Helton and scored his 185th goal for the Catalan giants. As soon as the ball trickled over the line, all hopes of a Porto win/draw/exciting game were extinguished. Barcelona ended the half undeservedly, but expectedly, ahead. 

The second half started equally as slowly as the first. Barca bossing the possession but still not looking as clinical as they were last season, and Porto chasing valiantly and breaking when possible. Joao Moutinho came close, and Guarin had a 35-yarder tipped around the post, but they just didn't seem to trouble Valdes. The game became more interesting as Messi and Iniesta became more involved. Porto found their vision, movement and passing too much and soon pockets of space began to pepper their half. A neat interchange between the two resulted in Villa trying to squeeze a shot past Helton, but the Spaniard was thwarted by the smart save from the 'keeper. The Porto No. 1 was quickly called into action again as Pedro was played in by Messi, but the Barcelona forward's loose check back allowed the keeper to clear. The carousel was now at full tilt.

A couple of substitutions and a yellow card for Rolando broke up the play a bit and allowed the trailing side to come back into the game. A moment of poor communication saw Valdes rush under a Mascherano back-pass header, unfortunately Kleber couldn't capitalise in the same way that Messi did. The back line did look rattled though and just a few minutes later the game should have changed. Abidal clumsily challenged Guarin in the box but the referee waved play on, convinced there was no foul. The replays showed that Abidal got very little of the ball and heavily suggested a penalty would have been the correct decision. With that blip past them Barca continued to dominate through Iniesta and Messi. Rolando fouled the little Argentinian again and was - somewhat harshly I feel - sent off. Very soon after that Messi picked up the ball on the right, came inside and lifted a sublime pass onto the advancing Fabregas' chest, who then volleyed into the roof of the net. It was a lovely goal, and it practically engraved Barcelona's name onto the Super Cup. There was just a couple minutes remaining when Guarin received a straight red for a foolishly late tackle on Mascherano, but the game was already lost. The final whistle blew and as the fans' roar reached a crescendo in Monaco, about a billion people watching at home nodded sharply and said; "Knew they would win."

It was predictable, but not too comfortable.

szólj hozzá: Barcelona 2-0 FC Porto