Clint Dempsey nearly overplayed his hand. At first he was looking to leave Fulham for a move to a team playing in the UEFA Champions League - except none showed an interest in him. Then he let it be known that he was going to Liverpool - but they couldn’t afford him. The Texan could have found himself eating humble pie and staying at Craven Cottage, or worse, he could have been sold to a team like Sunderland. Tottenham came in and signed him just before the transfer window closed. He is a lucky boy.
The Andre Villas-Boas era is off to a slow start at White Hart Lane with Spurs having lost one and drawn two of their opening three EPL games. AVB has a lot of work to do and has begun to overhaul the squad that served Harry Redknapp well. It is quite clear from the support he is receiving from club chairman Daniel Levy that the young Portuguese coach will be in charge for the long term. This despite what the Harry fans in the media would have you believe.
Arsene Wenger and fans of Arsenal Football Club are not happy that its players are running down their contracts with the Emirates club to seek a big pay day elsewhere. The transfer of Robin van Persie to Manchester United is a case in point. I seem to remember Arsenal starting this type of transfer when they pursued and then over paid one Sol Campbell of Tottenham. In football as in life, what goes around comes around.
The Andre Villas-Boas era is off to a slow start at White Hart Lane with Spurs having lost one and drawn two of their opening three EPL games. AVB has a lot of work to do and has begun to overhaul the squad that served Harry Redknapp well. It is quite clear from the support he is receiving from club chairman Daniel Levy that the young Portuguese coach will be in charge for the long term. This despite what the Harry fans in the media would have you believe.
Arsene Wenger and fans of Arsenal Football Club are not happy that its players are running down their contracts with the Emirates club to seek a big pay day elsewhere. The transfer of Robin van Persie to Manchester United is a case in point. I seem to remember Arsenal starting this type of transfer when they pursued and then over paid one Sol Campbell of Tottenham. In football as in life, what goes around comes around.
Thursday was one of those days that serve to remind fans of the former Rangers Football Club how times have changed for them and their club. The phoenix Rangers FC or Sevco Scotland Limited of the Scottish Football League Third Division were playing Falkirk in an early round of the League Cup. At the same time, bitter rivals Celtic were drawn against Barcelona, Benfica, and Spartak Moscow in the Champions League. It will be at least four years before Sevco FC will play at that level again. That is a just reward for their financial mismanagement.
If Alex Ferguson had made the draw for the group stages of the UEFA CL he could not have picked three easier opponents than Sporting Braga, Galatasaray, and Cluj for his Man United team. But what did Roberto Mancini do to have his Man City side drawn in the same group as Real Madrid, Ajax, and Borussia Dortmund? Somewhere in leafy Cheshire the wily old Scotsman is having a laugh at his noisy neighbors.
The second coming of King Kenny Dalglish at Anfield Road was an abject failure no matter the League Cup win at Wembley earlier this year. The fact that his replacement Brendan Rodgers has moved on a number of Dalglish signings only serves to confirm that the old Liverpool is dead. It is also an indictment of Dalglish’s time in charge at the club.
The transfer window has closed until January and, as always, it provided a fascinating insight into the business side of football. What was Man City’s strategy in signing players? Did Liverpool dump salary in a similar manner to the Boston Red Sox organization? Does Daniel Levy circle 11:00 PM on deadline day in his calendar as a reminder to do some last minute deals? Was the transfer of Jordan Rhodes from Huddersfield Town to Blackburn Rovers one of the most baffling deals of the year? Is he really worth more than Clint Dempsey?
If Alex Ferguson had made the draw for the group stages of the UEFA CL he could not have picked three easier opponents than Sporting Braga, Galatasaray, and Cluj for his Man United team. But what did Roberto Mancini do to have his Man City side drawn in the same group as Real Madrid, Ajax, and Borussia Dortmund? Somewhere in leafy Cheshire the wily old Scotsman is having a laugh at his noisy neighbors.
The second coming of King Kenny Dalglish at Anfield Road was an abject failure no matter the League Cup win at Wembley earlier this year. The fact that his replacement Brendan Rodgers has moved on a number of Dalglish signings only serves to confirm that the old Liverpool is dead. It is also an indictment of Dalglish’s time in charge at the club.
The transfer window has closed until January and, as always, it provided a fascinating insight into the business side of football. What was Man City’s strategy in signing players? Did Liverpool dump salary in a similar manner to the Boston Red Sox organization? Does Daniel Levy circle 11:00 PM on deadline day in his calendar as a reminder to do some last minute deals? Was the transfer of Jordan Rhodes from Huddersfield Town to Blackburn Rovers one of the most baffling deals of the year? Is he really worth more than Clint Dempsey?
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