In possibly the biggest anti-climax since history began, yesterday’s Sky Sports sponsored transfer window closed without even a whimper. Yes, a few players moved here and there, but it felt like business was down and there wasn’t the glamorous big move we (or the national newspapers) were hoping for.
Some doom-merchants already have it in for the Premier League, citing either the recession or La Liga as the catalyst for a near apocalyptic implosion of English football. They’re not right, of course – it will take more than a few players moving to La Liga to prove the Premier League isn’t still the strongest on the planet and English football has always struggled to attract the very biggest names in world football anyway. It is certainly true however that the window didn’t seem to have the excitement of previous years.
But however it ‘felt’, this summer’s window still saw £450m spent by Premier League clubs. But not everyone did well: here’s bridgeviews.co.uk’s transfer window winners and losers, and there are certainly more of the latter.
Winners
Chelsea
Keeping hold of John Terry was the major coup of the summer, single-handedly giving Chelsea a headstart over less fortunate rivals. Zhirkov is unproven in the Premier League but looks a sound addition and the type of player the squad needed, and Sturridge looks an enthusiastic and able deputy for Anelka and Drogba. Yes, there wasn’t the marquee signing some fans were hoping for (which no doubt I’ll whinge about in November when Chelsea go on a run of unconvincing draws), but on the plus side other key players signed new contracts and asking prices for new stars were too high anyway. Chelsea also got rid of Shevchenko and Pizarro shaped deadwood, probably saving the club £8m-odd a year. Bearing in mind what’s happened with our rivals, that’ll do.
Man City
It’s fairly easy to be transfer window winners when you have this much cash to spend – although getting the results on the pitch over the next eight months will prove a hell of a lot more difficult. My hunch is Man City won’t do a bad job of it though: he’s much derided by Arsenal fans but Adebayor is a good player (and already has three goals from as many appearances) and £12m for Barry is cheap for an English international. The addition of Toure and Lescott might just be the additions I claimed Man City needed in order to get consistent results when I analysed their chances back in July.
Stoke
Bear with me with this one. Battling promoted side do well in their first season playing functional football. Add experienced Premier League players Huth and Tuncay for cheap - sounds good to me. Avoiding relegation can sometimes be more difficult in the second season than the first – my bet is Stoke will manage it this year.
Losers
The rest of the ‘big four’
A no-brainer, really. It is impossible for United to replace Ronaldo (incidently we commented on what the Ronaldo transfer might mean for Chelsea and the league back in July - you can read it here). The only alternative open to Ferguson is rejigging the side and trying to play a different way. The signing of Owen is a good one and Valencia isn’t a bad player, but it isn’t quite enough and United look a whole lot less formidable this season. For me they could still be marginal favourites for the title though, despite how well Chelsea have started.
If I was a Gooner, I’d be tearing my hair out at the club's abject failure to address obvious shortcomings in the squad and the blind faith put in youngsters. The Man United game at the weekend showed not that Arsenal’s players aren’t good enough, but that the balance of youthful exuberance and experience is all wrong. It’s an argument that’s been made about Wenger’s side time and time again, but they’ll win nothing, and any Arsenal fans writing-off the losses of Adebayor and Toure to their would-be big four replacements from Manchester as unimportant are delusional. The result at Old Trafford notwithstanding, Arsenal have started well and will probably continue their good form in the short-term, but my hunch (and it’s just my hunch) is that a fifth place finish could be beckoning this year or next.
Like United, Liverpool have lost a very influential player in Alonso, but to hype the loss up to Ronaldo-like proportions is overstating his importance. That said, the Spaniard did make the scousers tick, and the fascist-loving crock Aquilani could be considered a gamble. Glen Johnson was expensive, is great going forward but weaker at the back and besides, full backs don’t win you the league. I suspect time will show that, aside from Chelsea, Liverpool did the best of the ‘big four’ clubs this summer.
Fulham
Did so well last season but were the lowest spenders in the league this summer. The game against Chelsea earlier this month showed that they’re entirely toothless upfront and desperately need a new goalscorer. A lack of goals this season could well undermine the great work Hodgson did last term.
Hull
Unlike Stoke, I’m not so convinced by Brown’s transfer dealings. The loss of Turner to Sunderland will be a big loss. I watched loan signing Altidore make an instant impact against Bolton, but unless the likes of him score 15 goals this season I think they might be in real danger of relegation.
Portsmouth
It’s been a bit of a mess down on the south coast this season, and Portsmouth have haemorrhaged good players (Johnson, Crouch and Distin). Fingers crossed for them that their replacements can step up to the task and look less like Championship players once Paul Hart has whipped them into a shape.
Everton
Prevailed over Villa to snatch fifth place last season, but I’m sure that Moyes will have been upset at the slow progress made in adding to the squad over the summer. Bilyatedinov, Distin and Heitinga may well prove sound acquisitions, but the loss of Lescott will probably only add to Everton’s sluggish start in the league. By comparison I’m more impressed with Villa’s acquisition of Premier League veterans Downing, Warnock, Beye and Dunne. It’s a precarious time for both sides however: a resurgent Spurs and Man City’s dramatic improvement could render their efforts last season redundant.
Who do you think made the greatest impact during this summer’s transfer window? Post a comment…
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