Blackburn boss Steve Kean believes he is a ‘better man’ for his experience on Survival Sunday, but hopes never to have to repeat the ordeal.Kean was handed the reins at Ewood Park after the controversial sacking of Sam Allardyce in December, with the new owners saying Allardyce was not the man to take the club to a top-four finish in the English Premier League.
Such optimism from Venky’s Group chair Anuradha Desai seemed misplaced in retrospect as Blackburn plummeted from mid-table to within a point of the relegation places ahead of their final match.
But a fine 3-2 win at Wolverhampton, who also narrowly avoided the drop, kept Blackburn in the top-flight for another season, and Kean is now plotting his raid on the transfer market to ensure the next campaign is not so perilous.
“I know I’ll be a better man for the experience of keeping Blackburn up,” the Scot told the Daily Record.
“When you go on a run of matches without winning it’s only natural you sit down and examine everything you’re doing.”
“How you cope with your problems is to simply work even harder on the training ground. Everything that’s been good for us followed on from doing that.”
“It’s an amazing feeling to have kept the club in the best league in the world. Now my ambition is to buy the players who’ll ensure we don’t have to go through another Survival Sunday a year from now.”
“Relegation affects everything at a club. But now I’m thinking optimistically about getting us into the top half and bringing a trophy to Ewood Park.”
When Stoke City were promoted to the Premier League no one gave them any hope of surviving and establishing themselves in the Premier League. However, that is exactly what Stoke City has done and now surely they provide the inspiration and example for other teams coming up from the Championship to follow.
Stoke are a good example of fortune following the brave and for all the plaudits that Blackpool have received this season – I question if they really gave themselves a chance with of lack of transfer investment. This is certainly not the case at Stoke, but it should be noted that Stoke are heavily backed by the Coates family that have invested £43m into the club and the majority of that money has gone directly into Tony Pulis’ playing budget to keep Stoke in the Premier League.
However, the money that was invested into that team is what gave them a chance. £16m was invested in the 2008/9 season – their first in the Premier League. The biggest fees went on Dave Kitson, Seyi Olofinjana, Abdoulaye Faye, Matthew Etherington and James Beattie. The spending paid off as they finished 12th in the league with 45 points; their survival was comfortable as they finished 11 points clear of relegation.
In the 2009/10 season Stoke looked to cash in on the success they had in the previous season further investing in the team. Dean Whitehead, Robert Huth, Tuncay Sanli, Diego Arismendi, Danny Collins and Asmir Begovic were all signed for a combined total of over £21m but they also recouped some money with the sales of Seyi Olofinjana and Leon Cort. Again it looked to be money well spent as Stoke finished in a comfortable position in the table; this time 11th with 47 points, an impressive 17 points above the relegation zone.
The season that just past Stoke started to calm down their total transfer spend as they had already developed a decent Premier League squad. But it was the season that proved they can spend fairly big sums on one player; when Kenwyne Jones signed for £8m and was joined by fellow new signings Florent Cuveiler, Jonathan Walters and Jermaine Pennant, the combined total was just under £12.5m. Stoke again performed well by finishing 13th in the Premier League but with a little less comfort away from the relegation zone; this time just 7 points.
It will be interesting to see what Stoke’s transfer approach ahead of the new season will be – but I think they have done superbly to establish themselves and next season they can think about having a go of breaking into the top 10. They already have a solid looking Premier League squad but will want to add a few quality additions. Above all though Stoke’s success is reward for being brave and ambitious.
As you would expect from the quality that Stoke have signed, the 2010 wage bill has steadily increased and stood at £45m, 2010 turnover was £59m and debt is relatively low in Premier League terms of £8m, only 0.3% of total Premier League debt. The club looks in a healthy state providing the Coates family continue to back them financially.
The Premier League is a tough division to stay in and unlike some other divisions there is no real escape from quality players. A good manager, decent Championship squad and team spirit can get you so far – but you’re unlikely to really grab this opportunity without that bit of Premier League quality as well. Blackpool was an example of what might have been – if that little bit of extra quality had been added to the team.
Now as we know from the data presented above Stoke spent around £16m in their first season and have spent approximately £49.5m since they have been in the Premier League. Blackpool last season clearly took a different approach to Premier League survival spending only £3.675m. But clearly the act of spending money in itself is not the guaranteed way of surviving; the process is a fair bit more complicated than that. And copying the level of spending that Stoke have done doesn’t give the assurance that a team will finish well away from the relegation zone. Wolves for instance only just survived despite a transfer spend of around £15m; they do have a relatively low wage bill.
But there is clearly something in the Stoke City approach and it seems the right level of spending on the right players can allow a team to progress in the Premier League. However, it’s important that things don’t go the other way and money is just thrown at the problem. West Ham spent £14m this season but perhaps more important than that was the wages they paid out and have been paying out; something that will hurt the club next season in the Championship. Birmingham spent nearly £20m all new players, but both these clubs were relegated.
So it will be interesting to see how QPR, Norwich and Swansea approach the transfer market ahead of the new season. All three clubs know that they will need a level of extra quality in the squad, but will be cautious that any money they do spend will not be guaranteed to keep them in the league. Therefore, they need to consider, if they spend this money and they get relegated – will the club still be in a good financial place.
Making some good quality signings on players that are young and ready for the opportunity seems a good approach to take. Norwich has made an early start with the £2.5m capture of James Vaughan and this appears to be the right sort of signing. In conclusion, have a look at what Stoke have done and try and do a similar job within the financial restraints of each individual club. For any of the newly promoted clubs to have a chance they must add some Premier League quality to their squad – but do so in a sensible way. For instance Stoke’s wage bill was £30m in 2009 but that increased to £45m a year later, because they were now a solid Premier League team. So invest but with logic and common sense.
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Jack Rodwell ’s potential transfer to one of the bigger teams in the Premiership has been mooted for several years now. Speculation has been rife for some time that Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal, and currently Tottenham and Manchester City, will make a £20m plus bid for the Everton man. The question is: is he really worth it?
The first thing to say is that Rodwell certainly has the ability to become a great player. He is quick, strong, tall and capable in both an attacking and defensive role. However, since being given his first run out for the Toffees back in the 2007/08 season, Rodwell has scored only two Premiership goals, and has only two Premiership assists to his name.
So this raises the issue of what role these clubs envisage for the midfielder. Is he a defensive midfielder, an attacking midfielder, or a box-to-box, Steven Gerrard-esque midfielder? Blues boss David Moyes has even suggested Rodwell will eventually make his way back to centre-back, and though this suggests a versatility to Rodwell, which would inevitably add value to his transfer, it also alludes to the fact that the player is not quite sure of his role in the Everton team.
Rodwell was presented with an ideal opportunity to showcase his talents at the recent European Championships with England U-21s, and though he was not alone in terms of the abject nature of his brief performances, he will be very disappointed with his efforts. So too will David Moyes if he harbours any hopes to sell the player.
But this brings us on to a more general point about England’s youngsters. After three disgraceful displays against Spain, Ukraine and Czech Republic, it seems entirely ridiculous for the same players to be the primary targets for the Premiership big boys. Only Manchester United’s Chris Smalling showed anything near the amount of class you would expect for a player valued at £10m.
Smalling is without doubt the most assured player in the Under-21s set-up coming off the back of a superb season for Manchester United. As he had played so few games for Fulham, again Ferguson was paying for potential. So how can Smalling’s U-21 team-mates, namely Jordan Henderson, Phil Jones and Jack Rodwell, justify transfers fees of double that amount?
It makes no sense. Premier League manager’s preference for young English players over ones that have developed, matured and proven themselves is perhaps their biggest weakness. To illustrate the point, Kenny Dalglish recently paid about £25m too much for Andy Carroll – a player who had 31 career goals to his name (mainly at Championship level) at 3.1 games per goal – whereas Darren Bent , whose record stands at 168 career goals at 2.3 games per goal (mainly at Premiership level) went for around £15m less.
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Bent’s consistently impressive scoring return justifies his consistently lofty transfer fees. Put simply, a good season in the Championship, an excellent start to the Premiership and a clear aptitude for heading does not, in any way, justify £35m.
Finally, as much as everyone occasionally bemoans the lack of English talent in the Arsenal team, Arsene certainly has the right idea. Why pay £20m for Rodwell and Henderson, when you can pay a pittance for Fabregas. Fabregas is a one-off, you say? Alright then, £35m for Carroll or £6m for Hernandez? Again, the disparity is laughable.
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The more young English players move for astronomical sums, the more managers will turn to foreign imports to bolster their squads. And, perhaps more importantly for some, the more these young English players move for so much so young, the harder they must try to justify their price-tags leading to more pressure, heightened scrutiny and a more fearful arena in which to develop.
And we wonder why England are so bad…
Article courtesy of Chris Smith at the Transfer Tavern
The whole Carlos Tevez saga seems to be at an end with Roberto Mancini confirming the club have accepted a bid from the Brazilian side Corinthians. The Argentine leaving will be a huge loss to Manchester City, as well as the Premier League as a whole.
In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Arsene Wenger calling for the Fabregas saga to be resolved; Steve Bruce baffled by Cattermole to Liverpool rumours, while Andre Villas-Boas warns Chelsea stars to show him that they deserve a place at the club.
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Tevez set to join Corinthians after City finally accept offer – Guardian
Wenger wants Fábregas saga resolved – Guardian
Clarke: Joe Cole has Liverpool future – Daily Telegraph
SWP: Don’t Wright me off – Sun
Villa slam ultimatum on Wigan winger – Mirror
Taarabt left out of Rangers pre-season tour to finalise £12m move to PSG – Daily Mail
Hou: I’m not finished yet – Sun
Bruce baffled by Cattermole to Liverpool rumours – Mirror
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Mancini plays down Nasri and Wenger row – Guardian
Villas-Boas warns Chelsea stars: Show me you’re worth it – Daily Mail
Paolo Guerrero struck a hat-trick to help Peru claim third place in the Copa America with a 4-1 win over 10-man Venezuela on Saturday.Guerrero’s second-half treble, coming after Willian Chiroque opened the scoring in the first half, proved enough to overcome Venezuela, who were a man down following Tomas Rincon’s 58th-minute dismissal at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata.
Peru had their first genuine sight on goal 25 minutes in, when a quick one-two on the edge of the area released Chiroque behind the defence, but his effort from a tight angle was parried by Renny Vega.
A few minutes later, Venezuela had a chance when Miku turned into space inside the penalty area, but Raul Fernandez did well to tip his shot wide.
Despite Venezuela growing in confidence as the first-half neared its end, it was Peru who opened the scoring with a blistering counter-attack.
With three minutes to go before the break, Chiroque picked up the ball inside his own half and broke with pace against the back-pedalling Venezuelan defence.
He found Guerrero on the right flank, continued his run into the box, and stroked the return pass home from two yards.
Venezuela’s task was made that much harder after they were reduced to 10 men in the 58th minute, when Rincon slid in with two feet on Carlos Lobaton.
The tackle may not have been as harsh as Lobaton made out, but referee Wilmar Roldan showed Rincon a straight red, his second dismissal of the tournament.
Things went from bad to worse for Venezuela, as Peru doubled their advantage on 65 minutes.
With gaps appearing following Rincon’s sending off, Guerrero advanced through the midfield and played Chiroque through on the right.
This time he turned provider, laying the ball back to strike partner Guerrero, who had time to control the pass and smash it into the roof of the net.
Venezuela did at least manage to return fire, with substitute Juan Arango finishing clinically on 78 minutes after Yohandry Orozco’s through ball.
But it proved to be nothing more than a consolation, with Guerrero sealing the win for Peru as the clock moved into injury time.
The Hamburg striker showed great skill to evade his marker at the top of the box, and finished with aplomb past the helpless Vega.
Two minutes later, with virtually the last kick of the game, Guerrero completed his hat-trick with a simple finish.
For Peru, the win secures their best finish in the Copa since 1983, when they also came in third.
And while Venezuela must settle for fourth, it was still their best return in 15 appearances at the tournament dating back to 1967.
Sporting Lisbon have dismissed reports they are on the verge of signing Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner, while DJ Campbell appears on the move.The Liga Sagres club were reportedly on the verge of signing the Denmark international after he was allegedly pictured in Portugal.
But director of football Carlos Freitas denied the rumours while unveiling teenager Atila Turan on Friday.
“I have no justification for such news. Bendtner is a player who is as close to Sporting as (Gonzalo) Higuain or (Didier) Drogba are,” Freitas said.
“Those are players who are at the same distance from Sporting. The reports of a move for Bendtner are a fictitious production.”
Bendtner is thought to be seeking a move away from the Emirates Stadium as he continues to fall down the pecking order at the English Premier League club.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are reportedly poised to break their transfer record with a move for Valencia midfielder Juan Mata.
The 23-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away from the Spanish club and Arsene Wenger’s team are viewed as a potential destination for the 2010 FIFA World Cup winner, with an offer in the region of 20 million euros.
The Mirror claimed that the Gunners have come to an agreement with Valencia over the potential sale of Mata, while The Sun reported that the player himself has told friends that he is set to join the north London club.
Elsewhere in the Premier League, Queens Park Rangers have had a bid for Blackpool striker DJ Campbell accepted, with the player to undergo a medical in London.
The forward only joined the Tangerines permanently last term after enjoying a successful loan spell and continued his good form during the club’s first Premier League season, scoring 13 goals in 31 matches in the top flight.
The 29-year-old is set to move to the newly promoted club for an undisclosed fee, and only needs to agree to personal terms with QPR for the deal to go through.
“Blackpool Football Club can confirm that an agreement has been reached with Queen Park Rangers for the transfer of striker DJ Campbell,” Blackpool said on their official website.
“The 29-year-old has now been given permission to discuss personal terms with Neil Warnock’s side and undergo a medical.”
QPR have already secured the signings of Kieron Dyer, Jay Bothroyd and Danny Gabbidon so far this summer, but all three deals were on free transfers.
In other news in England, Bolton Wanderers have completed the signing of Burnley duo Chris Eagles and Tyrone Mears on three-year deals.
Right-back Mears and winger Eagles rejoin manager Owen Coyle, who signed them for Burnley during his time in charge there.
In the Serie A, Genoa have completed the signing of French goalkeeper Sebastien Frey from Fiorentina for an undisclosed fee, with the shot-stopper signing a five-year deal.
In Germany, Bundesliga outfit Schalke have confirmed the capture of former Stuttgart striker Ciprian Marica.
Returning to Spain, the agent of Villarreal attacker Giuseppe Rossi has announced the player will remain with the La Liga outfit – much to the disappointment of potential suitor Juventus.
Rossi had looked on the way out as Villarreal looked to ease their financial problems, but the sale of Santi Cazorla to Malaga has eased the burden and should allow Rossi to remain at El Madrigal.
Owen Hargreaves has revealed his happiness at signing for Manchester City, and is looking to reignite his career at Eastlands after a torrid time at rivals United.
Roberto Mancini’s outfit captured the former England international on a free transfer on deadline day, and he is looking forward rather than back at an injury plagued time at Old Trafford.
“It’s difficult for people from the outside looking in. You would think ‘ there’s something gone wrong there, the guy’s made out of glass’. But anybody who knows me and knows the way I play, I take it very seriously and very professional,” he told City TV.
“So obviously I don’t think everybody had all the facts and a lot of things (injuries) happened that basically I wish wouldn’t of and it’s just a huge learning curve for myself and I would have never have anticipated I would ever find myself in that position.
“So I’m just happy that that chapter is behind me and I’m looking forward to just playing football and having fun, having a good time, joining in with the lads and competing again,” he continued.
Hargreaves has spent a long summer training to show his fitness to potential suitors, and feels the hard work has paid off.
“I basically spent all summer just training, proving to myself that I can work hard, that I can train and sustain the load that is demanded of a professional football player. I hadn’t made my mind up this summer, I just wanted to train hard and then see how it felt and I didn’t use an agent.
“It just kind of happened – I think in life you can’t chase things, you’ve just got to let things happen and that’s what it was and, you know, I’m looking forward to the future,” he concluded.
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Despite the signing, The Daily Mail indicate that Hargreaves will not be included in City’s European squad of 25, which is set to be named on Friday.
Tottenham’s efforts to sign Brazilian Striker Leandro Damiao could be foiled by Serie A giants Inter Milan according to talkSPORT.
Spurs were in talks with the player’s club Internacional during the summer but they failed to agree the reported £15m fee with officials. Damiao subsequently signed a new five year deal with the Brazilian club.
However, Spurs believe this was merely a ploy to drive up the price of any eventual deal for the player. Leandro Damiao was in London earlier this month as he bagged his first international goal for Brazil against Ghana in a friendly at Craven Cottage.
Now Inter have sounded out their interest in the Brazilian as they prepare to back new manager Claudio Ranieri in the January Transfer Window. Directors are thought to be very keen in bringing the 22-year-old to the San Siro.
In order to bring the forward to White Hart Lane, Harry Redknapp could be forced to sell Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko. Moscow rivals Lokomotiv and Spartak are said to be interested.
Redknapp is a long term admirer of Damiao. He’ll be hoping the club’s good relationship with Internacional following the transfer of Sandro last year will stand them in good stead.
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Still the lure of Inter Milan might prove too much for the Brazilian in the end.
Yet again this weekend the spotlight fell on the officials because of the decisions they made, especially involving red cards. It speaks volumes that in the modern game we are not surprised to be debating each weekend more than one contentious decision by a referee, usually in multiple games.
The number of red cards has dramatically risen in the last couple of years, going from an average of 45 per season since the Premier League began to in the last 5 years roughly 62 per season. The question of why this has happened must be considered – is it that players are now more reckless or indeed better at simulation to con the referee into handing out red cards like they are sweets, or is it that the officials have become increasingly happy in the last few seasons?
It seems to be a combination of both, with the influx of foreign players into the Premier League having a massive effect on the amount of simulation we see – it is now not a surprise to see players waving an imaginary card at the referee during the course of a game – and players will actively attempt to gain an advantage by getting opposition players sent off.
It is not just the Premier League in which this happens – European Champions Barcelona can certainly be accused of simulation, play acting and ‘persuading’ the referee to send players off – all Arsenal fans will remember the sending off of Van Persie which cost them the tie, and Real fans can offer a list as explosive as Balotelli let loose in a bathroom of players who received contentious red cards in Classicos.
This season in the Premier League however, has been unprecedented, with certainly more than a couple of dubious decisions made by referees. The sad fact is that during a big game where sides are closely matched, a sending off can ruin the game and heavily influence the outcome of the match – think back to Jack Rodwell’s red card in the Merseyside derby – clearly not a sending off, and despite being overturned on appeal, the damage was already done and arguably cost Everton at least a point out of the game.
Sunday alone saw the dismissal of Jonny Evans, Boswinga and Didier Drogba, and although Evans and Drogba can have little to complain about, Boswinga certainly has a case for unfair dismissal with Chelsea arguing that JT was in fact the last man, not Boswinga and it was not even a goal scoring opportunity but as Ray Wilkins put it ‘a race that was evenly matched’. Chelsea fans could certainly be forgiven for thinking that Chris Foy has a personal vendetta against them, with only Cech and Juan Mata spared from a booking during the game, and having once sent Robben off for celebrating a goal and now sending off four Chelsea players so far this season – Alex, Torres, Drogba and Boswinga.
Dubious decisions by officials is not a new phenomenon, we can all recall Roy Carroll scooping the ball out the back of the net when Spurs had clearly scored, yet no goal was given, or Garcia’s ‘ghost goal’ denying Chelsea a place in the Champions League final. Likewise red cards that should never have been – Rodwell springs to mind here, not to mention Villa’s Chris Herd, sent off this weekend in the midlands derby with Villa set to appeal, saying ‘it was clear he did nothing wrong.’ There have also been penalty decisions that were just downright wrong – all of which can heavily affect the outcome of matches, and cost teams places in finals and trophies they otherwise may have been able to win.
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The question over if it is time to introduce some sort of video technology will remain, and it seems that goal line technology is a must, yet video replays are more of a controversial suggestion. It is natural for human error to occur, and therefore surely technology may be able to help? Whilst fans and players can eventually accept a genuine mistake, they are less willing to accept referees who make mistakes time after time and border on incompetence – the issue of a declining standard of officiating is one that must be addressed, not just in England but throughout the game, and it does beg the question of if we should introduce technology into the game in some capacity to help officials in what is an increasingly hard game to referee.
Way back in April 2009 I asked the question…Are Spurs on the brink of a golden age? This was driven in the main by the Tottenham Under-16’s winning the Legnago Tournament in Italy in 2008. Beating Barcelona in the semi’s and Sporting Lisbon in the final, who probably have two of the best academies in Europe.
Now nobody expects the whole side from 2008 to be pulling up trees in the Tottenham first-team come 2011. Indeed, in an age where owners demand and managers need results. It would be foolhardy to expect Spurs to do this. Especially given the quality, that is flowing throughout the first-team squad at White Hart Lane this season. However, the Europa League has given Harry Redknapp the chance to have a look at some of the youngsters at his disposal. With one in particular standing head and shoulders above the others and that is Tom Carroll; the catalyst of Spurs’ triumph back in 2008.
One way to describe Carroll, would be, built like Luka Modric, plays like Luka Modric. Hefty praise maybe for someone, who has just played a handful of games for Tottenham? But I, like former Everton player Pat Nevin, believe young Tom has a real future in the game. Blessed with fantastic vision and great technical ability, Carroll has already developed an almost telepathic understanding with another youngster at the club in striker Harry Kane. The time the pair both spent on loan at Leyton Orient coinciding, with the League One club’s upturn in form towards the back end of last season, which almost saw Orient make the play-offs.
That said, Carroll is just one player as good as he may turn out to be. With Tottenham not really having any tradition of churning out good youngsters on a conveyer belt – Ledley King the only real quality player to come through the ranks in the past ten years or so and really establish himself at Spurs. Jake Livermore and Andros Townsend, who are currently putting a good case forward for regular first-team football, could be two more to make their mark at White Hart Lane.
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But what of the future beyond the likes of Carroll, Kane, Livermore and Townsend…….is there anyone else on the books, who could become a star? Perhaps? 18-year-old first-year professional Jesse Waller-Lassen looks a good prospect. An attacking-midfielder, who chips in with goals and has that ability to boss a game. Something he did on one of my jaunts to Spurs Lodge last December in a Premier League Academy game against Birmingham.
Three more to look out for are Australian central-midfielder Massimo Luongo aged 19, who joined the Academy last January and has already impressed enough to earn a pro contract and make his senior debut for Tottenham in the Carling Cup. Unfortunately missing the penalty, which saw Stoke go through. 16-year-old striker Souleymane Coulibaly from the Ivory Coast, could be a world beater. Arriving from Siena in the summer following his Golden Boot winning performance in the Under-17 World Cup. Nine goals in four matches, with four of those coming against Brazil. The diminutive forward has had no trouble finding the net in his debut for the Tottenham XI against Brighton in pre-season and in the NextGen youth Tournament against Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven.
Last, but not least is Spaniard Cristian Ceballos, who arrived from Barcelona in the summer. An 18-year-old, who plays as an attacking-midfielder or forward, who is not really one of Spurs’ own. If he can get anywhere near emulating, what Cesc Fabregas did at Arsenal, he will make a lot of Tottenham fans very happy.
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It remains to be seen if any of the above make the grade at The Lane, but with a solid chairman in Levy, a great manager in Harry, a first-team squad full of quality throughout and a good bunch of kids starting to knock on the door. Along with a new stadium hopefully on the way. Is the future a bright one at Spurs?
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