Winners and losers on deadline day

There were definite winners and losers in this years summer transfer window, and with £600 million spent, it was a record breaking year in sales helped in part by Gareth Bale's estimated £86 million move to Real Madrid.

The saga between Spurs and Los Galacticos had been going on since the end of the 2012/13 season and appeared to only be able to end with Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, reluctantly letting go of the Welsh wizard; like a child having his favourite toy taken away. In May, Levy had placed a £100 million price tag on Bale claiming that was the fee that would buy his services, a clear show of intent by Spurs to Madrid of how much Bale meant to the north London club. With other deals still in the rumour mill is seemed that Bale's move to sunny Madrid might be the catalyst that would act as a domino effect. This was proven when eventually the Bale deal went through and he was presented to the Santiago Bernabeau at midday on deadline day.

Up until midday on deadline day Arsene Wenger had only made one signing, France U-21 striker Yaya Sanogo. Arsenal fans were ready to get up in arms and call for Wenger to leave...when out of the blue the report came through that Arsenal had put in a club record bid of £42.4 million for the Real Madrid midfielder, Mesut Ozil. It could be argued that with the acquisition of Bale, Ozil now felt that his position in the first team was jeopardised, forcing him to consider his future. It was rumoured after the deal was done that Manchester United were also interested but that was all it was, interest. Now this came as a 'real' surprise (excuse the pun) because Mr. Wenger isn't exactly known for splashing the cash, but I don't think Arsenal fans really cared because finally, after a nine year wait, they looked to have a player could inspire the team to a major trophy. I'll be honest, I didn't rate Arsenal at all this season; I thought they would crash and burn out of the Champions League, finish below Spurs in the league, and disappoint they supporters again with a poor showing in the FA Cup. I now believe that with their new German talisman, Arsenal stand a good chance of actually getting to a final if not winning a trophy. For years Arsenal have had the problem of too many average midfielders, all of which were afraid to shoot, however now with a genuinely world class player in the middle of the pitch those average players can leave that job to Ozil and rest at night knowing their jobs have been made so much easier.

At the same time as the Ozil deal was being put to paper in north London, confusion was surrounding the situation in the north west, Manchester to be precise. Stories had been swarming around all summer about the future of Wayne Rooney but this time the story was about player coming into Old Trafford. Reports had linked Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera and Everon players Marouane Fellani and Leighton Baines with the Red Devils but no one was certain which deals were being finalised. Manchester United's third and final attempt to land both players was a joint bid of £36 million, but even this price wasn't enough for Everton chairman Bill Kenright. However when push came to shove, United were willing to pay the £27 million to release Fellani from his contract. Confusion followed as to the Herrera deal which appeared to have fallen through. It turned out that three of United's lawyers had travelled to Bilbao to pay for the Spaniard however when personal details were being agreed the deal fell through with United claiming to have no knowledge of sending the lawyers and Herrera claiming that they weren't there to represent him. This farce meant that all United have to show for their summer deals was Fellani and Uruguayan Guillermo Varela.

Spurs may also have felt aggrieved because Chelsea managed to secure Brazilian Willian for £30 million. The situation probably wasn't helped by the fact that whilst Willian was having his medical with Spurs, his agents were arranging a deal at Stamford Bridge.

Everton were able to move quickly after losing Fellani by signing Martinez's former player at Wigan, James McCarthy, and the loan of Manchester City mid fielder, Gareth Barry.

Liverpool have been looking very good so far this campaign and they demonstrated their intent by signing; PSG and Sporting Lisbon defenders, Mamadou Sakho and Tiago Ilori respectively, Kolo Toure from Manchester City and Chelsea winger Victor Moses on a season long loan.

Those are the big transfers this time round on deadline day. There were a lot more signings made apart from these but I think you'll agree they simply aren't as game changing as these. 2013 will always be remembered for two key signings, Gareth Bale to Real Madrid and Mesut Ozil to Arsenal, and they may have just turned around the fortunes for all those concerned this season.

2013/14 Champions League group stage draw

It's that time of the year again when all eyes of European football were fixed on those four transparent bowls, waiting for the fate of their team to be decided as to the other three members of their group.

This year, as with every year, the position of the teams in each pot is down to their UEFA ranking which meant some teams were at a disadvantage given their misfortune in past tournaments or their newness to the event. Take for example Man City, they are widely regarded as one of the top three teams in England however because of their shocking display last year, see themselves stuck in pot three; in other words they are alongside those in Europe that not many people will give a hope in hell of qualifying through to the knockout stages. On the other end of the spectrum we have FC Viktoria Plzen and Real Sociedad who have only qualified for the CL twice in the last 10 years, 2011/12 and 2003/4 respectively.

The common denominator from previous competitions are the six super powers of European football; Manchester United (3 time winners), Real Madrid (9 times), Barcelona (4 times), Chelsea (1 time), Bayern Munich (5 times) and AC Milan (7 times, although they weren't seeded in the top 8).

Now down to business and the state of the groups; Chelsea F.C. and Manchester City were given a dream draw whilst Arsenal and Manchester United were dealt a potential banana skin. Many will see groups B and F as the 'groups of death' but for different reasons; group B contains two of the biggest teams in the world, Real Madrid and Juventus, with Galatasaray and Copenhagen filling the other two spots. I can see this being a tricky group only because Galatasaray, with Didier Drogba leading the attack, could pose a realistic threat to the other strong sides in the group and may just be able to sneak into 2nd, if they keep it together defensively of course.

Group F promises to be an exciting prospect, mainly because all the teams seem so evenly matched. The top seed in the group, Arsenal, look doddery both in defence and attack and unless Arsene Wenger spends money in what's left of this window I don't know whether they can show enough attacking prowess to get very far. The other three teams are respectable in their own right; Napoli, now with Gonzalo Higuain, are perfectly capable of causing upsets and I think they will; Borussia Dortmund got to the final last year and were very unlucky to lose to a last minute goal by Arjen Robben; And finally Marseille, even they caused Man United problems in the 2010/11 group stage.

Lets not forget previous winners Barcelona, who with this years draw may have been given a ticket straight to the knockout stages, with AC Milan, AFC Ajax and Celtic as their opponents in group H. Chelsea have possibly been given the same privilege, with Shalke 04, FC Basel and Steaua Bucurest accompanying them in group E. The story continues with Man City who were drawn with Bayern Munich, CSKA Moscow and Viktoria Plzen, surely they can progress this time out.

Manchester United have a slightly different look to their group. Their were bestowed a decent Shakhtar Donetsk side, 2002 runners up Bayer Leverkusen (Neverkusen to the media at the time) and long time departed Real Sociedad.

If I were a betting man (which for the record I'm not) I would go with the winner coming from a group of 5; Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Manchester United or Barcelona. If I were pinned to one team I would have to say that Real Madrid (with Bale and Ronaldo) look unstoppable. My picks for early departures; Arsenal, Schalke 04 and Ajax.

Chelsea look incredibly strong this season and I wouldn't be surprised at a Real Madrid vs Chelsea final, Mourinho's return being the main attraction.

The groups in full;
Group A
Manchester United
Shakhtar Donetsk
Bayer Leverkusen
Real Sociedad

Group B
Real Madrid
Juventus
Galatasaray
Copenhagen

Group C
Benfica
PSG
Olympiacos
Anderlecht

Group D
Bayern Munich
CSKA Moscow
Manchester City
Viktoria Plzen

Group E
Chelsea
Schalke O4
Basel 1893
Steaua Bucurest

Group F
Arsenal
Marseille
Borussia Dortmund
Napoli

Group G
FC Porto
Athletico Madrid
Zenit FC
Austria Vienna

Group H
Barcelona
AC Milan
AFC Ajax
Celtic

Ventoux Tips It's Cap To You, Chris 'King Of The Mountains' Froome

Le Tour De France may be lacking some of the stars from last year, Bradley Wiggins to name just one, however this hasn't made boring viewing. The Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish, has looked in inspired form taking four stage wins and Chris Froome, even without Wiggins by his side, looks ever more likely to become the second Brit in as many years to bring home the yellow jersey in this, Le Tour's 100th edition.

Yesterday's stage 15 was one of the most exciting legs in recent history and also the longest at 240km. What most cyclists hope for at the end of a long ride is a nice flat or even a down hill finish, but not this time. With 21km to go, 181 pro cyclists were faced with arguably the most daunting sight in southern France, Mont Ventoux. This infamous mountain has claimed any lives, including Britain's Tom Simpson in 1967, however on this occasion it was dominated by Froome who absolutely obliterated 179 other riders to retain the yellow jersey and obtain the King of the Mountains jersey on Bastille day.

Only one other rider was on par with Froome throughout the climb, Team Moviestar's little Colombian Nairo Quintana, who somehow managed to keep a pokerface for 20.5km and not even grimace until Froome left him 500 metres from the summit.

Quintana, only 23 years old, broke from the peloton with about 6km to go and caught every rider between himself and the leader at the time, Sylvain Chavanel. Soon Chavanel broke and fell down the field allowing Froome to break from lead out man Richie Porte, and catch the wheel of Quintana. The two struggled up the 7% incline for what seemed forever until the climb became 10% and Quintana cracked, handing the stage victory to Froome on a sweaty platter.


Nairo Quintana (Left) and Chris Froome (Yellow jersey) ascend Mont Ventoux.

This incredible win by Froome extended his time gap to his nearest rival, Bauke Mollema, to 4 minutes and 14 seconds with only six stages left, giving the impression that it's going to take something very special from this years elite to dismount Froome from the top step of the podium.

Fergie's Time is Finally Over, Moyes Time is now

Many people will agree with me when I say that Sir Alex Ferguson has been the greatest manager of all time, leading Manchester United to 38 trophies in a stunningly successful career that spanned over two and a half decades.



I started consciously supporting Man United in 2001 when I turned eight, as it was the first birthday that I was given the gift of a football shirt. Despite being made of polyester it became my life, wearing it all weekend and sleeping in it at night. My parents have always said that I was sporty from an early age but it was Man United's Premier League win in 2000-01 that really sparked my intense interest in football, and I have never looked back since. One thing that stands out from that birthday for me was when I looked on the back of the shirt and there being no name. I instantly questioned this and my Grandma took it upon herself to cut and sow the name of my favourite player onto the shirt; name was Ryan Giggs. It wasn't perfect by any means but it signified a new era in my life, something my family hadn't come across before - the football supporter, player and most importantly, reviewer.

Sir Alex is the mercurial leader that every manager, and even player, aspired to be. He combined being a gentleman off the pitch, along with aggressive competitiveness and ruthless determination on it. Perhaps his most infamous mark on the game is that of 'Fergie Time', the phrase in fact that gives this blog it's name. 'Fergie Time' has on occasion given United enough time to draw or even win the most important games of the season, giving forth accusations that Ferguson was bribing the officials, all of which is untrue. Most famously is the derby match with Manchester City, which ended in a 4-3 victory for United after Michael Owen's 96th minute winner.

For 12 years I had never known anything other than a Sir Alex Ferguson led Man United, so when he declared his retirement on 8th May 2013 my heart sank. 1st June 2013 signalled a new era for Manchester United with the acquisition of former Everton manager, David Moyes. Most Red Devil fans would have been pleased with this appointment because as was pointed out by the press on many occasions, Moyes is cut from the same cloth as Ferguson; he's Scottish and, having spent 10 years at Everton, looks to be a good long term investment for United. All we can hope is that not winning a trophy in his first season doesn't spell the end, afterall Ferguson didn't win anything in his first 5 seasons. It may be hard for some United fans to face but it may take some time for everything to gel back to the unity that was the Ferguson dressing room, and what with Moyes replacing all the backroom staff, we really are starting with a clean slate.

The Curious Case of Cuneyt Cakir

For those of you out there who are not aware of what happened this evening, Manchester United were beaten by a less than good Real Madrid side, arguably with the help of a poor refereeing desicion by Turkish referee, Cuneyt Cakir.

Manchester United were ahead in the tie, 2-1 via a Sergio Ramos own goal, when the unspeakable happened. The ball was cleared from the United penalty area and what seemed to be an inoccuous collision between Luis Nani and Alvaro Arbeloa ended with the Portugese international walking down the tunnel and having to watch the rest of the game from the changing room, following a red card being shown by Cakir. I say inoccuos because there seemed to be nothing wrong with it. Nani looked in control with his eyes on the ball, poised and ready to start another United conter-attack, when Arbeloa ran in from behind him to get contact on the ball before Nani. Having already his leg in the air, Arbeloa's run created contact between the Spaniard's ribs and Nani's studs and a confusing melee insued.

The general insight from Andy Townsend, the commentator for ITV, was that it was perhaps an accidental foul and maybe a yellow card should be shown to Nani. As ITV played the replay once again, a humongous roar came through the speakers of my television, and I assumed something had happened that had aggrevated the fans and indeed it had. The cameras cut back to the live action to reveal what all the hulla-balloo was about; the referee showing Nani a red card.

No amount of obsenities flying through my brain would be enough to describe or convey my anger and outrage at the decision, so instead I reverted to a savage-like scream that echoed through my bones and channeled my rage into stomping the floor with an obsene level of aggression. My beloved Manchester United were in control of the game and, as per usual, Sir Alex Ferguson had got the tactics spot-on. By choosing to send off Nani, he essentially handed the tie to Madrid on a silver plater. Afterall, it's hard enough to play against The Merengues with 11 men, let alone with 10 men.

In the words of Gordon Strachen at the moment it happened, 'Incredible. A very, very poor decision by the referee!' Strangely enough, Gordon's team mate in the 1999 treble winning side Roy Keane, had a completely different view point. He saw it from the direction that Nani's foot was raised above hip height and was therefore creating a dangerous environment for the other players on the pitch. In my opinion that's completely wrong. Nani couldn't see Arbeloa and therefore had no intention of harming him, unfortunately, letter of the law says that there doesn't have to be intent for a red card to be shown. This creates a tough situation for players because they can be involved in a 50/50 challenge, and because their studs are up but not coming into contact with the opponent, can be red carded. 20 or 30 years ago, I situation like this would never have happened because it was a contact sport. I believe that because players are worth so much these days the physicality has gone out of the game creating an environment for easy yellow and red cards, whereas back then the player would only recieve a ticking off.

I appreciate the letter of the law, but surely the referee has to be given room for common sense. If he can think about Nani's position along side the challenge he committed, I'm in no doubt that Nani would just have been given a yellow card. For me the rule books are being tweeked to help the referees out, however the rules don't give the referee room to use his head in coming to a decision, instead of sticking solely to the rule book.

A decision very similar to this, that ruined the game, happened in the League Cup final between Swansea and Bradford City. Following a 20 pass move, Swansea midfielder Jonathan De Guzman was brought down by the Bradford goalkeeper, resulting in a penalty and a red card being shown to Matt Duke. The decision is a clear one when you look at the rule book, but this was a cup final, the first for either club, and sending the keeper off with 30 minutes still to go completely kill the game. Yes Swansea were 3-0 up at the time but the game was by no means over and in my opinion, a yellow card would have serficed.

Cuneyt Cakir has a track record of sending off English players and players for English clubs. This could just be coincidence, but surely the cultral difference of football styles in Europe and England has to be addressed by UEFA in teaching the referees to be more intelligent when making important decisions as to match defining situtions.

Trigger happy Cakir

I think that in the big games referees have got to use their common sense and judgement to come to a fair decision, both for the teams and the interest of the match. In giving a yellow card and not red, you send both a message to the player that it's their last chance, but also allow the game to remain fair and equal.

Contenders for Player of the Season in March

It's around this time of the Premier League season that we are given a idea of which players really are in contension for one of the biggest individual accolades the football world has to offer; The Barclays Premier League Player of the Season.

The title of Player of the Season has gone to many international superstars over the years, but on six occasions has been awarded to an English man. Most of the time people assume that the winner of the award will be the player who has scored the most goals in the season, take Alan Shearer and Cristiano Ronaldo for example. However on a lot of occasions it's either won by the midfield playmaker or defensive rock; Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Nemanja Vidic.

In my opinion there are four main contenders for this most coverted of prizes; Jack Wilshere, Robin Van Persie, Gareth Bale and Luis Suarez, in no particular order.

The season 2012-13 has been a very rich one for British talent, most of which actually breaking, deservedly, into their national squads. Jack Wilshere has arguably been the difference for Arsenal between success and failure, and is starting to look as though he will be a great replacement for Cesc Fabregas nearly a calender year since he left for the heat of Barcelona. If you look back at previous teams that have won the Premier League, there is always a midfielder that stands out from the ranks, as a player that you can always rely on to make the play and create oppertunites for the strikers. For Arsenal this campaign, it is Wilshere, although you could say that if Arsenal had more consistent or to be more blund, better strikers, they might actually be challenging for the top three places. But as it stands at the moment, seven points off Spurs in third, it looks unlikely that Wengers men are going to land Champions League football next season, which would require some serious questions to be asked of both the management and the team itself. I honestly believe that without Wilshere, Arsenal are just your average Joe making up the numbers and thats why I think he has to be on the shortlist for Player of the Season.

Robin Van Persie transered from Arsenal to Manchester United for £22m last summer and it seems likely with a 15 point lead at the top of the table, that he has won them the league. United have always had the determination and confidence to not play well and yet grind out results but this year, with Van Persie bagging 19 Premier League goals so far this season, playing poorly looks a thing of the past. Sure they were a bit weak at the back at the beginning of the season, conceding goals left right and centre, but Van Persie made up the difference with a prolific scoing spree in important games. Perhaps his greatest moment this season was when he scored a freekick against bitter rivals, Machester City, with the last kick of the match and that goal may be proven to have been the pivotal moment in the season for United. He may have been fighting for Champions League football last year with Arsenal but this year he's all but won his first league title, and it's nearly all down to his sumptuous volleys and awe inspiring left foot.

A debate that has sprung up in recent months is that of whether Gareth Bale is the best player in the world at the moment, behind Messi and Ronaldo. It's true that he's in an extremely rich vein of form, scoring 11 goals in the last 10 league games, but is he world class just yet? Your Spurs fan will definitely say so but to the rest of us, the sam could have been said about Theo Walcott a few months ago, but that faded as quickly as it had started. I think Bale is different though. He seems to possess something that's hard to put your finger on but at the same time it makes his game look very similar to that of Cristiano Ronaldo; pace, strength, the ability to dribble past defenders and most importantly, a venomous finish. People have sneered at me when I've suggested he's even close to Ronaldo, but I think there are clear indications that if he carries on as he is, he will be there or there abouts in only a couple of years, if that!

Luis Suarez has had a very tough time of it since he arrived on Merseyside from Ajax in 2011. He was involved in the aweful racism with Patrice Evra and has always been prone to diving, which hasn't gone down (pun unintended) too well with the fans. However, recently he has given Liverpool fans a reason to believe in him; he's the top scorer in the league after smashing in a hattrick against strugglers Wigan. Personally, I have never been that fond of Suarez as I find him incredibly petulant and arrogant, but as solely as a player, he has undoubted God-given talent. This has helped him keep a sometimes lifeless Liverpool in Europa League contention for next year. He showed this talent when he almost single-handedly beat Zenit St.Peterburg when Liverpool were 2-0 down and Suarez brought it back to 3-2. That was until Zenit scored a lucky away goal with help from Jamie Carragher and knocked Liverpool out.

In my opinion, the title should go to Gareth Bale, because he has shown the most growth as a professional football player and is carrying Tottenham towards a guarenteed Champions League spot. On the other hand though, the competition is so tight I might just leave it to the experts to decide. 

Is '13 the new '99?

What with Cristiano Ronaldo being linked with a move back to Manchester United this week, I wonder whether this would add a different flavour to Real Madrid's visit to Old Trafford on 5 March for the second leg of their Champions League Last 16 tie.

Real Madrid may have been favourites in the first leg but Manchester United showed great organisation and managed to scrape a draw, with a bit of help from a fantasic goalkeeping display from possibly the weak link in United's side, David de Gea. He may have silenced some of his critics at the Santiago Bernabeu, but with comparisons of the '99 treble winning team being banded about, de Gea still has a lot to prove if he is to be as good as United legend Peter Schmichael who was so pivotal in his sides success that season. However, an aspect of United's squad that is incomparible to that of '99 is the quality. The team of today doesn't contain the likes of super-sub Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, midfield general Roy Keane or defensive rock Jaap Stam, but one thing is for certain, this squad has more depth than '99 and I believe that will lead United to at least two trophies this season, the Barclays Premier League and FA Cup.

The only way I can see the Red Devils conquering Europe and emulating the great team of '99, is if Alex Ferguson can firm-up the defensive line, especially the free spirited wing back Rafael. Against Premiership opposition Rafael shows potential as an attacking full back, however, he looks to be missing the solidity that Gary Neville gave United. Sure Rafael can be aggressive, just look at the Manchester derby a few years back when he went nose to nose with Carlos Tevez, but he fails to put that aggression to good use when defending against teams that possess world class wingers. The best example of this was when the teams were announced and it was shown that Rafael would be going toe to toe with Ronaldo. Immediately those with football brains thought Ronaldo would have a breeze, but Ferguson being the wiley tactician that he is, had the presense of mind to add Phil Jones to the picture. Although this didn't stop Ronaldo intirely, it certainly had a detrimental effect on his overall contribution to the match, and without the fire power of the Portugese international, Madrid will definitely struggle to find goals.

There has been much debate in recent years and months about who is the best player in the world; Messi or Ronaldo. In my opinion, it's Ronaldo because he is more well-rounded as an attacking force and unlike Messi, regularly scores incredible headed goals. One such example is from the first leg of the last 16, when he soared five foot above Patrice Evra to score Real's only goal of the game. The fact remains that to have any chance of proceeding to the quarter finals of the Champions League, Manchester Uniteds '99 wannabes will have to do the seemingly impossible, stop Ronaldo.