Will Manchester United not Liverpool be the next Tottenham

Following the squad rebuilding post Luis Suarez departure, Liverpool FC went on transfer signing spree that started with the surprise purchase of Rickie Lambert. They were instantly compared to the Post Bale Tottenham. The differences between Tottenham and Liverpool were that Rodgers' was simply not just going to spend for the sake of it. He knew that the return to the Champions League together with the defensive frailties that ultimately cost Liverpool the title, that there needed to be changes and strengthening. Some players departed on loan, some players departed as expected and then Daniel Agger found himself returning home to Brondby. That was a transfer not quite expected, but he thought that with recent incomings, his lack of playing time. Divick Origi who had signed returned back to his home club for a season long loan as part of the deal. Tottenham of course had money to spend and didnt they spend it. 

Then of course there is Manchester United. They didnt sell anyone to give themselves a whole sum of money, but given the disasterous Moyes reign and several key departures meant that new boss Louis Van Gaal had to make changes. Kagawa, Welbeck found themselves surplus to requirements and permanently out of the club. Other players such as Hernandez, Nani and Nick Powell all found themselves finding clubs on loan. Into Old Trafford were several key signings. Daley Blind, Ander Herrer. Angel Di Maria, Marcus Roja and Falcao on loan. Given the nature of the positioning of some of the players, it will be interesting to see who will fit in where and who will miss out. Will these players gel straight away, will the attacking options leave the United defence struggling. Also will Van Gaal find the right formation for the club to gel for his team to be successful. Will his favoured three at the back turn out to be successful or will it be another problem for the Dutchman to fix. Man Utd fans will be hoping that the road to recovery starts sooner rather than later as a new kit deal comes closer, top four qualification will become ever more important especially with financial clauses affecting the deal.

All quiet on the Tottenham front - Observations from Dan Raywood on transfers and the coming season

At the time of writing, I'm on the other side of the world and the lack of football news is unusually distressing!

I've kept up with some unusual news in the last few days - Lampard becoming a Manchester City player, Spurs big summer signing being a player no one has heard of, who is an Englishman from abroad (I may be wrong, but if this is true then the precedent of Owen Hargreaves and Lewis Holtby are not the greatest of forerunners) and Arsenal's no mark striker Sanogo being the star of the Emirates cup is surprising.

After a tournament, football always seems to go into frenzy. Those of us who even recall Euro 1992 will recall the way Europe's giants went crazy for the Danish team, and the same after Euro 1996 with the Czech team. After the magnificent spectacle that was the Brazilian World Cup, it was hardly surprising that the biggest stars would be the biggest targets.

Whether "player of the tournament" Lionel Messi will enjoy the spoils of that accolade remains to be seen, but his new strike partner Luis Suarez should prove an interesting combination with Neymar.

I don't know what the future is for Costa Rica's Joel Campbell, but with Arsenal needing another striker they may have the solution in their ranks already. Also, the multi millions spent by Real Madrid on Colombia's James Rodriguez should see its impressive strike force defend the Champions League well.

Turning to the Premier League, arguably the biggest arrival is new Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal - the signings have mostly been "domestic" and I won't be the first to predict Southampton's downfall without Pochettino (Spurs), Lallana, Lambert and Lovren (Liverpool) and Shaw (Manchester United, training on his own).

No one seems to understand the exodus from St Mary's, but you don't replace quality with loan signings.of Chelsea fringe players.

I'm obviously hoping Spurs come good and Lamela and Soldado show their potential, but I suspect that a lot of eyes will be on QPR. I know what Harry Redknapp can achieve and whole Rio Ferdinand is a great signing, the acquisition of Steven Caulker should not be overlooked.

It's too early to call a potential winner or loser in this season, but I'd be keeping a keen eye on Manchester United and Chelsea, Liverpool are to be determined without Suarez but the combination of Lambert/Sturridge/Sterling should be good. Quite how Sanchez will fit in with Arsenal's style will be interesting having been used to Barcelona's 4-3-3 style.

The one national team I haven't mentioned is winners Germany, and I'm surprised that Goetze and Co haven't been cited more in the transfer news. Maybe Sami Khedira's long rumoured move to the Premier League may change that. Let battle commence (soon)!

Sublime to Ridiculous and back again- The World Cup saga

So two games of the Brazil World Cup remain, albeit one be the most pointless game of all, the World Cup has been a tournament of goals galore, mistakes, amazing performances and big guns busted in the group stage. When we saw the Semi Final line up we had two mouth watering prospects to look forward to. We did though go from one incredible game on one night to an abysmal painful game ended on penalties. In the various conversations Ive had about the World Cup, no one was expecting quite the scoreline that Germany and Brazil provided. Given the performances of the hosts and the fortune that the German's had ridden on, many people might have expected a close win to the European nation. Brazil from the opening game against Croatia had seemed to be rolling the lucky sixes. This was not the Brazil that we had come to expect, far from it. It was abject and unspiring compared to Brazil of previous World Cup Finals tournaments. The penalty shootout escape against Chile proved that surely the game was up. In the semi finals, Brazil's plight was summed up by the fact that the home fans were shouting ole each time Germany had the ball. A sad indictment of a team with such football heritage. 

Running upto the World Cup, a handful of good performances showed that this Germany side might edge it in games. The USA ran Germany close and could consider themselves unlucky not to take a point. I guess though we should expect Germany to start quietly and then provide the magic. The Germans who had not won a major competition since Euro 96, turned up against Brazil. They werent the steam rolling German side that we had known previously, but there were warnings of what was to come in the European Championships in 2016. A goal rush in as many minutes, saw a good start turn into a wonder scoreline. One friend on facebook during the game said "If this was a game of FIFA, the losing player would have quit by now. Of course the only time you would have expected to see a half time scoreline of Brazil 0-5 Germany, would indeed have been on a console game of some sort. This is Brazil, no Brazil side ever gets hammered let alone being 5-0 down at half time, but it came to be that the pain would not be over.  

The other semi final was always going to have a lot to live up to as the Netherlands  faced Argentina. Sadly it failed to live up to anything and to be honest anyone hoping for some Dennis Bergkamp's style magic were clearly hoping for too much. The game petered out and just when you hoped that the pain might ended with a mistimed challenge by Mascherano to give away a penalty, much disappointment would be heading your way.

If many had known that the impending dullness would last 120 minutes and a penalty shoot out, I assume even the most hardened of football fans might have given this one a miss. This time there would be no Tim Krul shoot out hero as the Dutch missed their opening penalty. Vlaar of Aston Villa stepped up and saw his saved. It would seem the fallout from the penalty shoot out was that some Dutch players refused to take a penalty. The opportunity to send your nation to a World Cup finals against your neighbours and rivals obviously wasn't enough to want them to stand up and be counted.

Of course it wouldn't be surprising in the game of football to have the just plain crazy results. The early tie of the group stage saw current champions Spain lock horns with the Netherlands in a repeat of the 2010 World Cup Final. Many probably expected a draw or a sneaky win.

Spain hit first blood with a penalty from Costa, but that would be their only joy. A missed opportunity by Silva to put Spain 2-0 up, would prove costly as just before halftime, Robin Van Persie grabbed the leveller with an amazing header which at the time was being labelled goal of the tournament. What would follow was the capitulation of the Champions. The Dutch it seemed were making their intent known and every other challenger on notice. Unfortunately they didn't repeat their on pitch strolling and would find themselves battling through matches. This though I imagine would be the mark of possible champions.

So to the penultimate game. Netherlands face Brazil in the 3rd and 4th place playoff. Why do we have to put up with this nonsense. The only other competition to have the playoff as far as In aware is the Olympics. This being necessary to award the bronze medal.

The World Cup doesn't need it. The fans don't need it, the fans, manager's and players don't want it. Having just lost in the World Cup semi finals, why would anyone want to face another match which has no bearing on anything. Who could blame Louis Van Gaal, sneaking back to England and starting business in his new role of Manchester United manager.

Brazil could do without it after the battering they received. Saying that though, I imagine Brazil will maybe want to go out with a win in their final match of the 2014 World Cup tournament.

Whatever happens, most eyes will be on the final between Germany and Argentina.

You're so unpredictable

I imagine just before the World Cup, in offices up and down the country, those who had pulled Spain out, may have been thinking top choice, they would have been thinking a point against the Dutch, three against Chile and three against Australia..... Oh how we were all wrong. The Netherlands took the World Champions apart 5-1 and then in a win or bust match against Chile, the Spaniards went missing. Players who had lit the domestic season, had seen their grace and glory ripped apart. Their final game against Australia doesn't bode well. The Australians who opened with a defeat against Chile, were unlucky against the Netherlands. If Australia turn up and play, Spain could find themselves routed to the bottom of the group.

Hosts Brazil had a fortuitous opening win against Croatia, thanks to assistance with a poor refereeing decision. The Brazilians failed to show the host favourites tag when they played Mexico, who to be honest could have beaten Brazil had they  taken their opportunities. 

Uruguay opened up their campaign with a shock 3-1 defeat against Costa Rica. Pre World Cup was all about Suarez and will he be fit. He made the bench but didn't play. The problem was in the end, sloppy play, sloppy defending and red mist. The possible South American dark horses looked far from being a threat and England may very well take three points in the winner stays in group match.

England who played well in defeat could really go somewhere should they get out the group stages. The way things are going anything could happen and predictions could be thrown right out the window. 

It's either that the Dutch or those calm as  anything Germans.

Poke us higher Poch!

With a busy few days at work, I guess the news about Pochettino (I hope that is spelt right) has not really sunk in yet.

In a way, it reminds me of the hiring of George Graham in 1998 - everyone knew it was going to happen so it was only a matter of when. I'm a bit ambivalent on it to tell the truth: he has proven his capability in building a team of some good English players, shown a keeness to work with the youth team and taken an average promoted team and finished 2 places below Spurs in the league.

So why am I not happier? Well, two things - one we know little of his ability to take this team on and push them further up the league, what we were expecting from AVB I guess, and secondly what is his ability to work with under performing and obviously quality players - Paulinho, Soldado and Lamela.

The other name in contention was Frank De Boer, who has won 4 back to back titles with Ajax. Yes he has won at a high level but in truth, is he capable of delivering at this higher level? The word is the smart money is on De Boer and Dennis Bergkamp becoming a managerial double act at Arsenal some day.

I suppose as a Spurs fan I am going to be sceptical. We've seen big name management come and go, and the last manager showed some potential with his getting the best from Adebayor and Eriksen, but failed in his ability to communicate with the media and ultimately, the fans. Sherwood will be fine I suspect though, a championship club would be a good next position and I suspect we'll see him in the Premier League sometime soon.

As for Pocchetino, well what needs to be done has been detailed and despite the claims of £100m being "wasted", with the right moulding he could turn the squad into something interesting with a full pre-season ahead of him. Let's hope he brings Luke Shaw and Ricky Lambert with him to plug the left back and up front problems, sells what needs to be sold and makes a valiant effort to bring Steven Caulker back and identifies a decent solution to the left wing issue. Then we'll be satisfied.

One more thing before I finish, there was a lot of Spurs hate going on in regards to Gareth Bale's champions league win last weekend. Some said that the money we made was wasted, I say wait and see, others suggest what could have been. I just say congratulations Gareth, never been more delighted to see a former player succeed so well so fast.

The Spinal Countdown

This post was originally going to be about the lack of Tottenham players in the England squad and then Spurs went and sacked their manager.

Yes Tim Sherwood only ever was an interim and his lack of media training and lack of a plan B ultimately worked against him. In a way those two stories do work together as Sherwood did do more in getting the youth team up to standard than any other manager in recent history. The addition of Bentaleb was a good move but ultimately it wasn't clear when the player's form had gone and how much this affected his confidence.

Also other youth team players saw their chances come in the last 8 months and wherever their playing careers lay, at least they got an opportunity.

This ties into the England idea as most of these players are English and could present good opportunities for England at future tournaments. However it was with a heavy heart that I looked at the England squad for the 2014 World Cup and saw not one Tottenham player.

Our four most viable options were Kyle Walker (injured), Andros Townsend (also injured), Jermain Defoe (sold to Toronto FC) and Aaron Lennon (a huge lack of form this season). Sadly only Lennon was a Spurs contender and to pick him would see the absence of a worthy player like Sterling or Milner (the only Englishman to score for the English Premier League Champions this season). 

There were days when the Spurs spine was that of the English team, and last night I attended Ledley King's testimonial at White Hart Lane, where notable players of King's Spurs career played including Englishmen Sheringham, Anderton, Robinson and Crouch. Sadly those days are gone, for this summer at least.

There will be plenty of speculation about who comes into Spurs to replace Sherwood; the smart money is on Frank De Boer from Ajax, Southampton's Pocchetino, but Napoli's Rafa Benitez or (shudder) David Moyes, but whoever takes the hotseat, youth has to be a priority. 

Last summer the club spent over £100 million on some players who came good, some who we will wait and hope on and some who may go, but I would love to see the 2014/2015 squad be one made up of experience, 1 or 2 marquee signings and the cream of our youth team. Only this way will Spurs dominate the England setup once again. 

The final straight - The Premier League run in.

Barring some miracle or footballing scandal, the title race will see Liverpool, Chelsea and Man City battling for the Premier League crown. City are favourites as Liverpool take one game at a time and Mourinho intends on ruling out his side to take the glory.

Liverpool who have shown a desire and attacking belief not seen for quite sometime, will find themselves with the destiny in their own hands. Both Man City and Chelsea have the trip to Merseyside and given the performances of late, the red half of Merseyside will be in no mood to lay down for anyone who visits their patch. Liverpool have been returning their home to the fortress it once was. With three games to go, they could be heading for their best home record return in the Premier League era. Not since the early days of Rafa Benitez have Liverpool looked so dominant at Anfield. Whilst they have been notching the wins at home, they have also been bagging the goals. Not since the home win against Manchester United have home wins been narrow 1-0 victories. It would also seem that Liverpool like to beat their London opponents with great aplomb. In the games against Tottenham, Arsenal, West Ham, Fulham and Crystal Palace, Brendan Rodgers' teams have notched 20 goals and conceding just 3.If Liverpool can avoid defeat against Man City and Chelsea, a first title in 24 years will become very much a reality.

Chelsea, who have inflicted City's first Premier League defeat of the season at the Etihad, have found themselves looking like they dont necessarily fancy winning the title. Defeats either side of the 6-0 thumping against Arsenal, have causes Mourinho to give up any hopes of bringing domestic silverware to the Bridge this season. A win at Stoke though has kept their ambitions very much alive as they head to Swansea next week. Does Mourinho really think it's over or is he playing mind games.

Title favourites Manchester City smashed Southampton at home as they closed the gap on Liverpool to one point. They blue half of Manchester look to win their second Premier League title in three seasons, as they also look to make themselves the dominant force in Manchester as their neighbours united struggle. City will be hoping to take the form to Anfield and get a result that helps steer them to a League and League Cup double. They hope to have Aguero for the trip to Liverpool. It would seem that they would need them as Liverpool have the knack of outscoring their opponents.

Whoever wins the title, we will be seeing one of the most exciting title races for quite sometime.

Hey Bobby

In the recent media melee, the guns have been firmly pointed at Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas, and generally unnecessarily in my view.

Yes results have not gone in the right way, and some questions have to be asked about why the £100 million worth of new signings have not settled yet and why there is no idea of the best first eleven or a plan B when things go wrong.

However there is no escaping the fact that the problem is a lack of goals. Last season Spurs fans were clambering for a new striker; there was huge frustration when no one was signed in the January transfer window with the board and management seemingly happy to persist with Adebayor and Defoe. It was this move that many fans put down to the failure to achieve Champions league football this season.

However the problem was partly solved this season as £26 million was spent on Valencia's Roberto Soldado. He started brightly, proving his capabilities from the penalty spot, however his prowess in front of goal is yet to be proven.

Firstly there is the obvious point - he has no service and is often isolated up front on his own. This is easily solved and in the recent Manchester United match, Chadli and Lennon were played to offer that service. 

However he still didn't manage to score, and now questions will be asked of the man. Jermaine Defoe has proved more than capable of scoring against lesser opposition in the Europa league, while Adebayor has had a viewing point for the most of this season.

Questions will continue to be asked of AVB and his best eleven, and also on whether a 442 can be played with A partnership of the three out and out strikers. However as was sang about striker Yakubu at Everton and Blackburn among others, "feed the Yak and he will score". If the Spurs midfielders feed Bobby, will he score? If not there may be comments of "Hey Bobby, what's the Spanish for score a bloody goal?"

13 seconds of fame

I write this a few days after the delight of the Manchester City game.

I call it a delight, well I don't need to explain my sarcasm, but instead you have to look at what you can learn from a mauling such as that by City. Yes Spurs lost 6-0, yes we played well for 10 minutes and yes, we had excellent possession considering.

However the negatives take too long to write and are well covered elsewhere - AVB's lack of a plan b, the mistakes made by an otherwise excellent goalkeeper, defenders who cannot defend, midfielders who don't know each other and a striker who relies on service and gets none.

As for me, well as I tweeted during the game I had no plans to switch off as the torture will weigh heavy until we can turn it around. I saw lots of comments around giving up, switching over to the F1, and attention being elsewhere. Ok so I am guilty of the last one, but Twitter is permitted!

You stick by the team you chose. Whether it is Barnet languishing in the conference, or Arsenal surprisingly at the top of the Premier League, you have to take the rough with the smooth. 

For Spurs fans, the late 1990s were a process of endurance of bad players and misinformed management who seemed out of touch on what Campbell and Co could achieve.

For the current crop, the excuse will long be used that the current team with so many new names is still "bedding in", well three months in and we need to see progress. We have looked organised and are scoring goals in the Europa league, but we took Hull City to penalties in the league cup and looked assembled in the league before Sunday. 

This weekend champions Manchester United visit, another team in transition. If we can put the right team out and play as a unit, as United seem to be able to do so far this season albeit not as impressively as they were under Ferguson, then this will be a success. Lose, and we'll be a long way off the lead.

Holding out for a three lions hero 1994-2013

A simple bit of Googling revealed something which made me feel a tiny bit happy and rather old the other night. 

After England qualified for the 2014 Brazil world cup, I realised that it was 20 years and two days since that night in Rotterdam when England lost to Holland. 

Yes good memories are still fresh: Ronald Koeman dragged down David Platt who was clean through on goal, referee gives a free kick to Holland and a yellow to Platt. Graham Taylor loses his Turnip head and shouts "what have they been instructed?" Thankfully we had Fantasy Football League to cheer us up on this incident (look up Koeman phoenix from the flames on YouTube).

Then of course we cared about England and its team of Geoff Thomas, Carlton Palmer and smatterings of the Arsenal defence. Now with a mis-firing front line of Wellbeck, Sturridge and Rooney, it was down to Tottenham's emerging great Andros Townsend to save them in both games :-)

The problem with England isn't that there are too many foreign players in the Premier league, it is who is there just isn't of interest. That 1993 team who didn't go go USA 1994 wouldn't have stood up against the then powerhouses of Brazil, Sweden, Germany, Nigeria and of course, Bulgaria.

Now there are likely to be as many England fans supporting the Real and Barca laced Spanish side, the new stars of Brazil or the Premier League eleven of Belgium. 

England sadly find themselves with one option in goal, few options at centre back and the reality of a last tournament for Gerrard and Lampard.

The question which is in my mind is how this has happened when the under 21 side looked so good a few years ago? Tottenham's stars then of Danny Rose, Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore are all playing regularly, but promising players like Connor Wickham and Tom Cleverley have failed to show their potential in the big league.

One prominent player of four of the five world cups England qualified for since 1998 was a player who divided opinion but had unbelievable talent and is known for being a great ambassador for the English game - David Beckham. Do England need a new goldenballs, Gazza or captain Marvel? England need a player we all love, and while club loyalty outweighs national responsibilities for most, a superstar would carry the nation's hopes next summer. 

Naturally you're expecting me to name Townsend as that player, but that would be silly after a great half season for QPR and a great run for Spurs in absence of Aaron Lennon and with the new stars breathing down his neck. Someone will emerge in the late season, metatarsals depending. 

Spurs spending spree - We should be so lucky

I recall the summers of 1988 and 2004 as a Spurs fan, because they were notable for being those with major spending sprees.

In 1988 I was only a year into supporting Spurs and while we had waved goodbye to Waddle, Hoddle and Gough, we welcomed Paul Stewart and most notably Paul Gascoigne into the team.

In 2004, in a team led by new manager Jacques Santini, assistant Martin Jol and sporting director Frank Arnesen, we made a huge number of signings including left back Erik Edman, left winger Reto Ziegler, central midfielder Timothee Atouba and centre back Nourridene Naybet. The latter was the most notable as he filled the position in the centre and taught Ledley King all he knew (his words).

Now we can mark summer 2013 into that list too, with seven new names in the squad. Not major world stars (yet) admittedly, but the price tags of Soldado, Paulinho, Lambela, Erikson, Chadli, Caboue and Chiriches (thanks for nicking my original headline Spurs Show btw) show that the management mean business.

Yes we have had to say goodbye to a world class player and some other loyal players to afford them, and analysis has showed that despite being the Premier League's top spenders this summer, we have actually ended up in credit by around £2 million.

As they arrived it was rather unbelievable to see the transfer record broken three times, especially on Friday August 31st when three players all signed on the same day.

How these new players fit together with the existing team is a bit of a mystery not only to us fans, but also to the players themselves I expect. I write this 48 hours after Spurs lost the north London derby 1-0 and at times, looked like strangers.

With no opportunity for a pre-season together, this may take time to figure out and it is a harsh comment, but 24 hours after we saw last season's first choice left back and our most promising youth player loaned to QPR, this team may look a lot different come the end of the season as formations and combinations are sorted out.

However there is no doom and gloom, as this is exactly what we have been calling for as we have a new striker, midfielders who can score and a viable central midfield. With an international break now upon us the team has opportunity to train together ahead of a busy schedule on late September, but I have faith in AVB and Levy, and I'm never gonna give that up.

Bye Bye Bale

Sunday the 1st September brought to an end one saga which has dominated the summer's sporting headlines - Gareth Bale's transfer to Real Madrid.

Six years after the Welsh wizard moved to N17 from Southampton, where his talent as a left back was being noted as the reason for a £10 million transfer, he leaves White Hart Lane for more than eight times that amount. Obviously I am disappointed to see him leave; his form over the last two seasons has been incredible and his heroics in the Champions League a couple of years ago, mainly against Inter Milan, will live in the hearts of Spurs fans for a long time.

In the same vein, I don't think Bale will be hated for this transfer. Like Cunningham, Beckham and Ronaldo before him, they left English clubs to go to the Spanish royals and walk in the shoes of Eusebio, di Stefano, Puskas and Zidane, and I hope that moving from the medium sized pond to the enormous water of the Bernabau will benefit him.

The other reason Bale will not be hated is because his transfer fee has permitted the signing of seven new players (at the time of writing) and generally, his fee has covered that of Roberto Soldado, Eric Lamela and Etienne Capoue. Last season we were accused of being a one man team; this season we have almost filled the gaps that were so evident in our squad and look stronger than ever. Yes on the last day of Bale's employment as a Spurs player he saw us lose the North London derby, but would we have won with him? 

The final reason Bale will not be hated is because he chose to play abroad. Had he moved to Chelsea, Man City or Man United (my suspicion was the latter due to him being a natural replacement for Ryan Giggs) he would have faced the reception that Sheringham and Berbatov did, or the many departing Gooners to the Etihad. Instead he has gone to Spain, a move overall that is bad for the Premier League as it loses one of its leading lights, and for commercial reasons as Bale was one of the faces of BT Sport's promotions. 

I'll remember Bale fondly as the generation before me remembered Glenn Hoddle - a natural talent who saw a move to the continent as the way to improve himself and not as a sly upon Spurs. The 2012/13 season will be his Spurs epitaph and it will be a strong one, ending with Footballer of Year of the awards from all.

In the words of Freddie Mercury, Gareth Bale "You made us laugh, you made us cry, you made us feel like we could fly."

It's been a while

The FA Premier League returned Saturday lunchtime with Liverpool's victory at home to Stoke. The game saw Liverpool debuts for some of the summer signings and the first league appearance for Daniel Sturridge since his injury,  in a week that saw the Suarez situation seemingly come to an end.

The game at Anfield also saw the return to management of Mark Hughes, who had been out since his departure from QPR. A deserved win for the home side although were it not for Begovic being on top form, it could have been much worse for Stoke City. A well taken shot from Sturridge was what it took to beat the Stoke keeper. A handball from Agger late  on saw a penalty given to Stoke. Walters v Mignolet for what would be a home win or an away point. Mignolet dived right and pulled off a penalty save and then was on hand to pull off a rebound save to keep a clean sheet for his Reds debut and an opening win.

For Arsenal it all started brightly as they took the lead but then like their summer transfer chasing, it all went downhill. Villa though were helped by questionable refereeing decisions. Villa who were hoping to have a better season got their starting wish especially with Benteke committing to the Midlands club. The Gunners though will hoping of a signing and a first win next week.

Everton under the guidance of Roberto Martinez came back from a goal down in their trip to Norwich, they weren't though strong enough to hold on to the lead and their opening game saw two points dropped as Van Wolfswinkel netted on his Premier league debut.

Having the better stats in a game proved for Sunderland that it counts for nothing when they were at home to Fulham. Failing to convert possession and shots into goals enabled Fulham to steal a winner and all three points.

West Brom looked like following up last seasons Liverpool victory at the Hawthorn'opener, with another clean sheet at home to Southampton. Sadly for them a last minute converted penalty from Rickie 'It's a wonderful week' Lambert saw the Saint's walk away with a fortunate three points.

New boys Cardiff were welcome to the Premier League with a thump as they lost 2-0 away to West Ham. A goal in each half was enough to secure a win for the Hammers against a team that failed to trouble Jaaskelainen in goal for West Ham. For Cardiff they would have hoped to have come away with some result as they face Man City at home this coming weekend. For West Ham its a positive start as they look to have a positive season.

Champions Manchester United had seen their manager David Moyes previously complaining about the fixture list. I would imagine complaints disappearing after Welbeck and Van Persie each put two past Swansea to start their defence with a win. Alleged want away striker Wayne Rooney appeared for 30 minutes and received a reasonable reception for the travelling United fans. The lack of big name signings by Moyes seems a bit of a  over concern but of course an away win at Swansea doesn't guarantee anything.

Chelsea hosted newcomers Hull on the Sunday and the first Premier league game with Mourinho back in charge saw the blues open up with a home win despite a missed penalty from Lampard. Lampard did net the second in a 2-0 win although Lampard's free kick was fortuitously won after Fernando Torres dive.

Hull weren't the only new boys playing on  the Sunday. Crystal Palace entertained high spending Tottenham. Whilst the visitors were piling the shots in, they couldn't put them away and at times seemed that they wouldn't get that breakthrough but then a penalty was awarded after a Moxey handball. Defoe missed a chance for a second, but could only send his shot wide.

The final game of the opening weekend saw Manchester City take on Newcastle. The Magpies hoping for a better season would at least be disappointed by their start. City of course in their first Premier league start under Manuel Pellegrini off to a great start. Within 20 minutes City were  2-0 up. Things weren't helped for Newcastle when they lost Guiterrez through injury and Steven Taylor sent off just before half time. The visitors  who left Premier League survival last season late on, saw their opening game go from bad to worse to even more dismal. They say it has to get worse to get better, well they'll be hoping that next weekend will be better for them. Next Saturday sees the first of two home games where they notched up nine home wins compared to  the dismal away form. If they can get two wins in their first three games, the Toon may very well look like making some progress.

They say the title is not won after one round of games but you can often tell by the minor things how a team will look. United seem their usual self, Chelsea off to a home winning start, Spurs doing an Arsenal and winning 1-0. Arsenal on this basis whilst the world seems to be against them starting off slowly. Liverpool with an opening day win for the first time since 2003 in a game that had it been last season may have seen a draw or a last minute defeat. Newcastle looking bleak but who knows if they can turn it around. 

Out of the newly promoted teams, all of them lost but Hull and Palace did give some trouble to their opponents. Cardiff will hope next week to get some shots on  target and even maybe hitting the back of the net

 

Almost here - Part One

With the Community Shield done and dusted, we are now on the final straight to the start of the FA Premier League. The opening games sees a changing Liverpool against a Stoke City with a new manager. Liverpool of course will hope the new signings will give Liverpool a better start to the new season. Of course Brendan Rodgers will be hoping that the Suarez saga is closed before the transfer deadline day although the Northern Irishman will be hoping to add a couple of more signings before the transfer deadline. 

Stoke on the other hand will be heading into new territory with Mark Hughes in charge. Stoke have been quiet in the transfer market with two players in and Pennant signing a new deal. It will be interesting to see how Stoke fair under the leadership of Hughes and a different move in tactics.

Arsenal fans will be hoping to see Wenger acquiring some new players before deadline day. Summer target Luis Suarez looks certain to remain a red past the 2nd Sept. Failure to sign Suarez or a big signing before deadline day will leave Arsenal fans wondering what is going on especially with Wenger having money to spend. 

Aston Villa fans will be hoping to have a better season especially knowing that Benteke will be in their side. Lambert made a few signings but none will be as vital as knowing Benteke put pen to paper. They will be hoping that they start the season with at least a point.

Norwich City host a Martinez lead Everton. Hughton was busy in the transfer market. Hughton may have raised eyebrows allowing Grant Holt to go but he brought in Ricky Van Wolfswinkel and Gary Hooper to bolster the striking line. 

Everton under Martinez may look to head into the season still with Fellaini and Baines in their squad. Martinez signed Kone from Wigan and Deulofeu on loan from Barcelona. The Blue half of Merseyside will be hoping to continue their upward progress but it will be interesting to see if Everton will be a Wigan type of Everton or a Moyes style Everton or whether the club will also lose two key players.

Part two to follow in the week.

Farewell Tevez

This week saw the end of a saga in English football which has dominated the last seven years.

Arriving on transfer deadline day direct from the 2006 World Cup from Corinthians to West Ham, Carlos Tevez has remained an enigma since that day.

Why gritty east London? Why there, and the questions we would ask later - why did it take you so long to score your first goal and who actually owns you and your contract?

The former seemed to be sorted once he scored his first goal against Spurs, the second resulted in a £5 million fine and some would argue, the relegation of Sheffield United.

His move to Manchester United was undoubtedly a success, paired with Rooney and Hernandez he was a part of the team who won the 2008 champions league and he played in the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster.

His move to noisy neighbours Manchester City didn't work out so well; yes he scored, but he lost his crazy man image to Mario Ballotelli, had to battle for first team places with Aguero and Dzeko and the Bayern Munich incident and subsequent strike lost him more fans.

Now he will be wearing the black and white of Juventus, and he will wear the number 10 formerly worn by legend Alessandro Del Piero. It's a loss to English football no doubt, as he leaves a mould of a scarred, battle hungry footballer who most teams (mine included, rumour was Spurs tried to sign him in early 2012) wanted in their starting eleven.

More than 30 years since the Falklands war, it seems that we love Argentinians again - from Ardiles and Villa to Aguero and Messi, not missing Maradona, they bring a certain panache of dogged spirit to the game without the career decline seen in so many brazilians.

Farewell Carlos, here's hoping you keep the silverware coming back to Turin.

Things are on the up - an optimistic look at Liverpool this past season and future.

Cast your mind back to last summer. Liverpool had parted company with Kenny Dalglish. Finishing eighth,winning the League Cup and reaching the FA Cup Final was clearly not enough for the Liverpool owners and so a search for a new manager had begun. Many names were mentioned but it came to being the manager of Swansea FC, one Brendan Rodgers. Many people saw it as a strange choice but ultimately a brave choice.

He took some risks during the summer and notably the transfer deadline day debacle which saw Andy Carroll go on loan but no other striker brought in albeit not for the want of trying. This had left Suarez as the main goalscorer.

Rodgers had a vision and wanted to restore pride to the club. The famous This is Anfield sign from the 74-98 era was back up on the tunnel. This vision to restore the club back to the dizzy heights of success may not be an overnight return but a journey that even took the great Bill Shankly a period of time.

The season ended with Liverpool finishing seventh but ultimately another striker purchased before deadline day would have seen Liverpool further up the table. In fact from the start of 2013 Brendan Rodgers Liverpool side suffered only three Premier League defeats which saw Liverpool finish on a run which included sticking 6 past Newcastle United in one of the games with Suarez banned.

Liverpool's home record seems to be steering in the right direction. Whilst the loss column may have gone up one to four since the departure of Benitez, the win column appears to be more than the draw column. This may be Rodgers first season, but the signs are optimistic. Anfield remains a tight ship defensively. The goalscoring issue that helped to cause so many home draws looks like disappearing. Liverpool bagged 33 which was more than the previous season where the reds at home only managed 24.

The away form which hadn't seen a positive win loss record since the club finished second in 2008/09 season, saw Liverpool under Rodgers halve the defeats and finish with a record of 7 wins, 7 draws and 5 defeats. Notably though was the number of goals scored. Liverpool bagged a record 38 goals scored on the road. This was two more than the Benitez side that finished second.

Despite all those willing to aim cheap shots at Liverpool during the last season, Liverpool's transition upwards may well be comfortably in that direction.

In a season which saw Fergie retire, Mancini sacked, Mourinho return to Chelsea from the Real Madrid saga, Moyes appointed Everton manager. I wouldn't be surprised to see Liverpool pushing their way through.

To those Everton fans who think that the blue half of Merseyside is the dominant force in Liverpool, I would think again. 

It's not the end of the world

It's hard to summarise an entire football season or the emotions I am feeling 24 hours on (at the time of writing, it is 5.25pm on Monday) but in word it is: positive.

In truth I didn't expect Spurs to finish 4th, there I've said it. We are better away and Arsenal are better at home, but they did what was required and so did we.

As usual we can pintpoint the problem of not finishing in the Champions League qualification spaces to several factors: not signing a striker in January; Adebayor's poor scoring form through 3/4 of the season; too many draws when we should have won; too many dropped points at home; the loss of influential players like Kaboul and Sandro - I could go on.

I'm positive because we did what we had to do and win, Bale's finish was utterly sublime. We left ourselves hoping Newcastle were going to do the job, they didn't, and should have scored more against a very mediocre Sunderland side.

I was at the game and saw what we were up against from pitch side, including 2 legitimate penalty claims, the first of which was seen by all.

Overall I am positive about the huge points haul of 72, enough to have comfortably secured a top 4 spot in previous seasons. I am also positive about the overall form we showed under a new manager who is now among the longest serving in the premier league. 

Finally I am positive about Gareth Bale staying at the club. We showed determination to build a side around him, to play the best football in years in an improving squad. 

I am also confident that Bale will see Spurs as the best option in England for him - the top 3 all change their managers this summer and aside from a step down to Liverpool or Everton, his only option is Arsenal. That would never happen, would it?

End of Season nail biter - The Arsenal viewpoint

Arsenal have had a dreadful season. At least that is how we felt at Christmas, that's how we were feeling when we got knocked out of the League Cup by Bradford and the FA Cup by Brighton. It's how we felt a few months ago when we were 8 points adrift of Spurs, 10 adrift of Chelsea in third, and we had to watch our former captain and star striker score goals for fun each week for eventual Champions Manchester United. When we were beaten at White Hart Lane in early April, most of us assumed that Thursday night football was inevitable.  Cries of 'Wenger out!' and 'sack the board' were heard at the Emirates, and in private many supporters were questioning our wage structure, our transfer policies, and suggesting that our manager had, frankly, lost his touch. 

Yet here we are, with one game remaining in the league, unbeaten since that Spurs defeat, and once again Champions League qualification is in our hands. Not only that, but coming third is a real possibility (although relies on an Everton away win at Stamford Bridge). 

So what changed? I don't think I can pinpoint a single game that reversed our fortunes, and I can't even use the reason for last season's qualification (Tottenham's absolute collapse following their trouncing of Newcastle in February). Something certainly changed in our defence, namely the gelling of Koscielny and Mertesacker, who remain an unbeaten partnership. We've seen in recent weeks that anyone can score, and rather than relying on one talismanic goal scorer,  nine of our regular players have got on the sheet. We've seen Theo Walcott return to form, having spent the first half of the season failing to put in a decent cross, and we've seen our midfield play as a team, with fantastic performances from a rejuvenated Rosicky, Arteta and a frankly brilliant Santi Cazorla. The cry now is 'why didn't we play like this all season?'

I'm increasingly of the opinion that Arsenal simply play better when they are the underdogs. This was demonstrated most clearly in our Champions League second leg against Bayern Munich, and I think that game made our players decide to just go out and play and see what happened, rather than feeling pressured to win. Perhaps the defeat at Spurs took the pressure off, as from then there really were no expectations of Champions League qualification. 

We've still played terrible football on occasions - last week's defeat of QPR being a prime example. But as a wise man once said - I forget if it was Alex Ferguson or Brian Clough - the sign of a good team is to win matches even when playing badly. 

It's 9 years to the day since 'The Invincibles' lifted the title. We'll never see a team like that again, and it's time that Arsenal fans realised this. I think the players finally have. What we need to do to finish fourth is to beat Newcastle on Sunday. We don't need to play like Brazil, we don't need to be tricky and play a beautiful passing game, and we don't need to score flashy goals. A plodding, solid, 1-0 will do. Play well, play badly, I don't really care. As long as we win. And as we showed against QPR, against Wigan last night, and against Fulham in April, we can certainly do that.

Victoria Sharkey

Has it come to this?

Last night's 4-1 defeat and relegation of Wigan by Arsenal has set the last day of the season up for a 2006 nail-biting repeat.

Except I won't be biting my nails, well I hope not anyway. The situation Spurs have found themselves in, with Champions League football next season dependant on other results has come from a number of factors I have detailed previous to this blog.

The fact is if Spurs lose to Sunderland on Sunday, we don't get to play in the premier tournament next season and will face Europe's second best in the Europa league for a second season running. Yes it is better than nothing, but there are implications of our best players being lured away, the financial investment and memories that Champions League football can bring.

What the biggest concern is, for me, is how this situation has occurred once again, with us taking it to the last day of the season and being reliant on other results once again.

In 2006 we were reliant on Arsenal losing to qualify, and a lasagne and 'missed' penalty by legend Teddy Sheringham was not enough, while last season we had to watch Bayern Munich play like fools in their own stadium and lose to Chelsea, meaning no qualification once again.

I think we deserve to get into the Champions League, but then I would say that. We have played some fantastic football, have one of the best players in the world in our team and are forming a magnificent spine through defence and midfield.

Failure to qualify will come down to us looking at where points were dropped and the failure to add the right talent to our squad, but we will get no sympathy if we fail to do it again.

Although, I suspect no blame will be put on AVB'S door. A few early season teething errors and a few questionable selection decisions aside, this has been a good debut season for Andre and to have that rewarded with him, Bale, Vertonghen, Sandro and co playing Europe's best in 2013-14 seems fitting.

It can be done!

What is the secret behind Gillingham’s success?

To say that this season has been memorable as a Gillingham fan is an understatement. It has been truly unbelievable.

So often over the past few seasons we have lost out at the death: Eugen Bopp’s goal at Nottingham Forest relegating us from the Championship in 2005, the capitulation at Wycombe when 4 results went against us to send us down and the defeat at Chesterfield in 2011 were all recent, painful memories. Yet we didn’t need to rely on the final day this season – it was all settled before then.

But it was all settled before the final day last season too. Does anyone remember Charlie Lee’s double against Morecambe on Saturday 5^th May 2012? Of course not. That’s because this season has eclipsed anything most of us have seen before.That game against Morecambe proved to be Andy Hessenthaler’s last in his second spell as Manager. The club underwent a lengthy process to replace him, and by the start of pre-season we still hadn’t got a Manager. But then Martin Allen walked in and our mindset changed. He had an instant impact.

His first task was to shore up a leaky defence. The additions of goalkeeper Stuart Nelson and captain Adam Barrett, the reinvigoration of right back Matt Fish and consistency of left back Joe Martin all played their part in a fantastic start to the season. By the end of September we had collected 22 points from our first 9 games and were already 6 points clear of second place. The rampaging full backs and solid centre backs were the foundation for this successful season with a series of clean sheets and impressive defending.

It was this solid base which allowed us to record our record breaking away form. The most number of away wins was broken in February at Chesterfield, only 1 defeat was recorded away from home in the first 21 away games and time after time we would go to grounds, defend stubbornly and walk away with a point of three.

We performed when it mattered. This was epitomised by quality in the midfield. Before his January departure Jack Payne controlled games with ease. Loanees David Wright and Romain Vincelot added quality; in the latter’s case an important winner at Wimbledon at the end of October. Chris Whelpdale stayed fit and showed his undoubted class with numerous crucial goals – not least at Southend and Bristol Rovers just after Christmas.

It had all come together nicely. Allen had assembled a top quality squad, more than capable of winning promotion. The likes of Leon Legge and Steven Gregory, signed in January, helped push us over the line. If a player was underperforming then there was no hanging around – the way Lewis Montrose, Ben Strevens and Connor Essam were pushed out of the club may have been ruthless, but it was proven to be for the good of the club. 

The club was central to everything that was done this season. We’ve undergone big changes in the recent past – not least when Mark Stimson replaced an entire League 1 squad mid-season with non-league players in 2007/08. But Allen proved he was doing the right things by placing an emphasis on team spirit. The whole squad clapping the fans at the beginning and end of each game, Fitness Coach James Russell’s innovative warm ups and Assistant Manager John Schofield’s now legendary set piece clipboard provided both amusement and results. Everyone bought into this way of doing things, not least our number 13 – The Rainham End.

Not since the Championship days has the support been so vocal. Even when we were going through a rough spell of home form in January and February, the crowd stuck with the players. Yes it was disappointing to draw at home to York and lose on our own turf against mid table Wycombe and Oxford, but we recognised the progress made and how close we were to getting over the finish line.

How fitting it was that local boy and lifelong fan Danny Kedwell scored the goal at home to Torquay on a Sunny Saturday in April to send us up. As the song goes, Kedwell is “one of us”. Nobody works harder for the team than the former tarmacer who fired AFC Wimbledon into the Football League, and his scruffy strike ensured that we would have a month of celebration to remember this outstanding season.

The title was secured on the penultimate day at our final home game against Kedwell’s former employers. It was he and strike partner Deon Burton who scored that day – 36 year old Burton proving to be one of the signings of the season with his composure, physicality and important goals helping us add many points to our total. It was Burton being elevated into the air during the ensuing pitch invasion that provided one of the moments of the season – the realisation that we would be seeing something for the first time since 1964.

A Gillingham Captain lifting a League title.

The memory of Adam Barrett raising the trophy will live with us all forever. It confirmed the culmination in a remarkable season. From Fleetwood, to Plymouth, to the good old Priestfield Stadium we had seen off all our opponents. No team did the double over us and we were worthy winners. For once we didn’t have to go through anymore last day heartbreak. The 3-2 defeat at Burton was the best defeat we’ve ever had. 

Nobody cared about the result – it was party time. A brand new repertoire of chants emerged:, especially entertaining were “he plays when he wants” directed at reserve goalkeeper Tommy Forecast and “Ohhh Nathan Nyafli” to the 18 year old striker who scored with his first touch in professional football having been released by us 2 months previously, only to be asked back the next day.  Even the senior players left out for the dead rubber, sitting among the fans joined in. It summed up the team spirit that Martin Allen had drummed into the players. It typified our season as one we shall never forget.

Thank goodness it didn’t go down to the last game again!