Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Why Manchester City Will Not Pay the Price for a Quiet January Transfer Window
Starting with a 6-0 lashing of Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad on Nov. 24, City have won 18 matches, drawn three and lost one in all competitions. That's good, right?
Except all anyone really wants to talk about now is how the Sky Blues have not scored since hanging five on Spurs at White Hart Lane on Jan. 29. And how they earned only one point from six in their past two league matches.
Now the sky is falling down because Sergio Aguero is hurt again, and because Fernandinho is still two or three weeks away from returning (as is Samir Nasri).
This makes City fans fret about whether the club was short-sighted during the past January transfer window.
City boss Manuel Pellegrini was exceedingly nonplussed as the window was closing without the Citizens bringing anyone on. "We'll see what happens, deadline day is 31 January—it's not our first concern but we'll see what happens in the future," City's boss told Sky Sports then.
Just two weeks later, the injury bug has nipped City and now the blue half of Manchester is worried that City do not have enough players to compete for the four trophies they might still win.
That is just silly.
First off, all three of City's injured stars are coming back to the XI relatively soon.
City fans only need to look at how Arsenal lost Theo Walcott for the season to know how fortunate the Citizens are that none of their big guns has been holstered and locked away.
More to the point, though, the quality City have behind the players currently healing up should be more than sufficient to win football matches.
There is nothing wrong with Manchester City that half a dozen Jovetic goals would not cure.
Aguero is out, but City have three strikers behind him (Alvaro Negredo, Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic) who cost tens of millions of pounds each, and who would start for most Premier League sides.
Fernandinho and Nasri will miss more time; City should not suffer greatly, though. The midfield quartet of David Silva, James Milner, Yaya Toure and Jesus Navas are better than all but a handful of starting midfield lines in the league.
Lost in the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments by City fans is that while City have not scored in the past two matches, they kept one clean sheet and lost by a single goal in the other match.
City's defensive efforts are keyed both by the brilliant return to form of keeper Joe Hart and the relative health of the back line. Pellegrini's preferred four Gael Clichy, Vincent Kompany, Martin Demichelis and Pablo Zabaleta are all fit and playing now.
Besides, as aptly argued by ESPNFC.com's David Mooney recently, desperately throwing satchels of £50 notes at the transfer window is not good business.
Let Pellegrini earn his money with the side he has, not rue the one he might have had.
It does not guarantee winning football, either. "That they didn't panic and splash the cash shows the team responsible for assembling the squad are happy with its current set-up and any improvements that may need to be made can wait until the summer," Mooney wrote.
Pellegrini was hired to manage City with full knowledge that the schedule would be as unforgiving as the club's fans. Injuries will not be an excuse for City if their trophy chases end with empty hands.
Nor should they be. This City side as presently constructed can beat any team. Remember Bayern Munich 2-3 Manchester City? Was that City XI particularly scary?
City possess more than enough quality to achieve most of their goals, with or without the likes of Aguero, Fernandinho and Nasri.
If they don't, the blame will fall on the big-name, high-salaried players currently cashing City checks and not on the quiet January transfer window.
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Thursday, February 6, 2014
Breaking Down Liverpool's January Transfer Window Business
And then there were none.
After so many rumors, so many names and so many hopes, the January transfer window passed by without any signings at Liverpool, and Brendan Rodgers will be tackling the remaining fixtures of the 2013/14 Premier League season with the squad he had at his disposal when the campaign started in August.
Amidst their injury crisis, Liverpool needed to strengthen, not only to make up for their absentees, but to inject quality into the first team and to better equip themselves for what promises to be a tough fight to finish in the top four.
With no new arrivals at Anfield and a quintet of names to leave the club, either on a permanent basis or on loan, the Reds’ shortages and problems have been left by the hierarchy to the summer, when surely there will be questions asked again of the transfer policy.
But for now, what can we make of their past month?
Here’s a breakdown of Liverpool’s January activities, featuring exits, loans, near misses, and an analysis of their transfer approach. Let us know your thoughts below.
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Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Manchester United Transfer News: Anderson Denies Negative Comments of Red Devils
Anderson and football supporters reacted angrily after reports indicated that he had spoken against United and David Moyes in an interview at a Fiorentina press conference.
The Telegraph's Mark Ogden reported the following from Anderson's conference:
Manchester United outcast Anderson has warned of a summer exodus from Old Trafford after claiming that several of his team-mates “want out” of the club.
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Monday, February 3, 2014
Real Madrid Transfer News and Rumours Tracker: Week of February 3
T’was the night of transfer deadline day, when all through the Bernabeu, not a creature was stirring—not even a mouse.
That, in a nutshell, is pretty much how the whole of January passed by at Real Madrid.
Carlo Ancelotti said he was not interested in bringing players in or letting players go, per Sky Sports, and this is exactly how the month unraveled.
However, even Ancelotti would surely admit there will be business to be done in the summer.
With January now out the way, murmurs will begin about potential summer business among Europe’s biggest clubs.
The following slides will let you know who’s saying what about Madrid.
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Chelsea Transfer News and Rumours Tracker: Week of February 3
Key areas of the squad were addressed with the arrivals of Nemanja Matic and Kurt Zouma, but there is still one position that needs some attention.
Click through for the latest rumours surrounding Stamford Bridge.
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Liverpool Transfer News: How Reds' January Window Will Affect Rest of Season
The Reds have scored an impressive 58 goals in the top division this season, per Squawka, with the partnership of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge in rampant form.
However, this window has been one of disappointment in comparison to last January, where Brendan Rodgers secured the services of Sturridge and the bargain purchase of the then-20-year-old Brazilian prospect Philippe Coutinho, an £8.5 million purchase from Inter Milan, per BBC Sport.
This January saw Rodgers pursue Mohamed Salah from Basel, via Ross Dunbar of Mirror Football, and £16 million Ukrainian forward Yevhen Konoplyanka, per Andy Hunter of The Guardian.
However, the Welshman failed in his endeavors, seeing Chelsea gazump Liverpool for the Egyptian talent Salah, as Jose Mourinho took the player as a replacement for Juan Mata, via Sky Sports.
Rodgers was quoted by Hunter proclaiming his disappointment in losing Salah, saying.
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Liverpool Transfer News and Rumours Tracker: Week of February 3
You can always expect there to be plenty of transfer buzz around the Reds as they continue in their attempts to qualify for next season's Champions League, which took a blow with the two points dropped at West Brom on Sunday.
Record a win over Arsenal at Anfield on Saturday, though, and Brendan Rodgers' side will be right back in a race that they look set to go the distance in.
Is their squad a little too thin to finish in the top four? Which players are they looking to add for the next campaign?
Keep track of all this week's news and rumours here.
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