The best of the transfer window in the Premier League

Well from my point of view it couldn't have been much worse. Liverpool have let their only out and out front man go on loan to West Ham without replacing him. You could excuse Brendan Rodgers for thinking Clint Dempsey was a shoe-in to come to Anfield, but we'll only know in time whether not having a contingency will cost Liverpool. With Fabio Borini, Joe Allen, Oussama Assaidi, Nuri Sahin and Samed Yesil coming in, I think the rest of the team is looking strong, but if Borini or Suarez get injured it could be Spain's 'no-striker' for us! 

Top transfers

New Chelsea man Eden Hazard

 Chelsea's new starlet may have been the most expensive signing of the summer, but even at £32m there does look to be value in it. Having played a part in all of Chelsea's goals so far he could be worth every penny. Last season while he was a team-mate of Hazard at Lille, Joe Cole suggested that Eden was the best player he'd ever seen and would one day be regarded as the best player in the world. Time will tell!

Tottenham's new midfielder Moussa Dembele

I think Tottenham paying £15m for the services of Moussa Dembele will prove to be an absolute steal in the long run. I would not be surprised if Spurs get a few good seasons out of the Belgian midfielder, and then a marquis club (Barca, Real, Man Utd) will come calling with about £30m; And Daniel Levy has never been shy of selling players for a substantial profit.
 

Michu has scored four goals already!

 Not being a huge viewer of the Spanish La Liga, I was not overly aware of Miguel Pérez Cuesta. Better known as Michu, he was the top scoring midfielder in La Liga last season and for MIchael Laudrup to relieve Rayo Vallencano of his goals for £2m he could be the signing of the summer. 

New Black Cat Adam Johnson

 Why Manchester City have let this young man go is beyond me. He has looked one of the most exciting and talented English players to emerge for quite a while, and as well as having ball-dribbling skills to bamboozle full backs, he's not shy in chipping in with a few goals as well. £10m is a bargain, and I think Sunderland will have to be playing European football before long to keep him. That said, with Martin O'Neill at the helm there's a chance that may happen. 

Best Bargains

Jack Rodwell Everton to Man City £12m, If Everton weren't so cash strapped they could have paid twice that. 

Dimitar Berbatov Man Utd to Fulham £4m, Should get enough goals to keep them up. 
Hugo Rodallega Wigan to Fulham FOR FREE! Enough said.
QPR signing Andy Johnson from Fulham and Ryan Nelsen from Spurs for free. Vital experience that could keep them up.
Reading managed to get Fulham forward Pavel Pogrebnyak on a free. He scored goals for fun last season. 
Stoke paid £4m to take Charlie Adam for Anfield to the Britannia. After never really getting back in to the side Liverpool after getting injured last year, and Joe Allen coming in at Liverpool sealed his fate. Good luck Charlie.

email me at floydssporttalk@live.co.uk

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FA Premier League 2012-2013 preview

So the football is finally back! Six or seven weeks have never seemed so long. As much as I have enjoyed the Olympics, and my love for all sport has most definitely been affirmed, there is nothing quite like football.

Today’s curtain raiser (still The Charity Shield in my mind!) may be an indicator of where the title is heading, as I can really only see the true race for the championship being between Chelsea and Manchester City. Chelsea have been the biggest spenders so far signing Marin, the brothers Hazard and Oscar; I think the true test of their season will be how well they cope without Didier Drogba. If Torres comes good they will be half way there, but they’re still light up top if you ask me. There is talk of Neymar but he’s no Drogba. If they go down that route they’ll only be able to play one way which isn’t great for any team.

Manchester City on the other hand are starting to flex their muscles by signing Jack Rodwell from Everton. I hope the rumours are not true, but if they can sign Daniel Agger from Liverpool as well they would become an even more formidable outfit. If that deal gets done, I hope it involves Adam Johnson going the other way. It’s criminal how much time one of England’s brightest talents has spent sat on the bench. You do have to wonder where the Sheikh’s spending spree will end. Maybe it won’t! Perhaps the biggest surprise in the close-season so far is that Manchester United have only signed Shinji Kagawa. I know there are still a couple of weeks to go until the transfer window closes, but it would be highly unusual if the Red Devils don’t make one marquis signing. I think in general the window has been quiet so far, and this might be because most first team European players have been on duty at either Euro 2012 or the London Olympics; consequently they have been at least a couple of weeks behind the rest of the squad in getting back to pre-season training. It might liven up in the last week or so when managers have had chance to fully assess their players. 

So aside of who might win the Premier League this year, the other main questions is who will stay up? All three promoted teams would have high hopes of remaining in the Premier League, and who could blame them. Reading and Southampton dominated the Coca Cola Championship last year, and West Ham were not too far behind. That coupled with the fact that  Aston Villa, Wigan and QPR hardly covered themselves in glory in staying up by a hairs breadth. It could be the most open Premier League from the top four downwards that we have ever seen. With six clubs having new managers, and a couple more that have only been at their respective clubs for half a season, there is a good chance of some very unpredictable results early on this year.   

Premier League Predictions

Top four - 1. Manchester City 2. Chelsea 3. Manchester United 4. Arsenal

Bottom three - Wigan, West Brom, Norwich. 

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate everybody who has been part of organising the London 2012 Olympics. I won't deny that I was a bit sceptical about how much of a success the games would be, but I have to say I have enjoyed them more than I ever thought I would. I've watched and enjoyed some sports that I would normally not bother with, and the events I was looking forward to were better than I thought they would be. All the competitors have taken part with maximum effort (with exception to the odd badminton player!) and absolute grace; in victory and defeat. I give particular congratulations to every member of Team GB. Everyone knows who the greatest successes have been, but they should all be proud of creating the greatest Olympic Games that I can remember, and possibly ever. 

Team GB's medallists on the roof of HQ.

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Well Done Wiggins and Ernie, and Welcome to Olympics Week!

Wiggins wins the Tour de France

On Sunday Bradley Wiggins became the first Briton to triumph in The Tour de France as his Team Sky teammate Mark Cavendish won the final stage on the streets of Paris. Cavendish has now won this stage four times in a row which is some feat in itself. Wiggins conquered the peaks of the Alps and Pyrenees on a hellish two thousand one hundred and seventy three mile journey spanning three weeks, which surely puts him amongst Britain's greatest sports men and women of all time? Having won three gold, a silver and two bronze medals at three Olympic Games, as well as seven gold, four silver and one bronze at various cycling World Championships I can't see that there is an argument against this train of thought. A mention should also go to his team mates whose support was valuable to Bradley throughout. Briton Chris Froome, also of Team Sky, finished second behind Wiggins and three minutes ahead of their nearest rival. Bradley also showed great sportsmanship to fellow competitor Cadel Evans who suffered three punctures on one stage; carpet tacks were thrown on the road and Wiggins slowed the Peloton to allow Evans to catch up which isn't always the done thing. I'll be honest, I'm no expert on cycling and I wouldn't even say I'm a fan just yet. But what Bradley Wiggins achieved over the last three weeks is monumental, and his accomplishment, coupled with the fact that the Olympic Road Race is in the Surrey Hills just down the road means that I will probably tune in and I suspect I won't be alone. 

Massive congratulations to South African Ernie Els who won his fourth Major and second Open Championship on Sunday at Royal Lytham and St Annes.  Many thought that 'The Big Easy' might never reach such heights again, but he did all you can do as a golfer; post a score and see what happens. What did happen beggars belief. After the fourteenth hole where Scott made a birdie, some bookmakers were offering odds of 1/100. You have to wonder how many people thought they could make a quick killing? Scott went on to make four bogeys, missing a putt to take the tournament to a play-off and the rest is history. It will give Ernie a massive boost, but you have to fear for Adam Scott. The Australian was quite pragmatic in the aftermath, but like a boxer taking punch after punch, it must take its toll. He definitely has the talent, and Steve Williams on the bag must be a plus point, but he needs to invest in a sports psychologist I would say!


Strangely for me, I am getting somewhat disillusioned by the Olympics. I really hope it doesn't turn out to be a complete shambles. The threat of striking by British Border Control staff, the 'crackdown' on enterprising business people who aren't allowed to use words like 'Summer', 'London', 'Gold', 'Silver' or 'medal' in conjunction with each other. Just in case it is perceived as guerrilla advertising. Hardly. It is just honest people trying to earn an honest living, yet again being hindered by bureaucracy. It seems the 'Team GB' umbrella only extends so far. I am sure I will get in to the swing of things once the competition gets underway, but the seven years since I had a tear in my eye when Jacques Rogge announced London had won the bid is going very, very slowly. The last few weeks have been like swimming in treacle but we'll see.

Sorry to get all political, but it had to be said!

Close-season football shorts

Football's pre-season friendlies have begun so its not long now! 

Luka Modric is on strike at Spurs; Chelsea have signed Brazilian Oscar, Belgian Eden Hazard and they are also signing the younger Hazard, Thorgun. 

Much to my surprise, Everton sell Tim Cahill to New York Red Bulls for around £1m. I wouldn't want to doubt David Moyes, as pound for pound I think he is the best manager in the league. I have been saying for years that he will be the next Manchester United manager, but there will be more to come on that when it happens.

Unless Portsmouth can offload their last senior players, they will have no option to close their doors on the August 10th deadline. There are seven high earners left who must find a compromise, or the South Coast club will have played its last game. A very sad state of affairs.

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