“Deadwood” as Arsenal fans call him, the winger completed a rather not surprising move to Italian out-fit Roma. To some of the Arsenal faithful, citing me as an example; I had mixed emotions- firstly, tagging Gervinho ‘’Deadwood’’ is quite appealing especially when you remember he at least contributed fairly to the team last season, more
As Josep Guardiola settles on his Bayern Munich squad to begin life after the imperious success of Jupp Heynckes, it appears that will be little room for one of the integral members of the last regime. The new Guardiola-driven Bayern machine descends on the new German season with the Spaniard’s midfield taking shape, and Heynckes’s
Six summers have passed since Manchester United entered into the transfer market to splash £35 million on two players who were regarded, at the time, as a pair of the most coveted talents in Portuguese football. Nani was 20 years old when he arrived at Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon whilst Anderson was just 18
It is Spurs’ new striker Roberto Soldado who once said this of Real Madrid, “Madrid? They develop good players but then put their faith in foreign signings”. It was at Madrid where it all began for Soldado, though he was mostly restricted to the Castilla, the B team, making just four appearances for the senior
This summer at Liverpool has been largely overshadowed by the transfer saga involving Luis Suarez, the striker who seems intent on leaving Anfield despite the club’s resilient desire to keep him. In a parallel plot-line to the war of attrition with Suarez however, is the work done by Brendan Rodgers in quietly assembling a promising
Being one of the best Russian football players of all time and a hero for your hometown club for the best part of your career still isn’t good enough to earn you a warm and welcoming homecoming, as 32 year old Andrey Arshavin found out just a few weeks ago. After a season spent not
After his stunning performances in June of last year at Euro 2012, it has come as a bit of a shock, just how Alan Dzagoev has fallen away from the headlines. In fact the last headline that he made of any note, wasn’t because he helped his club CSKA Moscow win the Russian Championship for
This summer’s European transfer market has been littered with moves that have involved nauseating sums of money, further illustrating the gap between the haves and the have nots as UEFA tries in vain with their Financial Fair Play regulations to bind the richest clubs, failing to prevent the inflation of the transfer market from spiralling
Wilfried Bony has long been linked with the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and even Everton. But finally, after too many transfer stories, the Ivorian striker moved to Laudrup’s Swansea, for a reported fee of 12M euros, that could rise to 15M euros in bonuses. A lot of people have questioned this move. Was he
After having battled their way to a second place finish last year, changes seemed almost inevitable at Napoli. The sale of Cavani was a blow, but the money has been invested wisely, meaning Napoli have a deep squad with a very real chance of winning Serie A. Cavani was Mr. Napoli for all three of
In the month of August in 2008, the Abu Dhabi United Group took ownership of Manchester City Football Club, buying out then owner Thaksin Shinawatra. Though signing a Brazilian - Robinho - was their landmark moment, few people could’ve foreseen that the signing of a £34m-rated Brazilian midfielder who was born in Londrina, Paraná would
After securing the signature of YAYA Sanogo, the Gunners’ faithful were expecting the club to add more quality to the squad, in a bid to challenge for title honors next season. And recently, they were heavily with a mega move for Madrid’s front-man Higuain. But unfortunately, the striker opted for a transfer to Italian out-fit
On the face of it, the decision to finally sell Stefan Jovetic to Manchester City was a risky and potentially backward step for Fiorentina. However, with some very shrewd and wise investments, the sale could springboard the Florence based club back into European football’s elite club category. At this same time last year, Fiorentina were
AC Milan have undergone something of a regression since their last league title back in 2011, falling fifteen points behind champions Juventus last season as the Rossoneri finished third. This is perhaps owing to the recent financial structural problems in Italian football and the emergence of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations causing a sea of
Another Brazilian midfielder is heading east to ply his trade in the Premier League, and the tactical implications of Paulinho’s North London arrival could be indicative of a stark change in Andre Villas Boas’ Tottenham Hotspur tactics. Villas Boas’ time in England has seen him predominately switch between a 4-2-3-1 and a 4-3-3, the former
If there was surprise at the dubious timing of Bayern Munich’s announcement that Mario Gotze, still representing their Champions League final opponents Borussia Dortmund, was to join them at the end of the season, the blame should be put at the door of Manchester City. That is according to Bayern’s Chief Executive Karl Heinz Rummenigge
Football enthusiasts around the world would have to concur that this is often the toughest time as a fan. This is merely due to the fact there is no any football action and they have to scavenge for transfer stories and rumors linked to their respective clubs. However, as the clock runs down to the
After a very hit and miss six years in West London, Florent Malouda is heading to pastures new at Turkish club Trabzonspor. Here’s a look back at his largely mixed fortunes at Stamford Bridge. Malouda joined the Blues in July 2007 after having enjoyed four impressive seasons at Olympique Lyonnais, in which he won Ligue
1) Review of Last Season It can be said that the 2012-2013 Premier League season was shaped by two key moments for Southampton. The first was on a cold mid-November afternoon in West London. A match dubbed ‘El Sackico’ between Saints and fellow strugglers QPR, resulted in only the second win of the season
When Roberto Mancini’s arguably successful reign as Manchester City manager came to an end on the 13th May 2013 after a relatively unsuccessful season, it came as a surprise to many. After giving the Manchester based team their first Premier League title in 44 years and an FA Cup to be proudly placed in there
Borussia Dortmund recently secured the signing of St-Etienne striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The reported Newcastle and Anzhi Makhachkala target signs for the German giants until 2018. The Gabon born hit man found himself a new lease of life with the Ligue 1 side, after failing to assert himself within the AC Milan squad. After a successful
On Monday, the long-awaited departure of Edinson Cavani from Napoli occurred as he was unveiled as the fourth most expensive player of all time with a move to Paris Saint Germain. The Qatari project at the French champions continuing apace with the Uruguayan’s £55 million transfer. It was also just another day in the summer
Last week, Chelsea completed a move for 40 year old goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, interestingly on a one year deal. Obviously due to his age, Schwarzer has taken this move as a means of getting one last “hoorah” from his career, after Fulham signed highly rated Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg from AS Roma. Of course it
For many Atletico Madrid fans, replacing Radamel Falcao this summer was paramount. The Colombian had left the Spanish capital for Monaco with a scoring record of 70 goals in 90 games and the concern was that Atletico would struggle to find somebody to replicate El Tigre’s brilliance, despite the €45 million he was sold for.
Carlo Ancelotti’s arrival at Real Madrid to takeover from Jose Mourinho is appearing to be more than a simple managerial change. Mourinho’s future became untenable at the Bernabeu despite delivering a league title in his second year, threatening mutiny as he clashed repeatedly, and in one instance even alienated, star players. His departure in favour