Manchester City fans were expecting a busy summer at Eastlands and while they have brought in £75 million pounds worth of talent, the players that have arrived am not sure will spark fear into any of the top clubs.
City have added David Silva, Yaya Toure, Jerome Boateng and most recently left back Aleksander Kolarov to their already impressive squad but are these the quality signings that Manchester City fans were expecting. Mario Balotelli and James Milner have been touted as potential signings, but these players would cost an extortionate amount of money, and am sorry to say are, I see Milner being worth £15 million and Balotelli just about £10 million due to their being potential.
City have more money than any of their rivals but the fact remains that until they qualify for the Champions League or mount a serious title push, players will still prefer to move to other clubs around Europe. The players City have brought will ultimately add depth to their squad but for the money spent if I was Manchester City fan I wouldn’t be able to feel anything other than slightly short changed. Yes if Mancini brought in Torres that would be the kind of footballer that would strike fear in the teams at the top.
When Abramovich first came to Chelsea and begun his spending spree the players brought in were of the highest level which ultimately aided them in their two Premier League title successes. Players like Carvalho, Drogba, Essien, Robben and Cech. Manchester City are still a long way of achieving anything like what Chelsea did and until they make two or three world class signings that is how it will remain. Manchester United and Chelsea who have both been reasonably quiet in the transfer market this summer will still go into the season as title favourites and Mancini and his coaching staff will have a hard task on the training ground to try and stop this from being a reality come the end of the season.
By Abbas Dadhiwala
With Manchester City signing every name under the sun, it seems unlikely that Jo will be involved in the first team at Eastlands this season.
The Brazilian striker, who signed for £18m in 2008, has spent the last year on loan at Everton, which he has mixed success.
He is currently back at Manchester City and playing pre-season games, but it is almost certain that he will move on before the season begins. Roberto Mancini is keen to offload some of his squad players on high wages and Jo falls into this category.
Where will he go though? Well, Blackburn have shown an interest in the Brazilian, either on a season long loan or for a reduced transfer fee. You can keep track of what happens with Bets Player.
Sam Allardyce is desperate to sign a striker and is appears that Jo is high on his list of targets. Following the departure of Benni McCarthy to West Ham, there is a distinct lack of firepower in the ranks and the arrival of Jo would be very welcome.
He may have been rather inconsistent for Manchester City and Everton, but given a run of games he should be able to score goals in the Premier League. He is likely to be the number one striker at Ewood Park if he joins too and this will suit him.
Despite not having kicked a ball in League One yet, Notts County are already aiming to reach at least the playoffs ahead of their upcoming League One campaign.
Following a season that saw the Magpies hit the headlines as they went dramatically from riches to rags, County are now looking to steal the limelight for all the right reasons by continuing their success on the pitch.
Although County achieved promotion last season to justify their pre-season League two betting odds, they have undergone a number of significant changes following the departure of former manager Steve Cotterill. A total of eight out-of-contract players left the club at the end of last season and these departures have left County with a squad of only 18 individuals following a recent deal to sign two trialists.
The situation has forced chief executive Jim Rodwell to admit that they are yet to replenish their squad to an acceptable level, although he has promised fans that the club will be looking to make further acquisitions before the start of the new season.
Fans of the Magpies could be forgiven for adopting a cautious attitude to these claims, having previously seen promises of Premier League football and an influx of top players fall flat, almost causing the world’s oldest football league club to go bust.
However, after settling a debt with the HMRC that chairman Ray Trew claimed was acting like “a dark cloud hanging over Notts County”, the financial future of the club should seem far more secure for Magpies fans.
Whilst this season will not start with the same fanfare that accompanied the beginning of the last campaign for County, the League one betting odds still fancy them for promotion.
The club is in a far better financial position than many expected following threats of administration, and new manager Craig Short may well feel quietly optimistic ahead of the new season as he continues to make improvements to his squad.
The second Randy Learner told Martin O’Neil he must sell to buy this summer, Aston Villa’s already outside chance of finishing in the Champions League became even more remote. Most Villa fans view Learner’s spell as chairman as successful but the Americans revelation that the Midlands club made a loss last year means (and rightfully so) he wants to try and balance the books.
The fear of this happening was one of the factors in Martin O’Neil contemplating he has taken the club as far as it can go. The lack of immediate funds may hamper O’Neil’s policy of bringing fresh, young British talent to Villa Park. More importantly Villa may now struggle to keep the stars they currently boast. O’Neil and every Villa fan for that matter will be fully aware that while their club tightens their purse strings the likes of Tottenham, Liverpool and perhaps more crucially Man City will all splash the cash, in theory making the gap for the race of a top four place even wider. Villa may even start to look over their heads at the likes of Everton.
The same Villa Park faithful who were starting to convince themselves that maybe O’Neil had outstayed his welcome may now realise how fortunate they are to have such a knowledgeable at the helm. The Irishman has been in the game long enough to know how this all works. That is why O’Neil has declared he is prepared to listen for offers (if right) for want away midfielder James Milner. You may have noticed O’Neil, while sticking to his value price, is not digging in as much as he did when Gareth Barry was in a similar position. O’Neill is savvy enough to know every player as his price and knows that 25-30 million for a players who has had one consistently good season in the Premiership would be great business for the club. By taking advantage of City’s willingness to spend over the odds losing Milner would sort out O’Neill’s pocket money. While Milner looks like he is ready to emerge into a star his sell could lead to O’Neill making numerous signings. The former Celtic boss has always had an eye for talent and with his passion could entice many players to play their trade at Villa.
What O’Neill will not stand for is the threat that Ashley Young will also leave, a deal which is being lined up behind the managers back. Selling Milner for a good price is one thing but from there if Villa has ambition to be competing at the top end of the league they need to keep their prize assets. That would be Young and Abonlahor. These are the two who play a big part in making Villa one of the most exciting, counter attacking sides in the country.
It’s the ultimate test for Villa, for every year they miss out on the Champions League, the teams who do get more money and improve, ultimately making you weaker by taking your players. If your Learner what do you do, make stars then cash them in for understandable financial gain? That’s fine but as long as you do that you are sacrificing the dream. A similar thing kept happening to Tottenham a couple of seasons back. They finished fifth two years in a roll then Man United offer for Berbatov. The Spurs money men then had a choice, take the money or say no because you seriously want to build a team to compete for honours. After years of being stuck in mid table Villa were just begging to become exciting again.
If Learner sells Young then if I was Martin O’Neill I would walk away.
The success of Jermaine Beckford for Leeds United last season proved the cream of League One talent is worth taking note of. Beckford, recruited by Everton on the summer, could conceivably be in a rebuilt England squad this year, so the ambitions of lower division players to move up the league ladder are not as unrealistic as they might seem.
As the big spenders, League one betting pundits suggest that Southampton are likely to have plenty of players to watch. Hitman Rickie Lambert is certainly the Saints’ player to watch – pending new signings – and on recent form he could be the biggest comparative success story in English football.
Lambert owns the distinction of being English football’s top scorer for the last two seasons; not bad for a 28-year-old who looked destined to end his career as a lower league journeyman who never quite fulfilled his potential.
His haul of 30 goals for the last two seasons means he can be relied upon to produce goals in Southampton’s likely promotion push and he can be one of the few players guaranteed a regular starting place in a squad that is likely to grow.
Lambert is a powerfully built centre forward whose physical presence belies a good turn of speed and excellent close control. He is the perfect foil for any of Alan Pardew’s other forward men and his powerful running and reliable link-up play means he can be used in a lone role.
Defender Frazer Richardson joined Lambert in last year’s PFA League One team of the year and his move from Charlton Athletic to Southampton shows the Saints’ strength in all areas. Richardson will miss the start of the season through injury, so it is Lambert who will be his team’s key man.
It isn’t just League One that needs to be focused on over the next couple of weeks though, League Two betting is extremely relevant once again with many teams fancying their chances of promotion to the third tier.
