It’s that time of the year when a host of players will be switching clubs and a number of Premier League managers have begun their player recruitment drives in earnest. Young has completed his £17million move from Villa Park, Jordan Henderson has signed for Liverpool in a deal worth £20million and a number of others are likely to follow before the start of the 2011-2012 campaign.
It is inevitable that a number of transfers yet to transpire will raise eyebrows as agents scurry to get their clients the best deals possible. In the past, several players of insufficient quality have been signed for staggering fees which belie their true ability, and with this in mind, here is a list of the top ten most overrated footballers in the game at present…
Click on Kenwyne Jones to reveal my top 10
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Iran and Saudi Arabia recorded comfortable wins in the first legs of their Asian Football Confederation World Cup qualifiers.A brace from centre-forward Karim Ansarifard helped Iran to a 4-0 win at home to the Maldives in the second round of qualifying on Saturday.
Forward Ali Karimi and Saeid Daghighi also struck as Iran scored three times in the last half an hour.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia scored three quick goals in their 3-0 win over Hong Kong in Dammam.
Forward Nasser Al-Shamrani netted in the first minute of first-half injury time before defender Osama Al-Muwallad doubled their advantage prior to the interval.
Al-Shamrani completed his brace two minutes into the second half.
Elsewhere, Iraq recorded an important 2-0 win over Yemen at home.
Hawar Mulla Mohammed found the net after nine minutes, before Alaa Al-Zahra doubled their advantage just after the hour mark.
In other games, goals from Mohammed Kasola, Meshal Mubarak and Yusef Ali helped Qatar beat Vietnam 3-0 in Doha.
Jordan hammered Nepal 9-0 as Hassan Abdel Fattah netted four times, while Yang Xu hit a hat-trick in China’s 7-2 win over Laos.
Singapore beat Malaysia 5-3 in an entertaining game while Uzbekistan eased past Kyrgyzstan 4-0.
Other first-leg winners included Thailand, Lebanon, Kuwait, Oman, Syria and the United Arab Emirates.
The only draw was played in Ashgabat where Turkmenistan were held to a 1-1 stalemate by Indonesia.
Santos president Luis Alvaro Ribeiro has reiterated the Brazilian club has no interest in selling star striker Neymar to Real Madrid.Neymar has been constantly linked with a move to the Spanish giants throughout the off-season, with the La Liga outfit reportedly prepared to activate the 19-year-old’s 45 million pound buy-out clause.
But Ribeiro said it was not a fait accompli that the striker would leave his native Brazil, saying they were confident he would remain with the club.
“We have no interest in selling Neymar. Real Madrid might be willing to pay the buyout clause, but it all depends on the player,” Ribeiro said.
“We are sure of his will to be world champion with Santos. We hope to fulfil his contract here.”
Speculation continues the Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani will soon be leaving Liverpool, with Serie A club Fiorentina now being linked with the 27-year-old.
Aquilani returned to Anfield at the end of last season after a successful loan spell at Juventus, but did not make a permanent move back to his homeland following the Turin side’s refusal to meet Liverpool’s asking price.
But now his agent Franco Zavaglia has confirmed the interest from Fiorentina, but said a deal was still some way off.
“We must still talk with Fiorentina and Liverpool,” Zavaglia told the Adnkronos agency.
“Aquilani is still a Liverpool player. We need to talk to them to see what their plans are for the new season and then we will see. We are evaluating the situation with both parties before we make any decision.”
Meanwhile, Roma director Walter Sabatini has all but confirmed that French striker Jeremy Menez is on his way to Paris Saint-Germain.
The 24-year-old has been given permission to speak with the Ligue 1 side after Bojan Krkic’s arrival at the Stadio Olimpico pushed him further down the pecking order.
“The sale of Menez is a painful choice, even if it is not yet official,” Sabatini said.
“I gave him permission to leave the training camp and to go and meet with PSG. I’m sorry that I will no longer be able to work with him.”
Sabatini also ruled out making a play for Palermo’s Javier Pastore, saying the club had enough cover in the centre of the park.
There’s something special about the way Mick McCarthy, Jez Moxey and Steve Morgan go about their business in the summer. As the supporters of clubs around us are taking to the message boards to complain about their lack of activity and ambition, Wolves fans, yet again, have the feeling of great satisfaction.
The new season was still over a month away when Wolves completed the signing of centre-half Roger Johnson, the third new addition to our squad this summer. Johnson, 28, needs no introduction as everyone has taken note of his fantastic performances in the Premiership over the last two seasons with Birmingham. With reports this week suggesting we paid as little as £4m for him, it is simply a case of yet another piece of brilliant from the Wolves board.
Jamie O’Hara has also joined the club on a permanent basis this summer. After a string of fantastic performances during his loan spell in the latter half of the season, the management team moved quickly yet again in order to ensure we captured his signature. Once again there are reports that Wolves may have paid just £3.5m for Jamie – which in today’s market is an absolute steal for a player of his quality. Add to this the signing of former-Swansea goalkeeper Dorus de Vries on a free transfer, and it has already been an extremely successful transfer window for Wolves.
The refreshing thing about our football club is that those at the top of the hierarchy are so sensible. McCarthy, Moxey and Morgan don’t go out and spend money recklessly on older ‘big shots’ looking for their final payday. They don’t just look for the right player; they look for the right person. Everyone that has been brought to the club in recent years is well known for their passion and desire just as well as their footballing ability. The likes of Matt Jarvis, Kevin Doyle and new-boy Jamie O’Hara prove this. They bleed Wolves blood, and it is so important that they do. There is a real feeling of togetherness at the football club, right from the top of the club down to the supporters – it feels very special and everybody knows we are a club moving in the right direction.
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With two games of the season played, it already looks like it will be another exciting and competitive season at the top and bottom of the Premier League. In terms of entertainment there is no doubt that the Premier League is the best in the Europe but with some poor quality games to start the season, has the standard of quality really dropped in recent years or is it just more competitive than ever?
Evidence of this decline can be seen as no Premier League players were selected in the FIFA team of the year when it was announced in January 2011 and it was dominated by Spanish players. With the recent departures of Ronaldo, Alonso, Mascherano and now Fabregas to Spain, the English league seems to be losing its world class players and English clubs are struggling to replace them. The only side that are recruiting superstars is Man City and they can only do this by offering extortionate salaries. Man United and Chelsea may sign one big name each summer but nowhere close to what Barcelona and Real Madrid do.
One of the reasons for this decline is that the English 50% tax system does not help attractive the top players and along with the credit crunch, which has made the Pound weak against the Euro, all English clubs have had to cut back on spending in recent years. Even big clubs like Man United and Arsenal have had to sell their top players in order to remain at the top of the game, with the exception of Manchester City.
There is now a smaller gulf between the teams at the top and bottom of the league but I think the standard of quality of the top teams has decreased rather than a huge improvement in the smaller teams. Premier League teams are being extra cautious in the transfer market these days and would rather recruit young English players than expensive European talent which although reducing the quality, has to be a positive thing for the national game.
Last season the Premier League was one of the tightest for years and this was probably due to the fact that the bigger teams have stagnated with less coming in money over recent years and also because of the improvement of the promoted teams from the Championship which I believe is not far off the Premier League in terms of quality.
Because of this increased competitiveness, it is difficult for even the best players in the league to really stand out. The ever increasing tactical side of the game has made it harder for even the best players to conquer organised defences who normally have a defensive midfielder protecting them. So players who leave England know they won’t be getting kicked every two minutes in the foreign leagues like they do in the Premier League.
There is no doubt that the Premier League is still graced with some of the finest players in the game and with players like Kun Aguero, Juan Mata and Sneijder likely to join Manchester United, there is obviously still an attraction to play in England.
Although the league may have declined in quality, this seems to have made the league even more exhilarating and is it hard to find a better league in the rest of the world. The standard of football may have dropped due to the lack of investment at the top of the game but instead of harming the league, it has actually brought the teams closer together and made it even more entertaining to watch.
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The Spanish League may have the world class players but the Premier League still has the passion, entertainment and excitement and for that reason it is still the best league in Europe, I for one would much rather watch a game involving Spurs v Liverpool than Seville v Athletic Bilbao. Obviously 600 million people worldwide agree.
Liverpool have been granted an extension in deciding whether or not to build a new stadium at Stanley Park by the local City Council.
The Reds have already been given planning permission for a new home, but are yet to fully commit to the venture, as the proposed costs are higher than first expected.
The Fenway Sports Group, who own the club, are still tossing up whether or not to move their side to a new ground, or stay at Anfield and look to increase capacity.
The deadline for the decision was initially the end of September, but The Daily Mail reports that Liverpool City Council have granted them more time to make their mind up, as negotiations continue.
Due to the sky high cost of building a new arena, an investment partner is needed to harbour some of the costs of building the stadium, with the naming rights granted in exchange.
Kenny Dalglish’s team would have to sign a 999-year lease on the proposed site in Stanley Park, but have stated that they will not rush the important decision.
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Referee Phil Dowd was the pantomime villain in Saturday’s Midlands Derby after he controversially Aston Villa’s sent Chris Herd off as West Brom snatched their first league victory at Villa Park in 32 years.
Goals from Jonas Olsson and Paul Scharner gave Roy Hodgson’s side a well deserved 2-1 win after Darren Bent had given the home side the lead from the penalty spot. However Herd’s red card 10 minutes before half time was the main talking point with many feeling his altercation with Olsson in the penalty area wasn’t worthy of such punishment. It proved to be the difference as Albion claimed their second consecutive win and made it four game unbeaten. 10-man Villa, on the other hand, have lost their last two and will feel they deserved more after sacrificing the lead Bent had given them from the penalty spot. They started the game strongly and should have opened the scoring only for Bent to fire his shot over from eight yards after collecting Barry Bannan’s mis-hit shot. The diminutive Scotland midfielder was next to try is luck flashing a volley just wide of Ben Fosters goal as Villa pushed for the opener. They should have been down to 10-men on the quarter hour mark after Alan Hutton’s two footed lunge on Shane Long saw referee Dowd produce only a yellow with the Irish striker leaving the field on a stretcher. It got worse for the Baggies moments later after Steven Reid’s hesitation saw him bring Gabriel Agbonlahor down in the area allowing Bent to convert from 12-yards.
The goal woke West Brom up as they finally started to play some football before they were handed a spot kick of their own in controversial circumstances. Olsson and Herd tangled off the ball as they waited for a free kick to be taken with the Swede going to ground prompting Dowd to send the Villa man off much to their supporters bewilderment. Captain Chris Brunt stepped up but embarrassingly sliced his penalty wide of the goal as the hosts breathed a huge sigh of relief. They couldn’t hold on though and were pegged back just before the half time whistle when Olsson towered above the Villa defence to head home Brunts corner to the derision of the home fans.
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Their man advantage started to pay dividends and Scharner lashed home what ultimately turned out to be the winner acrobatically lashing home a corner from the left. Despite their efforts Villa struggled to rescue the game and tired quickly leaving them open to attacks on the break. They almost conceded a third when Peter Odemwingie was played in but the Nigerian mis-kicked in front of goal as the visitors held on to claim a memorable win over their Midlands rivals.
West Brom take part in their second Midlands derby within the space of a week as they make the short trip to an Aston Villa side who were thumped 4-0 at Manchester City seven days ago.
The Villan’s were unbeaten prior to their trip to the Etihad Stadium and will need to set themselves up a lot better than they did last Saturday with boss Alex McLeish unhappy with his sides ‘comedy cuts’ defending. You could be forgiven for thinking Villa were up against a City side in superb form but the truth is they made it too easy for the hosts and will need to up their concentration levels against Albion. Lets not forget it was their first defeat of the campaign and an unbeaten run of seven games has silence a few of the Holte End regulars who were unhappy after McLeish’s appointment following his stint in the Birmingham dugout. The Scot has certainly made them harder to beat and is finally getting some end product from Gabby Agbonlahor who has four goals to his name already this season. Derbies are Villa’s specialty too having lost only of their last 11 at home – a 1-0 defeat to Wolves in April. They haven’t suffered back-to-back league defeats in 16 games so the omens are good for the home faithful. Their cause will be helped by the return of defender James Collins who looks set to return and partner Richard Dunne who will be making his 500th club career start.
Roy Hodgson’s Baggies have started their season in reverse to their Midland’s rivals having lost four of their eight games winning only two. Their latest conquest came last week against Wolves at the Hawthorns and relieved some of the pressure on Hodgson’s shoulders. The former Fulham boss has been unable to replicate the success he endured at the club towards the end of last season but that 1-0 win seven days ago went a long way to getting the club back on track. Peter Odemwingie was the match winner last week scoring his second goal of whats been a disappointing start to his second year as a Baggie. Injuries have hampered his progress so far but he looked back to his best forming a potent link up with Shane Long. The Republic Ireland striker has hit three goals from seven shots on target this season but will have a hard job penetrating Villa’s watertight defence. In fact this will be West Brom’s 100th away Premier League fixture but they’ve only tasted victory 11 times away from home. The return of Zoltan Gera and Steven Reid will put a smile on Hodgson’s face and the pair could play vital roles in their chances of coming away from Villa park with maximum points.
Key Players
Gabriel Agbonlahor – Whatever McLeish has done to Agbonlahor it certainly is a miracle. He is fast becoming Villa’s key player with his exciting displays and lung bursting sprints being combined with a final product. The Villa striker has been in clinical form scoring half of the sides goals already and his pace will be key to overcoming West Brom this week.
Peter Odemwingie – After a stuttering start to the campaign Odemwingie looks to be getting back to his best and his goal against Wolves last week was expertly taken. His runs off the shoulder of defences and penchant to be in the right place at the right time will be an important factor if the Baggies are to unlock a stern Villa defence.
Prediction: 2-1
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Aston Villa’s Gabriel Agbonlahor is the only player in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index’s top ten NOT from Man Utd, Man City, or Chelsea. He is the 8th ranked player and 3rd ranked striker (behind Rooney and Aguero) Agbonlahor also has a 67% shots on target rate (more than Rooney, who has 59% on target) West Brom’s Peter Odemwingie scored his second goal of the season last weekend and rose 16 places to 102nd in the EA SPORTS Player Performance Index Odemwingie’s two goals have come from 12 attempts at goal with 67% of shots on target
‘We are in transition.’ The phrase that seems to have become the excuse for all managers after a period of bad performances and indeed results. Wenger has been using it for the last 6 years at Arsenal, and now AVB and Chelsea have become the latest to wheel out the most overused excuse in football.
Now don’t get me wrong, you cannot have constant success all the time – eventually the spine of a team will ages, and new players will have to be brought in, which inevitably becomes a transitional time, and for one, maybe two seasons this is fine, and both fans and owners need the common sense to understand and respect this.
However, multiple seasons down the line, the same excuse quite frankly cannot wash. Wenger has used said excuse for years now, and whereas immediately after the departures of Campbell, Henry Bergkamp and the like, not to mention the emergence of the ‘young guns’ this was acceptable, and people would have happily given the Gunners a couple of seasons to develop and progress as a team, six years and zero trophies later – arguably going backwards – this simply cannot be the case anymore.
Now they are going through a period of so called transition again with the departures of key players and the arrival of new ones, but how long can this cycle go on for without Wenger coming out and offering a real explanation for the perceived lack of success?
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Some teams are genuinely having a season of transition – look at Chelsea – AVB has to contend with the entirety of his spine ageing at the same time, and all losing that extra bit of pace that made them so special – and in Abramovich he has an owner who has as much patience as Joey Barton does with the cast of TOWIE. Now I am not suggesting allowing AVB the next ten years to build what resembles a winning team, but a couple of seasons of patience will do Chelsea no harm in the long run.
Likewise with Liverpool, under the ill-fated reign of Hodgson and before that the end of Benitiez’ time in charge, Liverpool were simply not good enough, and using the excuse of ‘transition’ could not be tolerated. However, at this minute in time, under King Kenny, they are slowly rebuilding a team worthy of challenging for major honours, and patience is required – but said time will not last forever, and eventually fans will expect progress to be made.
One of the teams who dispel the ‘transitional’ excuse are United, who have been reinvented multiple times under the 25 year reign of Sir Alex Ferguson, who has the uncanny knack of knowing when it is time to move players on or bring new blood through. Yes, they may go a couple of seasons without trophies or a title, but no more than that and Fergie would never attempt to excuse poor performances season after season by trying to say that the team had lost their spine and were trying to rebuild. One season maybe two, certainly not more than that.
Do not misunderstand me – I am not trying to advocate trigger happy owners sacking managers after one season without a trophy, I am simply trying to make the point that aside from blaming the referee, the most overused and pathetic excuse in football is to claim a team is in a transitional phase – at least sometimes it really is the referee’s fault!
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The Premier League is littered with talent everywhere you look, though of course it is and has always been defined by its star names. Where would we be without Rooney, Gerrard, Terry, and the rest who light up the stage week in, week out. These are the players we read about every day, and who get all the limelight and plaudits for their efforts on the football field.
In this era of Premier League mega-stars it is easy to forget about the other few hundred players in the league (excluding David Bentley), who work just as hard and make vital contributions to their sides. There is a load of unsung heroes out there on the field every week who put in just as much effort-if not more-as the top names yet don’t get anywhere near the same amount of recognition. Why these players don’t get the recognition they deserve is a mystery. Some probably don’t get the credit they deserve as their vital contributions are within unglamorous sides who aren’t in the big four. Other players simply shun the media limelight and mega stardom, as they are only interested in playing football and putting the team before themselves.
These players are the type who would be the first on the team sheet every week, yet they don’t get the plaudits like a Drogba or a Fabregas. They are just as critical and most are the heartbeats of their sides, who would be much poorer without them. Some have made vital contributions that have saved their sides from dropping out of the division, others have propelled their sides to achieve greater things than expected, yet they barely get mentioned in the same breath as the big stars of the league. It’s time to pay tribute to the Premier League players who don’t get enough recognition.
Click on Dempsey below to see the top ten
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