Sorry About That

In truly hilarious fashion, Arsenal's board has decided to compensate the traveling fans that sat through the Gunners epic capitulation at the hands of Manchester United this past weekend at Old Trafford. An interesting move indeed, considering the board have watched the departure of three marquee players, namely Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy, and seen very very few signings at the Emirates. Some form of apology was definitely required.

But this is not the way to do it. The players performed poorly because they are despondent by the lack of transfer activity. On this the last day of the summer transfer window, why not take that money and throw it towards, oh, perhaps a signing? If 2,000 fans plonked down an average of 42 pounds to watch their Gunners be humiliated, that's 84,000 pounds wasted. A paltry sum that, even to offset a transfer fee, but does the Arsenal board really think the fans want that money back when it could be used to bring in reinforcements?

Northern Parallels

Manchester gave us a combined 13 goals this weekend. In their game against Tottenham, Man City brought the pain in a 5-1 drubbing that left Spurs manager Harry Redknapp fuming, both at the result and the fact that he cannot call on his talisman Luka Modric as his transfer saga drags on.

Not to be outdone by their noisy neighbors, Man United dished out a little hurt of their own against an already demoralized Arsenal side, putting them to the sword by a scoreline of 8-2. Ouch indeed.

Seems the northern city of Manchester will be the one to deliver us this year's Premier League champion. The goals are there, the defenses are watertight, and the talent was most surely on display this weekend.

North London, on the other hand, seems to be heading towards a long retreat into the shadows. Gone are Arsenal's Invincibles of 2004. Even Tottenham's recent foray into the Champions League threatens to be just another minor blip on an otherwise maddeningly talented but underachieving squad. It would appear the North London clubs have gone from promising and exciting to feeder clubs for Europe's largest teams.

Blue Moon Rising

Up until two seasons ago, everyone knew the four teams that would dominate the Champions League qualification places: Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. All that needed to be decided was the order. They were known begrudgingly as the “Big Four.”

Last season and the one before that, Liverpool failed to crack into the exclusive club, muscled out by Tottenham in 2010, and Man City last term.

While Tottenham's ascent looks more and more like a one-off, City are there to stay. The billions of petro dollars the Abu Dhabi group has at its disposal will ensure manager Roberto Mancini will not lack for the funds to lure top players to the club. Yesterday saw Samir Nasri finally complete his move to the club. He is now the third former Gunner to embrace the blue half of Manchester. Former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira played a decisive role in luring all of them to the City of Manchester Stadium.

Who's willing to bet Vieira is no longer on Arsene Wenger's Christmas card list?

Everton Are Paupers

This summer has proven to be an expensive one around the EPL. Manchester City and Liverpool have been breaking spending records during the off season. Even Sunderland have spent somewhere in the region of £23 million this transfer window. They finished 10^th in the Premiership last season.

Everton finished seventh. Their current amount spent during this transfer window: 0. With total debts exceeding £45 million and the bank refusing to loan any more cash, Everton are this year's EPL pauper club.

Everton have finished no lower than eighth in each of the last six seasons. David Moyes, without a doubt one of the EPL's finest managers, will quite literally need to walk on water to keep this club in the top half of the league this year. The mood around Goodison Park is more dire than it has been in many a year. A Cinderella story of a season and European qualification would do the sport some good, where the penniless good guy still gets to win in the end. Not likely... but what a story!

Spanish Players Down Tools

It's a sign of the times. The Spanish football league (LFP) and the player's union (AFE) have failed to reach an agreement that would forestall a strike. The  footballers want a designated fund to ensure players will continue to be paid in the event their clubs become insolvent.

Over 50 million euro are owed to players across Europe due to just such a scenario. It is perhaps good to remember that not every professional plying his trade in the Spanish first and second division get paid as much as this guy.

When a club goes insolvent players are often cut off from their only source of income: their contractually owed salary. Most players aren't sponsored. If their club goes, so does their income. It will be interesting to see, if such a fund is ultimately created, whether there are knock-on effects on leagues around the world, such as the English Premier League or Serie A.

Adios, Muchacho

Well, he's finally done it. So ends one of the most protracted transfer sagas in modern sports history, with Cesc Fabregas at last getting his wish of a move back to Barcelona. The 24 year old, who has been at Arsenal since 2003, returns at last to the club that first nurtured his undeniable talents. His departure throws a massive cloud of doubt over the Gunners' future, despite a hefty £35 million transfer fee.

With Samir Nasri still likely to depart for greener pastures, Arsenal now face the prospect of losing not one but two world class footballers. This blog has predicted a sixth place finish for them in the Premier League this year. That would ostensibly place them outside of the Europa League qualification places, unless they win the good sportsmanship award. A season outside of the Champions League would have massive financial ramifications for Arsene Wenger's men, making this doubtlessly the most important season of his 13 year reign.

One wonders how much more the fans and the board will tolerate, with the trophy cupboard bare since 2005's FA Cup triumph?

Premier League Predictions

In a season whose start has already stuttered due to rioting and cancelled games, this weekend saw several big teams creep slowly out of the gates. 


Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea were all held to draws. Not much to go on but nevertheless here are our predictions for the top ten:

1. Manchester United : Still too strong for the rest.

2. Manchester City : Big money and massive ambition see them step up a little further this year.

3. Liverpool : Summer investment will see them crack back into the top 4.

4. Chelsea : Villas Boas is our pick for first manager fired this season.

5. Tottenham : Still enough quality to see the Spurs finish fifth.
6. Arsenal : A miserable season for the Gunners awaits.

7. Everton : Moyes will marshall the troops back into seventh.

8. Sunderland : Big investment over the Summer should see them finish well up the top ten.

9. Stoke : Pulis is a motivator, and he will lead his battling squad to eighth.

10. Bolton : Brilliant young manager Coyle will guide his team four places higher than last season.


Feel free to bestow your seer-ish visions for the upcoming season upon us.