Early Bandwagoneering

Gary McSheffrey

2006/07 Statistics
TEAM	COMPETITION	GS	SB	G	A	SH	SG	FC	FS	YC	RC
Coventry	English League Championship	3	0	1	0	5	3	2	5	0	0
Birmingham	English League Championship	40	0	13	18	127	51	87	70	6	1

Frank Lampard

2006/07 Statistics
TEAM	COMPETITION	GS	SB	G	A	SH	SG	FC	FS	YC	RC
Chelsea	English Premier League	36	1	11	10	140	62	23	45	3	0

Not too dissimilar. Certainly not enough that McSheffrey won't look at bargain at 6 units/pounds/dollars/linden. The number of fouls (given and drawn) and the resultant cards are a worry. But perhaps that is just the nature of the Championship, aspposed to the less rough-and-tumble Premiership.

Aliadiere joins Middlesbrough

"'Who are two players who won't be at Arsenal next season?' Alex."

Jeremie Aliadiere has joined Middlesbrough from Arsenal on a three-year deal for £1.5 million, according to his agent.

The 24-year old former France Under-21 striker had been linked with a move to the Riverside since the January transfer window of 2007, with a proposed move vetoed by Arsene Wenger due to injuries suffered by fellow Arsenal strikers Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie.

But, following Mark Viduka's departure to Newcastle and the release of squad players Massimo Maccarone and Malcolm Christie, Boro boss Gareth Southgate has moved to reinforce the striking ranks in Teesside with the player,who will partner Yakubu Aiyegbeni and, if the transfer is completed as proposed, Turkey star Tuncay.

This was only a matter of time. Arsenal needed to unload Aliadiere who hasn't proved that he can score with any regularity at any level -- be it the top level of English or Scottish football, or the lower competion of the Championship and the Carling Cup. Assuming everyone else gets healthy and stays at Arsenal, you have a selection of Henry, van Persie, K2, and Bendtner. The last more successful at Birmingham than Aliadiere ever was at Wolves.

On the other end of the deal, it's not quite clear what Boro are doing. Should the rumours pan out, they're looking at a choice amongst Beattie (big, lumbering, and 2-years removed from any semblance of form), Smith (small, lumbering, and 2-years removed from any semblance of form), Tuncay (an unknown, untried in the Premiership), and Aliadiere who has yet to impress at any level.

No Yak. No BFMV. No creativity in midfield. Another year-long series of poor deliveries from the left flank as their only plan. I would expect to see Boro, along with Fulham, Wigan, Bolton, and Derby mired at the bottom of the table next season.

Royals sweating over duo's fitness

Reading have confirmed that defender Ibrahima Sonko will miss the start of the new season, while goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann remains doubtful. Sonko is making good progress after an operation to reconstruct a cruciate ligament in his right knee, but is not expected to be ready for first-team action until the end of August at the earliest.

The new season kicks-off on August 11 with the Royals facing Manchester United and Chelsea in their first two games.

Hahnemann broke his right hand during the final game of last season at Blackburn. He had 18 screws and two pins inserted into the hand during surgery in the United States last month.

With that opening schedule, Reading won't get a look from most fantasy managers. But something of which to be aware.

Is it time to sell?

I wrote Wednesday about what I thought the reality behind the Henry-to-Barca rumors was. I decided today to follow that up with what I thought Arsenal SHOULD do.

So, here are the facts...

1. Arsenal have not gained ground on ManYoo and Chelsea so far this summer - in fact, they've lost ground on both.
2. Arsenal's most likely high-profile transfer target - Ribery - has already made his way to Bayern Munich.
3. Henry has been a constant distraction over the last 15 months or so with his constant whinging about how much he admires this club or that club.
4. Henry is going to turn 30 about the time the new season begins (August 17).
5. Henry only managed 16 starts in the Premier League last campaign.
6. Henry's goal against ManYoo on January 21st was his only goal against a team that qualified for European competition next season.
7. The "Young Gunners" are probably another year away from being the core of a team that contends for a Premier League or Champions League title
8. The recent "high profile" acquisitions - that's you Rosicky and Hleb - aren't doing the job and don't really seem to fit the system.

Looking at the above facts - I am forced to only one conclusion. Henry and the current crop of Young Gunners aren't going to win a Premier League or Champions League title together. If the goal is to WIN stuff - then it's time to sell Henry before he loses his value. Maybe it will prove to be a year early but better than being a year late. If the goal is to maintain a Champions League spot, manage to get to the knock-out phases of the Champions League and make a graceful, late round exit from the FA Cup then they should by all means keep Henry.

Strikers whose game is based primarily on speed like Henry generally decline rapidly the second their bodies start to betray them. Henry isn't reliant ONLY on his speed but it is the thing that sets his skills apart from guys like Berbatov who are deft and skilled but not blindingly fast. Henry certainly isn't going to get better in his 30s, the question is how quickly will he degrade?

I have to admit, the first thing that struck me this morning as I was reading the gossip columns (a favorite passtime of mine) was that selling Henry to Barca and spending some of the money on David Villa, Fernando Torres, or Darren Bent would make a LOT of sense. None of them are likely to adequately replace the Henry of the early 2000s but guess what, the current edition of Henry isn't likely to do that either. The aforementioned gentlemen have proven to be high class finishers as well as being young and in possession of a little thing I like to call upside.

You could easily see them quickly growing with Hoyte, Clichy, Djourou, Toure, Eboue (as a right wing), Fabregas, Diaby, Walcott (as a left wing), van Persie, and Adebayor to form the core of a squad that has a great chance to challenge for actual honors in 2008-2009. Throw in one or two more strategic acquisitions and the maturation of guys like Denilson and Bendtner and you might really have something.

To stand pat is to maximize the number of points the club will achieve this coming year but it will ultimately minimize the chances that Arsenal will regain a spot atop the Premier League standings.

The only reason I'm holding out hope that all of the above is wrong is that there is a small chance that the only reason that Henry was so ineffective last season was due to being over-worked between Arsenal's heavy 2005-06 schedule followed by the World Cup over the summer. If a summer off has rejuvinated the Frenchman, then maybe Arsenal can challenge ManYoo and Chelsea but unless Arsenal management is certain that is the case, they should serious think about divesting themselves of Henry now before that particular asset has lost its value.

Pope to step aside at season's end

SALT LAKE CITY -- Often celebrated as the best defender the United States has ever produced, Eddie Pope announced Thursday that he will retire from Major League Soccer at the end of the 2007 season.

I"m not sure what to say. I have to admit to being a little sad, and I'm not sure I can quite capture my emotions fully in this post. Maybe an update to follow. But the Pontiff is retiring. Definitely the end of an era.

Pope was the shy kid out of North Carolina who wore #23 in honor of fellow alum Michael Jordan. He was the rookie of the year and stand-out defender on a team full of more experienced and well-known players. Of course, he scored the header in stoppage time that won DC the first of their now four MLS Cup championships. And he famously, or at least for me memorably, turned down interest from Europe to stay close to home.

So many memories of my young adulthood are tied up with DC United and it's hard to avoid the sense that an era in my life is passing too. I'm no longer in DC, and no longer a young adult. Pope is with Real Salt Lake (and to paraphrase the Sports Guy, he never played for NY. Can we all agree that that just never happened?). But I get nostalgic when Neal text messages me from RFK as he did this weekend. And this news is a bit of a bolt out of the clear blue sky -- even though I'll always associate the Pontiff with the pouring rain in which he won his first two DCU championships, the second of which I was lucky enough to attend.

Okay, I'm officially babbling. Back to work, but not without one final chant of "Ooh ah! Eddie Pope! I said Ooh ah, Eddie Pope!"

A Cautionary Tale

One of the stories of the last 12 months or so that has really disappointed me is the path and trajectory of West Ham United. Was it really just 13 months ago that they played one of the more compelling FA Cup Final matches ever to cap off a triumphant return to the Premier League? Who could ask for more? They were young, scrappy, offensive-minded, and the team was comprised predominantly of players who had come up through the ranks. Throw in the fact that they recruited one of my favorite young English players in January of their promotion campaign (Dean Ashton) and they had cemented themselves as my second choice team behind Arsenal (I generally tend to have one other team I enjoy following each year because there is a player or storyline I gravitate to as opposed to my long term loyalty to the Gunners).

The spending spree following their rise to UEFA Cup participant started innocently enough - some low-profile defensive fortifications (mostly a lot of right backs). I think the moment it all went bad was the moment they recruited Lee Bowyer. That was followed up with the two Argentines who, while having undeniable quality, were always going to cause a massive change in the composition of the team. What followed was a drastic transformation from lovable overachievers to annoying mercenaries. Sure, they survivied but the young players regressed and the new acquisitions seemed poorly thought out and more typical of the way Newcastle tends to build teams (throw money at the biggest names available) than the prudent way they achieved promotion and then managed to not only stay up but prosper at the highest level.

The reason I mention this is that Reading supplanted West Ham as the 2nd place team in my heart this past season with a storyline similar to that of West Ham the year before. As they start to evaluate transfer dealings, hopefully they will look at the example the Hammers provided and avoid the same mistakes. Certainly, they haven't done anything to ruin their vibe so far but at some point they'll have to recruit a replacement for Steve Sidwell [um... what about this guy? -js] and make a few more moves to ensure that they consolidate their position in the Prem. Hopefully, they will at the same time manage to maintain their wits and recruit the right type of player who will enhance their dynamic rather than ruining it.

My advice, buy young and avoid guys who bring in a feeling of entitlement to the team. It will be difficult enough to keep the team level-headed now that they've proven they belong.

Never mind

Charlton striker Darren Bent has turned down a move to West Ham after the two clubs agreed a fee.

"We set a valuation for Darren and West Ham were the only club prepared to meet that valuation," said Charlton chief executive Peter Varney.

"This morning we gave them permission to speak to Darren, which he did, and he has decided not to join West Ham."

Does this presage a move to Spurs?

Toon Lose Ben Haim Race

Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce has admitted defeat in his efforts to sign Israel defender Tal Ben Haim.

The 25-year-old, who is out of contract at Bolton, seems destined to join Chelsea, who made a bid for him during the January transfer window.

Allardyce told the club's official website, www.nufc.co.uk: "It's looking like Tal will be going to Chelsea, unfortunately.

"We have had a long, hard go, but I think the lure of the (former) champions has perhaps just pipped me at the post."

Chelsea's new first-choice right-back?

Update: Seems to be official now.

Nipping rumors in the bud

Louis Saha's management company has rubbished claims that the Manchester United striker will be out of action for six months.

They say the Frenchman should be back for the start of the new season, and that claims from a former adviser called Ranko Stojic, saying he might not play until December, were unfounded.

Hammers Win Bent Race

West Ham are set to beat Tottenham and Liverpool to sign Charlton striker Darren Bent in an £18million deal.

According to the Daily Star, the Hammers have offered £80,000 a week to secure Bent's services, while Charlton will receive £15million plus Marlon Harewood and Hayden Mullins, who are surplus to requirements at Upton Park.

West Ham's need for a top-class striker was thrown into yet sharper focus when Inter owner Massimo Moratti confirmed they are keen to sign the Hammers' Argentine star Carlos Tevez.

Melchiot to sign for Wigan

One year after having left Birmingham, Dutch defender Mario Melchiot is on the verge of making a return to England with Wigan. The 30-year-old has left Ligue 1 side Rennes after deciding not to extend his one-year contract.

According to the Daily Mirror, Melchiot was at the JJB Stadium on Tuesday to prove his fitness to new manager Chris Hutchings and agreed to sign a one-year deal.

Now this is interesting. Ryan Taylor is finally back from injury, as presumably will Boyce. Does this signing push Boyce to center back alongside Hall, and Taylor up into midfield? Taylor's set-pieces more than made up for his penchant to collect cards. But if he follows another Taylor (Matthew, for those of you playing along at home) from fullback to midfield while remaining listed as a defender, he'll be one to watch next season.

Boro Agree Tuncay Terms

Middlesbrough have made a major transfer breakthrough by agreeing personal terms with Turkey striker Tuncay Sanli.

The 25-year-old forward, who is out of contract with Fenerbahce,
will head for Teesside to undergo a medical next week with a view to
completing a free transfer switch to the Barclays Premier League.

Tuncay, reportedly a target for Manchester City and Birmingham, began his career at home-town club Sakaryaspor before joining Fenerbahce in 2002, and has scored 59 goals in 154 league games for the Istanbul outfit.

He also scored a Champions League hat-trick against Manchester United in 2004.

A central striker who can also play on both flanks, he has 13 goals in 43 internationals and will be seen as a replacement for Mark Viduka, who left Boro for north-east rivals Newcastle last week.

This certainly sounds like better news than signing Jeremie Aliadiere. I don't know much of anything about Tuncay. Is he +10 material?

Henry?

Since one of the people commenting on Jeremy's last post asked, about the latest round of rumors surrounding Henry, I figured I'd put my two cents into the mix. My first comment is that I'm stunned at the ability of people to read things into every single comment that is made for the sake of spinning a headline grabbing story that might sell a few extra papers or generate a few extra clicks. As an example, once I read the comments related to David Dein's departure, I had a hard time figuring out where all the headlines came from. Who WOULDN'T be flattered if the current European Champions mentioned them as a target? To say anything else would be dishonest at best.

My second comment is that we seem to see these sorts of rumors every year around the top players in the Premier League. Lampard is going to Barca...Gerrard is going to Chelsea...Drogba wants to play in another country at some point if Chelsea don't "meet his ambition"....the list goes on and on. Mostly this is idle media speculation that tends to flare up when there aren't actual matches to report on - instead of proliferating rumors of this nature for the 18th time with a slightly different spin, maybe some of these reporters should try actually watching some of the U21 Euro Championship matches so that they can intelligently report on what the players that are featured can actually do (i.e., what positions they play, how they might fit when they reach the big time) - it continues to shock me that there is very little commentary of this nature when players are transferred.

Finally, am I dismissing the possibility that TH might leave the Emirates? Not at all, he might very well go and force Arsenal to really develop a new team capable of scoring on their own rather than doing everything else and then counting on Henry to bail them out on the scoresheet. I'm guessing he'll be back but I'm only about 60% confident of that outcome. If he isn't, the guess is that Arsenal are a UEFA Cup team but not a Champions League team unless they can find a high-profile replacement as well as a winger who can score about 10 goals.

In other developments, Villa seem to be the new Everton (from a couple years back) in that they are having a hard time getting anyone to take their money...No de Jong, no Sneidjer, no Barton, no Parker, and no Reo-Coker (yet). To answer Jeremy's query on Reading and Halford, I read that they have extended de la Cruz. Guess that made Halford surplus to requirements.

That's about it for today - hopefully, things will start happening soon. Once one or two dominos fall, there will likely be a flurry of activity.

Blues Scout Doubts Nani Ability

Chelsea scout Piet de Visser has had a dig at Manchester United, claiming new signing Nani may not be good enough for the Premiership.

De Visser has been asked by Blues owner Roman Abramovich to identify young talent to bring to Stamford Bridge, but has cast doubt on whether United's big-money signing can cut it in the English league.

Dutchman De Visser admits the 20-year-old midfielder has huge potential, but reckons his crossing lets him down and claims he holds onto the ball for too long.

De Visser, who recommended John Obi Mikel to Chelsea, told The Sun: "This boy is, as far as his skills are concerned, a super talent.

"He had his training with Sporting Lisbon and technically he is so good, he is almost perfect.

"But I also stress that despite all his talent he may not be right for the Premier League.

"His crosses are sometimes OK, sometimes bad.

"He dribbles too much with the ball because he wants to entertain, not because he wants to be effective.

"Cristiano Ronaldo had the same problem when he first played for United."

Yeah, and look how that turned out.

Oh, and by the way, these grapes are sour.

Black Cats Land Halford

Barclays Premiership newcomers Sunderland have made their first summer signing with the capture of Reading defender Greg Halford.



It is understood the 22-year-old full-back has signed for the Black Cats after undergoing a medical.



The club are expected to confirm the transfer, which comes just five months after the Chelmsford-born player joined the Royals from Colchester, later on Monday.

Halford was a January buy for Steve Coppell, but he could never displace either Murty or De La Cruz in the starting XI. Big things were promised, but Coppell seemed to be bringing him along slowly. I'm surprised that Reading would sell him as Murty isn't getting younger. But perhaps they see something in De La Cruz, or Sunderland came up with more money than they could turn down. Roy Keane needed a new right back after ManU defender Johhny Evans returned to the mother ship.

If Halford is as good as promised, and that is now a question after Reading sells him, then he could turn out to be value for money come next season.

UPDATE:  Here's the other piece to this puzzle: De La Cruz agrees new Royals deal

Trezeguet set for Juve exit

Unsettled striker David Trezeguet seems set to leave newly-promoted Juventus after revealing his contract negotiations are at a standstill.

The 29-year-old France international, whose contract runs out in 2008, is currently in talks over a new deal but is deeply unsatisfied with what the Turin club - whom he has been with for seven years - are offering him.

"There is no more hope of staying with Juventus - I feel they have little faith in me," Trezeguet told SKY Italia on Sunday after the Serie B champions lost 3-2 at home to Spezia.

"The offer they have made me tells me everything I need to know.

"I've given my best, just as the club asked me this season, but I feel they have made other choices.

"Now I am going on holiday and I will wait for a call from the board. It's up to them to decide what to do with me.

"It's a shame because I wanted to carry on, but they don't seem to want me anymore."

Let the rumors begin!

Pearce anger after Bentley withdrawal

Stuart Pearce feels he has been let down by David Bentley after his withdrawal from the England squad for the European U-21 Championships.The Blackburn starlet has left manager Pearce a man short for the tournament in Holland after pulling out due to "fatigue".

"I don't agree with it. I told him last night I don't agree with it in any way, shape or form," Pearce said on Sky Sports News.

"I feel as though I've been supportive to him. He wasn't in the under-21 side for whatever reason when I took over the job.

"I put him in, I thought he was arguably one of our best players in the two matches we had him.

"With that in mind, I rang Steve [McClaren] and said 'what I've got to report is I think this kid's doing quite well. Keep an eye on him'."

Players can only be replaced as a result of injury, so Pearce has been left with a squad of 22 for the finals, with England starting their campaign against Czech Republic on Monday.

It's no secret that we're big fans of David Bentley around these parts. But this is a strange situation. Perhaps he's discouraged by a certain other player's successful return to England's right flank?

McCann Completes Bolton Move

Bolton have announced the signing of Gavin McCann on a three-year deal from Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee.

The 29-year-old midfielder was undergoing a medical at the Reebok Stadium and is thought to have cost Wanderers around £1million plus add-ons.

He becomes manager Sammy Lee's second summer signing since taking over from Sam Allardyce.

McCann began the O'Neill regime as a first-team regular and was one of Villa's best players during the first half of the campaign.

But his form dipped in the New Year and he eventually made way for academy product Gardner.

With the promise of Gardner plus the expected arrival of Nigel Reo-Coker from West Ham, it was obvious McCann would be down the pecking order next season.

Second domino.

And I thought SAF was the Michael Corleone of Summer 2007

Apparently the guys at Bayern Munich realized just how much money ManYoo had given them for Owen Hargreaves and decided to start spending it like there was no tomorrow. As OH (as in "Oh, is Hargreaves really worth THAT much?") walks out the door, in walk Frank Ribery, Luca Toni, and (according to the player himself) Miraslov Klose. Given what we know about the needs at Old Trafford wouldn't you rather have had the three guys that Bayern got with ManYoo's money than the one guy ManYoo actually got? Especially when the guy ManYoo got will be competing with another guy they overpaid for last year for a spot in central midfield?

Maybe I'm too dumb to see how it would work but I don't see Carrick/Hargreaves working any better at ManYoo than Gerrard/Lampard does for England. They're just too similar. Unless SAF is committed to a 5-man midfield with two of Ronaldo/Giggs/Nani wide and Hargreaves/Carrick/Anderson in the middle then I just don't see it.

If it were me, I'd rather go with a midfield of Carrick/Anderson/Nani/Ronaldo (with Ribery for depth) and Rooney/Klose/Toni as the strikeforce than any of the options in the previous paragraph. Just something for the people in Tampa to ponder as they evaluate what their expenditures have yielded this summer.

Ribery to join Bayern

Neal, perhaps this is why the "Ribery to Arsenal" rumors dried up:

Franck Ribery will join Bayern Munich on Thursday after having passed a medical, according to Marseille chairman Pape Diouf.

An agreement is expected to be reached on Wednesday and the France international will directly travel from Auxerre, were he will play in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Georgia, to Germany.

"The transaction will be concluded on Wednesday and Ribery will move to Munich in order to pass the medical and to sign his contract on Thursday," Diouf told L'Equipe.

I guess someone has to supply Toni.