Sunderland Analysis - Lots of Transfer Activity

I've already gone on record in thinking that NUFC are among the mid-table clubs that have done very well for themselves thus far.  They've gone from highly volatile and a bit long in the tooth to more solid if perhaps a little less potentially spectacular.  West Brom has quietly solidified themselves in the back with some solid acquisitions as well.  That brings us to Sunderland who have stepped up the pace dramatically in the last ten days with three (relatively) high profile signings in Connor Wickham, Seb Larsson, and Craig Gardner to go along with depth in Keiran Westwood and my new favorite Premier League player "Bishop Magic" Dong-won.

So, how to the new signings look? First of all, I really like the Wickham move.  Here's my logic:

Premier League Roundup

Maybe Kuyt should just leave this kind of thing to the experts.

International break always brings with it injuries, real or imagined, that fantasy managers have to take into consideration for the next game week.  Some are big news, others are a bit more obscure.  This time, there is the added fun of the transfer window having just closed so there's also news about new players and their potential to start (and shine) for their new teams.  Here's what I've been tracking over the last few days:

Arsenal's Nasri sidelined with broken leg

Arsenal's Nasri sidelined with broken leg

Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri will miss the start of the Premier League season after breaking his leg in training.

The France international fractured his fibula during the Gunners' pre-season camp in Austria. Club medics expect the 22-year-old to be out for between two and three months.

Rough break (ahem!) for our favorite near-palindromatic Gunner. Last year he never quite lived up to the expectations we all had for him. A French winger coming to Arsenal?!?! It was like fantasy gold! And after his game winner in the opening week against West Brom - our expectations went through the roof! But he was never consistent and drifted out of games for long stretches. He was more Rosicky than Pires. And speaking of which, it's a good thing that the Czech is making a belated return from injury.

Elsewhere, on the south coast...

Crouch rebuffs Sunderland approach - He's likely holding out for Spurs or perhaps Fulham.

Al Fahim gets green light for Portsmouth takeover
Hart handed Portsmouth job
With this out of the way, and the incoming Crouch monies, perhaps we'll see some transfers coming in to Pompey rather than just heading out the door. As it stands they're a frightening thin team but they do have a relatively mild opening week (Fulham and @Birmingham City). With 15 senior players fantasy managers will have a pretty good chance of picking the starters. And you can't say that for too many teams in the league these days.

Odd Moves?

Jeremy and I were IMing earlier today about some of the moves that seem likely to be completed in the next day or two. I'll spare you the transcript - Jeremy likes that gimmick more than I do [I sure do... and here it is] - but here are some thoughts:

1. Fulham striker Zamora joins Hull in £5m deal - Huh? I don't object to Hull picking up Zamora for depth, he's an adequate 3rd or 4th striker for a team with aspirations of being mid-table. On the other hand, paying £5M for him seems, well, insanely high. In my opinion this shows how lazy or unable to scout outside the obvious places - those being other people's leftovers, the Championship, the SPL, and maybe some of the other Continental leagues. Steve Bruce may get some flack for non-Argentine/non-Brazilian South and Central Americans but they're certainly better value for the money if you're willing to do the work to find that talent.


2. Sunderland confirm Crouch talks - I don't really have anything to say about Crouch one way or the other with the exception of the fact that he's definitely not a replacement for Cisse as Kenwyne Jones' partner. I assume this move would imply that KJ is on his way elsewhere - seems like a little bit of a downgrade to me but only marginally. Seems like the Black Cats would be better served letting Crouchy head to Fulham and focusing on that Darren Bent rumor.


3. Villa try to clinch Downing deal
   Villa working on Downing capture - I actually like this one a lot more than Jeremy does. One of Villa's biggest problems last season was that the squad was too small. They now have Ashley Young, James Milner, Gabby Agbonlahor, and Downing to rotate between two wing spots and one "small" striker to partner Heskey/Carew. If Petrov fills in Barry's spot as a holding midfielder which he was doing reasonably well when asked last season then they're in pretty good shape outside of the defence. Maybe a little expensive for someone who might not be a first choice starter every week but still a good deal if they can afford it.

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As threatened, here's the 'blog roundtable' we had over instant message today.

[08:49] JSpitzberg: EJ doing well for FUL in their pre-season
[08:49] JSpitzberg: set up 2 for nevland yesterday
[08:49] Neal J Thurman: wow
[08:49] Neal J Thurman: could be a nice thing for him if he can get some PT
[08:50] JSpitzberg: welcome back
[08:51] JSpitzberg: odd xfer rumours...
[08:51] JSpitzberg: zamora to hull for 5mil
[08:52] JSpitzberg: not odd, but surely overpriced
[08:52] JSpitzberg: crouch to sunderland? thought he was going to ful to replace zamora
[08:52] JSpitzberg: and downing to villa...
[08:52] JSpitzberg: who have the left wing covered, thank you very much
[09:12] Neal J Thurman: the only one that makes much sense to me is Downing - Villa's big problem is squad depth so having a mix and match of Downing, Gabby, BFAY, and Milner (plus maybe Bentley?) for two wings and the "small" striker seems reasonable
[09:13] Neal J Thurman: assuming that Kenwyne heads somewhere (maybe FUL?) if Crouchy goes to SUN
[09:13] Neal J Thurman: Zamora is too expensive at that price

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[12:33] Neal J Thurman: Any chance that Downing to Villa signals that BFAY will be moving along?
[12:35] JSpitzberg: that was my first thought
[12:35] JSpitzberg: but i just don't see that
[12:35] JSpitzberg: who knows
[12:35] JSpitzberg: downing also played through the middle a little
[12:35] JSpitzberg: off a striker
[12:35] JSpitzberg: so maybe they can convert him like barry to a left-sided, central player
[12:36] Neal J Thurman: would fit his pace (err, lack of) a little better
[12:36] JSpitzberg: and if petrov has really found a role holding in mid...
[12:36] JSpitzberg: could work
[12:37] JSpitzberg: but who takes kicks? ;-)
[12:37] JSpitzberg: sure hope it's BFAY
[12:37] JSpitzberg: downing hasn't met a cross he couldn't over- or under- hit
[12:37] Neal J Thurman: lol - excellent question with the worst possible likely answer is that they get split up between Downing/BFAY/Milner/Petrov
[12:38] Neal J Thurman: but agreed on Downing not being an upgrade in that regard
[12:40] JSpitzberg: they also played downing on the right at times
[12:40] JSpitzberg: so he can cover milner
[12:40] JSpitzberg: but not sure i agree with that
[12:40] Neal J Thurman: would work in a pinch
[12:40] JSpitzberg: not sure you can look at anything boro did last season and say "hey, we should really try that"
[12:41] Neal J Thurman: they definitely need some additional cover
[12:41] JSpitzberg: 12million worth of cover
[12:41] JSpitzberg: and someone who needs to play to have a shot at 2010
[12:41] Neal J Thurman: seems to be the price of admission for a decent player these days - see Zamora for 5M
[12:41] JSpitzberg: ugh... that's unconscionable
[12:41] Neal J Thurman: it really is
[12:42] JSpitzberg: and fulham bought him for the same price
[12:42] Neal J Thurman: but in fairness, Hull paid much more than that for someone who only has one leg last January
[12:42] JSpitzberg: 4 goals later and they don't lose money on the deal?
[12:42] JSpitzberg: hull are getting desperate, me thinks
[12:42] Neal J Thurman: agreed
[12:42] JSpitzberg: we'll hear about zamora's work rate and how he helps the team
[12:43] Neal J Thurman: OR Zamora recaptures that WHU form of two seasons ago and Jummy is healthy and they're a much better team
[12:43] JSpitzberg: but i don't remember AJ or duece terrorizing anyone off zamora's work rate either
[12:43] Neal J Thurman: but probably the former
[12:43] JSpitzberg: did that form last more than a month?
[12:43] JSpitzberg: anomaly
[12:44] Neal J Thurman: probably
[13:03] JSpitzberg: melo to juve
[13:03] JSpitzberg: back to the drawing board
[13:43] Neal J Thurman: yup :-(
[13:44] Neal J Thurman: although I had a hard time getting TOO excited about him after Brazil gave up two early goals to the US :-)
[13:44] JSpitzberg: maybe they can get lucio instead
[13:44] JSpitzberg: LUCIO SMASH!
[13:44] Neal J Thurman: :-)
[14:11] Neal J Thurman: I still want them to go after Marco Senna
[14:16] JSpitzberg: old and injured
[14:16] JSpitzberg: jeremy toulalan!
[14:16] JSpitzberg: or if you want an injured player, how about poaching mammadou (sp?) diarra from real madrid?

Photo of the Week

photo courtesy of AFP

Chelsea's Brazilian player Alex(R) challenges Portsmouth's Peter Crouch during the Premiership football match at Fratton Park in Portsmouth. Chelsea won 1-0.