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:

Gardner Signs for Sunderland

photo courtesy SAFC.com

Gardner is a Black Cat | Latest Sunderland News | Team & Transfer News | Sunderland AFC | Sunderland

Steve Bruce has completed the signing of Craig Gardner from Birmingham City.

The Solihull-born 24-year-old joins Sunderland on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee, becoming the Black Cats' third signing in just over 24 hours following the acquisitions of Connor Wickham and Ji Dong-Won...

He picked up a Carling Cup winners' medal and scored 10 goals in 37 appearances in all competitions during the campaign just ended, including a spectacular long-range strike against the Black Cats at St Andrew's in April.

Eight of those goals came in the Barclays Premier League, ranking the attack-minded player in the league's top ten midfielders in terms of goals scored.

I think this is a good signing for Sunderland and goes a long way towards replacing Jordan Henderson.  We've been fans of Gardners since he was listed as a defender in the Y! game but playing attacking midfield.  He had a brilliant start to last season, but as with Birmingham City as a whole, he faded as the year went along.

Coupled with some of their other signings, I would have to say that Sunderland is doing a really nice job of building a team of reasonably young players who still have a wealth of Premier League experience. With current players like Turner, Meyler, Campbell, Richardson and Bramble coming back to fitness Sunderland should be solidly mid-table again. Damning with faint praise, I know, but better than flirting with relegation.

I still worry that they're light in central midfield, with Lee Cattermole a liability rather than an asset, and on the left with Malbranque and KRich an ineffective duo and Bardsley a right-sided player. But maybe the aforementioned Myler or Riveros make their mark. Maybe Sessegnon settles into a wing role. Regardless, Bruce has pieces to play with coming into the new season.

"Bishop Magic" Dong-won

The original

ESPN Soccernet - On the Move - Love for Leighton

15.11 South Korea international Ji Dong-won has become Sunderland's second signing in as many days after completing his move from Chunnam Dragons.

I don't know much, if anything, about him but I do know that Sunderland need forwards and I'm going to love the nickname (which I should since I just gave it to him - hopefully no one beat me to the punch).  For those who don't know here's the Wikipedia version and his very own official website. 

How can you not love it?

David De Gea says farewell to Atletico Madrid

David De Gea in tears as new Manchester United keeper says farewell to Atletico Madrid | Mail Online

David De Gea broke down in floods of tears last night as he bade farewell to Atletico Madrid, just hours after his first interview as a Manchester United player.

Uh oh.

The last player I remember having such a hard time leaving his Spanish club was Arsenal's Jose Antonio Reyes. He too was in tears upon leaving Sevilla, where he had played since the age of 15. And despite the occasional flash of brilliance, he never settled into what was very much Thierry Henry's Arsenal team.

Now I'm not saying that De Gea is another Reyes. But what would worry me is that the United keeper job is SO high pressure.  It has chewed up and spit out the likes of Taibi, Carroll, Howard, and seemingly most recently Kuzszcak.  I know that the reviews of De Gea praise his mental strength, and I'm not going to judge based on this moment.

But still, it does give one a little pause.

The New Season Begins Tonight

Former Liverpool frontman set for Fulham debut - Fulham FC - Sport - Fulham Chronicle

Yes, indeed... there is Premier League action! Well, of a sort. Fulham take on "Faroe Islands part-timers" NSI Runavik tonight in a Europa League qualifier. Let's hear it for the Fair Play rules!

This is Martin Jol's first match in charge of Fulham and he'll be missing Carlos Salcido and Clint Dempsey who just played in the Gold Cup final. Otherwise, it seems much the same as they were at the end of last season with Dembele injured and Zamora likely to be on the bench. Lauri Dalla Valle, a youngster signed from Liverpool, could get a start up top in their absence.

So there you go. Team news in June. The wonder of it all!

Arsenal Away Kit

Designed by Ralph Lauren, via Alexander Julian's colour palette?

Exhibit A, tweeted by Mark Lomas:

Here's a pic of Arsenal's new turquoise & blue away kit to mark their 125th anniversary courtesy of @nikefootball http://twitpic.com/5i5oh9less than a minute ago via Twitpic Favorite Retweet ReplyMark Lomas
marklomasESPN

Exhibit B, Polo Ralph Lauren Custom-Fit Dual Big Pony:



Exhibit C, Alexander Julian and the Charlotte Hornets uniform he designed in 1988:

Over-reaction to the US loss and Chicharito

Why Can't the U.S. Build a Soccer Star - WSJ.com

Funny thing about the emergence of Chicharito for Manchester United and Mexico.  Somehow the presence of one exceptional forward has given everyone the impression that the entire US system of player development is broken because, as the above article says, we haven't developed a superstar (which I'm pretty sure is code for dominant goal-scoring forward).  The implication is also that Mexico has it all figured out now that they've developed Hernandez and he is starting for one of the top few clubs in the world at a young age.  Here's the thing, if you look around the world, no one seems to have figured out the secret to regularly producing exceptional goal-scoring talent.  The implication seems to be that there is an assembly line of Chicharito clones ready to invade the football world while the US is turning out players who are barely good enough for MLS.  The evidence just doesn't point to this being the case.

Consider...

Xherdan Shaqiri

Say it with me...

"Xherdan Shaqiri"

Yeah, I don't know how to pronounce it either. But that's an "All-Name Team" winner if I ever heard one! And it seems that he's been noticed in the U21 tournament. Neal posted about him yesterday, and today this shows up in my Twitter feed:

9 - Only Xherdan Shaquiri (10) created more chances from open play at U-21 Euros than Juan Mata who also recorded most assists (2). Spark.less than a minute ago via web Favorite Retweet ReplyOpta Sports
OptaJoe

He's been linked with Liverpool for a while now, and they could use someone like him in the midfield. He's a difference maker, and would play out wide - avoiding the congestion in the center. But the strongest rumours have him going to Hamburg as former Spurs and Chelsea man Frank Arnesen looks to reshape that club.

Giovani Dos Santos Goal

Johnny Two-Saints finishes off Chicharito's hard work and seals the Gold Cup final for Mexico.



The bandwagon is growing. Why shouldn't GDS be Rafael Van Der Vaart's understudy at Spurs? VDV can't finish matches because he's too fragile. Why not have GDS available with fresh legs to come into those matches? He plays the same free role that VDV excels at - albeit with a preference for the right, rather than the left, but it would allow for a substitution that wouldn't disrupt the formation or the style of play.

Random Weekend Thoughts

We take what we can get here at blog headquarters while we wait for either the next big transfer confirmation or the start of the season (or at least that joyous day when we get to start picking our teams for next season). In the meantime, here are some thoughts from a weekend that included the Euro U21 final, the Gold Cup final and a very interesting discussion on Facebook combined with Jeremy taunting (or baiting) me with a link on Twitter.

Levesque Goal Celebration

Last night, Seattle Sounders forward Roger Levesque - who just looks like a crazy person, but in a good way - unveiled a new goal celebration. It was quick, simple and brilliantly funny.



Levesque, in his own words:

"That's something Mike Fucito and I have been working on for awhile now. I didn’t really expect it to knock the wind out of me."

See?  Crazy, but in a good way.

Tenuous EPL connection, if you need one: Kasey Keller and Teemu Tainio played while Thierry Henry missed the match through suspension.

Ashley Young to Manchester United Completed

Manchester United complete Ashley Young signing - ESPN Soccernet

So in a summer where teams seem to be focusing their attention (and money) on redundant players, we give you Ashley Young to Manchester United. 

For those who have been reading the blog for a while, you know we've had a long-standing love affair with him back to his days at Watford when he was a Yahoo! fantasy star for very little money.  We have enjoyed his time at Villa slightly less as his price has risen (along with his ego by all reports).  The question we're faced with is, "Why did United want him?"

It seems to me that AY and Nani are almost identical players.  Both play a hybrid left midfield/striker role.  Both are fairly fleet of foot.  Both serve the ball in well from both the run of play and set pieces.  Both score more than their fair share of goals from decent distance.  Neither is particularly inclined to track back and play defense.  Neither is known to be particularly "coach-able" although both have improved steadily despite this criticism being leveled at them.  Both are still on the upsides of their career - Nani is 24 and Young is 25.

So, why make the move for Young if you already have Nani? Here are a couple of thoughts:

• The Rules - If they're essentially the same player, why not go with the one that helps satisfy the "homegrown" rule.
• Money - They may have an offer on the table for Nani from a newly wealthy team on the continent of the PSG variety that will allow them to make a net profit on buying AY and selling Nani, who again, are essentially the same player.
• Looking Ahead - It may be clear to United that Nani's intention is to leave at some point in the future so rather than get themselves into a CRon/Cesc-type situation, they decided to make the switch for a very similar player who really wants to be at United while Nani still has lots of value and other teams don't have as much leverage.
• The Unknown - Despite his recent success, SAF has never really seemed sold on Nani to the extent of leaving him on the bench until the 70th minute in United's biggest match of the season.  Maybe SAF has decided to cut bait before the news gets out that he doesn't value Nani much and that there's something that has happened quietly behind the scenes that has paved the way for his exit from Old Trafford.
• Depth - Perhaps last season's injury to Antonio Valencia has convinced SAF that he really needs three starting-caliber wide players for two spots and he finally has the money to do something about it after a few years of not having the money to spend.

I'm sure the answer is some combination of the answers above.  My only real question is why United have made a luxury purchase - Young - before they tie up the more important purchases that they need more desperately - goalkeeper, attacking midfielder, holding midfielder.

In any event, the downside for us fantasy players is the potential that Nani, Young, and Valencia all stay and we are forced to figure out who will play from week-to-week.  It would effectively crush the value of two very good premium midfielders.  If Young arrives and Nani leaves then Young's value probably stays about the same.  The real winner in all of this from a fantasy (and probably real life) standpoint is Albrighton who has to be seen as a no-doubt-about it first team choice regardless of what happens with Downing-to-Liverpool.

Jamie O'Hara Signs for Wolves

Hazing the new guy

Note: This was written yesterday, but didn't post for whatever reason.

Sky Sports is reporting that Wolves have finalized their long-expected signing of Jamie O'Hara from Spurs.

Owner-chairman Steve Morgan has revealed Wolves still have other targets in mind this summer after completing their move for Jamie O'Hara.

The Midlanders wrapped up a £5million deal for the midfielder on Tuesday, signing him from Tottenham on a five-year contract.

Reading centre-back Matt Mills, Wolves central defender Roger Johnson and Liverpool left-back Paul Konchesky are also thought to be on manager Mick McCarthy's wishlist.

This is a great move for both club and player. O'Hara finally knows where he will be playing - and that he will be playing regularly. And Wolves get a player that fits their style and their ethos, and who brings real skill to the midfield.  When healthy, Hunt, O'Hara, Henry, Guedioura and Jarvis - assuming Mick sticks with five across midfield - could be a real handful for opposing teams. There's a little speed, a lot of bite, and some talent in that group.

I wonder if this move spells the end of Milijas' time at Wolves. Aside from a good run mid-season, he hasn't even played regularly for McCarthy. I hope he could find a better fit somewhere else in the Premier League, though I suspect he'd find himself somewhere else. Turkey or Germany, perhaps.

Seb Larsson to Sunderland

Photo courtesy USA.Arsenal.com

Sunderland begin rebuilding their midfield.

Swede Larsson leaves Birmingham for Sunderland - Yahoo! Eurosport

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has agreed to sign Swedish international Sebastian Larsson from his old club Birmingham City.

I think this is a good signing. Larsson has always produced when given extended runs in the team and he seems like the type of player that would respond well to Bruce's more player-friendly management style.

My concern would be that he's not a good fit for the current Sunderland side. It's hard to imagine him and Kieran Richardson playing inside-out wingers around Asamoah Gyan. Larsson just doesn't strike me as the type of player who will cut inside and run at players. He won't be replacing Welbeck, and he's a different player from the returning Campbell. He'll stick to his flank and send in beautiful crosses. That's what he does. But for that to be effective he needs someone on the end of those balls. It's no surprise that his best spell with Birmingham came in the Championship with Nicklas Bendtner also shining.

So I would expect the other shoe to drop and Sunderland to be buying the target forward they've been missing since they sold Kenwyne Jones and then Darren Bent. And, because nothing is more fun, let me start the rumour right now -- Sunderland will follow this purchase by buying Nicklas Bendtner from Arsenal.

Why not?

Sunderland sign Keiren Westwood

We've been banging on Liverpool for weeks now for signing players (good players, even) who don't fill a need. Now Sunderland seems to be making the same "mistake".

Sunderland sign goalkeeper Keiren Westwood - Chris Young column - Sunderland Echo

The 26-year-old Republic of Ireland keeper is the Black Cats’ first signing of the summer, having travelled up to Wearside at the start of the week to undergo a routine medical before putting pen to paper on a three-year contract yesterday...

But he will be a Sunderland player next season and likely to start the opening game against Liverpool at Anfield with number one keeper Black Cats keeper Craig Gordon still sidelined by injury and impressive prospect Simon Mignolet deemed to need more experience before pushing his own claims as a number one keeper.

I guess this is less an issue of adding redundancy and more of an admission that the Gordon transfer was a terrible piece of business.  Since he signed with Sunderland for £7 million (rising to 10) Brad Friedel, for example, has made two transfers - £2.5 million to Aston Villa and then free to Spurs.

Meanwhile Gordon has been injured more than he hasn't, Martin Fulop was shipped off to Ipswich, and now Mignolet looks set for what... a loan deal? I don't know how else he'll get the needed experience, but that would again leave Sunderland short of cover.

Anyway, news is news.  Westwood may be an interesting value play in some fantasy games, but in Yahoo! you're sitting on David De Gea all season, right?

McLeish Named Manger of Aston Villa

I'm on vacation, so maybe this is some sort of fever dream brought on by the Texas heat:

Aston Villa appoint McLeish as manager

Aston Villa appointed Alex McLeish as manager less than a week after the Scot triggered a legal dispute by quitting neighbours and arch-rivals Birmingham City by email.

The move to interview McLeish, who was unable to prevent Birmingham being relegated from the Premier League last season, resulted in protests at Villa Park this week by a number of die-hard fans.

This is just a stunning appointment and I'm having a hard time justifying to myself, much less seeing how Lerner can justify it to die-hard Aston Villa fans. Just ask Hodgson what it's like to work when the supporters don't support you. Hell, ask Houllier!

As for what this might mean for Villa next season, I would assume it solidifies their defence. They need a new keeper, but there are decent ones available within the Premier League. When Big Brad left I dismissed a return to Villa for Stoke's Sorensen, but now... anything is possible with the club! I would even expect to see Young, Luke (old Star Wars nickname joke) lining up at full back next season. He seems a prototypical McLeish project.

In midfield, read Nigel Reo-Coker and Petrov for Bowyer and Ferguson with Albrighton and Downing on the wings supporting Darren Bent. The one decision is does that last spot go to a forward or a midfielder. I would think that it goes to Gabby Agbonlahor, but I would ask him to drop off Bent, rather than trying to play alongside him. Otherwise, I wonder if McLeish could try going back to the Aleksander Hleb well one more time.  Injury stalled his Premier League return at Birmingham, but he did come along at the end of the season.  If McLeish wants to work with him again - and he would countenance working with McLeish again - he could be the bit of creativity in the middle of the park that Villa have lacked in recent seasons.

Going through the squad, it seems a no-lose proposition to take over Villa right now. They have talent and youth, even if they are losing the cream of their crop to clubs playing in Europe next season. But appointing the immediate former manager of their fiercest cross-town rivals? That, to me, seems like turning a no-lose situation into a no-win.

What's your take?

Analysis: Ba to NUFC

While Jeremy is our resident NUFC supporter, he is out of pocket this week so I'm going to take over with my thoughts on the transfer of Demba Ba from WHU to St. James' Park.  Taken as a move by itself, there is little to do other than like it a lot.  NUFC is desperate for strikers and Ba was very effective over the second half of last season at Upton Park.  If he can stay healthy, I don't have any trouble seeing him match the goal total of the man he is, in essence, replacing - Andy Carroll. 

What could go wrong with this move? A couple of things:

The Worst Hair This Side of Trump Coming to the Emirates

ESPN Soccernet - On The Move

15.31 We're hearing that Gervinho's move to Arsenal in a £10.5 million deal from Lille is all but a done deal. Confirmation imminent.

With the news that Gervinho is extremely likely to arrive at The Emirates, here are some quick thoughts.

The Player
My expectations range from "good" to "very good" as a player. He will add an element of speed that Arsenal only currently have when Walcott is healthy/playing/in form. He is also likely to be a little more refined than Theo which is nice. I don't think he will be a superstar in the Premier League but he certainly should be a more than solid contributor.

Playing Time
Here's the big question since Arsenal are already pretty well stocked with attackers who like to play in similar spaces. I think we can all agree that Bendtner is gone but he really didn't get much playing time when everyone was healthy so that doesn't open up much for Gervinho. That brings up the possibility that Gervinho is a preemptive move to replace one or more of the players rumored to be leaving. If the rumor mill is to be believed then Nasri is the most likely to need replacing but here's my theory: Gervinho looked to me, in limited viewing, like more of an Arshavin replacement as far as positioning on the field and skills than a Nasri replacement.

If you consider that Wenger essentially replaced Bendtner last season (with Chamakh) then this move could the the continuation of a trend in which he is buying logical replacements a year ahead rather than waiting until a player is gone to replace them. Arshavin and Gervinho could split that spot in the starting line-up this season with Arsh leaving in January or next summer once Wenger is comfortable that Gervinho is settled and up to the task.

Fantasy Value
If my assumption above is correct, this will be a really annoying situation for fantasy managers. Position-sharing is one of the more annoying things that we have to confront as we look to put our teams together. If I'm wrong and Arshavin is sold over the summer paving the way for Gervinho to start regularly then I'll be very excited about him in the Yahoo! format and at least somewhat excited about him in the PremierLeague.com format (where his initial price will inevitably be higher). I will be even more excited if he is listed as a midfielder in one or both formats.

Regardless of the above, I'm happy about this move although there are others that I'll be happier about (see, Samba, Cahill, and Hazard).

A Strange Summer Keeps Getting Stranger

Newcastle's Kevin Nolan having West Ham medical - Telegraph

I can see Nolan wanting to leave NUFC if they didn't match the valuation he expected after a great bounce-back season in the Premier League.  Two things that are shocking here:

First, he can't find a better opportunity than life in the Championship with West Ham next season.  He played well for the Magpies and there are certainly a bunch of Premier League teams who could use his goals if the transfer price is in the reported range (between WHU's initially rejected £1.5M number and today's suggested £4M number).  If he wanted to stay in the Prem it seems to me that he might consider Wolves, Villa, Stoke, Sunderland, or one of the newly promoted clubs as options before dropping down.

Second, the reports from @FFScout that Joey Barton is likely leaving as well.  These reports have been fairly frequent this summer as well but still surprising given that it would mean that NUFC had allowed its best three attacking players to leave over the last 6 or 7 months between Carroll, Barton, and Nolan.  I'm all for the notion of selling assets at the peak of their value but one has to wonder if NUFC can recruit similar options at lower prices heading into next season to ensure that they can score the goals necessary to stay up.  We shall see.

One possible theory on the Nolan leaving point.  His career is winding down regardless of how well he played last season and perhaps old friend Big Sam promised him some sort of runway from playing into management at West Ham (or wherever he is coaching by the time Nolan retires).  No inside knowledge on my part but about the only thing I can think of that would lead a player who could find himself a better option to voluntarily insert himself into the mess that is WHU in the Championship.

Nolan to West Ham

Newcastle captain Kevin Nolan set for West Ham after clubs agree fee

The Newcastle United captain Kevin Nolan is undergoing a medical at West Ham ahead of completing a move to the Championship club.

West Ham targeted Newcastle's top scorer from last season after he rejected a new contract at St James' Park. Newcastle dismissed an initial bid for the 28-year-old as "derisory", but accepted a subsequent offer.

Nolan, who has two years remaining on his Newcastle contract, will be reunited with the former Bolton manager Sam Allardyce at Upton Park if the deal goes through.

I'm not sure why Nolan wants this move. Obviously money is always an issue - perhaps always THE issue. And Nolan knows Big Sam. But does he really want to be the best player in the Championship again? Hasn't he been there, done that?