The FC 100: Loves Talking Football.

• Tottenham 1 (Bale) Arsenal 3 (Adebayor x2, Fabregas)
• Chelsea 0 Blackburn Rovers 0
• Birmingham 1 (Kapo) Bolton 0
• Wigan 1 (Koumas, pen) Fulham 1 (Dempsey)
• Portsmouth 0 Liverpool 0
• Everton 0 Manchester Utd 1 (Vidic)
• West Ham 3 (Bowyer, Young o.g., Ashton)  Middlesbrough 0
• Sunderland 2 (Jones, Wallace) Reading 1 (Kitson)
• Playing Sunday, 18th: Man City Vs Aston Villa
• Playing Monday, 19th: Derby Vs Newcastle

So, new leaders (Arsenal), same old problems (Spurs) and winning games like potential champions (Man Utd). Throw in a poor performance from Liverpool, the goal that got away for Chelsea, Sunderland doing it for the old boy, West Ham playing like Brazil, Fulham and Wigan getting a draw as predicted by anyone who’s ever watched football and Birmingham taking another valuable three points, and it looks like the Premiership is back.

Unfortunately, Saturday kicked off with three entertaining games being played at overlapping times. Utd’s trip to Everton is rarely easy, sometimes comical (last season’s 4-2 win) and occasionally dull as a politician’s wife (see yesterday’s game). Utd toiled, Everton toiled and 0-0 looked about right until the game’s outstanding performer Nemanja Vidic powered what is fact becoming a signature bullet header into Everton’s rarely tested net. While the goal was seemingly harsh on Everton, Vidic has established himself as an absolutely vital part of Utd’s team. Everton may wish they had shown greater attacking threat and they could have been the happier of the teams, however Ferdinand and Vidic were in no mood to be bullied by Yakubu and Johnson.

Liverpool were desperately dissapointing in their stalemate at Fratton Park. Portsmouth occasionally played some outstanding football, creating excellent chances and having a penalty saved, Jose Reina diving to his right to keep out what Harry Redknapp later described as Kanu’s “crap” penalty. While the decision to award the spot-kick caused controversy, thefc100 stands by the decision. Arbeloa clearly uses his grip on Kanu to gain an advantage in getting to the cross, the fact that Kanu barely thought it was a penalty shows how far wrestling in the box goes unpunished these days. Liverpool didn’t conjure up enough, James had a quiet day in goal for the home side, and the midfield of Benayoun, Alonso, Sissoko and Pennant never sparkled.

Arsenal racked up another impressive win to keep confounding the critics, this time winning at Spurs, who continue to struggle against the top 4 sides. Spurs took the lead through Gareth Bale’s free-kick that will have had Lehman giggling at his deputy’s attempt to keep it out. Does Lehman giggle though? Or even laugh? Probably not. Probably goes hunting to express his amusement. Local sheep beware. Spurs had several excellent chances against a makeshift Arsenal back four. Berbatov’s one-on-one the pick of the bunch, rounding Almunia before attempting to round Kolo Toure. One too many attempts to round methinks. The kind of situation, according to RTE pundit Graeme Souness, that will have Martin Jol “tearing his hair out”. Really Graeme. Which hair is that then?     

Goals from Adebayor (why Robinson went charging out to swipe at thin air we’ll never know), Fabregas (why Robinson went for it with his left paw we’ll never know) and an absolute beauty for Adebayor’s second (why Robinson bothered diving we’ll never know) ensured Arsenal fans went home absolutely delirious. Top of the league. Oh and Spurs are kicking their heels down by the relegation area.

Elsewhere, West Ham put on a great show for their fans. Lee Bowyer got to perform his ‘i’m the world’s biggest scumbag’ celebration for the second time in three weeks. Nice. Dean Ashton in silly blonde hair and shiny red boots prodded in the third. His first goal in nearly a year and a half. And it showed; celebration was a bit rusty. Birmingham beat Bolton 1-0 to leave the Trotters in the relegation area and looking in big trouble. Failure to pick up points is one thing, but against potential relegation rivals…..uh-oh. The only team Bolton have beaten this year is Reading who lost again, this time to Resevoir Dog wannabe Roy Keane’s Sunderland. Kenwyne Jones apparantly played a blinder on his debut. Gotta wonder how impressed Keane is by the man’s ‘cirque du soleil’ impression for a celebration. Man wasn’t built to do ridiculous flips through the air. Just ask Lua-Lua. So Sunderland are back on track. Fulham are not. Kinda. Despite dominating for periods against Wigan, a ridiculous challenge by Bouazza on Melchiot (ooh if I just knee him from behind chances are there won’t be a goalscoring opportunity. What? Penalty? Ah so that’s the downside…..) meant Wigan continue their decent start to the season.

European Previews will be up shortly. Peace.

Chelsea’s talks with Sevilla are ongoing after the Spanish club rejected a reported offer of around £24 million from the Londoners for versatile right-back Daniel Alves. Alves, who has attracted the biggest names in European football over the last two seasons, is known to favour a move to the Premiership and to Chelsea above Real Madrid whose interest may be waning due to their recent signings and the proposed signing of Chelsea’s Arjen Robben. Alves would make a hugely impressive signing for Chelsea, a player with the flair that they are so often accused of lacking, the Brazilian is hugely effective going forward and would probably be given more of a free licence to roam forward under Mourinho who favours attacking wing-backs alongside an impenetrable centre-back pairing. However, given that Roman Abramovich has been tightening the purse strings recently, Chelsea may struggle to justify spending closer to £30 million on the player after splashing out on Florent Malouda recently and with the squad still containing high-profile, expensive flops such as Shaun Wright-Philips and Mr. Shevchenko*, Abramovich may be waiting to see some cash from the sale of Robben before he gives the green light for Alves’ signing.  

* Thefc100 still believes Shevchenko may come good this season, while SWP has been showing some good form so far already. We don’t mean to be unnecessarily harsh. All the time.

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Mido has completed his move from Tottenham to Middlesbrough for a fee of around £6 million. The forward has secured a move away from White Hart Lane after having talks with Birmingham and Sunderland but deciding the team with two defeats in two games best visualises his dreams for future footballing success. Or maybe it’s because they’ve agreed to pay him the most money and have probably included a buy-out fee.

The Egyptian was a hit at White Hart Lane after arriving on an initial 18 month loan stint from Roma and formed an impressive partnership with either Keane or Defoe in most Premiership games. Boro become Mido’s eigth professional club and with the volatile Egyptian having fallen out with numerous coaches over the years, Gareth Southgate’s first job will be trying to fit the striker in with Boro’s squad. Whether or not he has the Midos touch remains to be seen……(apologies.)

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Could be worse though. Friends Reunited. Lovers, Colleagues, All-Round Nice Guys (felt the need for a lot of Capital Letters there) Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer are back together and Alan Curbishley may well be absolutely insane. Bellamy, Dyer, Bowyer, Lucas Neill, Anton Ferdinand, Luis Boa Morte…..it’s like some sick experiment to see how many hot-heads you can put in one squad without a significant case of death occurring. This signing surely cements West Ham’s status as relegation contenders. The fact is, Kieron Dyer could be a hell of a player. In fact this site would love to see him get back to his best. But putting him in with players who are known trouble-makers could be a serious mistake. Curbishley was in the press yesterday biting back at ex-left back Paul Konchesky’s comments that he doesn’t hold the support of the playing staff and that he was the reason Tevez left and Darren Bent decided not to sign for the Hammers. This move further undermines his status at the club: something of a headless chicken, Curbishley seems to be signing as many good players as possible without forming them into a better team. The fact that Dyer has had years of injury problems will also worry the Hammers fans, as Neill, Upson, Ashton, Green and even new signing Freddie Ljungberg have all had serious histories of injury problems, Dyer is simply another name on the list. However, if (and we stress the word IF) Curbishley can get Dyer back to his best, the signing could prove vital. The final fee is reportedly around £8 million, a further sign of weakness from West Ham as Newcastle have basically taken another £2 million after agreeing to sell him for £6 million, only to remember West Ham are now loaded and seemingly willing to pay whatever it takes to capture their transfer targets.

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Roy can’t believe “chops” nicked it in extra-time. 

As the dust settles on the opening weekend of the new Premiership season we are left with many things to consider. Have Manchester United already fallen behind in their title bid? Do the new boys stand a realistic chance of staying up? And has Jens Lehman eclipsed Massimo Taibi in the most ridiculous blunders contest?

Sunderland kicked off the new season in style with a 1-0 win over Spurs at the Stadium of Light. Granted it was fortuitous but some solid work and a never say die attitude got them into the position to win the game. One could say that Spurs threw it away with a complete loss of concentration in the last five or ten minutes but the truth is that they were mis-firing all day. Berbatov looked liked he wanted to be somewhere else and did something we never saw last season and got involved in the moaning matches between other players. Twice he could be seen turning around to his own team-mates with a face like Quentin Fortune giving out about the lack of accuracy with their passing. Keane was the only one that looked relatively dangerous, and Malbranque. Spurs thought they were supposed to win and started slowly. They never really hit any sort of level while Sunderland were industrious. Sunderland will be caught out this season though. They have very few attacking options and if Stokes doesn’t improve he may well find himself at another club. Dwight Yorke was found out in the middle and even though Etuthu looked good and knocked down everything that came near him a passing game and intuitive awareness he has not. The big plus from the game was the centre back pairing of Nosworthy and McShane. McShane was immense. Nothing got past him and he made some very clever interceptions. Without McShane on Saturday, Sunderland would have lost. No question.

The pick of 3 o’ clock kick offs was Big Sam back to face Little Sam. Newcastle V Bolton. The war of words that has erupted since Allardyce moved to Newcastle is is as unsavoury as old men shouting dirty words at each other in a supermarket. Allardyce has been the more reserved of the warring parties and decided to do his talking on the pitch and, as it turns out, he made a very good point. Newcastle raced into a dominant lead having scored 3 without reply inside a half an hour. N’Zogbia with a free kick that fooled everyone, Martins with a delightful overhead kick and he duly added another shortly after. Bolton managed a tame response with a consolation from Anelka. Newcastle played well but were by no means impressive. Bolton succumbed to Allardyce’s 4-4-3 far too easily and the goals flew in. It’s inexplicable really but as Kevin Nolan said himself, smiling: “They just played like us last year”. They did Kevin, and that’s why they won. Despite his often unatractive style, Allardyce knows how to win football matches and that could be a telling factor for a decent enough squad who never had a proper manager. Bolton on the other hand were toothless without the unhappy Diouf who was puzzled by the decision to leave him on the bench. When he appeared second half, Bolton automatically reverted back to Allardyce tactics and they had much more about them. Interesting… Derby were up against Portsmouth in their opener and everybody’s favourite for the drop got off to a flier with captain, Matt Oakley slapping one home to get the fans excited. Pompey were level after twenty odd minutes through Benjani and looked solid. They increased the pressure and were starting to show some real class but a determined Derby held them off until the last ten minutes when new boy Utaka fired home but Derby would not be stopped. Another new boy, Andy Todd, headed Derby to parity a minute later and Derby earned their point. Billy Davies got his tactics dead on and managed to keep Pompey quiet for most of the match. They were never going to be able to keep them scoreless and sit on their goal for the entire game but they had the will to get one back after going behind. Harry will be happy enough with his sides performance also as they looked very good at times. He should be confident before Manchester United arrive on Wednesday to the place they lost last year.

Everton and Wigan was a poor game. Any team with Titus Bramble, Jason Koumas and Kevin Kilbane must be as horrible as they sound. Everton weren’t firing on all cylinders bar Mikel Arteta who was imperious but they didn’t need to be to see off a Wigan side destined for the drop. Nothing doing up front, not much going on in midfield and a defence that doesn’t look like it could cope with a cold means that you just add a sprinkle of managerial astuteness from Hutchings and Wigan are well and truly f***ed. Two goals from young striker, Victor Anichebe and not so young, Leon Osman meant Everton were comfortable throughout and even though Wigan got one back through substitute Sibierski, the result was never in doubt. Everton will need to tighten up to push on from last season while Wigan might aswell call it a day now because it’s all over for them. Middlesbrough entertained Blackburn at the Riverside and it turned out to be an entertaining affair. Benni McCarthy got knocked out, Santa-Cruz came off the bench and looked like a messiah getting an equaliser after Downing’s free kick found a Pedersen-shaped gap in the wall, and Derbyshire came off the bench to get a saucy winner! Blackburn looked good but surprisingly, so did Middlesbrough. Inventive in attack and with Downing looking in good form Middlesbrough took to the new season like sven to Man city. Blackburn were caught out by their opponents bright start but soon got to grips and their class told in the end. (Didn’t think we would ever saying that about Blackburn). Santa-Cruz looks like a bargain and is sure to be getting on the scoresheet more often. Exciting times if you’re part of the Ewood Park faithful!

Speaking of all things Sven, his Manchester City (allbeit revamped and better than ever) went to Upton Park to have a look at West Ham. Slick passing, creative flair and threatening attacks were all features of City’s game. It was unbelievable. Sven is proving his critics wrong and showing that he is a decent manager after all and just because the Sun say something, doesn’t make it true, in fact it’s usuall complete b***ocks. Elano, whom we tipped to be their best signing, showed why he cost £8 million even though not many people had heard of him. The creative hub of an accomplished City side, he ran the show in midfield and waltzed past the West Ham players to literally hand Bianchi the ball for the opening goal. West Ham, for their part, were not at the races at all and were left behind very quickly. Onuha (best guess spelling) was impressive at the back for City and powered his way up the touch-line and into the box to setup Geovanni for City’s second goal. Even though he has every reason to despise the English media, Sven was polite and dignified in the pre and post match press conferences. What a gentleman. City are now a team to watch like one might watch any of the top four. Seriously. Aston Villa played host to Liverpool in the late kick-off and were under the cosh from the get go. Liverpool were full of pace, aggression and ideas as they played good stuff all over the park. The inevitable came after 31 minutes as pressure forced Laursen into putting the ball past his own ‘keeper. After getting the goal, however, Liverpool took the foot off slightly and allowed Villa slowly back in. The second half proved alien to the first as Villa came out hungry and attacking. They made use of Carew’s height and after a while Carragher et al. stopped challenging for arial balls with the big man. Constant pressure down the wings eventually reaped reward as Carew’s flicked header came up on to Carragher’s arm. It seemed almost impossible for him to get his hand out of the way but the referee was all out of sympathy and Carragher didn’t even complain and up stepped Barry to draw the two sides level. With five minutes left a draw would have been the fairest of results on the balance of the whole game but Gerrard managed to con the referee into giving him a free-kick in prime Gerrard position and scored an absoloutely wonderful goal high in the top-right hand corner of the net. A cruel and bitter blow for Villa but good news for Liverpool who start their campaign with a win.

Sunday saw the top two from last year and Arsenal in action. Arsenal had Fulham round theirs and immediately fell prey to the precocious talent of David Healy. He has been waiting a long time to shine in the Premiership and now he has arrived and it was marked in style as he got on the scoresheet inside one minute. A ridiculous blunder by Lehmann see here: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFChawnpIAM) What was he thinking? Arsenal dominated long stretches of the game and their passing was a joy to watch but again they were lacking an experienced head to orchestrate a goal. All their possesion wasn’t getting them anywhere and Fulham were enjoying some good spells of their own. They might not be fancied by many to stay up but they looked good yesterday. Fulham were six minutes away from a famous victory when Arsenal, whose players had been diving all day long, were awarded a penalty. Sanchez was furious after the game as he though the referee was too leniant on the persistent simulation and he was right. The recent meeting between the managers and Hackett the head of the referee people added simulation or diving to the new list of offences which would be punished this season but Phil Dowd obviously didn’t get the memo because although he turned down 3 penalty shouts because they were clearly dives he didn’t do anything about the players. On the 4th attempt the spotter was given and Van Persie put away a nice one high into the roof of the net. All Fulham’s hard work was undone. Heads clearly dropped and what had seemed like 3 points turned into 1 suddenly dissolved into 0 as Hleb got into the box in the 90th minute and managed to squeeze one past the ‘keeper. Daylight robbery at the Emirates. Arsenal will do well this season but they will be there for the taking by the big sides. Fulham were a broken team at the final whistle and Arsenal were doing their best to revive the hatred they aroused when Keown, Winterburn et al. were still there.

Next was Chelsea against newly promoted Birmingham. Chelsea were looking to protect their foreboding home record and didn’t expect much trouble against lowly Birmingham. Steve Bruce’s side opened the scoring on 15 minutes through Forsell. A stunned Stamford Bridge was brought back to life with a debut goal 2 minutes later from Pizzaro. Malouda added to that but another debut goal, this time from Birmingham’s Kapo, brought the sides level. The deadlock was broken in the second half when Essien, on 50 minutes produced a terrific shot from outside the box and it managed to squeeze in despite the attention of Colin Doyle. Birmingham were lively during the game and went to the Bridge to play football and not to shut up shop. Understandably they were outclassed by, to be honest, a magnificent looking Chelsea but at least they gave it a shot and without Terry at the back Chelsea were always vulnerable. Once Essien scored the game quitened down a bit and Chelsea played keep ball. Surprisingly enough, O’ Connor didn’t feature for Birmingham even though this game would have suited the fiesty Scot. A big target man up front rustling a few feathers would have not sat well with Chelsea and could have afforded Birmingham some more chances. Unfortunately for Colin Doyle, who was heralded toward the back end of last season,  he was simply to blame for two of Chelseas’ goals and even though they were likely to score anyway gifting them two was not ideal. 

Last up yesterday was the visit of Steve Copell’s Reading to Old Trafford to face Manchester United. A frustrating day for United saw them draw with Reading. The game started in a positive manner but once United hit a rythm Reading found themselves doing a Faroe Islands on it. They stuck 9 men behind the ball and left Hunt up front to chase the long ball. Copell knows his tactics and Reading did not go there for the win. Michael Duberry did a fantastic job snuffing out Wayne Rooney and Shorey set to work on Giggs and Ronaldo. Even though man-marked, Rooney was the most promising on the field and was a constant threat to Reading. Ronaldo had some flashes but didn’t see enough of the ball and Giggs hit the post with a nice volley. Duberry got too close to Rooney in the end and stood on his foot accidentally, causing a hairline fracture. Rooney didn’t come out after the break and that was it really. The focus was gone and United huffed and puffed but couldn’t get it in the net. O’ Shea came on and was asked to play up front with Giggs. He got one save out of an inspired Hahnemann but didn’t recieve enough service. Duberry was far and away Reading’s best player, snuffing out everything that came into the box (including Rooney apparently) while Hunt was full of running and gettingup people’s noses. Kitson came on to do a hatchet job and recieved his marching orders 31 seconds later for a high and dangerous tackle on Evra. It was a small bit surprising to see the red and most other referees would probably have given a yellow. It was a dangerous challenge however and he had to get something. Reading were never in any danger of scoring and Doyle was surprisingly subdued. Tevez looks set to step into the breach for Wednesday’s game against Portsmouth with Saha and Solskjaer still recovering from injury.  

Dunno who this bloke is but he won the league so he must be handy. 

Even though we all like to think, somewhere deep in our hearts, that there is a true element of competition in the Premiership the top three are pretty much cemented at this non-stage of the season. While it would be superb to see an English version of what happened in La Liga this year with four teams going right down to the wire and two teams able to win it on the last day, it will more than likely be Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool in some variation at the top with one team in particular crowned Champions in early April. So, what is left to predict? Many people would include Arsenal in a guaranteed top four but to be fair, the North London outfit have been shaky over the past few seasons and while they will definitely be there or there abouts come may next year, it is by no means a certainty. Now the rest of the teams in the premiership talk of a league excluding the so called Big 4. Fifth is usually top of that league but it appears that Arsenal have slipped into the “second tier” and are involved in this fight for fourth. So who are the contenders?

Arsenal

Seem obvious contenders considering their status as one of the best footballing sides in Europe. They’re pre-season went well and if they play the way they did for their first ten minutes against PSG then they will win everything going. They lost their way though and the lack of an experienced head was telling. If they hit a rough spot along the way it is hard to pick out the players who will drag them out of it. Wenger obviously has faith in his squad and everyone could be eating their words this season but their lack of activity in the transfer market, player exits and the unsettled nature of the boardroom could see the Gunners turn into the Liverpool of a few years back. Will Arsenal fans be talking about the glory days of old for the next few years?

Tottenham Hotspurs

Spurs are next in line for the throne. They have been pushing their North London rivals for some time now and over the past two seasons have been looking more and more capable of ousting the Gunners. Martin Jol is certainly not shy when it comes to spending money and this summer he has brought in a number of both promising and proven players. Gareth Bale, who was arguably one of the best players in the Championship last season, is likely to solve Spurs left-back problem while Bent will provide even more competition up front for Berbatov, Keane and Defoe. Three more signings including French U21 defender Younes Kaboul, the finalising of Adel Taarabt’s loan deal from Lens and Kevin-Prince Boateng from Hertha Berlin make the full package an attacking midfielder, a defensive midfielder, a left-back, a centre-half and a striker. What more could you ask for? If they get the right breaks at the beginning, expect Spurs to be pushing the top three hard this season.

Newcastle United

New man, new fortunes? Big Sam seemed to breathe new life into the sleeping giant that is Newcastle United when he was appointed a few months back and already he has attracted the type of players which the club deserve but previous managers couldn’t quite capture. As well as bringing his scientific outlook from Bolton, Allardyce has imparted his personality on the board, demanding transfer activity and one can only wonder why Newcastle didn’t hire him two or three years ago. Having brought Bolton from nothing to a decent premiership side with top six aspirations the possibilities at Newcastle are far wider. A bigger club in all aspects means that Sam will be desperate to be considered a top manger and make newcastle a top club again. An already decent squad has been supplemented by new faces and much needed defenders. Geremi, Cacappa the Lyon captain, Rozhenal from PSG and Enrique, a left-back from Villareal have all arrived to bolster the back four. Add this to the arrival of Joey Barton, Alan Smith, Mark viduka and the presence of Obafemi Martins and Michael Owen and never ever forgetting Shay Given and Newcastle have a strong team which could easily compete in Europe. They lack slightly in midfield  but if Duffer is back and Emre continues his fine run of form from Pre-Season into the new campaign then they shouldn’t have to worry too much about it. Newcastle could prove to be more than a match for anyone in the premiership this season.

Everton

After a great season three years ago when they qualified for the Champions league, Everton have been struggling slightly. A good solid campaign last season has lifted spirits in the blue half of Liverpool and Moyes is hoping to improve again but it is difficult to see it happening considering their transfer activity. Granted, Moyes did well in getting Baines but his other signings leave a lot to be desired. Jagielka from Sheffield United and Steven Pienaar on loan from Dortmund. Both could turn out to be very astute buys but Moyes isn’t really inspiring confidence among the Everton faithful. A new striker should be on the cards for the toffees with Johnson, and youngsters Vaughn and Anichebe the only strikers at the club. Everton have been accredited with an interest in Middlesbrough’s Yakubu but things have been going so slowly it appears unlikely to go through. One of the main things Everton have going for them is Moyes himself. A great manager who knows how to motivate and get results from a team, Moyes has had Everton punching above their weight for quite some time now and this season should be no different. Expect some good results against supposed better teams but slip-ups against sides they should be beating.

Portsmouth

Pompey have been steadily improving under Harry Redknapp’s guidance and the chairman’s money. They had a great spell last year where they were tipped for Europe before inconsistency let them down. A couple of great signings last year in Sol Campbell and Lauren have set up Portsmouth’s back line and this has been added to this summer by Distin from Manchester City, Crainie from South coast rivals Southampton and Charlton’s Hreidarsson. Muntari in midfield and the exciting prospect of Nugent and former Rennes hitman, Utaka, up front means that Portsmouth can only be stronger for their experiences last season and build on that with new blood from the summer window. Inconsistency could prove the downfall once more for Redknapps men but if they can create a never-say-die attitude in the dressing room who knows what they could achieve.

Blackburn Rovers

Mark Hughes has been turning Blackburn slowly into a good solid team which doesn’t lose easily and knows hoe to keep a lead. After getting a reputation for being a bit heavy in the tackle, Blackburn were suffering from having a lot of heart but not very much in the way of class. Pedersen’s form over the past few seasons has been outstanding and all credit to Hughes for keeping him at the club. An inspirational signing last summer in Benni McCarthy gave Rovers an attacking outlet to rival Didier Drogba at Chelsea and the emergence of Matt Derbyshire has given Blackburn great attacking options and after this summer’s activities, Hughes has an embarrassment of riches up front. Rigters, who finished top scorer at this summer’s U21 European Championships and Roque Santa Cruz who scored a hat-trick this summer against Colombia in the Copa America, have been thrown in the mix with Nonda, Roberts, McCarthy and Derbyshire. Bentley is continuing to impress on the right and with Reid and Savage both coming back from injuries which took away most of last season from them, Blackburn look to be in a promising position. Another one for the motivation, Hughes does not like to lose and Ewood Park may be one of those places teams don’t like to play at this season. The capture of Santa Cruz signals intent from Hughes and this season they will be pushing hard for Europe again.

Manchester City

6 months ago I would have whispered this so nobody would hear me and think I was mad. Having spent over £40 Million on new players, however, City could be a revitalised outfit this season. It always takes time for new players and especially foreign players to gel at a club and make themselves comfortable but if this can happen sooner rather than later then City fans could be in for a treat. To be perfectly honest thefc100 isn’t too familiar with some of his signings but the captures of Elano and Martin Petrov are gems. Whether they will suit City is another thing but Elano is a player who did well in an unorthadox Brazil side at the Copa America this summer and will add some creativity to the team and Petrov is a player who was in huge demand around Europe after an impressive season at Atletico Madrid before Sven whispered in his ear. Sven has the capabilities to succeed at City and he has the ability to attract big players. A good season and a top-six finish this year and I shudder to think who they will be linked with next year! The English and other players who were there before Sven arrived mustn’t know what to do with themselves. If thefc100 spoke a bit of Italian we could probably have been signed for City! The money which has changed hands at eastlands means that instant results will be expected by Shinawatra. It is difficult to see them doing it this year but they will certainly be exciting. 

There is also Bolton, Villa, West Ham if they play their cards right and reading. Can’t really see any of those sides breaking the dominance of the other challengers though. Bolton will miss Allardyce’s influence. Villa haven’t brought in enough players and Reading may well “pull a Wigan” and be fighting relegation this season.

Ok, hand on heart this is how we think it will go down:

4. Tottenham

5. Arsenal

6. Newcastle

7. Blackburn

8. Portsmouth 

9. Manchester City

10. Everton

Gerrard after a previous sending off against Everton, was lucky to only get a yellow against Feyenoord. 

Oh the excitement! West Ham and Newcastle have fallen foul of eachother in a mysterious, behind the scenes ‘bust-up’. Steven Gerrard rattles Feyenoord’s Lucius in a manner befitting an inner-city nightclub and United and Chelsea deliver a Community Shield match low on football but high on entertainment with spotters and Wayne Rooney and Tal Haim rekindling old rivalries. We also have Baines to Everton, Jose Enrique Sanchez Diaz (from now on to be known as Ted) to Big Sam’s Newcastle and In demand ‘Keeper, Craig Gordon, to make a choice of Premiership clubs. 

Firstly to this puzzler concerning a curious love triangle involving Keiron Dyer, Newcsatle United and West Ham United. Firstly Dyer announces that, for family reasons, he has become unsettled in the North and would welcome a move South to the London area. Cue interest from West Ham (whom we firmly believe would sign anything that moves this summer). All seemed rosy between the two camps after the Hammers had met the Geordies asking price believed to be around £6 million  mark. Then, disaster struck. Late yesterday evening West Ham manager, Alan Curbishley announced that the deal had fallen through after Newcastle had “blocked” the move at the 11th hour. It was reported that Newcastle had asked for more money and this was confirmed by Allardyce earlier today when he said that they readjusted their valuation of the player and if West Ham didn’t adjust theirs no deal would happen. To add a sprinkle of mystery to the whole affair, big Sam also said :

“If Curbs started it, then we are more upset than they are, that is a fact. Why? That is confidential. He is not as upset as we are about West Ham.” 

Oohhhhh… So know it looks as if Kieron, the perrenial pessimist, must struggle through with his contract at St. Jame’s Park and his outlandish salary and try to wear a brave face as he shoulders his burden. Nobody knows his pain! Surely it would have been way better at West Ham… The truth is, £6 nillion for Dyer is just about right at the moment but Newcastle can be justified in their actions. Considering the inflated price of English players at the moment (see Reo-Coker £8.5 million and Bent £stupid million) and the fact that either Curbishley or West Ham obviously offended Big Sam’s sensibilities then upping the price is something Newcastle were well within their rights to do. They are no longer a club which can be played around with and at the end of the day, Dyer has a contract there and if the deal isn’t good for the club then he shouldn’t expect to be allowed leave.

Liverpool V Feyenoord in the Rotterdam tournament produced a bit of a heated affair as the game finished in a 1-1 draw. Two fine goals, scored by the two protagonists in the melee which followed, were overshadowed towards the end of the game as match as Drenthe caught Gerrard late with a rather hairy challenge. The Red’s skipper was less than impressed and as a fracas ensued he seemed to come across and catch Lucius in the face with a punch. He was cautioned by the referee and taken off immediately by Benitez. Gerrard was extremely lucky not to see red for his actions and many United fans must feel aggrieved following an incident in a pre-season friendly last season where Scholes and Rooney both saw red cards against Porto and received 3 match bans at the beginning of the competitive season. In comparrison to those incidents, this looked much worse and, while nobody likes to see cards dished out during friendlies, you have to question why there was a referee there at all if he was going to let something as blatant as that go. Gerrard is a lucky boy and Liverpool are lucky to have him for Saturday’s opener against Aston Villa. Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiHu3UbPkVg

Yesterday also saw the return to battle in competitive action as United took on Chelsea in the FA Community Shield. What was a rather dull affair was sparked into life by veteran and Captain for the day, Ryan Giggs, with a well taken goal on 35 mins. The following ten minutes were lively and culminated with Chelsea new boy, Malouda finishing after a great run down the left. He definitely looks a player who will be shaking things up this season. The second half was a return to the norm and was as quiet as a priest on a Wednesday and the crowd prayed for spotters. They were duly appeased and Alex Ferguson must have felt like calling it a day there and then considering United’s record in penalty shoot-outs. But lo and behold, Van der Sar proved to be the hero as he saved from Lampard, SWP and Pizzaro leaving Rooney to score the winner after Ferdinand and Carrick had converted. Rooney himself acknowledged the tame nature of the game in an interview afterwards but conceded that it was nice to draw first blood. Himself and Chelseas acquistition from Bolton also came close to drawing blood after a few hefty challenges as they re-ignited tensions laid down after Rooney was sent off for pushing Ben Haim in the face last season. All in all one of the most entertaining aspects of the afternoon was the way neither side held back with tackles and there was a genuine competitive edge in the clash.

Even though the transfer window deadline is fast approaching the players are still arriving. The departure of Wigan’s talismanic defender Leighton Baines to Everton for £5 million heralds the demise of Wigan Athletic. Manager Chris Hutchings was never going to be able to hold onto his prized asset but to sell him without already landing a replacement is dangerous business. things aren’t looking good for Wigan Athletic and this season will undoubtedly be their biggest test. Avoiding the drop could be as good as it gets for those at the JJB this year.

While Wigan seem to be on a slippery slope and heading down, the arrival of Allardyce at Newcastle has turned their fortunes around. Having already brought in a host of top players, he has secured the signature of a reported Liverpool and Man City target. Villareal’s Enrique (who will be called Ted, see above) is likely to arrive for £4.2 million after talks over the past 24 hours have proved fruitful. Sam is excited about the capture and described Ted as a player with huge potential and at a good age. He has been described on some Spanish websites as the best left-back in Spain so surely Newcastles defensive frailties are a thing of the past.

Also on the move is Hearts ‘Keeper, Craig Gordon. He is reported to be weighing up offers from both Aston Villa and Sunderland. Thefc100 tipped Villa to sign the keeper over the summer a few months back: (http://thefc100.wordpress.com/2007/05/27/new-horizons-at-villa-park/) While Sunderland are the club who have been courting Gordon all summer. It looks set to come down to a decision between mild and gentle Martin O’ Neill or Fire and Brimstone Roy Keane. The question remains, does Craig Gordon prefer Fairy Liquid or Hell? Sunderland are also rumoured to be attempting to lure Spurs misfit Mido to the Stadium of Light with a £9 million bid. This could prove another dangerous signing for Keano as most of his signings this summer and his Championship squad look to be severely tested by seasoned veterans of England’s top-flight.

West Ham have completed the signing of Craig Bellamy from Liverpool for 7.5 million pouns today. The Welsh forward has signed a five year deal after resolving a contract dispute with Liverpool over an unpaid bonus, presumably along the same lines as Joey barton’s dispute with Manchester City earlier in the summer whereby the player feels he’s entitled to a ‘loyalty bonus’ as he hasn’t sought to move.

Manchester City boss Sven Goran Eriksson has agreed terms with Reggina on a preliminary agreement to sign the first player of his Manchester City reign. 8.7 million pounds is the reported fee for Rolando Bianchi, and the move represents something of a coup as Juventus were known to be keeping tabs on the forward. The deal is expected to be completed by Wednesday for the forward, who scored 15 goals in 37 games for Reggina in Serie A last year.

Wigan have completed the signing of Jason Koumas from West Brom for a fee of around 5.3 million pounds. Koumas becomes the sixth signing so far under Chris Hutching’s reign, and the fee involved is worth a lot West Brom who make a 3million pound profit on the versatile midfielder. The likes of Everton, Aston Villa and Fulham were all reportedly interested in the Welsh International but he has chosen the JJB stadium and has penned a four-year deal at the club.

Liverpool are thought to be close to securing the signature of Dutch forward Ryan Babel. The Ajax youngster who can play a host of attacking positions, has expressed his satisfaction at being linked with Liverpool, despite claiming earlier this summer that he expected to move to Arsenal at some stage in his career. The only sticking point could be the fee involved as Ajax are holding out for a massive 13.5 million pounds for the player who recently won the U21 Euro Championship with the Netherlands. However Liverpool are reported to have significantly upped their bid to secure Babel, and he could move to Anfield in the coming weeks.

Bakari Sagna is expected to complete his move to Arsenal from Auxerre over the next 24 hours according to reports in France. Sagna, who can play at either left or right full back, is thought to have undergone a medical at the Emirates already and will sign for a fee in the region of 6million pounds.

    (The rather dashing Carlos Tevez)

 It’s been a strange day for the little known Carlos Tevez. Never one to find himself in the news normally, Tevez has stepped into the limelight for a change and is at the centre of another tug-of-war, this time between Manchester United and West Ham. Yesterday, thefc100 reported that a 20million fee was being thrown around in the newspapers but that potential problems existed in further confusion regarding the player’s owners.

Today, the earliest reports suggested that Man Utd had agreed a two year loan with West Ham, and had the option of a third year should they wish to take it up. Reports suggested Man Utd officials were on their way to meet the player, representing the Argies in the Copa America, to set up a medical and finalise personal terms.

Tevez, for his part, insisted yesterday that he had heard nothing of an offer from Utd and that he wasn’t prepared to rule out staying at West Ham as he was settled there and it was clear ‘the fans loved (him)’.  News broke in the afternoon then that the biscuit man and West Ham’s chairman Eggert Magnusson had insisted the deal was not on course for completion as West Ham owned the player and could block any attempt to sign him.

The Premier League had also stated last night that they would be keeping a very close eye on any move to make sure and avoid a repeat of last season’s furore which led to Sheffield United’s appeal of their relegation to the Championship over concerns about the Hammers move for Tevez and Mascherano.

This evening however, the loveable Kia Joorabchian, Tevez’ dodgy agent, has insisted that the move to Man Utd will be formalised in the next couple of days as the player had been ‘given permission to talk to other clubs’. Tevez has also insisted he desires a move to Old Trafford now and his agent has suggested that the player has already agreed terms on the move and that it will be finalised in the next few days…..

The fact that West Ham expressed an interest to Liverpool today about bringing Djibril Cisse suggests that the club were possibly resigned to losing the player. The fact that Magnusson insists that they are not could mean one of two things. Either (a) they know he’s going to leave and thus want to make some serious money on him rather than let him leave on loan, or (b) they believe there are still problems with the registration that could see Sheffield United’s appeal be subsequently upheld.

Either way, this case makes for interesting and very strange reading: watch this space…..

Manchester United are being linked with a 2omillion pound swoop for Argentine Carlos Tevez. This potential signing would bring Utd’s spending for the summer to a whopping 70 million were it to go through. However there are reports tonight that the league will be closely monitoring the transfer should it go through. West Ham claimed they completely owned Tevez’ registration after terminating agreements with his agent Kia Joorabchian earlier this year in order to comply with league regulations. The league now says it will make sure all money involved in the transfer goes directly to West Ham, and this statement is bound to put a doubt in Ferguson’s mind after he previously indicated his concerns with the Tevez and Mascherano deals had forced him to decline the offer of the two before West Ham stepped in.

Aston Villa have completed the signing of West Ham midfielder and former captain Nigel Reo Coker this afternoon for a fee of eight and a half million pounds. It seems Villa relented after previously indicating that they were unwilling to meet West Ham’s valuation of the player. Reo Coker becomes manager Martin O’Neill’s first signing of the summer, and if reports are to be believed, will be the first of a few acquisitions in the coming weeks with Jermaine Defoe and Shaun Wright Philips also being targeted by the Villains.

Steven Davis has joined fellow Nothern Irish international Aaron Hughes in swopping Aston Villa for Fulham, and their former Northern Ireland manager Lawrie Sanchez. Stick to what you know seems to be the motto here, with a move for David Healy also increasingly likely for the Cottagers. The fee involved is thought to be around four million pounds for the player who was a regular under David O’Leary but had lost his place under new boss Martin O’Neill despite earning rave reviews in previous seasons. The youngster claims it was sad to leave Villa Park but that he knows it is the right decision for him and his family. No surprises there then.

Sevilla have warned Chelsea they want 30million euro for right back/right wing/ what the hell are you doing up there get back and defend-er Daniel Alves. The Brazilian, on duty at the Copa America, is coveted by most top European sides but the Spanish team have indicated it will cost Chelsea more than they are willing to pay to land the talented defender. Meanwhile Chelsea target Florent Malouda has left Lyon’s training camp as talk of a move to Stamford Bridge gathers pace. The two clubs are thought to be close to agreeing a fee for the winger so that he can sign in time to take part in their US training camp pre-season. Chief Executive Peter Kenyon has indicated that this signing may well be the last of the summer for Chelsea, so any move for Alves may rest on whether the Frenchman completes his move first.

Elsewhere……Chris Sutton has retired after a series of injury problems. The Premiership winner with Blackburn Rovers sustained an eye injury against Man Utd last year playing for Aston Villa and has been unable to rectify blurred vision since the incident…..Sheffield United have snapped up Gary Naysmith from Everton for a fee of 1million pounds….Yesterday Phil Jagielka made the move in the opposite direction for a fee of four million pounds….Richard Wright has also left Goodison Park, joining West Ham on a free transfer. The former Ipswich starlet is now 29 and clearly sick of kicking his heels on the bench. He’ll be delighted to hear his new boss Alan Curbishley mention how he’ll provide ‘good competition for the first team place’ then…….Another Naismith, Steven this time, could be on his way to Celtic after they hijacked old firm rivals Rangers bid for the young striker. It will be another bitter blow for Rangers who have seen a number of targets sign for different clubs at the last minute already this summer…

News of the World

Arsene Wenger is lining up a bid for former Gunner Nicolas Anelka, currently at Bolton, for a fee of around £11million. Hello to you. Best news we’ve heard all week. Then again we did suggest this transfer a few days ago so the papers are lagging behind at this stage. The reason this is great news is (a) Anelka is actually a great player and it would be great to see him replicating the form of years ago. (b) Thefc100 tends to worry when the biggest players leave the Premiership that others will follow suit. Anelka signing for Arsenal will be a clear statement of intent that life goes on and that Arsenal can get back to being a team again without being Henry + 10. This seems like a sensible move. Whether Wenger wants Anelka’s brothers sniffing around the Emirates is debatable however with Wenger expected to move on next year, maybe he’s prepared to grin and bear it. The relationship between the two is probably in need of mending slightly, however Anelka is a player Wenger can trust having worked with him before and he will also flourish back at Arsenal. The stumbling block will be Bolton; their squad is pretty threadbare at the moment anyway, lose Anelka and they might become a dark horse for a relegation battle in theFc100’s eyes. (Note: pretty much all of the papers are running this story today).

West Ham have made a bid of £11million for Shaun Wright-Phillips. Strange that Chelsea made potential suitors aware that they are willing to let SWP go for the right price and yet there’s been very little action on that front. SWP’s stock has seemingly disintegrated from being one of the hottest properties in English football, linked with Liverpool and Arsenal before joining Chelsea. Now, even with Liverpool and Arsenal both seeking right wingers, the buck falls to West Ham, everyone’s favourite spenders, to register their interest. There’s no doubt Mourinho will let SWP leave, more regular playing time last season was more an indication of injuries to Robben and Cole coupled with the pursuit of four trophies, than a show of faith in the winger by Mourinho. West Ham’s bid affords the benefits to Chelsea of not being direct competition for trophies, while SWP will get to stay in London. Deal.

Sunderland are lining up a bid for Liverpool’s Scott Carson. Nope, Benitez has assured Carson that he expects him to fight for the number one jersey with Reina this season. While Carson may want first team football, this is his best chance yet of proving himself at Anfield and Benitez won’t want to sign another keeper to replace a top quality number two like Carson.

Martin O’Neill looks set to end his interest in Nigel Reo-Coker. Could it be that Reo-Coker has had a change of heart? West Ham are being linked with a number of new faces, have already signed a top midfielder in Scot Parker. Exciting times to be playing at West Ham we would have thought. However, it may be that Villa are not prepared to meet the asking price which seemed to go up in the last few weeks after the clubs had been close to an agreement. We wouldn’t be surprised if the combative midfielder decided to stay, perhaps relinquished the captain’s armband, and see can he help get the Hammers into Europe, a distinct possibility this season.

Sunday Mirror

Portsmouth are lining up a move for Alan Smith for around £3.5 million to £7milllion, depending on where you read the story. Redknapp has admitted that signing Smith for a fee somewhere in the above region would be good value given that he has recently forced his way into the England setup and is a no-nonsense, hardworking player and professional. Redknapp has admitted he would be ’surprised’ if he could land Freddi Kanoute from Sevilla. This is possibly because Kanoute has stated he will be staying in Spain. Maybe a bit of an indication.

Our favourite Spurs rumour of the day is the one linking them with a free transfer swoop for Christian Vieri. Speculation in Italy is rife that the 34 year old’s agent has met with Spurs officials already and are planning further talks next week. This sounds like a good rumour to us. Spurs sign him for a year with the option of a further year, Bent possibly joins him and suddenly Spurs have three top strikers plus the ‘older, wiser’ (experienced) player to show them the way when they’re drawing 1-1 with fourteen minutes left on the clock. Although it could be genuine, as with all Spurs rumours, take it with a pinch of salt….

The People

Bets rumour of the day though, goes to The People who claim Middlesbrough are on the brink of completing a dramatic swoop for Barcelona’s Javier Saviola. Saviola swapping the Nou Camp for a pint and a pork pie sounds a little off to us. Still, Gareth Southgate is a top manager whose only negative mark is that, well, he doesn’t have the requisite coaching badges. Now, Saviola was linked with a move to Real Madrid just five days ago. In the meantime, Middlesbrough are suddenly being linked with the Argentine forward. He’ll be delighted to hear he’ll be linking up with Tuncay Sanli instead of Raul and Robinho. Plus the weather’s meant to be lovely up by the Riverside right….?

The Sun

As reported today, Jose Mourinho has admitted he would like to sign Benni McCarthy but Blackburn have hung a big ‘no sale’ sign around his neck. Mourinho has also admitted, very generously, that he’s pretty sure McCarthy wants to join him at Chelsea. Ah there’s nothing like a bit of player unrest to force a transfer through. Mark Hughes will probably be looking at a transfer request sometime soon if McCarthy thinks Mourinho has the money to sign him. The reported £5million on offer is a bit too cheeky in our opinion. Fair enough he was a bargain at £2.5 last season but that offer will need to be considerably increased for Blackburn to take it seriously.

West Ham say they will sue if Sheffield United are re-instated into the Premiership when the results of the arbitration panel come in. Is there a happy ending here? We think not. It will end with Sheffield United’s relegation being upheld and West Ham getting extremely lucky to still be in the Premiership. The difference between Premiership and Championship level has never meant more with the ludicrous amount of t.v. money floating around this season, so we feel sorry for the Blades, however they did have Neil Warnock as their manager so you play with matches……

Daily Mirror

Jimmy Bullard will undergo an intensive two week course in America in a bid to be fit for the new season. And so say all of us. One of our favourite players on the fc100, we wish Jimmy all the best and demand that you all take a look at these clips so you’ll be equally enamoured…

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMlWpGE0akw  (the leaping Jimmy)
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lswQSt5Auo  (the laughing Jimmy)

Bolton are demanding £6million for Jussi Jaaskelainen whose contract expires at the end of the season but who has also refused any contract offers from Bolton thus far. Having spent 9 years at the club since he signed for just £100,000, we feel this is a little much. There’s no denying that the Finn is one of the best keepers around, we’ve been saying it since the rumours started appearing, but this price will dissuade certain suitors, including, no doubt, Sunderland, who probably can’t afford £6million for Jussi when they are chasing Nugent for around £7million at the same time. Manchester United are the latest club to register an interest, with Edwin van Der Saar ageing and having made lots of mistakes towards the tail-end of last season. With Ben Foster seemingly injured for the start of the season, Ferguson may be prepared to go for broke and bring in a top keeper, possibly letting van Der Saar go. However, the most likely option here is the third suitor, Aston Villa, who have money to burn and are in the market for a keeper. However, thefc100 also believes that an agreement may still be reached with Bolton or the Finn may see out the final year of his contract. Don’t ten year terms normally warrant a testimonial…..?

Daily Express

New Juventus boss Claudio Ranieri is targeting Craig Bellamy from Liverpool for a fee of around £12million. (splutter). (wheeze). Sorry, now that we’ve stopped laughing we’ll discuss this like adults. This won’t happen, it’s simply another story from the English Press who love the idea of the ‘next Beckham’ plying his trade abroad (e.g Bellamy; British and rarely out of the papers, can’t you just see the editors drooling….?).

Daily Mail

Roma will offer Liverpool Alessandro Mancini in exchange for Craig Bellamy. Ok, this isn’t funny anymore…whoever is starting this rumour stop it….

Sunderland are targeting Giuseppe Rossi from Man Utd and Geremi from Chelsea. Agreed, they would both be good signings for Sunderland, however the Rossi link may be because of everyone Irish or playing for Man Utd being linked to Keane’s team, the Geremi one is the more likely, especially now Chelsea have Tal Ben Haim on board. However, whether Roy Keane would be interested in a player who has happily sat on the bench for the majority of the past few seasons is another matter. Wages would also be pretty big, a transfer fee would be minimal though, watch this space…..

Daily Record

AC Milan winger Massimo Donati will fly into Glasgow this week for talks with Celtic boss Gordon Strachan. Always tricky buying wingers from European countries. Donati has failed to make an impression in Milan and the £3million rated winger has genuinely expressed an interest in playing Champions League football with Celtic. Whether he’d be up to the physical nature of the Scottish game remains to be seen, however the success of Shunsuke Nakamura can be held as a beacon for all incoming ‘flair’ players. The Japanese was a revelation in the Scottish Premier League last season despite his frail physique, and Strachan will no doubt convince Donati that he can be the next Celtic fans’ hero……