Transfer Window Winners & Losers

Alright, not done one of these in a while. Immediate apologies to any ladies reading this - it's all football related! (Unless you love football, in which case, I love you).

So with the transfer window now slammed shut - which of course it never actually does, it's not a literal window which actually slams. It just closes gently, and for once there doesnt seem to have been a load of 12.01am style 'will they/wont they' sign transfers for once. Who remembers when Benjani fell asleep at the airport to almost miss his deadline signing for Man City? Always a classic in my eyes. Silly rabbit.

So bearing this mind, and assuming no new ones spring up out of nowhere, I'm going to just do a quick summery IN MY OPINION of who won and who lost during this summer transfer window. I've taken all the summer transfers below (cited ref at the bottom) and shall talk on each club briefly. God knows if you'll agree!



ARSENAL
INS: Lukas Podolski (£11m, FC Köln), Olivier Giroud (£13m, Montpellier), Santi Cazorla (£16m, Malaga).

OUTS: Rhys Murphy (free, Telstar), Jeffrey Monakana (free, Preston), Tom Cruise (free, Torquay), Joe Campbell (loan, Real Betis), Denilson (loan, Sao Paulo), Gavin Hoyte (free, Dagenham), Manuel Almunia (free, Watford), Benik Afobe (loan, Bolton), Oguzhan Ozyakup (undisclosed, Besiktas), Carlos Vela (undiscl, Real Sociedad), Ryo Miyaichi (loan, Wigan), Wellington Silva (loan, Ponferrada), Kyle Bartley (£1m, Swansea), Robin van Persie (£24m, Manchester United), Alex Song, (£15m, Barcelona), Henri Lansbury (£1m, Nottingham Forest),Ju Young Park, (loan, Celta Vigo), Nicklas Bendtner (loan, Juventus).

VERDICT: I might be a bit biased here since I'm a Gooner myself. However looking at this we've lost our captain (again!) and one of our better performers in Song last season. Glad we hung (did we hang, was he actually going to leave?) onto Walcott. And with Wilshere MAYBE one day appearing again, it'll be like a new signing (yawn I know). Overall I'd say it was average, Cazorla looks quality and we finally shifted Bendtner though it was only on loan again! Which annoys me alot. Why can't we actually sell the shit players (Denilson was another loan). I was really hoping for a last minute swoop for Essien or Tiote, or even Cabaye but it never came so I'm left a little disappointed but not unhappy. Not a bad window for us
Overall - Losers, as I was expecting one final day signing. But happy no panic buys!


ASTON VILLA 
INS: Brett Holman (free, AZ Alkmaar), Karim El Ahmadi (undiscl, Feyenoord), Matthew Lowton (undiscl., Sheffield United), Ron Vlaar (£3million, Feyenoord), Joe Bennett (undiscl, Middlesbrough), Jordan Bowery (£500,000, Chesterfield), Ashley Westwood (£2m, Crewe), Christian Benteke (£7m, Genk)

OUTS: Emile Heskey (released), Carlos Cuellar (free, Sunderland), James Collins (undiscl., West Ham), Nathan Delfouneso (loan, Blackpool)

VERDICT:  I actually think, that whilst Villa have been known to splurge in the past, and haven't looked too great, their best bit of business this summer was getting Lambert in. I think he'll make a good difference, and frankly it can't get much worse after McLeish right? I thought Vlaar looked solid in his fleeting Euro appearance, and for an original figure of £7m being quoted, that seems a good bit of business. No one major left this summer, and Westwood could turn out to be shrewd business indeed. Benteke is an unknown to me, interesting to see how that turns out!
Overall - Winners



CHELSEA
INS: Marko Marin (£6million, Werder Bremen), Eden Hazard (£32million, Lille), Thorgan Hazard (undisclosed, Lens), Oscar (£25million, Internacional), Cesar Azpilicueta (£7million, Marseille), Victor Moses (£9million, Wigan).

OUTS: Jose Bosingwa (free, QPR), Rhys Taylor (free, Southend), Didier Drogba (free, Shanghai Shenhua), Thibault Courtois (loan, Atletico Madrid), Salomon Kalou (free, Lille), Patrick van Aanholt (loan, Vitesse Arnhem), Tamas Kalas (loan, Vitesse Arnhem), Rohan Ince (loan, Yeovil), Kevin de Bruyne (loan, Werder Bremen), Ben Gordon (loan, Birmingham), Romelu Lukaku (loan, West Brom), Sam Walker (loan, Bristol Rovers), Sam Hutchinson (loan, Nottingham Forest), Conor Clifford (loan, Portsmouth), Josh McEachran (loan, Middlesbrough), Archange Nkumu (loan, Yeovil), Thorgan Hazard (loan, Zulte Waregem), Nathaniel Chalobah (loan, Watford), Gael Kakuta (loan, Vitesse Arnhem), Michael Essien (loan, Real Madrid), Yossi Benayoun (loan, West Ham).

VERDICT: I think Chelsea have done some great business, winning the highly sought after Hazard whilst acquiring a player of some talent in Oscar. Unsure why they let Bosingwa go on a free, as he was a solid player at times, and replace him with someone I know very little about. Moses baffled me considering he'll perform a similar role to Sturridge. No last minute Hulk, Cavani etc might have Chelsea fans feeling a bit peeved and letting Essien go on loan seems strange - I hate Mikel.
Overall: Torres will score, so the loss of Drogba won't be much of an issue, with Lukaku a future star for sure. Winners in the long term!



EVERTON
INS: Steven Naismith (free, Rangers), Steven Pienaar (£4.5million, Tottenham), Kevin Mirallas (£6m, Olympiakos), Bryan Oviedo (undisc, FC Copenhagen), Matthew Kennedy (nominal, Kilmarnock).

OUTS: Marcus Hahnemann, James McFadden (released), Adam Forshaw (undiscl., Brentford), James Wallace (undiscl., Tranmere), João Silva (free, Levski Sofia), Tim Cahill (nominal, New York Red Bulls), Joseph Yobo (£2.5m, Fenerbache), Connor Roberts (free, Cheltenham), Jack Rodwell (£15m, Man City), Jack Bidwell (loan, Brentford).

VERDICT: There's a transfer missing above, it's some midfielder who Vincent Kompany has already given his public backing - so if that's the case Everton have actually had a pretty solid window! Got a load of money for Rodwell who may well never live upto his early hype, and kept their star players.
Overall: Winners, and had the best window on a budget IMO



FULHAM
INS: Mladen Petric (free, Hamburg), Sascha Riether (loan, Cologne), Hugo Rodallega (free, Wigan), Kieran Richardson (£2m, Sunderland), Chris David (undisc, FC Twente), Dimitar Berbatov (£4m, Manchester United), Ashkan Dejagah (undiscl, Wolfsburg)

OUTS: Andrew Johnson (free, QPR), Danny Murphy (free, Blackburn), Pavel Pogrebnyak (free, Reading), Bjorn Helge Riise, Zdenek Grygera (released), Dickson Etuhu (£1million, Blackburn), Danny Hoesen (undiscl., Ajax), Moussa Dembele (£15m, Tottenham), Clint Dempsey (£6m, Tottenham)

VERDICT: A curious one, we all knew Dempsey was off to Liverpool (oh...) for a while, but Dembele who is a quality player surprised me by moving as well. Fulham joined the 'lost 2 best players in a window' club, but did they replace them adequately? Berbs was a great signing and will prove his worth I'm sure. Apart from that though they didnt bring in the quality they might have been aiming for.
Overall: Losers, but not by a huge amount



LIVERPOOL
INS: Fabio Borini (£7.8million, Roma), Joe Allen (£15m, Swansea), Oussama Assaidi (£3m, Heerenveen), Nuri Sahin (loan, Real Madrid), Samed Yesil (£1m, Bayer Leverkusen).

OUTS: Fabio Aurelio (free, Gremio), Dirk Kuyt (£880,000, Fenerbahce), David Amoo (free, Preston), Stephen Darby (free, Bradford), Maxi Rodriguez (undisc, Newell's Old Boys), Toni Silva (free, Barnsley), Alberto Aquilani (undiscl, Fiorentina), Henoc Mukendi (loan, Northampton), Craig Bellamy (free, Cardiff City), Jay Spearing (loan, Bolton), Andy Carroll (loan, West Ham), Charlie Adam (£4m, Stoke), Nathan Ecclestone (undiscl, Blackpool).

VERDICT: Liverpool had a pretty shit final day of the window, bringing in no one. Which I'm absolutely certain wasn't the plan! (Like us). However Rodgers had a tough job in getting rid of Comolli's and Dalglish's poor signings, with Henderson refusing to move to Fulham - meant that the Dempsey deal couldn't come off. However Allen is the driving force for this season, whilst Borini has a tough job of getting the goals which Suarez will miss.
Overall: Losers, only due to them probably banking on bringing in a goal scorer on the final day.



MAN CITY
INS: Jack Rodwell (£15m, Everton) Richard Wright (free, Preston), Scott Sinclair (£6.2m, Swansea), Maicon (£3m, Inter Milan), Matija Nastasic (£10m plus Stefan Savic, Fiorentina), Javi Garcia (£16m, Benfica)

OUTS: Owen Hargreaves (released), Gai Assulin (free, Racing Santander), Andreas Mancini (free, Real Valladolid), Joan Angel Roman (undiscl, Barcelona), Greg Cunningham (undiscl, Bristol City), Wayne Bridge (loan, Brighton), Omar Elabdellaoui (loan, Feyenoord), Vladimir Weiss (undisclosed, Pescara), Stuart Taylor (free, Reading), Emmanuel Adebayor (£5m, Tottenham), Adam Johnson (undiscl., Sunderland), Harry Bunn (loan, Crewe), Nigel de Jong (undiscl., AC Milan), Dedryck Boyata (loan, FC Twente), Roque Santa Cruz (loan, Malaga), Stefan Savic (swap deal, Fiorentina, Ryan McGivern (loan, Hibernian).

VERDICT: We all knew it would happen, those bastards pulled off some great signings on the final day. Whilst I'll never understand Sinclair (apart from English quota), which seems a Scott Parker to Chelsea type move to me. Garcia is a beast and Maicon still has alot to offer, which softens the de Jong loss (WHY DID WE NOT GO FOR HIM!).
Overall: Winners, as Mancini finally was allowed to spend, and probably got his main priority signings



MAN UNITED
INS: Shinji Kagawa (£12m, Borussia Dortmund), Nick Powell (£4m, Crewe), Robin van Persie (£24m, Arsenal), Alex Buttner (£3.9million, Vitesse Arnhem).

OUTS: Michael Owen (released), Oliver Norwood (undisclosed, Huddersfield), Matty James, Ritchie De Laet (both undisclosed to Leicester), Tomasz Kuszczak (free, Brighton), Fabio (loan, QPR). Ji-Sung Park (£2m, QPR), John Cofie (loan, Sheffield United), Ben Amos (loan, Hull), Reece Brown (loan, Coventry), Dimitar Berbatov (£4m, Fulham).

VERDICT: A solid window, with Fergie breaking his rule in signing a player with probably little sell on value in Van Persie, but he's got a proven goalscorer and Kagawa looks a great bit of business! No huge losses, whilst did Owen simply not sign with anyone?! He kept tweeting about where he might end up. He looks a bit of a bellend now.
Overall: Winners, Powell one for the future as well. Very decent window, but still no DM they so desperately require!



NEWCASTLE
INS: Romain Amalfitano (free, Reims), Gael Bigirimana (undiscl., Coventry), Curtis Good (undisc, Melbourne Heart), Vurnon Anita (undiscl., Ajax).

OUTS: Ryan Donaldson, Tamas Kadar (released), Alan Smith (free, MK Dons), Leon Best (£3m, Blackburn), Fraser Forster (Celtic), Peter Lovenkrands (free, Birmingham), Danny Guthrie (free, Reading).

VERDICT: Well they kept all their big players from last season, and they did a little bit of solidifying their squad. There's really not alot to say!
Overall: Winners simply for keeping Cabaye, Tiote and Ba



NORWICH
INS: Steven Whittaker (free, Rangers), Jacob Butterfield (tribunal, Barnsley), Robert Snodgrass (£3million, Leeds), Michael Turner (£1.5million, Sunderland), Javier Garrido (loan, Lazio), Sebastien Bassong (undiscl, Tottenham), Alexander Tettey (undiscl, Rennes), Mark Bunn (undiscl., Blackburn).

OUTS: Adam Drury (free, Leeds), Aaron Wilbraham (free, Crystal Palace), Zak Whitbread (released), Andrew Crofts (undiscl., Brighton), Daniel Ayala (loan, Nottingham Forest), James Vaughan (loan, Huddersfield), Tom Adeyemi (loan, Brentford), George Francomb (loan, AFC Wimbledon)

VERDICT: 2nd Season syndrome looms on a squad which lost it's talented manager and replaced it with another one, but is he going to keep them up? Bassong has prem experience along with Turner, but will Snodgrass be able to make the step up from the lower leagues and give them the creativity they want?
Overall: It's a tough call to me, but perhaps considering what other clubs were spending, Losers for not bringing in any "wow" names



QPR
INS: Ryan Nelsen (free, Tottenham), Andy Johnson (free, Fulham), Robert Green (free, West Ham), Samba Diakite (undisclosed, Nancy), Fabio (loan, Manchester United), Ji-Sung Park (£2m, Manchester United), Junior Hoilett (tribunal, Blackburn), Jose Bosingwa (free, Chelsea), Julio Cesar (undiscl, Inter Milan), Esteban Granero (undiscl., Real Madrid), Sam Magri (free, Portsmouth), Stephane Mbia (£5m, Marseille).

OUTS: Patrick Agyemang, Danny Gabbidon (released), Peter Ramage (free, Crystal Palace), Rowan Vine (free, St Johnston), Dan Shittu (free, Millwall) Paddy Kenny (undisclosed, Leeds), Fitz Hall (free, Watford), Matthew Connolly (undiscl., Cardiff), Lee Cook (free, Leyton Orient), Tommy Smith (undiscl, Cardiff) Jay Bothroyd (loan, Sheffield Wednesday), Joey Barton (loan, Marseille).

VERDICT: I hate clubs who suddenly get rich. They all do the same stupid things, they panic and buy a load of average players who they don't need, then 2-3 months later realise they can actually bring in some class. Rob Green won't be a happy bunny with the brilliant Champions League winning Cesar. Whilst Bosingwa was a great signing with Granero sprinkling a touch of class. Did they really need Nelsen and Johnson? No course not, neither will get a look in.
Overall: Winners, they had to be with that kind of money didn't they really!



READING
INS: Garath McCleary (free, Nottingham Forest), Pavel Pogrebnyak (free, Fulham), Danny Guthrie (free, Newcastle), Nicky Shorey (free, West Brom), Adrian Mariappa (undiscl, Watford), Chris Gunter (£2.5m, Nottingham Forest), Stuart Taylor (free, Man City).

OUTS: Brian Howard (free, Portsmouth), Tomasz Cywka (free, Barnsley), Andy Griffin, Jack Mills (all released), Joseph Mills (loan, Burnley), Michail Antonio (Undiscl, Sheffield Wednesday), Mikkel Andersen (loan, Portsmouth).

VERDICT: Considering the budget they've had, I think Pog was a great addition, already netting a couple of goals. Guthrie has experience needed whilst Mariappa was linked to a host of prem clubs last year. No big losses either, and no silly overspending.
Overall: Winners, on a super budget.



SOUTHAMPTON
INS: Jay Rodriguez (£6m, Burnley), Steven Davis (free, Rangers), Nathaniel Clyne (£2.5m, Crystal Palace), Paulo Gazzaniga (undiscl., Gillingham), Emmanuel Mayuka (Undiscl, Young Boys Berne), Maya Yoshida (undiscl, VVV Venlo) Gaston Ramirez (£12m, Bologna).

OUTS: Radhi Jaidi, David Connolly (released), Lee Holmes (free, Preston), Aaron Martin (loan, Crystal Palace), Dan Harding (undiscl. to Nottingham Forest), Lee Barnard (loan, Portsmouth), Jonathan Forte (loan, Crawley), Billy Sharp (loan, Nottingham Forest), Dean Hammond (loan, Brighton).

VERDICT: Well they have spent a shitload, the best part of £30million which for a newly promoted club seems excessive. However Ramirez was a surprise, but great signing. Rodriguez I've been told is a real talent, whilst the Japanese captain could well be a shrewd bit of business. No major losses either with Sharp mostly being a sub anyway.
Overall: Winners, but would have been different if Ramirez didn't sign.



STOKE
INS: Jamie Ness (free, Rangers), Michael Kightly (£3m, Wolves), Geoff Cameron (undisclosed, Houston Dynamo), Charlie Adam (£4m, Liverpool), Maurice Edu (undisc, Rangers), Steven Nzonzi (£3m, Blackburn).

OUTS: Danny Higginbotham, Salif Diao, Tom Soares (released), Andrew Davies (free, Bradford), Jonathan Woodgate (free, Middlesbrough), Florent Cuvelier (loan, Walsall), Ryan Brunt (loan, Leyton Orient), Danny Collins (£500,000, Nottingham Forest), Louis Moult (free, Northampton), Ricardo Fuller (free, Charlton).

VERDICT: How many midfielders do Stoke need?! Adam might have found his level after his last day signing whilst Nzonzi seems a decent bit of business considering the level of interest in him. No one major left, but did we expect them to?
Overall: Winners I suppose, but meh



SUNDERLAND
INS: Carlos Cuellar (free, Aston Villa), Louis Saha (free, Tottenham), Steven Fletcher (£14million, Wolves), Adam Johnson (undiscl., Man City), Danny Rose (loan, Tottenham).

OUTS: Craig Gordon (released), Trevor Carson (free, Bury), Jordan Cook (free, Charlton), George McCartney (undisc., West Ham), Asamoah Gyan (£6m, Al-Ain), Michael Liddle (undisc, Accrington Stanley), Ahmed Elmohamady (loan, Hull), Kieran Richardson (£2m, Fulham).

VERDICT: Fletcher is solid if unspectacular, but his fee is ridiculous. Johnson was a great signing, I think he's real quality but he needed gametime far sooner than this. Gyan finally snuck off, whilst Richardson and Gordon would have been good back ups.
Overall: I've slowly realised most are winners on this list! But Johnson and Fletcher will add much needed goals and creativity, whilst McLean will continue to develop and Sessegnon signed a new deal too.



SWANSEA
INS: Jose Manuel Flores (£2m, Genoa), Jonathan de Guzman (loan, Villarreal), Michu (£2m Rayo Vallecano), Itay Shechter (loan, Kaiserslautern), Kyle Bartley (£1m, Arsenal), Jamie Proctor (undiscl. Preston), Ki Sung-Yeung (£5.5million, Celtic), Pablo Hernandez (£5.55m, Valencia).

OUTS: Ferrie Bodde (released), Joe Allen (£15m, Liverpool), Joe Walsh (free, Crawley),Andrea Orlandi (undiscl., Brighton), Scott Sinclair (£6.2m, Man City), Federico Bessone (free, Swindon), Stephen Dobbie (undiscl, Brighton)

VERDICT: Swansea were the only promoted team to actually clearly have some stand out players. (Taraabt who?). The Allen money you couldnt turn down really and it's basically paid for the rest of the recruitment! Whilst Scott Sinclair has decided the City bench made of gold was simply too good to turn down. I've said Michu was great business (mostly from reading a load of reports on him) whilst Sung-Yeung I think will be another brilliant bit of business. They may have lost their best two players and manager, but with Laudrup I think they will really have another decent season with the new signings all being really fantastic.
Overall: Major winners, specially proving that losing Allen wasnt even a blip in their style of play.



TOTTENHAM
INS: Gylfi Sigurdsson (£8.7million, Hoffenheim), Jan Vertonghen (£8m, Ajax), Emmanuel Adebayor (£5m, Manchester City), Moussa Dembele (£15m, Fulham), Hugo Lloris (£8m, Lyon), Clint Dempsey (£6m, Fulham)..

OUTS: Ledley King (retired), Louis Saha (free, Sunderland), Ben Alnwick (free, Barnsley), Niko Kranjcar (£6m, Dynamo Kiev), Ryan Nelsen (free, QPR), Vedran Corluka (undisclosed, Lokomotiv Moscow), Massimo Luongo (loan, Ipswich), Steven Pienaar (£4.5m, Everton), Ryan Fredericks (loan, Brentford), Sebastien Bassong (undiscl, Norwich), Luka Modric (£30m, Real Madrid), David Button (undiscl, Charlton), John Bostock (loan, Swindon), Danny Rose (loan, Sunderland), Giovani dos Santos (undisc, Mallorca), Rafa van der Vaart (£10million, Hamburg).

VERDICT: So around £50mill spent, however Net wise, they made a slight profit this summer. All the signings will prove to be a hit, with Lloris a real bargain IMO. Demebele just oozes class, and Adebayor has already won most of the fans over from last season. Was Sigurdsson needed? Perhaps not but they can be sure that Modric and VDV won't be missed (ANOTHER 2 best players lost club!)
Overall: Pains me to say it, but Lloris and Dembele make them winners in my eyes



WEST BROM
INS: Ben Foster (undisclosed, Birmingham), Yassine El Ghanassy (loan, Gent), Massimo Luongo (free), Markus Rosenberg (free, Werder Bremen), Claudio Yacob (free, Racing Club), Romelu Lukaku (loan, Chelsea), Goran Popov (loan, Dynamo Kiev).

OUTS: Keith Andrews (free, Bolton), Paul Scharner (free, Hamburg), Somen Tchoyi (released), Marton Fulop (free, Asteras Tripoli), Joe Mattock (free, Sheffield Wednesday), Nicky Shorey (free, Reading), Simon Cox (£2million, Nottingham Forest).

VERDICT: Lukaku is a hero, he's going to show his class this season. Popov will be decent as well. They managed to free up some wages with fringe players as well, though I was always a Scharner fan, so he'll be missed.
Overall: It's hard to lose, Lukaku will get the goals, Winners - for now anyway.



WEST HAM
INS: Stephen Henderson (undisclosed, Portsmouth), Jussi Jaaskelainen (free, Bolton), Mohamed Diame (free, Wigan), George McCartney (undisc, Sunderland), Modibo Maiga (£4.7m, Sochaux), James Collins (undiscl., Aston Villa), Alou Diarra (undiscl., Marseille), Matt Jarvis (£10.75million, Wolves), Andy Carroll (loan, Liverpool), Yossi Benayoun (loan, Chelsea)

OUTS: Robert Green (free, QPR), Frank Nouble (free, Wolves), John Carew, Julien Faubert (free, Elazýðspor), Papa Bouba Diop, Abdoulaye Faye (free, Hull), Pablo Barrera (undisclosed, Cruz Azul), Ravel Morrison (loan, Birmingham), Cristian Montano (undiscl., Oldham), Sam Baldock (£1.2m, Bristol City), Nicky Maynard (undiscl, Cardiff).

VERDICT: West Ham always go a bit bonkers with signings. Like they just want everyone, then realise they have a huge squad and panic. Jarvis is another over priced Englishman, will he be able to supply the crosses that Carroll will lap up? Time will tell. Barrera was a huge flop, whilst Morrison is proving more trouble that he's worth, and Maynard they only signed at Xmas!
Overall: I'm saying loss, because IF they go down, they are fucked financially!



WIGAN
INS: Fraser Fyvie (£600,000, Aberdeen), Ivan Ramis (undiscl., Real Mallorca), Ryo Miyaichi (loan, Arsenal), Arouna Kone (£2.75m, Sevilla).

OUTS: Chris Kirkland (free, Sheffield Wednesday), Hugo Rodallega (free, Fulham), Mohamed Diame (free, West Ham), Steve Gohouri (released), Hendry Thomas (free, Colorado Rapids), Lee Nicholls (loan, Northampton), Ryan Watson (loan, Accrington), Nouha Dicko (loan, Blackpool), Conor Sammon (undiscl., Derby), Victor Moses (£9million, Chelsea), Roman Golobart (loan, Tranmere).

VERDICT: Well they lost Moses, which for a rather toothless team as it was is a big blow. Will Kone be able to get the goals like he did for Levante last season? Ramis looks shaky, but I hope that Miyaichi will prove his worth. 
Overall: I really think Wigan will struggle this season and those signings are not inspiring. Losers, ending in relegation.



(I used - http://www.football365.com/f365-features/7782192/All-The-Done-Deals - as a source and reference)

Something To Tell The Grand Kids...

So, as I write this up the Olympic Games have finished and we are rapidly approaching the final ceremony.

If we turn the clocks back a few weeks, from what I saw and heard, there was minimal excitement for the games itself, a bit of moaning about London dwellers having their city taken over, whilst prices for tickets seem to be escalating rapidly out of control. We were unsure if we were properly prepared, and if it would even be a success, not only on a sporting front, but a commercial side too with the eyes of the world firmly staring upon us, some already predicting failure (Cheers Mitt Romney)

The day of the opening ceremony, I remember at work we were discussing about it at work. It was something we'd watch, but nothing to be excited about - with us happy to lounge on our sofa's at home and quickly flick onto it between episodes of Come Dine With Me or suchlike. Danny Boyle was put in charge of blowing our minds, and frankly I thought it might have all just come off a bit pretentious.

How wrong was I. Brighton Beach had put up a giant 100ft screen to remain up during the Olympic Games, starting with the opening ceremony and by all accounts it was absolutely packed, with a fantastic atmosphere. Not just that but the ceremony itself was fantastic. I certainly had my doubts at the start, tweeting some kind of bored confusion, however giving it a bit more time it really started to take wonderful shape. It was fantastic, so fantastic I ended up watching it again - it was the talk everywhere, Twitter, work, Facebook, the pub, the world. London had really announced to the world that it meant business and we had no intention of letting the occasion overshadow the fact it was being held in London and we wanted to really make it one to remember.

What followed were just over 2 weeks of brilliance. Honestly I was not prepared how much I'd get sucked in. I found myself watching something every single day, flicking between what I thought was some great coverage by the BBC. That is without SKY (so just the 3 channels for me), watching an absolute multitude of sports I'd never even considered watching before, ranging from Shooting and Hockey, to Taekwondo and Sailing. It was unreal. My TV was on from as soon as I got in from work and didn't stop watching until long into the night, even at work we had TV's on from time to time, yet I never ever got bored or felt like it was too much! Whilst I was obviously supporting Great Britain and following our athletes with a keen interest, some sports just have world class athletes you just want to watch, simply because their might not be another like them for a long time. Michael Phelps in the swimming, Usain Bolt in the 100m/200m, they simply command your attention, you are drawn to them. And boy did they not disappoint, Bolt especially seeming to lull alot of people into thinking he wasn't at his best and Blake would usurp him. Though he really showed everyone what the Olympic Games meant to him blasting to gold on both his runs. Great Britain itself though really did us proud .We had expectations with people like Sir Chris Hoy, Rebecca Adlington, Tom Daley and Bradley Wiggins, but so many more stars have now stepped up to the plate and become national heroes. Mo Farrah has been fantastic, winning two golds. Jade Jones, Louis Smith, Nicola Adams and Anthony Joshua. But what I think is being so fantastic about these worthy winners is in this modern era where we are always trying to encourage the youth of today to take up sports more, these people are so strongly supported. All through the Olympics the support of our athletes was fantastic, the atmosphere was incredible, and that's just my opinion from watching it on TV. These people's lives will change forever after these games, but also hopefully they encourage more of the countries youth to want to follow in their footsteps. Considering the media are so eager to criticize rappers for setting bad examples and creating negativity with beefs and whatnot, all during the games they were constantly giving support to our athletes all through the games, and attending events, which has maybe broken a barrier between. Their support has really helped to give the Olympics and the athletes a larger fanbase and a really positive message, as well as maybe showing those who feel it's not really 'cool' or whatever to watch the games, or support them, that it's actually a good thing to get involved.

All in all this is probably going to be the biggest event that we will have on home soil in our lifetime. Fine for a few weeks the Underground may have gotten crowded, the parks may have been packed, and congestion may have been awful, but you were part of the Olympic Games, and the biggest sporting event on the planet. And it has been fantastic, with minor issues, and we've shown the world that given the chance we can put on a sporting spectacle. We should be proud of what's happened here, and it is 100% something that one day you can look back on and tell your kids or grand kids all about.

Why Oh Why Joe Allen....

I know it's been said many a time before, but it still seems to be happening. It's quite a strange thing and lessons rarely seem to be learned from it. But seriously, why do some managers have such limited vision when it comes to signing players?

The basic fundamentals are, if you are a Premier League club, when attempting to sign a player who is a regular for another Premier League club, you will get ripped off. If they are British, you will be even more ripped off. So why on earth do people keep doing it?!

My immediate feeling is because these managers have such limited vision, they don't know any better. They don't watch other leagues, they don't pay attention to much, they are old fashioned and want to keep things... British. But is that really for the best?

A prime example in recent years is from Kenny Dalglish, and to an extent, Liverpool. I know the owners/club wanted a more British base of players, but I imagine that suited Kenny perfectly. It was simple as the scouting was done pretty much for them. They went for players that knew the league, but in reality what happended was they overpaid on average players who knew the league. Don't just assume that every foreigner cannot adapt, it's a strange mentality to take.

They spent £35million on Andy Carroll as we all know, we also know that he wasn't worth that and it's not his fault they paid that. They also paid £20million for Stewart Downing, and £10million for Charlie Adam. All of these players were in the top 3 players at their previous clubs regardless of their clearly limited ability. This made them look far better than they were, they were bought rather expensively and have really not delivered as hoped/expected.

I look at Brendan Rodgers now, and it seems he has a similar philosophy which he had at Swansea, and is looking to continue at Liverpool with Joe Allen. The fee's being suggested are far overpriced for a single semi decent season in the Premiership (exactly like Charlie Adam). If it goes through, then Liverpool have overpaid once more for a solid but unspectacular midfielder. Swansea don't want to sell one of their better players but for that kind of money they might have to. 

However why don't English managers look outside the box/league a bit more and see what great value there is out there? It baffles me! Why, because they fear the player won't adapt? Because they were never a boyhood supporter (Robbie Keane syndrome) and might leave (ala Fabregas)? Or simply because they don't know these players really exist or if they are much good? Look at Laudrup, he's been in Spain managing, and is someone who is articulate, smart and well researched, his first signing for the club has been Michu - someone who scored around 15 goals in La Liga for a bargain £2million. Fine he might well flop, he might be awful - but I'm fairly certain he'll be solid, and raise a few eyebrows then in a couple of years be sold on to a bigger club for a healthy profit. 

Paul Lambert studied his coaching course in Germany (he has strong links to Dortmund), and is interested in foreign football - he's already invested in 3 players from the Dutch league with the best bargain being Vlaar for £3million, who was in the Dutch national squad and I thought looked a very good player. I think Villa have a good manager and a healthy looking squad for next season already. 

Chelsea on the other spectrum have really splashed out on big signings such as Hazard and Oscar, but even those fee's were both less than Carroll, and Oscar was £5million more than Downing, trust me you'll think he's a bargain this time next year. Marin looks a good prospect and for £6million that really seems a snip, once more showing the value outside of the Premiership - specially if you compare that to Snodgrass for Norwich who was half the price but really is probably about a quarter of the player, not too bad for Leeds but I'm fairly sure will be relatively forgettable at the club who can't go spending large sums on players all that often. 

Even United have found some good value outside of the Premiership with the signing of Kagawa for £12million - the same fee for Allen who has had a single semi-decent season in the Premiership vs someone who won the Bundasliga player of the year and who I'm fairly sure be a very good signing.

West Ham on the other hand have a complete bizarre transfer strategy, doing the traditional British signings for large sums of money on big wages who they know will do a solid job - then trying to buy outside the Premiership and generally getting their hands burned with these oddballs (Maiga, £5million, I predict will be a big flop)

It looks like I've been having a go at the managers, I haven't, it's not all their fault by any means. They don't run all aspects of the club, they rely on vast scouting networks and endless dossiers and reports on players - but they do give these scouts directions, what they are looking for, they must provide small guidance for what they want and these scouts then deliver the goods. We all look at Graham Carr of Newcastle being a prime example - with some fantastic work with Cabaye - £4million for a French international who had a brilliant season with Tiote and has surely at least trippled his value, expect a big move in the next 2 years. Tiote himself was a bargain worth about £15million now. 

I could go on and on about the good signings and bad, but the examples I have seem stupidly biased and non sequential (I was thinking of wingers, Bentley for £15million came to mind vs £11million for Podolski) or how we (Arsenal) due to having a very knowledgeable manager often find value outside of the Prem and rarely ever buy players from inside of it, certainly not for any kind of large fee. Daniel Levy generally does the same for Spurs, with the rare flop often being countered with the brilliant and great valued Modric, bargain of Bale (outside of the Prem), and value for money on Van Der Vaart. He's a money making genius (profit on Mido?!?!) and knows that real value lays away from signing big players from within the Prem.

Another factor that I must certainly give to @scottwhitto for making a great point that had totally slipped my mind but certainly adds to the ridiculous fee's for British players who are clearly not as technically gifted to players outside of the Prem but lack the experience (it's really not weighted 50:50 with ability/experience, ability is about 80:20 vs experience as adaptability will play a major part) but it's the new rules regarding squad sizes and the amount of homegrown players needed. This has led to Prem clubs looking in the lower leagues for the best talent so they can count towards this, and the fee's are relatively reasonable (Nick Powell for United is one that springs to mind). So clubs can charge more for these players knowing that the Prem clubs "need" these players to reach their criteria, but surely this just gives a bigger incentive to develop in youth academies and scouting the real youngsters who are yet to go pro.

I think my point is more this, surely it's a more valuable asset to a club hiring a manager that is open minded and understands more about European league's or just league's overseas and world football - than one who knows nothing but the Premiership and is proud of that fact. These managers bring added value in being able to send scouts based on their own knowledge and uncover these absolute gems that are all over the world. Maybe it's not just the managers who need to open their minds to global football, but the chairmen as well and stop living these expensive and often underachieving fantasies.