With
all eyes focused on Poland and Ukraine, it would be easy to assume that there
is nothing else happening in the world of football at the moment. Fantastic as
it is to have a month of practically non-stop, international football to wile
away the evenings with, particularly since Euro 2012 has so far provided
fantastic entertainment and bags of goals, the wheels are still turning
domestically and, quite frankly, a lot has happened since the end of the
Barclays Premier League 11/12 season. This is a brief summary of the more
notable happenings which have occurred while most of us have had our heads
turned towards Eastern Europe.
As
ever in the summer, clubs take stock of the season just past and determine
whether they achieved their aims, got to where they wanted to be and if they
are prepared to continue in the same vein for, at least, the foreseeable
future. Should the hierarchy at a club decide that change is needed to carry
things further or to radically alter said club’s fortunes; inevitably it will
be the manager who becomes the first to go.
Plenty
of gaffers have bitten the dust since May 13th. Some would have seen the shape
of things to come and wouldn’t have been too shocked, if disappointed, to have
been collecting their P45s. For others, the news would have been a little more
unexpected and certainly, no less gut-wrenching. Three remaining Premier League clubs have
pointed their gaffers towards the exit door for the last time in the month
since the final whistle of the last campaign, namely: Liverpool, Aston Villa
and Tottenham Hotspur. They said good-bye to Kenny Dalglish, Alex McCleish and
Harry Redknapp respectively, with Dalglish and McCleish leaving almost
immediately following the final day and Harry Redknapp getting his marching
orders on Wednesday night.
Of
course, one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity and, when heads roll
in football, just as in other businesses, a shinier, newer and hopefully better
replacement must be found to step in to the breach, who, in turn, leaves a
vacancy at the club from which he has departed. After a lengthy interview
process, involving much media speculation and after agreeing a compensation
package of around £4million with Swansea, Liverpool welcomed Brendan Rodgers to
the Anfield hot-seat. The man from Northern Ireland worked wonders with the
Swans last term and is one of the most highly respected young managers in the
game, any doubters over his appointment were, I’m sure, placated and encouraged
by the masterful way that he dealt with his first press conference as the new
boss.
After
much huff and puff between the two clubs over a compensation payment, Norwich
reluctantly agreed to let their manager, Paul Lambert, move on to Aston Villa,
in the wake of McCleish’s demise. Lambert, who won two promotions in two years
before guiding Norwich through a fantastic Premier League season, is believed
to have cost Randy Lerner at least £3.5 million in compensation. However
Lambert’s reputation and steely determination, as well as his footballing
philosophy, make his capture something of a coup for the sleeping Midlands
giants.
As
mentioned above, Harry Redknapp has just lost his job so no new boss is in
place at White Hart Lane yet. For many Redknapp’s sacking has come as a
surprise given the club’s improvement under his tenure, however Redknapp
himself is philosophical about the situation and claims that it was certainly
no shock to him. One other manager to have departed a Premier League club is
Roy Hodgson. The veteran’s contract was up at the Hawthorns and, after an
excellent season, the West Brom boss was asked by the F.A. to become the new England manager. A post
which he gratefully accepted. Another former Albion boss who's moved up in the
world is Roberto di Matteo. The Italian's successful spell at Chelsea,
following the sacking of Andre Villas Boas, has led to him being handed the
managerial position on a permanent basis. Di Matteo, who secured the F.A. Cup
and the Champions’ League last term, has signed a two year contract at Stamford
Bridge.
So
the merry go round keeps spinning and those departures have left holes at several
notable clubs. Swansea have appointed Michael Laudrup as boss according to
reports. The Dane was considered one of Europe’s bright young managerial stars
before ill-fated spells at Mallorca and Spartak Moscow, but his short-passing,
attacking style should suit the Swans to a tee. David Moyes and Roberto Martinez
are the bookies’ favourites to take over at White Hart Lane, however, there’s a
sneaking suspicion that Rafa Benitez may slide in under the radar, which would
be excellent news for Spurs.
Meanwhile
former Newcastle boss Chris Hughton, who had a very good season with Birmingham
last term, losing out on promotion in the play-offs, has been confirmed as the
new boss at Norwich City. The Canaries moved quickly to fill the vacancy left
by Lambert’s departure from Carrow Road and in Hughton they have a very
promising young manager. Steve Clarke, who left Liverpool following Rodgers’
appointment as manager, has taken over from Roy Hodgson at the Hawthorns.
Clarke, who was assistant to Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and number two to Kenny
Dalglish at Anfield, makes the step-up to take on the top job for the first
time in his career.
There
are a few transfers, both in and out, that have also taken place since last
season came to a close. Some were agreed prior to the finale of the last
campaign, such as that of Marko Marin from Werder Bremen to Chelsea for a fee
of 9.8million euro and Lukasz Podolski from Cologne to Arsenal for 13million
euro, the rest have all taken place within the last month. Here are some of the
main movers so far.
As
well as signing Marin from Bremen, Chelsea have completed the signing of the
heavily courted Eden Hazard from Lille. The London club have paid 40million
euro for the French playmaker’s services, an investment that they hope will
bear fruit immediately. Aston Villa have completed the free transfer of
Australian forward Brett Holman from AZ Alkmaar, he caught the eye with a
fantastic goal against Valencia in the Europa League last season and Villa will
be hoping he can produce similar moments of quality in claret and blue. Arsene
Wenger is on the verge of completing a deal for Montpelier striker Olivier
Giroud. The tall front-man starred as the team from the south captured the
Ligue 1 title last season, scoring 21 goals and it is believed that Arsenal
will pay 15million euro to secure the Frenchman's services.
Manchester
United have signed youngster Nick Powell from Crewe Alexandra for an
undisclosed fee, as well as capturing, Japanese dynamo, Shinji Kagawa from
Borussia Dortmund for a fee of 15million euro. Kagawa was wanted by several
high profile clubs and United will be happy to get their man, bolstering an
iffy midfield which relied heavily on 37 year old veteran Paul Scholes in the
second half of last season. Also at United, starlet Paul Pogba has been allowed
to leave the club and has joined Juventus.
Newcastle
United have captured Roman Amalfitano from Reims on a free transfer, as the
scouting machine at St. James’s Park
which uncovered such gems as Cabaye, Ben Arfa and Cisse, looks to secure
another cost effective revelation. QPR have made Samba Diakite’s loan spell at
the club permanent, securing the player from Nancy with a deal worth 4million
euro. Diakite who shone in the African Cup of Nations arrived at Loftus Road
after Mark Hughes appointment in January. Back in the Premier League after an absence
of seven seasons, Southampton have succeeded in signing long-term target Jay
Rodriguez from Burnley. The 22 year old, who scored 21 goals last season, has
been on Nigel Adkins's radar for over a year and with a club record fee of
£7million having been accepted by Burnley, the Saints finally have their man.
Meanwhile
Gylfi Sigurdsson looks certain to snub Swansea for move to Liverpool. The
Icelandic player was on loan at the Liberty in the second half of last season
and Brendan Rodgers was instrumental in setting up the deal which would have
brought him to Wales permanently. However, Rodgers’s subsequent move to Anfield
put the deal on hold and Sigurdsson has now said that Liverpool is his
preferred destination. Joe Cole will also make a return to the club after
spending a successful season on loan at Ligue 1 side Lille. New boss Brendan
Rodgers has spoken to the former Chelsea player, who is keen to prove himself
at Liverpool after a dismal start to his Anfield career, and it seems that
Rodgers will give him the chance to do just that. Finally, last but not least,
Dirk Kuyt has left the Anfield club, moving to Fenerbahce in Turkey. The 32
year old, who has been an excellent servant to Liverpool, spent six years at
the club and scored 51 goals.
Plenty
of goings on in the Barclays Premier League, as the action never stops. That
was a round-up of the major developments of the summer so far. With still two
months to go till next season gets underway and even longer still until the
transfer window closes, there’s sure to be plenty more intriguing movement
before the summer is out. Watch this space for details!
By Neil Patterson
Email: neil.b.patterson@gmail.com
Facebook: http://goo.gl/MJce0
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Neil1980
