It’s all but a done deal, Michael Carrick from Tottenham to Man Ure for £18 million. I’m of two minds about this as Carrick was a revelation last season, but £18 million? That’s quite a bit of wonga that can be spent buying up the rest of the young players in England. And it’s not like Tottenham’s short of quality midfielders.

Up top, I’m disappointed that Mido was allowed to go back to Roma but I’m excited about Dimitar Berbatov coming the other way from Bayer Leverkusen. Between Berbatov, Defoe, and Keane there’s a strong trio of strikers.

Honestly though, Spurs would do well to repeat this past year’s performance. I don’t see any of the Big Four struggling again which means that fifth and sixth spot are going to be contested from a pool of teams that next rung down. A good run in the UEFA Cup would be more than welcome though.

Speaking of good business dealings, how about Real Madrid making the most of the Serie A liquidation sale? Swooping for the duo of Fabio Cannavaro and Emerson from Juventus is the best bit of transfer business the club has done in a long time as it adds much-needed steel to the squad’s core. Ruud van Nistelrooy for £11 million? Since when does Madrid go bargain shopping? I wish they’d go in for Ashley Cole as a replacement at left back but you can’t have everything. The squad looks a sight better than last year at this time and they’ve also got an experienced manager at the helm.

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So what’s going to happen this season? I predict more of the same.

In England the formula is rather simple. Shevchenko + Ballack + All the Rest = Title. I have no idea what Man Ure are doing and I don’t think the crop at the Ars* are going to be able to overtake the holders as they play in flashes—brilliant one day, flat the next. Liverpool looks better already with Bellamy up top and ridding themselves of the dead weight of Cisse and Morientes (who I wish well) while keeping the rest of the Spanish contingent intact, but better than the Russians? I don’t think so. The chasing pack will be familiar faces of Bolton, Spurs, Newcastle, and who? Man City? Doubtful. Boro? Even more doubtful. And I’ve given up trying to predict what the hell Everton’s going to do.

Spain is the same way. Barca is currently the best team on the planet and with so many new faces, I don’t know if Madrid and Valencia will be able to gel fast enough to nip them. Valencia should be good again this year and strengthened the squad with Fernando Morientes and Asier del Horno, both of whom are more suited for Spanish than English football. Can Sevilla keep a good thing going? Can Atlético Madrid get some medication to control their bi-polar behavior? Will Celta Vigo and Deportivo La Coruña bounce back from disappointing seasons? The best part about La Liga is the Jeckyll and Hyde nature of so many teams makes it hard to predict. There’s always one unexpected team that makes a strong push to the top and other teams that can never seem to get out of second gear. Barca vs. Real should be fun this year, as should the meetings with Valencia.

Current Mood: Friday |
Currently Listening To – The Misfits – “The Misfits”