Spurs vs The Rest - Who's making the best buys so far?

[brasil_spur]

I'm totally shocked at the lack of activity so far in the prem on the transfer front, i know that there tends to be a bit of a flourish around the last week of August, but with 3 prem games to play before the 31st, i'd have thought that we'd have seen much more transfer activity from other prem clubs.

So although it's a bit premature, i'm going to give my ratings for all the prem clubs transfer activity so far. Feel free to provide your own thoughts and ratings in response.


Ar5ena1 - 3/10 - The few players they've brought in barely cover for those that have left and none of their new players come with a big reputation. It's clear that they need to step it up a level to get back into contention for the prem and CL and i don't think this will happen given their current signings this summer.

Aston Villa - 8/10 - Shorey, Sidwell, Young, Davies and Friedal are all going to add some solid prem experience to an already decent team. And they've managed to hold onto Barry thus far so they will go into this season significantly stronger than last at this rate.

Blackburn Rovers - 2/10 - One of their two star players has jumped ship for a significantly more exiting club :grin: and they've lost their experienced GK. Their remedy to this seems to be Fowler and Robinso, oh dear!

Bolton Wanderers - 5/10 - On the plus side they don't seem to have lost any players that would bother them, and the signings of Elmander and Muamba look decent. However nothing much to get exited about yet if you're a trotter.

Chelsea - 4/10 - Ok so Deco and Bosingwa are big name players, but as far as the chavs go they really aren't on the level with some of the players you would have thought they'd sign like Ronaldinho, Eto'o or even Kaka.

Everton - 3/10 - No-one in and no-one of any significance out, nuff said.

Fulham - 5/10 - Lot's of players i don't know much about coming in and likewise going out. I guess they at least hope they are stronger than last season now.

Hull City - 6/10 - Some decent signings and loans given they are prem new boys. Managed to hold onto their better players after promotion as well. They'd get a higher score if they could land a bigger name amongst that bunch though.

Liverpool - 6/10 - Managed to ship a lot of their deadwood, and seem to have acquired a few potentialy good players for reasonable fees. Still not sure why they signed Keane, and they haven't been able to get their main target Barry yet, so currently a slight improvement on last years squad.

Man City - 4/10 - Not sure that Jo will be worth near his fee and Ben Haim seems like a waste of money if they sell Corluka. Managed to keep their stars from last season but haven't matched last summers window in ambition as yet.

Man Utd - 6/10 - If it ain't broke then don't fix it, and they have done just that, although securing Tevez officially as their player should count towards something.

Middlesborough - 3/10 - Those few in don't seem any more interesting than those few out, yaaaawwwn.

Newcastle - 3/10 - Close to Boro in more than just Geography this summer. Still at least we haven't had to grimace at any embarassing player press conference events.

Portsmouth - 5/10 - Crouch seems to be a good signing for them and the £12.7m for Muntari seems to be a decent deal for a player that hardly set the world alight last season.

Stoke City - 6/10 - Two in, one out on a free, probably as good as they could have expected.

Spurs - 7/10 - We've replaced our outgoing players with better incoming ones, except perhaps for Keane, however with both Arshavin and Corluka looking on the cards we seem to be hitting the new season with a well improved squad.

Sunderland - 8/10 - Chimbonda, Tainio, Malbranque and Diouf would make it into any top half prem team on a regular basis, in fact they have all done so for the last 2 seasons. Sunderland seem to be building a team that will easily avoid the drop this season and could well push for a top half finish.

West Brom - 5/10 - Couple of good signings and a couple of players sold that they would've probably liked to have kept.

West Ham Utd - 3/10 - Two seasons ago they signed Tevez, Mascherano, Ashton and Green - my my how they have lowered their standards.

Wigan Athletic - 5/10 - They get a 5 purely for the signing of Kapo, he was a revelation for Birmingham last season and a bit of a bargain at £3.5m for Wigan

 

[Kyras]

Good post on the whole, not a lot wrong with it.

I think that the signing of Robbie Keane will prove an absolute masterstroke, there are not many strikers int he world who better his goals per game average away from home, which is Liverpool's problem as Torres scored 19 of his 22 goals at home or something ridiculous like that.

Fair play to Sunderland, great signings for them and Everton are so boring :lol:

 

[van_Pommel]

Good post on the whole, not a lot wrong with it.

I think that the signing of Robbie Keane will prove an absolute masterstroke, there are not many strikers int he world who better his goals per game average away from home, which is Liverpool's problem as Torres scored 19 of his 22 goals at home or something ridiculous like that.

Fair play to Sunderland, great signings for them and Everton are so boring :lol:

I hate to dissagree mate as Keane would be a great signing for them if Rafa ever has the balls to play 442. However I think we'll see Keano on the right wing instead of Kuyt for the majority of games. He'll do well there, but I can see the Kop getting the hump when he doesnt get 20 goals a season from the right wong.

 

[amie278]

I thought the 8/10 for villa was a bit generous. the players they have signed are average at best and i dont think they will improve the team.

 

[kingofspurs]

If we get arshavin and corluka, then we are easily an 8/10 for transfers, if not 9/10!

However watch out for Chelsea if they get Robinho - with Bosingwa and Deco they will have strengthened more than the rest of the top 4.

 

[kingofspurs]

I thought the 8/10 for villa was a bit generous. the players they have signed are average at best and i dont think they will improve the team.

Agreed - was surprised it was that high - they definitely haven't got the quality in there we have with Modric, Bentley, GDS, Gomes and even Bostock.

 

[joey55]

I hate to dissagree mate as Keane would be a great signing for them if Rafa ever has the balls to play 442. However I think we'll see Keano on the right wing instead of Kuyt for the majority of games. He'll do well there, but I can see the Kop getting the hump when he doesnt get 20 goals a season from the right wong.

I don't think keane will play on the right wing. I think Gerrard will. Last season when they played 4231, Gerrard would often play as almost a seconf striker behind Torres and that is where I see Keane Playing and think it is were he is at his best. I remember the Blackburn game at WHL at the end of the 2006/7 season, when Keane came on and played behind Defoe and Berba in a similar role and they simply couldn't contain him. Keane's movement off the ball is arguably the best in the Prem, so the deeper he plays (obvioulsy still within the boundaries of being a striker), the better he is, as he becomes harder to pick up. When playing in the hole, between the defensive and midfield line, he is brilliant.

I think Liverpool will look something like this:

------------------Reina
Arbeloa----Agger------Skrtel-----Dossena
-----------Masch-------Barry
Gerrard------------Keane---------Babel
------------------Torres

I think Liverpool will finish second, behind Chelsea.

Also, I think potentially our shopping will be the best. We haven't finshed yet, but we have improved in some key areas. I think Chelsea's 2 signings are excellent and if thy sign Robinho, they will have bought better than anyone else.

 

[van_Pommel]

I don't think keane will play on the right wing. I think Gerrard will. Last season when they played 4231, Gerrard would often play as almost a seconf striker behind Torres and that is where I see Keane Playing and think it is were he is at his best. I remember the Blackburn game at WHL at the end of the 2006/7 season, when Keane came on and played behind Defoe and Berba in a similar role and they simply couldn't contain him. Keane's movement off the ball is arguably the best in the Prem, so the deeper he plays (obvioulsy still within the boundaries of being a striker), the better he is, as he becomes harder to pick up. When playing in the hole, between the defensive and midfield line, he is brilliant.

I think Liverpool will look something like this:

------------------Reina
Arbeloa----Agger------Skrtel-----Dossena
-----------Masch-------Barry
Gerrard------------Keane---------Babel
------------------Torres

I think Liverpool will finish second, behind Chelsea.

Also, I think potentially our shopping will be the best. We haven't finshed yet, but we have improved in some key areas. I think Chelsea's 2 signings are excellent and if thy sign Robinho, they will have bought better than anyone else.

I think that would be their best line-up. However, Gerrard is not the same player when played on the right.

 

[Bobishism]

Arsenal only needed to replace midfield options, and they've done that. Ramsey looks fantastic. Nasri will give them options. Rosicky and Eduardo are nearly fit. Traore and Wilshire looked good in pre-season, although I doubt they'll feature much.

They've done well.

 

[van_Pommel]

They haven't replaced Flamini though, which should be their top priority.

 

[joey55]

I think that would be their best line-up. However, Gerrard is not the same player when played on the right.

I agree, but more that he isn't the same player on the right, in a 442, when his role is more defined. In a 4231, I think the front 4 have more freedom to interchange and move around. Interestingly Liverpool played this formation 21 times last season and average 2.26 ppg. Pro rata that is about 86 pts, which should be enough for a top 2 finish.

Chelsea are hugley unlikey to have anywhere near the injuries they had last season, so they should be red hot favourites for the title. It's wierd how the betting markets work. Utd are favourites, but they only won the title by 2 points last season and Chelsea were missing the likes of Essien, Lampard, Drogba and Terry for large chunks of the season. It's not as if these are minor players! The chances of them having similar injury problems again are unlikley and considering they've improved their squad and are unlikley to have the upheaval of a change of coach half way throught the season, they should be strong favourites. I think unless Utd sign Berbatov, then they are going to struggle to finish in the top 2.

 

[brasil_spur]

I hate to dissagree mate as Keane would be a great signing for them if Rafa ever has the balls to play 442. However I think we'll see Keano on the right wing instead of Kuyt for the majority of games. He'll do well there, but I can see the Kop getting the hump when he doesnt get 20 goals a season from the right wong.

I think keane is a decent signing for them if they had signed some other players as well, but so far he is their only big name signing, and they really needed to improve other areas of their team i feel before attack. Specially with £20m to play with.

I thought the 8/10 for villa was a bit generous. the players they have signed are average at best and i dont think they will improve the team.

The scores are relative to the teams themselves, so i think relative to Villa the players they've bought in will help them out a lot, whereas the same players would not have strengthend someone like us of liverpool at all.

We'd be a 9 with Arshavin and Corluka, but neither of them have quite joined yet.

Arsenal only needed to replace midfield options, and they've done that. Ramsey looks fantastic. Nasri will give them options. Rosicky and Eduardo are nearly fit. Traore and Wilshire looked good in pre-season, although I doubt they'll feature much.

They've done well.

I'm not convinved they have done that, replacing the experience of Hleb, Gilberto and Flamini will be a tough task and i don't think the players they've bought in are going to be quite up to it.

Having talented young players isn't enough to win the prem and CL, which must be their targets. If their goal is to push for a top 3 finish and a possible cup then they might have done enough, depending largely on how long V.Persie can stay fit for and how quickly Eduardo can get back to the level he was at before the leg break.

 

[mil1lion]

To answer the question on the title, i think Spurs have clearly made the best buys. Unfortunately for us, we've probably sold the best players overall aswell. So we've improved with our new signings and with a few more i think we'll have done the best business. If we sell Berbatov though, we might have sold the best players (from one club.) Yet we will have much better balance and more quality in depth than last season.

 

[van_Pommel]

I agree, but more that he isn't the same player on the right, in a 442, when his role is more defined. In a 4231, I think the front 4 have more freedom to interchange and move around. Interestingly Liverpool played this formation 21 times last season and average 2.26 ppg. Pro rata that is about 86 pts, which should be enough for a top 2 finish.

Chelsea are hugley unlikey to have anywhere near the injuries they had last season, so they should be red hot favourites for the title. It's wierd how the betting markets work. Utd are favourites, but they only won the title by 2 points last season and Chelsea were missing the likes of Essien, Lampard, Drogba and Terry for large chunks of the season. It's not as if these are minor players! The chances of them having similar injury problems again are unlikley and considering they've improved their squad and are unlikley to have the upheaval of a change of coach half way throught the season, they should be strong favourites. I think unless Utd sign Berbatov, then they are going to struggle to finish in the top 2.

I do agree that Chelsea's squad are head and shoulders above the rest in terms of experience and proven quality. The thing with Fergie though is that he always gets a team to be worth more than the sum of their parts, through teamwork and spirit. It will be close I feel. I dont think Liverpool will make 2nd, their defence is poor compared to Chelseas and ManU.

 

[thetallaghttiger]

the main clubs in the market:

Us: We've signed players who make us stronger and are improvements on the players we've got rid of. We've also done well in selling as well, the costs of our incomings nearly equal the income we've made on player exits. We all know though that we need another 3/4 more. If we get the 4 players we're linked to (Corluka, César, Arshavin, Veloso), we should be delighted with ourselves. The only downer, of course, was Keane leaving.

Liverpool: Keane could be a great signing, will have to wait and see how he settles to judge whether he'll be value for money. Degen is decent, don't know much about Ngog/Cavalieri/Dossena. They've done well to sell players, Crouch is a loss though as he's almost unique in style, they should be stronger though.

Arsenal: Poor window in terms of new faces in, Nasri is very good though, good signing. Havn't replaced Hleb or Flamini, but we all know the youth they seem to always produce so probably not as badly off as one would think. Vela could be a surprise package.

When looking at the rest of the teams, no club jumps out at you for jobs well done. Villa have probably been shrewd in signing good/reliable Premiership players, Young/Shorey are 2 good full-backs, presuming Barry is staying, they've a solid midfield and just need Carew and Agbonlahor clicking to have a very strong season. Top 6 finish possibly

 

[yiddotilidie]

disagree with your views on Chelsea. They have made two cracking buys, they will push united even closer this year.

 

[Scrubin]

really top thread. sunderland have to be very pleased with themselves, and this time it doesn't look like they're even paying stupid money for average players like they did last year. agree with yiddotillidie about chelsea, although perhaps their best signing has been scolari

 

[double0]

Also thought Aston Villa's mark of 8/10 was a bit generous. Personally think our transfer activities have been brilliant on paper...Modrich Gomes Dos Santos, Bentley (wasn't keen at first-cost- but can understand the thinking behind Bentley).

Liverpool have taken a calculated gamble on Robbie Keane and it all depends on how he'll be played at Pool. If his played in the hole behind Torres IMO it will be a complete disaster. Robbie Keane over the last two seasons has played his best ever football, playing off the last defender, with Berbatov being the target man and intercharging with Keane slightly ahead.

Ar5ena1 have been clever by blooding a lot of there reserves last season... players like Song Vela Walcott Wailshere, Denilson will be better equipped, we'll be mugs to write them off.

 

[alextheyid]

i think defoe was looking v.exciting for portsmouth last season and paired with crouch up front- i reckon portsmouth will do well in the league!!
I think villa's signings paired with keeping barry is a big improvement..shorey is a great full back..friedel a great keeper..
and i unfortunately think keane will be great for liverpool...but it looks gloomy for the arse!!

 

[joey55]

Also thought Aston Villa's mark of 8/10 was a bit generous. Personally think our transfer activities have been brilliant on paper...Modrich Gomes Dos Santos, Bentley (wasn't keen at first-cost- but can understand the thinking behind Bentley).

Liverpool have taken a calculated gamble on Robbie Keane and it all depends on how he'll be played at Pool. If his played in the hole behind Torres IMO it will be a complete disaster. Robbie Keane over the last two seasons has played his best ever football, playing off the last defender, with Berbatov being the target man and intercharging with Keane slightly ahead.

Ar5ena1 have been clever by blooding a lot of there reserves last season... players like Song Vela Walcott Wailshere, Denilson will be better equipped, we'll be mugs to write them off.

That is actually the case. He's played ahead of Berbatov only since Ramos has been here and it affected his game badly. He didn't score as many and he made far less chances. On the Telegraph website they have a player density feature, that shows where a player does most of his work during games and when Jol was here Keane played behind Berba, more in the hole and when Ramos came he played infront of him. At the start of the season, when playing deeper, Keane actually topped the chances created list after the first 10 games, but then the number of chances he creatd dropped dramatically, in line with when he was moved further forward. He also scored every 150 mins when playing deeper and ever 220 minutes when playing higher up the pitch.