Thursday, 1 September 2011

Transfer Window Round Up

As always, transfer deadline day was a frantic and chaotic day with managers up and down the country desperately trying to strengthen their squads with new players. It is a day when many football fans get very excited about who their team might be signing and it certainly didn't disappoint. After the chaos that we saw last night, it's time to reflect on who were the winners and losers of the transfer window in the Premier League.

Arsenal
After their humiliation at Old Trafford, it was so obvious that Arsenal needed to add new players to their squad that Arsene Wenger finally spent some money. What's more he finally signed some new defenders at centre back and left back. Andre Santos was added at left back which Arsenal desperately needed and Per Mertesacker came in at centre half. Whilst Per Mertesacker is a recognised name and proven at international level, question marks still remain over the little known Andre Santos and whether he'll be able to cope with the Premier League. Arsenal also signed Yossi Benayoun on loan and Mikel Arteta to replace Nasri and Fabregas who have left the club. Although Gunners fans will be delighted they've actually replaced their former stars, it's hard to argue that they are of the same calibre of Nasri and Fabregas. We mustn't also forget the signing of Gervinho who looks like a decent signing and replaces the departing Bendtner who never looked like he cut it at the Emirates.

Rating: 6/10

Aston Villa
Two deadline day signings for Aston Villa cover up an otherwise poor window in which they allowed their two star players to leave. Ashley Young left for Old Trafford and Stewart Downing was sold to Liverpool. Charles N'Zogbia was signed from Wigan but he doesn't come close to replacing their departed stars. Alan Hutton replaces Luke Young, Jenas comes in on loan and one top class goalkeeper (Shay Given) replaces another (Brad Freidel).

Rating: 5/10

Blackburn Rovers

A pretty good window for Rovers saw them replace Phil Jones, who was always likely to leave, with the cheaper Scott Dann who had been linked with the likes of Liverpool this window. That signing reinforces Blackburn's excellent defensive options which already include Christopher Samba and Ryan Nelsen. They also signed Yakubu from Everton in an attempt to find more goals. I'm not sure that he's the answer but, if he can find his best form, can be a real handful.

Rating: 7/10

Bolton Wanderers
Owen Coyle continues to exploit the loan market well as he captured more promising young stars this way. If Dedryk Boyata or Gael Kakuta prove to be half as effective as Jack Wilshere and Daniel Sturridge, they will be excellent additions to Bolton's squad. They also brought in the sometimes brilliant Tuncay and David N'Gog who may prosper at a smaller club with regular first team football. These signings bolster an attack looking a little short after the departure of Johan Elmander.

Rating: 7/10

Chelsea
Andre Villas Boas wasn't as busy as some expected this window, but managed to secure some good signings. Raul Meireles completed a surprise late move from Liverpool and could add some more creativity from midfield. Chelsea also signed Juan Mata from Valencia who has already scored his first Chelsea goal and the early signs show he, too could add more pace and creativity to the team. Villas Boas's earlier signings in the window showed his intent to add younger players to an ageing squad which was a sensible idea and we will simply have to wait to see how effective the likes of Romelu Lukaku can be.

Rating: 7/10

Everton
David Moyes's team have to be considered as one of the main losers of this transfer window. Yet again, no money was spent on players and on deadline day they lost one of their key players in the shape of Mikel Arteta with no chance to replace him. The only incomings were the unproven Drenthe and Denis Stracqualursi. The departures of Jermaine Beckford and Yakubu also leave them very short up front.

Rating: 3/10

Fulham
Fulham only splashed the cash on one player this summer and the £10.6m they spent for Bryan Ruiz shows their confidence in the player. His record in Holland is very good but that doesn't always reflect how they will do in the Premier League. Fulham also signed Jon Arne Riise and Zdenek Grygera from Italy who both bring a wealth of experience while they also got rid of a few unwanted players such as Zoltan Gera.

Rating: 6/10

Liverpool
After last season's disappointment, Kenny Dalglish moved quickly to secure deals to strengthen Liverpool in just about every position so they can challenge again for the top 4. And with Arsenal struggling, things are looking quite good. Dalglish moved to strengthen the midfield area with three of last season's best players. Charlie Adam was superb in Blackpool's struggling team, as was Stewart Downing at Villa and Jordan Henderson continued to show his potential at Sunderland. They also strengthened defensively. Jose Enrique looks to have solved a problematic left back position and could prove to be a bargain and Sebastian Coates has also joined. Craig Bellamy was added in a suprise move on deadline day and if he can get back to the form he was in at Man City, he could prove to be a good signing. Perhaps, the only downside for Liverpool, is the amount of money they've needed to spend in order to get these players in.

Rating: 9/10

Man City
Considering the financial advantage Man City have over everyone else, it's unsurprising that they were one of the main winners in this transfer window. Sergio Aguero and Samir Nasri have both signed to add yet more attacking quality to the City squad and seemed to have settled in quickly. They have also bolstered their defensive options with Gael Clichy and Stefan Savic also joining. Owen Hargreaves deadline day arrival surprised many and is undoubtedly a gamble considering his record. However, it could prove to be a shrewd move for City bearing in mind that Yaya Toure will play at the African Nations Cup and when fit Hargreaves is an excellent player. They also somehow managed to keep Carlos Tevez at Eastands but did shift some dead wood with the likes of Shaun Wright-Phillips and Roque Santa Cruz leaving.

Rating: 10/10

Man Utd
After losing Gary Neville, Paul Scholes and Edwin Van der Sar, Sir Alex Ferguson moved early in the transfer window to get the players he wanted. He replaced the experience that departed Old Trafford with youth, bringing in Phil Jones, Ashley Young and David de Gea. All three have huge potential to improve but Ferguson seems to have plans for them in the first team now. Phil Jones and Ashley Young already seemed to have settled in brilliantly but David de Gea has already dropped some clangers. Time will tell whether he is up to being Edwin van der Sar's long-term replacement.

Rating: 9/10

Newcastle United
Newcastle's excellent start to the season can't hide the fact that they were on of the main losers in this transfer window. Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Jose Enrique have all left the club leaving as Newcastle attempted to reduce their wage bill. The signings of young full-back Davide Santon and Yohan Cabaye could prove to be good business for Newcastle but don't replace the three key players that have left. Demba Ba has also left the club but their doesn't seem to be a clear replacement for Andy Caroll. Newcastle fans have been left disappointed at the board's lack of ambition and their unwillingness to spend the £35m from Andy Caroll's January switch to Liverpool.

Rating: 4/10

Norwich haven't spent big money on big names this window but have attracted some potentially useful players to the club and managed to get the majority of their business done early in the window. They have exploited the loan market well with Kyle Naughton and Ritchie de Laet both joining to improve their defensive options.James Vaughan could also prove to be a good signing from Everton.

Rating: 6/10

Queens Park Rangers
QPR were the busiest team in this summer's transfer window and with good reason. They looked favourites to go down after the first few games but Joey Barton on a free transfer is excellent business but Barton is prone to causing trouble off the pitch. They also managed to bring in many more players with Premiership experience. However, those players include the injury prone Kieron Dyer and the mistake prone Anton Ferdinand. Nevertheless, Shaun Wright-Phillips could prove to be a superb signing and is certainly a sign of the club's ambition to stay in the league.

Rating: 7/10

Stoke City
Stoke City have signalled their intent to move to the next level with 3 deadline day signings. They left it late, but eventually managed to convince Peter Crouch to join them which could prove to be an excellent signing particularly considering their more direct style and their ability to exploit the wings. Wilson Palacios seems like an upgrade on their current midfield options and Cameron Jerome offers them strength in depth which will be crucial to them considering the added fixtures from the Europa League. We mustn't also forget the signings of Upson and Woodgate, both of whom bring a wealth of experience to the Stoke side. Despite Woodgate's poor record with injuries, Stoke have him tied down on a pay as you play deal which means a far smaller risk for them.

Rating: 9/10

Sunderland
Sunderland' biggest problem last season was a lack of depth to their squad so it was always likely Steve Bruce would be busy this summer. The signings of O'Shea and Brown from Man Utd add a huge amount of Premiership experience but don't show much long term ambition. However, the attacking signings of Niklas Bendtner and Connor Wickham certainly do. If Niklas Bendtner gets his head down rather than thinking he's do good for Sunderland, he could be an excellent signing. The additions of David Vaughan and Seb Larsson could also prove to be shrewd additions.

Rating: 8/10

Swansea
Swansea have brought in Danny Graham and Leroy Lita to bolster their front line while Wayne Routledge can provide pace and skill from the wing. Michel Vorm is not well known in England but, based on is early performances, he could prove to be a bargain.

Rating: 7/10

Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham managed to attract Emmanuel Adebayor and Scott Parker and have shifted some of their fringe players to reduce the wages. However, it's likely many Tottenham fans will be disappointed they didn't do more especially as Gary Cahill seemed to be on he cards.

Rating: 6/10

West Brom
Shane Long's early season form suggests Roy Hodgson has pulled of a fantastic signing with the former Reading man. Ben Foster has also signed on loan after an outstanding season at Birmingham last season replacing the mistake prone Scott Carson.

Rating: 7/10

Wigan
Wigan, rather inevitab;y, lost their star man, Charles N'Zogbia to Aston Villa but did manage to get the signing of last season's player of the year Ali Al-Habsi who was a big hit with the Wigan fans.

6/10

Wolves
Wolves were quiet in this window but still managed to complete the excellent signing of Roger Johnson at center half who was superb for Birmingham last season and has already been made captain at Molineux. They also made the signing of Jamie O'Hara permanent.

6/10

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