With the dust of the transfer deadline having just about settled and it coinciding with an international break, it would seem an appropriate time to assess the state of play in the Premier League.
Unfortunately, with just four games played, it is a little premature to talk about who is doing well and who isn’t. It is almost like the first four weeks of the season have simply been a “taster”, an aperitif for what’s in store later this month. At least, next weekend we should have a better idea of how the teams will be lining up for the remainder of the season.
The transfer fees have become so ridiculously high the figures are virtually meaningless. As it is, the biggest news from the transfer window is one that didn’t go through — the expected move of unsettled Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea to Real Madrid failed to transpire, with both clubs blaming the other of taking too long processing documentation.
It so frustrated Spanish newspapers that as the deadline expired, two of them, Marca and Sport, carried a massive headline of “Ridiculo”, which doesn’t require any translation.
There will be mixed feelings amongst United fans over the outcome. De Gea’s replacement, Sergio Romero, has looked quite shaky and was blamed by many fans for last weekend’s defeat at Swansea City.
The problem is whether or not De Gea is in the right frame of mind to take over his goalkeeping duties for United. It will be frustrating for United if they have a world-class goalkeeper who either doesn’t want to play or whose head is so mixed up they dare not play him. A scrambled head is not recommended for picking out crosses.
United did manage a late signing of little-known 19-year-old Monaco striker Anthony Martial. The teenager has been dubbed “The French Danny Welbeck” which won’t necessarily reassure United fans. Someone who wasn’t impressed by the signing was former Arsenal star Thierry Henry. Pointing out Martial’s inexperience, Henry called the signing “a massive gamble” and felt the £36 million fee was “mind-blowing”.
We can never be sure how transfers will work out. Some will prove to be very astute while others will be total duds. If nothing else, we can expect plenty of “Martial Law” headlines in the coming season.
United have looked steady but they won’t be happy their noisy neighbours have enjoyed the perfect start with four straight wins. City already boast a goal difference of plus 10 and are looking to pull away from the pack. Their latest acquisition, Kevin de Bruyne from Wolfsburg, can only enhance their position, already boosted by the earlier signings of Raheem Sterling and Fabian Delph.
One big team desperate for good news after a wretched start to the season are defending champions Chelsea. Manager Jose Mourinho has not looked a happy bunny and for good reason, with just one victory in four games and his normally reliable defence in apparent disarray.
It was not a happy deadline day for Jose who failed to nab his main targets, Everton defender John Stones and Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba. Somewhat surprisingly he settled on Reading’s Jamaican defender Paul Hector, presumably as a backup as he was immediately loaned back to the Royals.
Which brings us to the Thai-owned clubs. Leicester City have had a brilliant start to the season under new manager Claudio Ranieri. Currently tucked in third place, they boosted their squad with a last-minute signing from Swansea of Nathan Dyer, who could be a very useful addition. Other promising signings are that of Switzerland captain Gokhan Inler and Japanese star Shinji Okazaki.
Going down a division into the Championship, the two Thai-owned clubs have not experienced a very inspiring start to the season and are hoping their new signings might make the difference.
Reading, in 13th place, notched a couple of very useful players on the final day, Dutch winger Ola John and Czech international striker Matej Vydra from Watford. Vydra scored 36 goals in 83 appearances for Watford over i the past couple of years. Earlier Reading manager Steve Clarke signed up midfielder Lucas Piazon on loan from Chelsea and now the Royals appear to have a better balanced squad.
Two places below Reading in 15th spot, Thai-owned Sheffield Wednesday have been very busy, making 15 signings during the transfer window. They will definitely be praying there is a bit of quality in that quantity.
One extremely unhappy player was West Brom’s talented Saido Berahino. Furious that chairman Jeremy Peace would not consider Tottenham’s repeated bids for him, he indicated that he would refuse to play for the Baggies this season. At least it prompted the best headline of the day, the Sun coming up with “War on Peace”.
Times have certainly changed on the transfer market. In the old days many clubs did not have the cash to pay transfer fees and instead used a kind of barter system. At the start of his career, former Ireland international Tony Cascarino moved from Crockenhill to Gillingham for a set of tracksuits.
Gillingham were also involved in a bizarre deal in 1937 when a player was transferred to Everton. The Toffees paid with three used turn-styles, a typewriter, two goalkeeper’s jerseys and three jars of weed-killer. All that was missing was a partridge in a pear tree.
With some of the weird results we have witnessed in the opening four weeks, no team can feel totally secure. It bodes well for when the Premier League really gets going next weekend.