Sorry for the inactivity over the course of the past few months, but FIFA '12 got me hooked. Navigating the Head to Head Seasons competition with PSG enveloped my life for a few hours each day. It's like a drug, really. When you lose, you play more because you want to win. And when you win, the going is good, so you play more! What a conundrum.
I managed to frustratingly fall short of cup titles, Division 1 promotion, and other accolades, because of gamers who want to win so bad the only teams they select are Real Madrid, Barcelona, or the Spanish national team. Not fair, b*tches. After being relegated from Division 2 I made up my mind to do something more productive with my time like write about soccer or play it. So here we are. I am dedicated to writing first, gaming second.
What's on the docket, you ask? Well, I don't know. All the football gossip you crave? You bet. It's the transfer window, after-all, so let's start with some juicy rumors from our friends over at Football Spy:
Stay tuned for more fun folks. And bear with me, I'm in FIFA rehab.
Photo Credits: Europa League, Goal.com Video Credits: Football Spy via footytube.com
Your guide to the topsy-turvy summer transfer window is back!! Brought to you by the Daily Mirror, Football Spy is a comprehensive transfer source you can trust. Summertime is Spy's bread and butter, so follow along with my friend Darren on a daily basis and do not hesitate to email in questions to spy@mirror.co.uk or comment on their videos at Footytube or You Tube.
Check out today's edition of Spy and keep following along:
On the much awaited winter deadline day, the England transfer record was smashed to dust, loosely built up again, then smashed to an even finer dust. Overall, around £215 million was spent throughout this January's window (up from £160 million last year), and about £120 million was shelled out on a frantic last day in England. It is fact that yesterday's transfers in England eclipsed the spending of all the leagues in the world combined during this window. Absolute insanity.
Lets review some big moves, shall we:
Andy Carroll Newcastle to Liverpool for £35m
Fernando Torres Liverpool to Chelsea £50m
A player in a car signifies an imminent transfer. Finally, Soccernet got something right when they posted these pictures yesterday at midday.
I certainly did not see either of these moves coming. I figured Torres would sulk his way through one last season at Anfield before being thrown to the wolves in the summer window. And Carroll? Who would have thought newly promoted Newcastle would sell their star in the middle of a quasi-successful campaign? Not only that, but Newcastle failed to use the funds made available by the sale of Carroll to buy a replacement, and now have to face the rest of the season minus a striker, let alone their best. The tragedy of this transfer is that Carroll did not even want to leave his hometown club.
These were the biggest moves of the transfer window. Chelsea set a domino effect through the league by bidding £50m for Torres, which in turnspurred Toon management to sell their homegrown talent at an inflated rate. Staggeringly, Torres wasn't Chelsea's only big signing of the day, as they shored up their back-line by finally acquiring David Luiz from Benfica for£21.3m. Chelsea spent £71.3m in one day. Let that fact sink in and simmer. All in all, the events in England yesterday were shocking, even to popular pundits.
Other big signings throughout the January window:
Edin Dzeko Wolfsburg to Manchester City £32m
I was spot on in my earlier transfer-related post about the big man from the Bundesliga side, Wolfsburg. Adebayor made way and Dzeko is now donning the #10 for the Citizens. His contributions thus far have been meager, but Edin scored his first goal last week, a late equalizer which saved City blushes to force an FA Cup replay with Notts County.
Darren Bent Sunderland to Aston Villa £24m
The striker, who has an astonishing EPL goal tally (84 goals in 192 appearances), was a great signing for Villa and good bank for Steve Bruce's Sunderland. Bent even scored in his debut at Villa Park. The only thing he may regret is his horrible number selection, 39.
Luis Suarez Ajax to Liverpool £22.8m
Lets not allow the huge sale of Torres and gross fee for Carroll overshadow the excellent deal Liverpool struck last week with Ajax for Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez. Exceptional player, exceptional signing. He's young, versatile and ready to run at English back-lines. I think the Kop will be hurling praise at a new Spanish speaking fellow by the end of this year.
David Luiz Benfica to Chelsea £21.3m
Chelsea capped off a successful window by getting talented center back David Luiz from Benfica. This player was an absolute must for the side.
Emmanuel Adebayor Manchester City to Real Madrid (on loan)
Want-away striker Emmanuel Adebayor got his wish when City loaned him out to Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid. Los Blancos were in desperate need of a striker after learning of Gonzalo Higuain's long injury layoff. Perhaps Mourinho will be the coach who gets the most out of the troubled striker.
Giampaolo Pazzini Sampdoria to Inter Milan €19m (€12 + €7 Biabiany)
Inter are big winners in this transfer window with the acquisition of Giampaolo Pazzini from Sampdoria. For a full description of Pazzo's move and impact this past Sunday, see my last post.
The best of the rest: Antonio Cassano Sampdoria to AC Milan (Undisclosed) Luiz Gustavo Hoffenheim to Bayern Munich €17m
Ryan Babel Liverpool to Hoffenheim €7m Elias Corinthians to Atletico Madrid €7m Ibrahim Affelay PSV to Barcelona €3m Ivan Rakitic Schalke 04 to Sevilla €2.5m Daniel Sturridge Chelsea to Bolton (on loan) Yuto Nagatomo Cesena to Inter Milan (on loan) told you so Obafemi Martins Rubin Kazan to Birmingham City (on loan) Michael Bradley Borussia Monchengladbach to Aston Villa (on loan)
It seems I could blog for days about this transfer window. But, what's the point? The whole football community is talking about the same thing. To fill in the blanks, check out goal.com's rundown of the window here and please view the final episode of Football Spy, which will give you a comprehensive roundup of who went where:
Best wishes from Sensible Soccer! Let's enjoy the rest of this season together.
As work pulverizes my life, I blog to urge you to visit Footytube and view what I consider a top transfer news source: the Mirror's Football Spy. During any transfer window, Football Spy will give you the hottest rumors and moves on the market. What started as a two-minute video blurb, has grown into a 5 -7 minute daily scope of all footballing speculations and deals. It is highly geared toward the Premier League, since it is based in the UK, but transfer news from around most leagues is usually mentioned in the show. And for the first time they now have pictured windows aiding their vids! I find the sources reliable and the host a delightful British gentleman. I watch faithfully everyday in and around transfer windows and urge you to do the same!
Today's Football Spy:
Sensible Soccer's brief review of what's hot in the transfer window:
David Beckham
Cometh the man and his gifted right foot! Becks is wanted by many teams around the world, but it seems that a loan deal with Tottenham, the club he supported in his youth, is close.
Edin Dzeko
Reports have emerged that Dzeko is on his way to Manchester as we speak to put pen to paper with City. True?
Ronaldinho
Blackburn?!? What the...are there even any discotecas there for the Brazilian to party at? I don't think it will happen but who knows!
Robbie Keane
Wave bye-bye to Tottenham (again) Robbie, it's time. I am crossing my fingers for some sort of switch with Everton which could include Keane and/or Niko Kranjcar to for the talented South African, Steven Pienaar. Come on you Spurs!
Antonio Cassano
Told you! The temperamental Italian is now officially on AC Milan.
Please tune in to Football Spy for your daily transfer news needs and stand by for an exciting Sensible Soccer filled 2011.
