One of the biggest transfer stories of the summer isn’t even taking place in England. Or in Europe.
But our neighbours across the pond got a fantastic surprise Saturday when Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard was officially introduced to his new LA Galaxy home crowd.
Gerrard is just the latest Premier League player to move to Major League Soccer, and to LA, after David Beckham and Robbie Keane – for his part, Keane bagged a hat trick in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Toronto FC.
Although Gerrard won’t make his on-field MLS debut until the Galaxy’s July 17 contest against the San Jose Earthquakes, the former Reds captain was unveiled at half-time and gave a speech to fans.
Oh, and he bought beer for 500 of them.
Most were pretty grateful.
But, understandably, many LFC supporters are still just a tad bitter…
Some people questioned if Americans even know what they’re getting with Gerrard.
Regardless, MLS fans are excited to see what Stevie G will bring to the pitch.
David Moyes is reportedly looking to pip Chelsea and take Southampton’s highly-rated left-back Luke Shaw to Manchester United, according to the Daily Mail.
The 17-year-old academy graduate and England youth international has taken the Premier League by storm in the past season having been thrust into the first team by former Saints boss Nigel Adkins.
Shaw remained in the side when Argentinian coach Mauricio Pochettino replaced Adkins in mid-January and has gone on to make 28 appearances as the side successfully secured their Premier League status.
Shaw is a self-confessed Chelsea fan and the Blues were thought to be lining up a summer swoop for the youngster. But Pochettino recently spoke out to insist that the player would not be leaving St Mary’s in the transfer window.
However, Moyes, who has scouted Shaw on several occasions during his time as Everton boss, is now believed to be pondering an offer as he looks to find a long-term replacement for Patrice Evra and is likely to be rebuffed in his efforts to take Leighton Baines with him from Goodison Park.
Despite the Premier League champions expressing an interest, the Telegraph claims Shaw will be happy to stay put at Southampton and will sign a five-year contract at the club when he turns 18 in July.
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Following a relatively indifferent start to the Premier League season, Mark Hughes won’t need to need to be reminded just how important it is that his QPR team start winning games.
An impressive recruitment drive that’s seen the likes of Esteban Granero and Julio Cesar come to Loftus Road, has led some observers to tout Hughes’ men for a mid-table finish.
But the realities of what constitute a successful season for the R’s, lie simply in their need to avoid relegation. Whatever happens this term, as long as they avoid dropping out of the riches of the Premier League, it must be consigned as a success. Otherwise, this could be one rollercoaster ride that comes to a very nasty end indeed.
There’s no doubt that on paper, QPR now possess a squad that should at least be making a decent shot at survival. The now possesses a Champions League winning goalkeeper in Julio Cesar. The duo of Park Ji-Sung and Jose Bosingwa are both players who have excelled at the very top and the likes of Andy Johnson, Bobby Zamora and Djibril Cisse are all more than capable of scoring goals in this league. Throw in the likes of Adel Taarabt, Alejandro Faurlin and Junior Hoilett and you can understand why some may feel safety is something of a banker at Loftus Road. A little short at the back perhaps, but Hughes doesn’t possess a bad squad at all.
Whether he can them all to gel and play cohesively for the rest of the term is a different matter, but there’s still no guarantees of Premier League safety- bigger and better teams have succumbed to the trap door of English football’s top tier and QPR are no different.
The question mark that appears to be hanging over the West London club, however, is more of what happens if they do end up slipping back into the Championship. QPR did an awful lot of business during the summer and on paper, you’d feel as if the books were relatively balanced. They brought 11 players in but shipped out 13 before the window slammed shut. But although the wage bill is now bereft of the likes of Peter Ramage and Danny Shittu it now beholds the likes of Esteban Granero and Julio Cesar.
Indeed, Tony Fernandes’ intense recruitment drive since January has been perceived in many quarters to be a high risk, heavily invested game of chance. Throw money at the team in an attempt to secure the desperately needed status of Premier League football in the short-term and reap the rewards of fiscal benefits in the long-run. Of course, it is not that simple. But the stakes still remain high, whatever way you look at it.
The crux of the issue revolves far more around the expenditure on wages, than it does on transfer fees, which even then is hard to gauge without the publishing of the most recent accounts. QPR have hardly gone on some irresponsible summer spend. The realms of the undisclosed fee make it a bit more difficult to judge exactly how much they’ve spent, but the majority of their business has been on free transfers and loan deals. Considering their most expensive acquisition was that of Granero for an initial £6.5million (rising to £9million with add-ons), they’ve not done badly at all.
But the issue resides more with the money paid out in the realm of wages, singing on fees and clauses in these new contracts. Again, making judgments upon accounts that we’ve yet to see is perhaps foolish, but even basic speculation suggests that maybe some risk has been taken with Fernandes’ approach.
Because in terms of revenue streams, you would imagine that QPR are putting a lot of eggs in the bag of the lucrative television money they receive from being in the Premier League. A very rough estimate would suggest that the latest TV money would be worth at least £40million as a basic figure- quite the boost to the club’s coffers. Because when you consider they have an average Loftus Road attendance of around 17,000, the revenue certainly isn’t coming from matchday income.
One figure people seem to like to bash QPR round the head with, was their last published accounts figure in which wages accounted for an astonishing 183% of revenue. What some kept forgetting is that the books are always for the year before- which would be QPR’s promotion winning season. This doesn’t account for the new television money or the bonuses and activated clauses that were triggered as a result of promotion. But it’s still an alarming figure.
Furthermore in August of last year and January, when Fernandes had to spend big to keep the club afloat, there is evidence to suggest that the clubs recruitment drive this year might not necessarily be bulletproof. The likes of Joey Barton, Djibril Cisse and Bobby Zamora et al were widely reported to have no relegation clauses built into their extremely lucrative contracts. Some may argue that may have been the only way to attract them to a club that was still in real danger of relegation, but it represents an undeniably reckless strategy if true. If the latest batch of signings – you would have thought the likes of Cesar would be at least – earning within the £50k to £70k mark are without similar clauses, they could be in real trouble if they go down.
The notion is that QPR would be forced to sell these players at an outrageously cheap rate, if not for free, should they go down. And considering most came in on free transfers or for a pittance, then that’s not a problem. But many of these players are at the wrong end of 20 and getting rid of players like Zamora and Wright-Philips, who are on those sort of wages, could be tough. We’ve seen before with Winston Bogarde and more recently Wayne Bridge that not every player will happily give up their pay packet. Even the Premier League parachute payments would struggle to cover QPR if they had to pay those sort of wages in the Championship.
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Tony Fernandes is no mug of a businessman and he recently stated:
“We’re not panic-buying; we’re not spending beyond our means; and we’re certainly not throwing money away like some are reporting.
“We’ve got a very strict and precise business plan in place at this club and any deal we do for a player is well within our budget.”
Whether that is media spin or good, honest, business acumen, all will be revealed in good time. Fernandes’ plans for the future are bold and if Hughes can keep the team up this year, securing the financial stability they need, there’s no reason why they can’t achieve their goals. But in the meantime, they simply cannot afford to move back own into the Championship. QPR fans know all too well the pain of financial disarray. Only if they do succumb to relegation, will we truly see the logic in the last 12 months worth of boardroom decisions.
How do you feel about QPR’s chances for the new season? Are you confident that Fernandes is managing the club well or do you fear the ramifications of relegation? Let me know what you think on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus and bat me your views.
As reported by The Sun, Manchester United face competition in the race to sign Tottenham Hotspur defender Toby Alderweireld this summer.
What’s the story?
Jose Mourinho will likely be a busy man in the upcoming transfer window as he looks to take his United side to the next level and compete for major honours at home and abroad next season.
One player on their radar is Toby Alderweireld, according to The Sun, who say that the Red Devils have now been joined by Chelsea in the battle for his signature.
The paper reckon the Spurs star is available for £45m and is now wanted by the Stamford Bridge side, with United previously showing interest.
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Would he be a good signing at Old Trafford?
With question marks around the abilities of players like Chris Smalling and Phil Jones at Manchester United, there’s no doubt that improvement can be made in the defensive positions this summer.
Bringing in Alderweireld would add real depth to an area of the pitch that is already well served by Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof.
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The Belgian international has been a stand-out at Spurs for three years now and at 29 years of age has the experience to excel at the elite level for the Red Devils.
Although he’s struggled with a hamstring injury this season, when fit and healthy he is one of the better defenders in the entire league and if available he’s certainly someone that United should be targeting this summer.
Rio Ferdinand has announced that he’s retired from professional football.
The former Manchester United, Leeds and West Ham centre-back spent the season just gone with QPR, but played infrequently as the Super Hoops slipped to relegation.
Following the drop, the London club announced that they would not be keeping the 36-year-old on, and Ferdinand has made the decision to end his long and glittering career.
He broke the news on BT Sport, and his official statement reads: “After 18 years as a professional footballer, I now feel it’s the right time for me to retire from the game that I love,
“As a 12-year-old boy, kicking around a football on the Friary Estate in Peckham, I never dreamt that I would play for my boyhood club West Ham, captain Leeds United, win the Champions League with Manchester United, or re-join my first manager Harry Redknapp at Queens Park Rangers.
“I will always regard the 81 times that I played for England, with immense pride. These are all treasured memories that will last a lifetime.
“Starting a career, every young man needs mentors. I found mine in Dave Goodwin, the district manager at Blackheath, and Tony Carr, the youth team manager at West Ham. They installed in me personality traits that lasted throughout my career. I will always be grateful to them.
“I’d like to thank Chris Ramsey, Harry Redknapp, David O’Leary and David Moyes who managed me at various times in my career, all the backroom staff who looked after me over the years, and the players that I played with. I would also like to thank the team who managed me off the pitch, Jamie Moralee and everybody at New Era.
“Winning trophies over my 13 years at Manchester United allowed me to achieve everything that I desired in football. From a young child to today, that was all I cared about.
“None of that would have been possible, without the genius of one man, Sir Alex Ferguson. His greatest accomplishment in my eyes will always be how he developed us as men, not just as footballers. He will in my opinion, always be the greatest manager in British football history.
“I’d also like to thank and pay tribute to my wife Rebecca and my family, including my mother and father, for their sacrifices, their encouragement and their advice throughout my career.
“And finally, I’d like to thank all the fans from all the clubs – for without them professional football would not exist. I will miss each and every one of you on my Saturday afternoons.”
Ferdinand won six Premier League titles, the Champions League, the FA Cup and three League Cups during an illustrious time at the very top of the game, and also made 81 outings for England, playing in World Cups and European Championships.
The centre-back missed much of the end of the 2014/15 season to be with his wife, Rebecca Ellison, who died after a battle with cancer earlier this month.
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Ferdinand is considered to be one of the finest defenders to have represented United and the Three Lions.
It’s coming to that stage of the year where trying to find something to do on a weekend is going to become a regular thing.
And with no World Cup or Euro competitions to look forward to this summer, what exactly do we have to keep us entertained in the coming months?
You could don an item of knitwear and stand in a field for numerous hours with the, albeit temperamental, sun baring down on you.
That is however as dull as it sounds, with the only slight perks of the job being the amazing lunch you get at half time, or at least I think it’s called half-time…
There is of course a Rugby League World Cup this year.
That will probably appeal to those of us that like a traditional media build up to a Three Lions squad competition before the ultimately inevitable painful exit of an England squad.
Well, I don’t know about you, but my heart can only take a painful England exit every other year, otherwise I’d be likely to slip into permanent depression, so that crosses Rugby off my list.
Other than that you could spend a few weeks of your summer sitting on Henman Hill, cheering on Andy ‘Charisma’ Murray with strawberries in hand.
You could clear the moth balls off your suit, shine your shoes, and get down to Royal Ascot to cheer on the nags.
Or, you could even buy tickets to this summer’s premier angling competition, ‘Fish-o-Mania’.
I know, I know, none of these really compare to the feeling you get half way through the week when you know football day is just a few sleeps away.
So if none of those options really get your pulse racing, than why not just wait for the new season to commence by following the transfer window’s ins and outs.
You can keep up with the window by following various media outlets or ITK’S (In the knows.)
I however wouldn’t recommend following ITK’s on social media platforms, they’re generally 14-year old boys, and following little boys is generally frowned upon, that is unless you used to work for the BBC.
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I personally have already reached transfer window mode, and have compiled a top 10 transfer targets for West Ham below.
They are in no particular order, so feel free to comment, condone, or bemoan my choices.
Click on Andy Carroll to start the countdown and get your transfer fix
Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld have formed a formidable centre-back partnership at Tottenham Hotspur following the latter’s move to White Hart Lane in 2015.
This season, though, the pair have had relatively limited game time together due to the injury woes suffered by Alderweireld.
The 29-year-old spent around three months on the sidelines with a hamstring problem, but since returning in February, the defender has featured just three times in all competitions.
In the Belgian’s absence, compatriot Vertonghen stepped up with Davinson Sanchez by his side and has started all but one of Spurs’ 34 Premier League games.
In total, the defender has helped the team keep 14 clean sheets, and has even scored once and created an assist.
The futures of both defenders have been talking points in the press lately, with football.london reporting that Tottenham plan to offer Vertonghen a new contract before the start of next season.
Alderweireld, though, is expected to be up for sale this summer, according to the London Evening Standard.
The publication claims that the 29-year-old is struggling to come to an agreement over wages, which has caused contract talks with the North London outfit to stall.
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Numerous times this season, Tottenham fans have urged the centre-back to put pen to paper, but given how crucial Vertonghen has been, would he be the one that Spurs would miss the most in the event of a transfer?
Manchester United’s Ashley Young has enjoyed a fruitful few months in the Premier League of late. United are on a six-match winning streak and Young has featured in his preferred left wing position for the bulk of that time. Maximum points have seen United reach a high of second place, and Young has had a lot to do with his club’s success.
Their most recent and compelling win came against local rivals Manchester City in the second derby of the season, where Young performed at his very best scoring United’s opening goal to cancel out Sergio Aguero’s earlier effort. And as if that wasn’t enough, the 29-year-old then made assists for both Marouane Fellaini and Chris Smalling. With the match ending 4-2 in United’s favour, the Red Devils claimed an important scalp on their journey to cementing a top four finish.
United’s triumphant display against City was similar in style to when they faced both Liverpool and Tottenham a couple of games ago. United have utilised Young on the left wing and Juan Mata on the right to good effect. Both are pacey players able to spread the play out wide taking on the full backs and getting the ball into the box for team mates like Wayne Rooney.
Earlier in the season manager Louis van Gaal was ridiculed for using too many long balls to provide his forwards with goal scoring opportunities and though they were steadily climbing the table, the football being played was neither convincing nor attractive. Now Van Gaal has found a system and line up that works and Young is a key component of that.
Since joining from Aston Villa in 2011, Young has come in for his fair share of criticism due to numerous cases of diving and below par performances. But now under Van Gaal the winger is thriving and seems to be repairing his once tarnished reputation.
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After adding his contribution last weekend Young has brought his total of Premier League assists to 58, meaning he features in the top 20 all-time list – quite an achievement for the winger who is still in his peak years.
The exploits of the trio of Young, Fellaini and Mata have been so impressive post Christmas that new boys Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao are finding it hard to get any starts. Where once all three looked like they’d be squeezed out of Van Gaal’s starting XI now the trio have turned their fortunes around and look irreplaceable.
Van Gaal is known for working well with players individually and as a team so it should be of no surprise that the Dutchman has found a way to return confidence and style back to Young’s performances focussing on improving the positives of his game rather than trying to remould him.
When everything was going so badly last season under David Moyes it was easy to pick apart and find faults in players like Young, so the fact that he is now regularly producing high quality crosses and finding the net himself shows how much difference 12 months can make.
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Van Gaal would do well to stick with his current formation for the rest of the campaign and surely Young will be one of the first names he’ll add to his team sheet. If United do play in the Champions League and make a push for the title next year then Young will get the chance to prove once again on the biggest stages that he is one of, if not the, best wingers England has to offer.
Swansea City midfielder Leon Britton has claimed that winger Scott Sinclair would be welcomed back to South Wales this summer if he leaves Manchester City.
Sinclair has failed to break into the City side this season and has been resigned to sitting on the bench after his £6.2million move from Swansea last summer.
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini last week claimed it was better if Sinclair left in the summer after an unsuccessful season and a move back to Swansea has been hinted.
A number of Premier League clubs would be interested in signing the pacey winger this summer and so a bidding war may erupt in order to land the former Chelsea youngster.
Britton understands why Sinclair left the Liberty Stadium last year and would welcome him back with open arms.
“We’d be happy to have him back. Scott did great in his two seasons here. In the Championship season he scored 25 goals and was a massive part in the success we’ve had,” Britton told the Daily Mirror.
“When you get an offer to go the champions you understand why he went and maybe it hasn’t worked out how he wanted it to be.
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“If he did become available, and obviously it is down to the manager, but the players would welcome him back tomorrow.”
Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Tottenham on Saturday marked only the second time in which Nicolas Otamendi hasn’t started a Premier League game for Pep Guardiola’s side this season, and the significance of that should not be overlooked.
While some will look back at the Argentina international’s worryingly unfocused performance in the Manchester derby, particularly culpable for Chris Smalling’s winner, affording January signing Aymeric Laporte the game-time to prove himself at the heart of defence was most probably Guardiola’s ultimate motivation.
It’s never easy for a young player to come into a title-chasing team mid-season and with City’s Premier League title a mere formality even before Manchester United’s shock defeat to West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, the visit to Wembley marked a chance for Guardiola to test the young Frenchman against good quality opposition in strong form.
Not only do Spurs boast a real beast of a goalscorer up front in Harry Kane, but they hadn’t lost a Premier League clash since the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium back in December.
And it was an impressive performance from Laporte, who certainly looked the part alongside Vincent Kompany. While an admittedly out-of-sources and isolated Kane failed to register a single effort at goal, the former Athletic Bilbao centre-half made the most interceptions and won the joint-most aerial duels of any City player, also ranking joint-second for clearances and joint-third for tackles.
What will impress Guardiola most though, is how the 23-year-old contributed in possession as well – something obviously vitally important to this City side.
He had the most touches of the ball and made the most passes of any City player, although a completion rate of 84% may need to be improved upon to ensure the new Premier League champions don’t squander possession to high presses.
That display will only worry Otamendi, and even more John Stones. Whereas Laporte’s chance to audition in a tough game has inevitably put the South American’s place in the first team under some threat, at least in the short term, the injured Englishman now feels as far down the pecking order as he’s ever been since moving to the Etihad Stadium from Everton.
So, City fans, which centre-back do you think is the ideal partner for Kompany (fitness permitting) next season?
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