• Frenchman will not be reunited with Phil Thompson
• Villa keen to look after Kevin MacDonald

Gérard Houllier has agreed a three-year contract to become Aston Villa’s manager and is set to be confirmed as Martin O’Neill’s successor , after he has held talks with the French Football Federation about the terms of his departure.

Houllier, who has been working as the technical director of the FFF, has shaken hands on a deal with Randy Lerner and given the Villa chairman his word that he will accept the position. Although there are some minor details to be ratified, Villa do not anticipate any problems and expect Houllier to be presented to the media on Thursday or, at the latest, on Friday.

The Frenchman will not be reunited with Phil Thompson, who worked alongside him at Liverpool. Thompson had been tipped to become the assistant manager at Villa Park but will instead continue with his media work. It remains to be seen whether Houllier will turn to one of his former players at Anfield to fulfil that role or offer the position to Kevin MacDonald, who was placed in caretaker charge when O’Neill resigned five days before the start of the season.

MacDonald eventually put his name forward to be considered for the manager’s position and, although he has missed out, Villa are keen to look after the Scot, whose coaching ability and work in developing youngsters at the club over the past 15 years are highly regarded by Lerner. At the very least, Villa will keep open the reserve team manager’s position that MacDonald held before O’Neill stepped down.Houllier’s first game will be at the Britannia Stadium on Monday night, when Villa face Stoke City in the Premier League. The 63-year-old will be only the second foreigner to manage Villa, following Jozef Venglos’s brief reign between 1990 and 1991.

• Balotelli has missed Manchester City’s last three games
• Jérôme Boateng could make debut after knee injury

Mario Balotelli’s hopes of making his home debut for Manchester City on Saturday are receding after the latest tests on his knee injury.

Balotelli, signed for £22.5m from Internazionale last month, has missed the last three games and the club’s medical staff are increasingly pessimistic about the chances of him playing against Blackburn Rovers this weekend.

Jérôme Boateng, the £10.5m signing from Hamburg, has a slim chance of making his first appearance for Roberto Mancini’s team after making encouraging progress in his rehabilitation from a knee injury.

The City striker Roque Santa Cruz, meanwhile, still hopes to play in Serie A despite a proposed move to Lazio falling through just before the transfer window closed. “There has been a lot of talk of [me moving] to Italy,” he said. “Perhaps next time it will materialise.”

• Webb to officiate West Brom v Tottenham on Saturday
• Assistants Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey also return

Howard Webb will make his long-awaited return to refereeing at The Hawthorns on Saturday, when he takes charge of the Premier League game between West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur in his first professional match since the World Cup final on 11 July.

Webb will have his World Cup final assistants, Darren Cann and Mike Mullarkey, alongside him for the fixture, which will be the first domestic game he has refereed since the Championship play-off semi-final second leg between Cardiff and Leicester City almost four months ago.

All three officials were given an extended break after South Africa, although they could have been forgiven for wondering if they ever wanted to return to refereeing and running the line after the tempestuous World Cup final between Spain and Holland. Webb handed out 14 yellow cards and one red in a game that seemed almost impossible to control at times.

The 39-year-old, who was England’s first World Cup final referee since Jack Taylor in 1974, was heavily criticised by the Dutch afterwards, with their coach, Bert Van Marwij, and many of his players, harshly blaming Webb for defeat.

Webb, however, has revealed that he received huge support in the wake of the final, including messages from several Premier League managers, with many people recognising he was given a thankless task, and that he handled the match as well as he possibly could in the circumstances.

Webb has since admitted he made two mistakes in the final World Cup final. He believes that he should have given Nigel de Jong a straight red card, when the Dutch midfielder kicked Xabi Alonso in the chest in the first half, and he also accepts he should have awarded Holland a corner in the second period of extra-time, when he gave Spain a goal-kick instead.

Although that decision came shortly before Andres Iniesta scored the only goal of the game, Webb has pointed out that “Holland had the ball in between” and that “the one thing did not lead directly to the other”.

Webb was back in the middle at the end of last month, when he took charge of a Rotherham Cup match on a Sunday afternoon between Thrybergh Working Mens Club and Wickersley Social, although he can expect a slightly more demanding afternoon’s work at The Hawthorns.

He may also share the pitch with one of the Dutch players from the final in South Africa, with Rafael van der Vaart, who joined Spurs on deadline day from Real Madrid, a possible debutant.

While teaching footballers management skills, Sue Bridgewater saw plenty of scope for research

Although the football season is only a few weeks old, it’s easy enough to predict which Premier League clubs will be “there or thereabouts” next May. Only multi-millionaire and, increasingly, billionaire chairmen can buy a seat at the top end of the table.

Dr Sue Bridgewater has set out to offer an alternative analysis of what makes a successful coach, taking into account the resources they are working with. Bridgewater, who is associate professor of marketing and strategy at Warwick business school and director of its centre for management in sport, runs a course offering former footballers the chance to learn the skills necessary to become successful managers. But she freely admits that she has learned plenty from them and quickly saw their professional insights as a source of research.

“I became interested in the notion of what really constitutes success in football,” she says. “On one level it’s about winning points. But straightforward league tables don’t reflect the full measure of success. It’s rather like comparing a headteacher at an inner-city school with the head at an affluent independent school. Football has similar issues in terms of the resources the club is working with.”

In her book, Football Management, she provides an alternative table of managers, taking into account the finances of each club, particularly the wage bills, which are a good measure of ability to attract top players. It was published shortly before the World Cup finals, and England fans would have been surprised to see the name of Steve McClaren lying second, with only Tony Pulis of Stoke City ahead of him. McClaren was dubbed the “wally with the brolly” after his tenure of the national side ended when they failed to qualify for the European Championships of 2008 and the heavens opened over Wembley.

“But before he became England manager, he had consistently over-achieved with Middlesbrough,” Bridgewater insists, “and he’s since gone on to take FC Twente [of the Netherlands] to the Dutch championship.” Meanwhile, his successor, Fabio Capello, has become the new target of media scorn after England failed so lamentably at the World Cup finals in South Africa. Why is it that managers with such honourable records at club level are so often brought down to earth by international football?

It’s an issue that Bridgewater has pondered after discussions with three former students on her course – England under-21 manager Stuart Pearce, former Manchester City and Wales manager Mark Hughes – currently Fulham manager – and Newcastle’s Chris Hughton, who was assistant manager of Spurs and Ireland at the time.

“It became clear to me that club and country are two very different challenges,” she says. “Admittedly there are some elements that are similar, insofar as you have to get the best out of a team. But at international level that team is made up of players who are stars at their clubs. They know each other, but they don’t play together regularly. An international manager has to get the best out of them in a very intensive block of time, which often comes at the end of an exhausting league season. An international tournament is a big project, an event that you build up to under intense media scrutiny. There’s always an element of luck in management and, if it goes against you at the knock-out stage, it’s more significant because there’s no way of coming back. “

Before it became clear that Capello’s contract had made him too expensive for the Football Association to sack, Roy Hodgson was touted as a potential successor – until, that is, he accepted an invitation to take over at Liverpool. Hodgson’s great achievement last season was to take Fulham, forever cast as humble neighbours to wealthy Chelsea, all the way to the final of the Europa League. So why was it that he was not in Bridgewater’s alternative table when it was first published?

“He would have been right up there,” she concedes. “But he had spent a lot of time coaching abroad before he took over at Fulham and there was a bit of a time lag in getting hold of the accounts that tell us how much money a manager has at his disposal.”

She pauses, before adding: “This table was never intended to be viewed in isolation. It will be seen alongside the real league tables, which show what great managers like Sir Alec Ferguson or Arsène Wenger achieve season after season, albeit with high levels of resources. I’m just looking at a way to be fairer and highlight the achievements of some of the unsung heroes.”

Bridgewater’s latest strand of research looks at other career options faced by top-class sports people when they have to step down from the pinnacle. “It’s not just about footballers,” she stresses. “I’m also working with the Professional Cricketers Association and the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust. Olympic athletes, gymnasts and jockeys can face the same issue. They’re people who have been very focused on achieving a status that begins to elude them in their 30s. What do they do with the rest of their lives?”

Top Premier League stars should surely have earned enough. “Yes, but everybody needs something to get up for in the morning. There’s only so much golf you can play.”

Now that Italy have won their first match of the EURO 2012 qualifiers against Estonia, it’s time to look ahead. The group which Italy have been put in isn’t difficult, but it could cause some unexpected results and slip-ups if the Azzurri aren’t careful. Probably the most dangerous teams in the group are Serbia, Northern Ireland, and Slovenia. And Italy will need to win their second match against the Faroe Islands to make sure that they don’t find themselves in a bad situation when they need to face the bigger teams.

The 2-1 comeback from Italy was wonderful, a positive result which highlights that the team has an inspired Cassano along with an eternal Pirlo. But that win was against Estonia, the 94th ranked team in the world, and if Italy wants to move up from 11th, they’re going to have to beat stronger teams. Italy is the best ranked team (in the FIFA rankings) in their group at 11th, Serbia is 13th, Slovenia is 19th, Northern Ireland is 59th, Estonia is 94th, and the Faroe Islands are 118th. The opponents aren’t too powerful, but Serbia already started well with a 3-0 win against the Faroe Islands.

The main opponents which will be battling for first place in Group C are Serbia, a strong team with players like Vidic, Stankovic, Krasic, and Kuzmanovic. They’re filled with top quality players which are used to playing in Europe’s top leagues, so it will be important to defeat them when the time comes, so that Italy can qualify directly at first place.

Serbia defeated Italy’s upcoming opponents, the Faroe Islands, 3-0 with no trouble. Italy should be able to win with the same scoreline, if not more so that they can hopefully surpass Serbia in the group and be in a good position when the direct clash comes.

Italy will also have to face Northern Ireland, who beat Slovenia 1-0, away at Slovenia. Nigel Worthington’s side now has about a month before they face the Azzurri in their next match in Ireland, and they’ll be looking to win against Italy in hopes of progressing out of the group. Northern Ireland will probably be the most passionate opponents which will fight to the end to get a result.

The team which Northern Ireland defeated, Slovenia, will be looking to recuperate points which they lost. In the World Cup Slovenia barely missed out progressing past the group stages, they finished behind USA and England, just one point off from both of those teams. The players to watch out for will be Koren and Birsa, two tricky playes which can create goals with little difficulty. Italy will face Slovenia later on in the qualification campaign, and it would be best to have already won another couple of matches before having to face them.

Most of these teams will be fighting for their spot at the EURO’s, and I repeat that Serbia, Northern Ireland, and Slovenia are tricky teams to play against. It will be important that the Azzurri grab three points against the Faroe Islands on September 7th, and if possible they should score plenty of goals to help out in the goal difference factor. After the Faroe Islands Italy will travel to Ireland to play Northern Ireland the 8th of October, and then they will host Serbia the 11th of October.

While I think that Prandelli’s side can get three wins out of three and take first place in the group, we’ll have to wait and see how much of a fight the opponents will put up. The problem is that if Italy lose against Serbia, that would mean heaps of trouble with the Serbians who are already first in the group.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming matches for Italy? Can they manage three wins in the next three matches? Share your thoughts by commenting below!

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Italy have begun to forget about Lippi and the World Cup failure, the team has new faces and is beginning to click under Cesare Prandelli. The first qualifying match for the European Championships Poland/Ukraine 2012 was against Estonia, and while Prandelli couldn’t use Balotelli, Buffon, and a few other important players, Italy were able to win.

Cesare Prandelli decided to go with a 4-3-3, using a front three of Pazzini in the middle, Cassano on the left, and Pepe on the right. In the midfield there was Pirlo, Montolivo, and De Rossi playing in front of Bonucci and Chiellini in the center of defense, with Molinaro on the left and Cassani on the right. Sirigu started between the posts, getting his second cap for Italy, his first being the 1-0 loss which the Azzurri suffered against the Ivory Coast.

Italy started very offensively, Cassano stringing passes together, Pirlo spreading the play, and Pazzini looking dangerous up front. But soon enough this attacking style which created a couple of good opportunities slowly died down as Estonia played defensively, absorbing Italy’s attacks as they tried to hit the Azzurri on the counter. The first goal arrived from a free kick, a long range shot which Sirigu spilled awkwardly, then Zenjov got the tap-in before the Italian defenders could clear the ball.

This made it 1-0 in the 31st minute, the Azzurri’s morale couldn’t be lower, they were unable to do much for the remainder of the first half. The second half began with Italy trying to maintain the ball against Estonia who were pumped up with the idea of defeating a team 83 places ahead of them in the FIFA rankings.

Then the Azzurri’s response arrived, a corner swung in by Pirlo which Cassano headed into the back of the net, equalizing and lifting the entire team’s spirit. This was in the 60th minute, and just three minutes later Pirlo swung in another corner towards Cassano at the near post, the Sampdoria player backheeled it into the middle of the penalty area where Bonucci whacked it into the back of the net. A comeback in just three minutes in which Cassano got a goal and an wonderful assist.

Italy held out for the rest of the match playing with a more relaxed tempo, Prandelli had brought on Quagliarella for Pepe before the comeback, and Cesare went on to replace Montolivo with Palombo and Cassano with Antonelli. Estonia began to push forward as their coach Ruutli put in forwards in hopes of finding an equalizer. In the end Italy were able to hold out and get three important points, and they now find themselves second behind Serbia who won 3-0 over the Faroe Islands.

Here are the ratings for the Italy players, keep in mind that I am very strict in the way I rate players.

Sirigu: 5.5, spilled the free kick letting Estonia go ahead, and after that he was flapping uselessly at crosses.

Cassani: 6.5, pushed forward providing another option in attack, confident in his play and provided solidity on the right side.

Bonucci: 6.5, got the winner and was pretty solid at the back with Chiellini, pushed up and helped out in attack quite a bit, leaving Chiellini with some work to do.

Chiellini: 7, was a rock at the back, the only time he slipped up was for the goal but other than that he was fantastic at keeping the Estonian forwards quiet.

Molinaro: 6, an okay return, pushed forward but not as much as Cassani, gained confidence throughout the game and found a way to help be incisive.

De Rossi: 6.5, a strong presence in the midfield, paired up with Pirlo to keep possession and spread the ball around.

Pirlo: 7, a wonderful performance from the AC Milan midfielder, swung in dangerous corners, got an assist, and taught us all how to appreciate smooth passing.

Montolivo: 5, I had forgotten that Montolivo was on the field for about 30 minutes, totally invisible, didn’t touch the ball and was disappointing. Prandelli did well to take him off.

Pepe: 5.5, Pepe ran around and was active, but he just didn’t find a way to be useful playing up near Pazzini, would’ve been better used in the midfield.

Pazzini: 6.5, was dangerous at the beginning with a couple of good shots, great movement with Cassano as their quick passing moved up the field well.

Cassano: 7.5, a great performance from Cassano, quick passing, maintained possession, scored a goal, and assisted another with brilliance.

Quagliarella: 5.5, replaced Pepe and barely touched the ball, didn’t do much and was fairly disappointing.

Palombo: 6, took off Montolivo and provided more solidity, a good move by Prandelli which allowed Pirlo to move up a bit more than before.

Antonelli: 6, only played 10 minutes on his debut for the Azzurri, replaced Cassano and he ran around, provided enthusiasm, and made sure he was noticed in a positive light.

What are your thoughts on Italy’s win? Share your thoughts by commenting below!

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As the new Serie A season pauses this weekend for national teams to begin their qualifying for Euro 2012, Italian soccer fans may feel lost not being able to watch their favorite club.  To be honest, the Italy-Estonia qualifier looks less than tantalizing only two months after the exciting World Cup match-ups and high-level play.  But this match (which you can see on ESPN3 on Friday) does have some compelling story lines that makes it worthwhile to watch:

1. The New Azzurri Team Members: As Niccolo wrote, injuries and disappointing play have led to a number of new players being called up by Cesare Prandelli for tomorrow’s match (in addition to those called up for the Ivory Coast friendly in August).  Five players received their first call-up for the Italian national team – Luca Antonelli, Cesare Bovo, Lorenzo De Silvestri, Daniele Gastaldello, and Luca Cigarini.  With injuries to big names like Balotelli and Marchisio, this is a chance for some fringe players or less well-known players to make a case for their inclusion on the Euro 2012 squad going forward.
2. Removing the Bad Taste of the World Cup: Leading up to the World Cup, prognosticators saw the warning signs for the Italian team and expressed trepidation about their chances – too few goals, too slow pace, too little enthusiasm.  The failure to advance past group stage left a bad taste in the mouth of many Azzurri fans and tainted the Italian system.  While Estonia is not a top-flight contender like Spain or France, it is a chance for the new Prandelli era to put the previous team behind them and begin the trek to the 2014 World Cup in style.  A dominant or convincing win would boost morale, but a poor win, draw or loss could resurrect doubts about Italian football.
3. Redemption for World Cup Players: Andrea Pirlo has the opportunity to show he is still a world class player, despite a knee injury that reduced his effectiveness in the World Cup.  Giampaolo Pazzini was a major disappointment for the Azzurri in South Africa – after being put on the Italian squad because of a phenomenal ‘09-’10 Serie A season, Pazzini was a dud in his World Cup appearance.  Both, and other members of Lippi’s squad, can show they can still play internationally.
4. The Race for #2 (or maybe #1) Keeper: With Buffon recovering, three keepers will have the chance to establish themselves as the solid backup or even the starter depending on Gigi’s health.  While Marchetti already has experience playing for the Azzurri, his performance in South Africa left many fans looking for better.  This could be a good chance for Sirgu or Viviano to show they are world class keepers, or Marchetti to show he is better than his World Cup performance.
5. The Chance to See Estonia’s Cool Football Culture:  While only in existence as an independent nation since 1991, Estonia has created for itself a pretty cool football culture.  Its stadium, A. Le Coq Arena, is named after a national beer and only holds about 10,000 people for soccer matches.  Their supporters are known as “the football hospital” in English and upon joining, members are given a “diagnosis” for joining the hospital.  The players aren’t well known outside the country, with two (keeper Mihkel Aksalu and striker Tarmo Kink) playing in the EPL.  American soccer fans will recognize New York Red Bull midfielder Joel Lindpere.

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Here are the full squad lists for the 20 Premier League clubs with their homegrown players in bold

Arsenal

1 Almunia, Manuel

2 Arshavin, Andrey

3 Bendtner, Nicklas

4 Chamakh, Marouane

5 Clichy, Gaël

6 Denilson

7 Diaby, Abou

8 Djourou, Johan

9 Eboué, Emmanuel

10 Fabianski, Lukasz

11 Fábregas, Cesc

12 Koscielny, Laurent

13 Mannone, Vito

14 Nasri, Samir

15 Rosicky, Tomas

16 Sagna, Bacary

17 Song, Alex

18 Van Persie, Robin

19 Vermaelen, Thomas

20 Squillaci, Sébastien

Under 21 players (selected)

Gibbs, Kieran

Ramsey, Aaron

Traoré, Armand

Vela Carlos

Walcott, Theo

Wilshere, Jack

Aston Villa

1 Agbonlahor, Gabriel

2 Beye, Habib

3 Carew, John

4 Collins, James

5 Cúellar, Carlos

6 Davies, Curtis

7 Downing, Stewart

8 Dunne, Richard

9 Friedel, Brad

10 Guzan, Brad

11 Heskey, Emile

12 Hogg, Jonathan

13 Lichaj, Eric

14 Ireland, Stephen

15 Osbourne, Isaiah

16 Petrov, Stilian

17 Reo-Coker, Nigel

18 Salifou, Moustapha

19 Sidwell, Steven

20 Warnock, Stephen

21 Young, Ashley

22 Young, Luke

Under 21 players (selected)

Albrighton, Marc

Collins, James

Delfouneso, Nathan

Delph, Fabian

Birmingham City

1 Taylor, Maik

2 Carr, Stephen

3 Murphy, David

4 Bowyer, Lee

5 Johnson, Roger

6 Ridgewell, Liam

7 Larsson, Sebastian

8 Gardner, Craig

9 Phillips, Kevin

10 Jerome, Cameron

11 O’Connor, Garry

12 Ferguson, Barry

13 Doyle, Colin

14 Derbyshire, Matt

15 Dann, Scott

16 McFadden, James

17 Míchel

18 Fahey, Keith

19 Zigic, Nikola

20 Parnaby, Stuart

21 Hleb, Alexander

22 Beausejour, Jean

23 Foster, Ben

24 Jiranek, Martin

25 O’Shea, James

Under 21 players (selected)

Delfouneso, Emmitt

Mutch, Jordon

Vallès, Enric

Blackburn Rovers

1 Robinson, Paul

2 Olsson, Martin

3 Samba, Christopher

4 Givet, Gaël

5 Nelsen, Ryan

6 Emerton, Brett

7 Dunn, David

8 Kalinic, Nikola

9 Diouf, El Hadji

10 Grella, Vince

11 Pedersen, Morten Gamst

12 Bunn, Mark

13 Nzonzi, Steven

14 Andrews, Keith

15 Salgado, Michel

16 Brown, Jason

17 Fielding, Francis

18 Chimbonda, Pascal

19 Diouf, Mame Biram

20 Mwaruwari, Benjani

21 Roberts, Jason

Under 21 players (selected)

Gunning, Gavin

Hoilett, David

Jones, Phil

Linganzi, Amine

Santa Cruz, Julio

Todd, John

Blackpool

1 Adam, Charlie

2 John-Baptiste, Alex

3 Basham, Chris

4 Crainey, Stephen

5 Martin, Malaury

6 Coid, Daniel

7 Demontagnac, Ishmel

8 Eardley, Neal

9 Edwards, Robert

10 Euell, Jason

11 Evatt, Ian

12 Gilks, Matthew

13 Grandin, Elliot

14 Harewood, Marlon

15 Keinan, Dekel

16 Ormerod, Brett

17 Southern, Keith

18 Sylvestre, Ludovic

19 Taylor-Fletcher, Gary

20 Varney, Luke

21 Vaughan, David

22 Campbell, DJ

23 Carney, David

24 Kingson, Richard

Under 21 players (selected)

Almond, Louis

Cathcart, Craig

Halstead, Mark

Husband, Stephen

Bolton Wanderers

1 Blake, Robert

2 Bogdan, Adam

3 Cahill, Gary

4 Cohen, Tamir

5 Davies, Kevin

6 Davies, Mark

7 Davis, Sean

8 Elmander, Johan

9 Gardner, Ricardo

10 Holden, Stuart

11 Jaaskelainen, Jussi

12 Klasnic, Ivan

13 Knight, Zat

14 Lee, Chung-yong

15 Muamba, Fabrice

16 O’Brien, Andy

17 O’Brien, Joey

18 Petrov, Martin

19 Ricketts, Sam

20 Robinson, Paul

21 Samuel, Jlloyd

22 Steinsson, Gretar

23 Taylor, Matthew

24 Al-Habsi, Ali

Under 21 players (selected)

Alonso, Marcos

Lynch, Jay

Moreno, Rodrigo

Obadeyi, Temitope

Ward, Daniel

Chelsea

1 Cech, Petr

2 Ivanovic, Branislav

3 Cole, Ashley

4 Essien, Michael

5 Ramires

6 Lampard, Frank

7 Benayoun, Yossi

8 Drogba, Didier

9 Mikel, John Obi

10 Malouda, Florent

11 Bosingwa, Jose

12 Zhirkov, Yuri

13 Ferreira, Paulo

14 Kalou, Salomon

15 Turnbull, Ross

16 Terry, John

17 Alex

18 Anelka, Nicolas

19 Hilário, Henrique

Under 21 players (selected)

Bertrand, Ryan

Borini, Fabio

Cork, Jack

Hutchinson, Sam

Kakuta, Gaël

Lalkovic, Milan

McEachran, Josh

Mellis, Jacob

Mitrovic, Marko

Philliskirk, Daniel

Rajkovic, Slobodan

Sebek, Jan

Sturridge, Daniel

Taylor, Rhys

Van Aanholt, Patrick

Bruma, Jeffrey

Woods, Michael

Everton

1 Hibbert, Tony

2 Baines, Leighton

3 Jagielka, Phil

4 Neville, Phil

5 Osman, Leon

6 Beckford, Jermaine

7 Cahill, Tim

8 Anichebe, Victor

9 Vaughan, James

10 Arteta, Mikel

11 Turner, Iain

12 Pienaar, Steven

13 Howard, Tim

14 Coleman, Seamus

15 Yakubu, Ayegbeni

16 Fellaini, Marouane

17 Mucha, Jan

18 Saha, Louis

19 Heitinga, John

20 Bilyaletdinov, Diniyar

21 Distin, Sylvian

Under 21 players (selected)

Agard, Kieran

Akpan, Hope

Baxter, Jose

Duffy, Shane

Fitzgibbon, James

Garbutt, Luke

Gueye, Magaye

Mustafi, Shkodran

Silva, João

Rodwell, Jack

Wallace, James

Fulham

1 Schwarzer, Mark

2 Stockdale, David

3 Pantsil, John

4 Stoor, Frederick

5 Kelly, Stephen

6 Gera, Zoltan

7 Dempsey, Clint

8 Riise, Bjorn Helge

9 Hughes, Aaron

10 Baird, Christopher

11 Halliche, Rafik

12 Etuhu, Dickson

13 Dikgacoi, Kagisho

14 Johnson, Andy

15 Kamara, Diomansy

16 Dembéle, Moussa

17 Hangeland, Brede

18 Murphy, Danny

19 Greening, Jonathan

20 Zamora, Bobby

21 Elm, David

22 Johnson, Edward

23 Salcido, Carlos

24 Davies, Simon

25 Duff, Damien

Under 21 players (selected)

Briggs, Matthew

Dalla Valle, Lauri

Kacaniklic, Alexander

Marsh-Brown, Keanu

Touré, Cheick

Liverpool

1 Jones, Brad

2 Johnson, Glen

3 Agger, Daniel

4 Aurélio, Fábio

5 Gerrard, Steven

6 Torres, Fernando

7 Cole, Joe

8 Jovanovic, Milan

9 Kyrgiakos, Sotirios

10 Rodríguez, Maxi

11 Kuyt, Dirk

12 Leiva, Lucas

13 Carragher, Jamie

14 Reina, José

15 Spearing, Jay

16 Darby, Stephen

17 Skrtel, Martin

18 Poulsen, Christian

19 Babel, Ryan

20 Konchesky, Paul

21 Meireles, Raul

Under 21 players (selected)

Amoo, David

Ayala, Daniel

Eccleston, Nathan

Gulacsi, Peter

Hansen, Martin

Ince, Thomas

Kelly, Martin

Mavinga, Chris

Ngog, David

Pacheco, Daniel

Shelvey, Jonjo

Wilson, Danny

Manchester City

1 Hart, Joe

2 Given, Shay

3 Taylor, Stuart

4 Logan, Shaleum

5 Richards, Micah

6 Zabaleta, Pablo

7 Kompany, Vincent

8 Boateng, Jérôme

9 Lescott, Joleon

10 Touré, Kolo

11 Bridge, Wayne

12 Kolarov, Aleksandar

13 Johnson, Adam

14 Barry, Gareth

15 Touré, Yaya

16 Vieira, Patrick

17 De Jong, Nigel

18 Milner, James

19 Johnson, Michael

20 Silva, David

21 Wright-Phillips, Shaun

22 Tevez, Carlos

23 Adebayor, Emmanuel

24 Santa Cruz, Roque

25 Jô

Under 21 players (selected)

Ball, David

Balotelli, Mario

Boyata, Dedryck

Ibrahim, Abdisalam

Nimely, Alex

Trippier, Kieran

Weiss, Vladimir

Manchester United

1 Van Der Sar, Edwin

2 Bebé

3 Neville, Gary

4 Evra, Patrice

5 Evans, Jonny

6 Ferdinand, Rio

7 Brown, Wes

8 Anderson

9 Berbatov, Dimitar

10 Rooney, Wayne

11 Giggs, Ryan

12 Park, Ji-Sung

13 Vidic, Nemanja

14 Carrick, Michael

15 Scholes, Paul

16 O’Shea, John

17 Fletcher, Darren

18 Valencia, Luis Antonio

19 Gibson, Darron

20 Kuszczak, Tomasz

21 De Laet, Ritchie

22 Hernández, Javier

23 Owen, Michael

24 Hargreaves, Owen

Under 21 players (selected)

Amos, Ben

Cleverley, Thomas

Drinkwater, Danny

Eikrem, Magnus

Evans, Corry

Gill, David

Keane, William

Macheda, Federico

Obertan, Gabriel

Da Silva, Rafael

Da Silva, Fábio

Pogba, Paul

Smalling, Chris

Welbeck, Danny

Newcastle United

1 Campbell, Sol

2 Taylor, Steven

3 Ameobi, Shola

4 Barton, Joey

5 Guthrie, Danny

6 Lovenkrands, Peter

7 Enrique, José

8 Smith, Alan

9 Best, Leon

10 Coloccini, Fabricio

11 Gutiérrez, Jonás

12 Harper, Steve

13 Nolan, Kevin

14 Routledge, Wayne

15 Simpson, Daniel

16 Taylor, Ryan

17 Williamson, Mike

18 Xisco

19 Forster, Fraser

20 Krul, Tim

21 Perch, James

22 Tioté, Cheik

23 Ben Arfa, Hatem

Under 21 players (selected)

Cuvelier, Florent

Foster, Zack

Galloway, Jordan

Musungu, Andrew

Stoke City

1 Begovic, Asmir

2 Collins, Daniel

3 Delap, Rory

17 Wilkinson, Andrew

18 Diao, Salif

19 Faye, Abdoulaye

20 Fuller, Ricardo

21 Gudjohnsen, Eidur

22 Jones, Kenwyne

23 Sorensen, Thomas

24 Sanli, Tuncay

25 Wilson, Marc

Under 21 players (selected)
Brunt, Ryan

Foster, Zack

Harrison, Jack

Lund, Matthew Charles

Marshall, Ben

Sunderland

1 Angeleri, Marcos

2 Bardsley, Phil

3 Bent, Darren

4 Bramble, Titus

5 Campbell, Fraizer

6 Carson, Trevor

7 Cattermole, Lee

8 Da Silva, Paulo

9 Elmohamady, Ahmed

10 Ferdinand, Anton

11 Gordon, Craig

12 Healy, David

13 Malbranque, Steed

14 McCartney, George

15 Mensah, John

16 Mignolet, Simon

17 Onuoha, Nedum

18 Reid, Andy

19 Richardson, Kieran

20 Riveros, Cristian

21 Turner, Michael

22 Weir, Robert

23 Zenden, Boudewijn

24 Gyan, Asamoah

Under 21 players (selected)

Colback, Jack

Henderson, Jordan

Kay, Michael

Liddle, Michael

Meyler, David

Noble, Liam

Noble, Ryan

Reed, Adam

Waghorn, Martyn

Welbeck, Danny

Tottenham Hotspur

1 Assou-Ekotto, Benoît

2 Bassong, Sébastian

3 Bentley, David

4 Corluka, Vedran

5 Crouch, Peter James

6 Cudicini, Carlo

7 Gomes, Heurelho

8 Dawson, Michael

9 Defoe, Jermain

10 Gallas, William

11 Huddlestone, Tom

12 Hutton, Alan

13 Jenas, Jermaine

14 Kaboul, Younes

15 Keane, Robbie

16 King, Ledley

17 Kranjcar, Niko

18 Lennon, Aaron

19 Modric, Luka

20 Naughton, Kyle

21 O’Hara, Jamie

22 Palacios, Wilson

23 Pavlyuchenko, Roman

24 Pletikosa, Stipe

25 Van Der Vaart, Rafael

Under 21 players (selected)

Bale, Gareth

Bostock, John

Butcher, Callum

Button, David

Sandro

Dos Santos, Giovani

Livermore, Jake

Obika, Jonathan

Parrett, Dean

Rose, Danny

Sheriff, Ramil

Townsend, Andros

Walker, Kyle

West Bromwich Albion

1 Barnes, Giles Gordon

2 Bednar, Roman

3 Brunt, Christopher

4 Carson, Scott Paul

5 Cech, Marek

6 Cox, Simon

7 Dorrans, Graham

8 Fortuné, Marc-Antoine

9 Ibanez Tebar, Pablo No

10 Jara, Gonzalo

11 Kiely, Dean

12 Méïté, Abdoulaye

13 Miller, Ishmael

14 Morrison, James

15 Mulumbu, Youssouf

16 Myhill, Glyn Oliver Yes

17 Odemwingie, Peter No

18 Olsson, Jonas No

19 Reid, Steven John Yes

20 Scharner, Paul

21 Shorey, Nicky

22 Tamas, Gabriel

23 Thomas, Jerome

24 Tchoyi, Somen

25 Zuiverloon, Gianni

Under 21 players (selected)

Allsop, Ryan

Dawson, Craig

Haber, Marcus

Mattock, Joseph

Wood, Chris

West Ham United

1 Green, Robert

2 Gabbidon, Danny

3 Spector, Jonathan

4 Parker, Scott

5 Cole, Carlton

6 Dyer, Kieron

7 Noble, Mark

8 Upson, Matthew

9 Barrera , Pablo

10 Behrami, Valon

11 Ben Haim, Ta

12 Da Costa, Manuel

13 Faubert, Julien

14 Hitzlsperger, Thomas

15 Ilunga, Herita

16 Kovac, Radoslav

17 Mccarthy, Benny

18 Piquionne, Frédéric

19 Reid, Winston

20 Boa Morte, Luis

21 Obinna, Victor

22 Jacobsen, Lars

23 Boffin, Ruud

24 Hines, Zavon

25 Collison, Jack

Under 21 players (selected)

Eyjolfsson, Holmar

Fanimo, Matthias

McNaughton, Callum

Moncur, George

Nouble, Frank

Potts, Daniel

Sears, Freddie

Spence, Jordan

Stanislas, Junior

Stech, Marek

Tomkins, James

Wigan Athletic

1 Kirkland, Chris

2 Pollitt, Mike

3 N’Zogbia, Charles

4 Boyce, Emmerson

5 Caldwell, Gary

6 Watson, Ben

7 Caldwell, Steven

8 Thomas, Hendry

9 Stam, Ronnie

10 Gómez, Jordi

11 Rodallega, Hugo

12 Diamé, Mohamed

13 Figueroa, Maynor

14 Gohouri, Steve

15 De Ridder, Daniel

16 Al-Habsi, Ali

17 Alcaraz, Antolín

18 McArthur, James

19 Boselli, Mauro

Under 21 players (selected)

Cleverley, Thomas

Di Santo, Franco

Girvan, Michael

Holt, Joe

McCarthy, James

McManaman, Callum

Moses, Victor

Mustoe, Jordan

Routledge, Jon

Rugg, Jordan

Wolverhampton Wanderers

1 Hahnemann, Marcus

2 Van Damme, Jelle

3 Elokobi, George

4 Edwards, David

5 Stearman, Richard

6 Craddock, Jody

7 Henry, Karl

8 Ebanks-Blake, Sylvan

9 Fletcher, Steven

10 Ward, Stephen

11 Hunt, Stephen

12 Hennessey, Wayne

13 Jones, David

14 Halford, Greg

15 Berra, Christophe

16 Jarvis, Matthew

17 Bent, Marcus

18 Milljas, Nenad

19 Mancienne, Michael

20 Mouyokolo, Steven

21 Zubar, Ronald

22 Doyle, Kevin

23 Ikeme, Carl

24 Foley, Kevin

25 Guedioura, Adlène

Under 21 players (selected)

Carvalho-Landell, Andre

Ebanks-Landell, Ethan

Griffiths, Sam

Keane, Jordan

Mujangi, Bia

Vokes, Sam

Wow, that’s all I can say seeing some of the transfers that have gone through in the past few days. While there aren’t too many “big” names which moved around, there’s are certainly some interesting, young and skilful players which are going to be wearing new jerseys this season. Let’s see some of the signings that clubs have made, and how they’ll affect the Serie A, and maybe European competitions.

AC Milan get Zibra and Robinho for the attack

AC Milan could be described as one of the European transfer kings, and Robert wrote a great article talking about how AC Milan can now be considered Serie A favorites. The rossoneri were able to get some smart deals like Sokratis and Yepes for the defence, but also big names like Ibrahimovic and Robinho. The Brazilian arrived for 18 million Euros from Manchester City, and he’ll be wearing the number 70, as his Swedish teammate wears the number 11. It just depends whether Zibra and Robinho can find a way to score goals without getting in each other’s ways, for now, they seem like great signings.

Roma grab Borriello from Milan

After Adriano came, it seemed like the attack was sorted, but little by little the hype around the Brazilian ended. And then it was revealed that Adriano would be out for about a month due to a muscle tear in his right thigh which occurred during training. With the Brazilian out, all that was left up front was Grandpa Totti, Vucinic, Menez, and Julio Baptista, so Roma have decided to get AC Milan’s striker Marco Borriello on loan. Whether the Italian will do well at Rom is a mystery to me, it could go either way, but hopefully for him he’ll be able to reproduce the form of his Genoa days.

Huntelaar goes to Schalke 04 and Kaladze to Genoa

AC Milan were able to offload some of their lesser needed players now that they’ve gone and bought stars from abroad. Huntelaar said he didn’t want to leave AC Milan, but he mentioned that when Ibrahimovic arrived, things changed. And so the Dutch forward has gone to Schalke 04 in Germany to join Raul, and apparently the German team paid him 14 million Euros, a good deal for Milan. The other player who left is Kakha Kaladze, the 32 year-old has joined Genoa permanently for an undisclosed fee, and so AC Milan have gotten rid of another useless player.

Juventus find Traore and Rinaudo

Juventus have also decided to make sure that their squad isn’t too dry, therefore they’ve been able to get Rinaudo and Traore on loan from Napoli and Arsenal. Armand Traore is a promising 20 year-old left-back who will hopefully solve Juve’s problem on the left wing, and play behind Milos Krasic successfully. Leandro Rinaudo on the other hand is a center-back who will be used as backup for Chiellini and Bonucci, at 27 years-old, he’s probably not going to sign a permanent deal for the season after, but it’s still a reinforcement for the bianconeri.

Parma get Candreva and Jimenez joins Cesena

Parma have reinforced even more, not only did they get Giovinco on loan from Juventus, but they also got Candreva from Udinese on loan. It will be interesting if Parma can do better than they did last season with these new signings. And a small note, Luis Antonio Jimenez has joined Cesena on loan from Ternana, a club from the Lega Pro Prima Divisione which is the Italian third division.

What are your thoughts on some of these deals? Will they work at their new clubs? Who’s the best signing from a Serie A team this transfer market? Share your thoughts below by commenting!

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In July, I wrote a post for this site asking AC Milan fans for calm.  The club had been quiet on the transfer market and Silvio Berlusconi had gone public in saying he intended to build his youth academy to help the team.  I said at the time that if the club did not acquire any big names, they would be title contenders but would not be favorites.

Flash forward forty plus days.  Ibrahimovic.  Robinho.  Boateng.  The club worked the transfer market hard in the waning hours and secured some of the biggest names available on the market.  They also grabbed Sokratis from Genoa, a smaller profile signing that helps their defense.  In exchange, they dumped the aging Marco Borriello, overrated Huntelaar, and backup striker Dominic Adiyah.  As the dust settles on the summer transfer dash and the ownership begins to show off the new presents to the fans, the question is:

Is Milan now the favorite to win the Serie A title?

If Allegri decided to stick to a 4-3-3, here is the lineup the club could field in coming weeks:

Keeper: Amelia

Defenders: Antonini, Thiago Silva, Nesta, Bonera

Midfield: Seedorf, Pirlo, Ambrosini

Forwards: Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho, Pato

Bench: Robinho, Boateng, Inzaghi, Antonini

The biggest impact the additions have on this club is to make the forward position younger and more deadly.  Ibrahimovic has the ability to dominate on the offensive end and provides a consistent scoring threat this club lacked from the forward position last season.  Ronaldinho, while at times dominant, came into camp out of shape and was disinterested at times last year.  If he is physically unfit to play or the club needs a spark, a younger Robinho can sub in or start in his place.  On the bench is the all-time leading scorer in European competition in Inzaghi.  So your front line has youth, experience, height, quickness, and speed.

A concern expressed by Niccolo in the preseason was Milan’s aging in the midfield.  Kevin-Prince Boateng, who showed great potential in the World Cup (as well as a need for his game to mature), provides that young depth and long-term starter the club was seeking in the offseason.  The unheralded signing of Sokratis also provides some talented depth for the backline, which at times struggled last year and had a penchant for allowing careless goals.  If he’s healthy, American national Oguchi Onyewu also gives the club a talented defender off the bench.

Another aspect is the emergence of Alexandre Pato.  Scoring twice on Sunday and looking very good in the preseason, this could be his breakout season and at age 20 a precursor to many successful seasons for AC Milan.  The moves this summer allow him to mature within a system where he is not the biggest name or has all the offensive pressure on him.

On the other hand, the expensive acquisition of Robinho can arguably be throwing money at an underachiever.  After excelling at a young age in Spain, the Brazilian clashed with management and the EPL culture in Manchester City, leading to his sale this transfer season.  Management likely hopes pairing him with Ronaldinho will lead to a resurgence and comfort on and off the pitch.  Also, the club’s defense is still solid but not spectacular and was a weakness last season, especially against Inter Milan.

So, does AC Milan now have the talent to be the favorites in Serie A?  Going into the season Inter was the consensus favorites and the club has kept its key players, especially Maicon.  I also give them the edge in managers with Bentiez’s experience.  I still consider Inter Milan the favorites for Serie A but the gap has closed considerably and the Milan derbies this year will be epic.

Agree or disagree?  Share your comments below or on Twitter @roberthayjr.

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