Daniel Finkelstein “The Fink Tank” on the Cole – Gallas swap and statistically which club got the best deal.
Mihir Bose on the West Ham Argentine transfer “coup” in last Thursday's Daily Telegraph. Bose wrote the definitive book on the aborted Sky takeover of Manchester United - "Manchester Unlimited".
Some more details on the upcoming “Panorama” program to be broadcast in the UK concerning corruption.
Neil Clark has a story in The Independent about Argentine clubs selling the rights to players to businesses.
Meanwhile Nick Townsend takes a bit of a different view.
Is Crouch one of the world’s great strikers as 11 goals in 14 England games would seem to indicate? Or is it a case of an awkward forward riding an international hot streak and that his ratio of slightly better than 2 goals in every 7 Premiership is a fairer reflection of his true worth?
Here is a list of the top 100 Premiership goalscorers to the end of August 2006. Crouch’s stats have inserted at the relevant level even though he has yet to break-in to the top 100 club. (The number attached to each player is their position in the all-time goals list as opposed to their goals to games ratio).
Not surprisingly the pace of transfer and loan moves has accelerated in the last forty-eight hours. If the story is confirmed by the Hammers then pride of place has to go to West Ham who looked to have pulled off the biggest double move since Ossie Ardilles and Ricardo Villa moved to Spurs after the 1978 World Cup. It is being reported that Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano are to move to Upton Park on a season long loan with an option to make permanent. No one saw this one coming - an absolute stunner.
Some other moves that have been confirmed.
Ricardo Oliveira from Real Betis to Milan with Johann Vogel moving in the opposite direction.
Juan Pablo Sorin to Hamburg from Villarreal.
Andy Cole joins English club number 8 as he leaves Manchester City for Portsmouth. Harry Rednapp seems intent on building football's version of Dad's Army at Fratton Park.
Jonathon Woodgate on loan to Boro from Real Madrid.
Steed Malbranque - Fulham to Spurs with Wayne Routledge on loan to Fulham for a season.
Tommy Smith from Derby County and returns to Watford.
Nacho Novo to Coventry, from Rangers
Rangers have signed Sasa Papac from Austria Vienna
Aberdeen has let Stevie Crawford move back to Dunfermline.
Dwight Yorke to Sunderland from Sydney FC.
Some deals rumoured to still be in the works at 9:30EST
Chelsea and something big - yes bigger than Robert Huth to Boro from Chelsea.
Jose Antonio Reyes and Julio Baptista swithching clubs (Arsenal / Real Madrid)
Kevin Kilbane - Everton to Wigan
Graham Kavanaugh - Wigan to Roy Keane's Sunderland
Damarcus Beasley from PSV to Manchester City (consider this one as unsubstantiated)
James Milner to Aston Villa from Newcastle
Patrick Kluivert to PSV from Valencia.
Florent Sinama Pongolle on loan to Recreativo de Huelva from Liverpool.
Highly speculative.
Ronaldo from Real Madrid to Inter Milan with Adriano going in the opposite direction.
Ivan Helguera and Roberto Ayala a swap between Real Madrid and Valencia.
I am the soccer analyst for the Fox Soccer Report and appear twice a week - every Monday and Friday at 10:00 EST. I have also been a regular contributor to the Fox Soccer Channel website since the summer of 2004. Over the last twenty years I have contributed to various radio and television programs throughout North America as well writing about the game for newspapers, magazines and websites.
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