Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Well, wasn’t it exciting? No. It wasn’t really was it? Robbie Keane leaving Spurs and Adam Johnson joining Man City apart and despite Sky Sports attempt to hype the day into being the Football equivalent of the D-Day landings or the Birth of Christ, the Transfer Deadline day went with not so much a bang, but more an embarassing wet fart. I must admit, I was almost instantly aroused by the news that Scunthorpe had signed Stockport captain Michael Raynes, I’m sure you were too. It was all too much when I heard Huddersfield Town had extended Nathan Eccleston’s loan until the end of the season. How I didn’t spontaneously combust due to the excitement is beyond me.
Thankfully we had an antidote to this hedonisic pleasure in the Sunderland – Stoke clash later in the evening, which was too football what Doctor Harold Shipman was to geriatric medicine.
Anyway, enough of that, let’s have a quick look at the bigger deals yesterday and judge whether they are going to be a DEAL, in which case clubs can congratulate themselves on a piece of natty business, or NO DEAL, which is where this is just a panic buy of epic proportions and is likely to end in tears and with the poor sap taking home 50p instead of £250,000. Thankfully without the need to have some beardy twerp, in a bad shirt or 70’s cardigan, pretend to console you before he flies off home in his helicopter with another £500,000 cheque in his back pocket… sorry I digress…
Adam Johnson (Middlesbrough to Manchester City) DEAL : He’s still got a few rough edges to smooth off, but Johnson has talent. This is a good deal for City and provides them with real balance on the left for the long term. His biggest challenge may well be working his way into the City team on a permanent basis, but if he can do that, in a few years, this may look like an absolute steal.
Benny McCarthy (Blackburn Rovers to West Ham) DEAL : I’m prepared for flak for this from Rovers fans and I can understand why. McCarthy has done little since his excellent first season and his behaviour at Rovers in the past week or so has been shameful, but West Ham need a striker, McCarthy will be motivated to perform to get back into the South Africa squad for the summer and he has the talent to score goals at this level as he proved in his first season in English football. For the price they paid, which I am sure was around the £1m mark, this is good and sensible business for West Ham.
Mido (Middlesbrough to West Ham (loan)) NO DEAL : West Ham need consistency, not flashes of occasiona brilliance. They already have Diamanti for that. He may be playing for £1000 a week, but if things don’t go well, he’ll be off in a month with a titty lip back to the sunny climes and ancient grandeur of Middlesbrough.
Robbie Keane (Tottenham to Celtic (loan)) DEAL & NO DEAL : Deal for Celtic, they actually have a half decent striker, instead of third rate cloggers who struggle to get a game at Hull City. No Deal for Keane as he has taken the easy option of playing against the mighty St Mirren, Falkirk and Kilmarnock each week. He’ll score a few goals yes, but he’ll come back in no better shape than when he left to reclaim his place in the Spurs team.
Alan Hutton (Tottenham to Sunderland (loan)) DEAL : Lets face it, after last nights showing, Sunderland signing anybody would be a marked improvement on that. Spurs get a hefty wage off their books for 6 months. Nice.
DEAL OF THE DAY
Victor Moses (Crystal Palace to Wigan) An ideal move for both parties. Moses is a special talent but he needs to play week in week out against top level opposition to start to fulfil that. He would not have done that at a big club. Wigan have given him the perfect platform to prove his talents, his price represents excellent value for a talented young prospect, his contract will be sensible (ish) and I can only see both Wigan and Moses reaping the benefits from this deal. Roberto Martinez may have dropped a few clangers in the past (Jason Scotland being my favourite, a striker so ineffective at this level he makes Craig Fagan look like Lionel Messi) but this looks like a very good piece of business.
PANIC BUY OF THE DAY
Asmir Begovic (Portsmouth to Stoke City) NO DEAL : What does Tony Pulis have against Thomas Sorensen? Ok he was a bit at fault for Figueroa’s super striker from the halfway line, butI mean come on. A Pompey player who couldn’t even dislodge 39 year old David James from the first team of the bottom team in the Premiership until he got injured? For over £3m? You have Sorensen and Simonsen (which sounds like a Danish Cop Show – come on Endemol, we need this on our TV screens instead of more crap reality shows) and based on last nights performance, you have pressing needs in many other areas. Maybe buying someone who can create something other than from Tuncay or a throw in? I can’t figure this one out at all.
What was your deal of the day? Let us know below.
