Report Card: Transfer market winners

Man City face stiff competition in their area of expertise.

By Zain Alvi | 2nd September 2010

Report Card: Transfer market winners | read this item

The following is a column, representing the ideas and opinions of a Premiership Talk columnist. It in no way reflects the opinions of Premiership Talk. Readers are invited to share their own thoughts in the comments section following the column.

Another transfer season is officially in the books. That’s right, it’s also finally over for those slow computer servers that were struggling to complete the filing of last-minute documentation of newly acquired players with the Premier League.

Now we can sit back and enjoy the Euro 2012 qualification that is coming our way. Or some of us, including myself, can choose the far more entertaining option of dissecting the transfer business and shed some light on those who won big this summer.

Manchester City surely set the tone for the rest but in the final few days before the transfer window closed, many of their rivals kept busy playing catch-up. The outcome? When all was said and done (and also properly filed with the designated authorities), the promise of the most competitive season in English football appeared to be fulfilled.

Without delaying it any further, allow me to hand report cards to all the clubs that competed successfully with the Citizens in unveiling impressive new faces to bolster their ambitions.

Stoke City

B-The Potters have made it very clear that they are legitimate contenders to finish in the first half of the table. They finished just outside the top 10 in their first year back in the top flight last season but Tony Pulis is not the type to rest on the past laurels.

Retaining his ambitions to keep this Stoke side moving forward consistently, Pulis did well to strengthen the squad. But rather than simply jumping into the market with an open wallet, he first trimmed his squad by letting go of those who were surplus to requirements at the Britannia Stadium.

The list of outgoing players included forwards James Beattie and Dave Kitson while a host of other names were loaned out. Pulis knew what he was doing all along, though. He has no interest in creating the kind of drama that is simply geared towards increasing the anxiety levels of supporters.

He means business and that is precisely why he spent the last day of business sealing deals for extremely adequate replacements. The arrival of Kenwyne Jones from Sunderland was followed with the signings of former Chelsea striker Eidur Gudjohnsen and midfielder Marc Wilson from Monaco and Portsmouth, respectively.

Former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant was also brought back to English football on loan from La Liga side Real Zaragoza and if he rediscovers the touch that allowed him to gain prominence in the initial stages of his career, he can certainly prove to be a successful experiment for Pulis.

On the whole, it looks like Stoke City did some good business in the transfer market this summer. Perhaps it wasn’t excellent or extra-ordinary, but as far as I am concerned, their dealings certainly ended up belonging to the top five variety.

Arsenal

BIn essence, the Gunners got what they needed most: a much improved defense as well as a striker with good presence up front.

In Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci, Arsene Wenger found more than just replacements for the aging trio of William Gallas, Sol Campbell, and Mikael Silvestre.

The French duo is poised to form a defensive masterclass with fan favorite Thomas Vermaelen and judging by the sound of that, it doesn’t seem to me that Arsenal are even remotively as fragile as they were in the back last season.

Of course, there will be that inevitable argument about Wenger’s failure to bring an established goalkeeper to the Emirates but I am convinced that Manuel Almunia and his deputies should be able to last the course, at least until January.

So far, the Spaniard has done well to redeem himself and if his tendency to concede howlers returns between now and the winter, the Gunners can finally bring a trustworthy replacement. For now, I am convinced that giving Almunia another chance is a far better alternative to rushing a deal for Mark Schwarzer, who is clearly way past his prime.

Last, but not least, let’s return to the point I briefly introduced when I mentioned the arrival of a new striker at Arsenal. In Marouane Chamakh, Wenger’s side has truly gained a new dimension as the Moroccan international has an uncanny ability to react very well to the style of football his new teammates are accustomed to.

Now that Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner are out injured, Chamakh should be able to sieze the opportunity and create an enviable partnership with the in-form Theo Walcott. The prospect of that alone convinces me that overall, this has been a successful transfer market for last season’s third-place finishers.

Liverpool FC

B+They have lost a lot of players this summer and in particular, it must have been quite frustrating to finally bring an end to the long-drawn transfer saga of midfield maestro Javier Mascherano.

But despite his failure to convince arguably the most important player of the club to stay at Anfield, Roy Hodsgon has done extremely well in his continued efforts to convert Liverpool into title contenders once again.

Two decades is a long time to go without a domestic championship and with another unconvincing start to the new season, the Reds may be looking at another season that is not meant to be theirs. Hodgson, though, appears to have the same level of faith in his team as he did the day he arrived at Merseyside.

As soon as he personally made contact with Steven Gerrard, all media speculation surrounding the future of the club’s skipper vanished quickly. Soon after, Fernando Torres was prompted to declare Liverpool the biggest club in England and as soon as the Spaniard committed, a host of new names joined.

Joe Cole and Milan Jovanovic were the first two major signings but it was the arrival of Christian Poulsen and Raul Meireles that truly allowed Hodgson to send a message. Neither player is exactly as impactful as Masch but then again, there is a great chance that neither will be as ineffective as Alberto Aquilani.

With veteran Paul Konchesky also arriving at Anfield in a last-minute switch and crafty Brazilian Fabio Aurelio committing his future to the club, the Reds should be able to provide adequate support to Glen Johnson on the flanks. Let’s not forget, capturing Scottish youngster Danny Wilson also appears to be an extremely promising investment for the future.

Tottenham Hotspur

A-When Liverpool failed to land Carlton Cole from West Ham, Roy Hodgson decided to keep Ryan Babel as well. That was, no doubt, in the best interest of Tottenham.

The Champions League newboys were about to offload the potent Robbie Keane, only to make way for the unproven Dutchman. Fortunately for the Spurs, Harry Redknapp didn’t look too deep into the transfer and instead, was able to strike an extremely late (now that’s an understatement) deal for Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart.

The cut-price nature of van der Vaart’s transfer makes this that much more of a success story for the White Hart Lane outfit and with Crotia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa also joining the North Londoners on the final day, their ambitions were on display for all to see.

No doubt, it is heart-breaking to see them lose a defender of Jonathan Woodgate’s calibre to a long-term injury but even on the defensive front, Redknapp was able to bring in an experienced reinforcement in the form of former Arsenal captain William Gallas.

Manchester City

AThis was quite predictable, wasn’t it? Well, not exactly. My report cards have clearly factored in the cost-effectiveness of a deal into the grade assignment, which means that Roberto Mancini must have done quite well to break the bank and still earn the best possible report card.

I can’t help but say that Mancini has been a good student after all. Not too long ago, he was facing a mini-crisis to trim his squad only for the purpose of meeting the 25-player limit, let alone worrying about the acquisition of new players.

To his credit, the former Inter Milan boss remained calmn as he went about his business. Granted, he made a couple of mistakes here and there; making Yaya Toure the highest paid player in the league is ridiculous and so is offloading a genuinely committed player like Craig Bellamy.

However, on the positive front, how about signing a homegrown player such as James Milner? Or how about the high profile signing of youngster Mario Balotelli, which allows Mancini to pick the former Nerazzuri striker without even counting him as one of his senior players.

That was quite the smart move and so was keeping hold of Shay Given; who knows whether Joe Hart will be able to survive England’s goalkeeper curse. In my opinion, though, the signings of David Silva and Aleksander Kolarov earn distinction points.

While the former brings an amazing level of energy to the Eastlands outfit, bringing the latter to the City of Manchester Stadium forced Jose Mourinho – ‘The Special One’ himself – to declare City as the club to beat in the transfer market. Can you believe that coming from the Real Madrid manager? Nicely done, City.

Or maybe I am jumping to conclusions too early. So far, Manchester City and the rest of this group has only managed to lay down a foundation for the coming season.

How well they can utilize this foundation very much remains to be seen. You can count on one thing, though: the report cards will be handed out once again when it’s time to measure how well the transfer business translated to on-field performances.

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