The new logo will be posted just as soon as its ready.
Transfer Window deadline day, January 31, 2013 will perhaps not go down in the annuls of time as momentus, but it nonetheless had its fair share of controversy. so in this edition of the 91st, we will be taking a look at the movers and shakers (what!?) of the last month and well as the big moves made.
One of the earliest and perhaps surprising moves was made by the Blue part of West London. After weeks of speculation surrounding a proposed move to Arsenal, just 3 days into 2013, Chelsea had sounded out Demba Ba over a move to the capital, having met his quite frankly ludicrously cheap transfer clause fee of £7.5 million. Despite the Senegalese' shaky medical background, like Van Persie circa Manchester Utd, those fears have, as yet, proved unfounded. Chelsea have bought themselves a proven prolific Premier League scorer, that even for all the Euros in Spain, Radamel Falcao may not emulate. Ba has already accrued 2 goals in a single game against Southampton in the FA Cup. It's a steal.
Replacing Ba, seemingly was to be Marseilles Loic Remy, all was set in place. Then at the final hour, as the striker was set to arrive on Tyneside for a medical,he simply did not show. A few short hours later it emerged that QPR had come in late on to hijack the deal, despite the players himself saying he was not interested in a move to Loftus Road.
Harry: So yeah, er Lowicc. We know we offered youuu like 60,000 pound a week to come eeeeerre?
Loic: Er oui, 'Arry, ann eyye turned zee offer dowwnnn. Eyye doo not want too playy for a shit football teeam
Harry: Errr, yeaahh, wew daant want you ta go a Noocasoool. So we are gonna give youuu 70,000 thaaaasand paaands a week instead.
Loic: Tres bien! 'Arry. I will come.
nb: this was a dramatization of what actually happened.
Money talks, eh? As it stood, a Newcastle move for Remy would excite me; however as he opted for the delights of West London (like myself) than the bright lights of the North east, I simply don't see the Frenchman being nearly as effective, for the simple reason he won't get the service. Lets look at it: QPR, with midfield of Mackie, Wright-Phillips, Taraabt, Granero, Mbia and say maybe MVila, if he moves in the same direction (as seems likely). Mackie and MVila, I like; But then if we look at Newcastle's midfield; Cabaye, Jonas, Tiote and now Sissoko not to mention Santon and Debuchy in the wide areas. Remy would simply get more service there. However, with Newcastle in the poor form that they currently are in the midst of, then I imagine that talks also.
Accompanying Remy at Loftus Road after a flood of activity that Noah himself would be proud of, were some notable arrivals and other non-arrivals......
Chris Samba was without a doubt the most high-profile arrival yesterday afternoon, sealing a £12.5m from Anzhi, with a weekly salary of £100,000 pw, which I'd say he should be pretty chuffed with, for a club propping up the Premier League table. Samba having spent a difficult year with the club from the the area of Dagestan, with racist abuse from his own fans. I imagine the Congolese will be laughing, coming back to a league where he has scored 16 goals in 5 seasons in the top tier of English football. Samba 'The Monster' will bring strength, a surprising amount of pace and an almost incomparable aerial ability at set pieces. 'Arry also brought in former players of his, Townsend and Jenas and tried for a third reunion with Peter Crouch, which failed to materialise.The big story from Thursday night for me was Odemwingie-gate. For roughly 18 months now, Peter Odemwingie has been unsettled at West Brom. In his first season, the Uzbek born, Nigerian striker scored a club record 15 goals for the West Midlands side and his all round play was a sensation at the Hawthorns. That summer he was tentatively linked with a move to Arsenal but then came out and stated he was happy where he was. Things seem to settle down for him, but then in the early stages of this season, he launched a tirade against his club and accused them of 'reaching into his pocket' and stated his desire to leave the club.
If there was any doubt of this, after repeatedly being linked with a move to QPR, during the last week of the January window, Odemwingie set off from Birmingham to London seeking a move, without permission from his club. This is strongly frowned upon in football circles. If he arrived at Loftus Road expecting to be welcomed with open arms to the club and to them force through a move, he was sorely mistaken. But also incredibly naive. West Brom's chairman Jeremy Peace is notoriously stubborn and Steve Clarke is clearly no soft touch. So Odemwingie was left - literally - out in the cold.I am a big fan of Odemwingie, but his actions are undefendable. He now has to face a dressing room he has turned his back on, not to mention a vociferous fan base. But the biggest problem now is his reputation in the game as a whole. There is no doubting his talent, but talent and bad attitude often equal problems
Mario Balotelli anyone?...
So will QPR survive the drop?....
of the bigger names that at one stage was close to a Premier League move was David Villa. Having recently returned to the fold at Le Camp Nou, after breaking his leg shortly after Xmas last year. Villa has been restricted to off-the-bench cameos for the Blaugrana. It was no secret that Arsenal lacked a sharp, lethal striker, with Giroud learning the ropes, Podolski being found adrift on the left and Theo Walcott begging for the opportunity to prove himself to emulate his idol, one Thierry Henry, with limited success. Villa was keen on the move, but ultimately Barca blocked any such move, but perhaps more critically, the Spaniard has just become a father and as such any move away was a unlikely.
But i don't think that is necessarily the end of the story and a summer move seems likely but I wonder if the lure of Bayern and Pep would be to great for Villa to resist. We shall see...
A quick word for Mr Beckham. His offer to donate his entire salary to a Paris-based charity is an extraordinary gesture (forgetting the huge amount of money he will earn through sponsorship and other lucrative cash cows) and surely will see him kneeling at the Palace before long....
Good Job, Sir.....
