The Calm after the Storm

As the news of Thierry's transfer reverbarates around the football world, here at deadballdispute we must keep an eye on the other happenings in this football world...but the truth is, there's not a whole lot going on. Keith Harris, a banker, claims that the money Thaksin Shinawatra is using for the takeover of Man City is 'clean' money that "has been legitimately and transparently transferred to the UK". It defintely makes the money legal, but whether the money is 'clean' is another matter entirely. Anyway, I've said enough about this takeover bid, so read the previous posts for my thoughts on Mr. Shinawatra.

It seems that Arsenal are already being linked to a number of strikers to replace Thierry. Nicolas Anelka is the favourite, at the moment, to move to Arsenal in a 11 million pound deal but I'm not sure that Wenger will want to gamble again on Anelka. He's a very good striker, quick, strong, creative and a good finisher, and he has also matured a lot since his last stint at Arsenal, but there's always a fear that he might implode at any given moment leading to a massive sulk and a transfer out. Plus if he still has his brother as an agent then he can't really be trusted. Also being linked to Arsenal are Torres, Huntelaar and Babel. Babel is someone who might have come anyway, and I would love to see Huntelaar in an Arsenal shirt, 37 goals in 48 games last season for Ajax is a bloody good return and he is rated very highly.

Finally I leave with news that Chelsea are hunting down Alexandre Pato, a 17 year old brazilian who will move to Chelsea for 17 million pounds. From what I hear, he's going to be the next big thing but Chelsea have to be careful as sometimes players who move too early from South America fail to adapt well, the best thing to do would be to close the deal and then let him stay playing regular football for another season. Still, he looks like he's going to be brilliant but as with all youngsters, spending big is definitely a gamble.

Thierry's move should officially go through in the next couple of days so things might quiet down after that, but who knows, in football anything can happen. Toodlepip.