Hatem Ben Arfa, the newest at Newcastle

Hatem Ben Afra, the supremely talented yet troubled French midfielder.  Can he finally put it together and become a star on the club scene?

There is a very good article on his move to Newcastle and his troubled past linked to ESPN soccernet's Andy Brassell.

Getty Images

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=819121&sec=england&root=england&cc=5901

My personal favorite reason for Tottenham signing Van Der Vaart

This is his girlfriend.  Need I say any more?

Carling Cup Round 3 Information

The third round of the Carling Cup will be played on September 21-22 with 19 of the 20 EPL teams still in the running.  Only Blackpool was eliminated in the second round.  Games are as scheduled.  EPL teams are in Bold.

September 21, 2010

Birmingham v Milton Keynes Dons
Brentford v Everton
Burnley v Bolton Wanderers
Millwall v Ipswich Town
Peterborough United v Swansea City
Portsmouth v Leicester City
Stoke City v Fulham
Sunderland v West Ham United
Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Notts County

September 22, 2010
Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers
Chelsea v Newcastle United
Scunthorpe United v Manchester United
West Bromwich Albion v Manchester City
Wigan Athletic v Preston North End
Liverpool v Northampton Town
The EPL could have as many as 13 of the final 16 teams playing in the 4th round.  But they are guaranteed at least 5 of the final 16 due to head to head matchups.
 

Canadian History in the EPL

These are all of the players from Canada that have played at least one English Premier League game since 92-93.


Jim Brennan - Norwich City - 2004-05

Terry Dunfield - Manchester City - 2000-01

David Edgar - Newcastle United, Burnley - 2006-current

Craig Forrest - Ipswich Town, Chelsea, West Ham - 1992-95, 1996-01

Tomasz Radzinski - Everton, Fulham - 2001-07

Paul Stalteri - Tottenham, Fulham - 2005-08

Frank Yallop - Ipswich Town - 1992-95


Current Canadian Players in the EPL:

David (Junior) Hoillet - Blackburn (English Premier League) 21 and under players.

Manchester United overspends by £7.2 million

Some believe that former Portuguese Third Division player Bebe, signed for £7.4 million, will become a great player under Sir Alex Ferguson’s charge. Others believe that it was a terrible signing of a player that will never reach the 1st team with the Red Devils.


One thing that is certain after this news is that Man U could have saved themselves a lot of money if they would have taken the chance on Bebe earlier. Estrela Amadora manager Jorge Paxaio told the Daily Mail, "Last season we had no money at all," Paxaio told the Daily Mail. "We were trying to transfer Bebe to other clubs. We had to raise money desperately. We told everyone in England and in Europe: 'For €150,000 you can have him'.

"We couldn't get anybody interested. Nobody trusted him. None of the clubs were interested because he had never played at a high level."

So, the question becomes, has Man U made a colossal mistake in signing a player to a transfer over 7 million when they could have gotten him a few months earlier for a fraction of a million?

We will have to wait and see what the 7 million pound man will be able to do.

EPL squads submit their 25 man rosters.

Each club's 25-man squad should have eight homegrown players who - regardless of age or nationality - spent three years (or a total of 36 months) in the youth system of a club in England or Wales before they reached the age of 21.


Contrary to reports elsewhere, players aged under 21 can, if required, be named in the 25-man squad as a homegrown player. An Under-21 player is defined as being born on or after January 1, 1989.

Clubs can use an unlimited number of Under-21 players in addition to their 25-man squad. For instance, Chelsea would not need to name Daniel Sturridge or Gael Kakuta in their 25-man squad.

Any player who is left out of the 25-man squad will only be eligible to play in the Carling Cup until January 1. From January 1 to January 31, clubs can make unlimited changes to their 25-man squad. On February 1 a new 25-man squad must be named to run until the end of the current campaign.

If a club chooses fewer than 25 players for their squad it is almost certainly due to them having a large number of under-21 players. Clubs with fewer than 25 players in their squad are still permitted to sign free agents.


Notable players to be left out of the squads include: Jonathan Woodgate (Tottenham), Ben Alnwick (Tottenham), Luke Moore (West Brom), Michael Kightly (Wolves), Mamady Sidibe (Stoke), Riga Mustapha (Bolton), Paul Rachubka (Blackpool).

Honestly, no bnig suprises on any of the notable names left out.  Most have or are currently facing major injury issues and will either be moved in the winter transfer, let go completely, or added to the squad if fulled healed. 

Thanks to ESPN soccernet for the list.

Van Der Vaart officially signs with Tottenham

The Premier League have given Tottenham Hotspur permission to sign Rafael van der Vaart from Real Madrid for €11 million.

This is 3 million more than previously thought but is still a bargain for a premier midfielder that will immediatly contribute to the Spurs.  The Premier League had investigated Spurs' claim that they had difficulties with the computer servers used in the transaction between themselves and Real, which hindered their attempts to submit the relevant paperwork on time.


The Premier League said in a statement: "The Premier League can confirm the transfer of Rafael van der Vaart's registration from Real Madrid to Tottenham Hotspur.''

A statement on Spurs' website read: "We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Real Madrid for the transfer of Rafael Van der Vaart. The Holland international came through the ranks at Ajax and won two league titles during 141 appearances with the Eredivisie side, scoring 60 goals before leaving for Hamburg in the summer of 2005.

So, now that I have finally put behind me the debacle versus Wigan, I can look forward to seeing what this Dutch player can do to add to the squad.


Thanks to ESPN Soccernet staff for some of the info.

Newcastle, Stoke Sunderland, and Tottenham transfers in

Newcastle
Sol Campbell
From: Unattached
Fee: Free
Dan Gosling
From: Unattached
Fee: Free
James Perch
From: Nottingham Forest
Fee: Undisclosed
Hatem Ben Arfa
From: Marseille
Fee: Loan
Ismael Tioté
From: Twente Enschede
Fee: Undisclosed

Stoke City
Florent Cuvelier
From: Portsmouth
Fee: Undisclosed
Kenwyne Jones
From: Sunderland
Fee: £8,000,000
Jonathan Walters
From: Ipswich Town
Fee: £2,750,000
Eidur Gudjohnsen
From: AS Monaco
Fee: Undisclosed
Marc Wilson
From: Portsmouth
Fee: Undisclosed
Salif Diao
From: Unattached
Fee: Free
Jermaine Pennant
From: Real Zaragoza
Fee: Loan

Sunderland
Simon Mignolet
From: Sint-Truidense
Fee: Undisclosed
Cristian Riveros
From: Cruz Azul
Fee: Free
Ahmed Al Muhammadi
From: ENPPI
Fee: Loan
Marcos Angeleri
From: Estudiantes La Plata
Fee: Undisclosed
Asamoah Gyan
From: Stade Rennes
Fee: £13,240,000
Titus Bramble
From: Wigan Athletic
Fee: Undisclosed
Danny Welbeck
From: Manchester United
Fee: Loan
John Mensah
From: Lyon
Fee: Loan
Nedum Onuoha
From: Manchester City
Fee: Loan

Tottenham
Rafael Van der Vaart
From: Real Madrid
Fee: £8,000,000
Stipe Pletikosa
From: Spartak Moscow
Fee: Loan
William Gallas
From: Unattached
Fee: Free

Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United transfers in

Fulham
Philippe Senderos
From: Arsenal
Fee: Undisclosed
Jonathan Greening
From: West Bromwich Albion
Fee: Undisclosed
Alexander Kacaniklic
From: Liverpool
Fee: Undisclosed
Lauri Dalla Valle
From: Liverpool
Fee: Undisclosed
Carlos Salcido
From: PSV Eindhoven
Fee: Undisclosed
Rafik Halliche
From: Benfica
Fee: Undisclosed
Moussa Dembele
From: AZ Alkmaar
Fee: Undisclosed

Liverpool
Paul Konchesky
From: Fulham
Fee: Undisclosed
Suso
From: Cádiz
Fee: Undisclosed
Adam Hajdu
From: MTK Budapest
Fee: Loan
Raul Meireles
From: FC Porto
Fee: £11,500,000
Brad Jones
From: Middlesbrough
Fee: £2,300,000
Christian Poulsen
From: Juventus
Fee: £4,500,000
Fabio Aurelio
From: Unattached
Fee: Free
Danny Wilson
From: Rangers
Fee: £2,000,000
Joe Cole
From: Unattached
Fee: Free
Milan Jovanovic
From: Standard Liege
Fee: Free
Jonjo Shelvey
From: Charlton Athletic
Fee: £1,700,000

Manchester City
Alex Henshall
From: Swindon Town
Fee: Undisclosed
Aleksandar Kolarov
From: Lazio
Fee: Undisclosed
David Silva
From: Valencia
Fee: Undisclosed
Yaya Touré
From: Barcelona
Fee: Undisclosed
Jerome Boateng
From: Hamburg SV
Fee: Undisclosed
Mohammed Abu
From: Sporting Club Accra
Fee: Undisclosed
James Milner
From: Aston Villa
Fee: Undisclosed
Mario Balotelli
From: Internazionale
Fee: Undisclosed

Manchester United
Chris Smalling
From: Fulham
Fee: Undisclosed
Javier Hernández
From: Guadalajara
Fee: Undisclosed
Bebé
From: Guimaraes
Fee: Undisclosed

Blackpool Bolton Chelsea and Everton transfers in

Blackpool
Craig Cathcart
From: Manchester United
For: Undisclosed
Eliot Grandin
From: CSKA Sofia
For: Undisclosed
Ludovic Sylvestre
From: Mlada Boleslav
For: Undisclosed
Malaury Martin
From: AS Monaco
For: Free
Matthew Phillips
From: Wycombe Wanderers
For: £325,000 
Dudley Campbell
From: Leicester City
For: Undisclosed
Luke Varney
From: Derby County
For: Loan
Dekel Keinan
From: Unattached
For: Free 
Chris Basham
From: Bolton Wanderers
For: Undisclosed

Bolton
Rodrigo
From: Benfica
For: Loan
Tom Eaves
From: Oldham Athletic
For: Undisclosed
Ivan Klasnic
From: Unattached
For: Free
Marcos Alonso
From: Real Madrid
For: Undisclosed
Martin Petrov
From: Manchester City
For: Free
Robbie Blake
From: Burnley
For: Free

Chelsea
Yossi Benayoun
From: Liverpool
For: Undisclosed
Ramires
From: Benfica
For: Undisclosed

Everton
Jermaine Beckford
From: Unattached
For: Free
Magaye Gueye
From: Strasbourg
For: Undisclosed
João Silva
From: Clube Desportivo das Aves
For: Undisclosed
Jan Mucha
From: Legia Warsaw
For: Free

Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham and Blackburn

Arsenal
Marouane Chamakh
From: Bordeaux
For: Free
Laurent Koscielny
From: Lorient
For: Undisclosed
Sebastien Squillaci
From: Sevilla FC
For: Undisclosed

Aston Villa
Stephen Ireland
From: Manchester City
Fee: Undisclosed

Birmingham
Nikola Zigic
From: Valencia
For: Undisclosed
Ben Foster
From: Manchester United
For: Undisclosed
Enric Vallès
From: NAC Breda
For: Free
Jean Beausejour
From: América
For: Undisclosed 

Martin Jiranek
From: Spartak Moscow
For: Undisclosed 
Alexander Hleb
From: Barcelona
For: Loan
Matt Derbyshire
From: Olympiakos
For: Loan
 
Blackburn
Benjani Mwaruwari
From: Unattached
For: Free
Mame Biram Diouf
From: Manchester United 
For: Loan

Photo Finish

At the last possible second, Tottenham put forth the paperwork to add Real Madrid midfielder Rafael van der Vaart to the squad.  It is still unknown whether the Spurs made the play in time and everyone is awaiting the EPL's ruling on the matter.  It is reported that the Premier League will take a decision on whether the deal was processed in time on Wednesday.


Van Der Vaart would be a huge acquisition for the Spurs and improve the midfield for a chase at the Premiership and the Champions League trophies.  On the attributes Van der Vaart would bring to Tottenham, Redknapp said: "He is a great passer of the ball, he is a top footballer. He will join in here and play the way we like to play, he would be a big plus for us.

So, Wednesday cannot come fast enough for me.  I hope to see the Dutch midfielder help lead Tottenham to a historic season.

For visitors of the site...

Please feel free to leave comments to the stories that interest you.  Based on comments and views, I can tell what you are interested in and what i need more and less of on the site.  Thanks for your support.  I feel like this is starting to pick up and also, thanks Canada as well for your support of the site. 

Also, clicking on ads is appreciated so that I can put whatever money is generated into making the site better. Thanks everyone for making this dream a possibility.

Transfers by team: Wolverhampton, Wigan, West Ham, West Brom

Wolverhampton:
Jake Cassidy
From: Airbus UK Broughton
Fee: Undisclosed
Matthew Doherty
From: Bohemians
Fee: Undisclosed
Michael Mancienne
From: Chelsea
Fee: Loan
Marcus Bent
From: Birmingham
Fee: Loan 

Wigan
Franco Di Santo
From: Chelsea
Fee: Undisclosed
Tom Cleverley
From: Manchester United
Fee: Loan 
Steven Caldwell
From: Unattached
Fee: Free

West Ham
Tal Ben-Haim
From: Portsmouth
Fee: Loan
Winston Reid
From: FC Midtjylland
Fee: Undisclosed
Victor Obinna
From: Internazionale
Fee: Loan

West Brom
Craig Dawson
From: Rochdale
Fee: Undisclosed
James Hurst
From: Portsmouth
Fee: Free
Paul Scharner
From: Unattached
Fee: Free
Marc-Antoine Fortune
From: Celtic
Fee: Undisclosed
Peter Odemwingie
From: Lokomotiv Moscow
Fee: Undisclosed
Somen Tchoyi
From: SV Salzburg
Fee: Undisclosed
Nicky Shorey
From: Aston Villa
Fee: Undisclosed

Just a nice relaxer after transfer day.

TRANSFER DAY

Other sports cannot understand the excitement of the final day of transfers for the summer that soccer has.  Its like free agent signing, trading day, and waiver day all rolled into one.  Once it hits the deadline, NO moves can be done till January.  Now, on to news of the day quick hit style.

• Emmanuel Adebayor is wanting to move to the Spurs on loan because he cannot get regular playing time at Man City.
• West Ham have decieded to keep midfielder Scott Parker after rejecting a fresh £7 million bid from Tottenham.
• Birmingham are looking at Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb in a £4 million deal.
• Strasbourg midfielder Mamadou Bah is at the top of the radar for Blackpool, while they have also asked about Kyle Lafferty on loan from Rangers.
• West Brom want Rochdale defender Craig Dawson.
• Eidur Gudjohnsen is ready to sign for Fulham on a year-long loan from Monaco after turning down Stoke.
• Rodrigo Moreno is arriving to sign for Bolton from Benfica.
• Wigan want to take Jason Roberts to the club again from Blackburn.
• 
  Goalkeeper Shay Given has decided to stay at Manchester City.
• Asamoah Gyan has been seen at Sunderland, as Steve Bruce looks to wrap up a £12 million deal for the Ghanaian.
• Liverpool are being linked with a move for Utrecht's Ricky van Wolfswinkel. Newcastle are also reported to be tracking the striker.
• Joseph Yobo could make a loan switch to West Ham from Everton.
• Birmingham have lodged an offer for 20-year-old Arsenal full-back Armand Traore on loan until the end of the season.
• The Blues (Birmingham) are also thought to have begun negotiations with Russian side Spartak Moscow over a cut-price deal for versatile defender Jiranek, whose contract expires in December.
• The Blues (Birmingham) are hoping to complete the £5m signing of Barcelona midfielder Alexander Hleb.
• Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez is interested in a move to Liverpool.
• Manchester United's Tom Cleverley is reportedly close to completing a loan transfer to Wigan Athletic.
• Sky Sports reporting that Emmanuel Adebayor and Shay Given will be staying at Manchester City.
• West Ham are interested in signing a goalkeeper and Roma’s Brazilian No. 2 Doni is top of their wishlist.
• Paul Konchesky will be a member of Liverpool by the end of the day.
• Asamoah Gyan is now a member of Sunderland's squad.
• Robinho is reportedly close to agreeing terms with Milan on a one-year loan, followed by a permanent deal worth €15 million. But this is still being negotiated.
• Marcus Bent has joined Wolves on loan from Birmingham.
• News from the Chilean media now, which is reporting that Jean Beausejour - who you may remember scoring at the World Cup finals - is heading to Birmingham after Blues agreed a fee with Club America.
• Salif Diao has rejoined Stoke City on a two-year contract.
• Big news! Blackpool have signed Wycombe's winger Matt Phillips for an initial fee of £325,000.
• Ryan Babel has joined the Spurs... No, he hasn't... Thank God.
• Spanish striker Rodrigo Moreno has joined Bolton Wanderers from Benfica on a season long loan. He was at Real Madrid before heading to Portugal.
• Not only have Liverpool signed Konchesky but they have also struck deals for youngsters Suso and Adam Hajdu. The former is a young striker from Cadiz, the latter joins from MTK Budapest.
• Birmingham have confirmed the capture of 31-year-old Martin Jarinek from Spartak Moscow.
• Manchester United starlet Tom Cleverley has joined Wigan on loan for the season despite Fergie saying he was going nowhere.
• DJ Campbell has signed for Blackpool from Leicester.
• Jean Beausejour has signed for Birmingham on a three-year deal. My my, they have been busy.

Now, I will let this marinate for a while then later try to make sense of what happened today and by the end of the week, list rosters of the EPL teams post-transfer.

Thanks to the Daily Mirror, the Guardian, the Daily Mail, and ESPN Soccernet for the information.

Yet again, Ven Persie is injured

After last season's injury plagued season, Robin Van Persie was hoping to get a full season in and show Arsenal that he was worth what they are paying him.  He will have to wait for that opportunity now.  Van Persie has injured ligaments in his left ankle and will miss "at least a few weeks" according to the Dutch Football Association. 


Van Persie missed five months last season after injuring ankle ligaments in November while on international duty.

Scoring Leaders

Rank Player Team Goals

1. Florent Malouda, Chelsea 4
2. Didier Drogba, Chelsea 4
3. Theo Walcott, Arsenal 4
4. Andrew Carroll, Newcastle United 4
5. Craig Gardner, Birmingham 3 
6. Marlon Harewood, Blackpool 2
7. Kevin Nolan, Newcastle United 2
8. Darren Bent, Sunderland 2
9. Nicolas Anelka, Chelsea 2
10. Dimitar Berbatov, Manchester United 2
11. Johan Elmander, Bolton Wanderers 2
12. Andrei Arshavin, Arsenal 2
13. Salomon Kalou, Chelsea 2
14. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Wolverhampton Wanderers 2
15. Carlos Tévez, Manchester City 2
16. Gareth Bale, Tottenham Hotspur 2
17. 40 Players tied at 1

Scharner to West Brom

West Brom have announced the signing of Paul Scharner on a two-year deal.

                                                                      Getty Images
                                                                  

Scharner, 30, has been available on a free transfer since leaving Wigan at the end of last season, and he has been linked with a number of sides in the Premier League and Europe.                                                                                                   

However, West Brom have now completed the deal and boss Roberto Di Matteo feels he will be a major asset for the newly-promoted side.

"I'm delighted to welcome Paul to the club," he told the official West Brom website. "He is exactly the type of player we've been looking to bring in because he is a proven Premier League player, having performed consistently well for the past four-and-a-half years.

"Paul is a powerful, competitive player who is good on the ball, excellent in both boxes, can play in numerous positions and also chips in with goals.

"He is obviously short of match practice at the moment but, when he's fully up to speed, I'm sure his experience will prove invaluable as we strive to establish this club in the Premier League."

Scharner is capable of playing in midfield or defence.



Via ESPN Soccernet Staff

Demarcus Beasley

While this is not an EPL story, United States Midfielder Demarcus Beasley, signed a contract with Hannover in the Bundesliga.  He will be reunited with USMNT member Steve Cherundolo who was recently promoted to captain of the squad.

Congrats to Beasley and hopefully this venture will be successful for both members of the partnership.



Information from the Associated Press

English Premier League


August 29, 2010                           Points

1. Chelsea                                        9
2. Arsenal                                        7
3. Manchester United                        7
4. Aston Villa                                   6
5. Bolton Wanderers                        5
6. Birmingham                                 5
7. Wolverhampton Wanderers           5
8. Newcastle United                          4
9. Manchester City                           4
10. Sunderland                                  4
11. Tottenham Hotspur                      4
12. Blackpool                                     4
13. Liverpool                                     4
14. Fulham                                        3
15. Blackburn Rovers                         3
16. West Bromwich Albion                  3
17. Wigan Athletic                              3
18. Everton                                       1
19. Stoke City                                    0
20. West Ham United                         0

Green- Champions League
Dark Green- Champions League Qualifying
Blue- Europa League
Red- Relegation

Transfer Updates

With very little time left in the summer transfer window, we are left with a few unanswered questions.

1. Will Adebayor, Santa Cruz, and Robinho still be members of Man City after the deadline?

2. Will Chelsea be able to buy Asmir Begovic from Stoke City in time?

3. Will Konchesky leave Fulham to play for Liverpool?

4. Do any of the promotion teams try to make a splash with a last minute big signing?

5. Will Shay Given just have to wait it out as the second teamer behind Joe Hart?

6. Will there be any more signings of note before the deadline passes?

Bolton Wanderers 2 - 2 Birmingham

In an almost pure opposite of their opening match, Kevin Davies and Robbie Blake struck from set-pieces as 10-man Bolton came from two down to claim a draw in a fiery Barclays Premier League contest with Birmingham.

Birmingham had to come back from two men down in their opening match of the season. This time, it came back to bite them and they surrendered a two goal lead having to settle for a tie when they were the class of the pitch today. Blues defender Roger Johnson began an eventful afternoon at the Reebok Stadium with an early opener before getting involved in an incident that saw Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen sent off.

Johnson had challenged Jaaskelainen for the ball just before half-time and the Finn appeared to slap him in the face as they regained their feet.

Scoring Summary:
Bolton Wanderers
Kevin Davies (pen 71)
Robbie Blake (81)
Birmingham
Roger Johnson (4)
Craig Gardner (50)

***Photo thanks to Getty Images***

Liverpool 1 - 0 West Bromwich Albion

Striker Fernando Torres may still be some way short of his lethal best but he underlined his quality - and importance to Liverpool - with a brilliant strike to defeat 10-man West Brom at Anfield.

Two knee operations at the back-end of last season and a late return from the World Cup have impacted on the 26-year-old's fitness and match sharpness.

But a clinical strike midway through the second half - his first Barclays Premier League goal since March 28 and 50th at Anfield in all competitions -proved too good for promoted West Brom.

Scoring Summary:
Liverpool
Fernando Torres 65'

Aston Villa 1 - 0 Everton

Luke Young scored his first goal for nearly two years to earn Aston Villa a 1-0 victory over Everton and boost caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald's chances of becoming Martin O'Neill's successor.

Villa had leaked nine goals in their previous two matches, including a 6-0 mauling by Newcastle at St James' Park.

But they managed to hold on for a clean sheet despite being on the defensive for lengthy periods.

Everton dominated for lengthy spells in terms of possession with Mikel Arteta pulling the strings in the middle of the park.

Scoring Summary:
Aston Villa
Luke Young 9'

Sunderland 1 - 0 Manchester City

Darren Bent's injury-time penalty condemned Manchester City to their first defeat of the season as a glaring miss left Carlos Tevez red-faced.

The Sunderland striker converted the spot-kick in the fourth minute of added time to snatch all three points after being hauled down by Micah Richards in front of goal.

Bent's strike was the Black Cats' reward for a concerted second-half fightback after Tevez had let them off the hook with an astonishing early miss.

The Argentinian fired high over an open goal after being played in by Yaya Toure, and the visitors were made to pay as the points slipped away.

Scoring Summary:
Sunderland
Darren Bent Penalty Shot 90'