Fanhouse UK Football - sunderland

Expect Tony Pulis's Hectic Transfer Activity to Pay Dividends for Stoke

John Percy — 2010-09-03T04:02:00-05:00

Filed under: Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Tottenham

Stoke City were busy in the Premier League transfer market this summer, but it is testament to Tony Pulis's famed caution that he invested only about £1 million more than Sunderland splashed out on just one player.

Pulis has recruited six players - seven if you include the re-signing of Salif Diao - to ensure Stoke's miserable start to the season has almost been forgotten, and the club's supporters are still pinching themselves after a whirlwind final day of the transfer window.

The progress Pulis has been desperate to achieve since promotion to the top level is there for all to see, when you consider established strikers like Eidur Gudjohnsen and Kenwyne Jones didn't view moves to the Britannia Stadium as a retrograde step.

Since promotion from the Championship Pulis has lost count of the amount of targets that have turned their noses up at a move to the Potteries.

Now, however, Stoke are seen as a stable Premier League club and, more importantly for the manager, he can finally start improving the style of football.

Gudjohnsen has already admitted it needed Pulis to deliver a hard sell but he and Jones should provide the firepower to end Stoke's perennial goal shortage.

Signing the Iceland international is completely risk-free and, unlike Sunderland's record signing Asamoah Gyan for example, is already well acclimatised to England's top division having proven himself with Chelsea, Spurs and Bolton.

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Premier League Rankings: Manchester United Make Push for Return to Summit

Ian Whittell — 2010-09-02T12:02:00-05:00

by Ian Whittell

Filed under: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton, Birmingham, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Stoke City, Sunderland, Tottenham, West Ham, Wigan, Wolverhampton, FanHouse Rankings, West Brom, Newcastle, Blackpool

Welcome back to our regular look at who's hot and who's not in the world's best football competition.

Three weeks in and things should be settling down in the Premier League, right? Wrong.

Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United may be making the pace but, beneath them, there are all sorts of funny goings-on ... as you will see from our FanHouse Rankings.

FanHouse UK has used the latest, most in-depth objective statistical data, balanced with the purely subjective views of our expert staff, to come up with the answers.

All this - and much more - is revealed below (please note that the form guide includes results from the 2009-10 season) ...

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Latest England Injury Should Open the International Door for Darren Bent

Ben Hunt — 2010-09-01T11:25:00-05:00

by Ben Hunt

Filed under: Sunderland, Tottenham, England

It is becoming an acute problem that shows no signs of abating. No precautionary measures can prevent it from happening and there are no warning signs, as England's injury crisis strikes again.

This time it is the Tottenham forward Peter Crouch who is the victim with a back injury has ended his involvement in England's crucial European Championship qualifying fixtures in the next week.

Crouch will miss Friday's match with Bulgaria and Tuesday's clash with Switzerland as returns to his parent club for treatment.

His injury means England coach Fabio Capello is without five members of his World Cup squad with Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Robert Green and Frank Lampard also absent through injury.

There is some debate as to how much involvement Crouch would have had in the two matches, for he is often used as an impact substitute from the bench, despite his impressive return of 21 goals in 40 games for the Three Lions.

Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe are likely to be the first choice pairing, although Crouch would certainly have come into the reckoning.

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Premier League Transfer Deadline Day As It Happened

Scott Murray — 2010-08-31T05:30:00-05:00

by Scott Murray

Text commentary of transfer deadline day in the Premier League.

Click here for club-by-club listing of summer's ins and outs.

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Transfer Window Latest: The Definitive Guide to Your Club's Ins and Outs

Ian Whittell — 2010-08-31T05:30:00-05:00

by Ian Whittell

Filed under: Transfer News, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton, Birmingham, Burnley, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Hull City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Portsmouth, Stoke City, Sunderland, Tottenham, West Ham, Wigan, Wolverhampton, West Brom, Newcastle, Blackpool

A feverish summer of transfer activity is winding down to a juddering halt.

Here is your complete club-by-club guide to the comings and goings through August 30.

For live commentary of transfer deadline day as it happened, see the FanHouse UK minute-by-minute report.

ARSENAL
IN: Laurent Koscielny (Lorient) £8.5m, Sebastien Squillaci (Sevilla) £3.2m, Marouane Chamakh (Bordeaux) Free, Kyle Ebecillo (Feyenoord) Free, Phil Roberts (Norwich City) Free.

OUT: Eduardo (Shakhtar Donetsk) £6m, Jay Simpson (Hull City) £1.2m, Luke Ayling (Yeovil Town) Free, Sol Campbell (Newcastle United) Free, William Gallas (Tottenham Hotspur) Free, Fran Merida (Atletico Madrid) Free, Philippe Senderos (Fulham) Free, Alie Sesay (Leicester City) Free, Mikael Silvestre (Werder Bremen) Free, Kyle Bartley (Sheffield United) Season Loan, Pedro Botelho (Catragena) Season Loan, Francis Coquelin (Lorient) Season Loan, Sanchez Watt (Leeds United) Season Loan, Luke Freeman (Yeovil Town) Six Month Loan, Armand Traore (Juventus) Loan, Nacer Barazite (Vitesse Arnhem) Loan.

ASTON VILLA
IN: Stephen Ireland (Manchester City) Part-exchange.

OUT: James Milner (Manchester City) £26m + part-exchange, Nicky Shorey (West Bromwich Albion) £1.5m, David Bevan (Walsall) Free, Jack Dyer (Burton Albion) Free, Marlon Harewood (Blackpool) Free, Stephen O'Halloran (Coventry City) Free, Harry Forrester (Kilmarnock) Five Month Loan.

BIRMINGHAM CITY
IN: Ben Foster (Manchester United) £6m, Nikola Zigic (Valencia) £6m, Enric Valles (NAC Breda) Free, Matt Derbyshire (Olympiakos) Season Loan, Jean Beausejour (Club America) Undisclosed, Alexander Hleb (Barcelona) Loan, Martin Jiranek (Spartak Moscow) Undisclosed.

OUT: Lee Carsley (Coventry City) Free, Artur Krysiak (Exeter City) Free, Franck Queudrue (Panionios) Free, Gary McSheffrey (Coventry City) Free, Jake Jervis (Notts County) Six Month Loan, Robin Shroot (Cheltenham Town) Six Month Loan, Luke Hibbins (Notts County) Five Month Loan, Colin Doyle (Coventry City) One Month Loan, Jordan Mutch (Watford) One Month Loan Marcus Bent (Wolves) Loan.

BLACKBURN ROVERS
IN: Hugo Fernandez (Union Deportiva Cornella) Nominal Fee, Benjani Mwaruwari (Manchester City) Free, Mame Biram Diouf (Manchester United) Season Loan.

OUT: Michael Hall (Accrington Stanley) Free, Andrew Howarth (Bury) Free, Marcus Marshall (Rotherham United) Free, Steven Reid (West Bromwich Albion) Free, Nick Blackman (Motherwell) Five Month Loan, Alex Marrow (Crystal Palace) Five Month Loan, Zurab Khizanishvili (Reading) Loan.

BLACKPOOL
IN: Chris Basham (Bolton Wanderers) £500,000 rising to £1m, Craig Cathcart (Manchester United) £500,000, Elliot Grandin (CSKA Sofia) Undisclosed, Ludovic Sylvestre (Mlada Boleslav) Undisclosed, Marlon Harewood (Aston Villa) Free, Dekel Keinan (Maccabi Haifa) Free, Malaury Martin (Monaco) Free, Luke Varney (Derby County) Season Loan, DJ Campbell (Leicester) Undisclosed, Matt Phillips (Wycombe) £325,000.

OUT: Al Bangura (Mersin idmanyurdu) Free, Hameur Bouazza (Arles-Avignon) Free, Ben Burgess (Notts County) Free, Daniel Nardiello (Exeter City) Free

BOLTON WANDERERS
IN: Marco Alonso (Real Madrid) £1.6m, Tom Eaves (Oldham Athletic) £350,000, Robbie Blake (Burnley) Free, Ivan Klasnic (Nantes) Free, Martin Petrov (Manchester City) Free, Rodrigo Moreno (Benfica) Loan.

OUT: Chris Basham (Blackpool) £500,000 rising to £1m, Ali Al-Habsi (Wigan Athletic) Season Loan, Zoltán Harsányi (Dunajská Streda) Free, Nicky Hunt (Bristol City) Free, Ricardo Vaz Te (Panionios) Free

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Sunderland Face a Goalscoring Nightmare if Darren Bent is Sidelined

Jason Mellor — 2010-08-31T00:05:00-05:00

by Jason Mellor

Filed under: Transfer News, Sunderland

Sunderland supporters are schooled to expected every silver lining to be accompanied by a dirty great cloud, and there are some suitably concerning statistics to dampen the hysteria that met the morale-boosting 1-0 victory over Manchester City.

You needn't ask who scored the winning goal. Of course, it was Darren Bent. As a rule, his team mates don't tend to do scoresheet appearances, seeing that only four of them have managed such a feat in this calendar year.

Step forward and take a bow Steed Malbranque, Bolo Zenden, Fraizer Campbell and Kenwyne Jones. You'll notice 25 percent of that list, and with it the second highest goal output behind Bent last season on nine, is no longer at the club. The 2-1 victory at Blackburn 12 months ago is notable because it's the last time they won in the league without Bent scoring.

He claimed exactly half their 48 Premier League goals last season, and his match-winning penalty against City means the laid back Londoner remains the only Sunderland player to find the net this time.

When asked to name his all-time Sunderland team a few years back, one journalist with a perceptively dry wit simply put Kevin Ball down in all 11 positions. Steve Bruce is soon going to have to start doing the same with Bent.

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Team of the Week: Luke Varney Leads Unfamiliar Names in TOTW

Ian Whittell — 2010-08-30T08:30:00-05:00

by Ian Whittell

Filed under: Team of the Week, Aston Villa, Birmingham, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Sunderland, West Brom, Newcastle, Blackpool

The modern Premier League may be all about big names and even bigger bucks but Blackpool forward Luke Varney showed at the weekend that there is still room for a little romance in the top flight.

Signed on loan until the end of the season from Championship side Derby, Varney marked his debut for the Seasiders with a goal and man of the match showing in a 2-2 draw which builds on the belief around Ian Holloway's underdogs that they can actually survive in the EPL this season.

Varney's nine-out-of-ten made him the pick of the division's forwards this weekend, no mean feat considering the calibre of the opposition, with no other striker receiving better than an eight from our team of FanHouse experts at every Premier League game.

For that reason, the FanHouse Team of the Week comes in an unfamiliar formation this week. With five midfielders receiving a nine-out-of-ten, we have opted for a 4-5-1 formation to accommodate them all.

Nani, of Manchester United, was outstanding in his team's stroll against West Ham. A regular feature in our TOTW, the Portuguese winger looks poised to be one of the division's outstanding performers this season. And, as the highest-paid player in the EPL, Manchester City's Yaya Toure should also be expected to make frequent appearances in TOTW. He was man of the match in his team's defeat at Sunderland and, like Nani, is set to be one of the division's influential performers in 2010-11.

From current league leaders Chelsea - the only team with a 100 per cent record after two, let alone three, games - Michael Essien was the pick of the bunch while Midlands clubs filled the remaining two of our five midfield spots this week.

Karl Henry was in fine form as Wolves drew with Newcastle, continuing their unbeaten start to the new campaign, while Lee Bowyer turned back the clock with a similarly impressive display for Birmingham in their somewhat disappointing draw at Bolton.

As for our defensive nominations for the third week of Premier League action, there are some unfamiliar names stepping to the fore.

Belgian goalkeeper Simon Mignolet helped Sunderland record a clean sheet in that important victory over Manchester City while fellow north-easterner Mike Williamson was impressive at the back for Newcastle as they collected that point at one of the division's surprise teams of the season to date, Wolves.

In fact, Mick McCarthy's team has a representative in TOTW, left-back Stephen Ward earning his place with an eight-out-of-ten showing against the Geordies. The back four is rounded out by West Brom's Jonas Olsson, outstanding in his team's narrow defeat at Liverpool, and full-back Luke Young, the highest ranked defender this weekend for his display in Aston Villa's important home victory against Everton.

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Sunderland 1 Man City 0: Last-gasp Penalty Decider From Darren Bent

Jason Mellor — 2010-08-29T12:13:00-05:00

by Jason Mellor

Filed under: Manchester City, Sunderland, Match Reports

Sunderland triumphed thanks to a dramatic penalty by Darren Bent deep into stoppage time.

Less than a minute remained when Micah Richards pushed Bent, who drilled his spot-kick into the bottom corner.

Manchester City can only wonder what might have been if Carlos Tevez had accepted a 16th minute chance to put them ahead.

Yaya Toure created the chance with a surging run into the area and his cross picked out Tevez but, with keeper Simon Mignolet out of position, the Argentina international ballooned his shot over the bar.

It was a rare clear-cut opportunity in a fiercely-contest opening half when Sunderland manager Steve Bruce had clearly ordered his players not to allow City to dwell on the ball.

City did create another opportunity in stoppage time, but Yaya Toure failed to find the target with a far post header.

Sunderland had to reshape their side in the second half because of injuries to Michael Turner and Fraizer Campbell, but they continued to stifle City's attacking instincts and started to create chances of their own.

City keeper Joe Hart had to make two routine saves, but was fortunate when Danny Welbeck failed to accept a good chance from 10 yards in the 72nd minute.

By then, City manager Roberto Mancini had sent on substitute Emmanuel Adebayor in place of Joleon Lescott and the ,move almost paid dividends.

Micah Richards' s strength in the air created an opening for Adebayor, but Mignolet pulled off a point-blank save to leave the way open for Bent to settle the game.

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Sunderland v Man City Preview: Darren Bent Can Expect Special Attention

Jason Mellor — 2010-08-28T04:50:00-05:00

by Jason Mellor

Filed under: Manchester City, Sunderland, Team Previews

PREMIER LEAGUE: STADIUM OF LIGHT, SUNDAY, AUGUST 29, 2010: KICK-OFF 1500 BST

Remember that TV advert... Carlsberg don't do (fill in appropriate subject) but if they did...cue unimaginably luxurious flat, or barbecue to die for. You get the picture. Well, if Carlsberg could hand pick a fixture for Manchester City, it would be against Sunderland.

Last season's 1-1 draw between the clubs at the Stadium of Light was a minor moral victory for the hosts, since they had lost the previous nine encounters against the blue half of Manchester, a barren run stretching back almost a decade.

So it is not so much in hope, more in expectation that Roberto Mancini takes his expensively assembled side to the north east in the latest instalment of their intriguing attempts to muscle in on the top four and beyond.

Before the bookies become too downhearted, it's not the gimme you might confidently expect had this match been taking place at Eastlands, because Sunderland are as decent on home soil as they are abject on their travels.

A repeat of the scoreline in March - secured with an injury-time equaliser from Adam Johnson, so far his only goal in City colours - could be a decent bet.

Both sides rang the changes for midweek cup ties, and give or take the odd alteration, are likely to keep faith with the line-ups from their most recent Premier League games.

Without wishing to label Sunderland a one-man team - oh, go on then, we will - if City stop Darren Bent, they stop the Wearsiders. Steve Bruce's men haven't won a game without their £10 million record signing on the scoresheet for more than a year.

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Premier League Rankings: Arsenal Fired Up by Demolition of Blackpool

Ian Whittell — 2010-08-26T07:52:00-05:00

by Ian Whittell

Welcome back to our regular look at who's hot and who's not in the world's best football competition.

6-0, 6-0, 6-0 ... the Premier League had one of its most incredible goal-scoring weekends which had us wondering if we had tuned into a re-hash of Wimbledon fortnight instead of the weekend footy results.

Those six-goal wins - for Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle - are bound to have a big impact on this week's FanHouse UK Rankings, both at the top and the bottom of the charts.

FanHouse UK has used the latest, most in-depth objective statistical data, balanced with the purely subjective views of our expert staff, to come up with the answers.

All this - and much more - is revealed below (please note that results in the form guide include the 2009-10 season) ...

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Sunderland 2 Colchester 0: Two Goals From Darren Bent Prove Decisive

John Wardle — 2010-08-24T16:48:00-05:00

by John Wardle

Filed under: Sunderland, Carling Cup, Match Reports

Two first-half goals from Darren Bent enabled Sunderland to negotiate a tricky second round tie in the Carling Cup.

But Colchester will wonder what might have been after mistakes by keeper Mark Cousins contributed to both goals, while Sunderland's keeper Simon Mignolet pulled off several fine saves to frustrate the League Two team.

Colchester utilised five men in their midfield and an early shot from Ian Henderson suggested they might make life difficult for Sunderland.

And, while they did cause problems for the Premier League outfit, United couldn't cope with the power of Bent, who linked superbly with Bolo Zenden for two first half goals.

The first came in the 19th minute when Bent headed Zenden's raking 40-yard pass over onrushing keeper Cousins.

And Cousins was badly at fault for Sunderland's second goal in the 37th minute when he failed to cling onto Zenden's free kick and left Bent with a simple task to score at the far post.

Colchester almost hit back when a header by John White was turned onto the bar by Mignolet shortly before the interval.

And the League Two team caused some problems for Sunderland in a second half that was far from routine for Steve Bruce's side.

They were pinned back at times and Mignolet had to make further impressive saves from David Perkins and Ian Henderson before Sunderland were able to confirm their place in the third round.

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Sunderland v Colchester Preview: Michael Turner Back After His Ban

John Wardle — 2010-08-23T07:45:00-05:00

by John Wardle

Filed under: Sunderland, Carling Cup, Match Previews

CARLING CUP: STADIUM OF LIGHT, TUESDAY AUGUST 24, 2010. KICK-OFF 1945 BST

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West Bromwich Albion 1 Sunderland 0: Odemwingie Strike Seals Dream Debut

Ian Edwards — 2010-08-21T09:54:00-05:00

by Ian Edwards

Filed under: Sunderland, Match Reports, West Brom

Peter Odemwingie made a dream entrance on to the Premier League stage to erase West Bromwich Albion's bitter memories of their mauling at Chelsea a week ago.

The £2 million signing made his way out of searing 40 degree temperatures and smog that has engulfed the Russian capital when he moved from Lokomotiv Moscow on Thursday.

Despite only one training session with his new teammates he helped give manager Roberto Di Matteo a clearer vision of life at this level as Sunderland suffered another dose of travel sickness.

If Di Matteo was embarrassed against his old team in London, he was flashing that trademark Italian smile again as he clocked up his first managerial win in the Premier League and it was fully merited.

He had every reason to be cheerful too, after the striker he persuaded chairman Jeremy Peace to loosen the purse strings for Odemwingie, who secured victory in the 80th minute.

The Nigeria international looked rusty in the early stages, tossing away a brilliant chance to make a grand entrance, dragging his shot across the target, after Chris Brunt's reverse pass wrong-footed Paulo Da Silva.

But he made amends for the miss ten minutes from time with the decisive goal that sentenced Steve Bruce and Co. to another day of misery away from the Stadium of Light.

James Morrison was the architect of most of Albion's inventive work and his neat pass sent Odemwingie racing clear between Titus Bramble and Da Silva.

Where Odemwingie's earlier effort had lacked any kind of conviction, this time the striker, with more than 50 caps for his country, unleashed an unstoppable shot beyond Simon Mignolet.

Sunderland finished the game with four strikers on the pitch, but still showed little indication of ending one of the Premier League's worst away records, after collecting just ten points on their travels last season.

Darren Bent flashed one header wide of the near post, from a free-kick, but Scott Carson, still somewhat shell-shocked after the debacle at Stamford Bridge was barely tested. Kieran Richardson wasted three excellent opportunities with free-kicks around the box and lifted another 25-yard angled drive narrowly over the bar.

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Through The Fixtures From Around The Grounds As It Happened

Howard Swains — 2010-08-21T08:45:00-05:00

by Howard Swains

Filed under: Arsenal, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton, Birmingham, Everton, Stoke City, Sunderland, Tottenham, West Ham, Wolverhampton, Min-By-Min Reports, West Brom, Blackpool

Minute-by-minute commentary from the Emirates Stadium, St. Andrew's, Goodison Park, Britannia Stadium, The Hawthorns and Upton Park.

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West Brom v Sunderland Preview: Pablo Ibanez Hopes for Second Chance

Ian Edwards — 2010-08-20T07:23:00-05:00

by Ian Edwards

Filed under: Sunderland, Team Previews, West Brom

PREMIER LEAGUE: HAWTHORNS, SATURDAY AUGUST 21, 2010. KICK-OFF 1500 BST

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Premier League Rankings: Unusual Suspects Make Early Push For the Top

Ian Whittell — 2010-08-19T11:11:00-05:00

by Ian Whittell

Welcome back to our regular look at who's hot and who's not in the world's best football competition.

The world's greatest domestic footbal league is back and it's like it's never been away. Chelsea are scoring goals without breaking sweat, Wayne Rooney can't score a goal and Manchester City are spending money like Roberto Mancini is playing fantasy football at his local.

Still, at least now the talking has stopped and there is real, breathless, live action for us to study and that means the first meaningful FanHouse UK Rankings of 2010-11.

FanHouse UK has used the latest, most in-depth objective statistical data, balanced with the purely subjective views of our expert staff, to come up with the answers.

All this - and much more - is revealed below (please note that the form guide refers to results during the 2009-10 season) ...

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No Defence for Lee Cattermole and His Dreadful Red Card Record

Jason Mellor — 2010-08-16T05:55:00-05:00

by Jason Mellor

Filed under: Sunderland

Don't be fooled by Steve Bruce's ill-advised rant at the problems of fast-tracking referees in the wake of Lee Cattermole's latest transgression in a career littered with more red than a communist party manifesto.

The Sunderland manager's verdict on Anthony Taylor was a jaundiced view more at home in a partisan fan phone-in and should see him having to explain his actions to the FA,.

But perhaps it was designed to deflect attention from Cattermole, his errant new captain who seems not to have taken on board that the role entails extra responsibility.

That's the only sensible conclusion to which you can arrive having seen the 22-year-old's first-half cautions, one for kicking the ball away, the other for an ugly lunge at Lee Bowyer which as good as cost his side an opening day victory against Birmingham City.

Bruce's loyalty to his captain was perhaps the only edifying part of the whole sorry affair for the manager, who left himself open to accusations of bad judgement for attempting to defend the indefensible actions of his midfielder.

He also accused Taylor of being out of his depth and claimed referees target Cattermole.

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Sunderland 2 Birmingham City 2: Liam Ridgewell Crowns Late Comeback

Jason Mellor — 2010-08-14T12:15:00-05:00

by Jason Mellor

Filed under: Birmingham, Sunderland, Match Reports

Liam Ridgewell completed a second-half comeback by Birmingham to earn them a point with an 88th minute equaliser.

It was an outcome that appeared unlikely after Sunderland surged into a 2-0 lead early in the second half.

But, reduced to 10 men for more than half the match, Sunderland were pinned back in the closing stages and eventually cracked.

Lee Cattermole, named as Sunderland's captain earlier in the week, was the player sent off for his second bookable offence in the 43rd minute.

It was a red card that angered manager Steve Bruce, who was escorted away as he attempted to confront referee Anthony Taylor at the end of the half

Sunderland had gone ahead in the 25th minute when striker Darren Bent opened his account for the season from the penalty spot after Stephen Carr brought down Fraizer Campbell, although the defender claimed the foul was committed outside the area.

The luckless Carr was also at the heart of Sunderland's second goal in the 56th minute when he headed Jordan Henderson's cross past his own keeper.

Birmingham responded immediately by sending on summer signing Nikola Zigic and the 6ft 7in striker soon made an imapct when a long-range shot was turned over keeper Simon Mignolet.

It proved to be the start of an awkward spell for Bruce's 10-man team as Birmingham took control.

Alex McLeish's team eventually pulled a goal back in the 78th minute when Scott Dann headed a corner through the legs of Mignolet.

Dann went close to an equaliser a minute later when he was again given too much space inside the area, but failed to connect cleanly with another header.

But Birmingham did earn a point when Ridgewell poked the ball past Mignolet during a scramble inside the area in the 88th minute.

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Through The Fixtures As It Happened

Howard Swains — 2010-08-14T09:46:00-05:00

by Howard Swains

Filed under: Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton, Birmingham, Everton, Fulham, Stoke City, Sunderland, West Ham, Wigan, Wolverhampton, Min-By-Min Reports, Blackpool

Minute-by-minute text commentary from around the grounds.

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The Great Prediction Game: And the 2010-11 EPL Champions Are ...

Ian Whittell — 2010-08-14T03:20:00-05:00

by Ian Whittell

Filed under: Predictions, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton, Birmingham, Burnley, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Hull City, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Portsmouth, Stoke City, Sunderland, Tottenham, West Ham, Wigan, Wolverhampton, West Brom, Newcastle, Blackpool

So, what exactly does £133 million buy you these days?

If the resident FanHouse UK football experts are to be believed, the answer in the case of Manchester City is second place in the Premier League.

City have enjoyed a summer unheard of in the history of English football - with James Milner's imminent arrival set to take their spending to well over the £130 million mark, in transfer fees alone.

Yet our pundits still need a little more convincing before they can see City stripping Chelsea of the championship they won so impressively three months ago.

What is clear, however, is the lack of faith our reporters have in City's rivals United making an impact on this season's title chase. Once more, Sir Alex Ferguson has been relatively quiet in the transfer mark - then again, everybody has been quiet compared with his "noisy neighbours" - and after missing out on the league and Champions League last season, our men see them slipping further down the table.

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