The transfer window has finally closed and over A£200 million pounds worth of players moved among English clubs, the Asia Cup also came to an end though not as glorious as the hosts would have hoped. You can listen to these and other stories on our weekly podcast.
Good
What a difference a manager makes. Liverpool look a different side. Despite being made up of the same players that Hodgson had at his disposal, the Reds have now won their last three league games while not conceding. More than that, they have played dynamic, passing football with full backs that actually cross the half way line. The new manager, King Kenny, has set the team up to play confident attacking football, brought younger squad players in for regular starts, and so far it’s been working. Add to that the purchase of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez for the price of Babel and Torres last week, about 58 million pounds, the lighter mood around Anfield and Meireles’ goals and things are looking good on Merseyside again.
Bad
Ugly
The financial downturn does not seem to have affected the world of football, or at least the English Premier League, with over A£200 million of deals done during the transfer window. Damon has already mentioned the transfer drama at Anfield with Carroll and Suarez moving in and Torres moving out but Chelsea also added A£25 million David Luis, while Aston Vila bought Darren Bent for A£18 million and Manchester City snapped up Edin Dzecko for A£27 million. It is almost as if everyone has simply decided to ignore UEFA’s financial guidelines that will come into place at the start of the 2012-13 season – guidelines which mean that teams have to break-even or else they will face penalties. A story that could get pretty ugly indeed.
Vocabulary
concede: let in a goal, to allow the opposing team to score
King Kenny: the nickname for Kenny Dalglish, ex-Liverpool player and now managing the club for the second time
resurgent: Improving
these stranded fans: The supporters were unable to get into the stadium
