Over the past couple of years, Arsenal have been severely criticised for their transfer policy and their reluctance to splash the cash on big name players. The Gunners have been accused of everything from a lack of ambition to manipulating the share price, as their time without a trophy grows longer and longer and Arsene Wenger's men slip further and further down the Premier League pecking order.

With my Welsh Premier League virginity now only a distant memory, I make my way west to Carmarthen for my third match of the season. Carmarthen Town are the perennial mid-table finishers of this league, although recent seasons and form so far suggests they could be in the midst of a relegation battle.

Spector (left) has played abroad since 2003.
Jonathan Spector was one of a few MNT players to move to a new club this summer. After five years in London with West Ham United, Spector moved north to Birmingham City. He's still only 25 but he's already been abroad for eight years. We asked Spector about the move and what he's looking forward to this coming season with his new club.

Cardiff City manager Malky Mackay has revealed the Bluebirds tried in vain to keep Craig Bellamy from the clutches of Liverpool on deadline day.
The 31-year-old spent last season on loan at his hometown club from Manchester City, but was unable to help them secure a passage into the Barclays Premier League.

Why Raul Meireles is no Judas

Following his move from Liverpool to Chelsea Raul Meireles has been quick to defend himself after being branded a Judas by some sections of the Anfield faithful. Of course, the comparisons with another ex-Red's recent departure are inevitable, but in reality the circumstances that led to the transfers of Meireles and Torres are poles apart.

Liverpool hasn't won at the Britannia Stadium in the Premier League and they will be in for another tough game at Stoke on Saturday.
Tony Pulis has done some great business in the transfer market and it's been a real show of ambition by Stoke.
They've brought in the likes of Peter Crouch, Matthew Upton, Jonathan Woodgate and Cameron Jerome and look set for a good season.

Tottenham Hotspurs' midfielder, Sandro, hints at potential future aside from White Hart Lane as the Brazilian international revealed his dream of playing in Italian Serie A sometime, which he believes would be another positive step for his footballing career.

Sandro, who is currently sidelined because of injury have been highly linked with a potential move to several Serie A teams such as Inter Milan, Ac Milan and most recently Roma but opted to stay in England for the new season, pretty much opens the door for those teams to approach him in the future.

Landreau: Lille perfect fit for Cole

"We feel that he has ambition and he can also give us the benefit of his experience," says goalkeeper

View the full story here: The Mirror

A news article on 2011-09-08 13:46:27 from: The Mirror

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"Chelsea should have won more trophies with their squad because the quality is there. The ambition was there and you can see what the club has spent on players."
-Michael Ballack in today's The Times

Is he right?

All the above points are fair ones from the former Chelsea midfielder.

Arsenal Wenger promised us an "active" summer transfer window. And boy, he stuck to his word!

Although at times, it appeared that the number of players coming in was going to be limited, Arsene kept his promise and captured a number of quality players, in the last few moments of the summer transfer window.

Bolton defender Gary Cahill has opened the door to a move to Arsenal in January by stating that his dream remains to play European football. Arsene Wenger was in for the stopper throughout the summer but the clubs couldn't agree a fee.

But there is every chance AW will be back in for the England player and it seems he is ready to leave the Reebok and possibly join the Gunners.

The front page of Arsenal.com today is a picture of a thoughtful, if slightly pensive, and perhaps vaguely constipated, Arsene Wenger, with the headline "I could write a book on this summer". Heh, no shit. He said:

I think it would quite be an interesting one. Not because of me but because of all that happened, it was quite unbelievable.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish shows strain after Stoke defeat

• Dalglish complains about standard of Premier League referees • Liverpool consider lodging an official complaint For those with ambition and an appreciation of history there are few more appealing jobs in football than that of Liverpool manager.

It was dark when I got up this morning. That's rubbish. Dark is for sleeping in, definitely not for getting up in. Unless it's the middle of the night and you have to go to the bathroom.

On arising, one should be bathed in soft, warm light and that light and warmth should remain with one throughout the day until you decide it's time to sleep again.

There was nothing concrete upon which to link Birmingham City winning the League Cup with their relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season, of course, but it didn't stop some from asserting exactly this and it hasn't stopped panicky-looking managers whose main ambition for this season is to finish seventeenth in the Premier League from effectively binning England's second cup competition.

When Harry said he was going to play the kids, I didn't think he meant kids. They did us proud last night, Livermore and Carroll in particular performing with integrity and application helped out towards the end by a goalkeeper old enough to be their dad. Not everything worked but that's only to be expected.

Nicklas Bendtner always talked a good game but never quite managed to convince Arsene Wenger or the Arsenal fans of his ability, but now that he has finally made his debut for Sunderland he seems to have regained his old confidence and is aiming to be the top scorer in the Premier League. The Black [.

Why Andre Villas-Boas could be Fergie's closest rival yet

Sir Alex Ferguson has counted his rivals in and counted them out. But you get the sense he's as intrigued as anyone about Andre Villas-Boas. There's a gulf in experience, but they share an obsessional attention to detail.

Coates Speaks Of Liverpool Ambition

Liverpool's new signing Sebastian Coates insists he is looking forward the challenge of adapting to a new style of football and also making a name for himself in English Football The Uruguay international moved to Anfield in the summer transfer window, but unfortunately endured a debut which he will want to quickly forget.

Having an unconvincing short debut in the premiership with Liverpool didn't discourage new signing, Sebastian Coates, regarding his future career at Anfield as the Uruguayan is convinced that he can have a great career at the club.

Despite of his confidence, Coates does acknowledged that getting success with the Reds won't be an easy task considering he is now being faced to perform in an environment so much different from his previous.

Manchester City's new signing, Owen Hargreaves is reportedly set to make his debut for the club in the Carling Cup this Wednesday, but aside from hoping for an injury free match, the ex-Manchester United player had bigger agenda on his sight.

Hargreaves, who has been having an injury plagued few seasons before arriving at Eastlands this summer, isn't hiding the fact that he's hoping to have a shot at playing for the national team once again.

Book Review: Joe Fagan - Reluctant Champion by Andrew Fagan and Mark Platt
There are two iconic images that seem to perfectly sum up Joe Fagan's time as Liverpool manager. The first has him lounging by a pool in front of two Italian carabinieri and the Champions Cup, won the night before, besides him.

Just as last season, Manchester United's winger, Luis Nani, had a promising start into the season, becoming one of the most influential players for Sir Alex Ferguson's team especially in the premier league, where they managed to keep a perfect record so far.

This good condition encouraged Nani to dream big this season as he is eying to become the best player in the world, but before achieving that ambition, the Portuguese winger understand that first he needs to provide more titles for his club.

Why Scottish caps 'didn't count' at Bayern Munich in the '90s

I fulfilled a dubious ambition on Monday night by going to the Munich Oktoberfest. Those of us from the press corps who raised a few steins in the Weinzelt owe a debt to Bayern Munich officials who obviously recognised kindred spirits and swung entry for us.

Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Ajax last night was expected however, the headlines making the news was Kaka's amazing performance. The first goal was a masterpiece which am sure reminded many of the golden era where the names of Zidane, Figo and Ronaldo were somehow synonymous with the success the club enjoyed.