According to me, the following were the Most Interesting Transfers of this Summer and I would surely keep a tab on the following playing in their new outfits.

Chicharito

1.

You could be excused for being a bit maddened by the fact that many sides this week, have a massive amount of key players either injured of doubtful ahead of their respective Week 6 fixtures. Arsenal and Manchester City are hurting the most, both figuratively and literaly. Here's a quick look at who is lounging in the physio's office:

Arsenal are missing five players ahead of their test with West Bromwich Albion.

Michael Williams

As the final whistle in Bloemfontein signalled the end of England‘s dismal World Cup campaign, the nature of their departure from South Africa became hot topic for journalists and the public alike.

Nerves, tiredness and performance were just a handful of excuses as to why Fabio Capello and his squad failed to deliver but the lack of any young prodigies in the English game gained extra attention.

I was thinking of giving ol' Kenwyne an intro but I cannot be bother to sugar coat this. He's shit, he's slow and generally a bit of a lumbering pillock. How Sunderland have managed to fleece Stoke £8 million for this "player" I have no idea...

I saw Kenwyne play against Man Yoo last year in the 2-2 draw and I was amazed at what I saw.

A few more players were added to Santa's naughty list in Week 4 and are set to miss out on featuring for their sides this week's fixtures. Others are finally back after serving bans from Week 1, while one player is back on the bad list for a second time after just a few weeks. Here's who will not be playing this week:

Joe Cole (AM) is back in action!

Apparently this bloke is better suited for the likes of Real Madrid...sure mate.

Saturday 18th Sept.

Aston Villa v Bolton The Villa players will want to impress Gérard Houllier before he takes charge next week, whereas Bolton are without key player Cahill.

A quick PS to the earlier post about fouls committed and suffered in the Big Four leagues of European football. After showing that there is a tendency for fouls committed and suffered to go together, I thought it'd be interesting to see whether all teams were equally likely to play tit for tat or whether there were significant differences.

A quick PS to the earlier post about fouls committed and suffered in the Big Four leagues of European football. After showing that there is a tendency for fouls committed and suffered to go together, I thought it'd be interesting to see whether all teams were equally likely to play tit for tat or whether there were significant differences.

This week's results see both a shack-up in top-side performance or lack thereof and in the players in The Team of the Week. Numerous players are making their debut in this glorious and highly prestigious squad. Despite Arsenal's loss, a player from their said made the cut, while numerous other from clubs from the bottom-half of the table are included or fell just short of the mark.

The Three Lions resume meaningful international competition this Friday v Bulgaria at Wembley stadium as weary and untrusting eyes focus on equal parts Fabio Capello's management and various members of the new look England squad. Bulgaria is the opponent and three points towards Euro 2012 qualification is the goal.

According to Aston Villa's official website, Aston Villa have signed free agent goalkeeper Andy Marshall to a deal that lasts until June 2011.

"The Jimmy Conrad podcast apologizes for nothing."
Wait, that's not fair. I have to apologize twice or three times a week minimum.
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There'd better be a Hall of Fame for Brian McBride to get inducted into, as all I'm saying.
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Had a little talk with my old pal Liz Kubler-Ross about the whole Bob Bradley rehiring thing.

Due to the sudden departure of former boss Martin O'Neill, Aston Villa has been without a long term manager following their first three weeks of Premier League action and the club will most likely have a new manager by their next match set to be played on Monday, September 13th. All Premier League sides have this upcoming weekend off due to the debut matches of Euro 2012 qualifications and Villa will use the brief holiday effectively by trying to land their new coach in what Villa chief executive Paul Faulkner has referred to as a 'beauty parade' of potential candidates.

Jamie Carragher admits he has nothing but admiration for Sir Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho and Fabio Capello but the Liverpool defender is critical of Graeme Souness' tenure at Anfield.
The 32-year-old will today enjoy his testimonial with the likes of Michael Owen, Danny Murphy, Jerzy Dudek, Luis Garcia and Emile Heskey all set to turn out while former manager Gerard Houllier will also be at Anfield.

Chris Seitz raises his hand and apologizes for letting that softie in against KC this weekend. Philadelphia soccer fans everywhere ask that he raise that hand when the ball is floating over his head next time.

Peter Nowak offered words of support to the Union number one, but also criticized him for failing to step up and make the big save.

Chris Seitz raises his hand and apologizes for letting that softie in against KC this weekend. Philadelphia soccer fans everywhere ask that he raise that hand when the ball is floating over his head next time.

Peter Nowak offered words of support to the Union number one, but also criticized him for failing to step up and make the big save.

Tom Cleverley and Jack Wilshere combined to set up Danny Welbeck for his first goal against Lithuania, before Aston Villa's Marc Albrighton made it 2-0, before Welbeck finished off a good day for England U-21 to make it 3-0.

"VIDEO: Welbeck's Brace For England U-21" was originally published at The Republik of Mancunia.

In honor of the 57 hour match's very own Chuck Norris, this:

• Real Madrid's destiny: Harry Potter. (Fisted Away)
• Battle of East v West is one-sided. (DW)
• Chilean miners get to catch a game. (A Football Report)
• Euro 2012 and match-fixing. (Never Mind the Bolsheviks)
• Indonesian WC bid member charged with murder.

Via Aston Villa blog.

Premier League football returns after the international break that saw it's usual spate of injuries, outstanding performances and potential returns to form.

In the context of the title race it's still early but Chelsea and Arsenal have a relatively easy game compared to Manchester United, while all English teams involved in Europe will also have an eye on midweek's fixtures when they embark on their Champions League and Europa League group stage games.

With the International Break behind us, and the scores of injuries suffered baying before us, Week 4 of the Premier League could be a bit underwhelming. There aren't any matches that jump off the page and scream classic this week. Though Manchester United's trip to Goodison Park to face Everton could be a diamond in the rough.

Aston Villa's newly appointed manager Gerard Houllier will be busy strengthening the squad during the January transfer window but with restricted funds. The Birmingham based club have 3 strikers at their disposal but none possess the characteristics of a poacher or a goalscoring number 9.

Aston Villa's newly appointed manager Gerard Houllier will be busy strengthening the squad during the January transfer window but with restricted funds. The Birmingham based club have 3 strikers at their disposal but none possess the characteristics of a poacher or a goalscoring number 9.

According to ESPN Soccernet, Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier spoke about how interested he is in Manchester United striker Michael Owen. Houllier told Canal+,

"He has always been in my thoughts ... I like him, as a player and a man.

Watching repeats of old football matches can be an unsettling experience at times. Watch any match over around thirty years old and everything looks and feels different. The levels of technical expertise and fitness may be lower than they used to be, and the look and feel of the spectacle of the match is strangely other-worldly.

Watching repeats of old football matches can be an unsettling experience at times. Watch any match over around thirty years old and everything looks and feels different. The levels of technical expertise and fitness may be lower than they used to be, and the look and feel of the spectacle of the match is strangely other-worldly.

The Weekend Six Pack, week II Betting Preview is a post from: Just Football

Welcome back to the Weekend Six Pack. Each week on Just Football, our new betting columnist Rob Hartnett will bring you six bets from the weekend football action. Rob is the public face of leading In Play betting specialists 188BET.

Let's be honest here, most football transfer rumours originate in the minds of gawky journos who desperately make up this rubbish to stop them having to write another feature on how bloody good Paul Scholes is. Case in point of this rubbish – Andy Carroll to Tottenham?! Christ, what next, Tony Hibbert to Barcelona?

While we're clearly late in joining this discussion, we feel this news is too significant to pass up.

After a successful World Cup, in many regards, rumors swirled about big moves for our biggest players. Landon Donovan was headed to Europe, Benny Feilhaber was going to escape the Danish Second Division, and Michael Bradley, for the third year in a row, was an absolute certainty to move to England.

EPL on ESPN2: Jonathan Spector and West Ham United travel to Stoke at 7:30am. Marcus Hahnemann and Wolves get Spurs at White Hart Lane at 10am on Fox Soccer Channel. FSC also has Sunderland - Arsenal at 12:30pm and Clint Dempsey and Eddie Johnson's Fulham away to Blackburn at 5pm. On Fox Soccer Plus: Tim Howard and Everton host Newcastle at 10am and there's an all American matchup at 6pm when Aston Villa host Bolton.

After another week of second-rate defending it's really no surprise to see that only three defenders made this week's Team of the Week. It should also not be a surprise to see certain strikers on the list following their contributions. What may be a surprise is that this is the first time some of these top-class players have featured in this JBM segment.

League Cup in England, with Gerard Houllier finally appearing on the sidelines as Aston Villa's new manager. With Brad Guzan in goal and Eric Lichaj also in the starting eleven, Villa beat Blackburn 3-1. Emile Heskey brought Villa level in the 59th minute and Ashley Young added two more goals in the 75th and 77th.

Aston Villa's John Carew hit up the UK premiere of 'The Kid' last Wednesday at the Odeon West End in London. Thoughts on his stripy shirt concoction?

It's been some time now since I presented a dangerman from the opposition before a game. But I find this young man very interesting because he proves that it can be done to our own young footballers playing in our Development team and in the Academy. And I believe that he will start on the [...]

Abelimages - Getty Images

See ... Toronto's Chad Barrett knows how to do it. Here he reacts to missing a shot over the weekend against San Jose. It's not so hard to do it correctly.

By Ollie Irish

If you had to select the best five-aside team from your club's squad, who would be in it? There can be only five, as they once said in Highlander (sort of).

With the fives of Arsenal and Aston Villa tucked safely in our shorts, today is the turn of the mighty, awesome, godlike, we-are-not-worthy Barcelona.

"Look, we won. Can I have the job now?" Aston Villa caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald has confirmed he would like the job on a permanent basis. He informed the club of his decision following Sunday's victory over Everton. The Scot was still mulling over "is it what I want to do or is it not what I [...

"Look, we won. Can I have the job now?" Aston Villa caretaker boss Kevin MacDonald has confirmed he would like the job on a permanent basis. He informed the club of his decision following Sunday's victory over Everton. The Scot was still mulling over "is it what I want to do or is it not what I [...

For the first time Premier League teams had to name a 25-man squad for the first half of the EPL season and there was a couple of surprises.

All 20 clubs had to submit a squad of up to 25 players containing no more than 17 players who do not qualify as homegrown. Homegrown players are classed as players who "irrespective of his nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior to his 21st birthday".

England vs Bulgaria
Euro 2012 Qualifiers
Wembley Stadium
Friday, 3rd September 2010
20:00 (BST)

Although not many people are too eager to go watch the match at Wembley but we can be sure that this game, along with many to come, will see Fabio Capello build a team that will be a strong contender at Euro 2012.