I woke up cheerful today, as is normally the case on most Saturday's, especially on Saturday's when we're playing at home. My smile quickly turned into a miserable frown and my joy evolved, faster than than any Richard Dawkin's book, into disgust as I read that Chelsea are now allowed to trade within January's transfer window after the Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS) postponed the FIFA imposed ban until it (CAS) has heard the club's appeal. Click to continue reading...

It's funny how karma works.� Chelsea took an inhumanely stern line with Adrian Mutu, and now FIFA has taken a stern line with them.

The Blues have been found guilty of "inducing" French midfielder Gael Kakuta to break his contract with Lens in 2007.� FIFA has forbid them to participate in the next two transfer windows, barring them from signing a player until 2011.

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Football365 | All The News | Football News | BLUES BUYS BANNED UNTIL 2011Talk about some stunning news from out of nowhere.� Either the editors at Football365 are having some fun with us in the wake of the transfer window closing and their being no more sensational stories of immediate interest or FIFA have over-reacted to something that doesn't seem to merit it. Click to continue reading...

Football's governing body FIFA have made drastic changes to the laws surrounding the controversial Pre and Mid season transfer windows due to the confusion over its existence and the many grey areas surrounding loan deals and deadlines. Sepp Blatter, with the support of Michel Platini, has decreed that every professional club (non league teams are exempt) [. Click to continue reading...

I was so chilled out, laid back and put into a euphoric calm by the inactivity during the transfer window that I mowed the dog and took the lawn for a walk . Even Mrs JimmyG2 noticed and asked if they had cancelled that 'Swappy thingy with the players that you get so excited about'. Not buying, swapping or selling was the new buying, swapping and selling. Click to continue reading...

With the end of the transfer window, Blog do PVC listed how many what players left the clubs playing the first division of Campeonato Brasileiro. And this was not a good harvest season. Only 31 players left. Last year, by the 22nd round, 53 players had left, and four more left until the end of the tournament.

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Arsenal

What they wanted

Arsène Wenger admitted he was looking for defensive cover and a defensive midfielder, along with 'half the managers in the Premier League'

What they got

Arsenal have made an impressive start and that may have convinced Wenger that the squad he has - with the addition of Thomas Vermaelen - will suffice

Pleat's verdict

Maybe a talented big man to replace Emmanuel Adebayor would have given them variations.

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With the likes of Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool not splurging on deadline day and with only Man City really spending big big money, was this a transfer window that failed to deliver? Or was this an expected knock on effect of the financial meltdown?

Obviously a fair few big transfers have been conducted during the opening of the transfer window but more often than not the big deals have involved big players leaving the Premier League with Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso being two such instances.

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In the end, it was a damp squib of a transfer deadline day, hyped to the nines but delivering nothing of interest, and nothing at all for Arsenal.

The whole absurd day, which has become a newspaper-selling website-hitting phenomenon all of its own, with Sky Sports News the very worst culprit, is summed up for me by this one entry from the Guardian's live transfer deadline day page:

5.

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Even though this summer's transfer window is the biggest spending spree in the Premier League ever, the last day turned out to be an anti-climax especially for the big clubs. None of the Big Four or Manchester City bought any more player before yesterday's deadline. A record of over £460m were spent from the 1st of [. Click to continue reading...

Tottenham Hotspur sealed the deal on arguably the best value buy on transfer deadline today after securing the services of Croatian midfield maestro Niko Kranjcar from Premier League rivals Portsmouth. The 25 year old international completed a move thought to be in the region of just £2 million in the final moments of English football's famously frantic deadline day. Click to continue reading...

The Gunners fail to make any moves on the closing day of this summers transfer window. More to come. Click to continue reading...

Thanks to Studs Up for this classic look at what the transfer deadline can do to normal civilized members of society. CLICK HERE to read, but be warned it may well act as a wake up call you did not want to hear!

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They Think It's All Over... is enjoying Transfer Deadline day, but isn't sure that the current transfer system is good for the game. Click to continue reading...

With four Fantasy Premier League gameweeks already down, managers are starting to get an idea of whose scoring points and whose not. With the forwards scoring points, the summer transfer window closing soon, and a two week international break upon us, there are a number of factors to take into consideration over the next fortnight.

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The transfer window is open and come teatime on 31st August we shall all be glued to Sky Sports news (whilst comprising our Top 3 female presenters obviously) and praying that the yellow ticker at the bottom of the screen flashes with a big name or that new wonder kid from South America who is having a medical at our club.

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They Think It's All Over... has decided that Moyes should consider selling Joleon Lescott, and has drawn up a shopping list for him... Click to continue reading...

And so the whirligig of time spirals on and at its centre in the heart of stillness lies Tottenham in the current transfer window. I'm following my own advice from a previous blog and if I can't find facts I'm making them up. In this case its quotes. If Shakespeare had been alive that's what I believe he would have said in relation to our lack of activity in the transfer market. Click to continue reading...

The fans are getting edgy; nothings happening. Its all gone quiet over there, and over here too. We're like an upside down duck: plenty of action on the surface with the rumour mill but absolutely zilch occurring under the water with actual comings and goings. This is not the Tottenham way. We've usually sacked a manager or two by now. Click to continue reading...

Relax fans, JimmyG2 has re-entered the building. I have been on holiday on the Orange Coast south of Valencia in Gandia with daughters, wife, and grandchildren. They call it 'Madrid on Sea' as its an easy motorway drive down from the capital and the closest point from there to the beautiful beaches and the sea. Click to continue reading...

Click here for Part 1

Last season, Gerrard and Torres missed substantial chunks of play. And Liverpool suffered for it. When they were both fit, Liverpool hit some astounding results: v. Real Madrid: 4-0; v. Chelsea 2-0; v. Villa 5-0; and @ United 4-1!!! They even managed strong results against big sides with one or the other missing from the starting lineup.

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Barcelona winning everything last season could have deeper repercussions for the Premier League beyond felling Manchester United in the Champions League. They've awoken the sleeping spending giant that is Real Madrid. Desperate to overtake the unstoppable Barça, Real Madrid have obliterated all transfer records and don't look anywhere near stopping.

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Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. | Teaching Ideas

The summer transfer window is upon us which, of course, means that clubs are allowed to buy and sell players for a fixed period of time. In this teaching ideas post we take a look at the language of football transfers.

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Every year, once the season ends, the rumors really start buzzing around our heads like a dark swarm of thirsty mosquitoes. And where we should wisely swat the nasty beasts away, the depth of our summer football boredom makes us strip off our shirts, hold out our arms, and beg them to land.

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I am a firm believer that Seinfeld was one of the greatest television programs of all time. As such, I try to work it into every possible situation, regardless of whether or not the reference is valid. However, in looking at the state of Manchester United, a Seinfeld analogy seems incredibly apt.

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Some things to read as you wonder whether there are any footballers out there who sing worse than Florent Malouda: (Via Football Is Coming Home) Happy Father's Day to all the soccer dads out there. (And to one dad in particular) (Weekend Warrior Offside) John Terry = Planet's Best Father? (Chelsea Offside) How much does ESPN [. Click to continue reading...

Any regular followers of this blog will know that updates have been few and far between since May. As the football season has reached its dramatic climax and the transfer window has reopened, the world of work has come under an enormous and ever increasing amount of pressure from the recession.

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The buzz coming through the ever-dubious transfer wires claims that Liverpool are close to signing Glen Johnson from Portsmouth.

Rumors are homing in on a £17m move which includes the £7m Pompey still owe the Reds for Peter Crouch. Johnson is a fine player, full of skill, energy and guile, and his addition to the side could be just the sort of tweaking Rafael Benitez needs to push Liverpool up that final rung on the Premier League ladder.

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Since Real Madrid's £80m swoop on Cristiano Ronaldo, I've read plenty of responses by United supporters insisting this was a positive move for the team. Man U is not one player. We've got 80m to spend.� We're fine. No, really.

While the Ronaldo move was inevitable and £80m is a handsome bundle of cash to take in, I cannot accept the idea that United are better off without him.

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It wasn't so long ago, I was completely outraged by Chelsea FC's spending. 16.6m for Mekelele. 24.4m for Essien. 19.8m for Carvalho. 24m for Drogba. As a business, the club could sustain a 140m loss on a year because Roman Abramovich was there to bankroll the transfers. This was bad for football.

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Transfer Talk - Live Chat

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Evening folks. I'll keep this one brief for a simple reason: The season is over and the silly season has yet to begin in earnest. But I thought I'd poke my head round the blogging door anyway.

In fact, the transfer window opened today with a whimper - perhaps because it's precisely now when players and managers head off to their sunbeds, leaving us to devour the titbits offered by the back pages and footballers' agents.

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The rumour mill is beginning to get into the swing now we're nearing the summer transfer window and yet again Gareth Barry is being linked with a move to Liverpool, with Xabi Alonso emerging as a target for probable Real Madrid president Florentino Perez.� It would seem as if Benitez will have to let Alonso go to fund a move for Barry.

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I decided to take a break from rubbing my battered, chapped hands together (which I have been since it was decided that United would be playing Barcelona on May 27th) to take a look into the inevitable silliness that is the summer transfer window. There has been a lot of discussion on this blog of what United should do with their attacking options, but what could prove a more important/prolonged issue this summer is the right back position.

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The rumors have begun to churn: Benitez wants to go after Samuel Eto'o in the summer. The Barcelona striker has already scored 25 goals in 27 matches for his club this season, but could the Camaroon international find a place at Liverpool? With Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard both in great form and leading the Red [. Click to continue reading...