Luis Suarez - The good, the bad, and the very ugly.

Luis Suarez is the biggest enigma in football in my opinion. Off the pitch, he is supposedly a calm, humble and outgoing human being who's very kind, but as he crosses the white line to enter a football pitch he must turn into another person, a bit like Jekyll & Hyde if you like, without all the medicine.

The spotlight has been on Suarez a lot for the past year or so after the whole Patrice Evra racism affair, Suarez has claimed his innocence ever since the incident claiming it as a 'cultural misunderstanding' (which is still debated due to Evra's testimony inwhich he claims Suarez called him a 'negro' five times) - which is understandable, if in Uruguay you can call someone a 'nigretto' as Suarez claims, and it's not construde as racist or offensive then that's all well and good, but we are not in Uruguay, we are in England where racism has been a problem that's been highlighted for a while, especially in football. The issues with Anton Ferdinand & John Terry has exclaimed the point that the 'Kick It Out' campaign, while being well meaning, hasn't really quite nailed home the idea of the campaign which was to get racism out of football. Rio Ferdinand and Jason Roberts recent refusal against the campaign by not wearing the t-shirts is further evidence that the campaign hasn't quite worked as the FA had hoped. The problem surrounding Serbia in recent weeks following Danny Rose's sending off after his reaction to racial abuse to the England U-21's squad has shown that it is not just a problem in England but in Europe as a whole.

Suarez's career has been blotted with sour incidents though, not just the Evra saga; the many times he's been criticised for diving and unsportmanship - the many dives he's been booked for or fouls that haven't been given in his favour due to him being seen as the boy who cried wolf, not to mention the shocking dive he performed against Stoke in a 0 - 0 draw a few weeks ago, the mock dive celebration this weekend against Everton after David Moyes' comments in midweek & Suarez also received a seven-game ban in 2010 for biting PSV Eindhoven midfielder Otman Bakkal's shoulder, at the time Suarez also had a one-game suspended ban hanging over his head following a red card in July 2010's Dutch season opener - the Johan Cruyff Bowl.

Now I would like to concentrate on Suarez's footballing aspects because there is no doubting he is a world class footballer. He is probably Liverpool's most effective and dangerous player going forward, his playing style is fast, powerful and he is a direct player who likes to make things happen. His creativity and unpredictability make him one of the toughest players to face but he has one fatal flaw in his game, his conversion rate for chances since he joined Liverpool has been pretty poor. He has scored 29 goals in 65 games for Liverpool but had his ability to take chances been better, that number could be a lot greater. He has the versatility to play behind the target-man or as a lone striker, but for me Suarez would be a player who could be greater utilised as a winger, because of his low-centre of gravity and ability to beat opponents with consummate ease with pace and trickery. If Liverpool could sign a striker with an outstanding eye for goal, it could be the perfect catalyst for Suarez and Liverpool to hit the dizzying heights of old. He also has a manager who can utilise his style of play in Brendan Rodgers, Rodgers being a manager whose philosophy is to play the ball on the floor and build up play as well as the fast counter-attacking play everyone witnessed from his time at Swansea, which suits Suarez down to the ground. The players around Suarez are varied in talent, on the down side you have players like the ineffective Stewart Downing and overpriced Jordan Henderson, but if Liverpool could build their team around good, solid players such as Joe Allen, Raheem Sterling and their centre-back pairing then they have the potential to challenge once again.

If Suarez can cut out the negativity which seems to follow him on a football pitch and Liverpool can make more signings to suit and compliment him while playing then Liverpool have every chance of challenging, and Suarez could have the potential of being the best player in the league.

Pre-game jitters

Right, as many of you (if not all) will know, I am an Arsenal fan, and some might say a pessimistic one (I say realist). I'm not expecting much from this season, maybe an F.A or Capital One Cup, a standard get out of the Champions League group stage and get knocked out at the quarter-final & a fourth, maybe third place league finish.

Coming up on Saturday is possibly Arsenal's biggest game of the season against long time league rivals Manchester United, despite not being anywhere near Arsenal in a geographical nature, Man United have always been Arsenal's rivals in terms of silverware and league standings, apart from in the last few years where the North Londoners have slowed down somewhat while Man United have kicked on while Sir Alex carries on in the twilight of his career winning trophies left, right and centre.

Yes, I am a pessimist, both at watching Arsenal play and in life itself, but whenever Arsenal play Manchester United I never expect anything else but a loss for some reason, mainly because Man United are Arsenal's top four bogey team, when the only victories I can remember over Man United in recent years add up to a grand total of about three (since 2006-ish). There seems to be something about Sir Alex's men that Arsene Wenger & company just can't seem to suss out. It's like there's a mental barrier and lack of confidence around the team, just like the one that eminates whenever Arsenal have the sniff of a trophy in their collective nostrils.

The thing that really gets me and that I'm scared of is not that Man United will beat Arsenal, because that in itself isn't a huge blow. Arsenal were never going to challenge for the title and it's been obvious that Arsenal are not on Man United's level (as much as it pains me to say it), but if Robin Van Persie scores against Arsenal I don't think I would be able to stomach such a blow to my Arsenal heart. The man had one good season for Arsenal, after Arsenal showed all the faith in him throughout his injury-ravaged time at the Gunners and the first sniff of a move where he would get more money (and arguably a better chance at a trophy) he ups sticks and moves to a rival - the line which must not be crossed in football. He claimed that it was the 'little boy' in him that cried out for a move to Man United.. wait, the little boy in you supported Arsenal, didn't it Robin?

When Van Persie signed for Man United it was like a dagger in every Arsenal back on the planet, but he has joined a team with undoubted class. With the likes of Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez & Danny Welbeck joining him upfront it can be understood that Van Persie has joined a team with a good pedigree. Going forward is not where Man United have a problem though, it is at the back that Arsenal's misfiring frontline might actually be able to take advantage. Man United's defence has been uncharacteristically leaky this season with Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra among others have been culpable for mistakes which have cost goals, the big question is will Lukas Podolski, Olivier Giroud & co be able to take advantage of the Red Devils shakiness at the back? Signs so far this season can suggest not with Arsenal struggling to score in a lot of games this season, despite their build-up play and overall play being good, they simply have not been clinical enough in finding the net.

Arsenal's defence has improved notably from this time last season where they made their leakiest start to a Premiership season ever (conceding eight in this very game didn't help matters), but this will be another test on the scale of Man City and Chelsea than the tough last couple of games against the QPR's and Norwich's of this world (with all due respect). Arsenal's defence played well in the games against Chelsea & Man City but their zonal marking wall was reduced to rubble due to all three goals conceded in those two games being from set-pieces, despite Arsenal's improved defence in open play, they still look shaky at set-pieces.. which is something Sir Alex may no doubt look to exploit.

Obviously any team who go to Old Trafford see a draw as a good result because it is one of the strongest fortresses in the Premiership. But if Arsenal manage to grab any kind of result against Man United this weekend I will be ecstatic to say the least, not least due to Arsenal's staggering form lately.

What a weekend in the Prem!

Now I'm going to review the games from this weekend, new territory, woo! I'll start with Arsenal because I'm ecstatic that they actually managed to win, despite it being against the bottom team; when QPR finished with 10 men and with the aid of an offside goal. Arsenal still struggled to hold on with Jamie Mackie nearly popping up at the end with a barnstorming run but to be denied by Vito Mannone. Arsenal didn't attack convincingly, with Olivier Giroud and Cazorla among others missing a host of chances and Julio Cesar having his best game in a QPR jersey so far, but the result is what matters for Arsenal, especially with a mammoth game coming up next weekend against rivals Man United. Gooners will be hoping Arsenal can gather even more momentum with a win in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday in what will be a tough away game against Premiership rivals Reading. Another talking point was Stephane M'bia's red card, what was the fool thinking?!

Onto probably everyone's biggest talking point of this weekend, Stoke City vs Sunderland. No, I joke, Chelsea vs Man United which is probably the biggest clash of the season so far and it didn't disappoint anyone with a game that had nearly everything, red cards.. not one, but two. Dodgy refereeing, an offside goal, a comeback and an own goal! Chelsea went 2 - 0 down through a David Luiz o.g and a Robin Van Persie goal (surprise, surprise) but fought back through Juan Mata's goal just before half-time gave Chelsea some hope going into the second half, Ramires made it all square just after half-time with a towering header. But that's as good as it got for Chelsea as 10 minutes later Branislav Ivanovic was sent off when he clipped Ashley Young who was racing through the middle, then five minutes later Fernando Torres was shown a second yellow card for simulation despite replays showing contact from Jonny Evans, even though Torres should maybe have seen red for his first booking alone. Man United took full advantage of 9-man Chelsea (and the linesman's dodgy eyesight) as substitute Javier Hernandez tapped in the eventual winner. Chelsea shouldn't feel too downhearted though because they are still top of the league (only by a point, but hey, still top right?)

Everton and Liverpool played out a typically fiery Merseyside derby in the earlier kick-off as Liverpool went 2 - 0 up, Leighton Baines got an unfortunate own goal after Luis Suarez fired the ball across the box which ricocheted in off the England full-back, Suarez then decided to heighten tensions further by doing a mock dive celebration in front of Everton manager David Moyes who made mid-week comments about the Uruguayan front-mans play-acting. Suarez was the hero for Liverpool again as the striker bagged a goal of his own after 20 minutes after he connected with a Steven Gerrard free-kick. Liverpool couldn't hold onto their priceless two-goal lead as Everton fought back with goals Leon Osman and Gary Naismith ensuring a pulsating first-half. The matched stayed 2 - 2 but Liverpool and Suarez were denied another goal in the last minute, it is unsure whether it was denied for a foul by Sebastien Coates on Phil Jagielka or whether Suarez was deemed offside, if it was the latter it was a wrong call because the Liverpool striker was level with the last man before stabbing home what could have been the winner. The main talking point from a Liverpool game again is Suarez, the man is an undoubted footballing talent but his simulation & history of unfair play is held against him in many quarters, which is a huge shame because he is now the footballing version of the boy who cried wolf.

Tottenham got their first win over Southampton at St. Mary's in six attempts with former Saint Gareth Bale coming back to haunt his former club. Bale gave Spurs the lead in the 15th minute with Clint Dempsey grabbing his second league goal for Spurs six minutes before the break. Jay Rodriguez gave Southampton a glimmer of hope in the 66th minute and Spurs had to survive a late Southampton onslaught but they held on to collect three good points from Southampton who have been leaking goals for fun in the Premiership so far this season, conceding the most goals with 26 so far already. Tottenham managed to move into the top four with the victory.

Newcastle secured a late, late win over West Brom at St. James' Park, Demba Ba opened the scoring with a 34th minute volley which was his 7th goal of the season, but that was cancelled out in the 55th minute by on-loan striker Romelu Lukaku for the Baggies with a good header after racing onto Zoltan Gera's cross. Papiss Cisse & Gabriel Obertan joined the fray as a response to the equalizer and Sammy Ameobi came on for the injured Ba. It was Ameobi who's shot was heading wide of goal in the 93rd minute, the ball deflected off Cisse, whose touch took it away from the stranded Ben Foster and into the net for Cisse to claim his first Premiership goal of the season and for the first time for Newcastle, Ba and Cisse have scored in the same match.

The stand-out game of Saturday was Reading vs Fulham, with both sides sharing six goals equally, Reading took the lead through an amazing Mikele Leigertwood strike (yeah, you heard me.) in the 26th minute. Fulham responded in the second half with substitute Bryan Ruiz turning well on the edge of the box and firing an unstoppable shot into the top corner, Fulham then took the lead 16 minutes later through full-back turned goal-scoring midfielder Chris Baird, who then injured himself two seconds later after colliding with the advertising boards. Reading equalized in the 85th minute when Garath McCleary pounced onto Jason Roberts loose touch in the Fulham box, Fulham then took the lead again three minutes later when Dimitar Berbatov was allowed the space and time to finesse (RB/R1 for those who don't know) the ball into the bottom corner to give Fulham what should have been the winner. The Londoners must have been wondering what they needed to do to win the game when in the 90th minute Hal Robson-Kanu poked home a close-range finish to give the game a stunning finale.

Champions Man City struggled to overcome Swansea at the Etihad, the match itself was a rather drab affair with both sides struggling to really make anything in the first-half. City started the second half with gusto, maybe Roberto Mancini gave them a bit of a hairdryer talking at half-time. They were rewarded for their good start when Gael Clichy laid the ball to Carlos Tevez who drilled the ball into the bottom corner from all of 30 yards. Swansea never gave up and gave a good account of themselves and 12 minutes of stoppage time were given due to injuries to Michel Vorm & Micah Richards, but Swansea couldn't get an equalizer and the match finished 1 - 0 to City, after Chelsea's loss to Man United City are now just a point off top, on 22 points with rivals Manchester United.

Wigan surprised a few pundits and fans alike by beating in-form Londoners West Ham. Ivan Ramis gave the Latics an 8th minute lead with a spectacular volley from the edge of the box from a Jean Beausejour corner. James McArthur doubled the hosts advantage with a half-volley two minutes after the restart after Jussi Jaaskelainen shanked a routine clearance to concede possession. James Tomkins hit the bar late on with a deflected volley but then gave West Ham hope in the 92nd minute with a solid header but it was only a consolation goal as Wigan held on to claim all three points.

Aston Villa and Norwich played out a 1 - 1 draw in the early Saturday kick-off, Christian Benteke justified his inclusion with a fine touch and finish in the 27th minute. There were three Bennett's on the pitch and Aston Villa's left-back Joe was sent off for a second bookable offence after he upended namesake Elliott. Chris Hughton's side finally found an equalizer in the 79th minute when summer signing Michael Turner headed in a Wes Hoolahan cross to deny former Canaries manager Paul Lambert a win over his former club.

Stoke and Sunderland played out one of the most boring matches I've ever witnessed at the Britannia, the draw specialists justified their tags with a bit of a bore draw.

Matchday 9 Premiership preview

Seeing as I had a bit of fun doing last weeks one I'm going to continue this as a weekly post, bearing in mind that the Premiership is on, that is.

I will go in chronological order as I did last time and the first match up this week is Aston Villa vs Norwich at Villa Park. Norwich will be looking to build on their first win of the season against Arsenal last week by getting their second win on the trot whilst Villa will also be looking for their second win of the season. Paul Lambert will come up against his former club trying to grab Villa's second win in 18 games.
Villa will again be without centre-back Richard Dunne with a groin injury and could potentially face a centre-back crisis with Nathan Baker (ankle) and Ciaran Clark (knee) facing late fitness tests. Matt Lowton could start at centre-back should Baker and Clark fail their fitness tests while Eric Lichaj is in contention to start.
Chris Hughton has no new injury concerns with Steven Whittaker and Mark Bunn back in training and in contention to face Spurs in midweek in the Capital One Cup. On loan striker Harry Kane is on target to make a return from his broken foot before Christmas.

Arsenal welcome QPR to the Emirates Stadium as they try to recover from two limp defeats on the trot in which they've failed to score while QPR still search for their first win of the season.
French full-back Bacary Sagna could make a return to the squad after recovering from a broken leg sustained in May, while midfielder Jack Wilshere could also make a return after coming through another U21's game unscathed. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain faces a fitness test after limping off nine minutes after coming on against Norwich after taking a knock to his hip while Kieran Gibbs (thigh), Theo Walcott (chest), Wojciech Szczesny (ankle), Abou Diaby (thigh) and Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) all remain sidelined.
QPR captain Park-Ji Sung is a doubt after suffering a knee injury in last week's 1 - 1 draw against Everton. Ryan Nelsen and former Gunner Armand Traore are both available to Mark Hughes but Andy Johnson (knee) and Fabio (hamstring) are still out.

Fulham travel to Madjeski Stadium to face a Reading team who are yet to win in the Premiership so far this season but will be looking to kick-start on home soil while Martin Jol's Fulham team are just two points off the top four.
Striker Noel Hunt could make a comeback from a heel injury while Reading gaffer Brian McDermott will have to make a tough call on who to choose between the sticks with both Alex McCarthy and Adam Federici available. Jem Karacan is remains sidelined with a knee injury.
Winger Damien Duff is available to Fulham after recovering from illness. Simon Davies is still out with a hip problem.

Stoke City welcome Sunderland to the Britannia Stadium looking to maintain a 10-match home unbeaten run while Sunderland will be looking to secure their first away win of the season.
Stoke could be set to welcome back Glenn Whelan after the Irish midfielder recovered from a hamstring problem.
Black Cats captain Lee Cattermole is set to return after missing the last three matches through suspension. Phil Bardsley has the chance to make his first appearances of the season after being an unused sub in the derby draw with Newcastle following an ankle injury. Titus Bramble (hip) is a doubt while Wes Brown (knee) is definitely ruled out.

Wigan will face West Ham at the DW Stadium looking to end a six match winless run while West Ham could move into the top four with a win.
The Latics could be without on loan Arsenal winger Ryo Miyaichi who is suffering from a groin problem. Roberto Martinez will definitely be without the services of winger Albert Crusat (knee) and defender Antolin Alcaraz (groin). Martinez admitted that Alcaraz won't be available until Christmas time.
West Ham can welcome back midfielder Joey O' Brien after he has recovered from a hamstring injury suffered earlier this month. Matthew Taylor (calf) and Guy Demel (thigh) could return to first-team action soon but West Ham manager Sam Allardyce will be without Ricardo Vaz Te (shoulder) and Jack Collison (knee) for the long-term.

The dinner time game on Saturday sees Manchester City face Swansea at the City of Manchester Stadium. Man City will be looking to recover from their crushing 3 - 1 midweek defeat to Ajax by keeping up their outstanding home form.
Man City will again be without playmaker David Silva who misses out with a hamstring injury he sustained on international duty. Defenders Pablo Zabaleta (hamstring) and Maicon (foot) will miss out, as will midfielders Javi Garcia (thigh) and Jack Rodwell (hamstring). James Milner will miss out as he starts the suspension he picked up after his red card against West Brom.
Swansea have no new injury concerns with the absentees Kyle Bartley (thigh) and Neil Taylor (broken ankle) being the only injuries.

The Sunday games kick off with a mouthwatering Merseyside derby as Everton welcome rivals Liverpool to Goodison Park as David Moyes comes up against Liverpool for the 24th time, looking for just his fifth win.
Moyes will be hoping that Marouane Fellaini will be passed fit to play in the derby, while Tony Hibbert is expected to be fit after recovering from his calf problem. Playmaker Steven Pienaar will sit out this game after picking up a one-match ban after his sending-off in the 1 - 1 draw with QPR last week.
Liverpool will monitor the fitness of goalkeeper Jose Reina after he continues to nurse a hamstring injury he picked up on international duty with Spain two weeks ago. There are no fresh injury concerns for Brendan Rodgers with Martin Kelly (knee), Lucas Leiva (thigh) & Fabio Borini (broken foot) all sidelined.

Newcastle will welcome in-form West Bromwich Albion to St. James' Park looking to kick-start their so far limp campaign as they look for just their third win of the season.
Newcastle will be without Ivorian midfield Cheick Tiote who starts a three-match ban after being sent off in last week's Tyne Wear derby as Alan Pardew will welcome back the nine players he rested in the Europa League in midweek.
West Brom have been monitoring the fitness of Claudio Yacob who suffered a hamstring injury during last weekend's 2 - 1 home defeat to Man City. Captain Chris Brunt (hamstring) and Billy Jones (knee) have resumed training and may be in contention to make the squad.

Tottenham will travel to Southampton looking having lost on their last six visits to St. Mary's.
Southampton will be without record signing Gaston Ramirez again as he continues his recovery from a thigh injury. Defender Frazer Richardson (groin) and midfielder Jack Cork (knee) are both out but Tadanari Lee has recovered from his elbow injury and is in contention.
Gareth Bale has returned from paternity leave to face his former club, the Welsh midfielder has missed the last two games after the birth of his first child. Emmanuel Adebayor could make a return after suffering from back pain and he will be joined by Mousa Dembele who has been struggling with a hip injury. Michael Dawson will be assessed because he has been struggling with illness, while Scott Parker (achilles), Benoit Assou-Ekotto & Younes Kaboul (both knee) are all sidelined.

League leaders Chelsea will be involved in the biggest game of the weekend again as they welcome Manchester United to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea will be looking to stay top and the signs are good for Chelsea as they are unbeaten in 11 Premier League games against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge, a run stretching back to 2002. You will remember the astounding comeback in this fixture last season as Man United came back from three goals down to draw 3 - 3.
Chelsea will be without influential midfielder Frank Lampard as he will be out for at least two weeks with a calf problem. John Terry will serve another game of his four-match ban but Chelsea can welcome back midfielder Marko Marin after he recovered from injury.
Shinji Kagawa will be out for about a month after he suffered a knee injury in the 3 - 2 victory over Benfica, Sir Alex Ferguson that he could have been back sooner had the Japanese playmaker not carried on playing with the injury. Chris Smalling has recovered from a broken metatarsal but Phil Jones, Nemanja Vidic (both knee) & Anders Linegaard (thumb) all miss out.

Premiership weekend preview

The first game of the weekend incidentally seems to be the biggest with Chelsea travelling to Tottenham for a highly-anticipated London derby. Both clubs will be looking to continue their good run of form with Tottenham looking to extend their winning streak of four games and Chelsea looking to continue their unbeaten start to the season which has seen them shoot to pole position, Chelsea will also be looking to win their first league game at White Hart Lane in seven meetings.
 Andre Villas-Boas will be looking to settle a few scores after his failed spell in West London and it will probably pain him to welcome Chelsea to White Hart Lane as European Champions which is a title he thought he could give to them himself before his spell came to an end in March.
Tottenham will be without club captain Scott Parker until Christmas, the 32-year-old hasn't played since England's Euro 2012 quarter-final exit at the hands of Italy. AVB will also be without long-term absentees Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Younes Kaboul who both have knee injuries but he will welcome the returns of Jake Livermore and Kyle Naughton to training this week after recovering from groin and ankle injuries respectively.
Chelsea will be without John Terry as he starts his four-match ban for misconduct but Chelsea gaffer Roberto Di Matteo will be able to welcome back midfielder Frank Lampard and left-back Ryan Bertrand after both players missed England's World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland, Lampard has recovered from a calf injury and Bertrand has shaken off an illness which saw him leave the England camp.

Manchester United will welcome Stoke City to Old Trafford with Stoke looking to grab their first points at Old Trafford since their return to the top-flight and their first win at Old Trafford since 1972. Man United will be hoping that Robin Van Persie can keep up his good record against Stoke, the striker has scored six goals in his five league games against The Potters.
Manchester United can welcome back winger Ashley Young after a two month absence with a knee injury and could be in contention to make a return against Stoke. Sir Alex Ferguson also may choose to put Chris Smalling to use after he is closing in on a return to full fitness after his foot injury.
Stoke manager Tony Pulis has been monitoring the fitness of both Glenn Whelan and Michael Owen. Midfielder Whelan, who limped out of Stoke's 0 - 0 draw against Liverpool with a hamstring problem missed Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifiers against Germany and Faroe Islands and is rated as '50-50' by Pulis. He also expects that striker Owen, who missed the Liverpool game due to a groin tweak, to be fit for the bench to face his former club. Defender Andy Wilkinson is available again after a 3-match suspension.

Champions Manchester City will be travelling to the Hawthorns to face a West Brom side who have started the season in good form, currently sitting 6th in the table. Man City will be hoping that Tottenham can get a result against Chelsea so that City can catch up to the Premiership leaders while the Baggies will look to extend their best home start to a top-flight season in 92 years but will no doubt face a tough game with their hardest home game of the season yet.
The Baggies may be without midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu, the Congo international picked up a niggle on international duty. On-loan striker Romelu Lukaku should be fit to return after a minor ankle problem but both Steven Reid & Chris Brunt (both hamstring) won't be available while Billy Jones and Boaz Myhill are both out with knee and thumb injuries respectively, long-term absentee Jerome Thomas is still not ready to return to first-team action.
The champions are without David Silva who suffered a hamstring injury just 12 minutes into Spain's 1 - 1 draw against France, while Jack Rodwell is also missing after suffering a hamstring injury of his own while on international duty with England-U21's. Midfield new-boy Javi Garcia is still on the sidelines due to a thigh problem and Maicon is also still missing due to a foot injury.

Liverpool will welcome newly-promoted Reading to Anfield and will be looking to add to their solitary win so far this season, the home side have made their joint-worst start to a Premier League season and sit 14th in the table. Reading will be looking to pick up their first win of the season.
Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina will face a late fitness test on a minor hamstring problem he picked up while on international duty with Spain, striker Fabio Borini has been ruled out for three months with a fractured foot he picked up with Italy U-21's but defenders Jose Enrique and John Flanagan returned to training this week. Jonjo Shelvey is also available again after his three-match suspension.
Reading forward Noel Hunt is a doubt because of a heel problem but midfielder Mikele Leigertwood
has been passed fit after recovering from a dead leg.

Fulham will face an Aston Villa side at Craven Cottage who have made their worst ever start to a Premier League season while Fulham will be looking to build on their good start to the season.
Martin Jol can welcome back strikers Dimitar Berbatov and Mladen Petric who have recovered from hip and calf problems respectively. Midfielder Mahamadou Diarra has also recovered from his knee injury which means he could be in contention for a starting place, however Simon Davies (hip) remains out and Bryan Ruiz is a doubt with a groin injury.
Villans midfielder Stephen Ireland has returned to the squad after missing three games with a broken arm. Manager Paul Lambert will assess the situations of Brad Guzan, Brett Holman & Karim El Ahmadi after long-haul midweek trips playing with America, Australia and Morocco respectively. Full-back Joe Bennett is expected to be fit after suffering a leg injury in Villa's 2 - 0 loss to Tottenham. Richard Dunne remains a long-term absentee.

Swansea face Wigan Athletic at the Liberty Stadium with both teams failing to pick up a win in their last five attempts.
Swansea manager Michael Laudrup could name an unchanged side from the one that came from 2 goals down against Reading to draw 2 - 2. Danny Graham looks set to start up front despite being withdrawn at half-time against The Royals, record signing Ki-Sung Yeung could keep Jonathan De Guzman out of the side. Kemy Agustien is back in contention after a calf problem but Neil Taylor is a long-term absentee with a broken ankle.
Wigan will be without Antolin Alcaraz who has not played since August because of a groin injury, winger Albert Crusat is missing after sustaining a knee problem and Latics manager Roberto Martinez will be monitoring the fitness of Maynor Figueroa & Jean Beausejour after long international trips with Honduras and Chile respectively.

West Ham will welcome a Southampton team to Upton Park who are looking for their first clean sheet of the season, while West Ham will be looking to bounce back from their last home game where they suffered a 3 - 1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal.
Defenders Guy Demel (thigh) and Winston Reid (back) are West Ham's main injury concerns and will both face late fitness tests to prove their fitness while forward Ricardo Vaz Te has undergone surgery on a dislocated shoulder sustained in the loss to Arsenal.
Southampton will be missing record signing Gaston Ramirez after the 21-year-old was ruled out for four weeks, while Frazer Richardson is also sidelined due to a knee injury. Jack Cork, Danny Butterfield (knee) & Tadanari Lee (elbow) are also out, while Nathaniel Clyne is set to return.

The evening kick-off on Saturday sees Arsenal travel to Carrow Road to face a Norwich team who are seeking their first win against the Gunners in 11 attempts while Arsenal will look to keep their strong start to the season going.
Norwich will hope to have Robert Snodgrass back after he returned from international duty with Scotland with an injury, defender Steven Whittaker has returned to full training after sustaining a pre-season ankle problem. On loan Tottenham striker Harry Kane is sidelined by a broken metatarsal.
Arsenal will be without defender Laurent Koscielny who sustained a back injury while on international duty with France, defender Kieran Gibbs will miss out with a thigh injury after he limped off in the second half of the win over West Ham & Theo Walcott will also miss out after he sustained a chest injury after a nasty collision in England's win over San Marino. Emmanuel Frimpong could be in the squad after returning from a long-term knee injury and Jack Wilshere will be in the squad after 15 months out with an ankle injury but it is not likely that he will make an appearance. Wojciech Szczesny (ankle), Abou Diaby (thigh), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) & Bacary Sagna (broken leg) all remain sidelined but the latter has made appearances for the U21's. Lukasz Fabianski set for three months out after rupturing ankle ligaments.

Sunderland will host rivals Newcastle United at The Stadium of Light in the 147th Tyne-Wear derby with Newcastle looking to extend a five-game unbeaten run against their rivals.
Sunderland winger James McClean is back in contention after shaking off a groin injury which kept him out of Republic of Ireland's international friendlies. Full-back Phil Bardsley has featured for the U21's and could make the squad after he recovered from an ankle injury which has kept him out since pre-season. Titus Bramble is a doubt with a hip problem and captain Lee Cattermole completes his three-match ban.
Alan Pardew could welcome back defenders Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini. Taylor damaged his calf in the 2 - 2 draw against Reading and Coloccini has missed the last seven games with a hamstring injury. Goalkeeper Tim Krul could make a return after recovering from an elbow injury he sustained on international duty with Holland & Danny Simpson could be in contention to start after his hamstring injury after he sat out the 3 - 0 defeat to Man United last time out.

Struggling Londoners QPR welcome an Everton side to Loftus Road who have started the season impressively. QPR manager Mark Hughes will be under pressure to get his first win of the season after making some significant signings during the summer.
Jose Bosingwa and Anton Ferdinand are both fit but Hughes will be without Fabio Da Silva who will have a scan on a hamstring injury while Armand Traore is battling for match fitness. Midfielder Samba Diakite returns from a one-match ban while striker Andy Johnson remains a long-term absentee with a knee injury.
Everton will be without midfielder Marouane Fellaini which will be seen as a huge blow to Everton manager David Moyes who is hopeful the Belgian won't be injured for too long after he suffered a knee injury against Wigan. Defender Tony Hibbert (calf) is being considered but Darron Gibson (thigh) will not be available. New signing Thomas Hitzlsperger will not be considered at this stage.

The season so far..

Seeing as I can't get back into my room with my laptop due to an eight-legged monster deciding to make my room his lair, it looks like I will be doing this post from my front room.

So the season is well underway and some teams have been living up to expectations while others have been performing well above levels of expectation, and others have been performing well below the standard which was initially expected of them.

1. Starting off at the top, Chelsea have caught the eye of everyone so far this season with a free-flowing attacking mentality which has seen them shoot to the top of the table, scoring the joint second most goals in the league. The thing with Chelsea is when you spend as much as they did in the summer, a certain level of success should be expected, especially when they bought in stars like Eden Hazard & Oscar for huge prices, but the new players have lived up to the price-tags with Eden Hazard quickly becoming one of the most dangerous players in the Premiership, his start to the season was also phenomenal as he scored or assisted every Chelsea goal they scored in their first three games.

2. Manchester City have started as people would have expected but it was overall a disappointing summer for Roberto Mancini and his men, when they were linked with players like Eden Hazard, Robin Van Persie & Daniele De Rossi, they had to settle for Javi Garcia, Jack Rodwell & Maicon, who of course aren't bad players.. but they don't stand up to the class of the first three names. But how much more would you have to do to that title winning squad? Maybe a few more big names would need to be brought in after losing out on Van Persie and Hazard to title challengers but Mancini's squad seems to have more of a settled feel about it this season without the Tevez & Balotelli sagas going on anymore. They have picked up where they left off nevertheless, staying well in touch of Chelsea at the top of the table.

3. Manchester United have also made a solid start to the season despite an opening weekend loss to Everton and a shock 3 - 2 loss to Tottenham at Old Trafford, after snatching Robin Van Persie from rivals Arsenal it looked to be a promising season for Sir Alex's men and at the moment it still seems on course for that with Van Persie picking up where he left off at Arsenal with 7 goals in 9 appearances so far this season. The only worrying point for Man United will be Wayne Rooney's run of no goals for the club this season but they will be hopeful that after two goals for England in the win against San Marino that he will have the taste for goals and can try to catch up with team-mate Van Persie. Another jewel in the Manchester United crown is the emergence of summer signing Shinji Kagawa who looks set to be the replacement to Paul Scholes once Scholes (finally) retires. A notable worry for Man United this season is the ease in which their defence has fallen apart in games, with another injury looking set to keep Vidic out for a couple of months and Rio Ferdinand looking shaky so far this season and Rafael often neglecting his defensive duties for forays forward it seems some work will need to be done if they are to plug their uncharacteristically leaky defence.

4. Everton have been the standout team for me so far this season, usually they have poor starts to the season but this season they have hit the ground running. Leighton Baines has put in his shout for the permanent England spot with some outstanding performances at left-back during the whole Ashley Cole/F.A fiasco. Marouane Fellaini has proved to be one of the most consistent midfielders in the league with some dominant performances in central midfield, it seems as if the man is almost unbeatable in the air (either with his hair,head or chest) despite some continued use off throwing his considerable elbows. David Moyes seems to have unearthed another bargain gem with Kevin Mirallas showing some potential and adding to the seemingly neverending conveyer belt of Belgian talent at the moment. Nikica Jelavic has continued his fine form from last season with 4 goals in 7 games so far. If Everton push on from this good start, with a team of their quality I can see them grabbing a Europa League spot come the end of the season, consistency will be the key for them this season.

5. Despite Tottenham not winning for their first three games and pointing the finger at AVB yet again, Tottenham have gone on a four game winning streak which included their first victory over Man United since 1989. The additions to their squad of Adebayor (permanently), Clint Dempsey, Moussa Dembele, Jan Vertonghen & Hugo Lloris have added some depth up front, in midfield after the losses of Luka Modric & Rafael Van Der Vaart. Vertonghen was a noted target of North London rivals Arsenal but Tottenham managed to snatch him up as well as France captain Hugo Lloris - both of who have made promising starts to their Spurs careers, notably centre-back Vertonghen who has quickly captured the heart's of Spurs fans.

6. West Brom are another team who have overachieved this season so far, The Hawthornes has been made into something of a fortress so far this season with West Brom grabbing victories in every game they've played there so far, including a 3 - 0 drubbing of Liverpool on the opening day. Shane Long has become an integral part of West Brom's team and that has continued this season with his industrial style giving the Baggies a lot of chances. Gareth Macauley and Jonas Olsson have created one of the best centre-back partnerships in the league and the introductions of Goran Popov & Claudio Yacob have added some steel to the defensive side of their games. The addition of Romelu Lukaku on loan up front has also given them depth and his fearsome build has added an extra dimension up front for West Brom.

7. Arsenal have made a solid start to the season despite two 0 - 0 bore draws against Sunderland & Stoke in the first two games of the season. Their defence has considerably improved from what it was this time last season, with players like Carl Jenkinson, Per Mertesacker & Laurent Koscielny stepping up their game. The signing of Santi Cazorla has been lauded as one of the best so far this season as nearly everything good that Arsenal do in a match goes through the diminuitive Spanish playmaker. Olivier Giroud finally broke his league goal-scoring duck with a fine centre-forwards goal against West Ham in a 3 - 1 win. Arsenal have only lost one game so far this season and with Steve Bould as assistant manager it seems that they have tightened their defence, a title challenge is probably a bit far-fetched but Arsenal can definitely challenge for some silverware this season.

8. Newly-promoted West Ham have performed the best of the promoted teams so far, with Big Sam as their gaffer this was always likely to happen as he has the pedigree to survive in the Premiership given the right amount of time as he showed time and time again with Bolton. With the signing of Andy Carroll on loan from Liverpool, he has made a nuisance of himself in games against Fulham & Arsenal. If West Ham can rally around him and use him as a focal point, their size advantage over most other teams could prove pivotal, especially with captain Kevin Nolan's partnership with Carroll proving to be successful when they were at Newcastle, now that Big Sam has reunited them it could be a recipe for success. Matt Jarvis' signing from Wolves for a considerable £10million fee was questioned at first, was he only signed for that much because English players are over-priced? Nevertheless, he has made a good start to his West Ham career with his good delivery and direct style causing defences problems, now Carroll is back from injury it could be the perfect catalyst for West Ham success.

9. Fulham have continued their tradition and reputation as a consistent and reliable team. After the sales of Moussa Dembele and Clint Dempsey to Tottenham it was thought that Fulham might struggle to replicate any kind of form which saw them hit the heights of last season but they have started in a solid fashion, winning 3 of their first 7 games. The signings of Dimitar Berbatov and the enigmatic Hugo Rodallega have added some depth upfront and despite not having the likes of Dempsey & Dembele it seems that Fulham will have another one of their solid seasons without creating too much fuss.

10. Newcastle have started the season in a way which some would see as under-achieving because of their terrific end to last season, Demba Ba has over-taken Papiss Cisse as the goal-scoring hero of St James' Park (not the Sports Direct Arena) yet again, with Cisse having not scored in the league yet this season and Ba scoring 6 in 8 appearances so far. In their next game they will be looking to recover from the 3 - 0 humbling they received at home to Man United but if players like Cisse, Ba & Ben Arfa are on form there will be no doubt that Newcastle can push for a Europa League spot again this season. Considering they were in The Championships a few years ago, the resurrection of Newcastle as a team & club under Alan Pardew has been nothing short of phenomenal.

11. Swansea have continued their tradition of exciting and fast-flowing football under Michael Laudrup after the departure of Brendan Rodgers to Liverpool. Laudrup has continued the philosophy of football which Rodgers instilled into the Swansea players and despite the losses of Scott Sinclair & Joe Allen it seems that Swansea have managed to compensate, the signing of Michu has been an impressive piece of business as he has scored 6 goals in 8 games from attacking midfield and he has integrated himself into the Premiership's style seemlessly. If Swansea could tighten up their defence, which was impressive last season, they could work on their mid-table finish from last season because going forward they are outstanding, scoring the joint second highest amount of goals in the lower half of the table (12), unfortunately due to the amount they've conceded they only have a goal difference of plus one.

12. Stoke City have continued their no-nonsense style of football, which isn't pretty to watch but obviously it is effective seeing as they've been a consistent team in the Premiership since they were promoted back in 2008. During their time in the Premiership they've also appeared in an FA cup final and had a campaign in the Europa League so their class as a Premiership team can't be doubted. The signing's of Charlie Adam & Michael Kightly have added some on-ball class to Stoke's industrious midfield and with Michael Owen waiting in the wings, surely his partnership with Peter Crouch will bear fruit for Stoke fans? Stoke have performed well in games this season, grabbing draws against Man City, Arsenal & Liverpool but their battering ram style of play will need to have a touch of class added to it if they hope to climb any higher come the end of the season.

13. Sunderland have started well under Martin O' Neill, the signing of Steven Fletcher from Sunderland has been a masterstroke so far as he has scored all five of Sunderland's goals so far this season and his form has led him to grabbing September's player of the month award. Sunderland will be another one of those clubs whose season won't hold anything significant but they will do well, having hung on to the likes of James McClean & Stephane Sessegnon over the summer they can have another steady season, maybe looking to put a cat among the pigeons during the title race and cause a few shocks because Sunderland are that kind of team.

14. Hm, now where do I start with Liverpool? After having another lacklustre summer, of which the highlight was the signing of the tidy Joe Allen from Swansea, it seems as if Liverpool have taken a step back even from last season. Last season was overcome with the racism row between Patrice Evra and Luis Suarez, it now seems that Suarez has a crosshairs on his forehead, a crosshairs which he can't help but place himself. There's no doubting Suarez's class as a footballer but I'm not sure what goes through his mind sometimes, unfortunately for him, whenever he goes down for a penalty a ref will always think 'Hm, it's the boy who cried wolf' and his reputation will precede him. A positive for Liverpool so far is the emergence of youngster Raheem Sterling who has looked impressive on the wings with his speed and direct style of play. Lately Liverpool have played much better than in the earlier games of the season but it still seems like there is something lacking for Liverpool, with the news of Fabio Borini's broken foot they are lacking even more in the striking department which is a department they could have filled with the hefty frame of Andy Carroll but probably due to his style of play, Brendan Rodgers couldn't see a place for him in the team, which is unfortunate because at the end of last season Carroll was really starting to show promise.

15. Wigan have started with a struggle, which is surprising considering the barn-storming run they had to escape relegation last season and the form they were in towards the end of the season. Their only win of the season so far has come against Southampton, but some of their play has deserved better. Despite losing Victor Moses to Chelsea they still have a quick and direct style of play, Franco Di Santo has a new strike partner in Arouna Kone who has started life in the Premiership well and they look to be a potent partnership for Wigan. I think that Wigan will struggle against relegation but how they perform against the teams around them will ultimately hold their fate.

16. What happened to Aston Villa? A few seasons ago they were fighting for a Champions League spot, with the likes of Ashley Young, James Milner & Stewart Downing performing well. Now they are on the verge of another relegation threatened campaign. The burden of them surviving will unfortunately fall on the shoulders of Darren Bent who needs to have a good season in order for Villa to survive I think, the signing of Chrisian Benteke has given Paul Lambert another option upfront and the young Belgian striker can provide the same play as Bent with his pace and power, he just needs to be calmer in front of goal which should come with experience. The youth of the Villa squad could either work in their favour or work against them in their fight, their lack of experience could work against them or the vibrance of youth could shine through and pull them up the table, only time will tell for the Villa Park inhabitants.

17. Southampton have been the unluckiest of the promoted clubs, their style of play has seen them perform well in games but they haven't been able to see out victories. They were 2 - 1 up against Man City and Man United but unfortunately ended up losing both games 3 - 2, if Southampton could have seen out both of these games they would have caused huge upsets and the confidence would have led them to being a huge force in the Premiership this season. Talismanic striker Rickie Lambert has started life in top-tier well as he has caused every defence he has come up against a problem. Jason Puncheon and club captain Adam Lallana have aided Lambert's cause with excellent service and support for the target-man. If Southampton can keep up this style of play I have no doubts that they will be rewarded with good results and their status in the Premiership will stay for at least another season. Surprisingly they have the worst defence in the league but due to their style of play going forward they have made up for it with the amount of goals they have been scoring.

18. Reading have impressed pundits with their industrial style of play on the pitch, unfortunately in some games their effort hasn't been rewarded. They have failed to find a victory so far this season, drawing 3 and losing the other 3 of their 6 games so far. Being 2 - 1 up against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, 2 - 1 up against Newcastle at the Madejski and 2 - 0 up against Swansea at the Liberty Stadium they haven't found a victory in any of those games. Their squad has a good pedigree with the likes of Danny Guthrie, Pavel Pogrebnyak & Nicky Shorey and the impressive Gareth McCleary also showing promise it seems if Reading can find some luck then they will be fine to avoid relegation, just.

19. Norwich have failed to impress so far this season, maybe a touch of second season syndrome has kicked in. After keeping hold of Grant Holt it seemed that if Norwich could build a stronger squad that they would perhaps keep tabs with Swansea and try to build on their solid mid-table finish from last season, unfortunately it hasn't quite worked out like that with 4 losses and 3 draws coming in their first 7 games and performances haven't really hit the dizzying heights of last season.

20. What happens when you go and buy so many players that you could create a new first-team? QPR 's situation at the moment. They have signed so many players that at the moment their squad lacks a bit of cohesion and they haven't gelled yet which is unfortunate because their team has the potential to be very good. The signings of Julio Cesar, Esteban Granero, Ji-Sung Park, Junior Hoilett, Fabio Da Silva & Stephane M'bia have all shown that QPR are showing ambition. Alejandro Faurlin and Granero have formed an impressive partnership in midfield but goals have been drying up for Rangers with Djibril Cisse and Bobby Zamora's partnership not quite clicking into gear yet. QPR have the players and quality to avoid relegation in my opinion and they should find themselves out of the relegation in no time.

Full list of Premiership summer transfers 2012-2013

A full list of the Premiership summer transfers and some facts and figures to warm your cockles, again, sorry for the wait.

Arsenal in;
Lukas Podolski from FC Koln for £10.6million
Olivier Giroud from Montpellier for £12million
Santi Cazorla from Malaga for £16.5million

Arsenal out;
Robin Van Persie to Manchester United for £24million
Alex Song to Barcelona for £15million
Carlos Vela to Real Sociedad for £4million
Kyle Bartley to Swansea for £1million
Henri Lansbury to Nottingham Forest for £1million
Oguzhan Ozyakup to Besiktas for an undisclosed fee
Sean McDermott to Sandnes for free
Pedro Botelho to Atletico Paranaense for free
Jeffrey Monakana to Preston for free
Alban Banjaku to Sevilla for free
Tom Cruise to Torquay for free
George Brislen-Hall to Norwich for free
Gavin Hoyte to Dagenham for free
Manuel Almunia to Watford for free
Rhys Murphy to Telstar for free
Joel Campbell to Real Betis on loan
Denilson to Sao Paulo on loan
Ryo Miyaichi to Wigan on loan
Park-Chu Young to Celta Vigo on loan
Nicklas Bendtner to Juventus on loan


Aston Villa in;
Christian Benteke from Genk for £7million
Matthew Lowton from Sheffield United for £4million
Ron Vlaar from Feyenoord for £3million
Karim El-Ahmadi from Feyenoord for £2.5million
Joe Bennett from Middlesbrough for £2.5million
Jordan Bowery from Chesterfield for £500,000
Brett Holman from AZ Alkmaar for free
Ashley Westwood from Crewe for an undisclose fee

Aston Villa out;
James Collins to West Ham for £2.5million
Carlos Cuellar to Sunderland for free
Connor Taylor to Walsall for free
Reece Caira to Western Sydney for free
Nathan Delfouneso to Blackpool on loan


Chelsea in;
Eden Hazard from Lille for £32million
Oscar from Internacional for £25million
Marko Marin from Werder Bremen for £7million
Victor Moses from Wigan for £9million
Cesar Azpilicueta from Marseille for £7million
George Brady from Cannes for £250,000
Thorgan Hazard from Lens for an undisclosed fee

Chelsea out;
Didier Drogba to Shangai Shenhua for free
Salomon Kalou to Lille for free
Jacob Mellis to Barnsley for free
Marko Mitrovic to Brescia for free
Jose Bosingwa to QPR for free
Michael Essien to Real Madrid on loan
Yossi Benayoun to West Ham on loan
Thibaut Courtois to Atlético Madrid on loan
Rohan Ince to Yeovil on loan
Jeffrey Bruma to Hamburg on loan
Patrick van Aanholt to Vitesse Arnhem on loan
Tomas Kalas to Vitesse Arnhem on loan
Ulises Davila to Sabadel on loan
Jhon Pi­rez to Sabadel on loan
Milan Lalkovic to Vitoria Guimaraes on loan
Matej Delac to Vitoria Guimaraes on loan
Kenneth Omeruo to ADO Den Haag on loan
Kevin De Bruyne to Werder Bremen on loan
Ben Gordon to Birmingham on loan
Romelu Lukaku to WBA on loan
Sam Walker to Bristol Rovers on loan
Archange Nkumu to Yeovil Town on loan
Josh McEachran to Middlesbrough on loan
Conor Clifford to Portsmouth on loan
Sam Hutchinson to Nottingham Forest on loan
Thorgan Hazard to Zulte W on loan
Nathaniel Chalobah to Watford on loan
Gael Kakuta to Vitesse Arnhem on loan


Everton in;
Kevin Mirallas from Olympiakos for £5.2million
Steven Pienaar from Tottenham for 4.5million
Bryan Oviedo from FC Copenhagen for £5million
Steven Naismith from Rangers for free due to tribunal
Matthew Kennedy from Kilmarnock for an undisclosed fee

Everton out;
Jack Rodwell to Manchester City for £12million
Joseph Yobo to Fenerbache for £2million
Tim Cahill to New York Red Bulls £1million
Joao Silva to Levski Sofia for an undisclosed fee
James Wallace to Tranmere for an undisclosed fee
Jack Bidwell to Brentford on loan
Adam Forshaw to Brentford for free
Aristote Nsiala to Accrington Stanley for free


Fulham in;
Dimitar Berbatov from Manchester United for £5million
Kieran Richardson from Sunderland for £2million
George Williams from MK Dons for an undisclosed fee
Mladen Petric from Hamburg for free
Hugo Rodallega from Wigan for free
Sascha Riether from FC Koln on loan

Fulham out;
Moussa Dembélé to Tottenham for £15million
Clint Dempsey to Tottenham for £6million
Dickson Etuhu to Blackburn for £1.5million
Marcel Gecov to AA Gent for an undisclosed fee
Danny Murphy to Blackburn for free
Andy Johnson to QPR fo free
Bjorn Helge Riise to Lillestrom SK for free
Orlando Sa to AEL Limassol for free
Marcus Bettinelli to Dartford on loan


Liverpool in;
Joe Allen from Swansea for £15million
Fabio Borini from Roma for £10million
Oussama Assaidi from Heerenveen for £3million
Damed Yesil from Bayer Leverkusen for £1million
Nuri Sahin from Real Madrid on loan

Liverpool out;
Alberto Aquilani to Fiorentina for £6million
Charlie Adam to Stoke for £5million
Dirk Kuyt to Fenerbahce for £1million
Maxi Rodriguez to Newell’s Old Boys for an undisclosed fee
Nathan Eccleston to Blackpool for an undisclosed fee
David Amoo to Preston for free
Fabio Aurelio to Gremio for free
Craig Bellamy to Cardiff for free
Stephen Darby to Bradford for free
Lewis Hatch to Accrington Stanley for free
Joe Rafferty to Rochdale for free
Toni Silva to Barnsley for free
Connor Wearing to Shrewsbury for free
Andy Carroll to West Ham on loan
Jay Spearing to Bolton on loan


Manchester City in;
Jack Rodwell from Everton for £12million
Scott Sinclair from Swansea for £6million
Maicon from Inter Milan for £3million
Vlad Marin from Lazio for an undisclosed fee
Jules Olivier Ntcham from Le Havre for an undisclosed fee
Richard Wright from Ipswich for free
Matija Nastasic from Fiorentina for an undisclosed fee

Manchester City out;
Adam Johnson to Sunderland for £10million
Emmanuel Adebayor to Tottenham for £5million
Nigel de Jong to AC Milan for £3.5million
Vladimir Weiss to Pescara for £1.3million
Greg Cunningham to Bristol City for an undisclosed fee
Roque Santa Cruz to Malaga for an undisclosed fee
Stefan Savic to Fiorentina for an undisclosed fee
Gai Assulin to Racing Santander for free
Ahmed Benali to Brescia for free
Andrea Mancini to Real Valladolid for free
Stuart Taylor to Reading for free
Wayne Bridge to Brighton on loan
Omar Elabdellaoui to Feyenoord on loan
Harry Bunn to Crewe on loan
Owen Hargreaves released


Manchester United in;
Robin van Persie from Arsenal for £24million
Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund for £14million
Nick Powell from Crewe for £4million
Alexander Buttner from Vitesse Arnhem for £4million
Angelo Henriquez from Universidad de Chile for £3million

Manchester United out;
Dimitar Berbatov to Fulham for £5million
Ji-Sung Park to QPR for £2.5million
Ritchie de Laet to Leicester for £1million
Matthew James to Leicester for £1million
Febian Brandy to Walsall for free
Liam Jacob to Oldham for free
Paul Pogba to Juventus for free
Tomas Kuszczak to Brighton for free
Oliver Norwood to Huddersfield for free
Ben Amos to Hull City on loan
Reece Brown to Coventry on loan
John Cofie to Sheffield United on loan
Fabio Da Silva to QPR on loan
Sean McGinty to Oxford United on loan


Newcastle United in;
Vurnon Anita from Ajax for £6million
Gael Bigirimana from Coventry for £1million
Curtis Good from Melbourne Heart for £400,000
Romain Amalfitano from Reims for free

Newcastle United out;
Leon Best to Blackburn for £3million
Fraser Forster to Celtic for £2million
Daniel Taylor to Oldham for free
Danny Guthrie to Reading for free
Michael Hoganson to Derby County for free
Peter Lovenkrands to Birmingham for free
Tamas Kadar to Roda for free
Alan Smith to MK Dons for free
Phil Airey to Blyth S for free
Lee Toland to Glenavon for free
Louis Storey to Accrington Stanley for free
Billy Ions to Leeds United for free
Jeff Henderson to Sligo Rovers for free
Paul Dummett to St. Mirren on loan


Norwich City in;
Sébastien Bassong from Tottenham for £5.5million
Robert Snodgrass from Leeds for £3million
Alexander Tetty from Rennes for £1.5million
Michael Turner from Sunderland for £1.5million
Mark Bunn from Blackburn for £1million
Jacob Butterfield from Barnsley on a free due to tribunal
Steven Whittaker from Rangers for free

Norwich City out;
Andrew Crofts to Brighton for an undisclosed fee
Josh Dawkin to Braintree for free
Adam Drury to Leeds for free
Zak Whitbread to Leicester for free
Aaron Wilbraham to Crystal Palace for free
Daniel Ayala to Nottingham Forest on loan
James Vaughan to Huddersfield on loan
Tom Adeyemi to Brentford on loan
George Francomb to AFC Wimbledon on loan


QPR in;
Esteban Granero from Real Madrid for £9million
Samba Diakite from Nancy for £4million
Ji-Sung Park from Manchester United for £2.5million
Junior Hoilett from Blackburn Rovers for free
Julio Cesar from Inter Milan for an undisclosed fee
Stephane M'bia from Marseille for an undisclosed fee
Robert Green from West Ham for free
Ryan Nelsen from Tottenham for free
Jose Bosingwa from Chelsea for free
Andy Johnson from Fulham for free
Sam Magri from Portsmouth for free
Fabio Da Silva from Manchester United on loan

QPR out;
Paddy Kenny to Leeds for £500,000
Tommy Smith to Cardiff for £300,000
Heidar Helguson to Cardiff for an undisclosed fee
Lee Cook to Leyton Orient for free
Fitz Hall to Watford for free
Peter Ramage to Crystal Palace for free
Rowan Vine to St. Johnstone for free
Patrick Agyemang to Stevenage for free
Jay Bothroyd to Sheffield Wednesday on loan
Joey Barton to Marseille on loan


Reading in;
Adrian Mariappa from Watford for £3million
Chris Gunter from Nottingham Forest for £2m
Pierce Sweeney from Bray Wanderers for an undisclosed fee
Danny Guthrie from Newcastle United for free
Garath McCleary from Nottingham Forest for free
Pavel Pogrebnyak from Stuttgart for free
Nicky Shorey from WBA for free
Stuart Taylor from Manchester City for free

Reading out;
Michail Antonio to Sheffield Wednesday for an undisclosed fee
Tomasz Cywka to Barnsley for free
Michael Hector to Shrewsbury on loan
Angus MacDonald to AFC Wimbledon on loan
Joseph Millls to Burnley on loan
Karl Sheppard to Accrington Stanley on loan
Mikkel Anderson to Portsmouth on loan


Southampton in;
Jay Rodriguez from Burnley for £7million
Emmanuel Mayuka from Young Boys Berne £3.5million
Nathaniel Clyne from Crystal Palace for £2.5million
Gaston Ramirez from Bologna for £10million
Paulo Gazzaniga from Gillingham for £2million
Maya Yoshida from VVV-Venlo £2million
Steven Davis from Rangers for £800,000

Southampton out;
Dan Harding to Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee
Harlee Dean to Brentford for free
Ryan Doble to Shrewsbury for free
Lee Holmes to Preston for free
Bartosz Bialkowski to Notts County for free
Tommy Forecast to Gillingham on loan
Aaron Martin to Crystal Palace on loan
Lee Barnard to Bournemouth on loan
Jonathan Forte to Crawley on loan
Billy Sharp to Nottingham Forest on loan
Retired: Radhi Jaidi.


Stoke in;
Charlie Adam from Liverpoool for £5million
Geoff Cameron from Houston Dynamo for an undisclosed fee
Maurice Edu from Rangers for an undisclosed fee
Ben Glasgow from Arsenal for free
Jamie Ness from Rangers fo free
Michael Owen for free

Stoke out;
Danny Collins to Nottingham Forest for £500,000
Andrew Davies to Bradford City for free
Jonathan Woodgate to Middlesbrough for free
Ricardo Fuller to Charlton for free
Louis Moult to Northampton for free
Ryan Brunt to Leyton Orient on loan
Florent Cuvelier to Walsall on loan
Matthew Lund to Bristol Rovers on loan


Sunderland in;
Steven Fletcher from Wolves for £15million
Adam Johnson from Manchester City for £10million
Carlos Cuellar from Aston Villa for free
Louis Saha from Tottenham for free
Danny Rose from Tottenham on loan

Sunderland out;
Asomoah Gyan to Al-Ain for £6million
Kieran Richardson to Fulham for £2million
Michael Turner to Norwich for £1.5million
Marcos Angeleri to Estudiantes for an undiscosed fee
Trevor Carson to Bury for free
Jordan Cook to Charlton for free
George McCartney to West Ham for free
Ahmed Elmohamady to Hull on loan


Swansea in;
Pablo Hernandez from Valencia for £5.5million
Ki Sung-Yeung from Celtic for £5million
Jose Manuel Flores from Genoa for £2million
Michu from Real Vallecano for £2million
Kyle Bartley from Arsenal for £1million
Jonathan de Guzman from Villarreal on loan
Joe Walsh from Crawley for free
Jamie Proctor from Preston for an undisclosed fee

Swansea out;
Joe Allen to Liverpool for £15million
Scott Sinclair to Manchester City for  £6million
Federico Bessone to Swindon for free
Andrea Orlandi to Brighton for free
Stephen Dobbie to Brighton for an undisclosed fee


Tottenham in;
Moussa Dembele from Fulham for £15million
Jan Vertonghen from Ajax for £9.5million
Gylfi Sigurdsson from Hoffenheim for £8million
Hugo Lloris from Lyon for £9million
Clint Dempsey from Fulham for £6million
Emmanuel Adebayor from Manchester City for £5million

Tottenham out;
Luka Modric to Real Madrid for £30million
Rafael van der Vaart to Hamburg for £10million
Niko Kranjcar to Dynamo Kiev for £5.75million
Sébastien Bassong to Norwich for £5.5million
Vedran Corluka to Lokomotiv Moscow for £5million
Steven Pienaar to Everton for £4.5million
David Button to Charlton Athletic for £500,000
Lee Angol to Wycombe Wanderers for an undisclosed fee
Giovani dos Santos to Real Mallorca for an undisclosed fee
Ben Alnwick to Barnsley for free
Ryan Nelsen to QPR for free
Louis Saha to Sunderland for free
Bongani Khumalo to PAOK Salonika on loan
Massimo Luongo to Ipswich on loan
John Bostock to Swindon on loan
Danny Rose to Sunderland on loan
Retired: Ledley King


West Brom in;
Ben Foster from Birmingham for £4million
Markus Rosenberg from Werder Bremen for free
Claudio Jacob from Racing Club for free
Yassine El Ghanassy from AA Gent on loan
Goran Popov from Dynamo Kiev on loan
Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea on loan

West Brom out;
Keith Andrews to Bolton for free
Paul Downing to Walsall for free
Marton Fulop to Astera Tripolis for free
Joey Mattock to Sheffield Wednesday for free
Nicky Shorey to Reading for free


West Ham in;
Matt Jarvis from Wolves for £10million
Modibo Maiga from Sochaux for £4million
James Collins from Aston Villa for £2.5million
Stephen Henderson from Portsmouth for an undisclosed fee
Mohamed Diamé from Wigan for free
Jussi Jaaskelainen from Bolton for free
George McCartney from Sunderland for free
Andy Carroll from Liverpool on loan
Yossi Benayoun from Chelsea on loan

West Ham out;
Sam Baldock to Bristol City £1million
Cristian Montano to Oldham for £60,000
Sam Cowler to Barnet for an undisclosed fee
Jordan Brown to Barnet for free
Julien Faubert to Elazigspor for free
Abdoulaye Faye to Hull for free
Robert Green to QPR for free
Oliver Lee to Barnet for free
Frank Nouble to Wolves for free
Freddie Sears to Colchester for free
Ravel Morrison to Birmingham on loan
Nicky Maynard to Cardiff for an undisclosed fee

Wigan Athletic in;
Ivan Ramis from Real Mallorca for £4.5million
Frazer Fyvie from Aberdeen for £450,000

Wigan Athletic out;
Connor Sammon to Derby for £1million
Victor Moses to Chelsea for £9million
Mohamed Diamé to West Ham for free
Chris Kirkland to Sheffield Wednesday for free
Hugo Rodallega to Fulham for free
Lee Nicholls to Northampton on loan
Nouha Dicko to Blackpool on loan
Roman Golobart to Tranmere on loan


Clubs in the Premiership spent £490million altogether on transfer during Summer 2012!   

Sorry for the wait!!

Hello to everyone,

I would like to start by apologising profusely for the neglect my blog has received since July 5th (the last post, wow.) but I promise that posts will become more regular. I will start today by doing a full list of summer transfers and a look at the season so far, who have been the stars and who have quite frankly, flopped up until now in the Premiership.

With not having a laptop at uni, having uni itself and job hunting I've been fairly busy and to be honest I haven't really had the motivation to do it but all that is over.. I have a laptop (A shiny new Sony Vaio netbook), I have attended all interviews and I also get some spare time at uni which I am using wisely. But fear not, I am back and posts will be a lot more frequent, I promise!

Be prepared to hear from my rantings soon.

Peace x