Adams and Scholari Premier League managerial casualties

Tony Adams depature from Fratton Park was announced this morning after 15 games with only 2 league victories. With this type of form, Adams was in a vulnerable position however with limited financial resources is this sacking slightly harsh?

I think most football fans would think that the most surprising and harsh sacking of the season so far has to go to Big Phil Scholari. After a disappointing 0-0 draw at home against Hull, Chelsea have moved into fourth position however Scholari has been given seven months to establish his best team which is surely not long enough. Admittedly it looks like Chelsea are out of the Premier League title race but how many managers are there in the world that are better qualified and experienced than Big Phil?

Liverpool 2 Chelsea 0 Sunday 1st February 2009 CLICK HERE

Euro 2008 star Fernando Torres scored in the 88th and 93rd minute to keep Liverpool's Barclays Premier League hope alive and in doing so potentially ended Chelsea's in a 2-0 victory at Anfield.

This was a well contested match that was poorly refereed, there was no need for multiple bookings and the big turning point at Anfield this Sunday afternoon was Frank Lampard's straight red card which was may be not even a foul. Mike Riley had a nightmare in this game, John Terry argued with some of his decisions after full time was blown for.

Torres took his first goal really well - his second occured purely because Chelsea were caught in possession on the break.

Despit recent criticism on some of his public relations and team choice, Benitez has let his team do the talking on the pitch and this critical victory keeps them in touch with rivals Manchester United.

Benitez unhappy with Keane link to Spurs

Is Rafael losing it a bit at the critical point in the Premier League season, Kevin Keegan style?

Harry Redknapp may have been a bit relaxed in admitting that he would like Robbie Keane back at White Hart Lane but this is Redknapp's management style and criticising this approach seems somewhat petty.

This move, in my opinion was bad business on both club's behalves. Tottenham Hotspur's system accomodated a striker 'in the hole' perfectly and Keane's virtuosic performances alongside Berbatov will always be memorable for Spurs fans. Losing Keane to Liverpool before Berbatov's move to Manchester United was a big spanner in the works pre-season for Tottenham and they've still yet to fully recover.

Then you've got Liverpool. A team with the best attacking midfielder in Europe in Gerrard and a tendency to play 4-5-1 with may be the best centre forward in the world in Torres. Admittedly you perhaps couldn't have predicted a lack of gelling with Keane at the Reds but Benitez clearly doesn't rate the player.

Another reverse deal for the Lily whites could be on the cards....watch this space on Sunday evening as the transfer window reaches its conclusion.

Rocky Santa Cruz Manchester City bid

Big Sam Allardyce has rejected a big from ex Blackburn Rovers boss Mark Hughes on Rocky Santa Cruz as Manchester City look to strengthen their striking power.

The transfer window closes on Monday 2nd February at 5pm and there are signs of desperation from Spurs manager Harry Redknapp and Man City boss Mark Hughes to get great strikers into their squads.

Mark Hughes will be in a daze after this transfer signing period, with huge bids for Kaka and David Villa both being refused. Craig Bellamy and Nigel de Jong both featured last night in the Manchester City victory against Newcastle United but Man City fans will all be praying for someone to accept their tens of millions for a big name player that can really put them into contention for European action.

Nsereko signing - Hammers record transfer

West Ham have signed Under 19 German international Nsereko from Serie B team Brescia for what will be a club record transfer fee. Zola is looking for cover now in the striking department now that Craig Bellamy has left to Manchester City. So far West Ham have managed to keep hold of their key players other than Bellamy amidst rumours of severe cash flow issues behind the scenes as well as the ongoing contractual scandal with Carlos Tevez.

Meanwhile in North London, Harry Redknapp's Spurs have signed 35 year old 'keeper Carlo Cudicini on a Bosman freebie and right back Pascal Chimbonda rejoins his old club after a brief spell at Sunderland.

One pattern of the transfer window system seems to be that managerial positions change before and after the windows. Managers are generally negative towards the system, mainly due to the fact that it limits you to scope your team mid-season when the pressure could really be on. So what does the transfer window system actually achieve?

Football signings update January 2009

Premier League favourite Jimmy Bullard has moved to Hull City from Fulham for £5m. This is a record signing for the Tigers. Emile Heskey has moved for £3.5m to Premiership high flyers Aston Villa. Martin O'Neill knows all about the England international from his days at Leicester City. Heskey is a shrewd addition to an already potent attacking force with Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor.

Mido is now on loan to Wigan from 'Boro for a six month spell.

We eagerly await more signings from big spenders Manchester City who are linked with Didier Drogba. Dr Sulaiman al-Fahim's group have now expressed in making a bid on Chelsea which is dramatic news in this fast paced, commercial UK football league.

Marlon King loan move to Middlesborough

Marlon King has gone out on loan from Wigan Athletic to North East strugglers Middlesborough. Apparently the Egyptian striker Mido is interested in a move to JJB Stadium, amidst transfer rumours at Wigan that other strikers may be moving on. This follows yestersday's news that Palacios has moved to Spurs, reported between £12-14m. Despite the fact that Steve Bruce bought Palacios for £14m, Wigan have been a great side in the Premier League this season and selling your best players is always risky. It seems to be that the minute you sell a striker, your first choice forwards get suspended or injured. Easy sitting in the stands and criticising as opposed to being a professional football manager I guess.

Manchester City sign De Jong

Mark Hughes made his third signing of the transfer window, acquiring Dutch international midfielder Nigel de Jong for an undisclosed fee.

Manchester City have also signed Wayne Bridge and Craig Bellamy. They have been linked now with Newcastle United 'keeper Shay Given.

In my view these are the signings that will strengthen Manchester City in a healthy way - just look at the issues that have arisen in the last week with Brazilian star Robinho.

Craig Bellamy signs for Manchester City

West Ham have sold 29 year old Craig Bellamy to the new Premier League fat cats Manchester City for an undisclosed fee. It is rumoured that the transfer reached around £14m and is probably of no surprise after Bellamy did not play in West Ham's 3-1 victory against Fulham on Sunday. Bellamy was also linked with Aston Villa in December.

All Football on TV

The Premier League in England was created in 1992 to supersede the old Division 1 and in that time has exploded to be the most lucrative league in all football. In 2007, the Premier League was valued at generating annual revenues of £1.8 billion. This is the fourth highest behind the US National Football League, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association. In 1992, BSkyB gained the rights to broadcasting all Premier League matches which at the time was quite surprising, 17 years later you can hardly imagine a Premier League without Sky TV coverage. The revenue levels shared between all football club in the Premier League makes being in the top flight very lucrative and has led to a gulf between the other English football clubs.

In 2006, Irish company Setanta broke Sky TV’s rights to broadcast all football and has also got involved in International football coverage. This occurred after the European Commission concluded that the Premier League matches should not be with just one company.
More recently, American sports network channel ESPN are interested in broadcasting Premier League football. They have publicly declared that they would want to cover 100% of all Premier League football matches. The deadline for the first tenders is February 4th 2009 and it is expected that ESPN will be bidding. This could negatively impact upon all Premier League club’s earnings depending on how the deal was scoped, but due to economical pressures club revenues through these TV deals could decrease anyway.

BBC’s rights to broadcast all Premier League football highlights is likely to remain the same.

Does our national game depend upon this revenue too much to produce high quality football as opposed to concentrating on English grass roots?

The Football Association and other bodies have a responsibility to preserve our nation's favourite sport. Ensuring that player behaviour on the pitch is part of this because in recent years footballers have huge popstar like status. Football has strong links with the working class and should be there for kids to seek good values - keeping fit, being a team player and taking part in activity that is fun!

Football for all is a great Scottish based charity whose aim it is to address racial discrimination, drug/alcohol abuse, homelessness and then promote inclusion in our beautiful game at a local level. This is an important part of the system and ensures that if there is talent out there that everyone gets to play football.