More grapevine grousing...

We start today with news that David Villa is leaving Valencia to join Newcastle United in a £14.5 million deal.

Actually he's not really. That was just a lie, but it's exactly the sort of thing that makes up so many of the transfer rumour and gossip columns seen these days on the web and in your daily newspapers.

The people that purport this utter tosh seem to think that we, the level-headed football fans of this world, can't get enough of it. Needless to say some people can't, but we at SPAOTP show nothing but the utmost contempt for this useless tittle-tattle and prefer to read that old-fashioned stuff which used to be known as 'fact'.

It's a subject we've covered before at Some People Are On The Pitch and needless to say we don't feel the need to go over it all again, but if like us you're constantly wound up by this ever-increasing proliferation of gossip and conjecture, salvation is at hand. The football clubs are getting their own back.

This week we received news that PFC Kuruvchi from Uzbekistan were proudly announcing the capture of none other than Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o. Their website said (in broken English):

"In addition, invited and signed contract with Cameroonian forward Samuel Eto'o from Barcelona. Striker will arrive in Tashkent on July 17th and will play in the second half of championship of Uzbekistan."

Quite a scoop, you're probably thinking, but don't get scratching your head too much. The story was quickly dismissed by a Barcelona spokesman who was keen to tell reporters "I don't think it's very likely."

The PFC Kuruvchi website has also now changed its proclamation to say that Eto'o has been invited to undertake contract negotiations, but that's all by the by now. The deed, it seems, has been done: lazy journalists from all over the world were momentarily led to believe that a big star name was about to sign for an unlikely club, and they fell for it.

We think this is nothing short of wonderful. What a glorious way of showing how the rumour-mongers and tuppeny-ha'penny fantasists can be beaten at their own game. If it were up to us, we'd encourage even more of these spoof announcements so that every bit of rubbishy transfer gossip doing the rounds is rendered completely worthless.

PFC Kuruvchi - we salute you. Your place in football folklore is now assured.

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #69

Seven-figure signings
20 Players Who Were The First To Be Signed For £1 Million By Each Premier League Club (In Order Of Purchase)

1. Manchester City: Steve Daley, £1.438m from Wolves, September 1979
2. Arsenal: Clive Allen, £1.25m from QPR, June 1980
3. Manchester United: Garry Birtles, £1.25m from Nottingham Forest, October 1980
4. Liverpool: Peter Beardsley, £1.9m from Newcastle, July 1987
5. Everton: Tony Cottee, £2.2m from West Ham, July 1988
6. Tottenham: Paul Stewart, £1.7m from Man City, June 1988
7. Aston Villa: Tony Cascarino, £1.5m from Millwall, March 1990
8. Chelsea: Dennis Wise, £1.6m from Wimbledon, July 1990
9. Blackburn Rovers: Mike Newell, £1.1m from Everton, November 1991
10. Newcastle United: Andy Cole, £1.75m from Bristol City, March 1993
11. West Ham: Joey Beauchamp, £1m from Oxford, June 1994
12. Middlesbrough: Neil Cox, £1m from Aston Villa, July 1994
13. Bolton Wanderers: Gerry Taggart, £1.5m from Barnsley, August 1995
14. Sunderland: Alex Rae, £1m from Millwall, June 1996
15. West Brom: Kevin Kilbane, £1.25m from Preston, June 1997
16. Fulham: Paul Peschisolido, £1m from West Brom, October 1997
17. Portsmouth: Rory Allen, £1m from Tottenham, July 1999
18. Wigan: Nathan Ellington, £1.2m from Bristol Rovers, March 2002
19. Hull City: Caleb Folan, £1m from Wigan, August 2007
20. Stoke City: Leon Cort, £1.2m from Crystal Palace, January 2008

What next for the Euro finalists?

Euro 2008, one of the most enthralling international tournaments in living memory from David Villa's hat-trick - one of only eight in the competition's history - to Turkey's great late shows against the Czech Republic and Croatia, the early departures of once great nations in Italy and France to the eventual crowning of Europe's new power - Spain. This tournament which, as highlighted in an earlier post by one of my colleagues, began at a rather laboured pace when the Swiss took on the Czechs but quickly became illuminated by performances of the highest quality, is now sadly over.

Of the 22 which took to the field for the final on Sunday night, just three plied their trade in the English Premier League which begs the question, 'Of the remaining bright lights, should we be expecting any to jump ship and head to Blighty?'

Of course it would be a great shame to see either of the aforementioned trio leave this Summer but at the same time I personally cannot see Ballack, Fabregas or Torres going anywhere anytime soon.Let's start with the players of the tournament.

A nine-strong panel selected Xavi Hernandez as their key man and the Barcelona man will no doubt be attracting the attention of Europe's elite. This guy is Barcelona through and through after spending his entire career at the club. Although his contract does carry a buy-out clause, it is set at a massive £100 million - a price which will not be met for this 28-year-old midfielder.

What about the transfer rumours, though? Although there were whispers abound that Avram Grant's Chelsea were keen to sign the Barca star back in March, since then there has been very little in terms of movement. Be that due to Grant's departure or the apparently imminent capture of Deco by the Blues no-one really knows but it looks as though classy Xavi will be staying with Barca with his agent Ivan Corretja claiming that:

"Xavi has a deal until June 2012 and is happy at Barca. The decision about a possible exit is Barcelona's."

Okay so the player of the tournament looks like he will be staying put but what about the best of the rest?

Well we should check out the transfer odds firstly and it looks as though there has been heavy movement for Liverpool to clinch a double signing of club-mates David Silva and golden-boot winner David Villa although their performances over the past month will surely have boosted their transfer value regardless of Valencia's current financial strife.

Let's start with Villa (right) because this guy looks as though he's had more clubs sniffing round him than a dolled-up poodle at the Crufts after-party.

Their have been rumours that Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United have all shown an interest in the striker with figures from £17 million - the supposed asking price - to £30 million being thrown around.

It is likely that Villa will be moving this Summer. His club side Valencia didn't exactly avoid the drop by the skin of their teeth but the Spanish striker will be looking for Champions League football next season and Valencia cannot offer him this.

In my opinion this means that Spurs are out of the running to land the players but with Luka Modric and Dos Santos already joining the North Londoners, I could be proved wrong as Juande Ramos continues to attract big names to the capital.

A sum around £23 million for this guy would be a bargain for any of the top teams in England and a joint bid in the region of £40 million would surely seal his buddy Silva's signature into the bargain too.

The rumour mill has been extremely quiet on the Silva front but both The Sun and The Mirror in England have claimed recently that Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is after the highly-rated attacking midfielder. I believe a clever footy bet should be put on this guy heading over from the Med with Villa in tow.

What about their German counterparts then? Well Werder Bremen playmaker Torsten Frings has been making waves - actually more like ripples - in the market after being named as a surprise target for Arsene Wenger. At the ripe old age of 31 he is much older than many of the Gunner's usual options but it is believed that Wenger wants the German to replace Flamini in the heart of Arsenal's midfield and at £4 million it could prove to be the bargain of the Summer. Mind you many said that about Mateja Kezman...

One of Germany's most consistent performers in this tournament was one Bastian Schweinsteiger (right), after being sent off against Croatia the influencial midfielder came back with a bang, scoring the opening goal of their quarter-final encounter with Portugal and scoring their equaliser against Turkey in their semi-final.

The bottle blonde was out of favour for Bayern Munich last season with the likes of Tim Borowski and in-form Franck Ribery further up the pecking order.

He may not be the biggest of players but his strength on the ball and ability to pick out the killer pass would be something which any team in the Premiership would be more than welcoming to his skills and I believe this would greatly improve their odds of success next term. Following his fall from grace with Munich his valuation has dropped significantly from the £30 million mark bandied about a couple of years back and even after a great Euro campaign an offer around £16 million should force the German clubs hand.

There are of course plenty of other names which could feasibly make a move to England this Summer but I can't really see the likes of Puyol, Podolski or Ramos heading our way before the start of next season - unless that is, Roman Abramovich has, let's say, a spare £100 million down the back of his luxury lazy-boy?

Leave the signings to us...

It's January, folks, and if you're a Premier League fan that can only mean one thing - the opening of the transfer window. Trouble is, you're probably sitting there like us thinking "when's somebody going to buy someone?"

I know we're only two days into the new year, but let's face it, there's a lot of clubs out there with a whole stack of money to spend - they just don't know who to spend it on.

Well fear not, oh chairmen of the Premier League. Help is at hand from your ever-reliable SPOATP. We've done all the thinking for you and have suggested one key player we think your club should buy.

We didn't make selections for all twenty teams in the Premier League - that'd make for a long, boring list. Instead, here are ten to be going on with, and if you can suggest any purchases of your own, feel free to leave a comment and tell us who it involves.

Arsenal
Michael Carrick
When you look at Arsenal, you see a team that's lost only one game all season and scored nearly four times more goals than they've scored. So what are they lacking? Answer: someone who's English. With half the team about to set sail for the African Cup of Nations, Wenger's army are in dire need of someone who represents the Premier League's home country, and United's Carrick seems to fit the bill. His profile has been somewhat lower recently than it has been and we think he's due for a change to liven up his career a bit. Off you go, Michael - you know it makes sense...

Chelsea
Dimitar Berbatov
Things going flat? Needing a little sparkle to convince your fans you really can win the title this year? Then get new-improved Dimitar Berbatov with added Ambition+! We're lead to believe the free-scoring Bulgarian is tired of toiling at White Hart Lane and now wants to win some silverware, so with half the Chelsea team locked away in the treatment room, this could be an opportunity made in heaven for both parties. What's that? Can't afford him, Mr Abramovich? Rubbish!

Derby County
Jens Lehmann
45 goals conceded in 20 games suggests only one thing - problems at the back. Stephen Bywater, bless him, has been doing his best but we think Herr Lehman would bring some steel and efficiency to The Rams' defence. And before you say it - yes, we know he's a bit nutty, but you could put up with that if you were bottom of the table, couldn't you? So there it is: German efficiency personified - just what Paul Jewell could do with. Urgently.

Fulham
Mikael Forssell
This could finally be the year that Fulham drop into the Championship and new manager Roy Hodgson has it all to do. We'd therefore like to make a suggestion to the coach: get in a player you know that can be trusted and can score a few goals. Now let's see - who played for Hodgson in the Finland team that matches that description... ah yes, of course - Mikael Forssell! He's doing the business for Birmingham City at the moment and went down well at Chelsea too. The ideal choice for a strong end-of-season finnish (sic).

Liverpool
Mikel Arteta
You have to admit, Liverpool have got some pretty good players in their team. Think Gerrard, Torres, Carragher... and yet on occasions they seem to lack someone who can just get on with the job of giving the ball to the front men when they need it. That means they have a vacancy open and we think the ideal candidate to fill it is Mikel Arteta. He's so reliable at doing the ordinary things - crossing the ball, making important passes... oh, and he's pretty deadly from free-kicks as well. If The Reds needed any more persuasion, what could be sweeter than nicking a player from your rivals? Convinced yet? We thought you might be...

Manchester United
Martin Laursen
The one thing you can say about Man United is that their team is full of players that seem to be able to score goals no matter which position they play in. That said, we think their defence could be chipping in with a few more, so we suggest bringing in Martin Laursen from Aston Villa. He's in red-hot form at the moment, is scoring more often than some of his colleagues nearer the front line, so go on Sir Alex - have a word with Martin O'Neill and show him the colour of your money. You know it makes sense...

Newcastle United
Benjani Mwaruwari
Some say that Sam Allardyce's days are numbered at St James' Park. We don't, but if they are, we can recommend someone he should buy that might extend his contract by a few months - Portsmouth's Benjani. Newcastle have often been somewhat misguided in the past when it came to buying strikers (Alan Shearer excluded), but here's a man that could definitely do a job for them. Just think - Sam Allardyce and Harry Redknapp doing a transfer deal. Imagine what that could do for the country's brown paper industry...

Portsmouth
Kevin Doyle
Pompey are so tantalisingly close to a UEFA Cup place. All they need is a boost to propel themselves into one of those top spots in the table. The man that can help them do it is Kevin Doyle of Reading. If Harry Redknapp's proven himself capable of one thing, it's getting the best out of a player that's not, shall we say, 'an international superstar'. Doyle, in turn, has shown he can score goals on a regular basis, so put the two together and what have you got? A potential match between Portsmouth and Atletico Madrid next season, if all goes to plan...

Tottenham Hotspur
Wayne Bridge
Surplus to requirements even in an injury-ridden side like Chelsea, Bridge could be just the man to lend some much needed strength to a weak defence. We know he's prone to a few injuries himself, but he's a man on a mission - to break into the England team on a permanent basis. With a new national coach in charge, maybe this is the move that Wayne Bridge has been looking for?

West Ham United
Andriy Shevchenko
Well why not? The Hammers have still got lots of Eggert Magnusson's cash sloshing around in the bank, they need a decent striker (and don't you dare try to convince us that Carlton Cole's just "going through a bit of a bad patch") and the Ukrainian still doesn't look like the goal machine Abramovich was hoping would become legendary at Stamford Bridge. Time, therefore, to bring Shev to the other side of London...

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #41

Abramovic Territory...
21 British Record Transfer Fees

1. Alf Common, £1,000 (Sunderland to Middlesbrough, 1905)
2. Syd Puddefoot, £5,000 (West Ham to Falkirk, 1922)
3. Tommy Lawton, £20,000 (Chelsea to Notts County, 1947)
4. John Charles, £65,000 (Leeds United to Juventus, 1957)
5. Denis Law, £100,000 (Manchester City to Torino, 1961)
6. Martin Peters, £200,000 (West Ham to Tottenham, 1970)
7. Bob Latchford, £350,000 (Birmingham City to Everton, 1974)
8. Kevin Keegan, £500,000 (Liverpool to Hamburg, 1977)
9. Trevor Francis, £1,180,000 (Birmingham to Nottingham Forest, 1979)
10. Bryan Robson, £1,500,000 (West Bromwich Albion to Manchester United, 1981)
11. Mark Hughes, £2,300,000 (Manchester United to Barcelona, 1984)
12. Ian Rush, £3,200,000 (Liverpool to Juventus, 1987)
13. Chris Waddle, £4,250,000 (Tottenham to Marseille, 1989)
14. David Platt, £5,500,000 (Aston Villa to Bari, 1991)
15. Andy Cole, £7,000,000 (Newcastle United to Manchester United, 1995)
16. Dennis Bergkamp, £7,500,000 (Inter Milan to Arsenal, 1995)
17. Stan Colleymore, £8,500,000 (Nottingham Forest to Liverpool, 1995)
18. Alan Shearer, £15,000,000 (Blackburn to Newcastle United, 1996)
19. Nicolas Anelka, £22,500,000 (Arsenal to Real Madrid, 1999)
20. Rio Ferdinand, £29,100,000 (Leeds United to Manchester United, 2002)
21. Andriy Shevchenko, £30,800,000 (AC Milan to Chelsea, 2006)

So far, so good? (Part 2)

Continuing our look at some of the close-season transfers and the progress they've made at their new clubs, we begin with...

Elano (Man City)
The canny Brazilian has emerged from the mass of Sven's summer signings as one of the more eye-opening talents in the Premier League. Capable of scoring from free-kicks and long distance, Man City seem to have finally found that elusive asset - someone who can put the ball in the back of the net, and they've not had someone like that for a while.
Impact rating: 7/10

Carlos Tevez (Man United)
Much like last season with West Ham, Tevez took a while to find his feet but now finds himself as a key player in Fergie's battalion. Somewhat curiously, he's found more of a sense of purpose as a provider of opportunities for people like Wayne Rooney rather than as a striker in his own right, but given United's slow start to the season, that's something they'll probably be grateful for.
Impact rating: 7/10

Mido (Middlesbrough)
The move north from Tottenham during the summer looked to have breathed a new lease of life into Mido with a goal in his two opening games but since then there's been nothing to report except a few yellow cards. Appears to be trying hard to find his early season form but may be hindered by the whole team's current demise which has seen Boro head towards the foot of the table.
Impact rating: 4/10

Kenwyne Jones (Sunderland)
Roy Keane paid a pretty penny for the services of the Trinidadian but after six appearances he already has three goals to his name and it looks like there'll be more to come. Has the potential to achieve that rare distinction of being a player who did well in the top flight as well as in the lower leagues. In a team as admittedly weak as Sunderland is, Jones has already singled himself out as a decent striker. Imagine what he could do at one of the big clubs?
Impact rating: 6/10

Darren Bent (Tottenham)
Haven't seen that much of him this season, to be honest. One goal from three starts isn't a bad average, but we need to see more of him before we can properly pass judgement. £16.5 million pounds is a lot of money to spend on a player, and without him Spurs have undoubtedly suffered, so it should be fun seeing what sort of impact he'll make when his appearances become more regular.
Impact rating: 3/10

Craig Bellamy (West Ham)
Fortunately for The Hammers, Bellamy has largely evaded the injury curse which has struck practically every other summer signing to arrive at Upton Park. Two goals in the Premier League and two in the Carling Cup suggests the hot-headed striker still has it in him to produce the goods, so as long as he can avoid injury and suspension, we should be able to pencil him in for more goals further down the line.
Impact rating: 6/10

So far, so good? (Part 1)

Now that we're ten games or so into the new Premier League season, we thought it was a timely point to see how some of the big-name transfers have been getting on at their new clubs. Here's a short progress report on a selection of those playing at clubs listed A-L in alphabetical order:

Eduardo Da Silva (Arsenal)
Good start for The Gunners. Has scored a couple of goals in the league and is already a regular in Arsene Wenger's side on the basis of his impressive performances thus far. A useful utility striker to call upon, and one of Wenger's more astute purchases in recent seasons.
Impact rating: 7/10

Marlon Harewood (Aston Villa)
Who? Since arriving at Villa Park he's made just three substitute appearances and failed to score any goals. Struggling to get into Martin O'Neill's side thanks to Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor's current good form. A case of 'out of the West Ham frying pan and into the fire'?
Impact rating: 2/10

Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa)
Has picked up where he left off at Upton Park by giving supporters an occasional glimpse of quality, but he's also remained consistent on the disciplinary front, too. Four yellow cards and one red won't please his manager and he may have to improve that side of his game if he's to prosper in future. Overall though, not a bad start so far.
Impact rating: 6/10

Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn)
An explosive start to the season tailed off a little after the first few games, but the Paraguayan has recently returned to form to maintain his 'goal every other game' ratio. Partnered with Benni McCarthy, he's one half of a potentially lethal strike force who should be in the top goalscorers table come the end of the season.
Impact rating: 8/10

Florent Malouda (Chelsea)
Despite scoring in the Community Shield match, the steady stream of goals that were expected to follow... didn't. He looks a capable enough player and is obviously still adjusting to life in the Premier League, but he sometimes fades from view during matches. An obvious talent but one that isn't currently playing to his full potential.
Impact rating: 6/10

Kenny Miller (Derby)
This proved to be quite an eye-opening transfer at the start of the season and it's not difficult to see why. After a successful spell at Celtic, Miller's already scored two goals in five appearances and could be the single reason why Derby will avoid relegation this season. A quality player who continues to show plenty of promise.
Impact rating: 7/10

Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Everton)
Has chipped in with a couple of goals so far this season, but David Moyes was quick to drop him from the team when he was suspected of not working hard enough in training. If he can up his game somewhat and earn a regular place in the team, we should see more of the sort of form that made him a favourite at Middlesbrough... at least until the African Nations Cup starts in January.
Impact rating: 5/10

David Healy (Fulham)
The former Preston and Leeds man has struggled a little so far this season. A couple of goals early on was a sign of what we thought was things to come, but it's all come to a shuddering halt for the Northern Ireland man. Even his Fulham team-mates are struggling to score, so maybe a few good results will turn the fortunes and restore the confidence of Healy and co.?
Impact rating: 4/10

Andriy Voronin (Liverpool)
The blonde Ukrainian has scored some valuable goals already this season and might have picked up a few more were it not for Rafa Benitez's infamous rotation system. A handy player to have and one who is destined for greater things at Liverpool but needs to see more action before it happens. With many other strikers to choose from, Rafa's probably got his fingers in his ears as we speak...
Impact rating: 7/10

Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
As 'Andriy Voronin', but substitute 'Ukrainian' for 'Spaniard'.
Impact rating: 8/10.

Part 2 follows tomorrow...

The week in review

Phew. What a week. So much going on everywhere, particularly here in dear old England. Lots to take in and much that's no doubt passed some of us by. Let's take a look back at an event-filled week of football that had plenty to catch the eye...

Carling Cup gathers momentum
The second round of the Carling Cup (that's the League Cup for older visitors) took place on Tuesday and Wednesday and it's the stage of the competition where most of the Premier League teams enter the field of battle - often with disastrous consequences.

So it was, too, as Blackpool eliminated Derby 7-6 on penalties after a 2-2 extra time draw. Also taking an enforced spell of 'concentrating on the League' were Sunderland who were comprehensive beaten 3-0 at Luton and Wigan who lost 1-0 at home to Hull.

The main news from Round 2, however, came from the match between Nottingham Forest and Leicester City where Leicester defender Clive Clark collapsed during half-time due to a heart attack and was rushed to hospital. The game was abandoned and will now take place on Tuesday 18th September, but the news, thankfully, is that Clarke is making a steady recovery. We hope to see him return to full health as soon as possible.

Fast forward to today and the draw for Round 3 took place with five all-Premier League being plucked from the hat (or unscrewed from a plastic ball, whatever it is they do these days).

Tie of the round is arguably Arsenal v Newcastle but other top-flighters coming face to face are Blackburn and Birmingham, Reading and Liverpool, Tottenham and Middlesbrough and Fulham and Bolton. Here's the full draw...

Blackburn v Birmingham; Reading v Liverpool; Manchester United v Coventry; Tottenham v Middlesbrough; Hull v Chelsea; Blackpool v Southend; West Ham v Plymouth; Arsenal v Newcastle; Luton v Charlton; Manchester City v Norwich; Sheffield United v Morecambe; Sheffield Wednesday v Everton; Fulham v Bolton; Burnley v Portsmouth; Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest or Leicester; West Brom v Cardiff.

Mexican's wave goodbye to Galaxy's SuperLiga hopes
Wednesday saw the Final take place of the very first SuperLiga competition in the USA. For those that don't know, it's intended to be a high-profile annual event where teams from the United States, Mexico and Canada battle it out to be the best in North America. In this first outing for the tournament, four teams from the USA and Mexico were invited to take part and the two teams that won through to this week's Final were Pachuca and LA Galaxy.

Anyway, we won't go into detail about what happened on Wednesday as we've already done that, but suffice to say Galaxy's star man David Beckham twisted his knee - a nice accompaniment to his recently injured ankle - and Pachuca ended up winning 4-3 after a sudden-death penalty shoot-out.

The tournament was a great success and you can count on next year's competition employing a qualification stage as many teams are now queuing up to be involved in 2008.

All aboard the Champions League Express
The draw for the main group stage of the 2007/08 European Champions League took place on Thursday and for some English teams there'll be a chance to renew some old acquaintances.

Manchester United face Roma for the second successive season, this year in Group F, and Roma will no doubt hope for a better result than the 7-1 thrashing Sir Alex Ferguson's men handed out in the previous competition. Sporting Lisbon and Dynamo Kiev complete the group.

Chelsea are pitted against Valencia in Group B - a repeat of the 2006/07 quarter final which Chelsea won. Elsewhere in the group are German new boys Schalke 04 and Norwegian regulars Rosenborg.

Last season's runners-up, Liverpool, find themselves in an interesting Group A. Porto are former winners and a perpetual threat to any team while Marseille find themselves going through a renaissance of sorts. Besiktas will also prove to be tricky opposition as Liverpool try to make it three finals out of the last four.

Arsenal, somewhat impressively, find themselves in the Champions League for a tenth successive season and they were drawn in Group H on Thursday. Having overcome Sparta Prague in the qualifying stages, they'll now face Slavia Prague along with the hard-to-beat Romanians Steaua Bucharest. Completing the group will be the winners of the Sevilla v AEK Athens qualifier on Monday which was postponed because of the tragic death of Sevilla midfielder Antonio Puerta. Sevilla lead 2-0 from the first leg of the tie.

Elsewhere, defending champions Milan stand in the way of Celtic, Shakhtar Donetsk and Benfica (or is that the other way around?) in Group D, while Real Madrid head the nearest thing to a 'group of death' as they take on Werder Bremen, Lazio and Olympiakos in Group C.

Barcelona's Group E campaign could be far from easy as well with Stuttgart, Lyon and Rangers blocking their path while Group G has a distinctly 'east-west' look, featuring Inter, PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moscow and Fenerbahce.

Premier League Transfer Window shuts
Teams at the top of the tree in England had until Midnight on Friday to complete any transfers before the next window of opportunity opens on January 1st 2008.

Despite high expectations for a day of frenetic activity, there was relatively little to report on. Glen Johnson moved from Chelsea back to Portsmouth where Harry Redknapp employed him on loan last season. Harry also signed Papa Bouba Diop from Fulham on a three-year deal.

Fulham in turn became the next destination in Danny Murphy's dwindling career, leaving Tottenham where he failed to establish a regular place in the team. (Wait a minute - Lawrie Sanchez has signed someone who isn't a Northern Ireland international. Is this right?) Fulham also swapped Liam Rosenior for Seol-Ki-Hyeon to complete their deadline day dabblings.

Nolberto Solano finally got his move south as West Ham snapped him up along with Wigan's Henri Camara on a season-long loan and Sam Allardyce raided his old club as Abdoulaye Faye went from Bolton to Newcastle for one of many 'undisclosed fees.' Does money actually ever change hands these days where transfers are concerned?

Milan win muted Super Cup Final
Finally on Friday night, the Final of the UEFA Super Cup took place in Monaco between Milan and Sevilla. Understandably emotions were high following the death of Antonio Puerta but Sevilla decided to play the game with as much of the spirit that they'd normally employ, albeit to no avail.

Sevilla took the lead in the match when Renato haeded in from a corner after 13 minutes and for the rest of the first half the Spaniards looked the superior team. The second half was definitely Milan's, however, when Inzaghi headed home a Gatusso cross ten minutes after the interval. Seven minutes after that, Jankulowski volleyed in a Pirlo cross to make it 2-1 but the scoring was completed three minutes from the end.

Milan were awarded a penalty which Kaka took and missed, but the rebound that resulted from Palop's save enabled the Brazilian to head home a third to round off a well-deserved victory for the Italians on the night.

Yet the match, and to a large extent the whole week of football that took place, belonged to Antonio Puerta who showed that the players we all watch through our love of the game are to be appreciated and never to be taken for granted.

As one window opens...

If it's the end of January, it must be the end of the second trading period for each of the Premiership clubs. After today, no more players can be purchased until the summer hiatus, so who's put their hands in their pockets since the start of the month and why?

Well West Ham have been most active - unsurprisingly and with some justification. With new owners willing to spend much of their hard-earned fortune and a team that's lacking quality and confidence, it wasn't exactly a bolt from the blue when new players started arriving through the gates of Upton Park.

Among those joining the payroll at West Ham were Luis Boa Morte from Fulham, Lucas Neill from Blackburn and just today, Matthew Upson from Birmingham. Boa Morte has already injected some much-needed pace to the team, but Neill is now injured and could be out of the side for a few weeks.

Aston Villa have made a couple of eye-opening acquisitions. John Carew is a regular scorer who's done well at Valencia in recent times and Ashley Young has left behind Watford to join Martin O'Neill's team that has slipped well into the bottom half of the table of late. He'll be hoping both will bring more in the way of goals than Milan Baros did - he's been sold to Lyon in exchange for Carew.

Blackburn have sought to bolster their defence with three new signings. Liverpool's Steven Warnock, Christopher Samba from Hertha Berlin and Basel's Bruno Berner all come in along with David Dunn for a second stint at Ewood Park to try and push Blackburn back into the top half of the table.

Suffering Charlton have brought in Zheng Zhi from China on loan - he's their international captain - and they've also punched their weight by bringing in Ben Thatcher from Manchester City for £500,000. Will it be enough to save them from relegation by the end of the season?

Neither Arsenal or Chelsea have seen the need to bring in anyone new to their squads but Arsenal have surprisingly offloaded Lauren to Portsmouth. The Cameroon international had slipped down the pecking order under Arsene Wenger but Harry Redknapp knows a bargain when he sees one and may yet give Lauren a chance to shine at Fratton Park.

Everton have cast their net abroad to pick up a couple of new midfielders. Their push for a UEFA Cup spot will no doubt benefit from the arrival of Anderson da Silva, the Brazilian who joins from Montevideo on loan and Portuguese international Manuel Fernandes who arrives on loan from Benfica.

Leaving Goodison is Simon Davies whose impact hasn't quite been as big as was hoped. He joins Fulham along with Clint Dempsey, American international, former Chelsea, Charlton and Portsmouth star Alexei Smertin and Italian veteran Vincenzo Montella, who's already started scoring goals for his new side. It might just be the winning combination Chris Coleman's been looking for as he tries to keep a foothold in the Premiership for another season.

One of the most notable signings has been Henrik Larsson's short-term move to Manchester United. He, too, has started paying back some of the money Sir Alex Ferguson splashed out and it'll cross his mind that an extension to his stay could be worth looking into come the end of the season.

Over at the Riverside, Middlesbrough have put the emphasis on removal rather than addition. Out goes a trio of recognisable names - Ray Parlour, Ugo Ehiogu and Massimo Maccarone. Tottenham have also released some high profile players in the form of Edgar Davids (who goes back to Holland and more specifically Ajax), Reto Ziegler and Calum Davenport - one of West Ham's other purchases.

But aside from all these purchases, one thing may have escaped your attention: an increasing trend for signing celebrity names. SPAOTP can confirm that Manchester City have signed Michael Ball in a move that will test every fan's resolve, and Reading have snapped up Alan Bennett which should also get numerous heads talking.

Oh and one more thing: don't tell the chairman of Blackburn Rovers about Everton's latest signing. It's Mark Hughes.

I didn't realise he was still playing...