Sorry for the break. I've been sulking around since Manchester United's loss to Barcelona in the Champions League final. Though with that said, I have recently come to appreciate the tremendous achievements Man U has accomplished this season, and therefore am no longer sour about the loss. And let's be honest, Barcelona put on a clinic.
Now, like the rest of the footballing world, I'm looking ahead to next season. In the words of David Bowie "Ch-ch-changes" are happening everywhere. Managers are being thrown across continents, players being shipped out and ordered in. This transfer window has only just begun and there is already enough to talk about to fill up three posts. So below I'm going to inventory what transfers I deem significant and whether I like them or not.
Mario Gomez to Bayern Munich: Do they really need another world class center forward? I'm sure it will be nice to have him on board in the league cause their center forwards didn't perform all that well in the league last year, but with Klose and Toni already on the books I don't know about this one. I suppose he will offer them nice depth, but one of the trio will be disgruntled (see Tevez as Manchester United). Also if he doesn't see the field, the German national team will suffer from having one of their top strikers not getting experience.
Verdict: Bad for Gomez, good for Bayern, potentially bad for the German national team.
Ivica Olic to Bayern Munich: Same story, though Olic is a lot more versatile and in a way a straight swap for the departing Podolski (Moving back to Cologne. That's a move I don't understand at all. At least he should go to City where he will make a £100,000,000 an hour). He might be deployed at wider positions, in which case he will see a lot of game time. Though if doesn't, he could see bench time a la Landon Donovan.
Verdict: Questionable for Olic, good for Bayern.
Daniel Pranjic to Bayern Munich: I've been waiting years for someone to recognize Pranjic's talent, but I didn't think the club that would end up buying him would already have a world class left back. He has been great for Heerenveen over the years, scoring quite a few goals because he takes their penalties, and also was very impressive at the Euro's last year for Croatia. This either spells the end for Lahm, or some bench time for Prajnic.
Verdict: Could go both ways for both Pranjic and Bayern depending on whether they get a lot of money for Lahm, or if they wasted their money on a superfluous left back.
Gareth Barry to Manchester City: How Manchester City got scammed into paying £17 million for De Jong and then stole Barry from Villa for a comparitive bargain of £12 million is completely beyond me. I would think Villa would milk the situation for all it is worth, something they tried and failed at last season with Liverpool, who are a lot more frugal than Man City. Barry is an excellent player, but of all the positions on the field at Man City I thought that center mid was the only one where they had quality and depth. Elano, Ireland, De Jong, and Kompany were quite a team and offered many different complexions to the City midfield. Well, now you can throw Barry on top of that. It's possible Hughes will play him wide on the left. I'd imagine he would hook up with Wayne Bridge well.
Verdict: Good for Barry if they qualify for Europe next season and if he gets to play at center mid, great signing for City.
Steve Bruce to Sunderland: I think Wigan was a sinking ship and Bruce got out at the right time. Valencia is leaving, Heskey already departed, and Zaki will be on his way as well. Sunderland has a transfer kitty and a supportive owner who will allow Bruce to build a new team if he so desires. I also have a lot of respect for him as a manager (and it has nothing to do with his Manchester United roots) and think that he will do excellently at Sunderland and that Wigan lost a quality manager.
Verdict: Bad for Wigan, great for Sunderland, great for Bruce.
I'll post again as more important transfers role in.
