Let's start at the top (or should that be in mid-table?), with Manchester City. The City revolution is in full swing, with Mark Hughes being given access to the limitless funds that were promised by the new owners.
What is even more poignant, is that City have actually found success. Yes, Eto'o turned them down, but City fans have found solace in the fact that Barry, Tevez, Santa Cruz and (possibly) Adebayor have all been tempted by the money....sorry, ambition of the club.
Are they doing the right thing? Well, it depends on who you are. If you are City fan, then this is the best time of your life. Your side have all the money and big ambitions that your squad will have to live up to. However, if you are a fan of one of the big 4 then your calls of foul play on the part of City will fall on deaf ears, because, frankly, it is exactly what the big 4 have done for years and years and years. However, you have to feel sorry for clubs such as Everton. Everton have been run extremely well in recent years by Bill Kenwright, and he will be bitterly disappointed that a lot of his hard work that has been done over a number of years has been dissolved in a year or so by a few rich Arabs.
Personally, I am shocked at the fact that this summer alone, City have even taken players from 2, and possibly 3 of the big 4. Tevez has already signed, with rumours around that Adebayor will be the next player to sign on at City, and those stories about John Terry to City will just not go away...
Meanwhile, thanks to the return of Perez, the biggest teams in Europe hafe suffered severely in their respective bids to sign the very best players in the world. United may have £80 million in the bank, but if there is no-one to spend the money on, then you cannot do anything. The top 4 are being comprehensively beaten in wages and transfer fees; even Manchester City are offering John Terry higher wages than Chelsea! Top players such as Ribery and Benzema are choosing Madrid over other sides because they feel that the return of the Galacticos will bring them fame, fortune, trophies...and a hell of a lot of money.
It has also been a hugely significant transfer window at home; it has been apparent that Premier League clubs are more willing to trading players with their rivals. Transfers that take place are setting in motion a chain of events whereby one transfer has indirectly caused 4-5 others. One such example is the possible transfer of Bobby Zamora from Fulham to Hull or Stoke could see Fulham launch a bid for Pompey striker (or is that lamppost?) Peter Crouch. That transfer could well see Pompey chasing a new striker, such as one of the millions in the wings at Manchester City...Crazy!It has also been interesting to see that the majority of Premier League clubs have been chasing the same players. It is intriguing to see how certain managers have gone about their business; Harry Redknapp has continued his streak of courting players in public (that really got him far with Downing now, didn't it?), but Martin O'Neill has chosen to do his work behind closed doors, to try and get the job done without alerting his rivals. While Liverpool, Arsenal and eventually Man City went after Gareth Barry, Blues found themselves in a 3-way fight out for Oguchi Onyewu, that they somehow managed to lose, to a team who weren't even part of the 3-way fight out to start with!
Burnley, Blues and Wolves all went after Bobo Balde, with Burnley and Blues pulling out of potential deals, allowing Wolves to take Balde on trial. While Blues pulled out of that deal, they jumped in at the last to beat Wolves to the signing of Scott Dann (don't you just love it?!), at the 11th hour. Stoke, Hull and Everton all went after Michael Owen, before Manchester United won the race for his signature (no, i still can't believe it happened either).
Villa and Spurs have gone head-to-head on numerous occasions in the past, but this transfer window has brought the two head-to-head yet again, in the race to sign Fabian Delph, Stuart Downing and Tuncay.
With this transfer window, the game really has turned on its head. Apparently, Chelsea don't have ambition! It is simply ludicrous! John Terry is not impressed with his club because of the lack of summer signings, if you believe what you read in the papers. Terry was shocked that only an unknown Russian had been added to the ranks during a summer when the Premier League looks like it will be an open race next season. However, if Chelsea, the side who changed the face of our game for good, have no ambition, then I hate to think about whether Accrington Stanley have any ambition!
It has most certainly been a summer of change for clubs across Europe, and I believe that there are still shocks in store for football fans as we head towards another exciting season.
Watch this space.
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