Ever since the news broke there was a palpable sense of disbelief amongst fans, the media and Blogs. We awaited hearing from the men at the centre of the story and we got that hearing today. It appears that Sir Alex Ferguson is as shaken by this news as we are even though he has had since mid-August to digest this news. Regardless Manchester United are counting the cost of having a Rooney sized hole in their plans, so far this season Rooney has been largely anonymous and certainly not the player we had become used to seeing.

Come January if the issue has not been resolved (it appears that the statement today was the attempt by Manchester United to put the ball firmly in Rooney’s court) United will need to cash in on their damaged goods. The figures bandied about are between 5-50 million depending on the level of interest and the parties involved. In my view it will probably be a trip to Madrid or across Manchester in the region of 30 million pounds, though the possibility of a ‘Webster’ transfer remains. Should a transfer take place, the Manchester club will need to reinvest to maintain their status as an elite European team; I lay out below 6 options to replace the irreplaceable.

The Replacements: The European stars who just might be available.

Karim Benzema: A name that has not been far from United in gossip columns. It is no secret that the Frenchman is not happy with his current role in Madrid and speculation is rife that Mourinho is unhappy with his attitude. A powerful second striker in the same mould as Rooney both his youth (he has two years on Wayne) and potential would make him the obvious solution to the Rooney problem.

That is, of course, that his off-the-field issues are resolved, Benzema is currently implicated in the same scandal as Franck Ribery as they both are investigated in unseemly circumstances by the french police. Benzema has also not exhibited the form he had shown in France since leaving so if he were to be a direct replacement it is still far from ideal.

Edin Džeko: The Bosnian striker has been the talk of Europe over the summer as doomed attempts were made to try to prise him from Wolfsburg. However since their indifferent start to the German league campaign the Wolves just may be tempted into accepting United’s money. A tall, powerful striker Džeko has been scoring a ton in Germany. At 24 and with form on his side he could provide the firepower that Rooney has been lacking.

The problem though is that United already have an out-and-out striker currently in form. Dimitar Berbatov has performed well in an otherwise under-performing team. With their captain unavailable and their left-back AWOL. United have suffered, signing another player to literally step on Berbatov’s toes does not fit into any system that United currently employ. Džeko is good, possibly great but not a fit for Manchester.

Luis Suarez: The Uruguayan hero/villain was one of the stories of the World Cup, not just because of his volleyball impression. Suarez showed how effective he could be, crafty (not in that way) he scores goals by moving into the channels and finishing with aplomb. However he provides extra value in his leadership (he is the current Ajax captain) and shows a maturity beyond his 23 years. Ajax have been a selling club for at least a decade now and United could use a friendly move for Suarez to set up a less than friendly move for their goalkeeper in the summer.

The issue with Suarez though is the fear of trusting the goalscoring record from Holland. Of the top scorers in dutch football who have since moved to England only one has succeeded as a goal-scorer – Ruud Van Nistelrooy, if United’s scouts can pick the wheat from the chaff (here’s looking at you Kuyt, Kezman and especially Alves) it could be an excellent pick-up.

The Future: Replacing Rooney with youth.

Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero: Maradona’s son in law has been on the scene for a while now.Starting at an impossibly young age at Independiente (15 years and 37 days) he has scored regularly for his club(s) and his country. At 22 he is the same age as Benzema but is not held in the same regard as his game is not as complete as that of the Frenchman. An electrifying player Aguero has been on the radar of most of the European big hitters for a few seasons but has yet to be swayed to a new club. Seemingly happy at Atletico he enjoys a starting role and Champions League football already. Aguero would probably not be available for the same money that United will recoup from Rooney.

Neymar: The 18 year old Brazilian sensation was tipped for a move to Chelsea at the end of the transfer window though nothing was agreed. At 18 he would certainly have a long future ahead of him and his talent is obvious. A tricky winger/second striker with the happy knack of scoring goals Neymar is the latest hot prospect from the football factory called Brazil. Currently with Santos he would not cost as much as Aguero would. The issue though is that of Mentality. In signing a precocious talent from Brazil you take a significant risk especially if not to a Latin country. For every Ronaldinho and Pato there is a Denilson or Adriano (the fat Roma one), signing Neymar would be a very expensive gamble and given his lack of experiance of Europe he doesn’t carry the tag of ‘world-class’ just yet.

The Stop-Gap: If the money is not spent in whole it could be spent on this player.

Mirko Vucinic: There is no doubting the Montenegran’s caliber, we were denied the opportunity to see him in full flow at Wembley but when he is he can be devastating. At 27 he is significantly older than the players above but as Roma grapple with ownership issues and a start that just saw them beaten, at home, by Basel he may just be available to the European elite. A winger by trade he would not directly replace Rooney but his strength, guile and technique would fit well into the United system. I imagine that a relationship could be formed with Berbatov but it would hardly set the fans hearts racing to see him gather the ball. More functional than explosive Vucinic is indeed a very good player bordering on great but he wouldn’t capture the imagination as the White Pélé would.

Finally on a personal note, if you enjoy my writing which has included the articles hotlinked to these words and you have the disposable time then could you vote for me on part 5 at the Not 100% Football Blogger Awards. You can also follow me @kipp9 on twitter.

Today Liverpool FC went through a complicated court procedure to resolve their ownership. Their biggest rivals, Manchester United, have not had the problems that have engulfed the beleaguered Anfield club but nevertheless have issues with their ownership. The Glazer takeover of Manchester United has created friction between the club’s support who deride the Glazers and want them out (Love United, Hate Glazer) and the owners themselves.

Liverpool’s current (for now) owners were desperate to sell the club on their terms, for their own financial benefit and not the benefit of Liverpool Football Club. In Manchester and Florida the Glazers will be looking on in interest at how their national compatriots have floundered in the business of football ownership. Let me be clear, the Glazers like Hicks and Gilette have entered football for one purpose, profit. How they will achieve that profit though is important, having already turned down a 1.5 billion pound offer from a Middle East Consortium, just how will the Glazers leave United?

NB: A lot of the financial numbers etc contained below are garnered from the always excellent Swiss Ramble and his article on Manchester United’s recent results.

First and foremost we must understand how the Glazers got involved in Manchester United and what they hope to achieve through football ownership. Prior to the Glazer Ownership Manchester United was a publicly limited company trading on the LSE. Over the course of several years the Glazers bought Manchester United shares with the intention of one day buying the lot. They achieved this particular aim in June 2005, however to buy a company the size of Manchester United this particular transaction required a lot of money. More than the Glazers had, they put up 250m of their own money and 540m of loans, in what is technically described as a Leveraged Buy-Out (an LBO). The purpose of an LBO is to take a company you think is not being run well or has more value in it than is represented in the share price so that you can run it, trim it and then resell it later at a vast profit as you have made the company more valuable through actions which, if unpopular, could’ve been prevented by the shareholders.

True to LBO form this is precisely what the Glazers started to do. With the grim spectre of debt hanging over their ownership they set about trimming where necessary and increasing revenues where possible. It has not gone unnoticed that United’s ticket prices have sky rocketed since the takeover. In having a captive audience the Glazer’s realised they could increase match day revenues in the most base of ways. It is no surprise that having the biggest stadium would lead to Manchester United having the largest matchday turnover in the Premier League, it is surprising to see that they outstrip (considerably) the revenues of Barcelona and Inter Milan.

Though it is not only at the turnstile that the Glazer’s have turned the screws, a look at their profit trend on SwissRamble shows an increase in other areas that include Commercial Income and Media Income. Though the Premier League have helped with their increasingly profitable TV deals, United have struck out on their own with MUTV and according to SwissRamble:

“increased their stake in MUTV Limited to 66.7% “in order to have greater influence over the future strategy of the channel.” The ability to use technology to distribute live matches is definitely one of the attractions for overseas investors.”

The Glazers have helped United become a “veritable cash machine” but the problem with an LBO is what you are waiting for me to get to, the debt.

The debt loaded onto Manchester United dwarfs that which is crippling Liverpool and forcing the court case we see today, however United have continued to function properly and have not (yet) exhibited the decline which fell on Liverpool as the credit crunch hit. The story of their recent results though are the massive loss attributed to United’s ongoing debt concerns. Whilst the Club still retains large cash in it’s bank account (£164 Mil) the analysis at SwissRamble seems to indicate that when you include Red Football Joint Ventures PIK debt payments, which is secured against the clubs assets, the loss before tax was closer to £108m for Manchester United. For an excellent breakdown of United’s debt situation see SwissRambles article don’t be put off by the length or technical language it is as accessible as any blog post.

So to the question, how will the Glazers leave United? The strong revenues created are desirable but any purchase of United will have to clear up to £1.1 Billion of debt which seemingly the Middle East bid would have done but only would leave the Glazers personally receiving 400 million which whilst a profit would not make up for their default on their Malls or their ridiculously under budget Buccaneers. No, the Glazers would want more bang for their buck when leaving United and as far as I can tell there are only three ways to do so. They could sell to a mega-rich western consortium, who will probably be loaded with debt to be able to afford the club, they sell to a mega-rich eastern consortium who won’t need the debt but whose  or they return the club to the market. Of these I think this is the best for Manchester United.

Manchester United are a cash cow, they sit on vast revenues and cash. It seems that under the Glazer regime they have optimized their revenue streams and are now stuck clearing debt. An IPO of Manchester United would return ownership to the public and the sheer value of the business and hostility to private owners would worry potential investors. The club would be free of debt and with such a large cash position they could offer investable dividends. Whilst this is all dependent on future success the likelihood of United dropping out of the top 4 is so remote as to be negligible, especially given UEFA’s fair business guidelines. Something Manchester United would comfortably fall under. LBO’s often result in a return to market of the trimmed down spruced up company. The financial results prior to United’s takeover indicate that turnover was £169m (which is £192m adjusted for inflation) boosted by the sale of David Beckham, the most recent results indicate £286m boosted by the sale of Ben Foster. This is an increase of 49% in 5 years. 49%. Even if we roughly apply this to price the Glazer’s paid (adjusted for inflation) this would be £1.3Bn of course this doesn’t take into account the improved revenue streams, the increased length of commercial contracts, the youth available through the Glazers transfer policy and the continued expansion of the Global brand. The market will always value future money streams as well as those available now so I don’t think that this is a reflection on what United would get if floated on the market.

There are already several clubs which are publicly listed and with anyprospective market action it is appropriate to take account of your competitors already listed, so in that regard we would look at Arsenal Holdings. Arsenal are currently the poster child of good football financial management, they have debt but it’s interest does not cripple the balance sheet and most recently they announced profits before tax of £45m. If we take into account Arsenal’s current ‘value’ and apply the difference in the EBITDA between the two companies Manchester United are currently 40% ahead of their London rivals. If the Glazers were to IPO Manchester United, it would create a large influx of money as the shares are sold, this money would be put to use to clear the ridiculously high interest PIK debt thus scrubbing a significant amount of Interest payments off the books. They could also relieve some of the other debt to leave United with a manageable amount which would be Arsenal-esque . The Glazer’s would not have to give up 100% of the company to make this happen they could do a partial IPO where only 49.9% of the equity is available to the market allowing Red Football to maintain control of the company and reap the rewards of the dividends and cash value of their stake. The problem with this is that with only 49% trading the stock would not trade frequently which leaves the price vulnerable to large increases or decreases caused by trades when they do happen. Whilst an IPO would be best for Manchester United it doesn’t seem the best for the Glazers at this time.

Unfortunately given prevailing market conditions and the sheer size of Manchester United the Glazers cannot cash out now without either transferring the company to another debt loaded consortium or not getting the profits they crave for in a return to market. As long as Manchester United stay in the Glazer’s hands fans will continue to see large losses on the balance sheets and interesting coincidences in transfer policy to quote, once more, SwissRamble:

“It will not have escaped those observers who are good with figures that the annual interest payment of £42 million plus the once-off £41 million paid for the bond issue add up to a sum that is horribly similar to the £81 million received last year when Cristiano Ronaldo was sold to Real Madrid. Fancy footwork on the wing replaced by fancy footwork on the balance sheet – how do you like them apples?”

They may not be in court but the Glazers are playing a dangerous game in how long they are holding on to Manchester United – their goal get’s increasingly further away the longer they allow debts to increase whilst the match day revenues (the largest revenues on the books) peak. With another protest lined up for the Tottenham game on the 30th of October the pressure will continue on the owners to leave.

With the choice between another debt heavy private sale or a beneficial but not very profitable IPO, How will the Glazer’s leave United? Not well.

Finally on a personal note, if you enjoy my writing which has included the articles hotlinked to these words and you have the disposable time then could you vote for me on part 5 at the Not 100% Football Blogger Awards. You can also follow me @kipp9 on twitter.

In a refreshing change of events, former Birmingham City owners, David Gold and David Sullivan took control of the Hammers and admitted straightaway the mess that West Ham United have been battling with. Since the crashing collapse of the Icelandic banking system, West Ham had been financially stricken and the true extent of the footballing debt is now apparent. The Hammers owe £110 million out. One Hundred and Ten Million pounds.

Only in November did C.B. Holdings claim that the Hammers were in debt to the tune of £38 million, misleading the fans in to thinking that the situation was nowhere near as bad as some in the media had reported. In fact it was almost 3 times as bad as they made out and the new owners/controllers made clear exactly where they debts lay. They also confirmed that the club were going to have to sell players in this transfer window, contrary to the clubs previous stance. An immediate cash injection of £8 million was needed to keep the club going.

The list reads like a what not to do in football, or to put it another way, how to run a club like Leeds United. It’s as if someone wrote a business plan based on what went wrong at Elland Road and it was mistranslated into Icelandic to make it seem positive. It’s madness to see the debt and borrowing going on at West Ham over the last 3 years.

• £50 million owed to banks.
• £40 million owed to other clubs for transfers.
• The £40 million owed to other clubs, includes £20 million compensation to Sheffield United.
• Alan Curbishley is still owed his severance deal after winning his case for constructive dismissal
• No-one owes West Ham any money, all player transfer fees that were received paid the bank debt immediately
• C.B. Holdings had borrowed money against the next two seasons season ticket revenue
• There is no money for strengthening the squad.

Now this paints a completely different figure to what the West Ham fans believed, rightly or wrongly what the were being told. The previous regime were filling there heads with nonsense. It is a very real prospect that relegation would have seen West Ham implode financially. No ifs, no buts, they were immediately into administration. After all the information about Leeds United, C.B. Holdings were following exactly the same route.

It seems like absolute madness that not one lesson from the Yorkshire clubs demise has served to teach anyone anything it seems, as we see with the issues at Manchester United, Portsmouth and Liverpool in the last week. Regardless of the riches awash for the Premiership clubs, you still have to cut your cloth accordingly. Someone sooner or later is going to fall over the edge, which is a subject I’m going to be looking at in more depth for EPLtalk.com next week.

Gold and Sullivan have acted quickly in bringing in their trusted lieutenant, Karen Brady as vice chairman and she’ll be quick to install some much needed pragmatism at Upton Park. They are now going to talk to Newham council about moving to the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Olympics. That could be  a challenge as Tottenham enquired about taking it over and were plainly told it was not available. The Olympic stadium is set to be reduced from its 80,000 capacity down to a pointless 30,000, for which there is neither the use nor the need.

The NFL could still play a part in the stadium’s future use that could play into West Ham’s hands. The NFL have earmarked that the often mooted London franchise’s potential base could be there. It would certainly make more sense to use it as a dual sport stadium than a white elephant for athletics, which is the current plan. There is neither the inclination or support for that size of athletics venue in London, they should sell it and use the money to redevelop Crystal Palace Athletic Stadium.

So now, West Ham have to focus on the future and the fans will be thankful that regardless of the criticisms that could be placed at Gold and Sullivan’s door during their tenure at Birmingham City, they still have a club to support. The work is now on to bring in fresh investment to try and work off the remaining debt and crucial to that is the fact that West Ham United need to stay up.

Gianfranco Zola has been nothing but a gentlemen throughout this difficult period for him and he needs to make sure that he can keep his side together for one almighty relegation scrap. For a first job, he has certainly been earning his money, of that there is no doubt. In the next six games, West Ham face Portsmouth, Blackburn Rovers, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley, Birmingham City and Hull City. Come the end of February, Gold, Sullivan and Zola will know exactly the size of the task to keep West Ham United in the Premier League.

This weekend sees the entrance of the Premiership and Championship clubs in to the F.A. Cup as the worlds oldest domestic cup competition continues in its 128th year. It’s one of those weekends that gets football fans excited, throwing up all kinds of memories for fans of every club from every level of the domestic game. For fans of all clubs, the F.A. Cup offers us all the chance to dream that this could be our year.

This weekend the fans of Barrow, York City Luton Town and Forest Green Rovers will be bursting with pride as the take on league opposition. Disappointingly for the fan in me, only four non-league sides have made it through to the third round this season but there are still some tasty ties for this years game.

Stoke City, Sunderland, Southampton and Notts County will be the clubs trying to avoid the ignominy of a defeat to a non-league side, but with all three of the bigger clubs at home, I don’t think we’ll see any shocks in those particular ties. There are several ties that are eye opening for several reasons though and of those, Manchester United entertaining Leeds on Sunday is the pick of round. Leeds’ fall down the leagues has been spectacular, but they currently sit on top of Division One, looking certainties to return to the Championship.

It’ll be interesting to see how this resumption of the cross pennine rivalry will be played out, with no love love lost between either side. Of the top four sides in the Premiership, Arsenal certainly have the most difficult tie, with a London derby trip to West Ham United on Sunday as well. Chelsea and Liverpool should make light work of Watford and Reading respectively whilst Tottenham should win easily against Peterborough United.

Overall though, the chances of any Premiership clubs getting knocked out by lower league opponents look slim to be honest but there are a couple of tricky ties. Portsmouth will be hoping Coventry City won’t bring their recent good form to Fratton Park, whilst Birmingham City face a dangerous trip to Nottingham Forest. Manchester City visit Middlesbrough who have been bang out of form since they sacked Gareth Southgate but should be too strong.

Of the other recently promoted sides, Burnley and Wolves both face potential banana skin games at Milton Keynes Dons and Tranmere Rovers and may view the match as a chance to give secondary players a run out. Bolton Wanderers fans will probably be viewing the clash with Lincoln City, now managed by Blackburn Rovers old boy Chris Sutton, with renewed optimism following Gary Megson’s sacking earlier today.

What ever happens, 3 Premiership clubs will be out of the competition no matter what with three all Premiership ties in the third round. Aston Villa welcome Blackburn Rovers, whilst Wigan will be trying to put tonight’s thrashing at Old Trafford out of their minds as Hull City visit the D.W. Stadium and Arsenal travelling to West Ham United.

Overall though, this isn’t really a weekend for shocks, but the F.A.Cup has a reputation for shocking you when you least expect it and that’s why it’s still the best cup competition in the world. Here’s to a great weekend of cup football before we get back to the Premiership.

This decade has seen the Premiership continue to grow and attract some of the worlds greatest players throughout the last ten years. By continuing to attract some of the biggest stars in the world, only La Liga can truly consider itself a rival for the quality of the players on show throughout the league. Yet who would make the best Premiership team of the decade?

Which players have consistently delivered year in, year out, or given years of sterling service throughout the decade? Well I present you with my best 11 of the last ten years, from goalkeeper to striker and I think you may be surprised with some of my choices. Once you’ve glanced through the team, let me know who you think should have been in or your best 11 of the decade.

1. Shay Given

The most consistent goalkeeper of the last ten years, with only the criminally underrated Jussi Jaaskelainen coming close for me. Seemingly trying to keep Newcastle up on his own, he served under 9 managers at St James Park this decade until he finally ran out of patience with the chaos in the boardroom and accepted a move to Manchester City. Since joining City in January, along with Craig Bellamy, he’s easily been head and shoulders above the other high profile signings at Eastlands.

2. Gary Neville

England’s most underrated player of the last 15 years and one of the best fullbacks this country has ever produced. Solid, dependable and wholly committed to Manchester United, Neville has often been in the shadow of higher profile players at United. For all the plaudits that Scholes, Giggs and Beckham received, without Gary Neville, it would have been a very different period without his consistent quality for club and country.Was clearly the best full back in Europe for a while along with Michel Salgado.

3. Ashley Cole

Yes, he’s got the personality that gets on your nerves and his autobiography was beyond deluded, but he’s been head and shoulders above most other left backs in the last ten years. Despite his issues, Cole is a fabulous full back and his duels with Ronaldo for both club and country have been more exciting than they should be. Only Patrice Evra can come close to him over the last few years. If only he could score more goals!

4. Roy Keane

Love him or hate him, Keane was the ultimate midfield enforcer over the first half of the decade in the Premiership. When Arsenal and Manchester United clashed, Keane vs Vieira was always worth the waiting for. Yet, he scored more than his fair share of important goals than Vieira and Makelele who were the other two key players in a similar position. Controversial until the end, Keane has always spoke his mind, but as a player, for me he was peerless.

5. John Terry

Mr Chelsea, 100% no nonsense defending, Terry epitomises everything that defenders represent. Tough, uncompromising and occasionally has too much to say on the pitch but as captain of club and country, Terry has given everything for the cause at domestic and international level. When he retires, Chelsea will have a major job on replacing him.

6. Rio Ferdinand

Another player who’s off field antics can sometimes grate with the followers of football, but there is no doubting the quality he has as a player. The silk to Terry’s steel for England and Vidic for Manchester United, Ferdinand is the best centre half of his generation. He’s had a ropey few months struggling with injuries and the scandal that the missed drug test caused unfairly tainted his reputation for a while but only Ledley King can come close as a footballing centre half over the last decade.

7. Christiano Ronaldo

Love him or hate him, Ronaldo’s 2007-2008 season was something magical. Quite how he kept scoring at the rate he did can’t really be explained and the following season was always going to disappoint but even though his head had been turned, he still kept scoring marvelous goals throughout the season. If he can replicate his domestic form internationally, then he will be remembered as one of the greats, but he has yet to deliver for Portugal. He needs a great World Cup to cement his reputation. Pace, trickery and explosive finishing that belies his size.

8. Frank Lampard

There is a hair’s breadth between Lampard and Steven Gerrard for me but Lampard gets my nod because he creates more chances for his team mates and doesn’t have the nasty streak that Gerrard can fall back in to on the pitch. A fabulous finisher and a master of the late run, Lampard has consistently delivered season after season for club and country. Has struggled a little this season with the new system that Ancelotti has implemented at Stamford Bridge this year, but I wouldn’t back against him to score another 20 goals this season.

9. Thierry Henry

Well, at least he didn’t have as bad a year as Tiger Woods, his fellow Gillette endorsed scandal buddy but that handball has certainly tainted his reputation almost as much as his whining after Arsenal lost the 2006 Champions League. That aside, Henry was immense for the majority of the decade, even suffering from sciatica for the last few years. His partnership with Bergkamp left defenders dizzy during the Gunners pomp. Failings aside, a damn fine player and terrifying sight in full flight.

10. Didier Drogba

When Jose Mourniho signed him for £24 million from Marseille back in 2004, eyebrows were raised all over England, but he has made the critics more than eat their words. On his day, he is simply unplayable and is once again banging the goals in for Chelsea. His form dipped under Scolari and he flirted with leaving the club, but he’s still at Stamford Bridge and the Blues are far more formidable for his continued presence.

11. Ryan Giggs

What is there to say about Ryan Giggs that hasn’t been said? How good would England have been if he’d stayed true to his schoolboy football roots instead of choosing to represent Wales. Clearly in the category of the greatest players never to have made it to a World Cup, he has scored and created more goals for Manchester United than you can think of. Even now, with Ferguson wrapping him in cotton wool he still delivers. A truly remarkable player.

Notable mentions must go to the following players: Jussi Jaaskelainen, Patrice Evra, Jamie Carragher, Ledley King, Patrick Vieira, Cesc Fabregas,Michael Essien, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres and Dennis Bergkamp. I don’t think anyone would come up with a similar starting 11, so comments please!

Can Diamanti emulate Di Canio?

Can West Ham United’s new Italian talent have the same impact on the Hammers as club legend Paolo Di Canio did between 1999 and 2003? Gianfranco Zola signed Alessandro Diamanti for a fee of around £6 million in the summer. Big money for an untested player especially in light of West Ham’s supposed financial handicap. But it could prove to be a smart acquisition by Zola in light of the past weekends game.

After scoring a controversial penalty against Liverpool on Saturday he has been thrown into the limelight for the wrong reasons. Chris Waddle who commentated on the match for ESPN UK was convinced that Diamanti touched the ball twice – as he took the penalty- but the Italian himself is adamant he scored a legitimate goal, “I don’t care what TV shows. It deserved a goal. I don’t believe I touched it twice. I was trying to hit it down the middle and that is what happened.” I will leave you to make up your own mind.

Signed from Livrono in Serie A, Diamanti was a star in Serie B last year, guiding the Amaranti to promotion with six goals in the final ten matches of the season as the Tuscan side went up via the playoffs. He is also accustomed to scoring magnificent long-range efforts, such as the edge of the box volley for Livorno against Triestina.

His current boss has likened the player to himself and former Hammer, Di Canio, as Zola told Italian sports daily, Gazzetta dello Sport: “He’s a cross between myself and Paolo Di Canio.” These are large boots to fill given the standing Di Canio has amongst the West Ham faithful and after the performance against Liverpool he showed that the potential is most definitely there.

Alessandro Diamanti is a very pacy player with fantastic ball control and explosive shot, with the added bonous of being a set-piece specialist, it appears West Ham have unearthed another Italian gem. He is somewhat of a late bloomer, spending most of his career so far in the lower divisions of Italian football with hometown club Prato, and it wasn’t until he befriended Fabio Galante who recommended him to the Livrono chairman.

More recently, for West Ham reserves he banged in two magnificent free kicks in a 6-0 rout over Birmingham, after almost six months out. It is his goals but also his personality that will win over the fans, Diamanti stated on joining, “I chose West Ham because the club have the tradition of playing great football. Also, because the West Ham fans are really passionate and that is the way I am.”

Once full match fitness is achieved he will be a real thorn in the side of Premier League defences. You have been warned.

How long does he have left?

With Portugal on the verge of non-qualification for the World Cup in 2010, manager Carlos Queiroz is under extreme pressure and has the very real possibility of unemployment looming over him. Given this threat, and inevitability that this will occur, I ask you… How long before we see the Portuguese back in the Manchester United dugout alongside Sir Alex Ferguson?

With Portugal lying fourth in their World Cup qualifying group with only ten points from seven matches. Going into the qualification group as favourites, the current state of affairs comes as a real shock for the Euro 2008 quarter-finalists.

Denmark have more or less qualified for the World Cup with Hungary and Sweden in equally strong positions. It was imperative the Portuguese overcame Hungary in the last match, but even still, the jobcentre still looms large for Queiroz.

With Portugal lying third in Group A, level on points with fourth placed Hungary and two points behind Sweden who lie second. With two games remaining Portugal face Hungary and Malta, both in Portugal, nothing less than six points from these games will do. But Sweden do have a relatively straightforward fixture with Albania, before which, they play Denmark, a game that will decide the fate of Carlos.

Queiroz therefore may be looking for new employment sooner rather than later and the Old Trafford bench is a familiar environment, one where he has had success in the past as well.

During his first reign sat beside Ferguson for only one year but managed to help the Old Trafford side win the Premier League title on season 02/03, before being poached by Real Madrid. It was after an unsuccessful year in Madrid that he was brought back to Old Trafford by Ferguson to begin an extremely successful four-year reign as assistant manager.

As a number one, Queiroz is terrible, making mistake after mistake. He is also accountable for Portugal’s failure to qualify for Euro ’92 and after taking over a very talented Sporting Lisbon team, led them to three seasons of failure and was promptly dismissed. After his first stint at Old Trafford, Real Madrid offered him a dream job, one that he could not turn down, and one that was a veritable disaster.

Sir Alex Ferguson welcomed the failed coach back to Old Trafford as his number two in July 2004 and so began a fruitful relationship. A number of trophies became housed at Old Trafford, including the 2008 Champions League trophy. Queiroz was seen as instrumental in United’s success, introducing new training methods and tactical plans that underpinned the Manchester United side of a few years back.

He also has an eye for talent spotting; he famously discovered Portugal’s so-called ‘Golden Generation’ and also had a hand in bringing Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford. But these positives have not transpired into the managerial stage and who knows, he may be back sharing a glass or two of Chianti with Sir Alex before the year is out.

Group A

Bayern Munchen
Juventus
Bordeaux
Maccabi Haifa

Group B

Manchester United
CSKA Moskow
Besiktas
Wolfsburg

Group C

AC Milan
Real Madrid
Marseille
FC Zurich

Group D

Chelsea
Porto
Atletico Madrid
APOEL

Group E

Liverpool
Lyon
Fiorentina
Debrecen

Group F

Barcelona
Internazionale
Dynamo Kiev
Rubin Kazan

Group G

Sevilla
Rangers
Stuttgart
Unirea Urziceni

Group H

Arsenal
AZ Alkmaar
Olympiakos
Standard Liege

Reaction

Manchester United along with Arsenal have fairly straightforward groups and both should be looking to come out on top.

Chelsea have a couple of tough away trips to Porto and Madrid, while APOEL will prove to be Group D’s whipping boys.

Liverpool have a very tricky draw, Lyon spent big in the summer and thrashed Anderlecht in the qualifiers, plus Fiorentina are always a tough team, though I would expect Liverpool to progress as winners.

Other highlights include Zlatan Ibrahimovic returning to Inter and Kaka facing his beloved Milan. While Scottish representatives Rangers will be looking to progress and have a real chance of doing so.

Your thoughts on the draw please.

The Midfield Magician

Cast your mind back to May 2009, Manchester United were comprehensively and soundly trounced in Rome by a magical Barcelona side, inspired by Xavi and Iniesta. For many, the lack of quality in the centre of the park was plain to see, Carrick looked lethargic and unsure of himself, Fletcher was missed, this, a surprise in itself. Club legends, Giggs and Scholes were ineffective and nowhere to be seen.

The class of the Manchester United midfield is weak in comparison their Premier League rivals, Chelsea with Essien, Lampard, Ballack and Liverpool have Mascherano, Aquilani and Gerrard respectively. Carrick, Fletcher and Scholes just do not compare.

Some of you may cry, “You forgot about Owen Hargreaves!” Indeed I did, mainly due to the length of time he has been injured and latest estimates say he will return around Christmas.

With the transfer window almost closed there are no centre midfielders in sight. So I put it to you that, Anderson Luís de Abreu Oliveira or just plain Anderson will flourish this season.

In my opinion, Anderson possesses all the qualities to become a top class midfielder, he has pace, acceleration, strength, a strong positional sense coupled with the ability to thread through a match winning final ball. He is a combatitive all action midfielder, beginning his career further up the park, he has since developed a very useful defensive side to an already impressive array of attacking talents.

Anderson reminds me a little of Kaka but with a hint of Roy Keane, obviously these are massively talented players, whose level of ability he has not yet reached, but I think he can and has to an extent combined the best parts of their respective games.

He can sit in front of the defence and play a disciplined role, spreading passes to his teammates further up the field. He can also play as an attacking midfielder, a place where he is most comfortable. In this position he offers all the samba skills you can want – just ask Cesc Fabregas – he has vision, dribbling skills and an eye for goal.

The single shortfall of Anderson’s game, and it is a rather large one, is his uncanny ability to do everything right in the lead up to a shot then fluff the final act, footballs have been found as far away as China. Seemingly he did not bring his shooting boots to Old Trafford.

But I have hopes he can eradicate this untimely habit throughout the forthcoming season, and if pre-season is anything to go by we are in for a few treats, as his sublime free-kick against Boca Juniors was a joy to behold.

I think this could be the season where stamps his authority on this Manchester United side, he has already shown in the past he can mix it up with the big boys dominating in games against Fabregas and Steven Gerrard during his first season with United. He may just prove that there is infact life after a certain Portuguese.

Looking forward to seeing how Manchester United employ new signing Dimitar Berbatov this weekend versus Liverpool, or better yet, who gets the hook up front: Wayne Rooney or Carlos Tevez. While Rooney may need a breather after playing for England the past couple of weeks, I don’t see how Sir Alex Ferguson can leave out such a playmaker against his most bitter rivals. My fear is they might put Rooney out wide, where he seems to be drifting lately, and that will only work to condone the practice (the opposite of what Capello wants him to do for country).

And how do you leave out Tevez and his unbridled energy? Though he hasn’t scored yet for the club this season (only Fletcher has, incredibly) United will need his playmaking skills and indefatigable efforts to create for Rooney or Berbatov (or himself, of course). So, does United go 4-3-3? Start one then substitute for the other?

I believe the signing of Berbatov will show shrewd for Sir Alex and United. In my opinion (and many others) United have not had such a striker since Ruud van Nistelroy left (was shown the door).  To have a knack to be in the “right place at the right time” cannot be taught but is such a great asset. It remains to be seen how he will adapt to life at such a large club, but just like the discussion of how Fernando Torres would adjust to life in the EPL last year, goals quickly sway hearts and minds. The sooner Berbatov opens his United account, the quicker he becomes another favorite to the supporters (as well as another notch to Sir Alex’s already storied success at bringing in top-notch talent).

Can’t wait!