As we recapped in our unintentionally lengthy Catch Them If You Can for this weekend, it was a busy weekend in football. We’re sorry but the approach of the transfer window deadline had an awful lot to do with that. Even with the looming shadow of Michel Platini’s financial accountability regulations, the immediate effect of the Homegrown Rule and the current economic climate, there was still a tremendous flurry of desperate activity, as the window began to descend.
There were four outstanding deals made in the dying moments of summer and they are as follows:
Robinho (and Zlatan Ibrahimovic) to AC Milan
For the past year, since the departure of Kaka to Madrid, Silvio Berlusconi has been crying pauper, loudly proclaiming he can no longer afford to go out and spend willy nilly to land the most sought after targets in the market. A season spent watching Roma and, for a while, Sampdoria challenge Inter for the Scudetto did not sit well with the Italian president, however.
When he can tear himself away from more important matters, Berlusconi knows how to make a deal ... Then again, maybe it's a transferable skill.
Then, Jose Mourinho left town and opportunity beckoned. The wily Berlusconi bided his time, though, waiting for the deadline to approach and hardened bargaining positions to soften. Then he struck with surprising speed and financial cunning. Agreeing a one year loan deal with Barcelona for the unwanted Ibra, with an option to purchase the player outright in 12 months time, caught the rest of football by surprise.
Then, at the last, he secured the services of Robinho, discontented with Man City ever since his compatriots Jo and Elano were shipped out, perceivably as punishment for his lack of focus. Now, at the San Siro, the Brazilian will enjoy the company of fellow samba-leros Ronaldhino and Alexander Pato. The deal was made for approximately a third of Man City’s original £32M purchase price of the moody winger, not two years gone. In order to cover the cost, Berlusconi simply moved fringe player Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on to Schalke 04 for a reported €13M.
Ibra and Robinho are both possessed of combustible personalities but are also capable of setting fire to opposing defences. If it’s not too late, it might be a good idea for Rafa Benitez to confirm the Giuseppe Meazza is well equipped with extinguishers.
Alex Hleb, Jean Beausejour and Martin Jiranek to Birmingham
Am I good, or am I good?
Alex McLeish, like a true Scot, understands the value of a pound. As well, in Carson Yeung, he’s been blessed with a chairman who does, as well. In the current climate of the Premier League, no one player is going to transform Birmingham into world beaters. As like as not, with Sheikh Mansour in the neighbourhood, you’d probably have to overpay for your man, to boot. On the other hand, an eye for talent can take a decent budget and divide it among several solid players. If that eye is also accompanied by a strong hand, the resultant value of the squad might prove to be greater than the combined purchase price of its various members.
McLeish guided the Blues out of the Championship, two years ago, and then had them threatening a European place for much of their first season back in the top flight. With Hleb’s ability to play in the hole or on the wing, Beausejour’s speed and power down the left side and Jiranek’s towering presence in central defence, combined with James McFadden, Matt Derbyshire and Ben Foster, Birmingham continue to have the look of upward mobility.
Asamoah Gyan to Sunderland
He scores in stripes for Ghana, maybe it'll work for the Mackems, too.
For every step forward Steve Bruce has managed at Sunderland, another obstacle has risen up to bar his way. Most of those impediments have taken the form of injured players. It was Lee Cattermole last year, over the holidays, who went down hard just as the Black Cats were flexing their claws. This season it’s Frasier Campbell who’s come up lame at a very inopportune time, with the unhappy Kenwyne Jones having been sold to Stoke and Martyn Waghorn to Leicester. That has left Darren Bent and ManU loanee Danny Welbeck without any cover.
So with just 15 minutes remaining in the silly season, Bruce snatched up the Ghanian for a hefty £13.5M. At Rennes, Gyan was not prolific, scoring just 14 times in 47 matches but with his international captain, John Mensah, to welcome him to the Stadium of Light, Bruce hopes he will settle quickly and translate his World Cup form into club success.
Rafael van der Vaart to Tottenham
With Crouchie and Abigail Clancy on the outs, Harry earns bonus points for maintaining the depth of the Tottenham WAG squad, in the bargain.
There was some controversy over this deal, because it looked to have been submitted late. After deciding that no one would believe that Steve Bruce was intentionally chatting with the clerk and holding up the line after completing his deal, Harry Redknapp went with the old standby and blamed it on faulty wiring in the communications equipment. And it’s not really surprising that it worked. After all, if the powers that be are willing to take the word of Kim Jong Il on faith, regarding the fate of the North Korean World Cup squad, why wouldn’t they believe Harry?
Still, it’s a very happy van der Vaart coming to White Hart Lane, where his experience and creativity should put him right into the starting eleven, despite not being able to crack a Madrid lineup missing Kaka. Whether Luca Modric appears more often in a wide role or he has to share some playing time with David Bentley and Nico Kranjcar matters not. It’s the type of problem Redknapp loves to have, as evidenced by the continuing logjam up front, with Jermaine DeFoe, Peter Crouch, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Robbie Keane all worthy of first team status.
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