Very cross, the Merseys…

After two weekends, both the Blue and Red halves of Liverpool will not be impressed with their immediate openings to the season.

Hovering above the bottom three places in the league table and having scored only one goal each, the tactics boards will be worked upon this week.

Both side’s keepers have made errors, albeit uncharacteristic, costing them points in the opening week.

Then, contrasting performances most recently with David Moyes’ side not being able to kill off their opponents at home and his opposite number at Anfield, Roy Hodgson, unable to figure a way past Manchester City and conceding far too easily at the other end.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not me jumping on the bandwagon after two weeks of the season – that would be absurd.

But don’t think that throwing money at the sides is the answer to the problems.

Both teams situations look to be tactical and simple errors, rather than the players needing to be replaced immediately.

Spending money and expecting the changes to happen overnight is not something that works regularly in football. The tactics and the personnel have to be right.

Surely everyone knows that…

Right?

Ask David O’Leary, Martin O’Neill, Mark Hughes, Sir Alex Ferguson, Rafael Benitez, Claudio Ranieiri, Arsene Wenger…the list goes on.

The problems lie with tactics, formations and the way each side is set up.

Everton, for instance, seem to be very negative in games they should be trying to win.

With no disrespect to Wolves, Everton should be taking three points against them at Goodison, but that is the second straight season that Mick McCarthy’s men have gone there and taken away a draw.

People have said we should be asking Man City for Roque Santa Cruz on loan, or should have chased Craig Bellamy harder.

Neither for me is not a possibility.

The reason?

Tim Cahill.

He plays in the hole behind a lone striker as they need two central midfielders.

So, if he plays – and let me remind you that he has 57 Premier League goals from that position – Everton have to play a 4-5-1.

Now, if you drop Cahill – admittedly, he’s not the most skilful player in the world – you would lose those goals, the side would be more toothless in attack and would be less of a threat from set-pieces and crosses.

You would have to replace him with a much, much better and more all-round striker – someone like Didier Drogba and that player doesn’t come around very often.

Liverpool on the other hand, have the players but not the settled line-up or the desire, it seems.

They did not look like a side that wants to take games by the scruff of the neck and grab their Champions League place back.

Arguably their two most important players agreed to stay at the club, maybe after hearing the news that investment at the club was imminent.

Now what happens – especially with Fernando Torres – if that money doesn’t come to fruition and the side is still struggling to hit form in mid-October?

Will he still have the determination to do well, or will he want to follow Javier Mascherano out of the Shankly Gates?

I’m not for one second questioning the Spaniard’s loyalty, but the general consensus was that he owed Liverpool one more season. If he sees no improvement under Hodgson, will he have little choice than to move to pastures new to win something as the tides roll out of Merseyside?

Let’s hope they both get back to winning ways quickly and make City choke on their sixpence…

So, the first round of games has been completed.

And for what it’s worth, here are my thoughts…

Didier Drogba is the best striker in the world.

Yes, Chelsea’s opponents in the 6-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening may not have been the best AND they may well continue their ‘yo-yo’ status and drop out of the league at the end of the season.

But Didier Drogba’s continued this campaign in the same vein as he ended the last.

His hat-trick against the Baggies demonstrated that he will be tough to stop this year.

Chelsea will win the Premier League again this year

They punish sides even when they are not in top form. West Bromwich Albion felt just how devastating Carlo Ancelotti’s men can be – especially at home.

There are too many players involved at Chelsea who can score and if you have the ability to call upon that kind of constant goal-threat, you will never be short of points!

The loss of Ricardo Carvalho will be felt, but I don’t think it will be to the extent of losing the grip on their title.

Roy Hodgson could just have made Steven Gerrard more effective for Liverpool

If the Reds’ captain is employed in the role he was against Arsenal on Sunday, if Fernando Torres regains his fitness week-in, week-out, if Joe Cole can play in ‘that gap’ behind the striker…alright, enough possibles.

But you see what I mean.

I was very impressed with the positioning of Steven Gerrard yesterday and the fact that he didn’t get forward so much and Liverpool still posed an attacking threat, said to me that Cole has been bought to play the free role.

The former Chelsea man showed glimpses of his potential at Anfield before his totally needless red card just before half-time and big things are expected of him.

Everton will achieve little with Tim Howard in goal

A man I have interviewed on a number of occasions and undoubtedly one of the most likeable footballers and people in general, but he is just too erratic to be totally confident in for me.

I hate saying this, as Howard is such a nice bloke, but niceties unfortunately don’t count for a lot in this game.

Saturday’s error cost Everton at least a point and the unexpected goal gave Blackburn the big advantage in a game that was always going to be tight and allowed them to dictate the passages of play – although the Blues had a lot of possession during the game.

David Moyes’ men weren’t able to penetrate enough to grab the equaliser and paid the price for falling behind.

Now a side who they failed to beat both home and away last season – Wolves – stand in their way next at Goodison, as they look to get their season up and running.

Blackpool have already reached their peak

Now this may sound like arrogance and dismissive.

I hope I’m wrong, because I LOVE the romance of the game and if Blackpool stay up I will be the first to congratulate them.

I just don’t think they will, that’s all.

So it doesn’t really take a genius to work out that a 4-0 win away from home will be their zenith.

Their manager Ian Holloway, however, has made a great signing in the shape of Marlon Harewood on a free transfer and if he can get to double-figures this season, the Tangerines have a glimmer of hopes.

Just two transfers in this summer for Sir Alex Ferguson and for a squad that looks a little thin, it is suggested he looks a little further at acquiring one of the most impressive players at this summer’s World Cup.

One player from that tournament whose signature he already secured before a ball was even kicked in South Africa was Mexican forward Javier Hernandez.

The 22-year-old from Guadalajara was brought in to strengthen the front-line with Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov below-par in his first two seasons at Old Trafford.

Indeed, Wayne Rooney scored more league goals last term than the former Spurs and Bayer Leverkusen man has yet managed.

But Hernandez is expected to add renewed energy to support the England man – especially after his poor performance over the summer.

Lightning fast, ‘Chicarito’ will assist United’s slick, quick counter-attacking and also allow Rooney a bit more of a rest during the season.

The ex-Everton man is approaching 300 career games for the Red Devils already and his robust style of play means he is more liable to pick up injuries. (This is where Wikipedia would say ‘Citation needed’ – but we know this already!

Big things are expected of Hernandez and if the speedy Mexican is allowed to flourish and hits the ground running, Berbatov may have to up his level to get a game.

That can only suit United, but it’s their midfield that concerns me.

The other acquisition for United was their agreement to purchase defender Chris Smalling from Fulham. The fee is believed to be in the region of £10m for the 20-year-old.

At 6ft 4in, you would expect him to lose many headers and by all accounts – he only played 13 games for Fulham in the Premier League – he is good on the ground.

A natural replacement for Rio Ferdinand at a third of the price they paid Leeds United in 2002?

Surely that has to be great business.

Smalling only made his Fulham debut in May 2009 and that as a 77th-minute substitute, but he has time on his side and the perfect players to learn from.

Ferdinand broke down before the World Cup – which would probably have been his last – forcing him to relinquish the captain’s armband.

That should make the former West Ham defender as hungry as ever to prove his worth, so Smalling may have to wait for his chance to do the same.

Back to the midfield, and something I mentioned right at the top of the article.

Mesut Ozil (surname pronounced Wurzel, without the ‘W’) is a player that Ferguson has been watching closely.

A bid is imminent apparently, but don’t expect his club Werder Bremen to give him up so lightly…

So, the sub-sub-plot that has been bubbling under the surface this summer has finally reached it’s conclusion.

No, Steven Gerrard HASN’T gotten a former footballer’s 16-year-old daughter pregnant!

Martin O’Neill has stepped down from his post at Aston Villa.

Now, as this story was been breaking and the ripple-effect felt by Villa fans across the country, I was surprised to find that a few of them were shocked by his resignation.

It tells me two things, one that he’s unable to keep hold of his best players but also, the financial climate is having a bite on every sector.

It was clear that he was unhappy towards the end of the season and following the 7-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge to eventual double-winners Chelsea in March, the Daily Mirror reported that he had resigned following a disagreement with chairman Randy Lerner.

That obviously turned out to be false, but again in May the rumours were flying around that O’Neill had had enough and was ready to throw his hand in.

Then, nothing at all…

For about five weeks or so – there was a World Cup going on, not a very exciting one, but all the same.

Then late June, Manchester City were linked with a mammoth bid for Villa midfielder James Milner, who had been in excellent form for his club and just 12 months on from the departure of Gareth Barry to Eastlands, O’Neill had another potential battle with the Lancashire side for one of his players.

The summer before, he had convinced Barry that Villa was the right place to be despite Rafael Benitez courting him.

But Barry gave it one season and left.

The understanding this time is that O’Neill has been trying to push Villa on, but Milner has maybe agreed to leave and Ashley Young could also be on his way out of the club.

But the twist is that Lerner – who has been trying to keep the wage bill down – may only be giving a portion of the incoming fees to the manager.

The Ulsterman didn’t want to be that manager and the feeling is that he has hit a brick wall in terms of progressing the club and thought it best that he walked away.

This is going to happen to a few clubs over the next 12-18 months, in my opinion.

The attendance figures for this weekend will be interesting, as there is a credit crunch (as if you needed reminding). The Football League’s statistics showed that as a whole, they were down by 4.8%.

So, the influx of cash needs to come from another area OR the wages that clubs pay out will have to be limited.

O’Neill could be setting a trend here…

In a continuation from my Premier League predictions for the 2010/11 season and having named my thoughts for the top three come May, the attention now turns to the battle for Champions League football.

Straight away, I think Manchester City will lack cohesion and sink like a rock.

Similarly, I don’t feel Tottenham have built on the promise of last season at the moment, with only one player brought in – Brazilian midfielder Sandro from Internacional.

That leaves Aston Villa, Liverpool and Everton challenging – in my eyes – for the fourth place.

For all those looking for a break-up of the ‘Sky 4′ monopoly, I think last season was a one-off. Liverpool will not struggle so badly this time around, with a new manager and a couple of shrewd signings  on free transfers – although their defence doesn’t look so hot.

Everton have done exactly the same on a more stringent budget, with Jermaine Beckford looking to be the ultimate snip of the season, while French forward Magaye Gueye looking to have fit seamlessly into the fray at Goodison.

Whisper it, but there maybe at least one more decent-sized move for each club before the transfer window slams shut at the end of the month.

I think the Merseyside teams are back to challenge this season, especially with them both keeping hold of all their important components so far – with just Steven Pienaar’s contract to be confirmed.

Aston Villa are losing theirs though.

With midfielder James Milner all but certain to join the faux dynasty at Manchester City, manager Martin O’Neill must be going into the new season with a certain feeling of trepidation.

It’s a carbon copy of 12 months ago when former Villa servant Gareth Barry chose to go up the M6, when the previous season it seemed his future lay 35 miles west, at Anfield.

But the pound signs were obviously too much for Barry – or indeed, his agent – to resist.

Back to City, and I think Roberto Mancini will have to be a man-manager in the style of Jose Mourinho to knit that motley crew of players together and if they aren’t in the top 4 by November, expect him to be dismissed – something I expect to be close!

Over at Goodison, Mikel Arteta has signed a five-year-deal – basically extending his stay by another three seasons. If Steven Pienaar follows suit, and with another player in need of covering at the back – Nedum Onouha anyone – the confidence will be sky-high for the Blues fans.

With a kinder-than-at-first-glance opening to the campaign, David Moyes really has the chance to set the stall out and put the club in a great position to build on throughout the year.

The first three months’ under-par displays left the Toffeemen playing catch-up in the race for European qualification and although they made a brave effort from November to May, there was to be no Kenwright production of ‘The Tortoise and the Hare.’

But this time, a great start will build the confidence and I expect to see a season akin to the 2004-05 heroics when they finished in 4th, but unfortunately I think the Reds across the park may just grab that position this time around.

The important thing is though, that if the Blues don’t qualify for Europe this season and United do fall short, I think Sir Alex may retire and the United board look at Mr Moyes as the successor.

In conclusion…

1 Chelsea
2 Arsenal
3 Manchester United
4 Liverpool
5 Everton
6 Manchester City
7 Tottenham Hotspur
8 Aston Villa

For the first time in a while, I am writing Manchester United off.

There, I said it.

I know a lot of people in the football world would think it as signing their death warrant, but I’m sticking with my decision.

My actual prediction is that Manchester United – for the first time in a long while will be more than 10 points off the title in my eyes.

That hasn’t happened since Chelsea lost just one game on their virtually unopposed march to the first league championship under Jose  Mourinho.

But with the midfield area at Old Trafford not really being improved at all and obviously each of the players a year older – Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs included – there certainly could be a changing of the guard about to take place.

So, will their cross-city rivals…City, take over their mantle?

Not in my eyes, no.

Unless they plan playing all five of the defensive midfielders they currently have at the club. This new 25-man squad rule is really going to f*ck someone’s summer up at Eastlands and to give it to Yaya Toure, could end in tears…

The most-absurdly overrated and overpaid player in English football history is literally laughing all the way to the bank and Abu Dhabi can pay what they like, it will NOT result in a first championship trophy since 1968.

Chelsea have lost Michael Ballack, Joe Cole and may lose Ashley Cole as well as he ‘feels persecuted by the media’.

Awwww.

My heart bleeds for him.

Idiot.

I still think Chelsea are the team to beat and will be streets ahead of the two Manchester clubs and in my opinion possess THE best all-round striker in world football.

No, not Daniel Sturridge…Didier Drogba.

The man can score a goal from seemingly anywhere on the pitch and his frustrating diving and moaning aside, he is THE most effective player in the Premier League for me.

He knits moves together, finishes moves, leads the line, plays on the shoulder, holds the ball up excellent, strong, quick, determined, clinical.

What more could you want from a striker?

Another London side could finally be clicking into gear under the second-longest serving manager in English football and the youth policy could well pay off this year.

Arsene Wenger has been building a variety of youthful sides since his tenure in 1996.

If there was any chance of the famous ‘Invincibles’ side being reproduced, then it begins here.

If incoming forward Marouane Chamakh can fit in seamlessly and assist Robin van Persie’s vigour and verve, Andrei Arshavin’s trickery and talent and the sheer pace of Theo Walcott is accompanied by some footballing skill – these boys have the potential to be frightening.

The former Bordeaux man will add the aerial threat that Arsenal have been lacking and will hopefully allow the slickest passers in England to mix things up a little.

Chamakh, for the record, has scored more headers than even Tim Cahill over the last two seasons – and more than anyone else in top flight European football with 17.

The backline is strong again, with new signing Laurent Koscielny slotting straight in alongside Thomas Vermalen.

The only thing that stops me backing the Gunners for the title is the goalkeeping situation – if that changes, I’ll be putting my money down.

1 Chelsea
2 Arsenal
3 Manchester United

Rest of league to follow…

Is this the season that the Blue half of Manchester finally finish above their city rivals?

Well, the players coming in will definitely not hinder their chances.

Another reported £74.5m has been spent to claw back the 19 points they finished behind champions Chelsea and the mere three off a Champions League place.

Roberto Mancini has chose to bolster all areas of his squad and will be trying right up to transfer deadline day to bring in the right type of player to Eastlands.

But instead speculation and and hypothetical situations, let’s have a look at what City have already acquired…

Starting at the back, German international defender Jerome Boateng – half-brother of Kevin-Prince at Portsmouth – has joined at a cost of £10.4m from Hamburger SV in the 21-year-old’s home league – the Bundesliga.

He can play right across the backline and has already played over 100 professional games for both Rothosen – ‘Red Shorts’ – and his first and hometown club, Hertha Berlin.

10 caps for Germany, he was a key part of the Die Mannschaft’s unexpected march to the semi-finals and will hope to be more successful in the Premier League.

The next signing for City was Barcelona defensive midfielder Yaya Toure, who has decided to join his brother Kolo…not for the reported £200k a week, as some people may have you believe! (sic)

Manchester City is his sixth different club in as many countries already, at the age of 27. He cost the Abu Dhabi United Group, £24m and will challenge the likes of Patrick Vieira, Nigel de Jong, Gareth Barry and Vincent Kompany.

In my opinion, I’m not sure he will bring more to the City party than the aforementioned players, but he is welcome to prove me wrong.

The third man through the door was Valencia attacking player David Silva who is one man who has been courted by a few other Premier League sides, but City brought him in for a similar fee of that for Yaya Toure.

The Spaniard was used only twice during his country’s winning campaign at this summer’s World Cup – starting in the 1-0 opening game defeat by Switzerland and replacing Barcelona’s Pedro for the final four minutes of the semi-final win over Germany.

He can play on the wing or behind a striker, but it’s his versatility that will please Mancini.

Up to now, the fourth and most recent signing is a left-sided Serbian Aleksandar Kolarov, who was brought in for £16m from Italian club Lazio – a former side of Mancini.

The 6ft 2in Belgrade-born youngster is able to play right up the left-hand side and possesses a powerful shot…which could be cause by a traction engine, as Alan Partridge would say.

Again, competition for places is the order of the day at the City of Manchester Stadium and that’s what Kolarov will provide at the very least which is exactly what is required in this day in age.

The transfer window has 25 days left and something tells me that the Abu Dhabi spending is not over.

Not just a new influx of players at Anfield, but also a change at the helm.

Roy Hodgson has replaced the outgoing Rafael Benitez; who chose to in turn, fill the shoes of Jose Mourinho – brave man!

We will focus on that in the near future, but for the meantime, the playing staff is of immediate interest.

Definitely one of the more high-profile ‘ins’ is England man, Joe Cole who joined the Reds on a free transfer from Chelsea.

The former West Ham United midfielder chose to run his contract down after Chelsea refused to offer him the deal his agent communicated to them and with the rest of the top sides in the Premier League sniffing around, Arsenal were the warm favourites to snap him up.

But somewhat out of the blue, he agreed a reported £90k-a-week contract with Liverpool, undeterred by the lack of Champions League football and was handed the number 10 shirt.

While a blind man can see the qualities and attributes, the only concern is the fact that Cole’s tendency to drift in-field may make Liverpool even more narrower than they were last season.

I’m sure Mr Hodgson knows a lot more than me and time will tell how they will line up.

Young defender Danny Wilson has chosen to join Cole on Merseyside after a short battle of wits between his club Glasgow Rangers and Liverpool – finally a fee of around £2.5m was agreed and the 18-year-old travelled south to see his new surroundings.

The talented U21 international can play anywhere across the back-four and is a very useful acquisition.

Milan Jovanovic is another value for money purchase, who was actually already signed and sealed by Hodgson’s predecessor – but the outgoing boss was desperate to re-route the 29-year-old to Inter.

The Serbian forward is the latest player from the Standard Liege set-up to be coaxed away from the Belgian Jupiler League.

An excellent scoring record of 52 in 114 league games didn’t go unnoticed by the big clubs – indeed ‘The Snake’, as he is nicknamed, turned down a big-money move to La Liga and Real Madrid in particular 12 months ago after he was concerned that he would not be guaranteed first-team football.

He was voted the Jupiler League’s Player of the Year for 2009 and although there was infighting with Les Rouches’ ranks which contributed to the club’s ninth-placed finish, he managed 12 goals in the league.

His excellent movement and acceleration should help to ease the burden on Fernando Torres – if indeed the reports about the Spaniard keeping his loyalty to the club.

A third youngster has been recruited, the highly-thought of Jonjo Shelvey.

Brought in for a fee of £2million from Championship side Charlton Athletic and touted as a future English international, Shelvey became the Addicks youngest-ever player when he made his début against Barnsley in April 2008.

He broke the record of Paul Konchesky and then proceeded to break the club’s youngest goalscorer record when netting in the FA Cup tie against Norwich City 55 days before his 17th birthday which had stood since 1966.

More is expected from him…

A quick update is that Fabio Aurelio, who was released by Benitez, has re-signed on a two-year deal at Anfield.

The more positive stories at Everton this close season have been the near-silent acquisitions of four players by manager David Moyes.

Three pretty much unknown quantities for the English game and another potential surprise from a big club.

We’ll start from the front and work backwards, as we first take a look at the most well-known of the quartet – Jermaine Beckford.

The 26-year-old forward has been banging the goals in for a while in the lower leagues and the Blues boss decided to take a chance when Beckford decided to run his Leeds United contract down.

With 72 goals in 126 league appearances for the Whites, the former RAC windscreen fitter blazed a trail and attracted the interest of clubs high up the league ladder.

He has signed a four-year-deal at Goodison and has already scored his first goals in a blue shirt, with a brace in a pre-season friendly against Preston North End.

He has pace to burn, he’s 6ft 2in and can finish. Whether or not his work ethic can be question is another thing as Leeds fans did notice his increased efforts against Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in last season’s FA Cup run.

Joao Silva is an exciting forward who was brought in for an undisclosed fee from Portuguese Liga de Honra side Desportivo das Aves. 

He turned 20 in May and joined the club a month later after his first season as a professional ended with him as top scorer in the Portuguese second tier with 14 goals.

He is well thought of  in his own country and Everton stole a march on the Portuguese giants Porto, Benfica and Sporting to bring him to the Premier League.

He has time to develop and he will be better judged after adjusting to the English way of life in 12 months.

Magaye Gueye is another relatively unknown forward, but has represented France at four levels below full international.

Another one with time on his side – again at 20-years-old – he was recruited by Moyes from recently relegated Strasbourg who are now in the French Championnat – the third tier.

He has also already settled in by finding the net, in the club’s recent tour of Australia scoring the second goal against Brisbane Roar.

He netted nine times in 27 appearances last season with a further three assists for Le Racing.

The final member is Slovakian number one, Jan Mucha whose arrival will hopefully provide great competition for current Everton incumbent, Tim Howard.

Mucha played in each of Repre’s four World Cup matches, as they qualified runners-up in their group and knocked out holders Italy with a 3-2 victory in the final round of games.

Eventual finalists Netherlands defeated Mucha and his Slovak team-mates in the round of 16, but Mucha showed enough to suggest he will push Howard close for a starting berth.

Yossi Benayoun has swapped Anfield for Stamford Bridge in one of the more interesting transfers of the summer.

£6m – or thereabouts – for a much-travelled 30-year-old, is a strange one. More so the fact that they let a very similar player in Joe Cole effectively move in the opposite direction for no transfer fee.

What can Benayoun offer the Blues?

Well, when Alan Pardew took him from Racing Santander to West Ham United in July 2005, he was quoted as saying the midfielder had the ability to ‘open the door when teams sit deep’.

He was pretty accurate as the Israeli scored five and assisted eight goals in his first season.

In 2006, he played against the club he would join next as West Ham were denied victory after surrendering the lead twice against Liverpool in the last FA Cup final at the Millennium Stadium.

The Reds won 3-1 on penalties – Benayoun never took a penalty.

It will be interesting to see how much football Benayoun gets under Carlo Ancelotti.

Chelsea have so much quality in their ranks at the moment, it remains to be seen where he would fit into the Italian coach’s plans.

Another acquisition signing by the Italian coach is the purchase of Sigma Olomouc defender, Tomas Kalas for a fee of around £5m.

The 17-year-old will, however, stay on loan at the Andruv Stadion for a year. Kalas was highly touted and courted by several top European clubs including Premier League rivals Arsenal, Ancelotti’s former employees AC Milan and German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen.

Wanderers manager Owen Coyle will begin his first full season in charge with two familiar players brought in.

Veteran striker Robbie Blake has joined from his old side Burnley and winger Martin Petrov also chose to stay in Lancashire after a free transfer move from Manchester City after his contract at Eastlands expired.

Blake scored a stunning volley against eventual runners-up Manchester United in Burnley’s first Premier League home game last season – a goal that rightly proved to be the winner.

After spells at Leeds United, Birmingham City and Bradford City, Blake is keen to prove that he still has something to offer the top flight.

At 34, he is definitely in the twilight of his career.

Coyle and Bolton will hope that he can roll back the years to try and push the Trotters higher than their 14th-placed finish last year.

Fellow acquisition Petrov was reportedly on trial at Everton, but was turned away after a week.

He offers pace, skill and creativity when on form and has shown that at time over the years in the five different countries he has played in.

If he retains some of that ability, he will be a snip on a free for Bolton.

Fulham’s main activity this close season has revolved around the manager’s position, with Roy Hodgson departing for the bright lights of Anfield, the Cottagers’ immediate approach for former Tottenham Hotspur boss, Martin Jol was rebuffed.

Jol has chosen to stay with the in his current incumbency – in charge of legendary Dutch side Ajax, and it has recently transpired that it would have cost Fulham an incredible amount of money in compensation to prise the former Bayern Munich, Coventry City and West Bromwich Albion player to West London.

So, former England, Mexico, Manchester City and Ivory Coast coach Sven Goran Eriksson has jumped to the top of the forecast betting odds – and indeed some bookmakers have suspended their books, assuming that he is a shoo-in.

No matter who has the reins in time for the new season, they will be taking over a side who reached the inaugural Europa League final last May and have replaced the outgoing Chris Smalling – who has signed for Manchester United for over £10m – with former Arsenal centre-half Philippe Senderos.

The Swiss star spent the second half of last season on loan to Everton where he made two league appearances.

It remains to be seen if Hodgson calls back to his former employers for a player or two, with Brede Hangeland and Danny Murphy linked in recent times.

But until there is a manager at the helm, it is common sense that all transfers in or out will be voluntarily embargoed.

Continuing the Premier League Transfers series, we move up the M1 to the Midlands where Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has made some big money signings as the Blues look to challenge for Europe…

Three players have come in during the transfer window – one who is very well-known, another relatively and a third unknown quantity.

After Joe Hart’s hugely-impressive season on loan at St Andrews last term, Manchester City decided pretty early that they wouldn’t be allowing the 25-year-old to leave for any price or a further loan spell.

That left McLeish looking for a new goalkeeper.

But, step forward Ben Foster…

Another future England prospect was available from City’s neighbours Manchester United and Birmingham agreed an fee (undisclosed, but believed to be rising to £6m) and offer the stopper a three-year deal; which he duly accepted.

Never given a chance to fully establish himself at Old Trafford, Foster will look to take this opportunity with both hands (literally) and show the form that gave him the move to United from Wrexham in the first place.

Next on the list, is the player who not all Premier League followers will be familiar with.

But once they’ve seen him, they won’t forget him!

Nikola Zigic is 6ft 7 1/2 in tall – yes, taller than Peter Crouch – and has scored goals wherever he has been.

With Serbian giants Red Star Belgrade he twice won the double and then his move to La Liga saw him first score 11 times in 32 games for Racing Santander and then the next season, a move South to Valencia for £20m.

He won the Spanish Cup in his first season there, but in all of his time at Los Che, never really settled and was only used regularly in cup competitions.

He secured a loan back to Santander last year and managed 13 goals in 18 games.

Valencia’s debt allowed Birmingham to take advantage and bring the 29-year-old to the Premier League for another fee of around £6m and help them to try and improve on the 9th-placed finish in their first season back in the top-flight.

If Zigic can settle in the Midlands, he can cause problems, obviously due to his aerial threat but also bring team-mates into the game if used in the correct way as a target man, with balls to feet and chest.

The third player is someone who McLeish advises is a “big, tall, lad, left-sided and maybe not the explosion of some wingers, but a very good footballer”.

Tall? Definitely at 6ft 2in.

Midfielder Enric Valles is a product of the Barcelona youth set-up who left as an 18-year-old for first-team football at Dutch Eredivisie side NAC Breda.

He played only five league games, but was given a trial by McLeish and after being offered a contract when his two-year deal at NAC ended, the Spaniard agreed to join.

McLeish says that Valles can control his own destiny…

“Whether he can break in, it’s up to him.

“We have given him the challenge. He was a Bosman, he’s not on Premier League wages, but a wage that gives him incentives to break into the first team.”

So, we could have a dark horse for the fantasy leagues if he can prove he’s worth the punt.