In one week the opening matches of the 2010/11 Premier League season will have taken place. Usually this is a time for fans to place under the microscope their respective clubs’ new summer signings, hoping for at least one marquee player who is going to lead the club to new glory in the forthcoming campaign.

But with the exception of (and possibly due to) free-spending Manchester City this season has largely seen the incoming transfer market as quiet as Old Trafford on a League Cup third round night. The issue was highlighted in Sunday’s Community Shield match where both of the entire starting XI’s for Manchester United and Premier League champions Chelsea were at the same clubs last season.

With La Liga’s respective top two teams making louder noises in the transfer market this summer (David Villa, Sami Khedira and the failed bid for Cesc Fabregras) it could be interpreted that the Premier League is losing ground on it’s Spanish rival.

But the good news is that the players to be welcomed to the league this season are sure to provide more quality and excitement over the next few seasons than those who have waved farewell to English shores, ensuring that the league won’t go stale and begin declining just yet.

Of those who have so far departed the league in the close season, the biggest names are Chelsea’s ageing trio of Michael Ballack, Deco, and Juliano Belletti, Arsenal duo William Gallas and Eduardo and Liverpool’s Albert Riera. In all instances it was the club’s decision to let the players move on, with the only quality player looking likely to successfully force his way out of the league being Liverpool’s unhappy Argentinian holding midfielder Javier Mascherano.

In contrast the biggest names arriving this year are largely younger exciting, energetic players. In the attack department Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez has already shown his potential in pre-season with Manchester United and at the World Cup with Mexico, while Arsenal’s 26-year-old striker Marouane Chamakh’s goals helped Bordeaux dislodge Lyon as perennial kings of the French Ligue 1. And of course Manchester City paid big bucks to lure the highly rated 24-year-old winger David Silva from Valencia.

Of the other big signings Jerome Boeteng’s performances for Germany at the World Cup defied his 21 years and could prove to be Manchester City’s best piece of summer business, while at the same competition Chelsea new boy Ramires (assuming the third party ownership malarkey is sorted out) provided a string of energetic displays for Brazil.

Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny is only 24 and although most people know less about the French defender than Carlos Tevez does about the English language, Arsene Wenger isn’t likely to spend £10 million on someone who can’t play.

Of Manchester City’s other two big name signings, Aleksandar Kolarov is just 24 and already has a couple of wonder-goals to his name and while despite being grossly overvalued, at 27-years-old Yaya Toure has at least few good seasons in him.

Other notable departures from the self-proclaimed best league in the world include Wigan’s Paul Scharner and Mario Melchiot, Sunderland captain Lorik Cana, City’s unfortunate (because of injuries, not just because he has a girl’s name) Bulgarian Valeri Bojinov and United’s untested winger Zoran Tosic. But these should be offset by the arrivals of such mid-range players as Milan Jovanovic at Liverpool, Thomas Hitzlesperger at West Ham, Nicola Zigic at Birmingham and Jermain Beckford at Everton.

It appears that the Premier League has won out this time, but the margins are fine. In a not too distant parallel universe Fabregas could have had his way, compatriot Fernando Torres following suit in doing the off-skies to Spain followed by one of Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole. Then it would certainly be a very different story.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Not so long ago a Paul Scholes interview was as rare as the words ‘excellent tackler’ being attributed to the age-defying midfielder, but those who caught yesterday’s Community Shield action on the tele would have seen the Salford-born United man spare a few moments for Sky Sports’ Geoff Shreeves as he deservedly received his Man of the Match bubbly.

In the past Scholes has famously been absent from the receiving of MOTM awards and rarely in his 16-year career have we heard any off-field remarks from the former England midfielder. But hearing Scholes yesterday reminded me that he also recently spoke out about his reasons for not accepting Fabio Capello/Franco Baldini’s offer of a return to the international scene prior to the World Cup. Two Paul Scholes interviews in a month? What next, Fergie sending the BBC a Christmas card?

Of  course I’m most likely just being optimistic as it would be fascinating to find out more about arguably the most technically gifted English footballer of his generation. But just maybe as he nears retirement Scholes has become more comfortable with the media and with a bit of luck this season he’ll providing more quotes than Harry Redknapp in a transfer window.

Nb. Excellent to see one thing hasn’t changed for Scholes this season; it took less than six minutes of the new campaign for him to commit the 6,856th awful challenge of his career, Florent Malouda the unfortunate recipient on this occasion.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

Shortly after Fabio Capello’s first post-World Cup England squad was announced for the Premier League manager-infuriating friendly against Hungary on Wednesday, the recalled Blackburn Rovers’ shot-stopper Paul Robinson announced his withdrawal from the squad and international retirement, the former England number one declaring: 

“Only now have I been able to make this decision as previously I haven’t been in contention for selection, I don’t see myself as a number three or four keeper and find that role very frustrating.”

With Manchester United defender Wes Brown subsequently adding his name to the list of fringe players declaring their retirement from international duty, the immediate talk has been directed towards Capello’s embarrassing lack of communication with his players.

But has Robinson acted too much in haste in making his decision? Regardless of the rights and wrongs of doing so, when players decide to call it a day with the national team the majority tend to release statements declaring they’ve done it to spend more time with their family and concentrate on club football (Paul Scholes, Wes Brown, Emile Heskey etc.).  

Robinson’s statement, on the other hand, suggests he’s thrown the proverbial toys out of the pram just because he’s not England’s number one.

It was by no means beyond the realms of possibility that Robinson could have reclaimed the starting jersey and been back between the frames for the 2012 European Championships. It’s no secret that England have a dearth of international quality goalkeepers at present.

With David James overlooked on the grounds of age and his decision to drop down to the Championship with Bristol City, Capello is left to choose from Joe Hart, Rob Green, Scott Carson, Chris Kirkland, Paul Rachubka, Steve Harper and Ben Foster as the only English shot-stoppers plying their trade in England’s top flight.

Of those, Hart is favorite to be between the sticks with England in two years. But with Shay Given likely to be Manchester City’s number one this season, if City refuse to allow Hart the loan move he desires the 23-year-old could find himself on the bench and out of the reckoning, à la Foster at Manchester United last season.

It’s fair to say that the uncapped duo of Newcastle’s Harper and Blackpool’s Rachubka have only a slim chance of entering Capello’s thoughts, and of Green, Carson, Kirkland and Foster none stand out above the others. Like Robinson, Carson and Green have infamous blunders to their names in their last appearance for the Three Lions.

How Green will respond to his error is yet to be seen, but although he went to the World Cup as Capello’s number one it was by no means as an outright first choice, as shown by his immediate relegation to the bench. It’s likely that Carson would need an excellent season with newly promoted West Brom to come into the reckoning.

Of the remainder Wigan’s Kirkland has yet to be called up by Capello to add to his one cap and while Foster showed good potential when on loan at Watford, his few appearances in a United shirt weren’t always impressive. This season at Birmingham is an important one for him, but with a solid season behind him at Blackburn last year it would have been an important one for Robinson too.

It’s a cliche that all goalkeepers have to be somewhat unhinged but for by far England’s most experienced in-contention goalkeeper to declare himself unavailable for the qualifying campaign of a European Championships when, at 32 years old, he will surely be in his prime seems a bizarre and potentially foolish decision.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News

I’ve been feeling this way for a while now, but haven’t had the courage to come out and say it. I know it’s only three little words, but what if it’s not reciprocated? What if I’m laughed at? The words, of course, are those that goes through my mind increasingly each time I see Chelsea play, so here they go. Lampard is quality.

Ok, so now it’s out it doesn’t seem that big a deal. Of course Frank Lampard is quality. He’s the first name on a team sheet of a squad of world class internationals and (albeit a less qualifying piece of evidence) an established England player. He combines hardwork with unquestionable class, and scores goals and provides assists more consistently than Monday follows Sunday, as anyone with him in a Fantasy Football team would concur.

Yet there’s something that has made me feel the need to blurt my feelings so publicly. Until this season, I myself was a Lampard hater. His deflected goals, his inability to play well for England, his insistence that he has the lowest body fat percentage at Chelsea – the very fact that he plays for Chelsea – all of them unforgivable.  But that was when I knew my  criticism of him didn’t matter. He probably is good, I thought, because other players say he is. And he does score a lot of a goals for a midfielder, even if they are always off ankles and arses, I would muse. But he’s Fat Frank, I don’t like him, and he’s overrated, I would conclude.

But this season my eyes have finally opened to Lampard as a truly brilliant player.  His ability to see the correct pass and execute it perfectly is second to none, and the importance of his control of the ball when receiving the two of a ‘one-two’ in and around the area cannot be overestimated.  He combines quality with the quality of being effective which evades so many others. And now that I’ve seen the light I assumed, as people do, that everyone else had been enlightened too. That was until the PFA Player of the Year awards were announced, sans Frank. Bemusing.  His own fellow professionals had finally given up on supporting their most consistent peer.

So now has come the time to admit we went too far. Saying that someone’s useless when it doesn’t make an ounce of difference to anything except winding up your Chelsea friends is fine. But when it culminates in unfairly depriving one of the country’s best players the recognition he deserves… well, it’s unfair.

This isn’t for the West Ham fans who genuinely believe they despise Lampard from the barrels of their heart, nor the one’s who pretend they do. They’re another story for another time. This is for the me’s of season’s gone, and my friend who last week said that Lampard would have to score a hat-trick in the World Cup final for him to forgive him. (“Forgive him for what?” “For being a c***”).

We’ll probably have to accept that Lampard isn’t going to use England to transform public opinion in Beckhamesque fashion. But then we don’t have to love Lampard like we love Beckham. All I ask is that we give him his dues, and admit that he’s quality.

From Soccerlens.com - Football News