Transfer Stalemate?

Three of the longest transfer sagas this summer appear to be are winding down, with the majority of the UK media reporting that Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas and James Milner are all set to stay at their current clubs despite the tapping up efforts of Manchester City & Barcelona.

As we all know in football, nothing is certain, but it appears that the "financial heavyweights" have been priced out of moves, which is no bad thing in my opinion - I reckon all three would be making the correct decision by staying put for the forthcoming season.

Were Liverpool to have another poor season then I believe Torres should be allowed to discuss his future, but he should also be willing to throw his support behind Roy Hodgson's first campaign in charge - he's a lifelong fan of the Anfield club after all, and the whole place seems to have been lifted by Joe Cole's arrival. He should concentrate on getting himself fit and helping them challenge for the top 4 again.

If I were Cesc Fabregas, Spain's World Cup campaign would have me worried about moving to Barcelona, joining a team already packed with the talent he couldn't get past for a starting spot in the national side. I have an inkling Arsenal could have a good season ahead of them, provided they sign a keeper in the next few weeks, with him & Van Persie pushing the Gunners towards an attack on the title. Reading the papers this morning, it sounds like Barca may have got themselves in to some serious money troubles, so he's likely to stay for this season at least.

James Milner had a fantastic season with Aston Villa last year, but something about Manchester City makes me feel uneasy...I just don't see it as a place to move to if you want to develop your career at the moment, and I could see his career stalling (in a "Scott Parker at Chelsea" sort of way) if things didn't go to plan very quickly. It's probably the most likely of the three transfers still to happen, but Villa have stood firm on their valuation and at the moment it's working.

It certainly has been a quiet summer for actual transfers - we normally see huge amounts of activity after a World Cup, but I think reality has set in for many clubs and there simply isn't the money about. One big transfer in England could start the merry-go-round we're usually already on by the last week of July, but time is running out to get new signings in for the start of the season.

Talking of the start of the season, you'll all be aware that Yahoo still haven't got themselves up and running. I know Jeremy & Neal had been advised the game would kick off on Monday, but that didn't materialise despite me sitting at my laptop hitting F5 for the majority of the evening. I'm still 100% positive they will run the game this year, but I'll admit the wait is getting increasingly frustrating.

While we wait, I've set up a blog league for the Fantasy Premier League game, as I already have a team for my work leagues. It's not a patch on the Yahoo game in terms of scoring & freedom of transfers, but it's something to keep you occupied, and because it's the official game for the Premier League it's extremely well run.

Web Address: http://fantasy.premierleague.com
League Code: 101159-129333

Come on Yahoo!

Cheers,
AM 

p.s. As I finish this post, I've just read on BBC Sport that Spurs have had an offer for Scott Parker rejected ...strange move from Harry with Modric, Huddlestone, Kranjcar, Palacios, O'Hara, Sandro & even Jenas all capable of playing in centre midfield.