By Michael Sinnerton

Students of the Game would like to apologise for its recent lack of blogging but has had huge problems with internet connection in the last few days. The situation is hopefully on the way to being resolved although at a cost, please contact sinno14@hotmail.com to make a donation (job offers may be accepted).

Anyway...this weekend has seen ‘Michael Vaughan syndrome' hit football. This little known condition occurs when people are rewarded through no fault, and certainly no success of their own.

 Case in point one: Frank Arnesen

Arnesen has been promoted to the role of ‘sporting director' at Stamford Bridge having worked as chief scout and director of youth development at Chelsea. His promotion comes on the back of less success than your average Newcastle manager. 

Youth players who have come through the club into the first team since 2005: 0

Chelsea paid Tottenham £5-8m for Arnesen and he has helped bring the likes of Mikel (not cheap) and Kalou to Chelsea but Mourinho among others have blamed him for a lack of youth development. Arnesen was also filmed "tapping-up" Middlesbrough youngster Nathan Porritt, offering him £150,000 over 3 years to join Chelsea. Another classic blunder saw Tom Taiwo and Michael Woods sign controversially from Leeds for an out of court settlement believed to be around £5m. Woods has made two substitute for Chelsea in the FA Cup and Taiwo has been loaned to Port Vale (4 appearances) and now Carlisle having had an unsuccessful trial with the Seattle Sounders.

Case in point two: Tony Adams

Adams is somewhat ludicrously being linked with the Southampton job having picked up 10 points in 16 games in charge at Portsmouth (24 points in a 38 game season). He has been unsuccessful at Wycombe (relegation in 2003) and had some vague managerial experience in Holland. Adams should go back to basics as a coach or an assistant manager before being offered a huge job like Southampton. That top players can just walk into these jobs is incredibly frustrating and very few are successful immediately (unsurprisingly).

Case in point three: Tranmere/John Barnes

This is not a story from the last week but if you don't know what's been going on at Tranmere recently you should have a quick read of Gregg Roughley's amusing article on the guardian website. For those of you with less time a quick review is that John Barnes and Jason McAteer have been appointed as the management team in a desperate attempt to draw crowds (Liverpool fans who can't afford Anfield tickets). Ronnie Moore was sacked after doing an excellent job and Barnes installed.

Barnes' managerial record makes Brian Robson look like Sir Alex Ferguson. Wonderfully unsuccessful spells at Celtic and as a presenter on Channel 5 has led the wonderful winger to Prenton Park. The omens don't look good.

by Joel Abraham

If I could hibernate until September 1st, I would. I'm utterly sick of transfer rumours: lazy journalists who make shit up, moaning players and big-mouthed managers. 

The Melo transfer saga is case in point, where one moment he wants to leave for England, then he signs a new contract with Fiorentina, then Juventus want him, then he says he wants to stay in Florence, then Juventus are about to sign him, then Fiorentina announce they're swapping him with Arsenal for Eboue, then they're swapping him with Juve for Marchionni and he's definitely signed, then Marchionni doesn't agree to it and the Arsenal move is back on, then he's a Juventus player, then BLAH BLAH BLAH and nobody cares anymore.

The way clubs and players conduct themselves over transfer issues is absolutely appalling. Why can't all parties just keep their mouths shut? What is the point of the constant 'come and get me' pleas made by players, what happens if they end up staying? Adebayor, that's what. And what do the clubs have to gain by disrespecting each other, unsettling players they're not even that keen on signing, and generally lacking even a shred of professionalism?

My general rule, with Arsenal at least, is to ignore everything until confirmation appears on Arsenal.com. Even when we actually end up signing a player we're linked with, often the transfer is so protracted that I've lost all enthusiasm by the time they sign (see: Nasri). My favourite signings are the one that come out of nowhere (like Eduardo). Who saw that one coming? What a treat!

Transfer rumours ruin the summer, and suck all the excitement out of signing a new player. Challenge yourself, see if you can go cold turkey on the rumour mills and only check your club's official website for your football news. And for god's sake stay away from Goal.com.

by Joel Abraham

A couple of months ago, Alex Ferguson said that he wouldn't sell Real Madrid a virus. £80m pounds later, Florentino Perez has sent out a message: Real Madrid always get what they want.

A new era of Galacticos is upon us after an unprecedented spending spree that doesn't look like stopping any time soon. After a being left trailing in Barca's wake last season, Los Merengues mean business, and have the financial muscle to put themselves back on top of world football. This summer's dealings beggar belief, and are the sort of antics you'd expect of someone playing Football Manager who's just discovered the data editor and have subsequently edited billions into their transfer budget. 

Perez has emphatically put Ferguson in his place. First he signs United's best player, then he signs the man they were going to replace him with, and now the other guy Ferguson wants says 'it's Madrid or nothing'. Make no mistake about it, United have been left to feed on the scraps of the Real banquet. While Perez gorges on the finest players on the planet, Ferguson is filling the titantic, Ronaldo-shaped hole in his team with Antonio Valencia and Michael Owen.

"See you at the Bernabeu"

When Real Madrid go to war, nobody is safe. As big a club as United are, no team can match Real for history, prestige and reputation. By signing Kaka and Ronaldo, Perez told the rest of the world: this is the place to be. Benzema stated one of his reasons for joining was his excitement at being part of a project that involves all the best players in the world. If Real Madrid want you, it means you're one of the best. And nobody turns them down.

On a side note, there seems likely to be a Dutch fire sale, with Huntelaar, van Nistelrooy, van der Vaart, Sneijder, Robben and Drenthe all surplus to requirements. This highlights the flip side of playing for Real - you don't have long to prove yourself, and the long list of big names who got lost in the shuffle is proof.

Real will probably topple Barca this year, and who isn't looking forward to watching Kaka and Ronaldo play together? Even if it doesn't work, the pair of them will still make bucketloads of cash for Real. Either way, Real look set to launch a serious assault on the footballing world this season.

by Joel Abraham

Eto'o to Man City? His dodgy knees and inflated transfer fees aside, this could be a good move for City. I'll stick my neck out and say that Eto'o would be a big hit in the Premier League.

Does anybody else think David Villa is overrated? He and his Spanish teammates have been less than impressive during the Confederations Cup. Villa scores hatfuls against cupcake teams in La Liga who happily sit back and let you destroy them. He's undoubtedly a talented player, but he's not a difference maker in the big games. Dani Guiza, on the other hand, would be a good bit of business. (I began writing this before Guiza vindicated me by scoring twice in the last minute against South Africa.)

The Edin Dzeko rumours look to be over. “I am staying at Wolfsburg,” Dzeko told Sky Sport 24 this morning. “But I am not happy. I would like to join Milan, but I am tied to a contract and the club have decided not to release me.” I don't usually like to engage with transfer speculation, but hopefully this means Milan will take Adebayor from us. Please. I'm begging you.

How is everybody else coping with the unbearable audio onslaught of the vuvuzelas? I'm watching my TV with the volume right down, and it still sounds like it's been infested with wasps. Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke said last year the vuvuzela would not be banned unless it was used as a weapon by fighting fans. Any ideas on how to instigate a mass vuvuzela brawl? Of course, the other way to shut them up is to do what Guiza did, and just score a couple of last-minute goals. But even that's no guarantee, as halfway through writing that sentence, Mphela scored again. Mute.

Arsenal set to make £40m Franck Ribery bid, say Goal.com. Any football fan can take one look at that and know that it's been made up on the spot. Come on, if you're going to make up transfer rumours, at least make it believable. Try "Wenger after £7m Lens striker", or "Arsenal look to snap up African starlet".

Lastly, I'd like to doff my cap to Katlego Mphela, who's brightened up this rainy Sunday afternoon and given me an extra half hour of football. Meaningless match, pointless tournament, but what a game! Extra points to Mphela for his excellent John Cena "u can't c me" goal celebration. If a player celebrates a goal next season by posing like Randy Orton, then I'll go on record here and promise them a pint. A cracking free kick by Mphela, but what a terrible wall from Spain. Why can't teams do walls properly these days?

By Michael Sinnerton

Contuinuing on from yesterdays managerial contenders this summer.....

Alan Curbishley

Bio: Obviously did a great job at Charlton but I would argue a poor job at West Ham. His supporters would say he produced countless top ten finishes whilst his detractors would argue without a little rule-breaking he would have got a very decent West Ham side relegated. Nevertheless he is very experienced in the Premiership and has been successful with promoting a relatively small job so should be a good candidate for a decent Championship club.

Value: Been out of the game long enough to come comparatively cheap.

Chance of a move: 5/10

Managerial Achievements: 6/10

Alan Irvine

Bio: Despite an erroneous Wikipedia page, Irvine is not yet the manager at West Brom. Having coached the academies at Blackburn and Newcastle and been assistant manager under David Moyes at Everton, Irvine made his first managerial steps at Preston. Joining them in a relegation battle, he was viewed as a slightly risky appointment but guided them to 15^th and last year to the play-offs despite a tiny budget. Despite Wikipedia's claims he is also not due to be Newcastle manager on the 15/07/2009. In fact his page is something of warning side for using the site as a research tool.

Value: Talented manager on the cheap

Chance of a move: 6/10 Won't mind staying, but could be tempted by a bigger budget

Managerial Achievements: 3/10

Darren Ferguson

With the most famous name in the business management promised to be a difficult choice for Darren Ferguson, but he seems to have taken it all in his stride. Whilst being in the right place at the right time, as Peterborough splash the cash, back to back promotions must owe sometimes to good management. He has done well to blend a young side into a winning one but may prefer to continue up his learning curve whilst in a relative backwater that has substantial backing.

Value: Compensation would be necessary - £1m perhaps

Chance of a move: 3/10

Managerial Achievements: 4/10

By Michael Sinnerton

It's not just the transfer market for players that's causing waves at the moment with compensation for managers being almost as hotly contested. Steve Bruce having gone for £3million, Students of the Game runs the rule over the other managerial contenders looking for moves this summer.

Tony Mowbray

Bio: The West Brom boss seems more and more likely to move, despite the reluctance of his current chairman Jeremy Pearce. Mowbray's strengths are well-known, he builds teams that are attractive to watch and on the whole successful, he has a good scouting set-up (at West Brom at least) and given a bit more financial clout may have been able to keep the baggies up last year. Any manager who's team is relegated but is still adored by the fans must be doing something right.

Value: 1-2m

Chance of a move: 8/10

Managerial Achievements: 5/10

Roberto Martinez

Bio: The current Swansea boss has been fantastic for the Swans and is another who likes his teams to play attractive passing football. I think it's great for the game that these sort of managers are moving onwards and upwards but the move to Wigan must be seen as a gamble by both sides. However, Swansea's performance in the FA Cup this season make you think that Martinez may have the tactical nous to compete with the some of the top managers in the world.

Value: 2m (Backroom staff thrown in)

Chance of a move: 9/10

Managerial Achievements: 3/10

Sven-Goran Eriksson

Bio: Most of it we know, decent job for England despite a lot of criticism although his management was style was clearly too conservative and he seemed to rely on his senior players a little too much. His spell with Mexico was also short and must be deemed a failure. At club level though his record is very good with success in Portugal, Italy and in England with Manchester City.

Value: No compensation, huge wages.

Chance of a move: 6/10 - Portsmouth

Managerial Achievements: 8/10

Aidy Boothroyd

Bio: After an injury ended his playing career at 26, Boothroyd gained a wealth of league coaching experience in a short time before being surprisingly appointed Watford manager at 34. After steering the club away from relegation, Boothroyd got the club promoted very impressible, albeit with a style of play not loved by the neutrals. After losing star striker Marlon King on the first day of the season, Watford never really stood a chance of avoiding relegation and after Watford struggled on their return to the Championship he left by mutual consent. Seems desperate to get back into management.

Value: Should come relatively cheap

Chance of a move: 5/10

Managerial Achievements 4/10

By Michael Sinnerton

With the football season seemingly in, whatever the opposite of full swing is, countries as varied as Brazil and Iraq have the chance to test their footballing might in 2010's dress rehearsal.

Like a dress rehearsal however some people will see the confederations cup as likely to be full of mistakes and not really worth watching - but with Spain, Italy and Brazil all previewing their 2010 line-ups the competition must be worth at least a sneaky peak.

The other competitors are USA (Concacaf), Iraq (Asian Cup), New Zealand (OFC Nations Cup), South Africa (Hosts), and Egypt (African Nations) - hardly the most inspiring list admittedly but several have players to watch out for. America have the seemingly poor, but actually quite decent Landon Donovan as well as the football manager legend that is Freddy Adu. Jozy Altidore is the new great hope, currently at Villarreal, and his progress could be interesting.

Egypt have a host of good players, some of whom could be making their way to the Premiership, with Mohamed Aboutrike perhaps the best known unknown at the tournament. Iraq, who have failed to qualify for the World Cup seem a relatively pointless addition, as you could say are New Zealand but the games are likely to be entertaining and free scoring with relatively little to lose all round.

All in all, any tournament that can boast Italy (the World Champions), Brazil (favourites for the next world cup) and Spain (European Champions) must be worth a watch, if only to see Fernando Torres and David Villa together.

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Strange how all the United fans who "knew Ronaldo was going to go this summer" didn't suggest spending the money generated from his sale on Tevez before...

By Michael Sinnerton

So, England v Andorra. I haven't seen a game that one sided since, well since the Champions League final actually but you get the point. Glen Johnson particularly impressed me and I was pleased to see someone other than Matthew Upson given a chance in central defence but other than that and the 3 points it was a game to gain relatively little from. I'm sure Arsene Wenger will have been delighted to see Theo Walcott play the whole 90 minutes though.

In more pressing news perhaps, Setanta seem also certain to collapse which may have dire consequences for the financial state of the game. The Premier League, with ESPN waiting to step in Setanta's grave, will be fine. The huge sums the teams gain from TV revenue may take a slight knock but in the long run should have no noticeable effect with many clubs tightening their belts anyway.

Where the impact could really be felt is in Scottish and non-league football with both the Scottish Premier League and the Conference due to suffer massive shortfalls in television deals. Unlike the Premier League, these packages seem unlikely to be picked up elsewhere due to, let's face it, a deal of apathy and a relatively small demand for the product. The FA may also suffer badly, with ITV and BBC the potential bidders for the FA Cup rights and England internationals both in some financial difficulty. This may lead to a situation where Sky can pick and choose the packages they want on the cheap. Little wonder they decided against saving Setanta with a £50million loan.

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A 2-0 win in the Faroe Islands for Serbia, whilst not exactly headline grabbing nor it must be said a particularly good performance, has put the Serbs one step closer to qualification for the World Cup. Having garnered 18 points from 7 games with their only defeat coming away to France, Serbia are now 8 points clear at the top (albeit France have two games in hand). September 9^th sees the two clash for the second time with the winner likely to progress, although Serbian victories at home to Romania (whom they beat 3-2 away) and away to Lithuania could well see them qualify regardless. With Russia hugely impressing at the Euros, Serbia could well be the next Eastern European team to take the world by storm at the 2010 World Cup.

By Michael Sinnerton

So Real Madrid come again. Or rather for the moment Florentino Perez does. The ‘Galacticos President' has signalled his intentions to Barcelona, Spain and the rest of Europe with the likely capture of Brazilian maestro Kaka. Still touted as the best player in the world by many, Kaka would likely make most people's top five despite a season out of the media spotlight of the Champions' League.

With that deal seemingly in the bag, Perez will look to have his cake and eat it too with David Silva, David Villa, Frank Ribery, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Villa all potential targets. There are many who disagree with his way of business but probably none who would call an attacking four of Ribery, Ronaldo, Kaka and Villa anything other than a massive upgrade from Robben, Guti, Raul and Higuain. I say that with respect given to particularly Arjen Robben (on his day the best player in the world) and Gonzalo Higuain (who was sensational for Real last season). Obviously Perez's transfer system comes at a huge cost to the defensive side of the team but Madrid's re-emergence as a huge spending super-power could well kick-start a huge summer of transfer activity. For the record I think Ribery may well go to Barcelona. Either way with Perez almost certain to make two or three world-class marquee signings, and treble-winners Barcelona keen to add quality to depth to a phenomenal starting XI, next year's La Liga looks set to be a cracker already.

Who do you think Real should sign?

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Quick nod to West Ham who have been new owners having been the beneficiaries of the quietest take-over bid since Marcel Marceau's appearance on Bargain Hunt. Hopefully the new owners will practice what they preach and leave the footballing matters to Nani, Clarke and Zola - I pity the fools who tipped them for relegation at Christmas. I've been a bit anti-West Ham since Tevezgate and Alan Curbishley's continued complaints about an injury-prone squad, having bought Freddie Ljungberg and Kieron Dyer, but the good football they played under Zola has more or less won me over, and it seems slightly absurd to me that Newcastle's potential buy-out has received more media attention than West Ham's actual one.

If the media keeps treating Newcastle like a big club then it will continue to feel like one, some time out of the spotlight could do the club some good, just look at the Hammers.

By Michael Sinnerton

As Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett suffer a £42.6 million loss and Premier League clubs announce a debt of £3.1bn, Students of the Game takes a look at the effect of the recession in football and whether it's causing an even bigger rift between the Premier League and the Football League. In part one I'll be focusing on the Premier League.

First things first, £3.1billion is a ridiculous amount to owe. These range from £1m (Hull), £2.3m (Stoke) and £8.9m (West Brom) to £701m (Chelsea) and £699 (Manchester United). One huge thing stands out from these figures, the three recently promoted clubs have virtually no debt whilst the top four have the four largest levels on debt. Success it seems comes at a cost.

This brings to mind the obvious question of just how unfair it is that clubs are able to go into that much debt and compete in the same league. Rugby League in this country, as well as numerous American sports, has a adopted salary cap system which allows for a much closer league. Admittedly in both cases their remain a number of teams who are stronger, have bigger budgets and are more likely to win (Leeds, St Helens in the case of the former, or Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees in baseball). However there is much more scope for upsets and on the whole the leagues are more competitive but will it ever happen in football?

Probably not, the top clubs have so much power particularly given the possibility of a European Super League which I think is unlikely in the near future but could happen with frightening speed were top clubs to take exception with domestic changes. FIFA and UEFA are attempting to limit the amount of debt a club is about to build up but for now little seems likely to change, so back to the matter at hand.

With the recession hitting Liverpool (refinancing problems) and Arsenal (falling property prices) among others and the ‘average fan' spending less in terms of going to games as well as merchandising these large debts have been brought into clearer focus than ever. Admittedly a lot of the £3.1bn is owed to clubs' chairman in the form of interest free loans (all of Chelsea's debt is in this form from Roman Abramovich and £174 of £197m is owed to Al Fayed) but according to the Guardian's latest figures only 6 of 19 Premier League clubs made profit before tax (Liverpool unknown) with Everton making a mouth-watering 26k.

Clubs are becoming wise to the recession and are beginning to introduce cheaper ticketing policies. Burnley chairman Barry Kilby, for example, has handed out 7,000 free season tickets to fans who bought their tickets before August last year - those fans will struggle to complain if Burnley go down for spending too little though. But the real problem is not the fans, or lack thereof, it's the players. A 23% increase in television money could have led to greater financial stability but exactly the same percentage rise in player wages has seen a lot of it swallowed up immediately, with Chelsea's wage bill totalling £149m.

Looking at wages as a percentage of turnover show perhaps the scariest figures with even Hull's £6.9m wages being 77% of turnover, Newcastle's wage bill of £74.6m was 74% of turnover, much good it did them. With players now the be all and end all in football, given that so much money is tied up in them, it is no wonder that managers who make mistakes in the transfer market are given shorter and shorter shrift. The stakes are just too high.