Deadline day of 2013 was one of the biggest yet, but will panic-buys help strengthen the resolve of Premier League strugglers?
QPR’s decision to splash out £12.5 million on Anzhi Makhachkala defender Christopher Samba has been met with skepticism from around the footballing world. Is a 28-year-old former Blackburn defender really worth that much? And is he really worth the £100,000 per week contract that he’s been signed to?
Samba was one of a number of players signed by relegation-threatened clubs to help stave off the threat of going down. Obviously, Harry Redknapp’s QPR is the richest of those clubs trying to avoid relegation, but was Tony Fernandes’s money spent wisely? Although I still believe QPR will survive under Redknapp, I’m not so sure it’s the best investment for the club at this time.
QPR also brought in Jermaine Jenas and Andros Townsend, both from Tottenham, to try and make up a four-point gap between them and safety. Only time will tell whether they can make the difference.
One player QPR didn’t sign was West Brom’s Peter Odemwingie. The controversial Nigerian wasn’t given permission to leave West Brom, yet turned up at Loftus Road in an attempt to force the club’s hand… Only to be told to leave by the QPR hierarchy. It was an awkward day after for Odemwingie, who was then told not to attend West Brom’s training session following the incident.
The Premier League also lost one of its finest assets on deadline day, with the enigmatic superstar that is Mario Balotelli leaving Manchester City for AC Milan in a £19 million deal. The Premier League thanks you for your fun, Mario.
His Manchester City team will face Liverpool this weekend, desperate to avoid dropping more points in the race for the title. A superb goalkeeping performance from QPR’s Julio Cesar single-handedly (literally, at times) kept them at bay in their midweek fixture. City is now seven points behind United with just 14 games remaining.
We’ll see the first signs of a new-look QPR outfit when they face Norwich at home this weekend. Buoyed by a goalless draw with the champion’s midweek and with new arrivals bolstering their squad, they could pick up just their third win of the season when they host the Canaries.
Arsenal showed resolve in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Wednesday night. Although they picked up a point, they found themselves 2-0 down after an hour mark and had to rely on the dynamic duo of Oliver Giroud and Theo Walcott to get them back in the match. They’ll face the gritty Stoke this weekend.
Both Everton and Aston Villa had interesting transfer deadline day’s. Everton went from signing Leroy Fer in an £8 million deal, to Alvaro Negredo in a £9 million deal, to Barnsley defender John Stones in a £3 million deal. Once again, Toffees’ fans were frustrated by a lack of funds to complete the first two aforementioned transfers. Meanwhile Villa signed Yacouba Sylla for £2 million in an attempt to keep them in the league. The two meet this weekend.
Reading is the comeback kings of the Premier League. There’s no doubting that. Just days after coming from 2-0 down to beat West Brom 3-2, they faced another two-goal deficit against Chelsea. Never fear, an Adam Le Fondre double made it 2-2 late in the match. Still, Brian McDermott will be hoping they don’t give Sunderland an early advantage this weekend.
Who knows what’s going on at Chelsea? The club is in turmoil, despite still sitting in third-place on the table. In the last month they’ve dropped 2-0 leads against Southampton and Reading, putting them a staggering 13 points off league leaders Manchester United. I can’t see Roman Abramovic accepting this too easily, so expect a summer upheaval. They face Newcastle’s French brigade this weekend.
Predictions (AEST)
Saturday February 2 at 11.45pm
QPR 2-1 Norwich
Sunday February 3 at 2.00am
Arsenal 2-0 Stoke
Everton 3-1 Aston Villa
Newcastle 1-2 Chelsea
Reading 1-1 Sunderland
West Ham 1-1 Swansea
Wigan 2-2 Southampton
Sunday February 3 at 4.30am
Fulham 0-2 Manchester United
Monday February 4 at 12.30am
West Brom 1-1 Tottenham
Monday February 4 at 3.00am
Manchester City 3-1 Liverpool
Riley Beveridge is a second-year Bachelor of Sports Journalism student at La Trobe University. You can follow him and his footballing views at his Twitter account: @RileyBev.
