Untangling the web of Manchester United's finances

Manchester United's hated owners the Glazer family.

After United's end of year financial results were published this week its time to have a proper look at the Manchester club's finances and see what is really going on...

Since the Glazers took over at Manchester United in 2005 there have been all kinds of rumours and stories doing the rounds about the financial position of the club. Time after time you hear everyone from pundits to a bloke in the pub telling doom and gloom stories about everything from the club not being able to compete for the best players, to the debt is unsustainable to United are about to go under completely.

But how much truth is there in any of this? If this is a subject that interests you and particularly if you already have any kind of background in finance and understand numbers, you may already have gravitated towards excellent sites such as the TheSwissRamble and AndersRed. Both of these bloggers have been providing updates on United's finances since the unpopular Miami based family took control of the club. They give financial analysis in great detail and use a lot of technical terms to accurately describe where the club is at from month to month.

However if finance talk is all Greek to you then from visiting sites like the above you might not be any the wiser as to what the hell is going on at Old Trafford when it comes to the money side of things. I will now try and explain the situation to you in more straight forward terms, give a bit of background as to how the club got to where it is now and what the current situation is.

Way back when this all began the Glazers took over the club in stages. They progressively increased their shareholding until they reached 30% ownership of the club that was then still listed on the London Stock Exchange. At that point they were required to launch a formal takeover of the club. A takeover means they needed to have control of over 50.1% or more of the clubs shares.

They quickly reached this target and continued buying up shares. When they reached 75% ownership of the club they were able to remove the club from the stock market and turn it into a private company. Eventually they ended up owning almost 100% of the club through further acquisitions.

Once the club was no longer publicly listed the club's new owners were no longer required to issue detailed quarterly statements giving everyone outside the club a perfect view of the dubious methods with which they bought the club.

These methods were dubious because they used a technique called a 'leveraged buyout'. This basically means they borrowed all the money to buy the club and put very little of their own in. They obtained the funds by borrowing against the value of the club. The people who lent them the money were banks and financial institutions.

As this was a pretty risky way of going about things, all the different methods of funding they obtained came with extremely high rates of interest that made the club's position at that point unsustainable. Around this time the Glazers got lucky in one sense that United were on the up and had the beginnings of one of their best ever teams on the pitch and so they were able to get away with investing very little on the playing staff.

That good luck was outweighed by the enormous misfortune of their perilous financial situation coinciding with the biggest financial meltdown the world has ever seen. This made it virtually impossible for them to refinance the toxic debts they had taken on with anything more manageable.

They did however manage to refinance what they owed in 2006, but not on quite the sort of favourable terms they needed long term. Because of the way they went about this they were able to not pay any interest during that year and used the money to fund the purchase of Owen Hargreaves, Nani and Anderson at the beginning of the 2007/08 season. Each during their debut years to varying degrees helped transform Manchester United from Premier League champions to European champions.

United's spending spree in the summer of 2007 would likely not have
happened without the debt refinance the year before.

By January 2010 United were in debt to the tune of over £700 million and the debt was still rising. Of that figure the club was liable for £500 million and the Glazers themselves around £200 million. The portion that the club's owners were liable for had the steepest interest rates of all and many questions were asked as to how they would repay what they owed.

Around the same time the club took out a bond to refinance their debts into something more stable, but the club's interest payments per year were still around the £50 million a year mark (although believe it or not that was a great improvement on what they had been paying out).

Towards the end of 2010 the Glazers mysteriously found the cash to pay their debts off without ever explaining where they got the money from when all their other businesses were struggling. The next activity of any significance on the finance front was when the owners sold 10% of the club on the New York Stock Exchange in 2012.

Manchester United's debt history up to March 2012.The level of borrowing
has since fallen further.

This was a watered down version of a plan to sell a much larger amount on either the Hong Kong or Singapore Stock Exchanges which was abandoned due to insufficient interest. Despite much negative commentary on the New York launch the club's share price has consistently traded above it's initial launch value.

This sale of shares created further negative press for the Glazers as only half of the money raised went towards clearing the club's debts. The rest went to the Glazers personally .In 2013 the club have refinanced some of their debt yet again. This time around half of the bond was paid off and the debt moved to a loan with a lower rate of interest.

The value of the club's debt now stands at around £390 million. This may sound a lot but it has actually come down a huge amount and is now less than what the club's gross earnings will be from next year (gross earnings are the funds the club makes before expenses are taken into account. When these expenses are deducted the final figure is the club's net earnings).

To put that into terms you can relate to your own life, if you earned £30,000 a year and your mortgage was £29,000 a year you would be feeling pretty pleased with yourself.

The club made gross earnings of around £360 million this year. Next year that figure is forecast to grow to around £430 million. This is because the club has negotiated several big new deals that start next year, the largest of which is their record breaking shirt sponsorship deal with American car company Chevrolet.

American owners and the latest American
shirt sponsor for the Reds, this one a
world record breaking one.

This might still all sound bewildering even in simple terms, but if you want me to really cut to the chase the main number you need to pay attention is what the club has left after it's expenses are deducted from it's revenue. This financial year that figure was around £110 million. From that number the club must deduct the cost of it's interest payments, the cost of it's player purchases and a few other smaller items.

Based on this year's numbers that would have given the club around £30 million for player transfers, but this figure will rise significantly next season. The club's interest bill will drop from the £70 million it paid this year (£50 million was the regular interest, £20 million was refinancing costs) to £30 million a year or less. With the club's gross earnings also projected to rise by around £70 million that should give the club around £100 burning a hole in their pocket come the end of this financial year for player purchases

But that's not the end of the story. The club will also benefit from the increased TV money that all the teams will getting their hands on when the Premier League overseas coverage income increases in a couple of years time. Their shirt sponsorship deal with Nike is also due for renewal soon and the club will be looking for something that eclipses the 600 million Euros world record breaking deal that Nike recently agreed with the French national side. Such a figure would be more than double than what United are currently getting from the Oregon based sportswear manufacturer.

The real question for Manchester United fans now is not if the club will make enough money to compete with the very best, but whether the Glazers will allow them to. If they have any kind of business sense at all they will appreciate that only continued on field success and glamour signings will allow them keep generating the levels of commercial revenue they are currently getting.

They should also keep in mind the extremely favourable Champions League prize money arrangement they have with UEFA that saw them make more money as runners up to Barcelona in 2011 that the Spanish winners themselves. The current squad is nowhere near good enough for United to lift another European crown to give the club a further £50 million prize money boost and further player investment will be required to achieve this.

With the financial monkey almost off the club's back for the foreseeable future the true intentions of the club's hated American owners may now finally come to the fore...

Five Premier League strikers who we never saw the best of through injuries:

Torres has continued to win silverware despite a drop in
his own form.

Fernando Torres: He's still playing so there is a chance that he may recapture some of his former glory but the best days of the once unstoppable ex Liverpool and current Chelsea striker seem well behind him. He made his début for the Merseysiders on 11th August 2007 and for the first couple of seasons in England he was absolutely electric

Accolade after accolade followed. He was the first Liverpool player to score twenty league goals in a season since Robbie Fowler, he was Liverpool's top scorer with twenty nine goals in his first season (beating Michael Owen's tally for the reds) and was named in the top fifty Liverpool players ever at the end of his first season with the club. By the end of the following season his tally stood at fifty goals in just 84 appearances since arriving in the UK.

Added to this fine club form was a European Championship title with Spain and the 2010 World Cup was also looming, a tournament that his home nation Spain were clear favourites for. However the warning signs were already there that injuries were catching up with him.

Fernando had a number of absences from the Liverpool side due to hamstring injuries of varying severity around that time and in the run up to the the World Cup he underwent knee surgery on 18th April 2010. He was selected for the Spain side anyway during their group games but the fizz and sparkle appeared to be missing from his game. Many at the time assumed he was just lacking fitness as he featured less and less for the Spanish national side as the tournament progressed. He came on as a 105th minute substitute in the final (a game which Spain would go on to win) but his status as Spain's undisputed number nine had taken bit of a dip.

His form for Liverpool thereafter showed patches of the old Torres but he never recaptured his best form again. A £50 million transfer to Chelsea seemed to weigh down on already tired looking legs even further. Whether it was the injuries that taken the edge from him or a lack of confidence is still unclear and despite continuing to win silverware at both club and international level he is currently a shadow of the once fearsome striker that terrified opposition defences up and down the land.

Van Nistelrooy often carried an average United side after
the turn of the millennium.

Ruud Van Nistelrooy: Holland's Ruud Van Nistelrooy managed to maintain a fine goal scoring record through much of his career despite suffering a string of serious knee injuries that robbed him of a great deal of his mobility and on more than one occasion almost ended his career.

Starting off as a central midfielder at youth level before being converted into a striker he began in the Dutch second division with Den Bosch before moving first to Heerenveen then to PSV Eindhoven. In his début season for PSV he finished top scorer in the Netherlands and second league top scorer Europe wide. He was on the cusp of signing for Manchester United in the summer of 2000 before the deal was called off because of concerns over his knee. Days later it failed during a training session and the deal was off.

Sir Alex Ferguson had promised Van Nistelrooy that if the Dutchman made a full recovery he would come back in the for him. When Van Nistelrooy happily did the deal was finally agreed in April 2001. The next few years of playing for Manchester United were the best of his career. He combined the lethal finishing of a classic number nine with the strength and mobility of a deep lying centre forward.

However he missed much of the 2004-05 season after suffering another serious knee injury. Upon his return, whilst still knowing where the net was he became much more a penalty box type of player. After his famous bust up with Sir Alex in 2006 he was sold to Real Madrid and had something of a rebirth in Spain. He finished as top scorer in his first season in La Liga but thereafter he suffered yet another knee injury and during subsequent spells with Hamburg and Malaga he was a shadow of his former self.

David Hirst could have been an England great.

David Hirst: A man somewhat forgotten by the history books today but in the early 1990's he was held in the same regard as the young Alan Shearer. He burst onto the scene with Sheffield Wednesday scoring 32 times during the Owl's successful promotion charge back to the top flight of English football.

International recognition came shortly afterwards with a début 45 minutes for England against Australia. A taste of what might have been came when he was paired with Shearer for a friendly against France. With Gary Lineker out injured the duo in the short term at least were battling it out for a chance to partner the England legend during Euro '92, but in the long term were being touted as the future of English football.

Many, including former England manager Bobby Robson felt Hirst was in pole position to nail down a place in the starting line up and become his country's main man into the middle of the decade but before half time against the French, Shearer scored and was chosen to partner Lineker. Hirst never played for England again.

Through this period Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was also interested in the Yorkshireman and had made numerous attempts to sign him. With little progress being made on the deal the Scot eventually signed Eric Cantona instead and the rest is history.

Later in 1992 Hirst suffered a severe ankle injury during a game with Arsenal and it marked the beginning of a period over the next five years where he was rarely available for selection by Sheffield Wednesday. He was sold to Southampton for the 1997/98 season and enjoyed a brief return to form before the injuries set in once more. He retired from the game aged 32 in January 2000 on the advice of his doctors.

A young Fowler in Liverpool colours.

Robbie Fowler: At his peak Robbie Fowler was the most lethal finisher in the Premier League. He wasn't quick, he wasn't big and he wasn't strong, but what he did have were lightning reflexes, exceptional positional sense and a fearless cocky style that bred dead eye finishing, second to none when given a sniff of goal.

He made his début in the first leg of a league cup game against Fulham in 1993 and in the return leg at Anfield stunned everyone by scoring all five of Liverpool's goals in a hammering of the west London side. He scored a 4 minute hat trick against a fearsome Arsenal defence in August 1994 and scored 30 goals or more across all competitions for three consecutive seasons for the reds.

His golden period started to draw to a close with the emergence of Michael Owen during the 1997/98 season. Whilst for a time the pairing won silverware and started regularly together his individual goal scoring rate slowed and eventually he requested a transfer, joining Leeds United in the Autumn of 2001.

He started off reasonably well in Yorkshire, but the following season a long standing hip injury began to affect his form and despite maintaining a respectable goal scoring rate it looked as though he has lost some of his cutting edge.

He was sold to Manchester City at the start of the 2002/03 season and suffered from patchy form for most of his time there. He did manage to score in the Manchester derby though before eventually being sold back to Liverpool in January 2006 where he spent the remainder of his top flight career in football.

By the time Owen was at Manchester United his best years
were behind him.

Michael Owen: Michael Owen was a teenage prodigy who exploded onto the scene in even more dramatic fashion than Robbie Fowler before him. He made his Liverpool début aged just seventeen on 6th May 1997 against Wimbledon. He was the stand out player in a drab game that conceded the title to arch rivals Manchester United.

He was famed for being a goal poacher of the highest order throughout his career, but early on he also had electric pace that allowed him to beat most offside traps and tear through on goal with ease. He won the Premier League golden boot during his first full season in 1997/98 and retained it the following season.

During the summer of 1998 he also went to the World Cup with England and played an increasingly prominent role for the Three Lions. In England's last sixteen match with hated rivals Argentina he scored one of the most iconic goals in the history of the national side and caught the attention of many round the world.

Despite scoring a further brace of goals the following league season a turning point in his career came on 12th April 1999. During a game against Leeds United he suffered a serious hamstring injury that dramatically reduced his pace over short distances. Owen later blamed this on too many big games too young and after the injury he fell back on being more of a goal poacher than springing offside traps from the half way line.

His form was still sufficient to get him a move to Real Madrid at the start of the 2004/05 season but he was never a regular starter. His time in Spain was brief and the following season he was back in England playing for Newcastle. He showed flashes of the old Michael Owen but around this point in his career he began to become seriously weighed down by injuries. He arrived at the 2006 World Cup not fully fit and suffered a serious knee injury during a group game with Sweden.

He was never the same after that despite soldiering on with first Newcastle then later as a bit part player with Manchester United.

The age old Scholes v Gerrard debate is revived again on Monday Night Football.

The age old debate of Scholes v Gerrard started up again last night on MNF.

Those of you who watched Sky Sports' Monday Night Football show last night may have been amused to have observed the progressively escalating exchange between the pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher near the end of the show. They were asked the question via Twitter of who was the better player out of Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Manchester United's Paul Scholes. Predictably Carragher backed Gerrard and Neville backed Scholes. Both thouugh raised some interesting points and approached the question from different angles. Carragher rated both Gerrard and Lampard above Scholes on the basis that they have both scored more goals in big games for their club than Scholes.

Neville took the approach of saying that he rated all three highly and didn't like to make comparisons between three different types of players. I think at this point the former Manchester United full back hit the nail on the head. Although they all play in central midfield they are all so different in playing style that comparing them is almost as glib as suggesting Didier Drogba is a better player than Petr Cech because he scored more goals during his career than him.

Liverpool's main man, Steven Gerrard.

At his peak Gerrard was a box to box midfield player with a fantastic engine on him. He was a brilliant leader and captain who could play on either wing if required, get his foot in and defend. He had a decent range of passing and could always be relied upon to give 100%. In short he was what the classical English model suggests that the perfect central midfield player should be all about.

Lampard is an out and out goal scoring midfielder. He has consistently displayed an ability to arrive late from midfield and get on the end things throughout his career and both the number of goals he has scored and the regularity with which he has scored them is testament to that. He is also something of a dead ball specialist who can strike a mean free kick and can usually be relied upon to bury any penalties that he is asked to take.

Scholes meanwhile started out life as something of a poor man's Eric Cantona in the eyes of many. He played the role of support striker during Cantona's lengthy ban in 1995 for assaulting a fan, then reprised this role for a time after Cantona's shock decision to retire. He really began to stand out though as a central midfielder alongside Roy Keane, where he combined an ability to score goals with an excellent range of passing. Unlike both Lampard and particularly Gerrard he has never had a great engine on him and whilst he has never shied away from the physical element of the game it has been clear almost from the beginning that tackling is not a part of his makeup as a footballer.

Xavi and Messi have both publically stated their admiration for Scholes.

If comparisons are to be made between Gerrard and anyone in the Manchester United midfield of recent years it should be Roy Keane. Both players are regarded as the Captain Fantastic of their team. The man others look to when times are hard. In Gerrard's case it was through individual brilliance. On balance Gerrard is probably the more skillful of the two and has popped up on more occasions to win games through his own skill then Keane did.

Roy Keane's standard axe murderer expression probably
won United as many games as his footballing ability.

Roy Keane however, whilst a very talented midfielder himself was raised from the bracket of simply very good to great by sheer force of personality. People were scared of him, even his own team mates. His ranting and raving on the pitch galvanised United and turned as many draws into wins as Cantona popping up for the only goal off a another 1-0 game or Schmeichel pulling of a string of wonder saves to keep United in it when they were under the kosh.

Both of them will be remembered as players who won games of the up most importance to their teams (Gerrard in the 2005 Champions League final and Keane the 1999 Champions League semi final for example) and both have been greats of the Premier League who would have made it into almost any team ever. The debate on who is better out of those two could go on forever, but it is a much more meaningful one than comparing Gerrard with Scholes.

I also felt that whilst perhaps not trying to deliberately mislead people listening to the debate, Jamie Carragher still presented a few other facts to support his argument that do not take some critical factors into consideration.

The first one was around Scholes being shunted to the left wing during the Eriksson era to make way for the Lampard/Gerrard pairing in central midfield. Why, he asked if Scholes was so good was he demoted to the left wing, a position he rarely if ever played for Manchester United to make way for Gerrard and Lampard? Neville countered with his belief that it was the easy decision to take. Lampard's style isn't really suited to playing left wing and his goal threat could not be sacrificed in a team already over reliant on the goals of Owen and Rooney. This left it as a straight choice between Scholes and Gerrard.

Neither Beckham, Lampard, Gerrard or Scholes came out of "The Golden Generation"
period with much credit whilst playing for England.

Towards the middle period of the Eriksson era and onwards England progressively started moving away from playing chalk on boots type wingers, instead playing with a more compact midfield four. Beckham, always lacking in pace had almost completely abandoned going past people in favour of turning the play inwards by that point in his career.

When Gerrard played on the wing for England in his younger days he played much more in the manner of a traditional wide man, going past people and whipping the ball in. In a four man midfield playing against technically superior foreign sides, often playing with an extra man in there that sort of player had become more of a liability than an asset out wide. Trying to take people on by yourself makes you more likely to lose the ball and get caught out of position, leaving your team mates in 5 v 3 situation. Scholes therefore was seen as the best bet playing wide left out of the three in that sort of system and it was hoped he would provide something of a butterfly effect to Beckham's presence on the right.

Over the past thirty years England have tried playing all manner of people out on the left for tactical reasons. During the course of their careers the three most talented English midfielders in recent decades, Glenn Hoddle, Paul Gascoigne as well as Paul Scholes have all been tried out there to make way for technically inferior players in the middle of the park.

Veron never really settled in England for various reasons.

The other argument Carragher made was questioning why Ferguson felt the need to buy Veron if Scholes was so good. This statement overlooks several key points that need considering. The first is, at the time Veron was purchased Scholes was still playing much further forward than he has done in recent years. In his 20's he was a reliable source of goals and often spent more time on the edge of the opposition penalty area than further back down the pitch assisting Keane.

Veron was bought to play deeper than that and sit in there with the Irishman spraying the ball around in a five man midfield. This configuration was something quite new to Fergie who at the time still largely favoured a counter attacking style of play with two quick wingers. The venerable old system continued to work with great effect in the Premier League but the Scot had come to realise that it was not going to have the same effect in Europe against the best teams.

Despite having some good games in the Champions League for Manchester United that have seemingly been forgotten by most people, Veron's stay with Ferguson's men is now remembered as failure. That was partly because United's initial attempts at playing a modern possession game were spoiled by a lack of fluidity in forward positions at times. It was only really with the arrival of Carlos Queiroz that this element began to be ironed out of United's European performances, but that came too late to assist the South American.

Whilst United's inability to find a system that got the best from him did not help Veron, the main thing that sealed his fate was that in the Premier League when they were still mainly playing a straightforward 4-4-2, Ferguson almost always selected Scholes over Veron for the big games.

Its no when surprise looking at Gerrard and Scholes different styles that Gerrard is held in higher regard in the UK, but Scholes on the continent. He and Rooney are the only England international of the last fifteen years or so that can play a continental type possession game convincingly.

The two English players of recent times you most often hear praised
by foreign players and coaches are Rooney and Scholes.

This debate will likely continue to rumble on for many years yet but it would be wiser to appreciate both Scholes and Gerrard for the very different things that they both are rather than constantly trying to compare them to each other...

The good, the bad and the indifferent. How have the Premier League teams got on so far this season?

The  Good: Arsenal, Liverpool, Stoke, Newcastle, Everton, Tottenham, Cardiff

Arsenal: Before the season began question marks were once again being asked as to what exactly it is that goes on inside Arsene Wenger's head these days. The non reactionary element of their fan base have appreciated that he has had to work within financial constraints whilst the cost of The Emirates has been paid off, however recent Arsenal teams have looked unbalanced. Too many skill players, with a weak defence and goalkeeper. Since Robin Van Persie's departure you could also add to that a lack of goal threat.

Giroud has gone off like a train this year.

As the season has got going though Arsenal started brightly with Giroud leading the way for them before the club stunned everyone by bringing in Ozil. This is probably the closest they have looked to a decent side in the past three seasons or so and their fans will be hoping they can continue this through the Christmas period and beyond their traditional spring time collapse.

Sturridge is finally living up to his potential in a
Liverpool shirt.

Liverpool: Brendan Rodgers strikes me as the real deal as a manager. He seems to have good man management skills, an eye for a good player and be able to get a good mix together in his teams, which play slick passing football. This is the most dangerous Liverpool have looked as an attacking force since their golden period of a few years back when Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso were lighting up the Premier League.

All the signings they have brought in this summer look to have improved them and Daniel Sturridge has continued his goal scoring run that he began late last season. Add to that Suarez will soon be available again and Liverpool are definitely going to be up there this season. They still look a bit light on numbers though to maintain a title charge through the winter so they may buy again in January.

Stoke: The Stoke fans don't like him but Mark Hughes seems to have got them going again after a dreadful run of results last season almost saw them relegated. There is no doubting Hughes' record as a manager though. He has been a success everywhere he has been apart from perhaps Manchester City and even then given more time he may have succeeded.

Steven N'Zonzi is Stoke's stand out footballer.

Stoke look to have recovered the tough, physical element of their game that made the Britannia a place all teams dreaded going to, but added some good football to their side as well. Jermaine Pennant can still turn it on every now and again, plus they also have Steven N'zonzi, Charlie Adam, Jonathan Walters and Matthew Etherington who are all good footballers so getting the ball down and playing should never have been an issue for them.

Ben Arfa in action for Newcastle.

Newcastle: They had a bad run of injuries last year that affected their form but when everyone is fit and playing well they are a good side. The problem is that when people are missing or out of form they look like relegation fodder and have never really replaced the goals that the Ba/Cisse combination was delivering at one point a few years back. It remains to be seen whether they can maintain this good run therefore.


Everton: Despite losing Fellani to Manchester United, Everton came out of the summer transfer window pretty well all things considered. They managed to get Gareth Barry in on loan from Manchester City who has made an instant impact and they also managed to keep hold of the much sought after Leighton Baines. Despite losing Victor Anichebe to West Brom they have gained Romelu Lukaku on loan for the season.

Martinez has finally got his chance with a bigger club.

He has the potential to get twenty plus league goals this season, particularly if he starts getting on the end of some Leighton Baines crosses. Roberto Martinez looks to be the right man for the job so far, maintaining the defensive excellence of the David Moyes era and adding to that his own brand of attacking football.

Christian Eriksen had a great debut for Spurs.

Tottenham: After losing Modric and Bale in successive seasons and with a squad that was already small and patchy compared to their top four rivals, there was a real danger Spurs might lose all the momentum they had gained over the previous few seasons and slip back down into mediocrity.

Between them though AVB and chairman Daniel Levy have been magnificent this transfer window, bringing in a clutch of players in record time and not getting fleeced whilst doing so. Christian Eriksen already looks like being the steal of the season and all their other signings have had a good start too. I'm not sure Soldado will justify his price tag from what I have seen so far but goalscorers usually come at a premium price no matter how good they are.

Cardiff: The Welshmen are safely tucked away in mid table with a solid five points gained so far and its fair to say Cardiff have thus far outstripped expectations. They have played some free flowing attacking football and managed a famous victory against the mighty Manchester City and their team of megastars.

Cardiff fans can be satisfied with their team's start.

Like fierce rivals Swansea they play a fearless brand of football that often works because they throw caution to the wind and go for the throat of rivals where other teams may not out of respect for their reputation. South Wales was already a tough place to visit with just one Welsh team in the Premier League, but with Cardiff's arrival it has got even worse.

The Bad: Sunderland, West Brom, Swansea, Fulham, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace

Sunderland: The team from the north east have brought in a lot of players this summer (perhaps too many in too short a time period) and have allowed one of their brightest lights in Stephane Sessegnon to join West Brom. At this early stage of the season they are exhibiting all the signs of a team that are facing a long season looking over their shoulder.

The jury is still out on Di Canio at Sunderland.

Sunderland's problem stems from the fact that a few seasons ago they were able to boast a strike trio of Danny Welbeck, Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan and have never replaced their goals. They also weren't helped by the fact that they all left at roughly the same time leaving the club with little time to get replacements in. They have continued to play well at times and have had some good players, but if you can't put the ball in the back of the net that won't do you any good.

West Brom: Another team that is right down the bottom of the table because of an inability to score goals, although their issues in this department are not as long standing as Sunderland's. Last season the goals of Romelu Lukaku and Shane Long had the Baggies as high as third place at one point, but this season the goals have not been as forthcoming. Loanee Lukaku has moved on and new boys Anelka, Anichebe and Sessegnon have not yet delivered for varying reasons.

Lukaku's goals will be in an Everton shirt this season.

They will probably have enough about them to escape relegation once they get a bit of momentum going but at present it doesn't look as though they have enough in the tank to replicate the highs of last season.

Swansea: Perhaps it is a little harsh to say Swansea have been awful this season. They have had a difficult start playing Manchester United and Tottenham in their first three games with Liverpool their opponents for the fourth, however they are still in the relegation zone with just three points. Manchester United were dreadful against them for large periods of their season opener yet were still able to soundly beat them at home.

Michu is still looking to recapture last season's form.

With Michu always looking unlikely to repeat his heroics of last season it is difficult looking at Swansea this syear to see enough goals in the team for them to have as comfortable time of it as they did last year. They should be good enough to easily avoid relegation but mid table obscurity will feel like a climb down after the cup silverware and league heights of last year.

Fulham: Mohamed Al Fayed finally ended his long association with the club over the summer and sold them to Pakistani-American Shahid Khan who ratcheted up expectations by stating he wanted to take the club forward. They have brought in big names Scott Parker and Darren Bent but have not yet really set the league on fire.

Darren Bent is a man desperately in need of a good season.

They aren't getting the goals they should be doing right now from Berbatov, Rodallega and Ruiz and they are a team without a great deal of pace in the side. They try to go through the middle a lot and if it isn't really happening on the day for them they don't look like they have a plan B.

Aston Villa: After their opening day win against Arsenal it looked like Villa were all set for a decent season after the relegation nightmare of last time out. Paul Lambert continues to rely on youth and more importantly the goals of Benteke, but if he gets injured or the goals dry up for any reason then I would fancy Villa as being relegation candidates by the new year.

Benteke has started this season as he finished the last one.

They have reverted to a similar counter attacking style under the Scot that Martin O'Neill was so fond of. When it works it serves them really well as they are able to quickly get the ball to the feet of the mobile Benteke, but it is hard to play at that kind of tempo every week, particularly against the stronger teams in the league. They don't look like they have brought in enough quality to make the step up to being a mid table team and there is the very real question of what they will do when their Belgian main man inevitably moves on next season.

Ian Holloway will be hoping Palace last longer in
the Premier League than Blackpool did.

Crystal Palace: They have played reasonably well so far in all their games this season, but they look like a typical Holloway side. They are too open at times and not tight enough at the back to survive into a second season in the Premier League.

Added to this that they have never lasted more than one season in any of their previous stays in the current incarnation of the top flight of English football and you have to wonder whether they have enough in the locker this time around to break that pattern.




The Indifferent: West Ham, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Hull, Norwich, Southampton

West Ham: They have Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing out injured at the minute which is most definitely contributing to their goal drought, but despite that they are still clear of the relegation zone and looking as solid and tough to beat as you would expect from any Sam Allardyce side.

Despite not scoring many goals, West Ham under
Big Sam have looked dogged and determined.

It is unlikely that there will be much more transfer activity after the club's big outlay on recent signings
so if they are going to have a decent season it will have to be with what they currently have available. The West Ham owners, whilst not universally popular are not like Blackburn's owners. They brought Big Sam in to steady the ship and keep West Ham in the Premier League and barring an unlikely collapse in form he will be at West Ham for a fair while yet.

Manchester United: Without Fergie's magic wand getting United twenty points a season and after their disastrous summer transfer activity, many (including a lot of their own fans) were questioning whether the Red Devils had enough about them still to retain their title.

Van Persie has struggled for service at times this season.

So far this season they have looked excellent at the back, with David De Gea shaping up for another good campaign and Michael Carrick sat in front of the back four offering his usual calm protection. However the midfield has once again looked weak and as a consequence Robin Van Persie has been feeding on scraps a lot of the time. Wayne Rooney's absence due to injury and the merry-go-round of his doomed transfer to Chelsea robbed the team of further creativity. However since his gradual reintroduction into the side and the arrival of Fellani from Everton they have shown flashes of getting back to their best but are still lacking at least one creative midfielder to make them into the finished article.

When Silva plays well, City play well.

Manchester City: Another summer, another new manager and another load of money spent on attacking players. When they are on form they are flying but when they aren't it looks as though Pellegrini doesn't know his best side yet.

Also, Vincent Kompany and Zabaleta aside they don't look strong enough or even particularly well organised at the back. The other issue they have is if you throw enough money at it anyone can get a good first team together, the skill in management comes in succeeding at putting together a strong squad with the right balance of big name players and hungry youngsters who can still get the job done. Failing to do just that was in part what undid Roberto Mancini during his time at the Ethiad and it will be how his Chilean replacement succeeds in this task that will decide whether he survives as the latest person in the managerial hot seat at City.

Chelsea: Like rivals Arsenal, City and United, Mourinho's men so far this season look like they are missing an ingredient to be considered run away favourites for the title. Whilst looking strong at the back and having an abundance of great midfield players they don't look like they have enough goals in them at the minute.

"The Happy One" won't be that happy with his strikers so far this season.

They got a lot from midfield last year but Lampard isn't getting any younger and Hazard and Mata are yet to really get going this season. With Lukaku and Moses out on loan and Torres and Ba misfiring the bringing in of Samuel Eto'o looked like a slightly desperate move, something we aren't used to seeing from The Special One. The Cameroon striker at 32 looks like his best years are already behind him and fans of the blues will be watching on hoping he still manages to weigh in with a few important goals.

Hull: Since their promotion to the Premier League Hull City have spent a lot of money in an attempt to beat the drop at the end of the season. Danny Graham will get goals for them but he won't be able to keep them up single handedly.

Danny Graham brings a proven Premier League goal threat.

So far they have given a reasonable account of themselves but whether they make into a second season of Premier League football is largely going to depend on how they are affected by injuries and how the teams around them get on this season.

Norwich: The Norfolk men have brought in some good players this summer. Johan Elmander was a skilful if not exactly prolific striker during his time with Bolton and Ricky Van Wolfswinkle was being touted not so long ago as one of the hottest prospects in Europe. Javier Garrido's loan move from Lazio being made permanent is also a boost as is the arrival of Martin Olsson from Blackburn.

New comer Ricky Van Wolfswinkle will be hoping to maintain his
goalscoring form.

With those players now on the books expectations have perhaps been raised around Carrow Road and as a result four points from twelve may be considered a disappointment. After their close call with relegation last season though, The Canaries currently sitting in 14th place in the league can be considered a fair return for their efforts.

Southampton: Their form thus far this season has been a little patchy, however for a side that were only promoted last season they look well on the road to becoming an established Premier League outfit. The big question mark for sides fighting to stay in the league is always around whether they will score enough goals.

After a career in the lower leagues, Ricky Lambert is currently Southampton
and England's main man.

Now that Osvaldo and Wanyama have arrived to help shoulder the goalscoring burden with Ricky Lambert they have been creating enough chances so far this season to indicate that they will. Some Saints fans though have questioned whether Osvaldo and Lambert will form a good partnership together from the evidence of what they have seen on the pitch so far. If they do Southampton should easily avoid the drop.

Is Wayne Rooney the same player he was five years ago?

Wayne Rooney has come in for an enormous amount of criticism recently from Manchester United fans. He is perceived as selfish. disloyal, lazy and most of all not the same player that he once was. But how fair an appraisal of the Wayne Rooney of 2013 is that and how does the Rooney of today compare to the one that was integral part of Manchester United's victorious Champions League of 2008?

Well lets look at the first three points first of all. Much of this viewpoint comes from Rooney's original transfer request made in 2010 when rumour had it he was angling for a move to Manchester City. He publicly questioned the ambition of the club's owners, the Glazer family and whether they would be willing to invest the kind of money required to rebuild a team that was a little past it's peak with players of the calibre his talent deserved.

Unlike when both Ronaldo and Tevez were allowed to leave the club, where excuses could be found for their departure that the Manchester United fans would at least partially accept, with Rooney it was clear that if he were allowed to leave and join the club's rivals and neighbours that this would be perceived as the footballing equivalent of having their credit rating downgraded. It would signify that United were no longer in the top bracket of European teams and were now a selling club.

Sir Alex Ferguson refused to allow the sale under any circumstances and Rooney came out of the deal with his weekly wage more than doubled  and his relationship with Ferguson supposedly still intact. Since that incident however there has definitely been a cooling of the things between the two. In some quarters people (and that seemed to include Sir Alex) were starting to view Rooney as becoming complacent.

He was on an enormous wage and playing during a period when United, burdened by severe financial difficulties were not bringing in the sort of players who could threaten his place in the starting line up. For a time he had become indispensable to the club.

The effect of this alleged complacency on his form was made worse by a string of injuries. After breaking his metatarsal right before the 2006 World Cup, he then damaged his ankle in United's Champions League quarter final against Bayern Munich during the 2009-10 season. As the saga around his transfer request was being handled Rooney was then shipped out to Nike's training complex in Portland, Oregan to recover his fitness and missed a sizable chunk of the season as a result.

Then more recently Rooney has been dropped on occasion due to distractions in his personal life as well as missing a number of games last season after sustaining a nasty gash on his thigh that was serious enough to risk permanent damage to his leg. Even before that happened, during United's first game of the 2012-13 season away against Everton he looked short of fitness and questions were asked by the fans as to what he had been up to all summer to look so out of shape. That campaign was definitely Rooney's worst for United to date and his omission from the starting line up of the Champions League tie against Real Madrid just about summed up how far his stock had fallen. Van Persie was now the main man and Rooney had the hump about it.

Since that time the whole issue of his future does not seem to have been handled well. Ferguson made life very difficult for the striker during one of his last interviews as manager by stating that Rooney's fall from grace was down to a lack of effort on his part.

To an outsider looking in, the best thing Rooney could have done at that point was admit that Ferguson was right about him not having a great season then get his head down and get on with things. Instead he very publicly tried to manoeuvre for a transfer Chelsea which he should have been smart enough to realise was never going to happen.

On his return to the side against Crystal Palace at Old Trafford yesterday after another injury (this time to the head) he seemed to be a little more at ease with playing for United again, perhaps sensing that more of the crowd were on his side than not. It seems likely that he will now remain a United player for the next 12 months or so at least.

But what about the last allegation, that Rooney is no longer the player he once was? Well there may well be some truth in this. The explosive pace he once had is no longer a part of his game. However neither are the succession of petty yellow and red cards he accumulated during his earlier career as on the football pitch at least he is now much calmer and wiser than he was in the past.

Rooney's best position these days is as a link man between the midfield and Van Persie. Here is physical presence, willingness to put his foot in and fantastic range and vision of passing still makes him an asset most teams would rather have than face. His lack of pace is less exposed when playing as a link man and he is protected from the ravages of playing as a lone target man, a role that natural athletes like Ronaldo and Van Persie seem to manage with ease, but appeared to take a lot more out of Rooney....

Premier League gameweek 4:

The Premier League is back after the international break and after a completely crazy transfer window where a record £620 million pounds was spent by the league's clubs on players. Tottenham bought everyone, it looked like until the final few minutes that Manchester United weren't going to buy anyone and Arsenal shocked everyone by signing Mezut Ozil and completely shattering their own transfer record in the process. With question marks hanging over just about all the teams in the league, it was a relief to get the action back on to see how everything would shake down:

Manchester United v Crystal Palace:

Rooney had a good game for Manchester United
despite the head wound.

Manchester United continued their start to the season, looking solid and hard to beat under new manager David Moyes, but uncomfortable in possession and unable to provide enough quality service to main man Robin Van Persie. The return of Wayne Rooney, equipped with some Robocop head gear to protect his injured bonce after Phil Jones tried to kick it off during training made a difference though. Some of his link play with the big dutchman showed flashes of the partnership they should already be, but aside from one breathtaking move between the two Palace were not serious troubled by United until they lost Kagisho Dikgacoi to a red card after giving away a dubious penalty. Ashley Young, already booked for diving earlier in the game wen't down again in questionable circumstances. The referee too far from the action and with his near side assistant unsighted during the build up gave a penalty he couldn't possibly have been sure about and sent the Palace man down the tunnel for denying a clear goal scoring opportunity. Van Persie tucked the penalty away and Rooney added a second with a sweet free kick towards the end of the game. Palace can take heart from the fact that they were matching United before the sending off, Moyes and the Red Devils that new signing Fellani came on and added some much needed power to their midfield.

Aston Villa v Newcastle United:

The French contingent helped Newcastle to a second win in a row.

Benteke was at it again, scoring for Villa (that's something of a given though these days) but it was Newcastle who took all three points to claim their second win on the bounce. Midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa again caught the eye, scoring for the second week in a row in a performance that will no doubt please the Geordie faithful and keep them off the manager's back for the time being. Loan signing Loic Remy was again in thick of the action, sending Ben Arfa on his way this week as he did last. Villa for their part look to be struggling to recapture the form that saw them beat Arsenal 3-1 on the opening day of the season and you have to wonder just how much trouble they would be in without Benteke. An early second half surge aside they looked uncertain on the ball throughout. The positives for Villa will be that they will play better than this in future games and new signing Libor Kozak looked a good addition when he came on as substitute.

Fulham v West Brom:

This result was worth a lot more to West Brom than Fulham.

West Brom finally got a Premier League goal this season in this 1-1 draw, but with only two points to their name so far that still leaves them second bottom of the table. Their run last year was powered in the main by the goals of Romelu Lukaku which they have not replaced so far this campaign. Nicholas Anelka has left due to personal reasons and may not be back, whilst £6 million signing Victor Anichebe who made his debut for the club has not yet had sufficient time to bed in and show what he can do. Fulham on other hand have a solid four points so far, but need to get Dimitar Berbatov scoring again and for his partnership with new signing Darren Bent to gel. With those two plus Bryan Ruiz and Hugo Rodallega Fulham should have plenty of goals in them this season, but sometimes their pedestrian style of football turns what should be wins into draws.

Hull City v Cardiff:

Honours even for the new boys at the KC Stadium.

The battle of the new boys saw Hull set to convert home advantage into three points until Cardiff's Peter Whittingham rescued a draw for the Welsh side. Both sides missed chances to win it with Danny Graham going close for Hull and Aron Gunnarsson for Cardiff, who were content to sit and soak up pressure in the first half. Once a Tom Huddlestone cross had been nodded in by Curtis Davies however, Cardiff wen't on the offensive leading to Whittingham's equaliser. In a sometimes cagey affair a 1-1 draw at this early stage of the season for two newly promoted sides will be seen as a good result with both outfits having already made a solid start to their Premier League campaigns.

 Stoke City v Mancester City:

Never a classic, Stoke City outplayed Manchester City as their hold and
cold form continued in the league.

Despite the Stoke fans not liking him very much, there is no denying that new manager Mark Hughes has got Stoke playing the best they have for a while. They have managed to recover some of their old resilience whilst retaining some of the attractive football that Tony Pulis attempted to introduce unsuccessfully last season. Manchester City have been somewhat patchy so far this campaign and with the fixture between these two teams at the Britannia traditionally not being a great game the alarm bells were ringing before hand that this would finish 0-0. Stoke applied a fair amount of pressure on the team from the blue half of Manchester, but did not have sufficient a cutting edge to convert any of that pressure into goals. City looked to be missing the injured David Silva's creativity in midfield and if they perform like they did against Stoke when playing the top teams they will be in trouble. They have spent a lot of money this summer again on attacking players, but have not shored up what at times can be a sleep walking defence when skipper and stand out defender Vincent Kompany is not playing.

Sunderland v Arsenal:

Expect 25 goals this season for Giroud if he keeps linking up with Ozil
like he did in this match.

Giroud continued his storming start to the season by scoring again, perhaps predictably assisted by new boy Mezut Ozil, the European king of the assist. Sunderland already look in deep, deep trouble. They have brought in a lot of players, none of which seem to be delivering for manager Paolo Di Canio just yet. That said they were not helped by referee Martin Atkinson on this occasion who denied Jozy Altidore an equaliser after failing to play an advantage. He did award an early second half penalty to the men from the north east though that was tucked away by the ever reliable Craig Gardner after the unpredictable Lauren Koscielny brought down Adam Johnson. Parity was not to last though as Aaron Ramsey, a man who is often criticised for his goal scoring record smashed one in on the volley then followed it up with a second in the 76th minute. Despite shipping two goals in the second half, Sunderland were on balance the better side, but that will be of little comfort to Di Canio who was sent to the stands for his vocal criticism of referee Atkinson and has yet to see his side win so far this season.

Tottenham Hotspur v Norwich City:

Eriksen had a stormer on his debut and Tottenham look like title contenders.

Gylfi Sigurdsson may have scored both goals for Spurs, however it was new signing Christian Eriksen who really caught the eye with some breathtaking midfield play and had a hand in both goals. His £11.5 million transfer fee looks like an absolute bargain and I was shocked to see Spurs go in for him seemingly unopposed and pick him up for so little money. There is no denying that this year Spurs look to have not just a better side, but also a better squad than they did last year despite losing Gareth Bale. You have to wonder if Luka Modric has another unconvincing season with Real Madrid whether he will return to the Lane at some point in the next twelve months, which will make the north London men a frightening prospect indeed. Norwich put in their usual solid performance under Chris Houghton but a 2-0 defeat to opposition of this calibre and assembled at such a high cost is no blight on his him a manager or Norwich as a team.

Everton v Chelsea:

The confidence appears to be coming back to Goodison Park after the
uncertainty created by David Moyes' departure.

Question marks around how new manager Roberto Martinez would get on taking over from David Moyes at Everton were swept to one side as The Toffees matched and at times bested the Special One and his west London title contenders in an entertaining but slow burning game. During Martinez's time at Wigan their biggest weakness was always their defensive frailties, but to his credit the Spaniard got a grip on this by often choosing to field three centre halves during matches, a decision that kept them up in 2011-12 and nearly did again the following season. With better players at his disposal on Merseyside he seems to have struck a balance between maintaining the old never say die attitude of  the Moyes era but with a much more attractive brand of passing football. Jelavic did brilliantly to reach the ball and arch it back with a header for birthday boy Steven Naismith to nod in from close range. The king of fullbacks Leighton Baines was also unlucky with a free kick that hit that bar near the end of the game. For the second Mourinho era at Stamford Bridge, he has clearly inherited a group of players inferior to those he had last time. However, whilst under his stewardship they perhaps not suprisingly look rock sold at the back, their midfield maestros of Eden Hazard and Juan Mata have not yet really got going this season. Up front things look even worse. Andre Schurrle looks a good team player, putting in the mileage for his side, but not really a goalscorer. Demba Ba has failed to recapture the form that made him so dangerous at Newcastle and the sad decline of the once unstoppable Fernando Torres shows no sign of ending. Arguably their best striker this season is Romelu Lukaku and Mourinho allowed him to go out on loan to Everton. The big Belgian wasn't allowed to play against his parent club in this fixture, but if he starts banging them in again this year as he did last year for West Brom the wisdom of allowing him to go out on loan will no doubt be questioned.