World famous players who finished their careers in the English Premier League

With the recent announcement that Patrick Vieira is to retire, I thought I would have a look at other world class superstars that had a final swansong in the English Premier League before retiring.

Patrick Viera - Manchester City 2010-2011, 28 Appearances with 3 goals.

After an illustrious career with Arsenal between 1996 and 2005, Vieira moved to Italy with Juventus and then Inter Milan before returning to England with Manchester City in 2010. Initially bought on a six month contract, after a succession of fine performances the contract was extended for a further year until the summer of 2011. Vieira saw out his contract and retired in July 2011 to take on a role with Manchester City as a Football Development Executive.

Fernando Hierro - Bolton 2004-2005, 29 Appearances with 1 goal.
An absolute coup for Bolton, Hierro signed for The Trotters in 2004 on the advice of Steve McManaman who was a Real Madrid team mate at the time. He was a massive fan's favourite at Bolton and was begged to stay for another season by then manager Sam Allardyce and fans alike but he retired at the end of the season regardless. He is still regarded by many Bolton fans as one their greatest ever players.

Jurgen Klinsmann - Tottenham 1997-98, 15 Appearances with 9 goals.
After winding down his career at Sampdoria in Italy, Klinsmann made a surprise return to England with Tottenham with whom he had a previous successful spell in the mid-nineties. On his return he once again proved to be an inspiration for the team by scoring some crucial goals which meant that the club avoided relegation that year and cementing his place as one of the club's legends.

Didier Deschamps - Chelsea 1999-2000, 27 Appearances with 0 goals.
Deschamps arrived in England with Chelsea in 1999 after winning numerous trophies at club and international level. His one season with the West London club was relatively successful as they won the FA Cup but under performed in the league. Although he actually finished his career in Spain with Valencia, he only played for them 8 times before retiring at the relatively young age of 32.

Emmanuel Petit - Chelsea 2001-04, 55 appearances with 2 goals.
A previous spell with Arsenal in the late nineties where he won the Double encouraged Petit to return to England with Chelsea after a largely unsuccessful time at Barcelona. Petit formed a formidable midfield partnership with Frank Lampard whilst at the club but was unable to win any silverware during his time there and retired in 2004 after a bad knee injury.

Silvinho - Manchester City 2009-10, 10 Appearances with 1 goal.
Another player who had previous experience within the English Premier League with Arsenal in the late nineties, Silvinho returned in 2009 with Manchester City. Originally bought in as cover for Wayne Bridge, Silvinho got a decent run in the team when Bridge was injured. Unfortunately this was short lived as Bridge returned to full fitness after 2 months out and Silvinho was resigned to a place on the bench. At the end of the season he announced his retirement.

Laurent Blanc - Manchester United 2001-03, 48 Appearances with 1 goal.
Signed by Manchester United at the age of 35, the French World Cup winning captain spent 2 seasons at Old Trafford with mixed success. His first appearances for the club resulted in criticism by the fans as the club lost a string of games but he eventually adapted to the English game and in his second and final season he won the English Premier League with the club.

Ruud Gullit - Chelsea 1995-98, 32 Appearances with 4 goals.
A founding member of the "Foreign Revolution" of world class players who joined English Premier League clubs in the mid-nineties, Gullit revelled in his time at Chelsea and went on record saying that it was the happiest time in his career. In 1996 he was named Chelsea's Player of the Year and also came second in the Premier League Player of the Year after Eric Cantona.

Gianluca Vialli - Chelsea 1996-99, 58 Appearances with 21 goals
Vialli joined Chelsea as Player Manager in 1996 and went on to win the Coca Cola Cup, Cup Winners Cup and also ended up in fourth place in the English Premier League in his first season. His second season as player manager culminated in a third place in the EPL which was the highest that the club had reached since 1970 and was also the year that he retired from playing. Unfortunately he was sacked in his third season after an indifferent start to the season and a fallout with some of his star players.

Alen Boksic - Middlesbrough 2000-03, 68 Appearances with 22 goals.
A deadly striker feared across Europe surprised many when he signed for Middlesbrough in 2000. Although he had injury problems in his first season he still scored 12 goals and was named Player of the Year however he was plagued by injuries over the next 2 years and called time on his career in 2003.

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Proven Championship Performers that have failed in the Premier League

With the inclusion of Swansea, Norwich and Queens Park Rangers in this season's Premier League it will be interesting to see how some of the players within these teams fare. We have seen on numerous occasions players failing to step up to the demands of the English Premier League as there is a huge gulf in class between the Premiership and the Championship and a proven performer in the lower league is not neccessarily guaranteed to succeed in the top flight. Players such as Scott Sinclair, Grant Holt and Ashley Williams all had a fantastic season in the Championship last year (all 3 made the PFA Championship Team of the Season), so will be looking to continue their rich vein form in their new league.

We have a look at some of the proven performers in the Championship who failed to live up to expectations during their time in the English Premier League.


David Nugent - 64 appearances, 9 Goals (Portsmouth and Burnley). After a big money move from Preston North End to Portsmouth in 2007 much was expected from Nugent who had also recently appeared in and scored for the England National Team. Unfortunately his 2 years in the Premier League with Portsmouth were without success and after a marginally better spell on loan with Burnley he ended up back in the Championship after Portsmouth had been relegated

Robert Earnshaw - 65 appearannces, 13 Goals (West Bromwich Albion and Derby). One of the most prolific scorers in the lower leagues, Earnshaw moved from Cardiff to West Brom in 2004. His first season at the club was pretty good with 11 goals from 31 games but manager Bryan Robson chose to use him as an impact player coming off the bench rather than a starter. Earnshaw was eventually sold to Championship side Norwich where he found his scoring touch again before being sold to Premier new boys Derby County. His time at Derby was one of his worst and he was in and out of the team only scoring 1 goal in the Premier League before being sold on to Nottingham Forest in the Championship where again he scored freely and ended up as one of the most successful strikers in the clubs history with 35 goals in 87 appearances.

Ade Akinbiyi - 76 Appearances, 11 Goals (Norwich, Leicester and Sheffield United). A player whose total transfer fees have totalled £11.5 million during his career never really impressed during his time in the Premier League. He failed to find the net in any of his 15 Premier League appearances for Norwich during the mid-nineties and after moving down the leagues and scoring consistently for Gillingham, Bristol City and Wolverhampton Wanderers he was back in the Premier League with Leicester City. Bought as a successor to Emile Heskey who had just moved to Liverpool, Akinbiyi never lived up to expectations and his £5.5 million record move was regarded as a flop and he was sold after 2 seasons to Championship side Crystal Palace.

Leroy Lita - 47 Appearances, 8 Goals. (Reading). Lita had 2 seasons in the Premier League with Reading and had a successful start by scoring the winning goal on the opening day. Unfortunately he then endured a goal drought and was then banned for 3 games for allegedly head butting Charlton's Talal El Karkouri. Lita was also out injured for a month after damaging leg muscles while stretching in bed. Reading were relegated at the end of his second season there and he is now playing in the Championship with Middlesbrough.

Greg Halford - 28 Appearances, 0 Goals. (Reading, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sunderland) After a successful career with Colchester United, Halford moved to Premier League new boys Reading in 2007. Unfortunately the defender only turned out for the team 3 times as according to Reading's Director of Football he didn't fit in with the rest of the squad. A big money move to Sunderland also went sour and he only made 8 appearances for the Mackems before moving to newly promoted Wolves in 2009. Again, he was unable to command first team football at Wolves and made 17 appearances over 2 seasons before joining Championship side Portsmouth.

Michael Chopra - 60 Appearances, 9 Goals (Newcastle, Sunderland) - Starting his career on Tyneside, Chopra only scored 1 goal in 20 Premier League appearances for Newcastle and was loaned out 3 times during his six year spell there - scoring goals wherever he played. He ended up at Cardiff where he enjoyed regular football in the Championship and scored 22 goals in 42 appearances before returning to the Premiership with Sunderland. Unfortunately a relatively unsuccessful spell at Sunderland resulted in Chopra returning to the Championship with Cardiff and he ended up scoring 27 goals in 73 appearances over 2 years for them. He is still playing in the Championship with Ipswich.

Gary McSheffrey - 41 Appearances, 3 Goals (Coventry and Birmingham) - At one point, McSheffrey was the youngest player to have played in the Premier League when he turned out for Coventry at the age of 16. When Coventry were relegated from the Premier League, McSheffrey shined in the Championship and managed to get a move back to the Premier League with Birmingham in 2006. A bad injury and lack of opportunity meant that McSheffrey only managed 37 appearances for the Blues and he was released at the end of his contract. Now back in the Championship with Coventry

Lee Hughes - 23 Appearances 0 Goals (West Bromwich Albion) - Hughes has scored goals wherever he has played - except for the one season that he had in the Premier League where despite being a first team regular he never managed to get himself on the scoresheet. After the unsuccessful season with WBA, and a well publicised prison sentence he returned to football with Oldham Athletic and is now at Notts County and scoring freely again.

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Players whose careers didn't take off as expected in the Premier League

The pressures put on young players within the English Premier League in this modern time is absolutely immense. Jordan Henderson, Andy Carroll and Phil Jones have all made big money moves to Liverpool and Manchester United this year and both sets of fans will want to see an immediate return on investment. If any of these young players suffer a bad injury or lack of form they could quite easily end up on the list of players that flattered to deceive in the English Premier League. We take a look at some of these players who didn't live up to the hype that surrounded them.

Luke Chadwick (Man Utd 1999-2004, West Ham 2004-2006) - Whilst at Man Utd, Chadwick was regarded as one of the club's brightest young English talents and racked up 25 first team appearances along with 13 for the England U21 team. Unfortunately he was unable to secure a place in the starting eleven and moved to West Ham where he encountered a similar scenario. He ended up playing for a clutch of Championship clubs before joining League One's MK Dons.

Francis Jeffers (Everton 1997-2001, Arsenal 2001-04, Blackburn 2006-07 - After scoring 20 goals in 60 appearances for Everton he was signed by Arsenal for £8 million in 2001. Unfortunately he was dogged by injury whilst there and was sold to Charlton in 2004. Over the next 7 years he played for 6 different clubs and is now unattached - he is still only 30 years old.

Eric Djemba Djemba - (Man Utd 2003-05, Aston Villa 2005-07), Bought by Alex Ferguson as a potential successor for Roy Keane it never quite came off for him as he never managed to sustain a good run of form. The squad was also in a transitional period at the time and he was often left on the bench as part of their rotation policy. He was eventually sold to Aston Villa but was unable to establish himself in his midfield position due to the form of McCann and Davis. After a short spell in Qatar he moved to Danish side Odense and he has got his career back on track.

David Bellion (Sunderland 2001-03, Man Utd 2003-05) - Picked up by Man Utd from Sunderland in 2003 after a string of fine performances, Bellion's career at the club was far from successful and he was consistently frozen out of the First Team despite playing well for the Reserve Team. He was sold to French club Nice in 2006 and has since moved on to Bordeaux.

Stephen McPhail (Leeds United 1997-2004) - The first 3 years of McPhail's Leeds career were highly successful and he was compared to Arsenal legend Liam Brady by then manager George Graham. Unfortunately he was frozen out of the Leeds First Team in 2001 due to a string of injuries and failed to impress managers Terry Venables and later Peter Reid. He left the club in 2004 to join Barnsely and ended up joining Cardiff City in 2006 where he still plays.

Danny Cadamarteri (Everton 1996-2002) - A first team regular in the late nineties it all went wrong for Cadamarteri in 2001 when he was charged with assault and subsequently left the club. Since leaving he has played for 8 different clubs including a spell at non-league Grays and is now playing for Huddersfield.

Neil Mellor (Liverpool 2002-06). A product of Liverpool's Youth Academy, Mellor burst into the first team in 2004 by scoring a crucial goal in the Champions League but unfortunatelyweeks later he had to have surgery on both of his knees and missed the rest of the season. In a bid to find first team football Mellor signed for Preston North End in 2006 with whom he still plays for.

Chris Kirkland - (Coventry 1998-2001, Liverpool 2001-06, Wigan 2006 - ) When Liverpool paid Coventry £6 million for Kirkland's services it made him the most expensive goalkeeper in British history at the age of 20. Unfortunately injuries have blighted his career and he left Liverpool in 2006 having only made 25 appearances. Now at Wigan, and still suffering from injuries he has still managed to play over 130 games for them.

Jody Morris (Chelsea 1995-2003). Morris came up through the Chelsea youth ranks with John Terry, playing for the first team on 124 occasions and he was also briefly made captain by Gianluca Vialli. However, he often still found himself on the substitutes bench and struggled to make the first team due to the form of Wise, Deschamps, Di Matteo and Petit and he left the club in 2003 for Leeds. After spells with Milwall and Rotherham he moved up to Scotland in 2007 with St Johnstone and was part of the promotion winning team in 2009.

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Inflated Transfer Fees in the English Premier League

Summer 2011 and once again the transfer market is awash with rumours about which players are going where and for how much. Some of the figures bounded about at the moment are absolutely crazy in this current economic climate to the point where £10 million for a half decent player is considered a bargain.

So far this summer we have seen Jordan Henderson move from Sunderland to Liverpool for a reported £16 million fee and Phil Jones sold by Blackburn to Manchester United for £17 million. The ages of these players are 21 and 19 respectively and between them they have only made 116 appearances. In contrast Rafael Van Der Vaart, a player with 90 international caps and a wealth of European football experience was bought by Tottenham in the summer of 2010 for only £8 million. This raises a seperate question as to why English player's transfer values are so inflated but I will cover that in another blog.

Henderson and Jones will hopefully do extremely well for Liverpool and Manchester United as they are currently two of the hottest young English talents but the money paid for them is ridiculous. If you include the £35 million which Liverpool paid for Andy Carroll in January 2011 - a 22 year old who has made 97 appearances that means a total of £68 million has been paid out for 3 players under the age of 22 with a total of 213 appearances. The pressures on these players will be immense as they strive to justify their inflated transfer fees but hopefully with the guidance of their managers Daliglish and Ferguson they should live up to expectations.

The current British and World transfer record is the £80 million paid by Real Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United in 2009. Many people argued that Ronaldo would find it extremel

y hard to cope with the pressure of such a huge fee but he has been a revelation at the Spanish club and has so far scored 66 goals in 63 games. It does go to show that not all players are affected by these inflated fees so we live in hope that Jones and Henderson go down the same route and live up to the high expectations now placed upon them. 

How the British Transfer Record has been broken since 1995

Jan 1995      Andy Cole Newcastle to Man Utd £7m

June 1995    Dennis Bergkamp Inter Milan to Arsenal £7.5m

July 1996     Alan Shearer Blackburn to Newcastle £15m

Aug 1999     Nicolas Anelka Arsenal to Real Madrid £22.5m

July 2001     Juan Sebastian Veron Lazio to Manchester United £28.1m

July 2002     Rio Ferdinand Leeds Utd to Manchester United £29.1m

July 2006     Andriy Shevchenko AC Milan to Chelsea £30.8m

Sept 2008    Robinho Real Madrid to Man City £32.5m

July 2009     Cristiano Ronaldo Man Utd to Real Madrid £80m

Visit my site http://www.premierleagueheroes.co.uk/ for information, statistics and video on all of your favourite Ex English Premier League players.

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South American Footballers who have played in the Premier League

Reading reports in the papers recently about the likes of Neymar, Nilmar and Sergio Aguero expressing a desire to play their football in the English Premier League got me thinking about the amount of South American's who are currently playing, or have previously played in England.

Players from nine South American countries have played in the EPL with the majority coming from Argentina and Brazil. Although there have been a few failures, many of the players have adapted well to the Premier League's style of play. Amongst the successes are Juninho, Carloz Tevez and Gilberto, the main failures being Veron, Forlan and Roque Junior.

Manchester United top of the list of English Premier League clubs who have signed the most South American players with 10 players but Liverpool are a close second with 9. Manchester United currently have 4 South Americans in their squad while Liverpool have 5 players.

Uruguay

Luis Suarez -  Liverpool.  A prolific goalscorer for Ajax, Suarez joined Liverpool in 2011 for £22.8 million and was an instant hit with the fans due to a succession of fantastic performances. Great things are expected for the 2011-12 season under Kenny Dalglish's new regime

Diego Forlan - Man Utd - Signed by Man Utd in 2001 Forlan spent 3 pretty much unsuccessful years at Old Trafford before moving to Villareal and then Atletico Madrid where he established himself as one of Europe's leading marksmen.

Paraguay

Roque Santa Cruz - Man City, Blackburn - Signed by Blackburn from Bayern Munich in 2007 he has an indifferent spell in England and has struggled with injuries. Now with Man City he is looking to re-establish himself in the first team.

Peru

Nolberto Solano - Aston Villa, Newcastle - The little Peruvian has spent most of his playing career in England and has been adored by fans wherever he has played. He is currently playing for League One side Hartlepool.

Claudio Pizzaro - Peru Chelsea - 2 seasons at Chelsea were widely regarded as unsuccesful and he eventually left after the club bought Nicolas Anelka and he was surplus to requirements.

Ecuador

Agustin Delgado - Southampton - Played 11 times for Southampton in 3 years after being dogged by injuries. Never settled and refused to learn the language he was sold to a club in his native Ecuador.

Ullises de la Cruz - Aston Villa - De La Cruz spent 7 years in England and was arguably more successful at Aston Villa than his other clubs Reading and Birmingham. Now back in Ecuador.

Christian Benitez - Birmingham - The Ecuadorian signed on loan for Birmingham in 2009 but failed to make an impact and subsequently wasn't offered a contract with the club.

Antonio Valencia - Wigan, Man Utd - The Ecuadorian has played in the Premier League for 5 years and has been a huge success. After a big money move to Man Utd he gained a place in the Premier League Team of the Season in his debut year.

Mexico

Javier Hernandez - Man Utd - "Chicarito" was an instant hit when he signed for United in the summer of 2010 and ended up scoring 20 goals in his debut season.

Giovanni Dos Santos - Tottenham - Never reached his full potential during his 3 year spell in England. Now at Benfica

Chile

Mark Gonzalez - Liverpool - Signed by Liverpool in 2006, Gonzalez had a great start to his career in the UK butprevented him from playing more games and he was sold after one season

Colombia

Hugo Rodellaga - Wigan - A proven goalscorer wherever he has played, Rodallega is still at Wigan and is now the club's top Premier League scorer.

Juan Pablo Angel - Aston Villa - A record signing for Villa in 2001, Angel spent 6 years at the club and, after an indifferent start established himself as a fan's favourite.

Faustino Asprilla - Newcastle - A legend on Tyneside, Asprilla only spent 2 years with the club but scored some crucial goals and most famously a hat-trick against Barcelona.

Brazil

Edu - Arsenal Made 100 appearances between 2000 and 2005 and was widely regarded as success during his time at Highbury.

Gilberto Silva - Arsenal - Silva spent 6 years at Arsenal and during this time became one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe. He is now back in his native Brazil with Gremio

Juninho - Middlesbrough - A Teeside legend, Juninho played for the club on 3 seperate occasions. In 2007 he was voted as the greatest Boro player by fans in a PFA poll.

Diego Cavalieri - Liverpool - Spent 2 years at Liverpool between 2008-10 but never made a Premier League appearance. He is now back in Brazil with Fluminense.

Gilberto da Silva Melo - Tottenham - Signed for Spurs in 2008 and only played 7 games before his contract was terminated and shipped back to Brazil.

Roque Junior - Leeds - Signed for Leeds in 2003 on loan from Milan he had an unhappy time in England and only played for the club on 5 ocassions. Regarded by Leeds fans as one of their biggest transfer flops

Cacapa - Newcastle - Spent 2 years at Newcastle between 2007 and 2009 but struggled for consistency and was released once his contract expired.

Robinho - Man City - Spent 2 years at Man City for a then record transfer fee of £32.5 million. Although he showed flashes of his brilliance during his spell he eventually left for AC Milan in 2010.

Kleberson - Man Utd - After his performances in the 2002 World Cup, Kleberson joined Man Utd in 2003. Injured in only his second game he only made 20 appearances before joining Beskitas in 2005.

Jo - Man City, Everton - Joined City in 2008 but was one of many strikers in the club at the time. Loaned off to Everton and then Galatasaray he is now back at Man City.

Afonso Alves - Middlesbrough - A record goalscorer at previous clubs, Alves didn't fulfil his potential after a club record transfer fee at Middlesbrough and ended up moving to Qatar.

Lucas Leiva - Liverpool - Has now been at Liverpool for 4 years. Although he had a relatively shaky start to his career in England he has now turned into one of the Merseyside's club most consistent performers.

Mario Jardel - Bolton - One of the most prolific scorers in European football during the Nineties, Jardel signed for Bolton in 2003 and didn't score any goals in his 7 Premier League appearances. He was soon offloaded back to South America with Newells Old Boys in Argentina

Anderson - Man Utd - Joined United in 2007 and has established himself as one of the best players within his position in the league.

Alex - Chelsea - Surprisingly been at Chelsea for 7 years but spent 3 years at PSV Eindhoven due to complications with his work permit. Now an integral part of Chelsea's defence.

Juliano Belletti - Chelsea - Signed from Barcelona in 2007 he spent 3 years at Chelsea and is highly regarded amongst the Chelsea fans for his workrate and spectacular long range goals.

Denilson - Arsenal - Been at Arsenal since 2006, Denilson has racked up over 100 appearances for the Gunners but has recently been quoted that he wants to leave the club due to a lack of trophies.

Heurelho Gomes - Tottenham - The flamboyant keeper joined Spurs from PSV Eindhoven in 2008 and despite some erratic displays he is still considered as one of the best keepers in the English Premier League.

Julio Baptista - Arsenal - Arrived in 2006 on loan from Real Madrid, Baptista never really shone in the Premier League, however he fared better in the League Cup with a total of 6 goals, 4 of which came in one game against Liverpool.

Fabio Aurelio - Liverpool - The first Brazillian to sign for Liverpool, he has been at the club since 2006 and is an integral part of the first team.

Fabio Rochemback - Middlesbrough - 3 years in Teeside were largely seen as a success and he was a member of the team that reached the UEFA Cup Final in 2006.

Geovanni - Man City, Hull City - Spent 3 years in England and had more success at Hull than Man City and was the club's top scorer in the 2008-09 season.

Emerson - Middlesbrough - Joined for one season in 1996 but struggled to adjust to life in Teeside and, after the club were relegated, he moved to Tenerife.

David Luiz - Chelsea - Luiz only joined Chelsea in January 2011 but has already adapted to the pace and style of the Premier League and won the Premier League Player of the Month for March.

Ramires - Chelsea - Joined at the start of the 2010-11 season, some exceptional performances have turned him into a favourite of the fans at Stamford Bridge.

Fabio - Man Utd - Signed in 2007 along with his twin brother Rafael, he has only made 18 appearances for the team but is a valuable squad player.

Rafael - Man Utd - Signed in 2007 with his twin, Rafael is now an established as a first team regular with 40 appearances under his belt. Like his brother, United regard him as one for the future.

Argentina

Carlos Tevez - West Ham, Man Utd, Man City - Arguably the greatest South American export to have played in the Premier League, scoring goals at each club he has played for he looks as though he is about to leave the EPL for family reasons.

Juan Sebastian Veron - Man Utd, Chelsea - Veron arrived in England in 2001 but never adapted to the pace of the English game. After unsuccessful spells with Man Utd and Chelsea he finally returned back to Argentina in 2007.

Javier Mascherano - West Ham, Liverpool - After an unsuccessful time at West Ham, his career really took off whilst at Liverpool and he is now regarded by many as one of the best central midfielders in the world. Now at Barcelona.

Fabricio Collocini - Newcastle - Signed by Newcastle in 2008 and regarded by his manager as Mr Reliable, Coloccini is still an integral part of the Newcastle defence.

Hernan Crespo - Chelsea - A 5 year spell at Chelsea saw him packed off on loan to Italy twice. Although he scored a few goals at Chelsea he  wasn't happy in London and ended up moving back to Italy with Inter Milan on a full time basis.

Christian Bassedas - Newcastle - Signed for Newcastle in 2000 for £3.5 million he appeared 24 times in a 3 year period.

Luciano Figueroa - Birmingham - Made one appearance for the Blues but played and scored freely for the reserves. Manager Steve Bruce cancelled his contract as he didn't think his physique would suit the Premier League.

Julio Arca - Sunderland, Middlesbrough - Spent 11 years at first Sunderland and then Middlesbrough before being released by the latter in the summer of 2011.

Sebastien Leto - Liverpool - Was at Liverpool for 2 years but only made 4 senior appearances due to problems with his work permit. He eventually left the club to join Panathinaikos of Greece.

Gabriel Heinz - Man Utd - A successful 3 year spell at Man Utd ended when he became disillusioned with Alex Ferguson and his lack of first team action. During his time at the club he won the Player of the Season award in 2004-05.

Emiliano Insua - Liverpool - An exciting left back, Insua was signed by Liverpool from Boca Juniors in 2007. Mainly a fringe squad player, he has impressed many during his first team appearances.

Maxi Rodriguez - Liverpool - Moved from Atletico Madrid to Liverpool in 2010, Rodriguez has been a great success with 11 goals from 45 games including 2 hatricks within a week of each other.

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Former Arsenal Players off to Man City

With Manchester City's recent signing of Gael Clichy from Arsenal for £7 million and with possible moves made for both Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas this Summer it continues the trend of players moving away from North London to the Manchester club.

Since the takeover in September 2008 by the Abu Dhabi United Group, Manchester City have bought 3 players from Arsenal at a combined cost of £48 million. This means a massive return on investment for the incredibly shrewd Arsene Wenger as Kolo Toure only cost £150,000, Emmanuel Adebayor cost £3 million and Gael Clichy was only £250,000 - a total of £3.4 million. If Arsenal relent and sell off Fabregas and Nasri to City for what is rumoured to be £80 million for the pair it again would be a fantastic piece of business (financially), as Fabregas didn't cost the club anything as he came through the academy and Nasri cost £12 million.

Although the profits involved by selling these players is fantastic, from an Arsenal fan's perspective it must beggar belief. Since the takeover, Man City have developed an open cheque book policy in order to gain a Top 4 spot in the Premiership so that they qualify for the UEFA Champions League. They managed to acheieve this goal last season by finishing in third place above Arsenal who ended up fourth and has meant that they have to qualify for the Champions League proper.

Surely the club should adopt a policy where they don't sell players to a rival top club no matter how much money offered or at what profit gained. The "Big 4" in the English Premier League is now a "Big 6" with the inclusion of Tottenham Hotspur and City themselves. With the exception of Arsenal, I would find it very surprising to see any players moving between any of the top 6 clubs nowadays. Tottenham for example have already turned down offers for Luca Modric from Chelsea because they are now considered a big rival and one that they can challenge for a top 4 spot. Yes Spurs could do with the money as they don't have the spending power of Chelsea and City for example but by ensuring that there best player isn't sold to a rival top 6 club means that they have more of a chance of gaining that all important top 4 spot.

Players who have played for Arsenal and Manchester City since the formation of the English Premier League

Gael Clichy
Patrick Viera
Emmanuel Adebayor
Kolo Toure
David Seaman
Stuart Taylor
Paul Dickov
Nicolas Anelka
David Platt (Manchester City Assistant Manager)

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Welsh Players who could make Team GB in the 2012 Olympics

There has been a lot reported in the media about the formation of a Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games which will be hosted in London. There have been mixed reports from the Home Nations Football Associations with the English FA stating that they are "incredibly positive" that there will be a fully inclusive squad. In response to this statement the Scottish FA have said that although there is nothing that they can do if Scottish players wish to play for their team but they, as an independent body would not support the formation of a Team GB. Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland have similar opinions on the matter so with this in mind I have had a look at the players from each of the home nations who have had Premier League experience. First up is Wales...

Appearances in Brackets

Ian Rush (176)
Mark Hughes (297)
Robbie Savage (346)
Craig Bellamy (245)
Gareth Bale (77 - current)
Gary Speed (535)
John Hartson (155)
Neville Southall (208)
Chris Coleman (101)
Mark Crossley (204)
Simon Davies (297 - current)
Ryan Giggs (573 - current)
Vinnie Jones (184)
Mark Pembridge (229)
Dean Saunders (196)
Aaron Ramsay (34)

Now if you look at this list there are only 2 players who are still currently playing who would or could get selected in a unified British team (bear in mind that the squad is made up of players under the age of 23 with the exception of 3 overage players) - these are obviously Giggs and Bale.

Over the years, from 1992, there are still only a handful of players who potentially would have been included for the squad, namely Rush, Hughes, Speed and Giggs. You could argue the case for the likes of Bellamy or Hartston but during the prime of their careers there would have been too much competition from English players (Owen, Heskey, Crouch, Defoe, Vassell etc) therefore it would have been highly unlikely that they would have been selected.

If we look at the last Welsh squad which was assembled for the Home Nations Tournament in May there were only 6 players who were playing for Premier League teams at the time. These were Wayne Hennessey, Boaz Myhill, Danny Collins, James Collins, Andy King and Aaron Ramsay (Gareth Bale was injured so was therefore not included within the squad).

So in conclusion, there would only be potentially 2 Welsh players who would make the Team GB squad. These are Bale and Ramsay - both Under 23 and both fantastic prospects within the Premiership. We wait in anticipation to see whether they would be selected.

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Former Players With New Careers as Backroom Staff

Latest news in the English Premier League is that former Chelsea player Roberto Di Matteo has joined the club as Assistant Manager to Andre Villas-Boas. Now this is a fantastic aquisition by the Chelsea board as it will go a long way to placate the small section of Chelsea fans that view the appointment of 33 year old Villas-Boas as a risk.

With Chelsea bringing in Di Matteo for this role it continues the trend of Premier League clubs appointing former players as part of their vitally important backroom staff. Most of the clubs in the Premier League have adapted this policy and there are a number of reasons why they do this. The most important is down to the fact that a former player knows the current players, management team and club culture which therefore makes it a lot easier to perform his duties.

Many current players in the English Premier League who are coming towards the end of their careers are now looking at coaching roles when they hang up their boots. Paul Scholes is the latest player to have gone into coaching and many feel that his former Manchester United team mate Ryan Giggs will also pursue a coaching career when he retires. Some other big names have been banded about as potential coaches within the next couple of years namely David Beckham, Alan Shearer, Gary Neville and Sol Campbell - watch this space.....

Premier League clubs who have players in their backroom staff who have had Premier League experience.

Arsenal - Steve Bould Youth Team Coach
Aston Villa - Gary McAllister Assistant Manager, Gordon Cowans First Team Coach
Bolton - David Lee Assistant Academy Director, Jimmy Phillips Academy Manager, Gavin McCann & Neil Pointon Academy Coaches
Blackburn - John Jensen Assistant Manager, Bobby Mimms Goalkeeping Coach
Chelsea - Roberto Di Matteo Assistant Manager
Everton - Chris Woods Goalkeeping Coach
Fulham - Mark Bowen Assistant Manager, Glyn Hodges First Team Coach, Billy McKinlay First Team Development Coach, Kevin Hitchcock Goalkeeping Coach
Liverpool - Steve Clarke First Team Coach
Man City - Scott Sellars Academy Team Manager, David Platt First Team Coach, Atillio Lombardo First Team Coach
Man Utd - Mike Phelan Assistant Manager
Newcastle - Steve Stone First Team Coach, Peter Beardsley Reserve Team Coach
Norwich - Ian Culverhouse Assistant Manager
QPR - Keith Curle First Team Coach, Carl Serrant Strength and Conditioning Coach
Sunderland - Nigel Spink Goalkeeping Coach, Stephen Clemence Reserve/ Development Coach
Tottenham -Tim Sherwood Assistant First Team Coach, Les Ferdinand Striker Coach
Wigan - Dave Watson Youth Team Coach
West Bromwich Albion - Dean Kiely Goalkeeping Coach
Wolves - Tony Daley, First Team Fitness and Conditioning Coach

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British Premier League Players who have Played Abroad

Summer is an exciting time in the football world with much to-ing and fro-ing of players within the English Premier League clubs. So, it is a rarity to see a British player transferred to a foreign club such as England International goalkeeper Scott Carson who is about to join Bursaspor of Turkey from West Bromwich Albion or Michael Mancienne who has joined Hamburg from Chelsea. We have a look at other Premiership players who have been tempted to ply their trade abroad - whether successful or not.

David Beckham (Real Madrid 2003-07, AC Milan 2009,2010, LA Galaxy 2007 - )

Mark Pembridge (Benfica 1998-1999)

Paul Ince (Inter Milan 1995-97)

Efan Ekoku (Grasshoppers 1999-2001)

Scott Minto (Benfica 1997-99)

Dalian Atkinson (Real Sociedad 1990-91, Fenerbache 1995-96)

David Platt (Juventus 1992-93, Sampdoria 1993-95)

Steve McManaman (Real Madrid 1999-2003)

Dean Saunders (Galatasaray 1995-96, Benfica 1998-99)

Gary Charles (Benfica 1999)

Robbie Keane (Inter Milan 2000-2001)

Steve Harkness (Benfica 1999)

Chris Bart-Williams (APOEL 2204-05, Marsaxlokk 2005-06)

Des Walker (Sampdoria 1992-93)

Matt Derbyshire (Olympiakos 2009 - )

Michael Owen (Real Madrid 2004-05)

Jonathan Woodgate (Real Madrid 2004-07)

Darren Huckerby (San Jose Earthquakes 2008-09)

Brian Deane (Benfica 1998, Perth Glory 2005)

Jay Bothroyd (Perugia 2004-2005)

Jermaine Pennant (Real Zaragoza 2009-10)
Robbie Fowler (North Queensland Fury 2009-10, Perth Glory 2010-11)

Darius Vassell (Ankaragucu 2009-10)

Ian Harte (Levante 2004-07)

Steve Finnan (Espanyol 2008-09)

The following players were all loaned out to Royal Antwerp in Belgium as part of Manchester United's long standing relationship with the club 

John O'Shea (2001)

Ryan Shawcross (2007)

Frazier Campbell (2006-07)

Danny Simpson (2006-07)

Jonny Evans (2006)

Darron Gibson (2006-07)

Danny Higginbotham (1998-99)

Ronny Wallwork (1999)

As you can see from the list, Royal Antwerp players aside, there are not many players who have played outside of England. This list would also be shorter if Graeme Souness hadn't been appointed manager of Benfica in 1998 as he brought 6 players with him from the Premier League (Harkness, Minto, Deane, Charles, Pembridge and Saunders.

Also only 3 of the players on the list actually carved out a decent career abroad. David Beckham, Steve McManaman and David Platt all of which would have been successful in any league as they are world class players.

So, the question is "Why are there so few Premier League players that have played abroad?", the answer is simple - Money! Wages in the Premier League have rocketed over the last 10 years or so to the point where an average squad player can still command £20k a week at a mid-table Premier League club. The only teams on the Continent which can or will pay wages similar to what players get in the English Premier League are the likes of AC Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid etc and lets face it not many current UK players would get in their teams anyway hence they tend to say put.

Visit my site http://www.premierleagueheroes.co.uk/ for information, statistics and video on all of your favourite Ex English Premier League players.

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For information and statistics on legends of the Premier League take a look at Premier League Heroes

World Cup Winners Who Have Played in the Premiership

It was announced this month that French World Cup winner Patrick Viera had been released by Manchester City after 18 months at the age of 35. With Robert Pires also being released by Aston Villa and Spain's World Cup winner Cesc Fabregas almost certainly set to leave Arsenal for Barcelona this summer it led me to do some research on World Cup winning players who have played in the English Premier League.

1990 - Winners Germany
Jurgen Klinnsmann (Tottenham 1994-95, Tottenham 1997-98)
Karl-Heinz Riedle (Liverpool 1997-99, Fulham 1999-2001)

1994 - Winners Brazil
Branco (Middlesbrough 1996)

1998 - Winners France
Patrick Viera (Arsenal 1996-2005, Manchester City 2010-11)
Bernard Lama (West Ham 1997-98)
Laurent Blanc (Manchester United 2001-03)
Stephane Guivarch (Newcastle 1998)
Youri Djorkaeff (Bolton Wanderers 2002-04, Blackburn Rovers 2004)
Didier Deschamps (Chelsea 1999-2000)
Marcel Desailly (Chelsea 1998-2004)
Robert Pires (Arsenal 2000-06, Aston Villa 2010-11)
Thierry Henry (Arsenal 1999-2007)
Fabian Barthez (Manchester United 2000-04)
Emmanuel Petit (Arsenal 1997-2000, Chelsea 2001-04)
Bernard Diomede (Liverpool 2000-2003)
Frank Leboeuf (Chelsea 1996-2001)
Christian Karembeu (Middlesbrough 2000-2001)
Christophe Dugarry (Birmingham City 2003-04)

2002 - Winners Brazil
Gilberto Silva (Arsenal 2002-08)
Juliano Beletti (Chelsea 2007-10)
Kleberson (Manchester United 2003-05)
Juninho (Middlesbrough 1995-97, 1999-2000, 2002-04)
Roque Junior (Leeds United 2003-04)

2006 - Winners Italy
Marco Materazzi (Everton 1998-99)

2010 - Winners Spain
Gerard Pique (Manchester United 2004-08)
Fernando Torres (Liverpool 2007-11, Chelsea 2011 - )
Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal 2003 - ) 
Xabi Alonso (Liverpool 2004-09)
Alvaro Arbeloa (Liverpool 2007-09)
Pepe Reina (Liverpool 2005 - )

As you would expect there are only a handful of World Cup winning players who played for English Premier League clubs during the early to mid-nineties as the league itself was in its infancy. The "Foreign Invasion" on the Premier League pretty much started in 1995 and 1996 with a huge amount of continental players joining Premier League clubs which helped increase its worldwide profile. By the time France won The World Cup in 1998 the Premier League was in full flow and regarded as the best league in the world - this is reflected by the amount of players from the successful French national squad who were either playing in the league at the time or joined Premier League clubs soon after.

The 2002 winners Brazil and the 2006 winners Italy only had 6 players between them that had experienced Premier League football but this is due to the fact that both country's domestic leagues are very strong and players from both countries rarely move abroad. This is also reflected by the number of Spanish players who were in the successful World Cup winning squad who had either played or were still playing in the English Premier League. Spain's domestic league "La Liga", is arguably as strong as the English Premier League and the majority of their World Cup winning team played in their home country - only 3 of the entire Spanish squad played outside of Spain (Torres, Fabregas and Reina).

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What Happened to Wimbledon FC?

As we welcome the addition of AFC Wimbledon to the Football League for the season 2011-2012, we look at what has happened in the careers of some of the players who were in the squad for their last ever game against Derby in May 2004.

Stuart Murdoch (Manager) - Murdoch stayed with the club until he was sacked in November 2004 after a string of poor results. He has since concentrated his efforts on his goalkeeping coaching and had spells at Bournemouth, Norwich & Southampton before joining the staff at Gillingham in November 2010.

Warren Barton - Barton only appeared in 5 games during the season and at 35 years of age this was his last professional club before dropping out of the league to play for Dagenham & Redbridge. He is now Head Coach at MLS side San Diego Flash

Dean Holdsworth - At 35 years old Holdsworth was at the end of his career but still played 28 games and scored 3 goals during the season. He dropped out of the league at the end of the season and played for a number of  non-league sides before taking on the manager's roles at Redbridge and then Newport County. He is now manager of Aldershot Town.

Jamie Mackie - Mackie was only 18 when he played 13 teams for Wimbledon during their last season. He left Wimbledon at the end of the season and had successful spells with Exeter City and Plymouth before joining Queens Park Rangers in 2010. Some fantastic appearances for QPR earned him a call up to the  Scottish national side who he has now represented on 3 occasions.

Jermaine Darlington - Darlington was released after their last season as Wimbledon FC and went onto play for Watford and Cardiff City. He then went onto join AFC Wimbledon making him the first ex-Wimbledon player to play competitively for them. He now plays for Whitstable Town.

Jason Puncheon - At 17 years old Puncheon stayed on with the club when they relocated to Milton Keynes, He stayed for 2 years before the club released him and after a couple of years playing non league football he was back in the league with Barnet. His stock rose and he moved to Southampton in 2010 but after losing his place he secured a loan spell in the Premier League with Blackpool where he scored 3 goals in 11 games.

Dean Lewington - Lewington rose through the ranks at Wimbledon and stayed on with the club when they relocated to Milton Keynes. He is now club captain of the MK Dons and is the only player left from the old Wimbledon days

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English Premier League's Worse Foreign Transfers

After being deemed surplus to requirements at Atletico Madrid, Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan is expected to try his luck in the Premier League once more after a previous unsuccessful spell with Manchester United between 2002 and 2004. It is fact that some continental players cannot cope with the physical demands of the English Premier League and also struggle to adjust to the weather, lifestyle and culture. We have listed a few "superstar" players who came to play in the Premier League and ultimately went back with tail between legs.

Diego Forlan - Joined Manchester United in 2002 from Argentinian side Independiente and only managed to score 17 goals in 95 appearances for the Premier League champions. This statistic paled in comparison to fellow striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy's tally of 150 goals in 210 appearances and Forlan was soon offloaded to Spain when Wayne Rooney joined the club in 2004.

Winston Bogarde - Often ridiculed by fans of English football, Bogarde took full advantage of his lucrative contract at Chelsea by refusing to leave the club even though he was reduced to playing with the reserves and even the youth teams. He eventually saw out his contract and subsequently retired from playing when it expired - he was on a reported £40,000 per week!

Juan Sebastian Veron - When Manchester United shelled out a then English transfer record of £28.1 million many people thought that they were getting a genuine world class superstar. Unfortunately Veron couldn't handle the pace of the Premiership and wasn't allowed the time and space he was used to and he was often very ineffective in games. United were lucky to recoup £15 million for Veron from Chelsea 2 years later but he was ineffective there too and after spending 2 seasons on loan abroad he moved back permanently.

Hernan Crespo - A prolific scorer wherever he played, Crespo found himself in South London with Chelsea in 2003 after signing from Inter Milan for £16.8 million. When Jose Mourinho took over as Chelsea manager in 2004 he was loaned out to AC Milan, then returned back to Chelsea, then loaned out again to Inter Milan. Although Crespo scored 20 goals in 49 appearances he never fully adapted to the English game and is subsequently regarded as a transfer flop.

Jon Dahl Tomasson - After being selected for the award of Best Dutch Talent in 1996 whilst at Heerenveen, Tomasson was in high demand and eventually chose to join Newcastle United to form, what then manager Kenny Dalglish said would be a perfect partnership with Alan Shearer. Although the partnership started well, Shearer got injured and Tomasson was played out of position as a striker instead of attacking midfielder. He wasn't comfortable with this new role and his performances were well below par. He ended up scoring 4 goals in 35 appearances for the Toon before returning to Holland with Feyenoord where his career was revitalised and he ended up as one of the best players in his position in Europe.

Tomas Brolin - After impressing for Sweden at Euro 92 and the World Cup in 1994, Brolin signed for Leeds United in 1995 from Italian side Parma. He was expected to make a huge impact but unfortunately this never came to fruition as a fallout with then manager Howard Wilkinson about his defensive abilities and the fact that he didn't pull his weight meant that he spent a lot of time on the subs bench. After a farcical couple of years where he went to FC Zurich and Parma on loan and also joined Crystal Palace, Brolin retired from football at the age of 29 and has since held the accolade of the worse signing in the history of Leeds United.

Andrei Shevchenko - Arguably the best striker in the world at the turn of the new century, Shevchenko left AC Milan for Chelsea with a record of 173 goals in 296 games for £30.8 million. An indifferent spell in West London resulted in the player netting 9 times in 43 games over a 3 year spell. He spent a year back at AC Milan which was also unsuccessful and he ultimately ended up back at his first club Dinamo Kiev.

Sergei Rebrov - Shevchenko's Dinamo Kiev strike partner signed for Tottenham Hotspur for £11 million in June 2000 but never realy shone and a return of 10 goals in 60 appearances for the club resulted in him getting shipped out on loan to Fenerbache. He then returned to England with West Ham and had another poor spell only scoring once in 27 games before returning back to the Ukraine with Kiev.

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Players dropping down from the Premier League

Whilst watching the summer activity going on in the transfer market yesterday I saw that Leeds United are potentially going to re-sign former players Jonathan Woodgate, Lee Bowyer and Alan Smith. This in my opinion would be a great coup as all 3 players still have a lot to offer at the highest level providing they stay injury free. The news got me thinking about other players that dropped down into the lower leagues whilst in the twilight years of their playing careers:

Craig Bellamy - After being left out of Man City's Europa League squad for the 2010-11 season, Bellamy joined his hometown Cardiff City on a season loan. He proved to be an instant success with a 35 yard free kick on his debut and he went onto to score 10 more goals in the season which helped Cardiff reach the Championship play-offs. He has since returned back to Man City but has not ruled out a permanent move back to Cardiff.

Paul Ince - After his release from Middlesbrough in 2002, Ince dropped down a division to join Wolvehampton Wanderers. In his first season he helped them get promoted to the Premier League via the play offs but after one season they were back down. Ince went on to play 115 games for Wolves scoring 10 goals. He has stated that he would love to return to the club as manager.

Denis Irwin - The Irishman joined Wolves at the same time as former Manchester United team mate Paul Ince and was part of the team that were promoted to the Premier League in 2003. Following the team's relegation in 2004, Irwin retired at the age of 38

Teddy Sheringham - When Premier League team Portsmouth decided not to offer 38 year old Sheringham a contract he decided he would drop down a division and play for West Ham. A fantastic year for Sheringham led to him becoming the  division's third-highest goalscorer with 20 goals and he also won the Championship Player of the Season award.

Dennis Wise - After his sacking from Leicester City, Wise moved to First Division Milwall in 2002, becoming player manager in 2003. A successful season with the club culminated with them reaching the FA Cup Final where they lost 3-0 to Manchester United. As United had already qualified for the UEFA Champions League, Milwall qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history unfortunately getting knocked out in the first round.

Paul Merson - Merson joined newly relegated first division club Middlesbrough in 1997 after they doubled the wage terms offered by Arsenal. He was instrumental in the club's immediate return to The Premier League. After a term with Aston Villa, Merson signed for first division club Portsmouth in 2002 and again was a key player during their successful promotion winning season.

Darren Anderton - After an injury plagued career with Portsmouth, Tottenham, Birmingham and Wolves, Anderton joined League One club Bournemouth on a "pay as you play basis" in 2006. Although the club at the time were struggling on the field, Anderton's performances were superb and he scored his first career hat-trick during his time at the club

Nick Barmby - After his club Leeds United were relegated from The Premier League in 2004, Barmby joined his hometown club Hull City. In his first season with the club he helped them gain promotion from League One and in 2008 he was instrumental in getting Hull promotion to the Premier League. Barmby is still playing for the club to this day.

Kevin Phillips - After experiencing Premier League football with Sunderland and Aston Villa, Phillips dropped down to The Championship in 2006 and joined West Brom. Phillips had 2 seasons with the club and scored 38 times in 71 games to help them gain promotion back to The Premier League in 2008. Phillips then stayed in the Championship and moved to Birmingham City where he also helped them get promoted back to The Premier League.

Ian Harte - After leaving Blackpool in 2009, Harte signed for League One club Carlisle United. He ended up helping the team regain League One status after scoring 18 goals from defence. In 2010, Harte signed for Championship team Reading and had a great season scoring 10 goals and making the PFA Championship team of the year.


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English Premier League's Most Shocking Moments

With the announcement on Friday that Alex McLeish was set to take up the vacant managerial role at arch rivals Aston Villa, we take a look at some of the other controversial moments within the history of the English Premier League.

McLeish to Aston Villa from Birmingham City

Following victory over overwhelming favourites Arsenal in the League Cup , McLeish subsequently suffered a terrible run of form in the Premier League resulting in his Birmingham team getting relegated on the last day of the season. Although the board confirmed that he would keep his job, McLeish sent his resignation by email on June 12th amid rumours that he was set to join Aston Villa a role which he accepted 5 days later even though there were huge protests from Villa fans

DiCanio pushes referee

During a game between Sheffield Wednesday and Arsenal in 1998, Paolo Di Canio saw red in both senses of the word. An altercation between Di Canio and Arsenal's Martin Keown led to referee Paul Durkin showing the former the red card. Di Canio, in a fit of rage pushed referee Durkin, who fell to the ground in an almost comical fashion. Di Canio was subsequently fined £10,000 and received an 11 match ban.

David Busst injury
Arguably the most horrific injury the English Premier League has seen, Busst was playing for Coventry City against Manchester United in 1996 when he collided with United players Denis Irwin and Brian McClair, resulting in extensive compound fractures to both the tibia and fibula of his right leg. The horrific image led to Manchester United keeper Peter Schmeichel vomitting on the pitch. Busst's career was over but he has stayed in the game with Coventry City as Director of Football in the Community.

Kieron Dyer & Lee Bowyer fight on the pitch
A true "handbags" fight kicked off during Newcastle's 3-0 defeat at Aston Villa in 2005. Both players appeared in a press conference after the game with then Newcastle manager Graeme Souness to apologise for their behaviour but they pointedly did not apologise to each other

Robbie Fowler white line celebration
After scoring for Liverpool in the Merseyside derby against Everton, Fowler used the white line of the penalty area to simulate snorting cocaine as his goal celebration. This was in reference to the accusations of drug abuse from a faction of Everton fans. Fowler ended up with a £60,000 club fine and a 4 match ban for his antics.

Gallas protest
After Arsenal threw away a 2 goal lead against Birmingham in 2008 after Gael Clichy conceded a stoppage time penalty Gallas promptly sat in the centre circle and didn't move. It was only when Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger consoled him did he leave the field of play. Some people say that he was acting like a spoilt child but the general consensus is that his actions showed how much he cared about the club. 18 months later he moved to North London rivals Tottenham.

Adebayor goal celebration
After a summer move from Arsenal to Manchester City, Adebayor played for the first time against his former club at The City of Manchester Stadium at the start of the 2009-2010 season. The 4-2 victory for Man City was marred by Adebayor who, after scoring his goal ran the length of the pitch to the away end full of Arsenal fans and proceeded to goad them with his celebrations nearly inciting a riot.

Cantona kung-fu kick
Probably the most controversial moment in English Premier League history was when Eric Cantona leapt into the crowd at Crystal Palace and performed a kung fu kick on one of their fans who had been goading him as he walked to the tunnel after being shown the red card. For his actions he was fined £20,000, issued with 120 hours of community service and was banned from playing for the remainder of the season.

Campbell going to Arsenal
Sol Campbell was for many "Mr Tottenham" during the 1990's, a tremendous defender and club captain. In 2001 after being awarded a contract which would have made him the highest paid player in the club's history, Campbell switched allegiances and moved to arch rivals Arsenal on a free transfer. This of course caused uproar as he had stated in the Spurs magazine weeks earlier that he would never play for Arsenal. 10 years on and Spurs fans still regard him as "Judas" and he is still regarded as one of the biggest traitors in Premier League football.

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History of English Premier League Grounds

When Swansea City kick off their first home game of the 2011-2012 season within the English Premier League their ground "The Liberty Stadium" will be the 52nd stadium used to host matches.

The Taylor Report which followed the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 recommended that all stadia within the English Premier League must be all seating by the start of the 1994-95 season. This resulted in major restructuring of famous stadiums such as Old Trafford and Anfield and the creation of new stadiums such as Brittania Park and The Emirates Stadium. We have a look at all 52 stadiums that have hosted English Premier League football including the ones which have been demolished

Liverpool - Anfield, opened 1884 (Capacity 45,362)

Middlesbrough - Ayresome Park, opened 1903 and closed 1995 (Capacity 26,667)
Middlesbrough - The Riverside Stadium, opened in 1995 (Capacity 34,988)
Derby - Baseball Ground, opened 1892 and closed 2004 (Capacity 18,300)
Derby - Pride Park, opened in 1997 (Capacity 33,597)
Blackpool - Bloomfield Road, opened 1899 (Capacity 16,220)
West Ham - Upton Park, opened 1904 (Capacity 35,303)
Oldham - Boundary Park, opened 1904 (Capacity 10,638)
Sheffield United - Bramhall Land, opened 1855 (Capacity 32,702)
Stoke City - Britannia Stadium, opened 1997 (Capacity 28,383)
Bolton - Burnden Park, opened 1895 and closed 1997 (Capacity 25,000)
Bolton - The Reebok Stadium, opened in 1997 (Capacity 28,723)
Norwich City - Carrow Road, opened 1935 (Capacity 27,000)
Nottingham Forest - City Ground, opened 1898 (Capacity 30,602)
Manchester City - Maine Road, opened in 1923 and closed in 2003 (Capacity 35,159
Manchester City - City of Manchester Stadium, opened 2003 (Capacity 47,726)
Swindon Town - County Ground, opened 1895 (Capacity 14,700)
Fulham - Craven Cottage, opened 1896 (Capacity 25,700)
Southampton - The Dell, opened 1898 and closed 2001 (Capacity 15,200)
Southampton - St Mary's Stadium, opened in 2001 (Capacity 32,689)
Wigan Athletic - DW Stadium, opened 1999 (Capacity 25,138)
Leeds United - Elland Road opened 1897 (Capacity 39,460)
Arsenal - Highbury, opened 1913 and closed 2007 (Capacity 38,419)
Arsenal - Emirates Stadium opened 2006 (Capacity 60,355)
Blackburn Rovers - Ewood Park opened 1890 (Capacity 31,637)
Leicester City - Filbert Street opened 1891 and closed 2002 (Capacity 22,000)
Leicester City - Walkers Stadium opened 2002 (Capacity 32,500)
Portsmouth - Fratton Park, opened 1898 (Capacity 20,978)
Everton - Goodison Park, opened 1892 (Capacity 40,157)
West Bromwich Albion - The Hawthorns, opened 1900 (Capacity 26,500)
Coventry - Highfield Road, opened in 1899 and closed in 2005 (Capacity 23,489)
Sheffield Wednesday - Hillsborough, opened in 1899 (Capacity 39,812)
Hull City - KC Stadium, opened in 2002 (Capacity 25,404)
QPR - Loftus Road, opened in 1904 (Capacity 20,000)
Reading - Madjeski Stadium, opened in 1998 (Capacity 24,161)
Wolverhampton Wanderers - Molineux, opened in 1889 (Capacity 28,525)
Barnsley - Oakwell, opened in 1887 (Capacity 23,009)
Manchester United - Old Trafford, opened in 1910 (Capacity 76,212)
Ipswich Town - Portman Road, opened in 1884 (Capacity 30,311)
Sunderland - Roker Park, opened in 1898 and closed in 1997 (Capacity 22,500)
Sunderland - Stadium of Light, opened in 1997 (Capacity 49,000)
Birmingham City - St Andrews, opened in 1906 (Capacity 30,079)
Newcastle United - St James Park, opened in 1880 (Capacity 52,387)
Crystal Palace/ Wimbledon - Selhurst Park, opened in 1924 (Capacity 26,309)
Chelsea - Stamford Bridge, opened in 1877 (Capacity 42,055)
Burnley - Turf Moor, opened in 1883 (Capacity 22,546)
Charlton Athletic - The Valley, opened in 1919 (Capacity 27,111)
Bradford City - The Valley Parade, opened in 1886 (Capacity 25,136)
Watford - Vicarage Road, opened in 1922 (Capacity 19,920)
Aston Villa - Villa Park opened in 1897 (Capacity 42,788)
Tottenham Hotspur - White Hart Lane opened in 1899 (Capacity 36,310)

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Premier League Club's Debt

With the summer transfer window now open there is a hive of activity amongst the Premier League clubs. As the top clubs compete against one other to attract the big name players, the transfer fees and huge wage bills puts some of our top clubs more and more in debt. Utilising figures collated by Deloitte, we have a look at the ten clubs with the most debt in the English Premier League based on the financial year 2009-2010.

10/. Sunderland - £66 million. Not a massive debt in the grand scheme of things and does not include the £24 million that they received from the sale of Darren Bent to Aston Villa or the reported £20 million that they received from Liverpool for star player Jordan Henderson. Steve Bruce is however expected to spend the majority of this money on replacement players including Wes Brown, John O'Shea and Darron Gibson from Manchester United amongst others.

9/. Wigan - £72.5 million - A staggering fact is that Wigan spend 90% of their turnover on wages in order to compete with their Premier League rivals. Not the most fashionable club by any stretch, they have one of the lowest ticket prices in the league but still have one of the lowest average attendances. With the likes of Bolton, Man United and Man City nearby they are always going to struggle to fill their stadium. The cost of relegation for a club like Wigan would be huge so it is testament to Dave Whelan and Roberto Martinez for keeping them up.

8/. Tottenham - £78.6 million - The biggest problem that Spurs have is that White Hart Lane is simply too small. It's capacity is 36,000 and to getting a ticket for a game is a mission impossible. A friend of mine is on the season ticket waiting list and is 24,000 in the queue. Tottenham can easily fill a 60,000 capacity stadium so a massive revenue opportunity is missing at the moment -this is being addressed at the moment but it can't come soon enough. The Champions League run would have brought in a lot of cash this season and there is also talk of Bale and Modric going for mega money. This will significantly reduce the debt but will be disastrous for the team as a whole.

7./ Bolton - £93 million - A massive jump from the previous season of £29 million leaves Bolton in seventh place in the list. Similar to Wigan, an unfashionable club with an extremely high wage bill they need to ensure Premier League survival each year or they will be in big trouble.

6/. Aston Villa - £110 million - Villa are in a interesting position due to the fact that the debt of 110 million is owed to Chairman Randy Lerner. Of course he can write off this debt but it is highly unlikely. With the sale of key players this summer (Ashley Young and possibly Stuart Downing), the debt will of course be reduced but the team will never get into Europe without the money being reinvested in quality players.

5/. Arsenal - £135 million - The Arsenal strategy of investing heavily in their new stadium for long term gains in the long run whilst at the same time being extremely frugal in the transfer market seems to be working as their debt has more than halved in the space of a year. Your everyday Arsenal fan would rather see the money invested in the team and frustration is abound amongst their supporters at Wenger's reluctance to splash out on some much needed world class players.

4/. Liverpool - £143 million - A vast portion of Liverpool's debts are in the form of bank loans which means that they are paying ridiculous amounts of interest. Although they received £50 million for Fernando Torres this has been spent on Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez. Expect the debt to increase as Kenny Dalglish restructures the entire first team in order to gain a top four spot and entry into the lucrative UEFA Champions League.

3/. Fulham - £190 million - A big surprise in this list is Fulham who for a mid-table team have racked up a huge £190 million debt. There is only a finite amount of times the Mohammed Al-Fayed can bale them out and their position seems precarious as they don't have the funds to get world class players therefore always seemed destined for mid-table obscurity.

2/. Manchester United - £590 - This massive debt is largely due to the Glazer family who have placed their debt onto the club. Manchester United are however still the most valuable and well supported club in the world and their achievements this season will have helped the coffers. Sir Alex Ferguson has seen 3 key players retire this season so he will no doubt be using some of the money from the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer for replacements. The financial pressure to maintain their success is huge as their interest payments on their debt runs into millions.

1/. Chelsea - £733 million - Whilst this debt is huge it is not as bad as Manchester United's as the majority of it is owed to Roman Abramovich. This means that unlike Man Utd, they don't have to pay millions back in interest. Not the best of business models but at the same time not the worst.

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