2011 January Transfer Window: Day by Day Guide to Every Single Transfer

While the 2011 January Transfer Window may have been no where near as compelling, exciting or as interesting as the summer transfer window. It is undoubtedly one of the most important parts of the season.

Struggling teams are given a second chance to put records straight. While clubs with ambitions of winning trophies can really make a huge statement by either taking key players from rivals or by signing that one player who may turn out to be the one who gets them over the finishing line.

Here we take a quick look at every single transfer and offer some analysis on what could be the key moves this winter, or indeed this season.

Click here to read more.

Hold the BackPage – Team of the Year 2011

Hold the BackPage - Team of the Year 2011 by bpfootball

It’s the first Hold the BackPage of 2012 and Neil Sherwin is joined by Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon to sift through the festive period’s Premier League action, while the lads also pick their Team of the Year for 2011.

The first part of this week podcast looks back at the Premier League action of the past week or so. Neil is understandably relieved that Manchester United slipped up following City’s defeat to Sunderland, something that Ger took great pleasure in. There’s a look at all the big talking points on the field including Stephen Ireland’s return to form against Chelsea and the continuing great form of Spurs, while Sir Alex Ferguson’s reluctance to delve into the transfer market also provokes some discussion.

In the second half of the show, the lads discuss the best Premier League players of 2011 following Willie’s article on the website this week. There’s some surprise inclusions, not least one Spurs player, while some decisions were easy and unanimous. This week’s FA Cup Third Round also gets a preview with the potential for a couple of shocks on the cards.

English Premier League: Team of the Year 2011

Who have been the best players in the English Premier League during 2011?

We all know there have been a number of outstanding individual displays over the past year ranging from Wayne Rooney's wonderful performance against Manchester City last February to Yakubu's four goal haul for Blackburn against Swansea in December to any number of performances by Newcastle's goalkeeper extraordinaire Tim Krul, who has been outstanding since the beginning of the current season.

However, when all is said and done the cream always rises to the top although picking a Premiership XI is no easy task. There are numerous factors to consider when putting together any list, particularly one as divisive a best team of the year, so in gathering together my XI I have considered consistency, general all around play, whether the player has improved over the last 12 months significantly and last but not least their skill level.

So without further adieu, the EPL 2011 Team of the Year...

Hold the Back Page PODCAST: EPL Winners and Losers of 2011

Hold the BackPage - The year that was... by bpfootball

In the final Hold the BackPage podcast for the year, Neil Sherwin, Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon look back at 2011 in the world of football, while the latest Premier League action also gets dissected.

Hold The Back Page - Skinheads in Skirts - Man City / Tottenham 4-0 Liverpool / BRFC 4-3 Arsenal / Shamrock Rovers / The Rooney Rule / Gasperini

Hold the BackPage - Skinheads and Skirts by bpfootball

Hold the BackPage returns for another edition with Neil Sherwin again taking the lead and he is joined by Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon to sift through the latest Premier League action. 

The lads discuss Manchester City losing their 100 percent record, Tottenham hammering Liverpool 4-0 and Blackburn beating Arsenal 4-3 as well as a number of other hot topics including Shamrock Rovers in Europe, the Rooney Rule, Gasperini being sacked at Inter Milan and Turkey’s innovative new measures to combat hooliganism...

Hold The Back Page Podcast - Champions League / Manchester Domination of the EPL / Spurs / Dalglish and Liverpool / Peamount Utd

Hold the BackPage - Manchester Mania by bpfootball

The podcast is back for another edition as Neil Sherwin is joined by Ger McCarthy and Willie Gannon to discuss the opening round of Champions League action as well as the latest goings on in the Premier League as the Manchester clubs continue to lead the way.

With no vested interest in this year’s Champions League, Ger McCarthy is the perfect man to discuss the opening round of the competition as both Manchester sides picked up points. City were very much hit and miss at home to Napoli while, as Willie Gannon explains, United were far from convincing in their clash with Benfica. There’s also a look back at last night’s results for Chelsea and Arsenal as well as a round up of the rest of the games played.

Part 2 sees attentions turn to the Premier League with the possibility of a two horse race for the title developing. There’s a look at Liverpool who faltered against Stoke, while questions are asked about the possibility of Tony Pulis’ side qualifying for Europe this season through the league. Asamoah Gyan’s money grabbing antics also come under scrutiny and to round off the pod, Willie gives us the heads up about a massive game for Peamount United in the UEFA Womens Champions League.

Don’t forget, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or RSS!

Also if there is anything you would like to hear on the show in future simply drop us an email, tweet or comment on Facebook.

10 Things We Learned From Wayne Rooney vs. Kun Aguero and EPL Week 4

Manchester United and Manchester City dominated proceedings once again as the two sides continued their own private "anything you can do..." battle as both Wayne Rooney and Kun Aguero scored hat-tricks for their respective teams.

Liverpool traveled to Stoke for what many regarded as Kenny Dalglish's first real test of the season, which says a lot about how Arsenal are now perceived.

Speaking of the Gunners, they entertained Swansea at the Emirates as their struggling North London neighbours, Tottenham Hotspur, took on Wolves at Molineaux with Harry Redknapp entrusting his future to Emmanuel Adebayor and Scott Parker...

As with every Premier League weekend there was a multitude of talking points, so lets begin by going to the Emirates...

Owen Hargreaves: Manchester City Snap Up Ex-Manchester United Star on Free Transfer

Owen Hargreaves is to join Manchester City in one of the most dramatic and sensational transfer deals of the summer after the ex-Manchester United player agreed to undertake a pay-as-you-play deal for the Champions League debutantes.

Fresh from signing Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Stefan Savic it would seem that the free transfer of Owen Hargreaves to the club will gazump them all in terms of interest and,hopefully pray City fans, value.

"Shock signing" and Manchester City seem to go hand in hand since Sheik Mansour took over the club in 2008 and no one in their right minds would have suggested to add Owen Hargreaves to that list, expect perhaps for the midfielder himself...

10 Things We Learned From Manchester v North London and EPL Week 3

We're just three weeks into the new English Premier League season and we have already seen two of the greatest team performances of recent times, two of the worst team performances of recent times, and two clubs in crisis.
All in all it was a good day for Manchester as they beat North London 13-3 and the scary thing is, Wayne Rooney and Sergio Aguero are only going to get better as the season goes on.

Samir Nasri: New Manchester City Star Hits Out at Arsenal's Fans and Philosophies

Samir Nasri has left Arsenal for the cash laden pastures of Manchester City as expected....In one of the longest running transfer deals of the summer the French international - out of contract next summer - signed on the dotted line for Roberto Mancini around the very same time his old team were playing Udinese in the Champions League Qualifier with manager Arsene Wenger's future firmly in the balance.

Premier League Predictions: Champions, Top Four and Relegation

The 2011-'12 Premier League season is already promising to be one of the most exciting of all time. For the first time ever there are six teams who can actually win the title and there are at least ten teams who could end up getting sucked into the relegation zone thus making the league one of the most competitive in recent years.

Here we take a look at the title race with Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea and the race for fourth with Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur as well as the relegation battle which could in all reality almost involve the rest of the league!

Manchester City Etihad Stadium Deal: Evading Financial Fair Play?

Liverpool's managing director Ian Ayre has joined up with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Liverpool's owner John W. Henry in criticising Manchester City's recent £400 million sponsorship deal with Etihad Airlines.

All three have now called for the sponsorship deal to be investigated by UEFA as it now looks as if the stadium sponsorship monies will allow Manchester City to balance their books, thus falling in line with UEFA's new Financial Fair Play rules which will come in from next season.

Liam Gallagher Sings Blue Moon to Promote Manchester City's New Jersey

Everyone already knows that Manchester City has more money than every other team on the planet put together and just to prove it; they've hired Liam Gallagher and Beady Eye to sing "Blue Moon" in an MTV style video to promote their new jersey for the coming season...

Unsurprisingly, the ex-Oasis front-man gives a moody vesion of the Rodgers and Hart 1934 classic before launching into Beady Eye's 'The Beat Goes On.'

Some fans even went as far as to say that the music video was Kubrickesque, although how they jumped to that conclusion is anyone's guess. Maybe they had their 'Eyes Wide Shut' when they should have been concentrating on City's 'Paths to Glory'...

Anyway, for those who are interested. The jersey is still the exact same as last season and is still sponsored by United. (Etihad's meaning.)

Full List of 123 Players Released by Premier League Clubs Following 2010-11 Season

With the transfer window just open and with Liverpool and Manchester United having spent somewhere in the region of £40 million on two English U21 internationals. One could almost be forgiven for forgetting about the small number of players who have been released from the respective clubs on free transfers.

Each facing the very real prospect of never playing again.

Here is the full list of all 123 players released from duty by Premier League clubs following the 2010/'11 season.

Manchester City is United as Red and Blue Celebrate EPL and FA Cup Wins.

Not since 1968 have both sides of Manchester had something to sing about, but history repeated itself today as, first, Manchester United were crowned Premier League Champions for the 12th time before Manchester City beat Stoke City on the FA Cup Final to claim a memorable double for the former industrial centre of the world.

United wrapped up their 19th English League title with a well taken penalty from Wayne Rooney as they claimed the one point they needed against relegation threatened Blackburn Rovers. While in London, Yaya Toure, a certainty for City's player of the year, scored the only goal of a one sided game against Tony Pulis' Stoke side.

Manchester City 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur: Citizens Qualify For the Champions League

Manchester City has qualified for the Champions League after beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at the Eastlands. The victory came about thanks to a Peter Crouch own goal after just 15 minutes. The Citizens were second best for long periods of the match but despite Spurs dominating possession they barely created any clear cut chances on goal as a mean City defence led by Vincent Kompany stood firm.

How True Grit Explains The English Premier League

Something occurred to me while I was watching 'True Grit' the other day. It is a brilliantly acted and directed film that rarely puts a foot out of place while telling it's tale of retribution and relentless characters. However, one thing also stood out, the story is also a metaphor for the English Premier League...

Wayne Rooney Wonder Goal Earns Win For Manchester United Over City In Derby

Wayne Rooney ended Manchester City's slim title hopes at Old Trafford today as Manchester United won 2-1 to move within touching distance of the Premiership trophy. The England striker scored an amazing overhead kick that must be considered one of the greatest goals of the season, or any other season for that matter, as United gained the result their ambitious play deserved...

Premier League Sack Race: Odds For Every Manager

Who will be the next manager to get the sack in the English Premier League? Are Avram Grant’s days numbered? Does Wenger have to win a trophy? Can Roy Hodgson turn Liverpool around?
You wait around all season for the first EPL manager to be sacked and then two happen within the space of a week.


Chris Hughton’s and Sam Allardyce’s removals were both strange to say the least, as neither man was doing what would normally be considered as a bad job.

Whichever way you look at it, the money is the owners at the end of the day and they have the right to decide upon who takes the key roles in their organisation.

In the end, they make their own beds and have to lie in them…

Mario Balotelli: The Most Important Italian Player of All-Time

Italian football is at a crossroads. Every direction is fraught with with danger.

However, one man can bring the glory days back and steer Italian society towards a new era. That man is probably the most important Italian footballer of all time—Mario Balotelli.

Gone are the heady days of the '90s, where every world star had the ambition of making it in Serie A.

Money has dropped out of the game and in its place, a new enemy has risen—racism.