The World's Game

January 31, 2012

To sum up the closing of the January transfer window, we are joined by Sky Sports’ Jim White, the Patron Saint of Silly Season.

Bobby Zamora moves across West London from Fulham to QPR. Sky says it’s a done deal, the Guardian says there’s some salary haggling. QPR also bought Djibril Cisse. The Hoops have the highest number of signings, but for whatever reason threw a bunch of cash at aging, and in Zamora’s case, oft-injured strikers. I’m still picking QPR to go back down.
Exodus of surplus to requirements at Tottenham, with Sebastian Bassong heading to Wolves on loan, Steven Pienaar going back to Everton on loan, and Roman Pavlyuchenko going back to his native Russia to play for Lokomotiv Moscow. Oh, also Ryan Nelsen comes in from Blackburn, and Vedran Corluka heads out on loan to Bayer Leverkusen.
Oh, ‘Arry brought in Louis Saha on loan from Everton to shore up that think striker corps. Speaking of Everton, David Moyes brought in Nikica Jelavic from Rangers for 6 million pounds. (Rangers were shot down in efforts to find a replacement, as Norwich said no to selling captain Grant Holt.)
Manchester City are signing David Pizarro from Roma on loan.
Ravel Morrison, fresh off being dropped by Manchester United, will ply his trade for Big Sam’s West Ham United.
Wayne Bridge hopefully remembers how to play football now, as Sunderland have taken the left back on loan from Man City. Martin O’Neill has also brought in lumbering Greek and pirate stunt double Sotirios Kyrgiakos to shore up the CB corps.
Arsenal signed someone! It’s 19-year-old Thomas Eisfeld from Borussia Dortmund…for another logjam of young, creative mids. D’oh.
Chelsea signs Kevin de Bruyne from Genk…and then loan him right back to Genk.
Pavel Pogrebnyak takes Zamora’s place at Fulham. I’m still waiting for Martin Jol to run out a 4-1-5 formation with the 1 being Danny Murphy and then putting Dempsey, Ruiz, Johnson, Dembele, and Pogrebnyak out there. YOU KNOW HE WANTS TO.
Liam Ridgewell leaves Birmingham City for West Brom.
Bradley Orr left QPR for Blackburn. I heard someone arriving at Blackburn talking about how happy he was to join a top-shelf organization like Blackburn and I wondered how he could say it with a straight face.
Sulley Muntari goes to AC Milan on loan.
Thiago Motta leaves Inter for PSG.
Carlos Tevez, Andy Carroll, Christopher Samba, and Andrey Arshavin are still all at their respective clubs. However, don’t despair, Gooners! The Russian transfer window is still open for another month!