Blasphemy! Seven clubs lock horns for the title after sir Alex Ferguson's retirement!

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Lee Dixon: Man City raid Saints for top defender
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LEE DIXON Thursday 8 January 2015
Manchester City have officially announced the signing of Southampton strong center back Dejan Lovren (25) for a 16.0 million pounds fee. The hard tackling Serbian is a regular for his country and fans will certainly know him well for his temperament which often sees him arguing with referees. Lovren is quite versatile and can be utilized as full back on either flank if all other options are exhausted.

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Lovren compared to Kompany, Nastasic and Rami
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Dejan spent two largely successful seasons with the Saints and was a key part of a team that secured Europa League qualification last term and seems on track to repeat the feat this season. He has featured 60 times for Southampton and excelled in most of them but will need some management as received marching orders on four occasions. This capture proves beyond doubt Manchester City manager Jurgen Klopp is searching for a very specific set of attributes in his center backs as Lovren is quite similar to the other players City have on this position.

Dejan Lovren transfer verdict: 6.5/10 - boosting the numbers with quality cover might not be as spectacular as the fans would like to see but is required when you fight for trophies on a regular basis.
 
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Spurs sanction fullback exodus
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Last Updated: 10th January 2015

TWO fullbacks leave White Hart Lane

Tottenham have announced the sale of Danny Rose (24) to Aston Villa for a 5.5 million pounds fee. The former England U-21 international was deemed surplus to requirements even though he has featured regularly this season by making 14 first team appearances. While Rose wasn't exactly a world beater, his energy down the left flank will be missed.
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Rose leaves the Lane

And Tottenham will certainly need to enter the market for a fullback or two as Kyle Naughton (26) was also allowed to leave after the club agreed a cut-price 325k pounds offer from Fulham. Naughton, also a former England U-21 international, was a regular for Spurs in the previous season but saw his role reduced to just four starts and nine appearances from the bench this term. These transfers leave Tottenham short of any depth in the fullback position and will go down as exceptionally bad business if the club doesn't have any replacements in the pipelines.
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Naughton follows suit
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Danny Rose transfer verdict: 4.5/10 - he was a decent squad player and selling him before a replacement was brought in was a risk that didn't have to be taken.

Kyle Naughton transfer verdict: 3.5/10 - same note as the Danny Rose transfer but enhanced by the fact the club didn't even get the market value of the player.
 
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Premier League predictions: Lawro v sir Caine

BBC Sport's football expert Mark Lawrenson is pitting his wits against a different guest each week this season.

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This week he takes on English actor, author and Chelsea fan sir Michael Caine. Renowned for his distinctive Cockney accent, Caine appeared in over 115 films and is one of the UK's most recognisable actors. He has been Oscar-nominated six times, winning his first Academy Award for the 1986 film Hannah and Her Sisters, and his second in 1999 for the Cider House Rules, in both cases as a supporting actor. His performance in Educating Rita in 1983 earned him the BAFTA and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor.

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Lawro vs Chelsea fan sir Michael Caine

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A correct result is worth ONE point. A correct score earns THREE points.

Swansea - Tottenham
Sir Michael Caine: This will be a very close match and I favor Swansea to take something from it. 1-1.
Mark Lawrenson: My feeling is Spurs will be kicked back to life from the Benzema signing and this will be enough to see out the hosts in this one - 1-2.

Arsenal - Crystal Palace
Sir Michael Caine: No contention at all, the Gunners are a different league - or two. 4-1.
Mark Lawrenson: Palace might be up for a fight but it will only be a matter of time before they concede and once that happens more are likely to follow. 3-1.

Hull - Chelsea
Sir Michael Caine: It won't be easy in this one but we need to win away games, too, if we are to challenge for the title. 1-2.
Mark Lawrenson: I'll go for an upset in this one, 1-1.

Manchester United - Q.P.R.
Sir Michael Caine: They will want to wash away the shame of that midweek embarrassment against Cardiff, no? 3-0.
Mark Lawrenson: If anything this Red Devils team is used to producing a reaction at its darkest hour and it's not very bright at Old Trafford right now. 2-0.

Fulham - Newcastle
Sir Michael Caine: Don't ask me why, Newcastle need to lose so that we catch up with them - 2-1.
Mark Lawrenson: I don't think the Magpies will make any mistake at the Craven Cottage of all places. 0-2.

Stoke - Manchester City
Sir Michael Caine: Good place to drop points but I'll go with a close away win. 1-2.
Mark Lawrenson: The Citizens need to keep momentum going and will get three points at Britannia one way or another - 0-2.

Last week, Lawro got three results right, with no perfect scores. His score of 3 was way off the predictions of Liverpool fan Caroline Wozniacki, who managed four correct results with two perfect scores.

Total scores after Week Nineteen
Lawro: 82
Guests: 60
 
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Premier League
Round 20

Saturday 10th January 2015:

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Swansea - Tottenham 1-0​
Paulinho o.g. (23)
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Arsenal - Crystal Palace 3-1
Vermaelen (1), Isco (23), Giroud (pen 34); Gayle (67)
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Hull - Chelsea 0-2
Hazard (52), Lampard (pen 77)
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Manchester United - Q.P.R. 4-0
Fabio (29), Bale (42), van Persie (59, 88)
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Sunday 11th January 2015:

Fulham - Newcastle 4-3
Anita o.g. (8), Rhodes (59, 90), Kacaniklic (78); Suarez (14), Ben Arfa (18), Alvarez Balanta (55), Donovan sent off (65)​
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Stoke - Manchester City 1-2
Vellios (5); Jovetic (49), Clichy (72)
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League Table:

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Liam Gallagher @liamgallagher what a tool @ Marseilles can you--iiiiiiiiiiiiiii 1m

#mcfc wrapping another big player - midfield playmaker LGx

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Lee Dixon: Citizens sign quality playmaker
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LEE DIXON Sunday 11 January 2015
Manchester City have answered the calls of manager Jurgen Klopp for a playmaker specialist by granting a return to England for Luka Modric (29). The Real Madrid midfielder has been officially presented to the media after the Spanish giants agreed to sell him for a 28.5 million pounds fee. Modric has 80 caps and 9 goals for Croatia and likes to pull the strings in the middle by dictating the tempo. He spent two and a half years in Madrid but his performance this season has been a disappointment after scoring six and creating 20 more during the previous campaign.

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Modric compared to Nasri and Silva
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Modric will provide much needed competition for injury prone Samir Nasri. His arrival will also allow David Silva to be employed in a more advanced role. It will be interesting to see what Klopp's idea are though as the trio share similar qualities and can easily be rotated or swap positions on the pitch if fielded in the same time.

Luka Modric transfer verdict: 8.5/10 - this acquisition adds even further depth in what is the essential position of the Citizens' formation and it will be pure joy to watch this midfield line for the second half of the season.
 

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Simon Pegg @simonpegg what a tool @ Marseilles can yo-----i------ue 1m

Big striker signing imminent but one top midfielder about to move out #CFC

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Mourinho adds even more firepower
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Tony Cascarino Commentary
Last updated at 10:51AM, January 12 2015

Chelsea fans wanted a top striker signing to make them forget Didier Drogba and were wondering how he wasn't replaced with quality for so long... but this season they got not one but two of those! That's right, after signing Radamel Falcao in the summer, the Blues have built on that by adding Robert Lewandowski (26) from Barcelona for a ground-breaking fee of 67.0 million pounds. The 68 times capped Poland international (28 goals) seems like a better version of Fernando Torres - he moves into channels, comes deep to get the ball, plays one-twos, he just has it all. He had a 0.5 goals per game ratio over a season and a half with the Catalan giants and was even better for Dortmund before that. Differences at this level are marginal and hard to notice but it is worth to point out Robert is a slightly more physical player than Falcao, a bit faster and more technically gifted while the Colombian has greater aerial threat and is a better finisher. Third striker Lukaku throws additional pace and aerial prowess in the mix to complete what is now a lethal strike force at Mourinho's disposal!

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De Bruyne couldn't make it at Chelsea
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The squad is so full of quality players now it's little surprise even Mourinho couldn't keep all Chelsea players happy and had to sell one of the bright talents in the roster. Cultured midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (23) has accepted a 13.75 million pounds move to Napoli after declaring he wants to be a key player for a Champions League club rather than bit-part substitution. Mourinho couldn't grant him such role and reluctantly let him go. It is a pity as De Bruyne is without a doubt a top player in the making but he only made seven starts for the Blues and his performances suggested he wasn't ready to hold the role he demands.

Robert Lewandowski transfer verdict: 20/10 - amazing piece of business and the Blues now have the most lethal trio
of strikers in the league - potentially in the world!

Kevin De Bruyne transfer verdict: 6.5/10 - talented or not, De Bruyne's departure won't harm the first team and the club commanded a very good price for him.
 

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Hugh Laurie @hughlaurie what a tool @ Marseilles can -u--------------e 1m

Wenger to raid Italy again for a top winger who can play striker as well!

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Gunners bring in AC Milan winger
Italy international joins De Sciglio at the Emirates
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Young and sharp - just as Wenger likes 'em
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By Alan Smith
10:21AM GMT 13 Jan 2015

Arsenal have completed another signing from famous Italian club A.C. Milan after the transfer of full back Matia De Sciglio in the summer. This time it is a winger on the place to London - Stephan El Shaarawy (22) turned down Tottenham to join the Gunners in a 27.0 million pounds move. The fans will be pleased we got one over rivals Spurs but reports suggest it was De Sciglio's presence that weighed the package our way when Stephan was making up his mind. The enthusiastic winger is a great addition as he fits all criteria for a successful Wenger signing - he's young with bags of potential, yet an established player already - and he can play in any offensive position on the pitch.
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​Stephan compared to Vela, Walcott and Isco

El Shaarawy has made 17 appearances for Italy and was part of the setup that won the World Cup in the summer but his goalscoring record for them is somewhat disappointing with just one goal to show for. Additional concerns are raised by the fact his first half of the season with Milan wasn't much better - 3 goals and 4 assists in 17 starts. Wenger will hope to revive the winger's form from the previous campaign which saw him called up for the World Cup squad in the first place - El Shaarawy scored 15 in 36 starts back then.​

Stephan El Shaarawy transfer verdict: 8.0/10 - valuable option to compete with Isco, Walcott and Vela if he can rediscover his previous form.
 
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Premier League predictions: Lawro v Tony

BBC Sport's football expert Mark Lawrenson is pitting his wits against a different guest each week this season.

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This week he takes on British Labour Party politician and Newcastle fan Tony Blair, who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. On the day Blair resigned as Prime Minister, he was appointed the official Envoy of the Quartet of the Middle East. In May 2008, Blair launched his Tony Blair Faith Foundation which drew criticism from media and various academic and religious circles.

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Lawro vs Newcastle fan Tony Blair

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A correct result is worth ONE point. A correct score earns THREE points.

Newcastle - Hull
Tony Blair: I expect goals galore and us to win this game. 5-1.
Mark Lawrenson: I also don't think the Magpies will have trouble getting back to winning ways after the disappointing loss at Fulham - 3-0.

Chelsea - Sunderland
Tony Blair: Our most notable challengers this season will win and I don't say it because it's Sunderland they face. 3-0.
Mark Lawrenson: I second that again. 4-1.

Tottenham - Stoke
Tony Blair: I'll go with a draw in this one, 2-2.
Mark Lawrenson: Can't see how Spurs will miss to take three points at home in this one. 2-0.

West Ham - Manchester United
Tony Blair: Can't expect anything but a convincing away victory here. 0-3.
Mark Lawrenson: I'll mimic this prognosis, it has classic away win all over it. 0-3.

Manchester City and Arsenal games postponed

Last week, Lawro got five results right, with no perfect scores. His score of 5 was still not good enough to match the predictions of Chelsea fan sir Michael Caine, who managed five correct results with one perfect score.

Total scores after Week Twenty
Lawro: 87
Guests: 67
 
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Premier League
Round 21

Wednesday 14th January 2015:​

Tottenham - Stoke 1-1
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Soldado (pen 62); N'Zonzi (13)​
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Chelsea - Sunderland 3-0​
Oscar (10), Falcao (23), Lampard (56)
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West Ham - Manchester United 1-3
Jarvis (3); Di Maria (38), Jones (75), Hibbert o.g. (87)​
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Newcastle - Hull 6-5
Tiote (14), Remy (38), Suarez (53), Baines (pen 60), McGregor o.g. (79), Depay (90+3);
Helenius (3, 73, 83), Huddlestone (43), Livermore (71)
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Arsenal and Manchester City games postponed

League Table:

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Phil Collins @PhilCollinsFeed what a tool @ Marseilles can -u-----------e 1m

#THFC calling a press conference to announce an exciting attacking midfielder

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Spurs go Bosnian to save season
Villas-Boas adds another Modric replacement​
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David Pleat
The Guardian, Friday 16 January 2015
Tottenham have continued strengthening in the winter market by grabbing up Miralem Pjanic (24) from Roma for 30.5 million pounds. Pjanic offers a midfield option than Christian Eriksen but in fact both players are quite similar. Miralem probably likes to be on the creative side of things while Christian enjoys finishing the moves himself. Pjanic wasn't enjoying the best season of his career with Roma until January, getting 10 starts and 6 appearances from the bench with substandard performances even though he contributed 2 goals and 3 assists.

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Pjanic comes to the Lane
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The deal received mixed immediate reception. While the fans were happy to see a player of Pjanic's stature joing the club, they also believe more pressing business in replacing Naughton and Rose should have been addressed first.​

Miralem Pjanic transfer verdict: 6.5/10 - a transfer of this magnitude is bound to receive a positive rating although Pjanic doesn't add much Spurs didn't already have at the team and given the club's underwhelming performances in the league perhaps a little shake up outside the box would have been more useful.
 
Gunners let two squad players leave
Kieran and Mikel have to be thanked for years of good service​
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Sol Campbell
The Guardian, Friday 16 January 2015
Arsenal have allowed two more players of the backbone of the previous team leave. Quite surprisingly Kieran Gibbs (25) has been transfered to Everton for 2.4 million pounds. The attacking fullback came through the youth ranks at the Emirates and came just short of playing 100 games for the Gunners. Kieran has been utility player over the past two seasons and was unlikely to feature any more regularly after the summer arrival of Filipe.

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Gibbs not good enough for first team
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The other player Arsenal let go is experienced midfielder Mikel Arteta (32). The Spaniard has opted to return to his native country and join Valencia in a 675k pounds move. Mikel spent three and a half years at Arsenal after his move from Everton but saw his role gradually reduced. He was probably right to make one last go for first team football in a top league while he still is close to his best.

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​Arteta granted Spain move
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Kieran Gibbs transfer verdict: 5.0/10 - it's always sad to see a club graduate leave after getting so close to an established first team member.

Mikel Arteta transfer verdict: 5.5/10 - it was the right time to say goodbye to a good servant who can't help much and the club showed a touch of class by reducing the transfer fee to grant his request for a move to Spain.
 
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lewandowski is a gr8 signing!! cant see chelsea finishing anywhere but top this seaason! how are the pool doing in championship?
 
Pogba makes Old Trafford return after two and a half year exile

Gary Neville
Published at 7:58AM, January 17 2015

There was widespread criticism when Manchester United allowed Paul Pogba to join Juventus on a free transfer in 2012. It was suggested the business model behind sir Alex Ferguson's success often meant a number of squad players would be stuck on high wages making it near impossible for academy products to find a place in the first team. Two and a half years later Manchester United has paid the price to bring Paul Pogba (21) back to Old Trafford. And it is bound to raise even more questions as the club had to meet an asking price of 43.0 million pounds from FC Bayern as the Munich giants had signed the player some short six months ago.

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Pogba back in Manchester

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I will leave those arguments aside for the time being as we are likely to hear much of it in the coming weeks. What matters right now is if the midfield playmaker justifies such a price on merit of his qualities. Branded a long term replacement for Paul Scholes once, the French international will compete for starting position with the likes of Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini and Milan Badelj. To be fair, he is way beyond the ability of two of those and only Fellaini can stand his own in direct comparison. I feel pairing Marouane and Pogba would let them complement each other in the engine of the Red Devils' midfield and the thought of that should excite the fans.

Paul Pogba transfer verdict: 8.5/10 - a definite upgrade on Badelj and Carrick, Pogba should walk straight in the starting lineup and form a formidable partnership with Fellaini.
 
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