Angels and Devils

John Obi-Mikel's future has, depending upon which media outlet you believe, either been resolved or is still up in the air. Back in February, I noted that the likely outcome would be United owning the players registration but that Chelsea would then "buy" him and get off scot-free for their shenanigans. It looks as if this is going to be the case with the fee set at £12m (approx. $20m), of which United get £10m and Lyn Oslo £2m. Given the players subsequent comments about the Mancunians, this is the best outcome for Fergie despite his wish to sign the player. Going to Chelsea is proving to be akin to be put on death row - ask Shaun Wright-Phillips. Obi Mikel will need to show exceptional talent to break into the first team in his chosen position, languishing behind Fat Frank and The Red Baron on the playing front. Add to that mix Cole, Robben, Duff, Makalele, Wright - Phillips, Diarra and Geremi and it becomes apparent that Chelsea are not buying to strengthen their squad, more to prevent their rivals from signing decent players. It is heartwarming to hear that Rosicky has joined Walcott and Diaby amongst others who have decided that first team football is more important than money and rejected the Blue Menaces advances.

Fernando Morientes was a few years ago riding the crest of a wave, part of a dream forward line with Raul in Madrid. Whilst his cohort has been protected at the club due to his previous exploits and being a media darling, Morientes found himself being pushed further out of the picture until a loan spell at Monaco resurrected his career. Seemingly on an upward trajectory, he joined Liverpool with the promise to deliver the goods and become one of the best forwards to grace the Premiership. That did not happen and he is now back in La Liga, at Valencia. The question must be asked as to why both he and Cisse have failed to make an impact. In theory, these two make a good partnership in that both are capable of scoring and creating goals but neither has proved themselves able to do so. The pair were highly rated before joining Liverpool and Benitez has failed to get the best from them. In Cisse's case, he did not sign the player but thought highly enough of the Frenchman to try to hijack his move to Anfield. The answer must be the style of play - a problem that will not be immediately resolved by signing Mark Gonzalez although he has to be an improvement on "Peachy Bum" Kewell. By not signing Owen when he returned from Madrid, Liverpool now will have to pay more for a less proven goalscorer to resolve that particular problem. It is inconceivable that Owen has an escape clause valuing him at only £12m but if he has, I would have thought that Rick Parry would be on the phone to Freddie Shepherd to fill his pockets full of paper stuff. That is of course, provided David Dein has not got to him first. Arsenal need another goalscorer in the team to alleviate their over-reliance on Henry to get them out of trouble. Owen would compliment Thierry well, his basic game would fit well into the Arsenal team, so there is no obvious reason other than Newcastle's unwillingness to sell for clubs not to tempt the Geordies with a huge wad of cash. Of the top four, Benitez and Darth Fergie will be vying for the title of busiest manager over the summer.

Theo Walcott made his England debut last night in the B International defeat to Belarus. For the watching England manager, the only real positives to come from this match were that Michael Owen came through unscathed against some pretty, ahem, basic defending. Michael Carrick and Aaron Lennon stood out for England but otherwise it was a pretty low key affair. Walcott did OK, showing glimpses of why Wenger paid up to £12m for him. The main talking point however was the injury to Robert Green after being on the pitch for five or so minutes, ruling out his involvement in Germany. His replacement in Germany will be Liverpool's Scott Carson who played for Sheffield Wednesday on loan this season. Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney will not be playing in England's Group Matches and is unlikely to be fully fit for a potential second round tie against Poland or the host nation. In an ideal world, Eriksson would play 4 - 5 - 1, with a midfield of Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Cole and Carrick with Owen the lone striker. This formation would probably be the one to face Sweden with Carrick making way for Crouch against Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago.

Today's Tunes are from Echo and the Bunnymen, taken from the Avalanche Tour EP, Silver and It's All Over Now (Baby Blue)