Kick Off

Its summer. One of the most dreaded times in the life of any football fan. No football to watch, and insane amount of transfer rumors which are bound to keep you in a frenzy. I am yet another one of those beleaguered football fans, so I thought why not voice my opinions on the transfer activities of the summer. With Perez back in the spotlight, and Madrid rebuilding their infamous ""Galactico"" era this has to undoubtedly be the most frenetic summer seen in some time.

The most interesting signing made by Madrid is not that of Kaka or Ronaldo or even the more recent Benzema but is the one of Raul Albiol. Now, many ""experts"" believe that the main cause of the downfall of the first Galactico era was Perez's undermining of the role of defense in winning trophies (remember Makelele?), so to see him investing in arguably one of Spain's best and young central defenders is puzzling. My knowledge on Albiol is based on his recent showings for Spain ( in the Confed Cup) and to and extent from FM and I would say that he has a bright future ahead. Madrid's attacking might was never questioned last season and CANNOT be questioned now, but their defense has always been suspect with the slowing Cannavaro, the erroneous Pepe and well Heinze (having him in the back line is tense for any manager). Now with Cannavaro gone, and Albiol and Garay (remember him??) coming in, it is an open question whether or not the credit for a clean sheet would go solely to Casillas or not.

Albiol is a good defender and has experience of playing in the La Liga and Madrid required a defender. Top notch signing : 9/10.

The other signing I want to talk about is Manchester United's first of this season- Luis Antonio Valencia. A speedy tricky right winger who came for surely more than 15m (Wigan said it was a club record). This guy has been linked with United since last summer, so a lot of thought has gone into this transfer. Of what I have seen him in Utd v Wigan matches, it is sure that he is quick and can cross. With Ronaldo gone and everyone expecting Rooney to play a central role this season, the United squad needed a winger for which he fits perfectly. Papers reported that Utd had to beat off competition from Madrid (not the one which bought Faubert but the newer one) for his signature, so this lad sure is worth it. Only time will tell if he will be a squad player or a dazzling winger (the kind we are used to seeing at the Theater of Dreams).

Good player but needs to be seen how good he will be at Utd and the cost is a negative: 6.5/10

I think thats enough for the first post. I think I will talk on Benzema on the next and one more signing which I have to decide (or you can suggest).