How Many More Days Left???

Is the maddeningly long football off-season getting to you as well? Do you spend major chunks of your work day wondering why (insert favourite club) have spent stupid money on (insert unproven English youngster)? Do you still browse the club's official website for breaking news OR keep hitting refresh every 30 seconds on transfer gossip blogs? Are you switching channels while watching India vs West Indies OR Wimbledon, hoping to catch a rerun of Arsenal vs Chelsea, Barcelona vs Real Madrid OR Swansea vs Reading anything, really, as long as 22 men are kicking a ball around?

The Champions League final, which marked the end of the 2010-11 season, ended with Barcelona lifting the trophy in the fag end of May. Most of the top European leagues kick-off in the second week of August. In between is pure mental torture.

Irrespective of who you support, this is a nerve-wrenching period. Take just the English league. Liverpool fans will wonder if they’ve done enough with the signings of Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll in January, plus Jordan Henderson last month, to break back into the Top Four, forget winning the league.

Manchester United supporters, defending league champions, top manager and all, will be tearing their hair out thinking whether their squad can cope with the retirements of Paul Scholes and Edwin Van der Sar, and how much longer a 37-year-old ever controversial Ryan Giggs can carry their midfield. Is it even possible to replace that kind of quality? Well they have done brilliantly so far getting what they wanted at good prices. Phil Jones, Ashley Young and David De Gea have will be sharing the Old Trafford dressing room and all too happily.

Those who scream for Chelsea will be buoyed by the arrival of the Andre Vilas-Boas; but even they will be consumed by what mini-Mourinho can do with an ageing spine. Or whether he can get Fernando Torres to score a goal.

Man City fans are used to see them spending big in the summers but that hasnt happened yet this time. Probably the reason being UEFA's Financial Rules or they feel they already have the right players to challenge their bigger neighbours for the title. But that has'nt stopped press reporting every single player linked with the club, be it Sanchez or Pastore or David Villa.

For us Gooners, the misery of summer continues wondering if Fabregas will leave, now have to make time for fretting over whether or not Nasri will quit as well and who else wil join the so called mass exodus; and if the imminent arrival of Gervinho and Ricky Alvarez will be enough to off-set the departures of the two men who took them to, erm, fourth place in the league.

And Tottenham fans… well, they don’t count.

Building football teams is like working on a shape-shifting jigsaw puzzle and every team, all the time, need someone who will make them a better version of what they are. I understand that transfer business is complicated and time consuming, but the reality is that pre-season training begins early next week followed by the Asia Tour.
We still are not sure what our starting line up will be for these pre-season tours and we have'nt even worked upon our weaknesses from past 3-4 seasons, forget about closing gap on the Champions.

Barcelona, over the last three seasons, have been hailed as the greatest club side ever assembled. Even they’re looking to spend massive money on Alexis Sanchez and Cesc Fabregas because, in their rearview, they can see a wounded Mourinho's Real Madrid charging at them. Standing still is not an option. For nobody. I

And this season, more than any before, the money is completely mental. With the international meltdown having no impact on football’s bizarre billionaire-backed economics, the figures being bandied about make the mind boggle. If Pastore = £50m, Neymar = £45m, Sanchez = £44m, Hazard = £30m that’s what clubs are paying for promise these days, Then how can proven game-changers i.e. those 2 players Who Shall Not Be Named from the club You Know Which cost only £32m and £20m respectively!!! Mind-boggling!!!

Makes you wonder where the bidding for Messi would start.

Makes you wonder when the madness will end.

Makes you want the new season to get underway soon because, more than anything else, you want the painful stupidity of the transfer window to end.

Then again, it makes you want to hit refresh, just in case your club has finally put in a bid for the defenders your team so desperately needs.