English Premier League: Predicting the Flops and Successes of the January Window

All in all, it was a pretty slow transfer window.

That is, compared to last year's of course. In the 2011 January Transfer Window, a whopping 225 million pounds were spent in the Premier League alone. This season, it was closer to 50 million pounds.

The most expensive move in last season's window was the record breaking 50 million pound transfer of Fernando Torres from Liverpool to Chelsea. This season, the most expensive move was Newcastle's landing of Papiss Cisse for 9 million pounds.

Now, there's no secret behind this. With UEFA's new financial fair play rules coming into effect, clubs are clearly being much more conservative with their transfers. But that also means clubs are being more shrewd with their transfers, and managers seemed to have made some bargain deals in this window.

I'll now try to predict the Premier League January transfers that succeed and the transfers that flop...

Success: The Cisses

Yep, both of 'em. 

No, they're not related, but both Papiss Demba Cisse and Djibril Cisse made moves to the Premier League in this window. I'll start with the former—Papiss, that is.

After his prolific scoring record of 37 goals in 65 Bundesliga matches for SC Freiburg, Papiss Cisse caught the attention of a number of Premier League clubs, including Arsenal and Tottenham. But in the end it was Newcastle who grabbed the signature of the Senegalese international, looking to bolster their challenge for a top six finish. 

I predict Cisse will do exactly that for the Tyne-Wear outfit, partnering up with fellow Senegal forward Demba Ba to form a formidable strike partnership. Ba is already the league's second top scorer with 15 goals to his name, and with a partner to score some goals and take the pressure off of Ba's shoulders, these two could be one of the strongest strike forces in the league.

Now, onto the next Cisse. Djibril.

Djibril Cisse is one of those players who just can't seem to stay at one club for longer than a few years. He started his career at AJ Auxerre, spending 6 seasons there before joining Liverpool, where he played for 2 seasons and established himself as a talented forward. Next he went to Marseille for 3 seasons until 2009, and since then, Cisse has been the stray dog of World Football.

Within 4 seasons Djibril Cisse played for 4 clubs, now joining Queens Park Rangers after playing for Lazio for just half a season. He had trouble finding form in Italy, not scoring since his debut against AC Milan, but I think he'll flourish for QPR in the Premier League.

He's already proved himself in England, scoring 13 times for Liverpool despite a career threatening leg break—I'm sorry, two career threatening leg breaks. He also netted 10 times while on loan at Sunderland, including some memorable goals against Tottenham and Newcastle.  

Get ready for the Cisses to be the next in-form Premier League forwards, but the real question is—can Papiss help Newcastle to a top 6 finish, and can Djibril save QPR from relegation?

Success: Ryo Miyaichi

Ryo Miyaichi completed a loan move to Bolton Wanderers on deadline day until the rest of the season. 

The Japanese wonder kid had a highly successful loan move in the second half of last season at Feyenoord, and will finally be tested in England this season as he looks to gain valuable Premier League experience with Bolton.

Owen Coyle seems to do something right when it comes to accepting young loanees from top Premier League clubs, as Jack Wilshere flourished there from Arsenal and Daniel Sturridge of Chelsea broke out as one of the best young talents in England at the Reebok Stadium.

Expect this move to be no different, and for Bolton to benefit from Ryo's dazzling moves and blistering pace.

Success: Nikica Jelavic

Although Scotland and England may border each other, they're worlds apart in terms of football.

Nonetheless, Nikica Jelavic looks like a good buy for Everton. David Moyes is the type of manager who rarely makes a bad transfer, and even though that could be because he rarely makes any transfer, he's still one of the best of his trade in England.

Jelavic netted 30 goals in 45 appearances for Rangers, and although that was in the Scottish Premier League, it's impressive nonetheless. Still, don't expect that kind of prolific scoring for Jelavic in England's top tier.

Overall, this seems to be a shrewd transfer that could help Everton solve their scoring issues, and it's certainly one the fans will be happy about as this was arguably Everton's most active transfer window.... ever?

Will Nikica Jelavic finally be the striker Everton need to help them push for Europe?

Maybe, just maybe...

Success: Liam Ridgewell

West Brom seemed to get a sure steal when they signed Liam Ridgewell on deadline day for an undisclosed fee believed to be around 4 million pounds.

Roy Hodgson's side have been much more defensively sound than they were last season, conceding just 32 goals as of now and not looking like they'll concede the whopping 71 that they did last season. Nonetheless, Hodgson made the smart move of making sure his defense stayed that way by snapping up Ridgewell.

Solid at the back, commanding in the air, and strong with his tackles, Ridgewell should surely slot into West Brom's defense with ease.

Flop: Gary Cahill

Chelsea have a bad record when it comes to transfer flops.

If 50 million pound Fernando Torres isn't the biggest flop in Premier League history, then it's Andriy Shevchenko—either way, it's still Chelsea who take the blame.

Well, I think Gary Cahill's next. After failing to make a move this summer when he was at the peak of his game, his performance level dropped drastically as he soon became a member of the worst defense in the Premier League. 

His move to Chelsea were under strange circumstances too, as the England international persisted with high wage demands until finally relenting and agreeing to a wage that seemed much higher than Cahill is actually worth. Obviously Cahill would give everything for Chelsea to win the title, but can't his commitment to the club come into question after he seemed to care more about the money than the step up in his career?

As much as Chelsea fans enjoyed this transfer, it's got all the signs of a flop.

Flop: Wayne Bridge

Wayne Bridge isn't the answer to any club's defensive issues, and that's simply because he's just not a great player.

He was awful in his loan spell at West Ham last season and did nothing to prevent the side from finishing dead last after a string of poor performances from the English defender.

He'll be hoping to fare better with Sunderland under Martin O'Neill, but don't expect any better from Bridge. 

At 31 years old, Wayne Bridge just seems to be a washed up Premier League footballer that's on the decline. He'll be a flop.

Flop: Louis Saha

This was the deadline day transfer we were all waiting for. You know, the one that happens every transfer window, the transfer that comes from absolutely nowhere.

33 year old Louis Saha is an accomplished Premier League striker, having good spells at Fulham, Manchester United, and Everton when he wasn't in the physio room. But he certainly isn't the answer to Tottenham's forward dilemma, nor is he the right transfer to strengthen their title bid.

Like I said, Saha is 33. No resale value, and only a good season or two left in him if he's lucky.

He won't flop like Carroll or Torres, but he definitely won't be a revelation for Spurs.

Flop: Bobby Zamora

Alright, now this one, I admit, is fairly bold.

Bobby Zamora is a talented forward, capable of scoring whenever he's on the pitch and a reasonable threat to most defenders. It was a good move by Mark Hughes to bolster his strike force with some goal scoring prowess, but QPR now have 4 forwards that should all be expecting first team football.

That's Heidar Helguson, the in-form Icelandic forward who's been QPR's main goal threat this season; Federido Macheda, the young talent on loan from Manchester United; Djibril Cisse, QPR's biggest transfer of this window who scored on his debut and is sure to find the net plenty more times this season; and Bobby Zamora.

I see Zamora struggling to find form with the lack of first team football and being in the shadow of Cisse and Helguson.