Is There Something Strange About Henry, Beckham, Ronaldo & Villa?

The English Premier League - to take a line from Carlsberg - probably the best league in the world. Year on year people get hyped over the summer about which player is going where, how much he will cost. The rumours about players and teams coming together makes you look forward to the new season all the more, but now I have started to wonder... Is there really any point?

Last season the biggest transfer into the premier league was arguably the arrival of Fernando Torres to the red half of Merseyside. He was a great addition to an underachieving squad but in the end all his hard work didn't make a difference to the outcome of Liverpool's 2007/08 campaign. Hard luck El Nino.

The biggest departure in England was probabaly that of Thierry Henry. As you all know, I am an Arsenal fan and I adore Thierry Henry, but I would still be lying if i said he done well in Barcelona last year.

£16.5m seems such a cheap amount for a player who was once unofficially on top of the world. His departure saddened me but it seemed nothing compared to the Catalonia faithful's reaction, when Thierry was under performing when they needed him most. Last year Barcelona lacked the goals that usually come so easy to them, and Thierry Henry was first to blame.

In the summer of 2003, David Beckham got bored of Manchester, packed his bags and went to live in Madrid. For 4 years, Real Madrid didn't win a trophy, the Spanish press reacted badly and once again the former England captain was under pressure. Whether this is just the ways of Spain but it all seems to be a bit coincidental.

This summer, all the outgoing rumours have been directed toward Cristiano Ronaldo and his love affair with the white of Madrid. In my opinion he will leave, unsuccessfully. Since Fabio Capello killed the Galactico ways by offloading Ronaldo to AC Milan in 2006 Real Madrid have been different... They've been good.

Cristiano Ronaldo is too crazy for boy's town and too much of a boy for crazy town. He will not fit in and he will be wasted in a slowly declining league.

Coincidentally, most of the incoming rumours have been directed at David Villa, currently plying his trade in, you guessed it ...... Spain!

This is becoming a bit familiar. As good a player as Mr. Villa is, can he cut the mustard in the premier league. I believe he can.

I think he will buck the trend and not only play exceptionally well , like Torres, he will also have an impact on his teams fortunes, unlike Torres, should he join.

I don't know what it is about the bright lights of London, Madrid and Barcelona but as these transfers have proved, it's sometimes better to stay at home.

Over Hs