The transfer window has left the building...

Hi,
If you're finished with exams, I hope they went well, if you've still got some left, good luck, keep plugging away.
The transfer window is now shut, and, thankfully there are now whisperings about it being scrapped altogether, which, for my part, I think is a good idea. Now, admittedly, with Sky Sports News superb 24 hour news coverage, transfer deadline day is very exciting. But I maintain that stopping lesser teams buying players when they want to is wrong, and can probably lead to hurting the clubs long term. It also can't be great for players' futures. The transfer window has led to dozens more players signing on loans as opposed to permanent deals, leaving things up in the air.
However, for now the transfer window will open again in July and so we had better get going reviewing the biggest moves in January:

Jan 1 - Lassana Diarra (Portmsmouth to Real Madrid) £20m. A great move for Diarra (or Lass as he has on the back of his shirt nowadays) but an inevitable one for Pompey. A club in free fall is always going to lose its best players. Still, £20m is a lot of money for someone untried at the highest level.

Jan 2 - Zoran Tosic (Partizan Belgrade to Man U) Undisclosed. It is my wont to make outlandish and unfounded predictions, and one of those is that I predict Tosic will be brilliant. I have no basis for this, he's a little, nippy left winger but that's about all I know about him. Already got a few minutes off the bench. I hope I'm proved right.

Jan 3 - Wayne Bridge (Chelsea to Man City) £12m. I think £12m is a bit much for a solid premier league performer, number two for club and country. It shows how much money City have to splash that they can shell out so much for Bridge. I'm not sure that left back was the first place I'd have looked to strengthen at Eastlands. I think centre back is a position that seriously needs looking at if they are to get themselves up the table.

Jan 9 - Jermain Defoe (Portsmouth to Spurs) £15m. Another inevitable transfer. Pompey were always going to lose him, with the form he was in, and Spurs were always going to be the team he went to. As far as it goes, I think it's a good move for Defoe (though he is injured now obviously) I do rate him, though not at the international level. I also think, albeit with a huge amount of bias, that Darren Bent is probably at the same level, but Redknapp doesn't seem to have that faith in him.

Jan 19 - Craig Bellamy (West Ham to Man City) £14m. Wow, Craig Bellamy eh? City fans must be pig-sick having seen the prospect of Kaka drift by and being left with Bellamy. The Welshman seems to cause problems wherever he goes, and out grow a club after a while (a la Nicolas Anelka albeit without the skill). I'm not sure Bellamy will be the answer to City's problems, it's interesting to see £19m Jo go to Everton, when he's not been given half a season to bed in. Will Bellamy be the quick fix he's been signed to be? I doubt it.

Jan 21 - Nigel de Jong (Hamburg to Man City) £14m. Brilliant on Football Manager back in the day but £14m is a bit much bearing in mind he had a £1.8m clause for purchase in the summer. City should've waited till then and got him on the cheap. Maybe their hand was forced. Still, not Kaka is he?

Jan 23 - Jimmy Bullard (Fulham to Hull) £5m. A wonderful signing for Hull should he stay fit. I was very surprised to hear that he'd moved to the KC Stadium of all places, but they have obviously given him the security he couldn't get at The Cottage. I doubt it will enhance his England hopes, but I think he'll keep Hull out of relegation worry.

Emile Heskey (Wigan to Aston Villa) £3.5m. Signing of the window as far as I'm concerned. A snip at £3.5m especially when you look at Bellamy's fee. Scored on his debut, though that's not what he's there for. Should keep him in the England squad for the forseeable future. I'm chuffed as I've been a fan of Heskey for years, despite the widespread criticism he received.

Jan 26 - Carlo Cudicini (Chelsea to Spurs) Free. I feel gutted for Heurelho Gomes that he's been dropped. I also find it strange that Cudicini would accept this offer after all the others he must have received over the years. However, a quality signing and should help to sure up the leaky Spurs defense.

Unlike

Pascal Chimbonda (Sunderland to Spurs) £2.5m. I can't believe it! Chimbonda, who had one good season at Wigan and got a move to Spurs the first time around and has lived on this for a while. It also means that Spurs have three right backs (Chimbonda, Hutton and Corluka) which I think is a bit bizarre. He also said that if Lyon wanted him that he would walk there, I wonder if he walked to White Hart Lane.

Jan 30 - Kevin Nolan (Bolton to Newcastle) £4m. A good move for Nolan in terms of moving to a bigger club, but he's also walked into a very real relegation battle. I'm not sure he's the man to take the magpies clear of the drop-zone. They are in desperate need of a striker.

El Hadji Diouf (Sunderland to Blackburn) Undisclosed. The move that paved the way for Roque Santa Cruz to Man City (though that never happened). A good player when he's bothered, which isn't that often.

Jan 31 - Julian Faubert (West Ham to Real Madrid) Loan. The strangest move of the window, not sure how he made it happen, his agent must be a miracle worker. I'm reliably informed that he was no star at Bordeaux, so if you can't do it in Ligue 1, I don't know how you can expect him to light up La Liga.

Giles Barnes (Derby to Fulham) Loan. Great signing, good player with a big future if he can stay fit.

Feb 1 - Shay Given (Newcastle to Man City) £6m. Quality signing, arguably City's best of the window. He is, in my opinion, the best 'keeper in the league. Though, it's harsh on young Joe Hart.

Feb 2 - Ryan Taylor & Charles N'Zogbia (Wigan to Newcastle) Swap. Obviously, Wigan have got the best deal out of this. Joe Kinnear's gaffe on the TV the other day was reprehensible, and "Charlie" is well shot of him. Taylor can hit a free kick though, so good luck to him, he's good enough to slot into the Newcastle team straightaway.

Ricardo Quaresma (Inter to Chelsea) Loan. He is exactly what Chelsea need, a bit of quality on the wings. He is a bit hit and miss though, so whether he'll succeed is another thing.

Robbie Keane (Liverpool to Spurs) £12m. I've heard Harry Redknapp is trying to get Martin Jol in to coach the side. How about Paul Robinson? Or Dimitar Berbatov? Or Steed Malbranque? Seriously, Spurs have got a top player plus £8m. It's debatable if Rafa Benitez wanted him in the first place, but it's a terrible bit of business for Liverpool. What happens if Torres gets injured?

Jo (Man City to Everton) Loan. I hope this works out for Jo, people forget that he's a young lad, still learning the game in a new country. If anyone can get the best from him, it's David Moyes.

Feb 3 - Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg to Arsenal) Undisclosed. A strange one, for me. Obviously it was a stupid process, at one point he was only still in the country because of the weather. I'm not sure his was a position that needed filling. What will happen when Fabregas, Eduardo et al are back to fitness? Still, his quality isn't up for debate, let's hope he can replicate some of his summer form. He will need to if Arsenal are to make the Champions League.

Now I've left a few out, which is a good thing because this blog is massive! For the record, I'm chuffed that Kaka turned Man City down, it's a good thing for football, though City may find it tough bringing in big players now that Kaka has said "no".

Congratulations to Rafa Nadal, who won a pulsating Aussie Open final on Sunday. It's not the end of Roger Federer though, he's my pick for Wimbledon this year.

Congratulations also go to Pittsburgh who won the Superbowl for a record-breaking sixth time at the weekend. What a game it was too! The Cardinals will be back.

Good luck if you're in sporting action this week. As always, comments, sport stories, ideas to online.sport@forgetoday.com

Is American Football the best sport in the world?

I'm sure for many the answer to that question would be no. I admit, that would have been my reaction but six months ago. But slowly, since my brother moved back to England from the States engulfed with an insane love for the game, I've become a devotee as well. The problem with American Football for lots of British people is the stop-start nature of the game. While I admit that it annoys me somewhat, you watch enough and you get used to it. Another reason why the game hasn't taken off in this country is that the common sports fan only watches the Superbowl. This just isn't enough time to grow to understand and appreciate such a complex sport. It also doesn't help that American Football is not played by many in this country, so it can only be accessed by a few.
I went to watch New Orleans v San Diego at Wembley last October and was hooked. Like many, I watch the Superbowl every year, but watching a game live is just something else. The breaks in play become irrelevant (they're pretty speedy changes anyway) and watching a superstar like LaDainian Tomlinson break a few tackles and motor away to get a touchdown is a sight to behold.
This week has been a huge one for any British NFL fan. It started with the Conference finals (effectively the Superbowl semi finals) and finished with tickets going on sale for this year's Wembley game, between the biggest team in the game the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I got my tickets, can't wait.
If you fancy watching the Superbowl this year, let me fill you in on my "journey to Tampa (where the match is being played)" as the media is dubbing it. I managed to get to a TV with Sky Sports on it for the last games of the regular season. I'm a Patriots fan, my brother a Dallas Cowboys fan. We settle down for the Patriots game, knowing they have to win to have a hope of making the playoffs. They do win, thrashing Arizona in the snow. The Patriots have been up and down this year after a raft of injuries to key players, not least quarterback Tom Brady who has been out nearly the entire season. However, the team New England need to lose to go through win, leaving the Pats with one of the best records of a team to not make the playoffs in NFL history - i'm gutted. The Dallas match is next, against Philadelphia, and the Cowboys are rubbish, truly terrible. Tony Romo (another big name in the sport, and, incidentally, boyfriend of Jessica Simpson, her off MTV's Newlyweds) throws a few interceptions, furthering his reputation as someone who can't "get it done" once the season hits December. So, my brother and I face the playoffs without a team. I take Indianapolis (a quality side with the best quarterback there is, Peyton Manning and also the winners of the first superbowl I watched) and my brother reverts to New York Giants, the team that ruined NE's perfect season last year by winning the Superbowl. My brother maintains he was a Giants fan all along. In the first round of the playoffs, both our newly found teams lose, so I go for third choice Philadelphia Eagles, who I saw play so well against Dallas, and who have pace, strength, and crucially for my particular enjoyment, a great passing game in the huge Donovan McNabb. Philly are superb, and make it through to the Conference finals last Saturday against Arizona, who have been on fire. My third choice team go down in "the desert" in one of the games of the season, despite a brilliant fight back that sees them five minutes away from the Superbowl despite being 18 points adrift at half time. And so it is that I will be cheering on the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday week. They're up against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who my brother adopted after NY went out (he conveniently has friends in Pottsburgh). There are three reasons I will be cheering on the Cardinals. 1) They've never made a Superbowl before. 2) In Larry Fitzgerald they have one of the best receivers around. 3) Cuba Gooding Jr's character in Jerry Maguire played for the Cardinals.
This year's Superbowl is another David and Goliath matchup, just like last year when David won out. Pittsburgh have a big history, they've won the Superbowl five times, the last in 2006 and have a formidable defense. It's the fact that teams like Arizona can even make the biggest day in their sport's season that makes American Football so compelling, let's hope they don't get trounced by Goliath.

Check out these highlights of the top 10 plays from the conference semis. Just in case you think football is a sport for wusses, watch number 2.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/american_football/7830434.stm

And if that wasn't enough, check out the top 10 plays of the regular season. Number's 3 and 4 sum up why I love the game.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/american_football/7818874.stm

Good luck to you if you've got exams, a note to to remind you to get in touch and give your feedback to online.sport@forgetoday.com. Next week I'll have a Transfer Window special. I will spend the next seven days trying to work out why Jimmy Bullard has gone to Hull. In two weeks we'll have an Australian Open tennis special, in time for the final weekend. Let's hope Andy Murray is still there.

Take care

Ben