West Ham seem to be telling anybody that cares to listen about their transfer dealings this summer and it would serve them better if they kept quiet about any potential targets.

So far the club has been linked with the likes of Thierry Henry, David Beckham, Graham Dorrans, Frederic Piquionne, Loic Remy, Paolo Barrera, Asamoah Gyan, Sidney Govou, Yakubu, Neymar, Andre Bikey, Dan Gosling and the latest name is now Miroslav Klose. The German striker was in great form for Germany in the World Cup scoring four goals in the tournament, and prior to his goalscoring exploits his Bayern Munich were considering giving him a free transfer. However the German champions are now believed to be re-evaluating the situation with Klose and West Ham co-owner David Sullivan believes that they will now miss out on the forward:

“We had a deal in place before the World Cup, after he had a bad season in Germany. However, as a result of what he has done at the World Cup, it’s unlikely to happen.”

However making comments like this, whilst it can show supporters that the club is being ambitious can also create disappointment, and that is how fans are probably more likely to feel about missing out on Klose. The thought of exciting names like Henry and Beckham can give false hope for fans and any marquee deals like this should be kept under wraps. When Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez both signed for West Ham they happened out of the blue and proved to be a major coup for the club despite Mascherano failing to settle. The double deal excited the fans and it would probably be a much better approach for David Sullivan and David Gold to take.

Another downside to publically revealing your transfer targets is that it can alert other clubs to their avalibilty, and as a result they could end up hijacking at deal that the Hammers have lined up for a player. Also it can be frustrating for fans to see potentially players linked with the club and then as a result see nothing materialise out of it.

It’s no secret that West Ham need to dramatically improve their squad this season after narrowly escaping relegation from the last campaign. But they do need to re-think their transfer strategy otherwise everyone at the club from the playing staff to the fans could be facing a lot of disappointment.

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Manchester United won the first silverware of the new season by beating Chelsea 3-1 in the Community Shield at Wembley.

Michael Essien and John Obi Mikel were back after injury to start for the Blues, with Didier Drogba and summer signing Yossi Benayoun on the bench.

Michael Carrick recovered from a knock to start for United, with Michael Owen partnering Wayne Rooney in attack.

After a slow start to the game, both sides carved out clear chances, with Paul Scholes in the right place as Antonio Valencia lifted a cross in from the right, but he lashed a volley high over the top from 12 yards out.

A couple of minutes later Edwin van der Sar spilled a shot from Nicolas Anelka, but Salomon Kalou sliced the loose ball well wide of target.

With 17 minutes on the clock Florent Malouda's free-kick from the right was met by a thumping header from Branislav Ivanovic and van der Sar made a superb save going away to his left.

Two minutes later Rooney spurned a chance after being played in by Scholes, before the game slowed in pace as United started to have the better of the possession.

They made that count four minutes before half-time as Rooney ran into space on the right and his superb ball back into the area was perfect for the onrushing Valencia, who sidefooted home past Hilario.

United made a triple change at half-time and Chelsea were unable to test van der Sar, being restricted to a couple of long-range efforts.

Just past the hour mark Malouda fed Kalou and he rifled a shot from the edge of the box straight at van der Sar, before the Dutchman was quickly off his line to take the ball away from Malouda.

With 14 minutes left to play United looked to have made sure of the win, as Valencia drifted past Cole on the left and his cross found Hernandez unmarked at the far post.

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The Mexican tucked the ball home with a hint of fortune, kicking the ball into his own face on its way into the net.

However, the Blues set up a tense finale seven minutes from time by making the score 2-1, as van der Sar could only push out a piledriver from Daniel Sturridge and Kalou tucked away the rebound at the far post.

Chelsea then piled on the pressure, but right at the death United made the final score 3-1 as they kept hold of the ball well and eventually Nani played in Dimitar Berbatov, who coolly lifted a shot over the advancing Hilario from the edge of the area.Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Manchester United midfielder Anderson is set to make a return to action following six months on the sidelines.

The Brazil international has been sidelined since damaging his cruciate knee ligament during a Premier League game against West Ham United in February.

The 22-year-old had made 23 appearances in all competitions prior to his season-ending injury.

"I'm so happy and excited to be back again after six months without football," Anderson told the club's official website.

"I've been really excited to be back. I've been so happy ever since I got back to Carrington and I just can't wait to play again.

"I'm feeling good. I've been training for two weeks and I'm very happy. I think maybe very soon I'll come back again and start playing normally with the rest of the team.

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"I have had no problems at all with the injury. I'm just running and training now really hard, so I can come back and train normally with the team."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Tottenham Hotspur striker Peter Crouch is a major doubt for England's two upcoming Euro 2012 qualifiers.

Crouch suffered a suspected broken rib during Saturday's 1-0 Premier League defeat to Wigan Athletic at White Hart Lane, in which he lasted just 45 minutes.

The in-form striker had been tipped for an international recall by England head coach Fabio Capello following his impressive Champions League hat-trick against Young Boys in midweek.

"I think he might have done a rib," said manager Harry Redknapp at full-time."He was in agony at half-time.

"He's not sure if he's broken a rib or what he did but he was in pain."

Meanwhile, Redknapp is still unsure whether strike partner Jermain Defoe will join up with the England squad for their double-header against Bulgaria and Switzerland.

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Spurs postponed a groin injury scheduled for next week after Defoe reported an improvement in his condition prior to playing the full 90 minutes against Wigan.

When asked about Defoe's international availability, Redknapp replied: "I'm not sure – only because I haven't asked him – whether he had any reaction from the groin or whether he needs an op or not."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Owen Hargreaves could be back in a Manchester United shirt shortly, according to the 29-year-old former Bayern Munich star's surgeon.

The England international has spent almost two years trying to recover from a career-threatening tendinitis problem in his knees, with his latest setback coming during the early stages of pre-season training.

He was sent back to Dr Richard Steadman in Colorado for more rehabilitation work after complaining of pain in his knees.

Steadman told the BBC:"Things are looking good for Owen, it's all worked out. He's close to playing fitness, although it's obviously up to United to decide when he plays a match.

"The problem was with the tendon attached to the patella on each knee, which is difficult to resolve.

"After the surgery, the key was rest and working hard on recovery. Owen has spent a lot of time with us here in Colorado and he has never given up.

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"The recovery was arduous and took a long time but his condition looks promising now."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

West Bromwich Albion's DR Congo international midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu has opted to put club before country for the time being.

The 23-year-old has helped the Baggies make a fine start to life back in the Premier League and will not feature for his country until next year.

He told his club's official website:"I have had a word with the president of the federation and at the moment I have told him I am focused on the Premier League season, because it is my first full one.

"We are going to talk again in December and I will give him an answer.

"I stopped playing for my country at first because of disorganisation, but after that we had a word and I told him that this year I need to focus on West Brom.

"We need to stay in the Premier League and it's a big season in a big league. There is high intensity and I need some rest because I run a lot.

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"I think he understood that, which is why he said we will talk again in December when I will let him know how it is going."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that Owen Hargreaves' shock return to the Manchester United first team had turned into a disaster.

The England international midfielder had not featured for more than two years due to knee problems and was hit by a hamstring injury just five minutes into his comeback against Wolves.

Ferguson commented:"We took a gamble with Owen Hargreaves. We thought by doing that it would give us a compact midfield with experience.

"But he only lasted five minutes. It was a disaster. He has hurt his hamstring, which is unbelievable."

Ferguson added of his depleted side's narrow 2-1 Old Trafford success:"We have done really well to get a result.

"You have to admire the perseverance of the team, because we have done it so many times.

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"But it was a long struggle because we made so many changes."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway has threatened to resign if his club are fined for fielding an under-strength side in the 3-2 defeat Aston Villa.

Holloway made a host of changes from the team which drew 2-2 with Everton at the weekend, having taken a leaf out of Wolves boss Mick McCarthy's book – with Wolves having been fined £25,000 by the Premier League last season for the side which played at Manchester United.

"I'd pack in, I can't work for this madness. I would resign," Holloway fumed."They do not know what they're talking about.

"You haven't got to be a genius to work out what happened to Wolves last year and how wrong that was. Mick can pick whoever he likes.

"We deserved at least a point and how dare anybody tell me the players I've been working with, I can't treat them with respect and give them a chance.

"Because they should have played before now. I wasn't sure they were ready, tonight they have enhanced their reputation with me.

"Let some person from the Premier League even try to tell me who I can pick. I am the manager of Blackpool Football Club and I select people to come to the club and play them whenever I want.

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"I'm going to come here and try to beat Aston Villa and I'm going to go to West Ham and try to beat them and all. If I pick a different team, I've got every right to do what I like.

"Let them try and fine me, it's an absolute disgrace. I'll show the Premier League. We were a credit to football and let the Premier League try to tell me otherwise."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email

The Premier League has been famed for its unrivalled status as a spectacle, its tenacity, the world class stars it attracts and the passion which is inherent from the fans. This belief has been firmly held for years now, with television funding giving clubs greater resources to buy players and pay their wages. Has this now gone too far? Are players becoming complacent due to their comfortable lifestyles and millions in the bank? These questions if answered in the affirmative would then lead to the further contemplation that the Premier League has become a victim of its own success, with the standards declining, as player’s motivational impetus wanes.

I’d like to suggest that the recent trend in promoted clubs achieving far beyond their expectations or means is partly due to their undertaking, but also largely to do with opposing teams’ inability to motivate themselves to play these sorts. This season has witnessed the likes of Blackpool, Bolton and Stoke creating havoc amongst the regular flow of proceedings and their players can be seen exerting plenty of effort because the Premier League is new to them, they’re deemed underdogs and aren’t on equivalent wages as some other players are.

An example can be seen when you buy an expensive item, you treat it with reverence and fawn over it until a certain amount of time passes and it loses its original appeal. The same is of football players, they reach the Premier League and treat it with respect, endeavouring for many games, until they reach a plateau or start to decline as their environment becomes familiar. I’m not stating this is universal, for certain players manage to motivate themselves regardless of tangible rewards, but then they are normally great players or have further goals they wish to attain.

But when the Premier League starts to become unpredictable and ever tighter, how much can be attributable to the enhancement of inferior teams or the decline of the top teams? With Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea, players are earning ever increasing wages, but are they deserving of these wages when the League is contracting? A trend would seem to appear when emerging clubs get promoted with players who aren’t earning as much as the top club earners start to assert themselves during their first season.

The ‘second season blues’ would then be explained by the Premier League being familiar to the previously promoted club and possibly the bonuses players enjoyed for staying up. The quandary then becomes about how to motivate players who seemingly have everything for a comfortable life. With all of the hardships, tribulations and energy expended involved in playing football I’m fairly sure many players have woken up thinking of walking away with their sizeable savings and living an easier life.

I’m not sure how far my theory follows and how revisionary it may become, but I think it holds in certain aspects to be a fair reflection on the reasons behind some of the circumstances we are beholding in the Premier League. Who else believes the standard of the Premier League has declined? Or is this an unfair judgement to make, for which measurements do you judge it on?

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What struck me most about Manchester City’s 3-1 victory over West Ham was how tight City were at the back. The Hammers rarely had a sniff all afternoon and although Tomkins managed to grab a consolation goal in the 89th minute, City’s defence had them well and truly marshalled. The same is true of City’s game against Bolton on the 4th December. An astute defensive performance saw a decent Bolton side fail to produce an attack of note and meant that a fourth minute Tevez goal was enough to see off the competition.

One man who deserves his fair share of the credit for City’s defensive prowess is Kolo Toure. Kolo left Arsenal to join City in July 2009 for a fee of around £16 million. At that stage many Arsenal fans believed that Kolo had seen his best days. His pace appeared to have left him and mistakes and niggling errors had begun to creep into his game.

However, Kolo has only gotten better during his time at Manchester City. He may not quite have the pace he used to, but he’s still nippy and can keep up with most of the strikers in the Premier League. More importantly, his sense of position seems to have developed – you can rely on Kolo to be in the right place at the right time.

Kolo is now 29 years-old and has bags of experience under his belt. He has played alongside talented defenders like Sol Campbell and William Gallas. Moreover, he achieved great things with Arsenal – he has a Premier League winners’ medal and a couple of FA Cup medals. He was part of the Arsenal side that went unbeaten for 49 games. Kolo Toure is a capable and dependable defender, whose experience in the Premier League really seems to be paying off in the way he has been leading City’s defence this season.

On the other hand, Arsenal don’t look quite so sturdy at the back. An Arsenal clean sheet seems to be a thing of the past. The Gunners can be controlling a game, but a slight slip in concentration often sees their opponents scoring from their first opportunity. Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci came in to bolster the Arsenal defence this summer but have only managed to impress and frustrate in equal measure.

There have been signs that these two are decent defenders, but between them they have also brought about a number of costly errors at the back. Neither appear to have the fire and determination of a player like Thomas Vermaelen (who has been injured for a long stretch of the season) or the defensive nous and experience of Kolo Toure.

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It seems that Arsenal’s loss has been City’s gain. As Arsenal continue to struggle defensively, City look tougher and tougher. This is a rare example of a case when Wenger let go of a player who still had more to offer the Gunners. Arsenal play City in the new year – it’ll be interesting to see how Kolo handles the Gunners’ offense. I have a feeling that Wenger will come to regret letting Kolo Toure go to a team that may well go onto be genuine title contenders in the near future.

Frustrated Arsenal fan? Optimistic City supporter? Whatever your colour, follow me on Twitter @ThePerfectPass, for more football discussion and debate.

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