Frontline Football Blog

Not so long ago, it appeared that Liverpool had finally moved forward after a horrendous summer that saw the club lurch from crisis to crisis.

But with Joe Cole already descending from the heavens and rejoining the mere mortals of Merseyside after a sending off and a missed penalty - and Javier Mascherano now on his way out of the club - Roy Hodgson must already be thinking of packing his bags and leaving a club which is seemingly always in a perpetual state of self-destruction.

Having seen off the threat of a mass exodus earlier in the summer by securing the future of Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, Hodgson must have been caught blindsided by the decision of Dirk Kuyt to announce he wants to join Mascherano and jump ship. Although Kuyt has since committed himself to the Liverpool cause, it isn't exactly the most stabilising rumour to hit the dressing room and may have a ripple effect on the English Premiership betting.

With fans already suggesting that Hodgson will be under pressure unless his side are in the mix for the European places sooner rather than later, and the club still looking for a new owner, there must be concerns that the new man in charge will want someone to manage the club who they have chosen, thus representing a threat to Hodgson's job security.

With Hodgson clearly a man who will not be bossed around by interfering owners, and with his new club in dire need of a takeover to help secure a successful future, it is not the most unlikely scenario in the world that a new takeover may result in Hodgson's exit.

Van Gaal opened the door for prospective bids by declaring "He can go if he wants to, it would be no problem for me."

Van Gaal's decision to leave the centre back out of their last game against Wolfsburg seems to have signalled the end of Demichelis' Bayern career. Various clubs throughout Europe have been mentioned as possible destinations for the 30 cap Argentina international.

Chelsea, Barcelona, Sevilla and Juventus are all reportedly monitoring the situation closely and should one of the two Spanish sides sign him, their odds for the title could greatly improve in the La Liga odds.

In his seven years in Munich, Demichelis has made over 150 appearances, winning four Bundesliga titles in that time as well as four German Cups and two German Super Cups. However, the defender's absence didn't affect the German champions in their 2-1 success against Wolfsburg on Friday and they are still favourites to win the league in the Bundesliga odds.

The defender first made a name for himself in his home country with River Plate. After coming through their famed youth set-up, Demichelis made over 50 appearances in the River first team.

The Argentinean was left out of his side's recent 3-0 defeat to Manchester City as his manager, Roy Hodgson, decided the midfielder wasn't in the right frame of mind.

It is believed that Barca had a bid of £16million rejected by the Merseyside club, who are holding out for nearer £25million. Barcelona shouldn't be surprised by the price tag as Mascherano has proven himself as one of the world's best ball winning midfielders of recent years.

The Argentina captain has made it known that he is looking to leave England and move to the warmer climes of Spain or Italy. He has assured Liverpool fans it has nothing to do with the club and was based purely on his wish to move from England.

Barcelona are looking to fill the void in their midfield left by Yaya Toure's departure to Manchester City. They are hoping to claim the La Liga title ahead of rivals Real Madrid again this season and the Spanish La Liga betting odds suggest they could be successful. Mascherano would be a perfect replacement for Toure as both like to sit in front of their defence and break up the opposition's play.

Mascherano has played nearly 100 games in his three years at Liverpool since joining from West Ham after his brief spell in London. It was widely believed the 26 year old would follow his former manager Rafa Benitez to Inter Milan but it appears now that last season's La Liga champions Barca are leading the chase. Hodgson will be hoping to resolve the player's future as soon as possible and not let the situation drag on.

The 29-year-old dropped out of the top flight with Burnley at the back end of last season and he was a free agent after leaving Turf Moor.

He has been on trial with Wigan for the last few weeks and he has now joined his brother Gary on the books at the DW Stadium.

Martinez's job could be hanging by a thread as Wigan have endured a defensive nightmare in their first two Premier League games. The Premier League relegation betting now suggests they are doomed.

A 4-0 home defeat to top flight new-boys Blackpool was followed up by a 6-0 thrashing at the DW Stadium to reigning Premier League champions Chelsea.

In both games the level of defensive ability showed by Wigan was shocking and Martinez will be hoping the arrival of Scotland international Caldwell can help shore up the leaky backline.

The 20-year-old made his Manchester City debut last night, coming off the bench to grab the only goal in a 1-0 win against Timisoara in Romania.

Although the fee of £24 million can hardly be described as a bargain, he certainly showed signs that he will be able to live up to his price tag. Next season he could be some people's Premier League betting tips to be top scorer.

Speaking about Balotelli's performance, Mancini said: "He had a great debut. I am happy he scored. He's a good player."

"He needs to improve of course and get to know everybody. It was the first time he had played with the team."
After the win, the latest Europa League prediction suggests City should do very well.

Quite how he gets on in the Premier League remains to be seen, although he did develop a reputation for spectacular outburst towards the end of his spell at Inter.

It's a moderate money-spinner admittedly, but not a very popular one. Fans don't really care for it unless their side reaches the latter stages, while the players and managers no doubt view it as vastly inferior to the Champions League in every respect.

The competition also features far too many games the group stage, which is rendered largely pointless when the third-placed Champions League sides enter the competition in the round after, sees sides playing six games. A straight knockout format may not be as lucrative, but it would be much more straightforward. The latest Europa League betting is also impacted by sides entering from the tournament's bigger brother, making it less fun for punters.

Speaking of straightforward, the tournament has to be one of the most complicated around. Try and explain to someone exactly how it works - including the preliminary rounds - and see how much sense it makes then.

The UEFA Cup and Cup Winners Cup did need to be merged, but the resultant tournament should have always remained a straight knockout competition. Bigger isn't always better and in attempting to create a second tier of European football that can generate as much cash as possible, UEFA has in fact ending up devaluing the whole thing.

There's no doubt fans of Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester City will be annoyed if their sides lose tonight, but after a brief period of reflection they will shrug their shoulders and decide that they haven't missed out on much other than a run of games their players can do without. Those who bet on football games will be more upset.

Despite losing their opening match at home to Derby, they bounced back to beat Lincoln City 4-0 in the Carling Cup and followed that up with a battling draw away to Nottingham Forest in their second league game.

The new players have settled in pretty well at Elland Road, Lloyd Sam and Kasper Schmeichel have taken most of the plaudits since signing for the club this summer. Sanchez Watt has looked dangerous in attack and both full backs, Paul Connelly and Fede Bassone, have looked decent.

While there have been plenty of positives for Grayson, his need to strengthen his squad further has been clear.

Another central defender wouldn't go amiss, Richard Naylor has looked a bit slow for this league so far but with Patrick Kisnorbo due to return from injury before Christmas, Grayson may sit tight on that issue.

The midfield has looked creative but has lacked a holding player to shore things up in the middle of the park. Up front Luciano Becchio has scored twice this season but has looked a little lonely at times. Despite the clubs reluctance to admit it, they still need to replace Beckford. Billy Paynter should return from injury soon but the former Swindon striker is a similar player to Becchio and lacks the blistering pace of Beckford.

Ahasan Ali Syed is currently under taking a period of due diligence at the club as his advisers check over the club's accounts.

Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire Syed revealed that time is of the essence. He said: "I am very keen to move very fast and buy this club at the earliest moment.

"I am aware that Big Sam has big ambitions for this transfer window and I would love to support his ambitions.

According to reports, the Indian businessman is looking to invest £300 million in acquiring the club, which should be enough to cover outstanding debts and fund the purchase of new players.

Syed added that Blackburn fits his style of investing and claimed the club is currently undervalued and could be turned into title contenders very quickly. Whether they will become Premier League best bets remains to be seen.
However, he also stated that he's not looking to make money out of the venture and wants to get involved with the club because he has a passion for football.

West Brom are still looking to add to their striking options ahead of the start of the season as they dream of avoiding Premier League relegation, though their number one target is not the most renowned goalscorer in England.

Manager Roberto Di Matteo wants to sign Liverpool David Ngog, who boasts a proud record of having scored eight goals in his three-year professional career to date.

The 21-year-old scored one goal for Paris Saint-Germain before he was signed for Liverpool for £1.5 million in 2008, after which former Reds boss Rafa Benitez kept showing faith in the French forward despite many less-than-impressive appearances. The Premier League odds certainly don't suggest he'll be top scorer this term.

Still, West Brom have been a classic yo-yo club in recent seasons and Di Matteo knows goals are key if he wants his side to defy the online odds and avoid Premier League relegation this season.

He currently has Roman Bednar, Ishmael Miller, Luke Moore and Simon Coxat his disposal, none of whom are proven Premier League players, so the Italian has been tracking Ngog all summer and would love to have in time for their opening league game against champions Chelsea.