West Bromwich Albion

New Premiership member, West Bromwich Albion, took three points from Middlesbrough this afternoon with Jonas Olsson’s goal in the 53rd minute.

The 1-0 victory was the Baggies first away Premiership triumph in 2008. The club sits in 10th place in the table, above the likes of Everton, Portsmouth, and Tottenham.

Is West Brom a serious threat in the Premiership? Let’s take a closer look at the Baggies starting keeper and back four from today’s match:

Goalkeeper: Scott Carson

The 23-year-old Englishman spent the last several seasons with Liverpool. He was shipped out on loan by the club most recently with Charlton Athletic (2006-2007) and Aston Villa (2007-2008).

He has also been capped on the international stage having seen game action twice last year. Granted he was culpable for England’s pathetic loss at home to Croatia, but the big-match action is crucial to any player’s development.

With Carson in net, West Brom has an experienced keeper who has been through more than one Premiership season.

Right Back: Gianni Zuiverloon

The 21-year-old Dutch defender helped his country compete in this summer’s Olympics. He signed a multi-year deal with West Brom this summer after playing for Dutch side SC Heerenveen (2006-2008). He has not seen much Premiership action thus far, but today he kept the talented Stewart Downing under control.

Centre Back: Ryan Donk

Another Dutch defender given an opportunity to impress. The 22-year-old is on loan from Dutch outfit AZ. His header in the 36th minute was all but in until Boro’s Ross Turnbull made a tremendous save.

Centre Back: Jonas Olsson

The 25-year-old Swedish defender spent last season in…if you guessed the Netherlands, you are correct! Signed from Dutch side N.E.C. as the transfer window came to an end, Olsson scored the game winner and held his own against the formidable Middlesbrough attack.

Left Back: Paul Robinson

The savvy 29-year-old has been with the club since 2003 after arriving from Watford. He can move into the centre of defense when needed, but is best served on the left.

Verdict:

The Baggies need to find the right formula of youth (speed) and experience (match awareness) along the backline so that Carson can remain comfortable in goal. If West Brom can find the right balance, the club should continue to surprise in the Premiership.

I'm gonna go back on my previous prediction that Hull City and Stoke City will get relegated from the EPL this season.

Hull, Stoke, and West Brom have all surprised me with how well they've played so far this season, although the latter has yet to gain any points so far.

Hull have especially surprised me. They are unbeaten so far this season! They deserved their point today against Blackburn and looked impressive.

They certainly aren't going to be another Derby County! I can see them becoming a regular Premier League team, something that seemed unlikely just over a week ago, following their poor pre-season form.

Stoke City were another team to surprise me today. They played good football on their home debut in the Premier League, and for me deserved the win. Ricardo Fuller's goal was a great goal, a fantastic flick that left the defender clueless, allowing Fuller the time and space get a good shot on target.

Things look to be on the up at Stoke after last weekend, where one cheeky man even put a bet on Stoke getting relegated, after just one game! It was a lacklustre performance against Bolton, but they've certainly improved this time round, and against better opposition in the shape of Aston Villa.

West Brom are the only one of the new boys that haven't picked up points this season, and it's a shame because I think they've played some good football. Okay, maybe against Arsenal they couldn't really get anything from the game, but against Everton, I think they were the better team.

Everton scored two goals against the run of play, and did not deserve the win. West Brom created chance after chance and should've at least got a draw, but if there's anything positive it's that at least they scored, albeit through a penalty.

So as the Premier League has firmly got underway, these new boys are better than I thought. Before the season began, I predicted that Stoke and Hull would go down. I go back on that prediction!

If anything, West Brom currently look the most likely to go down. But if they play the way they do, I doubt that will happen.

Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion, and Hull city have all made good accounts for themselves so far this season, and with all three playing quite impressively, could we really see all three newcomers avoid the drop by the end of the season?

After the new Premier League campaign kicked off at the weekend, there is no doubt that Hull City were the best of the new boys.

The Tigers made a fantastic debut in top-flight football, beating Fulham 2-1 at the KC Stadium. Goals from Brazilian Geovanni and Craig Fagan secured the win for Hull, after they had earlier gone 1-0 down to a Seol Ki-Hyeon header.

Hull were the better side and deserved the win, and if their new signings continue to perform they could do much more than just survive.

Elsewhere, West Brom lost 1-0 on their return to the Premier League, although most would agree they had the most difficult fixture of the new boys, playing Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

A debut goal for Samir Nasri, after just 4 minutes, condemned West Brom to defeat on the opening day. However, despite the early setback, the Baggies held on and didn't concede another—even having a few good chances themselves.

That will give Baggies manager Tony Mowbray a lot of positives to take away from the game, and if they offer similar performances against the "lesser" teams, West Brom are definitely in with a very good chance of survival.

Stoke City also made their Premier League debut on the weekend, but were unable to emulate the performances of Hull, losing 3-1 away to Bolton Wanderers.

Goals from Gretar Steinsson, Kevin Davies and club-record signing Johan Elmander saw Bolton breeze past their visitors, with Ricardo Fuller netting an injury time consolation.

Stoke caused Bolton some early problems with their strong, physical style of play, but Bolton's quality shone through and in the end.

With Fuller's consolation barely deserved, Bolton could have done much more damage if they had not simply decided to settle at 3-0.

If the Potters are to survive in the Premier League, they need to up their game next time round and use more of their strong, physical style of play. They will also need to try and make a few more quality signings with Premier League experience.

Otherwise, they could end up being like another Derby County, something that would not only be bad for them, but for the Premier League as a whole.

Welcome to the English Premier League Transfer Central. The transfer central will document all transfers relating to all twenty Premier League clubs, including arriving and departing rumours and speculation, as well as the transfers that have actually happened.

The page will be regularly updated, and I’d appreciate it anyone wants to drop me a comment to tell me your news and rumours that I may have missed.

Stay tuned to the FIFA Rumour Mill to hear the latest transfer news, gossip and fantasy.

Enjoy!

Arsenal

In:

Possible: David Villa (Valencia), Hatem Ben Arfa (Lyon), Yaya Toure (Barcelona), Samir Nasri (Marseille), Obafemi Martins (Newcastle), Alberto Aquilani (AS Roma), Torric Jibril (Heart of Oak), Mahamadou Dabo (St Etienne), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg), Ruben De la Red (Real Madrid), Dani Guiza (Mallorca)

Out: Mathieu Flamini (AC Milan), Jens Lehmann (Stuttgart)

Departing: Alexander Hleb (Real Madrid, Barcelona or Inter Milan), Gilberto Silva, Emmanuel Adebayor (AC Milan) Justin Hoyte (Aston Villa)

Cuckoo Nest: Aaron Ramsey (Manchester United)

Aston Villa

In: Curtis Davies (West Brom)

Possible: Diego (Werder Bremen), Bernd Schneider (Bayer Leverkusen), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Jens Lehmann (Arsenal), Scott Carson, Peter Crouch, Jon Arne Riise (Liverpool), Nelson (Benfica), Stephen Carr (Newcastle), Marco Caneira (Valencia), Justin Hoyte (Arsenal) Joe Mattock, Richard Stearman (Leicester), Hugo Campagnaro (Sampdoria), Giorkas Seitaridis (Atletico Madrid), James Milner (Newcastle), Sean Scannell (Crystal Palace), Brad Cuzan (Chivas USA), Michael Dawson (Tottenham), Steven Taylor (Newcastle), Brad Friedel (Blackburn)

Out: Olof Mellberg (Juventus), Thomas Sorenson (out of contract), Patrick Berger (Sparta Prague), Luke Moore (West Brom)

Departing: Gareth Barry (Liverpool), Shaun Maloney (Sunderland), Marlon Harewood (Stoke, Fulham, QPR or Rangers)

Blackburn Rovers

In:

Possible: Anthony Annan (IF Start), Michael Tonge (Sheffield United), Owain Fon Williams (Crewe Alexandria), Marc Torrejon, Ferran Corominos (Espanyol), Hossam Ghaly (Tottenham), Jermaine Pennant (Liverpool), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), Djibril Cisse (Marseille), Michael Kightly (Wolverhampton), Sam Allardyce (Out of Work), Paul Ince (MK Dons), Steve McClaren (Out of Work), Alan Shearer

Out: Mark Hughes (Manchester City), Stephane Henchoz, Bruno Berner, Peter Enkelman (all released)

Departing: David Bentley (Tottenham, Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester City), Roque Santa Cruz (Arsenal, Manchester United or Manchester City), Jason Roberts (Bolton or Fulham), Andre Oojier, Maceo Rigters, Brad Freidel (Aston Villa)

Bolton Wanderers

In:

Possible: Paul Robinson (Tottenham), Johan Elmander (Toulouse), Nikola Zigic (Valencia), Jerome Alonzo (PSG), Simon Vukcevic (Sporting Lisbon), Ben Watson (Crystal Palace), Emile Mpenza (Manchester City), Brian Howard (Barnsley), Zoltan Gera (West Brom), Jason Roberts (Blackburn), Michael Dawson (Tottenham)

Out: Ivan Campo, Andranik Teymourian, Stelios Giannkopoulos (released)

Departing: El Hadji Diouf (Atletico Madrid), Jussi Jaskelainen (Aston Villa), Ricardo Gardner.

Chelsea

In: Jose Bosingwa (FC Porto)

Possible: David Villa (Valencia), Robinho, Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Roberto Mancini (Out of Work), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Luis Felipe Scolari (Portugal National Team), Kaka (AC Milan), David Bentley (Blackburn), Roy Keane (Sunderland), Joao Moutinho (Sporting Lisbon), Luciano Spalletti (AS Roma), Cesare Prandelli (Fiorentina), Ricardo Quaresma (Porto)

Out: Avram Grant (sacked), Henk Ten Cate (contract terminated)

Departing: Ricardo Carvalho (Real Madrid or Inter Milan), Tal Ben Haim (Feyenoord), Didier Drogba (AC Milan), Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan or Fenerbahce), Steve Sidwell (Aston Villa, Middlesbrough or Sunderland), Florent Malouda , Frank Lampard (Inter Milan), Claudio Pizarro (Werder Bremen, Bayern Munich, Valencia, Villarreal), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Tottenham or Portsmouth), Steve Clarke (Leicester), Michael Essien (Inter Milan), Ben Sahar (Portsmouth), Claude Makelele (PSG), Ashley Cole (Inter Milan), Khalid Boulahrouz (Marseille)

Cuckoo Nest: Mark Hughes (Manchester City)

Everton

In: Steven Pieenar (Borrusia Dortmund)

Possible: Louis Saha (Manchester United), Nikola Zigic (Valencia), Jonas Olsson (NEC Nijmegen), Alou Diarra (Bordeaux), Edu (Valencia), Dudu (CSKA Moscow), Joaquin Sanchez (Valencia), Michael Kightly (Wolverhampton), Steven Taylor (Newcastle), Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff), Joe Lewis (Peterborough), Stephen Hunt (Reading)

Out: Lee Carsley (Birmingham), Thomas Gravesen (Loan return), Stefan Wessells (Released), Aidan Downes (Yeovil Town)

Departing: Andy Johnson (West Ham)

 

Fulham

In: Mark Schwarzer (Middlesbrough), David Stockdale (Darlington)

Possible: Steve Finnan (Liverpool), Marlon Harewood (Aston Villa), Bernard Mendy (PSG), Mark Bresciano (Palermo), Gaby Mudingayi (Lazio), Zheng Zhi (Charlton), Jason Roberts (Blackburn), Paul Scharner (Wigan), Daniel Cousin (Rangers), Roland Linz (Sporting Braga), Joe Ledley (Cardiff)

Out: Carlos Bocanegra, Jari Litmanen, Bjorn Runstrom, Simon Elliot, Ian Pearce, Philippe Christanval (all released)

Departing: Danny Murphy, Steven Davis (Rangers), Chris Baird (Southampton), Brian McBride (Columbus Crew or Chicago Fire), Anti Niemi (Fulham), Seol Ki-Hyeon (Wolfsburg), Hameur Bouazza (Osasuna, Espanyol or Wigan)

Hull City

In:

Possible: Frazier Campbell (Manchester United), Ryan Taylor (Wigan), Craig Fagan (Derby), Ivan Campo (free agent), David Nugent (Portsmouth), Bernard Mendy (PSG), Anti Niemi (Fulham), Magnus Troest (FC Midtjylland)

Out:

Departing:

Liverpool

In: Phillip Degen (Borussia Dortmund), Andrea Dossena (Udinese) Sammy lee

Possible: Gareth Barry (Aston Villa), David Bentley (Blackburn), Rafinha (Schalke), Ricardo Queresma ( FC Porto), Albert Riera (Espanyol), Michael Johnson (Manchester City), Steve Harper (Newcastle), Ulrich Rame (Bordeaux), Stewart Downing (Middlesbrough), Liam Fontaine (Bristol City), Marcus Johansson (Hagahojden), Alastair Mackintosh (Manchester City), James Milner (Newcastle), Sulley Ali Muntari (Portsmouth)

Out: Harry Kewell (released)

Departing: Peter Crouch (Portsmouth, Newcastle or Aston Villa), Jon Arne Riise (Newcastle, Aston Villa or AS Roma), Andriy Voroin (Stuttgart), Scott Carson (Aston Villa or West Brom), Jack Hobbs, Sebastian Leto (Espanyol), Xabi Alonso (Juventus), Charles Itandje (Lens, Rennes or Portsmouth), Jermaine Pennant (Blackburn), Steve Finnan (Fulham), Adam Hammill (Aberdeen or Wolverhampton), Rick Parry

Cuckoo Nest: Aaron Ramsey (Manchester United)

Manchester City

In: Mark Hughes (Blackburn)

Possible: Ronaldinho and Giovanni Dos Santos (both Barcelona), Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg), Jo (CSKA Moscow), Jean Makoun (Lille), Pablo Zabaleta (Espanyol), Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo La Coruna), Hidetoshi Nakata (Out of Retirement), Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn), David Bentley (Blackburn)

Out: Sven Goran Erikkson (Mexico)

Departing: Georgios Samaras (Celtic, Werder Bremen or Fenerbahce), Paul Dickov, Richard Dunne (Sunderland, Tottenham, Portsmouth or West Ham), Micah Richards (Manchester United), Joe Hart (Tottenham or Aston Villa), Andreas Isaksson (Galatastaray), Rolando Bianchi (Monaco or Wolfsburg), Javier Garrido, Kasper Schmichael (Coventry), Valeri Bojinov, Sun Jihai, Geovanni, Stephen Ireland (Sunderland or Celtic), Michael Johnson (Liverpool or Everton), Ched Evans (Cardiff), Emile Mpenza (Bolton), Alastair Mackintosh (Liverpool)

Cuckoo Nest: Giovanni Dos Santos (Tottenham)

Manchester United

In: Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff)

Possible: Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Dimitar Berbartov (Tottenham), Michael Owen (Newcastle), Daniel Alves (Sevilla), Wilson Palacios, Luis Antonio Valencia (Wigan), Micah Richards (Manchester City), Miguel Veloso, Joao Moutinho (Sporting Lisbon),Karim Benzema (Lyon), Klaus-Jan Huntelaar (Ajax), Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn), Thierry Henry (Barcelona)

Out: Gerard Pique (Barcelona)

Departing: Louis Saha (Everton), Mikael Silvestre (Bordeaux), Johnny Evans (Sunderland), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Patrice Evra, Tom Heaton (Cardiff), Frazier Campbell (Hull), Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff), Manucho Goncalves (Deportivo La Coruna)

Cuckoo Nest: Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina)

Middlesbrough

In:

Possible: Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Paul Robinson (Tottenham), Michael Bradley (Heerenveen), Anthony Annan (IF Start), Simon Vukcevic (Sporting Lisbon), Ben Watson (Crystal Palace), James Milner (Newcastle), James Beattie (Sheffield United), Roland Linz (Sporting Braga), Sean Davis (Portsmouth), Nicky Maynard (Crewe Alexandria), Madjid Bougherra (Charlton)

Out: Fabio Rochemback, Gaizka Mendieta, Lee Dong-Gook (All Released), Mark Schwarzer (Fulham), Jason Kennedy (Darlington)

Departing: Gary O’Neil, Chris Riggott (Stoke), George Boateng (Celtic or Rangers), Adam Johnson (Rangers, QPR and Tottenham), Stewart Downing (Liverpool)

Newcastle United

In:

Possible: Johnny Evans (Manchester United), Richard Dunne (Manchester City), Ardan Turan (Galatastaray), Miguel Veloso (Sporting Lisbon), Stephane Sessegnon (Le Mans), Mario Gomez (Stuttgart), Armara Diane (PSG), Achilles Emana (Toulouse), Carlos Cuellar (Rangers), Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo La Coruna), Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Djibril Cisse (Marseille), Kieran Westwood, Gary Madine (Carlisle), Dean Ashton (West Ham), Pablo Aimar (Real Zaragoza), Roland Linz (Sporting Braga), Michael Dawson (Tottenham), Nikola Zigic (Valencia), Eidur Gudjohnsen (Barcelona), Didier Digard (PSG), Madjid Bougherra (Charlton)

Out: Peter Ramage (QPR), Emre (Fenerbahce), Joey Barton (Jailed)

Departing: Michael Owen (Manchester United), Obafemi Martins (Arsenal), Steve Harper (Liverpool), Shola Ameobi (Toronto), Charles N’Zogbia (Wigan), James Milner (Middlesbrough, Aston Villa or Liverpool), Steven Taylor (West Ham, Everton, Portsmouth or Aston Villa), Damien Duff (Sunderland), Jose Enrique (Valencia)

Cuckoo Nest: Luka Modric (Tottenham)

Portsmouth

In:

Possible: Peter Crouch (Liverpool), Younes Kaboul (Tottenham), Gael N’Lundulu (PSG), Harry Kewell (Liverpool), John Mensah (Rennes), Emile Heskey (Wigan), Luisao (Benfica), Khaleem Hyland, Sidney Govou (Lyon), Shaun Wright-Phillips (Chelsea), James McFadden (Birmingham), Richard Dunne (Manchester City), Ben Sahar (Chelsea), Marcelo Mattos (Panathinaikos), Zoltan Gera (West Brom), Steven Taylor (Newcastle), Madjid Bougherra (Charlton)

Out:

Departing: David Nugent (Hull), Niko Kranjcar (Arsenal), Sol Campbell (Villarreal), Sean Davis (Middlesbrough), Lassana Diarra (Tottenham)

Stoke City

In:

Possible: Abeslam Quaddou (Valenciennes), Jay Bothroyd (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Marlon Harewood (Aston Villa) Guiranne N’Daw (Sochaux), Stelios Giannakopoulos (Bolton), Lee McCulloch (Rangers), Daniel Cousin (Rangers), Anthony Gardner (Tottenham), Marton Fulop (Sunderland), Magnus Troest (FC Midtjylland), Jon Walters (Ipswich)

Out: Russell Hoult, Dominic Matteo, Marlon Broomes, Robert Garrett (Released)

Departing: Steve Simonson

Sunderland

In:

Possible: Johnny Evans (Manchester United), Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid), Kevin Doyle, Stephan Hunt (Reading), Richard Dunne, Stephen Ireland (both Manchester City), Michael Tonge (Sheffield United), Damien Duff (Newcastle), Shaun Maloney (Aston Villa), Steve Sidwell (Chelsea), Aiden McGeady (Celtic), Michael Mifsud (Coventry), James McFadden (Birmingham), Paul Scharner (Wigan)

Out: Andy Cole (Retired), Stanislav Varga, Ian Harte, Stephen Wright (released)

Departing: Graham Kavanagh (Sheffield Wednesday), Michael Chopra (Cardiff), Ross Wallace, Liam Miller, Roy Keane (Chelsea), Marton Fulop (Stoke or PSV), Roy O'Donovan (Dundee United)

Tottenham Hotspur

In: Luka Modric (Dynamo Zagreb), Giovanni Dos Santos (Barcelona)

Possible: Albert Riera and Carlos Kameni (both Espanyol), Diego Milito (Real Zaragoza), Shaun Wright-Phillips, Nicolas Anelka (both Chelsea), Diego Capel (Sevilla), John Bostock (Crystal Palace), Oscar Cardozo (Benfica), Gregory Coupet (Lyon), Heurelho Gomes (PSV), Giovanni Dos Santos, Samuel Eto’o (Barcelona), Adam Johnson (Middlesbrough), David Bentley (Blackburn), Hugo Campagnaro (Sampdoria), Goran Pandev (Lazio), Ruben De la Red (Real Madrid), Alan Mcgregor (Rangers), David Villa (Valencia), Sergio Garcia (Real Zaragoza), Lassana Diarra (Portsmouth)

Out: Radek Cerny (QPR)

Departing: Dimitar Berbartov (Chelsea or Barcelona), Younes Kaboul (Portsmouth), Paul Robinson (Middlesbrough), Lee Young Pyo (PSV), Danny Murphy (Fulham), Hossam Ghaly (Blackburn, Derby or Feyenoord), Aaron Lennon (Blackburn), Anthony Gardner (QPR, Stoke or Rangers), Chris Gunter (Wolverhampton), Michael Dawson (Bolton, Newcastle or Aston Villa)

Cuckoo Nest: Jaime Moreno (Shaktar)

West Bromich Albion

In: Roman Bednar (Hearts), Kim Do-Heon (Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma), Luke Moore (Aston Villa)

Possible: Radoslaw Majewski (Groclin), Marc Antoine-Fortune (Nancy), Ibrahim Sonko (Reading), Kevin McDonald (Dundee), Scott Carson (Liverpool), Graham Dorrans (Motherwell), Kevin Thompson (Rangers)

Out: Curtis Davies (Aston Villa), Kevin Phillips (Leeds, Stoke or QPR)

Departing: Zoltan Gera (Benfica, Bolton, Celtic or Portsmouth), Jonathon Greening (Rangers), Kevin Phillips (Leeds, Stoke or QPR)

West Ham United

In:

Possible: Nicky Shorey (Reading), Steven Carr (Newcastle), Richard Dunne (Manchester City), Mark Bresciano (Palermo), Andy Johnson (Everton), Steven Taylor (Newcastle), Djibril Cisse (Marseille), Michael Kightly (Wolverhampton), Giles Barnes (Derby), Roland Linz (Sporting Braga), Eidur Gudjohnsen (Barcelona)

Out:

Departing: Anton Ferdinand (Tottenham), Dean Ashton (Tottenham or Newcastle), Bobby Zamora (QPR)

Cuckoo Nest: Davide Lanzafame (Palermo)

Wigan Athletic

In:

Possible: Hassan Yebda (Le Mans), Socratis Papastathopoulos (AEK Athens), Charles N’Zogbia (Newcastle), Olivier Kapo (Birmingham), Ross McCormack (Motherwell), Amr Zaki (Zamalek), Carlo Costly (GKS Beltchatow), Hameur Bouazza (Fulham), Madjid Bougherra (Charlton)

Out: Salomon Olembe (Kayserispor), Josip Skoko (Released) Julius Aghahowa (Kayserispor)

Departing: Ryan Taylor (Hull), Henri Camera (Marseille), Wilson Palacios, Luis Antonio Valencia (Manchester United), Paul Scharner (Fulham or Sunderland)

Barcelona have made back up keeper Jose Manuel Pinto’s loan move permanent. The Catalans have paid Celta Vigo half a million Euros or three hundred and ninety five thousand pounds for their new third choice shot stopper. (Marca)

Palermo have signed Fiorentina’s former Lazio midfielder Fabio Liverani on a three year deal, the Sicilian club have confirmed. (Sky Sports News)

Fenerbahce are in talks with Newcastle’s Turkish International Emre about returning to Istanbul for four million. Emre started his career with Fenerbahce’s arch rivals Galatastaray.

Rennes, Lens and Portsmouth are all interested in signing Liverpool back up keeper Charles Itandje. (The Sun)

Jose Mourinho is almost certain to take over at Inter Milan after Roberto Mancini’s sacking by the Italian club. Ironically the former Leicester and Italy International is now favourite to take over at the “Special Ones’” old club Chelsea. (The Guardian)

Fiorentina Viola have signed AC Milan’s Italy international striker Alberto Gilardino. (The Guardian)

Lyon will sign Nice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris to replace the departing Gregory Coupet, who is expected to leave the Stade Gerrland this summer. (L’Equipe)

Ernesto Valverde, who resigned from Espanyol a few days ago, has been appointed Olympiakos manager on a three year contract worth four million Euros. (The Guardian)

Sam Morrowhas become the first managerial casualty of the MLS season after the FC Dallas manager was sacked last night after the club’s after the Texan clubs disappointing start to the season. (ESPN)

Former Argentina Manager Jose Pekermanhas resigned from his position as manager of Mexican outfit Toluca for family reasons. (ESPN)

Chelsea could appoint AC Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti as their new head coach, and then exploit his relationship with star playerKaka with a fifty million pound bid for the Brazilian superstar. (Daily Star)

Barcelona claim that Arsenal’s Belarus Captain Alexander Hleb has agreed to join them for next season, Yaya Touregoing the other way as part of the deal. The Catalans are also reportively interested in Tottenham’s Dimitar Berbartov and Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor. Although no deal for either of the front men can be made until Samuel Eto’o leaves. (Daily Star)

Reading’s Ivory Coast midfielder Emerse Fae is close to a return to France with Nice close to acquiring the player on loan with a view to a permanent two point four million pound move. The player was previously fined two weeks wages for refusing to play for the club’s reserves back in April (The Times)

Crystal Palace are facing a real war to keep hold of some of their star players. Teenage superstar John Bostock is on the verge of signing for Tottenham and fellow midfielder Ben Watson is being chased by Derby, Nottingham Forrest, Bolton, and Middlesbrough. QPR have already had a one and a quarter million pound bid turned from the eagles. (The Times)

Rangers are interested in Le Mans left back Jean Calve, and Monaco left back Jeremy Berthod. (Various)

Portsmouth are interested in Trinidad and Tobago international eighteen year old midfielder Khaleem Hyland, who will play against England on Sunday. (The Times)

Sunderland are planning a swoop for Aston Villa’s Scotland midfielder Shaun Maloney with a four million pound bid (Daily Mirror)

Tottenham will bid for twelve million pound rated Paraguay striker Oscar Cardozofrom Benfica. (Daily Mirror)

Derby, Reading and Coventry are all in the race to sign Swansea’s Dutch midfielder Ferrie Bodde this summer. (Derby Evening Standard)

Plymouth Argyle and Aberdeen will fight it out for Leicester’s former Republic of Ireland full back Alan Maybury. (Daily Record)

Cardiff City want to sign Manchester City’s young Welsh midfielder Ched Evans on loan this season. (South Wales Echo)

West Brom are considering making a move for Dundee’s highly rated midfielder Kevin McDonald. (Daily Record)

Swedish champions Djurgardens and Dundee United are bidding to take Ranger’s winger Alan Gowon loan for next season. The Tannadice club are also interested in taking Charlie Adamfrom Ibrox in a similar deal. (Various)

Celtic will rival Sunderland for the signing of Manchester city’s Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen Ireland with a five million pound bid. (Daily Mirror)

Europe conquerors Manchester United, passing genius's Arsenal and always surprising Everton and Aston Villa are just a few of the names that the new boys for the 2008—2009 season will be pitted against.

West Brom, Stoke City and newly promoted Hull City are the so called "newbies" to England's top flight. After mixed seasons for all three, with so many plus points throughout the ten month ordeal of the Championship, all three clubs have ended up where they wanted to be—starting the 08/09 season trying their luck against the worlds finest players.

But after all the hard work of promotion, can they maintain themselves in the English Premier League? The answer—most probably not!

West Brom are a tad more established amongst the big boys, playing in the top league between 2004 and 2006, before they were bitterly relegated after an amazing escape the season before.

Stoke and Hull, however, are less likely to know how to survive in the Premier League due to lack of appearances, having to go back a couple of decades since Stoke's last emergence and well, Hull have never been there before.

The gap between the top flight and the second division in English football is becoming increasingly bigger, and with time, sides will struggle to close the perforation between the Premier League and the Championship, leading to a  complete isolation of the top flight.

Money, ownership, players, experience, and stamina are only a few things that the three clubs will have to build their foundation on if they want to thrive in the Premier League.

Also, they will have to improve on their latest results against top flight teams. Newcastle, Chelsea, and Portsmouth have all been opponents for at least one of the promoted sides in the 2007/08 season, with the Premier League teams running out overall winners on each occasion.

West Brom may have a shadow of a chance, as they have experience of previous players, but will have to spend big and look for ownership if they hope to avoid the drop to the Championship once again.

As for Hull and Stoke, there is an infinitive amount of needs and requirements that they just don't have to survive in the Premier League.

It will be an adventure for fans, as there are already many stories that they can tell in years to come. But fans will have to prepare themselves for a different sort of season as they may be conceding more goals than they will be scoring, and their games being scheduled first on match of the day for all the wrong reasons.

So, as for the upcoming season, the newly promoted sides will have to fight extra hard and will have to take each day as a cup final, if they want to even take a glimpse at maintaining their status in the top division for another season.

• Derby and Birmingham are on alert after Everton midfielder Lee Carsley
  turned down a new contract, so he can move back to the Midlands. (Press Association)

• Real Madrid are on the verge of signing Racing Santander’s Argentine centre half Ezequiel Garay for eleven million Euros (eight million pounds), after Barcelona president Joan Laporta vetoed a move for the player. (Sky Sports News).

• Aston Villa are rumoured to be tracking nineteen year old Real Valladolid keeper Sergio Asenjo. The Spaniard has a buyout clause of about 3.3 million pounds. (Sky Sports News)

• Ex England boss Steve McClaren is in line for taking the reins at FC Twente next season. The Dutch side qualified for the Champions League through the playoffs beating Ajax in the final. (The Sun)

• Arsenal are in talks with AS Roma’s highly rated Italian international Alberto Aquailani over a move to the Emirates. (Setanta Sports News)

• Everton are interested in Bordeaux’s former Liverpool midfielder Alou Diarra, has a replacement for the departing Lee Carsley. (Various)

• Although they missed out on Garay, the Catalans have agreed a six million pound fee with Manchester United for Gerard Pique to take the Spanish defender back to the Nou Camp. (Daily Mail)

• Hungary captain Zoltan Gera could leave West Brom for Portuguese giants Benfica, after the midfielder’s agent received an offer from the Reds. (The Times)

• Paul Jewell has put the entire Derby County squad up for sale, following the Ram’s relegation from the Premier League. (Daily Record)

• Arsenal could turn to Blackburn’s Paraguayan striker Roque Santa Cruz if Emanuel Adebayor leaves for AC Milan, although the Gunners are confident that the Togo captain will stay in North London. (The Times)

• Arsenal will also sign Portsmouth’s Croatian midfielder Niko Kranjcar for ten million, if the south coast club sign former Liverpool winger Harry Kewell, who is a free agent after leaving Anfield. (Daily Mirror)

• Celtic will try to sign West Brom captain Paul Robinson if Lee Naylor leaves for Portsmouth. (The Herald)

• Fulham saviour Brian McBride is considering returning to the States this summer with former club Columbus Crew and Chicago Magic interested. The former USA international is out of contract this summer. (The Times)

• Lassana Diarra has a gentlemen’s agreement with Portsmouth that will let him leave the south coast if a top Champions League club comes in for the France International. (Daily Mail)

• QPR hope to bring West Brom Striker Kevin Phillips and Wolves’ Striker Freddie Eastwood to Loftus Road as the club’s first choice strike partnership next season. But the hoops will face competition from four other championship clubs for Eastwood’s signature. (Daily Mirror)

• Derby have had a half a million pound bid for Swansea’s Dutch midfielder Ferrie Bodde turned down. (Sky Sports News)

• Daniel Alves says that he feels the time is right to leave Sevilla for another challenge, Barcelona are the favourites for the match winning right back. (Sky Sports News)

• Hearts winger Neil McCann has left Tynecastle and signed for Falkirk. He joins fellow veterans Lee Bullen and Jackie McNamara in making the move to Falkirk Park. Hearts have also released French centre half Ibrahim Tall. (Sky Sports News)

• Shaun Wright-Phillips has denied that he wants to leave Stamford Bridge, despite his lack of first-team chances with the Blues. (Chelsea.com)

• While highly rated striker Karim Benzema will stay at Lyon despite the French international being chased by some of Europe’s biggest clubs. (Sky Sports News)

First and foremost, congratulations to West Brom and Stoke City for securing automatic promotion to the Premiership.

One of the tightest Championship races for a long time saw Watford streak ahead before Christmas only to be pegged back. Into the New Year no team could pull away from the rest of the pack, leaving the title race open into the last few games of the season.

With Tony Mowbray at the helm West Brom have attacking, free flowing football down too a tee and many would be mistaken in believing the man in charge was a tough centre back for 18 years with Middlesbrough, Celtic and Ipswich.

The defense will need improving for the step up as for the 88 goals scored, 60 were let in at the other end, but unlike many teams making the step up West Brom have a solid spine of players who have all played in the Premier League before. Can West Brom beat the drop, or like their neighbours Birmingham City will they become a yo-yo team?

Stoke City's rise to the premiership has been built on some very shrewd loan signings by manager Tony Pulis. No less than 6 premiership based players have worn the Potters red and white stripes maintaining their consistency throughout the league.

Although not showcasing the highlight reel football of a West Brom, Stoke have managed to fit their loanees in around the quality of Liam Lawrence, Ricardo Fuller and Leon Cort all of which have the ability to make an impact in the premiership.

Without doubt Stoke will need to strengthen in all areas to stand a chance of surviving in their return to the top flight, perhaps starting with making some of the loan signings permanent. Can they make an impression and finish above the drop zone? Highly unlikely!

Now the playoffs...

At time of writing Bristol City confirmed their place at Wembley with a 4-2 aggregate win over Crystal Palace and Hull City take a 2-0 lead over Watford to the KC Stadium.

Bristol City have far surpassed any targets they set themselves at the beginning of the season. Throughout the whole campaign it was a case of when will they stumble? But give credit where credits due, they did not and continue to surpass expectation with a solid 2 game performance against a dangerous Palace side.

Gary Johnson, a man with international management under his belt, albeit with Latvia has taken a mid-table team at best and taken them to within 1 game of the premiership. Solid defense has been the key to their success as a +1 goal difference for a team finishing 4th is unheard of.

Like all teams making the leap major improvements will be needed but it'll be a pleasure seeing football league legends Lee Trundle and Dele Adebola finally get a stab at the Premiership. Nothing more than a bottom three finish though!

Since his arrival at Hull City, Phil Browns win percentage is at a very mediocre 42%, but yet here his team lies on the verge of a playoff final, so like Bristol City definitely a team surpassing all expectations.

With veterans Nicky Barmby and Dean Windass leading the way this could be their final swansong with one final crack at the premiership.

Likely to be a major struggle should they make it through the playoffs, the Tigers will be looking to strengthen everywhere and add a few young legs to do the running for the old boys.

Even the magic of Jay Jay (so good they named him twice) Okocha it's very much likely the tigers will be looking at a bottom three finish and likely to be the worst performers of the 3 promoted clubs.

I must mention Watford as they are still in with a shout. Aide Boothroyds men have been on a slow downward spiral since the new year and were very lucky to make the playoffs pipping Wolves by a goal difference of one.

Since the loss of Marlon King they have lost their ability to score goals. Had they kept him they'd have finished higher, probably beating Stoke to 2nd.

As it stands they would have a chance of survival in the premier league with the majority of their team who made no disgrace of themselves during their last premiership campaign. Also as the team coming straight back up after relegation, they have a strange ability to then beat the drop and begin to establish themselves in the league.

Should they make it, minus a target man it's likely to be a very tough time, so again a bottom 3 finish...

Overall an unexpected finish to another exciting Championship campaign.

There may be three clubs clinging on for survival at the bottom of the English Premier League as the relegation battle goes down to the wire, but in reality, two EPL teams have already been replaced.

West Bromwich Albion won the Coca Cola Championship (England's second tier) and will be joined in the EPL by Stoke City, who finished second. They will be joined by a third side after the play off lottery but for now let's have a look at the two automatically promoted sides.

West Brom have been termed an EPL yo yo side by many, with them being up (in the EPL) one season and down the next over the last few years. An excellent run in the FA Cup this year, where they got to the semi final at Wembley, has helped garner some optimism that this squad have the fight required for the top flight.

Manager Tony Mowbray is fast earning a reputation as a good manager but he will have to earn his corn, in the transfer market this summer. He also hopes to persuade trio Kevin Phillips, Zoltan Gera and Martin Albrechtsen to sign on for a season in the top flight.

Many of the squad have played a few seasons in the EPL and this will be of great value to Mowbray when top class football returns to the Hawthorns in August.

In keeper Dean Kiely, they have a mountain of experience. The former Charlton Athletic number one will be hoping to start next season as first choice, despite being 37.

The defence looks pretty good too, look out for young Leon Barnett (22) alongside Premiership veterans like left back Paul Robinson and the above mentioned Albrechtsen, should he put pen to paper on a new deal.

One new name to you EPL watchers will be Belgian, Carl Hoefkens. The defender funnily enough signed from Stoke City last summer, was an almost ever present this season and the 29 year old will now get his first crack at the big time in England.

The most famous name in the WBA midfield is of course Jonathan Greening. The former Manchester United starlet has always looked more than comfortable in the EPL and will be one of West Brom's trump cards.

Elsewhere in midfield we have Zoltan Gera, a quality winger on his day as well as Slovenian Robert Koran, who has been a revelation since his free transfer from Lillestrom. Former Middlesbrough youngster James Morrison will be another eager to impress on his return to the EPL.

In attack they are spoilt for choice with names like Phillips, Roman Bednar, Craig Beattie and Ishmael Miller. All five are capable of scoring in the EPL and this may well be the department that helps them stay up next season. I have a sneaky suspicion they will do just that.

Stoke City are completely new to the EPL, which in recent years has been a good thing, with the likes of Reading and Wigan Athletic making names for themselves after being promoted.

Stoke are one of the oldest clubs in the world having been formed in 1863. That's a whopping 145 years ago, to those of you who can't be bothered working it out. They are the hometown club of a certain Sir Stanley Matthews, he had two spells at the club, firstly between 1932 and 1947 and then returning in 1961. He played his last game or the club (which was in the top flight) in 1965, aged an amazing 50!

These days Stoke don't rely on one superstar player but on coach Tony Pulis moulding a work man like squad. He is now though, prepared to spend big, to keep his side in the top flight.

They have three former EPL goalkeepers on their books. Russel Hoult (Derby County among others) who only played one game this season and got sent off, Carlo Nash (Manchester City and Middlesbrough) and current number one Steve Simonsen (once signed by Everton for 3.3 million pounds).

The defence has some familiar names too with Dominic Matteo, Andy Griffin, Danny Higginbottom, Marlon Broomes and Chris Riggott all having had top level experience. Ryan Shawgrass was Stoke's best defender this season and the youngster looks EPL class, so watch out for him!

In midfield again the names pop out at you, with the likes of Rory Delap and Liam Lawrence in the engine room for stoke.

Upfront, former Southampton and Hearts striker Ricardo Fuller, along with Richard Cresswell lead the line in an attack that will have to be strengthened.

Sadly I think they will struggle badly next season but I do honestly hope I'm wrong as it's great to see new blood in the EPL. This is a big name club who are reaching the pinnacle of football in England once again with top flight football returning to the Britannia Stadium.

The upshot is that WBA need a few players to aid the squad next season. Stoke City need, well, to put it nicely, half a side, if they are to have any chance of retaining their EPL status!

Stoke City joined West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League as Leicester City were relegated, and Crystal Palace and Watford completed the play-off line-up.

For the first time, while the title and second promotion spot still to be decided on the final day, all eyes were at the bottom. 

As the day started, Southampton sat in the dreaded third relegation spot, with Leicester City, Coventry City, Blackpool and Sheffield Wednesday doing all they can to try and avoid the drop. 

Coventry away at Charlton Athletic proved a stroll in the park for the Londoners. The score ended 4-1 with Coventry not looking like a team fighting for survival. They would now have to rely on either Southampton or Leicester to mess up.

Sheffield Wednesday, on the other hand, did exactly what they set out to do as they destroyed Norwich 4-1 to effectively secure their status in the championship, regardless of other results

Southampton were hosting Sheffield United, in a game full of drama and controversy. Soton ran out 3-2 winners with Stern John scoring the winner to keep them up. Although, that was before he eventually saw red for picking up two yellow cards.

With these scores coming in, Liecester knew they HAD to win their game against Stoke City. As I was watching this game, the sheer desparation clearly visible on the Leicester players was unbearable to look at. The Stoke Keeper pulled off some magnificent saves to deny Leicester, in particular, Humes. With 4 added minutes onto the 90 and the score still at 0-0, Leicester threw in the towel, throwing everybody forward. The stoke fans suddenly burst onto the pitch celebrating their clubs promotion to the premier league. Not only did I find completely stupid and irritating to watch but also it was completely disrespectful to the Leicester players, who still had 4 minutes to save their season. The game wasn't finished yet!!! - Finally, the fans were brought off the field but the fizz had gone out the Leicester players and the game ended 0-0 confirming Stoke's promotion and Leicester's relegation.

One thing i found heart-warming, in the midst of all the chaos at the Brittania Stadium, was seeing the Leicester fans applauding the Stoke players for their achievement. Some of them were applauding, while in tears.

Elsewhere, Hull City's 1-0 loss at Ipswich meant Stoke's draw actually meant nothing.

West Brom secured the title with a 2-0 win at QPR, Kim Do-Heon and Chris Brunt scoring the goals.

Watford secured their play-off spot with a 1-1 draw at Blackpool, who also secured championship status with that point.

After a day full of emotions, drama and excitement. I couldn't help but feel good and bad for Leicester City. Seeing such a big team go down was a sad sight, especially after seeing them put up such a fight at arguably the toughest place in the championship. I was glad because, had they managed to score, it would have meant Coventry City had gone down.

As you can see I have a soft spot for Coventry and I have been rooting for them all season.

But there we have it. Leicester City for the first time in their history will play their football outside the top two divisions, joining Scunthorpe and Colchester (who by the way, played out and exciting 3-3 draw).