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So we’ve seen the best and worst of another World Cup and I’m left needing a hobby to fill the vacuous hole. For no other reason than mourning, here’s my team of the tournament (in a rough 4-2-3-1ish formation):

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas

He looked a shade below par last season and began the World Cup in similar fashion. But he proved his worth in some crucial moments: a penalty save against Chile and his stop against Arjen Robben in the final.

Left Back: Fábio Coentrão

On many occasions he provided Portugal’s attacking thrust and linked well with Ronaldo when both on the left side. His attacking instincts did not hinder his defensive responsibilities and he was Portugal’s best player.

Centre Back: Carles Puyol

He is a testament to Spain’s ability to cut it at both ends of the spectrum: they’re aesthetic and they’re functional. His partnership with Pique perfectly encapsulates the need for complementary characteristics (one is ball-playing, technical and responsible for recycling possession whilst the other, you feel, is willing to sprint into cavalry fire). His header in the semi final was a memorable moment and highlights our media’s inability to grasp the idea that this Spain team can get the job done both ways: intricately and absolutely directly.

Centre Back: Arne Friedrich

A lot was made of Germany’s ‘suspect’ defence before the tournament but Friedrich quietly impressed and even scored against Argentina. I didn’t know much about him before the World Cup but his consistent performances have been a pleasant surprise.

Right Back: Philipp Lahm

Taking over as Captain from the injured Michael Ballack only helped Lahm’s performances. He is as reliable as they come and displays an obstinate refusal to lose the ball – I was continuously surprised at the consummate ease of his play in possession. His attacking inclinations are known and became especially apparent in Germany’s demolition of Argentina.

Centre Midfield: Bastian Schweinsteiger

Much like Lahm, Schweinsteiger has grown into a player of the absolute highest calibre. His evolution from promising winger to accomplished deep lying midfielder has equipped him with a breadth of skills. But more than his qualities as a footballer, Schweinsteiger possesses the personality of a leader and seeing him captain Germany in their final match of the World Cup against Uruguay was a special moment.

Centre Midfield: Xabi Alonso

Behind Villa I thought he was Spain’s best performer until the final (we won’t know how much de Jong’s assault affected him physically). His distribution is not an unknown quantity – amongst the best passers in world football – but what I found interesting was his importance to the progress of Spain’s attacks through midfield; what I mean by this is his willingness to spread play directly with pace and a greater sense of direction (the cross field passes to Ramos a case in point). And whilst Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets allow for a similar style of short interplay, Alonso offered another dimension to the quartet. Alonso was the first pass Busquets looked for and he became the fulcrum between defence and attack, often responsible for supplying passes (primarily to Xavi) higher up the pitch. But none of this is to imply possession and consistency isn’t his prerogative; what’s startling is the Spanish central trio’s pass completion rate.

Attacking Midfield left: David Villa

Coming in high off the left led to Villa’s goal haul at this World Cup. What’s interesting is that though his own performances were match winning, the ramifications of deploying Torres proved too costly for Spain’s overall cohesion. Centrally it is much harder to isolate players and penetrate like he could on the left but his movement crucially allowed space for Xavi and Iniesta to manoeuvre. This World Cup showed a stubborn and desirable trait of delivering when your team most needs it and of Spain’s first 6 goals, Villa scored 5 and assisted the other.

Attacking midfield centre: Wesley Sneijder

Strangely I don’t think Sneijder had as good a tournament as many are making out. Of his 5 goals, 3 were fortuitous…but 5 goals is more than enough reason in terms of output and conversion. I’ve picked him more for his remarkable (and decisive) ability to execute; some of his through balls over the past month have been truly miraculous and it is unfortunate for him that Robben could not convert the most important one in the final.

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Attacking Midfield right: Thomas Müller

After the Champions League final I heard a lot of negativity about the ‘skinny guy up front’. Thankfully Müller showed just why writing off 20-year-olds is one of the most rash and illogical streaks our media suffers from. To finish as top scorer at a World Cup at such a young age is a huge achievement and he’s taken over from Klose as the new German with an affinity for scoring on the biggest stage.

Striker: Diego Forlan

Football remains in a sphere of its own with stories like Forlan’s. As we all know, the national press has a habit of being quite insular and unforgiving; Forlan left England without leaving a mark and even his repeated goal scoring feats with Villarreal and Atletico Madrid (European Golden Boot winner for both clubs) weren’t enough to cast off his tag as an English flop. But to catch the eye of the watching world on the biggest stage and collect the Golden Ball award is too much. Poetic.

Subs bench: Neuer, Pique, Maicon, Iniesta, Oezil, Robben, Klose

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It was once the hallmark of a club going through hard times. A dawning realisation as it were as to a club’s real place in the pecking order. A phrase that supposedly signalled the end of a club‘s ambition. The term ‘selling club’, while it may have been applicable even as recently as 3-4 years ago, now looks somewhat outdated. The reasoning behind this – a very clear separation of powers from those clubs at the very top, to the rest of those in the league. The rich are getting richer and with it, every player at almost every club has its price.

Arsenal have come in for some severe criticism this summer about the way they have conducted their transfer business, or rather lack of it, until the supermarket-sweep trolly dash of transfer deadline day. Many sighted the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri as further proof that the North London side were now little more than a ‘selling club’.

However, when you actually look at the nature of the deals, it’s extremely unfair to classify Arsenal as that. Cesc Fabregas departed after eight seasons of loyal service to the club. The Fabregas deal was like a ticking time bomb from the moment he arrived from Catalonia. This summer was just the logical conclusion to the most inevitable transfer in recent memory, no more than that.

Samir Nasri was a different case in point too. Man City’s riches (yes, sorry to go on about them all of the time, but they are the proverbial elephant in the room, to ignore them would be folly) have changed the ball game completely. Whereas Chelsea are comfortably rich (if that’s a phrase?), Man City’s wealth dwarves even theirs. It’s as simple as that. If they want something, they can pay hugely over the odds for it without even a second thought. Samir Nasri was bought for over £20m despite having just a year left on his contract – a huge outlay considering the circumstances.

Of course, a newly mega-rich club does often signify a club with a growing ambition and intent. Man City and PSG are quite possibly the only two clubs in the world that could offer wages of up to £250k a-week without having to adjust their budgets. Man City are the most exciting footballing project in the world right now, but it’s fair to say that the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow may have tempted Nasri just a tad more than normal as well. These are exceptional circumstances.

Sunderland fans were apoplectic with rage after they saw their star striker Darren Bent depart, in what at the time represented a sideways move, to Aston Villa for £24m last term. However, it was a price Villa were willing to pay, safe in the knowledge that Bent’s goals would most probably steer them clear away from the relegation mire. It was a short-term gamble and the unusually large fee paid out by a mid-table club should be seen as nothing more than a down payment ahead of the expected departures of both Ashley Young and Stewart Downing this summer.

Every player, perhaps more than at any time before, has their price, as the group of mega-rich clubs at the top grows smaller and smaller by the season?.

Spurs held off the advances of Chelsea in their dogged pursuit of midfield maestro Luka Modric for the majority of the transfer window. But at what cost? At what point does holding onto an asset such as Modric become negligible when balanced against the potential profit to be gained from such a deal?

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Chelsea had bids of £22m, £27m and £30m plus Alex turned down. Is Modric really worth more than £30m plus Alex? With Spurs obviously requiring another centre-half, only to be further exemplified by the club‘s late move for Gary Cahill. It became clear that Redknapp’s stance had weakened towards the end of the window and he was all for using the funds from any proposed sale to try and revitalise his squad, but Chairman Daniel Levy’s stance, while commendable, appears to have been aimed squarely at getting the supporters back on side in a deal that threatened to mirror that of Dimitar Berbatov’s switch to Man Utd in 2008.

Levy was willing to forsake any potential windfall, no matter how large, simply to make a point. Was it wise? The unbalanced nature of Spurs squad at the moment may tell you otherwise and you wouldn’t bet against Spurs selling their man in either January or next summer if a fractionally larger offer comes their way. Levy has saved face – which was undoubtedly the main object behind the whole saga.

Everton are another who have been termed a ‘selling club’. They sold Joleon Lescott to Man City for £24m, Mikel Arteta to Arsenal for £10m and Wayne Rooney to Man Utd for £30m. Does this make them a selling club? Of course it doesn’t. It merely makes them both practical and realistic. The club’s main prerogative is to balance the books, and as a result they are well known for driving a hard bargain. While the vultures may begin to swarm around the likes of Ross Barkley, Jack Rodwell and Marouane Fellaini, are Everton likely to sell any of them on the cheap? Not on your nelly.

In France, Lyon Chairman Jean-Michel Aulas has often attracted criticism from supporters, much in the same way Daniel Levy has at Spurs, for running the club like a business. However, he is also renowned for driving a hard bargain (Michael Essien £24m, Karim Benzema £35m, Mahamadou Diarra £20m). He’s fully aware of French football’s place in the European pecking order and that some players will move on to pastures anew given the chance and so he makes their suitors pay top whack for their talent. In today’s day and age, with a clear hierarchy built around the club’s with most financial clout, it begs the question, is there really any other way to run a football club than like a business?

The age of the selling club is over. The arrival of a new type of owner, a mega-rich owner with infinite income, has made the rest of the league sit up and take notice. The majority of clubs in the Premier League now operate with a more pragmatic approach in mind, as it’s simply impossible for them to compete on a financial front any longer.

James Milner’s £24 move to Man City from Aston Villa. Fernando Torres’s £50m from Chelsea to Liverpool. Andy Carroll’s £35m move from Newcastle to Liverpool. Can you honestly tell me that the ‘selling club’ in any of these transfer deals hasn’t profited more from the move than the buyer so far? Or perhaps more to the point, have any of these moves even begun to approach being considered value for money for their new clubs? Now all of a sudden, being a ‘selling club’ doesn’t look so bad after all.

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Universidad Catolica came from 3-1 down to beat Velez Sarsfield 4-3 away in the Copa Libertadores on Thursday.Chilean visitors Catolica took the lead in the first minute at the Estadio Jose Amalfitani through Argentine striker Lucas Pratto.Velez levelled in the 20th minute with a header from centre-back Fernando Ortiz.Just a minute later they were in front when right winger Augusto Fernandez struck to make it 2-1.Velez appeared to be cruising when left-sided player Emiliano Papa headed home to put the hosts 3-1 up on the stroke of half-time.But their task was made harder when goal-scorer Ortiz received his marching orders seven minutes into the second half.Midfielder Tomas Costa pulled one back for Catolica on 73 minutes, but 10-man Velez looked set to hang on for the win, before Lucas Pratto equalised with three minutes remaining.Striker Francisco Pizarro then struck in the 90th minute to make it 4-3 to Catolica and complete a remarkable comeback. Catolica are now top of Group Four with four points, ahead of Velez.Also in Group Four, Venezuela’s Caracas joined Velez on three points after a 2-0 win over Chilean side Union Espanola.Edgar Jimenez put hosts Caracas ahead from the penalty spot in the 39th minute at Estadio Olimpico de Venezuela.Panama international midfielder Nelson Barahona completed the scoring eight minutes into the second half.Espanola remain bottom of the group with one point from two matches played.Brazilians Gremio are top of Group Two following a 2-0 win over Peruvian side Leon de Huanuco. Andre Lima and Borges were on the scoresheet for Gremio at the Estadio Olimpico Monumental.Ecuadorian outfit LDU Quito cruised to a 3-0 win over Argentina’s Independiente at Estadio de Liga Deportiva Universitaria. Paul Ambrosi struck in the first 10 minutes for LDU, before second-half goals from Miller Bolanos and Patricio Urrutia wrapped up the victory.

England’s World Cup defeat at the hands of Germany could just be the wake-up call that this country needs to stop neglecting grassroots football and ensure that more English talent starts coming through.

Ironically a German said that England weren’t producing talented players two weeks before this match. Legendary defender Franz Beckenbauer said:

“I am not sure if the England coach Fabio Capello can still change much there. The English are being punished for the fact that there are very few English players in the Premier League as clubs use better foreign players from all over the world.”

After the weekend’s game you feel that Der Kaiser may well have a point especially as Germany’s side included a lot of young and talented players like Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller; it makes you wonder just where are England’s youngsters? Part of the problem does seem to be because of the big influx of foreign players in the Premiership. Most nations have the league’s big teams contribute towards their squads yet only 11 players out of the 23 came from last year’s big four. Surely there has to be some young talented English players coming through at those clubs? Manchester United have let a lot of their talent youngsters go in recent years when they should have been given more of a chance at club. Ryan Shawcross is an example and he has proved himself as a talented youngster at Stoke, yet he would have thrived even more at Manchester United and could be a more accomplished defender had they not let him go.

However the problems behind England’s youth don’t just lie at a senior level, it goes all the way back to grassroots football. The country still doesn’t have a regional centre of excellence and if one was in place then all the young English talent could be pooled together. The facilities for youngsters’ Sunday league games are dire, and with five-a-side centres offering a more casual and eye-catching experience a lot of people are turning to them instead. A lot of teams also focus their scouting abroad and bring in players from other countries which in turn push out the English players. The FA seems to struggle to properly invest in grassroots football and the main reason behind it could be because of how costly Wembley stadium turned out to be.

As for current youngsters coming through the ranks none of them are getting regular game time for the top four clubs. The youngster who appears to get the most game time for the biggest club is Jack Rodwell of Everton and David Moyes needs to be commended for putting faith into his youngsters. Unfortunately the likes of Arsene Wenger and Martin O’Neill don’t seem to want to give youth a chance, in the instances of Jack Wilshere and Fabian Delph respectively.

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Unfortunately the English national side is not going to progress until teams stop buying so many foreign players and give the young English ones a chance. Otherwise if the influx of foreign players keeps increasing we will see more and more Emile Heskey’s turn out for England, rather than Wayne Rooney’s and nobody wants to see that!

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Lucas Perez will be disappointed with how his Arsenal career has developed.

Tbe 29-year-old joined the Gunners from Deportivo La Coruna in 2016, but struggle to break into Arsene Wenger’s team.

Last year, Perez returned to his former club on loan and ended up scoring nine goals and creating eight assists in all competitions.

The spell was a lot more fruitful than his first season at Arsenal, in which he made just 11 Premier League appearances, two of which were starts, and netted only once.

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It is all change at the Gunners following the appointment of Unai Emery as Wenger’s successor.

Whenever a new manager takes over it gives fringe players the chance to prove their worth and try to claw their way into the team.

Perez’s long-term future at the Emirates remains in limbo, but according to El Desmarque, Emery has told the forward to return to Arsenal for pre-season training and a discussion will be had about his prospects.

Many Arsenal fans feel that the Spaniard still has plenty to contribute to the team as a squad player, and some even think that he is a better option than Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi.

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Jack Wilshere is back in Arsene Wenger’s good books at Arsenal.

The midfielder could not buy a Premier League start in the early stages of the season, but has now been involved in six of Arsenal’s last seven league fixtures.

He has started the last three in the top flight, and is expected to be named in Wenger’s starting XI for Thursday’s clash against Crystal Palace.

Wilshere is still out of contract at the end of the campaign, however, and will therefore be free to discuss terms with foreign clubs as of next week.

The majority of the Arsenal fans have always backed Wilshere throughout his injury problems, and many are delighted that the Englishman has worked his way back into the team.

On Wednesday, the 25-year-old, who is valued at £13.5m by transfermarkt.co.uk, posted an image from a recent training session as Arsenal prepare for Thursday’s clash with Palace.

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As expected, the Arsenal fans were out in their numbers to pay tribute to the midfielder, who still has time on his side after a difficult 12 months.

Arsenal’s tightly-wound PR machine appears to cover all bases, except of course for what the manager lets slip during his press conferences or post-match interviews.

The problem is two-fold. One, Arsene Wenger, like every manager, is the first line of defence (or attack) against the media. We often like to take what he has to say as gospel because he’s the regular line from the club to the fans. The other point is it doesn’t seem as though anyone is telling Wenger what he should and shouldn’t say, as harmless as his words may be. He speaks in riddles and he can often force a rise out of supporters and the media, but then when Arsenal as a whole are quite clearly walking on thin ice, it is hardly the best idea to speak out that he believes the squad can challenge for the Premier League title without additions this summer.

I said it earlier in the summer that I am absolutely convinced Wenger would go into next season with the squad he has if he was allowed to. Amy Lawrence recently spoke with the BBC about the internal tug of war at the club over the matter of spending big, with her inclination being that Wenger is still very much reserved on that front.

The issue is that Arsenal have created problems for themselves when there really didn’t need to be any.

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I’m not for the idea that Ivan Gazidis shouldn’t have spoken about the club’s spending capabilities prior to the summer market opening. It would be easy to underestimate the rest of Europe in situations like that, assuming that the power a club has is only revealed via the media or supporter events. Even if Gazidis had kept quiet about the club’s plans this summer, other clubs in England and on the continent would have quickly caught wind of Arsenal’s new-found position of financial strength. It’s hardly a secret, and something like revealing your cards won’t always put you at a disadvantage.

But it’s that Arsenal are clearly not on the same wavelength with themselves. Half of the board want to spend, while other quarters want to adhere to the traditions set in previous summers. Gazidis had to say something to the supporters, such was the negative atmosphere around the club following another poor season and another captain sold last summer. It was brilliant PR, talking up the club’s ability to spent £250,000 per week on wages if a Wayne Rooney figure became available. But was Wenger consulted? Was the manager buying into this new way of thinking?

On the whole it makes the club look foolish, while the first and second lines of defence (Gazidis being the second) are clashing over what to do this summer. There’s the spin-factor that comes into it, but I don’t think the club are looking to play the supporters like incompetent, mindless disciples who only latch onto what comes out directly via the club. I do believe there was a desire to spend big and to big spend early, but the fact that the strategic plan wasn’t agreed upon prior to Gazidis’ speech only exacerbates the issue and potentially forces the club into purchases they otherwise wouldn’t have made.

It’s got nothing to do with telling the rest of Europe how much money you have; it has everything to do with giving the wrong impression to a group of supporters who are desperate for something different and ambitious.

If Wenger truly believes that his squad is good enough then – not that I’m condoning it – but get that aired out prior to the window opening. It’s a huge PR blunder, even if it is a throwaway interview, for the manager to talk up an unchanged squad who finished fourth and 26 points behind last season’s champions as title contenders, only months after the CEO promised surprises and ambition.

But that’s just another block to the inconsistent structure at the club. Off the pitch, Arsenal can do no wrong. A wave of new revenue streams are helping to elevate the club onto a similar footing as Bayern Munich, Manchester United and a few others around Europe. The on-pitch affairs and everything related to it continue to take a hammering. Supporters absolutely wanted more clarity on what the club meant when they sold Robin van Persie for “footballing reasons,” and the same is very much true for the issues and building direction for this summer.

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Have Arsenal made PR mistakes with their approach to this summer’s market?

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Real Madrid recorded victory in the Super Copa for the first time since 2008, beating arch rivals Barcelona on away goals.

Jose Mourinho’s side trailed 3-2 from last week’s first leg encounter at the Nou Camp, and went into the second leg at the Bernabeau knowing they would have to win to secure the trophy; a feat they had not managed in their previous seven home encounters against the old enemy.

Their cause was helped by two goals in the opening 20 minutes, first from Gonzalo Higuain and then Cristiano Ronaldo.

The former Manchester United man was heavily involved in the first half action, and was at the centre of attention once more as he raced through on goal – only to be hauled down by Barcelona’s Adriano who recieved a straight red card for denying an obvious goal scoring opportunity.

Mourinho’s men had endured a dreadful start to the new season, with two draws and a defeat from their opening three matches.

The Real Madrid boss had asked for a reaction, having publicly admitting he had given his players a dressing down following last weeks defeat in the Nou Camp, and his players responded in the first half especially.

The 10 men of Barca did not go down without a fight, with their talisman Lionel Messi pulling a goal back before half time with a sublime free kick.

But Real held on to truimph 2-1 on the night and leave a final score of 4-4 on aggregate, enough to claim the Super Copa on away goals.

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Following a difficult start to the season, this result will no doubt give Mourinho and his men the confidence to challenge on all fronts once more.

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Tottenham Hotspur finished third in the English Premier League this season after a dramatic final day win against Leicester City.

Trailing 3-1 in the match at Wembley, Mauricio Pochettino’s side clicked into gear and ended up winning the match 5-4 in a nine-goal thriller.

Doubles from Harry Kane and Erik Lamela helped their side to victory, delighting supporters who certainly weren’t let down with a boring end-of-season affair.

Supporters loved the contribution from Lamela, who has received his fair share of criticism over the last few months. Sunday’s goals were his first for the club since an FA Cup clash in March against relegated Swansea.

Is it a performance that demonstrates he has a long-term future at the club, or is this a one-off ahead of what could be an exit in the summer transfer window?

He’s certainly winning round some fans, who took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his Sunday display…

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Liverpool’s loss of Raheem Sterling this summer has been negated by a number of positive moves in the transfer market by Anfield supremo Brendan Rodgers.

In attack, to offset the Manchester City man’s departure, a number of new players have been brought to the Merseyside club, namely Danny Ings and Roberto Firmino.

A third new offensive face has arrive now, too, with Christian Benteke’s £32.5m deal having finally been completed.

The Aston Villa forward has proven over a number of seasons that he has all the attributes to score goals in the Premier League. Fast, strong, good in the air and with an eye for goal, the Belgium international will bolster Rodgers’ attacking options in 2015/16.

Benteke’s arrival will give Daniel Sturridge some real competition, and lead to less dependence on the injury prone England international to get the goals for the Reds. In fact, along with Sturridge, Benteke and Ings, Rodgers has an overwhelming abundance of strikers at his disposal.

Divock Origi’s loan stint at Lille has come to an end and he has moved to the English club also, giving Rodgers four out-and-out strikers to choose from.

This is even before Mario Balotelli, Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini are taken into consideration, albeit their futures are all up in the air

Although Benteke and Sturridge are likely to be the frontrunners for a place in the Reds’ starting XI, the mere presence of so many centre-forwards insinuates a potential switch in tactics from Rodgers next term. The Northern Irishman has used a number of different systems in his time at Anfield, but more often than not last term deployed a three-man backline in a bespoke 3-4-3 formation.

In attack, this meant one central striker, supported by two attacking midfielders, such as Sterling, Adam Lallana and/or Philippe Coutinho. However, with so many strikers in Rodgers’ squad after Liverpool’s summer transfer business, there is a fair chance that the former Swansea trainer is thinking about resorting to a system with a centre forward pairing.

Whether this is a 4-4-2 or an offset of the classic system remains to be seen, while a 3-5-2 is also an option.

When Luis Suarez was still at the club, Rodgers tinkered with his first XI to get the most out of the Uruguayan and his potent partnership with Sturridge – it may well be that he has to do the same again next term to fit in his new arrivals.

Logic dictates that Benteke and Sturridge are not matched to play alongside each other, even if Rodgers is thinking of fielding them both. The similarities in style are there, with both liking to play on the shoulder and be the furthest man forward.

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Suarez was happy and willing to drop slightly deeper to pick up possession and allow Sturridge to be the focal point; whether Benteke has the attributes or inclination to do similar is questionable.

It could well be that it is one or the other, with Firmino as the second striker, as the Brazilian has more creativity and technique than the out-and-out centre forwards and would act as a foil – similar to Suarez.

One thing’s for sure, though, despite Sterling’s exit, Rodgers has more options in attack ahead of 2014/15 than he did last season – so much so that a switch in formation to accommodate more offensive weapons looks necessary.