The best league in the world?
With Karim Benzema poised to join the stampede to Real Madrid, it has now become clear that the Premier League is no longer the destination of choice for the world's best players.
Just a couple of months ago our top clubs were basking in the glory of another successful Champions League campaign which saw three of the big four in the semi-final for a second year running - but now those grand boasts about the Premier League being the best league in the world lay in ruins. Crushed by one club, Real Madrid, and one man, Florentino Perez.
Not only have Real nabbed the finest player in the Premier League, but they are also beating our top clubs, especially Manchester United, to everyone else.
And before I get hit with "it's the same for everyone else", it may well be, but other leagues haven't been shouting the odds for the past 10 years claiming to be the best.
And what's worse is that, taking their lead from Real, other clubs are starting to look over here and thinking they may be able to nab a player or two. Barcelona are not giving up on Javier Mascherano or Cesc Fabregas, while Juventus have been linked with Xabi Alonso (although it’s a rumour the Turin club has denied).
And how are our top teams responding? With difficulty. Manchester United and Liverpool have both splashed out £17m each this summer but on players from smaller English teams.
Meanwhile, Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti is said to be so worried by a lack of new signings that he is still in Milan trying to persuade Alexandre Pato to move. Andrea Pirlo, another Milan player, has already said he's not interested in moving to England.
Most fans outside the big four will welcome the summer's developments, believing it's time the top clubs got a taste of their own medicine.
And while this is a very valid point, won't it be a shame not to see the finest players in the world at our grounds next season?
Bad eggs at Arsenal
One newspaper is today reporting that Arsenal defender William Gallas is threatening to leave the club on a free next summer if the Gunners do not allow him to leave now. What is Arsene Wenger waiting for? Pack his bags and leave them on the front step of The Emirates.
Gallas has been nothing but a huge pain in the backside since he moved to Arsenal and his flaky personality and attitude has hindered more than helped over the past two seasons.
As one of the most experienced players in a very young side he should have been setting an example, instead he was often the one who looked like the sulky teenager.
So it's bye-bye William and if you could take Adebayor with you, many Gunners fans will start looking forward to next season with renewed optimism.
Hammering home the point
It's rare these days for a football executive to actually listen to the club's fans but West Ham's Scott Duxbury is winning many plaudits in the East End for stating, as fact, that the Hammers will never sell a player to Tottenham again.
In the past few years, the traffic from Upton Park to White Hart Lane has been pretty much one way with Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe just two of the big names to leave.
But Duxbury is now saying this must stop, his argument being that why would the club sell their best players to, as they see it, their biggest rivals.
We all know Man United don't sell to Liverpool and Real don't sell to Barcelona, but in these days of everyone pretending to be nice and liking each other, isn't it refreshing to see someone spell out what rivalry still means in football.
