Player Focus: January Signings Struggling

to Solve Problems
by Alistair Tweedale at Wednesday, Mar 26 2014 16:35

The sight of Mohamed Salah netting a sixth goal for Chelsea against Arsenal at the weekend
gave the first slightest of hints that the 11m Chelsea invested in the Egyptian may have been
wise. Given that in his first two months in England he has spent just 36 Premier League
minutes on the pitch, his purchase has hardly been the most productive and has resultantly
proven a rather unnecessary move on the Blues' part. Salah was already proving himself on
the Champions League stage for Basel and Jos Mourinho hadn't needed Juan Mata, so why
would he need Salah, or why would Salah need Chelsea?

The January transfer window is best used as a time to address deficiencies a squad has shown
in the first half of the season by signing players that are Premier League ready and can slot
straight into the team. This winter, however, the teams in England's top flight failed - for the
large part - to have any success in this regard and the school of January signings have had
very little impact indeed.

Salah has obviously been deemed inferior to the likes of Eden Hazard, Willian, Andr
Schrrle, Oscar and Ramires in Chelsea's attacking midfield positions despite having scored
in both fixtures against the Blues in the Champions League group stages earlier this season,
though he has looked lively when called upon. But 11m worth of 'lively'? Probably not.
Salah looks just like the kind of player who would need a pre-season in England to
acclimatise, and may as well have finished the campaign he started in Switzerland, much like
Kurt Zouma, another of the January signings, was allowed to do at Saint Etienne.

Chelsea's other import Nemanja Matic provides arguably the Premier League's only true
success story when it comes to 2014's January signings. The Serbian has the eighth highest
rating (7.67) in the Premier League since the turn of the year (of players with 10+
appearances), having already established himself as a crucial member of the Chelsea team.
Amongst those ahead of him in this list are the likes of Luis Surez, Eden Hazard, Daniel
Sturridge and Steven Gerrard, all of whom have vast experience in the top flight, so credit
where credit's due for Matic managing to settle in so quickly.

He sits in front of the back four alongside Ramires, breaking up play, averaging the 7th most
tackles and interceptions per game in the Premier League (5.7) and distributing with an
83.7% pass success to allow Mourinho's front 4 to do the attacking, safe in the knowledge
that they have Matic behind them holding the fort. He is key to starting attacks, and his
passes saw him register two assists in the rout of Arsenal last week. Chelsea now have a
Premier League-high 18 players with at least 1 assist this season, and Matic has got on board
in that sense, too, though even with his success they still look like they could end the season
trophyless.

Hull's January exploits were widely questioned, as they spent a hefty 14m on the misfiring
Nikica Jelavic and the inconsistent Shane Long. The duo are already the Tigers' joint-highest
scorers in the Premier League (3 goals each) and have filled a void that needed filling at the
club. Danny Graham and Yannick Sagbo proved inadequate at the top level and Steve Bruce
recognised and addressed a need for replacements who were already up to speed with the

demands of the Premier League. However, Hull are now in 12th place rather than 10th when
their new forwards were signed and remain in a relegation battle. The team has has only seen
a slight increase in goals scored, averaging 1.11 goals per game compared to 1.05 before
Long and Jelavic joined. There have been improvements, but doubts rightly remain as to
whether they were worth the money.

The January transfer window was similarly fruitless Fulham. Their significant investment as
they panicked about avoiding the drop has yet to provide much return. Record signing Kostas
Mitroglou has featured just twice, yet to score from 7 shots and yet to make a single key pass.
Given that he was playing - and scoring - in the Champions League only this season, he will
presumably be on the move again in the summer once Fulham's likely relegation is
confirmed. Lewis Holtby has shone at times but looks unlikely to have enough effect to keep
them up, while William Kvist and Johnny Heitinga seem wholly redundant signings that have
merely disrupted the rhythm their teammates had gathered.

Juan Mata's move to Manchester United was meant to solve their problems in attack, but
forced to play out wide he has had little success. 3 assists in his first 3 games doesn't tell the
whole story; one was a 5 yard pass to Ashley Young who scored from 20 yards and another
fell rather fortunately to Robin van Persie two yards from goal. An average rating of 7.01
reflects an increase in playing time compared to earlier in the season at Chelsea, but also a
significant downturn in performance levels from previous campaigns. A sound investment for
the future Mata certainly may prove to be, but a necessary and sufficient solution to United's
problems this season he is not.

Aiden McGeady has had little impact since joining Everton, West Ham's Italian imports
Antonio Nocerino and Marco Borrielo haven't proved the masterstroke marque signings that
Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez were back in 2006, and David Ngog and Kim Kllstrom
have provided predictably little at Swansea and Arsenal, respectively. Crystal Palace's
contingent of January signings may have improved things but still not sufficiently to survive,
while Newcastle have only scored 4 goals in 8 games with Luuk de Jong on the pitch since
his arrival.

Hopes are always high amongst fans that a key player will be added in the January transfer
window and results will improve in the second half of the season as a result. This year,
however, more than ever before, it has proved a colossal waste of both time and money for
almost everyone involved.