Macca's Memoires... Alex McCarthy's home of thoughts

With the January transfer window looming, imaginations once again run wild to the endless possibilities that lend themselves to fans and their respective clubs. All kinds of rationale develop to convince yourself that X player is a plausible buy for X club, but unfortunately history tells us that January is a generally tepid month in the market (give or take an Andy Carroll or Fernando Torres transfer or two).

An estimated £58,300,000 was spent in the 2012 January transfer window (with Manchester City about too, I know) according to accountancy firm Deloitte. This figure was approximately 70 per cent down on the number seen in the previous year’s January 2011 transfer window. A big deal of 2011’s window was Papiss Demba CIsse swapping Germany for Tyneside after joining Newcastle for £10m. That transfer was to serve as support, to continue the momentum the Magpies were riding. Quite the opposite tonic is needed for Newcastle with January on the horizon one-year on.

In the Keegan (more so Freddie Shepeard) era, Newcastle was a club associated with money capable of funding big swoops yearly. From the great Alan Shearer to Carl Cort (Ok, I didn’t say they were all smash-hit buys) money was to be spent. With Mike Ashley at the helm, it’s a different time in the North-East, a time I firmly believe Alan Pardew was hired in mind of. His transfer say is borderline non-existent; with head scout Graham Carr (see Tiote, Cabaye and Cisse deals for CV) in charge of what little money the Mags do throw around.

The Demba Ba transfer saga appears to be concluding with a move to Stamford Bridge meaning Chelsea will be activating his well-publicised release clause of around £7m. Makes sense, Ba has scored over half of Newcastle’s goals this season thus far which has still seen Pardew’s men only 3 points from relegation, whilst Chelsea who admittedly are 9 points behind leaders Manchester United, do remain in touching distance, and in serious need of firepower to support the apparently renewed Fernando Torres. It’s a logical transfer.

Mathieu Debuchy should be coming across the channel to St. James Park to conclude a sage of his own stretching six months for about £5m. Another Frenchmen inbound to the same destination is Loic Remy. The pacey forward has been subject to £10m rumours all-week long and with Ba’s impending departure, I can only think it’s virtually a done deal. Given Newcastle’s inability to finalise deals last-summer however it’s safe to say believe it when you see it.

Another club who’s under the scrutiny almost every window now is Arsenal. Any Arsenal fan you speak to will tell you they’ve got money coming out of their ears. Every window though, for every penny Arsenal spend they handsomely recoup too. If I told you I could knock out David Haye every time he offered a fight, but didn’t, would you believe me?

Granted, I’m not as half a decorated fighter as Arsene Wenger is a manager, but you catch my drift. The board keep making promises of the funds available and insist it is Wenger himself who is reluctant to spend. After seven going on eight trophy-less seasons, are we really to believe Wenger is that enamoured with his own philosophies that he would neglect basic team needs, principles in fact, that need addressing? I don’t buy that.

With Cesc Fabregas and Alex Song Wenger was faced two players who had opportunities to go and play for the arguably (although you’d really struggle to argue it) the best team in the world. That’s a scenario that the Arsenal gaffer can’t really counter, he just has to smile and take the money. However, with Adebayor, Nasri, Clichy and of course RVP, he’s lost players in their prime that he’d spent years moulding as a team. Looking at how those four players have turned out, no one would argue first Wenger’s eye for a player and second the development of said player.

For a man of such divine intellect and foresight though (apparently) you would have thought for a plan that requires time like his, he would be very diligent when it comes to contracts, and have contingency plans in place for when the sad scenarios that have laced his reign recently do occur. I can understand to a degree how the board and even Wenger himself will have wanted to solidify Arsenal financially following their stadium move and provide a platform that offers suitable and realistic growth.

Such hindrances on transfers though in the face of mass spending in the new oil-rich world of their Premier League rivals is an insurmountable task, no matter how good your theory is. There has to come a time where someone in Arsenal (Wenger himself perhaps) says, we’ve tried it that way, enough is enough. What they spend in January will go a long way to suggesting the clubs immediate direction. At the risk of alienating fans further with their frustrating activity, it might be advisable that Wenger spend. Don’t be surprised though if you get the usual interest in everyone, substance in precious few.

Another club who’s transfer policy has been the butt of many jokes in recent memory, is Liverpool. Brendan Rodgers has done a very meticulous job of rebuilding the Anfield clubs style and direction. Allowing Damien Commoli a war-chest wasn’t the most prudent decision owner Tom Werner ever made, Stewart Downing for £16m, Jordan Henderson for £20m and (wait for it) Andy Carroll for £35m showed the kind of expensive taste the Frenchmen sported while acting on behalf of the Liverpool hierarchy. Considering the £71m invested in those three, I don’t know where to start when dissecting the ratios of money to performance. Michu is taking the Premier League by storm following a £2m move from La Liga. Hatem Ben Arfa cost £5m. Mohammed Diame went to West Ham on a free! It only pays testament to the over inflated prices British players suffer.

You can’t sign a worldie every time, even Sir Alex will tell you that. To be fair, Commoli did bring in Luis Suarez and Jose Enrique who are important parts of the Liverpool side today.  Manager Rodgers finds himself at an important juncture of his tenure on Merseyside, where for all the nice football he’s trying to bring to the club, he needs to equip himself with the players to facilitate it. Unearthing Raheem Sterling and Suso, two players who have impressed at various times this season (it’s surprising how much of an ever-present Sterling has been) are two early bonuses in what the Northern Irishman must think is a very tangible project.

Tom Werner though, must be thinking about the last time he entrusted such cash to an individual. Rodgers may have to suffer where his careless predecessors (Liverpool fan’s don’t scorn me for bad-mouthing King Kenny) rushed their deals and bought a host of players hoping for a team, rather than a system to buy players for. Rodgers has got that system now, and buys like Joe Allen signify the start of that. A couple of buys and Liverpool can really start thinking about being a regular fixture in the top 6 again, at least. I have my doubts about Fabio Borini, but one more striker is needed to give the squad some reliable depth. Daniel Sturridge may be that striker with a reported £12m deal all but done, but he hasn’t showed me much as a striker so far in his career. Whether his farming out to the right-hand side has restricted that, only time will tell. Either way, a man with the ideologies Rodgers has, I’d really like to see him get some success and transform Liverpool, from a football purist point of view. He signalled his intentions when Andy Carroll, a £35m striker (in name only) was allowed to leave on loan. That’s simply not the football Rodgers has an interest in giving to the fans, he’s scrupulous in his endeavours. Much to Sam Alladyce’s staunch disbelief I’m sure.

There’s the three clubs I believe will be/need to be most active this January 2013, excusing QPR whose need of new players in painfully obvious. With both Manchester clubs always in the market, Wesley Sneidjer available and Harry Redknapp’s electric car windows bound to take a hammering, the scene is set for an interesting window.

Life keeps getting better for Miami’s own Rick Ross. Not only was ‘tha boss’ named hottest MC in the game by MTV in 2011, as well as following that accolade up with a certified gold, number 1 album (God forgives…I Don’t), but the record label he founded in 2009 – Maybach Music – continues to go from strength to strength.

Meek Mill’s first studio album ‘Dreams & Nightmares’ hits the shelves on 30^th October and after being previewed by the likes of Jay-Z and Will Smith in New York, it’s got the rap industry buzzing. Appearances from Nas, Rick Ross, John Legend, Trey Songz & Mary J. Blige is no mean feat on your first record, yet the calibre of guest only serves to compliment Mill’s well recognised potential and very current ability.

The guest list doesn’t stop there with an illustrious cast of producers lending a helping hand. Jahill Beats, Boi-1da and the star of ‘God Forgives…I Don’t’ (Justice League would probably argue this) Cardiak all contribute to this debut LP. With the backing of the hottest rapper on the earth right now and with a mix of the industry’s most respected and current artist/producers ‘Dreams & Nightmares’  is destined to make an impression. The stand-out record for me is ‘Maybach Curtains’ with Trey Songz, Wale & Rick Ross himself.

The way Maybach music is shaping up brings back fond memories of how Roc-a-Fella records under Jay-Z’s stewardship was leading rap in the early to mid-2000’s, or even to a lesser extent how 50 Cent tried to get a chokehold on the game with G-Unit records who were swarming the sales back in 2003, but had their peak by 2006 in truth despite still being active today whereas Roc-a-Fella is now defunct.

Maybach Music might have just started with Rick Ross, who back in 2009 was modestly making progress with his first three studio albums, however they have collected quite a powerful ensemble since those unpredictable beginnings. The additions of Wale, Stalley & indeed Meek Mill in 2011 were the catalyst for change for the rap label. A year on, three more additions have been added to this burgeoning empire with former B2K front-man Omarion given a chance to rejuvenate his stagnating career, as well as up and coming rappers French Montana (Morrocan-born if you were wondering) & 21-year old Chicago native Rockie fresh.

Roc-a-Fella used to sport arguably a stronger roster than that of Maybach Music’s. The Diplomats a.k.a  Dipset contained Cam’ron, Juelz Santana & Jim Jones who were just three of 8 members. Freeway, J.Cole, Foxy Brown, Beanie Sigel, Jadakiss, Memphis Bleek, M.O.P and of course, two of the stand out stars to emerge from the ROC, Kanye West & Rihanna A point comes where the stars don’t need the label as much as the label needs them, and that can be said in about 75% of these cases. Of course Jay-Z had close to 10 years to recruit these artist as opposed to Rozay’s three so far.

G-Unit made much poorer judgement calls unfortunately for them. Though to be fair, Lloyd Banks & Mobb Deep had successful albums released under the G-Unit umbrella, for every success there’s a poor investment. Lil Scrappy, despite a very well-produced first album which was relatively well received actually, like many artists, had a dispute with 50 Cent and was promptly dropped. M.O.P actually moved over from Roc-a-Fella and in a four-year period didn’t manage one release (literally robbing a living off 50 Cent). Olivia was meant to be the princess of G-Unit and after appearing on ‘Candy Shop’ amongst others many thought she would be the next to break out from the label. However after several of her singles were poorly received, 50 dropped her in 2007 and shelved her entire album. The two biggest losses without a doubt have to be Game and Young Buck. 50 Cent is a very, very rich man, a millionaire in fact. You could speculate the reason he isn’t a billionaire is because of petty squabbles which have lost him very lucrative artist like the aforementioned pair.

Ross has every right to enjoy life while he’s on top. If the other labels teach you anything, it’s nothing lasts forever. We can just hope he can keep churning out quality albums and artists to boot.

Singles of the Week

Bobby V Feat. Future – Tipsey Love

I think about 90% of my entire sex life can be attributed to ‘tipsey love’ as it were. If it weren’t for alcohol the vast majority of the world would have been virgins for a lot longer than they were! Anyway, you get the gist of the song. A smooth, strong beat laced on electronic keys joint from Mr. Valentino’s upcoming album Dusk till Dawn (not a play on the Clooney/Tarantino vampire film in the 90’s, at all). Speaking of labels, Bobby V used to be a part of ATL resident Ludacris’ Disturbing tha Peace records before being panned in 2008 with another high-profile casualty Chingy, despite claiming it was all his own decision. The sales of his self-titled first album and the follow-up ‘Special Occasion’ probably support his theory to be fair.

Kanye West – White Dress

Finally Kanye. This effort really reminds me of the Kanye from around Late Registration/Graduation era when he couldn’t stop striking gold. Is it a sample? Yes. Is Kanye using an Autotune? No. if you’re a real Kanye fan that’s all you need to know! I’m not saying 808’s & Heartbreaks was terrible, but this track has remnants of his more appreciated, finer work. The lyrics and flow are textbook West, and the soulful sample always compliments him so well. I don’t know who to thank for bringing him back to the music he belongs, Jay-Z or Kim Kardashian!  …(probably Jay-Z).

Kendrick Lamar Feat. Drake – Poetic Justice

If you’ve got your ear to the ground in R’n’B and Hip-Hop than I need not introduce you to Kendrick Lamar but I will anyway – this guy’s serious. Born & bred in Compton, California, whilst being on stage with west-coast legends Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre & Game in 2011, they all crowned him ‘The new king of West-Coast Rap’ – some accolade. There’s no secret his first single ‘The Recipe’ put him on the map, being backed by someone of Dr. Dre’s standing (still waiting for Detox by the way pal) and singed to Aftermath will do a lot for your profile straight out the gate, besides a massive beat. This one is far more subtle compared to some of his hard-hitting west-coat beats and features a masterfully chopped and screwed sample courtesy of Scoop Deville from the Janet Jackson classic of the same name. I highly recommend giving the album a chance if you’re not familiar with him; producers like Pharrell, Just Blaze & Tha Bizness guarantee some decent beats.

To finish off this week here’s a couple of other singles to check out. Brandy is trying to reinvent herself with her latest album ‘Two Eleven’ and a few tracks have leaked this week. Now normally, I’d say getting people like Bangladesh, Sean Garrett & Jim Jonsin on the production and writing team is a sure fire success, however judging by ‘What You Need’, which is a Bangladesh beat, I don’t think it really suits her. It’s more of a Chris Brown (who features on the album coincidently) heavy baseline chorus and mildly explicit lyrical content (I’ll say mildly explicit cos’ for Brandy it is a bit). For me though, a lot of the song is a strange arrangement, but I can imagine it will be some people’s cups of tea. Another track to bear in mind is Vivian Green’s ‘X’ featuring Freeway. A safe shout here from Vivian (she’s must about 60, surely no one young has that name?) with a strong beat accompanying a piano, sounds a good recipe for most R’n’B tracks nowadays. Chuck Freeway in at the start and she’s got herself a plausible song. The hook lacks star quality, but still worth a download.

Wow. I’ve always been a fan of Rozay, but he’s well and truly stepped his game up on this one. From the production, hooks, features down to his unique and individually distinctive flow, the Miami boss has got himself a stone cold hit which currently resides at the top of the North-American charts.

Five-stars from artistdirect, an A- from Entertainment weekly and a superb four-stars from notoriously stingy Hip-Hop scoring Rolling Stone magazine have seen the media laud the rappers fifth studio effort. It’s being touted as the best rap album of 2012 thus far and in Dr. Dre’s words, the best since Drake’s 2011 global smash ‘Thank Me Later’.

Though many would argue Rick Ross is a different brand of rap artist than that of the Canadian, Ross does sport a similar feel on his album that Drake has seemingly reinvigorated the genre with. A laid-back, smoother feel in contrast to his harsher brassy beat focused past (nothing wrong with a banging beat at all mind) the Teflon don has made room for more strings and melody on this effort. Ross has always stood out on sample tracks, particularly those produced by the sample master himself, Kanye West (‘Listen’, ‘Devil in a Dress’) and in line with that tone has made himself more accessible to mainstream audience and in particular, more closely associated with the hybrid hip-hop cross-breed R’nB.

‘Ashamed’ produced by Cool & Dre is very much in the vein of the aforementioned, as is the Cardiak produced ‘Amsterdam’ (surprisingly not totally about weed), both sport an easy tempo and snare that Ross just kills every time. Speaking of Cardiak, when I first heard ‘Diced Pineapples’ I was certain J.U.S.T.I.C.E L.E.A.G.U.E were behind it, however all credit for track of the album has to go too New Jersey native Cardiak. You may recognise his producer trait of a short flat-lining sound at the beginning of tracks that he cuts. Diced Pineapples is a huge track for not only the arrangement, but the hook performed by Drake is absolute gold. Typical in every Drake-esc sense, the hook is in your head from the get go. Wale is another artist I’ve been harping on about for a while now (Best Night Ever, So Fucking Fine) and he comes through with a conversational intro to the track before lacing a tight-knit third verse as you would expect from the albeit relative newcomer.

‘Three Kings’ featuring Dr. Dre and Jay-Z doesn’t even need any elaboration from me, the sight of those names should have you flocking to iTunes in your droves to listen to it. ‘Sixteen’ with Andre 3000 is a jazz influenced track playing off the notion sixteen bars just isn’t enough for a rapper, something which the over 8 minute running time tells you before you even press play. Having said that, Andre delivers a seriously potent verse which is just as intricate as it is long, pay attention ot that one.

‘Maybach Music IV’ featuring Ne-Yo is another cornerstone of the LP appearing to be a popular trend on Rick Ross albums. J.U.S.T.I.C.E L.E.A.G.U.E issues a complex beat which veterans of Ross’ and Ne-Yo’s calibre have no problem navigating, it’s one of those tracks that before you listen you know what to expect and they didn’t disappoint. Finally, The Neptunes produced ‘Presidential’ featuring Elijah Blake is worth singling out for special mention. This reminds me what Pharrell used to be able to create on the regs. Effortless and simple key changes with crazy hooks – Blake kills it.

I could actually give you a run down and praise every track, I haven’t even had time to mention the first single off the album with Usher ‘Touch n’ U’ - that’s the qaulity we’re dealing with here. But those special mentions should be more than enough to get you on the bandwagon. I have lost count the amount of times I’ve just pressed play from track one and let it play through (my commute to work on the trains probably has aided that somewhat but still..) which is the sign of a world-class album. This album is a MUST HAVE – period. You’re not a rap fan without it.

Paris Saint-Germain splashed €20m on the precocious and somewhat misunderstood talent of Zlatan Ibrahimovic last week hot on the heels of securing his AC Milan team-mate Thiago Silva.

Much has been made of the strides PSG have been making off the pitch since the Qatar Investment Authority became the majority shareholder of PSG after buying a controlling 70% of the shares in 2011. €108m on players in the first season included various raids of Serie A’s talent thanks to AC Milan legend Leonardo being installed as Director of Football at Parc des Princes. None too surprisingly, the Brazilian was at the heart of the deals to bring in two of Milan’s prime-time players. With the red and black inhabitants of the San Siro not the force on a financial plane they once were, they like many other big clubs in Europe are powerless to the French capitals resources.

In acquiring the Swedish hit-man, PSG have made Ibrahimovic the most expensive player in the history of football when you add all his transfer fees together. €180m Ajax, Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, Milan and now PSG have collectively spent on the forward and the money doesn’t stop there for Zlats. €14m a season for three years, which is €2m more a year than what he was on at Milan, makes him the second highest paid footballer in World football behind Samuel Eto’o who’s enjoying his oil money in Russia.

However, when you watch the lanky front-man, a lot of fans can be dismayed and blinkered by Ibrahimovic’s lazy work-ethic and attitude. His talents aren’t traditional industry or heart-felt courage and although many fans in the stands can resonate with a common man’s attributes more readily, the Malmo-born star has an arsenal that eludes the most diminutive players in the game. Just because Zlats isn’t hounding down every defender doesn’t negate his technical superiority, aerial dominance and inventive finishing qualities. He has the ability to turn any game on its head and whilst he almost lies dormant for periods of games, Zlats can in an instant conjure an array of tricks and beat any player, which he has a habit of doing when it counts. His record speaks for itself.

Watching Ibra on a one-off occasion or perhaps on a big stage at a tournament like most English observers might, won’t show you the whole picture. Like Ryan Giggs in some ways, though perhaps not quite such on a diluted scale, his representation of Sweden hinders his quality and impact at major tournaments by being surrounded with inferior players. On the domestic scene however, he has played a lot of big clubs, and won a lot of big trophies – that doesn’t happen by accident.

Ibrahimovic has won the league title for every club he has ever represented. In 2011 he won his first Scudetto with Milan. He was therefore on a streak of eight straight league wins in three different countries and with five different clubs, including the later stripped wins with Juventus. His influence cannot be denied as along the way to all of his titles as he only didn’t top the league goal scoring charts for two seasons out of the nine league titles (one of which was at Barca where he played foil to Lionel Messi) and he has also been a part of the same record twice. Inter broke the record for points in one season for a 20 team league when they amassed 97 points in the Mourinho era with Ibra leading the line, but the striker then broke the record again with his very next club Barcelona who managed 99 points on their way to romping La Liga.

Ibrahimovic’s arrival in France may be the marquee signing everyone thinks it is for commercial and public value, sure. But what you do get with the Swede is someone who has seen and done it in major leagues and spearheaded those assaults. With PSG failing to capture the league in their first season of being Qatari bank-rolled, the pressure is on for Carlo Ancelotti and indeed their new main man to end the 18-year wait for a league title. To grab the proverbial brass ring that the Parisians so dearly crave, the Ligue 1 title is the first port of call before impacting upon Europe.

 After signing the likes of Jeremy Menez, Thiago Motta and Mohammed Sissoko, they’ve finally added a proven champion to lead them. Make no mistake, Ibrahimovic is a much savvier piece of business than the naked eye might detect. You could argue Ibra has always played for big clubs and therefore has had a better chance of success, but winning Serie A with three different clubs goes some way to disprove that. Be prepared to watch him spearhead yet another league title win.