Riquelme won't be a Spur...

Spurs supporters will be dissappointed as Riquelme has joined Atletico Madrid:

Big news - and positive news - out of Spain on an otherwise dark day where a fallen hero was mourned.

Argentina midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme has agreed to join Atletico Madrid on a 2 year deal. I suspect that the price was fairly low considering that this was partly about his old side - the Yellow Submarine - getting rid of his contract.

Atletico have done some fantastic business this summer and as our earlier poll showed, this community believes that the Juan Roman deal turns their decision to sell their hero to Liverpool a good one for the club. I just wish they were playing CL this season.

Before the window closes...

The latest rumors leading up to the closing of the transfer window:

England international forwards Jermain Defoe and Shaun Wright-Phillips could swap clubs while Nicolas Anelka could leave Bolton Wanderers for either Manchester United or Manchester City.

Defoe has yet to commit himself to a new deal at Tottenham Hotspur while Wright-Phillips has failed to fully establish himself at Chelsea since moving there from Manchester City two years ago.

Manchester United could move for Frenchman Anelka to ease their striking problems, while City would be keen to boost their vibrant new squad.

Chelsea's interest in Barcelona's Brazilian Ronaldinho was still being widely reported even though Barcelona president Joan Laporta says he will not be leaving the Nou Camp.

More on the possible moves by Man U:

As well as Saha being on the verge of a comeback, Brazilian new-boy Anderson could also feature for the first time after overcoming a niggling hamstring complaint picked up during pre-season combat in Doncaster.

The potential availability of that duo is likely to mean there will be no late deadline-day arrivals at Old Trafford, even though the names of Dimitar Berbatov and Nicolas Anelka continue to be linked with a move to the champions

Ronaldinho to Chelski?? Weekend wrap-up

A short update due as I am travelling but a couple things that have caught my eye...

- Chelski looks to spend some ridiculous money on the Brazilian phenom.

- Barca denies

- David Warner wrap-ups Saturday & Sundays premier league action

- Berbatov to remain a Spur

- Fergie says injury woes are coming to an end

Quick hits: Heinze free - Yakubu to Everton - Ramos for Jol

The disgruntled Argentine defender has been shipped off to join Thierry Henry in the Spanish leagues:

Real Madrid have agreed a deal to bring Manchester United defender Gabriel Heinze to the Bernabeu, the Spanish champions announced tonight.

Real confirmed the news in a statement on their website, which read: "Real Madrid and Manchester United have reached an agreement for the transfer of Gabriel Heinze.

"The Argentinian, 29, will sign a contract for the next four seasons and will be immediately incorporated into Bernd Schuster's squad." No fee has been confirmed for Heinze, although reports in the Spanish media suggest he will cost Real around €12m (£8.1m).

Everton and M'Boro agree to a fee for Yakubu:

Boro had been looking for £12million the 24-year-old - but they have relented and accepted a deal worth just over £11million.

Yakubu, who trained with Middlesbrough on Wednesday, is now due on Merseyside to discuss personal terms and undergo a medical.

The Nigerian will become Everton's record signing and if all goes according to plan he should be available to make his Toffees debut against Blackburn on Saturday.

Juane Ramos claims Spurs made him a dizzying offer; Spurs official denies:

Juande Ramos today contradicted Tottenham Hotspur by claiming the club made him a "dizzying" offer to succeed Martin Jol as manager.

Spurs released a statement this morning saying that "no individual was or has been offered the position of manager/coach at this club while that position has been held by Martin Jol." However Ramos, who has one year left on his contract with Sevilla and insists he will serve it out, told a news conference in Spain: "They made an excellent, dizzying offer, but I'm under contract to Sevilla and my decision is to fulfil it.

Moneyball meets football...

Can Baseball genius Billy Beane, an avid Spurs fan, translate his penchant for statistics into success in the MLS? The Toronto Star examines how he will fair with his involvement in San Jose Earthquakes, coming to the MLS in 2008 - its an interesting read about the future of soccer in America as well.

It is impossible to talk about Beane without mentioning his baseball philosophy. Beane championed the outsider idea that certain statistics revealed more about a player's quality than physical makeup or mere observation could.

Given legitimacy by Beane, the movement became pejoratively known as Moneyball, after the title of the 2003 book in which the Oakland GM starred. Though Beane has enjoyed remarkable success with the small-market A's, his ideas are still controversial in the baseball fraternity.

Maybe that's why he talks so cautiously about bringing the same philosophies to assembling a soccer team.

"Everybody in sport is using some sort of objective analysis," Beane said. "The biggest key is collecting and utilizing data that is linear to winning games."

The most obvious hurdle is the dearth of statistical data in soccer as compared to baseball.

"I'm too respectful of the sport to say I have the formula for success," Beane said. "But it's something we'd like to explore."

The world soccer equivalent to Billy Beane and the A's is Anatoly Zelentsov and Dynamo Kiev.

In the 1970s and '80s, Zelentsov was the Ukrainian scientist who brought an early version of objective analysis to the world's most popular sport.

Dynamo Kiev's players were taught a series of computer-designed plays and warned against improvising. The field was dissected into grids. Players slid into the grids assigned to them, knowing beforehand with iron certainty whether or not they were due to receive the ball. The result was Total Football with an enormous brain and no heart. Dynamo players were often likened to robots.

But the results spoke for themselves. An underfunded club from a satellite nation dominated the Soviet soccer system for decades and twice won the European Cup Winner's Cup – in 1975 and 1986.

Once the wall came down, top western clubs snatched up Dynamo's biggest stars. Most were abysmal failures once removed from Zelentsov's system.

Dynamo not only used computer models to train the team. They were also used to pick it. Measures that tested reflexes (by, for instance, hitting the same keyboard button as quickly as possible over a long interval) or memory games were thought to reveal a player's true speed and intelligence.

It sounded wacky, but Zelentsov was invited to use his tools to winnow down a 40-player pool to a 20-man Soviet squad. The team chosen by Zelentsov's computer was sent to the 1988 European Championships, where they were surprise finalists.

Right now, Beane doesn't have a system, just the belief that one must exist.

"In everything, there is something. It's just having the ability to mine the linear data from all the background noise," Beane said.

He's even more certain about soccer's future in America.

"It's the vacuum effect. You have the world's richest country. And you have the world's biggest sport. `Collision' is the wrong word, but the vacuum is going to have to be filled."

That "collision" became apparent to him this summer in an unlikely venue – on HBO. In an episode of the hit series Entourage, the show's star, a Hollywood actor named Vincent Chase, spends an afternoon watching a Manchester United game at Dennis Hopper's house.

The episode didn't get it all right – wrong players, wrong games. But it was English soccer in America's coolest homes.

"It's not just sports culture anymore," Beane said. "Now it's become pop culture."

Beane talks down his own knowledge, which seems considerable – he chats easily about the quality of Fernando Torres' "touches" or Arsene Wenger's scouting coups.

If Beane's history is any indicator, his hoovering for raw data will soon transform itself into profitable play on the field.

"I don't pretend to have any answers," Beane said. "I'm just hungry to find them."

Spurs bid for Riquelme; Jol safe (for now)

Spurs have made a bid to Villareal in excess of £10million.

Spurs official states that Jol is safe (so long as he delivers Champions League football.)

Gareth Bale is playing in a friendly for Wales in an effort to get ready to play for the Spurs.

Arteta shines as Everton rolls...

Lescott celebrates a goal in the first 3 minutes

Mikel Arteta was fabulous today in Everton's 3-1 win over the reeling Spurs side. After setting up two goals, Arteta nearly missing scoring two of his own and seems to likely be designated the Man of the Match. Good news for those of us who have the young Spaniard on their Fantasy sides.