Mark Hughes’s career has been the epitome of a roller-coaster ride.  And after the low point that was his public and unceremonious sacking by Manchester City, Sparky looks to return to the height of achievement he once had while managing Blackburn Rovers and the Welsh national team. Craven Cottage is probably one of the best places to do so, at least Roy Hodgson thinks as much.

FK Rabotnički 0-2 Liverpool
David N’Gog bagged two as Liverpool kicked-off the 2010-11 season with the first competitive match for a Premier League Club. Their Third Qualifying Round Europa League tie against FK Rabotnički of Macedonia had looked a nightmare test for Uncle Woy due to the ten first-team players missing from the visiting side. But, the match was anything but a nightmare for The Reds.

It seems as though fans of Barcelona and Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas will have to wait to for the much anticipated homecoming. Despite Barcelona’s best efforts this summer, Arsenal are just not interested in selling their main man.

Sol Campbell’s career has been somewhat laughable in the last two years. Leaving a financially-strapped Portsmouth side to eventually turn around a sue them for unpaid wages. Moving to League 2 side Notts County for pure monetary reasons. Featuring in just a single match for the lower league side before reneging on the contract. Returning to Arsenal for a half-season in which he proved he’s not lost it yet. But now, a move north to Newcastle United doesn’t seem so… comical.

Squad Profiles are available for each of the twenty clubs currently playing in the Premier League. They are an overview of each club and specifically denote players to highly consider selecting for your side. Others have been ear-marked to watch out for as they may be new to the Premiership or returning from injury. While a damned few are red-flagged to steer well clear of.

In previous installments, we’ve discussed different methods and paradigms of thought that go into picking the right set of men to put between the sticks and the defense that stands just twenty-odd-yards in front of him. But the midfield is a hole different can of worms. As a link between the defense and the offense, they are more than vital to the success of your fantasy team. To make matters worse, they come in different all types; attacking-central (Cesc Fábregas), defensive (Yaya Touré), holding-distributive (Xabi Alonso), wingers (Antonio Valencia) and those that play so far forward that they ought to really go by that title instead (Steven Gerrard). But, before we got into the different types, it will be more helpful to look at just what makes a midfielder more valuable.

I do not claim to be a Manchester City fan, nor do I condone the philosophy of pouring out heaps of cash to create a team of superstars. However I, like so many footy fans, am intrigued by what this year’s squad will do in the Prem. I think that currently the squad is talented enough to take a Champions League spot so why have they lost their opening two friendly matches in the United States.

Manchester City 0 – 2 Sporting Lisbon

Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry and Kolo Toure were all absent for City, as well as their summer acquisitions David Silva, Yaya Toure and Jerome Boateng. But Mancini’s squad should have still been good enough to beat the Portugese side.

Once you’ve had Jose, there’s no going back. That seems to be the case for most of the defenders that have played under Jose. One of his most loyal subjects is looking to join him once again at the Spanish capital.

Ricardo Carvalho won a Champions League title under the Special One at Porto and then joined him at Chelsea where they won the English Premier League and became a football superpower. Now he is looking to rekindle the relationship in Madrid by using the media to create a transfer:

At thirty-one-years of age, Martin Petrov still has a lot to offer. And one would think that that is what Owen Coyle was thinking when he brought the Bulgarian to The Reebok this summer on a free transfer. But, is he a good player to have in your side?

Squad Profiles are available for each of the twenty clubs currently playing in the Premier League. They are an overview of each club and specifically denote players to highly consider selecting for your side. Others have been ear-marked to watch out for as they may be new to the Premiership or returning from injury. While a damned few are red-flagged to steer well clear of.