Man Utd vs Chelsea: the new Cold War and arms race! | EAP's Blog

Its Man Utd vs Chelsea, the Manchester Reds vs Chelski or the USA vs Russia (the Glazers vs Abramovich, if you haven’t yet got the basis of the analogy). Its the Cold War version 2.0; played out in England. And with only the Champions League final left to go in the 2007/2008 season, the next stage of the arms race will soon begin.

The upper hand in this Cold War is currently with the Reds (thats ironic). Their recent success can be attributed to greatly improved performances from weapons which where initially deemed unworthy of the price paid for them. (Carrick, Vidic, Evra, even Ronaldo) and the continuing effectiveness of old reliables (Giggs and Scholes). Meanwhile Chelskis recent history of purchasing high priced but ultimately ineffectual weapons (Ballack, Shevchenko and Malouda) has put them on the back foot.

The Russians are unlikely to take this lying down however. Backed by seemingly limitless finances, they seem set to completely overhaul their arsenal (nothing to do with the Arsenal, the football club) during the summer. The Americans will be looking build on their success by strengthening areas of weakness and preparing for the inevitable decline of the old reliables.

Reports abound over the intentions of these two superpowers and with a major Eurpoean arms expo, Euro 2008 only a few weeks away, these reports will surely intensify.

I’ve have created a number of prediction markets on the basis of reports that have surfaced in the past few days. See what you think of my starting percentages.

Who will Dimitar Berbatov be playing for at the start of the 2008/2009 season?

Will Manchester Utd sign Michael Owen before the start of the 2008/2009 season?

Will Chelsea sign David Villa before the start of the 2008/2009 season?

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May 22, 2008 08:52 AM ET

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Michael Owen? R u kidding me? Owens washed up. Did he really make an impact with Newcastle this season? Owens is Liverpool through and through. The chances of him signing with MU approach those of THenry signing with Spurs. A laughable question.