The most search for Prem players on the web

As we sit on the cusp of another Premier League season, the folks at Google have released figures of all their football related searches from the past month. The team above represents the most-searched for Premier League stars on the web based on their positions.

As you can see, most of them have been involved in transfer deals or speculation. David James’ relatively-surprising spot in the side is probably helped by his occasional newspaper columns, and Steven Gerrard can attribute his first team place to his impossibly persuasive legal team.

The most searched team was Liverpool with 16 million hits, then followed Chelsea (13m), Arsenal (9.1m) and Manchester Utd (9m). Bolton were the least searched for side with 250,000 hits.

Understandably, the most popular WAG was Cheryl Cole, and Howard Webb was the referee who earned the most online enquires.

Striker thinks Reds would benefit from a second striker

After fluffing away their chance to win the league last season by drawing countless matches that they really should have put to bed, Liverpool will once again look to claim the Premiership silverware that has so far eluded them in 2009/10. Fernando Torres, however, believes the club will only be able to go the distance if they bring in a player like Wayne Rooney:

“We lack players like Rooney and Tevez who can drop back between the lines of attack and midfield and cause havoc for opposing defences and midfields.

“We lost the title because of not winning enough home games against sides who ended up mid-table.

“Rooney and Tevez are the kind of footballers who pull defenders and holding midfielders into places they don’t want to be.

“At home, United and Liverpool get sides who just want to get men behind the ball and defend.

“The key to winning those precious home points is having someone to unlock and uncomplicate that kind of match.

Torres goes on to suggest some players who can fulfill this role, and you’ll never guess what nationality they are:

“Liverpool need a player like David Silva and Andres Iniesta - players who can drop deep, find unexpected space, use a bit of quality and open up a game.”

While most sides would benefit from a Rooney-type player, The Spoiler can’t see how he would fit into Rafa’s system at Liverpool. Isn’t the role that Torres is describing already occupied by Steven Gerrard? Is he suggesting that the captain and self defence expert doesn’t do enough defending?

Let us know your thoughts on Torres’ comments below…

The latest transfer gossip, rumours and damned lies

Karim Benzema to Real Madrid
This whole Benzema thing is getting messy. His Lyon team-mate Miralem Pjanic claims he will join Manchester Utd, and Arsene Wenger is said to have expressed an interest, but according to this morning’s Marca, the young Frenchman will be anounced as a Real Madrid player in a matter of hours.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: Madrid’s chief director Jorge Valdano has just ramped up the speculation by saying:

“We do not discard the possibility that in the next few hours, something could happen.”

If Lyon accept Los Blancos’ €35m-ish bid, this one is on.

Alexandre Pato to Chelsea
The Milan party line is that The Duck ain’t going nowhere, but according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, one of Roman Abramovich’s henchmen was spotted at Milan HQ yesterday. An improved bid of €60m could be on the cards.

The Spoiler truth-o-meter: It’s quite possible that the