It’s neat, it’s weird….

it’s Rafa’s goatee beard!

More strange goings on in the world of the Premiership this week. What with Martin Jol’s ramblings about his ‘missus’ flirting with Sevilla, Zat Knight’s eventful trip to Birmingham and Roy Keane signing another 43 players to add to his boot camp, life’s never dull.

Amid all the transfer-window hysteria, it took West Ham stopper Rob Green to put things into perspective when he was left out of the England squad, saying “It’s disappointing to be dropped from any team, even my mate’s fantasy league team!”

Shame on you, Rob Green’s mate! Why aren’t you playing You The Manager, where the transfer window opens next week?!

Here are my thoughts on the movers and shakers once the window opens on September 4th:

Predicted Top 5 Most Transferred In

1 - Micah Richards

The young England man has had an absolute stormer so far, and at a mere £4.0m he’s the kind of bargain Keano could only dream of.

2 - Robin Van Persie

Already YTM’s most popular forward, he’ll be in even more teams now that Rooney’s been ruled out for a while.

3 - Mikael Forssell

At just £2.5m , he’ll enable huge upgrades elsewhere. With his injury record, he’s a risk, but as a truly perceptive man once said “It’s no better to be safe than sorry.” Wise words, Morten Harket, wise words.

4 - Antoine Sibierski

Some people are inevitably going to have their heads turned by Antoine’s massive points haul thus far. Not everyone is canny enough to read the YTM blog and heed the warning that doubts remain over Sibierski’s fitness. Proceed with caution.

5 - Richard Dunne

The Honey Monster has always been a decent FF pick, and under Sven’s new defensive regime, he looks set to become even stronger. Sure, he’d be great to have in your team, but is it worth burning a precious transfer on him? Not unless you have a very good reason to remove one of your current defenders. True champions don’t twiddle with their defence in September.

Predicted Top 5 Most Transferred Out

1 - Wazza Rooney

For obvious reasons. Fergie is looking to hurry him back, but we all remember how out-of-sorts he looked upon his return from a similar injury a little over 12 months ago.

2 - Ricardo Carvalho

Every time Rooney breaks a metatarsal, he seems to end up directly above Ricardo Carvalho shortly afterwards. Injury, ill-discipline and an uncharacteristic lack of clean sheets have blighted Ricky’s scoring potential so far this season. He also has Tal Ben Haim and new signing Alex to contend with for the single spot available alongside JT. Might that cash be better spent elsewhere?

3 - Dimitar Berbatov

He’s been nowhere near last season’s peak form, and amid rumours of a fall-out with Martin Jol, many YTM managers will be pushing the panic button.

4 - Matt Taylor

Last season’s top scoring defender has already been left on the bench twice this season. The times they are a changing. Will Matt get back in the side? Is it worth taking that risk?

5 - Linvoy Primus

Linvoy’s in nearly 7,500 YTM teams, and if God played YTM, he’d probably have the big man. But he’s not in Harry Redknapp’s first XI, and that’s all that counts.

The transfer window is nearly open. Exciting times, you might say. But be careful - a transfer is a valuable thing. It’s a long old season, and your team is bound to come a cropper with injuries and suspensions before May. Only leap in with both feet in three scenarios:

1 Your player is seriously injured or has left the Premiership.

2 You are targeting one of the fabulous £10,000 Manager of the Month prizes, in which case tinkering is entirely justified.

3 You are one of the 371 managers who have somehow ended up with Julius Aghahowa in their lineup.

Remember, it’s a long old season, so think long and hard before making those crucial changes. Your transfers certainly justify some contemplation, as the right combination might just win you £100,000.

Andy @ YTM