There Is Only One Sinnacle

Rijkaard Sees Ronaldinho Exit

Frank Rijkard has admitted that he believes Ronaldinho has played his last game for Barcelona and refused to commit his own future to the club.

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The timing is just right from him to move on. For Barcelona to be successful Messi has to become the leader of this team which would not occur if he remained in the shadows of Ronaldinho.

Ancelotti: Inzaghi can fire AC Milan into top four

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti says Pippo Inzaghi can fire them into the Champions League places after his hat-trick in yesterday’s 4-1 thumping of Livorno.

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Inzaghi and Alessandro Del Piero each over 30 years old have been the driving force for the A.C Milan and Juventus attack in the last half of the season.

Cuéllar: No Call To Congratulate Me

Carlos Cuéllar could not hide his delight after being named the player of the year in the Scottish Premier League, but regretted that nobody from the Spanish Football Federation had congratulated him.

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Sadly that is the way it is. Unless you are playing on a big club in England or Italy, if you are playing outside of Spain you might of well be playing on Mars. Mikel Arteta suffers from the same problem playing for Everton.

Juventus turn to Sevilla’s Keita

Juventus are preparing a major bid for Sevilla midfielder Seydou Keita.

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Can’t see it happening at least not at the price quoted. Keita can barely catch a game at Sevilla and hasn’t adjusted to life in Spain after the previous five years playing for Lens over in France.

Had a case of writers block the last week which resulted in no articles being posted. Actually I have a couple of good ideas for articles but those ideas are best suited towards the end of the football season.

The last week running this site was pretty routine with me checking out the latest EPL gossip from England and the latest European news when it hit me, the mainstream media has lost touch on how to speak directly to its readers. Most of the news that is published is not news but merely hearsay, yes it fuels the fire and in around about way causes sites like mine to exist but any real football fan after awhile can spot what is fact and what is fiction.

Look at the Ronaldinho to Manchester City rumors that leak out every couple of days. Any press outlet in their right mind can tell you that Ronaldinho will never go to Manchester City. Since it makes a good headline it is then fed to the public like it’s a transfer that is about to happen.

The media has stopped talking to its readers like they have any sense of intelligence, this is true not only in Football coverage but even in North American based media where only bits and pieces of information are feed to its viewers usually missing out on the big picture.

This is why newspaper are slowly becoming a dying form of media which is being replacing with online media such as this website. Before anyone thinks my ego is talking here, I don’t expect this site to be much more than what it is currently and while my opinion is biased if I was on the outside looking into this website I would find it useful is gaining football information. I like its direction, I don’t wish to talk down to anyone viewing my site I wish to talk to the reader and hopefully have that person can relate and or respect anything that is said on this web site.

Mainstream media stop serving that purpose along time ago. It’s purpose is to place a catchy headline to attach as many viewers/readers to what is being said regardless of the facts. A recent example is the rumored purchases of an English Premier League club by Richard Peddie that was report on this website a couple of days ago and made its way across the pond soon after. Anyone in North America knows that Richard Peddie couldn’t rub two nickels together. It would be like saying Peter Kenyon is buying the New York Yankees. Richard Peddie is a front man with connections to people who have money. He, himself doesn’t have the financial backing to pull such a deal off. Instead of questioning the legitimacy of the story or at least mention that such a deal would not occur anytime soon, the story was run like Richard Peddie was about to wrap it up like its a done deal.

There will come a time when people see that mainstream media outlets no longer talk to them and instead create or embellish stories. While that is nothing new, the fact people have a choice is. Twenty years ago if one couldn’t stomach reading the newspaper or listening to television pundits they had no other means to seek out information they can relate to. This site is far from perfect but if anyone takes away anything from this site it is to spot articles based on facts and on the flip side spot articles based on conjuncture. Sure Manchester City would love to have Ronaldinho but so would a hundred other teams. Looking closer into the story, what does Manchester City have to offer Ronaldinho? Champions League play….no, UEFA Cup play……doubtful, a realistic opportunity to win titles……with all due respect no as well. Money….yes but Ronaldinho is already one of the world’s richest athletes. I sincerely doubt that his desire to not play in Barcelona anymore in fueled by money. Given all that why would Ronaldinho make that move? It would be like trading in a Porsche for a Nissan It is just not realistic which few if any media outlets make note of since it takes away from the sensationalist story that grabbed your attention in the first place.

That is all, thank you for your time. Any comments, concerns or opinions can be typed in the comments box or you can e-mail dmmd98@sinnacle.com

Since I felt foolish leaving out the Old Firm game in my Sinnacle Soccer Sunday preview which naturally turned into a great game. Cause of that I decided to go back in time and find this classic encounter from 1995 for this week’s video.

Chelsea’s hopes of landing Kaka increased when AC Milan admitted they were ready to sell him for £55m. (Daily Mirror)

By the off chance Chelsea is able to sign Kaka hopefully he will turn out better then the last player signed from A.C Milan.

Newcastle boss Kevin Keegan wants to buy Richard Dunne from Manchester City. (The Sun)

Would be a very good addition to the Newcastle back line. Dunne is dragging his heels with regards to a new contact so he may be looking elsewhere for a better pay day.

The FA has launched a probe into the Stamford Bridge mayhem which could see seven Manchester United stars facing charges. (Daily Star)

This is going to be swept under the rug. I can not see the FA determining this year’s title race by suspending Manchester United or Chelsea players so late in the season.

Arsenal’s midfielder Mathieu Flamini has agreed to join Milan and the Gunners are facing a crucial meeting over Alexander Hleb’s future. (The Independent)

Nice headline Independent considering they are two Milan teams. Anyone not wearing rose colored glasses could of seen Flamini bolting at season’s end.

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill will discuss the future of keeper Scott Carson at the end of the season. (Daily Mirror)

This is how the discussion will go.

Scott Carson : Please coach don’t make me go back to Liverpool and sit on the bench for another season.

Martin O’Neill : Tell Liverpool you are not worth 10 million pounds and we will talk then.

Ranieri Planning Prem Raid

Juventus manager Claudio Ranieri is reportedly drawing up a list of transfer targets for this summer, many of whom are based in England

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Gerard Pique can be hand since he is entering the last year of his deal next year and deserve to play. Manchester United will not be letting go of Patrice Evra at any price. He is too important for them at this point to unload.

Spurs boss Ramos admits Berbatov may go

Tottenham boss Juande Ramos has again declared he wants to hang onto star striker Dimitar Berbatov.

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Good, I’d say sell him. Berbatov has it good at White Hart Lane. He is adored by the fans, plays every game for an attacking football team and he still pouts.

Bayern Out To Avenge Stuttgart Defeat

Bayern Munich will not be able to claim the Bundesliga crown this afternoon, but they will be going all-out for revenge over last season’s champions Stuttgart.

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A lot of respect has to be given to Bayern Munich. They have re-tooled nicely after a season to forget in 2006-2007. Yes they spent big but they found the right players to spend big on.

The battle for UEFA Cup play take centre stage in England with Portsmouth taking on Blackburn and Everton looking to hold on to that 5th spot face a fast charging Aston Villa team.

In Serie A the battle for first still rages on with Inter Milan taking on Cagliari and Torino visiting second place Roma. In the battle for the last Champions League spot Fiorentina is at home against Sampdoria and A.C Milan will look to gain ground on the road as their take on Livorno.

The season is winding down in Spain with Real Madrid already with one hand on the La Liga crown taking on Athletic Club. Second place by a wide margin Villarreal travel to take on Betis. Another interesting ame should see new look Valenica try to put the Ronald Koeman era behind them as they face Osasuna.

Everton striker Andy Johnson is set to leave Goodison Park and West Ham, Manchester City and Newcastle could be interested. (News of the World)

Johnson wasn’t able to build upon his success last season. Him and Yakubu haven’t clicked up front together the times they have played side by side.

Portsmouth boss Harry Redknapp has been given the green light to make a £7m summer swoop for Liverpool striker Peter Crouch. (Sunday Express)

More then likely the right price however Crouch should have his pick of three or four teams this summer.

Tottenham boss Juande Ramos will make a big-money bid for West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green. (News of the World)

I like Green as previously mentioned but if big money is in the same sentence as Robert Green I’d sell him.

Arsenal have joined Chelsea and Liverpool in the race for Aston Villa midfielder Gareth Barry. (The People)

Barry would be a good replacement for Mathieu Flamini albeit a very expensive one.

CSKA Moscow striker Jo has agreed an annual salary of £3.5m with Manchester City, who are set to pay £18m for the Brazilian. (Mail on Sunday)

Jo will make an impact next season if the transfer goes through. He will make City fans forget about Ronaldo Bianchi

Tottenham are the target of a £250m takeover by Richard Peddie, the man behind Canadian ice hockey team Toronto Maple Leafs (News of the World)

Tottenham fans deserve better. Peddie is a fool and would run a team into the ground. Peddie and MLSE are more concern with making money then putting on a winning product.

Wayne’s talent knows no bounds.

Early leaders clash as K.C. visits BMO

First-place Wizards pay visit to always-raucous Toronto FC

MLSNET.com Preview

This will be the first true test in determining if Toronto FC will be for real this year. Kansas City currently hold the best record in MLS so far this season feeling no ill effect of Eddie Johnson’s transfer to Fulham.

Sinnacle Prediction – Kansas City 2-1

Divergent Crew, Dynamo face off

While Columbus soars, Dynamo scuffle to open 2008

MLSNET.com Preview

Houston is still feeling the loss of Joseph Ngwenya and Nate Jaqua in the midfielder. The champs just haven’t found that winning form without them this term.

Sinnacle Prediction – Houston 2-1

D.C. bent on revenge as RSL visit

D.C. United wants to avenge earlier 4-0 shellacking in Utah

MLSNET.com Preview

After a tough 1-0 loss last week at the hands of Toronto FC, Real Salt Lake go on the road to face a D.C United team that will not take RSL lightly two games in a row.

Sinnacle Prediction – D.C United 2-0

Rapids, Fire eye bounce back win

After fast start, each team looks to overcome recent loss

MLSNET.com Preview

These teams played in two draws last year and with each suffering a drip in form look for both teams to be content with a point yet again.

Sinnacle Prediction 1-1

SuperClasico sees hungry LA, Chivas

Annual grudge match features teams desperate for points

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The SuperClasico is the best that MLS has to offer. I wish there were more derby games since it would increase the exposure for the league. Traditional the Galaxy have had the edge in the SuperClasico but Chivas USA is a team on the rise and LA is a team that is still trying to find its identity.

Sinnacle Prediction – Chivas USA 1-0

- Interesting game to introduce Mikael Silvestre back into the starting lineup.

- Nasty knee to the mouth that Nemanja Vidić took

- What great hold up play by Didier Droga on Ballack’s goal

- You are young Nani but you have to make better decisions on the ball in the future. Not the best of games.

- I know how it would look like if both Ronaldo and Rooney were on the bench but if we are going strictly by the form book, Carlos Tevez should be the lone striker up front.

- That being said Rooney’s goal wasn’t as easy as it appears. Well placed shot in the corner to tie it up.

- Oh Ricardo Carvalho, of all the players I would think would make that sort of mistake you would be last on that list.

- Was about to say what a well refereed game but that late hand ball penalty will create a ton of debate over the next couple of weeks.