There Is Only One Sinnacle

Chelsea will continue to pursue the players sacked boss Avram Grant wanted to sign this summer – and will pay up to £50m for Liverpool striker Fernando Torres. (Daily Mail)

This can’t happen nor will it. Even if one Liverpool owners agrees to the deal I’m sure the other won’t just to spite him. The real reason this won’t happen is this. While the number sounds about right. Liverpool would at least consider it from any non English club they still can not sell Torres.

Currently Liverpool make up one of the teams in the big four in press clippings only. This is an important summer for both Arsenal and Liverpool as there is a gap forming between Manchester United/Chelsea and Arsenal/Liverpool. Not only would selling Torres to Chelsea kill Liverpool’s chances in the epl from a fans viewpoint but also the players still left on Liverpool as well.

Arsenal want to seal a £11m deal for Marseille playmaker Samir Nasri before he plays for France in Euro 2008. (Various)

It still strikes me as odd that Marseille is selling Nasri so early in the transfer season and at that price. Nani cost Manchester United £17m and I would rate Nasri as good if not better then Nani.

Newcastle, Manchester City and Arsenal all want Thierry Henry but new Barcelona coach Josep Guardiola will not let him leave. (Daily Star)

I really think teams like Newcastle and Manchester City float these rumors out to the press for players that have no interest in playing for them. That way they can at least convince themselves or there fans that they are trying to sign a big name.

Barcelona want to sign Chelsea forward Florent Malouda. (Daily Telegraph)

Doesn’t matter what Barcelona wants at the moment. Until a new coach arrives on the scene decisions on players like Malouda will be on hold.

Portsmouth could sign Lyon striker Sidney Govou for £7m and Lazio midfielder Gaby Mudingaye for £8m and are also watching PSG star Amara Diane. (Daily Mirror)

Hope Govou works out better for Portsmouth than the last striker that came from Lyon. That being Milan Baros.

The consolation for sacked Chelsea boss Avram Grant is that he will replace Sven-Goran Eriksson as Manchester City manager. (Daily Star)

Finally a move that would make sense for Manchester City.

I was thinking about the 2006 Adidas World Cup Commercials. I spent just about the entire summer laughing at the fat kid in the commercial for picking Djibril Cissé first ahead of Zidane, Beckham, and Kaka. Even Gérard Houllier would think this kid is an idiot. To top it off the kid also picks Jermaine Dafoe ahead of Messi then puts him in goal.

While stranger things have happen in Football more then like Austria will enjoy this experience and bow out gracefully after three game.

Highlites of Austria 4-3 loss to Holland in a friendly. Hey they had a 3-0 lead before crashing back down to earth.

By far the weakest team in this tournament as they 101st Fifa ranking would suggest. Austria will attempt to slow the game down almost to a crawl if they expect to get anything in the group stages.

Austria will not be winning many games with offensive flare which will place even more pressure on a back line that should be facing one way traffic throughout most of the tournament.

That back line will be lead by Middlebrough’s restless defender Emanuel Pogatetz who will need to do some yeoman’s work if he is going to keep the likes of Miroslav Klose and Luka Modrić at bay.

The midfield will be manned by veterans René Aufhauser and 38 year old Ivica Vastic. They will help guide the next generation of Austrian football players Andreas Ivanschitz who applies his trade at Greek club Panathinaikos and 20 year old Martin Harnik who is on the books at Werder Bremen.

Key Player – Roland Linz

The Sporting Braga player is considered one of the best players currently not playing for one of the big three clubs in Portugal. His 10 goals finished tied for 3rd in the league. If someone in the midfield can give Linz the service in front of goal he is able to take care of the rest. Big tournament for the player as Linz will look to catch the eye of bigger clubs in Europe.

Group B Outlook

Playing at home will give Austria a boost but they are woeful lacking in talent. Playing with emotion alone can only take you so far and in this case it won’t take them far enough to reach the knockout stages.

Prediction 4th in Group B

Roma Edge Inter To Clinch The Coppa

Roma clamed consecutive Coppa Italias with a well-deserved win over Inter who, despite winning the Scudetto, may well have played their last game under Roberto Mancini…

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Roma deserved something from this season. At a friction of what the other big teams in Italy send year after year Roma always seem to hold their own. Also good to see Pele score a goal for Inter. He’ll be given a national team call up for Portugal heading into World Cup qualifying.

Mourinho wants Chelsea’s Essien at Inter

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien is being linked with a sensational move to Inter Milan.

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Chelsea will let a head case like Drogba leave to play for Mourinho. A key player like Essien would be going no where however.

Mourinho: Grant Is A Loser

Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has labelled his recently sacked successor Avram Grant a ‘loser’ following the club’s first trophyless season in four years…

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“Chelsea almost won the Carling Cup, almost won the Champions League, and almost won the Premier League. Almost is nothing.

“Maybe in the philosophy of a loser this was a great season, which I respect.”

I can understand why people love him or hate him but I can listen to what Mourinho has to say on any subject all day long and be entertained. The man simply speaks his mind.

Arsenal are to begin negotiations for St Etienne duo Mouhamadou Dabo and Blaise Matuidi and Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez. (Mail on Sunday)

The media are really just throwing names out there hoping some will stick. Gomez won’t be an easy transfer nor inexpensive. This summer will be very important for Arsenal as there has to be that pressure to close that gap on Manchester United.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez will listen to offers for Alvaro Arbeloa, Jermaine Pennant and Steve Finnan as he looks to raise funds for new signings. (Mail on Sunday)

Xabi Alonso, Peter Crouch, Scott Carson and John Arne Riise are also available as Benitez hopes to raise £50m in sales to bolster the £20m he has been given to spend by the club’s owners. (News of the World)

Liverpool are in the same boat. I wish Benitez luck if he thinks those players will bring in 100 million to the club.

West Brom boss Tony Mowbray is set to pay £3.5m for Aston Villa striker Luke Moore and £2.3m for Hearts hit-man Roman Bednar. (News of the World)

I like Luke Moore. He got caught up in a numbers game at Aston Villa. He should feature for West Brom as they will look to avoid the drop next season in the EPL.

Chelsea manager Avram Grant has had his contract terminated, according to the Premier League club.

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Now John Terry can lay claim to be the main reason that two coaches got sacked this year. Grant did the best job possible stepping into the worst possible situation. It will be interesting to see what Grant’s next move is.

Turkey makes it return to European competition after missing out on Euro 2004.

Highlites of Turkey 4-1 road victory over Greece in Euro 2008 Qualifying.

I always find a soft spot for teams that feature players that are based in their domestic league. While the marquee players such as Nihat, Tuncay and the Altıntop twins play outside of Turkey. The core of this team is built of players that feature for Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe.

While nothing stands out about this Turkey team head coach Fatih Terim knows how to put a team together. The starting eleven each know their role. A worry however going into Euro 2008 will be the back line. Only Emre Aşık will come into Euro 2008 with over 20 caps. Will the inexperience of not only playing on the big stage but also playing together as a group come into play sometime during this competition?

Much of the offensive attack will go through Hamit Altıntop who will need to use his pace to break down defenders in order to cross the ball into the box. Players like Tuncay who had a fine season at Middlesbrough will also be counted on for support up front.

Key Players – Nihat

Teams will need to know where Nihat is at all times if they wish to keep a clean sheet. Eighteen goals in La Liga will do that for a player. If Turkey are to relive the magic of World Cup 2002 they need Nihat to duplicate his Villarreal form onto the European stage.

Group A Outlook.

Turkey just may be the type of team to watch out for come Euro 2008. They are well coached so Turkey should come into Euro 2008 quite prepared for whatever lies ahead. Sometimes its a razor edge that determines success from failure in these tournaments. Turkey are the type of team that won’t give anything away. They will battle for 90 minutes and generally avoid making a costly mistake along the way. Avoiding such mistakes can turn losses into draws and they have enough quality up front to turn draws into wins.

Sinnacle Prediction 1st

Two Portugal commercials. The first one is quite good. The ESPN one not so crazy about.

Mourinho: I Sign For Inter On Monday

Jose Mourinho has told Michael Essien that he will sign for Inter on Monday according to La Gazzetta Dello Sport.

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Perfect manager for Inter if this becomes reality. Inter and Mourinho are driven by the same things and that is win the Champions League. While champions of Italy, Inter have come up short countless times in Europe.

Man Utd boss Ferguson blasts ‘immoral’ Real Madrid

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has launched a scathing attack on Real Madrid over their public pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo.

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This article is about 24 hours ago. I posted it because of this comment.

“The simple fact of the matter is he (Ronaldo) has got another four years left on his contract and Calderon makes the great statement, ‘slavery was abolished many, many years ago’. ‘Did they tell Franco that? Jesus Christ. Eh, give me a break!”

That comment simply killed me. Great line.

Fred To Sign For Spurs

According to the player’s brother and agent Rodrigo, Lyon striker Fred will sign for Tottenham Hotspur this week.

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I’m sure Darren Bent is just loving this news. I do like Fred however. Now go on Spurs and sell Dimitar Berbatov.

Barzagli Agent Confirms Viola Agreement

The agent of Palermo defender Andrea Barzagli has confirmed that a transfer fee has been sorted with Fiorentina, and that his client just has to agree personal terms before the transfer is complete.

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For some reason this has gone under the radar. Barzagli is a perfect fit for Fiorentina who look to achieve even greater heights next season.

Basically life calls. Well post the updates late morning/early afternoon Eastern standard time.