There Is Only One Sinnacle

Robinho Calls Press Conference

The immediate future of Robinho may soon be known, as the Real Madrid want-away has called a press conference to be held later today…

Article

Somehow I don’t think Real Madrid are going to be looking forward to what Robinho has to say if and when this press conference goes off.

Pirlo: This is A Galactic Milan

Andrea Pirlo is raring to kick off the new season to see if this summer’s high-profile transfer campaign will pay off. The creative midfielder is confident that having so many stars will not upset the team’s balance, and that a “galatic” season awaits…

Article

A.C Milan has to be feeling good heading into the season. Especially after seeing Inter drop points against Sampdoria yesterday.

Berbatov is set to seal a £28m switch to Old Trafford by the end of the transfer window at midnight on Monday. (The People)

Spurs have asked that Hull target Frazier Campbell, 20, be included in a £30m deal for the Bulgarian striker. (News of the World)

I think the only people who know actually what is going on are the upper management of Manchester and Tottenham. This one will go down right to the wire on Monday.

Michael Owen could be next out of the door at Newcastle as he looks set to reject a new contract at St James’ Park that would mean him taking a £1m-a-year pay cut. (Sunday Mirror)

Owen, 29, would be available for as little as £2m as Newcastle hope to cash in now instead of losing him on a free transfer at the end of the season. (Mail on Sunday)

This can’t come as a surprise to Newcastle so there is little need to panic. While Owen has said and did all the right things, Newcastle seem far from a team going in the right direction so it would be in his best interest to see the season out and test free agency.

Midfielder Lassana Diarra, 23, will sign for Tottenham in a £12m deal if Portsmouth fail to offload a number of other players after manager Harry Redknapp was told he has to slash the club’s wage bill. (The People)

This would be a sad state of affairs for the English game if a team on the way up like Portsmouth has to sell off some of their best players right before the deadline.

Everton have made a £500,000 bid to bring former Celtic and Manchester United striker Henrik Larsson, 36, to Goodison Park. (Sunday Mirror)

But West Ham have emerged as favourites to sign the Swedish striker for £1m. (News of the World).

With West Ham’s luck Larsson will get injured soon after signing. Everton are now linked with just about any player after their poor start.

Everton have also made a last ditch attempt to sign Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Moutinho and has offered a club record £18m for the 21-year-old. (News of the World)

Just don’t see Sporting selling so close to the transfer window. Besides there is no rush, Moutinho value shouldn’t drop in the years to come.

West Brom are planning a late £4m bid for Portsmouth striker David Nugent. (News of the World)

Harry Redknapp would gladly let Nugent leave if the offer is right. I believe he regretted the transfer soon after he bought Nugent last year.

Cristiano Ronaldo has said he will be ready to return to action on 27 September, two weeks earlier than previously thought. (The People)

Counting down the days til he returns. Date sounds about right. It would be a mistake bringing him back September 21st against Chelsea.

Tottenham manager Juande Ramos has blamed his side’s poor start to the season on wantaway striker Dimitar Berbatov. (The People)

Try to deflect the blame from yourself Juande. This results keep up you will run out of excuses.

Man U 1-2 Zenit: Zenit lift Super Cup

MONACO, August 29 — Zenit St Petersburg romped to a surprise UEFA Super Cup victory over European champions Manchester United at Monaco’s Stade Louis II on Friday.

Article

Great game by Zenit St Petersburg. They beat United in their own game with quick one touch passing on the counter attack. United were left to play long balls with little to no effect. With the football world watching it was good to see Danny crack open the United defense for a beautiful goal. Him and Arshavin provided he stays would make a lethal midfield duo for Zenit.

Jose Deals Marathon Mind Games Card

Inter coach Jose Mourinho has described this season’s Serie A race like a marathon and he believes the front runners will be Juventus, Milan, Roma and Fiorentina as the mind games begin.

Article

Let the fun begin. Can’t wait to see how Mourinho and by extension Inter will fair this upcoming season.

Roma complete signing of Monaco’s Menez

ROME, August 29 (Serie A) – Roma have completed the signing of French striker Jeremy Menez from Monaco, the Serie A club confirmed.

Article

Left this one out yesterday but wanted to touch on this transfer. Menez is another in the long line of outstanding young French players coming up and with Totti not getting any younger, Menez make up for any dip in Totti’s goal total.

Manchester United face late competition from German giants Bayern Munich to sign Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham.(Various)

Pretty late in the day to get into the Berbatov race but that is what happens when you drop points in two likes Bayern Munich. At the end of the day Berbatov to Munich has little chance of happening.

Chelsea’s £32m deal for Robinho is in danger of collapse after he was ordered to train by Real Madrid when he was supposed to be in London sealing his transfer to the Blues. (Daily Express)

This is either has a result of Real Madrid not being able to find a replacement for Robinho or the Spanish Champions will wait til the last minute to milk every last dollar out of Chelsea.

Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill is poised to make an audacious move for West Ham’s England striker Dean Ashton after missing out on Blackburn’s Roque Santa Cruz. (Daily Mirror)

West Ham could make a late swoop for former Birmingham striker Walter Pandiani, who is at Spanish side Osasuna. (Daily Mirror)

Could only imagine what West Ham would think if they replaced Dean Ashton with Walter Pandiani.

Pablo Zabaleta claims he turned down Juventus to join Manchester City and his arrival could allow Croatia right-back Vedran Corluka to complete a switch to Tottenham. (Times)

The only reason one would do that is for money.

Striker Louis Saha is likely to finalise a switch to Everton after being allowed to leave Manchester United on a free. (Times)

Last week Sir Alex Ferguson let Mikael Silvestre go because of the respect he had for the player. He let Louis Saha go this week can he was fed up with the player.

Bolton are to sign Racing Santander striker Ebi Smolarek on a 12-month loan with a view to a permanent move. (Times)

Direct result of Johan Elmander being hurt for 6 weeks which is a big loss for Bolton.

Shaun Wright-Phillips says he has no hard feelings after he ended his spell at Chelsea and re-signed for Manchester City, insisting he never felt unwanted at Stamford Bridge. (Daily Mail)

Wright-Phillips was never going to be the type of player that Scolari fancies. He likes his attacking midfeilders to score goals and Wright-Phillips is just dreadful in front of goal.

Highlites include Everton trying to show Liverpool how it’s done as they face Standard Liège and Benfica with a tough draw up against Italian side Napoli. Below are the results of today’s draw.

AC Milan (ITA) v FC Zürich (SUI)
FC Timişoara (ROU) v FK Partizan (SRB)
Hertha BSC Berlin (GER) v Saint Patrick’s Athletic FC (IRL)
FC Baník Ostrava (CZE) v FC Spartak Moskva (RUS)
FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR) v Beşiktaş JK (TUR)
Portsmouth FC (ENG) v Vitória SC (POR)
Kayserispor (TUR) v Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA)
Sevilla FC (ESP) v FC Salzburg (AUT)
VfL Wolfsburg (GER) v FC Rapid Bucureşti (ROU)
UC Sampdoria (ITA) v FBK Kaunas (LTU)
CS Marítimo (POR) v Valencia CF (ESP)
NK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v AC Sparta Praha (CZE)
Manchester City FC (ENG) v AC Omonia (CYP)
BSC Young Boys (SUI) v Club Brugge KV (BEL)
AS Nancy-Lorraine (FRA) v Motherwell FC (SCO)
Everton FC (ENG) v R. Standard de Liège (BEL)
SSC Napoli (ITA) v SL Benfica (POR)
AC Bellinzona (SUI) v Galatasaray AŞ (TUR)
NEC Nijmegen (NED) v FC Dinamo 1948 Bucureşti (ROU)
Real Racing Club Santander (ESP) v FC Honka Espoo (FIN)
APOEL FC (CYP) v FC Schalke 04 (GER)
PFC Litex Lovech (BUL) v Aston Villa FC (ENG)
FK Austria Wien (AUT) v KKS Lech Poznań (POL)
Vitória FC (POR) v SC Heerenveen (NED)
SK Brann (NOR) v RC Deportivo La Coruña (ESP)
SK Slavia Praha (CZE) v SC Vaslui (ROU)
NK Slaven Koprivnica (CRO) v PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)
Brøndby IF (DEN) v Rosenborg BK (NOR)
PFC Cherno More Varna (BUL) v VfB Stuttgart (GER)
Stade Rennais FC (FRA) v FC Twente (NED)
AFC Ajax (NED) v FK Borac (SRB)
Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG) v Wisla Kraków (POL)
FC København (DEN) v FC Moskva (RUS)
MŠK Žilina (SVK) v PFC Levski Sofia (BUL)
BV Borussia Dortmund (GER) v Udinese Calcio (ITA)
SC Braga (POR) v FC Artmedia Petržalka (SVK)
Feyenoord (NED) v Kalmar FF (SWE)
Hamburger SV (GER) v AFC Unirea Urziceni (ROU)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR) v AS Saint-Etienne (FRA)
FC Nordsjælland (DEN) v Olympiacos CFP (GRE)

Spurs To Swoop For Veloso?

Tottenham Hotspur are readying a late move for Sporting star Miguel Veloso, according to reports…

Article

Big fan of Veloso but Tottenham is a mess. Something is wrong with that team and it isn’t an atmosphere where a young should be a part of. Veloso in a year or two can have his pick of the top teams in Europe. The only reason to play for Tottenham now is for money and that would be a mistake long term.

Espanyol’s Zabaleta poised for Man City move

Sources in Spain suggest that Manchester City have already entered into talks with their Primera Liga counterparts Espanyol for midfielder Pablo Zabaleta.

Article

Talented player, low release clause in contract meant it was only a matter of time before another team became interested in Zabaleta.

Official: Suazo Signs For Benfica

Inter forward David Suazo has completed his move to Benfica, the Portuguese club have announced.

Article

Win-Win for both parties. Benfica can use Suazo goal scoring talents and Suazo is talented enough to play for most teams but he was always going to be far down the depth chart at Inter.

Arshavin admits defeat in Spurs transfer saga

Andrei Arshavin’s move from Zenit St Petersburg to Tottenham now looks unlikely to happen after the player revealed that he would stay in Russia.

Article

Classic example of how to not to work the transfer market. Both Zenit and the player itself asked for way more money then the 27 year old Arshavin was worth.

Everton agree to sign injury-plagued striker Saha

Everton have agreed to sign Manchester United’s injury-plagued striker Louis Saha, subject to a medical.

Article

Injury-plagued is putting it mildly. An injury free Saha can score 20 goals in the EPL but that is unlikely to happen. Worth taking a gamble on for Everton depending on the fee of course.

El Kun: It’s Atlético-Liverpool, Not Torres-Agüero

Fernando Torres will soon make a return to his old playing ground, Atlético Madrid, after his current team Liverpool were pitted against his former club in Group D of the Champions League.

Article

Maybe so but all the focus will be on these two players. Don’t think Torres will be looking forward to playing against his childhood club.

Which is good cause it keeps things in perspective for me that way I don’t cross any lines. Don’t smoke, Don’t drink so we all need a vice and placing a wager once in awhile is mine. Point of all this? It’s the middle of the night and at times it gets boring so with that.

The degenerate gambling friend and I have a wager/contest below are the rules.

- Contest runs until December 1st 2008

- We each pick a minimum of 3 games to a maximum of 5 games per week/league

- Each game is graded as a $100 bet. For example if Manchester United was -300 to beat Portsmouth and I picked United it would be $300 to win $100. If Manchester lost or tied that would mean I’d be down $300 and if they won that would mean I’d be up $100.

- Whoever has more then most money (or lost the least) as of December 1st is the winner.

- The stakes are $500 in monopoly money of course per league

We are doing this for four leagues. The EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A.

If somebody is smart one may ask the question what happens if you split 2-2 wouldn’t that be a waste of time? The answer to that is yes. We are also doing the same for the NFL that way someone is up or down at least $500.

With that here are my picks and below them are my degenerate gambling friends pick. Of course I’m sure all of you fine people will hope I win. Or you can just skip these posts in future weeks whatever you prefer.

EPL

Sinnacle

Middlesbrough/Stoke under 2.5 -103

Aston Villa pk +112 vs Liverpool

West Brom +0.5 +100 vs Bolton

Newcastle over 0.5 goals -115 vs Arsenal

D.G.F

Portsmouth +0.5 -126 vs Everton

West Ham/Blackburn under 2.5 -134

Sunderland/Manchester City under 2.5 -135

La Liga

Sinnacle

Real Betis -0.5 +109 vs Recreativo Huelva

Real Madrid -0.5 +112 vs Depo La Coruna

Valencia -0.5 -133 vs Mallorca Racing

D.G.F

Numancia under .5 goals +129 vs Barcelona

Espanyol/Valladolid under 2.5 AND 3 -156

Santander/Sevilla under 2.5 AND 3 -140

Bundesliga

Sinnacle

Hamburg -0.5 +106 vs Bielefeld

Bochum +1 and +1.5 -111 vs Schalke

Bayer 04 Leverkusen -0.5 -125 vs Hoffenheim

D.G.F

Karsruher under 1.5 goals -124 vs FC Koln

Werder Bremen -0.5 -113 vs Borussia Moenchengladbach

Hertha Berlin +1 AND +1.5 -110 vs Bayern Munich

Serie A

Sinnacle

Palermo +322 to win vs Udinese

Chievo pk and -0.5 -125 vs Reggina

Juventus pk -104 vs Fiorentina

Torino over 1 and 1.5 -130 vs Lecce

D.G.F

Sampdoria/Inter Milan under 2.5 -125

Atalanta/Siena under 2.5 -114

Bologna Under 0.5 goals -123 vs A.C Milan

Napoli Under O.5 and 1 goals -103 vs Roma

Catania over 1 goal -130 vs Genoa

West Ham boss Alan Curbishley is under increasing pressure at Upton Park, with Croatia coach Slaven Bilic interested in succeeding him. (The Independent)

This can’t be good as Curbishley tries to prepare his team for the weekend. The press is also reaching with linking Slaven Bilic to the job. Bilic could of left Croatian before or after Euro 2008 but didn’t. Don’t think a couple of months will change his mind. The only way Bilic jumps ship is if Croatian stumbles coming out of the gate in World Cup qualifiers.

Real Madrid are ready to pull the plug on Robinho’s £28m move to Chelsea and make him stay at the Bernabeu. (Daily Star)

Another story that the media jumped the gun on. Real Madrid will only sell Robinho if they can find a replacement before the transfer deadline. Simple yet complex all at the same time.

Everton have made a £10m bid for Newcastle’s James Milner in a bid to beat Aston Villa in the race for his signature. (Various)

If Newcastle have to sell Milner at least they will be that a bidding war may ensue.

Veteran Swedish striker Henrik Larsson is being linked with a move to Everton or Tottenham after a fall-out with Helsingborg chairman Sten-Inge Fredin. (Daily Mail)

Go to Celtic. Finish your career there if possible. Still remember the scene when he came back as a Barcelona player. Quite moving.

Spurs have reached a verbal agreement with Manchester United to sell Dimitar Berbatov once the signing of Roman Pavlyuchenko has been finalised. (The Times)

But Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is now becoming increasingly pessimistic that any deal will be done for the £28m-rated Bulgarian striker. (Various)

I’m pretty bored with this transfer saga. Just end it already.

Portsmouth may move for former Arsenal and West Ham forward Freddie Ljungberg. (Daily Mirror)

Why? So Ljungberg can spend half the year injured like he does every season.

Jose Mourinho has revealed he turned down an opportunity to quit Chelsea after their 2007 FA Cup Final win against Manchester United – and admits he should have left Stanmford Bridge then. (Various)

Won’t shed a tear for Mourinho. He walked away with about 30 million when he and Chelsea parted ways last year.

Arsenal shareholder Danny Fiszman says Arsene Wenger can spend £30m on a single player if he wishes. (Various)

What does that say to Arsenal fans when he doesn’t? I hear all the time that Arsenal can spend but never do. I don’t mean once in awhile, I mean never. The money they paid to sign Nasri and Ramsey was just about the money Arsenal got in selling Hleb to Barcelona.

Group A

Chelsea
Roma
Bordeaux
CFR Cluj

All things considered Chelsea should be happy with this group. Roma should be concerned with Bordeaux in this group. The French league runner up features some talented players in Alou Diarra, Yoan Gouffran, Fernando Cavenaghi and David Bellion. Those players could end up posing a threat to Roma chances of making the quarter finals. Romanian champions CFR Cluj should enjoy the money received from finishing 4th.

Teams to Advance

1. Chelsea
2. Bordeaux

Group B

Inter Milan
Werder Bremen
Panathinaikos
Anorthosis Famagusta

Jose Mourinho should of been all smiles yesterday. Inter and Werder are head and shoulders the class of this group. The top seed usually over look the second seed and notice who the 3rd seed is when it comes to the difficulty of the group. Panathinaikos just doesn’t match up with either Werder Bremen or Inter Milan. In what should make Michel Platini smile Anorthosis Famagusta from Cyprus make their first ever Champions League appearance. At the end of the day Mourinho was bought in to bring Champions League success to Inter. This group stage should work to Inter’s advantage.

Teams To Advance

1. Inter Milan
2. Werder Bremen

Group C

Barcelona
Sporting Lisbon
Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk

Could almost repeat the same write up as group B. Basel is not going to worry anyone. Shakhtar Donetsk might make some noise after finishing 4th last year with 6 points but were in the mix up to the final game of the group stage. They have the best chance of unseating Sporting for the 2nd spot in this group.

Teams To Advance

1. Barcelona
2. Sporting Lisbon

Group D

Liverpool
PSV Eindhoven
Marseille
Atletico Madrid

Any group that Atletico Madrid was going to be drawn into was going to get the group of death tag. None of these teams can be happy with this group. Liverpool are no sure bet to advance. PSV Eindhoven made it to the final eight two years ago. Losing to Liverpool none the less. Marseille sold Samir Nasri but replaced him with another gifted French player in Hatem Ben Arfa. No clue who will advance from this group as this will be the group to watch this fall/winter.

1. Atletico Madrid
2. PSV

Group E

Manchester United
Villarreal
Celtic
Aalborg

This group should be an interesting battle between Villarreal and Celtic. I’ve already mentioned that I see Villarreal’s form dropping this term so the main focus will be if Celtic can make it out of the group stage for the third year running. The Scottish Champions did beat Manchester United in the group stage two years ago which may work in their favour knowing they can complete with the best team in Europe.

1. Celtic
2. Manchester United

Group F

Lyon
Bayern Munich
Steaua Bucharest
Fiorentina

If it wasn’t for Group D this could of been considered the group of death. Lyon leads this group but aren’t the runaway top team with Bayern Munich who makes its return to the Champions League and Fiorentina who will have something to say about who takes spot in this wide open group.

Teams To Advance

1. Fiorentina
2. Lyon

Group G

Arsenal
Porto
Fenerbahce
Dynamo Kiev

This will come not come as a shock but I either like Porto to win this group outright or finish 3rd and get bounced by Fenerbahce who made it to the final eight last year and gave Chelsea a good run once there. Arsenal should make it out of the group but they rarely shown the form in Europe as they do in England which is why I’m not picking them to finish 1st.

Teams To Advance

1. Porto
2. Arsenal

Group H

Real Madrid
Juventus
Zenit St Petersburg
Bate Borisov

This group is as cut and dry as cut and dry gets. Juventus makes it’s Champions League return after missing out the last two years. Real Madrid and Juventus if all goes according to plan which rarely does but still both should advance. Bate Borisov will be the red headed step child of this group and Zenit St Petersburg are currently 6th in there league and seem far removed from the team that won last year’s UEFA Cup.

Teams To Advance

1. Juventus
2. Real Madrid

Villa delighted after penning new Valencia contract

Valencia striker David Villa admitted he was proud of the interest he had attracted from other clubs after signing a new six-year contract at the Mestalla.

Article

This should keep Real Madrid at bay. For another year at least.

Atletico Cruise Through With Schalke Demolition

The high-stakes showdown at the Vicente Calderon Stadium saw Atletico make it through to the lucrative Champions League group stage after a convincing 4-0 victory.

Article

Wasn’t sure if Atletico had it in them after losing the first leg 1-0 but that was some performance. Bodes well going into the season when your team comes through in a high pressure game.

Reds Rocked By Gerrard Blow

Liverpool’s dramatic Champions League win has been tainted by the news that talismanic captain Steven Gerrard will miss the next few weeks through injury…

Article

Maybe Frank Lampard will now actually play well for the English National Team.

Liverpool 1-0 Standard Liege: Hero Kuyt

Dirk Kuyt struck the extra-time winner which will be worth millions to Liverpool as they secured their place in the Champions League group stages with a 1-0 win against Standard Liege.

Article

Better to be lucky then good at times I guess. This makes three games early in the season where Liverpool has played poorly by managed to grab late goals to take the points.