There Is Only One Sinnacle

New Injured Trio Add To Real Madrid Woes

Three more Real Madrid players suffered injuries during Saturday’s demoralising defeat in the derby against Getafe to add to Bernd Schuster’s problems.

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Injuries or not that was still a poor performance by Real Madrid yesterday. Giving up early goals in both halves shows a lack of focus by this team.

William Gallas could be set for a shock move to London rivals Tottenham with Harry Redknapp ready to take on the Arsenal defender. (Sunday Mirror)

Arsenal should send Gallas on his way. Too much water under the bridge there but no way they will sell him to Tottenham just so Gallas can score on them every year like he has managed to do against his other former team Chelsea.

“Get Lost Gallas” says the Star. The Gunners board are reported to be putting boss Arsene Wenger under pressure to offload the former skipper in the January sales. Paris St Germain and AC Milan are believed to be interested.

Either of those teams would be better options

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is close to signing a new deal at Anfield. Despite interest from Real Madrid the Spaniard has told the board he wants to stay. (News of the World)

The Liverpool board would be smart to wrap up this new contact quick. Benitez holds all the power here, the quick this gets done the less painful it will be for the Liverpool board.

Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski could be off to Eastlands with Man City leading the chase for a cool £12m. (Star) Sounds like a bargain.

When Franz Beckenbauer said that Podolski can go for 15 million euros Manchester City should of made a phone call with chequebook handy.

Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear has been told he won’t have any cash to spend in the January sales. (Sunday Express)

When you are looking to sell a club the last thing you want to do is put more money into it.

Man City boss Mark Hughes has a headache ahead of the Manchester derby as he faces a battle to keep hold of Robinho. The Brazilian superstar wants assurances over the future of his fellow countrymen Elano and Jo. (The Star)

Elano would have other teams interested but Jo with the fee Manchester City paid for him would have a tough time finding another team willingly to match that price. Besides Robinho should focus on playing.

Rijkaard: I Never Doubted Ronaldinho’s Quality

After a rough and tough time at Barcelona last season, Rijkaard has now heaped high praise on his former star following his return to form with Milan- the club the ex-Holland international played for.

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Last year must of been tough for Rijkaard with all the stories regarding his job. He could of gone out swinging putting a lot of people under the bus including Ronaldinho for not playing their best last year but Rijkaard went out with class. Here is hoping he makes a quick return to the game next year.

Unhappy Chimbonda eyeing Lyon switch

Pascal Chimbonda has issued a come-and-get-me plea to Lyon, with speculation mounting the French champions are about to make an offer for the Sunderland defender.

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If Chimbonda wants to leave Sunderland should do everything possible to make it happy. Chimbonda is one of many players whose career could of be something special if he wasn’t such a head case.

One club looking ahead to the January sales are Aston Villa, with Gareth Barry happy to stay at Villa Park until at least the end of the season. A possible contract buy-out from the England midfielder is on the cards. ‘Window chopping’ says the Daily Mirror.

Barry will stay on until the end of the season. Come the summer Barry holds most of the cards so it’s doubtful he’ll return. I’m sure Barry is happy with his performances for Villa, helping them to a Champions League spot right now. Despite that I’m sure he sees Liverpool spot in the standings and thinks he could of been able to push Liverpool over the top.

Festive headlines aplenty with the Daily Mirror claiming it is the ‘Season of Goodphil’. Boss Luiz Felipe Scolari thinks Chelsea will be Premier League champions if they are still in the top two by the end of the Christmas period.

He should think that, but maybe not think that out loud. Manchester United’s main challenge will be how they will cope with heading to Japan for the Fifa Cup World Cup in another month and Liverpool may crumble under the pressure.

While Spurs gaffer Harry Redknapp could be ready to splash the cash with a £12m cheque to Bordeaux for striker Fernando Cavenaghi. (Daily Mirror)

This one is a couple of days old. Cavenaghi said something to the effect that he is happy at Bordeaux but if Tottenham doubles his wages he will go.

Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez continues to threaten to leave Old Trafford if his permanent move is not sealed by the end of January with Real Madrid waiting in the wings. (The Times)

Time to score Tevez or else no one at Manchester United will notice you are gone.

Newcastle legend Alan Shearer has politely declined an invitation from Joe Kinnear to join the coaching staff at St James’ Park. (Guardian)

Couldn’t believe the papers believed Shearer would even consider going back to Newcastle. He has always stayed well clear of going back to Newcastle in its current form.

Crespo Not Coming To Real Madrid – Calderón

The Real Madrid president has revealed that he does not believe Hernán Crespo will be a player that the club sign in January, but has been told that two potential stars are on their way.

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Real Milan doesn’t go for players warming up the bench on their current team. Signing a Hernan Crespo great as he was would not endure the Real Madrid fans to Calderon.

Keirrison, Benfica’s Di Maria top Real Madrid shopping list

After Real president Ramon Calderon’s revelation yesterday that two, young attacking players would be signed during the winter market, Keirrison has emerged as a likely target.

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A good relationship exists between Benfica and Real Madrid so it would not shock me that Di Maria is one of the players how Real Madrid is targeting. With Benfica looking to get back into the Champions League next season however none of their key players will be leaving mid season.

Ahead of his return to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, Arsenal’s former Chelsea defender William Gallas says the Blues were lying when they claimed in 2006 that he threatened to score an own-goal if he did not get a move. (The Sun)

Glad it took two years to address those rumors. All I know is if someone had said something incorrect about me I wouldn’t of waited so long to address it.

Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear has been told to forget about a January move for Roma defender John Arne Riise by the former Liverpool player’s agent. (The Sun)

Riise moving to Newcastle would be a huge step back for the former Liverpool player. With Roma on the edge of qualifying for the knockout stages in the Champions League I’m sure he’d want to press on with the club. Besides Roma isn’t half bad weather wise in the winter.

Hull’s £8m-rated Wales goalkeeper Boaz Myhill says he will stay with the Tigers despite being wanted by Inter Milan, Fenerbahce and Everton. (The Sun)

Aside from Fenerbahce who never know when Volkan Demirel will make a mistake to cost his team a goal, it would be unlikely that Myhill would end up as a starter at Inter Milan or Everton.

Bolton boss Gary Megson says Wanderers goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, a £3m target for Tottenham, will not leave the Reebok Stadium in January. (The Sun)

Teams could of had Jaaskelainen on a free transfer during the summer but must of been scared off with Jaaskelainen missing the second half of the season due to back surgery.

Arsenal have joined West Ham in the pursuit of 21-year-old Juventus midfielder Sebastian Giovinco. (Daily Telegraph)

Don’t see Juventus selling Giovinco and don’t see Arsenal interested in only a loan deal for Giovinco.

Sunderland boss Roy Keane has been told he must sell before he can buy in January and will have to trim his 36-strong playing squad. (The Sun)

36 players is way too big for a club of Sunderland’s size. It’s not like they play in Europe so there is no need to carry more than 22 players.

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will be out until Christmas with the hamstring injury he picked up against Marseille on Wednesday. (Daily Mirror)

It is a credit for Liverpool to be this high in the standings without the services of Torres for most of the season.

Portsmouth goalkeeper David James will hug a tree in Exeter on Monday to show his support for National Tree Week. (Daily Mail)

David James has always been a strange one. My favorite David James story is a couple of years ago he wouldn’t do interviews with Sky Sports because it took a Sky technician a month to fix his Satellite dish. So until they fixed his tv he wouldn’t grant them an interview.

Five more weeks left in this contest. I’m sure all of you fine people are cheering me on so I thank you for the support.

Totals Heading Into Week Twelve

Sinnacle

England -$472
Spain +$330.50
Germany +220.50
Italy +$858.50

D.G.F

England -$801.50
Spain -$162.50
Germany -$447
Italy -$1977.50

Below Are The Picks For Week Twelve

England

D.G.F

Middlesbrough/Newcastle under 2.5 -114
Portsmouth/Blackburn under 2.5 -106
Tottenham/Everton under 2.5 +104
West Ham Team Total under 0.5 -115
Aston Villa Team Total under 1.5 +110

Sinnacle

Chelsea-Arsenal over 2 and 2.5 -113
Manchester United-Manchester City over 2.5 -121
Sunderland pk and -0.5 -105 vs Bolton

Spain

D.G.F

Athletic Club Bilbao/Numancia under 2.5 -116
Valencia-Real Betis under 2.5 +111
Valladolid-Mallorca under 2.5 -110
Sporting Gijon team Total under 1 -114
Recreativo Team Total under 1 -118

Sinnacle

Real Madrid pk and -0.5 -106 vs Getafe
Sevilla +0.5 -125 vs Barcelona
Almeria-Deportivo La Coruna draw +239

Germany

D.G.F

Hertha BSC Berlin/Koln under 2.5 and 3 -117
Werder Bremen-Eintracht Frankfurt under 3.5 -128
Hoffenheim Team Total under 2 and 2.5 +107
Stuttgart-Schalke under 2.5 +100
Bochum-Hamburg under 2.5 +110

Sinnacle

Bayer 04 Leverkusen-Bayern Munich under 3 -116
Karlsruher +0.5 +102 vs Hannover
Borussia Moenchengladbach-Cottbus draw +250

Italy

D.G.F

Chievo +841 vs Udinese
Fiorentina +361 vs Roma
Torino +311 vs Siena
Lecce +440 vs Catania
Palermo +282 vs A.C Milan

Sinnacle

Juventus-Reggina over 2.5 -118
Inter Milan-Napoli over 2.5 -102
Bologna +0.5 and +1 +116 vs Genoa

Giovinco Nears Juventus’ Exit Door – Reports

The Atomic Ant is reportedly frustrated at his lack of opportunities in Piemonte and is seriously pondering a January loan move.

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Giovinco is not gaining anything at this point by sitting on the bench so a loan move would do him well. With Gianfranco Zola there to guide him, West Ham would actually be a good option for Giovinco. He’ll at least get playing time with the Hammers.

Kaka interested in move to the Premier League

AC Milan playmaker Kaka has said that it would be ‘great’ to play in the Premier League ‘one day’, having been linked again with moves to Chelsea and Manchester City.

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Always hated these type of articles. What is the playing going to say, that he is no interest in playing in England ever? The key word here is “one day” I’m sure if someone asked Kaka if he wanted to play in the MLS he’d also say “one day.”

Juventus encourage Real Madrid bid for Trezeguet

Juventus expect an offer from Real Madrid to arrive for David Trezeguet.

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Just about any player over 30 should have a price, even more so when the player hasn’t played all season and the team has still played well.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends.

AC Milan are lining up a £5m bid for Arsenal defender William Gallas and hope to tempt the Frenchman to the San Siro after his recent troubles at the Emirates. (The Sun)

Arsenal and AC Milan have done some business this year with the Philippe Senderos loan deal so it’s not impossible. For Arsenal to move forward it would be for the best to sell William Gallas and AC Milan would be an ideal destination.

Arsenal defender Gael Clichy has accused William Gallas of smashing the Gunners’ team morale with the public criticism of his team-mates last week that led to Gallas being stripped of the club captaincy. (The Sun)

Another reason why it would be best for all parties to move on.

Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner is being targeted by Spartak Moscow, who will offer £5m for the Dane in January. (Various)

It’s funny how rumors pop up after a player scores a goal. No one was saying anything about Bendtner when before his goal mid week. Bendtner is high on the list of players I think are over rated despite that Arsenal will not be selling him for 5 million pounds nor would Bendtner jump at the chance to play in Moscow.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp will make an £11m offer for Middlesbrough’s England winger Stewart Downing in January. (Daily Mirror)

The first thing that comes to mind is why? For Downing to move south someone in that Tottenham midfield would have to leave. With Alan Hutton out for five months Tottenham will look to replace him come the transfer window.

Manchester City want to sign Schalke 04 goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and will launch a £12m bid for the German, whose team they will be trying to beat in the Uefa Cup on Thursday. (Daily Mirror)

City boss Mark Hughes is set to make a £25m offer for Sevilla’s Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano. (Daily Star)

Neuer and Fabiano make their first appearances on the rumoured Manchester City wish list.

Chelsea boss Phil Scolari is willing to stake his £5m-a-year job on the Blues qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League after seeing his side held by Bordeaux. (The Sun)

Scolari’s threat to leave his post and go back to Brazil if Chelsea fail to get out of Group A was actually a joke. (The Times)

Joke or not Avram Grant would be thinking that coaches have gotten fired for less. Still a long shot that Chelsea loses at home even without Lampard to Cluj.