There Is Only One Sinnacle

Rafael Benitez Sensationally Blasts Sir Alex Ferguson & Manchester United

The Liverpool boss has reacted furiously to claims by Sir Alex Ferguson that the Premier League favours Liverpool…

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Everyone knows I’m a keen admirer of Sir Alex Ferguson but I love Rafa Benitez coming out guns a blazing against him. Anyone who can see through the game can see that Sir Alex Ferguson is playing the everyone against Manchester United card complaining about this and that. Benitez correctly pointed out that United have Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Aston Villa at home the second half of the season which is a big advantage. Liverpool needs to be strong if they are to win this year and if the Liverpool players can take a cue from their coach they might just be champions come May.

UEFA Reject Real Madrid’s Latest Argument For Lassana Diarra And Huntelaar

After another rejection in this comical player registration saga, the Spanish champions will have three working days to appeal to the Court of Sports Arbitration…

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Good to see UEFA not bow down to the wishes of a big club. Will be interesting to see how Real Madrid decides to call up for the next stage of the Champions League. Diarra would be my choice but knowing Real Madrid Huntelaar will end up being picked.

Former Juve chief Moggi jailed for 18 months

Former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being found guilty in the Gea World transfer corruption trial on Thursday.

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Part of me is thinking good, let Moggi rot in jail for 18 months. On the flip side knowing Italian soccer/politics part of me is still also thinking that Moggi won’t actually end up spending many nights behind bars.

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes fears he will be priced out of a move for striker Roque Santa Cruz, who Blackburn are valuing at £18m. (Star)

But Hughes is set to make a £17m take-it-or-leave-it offer for Santa Cruz, which could be enough to seal the transfer. (Mirror)

Both teams have too much to lose by not making this deal happen. Blackburn could always use the money and it isn’t like another team will be coming around with 20 million in hand for Santa Cruz.

Real Madrid want to seal a £15m deal for Wigan’s Antonio Valencia. (Star)

For 15 million Wigan should also want to seal a move for Valencia.

Manchester United and Chelsea face a summer battle for Villarreal’s £12m-rated keeper Diego Lopez. (Star)

I could understand why United may look around for a goalie since Van de sar isn’t going to last forever but Chelsea? Petr Cech isn’t bad back there and while early to suggest but if Chelsea are really looking for another goalie wouldn’t that mean they would consider selling Cech?

Arsenal’s hopes of signing midfielder Niko Kranjcar have been dashed after Portsmouth insisted he will not be leaving the club in January. (Star)

Portsmouth need to keep some star players around as they will be in a fight for EPL survival the second half of this season.

Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill has told left-back Nicky Shorey he can leave the club, with West Ham and Tottenham both interested. (The Sun)

Shorey hasn’t exactly shown the form which got him an England call up while at Reading.

Tottenham have failed with a £6m bid to capture Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones. (The Sun)

In this crazy market that offer is way too low for Jones. When he hasn’t been injured, Jones was always a threat to score.

Liverpool have offered Jermaine Pennant a new deal in order to prevent him leaving the club for free when his contract runs out in the summer – the winger has been linked with AC Milan and Real Madrid. (Various)

Why would Pennant sign a new deal with Liverpool? He has spent the last two years on the bench why sign up for more of the same?

Chelsea boss Luiz Felipe Scolari will ignore Nicolas Anelka’s pleas to play alongside striker Didier Drogba rather than the pair being alternated in the team. (Mirror)

Agree with Scolari, both players are too selfish to play well together.

Ronaldo uninjured in car crash: police

LONDON (AFP) – Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo was involved in a car crash near Manchester airport Thursday, but was not injured, police said.

“Officers attended and discovered a Ferrari had collided with a barrier. No one is believed to have been injured,” said a statement by Greater Manchester Police.

No further details were immediately available, but the BBC reported that the footballer’s car was a write-off.

The Portugal international played as a second-half substitute in United’s 1-0 defeat away to Derby County in the first leg of the League Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

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Thankfully, it was only the car that was wrecked and hopefully no injuries occurred as a result of this accident.

Racing & Valencia Draw In Bad-Tempered Encounter

The heated Copa del Rey last 16 clash between Racing and Valencia ended all square, although Los Che finished the match with just nine men…

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From the article

But while Vicente was stupid, the actions of Miguel were utterly chaotic. After a wild lunge on Serrano he proceeded to physically approach the assistant referee, and had to be dragged from the field by his manager Emery who rushed from the dugout to manhandle his defender. It was an utterly bizarre ending to what in truth had been a reasonably poor match, and now Valencia may have to face up to completely unnecessary suspensions for their upcoming league fixtures.

One day I’d love to find the words for what its like to be a Portuguese football fan. Combined with the heart breaks you are also ensured that someone will do something stupid along the way. From Miguel actions yesterday, Scolari (whose not even Portuguese) punch on Serbia’s Ivica Dragutinovic, and my personal favorite Joao Pinto hitting referee Ángel Sánchez during the 2002 World Cup and threatening to kill him. Even during the 2007 u20 World Cup where a Portuguese player actually grabbed a ref’s red card (video linked below.) To win at the highest level you’ll need to keep your cool which is something many Portuguese players could learn.

Vasco confirm six-month Carlos Alberto loan

Brazilian giants Vasco da Gama have confirmed Carlos Alberto will play for the club for six months after joining on loan from Werder Bremen.

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When watching Alberto play for Porto back in there Champion League glory days you’d couldn’t help but think Carlos Alberto future was nothing but bright. Thanks to bad advice and immaturity Alberto now finds himself playing for a second division Brazilian club.

Inter On Napoli’s Back For Hamsik – Reports

Inter Milan are still keen to land the Slovak starlet and are reportedly prepared to table a whopping €40 million bid next summer.

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Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has gone on record previously saying one of his biggest regrets was not signing Hamsik back in 2007. With that in mind it wouldn’t shock me if Moratti decided to right one of his previous wrongs this summer.

MLS announced Wednesday the 2009 class of Generation adidas players that will enter the professional ranks for the 2009 MLS season. MLS teams and adidas identified nine players and signed them to MLS contracts before the completion of their NCAA eligibility. All are eligible to be selected in the upcoming 2009 MLS SuperDraft.

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One of the things MLS does right is spot young players and brings them along through the Generation Adidas program. Some previous Generation Adidas players are Tim Howard, Michael Bradley, DaMarcus Beasley, Maurice Edu, and Jozy Altidore. Below will be the list of this year Generation Adidas players. Will be interesting to see which, if any of the players listed below end up making an impact in the coming years.

2009 Generation Adidas class:

Kevin Alston, D, Indiana
Danny Cruz, M, Nevada Las Vegas
Stefan Frei, GK, California
Omar Gonzalez, D, Maryland
Jeremy Hall, M, Maryland
Baggio Husidic, M, University of Illinois-Chicago
Peri Marosevic, F, Michigan
Rodney Wallace, M, Maryland
Steve Zakuani, F, Akron

Don’t think D.G.F agrees but I have fun in this little contest and winning each league at $500 a pop means January will be another profitable month. (As a side note we also did the same thing for the NFL and D.G.F won, barely won but still won) Since the Internet is largely a tool to boast even if most of the time it isn’t factual I will pat myself on the back and look back at the final records.

England

Sinnacle -$198
D.G.F -$379.50

Spain

Sinnacle +36.50
D.G.F -$291.50

Germany

Sinnacle +$479.50
D.G.F -$525.50

Italy

Sinnacle +$1051.50
D.G.F -$2154.50

When you add it all, I was up $1369.50 over the last four months and D.G.F was down a staggering $3351. To be fair he was just betting heavy underdogs in Italy but it’s still a big number.

Barcelona are planning a sensational raid on Arsenal with a £45m double summer move for captain Cesc Fabregas and striker Robin van Persie. (Daily Star)

With all due respect to Fabregas where exactly does he fit into the Barcelona picture? They do have Xavi and Andrés Iniesta who are just fine in the middle of the midfield. Besides if Arsenal where to sell Fabregas they might as well hang a sign outside Emirates stadium saying they are a small club.

Hull boss Phil Brown is poised to sign midfielder Kevin Kilbane from Wigan in a cut-price deal worth about £1m. (Daily Express)

A million pounds for a player like Kilbane doesn’t seem so cut rate to me. Even in the inflated world of English football a million seems on the generous side for Kevin Kilbane.

Manchester City have intensified their £15m bid to sign Roque Santa Cruz from Blackburn Rovers as manager Mark Hughes looks to reassert his authority over a demoralised squad. (The Times)

Hughes better reassert his connection to the Manchester City fan base who are quickly losing patience with the former Blackburn boss.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is considering a £4.5m bid for Lyon’s Brazilian striker Fred. (Daily Mirror)

Something is wrong with the English game when Jermaine Defoe is worth 15 million and Fred is out there less than half the fee.

Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha is at the centre of a battle between Wigan, Blackburn, Fulham, Newcastle and French side Paris St Germain. (Daily Mirror)

Take a young player with talent, mix in the fact he is not able to get many games in because of establish starters and teams would be foolish not to be interested in the player.

Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate appears to be warming to the idea of allowing Stewart Downing to leave the club for nearly £15m in order to use the money to strengthen his squad. (The Times)

Like I said yesterday cooler heads will prevail and this deal with get done. Right now it’s all the game within the game that is being played.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson faces competition to land French midfielder Sofiane Feghouli, 19, from Grenoble. Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Inter Milan are also interested. (Daily Telegraph)

I’m sure it would be nice to be linked with United but a player like Feghouli needs to play for a club where he’ll get games in.

Hull City are in the verge of signing Luis Boa Morte from West Ham for a fee of around £2m. (The Independent)

Boa Morta works hard which is just about the nicest thing I can say about him.

Deco has blasted suggestions he is manager Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Chelsea “pet” and does not warrant a place in the team. (The Sun)

Deco is right, it’s not like he won two champions league titles with Scolari. When a team is going bad the press will always point to a new arrival and Deco fits that bill to a tee.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp may be ready to axe David Bentley from his side, casting the £15m winger’s long-term future at the club into doubt. (Various)

I’m never liked Bentley and if he wasn’t British he’d be worth half what Tottenham paid for him. His constant talking up on replacing Beckham on the England squad turned me sour on Bentley. England places should be won on the pitch and not by talking to the press. Despite his stunner against Arsenal, Bentley doesn’t strike me as the type of player who’d want on your team.

Manager Harry Redknapp has decided that Defoe and Roman Pavlyuchenko will be his first-choice forward partnership for Spurs, starting at Wigan on Sunday. (The Times)

Makes sense, Pavlyuchenko is in form right now after grabbing goals against Wigan and Burnley the last two games.

Let me come right out and say I’ve always been on the fence concerning David Beckham. I think he is a fine player but never truly a World Class player. What I do like about Beckham through the years has been his professionalism. During the final days of his Manchester United career it must of been tough knowing he was no longer going to feature in Sir Alex Ferguson plans considering all he has done and achieved at the club. It would of been easy for him to lash out but instead he moved on to Real Madrid and again during his final days Ramon Calderon hit out at Beckham once he decided to leave for the Galaxy questioning his talent level. A funny thing occurred along the way where Beckham was called back into the squad and thanks to a few timely free kicks helped Real Madrid snap Barcelona grip on top spot in Spain before taking off to the U.S.

What I also respect about Beckham is that he was gotten everything he could out of football. From being smart enough to turn himself into a brand instead of just a football player. Playing in three world cups and being able to travel all across the world playing for some of the biggest clubs in world football. The former England captain may not have a storybook ending with an appearance in the 2010 World Cup but between winning the Champions League for United, winning La Liga with Real Madrid, doing his part to expand the game in North America and now playing in A.C Milan the kid from London has done well for himself.

Inter Ponder Sensational Swoop For Cassano – Reports

Should the Nerazzurri fail to land Diego Milito, it is suggested that they could turn to another Genova hero…

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No denying Cassano’s talent but a team with Adriano and Cassano in it can cause even the strongest coaches sleepless nights. Inter already has one problem child, they don’t need another one.

Juventus To Join Race For Podolski?

Bayern Munich forward Lukas Podolski’s future at his present employers remains uncertain as an increasing number of clubs chase the German international, with Juventus the latest suitors.

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Considering that Bayern Munich only wants 10 million euros for Podolski I’m surprised more teams aren’t lining up for Podolski’s services.