There Is Only One Sinnacle

A couple of months old but just started to pop up stateside in the last couple of weeks.

Ronaldo wondergoal the difference

Cristiano Ronaldo’s astounding early goal left Sir Alex Ferguson to go head-to-head with old rival Arsene Wenger for a place in the Champions League Final as they beat Porto 1-0 in the Dragao Stadium to win 3-2 on aggregate.

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There was really only going to be one outcome in this match. At the end of the day it was like this. In the spot Manchester United were in there was no way Porto was going to be able to hold them off the scoresheet even at home. Manchester United on the other hand, if they were able to get their act together at the back Porto would have a hard time breaking through for a goal. Porto handled themselves well and deserve respect but at the end of the day the best team advanced to the semi finals.

Arsenal 3 – 0 Villarreal

Arsenal have been portrayed as a club in crisis this season but they are now in the Champions League semi-final after sweeping past Villarreal 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

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Villarreal were in for an uphill battle when Marcos Senna got hurt and had to miss this game as he is the rock of this Villarreal team. First class performance by Arsenal however taking advantage of a weaken team and killing this game off fairly quickly.

Inter Coach Jose Mourinho To Choose Between Diego Milito & Didier Drogba

It’s decision time for the coach as he thinks about who to sign up front. Milito is currently regarded as Inter’s first choice…

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Milito would be regarded as the first choice for the simply reason that he’ll be a lot easier to sign than Didier Drogba.

Porto’s Aly Cissokho: Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo Is Just Another Player

The French defender says playing against the FIFA World Player of the Year is just like playing against any other opponent…

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Aly Cissokho sure has come a long way in a short period of time. From playing in France’s second division last year to facing Manchester United in the final eight of the Champions League. Go Porto however I fully expect a Manchester United win.

Prosecutor says insufficient evidence against Montero

The prosecutor’s office announced that it has completed its review of the criminal investigation referred from the suburban Bellevue Police Department regarding the 21-year-old striker from Campo de la Cruz, Colombia.

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This could of turned the feel good story of Seattle and MLS sour in a hurry if Fredy Montero would of been charged with any criminal offense. It would of been like the NBA’s Supersonics were back in town.

Must admit I regret sleeping through the Liverpool-Chelsea game. Great game by all accounts. The Barcelona-Bayern Munich game? Not so much.

Liverpool are monitoring Lazio star Mauro Zarate with a view to a summer swoop for the striker. (The Sun)

Zarate did handle himself well in his brief spell in England last year with Birmingham. With a long term deal dragging on with current club Lazio, Liverpool who for the second time this week may of identified another solid player for next season.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is targeting Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones. (Daily Mirror)

A lot of teams will be in the hunt for Kenwyne Jones if Sunderland is regulated from the English Premier League.

Middlesbrough boss Gareth Southgate is ready to bid for Swansea’s 24-goal goal machine Jason Scotland. (Daily Mirror)

If Middlesbrough lose a couple of more games they will be in the same division as Swansea next year.

Aston Villa are unlikely to pay the £15m Standard Liege want for their midfielder Steven Defour. (Daily Star)

Still a good player who should make the step up in clubs in another season or two.

Creditors of Liverpool owner Tom Hicks say Hicks Sports Group is in default on debts of £351m. (Wall Street Journal)

I do love Hicks excuse is that he defaulted on the loan on purpose in order to negotiate a lower interest rate on his loans. Don’t think his lenders liked that excuse as much however.

Henry: Ronaldo Better Than Messi

Barcelona ace Thierry Henry has surprisingly conceded that he believes Cristiano Ronaldo to be better than team-mate Lionel Messi.

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Must admit didn’t expect to hear this opinion come from Thierry Henry. I really don’t think anyone can argue that Lionel Messi has been playing better than Cristiano Ronaldo this year. Messi in fact reminds me of Ronaldo who played with a chip on his shoulder over Kaka winning the 2007 World player of the year. Fast forward a year later and it now appears Messi has this chip as he wishes to prove he is the best player on this planet. To claim that honour however Messi well need to do what Ronaldo did last year and lead Barcelona to the Champions League and League double.

No repeat of Bolton collapse, insists Carvalho

Defender Ricardo Carvalho admits Chelsea’s mistakes against Bolton Wanderers at the weekend will serve as a timely reminder to stay fully focused against Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday night.

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Can’t recall when I’ve been as uninterested in a Champions League match up than today. With Barcelona all but assured of making it to the semi finals and Liverpool needing a minor miracle to overcome Chelsea I’ll most likely pvr the games and watch it them later on during the day.

Fulham are lining up a double summer bid for Tottenham pair Tom Huddlestone and Gareth Bale. (Daily Express)

Huddlestone could leave unless he is guaranteed first-team football. (The Times)

Huddlestone has done nothing to warrant demanding anything from Tottenham. Talented no doubt but Tottenham haven’t been a better team when Huddlestone features in the starting 11. Despite being below average defensively there is just too much talent in Gareth Bale to give up on.

Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is chasing Athletic Bilbao’s Spanish under-21 midfielder Javi Martinez. (Daily Mirror)

Would be a great fit for Liverpool and in another year or two Martinez could do all the things Gareth Barry does now for Aston Villa.

Hull manager Phil Brown is hopeful of signing Angola striker Manucho, currently on loan from Manchester United, in a permanent deal for £750,000. (Daily Mail)

£750,000 doesn’t even buy you a return phone call anymore from a team much less a striker. With the gulf of strikers United have on the books I’m sure they could be convinced to sell Manucho but it will be for much more than £750,000.

Sunderland are ready to ask Alan Curbishley to become their emergency new manager – once he settles his dispute with West Ham this week. (Daily Mirror)

Not exactly the best spot for Alan Curbishley to come into Sunderland. Then again EPL jobs don’t come around everyday, if you decline one you never know when another job offer will come around.

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak will watch the club play on Thursday and decide whether Mark Hughes retains the support of fans. (The Guardian)

Al Mubarak doesn’t need to wait til Thursday. The Manchester City fans have turned on Hughes since the start of the year.

- Bad news, good news weekend for Inter Milan. Jose Mourinho can’t be happy with his players losing focus as they turned a 2-0 advantage into a 2-2 draw against Palermo. The good news is that Juventus missed a glorious chance to make up some ground to Inter as they lost 3-2 in an exciting match against Genoa. Anything less than a victory next week for Juventus against Inter and the Serie A race is over.

- Has there been a better free transfer pick up this year than Genoa’s Thiago Motta? Even without Diego Milito which in turn made Motta Genoa’s key player, he bossed the midfield and picked up two goals against Juventus. Look for the former Barcelona and Atlético Madrid player to draw some transfer interest this summer.

- Nice bounce back by Bayern Munich beating Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 over the weekend. With the Champions League exit all but assured Bayern’s main focus is to close the three point gap on leaders Wolfsburg.

- Good to see Real Madrid keep pace with Barcelona beating Valladolid 2-0. As a neutral would love to see the next El Classico on May 3rd mean something in the standings.

- Lyon just don’t like a team focused enough on winning the Lique 1 crown. Too many dropped points at home to the likes of Monaco might prove to be their undoing at the top of French football.