There Is Only One Sinnacle

- Chelsea should send Bolton a thank you card for there performance on Sunday. Bolton’s fight back to make it 4-3 after being down 4-0 should make it crystal clear to Chelsea that they can’t let up at all against Liverpool on Tuesday.

- Nice rebound for Liverpool shaking the cobwebs off their performance against Chelsea to beat Blackburn 4-0. Big Sam’s team like many other teams had no answer for Fernando Torres whose early goal pretty much doomed Blackburn.

- Wonder what Benni McCarthy was thinking when he found out that Christopher Samba was playing up front as a striker while he was resigned to the bench?

- Finally Middlesbrough showed some life grabbing a vital home win against Hull. After their impressive start to the season Hull can’t wish for this season to end quicker as their 34 points leaves them too close to the drop zone for comfort.

- Guess Federico Macheda isn’t a one goal wonder? Interesting to see Macheda replaced an ineffective Dimitar Berbatov and score another key goal that United paid 30 million pounds for Berbatov to score those types of goals.

- The blame will fall on Ricky Sbragia if Sunderland do go down but Roy Keane should take the lion share of the blame. It was his transfers that all but fizzled out with Pascal Chimbonda and El Hadji Diouf sold at the first opportunity. Keane taking his ball and going home mid season because he didn’t care for Sunderland new American owners shouldn’t be forgotten either.

- Tottenham and West Ham was a classic case of two teams comfortable in mid table playing with very little urgency.

- Bad week for Wigan losing 4-0 last week and 4-1 against Arsenal this week. Unless your team name is Barcelona don’t image many teams would be looking forward to playing Arsenal with the form their currently displaying.

- Despite not getting the three points Alan Sheaer can at least walk away with some positives over Newcastle’s 1-1 draw with Stoke. Unlike many other games this season Newcastle didn’t pack it in once down 1-0, they kept pressing on and got their deserved goal thanks to a well placed Andy Carroll header.

- Obafemi Martins has to go, simple as that. Minutes before a key game he pulls himself out of the lineup with a strained hamstring when he was fit all week during training. When you are a key player like Martins you have to at least make the attempt to play through that. If you can’t count on your players to give it their all, week after week they are not worth having despite having the talent that Martins processes.

- Neither Aston Villa or Everton will be pleasured with yesterday’s 3-3 draw. Martin O’Neil may sleep better knowing he is still in 5th place but he can’t be happy going down 2-0 then 3-1 at home and David Moyes can’t be happy with not being able to hold on to a two goal lead.

- Tell me again why Mark Hughes deserves to be Manchester City’s manager? City look like 11 players all doing their own thing instead of playing as a collective.

Kaiser blasts worst Bayern in history

Bayern Munich president Franz Beckenbauer has labelled the Bundesliga side’s horrifying performance during the 4-0 defeat at Barcelona in the quarter-finals of the Champions League as the worst in the club’s history.

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When someone with the power and respect as Franz Beckenbauer blasts a Bayern Munich performance people will listen. Bayern Munich looked very much like a side that already felt they were defeated before the game was even played yesterday. Just a sad display by a club with his a storied history.

Edu bids to fill Ferguson’s boots

Maurice Edu bolstered his case for filling the void left by deposed skipper Barry Ferguson by claiming his first goal for Rangers in a 2-1 win at St Mirren.

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Atleast something good as happen with the whole Barry Ferguson/Allan McGregor drinking saga as Maurice Edu got the opportunity to set in and help Rangers to a victory yesterday.

Enjoy your Easter weekend for those of you who have one. Be Back Monday.

AC Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has told Chelsea he is ready to take over from interim manager Guus Hiddink at Stamford Bridge this summer. (The Sun)

Ancelotti would be smart to accept a new challenge even if I think it would be hard for a foreign manager to succeed in England right away. A.C Milan would of been smarter if they thanks Ancelotti for his years of service after last season and moved in another direction.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is planning a £5m swoop for highly rated Porto left-back Aly Cissokho, who impressed in the Portuguese side’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United on Tuesday. (The Sun)

Was wondering how long it would of been until someone on this Porto side would make their way into the British papers.

Another Porto player who could be heading to Tottenham is striker Wason Renteria, who says that the London club have contacted him about a possible summer transfer. (Setanta)

Considering Renteria is an after thought as Porto have loaned him out to Braga I’m sure Tottenham could have him. Nothing more than a player trying to drum up some interest in himself this is however.

Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor says the spectacular overhead kick he executed against Villarreal on Tuesday night is the best goal he has scored. (Various)

Arsenal must love having Adebayor back in the lineup who plays in a fashion Nicholas Bendtner only talks about doing.

Let me be the first to say even representing your once should be an honour one can be proud of but with the decade coming to a close I’m still going to poke alittle fun at some of the worse players capped by England.

Coach

Steve Mclaren – Could only be one coach to lead this All-Turd team and sadly for Steve Mclaren he will be remembered as the only coach not to qualify England for a major tournament this decade.   Kevin Keegan got a head start on this position by walking out on the England job after losing to Germany in the last match played at the Old Wembley stadium.  Caretaker coach Peter Taylor did lose his only game in charge against Italy but he did hand David Beckham the captians arm band so Taylor did something right.  Few people can point to Mclaren and say he did anything right in his time in charge of the England National Team.

Goalie

Scott Carson – Could of gone with Ian Walker or Richard Wright in this spot but few England fans will forget Scott Carson blunder against Croatia so he makes the list. Putting Carson in net against Croatia must be one of the many moves Steve Mclaren would do over again if he could. Not only did it get him fired from the England job, Carson himself has never been the same goalie as he is currently about to head into the Championship with West Brom.

Defenders

Danny Mills – The answer to the trivia question as to which player has played the most caps for England without every playing in Wembley stadium.  Also part of the running theme with Leeds United players coming up in the first half of the decade who have flopped after showing early promise.  Currently out of football at age 31 at Manchester City couldn’t find another club to loan Mills out too after his spell at Derby County was cut short due to injury in 2008.

Ugo Ehiogu – You think with the likes of Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Sol Campbell playing centre half that it would of been tough to find an All Turd defender but Ehiogu made it that much easier for me.  Ehiogu had his last cap for England in 2002 against England but unlike a couple of players on this list has had a long workerman like career still playing for Sheffield United at age 36.

Anthony Gardner – While Gardner may of replaced Sol Campbell at Tottenham he could not replace Campbell within the National team set up earning one cap against Sweden in 2004.  After eight years of wating Tottenham finally decided that Gardner wasn’t able to take the next step and moved him on to Hull City in 2008 where he is currently their third choice central defender.

Michael Ball – (You try finding a Michael Ball England picture online) Ball made his one and only England appearance in Sven Goran Erickson first match coaching England where Sven must of decided he has seen enough of Michael to know he isn’t National team quality.

Taken from the English FA website.

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I won’t be a one-cap wonder

By James Wright – Wednesday, 16 April, 2003

TheFA.com Exclusive: England’s forgotten man, Michael Ball, earned rave reviews on his England debut. Since then he has been out of the public gaze because of a serious knee injury. But now he is back and raring to go as he tells TheFA.com

Fast forward to 2009 where Michael Ball is still holding firm at one cap which the last major news of note in his career was being suspended for stomping Cristiano Ronaldo near the end of the 2006-2007 season.

Midfeilders

Joey Barton – Could of gone with Gavin McCann in this spot but it was just more enjoyable to place Joey Barton here.  Another stroke of brillance by Steve Mclaren calling Joey Barton into National team set up to face Spain in February 2007 and giving kids another reason to be proud of the players who wear the England shirt.  Currently on the bench at Newcastle possibly preparing for life in the Championship next young.

Lee Bowyer – The second Leeds United player to make this list as Bowyer got his only England call up just after the 2002 World Cup in a friendly against Portugal.  After two stints with West Ham currently Gianfranco Zola has been enough of Bowyer to let him join Birmingham on loan for the rest of this season

Seth Johnson – A hat trick of sorts for Leeds United players as Seth Johnson is another player who wasn’t able to fulfill his early promise after earning his only England cpa in 2000 while still playing for Derby County.  Sold to Leeds back in 2001 where he spent four years only to make his return to Derby County in 2005.  Currently out of football at age 30 after helping Derby get promoted to the Premier League back in 2007.

Francis Jeffers – Meet the reason why Arsene Wenger no longer buys English players.  Jeffers rewarded Arsenal’s 8 million pound investment with 4 EPL goals in three years before bouncing around the likes of Charlton, Rangers, Blackburn, Ispwich and current club Sheffield Wednesday. Did score in his only apperance for England as a second half sub against Australia back in 2003.

David Nugent – Another striker with a goal in his only England cap.  Then agian it was against Andorra who are not exactly a fortress at the back.  Nugent is a rare player who earned an England cap while scoring in the Championship with Preston North End.  As a result of his play for Preston North End, Harry Redknapp and Portsmouth came calling taking Nugent up to the Premier League.  Redknapp must of had second thoughts right away as he was nailed to the bench during the 2007-2008 season.  Just now seeing a consistent run of games under current Portsmouth coach Paul Hart.

- Football is a cruel game sometimes. There is a reason teams don’t scoop up all the silverware. It’s a long year and with so many top teams just about any top team can take out another top team.

- For over a month everything was coming up roses for Liverpool. Last minute games, key away wins against Real Madrid, and Manchester United, Benitez signs a new deal, even Steven Gerrard get his charge dismissed. Chelsea walks in and walks out with three away goals and all that momentum is now out the window. Liverpool now face an uphill battle to win any silverware this term.

- Forget Federico Macheda, that’s old news. Branislav Ivanović is the new flavor of the month thanks to his two goal performance. Not bad for a player who was all but shipping out come the end of this season.

- Lucas is going to have an uphill battle if he plans to ever win over the hearts and minds of Liverpool fans. His performance yesterday didn’t make anyone forget about Javier Mascherano.

- Manchester United may be the defending Champions League title holders but it’s Barcelona who are the measuring stick for the rest of Europe currently. After a rough patch Barcelona are now back on deadly form. It’s really like a prize fighter who makes quick work of their opponent.

- Maybe Pep Guardiola will reconsider his abuse of the referee’s on the sidelines once he saw the reply of Messi’s clear drive in the box.

- Poor Hans-Jörg Butt, first you get the call that your facing Barcelona then Thierry Henry slides right into Butt face with his spikes.

- If Jurgen Klinsmann wasn’t such a beloved player it’s be doubtful he would still be Bayern’s coach.

- I’d ask myself if Bayern Munich looked that bad against Barcelona just how awful would Sporting of done consider Bayern won 12-1 getting to this stage. The two teams however faced off in the group stages. Maybe a Sporting player can say to themselves, hey we feared better against Barcelona then Bayern Munich did.

Klinsmann assured of future, Van Buyten out

Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has assured coach Jurgen Klinsmann of his job, even if they follow the loss against Wolfsburg last weekend with defeat by Barcelona on Wednesday night.

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Jurgen Klinsmann doesn’t need to lead Bayern Munich to victory against Barcelona but if they are clearly over matched by the Spanish giants and compound this is by not winning the Bundesliga crowd calls for Klinsmann may become to loud for Karl-Heinz Rummenigge to ignore.

Report: Inter Striker Adriano Wants To Quit Football

Brazilian sources suggest that ‘L’Imperatore’ has told Selecao boss Dunga that he intends to hang up his boots.

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Nothing worse in life than wasted talent. Few things annoying me like seeing someone with a god given talent just take it for granted and then throw it away.

Tottenham’s on-loan striker Fraizer Campbell admits he is unsure if he will remain at Spurs next season or return to Manchester United. (Daily Star)

Totally forgot that Campbell was loaned out to Tottenham as part of the Dimitar Berbatov deal. Talk about being moth balled since Harry Redknapp took over. Sad to see a young player not getting the playing time he deserves in order to get better.

Brazilian star Kaka has opened the door to a potential move to the Premier League by admitting his desire to play in England when he leaves current club AC Milan. (Daily Star)

Always hated these type of headlines. It’s foolish for a player to close a door onto you anything when it comes to the future. It doesn’t mean a move to England is likely anytime soon. I’m sure if these same reporters asked the question regarding MLS, Kaka would of replied in the same fashion.

Fulham striker Bobby Zamora is a target for Spanish side Villarreal. (Daily Mirror)

Why is all I can think of. Out of all the English players who could cut it in Europe Zamora wouldn’t be high on that list.

Everton have made inquiries about Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Moutinho. (Daily Mirror)

Everton knows the price Sporting would want for Moutinho. Besides he is on year one of a six year contact so Sporting isn’t forced to do anything.

Manchester City will offer contract rebel Daniel Sturridge a take-it-or-leave-it final £40,000 a week offer. (Daily Star)

Or 19-year-old striker Sturridge will be offered a contract worth £30,000 to stay at Eastlands, with Chelsea and Aston Villa keen on the youngster. (Daily Mirror)

Sturridge should leave it and head over to Aston Villa. Manchester City goal is to buy the world’s “biggest” stars, Aston Villa goal is to develop a good young core of British talent which Sturridge is a perfect fit for.

- I’ll let the rest of the English press knock Manchester United’s performance as this review will mostly be in praise of the way Porto handled themselves at Old Trafford.

- As a fan of football and not just one certain club there are few things I love more than watching a club play better than the sum of its parts. Make no mistake, Porto have some class players but the way this team plays as a collective is just a pleasure to watch.

- It could of been so easy for Porto to hang their heads low not once but twice during yesterday’s game against United. After Bruno Alves terrible back pass to Rooney they could lost focus but instead kept matching United step by step the entire game. How many times have you seen United score a key goal late in the game? After that think how many times has the opposing team fought back with a reply? Porto could of taken a token victory with getting the away goal going back to Portugal but instead they pressed on, got a lucky bounce and earned a deserved draw.

- Ok, I will mention one thing regarding Manchester United. Wayne Rooney’s hustle is top class. Not many strikers would of made that run on the slim chance the defender was going to make a sloppy back pass.

- Back to Porto, oh what a game Fernando had. Every key tackle that had to be made, he made it. Just a world class performance cleaning things up at the back.

- To continue this love fest for Porto, this is a team that knows it’s place in world football. They know how to find talent for example Hulk who they plunked out of Japan and turn this players into highly coveted assets. While the spine of this team remains with Bruno Alves at the back, Raul Meireles and Lucho González in the middle and Lisandro López up front. Porto have sold Pepe, Jose Boswinga, Anderson and Ricardo Quaresma.

- Italian clubs could learn a thing or thing from watching Porto play against an English team yesterday. Time and time again you see teams go into Old Trafford just hoping they could survive the first 20 minutes. Porto showed no fear and took the game right to Manchester United which was rewarded with Cristian Rodríguez’s early goal.

- This result is far from decided. Considering that most press had United wrapping this tie up in the first leg it’s another moral victory that Porto control their destiny going into the second leg. Maybe this time Manchester United won’t sleep on Porto.

- All and all a good day for Arsenal. They now have a decent chance of playing Porto in the semi finals and managed to leave Spain with an away goal.

Adriano at home with “delicate” personal issue

The Brazilian Football Federation have moved to deny various reports about Adriano by insisting the troubled striker is at home with his family as he attempts to overcome a “delicate” personal situation.

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Just when you think Adriano has turned the corner he does something to make you rethink that position. Nevermind football but the final chapter in Adriano’s life may end up not being pleasant at this pace.

Lazio chief: Macheda was ”robbed” by United

Lazio president Claudio Lotito has hit out at the way Manchester United were able to snatch away star prospect Federico Macheda from their youth academy.

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Lotito is right but not many United are going to shed tears for his club. Lazio’s loss is Manchester United’s gain. At least it was last weekend. With United’s depth it may be another year or two before Macheda see’s any action in the EPL.