There Is Only One Sinnacle

After reading about Matt Le Tissier and his attempt to rig a prop bet that I posted about last week a flood of articles on the man has been posted online.

When reading one of these articles one of the funniest stories involving Matt Le Tissier is the story of Ali Dia. Back in 1996 a person claiming to be former player of the year George Weah called then Southampton manager Graeme Souness recommending an unknown Senegalese international.

When Le Tissier had to be substituted due to injury in a game against Leeds United Souness turned to Dia. A player deemed Dia performance as watching Bambi on ice. Below is Le Tissier recalling this amusing little story.

Reds announce record-breaking sponsorship deal

Standard Chartered will become the club’s primary sponsor from July next year and the deal, confirmed by managing director Christian Purslow, will run until the end of the 2013-14 season.

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Maybe it’s the Carlsberg jinx as Liverpool never won the league with them on their jersey? Must admit I’ll kinda miss seeing Carlsberg on the front only for the fact when Liverpool plays a French club they need to remove the logo as France bans alcohol advertising.

£80 million is good business for both the club and the bank considering Liverpool is one of Football’s most well known sporting properties.

Tottenham striker Robbie Keane has emerged as a transfer target for Celtic boss Tony Mowbray. Daily Mirror

You can make the case that Robbie Keane is on the downhill side of his career. He isn’t to the point however where Tottenham would let him go mid season. Besides Celtic would not come close to paying Keane what he is earning currently at Tottenham.

Chelsea have agreed in principle to sign 17-year-old Croatian goalkeeper Matej Delac from Inter Zapresic for about £2m. However, unless the Blues win an appeal over their transfers ban, they will not be able to sign him until January 2011. (Daily Mail)

If this Delac kid starts to shine between now and January 2011 do you really think Inter Zapresic is going to honour an agreement made in 2009 when they could get a lot more for the player?

Wigan striker Marlon King has been linked with a loan move to Championship side Sheffield United : Daily Mirror

This move would be King’s 5th club in two years. Do you considering it a compliment that so many clubs want you or an insult that so many clubs can’t wait to get rid of you?

Former Manchester City defender Michael Ball is being targeted by Notts County director of football Sven-Goran Eriksson. The 29-year-old is currently without a club. Daily Mirror

Michael Ball earned his one and only England cap thanks to Sven. Ball was called up to the national squad for Sven’s first game in charge.

Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor could be handed a six-match ban by the Football Association for his clash with Robin van Persie, who claims he was deliberately stamped on, and the goal celebration in the game against the Togo international’s former club Arsenal. (Daily Star)

Or Adebayor’s punishment may consist of a four-match suspension. Daily Mirror

Don’t know about a four or six game ban but I’m sure Adebayor will at least be missing a couple of games when the FA hands down its verdict.

There were no draws in the Premier League this weekend and there have only been three in the 46 top-flight matches played in England so far this season. (The Sun)

Quite interesting.

- Like all sports, Football copycats successful trends from other teams. After Barcelona’s successful with Pep Guardiola you knew it was only a matter of time before other clubs would try to find former players to lead their clubs. The good so far is Juventus as Ciro Ferrara passed a tricky test beating Lazio in Rome 2-0. Then you have Leonardo who is quickly proving to be out of his element after seeing A.C Milan listless 0-0 draw against Livorno.

- Took some dramatics but a new coach often brings a postive result the first game in. After Paul Codred got sent off for Siena that gave Roma the momentum they needed to turn a 1-0 deficit into a late 2-1 win thanks to John Arne Riise’s 89th minute strike.

- You hear me praise Jose Mourinho a lot but sometimes it just boils down to a gifted player making a gifted play. A goal of the quality of Smauel Eto’o you can not coach. In a game against Parma that Inter were struggling to break through for Eto’o to find his way into this Inter side so quickly bodes well for this club going forward.

- This was a tricky week in the season. With players coming break from International duty then looking forward to mid week Champions League games these are often the week where some big teams are upset. Barcelona to their credit like Inter may not of been at their best but they too overcame a tough Getafe team 2-0 with Zlatan Ibrahimovic breaking the deadlock.

- Tipping my cap to Manuel Pellegrini who kept Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench against Espanyol and came out smelling like roses afterwards. The man who started in place of Ronaldo, Esteban Granero got Real Madrid on track scoring their opening goal.

- You have no idea how annoyed I was seeing Ronaldo score in the second half since the last time he scored a goal in a game that meant something for Portugal was back in Euro 2008. Mini rant over for now. Check back next month for more.

- He may not be the first player on Bayern Munich you think of but Bastian Schweinsteiger is the pulse of this Bayern Munich attack. After a rocky start everything is coming up roses for Bayern Munich beating Borussia Dortmund 5-1.

- His brother is about to start his MLS career but Jonathan De Guzman has a long career ahead of him in Europe. Added another goal to his tally, scoring from a late free kick to break the deadlock between Feyenoord and Willem. Only a matter of time before De Guzman takes the next step and joins a team in one of Europe’s top four leagues.

- It’s official I’m on the Benfica bandwagon. I love the way Jorge Jesus has his team playing. After beating Vitória Setúbal 8-1 two weeks ago, Benfica handed Freddy Adu’s new team Belenenses a 4-0 lesson this afternoon.

- No Tevez, No Robinho, No problem for Manchester City it appears.

- How massive will the build up to the Manchester Derby be now? You have Manchester City taking the first step in proving they are for real by beating Arsenal 4-2 and Manchester United keeps up their fine tradition of coming back to beat Tottenham this time 3-1.

- In 15 minutes Manchester City silenced all the naysayers going on about how easy their schedule has been to this point in the season. Once Arsenal scored on a well placed Robin van Persie shot just after the hour Manchester City could of closed up shop and been happy with the point. With Arsenal pressing on, City got their break on the counter attack to retake the lead. From there they did what all good times do. When they smelled blood Manchester City kept the pressure on unlike their previous games where City where happy sitting on the lead.

- How stupid is Emmanuel Adebayor? The main plot after this game should of been Manchester City proving they belong with the big boys (at least for one week.) Instead the only thing you’ll be hearing about leading into the Manchester derby is Adebayor dumb celebration running down to taunt the Arsenal supporters and his non accidental stomp on van Persie. Doing one thing which granted Adebayor has apologized for the goal celebration and you can chalk up to the
heat of the moment (now humming that song in my head). Add the stomp on top of that and people are going to believe something was up.

- I’d be shocked if this whisper doesn’t grow louder in the upcoming weeks. Robinho at this point in time is not one of the best eleven for Manchester City hurt or not. Anyone who has been watching City all season could attest to the fact Stephen Ireland has been the better midfield out there. Asking Robinho to be the leader of this Manchester City revolution is like the Beatles asking Ringo Starr to lead theirs.

- Speaking of whispers you have Arsene Wenger. I’m not going to kick Arsenal when they are down. It’s not an easy ask facing both Manchester teams on the road but the elite teams do not let any club swarm them like Arsenal allowed Manchester City to run over them in the second half.

- Sometimes I wish Elias Sports Bureau got into the football business. I’d love to know how many times an elite team goes down 1-0 within the first five minutes and comes back to win the game. You can’t fault it at the time but the worst thing that could happen to Tottenham was Jermain Defoe goal in the first minute. It took Tottenham off their edge and scoring that early against Manchester United is like slapping a prized fighter in the face right before the match. It was on from that point going forward as Manchester United knew they were in a game.

- You’d be hard pressed to find a trick Harry Redknapp doesn’t know in football. Loved how he told Jermain Defoe that Wayne Rooney was still the top dog as far as strikers are concerned after the game. When you have an in form striker you want to make sure he has extra motivation and setting the Wayne Rooney bar for Defoe to jump over is a smart one.

- Took him long enough but good to see Anderson scoring his first goal in the league for Manchester United. Hopefully any talk of a riff between Anderson and management is over as both club and player would of regretted a parting of the ways.

- You won’t hear many Manchester United fans say it out load but it’s becoming clear Ryan Giggs still has it and Paul Scholes doesn’t. It’s one thing being a non factor it’s another doing harm to the team. Still remember Scholes red card in a loss against Fulham last year and while his red card yesterday is largely a non story due to the win, United fans can’t be too comfortable seeing Scholes on the pitch anymore.

- When a team is on form a coach must hate the international break. Sam Allardyce was not one of those coaches as it gave his Blackburn side the time away to forget about their poor start. With two weeks to make it right Sam Allardyce was spot on getting Blackburn ready this week. Their 3-1 win against Wolves lifts them into the middle of the pack where Blackburn will be happy to stay in this season.

- Yossi Benayoun has had hat tricks for Liverpool against Besiktas, Havant & Waterlooville and now Burnley. Hey it isn’t the game’s elite but a hat trick against any team is impressive. After Pepe Reina caused a bit of a stir by saying “winning the league is not a realistic objective” the best thing which could happen to Liverpool is taking care of a tough Burnley team in impressive fashion.

- David James might as well book his vacation plans for next summer since there is little chance he’ll be included in next summer’s World Cup roster. Even worst for James it has little to do with him has Portsmouth is just horrible in every way shape or form. Nothing says you are a bad team by giving up three goals against Bolton at home.

- Sometimes it’s a thin line between genius and a bum. If Drogba didn’t score against Hull and Malouda repeating the same trick this weekend scoring in extra time, Carlo Ancelotti would have some explaining to do. In the end it doesn’t matter how it gets done, just that they get the job done. At 5-0 to start the season Chelsea are in the best spot possible. Not only are they in first place they have the added bonus of having the Manchester teams steal the headlines. United due to being the previous Champions and City due to their potential of cracking the top four.

- Just awful luck for Stoke and for one I hope this doesn’t start a bad run of form for them. They must feel snake bitten losing Thomas Sørensen and James Beattie due to injury then giving up the winning goal on a shot Steve Simonsen who looked shaky all game should of saved.

- Martin O’Neil must of felt he was back in Scotland once again getting the best of former Rangers and current Birmingham coach Alex McLeish in Aston Villa’s hard fought 1-0 victory. Birmingham fans are going to have to deal with some stick going into work tomorrow after losing their derby game.

- Welcome back to the Premier League there Damien Duff. First class goal.

Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez Out For Three Weeks With Knee Injury – Report

Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez will not be in action when the Citizens welcome Arsenal to Eastlands for their Premier League clash this weekend. Reports claim that the Argentine’s knee injury is set to keep him sidelined for the next two to three weeks.

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Despite Arshavin and Tevez missing this weekends game the upcoming Manchester City-Arsenal game still has plenty of sub plots with the Adebayor/Toure angle and can City prove they are for real with a win against one of the big four?

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is weighing up a move for Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, 23, who currently plays for CSKA Moscow. The Sun

Been surprised Akinfeev hasn’t been snapped up by a top team by now even if CSKA Moscow is loathe to let him go. With van der Sar not getting any younger and Ben Foster not looking like the second coming of Peter Schmeichel it doesn’t shock me if United is currently looking at another goalie.

Mexico striker Guillermo Franco, 32, says he is joining West Ham after his deal with Villarreal expired last month and a move to South American champions Estudiantes fell through. The Sun

This should have the same impact as Diego Tristán’s short spell at West Ham last year.

Sorry that’s all I got for today. Enjoy the games this weekend.

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Vicente del Bosque Rewarded With Spain Extension

Vicente del Bosque has been rewarded for guiding Spain to the World Cup finals with an extension to his current contract that will see him continue in the role until 2012.

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Vicente del Bosque is used to the pressure of having sometimes unrealistic levels of expectations with his time coaching Real Madrid. Considering he took over on the heels of Luis Aragonés winning Euro 2008 side it’s a credit to del Bosque who has not skipped a beat since taking over. Considering Roberto Donadoni was never able to make Italian fans forget Marcello Lippi it makes it even more impressive the job del Bosque has done thus far.

Zico out, as Ramos agrees to join CSKA Moscow

Zico took over at CSKA from the outgoing Valery Gazzaev at the beginning of the current Russian season and enjoyed instant success, leading the army club to the Russian Cup and Super Cup.

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Will be a culture shock for Ramos going from Real Madrid to Moscow. Life of coach clearly on display here. With a top Spanish job not opening up and a return to England out of the question sometimes you just gotta take what is available to you. Coaching for one of the biggest clubs in Russia isn’t the worst place to start a coaching comeback.

As this is being written must admit I’m surprised Diego Maradona hasn’t been sacked yet as the head coach of the Argentinian national team. The rope has never been very long for previous coaches to hang themselves on and one can easily say Maradona has been given plenty of rope during his lackluster tenure thus far.

Things got off well for Maradona when he was appointed head coach based on name value alone with early victories against the likes of France and Scotland. Despite having no previous coaching experience when Maradona was hired to lead Argentina into next year’s World Cup I remember thinking it wasn’t the worst idea ever.

Boy has Maradona proven me wrong there. Figured back then players at the highest level of football don’t really need a coach to hammer the x’s and o’s of the game but someone who the players can look up too as a mentor. Maradona would surely fit the bill has he is respected as a national hero in his home land.

Ever since that good start Maradona has proven this job is far over his head. Nothing illustrates this more than Brazil going into the lions den and exposing Argentina’s tactical weakness coming away with a 3-1 result. To make matters even worst members of the Paraguayan national team were chomping at the bit to face Argentina. How many times in recent years has that happen? Full credit to Paraguay who unlike most teams backed up the trash talk before the game onto the field and just about punched their ticket to South Africa winning 1-0.

Argentina will hate using Brazil as an example but they can point to Brazil’s 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign where they just sneaked into the World Cup and ended up winning. With Argentina currently in fifth spot they do not control their own destiny however. A fifth place finish will seem like a disgrace for fans of the national team has they would have to go through another round of home and away qualifying to clinch a spot in South Africa. Considering Uruguay and Venezuela are each only one point back it may take another hand of god in order for Maradona to even send his team to South Africa.