There Is Only One Sinnacle

With World Cup qualifying out of the way focus should slowly return back to the EPL. Sadly that day won’t be today.

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas has cast doubt on his future at the Gunners by telling a Spanish radio station he does not know where he will be playing next season. (Daily Mail)

The media has always put Fabregas’s future in doubt without the need of him speaking to anyone. This much is known. Once day Fabregas will be sold. What isn’t known is if it’s going to be next year or five years from now.

Portsmouth look to have won the race to sign former Sheffield United striker Danny Webber, who is a free agent. Daily Mail

Don’t know if Portsmouth fans should laugh or cry at reading this headline.

Scotland manager George Burley says he will not quit his job, despite his side’s failure to qualify for the World Cup. Daily Mail

That is because Burley will or at the very least should be fired. (See told you slow day when I’m reaching for a story out of Scotland.)

Hong Kong billionaire Carson Yeung’s proposed takeover of Birmingham City has been delayed until 5 October. (Daily Star)

Just what English football needs, another foreign owner who is in it for the status and glory of owning an EPL team. Not a word was spoken from Yeung last year when Birmingham was in the Championship.

Aston Villa may be without defender Curtis Davies until the new year following surgery to cure a shoulder injury. Daily Mail

For Davies sakes I’m sure he is hoping a first team spot will still be waiting for him when he returns.

Bok of the net! (Daily Mirror), 3 Lions in Africa (Daily Mirror), Get de beers in (The Sun), Ooh-aah Africa! (The Sun), We can win it (Daily Express), Watch out world (Daily Star), World class (Daily Mail) and Job done (The Independent) are some of the newspaper headlines after Fabio Capello’s England side secured World Cup qualification on Wednesday night.

Must admit expected more out of the usually clever England newspapers.

To no ones surprise going to deal with the most recent round of World Cup Qualifiers.

- Might not make up for missing Euro 2008 but beating Croatia 5-1 is a great way to take the sting out of that disappointing era. Everything fell right for England before the game. Croatia was missing a key player in Modric, Croatia coach Slaven Bilic put his foot in his mouth by taking about how England lost their “Englishness” and “aggression” as key examples. Despite that it’s one thing having something in your favour before the game, it’s another to go out on the pitch and prove it. Congrats to England on making the World Cup in style. Now they will have to deal with the pressure of already being annotated World Cup Champions by the English press.

- Once Sweden got an own goal to give them the win against Malta didn’t expect much out of Albania against Denmark. Thanks to Denmark dropping points against Albania however it means they have work to do against Sweden to qualify. No chance of a Denmark-Sweden 2-2 draw to keep Italy out of Euro 2004.

- Portugal stills has a pulse. It’s faint but a pulse none the less.

- Considering Portugal’s plight it makes me mad that France is in second after playing so horribly in qualifying. Another 1-1 draw against group leaders Serbia. France could even consider themselves lucky to draw after Hugo Lloris drew a red card and gave Serbia a penalty. After missing out on Euro 2008, group leaders Serbia pretty much wrapped themselves up a World Cup spot.

- If and it’s a big if Portugal finishes in second I can assure you they will be paired up with France.

- Another ho hum 2-0 victory for Italy against Bulgaria. Aside from maybe Brazil no team deals with pressures of top level football like Italy. When they need a result Italy finds a way to get it done.

- Big match for Ireland next month against Italy. For the Irish to have any chance to finish first they need a win against Italy. Despite those long odds if you told Irish supporters they would give Italy a good fight and finish second most would be happy with still being able to qualify through the back door.

- Another thing that bugs me is seeing Scotland and Norway battle it out for second place on 10 points each. Neither club deserve the right to play next summer with the way they have played during World Cup Qualifying.

While all the i’s haven’t been dotted it appears former Deportivo la Coruna defensive midfielder Julian de Guzman has signed wth hometown club Toronto FC under their designated-player rule. After a three game road trip where Toronto went scoreless a jolt needed to be made if they plan on making the MLS playoffs.

After trying in vain to land another club in Europe de Guzman always had the multi million dollar offer from Toronto FC in his back pocket. Once nothing come together after nearly a month in the European season de Guzman wisely decided to take the money and return home to continue his football career.

Bringing in a designated player is always dangerous due to the make up of an MLS squad. How is Dwayne de Rosario the current face of the franchise who is making just over 400k a season going to mesh with a player making close to 2 million a season? Never mind some of the younger players who are making anywhere from 20k to 50k a season.

In a related move Toronto FC’s most popular player Danny Dichio has announced his retirement. This was suppose to happen at year’s end but needing salary cap room Toronto basically pushed Dichio out the door. He will remain with the team as an ambassador with an eye towards a future coaching role. Considering he was the face of a poor Toronto FC team maybe he should of been treated better on his way out than Toronto originally wanting to keep him home for the Seattle match saying he was too banged up (old) to fly cross country. Dichio should of at least received one last moment on the field where fans can show their appreciation to his work rate over the years.

Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is set to offer former West Ham defender Lucas Neill £40,000 a week to join the Black Cats and help solve their injury problems. The Sun

Going to be a slow news day when Lucas Neill and Sunderland lead the headlines. Nice chuck of change for Neill as £40,000 a week is a lot better then the £0 he is earning now.

Hull striker Daniel Cousin has turned down a loan move to Championship side Cardiff City. The Sun

Cousin played well when he first joined Hull last year. Then again just about everyone played well at Hull to start last season. It’s not a good sign for Cousin when his club was very willing to loan him out.

Burnley and Hull are to battle it out for out-of-contract Dutch winger Bolo Zenden, whose contract at Marseille has ended.
Full story: The Sun

Forget about Zenden’s Middlesbrough run in 2003-2005. Taking that out it’s been a slow slide down going from Bracelona, Chelsea, Liverpool, Marseille and now possibly to Burnley or Hull.

Manchester United defender Patrice Evra says he wants to be a babysitter when he quits football. Evra would also like to do a television comedy with team-mate Park Ji-Sung. (The Sun)

Usually players want to become coaches or sit on a beach after football. No idea why Evra would want to become a babysitter.

Inter Ace Wesley Sneijder Plays Down Injury Scare

The swelling in the 25-year-old’s right ankle has gone down and he could be in contention for a starting place in the World Cup qualifier against Scotland on Wednesday.

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It was only one game but Wesley Sneijder fit into the Inter attack seamlessly during their 4-0 win over A.C Milan. It would of been a shame for both club and player if Sneijder got injured seriously when he is due for regular playing time.

City defend Helan deal as new transfer row erupts

The 17-year-old defender moved to England in February and FIFA announced on Tuesday morning that they have been asked to look into the transfer.

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Pretty soon clubs are going to look at 16/17 year old players like 30 something year old men look at 16/17 year old girls. It’s best to keep a safe distance in either situation. These types of stories are not going away anytime soon.

Manchester City forward Robinho says he would be open to a move to Spanish club Barcelona. Guardian

Robinho doesn’t have the greatest timing with this statement considering the transfer window recently closed. The Brazilian playmaker should be more focused on proving his worth to Manchester City instead of thinking of a move away. It’s not like Robinho has had an impact so far this season.

Hull manager Phil Brown may have missed out on Sunderland striker Fraizer Campbell in the last transfer window but will now try to sign him on loan in January. Daily Mirror

So many things can happen between now and January to make this rumour not worth noting. Besides how many times does a player have to say no before Phil Brown takes the hint?

David Beckham says the competition for places on the right of England’s midfield means that he would face a tough task just to make it into manager Fabio Capello’s squad for the 2010 World Cup, if the team qualify. The Sun

He may not see a lot of action come the World Cup but it’s doubtful Fabio Capello would go through this dog and pony show if he didn’t intend for Beckham to play some role next summer.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has told Ryan Babel and Albert Riera, who appear to be unhappy at a lack of first-team football, to prove their worth when given the chance if they want more action. Daily Telegraph

Have a feeling if Benitez was to one day leave Liverpool, Babel and Riera wouldn’t be shedding many tears.

Aston Villa also have injury problems as central defender Curtis Davies is to have a shoulder operation which will rule him out until December. (Daily Mirror)

Big loss for Aston Villa who will now have to replay on two new defenders in James Collins and Richard Dunne to go along with Carlos Cuéllar.

Pop star Cheryl Cole, whose husband is England and Chelsea left-back Ashley, says she would buy Newcastle if she had the money. Daily Star

It couldn’t be any worst than the Mike Ashley reign of terror in Newcastle.

The main story to come from Brazil’s 3-1 victory against Argentina will be if Diego Maradona is in over his head. Watching Argentina leave Luisão unmarked on a set piece which lead to Brazil’s first goal would attest to this. My focus however is just how good the Brazilian National Team is.

Watching a country continually unperformed these last two years makes me appreciate Brazil even more. You see to beat Brazil a team needs to be better than their best. The reason being is Brazil rarely fails to show up when the pressure is on. (France 1998 would be one of the few examples.)

What amazes me is other teams always gear up to face Brazil. Just about every player from every country circles the date on the calender. Despite knowing whoever they face will be pumped up to face them Brazil always goes out there with a supreme confidence. Going into a lion’s den facing Argentina who needed a win in the worst way and yet it was Brazil who landed the first knockout punch. Even when Jesus Dátolo narrowed Brazil’s lead to one it didn’t faze them. A couple of minutes later Luis Fabiano, he of 11 goals in his last 10 games for Brazil scores to seal the win.

It’s not a World Cup but those boys in yellow did their country proud today. If you are Brazilian you must have a wide grin due to claiming bragging rights over a fierce rival. Sadly it’s been too long since I’ve experienced that feeling.

Italian newspaper La Gazzetta Dello Sport did a study on the Serie A starting eleven based on salary and no major surprises judging from the players on the list. Either you are an established Italian international or a high profile player like former Barcelona team mates Ronaldinho and Eto’o.

Here are the starting eleven XI

Buffon (5.5m); Maicon (4.5m), Lucio (4.5m, good work by his agent), Nesta (4m), Chivu (3.5m); Vieira (5.5m, no wonder Inter were willing to let him go for nothing.), Pirlo (5m), Sneijder (4m); Ronaldinho (7.5m), Eto’o (10.5m), Totti (5.46m).

Below are the salaries by team. Good job by Atalanta who despite being at the bottom of the list are usually comfortably in mid table at the end of the season.

Inter: €150m
Milan: €125.5m
Juventus: €115m
Roma: €69.7m
Fiorentina: €40m
Genoa: €38m
Napoli: €37m
Lazio: €32.9m
Palermo: €30m
Parma: €26m
Sampdoria: €24m
Bari: €20m
Bologna: €20m
Cagliari: €19m
Udinese: €18m
Siena: €17.5m
Catania: €17.5m
Livorno: €14.3m
Chievo: €13m
Atalanta: €13m

and the highest paid figured in Serie A? If you guessed the Special One you’d be right as Jose Mourinho banks €11 million plus per season.

Manchester United & Aston Villa Legend Dwight Yorke Retires From Football

Yorke, who also captained Trinidad & Tobago at the 2006 World Cup, joined Aston Villa in 1989, before moving to Old Trafford in 1998 for £12.6 million.

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In today’s modern game you can shoot a video of your nine year old playing football and a club like Manchester United may see it and you. Back when Dwight Yorke started out you had to have been special to even be on the radar coming from a small country like Trinidad & Tobago.

The man has gotta the most he could out of football. Yorke has played for one of the biggest clubs in the world. Won the Champions League, played in the World Cup, knocked up Jordan Price. All and all a great career. Wish him all the best in his post football life.

Sunderland have already started planning for the next transfer window by setting up a move for Honduras international striker Carlo Costly, who currently plays for Polish side Belchatow. Daily Mirror

If you are from Honduras Steve Bruce will scout you and possibly even sign you.

Manchester United could be the next big club to be punished with a transfer ban if they are found guilty of an illegal approach to Le Harve youngster Paul Pogba. (Various)

Have a feeling there are a lot of clubs worried right now in the wake of Chelsea’s transfer ban.

Former Lens general manager Francois Collado says that he warned Chelsea they would face a transfer ban by continuing their pursuit of Gael Kakuta. The Guardian

Must be lot of happy faces walking around the Lens offices this morning. Talk about David vs Goliath. Even if this is only the first shot in a long drawn out process, what a shot it was.

Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon is confident of tying midfielder Joe Cole down to a new contract after John Terry, Didier Drogba, Ashley Cole and Jon Mikel Obi agreed new deals. The Sun

This should make Nicolas Anelka’s morning.

Wayne Rooney has denied ever diving to win a penalty and claimed he is too honest to try to deceive a referee. (Various)

Think most people would agree with Rooney on this one. Far from a referee’s dream on the pitch still, with his temper sometimes getting the best of him.

The increase in searches for ‘Gael Kakuta’, the young winger at the centre of the Chelsea transfer controversy, was four times greater than the next highest item on Thursday according to Google. (Daily Express)

Wonder if Gael Kakuta is going to change his name when walking around London? If this ruling holds up it will be tough for Kakuta as he’ll always be known as the player who got Chelsea banned.