There Is Only One Sinnacle

West Ham target Sebastian Giovinco has no intention of leaving Juventus, according to his agent. (Italian website www.tuttomercatoweb.it)

Giovinco agent could of just told the truth and said the player has no intention of leaving Juventus for West Ham.

Ledley King has opened talks with Tottenham over a new contract which expires at the end of the season but the defender will have to take a pay cut to remain at White Hart Lane. Daily Mail

This must be a tricky contract for Tottenham to draw up. How do you go about making a fair deal for both sides when the player is often hurt?

Manchester City are looking to secure defender Micah Richards on an improved five-year contract despite there being over three years left on his current deal.

Manager Mark Hughes said: “I’m not quite sure where it came from that Micah might leave. He is a big part of what we are doing here.” Manchester Evening News

Richards has done nothing to deserve the new contract but there is no denying his talent.

Arsenal have targeted Inter Milan frontman Mario Balotelli, with their scouts believed to have watched the £20m-rated star last week. Manager Arsene Wenger is also understood to be keen on Ajax’s 21-year-old defender Gregory van der Wiel.
Full story: The Sun

Between the £20m Balotelli who Mourinho won’t give up and van der Wiel it’s a safe bet Arsenal would choose the Dutch defender if they happen to make a move.

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes has begun talks with Bulgarian midfielder Martin Petrov over a new contract which expires next summer. (Daily Express)

Unless Manchester City breaks the bank if I was Petrov I’d wait and see. Petrov could start for many teams across Europe and at Manchester City he isn’t a lock to start from week to week.

Liverpool fans, unhappy with co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, are planning a 10,000-strong protest march on Sunday ahead of the Manchester United match.

Fans’ group Spirit of Shankly is believed to be drumming up support after hearing the Americans will be attending their crunch game. The Reds are on a run of four successive defeats for the Anfield club amid continuing unrest regarding the club’s future. Daily Mail

Yes cause it’s the owners fault Liverpool have been a big disappointment this season.

Liverpool keeper Pepe Reina has been assured by referees’ chief Keith Hackett that security staff at Anfield are on red alert to deal with any balloons and beach balls. Daily Mail

What about defenders? If they cleared the ball away it wouldn’t of been an issue to begin with.

Argentina boss Diego Maradona has refused to say sorry for his outburst live on TV, aimed at the media who have criticised the team on their way to scraping into the World Cup finals.

“I don’t regret it,” he said. “I apologise to the ladies but not to those who talk about football on TV.” The Sun

Nothing to do with the EPL just find it funny. Good for Diego to apologse to the ladies.

Benfica 5-0 Everton: Portuguese Eagles Tear Apart Sorry Merseysiders

Everton were looking to make it three Europa League wins from three away from home at the Stadium of Light, but it was Benfica who seized the initiative from the off and rarely relinquished it in a terrific attacking display.

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What a beautiful display of football being shown by Benfica. I don’t care what type of team Everton was fielded, they were clearly second best today. I’m not going to harp so much on one of my annoyances which is English teams dumping on the Europa League. What I am going to say is it’s a shame Benfica doesn’t have any TV coverage on this side of the ocean because the way they play have been great all season long.

Laudrup ruled out as Resino nears Atletico exit

Laudrup has been heavily linked with the post after Atletico were thrashed 4-0 by Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

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It’s been 24 hours since Atletico Madrid 4-0 trashing by Chelsea and I’m shocked Resino stills has a job. Only one of two things can occur here. Either the club can get rid of all their players or get rid of the coach and you know which one of the two is easier.

Tottenham will make a £6m move for Manchester City midfielder Michael Johnson in the January transfer window. Full story: The Sun

Michael Johnson remember him? The once highly touted player who hasn’t started a game since August 2008 due to injuries and competition. Moving to Tottenham would be more of the same for Michael Johnson who needs to find a game somewhere but he would be better suited for a loan move.

Birmingham will join the race to sign Emile Heskey if the 31-year-old England striker quits Aston Villa to boost his World Cup hopes. The Sun

Don’t see Aston Villa helping out their cross town rivals anytime soon.

Sunderland will make a move for Middlesbrough’s England Under-21 winger Adam Johnson, 22, in January. The Sun

Sunderland making a move for Adam Johnson would make more sense than Chelsea. With Gareth Southgate getting the sack who knows what is going on with Middlesbrough currently.

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill is interested in signing Barnsley’s teenage striker Reuben Noble-Lazarus. The 16-year-old became the youngest Football League player at 15 years and 45 days in a game against Ipswich in October 2008. The Sun

Arsenal are leading the chase for 14-year-old Montenegro midfielder Nikola Zvrko. Chelsea and Barcelona are also interested in the youngster. (Daily Mail)

Noble-Lazarus seems like an old veteran compared to 14 year old Zvrko. What is going to be the main selling point here? Is a team going to buy Zvrko FIFA 2010 to clinch the deal?

Rafael Benitez’s job as Liverpool manager is safe for now because the club cannot afford to sack him. The Spaniard has four and a half years to run on the £4.5m-a-season contract he signed in March, so sacking him could cost about £20m. Daily Mail

Money is one good reason to keep Benitez. The other is by sacking Benitez you are basically saying this is a lost season. Besides who are you going to find mid season with the same resume as Benitez?

Fox Sports has won the rights to three more seasons of English Premier League broadcasts in the United States through 2012-13.

Fox has been broadcasting the Premier League in the U.S. since 1998. It has sublicensed its rights in some seasons to Setanta USA and this season gave rights to 48 matches to ESPN2.

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Good news for Fox Soccer Channel as losing the rights to show EPL games would be a huge blow to their channel. Have a feeling ESPN decided to bow out provided FSC keeps on sublicensing games to ESPN 2 which have done very well ratings wise considering the time slot. Now they just have to get with it and offer games in HD.

Tottenham are lining up a £14m deal for Internacional’s Brazilian midfielder Sandro, who is also a target for Spanish duo Real Madrid and Barcelona. Daily Mirror

If Barcelona and Real Madrid have even some interest in Sandro, Tottenham won’t be signing him anytime soon.

Blackburn are monitoring England striker Emile Heskey’s situation at Aston Villa. The 31-year-old is struggling to secure a regular first-team place at Villa Park but Rovers may come in to boost his hopes of clinching a berth in the 2010 World Cup squad.
Full story: The Sun

This pairing does make sense. Heskey is the type of team first, big and punishing forward Sam Allardyce looks for.

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish is ready to make Tottenham defender Gareth Bale one of the first signings of new Blues owner Carson Yeung’s era in a £3m deal. Daily Mirror

It’s always troublesome when a player is hurt so often at such a young age but their is little question the talent is there. Don’t think Tottenham would sell Bale for £3m when considering his young and potential.

Everton manager David Moyes has slammed the Football League for their lack of respect for the Carling Cup, suggesting sponsors Carling must ask serious questions about the way sides are being forced to field weaker teams in the early rounds due to commitments in other competitions. Daily Mirror

Do agree with the fact it should be a much more respected cup. Any trophy a coach can win goes along way with the fans.

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola has welcomed this summer’s World Cup in South Africa as it provides extra incentive for his English players to perform for the Hammers this season. The Sun

It hasn’t reflected on the standings so far.

Barcelona Star Lionel Messi Deserves Ballon d’Or – Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo believes that Lionel Messi should win the coveted Ballon d’Or award and feels that Barcelona are still a better team than Real Madrid.

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This is only news because Ronaldo has said it out loud but there is no denying the dream season Messi has had. It would be a crime if Messi didn’t pick up the Ballon d’Or later on this year.

Sepp Blatter: World Cup Play-Off Seedings Should Have Been Announced Sooner

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has acknowledged that the way in which the seedings for the World Cup qualifying play-offs were decided could have been better managed.

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File this under a day later and a dollar short. One of the few times FIFA admits its mistakes but that do the bottom four seeded teams much good at the moment.

France Coach Raymond Domenech Riles Irish With ‘England B’ Jibe

France coach Raymond Domenech has found a way to make sure that Ireland’s players will be more motivated than ever ahead of their World Cup play-off by referring to Giovanni Trapattoni’s team as “a sort of England B side”.

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This comment is so stupid part of me thinks Raymond Domenech was misquoted. The again it is Raymond Domenech so you never know. Either way you know this quote will be tossed around in the locket room before Ireland and France kick off.

Manchester City are prepared to let Brazilian forward Robinho leave the club, with Barcelona his likely destination, if they can bring in French midfielder Franck Ribery from Bayern Munich as a replacement. Daily Mail

Manchester City must of seen how Bayern Munich acted when Manchester United tried to lure Owen Hargreaves three years ago. Bayern Munich didn’t get bullied then and Ribery is in a totally different class of player Hargreaves is. Should City ever pull off a Ribery transfer it will be done in the summer as Bayern Munich won’t sell him mid season.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is hoping to avoid a touchline ban for his remarks about referee Alan Wiley’s fitness by citing as his defence the precedence that no manager has been banned for post-match comments and that they were made away from the technical area. Daily Mirror

Deep down Sir Alex Ferguson knows he stepped over the line blasting Alan Wiley cause of his club’s performance against Sunderland. Even if Sir Alex has the run of the place in English football I’d be shocked if he avoided a suspension.

If Eriksson does quit Notts County for the Sweden national job he will be forced to take huge pay cut on his £10m-deal with the League Two side. Daily Mail

Which is why Eriksson ruled out the Sweden switch today. Sven’s bank account is one of the few things which seems to be recession proof.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed he plans to remain in football as long as he lives and cannot imagine ever retiring from the game. “If I have health, I want to work as long as I live but adapt to my potential,” said Wenger. The Sun

Health permitting why would you want to retire from football? Besides once you retire a person tends to permanently retire so to speak soon after.

Stoke goalkeeper Thomas Sorenson has agreed terms on a new two-year contract with the club. Daily Express

Sorenson has done well for himself at Stoke after Martin O’Neill basically called him rubbish during the end of his Aston Villa days.

Aston Villa striker Emile Heskey incurred the wrath of Fabio Capello last week by flouting the England manager’s rule on mobile phones. The 31-year-old was caught texting at the dinner table. The Sun

Not the best of weeks for Heskey. Still currently on Martin O’Neill bad side as he sits on the bench for Aston Villa and now Capello.

Arsenal winger Theo Walcott has been ruled out for three weeks after tweaking medial ligaments in his knee during a challenge by Birmingham defender Liam Ridgwell on Saturday. (Daily Star)

Classy move by the Birmingham fans to scream Martin Taylor names after Liam Ridgwell injured Walcott.

Portsmouth are ready to make a move for Tottenham forward Giovani dos Santos. Daily Mirror

Somebody should be making a move for dos Santos. I know his form with the Mexican national team is very different than European football but surely some team out there should give dos Santos some playing time.

Stoke defender Robert Huth looks certain to be charged by the Football Association and may face a three-match ban after appearing to aim a punch at West Ham defender Matthew Upson on Saturday. The Sun

Dont see anyway Huth avoids a ban. The ref may of missed but his smack on Matthew Upson was there for all to see on television.

Real Madrid winger Cristiano Ronaldo is set to become football’s first billionaire, earning £16,000 per minute. The former Manchester United star is being offered £1.5m a game by foreign tycoons to show off his skills in a series of friendlies. Daily Star

Take that Tiger Woods.

The inflatable beach ball off which Bent’s strike veered into the net was official Liverpool merchandise, part of a beach set recently reduced to £10 in the club shop. (Various)

Not even December and its quickly becoming a season to forget for Liverpool as they head into a must win against Manchester United.

European World Cup play-off draw

Portugal, meanwhile, will face Bosnia-Herzegovina and it is Greece-Ukraine and Russia-Slovenia.

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Must admit didn’t cry when reading the news this morning that Portugal has been paired up with Bosnia-Herzogovina for the right to advance into the World Cup. Kick to the teeth for Ireland facing France. Another reason I didn’t want Portugal to play Ireland was due to the Irish rightfully being pissed that FIFA moved the goal posts at the last minute by seeding the teams. Maybe that motivation can spur Ireland on against a France team who is there for the taking.