There Is Only One Sinnacle

- Might as well give the goal of the year to Dejan Stanković for his goal against Genoa. Posted Martin Palermo goal two weeks ago and that was impressive but Stankovic’s goal takes the cake. You can try this on the training ground and you’d be lucky to repeat what Stankovic did even once.

- For people who don’t like me gushing about Jose Mourinho should skip this part. What a performance and what a game plan Inter showed in their 5-0 victory of a very good Genoa team. You saw what Rafa Benitez was able to do without Torres and Gerrard, Mourinho on the other hand without Eto’o, Thiago Motta, Diego Milito didn’t have his side go out there and play with a woe is me mentality. Instead they proved why Inter is the class of Italian football.

- You’d be hard pressed to win a debate saying anyone else but Gianluigi Buffon is the best goalie in the world. That being said giving up seven goals in the last four games for club and country does suggest something is wrong with his knee.

- Been waiting to see goals like that from Pato. Class goal by Pato to give A.C Milan the win against Roma. Claudio Ranieri may not of been happy with the referee after awarding A.C Milan a penalty but if Roma didn’t try to sit on a lead it wouldn’t of been an issue to begin with.

- Things you don’t see everyday. Clint Eastwood at a Lyon match but the French giants didn’t make his day going down to Sochaux 2-0.

- Bayern Munich may not want to have Thomas Muller face the spotlight of the national team but pretty soon the 19 year old will be a key piece to Germany’s long term success.

- I’m sure Sami Hyypiä loved every moment of his Liverpool stay but something tells me he is pretty happy playing for a Bayer Leverkusen side who is in a tie for top spot in the Bundesliga.

- Found it interesting Manuel Pellegrini came out and said his defense made no mistakes in Real Madrid 4-2 victory over Valladolid. A little touchy Pellegrini seems to be on the subject.

- Even without David Villa still find it amazing with all the talent on display between Barcelona and Valencia no goals were scored. Real Madrid must of been pleased to see a small chink in the armour having Barcelona drop points.

- This season must be a nightmare with no signs of stopping for Villarreal and Atletico Madrid. Villarreal gave up the lead and ended up losing to newly promoted Xerez and Atletico Madrid has basically quit on Abel Resino going down to a 3-0 defeat against Osasuna. It wouldn’t shock me at all if Abel Resino loses his job anytime between now and their Champions League tie against Chelsea mid week.

- Quite the week for balloons. Two weeks ago mentioned how Rafa Benitez must of loved the timing of the international break. Having Torres and Gerrard come back hurt must have changed that opinion real quick. Liverpool is simply not the type of team who can handle losing their two best players. Granted few teams are but with Liverpool it just stands out more. Liverpool plays the game like an NBA team who clears out and let’s their star player score time and time again. Think Allen Iverson during his 76er days. It was almost appalling to watch the lack of fight these Liverpool players showed after going down a goal.

- As for the goal itself. Part of me thinks the fan is an idiot for letting the ball go on the field and the other part of me feels the ball should have been cleared before Bent struck it. Even with that tough luck goal it’s hard to feel sorry for Liverpool with their display out there. Not quite the same but remember Sheffield United defeated Manchester City in the FA Cup two years ago thanks to a bunch of balloons being on the pitch.

- When many pundits were picking Liverpool for the title I just couldn’t agree with their opinion. The main reason was Liverpool has never showed the ability to handle pressure. It’s one thing to defeat Real Madrid when few were giving them much of a chance. It’s another thing to handle the pressure when people are expecting a performance. The Champions League match against Chelsea last year comes to mind and pretty much this entire season reinforces this.

- Sir Alex Ferguson must of loved Manchester United win against Bolton. Not only does it lift them to top spot in the league but thanks to Matthew Taylor goal Sir Alex gets to hammer the point home that United need to play a full 90 minutes.

- It’s still early but this could be the best title race in many years. I may be biased but in the previous three years always felt Manchester United would find a way to win the league thanks to the Ronaldo factor. While they deserve the respect which comes with winning the last three years teams like Chelsea even with the Aston Villa defeat, Arsenal, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Liverpool an even Tottenham all should be thinking they have a shot.

- Great win by Aston Villa who always seems to play Chelsea tough as home. Remember the beginning of the end for Jose Mourinho was a defeat against Aston Villa back in 2007. After Drogba scored a goal which Brad Friedel would admit he should have saved Aston Villa was able to expose Chelsea on set pieces. There are a lot of ways you can judge a coach but seeing how they attack set pieces and defend them is a pretty good judge. Richard Dunne must love his new lease on life with Aston Villa and James Collins is exactly the type of under the radar signing who blossoms that every club looks for in the transfer market.

- I rarely do favourites but I can’t come up with a player I enjoy watching more than Andrei Arshavin in the EPL. Every time you see him with the ball at his feet there is a feeling something good is about to happen.

- Vito Mannone needs to learn from his mistake. It’s one thing gifting Lee Bowyer a goal by dropping a ball he should have handled in the box. Try as they might its Birmingham after all but against a top club Mannone needs to command his penalty area.

- Poor Portsmouth fans. Think of it this way. Let’s pretend Portsmouth is a guy. Now Portsmouth as a guy would rank about a 6. Basically your typical nice guy all things considered. This nice guy strikes up an interest in the girl who was struck in a relationship going nowhere and even worst are mistreated. We’ll call these girls Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe. Now considering the girl was so mistreated from the previously relationship these girls gave the nice guy a second look when all things considered they wouldn’t look his way normally.

Now the guy is happy as can be. Top of the world because he scored a girl that normally wouldn’t have had a shot at. Well a year
later the guy is heartbroken but the nice guy act can only last so long before the girl goes back to her old ways.

This sums up Portsmouth for you. Defoe has rejoined Tottenham, Peter Crouch decided to leave as well and now Portsmouth has to watch Tottenham near the top of the table while they anchor the bottom.

- Robbie Keane must have been quite happy to see Defoe pick up a silly red card with his stomp on Aaron Mokoena. Wonder if there is some back story there for Defoe to lose his cool like he did.

- Aruna Dindane needs to bury those chances. Portsmouth up a man created chances but couldn’t find a way to score. Good teams make other teams pay for those mistakes. Bad teams can’t seem to take advantage of the opportunities given to them.

- Keep making the kind of saves Heurelho Gomes made yesterday and Tottenham fans just might end up warming up to the Brazilian.

- Best way to endear yourself to a new coach is to score a late goal. David Moyes can’t be pleased dropping points against Wolves but Diniyar Bilyaletdinov equalizer saved Moyes from being asked tough questions about his team slow start to the season.

- Mick McCarthy would have been perfectly happy to split the points going into the game but if Wolves find themselves in a
regulation battle at the end of the season it will be games like Everton which will keep McCarthy up at night wondering what if they got the job done.

- Robert Huth you will have some explaining to do with your punch on Matthew Upson.

- I feel sorry for Gianfranco Zola who will either go down with this sinking ship or will be thrown off the boat just before it goes down. Being a nice guy is great but this is a result driven business and West Ham who desperately need to sort out their ownership situations haven’t got the job done this season.

- Must admit once I saw the final score regretted sleeping in and missing the East Lancaster derby between Blackburn and Burnely. Huge win for Sam Allardyce with Chelsea and Manchester United away coming up in the next two weeks. Nice birthday gift for Sam Allardyce however this quote from Big Sam was a tad confusion. “”It’s my birthday tomorrow, so obviously that was an early Christmas present from the lads.”

One of the ways I feel I’ve failed in this site is aside from a couple of you I really have no clue who visits this site. I’m about to get a side project off the ground (basically another website) what I would like to find out is if anyone is able to create a web banner (I’ll give you the idea I’m going for) and to retouch one picture.

If this is something someone feels won’t take up too much of their time please e-mail me at dmmd98@sinnacle.com or use the contact form.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Manchester City will resist any attempt by Barcelona to sign forward Robinho in the transfer window. “Robinho remains an integral part of our squad,” said a City source. “Any notion of a loan deal or a permanent deal is totally without foundation. We have had no contact from Barcelona and nor would we encourage it.”
Full story: Manchester Evening News

Manchester City may be better off cutting loose Robinho who will never live up to the hype of becoming the next Ronaldo or Messi but it doesn’t make sense for them to announce it two months before the transfer window opens.

Hull City boss Phil Brown is tracking Aarhus’ Danish international midfielder Jakob Poulsen ahead of a transfer window move. Daily Mirror

Poulsen will always be known to me as the man who scored against Sweden. If Hull are to make a move it makes sense to do it now as the price will go up in the summer if Poulsen has a good World Cup.

Inter Milan midfielder Sulley Muntari has insisted he will not be leaving Italy to join Tottenham this summer. The Sun

Players work hard to join an elite club like Inter. It’s not like Muntari hasn’t been a useful player despite a slow start to the season.

Chelsea will attempt to sign Middlesbrough winger Adam Johnson next summer if their appeal against their transfer ban, imposed for tapping up, is successful. The Times

Despite Johnson’s talent he’d join former Middlesbrough teammate and current Chelsea 3rd string goalie Ross Turnbull on the Chelsea bench for at least a year before breaking into the lineup.

Portsmouth are hoping to sign on-loan Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara on a permanent basis. The 22-year-old’s temporary deal at Fratton Park expires in January. The Sun

Could see O’Hara staying on loan for the entire year but it doesn’t make sense to stay on the sinking ship by signing on long term.

New Birmingham owner Carson Yeung has promised to go on an £80m spending spree next year with half available to manager Alex McLeish in January and half the following summer. The Sun

Never understood why teams go out of their way to release their transfer funds. If I’m running another club and I know Birmingham is sitting on £80m I’m making sure to get every last penny out of them.

Inter Coach Mourinho: I Need To Win Trophies To Keep My Job Unlike Wenger & Rafa Benitez

Inter coach Jose Mourinho talked about the pressure of coaching in Italy and the importance of midfielder Esteban Cambiasso to the team.

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Mourinho was way too quiet during the international break for my liking consider Inter are in a tie for top spot in Serie A. Before this little gem came out you even had Genoa president Enrico Preziosi taking a shot saying Gian Piero Gasperini is the genuine ‘Special One.’

If I was Mourinho I’d be annoyed too at the rope Wenger and Benitez are given since he was given a golden handshake after losing the league only once in three years in England.

Beckham to Milan ”a done deal”

“David Beckham’s return on loan in January is already a done deal,” Galliani told Sky Sport Italia.

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Don’t see why Beckham is jumping at the chance to rejoin A.C Milan but at the end of the day he knows what’s expected of him there plus the playing time should be enough to get a World Cup spot next summer.

Manchester City forward Robinho has declared his interest in joining Barcelona.

“Of course, I would like to play at Barcelona, who wouldn’t?” he was quoted as saying by El Mundo Deportivo. “They’re an incredible team. I’ve played against them and I know their quality.”

Being honest is good but being this open to the press won’t simmer down this rumour anytime soon.

Former Wigan star and current Zamalek striker Zaki seems to have fallen off the wanted list at Portsmouth.

Chief executive Peter Storrie told the News: “We know nothing about it. It seems other people have got involved in all of this. It’s probably just the player’s agent talking again – that’s usually the case.”

Zaki really must of rubbed people the wrong way at Wigan for another club to not touch him this season.

Portsmouth are hopeful of keeping Tottenham loanee Jamie O’Hara at Fratton Park until the end of the season. The News

Even with their depth at midfield surprised Tottenham let O’Hara leave on loan. The player may not look at the standings but he’ll benefit for the playing time he is getting this year.

Manchester United and neighbours City are battling it out for Inter Milan’s £20m-rated Brazilian right-back Maicon. Manchester Evening News

Feelings on this hasn’t changed. Maicon won’t be leaving mid season and even during the summer he won’t go leaving for 20 million.

Manchester City are ready to join the race to sign Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas, who is also on Barcelona and Real Madrid’s wish list. Daily Mail

Just about everyone feels Fabregas will leave one day. All players do, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen anytime soon. When Fabregas does go it won’t be to Manchester City due to his Arsenal ties.

Chelsea’s appeal against their transfer ban will be heard before Christmas, which if successful may pave the way for the club to splash out in January. The Sun

Would make a great Christmas gift for Chelsea. Usually have some opinion on how certain things will go but with this transfer ban have no clue how this will end up.

Avram Grant’s return to Portsmouth as their director of football has been delayed because of work permit problems. The Sun

Considering he worked for Chelsea and Portmsouth previously I’m sure the red tape will be cleared soon enough.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has reopened his feud with Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho by joking: “If he thinks he is Jesus, I am certainly not one of his disciples.” Daily Mirror

Mourinho stay had the best line when said of Ancelotti, “He may of one two Champions League titles but he is the only coach to lose a Champions League after being 3-0 up.”

Portugal sealed a place in the play-offs for the 2010 World Cup finals by beating Malta 4-0 on Wednesday and completed a reversal in form that had threatened to see them miss out on the tournament.

Nani, Simao Sabrosa, Miguel Veloso and Edinho scored to leave Portugal second in Group One on 19 points, behind Denmark but one point ahead of Sweden, and facing the prospect of a relatively simple two-legged game against an unseeded side.

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The dream is still alive and considering a week ago Portugal did not control their own destiny I’m feeling great right now. Not going to comment too much since I know I’ll come off as a Portugal fan boy which I try my best to avoid but for the first time in four years I actually have some confidence in this Portuguese team. During a tough head to head against Hungry they kept a clean sheet. Actually conceding goals has never been the problem they only gave up five goals in qualifying. Four of them to Denmark but with Liedson they now have a player who can punish weaker teams up front.

The job isn’t over yet even with FIFA moving the goal posts with seeding the eight second place teams. Personally I’m hoping for anyone but Ireland. One of my first visitors of this site and my first comment came from Ireland so it would be bittersweet depending on either outcome.

Nice goal Nani you ball hog but way to break the dead lock early and put me at some ease.

Uruguay 0-1 Argentina: Late Goal From Supersub Bolatti Puts Argies Into World Cup

Mario Bolatti came off the bench to write his name into Argentine football folklore with a late winner for Argentina against Uruguay to send the Albiceleste into raptures while the home side have to settle for a play-off place.

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Come next summer few are going to remember how a team got to the World Cup. All that matters is you got there and you never know when you’ll be able to catch lightning in a bottle. It wasn’t the prettiest performance but as I’ve said countless times the true mark of a quality team is being able to grind out a 1-0 win in a tough contest. Considering everything was on the line for Uruguay being able to walk away with a clean sheet has to lift Maradona’s spirits as he can now focus on preparing his team for next summer’s World Cup.

Tottenham are prepared to listen to Italian club AC Milan about a potential swap deal involving Spurs striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and Dutch forward Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Daily Mirror

After just moving to Milan it’s doubtful Huntelaar wishes to pack up and move to London considering he could of joined Spurs if he really wanted to during the summer.

Manchester City forward Robinho will ask for a January move if he fails to win first-team football at Eastlands. Barcelona are ready to make a £32.5m offer. The Sun

This rumour is picking up some stream. Manchester City early season success has little to do with Robinho’s form this year plus it appears Mark Hughes can’t seem to bring up the best in Robinho. Either that or Robinho is over rated to begin with which could also be the case.

Wigan are weighing up a move for Aston Villa striker Emile Heskey, who left the Latics last January. Heskey is keen to secure first-team football in order to cement his England World Cup place. The Independent

Hugo Rodallega would approve of this move but it’s doubtful Aston Villa will be selling a useful player who injuries can happen at any moment over a long season.

Notts County director of football Sven-Goran Eriksson is being lined up to manage North Korea at the 2010 World Cup finals.
Full story: The Sun

In other reports, Eriksson has turned down the opportunity to manage North Korea and is not interested in another national role.
Full story: The Times

Sven has the gift of being able to make some weird headlines. I’m sure he’ll love the North Korean night life.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp will be protected by his own team of bouncers when he returns to old club Portsmouth on Saturday. Daily Mirror

Redknapp must of seen the writing on the wall as he wasted no time jumping ship around this time last year.

Haven’t focused too much on the South American qualifying but looking forward to tomorrow matches as it takes my mind away from the final round of European World Cup qualifying tomorrow.

One of the main problems for this Argentina side is the fact that right before their biggest game of the year few people would of been able to guess who the starting eleven would be. Granted Diego Maradona took over halfway through World Cup qualifying but by now you’d would hope he’d be able pick a set starting lineup.

Below are the starting lineups for Argentina

Goalie : Romero,

Defenders : Demichelis, Schiavi, Heinze, Otamendi,

Midfielders : Mascherano, Gutierrez, Brana, Veron,

Forwards : Messi and Higuain.