There Is Only One Sinnacle

Manchester City forward Robinho has told his team-mates that he wants to quit the club to join Spanish giants Barcelona. Daily Mirror

Some would say Robinho quit on his club long before this news got leaked out.

Tottenham and Portsmouth are stepping up their pursuit of Marseille winger Hatem Ben Arfa. The Sun

I don’t think Portsmouth is going to come up with the cash to buy Ben Arfa since Marseille paid €13 million to sign him from Lyon two years ago.

Tottenham could also bid for former Portsmouth and current Al-Arabi striker Lomana LuaLua. The Sun

Why is the first thing which comes to mind. When players go to the middle east it’s usually because they are on the downside of their career and wish to enjoy one last payday.

Meanwhile, Napoli insist that Chelsea have not made a bid for £25m-rated midfielder Marek Hamsik. The Sun

Come January 1st I suspect that will change.

Liverpool, Tottenham and Fulham are monitoring Real Madrid striker Ruud van Nistelrooy’s situation after the Dutchman said he would consider a Premier League return. Daily Star

van Nistelrooy isn’t going to make the Dutch World Cup squad on Real Madrid’s bench. A change could do him some good if he stays healthy.

Gillingham have told Wolves they will have to pay more than £1.5m to land Canadian striker Simeon Jackson.
The Sun

Being Canadian gives Jackson a mention on this site. It’s not like Wolves have a depth of strikers with the likes of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and Chris Iwelumo.

With Uruguay being the last team to punch their ticket the field is set for the 2010 World Cup. You know a bunch of countries are hoping to be grouped with South Africa as they drew a top seed for being hosts. Have a sicken feeling Portugal is going to be grouped up with Brazil. Hope I’m wrong. The draw takes place on December 4th.

Pot 1

South Africa
Germany
Brazil
Italy
Spain
England
France
Argentina

Pot 2

Netherlands
Portugal
Switzerland
Greece
Serbia
Denmark
Slovakia
Slovenia

Pot 3

Mexico
USA
South Korea
Japan
Australia
Honduras
New Zealand
North Korea

Pot 4

Paraguay
Ghana
Cameroon
Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Nigeria
Uruguay
Algeria
Chile

In the post match Interview Thierry Henry had some explaining to do and to his credit I guess he was honest that it was a handball which did Ireland in. Hope Karma does exist and France suffers a cruel exit in the World Cup. It’s a shame that numerous football matches have been tainted with awful refereeing decisions over the years.

I’ll leave the last quote to Giovanni Trapattoni who should be used to this by now after Italy where given the shaft back in the 2002 World Cup not to mention Euro 2004.

“I am sad because the referee could have asked his linesman and Henry also,” the Ireland manager said. “I’m sure he could have asked Henry to confirm, but it was not done. I’m sure if he would have asked Henry, he would admit it.

“I am upset. We speak many times about fair play. I go to schools and speak about fair play. I speak with the young kids about sport. It’s important in life. Everybody saw the game. You know what happened.”

Los Angeles Galaxy vs Real Salt Lake in the MLS Cup Final. In other words it’s the team Freddy Adu left against the team David Beckham wanted to leave.

The better late than never edition.

Napoli play down speculation linking midfielder Marek Hamsik with a £25m move to Chelsea. (Press Association 10:47GMT)

This makes so much sense I’m wondering why it has never been reported til now. Anyone who saw Hamsik lead Napoli down by two goals only to defeat Juventus would be left convinced of his ability to become a World Class player.

Chelsea are closing in on the £40m signing of Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero. Daily Telegraph

I’m convinced of Aguero talents but English football is a different animal. I’d have my concern if Aguero could thrive under such a physical brand of football.

AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso is hoping to secure a January transfer move to Manchester City. Daily Mirror

Manchester City should forget about any flashy big name signings in January. Should they wish to break into the top four Gattuso would be the best player possible to get them there.

Manchester City are interested in Tottenham winger David Bentley and could bid £8m for the 25-year-old.
Full story: Daily Mirror

City could tempt Tottenham with a swap deal involving Martin Petrov and cash, in a bid to land former Blackburn winger Bentley. (Daily Star)

Another rumour which made sense in the summer and should happen at some point. Bentley is reunited with Mark Hughes and Petrov can then go to a team where hopefully his talents are valued.

Everton have renewed their interest in Standard Liege’s Serbian striker Milan Jovanovic. : Daily Mirror

Everton and Standard Liege already had a history with each history due to the Marouane Fellaini signing last year.

Referee’s rarely get credit for a good performance. Much like an offensive linemen in football they are at their best when you don’t notice him but wanted to take some time to tip my cap to Roberto Rosetti.

In a hostile and heated environment Rosetti reffed a brilliant contest between Portugal and Bosnia. Usually the road team gets the shaft when it comes to calls but Rosetti called it down the line. Just wanted France score on a clear hand ball. Even more reason to praise Roberto Rosetti.

With that, thank you. Portugal were already at an disadvantage with the awful ground which would effect their passing game but luckily Portugal were able to qualify on the football field instead of making it or missing out due to a refereeing error.

Not enough chicken bones in Bosnia it appears as Portugal has rightfully booked their place in the 2010 World Cup. Credit to Bosnia who struck with their game plan and were unlucky not to have scored in Portugal but the better team has earned the right to play in South Africa.

This World Cup qualifying can’t be considered a success with having to back door their way in but there are some positives to be taken. Portugal only conceded five goals in twelve total qualifying matches. Four of those goals were against Denmark and two out of the four were in extra time.

Most of the credit for that should go to Ricardo Carvalho and Bruno Alves who are the backbone of this team. Everyone knows how highly I think of Carvalho so this is nothing new but he is the type of player you can go to war with. You know he can be counted on in the big matches. It’s like he was secretly born Italian. Alves in his own right is a top ten defender whose goals helped Portugal on their way to South American. Throw Pepe into the mix and you have a defensive unit which will be very hard to break through.

Offensively, gone are the days of Figo and Rui Costa putting in crosses and through balls you or I could score on but one of the weakness of being an international coach is only having a team for one week at a time every couple of months. It makes things difficult when you are trying to instill your own brand of football like Carlos Queiroz is attempting. With three weeks of training before the World Cup hopefully everything will come together head of the World Cup.

Now I will end this post with the Raul Meireles goals which all but ended Bosnia and Herzegovina World Cup dream. What a feeling of bliss seeing this goal go in.

Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas is the number one transfer target for both Real Madrid and Barcelona, who are set to spark a £60m bidding war for the 22-year-old. : Daily Star

zzzzzzz

Chelsea are ready to make a £50m double swoop for Valencia striker David Villa and Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos. Daily Star

David Villa rumours usually bore me as well. It’s also highly doubtful Real Madrid is going to part with a Spanish international in Sergio Ramos mid season or even close season. Took much upside to sell.

The Blues have been urged by skipper John Terry to spend big in the January transfer window while their transfer ban is suspended. Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell, AC Milan playmaker Andrea Pirlo and Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Aguero are on the wish list. : Daily Mirror

It won’t be for the best long term but my first choice here would be Andrea Pirlo. When healthy the man is a winner. You seen his flashes of brilliance against Real Madrid in the Champions League and would make a great replacement for Michael Essien who will be playing in the African Cup of Nations.

Tottenham are lining up a £6m bid for Manchester United and England goalkeeper Ben Foster. The Sun

Foster didn’t actually do the best with his opportunity when given the starting spot. At a club like Manchester United it’s not often a player gets a second chance.

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce has launched a £5m bid for Middlesbrough centre-back David Wheater.: The Sun

That bid is way too low considering Sunderland paid double for Michael Turner and I’d rate Wheater in the same class.

Liverpool will resist any attempt by Barcelona to prise midfielder Javier Mascherano away during the January transfer window but may accept a £30m package in the summer. Barca may offer midfielder Yaya Toure and striker Bojan Krkic in part exchange. (Daily Express)

£30m for a player who does the dirty work but isn’t a match winner? I like Mascherano but Alberto Aquilani can fill the same role which will allow Liverpool to spend money in other areas.

Reds boss Rafael Benitez is lining up a £15m double raid on West Ham for centre-back Matthew Upson and left-back Herita Ilunga. Daily Star

Find it curious Rafael Benitez would go after half the West Ham backline considering all the goals they have leaked in this season.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has threatened to quit if the club sells Spain striker Fernando Torres against his will. : The Times

This threat doesn’t carry the weight it has in previous seasons.

French midfielder Lassana Diarra says that the Republic of Ireland were ”looking for trouble” at the end of Saturday’s World Cup play-off match at Croke Park, after Nicolas Anelka’s deflected goal secured a slender 1-0 advantage for France.

Players from both sides clashed angrily at the final whistle with Ireland midfielder Keith Andrews accusing Diarra of making an inflammatory comment, but the Frenchman is looking forward to the rematch.

Article

I’m of two minds here. On one hand I do think anything racist should come to light and be reported. Not knowing what Lassana Diarra said anything less than a racist remark should be chalked up to the heat of the moment and left alone.

None of these World Cup clashes are going to be friendly, just too much at stake. You had to have known Giovanni Trapattoni was going to play for a clean sheet that way they have a fair shot in the second leg. Gameplan was being played out til perfection too until Nicholas Anelka scored on a deflection. Til then France must of been frustrated over not being able to make the breakthrough and after Anelka scored the Irish players must of been frustrated knowing they now have an uphill mountain to climb in the second leg.

Former Hamburg midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has ruled out a return to the Bundesliga club this winter and has vowed to instead make the grade with Real Madrid.

However, he told the Bild newspaper today that he has no intention of throwing in the towel and returning to Germany.

Article

You know why you can’t go home again? Because you admit failure as a football player if you do. For van der Vaart to go back to Hamburg is he basically saying I’m a big fish in a small pond. His future may not lie in Real Madrid especially with Guti not planning on leaving anytime soon but if van der Vaart does move on it will be with a new team so he can claim “a fresh start.” Great player but more often then not football is about timing, both on the pitch and off. His move to Real Madrid was just bad timing and not a good fit.