There Is Only One Sinnacle

Roma Sign Bayern Munich Striker Luca Toni On Loan

Bayern Munich have confirmed on their official club website that they have loaned out striker Luca Toni to Roma until the end of the season.

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This news shouldn’t come as a shock since it’s been in the pipeline for weeks. Rarely do you see a story that makes perfect sense for all parties involved but Toni going to Roma was the exception. Bayern Munich gets to cut loose a player they didn’t have in their plans. Toni gets a return to Italy with an improving Roma team under Claudio Ranieri in a bid to boost his World Cup hopes. Roma get a goal scorer with very little cost involved. If Toni plays well then Roma can decide to make the move permanent, if not they can ship him back to Germany at seasons end. I do think Toni should link up well with Totti in Roma’s front line however.

Happy New Year to everyone. Thanks for supporting this site in 2009.

Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini will move for Liverpool trio Fernando Torres, Javier Mascherano and Steven Gerrard if the Reds finish outside the top four in the Premier League this season and are forced to sell their superstars. The Sun

It would almost be cheaper to just buy the entire club in that case.

Zenit St Petersburg, Lokomotiv Moscow, Spartak Moscow and Sporting Lisbon are interested in buying Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko but Spurs want £13m for the out-of-favour Russian and will not consider letting him leave in a loan deal. Daily Mirror

Off to Russia Pavlyuchenko goes then cause there is no way Sporting pays £13 million plus his wages.

Hull City boss Phil Brown hopes to sign Manchester City striker Benjani on loan in January, but only if the Eastlands club agree to pay half of the Zimbabwe star’s £50,000-a-week wages. The Sun

What a great contract to have for doing absolutely nothing.

Portsmouth have invited Manchester City to make an offer for their £8m-rated defender Younes Kaboul. Daily Mirror

Portsmouth would sell their office furniture too if someone came along wanting to buy it.

Pompey boss Avram Grant has been told to sell at least £6m-worth of players in January to stop the club being declared bankrupt. Kaboul, David James Kevin-Prince Boateng, Nadir Belhadj and David Nugent could all be up for grabs. The Sun

Now we see why this is the case.

Aston Villa have joined Liverpool and Tottenham in the chase for West Ham midfielder Scott Parker, who could be available for around £8m. The Guardian

There goes Stoke’s chances of signing Scott Parker.

Liverpool are hoping to land Real Madrid’s Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, 33, on a six-month loan deal. Daily Mail

It does make sense for all parties involved. It’s not like van Nistelrooy was given a hero’s send off when Sir Alex banished him from Manchester United before selling him to Real Madrid.

Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic is a £20m target for Real Madrid, with the Spanish giants set to make a move for the Serbian international at the end of the season. The Sun

Always dislike rumours concerning end of the season moves. So much can happen between now and the summer.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson could line up a January move for goalkeeper Hugo Lloris – but he will have to pay Lyon £20m for the France international. Daily Mirror

Manuel Neuer 1 and Hugo Lloris second in my opinions as to who are the best young goalkeepers in Europe.

West Ham United’s sporting director Gianluca Nani insists they are not interested in signing Fiorentina’s Romanian striker Adrian Mutu. Full story: The Independent

Nani could of completed that sentence by saying because Mutu would have no interest in signing for West Ham.

Everton will face competition from Arsenal and Manchester United to sign 17-year-old Belgian winger Maxime Lestienne. The Excelsior Mouscron star has been offered a trial after being recommended by Toffees midfielder Marouane Fellaini. The Sun

Excelsior is broke with all there players set to become free agents. Feel bad for most of their players who will scrabble to find work. Lestienne doesn’t seem to have that worry.

Chelsea have put youth talent scout Gary Worthington on gardening leave – in a bid to stop him moving to rivals Manchester City. Full story: Daily Mirror

I’ve only out this here because I like the term “gardening leave.”

Finally got around to watching the Chelsea Blue Revolution documentary which covers Chelsea rise in English football from 2004 to 2007. Don’t ask me why it took me so long to finally get to watching this. I was entertained by the documentary but in the end I felt so much more could of been told.

The first thing which bugged me about this documentary is that’s it’s only 90 minutes in length. Why in the world is this documentary 90 minutes? This isn’t Fahrenheit 911 which is a documentary meant to have commercial appeal. Blue Revolution is meant for hard core Chelsea/Football fans. It simply doesn’t make sense to really only give 30 minutes per year considering all the news Chelsea were making during this time period.

Events such as Luis Garcia goal against Chelsea in the Champions League, The battles between Barcelona and Chelsea were all touched upon with archival footage from press conferences most of us have already seen before. The best parts of this documentary is when the players sit down and talk about their experiences at the club. The problem is there was too little of that. You had John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba but what about the rest of this club? Everything about this documentary felt hurried where really this should of been three hours in length. What Chelse fan would complain about the extra time for a behind the scenes look at the club?

Also no Roman Abramovich. Would it of been too hard to ask him these two questions which started the Chelsea Revolution. What made you want to buy a football club? What then made you then decide to buy Chelsea? That’s all I wanted. Peter Kenyon did a good job in this documentary but he can’t answer those question.

My favorite parts of this documentary where some of the behind the scenes look at the club. Chelsea were in Los Angeles preparing for the season and they had this huge house party where you saw John Terry on the staircase with Snoop Dog of all people walking down the same stair case as examples.

But of course my favorite parts of this documentary were the ones during with Jose Mourinho. During this one clip where he is in a video training session he goes to his players, “I’m not saying you have to win this game…..pause…..but you can not lose.” The way he delivered that line for some reason killed me. The other moment which I enjoyed was when the camera followed Mourinho to Madame Tussauds where his wax lookalike was being unveiled. After all the press were gone Mourinho and the Madame Tussauds people where in a back office and they were like anytime you want to bring your family by to the museum just let us know beforehand and we can arrange a tour for you. Mourinho was like no, can’t do that. My family doesn’t like to be out with me cause it always turns into a commotion, then explained a story of him and his family being hounded by the press at Euro Disney now his kids prefer to go out without him. Now I know this is a documentary about Chelsea and not Mourinho but that was the insight I wanted to see more out of from the players/coaches with regards to all the things football wise which occurred at Chelsea during 2004-2007.

Below is a clip from the documentary

It didn’t take Toni, Belenenses’ newly-appointed coach, much time to clean house. In his first training session with the Portuguese club, Toni axed Freddy Adu and Igor, apparently wanting to deal with a less bloated squad.

Both players were with the team on loan, so they returned to their respective employers. U.S. international Freddy Adu will rejoin Benfica, according to Portuguese daily Record.

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Talk about being between a rock and a hard place for Freddy Adu after Belenenses don’t have him in their plans and with Benfica Adu would have a hard time making the bench, never mind playing. What’s next for Adu whose career has stalled since making the jump to Europe? Mid season is always a tough time to try and find a new club. My guess is Adu will be shipped off to a Danish or Swedish club whose season starts back up in March. Either way Adu’s World Cup chances seem slim at this point.

Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas insists his long-term future is with the Premier League club, despite interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid. (Spanish newspaper Marca)

Also remember when Cristiano Ronaldo made this pledge to Manchester United last year. I am more inclined to believe Fabregas however. Still won’t stop Barcelona from talking about signing Fabregas for the 1057th time.

Real Madrid have denied that Manchester City owner Sheik Mansour has made a £1bn offer to buy the Spanish club. (Associated Press)

Never understood this rumour. There is a reason why foreign ownership has invaded the British game. The previous British owners of football clubs were all too willing to cash in and call it a day. Clubs like Barcelona and Real Madrid are owned by the fans. Good luck getting them to sell their piece of a club that they are emotionally attached too.

West Ham are planning a January bid for former Chelsea striker Adrian Mutu, who is now playing for Italian side Fiorentina.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Oh yes like Adrian Mutu has many happy memories of his first stint playing in London.

Manchester United winger Nani is set to leave Old Trafford with his representatives talking to clubs in Spain and Italy.
Full story: The Independent

Nani could be part of a deal that brings Benfica winger Angel Di Maria to Old Trafford. (The Guardian)

The latter does make sense but one thing is clear, Nani future does not seem to be with Old Trafford.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp may turn to former club Portsmouth in January, with goalkeeper Asmir Begovic the target. The Sun

Makes more sense than David James. Begovic can be a back up for a bit but still has the potential to become a starting goalkeeper for an EPL club.

Stoke boss Tony Pulis is lining up a £9m offer for West Ham midfielder Scott Parker, who is also attracting interest from Tottenham and Liverpool. Daily Mirror

£9 million is a lot of money for Stoke to be spending. Also a lot of money for West Ham to be turning down.

Bolton have moved closer to signing Real Madrid midfielder Guti after he turned down a move to Turkish side Besiktas.
Full story: Daily Mirror

I can’t believe this story appears to have some legs to it. Ivan Campo and Fernando Hierro were two other Real Madrid players who ended up playing for Bolton but this was under Sam Allardyce. Big Sam is kind of charismatic, could see why a player would want to link him with him. In another life he’d be a good college football recruiter. Gary Megson however doesn’t seem like the type who I’d want to hitch my wagon too.

Birmingham are set to make German international striker Kevin Kuranyi the best paid player in the club’s history. Daily Mirror

Schalke can use the money but boy would it send an awful message to sell Kuranyi when they are second in the table.

Portsmouth’s players are set to miss out on being paid on time for the third time this season as their cash crisis continues.
Full story: Daily Mirror

A belated Christmas gift it seems from the club to its players.

Atletico Madrid striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle has officially completed his transfer to Sporting CP.

Sporting have paid approximately €6.5 million for the former Recreativo Huelva striker, with a further million payable upon a certain number of appearances and goals.

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If you are asking “Hey, didn’t Sinama-Pongolle briefly play for Liverpool?” The answer to that would be yes it’s one in the same. While I can understand Sporting pushing the panic after a horrible start to the season, I don’t like this move. Granted Sporting need someone who can step in now and score goals which Sinama-Pongolle should have the talent to do against the lesser teams in Portuguese football.

My problem with this transfer is €6.5 million is a lot of money for a Portuguese club to spend on a player who wasn’t able to make his mark at two top clubs previously with Liverpool and now Atletico Madrid deciding to move Sinama-Pongolle on. Porto and now Benfica get it when it comes to the transfer market. Take Benfica for example who recently signed Brazilian under 20 striker Alan Kardec for €2.5 million. Kardec isn’t going to step into the lineup right away and become a success but once he becomes accustom to European football his potential should come through, at which point of course big clubs come calling with a big cheque in hand. Angel Di Maria and just about every player Porto has sold in the last five years as examples. With Sinama-Pongolle, Sporting is buying high. While still young enough at 25 it’s unlikely another club is going to come calling with a large offer for the player even if he finds the success he failed to obtain with Liverpool and Atletico Madrid.

Mark Hughes who? Is the sentiment at the moment for Manchester City who are off to a great start under new coach Roberto Mancini. Despite this positive start the question which will be asked during this transfer window is what to do with Robinho?

While it’s been mentioned here, one of the issues with Robinho is the fact he isn’t a natural striker nor a natural midfielder. He is at his best when he is allowed to be in front of the midfield yet just behind the striker. That type of player is rare in English football where the standard has always been 4-4-2 football with two strikers leading the line up front and recently 4-5-1 to pack up the midfield. The only player off the top of my head to succeed as a similar type of player to Robinho was Gianfranco Zola back in his Chelsea days.

Roberto Mancini to his credit can handle unique players, case in point the way he helped established the moody yet gifted Zlatan Ibrahimovic as one of the best strikers in the world. Can Mancini have the same effect on Robinho? Who knows at this point, Robinho success will depends just as much as his team mates adapting to his style of play as Robinho will need to adapt to English football.

What if it simply doesn’t work out? What is Manchester City’s next move? What Manchester City could do and I realize this won’t be happening anytime soon is give Juventus a call. Manchester City has been linked with Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini, as they should be since Chiellini is twice the player Kolo Toure and Joleon Lescott are. Now if you are Juventus are you tempted to offer Chiellini and cash for Robinho? If so would Manchester City then be tempted even with Ivan Cordoba coming in? Juventus needs to put a jolt back into their season and signing Robinho to go along with former Santos team mate Diego would be a perfect move. Plus Italian football is suitable to Robinho style of play. Players like Francisco Totti, Alessandro Del Piero and Antonio Cassano are all similar to Robinho as neither at their best can be considered an out and out striker but each of them have stared playing in Serie A.

Arsene Wenger admits he may be forced to consider his options during the transfer window after the fresh hamstring injury for captain Cesc Fabregas. “I have said we will keep our eyes open and if a good opportunity turns up we will do it, but at the moment I haven’t got any ‘names’,” said the Arsenal manager, who is also likely to move for a striker to cover the loss of crocked Dutch international Robin van Persie. (Press Association).

Hope Fabregas isn’t hurt long term. With Portsmouth on Wednesday and then an FA Cup tie on the weekend playing Fabregas against Aston Villa was a chance Wenger needed to take. One can’t argue with the results.

Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic is one of 14 defenders being tipped to replace Real Madrid’s Pepe, who is sidelined with a right knee injury. Among the others are Sergio Canales of Racing Santander, Cleiton Xavier of Brazilian side Palmeiras and Benfica’s Brazilian player David Luiz, Spanish media reported on Monday.

Ivanovic may not like hearing this but there is little chance Chelsea will sell him. Thumbs up to David Luiz being thrown into the mix who is having a great year at Benfica. He won’t be sold either mid season.

Craig Bellamy has rubbished claims he wants to quit Manchester City and denies he led a player rebellion in the wake of Mark Hughes’ sacking. Daily Mirror

Mix in winning on the weekend plus the reaction Bellamy got from the crowd and he would be foolish to burn a bridge at another club.

Bolton boss Gary Megson is attempting to sign veteran Real Madrid midfielder Guti. Daily Mirror

Funny headline. Could only image the culture shock Guti would receive playing for Bolton.

Harry Redknapp has paved the way for Roman Pavlyuchenko’s Tottenham exit and says he would not necessarily need a replacement if the Russian quit White Hart Lane in January. Daily Mirror

2009 has been a forgettable year for Pavlyuchenko. Not only is he the forgotten man at Tottenham, he will be watching the World Cup with the rest of us as Russia has failed to qualify.

Portsmouth goalkeeper David James has refused to rule out a January switch to Spurs as he attempts to ensure he is England’s No 1 at the World Cup. Sun

I don’t quite understand these David James to Tottenham rumours. If Spurs really wanted James they could of had him in the summer when Portsmouth had the for sale sign on every other players. Besides after a rocky start to life in England, Heurelho Gomes
has been quite good for Tottenham this term.

New Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini wants record signing Robinho to remain at Eastlands, despite the the 25-year-old Brazilian striker being linked with a move away from the club next month. Mancini said: “The important thing for me is that Robinho stays here because he can earn a place in the history of the club.” (Various)

I’ll talk more about this in a post later on today.

Inter Milan boss Jose Mourinho is planning to make his first trip back to Stamford Bridge since he was sacked to watch his former club Chelsea play Fulham on Monday. Sun

Please let this be true. Love to see Mourinho in the crowd today.

Arsene Wenger: The past four years have been my best

Arsenal may not have won a trophy since the 2005 FA Cup but Arsene Wenger feels the past four years have been his most rewarding with the Premier League club.

“I think moving into a new stadium and keeping the team at the top in the last four years is, for me, best period at my club,” Wenger told the club’s official website.

“To move into a new stadium and yet still make some money in every single year without the team dropping the level, then maintaining a successful period in the Champions League, and doing reasonably well in the League has been quite difficult.”

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Wenger makes me laugh sometimes. What type of insult is this to the players who brought Arsenal success from 1996 to 2004? A new stadium with all that extra revenue should be used to push on with Arsenal quest to become the best in England and Europe. Instead it’s used as an excuse.

In the end Michael McDonald said it best.

Boy Michael McDonald has some pipes on him.