There Is Only One Sinnacle

Don’t think this news will come as a shock to anyone that Steve McClaren contiunes his redemption from the laughing stock of the British press to a quality coach by becoming coach of Wolfsburg.

This is the perfect appointment for both club and coach. Steve McClaren is well suited to take clubs not considered the big clubs in their own leagues and lead them to new heights. (FC Twente and Middlesbrough) The big question is what will Steve McClaren do with the talented Edin Džeko who he will be hard pressed to keep at the club after failing to qualify for European football. Does McClaren sell Dzeko to fund other transfers or fight tooth and nail to keep him? Another question is if McClaren is going to go back to his old club in an effort to buy a couple of his favorite players?

Chelsea winger Joe Cole is set to be left out of England manager Fabio Capello’s preliminary squad of 30 players for this summer’s World Cup. Gary Neville, Wes Brown, Joleon Lescott and Scott Parker will also be omitted. Daily Mirror

Joe Cole was one of the first Chelsea players to sour on Jose Mourinho. Wonder if he regreats that now as at least he played under Mourinho. Aside from Cole’s goal against Manchester United it’s been a season nailed to the bench.

Chelsea will make a £20m move to take Tottenham’s Croatia midfielder Luka Modric to Stamford Bridge, allowing Portuguese midfielder Deco and out-of-contract winger Joe Cole to leave.
Full story: Daily Star

Don’t see what one has to do with the other unless it’s too balance the books salary wise. With Tottenham this close to Champions League football don’t see them selling any of their top players.

Manchester United hope to sign Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema for £25m and could use defender Nemanja Vidic as a £10m makeweight in a deal for the France star. the Sun

But Manchester United will not break their wage cap for Benzema, whose wage demands are almost £200,000 a week. the Independent

Manchester United can’t pay Benzema 200k a week, not with his current resume. Benzema making 200k a week would mean Wayne Rooney’s agent would want 250k a week.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is planning a summer clear-out, with striker Dimitar Berbatov, midfielder Michael Carrick and midfielder Anderson all likely to be shown the door. caughtoffside.com

Anderson and Nani were bought by Manchester United on the same day almost three years ago. Since then when one plays well the other is on the bench and vice versa. Last year the pundits were all saying great things about Anderson and dogged Nani. This year (in the second half) it’s been Nani playing well and Anderson in the dog house.

Manchester City are weighing up an offer for Sunderland’s £20m-rated striker Darren Bent as manager Roberto Mancini looks to shake up his forward line for next season. caughtoffside.com

The market value for Darren Bent in English football is around £20m but there are few clubs who are going to sell players to Manchester City for market value.

Tottenham are considering an £18m bid for Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano as Spurs manager Harry Redknapp targets a world-class forward to boost the club’s chances in the Champions League next season.
Full story: Daily Mail

Luis Fabiano and Tottenham would make an interesting fit. Only problem is Sevilla’s president José María del Nido most likely is still upset over the whole Juande Ramos saga of a couple of years ago.

Tottenham will sign Portsmouth goalkeeper David James on a free transfer this summer. Daily Mirror

Wolves hope to sign Ivory Coast striker Aruna Dindane, 29, for £4m from French side Lens, once he has played in the FA Cup final for Portsmouth, where he is on loan. Daily Mirror

I’m really interested to see who Portsmouth will feature in their first game in the Championship next season.

Juventus are on the brink of ditching their plans to lure Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez and are turning their attention to Sampdoria coach Luigi Del Neri. Daily Mail

Luigi Del Neri (The former Porto boss for like a week) does have a good record against Jose Mourinho plus he has done a great job with Sampdoria this year. Would be a great second choice for Juventus.

Former Arsenal defender Tony Adams has agreed a three-year contract to manage Azerbaijan side Qabala FC. (the Guardian)

At a million dollars per year i’d pack my bags too.

Chelsea captain John Terry received a single-word text message from former Blues boss Jose Mourinho after winning the Premier League title, it read: “Champagne.” (the Guardian)

Be Champions Today!

I’ve made no secret with my opinion how Jamie Carragher is quite an over rated defender. You want a player to bring the opposition down in the box? Jamie Carragher is your man. It’s one thing being a vocal leader which Carragher is, it’s another being in top form which Carragher hasn’t been at all this season.

I’m dismayed with the idea of Fabio Capello bringing Jamie Carragher back into the England fold. If the English backline is so weak they have to hope Ledley King’s knee holds up and also recall Jamie Carragher, it doesn’t bode well for their World Cup chances.

Considering the talent in the current English backline you can still make the case Jamie Carragher is one of the best 6-8 defenders in England. The reason this move leaves me shaking my head is because Jamie Carragher decided to call come on his England career. Whatever the reason, be it not wanting to play right back or being tired of playing behind John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, Carragher decided to focus on Liverpool, which is has every right to do but after doing nothing to help England get to the World Cup Carragher should not have been asked to make the trip to South Africa.

How do you feel if your a Gary Cahill, or Matthew Upson? Players who may not of played much in the qualifying campaigns but showed up to every training when their countries called them. How would you feel if your World Cup hopes got taken away because Jamie Carragher decided to do a U-Turn and join the England team right before the World Cup? I’d be shocked if some members of the national team do not end up resenting Jamie Carragher for playing in the World Cup on the backs of their hard work getting there.

To close, hoping for England’s sake Jamie Carragher doesn’t end up on the penalty spot looking nervous as can be like he did in 2006. I know one moment a career shouldn’t make but Carragher shooting before the whistle was blown then missing it on the second try will forever be linked into my mind when I think of Jamie Carragher who doesn’t deserve to make amids for that miss in this World Cup.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is ready to quit Anfield and join Manchester City in a £40m move.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Wonder if Steven Gerrard regrets not jumping ship to Chelsea (or Real Madrid) all those years ago. Something tells me he doesn’t but do have a feeling he wouldn’t mind being moved on this summer.

Former England coach, Steve McClaren, who recently led FC Twente to the Dutch Eredivisie title, will take over at German Bundesliga side Wolfsburg next season. imscouting.com

Steve McClaren planted his flag in Holland. There really isn’t much for him to do there considering FC Twente won’t be able to keep their best players. McClaren should take up the challenge Wolfsburg offers him.

Liverpool expect to sign Rangers defender Danny Wilson, 18, in the next 48 hours for £2.5m. Daily Mail

No clue who is taking control of the clubs transfer policy but he has done another good job signing Danny Wilson.

Athletic Blibao midfielder Javi Martinez is being tracked by Chelsea and Real Madrid but the Spanish side will not sell for less than £15m. (Daily Mirror)

Chelsea was built around signing players like Javi Martinez from teams like Athletic Bilbao. After the culture shock wears off going from a local club full of local players to playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, Martinez should easily justify the transfer fee.

Birmingham plan to end Ben Foster’s Manchester United misery with a £6m move for the goalkeeper.
Full story: Daily Mail

Makes too much sense for it not to happen. Manchester United could use that 6 million and put it towards another player this summer.

Arsenal are ready to take England winger Shaun Wright-Phillips from Manchester City for £5m.
Full story: the Sun

Considering all the money Manchester City has paid Arsenal in the last 12 months you’d think they would cough up more than 5 million for Shaun Wright-Phillips.

England manager Fabio Capello has sent e-mails to 45 players, including Fulham striker Bobby Zamora, advising them they are under consideration for this summer’s World Cup, while Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher is set to be named in Capello’s 30-man squad on Tuesday. (Daily Telegraph)

Sunderland striker Darren Bent and Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves are also on Fabio Capello’s e-mail list of players being considered for a World Cup place.
Full story: the Times

Maybe it’s me but I can’t picture Fabio Capello sending out an e-mail.

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson wants Uefa to consider postponing Wednesday’s Europa League final against Atletico Madrid in Hamburg if volcanic ash causes more travel chaos. the Sun

Roy Hodgson should be smart enough to know that UEFA doesn’t work that way. If the Champions League games didn’t get moved nor will the Europa League finals.

I’ll still stand by my post a couple weeks ago how this EPL season won’t go down in the history books as a memorable one for most non Chelsea fans. There was little drama at the bottom with Portsmouth, Hull and Burnley being by far the three worst teams in the league. Chelsea and Manchester United playing hot potato with the lead until Chelsea finally grabbed it by the throat in the final month of the season.

Despite scoring over 100 goals I’ll still contend this 86 point Chelsea team were not as good as the 95 and 91 point teams during their back to back championship seasons. With that being said this Chelsea were still the best team in England this season. When you go 6-0 against Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool you cant really put up too much of a defense against Chelsea being the class team in England was this season.

Full credit to Carlo Ancelotti who managed all the Chelsea egos on the pitch and in the front office perfectly. He could of saw the Chelsea season slip up thanks to John Terry but inside keep it together and guided his team to the summit of English football for the first time in four years with the chance to do the League/FA Cup double for the first team in club history when they meet Portsmouth next weekend.

Congrats to Benfica who for one year at least have knocked Porto off the top of Portuguese football. Needing only a tie to take the title Benfica have done what they have managed to do all year and that is win Rio Ave 2-1. Oscar Cardozo scored both Benfica goals breaking the deadlock with his 78th minute goal. Even if the score was 1-1 late Braga couldn’t make it interesting as they could only manage to draw Nacional 1-1. Full credit to Braga however who pushed a stacked Benfica team to the final week of the season. While a good team it’s a team who as a collective are better than the individual parts. Very few of the Braga are on anyone’s transfer shopping list which says a lot about how well they played as a team going against a Benfica side who just about all of their first team are being lined up as we speak by better European clubs.

I’m sure the 60 year man in this clip with his shirt off, bright purple pants who is humping the ground will be having a great night.

Some more pictures

Hope DiMaria and Cardozo end up stay but in the case of DiMaria just don’t see it happening.

Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland has met with the club’s football administration officer, Brian Marwood, to discuss the possibility of being allowed to leave Eastlands this summer, with Manchester United keen on the £12m-rated 23-year-old. goal.com

Will repeat, it would be foolish for Manchester City to sell Stephen Ireland. They may still do it but it clearly won’t be to Manchester United. No idea how much cash Aston Villa will have to spend but if I’m Martin O’Neill i’d be working the phones.

Chelsea’s Joe Cole, 28, will seek a move away from the Premier League if he cannot agree a new deal with the club this summer – with Serie A giants AC Milan and Inter Milan both keen on the England midfielder. goal.com

Now that I think of it I’m surprised the Joe Cole-Jose Mourinho link up hasn’t been mentioned sooner. Cole did crazy Mourinho up the wall during his time at Chelsea nor end up on the best of terms.

Denmark defender Simon Kjaer, who has been linked with Manchester United and Liverpool, is likely to move to Juventus if he chooses to leave Champions League chasing Palermo. imscouting.com

Doesn’t make sense for United to make a move for Kjaer unless they move Vidic on. If I’m a Liverpool fan I’d be hoping for a Kjaer-Agger or Kjaer-Jamie Carragher partnership with Martin Škrtel thrown into the mix.

Real Madrid officials have met with the representatives of Wolfsburg’s Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko, 24, who has been watched by Manchester United and Chelsea. imscouting.com

Real Madrid are ready to make a £30m bid for Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard. Daily Mirror

The season is fast upon us where Real Madrid will be linked to every player under the sun. Steven Gerrard would fit as well at Real Madrid as Michael Owen did. No way he plays in the centre of midfield and we all know how much he loves playing on the right side of midfield.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp will be given a £40m transfer kitty for the summer – and Manchester United’s former Spurs midfielder Michael Carrick is on the wanted list along with Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy. Daily Star

When you look at this Tottenham team on paper they are not far away from being considered a threat to win the league next year.

Fluminense hope to agree a deal with Chelsea midfielder Deco, 32, who wants to leave Stamford Bridge. Daily Mail

Once Scolari left it was pretty much lights out for Deco. With Frank Lampard around Deco was always going to be a bad fit in their midfield. Been a good soilder and went about his business. The least you can say is Deco never complained about the cards he was dealt with Chelsea.

Arsenal are eyeing Villarreal’s Spanish goalkeeper Diego Lopez, 28, who cost £5m from Real Madrid.
Full story: the Sun

Sign Joe Hart but Lopez is a fine choice as well.

Fulham have enquired about striker Frederic Piquionne, 31, who is on loan at Portsmouth from Lyon and will be available for £4m. Daily Mail

Not a bad piece of business to get 4 million for a 31 year old player.

Manchester City will give boss Roberto Mancini the cash to launch another major assault on the top four after City’s Abu Dhabi owner Sheikh Mansour backed the Italian to remain at Eastlands. the Sun

Mark Hughes got 18 months, Roberto Mancini should at least be given 12 months to get Manchester City into the top four.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is due to receive a seven-figure bonus and an improved contract after guiding the club into the top four in the Premier League. the Guardian

Hope Redknapp pays the right amount of tax on that bonus. Don’t want the tax man to come knocking at your door again.

A couple of months ago in this post mentioned how Manchester United were planning to tour North America with a stop in Toronto.

Well, it took a few months longer than I would of liked but my prediction has been proven true. Manchester United will indeed play in North America this summer and will even provide the oppsition in the annual MLS all-star game.

Onto the Toronto connection here, Manchester United will take on Celtic at the Rogers Centre on July 16th. Not sure if real grass will be installed at the Rogers but i’d be shocked if they play on turf. Celtic are getting quite used to coming to Toronto with this being their second visit here in less than year after coming over in September to face Benfica.

As for how the World Cup may effect this game. Looking at United’s roster it’s a good chance Edwin van der Sar, Gary Neville, Calgary’s own Owen Hargreaves, Michael Owen, Anderson, Dimitar Berbatov, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, the Brazilian twins, John O’Shea, Jonny Evans, Darren Fletcher, Darron Gibson and Federico Macheda. No Wayne Rooney or Rio Ferdinand but enough value there for Manchester United fans to come out and see.

Complete tour details

July 16: vs. Celtic at Rogers Centre in Toronto

July 21: vs. Philadelphia Union at Lincoln Financial Field (NFL)

July 25: vs. Kansas City Wizards at Arrowhead Stadium (NFL)

July 28: vs. MLS All-Stars at Houston’s Reliant Stadium (NFL)

I’ve stayed away from posting on the various preliminary squads for the World Cup as it’s not the final rosters. As an aside I do feel sorry for the players named on the preliminary squad who are then cut from the final World Cup roster. Talk about a rough one to handle. Usually it’s been 27-30 players being invited before narrowing it down to the final 23 but no we Portuguese have to do it differently from the rest as Carlos Quieroz has invited 50 players (or basically anyone with Portuguese citizenship) to try and make the World Cup final. My favorite part is when Quieroz said he has already decided on around 20 of the 23 slots available in his squad for World Cup 2010. Great, so 30 players are going to complete for 3 spots. Makes perfect sense.

Below are the list of 50 players invited.

Full Squad List

Goalkeepers: Quim (Benfica) Hilario (Chelsea) Beto (Porto) Daniel Fernandes (Iraklis) Eduardo (Braga) Rui Patricio (Sporting)

Defenders: Cesar Peixoto & Fabio Coentrao (Benfica) Rolando, Bruno Alves & Miguel Lopes (Porto) Paulo Ferreira & Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea) Fernando Meira (Zenit) Ricardo Costa (Lille) Duda (Malaga) Ze Castro (Deportivo) Henrique Sereno (Valladolid) Daniel Carrico, Joao Pereira & Tonel (Sporting) Miguel (Valencia)

Midfielders: Simao Sabrosa & Tiago (Atletico Madrid) Carlos Martins & Ruben Amorim (Benfica) Deco (Chelsea) Ricardo Quaresma (Inter) Maniche & Petit (Koln) Raul Meireles (Porto) Danny (Zenit) Nani (Manchester United) Vieirinha (PAOK) Pepe (Real Madrid) Pele (Valladolid) Eliseu (Zaragoza) Hugo Viana (Braga) Joao Moutinho & Miguel Veloso (Sporting) Paulo Machado (Toulouse) Nuno Assis (V. Guimaraes)

Forwards: Nuno Gomes (Benfica) Makukula (Kayserispor) Edinho (PAOK) Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) Liedson & Yannick (Sporting) Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen)

Below are my opinion on who the final 23 will be.

Goalkeepers: Eduardo (Braga) Rui Patricio (Sporting) Quim (Benfica)

Defenders: Fabio Coentrao (Benfica), Rolando, and Bruno Alves (Porto) Paulo Ferreira & Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Daniel Carrico (Sporting) Miguel (Valencia)

Midfielders: Simao Sabrosa (Atletico Madrid), Deco (Chelsea), Raul Meireles (Porto), Nani (Manchester United), Pepe (Real Madrid), Joao Moutinho & Miguel Veloso (Sporting), Danny (Zenit) Ricardo Quaresma (Inter)

Forwards : Edinho (PAOK) Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) Liedson (Sporting) Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen)

As the title would suggest I love football testimonials. I love the whole idea around it. You put everything aisde to honour a former player or staff member. Just a great idea all around.

Yesterday West Ham honoured famed youth coach Tony Carr with a testimonial match and just about everyone who came thourgh the West Hame youth system were there in person or sent well wishes. I bet it’s the first time Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and John Terry were cheered at Uptown part for ages. Another great thing about testimonial is seeing the likes of Lampard, Cole, and Terry wear a West Ham shirt. I remember when Derek Lowe came back to Boston in 2005 to be awarded his 2004 World Series ring. Lowe wore his old Red Sox jersey after he had signed with the Dodgers as a free agent the previous winter. Media types went on about how it was disrecpectful, again another thing most media types don’t get. Events like testimonial or awarding a World Series ring are about more then the player in question. You set everything aside to honour or give thanks to someone other than yourself. There is something pure in that. Lampard, Cole and Terry aren’t comitted to Chelsea any less and no one in England views it as such. All three and many other players there were just giving thanks to Tony Carr for all the work he has done in getting their careers off the ground.

Cole, Lampard, Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Fredo Ferdinand…..sorry meant Anton Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Michaek Carrick, Bobby Zamora, (can’t believe I included Zamora in this list) Jermain Defoe. Not many clubs can claim to have produced such talent. Shame for West Ham fans all of those players went on to play there best football elsewhere but it was great to see many of them come out to honour Tony Carr.