There Is Only One Sinnacle

Been rumoured for awhile now but Yossi Benayoun has officially left Liverpool to sign with defending English Champions Chelsea.

I’ve flipped flop on this signing for awhile now. On one hand Benayoun does have a habit of coming up big in big games. (His goal at the Bernabéu in the Champions League comes to mind) He’ll also prove useful to Carlo Ancelotti with Benayoun being able to play on the wing or in the middle of midfield. Then I think if it’s the end goal for Chelsea to win the Champions League does Yossi Benayoun really bring you closer to that goal? Jury will be out on that one but the price is right at 5.5 million for the 30 year olds services.

Catching up on some stuff but I’m excited for Roy Hodgson as he gets one last kick at the can with a big club. Considering Hodgson was the head coach of Finland three years ago this has been quite a nice upswing for Hodgson now landing at Liverpool.

Leaving Fulham can’t be easy but Hodgson in his heart must of known he has taken them as far as they could last year. With Liverpool it’s like a used Bentley with some engine work needed. Sure, it isn’t in tip top condition but with a little work it can turn around in a real hurry. It will be interesting to see what can of mark Hodgson makes on this Liverpool team as he looks to follow the Martin O’Neil mold and buying British. It will also be interesting to see if Hodgson can convince Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to stay put.

Be it Dunga resigned or was fired one thing is clear Brazil will begin a search for their next head coach who will hopefully lead them to World Cup glory on home soil in 2014.

Dunga to his credit did it his way and in the end he can’t have any complaints. He is smart enough to know that with Brazil only winning will do and you do it your own way thumbing your nose to everyone in the way well once you fail they are going to want their proud of flesh.

Leave it to the British to be up in arms over something they would have no problem cheering for if an English player had done the same thing. With Uruguay’s World Cup dreams on the line Luis Suarez did what he had to do, something just about every people would do in the same spot.

If Asamoah Gyan had scored his penalty then this wouldn’t be an issue. The odds were still in Ghana’s favour and they choked sad at is it and I for one couldn’t imagine losing like that but Suarez had to do what was best for his team and in that spot knocking the ball down with his hand was the only thing he could do to save Uruguay’s World Cup chances.

The punishment also fit the so called crime committed. Suarez got his red card and won’t play against the Dutch in the World Cup semi finals but if he didn’t clear the ball off the line with his hand the rest of his team mates wouldn’t even get the chance to still complete for the World Cup. Fair or unfair and the World Cup isn’t about fair or unfair no matter how many fair play banners Fifa holds up, Ghana had their chance to win it and couldn’t close the deal in the shot they were given. In events like the World Cup missing those chances usually come back to punish you.

Fernando Torres is on the verge of leaving Liverpool after his agent indicated the striker is bound for another Premier League club, with Chelsea at the front of the queue to sign the Spaniard. Daily Mail

Torres to Chelsea would only work if they got rid of Drogba. No way Drogba conceeds the lead striker role to Fernando Torres. The two just wouldn’t mesh together, after two games Torres will rip his hair out over not being passed to.

Chelsea are set to snap up Portuguese attacking midfielder Raul Meireles for £15m. The Porto star, who impressed during the World Cup, is seen as the first stage in Ancelotti’s midfield rebuilding programme after the departures of Michael Ballack and Joe Cole. Daily Mirror

Raul Meireles deserves a shot at playing with an elite club like Chelsea. No doubt in my mind that his work rate will see Meireles become a hit with Chelsea fans.

Arsenal have been approached about a deal for Sporting Braga’s Portugal goalkeeper Eduardo, 27, who has a £3.4m buy-out clause in his contract. Daily Mail

Arsenal could do a lot worse between the sticks than Eduardo who sure is cheap enough for the Gunners.

Manchester City have been alarmed by Wolfsburg’s £50m demands for Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko, leading the Eastlands outfit to inquire about a number of other forwards, including Inter Milan’s Mario Balotelli, Palermo’s Edinson Cavani, Mirko Vucinic of Roma and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema. Daily Mail

Plan B would have to be Balotelli. Cavani isn’t any better than Manchester City has now. Vucinic would have culture shock after playing in Italy for so long and I don’t think Real Madrid will give up on Benzema this year.

West Ham are ready to pip Espanyol for Mexico winger Pablo Barrera in a £3m deal and are also keen on signing Aston Villa midfielder Steve Sidwell. Daily Mail

Both would be smart moves for the Hammers. Sure Sidwell got paid but his career went off the rails when he signed with Chelsea a couple of years ago.