There Is Only One Sinnacle

Two years after one of the greatest out of the blue transfers leaving Real Madrid for Manchester City, Robinho has this time left Manchester City for A.C Milan.

I’m not sure A.C Milan signed Robinho but more like he fell into their lap with Santos not having the money to pay Manchester City and no other elite European club interested it was A.C Milan who came in late to seal the deal to take Robinho to Italy.

Like I said previously no idea who Pato, Ibra, Ronaldinho and Robinho will be able to share one ball but you can’t blame A.C Milan for making this deal. After there 4-0 win against Lecce and seeing Roma, Juventus, and Inter go winless A.C Milan couldn’t pass up the chance to go for the kill by signing a player with a world of talent in Robinho. A plus for Robinho is he doesn’t have to be the man at A.C Milan like he was excepted to be with Real Madrid and Manchester City. He can just play football with the limelight not solely focused on him.

Chose the above picture because for the most part these last 18 months have been a kick to the head for Klaas-Jan Huntelaar who was never given the time to adjust with Real Madrid and now A.C Milan.

To Huntelaar’s credit, atleast publicity who never spoke out in frustration about going from Ajax’s main man to a bit player with Real Madrid and A.C Milan. Here is hoping there is light at the end of the tunnel for Huntelaar as Felix Magath side Schalke have paid 13 million Euros for the Dutch internation.

Once word Schalke made an offer Huntelaar should of jumped at the chance to link up with old team mate Raul in Germany. The Bundesliga should offer Huntelaar a style of football he can excel in, even if he is playing for a cautious coach in Magath. When the choice came down to staying on the bench in Italy or getting regular playing time with Schalke, It’s an easy choice for Huntelaar to leave.

Try as they might to sign Jurgen Klinsmann the United States Soccer Federation have decided to extend Bob Bradley’s contract for another four years much to the disappointment of some U.S fans.

I’ve always been on the fence when it comes to Bob Bradley but for the most part I lean to giving him the axe. What I can say about this contract is just because Bradley was given a four year deal doesn’t mean he is going to be the coach at the next World Cup.

Four year’s is a long time for a coach to sit around and really do nothing. The Gold Cup means little and sure you can’t take anything for granted but the United States has one of the easiest roads to the World Cup. Not exactly appealing for a coach like Jurgen Klinsmann. Til then Bob Bradley can keep the seat warm for the next couple of years and if the United States have a slip up close to World Cup time I have no doubt the U.S.S.F will axe Bob Bradley for some high profile coach.

It took Javier Mascherano sitting out for Liverpool against Manchester City to make this finally happen but Barcelona’s plan B has finally been signed by the Spanish Champions.

I’ve made mention of this prior much to the dislike of Liverpool fans but this transfer saga was handled wrong by all parties, not just Mascherano when he decided to sit out. Everyone knew going back to last year Mascherano wanted out and quite frankly considering all that is going on with Liverpool these last couple of years if Barcelona comes calling most players are going to desire playing there. Mascherano gave it another year because Liverpool weren’t going to sell both Xabi Alonso and him. We all know from there how Liverpool’s season then turned out. Once the season ended, at the very least once Roy Hodgson was signed should Liverpool have started to sell a player who clearly didn’t want to be there anymore.

Besides this is Javier Mascherano not Torres or Gerrard we are talking about. Mascherano is a good player but it isn’t like he is a Liverpool legend. If his heart isn’t with Liverpool anymore, sell him and get it over with before it caused a distraction which it clearly did. In the end, wrong as it may be Mascherano did what he had to do. Loyality is a two way street and everyone knows football clubs aren’t exactly loyal either. If so Robbie Fowler or Sami Hyypia would still be a Red. It’s not like Mascherano grew up in Liverpool, he most likely doesn’t even like England. It’s business on both sides of the coin and both sides are guilty of bad business here but I still can’t blame Mascherano who should of been sold long ago. The last point I wanted to make is people saying Mascherano hurt his transfer value by walking out. Well, yes it gave Liverpool no cards to play with but they should of been smart enough to see something like this happening. Besides they paid close to 20 million for Mascherano which is on the high end for a defensive midfielder, unless Manchester City came calling even with Liverpool having all the power they weren’t going to turn a huge profit on the player. Getting rid of a player who didn’t want to be there plus getting most of your money back isn’t an awful return for Liverpool. It could always be worst, look at the loss Barcelona took selling Zlatan Ibrahimovic as an example.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has made a sensational bid to land Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor. Daily Mirror

I’ll say this about Manchester City’s transfer policy, they don’t sell players to rival EPL clubs. Can’t see Manchester City sell Adebayor to the club who defeated them for the last Champions League place.

Goalkeeper Shay Given has decided to stay at Manchester City, turning down the chance to rejoin his former manager Mark Hughes at Fulham. The Guardian

With the way Joe Hart is playing, Shay Given isn’t going to leave the bench anytime soon staying with Manchester City.

AC Milan are trying to lure Brazilian forward Robinho from Manchester City. The Guardian

I get it but I don’t get it. Robinho’s transfer value isn’t sky high at the moment so can see why A.C Milan would want to buy a player at his lowest point. I don’t see how Pato, Ronaldinho, Ibra and Robinho would gel in attacking. Too many players, not enough ball.

West Ham have underlined their desire to keep midfielder Scott Parker after rejecting a fresh £7m bid from Tottenham. Daily Mail

Scott Parker hasn’t exactly rushed out to put pen to paper on West Ham’s contract offer.

Aston Villa are being linked with a shock move for Everton boss David Moyes after the odds of the Scot’s joining Villa were shortened considerably on Monday. Daily Mirror

They have also sounded out unsettled Birmingham manager Alex McLeish, and former Blues boss Steve Bruce, about taking over at Villa Park. (Daily Telegraph)

Unless there is something going on in Everton I don’t know about Moyes is staying. He has put in too much work into this Everton club to leave now and it isn’t like Aston Villa is a step up. There would be riots in the streets if Alex McLeish crossed over and Steve Bruce hasn’t exactly set the world on fire for Sunderland after spending a ton of money last year.

Villa defender Luke Young says he has no idea why he was frozen out by O’Neill and feels the club is a fairer place now he has gone. the Sun

In other words Martin O’Neill is a prick.

Argentina striker Francisco Varallo, the last surviving player from the inaugural 1930 World Cup in Uruguay, has died at the age of 100. (The Times)

Oh the stories Varallo must of had.

Manchester United are preparing a £10m-plus Michael Carrick bid for Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell before the transfer deadline at 1800 BST on Tuesday. (The Sun) The Sun

Tottenham will make a late £15m bid for Aston Villa winger Ashley Young and they are willing to offer the likes of Robbie Keane, Jermaine Jenas and Alan Hutton as sweeteners. Daily Express

Aston Villa and Everton are not car dealership. It’s not trade in your clunker towards the purchase of a new player. Aston Villa can’t sell Ashely Young now cause it would look bad and kill morale in the dressing room but if things were different I’d actually consider cash plus a player or two type of deal.

Manchester United are monitoring the progress of 22-year-old Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole.
Full story: Caught Offside

Lee Cattermole would of been a perfect player in the 70′s/80′s era style of English football.

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp will launch a last-gasp bid to sign Sevilla’s Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano, while moves for Villarreal forward Giuseppe Rossi and AC Milan hitman Klass-Jan Huntelaar remain possibilities. Daily Mirror

Spurs have actually been told by AC Milan to come back with a better offer for Huntelaar after the Italians refused to let him leave on loan. The Dutch striker could cost £11m. The Sun

You know A.C Milan wants to cash in on Huntelaar with them owing Barcelona 24 million in a year’s time.

Wigan are hoping to finalise a £2m deal for Chelsea striker Franco di Santo, 21, and want Man Utd midfielder Tom Cleverly to join on loan. Daily Mail

Franco di Santo has been hanging around English football for three years now and has done nothing of note. Could see why Chelsea would sell him, can’t see why another English club would want him.

Newcastle are planning a £8m swoop for Dutch striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel, who last week hit a hat-trick for Utrecht as they knocked Celtic out of the Europa League. Daily Mirror

If it wasn’t for van Wolfswinkel (great name) scoring three against Celtic, few outside of Holland would know who he is.

Stoke are preparing a £7m bid for out-of-favour Spurs midfielder Jermaine Jenas, while Potters boss Tony Pulis is also keen on Portsmouth skipper Marc Wilson, Wigan striker Hugo Rodallega and ­Middlesbrough defender David Wheater. Daily Mirror

After losing three games already this season you know the pressure is on Tony Pulis to make a move before the transfer window closes.

Charles N’Zogbia’s £9m move from Wigan to Birmingham collapsed after he asked for an extra £10,000-a-week to take his wages to £50,000-a-week. The Sun

Can’t blame Charles N’Zogbia’s for asking but good for Birmingham striking to their guns. On the flip side I wonder why they even bothered making a bid for N’Zogbia if they had no plans to give me a raise?

Sometimes you have to cut your losses and that is the story behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Barcelona parting ways. At this time last year people pegged Barcelona as a dream team adding Ibrahimovic but right from day one the transfer threw me off. Barcelona anted up a ton of money plus Eto’o who in his own right was a top five striker. It was bad business then and it surely ended up as bad business now with Barcelona trying to get out of the 5 year 95 million dollar contract they handed Ibrahimovic.

The Swedish striker wanted to get out of dodge quickly to avoid another year where he and Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola just never seemed to see eye to eye. While scoring 20 goals isn’t a bad return, Ibrahimovic always seemed like a sqaure peg in a round hole in the Barcelona set up. With Barcelona the ball is always moving on the ground trying to break a through pass. While Ibrahimovic has good enough ball skills to play this style he is at his best holding up the ball or waiting in the box for a cross, neither of which fit Barcelona.

So it’s off to Italy where Ibrahimovic takes a 33% pay cut to join Milan in what is officially a one year loan deal with 24 million to follow next season. First Juventus, then Inter Milan and now A.C Milan. For a player who was bored with Italian football last year, Ibra sure gets around. Unlike Barcelona this is a nice piece of business for A.C Milan. After a quiet summer up to this point A.C Milan have grabbed the headlines signing Ibra and will they do it again by adding Robinho?

When I think of it there was a couple of reasons why I could never warm up to Liverpool these last five years. The main being Rafa’s excuses and arrogance, the other was Liverpool had no Portuguese. Well both ills have been cured as Liverpool have signed former Porto midfield Raul Meireles for £10.7 million to replace the Barcelona bound Javier Mascherano.

Of course I am biased but Liverpool couldn’t of found a better replacement for Mascherano. Meireles will fit right in from day one will quickly become a fan favorite with his work rate and selfless style of play. On the plus side Meireles can chip in a few goals unlike Mascherano but he does like to have a go of it from 35 yards only for the ball to sail 20 feet over the cross ball. Liverpool fans will have to live with that.

All and all this is a deal which suits but sides. Porto cash in on a player who going forward wasn’t a part of their plans with only one year left on his contract and Liverpool get to move forward after Mascherano decided to pack his bags.

Sometimes in football, like relationships things don’t work out for whatever reason. I originally loved Juventus striking early in the transfer market to sign Diego last year but it never seemed to work out between Diego and Juventus with the Italians gaints cutting they losses by selling Diego to Wolfsburg for a fee rumoured to be €15 million.

I remember watching the Juventus-Fiorentina friendly at the Rogers centre just before the World Cup thinknig how the mightly of fallen with Diego playing a meaningless friendly instead of being on the Brazilian national team. A move back to Germany where he excelled with Werder Bremen might get him back in the national team picture.

Wolfsburg coach Steve Mcclaren must be thrilled with the way this summer has worked out. Not only have they signed two quality players in Diego and Simon Kjær but they have also kept Edin Džeko from the likes of A.C Milan and Manchester City.

It may not be the Champions League but it’s still an important event to take part in. The headlines will be Juventus and Manchester City being paired up together but a day after I mentioned Ricardo Quaresma I find it interesting that he’ll travel back to Portugal to face old club Porto.

Group A

Juventus
Manchester City
Salzburg
Lech Poznan

Group B

Atletico Madrid
Bayer Leverkusen
Rosenburg
Thessaloniki

Group C

Sporting
Lille
Levski Sofia
Gent

Group D

Villarreal
Club Brugge
Dinamo Zagreb
PAOK

Group E

Alkmaar
Dinamo Kiev
BATE Borisov
FC Sheriff

Group F

CSKA Moscow
Palermo
Sparta Prague
Lausanne

Group G

Zenit St Petersburg
Anderlecht
AEK Athens
Hajduk Split

Group H

Stuttgart
Getafe
Odense
Young Boys

Group I

PSV Eindhoven
Sampdoria
FC Metalist Kharkiv
Debreceni

Group J

Sevilla
PSG
Borussia Dortmund
Karpaty Lviv

Group K

Liverpool
Steaua Bucharest
Napoli
Utrecht

Group L

Porto
Besiktas
CSKA Sofia
Rapid Vienna