There Is Only One Sinnacle

Man City sign Robinho in record £32.5m deal

Manchester City have completed the British record £32.5million signing of Robinho with just minutes to go in the transfer window.

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Didn’t think I’d see the day where Chelsea get outspent in the transfer market. Don’t think many non Chelsea fans will be shedding a tear over this news. This is what happens when a group of United Arab Emirates billionaires out muscle one Russian billion in the transfer market.

I’ll give Real Madrid the final word on this transfer.

“We have sold Robinho for reasons of a human nature and for sporting reasons,” Calderon told Spanish television station Veo.

“The fact that he has accepted an offer from Manchester City says that he is not going for sporting reasons.

Really couldn’t of said it any better myself.

Man City taken over by Abu Dhabi Group

The move sees the club’s former owner Dr Thaksin Shinawatra, former Prime Minister of Thailand, leave Eastlands after agreeing a deal to sell his share in the Premier League outfit.

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This is the best news that Manchester City fans can wake up too. Thaksin Shinawatra was a fraud and clueless about running a football club from day one. The best thing he did was sell the club but somehow I feel he had no choice but to sell it to ease his money woes.

How 24 hours can change so much for the Special One. After Saturday draw against Sampdoria whispers were already being started about Jose Mourinho reign at Inter Milan. Fast forward to today and we have A.C Milan losing at home against Bologna, Roma giving up a goal against 10 man Napoli to draw and the Fiorentina Juventus game ended in a hard fought draw. Inter’s place in the standings now doesn’t look so bad.

Wonder who Barcelona are going to blame now? Can’t blame Ronaldinho, Deco or Frank Rijkaard. I’m also convinced that the Messi fan boys or people who can’t stand Ronaldo only watch Messi play once a month during the Champions League. How come Messi doesn’t take any stick for his team losing to a newly promoted team? Far too often in the last two years Messi has been unable to carry his team to victory when the rest of his teammates aren’t at their best. Can Messi be the best in the world? Yes he can? Right now is he the best in the world? Absolutely not.

Only bright side to Barcelona weekend is seeing Real Madrid losing to Deportivo La Coruna . Got to work defending those set pieces Real.

The Old firm got together this weekend and Rangers trashed Celtic 4-2. Sadly couldn’t catch the game but I did see one of my favorites Pedro Mendes scored a beautiful goal. Mendes will be a great signing for Rangers. Strong in midfield and can always be counted on for 5 well hit goals a season.

Best game I saw all weekend was the Monchengladbach vs Werder Bremen. Entertaining free flowing football with Bremen making it interesting at the end. Monchengladbach have quite a player on there hands in Marko Marin.

We start this week in review by looking at two managers going in two different directions. On one hand we have Martin O’Neill who not only won a battle of wills against Rafa Benitez in the Gareth Barry but at the same time he went out into the transfer market and wisely picked out players such as James Milner, Luke Young, Nicky Shorey, and Carlos Cuéllar. All of them either players about to enter their prime of players that fill a direct need for Aston Villa.

On the flip side you have David Moyes who will be working the phones feverish trying to strengthen his squad. After the first three games one can see that Everton is quickly losing the momentum built up form last year. No new faces that can provide intermediate help so far this term as transfer target after transfer quickly has slipped through Moyes finger.

Welcome to life in the Premier League Hull. Wigan looked like Brazil out there yesterday.

Three goals in three games. Not a bad start for Amr Zaki.

Despite winning two out of their first three games the heat is on Alan Curbishley. I’m split on this, Curbishley will lead a team to a comfortable mid table finish but I do doubt that he is the type that can lead West Ham into Europe year in and year out.

Newcastle, four games at the Emirates Stadium 11-0 combined scoreline for Arsenal. Don’t think Newcastle will be missing that place.

Life isn’t quite as easy in the Premier League as Scolari may of figured after week one. Good result for Tottenham grabbing a point against Chelsea.

Who was the person that said Shaun Wright Phillips had no scoring touch? Oh yes that was me. Guess you can go home again after his two goal performance against Sunderland.

Highlites include Everton trying to show Liverpool how it’s done as they face Standard Liège and Benfica with a tough draw up against Italian side Napoli. Below are the results of today’s draw.

AC Milan (ITA) v FC Zürich (SUI)
FC Timişoara (ROU) v FK Partizan (SRB)
Hertha BSC Berlin (GER) v Saint Patrick’s Athletic FC (IRL)
FC Baník Ostrava (CZE) v FC Spartak Moskva (RUS)
FC Metalist Kharkiv (UKR) v Beşiktaş JK (TUR)
Portsmouth FC (ENG) v Vitória SC (POR)
Kayserispor (TUR) v Paris Saint-Germain FC (FRA)
Sevilla FC (ESP) v FC Salzburg (AUT)
VfL Wolfsburg (GER) v FC Rapid Bucureşti (ROU)
UC Sampdoria (ITA) v FBK Kaunas (LTU)
CS Marítimo (POR) v Valencia CF (ESP)
NK Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v AC Sparta Praha (CZE)
Manchester City FC (ENG) v AC Omonia (CYP)
BSC Young Boys (SUI) v Club Brugge KV (BEL)
AS Nancy-Lorraine (FRA) v Motherwell FC (SCO)
Everton FC (ENG) v R. Standard de Liège (BEL)
SSC Napoli (ITA) v SL Benfica (POR)
AC Bellinzona (SUI) v Galatasaray AŞ (TUR)
NEC Nijmegen (NED) v FC Dinamo 1948 Bucureşti (ROU)
Real Racing Club Santander (ESP) v FC Honka Espoo (FIN)
APOEL FC (CYP) v FC Schalke 04 (GER)
PFC Litex Lovech (BUL) v Aston Villa FC (ENG)
FK Austria Wien (AUT) v KKS Lech Poznań (POL)
Vitória FC (POR) v SC Heerenveen (NED)
SK Brann (NOR) v RC Deportivo La Coruña (ESP)
SK Slavia Praha (CZE) v SC Vaslui (ROU)
NK Slaven Koprivnica (CRO) v PFC CSKA Moskva (RUS)
Brøndby IF (DEN) v Rosenborg BK (NOR)
PFC Cherno More Varna (BUL) v VfB Stuttgart (GER)
Stade Rennais FC (FRA) v FC Twente (NED)
AFC Ajax (NED) v FK Borac (SRB)
Tottenham Hotspur FC (ENG) v Wisla Kraków (POL)
FC København (DEN) v FC Moskva (RUS)
MŠK Žilina (SVK) v PFC Levski Sofia (BUL)
BV Borussia Dortmund (GER) v Udinese Calcio (ITA)
SC Braga (POR) v FC Artmedia Petržalka (SVK)
Feyenoord (NED) v Kalmar FF (SWE)
Hamburger SV (GER) v AFC Unirea Urziceni (ROU)
Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC (ISR) v AS Saint-Etienne (FRA)
FC Nordsjælland (DEN) v Olympiacos CFP (GRE)

Which is good cause it keeps things in perspective for me that way I don’t cross any lines. Don’t smoke, Don’t drink so we all need a vice and placing a wager once in awhile is mine. Point of all this? It’s the middle of the night and at times it gets boring so with that.

The degenerate gambling friend and I have a wager/contest below are the rules.

- Contest runs until December 1st 2008

- We each pick a minimum of 3 games to a maximum of 5 games per week/league

- Each game is graded as a $100 bet. For example if Manchester United was -300 to beat Portsmouth and I picked United it would be $300 to win $100. If Manchester lost or tied that would mean I’d be down $300 and if they won that would mean I’d be up $100.

- Whoever has more then most money (or lost the least) as of December 1st is the winner.

- The stakes are $500 in monopoly money of course per league

We are doing this for four leagues. The EPL, La Liga, Bundesliga, and Serie A.

If somebody is smart one may ask the question what happens if you split 2-2 wouldn’t that be a waste of time? The answer to that is yes. We are also doing the same for the NFL that way someone is up or down at least $500.

With that here are my picks and below them are my degenerate gambling friends pick. Of course I’m sure all of you fine people will hope I win. Or you can just skip these posts in future weeks whatever you prefer.

EPL

Sinnacle

Middlesbrough/Stoke under 2.5 -103

Aston Villa pk +112 vs Liverpool

West Brom +0.5 +100 vs Bolton

Newcastle over 0.5 goals -115 vs Arsenal

D.G.F

Portsmouth +0.5 -126 vs Everton

West Ham/Blackburn under 2.5 -134

Sunderland/Manchester City under 2.5 -135

La Liga

Sinnacle

Real Betis -0.5 +109 vs Recreativo Huelva

Real Madrid -0.5 +112 vs Depo La Coruna

Valencia -0.5 -133 vs Mallorca Racing

D.G.F

Numancia under .5 goals +129 vs Barcelona

Espanyol/Valladolid under 2.5 AND 3 -156

Santander/Sevilla under 2.5 AND 3 -140

Bundesliga

Sinnacle

Hamburg -0.5 +106 vs Bielefeld

Bochum +1 and +1.5 -111 vs Schalke

Bayer 04 Leverkusen -0.5 -125 vs Hoffenheim

D.G.F

Karsruher under 1.5 goals -124 vs FC Koln

Werder Bremen -0.5 -113 vs Borussia Moenchengladbach

Hertha Berlin +1 AND +1.5 -110 vs Bayern Munich

Serie A

Sinnacle

Palermo +322 to win vs Udinese

Chievo pk and -0.5 -125 vs Reggina

Juventus pk -104 vs Fiorentina

Torino over 1 and 1.5 -130 vs Lecce

D.G.F

Sampdoria/Inter Milan under 2.5 -125

Atalanta/Siena under 2.5 -114

Bologna Under 0.5 goals -123 vs A.C Milan

Napoli Under O.5 and 1 goals -103 vs Roma

Catania over 1 goal -130 vs Genoa

Group A

Chelsea
Roma
Bordeaux
CFR Cluj

All things considered Chelsea should be happy with this group. Roma should be concerned with Bordeaux in this group. The French league runner up features some talented players in Alou Diarra, Yoan Gouffran, Fernando Cavenaghi and David Bellion. Those players could end up posing a threat to Roma chances of making the quarter finals. Romanian champions CFR Cluj should enjoy the money received from finishing 4th.

Teams to Advance

1. Chelsea
2. Bordeaux

Group B

Inter Milan
Werder Bremen
Panathinaikos
Anorthosis Famagusta

Jose Mourinho should of been all smiles yesterday. Inter and Werder are head and shoulders the class of this group. The top seed usually over look the second seed and notice who the 3rd seed is when it comes to the difficulty of the group. Panathinaikos just doesn’t match up with either Werder Bremen or Inter Milan. In what should make Michel Platini smile Anorthosis Famagusta from Cyprus make their first ever Champions League appearance. At the end of the day Mourinho was bought in to bring Champions League success to Inter. This group stage should work to Inter’s advantage.

Teams To Advance

1. Inter Milan
2. Werder Bremen

Group C

Barcelona
Sporting Lisbon
Basel
Shakhtar Donetsk

Could almost repeat the same write up as group B. Basel is not going to worry anyone. Shakhtar Donetsk might make some noise after finishing 4th last year with 6 points but were in the mix up to the final game of the group stage. They have the best chance of unseating Sporting for the 2nd spot in this group.

Teams To Advance

1. Barcelona
2. Sporting Lisbon

Group D

Liverpool
PSV Eindhoven
Marseille
Atletico Madrid

Any group that Atletico Madrid was going to be drawn into was going to get the group of death tag. None of these teams can be happy with this group. Liverpool are no sure bet to advance. PSV Eindhoven made it to the final eight two years ago. Losing to Liverpool none the less. Marseille sold Samir Nasri but replaced him with another gifted French player in Hatem Ben Arfa. No clue who will advance from this group as this will be the group to watch this fall/winter.

1. Atletico Madrid
2. PSV

Group E

Manchester United
Villarreal
Celtic
Aalborg

This group should be an interesting battle between Villarreal and Celtic. I’ve already mentioned that I see Villarreal’s form dropping this term so the main focus will be if Celtic can make it out of the group stage for the third year running. The Scottish Champions did beat Manchester United in the group stage two years ago which may work in their favour knowing they can complete with the best team in Europe.

1. Celtic
2. Manchester United

Group F

Lyon
Bayern Munich
Steaua Bucharest
Fiorentina

If it wasn’t for Group D this could of been considered the group of death. Lyon leads this group but aren’t the runaway top team with Bayern Munich who makes its return to the Champions League and Fiorentina who will have something to say about who takes spot in this wide open group.

Teams To Advance

1. Fiorentina
2. Lyon

Group G

Arsenal
Porto
Fenerbahce
Dynamo Kiev

This will come not come as a shock but I either like Porto to win this group outright or finish 3rd and get bounced by Fenerbahce who made it to the final eight last year and gave Chelsea a good run once there. Arsenal should make it out of the group but they rarely shown the form in Europe as they do in England which is why I’m not picking them to finish 1st.

Teams To Advance

1. Porto
2. Arsenal

Group H

Real Madrid
Juventus
Zenit St Petersburg
Bate Borisov

This group is as cut and dry as cut and dry gets. Juventus makes it’s Champions League return after missing out the last two years. Real Madrid and Juventus if all goes according to plan which rarely does but still both should advance. Bate Borisov will be the red headed step child of this group and Zenit St Petersburg are currently 6th in there league and seem far removed from the team that won last year’s UEFA Cup.

Teams To Advance

1. Juventus
2. Real Madrid

It was a year ago today that Antonio Puerta lost his life playing for Sevilla against Getafe three days prior. It’s always a shock to the senses when you hear about someone losing their life playing a game. Seeing Sergio Ramos wearing a t-shirt remembering Puerta after winning Euro 2008 is still one of my most vivid memories of that tournament.

That time of the month where I rank the top ten countries in order of visits. Canada is now in 3rd place.

1. United States
2. Hong Kong
3. Canada
4. Australia
5. Jamaica
6. United Kingdom
7. India
8. Malaysia
9. Germany
10. Macao
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52 Uganda with 1 visitor - Thank you and hope you come back soon

First off I’ll raise my hand up and admit I’m a big Football Manager Geek. It has killed countless hours over the course of my lifetime. Well today the company that makes Football Manager set up a pre order for there new online version called…wait for this…..Football Manager Live.

Just going to link you to the Wiki page since it will explain in more detail what the game is about.

Link

My team is called Toronto United (lame name I know) and I’m in the Keane Game World. I figure some people out there also play Football Manager so wanted to give you fine people a heads up.

The Football Manager website will be linked below.

Football Manager Website

* Of note in case anyone here is cynical like myself. No affiliate link above. I don’t get a dime if you end up being interested and signed up.