There Is Only One Sinnacle

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

Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor is determined to leave Eastlands before the end of the transfer window if an offer comes in for him. Talksport

Life as Arsenal’s first choice striker doesn’t look so bad now doesn’t it? Serves Adebayor right for being a gaint headache in his Arsenal days. Back in 2008 I could of understood Adebayor being annoyed about his salary and wanting to play for A.C Milan. A year later after Arsenal and Adebayor have agreed to a new contract to pout like a child again, well karma comes to mind.

Tottenham are in talks with AC Milan over bringing Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar to White Hart Lane on a season-long loan deal. The move will include the option to buy at the end of the spell, with the sum of £12m thought to be the asking price. Daily Mirror

Newcastle and West Ham are keen on signing Tottenham striker Robbie Keane on loan before the transfer window shuts on Tuesday. Talksport

I’d be looking to sell Robbie Keane and using those funds to help buy Klass-Jan Huntelaar. The Robbie Keane to Newcastle rumours amuse me because of the special1tv interview where Rooney was asking Keane about Newcastle and he goes “I’m not that desperate.”

Liverpool and Newcastle will find out soon who has won the race to sign Marseille winger Hatem Ben Arfa. The 23-year-old has gone on strike at his French club in an effort to force through a move. German side Werder Bremen are also interested. Talksport

Maybe if Gerard Houllier was still in charge of at Liverpool Hatem Ben Arfa would join them. So much talent, so much of a headcase.

Fulham boss Mark Hughes is set to raid his former club Manchester City to sign striker Roque Santa Cruz and goalkeeper Shay Given. Daily Mail

The least Manchester City could do for Mark Hughes after tossing him aside is to throw a couple of players his way.

Ajax goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg is not interested in leaving the Dutch side for Arsenal following their Champions League qualification. Talksport

It’s good to see Ajax back in the Champions League. Just one of those clubs for me who should be in the Champions League after a couple of years away.

West Ham are poised to make a move for Hamburg’s 29-year-old right-back Guy Demel. Talksport

With Manchester United and Chelsea coming up, West Ham need help quick.

New Manchester United striker Bebe, who manager Alex Ferguson paid £7.4m for without seeing him play, was not included in the club’s recent 16-man reserve squad to face Manchester City – and was this week taken out of a training match because he was ‘off the pace’. Daily Mail

Loved how Sir Alex Ferguson defended Bebe against these “attacks” as he called them. No one figured Bebe to rush into the starting so now the press are hoping Manchester United end up looking foolish for singing such an unknown player.

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez called Birmingham boss Alex McLeish “disrespectful” over his pursuit of Latics winger Charles N’Zogbia. The Sun

Dog eat dog world and don’t think Alex McLeish is losing too much sleep over this. Besides Wigan in the end have accepted Wigan’s bid for N’Zogbia.

Oh Ricardo Quaresma why can’t you put it all together. Everytime I check a Besiktas Europa League score it seems Richardo Quaresma has scored today included. Life in Turkey is turning out nicely so far it appears.

Sorry about starting this off with Jose Mourinho but it always seems like whatever team he coaches they are the second seed in the Champions League draw. Be it having to face Real Madrid when Porto won the Champions League, or facing Barcelona twice with both Chelsea and Inter Milan. It’s never easy for the Special One when it comes to the Champions League draw.

Group A: Inter Milan, Werder Bremen, Tottenham, FC Twente

Group B: Lyon, Benfica, Schalke, Hapoel Tel Aviv

Group C: Manchester United, Valencia, Rangers, Bursaspor.

Group D: FC Barcelona, Panathinaikos, FC Copenhagen, Rubin Kazan

Group E: Bayern Munich, AS Roma, FC Basel, CFR Cluj

Group F: Chelsea, Marseille, Spartak Moscow, MSK Zilina

Group G: AC Milan, Real Madrid, Ajax, Auxerre

Group H: Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk, SC Braga, FK Partisan

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson is hoping to secure the funds to make a move for Sampdoria’s Italy striker Giampaolo Pazzini, 26, with a fee of about £14m likely. caughtoffside.com

Guess Roy Hodgson was watching the Champions League mid week also. Pazzini second goal against Werder Bremen was top class.

Manchester City are battling with AC Milan for Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahomovic, with the Serie A side set to target City’s Brazilian forward Robinho, should Ibrahimovic choose to move to Eastlands.
Full story: imscouting.com

Zlatan Ibrahomovic would be a better fit playing in Serie A but Robinho would be a lot easier to sign. Would also be interesting to see the magic Ronaldinho, Robinho and Pato can produce.

Bayern Munich’s Argentine utility player Martin Demichelis has turned down a £10m move to Chelsea, saying he wants to join Spanish side Sevilla. Daily Mail

Martin Demichelis is one of the most over rated defenders anyway.

Bolton manager Owen Coyle wants to bring Manchester United’s England Under-21 midfielder Tom Cleverley to the Reebok. Daily Mail

Cleverley would be a good replacement for Jack Wilshere. Wisely Arsenal wants to keep a hold of Wilshere this season.

Newcastle are eyeing a double loan swoop for Manchester City defender Dedryck Boyata and striker Roque Santa Cruz. Daily Mail

Take a guess where Santa Cruz will end up in. One minute it’s France, then Lazio and now Newcastle.

However, England manager Fabio Capello says he will not try to tempt the likes of midfielder Scholes, Manchester United defender Wes Brown, Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson and Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher out of international retirement. the Independent

All of those players are old, plus in the case of Brown and Robinson they have already called time on their England career.

Liverpool’s 3-0 drubbing by Manchester City on Monday has prompted manager Roy Hodgson to make a shock move for West Ham striker Carlton Cole, with the Reds prepared to offer £6m up front for the 26-year-old. Daily Mirror

No idea why the Daily Mirror wasted newspapar space on this rumour. Not a chance West Ham sells Carlton Cole for 6 million up front.

Hodgson is desperate to sort out the future of Javier Mascherano, who wants to move for family reasons, and has told Barcelona they will need to pay £18m in cash by the end of the weekend to secure the Argentine midfielder. Daily Mail

A new coach needs every player to be on board. Javier Mascherano was never going to be on board with Liverpool going forward.

Barcelona may offer midfielder Alexander Hleb and defender Martin Caceres in part exchange as they look at ways to tempt Liverpool to sell Mascherano. the Guardian

Like both players but neither is British so it’s unlikely both will make their way to Liverpool. Maybe one as a makeweight but not both.

If Liverpool do finally offload Mascherano, they may attempt to secure Marseille’s £7m-rated midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa. Daily Star

Liverpool should do backflips if they can get Hatem Ben Arfa for 7 million. Unlikely, even with Hatem Ben Arfa walking out on Marseille that the French side will sell him at that price.

Everton have been put off Tottenham striker Peter Crouch after being quoted what they consider to be an exorbitant fee of £10m. Talksport

Not in the English trasnfer market it isn’t. This is the same club who sold Andrew Johnson to Fulham a couple of years ago for double figures.

England manager Fabio Capello has come under fire from Real Madrid’s new manager. Jose Mourinho said: “He has a one-track relationship with players. You cannot go around just shouting at players. They need to feel special. Capello will not work for England. He does not know the players. They are frightened of him and they can’t play for him.” Daily Mirror

The special one isn’t one to hold back.

Always love transfers that come out of the blue as Lyon have spent big to sign Yoann Gourcuff who most people would consider the best player in France currently.

Lyon must be thinking if you can’t beat them, sign them as Gourcuff was the main reason Bordeaux snapped Lyon seven year reign on top of Lique 1 back in 2009. The 22 million euro fee Bordeaux recieved is impressive but it comes at a cost selling Gourcuff to a league rival. Lyon has signed Gourcuff, Marseille signed Loic Remy and Bordeaux now look to be a distant 3rd in the French top division.

Wonder what Lyon will now do with Miralem Pjanić as Gourcuff may push him out of the starting 11? If I was another European club I’d be making calls right now asking for the price tag on Pjanic.

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho rules out moves for Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor. Asked about Drogba, he said: “Again, no chance.” Sky Sports News

These Drogba to Real Madrid rumours where always silly. Selling Carvalho is one thing but Chelsea isn’t going to sell a player they can’t easily replace in Drogba. As for Adebayor it’s just the press trying to create a plan B.

Nice striker Loic Remy, who was heavily linked with West Ham, Stoke and Tottenham, has been cleared to join Marseille after undergoing extensive tests on a heart condition which was discovered during his medical (Associated Press, 1215 BST).

This last week must of been stressful for Remy. It’s one thing waiting for a move, it’s another having to worry about your life nevermind career.

Liverpool have told Barcelona that they want £24.5m in cash for Javier Mascherano after rejecting an offer of £18.8m, plus Alexander Hleb for the 26-year-old Argentine. goal.com

I like Roy Hodgson but he played this hand very wrong. It was clear after the World Cup Macherano wanted out. He isn’t Steven Gerrard, give him what he wants and cash in on a nice transfer fee. After Cesc Fabregas decided to stay at Arsenal, Liverpool could of created a bidding war between Inter and Barcelona. Instead of doing the smart thing, Hodgson tried to create the illusion that Macherano was happy at the club when it’s clear he wasn’t. Now he walks out of the club and Barcelona now holds all the cards at the moment. I also can’t blame Macherano in this mess. Yes, walking out is unprofessional but trusting Liverpool to run their affairs properly would be foolish considering the way Liverpool have been run these last couple of years. Macherano has said enough is enough cause it’s not everyday Barcelona comes calling.

Juventus have set up a £15m option to purchase former Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani, who they are set to sign from Liverpool on an initial loan. insidefutbol.com

I was wrong about Alberto Aquilani. Still didn’t think he got a fair shot in English football but can’t blame either Aquilani or Liverpool in this breakup.

Birmingham are set to make an improved £9m offer for Wigan’s Charles N’Zogbia and are also keen on £2m PSV Eindhoven left-back Carlos Salcido. Daily Mail

If Carlos Salcido played in England he’d be worth double that. Wigan would be foolish to turn down that amount of money for the talented but moody N’Zogbia.

Sunderland are interested in West Ham striker Carlton Cole after being rebuffed in their efforts to sign Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan from Rennes. Daily Mail

I don’t get why teams trip themselves over Carlton Cole. He may look the part of a big time striker but he is far from it.

Everton manager David Moyes is leading the chase for Peter Crouch – and will let Tottenham have contract rebel Steven Pienaar in exchange for the England striker. Daily Mirror

I see Tottenham moving Robbie Keane before they sell a player with a unique skill set like Crouch.

Out-of-contract Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre has turned down a move to Turkish club Kayserispor. The 33-year-old is believed to eyeing a move to the United States to join compatriot Thierry Henry at Red Bull New York. imscouting.com

Only way Mikael Silvestre makes the move if he agrees to play for 400k or less.

Brazilian forward Robinho is set to meet officials from Fenerbahce in Manchester on Tuesday in an attempt to seal a move from Manchester City before the 31 August transfer deadline. Daily Telegraph

I wonder if Robinho is jealous seeing his former teammate Neymar sign a five year contract extension with the club he’d love to play for.

Arsenal’s French manager Arsene Wenger believes England deserve to host the World Cup in 2018. “Nowhere else in the world can you travel into the centre of a town or city and find the football stadium squeezed between the streets where people live their lives,” he said. Daily Mail

Clearly Arsene Wenger has never been to Hamilton Ontario.