Football works in mysterious ways

Two stories have gathered momentum during this early part of a breezy, cold and grey week: An alleged e-mail sent from Manchester City CEO Garry Cook to a City player’s cancer suffering mother, and a fallacy relating to Steed Malbranque retiring from the game to care for his ‘ill son’.

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Ronaldinho’s Resurgence

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira, or Ronaldinho to most of us, is arguably one the 21^st century’s greatest players. A player who innovated the game as we know it today; a player who was influential in creating the current dominance by Barcelona in European football and a player who can boast two FIFA World Player of the Year awards to his list of achievements.

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The Football Quiz Challenge

What type of quizzer are you? Do you sit drunk and clueless in the corner? Or are you halfway to Nerdsville with a tank top on and a smart-arse smile?

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Transfer window winners and losers

Slam; that’s the sound of the transfer window shutting for another six months leaving Jim White, Dharmesh Sheth, Andy Burton, David Craig and all the rest in need of a good lie down. Perhaps later they’re decide to drop their “sources” who gave out as much misleading information as a broken compass.

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Owen Hargreaves: We Can Rebuild Him, We Have The Technology

In what would be one of perhaps the most surprising moves of this transfer window, given its late emergence and relative value, Owen Hargreaves has been linked with a switch to the blue half of Manchester.

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The Mystery of Transfer Deadline Day

31^st of August and 31^st January are two days each year which could easily gain national holiday status. Across the country men and women of all ages are gripped from the minute they wake up till the minute they go to sleep by the transfer deadline day saga. All PCs, televisions and phones are tuned into Sky Sports News showing live updates with a dramatic aura.

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North London in mourning

First was the absolute slaughter of Arsenal. To say I was shocked was an understatement and I’m no Gooner. The 8-2 thrashing of Arsenal was very telling. The 2-5 drubbing if Tottenham even more so. A quick glance of the Premier league table shows Manchester Utd occupying first spot, Manchester City in second and Liverpool and Chelsea occupying third and fourth respectively. The top two have a combined goal difference of 19.

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City, the real deal?

“Manchester City have a multi million pound squad, but can they challenge for top honours?” a question that everyone in football has grown accustomed to since the City Sheikh up in recent years.

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City start ominously but United also hit early rhythm

The latest twist to the early stages of what is shaping up to be the most exciting title race in recent memory is that Manchester City have ended their long running pursuit of Samir Nasri by finally managing to land the Frenchman for a fee of £22 million. The midfielder will add to the attacking guile and fluidity that has been on display in the opening two games of the season that has yielded two convincing wins, seven goals and an immediate return from the marquee signing of Sergio Aguero. The shackles finally appear to have been taken off by Roberto Mancini and the impending addition of the mercurial Nasri to such flair is ill-boding for the rest of the league.

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Diary Of A Sky Sports Soccer Saturday Reporter

Over the years I've learned not to turn Sky Sports down whenever they offer me work. But there are rare occasions when I've just had to say 'Sorry, No, I can't do it'.

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Saturday Gossip & News Round Up @ Mata on “verge” of Chelsea switch, Jagielka happy at Everton, Aguero can handle pressure

Blackburn boss Steve Kean has denied having a row with El-Hadji Diouf, but does admit the controversial Senegalese international is likely to leave before the close of the transfer window.

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Diary Of A Sky Sports Reporter

Hartlepool nil Huddersfield nil. Goalscoring opportunities nil (or at least it felt like that!). Entertainment nil. Reports on Sky nil. Hours driving to and from the game a lot more than nil. Ticket price nil. Money earned more than nil. And it's those last two which I try to remember on days like this.

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Get in De right Gea or you’ll never get out of the starting blocks....

£18Million is a lot of money for any player, its a price that seems to fit the position of a new number 10, or a tricky winger out on the left, its a price tag that comes with a lot of expectation right off the bat, for that much money, a player needs to be a game changer, a breath of fresh air for a team in need of that extra kick. It hopefully brings in an experienced head amongst the team, or someone who knows the game well to slot right into his new surroundings with consummate ease.

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Is Joey Barton a hero or a villain?

Whilst there have been many players who have gained the marmite status with football fans over the years (Robbie Savage), the most compelling of those has got to be Joey. The regrettable actions over the weekend have further enhanced this debate once more. Whilst Barton’s poignant tweets about George Washington have displayed intelligence, his theatrical tumble has again shrouded him in controversy. 

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Shay given chance to shine

Aston Villa have snapped up Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given for an undisclosed fee reported to be around £3.5million. Manager Alex McLeish signed him to replace Brad Friedel who moved to Tottenham. So is this good for Villa and Given?

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