Published: Wednesday, 24 February 2010, 11:57PMDefiant Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini insisted his side did not deserve to be knocked out of the FA Cup at Stoke.
Mancini questioned the sending off of Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor, while also insisted he was happy with the spirit of his team. http://www.itv.com/sport/football/news/ ... fault.html
AUDIO BOLLOX: Mancini shrugs off pressure of Cup exit
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini says there is no extra pressure on him after the 3-1 extra-time defeat by Stoke in the FA Cup, and says Emmanuel Adebayor's sending-off was the game's turning point.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 535739.stm
TRANSFER BOLLOX
Arsenal are monitoring the progress of 18-year-old Ajax playmaker Christian Eriksen after receiving a recommendation from former Gunners striker Dennis Bergkamp. Daily Mirror
Guinea international Kamil Zayatte wants to quit Hull during the summer and is targeting a move to Manchester United, Arsenal or Chelsea. Daily Mail
Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure has ruled out a move to the Premier League, despite claiming that Manchester City and Arsenal are keen to sign him. Daily Mirror
WAG OF THE DAY - ;)
http://www.thespoiler.co.uk/index.php/2 ... lsea-white
OTHER BOLLOX
England manager Fabio Capello will be at Stamford Bridge on Saturday to watch Terry's Chelsea take on Bridge's Manchester City. The Guardian
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes defender Rio Ferdinand may have to re-evaluate his international career and limit his appearances amid growing concerns over his recurring back problems. The Guardian
Ferdinand could still be fit to play in the Carling Cup final on Sunday and is likely to lead England in next week's friendly against Egypt. Daily Star
Robin van Persie could return from his ankle injury in early April, according to Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk. The Arsenal striker had been expected to miss the rest of the season after rupturing ligaments on international duty in November. The Independent
Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz says Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is still not in the same class as Real Madrid's former Red Devils winger Cristiano Ronaldo, despite the ex-Everton star's heroics this season. The Times
West Ham sporting director Gianluca Nani is set to leave the club in the next 24 hours as new owners David Sullivan and David Gold continue to trim the club's huge debts. Daily Mirror
Portsmouth owner Balram Chainrai is likely to have his £17m loans to the club repaid in full if Pompey go into administration, while other creditors like Sacha Gaydamak bear the cost of the Premier League outfit's meltdown. Daily Telegraph
Pompey chief executive Peter Storrie insists he will not be sacked if the club go into administration. Daily Mirror
Portsmouth's Serbian defender Dusko Tosic is ready to leave the club on a free transfer after the Premier League withheld his registration. Daily Mail
Former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant was sent home from training by Real Zaragoza after showing up late for the third time in two weeks. Daily Mail
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez was quizzed about why he has put on weight since the Reds' Champions League triumph in 2005 during a bizarre press conference in Bucharest, prior to the Europa League last-32 return leg with Unirea Urziceni. "It is the stress of having to answer so many questions from the press," said the Spaniard. "Thank you and goodnight." Daily Mail
Everton duo Joseph Yobo and Yakubu were kicked off the club's flight to Lisbon on Wednesday because officials were unhappy with their documents. The Nigerian pair eventually took a late-night flight via Amsterdam with Toffees fans ahead of the Europa League clash with Sporting. Daily Mirror
FINAL BOLLOX
'Devastated' Wayne Bridge may snub World Cup to avoid John Terry
• Threat of no handshake with Chelsea captain on Saturday
• Left-back said to be 'in bits' and could forgo World Cup
Wayne Bridge is said to be 'torn apart' by the scandal involving John Terry and may not be able to play for England alongside him.
Wayne Bridge is so "devastated" by the scandal surrounding his former Chelsea team-mate John Terry he does not know whether he will even be able to shake hands with him when they play against each other this weekend. Bridge is considering pulling out of England's World Cup plans because he cannot bear the thought of spending so long with a man he now regards as a sworn enemy.
Bridge has been described as "in bits" by close acquaintances after the revelation of Terry's affair with his former partner, Vanessa Perroncel, and the Manchester City left-back is sufficiently aggrieved to consider snubbing Terry in the official line-up before the teams meet at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The former Chelsea player feels irreparable damage has been caused to his relationship with someone he once considered a trustworthy friend. His team-mates at City, as well as his representatives and other friends, have urged him to put on a dignified front but Bridge has told them that he is not certain whether he will be able to in what promises to be an unforgiving atmosphere.
The tensions have obvious ramifications for Fabio Capello ahead of a World Cup in which Bridge could conceivably line up alongside Terry in defence in the wake of Ashley Cole fracturing his ankle. England play Egypt in a friendly on Wednesday and Bridge is said to be "unsure" as yet whether he can actually bring himself to join up with the national squad if it means being in close proximity to Terry.
"People have been trying to persuade him to shake Terry's hand, even if he doesn't want to, because the alternative is that he loses some of the moral high ground," said a source close to the player last night. "But the fact is he simply thinks he cannot go through with it or that he would be lying to himself if he pretended everything was OK."
The source added: "He doesn't want to give up the chance of going to a World Cup but the simple fact is that the last few weeks have torn him apart. He is genuinely devastated and he is in that bad a state of mind he doesn't know whether he wants to go [to South Africa], especially if Ashley Cole is fit again and it means he will spend four or five weeks not even getting into the team."
Bridge is not a naturally confrontational person and it is understood there has been no contact between him and Terry since the tabloid revelations that led to Capello stripping the Chelsea player of England's captaincy.
Capello has said Bridge will be included when he names his squad on Saturday for the Egypt friendly and the sense of those closest to the player is that he does not want to walk away from the chance of replacing Cole. However, it has been stressed that there are no guarantees while Bridge feels so strongly.
At the very least, it seems likely that Capello will have to tackle the issue if the two players are to be expected to form half of England's defence but, as yet, the Italian has not contacted either Bridge or his representatives. Capello spoke briefly to Roberto Mancini, City's manager, after watching them play Stoke City at Eastlands two weekends ago but Bridge was mentioned only in passing.
Liverpool could face a transfer battle with Manchester City this summer in the race to land Spanish youngster Javi Martinez.
The Athletic Bilbao youngster has been on Rafael Benitez's for some time, and the Liverpool boss was reportedly considering a bid for the player last summer.
Martinez welcomed the interest back in the summer of 2009, saying: "Any player would want to be part of such a good squad."
A deal never materialised however, and now other clubs are reportedly showing an interest in Los Leones' talented youngster.
Signed for €6 million in 2006, Martinez made the switch from Osasuna to the Basque club without playing a senior game at the Reyno de Navarra stadium in Pamplona. He became a regular in his first season at San Mamés, and has since made well over 100 league appearances for the La Liga side.
The Spanish U21 international helped Bilbao to the Spanish Cup final in 2009, and his form on that run played a large part in the speculation of a move to Anfield.
Valued at £10 million in the summer, it has recently been reported that City are considering preparing a £26 million bid to meet the buy-out clause in Martinez's contract.
If Mancini does make the move, the Reds will be unable to match the financial muscle at City and lose out in the race to sign one of the hottest properties in Spanish football.
However, the player's previous admission about playing football for Liverpool will leave the Reds with half an eye on a potential summer move. With the additional interest, a bid in the region of £15 million might be needed to prize this starlet from his homeland
