We're not mad! Mancini defends Manchester City's £130m spree after Sir Alex Ferguson's attack
Roberto Mancini says Manchester City's signing blitz is over for this transfer window, before hitting back at Sir Alex Ferguson's attack on his neighbours' 'kamikaze spending'.
James Milner's move from Aston Villa took Mancini's spending to more than £130million since the end of last season - more than five times the amount Ferguson has spent strengthening his squad.
Yet the Italian, who will not welcome his sixth new recruit until City have returned from tonight's Europa League playoff in Romania, dismissed the Manchester United boss's criticism and said the 11-time Premier League champions had spent lavishly in the past to take success to the club.
The City manager said: 'All the other teams have spent a lot of money in the past. I don't mean 15 years ago, but in the last one, two or three years.
'It's normal when you want to buy a good player that you have to spend money, this is the market. 'It is not important for me (what Ferguson says). I respect his opinion, but I repeat that United, like City, have spent a lot of money in the past.'
In his attack, Ferguson said: 'Over the last two or three years we have seen wealthy owners become part of clubs and therefore go on this kamikaze effort to spend their money.'
Mancini will decide after training today whether to risk new boy Mario Balotelli in tonight's clash against FC Timisoara. But he will stick with England keeper Joe Hart ahead of Shay Given, who was expected to be used in rotation for the European matches.
The latest snub is likely to hasten the Republic of Ireland star's departure. And if Mark Schwarzer completes his move to Arsenal from Fulham, Mark Hughes, who took Given from Newcastle in a £5.6m deal, is expected to make a move for the 34-year-old.
Given, who has also been offered an improved deal by Mancini, is eager to play regularly in readiness for Ireland's Euro 2012 campaign.
A source close to him said: 'Shay is confused and torn. He joined City to win things after 10 years at Newcastle. He just wants to play and can't see Mancini leaving Hart out now, even if he makes a mistake. He'll stand by his man.'
Meanwhile, Milner said he was targeting the Barclays Premier League title after joining City in a deal which takes Stephen Ireland to Villa Park.
The former Leeds and Newcastle midfielder said: 'It didn't take too much selling by the boss when you see the players here and the plans for the club. 'The last thing he said to me was, "be ready for the next game", and then he said, "be ready to win the Premier League", and that's my ultimate aim - that's what I want to do here. This is a great club going places very quickly.'
Rangers land Celtic transfer target Vladimir Weiss - as Nikica Jelavic threatens Rapid walkout to land Ibrox move
Rangers last night completed a stunning swoop from under the noses of Celtic for Slovakian World Cup star Vladimir Weiss.
Record Sport can reveal the 20-year-old Manchester City winger will report to Murray Park this morning to sign a season-long loan deal.
And while Ibrox chief executive Martin Bain was finalising the move late last night, Walter Smith's other top target Nikica Jelavic was considering walking out on Rapid Vienna ahead of their Europa League clash with Aston Villa tonight.
Anxious Rapid bosses even flew to Jelavic's hometown of Zagreb to hold crisis talks with the striker's family in a desperate bid to get the 24-year-old to play.
Jelavic has pleaded with the Austrians to let him fly to Glasgow to finalise a £4million move that will see his wages increase from around £3000 a week to a sum nearer £20,000.
Bain now hopes to be finally given the go ahead to sign the Croatian star this morning even though Rapid continue to dig their heels in. But while that standoff continued Weiss was making arrangements to travel north to join up with the Light Blues.
The move is another huge transfer blow to Celtic boss Neil Lennon who has missed out on a number of big-name targets.
As late as yesterday afternoon Weiss was still on Lennon's radar but Celtic had no idea he was set to move to their rivals.
When asked about the Slovakian ace yesterday Lennon said: "Weiss is a player we've been looking at for some time."
Weiss has not made City's star-studded 25-man squad for the Premier League but is highly rated by manager Roberto Mancini who has given his blessing to the loan deal.
The move will come as a huge boost to Rangers boss Walter Smith who has been desperate to land a creative wide player.
Smith and Bain made their first cash signing in two years last week when they paid Stoke City £750,000 for former England striker James Beattie.
Now Weiss has been tied up and Jelavic may soon follow as the crown jewel in Smith's limited summer spending spree.
Jelavic knows the deal could collapse if he is forced to play against Villa as he will then be cup-tied for Rangers' Champions League campaign.
He said: "If the club is asking me to play against Villa, I'll play. But I can hardly concentrate on the match when, over the past few days, I was sold several times. My head is all mixed up."
Jelavic trained on Tuesday but demanded talks with club chiefs and requested his immediate release before the Villa game.
This was rejected and his agent, Velibor Momcilovic, then told Rapid the player did not want to play for the club again.
He said: "Nikica wants to go to Rangers right away. His heart is already in Glasgow."
But Rapid sporting director Alfred Hortnagl insists Jelavic will play tonight.
He said: "It is simply too late to agree to the transfer. It would be irresponsible just before an important game against Villa to sell such a player and not have anyone to cover."
SHAY GIVEN is ready to quit Manchester City after receiving a Europa League snub from Roberto Mancini.
Given travelled to Romania for the qualifier against minnows Timisoara tonight believing he would get the chance to prove why he should be No1 at Eastlands.
But he was amazed to discover that Joe Hart will again start in goal, leaving him fuming and considering asking for a loan to Arsenal or Fulham. The Gunners are close to signing Mark Schwarzer from Fulham, who would in turn need a new goalkeeper and Given would be open to moving to either.
A source close to Given said: “Shay is confused and torn over what to do. He only joined City 18 months ago and wanted to win things after 10 years at Newcastle. And he doesn’t see Mancini leaving Hart out now, ev en if he makes a mistake. Shay is watching the situation at Arsenal, while at Fulham, a loan might be something he would consider but he’s finding it really difficult to know whatto do. The last thing he wants to do is risk his place in the Ireland team, as he knows they have a great chance of qualifying for Euro 2012.”
Mancini added: “Joe Hart will play. I had a very diffi cult choice to make before our opening game at Spurs on Saturday. That is because I have two world-class keepers. It is difficult for one of them to sit on the bench. I respect Shay a lot. He is a good man and I want him to stay, but I also understand any decision he might make.”
City completed the signing of James Milner yesterday in a deal worth £26million, with Stephen Ireland moving to Aston Villa.
Ireland said: “I have plenty of personal ambitions. I want to get back to playing the way I can. I haven’t played 90 minutes in nearly eight or nine months, which is not normal for me.”
Liverpool Set Sights On £16m Manchester City Pair as Hodgson Looks to Spend Potential Mascherano Windfall
Liverpool are considering a move for Manchester City pair Wayne Bridge and Roque Santa Cruz. Roy Hodgson is willing hoping to re-invest any potential incoming funds from the sale of Javier Mascherano and Emiliano Insua to bring in the Eastlands pair who do not appear to have a first team future at Eastlands.
Roberto Mancini is looking to trim his squad ahead of naming his 25 man Premier League squad and is looking to release some more of his ever expanding squad on loan but is willing to listen to decent offers for some of his players, including the England full back Bridge who has now fallen down the pecking order at the club.
Roque Santa Cruz only arrived at the club last summer for a fee of £17.5m but Man City may well accept offers of around £10m for the 29 year old and Roy Hodgson is keen to bring in new attacking options and is said to be a big admirer of the former Bayern Munich and Blackburn Rovers man who only managed six Premier League starts last season and is likely to see even less action this term.
Bridge would cost far less and would help resolve the left back problem the Merseyside club currently finds itself in. Daniel Agger had to fill in against Arsenal and Hodgson is keen to bring in a new full back as soon as possible.
Both players would probably jump at the chance of a new challenge and the only obstacle to such a move could be Mancini’s unwillingness to hand over his players to potential rivals to a top four finish. Caught Offside
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TRANSFER BOLLOX
Chelsea may miss out on the signature of 18-year-old Brazilian Naymar after the striker's club Santos offered to make him their highest paid player and refused to accept any offers less than their valuation of £29m. the Independent
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has insisted that midfielder Javier Mascherano will not be offloaded for anything less than £25m to Inter Milan and has told the Argentine he should be prepared for an extended stay at Anfield. the Guardian
Or the Reds may yet sell Mascherano to fund further purchases after he left the Argentina international out of the squad to face Trabzonspor in the Europa League on Thursday. The Inter Milan and Barcelona target's absence prevents him being cup-tied for European competition. Daily Mail
Chelsea are up against Ajax in the battle for the signature of 17-year-old Anderlecht striker Romelu Lukaku. talkSPORT
Ahsan Ali Syed wants to sign former England captain David Beckham, now at Los Angeles Galaxy, if the Indian businessman's proposed £300m takeover bid of Blackburn is successful. Syed said: "I was 26 when I started following the Premier League. I liked Blackburn back then and also used to follow Manchester United's fortunes because of David Beckham. If my finances allow and his intentions are positive then I would love to take Beckham." Daily Mail
Manchester United may be about to test Deportivo La Coruna's determination to keep hold of Mexico winger Andres Guardado with a £12m bid. Caught Offside
Arsenal are close to sealing a deal for Sevilla's Sebastien Squillaci after the Spanish side withdrew the French defender from a Champions League qualifier. Daily Mirror
Tottenham will only make a £15m bid for Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano if they qualify for the group stages of the Champions League. Even then the Brazilian's £90,000-a-week wages may prove to be a stumbling block. talkSPORT
Bolton left-back Jlloyd Samuel is a loan target for Middlesbrough. Daily Mirror
OTHER BOLLOX
Chinese businessman Kenny Huang is becoming frustrated at his efforts to gain control of Liverpool. There are several parties interested in replacing Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett but Huang is anxious to arrive and provide funds for new players before the end of the transfer window on 31 August. the Guardian
Former West Ham chairman Eggert Magnusson is preparing for a shock return to football as the Icelandic businessman launches a rescue bid for struggling Sheffield Wednesday. Daily Mirror
You loved them or hated them during the World Cup - the vuvuzela. But there's no doubting the instrument's effect on modern culture following its arrival into the new edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English. Along with the name of the famous horn blown by fans in South Africa this summer, other words (non-sporting ones) to be added are tweetup (a meeting arranged through social networking site Twitter) and cheeseball (lacking taste or style). Daily Telegraph
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