Friday's B*ll*x

[Chinners]

Ageuro: 'City can win many titles'
Sitting at English football's top table for the first time in a generation, the sky's the limit for Manchester City, as the club prepare for a first season in the Champions League and a genuine challenge for the Premier League title.
City ended their 35-year wait for a major trophy by winning the FA Cup in May and there is a widespread belief that more silverware will follow over the next few years.
Sergio Aguero, the Argentina striker who joined from Atletico Madrid last week, certainly thinks so. "I was very interested in playing here as it's a growing club," Aguero said.
"I think we have great players and a great team. I am playing at one of the best English teams at the moment, and there are many things that can be achieved. We can win many titles and hopefully it will be a top year for us."
Aguero has joined a squad crammed with talent. Man for man, City look as strong as any in the Premier League, but they lack title-winning experience.
Winning the FA Cup eased some of the pressure that had been building on Roberto Mancini and his players, and allows them to plan bigger and better things.
"You could hear some of the guys in the dressing room after the game whispering, 'Yeah, we want more of this'," Vincent Kompany, the City defender, said after the FA Cup final win over Stoke City.
"The club deserves this and this is a feeling we want again."
Twelve years ago, City were at a low ebb, playing in the third tier of the English football with a team of lower-league journeymen. Now, the club could be about to welcome the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and AC Milan to their newly-named Etihad Stadium for Champions League football.
"I think it's pretty clear that they are building a squad to fight for the title," Andre Villas-Boas, the new Chelsea manager, said.
Aside from Aguero, City have signed the France left back, Gael Clichy from Arsenal, and the central defender, Stefan Savic from Partizan Belgrade.
That will strengthen a defence that was the joint tightest last season, conceding 33 goals in 38 games, like Chelsea, while Aguero adds yet another name to a long list of high-profile strikers.
Fellow Argentina international Carlos Tevez should start the season at City, despite expressing his desire to leave the club to be closer to his family in his homeland.
The Community Shield is not about revenge for Manchester United and City. Instead it is about putting down a marker for the other side.
Edin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli, Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz are also in the squad.
With fixtures likely to pile up for City this season, because of the Champions League, Mancini will need to juggle his players - something he struggled to do last season during the latter stages of the Europa League.
But with such a deep squad to call upon, City are expected to challenge on a number of fronts.
"I can't see the outside pressure being any more than what we put on ourselves to get better. We had a good season last year, finishing third and winning the FA Cup. But we still want to improve," James Milner, the City midfielder, said.
"We are not going to make any wild predictions about what we are going to do. We will get on with our business quietly but there is an inner belief that we will continue to move forward."

Bolton haggling to land SWP for a wee fee
Bolton boss Owen Coyle is trying to agree a bargain fee with Manchester City for Shaun Wright-Phillips - but is struggling to buy a striker.

Coyle has been told by City that their out-of-favour winger will be sold rather than loaned and is trying to negotiate a low price that would help him to afford the England international's wages.
Wright-Phillips is keen on the move - first revealed by Mirror back in January - for both footballing and personal reasons, but is looking for a three-year contract.
Coyle has confirmed his interest but refused to elaborate on the cost of the package or on whether Bolton can afford Wright-Phillips - who became a priority target when Lee Chung-Yong broke his leg last week.
The Bolton chief said: "I have too much respect for [City manager] Roberto Mancini and his staff to talk about their player. But Shaun is a hugely talented player."
Meanwhile, Bolton's bid to sign Liverpool's French striker David Ngog is on the rocks because Kop chiefs are refusing to budge on their £4.5million asking price.
Ngog is unlikely to figure for Kenny Dalglish's side this season despite appearing in some pre-season matches and showing his goal touch.
Coyle thinks Ngog would be an ideal capture because of his age and potential, but he only rates him in the £3.5m class - and may now go back in for Birmingham's Cameron Jerome. Mirror

Eto'o/Tevez swap edges closer after Inter star's row with new coach
Manchester City have been alerted by a row between Inter Milan star Samuel Eto’o and the Italian giants' new coach.
Roberto Mancini is keen on swapping Carlos Tevez for Cameroon striker Eto'o, who scored 37 goals for Inter last season.
The Serie A side stated Eto’o was not for sale as they turned down a huge recent offer from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala.
But now a training ground bust-up between the former Barcelona star and coach Gian Piero Gasperini in the build-up to the weekend's Italian Super Cup match has thrown the 30-year-old’s future into doubt.
The row is understood to be over the role Gasperini wants Eto’o to play in his preferred 3-4-3 formation.
Eto’o immediately demanded talks with Inter president Massimo Moratti to discuss a transfer.
The striker would be a more direct swap for Tevez than full-back Douglas Maicon - and would allow the Brazilian full-back to instead join Real Madrid.
Mancini has described Eto’o as a “fantastic player - one of the best in the world.”
Meanwhile, Inter's Manchester United target Wesley Sneijder has admitted he was happier when Jose Mourinho was the club's coach than he is now.
The Dutchman said: “I have had a lot of coaches, everyone different from another, but Mourinho remains the one I liked the best, as a boss and a man.” Mirror

Paul Lake Talks Shyte (audio)
http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/kickof ... ort-studio

[spoiler]

[/spoiler]

OTHER BOLLOX
Tottenham are expected to hold talks with transfer target Fernando Llorente when the giant striker visits White Hart Lane with Athletic Bilbao for Saturday's pre-season friendly. Metro

Spurs and Liverpool have been told to forget a move for Barcelona winger Ibrahim Afellay, who was also thought to be a target for Juventus but is happy to stay at the Nou Camp. talkSHIT

Two Premier League sides are reported to have contacted Newcastle about Joey Barton, and the midfielder is set to determine whether or not he can leave the club immediately on a free transfer. Daily Mirror

Barcelona have 11 days to conclude a deal for Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas if they want to be sure of his inclusion in the Champions League. Daily Telegraph

French striker Karim Benzema has dismissed reports he is poised to leave Real Madrid for Arsenal. talkSHIT

Everton, Aston Villa and Fulham have all contacted Real Madrid about taking former Spanish Under-21 midfielder Pedro Leon on loan. The Sun

Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole is a target for big-spending French outfit Paris St Germain. The Sun

But QPR have made no move for out-of-favour Cole, who has vowed to fight for his place at Anfield. talkSHIT

Blackburn Rovers have put a £12m price tag on Chris Samba in a bid to keep him at Ewood Park. Daily Star

Stoke have joined Spurs and Chelsea in the race to sign West Ham midfielder Scott Parker, who is valued at £8m. Daily Mail

Newcastle are considering a move for Manchester United's French winger Gabriel Obertan, who has failed to make an impact since signing for £3m from Bordeaux in 2009.Daily Mail

Unsettled midfielder Cesc Fabregas cut a disconsolate figure at a soggy Emirates in Arsenal's open training session. Metro

Manchester United defender Phil Jones's remarkable summer has led to his inclusion in Fabio Capello's provisional squad for next week's friendly against Holland. Times

Former Spurs goalkeeper Erik Thorstvedt has expressed his surprise at the signing of 40-year-old Brad Friedel, and has backed Heurelho Gomes to remain as number one at White Hart Lane. talkSHIT

His final game for Manchester United was against Barcelona in the Champions League final in May, but Paul Scholes isn't ready to hang up his boots quite yet after turning out for a 'dads versus coaches match' at his 12-year-old son's club. Metro

Wolves attempted to cover up that three of their star players missed a pre-season photocall by photoshopping their heads onto the bodies of others. Metro

Crystal Palace lodged three bids for AFC Bournemouth's Danny Ings during a 90-minute pre-season friendly - against the south-coast side. Metro

[Mase]

Still can't believe we'd even think about going for Eto'o after he messed us around a few years ago.

Cheers for this weeks bally-goodness Chinners.

[Mike J]

if we do a straight tevez/ eto'o swap itd one of the stupidest deals in football history.

[lets all have a disco]

I love the slide animation on the SHOW/HIDE.

[Goaters 103]

Im with LAHAD. Everything that appears on show/hide is pleasant on the eye.

[Ted Hughes]

Llorente, being fed crosses by Lennon & Bale , with Dick Van Dyke etc providing diagonals could score as many as their other strikers together & perhaps outscore some of ours. Great signing if they get him & a possible push into the top 4.

[Chinners]

I love the slide animation on the SHOW/HIDE.

Corradi's missus ... remember him?

[ashton287]

So eto's isnt happy playing in a front 3?

But he will come here and be happy about playing in our front 3?

[Slim]

I love the slide animation on the SHOW/HIDE.

Corradi's missus ... remember him?

Much appreciated Chinners, I am working for the Govt at the moment and most of the time I am bored with nothing to do, however half dressed women on the screen might prompt a question or two.

[HeyMark]

if we do a straight tevez/ eto'o swap itd one of the stupidest deals in football history.

Almost as bad as Eto'o plus cash for Zlatan

[Wonderwall]

if we do a straight tevez/ eto'o swap itd one of the stupidest deals in football history.

Absolutely Spot on, my spidey senses are tingling, I have a bad feeling about Eto'

[bobby brows]

Friday's Rumour Mill + Guardian City Preview

The Mill's social network of choice, as you can probably imagine, consists of a few like-minded fellows who collect around the back of the local offie to share a flagon of Fermented Apple Elixir and discuss the price of fish fingers. We've had a go on the Twitters but decided that while there may be one or two characters on there, 140 seemed to be overstating the case. So, you'll forgive us for being behind the curve on the football-digital media crossover story de nos jours: Kevin Davies is off Twitter #allrightheactuallyquititinmay.

"It is difficult to have an opinion when you are high-profile," said Davies, who could probably do us all a favour by pointing that out to Robbie Savage. "I am man enough to take a bit of stick but I was constantly having to worry about what I was saying and justifying my performance or a missed chance. Twitter is a very addictive thing. I didn't want to sit at home thinking what can I put on there. It is not the way I live. I have a normal life. I would rather spend time with my kids and doing stuff at home rather than checking my Twitter all the time."

Sadly, that is still the way several freedom-of-speech-minded Newcastle players live (mentioning no names, "Assange" Barton), leading Alan Pardew to dig up the lawyers and let them loose with their red pens and caveats and ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE OF FUN. Expect tweet silence to rein at St James' Park for about as long as it takes to impulsively bash out the views of Descartes on the sign and the signifier.

To the transfermarkt, then, where someone has finally pointed out to Kenny Dalglish that he has about eleventy-twelve midfielders too many in his squad. That may not be the only reason Liverpool would welcome Paris St-Germain's interest in Joe Cole – who earns a modest crust to keep the physio's treatment table warm – and with the Qatar-backed French side throwing around money like Richard Pryor in Brewster's Millions they'll barely notice Cole's inverse wages to impact ratio, let alone the medical bills.

Will Carlos Tevez do one to Inter? If the Italians are willing to bubble-wrap Samuel Eto'o and pack him off to Manchester City on the next Alitalia flight, he can. And Manchester United are still in for Inter's Wesley Sneijder – they've turned over a giant egg timer that will count down to the two-week deadline the Dutch midfielder has been given to decide on whether he wants to be the new Paul Scholes. Sorry, play in roughly the same part of the pitch as Scholes used to occupy.

If Stan Kroenke loves Cesc Fábregas, he will set him free. But Stan Kroenke almost certainly has a higher regard for the balance sheet than moping Spanish midfielders – so even though Arsenal's American majority shareholder has blazed into town on horseback to settle Fábregas's future once and for all, don't expect him to sell to those varmints from Barcelona for anything less than a wagon full of gold bullion and the keys to La Masía (aka: you've not heard to last of this one for a while yet. No, really).

Chelsea manager André Villas-Boas is willing to leave Fernando Torres on the bench for the start of the season. Which seems pretty sound logic, to the Mill.

Real Madrid winger Pedro Léon is being lined up to wear gloves and a snood at Everton, Aston Villa or Fulham next season. And Newcastle fancy asking Manchester United's Gabriel Obertan to stand out on the flank blowing hot air into his cupped hands and generally looking lost – though they may want to reconsider when they realise how attached he is to his mobile phone. Jinking widemen are all the rage at the moment, with Bolton eyeing up Shaun Wright-Phillips (possibly through a magnifying glass). Naturally, they're only willing to pay a small fee.

Owen Coyle is also being linked with a move for Liverpool striker David Ngog, though he doesn't want to stump up £4.5m in order to secure his John Hancock. But if it's silly money you're after, West Ham are your team – they've submitted bids for Ngog, as well as Andy Johnson and Nicky Maynard. Bristol City want £4m for Maynard, double the Irons' initial offer, and if they get it, the chances are that Shane Long will escape the clutches of Sam Allardyce and scamper off to live with Roy Hodgson at the Hawthorns. At £7m, Long would be a bargain at half the price. Though obviously most things would be a bargain at half the price.

And finally, Steve Buscemi is playing his violin for Ian Holloway, who has been twiddling his thumbs all summer, waiting for the return of Jeff, Jamie, Graham and Co: "You would not believe the chasm that's left when the Premier League goes away. The excitement, the tension, even just looking forward to the games. That's not there any more. The honest truth is that I've had a few weeks of soul-searching. It has been the worst few months of my life, to be honest. It was heartbreaking."

Don't worry, Ian, only one more week to go! What's that ... Oh, er, yeah. But the Championship's OK too, right?


City Preview

Guardian writers' prediction 2nd (This is not Daniel Taylor's prediction, but the average of our writers' tips)

Last season's position 3rd

Odds to win the league 7-2

When everything is said and done, it all boils down to one thing for Manchester City this season and it is this: can they go that one step further? Can they turn all that drive, ambition, hard spending and unrelenting momentum into something more serious and, finger by finger, prise Sir Alex Ferguson's grip off the Premier League trophy?

There were nine points between them last season so it would take a fairly hefty swing, but there is certainly good reason to believe there may be less distance between the two Manchester clubs this time around. City were top of the league last Christmas and eventually finished third, their highest finish since 1977. Ferguson, by his own admission, has been forced to take them more seriously than any other point in almost a quarter of a century at Old Trafford, and Roberto Mancini can certainly feel a lot more confident now City, in keeping with every summer under the ownership of the Abu Dhabi United Group, have once again eclipsed everyone in the transfer market.

When the question of City winning the league was raised a couple of weeks ago, on their pre-season trip to Los Angeles, Mancini shook his head and dismissed it out of hand, simmering with the apparent sense that other people at the club were letting him down. But Sergio Agüero has signed since then and the Argentinian is the kind of player who can make the difference, lift an entire club, invigorate the senses. Agüero, recruited from Atlético Madrid for £38m, is the most exhilarating signing of the summer, a symbol of City's new ambitions and attractiveness.

Yet it has been a quieter time than usual at Eastlands and certainly nothing like what might have been anticipated if you listened to Harry Redknapp in May, when he talked of having inside knowledge of City's targets and predicted their transfer business "will blow your brains out". Redknapp might invite less public cynicism if he spared us this kind of nonsense. City always had to be more restrained because, in short, if they carried on with the money-no-object transfer splurges they would be kicked out of the Champions League in the next few years for not meeting Uefa's financial fair play rules.

As such, the £50m they have spent on Agüero, Gaël Clichy and Stefan Savic is chickenfeed compared to the vast amounts Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan casually signed off in previous transfer windows, even if there might yet be another addition or two. Last summer, the figure was around £130m. The previous season, the total transfer business was £144m. Mancini has suddenly discovered he no longer has unlimited access to a seemingly bottomless pot of riches and the revelation has not always been to his liking.

City, nonetheless, may have moved marginally ahead of Chelsea as the more credible challengers to United. What we have now is a serious organisation, with real aspirations, a plan, forward thinking, and the resources and mindset to carry it through – barely recognisable from the City of old, the club that was skint, endearingly prone to moments of tragicomedy and, ultimately, a little bit clueless.

The modern-day City are no longer to be patronised, pushed around and put down. After so many years on "the high moral step of continual failure", Simon Curtis of Down The Kippax Steps, probably the best City blog around, noted recently, they are acclimatising to a new existence where "we must try to adopt a different pose for all the flashbulbs suddenly exploding in our faces". It can feel like a different lifetime since Stuart Pearce, one of Mancini's predecessors, was told his transfer budget had gone and played David James, an international goalkeeper, as a centre-forward. In fact, it was six years ago.

The new, ultra-ambitious City increasingly have a big-time feel. They have spent £20m or more on nine different players using Abu Dhabi's oil riches, and have three players earning salaries in excess of £200,000 a week. But there is more to it than that. There are plans to increase the Etihad Stadium (renamed as part of a £400m sponsorship package) to a 60,000 capacity and develop a vast expanse of land around the ground, including a 7,000-seat stadium for their youth team and a new training ground.

What Eastlands doesn't have yet - and this is the point we are reminded of old Manchester City, the club of Peter Swales, Alan Ball and all the rest – is an actual trophy room. They didn't see the point of building one because, quite simply, there was nothing of particular note to fill it. Bernard Halford, the club's now-retired secretary, just used to stick everything that came their way in a broom cupboard.

Very soon, you imagine, that will change. Winning the FA Cup – as United will testify – can have therapeutic qualities for a club that has lapsed for so many years. From here, City should be stronger, more assured, playing with the authentic sense they are now capable of fully structured, productive, grown-up football.

There are, however, imperfections that may need to be addressed if City are to stand a realistic chance of outdoing United, Chelsea and all the rest. For starters, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli will have to do better than last season. Dzeko managed only two league goals in 15 appearances and looked careless of touch at times even though, to give him his due, he would probably be more effective if City operated with orthodox wingers. As for Balotelli, a part of him will probably always be that boy who stayed in the playground too long, but if he avoids the injury problems that disrupted his first season and remembers to take his head out on to the pitch he can endorse Mancini's theory that the good outweighs the bad.

Then, of course, there is The Peculiar Case of Carlos Tevez and an issue so complex there are people at Eastlands who genuinely suspect the proposed £40m move to Corinthians last month was little more than a publicity stunt. Tevez was initially due to return to training for the first time today, albeit against his will, but it will not be until Monday now that Mancini will next see a player who scored or set up 48% of City's league goals last season. The delay feels entirely predictable and merely reiterates Tevez's reluctance to return to Manchester. It is just that there are not many clubs who want to pay more than £40m for a player who has a history of moving every couple of years and who, at 27, is at an age when his transfer value starts to depreciate. Tevez had to be persuaded, with the threat of a fine, to take his place on the open-top bus for City's FA Cup parade, which is fairly ludicrous for a club captain, and his behaviour before and after that ought really to persuade Mancini to hand the armband to Vincent Kompany. Tevez may sulk but, really, so what? If he does stick around, he has already shown he has the knack of playing well, sometimes brilliantly, even when his mind is polluted with grievances.

One certainty is that City will be glad Agüero is not represented by Kia Joorabchian.

So, can they do it? A personal hunch is that their squad, in its current size, might find the combination of going for the title and playing their first season in the Champions League a little too heavy going – but that it will be a close-run thing.

Mancini may also have to be a little less defence-minded at times, even if it is peculiar this tag has attached itself to a team that scored more goals last season than, say, Tottenham Hotspur, so often acclaimed as one of the Premier League's great entertainers.

Mancini certainly does not have to apologise for the fact Joe Hart won the Premier League's "golden glove" award last season, with 18 clean sheets (a club-record 29 in all competitions). It is interesting, though, that two of the three new signings have been defenders. Clichy is not the most watertight full-back around, but the former Arsenal player is quicker and more agile than Aleksandar Kolarov. Mancini had enough reservations about Joleon Lescott to want to replace him with Gary Cahill of Bolton Wanderers earlier in the summer. Savic was the cheaper option and the Montenegro international, eventually joined by Kolo Touré, will push Lescott for the right to partner Kompany, a fine, consistent centre-half.

In midfield, there is a nice blend of steel and finesse. Adam Johnson, on form, can trouble the most accomplished full-back and, at 24, is old enough now to start thinking about establishing himself as more than just an impact player. Yaya Touré should be even better in his second season at the club and only the lazy and misguided still regard Nigel de Jong as little more than a streetwise slugger. The Dutchman is the outstanding defensive midfielder in the league.

As for David Silva, the Spaniard is blessed with a left foot that can make you quicken your step as you walk to the ground.

City also have a manager in charge who knows how to win major trophies and is not frightened of success. Mancini's record in the transfer market cannot be classed as an emphatic success, but he has demonstrated enough over the last 20 months to end any lingering argument about whether it was correct to replace Mark Hughes – even if, with that, the Italian's true personality is increasingly being seen behind the scenes.

Those who know Mancini best, who have followed his career as a player and manager and understand what makes him tick, had warned when he was appointed that his time in Manchester would be measured out in different phases. The first would be Mancini on a charm offensive, working out his territory, getting to know the club politics, then gradually weeding out the players who do not buy into his methods and demonstrating, over time, that he is very much The Boss. The second is a man who permanently seems disappointed with his bosses, who bends for nobody, increasingly detached and empowered with success – in the language of the sport, a bit of a bastard. Which, in fairness, is not necessarily a bad thing in football.

It feels like we are moving into the second part of that process right now. Mancini has won his first trophy and elevated himself to a new position of power. He has said he wants more control, that he should be allowed the influence that Ferguson has at Manchester United. He has admitted having differences with Garry Cook, which is almost always the kind of thing football managers try to keep from the newspapers. And these issues with Cook – as well as the football administrator, Brian Marwood – are still there, still festering.

Mancini, however, is far from the first man in high position not to see eye to eye with his chief executive, particularly in an industry as two-faced as football. The important thing, to quote Mancini, is that he and Cook "have the same target" because, together, they might just achieve it.

City demonstrated in the FA Cup last season that they mean business, turning the semi-final into an ordeal for Ferguson and United before Yaya Touré's winning goal in the final brought down the "Ticker" banner that had hung permanently at Old Trafford to mock that 35-year run without a trophy. The issue now is whether they can go one better and win the league – or even the Champions League – and what we can say for certain is that no other top-six club goes into the season with so much forward momentum.

Paul Lake's autobiography, I'm Not Really Here, comes out today and tells the story of one match in 1989 when City could have guaranteed promotion by beating Bournemouth at Maine Road. They were 3-0 up at half-time – party time! – and the manager, Mel Machin, told the players he was bringing in a special friend for the team talk. In came the comedian Eddie Large – shiny silver suit, sleeves rolled up – to dole out individual advice to the players … each time using a different celebrity impersonation. "Deputy Dawg ordered me to keep tight in defence," Lake recalls. "Cliff Richard advised Trevor Morley to shoot on sight, Harold Wilson told Bob Brightwell to keep it simple and Benny from Crossroads told Andy Dibble to stay awake." The game finished 3-3. Typical City, as they used to say. But no more.