Man City are in the title race ... if you believe in brainwashing and hyperbole
Let’s start by killing a dream. Ominous music, please. Lights down. X Factor-style long-pause reveal coming up! And here we go: Manchester City . . . . . . are not going to win the Premier League this season.
Yeah. Really. I know. They beat Chelsea 2-0 yesterday and looked decent. But it’s as meaningful to say that City remain 12 points behind Manchester United ‘in the title race’ as it would be for me to claim that I remain two or three medicinal doses of LSD away from ‘being able to play the long solo from Voodoo Chile on my daughter’s toy ukulele’. Sure, it sounds exciting. But reality does not support the sentiment.
Let’s leave aside my fretboard skills for the moment. On Boxing Day 2012, Manchester United were seven points clear in the Premier League. Two months later, their lead is 12, and their form reads WDWWWW, which means Sir Alex Ferguson’s team are taking 89 per cent of the League points available.
City, meanwhile, despite their win yesterday, have 11 points from their last six games and form of WWDDLW: a points-taken-to-points-available ratio of just 61 per cent. So United are miles in front and accelerating. Even if City and United’s win ratios were to be reversed — ie a sustained slump in United’s form between now and May and a major resurgence in City’s — United would still win the League.
There are 11 Premier League games left — or 33 points available. If United scraped together just 61 per cent of their points and City a mighty 89 per cent of theirs, Sir Alex Ferguson’s team would still end the season on 88 points, whereas City would finish on 85.
In other words, the way things are going, United will romp home; if they blow up, they’ll probably just coast home. The bookies have them 1-40 to be champions with good reason. City are engaged in a Premier League race, alright, but it’s the race for second place.
Why, then, do punters and pundits persist in looking for signs that City could still win it? Lots of reasons, I guess. Sides have blown huge leads before. Unpredictable stuff happens in sport.
We have all been brainwashed by Sky Sports’ hyperbole.
But the underlying answer, I suspect, lies in our gnawing desire for drama and romance.
Any screenwriting hack will tell you that the third act of a thriller relies on the hero overcoming an insurmountable obstacle, to win against impossible odds. We are asking sport to imitate art.
Alas. Sport doesn’t usually oblige. City had their romance last season, winning the title in the dying minutes of the dying day. But this time last year, they were two points clear of United and although there was a moment in early April where United led the League by eight points with six games to play, it was in the context of a season where the lead had swapped hands a number of times.
This season, a more robust United side have bossed the League since mid-November.
Like Barcelona (12 points clear in Spain) and Bayern Munich (17 points clear in Germany), it is unthinkable that they should screw it up. This season is about the resurgence of football’s ancien regime. Underdogs and parvenus need not apply.
MANCHESTER CITY OFFER YAYA TOURE £55M DEAL
MAN CITY are ready to open talks with Yaya Toure about a new five-year deal worth a staggering £55m.
Toure will have two years left on his current contract in the summer and City are determined to hold on to their prized possession.
No formal discussions have been planned with Toure, who has just returned to the Premier League after almost a month away on African Nations Cup duty.
But Toure has come back fully committed to City, with the midfield maestro delighted to stay at the Etihad Stadium.
It is understood Toure can look forward to a bumper offer of around £11m a year – £220,000 a week – if he signs a five-year deal.
Toure said: “The Premier League is fantastic. I’m happy to be in this championship and I want to stay here a long time. I always want to be here.”
Boss Roberto Mancini would love to harness Toure’s power and skills for the next five years and is in no doubt of the Ivory Coast star’s value to the club.
Mancini said: “Yaya is a very important player to Manchester City.”
Sergio Agüero suggests his long-term future lies with Manchester City
• Argentina striker 'very happy' with Premier League champions
• 'I keep a symbiotic relationship with the fans,' he says
Sergio Agüero has indicated he would like to stay at Manchester City in the long-term as the striker feels like "I've been here for all my life".
Agüero signed a five-year deal in the summer of 2011, costing City £38m from Atlético Madrid.
The Argentina international quickly became a fans' favourite and scored the last-gasp winner against Queens Park Rangers with virtually the final kick of the season to win a first championship for the club in 44 years.
"I'm very happy at City and I feel very appreciated here which means a lot to me," he told the club's programme. "It's been barely more than a year and a half since I've arrived [but] sometimes I feel like I've been here all my life.
"I keep a symbiotic relationship with the fans that always remind me of our title and that goal against QPR. How could I forget that? More to the point, why would I want to forget that?"
Edin Dzeko Wants To Return To Bundesliga
Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko has revealed that he is keen to return to the Bundesliga once his contract with the club has expired.
The Bosinan joined City from Wolfsburg in 2011 and has been frequently used as an impact substitution and in a interview with German magazine Kicker he revealed his admiration for Borussia Dortmund.
“I love the Bundesliga and I will return to the Bundesliga. I can just not say when I will return," he said.
"I have still two years [on my] contract. We will see, what happens."
City faced Dortmund in the Champions League group stages this season, and Dzeko has been full of praise for the German club, tipping them to reach the final of the competition.
"I am sure that they will reach the final. I wish it to them," he added.
"A team that plays that good in a group with Real Madrid and us can beat everyone."
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[/spoiler]Mario Balotelli suffers racist abuse from Inter fans during Milan derby with some supporters seen waving bananas
Serie A officials will meet today to consider sanctioning Inter Milan after fans were seen to be directing racial abuse at Mario
Balotelli during the weekend's Milan derby, with some Inter fans seen waving plastic bananas at the former Manchester City striker.
Abuse: Inter Milan supporters were seen waving plastic bananas at AC Milan forward Mario Balotelli during their derby fixture Photo:
Balotelli, who also previously played for Inter, was facing his old club for the first time since joining AC Milan in January, with Ezequiel Schelotto's second-half goal earning the Nerazzurri a 1-1 draw after Stephan El Shaarawy opened the scoring before the break. Balotelli, who missed several good chances on goal, was always likely to be the target of abuse for the Inter fans after joining their rivals, but it appears a section of supporters may have targeted him for his skin colour during last night's game.
The disciplinary council will rule on the events of the match at the San Siro, in which Balotelli was seen to raise his finger to his lips in an apparent bid to silence his detractors, among others from the weekend's fixture list in a meeting held in Milan.
If fans are adjudged to have directed discriminatory or racist language at Balotelli then Inter face a potential fine. The club were fined 15,000 euros (£12,300) when Inter fans chanted racist songs about the striker during a recent league game against Chievo.
Inter president Massimo Moratti apologised afterwards while expressing his hope there would be no repeat in the derby.
That marked the second time that Balotelli had been the victim of racism without being present since he returned to Italy from Manchester City.
The first saw AC Milan vice-president Paolo Berlusconi - the younger brother of club owner Silvio - filmed at a political meeting in Monza near Milan describing Balotelli as ''negretto della famiglia'' - translated as ''the family's little n****''.
That led to accusations of hypocrisy at the Rossoneri just four weeks after Silvio Berlusconi praised midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng for walking off the pitch after he was racially abused during a friendly against Pro Patria.
Newcastle want French winger Hatem Ben Arfa to sign a new contract and stay at St James' Park, after Liverpool enquired about the 25-year-old's availability. Daily Mirror
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers watched Holland international central defender Stefan De Vrij, 21, captain Feyenoord to a 2-1 win over PSV Eindhoven on Sunday. Rodgers is seeking a replacement for the retiring Jamie Carragher. DSSC
Southampton midfielder Gaston Ramirez, 22, is a target for Italian sides Inter Milan, Juventus and Fiorentina. Sun
League Cup winners Swansea fear they may face a fight to keep 28-year-old captain Ashley Williams. Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham have all been linked with summer moves for the Wales centre-back. Metro
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce could move for ex-Bolton defender Ricardo Gardner. The Jamaica international, 34, is a free agent after leaving the Reebok Stadium last summer. Daily Mirror
Manchester United striker Robin van Persie will be fit to face Real Madrid in next week's Champions League clash, despite picking up a bizarre hip injury against Queens Park Rangers. DSSC
But Van Persie will not face Norwich City at Old Trafford on Saturday after suffering severe bruising when he fell into a pitchside camera pit. Daily Telegraph
Manchester United's Robin van Persie shows his discomfort after injuring his hip against QPR
Celtic boss Neil Lennon wants the club to hand a new contract to 26-year-old midfielder Joe Ledley. Daily Record
Fulham boss Martin Jol is considering offering an extended contract to veteran Greece midfielder Giorgios Karagounis. The 35-year-old joined the Craven Cottage club on a free transfer last summer. DSSC
Dagenham & Redbridge boss John Still, 62, is set to become the new manager of Conference side Luton Town in an astonishing £1m deal. Sun[/scroll]
As a player, Michael Laudrup's stock was always high. Now his managerial reputation continues to glisten after Swansea City elegantly won the League Cup. Daily Telegraph
As enthralling and uplifting as Bradford's progression to the Capital One Cup final has been, there can be no greater inspiration for any lower-division club than Swansea. The Times
Nathan Dyer, 25, has defended the astonishing tantrum which threatened to take the gloss off Swansea City's victory. Sun
Bradford went to Wembley with a plan but faced with Swansea's precise possession football, however, they simply could not get hold of the ball. DSSC
Spanish newspaper El Pais was thrilled by the performance of Spanish star Michu in Swansea's League Cup victory at Wembley, saying that "a buzz ran through the legendary London venue" every time he received the ball. El Pais
However, German newspaper Bild insists it was Swansea's German goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel who "stole the show" at Wembley.
Bild
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