Wednesday's Moving B*ll*x

[Chinners]

CITY BOLLOX
New Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini will make strengthening his defence a priority in the new year. West Ham centre-half Matthew Upson (£10m), Inter Milan full-back Maicon (£15m), Juventus full-back Giorgio Chiellini (£10m) and Bolton's Gary Cahill (£10m) are all on the wanted list.Daily Star

Roberto Mancini is not convinced that his spell as Manchester City manager will stretch beyond the summer.
The Italian is preparing for his first game in charge of the Barclays Premier League club at home to Stoke City on Saturday after taking over from Mark Hughes. But sources in Italy have told Sportsmail that the 45-year-old is unsure whether City will retain him next season. Mancini has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract at City but there is believed to be a ‘break clause’ in it that would enable either party to walk away at the end of the current campaign. It is understood that Mancini hopes to be in charge of the club for the next few years and that he has been impressed with the set-up and facilities at Eastlands. He would like to see the job of establishing City in Europe as a long-term project. Nevertheless, the former Inter manager is aware that he was not the first choice to replace Hughes — City also attempted to speak to Guus Hiddink and Jose Mourinho — and fears his position could be reviewed if he doesn’t get the club into the Champions League places this time round.

As such he will not even ask his wife to join him in Manchester until next season.‘Mancini is not sure what the picture will be in the summer so he is not taking anything for granted,’ a source in Italy revealed last night.‘He has said there is no way he is going to move his whole life over to England for
something that, for all he knows, may last only a few months.‘He already thinks he would like to stay but at the moment he is not really looking that far beyond the summer.’ Mancini has been staying in the Lowry Hotel in Manchester city centre in recent days and is expected to remain there for the time being before renting an apartment.Even when he does that, though, his wife will not join him. Mancini also has two sons but both are involved in youth football in Italy.
The Italian yesterday took a double session of training, and will be concerned that striker Emmanuel Adebayor was limping at the end.He will be boosted by news that central defender Kolo Toure will be available for the game against Stoke in advance of joining the Ivory Coast for the Africa Cup of Nations.But he will be without England defender Joleon Lescott, who has just had minor knee surgery, and Nedum Onuoha, who has a calf muscle strain. Shaun Wright-Phillips and Adebayor may also be missing against Stoke.Mancini is expected to be a major spender in the transfer window but said: ‘The only problems I have are not who we might buy in January, but that we have too many injuries.’

Meanwhile, as the fall-out from the sacking of Hughes continued yesterday, beleaguered City chief executive Garry Cook revealed that the club had begun to look for alternatives to Hughes as long ago as last summer.Cook said: ‘It’s important for the fans to appreciate the ambitions of this club and its owners.
Beleaguered: Cook
‘Before the season started we looked at the options open to us if we were in a position when we needed to look for a new manager before Christmas.‘Even at that point we looked at managers who could be available in a World Cup year and those who might definitely be available. ‘We had no intention of replacing Mark Hughes but surely as a business we are entitle to examine all the options.’

We did not lie, says City
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... id_not_lie

Phil McNulty Leslie Q&A blog
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/philmcnulty/ ... _blog.html

Tottenham could swoop for Craig Bellamy
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard- ... bellamy.do

CARL'S PRESS TRAINING BAN
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... tment.html Thread: viewtopic.php?f=119&t=28893

CRAIG BELLAMY'S Manchester City future looks bleak after he clashed with new boss Roberto Mancini - during his first training session! Mancini has caused uproar among City stars by insisting on DOUBLE training sessions and ordering players to stay in a hotel the night before HOME games. Yesterday he demanded 2½ hours hard graft from the entire squad when he took charge of his first workout. But the Italian was unaware that, because of a recurring knee problem, Bellamy was only expected to do light training. And after 90 minutes Bellamy "flipped" saying his knee simply could not take it and told Mancini he had to stop. Bellamy was allowed to walk out of the session along with skipper Kolo Toure, who complained of a back problem.

The pair led a six-player delegation to confront chief executive Garry Cook after Mark Hughes was sacked on Saturday. The Welsh striker was angry Mancini was not aware of his problems. Former boss Hughes had put together a special training plan to make sure he could play as many games as possible. SunSport revealed yesterday Bellamy and keeper Shay Given are already considering their City futures. Bellamy is particularly close to Hughes having played for him with Wales and Blackburn. Mancini is already facing an injury crisis ahead of the Boxing Day clash with Stoke. Nedum Onuoha (calf), Emmanuel Adebayor (ankle) and Shaun Wright-Phillips (ankle) have joined Joleon Lescott (knee) on the crocked list.

TRANSFER BOLLOX
Under-fire Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez wants to sign two players in January, with Aston Villa's former Reds striker Emile Heskey being one of them. Daily Mirror

Valencia striker David Villa believes the time is right for a switch to England after failing to secure moves to Barcelona and Real Madrid.The Times

Sporting Gijon midfielder Michel is to become Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung's first signing.Daily Mirror

Manchester United have bid £9m plus Nani for Benfica winger Angel di Maria. Daily Mail

Everton are in talks with Valencia midfielder Manuel Fernandes about the possibility of the 23-year-old returning to Goodison Park for a third loan spell.Daily Mirror

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is under pressure from the club's shareholders to spend big in January. Wenger wants to bring in a striker and West Ham's Carlton Cole, Andre-Pierre Gignac of Toulouse and Bordeaux's Marouane Chamakh have all been linked with the Gunners.Daily Mirror

Real Madrid are keen on in-form Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic.Daily Mail

Tottenham defender Michael Dawson is poised for a move to Sunderland.Daily Mirror

Former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant is set for a return to the Premier League after being told by Spanish club Real Zaragoza that he is no longer wanted. Aston Villa are thought to be interested in the 26-year-old. The Sun

Everton are considering making a loan move for former Arsenal winger Jose Antonio Reyes, who is now at Atletico Madrid. Daily Mail

And Everton will battle it out with Tottenham for Watford's England Under-21 goalkeeper Scott Loach. (Daily Star)

Sunderland boss Steve Bruce wants to sign Coventry goalkeeper Keiren Westwood as his new number one.Daily Mirror

Portsmouth manager Avram Grant could still be prevented from signing players in the new year, even if the club pay off all their transfer debts. Daily Star

But if the ban is lifted, Grant wants to buy Wigan midfielder Olivier Kapo. Daily Mirror

New Queens Park Rangers manager Paul Hart will go to his former club Portsmouth to try and sign defender Mike Williamson and striker Tommy Smith.The Sun

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy is interested in Celtic winger Niall McGinn, who is valued at £1.5m. Daily Mail

Glasgow giants Celtic are set to join Newcastle in the race to sign Sheffield United defender Matthew Kilgallon.The Sun

OTHER BOLLOX
Former England, Tottenham and Chelsea manager Glenn Hoddle is set for a return to the English game with Championship side Reading. Daily Mirror

Sven-Goran Eriksson is closing in on a £2m buy-out at Notts County, with backing from Scandinavian investors. (Daily Express)

Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson's impressive form has alerted England boss Fabio Capello.The Independent

Saudi prince Prince Faisal bin Fahad bin Abdullah is ready to buy the 50% stake of Liverpool co-owner George Gillett.Daily Mail

WAG OF THE DAY - Yésica Toscanini

http://www.thespoiler.co.uk/index.php/2 ... -toscanini

As captain of England, John Terry is known to millions but that did not prevent the Chelsea defender from being snubbed when saying hello to darts player James Wade at a chemist in Surrey. "I thought it was someone trying to be a pest so I gave him the flick," explained Wade. "But a few hours later he texted my girlfriend with the message 'How rude is your other half?'. I've never been so embarrassed in my life." Daily Star

FINAL COOKIE BOLLOX ...
Cook's PR disaster, understanding how football works and Mancini doesn't lie
Funny how, when the weather gets cold, Garry gets cooking. Last winter it was the Kaka extravaganza when the Manchester City chief executive turned a transfer coup (even just getting to the point where Milan agreed a sale was a huge achievement and one for which he and his advisors should have received more credit than they did) into a public relations fiasco with his absurd accusations of "bottling it" and the low blow directed at Kaka's father, Bosco, whom Cook deemed not "sophisticated" enough to represent his son. (Never mind the fact that Bosco is a civil engineer, whereas Cook spent most of his adult life flogging shoes and sports apparel).

Manchester City's handling of the sacking of Mark Hughes was, simply put, terrible. The idea, peddled by Cook on Monday, that Hughes wasn't told he was being sacked until after the Sunderland game because the chairman, Khaldoon Al-Mubarak wanted to tell him in person and was so busy that he couldn't physically be in Manchester until 10am on Saturday, is not an acceptable explanation for such uncivil behaviour. For a start, there is little question that Hughes had heard the rumours by that point. I can only imagine what was going through his head as he showed up at the stadium to take charge of the game, too dignified and too professional to hunt down Cook or his sidekick, Brian Marwood and shake a straight answer out of them.

We'll never know, unless Al-Mubarak tells us, which is unlikely, since the man doesn't do too much public speaking. But to me it smacks of passing the buck. I'd love to ask him the following question: "Hey, if you heard rumours that your boss, Sheikh Mansour, had decided to sack you and put you out of work, would you rather get confirmation from one of the Sheikh's minions who are all around you or would you rather be left in limbo for twelve hours, with no choice but to go about your job in front of tens of thousands of people (and millions watching around the world), because hearing it straight from the Sheikh's mouth will mitigate the pain and the humiliation?"



My guess - but heck, I could be wrong - is that Al-Mubarak would choose the former. But, yes, if we want to follow the Cook line and blame Hughes's public humiliation entirely on Al-Mubarak let's go ahead and do so. The only thing I wonder is whether, at any point, it crossed Cook's mind to say: "Gee, Khaldoon, are you sure it's such a good idea? I appreciate the gesture of telling him face-to-face, but we're heading for a PR disaster here and maybe we really should think about sparing him some embarassment ..." Maybe Cook did suggest that and was overruled. Maybe he did not. We may never know. I do feel a teeny, tiny speck of sympathy for Cook on one point though. Manchester City and Cook feel the furore and the accusations of him "lying" over when Roberto Mancini was approached is unfair.

You probably know the story by now: Cook's statement claims Mancini was only offered the job last Thursday (December 17), but Mancini, when asked directly, said he had met Al-Mubarak two weeks before that. Technically, Cook is correct: his statement is not inconsistent. (Watch video of the man here, it's at 5:45). Cook says that "the decision to seriously look at other options" was made "three weeks earlier", presumably around the time that Al-Mubarak met Mancini.

That's fine and I'm sure it would stand up in a court of law. But, from a PR perspective, it was far from clever and pretty much characteristic of how Cook communicates. Had he been straight - rather than pulling out the usual "carefully worded" legalese sludge - everything would have been fine. All he had to do was say: "The decision to seriously look at other options was made three weeks ago. We met Roberto and had an informational interview so that we could have a contingency in case things did not work out with Hughes. By last Thursday we decided we had to act, so we went back to Roberto and offered him the job."

I think most reasonable people would have accepted (though perhaps not agreed with) that explanation. You want to sack your manager, but you can't do so until you have somebody ready to replace him. And, because you're not sure if Mancini (or anybody else) is the right man for the job, you sit down and have a chat with him, so you get to know him better. If you don't like him, that's the end of that. If you do like him, you know you have something in the bag when you finally do decide to change managers.

That's how football, generally, works, sackings don't come out of thin air, clubs need to have a Plan B. A person who understands how football works would probably have realized that being fully transparent on this point (rather than trying to sneak the technically-correct-but-practically-misleading "seriously look at other options" verbal acrobatics past the media) would have been the way to go. A person who understands how the press work would have probably foreseen the possibility that Mancini would, at some point, be asked when he was first approached by the club. A person who knows and understands Mancini, who has been on the footballing scene for three decades, would have probably realized that the former Inter boss was not going to lie. A person whose crowning professional achievement before joining City was managing the "Michael Jordan brand" several years after the great man had retired (different sport, different country, different job) might not. Mancini doesn't lie One final Cook-related point. He said that: "Roberto [Mancini] was caught up in the language issue; in truth he has been shafted."

Ummm ... no, actually. Mancini was not caught up in the language issue. He understood the question perfectly and he answered it truthfully. Nobody has shafted him. In fact, he hasn't been shafted since Massimo Moratti, the Inter boss, met Jose Mourinho six months before ditching Mancini and offering the Special One the Inter job. Personally, I think he's been shafted enough by certain people in his own country and I hope history does not repeat itself here...

[Crossie]

Bellamy flipped did he? Thats not what we heard from an eye witness. Funny how they are just re-writing bullshit from saturday still.

Just not worth picking a paper up anymore, its buying a lie.

[craigmcfc]

I think todays WAG should be added to your future Off Topic project Chinners

[john@staustell]

Bellamy flipped did he? Thats not what we heard from an eye witness. Funny how they are just re-writing bullshit from saturday still.

Just not worth picking a paper up anymore, its buying a lie.

They have to make it up cos they've all been banned. Good, serve the cunts right.

[Chinners]

Indeed John, it's going to be busy in Bollox Towers for the next few weeks I think.

Noted Craig ;)

[Chinners]

SHUT THE FUCK UP BOLLOX
Roque Santa Cruz has told Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez not to make promises he cannot keep.

Benitez stated last week that he could 'guarantee' Liverpool would finish in the top four of the Premier League this season. The Reds are currently eighth after a disappointing start and must improve considerably over the second half of the campaign to ensure UEFA Champions League qualification. Manchester City striker Santa Cruz does not believe it was wise of Benitez to come out with such a bold statement. ( I don't think yours is either RSC)

"I don't think you can guarantee anything," the Paraguay international said in the Daily Express. "It is hard to guarantee things, especially when things are not going in the right direction, like for Liverpool. "Things are not going the way they would want them to and to guarantee things in that situation is hard. Man City are better placed than Liverpool but manager Mark Hughes was still relieved of his duties over the weekend and replaced by Roberto Mancini.

Mancini has not guaranteed a top-four finish this season but confirmed that is the target and Santa Cruz feels it is now time for the players to deliver. "We have a position of confidence but also the team is focused on not talking too much and instead performing better than we have been," he said."All the while we are not playing as a fantastic team, I don't think anybody will say anything about the top four. But that is the aim - the goal is there."We know we have not been performing as well as we should or could and it hurts. "But everybody is trying to find their best form, regain their confidence and perform better in the coming games."

MORE SHUT THE FUCK UP IF YOU'RE GOING TO BAN THE PAPERS THEN DON'T GIVE THEM ANY INTERVIEWS EITHER BOLLOX
Manchester City chief executive Garry Cook is convinced that Mancini, who won the Serie A title three years in a row with Inter Milan before being replaced by Jose Mourinho, is good enough to have been considered by Liverpool.

Tom Hicks and George Gillett eventually failed to agree on whether to offer Klinsmann the position, but it now appears the former Germany boss was not the only coach on the Americans' wanted list and that Mancini was also a contender.

Cook uses the example of Liverpool's contingency plans - i.e. sounding out Klinsmann while Benitez was oblivious to the behind-the-scenes talks - as an example of how clubs explore the possibilities of replacing their manager when times are tough, even if they are not necessarily going to make a change.

Cook is livid that the City owners and the club's board have been savaged by the media because of the manner of Mark Hughes' sacking, suggesting that Mancini had been lined up for some time. But Cook told this website in an exclusive interview that the decision to sack Hughes was taken the day after the Spurs defeat, and not a day earlier. Clearly, though, the general discussions with Mancini were part of this industry sounding-out process.

Cook told ESPN Soccernet: "It is naive to think that clubs are not looking at their options. Of course they are. Do we think that Liverpool just talked to Klinsmann? I am sure they also spoke to others, and I have no doubt that Roberto Mancini was one of them. Of course he would have been. "We have been linked with Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho, Guus Hiddink and Klinsmann, but I have never met any of them."

Again, representatives of all of the leading contenders were contacted through third parties to seek their views about their futures. Cook said: "Any club looking at their managerial options would draw up a list, and a club like ours would look at the best in the world, so why wouldn't all the names mentioned, if they are indeed the best in the world, be on our list?

"But it is totally unrealistic to think we could sign Arsene Wenger, for example. He is far too loyal, and quite rightly so. We are fully aware that Guus Hiddink has made it known that in three years' time he doesn't want to be in coaching, so it's a process of fact-finding." Mourinho has made no secret of his desire to return to the Premier League, and would promise to deliver the Champions League trophy itself - but at a price.

That price is not just his inflated fee: his managerial style would conflict with City's desire to set up a scouting network and find their own young talent as opposed to just throwing money at buying new players. It is rare for someone like Cook to be so frank about the inner workings of a club, but he wanted to explain to the fans how the process of exploring the possibilities of a new manager works - not just at City, but generally within the game.

This, he feels, is the correct way for City supporters to learn about the process, and he wants to give City a chance to be portrayed as a football business going about things with methods that are regarded as 'custom and practice'. City made their move when the results became intolerable, and the defeat by Spurs was indeed the watershed for Mark Hughes' career at the club, but Cook is incensed that City are being misrepresented in the way they went about recruiting Mancini.

"The fact that Mancini met the owner on December 7 in London is not the same as the fact that we had made up our minds then to sack Mark Hughes," he said. "We decided to sack the manager after the Spurs defeat. "The fact that conversations took place prior to that is what lots of people do in football, and is part of what we do - it is what goes on within the game. But there is nothing misleading about what we told the public, the fans, and the media in our press conference."

Chelsea - Cit£h Move Fast!
Apparently, if one of our leading tabloids is correct, Manchester City have stolen a march on Chelsea.

City, still settling in the new management regime of Roberto Mancini and Brian Kidd, are using Kidd`s connections to bolster their behind the scenes staff.

It`s being reported that Gary Worthington, a top talent spotter, will be resuming his partnership with Kidd, having worked with him at Leeds United. If true, Chelsea will need to move fast to snap up any teenage talent that Worthington has identified in recent months, otherwise it`ll be City who reap the rewards.

[Chinners]

Evening Bollox
Liverpool upset by Cook’s claim of Mancini approach

Garry Cook, the chief executive of Manchester City, has sparked fury at Anfield by claiming that Liverpool approached Roberto Mancini with a view to the Italian replacing Rafael Benítez as manager.Cook’s latest controversial comments have landed him in hot water with the Liverpool hierarchy, who have refused to comment. Privately, they have not been impressed by Cook’s outburst and are likely to regard it as a smokescreen after the sacking of Mark Hughes and subsequent appointment of Mancini as City manager.

The City chief executive was criticised after he claimed that Mancini had not been offered the job until last Thursday but it had emerged that the decision to replace Hughes had been taken three weeks ago. In an attempt to explain his actions, Cook shifted the attention on to Liverpool, using their approach to Jürgen Klinsmann as a potential replacement for Benítez two years ago as evidence that clubs often have managerial successors lined up before the incumbent has been dismissed. “It is naive to think that clubs are not looking at their options,” Cook said. “Of course they are. Do we think that Liverpool just talked to Klinsmann? I am sure they also spoke to others, and I have no doubt that Roberto Mancini was one of them. Of course he would have been.”

Shortly after talks were held with Klinsmann, in November 2007, Tom Hicks, the Liverpool co-owner, confessed that an approach had been made to the German but said it was only as a contingency in case Benítez left the club to join Real Madrid. At the time, Liverpool were not linked with any other manager nor was there any evidence that they had launched a recruitment offensive, with agents employed to sound out potential successors to the Spaniard.

Benítez will also see Cook’s comments as an unnecessary distraction as he attempts to reinvigorate Liverpool’s flagging fortunes. However, one issue that he believes will right itself is the form of Steven Gerrard, which Benítez insists will improve as his captain’s fitness levels increase, enabling him to play and train more regularly. “He knows that he needs to improve but that in itself is very positive for me because it shows that he realises he is an important player for us,” Benítez said.

“He was doing much better, we were analysing his data and this was very clear. In the last game [against Portsmouth] he wasn’t at the same level, but this can sometimes happen and he knows that he is improving physically and this is the main thing for his confidence.“We have a lot of conversations, not just with Stevie, but with a lot of players. They want to improve and sometimes that can be a problem because they can try to too hard and that makes it more difficult.“If you analyse our team, people always talk about Gerrard and [Fernando] Torres. They are very important for us and they would be for any team. They have to be good because this means the rest of the team will be better and if they don’t play at the level they can, it can affect the team.“Steven is a very good player and because the fans have seen him play very well they expect him to play at the same level, but it’s not easy when you’re not training with the team. If he has no [injury] problems, I am sure he will be better.”

Robinho to play against Stoke?
Roberto Mancini, the new Manchester City manager, is likely to recall Robinho when he takes charge of his first game against Stoke City on Boxing Day. The Brazilian was dropped in Mark Hughes's final match, the 4-3 defeat of Sunderland last weekend, but Mancini has spoken of him "writing the history" of the club and wants to start again with the most expensive player in English football.

Mancini may need all his powers of persuasion considering that Robinho and his representatives have made it an open secret that he wants to leave City, preferably in the January transfer window or, failing that, at the end of the season. The hope behind the scenes, however, is that the change in manager may invigorate the former Real Madrid player, whose relationship with Hughes was epitomised by the manner in which he walked straight down the tunnel after being substituted in the 3-0 defeat at Tottenham last week that accelerated the manager's departure.

The issue for Mancini is whether to bring in Robinho on the left side of attack at the expense of Craig Bellamy. Another option, though, is that Bellamy starts in place of Shaun Wright-Phillips on the right, though it is in defence where Mancini will inevitably feel his more serious problems lie.

A study of City's recent fixtures will tell the former Internazionale coach they have kept only one clean sheet in the league since August and conceded three goals in each of their last three matches. Joleon Lescott's knee injury will keep him out for another month and, with Nedum Onuoha again on the casualty list and Micah Richards suffering from a knee problem, Mancini has paired Kolo Touré alongside Vincent Kompany during his first practice sessions.

Most of the training was conducted by Brian Kidd, the new assistant manager, and the players were asked to stay behind at the end to work specifically on defending corners. Mancini's suspicion is that the team is weak at set pieces and he intervened at one point to talk to the defenders specifically about how to stay with the attackers. Mancini has also made the players embark on double sessions to get a better look at them and broken them up into separate groups of defenders and attackers for specialist work.

The sold-out signs are already up at the City of Manchester Stadium although neither the club's owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, nor the chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, will be there as the controversy continues over the manner in which they started plotting behind Hughes's back to look for possible replacements as long ago as last summer.

The chain of events leading to Hughes's sacking has killed in an instant the claims from Abu Dhabi that they wanted to be seen acting in a different, more honourable way than others in the football world, and led to particular condemnation of Garry Cook, the chief executive. Cook, however, continued to protest his innocence and drew Liverpool into his argument by referring to the occasion two years ago when they were caught speaking to Jürgen Klinsmann behind Rafael Benítez's back.

"It is naive to think that clubs are not looking at their options," Cook said. "Of course they are. Do we think that Liverpool just talked to Klinsmann? I am sure they also spoke to others, and I have no doubt that Roberto Mancini was one of them. Of course he would have been."

City, he admitted, had looked at the potential availability of Klinsmann, Arsène Wenger, José Mourinho and Guus Hiddink, though Cook stressed he had "never met any of them", with intermediaries used instead. "Any club looking at their managerial options would draw up a list, and a club like ours would look at the best in the world, so why wouldn't all the names mentioned, if they are indeed the best in the world, be on our list?

"But it is totally unrealistic to think we could sign Arsène Wenger, for example. He is far too loyal [to Arsenal], and quite rightly so. We are also fully aware that Guus Hiddink has made it known that in three years' time he doesn't want to be in coaching, so it's a process of fact-finding. That is what lots of people do in football, and is part of what we do – it is what goes on within the game."

Sylvinho has told his Manchester City team-mates that they must forget about Mark Hughes immediately and focus on Saturday's clash with Stoke.
City sacked Hughes straight after the 4-3 victory over Sunderland at Eastlands on Saturday, and immediately announced Roberto Mancini as his replacement. Despite the controversy surrounding Hughes' exit, Sylvinho believes the Welshman must now be forgotten and the focus switched to Mancini and his first game in charge.

Sylvinho said: "Sometimes these things happen when you are talking about football at this level and as a player you have to be prepared to adapt quickly. "Whatever happens, we try to do our best. We can't be thinking about Mark Hughes, who was a good manager trying to do his best for the club, there is no time. Football changes too quickly. "As a professional you have to work hard for the new coach because you know that in a few days you have another important game, and as the Premier League is difficult, you must prepare properly."

Former Inter Milan coach Mancini has already put the players through their paces since taking charge on Monday by organising double training sessions. Given injury concerns at the back, and with City having conceded three goals in each of their last three games, it would be natural for Mancini to turn his attention to the club's defensive frailty. Sylvinho, though, is convinced Mancini will be an asset all round, adding: "He doesn't just concentrate on the defence.

"Yes, he is tactical, the Italian League is one of the best in the world. "He will try to make the team safe, but he wants to get all the positions correct. I think he'll be good for us."

With a new manager in place, and especially with a transfer window looming, any player would naturally be eager to give their all.
It is understood Mancini will take stock of his squad over the next two games, with a trip to Wolves after the game with Stoke, before informing the City board of his targets. Sylvinho, however, knows that points as well as fighting for places are vital if City are to achieve Mancini's aim of a top-four finish.

"We're not just out to impress, most of us are experienced players," Sylvinho added on the club's official website. "We'll try to win the points. Winning games gets you higher in the table and that gives you confidence to be a bit more comfortable. "Stoke is now very important and they are going to be hard to beat. "We will have to work very hard and keep our concentration to win the game, and that means everyone in the team."

Mancini is being linked with a number of defenders as he is without Nedum Onuoha and Joleon Lescott through injury, while Kolo Toure heads out on African Nations Cup duty after Saturday.
Palermo's Denmark international Simon Kjaer is amongst those mentioned, along with Juventus' Giorgio Chiellini, Matthew Upson at West Ham and Borussia Dortmund's Neven Subotic

Wright load of Bollox
When I was young and misbehaved my mother would often tell me ‘the tale does not wag the dog’. In layman’s terms she was telling me she was boss and that what she said went! In 2008 following his team’s 3rd place finish in La Liga, Frank Rijkaard was sacked as manager of Barcelona. The club had gone out to eventual Champions League winners Manchester United in the semi final of the competition and had also gone out in the semi final of the Copa del Rey so the season was not a disaster by any stretch of the imagination. Just two seasons before he had won the Champions League beating Arsenal in the final and the season prior to his dismissal, lost the title by way of a weaker head to head record against champions Real Madrid.

So why exactly was he sacked?

Rumours had begun circulating about problems in the dressing room and by the end of his tenure in Catalonia, Rijkaard had completely lost the dressing room with players like Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto’o dancing to their own tune.

And although not as extreme as the Rijkaard case, it is felt that this is part of the reason why Mark Hughes became the 49 th manager to lose his job this year.

Ian Wright highlighted the likes of Robinho, Adebayor and Joleon Lescott as the types of player that cost him his job and although I can see where he is coming from with Robinho and Lescott, the case for Adebayor is a bit sketchy.

Wright claimed in his column in The Sun:

“In Robinho, Emmanuel Adebayor and Joleon Lescott, these three signings, for various reasons, contributed to Hughes getting the boot. Robinho and Adebayor are not players you would want in the trenches. When you hear certain stories coming out of City about Robinho, he doesn’t strike me as the kind of player a manager can hang his hat on, and Adebayor left a club like Arsenal among all sorts of player unrest stories.”
As brilliant as Robinho has been on field, he has caused his fair share of problems off field too, he was accused of rape in January and as a result went AWOL leaving the club’s Tenerife training camp without permission. More recently he also hasn’t helped by courting Barcelona, sometimes publicly, in an attempt to orchestrate a move back to Spain.

Joleon Lescott although not disruptive in the same sense as Robinho, piled the pressure on Hughes when Man City forked out £24m to bring him to Manchester from Everton. Lescott has been one of City’s biggest underachievers this season failing to perform to a standard that confirmed City’s belief that he was worth such a hefty fee.

This leaves us with the controversial Togolese forward Emmanuel Adebayor. Initial he got off to a dream start scoring in all 4 of City’s first 4 games. But over on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday Jeff Stelling and co. believe that after getting off to such a great start Adebayor has taken his foot off the gas as he feel he has justified his place and price tag already. This is disputable as he is still scoring, grabbing the opener as City beat Chelsea, although not as frequently as at the start of the season. I think it is a case of his reputation preceding him as there is no concrete evidence we can use in this case.

It would be wrong to just blame these players as others have failed Hughes as well with poor performances and Hughes himself must shoulder some of the blame too. After spending the money he has, going on that record breaking run of draws was not acceptable.

But essentially his job could have been made easier with the co-operation of his players. Ian Wright also claimed:

“I have the feeling they will not care less that Hughes has been replaced.”
and when you look at the likes of Robinho and Adebayor I too share that feeling as it looks like these tails could very well have been wagging the dog.

AND FINALLY - AUDIO BOLLOX
Former Manchester City chairman David Bernstein tells BBC Radio 5 live's Mark Pougatch that the club has "mismanaged" the situation surrounding the sacking of Mark Hughes.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/footbal ... 428423.stm