Saturday's B*ll*x

[Chinners]

Chelsea backing Wayne Bridge over captain John Terry as duo set to clash for first time
Wayne Bridge comes face to face with John Terry at Stamford Bridge having received an astonishing pledge of support from five members of the Chelsea dressing room.
On a day when Fabio Capello all but accused Terry of setting a bad example to young fans, it emerged that the Vanessa Perroncel scandal has divided the Chelsea captain's own colleagues.
Manchester City players, some of whom wore Team Bridge T-shirts under their kit after the scandal broke, have told Bridge they will join him in refusing to shake Terry's hand during the now customary exchange.
Head to head at High Noon: All eyes focus on just two men - Terry and Bridge Show of support: Bridge with Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini at training before the big showdown with nemesis John Terry at former club Chelsea
But just as remarkable is that, according to sources, Bridge has earned the sympathy of Terry's team-mates over a scandal which has led to the Manchester City full back declaring himself unavailable for England.
Bridge is a former Chelsea player and he clearly still has friends there who believe Terry deserved to lose the England captaincy.
Capello certainly seems to be disturbed by the sorry episode, as well as Ashley Cole's troubled private life.
On Friday he gave a clear indication of what he will say to his England players when they meet for next Wednesday's friendly against Egypt.
'When I met the players for the first time, I told them, "You have to respect all the people that work with me, around us and the other players",' he said.
Sorry saga: Fabio Capello will remind Terry and his England team-mates they have a duty to fulfill in the public spotlight, namely showing respect to set an example
'The younger children look to these players like an example for life.
'I prefer to speak about football and not the personal life. The next press conference will not be easy to speak about Egypt. A lot of questions will be about John Terry, Wayne Bridge and other things around their private life.'

TRANSFER BOLLOX
Manchester United will be under pressure to sell off up to 15 players at the end of the season to help clear their rising debt, reported to be about £716m. Striker Michael Owen and keeper Ben Foster are likely to be top of the list for the axe.Daily Star

Veteran former Scotland striker Paul Dickov, a free agent after leaving Leicester in January, will join League One title hopefuls Leeds on Monday.
Daily Mail

WAG OF THE DAY

http://www.blogcatalog.com/blog/the-foo ... 6360af3991

OTHER BOLLOX
Ipswich manager Roy Keane sympathises with Bridge's decision to quit England, claiming "getting the big contract, the Bentley and the blonde" has replaced playing the international game as "the pinnacle" for players. Daily Mail

Olympic and world sprint champion Usain Bolt is desperate for Manchester United to beat Aston Villa in Sunday's Carling Cup final. He will be watching in his Kingston home and said: "I want to be celebrating at the end." The Sun

Milton Keynes Dons manager Paul Ince is facing the axe, with former Watford and Reading boss Brendan Rodgers being lined up to replace him. Daily Mail

Reading have decided not to appeal against Jobi McAnuff's red card in the FA Cup fifth-round replay victory over West Brom, ruling the winger out of the Royals' quarter-final clash against Aston Villa. Daily Mail

The Premier League could introduce fines if members fail to stick to an agreement made at the start of the season on giving interviews to rights holders. It could lead to Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson speaking to the BBC once again. Ferguson fell out with the corporation after a 2004 documentary about his son Jason. The Independent

Rangers manager Walter Smith has told goalkeeper Allan McGregor, who this week claimed he was attacked at a city centre taxi rank, he is on his last chance over his off-the-field antics. (The Sun)

Rangers' Walter Smith says it is understandable that striker Kris Boyd has called off contract talks because of the uncertainty over the club's finances and the manager's future. (Various)

Scotland's under-fire referees will be wined and dined by the Scottish Football Association before next week's friendly with Czech Republic as a defiant show of support to officials. (The Sun)

Rangers striker Kenny Miller has hit back at Celtic's claims that they get a raw deal from referees, saying he suffered a harsh red card against Dundee United that ruled him out of the last Old Firm derby. (Various)

Former Manchester United and Aston Villa striker Dwight Yorke is in reflective mood ahead of the Carling Cup final. When asked about a premature end to a four-year Old Trafford career in 2002, he said: "Would I give up the women and nights out for another year at United? Would that make me happy? Would that make me the person I am today? I'm not so sure."
Daily Express

[Chinners]

Been an interesting couple of weeks. The Mancini honeymoon has been well and truly over, although you can lay that directly at the feet of a lack of player acquisition in January, the Red Tops and associated low lives were starting to agitate for Mancini's removal and then this... Chelsea 2-4 Manchester City and it wasn't that close.

To say that this opens up the league race would be something of an understatement. Ten games to go and the top three clubs have three points between them. Each club has five home and five away fixtures left with the mouth watering visit of Chelsea to Salford on April 3rd. What hasn't been generally commented upon is just how much easier Arsenal's run in is for the title. The average league position of Manchester United's last 10 opponents is 9.5, for Chelsea it is 10.7 and for Arsenal an eye opening 12.2 with games against four of the current bottom five. How today's shocking injury to Aaron Ramsey impacts the Gunners remains to be seen, but the league title is very much there for the taking.

Back at City and the victory over Chelsea should remove the heat from Mancini that the press was starting to stir up. Now of course the Daily Mail has about as much credibility as Gordon Brown at a Pro England rally but their muck racking was bound to have some impact. Whether Mancini remains the manager at the end of the season is debatable. Even if the goal of 4th place is attained Jose Mourinho seems pretty certain to be available. Old Purple Nose shows no signs of leaving United and Liverpool's finances make Anfield an unlikely destination for the Special One. Which leaves City if the Inter manager wants to return to England. Would City's management team be so ruthless as to get rid if a manager that guided City into the Champions League? It remains to be seen and City still have to attain such a final place in the final standings, something that still seems unlikely given the erratic form of late.

That being said City have the lowest number of league loses in the Premier League. It's a brutal run in for the club with Arsenal, United and Villa three of the last four games with the possibility of a re arranged Spurs fixture looming as well. About the only thing that seems certain is that the league and the final place for the Champions League will probably go down to the last game of the season.

[blootoof]

[Esky]

Ipswich manager Roy Keane sympathises with Bridge's decision to quit England, claiming "getting the big contract, the Bentley and the blonde" has replaced playing the international game as "the pinnacle" for players.

What a fucking turnip. The pinnacle eh? Wonder what McCarthy must have done then to turn him away from that same pinnacle.