Thursday's B*ll*x

[Chinners]

Shrewsbury to land £500k if Hart plays
League Two minnows Shrewsbury Town are in for a windfall of £500,000 when Joe Hart makes his competitive debut for England, which should come against Bulgaria on Friday night.
Hart began his career with Shrewsbury, making 58 appearances for the club before being signed by Manchester City in the summer of 2006. And now the Shrews are set for a vital injection of cash after the Euro 2012 qualifier.#
There is also a clause in the deal which saw Adam Johnson move to Manchester City from Middlesbrough, though it is thought Boro received their £1 million payment in May when the winger made his bow in a World Cup warm-up game.
Hart said: "I think I am right in thinking Shrewsbury get half a million if I play on Friday. That will be huge for the club. Last time when I played in the friendly, they thought they were getting it but it has to be a competitive game.
"It is huge money for a team like that and I am pleased for them although there is only one player left from my time there. Everyone else has gone.''
But Hart is not taking his place in the England team for granted. He said: "I don't think anyone knows they are playing. There are only a couple of people who can quite comfortably say that in our squad. I'm definitely not one of them. I'm just going to train hard and do my best to get in that team.
"We owe the fans. It is a huge opportunity on Friday and there is so much more emotion around night games. Bulgaria will be tough opposition. Hopefully there is a good crowd out there and we will give them something to get behind us.
"England as a nation need to be winning games.''
Hart also reiterated that he would have left Eastlands this summer had he not won his battle with Shay Given to be Roberto Mancini's first choice goalkeeper. He said: "I just wanted to play. Sitting on the bench just doesn't interest me because of the way I am and the way I enjoy football.
"If Shay was in possession, then I would have looked elsewhere but luckily enough for now I'm playing and I just want to enjoy that. But Shay Given is a huge keeper who has done well for years and years and is so well respected that I've got to be on my toes to keep my place and make it my own.
"I can't speak highly enough of the guy. I respect him and look up to him in so many ways, not only as a keeper but as a person, a professional, everything about the way he is. I love working with him.''

Barry calls for Prem winter break
Gareth Barry says the Premier League must introduce a winter break to save England from another World Cup disaster.
Barry believes a short rest is “massive” when it comes to international football and was one of the biggest factors as to why England under-performed last summer.
Manchester City midfielder Barry admits England players went into the tournament already worn out from a long, hard season.
Barry said: “In my opinion, in South Africa, to be competing at our peak would have meant we needed fresh players. If a winter break can help, that certainly needs to be looked at, in my personal opinion, that is a massive thing.
“We have to look at things like winter breaks, as that is an issue which keeps coming up. Ask any players who plays on a Sunday, plays midweek and then plays the week after. You don’t feel as good.
“If you are rested in the week, like will happen at Man City due to the size of the squad, you will feel better the week after. It is just natural.
“Me, as a younger player, would say I want to play every game and it doesn’t affect me. It is a tough one, for the fans as well.
“Their opinion will always be we are paid all this money and we are fit enough to play all the games. But, as you get more experienced, you can perform at a higher standard when you are fresher.”
Barry was rushed back from injury for the World Cup, jettisoned into the England team as if his return would be as big for Fabio Capello as David Villa was for Spain.
But it ended in disappointment for England and Barry, his lack of match fitness against Germany horribly exposed and Capello’s faith in an injured player showing how desperate things had become.
There has been plenty of time for Barry to try and look for answers and reasons and one accusation that really sticks in the claw is that the players simply do not care enough.
Barry said: “Of course, we care. It is hard to take defeat, for anyone. When it is you being spoken about, it is hard to deal with. As you say, we need to learn from this. England as a whole, the FA, we will learn from in the future.
“The whole set-up, if there were mistakes or things could be done, it is important we take them on board for the future. I am not saying there were mistakes - I could not affect it.
“As players we were thinking the same as you and did not want to bring negativity into the camp. Maybe in individual heads it may have been there.
“I had not played for six weeks and wanted to get fit. Maybe as individuals, we felt we were not as fresh as we are now. You always want to compete in those events at your peak and raring to go.
“But I am not sitting here making excuses as other countries have the same sort of problems.”

BITTER BOLLOX
Petrov: There’s no trust at City
MARTIN PETROV gave a damning verdict on life at Manchester City, saying: "There is no trust."
The Bulgaria star, who will line up against England tomorrow, left Eastlands in the summer to join Bolton on a free. And Petrov, 31, rapped: "At the moment at City people are becoming more bad than good.
"The human relationships are lost and the trust is lost too. In this situation the players are going to play like millionaires in games and are not a team on the pitch."
City have taken four points from three games this term - and were beaten 1-0 at Sunderland on Sunday.
Big-name stars like Shay Given and Emmanuel Adebayor have also threatened to quit the club after losing their starting roles.
Petrov was left fuming after City offered him just a one-year extension to his contract.
He told Bulgarian newspaper Trud: "100 per cent no, I don't miss City. If I accepted their one-year offer now I would be on loan somewhere else.
"At City nothing is clear. The team are looking for identity."

WAG OF THE DAY
http://www.sylvievdvaart.nl/sylvie_uk.asp

TRANSFER BOLLOX
Arsenal are closing in on Japanese sensation Ryo Miyaichi, after the 17-year-old impressed on loan at the Gunners. The tricky winger has been coveted by a host of top clubs in Europe, namely Premier League rivals Liverpool, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Everton, but Ajax, Inter Milan and Real Madrid are also all aware of the player. Arsene Wenger is considering offering the prodigious talent professional terms to ward off overtures from their rivals. (Daily Mail)

Real Madrid have slammed Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp, labelling the Spurs supremo a liar for suggesting Bayern Munich had bid £18 million for Rafael Van der Vaart. The Dutchman, who in the past has been coveted by Manchester City, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, completed his shock move to White Hart Lane yesterday following Tottenham’s late bid for the 27-year-old. (Spanish daily AS)

Tottenham striker Robbie Keane rejected the chance to join Turkish side Besiktas in an £8m deal during the summer transfer window. Daily Mail

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway is trying to push through a deal for former England keeper Richard Wright, who is a free agent. Daily Mirror

West Ham missed out on the deadline-day signings of Everton's Yakubu Ayegbeni and Portsmouth's Marc Wilson because of their precarious finances. the Guardian

Coventry hope to complete the signing of former Wigan and Watford striker Marlon King by the end of the week, following his release from prison. Daily Mail

West Ham have signed Belgian goalkeeper Ruud Boffin on a two-year deal from MVV Maastricht as cover for Robert Green when he undergoes hip surgery. (Daily Mail)

OTHER BOLLOX
Former Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has claimed broken promises - and not his family's failure to settle on Merseyside - prompted his decision to force a move from Anfield to Barcelona. the Guardian

Former West Ham manager Alan Curbishley is in pole position to become the next boss of Aston Villa, having held talks with the club. Daily Mirror

Manchester United could have signed their new £7.5m Portuguese striker Bebe for as little as £125,000 last January. Daily Mail

Former Portsmouth manager Paul Hart and ex-Hull City boss Phil Brown are early contenders to replace Alan Pardew at Southampton. Daily Mail

Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has warned fans he will quit the club too if their criticism forces out manager Roberto Martinez. the Sun

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has had a major falling out with the board over his new contract demands. Daily Mail

Wales coach John Toshack wants their Euro 2012 qualifier against England moved from the Millennium Stadium to the more intimate Cardiff City Stadium. Daily Mail

Newcastle's 35-year-old defender Sol Campbell says he is not too old for an England recall - nearly three years after winning the last of his 73 caps. Daily Star

Bayern Munich's Mark van Bommel has been named new captain of the Dutch national team - coached by his father-in-law Bert van Marwijk. (Independent)

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has told a Spanish radio station it is "fundamental" the club finds new owners "who can make us a competitive side" after an "appalling" last season. (Times)

Everton striker Louis Saha has resorted to a 5,000 year-old medical treatment to cure his knee problems - applying leeches. "It swells up less and I feel fine now," he said. the Sun

A 21-year-old former MTV reality show contestant claims to be a serious bidder to buy Portsmouth. Daily Telegraph

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair has admitted he turned to Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson for advice on how to deal with chancellor Gordon Brown when their relationship was tense.the Sun WTF!

TRANSFER WINNERS AND LOSERS BOLLOX
Window of opportunity or simply a pain? The winners and losers following a summer of transfer activity

WINNERS
King Street, Manchester Shop owners in the upmarket shopping thoroughfare will be laughing all the way to the bank as City's new signings spend their hard-earned.

Manuel Almunia The much-criticised Arsenal goalkeeper looks set to keep his place after Arsene Wenger failed to land a replacement.

Stoke fans Eidur Gudjohnsen at the Britannia? That plus Jermaine Pennant and Kenwyne Jones must be causing some excitement.

Roy Hodgson Javier Mascherano was replaced and neither Steven Gerrard nor Fernando Torres jumped ship.

David Ngog With Liverpool's bid for Carlton Cole failing, Ngog will get plenty of playing time.

Arsenal fans Their club won the battle with Barca and held on to Cesc Fabregas.

Roman Pavlyuchenko Spurs fans wanted a striker. They didn't get one, so Super Pav will have another chance to prove his worth.

Henrique Hilario and Ross Turnbull With Stoke holding on to Asmir Begovic and Petr Cech injury prone, these two will surely get their fair share of games.

Avram Grant His average squad would have struggled without Scott Parker or Carlton Cole. Holding on to both of them could be crucial in the fight against the drop.

LOSERS
Roque Santa Cruz With Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor and Jo ahead of him, the Paraguayan's failure to secure a move could lead to a few boring months.

Robbie Keane and Alan Hutton Both are miserably far down the pecking order at Spurs. Could they be desperate enough to go down a division on loan?

David Stockdale Mark Schwarzer's failure to join Arsenal means he will probably be Fulham No 1 again, leaving Stockdale to warm the bench.

Shay Given Roberto Mancini clearly favours Joe Hart in goal and, with moves to Fulham or Arsenal not coming off, Given faces a fight for playing time.

Arsenal fans Fabregas can play like Europe's finest, but they still do not have a world-class goalkeeper. It could cost them the title.

Asmir Begovic It can't feel good when you have a sulk and don't get your move. He will not be Mr Popular at Stoke this season.

Jeremie Aliadiere The Frenchman, plus Jay Demerit, Francis Jeffers and Keith Gillespie, are among the hundreds of free transfers without a home.

Middlesbrough pie-shop owners Mido joined Ajax. Enough said

more bollox soon . . .

[Mase]

What a bitter bastard Petrov is! Anyone would think he was some world beater the way he's going on. He's playing for Bolton. End of.

[DoomMerchant]

What a bitter bastard Petrov is! Anyone would think he was some world beater the way he's going on. He's playing for Bolton. End of.

to be fair tho he is prollee somewhat correct...altho on balance i could swear he claimed no one even talked to him about his contract, and now he admits he was offered only a one-year deal (which seems prudent to me).

he is clearly bitter, but we are a team who will search for an identity this season...and need to build trust and relationships to find that identity. Nothing surprising about that to me.

cheers

[Mase]

What a bitter bastard Petrov is! Anyone would think he was some world beater the way he's going on. He's playing for Bolton. End of.

to be fair tho he is prollee somewhat correct...altho on balance i could swear he claimed no one even talked to him about his contract, and now he admits he was offered only a one-year deal (which seems prudent to me).

he is clearly bitter, but we are a team who will search for an identity this season...and need to build trust and relationships to find that identity. Nothing surprising about that to me.

cheers

But why even open your mouth about a club you are not connected with anymore? If he was asked the question directly then why not say, "I had a lovely time at City, I wish them and their fans all the best."

[Ted Hughes]

What a bitter bastard Petrov is! Anyone would think he was some world beater the way he's going on. He's playing for Bolton. End of.

to be fair tho he is prollee somewhat correct...altho on balance i could swear he claimed no one even talked to him about his contract, and now he admits he was offered only a one-year deal (which seems prudent to me).

he is clearly bitter, but we are a team who will search for an identity this season...and need to build trust and relationships to find that identity. Nothing surprising about that to me.

cheers

I think what these players are going on about is a change in the way City operate compared to the old days, with less personal involvement from the manager, but it's not Mancini's fault. It was the same when Hughes was here. The only difference is some people on here chose to slaughter Hughes for being aloof but now slaughter the players for mentioning it instead of criticising Mancini.

Whether it's the best way to operate I don't know but it's the way some big clubs operate, not just City.

[Chinners]

I don't usually put up Tribal bollox but this one was too risible to ignore ...

Santos demand cut from Man City fee for Robinho
Manchester City have been told to cough up by Santos over their sale of Robinho to AC Milan.
Santos chief Joao Vicente Gazzola is demanding money as part of their assistance in reviving Robinho's career last season.
"We have the right to almost 5% of the amount paid by AC Milan to Manchester City as a reward for playing Robinho," said Gazzola.
Santos also expect money from Real Madrid, which sold Robinho to City, after the winger left them for Madrid.

Benji copies Petrov Bollox
Blackburn's Benjani slams Manchester City and claims players are only motivated by money
Blackburn's Benjani claims there is 'no trust' at his old club Manchester City and that some of their players are motivated primarily by money.
The Zimbabwe international agreed a deal with Rovers last week having been released earlier this summer by City, where he had spent a largely unsuccessful two-and-a-half-year stint.
With a raft of expensive new players arriving at Eastlands after he was signed in 2008 by then-manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, Benjani, whose time with City was marred by injury, was deemed surplus to requirements by the club's current boss Roberto Mancini.
The 32-year-old forward has now proven his fitness sufficiently to win himself a contract at Ewood Park .
But while expressing his delight at earning another chance to play in the Barclays Premier League, Benjani has also taken the opportunity to fire a parting shot at his former employers.
Asked what it was like to be at City when they were spending so much money, Benjani said: 'It sounds great, but in football money is not everything. What is needed is people who can hang around and love you to be there.
'Sometimes you are loved to be there because of money, which is not good. I would prefer to be here without having all those facilities, be happy and trust everyone around you.'
Asked if he thought some players at City were interested in money more than anything else, Benjani said: 'Yes, it seemed like that and behind the scenes, there is no trust. I would prefer to play for a club where you are being trusted and you trust everyone around you.'

[Esky]

I don't usually put up Tribal bollox but this one was too risible to ignore ...

Santos demand cut from Man City fee for Robinho
Manchester City have been told to cough up by Santos over their sale of Robinho to AC Milan.

Santos chief Joao Vicente Gazzola is demanding money as part of their assistance in reviving Robinho's career last season.

"We have the right to almost 5% of the amount paid by AC Milan to Manchester City as a reward for playing Robinho," said Gazzola.

Santos also expect money from Real Madrid, which sold Robinho to City, after the winger left them for Madrid.

Hahahahaha. That cannot be legitimate.

[Mase]

Didn't Benj say straight after he joined City that the money was too good to turn down and it's the most money he's ever been offered?? Why the change in attitude?

[ronk]

Didn't Benj say straight after he joined City that the money was too good to turn down and it's the most money he's ever been offered?? Why the change in attitude?

We stopped offering him lots of money.

[Dronny]

Well, well, well....Redknapp in cheating, lieing, fat twitchy cunt shocker...must be some kind of error?

Real Madrid have slammed Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp, labelling the Spurs supremo a liar for suggesting Bayern Munich had bid £18 million for Rafael Van der Vaart. The Dutchman, who in the past has been coveted by Manchester City, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal, completed his shock move to White Hart Lane yesterday following Tottenham’s late bid for the 27-year-old.