Mancini will order £50m clear-out of disgruntled benchwarmers
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has been given the go-ahead to restore dressing room peace with a £50million firesale of players.
Mancini retains the backing of the club’s Abu Dhabi owners and he wants to dump a number of players unhappy about their role in his squad.
Mancini is ready to axe England internationals Shaun Wright-Phillips and Wayne Bridge as well as Republic of Ireland keeper Shay Given and Paraguay striker Roque Santa Cruz.
Wright-Phillips has been marginalised after City refused to meet his £100,000-a-week demands for a new contract, while Bridge will fall behind both Alexandar Kolarov now the Serbian defender is fit, and Pablo Zabaletta.
Given is also on his way out after losing his No 1 spot to Joe Hart.
All three players failed to impress when Mancini gave them a start in the 3-1 Europa League defeat at Lech Poznan on Thursday night.
Santa Cruz will also be shown the door after failing to justify the £18million that Hughes paid Blackburn 18 injury-ravaged months ago.
City’s owners feel that Mancini is being undermined by players recruited by former boss Mark Hughes as well as their agents and advisers.
A City source said: “All talk that Roberto has lost the support of the players is being based purely on the word of a group of players that have no future at the club and their hangers on.”
Mancini won his first power battle in the summer when his insistence on removing Craig Bellamy from his squad saw the fans’ favourite loaned out to Cardiff for the season.
He claimed another victory this week – despite seeing his team slip to their third successive defeat – when head physiotherapist Jamie Murphy was demoted to a role with the club’s Academy following a series of disagreements with the City manager.
Manchester City track Antonio Cassano - another Italian ‘bad boy’
Manchester City, already struggling with one Italian problem player in Mario Balotelli, may be about to acquire another.
Sampdoria forward Antonio Cassano has been told that his Serie A club have sought permission from the Italian League to tear up his contract.
The 28-year-old came to prominence when Roma paid £27million to buy him from his hometown club Bari in 2001.
He joined Spanish giants Real Madrid five years later but soon ran into problems when his weight ballooned.
Sampdoria salvaged his career and City manager Roberto Mancini’s close ties with the Genoa club make him perfectly placed to assess Cassano’s value.
Cassano has a career record of indiscipline, and not even a stern coach like Fabio Capello was able to control him for long.
Carlos Tevez hurt by speculation bollox
Carlos Tevez is battling to be fit for next Wednesday's Manchester derby after flatly rejecting speculation that he has been seeing a psychiatrist in an effort to overcome depression.
The Manchester City striker returned from Argentina this week after treatment to recover from a dead leg which has been keeping him out of the Blues first-team reckoning.
Tevez also took the time to see his two young daughters, who have returned to their homeland with their mother following the ending of their relationship.
As Tevez's City team-mate Roque Santa Cruz suggested his fellow South American was homesick, it gave further credence to reports that emerged in Argentina suggesting the player was seeking professional help.
However, a spokesman for the player has refuted such talk.
"There is not a shred of truth in it," he said. "Carlos is very hurt by these accusations.
"Of course he misses his daughters, just as any father would in this situation.
"But to suggest there is more to it than that, that he is suffering some kind of problem that requires professional help is simply not true."
Instead, Tevez is now back in Manchester and has resumed training.
Manager Roberto Mancini has not ruled out his skipper returning for Sunday's trip to West Brom but it is more likely Tevez will make his comeback against former club Manchester United at Eastlands on Wednesday.
"The injury has responded well to treatment and he is now fighting to regain full fitness," added the spokesman.
City will move for Mourinho if Mancini gets the bullet
Jose Mourinho will become the number one target for Manchester City if they finally decide to ditch Roberto Mancini.
Despite trying to play down talks of growing rifts inside the camp and pressure to secure results, the Italian will face more unwelcome headlines if his side slump to their fourth straight defeat at West Brom today.
City official stance is to back Mancini.
But there are grave concerns among the club hierarchy.
Sheik Mansour, the club’s billionaire owner, is only interested in one man and if he does pull the plug on Mancini’s tenure. That man is Real Madrid coach Mourinho.
A senior City source said last night: “In the event the club parted company with Roberto there is only one obvious candidate to replace him.
“The board would have no real power to appoint, it would come direct from the owner and it is no secret that he loves Mourinho.”
Some critics will claim any move for Mourinho is doomed to failure. The former Chelsea boss has launched his career in spectacular, unbeaten style at Madrid and is being acclaimed by their fans in a way previously unknown by coaches.
Sheik Mansour has the cheque book to turn any heads. But if they can’t lure Mourinho there will be more realistic targets at home.
Former Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill is available and it’s also been suggested they could even attempt to lure Harry Redknapp away from Tottenham.
Kenny Dalglish: Manchester City are paying the price for spending too much too soon
It has always been a nice club and I guess most people felt if any other club was going to get a massive cash influx, it might as well be City.
The new owners have spent £300million in transfer fees, clear proof of their commitment. Whether they have got value for money is another question altogether. They bought to get into the Champions League and they have failed twice so far.
I had a similar 'project' at Blackburn when Jack Walker's money helped make it possible for us to go from the second division to becoming Premier League champions. We couldn't have done it without the extra spending power. Yet, if it had just been about money, it wouldn't have worked.
People might not believe me but when I tried to sign a player, whether it be Alan Shearer, Chris Sutton, Graeme Le Saux or whoever, wages were not mentioned at first. I tried to sell them the Rovers story, the fact that with Jack's money we would be able to build a great side and make history for one of Lancashire's proudest clubs.
If, early in the conversation, a player interrupted with something that meant: 'Yeah, but what am I going to earn,' you knew maybe they were talking to us for the wrong reasons. To their credit, the players I signed wanted to know about the club before their personal finance was even discussed.
Of course, Blackburn paid their players handsomely - and that was one of the reasons we could attract the best talent. But there was no way we would offer them double or even 50 per cent more than they would get somewhere else. We did break the transfer record for Shearer and Sutton but no player earned substantially more at Ewood Park than at other top clubs.
It seems different at Manchester City. The owners wanted success overnight and, as a result, were prepared to throw an unprecedented amount of money in transfer fees and wages.
Some of that has benefited English football because money has filtered down to clubs like Everton (Joleon Lescott), West Ham (Craig Bellamy), Arsenal (Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure) and Aston Villa (James Milner and Gareth Barry).
The irony is that City might not have felt the real benefit themselves because they have kept changing players and that doesn't help lay proper foundations. And whenever you change the manager, the new man is always likely to want to make more changes.
Real success takes time. By acting too quickly, you will get some players who have signed for what I'd call the right reasons. But it increases the risk of bringing in players who are there for more mercenary reasons. My preference is to have players who buy into the story rather than buying into the cash.
The signing of Robinho on the new owners' first day laid out their intentions and flexed the club's new muscles. He might have been knocked out with the number of zeroes at the end of his contract, having been fourth-choice at Real Madrid, but within a couple of weeks he was given permission to go back to Brazil while his team-mates were knocked out of the Carling Cup at Brighton.
Since then, Wayne Bridge, Adebayor, Kolo Toure and a whole legion of other players have arrived. Were they sold on the City 'story' or did the pound signs come first?
Any renowned player City approach will look at reports of Yaya Toure's £240,000-a-week wages and want something approaching parity. City have made a rod for their own back and even the richest Sheik in the world isn't going to let that continue forever.
It has left the club facing West Bromwich today with a group of players who are better individually than as part of a team. The one player they can point to as world-class is Carlos Tevez.
City have had impressive wins against Liverpool and Chelsea this season but have lost their past three games conceding eight goals. When that happens, you are going to get all sorts of negative publicity.
The players' lives off the field have been called into question. Personally, I find nothing wrong with allowing players to have a drink or two between matches to unwind. It was a speciality at Liverpool, though I didn't particularly partake!
If the manager, Roberto Mancini, has made it clear he doesn't want the players to go on heavy drinking sessions, I'm not going against that.
Likewise, there is alleged unrest with the boss's training regime. It's true that modern players can have big egos but they shouldn't be any less professional than if they worked in a bank or hospital.
You have to act professionally and respectfully towards your employers. You don't have to like them.
Footballers shouldn't be any different and if the manager wants to train at 4pm, you train at 4pm. You don't complain because it means not being able to pick up the kids from school.
I didn't see enough of my children growing up as a player and later manager but unless it's an emergency, the club comes first. It comes with the territory.
This is a huge couple of weeks for Mancini and City. After West Brom, they play Manchester United on Wednesday night and their progress into the next stage of the Europa League isn't assured.
It is easy to blame the manager but the problems might run deeper than that. The saying 'More haste, less speed' comes to mind. City wanted a revolution - steady progress might have suited them better.
WAG OF THE DAY
http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/wag ... posh-kecks
TRANSFER BOLLOX
Tottenham midfielders David Bentley and Niko Kranjcar could be set for a January exit to help fund new signings for boss Harry Redknapp. Mail on Sunday
West Ham are lining up a £2.5m bid for Swansea winger Joe Allen. Sunday People
Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has been given no guarantees by the club's new owners about having money to spend in the January transfer window, after his summer signings failed to impress. Sunday Mirror
Stephen Ireland is considering his future at Aston Villa less than four months after his arrival from Manchester City, having failed to earn a regular first-team place under new manager Gerard Houllier.
News of the World
Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce is considering a January move for Newcastle's Alan Smith, having signed him for the Magpies during his brief reign at St James's Park three years ago.News of the World
AC Milan are lining up bids for Liverpool striker Fernando Torres and Manchester United winger Nani as they look to break neighbours Inter Milan's grip on the Italian League. caughtoffside.com
Arsenal are bracing themselves for a bid from Barcelona for left-back Gael Clichy, with Kieran Gibbs ready to fill the gap if the Frenchman leaves. caughtoffside.com
Chelsea are lining up Newcastle's 21-year-old striker Andy Carroll as a £15m long-term replacement for Didier Drogba. Sunday Express
OTHER BOLLOX
Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia could be set for a swift return to football three months ahead of schedule after breaking his ankle against Rangers in September. Mail on Sunday
United defender Gary Neville could be offered the chance to start his managerial career with the club's reserve team if current coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer returns to Norway. Sunday People
John Carew's Aston Villa future could be in doubt after he launched an angry attack on new manager Gerard Houllier after he told the striker to earn a new contract. "I am puzzled and offended. He should have been here a little longer before he started making demands," said the Norwegian. Sunday People
Sir Alex Ferguson admits his gamble on Owen Hargreaves' fitness against Wolves was a "disaster". The England midfielder made his first start for Manchester United in two years but suffered a hamstring injury after just six minutes.Sunday Telegraph
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard says the last year has been the hardest of his career since breaking into the team as an 18-year-old. Mail on Sunday
Former Wales coach John Toshack says he recommended Tottenham left-back Gareth Bale to Barcelona three years ago. imscouting.com
Former Leeds and Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale is being linked with an £11m takeover of Charlton, although the club's board is unsure how much of the money he actually has.
News of the World
Italian league leaders Lazio's mascot Olimpia the Eagle has been banned from their derby match with Roma as the authorities are worried the American eagle will be disturbed by the noise. It will be the first game she has missed this season.
Observer
FINAL BOLLOX
Press v City Bollox by King Kev
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