The mancityfans.net football forum

Alexis Sanchez being 'pushed towards Manchester City' as Barca deal stalls
Manchester City are back in the race for Alexis Sanchez after Barcelona youngster Jeffren rejected the chance to join Udinese.
The Italian club are now pushing their Chilean forward towards Eastlands, as City are offering the better financial package – reportedly worth in the region of £35million plus £4million in bonuses.
Although the player is thought to prefer a move to the Spanish champions, Barca have only offered £28million plus Jeffren, who's recently jeopardized their deal by insisting he's not keen on moving to the Serie A side.
'It is clear that I do not like the idea of leaving Barcelona for Udinese,' the 23-year-old told Spanish radio station RAC1.
‘I have spent the past seven years at Barcelona and it was my dream to succeed here.
'I don't think I will make it here, though, and it looks like I have to start looking elsewhere.'
With Sanchez set to represent Chile in the Copa America time is running out for the skilful attacker to finalise a move before the start of the tournament on July 1, as national coach Claudio Borghi is reluctant to release him once the competition is under way.
Manchester United are also believed to be in the hunt, but could not afford to match the offer from their city rivals.

or ...

Sanchez refuses to board plane to Manchester for City talks
Alexis Sanchez turned into a non-flying winger when he refused to get on a plane to join Manchester City in a stunning £30 million deal.
Chilean star Sanchez was cleared to leave his country’s training camp to speak to City about a move to the Premier League after the megabucks outfit stepped ahead of Barcelona and Manchester United with the best bid.
However Sanchez rocked his club Udinese by telling them he would not go as he does not consider City to be his favoured option - he would rather join United or speak to Barca to find out their plans.
The drama was played out at Santiago airport where media gathered to see Sanchez fly off - only to find out he had put the block on the transfer.
Sanchez thought he was going to speak to Champions League Barca, but their offer of a player plus cash was rejected by Udinese who preferred City’s hard cash over the Spanish package or United’s £27 million offer.
However the exciting attacking star has now decided to have his say in the transfer tug-of-war and his action leaves United and Barca trying to persuade Udinese to take less money.
Barca only want to commit £22 million to the deal and have offered a selection of swaps, but their fringe men like Bjoan Krkic, Thiago Alcantara and Jeffren have said ‘no thanks’ to Udinese.
United are sitting comfortably in the background, still confident that their straight-cash deal will win the day - although time is also a factor in the race.
Sanchez is due to play for Chile in the Copa America which starts in a week. His national federation do not want to risk him appearing in case he is injured, while Udinese want him sold by then to spend the money.

or

Udinese: Alexis Sanchez has not expressed big preference for Barcelona over Manchester City
Barcelona are still favourites to land Chile international Alexis Sanchez this summer, according to Udinese owner Gianpaolo Pozzo.
The highly-rated winger is one of the hottest names on the transfer market and is also a target of Manchester City.
The 22-year-old, who is under contract with Udinese until June 2014, is valued at 50million euros.
"Barcelona are ahead of City," said Pozzo to Gazzetta dello Sport. "But the player has not expressed a big preference between the two clubs.
"Of course, we will consider his opinion.
"The deal is not done because there are still details yet to iron out."
Sanchez scored 12 goals this term to help the Serie A outfit finish fourth in the league and qualify for the Champions League next season.

Manchester City defender Jerome Boateng confident of completing Bayern Munich move
The German international stopper believes he will return to his homeland during this transfer window despite his current club playing hardball in the transfer market
Manchester City defender Jerome Boateng is optimistic about securing a move back to the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in spite of the Premier League club's insistence on a €20m (£17.8m) transfer fee.
New Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes sees Boateng as the ideal candidate to strengthen a leaky defence, which was a contributing factor in their failure to win a major trophy last season.
The German international wants to leave Eastlands, but he is prepared to wait for the two clubs to agree a move.
He told Bild: "I must be patient. There is really not a great deal more that can be said.
"I am concentrating on my training and hope that a resolution will be found quickly. I believe it will."
The versatile stopper, who is capable of operating in any position across the back four, is currently recovering from a knee operation he underwent in the United States, and he is doing everything to be fit for the upcoming campaign.
"I have no pain," he said. "I am working on my condition, strength and speed - the whole lot."
Bayern have so far been reluctant to meet City's demands, and should they fail to come to an agreement with Manchester City, they will turn their attentions to the likes of Chelsea defender Alex and Barcelona's Gabriel Milito.

Manchester City midfielder Dedryk Boyata is a possible loan target for Celtic. (Daily Mail)

Aberdeen will complete the signing of goalkeeper David Gonzalez from Manchester City within 24 hours. (Daily Record)

Manchester City lead Liverpool in race for Lyon
According to reports Manchester City are moving in on Lyon defender Aly Cissokho.
The Sun claims City representatives jetted over to France earlier this week to try and complete a deal.
City have been monitoring Cissokho’s situation for a number of months and it is understood Liverpool are also interested.
The Eastlands club is hoping Lyon will sell the left-back as the club needs to raise money before it can buy.
The 23-year-old has a reputation as one of the most powerful and speedy full-backs in France and is City's defender Micah Richards

Stepping stone to stardom: Man City ditch Reserve League to play against Euro's elite
Harry Bunn should be one to test his skills against Europe's best - the striker, 18, hit 20 goals last season as he stepped up from City's academy side to their elite development squad
Manchester City have chosen to pull out of next season's Barclays Premier Reserve League in order to provide their youngsters with the platform to play against Europe's elite.
The club's academy chief Mark Allen said the decision to ditch the competition and instead focus on the inaugural NextGen Series, a Champions League-style tournament for Under 19s, will better prepare his youth players for life as professional footballers.
As revealed by Sportsmail on Wednesday, City's academy and elite development squad players will take on Barcelona in the stand-out tie of the new tournament.
'We'll be competing against the best in Europe, a la the Champions League format,' said Allen. 'We see it as an important chapter in the development of Manchester City.
'The average age for a Premier League debut is becoming older, 21 or 22 when before it might have been 17 or 18. You have to bridge that gap and prepare them for a better standard of football.
'It's the next stepping stone. It will prepare them for those balmy nights we'll hopefully have in the Champions League as the club moves forward. Who knows, we might be seeing the new Lionel Messi on a Thursday night at Hyde.'
On the Reserve League, in which City played 19 times last season, Allen said: 'We found it just a little bit too rigid in terms of fixtures. This will allow us the scope for a flexible games programme.'
Allen said that City will still play in both the Manchester and Lancashire Senior Cups. Aston Villa, another of England's representatives in the NextGen series, have confirmed they will take part in the Reserve League, while Liverpool said they would not comment until organisers finalised the exact details.
The NextGen tournament is sanctioned by UEFA and the FA but organised by private company Cycad Sports Management, who are confident of securing Premier League referees to officiate.
There is one place yet to be confirmed but organisers say it will not be another English team. Despite City's decision, the NextGen Series will not impact on the Premier Academy League.
'It is an individual choice to play in the Reserve League but all teams play in the Academy League,' a Premier League spokesman said.



OTHER BOLLOX
New Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas is set to miss out on Santos forward Neymar, with the Brazilian teenager instead likely to join Spanish giants Real Madrid. talkShit

Brazil legend Pele has backed Neymar's move to the Spanish capital after calling the Premier League too rough. Daily Mirror

Defender Gael Clichy is keen to move to Liverpool after talks stalled on a new deal at Arsenal. the Sun

Sunderland's bid for Ipswich teenager Connor Wickham may come to nothing as the striker is waiting for a move to Liverpool or Arsenal. Metro

Espanyol goalkeeper Carlos Kameni has moved a step closer to joining Fulham after the Cameroon international admitted he "would love" to play in the Premier League. talkShit

Liverpool have been told they will need to pay £13.5m to sign St Etienne winger Dimitri Payet. Aston Villa's Stewart Downing had been Reds boss Kenny Dalglish's target for that position but Payet could be an alternative. talkShit

Chelsea have valued their England Under-21 defender Ryan Bertrand at £5m. However, he may be allowed to go out on loan for a season, with West Brom, Wolves, Bolton, Fulham and Nottingham Forest all interested. the Sun

New West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is weighing up Peterborough striker Craig Mackail-Smith. talkShit

Doncaster manager Sean O'Driscoll has moved for Blackpool's Jason Euell and Richard Naylor of Leeds, who are available on free transfers, and is also keen on Sheffield Wednesday's £200,000-rated defender Tommy Spurr. Daily Mirror

Arsenal are monitoring 21-year-old Toulouse and France midfielder Moussa Sissoko.
(the Times)

Bursaspor say they have agreed in principle deals for Rangers defender Steven Whittaker and former Celtic midfielder Landry N'Guemo. (the Herald)

Steven Whittaker has rejected the offer of a contract extension that would have made the defender the highest-paid player at Rangers, who plan to hold him to the final year of his current deal after rejecting a fourth transfer bid from Bursaspor. (the Herald)

Rangers have not given up hope of signing Lee Wallace despite being shocked at Hearts' valuation of the Scotland full-back after the Glasgow club tabled a £300,000 offer. (Daily Record)

Rangers will today make an offer to midfielder Neil Danns, who is a free agent after leaving Crystal Palace and who has been linked with Celtic. (the Herald)

Despite reports to the contrary, Celtic have no interest in Deportivo La Coruna goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia. (the Sun)

Celtic withdrew from the race to sign Deportivo La Coruna goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia because of the £2.5m asking price. (Daily Express)

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish might beat Celtic to the signing of Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama. (Daily Mail)

St Mirren have been given permission by Celtic to talk to winger Graham Carey about a return to Paisley after his loan spell. (Various)

St Johnstone have pulled out of the race to sign Brechin City striker Rory McAllister. (Daily Record)

St Johnstone are close to tying up a deal for former Falkirk striker Carl Finnigan after being forced to admit defeat in bids to sign former Bristol Rovers man Darryl Duffy and Falkirk's Mark Stewart. (Daily Express)

Goalkeeper David Gonzalez says he could join Aberdeen on a permanent deal instead of a loan. (the Herald)

New Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas believes he has to lead Chelsea to the quadruple to keep owner Roman Abramovich happy. the Sun

Manager Sam Allardyce will not change West Ham's style of football to a more direct game after he conceded that "playing the right way is about entertaining the public". He said: "Everywhere I've been I entertain the public, irrespective of the perception from the media that Sam Allardyce plays long ball." (Press Association)

Former Scotland player Bobby Lennox said he would be worried about getting ostracised by the Scottish Football Association if he chose to play for Team GB at London 2012.(the Times)

London Olympic organisers have estimated that sales of Team GB replica football shirts could be worth as much as £8m in revenue. Daily Telegraph

Celtic assistant manager Johan Mjallby has warned the club that he will leave unless they offer him a substantial pay rise. (Various)

Hearts full-back Craig Thomson has been told to stay away from pre-season training after last week admitting indecent behaviour towards under-age girls. (Daily Record)

Craig Thomson's future at Hearts is in the hands of owner Vladimir Romanov after a meeting between manager Jim Jefferies and managing director David Southern failed to come to a decision about the convicted sex offender. (the Scotsman)

New Birmingham City manager Chris Hughton wants to appoint Hibernian manager Colin Calderwood as his assistant. (the Sun)

Hibernian manager Colin Calderwood is reluctant to return to Nottingham Forest as Steve McClaren's assistant after being previously sacked by the Championship club. (the Sun)

Dunfermline Athletic fans have launched a Facebook campaign to have one of the East End Park stands named after former manager and present director of football Jim Leishman. (Various)

Former England, Newcastle and Ipswich manager Sir Bobby Robson labelled Andre Villas-Boas, who has been appointed the new manager at Chelsea, as "something special" a decade ago, according to ex-Tractor Boys boss George Burley.Daily Mirror

BOLLOX BOLLOX
Tevez’s arrogance is costing him a move away from Manchester City
The Argentine striker’s ridiculous wage demands have alienated him from the market
Carlos Tevez may be taking early retirement this summer if he continues to pursue a contract that puts him in the same league as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Today Inter Milan have confirmed they will not be signing Tevez because the striker is too expensive, and seeing as the Italian giants are one of very few clubs that could afford the Argentine, it doesn’t bode well for Tevez.
Tevez is asking for £250,000 a week in wages and while Manchester City may be able to guarantee that wage, elsewhere in Europe the two greats Messi and Ronaldo are on around £200,000 a week.
“Tevez is a great player, a great character, but absolutely no,” said Inter Milan’s sporting director Marco Branca. “His salary means it is out of the question.”
There’s no doubt Tevez is a good player, but to place himself in the same league as Messi and Ronaldo is delusional and unless he lowers his demands, the Manchester City striker could be returning to Argentina with his tail between his legs.
Manchester City fans may be rubbing their hands in glee at the fact Tevez is struggling to secure his move away from Eastlands, but the comments from the Argentine over the past couple of months suggest returning to Manchester is most definitely out of the question.
Real Madrid remain the only club in left in world football that could afford Tevez and with a deal for Neymar imminent, there’s no room for the Argentine in Jose Mourinho’s squad.
Whether it’s the market that has led Tevez to become delusional or whether the players has ideas above his station is there to be debated, but Branca certainly believes the current market is “crazy”.
“The market is crazy at the moment and it is hard to compete,” said Branca. “We are looking for younger players now with great talent, who we can develop.”
Manchester City fans would welcome Tevez back with open arms despite his behaviour recently, and if the Argentine wants his ridiculous wage demands met, he’ll have to remain at Eastlands.

i guess we need craig to wake up and tell us who the WAG is from his rolodex.

Sanchez....who knows the real story. only him and about half dozen other fuclers. Not i.

cheers

DoomMerchant wrote:i guess we need craig to wake up and tell us who the WAG is from his rolodex.

Sanchez....who knows the real story. only him and about half dozen other fuclers. Not i.

cheers

totally agree, Craig where are you?

It's Wesley Sneijders other half Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen ... yum



Meanwhile ...

Manchester City weighing up move for £20m-rated Lyon defender Cissokho
Manchester City are interested in powerful Lyon left back Aly Cissokho, 23, who is rated at £20million.
The France international made his name at Porto before transferring to Lyon two years ago.
The Senegalese-born player has also interested Liverpool.

Yet again this Sanchez deal is making us look like muppets! I hope it's just paper shite!

If he doesn't want to come move on, we don't need another miserable twat in the dressing room on £200k a week......

Thursday's Mill

While their new manager settles into his new role it looks like calamity begins at home for Chelsea's stars, with two of Stamford Bridge's England aces earning newspaper coverage today for their badneighbourliness. Residents of the area where Ashley Cole has rented out an LA holiday mansion for the summer have complained about the state of his rubbish bins, which are overflowing with pizza cartons and KFC wrappers and spilling garbage onto the sidewalk (as it's known there). One horrified neighbour told the Sun: "It stinks. It's disgusting." The waste receptacles are thus vying with a certain Qatari football administrator for the title of football's most unpopular Bin. One guest at the non-stop Cole house party, Manchester chauffeur boss Curtis Codrington, revealed intimate details of the scene inside the mansion when he tweeted: "Bottles till u drop LA wooo." Meanwhile neighbours of the west London residential mansion which Frank Lampard is busy extending despite local protests have complained about the state of his building works. One neighbour told the Sun: "No one is happy about it. It just seems insensitive. It's going to be months of noise."


Months of noise: it's the transfer window in a nutshell.


Back to Portugal, then, where the Porto president Jorge Pinto da Costa has warned new Chelsea manager, André Villas-Boas, that he'll have to spend big money to get the team's stars to follow him to London. And to prove he's not kidding he slapped a £62m combined price tag on the striker Falcao and the playmaker João Moutinho. But Chelsea could make all of that and more by dumping Lampard, Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Florent Malouda, Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and Mikel John Obi. Perhaps they already have been dumped — it would help to explain why Ashley Cole's bins are so full.


Carlos Tevez's £150,000-a-week salary has scared off potential suitors Internazionale. "He is a great player, but his salary means it is out of the question," said the sporting director, Marco Branca. Equally unlikely to move to Italy is Gaël Clichy, who has informed Arsenal that he would prefer to replace Wolves-bound-and-anyway-rubbish Paul Konchesky at Liverpool rather than move to rival bidders Roma — even though the Italians' bid is, at £7m, a full £2m more than Liverpool's. Manchester City are also seeking a left-back, but after mulling over an offer for Leighton Baines they have made Lyon's £20m-rated Aly Cissokho their top target.


Roma are engaged in another battle with the English, vying with Blackburn for the German-American midfielder Jermaine Jones. Schalke's £5.5m-rated ace spent the end of last season on loan at Ewood Park but might consider Rome a more interesting destination than Lancashire for cultural reasons. As the Mill sees it, it's a tough choice — one has several ancient monuments including the Spanish Steps; the other has several ancient monuments including the Spanish full-back Míchel Salgado. Talking of full-backs, though, Blackburn want the Russia right-back Alexander Anyukov and have £4m to prove it.


Steve Bruce plans to splash the first £4m of the Jordan Henderson cash on Wes Brown, though Aston Villa and Everton might join the bidding for the former England star. Liverpool have matched Sunderland's £8m offer for Ipswich's 18-year-old hotshot Connor Wickham, and the teams might also battle it out for Wigan's Charles N'Zogbia after Kenny Dalglish was appalled by Aston Villa's £19m valuation of first choice left-wing target Stewart Downing. The new man at the Villa helm, Alex McLeish, wants to scoop Germinal Beerschot midfielder Victor Wanyama from under the noses of Swansea and Celtic.


Martin Jol's rebuilding work at Fulham will begin with the signing of Espanyol's 27-year-old goalkeeper Carlos Kameni. "The Premier League is a fantastic league and very competitive for keepers," trilled the Cameroon ace. West Bromwich want Real Mallorca's £2.5m Cameroon striker Pierre Webó, and are considering offloading Gabriel Tamas to Lazio on a season-long loan. And Tottenham's hunt for a goalscorer could lead them to Diego Forlán, who is available at a knock-down £7m because he's 32 and Atlético Madrid don't really want him any more. The Uruguayan has already rejected a move to Galatasaray and Atlético president, Enrique Cerezo, subtly suggested that his first choice might be a move to England: "It looks like his first choice will be England."


Non-football news now, and 33,000 Texas Rangers baseball fans have broken a world record by simultaneously wearing sunglasses in the dark. George W Bush was one of them. And here's a philosophical question for readers of the Mill to mull: is there a level of fame and fortune beyond which the idea of a wedding gift list becomes less a little bit irritating and more just totally obnoxious? Millionaire supermodel Kate Moss is bravely attempting to find us an answer, by preparing a list for her forthcoming nuptials that includes 14 crystal ashtrays at a total cost of £3,360, plus a £35 rabbit-shaped jelly mould.

Extra:

An article from the FT website written by Simon Kuper that discusses the use of statistics in football. Mentions of City in there too

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/9471db52-97bb-11e0-9c37-00144feab49a.html#axzz1Pd78IO00

Grounds we have Lost, Maine Road:

http://www.twohundredpercent.net/?p=13431

You rang?

Chinners wrote:It's Wesley Sneijders other half Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen ... yum

Looks like a fat Karen Carpenter.

Blue in the face wrote:

Chinners wrote:It's Wesley Sneijders other half Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen ... yum

Looks like a fat Karen Carpenter.

Lol, with this wag around and you by Karen's side she might still be living!

MANCHESTER CITY CANNOT SHIFT EXPENSIVE FLOPS
ROBERTO MANCINI is furious with Manchester City transfer chiefs Brian Marwood and Garry Cook and their “crazy” demands over the club’s unwanted flops.
Roberto Mancini’s summer spending plans have been held up while football administration officer Marwood and chief executive Cook have prioritised trying to slash the size of his inflated squad. Mancini wants to ship out Emmanuel Adebayor, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Wayne Bridge, Roque Santa Cruz, Craig Bellamy, Jo and Nedum Onuoha, while Shay Given is eager to move for first-team football.
But potential buyers have so far laughed off the insistence of Marwood and Cook that buying clubs will have to cover the players’ huge wages and pay a sizeable transfer fee.
Real Madrid have gone cold on the idea of making Adebayor’s loan move permanent after City demanded a £14 million fee on top of the striker’s £140,000-a-week wages.
Real were knocked back by Marwood and Cook when they told the pair they would pay only £5m for Adebayor if City will not subsidise a percentage of the player’s salary.
Roberto Mancini wants to ship out Emmanuel Adebayor, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Wayne Bridge, Roque Santa Cruz, Craig Bellamy, Jo and Nedum Onuoha
City have attempted to encourage interest from Zenit St Petersburg, who could afford Adebayor, but Marwood and Cook are ignoring the fact that he has no intention of moving to Russia.
Left-back Bridge, who has attracted the interest of Newcastle and Aston Villa, has been left in limbo because clubs are unwilling to match his £90,000-a-week wages and meet City’s £5m asking price, while 31-year-old Bellamy was stunned to hear the club had placed a £4m valuation on his head. Mancini is growing increasingly frustrated because none of the flops were his signings and he believes Adebayor and Bellamy will be disruptive influences on the dressing room if they are forced to return to Eastlands.
A big fear of Mancini is also that City risk missing out on their top transfer targets if Marwood and Cook continue to fail to strike deals to sell their cast-offs.
“It’s crazy,” said a source close to City. “Marwood and Cook signed these players for stupid amounts of money and they now expect other clubs to do the same when they haven’t been playing.
“None of this is the Roberto Mancini’s fault, but he could be stuck with a load of players he doesn’t want and miss out on some of the players he does.”

Not sure who wrote that or who the 'sources' are but there is some truth in it and I think we'll have a real struggle shifting some of our squad this summer. The likes of Bridge, Adebayor and Santa Cruz-Doubtful are on crazy money in relation to their market value and we're going to have to eat some humble pie and take our medicine if we are to shift them.

I very much doubt it's a concern of Bobby's, I don't think he has to much involvement in that side of things, so that angle of the article is a load of shite. However, I reckon Cook and Marwood will have a few headaches over this and they will be tested this summer.

If it wasn't for FFPR we could play hard and say "sort yourself out, you won't be in the squad, it's up to you" but the new rulings mean we can't do that. Busy summer for Cook and Marwood.

Probably deserves it's own thread as this will go on throughout the summer.

CityGer wrote:Not sure who wrote that or who the 'sources' are but there is some truth in it and I think we'll have a real struggle shifting some of our squad this summer. The likes of Bridge, Adebayor and Santa Cruz-Doubtful are on crazy money in relation to their market value and we're going to have to eat some humble pie and take our medicine if we are to shift them.

I very much doubt it's a concern of Bobby's, I don't think he has to much involvement in that side of things, so that angle of the article is a load of shite. However, I reckon Cook and Marwood will have a few headaches over this and they will be tested this summer.

If it wasn't for FFPR we could play hard and say "sort yourself out, you won't be in the squad, it's up to you" but the new rulings mean we can't do that. Busy summer for Cook and Marwood.

Probably deserves it's own thread as this will go on throughout the summer.

it's my biggest concern this summer...if we "hamstring" ourselves and are "waiting to sell to buy" then we will get shit and shoved in it imho.

Truthfully, our outcasts are talented folk tho...they could defo do a job for someone, and not just bottom feeders, but solid clubs in England or on the continent. Russia is just taking the piss tho...are they trying to threaten Ade with the Gulag? unlikely to work.

cheers

Zenit? Weren't their supporters the racists who didn't want any black players at the club?

1950 wrote:Zenit? Weren't their supporters the racists who didn't want any black players at the club?

maybe they've realized it's a necessary evil in the modern game and are ready to get with the times?

Racist Russia

cheers