Absolutely not! Juve deny interest in Man City wantaway Tevez
Juventus have ruled themselves out of the running for Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez.
Sporting director Giuseppe Marotta said: ‘Tevez doesn’t interest us. Absolutely not.’ Mail
No need to replace Carlos Tevez, says Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini
Roberto Mancini insists he has enough strikers to maintain Manchester City’s title challenge without buying a replacement for Carlos Tevez.
Mancini has played down talk of a swoop for the Napoli’s South American duo Edinson Cavani and Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Uruguayan striker Cavani, 24, struck twice as Napoli beat the Blues 2-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Lavezzi, 26, has been urged to move to Manchester by his Argentina team-mate Sergio Aguero.
It is understood Napoli officials told City during an informal meeting earlier this week that they are willing to listen to an offer for Cavani. The meeting, set up during the Blues’ trip to Italy for their Champions League clash, was instigated by Napoli.
But although Mancini has hinted he may consider signing either player at some point, he is in no rush to do a deal.
He said: “Another striker? No. I have three strikers. That’s enough. We also have three or four players who can play like a second striker. I think Cavani and Lavezzi are strong players. But they play for Napoli at this moment.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.”
City had received no word last night on if and whenTevez might return to Manchester.
The striker jetted out to his native Argentina on November 7 without club permission, and has been there ever since.
City have slapped a £40m price tag on the striker, and have made it clear they will not consider offers to take him on loan, even with a view to a permanent deal.
Kia Joorabchian, Tevez’s adviser, is continuing to negotiate with AC Milan over a possible transfer.
Over recent months, Tevez has stated he wanted to leave the Blues to be closer to his family in Argentina. However, if he does join AC Milan he will be just one mile closer to Buenos Aires.
Milan is 6,934 miles from the Argentina captial, while Manchester is 6,935 miles away.
Napoli striker Lavezzi may push for City move after his girlfriend is robbed at gunpoint
Ezequiel Lavezzi could now seek a switch to Manchester City after his girlfriend was mugged in Naples.
The Napoli forward, 26, has been urged to move to the Barclays Premier League club by his international team-mate Sergio Aguero and now his mind could be made up.
His sweetheart Yanina Screpante was stripped of her Rolex watch by two armed robbers on Saturday night.
The attack came just days after the pregnant wife of Lavezzi's Napoli team-mate Marek Hamsik was carjacked at gunpoint.
An angry Screpante hit out at the lack of protection from thieves on Twitter and threatened to leave the city altogether.
'When they say that in Argentina there is insecurity ... the city of Naples is ****,' she wrote. 'I have had my watch stolen at gunpoint.'
Screpante later removed the comments after receiving criticism from her followers and tweeted: 'I’m sorry to the Neapolitans. I was just letting off steam.'
City boss Mancini played down any move for Lavezzi, stating he already had enough striking options at his disposal, but also did not rule it out in future completely.
Napoli president, meanwhile, Aurelio de Laurentiis attempted to assure the Argentina international of his family’s safety.
'Naples is no more violent than Milan or Rome, which I would call the real crime capital of Italy,' said the Hollywood mogul.
'Certain comments in the heat of the moment came from the heightened emotion. I would like to tell Yanina that during a recession she shouldn’t go round with a Rolex on her wrist.
'Her scared reaction is justified. Maybe she’s not yet ‘Neapolitan’ enough to deal with this sort of thing.
'Perhaps the girl thought she was untouchable, being Lavezzi’s girlfriend, but that is not the case. In any case, Naples is a marvellous city and the people are generous.'
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[/spoiler]OTHER BOLLOX
Wenger plays down Nasri's return as Arsenal manager eyes Carling Cup glory
Arsene Wenger feels Arsenal should not make their Carling Cup quarter-final all about the return of Samir Nasri.
The France international could face his old club at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night, having made a somewhat acrimonious £24million switch to the big-spending City at the end of August.
Wenger, though, insists his squad's focus must be on the job in hand and not on any thought of retribution against Nasri, who played 65 minutes against Liverpool at Anfield.
'You want to respect the players who have played for us, that is what we expect,' Wenger said.
'But it is always more important to support our team on Tuesday night, than to be negative towards the players of Manchester City.
'What is important is we are united to win the game.'
Arsenal are expecting a bumper crowd for the quarter-final tie against the Barclays Premier League leaders, having again slashed ticket prices some as low as just £5 for juniors.
Wenger believes that will all help with a positive atmosphere.
'In the Carling Cup, we have different people here, many who are very young,' said the Gunners boss.
'We make the prices very cheap for young people and you feel there is a happiness to be there on the night and hopefully we can keep them happy.'
Wenger added: 'The championship is more important than the Carling Cup, but on the night we will want to win the game.
'It is important to keep our run going because every win makes us stronger, so we will not go out there not caring about winning.'
Up for the cup: Arsene Wenger expects a cracking atmosphere for the tie against Manchester City
Wenger has used a mix of youth and experience in the Carling Cup, where last season they reached the final only to suffer a morale-sapping defeat by Birmingham at Wembley as their season quickly unravelled.
With several players 'on red alert' in terms of fatigue, the Gunners boss is likely to bring in squad men such as South Korea forward Park Ju-young, who scored in the last round against Bolton, and England Under 21 star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, on target in the third-round win over Shrewsbury.
'It will be easier for you to pick the Manchester City team, because you can look at Liverpool in the stands and on the bench, you will then see who plays against us on Tuesday night,' Wenger said.
'I want to play a team who has a chance to qualify, so I will look at the [Liverpool] game, see who plays, who does not play and then try to pick as good a team as I can considering the red alerts we have with some players.
'We will give them a game, don't worry.'
Wenger added: 'We have a few players on the edge, like [Robin] van Persie, [Theo] Walcott, who had a hamstring worry, and [Aaron] Ramsey.
'We will see how they respond to 24 hours rest. [Abou] Diaby also has little muscular problem, so we will have to see how he is for Tuesday.'
Andrey Arshavin was handed a rare start against Fulham, but the Russian midfielder failed to shine as the lacklustre Gunners laboured to a 1-1 Barclays Premier League draw - with centre-back Thomas Vermaelen scoring at both ends - following what had been an energy-sapping midweek Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund.
Wenger said: 'It is a difficult for a player who comes in and has not played regularly, for him to be absolutely exceptional.
'Arshavin suffered a bit from the fact we were not as sharp as we have been and your confidence is not at the top when you have not played for a month.
'He will come back. He works hard in training and has a good attitude. At the moment, we just have to give him time.'
Arsenal missed the chance to chalk up a sixth straight Premier League win to keep touch with the top four, but Wenger is happy enough with how the squad has turned a stuttering campaign around.
He said: 'We come from a position so deep where we cannot afford to drop points, but overall the spirit in the squad is so good I am confident we will improve even more.'
Liverpool are considering a shock move for Barcelona striker David Villa. Metro
Tottenham are giving a two-week trial to 18-year-old Honduras winger Andy Najar. the Sun
Blackburn Rovers will hand manager Steve Kean a January transfer kitty of £10m as the Ewood Park club try and buy their way out of relegation trouble. Daily Mirror
West Brom will attempt to boost their defensive options by handing a trial to American centre-half Tim Ream. They will, however, face competition from Bolton for his signature.
Full story: Daily Mirror
Chelsea are hoping to bring in 20-year-old striker Kevin de Bruyne in January but are struggling to agree a fee with his Belgian club Genk. Footybunker.com
Former Blackburn Rovers striker El-Hadji Diouf has warned the club's owners that they will be relegated from the Premier League unless they sack manager Steve Kean. Daily Star
Johan Djourou says Arsenal team-mate Robin van Persie is as good as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. talkSport
Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas has denied John Terry got himself deliberately booked against Wolves, meaning he misses the Carling Cup clash with Liverpool rather than a crucial Premier League game. the Sun
Owen Coyle has told Bolton Wanderers supporters to stick by the team despite their difficult start to the season. Bolton News
Ajax legend Johan Cruyff and 10 youth coaches are going to court to fight the appointment of Louis van Gaal, Martin Sturkenboom and Danny Blind as directors of the Dutch club. the Guardian
The bookmakers have suspended betting on the dismissal of Sunderland manager Steve Bruce after supporters turned on the boss following Saturday's late defeat by Wigan. the Guardian
Former Arsenal player Eduardo is facing financial problems with his former agent claiming he is entitled to 20% of the player's earnings since 2007. Daily Mail
BINGO'S XMAS BOLLOX
This is a slow burning fundraiser. We know you have be great so far, but when you have the odd spare £3, buy a card and have a chance of winning some great prizes.The Bingo B*ll*x game cards will now be on sale until December 9th, 8pm.
To purchase at the very reasonable price of £3 a card, upon making a donation, please state on remittance BXB*. The * indicates the amount of cards you want to buy, for example you may want to donate £10 to Bingo's wedding fund and get 3 bingo cards so you would enter thus ... [b]BXB3 The Bingo Caller will visit http://www.Mancityfans.net on Monday 12th until Wednesday 14th December (so hopefully prizes will arrive by xmas) You will be contacted via PM after the Bingo Caller has confirmed your payment.
As a token of our esteem any fine members that have already donated £20 or more may apply to the Bingo Caller for a FREE entry on us at B*ll*x Towers, further information on this offer will be issued this weekend.
At present the Prize fund stands as follows:
2 tickets (accomodation etc not included) for a top gig at Hampton Court Palace in June/July 2012 (confirmation of act in the next week or so)
A selection of signed Match/Shoot pictures (Man City 70's, 80's stars)
Signed Bert Trautman 1956 cup winners book.
Loads of other donated spot prizes etc to be announced as the week goes on ...
plus
Patrick's defaced T-shirt (we are trying to get this signed by someone very famous people we might know)
TBC - Two invites to an impending wedding (again accomodation/travel not supplied with date to be confirmed)
GET DONATING!!! New stuff added all the time ... donate/buy now ... it's a cracking cause
Shamed pair Keys and Gray face court over on-air joke at Harry Redknapp's expense
Andy Gray and Richard Keys could face a contempt of court charge after poking fun at football manager Harry Redknapp, who is accused of tax evasion, on their radio show.
A spokesman for Attorney General Dominic Grieve confirmed he is considering action against Gray and Keys and Talksport radio station. The pair left their jobs as Sky Sports commentators after a series of sexism scandals.
If convicted, the pair could face up to two years in prison or an unlimited fine. The Attorney General, Talksport, Gray and Keys all refused to elaborate on the content of the show, which was broadcast on November 17.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Redknapp is accused of avoiding £183,000 of tax, along with former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric, who is chairman of Leicester City. They face a two-week trial at London’s Southwark Crown Court in January. Both have always denied any wrongdoing.
The first charge alleges that between April 1, 2002, and November 28, 2007, Mandaric paid £90,000 into a bank account held by Redknapp in Monaco, to avoid paying income tax and national insurance. The second charge relates to £93,000 allegedly paid between May 1, 2004, and November 28, 2007.
A spokesman for the Attorney General said: ‘We will consider prosecuting the individuals involved and the radio station.’
Talksport, Mr Gray, Mr Keys and Mr Redknapp’s solicitor Ian Burton all declined to comment.
