City manager feels pressure of not previously winning the League will hit players
Roberto Mancini, the Manchester City manager, has expressed concern at the spending limitations being placed on him this month and declared that his club need to buy again now if they are to drive home their ascendancy over Manchester United.
As City prepare for an FA Cup third-round tie with United on Sunday which could do irrevocable damage to opponents already stung by October's 6-1 Premier League defeat, Mancini said he had been told he could not buy this winter. Behind the scenes, the manager is understood to have virtually resigned himself to Uefa's new Financial Fair Play (FFP) regime ruining any hopes of adding immediately to his squad.
But with City possibly reduced to one fit striker and only two holding midfielders for Sunday's tie, the manager insisted that his club would be under far greater pressure than United in the next four months and must spend to win the title. "Yeah, yeah. This is the problem," Mancini said when asked if he had been told he could not buy. "But if we don't have the players, it's tough for us. We are not United. The difference is this. United and Chelsea have won trophies for many years. So they are quiet. They understand that they can play without pressure. For us it's different. This could be the first championship for many years and we need to do everything we can to win it."
At the halfway point of the season, Mancini is acutely conscious of the relative calm with which the prospect of another title would be perceived at United, compared with the pressure which will build at City – after 44 years without a championship triumph. "United have won 19 championships," he said yesterday.
City's recent £195m losses leave them with a huge financial deficit to close to meet the FFP target of a maximum £45m aggregate losses over a three-year monitoring period, which started this season. Mancini still insisted City "could take in one player" and any aspiration to pay the high wages of Roma's Daniele de Rossi now appears to depend on whether Carlos Tevez can be shipped off. Milan are the Argentine's preferred location, with Internazionale also waiting in the wings. City's Abu Dhabi owners consider it a point of principle that Tevez should not be allowed to secure himself a cut-price move, having removed himself from Manchester, though a sale price of £20m – rather than £30m – may be in Mancini's interests, if he wants to buy.
"I think it's better that we sell first. Maybe then we can take in other players," he said. De Rossi has offered an intriguing hint of genuine interest in the Premier League by admitting, in a conversation at his own daughter's school, that he is undergoing English lessons.
Mario Balotelli is unlikely to shake off an ankle injury in time for Sunday, a knee problem to Edin Dzeko is causing concern and Samir Nasri is struggling with illness. But the biggest blow of all came yesterday lunchtime when the Ivory Coast coach, François Zahoui, a contact of Mancini's, rejected City's requests to play Yaya and Kolo Touré in the Cup tie, ahead of their departure for the African Cup of Nations. Zahoui insists the two must report for a meeting in Paris tomorrow before flying with the rest of the squad to Abu Dhabi for a two-day training camp.
"The national team in Ivory Coast is led by people who are well-educated and I was surprised that people in England think that we don't know the Fifa rules about dates," said Zahoui. "Here, when we call up the players, they are obliged to turn up at the date indicated by Fifa. So when we call them up we know that the clubs need to let them go."
With Owen Hargreaves' fitness levels an enigma – "I hope he can be ready to play one game but it depends on him. He is not Yaya at this moment," Mancini said – and Gareth Barry suspended, Mancini may have only James Milner and Nigel de Jong as conventional holding midfielders for the United game and yesterday also raised the possibility of the world's richest club not being able to fill their bench.
"If we have strikers injured then we need to buy another," Mancini added. "At the moment I have one striker because Dzeko has a problem in his knee. I have one striker and two midfielders. This month we are losing two players. If we lose another then we will need more players."
Mancini said he could not recall three successive defeats – the prospect facing Sir Alex Ferguson if his side lose on Sunday. "I don't remember when I lost three matches in a row," he said. "After two defeats, maybe another one would be a problem but they are very strong."
City limits: Mancini's absentees
Mario Balotelli (ankle injury)
Missed last two matches and is again likely to miss out on Sunday.
Edin Dzeko (knee injury)
Injured knee against Liverpool.
Owen Hargreaves (fitness)
Played three times since joining.
Samir Nasri (illness)
Severe doubt for visit of United.
Gareth Barry (suspension)
Banned after red card v Liverpool.
Kolo & Yaya Touré (African Cup)
Mancini, Ferguson discuss cup clash
Roberto Mancini has warned his Manchester City players to beware an "angry" Manchester United when two rivals square off in the FA Cup third round on Sunday. City inflicted a humiliating 6-1 defeat on United when the the clubs met in the Premier League at Old Trafford in October - a result Sir Alex Ferguson later described as his "worst-ever day".
The Red Devils go into the forthcoming encounter at the Etihad Stadium on the back of consecutive defeats that have allowed City to open up a three-point lead at the top of the table heading into the second half of the season. While an early FA Cup exit for United could give holders City a valuable psychological edge over their fierce enemies, Mancini has warned his men to expect a ferocious response from Ferguson's team.
The Italian said: "Derbies are always difficult, and maybe this one will be even harder because United are angry after these two defeats and because we beat them at Old Trafford earlier in the season. There are a lot of issues in this game. Two defeats in a row does not happen to them very often.
They have a strong mentality and always react positively after a defeat. After losing to us in the league they strung together seven wins and a draw.Roberto Mancini on Manchester United
"But one thing is certain: they have a strong mentality and always react positively after a defeat. Remember, after losing to us in the league they strung together seven wins and a draw. They have some injuries at the moment, but they are still a strong team with good players. That is why they are always dangerous."
Ferguson amazed by drought
United, without an FA Cup triumph since 2004, have plenty to think about. However, Ferguson maintains he will not be discussing the 6-1 loss with his players.
"I won't be mentioning that," said the Scot. "I always say that in the FA Cup I would take anyone in a home draw, and so the advantage is with City in that respect. But it's a cup tie, a local derby, and anything can happen in these games.
"It's amazing that we haven't won [since 2004). It's not a motivating force but it may be for the players that haven't got medals, particularly Rio Ferdinand. Rio mentioned that to me last year, that he doesn't have an FA Cup medal, and I couldn't believe that because of the amount of time he's been with the club."
It's a cup tie, a local derby, and anything can happen in these games.Sir Alex Ferguson
After seeing his team lose ground in the Premier League title race with consecutive defeats by Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United, Ferguson is confident of a response from United. He also feels that the English champions' experience will prove crucial in the final weeks of the campaign.
"At the moment that's obvious, because we've won the title so many times," Ferguson said. "I think from the players on the field, Tottenham are not short on experienced players and neither are City.
"That may help them and it could help them, but if questions are being asked about us at the moment, it's only because we've had two bad results. Only a couple of weeks ago everyone was talking about how our experience was going to be important in the run-in, and I think it will be."
Injury issues for both sides
United still have a lengthy injury list, with defender Chris Smalling set to return to training on Monday following tonsillitis. Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic, Darren Fletcher, Tom Cleverley, Ashley Young, Michael Owen and Fabio da Silva are all on the sidelines with injury.
City have their own problems, however, with Gareth Barry suspended, Yaya Toure and Kolo Toure heading off to the CAF Africa Cup of Nations, and Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko and Samir Nasri struggling for fitness.
Even though City are desperate to secure a first league title since 1968, Mancini is determined to match last season's achievement of lifting the FA Cup. The former Italy forward said: "It's the FA Cup and it's important for us. We won last year and want to get to the final if possible.
Manchester City v Manchester United: Sir Alex Ferguson 'in denial' over quality on offer down the road at City
Manchester City have stoked up the derby intensity ahead of the FA Cup third round by accusing Manchester United of being in denial about their rivals' current ascendancy in English football.
Roberto Mancini believes Sir Alex Ferguson cannot bring himself to acknowledge Manchester City have played the best football in the Premier League this season. And defender Joleon Lescott echoed Mancini's comments ahead of the clubs' meeting at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, suggesting Manchester United must now regret unfairly branding City "the noisy neighbours".
Lescott also believes Manchester United fans are struggling to come to terms with the reality that the derby is now their most important fixture of the season, eclipsing the historic rivalry with Liverpool.
Ferguson appeared to be chipping away in typical style before the cup tie by claiming Tottenham Hotspur, not City, are English football's great entertainers. That is despite the fact City have struck 56 league goals this season, 20 more than Harry Redknapp's side.
Ferguson may have been speaking with sincerity, based on Spurs' recent form, rather than demeaning
Mancini's side but his remarks have certainly been interpreted as a deliberate slight.
Of greater certainty is the United manager's wish to airbrush from memory the clubs' last encounter – City's emphatic 6-1 win at Old Trafford last October.
"I will not be mentioning it," was Ferguson's blunt response to suggestions it would motivate his players.
Mancini said he took this as a backhanded compliment. "It's difficult to say your neighbours play the best football. It's hard," said Mancini.
"I think until now we have played the best football in the Premier League. Over the next three or four months, I don't know. But I can say that Tottenham can win the title. They have had a fantastic season."
Defender Lescott, who will benefit from the absence of Kolo Touré on Africa Cup of Nations duty, believes United fans are having to readjust mentally because City are now the biggest threat to their ambitions.
"A lot more Man United fans take us a lot more seriously now," said Lescott. "Obviously, history-wise, it is Liverpool but I think in recent years, and in the future, Man City will be their biggest rivals in the league. They find it hard to admit. They enjoy saying Liverpool is the biggest game to treat us as a smaller club. We don't mind that. I'm sure if we win the league people will have a different opinion."
It was in the aftermath of the Abu Dhabi takeover that Ferguson famously branded City the "noisy neighbours" but Lescott points to City's low-key reaction following the 6-1 win as evidence of their maturity.
"After that game we could have been really noisy but we showed respect," said Lescott. "We take the term with a pinch of salt now. We took it a bit more disrespectful at the start, but I think even now they've started to regret saying it. It's an unfair label. We're not just making noise, we're top of the league and rightly so. We know now that wherever we go, we are the team to beat. Manchester United have had that for a number of years but we're trying to emulate that.
''I think the dressing room would have been louder than it was after the 6-1 if the manager didn't come in so soon after. All the boys were hyped up, but he came in and said, 'It's just three points, just like the week before and hopefully like next week'. That settled us right down and we just got on with it. We just humbled ourselves, got changed and went home.
"You sit down and think, 'Did that actually happen?' I've got a couple of friends that are Man United fans. It was a strange one with not speaking to them for a couple of days. It wasn't until the reports were still going on on Wednesday and Thursday, and people were still on television talking about it, that you realised it was a massive result."
Ferguson, meanwhile, admits his side need reinforcements this month – but insists new signings remain unlikely.
United's back-to-back defeats to Blackburn and Newcastle have refocused attention on the strength in depth at Old Trafford.
A prolonged injury crisis has left Ferguson short of the quality normally expected, and there have been numerous reminders of the void left by high-profile retirements last summer.
Ferguson responded to suggestions that he was trying to lure Frank Lampard from Chelsea by arguing there was "no foundation", on the basis Andre Villas-Boas would never entertain such an audacious midseason move.
But when questioned about his own fans' desire to see an injection of new blood, Ferguson agreed. "They're right, but the question is what can we get in January?" he said. "The players who are available that we like, we won't get. And you are not going to tell me that Chelsea are going to sell Lampard to Manchester United in January, do you really believe that?
"There is no foundation to that simply because Chelsea are like us and want to do something, and the second half of the season is important to them. And if they want to try and win the league, they are going to have to have all their best players.
"Obviously the injury situation has accelerated our fans into saying we need to get some. Do you stick with the ones you have got rather than bring in someone that is not good enough and won't get a game anyway?"
The midweek defeat to Newcastle appears to have worried Ferguson more than other setbacks, given the personnel he had available in the North-East.
He still expects United's nous to give them an advantage in the second half of the season, but it was not evident at Newcastle.
"The disappointing thing for me the other night was that we had a really experienced team out at Newcastle," he said. "We played the most experienced team I could get. Some of them were obviously short of a game or two but, nonetheless, we carried a lot of experience into that game, which will also play its part on Sunday. I have no qualms about that.
"If questions are being asked about us at the moment, it's only because we have had two bad results. Only a couple of weeks ago people were saying how important our experience was going to be in the run-in, and I think it will be too. I think it will be important."
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[/spoiler]OTHER BOLLOX
Paul Scholes is ready to answer an SOS from Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson and come out of retirement. The Sun
Tottenham have emerged as contenders for the signature of Juventus winger Milos Krasic, after it was initially thought he would go on loan to Chelsea in January.Metro
Manager Harry Redknapp also wants £10m-rated Fulham forward Moussa Dembele and could offer Niko Kranjcar in part exchange. Daily Mirror
QPR are set to go head-to-head with Tottenham for the services of Blackburn star Junior Hoilett, who is available for a cut-price £7m. talkShit
Demba Ba, who is heading to the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, has put England's top clubs on red alert after it emerged that he has a £10m release clause in his Newcastle contract. Daily Mail
One player Harry Redknapp will not be signing is Santos star Ganso. Spurs had been linked with the 22-year-old Brazilian but the Spurs manager admitted he had never heard of him. talkSPORT
Gary Cahill will miss the FA Cup third-round trip to Macclesfield and could be a Chelsea player by Sunday, according to Bolton boss Owen Coyle. Manchester Evening News
Arsenal are looking at Lyon defender Aly Cissokho as they seek a left-back on loan to help cope with a rash of injuries at full-back.Daily Mirror
Liverpool have held talks with the representatives of Colombian international striker Jackson Martinez, who could make an £8.5million move from Mexican side Jaguares. Daily Mail
Everton manager David Moyes has had to rethink his transfer strategy after defender Phil Jagielka was ruled out for six weeks. Moyes had been in the market for a striker. Guardian
Thierry Henry says returning to Arsenal is not about being a hero but a glorious opportunity to represent the club he loves again. Evening Standard
Tottenham will hold talks with Mayor of London Boris Johnson to discuss an £18m 'final offer' from the public purse to fund the club's planned stadium development. Goal.com
Joey Barton has threatened to quit playing Football Manager, the computer game, because his own in-game character is annoying him so much. Metro
more bollox later ....
