Wednesday's B*ll*x

[Chinners]

Mancini must find Manchester City's missing spark
Roberto Mancini - as he waved Yaya Toure off to the Africa Cup of Nations - declared he was confident that Manchester City would win the Premier League if they were still top at the end of January.
Mancini's mission has been duly accomplished even without the influential Ivorian as the title race moves into February, but only just and with confidence jolted by the 1-0 defeat against Everton on a raucous night at Goodison Park.
City's season of such promise is hardly crumbling as one glance at the table will confirm and their current league position would have been accepted gratefully had it been offered to the Italian in August.
There is no doubt, however, that City are suffering their first serious uncertainties in a month that has seen them exit the FA Cup and Carling Cup and have their lead at the top of the table over Manchester United reduced to goal difference.
And the defeat at Everton was laced with irony as the match was decided by a goal from former United midfield man Darron Gibson, a moment described by Sir Alex Ferguson as "all part of the plan.
The next part of Ferguson's plan will be to play further on any anxiety City might feel as the swagger and style of the early months is mislaid, they hope temporarily.
Manchester City's defeat meant champions Manchester United were able to capitalise by levelling the points at the top of the table. Photo: AP
And Mancini himself accepted a large portion of responsibility for City's latest setback as their expensively-assembled side failed to make a mark on Everton's fierce commitment and organisation.
He said: "It is my fault because I didn't prepare for this game very well. Maybe I thought before the game it would be easier - but here it is never easier."
Mysterious words from Mancini as the warning signs for City and their manager have been posted at Goodison Park before. Played three lost three is now his record at Everton.
Mancini can at least be comforted by the knowledge that Toure will return soon to provide the raw power and natural ability that would be missed by just about any side. There is little doubt both manager and players will welcome the return of his imposing presence.
City have demonstrated the ability to react to defeat before - now they must do it again starting against Fulham at the Etihad on Saturday. Any more performances like Tuesday's at Everton - plenty of possession but a lack of punch and threat - will have the pursuing pack sensing that this season's Premier League landscape might just be shifting.
Mancini will continue to feel football's fates have also turned on his team in recent weeks as a presentable penalty claim for handball against Phil Neville was ignored in the second half, but this was evidently not the City that threatened to run away with the league in the early weeks of this season.
The concerns about City's current condition were highlighted by their failure to overcome an Everton side missing key personnel such as Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin in defence, with right-back Tony Hibbert used as an emergency central defender.
It was a task he performed magnificently as Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero were reduced to frustration long before the conclusion of a fruitless evening.
United may be moving alongside City, but Spurs will also take renewed heart after their win over Wigan and Everton's victory leaves them only five points off the lead.
Mancini's task now will be to maintain City's belief as they seek to claim domestic football's biggest prize for the first time since 1967/68.
Toure, David Silva and Aguero have title-winning class and pedigree - but Mancini now needs to coax more out of striker Dzeko, who was once again a marginal figure amid the thunderous tackling at Everton and perform the difficult trick of getting Mario Balotelli to make headlines of the right sort.
And, amid all this, a seemingly ever-present local difficulty remains in the shape of Carlos Tevez as the Argentine is still at City despite a career that came to a dead stop in the Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich in September.
The notion of Tevez playing for City again is, to all intents and purposes, a non-starter but Mancini will still have to decide how to handle his presence until a move away can be finalised.
He will not want any outside influences impacting on City's priority of claiming the title, knowing Ferguson will be ready to apply psychological pressure to the "noisy neighbours" at any signs of weakness.
For now City are masters of their own destiny, not something that constitutes any form of crisis and a message Mancini will use to his advantage - but he will also know their prime position will be in peril should they suffer too many repeats of their display at Everton.

Tevez stuck at City after Milan pull out
Carlos Tevez has been left in limbo in Argentina after his dream move to AC Milan fell through.
The Italian giants shelved their interest in the striker on deadline day after Manchester City refused to drop their asking price of just over £25million for the AWOL striker.
The Premier League leaders would not budge, even thought Milan were prepared to pay nearly £21million to sign the former City skipper on loan before making the deal permanent in the summer.
Tevez will be disappointed as he had hoped that Milan would be able to bring him out of his self-imposed exile in his homeland.
The hitman will now return to Manchester to fight a fine of six weeks' wages imposed on him by the club for going AWOL to Argentina.
His camp lodged his appeal with the Premier League before Monday's midnight deadline and is determined to win the latest round of his feud with City.
The Premier League have yet to set a date for the three-man panel to hear his appeal, but it is expected to take place in February.
City stopped paying Tevez in November and he has clocked up a staggering £9.5m in fines and lost wages and bonuses since his Munich mutiny, with the total rising by £198,000 each week.
Ambitious Russian outfit Anzhi Makhachkala remain keen on Tevez and Russia's transfer window remains open for another few weeks, but Tevez does not want to join them. Mirror

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola reveals he thought about making a bid for Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez. The Times

City have also picked up David Pizarro on loan from Roma.
Roberto Mancini has signed the Chilean midfielder on loan with a view to a permanent £1million move in the summer after coaching him at Inter Milan.

OTHER BOLLOX
Cash-rich Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala are showing an interest in Arsenal misfit Andrey Arshavin and may take advantage of the Russian transfer window remaining open for another month. Daily Express

Barcelona are also interested in buying Arshavin in the summer. Daily Mirror

Unbeaten Italian Serie A leaders Juventus are eyeing a £25m summer move for Arsenal striker Robin van Persie, who has yet to sign a new contract at the Emirates. Caughtoffside

Celtic failed with a last-gasp bid to sign Real Betis striker Jorge Molina. Daily Record

Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere looks almost certain to miss the rest of the season after scans show his injury setback is worse than feared. Daily Mail

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has accused ESPN presenter Ray Stubbs of helping to get midfielder Yohan Cabaye charged with violent conduct for kicking Brighton's Adam El-Abd in the face. Daily Telegraph

Tottenham have the backing of London mayor Boris Johnson and Haringey Borough Council in their bid to develop White Hart Lane into a 56,000-seat stadium. the Sun

Tottenham are seeking a record-breaking naming-rights deal for their new stadium of £20m over 20 years.
Daily Telegraph

Former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez and Germany national team supremo Joachim Loew are the two leading names being lined up by Real Madrid to replace Jose Mourinho if the former Chelsea boss leaves the Bernabeu at the end of the season. the Independent

Scottish footballers without a club at the end of the transfer window are being offered flights and accommodation by Australian side Shepparton South Soccer Club. Daily Record

Ryan Giggs is ready to play on for Manchester United for another season.
the Sun

[Duckman]

A lesson from spending time in the Middle East: This lot don't do failure

By MARTIN SAMUEL
Last updated at 1:20 AM on 1st February 2012


It's not all beer and skittles for the ruling family of Abu Dhabi. Well, it’s not beer at all, really, considering they don’t drink alcohol. As for skittles, well, obviously there’s a time for fun, but when your father has founded an entire country, and, having passed away, left you to run it, work does tend to get in the way.
There are things to do, places to go, people to see: other heads of state, usually. So it is not uncommon for Sheik Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, owner of Manchester City, or one of his brothers to find themselves in a room with a passing president or prime minister.
For instance, when market research suggested that more than 70 per cent of Americans would be against Emirati ownership of a major company in the United States, this was of serious concern. Talks were convened with President George W Bush to implore him to make more of the United Arab Emirates’ positive relationship with his country: its status as the largest US export market in the Arab world; its military support; its donation of £64million in the wake of Hurricane Katrina; the fact that more US naval vessels visit UAE ports than any single country beyond America.

Ice-breaker: Talks between world leaders and Sheik Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan can start with an enquiry about City's form
And when such a gathering takes place, when Nicolas Sarkozy comes to call or David Cameron pops by for tea, one question is invariably used as a convivial ice-breaker.
‘So,’ the dignitary will ask casually, ‘how’s that football team of yours doing?’ Well, you don’t want to blunder straight in with the crisis in Afghanistan, do you? Bit of chit-chat, put everybody at their ease.
City may be life and death to some poor souls but if you’ve got to persuade the president to break it to America gently that, in fact, a UAE company, DP World, already owns the American ports of New York, Miami, Newark-Port Elizabeth, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Baltimore, five minutes of small talk around whether Edin Dzeko can cut it as a Premier League striker works wonders in taking the tension out of the room.

Indeed, with the Abu Dhabi Investment Company owning 90 per cent of the Chrysler Building, New York’s iconic art deco skyscraper, what is coming as something of a shock to the sons of Sheik Zayed is that they are currently best known for a Premier League football club. Abu Dhabi’s global reputation is tied up with nutters like Mario Balotelli, whether Roberto Mancini can get this title challenge over the line and the success of the next Champions League campaign.
As one senior executive within Abu Dhabi explained to me: ‘We’re pregnant with it. No, scratch that, we’re not pregnant, we’ve had the baby and we’re handing out cigars in the waiting room. What we are associated with, worldwide, is Manchester City. We walk into a room and it is the first topic of conversation.’
If the plan was to put Abu Dhabi on the map using football, it has worked beyond all wildest imagination, maybe more so than is healthy. What it means, though, is that those who smugly predict that one day Sheik Mansour will tire of his toy and depart, leaving City with an unsustainable business model and on the brink of collapse, could not be more wrong.
Abu Dhabi could not quit on City now, even if it wanted to; its image is City’s image. To leave a mess would be a global public relations disaster; it would destroy the credibility of an entire region and those at its helm. They have to make a go of it.
So here’s the thing. Is the same not true of Qatar and the 2022 World Cup? And, for that reason, is there not a chance of it actually being a success?


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/article-2094585/Why-Sheik-Mansour-Qatar-continue-fund-Manchester-City-Martin-Samuel.html#ixzz1l7SbzlXf

[john68]

Shit....does that mean the septics are going to invade the Etihad?....and are Doomie and Florida Blue really US Navy seals under cover?
The thought of the oversized Doomie in a latex wet suit, swimmimng up the Huddersfield canal, complete with snorkel and flippers makes me smile.