Tuesday's B*ll*x (updated)
Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2012 12:26 amAC Milan are still leading the chase to sign Manchester City Mario Balotelli and hope to clinch his signature during the summer, according to reports in Italy.
Balotelli has endured a rollercoaster spell following his move into English football back in August 2010.
The Italian striker is currently serving a four-match ban following his stamp on Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker.
Reports at the weekend suggested that City boss Roberto Mancini has held talks with Balotelli and the striker's agent Mino Raiola to discuss his disciplinary problems and to remind him of his responsibilities to the club.
Only last month, Raiola hinted that Balotelli could make a move back to Italy if he continues to be victimised by referees in England.
Reports in Italy continue to link with Balotelli with a big money move back to the San Siro with AC Milan the strong favourites to sign him and Raiola reveals he will bring a big name forward to the club during the summer.
There has been uncertainty surrounding the long-term future of striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic but his agent Raiola says the Swedish star is happy to stay at Milan.
Raiola, speaking to Italian TV company Telelombardia, said: "Ibrahimovic does not have any problems with Milan and he will continue to play there.
"I did not have a top forward for Milan in the January market, but I have one in June." Talkshite
Former Man City winger Nicky Summerbee reviews their 3-0 win against Fulham which opened up a gap over title rivals Man United in the Premier League.
He talks about the controversial decision which led to City's opening goal and how much Roberto Mancini's side have missed the influence of midfielder Yaya Toure while he has been on international duty.
AUDIO: http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/footba ... -massively
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]
STADIUM RANKING BOLLOX
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1050 ... e-stadiums
OTHER BOLLOX
Dietmar Hamann confesses to losing £200,000 in a day.
Former Liverpool, Manchester City and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann tells BBC Radio Manchester about the extent of his gambling addiction that plagued the end of his playing career.
AUDIO: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16911438
Manchester United will have to act fast if they want to sign Udinese defender Mehdi Benatia as mega-rich Russian club Anzhi have entered the race to sign him. talkShite
Demba Ba insists that he is happy at Newcastle and is not looking to cash in on his signing-of-the-season status with a big money move away. Daily Mirror
Bill Davies has refused to rule himself out of the running for the vacant Leeds United job. The Times
Arsenal are ready to fight Chelsea for Lille's £30m-rated Belgian winger Eden Hazard, 21. the Sun
Blackburn see Olhanense's Portugal Under-21 centre-back Andre Pinto as Chris Samba's replacement. the Sun
Dimitar Berbatov, 31, will be handed a one-year contract extension by Manchester United. the Sun
Wolves have joined the chase for Huddersfield Town goal machine Jordan Rhodes. Daily Mirror
Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City are fighting for Fiorentina and Montenegro striker Stefan Jovetic. Daily Star
Former Rangers midfielder Alan Gow, 29, says he is ready to ignore government advice and kick-start his career in strife-torn Iran by signing for Rah Ahan. Scottish Sun
Tottenham are ready to go head to head with Arsenal for Nottingham Forest's England Under 19s defender Jamaal Lascelles, 18. Daily Mail
Chairman Huw Jenkins reckons Swansea City are about to secure the future of a star as manager Brendan Rodgers finalises a new three-year contract. South Wales Evening Post
Everton made a deadline day move to sign Republic of Ireland striker Kevin Doyle, according to his Wolves team-mate Stephen Ward. Liverpool ECHO
Alex Ferguson has warned the Football Association that Fabio Capello must remain the most important man connected to the England team. London Evening Standard
Former England captain John Terry has told coach Fabio Capello that he will be available for the European Championship in the summer. Daily Mail
Fabio Capello believes the FA have wrecked his authority over the England players after bosses went over his head to axe John Terry as skipper. Daily Star
Fabio Capello has risked a rift withmembers of his England squad by publicly insisting John Terry should not have been stripped of the captaincy. Daily Express
Chelsea deny claims that owner Roman Abramovich held 'showdown' talks with manager Andre Villas-Boas before the club's 3-3 draw with Manchester United on Sunday. Metro
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been backed by Lyon manager Remi Garde to succeed Laurent Blanc as France coach after Euro 2012. Inside Futbol
Former QPR manager Neil Warnock is chasing a £1m contract pay-off from the Premier League club. Daily Mail
Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish will order his players to acknowledge their supporters at the end of games after many of them ignored their away fans after the defeat at Newcastle. Birmingham Mail
Former Serbia boss Raddy Antic, 63, has applied for the Leeds United manager's post after Simon Grayson was sacked. Yorkshire Evening Post
Wayne Rooney used Twitter to claim Luis Suarez should have been sent off against Tottenham. Daily Mail
Goalkeeper Brad Friedel had to shepherd a cat off the pitch at Anfield, 11 minutes into Liverpool's league match aganst Tottenham. Daily Telegraph
Brazilian star Neymar recently notched the 100th goal of his career on his 20th birthday - but instead of presenting him with a celebratory cake, his Santos team-mates decided to turn him into one. Metro
Football is the only sport not to sell out at London 2012
Football is the only London 2012 event which has not sold out, with approximately 1.5 million tickets still available, BBC Sport has learned.
Football is still the biggest selling sport at the games, but only 800,000 of the 2.3 million tickets have been sold.
Showpiece events, such as some of the men's quarter-final and semi-final ties, have suffered from slow sales.
But organisers have cited a reluctance from fans to buy tickets before the draw is made on 24 April.
A London 2012 spokesperson said: "We are confident that when we know more about the teams and the draw, people will want to be part of the Olympic Games at the football venues across the UK."
Football is the only sport among the 26 at the games which has tickets on sale.
This raises the prospect of the Olympics opening to half-empty stadiums as football's preliminary matches begin on Wednesday July 25, two days before competition for any other sport starts.
But, despite the amount unsold, the 800,000 bought at the last count mean that football is the biggest seller at the games, out of the total 6.6 million tickets.
Tickets were taken off sale on Monday, and they will go back on the market, with prices ranging from £20 to £125, in April, when returned tickets for the 25 sold-out Olympic events will also become available.
The City of Coventry Stadium, Hampden Park, Millennium Stadium, Old Trafford, Sports Direct Arena and Wembley Stadium will stage the matches.
Hosts Great Britain are expected to compete with nations such as Brazil and World Cup and European champions Spain for the title.
Football Supporters' Federation chair Malcolm Clarke believes that "high prices" and a "lack of interest" due to England's participation in Euro 2012 could be behind the lack of sales.
"The general problem is that Olympic football is not seen as the pinnacle," he said.
"Most die-hard fans will be heading to Poland and Ukraine for Euro 2012 and wouldn't have even thought about the Olympics.
"They should have also priced the tickets much lower.
"I'm sure sales will pick up to an extent, but I'd be very surprised if there was a surge."
Tickets are available for most preliminary stage matches.
For the men's competition, the bronze match, two quarter final ties and one semi-final are also unsold. For the women's tournament, tickets are available for all knockout ties from the quarter finals to the gold medal game.
MORE BOLLOX LATER ....
Balotelli has endured a rollercoaster spell following his move into English football back in August 2010.
The Italian striker is currently serving a four-match ban following his stamp on Tottenham midfielder Scott Parker.
Reports at the weekend suggested that City boss Roberto Mancini has held talks with Balotelli and the striker's agent Mino Raiola to discuss his disciplinary problems and to remind him of his responsibilities to the club.
Only last month, Raiola hinted that Balotelli could make a move back to Italy if he continues to be victimised by referees in England.
Reports in Italy continue to link with Balotelli with a big money move back to the San Siro with AC Milan the strong favourites to sign him and Raiola reveals he will bring a big name forward to the club during the summer.
There has been uncertainty surrounding the long-term future of striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic but his agent Raiola says the Swedish star is happy to stay at Milan.
Raiola, speaking to Italian TV company Telelombardia, said: "Ibrahimovic does not have any problems with Milan and he will continue to play there.
"I did not have a top forward for Milan in the January market, but I have one in June." Talkshite
Former Man City winger Nicky Summerbee reviews their 3-0 win against Fulham which opened up a gap over title rivals Man United in the Premier League.
He talks about the controversial decision which led to City's opening goal and how much Roberto Mancini's side have missed the influence of midfielder Yaya Toure while he has been on international duty.
AUDIO: http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/footba ... -massively
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]STADIUM RANKING BOLLOX
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1050 ... e-stadiums
OTHER BOLLOX
Dietmar Hamann confesses to losing £200,000 in a day.
Former Liverpool, Manchester City and Germany midfielder Dietmar Hamann tells BBC Radio Manchester about the extent of his gambling addiction that plagued the end of his playing career.
AUDIO: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16911438
Manchester United will have to act fast if they want to sign Udinese defender Mehdi Benatia as mega-rich Russian club Anzhi have entered the race to sign him. talkShite
Demba Ba insists that he is happy at Newcastle and is not looking to cash in on his signing-of-the-season status with a big money move away. Daily Mirror
Bill Davies has refused to rule himself out of the running for the vacant Leeds United job. The Times
Arsenal are ready to fight Chelsea for Lille's £30m-rated Belgian winger Eden Hazard, 21. the Sun
Blackburn see Olhanense's Portugal Under-21 centre-back Andre Pinto as Chris Samba's replacement. the Sun
Dimitar Berbatov, 31, will be handed a one-year contract extension by Manchester United. the Sun
Wolves have joined the chase for Huddersfield Town goal machine Jordan Rhodes. Daily Mirror
Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City are fighting for Fiorentina and Montenegro striker Stefan Jovetic. Daily Star
Former Rangers midfielder Alan Gow, 29, says he is ready to ignore government advice and kick-start his career in strife-torn Iran by signing for Rah Ahan. Scottish Sun
Tottenham are ready to go head to head with Arsenal for Nottingham Forest's England Under 19s defender Jamaal Lascelles, 18. Daily Mail
Chairman Huw Jenkins reckons Swansea City are about to secure the future of a star as manager Brendan Rodgers finalises a new three-year contract. South Wales Evening Post
Everton made a deadline day move to sign Republic of Ireland striker Kevin Doyle, according to his Wolves team-mate Stephen Ward. Liverpool ECHO
Alex Ferguson has warned the Football Association that Fabio Capello must remain the most important man connected to the England team. London Evening Standard
Former England captain John Terry has told coach Fabio Capello that he will be available for the European Championship in the summer. Daily Mail
Fabio Capello believes the FA have wrecked his authority over the England players after bosses went over his head to axe John Terry as skipper. Daily Star
Fabio Capello has risked a rift withmembers of his England squad by publicly insisting John Terry should not have been stripped of the captaincy. Daily Express
Chelsea deny claims that owner Roman Abramovich held 'showdown' talks with manager Andre Villas-Boas before the club's 3-3 draw with Manchester United on Sunday. Metro
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been backed by Lyon manager Remi Garde to succeed Laurent Blanc as France coach after Euro 2012. Inside Futbol
Former QPR manager Neil Warnock is chasing a £1m contract pay-off from the Premier League club. Daily Mail
Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish will order his players to acknowledge their supporters at the end of games after many of them ignored their away fans after the defeat at Newcastle. Birmingham Mail
Former Serbia boss Raddy Antic, 63, has applied for the Leeds United manager's post after Simon Grayson was sacked. Yorkshire Evening Post
Wayne Rooney used Twitter to claim Luis Suarez should have been sent off against Tottenham. Daily Mail
Goalkeeper Brad Friedel had to shepherd a cat off the pitch at Anfield, 11 minutes into Liverpool's league match aganst Tottenham. Daily Telegraph
Brazilian star Neymar recently notched the 100th goal of his career on his 20th birthday - but instead of presenting him with a celebratory cake, his Santos team-mates decided to turn him into one. Metro
Football is the only sport not to sell out at London 2012
Football is the only London 2012 event which has not sold out, with approximately 1.5 million tickets still available, BBC Sport has learned.
Football is still the biggest selling sport at the games, but only 800,000 of the 2.3 million tickets have been sold.
Showpiece events, such as some of the men's quarter-final and semi-final ties, have suffered from slow sales.
But organisers have cited a reluctance from fans to buy tickets before the draw is made on 24 April.
A London 2012 spokesperson said: "We are confident that when we know more about the teams and the draw, people will want to be part of the Olympic Games at the football venues across the UK."
Football is the only sport among the 26 at the games which has tickets on sale.
This raises the prospect of the Olympics opening to half-empty stadiums as football's preliminary matches begin on Wednesday July 25, two days before competition for any other sport starts.
But, despite the amount unsold, the 800,000 bought at the last count mean that football is the biggest seller at the games, out of the total 6.6 million tickets.
Tickets were taken off sale on Monday, and they will go back on the market, with prices ranging from £20 to £125, in April, when returned tickets for the 25 sold-out Olympic events will also become available.
The City of Coventry Stadium, Hampden Park, Millennium Stadium, Old Trafford, Sports Direct Arena and Wembley Stadium will stage the matches.
Hosts Great Britain are expected to compete with nations such as Brazil and World Cup and European champions Spain for the title.
Football Supporters' Federation chair Malcolm Clarke believes that "high prices" and a "lack of interest" due to England's participation in Euro 2012 could be behind the lack of sales.
"The general problem is that Olympic football is not seen as the pinnacle," he said.
"Most die-hard fans will be heading to Poland and Ukraine for Euro 2012 and wouldn't have even thought about the Olympics.
"They should have also priced the tickets much lower.
"I'm sure sales will pick up to an extent, but I'd be very surprised if there was a surge."
Tickets are available for most preliminary stage matches.
For the men's competition, the bronze match, two quarter final ties and one semi-final are also unsold. For the women's tournament, tickets are available for all knockout ties from the quarter finals to the gold medal game.
MORE BOLLOX LATER ....