Friday's B*ll*x

[Chinners]

Harry Redknapp prepared to break the bank to keep hold of Emmanuel Adebayor
Adebayor is keen to reach an agreement to stay at Tottenham but the club would have to break their current wage limit in order to sign him permanently from Manchester City.
The former Arsenal striker has just 13 Premier League games remaining of his season-long loan spell - the first of which is the derby against his old club at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
At present, about £105,000 of Adebayor's £175,000-a-week wage is paid by City, as Tottenham's top earners collect about £70,000 a week, although that ceiling is likely to be raised if the club qualify for the Champions League for the second time in three seasons.
Adebayor has one year left on his contract in Manchester and Standard Sport understands his preference would be to remain in the capital.
The Togo striker feels settled in north London, where he lives with his wife and young daughter, and the prospect of playing in Europe's major club
competition - in which he represented Real Madrid during a loan last season - is appealing. After spells in Manchester and Madrid, it is thought Adebayor would prefer to remain in London than have to move again to another city.
Adebayor has also been heartened by the welcome he has received from Tottenham fans, despite his past with Arsenal. Harry Redknapp was the principal figure in persuading Adebayor to move to White Hart Lane last summer and with the Tottenham boss the favourite to become the next England manager, the squad are following the club's moves with interest.
There is willingness, therefore, on the part of Adebayor's advisors and Spurs to negotiate and discussions have taken place. Spurs would not match the salary Adebayor commands but a compromise could suit both sides.
Adebayor has been a key figure for Redknapp's side this season. His ability to make and take chances have made Spurs a serious threat in attack and the club will need a forward with the 27-year-old's qualities for their probable second Champions League campaign next season.
Napoli forward Edinson Cavani is another target but would cost about £27m. Adebayor's contractual position means he could be secured for less. He will be keen to add to his 10 goals this term at Emirates Stadium on Sunday. A knee problem kept him out of the 0-0 draw at Stevenage in the FA Cup fifth round but Adebayor trained on Tuesday and yesterday.

Micah Richards: Fabio Capello froze me out for his England favourites
Micah Richards hopes Fabio Capello’s resignation as England manager has ended his spell in the international wilderness after claiming he was “frozen out” by the Italian and overlooked to accommodate his “favourites”.
Manchester City defender Richards, who made just one substitute appearance under Capello, is expected to win his 13th senior cap against Holland next Wednesday after being named in Stuart Pearce’s squad for the Wembley friendly.
The 23 year-old’s inability to convince Capello of his ability, despite an impressive campaign at City this season, led to serious doubts over his prospects of playing at the finals of this summer's European Championships.
But with Capello gone and England set to be under new management this summer, Richards admits he has the chance to relaunch his international career.
“To be frozen out of your international side is hard to take sometimes,” Richards said. “Everyone wants to play for their international team, especially when you’re playing in a team that’s doing so well. I didn’t get a chance under Capello. I don’t know why. I always asked the question, but I never got answer.
“I don’t want to moan about it, though. I just want to kick on because I’m doing well with City. So if I get another chance to play under Stuart Pearce or Harry Redknapp, whoever the manager is, then I’ll be delighted.
“If I go in and have a stinker and they don’t pick me again, then I’ll hold my hands up. But if I just get a chance then I’ll be happy with that.”
Having made his senior debut under Steve McClaren as an 18 year-old against Holland in Amsterdam in November 2006, Richards became a regular in the international set-up.
But his last start came in the 3-2 defeat at home to Croatia 12 months later – the game which signalled the end of McClaren's reign as manager – and the sum total of his appearances under Capello was a substitute appearance against France in November 2010.
Richards returned to the squad at the start of this season, but he claims he was selected only because of the absence of others.
Glen Johnson was injured for the Montenegro game in October, “so it was me and Kyle Walker, but I wasn’t even on the bench in that game”, Richards said. “I was probably there because someone was injured, not because he [Capello] wanted me there. Every player wants to play for their country, especially when you are in a team that’s doing so well, but he had his favourites.
“He liked Glen and Kyle and sometimes you’ve got to just take it on the chin if the manager fancies someone else. You have to deal with it.”
Richards said he was “quite surprised” when Capello resigned, adding: “I got a lot back from the players and a lot of them thought he was some strict schoolteacher, but by the end he was really good with the lads and was more chilled out.”
Richards believed England “had a good chance” with Capello at Euro 2012, “but obviously it wasn’t meant to be”.

[spoiler][/spoiler]
OTHER BOLLOX
Blackburn defender Chris Samba, 27, has not given up hope of securing a move to big-spending Anzhi Makhachkala before the Russian transfer window closes. Daily Mail

Chelsea target Igor Akinfeev has ruled out a switch to Stamford Bridge. The 25-year-old CSKA Moscow goalkeeper has been linked with a move to the Blues with question marks over Petr Cech's future at the club. talkShiT

Arsenal look set to make an offer for £5m-rated Malaga attacking midfielder Isco. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger wants the 19-year-old as part of his summer rebuilding plans. Daily Star

Newcastle United are believed to be keeping tabs on 24-year-old Ajax defender and captain Jan Vertonghen. Newcastle Chronicle

Barcelona have joined Arsenal and Everton in the race for Anderlecht's 23-year-old striker Matias Suarez. Metro

Former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho looks set to scupper Fulham's hopes of a loan move for 18-year-old midfielder Jese Rodriguez - by promoting him to the Real Madrid first team. talkShite

Liverpool's quest in signing Bologna midfielder Gaston Ramirez has taken a significant step forward after the Italian club's president has admitted that the 21-year-old can leave at the end of the season. Inside Futbol

Leeds United manager Neil Warnock claims he will retire at the end of next season. Daily Mirror

Aston Villa's Carlos Cuellar, 30, is believed to have opened new contract talks with the club after manager Alex McLeish strongly indicated he wants the defender to stay. Birmingham Mail

Sunderland midfielder Craig Gardner, 25, says he holds no grudges against Black Cats boss Martin O'Neill for selling him while he was manager of Aston Villa. Sunderland Echo

QPR midfielder Joey Barton has reportedly given his approval to the design of the new England home kit - despite being out of favour at international level. Metro

more bollox later ...

[ashton287]

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson blamed himself for picking an inexperienced back four after Ajax came close to knocking his side out of the Europa League.

United progressed to a last-16 tie with Athletic Bilbao but needed their 2-0 first-leg advantage after the Dutch side claimed a 2-1 win at Old Trafford.

Ferguson, who started with Fabio, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Rafael in defence, said: "I must say, I've got to accept I'm responsible for picking the team and I picked too many young players in the back four positions.

"That was a big problem in terms of experience. It was a big risk I took. For a European night it was too much of a risk.

"Ajax are fantastic in terms of keeping the ball. Their first goal I thought was a handball (in the build-up) but although they had a lot of possession they didn't look like scoring.

"But that goal gave them confidence and we only had one shot in the second half. We survived it with a bit of luck but we didn't play well in the second half and it was a nervy night."

Wonder if he will get half an hour on soccer Saturday slating him for this or half of Sunday supplement devoted to telling everyone who will listen what a cunt Fergie is for admitting its his fault.

Fucking doubt it. Probably be a master stroke him taking the pressure off his team, what a leader he is eh.

[mr_nool]

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson blamed himself for picking an inexperienced back four after Ajax came close to knocking his side out of the Europa League.

United progressed to a last-16 tie with Athletic Bilbao but needed their 2-0 first-leg advantage after the Dutch side claimed a 2-1 win at Old Trafford.

Ferguson, who started with Fabio,[highlight]Chris Smalling, Phil Jones[/highlight]and Rafael in defence, said: "I must say, I've got to accept I'm responsible for picking the team and I picked too many young players in the back four positions.

"That was a big problem in terms of experience. It was a big risk I took. For a European night it was too much of a risk.

"Ajax are fantastic in terms of keeping the ball. Their first goal I thought was a handball (in the build-up) but although they had a lot of possession they didn't look like scoring.

"But that goal gave them confidence and we only had one shot in the second half. We survived it with a bit of luck but we didn't play well in the second half and it was a nervy night."

Wonder if he will get half an hour on soccer Saturday slating him for this or half of Sunday supplement devoted to telling everyone who will listen what a cunt Fergie is for admitting its his fault.

Fucking doubt it. Probably be a master stroke him taking the pressure off his team, what a leader he is eh.

Did Sir Bacon just say that Stuart Pierce's preferred central back pairing is too inexperienced?

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson blamed himself for picking an inexperienced back four after Ajax came close to knocking his side out of the Europa League.

United progressed to a last-16 tie with Athletic Bilbao but needed their 2-0 first-leg advantage after the Dutch side claimed a 2-1 win at Old Trafford.

Ferguson, who started with Fabio,[highlight]Chris Smalling, Phil Jones[/highlight]and Rafael in defence, said: "I must say, I've got to accept I'm responsible for picking the team and I picked too many young players in the back four positions.

"That was a big problem in terms of experience. It was a big risk I took. For a European night it was too much of a risk.

"Ajax are fantastic in terms of keeping the ball. Their first goal I thought was a handball (in the build-up) but although they had a lot of possession they didn't look like scoring.

"But that goal gave them confidence and we only had one shot in the second half. We survived it with a bit of luck but we didn't play well in the second half and it was a nervy night."

Wonder if he will get half an hour on soccer Saturday slating him for this or half of Sunday supplement devoted to telling everyone who will listen what a cunt Fergie is for admitting its his fault.

Fucking doubt it. Probably be a master stroke him taking the pressure off his team, what a leader he is eh.

Did Sir Bacon just say that Stuart Pierce's preferred central back pairing is too inexperienced?

Correct and to shore them up in the 2nd half they took of Young and Zidane Cleverly to bring on old man Scholes and an extra central defender (that's what Evans is isn't it?)

[gillie]

Ten past one in the afternoon and still no wag shame on you Chinners.

[Chinners]

Ha ha, I keep forgetting thats the main/only reason for this thread ... duly corrected

[Mikhail Chigorin]

Made me chuckle about Cavani being another potential target for Twitcher's Tottingham. Given Bobby Manc's regard for him, if that player is going anywhere, then it's going to be to us.

[Blue Since 76]

Ha ha, I keep forgetting thats the main/only reason for this thread ... duly corrected

About time. If you're in a rush in future, post the wag and then follow up later with nonsense about 'arry thinks is a triffic player.

Possibly change the title to the xday WAG thread as well, as it's a bit misleading at present

[johnny crossan]

Good article about us from an Arsenal supporter
Roberto Mancini: Rising Above Hate
Mancini defies critics to continue winning
By Zain Alvi | 24th February 2012



At some point this season, just after Manchester City most likely outplayed your club, you must have concluded that any team – regardless of how it is managed – would be this successful with the kind of star power that the Citizens possess.

Well, as you may already know, there are many, many others who share this perspective when it comes to evaluating the impact of City manager Roberto Mancini. For all his accomplishments at the Eastlands thus far, it seems that most football fans refuse to give the Italian much credit for catalyzing a revival at Etihad Stadium.

Those who look beyond what’s visible in hindsight, though, will realize that the wisdom Mancini brings thanks to an enviable record of winning championships throughout his career is not only important, but simply invaluable for City.

After months of doubting their credentials, even the most bitter critics have accepted that Manchester City can no longer be viewed as pretenders; after managing to stay atop the Premier League table all along this season, they are contenders, after all.

While the likes of Kun Aguero, David Silva, Micah Richards, and Joe Hart are certainly great to have when aiming to dethrone Manchester United, it is often overlooked how this group went from having a ton of potential to leading the charge for a domestic title.

The answer, quite simply, is the presence of Mancini on the touchline. Not many can stand up to Sir Alex Ferguson and deliver repeatedly the way Mancini has.

From knocking United out of the FA Cup at Wembley last year to destroying them 6-1 at Old Trafford earlier this season, Mancini has demonstrated exactly why his leadership brand is one of a kind.

Remember those days when his Internazionale side seemed unstoppable in Italy for a few years at a stretch? To be precise, he led Inter to three Serie A titles, four Coppa Italia triumps, and two SuperCoppa wins within half a decade before bringing the FA Cup to City at the end of just his second season in England.

Despite such a proven track record behind him, criticism has been heaped at the manager throughout this season. Disgruntled striker Carlos Tevez was perhaps the first to question Mancini’s man-management skills before the Italian got involved in trading jabs with the likes of Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis.

Rummenigge and De Laurentiis, as we can recall, were aggressively mocking City for their failure to progress in the UEFA Champions League.

And then there was that completely illogical and insensitive comment from Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis, who unnecessarily ventured into forbidden territory to undermine City’s achievements this season.

As a Gooner who has always taken pride in Arsenal’s classy conduct, I was shocked to see Gazidis tell the media that the league’s best team is jealous of a struggling Gunners side. The reason? Champions League!

At that point three-and-a-half weeks ago, Gazidis somehow felt that being in the Round of 16 and the FA Cup placed Arsenal in a much more favorable position than City, who barely missed out on the Champions League’s knock-out stages and last season, actually won the FA Cup – a feat that the Gunners have not accomplished in nearly seven years.

Fast forward to today, the Gunners have pretty much crashed out of Europe with a 4-0 humiliation in Milan and another 2-0 FA disappointment away to Sunderland.

As far as the Premier League is concerned, City are miles ahead of the North Londoners. In fact, the trash talking in Munich and Naples does not seem any more appropriate either, what with both those sides struggling in their domestic leagues.

Another man associated with Arsenal – former goalkeeper Jens Lehmann – also publicly celebrated City’s rare setbacks throughout this season, somehow managing to accuse Mancini’s men of playing boring football.

As a side note, the infamous ‘boring’ label continues to be pasted on Mancini and City from several different directions, even though the club’s league-leading 64 goals and a staggering goal-differential of 45 makes those claims sound even more stupid than Lehmann’s decision to urinate behind the goal during a Bundesliga match in 2009.

Mancini has chosen not to track down his detractors and verbally respond to any of their hatred. He probably knows too well that actions speak much louder than words.

The season moves so fast that we often forget to reflect on the reality of the moment. Being delusional of Manchester City’s progress and accusing Mancini of resting on the laurels of a tremendously gifted squad is a stance everyone is entitled to, but let’s not forget that taking that stance involves quite a bit of oversight.

In this moment, Manchester City are excelling in terms of achieving their goals (no pun intended). They may be out of both the domestic cup competitions, as well as the Champions League, but they remain on course for a famous title win, which could be made all the more sweeter if garnished with Europa League glory.

And Mancini is fully aware that staying focused for the next three months is poised to result in the kind of success that would silence the haters, at least until the next season. Thus, the experienced gaffer is busy telling his players that all of their remaining fixtures must, indeed, be treated as Champions League finals.

“It is impossible to be complacent. Every game is like a Champions League final and for this reason, we need good concentration,” the manager asserted as he urged his side to respect the significance of every single match that is pending on their fixture list.

That sums it all up. Roberto Mancini is not only immensely experienced and tactically astute, but also highly focused and extremely respectful. For all his success – as well as his position in charge of England’s most in-form club – it is only expected that the man will be subject to hatred.

But one thing is clear: no matter how much hatred is targeted towards him, he seems to keep rising above it. For that, he must be applauded!


http://www.premiershiptalk.com/2012/02/ ... ip+Talk%29

[one man army]

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news ... zhi-switch

so it's been confirmed. good news.

[john68]

That was a great read Mr Crossan Sir. I enjoyed that.

I think Mancini's past record has largely been ignored as his achievements with City have been ridiculed and diminished, both by the (supposed) experts and the rag media and been simply put down to "My Granny could have done that with all the money spent"

I think credit has to go to Taggart as I think he realised quite quickly that City's threat was a real one....and one that he will have great difficulty competing with...if he can.

[Ted Hughes]

That was a great read Mr Crossan Sir. I enjoyed that.

I think Mancini's past record has largely been ignored as his achievements with City have been ridiculed and diminished, both by the (supposed) experts and the rag media and been simply put down to "My Granny could have done that with all the money spent"

I think credit has to go to Taggart as I think he realised quite quickly that City's threat was a real one....and one that he will have great difficulty competing with...if he can.

Nah.

[john68]

That was a great read Mr Crossan Sir. I enjoyed that.

I think Mancini's past record has largely been ignored as his achievements with City have been ridiculed and diminished, both by the (supposed) experts and the rag media and been simply put down to "My Granny could have done that with all the money spent"

I think credit has to go to Taggart as I think he realised quite quickly that City's threat was a real one....and one that he will have great difficulty competing with...if he can.

Nah.

OK then...maybe not.
I noticed quite early on that Taggart went through several stages of attitude to City. From his initial ridiculing and rubbishing us, he changed to being quite venemous. More recently he has become grudgingly more respectful. I think it reflected his growing and changing realisation that from being the noisy neighbours without substance, we rapidly rose to challenge his position. The latest realisation that not only are we challengers but in a position to keep improving and eventually blow his rags away.
Having seen off the challenges of Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool and Chelsea, he must be severely pissed off that it is his nearest and dearest noisy neighbours that will knock him off his perch...and there is very little he can do about it....but retire in eventual failure.

[Swales4ever]

That was a great read Mr Crossan Sir. I enjoyed that.

I think Mancini's past record has largely been ignored as his achievements with City have been ridiculed and diminished, both by the (supposed) experts and the rag media and been simply put down to "My Granny could have done that with all the money spent"

I think credit has to go to Taggart as I think he realised quite quickly that City's threat was a real one....and one that he will have great difficulty competing with...if he can.

Nah.

OK then...maybe not.
I noticed quite early on that Taggart went through several stages of attitude to City. From his initial ridiculing and rubbishing us, he changed to being quite venemous. More recently he has become grudgingly more respectful. I think it reflected his growing and changing realisation that from being the noisy neighbours without substance, we rapidly rose to challenge his position. The latest realisation that not only are we challengers but in a position to keep improving and eventually blow his rags away.
Having seen off the challenges of Arsenal, Newcastle, Liverpool and Chelsea, he must be severely pissed off that it is his nearest and dearest noisy neighbours that will knock him off his perch...and there is very little he can do about it....but retire in eventual failure.

I see Your point and respect it as usual, Sir John. but while I'd love to agree with it, I regret I slightly disagree.
To me Taggart approach toward Bob was widely and mainly due to his surprise to the fact that a johnny foreigner of a "city twat manager" continues to pay steady respect for his managerial history, irrespectively whatsoever.
not more than a pleasant, unexpected surprise for the "rude highlander"... imho