Wednesday's B*l**x
Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2012 8:09 amTHE BOLLOX
Man City's Javi Garcia to meet fans in Abu Dhabi
Manchester City's new midfield star Javi Garcia is coming to Abu Dhabi for a special interaction with fans on Saturday evening.
The Spanish international will be at the club's official shop, CityStore, in Marina Mall from 6.30pm to 7.15pm.
"Everyone at the club is aware of the strong links to Abu Dhabi and I am really looking forward to meeting the fans," said Garcia, 25.
"I have heard a lot about the city from other players and I will be around for a few days to really get out and see everything it has to offer."
Manchester City, which won the Premier League for the first time in 44 years in May, run an official School of Football at Zayed Sports City and have a free membership scheme for supporters across the country called Sky Blue.
SLUR ALEX FERGUSON ‘REGRETS' HAVING NO JOE HART
GORDON BANKS says Alex Ferguson is regretting not making a move for England goalkeeper Joe Hart when he was a virtual unknown at Shrewsbury.
Ferguson has spent £20millionon David De Gea and Anders Lindegaard, but 1966 World Cup winner Banks is unconvinced that either will ever be as good as Hart, who was picked up by Manchester City for a bargain £600,000 from the Shrews six years ago.
And Banks, who won 73 caps for England, says Ferguson’s policy of rotating his keepers almost on a match-to-match basis could end up undermining the confidence of both of them.
“I am not sure about the two keepers at United, not at all,” said Banks.
“Alex Ferguson could have got a better keeper than either of them.
“I am sure he wishes he had signed Joe, who is the best English goalkeeper by a mile and could become the best in the world. He is now making terrific saves for Manchester City, while these lads at United look as if they can let in important goals.
“If you have a reliable goalkeeper, it makes the job of the back four so much easier. In my time, a manager always built his team on being strong at the back.
“But when I see these lads playing for United, they don’t seem 100 per cent confident either with crosses or through-balls. De Gea is a great shot-stopper, but when he comes for crosses and through-balls sometimes he is just miles off it. The striker gets there before him and these are mistakes that can easily result in goals. And, of course, any team are going to target a weakness like that.”
While Ferguson insists his rotation policy is providing both De Gea and Lindegaard with valuable experience, Banks argues it does not help either of them develop consistency or give them the chance to get over mistakes.
He said: “It is not great for confidence if you are not playing every week. When you are pulled out for a mistake, you are left dwelling on it for a couple of weeks. If you are playing every week, you have to put it to the back of your mind and concentrate on the game. And it is not as if they play reserve-team football these days either.”
Banks is a huge admirer of Hart, who has won the past two Golden Glove awards for keeping the most clean sheets in the Premier League
But he is concerned at the lack of competition for him, both for club and country.
“Can Joe be the best in the world? I don’t think he is there yet – I rate Iker Casillas at Real Madrid – but considering the age he is, he stands a great chance of becoming the best.
“He is the best English goalkeeper by a mile, no question, and there is every chance he will surpass Peter Shilton’s 125-cap record because he is only 25.
“He is still only a young man and he can still learn a lot. When I see him, there is much to admire. His positioning and the way he is prepared to come off his line are excellent. OK, he might misjudge one or two crosses, but that will come with experience. And for a big man he is very agile.
“But what concerns me is that there is nobody challenging him for that position for England or City. I don’t want him to get overconfident, where he doesn’t have to worry about his place.
“We have no strength in depth in the goalkeeping position. And the reason is that in the Premier League you have foreign players taking the position of young home-grown lads. There are fewer and fewer players for the England manager to pick from.
“When I came through, I took over from Ron Springett and there were keepers such as Peter Bonetti, Shilton, Ray Clemence, Phil Parkes and Joe Corrigan around. Shilts and Clem even shared the England job for a while because they were both that good.
“We have to find a method of bringing young goalkeepers through. If you are a goalkeeper your standards can’t be raised by playing alongside foreigners because you have to be in the side to play. You are either in the team or you are not.”
Gordon Banks was speaking at the launch of The Football Pools 90th season campaign ‘In the 90th’. Play now at www.footballpools.com.
ADAM Johnson has compared the current rebuilding job at Sunderland to the £1billion makeover of Manchester City.
The recently-acquired winger sees some similarities in what Martin O’Neill, with help from the board, is attempting to do on Wearside, with the way Sheikh Mansour and the Abu Dhabi group revitalised his former club, which they bought in August 2008.
Johnson became a City player in 2010 when he moved from Middlesbrough for a £7m fee, which is actually one of the cheaper deals done in recent times by English football’s biggest spenders.
Sunderland owner Ellis Short, a billionaire himself, has ploughed a not insignificant amount of his own money into the Black Cats since he bought the club four weeks after the Abu Dhabi group made its move on the blue half of Manchester.
And, while he won’t get to spend the sort of money City have, manager O’Neill was allowed to write a cheque for £10m to lure 25-year-old Johnson back to the North East, as well as another for £12m for Steven Fletcher.
Johnson agreed that Sunderland at this moment in time are where Manchester City, the current Premier League champions, used to be before that Middle East revolution four years ago.
The Black Cats are a big club in terms of fanbase, stadium, ambition and tradition, but it has been some time since they have been in a financial position to challenge for honours, especially in the league.
City were exactly the same – however, an estimated £1bn has been spent to make the club one of Europe’s biggest.
And Johnson said: “With City, everyone knew where they were going. Joining Sunderland is not that drastic a change. The club is progressing, but a bit slower.
“It was all change at City when I signed there and everything was moving so fast. It has paid off for them. City went out and bought Robinho and people like that.
“Sunderland is still progressing fairly quickly. The new players have come in and are gelling as a team.” Sunderland lost for the first time this season at the weekend, to City in a comprehensive 3-0 defeat.
Football Association to launch England player code of conduct
Football Association chairman David Bernstein is to bring in a code of conduct for England players.
The move follows a number of recent indiscretions by internationals, most notably defender Ashley Cole.
Those players who break the code could be suspended from England duty.
"They are incredible role models with incredibly high profiles and their behaviour is extremely important," said Bernstein. "This really should have been brought in years and years ago."
Cole found himself in trouble after posting a Twitter message that insulted the FA in the wake of the hearing into club-mate and fellow defender John Terry.
The 31-year-old left-back later deleted the tweet and apologised to Bernstein before meeting Prince William when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge officially opened the FA new centre of excellence at St George's Park on Tuesday.
But the Chelsea player, who has 98 caps for his country, still faces an FA charge and has until 16:00 BST on Thursday, 11 October to respond.
Bernstein, Club England managing director Adrian Bevington, FA general secretary Alex Horne and the FA's director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking have given the senior England squad a 10-minute bullet point presentation on what they expect in terms of behaviour.
"I came into this position as chairman with five things I'd identified, one of which was respect, in its wider sense, not just towards referees but player-to-player, the whole respect agenda," said Bernstein, who took up his role in January 2011.
The former Manchester City chairman added: "I'm beginning to think it's the most important thing I've got to deal with as chairman of the FA."
He added that action to help improve the conduct of players was overdue.
"These guys share a desire to play for England," he said. "They really do value it. But the FA is a complicated organisation. Having the whole regulatory side alongside Club England has created a degree of confusion. There has been a lack of clarity and the fact we haven't sat down with them has led to a bit of fuzziness."
Players have not been banned from using Twitter by the FA but there will be punishments if they break the rules which will soon come into force.
"If someone transgresses in a way that brings the integrity of the team or themselves or the organisation into question, we have the ability to warn them or to suspend them from England," said Bevington.
Frank Lampard, 34, and Ashley Cole, 31, will not be handed new long-term contracts by Chelsea. The Blues are only prepared to offer one-year deals to the pair - even if it means losing them as free agents at the end of the season. No long-term deals for Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole Sun
Inter Milan are interested in Arsenal's 29-year-old defender Bacary Sagna, according to Corriere dello Sport. The Italian paper claims the Serie A club are monitoring the right-back's rehabilitation from a broken leg with a view to a summer move. talkSHIT
Long-term Manchester United and Liverpool midfield target Mesut Ozil, 23, has dismissed speculation linking him with a move away from Real Madrid. Daily Mirror
Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen, 20, says he is flattered by the interest shown in him by Liverpool but insists a move to Anfield is unlikely. Metro
Liverpool are also keen on Hamburg's 20-year-old South Korea forward Son Heung-min. DC
Chelsea are ready to make a second move in January to capture Marseille's 25-year-old striker Loic Remy. Daily Express
Arsenal have written off £5.5m in their accounts to cover the wages of transfer flop Park Chu-young, 27, who is on loan at Celta Vigo. London Evening Standard
John Terry, 31, is considering ending the fight to clear his name and accept a four-match ban for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand. DC
Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has been tipped to replace Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. Daily Star
Newcastle United's £24m shirt sponsorship deal with Wonga has been engulfed in fresh controversy after the club's Muslim players were warned that wearing the new shirts would infringe Sharia law. Independent
Blackburn Rovers will draw up a shortlist of potential managers on Thursday, although the club's Premier League-winning striker Alan Shearer, despite expressing interest in the job, has had no contact with the owners Venky's. Guardian
Mick McCarthy is hot favourite to be the new Bolton boss following the sacking of Owen Coyle. Daily Star
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has been filmed playing a psychological game on his players involving three envelopes. Daily Mirror
Meanwhile, Rodgers has taken exception to Alan Shearer's analysis of Joe Allen, 22, and believes it shows the former England striker does not grasp how his Liverpool team operate. Guardian
Tottenham forward Clint Dempsey says fishing is one of his favourite pastimes because it reminds the 29-year-old of his childhood.
MORE BOLOX LATER ...
Man City's Javi Garcia to meet fans in Abu Dhabi
Manchester City's new midfield star Javi Garcia is coming to Abu Dhabi for a special interaction with fans on Saturday evening.
The Spanish international will be at the club's official shop, CityStore, in Marina Mall from 6.30pm to 7.15pm.
"Everyone at the club is aware of the strong links to Abu Dhabi and I am really looking forward to meeting the fans," said Garcia, 25.
"I have heard a lot about the city from other players and I will be around for a few days to really get out and see everything it has to offer."
Manchester City, which won the Premier League for the first time in 44 years in May, run an official School of Football at Zayed Sports City and have a free membership scheme for supporters across the country called Sky Blue.
SLUR ALEX FERGUSON ‘REGRETS' HAVING NO JOE HART
GORDON BANKS says Alex Ferguson is regretting not making a move for England goalkeeper Joe Hart when he was a virtual unknown at Shrewsbury.
Ferguson has spent £20millionon David De Gea and Anders Lindegaard, but 1966 World Cup winner Banks is unconvinced that either will ever be as good as Hart, who was picked up by Manchester City for a bargain £600,000 from the Shrews six years ago.
And Banks, who won 73 caps for England, says Ferguson’s policy of rotating his keepers almost on a match-to-match basis could end up undermining the confidence of both of them.
“I am not sure about the two keepers at United, not at all,” said Banks.
“Alex Ferguson could have got a better keeper than either of them.
“I am sure he wishes he had signed Joe, who is the best English goalkeeper by a mile and could become the best in the world. He is now making terrific saves for Manchester City, while these lads at United look as if they can let in important goals.
“If you have a reliable goalkeeper, it makes the job of the back four so much easier. In my time, a manager always built his team on being strong at the back.
“But when I see these lads playing for United, they don’t seem 100 per cent confident either with crosses or through-balls. De Gea is a great shot-stopper, but when he comes for crosses and through-balls sometimes he is just miles off it. The striker gets there before him and these are mistakes that can easily result in goals. And, of course, any team are going to target a weakness like that.”
While Ferguson insists his rotation policy is providing both De Gea and Lindegaard with valuable experience, Banks argues it does not help either of them develop consistency or give them the chance to get over mistakes.
He said: “It is not great for confidence if you are not playing every week. When you are pulled out for a mistake, you are left dwelling on it for a couple of weeks. If you are playing every week, you have to put it to the back of your mind and concentrate on the game. And it is not as if they play reserve-team football these days either.”
Banks is a huge admirer of Hart, who has won the past two Golden Glove awards for keeping the most clean sheets in the Premier League
But he is concerned at the lack of competition for him, both for club and country.
“Can Joe be the best in the world? I don’t think he is there yet – I rate Iker Casillas at Real Madrid – but considering the age he is, he stands a great chance of becoming the best.
“He is the best English goalkeeper by a mile, no question, and there is every chance he will surpass Peter Shilton’s 125-cap record because he is only 25.
“He is still only a young man and he can still learn a lot. When I see him, there is much to admire. His positioning and the way he is prepared to come off his line are excellent. OK, he might misjudge one or two crosses, but that will come with experience. And for a big man he is very agile.
“But what concerns me is that there is nobody challenging him for that position for England or City. I don’t want him to get overconfident, where he doesn’t have to worry about his place.
“We have no strength in depth in the goalkeeping position. And the reason is that in the Premier League you have foreign players taking the position of young home-grown lads. There are fewer and fewer players for the England manager to pick from.
“When I came through, I took over from Ron Springett and there were keepers such as Peter Bonetti, Shilton, Ray Clemence, Phil Parkes and Joe Corrigan around. Shilts and Clem even shared the England job for a while because they were both that good.
“We have to find a method of bringing young goalkeepers through. If you are a goalkeeper your standards can’t be raised by playing alongside foreigners because you have to be in the side to play. You are either in the team or you are not.”
Gordon Banks was speaking at the launch of The Football Pools 90th season campaign ‘In the 90th’. Play now at www.footballpools.com.
ADAM Johnson has compared the current rebuilding job at Sunderland to the £1billion makeover of Manchester City.
The recently-acquired winger sees some similarities in what Martin O’Neill, with help from the board, is attempting to do on Wearside, with the way Sheikh Mansour and the Abu Dhabi group revitalised his former club, which they bought in August 2008.
Johnson became a City player in 2010 when he moved from Middlesbrough for a £7m fee, which is actually one of the cheaper deals done in recent times by English football’s biggest spenders.
Sunderland owner Ellis Short, a billionaire himself, has ploughed a not insignificant amount of his own money into the Black Cats since he bought the club four weeks after the Abu Dhabi group made its move on the blue half of Manchester.
And, while he won’t get to spend the sort of money City have, manager O’Neill was allowed to write a cheque for £10m to lure 25-year-old Johnson back to the North East, as well as another for £12m for Steven Fletcher.
Johnson agreed that Sunderland at this moment in time are where Manchester City, the current Premier League champions, used to be before that Middle East revolution four years ago.
The Black Cats are a big club in terms of fanbase, stadium, ambition and tradition, but it has been some time since they have been in a financial position to challenge for honours, especially in the league.
City were exactly the same – however, an estimated £1bn has been spent to make the club one of Europe’s biggest.
And Johnson said: “With City, everyone knew where they were going. Joining Sunderland is not that drastic a change. The club is progressing, but a bit slower.
“It was all change at City when I signed there and everything was moving so fast. It has paid off for them. City went out and bought Robinho and people like that.
“Sunderland is still progressing fairly quickly. The new players have come in and are gelling as a team.” Sunderland lost for the first time this season at the weekend, to City in a comprehensive 3-0 defeat.
Football Association to launch England player code of conduct
Football Association chairman David Bernstein is to bring in a code of conduct for England players.
The move follows a number of recent indiscretions by internationals, most notably defender Ashley Cole.
Those players who break the code could be suspended from England duty.
"They are incredible role models with incredibly high profiles and their behaviour is extremely important," said Bernstein. "This really should have been brought in years and years ago."
Cole found himself in trouble after posting a Twitter message that insulted the FA in the wake of the hearing into club-mate and fellow defender John Terry.
The 31-year-old left-back later deleted the tweet and apologised to Bernstein before meeting Prince William when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge officially opened the FA new centre of excellence at St George's Park on Tuesday.
But the Chelsea player, who has 98 caps for his country, still faces an FA charge and has until 16:00 BST on Thursday, 11 October to respond.
Bernstein, Club England managing director Adrian Bevington, FA general secretary Alex Horne and the FA's director of football development Sir Trevor Brooking have given the senior England squad a 10-minute bullet point presentation on what they expect in terms of behaviour.
"I came into this position as chairman with five things I'd identified, one of which was respect, in its wider sense, not just towards referees but player-to-player, the whole respect agenda," said Bernstein, who took up his role in January 2011.
The former Manchester City chairman added: "I'm beginning to think it's the most important thing I've got to deal with as chairman of the FA."
He added that action to help improve the conduct of players was overdue.
"These guys share a desire to play for England," he said. "They really do value it. But the FA is a complicated organisation. Having the whole regulatory side alongside Club England has created a degree of confusion. There has been a lack of clarity and the fact we haven't sat down with them has led to a bit of fuzziness."
Players have not been banned from using Twitter by the FA but there will be punishments if they break the rules which will soon come into force.
"If someone transgresses in a way that brings the integrity of the team or themselves or the organisation into question, we have the ability to warn them or to suspend them from England," said Bevington.
Frank Lampard, 34, and Ashley Cole, 31, will not be handed new long-term contracts by Chelsea. The Blues are only prepared to offer one-year deals to the pair - even if it means losing them as free agents at the end of the season. No long-term deals for Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole Sun
Inter Milan are interested in Arsenal's 29-year-old defender Bacary Sagna, according to Corriere dello Sport. The Italian paper claims the Serie A club are monitoring the right-back's rehabilitation from a broken leg with a view to a summer move. talkSHIT
Long-term Manchester United and Liverpool midfield target Mesut Ozil, 23, has dismissed speculation linking him with a move away from Real Madrid. Daily Mirror
Ajax midfielder Christian Eriksen, 20, says he is flattered by the interest shown in him by Liverpool but insists a move to Anfield is unlikely. Metro
Liverpool are also keen on Hamburg's 20-year-old South Korea forward Son Heung-min. DC
Chelsea are ready to make a second move in January to capture Marseille's 25-year-old striker Loic Remy. Daily Express
Arsenal have written off £5.5m in their accounts to cover the wages of transfer flop Park Chu-young, 27, who is on loan at Celta Vigo. London Evening Standard
John Terry, 31, is considering ending the fight to clear his name and accept a four-match ban for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand. DC
Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has been tipped to replace Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. Daily Star
Newcastle United's £24m shirt sponsorship deal with Wonga has been engulfed in fresh controversy after the club's Muslim players were warned that wearing the new shirts would infringe Sharia law. Independent
Blackburn Rovers will draw up a shortlist of potential managers on Thursday, although the club's Premier League-winning striker Alan Shearer, despite expressing interest in the job, has had no contact with the owners Venky's. Guardian
Mick McCarthy is hot favourite to be the new Bolton boss following the sacking of Owen Coyle. Daily Star
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has been filmed playing a psychological game on his players involving three envelopes. Daily Mirror
Meanwhile, Rodgers has taken exception to Alan Shearer's analysis of Joe Allen, 22, and believes it shows the former England striker does not grasp how his Liverpool team operate. Guardian
Tottenham forward Clint Dempsey says fishing is one of his favourite pastimes because it reminds the 29-year-old of his childhood.
MORE BOLOX LATER ...