Thursday's B*l**x (updated)
Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 9:18 amTHE BOLLOX
Referee Peter Rasmussen admits Manchester City's draw with Ajax ended in chaos
Referee Peter Rasmussen has admitted he has never experienced such a 'chaotic end of a match' following Manchester City's 2-2 draw with Ajax.
Furious City boss Roberto Mancini marched onto the pitch and confronted Rasmussen at the end of the game after seeing a goal from Sergio Aguero disallowed and a penalty claim for Mario Balotelli turned down in the closing moments for his side.
Mancini has escaped any UEFA action after Rasmussen and the match delegate at the Etihad Stadium failed to report the incident in their reports.
Danish official Rasmussen claims it is the first time he has been involved in such an incident and he conceded it is not nice being criticised.
"It's the first time I have experienced such a chaotic end of a match," Rasmussen told Sporten.dk.
"It's never nice (with criticism), but that can happen when a match progress like it did."
DSSC BOLLOX: Mancini ramps up De Rossi pursuit as City boss wants Begiristain to sign midfielder in January
Roberto Mancini will ask Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain to sign Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi in January.
City pursued the Italy star all last summer but he stayed put.
However, De Rossi, 29, has told friends in Rome he wants to leave his hometown club and will ask for a transfer.
Roma would want in excess of £20million and the player would expect to be paid around £100,000- a-week.
This could be a problem for City as they look to keep within UEFA's financial fair play guidelines.
Therefore, it is interesting to see whether Begiristain will sanction the move.
City manager Mancini met the former Barcelona man for the first time on Wednesday to reflect on Tuesday's 2-2 draw with Ajax and to talk about their future working together.
There has been recent speculation about Mancini's job prospects at City, especially with Begiristain's former Barca colleague Pep Guardiola looking to return to the game next summer.
However, it is understood Mancini was told he has nothing to worry about and to concentrate on this month's games.
City were encouraged earlier this week to hear that club general Franco Baldini had suggested that any offers for the midfielder would be considered.
'In summer we heard an offer from Man City and because we listened to it, it means we took it in consideration. Then we decided to give up.
'Should another offer will arrive, we will listen again it, but we could also decide to give up on it again.'
Euro flop: Mancini faces crunch talks to convince City he is the right man
Italian boss will meet with directors to tell them he is paying the price for the club's failure to land his main summer targets
Roberto Mancini faces a battle to convince Manchester City’s new hierarchy he is the man to lead the club forward long-term.
Although Mancini’s position is not under immediate threat, City’s dismal Champions League campaign has put the Italian’s future under fresh scrutiny.
City are on the brink of Champions League elimination at the group stage for the second straight season after picking up just two points from four games.
Mancini will meet City’s newly-appointed chief executive Ferran Soriano and director of football Tixki Begiristain this week to discuss their vision for the club.
The former Barcelona duo have been entrusted with the task of turning City into European champions and replicating the success they had at the Nou Camp.
But with City facing another early Champions League exit, the spectre of former Barca boss Pep Guardiola - currently out of work - is looming large over Mancini.
Despite their poor European campaign, City remain the only side unbeaten in the Premier League this season and sit just two points behind leaders Manchester United.
That is why Mancini’s position, despite City going backwards in Europe this season and looking like failing to meet the club’s target of reaching the knockout stage, is not under immediate threat.
But City’s new chiefs will tell Mancini the club’s poor European form cannot be allowed to spill over to the club’s domestic programme as they seek to retain the Premier League crown they won in such dramatic style last season.
Mancini is expected to tell Soriano and Bergiristain that City must be more pro-active in the transfer market under them, after the Italian missed out on several of his top targets last summer.
The City boss is known to have been angry at the club failing to do business until late on in the transfer window, which he believes is coming back to haunt them, particularly in Europe.
Among Mancini’s targets were Robin van Persie, Eden Hazard and Javier Martinez, who ended up going to Manchester United, Chelsea and Bayern Munich respectively, where all three have made instant impacts.
City’s former football administrator Brian Marwood told Mancini the club had to sell before they could buy, a policy which ultimately saw them miss out on the Italian’s first-choice targets.
Although Mancini spent £50million in the summer - on Javier Garcia, Matija Nastasic, Jack Rodwell, Scott Sinclair and Maicon - none of them has made the required impact since joining the club.
Mancini confronted the referee at the final whistle after City's 2-2 draw at home to Ajax on Tuesday but has escaped a potential UEFA touchline ban, with the official having not included the incident in his match report.
Meanwhile, Defender Pablo Zabaleta has defended his manager's outbursts as 'normal'.
'When any manager sees you drop points in a crucial game, they get very passionate and angry. It's normal' says City defender
Nyantakyi to announce Man City deal
Kwesi Nyantakyi will confirm news broken by supersport.com a month ago about the Ghana FA's new coaching deal with Manchester City. The FA had strenuously denied the links at the time, but are expected to confirm it to the world's media on Thursday afternoon.
The details are that the English Premier League champions and the GFA will have a mutually beneficial relationship as they tap into the strengths of each other. Supersport.com understands that the deal is among a series of groundbreaking deals the FA seeks to sign in an ambitious bid to leverage the country's growing football brand to plug holes in its own expertise.
Manchester City's win of the English elite league last season came on the back of an increase in scientific techniques in coaching and administration, and the Ghana FA has identified the club's resources as good for its own ailing systems.
Beyond that, the FA will be looking at exchange programmes for coaches, referees and administrators in Ghana. For the Citizens, Ghana's vaunted talent pool will be open to them, on mutually agreed terms, for them to tap into for their academy.
At the media briefing, slated for 1600 GMT, Nyantakyi - who will be in England in the coming week to finalize things with City - is also expected to outline details of the Black Stars preparation for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations as well as other key issues concerning Ghana football.
In August, the Ghana FA reached a cooperation deal with their Chinese counterparts to further develop football in both countries, with the Ghana helping in their youth football while the Asians prop Ghana in women's football.
Yaya Touré blames referee for Manchester City's failure to beat Ajax
• Touré: 'The referee decided this game for me'
• Pablo Zabaleta defends Roberto Mancini's reaction
Yaya Touré is insistent that Peter Rasmussen, the referee, cost Manchester City a vital win over Ajax in the Champions League. After going 2-0 down within 17 minutes at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, Touré pulled one back and Sergio Agüero equalised before the Danish official ruled out a seemingly legitimate second from the Argentinian for offside late in the match. A goal then would have given City a first win of the group stage in their fourth outing.
Rasmussen also refused a penalty appeal moments from the end when Mario Balotelli was pulled back inside the Ajax area. Touré said: "The referee decided this game for me, because there were two clear penalties, one in the first half and one in the second with Mario. I am sure we were unlucky. We went two down to set pieces [both corners] and after that it was difficult because Ajax are a good team, they play good football."
Rasmussen's decisions caused furious scenes at the finish when Roberto Mancini, the manager, Balotelli and a group of other City players surrounded the referee to protest. The manager had also fumed on the sidelines during the match, appearing to lose his temper at his team, with Mancini at one point seeming to have a row with the substitute Edin Dzeko.
But Pablo Zabaleta played down Mancini's histrionics. "He's the manager, he has to shout at the players. That's normal," said Zabaleta. "Every manager would do the same. It's not just Roberto that does this. Other managers when they see their team drop some points in crucial games in a Champions League game would be the same. But he is very passionate, his character is like this. But he's not the only one. The players care, too. Everybody wanted this. Everybody was angry. I saw Roberto asking the referee why he didn't give the penalty or why the flag had been raised."
The right-back admitted City's defending at set pieces had been flawed. "I think we were OK, it was just two set pieces that we didn't defend very well at corners," he said. "In the Champions League you make these mistakes and it can cost you three points. After that we played well, we created chances. We're a bit frustrated."
City's hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages in February are remote. With only two points won and two matches remaining of the current phase, they have to defeat Real Madrid at home and the group leaders Borussia Dortmund away and hope other results help them.
Zabaleta said: "Nothing is impossible in life. We have to be honest. It's going to be very difficult but we need to continue to fight for it."
Touré said: "It's disappointing and difficult. But I think it's not finished. We have a couple of games left and we have to continue to work hard and try to take our chance, believe. In football it's not finished. We have Madrid at home and Dortmund away and if we want to go through we have to win these games. We have to believe in God and I swear maybe we can still go through."
City next play in Sunday's Premier League visit of Tottenham Hotspur. Zabaleta said: "Now we have to keep going, work hard and refocus on Sunday. It's another important game against a very good side. We are only two points behind [Manchester] United so we need to keep fighting."
Carlos Tevez’ car caught speeding in Morecambe
FOOTBALL star Carlos Tevez has been summonsed to appear in court in Lancaster after his car was snapped speeding in Morecambe.
The Manchester City striker’s vehicle was captured breaking the speed limit by a camera on Westgate on March 28.
Tevez, 28, played and scored for City reserves that night against Morecambe Reserves at the Globe Arena.
The Argentine is accused of failing to provide ID following an alleged motoring offence and has been summonsed to appear before Lancaster Magistrates Court on November 26.
Pep Guardiola's agent has opened the door for a summer move to a Premier League club. The former Barcelona coach is having a year out of the game, but his representative Jose Maria Orobtig said: "The doors are open for [AC Milan], just like they are open for Manchester City, Chelsea and so on. Pep will listen to offers and then he will evaluate them." Sun
ON THIS DAY BOLLOX 8/11/96
Coppell finds City pressure-cooker too much to take
On October 7 1996, Steve Coppell was confirmed as manager of First Division Manchester City, ending the club's 42-day search for a successor to Alan Ball. However, he lasted just 33 days before quitting because of stress on November 8.
The early stages of Steve Coppell's playing career hinted that his passion for football could veer to extremes of both joy and sadness. Rejected by Liverpool as a youngster for being too small [he stood just 4' 11'' at the time], he "cried all the way home," his father Jim said in a 1990 interview with the Daily Express's Christopher Hilton, and "lost his faith in ever becoming a footballer" after being rejected by Everton a year later.
With his focus turned to other pursuits - namely golf and studying economic and social history at Liverpool University - Coppell continued to play football for pleasure and was eventually persuaded to undergo one last trial at Tranmere Rovers. It just so happened that he scored a hat-trick under the watchful eye of Tranmere boss Ron Yeats, and was signed on a part-time basis, enabling him to continue his studies, soon afterwards.
Having grown seven inches in the space of a year, Coppell finally reached the sort of physique required for a footballer and did not look back. Manchester United manager Tommy Doherty signed him without even watching him play after he had scored 10 goals in 38 games for Rovers, and he would go on to break the record for the most consecutive appearances for an outfield United player - 207 from 1977 to 1981 - which still stands to this day, and boast statistics of 373 appearances and 70 goals during his time at Old Trafford.
England honours followed, and it looked as though Coppell would secure his place among the best midfielders in the history books - but tragedy struck in a vital World Cup qualifier against Hungary in 1982. A vicious challenge shattered his knee - he said it felt "like someone had put a firework in my knee and it had gone off" - and he would not recover.
With his career cruelly cut short at the age of 28, Coppell would have been forgiven if he had left the game altogether. But he took his first steps in management with Crystal Palace in 1984. At 28 years and ten months old, he was the youngest manager in the Football League and made many budget signings of unwanted players from the First Division - as well as snapping up Ian Wright from the depths of non-league football - to greatly improve the team's fortunes.
Indeed, only five years later, Coppell guided the Eagles back to the top flight after the South London club had dropped into the second tier under Alan Mullery, and was viewed as one of the best young bosses in the business.
The success continued to flow as Coppell took Palace to the 1990 FA Cup final, where they lost to his former team Manchester United in a replay, and the following season saw him guide the club to third place. It was their highest-ever league position, and came with plaudits that only increased when they also claimed their first major trophy: the now-defunct Zenith Data Systems Cup.
But it could not last. As a Daily Telegraph article explains: "The inaugural season of the Premier League in 1992-93 coincided with the cyclical decline of the lesser club. Palace were relegated, prompting Coppell's resignation, but not to the detriment of his standing in the game, and he was talked about as a candidate for the England post."
Instead of England, though, Coppell returned to Crystal Palace as Director of Football in 1995, but his ambition to manage at the highest level continued to drive him.
If he was looking for stability, then perhaps he chose the wrong club. At the time, Manchester City were unravelling: They had been relegated at the end of the 1995-96 season under the stewardship of Alan Ball, and a poor start to the following campaign had seen him sacked in August.
The club were looking for new investment, and a revealing article in the Daily Express in September saw "mystery Arabs" who had been linked exposed as "just a mirage", while chairman Francis Lee went on the attack and claimed: "I am sick of talking to idiots, the clowns I have met who were supposedly interested in investing in the club. I am sure that two or three were just in it for the self-glorification."
Searching for a new manager and new investment at the same time is never easy, but Lee's job was made all the harder when George Graham and Dave Bassett turned City down at the last minute. "Football is a jungle," Lee proclaimed after revealing that Bassett had got cold feet overnight despite agreeing to everything (including a player to sign) the day before. After the fiasco of Graham, another rejection did not go down well: "I asked him [Bassett] if that was his final decision," said Lee. "He said 'yes' so I told him I was looking forward to thrashing him 5-1 when he came to Maine Road next. Then I hung up."
After Asa Hartford took over as caretaker manager, City had a brief dalliance with Kenny Dalglish - he also rejected them as he was not ready to return to management - and it was left to Coppell to finally agree to take the reins after beating off competition from the likes of Bruce Rioch and Alan Smith in October.
"I'm an animal who tends to roost wherever he stays," Coppell told reporters at his first City press conference. "I was at United and Palace for nine years apiece, and I hope that City is a long-term rather than a short-term move."
But it was not. From day one, he had the look of a man who had the weight of the world on his shoulders and, after only six games and 33 days in charge, he quit, citing severe stress. Only two of his games were won, leaving City 17th in Division One with a mountain to climb.
"I'm not ashamed to admit that I have suffered for some time from huge pressure I have imposed upon myself, and since my appointment this has completely overwhelmed me to such an extent that I cannot function in the job the way I would like to," Coppell said.
"As this situation is affecting my well-being, I have asked Francis Lee to relieve me of my obligation to manage the club on medical advice. I am therefore resigning for personal reasons. I'm extremely embarrassed by the situation and I would like to apologise first and foremost to Francis Lee and his board, who have done everything in their power to help me."
There was sympathy from City chairman and former playing legend Lee, but also some barely disguised annoyance: "There is pressure in managing anything, but that sort of pressure doesn't come along in three or four weeks," he said. Palace chairman Ron Noades added: "I was surprised at how much it took out of him. I think he found the club [City] too enormous, but he weathered it."
Coppell was not alone in finding City's hotseat too hot, and was their third manager of a season in which five men took charge of the team in one capacity or another. However, his 33-day spell in charge was the shortest by any City manager then or since.
What happened next? Lee put assistant Phil Neal in charge before appointing Frank Clark, who took City a few places up the table but not enough for promotion. Coppell returned for two further spells at Crystal Palace, the first as chief scout before he was promoted after the resignation of Bassett (ironically) in February 1997. He secured promotion back to the top flight, via the play-offs, but the Eagles went down again the following season.
He achieved success with Reading, leading them to the Premier League for the first time ever in 2006, but found the pressure of managing Bristol City too much and quit after only four months in 2010.
Helen Flanagan sparks Scott Sinclair engagement talk as I'm A Celeb looms
I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! star Helen Flanagan fuelled rumours she is engaged to Manchester City footballer Scott Sinclair when she waggled a sparkler on her wedding finger as she touched down in Oz.
I'm A Celebrity's Helen Flanagan has insisted she's not engaged to footballing pro Scott Sinclair (Picture: ITV).
But the 22-year-old soap star explained she always wears her blinding bling on the all-telling finger, insisting it’s just her favourite accessory for show.
A spokesperson told Metro: ‘No, it’s a ring she often wears and is not an engagement ring.’
The star later explained one of her main struggles will being away from her 23-year-old lover.
The couple enjoyed a final night together before she jetted off to the jungle (Picture: Xposurephotos.com).
‘We have just moved into a new house and I am going to miss him so much,’ she said.
‘Again, I am just trying to not think about everything too much.’
After throwing a tantrum at photographers greeting her in Australia, the panicky TV babe further warned viewers to expect her to freak out at every creepy crawly that comes her way.
‘I deliberately kept myself busy before flying out to Australia so I would not think too much about what lies ahead,’ she said.
‘I am fearful of heights. I have never jumped out of a plane and I don’t even like rooms high up in a hotel. I will scream if I see a spider at home but we will all be in the camp together and we will all deal with it.’
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NUMBER OF ARTICLES IN PAST 24 HOURS THAT CONTAIN THE WORDS : CITY, MONEY, NOT, BUY SUCCESS & BIG SPENDING BOLLOX
352
ENGLAND SQUAD BOLLOX
The England squad to face Sweden in next week's friendly is announced.
Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Celtic), Joe Hart (Manchester City), John Ruddy (Norwich City).
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Steven Caulker (Tottenham Hotspur), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City), Kyle Walker(Tottenham Hotspur).
Midfielders: Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur), Leon Osman (Everton), Jonjo Shelvey (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Manchester United).
Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea), Daniel Welbeck (Manchester United).
Arsenal are lining up a bid for QPR midfielder Adel Taarabt, 23, if their £7m pursuit of Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, 19, fails. Daily Mirror
Liverpool have had to end their reported pursuit of Didier Drogba, 34, after the former Chelsea striker pledged his future to Chinese employers Shanghai Shenhua. Metro
Newcastle United are in a race with Italian champions Juventus for the signature of 23-year-old Toulouse midfielder Moussa Sissoko. talkSHIT
Long-term Manchester United target Filip Djuricic, a 20-year-old Serb attacking midfielder playing at Dutch side Heerenveen, might instead be heading to Liverpool. Daily Star
England manager Roy Hodgson is set to defy Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger on Thursday by naming midfielder Jack Wilshere in his squad to face Sweden next Wednesday, even though the 20-year-old is only just back from 15 monts out injured. DSSC
Under-pressure Southampton manager Nigel Adkins will remain in his post at least until the game against Swansea at the weekend. Daily Express
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, 20, says the Gunners should offer 23-year-old winger Theo Walcott a new contract. Sun
Celtic teenager Tony Watt, 18, says scoring the winner against Barcelona in the Champions League was "the best moment of his life". talkSHIT
The Olympic Stadium, which has West Ham and Leyton Orient among its bidders, cannot be converted into football use before 2016, admits the man charged with overseeing its transformation. Independent
Rock legend Rod Stewart burst into tears in the stand after seeing Celtic beat Spanish giants Barcelona 2-1, prompting the headline: "WE ARE WAILING". DSSC
QPR and England striker Bobby Zamora, 31, admits that despite a top-flight career he is "not a massive football fan" and does not want to remain in the game after he retires. Metro
MORE SOON
Referee Peter Rasmussen admits Manchester City's draw with Ajax ended in chaos
Referee Peter Rasmussen has admitted he has never experienced such a 'chaotic end of a match' following Manchester City's 2-2 draw with Ajax.
Furious City boss Roberto Mancini marched onto the pitch and confronted Rasmussen at the end of the game after seeing a goal from Sergio Aguero disallowed and a penalty claim for Mario Balotelli turned down in the closing moments for his side.
Mancini has escaped any UEFA action after Rasmussen and the match delegate at the Etihad Stadium failed to report the incident in their reports.
Danish official Rasmussen claims it is the first time he has been involved in such an incident and he conceded it is not nice being criticised.
"It's the first time I have experienced such a chaotic end of a match," Rasmussen told Sporten.dk.
"It's never nice (with criticism), but that can happen when a match progress like it did."
DSSC BOLLOX: Mancini ramps up De Rossi pursuit as City boss wants Begiristain to sign midfielder in January
Roberto Mancini will ask Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain to sign Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi in January.
City pursued the Italy star all last summer but he stayed put.
However, De Rossi, 29, has told friends in Rome he wants to leave his hometown club and will ask for a transfer.
Roma would want in excess of £20million and the player would expect to be paid around £100,000- a-week.
This could be a problem for City as they look to keep within UEFA's financial fair play guidelines.
Therefore, it is interesting to see whether Begiristain will sanction the move.
City manager Mancini met the former Barcelona man for the first time on Wednesday to reflect on Tuesday's 2-2 draw with Ajax and to talk about their future working together.
There has been recent speculation about Mancini's job prospects at City, especially with Begiristain's former Barca colleague Pep Guardiola looking to return to the game next summer.
However, it is understood Mancini was told he has nothing to worry about and to concentrate on this month's games.
City were encouraged earlier this week to hear that club general Franco Baldini had suggested that any offers for the midfielder would be considered.
'In summer we heard an offer from Man City and because we listened to it, it means we took it in consideration. Then we decided to give up.
'Should another offer will arrive, we will listen again it, but we could also decide to give up on it again.'
Euro flop: Mancini faces crunch talks to convince City he is the right man
Italian boss will meet with directors to tell them he is paying the price for the club's failure to land his main summer targets
Roberto Mancini faces a battle to convince Manchester City’s new hierarchy he is the man to lead the club forward long-term.
Although Mancini’s position is not under immediate threat, City’s dismal Champions League campaign has put the Italian’s future under fresh scrutiny.
City are on the brink of Champions League elimination at the group stage for the second straight season after picking up just two points from four games.
Mancini will meet City’s newly-appointed chief executive Ferran Soriano and director of football Tixki Begiristain this week to discuss their vision for the club.
The former Barcelona duo have been entrusted with the task of turning City into European champions and replicating the success they had at the Nou Camp.
But with City facing another early Champions League exit, the spectre of former Barca boss Pep Guardiola - currently out of work - is looming large over Mancini.
Despite their poor European campaign, City remain the only side unbeaten in the Premier League this season and sit just two points behind leaders Manchester United.
That is why Mancini’s position, despite City going backwards in Europe this season and looking like failing to meet the club’s target of reaching the knockout stage, is not under immediate threat.
But City’s new chiefs will tell Mancini the club’s poor European form cannot be allowed to spill over to the club’s domestic programme as they seek to retain the Premier League crown they won in such dramatic style last season.
Mancini is expected to tell Soriano and Bergiristain that City must be more pro-active in the transfer market under them, after the Italian missed out on several of his top targets last summer.
The City boss is known to have been angry at the club failing to do business until late on in the transfer window, which he believes is coming back to haunt them, particularly in Europe.
Among Mancini’s targets were Robin van Persie, Eden Hazard and Javier Martinez, who ended up going to Manchester United, Chelsea and Bayern Munich respectively, where all three have made instant impacts.
City’s former football administrator Brian Marwood told Mancini the club had to sell before they could buy, a policy which ultimately saw them miss out on the Italian’s first-choice targets.
Although Mancini spent £50million in the summer - on Javier Garcia, Matija Nastasic, Jack Rodwell, Scott Sinclair and Maicon - none of them has made the required impact since joining the club.
Mancini confronted the referee at the final whistle after City's 2-2 draw at home to Ajax on Tuesday but has escaped a potential UEFA touchline ban, with the official having not included the incident in his match report.
Meanwhile, Defender Pablo Zabaleta has defended his manager's outbursts as 'normal'.
'When any manager sees you drop points in a crucial game, they get very passionate and angry. It's normal' says City defender
Nyantakyi to announce Man City deal
Kwesi Nyantakyi will confirm news broken by supersport.com a month ago about the Ghana FA's new coaching deal with Manchester City. The FA had strenuously denied the links at the time, but are expected to confirm it to the world's media on Thursday afternoon.
The details are that the English Premier League champions and the GFA will have a mutually beneficial relationship as they tap into the strengths of each other. Supersport.com understands that the deal is among a series of groundbreaking deals the FA seeks to sign in an ambitious bid to leverage the country's growing football brand to plug holes in its own expertise.
Manchester City's win of the English elite league last season came on the back of an increase in scientific techniques in coaching and administration, and the Ghana FA has identified the club's resources as good for its own ailing systems.
Beyond that, the FA will be looking at exchange programmes for coaches, referees and administrators in Ghana. For the Citizens, Ghana's vaunted talent pool will be open to them, on mutually agreed terms, for them to tap into for their academy.
At the media briefing, slated for 1600 GMT, Nyantakyi - who will be in England in the coming week to finalize things with City - is also expected to outline details of the Black Stars preparation for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations as well as other key issues concerning Ghana football.
In August, the Ghana FA reached a cooperation deal with their Chinese counterparts to further develop football in both countries, with the Ghana helping in their youth football while the Asians prop Ghana in women's football.
Yaya Touré blames referee for Manchester City's failure to beat Ajax
• Touré: 'The referee decided this game for me'
• Pablo Zabaleta defends Roberto Mancini's reaction
Yaya Touré is insistent that Peter Rasmussen, the referee, cost Manchester City a vital win over Ajax in the Champions League. After going 2-0 down within 17 minutes at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday, Touré pulled one back and Sergio Agüero equalised before the Danish official ruled out a seemingly legitimate second from the Argentinian for offside late in the match. A goal then would have given City a first win of the group stage in their fourth outing.
Rasmussen also refused a penalty appeal moments from the end when Mario Balotelli was pulled back inside the Ajax area. Touré said: "The referee decided this game for me, because there were two clear penalties, one in the first half and one in the second with Mario. I am sure we were unlucky. We went two down to set pieces [both corners] and after that it was difficult because Ajax are a good team, they play good football."
Rasmussen's decisions caused furious scenes at the finish when Roberto Mancini, the manager, Balotelli and a group of other City players surrounded the referee to protest. The manager had also fumed on the sidelines during the match, appearing to lose his temper at his team, with Mancini at one point seeming to have a row with the substitute Edin Dzeko.
But Pablo Zabaleta played down Mancini's histrionics. "He's the manager, he has to shout at the players. That's normal," said Zabaleta. "Every manager would do the same. It's not just Roberto that does this. Other managers when they see their team drop some points in crucial games in a Champions League game would be the same. But he is very passionate, his character is like this. But he's not the only one. The players care, too. Everybody wanted this. Everybody was angry. I saw Roberto asking the referee why he didn't give the penalty or why the flag had been raised."
The right-back admitted City's defending at set pieces had been flawed. "I think we were OK, it was just two set pieces that we didn't defend very well at corners," he said. "In the Champions League you make these mistakes and it can cost you three points. After that we played well, we created chances. We're a bit frustrated."
City's hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages in February are remote. With only two points won and two matches remaining of the current phase, they have to defeat Real Madrid at home and the group leaders Borussia Dortmund away and hope other results help them.
Zabaleta said: "Nothing is impossible in life. We have to be honest. It's going to be very difficult but we need to continue to fight for it."
Touré said: "It's disappointing and difficult. But I think it's not finished. We have a couple of games left and we have to continue to work hard and try to take our chance, believe. In football it's not finished. We have Madrid at home and Dortmund away and if we want to go through we have to win these games. We have to believe in God and I swear maybe we can still go through."
City next play in Sunday's Premier League visit of Tottenham Hotspur. Zabaleta said: "Now we have to keep going, work hard and refocus on Sunday. It's another important game against a very good side. We are only two points behind [Manchester] United so we need to keep fighting."
Carlos Tevez’ car caught speeding in Morecambe
FOOTBALL star Carlos Tevez has been summonsed to appear in court in Lancaster after his car was snapped speeding in Morecambe.
The Manchester City striker’s vehicle was captured breaking the speed limit by a camera on Westgate on March 28.
Tevez, 28, played and scored for City reserves that night against Morecambe Reserves at the Globe Arena.
The Argentine is accused of failing to provide ID following an alleged motoring offence and has been summonsed to appear before Lancaster Magistrates Court on November 26.
Pep Guardiola's agent has opened the door for a summer move to a Premier League club. The former Barcelona coach is having a year out of the game, but his representative Jose Maria Orobtig said: "The doors are open for [AC Milan], just like they are open for Manchester City, Chelsea and so on. Pep will listen to offers and then he will evaluate them." Sun
ON THIS DAY BOLLOX 8/11/96
Coppell finds City pressure-cooker too much to take
On October 7 1996, Steve Coppell was confirmed as manager of First Division Manchester City, ending the club's 42-day search for a successor to Alan Ball. However, he lasted just 33 days before quitting because of stress on November 8.
The early stages of Steve Coppell's playing career hinted that his passion for football could veer to extremes of both joy and sadness. Rejected by Liverpool as a youngster for being too small [he stood just 4' 11'' at the time], he "cried all the way home," his father Jim said in a 1990 interview with the Daily Express's Christopher Hilton, and "lost his faith in ever becoming a footballer" after being rejected by Everton a year later.
With his focus turned to other pursuits - namely golf and studying economic and social history at Liverpool University - Coppell continued to play football for pleasure and was eventually persuaded to undergo one last trial at Tranmere Rovers. It just so happened that he scored a hat-trick under the watchful eye of Tranmere boss Ron Yeats, and was signed on a part-time basis, enabling him to continue his studies, soon afterwards.
Having grown seven inches in the space of a year, Coppell finally reached the sort of physique required for a footballer and did not look back. Manchester United manager Tommy Doherty signed him without even watching him play after he had scored 10 goals in 38 games for Rovers, and he would go on to break the record for the most consecutive appearances for an outfield United player - 207 from 1977 to 1981 - which still stands to this day, and boast statistics of 373 appearances and 70 goals during his time at Old Trafford.
England honours followed, and it looked as though Coppell would secure his place among the best midfielders in the history books - but tragedy struck in a vital World Cup qualifier against Hungary in 1982. A vicious challenge shattered his knee - he said it felt "like someone had put a firework in my knee and it had gone off" - and he would not recover.
With his career cruelly cut short at the age of 28, Coppell would have been forgiven if he had left the game altogether. But he took his first steps in management with Crystal Palace in 1984. At 28 years and ten months old, he was the youngest manager in the Football League and made many budget signings of unwanted players from the First Division - as well as snapping up Ian Wright from the depths of non-league football - to greatly improve the team's fortunes.
Indeed, only five years later, Coppell guided the Eagles back to the top flight after the South London club had dropped into the second tier under Alan Mullery, and was viewed as one of the best young bosses in the business.
The success continued to flow as Coppell took Palace to the 1990 FA Cup final, where they lost to his former team Manchester United in a replay, and the following season saw him guide the club to third place. It was their highest-ever league position, and came with plaudits that only increased when they also claimed their first major trophy: the now-defunct Zenith Data Systems Cup.
But it could not last. As a Daily Telegraph article explains: "The inaugural season of the Premier League in 1992-93 coincided with the cyclical decline of the lesser club. Palace were relegated, prompting Coppell's resignation, but not to the detriment of his standing in the game, and he was talked about as a candidate for the England post."
Instead of England, though, Coppell returned to Crystal Palace as Director of Football in 1995, but his ambition to manage at the highest level continued to drive him.
If he was looking for stability, then perhaps he chose the wrong club. At the time, Manchester City were unravelling: They had been relegated at the end of the 1995-96 season under the stewardship of Alan Ball, and a poor start to the following campaign had seen him sacked in August.
The club were looking for new investment, and a revealing article in the Daily Express in September saw "mystery Arabs" who had been linked exposed as "just a mirage", while chairman Francis Lee went on the attack and claimed: "I am sick of talking to idiots, the clowns I have met who were supposedly interested in investing in the club. I am sure that two or three were just in it for the self-glorification."
Searching for a new manager and new investment at the same time is never easy, but Lee's job was made all the harder when George Graham and Dave Bassett turned City down at the last minute. "Football is a jungle," Lee proclaimed after revealing that Bassett had got cold feet overnight despite agreeing to everything (including a player to sign) the day before. After the fiasco of Graham, another rejection did not go down well: "I asked him [Bassett] if that was his final decision," said Lee. "He said 'yes' so I told him I was looking forward to thrashing him 5-1 when he came to Maine Road next. Then I hung up."
After Asa Hartford took over as caretaker manager, City had a brief dalliance with Kenny Dalglish - he also rejected them as he was not ready to return to management - and it was left to Coppell to finally agree to take the reins after beating off competition from the likes of Bruce Rioch and Alan Smith in October.
"I'm an animal who tends to roost wherever he stays," Coppell told reporters at his first City press conference. "I was at United and Palace for nine years apiece, and I hope that City is a long-term rather than a short-term move."
But it was not. From day one, he had the look of a man who had the weight of the world on his shoulders and, after only six games and 33 days in charge, he quit, citing severe stress. Only two of his games were won, leaving City 17th in Division One with a mountain to climb.
"I'm not ashamed to admit that I have suffered for some time from huge pressure I have imposed upon myself, and since my appointment this has completely overwhelmed me to such an extent that I cannot function in the job the way I would like to," Coppell said.
"As this situation is affecting my well-being, I have asked Francis Lee to relieve me of my obligation to manage the club on medical advice. I am therefore resigning for personal reasons. I'm extremely embarrassed by the situation and I would like to apologise first and foremost to Francis Lee and his board, who have done everything in their power to help me."
There was sympathy from City chairman and former playing legend Lee, but also some barely disguised annoyance: "There is pressure in managing anything, but that sort of pressure doesn't come along in three or four weeks," he said. Palace chairman Ron Noades added: "I was surprised at how much it took out of him. I think he found the club [City] too enormous, but he weathered it."
Coppell was not alone in finding City's hotseat too hot, and was their third manager of a season in which five men took charge of the team in one capacity or another. However, his 33-day spell in charge was the shortest by any City manager then or since.
What happened next? Lee put assistant Phil Neal in charge before appointing Frank Clark, who took City a few places up the table but not enough for promotion. Coppell returned for two further spells at Crystal Palace, the first as chief scout before he was promoted after the resignation of Bassett (ironically) in February 1997. He secured promotion back to the top flight, via the play-offs, but the Eagles went down again the following season.
He achieved success with Reading, leading them to the Premier League for the first time ever in 2006, but found the pressure of managing Bristol City too much and quit after only four months in 2010.
Helen Flanagan sparks Scott Sinclair engagement talk as I'm A Celeb looms
I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! star Helen Flanagan fuelled rumours she is engaged to Manchester City footballer Scott Sinclair when she waggled a sparkler on her wedding finger as she touched down in Oz.
I'm A Celebrity's Helen Flanagan has insisted she's not engaged to footballing pro Scott Sinclair (Picture: ITV).
But the 22-year-old soap star explained she always wears her blinding bling on the all-telling finger, insisting it’s just her favourite accessory for show.
A spokesperson told Metro: ‘No, it’s a ring she often wears and is not an engagement ring.’
The star later explained one of her main struggles will being away from her 23-year-old lover.
The couple enjoyed a final night together before she jetted off to the jungle (Picture: Xposurephotos.com).
‘We have just moved into a new house and I am going to miss him so much,’ she said.
‘Again, I am just trying to not think about everything too much.’
After throwing a tantrum at photographers greeting her in Australia, the panicky TV babe further warned viewers to expect her to freak out at every creepy crawly that comes her way.
‘I deliberately kept myself busy before flying out to Australia so I would not think too much about what lies ahead,’ she said.
‘I am fearful of heights. I have never jumped out of a plane and I don’t even like rooms high up in a hotel. I will scream if I see a spider at home but we will all be in the camp together and we will all deal with it.’
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]NUMBER OF ARTICLES IN PAST 24 HOURS THAT CONTAIN THE WORDS : CITY, MONEY, NOT, BUY SUCCESS & BIG SPENDING BOLLOX
352
ENGLAND SQUAD BOLLOX
The England squad to face Sweden in next week's friendly is announced.
Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Celtic), Joe Hart (Manchester City), John Ruddy (Norwich City).
Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Ryan Bertrand (Chelsea), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Steven Caulker (Tottenham Hotspur), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Ryan Shawcross (Stoke City), Kyle Walker(Tottenham Hotspur).
Midfielders: Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur), Leon Osman (Everton), Jonjo Shelvey (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Ashley Young (Manchester United).
Forwards: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Chelsea), Daniel Welbeck (Manchester United).
Arsenal are lining up a bid for QPR midfielder Adel Taarabt, 23, if their £7m pursuit of Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, 19, fails. Daily Mirror
Liverpool have had to end their reported pursuit of Didier Drogba, 34, after the former Chelsea striker pledged his future to Chinese employers Shanghai Shenhua. Metro
Newcastle United are in a race with Italian champions Juventus for the signature of 23-year-old Toulouse midfielder Moussa Sissoko. talkSHIT
Long-term Manchester United target Filip Djuricic, a 20-year-old Serb attacking midfielder playing at Dutch side Heerenveen, might instead be heading to Liverpool. Daily Star
England manager Roy Hodgson is set to defy Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger on Thursday by naming midfielder Jack Wilshere in his squad to face Sweden next Wednesday, even though the 20-year-old is only just back from 15 monts out injured. DSSC
Under-pressure Southampton manager Nigel Adkins will remain in his post at least until the game against Swansea at the weekend. Daily Express
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, 20, says the Gunners should offer 23-year-old winger Theo Walcott a new contract. Sun
Celtic teenager Tony Watt, 18, says scoring the winner against Barcelona in the Champions League was "the best moment of his life". talkSHIT
The Olympic Stadium, which has West Ham and Leyton Orient among its bidders, cannot be converted into football use before 2016, admits the man charged with overseeing its transformation. Independent
Rock legend Rod Stewart burst into tears in the stand after seeing Celtic beat Spanish giants Barcelona 2-1, prompting the headline: "WE ARE WAILING". DSSC
QPR and England striker Bobby Zamora, 31, admits that despite a top-flight career he is "not a massive football fan" and does not want to remain in the game after he retires. Metro
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