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VIDEO: Stoke boss Pulis: Manchester City good for the game
Stoke City manager Tony Pulis told ITV's Ned Boulting that Manchester City's surge to prominence is good for football.
The Potters face the Premier League champions on Saturday in the FA Cup Fourth Round, with Stoke hoping to revenge the 2011 final loss to Roberto Mancini's side.
"We played Man City two years ago in the cup final, and lost 1-0. It was a massive disappointment at the time, but we knew Manchester City were an emerging force in football," Pulis explained.
"They've changed as a football club, they're a fantastic football club."
Pulis is hoping that his side will make a good account of themselves against a team who haven't won at the Britannia under Mancini.
"We know they're a fabulous team, with fabulous talent, if they turn up and they're really on it, then you can't do anything about it.
"We need to be right on it, and we need our crowd to be on it, and I'm sure they will."
http://www.itv.com/sport/football/artic ... -the-game/
City rule out Milan loan move for Balotelli as Italian side struggle to reach £28m asking price
Manchester City have rejected a bid from AC Milan to take striker Mario Balotelli on loan, according to Italian newspaper Gazzetta Dello Sport.
Milan side have also informed the English champions that they won't pay any more than 25m euros (£21.2m) to sign the 22-year-old permanently.
The Italian side's vice-president Adriano Galliani has repeatedly said that City should lower their asking price from a reported £28m so the former Inter striker can return to Serie A.
And club president Silvio Berlusconi said yesterday that he can no longer afford 'monopoly money' transfer fees.
Milan, currently languishing sixth in the table, have also held talks about a possible return for Real Madrid's Kaka on loan.
The Brazilian joined Real from Milan for £56m in 2009 but discussions have reportedly broken down.
Berlusconi told Corriere Dello Sport: 'Kaka and Balotelli? Neither of the two.
San Siro return: Kaka could be set to return to Milan from Real Madrid, but the price remains a stumbling block
'It's not possible in this day and age to play monopoly. Galliani remains optimistic but the tough language of accounting keeps him from doing his work.'
Milan have money to spend following the sale of Alexandre Pato to Corinthians for £12.7million but Real Madrid are holding out for a expensive permanent deal for Kaka, while Manchester City are unwilling to part with Balotelli even if his asking price is met.
City manager Roberto Mancini recently denied speculation he was ready to let the Italy forward leave, saying: 'No, it is not true. I am very, very happy with Mario.'
You've got to hand it to them, they seem like friends again! Mancini and Tevez prepare for tricky trip to Stoke as Balotelli trains alone
A little over a year ago, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini and Carlos Tevez couldn't stand to be near one another.
They were at odds after a dispute during a defeat in Munich in last season's ill-fated Champions League campaign.
While City were being comprehensively beaten by Bayern Munich in September 2011, Mancini fell out with Tevez after a disagreement over the substitute's pitch-side warm-up routine.
Tevez subsequently left Manchester for a total of six months before coming back from his native Argentina and taking a vital role in the final stages of City's title-winning Premier League campaign.
Now the pair seem to be friends again, as they lined up next to one another in training this afternoon in Carrington.
Mancini likes to take a hands-on approach to his training, with the 48-year-old former Inter and Sampdoria attacker taking part with his senior squad in a practice match.
But despite Tevez and Mancini being back on good terms, the striker recently reiterated his desire to leave City.
In a recent interview in Argentina, he stated his intentions to run down the remaining 18 months on his deal at the Etihad before moving back to his boyhood club, Boca Juniors.
Tevez said: ‘I’ve got a year left on my contract at Manchester City and they want me to sign for two more seasons.
‘I would prefer to return home, but it is very difficult because City won’t let me leave for nothing.
‘I will stay in Europe for another two years and then go back.
‘Boca’s president always says the door is open for me to rejoin them and I am dying to pull on their shirt once more.
‘I want to end my career with them. It is my dream and the dream of my family as well. I would love to be playing for them against River Plate. I’d prefer that to City’s game against Fulham.
‘But I am under contract and have to be here in England.’
Mancini, Tevez and the rest of the City squad are preparing to take on Stoke in their fourth round FA Cup tie this weekend at the Britannia Stadium.
Mancini's options in midfield are set to be boosted as summer signing Jack Rodwell was back in action with the first team after a lengthy layoff through a hamstring injury.
Tevez's fellow striker, Mario Balotelli, who has been linked with a move to Milan, was left to undertake fitness training alone this afternoon.
While title rivals Manchester United are enjoying the warmer climes of Qatar this week, the City players braved the freezing cold at their North West training base.
United will be back in plenty of time for their bid to reclaim the FA Cup for the first time since 2004, as they take on Martin Jol's Fulham on Saturday. DSSC
City ace’s agent comments on Serie A rumours
Edin Dzeko’s agent has denied widespread reports that Inter Milan are interested in luring him away from Manchester City.
The big Bosnian is involved in speculation over a move to the Italian club, but these rumours have now been ended by his representatives.
Dzeko’s agent Irfan Redzepagic told ESPN.co.uk: “Are Inter interested in him for next summer? I know nothing of it.
“Inter have never contacted me and I think the answer would be obvious.”
The forward has been in lethal form for the Blues this season, scoring 11 goals in just 19 appearances, many of them coming from the bench.
However, speculation over a move away from the Etihad Stadium has increased after the departure of Wesley Sneijder from Inter to Galatasaray.
Dzeko’s agent further confirmed: “Edin is happy at Manchester City and he’s not going to move from there, neither in January nor in the summer. He still has two-and-a half years on his contract and there is no reason to talk about the future.
“So I repeat, neither Inter nor any other club have called me.”
The Bosnian has excelled at City this season, reigning supreme as top goalscorer for the club in the Premier League, despite having to compete with fan favourites Sergio Aguero and Carlos Tevez for a first team place.
SNUB COUNT - 285
SNUB OF THE DAY
Isco to snub City for Malaga stay
Manchester City's hopes of signing Isco look set to be dashed as he is poised to sign a new contract with Spanish side Malaga.
The Premier League champions have been heavily linked with a swoop for the 20-year-old midfielder, who it was thought has a £17million release clause inserted in his current deal.
However director of football Mario Husillos has revealed that Isco will resist any offers from City and other reported interested parties such as Italian giants Juventus, by signing a new deal to stay with Malaga.
It is thought the deal will tie the player to the Primera Liga outfit until June 2018, with a buyout clause of £30million.
"Isco's contract renewal is in its advanced stages and should be signed shortly," Husillos told Marca.
"We will be here presenting Isco very soon. We will be here shortly to announce the renewal of his contract. It's not renewed as yet, but I think it will be very shortly. We understand it is virtually a done deal.
"There are no sure things in football. Everything can change in an instant. The club's intention and what Isco has stated is that he is going to stay here; he's going to renew his contract."
"Isco has really taken off. He's a great player and they want him at a number of clubs," Husillos added.
"He's a Spanish international. We intend to keep him at Málaga for as long as possible.
"Everyone wants to improve and if he continues growing like this, he'll have to go to a legendary European club. That's understandable."
GOLDEN TWITTER BOLLOX
Kevin Cummins @KCMANC
Q&A Classic http://www.mancityfans.net/mcfnet/viewt ... 23&t=41741
TWEET OF THE DAY
Kevin Cummins @KCMANC
Fucking hell. I work hard to keep my followers happy. Some kid gets a kick in the ribs and suddenly 50,000 people are following him ... hmm
Citizens watch 18-year-old Benifca striker Derlis Gonzalez
The 18-year-old is currently in Argentina playing for Paraguay Undewr-20s in the South American Youth Championships and his recent performances have reportedly caught the eye of scouts out of Stamford Bridge and Etihad Stadium according to Portuguese newspaper A Bola.
[imghttp://static.givemefootball.com/uploads/images/a1b35c5fd694402682f1a8c4e7eb9b70/130035180940685583/650x420/top.jpg[/img]
Chelsea have limited striker options and interim manager Rafael Benitez has only Fernando Torres or Demba Ba to choose from as senior strikers playing in the central role.
Torres’ two-year struggle to rediscover his best form is on going and Ba has, naturally, been inconsistent while trying to adapt to new surroundings and new teammates.
Meanwhile, Manchester City have an abundance of attacking option in Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero, Mario Balotelli and Edin Dzeko, but none have been in scintillating form all season.
Gonzalez’s agent is quoted in the report as admitting his client his struggling to settle at Benfica, who he joined only last year, and has an offer from Paraguayan side Guarani.
Gonzalez is currently in the Benfica youth ranks, so any offer from either Chelsea or Manchester City would be a transfer with a long-term view.
GOLDEN BOLLOX 25-1-2010
Robinho, the most expensive player in English football
Robinho has confirmed that he wants to leave Manchester City and blamed Roberto Mancini, and formerly Mark Hughes, for making his time in the Premier League so unhappy.
A delegation from Santos, Robinho's former club in Brazil, is due to meet City officials in Manchester this week and several other clubs, led by Benfica, have registered an official interest in the former Real Madrid player.
Robinho's advisers have tried to persuade Barcelona to try to arrange a loan deal but the initial talks have not been followed up and the player has now decided that he wants to return to Brazil to rejoin the club where he began his career.
"The whole board of directors [at City] has decided that the best thing is to loan me out," Robinho said. "It would be extraordinary to come back to Santos. Playing for Santos would help pave my way to the World Cup. It's my home, where I know everyone."
Robinho's desire to leave Manchester was first revealed in the Guardian in November and, despite strong denials from his club at the time, it has now become apparent to the City hierarchy that he has failed to embrace life in England and has begun to feel disillusioned in the extreme.
After a promising start the Brazilian's form has deteriorated sharply, culminating in him losing his place in the team since Mancini took over from Mark Hughes. He was brought on as a substitute during City's recent 2-0 defeat at Everton only to be brought off later in the game because Mancini was so unimpressed.
"The first thing to say is that it is a bad moment I am going through," Robinho told Rádio Bandeirantes in Brazil. "The managers are different here. They decide a system and want you to fit in and it doesn't matter if you're tall or short. The manager was honest with me. He told me I was just going to play every other game. I told him that wouldn't interest me because this is a World Cup year and I need to play."
His impending move will represent a major setback to City given that Robinho's transfer from Madrid on the day the Abu Dhabi United group took control at Eastlands was supposed to signify the club's new ambitions. Instead, he has flickered only sporadically in his 16 months in England and is now so desperate to leave he has even informed City that he will waive part of his £160,000-a-week salary. "The financial situation is important but being happy also counts," he explained.
Santos will still have considerable problems raising the money for the deal to go through but the club intend to offer City the first refusal on their two most exciting young players, Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso.
"I don't know if the deal is possible but if there is the slightest of chances to bring him back we will look at every option to do that," the club's president, Luis Alvaro De Oliveira Ribeiro, said. "If Corinthians can find a way to bring back Ronaldo then we can do the same with Robinho."
Robinho's time in England now seems destined to be remembered as a failure and it is a measure of how far his stock has fallen that he was named in the side to face Scunthorpe United at Glanford Park today only because Mancini wanted to rest other players ahead of the second leg of the Carling Cup semi-final against Manchester United on Wednesday.
"We hope Santos can persuade Manchester to do a deal," said Evandro Souza, one of the player's advisers. "Myself and Robinho's father are in Manchester to try to arrange the deal and we expect we could be here until the end of the transfer window."
In addition to the interest from Benfica, Robinho revealed he had spoken to his former Santos team-mate Diego, now a Juventus player, about the possibility of a move to the Turin club.
"He invited me to be happy with him at Juventus," Robinho said. "I told him: 'Di, I think it's better for me to go to Peixe [Santos's nickname] and go back to Brazil."
Manchester City starlet charged for death crash
Manchester City footballer Courtney Meppen-Walter arrested over crash deaths
Manchester City's 18-year-old defender Courtney Meppen-Walter has been charged with two counts of causing death by careless or inconsiderate driving following the death of a man and his sister in an accident in Manchester last September.
The charge follows an incident on 1 September involving a silver Mercedes driven by Meppen-Walter and a Nissan Micra occupied by Kulwant Singh, of Salford, and his sister Ravel Kaur of Cheetham Hill.
Meppen-Walter has been on City's books since 2010 but has yet to make a senior appearance for the club.
MCF.net THREAD: http://www.mancityfans.net/mcfnet/viewt ... 19&t=43907
Video: Talking City Bollox
Watch MuEN Sport reporter Mike Keegan discuss all the latest Manchester City topics with our Blues correspondent Stuart Brennan.
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/ ... an-1240299
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]MANCHESTER TITLE RACE
PTS +5 GD +1
Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini, 31, is poised to commit to Newcastle for the rest of the season after the Argentine defender was told it would cost him £7m to quit. Daily Mirror
Tottenham are considering meeting West Ham's £3.5m release clause for Mohamed Diame beating Arsenal, Everton and Fulham to the 25-year-old midfielder. Guardian
Queens Park Rangers' Brazilian keeper Julio Cesar, 33, is a shock target for Real Madrid after they lost Spanish international Iker Casillas for a month with a broken hand. Daily Mirror
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has identified France Under-19 defender Kurt Zouma as a summer transfer target. The 18-year-old could cost £8m from St Etienne. DSSC
Norwich are considering an ambitious move for Netherlands international striker Ricky van Wolfswinkel, 23, from Sporting Lisbon. SkySports.com
QPR are closing in on deals for Portuguese defender Rolando, 27, from FC Porto, and Yun Suk-Young, 22, from Chunnam Dragons. Metro
Arsenal are interested in Barcelona winger Isaac Cuenca with the Spanish club willing to loan him out this month. The 21-year-old has not played this season after suffering a knee injury. Daily Express
Liverpool and Everton are considering bids of £2m for Chesterfield's 21-year-old winger Tendayi Darikwa. talkSHIT
Fulham have enquired about former Middlesbrough defender Emanuel Pogatetz, 31, at Wolfsburg. Wigan and Aston Villa have also been offered the Austrian. DSSC
Stewart Downing has made 27 appearances for Liverpool this season, scoring three times
Liverpool winger Stewart Downing, 28, has revealed how his recent run of good form was inspired by being told he could leave by manager Brendan Rodgers. Sun
Midfielder Shaun Derry, 35, has accused some of his QPR team-mates of not working hard enough in their relegation battle.
Daily Telegraph
Swansea coach Alan Curtis, 58, insists ball boys have never been told to slow the game down in the wake of the Welsh side's League Cup semi-final victory over Chelsea. The game was marred by the sending off of Chelsea's Eden Hazard for kicking a ball boy.talkSHIT
A Bradford City fan in Melbourne, Australia has had a Facebook wager with his wife that, if he gets a million 'likes', he can go to the Capital One Cup final against Swansea City. Daily Telegraph
Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes, 38, has signed up for a 300-mile celebrity charity bike ride, which will take place at the same time as the Champions League final in May. Manchester United Evening News
GOLDEN BOLLOX 25-1-2011
NELLY'S BOLLOX
The red and black 1969 retro FA Cup final shirts the City players wore as a tribute to Neil Young against Leicester recently are now available for auction.
Each shirt will carry Young’s name on the back as well as the individual player’s squad number and will be signed by the relevant player – i.e. ‘Young 32’ is the shirt Carlos Tevez wore on the night.
Supporters wishing to purchase one of these commemorative collector’s items must send their bid to the following email address: neilyoung.shirts@mcfc.co.uk - please include your bid in British pounds, contact details and put the name of the player’s shirt you wish to buy in the subject header.
Please do NOT send credit cards details – the winning bidders will be informed when the auction closes at 5pm next Tuesday (February 1).
Each shirt has a reserve price of £50 and all funds raised will go towards the Cecilia Centre at Wythenshawe Hospital.
The shirts available are those of the starting XI who faced Leicester City in the FA Cup third round replay at the City of Manchester Stadium.
Neil Young’s daughter, Melissa, has paid tribute to the loyalty and support that City fans have shown her father since he was diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Accompanied by her seven year-old son, Melissa attended last Tuesday’s FA Cup replay against Leicester City and admitted that she was incredibly moved by the players’ own tribute to her father by posting a moving message on a City fan page on social networking site Facebook.
“The players brought tears to my eyes when they came on the field with the black and red tops with Young on the back” she said.
Rather than making an occasion of it and taking up a seat in the players’ lounge, Melissa revealed that she simply wanted to celebrate her father’s life and career with those who had meant so much to him during his time at City.
“I wanted to be a fan for that night and just sit with the people that truly admired and respected him!
My seven year-old son was speechless all night. He couldn't believe how many people were coming up to us and saying things about his granddad. I was speechless. It really touched my heart.
“My dad would have been so proud if he was well enough to be there; the fans were amazing.”
For a man whose life was Manchester City, Melissa revealed that her father was honoured by the overwhelming support that he had received and she wanted to be sure that City fans understood just how much it meant to both her and ‘Nelly’.
“His whole life was Manchester City, even when he was down and out; he never failed to be a loyal player and loyal friend to City.
“So from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who made a tribute. You have no idea how happy you have made both me and my father.”
LAHAD'S LICK BINGO OUT BOLLOX
A perfect place to honour the Fez & Nipple Tassel wearing one ....
King Kev: We will be having a poll to decide what message to have put onto the plaque. If you would like to put forward a suggestion to go into the poll please post it in this thread. . viewtopic.php?f=121&t=44934 .
Please keep in mind that the club may refuse to engrave the plaque with 'lick me out' so whilst I am sure Danny would have approved, maybe it would be better to chose a more poignant heart-felt message.
Bingo's wife Diana will have the final say on whatever message is chosen.
More bollox soon ...
