Friday's B*l**x

[Chinners]

THE BOLLOX

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Kidd: Begiristain masterminded City's comeback but to say the players didn't like Mancini isn't true – he's like Ferguson!
Manchester City coach Brian Kidd revealed sporting director Txiki Begiristain was the inspiration behind the team’s thrilling 4-3 win over Chelsea in America.
City came from three goals down to clinch victory in the last minute as a team comprising senior and younger players pulled off a remarkable win.
Afterwards, Kidd revealed that it was a chat with Begiristain and new reserve boss Patrick Vieira that influenced his selection.
'It was a team effort with me, Txiki and Patrick,' said Kidd,
'Txiki and Patrick talked with me and we decided to talk about our philosophy and which way to go.
'Txiki seemed keen to play the kids and that’s great. Patrick was there as well.
'We thought we would have a mix and we had a healthy discussion. We all learn every day.'
Kidd also revealed that the City squad had been affected by the sacking of manager Roberto Mancini and denied suggestions that the players didn’t like the Italian.

'I don’t really know about that,' he said. 'I never saw that to be honest. I was surprised.
'You know what the boss was like. He was a good man and I never detected any of that.
'The boss had a lot of great attributes, like Fergie at United, and can handle big players.
'The players have had a couple of tough weeks with losing the manager and losing the FA Cup Final.'It’s been draining and emotional.
'They have done great work with community events in New York this week and have only had one training session.
'Maybe that’s the secret. You can’t say enough about them.
'They are very talented players. You have to say that.
'We were creating chances tonight even when we were losing and this season we have created chances but not stuck them away. Tonight we managed to score in the second half.'
The game was played in front of more than 40,000 spectators at the Busch Stadium and the rematch at New York’s Yankee Stadium on Saturday is a sell-out.
Kidd added: 'They love high scoring games here. That’s what sport is all about in America.
'So to see what happened late in this game, that’s the excitement they crave.
'I have great friends here so I was pleased. The game was sold out in next to no time and they got their money’s worth.'

Chelsea blow three-goal lead as Manchester City win in America
Manchester City recovered from three goals down to thrill an enthusiastic American crowd with a last-gasp 4-3 friendly victory over Chelsea.
Two days after it was confirmed they had acquired a Major League Soccer franchise, City did their push for recognition in the United States no harm with an entertaining display in St Louis.
City fell behind to Demba Ba, Cesar Azpilicueta and Oscar goals despite dominating the first half but Javi Garcia began the fightback, Edin Dzeko struck twice and Micah Richards grabbed a late winner.
The match at Busch Stadium, home of the baseball's St Louis Cardinals, was a 48,263 sell-out although, with the majority supporting Chelsea, there was perhaps an indication of how much work City still have to do in the country.
The match hardly had the intensity of the FA Cup semi-final between the two clubs last month but nor was it a half-hearted contest and both line-ups were strong.
Sergio Aguero had an early effort ruled out for offside and then put a rebound wide after Petr Cech had saved his point-blank effort.
Chelsea grabbed the lead against the run of play when England's Joe Hart had a moment to forget, missing a Juan Mata cross and allowing Ba to head home.
City responded with Yaya Toure forcing more good saves from Cech with a shot on the turn and a long-range strike.
Carlos Tevez sent an overhead kick narrowly over the bar before Chelsea benefited from a soft penalty decision on the stroke of half-time as Karim Rekik was adjudged to have bundled over Mata.
Azpilicueta put his spot-kick just beyond Hart's reach and Chelsea grabbed a third early in the second period after both teams made a raft of substitutions.
City gave the ball away in front of their own area and Oscar danced through to take the ball round replacement goalkeeper Richard Wright.
City hit back with two goals in quick succession just after the hour.
Garcia turned in from a corner moments after substitute goalkeeper Jamal Blackman came on and Dzeko then finished expertly from a well-weighted James Milner pass.
Milner almost equalised but Blackman stretched to get a foot to his close-range volley and then reacted quickly to keep out another Dzeko attempt.
The leveller came five minutes from time as Tevez slipped in Dzeko and Richards won it when he turned in a Garcia nod-down.
The sides do it all again at Yankee Stadium in New York on Saturday


Manchester City's chief executive, Ferran Soriano, has declared that he expects at least five trophies in the next five years from the club's next manager, who will inherit a stronger squad than Manchester United's – and one which should "absolutely" have retained last season's Premier League.
Manuel Pellegrini, who is 59, is expected to be revealed as City's new head coach within days and Soriano, in his first briefing with the British media, said that the squad now needed an older leader who knows about man-management because it would be impossible for the club to win the Champions League if they did not possess "a group that behaves like a family… where everybody respects everybody". He said the City squad, known to have been at odds with the confrontational former manager Roberto Mancini, was "difficult, only in the sense that it is diverse in terms of nationalities and languages".
With momentum lost under Mancini last season, Soriano would have sacked the Italian even if he had won the FA Cup for City. "We can lose the final of the FA Cup, disappointing as it was, but it is not about one game, it is about whether the football we play evolves properly," he said. Mancini's frequent public criticisms of City players and ancillary staff were "something we don't like" and entirely unjustified. Mancini had a squad "that should... not be kicked out at the first group stage of the Champions League," he said.
Soriano said talks would take place with Carlos Tevez and Gareth Barry – two "very good players" entering the last year of their contracts – and that work was well advanced on purchasing new players. Fewer than six would be bought this summer and there is absolutely no chance of Sergio Aguero leaving for Real Madrid. "He's not leaving," Soriano said. "This has gone on and on. He has never expressed the willingness to go. We have never had an offer and if we had an offer we would say 'no'."
Though he did not name Pellegrini as Mancini's successor, Soriano sees the Chilean as an individual capable of helping oversee the introduction of a philosophy of football, like the one introduced at Barcelona during the chief executive's five years there from 2003. It will be based on a high technical standard of football and a core of players, such as Joe Hart, steeped in the club philosophy and who can teach it to incomers.
Pellegrini will not face demands for immediate success but Soriano will want to see that the new philosophy creates a momentum which ensures trophies will come quickly. "Next season is going to be much better," Soriano said. "It doesn't mean we are going to win one or two titles, but if we look at the next five years and I could plan now, I would say I want to win five trophies in the next five years. That may mean we win no trophies one year and two in another but, on average, I want one trophy or title a year. I think [that is realistic]. If next year we don't win, but progress our football and get to the semi-finals of the Champions League, finish second in the Premier League and lose the FA Cup final again, that will be fine. That is because we will have progressed in the way our football develops."
Rejecting suggestions that City's two managers in five years placed them at risk of being as short-termist as Chelsea if the Pellegrini move fails, the 45-year-old Catalan argued that the natural three- to five-year cycle of football management made a change after three years perfectly acceptable.
"It is totally unfair to compare [us with Chelsea]," Soriano said. "I don't know how Chelsea operates, that's their problem. But our behaviour and our approach to management has been appropriate. Teams have cycles and you can have managers who go through several cycles and managers who go through one cycle. Three, four, five years is one cycle. Maybe a manager can do one or two cycles, but people get tired. Players need another way, another [type of] excitement, and managers also want to move. This is normal."
With Pellegrini being asked to work under City's director of football, Txiki Begiristain, Soriano said – when the notion was put to him – that England may have been slow to adopt that management model which provided continuity amid the continual flux of managers. "I think it's arguable [that England has been slow to adopt the new model]. It's hard for me to see the problem [with it]."


Five trophies in five years: Manchester City chief exec spells out what's expected of new manager Manuel Pellegrini
And one of them needs to be the European Cup explains Ferran Soriano as he waits to officially appoint the outgoing Malaga coach
Manchester City's manager-in-waiting Manuel Pellegrini has been set a target of five trophies in as many years - including the Champions League.
Deposed Premier League champions City ended the season empty-handed and that failure saw boss Roberto Mancini pay with his job, with the Malaga coach Pellegrini set to succeed him in the next 10 days.
Despite the upheaval caused by Mancini’s sacking and the fall-out from the contentious decision, club chief executive Ferran Soriano is convinced City will emerge stronger from the Italian’s departure.
And the City supremo has outlined his immediate targets and long-term vision for the club, with the holy grail of the Champions League the ultimate aim.
“I think that next season is going to be much better, I am convinced about that,” said Soriano during City’s post-season tour of the US. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to win one or two titles. But, in the grand scheme of things, if we look at the next five years and I could plan now, I would say I want to win five trophies in the next five years.
“That may mean we win no trophies one year and two in another but, on average, I want one trophy or title a year.
“That’s the Champions League, the Premier League or the FA Cup. I think it’s a realistic aim, yes. But I’m talking about five years.
“If next year we don’t win, but progress our football and get to the semi-finals of the Champions League, finish second in the Premier League and lose the FA Cup Final again, that will be fine.
“That’s because we will have progressed in the way our football develops.”
Soriano spent five years at Barcelona as vice-president and managing director, and wants City to adopt a similar football philosophy of nurturing their own, home-grown talent.
The City chief also referenced Manchester United’s famed Class of ‘92 that produced David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and the Nevilles, and is keen to emulate that model of success.
“Teams that have won consistently in the past have a core of players that are home-grown,” said Soriano.
“I’ve seen it to the extreme in Barcelona, where we won the Champions League, with nine out of the 11 players in the team home-grown. And you’ve seen it at United.
“It’s consistent. You can’t win one year after the next if you don’t have a core of players that have been playing together for a long time.
“What we also want is football concept so that the basic way we play is shared by the whole organisation. From young teams all the way up to the first-team.
“We’re asking the new manager to have close collaboration with the youth football and to work together to achieve this. This has a consequence. We maximise the chance to win.
“You can’t go to the market every year and buy the most expensive players. That’s not to say we won’t be signing expensive players. We will.
“But the objective - the vision - is to have a team where at least half of the players will be ‘City’ players.
“A ‘City’ player will be someone like Joe Hart, who has been there a while. They love the club and can be the core of the squad.
“When a young boy or a marquee signing comes, he knows there are some people who are going to tell him ‘this is City, this is how we play, this is how we behave’.
“So the vision is that we will have at least half of the team at this core and we will be adding players every year as we need them.
“The players might come from other clubs, continents or cultures, but we have to have stability in the culture and the way we play.”
City’s baffling inconsistency last season, which included away defeats to Southampton, Everton and Tottenham, was another key factor in Soriano deciding to ditch Mancini.
With the calibre of players City have in their squad, Soriano claimed such inconsistency should not happen and Pellegrini is seen as the man to turn the team into a well-drilled winning machine.
“Our team has played some very good football this year,” said Soriano. “The problem was that it wasn’t consistent.
“You’ve seen some good games when we were very satisfied, like winning at Old Trafford. The challenge is it has to be more consistent.
“What cannot happen is that the team plays away and the performance changes so much from one game to the next. You never know what you’re going to see.
“It all starts with winning on the pitch and, if we can win in the 93rd minute on the last day, that’s fine.
“But I’d rather prefer winning with a bit more time and a cushion and to do this we have to be consistent in delivering good football.
“We want to get to a point where you go and watch City and you know the team is going to perform consistently and you know what kind of football you’re going to watch.”


Serge forward: Aguero will stay at Manchester City and ignore advances from Real Madrid
'I can be really clear on this one. He’s not leaving. This has gone on and on and on' says Ferran Soriano
Sergio Aguero is staying at Manchester City this summer – despite efforts from Real Madrid to lure him to Spain.
The Blues chief executive Ferran Soriano insisted Aguero has no desire to leave, despite the striker splitting from his wife who has left Manchester to return to Madrid.
Despite Real Madrid’s efforts to woo Aguero, Soriano said City had received assurances from the forward’s agent that he wants to remain in Manchester.
“I can be really clear on this one,” said Soriano. “He’s not leaving. This has gone on and on and on.
“We’ve had discussions with Sergio and his agent about several things and he has never expressed the willingness to go.
“We have never had an offer and even if we had an offer we would say ‘no’.”
“We want to keep a squad of more or less the same size, 22 or 24. New players will come and some of our players will go.”
Asked if City were close to clinching deals to sign transfer targets this summer, among them Malaga playmaker Isco, Soriano said: “Yes we are.
“The way we want to work is identify the positions we want to improve, identify the candidates and then work on that.
“We’re at the closing phase with several of them but the closing phase can take one week or sometimes three months.
“We’ve been analysing the positions we want to improve and the market since the start of November.
“So we know what we want and we’re ready to go for the players that we want.
“However, now that the window is open, the speed at which we will execute will depend on the positions, strategies, prices.
“Sometimes it is very difficult to execute deals early in the window. Sometimes it’s better to wait.
“But we know what we want and it’s our responsibility and risk to execute earlier or later.”
Mancini complained at the hurried nature of City’s transfer business last summer near to deadline day, which saw him miss out on several targets, including Robin van Persie.
Soriano said: “It would be wrong to decide what we want two weeks before the window is closed. That’s impossible.
“But I think, personally, it’s unfair to criticise anybody for what happened last summer.
“Last summer there were some players who were signed in the last weeks. But they were all players the manager had asked for.
“Maybe there were other players the manager had also asked for that were not signed. But it doesn’t just work like this.
“It’s not only the desire of the manager, it’s the market, the competition, the prices.
“And, by the way, regardless of all of this, the squad we have is a fantastic squad – not only in England, in Europe, so nobody should complain about the players we have.”

Brian Kidd: 'Manchester City players were tremendous'
Manchester City caretaker manager Brian Kidd has praised the togetherness of the club's squad after they came from behind to defeat Chelsea on Friday.
City were 3-0 down after 53 minutes, but hit back to win 4-3, and Kidd believes that his players deserve their victory after a 'draining couple of weeks'.
After the match, Kidd told ESPN: I thought we were unlucky to go in 2-0 down but the players were tremendous," he said. "They have had a tough couple of weeks after losing the manager and the FA Cup final. It has been a draining, emotional couple of weeks.
"They have done great work in New York with the appearances and events for the club, they have done great work. We only had one training session, so that might be the secret. You can't say enough about them."
City will meet Chelsea again on Saturday night in a second friendly fixture in New York.

CHELSEA AND MANCHESTER CITY MAY SWOOP FOR PSG ACE ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC
ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC could make a stunning summer move to Manchester City or Chelsea, with Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney being lined up to replace him at Paris Saint-Germain.
Ibrahimovic, 31, picks up a bumper wage of more than £11m a year at PSG - but the striker has admitted his future may lie away from France.
The Sweden star hinted he'd be open to a Premier League switch but the kind of astronomical salary he will be after can only be matched by City or Chelsea.
On a move to England, Ibrahimovic said: "Anything can happen. City were interested when I was at Barcelona - but then I was more interested in Milan."
StarSport this morning reported that discussions have already started to bring Rooney to PSG, prompting speculation that they are keen to complete a deal in case Ibrahimovic does depart.
Ibrahimovic may have favoured a switch to Italy back in 2011 but City have since showed real ambition by splashing mega bucks and, most crucially, they have won the Premier League.

Roberto Mancini: Manchester City fans to thank former boss in advert
A group of Manchester City supporters plan to thank their former manager Roberto Mancini by placing an advert in an Italian newspaper on Saturday.
More than 700 fans have contributed to the "Grazie Mancini" fund, raising £7,000 in four days, with the piece to appear in Gazzetta dello Sport.
The Italian, 48, put an advert in the Manchester Evening News thanking City fans for "three unforgettable years".
Mancini was sacked earlier this month, a year after winning the title.
He also lifted the FA Cup in 2011, but was relieved of his duties after City failed to win a trophy this season and were knocked out in the group stage of the Champions League.
City fans, led by University of Nottingham student Adam Keyworth, plan to donate any money raised over the price of the advert to a local Manchester charity.
Keyworth, 21, started the online campaign and told BBC Sport: "We raised £5,000 in the first two days and the money has just continued to pour in.
"We didn't get a chance to say goodbye to Mancini as the sacking was quite messy so we're hoping, now we have the money, to put the ad in this weekend.
"I'm told Mancini is aware of the plan. After his advert last week we thought, what better way to say thank you to him?"
Keyworth also used Twitter to thank those who had given money, saying: "Thank you to everyone who has donated, supported or publicised this; it just shows what fans can do when they pull together. Very proud to be a blue at times like these.
"Every single donation has been from everyday City fans and not one from any of our celebrity support.
"Incredibly, as donations continue to pour in, I am in the position to give every penny over the advert fee to a local Manchester charity, so more people benefit from this idea."

[spoiler][/spoiler]
Mark Hughes is leading contender for Stoke City manager's job
Mark Hughes has emerged as a leading contender to replace Tony Pulis as Stoke City manager.
The former Queens Park Rangers boss, 49, would be open to the prospect, with leading figures at the club of the view that Hughes would be a "good fit".
Pulis left Stoke on Tuesday after seven years in charge. Wigan manager Roberto Martinez is another under consideration but Hughes is the frontrunner.
Talks have not taken place but progress is expected next week.
Stoke will not rush the appointment and although some at the club have privately spoken of a need to "change direction", Hughes has emerged as the choice of key decision-makers.
The former Manchester United, Barcelona and Chelsea striker started his managerial career with Wales in 1999, before leaving the post to take charge at Blackburn in 2004.
He left Ewood Park four years later for Manchester City, where he spent 18 months before being replaced by Roberto Mancini.
A one-season spell at Fulham followed, before he was named QPR manager in January 2012. He saved the Loftus Road club from relegation that season, but was sacked just three months into the following campaign.

Martinez, meanwhile, has delayed a decision on whether he will remain as Wigan manager.
The 39-year-old Spaniard, whose side won the FA Cup but were relegated from the Premier League, had been expected to inform chairman Dave Whelan of his wishes on Thursday.

Manchester United's outgoing chief executive David Gill is set to be elected unopposed to Uefa's executive committee today, reports the Press Association.
Uefa sources say that one of Gill's rivals, Portugal's Fernando Gomes, is expected to announce he is withdrawing from the election.
That will open the way for Gill as there would be just eight candidates for eight seats.

Arsenal captain Thomas Vermaelen, 27, has emerged as a surprise target for Italian side. talkSHIT

Christian Benteke insists that he - and not Aston Villa - will decide his future, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City all tracking the Belgium striker, 22. Sun

Paris Saint-Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 31, could be set for a summer move to Manchester City or Chelsea. Daily Star

Chelsea are weighing up a move for Galatasaray's 27-year-old striker Burak Yilmaz, who has scored 32 goals this season. Metro

Stoke's Bosnia goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, 25, is set for a £15m move to Liverpool. Sun

Stoke are lining up FC Twente's Dutch goalkeeper Timo Plattel, 19, as competition for Jack Butland, 20, ahead of Begovic's anticipated departure from the Britannia Stadium. DSSC

Cardiff want to sign Danny Graham in a £4m deal just four months after the striker, 27, joined Sunderland from Swansea. Daily Star

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is considering a cut-price move for 25-year-old Celta Vigo forward Iago Aspas. Daily Express

Monaco have signed Porto midfielders Joao Moutinho, 26 and James Rodriguez, 21, for a combined fee of £60m. A Bola

Arsenal target Serge Aurier, 20, says he will not leave Toulouse "unless something crazy happens". Several French clubs are also believed to be interested in the Ivorian defender. sport24.com

AC Milan supporters' group Curva Sud strongly oppose the rumoured appointment of former Netherlands international Clarence Seedorf, 37, as manager, on account of his lack of experience. corriere.it

Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has denied the club has made contact with former Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri. lastampa.it

Napoli have made an approach for Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas as they search for a replacement for Walter Mazzarri. DSSC

Fulham boss Martin Jol could join former club Hamburg as general manager after the German side sacked manager Frank Arnesen. DSSC

Midfielder Marouane Fellaini, 25, has told how his furious Everton manager David Moyes gave all the other players and staff the day off and had him in for a one-on-one training session after he headbutted Stoke's Ryan Shawcross in December. Daily Mirror

Midfielder Kevin Nolan, 30, has urged West Ham to bring in some big-name signings during the summer to give them a chance of challenging for a European spot. talkSHIT

Tickets for the Champions League final between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich at Wembley are selling for up to £14,000 each on the black market. Metro

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers, 40, says he is only interested in bringing "winners" to Anfield this summer. Liverpool Echo

Pop band One Direction have followed up their recent hijacking of Newcastle's training session by interrupting a Real Madrid workout - in order to meet star defender Sergio Ramos. Metro

MORE BOLLOX SOON

[guv111]

I'm very enthused after reading Soriano's expectations and principals. That's exactly what I wanted to hear after last season. Muddling through just wouldn't have cut it unless we wanted another season treading water or even going further backwards. I'm hoping now for a busy and vibrant summer with plenty of deadwood and malcontents being moved on, some top quality replacements arriving, and a new footballing culture taking root across the club. I'm excited again.

[Slim]

Kidd is so eager to pass any credit for a win onto anyone but himself, nice to be humble, but this is taking the piss.

[kinkylola]

I'm very enthused after reading Soriano's expectations and principals. That's exactly what I wanted to hear after last season. Muddling through just wouldn't have cut it unless we wanted another season treading water or even going further backwards. I'm hoping now for a busy and vibrant summer with plenty of deadwood and malcontents being moved on, some top quality replacements arriving, and a new footballing culture taking root across the club. I'm excited again.

no no no ... these are just power hungry suits who don't know anything about the game. They are only interested in the power to control our club and anyone who gets in their way is booted out the door.

I don't think this kind of positivism can be tolerated, I certainly won't have any of it ... and I also will not put forward that I really liked hearing that Patrick, Kidd and Tricky were involved in group discussions about how to approach the games against Chelsea with a good focus on youth, but still driven by winning ... because that would simply be too positive and how could a power hungry back stabbing asshole suit actually care to make an organization better?

no way, no how.

[kinkylola]

Kidd is so eager to pass any credit for a win onto anyone but himself, nice to be humble, but this is taking the piss.

that's why he's a great #2, and probably an excellent positive figure for the players ... but not a #1, sadly.

[guv111]

I'm very enthused after reading Soriano's expectations and principals. That's exactly what I wanted to hear after last season. Muddling through just wouldn't have cut it unless we wanted another season treading water or even going further backwards. I'm hoping now for a busy and vibrant summer with plenty of deadwood and malcontents being moved on, some top quality replacements arriving, and a new footballing culture taking root across the club. I'm excited again.

no no no ... these are just power hungry suits who don't know anything about the game. They are only interested in the power to control our club and anyone who gets in their way is booted out the door.

I don't think this kind of positivism can be tolerated, I certainly won't have any of it ... and I also will not put forward that I really liked hearing that Patrick, Kidd and Tricky were involved in group discussions about how to approach the games against Chelsea with a good focus on youth, but still driven by winning ... because that would simply be too positive and how could a power hungry back stabbing asshole suit actually care to make an organization better?

no way, no how.

Suit? I think he deserves more respect than that with his CV.

[kinkylola]

I'm very enthused after reading Soriano's expectations and principals. That's exactly what I wanted to hear after last season. Muddling through just wouldn't have cut it unless we wanted another season treading water or even going further backwards. I'm hoping now for a busy and vibrant summer with plenty of deadwood and malcontents being moved on, some top quality replacements arriving, and a new footballing culture taking root across the club. I'm excited again.

no no no ... these are just power hungry suits who don't know anything about the game. They are only interested in the power to control our club and anyone who gets in their way is booted out the door.

I don't think this kind of positivism can be tolerated, I certainly won't have any of it ... and I also will not put forward that I really liked hearing that Patrick, Kidd and Tricky were involved in group discussions about how to approach the games against Chelsea with a good focus on youth, but still driven by winning ... because that would simply be too positive and how could a power hungry back stabbing asshole suit actually care to make an organization better?

no way, no how.

Suit? I think he deserves more respect than that with his CV.

They're both businessmen, they're not football people ... and we'll have them at the helm, making power grabs and booting out anyone who gets in their way. Who looks at CV's anyway, is he a football man? No. He's a business man. It's about money and power for him, he doesn't give two shakes about our club and the fans.

[Bleed_Blue]

They're both businessmen, they're not football people ... and we'll have them at the helm, making power grabs and booting out anyone who gets in their way. Who looks at CV's anyway, is he a football man? No. He's a business man. It's about money and power for him, he doesn't give two shakes about our club and the fans.

Kinky you are also a business man working for some company . Soriano said he wants good football followed by win, in that particular order. This guy may not have played football, but he loves football as much or more than you and I do

[Alex Sapphire]

I'm very enthused after reading Soriano's expectations and principals. That's exactly what I wanted to hear after last season. Muddling through just wouldn't have cut it unless we wanted another season treading water or even going further backwards. I'm hoping now for a busy and vibrant summer with plenty of deadwood and malcontents being moved on, some top quality replacements arriving, and a new footballing culture taking root across the club. I'm excited again.

no no no ... these are just power hungry suits who don't know anything about the game. They are only interested in the power to control our club and anyone who gets in their way is booted out the door.

I don't think this kind of positivism can be tolerated, I certainly won't have any of it ... and I also will not put forward that I really liked hearing that Patrick, Kidd and Tricky were involved in group discussions about how to approach the games against Chelsea with a good focus on youth, but still driven by winning ... because that would simply be too positive and how could a power hungry back stabbing asshole suit actually care to make an organization better?

no way, no how.

if you saw the Kidd interview you will know that Kidd said that he had basically said to Patrick "it's about time we found out what this "philosophy" is", and they approached cheeky for an explanation.
Seems to me a shame that if it is to be so much at the heart of what we do that the 2 managers had to go and ask what it was.

BTW I'm not in the camp of "these suits don't know what they're doing". The opposite: they know exactly what they're doing ...creating something where the only guaranteed safe jobs are their own, and where they get the credit for everything.

We could have followed the formula that has proved most succesful l in England: stability through a single, supported manager, but instead we are building a model which has 3-5 year managerial cycles, we are apparently awarding 2 year managerial contracts, but setting ourselves 5 year goals. So the manager/coach becomes irrelevent much like a Williams F1 driver.
This is the cheeky and feran show, and I truly hope they get it right as I think they did at Barca.

I am very much looking forward to better football, and some new faces. I'm looking forward to a better season than last.

But the world HAS changed from the calm support of Royals who are concerned about professional conduct and reputation (Class), to one where the key influencers have given themselves a mandate to make changes for the sake of change. They'd better be as good as they think they are.

[Ted Hughes]

It was a fucking kickaround, as was the Norwich game. How can Kiddo or anyone else talk logic or philosphies or tactics about that game ? Both sides were an absolute fucking shambles.

Imo, we can learn two things from that game. 1) Tevez is a fucking winner. 2) Karim Rekik has gone completely to shit & is a shadow of the player he was at 15.

Other than that, the rest was just nonsense.

The last proper game was Reading away.

[carl_feedthegoat]

It was a fucking kickaround, as was the Norwich game. How can Kiddo or anyone else talk logic or philosphies or tactics about that game ? Both sides were an absolute fucking shambles.

Imo, we can learn two things from that game. 1) Tevez is a fucking winner. 2) Karim Rekik has gone completely to shit & is a shadow of the player he was at 15.

Other than that, the rest was just nonsense.

The last proper game was Reading away.

Hart was shit as well.

[frankswift]

Don't know if this constitutes b*l**x, but I read in the Corriere dello Sport that Benitez is of to Napoli.

[sheblue]

Kidd is so eager to pass any credit for a win onto anyone but himself, nice to be humble, but this is taking the piss.

Wants to keep his job.

[Sideshow Bob]

Karim Rekik has gone completely to shit & is a shadow of the player he was at 15.

the fact that he could barely get a look in at blackburn said it all. one of our brightest stars has gone backwards by miles and, imo, it is all down to our shite management of EDS. just hope Vieira can restore order before pozo, lopez etc turn to shit.

[Dameerto]

So Gill is expected to be unopposed due to his Portugese rival dropping out - does anyone remember a completely insane multimillion pound signing from Portugal a few years back that made absolutely no sense at the time but which kind of gets put into perspective now? Interesting way of getting a large amount of money into a country which has 'no connection any more' with the club. Allegedly.

[Tesl]

He saved the Loftus Road club from relegation that season, but was sacked just three months into the following campaign

How does stuff like this get written? Hughes hardly "saved" them the first season (they hadn't ever been in the relegation zone when he joined if I remember correctly) and he couldn't have possibly fked them up any worse in the second year there!!

Stoke should be ashamed if they appoint him. Hughes himself should be ashamed to even take the job.

Anyway ....... otherwise like the comments from our executive spaniard, I've always had faith in the management, as sad as I was to see Mancini leave, so fingers crossed.

[Ted Hughes]

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalco ... ester-city

'Andrew' Cole hints his son would have been off if Bob had stayed.



I'd be optimistic if I was a Manchester City fan, something I wouldn't have said if Roberto Mancini was still in charge.

Manuel Pellegrini, who is expected to take over, seems like a good choice. Players like him as a person and as a boss, his reputation is good. His ability to make himself liked while maintaining discipline is perfect for a team in City's situation.

With an excellent track record, he has worked with big players and is used to dealing with their egos. His sides play attractive attacking football. He will inherit a superb squad stuffed with top, top players.

I like the idea that City will build from the bottom and develop their own players, promoting youth. That was a tradition for years at City, but it didn't happen under Mancini.

Young players felt they had no chance of establishing themselves in the first team. My own son is there and he's happy to stay on now there has been a change. He needs to believe that he can make the first team, even if he never does. The young players can look forward to an incredible new training facility in the future.

Not that Pellegrini will fill the team with kids. He will have money, but he wasn't just about money at Villarreal and Malaga. He signed players for tiny fees or on free transfers such as Diego Forlan or Juan Riquelme or the young like Isco, now said to be wanted by City and Real Madrid.

I was negative about Mancini in this column last month. I knew a lot of City fans wouldn't like it and they made their feelings clear, but I told it how I saw it.

My comments were not personal, but based on what I knew. Mancini had burnt far too many bridges at City for him to make a success of his job. Almost everything I heard about him was negative.

I know he brought City trophies for the first time in 35 years, an FA Cup, then a league title. I know he oversaw a famous 6-1 victory at Old Trafford and I can understand fully why City fans will always have special memories of him.

He helped changed them from being a club which won nothing to a club which won trophies. But he wasn't the man to take City forward and, because the players weren't happy with him, they didn't play to their full potential last season.

City have got a cracking squad. They've got good personnel too. Brian Kidd is a fine coach, who knows Manchester and the players well. I know, I worked with him on a daily basis.

He always wanted to be at the forefront of coaching techniques and would disappear to Italy for a few days to see what they were doing at Milan and Juventus. He was the good cop to Sir Alex Ferguson's bad cop. At City, Mancini was the bad cop too often and even Kiddo wouldn't have been able to compensate for that.

Players will take a kick up the backside, but they need their egos massaging too, need to be kept happy. They don't want to dislike their manager strongly and look to leave because he's there.

A manager should keep his staff happy. There will always be issues like there are in any business, but you can't run a successful operation if almost all of your staff despise you. These are the people who will win you trophies, you can't be at war with them.

Players need to respect a manager, even if he has a go at them sometimes. They need to see the method in his thinking, even if they don't always agree with it. There was too little of that with Mancini.

I'm told that the vast majority of the players were delighted when he was dismissed.

I've been in a dressing room where the manager is deeply unpopular. When it happens, players start to play for themselves, not the boss. The team ethic is lost and the team underperform. That was City last season, their winning mentality wasn't strong enough. Pablo Zabaleta, one of their best players, said that.

It wasn't just the players. Even City's kitman was critical of the Italian. The kitman is vital in any dressing room and an integral part of any club. I've worked with eight or nine kitmen - they are much more than the bloke who wash the socks. They set the tone in the dressing room, they're the life and soul, they're so important.

I look back at kitmen I worked with, Alan at Newcastle, Puggsy at Fulham, Normy D and Albert at Man United. Top men. Men who will invite you to eat with their family if you're living alone in an apartment away from your family. They will do anything for the manager - their boss. So if the kitman turns against the manager, there's a very big problem.

[kinkylola]

I'm very enthused after reading Soriano's expectations and principals. That's exactly what I wanted to hear after last season. Muddling through just wouldn't have cut it unless we wanted another season treading water or even going further backwards. I'm hoping now for a busy and vibrant summer with plenty of deadwood and malcontents being moved on, some top quality replacements arriving, and a new footballing culture taking root across the club. I'm excited again.

no no no ... these are just power hungry suits who don't know anything about the game. They are only interested in the power to control our club and anyone who gets in their way is booted out the door.

I don't think this kind of positivism can be tolerated, I certainly won't have any of it ... and I also will not put forward that I really liked hearing that Patrick, Kidd and Tricky were involved in group discussions about how to approach the games against Chelsea with a good focus on youth, but still driven by winning ... because that would simply be too positive and how could a power hungry back stabbing asshole suit actually care to make an organization better?

no way, no how.

if you saw the Kidd interview you will know that Kidd said that he had basically said to Patrick "it's about time we found out what this "philosophy" is", and they approached cheeky for an explanation.
Seems to me a shame that if it is to be so much at the heart of what we do that the 2 managers had to go and ask what it was.

BTW I'm not in the camp of "these suits don't know what they're doing". The opposite: they know exactly what they're doing ...creating something where the only guaranteed safe jobs are their own, and where they get the credit for everything.

We could have followed the formula that has proved most succesful l in England: stability through a single, supported manager, but instead we are building a model which has 3-5 year managerial cycles, we are apparently awarding 2 year managerial contracts, but setting ourselves 5 year goals. So the manager/coach becomes irrelevent much like a Williams F1 driver.
This is the cheeky and feran show, and I truly hope they get it right as I think they did at Barca.

I am very much looking forward to better football, and some new faces. I'm looking forward to a better season than last.

But the world HAS changed from the calm support of Royals who are concerned about professional conduct and reputation (Class), to one where the key influencers have given themselves a mandate to make changes for the sake of change. They'd better be as good as they think they are.

firstly, sorry for the heavy sarcasm in the beginning, I am firmly behind the direction we are going at the moment, and I think that it is a model that will lead to sustained stability at the club, as well as improve youth development and performance across all levels. I don't think they are just 2 suits, I think they will be excellent in their roles. Ok.

I guess that formula has been 'most successful in England,' but really only at 1 team with 1 manager. It doesn't seem to be a formula that is very easily repeated. You might say the same about the "Barca model," maybe you're right. But I think it might be easier to find an exceptional management team, than 1 person who is exceptional at all aspects of management.

I took the 3-5 yer managerial cycle comment as more of an observation of the current situation in world football rather than a statement of absolute fact ... but I don't disagree with it at all. Also, the quote about "5 year goals" was not him saying we have a 5 year goal for 5 trophies, he said that if you asked him what would be a reasonable expectation, it would be 5 trophies in 5 years. The difference is small, but significant. In this system the manager/coach is not insignificant, that's a huge exaggeration ... but the ultimate power does rely above the manager for most aspects of control over the club, which I'm fine with ... as I would rather not have $50m players being forced to use alternative medical treatments.

[kinkylola]

http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/sport-comment/good-times-are-on-the-horizon-again-for-manchester-city

'Andrew' Cole hints his son would have been off if Bob had stayed.



I'd be optimistic if I was a Manchester City fan, something I wouldn't have said if Roberto Mancini was still in charge.

Manuel Pellegrini, who is expected to take over, seems like a good choice. Players like him as a person and as a boss, his reputation is good. His ability to make himself liked while maintaining discipline is perfect for a team in City's situation.

With an excellent track record, he has worked with big players and is used to dealing with their egos. His sides play attractive attacking football. He will inherit a superb squad stuffed with top, top players.

I like the idea that City will build from the bottom and develop their own players, promoting youth. That was a tradition for years at City, but it didn't happen under Mancini.

Young players felt they had no chance of establishing themselves in the first team. My own son is there and he's happy to stay on now there has been a change. He needs to believe that he can make the first team, even if he never does. The young players can look forward to an incredible new training facility in the future.

Not that Pellegrini will fill the team with kids. He will have money, but he wasn't just about money at Villarreal and Malaga. He signed players for tiny fees or on free transfers such as Diego Forlan or Juan Riquelme or the young like Isco, now said to be wanted by City and Real Madrid.

I was negative about Mancini in this column last month. I knew a lot of City fans wouldn't like it and they made their feelings clear, but I told it how I saw it.

My comments were not personal, but based on what I knew. Mancini had burnt far too many bridges at City for him to make a success of his job. Almost everything I heard about him was negative.

I know he brought City trophies for the first time in 35 years, an FA Cup, then a league title. I know he oversaw a famous 6-1 victory at Old Trafford and I can understand fully why City fans will always have special memories of him.

He helped changed them from being a club which won nothing to a club which won trophies. But he wasn't the man to take City forward and, because the players weren't happy with him, they didn't play to their full potential last season.

City have got a cracking squad. They've got good personnel too. Brian Kidd is a fine coach, who knows Manchester and the players well. I know, I worked with him on a daily basis.

He always wanted to be at the forefront of coaching techniques and would disappear to Italy for a few days to see what they were doing at Milan and Juventus. He was the good cop to Sir Alex Ferguson's bad cop. At City, Mancini was the bad cop too often and even Kiddo wouldn't have been able to compensate for that.

Players will take a kick up the backside, but they need their egos massaging too, need to be kept happy. They don't want to dislike their manager strongly and look to leave because he's there.

A manager should keep his staff happy. There will always be issues like there are in any business, but you can't run a successful operation if almost all of your staff despise you. These are the people who will win you trophies, you can't be at war with them.

Players need to respect a manager, even if he has a go at them sometimes. They need to see the method in his thinking, even if they don't always agree with it. There was too little of that with Mancini.

I'm told that the vast majority of the players were delighted when he was dismissed.

I've been in a dressing room where the manager is deeply unpopular. When it happens, players start to play for themselves, not the boss. The team ethic is lost and the team underperform. That was City last season, their winning mentality wasn't strong enough. Pablo Zabaleta, one of their best players, said that.

It wasn't just the players. Even City's kitman was critical of the Italian. The kitman is vital in any dressing room and an integral part of any club. I've worked with eight or nine kitmen - they are much more than the bloke who wash the socks. They set the tone in the dressing room, they're the life and soul, they're so important.

I look back at kitmen I worked with, Alan at Newcastle, Puggsy at Fulham, Normy D and Albert at Man United. Top men. Men who will invite you to eat with their family if you're living alone in an apartment away from your family. They will do anything for the manager - their boss. So if the kitman turns against the manager, there's a very big problem.

so what's your take on that? To me, it wonderfully illustrates the dangers of trying to recreate a 1 man dynastic system.

[kinkylola]

They're both businessmen, they're not football people ... and we'll have them at the helm, making power grabs and booting out anyone who gets in their way. Who looks at CV's anyway, is he a football man? No. He's a business man. It's about money and power for him, he doesn't give two shakes about our club and the fans.

Kinky you are also a business man working for some company . Soriano said he wants good football followed by win, in that particular order. This guy may not have played football, but he loves football as much or more than you and I do

sorry mate, I was being a dick ... I don't feel that way at all. I am firmly behind Sorriano and Tricky. We're going to finally have the infrastructure to support the massive investment that has already been, and will continue to be, put into this club.