ROUND-UP
It may be a (very) grey morning in Manchester, but City’s glistening performance on Saturday is still shining on in this morning’s headlines.
David Silva had the press salivating with his display at Upton Park and it seems West Ham midfielder Mark Noble was also just a little impressed with the Spaniard.
He is quoted in the Mirror this morning hailing Merlin as one of the best players in the Premier League – something City fans have long preached, of course!
Darren Lewis explains: “While Chelsea have Eden Hazard, Arsenal fans are purring over Mesut Ozil and Spurs are excited at the arrival of Christian Eriksen, West Ham’s Mark Noble reckons Silva tops the lot.
“‘At the minute he is probably better,’ said the Hammers midfielder. ‘He’s got that experience. He has won things with Spain. He has won championships here.
“‘He has won cups here and he is like that week in, week out. He is one of the best players on the pitch every time he goes out there. That’s what Spain seem to be bringing through these days. Every player that comes over or every player that you see on the telly is a top, top player.
“‘That’s why they have been winning everything over the last few years.’”
There were man of the match contenders all over the pitch for City, illustrated in today’s Telegraph, which lavishes praise on another two of City’s attackers – the partnership between Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo.
Aguero got his hands on the post-match award, but Negredo was a vital component in an attack that proved too hot for the Hammers to handle.
Writes Alan Smith: “There is still something special about an orthodox front pair on the same wavelength working smoothly in tandem. And we saw it in action at Upton Park on Saturday when Sergio Agüero and Alvaro Negredo behaved as if they had been playing together for several seasons.
“In reality, this was only their second start together for Manchester City, the first one being that comprehensive trouncing of Manchester United – a clue there, perhaps, for Manuel Pellegrini, who also has Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic as alternatives.
“Yet Agüero and Negredo made a strong case for this particular permutation being the best bet with the way they went about dismantling West Ham United. It was the manner of their movement that caught the eye. Not once did they try and occupy the same space. If one went long, the other came short to provide useful depth to the visiting attack.”
You can read the full article here.
Finally, it must be that time of the media round up again – transfer gossip!
ESPN, via the Sun, claims that the Sky Blues are targeting former Manchester United man, Paul Pogba, who has been catching numerous eyes around Europe since his move to Juventus.
The report reads: “The 20-year-old, who joined the Italian giants from Manchester United in 2012 after a contract dispute, has become one of the hottest properties in European football thanks to a series of dazzling displays for the Turin club.
“And according to The Sun, Manuel Pellegrini is preparing to tempt Juventus president Andrea Agnelli with a £40 million bid.
“However, City could face opposition from Premier League rivals Chelsea, with Jose Mourinho also reported to be a fan of the French midfielder.”
Manuel Pellegrini LIED to Man City players about Man United result before West Ham clash
The Manchester City manager galvanised his players to an inspired performance by telling them that their rivals had beaten Southampton
Micah Richards has revealed Manuel Pellegrini FIBBED about Manchester United’s result ahead of City’s stunning win over West Ham.
The Etihad right-back admitted Pellegrini’s claim that the Reds had beaten Southampton had left his side fired up.
Richards said: “We thought they were winning one nil. The manager said they had won, Arsenal had won and Chelsea had won, and so we had to win.
“Maybe it was a bit of reverse psychology but it was obviously nice. United will come strong.
"We just knew we had to win. If we had dropped points today, well... we watched Liverpool because they kicked off early.
“They looked strong and Arsenal just keep winning. I know people always say Arsenal will blow up, but when a team gets that confidence going it’s hard to stop and they will do well this season."
Richards also believes United are missing their legendary former boss Sir Alex Ferguson. But the defender is refusing to rule out a resurgence from City’s Manchester rivals.
“They still have the same players.” he said, “They have massive experience and experienced players around who will get them going. So I have no doubts that United will come back stronger from this.
“Let’s not kid ourselves, Fergie is probably the best manager ever. He’s probably like having a 12th man in your team.
“But Moyes is a great manager. He’s done a similar job at Everton, he didn’t have that much to spend and he kept them consistently playing well.
“It will be hard for them, losing Fergie, but I think in time, Moyes will get it right because he is a fantastic manager.”
Recalling City’s difficult start to the season after they had lifted the title, Richards went on: “Before we won the league teams didn’t expect us to win, so we could go out and play our football.
“When we won the league teams would drop 11 men behind the ball and we didn’t know how to break them down. That is the difference.
“It hurt [losing the title], especially to United. Because I think squad-wise last season, I think we had one of the best in the league.
“There was no reason why we shouldn’t have been up there. Not saying we should have won it but maybe we should have given them a harder time.
“How many points was it in the end? 11 points? It’s not really good. If they won it by three or six maybe but 11 points is not really good enough. I think this season, we have to make sure we correct that.
“But this season, it’s even harder because Chelsea look strong, Arsenal and then there’s Liverpool.
“So you’ve not just got an eye on United, you’ve got an eye on all the rest of the teams, so it’s going to be tough. Whoever wins it this year will really deserve it because there are so many teams that can win it.”
Manchester City chase Juventus star
Juventus star Paul Pogba could be the subject of a bid from Manchester City this January.
The Citizens are reportedly prepared to offer £40 million to Juventus for the signature of Pogba.
The Sun on Sunday reported that Manchester City are fans of the young midfielder and would be willing to offer a large sum to lure him.
The midfielder is a former player of cross-city rivals Manchester United, having spent a season with the Red Devils after graduating from their youth academy.
The 20-year-old has also been the subject of interest from fellow English clubs Arsenal and Chelsea, as well as Spanish giants Real Madrid.
The Frenchman has also has also received his first caps for his national side, scoring once in three games for Les Bleus.
Pogba has scored three times in eleven appearances for The Old Lady this season.
Manchester City defender Micah Richards praises team-mate David Silva and reveals how he stops the 'little wizard' in training
Silva was brilliant in City's first away league win of the season and Richards admits that the only way to stop him is to 'smash him'
Micah Richards has watched over half a billion pounds' worth of signings come through the doors at Manchester City, and the defender believes none of them compare to David Silva.
Sergio Aguero may have scored the two vital goals, but it was Silva who stole the show at Upton Park on Saturday evening as City won 3-1 to claim their first maximum on the road this season.
The Spanish midfielder was a constant menace, picking holes in a bamboozled West Ham defence with his incredible vision and passing.
The performance came as no surprise to Richards, who has marvelled at the magic of the man they call Merlin ever since he arrived at the Etihad Stadium in 2010 following a £26million move from Valencia.
City have spent approximately £600million since Richards signed his first professional deal at the club in 2005.
The likes of Carlos Tevez, Mario Balotelli and Patrick Vieira have come and gone, while superstars like Yaya Toure, Aguero and Samir Nasri remain. Of the talent to arrive, Richards has no doubt that Silva is the best.
"The only way I can stop him in training is if I smash him," the City full-back said.
"He doesn't come near me now! We have an agreement - you don't come near me, I won't hurt you.
"We call him Merlin. He's like a little wizard isn't he? He is class.
"At West Ham he was just ridiculous. He is the best player I have played with.
"He just makes it look easy, the way he goes past people. He is just amazing."
Silva's pinpoint cross allowed Aguero to double City's lead after the Argentinian had put the visitors ahead and the Spaniard wrapped up the win with 10 minutes left following Ricardo Vaz Te's overhead kick.
Two hundred miles away, City's neighbours were licking their wounds after drawing against Southampton at Old Trafford.
Interestingly, Manuel Pellegrini reportedly lied to his team about the United result in an attempt to spur them on to victory in east London.
"I didn't know United had conceded a late equaliser," Richards said.
"The manager said they had won, and that Arsenal and Chelsea had won so we thought we had to win against West Ham.
"Maybe it was a bit of reverse psychology. We just knew we had to win. We couldn't drop points."
While the doors at the Etihad keep revolving every summer, welcoming new players and overseeing the exit of others, Richards has remained.
The defender has found first-team opportunities hard to come by of late due to the form of Pablo Zabaleta, but his connection to City is still strong.
He probably, therefore, felt the hurt of last year's title surrender to Manchester United more than most of his team-mates.
United won the championship by 11 points last season, but under David Moyes they have struggled so far, winning just three of their opening eight games.
Richards is convinced United are not a spent force, but he does concede that the club are missing the wisdom of former manager Alex Ferguson.
"Let's not kid ourselves, Fergie is probably the best manager ever," Richards said.
"He's probably like having a 12th man in your team. Moyes is a great manager. He's done a similar job at Everton, he didn't have that much to spend and he kept them consistently playing well.
"It will be hard for them, losing Fergie, but I think in time, Moyes will get it right."
Sam Allardyce turned 59 on Saturday, but it was a birthday to forget for the Hammers boss.
He hit out at his defenders for allowing City to stroll to victory, and the team that tore Tottenham apart a fortnight ago looked toothless in attack.
Allardyce hopes to have better news on Monday when he calls Belgian physio Lieven Maesschalck to see how record signing Andy Carroll is doing in his recovery from the Achilles heel injury that has kept him out all season.
"Andy is still in Belgium and he's improving week by week," the West Ham manager said.
"I will speak with the specialist and hopefully he will be able to give us a date when he thinks he can come back to us.
"It is very important we get him back as quick as we can. I don't want to continue not playing with frontmen in games where we need one."
Alex Ferguson: losing the Premier League title to Manchester City was biggest blow of my United reign
Alex Ferguson had to put Manchester City back in their place by regaining the Premier League title before he could retire as Manchester United manager
However hard you stare at football to understand its complexities, the ears offer a higher level of comprehension when the speaker is one of the great managers. Anyone who spent large swathes of time with Jock Stein, Bill Shankly or Brian Clough will guess at how much there was to learn from writing a book with Alex Ferguson.
Ferguson’s My Autobiography, which is published this week, brought us together for many a midweek afternoon to retrace the steps of his life from Govan shipyard boy to master of a multi-billion empire at Manchester United, where he retired last May with a palpable sense of relief after winning the title back from Manchester City.
“I’ve never spent so much time in the video analysis room,” Ferguson said of his final season in charge. In that mini-cinema, he burned countless hours studying his own team as well as opponents for clues about how to knock City off their new perch.
There was more plotting, more intensity, more detail than ever. City winning the title was the greatest single blow to Ferguson in his near 27 years in charge. He would not stand down until the insult was reversed.
The afternoon we spent discussing City’s first league win for 44 years revealed the draining nature of his addiction. He spoke again and again of United’s tradition of responding to setbacks. Almost as pleasurable to him as bestriding English football was climbing off the floor after a knockout blow from Arsenal, Chelsea or City.
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[/spoiler]Chelsea are poised to spend £50m on Marseille midfielder Giannelli Imbula, 21, and FC Porto defender Eliaquim Mangala, 22, in the January transfer window. Metro
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is due to address his team's striker shortage by attempting to sign Iceland's Alfred Finnbogason, 24, from Dutch club Heerenveen. Daily Mirror
Liverpool defender Andre Wisdom, 20, looks set to join Championship club Derby County on loan. Daily Mirror
Manchester United are on the verge of losing the title if David Moyes does not quickly rediscover the club's air of invincibility, according to Alan Hansen. Daily Telegraph
Former England captain Alan Shearer has urged manager Roy Hodgson not to bow to calls for Chelsea's John Terry to be tempted out of international retirement. Sun
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is likely to escape a touchline ban for his side's visit of Manchester City after the Portuguese was sent to the stands for an outburst aimed at referee Anthony Taylor during Saturday's 4-1 win over Cardiff City. Sun
Meanwhile, Cardiff will seek an explanation from the Professional Game Match Officials Limited general manager, Mike Riley, as to why the referee, Taylor, allowed Samuel Eto'o's controversial Chelsea equaliser to stand. Guardian
Arsenal forward Theo Walcott, 24, has been ruled out for at least another two weeks after suffering a setback on his recovery from abdominal surgery. He will miss the Gunners' next three games. Daily Telegraph
Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp says his side can beat Arsenal at the Emirates in their Champions League group fixture on Tuesday, despite his ban from the touchline for abusing a match official during the 2-1 win over Napoli. Sun
Meanwhile, ahead of the fixture, former Brentford manager and former Manchester City striker Uwe Rosler says German football is more modern that the English game. Independent
Former Blackburn Rovers manager Steve Kean is set for a return to management with Asian Singapore League club Brunei DPMM. Sun
Neil Warnock could make a return to football as Birmingham City's director of football if his former QPR chairman Gianni Paladini completes a takeover of the Championship club. Daily Mirror
In the wake of assistant referee David Bryan being hit by a smoke bomb in Tottenham's 2-0 win at Aston Villa, former Premier League referee Graham Poll says the safety of officials must be scrutinised before it is too late. DSSC
Newcastle United defender Paul Dummett, 22, is on the verge of signing a new contract with the club after scoring his first senior goal against Liverpool on Saturday. Sun
Former Everton midfielder Tim Cahill scored the fastest goal in Major League Soccer history when he struck for New York Red Bulls just seven seconds into their clash with Houston Dynamo. Guardian
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