Thursday's B*ll*x

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Thursday's B*ll*x

Postby Chinners » Thu Sep 07, 2017 6:02 am

THE BOLLOX

Manchester City owners consider legal action over 'financial doping' comments
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Manchester City's owners say they are considering legal action after La Liga president Javier Tebas accused them of "financial doping".
Tebas said City and Paris St-Germain had spent money from outside football and action should be taken to stop it.
He also said Girona, the club in which City's owners bought a 44.3% stake last month, had tried to "cook the books" after taking players on loan from City.
"Mr Tebas' statements are ill-informed and in parts pure fiction," City said.
The City Football Group (CFG) added: "As you would expect, Manchester City Football Club and the City Football Group are seeking appropriate legal counsel and will act accordingly on that advice."
City were taken over by the Abu Dhabi United Group in 2008 and this summer spent £215m - the most by any club in a transfer window.
"I need more money from TV, otherwise Manchester City with its oil will take all these players," Tebas, head of Spain's top flight, said at the Soccerex conference in Manchester on Wednesday.
European football's governing body Uefa has already said it has no plans to investigate City over the Premier League club's financial situation.
It is understood Tebas met City chief executive Ferran Soriano at the club's Etihad Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
The French football league has also criticised Tebas.
"The league strongly condemns the insulting comments regarding PSG made today by the president of La Liga," it said in a statement.
"These undignified comments do not live up to the standards of an institution as respectable and high-performing as the Spanish league."
Tebas criticises Girona deal
CFG added La Liga new boys Girona to a stable that also includes clubs in Australia, Japan, Uruguay and the US.
Over the course of the summer, Girona signed five City players on loan - Douglas Luiz, Marlos Moreno, Larry Kayode, Aleix Garcia and Pablo Maffeo.
Tebas said La Liga had stepped in to prevent the five being registered for far less than their correct value.
He said: "Some of the loan prices were too low.
"Five players coming from Man City are worth one euro each? It wasn't one euro obviously but it would be unfaithful competition within the Spanish league if Girona were able to report these players in a certain way."
Asked if he thought Girona were "cooking the books", Tebas replied: "They were trying to but they didn't manage to do it."
Girona, are competing in the top tier of the Spanish league for the first time this season. They were set a limit of 80m euros to spend on their squad by La Liga following an assessment of the club's financial position.
Despite the changes made at La Liga's insistence, the club remain under that salary cap.
City did not charge Girona a loan fee for any of the five players they sent to the club, although that is not unusual in itself - they did not charge Celtic a loan fee for striker Patrick Roberts when he agreed another 12-month spell with the Scottish champions this summer.
MORE on MCF Thread: viewtopic.php?f=119&t=52933

Ilkay Gundogan trains with first-team ahead of Manchester City's clash with Liverpool
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Ilkay Gundogan has been out for almost 10 months with a cruciate ligament injury.
Pep Guardiola is set to be handed a major injury boost ahead of Manchester City's clash against Liverpool on Saturday (9 September) with Ilkay Gundogan pushing for a return to the first-team after recovering from the knee injury he sustained in December last year.
The German midfielder joined City from Borussia Dortmund last summer and was impressive in the 16 appearances he made across all competitions before sustaining cruciate ligament damage during a game against Watford, which ended his debut campaign in the Premier League.
The midfielder has recovered from the injury and is said to be pushing for a return to the first-team ahead of Liverpool's visit to the Etihad Stadium this weekend. Gundogan's first appearance in almost 10 months came in a Premier League 2 game for City's Under-23 team against the Leicester City reserves on 25 August, when he played 62 minutes.
According to the Sun, Guardiola is considering including the Germany international in his squad for the game against the Merseyside club after a source close to the club confirmed that he has fully recovered from the injury sustained at the end of last year.
"He is pushing hard for a first-team comeback. He's played a few development games and friendlies," a source close to the club said, as quoted by The Sun. "His progress has been great and the coaching staff are delighted. Pep will take a closer look at him this week."
"The medical staff will have a say, but he has fully recovered from his injury and it's just down to his core fitness now," the source added.
Gundogan has a genuine chance of being in the matchday squad on Saturday after he was pictured training with the rest of the first-team squad on Wednesday (6 September) as they prepared for the clash against Jurgen Klopp's in-form side.

Yaya Toure can still have key role in Man City team on one condition, says brother Kolo
Yaya Toure has not featured for Manchester City this season but his brother still believes in him..
The Blues midfielder extended his stay at the Etihad into an eighth campaign in summer, winning over Pep Guardiola despite spending the first few months of last season exiled from matchday squads.
Toure is convinced that he has more to offer the club and looked sharp and trim in pre-season as the team impressed.
However, the 34-year-old has been unable to get off the bench for the first three games of the season with Fernandinho kept in the holding midfield role while the coach tinkered with other positions.
Kolo Toure, a familiar face to Blues, can't exactly claim an impartial assessment of his brother but has no doubt about his qualities.
The Celtic defender is clear that Yaya can still shine for the Blues...providing he has somebody alongside him to do his running.
"Yaya is a top player. For me, he has always been one of the best midfielders in the world," he said at Soccerex.
"When he was playing in Ukraine not many people were listening to me because he was in another country but I'm not surprised about his career and what he is still doing at his age.
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"I think he can still play a really key role in this Man City team because his passing is one of the best in the world, he can break lines and start action from the back.
"Of course, to run is more difficult with age but if there is a runner that can fight for the ball and give him the ball then Yaya can just be the maestro from the back."
City adopted a new formation in summer, with incoming full backs allowing the coach to play a 3-5-2 for the opening games of the season.
Toure spoke last month about how his previous with Guardiola at Barcelona and Mikel Arteta's role have helped him to adapt as the team attempted to get to grips with the new demands being asked of them.
"At Barcelona I was used to playing like that," he said. "I’m a type of player with a lot of experience.
"I think I'm lucky because I used to play under Pep at Barcelona and I know what he wants.
"He was a brilliant midfielder and Mikel Arteta as well and those two have helped me a lot and given me a lot of confidence. I’m just there to enjoy it and win trophies and that is what I want."

Manchester City’s wastefulness a worry for Pep Guardiola
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For all the focus on Manchester City's defending, Pep Guardiola continues to fret about his side's finishing. Does he have a point? Adam Bate takes a look.
Pep Guardiola could hardly have been clearer in his assessment in May. "We don't score enough goals," he said. "The numbers do not lie, we have not been good enough in the boxes this season. Apart from one game, at White Hart Lane, I cannot remember a match where we did not create more chances than the other side. The others, no chance.
"Even the next champions, Chelsea, we create more chances here [at the Etihad Stadium] than even at Stamford Bridge, but in the boxes we are not good. We are the best in the league at doing that, we create more chances than anyone, but we are not always able to score the goals. In basketball you see Michael Jordan, last minute, puts it in the net."
For Sergio Aguero's admirers, and there are many at Manchester City, the club's own Jordan figure is already present and correct. Their greatest goalscorer and the scorer of their greatest goal. That Gabriel Jesus is rivalling City's hero for a place in the starting line-up only underlines the strength in attack. And yet, Guardiola is not close to being satisfied.
That much was apparent following the first home game of the current campaign. A 1-1 draw against Everton, secured after being a goal down with 10 men, was no disaster. And yet, Guardiola still could not shake the feeling that wastefulness in front of goal had cost City yet again. "We created the chances in the first half but we did not finish them," he said.
"We created chances before their goal. Three or four. Our amount of opportunities on target or close to target was good, we were there all the time but we never gave up. All you can do is try to create the chances. Maybe one day it will change. I think last season we were the team who made the most chances."
According to Opta, Guardiola is correct. City had 101 clear-cut chances last season. Next on that list was Tottenham with 86. In terms of 'expected goals' - regarded by analysts as a more accurate reflection of the quality of a team's chances than actual goals converted - City were the strongest side in the Premier League last season. In short, they did a lot right.
The team's defending came under serious scrutiny but the suspicion remains that Guardiola is more concerned by the lack of efficiency in the opposition box. After all, City have let in only two goals in their first three Premier League games of this season. It is the failure to convert that cost them against Everton and threatened to do so at Bournemouth too.
City have had more possession of the ball than any other team and more touches in the opposition box than anyone else as well. Guardiola will feel that the team's pattern of play is succeeding in getting the ball into the right areas. The problem is that, once there, City have once again missed the most clear-cut chances of any team in the Premier League.
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The strikers are not the only ones to blame but they can hardly be excused. On the opening weekend, Aguero and Jesus missed two fantastic opportunities apiece as City equalled their record for most clear chances missed in a Premier League game under Guardiola. Aguero did net with 20 minutes to play but found himself on the bench for the next away game.
That is still a source of bemusement for some but perhaps Guardiola could be forgiven for feeling he has not seen enough of the unerring finishing for which Aguero is famed. Indeed, unlike, say, Harry Kane or even Romelu Lukaku, Aguero has actually missed more clear-cut chances than he has scored over the past three seasons
It has been particularly noticeable in the key moments. There were costly misses home and away to Monaco as City exited the Champions League, while even Jurgen Klopp was amazed by Aguero's wastefulness against Liverpool in March, ballooning a late shot over the bar. Had City won they would have been level with Tottenham with 10 to play.
Liverpool return to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday in good form and all looks set up for another classic encounter as the old Bundesliga coaches renew their rivalry. Once again Guardiola will back his team to create chances. Once again he will be stood on the touchline wondering whether those chances will be taken.

City player, Benjamin Mendy, was quoting 1990s film Cool Runnings on Wednesday. 
ImageWilfried Bony opens up on his Man City spell and Pep Guardiola

Manchester City offloaded Wilfried Bony on deadline day after an unremarkable spell at the club
Wilfried Bony has fond memories of his time at Manchester City despite his struggles on the pitch.
The Ivorian spent two-and-a-half seasons at the Etihad but made little impression on the first team under Manuel Pellegrini and was not considered an option under Pep Guardiola.
Having spent last season on loan at Stoke, Bony completed a move to former club Swansea on deadline day.
If he is disappointed not to have made his mark under the Blues boss, the striker has not forgotten the good times he enjoyed with the club.
"Pep Guardiola is one the best coaches in the world," he told footmercato.
"Playing under him would have been something great. We had a good relationship. The most important thing for me now is to focus on my team, Swansea. I want to give the best of myself.
"It was a bit difficult at the end. I had injuries.
There were some good moments. We won the [League] Cup. The team reached the Champions League semifinals, which the club had never done before. For me, there were a lot of bad moments due to injuries.
"But there were also good moments in a period between October and December where I was going well until I was held back by injuries.
"In any case, it was a good experience. You're always learning. I learned lessons from that adventure. To come back to the club that has made me what I am in England is more than a privilege, it's more than joy. I'm at home here."

Boy’s Got Skills: England and Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho
There is nothing quite like an inspired bit of skill or a big finish to brighten up your week, especially when the person doing it could soon be wearing your colours, and here at Shoot! we are always on the look out for the best to bring you.
But this month’s feature looks at what could have been for Manchester City fans, as we focus on the talented Jadon Sancho, who has recently joined Borussia Dortmund.
The 17-year-old highly-rated winger was handed the number seven shirt vacated by Ousmane Dembele by the Bundesliga outfit after his reported £10m transfer from the Premier League side late last month.
Watch on youtube.com

Sancho, who joined The Citizens back in 2015 for just £500,000, has been handed the difficult task of filling the void left by France international Dembele at Dortmund, following his colossal £135.5m transfer to FC Barcelona earlier this summer.
Despite City letting Sancho slip through their fingers, hopefully the wing wizard will prove a huge hit for The Three Lions in the near future!

Why Manchester City Are Right In Being Interested In A January Move For This £75,000-a-week Tottenham Star
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Tottenham Hotspur’s Toby Alderweireld is the newest Premier League player to publicly disclose his displeasure with the club regarding his wage structure. With two more years left on his contract and earning just a mere £75,000-a-week, Alderweireld believes he is better off at another club.
According to ESPN, Manchester City are said to be interested in the Belgium international and rightly so. The Sky Blues are long-term admirers of the 28-year-old central defender since his Atletico Madrid days and could definitely use his services at the Etihad.
With contract negotiations getting increasingly frustrating between the Belgian and Spurs, Manchester City should look to sign the centre-back in the January transfer window.
Even Toby Alderweireld’s agent had made a public statement regarding the player grievances with Spurs and praised Toby’s qualities as a centre-back. He said,
“If you only look at his figures, Toby is impressive and for his performances, he deserves either a correct contract from Tottenham or a transfer.
“For a transfer, you know that he can only leave Tottenham for seven or eight teams and almost all the other top clubs are interested in Toby.
“There are not a lot of central defenders of his kind, so they are sought after. But those clubs also know that they have to negotiate with (Tottenham chairman) Daniel Levy.”
Despite having the most expensive back line in football history, Manchester City still look vulnerable in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s major spending this summer has not exactly borne fruit, with most of their wins coming with hard labour.
With Vincent Kompany looking off colour, and Nicolas Otamendi barely looking like the player he was at Porto or Valencia, bringing Alderweireld in looks like a safe bet for Guardiola in January.
With Champions League and other Cup competitions in hand, Manchester City might require the services of Alderweireld in January, not to forget the implications of an injury to any of their first team players. Vincent Kompany has just come back off a long-term injury and the young John Stones is failing to live up to his hefty price tag.
Pep Guardiola realises that the English game requires a lot more defensive set up than how it is in La-Liga or even the Bundesliga. The Spanish manager is just getting a hang of the Premier League and will want an experienced and a proven defender like Toby Alderweireld in his ranks to help him achieve Premier League glory.

Agueroooooo!
Phelan and Toure relive Sergio stunner

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Sergio Aguero's title-winning goal for Manchester City in 2012 brought agony for Mike Phelan and ecstasy for Kolo Toure
It is one of the most iconic moments in the Premier League’s 25-year history, and Sergio Aguero's last-minute goal to seal the 2011-12 title for Manchester City still stirs the emotions for Kolo Toure and Mike Phelan.
May 13, 2012 will forever be etched in the memory of English football fans, as the destination of the trophy swung one way and then the other, eventually leaving one half of Manchester celebrating and the other in tears.
City and United went into the final weekend of the campaign level on points, with the former ahead on goal difference.
United did all they could with a 1-0 win at Sunderland thanks to a Wayne Rooney goal and the title appeared to be heading to Old Trafford.
However, City - trailing 2-1 at home to QPR - scored twice in stoppage time to take all three points and the silverware, Edin Dzeko and Aguero sending the Etihad Stadium into delirium.
Aguero's heroics soon trickled through to the Stadium of Light, leaving United and then assistant manager Phelan shell-shocked.
"That was the worst moment in my career," Phelan said at a Soccerex event commemorating 25 years of the Premier League.
"Simply because we played Sunderland and had finished, I think it is the only time Fergie time didn't come out on top!
"We'd finished, we thought we'd done enough. The score at other game was level pegging, all of a sudden it changed dramatically.
"We were still out on pitch and all of a sudden 'wallop'. It was the worst feeling ever, we couldn't have done any more, and to lose on goal difference was heartbreaking really."
Things were very different back in Manchester as Toure celebrated a second league title, and it remains one of the stand-out moments in the Ivorian’s career.
"To win that game was so important," he commented. "We didn't play well, we were so stressed, but we worked so hard and at the end of the day we were composed.
"It is one of the best feelings [of my career] for sure.
"To win the Premier League is always something special, but to beat United was amazing. In a few seconds we won the league, I will never forget that."

WAG OF THE DAY
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OTHER BOLLOX
Eighteen-year-old France striker Kylian Mbappe, who joined Paris St-Germain on loan from Monaco in the transfer window, says joining Arsenal was a "real option" after he met Arsene Wenger. (Daily Telegraph)

Arsenal's decision to keep Sanchez at the club could cost as much as £140m, says Arsene Wenger. (BeinSports)

Sanchez has been called "fat" by his former Chile coach, and is a doubt for the Gunners' game with Bournemouth on Saturday. (Daily Mirror)

Frank de Boerhas one more game to save his job at Crystal Palace. (Daily Telegraph)

Chelsea and Arsenal are expected to renew their interest in Bayern Munich and Germany forward Thomas Muller, 27, in January. (Daily Mirror)

Former England winger Ashley Young, 32, is ready for talks with Jose Mourinho over his Manchester United future and wants to stay at Old Trafford for one more year. (Sun)

England striker Jamie Vardy, 30, says he wants a move to a foreign club when he quits Leicester. (Daily Star)

The row between Sporting Lisbon and West Ham over the failed transfer of William Carvalho has escalated. The Portuguese side's president has responded to Hammers chairman David Sullivan's claims that a bid for the 25-year-old Portugal midfielder had been accepted by Sporting. (London Evening Standard)

Two emails appear to prove West Ham did make offers to Sporting for Carvalho. (Sky Sports understands)

Manager Rafael Benitez is set to stay at Newcastle despite frustration at the club's transfer activity. (Daily Express) 

Ukraine winger Yevhen Konoplyanka, 27, has confirmed that Stoke City tried to sign him from Schalke this summer. (Stoke Sentinel)

Relations between Chelsea have and Spain striker Diego Costa,28, have further deteriorated after the club removed his car from his first-team parking spot and put it in a youth team bay. (Sun)

Everton are lining up a January move for Porto's Spanish defender Ivan Marcano, 30. (Daily Mail)

Wales and Liverpool forward Ben Woodburnis set to be rewarded with a new long-term contract at Anfield when he turns 18 next month. (Guardian)

Arsenal's Alexis Sanchez says he is "tired of being criticised" after Chile suffered a 1-0 defeat to Bolivia. (Metro)

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp put local rivalry to one side as he left a get-well-soon message for a young Everton supporter on Tuesday. (Sky Sports understands)

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has been posing with his new Ferrari. (Instagram)

And Simon Mignolet has been showing off the inside of Liverpool's training ground at Melwood. (Instagram)

GOLDEN BOLLOX
On this day - 2014
Kompany: City's summer is big statement of intent
Blues skipper says the club have shown stability and ambition with their business during the summer transfer window.
Vincent Kompany believes Manchester City have made a huge statement this summer, both in the transfer market and by agreeing new deals with key players.
City signed Willy Caballero, Bacary Sagna, Fernando, Eliaquim Mangala and Frank Lampard during the transfer window.
They also announced extended deals for Kompany, David Silva, Samir Nasri, Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero and Aleks Kolarov.
The Belgian defender, 28, believes City have assembled a 'world class' squad as they look to defend their Premier League title and make progress in the Champions League.
And he says agreeing new deals with current players is proof of the stability at the Etihad Stadium.
Kompany said: "I think the club has made a statement this summer, not just with the players we have brought in, but also with the new deals that have been made.
"I am not talking about myself when I say this, but we have signed a group of players who are absolutely world class. They are guys who have already won stuff for City and you can’t buy that kind of experience.
"Am I happy to know that David Silva, Kolarov, Nasri, Dzeko and Aguero are going to be in my team? Of course. I would hate to play against these guys. I am sure the fans are delighted with what they have seen this summer.
"They have seen us strengthen the squad, but they have also seen that there is continuity here. There’s a plan for the future."

Jovetic suffers hamstring injury
The Blues forward is expected to miss his country's clash with Moldova on Monday and could be a doubt for the upcoming Arsenal game.
Stevan Jovetic is set to miss Montenegro's clash with Moldova after picking up a hamstring injury.
According to Montenegrin outlet Vijesti.me, the Blues striker limped out of training clutching his leg and is now unlikely to feature in Monday's game.
The 24-year-old could also be a doubt for Manchester City's meeting with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Jovetic missed almost the entirety of the 2013-14 season with a combination of calf and hamstring injuries.
But he has been in fine form in the early part of the new campaign, starting all three games and scoring twice in the win over Liverpool.
Following the sale of Alvaro Negredo, the Blues would be down to Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko as their striking options should Jovetic be out

Joe Hart in 'nut attack' on Manchester United's Wayne Rooney
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Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart had a way to alleviate the boredom at the national team's hotel in Basel this weekend. Swiss newspaper Bild caught the Manchester City player throwing nuts at his national team captain Wayne Rooney, who was stood on his balcony alongside Liverpool's Raheem Sterling.
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Monday night sees the important qualifier between England and Switzerland, how the match turns out will be important for both countries and set something of the stage for their qualifying campaign. There's a lot of tension around the England camp following a poor World Cup campaign and the team's lacklustre performance last week against Norway only served to increase that.
Wayne Rooney scored a penalty to help his country to a narrow victory and Manchester City's Joe Hart was able to keep a clean sheet. The goalkeepers playful launching of nuts shows there's still a bit of fun among the under pressure players and also shows there's no special treatment of Rooney since he became national team captain. It's a little harder to imagine Joe Hart chucking nuts at Steven Gerrard.

Why Manchester City Will Not Regret Letting Alvaro Negredo Go
City fans really loved Negredo for the short time that he was the club's best player.
Manchester City will not regret letting Alvaro Negredo go because, no matter how well Negredo plays for any of his subsequent clubs, the decision to sell Negredo was the right decision when City made it.
City bought Negredo from Sevilla in the summer of 2013 for a reported fee of "£16.4 million plus add-ons of up to £4.2 million" per Ben Curtis of the Mirror.
Negredo's only season in a City kit started very brightly and ended very badly:
The fate of "the Beast" may have been sealed by the metatarsal fracture he picked up in a July friendly with Hearts of Midlothian. The injury, which will continue to sideline Negredo into next month, cost Negredo in two significant ways.
First, Negredo would be unable to prove to City manager Manuel Pellegrini that his unproductive and injury-riddled 2014 to date could be overcome. Second, forgotten man Stevan Jovetic received almost all of the minutes Negredo would have played in City's remaining preseason matches.
Neither Negredo nor Jovetic likely knew how the Montenegrin would seize on that opportunity.
Jovetic was prolific through the summer, but the real splash came with his brace against Liverpool that led the Sky Blues to a 3-1 victory on Aug. 25.
Jovetic's emergence may have hastened Negredo's departure.
No one associated with City would ever admit or even suggest that the emergence of Jovetic led directly to Negredo becoming expendable. City really did not need to say it.
Further enhancing City's desire to move Negredo was the fact that there was still a live market for the striker's services. Per the Daily Mail's Jack Gaughan, Sami Mokbel and Simon Jones, Negredo's transfer was worth "£25 million plus add-ons of £2 million" to a club with widely known Financial Fair Play problems.
No advanced mathematical skills are required to see that City thus turned a profit on the sale of a player who was injured when they sold him and unlikely to feature even after he healed.
Supporters who fear things that bump in the night point to the iffy health of City's primary striker, Sergio Aguero, as well as the fact that Jovetic was limited with assorted knocks for much of last season. Keeping Negredo would be insurance against an injury to the others, they reason.
But there is another transfer window coming in a few months, and Negredo was not likely to be fully fit or to reclaim a place in Pellegrini's rotation before the end of 2014 anyway.
Perhaps the primary factor clouding the wisdom of the deal for City supporters is how fond they were of Negredo when he was in the midst of his goal binge through the end of 2013.
We learned, though, that as much as the blue side of Manchester may have loved Negredo, the feeling may not have been so mutual.
"Negredo and his family have struggled to settle in England and his form became affected by homesickness and a shoulder injury to such an extent that he failed to hit the target in the final four months of the campaign," reported Simon Mullock in the Mirror.
Summing up, then, City sold a player whose form had left him and whose commitment to living in Manchester was in some question. City sold that player while he was injured and for a profit.
The key to successful management of any enterprise, be it a football club or any other competitive endeavor, is the ability to make difficult decisions intelligently and then not to look back.
City should never regret selling Negredo because, for all of the foregoing reasons, it was the right thing to do when they did it.

Wag of the Day
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Paris St-Germain are poised to offer cash plus midfielder Adrien Rabiot, 19, in a bid to sign Roma's defensive midfielder Kevin Strootman, 24, who is also a target for Manchester United. (Daily Express)

Former Red Devils manager David Moyes says the extra responsibility of captaincy could make Wayne Rooney an even better player. (The Sun)

Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic says his side are "level with England" and will have no fear when they take on Roy Hodgson's team in Basel on Monday. (Daily Telegraph)

Meanwhile, Switzerland defender Philippe Senderos says his Aston Villa team-mate Fabian Delph deserves his England chance as the two sides prepare to face one another in Euro 2016 qualification. (Birmingham Mail)

Former Blackburn striker DJ Campbell admits he considered quitting football after being charged with match-fixing. (Daily Express)

Captain Wayne Rooney, 28, reveals he showed England team-mate Raheem Sterling, 19, videos of Dutch legend Marc Overmars because the Liverpool player "reminds me of him". (Guardian)

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce, 59, may lose his number two Neil McDonald, who is set to become the new manager at League Two outfit Carlisle. (Daily Star)

Uefa president Michel Platini has threatened now-retired former France playmaker Franck Ribery, 31, with a suspension if he is selected for his country and refuses to play. (Daily Telegraph)

Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith, 33, believes his old club have no chance of competing with Chelsea and Manchester City for the Premier League title. (Talkshit)

Germany midfielder Toni Kroos, 24, has "no regrets" about joining Real Madrid from Bayern Munich this summer, and says the Spanish club are "a small step ahead". (Sky Sports understands)

Chelsea's 2014 calendar is starting to look a bit out of date - Mr October is Juan Mata (now at Manchester United), Mr November is Fernando Torres (AC Milan), while Mr December is Manchester City's Frank Lampard. (Daily Mirror)
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Re: Thursday's B*ll*x

Postby Hutch's Shoulder » Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:16 am

Cheers. I'd totally forgotten that Ashley Young was still with the rags.
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Re: Thursday's B*ll*x

Postby Chinners » Thu Sep 07, 2017 11:28 am

B*ll*x Updates
Bernardo Silva reveals how Cristiano Ronaldo convinced him to join Manchester City this summer
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Manchester City new boy Bernardo Silva has revealed Cristiano Ronaldo encouraged him to move to the Etihad.
The Portuguese international was City's first signing of the summer as he completed a £43m switch from Monaco.
Silva sealed the transfer after a busy summer at the Confederations Cup, where he spoke to his international teammates about his future.
And he has explained how Ronaldo and fellow Manchester United old boy Nani influenced his decision.
"At the Confederations Cup, I asked Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani about Manchester and they told me how much they enjoyed it here," he told Four Four Two.
"They said that all of the people were great and that it’s a real football city.
"The Premier League, too – a competitive league with full stadiums each week and everyone watching. They both said it would be a great move.
Silva is expected to be involved when City take on Liverpool on Saturday, having made his first start at Bournemouth before the international break.
And after a fine campaign with Monaco last term, he hopes to replicate the success at the Etihad.
He added: "The Premier League title is a big goal for the club this season but the Champions League is also huge. When you're at a club like Manchester City, you have to really fight to win every competition."

Manchester City legend Paul Dickov visits Abu Dhabi for special back to school coaching clinic
Manchester City FC has run a special free "Back to School" coaching clinic for young players in Abu Dhabi with the help of a former star player.
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Paul Dickov, a Scottish striker who played for City almost 200 times, was flown in from Manchester to coach the boys and girls alongside City Football Schools, over two days on the 6th and 7th September at the IPIC Arena.
Speaking about the sessions, organised by Manchester City and Mundipharma’s Betadine, Paul said, "I’ve been over in Abu Dhabi for the last couple of days with Mundipharma’s Betadine to coach young players in the UAE, I’ve got to say it’s been fantastic. It’s been great for me to see all the Manchester City coaches at work and the enthusiasm of the children over different age group, cultures and abilities has been brilliant."
"I’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to do quite a few events with City and Mundipharma’s Betadine and it’s a great opportunity for the kids."
Ahead of Manchester City’s game against Liverpool on Saturday, Dickov also said, "It’s going to be a great game to watch, the attacking talents on both teams have a lot of pace and ability but I just feel that City and Pep Guardiola’s team have the strength and depth of talent to change a game. That’s where I think City will edge it at the weekend and for the rest of the season as well."

Pep Guardiola leaving Sergio Aguero out of Man City side was right decision
The battle for places at Manchester City is intense and former striker Craig Bellamy says that leaving Kun out from time to time is the correct decision.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is RIGHT to leave out Sergio Aguero - as long as he doesn't do it too often!
That is former Blues star Craig Bellamy's verdict on the great strikers debate after Kun was ditched more than once by Guardiola last season.
Aguero was first dropped to the bench for the Champions League group game at Barcelona, and then found himself out of the team again when £27million signing Gabriel Jesus arrived in January.
Injury to Jesus meant Guardiola did not have a decision to make for three months – and at the end of the season he found a way to fit them both into his team, with excellent results, and began the season by starting both in the first two games.
Aguero was again dropped for the 2-1 win at Bournemouth, re-igniting the debate – and Bellamy, who left City in the summer of 2011, when Aguero signed, said: “There will be a mixture of Sergio Aguero, Gabriel Jesus or both playing up top for Man City this season. You never know which way Guardiola is going to go.
Sergio Aguero was dropped in favour of Gabriel Jesus at Bournemouth for the second season running
“We all tend to concentrate on the one or two games that Aguero gets left out – we believe there must be a problem in the camp – but his fitness record isn’t great, and City have lost a couple of titles because he was injured at the wrong time.
“If Aguero’s involved in the business end of the season, injury-free, you’ve got a chance of winning stuff.
“He’s the kind of player you’d be crazy not to keep – but, if any manager could cope without him, it’s Guardiola.
Despite the competition being intense, Bellamy believes that the Blues were right to be chasing Arsenal ace Alexis Sanchez this summer.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, if he’s available, Alexis Sanchez is a player you try to grab at all costs – every team needs a player like him,” he said.
“He brings a totally different dimension, and think he could have been a superstar at City.”
Bellamy also approved of the trimming of the City squad this summer, with his old teammate Pablo Zabaleta one of 11 first team players moved on.
“I wouldn’t have kept any of the players Manchester City let go in the summer,” he said.
“It didn’t work out for Nolito, Jesus Navas’ time had come, and the likes of Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, and Gael Clichy are all coming to the end of their careers.
“But I think it might have been a year too late to let them go.
“They did a great job for the team, during the most successful period in the club’s history, but rather than giving them a year, I feel they should have gone last summer. A parting of the ways had to happen.”
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Re: Thursday's B*ll*x

Postby BlueinBosnia » Thu Sep 07, 2017 1:16 pm

Chinners wrote:"I need more money from TV, otherwise Manchester City with its oil will take all these players," Tebas, head of Spain's top flight, said at the Soccerex conference in Manchester on Wednesday.

Hang on a second - didn't La Liga give the clubs their own rights to negotiate TV deals, and therefore it has no money from TV in and of itself? Is this an admission of incompetence from La Liga to making the league uncompetitive, and therefore unattractive to broadcasters?
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