THE BOLLOX
What Kevin de Bruyne said about Jose Mourinho's training sessions at Chelsea
Just in case Chelsea fans weren’t already aware that it was a big mistake to allow Kevin de Bruyne to leave the club back in 2014, the Belgian served a timely reminder on his return to Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.
With the scores still level at 0-0 during the heavyweight clash between Chelsea and Manchester City, De Bruyne picked up the ball 25-yards out, played a one-two with Gabriel Jesus and smashed the ball home with his left foot.
Sensational.
And it was just a snippet of De Bruyne’s incredible ability.
The 26-year-old has established himself as one of the best midfielders in European football and is worth a lot more than the £18 million the Blues received for him from Wolfsburg.Even the egotistical Jose Mourinho must admit that he made a big mistake by allowing him to leave Stamford Bridge.
While the Portuguese boss didn’t doubt De Bruyne’s ability on the pitch, it was his performances in training that disappointed him. The Special One questioned De Bruyne's commitment in sessions and rarely gave him first-team opportunities.
But the player himself didn’t agree.
And, in an interview earlier this year, De Bruyne explained why he wanted to have public training sessions at Chelsea - so Mourinho couldn’t point any fingers at him in front of the thousands of people watching.
“It is true that he said that in the press, yes,” De Bruyne told France Football on the criticism aimed at him by Mourinho.
“That I wasn't doing what was needed in training. It was easy to say that because there was no-one to check it – the training sessions were closed to the public. But everyone knows I am not like that.
“I never let anyone put me down. I say what I have to say, with respect of course. But at that moment, I couldn't do anything because he would have said I was lying and afterwards he would have used it.
“Did I ask for training to be done in public? I said it, yes, but not to him personally.”
And former Chelsea scout Piet de Visser has explained what Mourinho told him when De Bruyne eventually left the club.
"I was angry with Mourinho when De Bruyne left Chelsea," De Visser told HLN Sport.
"We had some discussions. Then he would say: 'Piet, I find it a shame too, but the boy wants to leave. He doesn't want to train under me anymore.'
"I told him: 'Yes, the boy wants to play. He's ready for it.' I have tried to convince him of Kevin's qualities. But then Mourinho repeated: 'Piet, he doesn't want to train."
After securing a massive victory against his former side, De Bruyne revealed that neither he nor Chelsea have any regrets over his departure three years ago.
"I've no regrets over anything that happened," he said.
"I don't think they have regrets -- they've won two league titles since I've been gone, so they've done fairly well.
"That's the way it goes, it's a business. At that point it was a good decision for me to go and maybe for them it was also good to let me go.
"There's no bad feeling at all. It's just part of life and you need to grow up."
While Chelsea have won two league titles in recent years, there is very little doubt they will be regretting letting De Bruyne leave so easily.
GOLDEN BOLLOX - 3rd October 1896
A crowd estimated at more than 20,000 gather at Hyde Road to see City draw 0-0 with Division Two leaders Newton Heath, preserving their unbeaten start to the season. Sam Ormerod’s side will eventually finish sixth.
Manchester City Eye Serie A Contract Rebel On Free Transfer: Perfect Fit For Guardiola?
Manchester City are in the best of forms in the Premier League and are highly rated by a number of experts to do much better than what they did in the last term. They are currently on the top of the league table and are intending to stay there until the end of the season.
The Citizens had a rather disappointing season in the last term as per their standards. However, they invested well in the transfer market and revamped their side with a number of veteran players shown the door last summer. They are looking to make some more signings in the next transfer window as well, which commences in January.
Among a number of players whom they have their eyes on, the Citizens are looking to sign one of the most efficient players in the left back position in the form of Faouzi Ghoulam. The Algerian international is presently playing for the Italian club Napoli and has come up as one of their mainstays in the backline.
The 26-year-old has the ability to play a very important role in initiating the attack as well and feed his teammates with quality passes and crosses. He is also known for his brilliant runs down the left flank, bamboozling the opposition defence with his skills and is also consistent in attacking third.
He can also be very dangerous while vying for the ball in the air and help his side by snatching the ball away with well-timed tackles
Manchester City broke the bank last summer to get a number of players into the side including the French left-back Benjamin Mendy. However, the defender has been ruled out with a serious injury and there is a chance that he might have to miss the rest of the season, which has made it a major problem for the Premier League side and they are now looking to add another number to their backline.
With the Citizens leading the points table, they will look not to throw away the advantage they currently have and will definitely try and bring in someone like Faouzi Ghoulam to the side so as to strengthen the backline, which is going to be crucial for them if they are to have a chance to win the Premier League this season.
The fact that the Algerian international has denied to penning a new contract with Napoli might also be a boost for Manchester City. But can Guardiola lure Ghoulam to Etihad?
Man City manager Pep Guardiola opens up about his future plans
The Manchester City boss has his eye on a specific role after he leaves the club.
Pep Guardiola wants to coach Spain's national team one day.
But the Manchester City boss is not thinking about calling time on his rein at the Etihad willingly.
The Blues are challenging for the Premier League title in Guardiola's second season at the club.
And the Spaniard says the duration of his stay with depend on how successful he is.
Speaking to Gary Lineker on the BBC's The Premier League Show, Guardiola was quizzed about his future plans with City.
"I am so happy to be here," he said. "It will depend on the success that you have. At big clubs like Manchester City if you do not win, you cannot stay.”
But asked about ambitions beyond City he said: "Spain, I think
Manchester City player Kevin De Bruyne had a 'quiet' match against Chelsea according to BBC
“I would like to be a manager in the World Cup, the European Cup [European Championships]. I would like to feel it.”
Guardiola played 47 times for his country.
Ex Manchester City star admits he was shocked by how much they paid for him
Manchester City have been one of the Premier League's leading spenders since they were bought by Sheikh Mansour in 2008.
They've won two Premier League titles and the current squad assembled by Pep Guardiola are favourites to win the league this season.
The Citizens spent over £200m over the summer and La Liga president Javier Tebas urged UEFA to investigate Manchester City - and PSG - in accordance with the FFP [Financial Fair Play] regulations.
Both clubs were sanctioned in 2014 but Tebas believes UEFA were too soft.
He said: "If I remember correctly, PSG and Man City were sanctioned, but then the sanction was somehow reduced in some strange agreement that was not made public. La Liga at that time sent a letter to UEFA complaining about that situation.
"In our opinion, UEFA has not properly looked at the situation of Manchester City and PSG since that time or they would have sanctioned them again."
There is no question that Manchester City have splashed the cash in recent years, with fans often wondering if they're paying way over the odds.
It seems that fans aren't the only ones wondering, with one signing early in Mansour's reign suggesting he couldn't believe the fee City were willing to pay.
In an interview with Planet Football, Wayne Bridge admitted that he did not think he was worth the £12m Manchester City were paying to sign him in 2009.
"Even I pinch myself at the career I had and the money you can earn," said Bridge. but I almost find it embarrassing to talk about."
“When I was going for £12million to Man City I remember speaking to Jamie Redknapp about the price, and saying, ‘I think they’re paying too much.’
“He was like, ‘nah, you’re quality,’ but I didn’t see it."
Now aged 37, Bridge retired from professional football in 2014 after making 37 caps for England.
He started his career at Southampton before earning a £7m move to Roman Abramovich's newly funded Chelsea at the age of 23.
Bridge made 87 Premier League appearances at Chelsea during a six-year stay in London but was sent out on loan to West Ham, Sunderland and Brighton during his unsuccessful four-year spell at Manchester City,
Manchester City fans come up with catchy new song for Danilo
A group of Manchester City fans came up with a catchy new song for full-back Danilo on the way to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Posted by James Dobbie (@jdobz7) on Twitter, the song was created by Tom Heenan, a member of the Manchester City Eccles Supporters Branch, and is sung to the tune of Status Quo – Rockin’ All Over The World.
And the lyrics go something like:
“Here we go, here we go, it’s Danilo
He wears number three and he plays for City
Daniloooo
Rockin’ all over the world
Giddy up, giddy up, we’re on our way
We’re all on the piss, watching City away
Daniloooo
Rockin’ all over the world”
And I like him, I like him
I like him, I like him
I liiiike him
I liiiike Danilo
Rockin’ all over the world”
The 26-year-old has showed plenty of quality since he joined from Real Madrid, despite only four starts so far, and Blues have taken quickly to the versatile full-back.
Pep Guardiola pushing the boundaries of tactical innovation at Man City
When Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce ordered his goalkeeper David James to swap his green jersey for an outfield shirt that already had his name printed on the back, the home crowd held its breath.
In a last gasp effort to win a game against Middlesbrough that was effectively a play-off for the final English UEFA Cup place that season -- 2004-05 -- it either revealed a truly prehistoric tactical plan that the manager had envisaged before kickoff, or a neat piece of slightly off-the-wall innovation from the rookie coach, depending very much on your outlook.
That the blundering of the 6-foot-4 James failed to bring home the bacon was -- in retrospect -- perhaps no great surprise. Despite the lack of subtlety involved in replacing a "proper" forward with the squad's tallest player, the ruse had -- to the general amazement of all gathered -- very nearly paid off. Totally confused by the flailing limbs of City's emergency striker, Middlesbrough had been panicked into giving away an injury time penalty. Had Robbie Fowler not then had his 92nd minute effort saved, City, and not Middlesbrough, would have entered the following season's UEFA Cup and Middlesbrough would not have gone all the way to that season's final.
Pearce would soon be packing his tactics bag and heading out the front door at City, but not before he had left an indelible mark on the home crowd.
Since his arrival at the Etihad, Pep Guardiola has begun to make a few impressions of his own on the City faithful.
When the Catalan walked out into the bright Etihad sunshine for his first game in charge of Manchester City on the opening day of last season, an expectant full house sat back and waited to see what the much-vaunted coach would serve up.
Those in attendance that afternoon were not short-changed. From a manager who had built a reputation for innovative thinking, there were surprises in store for all. The final score that day, however, a somewhat fortunate 2-1 home win over Sunderland, short-changed the visitors somewhat, with City having to rely on an own goal from Paddy McNair in the 87th minute to claim all three points.
Although it had been a real struggle against a side that would ultimately go down at the end of the season, something stood out. Guardiola, using his full-backs in an unorthodox way, had bamboozled opposing manager David Moyes and his players. The trick was not to invert full-backs, as had been widely tried before in the Premier League, but to send them inside towards the centre circle.
For many, the initial surprise had been the appearance of left-back Aleksander Kolarov as what turned out to be a very effective central defender, but the occupants of the full-back positions that day, Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy, were busy doing something even more eye-catching. By crossing inwards, they pulled the Sunderland wide players in with them, creating new space down the flanks for others to prosper. At one point, both full-backs converged in the middle of the park and the flow of the game actually took them past each other into the attacking positions on the opposite sides of the pitch.
It was a tactic that would be intermittently used until Guardiola realised that none of the four full-backs on offer, nor Fernandinho, who was also tried at right-back later in the season, could really do what he wanted from those positions.
With the summer changes in personnel, suddenly this little maneuver has become possible again. When Kyle Walker made his first touch of the ball at Stamford Bridge at the weekend, he carried the ball straight infield at great speed, cutting in past two Chelsea players before veering across toward the left flank, where he delivered the ball to Leroy Sane, nailed to the touchline. It was an astonishing start and set the tone for what was to come: a complete master class of how to tactically outwit the reigning champions of the Premier League on their own pitch.
The tactical unorthodoxy of this City team, it seems, knows few bounds. With the full-backs pulling opponents inside, Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, City's main threats, were free to roam across the middle and right flank areas of the pitch. This eventually caused Chelsea so many headaches that De Bruyne was able to wriggle free and score a scintillating winner.
Tactical development at Manchester City has come a long way since the deployment of the deep lying centre forward Revie Plan in the 1950s and Malcolm Allison's ground-breaking strategies in the early 1970s, both copied from the fabulous Hungarian national side of Ferenc Puskas, Sandor Kocsis and Nandor Hidegkuti
It is, then, highly appropriate that a coach such as Guardiola is now pushing the boundaries even further at a club that has always embraced tactical innovation.
Man City targets US youth with SkillCity app and a round the world prize
SkillCity National Final 9 December
October 3 – Manchester City has unveiled details for the final of its skills challenge app, SkillCity, targeted at 5-14 year olds.
A sponsorship activation by Man City sponsor Nexen Tires, and linking with new business partner Goals soccer centres, the app is targeted at the US market.
The app is for boys and girls and has skills challenges developed by Man City coaches. The skills challenges test their speed of movement, ball mastery, finishing and passing skills. The young players then upload their videos to rank themselves in the US national leader board.
The top entrants in each age category (Under 8, Under 10, Under 12 and Under 14) will qualify for the final at Goals in Pomona on December – part of City Football Group’s joint venture with Goals Soccer Centres in the US and Canada.
From there 32 winners will win a trip to stay at the City Football Academy training facility in Manchester and watch a game at the Etihad Stadium.
Man City emphasises the safety of the app for children. There are no in-app purchases, chat functions, communication between players or sharing of personal details. The app operates on a closed network so children cannot interact with strangers.
WAG OF THE DAY
OTHER BOLLOX
Inter Milan are interested in Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil, though they do not expect to sign the 28-year-old in January. (Premium Sport, via ESPN)
But Arsenal could look to cash in on the Germany international then, rather than losing him for nothing in the summer. (Daily Mirror)
Arsenal forward Alexandre Lacazette says he will try to persuade Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann, 26, to join the Gunners next summer. (Match of the Day magazine, via Daily Telegraph)
Everton boss Ronald Koeman's job is safe for now, but the board are aware of increasing fan unrest. (Daily Mirror)
Manchester United could move for Schalke midfielder Leon Goretzka, with Barcelona not willing to bid for the 22-year-old. (Manchester Evening News)
Chelsea fear £70m striker Alvaro Morata, 24, will miss at least a month with a hamstring strain. (Daily Mail)
West Ham's board remain firmly behind manager Slaven Bilic, despite continuing rumours about his future. (London Evening Standard)
Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini, 33, is set to sign a new contract, despite being wanted by Chelsea. (Calciomercato)
Manchester United and Chelsea are both interested in Middlesbrough's 20-year-old England Under-21 centre-back Dael Fry. (Teamtalk)
The agent of Manchester United target Krepin Diatta, 18, says the Sarpsborg midfielder is not ready for a move to a big European club. (FootMercato, via Metro)
Birmingham City's owners have vowed to back new manager Steve Cotterill by investing in the club's playing squad as they seek promotion. (Birmingham Mail
New York City manager Martin Gray is hoping to bring in three players before Saturday's home match against Brackley. (York Press)
England boss Gareth Southgate will reiterate to Dele Alli the importance of discipline after the 21-year-old Tottenham midfielder was given a one-game ban for his gesture during the Three Lions' win over Slovakia last month. (Daily Mail)
Carlo Ancelotti says he will take a 10-month break before considering returning to football, after he was sacked by Bayern Munich last week. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Meanwhile, the Bayern players trained secretly without the Italian coach. (Kicker)
Huddersfield winger Tom Ince, 26, is in a financial dispute with Blackpool over their refusal to pay him a six-figure fee when he joined Hull City. (Daily Mail)
Tottenham midfielder Moussa Sissoko, 28, has been praised by France manager Didier Deschamps after reviving his career. (London Evening Standard)
GOLDEN BOLLOX
On this day in 2013
Hart ache
Joe Hart's poor form continued as Manchester City's England goalkeeper suffered a nightmare performance in this comprehensive Champions League defeat by champions Bayern Munich at Etihad Stadium.
First he fumbled Franck Ribery's long-range effort into the net as the holders took an early lead, then he was too easily beaten at his near post after the break as Arjen Robben wrapped up a thoroughly deserved win for Pep Guardiola's side.
Thomas Muller scored Bayern's second in between Hart's errors and a fine late strike from City substitute Alvaro Negredo could not put any gloss on a wretched night for Manuel Pellegrini and his team.
Former City defender Jerome Boateng was sent off for hauling down Yaya Toure as the hosts mounted a late rally of sorts, but there was little by way of consolation to be salvaged from this experience.
And after a display that only underlined the decline in his performances, much of the spotlight will be on Hart, who is simply making too many mistakes for the comfort of club and country.
Pellegrini's predecessor Roberto Mancini was running short of patience with Hart, 26, before his sacking and the Italian's departure has not inspired any visible upturn in form.
The goalkeeper was slow to react for Andreas Weimann's winner for Aston Villa last weekend, was beaten at a corner by Cardiff striker Fraizer Campbell in August and allowed a shot from James Morrison to go straight through him during England's victory against Scotland at Wembley.
City's manager must now decide whether to keep faith with Hart or replace him with Costel Pantilimon when Everton visit on Saturday.
England boss Hodgson faces a similar dilemma over whether to drop Hart - who has won 35 caps for his country - for the decisive World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland at Wembley later this month.
Hart was not alone in being off-form, however, as Bayern threatened to run riot. They ruled in all parts of the field, demonstrating the class that won them the Champions League last season and makes them hotly tipped to retain the trophy.
Hart's night of misery began after seven minutes when Rafinha's long pass found Ribery in space on the left. He cut inside and delivered a shot that carried pace and power - but was assisted into the net by a feeble attempt at a stop from the keeper, who got a hand to the effort as it went past him.
It was an error of such magnitude that it prompted loud groans when it was replayed on the big screens and instantly deflated an atmosphere that had been vibrant before kick-off.
David Alaba almost fashioned a second when he again found space on the left. Hart parried his initial cross back to him and the keeper was grateful when the return bounced back into his arms off Matija Nastasic.
If there was any hope for City after a desperate first-half performance it came in the form of the scoreline. Bayern's superiority should have put them out of sight and given them more than their one-goal advantage.
Play mediaPellegrini refuses to blame Man City individuals
City never looked remotely like recovering after the interval, however, and it was no surprise when Bayern doubled their lead.
Gael Clichy allowed Dante's raking pass to find Muller and the defender then failed to react, allowing the Bayern star to round Hart easily and score.
If Hart was having a shocker, Clichy was not far behind and both were involved - and not in a good way - as Robben made it 3-0 on the hour.
Fernandinho was the first at fault when he conceded possession too easily to Muller in midfield. The Germany international set Robben free to beat Clichy with ease before scoring past Hart, who made another unconvincing attempt at a stop at his near post.
Hart at least made a couple of decent blocks, one which saw Muller strike the post from a rebound, before Negredo at last gave City's increasingly frustrated fans something to cheer with 11 minutes left, scoring from the edge of the area with a fine left-foot shot on the turn.
As the clock ran down, Boateng was shown a red card for a professional foul on Toure.
Substitute David Silva hit the bar from the resulting free-kick - but another City goal would have given the scoreline a farcically close appearance given the huge gulf between the sides.
In the night's other match in Group D, CSKA Moscow - who Pellegrini's side face in their next two games - beat Viktoria Plzen 3-2 to join City on three points.
Manchester City
01 Hart
04 Kompany
33 Nastasic
02 Richards
22 Clichy
25 Fernandinho
15 Jesús Navas
42 Touré
08 Nasri Booked (Milner - 70' Booked )
16 Agüero Booked (Silva - 70' )
10 Dzeko (Negredo - 57' )
Substitutes
09 Negredo
06 Lescott
05 Zabaleta
21 Silva
30 Pantilimon
14 Javi García
07 Milner
Bayern Munich
01 Neuer
17 Boateng Dismissed
04 Dante
27 Alaba
13 Rafinha
39 Kroos Booked
31 Schweinsteiger (Kirchhoff - 76' )
21 Lahm
07 Ribéry (Götze - 85' )
10 Robben (Shaqiri - 78' )
25 Müller
Substitutes
26 Contento
15 Kirchhoff
05 van Buyten
19 Götze
09 Mandzukic
22 Starke
11 Shaqiri
Ref: Bjorn Kuipers
Gary Neville criticises Joe Hart after Champions League calamity
• England coach Neville says Hart needs to do better • Manuel Pellegrini refuses to criticise goalkeeper
Joe Hart was criticised by Gary Neville, a member of England's coaching staff, for the errors that allowed Bayern Munich to score their first and third goals in their 3-1 defeat of Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Neville's assessment could have implications for Hart's status as the international No1 before the World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland.
After Hart allowed Franck Ribéry's seventh-minute long-range shot to go in off a forearm, Neville said: "It's the power of the shot. He's got to do better there, Joe Hart, beaten at his near post. It just goes through his hand. It's not the start Manchester City wanted or the goalkeeper."
Of Arjen Robben's goal on 60 minutes, which was again from range and beat Hart on his near side, Neville said: "You have to say Joe Hart's got to do better again at that near post. That's twice he's been beaten there tonight. He'll be disappointed again."
Roy Hodgson is bound to be asked at length about his confidence in Hart at Thursday's media briefing but Manuel Pellegrini refused to criticise the goalkeeper.
"Of course, I'm worried about the mistakes," City's manager said. "But I think that was not an easy game. We played against a very strong team. But our performance was not the way we are playing. It is important to think about the future and what the solutions are. I will talk about the team, not individual players. We played really badly. Not the team we see every week in the Premier League."
The defeat leaves City with three points in Group D, having defeated Viktoria Plzen in the opening game, going into home-and-away meetings with CSKA Moscow. Of the reverse to Bayern, which featured a late Álvaro Negredo consolation, Pellegrini added: "I think we started playing well but after the first goal our team felt the goal and started losing the ball. That is very dangerous against this team. The second half we improved with the changes.
"Of course, I was surprised by the game we played today. The goal from Negredo was a little thing in the end of the match."
Robben described his side's victory as surprisingly easy. "The first 70 minutes we played some terrific football," said the winger. "We were so dominant against a big team in Europe. We didn't expect an easy game like that. It is a compliment to our team but we expected more from City.
"We didn't give them any space, we pressed them right up to the goalkeeper and they just kicked it away. Sometimes they gave us too much space and we used the space well."
Arjen Robben: Beating Manchester City was easy
Arjen Robben has rubbed salt in the wounds of Manchester City, dubbing Bayern Munich’s Champions League victory as ‘easy’.
The Dutch winger scored a fine solo effort for Bayern in last night’s 3-1 win, adding to earlier strikes from Franck Ribery and Thomas Muller.
Alvaro Negredo pulled one back for the hosts, but the manner of the defeat left Robben questioning City’s potential to challenge at the very top level.
‘We were so dominant against such a big team in Europe – I think we also didn’t expect an easy game like that,’ he said.
‘I think it’s a big compliment to our team, but I also expected a little bit more from City.
‘We didn’t give them any space, we pressed them forwards. Sometimes they gave us a little bit too much space, and I think we are a team that can use the space very well.
‘City weren’t as organised defensively as we had expected and we used the space they offered us clinically. There were some attacks of ours that simply were fantastically executed.’
150 FA TUBE MAP BOLLOX
Lots of current and ex City players feature on this. I think we have the most keepers represented by a mile!
http://img.metro.co.uk/i/pix/2013/10/Tube%20Map.jpg
Italian champions Juventus are targeting Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, 20, who is on a season-long loan at Everton. Daily Mirror
Arsenal and Manchester City face a battle to convince 24-year-old forward Marco Reus to leave Borussia Dortmund, according to the German side's chief executive. Daily Star
Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj's agent has confirmed that "several European clubs" are interested in signing the 18-year-old after talks on extending his contract at Old Trafford stalled. Juventus and Manchester City are among those monitoring the Belgian. DSSC
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez, 26, is still determined to leave Anfield and believes a £41m deal to replace the out-of-form Karim Benzema at Real Madrid could be sealed in January. Intereconomia
Chelsea could move for France international Benzema, 25, in January according to reports in Portugal. Daily Express
Out-of-favour Blues midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, 22, is a target of his former club Werder Bremen. Sun
Borussia Dortmund are lining up a January move to re-sign Manchester United's 24-year-old midfielder Shinji Kagawa. Metro
Steve McClaren is set to make Manchester United defender Michael Keane, 20, his first signing as Derby manager in a loan deal. Sun
Arsenal are preparing formal discussions with manager Arsene Wenger, 63, over a new three-year contract worth £8m per season. DSSC
West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison, 20, will earn a first call-up into the England Under-21 squad for the European Under-21 Championship qualifying matches away to San Marino and at home to Lithuania. Times
Contrary to rumours on the internet, Newcastle boss Alan Pardew did not offer his resignation to club owner Mike Ashley in the wake of Monday's 3-2 defeat by Everton. The Chronicle
Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale, 24, is set to be out for three weeks as he hopes to overcome a thigh injury in time for the season's first El Clasico against Barcelona at the end of October. DSSC
Birmingham City owner Carson Yeung is "personally' involved in preliminary talks to sell the cash-strapped Championship club, acting chairman Peter Pannu has revealed. Birmingham Mail
Jake Livermore has backed Hull team-mate Tom Huddlestone, 26, to make a return to the England fold and add to the fourth cap he won against Sweden in November. Hull DSSC
England's vital World Cup qualifiers against Montenegro and Poland at Wembley have yet to sell out, but the Football Association is confident the remaining tickets will be bought. Daily Telegraph
Danny Welbeck, who scored in Manchester United's 1-1 Champions League draw against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday, almost never made it to Ukraine after the United bus left the their Carrington training base without the 22-year-old. Manchester United Evening News
The Football Association has launched a new Tube map that features players instead of stations and lines such as 'the full-back line'. Metro
