Monday's B*ll*x

[Chinners]

Stevie Me on his way?
Steven Gerrard is ready to wave farewell to ­Liverpool – with Manchester City making a record £40million bid for the Kop skipper.
Megabucks City’s Arab rulers have given the go-ahead for the capture of the summer and hope to agree a fee and speak to the England star as soon as possible.
Gerrard’s future has been in doubt because of the Anfield club’s financial troubles. City’s up-front money may be too much to refuse for the beleaguered owners.
Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez could reluctantly accept a sale if he is given assurances that he will get the funds to transform a squad that has missed out on the Champions League.
Benitez put on a bold front yesterday, insisting after the goalless draw at Hull: “If I stay, I’m not thinking about selling Gerrard or Torres.”

Arsenal are ready to take winger Shaun Wright-Phillips from Manchester City for £5m.The Sun

Finishing fifth puts paid to Manchester City’s big name buys
MANCHESTER CITY manager Roberto Mancini fears the club’s failure to qualify for the Champions League will cost them any chance of signing Fernando Torres.
Mancini, whose side drew 1-1 with West Ham in the final match of the season, admitted in April that Manchester City need to sign “top players” – and he rated Torres in that bracket along with the likes of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Reports have linked Manchester City and Premier League champions Chelsea with moves for Liverpool’s Spanish striker valued at up to £70million.
But City will have to settle for Europa League football next season after their hopes of breaking into the top four were wrecked by Wednesday night’s home defeat to Tottenham.
Asked whether the club can still attract top players like Torres in those circumstances, Mancini said: “I don’t think so. If we finished in the top four, it would be better and easier to attract them. There are probably some players who want to play in the Champions League and not in the Europa League.
“But there are a lot of players in Europe who will want to play for Manchester City next year.”Liverpool Daily Post

TRANSFER BOLLOX
Liverpool expect to sign Rangers defender Danny Wilson, 18, in the next 48 hours for £2.5m.
Full story: Daily Mail

Athletic Blibao midfielder Javi Martinez is being tracked by Chelsea and Real Madrid but the Spanish side will not sell for less than £15m. (Daily Mirror)

Birmingham plan to end Ben Foster's Manchester United misery with a £6m move for the goalkeeper. Daily Mail

Everton are targeting £3m-rated 1860 Munich striker Peniel Mlapa and are also weighing up a deal for midfielder Aleksandar Ignjovski. Daily Mail

Wolves, Fulham and Birmingham are checking out 17-year-old Shrewsbury forward Tom Bradshaw. (the Sun)

Leeds boss Simon Grayson will make a bid for Sheffield United forward Jamie Ward this week, with the offer likely to be worth about £400,000.Daily Mirror

OTHER BOLLOX
England manager Fabio Capello has sent e-mails to 45 players, including Fulham striker Bobby Zamora, advising them they are under consideration for this summer's World Cup, while Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher is set to be named in Capello's 30-man squad on Tuesday. (Daily Telegraph)

Sunderland striker Darren Bent and Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves are also on Fabio Capello's e-mail list of players being[/youtube] considered for a World Cup place. the Times

Fulham boss Roy Hodgson wants Uefa to consider postponing Wednesday's Europa League final against Atletico Madrid in Hamburg if volcanic ash causes more travel chaos. the Sun

Arsenal defender William Gallas has rejected a new two-year deal at the Emirates because the offer does not include a pay rise.Daily Mirror

Former Portsmouth boss Tony Adams is being lined up to manage Azerbaijan side Gabala FC in a £1m-per year deal. (Daily Star)

Ian Dowie's nine-game spell as Hull manager ended on Sunday but the former Crystal Palace boss wants to stay on at the KC Stadium.the Sun

Middlesbrough manager Gordon Strachan plans to make Celtic's caretaker manager Neil Lennon his number two if the Northern Irishman fails to get the Celtic job full time. (the Sun)

Burnley want Northern Ireland boss Nigel Worthington to take over from Brian Laws after the Clarets were relegated to the Championship. (the Sun)

Newcastle boss Chris Hughton has been warned there is no money to spend as the club prepares for life back in the Premier League. Daily Mail

Aston Villa right-back Luke Young, 30, and centre-back Curtis Davies, 25, will meet club officials this week to discuss their futures at Villa Park.Daily Mirror

WAG OF THE DAY
http://www.wsn.com/blog/2010/05/07/wag- ... nt-page-1/

FINAL BOLLOX
Match of the Day presenter and Leicester City fan Gary Lineker could end up cooking dinner on Sunday after making a bet with wife Danielle Bux that the Foxes will beat her beloved Cardiff in the Championship play-offs - the Welsh side are 1-0 up after the first leg.the Sun

Manchester City Premier League season review 2009-10
Manager:
Roberto Mancini – Five months into the job at Eastlands, Mancini deserves, and will get, more time to mould the team into his image. The Italian has made improvements since succeeding Mark Hughes in December by ironing out defensive flaws and improving the mentality, but there is still work to do in convincing some of players to sign up to his ethos.

Best player:
Carlos Tévez – Where would City be without Tévez had he not swapped Old Trafford for Eastlands last summer? Twenty-nine goals in his first season at the club underlines his impact, but too many of his team-mates have failed to match his output. Some doubt over whether Tévez will be happy to settle for the Europa League next season, so Manchester City must address that quickly.

Robinho –- It would be easy to single out the injury-prone Roque Santa Cruz or the likes of Stephen Ireland, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Micah Richards, who have all flattered to deceive this season. But Robinho has been a disaster at Eastlands – an expensive one, too – so his January loan to Santos only emphasised the magnitude of his failure to succeed at Eastlands. If he never comes back, City will not miss him.

Moment of the season:
Losing to Spurs in the ‘Champions League play-off’ game defined City’s campaign because the top four was the ambition of the club’s owners and the players failed to deliver. But City reached their first major semi-final since 1981 before crashing out of the Carling Cup to Manchester United, so progress has been made. League wins against Chelsea and Arsenal worthy of note too.

Big issue:
Money – City have plenty of it and they will spend, spend, spend this summer in a bid to recruit the players required to take them into the Champions League. But despite Mancini’s talk of the City ‘project’ being enough to tempt the best players, will it really? Will the world’s best really give up the Champions League to play for Manchester City? At that end of the market, players put trophies and glory before money.

Verdict:
City are clearly getting there and, with more new signings, they will get closer next season. Was it realistic to expect a top four finish this season? Perhaps, but City are building from a weaker base than Chelsea under Abramovich, so progress will be slower. This campaign has been a success, despite the ultimate failure to qualify for the Champions League. 7/10

[Slim]

Your small bollox doesn't impress me.

[Chinners]

Ha ha, me neither

[Mase]

I'd be worried about throwing £40 million at Liverpool for Stevie G! £40 Million for someone who's 30 at the end of the month?

Also, I thought that Carragher had retired from international football??

[ant london]

Also, I thought that Carragher had retired from international football??

Keep up son.....do you not read the papers???

King and Carragher have both "made themselves available for selection" again in the past week

Bridgey has been asked again and has said no again

[Mase]

Also, I thought that Carragher had retired from international football??

Keep up son.....do you not read the papers???

King and Carragher have both "made themselves available for selection" again in the past week

Bridgey has been asked again and has said no again

But what about Scholes though?

[ant london]

But what about Scholes though?

unfortunately England's best tackler is still not available for selection

I think that the Neviller could be talked into going though

[john@staustell]

Big issue:
Money – City have plenty of it and they will spend, spend, spend this summer in a bid to recruit the players required to take them into the Champions League. But despite Mancini’s talk of the City ‘project’ being enough to tempt the best players, will it really? Will the world’s best really give up the Champions League to play for Manchester City? At that end of the market, players put trophies and glory before money.

Utter bollox. Players put money before everything else in 99% of cases. They said we wouldn't sign any players at all but we managed a few including Tevez.

It's Mancini's and Calamity Cook's job to sell the dream and give them the dosh.

We will win the League!

[Dronny]

Big issue:
Money – City have plenty of it and they will spend, spend, spend this summer in a bid to recruit the players required to take them into the Champions League. But despite Mancini’s talk of the City ‘project’ being enough to tempt the best players, will it really? Will the world’s best really give up the Champions League to play for Manchester City? At that end of the market, players put trophies and glory before money.

Utter bollox. Players put money before everything else in 99% of cases. They said we wouldn't sign any players at all but we managed a few including Tevez.

It's Mancini's and Calamity Cook's job to sell the dream and give them the dosh.

We will win the League!

The bookies don't dismiss that out of hand, we are 13/2 third favourites behind Chelski and the scum with one of the bookies....sorry can't remember which one? Spuds were 100/1 interestingly

[mr_nool]

Arteta is one lucky guy. What a WAG! Well in Chinners.

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Manchester City Premier League season review 2009-10
Manager:
Roberto Mancini – Five months into the job at Eastlands, Mancini deserves, and will get, more time to mould the team into his image. The Italian has made improvements since succeeding Mark Hughes in December by ironing out defensive flaws and improving the mentality, but there is still work to do in convincing some of players to sign up to his ethos.

Best player:
Carlos Tévez – Where would City be without Tévez had he not swapped Old Trafford for Eastlands last summer? Twenty-nine goals in his first season at the club underlines his impact, but too many of his team-mates have failed to match his output. Some doubt over whether Tévez will be happy to settle for the Europa League next season, so Manchester City must address that quickly.

Robinho –- It would be easy to single out the injury-prone Roque Santa Cruz or the likes of Stephen Ireland, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Micah Richards, who have all flattered to deceive this season. But Robinho has been a disaster at Eastlands – an expensive one, too – so his January loan to Santos only emphasised the magnitude of his failure to succeed at Eastlands. If he never comes back, City will not miss him.

Moment of the season:
Losing to Spurs in the ‘Champions League play-off’ game defined City’s campaign because the top four was the ambition of the club’s owners and the players failed to deliver. But City reached their first major semi-final since 1981 before crashing out of the Carling Cup to Manchester U***d, so progress has been made. League wins against Chelsea and Arsenal worthy of note too.

Big issue:
Money – City have plenty of it and they will spend, spend, spend this summer in a bid to recruit the players required to take them into the Champions League. But despite Mancini’s talk of the City ‘project’ being enough to tempt the best players, will it really? Will the world’s best really give up the Champions League to play for Manchester City? At that end of the market, players put trophies and glory before money.

Verdict:
City are clearly getting there and, with more new signings, they will get closer next season. Was it realistic to expect a top four finish this season? Perhaps, but City are building from a weaker base than Chelsea under Abramovich, so progress will be slower. This campaign has been a success, despite the ultimate failure to qualify for the Champions League. 7/10

I don't know where that season summary is taken but it's very much spot on.

[Chinners]

It was the Telegraph NQDP ... meanwhile

Argentinean striker Gonzalo Higuain has been tipped to leave Real Madrid and a host of English clubs are interested, according to a report in AS this morning.
Higuain has been in negotiations with Real Madrid for some time over a new contract and is reportedly eager for better pay at the Bernabeu.
Its reported that Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United are all interested and there are also Italian clubs following developments.
The 22-year-old striker feels Real Madrid would be happy to sell him to bring in cash for a new "Galactico."
He is contracted to Real Madrid until the end of season 2012/2013 and AS expects his future to dominate the gossip columns this summer.
Higuain has been in incredible form in 2009/2010, scoring 29 goals in 38 appearances, including 12 in his last 12 games.
Both Manchester City and Manchester United are expected to be looking for new strikers this summer.
Sir Alex Ferguson will be looking for a partner for Wayne Rooney whilst Roberto Mancini looks set to splash the cash again to secure a Champions League place next season.

Arsenal, meanwhile, are indulging in a bit of speculation of their own as news of two potential transfers hits the pages of their own official website. Yes, Arsenal.com has published speculation linking them with Shaun Wright-Phillips of Manchester City, and Barcelona's Yaya Toure in a surprising move, given their usual refusal to mention any impending transfers until they are absolutely set in stone. http://www.arsenal.com/news/transfer-li ... ws+Feed%29

Carlo Ancelotti ruled Chelsea out of a move for Fernando Torres late last week as he does not want to break up the partnership of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka .

Barcelona believe an offer of £40-50m will be enough to tempt Arsenal into selling captain Cesc Fabregas after the World Cup. The other tactic Barcelona may employ is an offer of £25m plus midfielder Yaya Toure.imscouting.com

Former England coach, Steve McClaren, who recently led FC Twente to the Dutch Eredivisie title, will take over at German Bundesliga side Wolfsburg next season. imscouting.com