The News of the World’s Andrew Warshaw suggests life for several City players could be colder from now on following FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s decision to ban snoods with immediate effect.
While goal-line technology moved a step closer, snoods have been outlawed with immediate effect – bad news for the likes of Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli. No professional player will be allowed to wear the fashionable neck-warmers. Blatter said “It can be dangerous – it can be like hanging somebody.”
Meanwhile Simon Mullock in the Sunday Mirror previews a revealing interview with Mario Balotelli that will appear in the new issue of ManC – City’s official club magazine.
“Mario Balotelli carries a gun with him wherever he goes,” Mullock opens with dramatic effect. “But before Premier League defenders start to worry the Manchester City striker is armed and dangerous, Sunday Mirror Sport can reveal that Balotelli’s weapon of choice is a tattoo that he describes as a ‘mafia warning.’”
It’s an interesting snippet and worth a read (Below).
It’s a way off yet but transfer speculation involving City has no close season or window deadline to adhere to. IMScounting.com today link the Blues to a player several top clubs apparently covet.
They report: “Manchester City are aiming to snatch Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell from right under the noses of Manchester United. Everton boss is keen on keeping Rodwell and has slapped an astonishing £30-milion price tag on his head.”
If Rodwell can run around with a large tag attached to his head and still be as effective as he has been, he might well be worth that kind of money!
Finally, Fansfc.com finds one of City’s longest-serving players, Micah Richards, in bullish mood ahead of this week’s vital Europa League and FA Cup ties. The article in question begins: “Whilst the Premier League title looks beyond the Blues this season, they are still going strong in both the FA Cup and the UEFA Europa League.
“City have not won a single trophy since 1976, but Richards is confident that once they have shrugged this monkey of their back, the silverware will be free-flowing: ‘“We've got a great team here,’ he said. ‘We all want to be a part of something special and win something for this club. It's just a case of going out there and doing it.’”
Balotelli always carries a gun...his 'mafia warning' tattoo
Mario Balotelli carries a gun with him everywhere he goes.
But before Premier League defenders start to worry that the Manchester City striker is armed and dangerous, Sunday Mirror Sport can reveal that Balotelli’s weapon of choice is a tattoo that he describes as a “mafia warning”.
The 20-year-old Italian arrived at Eastlands in a £24million deal from Inter Milan in the summer with a reputation as being mad, bad and dangerous to know – and his choice of body art only adds to his mystique.
But in a revealing interview with the club’s official magazine, ManC, it is clear that Balotelli is a man of contradictions.
Like how his love of animals saw him make a visit to the local dogs’ home when he first arrived in England.
Describing his tattoos, Balotelli says: “One is the happy mask and on my other arm is the angry mask.
“There is a lion – because I have the same spirit as a lion And I have another that is friendship and family – five characters that represent my mum, dad, sister, brother and brother.
“[The gun] is a mafia warning. It means if anyone touches or harms my family, they will pay for it.”
Family is important to Balotelli. He was fostered from the age of three by Francesco and Silvia Balotelli and he has admitted that being away from them was the source of the homesickness he suffered when he first moved to Manchester. Balotelli also has a deep love of animals and has been a regular visitor to Knowsley Safari Park.
He also owns a dog called Lucky, but is unable to bring him to England at the moment because of quarantine laws.
Cue his unexpected trip to Manchester Dogs’ Home in east Manchester.
“Yeah, I’ve been,” says Balotelli. “Only once, but I couldn’t take one home. I love Lucky too much and it wouldn’t be fair if and when he finally comes over.
“Lucky is like a black Labrador and he’s still in Italy. It takes six months to bring a dog into England from abroad so I plan to bring him back with me for the start of next season.”
The full Mario Balotelli interview can be read in Manchester City’s official magazine ‘ManC’, which is out tomorrow.
Manchester City have stepped up their interest in 22-year-old Benfica full-back Fabio Coentrao, who has a £25m buy-out clause in his contract. The People
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini steps up chase for Benfica defender Fabio Coentrao
MANCHESTER CITY have stepped up their interest in Benfica full-back Fabio Coentrao.
City face competition in the race for the 22-year-old from REAL MADRID and AC MILAN.
Eastlands boss Roberto Mancini sent scouts to watch Coentrao in action against Porto and Sporting Lisbon, and now he must decide whether the player is worth the £25million buy-out clause in his contract. Sources close to the club suggest an offer of around £18m would be enough.
Coentrao would prefer a move to Spain, but he is willing consider England after Chelsea new-boy – and close friend – David Luiz recommended the Premier League to him.
Tarnished FA Cup needs a Manchester derby's drama
Gérard Houllier's shameful show in the FA Cup demonstrates the need for Manchester rivals to meet in the final
Best to come straight out with this because it is not going to be popular. Anyone wishing for a memorable or meaningful FA Cup final, rather than the usual limp conclusion to a competition visibly dying on its feet, had better hope Manchester United beat Arsenal on Saturday and are kept apart from their neighbours should both clubs make the semi‑final draw. Only a Manchester derby at Wembley, it appears, can save the end‑of-season showpiece from becoming an inconvenient obligation and turn it into a contest that matters.
No disrespect is intended to Birmingham City, who have already given us one splendid cup final, or to other teams still in the competition, including Arsenal. But this season's FA Cup final occurs one week before the end of the Premier League and two weeks before the Champions League final, which is being played on the same ground. While it is just about still possible to end up with two well-matched finalists with no other commitments, it is much more likely that one or both will have priorities elsewhere. The tussle between Arsenal and United for the title could go all the way to the last day, for instance, and Arsène Wenger has confirmed that his priority is the league. West Ham United may need points to survive, and Manchester City could have a Champions League place at stake. Even a Wembley meeting between Arsenal and City, which sounds like a dream final, could be overshadowed by Champions League considerations in one form or another. Only a Manchester derby, with all the pride, hype and genuine rivalry that involves, could guarantee immunity from one team or the other not taking the final seriously.
As events in Glasgow have just demonstrated, derby matches in knockout competitions have a life of their own. When local pride is at stake, losing timidly is not an option. While one should probably stop short of condoning the mayhem at Celtic Park, there is little doubt the supporters will have enjoyed it and will treasure the memory, which is more than can be said for Aston Villa supporters insulted by Gérard Houllier's baffling team selection on the same night. The only pity about Celtic and Rangers meeting in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup is that the final is now likely to end up a dull, one-sided affair, completely undistinguished by multiple red cards and managers scuffling at the final whistle. Cup football at its best should be all about glory and ambition, even reckless ambition if the minutes are ticking away. It is a moot point whether the latest illustration of Old Firm antipathy deserved to be dignified by any of those terms, though at least no one could doubt that the outcome meant something. In the Premier League you have 38 matches to state your case, in a knockout competition it's a fight on the night.
Which is exactly why Houllier is deservedly in the dock. The Frenchman is accused of reckless caution, which is not just an oxymoron but a new low for English football and the poor old FA Cup. For the record, Villa were 12th in the table on Wednesday, four places above Birmingham and on the same number of points as Everton, whose own FA Cup exit the night before brought howls of protest and what amounted to a public apology from David Moyes. Granted, being a mere five points above the relegation zone is no guarantee of safety, but neither is capitulating in a competition that could have brightened up the end of an otherwise dull season. What Villa fans cannot understand is why Houllier chose to rest players who have hardly been caught in a maelstrom of sapping fixtures. Before the City tie Villa had played three matches in 25 days, and after this weekend they have only one game scheduled for the rest of this month, at home to Wolves. The only possible explanation is that Houllier wanted out of the competition, not because he thought Villa couldn't give City a game, but because he was afraid of replays or subsequent rounds getting in the way of important league matches later in the season. That is what is killing the FA Cup, and why only games that come with an internal integrity of their own, such as derbies, have a chance of surmounting the financial imperatives of staying in the Premier League or making the Champions League cut. When Houllier was at Liverpool he gave the distinct impression that the FA Cup was an important trophy any team would be proud to win, now he seems to agree with almost everyone else that it doesn't matter very much. If it matters so little there is no good reason, apart from tradition, why the Cup should continue to clutter up the end of the season. Either move it or bin it, but let's not just keep going through the motions. Even if Manchester comes to the rescue this year it would be unwise to predict too many derby finals in the future. Not when half of the second city can't get up for it.
Touré, Wenger and a bitter pill
This week's crop of football stories you couldn't make up if you tried: Latin American player kicks owl on pitch, England left-back shoots student with air rifle at training ground, Manchester City centre‑half falls foul of drugs test after taking one of his wife's diet pills. All highly entertaining, unless you happened to be the owl or the student, but whoever thought Arsène Wenger would wade in with: "Never trust your wife!"? Apart from the fact that the real moral of the Kolo Touré story was never trust a dozy husband with his wife's medicine cupboard, what happened to the old romantic Wenger, the one that was part football genius and part Leonard Cohen? The Arsenal manager was entitled to be disappointed when another trophy slipped out of his grasp at Wembley last week, but one hopes he hasn't been taking it out on his missus. Please don't say he no longer subscribes to the view that everyone thinks they have the prettiest wife at home
WAG OF THE DAY
OTHER BOLLOX
Sir Alex Ferguson is planning a £100m spending spree to rebuild Manchester United in the summer. Tottenham's Gareth Bale (£30m), Aston Villa's Ashley Young (£20m), Jordan Henderson of Sunderland (£15m), Everton's Jack Rodwell (£20m), Alex Oxdale-Chamberlain of Southampton (£10m) and Ajax goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg (£10m) are all on the shopping list. Sunday Express
Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina could be sold to Manchester United after the Spaniard refused to exempt the Premier League leaders from an exit clause in his contract. News of the World
Liverpool are making moves to take Real Madrid's £10m-rated Argentina midfielder Fernando Gago to Anfield. The People
Everton and Liverpool will join the summer chase for Bristol City's 24-year-old striker Nicky Maynard. News of the World
Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson has told Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni that he has no intention of quitting Old Trafford. Sunday Mirror
Hamburg have been alerted by Joey Barton's contract talks breaking down at Newcastle United and could be ready to make a bid for the midfielder. The People
Newcastle are ready to make a £12m bid for FC Lorient's 23-year-old striker Kevin Gameiro. News of the World
Turkish sides Besiktas and Galatasaray are to battle it out for Stoke defender Abdoulaye Faye in the summer. Mail on Sunday
QPR will make a move for Birmingham midfieler Lee Bowyer if they win promotion to the Premier League. The People
Steve Kean is clinging to his job as Blackburn manager. The club's Indian owners were intent on entering talks over ending his two-year contract following Rovers 3-2 defeat at Fulham on Sunday. News of the World
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish has encouraged his Manchester United rival Sir Alex Ferguson to show more respect to referees. Sunday Mirror
Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has pledged his future to the Stamford Bridge club and promised fans he won't leave to manage his beloved Roma. Sunday Mirror
Wealthy German club Hoffenheim want Everton manager David Moyes to be their next boss. The People
