Friday's B*ll*x (updated)

[Chinners]

Manchester United are willing to edge out rivals Manchester City by offering ‘top dollar’ for Napoli star Edinson Cavani, according to Italian news source Direttanews.
Cavani was strongly linked with a move to Manchester City, and despite the Uruguay international signing a five year contract with on-loan club Napoli, City were still reportedly prepared to make an offer to snare the striker.
Manchester City scouts attended a match during the season where Cavani scored a hattrick in a 4-3 win over Lazio, and the scouts were said to be very impressed with what they saw.
City coach Attilio Lombardo recently said that the Eastlands club were pursuing Cavani, with Arsenal and Tottenham also connected to the star.
"I hope there can be some negotiations between Napoli and Manchester City, especially as I'd see one of their three forwards would really suit City," Lombardo told reporters.
"The trio of Edinson Cavani, Marek Hamsik and Ezequiel Lavezzi would bring success to any club.”
But after word got around that Cavani could be a star in England, Manchester United have reportedly decided they want to make a bid for the star.
While City have a much higher budget than Manchester United, United have decided that money is no object as they chase Cavani.
The head-to-head battle for Cavani will bring up a long standing rivalry between United and City for signings, with the two clubs also currently competing for Alexis Sanchez, Javier Pastore, and Wesley Sneijder.

View from a blue
Why Garry Cook Should be Praised and not Ridiculed
It’s not often I’m provoked in writing an article based on what is produced in a paper. Occasionally, there might be a piece (normally by the pathetic Tony Cascarino) that slates City and so angers me into a response. But I’m writing this article as a sort of follow up to a fantastic interview I read in the Independent by Nick Szczepanik. It wasn’t even mainly focussed on City: instead, it was about Brentford’s new manager, and former City legend, Uwe Rösler.
In particular, it was a quote by the German that struck me and led me to write this. Questioned whether the character of the club had changed since Sheikh Mansour took over, Rösler said ”I have to say the new owners are very interested in keeping the tradition and history of the club. They looked after my family when we moved over, helped us out with schools – after all these years and with a lot of people in charge who never saw me play.”
For the part I’ve highlighted in bold, credit must be given to the likes of the oft-criticised Garry Cook and Brian Marwood. Cook has taken a lot of stick over the past couple of years for a number of high-profile gaffes, but behind the scenes, he is doing a superb job in various areas.
The work he does in retaining the strong links between the different generations of players should not be underestimated, as shown by the countless former Blues who were present at Wembley for both the semi final and then the final. Cook has been integral in maintaining the link between past and present, and it’s thanks to him that former City greats, such as Mike Summerbee and Tony Book, still maintain strong links with the club.
For a club with so much potential for the future, it would be all too easy to forget past achievements, but Cook and Khaldoon Al-Mubarak have worked tirelessly to look after former players and make sure their work won’t be forgotten. The emotional wave of support for and then subsequent moving tribute to Neil Young against Leicester with the introduction of red and black scarves, although initiated by the fans, was heavily supported by Cook.
The work he does away from the public eye often goes unnoticed but is a prime example of how successful our beloved football club can become. In creating links in America and Sierra Leone, where he has cultivated close relationships with children’s academies and supporters clubs, he has shown himself to be a man of great integrity and in the words of Tony Hernandez, the principal of the school to whom City dedicated a rooftop pitch, a ‘people’s person’.
Linking back to what Rösler said, it’s tough to imagine many other Premier League clubs supporting former players to the extent of helping them find appropriate schools for their children. They might provide tickets for the odd game here or there, but I get the impression that the likes of Mubarak, Cook, Marwood and others genuinely care about our former stars. We should be proud of the work our board is doing in making erstwhile figures proud of the current set-up, so instead of sending criticism his way, I believe it’s time the efforts of Garry Cook ought to be applauded.

Manchester City's Emmanuel Adebayor snubs Zenit interest
The striker insists that he loves Russia but concedes now is not the time in his career to ply his trade in eastern Europe
Manchester City's Emmanuel Adebayor has dismissed a potential move to Zenit St Petersburg after the Russian side registered their interest in the striker earlier this week.
Adebayor spent the second half of last season on loan at Real Madrid, after enduring a stuttering start to the campaign at Eastlands.
City are set to lose a significant part of their £25 million outlay as they look to offload the 27-year-old this summer, although his high wage demands have proved a stumbling block for any permanent switch to the Bernabeu.
"I want to make it clear in Africa, today, that there is no chance of me going to Zenit, so I think I have to be very clear to everyone that I, Adebayor Sheyi Emmanuel, will never be going to Zenit," Adebayor told Boss FM.
Despite the snub, Adebayor believes a potential move to Russia could be a possibility in the future.
"I even have an ex-girlfriend who is from Russia so there is nothing about Russia.
"I love the country but I dont think I can see myself playing in the Russia league.
"There is nothing bad about Russia, but I cannot see myself there playing football [at the moment].”
Adebayor is confident he has nothing to prove within the game and feels there is no pressure that accompanies his price tag.
"I just want to keep on enjoying my life," he said.
"I don’t have anything to prove to anybody anymore in football. I have done a lot of things in football.
"I have scored important goals and played in big games so for me, in my head, I don’t have any pressure at all."
The striker believes his loan spell at Jose Mourinho's side was a success and concedes he would be happy to remain at Eastlands next season.
"If I have to go to Man City, I will do that with pleasure and if I have to stay in Madrid, I will stay with pleasure because at the end of the day, what is important is, I want to play," he said.
"When I was not playing at Manchester [City], I knew there were lots of criticism and people were saying maybe I was not really good enough to play football and you know when I joined Madrid, I proved everyone that they were wrong so for me today, I’m very happy for that and it doesn’t really matter where I’m going to next season.
"Right now, I’m enjoying my holidays and I leave the rest of the job in my manager’s hand.
"He is there to find me a club, that is his job.”

Rosler's Bollox
Brentford boss Rosler planning raid of former club for Man City youngsters
Manchester City are considering an offer from former striker Uwe Rosler to take their most promising fringe talent to Brentford next season.
Rosler was unveiled as Brentford’s new manager last week and he is already plotting a multiple raid on his ex-employers.
The former City forward - who scored 65 goals for the club - has held discussions with Eastlands chief executive Garry Cook and football administrator Brian Marwood about taking the mega-rich club’s top youngsters on loan.
New man in charge: Rosler was unveiled at Brentford last week
Eastlands right-back Shaleum Logan is the League One club’s first target and Rosler is keen for more to follow.
Manchester City will scrap their reserve team ahead of the new season to focus on the NextGen Series - a new Under-19s tournament involving some of the top clubs in Europe.
But players who are not eligible to participate in the Champions League-style competition are facing up to the prospect of limited competitive football due to the club’s decision to ditch their second string.
With first-team chances limited, City intend to send their young fringe players out on loan to gain valuable first-team experience and Rosler has already stolen a march on rivals clubs who are also keen on attracting Eastlands’ youngsters.

Bees confirm Logan deal
BRENTFORD have confirmed the signing of former Manchester City full-back Shaleum Logan.
I exclusively revealed yesterday that the 23-year-old was set to become Uwe Rosler's first signing as Bees boss.
Logan came through the ranks at Eastland, but only only made a handful of appearances for the club, spending spells out on loan at Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Stockport and Tranmere.
He will provide competition for Mickey Spillane and Craig Woodman for the full-back berths.
Logan has agreed a one-year deal at Griffin Park, with a clause to extend the deal by a further year if he plays a certain number of games.



OTHER BOLLOX
Arsenal have rejected a £27m offer from Barcelona for midfielder Cesc Fabregas, with the London club placing a minimum £44m valuation on the 24-year-old. Daily Telegraph

Arsenal have reopened negotiations with Argentine side Velez Sarsfield regarding midfielder Ricardo Alvarez, who is also wanted by Inter Milan, Malaga, Sevilla, Roma and Schalke. Daily Mail

Tottenham have moved a step closer to signing former Manchester United forward Diego Forlan after Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo confirmed the striker's "first choice would be England". Metro

Chelsea will not pay £45m for highly rated Santos forward Neymar, who is also wanted by Real Madrid. Daily Express

Manchester United will not stop at the signing of Ashley Young with manager Sir Alex Ferguson set to break the £80m barrier for the summer by bringing in Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea and Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric. Metro

Atletico have found a replacement for De Gea but are locked in a battle with Chelsea for the signature of Genk's highly rated keeper Thibaut Courtois. talkSHIT

Manchester United may have signed Young but they have missed out on Lens defender Raphael Varane, who is to join Real Madrid this summer. Independent

Chelsea are closing in on the £26.5m signing of Porto striker Radamel Falcao after the 25-year-old accepted a £5m-a-year contract in principle. Daily Mail

New Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas could be open to the idea of striker Didier Drogba staying at Stamford Bridge, despite the imminent arrival of Falcao. Daily Telegraph

Liverpool are ready to sell midfielder Raul Meireles despite his fine end to last season with Juventus offering £13.5m for the Portuguese international. Metro

Former Real Madrid midfielder Mahamadou Diarra wants to join Fulham. Daily Star

Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish is preparing to join Wigan in the £5m battle for Bolton goalkeeper Ali Al-Habsi. Daily Star

Newcastle winger Jonas Gutierrez is wanted by Spanish clubs Atletico Madrid and Sevilla. the Sun

Blackburn are prepared to double their £6m offer for Freiburg striker Papiss Cisse to fend off interest from Lokomotiv Moscow and Zenit St Petersberg. Daily Mail

However, Rovers defender Christopher Samba has asked the club to let him move to Arsenal, who are prepared to pay £12m for the 27-year-old. Daily Mirror

Stoke are the latest club linked with Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge, with manager Tony Pulis ready to make a £6m bid for the England Under-21 international. Daily Mirror

Pulis is also keen on Crystal Palace striker Wilfried Zaha, who is being tracked by Fulham. talkSHIT

Mexico striker Carlos Vela has been told by Arsenal that he will not be sold this summer. the Sun

Villarreal want to sign Tottenham midfielder Sandro for £12m. Daily Mirror

QPR are ready to make an offer for Portsmouth centre-back Tal Ben Haim. Daily Star

And Rangers boss Neil Warnock may bid £2m for Reading winger Jobi McAnuff. the Sun

Former England boss Steve McClaren is set to make ex-Derby and West Brom winger Giles Barnes his first signing at Nottingham Forest. Daily Mirror

West Ham defender Herita Ilunga is ready to turn down transfers to Bolton and QPR to join Greek champions Olympiakos. talkSHIT

Birmingham have stepped up their compensation bid against both Aston Villa and Alex McLeish and have sent final legal letters to both demanding cash.Daily Mirror

Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia has vowed to fight for his first-team place after the arrival of Ashley Young from Aston Villa.the Sun

England Women striker Kelly Smith has admitted in a frank interview that she had a drinking problem a few years ago. She says: "I'd drink every day until I passed out, vodka usually, and usually on my own, and every time I got another injury it would spiral more out of control." Independent

A freakish late equaliser scored by Canada goalkeeper Quillan Roberts from inside his own half denied England Under-17s the win that would have sealed their progress to the knockout stages of the World Cup in Mexico. Daily Mail

[Avalon]

Courtois, he's pretty decent in FM! :p

[Ted Hughes]

Would be good if we could get Uwe bringing through some of our best prospects but I imagine it's more likely to be the ones we're releasing who end up going there.

Also, Brentford have got a fullback named 'Mickey Spillane' ? Brilliant. No doubt has a shot like a Hammer.

[lets all have a disco]

Just take Ade back FFS.

Put him in the squad and see what happens.

[Ted Hughes]

Just take Ade back FFS.

Put him in the squad and see what happens.

I'd be happy enough with that. Give him a bit of a pep talk & let him loose for 20 mins as sub, go from there.

[bobby brows]

The Mill remembers when times were simple – a time when buying tickets for major sporting events didn't begin with an alarm call at 5.45am and end with a fist through a computer screen several hours later. In those heady-days the transfer game was a lot easier too. Deals were done and dusted in the dead of night with personal terms negotiated in travel taverns attached to motorway service stations, possibly after the player had been smuggled into building in the boot of his agent's car. The first the rest of us heard of it was when Ceefax finally landed on page 302 delivering short, sharp burst of excitement through the spine.


There are occasionally days when we're reminded of those wonderful times. Days like today when we awake to the shocking news that – and you might want to sit down for this – Barcelona have made a £27m bid for Arsenal skipper Cesc Fábregas. Who saw that coming? The verbal offer – barked down the phone by Barça president Sandro Rossell to Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis – was immediately rejected but Arsenal's "resolve could be tested" by an improved £35m offer. Their resolve in this case being their ability to go on listening to this any longer.


In better news for Arsenal fans, the club are in discussions with Velez Sarsfield over their midfielder Ricardo Alvarez. Arsenal would have to stump up £11m for the 23-year-old, who is also wanted by Internazionale, Malaga, Sevilla, Roma and Schalke. Arsène Wenger is also keen on Blackburn defender/stick-the-big-lad-up-front-in-the-dying-minutes Chris Samba who is desperate to get away from Ewood Park for some reason.


Tottenham are considering selling Brazilian midfielder Sandro to Villarreal for £12m while Wilson Palacios could be on his way to Paris Saint-Germain, while would leave a gaping hole in Tottenham's midfield. It's a hole which Harry Redknapp sees as being Lassana Diarra shaped but the French international is set to frustrate Spurs, along with other interested parties including Manchester United, by staying at Real Madrid for at least another year sparing the fans of those clubs the frustration of watching Diarra play one good game in 10 before being dropped and looking all sullen and disinterested on the bench.


Paris Saint-Germain are also 'preparing' a bid for Manchester United's Dimitar Berbatov. The preparation in this case involves digging out some Miles Davis records, dimming the lights a little and ensconcing their training ground in velvet so that everything is just the way Berbatov likes it should he decide to move.


Chicken sales are booming which is great news for Blackburn's owners Venky's and their manager Steve Kean who is going to put £12m of cash into a family-size bucket and deliver it to Bundesliga club Freiberg in exchange for their 26-year-old Senegal striker Papiss Cissé. A smaller bargain bucket, containing "a six-figure fee that will rise if he makes it in the Premier League", is on its way to Paraguayan outfit Olimpia in return for their midfielder Rodrigo Baez.


Manchester City have been told that Udinese's tough-guy winger Alexis Sánchez will cost them £44m which seems to be about 50% more than anyone else has been quoted but that's what you get for being flash with your cash.


Raul Meireles's reward for been named Player of the Year by Liverpool fans could be a one-way trip to Turin. Juventus have gone all goo-eyed over the midfielder and have offered Brazil midfielder Felipe Melo in part-exchange. Kenny Daglish has weighed up Melo against his criteria for new signings and decided the Brazilian is neither a) Stewart Downing, b) Charlie Adam, c) British or d) over-priced and has asked for £13.5m in cash for Meireles instead. Juventus are deciding whether or not to smash open the piggy bank.


If Porto thought they had seen the last of Roman Abramovich then they are sorely mistaken. Any day now the Chelsea owner is going to march up and bang on their door just like the Romans in The Life of Brian and proclaim 'there's one place we forgot to check' before storming in and emerging with Radamel Falcao. Porto's disappointment will be softened somewhat by the sack containing £26.5m in gold coins Abramovich will have left in the corner.


Marseille could make a move for Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor. First they need to offload Lucho González to Roma and that sounds rather complicated and it's Friday so they'll probably come back to it next week when they're fresh. Marseille also want one-time Liverpool reserve Alou Diarra and may not stop there. Didier Drogba could be in line for a return to Stade Vélodrome. "The question is can OM afford the salary of a Drogba for four years," said Marseille president Vincent Labrune. "I would say yes, but not 11 Drogbas," which is just as well because as far as we know he is only one man.


In other news, Roma want Barcelona mascot Bojan Krkic. Neil Warnock envisages Reading's Jobi McAnuff skipping down the wing at Loftus Road next season. Tranmere Rovers wonder-kid Dale Jennings has a choice between West Ham and Bayern Munich, which sounds like a difficult choice and, finally, Scott Carson could be looking ruefully at the ground wondering how on earth that shot crept by him at Turkish side Bursaspor next season. Some things never change.

[BobKowalski]

Just take Ade back FFS.

Put him in the squad and see what happens.

Cannot see this happening. Mancini has no time for Ade and when Ade is saying things like:-

"I don’t have anything to prove to anybody anymore in football. I have done a lot of things in football.
"I have scored important goals and played in big games so for me, in my head, I don’t have any pressure at all."

its not that big a surprise. Specifically at 27 what have you done in football Ade? No titles, no European successes. Zilch. Yet he seems to think he has cracked it. Ade is not a hungry player desperate for success and no way does he fit the profile or mentality of what Mancini is looking for nor is he young enough for Mancini to think he can influence him. Wenger thought the same and presumably so does Mourinho as they aren't keeping him either.

Ade earns a shed load of money and will be arsed for the first few months of wherever he goes and when he is arsed he is a great talent but the trouble is he can't really be arsed for very long and Mancini is never going to tolerate that sort of attitude in a senior player.

[Ted Hughes]

Just take Ade back FFS.

Put him in the squad and see what happens.

Cannot see this happening. Mancini has no time for Ade and when Ade is saying things like:-

"I don’t have anything to prove to anybody anymore in football. I have done a lot of things in football.
"I have scored important goals and played in big games so for me, in my head, I don’t have any pressure at all."

its not that big a surprise. Specifically at 27 what have you done in football Ade? No titles, no European successes. Zilch. Yet he seems to think he has cracked it. Ade is not a hungry player desperate for success and no way does he fit the profile or mentality of what Mancini is looking for nor is he young enough for Mancini to think he can influence him. Wenger thought the same and presumably so does Mourinho as they aren't keeping him either.

Ade earns a shed load of money and will be arsed for the first few months of wherever he goes and when he is arsed he is a great talent but the trouble is he can't really be arsed for very long and Mancini is never going to tolerate that sort of attitude in a senior player.

If Bob doesn't fancy Adebayor as a player then fair enough, off he goes, but it's just not right by any reasonable standards to slag off Adebayor for the comments he makes or so called attitude problems then have Balotelli & Tevez saying & doing as they please. Either we dump the lot of them or they are all entitled to the same leeway.

[BobKowalski]

Just take Ade back FFS.

Put him in the squad and see what happens.

Cannot see this happening. Mancini has no time for Ade and when Ade is saying things like:-

"I don’t have anything to prove to anybody anymore in football. I have done a lot of things in football.
"I have scored important goals and played in big games so for me, in my head, I don’t have any pressure at all."

its not that big a surprise. Specifically at 27 what have you done in football Ade? No titles, no European successes. Zilch. Yet he seems to think he has cracked it. Ade is not a hungry player desperate for success and no way does he fit the profile or mentality of what Mancini is looking for nor is he young enough for Mancini to think he can influence him. Wenger thought the same and presumably so does Mourinho as they aren't keeping him either.

Ade earns a shed load of money and will be arsed for the first few months of wherever he goes and when he is arsed he is a great talent but the trouble is he can't really be arsed for very long and Mancini is never going to tolerate that sort of attitude in a senior player.

If Bob doesn't fancy Adebayor as a player then fair enough, off he goes, but it's just not right by any reasonable standards to slag off Adebayor for the comments he makes or so called attitude problems then have Balotelli & Tevez saying & doing as they please. Either we dump the lot of them or they are all entitled to the same leeway.

Disagree. What a player says is fair game for comment and debate. The only caveat is if the player is quoted correctly. Tevez is a different animal. Everything Tevez says or does off the pitch is all about him and being the centre of attention. Which is pretty much how he likes it on the pitch namely being the centre of the attention and working his arse off for himself and by extension the team. Tevez fights both on and off the pitch, is extremely high maintenance, a pain in the arse and a tremendous asset as a player.

Balotelli is young and someone Mancini clearly thinks he can influence and shape and thereby maximise his talents to the benefit of the player and the club and judging by the FA Cup final and semi there are encouraging signs. Whether this can translate to consistent performances over an entire season remains to be seen however I would contrast Mario's assessment of his season 'I've been a bit shit' to Ade's 'I don't have anything to prove...'

So you have a young player with enough realisation to assess his season honestly or a senior player who has achieved little but seems to think he has done well and has nothing to prove.

I know who I would spend effort on

[Ted Hughes]

Just take Ade back FFS.

Put him in the squad and see what happens.

Cannot see this happening. Mancini has no time for Ade and when Ade is saying things like:-

"I don’t have anything to prove to anybody anymore in football. I have done a lot of things in football.
"I have scored important goals and played in big games so for me, in my head, I don’t have any pressure at all."

its not that big a surprise. Specifically at 27 what have you done in football Ade? No titles, no European successes. Zilch. Yet he seems to think he has cracked it. Ade is not a hungry player desperate for success and no way does he fit the profile or mentality of what Mancini is looking for nor is he young enough for Mancini to think he can influence him. Wenger thought the same and presumably so does Mourinho as they aren't keeping him either.

Ade earns a shed load of money and will be arsed for the first few months of wherever he goes and when he is arsed he is a great talent but the trouble is he can't really be arsed for very long and Mancini is never going to tolerate that sort of attitude in a senior player.

If Bob doesn't fancy Adebayor as a player then fair enough, off he goes, but it's just not right by any reasonable standards to slag off Adebayor for the comments he makes or so called attitude problems then have Balotelli & Tevez saying & doing as they please. Either we dump the lot of them or they are all entitled to the same leeway.

Disagree. What a player says is fair game for comment and debate. The only caveat is if the player is quoted correctly. Tevez is a different animal. Everything Tevez says or does off the pitch is all about him and being the centre of attention. Which is pretty much how he likes it on the pitch namely being the centre of the attention and working his arse off for himself and by extension the team. Tevez fights both on and off the pitch, is extremely high maintenance, a pain in the arse and a tremendous asset as a player.

Balotelli is young and someone Mancini clearly thinks he can influence and shape and thereby maximise his talents to the benefit of the player and the club and judging by the FA Cup final and semi there are encouraging signs. Whether this can translate to consistent performances over an entire season remains to be seen however I would contrast Mario's assessment of his season 'I've been a bit shit' to Ade's 'I don't have anything to prove...'

So you have a young player with enough realisation to assess his season honestly or a senior player who has achieved little but seems to think he has done well and has nothing to prove.

I know who I would spend effort on

I'm sorry but that's just you looking at the situation from your own personal position rather than taking a fair & neutral standpoint. You are choosing to interpret one thing as being worse than the other because you prefer those players to Adebayor (as do I ) rather than treating them equally & fairly.

The behaviour of Tevez & Balotelli has been nothing short of appalling. Adebayor has done very little wrong when compared to those two (& now Boateng).

[Chinners]

Marseille join the race to sign Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor
The Togo international appears to be on his way out of the FA Cup winners and could be set for a return to France, with OM set to make a bid
Emmanuel Adebayor could be set to leave Manchester City in the summer transfer window and Ligue 1 giants Olympique de Marseille are the latest team to have shown an interest in signing the striker, L'Equipe reports.
OM are keen to strengthen their front-line and had initially set their sights on Fiorentina star Alberto Gilardino, but the Italy international reportedly would prefer to stay in Italy, prompting the French side to turn their attention to Adebayor.
The 27-year-old spent the past six months of the 2010-11 season on loan at Real Madrid, but the Copa del Rey winners have decided not to execute their option to make Adebayor's stay at Santiago Bernabeu permanent.
The former Arsenal man appears to be surplus to requirements at Eastlands, and is widely expected to leave the club on a permanent basis this summer.
The forward dismissed a potential move to Russian giants Zenit St Petersburg earlier this week, and it remains to be seen if he would be open to a return to France, having previously played for Metz and Monaco before moving to Arsenal in January 2006.

Porto ace now in City's sights
Manchester City may swoop for Porto striker Hulk as an alternative to Udinese's Alexis Sanchez, who is still tipped to join Barcelona.
City chief Roberto Mancini has been chasing 22-year-old Chile international winger, Sanchez, since the end of last season, but he has faced stiff competition from Manchester United, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Juventus.
It did look certain that Sanchez would be joining Spanish and European champions Barca earlier in the week, but that is in doubt over the fee as the Catalan giants were hoping to pay around £22 million and include a player as part of the deal.
But, with that move still failing to come to fruition, the door has again opened for City to make a renewed bid to sign Sanchez, only for Udinese owner Giampaolo Pozzo to now suggest that £44million is probably not enough to secure the services of a player he described as 'a diamond' and who he feels will be as good as Cristiano Ronaldo.
Therefore, with progress very slow on that front, it looks like Mancini has switched his attentions to the versatile Porto star Hulk, who can play on the left or right wing and scored 31 goals in 42 games for the Portuguese title and Europa League winners last season.
If Porto refuse to sell Hulk, having just lost their manager Andre Villas Boas to Chelsea this week, then Spain's Under-21 ace Juan Mata is another name that has been mentioned as a potential target.

The Daily Mail claims new Villa manager Alex McLeish is eyeing the Republic of Ireland stopper.
Former Villa No 1 Brad Friedel recently left to join Tottenham and McLeish is now hunting in earnest for a replacement.
However, while the Scot may see Given as a perfect successor, City's asking price may prove an insurmountable hurdle for the former Birmingham boss.
Celtic and West Bromwich Albion are also believed to be interested.

Lille tell Arsenal and Man City: Hazard is not for sale
Manchester City and Arsenal have suffered a major blow in their attempts to sign Lille winger Eden Hazard after the French club said they will not be selling him during the summer.
Hazard, 20, has been earning rave reviews after helping Lille win the French title last season.
Both Manchester City and Arsenal are looking to strengthen their squads and have been strongly linked with a move for the Belgium winger.
But Lille are adamant that they want to keep Hazard at the club and will turn down any big offers that are made for his signature.
Lille's general manager Frederic Paquet said: "Eden is not for sale. We cannot let one of our best players leave this summer. The president has been very clear about this. He will be with us next season."

[BobKowalski]

Just take Ade back FFS.

Put him in the squad and see what happens.

Cannot see this happening. Mancini has no time for Ade and when Ade is saying things like:-

"I don’t have anything to prove to anybody anymore in football. I have done a lot of things in football.
"I have scored important goals and played in big games so for me, in my head, I don’t have any pressure at all."

its not that big a surprise. Specifically at 27 what have you done in football Ade? No titles, no European successes. Zilch. Yet he seems to think he has cracked it. Ade is not a hungry player desperate for success and no way does he fit the profile or mentality of what Mancini is looking for nor is he young enough for Mancini to think he can influence him. Wenger thought the same and presumably so does Mourinho as they aren't keeping him either.

Ade earns a shed load of money and will be arsed for the first few months of wherever he goes and when he is arsed he is a great talent but the trouble is he can't really be arsed for very long and Mancini is never going to tolerate that sort of attitude in a senior player.

If Bob doesn't fancy Adebayor as a player then fair enough, off he goes, but it's just not right by any reasonable standards to slag off Adebayor for the comments he makes or so called attitude problems then have Balotelli & Tevez saying & doing as they please. Either we dump the lot of them or they are all entitled to the same leeway.

Disagree. What a player says is fair game for comment and debate. The only caveat is if the player is quoted correctly. Tevez is a different animal. Everything Tevez says or does off the pitch is all about him and being the centre of attention. Which is pretty much how he likes it on the pitch namely being the centre of the attention and working his arse off for himself and by extension the team. Tevez fights both on and off the pitch, is extremely high maintenance, a pain in the arse and a tremendous asset as a player.

Balotelli is young and someone Mancini clearly thinks he can influence and shape and thereby maximise his talents to the benefit of the player and the club and judging by the FA Cup final and semi there are encouraging signs. Whether this can translate to consistent performances over an entire season remains to be seen however I would contrast Mario's assessment of his season 'I've been a bit shit' to Ade's 'I don't have anything to prove...'

So you have a young player with enough realisation to assess his season honestly or a senior player who has achieved little but seems to think he has done well and has nothing to prove.

I know who I would spend effort on

I'm sorry but that's just you looking at the situation from your own personal position rather than taking a fair & neutral standpoint. You are choosing to interpret one thing as being worse than the other because you prefer those players to Adebayor (as do I ) rather than treating them equally & fairly.

The behaviour of Tevez & Balotelli has been nothing short of appalling. Adebayor has done very little wrong when compared to those two (& now Boateng).

Well we all judge everything through our own personal prejudice and perspective. It doesn't preclude that judgement from being fair. Balotelli's assessment of his own season does him great credit even if it is only step 1 with step 2 making sure his next season is not shit. Self realisation is great but useless if you don't use it to correct the things you did wrong. I am also cutting Balotelli more slack than Ade due to his age which I also think is fair but again it only buys him limited leeway.

Ade is a frustration because he is great talent but he seems unaware that first Arsenal then us and now Real Madrid are more than happy to see him go and what this says about him. I am also using his words to make a judgement and contrasting his words with Mario's because I think its relevant to the reasons why Mancini is not persevering with Ade whereas he is with Mario or indeed why at 27 no one is (seemingly) willing to persevere with Ade.

I have no idea where Ade will end up next. He may end up at somewhere like AC Milan which for him will be a great move or he may end up in a backwater somewhere which would be a shame but it would be a shame largely of his own making.

[DoomMerchant]

Yes to Hazard
No to Huk
Yes to Mata

why is it that Hulk would be a target, since we will miss out on Sanchez? it's like saying if you were forming the Avengers and, say, the Vision wouldn't step up to the plate that you could replace him with the radioactivated green wonder with the purple pantaloons. Makes no sense really. I could see if we were after, say, Wonder Man, then Hulk is a suitable replacement, but...we weren't.

anyway, good bollox today...really meaty

cheers

[Sideshow Bob]

Fuck Hulk.

[lets all have a disco]

Mata is the man,go get him cooky lad.
25 millions to Che for Mata.


Fuck Hulk and Sanchez.

[CityGer]

"I don’t have anything to prove to anybody anymore in football. I have done a lot of things in football.
"I have scored important goals and played in big games so for me, in my head, I don’t have any pressure at all."

Pretty much sums up why he never has and never will realise his full potential.

Nowhere near hungry enough.

If he applied to same level of effort and commitment to his whole City career as he did in that game against Arsenal (minus the self indulgent petulance) he'd be well on the way to being a legend by now.

Simply doesn't care enough. Winning doesn't mean enough to him.

[ross.mcfc]

"I don’t have anything to prove to anybody anymore in football. I have done a lot of things in football.
"I have scored important goals and played in big games so for me, in my head, I don’t have any pressure at all."

Pretty much sums up why he never has and never will realise his full potential.

Nowhere near hungry enough.

If he applied to same level of effort and commitment to his whole City career as he did in that game against Arsenal (minus the self indulgent petulance) he'd be well on the way to being a legend by now.

Simply doesn't care enough. Winning doesn't mean enough to him.

That was one of the greatest performances I have ever seen by a striker that day. I also knew at the time, that was it from him.

[PeterParker]

Yes to Hazard
No to Huk
Yes to Mata

why is it that Hulk would be a target, since we will miss out on Sanchez? it's like saying if you were forming the Avengers and, say, the Vision wouldn't step up to the plate that you could replace him with the radioactivated green wonder with the purple pantaloons. Makes no sense really. I could see if we were after, say, Wonder Man, then Hulk is a suitable replacement, but...we weren't.

anyway, good bollox today...really meaty

cheers

Yes to Mata too, but is unlikely we will sign him. Aj and Silva are both left footy, Mata signing means that are 3 left footies up front and no right ones (of course, if SWP goes). No doubt that Bob is searching for a right leg winger to play alongside Silva, because although David and Mata have some games at Valencia, i find it very difficult for them to play together.

I will hate if we will sign Sanchez (and i think we will) and then heard him saying: "City was my first choice all along"