Tevez hot topic again
City are a hot topic on many fronts today, with the future of Carlos Tevez unsurprisingly still the subject of much conjecture.
Acres of rain forest have been felled for the papers and server farms the world over are, literally, groaning under the strain of all the 0s and 1s devoted to the prolific striker.
In the Sunday Express he is said to be part of an intended "sensational £80million swoop" from Chelsea that also takes in a bid for another alleged City target Luka Modric.
But the People reckon that we've had no offers for the "wantaway superstar" under the excellent headline of "Nowhere Manc" (at least in the actual paper, not the rather dull version online).
Over at the Telegraph, Rory Smith and Duncan White are of the opinion that we want Carlos' fellow countryman Sergio Aguero even if the skipper stays. Compare & contrast with the Sunday Mirror, who says that Real Madrid are reportedly preparing a £50m bid for Carlos.
The renaming of our home ground to the Etihad Stadium gets plenty of attention from commentators in the UK press. The Observer's Paul Hayward is fairly positive over the move, especially in connection to the redevelopment of the land around the stadium and what it would mean for local residents. But the Independent's Neil Robinson is not so keen, to say the least - "Measuring everything in millions is eating away at the soul of football" is the sub headline. Have a look at both lower down and make your own mind up.
"And in other news" as they say ahead of the "funny bit" at the end of the news, the Star says the squad have been given DVDs of the FA Cup final and semi-final by Roberto Mancini. Hmm, given the two and a bit weeks they are spending in the US, maybe the extended cut of the Lord of the Rings trilogy might have helped pass the time too?
Name of the game must be a wider community benefit
Stadium renaming deals must be about more than just diverting sponsor money straight to players and agents
Paul Hayward guardian.co.uk
Manchester City's stadium-naming deal with Etihad should result in regeneration of the wider local area. Photograph: Pa Wire/PA
How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!" cries John Proctor, before death, in Arthur Miller's persecution classic, The Crucible. Now he might shout: "How much am I bid?"
A tour of American sport could lead you to the Dunkin' Donuts Center, the Quicken Loans Arena, the KFC Yum! Center, US Cellular Field or the Gaylord Entertainment Center, home to the Nashville Predators. It might also take in Wrigley Field, one of the most evocative ballparks in the States since 1916, but named after a chewing gum tycoon.
Here, in England, a tour of football's commanding heights would take one to the Emirates, the Reebok, the Britannia and, now, the Etihad, which, disappointingly for red Mancunians, turns out to mean "unity" and not "united", thus depriving Old Trafford of cosmic teasing rights every time City play at home. Sadly for Sunderland fans, the rechristening of their enemy's fortress to sportsdirect.com@St James' Park never quite took off, so Newcastle United remain in the queue of clubs desperate to flog off their identities.
Manchester City's £400m deal with Etihad airlines completes the Abu Dhabi-isation of the old Maine Road set-up. It adds to Sheikh Mansour's outright ownership, plus existing deals with the telecoms company Etisalat, Aabar Investments PJSC and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority. In essence, the emirate has annexed the club and spread the investment across Abu Dhabi's whole corporate sphere.
But more intriguing than the passing of a stadium built with public money for the Manchester Commonwealth Games into the hands of a middle-eastern sheikhdom, is that a new Etihad Campus will transform a huge swathe of land around Eastlands (as was) to encompass a relocated training ground, youth academy, sports science facility, Etihad call centre and City Square retail space.
Locals may recall Tony Blair's government believing that one way to regenerate this desperately deprived area was to open a super casino, which would at once lure people into gambling addictions while providing hundreds of low-paid jobs with anti-social and family-disrupting hours. Yes, in those New Labour market-sucking days, a super casino was actually seen as a piece of social engineering.
Given the choice, most Mancunians would probably rather see an Etihad Campus, however weird it might look. The city council certainly would. Last year, it rewrote the stadium charter to allow City to sell the naming rights, which, in turn, will help the sheikh circumvent Uefa's forthcoming financial fair-play regulations. Faced with this gargantuan new challenge, directors at United, Chelsea and Liverpool will be thrashing in their sleep with thoughts of dazzling naming-rights deals.
When Brighton and Hove Albion's new ground unveiled itself as the Amex Community Stadium, rather than the New Goldstone, many saw the heavy hand of corporate opportunism. But Brighton's deal with American Express emphasises the "community" aspect. It was part of the mission to secure planning permission and build more than a mere football ground (not that there's anything wrong with that).
By an unlikely twist, the government of Abu Dhabi appears intent on carrying out regenerative work in east Manchester that our own slash-and-burn, unelected coalition is unable or unwilling to do. So, at least in that sense, the sale of City's house name has a socio-political purpose beyond diverting sponsor money straight to players and agents, though that will be the short-term effect. For the whole parish to benefit, the council will need to impose strict terms on the club to stop this Etihad Campus becoming an oasis of unreachable wealth.
The lamentations over the sale of stadium naming rights are welcome because they keep the guard up against frivolous and greed-based tie-ups. Most Liverpool fans recoil at the idea of Anfield becoming, say, the PriceWaterhouseCooper Stadium, but are more amenable to the concept of a new ground in Stanley Park bearing a commercial moniker: if (and it's a giant if) it enables Kenny Dalglish to buy more players.
The corporatisation of modern sport – the splattering of logos on jersey, pitch and referee – is indeed an affront. A seemingly irreversible crime against objectivity is the practice of sewing adverts on to the garments of match officials. This is only one step short of the police wearing ads for Doctor Marten's boots or News International.
Naturally, the great stadium names exert a hypnotic pull. To say "I'm off to Candlestick Park" (in San Francisco) is infinitely preferable to telling friends "I've got tickets for 3Com or Monster Park", as the great bayside amphitheatre was for a while. Equally, you hope Chicago will always have Soldier Field and Boston Fenway Park, from where John W Henry and associates have until September to decide whether to redevelop Anfield or build in Stanley Park.
So, as Leicester City reacquaint to life in the King Power Stadium (a cartoon hero, surely), there has to be something in these tradition-erasing deals for the community, the town, the supporters, beyond more reckless spending on players. Although it's a surreal sentence to type, the Etihad Campus fulfils some of those requirements, provided the people of Eastlands can use it without having to flash a titanium credit card.
The Last Word: Loss of values at City comes from the top
Measuring everything in millions seems to be eating away the soul of a business called football By Neil Robinson
There are five months to go, and the competition is fierce, but Garry Cook, the chief executive officer of Manchester City, may have uttered the most preposterous sentence of the year, in the world of sport or any other.
Commenting on the club's 10-year, £120 million deal with Etihad Airways, who have acquired naming rights for the City of Manchester Stadium, Cook explained his gratitude in language that occasionally came within nodding distance of plain English. "In addition to delivering significant revenue at a key stage in the club's evolution," he said, "the agreement creates exciting opportunities for our two organisations to co-operate more deeply commercially and on media and community initiatives in the future."
Deliver, create, co-operate: it seems this is what chief executive officers do by day and by night. However did the game get by for so long with mere club secretaries? The real clincher, though, is that dread phrase, "exciting opportunities", which brings to mind Kingsley Amis's splendid volleys at British Gas and other public utilities who bombard householders with "exciting offers" – two quid off your next bill!
In City's case they round things to the nearest million. Sheikh Mansour (of the Collyhurst Mansours) has apparently thrown £1 billion at the City "project", in transfers and wages, since he bought the club three years ago, and he is not about to stop now. The last big signing, a Bosnian centre forward called Edin Dzeko, was acquired for £27m six months ago, but he is already in the stiffs, awaiting deportation to a friendlier home. Still, it's only money.
It's easy to mock, and mock we must, for laughter helps to bring the likes of Garry Two Rs, a former Nike salesman, to account. In the week that City mourned the loss of Mike Doyle, who gave 14 years of his life to the club, and played in a side that is still remembered for the brilliance of its football, we must also mock that big cry-baby, Carlos Tevez, who has let it be known (again) that he wants out of Manchester. There are only two decent restaurants there, he bleated, although as he also said he never left his house we are not obliged to take his word on culinary matters. He had spent two years in Manchester, at Old Trafford, before he switched camps, so it has taken this dim boy a very long time to work out what a dump the place is.
"Loyalty is what they stuff you with", goes the old saw, and there used to be some truth in it. For decades football was a feudal business, with the players cast as serfs. Now they are the masters, and think nothing of claiming "loyalty" bonuses merely for observing the terms of their contracts. If Tevez really wants to be with his daughters (his latest reason for upping sticks) he has only to return to Argentina. They have football clubs there, we are told, and all those other amenities that sad old Manchester is unable to provide. After five highly-paid years in England Carlos the moaner certainly doesn't need the brass. Perhaps he could use some of it to open a restaurant of his own. "Here's something I discovered in England – Manchester Tart". Nay, lad, the joke's on you.
City have bent over backwards to accommodate their mardy child, and he has repaid them with insult upon insult. He is not alone, of course. Not many footballers have a sense of the world beyond their narrow cloisters. They take their wealth for granted, and there are always hangers-on to tell them how good they are; ladies of easy virtue to provide the usual services. What a seedy world it is!
If Cook really wanted to make himself useful he could "deliver" a boot to a plump Argentinian backside, which would be an authentic community initiative, for it is plain that the majority of City supporters can live happily without the services of this spoiled brat, gifted though he is. Then he can get back to the arduous task of finding a sentence of pure wind to match this week's stupendous effort. The formbook suggests that if anybody can, he can.
THE 'FEAR' BOLLOX
Top clubs want Manchester City's £400m sponsorship deal vetoed
Europe's leading clubs will petition UEFA to block Manchester City's new £400million endorsement deal.
They want City's ground and shirt sponsorship contract with Etihad Airlines outlawed because they believe it has been artificially inflated in an attempt to balance the books.
UEFA's new Financial Fair Play rules insist clubs live within their means and City, who have incurred losses of £213.5m over the last two years, had little hope of complying before the huge deal.
The governing body also demand that clubs demonstrate they have received market value for any deal, to prevent owners from subsidising clubs through companies that are closely associated with them. UEFA's Independent Club Financial Control Panel will investigate the Etihad deal but rivals want to pressure them into action. If UEFA do outlaw the deal, boss Roberto Mancini could see his spending plans curtailed.
Opposition clubs have been emboldened by the fact the contract is a world record, outstripping even the remarkable £18m-a-year stadium naming rights deal the New Yorks Mets, a much-more established sports brand, have with Citibank.
The fact that Etihad was set up by the Emir of Abu Dhabi, Sheik Khalifa, who is the brother of City's owner, Sheik Mansour, has also fuelled their suspicions.
Etihad is the national airline carrier of Abu Dhabi and itself has never made a profit since it was formed in 2003, though it is expected to make money this year.
Manchester City set to complete £22.2m Nasri deal
Arsenal have lost their battle to keep hold of Samir Nasri, with Manchester City set to complete a £22.2 million transfer for the midfielder.
The Times reports on Sunday that the France international will pick up wages of £185,000-per-week, more than triple the money he currently earns at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal were willing to raise Nasri's salary to £110,000-per-week, but the player has made it clear to the club that he wants to leave, and the Gunners have sought the highest price despite Arsene Wenger's continued desire to battle for one of his prized assets.
City have pounced all over Arsenal's failure to secure their top names to long-term contracts this summer, having already picked up Gael Clichy in what appears to be a bargain £7 million transfer.
Like Clichy, Nasri also only had 12 months to run on his contract, and the Arsenal board simply refuses to allow its most valuable assets to exit the club for free.
City have been authorised to press on with the transfer by Stan Kroenke, beating off interest from Chelsea and Manchester United, who have been linked with Luka Modric and Wesley Sneijder respectively.
City lead chase for most wanted teen in Europe
Charly Musonda is the most wanted teenager in Europe.
The likes of Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Barcelona are all tracking the brilliant 14-year-old Belgian boy.
Charly is the youngest, and most gifted, of the three Musonda boys who are all signed by Belgian club Anderlecht.
But now Manchester City, the richest club in the world, have entered the frame.
And the Musonda family are considering an offer estimated to be worth £900,000-a-year to move to Manchester.
Under European football laws, clubs cannot buy a boy under the age of 16.
But if the family move to a new city in Europe and want their son to join a club in the specific area, nobody can stop them.
Charly Musonda, the boy’s father and a former footballer, said: “We have had invitations to come to Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City.
“So far I have said no to all of them. But the amount of money which has been offered to us is now crazy.
“We have been to look at the set up of Barcelona and at the same time a Real Madrid scout has assured us that my son Charly Jr. would definitely get a place in Madrid.”
City now lead the chase to sign Charly junior and his brothers Lamisha (18) and Tika (16).
The £900,000-a-year offer is thought to be double the deal tabled by Barcelona and Real Madrid. Their father explained why City want all three boys.
He said: “Lamisha is small, but he has great moves and pace.
“Tika is a lot bigger than his brothers. He plays at the back and has a great pass.
“But Charly Jr. is a lovely mixture of technique and cleverness.”
Jan Boskamp, the former Stoke and Anderlecht boss, has seen the youngster in action.
He said: “Charly is the best of all young talents, a mix of Xavi and Iniesta.
“There is not a kid at his age who is so brilliant.”
Manchester City return the favour by taking a swipe at Bayern Munich concerning the potential transfer of Jerome Boateng
The Eastlands club insist that the Bavarian outfit have not been ignored at any point, and claim that even face-to-face meetings have taken place concerning the defender
Manchester City have retaliated against Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge's accusations that they were non-responsive during enquiries concerning a potential transfer for Jerome Boateng.
The 22-year-old joined the Eastlands outfit from Hamburg last year, but injury and competition for places in Roberto Mancini's squad meant that he made only 16 appearances in the Premier League through the course of the club's last campaign.
That inability to secure regular first-team football prompted speculation that the Germany international was on his way out of the club. And the recent signings of Gael Clichy and Stefan Savic only added more weight to reports pointing towards an exit, but Bayern and City have been unable to see eye-to-eye on a price.
The German club are believed to be offering substantially less than the £20 million that City are reportedly asking for Boateng.
And a few days ago Rummenigge accused City of ignoring Bayern's attempts to make contact and carve out a deal for the defender, but a spokesman for the Premier League club said in The Mirror: "Mr Rummenigge’s claims are something of a puzzle to us, as not one call from Bayern Munich has been left unanswered and indeed a face-to-face meeting and several conversations have taken place on the topic.
"A personal deal has clearly already been agreed by Bayern, directly with the player [Boateng], but our respective valuations vary wildly."
CHELSEA OR BUST FOR £50M CARLOS TEVEZ
CARLOS TEVEZ will be forced to play on at Manchester City if Chelsea’s audacious bid for their captain – as revealed in today’s Sunday Express – comes to nothing.
City last night revealed they haven’t received a single enquiry for their want-away captain – but they are waiting for Stamford Bridge owner Roman Abramovich to make his move.
Tevez, currently in his native Argentina on Copa America duty, issued a statement last week expressing his wish to leave City to be closer to his daughters Katie and Florencia.
His estranged wife Vanessa, the mother of his two children, has made it clear that she does not want to live in the North West, preferring a warmer climate.
Whether that would turn out to be England’s capital city is another matter.
But with a £50million price tag, and currently on wages in excess of £200,000 a week, there are few clubs in Europe who could meet the financial demands of the South American striker.
City enjoy a good relationship with the two Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid and early indications suggest that neither are making any plans to move for the 27-year-old who led City to their first trophy in 35 years, lifting the FA Cup at Wembley in May.
There has so far been no interest from Italian champions AC Milan or their great rivals Inter while Juventus, flushed with new investment and hoping to make an impact in next season’s Serie A, have yet to show their hand.
A City source said: “Everyone at the club is sanguine about the situation but the fact is right now we haven’t had a single enquiry about him. We will have to wait and see how things develop.”
It leaves Tevez in a quandary, wondering where he will be playing his football in August. And City manager Roberto Mancini, who left for the club’s pre-season tour of Canada and the USA on Friday, is left wondering whether he needs to prepare for an important campaign without his main hitman.
City accept that a fully fired-up Tevez would assist the cause but their financial muscle in the transfer market means that if the Argentinian leaves, a replacement in the form of Atletico Madrid’s Sergio Aguera, Napoli’s Edinson Cavani or Inter Milan’s Samuel Eto’o would be quickly secured. Mancini has already signalled a declaration of intent that he wants no dressing room distractions by leaving behind seven players he deems surplus to requirements.
Emmanuel Adebayor, Craig Bellamy, Roque Santa Cruz, Wayne Bridge, Shay Given, Nedum Onouha and Michael Johnson were informed by email to report for training yesterday 24 hours after the rest of the squad had flown across the Atlantic. But Tevez is a special case.
MANCHESTER CITY'S BLUE MOVIE
MANCHESTER CITY’S players were presented with special Blue movies on their return to training.
Manager Roberto Mancini arranged for his squad to be given DVDs of their FA Cup semi-final and final victories at Wembley against Man United and Stoke City.
It’s part of Mancini’s plan to encourage positive thinking, reminding the players of how successful they’ve been.
City’s boss is looking to build on the last campaign when they won their first trophy for 35 years and qualified for the Champions League for the first time.
Bayern Munich Chief Executive Blasts Man City’s Stadium Deal
http://www.insidefutbol.com/2011/07/10/ ... eal/45211/
OTHER BOLLOX
Barcelona are confident they will complete a deal for Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas this week. Sunday Mirror
Jose Mourinho's decision to leave midfielder Lassana Diarra out of Real Madrid's pre-season tour of the United States could alert Manchester United and Tottenham. Metro
Tottenham are set to offer striker Jermain Defoe plus £5m in exchange for Sunderland's Asamoah Gyan. Metro
Tottenham are planning a £22m bid for Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov and defender Jonny Evans. caughtoffside.com
Stoke City chairman Peter Coates says the Potters are in negotiations to sign West Ham striker Carlton Cole and former Tottenham defender Jonathan Woodgate. Talksport
Arsenal could be set to hijack Liverpool's move for Aston Villa winger Stewart Downing. Mail on Sunday
Liverpool are set to let midfielder Raul Meireles speak to Italian clubs Juventus and Inter Milan about a £12m move. Sunday Mirror
Alternatively, Tevez could be on his way to Chelsea as part of an £80m double swoop by the Blues for the Argentine striker and Tottenham midfielder Luka Modric. Sunday Express
Wigan chairman Dave Whelan says that Latics may be forced to sell midfielder Charles N'Zogbia, who only has one year left to run on his contract at the DW Stadium, with Liverpool, Newcastle, Aston Villa and Sunderland all interested. Talksport
Arsenal are ready to bid £12m for Real Madrid midfielder Esteban Granero. caughtoffside.com
Paul Scholes blames England's international failures on "very selfish" stars who use the Three Lions as a platform to boost their club careers and bank balances rather than playing for the team. He revealed: "I got fed up. When you are going to a team, you want to be part of a team and play well, but there are individuals who are after personal glory. Sunday Mirror
Former Chelsea coach Ray Wilkins has told Tottenham they are wasting their time trying to keep midfielder Luka Modric. Spurs have told the Croat he would not be allowed to leave White Hart Lane, but Wilkins believes he will soon join Chelsea, who had a £22m bid rejected this summer. "I think it will be extremely difficult for Tottenham to hold on to Modric if you look at the numbers being thrown around." the Sun
However, Tottenham are prepared to offer Modric £80,000-a-week to stay at the club. Sunday Mirror
Striker Craig Mackail-Smith says he received no offers to join Premier League clubs before signing for Brighton. Talksport
QPR's hopes of signing World Cup winning defender Fabio Cannavaro have been ended by the Italian's decision to retire. Metro
