Tuesday's B*ll*x

[Chinners]

Manchester City back in for £22m Samir Nasri
Sources close to City were last night adamant they will slap in a "take it or leave it" offer for Arsenal's French midfielder.
And SunSport understands there is growing confidence that Gunners boss Arsene Wenger and his board have accepted they are fighting a losing battle to hold on to the unsettled star.
City officials have been given encouraging signs that Arsenal finally want to bring things to a head and are reluctantly ready to sanction a deal.
There were even suggestions a move could be rushed through by the weekend, giving Nasri an outside chance of featuring in City's Community Shield clash with Manchester United, who also like the 24-year-old.
The big choice for Arsenal is whether to cash in now on an unhappy Frenchman or lose him for free when his contract expires next year.
Nasri insisted in October he would have signed a contract when there was talk of a new deal to keep him at the Emirates.
But he grew increasingly restless when nothing transpired and he is now ready to join the City revolution for £125,000 a week - just £10,000 a week more than he could pick up at United or Arsenal.

The Metro seems to have morphed into the new MuEN lately ....
Mario Balotelli: I'm not happy in Manchester and may walk away
Mario Balotelli has dropped a new bombshell on Manchester City by admitting he’s not happy with life in the north-west, and doesn’t know if he’ll stay to see out his contract.
The enigmatic striker has become the latest City player, following Carlos Tevez, to slate the city of Manchester, but did express his contentment working under Roberto Mancini.
‘I’m not happy at Manchester, I don’t like the city,” he told Sky Sport Italia after scoring in City’s 3-0 win over Inter Milan on Sunday.
‘I’m happy with the coach and within the team, but you can’t have everything in life.
‘I don’t miss Milan, I miss Brescia, my home. I miss my family and my friends, but I think this experience in England will help me grow as an individual.’
Balotelli, who left Inter to sign a five-year contract at Eastlands, also once again opened the door to a switch to AC Milan, who have tracked the 20-year-old since he left Italy in 2010.
‘I don’t know if I will stay until the end of my contract. I’m here for now and then we’ll see,’ he added.
‘(Milan?) They are a great team. We could talk about it one day.’

YAYA TOURE claims Manchester City are out to lay down a marker at ­Wembley – and prove they are here to stay.
City take on Manchester United in Sunday’s ­Community Shield with the goal of showing they are now ­Premier League title contenders.
And Toure – who has already hit two Wembley ­winners and would love a third – insists they will do just that.
He said: “We have to show United we are here. We have to make a statement from the start.
“The Premier League will be very hard this season. We will have to improve a lot but then I think this will be the year for us.
“We are going to have to fight to show people that City are going all the way to the top. The most ­important thing is that you have to play 100 per cent in every game.
“United are a fantastic team and it will be a tough.
“We will have to be 100 per cent to have a chance against them but we want to win this trophy for our fans.”
City ended a 35-year wait for silverware by ­lifting the FA Cup last season and also qualified for the Champions League.
But it is the Premier League they want and beating United on Sunday would certainly show they mean business.
Toure has happy ­memories of Wembley, having scored the winner against United in the FA Cup semi-final and Stoke in the final last season.
He said: “Yes, I like it there. Scoring those goals at Wembley was amazing – the cup final goal was the best moment of my career.
“I came here to make history and I did that. Of course, it would be ­fantastic to make it three ­Wembley winners in the Shield.
“But the most ­important thing is not that I score ­another goal there, it is that the whole team prove to our fans and everyone else that City are coming. Last season I was asked to compare City to my former club Barcelona and I said I thought City could be as a good as Barca one day.
“That was before Barca’s amazing finish to the ­season and their ­incredible performance in the ­Champions League final.
“But when I said that City could be as good, I truly believed it – and still do. We obviously have a way to go to match those teams. But it is our aim.
“With the ambition that the club has shown in the last few seasons and the way we are improving as a group, other clubs are now starting to take notice of the new Manchester City.”

Gareth Barry donates house to sick children

Manchester City and England star Gareth Barry has shown his kindness by handing over the keys of his luxury Spanish villa to poor and sick children.
The millionaire midfielder made the donation after hearing about charity Sun And Happiness, which provides holidays for youngsters living in poverty or battling life-threatening diseases.
Barry, 30, has agreed to let the charity use his plush property in upmarket Puerto Banus whenever he isn’t there.
And the England regular said he hoped other Premier League footballers would do the same.
He said: “It’s a pleasure to donate my holiday home to this fantastic charity and I look forward to hearing the holiday stories of these amazing kids.”
Sun And Happiness was formed by single mum Kim Wood and has been signing up celebrities to make similar donations.
Barry was one of the first to join the scheme.
Kim has spent her life working in the travel and property business, and has managed the homes of many footballers during her career.
She said: “We have only been established for a few months but we are already attracting a lot of interest from players in the Premier League and beyond.
“We would love to get more players involved too.
“Gareth Barry was one of the first footballers to donate his holiday home to this worthwhile cause, and his involvement will surely inspire many other celebrities to get involved.”
Other footballers who have said they will take part include Wolves defender Stephen Ward and Middlesborough captain Matthew Bates.

[spoiler][/spoiler]

OTHER BOLLOX
Newcastle's decision to allow Joey Barton to leave on a free transfer has sparked a scramble between Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham, who all want to talk to the midfielder. Metro

French side Paris St Germain are targeting Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov and will offer £18m for the Bulgarian. The Sun

Fulham have made a £4m bid for Birmingham striker Cameron Jerome, who is also being pursued by Stoke and Bolton. Daily Mail

Italian outfit Juventus are lining up bids for Manchester United winger Nani and Chelsea defender Alex. talkSHIT

West Ham midfielder Scott Parker is now prepared to stay at Upton Park next season, with chairman David Gold also promising to invest in a new forward. Metro

Chelsea midfielder Yuri Zhirkov is set to become the first big-name departure from from Stamford Bridge under their new manager Andre Villas-Boas. Daily Telegraph

Premier League newcomers Swansea are set for a sensational swoop to sign French striker David Trezeguet, who is currently without a club. talkSHIT

Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp could recruit Lassana Diarra - who he managed at Portsmouth - but Real Madrid have insisted they will only sell the midfielder if Spurs give them first option on Gareth Bale when his contract begins to run down. Metro

Harry Redknapp has also abandoned his bid to prise £30m striker Giuseppe Rossi away from Villarreal. The Sun

Arsenal's move for Valencia winger Juan Mata is on hold until Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas's future is resolved. Daily Telegraph

Arsenal have broken off negotiations over the proposed transfer of Mateo Kovacic after dismissing Dinamo Zagreb's asking price for the midfielder. talkSHIT

Stoke are set to make a club record £9m bid for Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner and have also targeted Tottenham midfielder Wilson Palacios. Daily Mirror

Blackburn will buy PAOK Salonika winger Veirinha for £4m this week, making use of the £6m raised by selling striker Nikola Kalinic to Ukrainian club Dnipro. Daily Mirror

Liverpool owner John W Henry has thrown down the gauntlet to manager Kenny Dalglish by insisting it would be a 'major disappointment' if Liverpool fail to qualify for the Champions League this season. Daily Mail

[lets all have a disco]

Low level Soap WAG,Nice though

[BoltFromTheBlue]

I actually wouldn't mind Joey back here...

[blue wine]

I actually wouldn't mind Joey back here...

lol

[Ted Hughes]

I wonder who will win the scramble for Joey Barton? Arsenal, Utd or Spurs? I'll go for Aston Villa.

[MagnumCT]

That's really nice of Barry. I wouldn't want anybody touching my shit, especially sick people. If I were of the mind to do something like that, I'd have to straight give it to them, or buy them a different one. If it's just cancer kids it'd be OK, but what about other diseases? Wouldn't want some random person with the Consumption on my sofa, ya know?

[Dameerto]

That's really nice of Barry. I wouldn't want anybody touching my shit, especially sick people. If I were of the mind to do something like that, I'd have to straight give it to them, or buy them a different one. If it's just cancer kids it'd be OK, but what about other diseases? Wouldn't want some random person with the Consumption on my sofa, ya know?

I would think they would be highly unlikely to be sending contagious youngsters on their jollies.

[Chinners]

Evening round up of B*ll*x

Manchester City boss Mancini hints at Wright-Phillips exit by Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has intimated that Shaun Wright-Phillips may be on his way out of the club.
Mancini has admitted he has a difficult task on his hands keeping so many high-profile players happy.
On the England international he told City's website: "He was born in Manchester City, he is an important player for Manchester City. For me, it's difficult to put him on the bench.
"A player like Shaun deserves to play every game because he's a strong player. But now, we have so many players it's not easy for him.
"I need to speak with him in the next days. It's difficult because Shaun is a good guy.” Kieran 'ClickManchester' Evans B*ll*x

Manchester City ace Johnson staying insists boss Mancini
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has insisted winger Adam Johnson is not for sale.
The England winger has been linked with a move to Chelsea and Everton.
"Adam Johnson is 100 per cent part of the first team squad this season," declared Mancini yesterday.
The midfielder's place is believed to be under pressure with City set to close a deal for Fiorentina winger Alessio Cerci. Kieran 'ClickManchester' Evans B*ll*x

We don’t need Adebayor now, says Cristiano
Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday dismissed Emmanuel Adebayor’s hopes of returning to Real Madrid, saying the Spanish giants did not need the unsettled Manchester City striker.
Adebayor, 27, appears to have no future at City under boss Roberto Mancini and has made it clear that he favours a return to the Spanish capital, where he went on loan last season.
But flying winger Ronaldo, speaking in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, where Real are on a pre-season tour, said:
“I don’t think that we need to sign another forward. We are happy with the line-up as it is already.”
Real, who were again runners-up to fierce rivals Barcelona in La Liga last season, have added Spanish midfielder-striker Jose Maria Callejon to their already hugely impressive array of attacking talent.
They also have French striker Karim Benzema, who has enjoyed a free-scoring pre-season but whose Real career has failed to take off so far, and the prolific Argentine Gonzalo Higuain.
Real coach Jose Mourinho, who has kept a low profile in China so far, last month said he was looking to bring in another forward, but Adebayor — who has also been linked with Spurs and Bayern Munich — has remained at City.

[Ted Hughes]

What an absolute cad Ronaldo is.

[Dameerto]

I'd go further, he's a bounder.