Manchester City are to lay a wreath commemorating the 1958 Munich Air Disaster, which took the lives of eight Manchester United players, prior to Tuesday’s Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.
A delegation of senior figures from City, including life president Bernard Halford, are due to visit a memorial stone marking the tragedy in Munich’s Manchesterplatz.
The air crash, which occurred at the now-disused Munich-Reim Airport on United’s return from a European Cup tie against Red Star Belgrade on Feb 6, 1958, resulted in the deaths of 23 people, including eight Busby Babes, United officials, journalists and the former City and England goalkeeper Frank Swift, who had been covering the Red Star game for the News of the World.
City are understood to be keen to show their respects for ‘Manchester’s loss’ in a move which is likely to go some way towards easing the tensions between the supporters of both clubs ahead of next month’s derby between United and City.
While relations between officials of the two clubs remain healthy and strong, rivalry off the pitch has intensified with City’s progress under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan.
Carlos Tévez’s acrimonious move from United to City in Jul 2009 sparked a series of verbal barbs between the two clubs, while Owen Hargreaves’s criticism last week of his medical treatment at the hands of United has done little to bring calm to Mancunian rivalry.
When Tévez signed for City following the end of his two-year loan deal at Old Trafford, his new club greeted his arrival with the now infamous ‘Welcome to Manchester’ billboard, which prompted United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to dismiss City as a ‘small club with a small mentality’. Ferguson then added to the ill-feeling between the two clubs by describing City as ‘noisy neighbours’.
A stormy Carling Cup semi-final between City and United in January 2010 resulted in Greater Manchester Police and the Football Association warning players and officials from both teams to show restraint when making public comments following an ugly verbal row between Tévez and United captain Gary Neville, which resulted in Tévez describing his former team-mate as a ‘moron’.
Last season’s meetings between the two clubs resulted in a heavy police presence at both league fixtures, with scuffles breaking out between fans following City’s FA Cup semi-final victory against United in April.
The bad blood then came to the surface when City travelled to Blackburn for a league game following the semi-final victory, with supporters chanting, ‘Who put the ball in the Munichs’ net,’ to Yaya Touré , the scorer of the winning goal against United at Wembley.
In the wake of the chanting at Ewood Park, the City hierarchy made a concerted effort to stamp out the taunts, with Roberto Mancini and legendary former player Colin Bell calling for an end to the Munich chants.
City are mindful of the impact of the Munich disaster on Manchester as a city, however, and the club are determined to rise above the escalating off-field rivalry by making their own tribute to those lost in the crash.
The tribute planned during the trip to Munich is regarded by senior figures as the ‘right thing to do’, and the club are keen for a return to atmosphere which followed the praise lavished on City’s supporters following their conduct during a minutes’ silence at Old Trafford in Feb 2008 prior to a fixture which marked the 50th anniversary of the disaster. On that occasion, City’s supporters were described as behaving “impeccably”.
Next month’s derby, due to take place on Oct 23, is set to be the most eagerly-anticipated since the two clubs contested the First Division title race during the 1967-68 season, when City edged out their neighbours to claim the championship.
The allegations made by Hargreaves last week, which were met with a strong rebuttal by Ferguson and United, have added to the bitterness off the pitch. Yet City’s keenness to pay their respects to those lost at Munich is likely to be well received at Old Trafford and viewed as an example of the ability of both clubs to put simmering rivalry aside.
Carlos Tevez determined to walk away from Manchester City in January
Manchester City outcast Carlos Tevez is more determined than ever to quit the club in January after his latest snub against Everton.
The Argentinean striker was left on the bench again by Roberto Mancini, and was overlooked as a second-half substitute, as the Italian boss preferred to bring on Mario Balotelli, who netted the opening goal.
Tevez is said to be fuming over his treatment since returning from his summer holidays, where he publically tried to engineer a move away from Manchester, and is believed to be hell-bent on finally leaving in the New Year.
A source close to the forward told The People: ‘Carlos is very disappointed with the way things have turned out.
‘He came back to England committed to giving everything for the team, but he has not been given a chance.
‘Carlos was not the only high-profile Premier League player to have been involved in a summer dispute with his club.
‘Others, like Luka Modric at Spurs, emerged from those problems with their status enhanced, but Carlos finds himself out in the cold. He feels his only option could be to leave the club.’ Metro
however according to the Star ...
ROBERTO MANCINI has told his sulking striker Carlos Tevez that he can still have a big future at Manchester City.
Carlos Tevez keeps his bib on as City beat Everton on Saturday.
Mancini’s decision proved how far Tevez has fallen down the pecking order and cast fresh doubts over his future at
the club.
Tevez handed in a transfer request in the summer, but was forced to stay when no clubs came in for him. He has since found himself frozen out so far this season far this season, with the Argentine striker starting just one Premier League game amid suggestions that he could try to get away in the January window.
Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri, Edin Dzeko and now Balotelli are all ahead of him and Tevez is struggling to accept he has gone from being Mancini’s talisman to a bit-part player.
But Balotelli is suspended for tomorrow’s Champions League trip to Bayern Munich, leaving the door open for Tevez to be recalled.
Mancini insists Tevez will be involved against the German giants and believes last season’s top scorer still has a role to play this season.
The City boss said: “Carlos is a fantastic player.
“I decided to send on Mario because he can play out wide with his speed.
“There is no problem with Carlos. He is an important player for this club and he will be involved against Bayern Munich.”
Mancini could also welcome back Nigel De Jong for the trip to Munich.
The Holland midfielder has been sidelined with a foot problem picked up in the opening league game of the season against Swansea.
De Jong has returned to full training and his return would be a huge boost to Mancini as City look to pull off a shock win.
Mancini added: “Nigel De Jong could be fit. We will wait and see before we decide whether he could be on the bench.
“I don’t know what happened with Nigel.
“He took a knock on his foot. He had a problem for a month but now he is okay. Now he just needs to train.”
Meanwhile, Brian Marwood wants the club to emulate four-time European champions Bayern.
“Bayern are looking strong at the top of the Bundesliga and have a fantastic stadium,” said the club’s chief football operations officer.
“It’s what this club is trying to aspire to be.”
Italian side Inter Milan remain keen to sign Tevez and may make their move in the January transfer window, but only if they can make room on their wage bill by selling striker Diego Milito.Insidefutbol.com
Manchester City ready to bid £30m for Arsenal star
Manchester City are ready to bid £30m for Arsenal striker Robin van Persie, according to the Daily Mail.
The speculation suggests that van Persie, who netted twice in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Bolton this weekend, has become disillusioned with life at the Emirates following the sales of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri as well as the poor start to the new season.
The Dutch star has a contract with Arsenal until 2013 but Manchester City could make a January move if talks on a new contract don’t progress between now and the next transfer window.
On Saturday, Arsene Wenger praised van Persie for growing into his role as Arsenal captain.
City line up Sunderland’s Quinn to replace Cook
Sunderland chairman Niall Quinn has emerged as a surprise candidate to replace Garry Cook as Manchester City’s new chief executive.
City are on the lookout for a replacement for Cook, who quit the club earlier this month as a result of an alleged email sent to the cancer-suffering mother of defender Nedum Onuoha, mocking her illness.
According to reports in English newspapers, Quinn could be about to make a return to the club he played for in the 1990’s, the former Irish international’s relationship with Sunderland’s American owner Ellis Short has become strained in recent months leading to the link.
Quinn is reportedly frustrated at the Stadium of Light and does not believe he has the full backing of Short and his team.
The possibility of Quinn moving to Manchester has also be boosted by the presence of City’s head of football operations, Brian Marwood, who Quinn has known since they were at Arsenal in the 1980’s
UEFA refusing to recognise Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium name
European football’s governing body, UEFA, is reportedly refusing to recognise Manchester City’s decision to change their stadium’s name.
Manchester City has a £350 million 10-year sponsorship agreement with the Abu Dhabi airline, Etihad.
The deal includes changing the City of Manchester Stadium as the Etihad Stadium.
However, the UEFA is refusing to recognise any stadium that incorporates a sponsor’s name, the Daily Mirror reports.
The Emirates is referred to as the Arsenal Stadium and Bayern’s Allianz Arena is the Fussball Arena.
“We were made aware of the rules last year when we played Red Bull Salzburg in the Europa League and they were made to drop their sponsor’s name,” a City insider said.
“The deal with Etihad was not affected by it,” he added.
Silva calls on City to attack Bayern
David Silva believes Manchester City will claim a win away against Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich on Tuesday by attacking them as though they were playing at home.
Silva was instrumental in City's 2-0 victory over Everton on Saturday, starting alongside the likes of Samir Nasri, Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero, who have already scored 15 goals between them this campaign.
When they were unable to breakdown a resolute Everton defence, manager Roberto Mancini turned to Mario Balotelli and could afford to leave Carlos Tevez on the bench. It is an impressive array of options, which lends itself to an attacking approach which Silva feels City should not abandon during their Champions League encounter at Allianz Arena.
"I think we can attack them like we do at home," Silva said.
"We can stick to our footballing principles. We don't have to change our style against other teams home or away. We believe in what we are doing and have confidence in each other so we will keep doing the same things.
"The truth is Napoli played very well against us. They are a strong team. But against Bayern we will try the same things - to keep the ball, play with the same style and get a positive result."
However, the diminutive Spaniard is not getting ahead of himself. After being held by Serie A side Napoli in their opening Champions League fixture, Silva is well aware that each match presents a significant challenge if City are to progress beyond the group stage.
"First we have to focus on Bayern Munich. We need to go little by little, try to get a good result and then improve step-by-step and see how far we can go," he said.
Whinging lying fucler bollox
Moyes points finger at Kompany
Everton manager David Moyes thinks Vincent Kompany deliberately tried to hurt Tim Cahill in a challenge during Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Manchester City.
With the game still locked at 0-0 Cahill went into a tackle with Kompany and was booked, but the defender appeared to land his studs on his opponent's ankle.
Cahill was immediately substituted, being replaced by Louis Saha. Post-match Moyes revealed Cahill had only suffered brusiing to his shin but said the midfielder was fortunate to escape without serious injury and pointed the finger at Kompany.
"The boy does him,'' Moyes told the BBC. "He definitely sees his shin going in and stands on it. People who have been players know what I am talking about.
"I don't think it is too bad. It just looks like bruising. But they are the ones where it doesn't take much to crack your shin. The officials seemed to spot most other things. But they did not spot the big one. Referees are judged on big decisions.''
Moyes was not impressed by the performance of World Cup final referee Howard Webb and his officiating team, whom he felt showed inconsistency in the way they handled the game and got a key decision wrong in the build-up to Mario Balotelli's opener.
"Overall, we found the way the officials treated us really difficult to take,'' said Moyes. "We found it difficult to talk to them and found the fourth official was very much the same.''
Everton finished the game with five yellow cards compared to City's one, which Moyes did not feel was a fair reflection of how the game panned out, pointing out one contrast where an Everton player did not get a free-kick for a challenge very similar to one Leon Osman was booked for earlier in the game.
"There is a challenge on the edge of the box by Vincent Kompany on Louis Saha that was not much different to the one by Leon Osman on Micah Richards,'' he said. "What we want is a bit of consistency.''
Moyes' frustration at failing to secure a point was obvious. After all, against opponents he has been used to beating down the years despite the vast disparity in finances, he came up with a game-plan that looked like paying off until the introduction of Balotelli after an hour.
It did not take long for the Italian to bag his first Premier League goal since February and set City on a victory march that was secured by fellow substitute James Milner in the final minute.
"I was lucky with the substitutions,'' said City manager Roberto Mancini. "He (Balotelli) has worked well in the last few weeks but hasn't played. This time he deserved to play for half an hour and decided the game.''
The other factor behind Mancini's decision, which meant Carlos Tevez remained on the bench for the entire duration of the match, was Balotelli's four-game European ban, which means he will sit out Tuesday's trip to Bayern Munich.
Under such circumstances in the past, Balotelli might have maintained his pout, even after scoring. Instead he raced across the pitch to give his manager a hug, even though Mancini would understand if the temperamental 21-year-old had been upset at being left out once more.
"I want to see this reaction,'' he said. "I am the manager. I can only play with 11 players and sometimes you can't play. It is important that when I call these players, they are ready.''
City are now level on points with neighbours Manchester United, trailing only on goal difference. And it seems they have also learned the art of grinding out wins rather than merely producing the free-flowing football they evidently have the players for.
"In this game you might have the ball all the time, create a lot of chances, then lose on the counter-attack,'' said Mancini. "This time, we deserved to win.''
OTHER BOLLOX
Tottenham will have to pay more than £15m for Athletic Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera if they decide to follow up their summer interest with a bid in January. Metro
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is monitoring the progress of Aston Villa midfielder Barry Bannan with a view to a possible move for the 22-year-old. Caughtoffside.com
Frank Lampard's Chelsea future is in doubt after the midfielder appeared to storm off following manager Andre Villas-Boas' decision to drop him for Saturday's clash with Swansea at Stamford Bridge. Metro
Former Birmingham defender Stuart Parnaby claims the Blues have pulled out of a deal to re-sign him. Daily Mirror
Dutch forward Robin van Persie has warned Arsenal he is not ready to sign a new deal. Daily Mirror
Arsenal are in negotiations to sign Valencia midfielder Daniel Parejo in January following talks between club representatives and the player's agent last week. The 22-year-old is a graduate of Real Madrid's academy and also had a spell at Queens Park Rangers three years ago. Daily Mail
The Gunners are also reportedly considering launching an astonishing bid to sign Tottenham playmaker Rafael Van Der Vaart. Caughtoffside.com
Wolves are set to finalise a deal to sign former Birmingham striker James McFadden on a free transfer this week, following a successful week-long trial at the club.Daily Mirror
Norwich midfielder Bradley Johnson wants to follow in the footsteps of Peter Crouch and Kevin Phillips by cementing his place in the Premier League after playing non-league football. Daily Mirror
Darren Fletcher says Manchester United team-mate David de Gea can take a lot of confidence from the way he dealt with Stoke's aerial bombardment at the weekend. Daily Mail
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech admits the club are "obsessed" with the Champions League - but in a good way. the Guardian
Former Manchester City striker Mark Hughes, who spent a season on loan at Bayern Munich as a player in 1988, says the secret to the German club's enduring success is "to keep key personnel in influential positions because that gives the club continuity". City travel to Bayern in the Champions League on Tuesday. Daily Mail
Former Norwich winger Darren Eadie says manager Paul Lambert's tactical shrewdness could give the Canaries the edge in their battle for Premier League survival. talkSHIT
QPR manager Neil Warnock says that while he was enduring a difficult summer at the club, it would have been a "blessing in disguise" if he had been sacked by previous owners Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone. talkSHIT
Liverpool have been granted another extension by Liverpool City Council as they continue to explore all options on the future of Anfield. The club were set to announce by the end of this month whether they intend to take up the 999-year lease that would allow them to build a new ground on nearby Stanley Park. Daily Mail
Ex-Chelsea and Manchester United midfielder Mickey Thomas thinks it is too early to say it is a two-horse race for the Premier League between the Manchester clubs. He believes Chelsea and Tottenham could mount a serious challenge. talkSHIT
Coleen Rooney and Alex Curran were among the guests at a farewell party for Sheree Murphy, who is heading to Australia after her husband - former Leeds and Liverpool winger Harry Kewell - joined Melbourne Victory. Daily Mail
Robin van Persie has revealed the secret behind Arsenal's improved performance at the weekend, letting slip that all the players recently enjoyed a midweek boogie during a team dinner. Metro
REF BOLLOX
No one is awarded a penalty early in a game... not even Fergie By Graham Poll
Managers post match comments are always interesting and one in particular this weekend came from the daddy of the all, Sir Alex Ferguson.
When asked about the incident from which Manchester United had a penalty claim early on he replied: 'It was too early for the referee to give a penalty.'
On the surface this is nonsense as a foul is a foul whether in the first minute or the last. However, Ferguson understands referees very well and knows the pressures they are under.
The only penalties you are likely to see in the opening 15 minutes of a game are blatant ones, hand ball on the line or an obvious foul.
There is really no logical explanation for this and I can remember many early penalties that were not given being highlighted at select group referee meetings: meetings that Ferguson’s insight and input at would help referees enormously.
Next up was David Moyes who also voiced his concerns to Howard Webb personally after Everton’s game at Manchester City.
His complaint in the post-match conference was that Webb was inconsistent in his punishment of fouls but I watched the game live and thought that Webb did well in a tough game.
Everton appeared to set out to defend strongly and in particular stay tight on City’s skilful players. Jack Rodwell man marked David Silva until he was rightly cautioned and then Phil Neville took over for a few minutes until he was also cautioned.
Webb’s detection and punishment meant that Silva was able to have more freedom in the second period. That was good refereeing, showing awareness of tactics and affording players the protection they are entitled to.
Moyes complaints were surely more borne out of frustration that his teams excellent defending could not last for the full 90 minutes but to blame the referee was unfair.
Webb did miss the nasty stamp from Vincent Kompany but at full speed and from his viewing position that was fully understandable.
If frustration was Moyes' motivation, sour grapes would have been Steve Kean's after another poor defensive display from his Blackburn Rovers side at Newcastle.
Watching the highlights of this game Rovers appeared to be well beaten but Kean insisted that the pivotal moment of the entire game was Newcastle's third goal.
Whether there was a foul was unclear and in such instances I always support the referee, who was Martin Atkinson a very experienced match official.
Kean should really advise his players not to protest too vehemently after such an incident as it was the first yellow card issued to Martin Olsson which was really the key moment.
Players should know that if you chase the referee complaining and he disappears into the opposing half you will be cautioned if you follow him.
Olsson of course was cautioned again just 15 minutes later and sent off - down to 10 men, Blackburn looked well beaten
Ta ...
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