Owen Hargreaves is set to make Premier League bow with Manchester City
Owen Hargreaves is ready to give City a Premier League boost when they take on Aston Villa next week.
The midfielder is expected to be included in Roberto Mancini’s squad for the Etihad Stadium clash, the first time he will have been involved for a league fixture.
The Blues organised a behind-closed-doors match for Hargreaves last month, and he played the full 90 minutes. And he marked his City debut with a stunning goal in the Carling Cup win over Birmingham.
During the international break, City plan to put on two more private games to help Hargreaves, who has not played a full competitive match for more than three years, get up to match fitness.
Hargreaves’ progress is being carefully monitored by England boss Fabio Capello with an eye to playing him in Euro 2012 if they qualify with a point in
Montenegro on Friday night.
City tactical coach David Platt said the 30-year-old is progressing very well.
“He’s in good shape,” said Platt. “When the boys get back from the international break, Owen should be there or thereabouts with his own full pre-season under him.”
The Blues’ injury problems in midfield are easing with Nigel de Jong expected to be fully fit after joining up with Holland, while James Milner is over his rib injury.
Sheikh Mansour stays top of Rich List
Manchester City’s owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nayan has maintained his place at the top of the FourFourTwo.com Football Rich List 2011/12.
The Sheikh, who has pumped more than £1 billion into City since buying the Premier League club in 2008, has seen his wealth hold steady over the last 12 months, currently standing at a cool £20bn.
His cash has helped City enjoy an FA Cup triumph and qualification for the Champions League last season, and with the Blues pushing rivals Manchester United hard in the early stages of this season’s title race, his hefty investment finally appears to be bearing fruit.
Having lost top spot last year, QPR’s Lakshmi Mittal (£11.8bn) has slipped to third place this time. As if losing an eye-watering £5.2bn in a year doesn’t hurt enough, Mittal has been leap-frogged by major Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov (£12.4bn), who has gained £3.4bn.
Yet neither Usmanov nor Mittal have been able wrestle complete control of their clubs.
Usmanov lost out to Stan Kroenke (eighth on the Rich List) in the battle for majority control at Emirates Stadium in April, while Mittal saw Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes (31st) beat him to the 61 percent stake in QPR previously held by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
Still in fourth is the original Premier League billionaire, Roman Abramovich. After eight years at Chelsea, the Russian oil tycoon is still without a Champions League title, although he’ll be comforted by his £2.9bn rise in riches from last year.
The Liebherr family will be delighted that their continued support has seen Southampton rise to the top of the Championship, following promotion from League One last season. They round off the top five.
While Mike Ashley’s Newcastle United are currently gate-crashing the Premier League’s top four, the Buckinghamshire-born billionaire has now moved into the Rich List top 10 for the first time, with his wealth having risen from £950m to £1.37bn.
Just above Ashley, Manchester United’s unpopular Malcolm Glazer is £110m richer but still in ninth, coming in at £1.64bn. Stanley Kroenke (Arsenal, £1.8bn), Denis O’Brien (Celtic and Doncaster Rovers, £2.517bn) and Joe Lewis (Tottenham Hotspur, £2.7bn) complete the top 10.
'Manchester United, Manchester City & Chelsea are unreachable' - Luis Suarez writes off Liverpool's title chances
The Uruguayan feels his side's chances of winning the league are over but says they can win silverware, whilst also confessing he wasn't aware of his No.7 shirt's history
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has all but conceded the Premier League title to Manchester City, Manchester United or Chelsea.
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Many had tipped Kenny Dalglish's side as outsiders for the crown following a busy summer of spending but after defeats at Tottenham and Stoke, coupled with a disappointing home draw against Sunderland, Suarez believes his side’s title chances are already over.
"We have no limit and want to stay in the top four, but winning the Premier League is now very difficult,” Suarez told reporters.
Suarez believes the strength of Liverpool’s rivals is the reason they cannot challenge for the Premier League title, but is confident Dalglish can lead the side to some sort of domestic silverware.
He continued: “The main reason why it is so difficult is because the two Manchesters [United and City] and Chelsea are unreachable. But we can win the cups."
Meanwhile, Suarez confessed he wasn’t aware of the rich heritage behind his No. 7 shirt when he picked it, with the likes of Dalglish and Kevin Keegan having made the jersey famous.
"I didn't know the history of my No.7 shirt at Liverpool,” he added.
“I picked it because it was one of the few numbers available.
"Now that I know the story I am proud to wear the ‘seven’ and I try not to feel the burden of its heritage."
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[/spoiler]OTHER BOLLOX
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Tottenham are attempting a last-minute bid to sign Bradford's 15-year-old wonderkid George Green, who was thought to have opted to join Everton. Daily Mirror
Manchester United are set to go head-to-head with AC Milan for Benfica's £10m-rated midfielder Javi Garcia. Metro
Aston Villa are tracking 21-year-old Serbian striker Nemanja Milic, who plays for OFK Beograd.
Daily Mirror
Lille striker Moussa Sow, thought to be a target for Spurs and Arsenal, claims he is unsure where his future lies beyond the end of the current season, with contract negotiations seemingly at a standstill. talkSHIT
Newcastle United have joined the race for Leicester's versatile 18-year-old Jeffrey Schlupp, who is also attracting interest from Stoke City and Liverpool. Daily Mail
Scotland international and former Birmingham attacker James McFadden finally looks set to sign for Wolves after a spell training with the club. Daily Mirror
Millwall hope to persuade Swansea striker Stephen Dobbie to join them in a three-month loan move. Daily Mail
Doncaster have expressed an interest in Dan Gosling after Newcastle decided to send the midfielder out on loan. Daily Mirror
Derby are keen to take versatile Leeds player Aidan White on loan, with a view to a permanent move. Daily Mirror
Martin O'Neill is top of the list to replace Blackburn manager Steve Kean should the Scot be axed from Ewood Park. Daily Star
Spurs playmaker Rafael van der Vaart has admitted he was surprised to be used on the right side of midfield in the victory over Arsenal at the weekend. Daily Mail
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez says the club should focus on a cup this season after admitting winning the Premier League is "very difficult". Daily Mirror
Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny admits he would not rule out a move away from Emirates Stadium, particularly to Barcelona. Metro
however in the quickest change of heart in history the Arsenal goalkeeper has revealed he would really like to captain the Gunners. talkSHIT
Chelsea striker Fernando Torres has been warned by Spain boss Vicente del Bosque that he risks losing his place in the national team ahead of Euro 2012 if he fails to discover his best form. Daily Mirror
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is fully expecting another cauldron-like atmosphere when his team visit Liverpool on 15 October. "Every time we go there it is as if it's the biggest game of the century," he said. Metro
Unhappy Chelsea fans are organising a campaign to save Stamford Bridge after the club launched a proposal to buy back the parts of the stadium sold to supporters in the 1990s. That would enable the west London club to redevelop the site if it finds a new location. Daily Mirror
Fulham boss Martin Jol has apparently fined himself in the follow-up to the Carling Cup defeat by Chelsea, after which he reportedly fined rookie Swiss midfielder Pajtim Kasami for missing a penalty. Daily Mirror
Sao Paulo supporters have demanded on-loan Arsenal midfielder Denilson never plays for the club again, after he allegedly branded them "very, very annoying" on Twitter. Metro
more 'Tevez free' B*ll*x later ...
