FIT NOT FAT
CARLOS TEVEZ has finally created a good impression at Manchester City this season – with his fitness.
The Argentina striker returned to the club last Tuesday after going AWOL – and was only six pounds overweight.
Tevez’s condition has impressed City’s fitness coaches after he spent time on his country’s golf courses.
And he is convinced he will be fit to play after two weeks of City training.
But Tevez, 28, has to resolve his differences with manager Roberto Martinez, who he accused of treating him “like a dog”.
They are expected to meet for the first time since Tevez’s return when Mancini gets back from a weekend break in Italy.
Ex-West Ham and Manchester United star Tevez has not played for City since his bust-up with Mancini in Munich five months ago.
He is back after his hopes of a move to AC Milan were dashed.
Manchester City's Yaya Toure considering retiring from international football with Ivory Coast
The 28-year-old is unsure about his future with his country and says defeat at the Africa Cup of Nations has made him even more determined to win the Premier League
The 28-year-old was part of the side that lost in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations last weekend on penalties to Zambia.
And with the tournament set to be played again next January, the player says he is unsure whether or not he would like to continue representing his country.
“We will see whether I carry on,” Toure told the Sunday Mirror.
“I have to think about what is best for me, for my club and for my country. I love playing for Ivory Coast so it is not an easy thing to think about.
“Maybe if we had won against Zambia things would have been easier for me. The disappointment is big at the moment so I will wait until I have a clear mind before deciding what to do.
“The African Nations is being played again next year and because we have lost the final it is an emotional time for us all.
“But a decision about playing for Ivory Coast has to be made. I will take my time and think about things, about what I will do.”
Toure also stated that the defeat in Gabon last week has made him more determined to lift the Premier League title with City in May.
He added: “City are my club. I have a duty to them because I am a professional, but I also needed to play for my country.
“I did my duty, but I didn’t like being away from my City at such an important stage of the season.
“I really wanted to play against United in the FA Cup but could not get permission to be there.
“When I left we were in the two cups. When I came back we were out. I am happy that we are still first in the Premier League. That’s the most important thing, the aim is to stay there.”
City currently top the table with 60 points, two ahead of rivals United in second and seven in front of third-placed Tottenham.
Manchester City's on-loan forward John Guidetti was sent off for Feyenoord for removing his shirt after scoring a penalty - as he had already been booked. 101greatgoals.com
Manchester City will set new chief executive target of doubling club's income
Manchester City will set their soon-to-be-appointed chief executive a target of more than doubling the club's income to £400 million (Dh2.3 billion) a year.
The target, one that exceeds by nearly £70m Manchester United's record revenue for an English club, underlines the ambitions of the club's Abu Dhabi ownership to establish City as one of the global game's principal powers.
City reported a turnover of £153.2m for the 2010/11 season, a sum that placed 12th in Deloitte's annual ranking of football club incomes. That figure, although a 22 per cent increase on the preceding year, left City behind United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham on the list of Premier League earners. It also came in tandem with a loss of £194.9m.
A significant portion of that deficit was the product of "front-loading" expenditure on a squad capable of competing for the Premier and Champions league titles. But the club's hierarchy is aware that income, particularly from commercial sources, must be multiplied to convert City into the kind of self-sustaining business required by Uefa Financial Fair Play regulations.
A stadium naming-rights deal with Etihad Airways will add around £35m a year for the next decade.
The club's top executives ultimately want to surpass United's annual revenue, which reached £331.4m in the year ending June 2011.
The identity of Garry Cook's replacement as chief executive has been kept a tightly guarded secret, the process handled by the executive-recruitment company Odgers Berndtson and the most senior members of City's hierarchy.
The new chief executive is likely to be found from outside the world of football. Also, City have stressed that they will bring in only one new executive into their management structure.
Ferran Soriano, formerly the vice president of Barcelona, was briefing friends that he had been offered the job, while Soriano's sports director at Barcelona, Txiki Begiristain, was also privately confident of joining him at City.
Soriano's candidacy has been complicated by the voluntary bankruptcy of Spanair; the Catalan had been the airline's chairman since leaving Barcelona.
Discussion within the club has suggested that the responsibilities of the football administrator Brian Marwood could be under threat, with the incoming chief executive to be handed control of player transfers and contracts.
OTHER BOLLOX
Arsenal will scrap their wage cap in a bid to keep their best players and attract stellar signings. The current limit is about £100,000 a week but, amid the fall-out from their 4-0 Champions League defeat at AC Milan, there is an acceptance among the Gunners hierarchy that there must be a major change of direction. Sunday Mirror
Manchester United and Chelsea could be set to fight it out for the signature of out-of-favour Barcelona centre-back Gerard Pique, 25. Metro
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mario Gotze's agent has denied claims that negotiations over a summer transfer to Manchester United for the 19-year-old are under way. Metro
Andre Villas-Boas will mount a big-money raid for 26-year-old Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao this summer. The Chelsea manager will reportedly get the financial backing from owner Roman Abramovich, as long as he offloads a number of their squad to help balance the books. Caughtoffside.com
Villas-Boas is one Champions League defeat away from the sack. Sunday Mirror
Portsmouth centre-back Sam Magri, 17, is to go on trial with Liverpool this week as he looks to secure a permanent transfer. talkShite
Hartlepool United are pondering a loan move for 20-year-old Sunderland striker Ryan Noble, who has returned from a spell at Derby County. Sunderland Echo
Brighton boss Gus Poyet is worried that his friend and Uruguayan compatriot Luis Suarez will be driven out of England by the racism row with Manchester United defender Patrice Evra. Sunday Mirror
Wayne Rooney went to watch boyhood club Everton beat Blackpool on his weekend off - but endured the disdain of his hometown fans again by committing the cardinal sin of leaving 10 minutes before the end. Metro
Jamie Redknapp could decide if his dad Harry becomes the next England manager. Daily Express
Harry Redknapp has confirmed Tottenham Hotspur's interest in signing Lille's Eden Hazard, 21. Observer
Arsene Wenger's 16-year reign as Arsenal manager is under increasing pressure after the revelation that Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola could replace him in the summer. Mail on Sunday
Anton Zingarevich, the Russian millionaire poised to become majority shareholder at Reading, wants to sign Manchester United striker Michael Owen. Sunday Times
Rock legend Robert Plant has paid tribute to Wolves boss Mick McCarthy, who was sacked this week. Express & Star
Parent groups have accused Man United of "profiteering from children's loyalty" after they unveiled their fifth home strip in just five years. Sunday Mirror
MORE BOLLOX SOON
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