City supporter John Millington appeared on TV screens around the world after he was shown apparently in tears as the Blues lost at Swansea. But John says he wasn’t crying and was ‘just emotional’ after years of watching the Blues struggle 1/2 The City fan captured ‘crying’ on camera during the Blues’ defeat at Swansea today claimed: "I wasn’t crying, I was just frustrated.
Footage of John Millington was beamed around the world after he was filmed apparently in tears after Roberto Mancini’s titlechasers conceded the winning goal late in Sunday’s Premier League clash.
The 1-0 defeat allowed bitter rivals United – who beat West Brom 2-0 – to take over at the top of the Premier League, with just 10 games to go.
But Royal Mail worker John, 26, from Droylsden, says he WASN’T crying.
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The Etihad season card holder blamed his emotional reaction on a combination of exhaustion, beer and 21 years of hurt. And despite TV clips suggesting otherwise he is adamant he was not in tears. He said: "I wasn’t crying. There may have been a tear in my eye but I was just exhausted and frustrated.
"I put my head down and when I looked up there was a camera in my face and I knew what it would have looked like. I just thought ‘oh no’." John says his reaction came at the end of a long weekend.
He said: "I can’t really remember it, I’d finished work the night before at eight, not gone to bed until midnight and had to be up at 4am.
"I think it was a combination of the beer and being tired and it all just went bang. I knew they (United) were winning 2-0 and when Swansea scored I was devastated.
"I know there’s a long way to go now but at the time I just couldn’t see past those 90 minutes and it all got on top of me.
"It was sheer frustration. I’ve been watching City for 21 years and we’ve always been second best. I thought this was our year and it just went wrong and at the time I just thought our chance had gone." John, who works in Cheadle Heath, says he has been stunned by the reaction to his breakdown.
He said: "I had a load of abuse on the coach on the way back. They were singing the Oasis song, Stop Crying Your Heart Out which was quite funny.
"I’ve not been on the internet but I’ve been told a lot of it is quite nasty.
"Someone has put my phone number on Facebook and my phone has not stopped ringing with people I don’t know phoning and abusing me. Some of it is a bit out of order to be honest.
"I’d just say to people that you don’t know what is going on in others’ lives. And they slowed it down to make it look much worse than it was. There was a tear in my eye but I wasn’t crying. And it’s still in our hands. If we beat United we’ll be alright.
"I hope we do because if we don’t, I don’t think I’ll ever live this down."
Manchester City should strive for the title without disloyal Carlos Tevez
IF CARLOS TEVEZ wins the title for Manchester City it will be the moment that English football ceases to be a team game.
If there is TV footage in May of him jigging up and down with the Premier League trophy, some of us will remember other pictures of Tevez this season.
We shall recall images of him sitting, with his arms folded, insouciantly chewing gum on the bench at the Allianz Arena in Munich when City needed him in the Champions League.
And we shall recollect shots of him later that evening, gurning with glee as the City party left Munich on the way home.
It was those pictures which render his alibi implausible.
To recap: the game against Bayern Munich in September was probably City’s most important European fixture for a generation. Victory would have given them control of Group A, but they conceded two goals and so, with 35 minutes left, manager Roberto Mancini tried to send on Tevez.
Despite a £250,000-a-week contract which presumably says something about kicking balls for all that dosh, Argentinian Carlos Tevez just sat there, chewing and shrugging.
Despite a £250,000-a-week contract which presumably says something about kicking balls for all that dosh, Argentinian Tevez just sat there, chewing and shrugging.
Afterwards his people told us it had all been a misunderstanding. You see, little Carlos thought he was being told to warm up. As he had only just finished jogging up and down the line, he was warm enough, thank you. He never refused to play. Goodness, no. As if.
His people maintained that line as Mancini vowed Tevez was finished as a City player, as the player went AWOL to South America, and throughout his prolonged golfing holiday.
But why didn’t Tevez apologise straight away after the loss in Munich? Why didn’t he show a morsel of regret once it was clear Mancini had wanted him to play?
Mancini continued to rage. Those who cared about the club were plunged into despondency by the defeat. But Tevez laughed and joked as he left the ground. According to journalists on the flight, he was in a jovial mood all the way back to Manchester. He must have known by then that, by accident or (more credibly) by design, he had spurned the team when they needed him, but he did not care.
City fined Tevez and when he absconded to Argentina, they stopped paying the wastrel’s wages. They put their unprecedented wealth to good use by insisting they would keep him unused but under contract until 2014 if necessary.
The January transfer window opened. Then it closed. No move was in the offing and Tevez was still a City player. So he sloped back to the UK, complaining he had been treated like a dog by Mancini but with his tail between his legs.
Somebody wrote an apology for him. It claimed to be sincere and unreserved but was neither. It was begrudging and carefully worded. It was born of necessity rather than remorse – the desire to be paid rather than a craving for conciliation.
Contrary to what my regular City correspondents imagine, I have no agenda against the club. If anyone had to strike oil, I am glad it is City, whose supporters deserve reward for their extraordinary loyalty when their club went down the divisions.
If only Tevez had shown them anything like the same loyalty.
I understand why City might turn to Tevez now. They lost at Swansea on Sunday, David Silva looked as if he had lost his mojo and Mario Balotelli looked like he had lost his marbles – again. Tevez is their player and they need him.
But they needed him at the Allianz Arena five months ago and it seemed he did not care.
It will not matter one way or the other to me if City become champions, but I just wish they could strive to do it without Tevez.
If he is allowed to play a significant part now for the club and supporters to whom he demonstrated disdain, it will be a desperately sad day for football and for decency. Express
Sledging? No just banter, say the FA after Hart's penalty antics
Joe Hart will not face any action from the FA for ‘sledging’ Swansea penalty taker Scott Sinclair, even though the controversial tactic cost Manchester City’s goalkeeper a place in the European Under 21 Championship final.
Hart confronted Sinclair after Swansea were awarded a penalty in the sixth minute of Sunday’s game at the Liberty Stadium, and continued shouting at him as he retreated back towards his goal-line.
The 24-year-old tried to put Sinclair off by telling him repeatedly that he would not score from the spot. It appeared to work as Hart saved the striker’s weak penalty — although Swansea went on to win 1-0.
Sledging can be deemed unsporting behaviour. Hart missed out on an appearance for England Under 21s in the 2009 Euro final against Germany after being booked for trying to put off Sweden players in a semi-final penalty shootout by talking to them and even blowing raspberries.
However, FA sources indicated yesterday that no action will be taken on this occasion, and nor will Hart be advised to avoid such behaviour while on England duty.
They put his actions down to banter with a player he knows well from the Under 21 set-up and insisted any incidents during the game were down to the judgment of referee Lee Mason.
Hart revealed earlier this season, in an interview with The Sun, how he used sledging to try and outwit Frank Lampard before the Chelsea substitute converted a late penalty at Stamford Bridge in December to hand City their first Premier League defeat of the campaign.
‘As soon as the penalty was given I was talking to him,’ recalled Hart.
‘I realised the enormous pressure he was under. He’d just come on as a sub and this was a massive moment.
‘Right away I was telling him “I know exactly what you’re going to do Frank. I know exactly where you’re going to put it”. He didn’t react at all but I know he could hear me and he admitted as much afterwards.
‘But credit to Frank because he didn’t say anything back, he just kept his head down. So it all turned into this crazy mind game between the two of us, both trying to second-guess the other.
Mind games: Sinclair had his penalty saved
‘I was convinced I could save it but as I dived he blasted it straight down the middle.
‘Now I can’t get it out of my head. It just won’t leave me. I can’t stop thinking about it. I know I have to move on but this is really bugging me.’
There was a similar incident at Old Trafford on Sunday as City’s title rivals Manchester United took over at the top of the table by beating West Bromwich Albion 2-0.
Wayne Rooney revealed that he stared at Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster after scoring his second goal from the penalty spot because his former United teammate had tried to put him off beforehand.
Rooney wrote on Twitter: ‘I looked at ben foster after pen because i took a lot of pens against him in training and before i took penalty he tried to put me off. Haha!’ Mail
Roberto Mancini faces a mutiny by "exhausted" Manchester City players.
They are unhappy after being forced to stay on in Portugal and train in sweltering heat after their defeat by Sporting Lisbon on Thursday and ahead of Sunday's loss to Swansea. Star
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Real Madrid star refuses to be drawn on Man City and Chelsea link
Manchester City and Chelsea face an anxious wait to see if they have a chance of signing Gonzalo Higuain after the Real Madrid striker revealed he will not consider his long-term future until the end of the season.
The 24-year-old is rated as one of the best strikers in Europe but his future remains uncertain at the Bernabeu as he faces stiff competition from Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema for a place in the Madrid attack.
Manchester City have been strongly linked with a move for the Argentine international, while Chelsea are also in the hunt to clinch his signature.
Both clubs face competition from Juventus, who have been monitoring his progress, and there seems certain to be a bidding war for his signature at the end of the season.
Higuain scored during the 3-2 win over Real Betis on Sunday night and he is refusing to be affected by all the speculation.
He said: "I am not going to talk about my future. I will devote my attention to Real Madrid for the remaining months of the season and try to do my job to help the team."
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[/spoiler]OTHER BOLLOX
Manchester United are the latest club to be linked with Lille and Belgium midfielder Eden Hazard. The 21-year-old would cost £30m and bolster the United midfield following the news that Anderson could miss the rest of the season with a severe hamstring injury. The Times
Tottenham are planning to prise teenage starlet Raheem Sterling away from Liverpool. The 17-year-old is frustrated at his lack of first-team opportunities at Anfield. Daily Mail
Aston Villa are ready to battle Fulham for the signature of Pavel Pogrebnyak, 28, who has scored five goals in four games on loan at Fulham from Stuttgart. Daily Mirror
Arsenal have joined Newcastle in the race to sign £5m-rated French midfielder Benjamin Corgne, 24, after Gunners scout Gilles Grimandi watched him again on Saturday. Metro
Rennes manager Frederic Antonetti says 21-year-old French midfielder Yann M'Vila, who has been linked with Arsenal, will leave the club at the end of the season. Goal.com
Liverpool look like they are losing out to Italian giants Inter Milan in the race for Udinese's 23-year-old utility man Mauricio Isla.
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French midfielder Paul Pogba, 18, could be set to sign a new contact at Manchester United after being linked with a move away from Old Trafford. Manchester Evening News
Manchester United defender Ritchie De Laet, 23, has no intention of leaving the club on loan and has vowed to force his way into Sir Alex Ferguson's side. SkySports
Kenny Dalglish has launched an impassioned defence of his record at Liverpool, claiming he should not be judged by the club's league position alone and that kit deals are as important as victories. Guardian
Meanwhile, Dalglish wants the FA to throw the book at Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger, who recently labelled Liverpool striker Luis Suarez a diver.
Manchester United fear midfielder Anderson could miss the rest of the season after badly damaging his hamstring. Daily Mail
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp admits he is not sure whether he wants to be the new England boss. the Sun
Swansea defender Ashley Williams believes Sunday's win against Manchester City could be the start of a 'golden era.' South Wales Evening Post
Wolves have given boss Terry O'Connor a vote of confidence just three games after he took over from sacked Mick McCarthy. The Sun
West Brom's Jonas Olsson is furious with himself for getting sent off in the defeat against Manchester United on Sunday. Birmingham Mail
The Liverpool fan accused of racially abusing Norwich City midfielder Tom Adeyemi - currently on loan to Oldham Athletic - will face no charges. Norwich Evening News
Chelsea striker Fernando Torres was the butt of a joke at Didier Drogba's Foundation charity ball when the winner of a training session with the Ivorian offered to give it to the goal-shy Spanish striker. Metro
France star Zinedine Zidane's infamous headbutt on Italian defender Marco Materazi during the 2006 World Cup final has been turned into a work of art called 'Who's afraid of the big, bad, wolf?' which is being exhibited in New York. Marca
