Arsenal are reportedly monitoring Man City forward Edin Dzeko as Arsene Wenger scouts possible attacking additions this summer. The Bosnian international has not been a regular starter at the Etihad Stadium and has been linked with a move away from the title chasers which has led to the Gunners boss considering making a bid for the 26 year old.
The 6ft 4in former Wolfsburg striker cost Man City £27m when he arrived from the Bundesliga in January 2010 and has struggled to hold down a spot in Roberto Mancini’s starting eleven. Dzeko has made 39 Premier League appearances, of which 17 have come from the bench, and netted a healthy total of 15 in the process.
However Mancini appears to favour Sergio Aguero and Mario Balotelli and the return of Carlos Tevez may well add another barrier to Dzeko’s progress, hence the apparent interest of a number of club’s on the continent, said to include the likes of Borussia Dortmund and Juventus.
Arsene Wenger may well be looking to bring in alternative striking alternatives and having seen Dzeko score relatively freely could see the Man City man as a possible partner up front for Robin Van Persie. Marouane Chamakh and Gervinho have failed to offer goal-scoring support to their club captain and the North London side will surely be looking to remedy that situation when the transfer window re-opens.
The Gunners have been strongly linked with a proposed move for German international Lukas Podolski but the Koln man may be considered as a wide-option, a role the 26 year old often effectively fills on national team duty.
Given that Arsenal have sold Man City a number of players in recent seasons, including Emmanuel Adebayor, Samir Nasri, Kolo Toure and Gael Clichy, perhaps Wenger may feel he could lure a player to move in the opposite direction and Dzeko may feel he needs to move in order to secure regular first team football.
Arsene Wenger was heavily linked with interest in Dzeko when he was at Wolfsburg and a move for the Man City man, though no doubt expensive, could be a wise one to consider.
Nasri: Why I want United to keep winning
Manchester City's Samir Nasri has bizarrely confessed he hopes their title rivals Manchester United win their next six matches.
Nasri's late winning goal against Chelsea on Wednesday moved City to within a point of leaders United, with nine games left for both clubs.
And the France midfielder then revealed he wants the two Manchester rivals to win their next half-dozen games, ensuring their meeting at Eastlands on Monday April 30 is effectively a title decider.
“It will be more interesting for everyone if United win all of their games,” explained Nasri.
"It would be fantastic for the fans, and for us as well.
“I know United will be there until the end. They have the experience and a manager who has won everything for 25 years.
“Even if I said I hope they lose, sometimes you have to be realistic, and I don’t think they will lose too many games - firstly, because they don’t have any really difficult games, and secondly because they have experience of that type of game.
“I think they will win, so we have to do the same and win all of our games.
"I don’t think they’ll lose seven of their last nine games!”
City manager Roberto Mancini said Nasri, who has had an inconsistent first season at City since a summer move from Arsenal, can reach the level of Barcelona playmakers Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
“Samir is a top player,” said the Italian. “He is young and needs to improve, but he could become a player like David Silva, like Xavi, like Iniesta.”
MCF.net Thread: http://www.mancityfans.net/mcfnet/viewt ... 19&t=42226
Furious Alex Ferguson tells Manchester City he has 'plenty of ammunition' following Paul Scholes jibe
Sir Alex Ferguson has launched an amazing attack on Manchester City and warned them he has "plenty of ammunition" if they want to engage in mind games.
Earlier this week, former Blues midfielder Patrick Vieira said the decision to bring Paul Scholes out of retirement smacked of desperation.
However, United have won nine Premier League games and drawn one with Scholes in the team, suggesting the move has worked.
It certainly has provided Ferguson with the opportunity to hit back in a week when Carlos Tevez has made his controversial return to the Manchester City fold.
"If it's desperation bringing the best midfielder in Britain back for the last 20 years then I think we can accept that," said Ferguson.
"I think he (Vieira) was programmed for that.
"Roberto had a wee dig a couple of weeks back. We're all going to play our hand that way. There will be plenty of ammunition for that.
"If you talk about desperation, they played a player the other night who refused to go on the pitch, the manager said he'd never play again and he takes a five-month holiday in Argentina. What is that? Could that come under the description of desperation?"
Ferguson also rejected Vieira's assertion that a further sign of United struggling was their inability to keep hold of Ravel Morrison during the January transfer window and their on-going battle to retain Paul Pogba.
"The point he made about Ravel Morrison and losing our young players - we wanted to sell him (Morrison) let's be clear about that, for obvious reasons.
"But we want Pogba to stay because we think he's going to be a fantastic Manchester United player and hopefully that's the case."
PORTSMOUTH SNAP UP MAN CITY'S LUCA SCAPUZZI
Portsmouth were given a much-needed boost last night when manager Michael Appleton signed two Manchester City youngsters on loan for a month, subject to Premier League clearance.
Forward Luca Scapuzzi and central defender Karim Rekik could come into contention for tomorrow’s Championship relegation battle at Coventry.
Vialli: Mancini has strength of character to win Man City the Premier League
Former Sampdoria and Italy team-mate Gianluca Vialli claims Roberto Mancini has what it takes to lift the Premier League title for Man City.
Speaking to Keys and Gray he said: “Mancini definitely has the strength of character what it takes to get Man City over the line, I think he’s underrated by the media in this country but his record speaks for itself.
“He’s a winner and he knows what it takes, he’s got very simply ideas when it comes to football which, in my opinion, is a great quality. “He’s very good at managing his players, it does matter if you’re a big name or not, he does what is best for the team. He’s been there and done it before with Inter Milan.”
European Commission turns up the heat on Manchester City to play fair
Manchester City are now under intense scrutiny from the European Commission as it clamps down on unsustainable financing of football clubs.
Uefa and the Commission’s competition department released a joint statement on Wednesday expressing several “concerns” relating to the financial framework of the club game. The statement focused on the compatibility of state aid with European policy and the new Financial Fair Play [FFP] rules Uefa is introducing for clubs in its competitions.
In a letter to Uefa’s president, Michel Platini, the Commission’s competition commissioner, Joaquín Almunia, wrote: “The European Commission has expressed concerns that clubs in the short term pay inflated transfer fees and wages for players, even when their true financial position should not allow them to do so, thus gaining an advantage on the field.
“In my view, such policy seems particularly unjustified in the context of the current economic downturn where austerity measures are being introduced in all member states.
“Against this background, I consider of paramount importance to fully support the objectives of the FFP, recognising the value of robust licensing systems, including cost-control mechanisms, to promote good governance in sport.
“The central objective of FFP [namely to ‘live within your means’ or ‘break even’] ensures prudent economic management that will serve to protect both the interests of individual clubs and players as well as the football sector in Europe as a whole.”
Neither the Commission nor Uefa would comment on individual cases. But it is clear City are chief among the clubs who are sustained only by shareholder support, without which they would be hopelessly insolvent.
Last November, Manchester City announced an annual loss in the 12 months to May 31, 2011, of £197 million. It meant the club’s Abu Dhabi owners had plunged £800 million into the club since taking over in 2008. While this has transformed City into title contenders, one of Uefa’s concerns relates to the way such investments distort competitive balance.
Platini wrote in his response to Almunia: “The current economic climate requires, now more than ever, strong financial discipline and prudent economic management in order to secure a healthy and competitive football sector in Europe. There is, in my opinion, no more important subject for the future health of European football than the effective implementation of Financial Fair Play.”
City did not respond to a request to comment on the statement and accompanying correspondence. But there is a strong view within the Premier League that its most extravagant clubs are not alone in Europe in drawing succour from outside sources.
Famously, Real Madrid sold their training ground to the local authority, receiving hundreds of millions of pounds to spend on team strengthening.
He's Sweden's wonderkid, a revelation in Holland and he's sending a message back to Manchester... I'll be your No 9 Carlos Tevez is not the only wave-making exiled Manchester City striker returning to the club. Over in Holland, John Guidetti, on loan at Feyenoord from City, has 18 goals in 17 starts for the Rotterdam club and is literally front-page news.
Guidetti joined Feyenoord for the season last September and is nothing less than a sensation. At 19, he has scored three hat-tricks, one of which was against Ajax, Feyenoord's greatest rivals.
Guidetti's father Mike is half-Italian, which explains the surname, but the son is fully Swedish. Last month, John won his first senior Sweden cap in Croatia. Guidetti, therefore, has a chance of playing against England in the second Group D game at Euro 2012.
'The European Championship is in my mind but it's not certain,' he said. 'Imagine if I scored and England went out. That would be me finished in England!'
Guidetti was laughing at himself as he sat in the gentrified Little Manhattan area of Rotterdam dockyard. The teenager, who as a boy spent five years in Kenya, where his father was teaching, is planning to build a school in Nairobi. But other plans are on hold. That includes at club level.
Feyenoord's season ends on May 6, after which Guidetti is due back in Manchester. Having joined City in the days of Sven Goran Eriksson, Guidetti signed a new three-year deal last summer.
Such has been his experience in Rotterdam, he requires a fresh conversation with City, despite having more than two years left on the deal.
On the table on Monday was Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad. Guidetti was on its front page celebrating Feyenoord's victory at Steve McClaren's FC Twente. This is Guidetti's presence in Holland.
At Feyenoord there are petitions to keep him and one to build a statue of him after the hat-trick against Ajax. He has met fans who have his name and the score that day tattooed on them.
Feyenoord, disgracefully, were beaten 10-0 by PSV Eindhoven last season, then sold three key players. This season was expected to be dreadful but instead they are fifth, five points off the top. Ronald Koeman is the manager, but teenage Guidetti is the icon.
'Feyenoord are a massive club, the fans make that,' he said. 'Many people have told me there are bigger clubs in Europe but that's as maybe. Only at Besiktas do the fans match Feyenoord's.
'At the training session before our game against Ajax we had around 7,000. For the first 15 minutes we couldn't see, there were so many fireworks and flares.
'Feyenoord hadn't beaten Ajax for six years. The fans here don't even call them Ajax, they call them '020' - the telephone code. They don't like saying the word Ajax. I know they have taken it too far with me, but it is nice to be cal led the "Saviour of Rotterdam". To hear that is amazing. I'm 19.
'Maybe the quality is not as high as at Manchester City but the club are almost as big. It's been a great time for me. It means a lot to be here having this responsibility. Not only is it good for your self-confidence, it's good as a learning curve, because i t' s heavy sometimes, it's a lot of pressure.
'It's given me so much. I've developed as a player and as a human being, taking responsibility.'
Critics will say that defending in the Eredivisie is of a low standard but Guidetti mentions that Ajax won at Manchester United last month, AZ Alkmaar have beaten Udinese and Twente beat Fulham in December.
'These are not bad teams,' he said. 'Of course, there are some teams not as good but it's still hard to score. There's still a 90kg defender who wants to hold you. He's maybe not John Terry or Vincent Kompany but he can still jump, head, tackle. It's not a walk in the park. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored 25 goals and got a move to Real Madrid.'
The intensity of this season leaves Guidetti concerned about his absence from the Etihad Stadium. Patrick Vieira has been across to Holland more than once to assure Guidetti that he is in Roberto Mancini's thoughts, but though Guidetti says 'what a man, what a role model' of Vieira, nothing is decided.
'I don't know what Man City are thinking but I want to play football,' said Guidetti. There was no confrontation in his tone. It is his assessment of a club who already have Mario Balotelli, Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero and Tevez.
'If I can't play at Manchester City - I'm a young boy - then I'll have to play somewhere else. If I am going to be given a chance at City then I have to be on the same level as the other boys. If I'm given No 68, then I don't have a chance of playing. I have to see what comes up. Maybe I'll get a chance to go to a big team that will give me No 9 or No 10 and say, "OK, we're ready to pay you this money".
'I don't care about the money but in football it shows where you are. It says, "This is how much we believe in giving you this chance". And I want the chance. I don't want to be a reserve at City, I can't be. I have to be honest with people, I'm not going to lie.
'I'm not saying City should do this or that, maybe they don't want me - they can get any player in the world. Their wealth is extreme. Maybe they want Van Persie or Messi. Those two are as tall as these buildings and I'm down here. I know that.'
Guidetti talks the way he plays - all-action, passion. He is two-footed, and confident.
McClaren said: 'When I was at Forest at the beginning of the season, I spoke to City to try to get Guidetti on loan. He's that sort of old-fashioned English striker that works so hard, is a good target and has the knack of scoring. That's what I saw, that's what I liked. He's a handful, the centre half never gets a rest.
'Now he needs to go on a bit, play back in England. He has the ability. For Sweden he'll be an impact player, and a bloody good one. A nice one to have in your squad.'
City may share that last sentiment; Guidetti does not. He has made one appearance for the club in a League Cup tie 18 months ago. He had a brief loan spell at Burnley, too.
But the impact he has made at Feyenoord, and the impact Feyenoord have had on him, have changed his status. Like Tevez, Guidetti is another striking City asset who wants to be in the starting XI.
<and breath .... >
'Tevez remains a player who can change a game' Phil McNulty
Roberto Mancini knew exactly what time it was as Manchester City stared into the face of a four-point deficit at the top of the Premier League. He lifted from the language of Sir Alex Ferguson to admit "it was squeaky bum time".
It was also time for an old feud to be forgotten. It was time for pragmatism to overcome what many regarded as the unpalatable. It was time for Carlos Tevez.
Gary Cahill's deflected goal on the hour gave Chelsea a lead they did not deserve and brought the frustration and anxiety that had been bubbling under at the Etihad to the surface. Manchester City faced the biggest pressure point of their season so far.
Mancini turned to Tevez, back as a substitute and £9.3m lighter in his wallet since it was claimed he refused to warm up in the Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich in Germany, and waved the Argentine into action.
Unlike that September night in the Allianz Arena, there was no communication breakdown or alleged insubordination. Six minutes later Tevez was on the touchline to replace Nigel de Jong, sent on with a pat on the back from the manager who had washed his hands of him not so long ago.
Tevez's reception was mixed and City's supporters swiftly turned to chants in support of Mancini, almost in a public expression of where their true loyalties lay. It was now up to Tevez to win over more hearts and minds.
Carlos Tevez helped set up Samir Nasri's late winner for Manchester City. Photo: AP
And so he did with a cameo that justified Mancini's willingness to forgive and forget, even if it is temporarily as a means to justify the end of winning the title, and suggested he may still exert significant impact on a season tainted with acrimony.
The stage was set after Sergio Aguero equalised from the spot, leaving Tevez playing his part with five minutes left. Showing composure and the awareness of time and space in a heavily-populated penalty area that is a gift of the most talented, Tevez slipped a neat reverse pass into the path of the outstanding Samir Nasri for City's winner.
Mancini pumped his fists in triumph as the Etihad erupted. It gave City a victory that closed the gap on United back to a single point. The Italian had set aside any lingering differences he may have with Tevez for what he regarded as the greater good of the team and had been rewarded.
And Mancini is wise enough to know that those supporters who jeered Tevez can have their feelings altered if he produces defining moments. No jeering was heard at the final whistle here. There were tears in defeat at Swansea's Liberty Stadium - not here.
How this previously fractured relationship holds together for the last nine games of the season remains to be seen, but here it was an obvious force for good.
<PANT ...>
Tevez may still need to shed a few pounds in the coming weeks but he remains a player who can change a game, a player opponents know can hurt them. This is what Mancini was counting on when he finally decided to recall him to the colours.
This was not simply a night for Tevez's rehabilitation. It was a night that should restore any self-belief City may have lost after defeat to Swansea City and the exit over two legs to Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League.
City's supporters, in large part, stuck with their team but nerves have been frayed by recent faltering, resulting in even the normally untouchable David Silva feeling the rough edge of their tongues after a fluffed first-half corner.
And if City's players had any fears that a first title since 1967-68 was inexorably slipping away with Cahill's scrappy goal - complete with a nudge from David Luiz on Gareth Barry in the build-up - they were overcome.
Instead of cracking under the strain, instead of listening to the growing whispers that they were choking under pressure, City responded with character to push Chelsea back and claim a vital three points to offer up evidence that they are still a side with the ability to push the title race right to the final hurdle.
Mancini alluded to the long-term benefits accrued by the manner of this win when he said: "It is more than three points from this game. We took the points but it is more than that. It is important for what happens to us after this victory."
City still trail United by a point but Mancini will be delighted that they remain masters of their own destiny with Sir Alex Ferguson's side still to visit the Etihad - although the run-in looks kinder to the reigning champions than their pursuers.
Tevez's return will not have sat easily with many after the turbulence of the last six months, but Mancini was prepared to see the wider context.
It was a context that came into even sharper focus with the decline in Edin Dzeko's form and the vagaries of Mario Balotelli, who was substituted at half-time against Chelsea. Mancini simply explained afterwards: "I did not like how he played."
As Tevez continues a fitness regime, it is easy to see Mancini relying on an all-Argentine strike force with Aguero in the coming weeks. A powerful weapon and potent threat has been restored for City.
The pass that fashioned the winning goal was a very small step on Tevez's road to redemption in the eyes of many City supporters - but even those who are not easily willing to forgive or forget events of the past will agree it was a good starting point.
<PUFF ... PUFF ... KEEP UP>
Captain Coffeemate: Alex Ferguson takes no nonsense
Manchester United great Bryan Robson says Sir Alex Ferguson's zero-tolerance approach to unruly players has given his club the edge over Manchester City in the Premier League title race.
According to Robson, City strikers Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli have been allowed to disrupt their team's challenge in a way that Ferguson would never have allowed.
"The Tevez saga, stories of Balotelli's nights outs, Ferguson doesn't allow it to happen in his club," said Robson. "He does man-management really well. That could be the biggest difference."
Roberto Mancini's side were five points clear earlier in the season but remain in contention after coming from 1-0 down to beat Chelsea 2-1 on Wednesday.
Tevez played in that game, returning to the City team for the first time in six months following a major falling-out with Mancini.
As for fellow striker Balotelli, another controversial figure at City, he was fined a week's wages earlier in March for breaking a club curfew for the second time this season.
Robson contrasts Mancini's handling of the pair with Ferguson's hardline approach towards Wayne Rooney, who was fined and dropped after under-performing in training following a night out.
Although United then lost at home to bottom-of-the-league Blackburn, Robson says Ferguson sent out an important message to the rest of the squad by leaving out one of his most influential players.
"You look at certain managers," said Robson, speaking ahead of the Soccerex European Forum to be held in Manchester next week. "And you wonder, would they have left Rooney out?
"Ferguson had millions of injuries for that game - he was fielding a depleted team - but he still decided to leave Wayne out.
"The boss has shown that it doesn't matter how good you are, you are not going to get away with it."
The episode led to speculation that Rooney would be sold by United, but Robson, a club ambassador, insists the relationship between manager and player is in good health.
"Wayne is a strong character, which the manager has always liked," said Robson, who helped United win the Premier League in 1993 and 1994 to mark the end of an illustrious 13 years at the club.
"He is never afraid to get strong characters in his dressing room. If a player wants to stand up and have his say, the manager will always allow you to do that. But, at the end of the day, it will be his decision."
Robson also said stories of divisions in the City camp would have boosted the United players.
"You like it because, in a dressing room, you want a bond," he said. "I know for a fact that, as a player, the better you get on with your team-mates, the better you will do for each other on a match day."
Although convinced the title is United's to lose, Robson is not ruling out City and believes the derby at Etihad Stadium on 30 April will have a major impact on the outcome.
Even if City win, however, Robson says the club's immense wealth will dilute Mancini's achievement in many people's eyes.
"The Man City job is a no-win situation," he said. "If Roberto Mancini wins the league this year, everyone will say he had £300m to spend on players and their set-up is unbelievable.
"If he fails people will say 'How can you fail with that type of money?'"
<AND RELAX>
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]OTHER BOLLOX
France coach Laurent Blanc has emerged as the leading contender to be the next Chelsea manager, should preferred targets Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho prove beyond reach. Times
Manchester United are set to sign Crystal Palace defender Nathaniel Clyne, 20, when his contract expires this summer, and will throw in £2.5m to avoid a tribunal. Metro
Chelsea will have to fight to keep defender David Luiz this summer, with Barcelona preparing to offer £35m for the Brazil defender. Daily Mail
West Bromwich Albion have told Birmingham City they want to sign on-loan goalkeeper Ben Foster, 28, on a permanent deal. Daily Mirror
Chelsea will look to lure Newcastle United striker Demba Ba, 26, to Stamford Bridge this summer in an effort to give themselves more options up front. Caught offside
Juventus winger Milos Krasic, 27, has admitted he was wrong to snub a move to Tottenham, and claims there was never any possibility of him joining Chelsea. Metro
Real Madrid have stepped up their interest in Chelsea target Douglas Baggio, the 17-year-old striker who plays for Flamengo in Brazil. talkShite
Blackburn's Junior Hoilett, 21, has been warned by manager Steve Kean that he might not be as big a star at another club, as Arsenal, Newcastle and Bayern Munich track him. Daily Mirror
Norwich are set for a summer clearout, with Zak Whitbread, Elliott Ward and Aaron Wilbraham unlikely to be offered new deals. The Sun
Thierry Henry made a flying visit from the United States to see former Arsenal team-mate and close friend Fabrice Muamba, the Bolton midfielder who remains in hospital. Daily Mail
Charles N'Zogbia says he is happy at Aston Villa, having been quoted in L'Equipe as saying he was "disgusted" after a meeting with boss Alex McLeish. Birmingham Mail
Paul Robinson insists he has no desire to return to the England fold despite Fabio Capello's departure as manager. The Guardian
Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt says team-mate Luis Suarez is getting back to his best. Liverpool Echo
QPR defender Anton Ferdinand has revealed he was in an early version of boy band JLS, having been childhood friends with one of the group's singers, Marvin Humes. Daily Mirror
Manchester United have launched a second bid of around £20m for Benfica midfielder Nico Gaitan , 24, according to sources in Portugal. talkShite
Highly rated Liverpool winger Raheem Sterling , 17, could quit in the summer over frustration at a lack of first-team opportunities, with his mum wanting him to return to his native London, where Tottenham are watching events. Daily Mirror
Paris Saint-Germain captain Mamadou Sakho , 22, has urged the club to move for Chelsea striker Didier Drogba. Inside Futbol
Millwall will search their fans for Turkey flags when they play Leeds on Saturday to avoid a repeat of last season's taunts over the two United fans stabbed to death in Istanbul in 2000.
Daily Mail
Amateur football club Wheel Power, leaders of the Torbay Sunday League, inflicted what's believed to be the heaviest defeat in British history - beating Nova 2010 FC 58-0. Metro
