Tuesday's B*ll*x

[Chinners]

Edin out of City!
Juventus and Real Madrid on alert as Mancini prepares to offload Dzeko
Manchester City have decided to offload Edin Dzeko at the end of the season in a move that had already alerted Juventus and Real Madrid.
City manager Roberto Mancini has let it be known he will listen to offers for Dzeko after noting the striker’s unrest over limited opportunities in the starting line-up and sensing they will become even scarcer.
Missing out: Edin Dzeko watches as Rui Patricio touches Joe Hart's header round the post
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho is a firm admirer of the 26-year old, while Juventus’ transfer priority this summer is to recruit a proven finisher who can give them the same cutting edge Zlatan Ibrahimovic provides for AC Milan.
Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain is the name at the top of Juve’s wanted list, but they are also considering the claims of Dzeko, Liverpool’s Luis Suarez and Internacional’s Tottenham target Leandro Damiao.
Higuain looks like having a say in shaping Dzeko’s destiny after it emerged he also figures prominently on Mancini’s summer wish-list.
Juventus bosses feel Ibrahimovic’s matchwinning flair for Milan is the only difference between the sides and have vowed to rectify their one shortcoming before the start of next season.
They have a transfer budget of almost £30million and are prepared to spend the bulk of it on a new attacking spearhead.
With Dzeko costing £27million little over a year ago, and City eager to recoup as much as possible of their outlay, Juve may have to, if they are to land the former Wolfsburg frontrunner.
Mourinho believes Dzeko would flourish at the Bernabeu and is ready to follow up his interest, if Higuain pushes for a move either to Turin or the Etihad Stadium.

ROBERTO MANCINI MAY HAND CARLOS TEVEZ STARTING LINE-UP SPOT
ROBERTO MANCINI is ready to hand Carlos Tevez his first start since September on Saturday to revive Manchester City’s flagging Premier League title hopes.
Leading scorer Sergio Aguero is facing a fight to be fit for the home game against Sunderland after missing the 1-1 draw at Stoke with an ankle injury.
And with Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli both going off the boil in recent games, Tevez could now be reinstated.
He has made only two substitute appearances since ending five months of disciplinary problems, and Mancini said last week he would need more pitch-time before he could start a game.
But Mancini is reconsidering that view, especially as Tevez will have had another week to improve his fitness by the weekend.
It is understood Mancini and his coaching staff are centring their plans around Tevez starting at the weekend.
Tevez made just one start in the Premier League this season, before his fall-out with City manage Mancini saw him go AWOL in his native Argentina.
It is down to us, there are always twists and turns. Anything can happen
Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry
His only other start came in the Carling Cup against Birmingham and he has not scored since the penultimate game of last season, but with City having surrendered their title race advantage to local rivals Manchester United, Mancini needs fresh attacking impetus.
City assistant boss David Platt has admitted Mancini’s players cannot afford to drop any points in their last eight games if they are to stand any chance of pipping United to the title.
Midfielder Gareth Barry has also conceded that United’s experience in closing out seasons from this point onwards might give them an edge.
“It is a cliche that is always used so it has to have some fact to it,” he said.
“I am sure it will help them but we’re trying not to speak about them too much. It is down to us, there are always twists and turns. Anything can happen.”

Gareth Barry and David Platt admit Manchester City can’t afford to drop any more points
Win a trip to Barcelona! Manchester City are in the last-chance saloon – and they have played all of their jokers. Manchester City's midfield ace Gareth Barry and assistant manager David Platt made it plain that there can be no more slip-ups between now and the end of the season if their title dream is not to dissipate in the Spring sunshine.
The 1-1 draw at Stoke edged the Blues back to the top of the table, but both Barry and Platt fully expect United to reclaim top spot after tonight’s game with Fulham at Old Trafford, when they could also wipe out City’s goal difference advantage of four.
While the draw at the Britannia felt like two points dropped, Barry insists that at the end of the season it could yet look like one gained.
“We knew that if they (United) win every game we could only afford to drop two points,” said Barry. “It is unfortunate it has come straight away but it is still three, and while it is three it is still in our hands.
“The belief is still there. We have got players who have won titles in the dressing room – there is a lot of experience there.
“Obviously we have got tough games coming up but we are capable of winning all of them.”
And Barry was still hopeful that the Reds, despite having a fairly straightforward run-in, could yet find a banana-skin or two.
“Football is strange sometimes. Everyone will be expecting United to roll Fulham over, but we can’t concentrate too much on their fixtures. It’s eight cup finals for us and we have got to try to get 24 points.”
Platt said little has changed after Stoke – City still need to win their remaining games, and not think about margins for error.
“We don’t look at it in that negative way,” he said. “We don’t look at it that we are going to make errors. The important thing is to continue on your road, to keep amassing points, whether we are top of the league or not – and at this moment in time that could be short-lived.
“United have a home game against Fulham, and you would have to expect them to take something from that – but we just follow our road.
“We expect them to beat Fulham and win quite a few games between now and the end of the season but we also expect ourselves to win quite a few games.
“We know we have got the capabilities to go between now and the end of the season unbeaten. But there are eight games to go, and we are going to have to play United.”
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson last week stoked the fires of the title race, responding to Patrick Vieira’s comments about the “desperation” of bringing Paul Scholes out of retirement.
Ferguson fired back that playing Carlos Tevez could be described as a desperate act, and promised City a verbal dust-up if they wanted to tangle with him. But manager Roberto Mancini is not interested in such verbal battles.
He firmly believes the fight should be restricted to the pitch, and that is why he ducked the media after the Stoke game, as well as the fact that he was angry with Stoke’s borderline tactics.
Mancini was asked about the mind games before the match after Ferguson’s statement that he had ‘plenty of ammunition’ and the City boss said, with a grin, that he was unconcerned as “I have a big helmet!”
Platt said Fergie’s words had simply tickled Mancini, and that his only response to the words would be to try to win games.
“Robbie just laughed,” said Platt. “It’s no problem to him. It’s not about him and it’s not about Sir Alex. It’s about the two teams alone and apart.
“He wants to win. He’s done it before and he wants to win. As regards the pressure on him, it’s not about whether he handles the pressure so much as it’s about whether the players go out and get the results.”
Platt said Mancini had decided not to face the media because he was concerned that his lack of English may cause him to say something he did not mean.
“He is intense and he is likely to get drawn on something because you are all good at your jobs and the moment there’s something in there you would have drawn something from it,” said Platt. “He doesn’t want to get involved in things that would detract from the fact that we’ve got eight games left.
“Because, to be honest with you, if he comes up and he says something and you draw it out of him – which as I say you are very good at your jobs to do so – then that takes a back page lead rather than the fact that we’ve got eight games and we can still follow our road.”
Barry also said that it was important not to be distracted by what United are saying or doing.
“It is the same for everyone really - this stage of the season is really tough and you have just got to knuckle down and try to win football games,” he said.
“There are always twists and turns at this stage.
“It is a long season and anything can happen. We are concentrating on us but I am sure other things can happen elsewhere in the league too.”
The midfielder conceded that United’s experience in closing out seasons from this point onwards might give them an edge.
“It is a cliche that is always used so it has to have some fact to it,” he said. “I am sure it will help them but we are trying not to speak about them too much because it is down to us.”

OTHER BOLLOX
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants to reinforce the holding midfield position with Rennes' Yann M'Vila, 21, and Lucas Biglia, 26, on his radar. Daily Telegraph

Goalkeeper Ben Foster is in the middle of an increasingly heated tug of war between West Brom, who want to buy him, and current club Birmingham City. Daily Mirror

Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew says he will have to try and sign more "gems" like Demba Ba and Yohan Cabaye if they are to continue to compete with the Premier League's elite. Metro

Aston Villa target Bas Dost is set to snub interest from Alex McLeish's side after labelling them "not very good". The Dutch striker has scored 23 times for Heerenveen this season. talkShite

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is planning a £12m bid for Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, as Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen prepare to leave Old Trafford. Caught Offside

Tranmere Rovers defender Danny Holmes is wanted by Rangers and Celtic as well as Liverpool. The 22-year-old was released by Rovers before he had a spell in the League of Wales. talkShite

France coach Laurent Blanc could become the highest-paid manager in Britain if he is interested in taking charge of Chelsea. The Times

Didier Drogba faces a Benfica backlash tonight after being filmed mocking the Portuguese giants by Chelsea TV, as he apparently quaked with fear when the Champions League draw was made. The Sun

Chelsea will consider lobbying the Football Association to have their FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham or Bolton brought forward 48 hours should they progress in the Champions League. The Guardian

Defender Sam Ricketts has revealed that the Bolton players were worried sick about friend and team-mate Fabrice Muamba. Bolton News

Sunderland striker Nicklas Bendtner has scored three goals in his last five matches - despite not being able to see thanks to his mask. Daily Mail

Former Argentina star Diego Maradona took touchline antics to a new level at the weekend by performing a roly-poly after his side, Al Wasl in the UAE, missed a clear chance in front of goal. Metro

Ruben Negredo, the brother of Alvaro, enjoyed an amazing match for Spanish side Gimnastica Torrelavega against Burgos. He scored at one end before saving a penalty at the other. 101 Great Goals

[ashton287]

Huntelaar is a very good striker. £12 million my cheesy foreskin.

[Ted Hughes]

Saw a copy of the MUEN today.

All of Utds players got 7's 8's & 9's bar Wellbeck last night. Erasing it from history part one.

[Douglas Higginbottom]

Saw a copy of the MUEN today.

All of Utds players got 7's 8's & 9's bar Wellbeck last night. Erasing it from history part one.

Watching Brennan trying to defend the paper against criticism that they are a red paper was very funny.He came across like a 10 year old with his pathetic.We all know what the blue fans think and plenty of reds as well but I just thought he puerile responses said a lot.

[Seanyod]

Where was brenan doing this ? And what did he say??

[littlebig]

Cheers Chinners, always enjoy reading such a load of b*ll*x

[Beefymcfc]

Saw a copy of the MUEN today.

All of Utds players got 7's 8's & 9's bar Wellbeck last night. Erasing it from history part one.

Watching Brennan trying to defend the paper against criticism that they are a red paper was very funny.He came across like a 10 year old with his pathetic.We all know what the blue fans think and plenty of reds as well but I just thought he puerile responses said a lot.

They do say that more copies are sold in Salford than anywhere else.

[john68]

There is a major football industry convention going on in Manchester at the moment and a few hours ago, I was privileged to have a very long and deep discussion with the football editor of an international TV sport's company. He was from Turin, a Torino fan who, having lived in the shadow of Juve, fully understood our situation, living next door to the rags.

Amid a number of topics, we touched on the anti City or pro rag bias. He was aware that the rags played crap last night and though their crap was far better than Fulham, he knew they had been lucky to escape the pen decision.
I showed (gave) him the sports section of "our local newspaper, that purports to cover City and the rags". He was shocked.

SEVEN pages of rag worshipping positive hype with sensationalist headlines on every page. Spin and more spin on how they now top the league, how great Shrek was in his blue boots, how Taggart loved and thrived on the pressure. I then showed him the only City report, about how our strikers are dysfunctional. As a senior and experienced journalist, he was gobsmacked.

The Manchester Evening News should be boycotted by City fans and its reporters banned from the club.

[Ted Hughes]

Today's back page is an interview with Robson, slagging off City for not having principles. How long ago was it that Vieira made that remark & they're still going on about it ? Both pathetic & disturbing, in that it has brought so many cockroaches out from under their stones that you realise just how much media suport there is. Some papers have done 'the interview' again with Rio Ferdinand going on about their 'experience', just a day after them shitting their shorts v Fulham.

But as for the MUEN, my old folks have seen the last few editions & decided enough is enough. They've had it delivered for a period lasting decades but are cancelling. Everyone else should do the same imo. It is a rag propoganda sheet which gives us a token bone to cling onto here & there in order to tempt City fans into buying it.

[Beefymcfc]

Today's back page is an interview with Robson, slagging off City for not having principles. How long ago was it that Vieira made that remark & they're still going on about it ? Both pathetic & disturbing, in that it has brought so many cockroaches out from under their stones that you realise just how much media suport there is. Some papers have done 'the interview' again with Rio Ferdinand going on about their 'experience', just a day after them shitting their shorts v Fulham.

But as for the MUEN, my old folks have seen the last few editions & decided enough is enough. They've had it delivered for a period lasting decades but are cancelling. Everyone else should do the same imo. It is a rag propoganda sheet which gives us a token bone to cling onto here & there in order to tempt City fans into buying it.

This has been going on for years with other clubs and we've only seen a small part of it when Derby Day comes along. We're seeing it full blast of late which shows how far we have come in such a short time. Rags fans are rattled as the thought of them losing the title to us is just unfathomable. So, they trot out the old line, usually at a time when the challengers are already struggling - note that there wasn't too much when we were clear.

As for the MEN, they know which side their bread is buttered and will continue on until the Rags fall on a continuous basis, then it will our fans who pick up the rag and so the circle continues.

[john68]

I think there should be a concerted effort by City fans to publicise and boycott this bias. Last night was simply disgusting. WhenI mentioned balance to the journalist I spoke to, he just shook his head in disbelief.

[Seanyod]

Glad to see people are now seeing this properly . I posted on another thread a while back , when we beat united in semi and were going for top 4 last season they tried to start a campaign about city fans singing Munich . I had it out with them and wrote to cooke and it stopped. Basically the man u want is Peter Spencer . He's the boss and is a rag. Brennan is city reporter and also a rag. Keegan , matherson etc all rags as well. But the book stops with Spencer . U watch what will happen. Few complaints and they will do couple of good city stories. Then when all calm again, bang, more propaganda . Well said on not buying the paper. I personally have had it stopped being delivered. Don't allow it in work , have spread it to family and neighbours and posted countless sites. If everyone did this we can hit them where it hurts. The pocket . No use though unless everyone is gonna join in it .

[Ted Hughes]

Glad to see people are now seeing this properly . I posted on another thread a while back , when we beat united in semi and were going for top 4 last season they tried to start a campaign about city fans singing Munich . I had it out with them and wrote to cooke and it stopped. Basically the man u want is Peter Spencer . He's the boss and is a rag. Brennan is city reporter and also a rag. Keegan , matherson etc all rags as well. But the book stops with Spencer . U watch what will happen. Few complaints and they will do couple of good city stories. Then when all calm again, bang, more propaganda . Well said on not buying the paper. I personally have had it stopped being delivered. Don't allow it in work , have spread it to family and neighbours and posted countless sites. If everyone did this we can hit them where it hurts. The pocket . No use though unless everyone is gonna join in it .

I think Brennan has been very good & fair, rag or not, but Spencer is the absolute epitomy of rag media. Even when we were fucking skint, he was on our case & used to make a point of doing self penned pieces on our top players about to sign for Utd in the run up to derby games. None of them even got an offer. I know for a fact that one of those stories was started by Utd staff at the Cliff, then straight in the MUEN.

Most of the time when he appears on the radio as a so called local expert, he gives them exactly what they want re City; ie puts some flesh on the bones of their bullshit story & then trots out the usual Pravda bullshit when it comes to Utd. Like the paper, he tries to maintain the facade of being pro City by chucking in a positive every now and then, just to throw people off the scent.

It never used to be like that before he came along.

[john68]

When Spencer first took over, he was interviewed by on Radio Manchester. He was asked about an MuEn story about Rosler joining Liverpool that he has written.
Spencer's answer was eye opening....He had noted a Liverpool scout at a City pre-season friendly, then again at some other City game. Spencer freely admitted that he was sat on the side of his bed one Sunday morning and the thought crossed his mind that Liverpool may have been keeping tabs on Uwe. Pure conjecture, made up in his own head, without an ounce of proof nor any effort made to check his imaginings out...Result....a report in the MuEN that Rosler was going to Liverpool.
Spencer told that story quite openly and without any shame or remorse.

[Seanyod]

Doesn't surprise me about rosler story mate.
Yeah I agree it's spencer who is the main problem. But never trust Brennan either. It was him who did the Munich story trying to start on us at an important time last season. But the buck does stop with Spencer . He decides what goes to print . U watch, the minute they clinch the league be all nice to city again. We should do our own daily Manchester paper, and radio show . Club go on lockdown that we only do club media and if anyone wants a story they go through club media. Players only speak to club media etc.