Manchester City Striker Has Had Enough Of Life In The Premier League, Italian Reports Suggest
Mario Balotelli has grown increasingly frustrated with life at Manchester City in recent weeks, and may have had enough with life in the Premier League, reports emanating from Italy suggest.
Italian news outlet Calciomercato claim that the mercurial forward has grown disillusioned with life at the Etihad stadium, following a series of disagreements with manager Roberto Mancini, which culminated in the manager pushing the moody striker down the tunnel following City’s draw with Arsenal over the weekend. Balotelli’s agent Mino Raiola has repeatedly claimed that all is well between the Premier League champions and Balotelli, but Calciomercato claim otherwise, and suggest that the 22-year-old would consider a return to Milan.
Balotelli and Inter Milan club president Massimo Moratti have reportedly maintained a close relationship despite the striker’s move to Manchester two years ago. Manchester City’s valuation of the striker, in addition to his exorbitant wages would prove to be a stumbling block in any attempt to sign the player on Inter’s part, with City expectant of at least an offer of €30 million.
Why Manchester City’s Cup crash will make life tougher still for the club’s talented young guns
Against Aston Villa in the third round of the newly-christened Capital One Cup, the two teenagers were given a chance to show they are City’s future.
According to Dedryck Boyata, forced to seek games at FC Twente, it’s ‘virtually impossible’ for young players to make the grade in an age where money is no object.
“Life is really difficult for young players now at City,” he said, after joining Steve McLaren in Holland.
“The club wants to win everything so they just go out and buy top-class players. Money is no problem.
“They don’t look at their own youth and talent, so it’s virtually impossible for a youth player to make it into the first team now.”
Even Spain Under-19 international Suarez, handed his first start last night, agrees that the English system doesn’t help youth team players graduate into the first team. In his homeland, it’s the norm for reserve sides to play in the second tier, something Suarez believes should be replicated in England.
“For me, the best thing would be if we had a second team playing in the second division in England like the Spanish clubs do,” said the 19-year-old in an interview in the programme.
“This would allow us to gain experience against other League teams, playing the style our club demands and not having to go out on loan.”
Razak is one of City’s youngsters who has gone out on loan. He’s made three substitute appearances in the Premier League in three seasons since joining from Crystal Palace while getting experience during short-term spells at Portsmouth and Brighton.
He knows better than most how hard it is to crack the first team.
Roberto Mancini talked him up during pre-season, giving the impression that the young Ivory Coast midfielder was ready to fill the void left by Owen Hargreaves and David Pizarro. But just when it looked like he might be on the verge of his breakthrough season, City spent nearly £30m on Jack Rodwell and Javi Garcia and Razak was pushed back into the shadows. That’s not to say City aren’t taking youth development seriously.
Work has just started on a new academy and training ground being built in the shadow of the Etihad Stadium. The idea is to become as successful as Barcelona’s ‘futbol base’, which began by the Nou Camp – albeit in a stone farmhouse and not a £200m complex.
The club are also very proud of Micah Richards and a corridor close to the tunnel is lined with pictures documenting his rise from youth team player to England international.
The hope is that players like Suarez and Razak as well as George Evans, Jeremy Helan and Luca Scapuzzi – all on the bench last night – will follow the same path.
They took their first tentative steps last night, Suarez looking sharp and skilful behind Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez and Razak patrolling in front of the back four until he ran out of steam and started giving the ball away.
An early exit in the League Cup exit will hurt youngsters like Suarez and Razak more than most with first-team opportunities reduced even further.
Mission impossible just got a bit harder
Manchester City: Kolo Toure concerned by leaky defence
Kolo Toure says champions Manchester City must improve their defensive record to have any chance of retaining their Premier League title.
City have conceded 16 goals in eight competitive matches, including four against Aston Villa on Tuesday.
Toure told BBC Radio Manchester: "If you want to win the Premier League, you have to be able to keep clean sheets.
"We haven't been able to do that as a team and we need to work on that with the manager, definitely."
Roberto Mancini made ten changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Arsenal in their previous game when City were knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Paul Lambert's Villa.
The Italian has rotated personnel and formations in an attempt to make his team more solid, but the champions have conceded at least once in every game they have played this season.
"We leave the manager to make his decision," said centre-back Toure.
"He is the boss and he does what he thinks is best for the team. We are professional players and we just need to adapt to what he is doing."
City will look to bounce back from their League Cup exit when they visit in-form Fulham on Saturday.
"It's going to be a really hard game but we have great players and a good manager," said the former Arsenal man.
"We just need to play better, be more confident and defend better."
Loan arrangers: Man City to farm out Razak after Capital One Cup face-plant
Shock defeat to Villa closed off the young midfielder's best chance of playing time at Eastlands this season PLUS Clubs queue up for Ibrahim
One and done: Razak's hopes of months of League Cup playing time ended with Villa's win Neville Williams
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is ready to send teen midfielder Abdul Razak out on loan - after their first-hurdle Capital One Cup exit.
Tuesday's third-round defeat by Aston Villa, in which Razak played, means his chances will now be limited, so Mancini wants him to go to a Championship side to gain experience.
The 19-year-old has been sent out to Portsmouth and Brighton in the past, and now Mancini hopes to find Razak another temporary home for the rest of the year.
* MANCHESTER CITY midfield prospect Abdi Ibrahim is a loan target for a host of Premier League clubs, writes John Cross.
The 21-year-old, currently on loan to Norwegian club Stromsgodset, has attracted interest from Norwich, Wigan, Southampton and Reading.
Championship clubs Blackpool and Brighton are also watching developments.
ROBERTO MANCINI BLOWS TOP LIKE THE ‘HAIRDRYER’
ROBERTO MANCINI’S image may be all Italian cool but, when the red mist descends, he can be just as volatile as Sir Alex Ferguson.
So says a player who knows him well, Brazilian defender Maicon, who has just been reunited with Mancini at Manchester City after working under him at Inter Milan.
Maicon says Mancini’s desire for perfection means he is always on the brink of eruption during games and explains why he has frequent touchline bust-ups with his fellow managers.
Paul Lambert became the latest boss to have a face-to-face exchange with Mancini during Aston Villa’s surprise 4-2 Capital One Cup win at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. Manchester United’s Ferguson, Everton’s David Moyes, QPR’s Mark Hughes – his predecessor at City – and Stoke’s Tony Pulis have all had similar verbal altercations.
But Maicon believes the latest spat was probably born out of frustration at City’s poor performance.
If he gets angry he reminds everybody of the standards required. There is a minimum requirement that is always there. The players know they have to perform at that level
Manchester City defender Maicon
“All winning coaches are the same so if he Ferguson has the hairdryer, Roberto has the same passion,” he said.
“All winning managers are the same and they show this passion because they really want to win and the players can feel that.
“Roberto is no different. He’s a winning manager like the other ones, so he has the same passion. It is important. That is the way he should be, a passionate coach who demands high standards.
“If he gets angry he reminds everybody of the standards required. There is a minimum requirement that is always there. The players know they have to perform at that level.”
It is four years since Maicon played under Mancini but – apart from the loss of a few pounds – he has detected no change in him. And he admits if it was not for Mancini, he may not be at City now.
He said: “He’s a bit thinner now. But it is the same man, the same passion, the same will to win, the same intensity as a manager. I have found the same kind of manager.
“People have described him as aloof with his players but my view is different. I really don’t see him as aloof. Certainly when I was at Inter he always used to help me. He helped all the players.
“Of course, the fact he is City manager was a very important factor in me coming here. To have someone you have worked with who can help you is important.
“You know what he wants and what kind of manager he is. That was a decisive factor in my decision. My experience with him has been a great experience.
“Of course the players appreciate the fact the manager speaks up for the team and the players, especially because he puts the pressure on himself rather than giving it to the players.
“He can get passionate but, generally speaking, he likes to keep quiet and keep the atmosphere around the team calm.”
City’s inability to recapture last season’s defensive stability is the main cause of frustration for Mancini, who has seen his side go four games without a win for the first time since he took over in December 2009.
The Italian has watched with increasing exasperation as champions City – who boasted the meanest defence in the Premier League last season – have shipped 16 goals in eight games, starting with the Community Shield, as well as tossing away the lead four times.
Maicon, whose hopes of making an early impact in English football have been curtailed by a foot injury, says the defensive problems will mean endless work on the training pitch for the players.
“We will do even more work on this,” he said. “I know that Roberto is very focused on this.
“He doesn’t like conceding goals, he is very passionate about this and we have to improve quickly because we can’t afford to have any more distance between us and the teams at the top of the league.”
Villa midfielder Fabian Delph believes the feel-good factor created by their surprise win at Manchester City can kick-start their campaign.
The victory for Lambert’s team provided the ideal response to last Saturday’s 4-1 Premier League thrashing at new boys Southampton.
On Sunday, Villa face a derby at home to West Brom – who are third in the league – and Delph said: “We have fire in our bellies and are hungry to do well. We can build on the feel-good factor here.”
And Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan added: “Don’t worry about tiredness – we will be ready for West Brom.”
Maicon was speaking at the launch of City in the Community’s latest Connell Award with Manchester Futsal Club.‘Mancini is a winning manager like Ferguson because he has passion’
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