MANCHESTER CITY IN SHOCK DAVID VILLA RAID FROM BARCELONA.
ROBERTO MANCINI is plotting a shock bid to beat Chelsea to the signing of Barcelona star David Villa
Interim Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez is keen to take Villa to Stamford Bridge and boost his firepower.
But he looks like facing stiff competition from Manchester City rival Mancini.
Mancini is also looking to bolster his attacking options as City struggle to defend their Premier League title. The Italian has hit out at his misfiring strikers after seeing his side fall seven points behind leaders Manchester United.
Now he could make a move for Villa in the hope the Spanish superstar can revive his faltering title defence.
Villa is available on loan and City can easily match his £110,000-a-week wages.
Mancini wants to make room for Villa in his star-studded squad by getting rid of Mario Balotelli.
Balotelli has gone backwards at the Etihad this season and has fallen down the pecking order.
The Italian flop has suffered a loss of form and had several bust-ups with Mancini. Both AC Milan and Inter are keen to take Balotelli back to the San Siro and City bosses are eager to get the £150,000-a-week striker off the wage bill.
Arsenal are also interested in signing Villa but Starsport understands the 31-year-old wants to link-up with fellow World Cup winner David Silva. Villa has not started a league game for Barca since November and wants regular first-team football.
He is not guaranteed this at the Etihad Stadium but would still be an integral part of City’s bid to win back-to-back titles.
Villa remains Spain’s record goalscorer but he has been hampered by injuries in the last 18 months. But Mancini reckons he would be an attractive short-term solution as he looks to get his side scoring again.
City have scored just seven goals in their last six games while crashing out of Europe and falling off the pace in the title race. STAR
Jav that, Mancini
JAVIER GARRIDO hopes to give his old boss Roberto Mancini another headache tomorrow — but insists the Italian is still the right man for Manchester City.
Garrido, 27, spent three years at City before leaving in 2010 for Lazio.
Norwich’s Spanish left-back, on loan from the Rome giants, accepts that Mancini is under pressure.
But Garrido said: “He is a very good manager. I got on well with Mancini. As soon as he arrived at City, he gave me a chance.
“But when the summer transfer window arrived, I had the opportunity to move to Lazio and that was what happened.
“Mancini gets every team he has worked with to the title.
“When you win a title with City after so many years, nobody can tell you anything.”
Joe Hart admits opposition tactics mean the reigning champions have to discover another way to win games
Joe Hart admits City are finding it tough at the top. Defeat at Sunderland on Boxing Day let United open up a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
And third-placed Chelsea are now just four points behind the champions, with a game in hand, after they won at Norwich.
Hart believes the days of City battering opposition teams into submission, as they did for much of last season, are over.
And the 25-year-old has warned his team-mates that they must find another way to win games if they are to lift successive league titles.
“We have dominated a lot of games but people play differently against us now,” said Hart.
“We have to adjust to that and, hopefully, the second half of the season will be better for us.
“It’s tough when you play good football and people defend against you but that’s what it’s like at the top, it’s tough.”
The England goalkeeper has always been honest in his assessment of City’s fortunes, most notably after their Champions League loss to Real Madrid in the Bernabeu.
And after Adam Johnson’s second-half winner crept by him at the Stadium of Light to inflict a second defeat of the season, Hart insisted the one criticism that couldn’t be levelled at City was a lack of effort.
“It’s how football goes sometimes,” he added.
“It’s not that we didn’t try, didn’t give 100 per cent, or haven’t shown qualities. It just wasn’t there and we need to turn that round quickly.
“To be leading is difficult but chasing is even harder, but hopefully we can do what we did last year. We weren’t lacking in effort. We gave it everything but couldn’t break through a Sunderland wall. No-one else needs to know what gets said, it’s down to us.”
City drew the short straw when the Christmas games were announced, travelling to Sunderland on Boxing Day before a long trip to Norwich tomorrow.
Matija Nastasic is in the middle of his first festive fixture list after his summer move from Fiorentina.
And, despite his former team-mates enjoying a mid-season rest, the Serbian defender is enjoying the hectic schedule.
“To me it is not a problem,” he said.
“I am always happy when I am playing, so this time of the season makes me happiest of all! My father and mother are here, so I won’t miss my family.
“I don’t look at the two long away trips as a problem at all. Now we concentrate on Norwich. It’s not a headache. The league in Italy stops and they have a break but playing here is no problem for me. I am looking forward to the next couple of games.”
While City’s other summer signings – Jack Rodwell, Javi Garcia, Scott Sinclair and Maicon – have struggled to make an impact, Nastasic has been one of the success stories of the first half of the season.
He won’t be out of his teens until March but has already cemented his place in Roberto Mancini’s first-choice back four alongside Vincent Kompany.
It’s been a meteoric rise for a player who Mancini said had been signed with one eye on the future when he arrived on deadline day.
But, while Nastasic has been delighted with his progress since swapping Serie A for the Premier League, he is desperate to cap a fine first season with a maiden league winners’ medal.
“It makes me happy if the fans think highly of me,” added Nastasic.
“I just want to keep playing the way I am – that is the objective for the whole team, not just me.
“We are a very strong team, self-motivated and full of confidence at the moment. What is important is that we keep the same attitude, if we want to win the Premier League.”
Meanwhile, former City winger Johnson revealed his Boxing Day winner for Sunderland was ‘in the script’.
He scored his first goal for City against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light almost three years ago but came back to haunt his former club after leaving the Etihad Stadium in the summer.
“It’s crazy how football works,” Johnson admitted.
“I scored the equaliser for City at the Stadium of Light three years ago and now to score the winner for Sunderland against City was in the script I suppose.
“Without a doubt, that’s the highlight, although there haven’t too many so far to be honest.
“But from the team’s point of view and for who we’ve just beaten and everything that goes with it regarding me, it was definitely the highlight.
“The crowd were so loud from the very start. We pressed and got them behind us and that’s what we need to do here. We need to show the fight we showed.
“It’s important anytime to get three points but it just makes it a little better with the opposition.
“We’re delighted to get the win and the lads deserve a lot of credit.”
FALCAO SNUB
Free-scoring Colombian hitman Radamael Falcao has ruled out a move to either Chelsea or City in the upcoming January transfer window.
Atletico's Super Cup winning striker is being talked about as one of the hottest properties in football after his 20 goals in 16 games this season.
But Falcao has paid tribute to his club’s owner and outlined his plans to stay at least until the summer at an awards ceremony in his native Columbia.
“I recognise the great effort Enrique Cerezo has made for me to stay at the club,” said Falcao. “And thank goodness our sporting results have been positive. We expect that to remain so until the end of the season.”
“It is understood that a representative of Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea owner, has held talks over acquiring either Falcao or Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuaín, while Roberto Mancini, the City manager, is believed to have met with Jorge Mendes, Falcao’s representative.”
***Official Bollox***
4 decades of City goals against Narwich
http://www.mcfc.co.uk/citytv/Features/2 ... rwich-City
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]World Cup withdrawal considered amid Falklands War
1982 marked the first time England had successfully come through World Cup qualification in 20 years
The government considered pulling the home nations out of the football World Cup in 1982 during the Falklands War with Argentina, official papers show.
In government papers newly released by the National Archives, it was suggested some players felt "revulsion" about competing along with Argentina.
But Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was warned withdrawal would be a propaganda "opportunity" for Argentina.
England, Scotland and Northern Ireland did go to Spain for the tournament.
Days after the Argentine invasion of the Falklands on 2 April 1982, a directive from sports minister Neil Macfarlane advised: "I urge no sporting contact with Argentina at representative, club or individual level on British soil. This policy applies equally to all sporting fixtures in Argentina."
In a letter to Mrs Thatcher the following month, Mr Macfarlane reported growing doubts about the UK teams' attendance at the World Cup, starting in June.
"Up until a week or 10 days ago I have taken the line that it was up to the Football Authorities to decide whether they should participate," he wrote.
"However, the loss of British life on HMS Sheffield and Sea Harriers has had a marked effect on some international footballers and some administrators. They feel revulsion at the prospect of playing in the same tournament as Argentina at this time."
He added that Fifa, international football's governing body, had made it clear that Argentina would not be pressured to withdraw from the tournament.
"In this case no other country would follow us in withdrawing from the World Cup," Cabinet Secretary Robert Armstrong wrote to Mrs Thatcher days later.
"Argentina would see British withdrawal not as putting any pressure on them but as an opportunity to make propaganda: the United Kingdom, not Argentina, would be the country set apart."
Despite the discussions between the politicians, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland did all go on to compete in the tournament, although none of them met Argentina on the pitch.
Scotland were eliminated in the first group stage, while England and Northern Ireland were both knocked out at the second group stage. Argentina exited the tournament after finishing bottom of a second round group won by eventual winners Italy.
In August that year, after the end of the conflict, restrictions were lifted on sporting engagements with Argentina.
Borussia Dortmund's £18m-rated Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, 24, is on his way to Manchester United this summer. Robert Lewandowski helped Borussia Dortmund win the German title in 2010-11 and 2011-12 Bild
Chelsea have joined Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain in the chase for Everton and England left-back Leighton Baines, 28, who is valued at around £15m by his club. The Independent
But Chelsea midfielder Oriol Romeu, 21, says he would welcome Villa with open arms if the prolific striker ends up moving to Stamford Bridge during the transfer window. sportinglife.com
Arsenal are also in the hunt for Villa, with Arsene Wenger prepared to bid £16m for him - though a loan deal would also be a possibility. DSSC
Cristiano Ronaldo is set to stun Real Madrid by refusing to sign a new contract, paving the way for the likes of Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain to make a move for the 27-year-old Portuguese. Metro
Chelsea have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Atletico Madrid's £48m-rated striker Radamel Falcao, 26, after he indicated he wants to remain in Spain until the end of the season. DSSC
Harry Redknapp will turn to Fulham's Norwegian centre-half and captain Brede Hangeland, 31, to shore up his Queens Park Rangers defence. Daily Express
Negotiations between David Beckham and Monaco have ended, with the French club unwilling to meet the 37-year-old former England captain's financial demands. L'Equipe
An unnamed Russian club tried to tempt Argentina international Lionel Messi out of his recent contract renewal with Barcelona by offering him a three-year deal on a £24.7m annual salary. Mundo Deportivo
Juventus are looking to sign defender Federico Peluso, 28, on a loan deal from Atalanta. Tuttosport
Former Aston Villa first-team coach Kevin MacDonald has emerged as the leading contender to succeed Henning Berg as Blackburn manager. Daily Telegraph
MacDonald could be placed in charge at Rovers alongside Judan Ali - who has been involved in a Bollywood football movie and was assistant manager of a London Sunday league side three years ago. The Independent
Spaniard Gregorio Manzano, who left Atletico Madrid 12 months ago, is also interested in the Blackburn job. Sky Sports
Phil Jagielka says influential midfielder Marouane Fellaini, 25, could struggle to win back his Everton place after the Toffees won two games without the suspended Belgian. Liverpool Echo
Jermaine Pennant, 29, has been backed by Wolves boss Stale Solbakken to silence the jeers after fans vented their frustration at the former Liverpool winger for the club's poor form. Express & Star
Adam Johnson, 25, has urged his Sunderland team-mates to use the victory over Manchester City on Wednesday as a springboard for the rest of the season. Sunderland Echo
Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert is refusing to single out his defence for leaking 12 goals in the last two games - and insists his midfielders and strikers need to take a share of responsibility. Birmingham Mail
Yossi Benayoun has said his loan spell with West Ham will not be extended and the 32-year-old will return to Chelsea next week after four league appearances in this spell for the Hammers. Daily Express
Swansea boss Michael Laudrup has revealed "a couple of glasses of wine" proved enough to calm down Sir Alex Ferguson after the Manchester United manager claimed Robin van Persie, 29, could have been killed at the Liberty Stadium. South Wales Evening Post
Sunderland supporters who persistently stand during matches have been suspended from using their season tickets. Guardian
Gareth Bale is good enough to play for Brazil, according to the 23-year-old's Spurs team-mate Sandro. Daily Mirror
The verb "Zlataner" has officially entered the Swedish language, in reference to England tormentor Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paris Saint-Germain's Sweden international striker. The word, meaning "to dominate by force", is one of 40 new expressions to be included in the latest edition of the Swedish dictionary. L'Equipe
Bollox you believe and know is true but don't expect to ever see printed - Part 1
The first winner of this award goes to one Graham Poll who made the following statement in his DSSC column yesterday ...
"It is hard to discipline Ferguson, especially at Old Trafford, when you believe that by doing so you will probably not referee at the biggest venue for the foreseeable future. The FA and Premier League must look at this as nobody should be above sanction."
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... z2GI12Raab
GOLDEN BOLLOX - 28/12/2010
Robinho reveals he talked Kaka out of move to City
Ghosts of Christmas past will stalk Manchester City for as long as they fail to lift silverware. One of them is Robinho, who claimed yesterday that while he was a City player he had talked his compatriot Kaka out of signing two years ago.
"I told him what it was like to live in Manchester; that it is cold, it always rains and offers little," the Milan player said. He also said he had had discussions with Mario Balotelli, to whom Milan have made eyes. "I do not think [he will stay long in Manchester]," Robinho said of the 20-year-old.
Maintaining Balotelli's interest beyond his first season may prove challenging if City are not in the Champions League next season, though manager Roberto Mancini can put such concerns to the back of his mind with his side comfortably within the top four ahead of Aston Villa's arrival this afternoon. Balotelli may feature from the start.
The match could give City a chance to resolve their patchy home form. "We have found it hard at home because teams have come and sat deep and made it difficult for us," Gareth Barry said yesterday.
Kolo Touré will return from a one-match ban, though may not be recalled as Joleon Lescott performed well against Newcastle on Boxing Day. City know a win would see them, for a few hours at least, leapfrog neighbours United, who have an evening kick-off.
Roberto Mancini's positive comments about Newcastle's Andy Carroll after the 3-1 win were a response to a question, rather than a declaration of his intent to pursue the player. City need to sign a Champions League-calibre striker, which is why Wolfsburg's Edin Dzeko is a January target.
Mario Balotelli regrets Manchester City move and yearns for home
Striker open to idea of summer return to Italy • £25m signing regarded as loner by team-mates
Mario Balotelli feels a strong debt of loyalty to the City manager, Roberto Mancini, but has struggled to settle in Manchester. Roberto Mancini is facing a new challenge to keep one of his key Manchester City players happy after it emerged Mario Balotelli is homesick for Italy and has regrets about moving to England.
Balotelli has struggled to settle in Manchester and the Guardian has learned that the Italy international considers the problem to be getting worse rather than better. A complex, often difficult, character, he has found it hard to make friends with his new team-mates and, four months after signing from Internazionale, the £25m striker is openly admitting to associates in Italy that he intensely dislikes life in England and cannot see the situation improving.
The 20-year-old is on a five-year contract at City and feels a strong debt of loyalty to Mancini but is open to the idea of returning to Italy at the end of the season, despite the issues with racism that plagued him when he was a player at San Siro. Balotelli has frequently been linked with Milan in the Italian media, where there is a consistent belief that it is a just a question of time before he plays for the club he supported as a boy.
Mancini is aware of the player's difficulties and hopes their strong working relationship will help to find a solution for the benefit of City. The manager always knew that introducing a player with Balotelli's brooding, temperamental nature to a new country would not be an easy process and his thinking from the outset has been that it would be worth the hassle for someone he believes will eventually be regarded among the top five footballers in the world. Mancini was realistic enough to warn the chief executive, Garry Cook, and chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, that Balotelli would bring baggage but would ultimately be worth it.
Balotelli is not totally without friends – he has spent time with one of Mancini's sons, Andrea, and turned up for training one day recently in a Lamborghini borrowed from El Hadji Diouf of Blackburn Rovers – but he can appear dislocated from the rest of the squad.
He did not attend the players' Christmas party and, to put that into context, many of his team-mates did not expect him to be there in the first place. Balotelli's routine, with Mancini's permission, is to fly back to Italy whenever the players are given time off. His colleagues have come to regard him as a loner, difficult to approach and work out. Staff at Eastlands are not certain whether his attitude stems from surliness or shyness – or maybe a bit of both. Language is not a problem – Balotelli speaks good English – but the player has not embraced Manchester, the weather and the food and, as the only Italian footballer in the dressing room, is struggling to adapt to a new country.
The problem for Mancini is not a new one, with Robinho's inability to adopt Manchester one of the main reasons for his departure to Milan and, more recently, the revelation that Carlos Tevez is homesick for Argentina because of being separated from his two young daughters.
Tevez was persuaded to withdraw a written transfer request and City will hope Balotelli's issues are merely the kind of teething problems that might be expected of a player who arrived with a reputation as a man who struggled to make friends and frequently courted controversy. Nonetheless, his prickly and combustible nature is becoming an increasing matter for concern behind the scenes, with a growing feeling that City are dealing with an unhappy player, albeit one who has brought many of the problems on himself.
Balotelli was involved in a practice-ground fight with Jerome Boateng recently and has tested the patience of Mancini with his erratic performances and the frequency with which he ignores instructions. There have been glimpses of his prodigious talent but, overall, Balotelli's first few months in English football have been defined by the way he has run into trouble with referees.
Balotelli has scored five goals and picked up the same number of yellow cards, plus one red.
Sports Mole's Mid-season report on Manchester City
Manchester City entered the new season having secured the Premier League title in the final minute on the final weekend of the previous campaign.
Manchester United's win over Sunderland would have been enough for Sir Alex Ferguson's side to retain their title, but Sergio Aguero's late winner against Queens Park Rangers ended their long wait for a trophy.
They suffered disappointment in the Champions League, however, and with no major signings incoming, they faced a tough task to produce the goods once more.
August
There were no major incomings for City in the summer, although Javi Garcia, Maicon, Scott Sinclair, Jack Rodwell and Matija Nastasic did arrive. Nigel de Jong and Adam Johnson were the notable departures, but it had been suggested that the club had not strengthened their squad sufficiently.
City's season began on August 12 with a Community Shield clash against a new-look Chelsea outfit and they came from behind to secure the first trophy of the new season. Meanwhile, their Premier League campaign got underway with a tight 3-2 win over Southampton, but they needed two late goals to secure the points.
They then dropped points away to Liverpool in their final match of August as they came from behind to secure a point in a 2-2 draw. However, their form was not of the standard from the previous season.
September
September began with a 3-1 win over Queens Park Rangers, before they were held 1-1 by Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium. They were moments away from securing a famous win over Real Madrid in their first Champions League group stage clash, only to concede twice late on to suffer a 3-2 defeat.
They then embarked on a run of two matches without a victory as they were held at home by Arsenal in the Premier League and dumped out of the League Cup by Aston Villa on their own turf. However, they returned to form with a 2-1 win over Fulham, but once more they left it late as they continued to struggle to find their best form.
October
Their Champions League form continued to stutter as they drew 1-1 with Borussia Dortmund at the beginning of October, but they then picked up two consecutive wins in the Premier League against Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion.
However, they then suffered defeat to Ajax in Holland with their Champions League hopes in tatters. Meanwhile, City goalkeeper Joe Hart was openly critical of his side following their failings in the European competition. They at least continued their unbeaten run in the Premier League with victory over Swansea City, but all was not well.
November
The striking issue at the club continued into November with Mario Balotelli seemingly given chance after chance while Edin Dzeko and Carlos Tevez remained on the sidelines. They opened the month with a 0-0 draw against West Ham United, before dropping yet more Champions League points at home to Ajax.
Their solid league form continued, however, with victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, but their hopes of progressing to the latter stages of the Champions League were ended following a 1-1 draw with Real Madrid on November 21.
They continued their unbeaten run in the Premier League, however, with a draw away to Chelsea in Rafael Benitez's first game in charge of the Blues, before a 2-0 win over Wigan Athletic at the end of the month.
December
December began with a 1-1 home draw against Everton, but their hopes of securing Europa League football were also ended following a 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in Germany. Next came their biggest match of the season against Manchester United.
United stormed into a 2-0 lead before being pegged back in the second period, but a late free kick from Robin van Persie secured all three points for United in a sensational match to leave City six points off top spot.
They returned to form with a 3-1 win over Newcastle United, but they needed a last-minute header from Gareth Barry to take all the points against basement club Reading.
United's dropped points against Swansea City moved them to within four points of top spot, but the problem that is Balotelli continued to drive focus away from their stuttering form.
They then travelled to Sunderland on Boxing Day, having lost by the single goal on each of their last three visits to the Stadium of Light. It was the same old story as Adam Johnson scored against his former club as City dropped seven points behind United, who themselves beat Newcastle United on the same afternoon.
