Mario Balotelli 'most unpredictable player', says Rodney Marsh
Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is one of the most unpredictable players in footballing history, says former City star Rodney Marsh.
Balotelli and manager Roberto Mancini reportedly had to be separated after a bust-up at the club's training ground.
"Balotelli is a maverick, a fantastic footballer, and you know at some stage he will let you down," said Marsh.
"Roberto Mancini is also very flamboyant and volatile. Those two are incendiary."
Balotelli, 22, has been involved in a series of controversies since his £24m move from Inter Milan in August 2010, but Marsh said he could still stay at the club.
"I think Balotelli is one of the most unpredictable footballers in the history of football," said Marsh, who scored 36 goals in 118 appearances for City between 1972 and 1975. "Trying to predict what he is going to do is folly.
"But my feeling is, incredible as it sounds, that Balotelli will start against Watford in the FA Cup on Saturday and probably score a couple of goals.
"Of course they could patch it up. Equally he could be chucked out of the door tomorrow and be back at an Italian club."
Former West Ham and Charlton manager Alan Curbishley said the dispute between Italians Balotelli and Mancini detracted from City's hopes on the pitch.
"The big problem the two of them have got is that we are reading about them for all the wrong reasons," he said.
"You don't get something like this coming out of Manchester United, Arsenal or Chelsea. It just seems to be Manchester City at the moment and they have got to resolve it."
Ex-England international Marsh believes Balotelli is a maverick who needs careful management.
"I love Balotelli. The only question is whether the managers he plays for can handle him," said Marsh.
"It's simple for me, you either love him, and cuddle him and embrace him, or you dump him. I thought he would have been dumped about six months ago. I'm shocked that he's still there now.
"It's just one of those dynamics that comes along from time to time - two personalities clash. It's like a man and a wife constantly arguing and bickering.
"They are both incredibly passionate, brilliant at what they do, are champions, but the chemistry between the two just doesn't seem to work."
Mancini resolved a dispute with striker Carlos Tevez, who did not play for City for six months after the manager claimed he failed to warm-up in the 2-1 defeat at Bayern Munich in September 2011, but Marsh said this controversy was different.
"I don't think you can possibly compare Tevez and Balotelli as personalities," he said.
"Balotelli is like a let-down balloon. You never know what he's going to do or when he's going to do it. That's on the pitch as well as off it, whereas Tevez has been a hard-working reliable player that gives 100% at every time to the team.
"For every two things that Balotelli does great, he does three things that are harmful to the team. I thought his attitude against Manchester United in the first derby of the season, when he started over Tevez, was very poor. In the end I think it cost City three points. If City lose the Premier League by three points, that's how destructive it can be."
Former Manchester City midfielder Dietmar Hamann says the latest incident shows Mancini is "running out of patience" with the striker and told BBC Sport: "I can't see him having a future at the club."
However, Hamann believes City could benefit from losing Balotelli, and explained: "We musn't forget that when he got sent off against Arsenal in the last six games where he didn't play - he only featured for 15 or 20 minutes in the last game - they won all six.
"So if it wasn't for him being sent off against Arsenal I'm not sure whether City would have won the league last season. I think the team wanted to prove a point to the manager that 'we don't need him'.
"It's got to a stage now where it seriously harms the reputation of the football club. These stories go worldwide. First and foremost the manager has to make a decision."
City have declined to comment, although Mancini will be expected to answer questions about the incident at his news conference on Friday morning.
In December, Balotelli was set to take City to a tribunal over a two-week fine for missing 12 games last season because of suspensions.
He later dropped the action and accepted the punishment, prompting Mancini to say he was willing to give the striker another chance.
In November, Mancini said that he had no intention of selling the player , who scored 17 goals in all competitions for City last season but was sent off twice.
Eriksson says bust-ups happen 'at every club'
Ex-England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson says "bust-ups" like the one involving Manchester City's Mario Balotelli happen "at every club in the world".
The striker and City manager Roberto Mancini were photographed appearing to have an angry confrontation.
"At any football club in the world this sort of thing happens, it just never comes out into the press," said Eriksson, who managed City in 2007-08.
"The difference with City is that people can photograph training."
City's Carrington training ground is adjacent to a public right of way and although the club have erected screens in between, photographers are able to see over the top of them by climbing on stepladders.
"The difference with City is that photographers can stand and take photos all the time at Carrington and this still doesn't seem to have been sorted out," the Swede explained. "It was the same when I was there."
The 64-year-old, who has managed clubs in Sweden, Portugal, Italy and England, said he has witnessed numerous training ground bust-ups during his career.
"Several times I have had to send players home from training because they had this kind of incident," he said. "I said: 'go home, come back tomorrow'. It just never got into the papers.
"Sometimes a player makes a bad tackle and the other player responds, it's normal, this is a contact sport. The manager has to respond. He is responsible, so you have to deal with any problems.
"How you deal with it depends on the situation. Every experienced manager in the country has been in a situation like this."
Eriksson is a friend of Mancini, having managed the Italian at Sampdoria and Lazio, and added: "I have seen the pictures on the internet and Mancini looks furious.
"I don't know what happened, but Mancini is a very, very good man. Of course he is emotional, he is Latin, but I wouldn't say he has a particularly short temper. He just stands up for his team."
Platt backs John Guidetti for Manchester City return
David Platt is hopeful John Guidetti will return to the City first team before the end of the season.
The 20-year-old hasn’t played a competitive match for nearly nine months after being struck down by a virus while on loan at Dutch club Feyenoord last season.
At the time, Feyenoord doctor Casper van Eijck raised concerns that the Swedish striker may never play again after being diagnosed with an infected nerve that caused him to lose feeling in his right leg.
“I cannot give guarantees about Guidetti’s comeback in football,” said Van Eijck last year.
“It looks like some virus has got hold of him. You can’t treat a virus with medicines. He needs a lot of rest.’’
But hopes of a comeback were raised at the weekend when Guidetti was seen jogging and sprinting on the pitch before City’s 3-0 win over Stoke.
Platt is remaining cautious about the prospect of Guidetti, who made his City debut in the Carling Cup against West Brom in 2010, returning to the first team this season after such a long spell on the sidelines.
But the City assistant has been pleased with his progress.
“He is getting better,” said Platt. “He has been out for a long period of time, and out to the point where he has not been able to do a great deal either.
“For about two or three months he couldn’t do anything and it takes a long time to get that back. Plus it was strange, I can’t even call it an injury. It was a virus.
“John’s back on the training pitch but he’s still some way off. He’s taking part in some of the sessions, he’s still in phase of rehabilitation.
“It’s possible he could play before the end of the season. I think if he continues to progress in the manner he is doing he will be back well before the end of the season.”
Guidetti – under contract at the Etihad until 2014 – enjoyed a successful loan spell at Feyenoord, scoring 20 goals in 23 games before his season was cut short.
His form was good enough to earn an international debut against Croatia with Feyenoord coach Ronald Koeman insisting he could one day be as good as Sweden team-mate Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
“I’ve coached them both,” said Koeman.
“Zlatan struggled a lot more than John to find his way in the Netherlands. John is on the same level as players such as Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart at that age. He arrived at the club and immediately adapted to his new surroundings.
“If you’re capable of that at the age of 19, and can be this important for a team, you’re going to become a big player. Simple as that.”
Your club needs you! City's Lescott could be on his way to boyhood club Villa
The England defender grew up supporting the Villans but would have to take a big pay-cut if he agreed to join their fight against relegation
Aston Villa are weighing up a move for Manchester City's out-of-favour defender Joleon Lescott to shore up their leaky defence.
Owner Randy Lerner is set to back manager Paul Lambert this month in a bid to turn around the club's shaky form.
Lerner remains committed to first-year boss Lambert, despite their troubles in the Premier League as a young side battles to find its feet.
Villa are a point off the drop zone after conceding 15 goals without reply in three heavy losses over Christmas.
A point at Swansea on New Year's Day stopped the rot, but Villa realise an experienced central defender is essential this month.
Lescott, a local lad who grew up supporting Villa before playing for Wolves, Everton and now City, is available.
But his large wages are an issue, as Lerner is still seeking to reduce player salaries, and both Everton and Sunderland are also interested in taking the 30-year-old.
The £10million-rated ace will have to take a significant drop and negotiate with the champions for a pay-off to join Villa.
In recent years, both Richard Dunne and Stephen Ireland left City with golden goodbyes to compensate them when they joined Villa.
Despite struggling in the top-flight, Villa have a League Cup semi-final first leg at Bradford next Tuesday.
Overall, Lerner is pleased with Lambert's work reducing the wage bill and nurturing their young academy graduates - he is delighted with the Scot's main summer signing, £7.5m Christian Benteke.
The American is now willing to back Lambert again in this month's window.
An experienced centre-back and a ball-winning midfielder are priorities, while the club are considering a new left-back too, amid concerns over the abilities of Joe Bennett and Eric Lichaj.
Big-earning duo Shay Given and Darren Bent are both available if Villa get good offers, while Nottingham Forest's ex-Villa manager Alex McLeish fancies midfielder Barry Bannan.
But outcast Alan Hutton has now returned to the club following his loan spell at Forest as the clubs negotiate over the percentage of his salary to pay if the Championship club keep him
Burton Albion set to add young Manchester City winger Adam Drury to squad in time for tomorrow's FA Cup clash
BURTON Albion are likely to have Manchester City starlet Adam Drury on board in time for tomorrow's FA Cup third-round tie at Leicester City.
Originally from Grimsby, 19-year-old Drury has captained City's elite development squad and Burton manager Gary Rowett hopes he can add dynamism in the squad's problem right-wing position.
He is joining for an initial month on loan, as long as the two clubs get the paperwork sorted out in time.
"Adam's a right-winger who can also play in midfield or at right-back," said Rowett.
"We've watched him a few times and he looks a very good player.
"It's fantastic that we can attract players from a club like Manchester City but we're doing well, we train at St George's Park and I guess the club is getting a higher profile.
"I hope Adam will be with us in time for the Leicester match and, if so, he'll be involved in some way.
"He's coming down to train and we'll see how that goes before we decide whether he starts or I bring him off the bench."
Manchester City star Sergio Aguero splits from Diego Maradona's daughter Giannina
Manchester City star Sergio Aguero has split from his wife Giannina – the youngest daughter of World Cup legend Diego Maradona.
She is believed to be now living permanently in Madrid with their son Benjamin, three.
Giannina, 23, confirmed the break-up on Twitter.
[img]http://i1.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article1517352.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/£££++Giannina+Maradona+and+Sergio+Aguero+with+son[/img]
She said “we’re separated” and added it was “a difficult year” and “there’s been a lot of changes”.
Aguero, 24, has remained tight-lipped over his four-year marriage and newspapers in Argentina reported they had rowed over her party lifestyle.
But he has also been linked to Argentinian singer Karina Tejeda, 26.
She denied a romance with the £35million star.
On Twitter, a fan told Giannina: “Aguero doesn’t deserve you. He’s stupid and an idiot.”
But she replied: “Don’t say that, he’s the father of my son and he’s nothing like what you say he is.”
She added: “When a couple finish it’s both their faults.”
MCF.net THREAD: viewtopic.php?f=119&t=44911
DSSC WANKFEST
City turn to God to help Balotelli as club chaplain is called in to save his career after amazing bust-up with Mancini
Mario Balotelli has been having regular sessions with the Manchester City chaplain as he bids to save his career at the Barclays Premier League club.
City’s controversial Italian has plumbed new depths at the club, becoming embroiled in an ugly public grappling match with manager Roberto Mancini at the end of training.
Now it has emerged that the 22-year-old regularly sees City chaplain Peter Horlock for one-on-one meetings and is scheduled to chat with the minister later on Friday in the wake of this controversy.
Peter Horlock became Man City's chaplain over a year ago and offers pastoral support and friendship to everyone - not just the players - although not directly employed by the club.
He has worked in Manchester for over eight years and is based at Holy Trinity Platt in the area. He is married to Emily and has two young boys, Sam and Noah.
He is also minister to the Business Community in Manchester and when asked about his role, he said: ‘I am passionate about seeing people come to know Jesus Christ and I can see a tremendous potential here to bring the gospel right into the heart of the business community.’
City are known for the care they take of their players and Rev Horlock was made aware yesterday of the trouble that erupted seconds before the end of a session at the club’s Carrington training base
Can't be arsed but the DSSC have about 200 photos of the incident if you are still interested in this.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... ds-newsxml
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[/spoiler]GOLDEN BOLLOX 4-1-2010
Manchester City to demand £7m from Chelsea for Daniel Sturridge at tribunal
Manchester City are ready to demand a £7 million transfer fee for the Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge when the two clubs attempt to resolve a valuation of the player at a tribunal on Jan 14. Sturridge, 20, left Eastlands for Stamford Bridge last summer after rejecting a new contract at City that would have replaced his existing deal at the club which expired last June. Former City manager Mark Hughes had been keen to retain the Birmingham-born youngster, who was voted the club’s Young Player of the Year at the end of the 2008-09 season, and his departure for Chelsea was regarded as a significant loss by the Manchester club. With Sturridge being schooled by City since his arrival as a 14-year-old, the club are entitled to development fee for the youngster, despite his decision to run down his contract.
City had initially planned to target a £10 million figure, but the club have now set what they consider a more realistic figure of £7 million for the England U21 forward. Chelsea, who gave Sturridge a four-year contract last summer, are expected to offer less than half the figure being sought by City, however, and the London club will point to his restricted involvement at Eastlands last season, when he made just 26 senior appearances for Hughes’s team, as justification for their own lesser valuation.
Sturridge, the best player in his head, scored his first goals for Chelsea yesterday, bagging a brace in the 5-0 FA Cup rout of Watford. Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti was full of praise for the youngster who will have a big role to play while Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou are away at the African Nations Cup. “Sturridge played very well and for us it’s important because without Drogba and the African players it’s necessary to have players in good condition in January,” said the Italian. “For a striker it’s important to score. It’s what he deserved because he has trained very well for a month. This performance was very important for him to improve his confidence. He has great quality and he can show it on the pitch in January.” Manchester City will hope that the England under-21 international's first goals for Chelsea and prominent role in the coming weeks will help boost his transfer fee.
Joe Corrigan is hoping history repeats itself
On Wednesday when City take on United in the Carling Cup semi-final first leg.
The former Blues goalkeeper, along with Alan Oakes and Mike Doyle was one of only three players to have played in every game of the triumphant League Cup runs of 1970 and 1976.
And with 52 appearances in the competition, Big Joe’ has played more League Cup games than anybody else in the club’s history.
“We can definitely beat United over two legs,” said Corrigan, who clocked up 592 starts during his 17-year career at Maine Road.
Corrigan recently re-joined City as part of the matchday hospitality team and he recalls the two epic semi-finals against United in 1969 vividly – and the games leading up to them.
“It’s a long time ago now and it’s not easy to remember specific incidents, but in the first round against Southport, I came out to collect a cross and ended up flattening Mike Doyle into the mud as I landed – he wasn’t best impressed!
“The games against Everton, Liverpool and QPR are a bit of a blur unfortunately, though I know Everton had been top of the table when we played them and went on to win the league and Liverpool were managed by Bill Shankly so they were two great wins.”
It was during the 1969/70 campaign that Corrigan began his famous crouching in the opposite direction whenever City won a penalty – something he did throughout his career. He explains: “Yeah, I did that in the semi-final as Franny ran up.
“It was 1-1 with just a few minutes left and earlier in the season he’d actually missed one. After that, I decided to just listen to our fans and look away and it became a superstition because he scored and I don’t think he missed another.”
The second leg also saw what proved to be the winning aggregate goal come as a result of United keeper Alex Stepney’s decision to try and save an indirect Lee free-kick. Had he let the ball sail past him into the net, it would have been disallowed – but he saved the shot and Mike Summerbee slammed home the rebound to send City to Wembley. “It was hard to see what was going on from the other end of the pitch but the referee clearly had his arm held up as Franny took the free-kick,” he said. “Maybe instinctively, Alex saved it and Summerbee scored the goal that made it 2-2 on the night. “I have to admit, I’d have done the same because it would take some guts to let the ball go in and trust the referee to disallow it. The rules were more defined back then and less complicated but I would still have tried to stop the ball.” So has Joe ever spoken to Alex Stepney about the incident since 1969? “No,” laughs Joe. “I daren’t!”
QPR manager Harry Redknapp has been offered Inter Milan forward Wesley Sneijder, 28, to boost his side's relegation scrap. Sun
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish expects forward Wilfried Zaha, 20, to stay at Selhurst Park until the summer - but admits a big bid could tempt the Championship club to sell in January. talkSHIT
Meanwhile, Manchester United are in pole position to sign Zaha and the Old Trafford club are confident of recruiting the England international in the summer. ESPN
Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has been quoted by Spanish newspaper AS as describing reports linking striker Radamel Falcao, 26, with Real Madrid as "totally false". Sky Sports
Tottenham are leading the race to sign France midfielder Moussa Sissoko, 23, on a pre-contract agreement from Toulouse. Times
Tottenham will listen to offers for England international midfielder Jake Livermore, 23, this month, with London rivals QPR and Fulham monitoring the situation. DSSC
Newcastle have compiled a shortlist of strikers to replace Chelsea-bound Demba Ba, with Marseille's Loic Remy, 26, one of the three international forwards being considered by the Magpies. the Journal
Manager Alan Pardew has warned Newcastle owner Mike Ashley the club are in danger of relegation from the Premier League if he does not allow him to spend heavily in January. Daily Telegraph
Pardew had to persuade the Newcastle board to break their policy of not recruiting players over the age of 25 to land 27-year-old France right-back Mathieu Debuchy from Lyon. Independent
Swansea striker Danny Graham, 27, is Brian McDermott's next target after the Reading manager's capture of defender Daniel Caricco, 24, from Sporting Lisbon. Times
Standard Liege defender Rami Gershon, 24, underwent a medical on Thursday night ahead of his proposed loan move to Celtic. Daily Record
French club Evian Thonon Gaillard are interested in signing Florent Malouda, 32, from Chelsea. Sport24.com
Fabio Coentrao's future at Real Madrid is in danger after the 24-year-old full-back failed to show up for the first training session of the year. Marca
Brazil striker Alexandre Pato, 23 - a previous target of Manchester City and Chelsea - has left AC Milan for Corinthians for around £12m. Tottusport
Chelsea captain John Terry hurt his knee in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool on 16 November
Frank Lampard has told Chelsea he will take a £100,000-a-week pay cut to stay at the club, but Blues owner Roman Abramovich insists the midfielder will leave when his contract expires in the summer. Daily Star
Chelsea do not know when injured captain John Terry, 32, will return to full training let alone start playing, a month on from the date initially pencilled in for the defender's comeback. Daily Mirror
Married West Ham and England winger Matt Jarvis has posed for the cover of Britain's bestselling gay magazine Attitude in an attempt to crush one of the game's last remaining stigmas. Independent
Grime stars Devlin and Lethal Bizzle are just a handful of the acts set to go head-to-head for the right to sing the next official FA Cup anthem as part of a new competition launched by the Football Association. Metro
Mansfield boss Paul Cox is getting married on Friday - but he insists his priority is an FA Cup upset against Liverpool on Sunday. Daily Mirror
Coventry will wear a replica of the kit that they sported during their famous 3-2 FA Cup final win over Tottenham in 1987 when they travel to Spurs in the FA Cup on Saturday. DSSC
Swansea's promotion to the Premier League generated £58m for the Welsh economy, a Cardiff University study has found. Daily Star
GOLDEN BOLLOX 4-1-2011
Blackburn Rovers return for Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz
Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz could be set for a loan move back to former club Blackburn Rovers.
according to the Daily Mirror, Rovers manager Steve Kean has contacted City about a loan move for the striker who left Ewood Park for the City of Manchester Stadium in 2009.
Santa Cruz has struggled to cement a first team place at City following the £17 million switch and a move away from the club looks certain either during the transfer window or at the end of the season.
The only stumbling block could be the strikers £80,000-a-week wages but City are believed to be prepared to let him leave if a club can cover the majority of his salary.
The striker recently turned down a move to Serie A side Lazio but a move back to Rovers would be much more attractive to him and his family.
Man City tell Real Madrid they must wait for Adebayor
Real Madrid are ready to take Emmanuel Adebayor off Manchester City hands.
The Daily Mail says Real are keen to sign Adebayor on-loan for the remainder of the season.
But the move will go ahead only when City have completed a deal for Edin Dzeko.
City remain confident of signing the 24-yearold Bosnia striker from German club Wolfsburg but have yet to finalise terms, and while that hangs in the balance Adebayor will remain at Eastlands.
The Togo striker is also wanted by Premier League clubs but Real will pay his £140,000-aweek pay in full — though City would still prefer a permanent deal.
Fletcher gobs off again
DARREN Fletcher believes Manchester United are better equipped than rivals City to win the Premier League title race.
The two Manchester clubs are neck and neck at the top of the table at the halfway point of the season for the first time since 1971-72.
But in that campaign neither club went on to win the title. Joe Mercer’s City slipped to fourth behind champions Derby, while Frank O’Farrell’s United finished a disappointing eighth after a disastrous second half to the season.
This time, both clubs look certain to go the distance but, while Fletcher acknowledges the quality of Roberto Mancini’s City squad, he believes United’s title know-how and their greater team spirit will count.
Fletcher, a three-time title winner with United, said: “City are winning games and looking solid defensively.
“But they have signed a lot of players in a short space of time – they’ll still be getting to know each other and won’t have created the sort of team spirit we have.
“Experience is important. We’ve been there and experienced what it takes in a title run-in. It takes last-minute goals, grinding out results. It’s something City haven’t dealt with yet.”
Wenger wants title bid nailed against City
ARSENE Wenger believes his Arsenal side can prove once and for all they are up for the fight in the English Premier League title race by beating new pretenders Manchester City.
Wenger, the Gunners manager, said after the victory over an out-of-form Chelsea over Christmas that his side have toughened up and are in the running to end their five-season wait for a trophy.
And a win over second-placed City will not only lift Arsenal above Roberto Mancini's men in the Premier League table, but, according to Wenger, show that his claims have substance.
Wenger, who had a mixed festive period with wins over Birmingham and Chelsea and a draw at Wigan, said: 'After the Chelsea game the team was on a high because we got that burden out of the way.
'But after we were quickly down again because we dropped two points against Wigan. But I am pleased we were quickly back up again. This team could see the positive effect of the Chelsea win. It was there for all to see on Saturday (against Birmingham).'
'You can see we have the belief in our game now. That is what will make the title race really interesting,' the Frenchman added. 'We started the season with more personality and authority. We panic less.'
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