Carlos tevez has backed boss Roberto Mancini at Manchester City
CARLOS TEVEZ says Roberto Mancini’s claim that Robin van Persie has been the difference in the title race has got Manchester City’s strikers firing again.
On New Year’s Eve, Mancini made the point that Van Persie had tipped the balance since spurning City’s interest to join United in the summer, while his own strikers were struggling to convert chances.
Tevez and Co have come alive since, and Tevez said: “Those words were a motivation for the strikers.
“We know we need to carry on fighting. We want to keep winning, to keep fighting for the title and I will try to help us to compete on both fronts – the Premier League and FA Cup – and try to win both.”
We know we need to carry on fighting. We want to keep winning, to keep fighting for the title and I will try to help us to compete on both fronts – the Premier League and FA Cup – and try to win both
Carlos Tevez
Van Persie netted twice in the 4-0 win at Wigan to retain United’s seven-point lead at the top of the table and kept his team in the FA Cup with a last-minute goal in a 2-2 draw at West Ham, his 20th this term.
But since Mancini’s remarks, Tevez, Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero have netted goals of their own in 3-0 wins over Stoke and Watford. Even Mario Balotelli, after his recent spat with the manager, has scored twice, albeit for the Under-21s in a 4-0 friendly victory over Blackburn on Monday.
Aguero, who is out with a hamstring problem, made it just three goals in 10 outings with his goal against the Potters, while Dzeko has three in 11. Balotelli has
just one Premier League goal all season but Tevez, 28, who scored his first goal in eight matches against Watford, said: “You can always improve. I started the season very well, then I was sick for about 10 days, but now I’m coming back and getting better.
“Last season United lost some games and we were back on track, so we will keep doing our job. That’s the emotion of the Premier League. It’s always a fight to the end and if United lose one game, we’ll be back on track and getting close to them. They will know that.”
Balotelli’s long-term future remains in doubt despite Mancini’s attempt to play down the training-ground scrap between the two.
Milan appear to have ruled themselves out as a potential destination after owner Silvio Berlusconi described the Italy striker as a “rotten apple”.
But Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri has opened the door to a potential move, saying he would find it “stimulating” to work with Balotelli.
He said: “I do not know him personally. I spoke to him once a few years ago at a hotel in Sorrento.
“He made a good impression on me but only those who know him well can say what kind of problems he might create in training.
“I’ve got a bit of experience, though, and it would be stimulating to work with a talent like his, but I don’t know if that would ever happen.”
City have been linked with Napoli striker Edinson Cavani but club president Aurelio De Laurentiis said: “Are City considering letting Balotelli go so they can move for Cavani?
“I would prefer to see Balotelli playing with Cavani here at Napoli. Teams tend to hold on to their best players in January. On January 31, you will see what moves Napoli have made.”
ABU DHABI — Man City school to emphasise on skills
The focus will be on skills from all over the world when the Manchester City FC School of Football returns to Abu Dhabi in 2013.
During the winter break the club held its annual summit in Manchester of the global network of youth coaches.
Simon Hewitt, head coach at School of Football, has now returned to the UAE with an updated curriculum and a series of new sessions that will help boys and girls learn the latest ball tricks and skills. He has also brought with him a specialist skills coach from Manchester City’s youth academy to join the team based in Abu Dhabi.
There are now four full-time coaches working at the School of Football who have been with Manchester City for a total of 27 years and all have experience of working with the best young players at the club.
“Manchester City is coaching youngsters all over the world now and it was fascinating to hear what everyone is doing,” said Simon.
“There is a really big interest in the School of Football in Abu Dhabi and the huge response we have had since opening.
“We believe a focus on developing new skills will bring the sessions to life even more and the children are going to love learning all sorts of new tricks.
“By adding a specialist skills coach we make the team even stronger and as always the big emphasis will be on having as much fun as possible.”
The Manchester City FC School of Football is open to everyone aged between the ages of five and 18. It starts this Sunday, January 13, on the pitches at Zayed Sports City.
The sessions last for 10 weeks throughout the week with organised games every Saturday for all pupils who also all receive a full Manchester City replica kit.
MANCHESTER TITLE RACE
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[/spoiler]SNUB COUNT - 32
Manchester United and Liverpool fans unite against away ticket prices
Supporters want cap on price of away match tickets • 'Away crowds are a crucial part of matchday experience'
Rival fans from Liverpool and Manchester United will work together with other trusts and the Football Supporters' Federation to campaign for a maximum away ticket price in the Premier League, following Manchester City's decision to send back a third of their allocation for Sunday's match at Arsenal.
The FSF and Supporters Direct are in the process of arranging formal meetings between fan groups in the top flight, to lobby the Premier League and its clubs to introduce a £20-£25 cap for away games. City sent back 912 tickets, priced at £62, for this weekend's match at the Emirates Stadium.
Premier League rules state that away fans must be charged the same price for the same match as home supporters. However, Malcolm Clarke, the FSF president, believes fans have had enough and increased TV revenue from next season should result in lower costs.
"Though we have our club rivalries, what we recognise is that without the rival sets of supporters inside a ground the atmosphere is much poorer," he said. "We're going to be launching a campaign within a few weeks, we will be calling for a maximum ticket price in the Premier League for away fans.
"Next season they could knock off £32 from every single ticket, for every single game, for every single supporter in the Premier League and still have the same amount of money that they have this season because of the TV income."
Supporters of both Manchester clubs, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham routinely get charged the highest category prices to attend away matches while followers of other sides are able to pay less. Indeed, Stoke City fans will each pay £32.50 when they go to Arsenal next month.
Liverpool play at the Emirates in two weeks. The club expect to sell their allocation but the consensus from supporters is that they are being exploited for their loyalty and dedication. The group Spirit of Shankly believes opposing supporters need to unite if away ticket prices are to be capped. "We are trying to get supporters of all clubs around the table," a spokesman said. "Liverpool fans aren't going to change it on their own. At the moment we're a mid-table club still paying category A prices."
Paul Martin, a committee member for the group, added: "We're looking at working with the arch enemy Manchester United and others to put a bit of pressure on the clubs to introduce a cap for prices on away tickets. Everybody jokes about Manchester United fans being from outside of Manchester but the core of them are from the Manchester area. The rivalry will start to dwindle when the prices are driving local people away from the game."
The Manchester United Supporters Trust chief executive, Duncan Drasdo, said the key issue is the disparity in prices, with fans of bigger clubs paying more compared to others.
He said: "The attack on traditional football fan culture continues relentlessly but until recently away support remained as at least one bastion of hard-core support which had remained largely intact.
"However, the threat to the away fan is very clear now and this should concern even the most self serving of club owners as the large vocal away following has long been a hugely attractive aspect of British football.
"If the home club wishes to charge different prices to home fans depending on the opposition that isn't unreasonable but to charge one set of away fans a higher price than another is clearly inequitable.
"Price categorisation for away fans should be outlawed and this is something MUST has been lobbying for. It has brought together arch rivals such as Manchester United and Liverpool fans who both recognise the essential importance of genuine vocal away fans to the culture of English football."
Arsenal supporters have been increasingly vocal in protest of high ticket prices. The most expensive season ticket at the club is £1,955 while the dearest individual matchday ticket is £126. However, for games that are regarded as "category C", namely Sunderland, Southampton, Swansea City, West Bromwich Albion, Reading and Norwich City, a ticket can be purchased for £25.
Tim Payton of the Arsenal Supporters' Trust defended the City fans who will not attend Sunday's game and said that without away supporters inside the stadium the "product" of the Premier League would be seriously harmed. "The away fan is disproportionately important. They create the noise, tribalism and the atmosphere, all part of this wonderful product that is the Premier League. Every fan is important but without the away fans you get a tepid atmosphere. The problem with this categorisation is for the away fan, if you follow Arsenal, a Chelsea or a Manchester City you'll get clobbered everywhere you go."
A survey into the price of football conducted last year found that the cost of the cheapest adult ticket in the Football League had risen by 11.7%, more than five times the rate of inflation. With travel and refreshment costs also rising, and the most expensive matchday programme costing £4, a large number of supporters feel that they are being priced out of watching their side.
Martin has followed Liverpool home and away for 12 years but is considering missing a match for the first time during that period due to the cost of a ticket at Arsenal. He says that per year, with a season ticket, it costs £2,000 in admission fees to watch Liverpool at home and on the road, and giving a conservative estimation believes he pays more than £1,000 in other costs throughout the campaign. "I don't think I'm going to buy a ticket for Arsenal. It's £62, the price is just unbelievable, more than double what it should be. This will be the first time in 12 seasons I've seen a price of a ticket and thought I'm not going to get one. Arsenal is not a £62 experience. You'd consider that as a price for an FA Cup final ticket."
However, the Premier League insisted that attendances are still high and that the quality of stadiums in the top division has greatly improved. "Ticket pricing is a matter for individual clubs, many of which work hard to fill their stadiums with offers at different points during a season that make top flight football accessible to large numbers of fans," a spokesman said. "The quality and safety of stadia is as a result of extensive and continued investment from the clubs. Fans clearly enjoy the environment in which they watch Premier League matches and the football on offer with occupancy rates at grounds tracking at 95% for this season and having been 90%+ for the last 15 seasons in a row."
Chelsea wage bill falls below City
Chelsea have been overtaken by Manchester City as the biggest payers in the Premier League, the Stamford Bridge club's accounts have confirmed.
The overall wages paid out by Chelsea in the year ending June 2012 actually fell by £18million to £171million - compared to Manchester City who saw their wages break through the £200million barrier.
Chelsea announced last year they had made a profit of £1.4million - the first time they had finished in the black in the Roman Abramovich era. The full accounts lodged with Companies House reveal that was aided by a one-off £18.4million boost from the cancellation of shares owned by BSkyB.
The accounts also reveal that, aided by some one-off items, Chelsea also achieved a wage bill reduction for the first time since Abramovich took over in July 2003. It reflects a big effort by the club to trim costs in their bid to comply with UEFA's financial fair play rules.
The numbers of playing and coaching staff dropped by 89 in 2011 to 69 in 2012, the accounts reveal.
Chelsea's wage bill is still ahead of Manchester United's £160million total by £11million, and removing all the exceptional items the overall trend is still slightly up - but only slightly.
The exceptional items in 2011 included a one-off £6.4million payment to the taxman as part of a deal on image rights, and money paid to former manager Carlo Ancelotti and his coaching team.
Those payments stopped after Ancelotti was hired by Paris St Germain and led to a credit of £4.7million into Chelsea's accounts from money they had set aside to cover those costs.
Alan Shaw, Chelsea's club secretary said in a statement published in the accounts: "The introduction of the UEFA financial fair play regulations from the 2012/13 season provides a significant challenge.
"The football club needs to balance success on the field together with financial imperatives of this new regime. The results recorded in this financial year put us in a good position to meet the assessment criteria for the initial periods."
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England's 19-year-old keeper Jack Butland, who is rated at £6m, says he will only leave Birmingham City for first-team football - not to be a reserve. Daily Mirror
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However, Distin is set to sign a new contract with Everton. Sun
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Everton are lining up Wigan's James McCarthy, 22, as a replacement for Marouane Fellaini if the Belgian midfielder moves to Chelsea or Manchester United. Daily Star
Liverpool are preparing to offer former manager and player Kenny Dalglish another Anfield comeback, lining him up for a return to his role as a club ambassador. Daily Telegraph
Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor, 28, has hinted that manager Andre Villas-Boas is not happy that he has teamed up with Togo for the Africa Cup of Nations Cup. The Independent
Birmingham City's supporters trust has criticised the club's governance after City's 2011-12 accounts revealed a bizarre sponsorship arrangement, the club still owing £14m to Carson Yeung who is awaiting trial for money-laundering, and an unnamed director being paid £687,611. Guardian
Just nine days into the new year, Portsmouth's official calendar is already out of date, with just three of the 12 featured players still at Fratton Park. Metro
