THE BOLLOX
FA may investigate Aguero’s horror tackle on David Luiz
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero is waiting to find out if the FA will punish him for his horror two footed lunge on Chelsea defender David Luiz.
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During the FA Cup semi final at Wembley, it originally appeared that Luiz had caught Aguero with an elbow, to which the Argentine International reacted angrily to with a two-footed tackle on the Brazil defender.
Referee Chris Foy did not show Aguero a yellow card and instead only gave Chelsea a free-kick, but the FA confirmed that they will hold talks with Foy over the incident, which was hard to miss in truth.
After the game, Chelsea interim manager, Rafael Benitez was not best pleased with the challenge.
When asked about the lunge, Benitez replied: “See the video. I will not talk about other players.”
But he added: “I’m very disappointed at the moment, you have officials to make decisions. It’s something they have to clarify.”
Chelsea defender Luiz said that he had forgiven Aguero after the game, but still hoped he would receive an apology from the City forward.
“I forgive everybody in my life but Aguero is a great player and he needs to honest with himself and say I don’t like to do bad tackles,” said the Brazilian.
“If it was the opposite, and I did the tackle, I would say ‘sorry, this is not me, this is not good for football’. Kids watch the game and need to see good things.
“We need to show football is beautiful. In games like this both teams want to win, sometimes people can be angry and do things they don’t want to do.”
City boss Roberto Mancini defended his star player after the game, saying he takes a lot of kicks from defenders.
“I don’t know what he did but usually Aguero takes a lot of kicks from the defenders.
“The referee was there. There are six referees.”
Watch the video for yourself and decide whether Aguero deserves any punishment.
David Luiz wants Sergio Aguero to say sorry for ugly challenge
David Luiz has urged Sergio Aguero to apologise for the incident during yesterday's FA Cup semi-final that left him with stud marks on his back.
Aguero scored City's winner in their 2-1 Wembley triumph.
But his second-half challenge on Luiz left a sour taste as he jumped on the Chelsea defender's back.
And whilst Luiz did not condemn Aguero, he did claim if the striker had done something wrong, he should be big enough to admit it"Aguero's a great player," said Luiz. "He needs to be honest with himself and say I don't like to do bad tackles.
"People are happy when Aguero scores goals and does good things in the game.
"Many kids see the game, watch the game and they want to see good things and not bad things.
"I didn't see it because I was on my back but I felt it a little bit.
"Sometimes in a game people have five seconds when they are angry and do things they don't like to do. I think it was that.
"I never saw Aguero do a bad tackle on other players. It was five seconds of anger and I forgive him."
It is unlikely the South American will face retrospective action as it occurred within a Luiz challenge.
Coming just 24 hours after the ugly scenes involving fighting Millwall supporters that scarred the other semi-final, it was a vision football could have done without.
However, Chelsea boss Rafael Benitez was more concerned about the penalty his side should have had after Vincent Kompany pulled back substitute Fernando Torres.
"For me, the main one is the penalty not given.
"The consequence could have been a red card and a penalty. It could change the game.
"Yes (they got it wrong). It is something they have to clarify. I have seen the pictures. Kompany has the shirt."
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini said he had not seen the incident, even though it occurred right in front of his dug out.
"I need glasses," he said, sarcastically. "If I saw I would say I saw.
"I don't know what he did but usually Aguero takes a lot of kicks from the defenders. The referee was there. There are six referees. If Sergio did something wrong....."
Pantilimon could play in the final
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has indicated he will keep faith with Costel Pantilimon for next month's FA Cup final.
The Romanian has been a regular in the competition this season and was preferred to Joe Hart for City's semi-final win over Chelsea at Wembley. Mancini has four weeks to decide what to do for the meeting with Wigan on May 11 - but it seems certain Pantilimon will get the nod.
"Costel did very well," said Mancini. "He is a good keeper and he deserves this situation because he has been here for two years and has done very well behind Joe Hart."
He added: "It is a good situation for Joe too. We have four weeks to the final but I think it will be this (Pantilimon)."
Victory over Wigan would extend Mancini's run of seasons with a major trophy to three, following the FA Cup triumph of 2011 and last year's Premier League title success.
However, it will not quite satisfy the Italian, whose side are in their best form of the season but accept there is no chance of catching Manchester United now.
"Our target at the start of the season was the Premier League and FA Cup," he said.
"We knew the Champions League would be difficult because we had a difficult group.
"We had a chance to win another Premier League if we worked well last summer. But we didn't. We made some mistakes. We are frustrated about that. United deserve to win this title but we deserve to fight until the last two or three games.
"We know we are a good team. We want to win the FA Cup final and we have a chance to finish second and show we don't deserve to be 15 points behind. This is our target."
Why Striker Carlos Tevez Is Wildly Underrated
Carlos Tevez is underrated and underappreciated for reasons both beyond and within his control.
His sport is preciously referred to as the "Beautiful Game," but Tevez's game usually ranges from ordinary-looking to a little bit hard on the eyes.
That is not his fault. Certainly most strikers would like to make scoring goals look as easy as Lionel Messi or, to a far lesser extent, Robin van Persie. Tevez is never going to be that graceful. Watching Tevez play, all tireless runs and constant cuts, can exhaust you even as you sit watching from a lounge chair.
And the goals he scores often have all the grace of a baseball bat going through a windshield.
But what does that matter? There are no columns for style points on the statistics sheet.
Take this season, for example. Tevez is tied with Sergio Aguero for second in goals scored in the Premier League for Manchester City this season (10 apiece).
The pessimist would note that it has taken Tevez far more games and minutes played than Aguero to score that many goals. The cynic would note that Edin Dzeko has more goals (12) in far less time on the pitch.
That argument works in both directions, though.
Manchester City entered the season with the expectation that the team would struggle to keep four strikers (Tevez, Aguero, Dzeko and Mario Balotelli) satisfied with playing time.
So it was. But while Balotelli talked himself out of Manchester and Dzeko talked himself onto the bench, it was Tevez who put in the longest and hardest shifts for City—especially while Aguero nursed this injury and that.
A medium-depth look at the season statistics shows that Tevez is doing much more than just scoring goals this season.
Tevez is tied for the team lead in assists with world-class set-up man David Silva. He leads the team in both shots taken and shots on goal.
Before you say "anyone can take a bad shot," think about how many times you have wished for a player to take a shot, only to see a low-percentage pass fail and a threat go begging. For a great striker, there really is no bad shot.
Tevez is taking a beating, too, as he is tied for the team lead in fouls drawn with Yaya Toure. Ask yourself which of those two players is better built to get fouled repeatedly and keep going.
No commentator is going to spend much time telling you that Tevez is on the short list of team leaders in all of these categories not called "goals scored." There is no real juice in talking about shots on goal, fouls drawn or even assists. But these plays all matter.
While it is no fault of Tevez that his contributions goes unnoticed, his being a knucklehead is absolutely his fault.
Did he really refuse to play in a Champions League match? "Misunderstanding" or not, that episode in Munich threatened not just to tarnish Tevez's reputation—it almost began the end of his time at the Etihad.
Roberto Mancini minced zero words after the incident (per the Guardian article):
It may not be my decision but if I'm deciding then, yes, he goes. For me, if a player earns a lot of money playing for Manchester City in the Champions League and he behaves like this – he cannot play again. Never.
"Never," of course, turned out to be about six months. Tevez scored four goals in 10 games after returning, and though he was not on the pitch for the goal that won the league, the fact that Mancini started Tevez against Queens Park Rangers that day put in bold type the respect Mancini had for his game.
It was just too bad Tevez could not get through the victory parade without doing something stupid.
And that beat unfortunately goes on, as every time Tevez gets behind the wheel, something bad is likely to happen (both per the DSSC).
The constant undercurrent of drama, and the perpetual threat that he will personally derail, may be the ultimate reason why Tevez is sometimes overlooked for what he does with the ball in play.
It might be fairer, though, to focus on the following facts.
Tevez was the best player on the 2010/11 Manchester City side; the offense ran through Tevez and his 20 goals. Not coincidentally, that team broke a 35-year trophy drought.
Tevez went absent without leave for much of 2011/12, but his return to the team alluded to above roughly coincided with City chasing down Manchester United for their first Premier League title in 44 years.
Tevez has been City's all-around best striker in 2012/13, and his team will be heavily favored to win another FA Cup and to finish second behind a United side that ran away and hid from the rest of the league.
Carlos Tevez does not get nearly the credit for City's success that he should.
Whether it is his fault or not.
Man City’s Samir Nasri blames injuries for patchy form this season
Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri blames injuries for the patchy form earlier this season which left Roberto Mancini frustrated
Samir Nasri has blamed his patchy form this season on injuries after the French midfielder helped Manchester City reach the FA Cup final.
The 25-year-old scored the opener against Chelsea in the semi-final at Wembley before Sergio Aguero sealed City’s place in the final despite Demba Ba’s late consolation goal.
Nasri has endured a difficult campaign, with a string of lacklustre performances prompting manager Roberto Mancini to declare that he feels like “punching” his playmaker.
However, the France international has improved in recent weeks and the former Arsenal man claims injuries affected his displays in the first half of the campaign.
“I wish I was like this since the start of the season but I had a couple of injuries which stopped me.
“I try to do my best for the team and we are going to fight until the end for the league and we want to win the FA Cup. It is the right moment.”
Meanwhile, Yaya Touré backed City to continue to improve after reaching the final following the disappointment of failing to defend their top-flight crown this term.
“The team and the players will continue to fight for them, to make them happy,” he added.
“They continue to help the team and give you more strength. All the time they were unbelievable. I think I know now I made a very good choice to sign the new contract.
“I want to continue to make history and continue to be part of the story of the club. With those kind of fans it would be difficult for me to leave.”
Extended highlights of yesterday's game
http://www.mcfc.co.uk/citytv/Match-high ... highlights
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[/spoiler]Chelsea are set to open talks with Bayer Leverkusen as they close on a £20m deal for Germany striker Andre Schurrle, 22. Daily Mirror
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce wants to sign Blackburn striker Jordan Rhodes. The Scotland international, 23, has scored 24 goals for Rovers since joining in an £8m deal from Huddersfield last summer. Daily Mirror
Barcelona president Sandro Rosell has confirmed the club's interest in signing Dortmund's Germany defender Mats Hummels, 24. Marca
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard has postponed his wedding after Los Angeles Galaxy stepped up their efforts to bring the 34-year-old to Major League Soccer. Daily Star
Bradford manager Phil Parkinson is being lined up to take over as Sheffield United manager after the Blades sacked Danny Wilson. Sun
Wayne Rooney has played down the prospect of making a permanent move into midfield. The Manchester United striker, 27, played in a deeper role in the 2-0 win at Stoke on Sunday. talkSHIT
Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio believes seeing a vision of his dead mother Pierina before the Sunday's Tyne-Wear derby was the inspiration for his side's historic victory over Newcastle. Independent
QPR manager Harry Redknapp admits it will be difficult to clear out the biggest earners at Loftus Road if his team is relegated to the Championship. Times
Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, 35, is set for talks with manager Brendan Rodgers over delaying his retirement at the end of this season. Sun
Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo claims David Beckham could stay at the club next season. He said: "The door is open for him to stay at PSG. If he wants to continue, we will continue." The Brazilian insists he plans to keep Carlo Ancelotti at the club despite interest from Real Madrid. TFI
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was in Germany on Saturday to watch Champions League semi-final opponents Borussia Dortmund thrash Greuther Furth 6-1. Frankfurter Algemeine
Inter Milan coach Andrea Stramaccioni says the team's season is "cursed" following a 2-0 defeat by Cagliari. The 2010 Champions League winners are currently seventh in Serie A, and may fail to qualify for European football next season. La Stampa
Former Spain and Real Madrid striker Raul, 35, won a seventh league title of his career when he captained Qatari side Al-Sadd to their 13th league title following a 3-1 victory over Al-Kharatiyat. Gulf Times
GOLDEN BOLLOX 14-4-2010
Roberto Mancini sticks to his guns despite Carlos Tevez's outburst
No change to training regime despite Argentinian's comments
Roberto Mancini is to stick by his training regime at Manchester City despite Carlos Tevez's claim that the players are "not happy" in an interview that has gone down badly not just with his manager but also with senior figures at boardroom level.
Mancini has steered City to fourth in the Premier League, with Tevez scoring 28 goals in the process, but the Argentinian striker openly undermined his manager in an interview in the Daily Mail today in which he expressed misgivings about the Italian's training schedule.
"The players are not happy," Tevez said. "We are at the end of a long season, we have big matches, we are tired but there are still double training sessions, morning and afternoon. Then, the next day, we train for two hours. I do not understand."
Tevez went on to say he was "OK" with Mancini but his comments are being viewed within the club as disruptive, unhelpful and poorly timed, to say the least, coming so soon before Saturday's game against Manchester United.
City had been keen for their leading scorer to keep a low profile this week and the club are deeply frustrated with their player, as well as being angry with therole that his adviser, Kia Joorabchian, is perceived to have played in an interview that also included Tevez questioning the wisdom of Mark Hughes's sacking.
Joorabchian has been representing Hughes for the last two months and his once-strong working relationship with City's chief executive, Garry Cook, has deteriorated to the point that sources at the club say the businessman is no longer even welcome in the players' lounge.
City's frustration with Tevez stems largely from the fact that they see him as too easily influenced and as a result he has enhanced his reputation as one of the more controversial players in the Premier League.
As well as saying the dismissal of Hughes was taken with "too much haste" and stating that the former Wales national manager "will get another big club 100%", Tevez questioned City's decision to put up the "Welcome to Manchester" billboard that led to Sir Alex Ferguson angrily criticising United's neighbours last summer as "a small club with a small mentality".
In previous interviews Tevez has spoken of having a framed copy at his house in Buenos Aires, but he now appears to believe it was unnecessarily provocative, saying: "I'd have preferred for it not to be there. I have respect for all the clubs I used to play for. That was not showing respect, was it?" Later he added: "I did not transfer from United to City for the controversy."
His questioning of Mancini is the most surprising aspect, however, given City's impressive results over the past few weeks, with 14 goals scored in the last three games, and the fact that Tevez himself is in the most prolific form of his career.
It is not clear whether Mancini has taken issue with the player personally, although he would be well within his rights. Elano Blumer's criticisms of Hughes in November 2008 led City to introduce a policy whereby the players received an internal memo telling them they were prohibited from giving unauthorised interviews. That rule is still meant to apply now. Elano was fined a week's wages but City will not discipline Tevez, taking the view there is little to be gained from upsetting their best player before such a crucial game.
Mancini has no plans, however, to alter the training methods that have seen him introduce a more strategic approach, with a heavier influence on tactical and positional play, often with no ball involved.
To give Tevez's complaints a different context, when he moved to City last summer a senior member of United's backroom staff described him to one of Hughes's coaches as the worst trainer at Old Trafford. That has not been the case at City, with club employees praising his commitment today, but there has historically been a feeling that Tevez saves himself in practice sessions.
When Mancini did a round of interviews with the local media today it was under the strict understanding, set out by the club, that he would not be asked about Tevez's remarks.
GOLDEN WAG OF THE DAY
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