Thursday's 28 years sore loser semi final B*ll*x

[Chinners]

Mark Hughes: Arsene Wenger is a sore loser and lacks respect
Mark Hughes, the Manchester City manager, told Arsène Wenger to show some respect after his Arsenal counterpart refused to shake his hand at the end of a tempestuous Carling Cup quarter-final last night.

City face a showdown with Manchester United in the semi-finals after an impressive 3-0 win at home to a youthful Arsenal secured their place in the last four of a leading cup competition for the first time in 28 years.

The victory eased the pressure on Hughes, whose future has come under scrutiny after a run of seven successive draws in the Barclays Premier League. But the City manager was furious at Wenger’s snub at the final whistle and waved sarcastically as the Arsenal manager went down the tunnel.

“It was his choice,” Hughes said after second-half goals from Carlos Tévez, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Vladimir Weiss had killed off Arsenal.“At one point he questioned why I was over on his side of the technical area. He may have been a little bit aggrieved by that, but I would suggest he was more aggrieved that his team got beat.

“I have been to the Emirates Stadium and been beaten 6-2 but I still offer my hand. It’s the best you can do. There are certain protocols and maybe on this occasion Arsène has not worked with that.

“I was a little bit disappointed because I have got huge respect for him and maybe he needs to be a little but more gracious. You don’t need to do that and just not shake someone’s hand to show you’re upset.”

There has been a history of bad blood between Hughes and Wenger, dating back to an FA Cup semi-final in April 2005, when the Welshman was in charge of Blackburn Rovers.

Wenger took exception to Blackburn’s “bully boy” tactics that day, not least an elbow by Andy Todd on Robin van Persie. He refused to explain why he had stormed off last night, but denied that it had anything to do with City’s approach.

“Well, I think that has not a lot to do with the game,” he said. “I’m free to shake hands with whom I want after the game. I have nothing more to say about that.”

Asked if it was not professional courtesy to shake an opposing manager’s hand, Wenger added: “Yes, it is. I had no professional courtesy.”

Hughes is relishing the prospect of a meeting with United in the last four. City will host United on January 6, with the return leg at Old Trafford on January 20. Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, accused City of being “noisy neighbours” after winning a controversial derby 4-3 at Old Trafford in September and Hughes is expecting more fireworks.

“It’s a fantastic draw,” he said. “We are excited by it and the wider world as well, I think. We are going to enjoy it. Over two games we’d back ourselves against anyone and will try to get to a Wembley final that this club hasn’t for a long time.

“There has been a little bit of negativity in recent weeks but I think that has been alleviated this evening. It has been a frustration for everyone but we’ve played 16 or 17 games and only been beaten in one. You can’t deny we are going in the right direction now.”

Wenger played down the importance of the Carling Cup after insisting he would not abandon his policy of blooding youngsters in the competition. “To play in the quarter-final of the Champions League or the semi-final or final is ten times more difficult than to win the Carling Cup,” he said.

Blackburn Rovers will face Aston Villa in the other semi-final, but Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, refused to blame Gaël Kakuta after his failure from the spot in a shoot-out at Ewood Park.

Chelsea lost 4-3 on penalties after an enthralling tie ended 3-3 after extra time, when Kakuta’s kick was saved by Paul Robinson. Chelsea had played for 50 minutes with ten men after Ancelotti, who had already made eight changes to his starting line-up, lost Salomon Kalou to injury, having used all three substitutes at half-time.

“I took the risk,” Ancelotti said, “then Kalou had the injury and we ended up with ten against eleven. I don’t usually change all three at half-time, but I thought it was best for us.

“And all the young players who came on will play in the future for us. I put Kakuta in for the penalty, I chose him to take the fifth. I saw him in training all week and he was very good.”

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TRANSFER BOLLOX
Tottenham look set to agree the £7m signing of Internacional's Brazilian midfielder Sandro on Sunday. Daily Mirror

Manchester United are considering a January transfer move for Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko. Daily Mirror

But Arsenal are also interested in the £15m-rated Bosnia striker as they look to replace injured forward Robin Van Persie. The Sun

United will sell Serbian winger Zoran Tosic and pass up on their option to sign his former team-mate Partizan Belgrade midfielder Adem Ljajic in order to free up funds to sign Dzeko.Daily Mirror

Or, United's decision to pull out of the £10m deal for Serbian 'superkid' Ljajic is because there are suggestions the Old Trafford club are suffering from a financial crisis.Daily Star

Meanwhile, United keeper Ben Foster will be sent out on loan in January in a bid to secure his place in England's World Cup squad.Daily Mirror

Manchester United are said to be considering a move for Schalke 04 keeper Manuel Neuer, according to the German player's agent. Daily Mirror

WHAT THE FUCK ... BOLLOX
Fernando Torres: I will not join Manchester City because I want my daughter to have a Scouse accent, la
Fernando Torres has dismissed the idea of a mega-money move to Manchester City - because he wants his family to grow up as Scousers.The Spanish striker insisted yesterday that he feels as though he was almost born and bred on Merseyside, after settling in so well at the Anfield club. And with City making strong noises about a record-breaking attempt to sign him, the striker dismissed the idea because he wants his children to grow up with Liverpool in their blood.

There has even been talk of a £75million bid to match the world record fee Real Madrid paid for Cristiano Ronaldo, but Torres insisted yesterday that any English club is wasting their time in trying to lure him away from Liverpool. His baby daughter Nora was born earlier this year, and he revealed that he wants her to grow up with a Scouse accent.

"I really feel at home here. From the first day I came I have felt that Anfield is my home - I feel like I am from Liverpool, and I want that for my family too," he said. "I hope to be here for a long time and if my daughter speaks English and Scouse, I will be proud. For me, Anfield is the best place in England.This is my home, and it helps that I have learned the language. Have I picked up any Scouse? Deffo! I am picking up words all the time."

Torres is is now in his third season with Liverpool and is well on the way to becoming an Anfield legend after an impressive 48 league goals in just 67 appearances. He needs two more to shatter the record for the quickest half century of goals in the club's history - held jointly by Sam Raybould and Albert Stubbins - and if he gets it in the next 12 matches then he will beat their mark by a staggering 30 games. Yet even though he feels so at home and the fans idolise him as one of the greatest the club has ever seen, he insisted that he will only feel he has truly arrived at Liverpool when he wins a trophy for the club.

"The fans have seen some of the best players in the world playing for Liverpool, and now they sing my name, which is incredible for me, just incredible," he said. "It's amazing to score at Anfield and amazing to score in front of the Kop. When I hear people sing my name it's the best feeling I can have on the pitch. But really, I would like to be remembered as a player who won things for Liverpool. I have plenty of years here, I am sure about that, and I hope the trophies will come soon. I have only been here two years, and not won anything yet, only scored some goals. But I hope in a few years I can write another book, explaining about the trophies I have won at Liverpool."

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OTHER BOLLOX
Milton Keynes Dons manager Paul Ince is fighting to save his job at the League One club, despite only returning there in July.
Daily Mirror

WAG OF THE DAY
http://www.thespoiler.co.uk/index.php/2 ... lex-curran

FINAL BOLLOX
Manchester United staff have put the clocks forward by seven minutes at the club's training ground as they look to stop players turning up late for their 1000 GMT exercise session. (The Sun)

[Vhero]

Has Torres Lost it?? That has to be a load of Bollox.

[john@staustell]

Has Torres Lost it?? That has to be a load of Bollox.

Completely. Besides even he should know he can live & forage in Dust-bin land if he wants and drive to work in Manchester every day.

[Chinners]

MORE CARLING BOLLOX
Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez is confident he is approaching peak fitness and is relishing a Carling Cup semi-final against former club Manchester United.

Tevez joined City in the summer after spending the previous two seasons at local rivals United and he is slowly making an impact for Mark Hughes' side. The Argentina ace scored his fifth goal for the club in Wednesday night's 3-0 win over Arsenal, which set up a last four meeting against United in the Carling Cup. He has already faced the Red Devils once this season, losing out in a seven-goal thriller at Old Trafford in September, and he is looking forward to January's two-legged semi-final.

"It is a Classico," said Tevez. "The Manchester City fans want us to win and the important thing is we will be ready for them. It is a special game for me of course."

The 25-year-old has recently had to contend with suggestions that he may be better used as an impact player by City, a situation which in part led to his exit from United. Tevez has no qualms about what competition he plays in for City and believes his goal against Arsenal will help on his way towards his best form.

He told the club's official website: "I always like to play regardless (of the competition). "It was good to get the goal as it gave me some confidence. It was important for me and the club. I am feeling good about what happened. I am not yet completely fit, but I am feeling better as time goes by. Getting the goal helps me."

BIASED BOLLOX
The heavyweights are on a League Cup collision course, with Manchester United determined to shoot down the ‘Blue Moon’ in its ascendancy.

Manchester City’s emergence as the richest club in the world has upset the monopoly Manchester United had on silverware in the north west of England. The competition has never been high on either club's agenda, but now an opportunity has emerged to strike a major blow to the heart of a hated rival.

United’s rag-tag mix of youngsters and experienced professionals used so far in the competition stand on the precipice of greatness by knocking out their moneyed cross-town upstarts. For City, the chance to show that one of the most expensively assembled sides in history can deliver at the coal face would be the point when the nouveau riche prove they are here to stay.

An exit from England’s third most important domestic competition barely registered on the mind of either before last night’s draw. Now, it’s life or death as the clubs prepare to meet in the two-legged semi-final affair that has whetted the appetite.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be determined to nip the City revolution in the bud. More than £200 million has been lavished on the team that stand in the way of another trip to Wembley, but he has promised that this won’t stop him picking the same team that got to this point.

The last gasp 4-3 Premier League win in September satisfied any lust for excitement. However, as a statement of intent designed to crush City's

Always tuned in to the sledging matches between supporters, the Scot is a natural at understanding the animalistic nature of such contests.

Honed from the battles he fought against Celtic in his playing days for Rangers, he moved south of the border as a manager with Liverpool and City firmly in his sights.

His scathing attitude to the League Cup was barely hidden in the past. New importance has been tagged on to the trophy that makes him keen for his latest batch of fledglings to fly out of the coup and embarrass the Blues.

That former Old Trafford idols Mark Hughes and Carlos Tevez stand at the forefront of the City surge up the reckoning just adds more spice to the affair.

Arsene Wenger’s kids were crushed 3-0 by the economic might of the Eastlands outfit on Wednesday night. A pragmatic Ferguson will expect the solid platform laid on by defensive stalwarts Wes Brown and Gary Neville to be lavished with goals by young guns Federico Macheda, Danny Welbeck and Darron Gibson.

Sheikh Mansour and his billions have transformed the landscape in Manchester. A win for the League Cup holders would show that when it comes to claiming titles, though, some things never change.

The reason Wenger refused a handshake with Mark Hughes
http://www.onlinegooner.com/exclusive/index.php?id=1418
By Sammy Mooner

Rather than giving Mark Hughes the finger, a Churchill salute or headbutting him Arsene Wenger chose not to shake hands at the end of the game with Manchester City. A wise course to take I'd have thought, given Wenger's mood at the time and what had gone on before.

Quite clearly there was an incident for all to see in the game when Hughes intruded into Arsene's technical area and called the Frenchman a 'f***ing w***er'. Now if that was myself that Hughes had spoken to an instant knee in the groin would have possibly have been my first thought, maybe a Harringay kiss or whatever.

I certainly wouldn't have just shrugged off the tosser, nor I imagine would many others. Le Boss chose to express himself in another manner. So here's the question: If a known thug ponced up in a smart suit called you a 'f***ing w***er' would you shake hands with the **** at the end of a game?

No, me neither. Arsene was too polite to tell it like it was in the post-match press conference so I'll say it for him. Mark Hughes has always been and will always be one of the lower life forms.

PHOTO BOLLOX
Some nice pictures from last night . . . http://www.whoateallthepies.tv/arsenal/ ... e-cup.html

[Original Dub]

Has Torres Lost it?? That has to be a load of Bollox.

This is one of your finest moments.