ROUND-UP
Today’s City reports take on a distinctly musical tone after Sam Bailey, this year’s X Factor winner, provided the half time entertainment at the King Power Stadium last night.
(Yes, the X Factor is still going, in case you were wondering.)
You can read Mark Booth’s verdict on last night’s performance here.
Elsewhere, the Manchester Evening News reserved special praise for James Milner, who turned in a typically excellent display and was rewarded with another assist to add to his growing collection.
Stuart Brennan writes: “Edin Dzeko goals either side of half-time then helped the Blues into a commanding position, and they never looked threatened despite Lloyd Dyer's late strike.
“X-Factor winner Sam Bailey serenaded the fans at half time of this mis-match.
“But it was clear who the City fans felt had the REAL X factor, as James Milner inspired a runaway triumph which puts the Blues a two-legged semi-final away from Wembley.
“Whether it is Bayern Munich or the less grand surroundings of the King Power Stadium seems to matter little to the tireless England man.
“And the 4,600 travelling fans showed their appreciation with a loud show of support for a hero who so often goes unsung.”
Next up on the judging panel was John Wragg in the Daily Express, who was left in no doubt as to who were the star performers.
Wragg reports: “X Factor winner Sam Bailey saw football’s new stars Manchester City wow the judges again.
“Bailey, a Leicester girl and fan, went on the pitch and sang her hit, Skyscraper, at half-time but her Championship club could never climb as high as City.
“Manchester City have now scored 75 goals this season, Edin Dzeko, back in the side, getting two in the 41st and 53rd minutes against Leicester and Aleksandar Kolarov scoring an eighth-minute opener.
“It was a top-of-the-bill act, performing as though they were at the Palladium rather than a cold, thick overcoat night in the East Midlands.”
And with the festive fixtures arriving thick and fast, the Daily Mail’s report on the strength of City’s squad makes for pleasant reading – and listening, with no X Factor mentions here at all.
Writes Neil Moxley: “Leicester were guilty of failing to respect Premier League principles and Pearson will be unhappy with all three of the goals that were conceded.
“But with only three of the side which smashed six goals past Arsenal among the starting line-up last night, the quality in depth which City possess is clearly evident.
“Pellegrini certainly does have options. Dzeko looked the part as he got the chance to start instead of Aguero or Alvaro Negredo, who was named as one of the replacements.
“David Silva pretty much ran the game, while Vincent Kompany looked exactly what he is - one of the best centre halves in the world game.”
It seems it was City hitting all the high notes (sorry).
Speaking of Dzeko, January is rapidly approaching so you would be naïve if you thought we could get through an entire media round up with no transfer gossip at all.
The Bosnian Diamond has been impressing from Manchester to Rome with his recent displays, and Miralem Pjanic would reportedly welcome his compatriot in Serie A.
“I hope he can play more ahead of the World Cup,” Pjanic told Sport Mediaset.
“Here in Italy he would make a difference.
“At the moment he belongs to Manchester City, but I do not know for how long”.
Arsenal and Man City keeping close tabs on Casillas' decision over his future
ARSENAL and Manchester City are monitoring the situation of Real Madrid 'keeper Iker Casillas as the Spaniard continues to find himself marginalised at the Bernabéu.
Casillas has spent his whole career at Real Madrid but limited opportunities could force him to consider his future and leave his beloved Madrid.
At 32, Casillas should be coming into his prime as a goalkeeper but instead finds himself being used as backup for Diego Lopez.
Jose Mourinho took the brave step of sidelining the Madrid icon, which caused a great deal of controversy at the time, and new boss Carlo Ancelotti has continued to use Lopez in the league.
The Madrid man had been Spain's number one but his position could come under threat as Barca's Victor Valdes continues to play in every game for the Catalonians.
It's amazing what a looming Worlc Cup will do to a players mindset.
Arsenal have been lacking a major presence in goal for years and while Woyzeck Szczesny has improved in recent times, Casillas is the significantly better keeper.
If the Spaniard becomes available, Manchester City would undoubtedly be interested as they grapple with the poor form of Joe Hart.
A move for Casillas could prompt the end of Hart's City career as boss Manuel Pellegrini obviously does't trust England's number one 'keeper.
It will be interesting to see what decision Casillas makes in January and whether the two Premier League clubs take the plunge.
Sale man given football banning order for ticket touting outside Manchester City ground
A SALE man has been given a football banning order for ticket touting outside the Etihad Stadium.
Neil Cunningham, 50, of Cross Street, has been banned from football grounds for three years, which includes not being within 300 metres of Manchester City's home ground.
During a joint operation between GMP officers and officials from Manchester City for the home game against Newcastle United on March 30 2013, Cunningham was spotted selling tickets just outside the ground.
Spt Dean Howard said: “Cunningham was not particularly discreet when he was offering to buy and sell tickets from fans, and this banning order shows that we take a zero tolerance approach to touting.
“Football fans should never have to pay more than face value for a ticket and sadly the unregulated market driven by touts means they often do.
“We work closely with Manchester City to stamp out this nuisance and encourage anyone who sees any
City give up on Handanovic, like Muslera
Manchester City and the ongoing problem of their goalkeepers: Pantilimon and Hart have still not convinced the Citizens who for some time have been thinking of an alternative. According to the Turkish press, the team of Pellegrini (after receiving rejections from Inter for Handanovic) could now be looking to the Galatasaray shot stopper, Fernando Muslera. The Uruguayan, who recently said: “My dream is to one day play in the Premier League,” now seems to be the number one target to be the future number 1 at the Etihad. Inter and Handanovic, at least on this front, no longer have to fear separation.
GOLDEN BOLLOX 18-12-2010
Manchester City will attempt to lure VfL Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko to Eastlands in January with a €7 million per year, five-year deal, according to German reports.
The 24-year-old has been a prolific scorer in the Bundesliga for the last two seasons.
The big Bosnian has already netted nine times and provided an assist so far this term - an efficiency ratio of a goal or assist every 142.8 minutes. And that follows his impressive 27 goals and 10 assists last season.
It is thought that Manchester City made an approach for Dzeko over the summer but refused to come up with Wolfsburg's €40m buyout clause.
It was reported earlier this week that the player himself told Manchester City in the summer that he wanted to join the Eastlands outfit. City face competition from Arsenal who are planning a big money January move for Dzeko.
City set to land 15-year-old goalkeeper
Norwegian goalkeeper's father and agent confirms son has agreed terms on move to the Etihad Stadium
Manchester City will sign 15-year-old Norwegian goalkeeper Kjetil Haug, his father and agent has confirmed.
Manuel Pellegrini has been linked with moves for a number of goalkeepers since replacing Joe Hart with Costel Pantilimon but it's a relatively unknown teenager who looks to be arriving at the Etihad Stadium.
Haug, who plays for Sarpsborg 08 in Norway, is set to move to City in the summer after he turns 16.
His father Cato Haug told Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet: "I can confirm that Kjetil will be going to Manchester City next summer."
Sergio Aguero set to miss up to eight weeks for Man City
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero could be out of action for up to eight weeks, manager Manuel Pellegrini has suggested.
City are still to learn the full extent of Aguero's calf injury, but such a lay-off could make him doubtful for the first leg of the Champions League clash against Barcelona.
City host the Catalan giants in the last 16 of Europe's elite competition in nine weeks' time, on February 18, before travelling the Nou Camp the following month.
The influential Aguero, who has scored 19 goals this season, limped off during City's 6-3 thrashing of Arsenal in the Barclays Premier League last weekend.
Pellegrini had previously said he expected the player to be out for at least a month, but back for the Champions League tie.
But if he is to be sidelined for closer to two months there may not be time for him to recover match fitness to face Barcelona.
Pellegrini, speaking after his side's Capital One Cup quarter-final win at Leicester, said: "I am not a doctor. It is very difficult.
"The doctor has said he has at least one month or eight weeks. We will see.
"I don't how many weeks but it will be at least one month. It is very difficult to know at this moment how many weeks it can be."
It therefore seems certain that Aguero will miss the Christmas programme, which includes a home clash with Liverpool in the Premier League on Boxing Day.
He could also be doubtful for both legs of City's Capital One Cup semi-final in January, a month that also includes Premier League games against Newcastle and Tottenham.
In addition, City also host title rivals Chelsea in the first week of February - another crucial game he could miss.
Rodwell hopeful injury problems are behind him
City midfielder focused on a run in the team after completing 90 minutes against Leicester in the Capital One Cup
Jack Rodwell insists he's 'feeling fit' after completing 90 minutes for the first time in three months against Leicester City on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old has struggled with injury since joining Manchester City from Everton for £12m in 2012.
He was restricted to just 15 appearances in his first season and has been in and out of the squad under Manuel Pellegrini this term.
He made his fifth appearance of the season during the 3-1 win over Leicester at the King Power Stadium and now feels he's finally ready to put his injury problems behind him.
Rodwell said: "It felt brilliant. On a personal level to get 90 minutes under my belt felt really good. I feel fit but I always feel strong. I've been working hard and try to get myself to 100 per cent as much as I can. It felt good out there.
"Whoever goes in, we have to emulate the player who played the week before. That's what we all do. We're a team and play with the same emphasis every game."
Edin Dzeko scored twice to send City into the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup and revealed he was delighted to be back among the goals.
Dzeko said: "I enjoyed it. I think we played a very good game, especially in the first half when we scored two goals and Leicester didn't have any chances.
"When I'm playing, I'm trying always to score goals. That's my job. I did it twice against Leicester and I'm happy for that but also I'm more happy that we're going into the semi-finals.
"I think I score more goals away than at home, I don't know why. Wherever I score I'm happy. Fulham (On Saturday) will be tough and we have to try to win away again.
"We know we have to start playing every game from the first minute, not like in Munich when we started after 20 minutes. We did a good job against Leicester."
The Bosnian striker also reserved special praise for Aleksandar Kolarov, who scored City's first against Leicester with a a wonderful free-kick, and James Milner.
Dzeko added: "Aleks is an amazing free-kicker, if you can say it like that! it was a great shot and the goal was amazing but that's what you can expect when he takes free-kicks.
"James has been playing amazing in the last few weeks. He's always trying his best and we saw what he can do against Bayern Munich, a big team.
"Against Leicester he made two assists and I wanted to try to make an assist for him but I didn't have a chance."
Mission impossible? Five reasons why Manchester City can beat Barcelona in Europe
When Manchester City were the first team out of the hat in Monday’s Champions League draw every City fan held their breath to see who awaited them.
It was never going to be easy whoever we drew as finishing the group in second place meant that we would be facing one of Europe’s elite teams.
In the end we were paired with FC Barcelona. It’s a dream trip for City’s large away support and a chance for home fans to see the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar, Andres Iniesta and Xavi at The Etihad come February.
It’s clearly a difficult tie but I think City have a decent chance of progressing in the competition and not just because I’m bias! I’ll list some of the reasons why it may not be as difficult as it first appears.
1) Lionel Messi might not be fit
That wonderfully gifted Argentine who strikes fear into the heart of every defender. Messi is currently nursing a hamstring injury. He is expected back mid January but there’s no guaranteeing that he will be fully match fit and sharp for these games in February. He has been picking up a lot of muscle injuries of late, the hamstring this time, a thigh injury before that and this may limit him somewhat. Without him, Barcelona are not the same team. He was rushed back from injury for the Bayern Munich game last year and was ineffective as Bayern hammered them over the two legs 7-0.
2) Carles Puyol is not the player he was
Puyol is thirty five years of age and has only played three games this season. While Gerard Pique is a good centre back, Puyol has been the leader and organiser of the Barcelona defence for the last decade and, without him, they may struggle against City’s free scoring attack.
3) Barcelona’s team is made up of players who are not in their prime
As well as Carles Puyol being 35, Xavi is 33 and not as potent as he was three or four years ago. Neymar is 21 years of age and while impressive so far, he is still growing physically and developing. Manchester City’s squad is mainly in their prime.
4) Manuel Pellegrini knows how to win in Europe
The City manager has Champions League experience and a good track record in the competition. He guided the unfancied Malaga to the quarter finals last year and Villareal to the semi finals in 2006. Tata Martino is new to Barca and the Champions League having primarily worked in South America previously.
5) Manchester City’s strength and power.
Generally, Barcelona have struggled against the physicality of Chelsea and Bayern Munich in recent years. The latter setting a template showing how to beat Barca by pressing them high and making it physical. The likes of Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and Alvaro Negrado could cause them a lot of problems. Set pieces could play a big part too as Barca have struggled with them over the years. Celtic focused on them massively to beat them last year in the group stage.
Barcelona will rightly be worried about playing Manchester City. They will be wary of our superb home form and our recent results against Arsenal and Bayern Munich.
Of course a lot also depends on our injury situation. Today, Manuel Pellegrini has said that Sergio Aguero may be out for up to eight weeks with a calf injury, initially it was hoped he would only be side-lined for four weeks so he could find himself in a similar position to Lionel Messi.
Pablo Zabaleta is another casualty. He picked up what looked like a hamstring injury in last nights Capital One cup tie at the King Power stadium. This one could be crucial as Micah Richards, City’s other right back is also currently injured and out for a month.
Regardless of who’s in and who’s out of the teams, this game is one for the ages and we should see a thrilling night of football at The Etihad and The Nou Camp respectively.
City under-18s kick off their Youth Cup campaign when they host Doncaster on Thursday night.
The young Blues are bidding to go far in the competition they last won in 2008, when a side including Dedryck Boyata, Vladimir Weiss, Abdi Ibrahim and Daniel Sturridge triumphed over Chelsea in the final.
After exiting the competition at the fifth round stage for the last two years in succession, City will be looking to replicate their excellent league form in this prestigious cup competition. The boy Blues have now won eight matches on the trot to take top spot in the under-18 Premier League.
Younger members of the EDS, such as Marcos Lopes, Olivier Ntcham, Mathias Bossaerts and Jose Angel Pozo, would also be eligible for selection to help the under-18s in the quest for silverware.
Speaking about the recent success of the team, Head of Academy, Mark Allen said: “It’s all about patience paying off, we’ve been really patient in the last three of four years trying to establish the kind of City player that we want to produce and how we want to play as a team.
“What we’re doing is giving teams something to think about – they may well think that if they match us physically in the first ten or 15 minutes we may wane physically but that’s been not the case.
“If anything, we’re getting stronger as games go on, we’ve got a real desire not to get beaten and there is a great team ethic evident within that group.
“Jason is doing an outstanding job along with all of the staff who are supporting that age-group.”
Meanwhile, the visitors come into the fixture on the back of away draws to Chesterfield and Hartlepool.
Kick off is at 7pm at Ewen Fields, Hyde. You can pay on the gate, with tickets priced at £3 for adults and £1 for concessions.
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Manchester United are pondering a move for Porto left-back Alex Sandro, 22, as a long-term successor to Patrice Evra. Metro
Chelsea are close to reaching an agreement with Inter Milan for Colombian midfielder Fredy Guarin, 27. London's Evening Standard
Paris St-Germain are considering an ambitious triple swoop for Chelsea midfielder Eden Hazard, 22, Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba, 20, and Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane, 20. Daily Express
Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe has been persuaded to join Major League Soccer team Toronto FC during a phonecall with the rapper, Drake. The Canadian musician is an ambassador for the franchise with 31-year-old Defoe expected to be loaned back to Spurs until the MLS starts again in March. Daily Mirror
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez says the club have received no bids for Arsenal and Manchester United midfield target Angel Di Maria, 25, despite the player's agent admitting huge interest in his client. Daily Star
Manchester United are ready to open contract talks with winger Antonio Valencia, 28, to avoid losing him on the cheap. Daily Mirror
Chelsea and AC Milan will battle to sign Wolfsburg's Swiss defender Ricardo Rodriguez with the German club warning that the 21-year-old will not be available until next summer. Sun
Arsenal are monitoring Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa, 25, with view to a £32m January deal. Goal.com
Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor, 29, will be welcomed back into the team by caretaker boss Tim Sherwood after being frozen out by former manager Andre Villas-Boas. Independent
FC Basel manager Murat Yakin says he has been approached by Tottenham to succeed Andre Villas-Boas as the new first team coach. Metro
Roberto Martinez has claimed leading clubs throughout Europe want Everton to take their young players on loan next season following the impact of Romelu Lukaku, 20, and Gerard Deulofeu, 19, at Goodison Park. Guardian
Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck, 23, must train harder if he is to increase his goal tally, according to boss David Moyes.
Manchester Utd Evening News
Stoke boss, and former Manchester United striker, Mark Hughes says that Red Devils winger Adnan Januzaj, 18, does need special treatment from referees after United manager David Moyes said officials were not doing enough to protect the winger. Guardian
Former Chievo coach Giuseppe Sannino says he could be the next Watford manager after Gianfranco resigned from the Championship club on Monday. Sun
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce says his team's results need to improve if he is to stay in his job. Times
Former QPR and Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse is a target for Corsican French Ligue 1 side Bastia, who have made contact with the 32-year-old. L'equipe
Juventus could potentially buy Bayern Munich's 27-year-old Croatian striker Mario Mandzukic. Tuttosport
Barcelona veteran defender Carles Puyol, 35, could hang up his boots before the season ends due to a knee injury. Marca
Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain may have been out with a knee injury since the opening day of the season, but he is getting back to full fitness by showing off some dance moves in the team gym. Metro
GOLDEN BOLLOX 18-12-2011
City line up £30m Van Persie raid
MANCHESTER CITY will offer Robin van Persie a £41.6MILLION deal to join them in the summer.
The mega-rich Prem leaders are convinced they will land the Arsenal hitman with a £30m bid.
City are comfortable that Van Persie will not sign a new contract at the Emirates and follow Gunners Samir Nasri, Kolo Toure and Gael Clichy to the Etihad.
Van Persie has just 18 months left on his £80,000-a-week contract but City are planning to offer him a four-year deal worth £200,000 a week.
The Dutch star, 28, will line up against City in Manchester for tomorrow's big match.
And he knows this summer will provide his last chance to make one last big-money move — and he will also realise he has more chance of winning silverware with City.
Van Persie only has one FA Cup winners' medal to show for his seven years at Arsenal.
He is in red-hot form and has 33 Premier League goals so far for Arsenal in 2011.
That puts him only one behind ex-Gunner Thierry Henry and four away from breaking Alan Shearer's record of 36 from 1995.
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Wenger's frustration over losing young players
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger admits it was "painful" to see big-spending Manchester City raid his squad again last summer.
Wenger ultimately let Samir Nasri, 24, and full-back Gael Clichy, 26, go to Eastlands, following in the footsteps of striker Emmanuel Adebayor and centre-half Kolo Toure, who previously left the Emirates for City. After taking a chance on developing these youngsters with the Gunners, Wenger admits there will always be a sense of frustration at potential lost.
"At the end of the day when you sell a player, you cannot complain after because at some stage you say 'yes we let him go' and you have to do the right thing for the club, but it is always painful to lose players at 23 or 24 years old," he said.
"The financial difference between us and teams like Manchester City has become too big to hope to keep the players for eight, nine or 10 years. Okay, we lost Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, other players before, but they had played for eight or nine years at the club.
"It is the first time now that we lose players at an age where they start to produce, like [Cesc] Fabregas and Nasri, who were both 24 years old. That's where you start to become a football player.
"You need to be brave as well to put a player in at 18 years of age, and you need to make room for them, which means you not only need to stand up for the players you put in, but as well you have to kick somebody out."
Meanwhile, ahead of Arsenal's clash with league-leading City, Wenger refused to rule out a move for former captain Henry, who has been training at the club following the end of the Major League Soccer campaign with the New York Red Bulls.
"I do not always master all my thoughts, so [I guess] it has to come through my brain at some stage - but I haven't been concrete on the case," said Wenger.
"I haven't even investigated that. I cannot tell you even if there is a chance because I haven't even made any approach, nor to him nor his club."
