Manchester City will press ahead with a move for Crystal Palace striker Victor Moses this week.
The highly-rated 19-year-old is expected to leave Selhurst Park this month with Palace reluctantly looking to cash in on the forward to help ease their money problems.
Brian Marwood, the Eastlands football administrator, held initial talks over a potential move for Moses last week but was taken aback by the club's £5million valuation. But Marwood wants to hold a second round of talks with Palace this week and will head down to Selhurst Park on Saturday to run the rule over Moses when Palace take on Bristol City in the Championship.
The south Londoners have only received a bid of £1.5m from West Bromwich and doubts remain whether prospective suitors including Everton, Liverpool and Birmingham, will match the cash-strapped Eagles' valuation.
But Palace chairman Simon Jordan is determined not to let a player he rates as one of the best teenagers in the world leave cheaply.
Jordan has used Aston Villa's signing of Fabian Delph of Leeds - which was understood to be in the region of £5m - as the benchmark for Moses' price tag. Moses' agent, former Palace player Tony Finnigan, held constructive talks with Jordan over the weekend and says all parties - including Moses - are hopeful of striking a deal that suits club and player.
But Finnigan insists he has no control over how much Palace will get for his client.
He said: 'In my view Victor is worth £5m and maybe even more but I have nothing to do with what Palace will receive for Victor Moses. But from a personal point of view and as a former Palace player I hope they get the amount they desire for him.
'I hope Moses goes on to be the next household name - and he has the talent to do that - but at the moment Palace have to get a figure they are happy with.
'I sincerely hope the player I work with and represent can enable Palace to secure their financial future.'
Ferguson warns Manchester United stars they could be dropped for Carling Cup
Sir Alex Ferguson has warned that several Manchester United stars will be dropped for Wednesday's Carling Cup semi-final at Manchester City. Ferguson also raised fresh doubts over the Old Trafford future of Nemanja Vidic after the Premier League champions' FA Cup humiliation by League One leaders Leeds United. Jermaine Beckford's goal ensured United's first FA Cup defeat against lower league opposition and first third-round exit since 1984.
While youngsters such as Gabriel Obertan, Darron Gibson and Fabio da Silva struggled to justify their selection against Leeds, their more experienced team-mates also failed to perform against a team lying 42 places behind United in the football pyramid. Having planned to field a similar blend of youth and experience against Roberto Mancini's City on Wednesday, Ferguson's anger at the performance of the majority of his players prompted the 68 year-old to warn of major changes at Eastlands.
Ferguson said: "You have to bounce back. That's exactly what you have to do - get it out of your system. You have to get over these kind of results quickly, but we have a semi-final on Wednesday and a lot of these players today won't be playing.
"You have to view that performance in the right light, but we have to get ready for Wednesday now. I had the team in mind, but there may be changes now. "I didn't expect that. I was shocked at the performance. Leeds fought like tigers, but you expect that from any team coming to Old Trafford." Turning back to the performance of his own players, he said: "I don't think any of them can say they had a good day. Only Antonio Valencia, when we got the ball to him, but it took us about 10 minutes to do that."
Serbian defender Vidic, who had been named in the starting line-up against Leeds, is a doubt for the City game after telling Ferguson that he could not play against Simon Grayson's team after sustaining an injury during the pre-match warm-up.
When asked about Vidic after the game Ferguson appeared exasperated by the late withdrawal of a player who has emerged as a summer target for Real Madrid. Ferguson said: "I couldn't tell you what the situation is with Nemanja. I couldn't tell you at all." Beckford's goal, his 20th of the season in all competitions, was a result of poor defending by United, who allowed the forward to latch on to a long ball from Jonny Howson before guiding his shot past goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak. Ferguson admitted that his defenders paid a heavy price for their lack of concentration. He said: "We spoke about it before, that Beckford has got a lot of pace, but they were caught napping. "It was a bad goal for us to lose but the whole performance from us was bad in the first half." United could not find a winner in five minutes of stoppage time, but Ferguson insisted referee Chris Foy should have played more. He said: "The referee gave five minutes of injury-time. That is a insult to the game and to the players out there."
Vieira in on-loan City link
CITY have lined up a new midfielder - and the player could join them in time to face United in Wednesday's Carling Cup semi-final first leg. Unconfirmed reports from Italy suggest that Roberto Mancini's first signing as City manager will be Patrick Vieira, on loan until the end of the season. City, who were handed a trip to Scunthorpe in the draw for fourth round of the FA Cup, are keeping their cards close to their chest, but Vieira is keen on a move away from Inter Milan to boost his chances of being first-choice for France in next summer's World Cup.
The former Arsenal star, 33, has spent much of the season on the Inter bench, playing only four games.
Inter are still in the Champions League - they face Chelsea next month - but Vieira has only played 15 minutes in the competition.
He was taken to Inter from Juventus by Mancini in 2006 and became a key figure in their three consecutive Serie A titles. Mancini, who is also in the market for a defender, would only confirm that a signing could be imminent. Asked if there could be any signings ahead of Wednesday's Eastlands showdown, Mancini said: "It is possible something will happen before then." The manager has already ruled out moves for Juventus stopper Giorgio Chiellini, Inter striker Mario Balotelli, Sampdoria striker Antonio Cassano or Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso. Said Mancini: "Chiellini is the pivot of the Juve defence so it seems difficult for them to let him go. To apply the same argument, Balotelli is a great player, can become a great champion and is still young and I don't think Inter intend to let him go."
He used the same argument about Gattuso, and ruled out Cassano as City already have five or six players who can play a similar role up front."We will do something because we have had many accidents, especially in defence. We will do something in those areas of the field," he added. City may also be bolstered for Wednesday's first leg by the returns of the injured Shaun Wright-Phillips, Nedum Onuoha, Robinho, Micah Richards and Roque Santa Cruz.
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!”
Neven's City move 'just speculation'
Neven Subotic's agent has played down talk linking the Borussia Dortmund defender with a January move to Manchester City.
Subotic's future has been the subject of conjecture for some time, with the Serbian international regarded as one of the best young defenders in world football. The talented 21-year-old has been an ever present for Dortmund in the Bundesliga this term and he only signed a long-term contract last summer. But Subotic's representative, Stephen Kelly, claims the City link is just speculation and admits any move this month is highly unlikely. "I have not heard anything from anybody at Manchester City. It is just speculation," Kelly told skysports.com. "I would be really surprised if Neven was to leave Dortmund in January. "It would take something special for Dortmund to sell him as he is on a long-term contract there."
Aberdeen new boy Paul Marshall targets Euro place - then a return to the Premiership
PAUL MARSHALL last night revealed he had to leave mega rich Man City for Aberdeen to keep his dream of being a Premiership star of the future alive. The 20-year-old midfielder made an impressive Dons debut in their 1-0 win at snowswept Tannadice on Saturday and is looking forward to an extended run in Mark McGhee's team. Marshall, a member of the England Under-20 squad that featured in last year's World Cup in Egypt, rubbed shoulders with all Roberto Mancini's superstars in training every day but insisted he had to leave the club. And having battled for seven hours to get to Dundee from his home in Manchester on Saturday the youngster is adamant he made the right move. He said: "I trained with the first team most of the time and it was mad to be alongside guys like Robinho, Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor. It's just crazy! "I learned most, though, from Gareth Barry who is a similar player to me. I got on very well with him."But I felt I had to leave to progress my career. It's not easy to break into that team with the money they can spend - that's why I had to get out."My aim is to try to get back to the Premiership in a few years."
Marshall, at 6ft tall, insisted he will have no problem with the physical side of the game up here.
He said: "I thought I did well and the team played well at Tannadice. It was a good win for us.
"I was a bit surprised to start. I thought I might have been on the bench just to settle me in a bit. It took me seven hours to get up here because of the weather. "But I enjoyed the match."I thought we played some good football but we can be better than we are at the moment.
"It wasn't as physical as I thought it would be. There was more football played than I thought there would be. It's a lot more physical than reserve football but wasn't as bad as I thought.
"Hopefully this result can get us on a roll now and be the start of something good. I'd like us to push on for a Europa League spot."
TRANSFER BOLLOX
David Bentley could be off to Atletico Madrid in a loan deal, with the 25-year-old winger desperate for a move away from Tottenham.Daily Mirror
Or Bentley will stay closer to home after Sunderland manager Steve Bruce declared his interest in securing the services of the former England man.The Sun
Jermaine Beckford could have played his last game for Leeds with Newcastle United top of the list to sign the striker who scored the winner at Old Trafford on Sunday to dump Manchester United out of the FA Cup. A fee of £2.5m is being discussed for the 26-year-old.Daily Star
Everton boss David Moyes wants to bring Lyon striker Frederic Piquionne, who is currently on loan at Portsmouth, to Goodison Park, with Blackburn, Liverpool and Aston Villa waiting in the wings.Daily Mail
American star Freddy Adu, who once had a trial at Manchester United, is considering a move to Hull City after the Portuguese side Belenenses told the 20-year-old he can look for other employers. Daily Mirror
Stoke City boss Tony Pullis wants to beat Liverpool in the race to sign Real Madrid and Holland striker Ruud van Nistelrooy by using a regular starting spot as bait in the build-up to the World Cup. The Sun
Stoke City could make a shock loan move for Barcelona's 18-year-old midfielder Oriel Romeu.Daily Mirror
Birmingham are closing in on a £3.5m move for Aston Villa's 23-year-old midfielder Craig Gardner. Daily Mirror
WAG OF THE DAY - Gisele Bündchen
http://www.thespoiler.co.uk/index.php/2 ... e-bundchen
OTHER BOLLOX
Former Newcastle United boss Alan Shearer wants to become Sheffield Wednesday's new manager following the sacking of Brian Laws last month. The England legend is believed to want Gary Speed as his number two.
The Sun
How well do parents know their kids? According to Pep Guardiola's dad, the Barcelona coach may leave at the end of the season. Despite the 38-year-old winning six trophies in his first year at Camp Nou, Guardiola senior said: "I don't know if he will stay or take a break from football and relax. The dad is always the last to know about these things."The Independent
The tracers he fired across the garden fence with his outraged-of-Stretford stance over the removal of Mark Hughes continued the tut-tut hauter of the starch-collared neighbour miffed at the low rent practices of the upstarts next door. You could just see Fergie fingering the pearls as he peered round the curtains. Well, what do you expect when they come into money? The festive gossip dribbling out of Eastlands had a predictably rich text, associating Mancini with the shopping list of the football lottery winner that he is; Fernando Torres, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Maicon top the order. Why stop there? There must be a way of testing Barcelona's mettle over Lionel Messi. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan might shift attention from Real Madrid and buy Barcelona instead as a feeder club for his Eastlands trinket. The appointment of Mancini adds a tricky dimension to the City problem for Ferguson. Early indications suggest a figure of substance as well as a scarf, a stylish operator respectful of the foibles and mores of the milieu into which he has been parachuted. He might want to temper his championship predictions, having brought the title forward a year from next to this. Other than that he has not given Ferguson too big a target. Fixtures at home to Hull and away to Wolves were gifts readily accepted. The FA Cup victory over Middlesbrough was probably cheered given the platform it denied Gordon Strachan to impose his sermons on a wider audience. Seasoned Eastlands sufferers talk excitedly about the organisation Mancini has brought to City's haphazard defence. No longer are four goals required to win a match, or three to draw. Three games and not a goal conceded.
Perhaps Mancini's most significant achievement in his short tenure is his elevation of the Carling Cup to a contest of consequence. When the semi-final draw was made City were wading through a seven-match draw sequence, draining the heat from the meeting. Should City's game in hand yield maximum points then only five will separate the Manchester clubs. As the sand shifts at the top perhaps Mancini is right to sift pronto for the Premier League trophy. Mancini was good enough as a striker in the Roberto Baggio years to play 36 times for Italy. He parades a win ratio higher than the magical 60 per cent as the manager of Inter. This is Ferguson's trouble. Mancini appears to have what it takes while arriving in England unencumbered by the mental breezeblock that fills the heads of British coaches steeped in the mythology of Ferguson and Manchester United. Mancini has been word perfect thus far. His United commentary is layered with respect but not deference. This is what makes Wednesday's engagement particularly intriguing. How does Fergie play the game? He loves the argy bargy, the roughhouse politics of the shop floor. The 'Welcome to Manchester' poster campaign following City's acquisition of Carlos Tévez was less an insult, more an invitation to pile in. Last season's random ranting of Rafa Benítez tickled Ferguson puce. Fact.
Ferguson engages only when hegemony is threatened. The recent rapprochement with Arsène Wenger
coincided with the loss of Arsenal's punch. Now that strength is returning there might be more of a nip in the air when United visit the Emirates at the end of this month. José Mourinho became a mate only when the Russian roulette wheel spun him out of Stamford Bridge. Ferguson has never had to worry about City. The last United manager to look upon a blue shirt with fear was Tommy Docherty. City's long descent to comedy club began with the second coming of Malcolm Allison in 1979. No one is laughing now. As Mancini has said, there is no better place for an ambitious, young manager to be than Eastlands. The sheer weight of dollar bills will tell in the end. The appointment at City of a manager of international repute ought to free the thinking of those headline acts for whom money has so far not been persuasive enough. Ferguson's team sheet will tell us how much respect he accords Mancini on Wednesday. Mancini's on Saturday revealed his hand. Ferguson will not want to cede ground at a first meeting. He turned 68 last week. The clock is running down. He arrived at Old Trafford seeking to bring down the empire 30 miles down the road. A quarter of a century on the enemy is at his door. Watching City shirts burn was once a fulfilling experience in United's pre-prawn period. The city has missed its tribal conflict. It is an odd quirk of football's new world order that alien ownership is responsible for restoring an ancient rivalry. Manchester has its clasico back.
