Manchester City hit top gear to sweep aside sorry Sunderland 5-0 and move into third spot in the English Premier League.City were two up inside the first of 15 minutes when Adam Johnson scored on his first start in two-and-a-half months after an ankle injury and then Carlos Tevez fired in from the spot for his first goal in 10 games.
City went on to dominate the game and finally cut loose midway through the second half with three goals in 10 minutes from David Silva, Patrick Vieira and Yaya Toure.
The victory sees Roberto Mancini’s side leapfrog Chelsea and move six points clear of Tottenham Hotspur in the race for a Champions League spot, although they have played a game more.
But Sunderland’s appalling form continues – with six defeats in their last seven games and without a goal for more than seven hours they are now only six points clear of the drop zone.
With a shortage of players at the back, City drafted in Dedryk Boyata for his first start since picking up a fourth-minute red card against Arsenal, while Sunderland brought back Michael Turner and Lee Cattermole to shore up their defence.
But it took just nine minutes for City to breach the backline, Johnson combining with Toure before sending Simon Mignolet the wrong way from 10 yards.
The second followed six minutes later from the spot when Tevez latched onto Silva’s through-ball and was hauled down by Phil Bardsley. There were no complaints from the defender and Tevez finished albeit via a touch onto the post from Mignolet.
And City came close to extending their lead as they dominated possession, first Bardsley made a desperate block to keep out Tevez’s goalbound strike while Mignolet denied speculative efforts from Aleksandar Kolarov and Mario Balotelli.
Sunderland lacked little threat and Asomoah Gyan, who got the better of Joleon Lescott in Ghana’s draw with England five days before, was not posing the same threat with one long-range effort off target the only thing to excite the Sunderland fans.
The second half began in much the same fashion with Mignolet making fines saves from Johnson after a super sweeping move and then Balotelli after skipping past three Sunderland defenders.
The third goal finally came in the 64th minute with the Blues again cutting through the Sunderland defence and when Balotelli’s shot was blocked, Silva poked in the rebound from close range.
Everything was going City’s way and that was underlined moments later when Vieira came off the bench and within seconds slid home Kolarov’s driven cross with his first touch.
The rout was complete when the fifth was handed on a plate when Lee Cattermole, under pressure from Kolarov, played an horrendous square pass straight to Toure on the edge of the box and the Ivorian neatly finished past Mignolet.
If Inter Milan’s Mario Balotelli is reunited with Roberto Mancini at Manchester City, then the Eastlands club will have one of the most troublesome strike lines in football.
In an interview with Italian newspaper La Stampa Mancini has stated “He (Balotelli) is one of the four or five strikers that interest us. I was the first to believe in him and I’m convinced about what he can do.”
Balotelli now seems on the brink of signing for Man City, a move that will take Mancini’s summer spending to around the £100 million mark. But do Manchester City really want another petulant striker in their squad? Already they have Craig Bellamy, Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlos Tevez and Robinho, if the collective size of these ego’s already rather large, when Balotelli is added to the mix it will be positively colossal. This is something that could have a very negative effect on Man City’s season, as dressing room divides and player tantrums could easily affect the performances of the team.
Despite being only 19 years old, Mario Balotelli has already carved out a name for himself as being one of the most talented yet troublesome players in Italy. Inter boss Jose Mourinho has endured a very difficult relationship with the Italian teenager throughout his time as manager there.
Balotelli’s perceived lack of effort was highlighted in a game with Roma in 2009 when The Guardian quotes Mourinho as stating “Balotelli? In my opinion he came close to a zero rating.”
The situation between the two became worse when Balotelli was dropped from the squad in Inter’s Champions League second leg tie with Chelsea, after an argument with Mourinho.
Inter defender Marco Materazzi criticised Balotelli in the wake of the game, and ESPN reported that even his own agent Mino Raiola stated Balotelli “Must behave like a professional.”
Later in the year, Balotelli’s relationship with Inter fans reached a nadir when he wore the shirt of bitter rivals AC Milan on national television. Although he is undeniably talented, Balotelli could prove to be more trouble than he’s worth should he move to Eastlands. As Balotelli’s first manager at Inter, maybe Roberto Mancini believes he can get the best out of the player and avoid the histrionics that come as part of the package.
The situation may be exacerbated however, by the fact that City already have their own collection of troublesome young men, particularly in Balotelli’s position up front. Craig Bellamy’s antics are well documented, and he also had a run in with Mancini last season. There is a distinct possibility however, that the Welshman will not be at the City of Manchester when the season begins. Emmanuel Adebayor showed his all his shyness of controversy when he scored against former club Arsenal last season, and is a player who sulks regularly. South American duo Carlos Tevez and Robinho are also known as somewhat temperamental individuals. With perhaps only two positions up front available at any one time, some of these precious characters will have to be content with sitting on the bench, but it is highly doubtful whether they will be. If there is conflict with the coach, or the dressing room becomes divided, it could harm Man City’s prospects this season. If Roberto Mancini is intent on signing another striker, he could be well advised to seek out a more serene individual.
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Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer
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Manchester City players Vincent Kompany and Nigel de Jong have stated that their side can still make it through to the Champions League knockout rounds, despite losing 2-1 to Napoli on Tuesday night.
The defeat in San Paolo leaves Roberto Mancini’s men in third place in Group A, with a victory over Bayern Munich and a favour from Villarreal now needed to avoid elimination.
Regardless of the uphill battle that faces the current Premier League leaders, their captain feels they can still win a place in the last 16.
“It is by far the hardest group in the Champions League. It was never going to be easy and always a case of going to the last game,” Belgium international Kompany told Sky Sports.
“I wouldn’t say qualifying is a miracle because all Villarreal need is a draw and Villarreal is a difficult away game. We’ve got to focus on our game and try to beat Bayern Munich.
“But it doesn’t matter what happens, we will have a lot to say in the Champions League or Europa League until the end of the competition,” he stated.
Dutch midfielder De Jong also feels that City should not draw the line under their debut Champions League campaign just yet, but knows that the side from El Madrigal need to beat Napoli in the final round of fixtures.
“We still believe we can get to the next round. We don’t have our fate in our own hands anymore but we’re playing at home which is to our advantage.
“Let’s hope Villarreal can give us some help,” he concluded.
By Gareth McKnight
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Following on from the ‘Most Hated XI’ is another team but this time made up of some of our favourite cult heroes.
The first question is ‘what is a cult hero?’ Well for starters, here’s what it isn’t- a truly great player that’s admired by everyone both inside and outside his club. Someone like Eric Cantona could never be a ‘cult hero’ because all United fans love him while fans from other clubs may at least have a grudging respect- I stress the word ‘may’ and obviously Crystal Palace fans are not among them.
No, a cult hero is the sort of player that not all fans love but the ones who do, adore with a passion. They’re the players that many of the opposition fans hate, or the strikers who’ve turned out for you team and scored one goal in twenty games which happens to be a winner against your arch-rivals. They’re sometimes the comical figures that we love to hate, the panto villain types that a core of us actually admire.
Then there’s that other type of cult hero, the genuine, decent talented player that for some reason never gets the respect of admiration of the mainstream media, so its left up to us fans to let the world know just how great they are. Cult heroes more often than not play the game we imagine the way we would for our club- what they lack in skill they make up for in effort, never giving up and always leaving the pitch having given 100%.
Most of these players may only play a handful of games for your club, others may be there for their for slightly longer, but they will always be admired for making supporting our team that little bit better. All of the players have played in the Premier League but some made their ‘cult hero’ status assured in Division One.
Click on Julian Dicks below to see the Premier League’s ‘Cult Hero XI’
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Whilst the futures of a certain Reds duo continually dominate Merseyside football headlines, an occurrence over on the other side of Stanley Park may constitute the most curious transfer event of the summer. Everton midfielder Dan Gosling has been cleared to walk away from Goodison Park as a free agent following his club’s failure to offer him a new contract in writing. Although the club may rue the decision to formalise the verbal agreement negotiated between the two parties earlier this year, with the mistake set to cost them in the region of £4m-£5m, opting to seek employment elsewhere may come back to haunt the England Under-21 international. Will Gosling regret reneging upon his new contract at Everton?
Signed from Plymouth Argyle during the transfer window of January 2008, Dan Gosling swiftly earned a reputation as one of England’s finest young talents at Goodison Park. The versatile 20-year-old, who can operate at right-back, right-midfield and centre-midfield, was dispatched to the club’s reserve team immediately after his arrival but was promoted to the first-team squad at the start of the 2008/09 season. Over the course of the last two seasons, Gosling made 34 appearances and scored six goals, both respectable tallies for a young player plying his trade in the Premier League. Gosling also managed to write himself into Everton folklore after scoring an extra-time winner against arch-rivals Liverpool during an FA Cup fourth round replay in 2009.
Although Gosling may have left Everton on the grounds that he can receive a better salary and more playing time at another club, he is unlikely to find another playing environment as suitable as the one that he left behind at Goodison Park. David Moyes plucked Gosling from the relative obscurity of Championship football and courageously afforded Gosling healthy doses of first-team football over the course of the last seasons. The cases of Wayne Rooney and Jack Rodwell both vindicate Moyes’ reputation as one of a nurturing, youth-friendly manager. Everton’s most recent recruit, 20-year-old Frenchman Magaye Gueye, cited Moyes’ reputation as major factor in his decision to join the club, stating “I had better feelings with Everton. I know I will get opportunities to play in a great league, which has been my dream since I was a kid.”
Newcastle United and West Ham United have both been touted as Gosling’s most likely destinations. Whilst he may be able to secure higher wages and first-team playing time at either club, both clubs are more likely than Everton to find themselves in a relegation battle next season, and could consequently provide a more tumultuous, unsettled environment for Gosling to develop in. On the other hand, Everton are comfortably established in the top half of the Premier League table and would have provided a more secure setting for Gosling to continue his progress.
Gosling’s former team-mate Jack Rodwell, one of England’s most coveted young players, spurned interest from Chelsea and Manchester United in order to sign a new contract at Everton at the end of last season. Clearly recognising the value of the environment created by David Moyes at Goodison Park, Rodwell has acknowledged that his future growth as a player would best be served upon Merseyside. Only time will tell whether or not Gosling will rue the decision not to follow the actions of his former team-mate.
Will Dan Gosling rue his decision to leave Goodison Park?
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Click on image below to see the Argentinean babes at the World Cup
Long term Arsenal target, Lucho Gonzalez is available in January according to his agent, after the 30-year-old has found himself out of favour under manager Didier Deschamps at Marseille as reported by talkSport.
The Gunners were reported to be interested in the Argentine international before he moved to France and now may be a perfect opportunity to finally get their man, who would act as a replacement for Cesc Fabregas.
Gonzalez joined Marseille from Porto for around £20million in 2009 and was considered one of the best central midfielders in Europe, but after over 70 appearances for the French club it appears that time is running out for his relationship with Deschamps after just a handful of matches this season.
Everton are also interested in Gonzalez but Marseille will look to get back most of the money they paid for him which could be a stumbling block for the cash strapped Toffees who will only look for a loan move for the Argentinean.
After originally committing himself to the French club in the summer, it appears Gonzalez has changed his mind according to his agent Federico Simonian who spoke to Le 10 Sport.
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“He wants to leave,” said Simonian. “He wants to play in a championship that is better than Ligue 1.”
Birmingham manager Alex McLeish believes football’s ‘blame culture’ cost Roberto Di Matteo his job as West Brom.The Blues are looking to avoid a Carling Cup final hangover on Saturday when they welcome West Brom to St Andrews, with Roy Hodgson now at the helm of the fellow relegation battlers.Di Matteo’s dismissal in early February came as a shock to many, including McLeish, who said it was a knee-jerk reaction by the Baggies to get rid of the Italian.”I’m disappointed for Roberto; it looked like he was doing a decent job,” McLeish said. “It’s a hard league, I don’t think the quality in the league has ever been better in terms of the teams in the lower half of the table.””Nothing surprises you in the game these days. We live a knee-jerk blame culture where results are huge and the stakes are immense.””It’s difficult for managers these days – if Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger were starting out now to build a team, would they get the same time?”Birmingham have 28 points, and sit just two above the relegation zone with two games in hand over most of the other teams lingering in the bottom half of the table.But McLeish said he was not setting a points target for his side, preferring to focus on winning each match in order to stay up.”The goal is just to make sure that you stay up, that is what everyone is striving for,” McLeish said. “Whether it’s 30 something or 40 something (points) or goal difference it doesn’t really matter.””I don’t really like to speculate on these things, I jut know we have to concentrate on winning. The players have to keep challenging themselves. The mental toughness they have shown over the last couple weeks has been fantastic and they have to build on that.”With the recent addition of Cup final hero Obafemi Martins, McLeish has strikers at his disposal that are more than capable of firing his team up the league. “We have some options up there, Kevin (Phillips), Cameron Jerome, Matt Derbyshire and (Nikola) Zigic – so great competition,” he said.”In the first half of the season we were searching for the right formula and there’s a great opportunity in the last 14 games.””These kind of games can define you and you can really make your mark as a Barclays Premier League footballer.”Midfielder Barry Ferguson is a doubt for the Midlands derby after playing for more than an hour in the Carling Cup final with a broken rib, while fellow midfielder Craig Gardner is also looks likely to miss out with a thigh injury picked up against Arsenal.
With Sir Alex Ferguson’s insistence that Manchester United won’t be signing any players this summer due to ‘over-inflated’ prices, the question surrounding the clubs massive debt still lingers.
After all, following a season which yielded just the Carling Cup- hardly what is deemed successful at Old Trafford- there was an expectation that the coffers would be thrown open and at least one marquee signing would arrive at the Theatre of Dreams.
Many have already turned to the most hated men at Old Trafford- unless you count Gary Neville by away fans- the Glazers as the reason for lack of transfer activity.
Fergie though, had insisted that he does have the money but feels that the players available are over-priced or not really needed, as may have been the case with Liverpool’s new saviour Joe Cole.
All this reminded me of the summer of 1995 when three of the club’s biggest names left to be replaced by members of the youth team. Paul Ince, Mark Hughes and the Russian Locomotive that was Andrei Kanchelskis, all left for new clubs following United’s first trophy-less season in five years.
Fergie replaced his trio of departed stars, with unknown quantities Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes and some kid named David Beckham. Add to that the fact that Gary Neville was now a regular and was joined by his younger brother Phil and many thought the United manager had gone mad, little realising it was all a massive ploy to embarrass Alan Hansen on Match of the Day.
Hansen’s: “You’ll never win anything win kids” comment following United’s opening day defeat at Aston Villa was the biggest gaffe since Romeo told Juliet getting together would be a good idea.
Hansen was made to eat his words on an almost daily basis as United’s young side, led by Sky’s new advertising genie Eric Cantona swept all before them, to win the double.
The young English backbone of that United side, would become the backbone of the England side for a decade to come, with Scholes, Butt, Beckham and the Nevilles gaining over 350 caps between them and featuring in every major tournament since then until this year’s World Cup- although technically Beckham featured as the teams chief eye-brow raiser and frowner.
West Ham have of course contributed massively to the England team, with the likes of Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Jermaine Defoe and Michael Carrick all coming through the Academy of Football. Unlike the United youth team of 1992, most of West Ham’s England players came through at different times. Ferdinand and Lampard were part of the youth team which reached the FA youth cup final of 1996, losing to a Liverpool side which included Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen. Carrick and Cole went one better in 1999 defeating a Coventry side that had Chris Kirkland between the sticks, by a 9 goal aggregate- no doubt this was good preparation for what was to happen to Kirkland at Spurs a decade down the line.
Although, technically it wasn’t until 1993 that all the aforementioned United players were in the same youth team- Phil Neville joining the team then, the fact is for a single team to contain a crop of youngsters that would go on to be so successful is not so much a rarity as an absolute phenomenon .
What makes the class of ’92 even more exceptional is that while it may not have contained the younger Neville sibling, it did have a young lad named Ryan Giggs, who would go on to make the odd appearance for the first team.
The point I’m making is can Fergie do it again with a crop of youngsters? Is there enough talent coming through the youth ranks for him to surprise everyone with another crop of ‘Fergie’s Fledglings’ –sorry I’ve always hated that term but felt obliged to use it- who can carry the team to glory?
Lately United have been giving more and more youngsters a chance as the likes of the Da Silva twins, Darron Gibson, Danny Welbeck, Kiko Macheda, and Jonny Evans have figured in many games.
Will Fergie be prepared to turn to youth fully, in the way he did back in 1995 to replace some of the players who’ve either left the club or are nearing retirement.
With the last remnants of the class of 92, in Scholes, Giggs and Neville, surely entering their final season, this may be the time for the United manager to confound the critics and turn to his youngsters.
While Jonny Evans is practically a first team member now, most of the young players are only used sparingly, could we now see Fergie give them a chance and make them starting members of his squad.
A starting line up of say VDS, Rafael, Evans, Vidic, Evra, Valencia, Fletcher, Gibson, Nani, Macheda and Rooney is still a very strong side which could give any team a run for its money.
Maybe the reason the United manager is acting like Ebeneezer Scrooge before the ghosts paid him a visit, is due to the knowledge that some of his younger players are actually up to the task.
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With a further host of younger players in the likes of Cameron Stewart, Corry Evans, Tom Cleverley, Paul Pogba and Will Keane coming through the ranks the future may not quite be as bleak at Manchester United as many, myself included, have thought lately.
As the great Sir Matt Busby showed over 50 years ago, youth can be good enough to win league titles and challenge the cream of Europe, a lesson Fergie remembered in 1995, maybe it’s one he’s realised again.
Read more of Justin Mottershead’s work on his blog ‘Name on the Trophy’
Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer
Everton will need to hold off interest from Bayen Munich for midfield target Ever Banega with the Bundesliga giants set to make a January move for the Valencia star according to talkSPORT.
The German side are on the lookout for a new midfielder with reports in Spain claiming they have already dispatched scouts to watch the 23-year-old in action at the Mestalla.
Bayern’s interest will come as a blow to Toffee’s boss David Moyes as he continues to hunt a replacement for Mikel Arteta who left Goodison Park to join Arsenal on deadline day.
It could be the second time he misses out on the Argentinian after coming close to signing him on a season-long loan back in 2009 only for the switch to collapse due to complications over his work permit.
Finances are tight on Merseyside with chairman Bill Kenwright limiting Moyes to scouring the loan and free transfer market during the summer and they may not have to money to afford Banega on a permanent deal.
The talented playmaker has made only four appearances in La Liga this season and is keen to move away in search of guaranteed first team football as he tries to force himself back into the plans of national team boss Alejandro Sabella.
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Real Madrid appear ready to offload Brazilian playmaker Kaka in the summer with Manchester City and Chelsea waiting in the wings. Both have been heavily linked with the midfielder in the past.
City tried to sign Kaka in the 2009 January window before he went to Madrid later in the year and ever since Ancelotti took over at Chelsea there has been speculation linking him to be reunited with his former player. But is Kaka really the type of player Chelsea need at this time? With rumours of a Chelsea clear out in the summer, surely bringing in a player who would be 29 at the time would not be a sustainable solution. Read on to find out why I believe it would be a mistake for Chelsea to sign this type of player.
Age
At 28 going on 29 is this someone Chelsea should be investing in? He certainly wouldn’t be one for the future and at his age would be expected to come good almost straight away, especially with a big reputation. Fernando Torres, signed for £50 million still hasn’t scored for Chelsea and the pressure is increasing with every game.
Kaka would surely need time to adapt to the Premier League, something not on his side. One of the main problems at Chelsea is that they currently have too many players past their peak. Florent Malouda, Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole, Nicolas Anelka are all over 30 and with their best years behind them. Kaka could only give maybe two seasons at his best.
Expense
Real Madrid paid £60 million to acquire Kaka in the summer of 2009 and while they will not be able to recuperate that, they will not be letting the midfielder go cheaply. I doubt anything less than £40 million would be taken seriously by the Spanish Giants. £40 million on a 29 year old is very risky business indeed and given Abramovich gave Ancelotti £70 million in January to sign two players it is unlikely this sort of cash would be available for one.
If anyone has been following Chelsea’s transfer rumours recently, they are mostly linked with young and up coming talent. Players in their early twenties such as Javier Pastore, Ganso, Eden Hazard and then even younger prospects such as Jack Rodwell. These are the types of player Chelsea need to rebuild their team.
Not another Central Midfielder?
Okay while not essentially a player that plays in the middle of the park but one that will play further forward through the middle, looking to link up midfield and attack. Is this not the role Frank Lampard plays? As mentioned earlier Lampard’s best years maybe behind him but he is still a quality player and one that is not linked with the exodus of Chelsea players expected to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer.
I have never been keen on Gerrard and Lampard in central midfield together for Anfield neither do I believe that Kaka and Lampard could work effectively in the same team. Couple this with the fact Chelsea have more than enough options in central midfield with Essien, Mikel, Ramires, and Benayoun.
Yes, the last two can operate on the right side of midfield but both prefer a more central role.
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Finally, Chelsea have bright stars such as Gael Kakuta and Josh McEachran coming through and must ensure the best development is given to them in order to reach the first team.
By Richard Field for the Transfer Tavern – click here to see the original article, as well as all the latest transfer rumour stories