Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has not given up hope of landing Liverpool's Spain international striker Fernando Torres before the end of next month.
Mancini has already signed Jerome Boateng, Aleksandar Kolarov, Yaya Toure and David Silva this summer but is pursuing the Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010 winner as he looks to push his spending since the end of last season past the £100million mark.
Although Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has bought Joe Cole this month and persuaded Steven Gerrard to stay at Anfield, Torres has not commented on his future.
Mancini said:"Torres is one of the best strikers in Europe and is already playing in the Premier League for three years and knows it very well. But it depends on his situation – his price and whether he wants to come.
"There are two or three strikers that we could go for, but it is the same situation as it is with James Milner. First there is the price and then it depends if the players want to change team. Until today, Liverpool haven't bought many players."
Of Aston Villa midfielder Milner, Mancini added:"When Manchester City enquire about a £10million player, the club asks for £20million. That is not good for us.
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Dig deeper into the world of football and you will discover a lot. Many international footballers aren’t native to the country they represent, some of which have extremely loose ties and choose their national side only to be in with a higher chance of playing international football. FIFA rules were altered in 2008 in order to help secure Sepp Blatter’s plan to reduce the number of foreign footballers playing abroad. Under these laws, uncapped footballers are allowed to switch allegiances after 5 years of being native to a country. You are also eligible to represent a country if a parent or grandparent was a native.
All very well it seems, I’m of the belief that your nationality lies with your place of birth. However, I can understand this clause. There is a major problem though; this rule is being exploited for the advantages of larger countries on the international stage. Leaving the smaller countries without what could be a historic player for them or that could bring them closer to the dream of playing in a international competition such as the World Cup or European Championships.
It doesn’t take long to find an example of this, Germany’s second all time goalscorer Miroslav Klose was born in Poland and was 7 when his family moved to Germany. He himself has said it’s better for him not to be called German or Polish, but European. Another example is his old Bayern Munich strike partner Lukas Podolski , although this is more understandable as he moved to Germany when he was 2.
Maybe I’m being a bit harsh here, they might both claim themselves to be German Nationals and yes, technically they are. The real issue is when a player is able to represent a country when he himself would not class himself as being of that nationality. Two examples of this are Manuel Almunia and Mikel Arteta, both Spanish footballers and both uncapped, due to how long they have lived in England for they are both eligible to represent the three lions. However, they themselves will never claim to be English.
This is not a new issue, Alfredo Di Stefano is classed as a legend of the game but did you know he represented 3 countries at the top level? He scored 6 goals in 6 games for his native Argentina between 1947 and 1949, following this came 4 appearances for Columbia, where he scored 0 goals. He gained Spanish citizenship while playing for Real Madrid and went on to score 23 goals in 31 games for Spain. Ridiculous isn’t it? Ok, the law has been cleared up since then meaning you can only represent 1 country at full level but this should never have been allowed to happen.
Owen Hargreaves was born in Canada and went on, as we know, to represent England. However, he also gained German citizenship while playing for Bayern Munich and was close to playing for Wales at U-21 level before pulling out at the last minute. Paulo Di Canio was also eligible to play for England. Ryan Giggs represented England at schoolboy level under the name Ryan Wilson, before opting for his country of birth. As he should.
Many, many footballers fall under this issue and there will be alot more in the future, unless the rules are altered. Zinedine Zidane, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eduardo, Giuseppe Rossi. Have a look into the background of football and you will learn alot and begin to question the work of FIFA.
It needs a simple law to clear up and it won’t cause FIFA much hassle to organise. It begs the question, are FIFA ignoring the issue or are they under the influence of the bigger nations who benefit from these players?
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Article courtesy of Josh Challies from This is Futbol
Birmingham City’s accidental Carling Cup hero Obafemi Martins said he is unsure of his future at St Andrew’s.The Nigerian striker – on-loan from Russian club Rubin Kazan – scored one of the easiest winners of a Cup final when Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny spilt the ball into his path, with Martins obligingly tapping home to send Blues fans at Wembley into frenzy on Sunday.But with the winners’ medal in pocket, Martins said talk of a permanent deal to keep his place in Alex McLeish’s squad was premature.”I don’t know anything,” Martins told The Birmingham Mail. “I’m still on loan and I just want to be with the team, scoring goals, and we will see what is going to happen.”Martins said his decision to join Birmingham was vindicated by their last-gasp victory over Arsenal on Sunday, with City winning their first trophy since their League Cup triumph in 1963.”When Birmingham called me, I decided to come. They have the players that can play. I’m lucky to be here, and we have won at Wembley,” he said.
Sir Alex has ruled out big changes this summer at Old Trafford as he intends to put his faith in youth this coming season. United supporters certainly have mixed views over Fergie’s stance, with many feeling that the Scot is missing a trick as their rivals continue to strengthen their respective squads.
This week at FFC we have seen a mixed bag of Man United blogs which has included…One contract the Glazers can ill afford to baulk on; Fergie’s faith masks the bigger picture and Neville highlights a major flaw in the armoury.
Plus we have taken a look at the best Man United stories on the Web this week.
THREE ways that Fergie can look to fill the Hargreaves hole
Do Sir Alex’s claims really add up?
Is Sir Alex’s faith simply masking the bigger picture?
From United reject to arguably one of the best in his field
One contract the Glazers and co can ill afford to baulk at
Gary Neville highlights a major flaw in the armoury
Why Sir Alex must take a dip into the transfer market
A blow for United and Spurs, but equally for Capello
The FIVE Premier League flops (past and present) who shone in SA
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Best of Web
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Will this season be this starlet’s coming out party? – The Busby Way
You’ve Made Your Decision On Renewal… Now The Shirt – RoM
We all want Glazer out but is there anyone better? – Truly Reds
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Genius Scholes need not fight the fight one time too many – United Rant
Can this much maligned midfielder pull out of his current nose dive? – The Busby Way
Click on image to see a gallery of the BEST BABES at the World Cup this summer
According to reliable club insider @ExWHUemployee on Episode 86 of The West Ham Way radio show, West Ham United are considering a move to sign Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure on a free transfer this summer, and Irons fans have been quick to react to the rumour.
It was announced earlier this month that the 34-year-old will be leaving the Etihad when his contract expires at the end of the season, but the Ivory Coast international has expressed a wish to carry on playing in the Premier League with an extraordinary proposal for potential suitors – something which has seemingly caught the east London outfit’s attention.
The midfielder – who turns 35 years of age on Sunday – made his first top flight start of the campaign in the 3-1 win against Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday night, and he has scored 59 goals in 230 Premier League games for the champions.
West Ham supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the story, and while one said he “could be a great mentor to Declan Rice”, another said he is “too old and way past his prime”.
With the January transfer window now in full swing, speculation involving the Premier League’s top clubs is rife.
The Express recently reported that Arsenal are leading the way in a pursuit of Chelsea defender David Luiz.
The Brazilian has dropped out of contention at Chelsea since manager Antonio Conte left him out of his squad at the end of October.
The former Paris Saint-Germain star was also struck down with a knee injury, but is closing in on a return.
Arsenal have had problems in defence this season, but according to Wenger, Luiz will not be arriving at the North London outfit this month.
While speaking to reporters ahead of Wednesday’s Premier League clash against Chelsea, the Arsenal boss described the Luiz rumours as “wrong”.
The Frenchman went on to indicate that he is only looking for an “exceptional” player to boost his squad.
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After the manager delivered his thoughts on the speculation involving Luiz, Arsenal fans tweeted their reaction.
We have all heard of Fergie Time, where referees seem to add more minutes than perhaps is necessary waiting for the ‘Red Devils’ to nick that much needed equaliser, or indeed winner.
However, now revelations that referee Mark Halsey used to be on texting terms with Sir Alex, seem to only further emphasise this speculation.
Opposition fans have always felt that referees didn’t do them any favours at Old Trafford, so you can understand the controversy surrounding the revelations that Sir Alex Ferguson used to be so close to Halsey.
The details are revealed in Halsey’s new book in which the ref admits texting Fergie, including to get his support for Mark Clattenburg during the John Obi Mikel racism row.
Halsey wrote: “I took matters in my own hands and rang Sir Alex asking him to speak out.
“He agreed and used his Friday press conference to say he could not conceive of Mark [Clattenburg] saying such things. It helped the situation a great deal.”
Despite this, it has been emphasised that when on the pitch, no favours were given to the mighty Scot.
“I may have spoken to him a lot and shared texts but he knew when I crossed that white line there were no favours,” he added.
“Players and managers would not respect you if you gave decisions based on friendship.”
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This can be seen to be apparent when analysing Halsey’s reaction to a late United goal in a Premier League contest against Wolves. The look of disgust on his face in the video below speaks for itself.
When Andre Villas-Boas was appointment as Spurs new Head Coach he assured fans that he had learned from the mistakes he had made at Chelsea and vowed not to change too much, too soon.
The transfer window has now slammed shut with 12 players heading out of the White Hart Lane exit door on either loan or permanent deals and 6 players coming in. The number of players to have left WHL could have been higher still with Spurs willingness to listen to offers for their Team Captain Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone, Jermaine Jenas and David Bentley all of which were unable or unwilling to secure moves away from the club. AVB’s man management skills were heavily criticized during his time at Chelsea but he now faces a significant test of his credentials once more. The head coach will need to move quickly to reintegrate and motivate this core group of English players back into his squad in order to avoid what is the all too familiar sound of discontent within the ranks.
AVB claimed he would be making ‘progressive’ rather than the wholesale changes which blighted his time at Chelsea. However history could be in danger of repeating itself with AVB making similar mistakes again during his early tenure at Spurs. He has seemingly ostracized senior players within the squad, sold influential playmakers Modric and VDV and implemeted an immediate change of system and personnel.
Couple these changes of formation and tactics with the introduction of a large number of new first team players and it could be argued that AVB has learned little from his ill-fated experience at Chelsea.
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A few weeks ago, many would have thought that the race for top four in the Premier League was done and dusted.
Chelsea and Arsenal looked set to miss out, but following some surprise results, the boys in blue still have a chance of securing Champions League football for next season.
Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur currently sit third and fourth respectively, but only three points separate third from fifth.
Chelsea need to win both of their final fixtures against Huddersfield and Newcastle United in order to give themselves a chance of sneaking into the top four.
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The task is in the hands of Spurs and Liverpool as the North London outfit require four points from matches against Newcastle and Leicester, while the Reds need to beat Brighton at Anfield on the final day in order to stay in the top echelon.
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Both clubs have a better goal difference than Chelsea, so unless Antonio Conte’s side become very prolific in the next couple of games, then the advantage lies with Tottenham and Liverpool.
It seems that the majority of fans feel the same way, as the results of our recent poll show that Chelsea are expected to miss out.
Manchester United are a big club – one of the biggest in fact – their recent blip but an aberration amongst the glories of the past 20 years. They’ll be back up there soon.
At least, they hope so. But Ed Woodward – ironically, for a man who’s name sounds like a fart in the bath – is making all the right noises. The last two summers have shown that they mean business – big money business, indeed.
It doesn’t matter how far down the table United slip, they’ll still be a big club. And that has nothing to do with their history and their fanbase, it has nothing to do with the facilities they have and the trophy cabinet that gleams with silver. It has nothing to do with the players they have on their books, or the plethora of former stars carrying their huge celebrity-names onto our TV screens each week to analyse games and talk up United. It has to do with their mentality.
United have the stance of a big club. There’s an arrogance and a swagger to how they hold themselves, even their manager has the same aura. It’s how the club does business and how it cultivates the public image.
Again, it’s not about class or success, nor is it even about what they do. More about how they do it.
After losing Sir Alex Ferguson and David Gill in an emotional and highly destructive few months, United moved swiftly to bring in ‘Ferguson B’.
The appointment of David Moyes was a desperate attempt to avoid the profound sadness and grief that losing a manager of 25 years brings. But the sad fact is that it should bring grief and sadness. You have to grieve for what you’ve lost if you really cared for it. That’s just human nature. Instead, United were like a desperate and pathetic middle-aged man left stunned and broken by the break-up of his marriage to the one woman in the world he ever loved. It was as if they built shrines to Ferguson, preserved whatever belongings of his they could – perhaps they still kept his smell – and tried to replace him with something exactly the same. But it never works. They may as well have appointed a cardboard cut-out of Fergie. It was sad.
It’s because United have had continuity for years that they wanted continuity again. I can respect that, it’s fair enough. Especially when the club puts such a high value on tradition and heritage. But when you break up, you have to move on. Things don’t last forever, they fall apart.
And United are over it now. They’ve moved on and they’ve remembered that they’re a big club. They’ve gone through their grief period and are now swaggering around the European transfer market once again.
How they’ve spent money in the last few years has been ballsy and in some ways it’s been reckless – Luke Shaw cost £30m, for example. I’m not saying he’s not worth it, that remains to be seen, but it’s a lot of money to spend on a full back, let alone one who is still a rough diamond.
But that’s the point. United are a big club, and they’re proving it by going all-out to sign these players. It doesn’t really matter if they don’t quite work out. Angel Di Maria, up until this point at least, should be considered a bit of a flop for the money paid for him. I still think he’s a wonderful player and that he’ll come good, but he hasn’t done what you’d expect from a player who cost so much. But that doesn’t matter to United. They signed prestige and power, and in the process gained prestige and power back for themselves.
United’s spending spree was retail therapy. Sure, they needed some of those players, the squad as it stood wasn’t good enough and the key players – Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Robin van Persie – were ageing. But they didn’t need Radamel Falcao and Di Maria, they just wanted them. And they got them. Because they’re Manchester United.
The signings this summer are potentially similar. Matteo Darmian fills a gap in United’s squad. Memphis Depay adds another dimension up front, and United needed that badly – they relied too much on Fellaini’s height and in successive games against Everton, Chelsea and West Brom they failed to score, even though they dominated overwhelmingly. Depay will add a directness that they didn’t possess last season.
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But the others, Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger, they’ll battle out for the same holding midfield place, even though Fellaini can do that job, and if United are going to keep possession for the whole game, Daley Blind and Ander Herrera could probably do that job, too. Of course, Schweinsteiger is much better at it.
But that’s the point. United are signing players who will improve what they have, but they’re doing it for esteem as much as amelioration. They’re a giant putting his foot down, a man of status throwing his jacket over his shoulder and strutting around the city. Like Cristiano Ronaldo launching an underwear range with a 30ft high poster of himself in his pants, they’re showing off their power and doing it because they can.
And that’s why United will always be a big club. After a season wallowing in self-pity, watching re-runs of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ on Comedy Central and eating Super Noodles from the saucepan, this divorcee has finally come out of grief and is once again strutting his stuff on the singles scene.