Tuesday's B*ll*x

[Chinners]

CITY BOLLOX
Stephen Ireland demands Manchester City exit after losing patience at Eastlands
Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland has officially asked to leave the club.
Ireland, player of the year at Eastlands in 2008/09, has grown frustrated at a lack of opportunities under coach Roberto Mancini and has asked City to invite offers from elsewhere.
City manager Mancini does not particularly want to lose Ireland but is aware the former Republic of Ireland international has become unsettled and has given the go-ahead for the 23-year-old to move on.
With City trying to persuade Aston Villa to sell England midfielder James Milner and also showing interest in Everton's Mikel Arteta, the club could certainly afford to be without Ireland next season.
However, there is some sadness at Eastlands that a player who enjoyed such a good season during Mark Hughes's first year as City manager has become so unhappy

Man City set to raid Everton for £20m midfield star
Everton are bracing themselves for a £20million bid from Manchester City for Mikel Arteta.
City have abandoned hope of luring Steven Gerrard to Eastlands and feel Arteta is a more realistic proposition.
However, they risk re-opening their feud with Everton by moving for the Spanish star as relations between the clubs have not recovered after Joleon Lescott's bitter transfer wrangle last summer.
City refuse to let this put them off and believe they can tempt Arteta to join their blue revolution.
They can offer him a significant increase on his £60,000-a-week deal, which makes him the best-paid player at Goodison Park.

Manchester City to Tempt La Liga Side With £25m Swap Offer: Mancini Ready to Use Robinho to Land Luis Fabiano
Roberto Mancini is apparently considering using Brazilian misfit Robinho as bait to secure the services of Sevilla’s highly rated striker Luis Fabiano. The Manchester City boss is keen to refresh his striking options and is wisely using the players he has at his disposal to help tempt sides into submission.
Having paid £32.5m for Robinho in the summer of 2008 the Eastlands outfit are not going to allow the talented striker to leave cheaply and having reignited his career on loan at Santos, Mancini is hoping that La Liga side Sevilla would look kindly on a potential swap deal to bring Luis Fabiano to the club.
Both Brazilians are part of Dunga’s World Cup squad and it is unknown as to whether the deal would be a straight swap but it would appear plausible that it may be City who need to add some cash to the offer given the fantastic form shown by Luis Fabiano for both club and country, form that has seen the 29 year old score 72 goals in the past three La Liga seasons and an incredible record of 25 goals from 36 appearances for the national team.

TRANSFER BOLLOX
Tottenham are preparing a bid for Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar after his agent gave the Goodison club three weeks to make an improved contract offer. Daily Mail

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has put Aston Villa on alert by saying striker Robbie Keane and midfielder Jermaine Jenas can leave White Hart Lane. Daily Mirror

Spurs have told West Ham they will have top stump up £6m if they want to sign midfielder Jamie O'Hara, who impressed during a loan spell with Portsmouth last season. The Sun

O'Hara could end up being a replacement for Scott Parker, who is being lined up by Aston Villa should James Milner leave Villa Park this summer. The Sun

Striker Fernando Torres is happy to stay at Liverpool next season, according to his agent Jose Antonio Peton. Daily Star

Arsenal have slapped an £80m price tag on captain and midfielder Cesc Fabregas, which is more than double what Spanish giants Barcelona were hoping to pay for the Spanish international. The Sun

Arsenal are keeping tabs on Valencia's 15-year-old striker Francisco Alcacer. Daily Mirror

The Gunners also want to buy Bolton defender Gary Cahill this summer but have been told it will cost them £14m. The Sun

Birmingham City have held talks with Valencia about signing 6ft 8in Serbian international striker Nikola Zigic for £5m. Daily Mail

Brazilian club Atletico Miniero have told Liverpool and West Ham they want £5m for Brazil striker Diego Tardelli. Daily Mail

Blackburn are ready to sell Australian midfielder Vince Grella to Turkish giants Galatasaray - to raise the cash for Real Madrid midfielder Guti. Daily Mirror

West Brom boss Roberto Di Matteo is weighing up a move for Atletico Madrid defender Pablo Ibanez. Daily Mirror

Cash-strapped Crystal Palace have accepted a £750,000 bid from Championship rivals Queens Park Rangers for midfielder Darren Ambrose.Daily Mail

Ipswich have tabled a £3m bid for Cardiff striker Michael Chopra.Daily Mirror

WAG OF THE DAY
http://www.oleole.com/blogs/realmadridt ... mamen-sanz

OTHER BOLLOX
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger made a last-ditch effort to keep captain Cesc Fabregas by phoning the midfielder before he joined up with the Spain World Cup squad. Fabregas is wanted by Barcelona.
Full story: Daily Mirror

Another man who thinks Fabregas should remain at the Emirates is Belarusian midfielder Alexander Hleb, who left Arsenal to join Barcelona in 2008 but has struggled in Spain. "If Arsene Wenger keeps the side together, they can really go far next year," said Hleb. The Sun

Portsmouth administrator Andrew Andronikou has revealed that former Reading boss Brendan Rodgers and Notts County's Steve Cotterill are among the candidates to replace Avram Grant as manager of the south-coast club. Daily Mail

Stoke striker Ricardo Fuller and midfielder Matthew Etherington have been told to be patient as chairman Peter Coates admits the club is in no hurry to offer them new deals. Daily Mirror

Australia coach Pim Verbeek has blasted Everton and Blackburn midfield players Tim Cahill and Vince Grella for two horror tackles during the Socceroos 2-1 friendly win over New Zealand on Monday. The challenges led to Kiwi Leo Bertos being carried off injured. The Sun

Spain boss Vincente del Bosque has banned his players from using any social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook at their training camps in Spain or when they get out for the World Cup in South Africa.The Sun

Blackpool boss Ian Holloway seems to want to start a class war by telling wealthy Premier League rivals to watch out for his working-class heroes next season. "Let's bring it on - let's see how they handle what we throw at them," he said.Daily Mirror

[john@staustell]

Seville should be sunny enough for Robinho. Lets have Fabiano then! His contract is out in 12 months.

[ant london]

Seville should be sunny enough for Robinho. Lets have Fabiano then! His contract is out in 12 months.

What he said.

Fuck part ex-ing him for an untried Brazilian, no matter how great Neymar or the other lad looks

Get him in as down payment on someone decent. I wanted Fabiano the last two tsfr windows, I actually think he would be a success in the PL which is the most crucial part.

[Slim]

Seville should be sunny enough for Robinho. Lets have Fabiano then! His contract is out in 12 months.

What he said.

Fuck part ex-ing him for an untried Brazilian, no matter how great Neymar or the other lad looks

Get him in as down payment on someone decent. I wanted Fabiano the last two tsfr windows, I actually think he would be a success in the PL which is the most crucial part.

The most crucial part is what you think?

bluecreed could take lessons.

:p

[ant london]

haha nob off Nicster

[btajim]

O'Hara could end up being a replacement for Scott Parker, who is being lined up by Aston Villa should James Milner leave Villa Park this summer. The Sun

That sounds like a very Martin O'Neill move.

[DoomMerchant]

O'Hara could end up being a replacement for Scott Parker, who is being lined up by Aston Villa should James Milner leave Villa Park this summer. The Sun

That sounds like a very Martin O'Neill move.

Or a mark hughes one. I think it would actually make villa potentially stronger if they spent the milner cash properly.

If we landed milner and arteta it would be a nice change from what weve seen this season. Sadly if Ireland was in form we wouldn't even be talking about milner, would we.

Cheers

[Wooders]

no we wouldn't doomster

[Chinners]

Santa Cruz admits City failings
Striker predicts 'famous faces' in the summer transfer market
Roque Santa Cruz recognises Manchester City have underachieved and expects big-money signings to boost a title challenge next season.
City only managed to finish fifth in the Premier League in 2009/10, despite the heavy investment of billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour.
Santa Cruz, who arrived from Blackburn last June, admits it was a disappointment not to at least qualify for the UEFA Champions League and has demanded improvements.
"It has been a very tough season with a lot of new players," he told a press conference broadcast on Sky Sports News. "A new team has been built up.
"We didn't achieve what we expected and of course we can't say that we are happy.
"I think that the pressure is going to grow for us because of the kind of money that the owner is spending on the club."
Business
He added: "We expect next year to not only do well, but also to see if we can fight for the title."
Santa Cruz was an acquisition of former boss Mark Hughes following their successful time together at Blackburn.
But Hughes' sacking in December 2009, the striker's injuries and the appointment of new manager Roberto Mancini meant that first-team opportunities were not always guaranteed among City's squad of stars.
Santa Cruz, though, does not fear extra signings and expects more arrivals over the summer, with a deal set to be agreed for Hamburg defender Jerome Boateng as the first of City's business.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see a couple of famous faces around the club," said Santa Cruz, who is preparing for the World Cup finals with Paraguay.
"I think that once the market starts moving we will see more. But I am sure we will have new signings and new people coming."

Whats with all this 'we' bollox Santa. Alot of your team mates had good to excellent seasons compared to the stuff we've witnessed before. I don't know why but the guy just iritates me, I think he's like Ireland, has the potential but has used all his energy in one season (and it wasn't with us in his case)

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Whats with all this 'we' bollox Santa. Alot of your team mates had good to excellent seasons compared to the stuff we've witnessed before. I don't know why but the guy just iritates me.

I read that earlier elsewhere and this is exactly what I thought. We had some great individual seasons. And 5th place finish isn't all that bad. But if he had pulled his finger out himself and made some decent contributions, we might've actually finished 4th.

I disagree with you though in that I don't think he has much talent at all.

[Chinners]

But if he had pulled his finger out himself and made some decent contributions, we might've actually finished 4th.

Exactly, I think the way he has become the players spokesperson to the press is what grates me the most, every week without fail he's doing an interview with someone. If he spent as much effort getting fit, I'd actually care about what he has to say ... still

[Dameerto]

You know the interview was actually about the International friendly he's playing tonight, right?

[Chinners]

Really? never would have guessed from that would you

[ant london]

Really? never would have guessed from that would you

he's very handsome though isn't he

[DoomMerchant]

Really? never would have guessed from that would you

he's very handsome though isn't he

I could jizz in my pants looking at pics of his wife's face. Even if he was in the shot with her. In fact it might help. I said might. Calm down.

Cheers

[Dameerto]

Really? never would have guessed from that would you

I wouldnt know because Im not too sure where the article came from - Sky maybe? I saw the SSN filmed interview and it's slightly slanted towards English interest but he's at a press conference for the Ireland match that's on tonight. The text in that article seems quite biased against City to be honest, so no surprise it's out of context.

[Chinners]

End of the day Bollox
Gareth Barry given more time to prove fitness
Barry suffered an ankle injury playing against Tottenham on 5 May
England coach Fabio Capello has given midfielder Gareth Barry another week to prove his fitness for the World Cup.
The 29-year-old player underwent tests on an ankle ligament problem on Tuesday after suffering the injury playing for Manchester City on 5 May.
Capello has to name his 23-man squad on 1 June, ahead of their World Cup opener against the United States on 11 June.
The Italian has insisted he would not include anyone in his final squad if they were unfit to play in the US game.
And the 63-year-old Capello reiterated this point earlier this week, stressing: "If Barry is fit, he will come with us. If not, he will stay at home. He is one of the players we want to be fit."
One potential safety net Capello has at his disposal is that Fifa rules allow managers to replace any player ruled out through injury after the final squads are confirmed up to 24 hours before the first game.
However, the former Real Madrid and Milan coach is clearly giving Barry, who has started 19 of the 22 England matches the Italian has overseen, every chance of proving his fitness.
It was initially thought Barry had an appointment with his specialist on Tuesday to assess his recovery, but instead the 29-year-old will undergo a series of rigorous tests on the injury he picked up playing for Manchester City against Tottenham in the Premier League.
If Barry does not prove his fitness, Capello could turn to Aston Villa's James Milner - recently crowned Professional Footballers' Association young player of the year - or Michael Carrick of Manchester United.
The England manager has also been looking into the possibility of switching to a three centre-back system although he played with two central defenders in the 3-1 friendly victory over Mexico at Wembley on Monday night - starting with Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand and Tottenham's Ledley King.
England's players will now return to Irdning in the Austrian Alps for further training before playing a final warm-up game, against Japan, on Sunday.

Roberto Mancini is not tempted by a return to Italy and insists his future is at Manchester City. Reports in his homeland have linked Mancini with a return to Serie A this summer, but he said: "I miss Italy as a country but football in England is beautiful." (Press Association)

Manchester City are preparing to offer the full €60m it will require to buy out striker Sergio Aguero's contract at Atletico Madrid and beat both Real Madrid and Chelsea to the player's signature.footylatest.com

Spanish daily Sport claims that AC Milan is the most likely destination for Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic , ahead of Manchester City and Chelsea.imscouting.com

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has quashed speculation linking Napoli midfielder Marek Hamsik with a move to Eastlands. The Slovakia international has also been linked with Manchester United and Chelsea. (Press Association)

The agent of Palermo defender Simon Kjaer says his client is set to leave the Italian club with the Premier League his preferred destination. The 21-year-old defender has attracted the interests of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United. goal.com

AC Milan's owners Fininvest have stated the Serie A club is not for sale, denying media reports of talks with Russian gas giant Gazprom. In an unsourced report, La Gazzetta dello Sport said Fininvest owner, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, had discussed the sale of a 25-30% stake in the club with Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin during his visit to Italy last month. (Reuters)

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas wants his requested transfer to Barcelona to be agreed as soon as possible but is expecting the negotiations to be arduous, according to the Spaniard's father. "I don't know how this is going to pan out but I believe you have to respect the decision and the wishes of the player," Francesc Fabregas said on Spanish radio. (Reuters)

Celtic have categorically denied reports they are preparing a sensational swoop for Rangers striker Kris Boyd. "We will not, repeat NOT, be making a bid for the player," read a statement on the club's official website. (Press Association)

Midfielder Liam Lawrence has confirmed he expects to leave Stoke this summer because of a lack of first-team opportunities. "Purely for footballing reasons, it is time to move on. That is best for both parties," said Lawrence. (Press Association)

Chelsea are the most likely club to sign Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure , according to his agent.imscouting.com

Adam Johnson: The last six months with Manchester City & England have been 'unbelievable'
World Cup hopeful reflects on winning first cap at Wembley...
Manchester City winger Adam Johnson has claimed this season as the most exciting of his career, hailing its dream ending having won his debut cap for England against Mexico on Monday.
The 22-year-old replaced James Milner late into the game at Wembley and has dubbed the moment the "proudest" of his young career.

"The last six months have been unbelievable and winning my first England cap was the proudest moment of my career," Johnson told Manchester City's official club website.
"I wasn’t too nervous, but deep down I was desperate to get on.
"It’s what you dream of when you’re a little lad and to make my debut in front of 88,000 people at Wembley is something I’ll never forget."
Johnson moved to City from Middlesbrough in January and has since made 16 appearances for the club, scoring one goal.

[john@staustell]

"Manchester City are preparing to offer the full €60m it will require to buy out striker Sergio Aguero's contract at Atletico Madrid and beat both Real Madrid and Chelsea to the player's signature.footylatest.com"

True bollox indeed. Firstly I dont think we're interested in another midget striker, secondly I dont believe him moving from Atletico to Real is an option, and thirdly I dont believe Chelsea are too bothered about him either, or they would've tied it up long ago.

Too expensive.