Monday's B*ll*x

[Chinners]

Manchester City Bench Warmer Offered £8m Lifeline
Mancini to Mull Over Marseille Move for Santa Cruz
French champions Marseille are ready to take unwanted Roque Santa Cruz off Manchester City’s hands after watching the striker in action for Paraguay.
Marseille coach Franck Passi was in the stands taking notes as Santa Cruz, 28, starred for Paraguay as they beat Greece 2-0 in a World Cup warm-up match in Switzerland.
Marseille boss Didier Deschamps wants to launch an assault on the Champions League next season but only has a budget of £14million to play with. City will be prepared to let Santa Cruz go a cut-price £8m. (Daily Mail)
You have to feel for Paraguayan Santa Cruz, not in any real way given he is a millionaire playing a game he loves, but because he has been wasted at an Eastlands outfit with an embarrassment of attacking riches. A move to the Ligue 1 champions may well be work well for all concerned.
It seems likely that Roberto Mancini would accept decent bids for the 28 year old as he looks to chop and change his squad ahead of the new season. Roque has proved himself at Premier League level before and could surely have been a 15-20 goal a season striker at City if he was given the chance, it just so happened that Carlos Tevez and Emmanuel Adebayor were the players who were given the nod as the club’s first choice starting pair.
It is also fair to say that in his six starts last term the former Blackburn man didn’t exactly excel but then arguably needed more time to bed in.

Manchester City to battle AC Milan for Paraguay striker Barrios
Manchester City are preparing a €30million bid for Borussia Dortmund 's Lucas Barrios , who is also interesting AC Milan , according to German daily Bild.
25-year-old Barrios was born in Argentina and recently gained Paraguayan citizenship, which has enabled him to be selected in the Paraguay squad for the World Cup.
The target striker moved from South America to Borussia Dortmund last summer and enjoyed an impressive first season, scoring 19 goals in 33 appearances. Nicknamed, "The Panther", Barrios is strong in the air and possesses a fearsome shot.
Barrios has played only three games so far for Paraguay, but is already attracting attention from Italian giants AC Milan , who will likely look to add to their strike force over the summer, particularly given the disappointing form of Dutchman Klaas Jan Huntelaar.
However, Bild claims that Manchester City are also interested in Barrios and will look to price AC Milan out of the race with a €30million bid. Manchester City have made a habit of bringing players from the Bundesliga to Eastlands, including Vincent Kompany, Nigel de Jong and most recently Roberto Mancini has added Jerome Boateng to his squad.
Should City sign Barrios, it is unclear whether he would join or replace fellow Paraguayan striker Roque Santa Cruz

CITY TO INCREASE MILNER BID TO £27M
What with this World Cup lark, talk of James Milner moving on from Aston Villa has gone quiet for the past few days and weeks. However, the story is once again backpage material after the Daily Star splashed their claim that City 'will make a final £27m bid for James Milner in the hope of luring the England star to Eastlands. Roberto Mancini has already seen a £20m offer rejected by Aston Villa, who are holding out for £30m for the former Leeds and Newcastle midfielder.'
So why not just bid the £30m? Forgive us for sounding blasé about £3million, but it's not as if City are short of cash. Well...
'The club's billionaire backers from Abu Dhabi are refusing to be held to ransom just because they have wads of cash to spend. They have been criticised in the past for paying out huge transfer fees and believe the offer for Milner is a fair price.'

Celtic are yet to make a move for Manchester City attacker Craig Bellamy.
The Scottish Sun says Celts sources have insisted they have NOT made a move to bring Craig Bellamy back to the club.
Reports in England and Wales have linked the Manchester City ace with a return to Parkhead on loan.
Bellamy, 31 next month, would be the big signing Lennon and the fans crave.
Aston Villa and Spurs would be in the frame if City boss Roberto Mancini sanctioned his sale.
Celtic could only come into the equation if City agreed to pay the bulk of his £85,000-a-week salary in a loan deal.

Manchester City To Include Robinho In Offer For Barcelona Striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic
The Brazilian could finally sign for the Blaugrana...
Manchester City are reportedly preparing an offer for Barcelona frontman Zlatan Ibrahimovic with out-of-favour Robinho included in it.
The Brazilian winger joined Santos on loan in January in a bid to find regular first-team action ahead of the World Cup after being relegated to the periphery at Eastlands.
He has recently indicated he hopes for an extended Santos stay, but City are believed to be interested in either cashing in on him or including him in one of their summer deals.
According to publication Sport, the 26-year-old could be used as make-weight in the Premier League side's push for Ibrahimovic, whom City boss Roberto Mancini highly regards after coaching him during his time with Inter Milan.
Robinho was strongly tipped with a move to the Camp Nou last summer, having even gone as far as to make his interest in the move public.
With Barcelona understood to be looking for a new man for their left flank, chances are that they will study the possibility of having Robinho in their ranks very carefully.

WAG OF THE DAY
http://wedontknowfootball.files.wordpre ... emie42.jpg

TRANSFER BOLLOX
Arsenal are prepared to let midfielder Cesc Fabregas leave for Barcelona if the Catalan club doubles its offer to £60m for the Spanish midfielder. Daily Mail

Real Madrid are considering an offer of £40m for Fabregas in an attempt to sabotage Barca's efforts to sign the 23-year-old Spain international.
Footylatest.com

But Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard is the preferred transfer target for Real Madrid fans, according to a poll in Spanish newspaper Marca.
Footylatest.com

West Brom have entered the race to buy Norwegian teenage striker Marcus Pedersen from Stromsgodset, with Sunderland, Blackburn, Bolton, Everton and Fulham also keeping tabs on the highly-rated 19-year-old.
Daily Mail

Birmingham will increase their offer for Palermo striker Fabrizio Miccoli after the Premier League's club initial £3.4m bid was rejected by the Serie A side.
Daily Mail

Tottenham are preparing a £16m bid for Porto's Colombian striker Radamel Falcao.
Footylatest.com

German side Wolfsburg are ready to spend up to £20m to take Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov away from Manchester United.
Footylatest.com

OTHER BOLLOX
Former Liverpool favourite Robbie Fowler believes Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is the ideal man to take over at Anfield following Rafael Benitez's departure. The Sun

Slovenia midfielder Robert Koren says his team will not be scared of England in their final Group C match on 23 June in Port Elizabeth. The Sun

The referee who will officiate England's opening World Cup match against the United States, Carlos Eugenio Simon, was suspended by the Brazilian Football Association last season amid accusations of being "unambiguously inconsistent, unfair and inequitable".The Times

The Football Association has sought safety assurances from local organisers that England's friendly match against South African side Platinum Stars on Monday in Lesetlheng will be free of crowd trouble following a stampede at a similar game in Johannesburg that resulted in 15 people being injured on Sunday. The Independent

Platinum Stars defender and former Tottenham Hotspur Mbulelo Mabizela says his side "will get stuck in" against England at the Moruleng Stadium. (Daily Telegraph)

Brazil president Lula da Silva says Argentina manager Diego Maradona's policy to allow his players to have sex with their partners in South Africa will undermine their chances of winning. "I want to see the Argentines arrive staggering and exhausted to their games," he said. The Guardian

[Feed The Goat]

I'd let Santa cruz go in a flash

[btajim]

Santa Cruz needs First Team Football so he should leave City.

Paying too much for Milner is a mistake on several levels unless we can send a player or two to Villa to bring the fee down.

Robinho + Cash for Ibrahimovic seems like a good deal. His scoring record is excellent and Mancini knows him.

[Vhero]

The problem with Santa is taking a big hit as Hughes paid WELL over the odds for him. We will never get that kind of money back for him. Hughes only agreed to pay it because he was constantly wanking over him.

[john@staustell]

The problem with Santa is taking a big hit as Hughes paid WELL over the odds for him. We will never get that kind of money back for him. Hughes only agreed to pay it because he was constantly wanking over him.

Irrelevant mate. That is budget past, written off, now we are spending the next lot!

As for Santa only a maniac would let him go until we sign or line up at least 1, if not 2 strikers. Tevez, Ade and Santa was not enough.

Still cant help feeling though that if we can get a fit Santa he will score goals in a good team.

[Vhero]

The problem with Santa is taking a big hit as Hughes paid WELL over the odds for him. We will never get that kind of money back for him. Hughes only agreed to pay it because he was constantly wanking over him.

Irrelevant mate. That is budget past, written off, now we are spending the next lot!

As for Santa only a maniac would let him go until we sign or line up at least 1, if not 2 strikers. Tevez, Ade and Santa was not enough.

Still cant help feeling though that if we can get a fit Santa he will score goals in a good team.

See that's our problem right there though... Cutting our losses is one thing but less than half of what we paid for him?? I doubt our owners would be happy with that.

[john@staustell]

The problem with Santa is taking a big hit as Hughes paid WELL over the odds for him. We will never get that kind of money back for him. Hughes only agreed to pay it because he was constantly wanking over him.

Irrelevant mate. That is budget past, written off, now we are spending the next lot!

As for Santa only a maniac would let him go until we sign or line up at least 1, if not 2 strikers. Tevez, Ade and Santa was not enough.

Still cant help feeling though that if we can get a fit Santa he will score goals in a good team.

See that's our problem right there though... Cutting our losses is one thing but less than half of what we paid for him?? I doubt our owners would be happy with that.

Even if they did care I can't see any desperate need to unload him myself.
1) He says all the right things, isn't a troublemaker
2) In theory he's at peak age
3) If fit (!) is a decent player whatever those hate threads say
4) Ade - Suspensions, machine guns, compassionate, suspensions
Tevez - unfit due to summer on beach (or after WC), injured, babies, compassionate, worried about W Ham

So even if he becomes our 4th or 5th striker I'd rather have him on the filed than Big Phil Caicedo!

[gilford]

So even if he becomes our 4th or 5th striker I'd rather have him on the filed than Big Phil Caicedo!

Very good point! Yes, use him as bait and use him as part of deal to get another player but sell for £8m? We dont need the cash so keep him here I say.

[Vhero]

The problem with Santa is taking a big hit as Hughes paid WELL over the odds for him. We will never get that kind of money back for him. Hughes only agreed to pay it because he was constantly wanking over him.

Irrelevant mate. That is budget past, written off, now we are spending the next lot!

As for Santa only a maniac would let him go until we sign or line up at least 1, if not 2 strikers. Tevez, Ade and Santa was not enough.

Still cant help feeling though that if we can get a fit Santa he will score goals in a good team.

See that's our problem right there though... Cutting our losses is one thing but less than half of what we paid for him?? I doubt our owners would be happy with that.

Even if they did care I can't see any desperate need to unload him myself.
1) He says all the right things, isn't a troublemaker
2) In theory he's at peak age
3) If fit (!) is a decent player whatever those hate threads say
4) Ade - Suspensions, machine guns, compassionate, suspensions
Tevez - unfit due to summer on beach (or after WC), injured, babies, compassionate, worried about W Ham

So even if he becomes our 4th or 5th striker I'd rather have him on the filed than Big Phil Caicedo!

I honestly think we already have a replacement lined up but your right we should find a replacement at least before we offload.

[Original Dub]

Who's the replacement vhero?

[Vhero]

Who's the replacement vhero?

No idea mate if I had to guess I would say Mancini really wants Ibra.

[Ezz]

Breaking Gossip (BBC)

2048: Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure's agent claims the the Ivory Coast international, who has also been linked with Manchester City, could form part of the deal to bring back Cesc Fabregas to the Nou Camp.

"There's a lot of interest in the deal for Toure," Dimitri Seluk told Rac-1.

"Arsene Wenger likes him and Arsenal are interested. "If the conditions are good, everything can be finished soon. He could come into the Cesc deal and Barca and Arsenal are struggling to come to an agreement.

"Everything has changed with City, because they talk a lot but then afterwards they don't appear to be a rich club but rather a bankrupt one."


Sounds like the agent is trying to bump the price up but we aren't having any of it. He obviously knows we have funds there and is taking the piss with that last statement. If he wants to go to arsenal, then fair play, but it sounds like the agent saying he's only going to come to us if we vastly over pay.

[Mark (Blue Army)]

Breaking Gossip (BBC)

2048: Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure's agent claims the the Ivory Coast international, who has also been linked with Manchester City, could form part of the deal to bring back Cesc Fabregas to the Nou Camp.

"There's a lot of interest in the deal for Toure," Dimitri Seluk told Rac-1.

"Arsene Wenger likes him and Arsenal are interested. "If the conditions are good, everything can be finished soon. He could come into the Cesc deal and Barca and Arsenal are struggling to come to an agreement.

"Everything has changed with City, because they talk a lot but then afterwards they don't appear to be a rich club but rather a bankrupt one."


Sounds like the agent is trying to bump the price up but we aren't having any of it. He obviously knows we have funds there and is taking the piss with that last statement. If he wants to go to arsenal, then fair play, but it sounds like the agent saying he's only going to come to us if we vastly over pay.

City need to move on if this is the case, just tell the agent to fuck off.

[HeyMark]

Santa Cruz showed against Sunderland at home that he is a quality, in the box poacher its just keeping him fit and getting him a good run of games that was the problem last season.

[Renato_CTID]

Santa Cruz showed against Sunderland at home that he is a quality, in the box poacher its just keeping him fit and getting him a good run of games that was the problem last season.

What's Sunderland, mate? Real Madrid, Inter Milan or anybody else? Roque shows in these months how unable was Hughesy to sign him from Rovers: very expansive, very awful and very injuried!!!

[dazby]

Breaking Gossip (BBC)

2048: Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure's agent claims the the Ivory Coast international, who has also been linked with Manchester City, could form part of the deal to bring back Cesc Fabregas to the Nou Camp.

"There's a lot of interest in the deal for Toure," Dimitri Seluk told Rac-1.

"Arsene Wenger likes him and Arsenal are interested. "If the conditions are good, everything can be finished soon. He could come into the Cesc deal and Barca and Arsenal are struggling to come to an agreement.

"Everything has changed with City, because they talk a lot but then afterwards they don't appear to be a rich club but rather a bankrupt one."


Sounds like the agent is trying to bump the price up but we aren't having any of it. He obviously knows we have funds there and is taking the piss with that last statement. If he wants to go to arsenal, then fair play, but it sounds like the agent saying he's only going to come to us if we vastly over pay.

City need to move on if this is the case, just tell the agent to fuck off.

Exactly what we shouldn't do Mark. Be cool man, be cool. We move at our pace. Let the agents get the heebeegeebees, as this one obviously has.

[DoomMerchant]

Breaking Gossip (BBC)

2048: Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure's agent claims the the Ivory Coast international, who has also been linked with Manchester City, could form part of the deal to bring back Cesc Fabregas to the Nou Camp.

"There's a lot of interest in the deal for Toure," Dimitri Seluk told Rac-1.

"Arsene Wenger likes him and Arsenal are interested. "If the conditions are good, everything can be finished soon. He could come into the Cesc deal and Barca and Arsenal are struggling to come to an agreement.

"Everything has changed with City, because they talk a lot but then afterwards they don't appear to be a rich club but rather a bankrupt one."


Sounds like the agent is trying to bump the price up but we aren't having any of it. He obviously knows we have funds there and is taking the piss with that last statement. If he wants to go to arsenal, then fair play, but it sounds like the agent saying he's only going to come to us if we vastly over pay.

City need to move on if this is the case, just tell the agent to fuck off.

Exactly what we shouldn't do Mark. Be cool man, be cool. We move at our pace. Let the agents get the heebeegeebees, as this one obviously has.

that's right Fonzie...play this one cool. i agree. No time for panic. real pimps don't need to flex their nuts cuz they know they got em.

cheers

[dazby]

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This is how we negotiate.

[Pretty Boy Lee]

Santa Cruz showed against Sunderland at home that he is a quality, in the box poacher its just keeping him fit and getting him a good run of games that was the problem last season.

Just keeping him fit is like saying just getting Heskey to chip in with a few more goals.

[DoomMerchant]

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This is how we negotiate.

impressive. i like yr style kid.

cheers