Roberto Mancini admits he knew his attempt to sign Fernando Torres from Liverpool this summer was doomed from the start.
But judging by his impact in Timisoara on Thursday night, Mario Balotelli will prove an adequate alternative to the Spain striker who pledged his future to Merseyside before Mancini could make a serious offer.
Balotelli came on as a substitute and scored the winner in City's 1-0 Europa League play-off first leg win in Romania. He could have had a hat-trick.
Mancini believes it showed the 20-year-old can be an even better player than Torres because his new £23million acquistion can play as a winger, not just as a striker.
The Manchester City manager said: 'It was difficult for Liverpool to sell Torres because he's such an important player for them. Yes, I think that Balotelli could be as good as Torres and even better than him.
'That's because Torres can only play as a striker. Balotelli can play as a striker and a a winger. 'He has a different attitude from Torres but what is sure is that we are talking about two fantastic players.
'In my view there are eight or nine fantastic strikers. Torres and Balotelli are two of them. Then there's Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo, Tevez, Messi. Trying to sign players like that is difficult but we've managed to get another one.'
Mancini also believes Balotelli, who is expected to be fit to face Liverpool tonight despite leaving the pitch in Romania with his right knee strapped, will adapt to the English game quickly.
The 45-year-old, who gave Balotelli his debut when he was manager at Inter Milan, said: 'He has everything you need to score a goal. He is suited to the Premier League because it is different to Italian football.
'The defenders do not know much about him but they will see, like (Carlos) Tevez, he can change everything about a game.'
Lazio and Manchester City in talks over Roque Santa Cruz
The 29-year-old has been a fringe player under Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini. The Paraguayan World Cup striker endured a difficult first season at Eastlands following his £17.5million move from Blackburn last summer. A calf injury did little to help Santa Cruz, who scored three goals in nineteen appearances for Manchester City last season.
And with the arrival at Eastlands of Mario Balotelli from Inter Milan, the chances of first-team football appear to be even more limited for Santa Cruz.
Santa Cruz's agent, Jan van Baal told Italian daily Corriere dello Sport that Lazio have launched a bid to sign the player.
He said, "I have initiated contact with Lazio, the deal has begun and next week will be decisive. The player wants to leave City."
However, van Baal intimated that two other sides are also interested in Santa Cruz. Corriere dello Sport reports that Manchester City and Lazio are currently in negotiations, but that the Italian side is willing to pay only six million euros. They speculate that Fiorentina and West Ham are also interested in Santa Cruz.
Hart enjoying being Man City’s number one
Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart admits he is enjoying the challenge of being the number one at the club this season.
The 23-year old gloveman has been installed as the first choice Eastlands keeper by Roberto Mancini this season, taking the post from Shay Given, and although he says his relationship with the Republic of Ireland veteran has suffered slightly, he is enjoying playing regularly.
“It’s a difficult situation but I’m enjoying it at the moment,” said Hart. “We speak about it, but there’s only so much we can comment on.
“I’m taking everything step-by-step and trying to improve my game. I have to do that because if I don’t, I know Shay will take it away from me.
“I’m a confident kind of person, but not in a cocky way. You have to believe in yourself and enjoy what you do and it’s nice to be playing.
“Everyone wants to be in the side because City are an exciting prospect at the moment.”
Liverpool's Roy Hodgson expects strong showing from Manchester City
Hodgson says Manchester City can emulate Chelsea
Roy Hodgson has issued a fine rebuke to the theory that his and Liverpool's miserable away form last season can be eradicated by a change of scenery or manager. "It's not about giving the coach a magic wand," he said. "And I am the ultimate anti-magic wand man." He does, however, subscribe to the view Manchester City's millions can transform them into title contenders overnight.
Liverpool lost eight times on their travels last term, winning only five league games away from Anfield, and face an immediate examination of their resolve under Hodgson at Eastlands tonight. Hope of a return to the Champions League is tempered not only by Liverpool's lack of new investment, with Kenny Huang withdrawing from the sales process on Friday night, but the continued largesse and development at City. And Hodgson believes the demand for a quick return on Sheikh Mansour's £130m outlay this summer alone is not without foundation.
The Liverpool manager said: "Chelsea did it. I'd say they were nothing like title contenders when Roman Abramovich came in and took over the club. Since he has, they have won titles. Blackburn Rovers did it, too, with Jack Walker, who came to a club that was never winning anything. They spent an awful lot of money on the likes of Alan Shearer, Chris Sutton and Tim Sherwood, and were champions almost straight away. So you've seen it done with Chelsea and you've seen it at Blackburn, so why isn't it possible at Manchester City?"
There will be no extravagant spending at Anfield in this transfer window, although Liverpool officials insist several bidders remain interested in buying out Tom Hicks and George Gillett. Sources close to Huang, however, claim his QSL Sports company is the only serious player in town. Regardless of who is telling the truth, Hodgson believes it is too early in his Liverpool reign – and too late in the transfer window – to embark on a City-style spree, even though Kenny Dalglish was sent on a scouting mission to look at PSV Eindhoven's Carlos Salcido and Ola Toivonen yesterday.
"I'd like money to spend if I had time to research where that money could be spent wisely," he said. "Giving me a lot now and saying: 'Go out and buy some players,' with one week of the transfer window left, would not be tremendously advantageous.
"I've only been here five weeks or so and first of all I'd want to make sure I had assessed absolutely everyone at this club, including those under the first team in the academy, just in case we have an outstanding 17-year-old. We might have a [Javier] Hernández so I don't want to go out and spend £50m on a Hernández if we've got one already in the academy. Secondly, I'd have to make sure we have scouted them as much as possible to make sure they are the same quality as the likes of Gerrard, Reina, Torres and Carragher. We don't want to get someone and find they're no better than what we have.
"Of course I would like money, though, just like Manchester United, Chelsea and every other manager in the league. I'd like to be able to spend that, but the most important thing is to get some stability and a platform so if we have money we can spend it wisely and not waste it."
What Hodgson does have in common with his opposite number at City, Roberto Mancini, is a shared history of managing Internazionale. And he believes that this experience has left them both immune to the respective pressures of Eastlands and Anfield.
The Liverpool manager said: "Mancini has worked at Inter and I don't think any English coach works under the pressure you get there. He's worked there, he's been a top-class player with Sampdoria and Lazio, and won titles at both clubs. Pressure will not be something that bothers him unduly. Inter is Inter. That's real pressure. It's an institution in Italian football, even more than AC [Milan]. They're a traditionally stronger club, they've been doing it since the 1960s. AC have only been doing it since the 1990s."
In Hodgson, Liverpool appointed a manager whose own away record at Fulham last season made them look seasoned travellers in comparison. Fulham won once away from Craven Cottage last year and only four times in total during Hodgson's two full seasons in charge. Asked if he was concerned with Liverpool's away form, the manager replied: "Give me a chance to bugger it up myself first!"
Weiss promises Rangers fans more of the same
After an impressive debut, loan signing Vladimir Weiss says he will continue to work hard for the team - and Kenny Miller.
Vladimir Weiss got his Rangers career off to a flyer with a scintillating 25-minute cameo on Sunday in his side’s eventual 3-0 win over Hibernian. The young Slovakian set up Kenny Miller’s second, as his hat-trick made it two wins out of two for the Ibrox club.
Weiss, who joined on loan from Manchester City last week, was named as a substitute but made an impact within four minutes of his arrival onto the pitch, as Miller scored three against his former club in a 25 minute spell.
Miller was the grateful recipient as Weiss’ intelligent run and cutback allowed the former Hibs player to net in front of the travelling support and the 20-year-old says he is going to help the striker to more of the same.
“That's my job, to create goals and to score them,” Weiss told the Scottish Sun. “I created one against Hibs, so that's a good start.
“We all know Kenny can score from anywhere and he is always going to run at people and try and take the ball from defenders. He won the game for us here. It was a great hat-trick.
“He is going to try to score as many goals as he can this season and I am going to try and set them up for him."
Much was made of Rangers’ thin squad over the summer, after the loss of several key players such as Kris Boyd, Kevin Thomson and Danny Wilson amongst others.
While not every man has been replaced, Weiss has been joined by James Beattie and Nikica Jelavic as Walter Smith looks to maintain a push for his team’s third consecutive league title. The 20-year-old, who turned down an approach from Celtic to join the Light Blues, says he is positive about the season ahead after receiving a warm welcome from his new fans.
“We have a good squad and the players here are enjoying it,” he said. “I think we'll have a good year. I hope the Rangers fans will enjoy watching me. From the moment I came on they were supporting me.
“You need that in a game and it is always good to have, especially when you are making your debut at this age. If the fans are with you it is a good feeling.”
Smith meanwhile was in an upbeat mood at full-time, having seen his team overcome the loss of Kyle Lafferty to a red card shortly before the interval. Miller was the man who will go down in the record books but the manager was keen to talk up his latest arrival afterwards.
“I was quite pleased with the way he played,” said the Rangers boss. “As I have said before, we haven't had a winger in my three-and-a-half years here.
“We have toiled manly to find one and he was one that was brought to our attention. He looks like he could be a huge benefit for us in that respect.
“Hopefully once he gets more games then we will see him come on to an even better level.”
WAG OF THE DAY
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/4412 ... lyn-decker
TRANSFER BOLLOX
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson will look to secure a deal to bring Juventus forward David Trezeguet to Anfield. caughtoffside.com
Arsenal have set their sights on signing Netherlands international goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg and centre-back Jan Vertonghen from Ajax in a £22m deal. caughtoffside.com
Inter Milan striker Victor Obinna is due at West Ham on Monday for talks. Hammers boss Avram Grant has acted swiftly to tee up a possible move for the 23-year-old Nigerian international. Daily Mirror
Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt will stay at the club but Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano could be on his way to Barcelona. Daily Mail
Stoke City are tracking Tottenham striker Peter Crouch.Daily Mail
Paris Saint-Germain playmaker Stephane Sessegnon is keen on a move to England, with Tottenham and West Ham interested in the 26-year-old. Daily Mail
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is preparing a £12.3m bid for Benin international Sessegnon. caughtoffside.com
Blackburn have put a £1m price tag on Jason Roberts - the striker without a squad number. Leeds and Nottingham Forest are interested in the 32-year-old but may wait until the Football League loan window opens next month. Daily Mirror
OTHER BOLLOX
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez faces crunch talks with his chairman Dave Whelan. Martinez wants to bring in two strikers but Whelan is more keen to discuss plans for the defence after the Latics conceded 10 goals in two games. Daily Mirror
Joey Barton sparked controversy last night after appearing to celebrate his opening goal in Newcastle's 6-0 rout of Aston Villa with a Nazi-style salute to the St James' Park crowd. Torygraph
Sir Alex Ferguson faces a series of escalating fines, beginning with a punishment in the region of £1,000, after maintaining his boycott of the BBC in direct opposition to new Premier League rules. Guradian
more later ...
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