Wednesday's B****x (updated)

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Wednesday's B****x (updated)

Postby Chinners » Wed Nov 05, 2014 9:09 am

THE BOLLOX

Fernandinho: The World Cup is history, my focus is on Manchester City

FERNANDINHO has dismissed suggestions he is suffering a hangover from Brazil's World Cup nightmare.
The midfielder has been one of several Manchester City stars yet to recapture last season's form when he played a major part in a Premier League and Capital One Cup double in his debut campaign in England following a £30million move from Ukraine club Shakthar Donestsk.
Compatriot and near-namesake Fernando, a summer arrival from Porto, has increased competition for midfield places and taken his spot in four of the last five games, raising fears Fernandinho is still getting over his country's humiliating 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany in July.
But although he admits he was badly hit for a few weeks in the summer by the stunning result - he made the mistake that led to the second goal in Brazil's first-half meltdown - Fernandinho insists it has not had a knock-on effect since he returned to England in August.
"It is in the past already," he said. "I felt very bad for the first month after the World Cup but when I came back to Manchester I just put my head towards the Premier League and Champions League.
"The World Cup is history. Now I just think about City and try to give my best performances and do the same thing as I did last season.
"I am working hard every day we will see what happens in the future. I will try to do my best. Selection is the manager's decision and you have to respect that."
With playmaker David Silva and Frank Lampard both injured, Fernandinho is set to be recalled alongside Fernando for the vital Champions League home clash with CSKA Moscow tonight, allowing Yaya Toure to push forward into Silva's position.
After taking only two points from their first three Group E games, failure to secure victory tonight will mean City's qualification is out of their own hands and they will need wins from their final two games against Bayern Munich (home) and Roma (away) to stand any chance of progress.
Fernandinho added: "This is a very important game for us if we want to continue in the Champions League. If we win this game, it improves our chances of qualifying for the next stage with two games to go. If we play to our best level we can do it."
Toure, however, believes the World Cup is one of the reasons why City have failed to consistently recapture last season's form is because so many of their players did not complete a full pre-season preparation.
But he still believes once City are firing on all cylinders again they have the quality not only to retain their Premier League title but also lift the Champions League for the first time.
Speaking to Nissan, the official automotive sponsor Champions League, as part of his role as the car manufacturer's global ambassador, Toure said: "Last year was a brilliant season because we'd been able to prepare all together from the beginning. For me as a football player the pre-season is very, very important for the players.
"This season is quite difficult at the moment because we had the World Cup, we travelled around in the summer, we did not have a good rest and then we came back again [to our clubs].
"This year has been tough. Also opponents get used to playing against you, they start guarding you very well, they don't let you have space and they don't let you express yourself on the field. They will try to disturb you, to stop you all the time. That's the difficulty of the game and that's why we love it and that's why I love football.
"We know it's difficult to win both competitions. The Premier League is very, very tough and it takes a lot of your energy. In the Champions League you're playing against very clever teams because it's the competition of the champions of Europe. For us, the perfect scenario is to win both, and we'll try to do it."
Aleksandar Kolarov has joined Silva and Lampard on City's injury list. The Serbia left-back will be out for a month after tearing a calf muscle while warming up for the Manchester derby on Sunday.
Manchester United are still debating whether to turn Colombia striker Radamel Falcao's loan move into a permanent deal. The Red Devils could sign the 28-year-old, who has scored one goal in five matches since arriving from Monaco, for £46m in the summer. (Sun - subscription required)

Milner rejects Scholes criticism: No arrogance at Manchester City
The England international dismissed criticism from the Manchester United legend, who suggested the Premier League champions were underestimating their opposition
James Milner has rejected Paul Scholes's assessment that Manchester City's faltering form is down to "arrogance", but admits the players are aware of the need to improve.
The former Manchester United midfielder claimed, ahead of Sunday's derby which City won 1-0, that the Premier League champions were struggling due to underestimating their opposition.
"There is something about them," Scholes said. "You may even call it a touch of arrogance - that they don't have to take their opposition into consideration."
Sunday's 1-0 win was City's first in four games after losses to Newcastle and West Ham, but Milner is confident the squad are better than anyone on their day.
Milner told reporters: "We go out there with a game plan, and if we hit our standards we can beat anyone - we've proved that.
"We've not been at our strongest over the last few weeks, and the players know that. It's down to us to change that, and the derby win will go a long way to changing it.
"We didn't play as well as we can but it was all about the win."
Milner has faith in City's squad and urged critics to assess Manuel Pellegrini & Co. after the upcoming busy festive schedule.
"We can improve performance-wise, but it was all about getting a win and Wednesday is the same. We have to get three points and if we play to our level we will," he added.
"It's a busy period now - we have an international break coming up but then games come thick and fast and Christmas is always a tough time.
"The league table always seems to change dramatically going into December, and again coming out of it.
"So of we can keep getting the results and get one or two boys back from injury, I am sure we can be in a good position going into the end of the season."

I wouldn't join Arsenal for £60m and two Ferraris! - Kompany
Belgian defender rejected a tongue-in-cheek offer on Twitter from Gunners fan Piers Morgan to make the switch to the Emirates Stadium.
Vincent Kompany has insisted he wouldn't consider joining Arsenal even if offered £60m and two Ferrari sports cars.
The City defender received the joke offer from celebrity Gunners fan Piers Morgan on Twitter on Tuesday evening, after Arsene Wenger's side suffered yet another embarrassing collapse.
Arsenal's place in the Champions League knockout stages looked to be sealed as they led Anderlecht 3-0 with half an hour to play at the Emirates Stadium.
But the Belgians capitalised on some poor defending to drag it back to 3-3 thanks to two goals from Anthony Vanden Borre and a 90th-minute header from Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The result prompted former Anderlecht player Kompany to tweet: "OMG Anderlecht!!"
That post caught the attention of Morgan, who went on to make a £50m offer for the defender's services and, when that was rejected, he wrote: "£60m & 2 Ferraris?"
However, his proposition was quickly rejected by the Blues skipper.
Kompany wrote: "Those days have gone Pearsie, I play for glory. :-)"
“@piersmorgan: £60m & 2 Ferraris?" Those days have gone Pearsie, I play for glory. :-)
— Vincent Kompany (@VincentKompany) November 4, 2014

Toure: Aguero on a par with Messi
Yaya Toure has suggested Sergio Aguero is on a par with Lionel Messi by saying it is difficult to choose between the two Argentinians.
Toure was a team-mate of Messi at Barcelona, where both were members of the 2009 Champions League-winning side. Now he lines up alongside Aguero, who is the Premier League's top scorer this season, for Manchester City.
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While Messi is Barcelona's 363-goal record scorer, has won the Ballon d'Or four times and was named the best player in this summer's World Cup, Toure was reluctant to put him ahead of Aguero.
"I've been able to play with Messi but now I am able to play with Aguero," he told Nissan. "Aguero is a fantastic striker.
"If I have to choose one of them it's quite difficult. Messi is one of the best in the world, definitely, but Aguero as well is strong, clever, he's fast.
"Both strikers are fantastic and I really enjoyed to play with Messi and now to play with Aguero I really enjoy it."
Toure scored a career-best 24 goals last season as City found the back of the net 156 times - and Toure put it all down to Manuel Pellegrini, saying he has thrown off the defensive shackles imposed by Roberto Mancini.
He added: "In the past with Mancini we were a defensive side and with Pellegrini it's totally an offensive side. Any player can enjoy: you have more defensive players and players who prefer more to attack. Every player has his opinion. At the moment with Pellegrini, everybody is very delighted. I think both are fantastic managers."

Mangala happy to fill in for City
Manchester City Eliaquim Mangala is ready to answer the call and play as an emergency left-back for Manchester City in the coming weeks. Manuel Pellegrini's side will be without Aleksandar Kolarov for the next month after he suffered a calf injury prior to Sunday's win over Manchester United. The Citizens still have Gael Clichy to call on but they do not want to risk burning out the Frenchman during a a busy run of fixtures. Mangala, 23, previously played the role on a number of occasions during his time at Porto and is now set to rotate with his countryman. The powerhouse central defender has endured a difficult settling-in period since his much-heralded arrival in the summer. -

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Man City loanee Albert Rusnak takes Netherlands by storm at Cambuur
Man City loanee Albert Rusnak has helped Cambuur climb to a respectable fifth in the Eredivisie.
Groningen players completely lost their heads when facing Albert Rusnak in September in a local Northern derby against Cambuur Leeuwarden. After the Slovakian midfielder opened the scoring with a sublime finish at the start of the second half, they understood stopping him would be nearly impossible and started hunting the youngster all over the pitch. Four Groningen players good booked in just two minutes after two nasty tackles on Rusnak, and coach Henk de Jong decided to substitute the star in order to protect him, before Cambuur ran out worthy 3-0 winners.
John Guidetti is the best Manchester City loanee this season and has impressed mightily at Celtic, but Rusnak is not far behind. Cambuur, promoted to Eredivisie in the summer of 2013, are a small club on a tiny budget and constantly searching for affordable young players who will help them survive. The past season, their play was built around Austrian prodigy Marcel Ritzmaier, who joined on loan from PSV Eindhoven and became a local hero. He went back to his club, and Cambuur needed someone to fill the void. Rusnak was chosen, and just a couple weeks into the new season, nobody misses Ritzmaier anymore.
The Slovakian has not only scored three goals and provided two assists in 11 games but also became the lynchpin in midfield, the man who dictates the tempo and runs the show. Cambuur play very attractive football, based on possession and short passing -- one might call them the tiki-taka team of Holland. That style was introduced last season by Canadian-born coach Dwight Lodeweges, who left for local rival Heerenveen in the summer, and his work has been continued and evolved by former assistant de Jong. For Rusnak, who knew next to nothing about the club before signing for them, it is a dream come true.
The youngster joined Manchester City in 2010 as a 16-year-old, when his father, Albert Rusnak Sr., got a scouting job for the club. Two-footed, imaginative, quick-thinking and technically sound, he was soon regarded as one of the brightest prospects in the academy, but his chances of playing for the first team were, naturally, close to zero.
The past season, Rusnak was loaned out, first to Oldham and then to Birmingham City, but the slightly built wizard could hardly fit into such physically demanding surroundings. He played very rarely, and when on the pitch, he usually just watched high balls fly back and forth over his head. Now, at long last, he is with a team that wants the ball at his feet most of the time.
Marcel Keizer, nephew of Ajax great Piet Keizer, who became the technical director at Cambuur in the summer, is the man responsible for the purchase.
"Rusnak was mostly used as a right winger in England, but we saw that he likes to drift to the middle, has technical skills and good vision," Keizer told Voetbal International about the decision to bring in the Slovakian and turn him into a playmaker.
Rusnak was so willing to get some playing time that he agreed to come for trial before signing for Cambuur. He initially started following the Eredivisie when fellow Slovakian Miroslav Stoch starred for Twente on loan from Chelsea and won the title in 2010. Ever since, the Dutch league was appealing to him, and the decision was easy to make when Cambuur came calling. The loan deal was initially signed until January but is now extended until the end of the season, as all parties are more than happy with his development.
The rough nature of the Championship didn't suit Rusnak when he was loaned to Birmingham.
The 20-year-old is firmly the crowd favourite in Leeuwarden. Local press describe him a humble person, even though he drives a sporty Mercedes.
"He is a gift from football heaven," Cambuur general manager Gerald van den Belt said.
"Albert's contribution is crucial. He is the most pleasant surprise, playing even better than Ritzmaier," local journalist Martijn Mooiweer said.
"He is comfortable on the ball, takes quality free kicks, possesses a good shot and adds a lot of flair," said Henk Albers, the NDC Media reporter who follows Cambuur closely.
The team is exceeding all expectations at the start of the season. After finishing 12th the past term, they were unbeaten in their first five games and climbed to third in late October. This past Sunday, another great goal by Rusnak almost gave them three points at Willem II, but they conceded an injury time equaliser and dropped to fifth -- still an extraordinary place for a club whose basic target is to avoid relegation.
Naturally, Rusnak is still relatively inexperienced and prone to lapses of concentration. In the fierce derby at Heerenveen, he lost the ball immediately after kickoff, and the mistake led to the quickest penalty in Dutch history -- after just nine seconds. De Jong was very angry, but Cambuur came back to salvage a 2-2 draw, and the coach eventually praised his protege.
"Albert is a special guy with great qualities," he said. "He finds space between the lines and is good with both feet."
As Rusnak's contract at City ends in the summer of 2015, an important decision will have to be made pretty soon. The midfielder believes the style of Manuel Pellegrini suits him but is aware breaking into the team will be extremely hard.
"There are no players aged 20 who play for City right now," he told De Telegraaf in late October. "They have Samir Nasri and David Silva in my position. Maybe I will have to stay in Holland for three more years."
Will the Sky Blues gamble on Rusnak next season, or will he join the long list of academy players who couldn't find their way through and were forced to leave? We might have to wait a few months to know the answer, but in the meantime, City fans should certainly follow Cambuur very closely. They won't be disappointed.

New leisure centre opened at Manchester City training campus
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The leisure centre's 70-station gym features equipment from Technogym
A new £9m leisure centre developed by Manchester City Council in partnership with Manchester City Football Club (MCFC) and Sport England has opened its doors to the public.
East Manchester Leisure Centre sits within the Etihad Campus, which includes the City Football Academy – MCFC’s new youth development and training centre – and is part of the ongoing long-term regeneration of east Manchester. One third of the funding for the centre came from the council, with a third from MCFC and a third from Sport England.
Part of the wider Beswick Community Hub, the GLL-operated site is one of three new leisure centres planned for Manchester, with another facility opening at Hough End in spring 2015 and construction due to start on Arcadia in Levenshulme this month.
Designed by architecture firm AHR, East Manchester Leisure Centre features a 35x21m community pool with a moveable floor which allows for depth adjustments. There is also a 70-station gym and dance studio, as well as a number of grass sports pitches outside.
“East Manchester Leisure Centre will provide opportunities and facilities for the community that haven’t been available in the area before,” said Pete Bradshaw, head of corporate responsibility at MCFC.
“It is our shared ambition with Manchester City Council that East Manchester should become a centre of sporting excellence for all – a place of good health and wellbeing and where sport and leisure is widely accessible.”


Spoiler: Show/Hide
Spoilbox

Man Utd manager Louis van Gaal wants to sign Aston Villa captain Ron Vlaar, 29, in January to help solve his defensive problems. (Daily Mirror)

Southampton must pay more than their club-record £15m fee - spent on Italy striker Pablo Osvaldo in 2013 - if they want to sign Palermo's 20-year-old forward Paulo Dybala. (Daily Star)

West Ham fear defender Winston Reid, 26, may leave despite them preparing to offer him a new £23m contract. (Sun)

Unsettled Toronto striker Jermain Defoe, 32, will join Queens Park Rangers in January as Harry Redknapp moves to sign the former Tottenham striker for the third time. (DSSC)

Barcelona forward Luis Suarez, 27, admits he is surprised to be left out of Fifa's 23-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or - the annual award given to the world's best player. (Guardian)

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho concedes he may have been unfair when he criticised Blues fans for being too quiet at home matches. (Daily Star)

Newcastle midfielder Jonas Gutierrez, 31, wants to return to the Premier League club next month to discuss his future. The Argentina international announced on Monday that he had received a 'medical discharge' after having treatment for testicular cancer. (Daily Mirror)

Newcastle legend Kevin Keegan has praised the club's board for standing by under-fire manager Alan Pardew when some fans were calling for his sacking. (Newcastle Chronicle)

QPR defender Rio Ferdinand, 35, has decided not to appeal against the three-match ban given to him by the Football Association for comments he made on Twitter. (Times)

Talks between Real Sociedad and David Moyes about the La Liga club's vacant coaching position have hit a snag, with the former Everton and Manchester United manager's wage demands considered too high. (Goal)

Mexico striker Javier Hernandez, 26, says he has realised a dream by joining Real Madrid and is determined to prove he deserves to stay at the Bernabeu when his season-long loan deal from Manchester United ends. (ESPN)

QPR boss Harry Redknapp says midfielder Joey Barton, 32, faces a fight to regain his place after being out with a hamstring injury since September. (Sun)

Paris St-Germain did try to sign Angel Di Maria, 26, from Real Madrid in the summer transfer window, despite the Argentina winger saying Manchester United were the only side to come in for him. (LeSport10 )

Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren, 25, was one of seven regulars 'rested' for the Champions League match at Real Madrid on Tuesday, much to the disappointment of one-year-old daughter Elena, who travelled to the Bernabeu to watch her dad.

Apoel Nicosia defender John Arne Riise, 34, has voiced his frustration on Instagram at having to miss the Champions League game against Paris St-Germain on Wednesday through injury.

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech, 32, showcased his skills by posting a video on Twitter of him drumming along to the Foo Fighters' hit Walk.

Tottenham midfielder Nacer Chadli, 25, has posed naked for the December edition of Cosmopolitan, to help raise awareness of male cancer. (London Evening Standard )


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Last edited by Chinners on Wed Nov 05, 2014 10:54 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Chinners
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Re: Wednesday's B****x

Postby Ted Hughes » Wed Nov 05, 2014 10:49 am

Cheers Chinners.

Didn't find the last part too appetising though.

Tottenham midfielder Nacer Chadli, 25, has posed naked for the December edition of Cosmopolitan, to help raise awareness of male cancer. (London Evening Standard )

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Might give the updates a miss.
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Some take the bible for what it's worth.. when they say that the rags shall inherit the Earth...
Well I heard that the Sheikh... bought Carlos Tevez this week...& you fuckers aint gettin' nothin..
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