[youtube]zue3-wOH_kI[/youtube]
Manchester City fan Noel Gallagher, claims Roberto Mancini always knows which substitutions to make.
http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/andy-g ... ian-186521
Mancini: Europa League will force me to rotate
Roberto Mancini will rotate following Manchester City's Champions League exit
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is adamant he wants to win the Europa League this season - but will not harm the club's Premier League title defence in order to do so.
The Italian has confirmed he will put his large squad at the Etihad Stadium to full use in the New Year, as he plans to field two completely different lineups in the two competitions in order to prevent fatigue affecting his side.With European games - potentially involving considerable travel - set to take place on Thursday and league fixtures to follow up on Sunday, Mancini sees no other option, despite being keen to walk away with the European trophy.
"Even though we can't go through to the second stage of the Champions League, it is still important we try to stay in the Europa League," Mancini said. "Our target is the Premier League - that has been the case since the start of the season - but we'll still try and stay in the Europa League.
"If in the New Year we could win the Europa League, it could be an important trophy for the club and we need to win something this season and every season.
"But if we go in the Europa League we will play different teams.
"When you play Champions League, you play on a Tuesday or Wednesday, then Saturday or Sunday in the Premier League. But with the Europa League, this is just impossible.
"If you don't get any help from the FA [with scheduling] then this is the problem with the Europa League.
"But we want to play in it. We want to stay in Europe - however, if we do, we will play two different teams, one on Thursday and another one on Sunday."
City's final Champions League group game takes place on Tuesday, but Mancini will be unable to rotate as much as he would like ahead of the weekend's derby meeting with Manchester United due to injuries.
Gael Clichy, Aleksandar Kolarov, James Milner, Micah Richards and David Silva are all carrying knocks, while Yaya Toure is suspended.
He said: "We can't qualify but also we have a problem because we don't have a lot of players. All the players who are available will play [on Tuesday]."
Queens Park Rangers eye Manchester City's Scott Sinclair?
Queens Park Rangers have reportedly outlined a bid for Manchester City winger Scott Sinclair.
The 23-year-old, who moved to the Etihad Stadium from Swansea City in the summer, has failed to make an impact on the first-team and has found himself numerous times on the bench for the Premier League champions.
It is understood that QPR, who are fighting to stay in the top flight, are keen on Sinclair and manager Harry Redknapp is believed to be eager to spend in January, according to The Express.
Sinclair has made just one start in the league for City this season.
MIND GAMES BOLLOX ... Yawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwn
Alex Ferguson: 'If Manchester City lose to Borussia Dortmund, they could be finished'
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has suggested that fierce rivals Manchester City may struggle to get their season back on track if they suffer defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund tonight.
The Premier League champions are already out of the Champions League but they will have no chance of qualifying for the Europa League if they fail to get a result against the German outfit.
Ferguson, who has already secured progression into the knockout rounds of the Champions League, believes that City's stars may lose interest in the rest of the season if they are out of Europe completely.
"City need to beat Dortmund," the Daily Star quotes Ferguson as saying. "I don't think losing for a big club is healthy.
"On one hand you can be fresh for the second half of the season and play a fresh team every week, but how do you keep them all happy if they're out of the League Cup and they go out of the European Cup?
"I don't know enough about the City players as I've never worked with any of them, apart from Carlos Tevez. But sometimes players want to play every week and you want to keep the momentum going and the interest going. I don't know if City would have an advantage. I'm not sure it would suit them."
Meanwhile, United take on Cluj in their European group clash tomorrow.
Borussia Dortmund chief executive says his visit to Manchester City proved English game is losing its soul
Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has criticised the number of foreign owners in the Premier League ahead of the German champions' clash with Manchester City.
Foreign invasion: Man City, ran by Abu Dhabi Investment Group funded by Sheikh Mansour, are one of a number of clubs owned by overseas organisations and individuals
Bundesliga clubs have to adhere to the "50 per cent plus one" rule, which means they are owned by their members, whereas several top-flight English clubs have been bought by individuals, or companies, from overseas.
One prominent example is Manchester City whose takeover by the Abu Dhabi Investment Group funded by Sheikh Mansour led to an enormous investment in the playing staff which culminated in the north-west club winning their first English title in 44 years last season.
Dortmund take on City in the Champions League on Tuesday night. Of their opponents, Watzke told the Guardian: "I am a little bit romantic, and that is not romantic.
"In England people seem not to be interested in this - at Liverpool they are fine for the club to belong to an American. But the German is romantic: when there is a club, he wants to have the feeling it is my club, not the club of Qatar or Abu Dhabi."
He added: "Germans want to have that sense of belonging. When you give [the supporters] the feeling that they are your customers, you have lost. In Germany, we want everybody to feel it is their club, and that is really important.
"In former times in England I think the relationship between the club and supporters was very strong. Our people come to the stadium like they are going to their family. Here, the supporters say: it's ours, it's my club."
Dortmund have had their financial ups-and-downs, almost going bankrupt in 2005, but now arguably boast one of the most successful models in Europe - producing exciting young players like Mario Gotze and Nuri Sahin and having the opportunity to sell them on for great profit.
Added to cheap ticket prices which produce regular 80,000 crowds at their imposing stadium, they are the envy of many clubs across the continent.
"Here, it is our way to have cheap tickets, so young people can come," Watzke said.
"We would make 5 million euros more a season if we had seats, but there was no question to do it, because it is our culture. In England it is a lot more expensive. Football is more than a business."
MANCHESTER TITLE RACE
+3PT +1 GD
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]'I wouldn't swap with City' – Wenger
Arsene Wenger has claimed Arsenal were in "fantastic shape" and said that he would not want to trade places with Manchester City.
Arsenal are languishing in 10th place in the Premier League after making their worst start for 18 years but, unlike City, are still in all four competitions. Saturday's 2-0 defeat against Swansea provoked loud booing from the Arsenal supporters and widespread criticism, particularly after Wenger highlighted fatigue as an explanation for such a poor display.
Wenger, though, described the reaction against Arsenal over the past 48 hours as "unbelievable" and complained of "superficial analysis". He also urged players and supporters to remember the bigger picture. "I can take a distance if it goes well, or less well," said Wenger. "I don't believe I'm the king of the world when it goes very well or the worst manager in the world when it does not got so well.
"We live in a world that needs a drama every day. The world has become more emotional about every single thing but that is not the real world. This club is in fantastic shape. We have a good team, we have a strong structure that we have built over the years, we are in a strong financial situation and we are mentally strong. That is a fact."
Arsenal have qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League and the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup but are already 12 points behind Manchester City in the league. Asked directly if he would swap places with City, who are out of both the Champions League and League Cup, Wenger said: "No. For one simple reason. We have played 15 games in the league, we have 23 games to come back. We can make it up. Once you are out in a cup competition, you are out. You can't make it up."
For all his relentless public focus on the positives, Wenger has never been under greater scrutiny during his 16 years at Arsenal. After the loss against Swansea, there were also heated dressing-room exchanges, but Wenger suggested that he was pleased to see some emotion from his players.
"Nothing really happened," he said. "Do you want them to dance after a game we lost? On one side you can't say you want them to care and be passionate. I would be more worried if I see them laughing in the shower after we lost. We were naive against Swansea, we wanted so much to win that we forgot first not to lose."
Wenger also believes that he has been misunderstood over his reference to the physical tiredness of players, with many pundits pointing out that other teams were coping with a similar schedule.
"People don't understand tiredness very well in England," he said. "They think you can only be tired at the end of season. It's a lack of freshness. It is not an excuse. That we were not fresh is only a part of the explanation.
"At the moment it is fashionable to be against Arsenal, so every single word you say people turn it against you. It's superficial analysis of things to turn it against you when it suits you. It doesn't stop me saying what I truly believe. I have one pressure: to win football matches and to play the football I love."
Wenger's concerns about the freshness in his squad, allied to Arsenal's guaranteed progress in the Champions League, will lead to sweeping changes against Olympiakos in Athens tonight.
Victory combined with Montpellier gaining at least a point in Schalke would secure first place but, with only Barcelona, Malaga and Manchester United – whom Arsenal cannot draw due to Uefa's country protection rules which apply until the quarter-finals – guaranteed to finish first, the strength of their possible opponents is impossible to determine. Real Madrid, Paris St-Germain, Juventus and Valencia are all currently second in their respective groups.
Mikel Arteta, Lukas Podolski, Santi Cazorla, Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud, Bacary Sagna, Kieran Gibbs, Per Mertesacker, Andre Santos and Jack Wilshere have all remained in London. Jernade Meade is likely to make his debut at left-back while Chuba Akpom, Martin Angha, Zaj Ansah, Sead Hajrovic, Elton Montiero and James Shea have also travelled despite having never played in either the Premier League or Champions League.
With the January transfer window approaching, Andrei Arshavin, Sebastien Squillaci and Marouane Chamakh will also have what might amount to a final chance to salvage their Arsenal careers.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants to sign Schalke striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, 29, next month and the Dutchman could be available for a cut-price £6m. DSSC
Wenger is also ready to go all out to sign Demba Ba, 27, by triggering a £7.5m buy-out clause in the Newcastle striker's contract. Sun
Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge has demanded an £80,000-a-week salary to join Liverpool in January. The 23-year-old reportedly also wants a guarantee that he will be played through the middle rather than out wide. Daily Mirror (who didn't dsee that one coming?)
Italian side Juventus have joined Manchester United in pursuit of £1m-rated Austrian striker Marcel Sabitzer, 18. talkSHIT
Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp has told Manchester United to forget about signing striker Robert Lewandowski, 24, next month. Sun
United, though, are prepared to wait until the summer to sign the Poland international from the German champions.
Daily Telegraph
Midfielder Wesley Sneijder, 28, has alerted Manchester City and Manchester United to his availability after talks to stay at Inter Milan broke down. Guardian
QPR midfielder Esteban Granero, 25, can leave the club for just £5.5m if the Hoops are relegated this season. Metro
Chelsea have adopted an unofficial policy of not criticising referees in post-match press conferences amid fears of a backlash following the Mark Clattenburg affair. Independent
Interim manager Rafa Benitez has told Chelsea's hierarchy that he does not want Avram Grant to join the club as an adviser. Guardian
Chelsea defender David Luiz, 25, has added to the sense of crisis at Stamford Bridge by claiming that he regularly rows with his team-mates . Daily Star
Manchester United have added to speculation Nani will be sold in January by leaving the 26-year-old Portuguese out of their 2013 club calendar. Daily Mirror
West Brom boss Steve Clarke has insisted he will have funds to strengthen his squad in January. Express and Star
Manchester United defender Phil Jones, 20, says getting dumped out of the Champions League group stages last season made the side stronger in the European competition this season. Manchester Evening News
Everton defender Sylvain Distin, 35, who is out of contract at the end of the season, hated his recent spell out of the team but says it has helped convince him he wants to extend his career in the Premier League. Sporting Life
Arsenal's majority stakeholder Stan Kroenke has splashed out £80m on an American ranch the size of 71,000 Emirates Stadium pitches. DSSC
More pregnant women in Mexico City go into labour when Manchester United forward Javier Hernandez is on the pitch, while crime goes down according to the capital's police chief Jorge Carlos Martinez. Metro
TV MATCH RESCHEDULING BOLLOX
Date changes for Barclays Premier League matches. The Premier League have announced the following fixture changes:
Queens Park Rangers v Norwich City
New date: Saturday 2 February (12.45pm)
Reason for amendment: Live on Sky Sports
Fulham v Manchester United
New date: Saturday 2 February (5.30pm)
Reason for amendment: Live on ESPN
West Bromwich Albion v Tottenham Hotspur
New date: Sunday 3 February (1.30pm)
Reason for amendment: Live on Sky Sports
Manchester City v Liverpool
New date: Sunday 3 February 2013 (4pm)
Reason for amendment: Live on Sky Sports
Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United
New date: Saturday 9 February (12.45pm)
Reason for amendment: Live on Sky Sports
(In the event Manchester United are involved in the Champions League the next Tuesday, this will move to Sunday 10 February, 4pm and remain live on Sky Sports)
Southampton v Manchester City
New date: Saturday 9 February (5.30pm)
Reason for amendment: Live on ESPN
Aston Villa v West Ham United
New date: Sunday 10 February (1.30pm)
Reason for amendment: Live on Sky Sports
Manchester United v Everton
New date: Sunday 10 February (4pm)
Reason for amendment: Live on Sky Sports
(In the event that Manchester United are involved in the Champions League the following Tuesday this match will revert to Saturday 9 February, 12:45pm and remain live on Sky Sports)
Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion
New date: Monday 11 February (8pm)
Reason for amendment: Live on Sky Sports
Fulham v Stoke City
New date: Saturday 23 February (12.45pm)
Reason for amendment: Live on Sky Sports
Manchester City v Chelsea
New date: Sunday 24 February (1.30pm)
Reason for amendment: Live on Sky Sports
(This match is subject to Chelsea’s possible participation in the Capital One Cup Final).
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur
New date: Monday 25 February (8pm)
Reason for amendment: Live on Sky Sports
(This match is subject to possible FA Cup 5th-round replay participation)
Please note that all matches on the final day of the 2012/13 Barclays Premier League season (Sunday 19 May, 2013) will now kick off at 4pm.
