Rumour Mill: Round Up Of Friday's Press Rubb....Stories

A fair few bits and bobs in the papers today, some of which are worth the time of day, some of which aren't even worth being wrapped around your sausage and chips.  Picking the wheat from the chaff isn't overly difficult in a few of these cases, but lets get on with it.


First up is the ongoing Nigel De Jong saga, Italian sporting website Tuttomercatoweb have tested my language skills (google translator) this morning and are reporting that Liverpool are keen to move for the Dutch destroyer.  In recent months the midfielder has started to get back to where he was last season, but he is still not one of the first names on the teamsheet as he has been in times gone by.  He still offers plenty, but whether he is content to remain a squad player is unclear, and on top of that the issues with his contract still persist.  De Jong has one year remaining on his current deal, an offer was on the table last Summer that was turned down, and it appears that an improved one is not forthcoming.  The Italian sports site reckons that King Kenny (or whoever makes the transfer decisions since the departure of Comolli)  would be prepared to offer around £15million, which to be honest would not be a bad deal considering he could theoretically leave for nothing next Summer.

Personally I would like to see him stay, he is a real fan favourite and has shown total commitment to the cause even during his contract troubles, I am sure a middle ground could be found to tie him down.  As for the Liverpool side of things, whilst De Jong is a top player in that position, it is one area that they already have quality, although he has been out all year Lucas does a very similar job and is an extremely good player so whether anything comes of their supposed interest remains to be seen.


De Jong is actually an important part of the next story as well, although this time he isn't the star! Step forward chimp like Tottenham flying machine Gareth Bale.  This one is splashed across the back page of The Mirror and surely that should tell you all you need to know about its credibility.  As I write this piece, the following quotes are spreading like wildfire on twitter:

"Gareth Bale is a fantastic player. But I don't think he will leave a big team like Tottenham,".

Make of that what you will, is Roberto trying to out 'Redknapp' Harry? The fact is that Gareth Bale probably will leave Spurs (one of many) should they miss out on Champions League football, and I would certainly have him at City....but not for the figures suggested in todays Mirror.  The paper reckon we are going to offer the ridiculous figure of £40million....plus Emmanuel Adebayor.....and Adam Johnson.....oh and Nigel De Jong as well.  To be quite honest if we did make that offer, Spurs would be absolute fools to not take it, but to offer that sum of money and then potentially 3 players worth about another 40? No chance!

Now to throw in a quick one before the main event!  Back to our Italian friends Tuttomercatoweb, and the future of Brazilian 'fullback' Dani Alves.  To keep to the point, he won't be joining City this Summer or any time soon.  He has been linked to us numerous times over the past few years, particularly during his protracted contract negotiations with Barcelona, but it is now reported that he wishes to stay in the Catalan capital for a while longer.


I can't see I am overly disappointed personally, we already have one fullback who struggles with the defensive side of his game (Kolarov) and I am not quite sure we need another, besides, with the marauding Micah Richards and the warrior-like Pablo Zabaleta I really don't see that area of the field as one that needs strengthening in the slightest.


Now for the big one...Eden Hazard!  It has been a very eventful few days for the Belgian, and there could now be the biggest indication as to where his future lies, well, at least geographically.  According to the rumour mongering French newspaper L'Equipe the wingers next move will definitely be to England, counting out the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona, and more precisely, it will be to Manchester...which club though is still unknown.


Allegedly he was at the derby on Monday and more intriguingly there are claims that his people were entertained by the City delegation at the recent Wolves game.  These 2 events have led some in the media to suggest that we are in pole position for his signature, but I doubt it will be as straight forward as that as the United hierarchy are though to be extremely keen on securing him themselves.  Mancini and Vieira have flown to France on a couple of occasions to watch the 21 year old and both are said to have been extremely impressed.  

The decision for the player is relatively simple, he knows should he join City he will be part of a squad, but he will also earn more money and arguably be challenging for more honours, where as at United he is guaranteed to be a starter week in and week out.  The other advantage that we posses is the posse of French speakers we have, as well as the presence of his national captain Vincent Kompany.  Personally I expect the Hazard saga to run and run, but I would be very surprised if he ended up anywhere but Manchester, and if I had to pick, i'd say I can see him holding up the blue shirt in the near future.

Rumour Mill: United 'Wonderkid' To Cross The City?

Don't worry, it isn't Ravel Morrison, but according to numerous press reports fellow United youngster Paul Pogba could be on his way to the blue side of Manchester.


The midfielder was bought from French club La Havre 2 years ago in exchange for a few Mars bars and a twix.  The actions of United were questioned and in fact the players former employers reported the Old Trafford team for making an illegal approach for the player.  Ultimately Sir Alex Ferguson and the club were cleared of any wrong doing, but could all that work be for nothing?


This isn't just rumour mongering from the tabloids, there has been mooted suggestions for months that all was not well for Pogba at United and with 6 months remaining on his contract there is no sign of him renewing.  Whether it is a lack of first team opportunities or just greed on the part of the player and/or his agent isn't exactly clear, but for some reason negotiations appear totally stalled.

What is known though is the reputation that the 18 year old has.  His name has been thrown about for over a year now with members of the press and United fans telling anyone that would listen that he is essentially the second coming.  Maybe it is the sceptic in me, but I do have a couple of doubts over that, I am sure he is a good player and he could be as marvellous as people tell me, but if he was that good would he not have made more appearances for the first team than he has? Sir Alex is not normally afraid of throwing young players into the mix if they are good enough, so why not the Frenchman?


Either way the story seems to be gathering momentum.  The basic facts are these, from January onwards the player will be free to discuss a deal with any clubs that wish to sign him, there would be a fee for United, set be a tribunal, however traditionally the figure awarded is always incredible small (as happened to us with Sturridge).  The Independent believe that negotiations between player and club are not showing signs of successful conclusion alerting many interested parties.

The list of suitors appears to be long and contain many of the biggest clubs in Europe, with Arsenal, Inter and AC Milan all monitoring the situation closely.  The paper though reckon it is City who might have the best chance of agreeing a deal with the player, and that is down to the presence of Patrick Vieira, Pogba's hero.  The 18 year old has been likened to the World Cup winner on numerous occasions and there are definite similarities in their game.  Vieira plays an important role in player recruitment at City and should Roberto Mancini green light a move for Pogba the former Arsenal man will no doubt be involved.


Clearly if the combative midfielder is as good as people claim his signature would be a real coup, but as far as I am concerned there could potentially be a darker side to this story.  I do wonder if we are being used by the player and his agent to secure a larger pay packet for the youngster at Old Trafford.  This interest from City and other clubs could force United to offer him a much improved financial deal than the one currently on the table.  There is no evidence to support that, but it is definitely a possibility, if it is the case expect to see numerous 'Wonderkid Snubs City' headlines splashed across the back pages.

If we focus on the positive however it would be a move that I would approve of (as if my input is worth anything!), we need to change our player recruitment model with FFP in mind and securing top talent at a young age for a good price would be extremely beneficial.  This one is definitely worth waiting on, and we will see just how far the influence of Paddy can reach.

A Few Thoughts On The Derby...

Some days it is really not hard to write about this wonderful football club, and today is one of those days.  This really is more of a collection of my thoughts in the aftermath of yesterdays tormenting of Manchester United, many things have gone through my mind in the last 24 hours and I have tried my best here to collect them together.


1) The Power Hasn't Shifted....Yet.

Call it what you want 'Six In The City', the 'Demolition Derby' or one of the many other puns doing the rounds but the real significance of the game is that City are now proving their point.  The power has not shifted, we will have to win the league a couple of times before we can claim to be the totally dominant team in Manchester/Salford but we can now stand proudly alongside that lot from Stretford, the 'noisy neighbours' are going to the next level.

For quite a while now, journalists, supporters and players have all spoken about Manchester City and said that having all this money is one thing, but they have to prove themselves to be real contenders and with the destruction of United yesterday we did just that, we all felt we should be have been taken seriously before this weekend but now more than ever the team has proved they are going somewhere, and that is great to see.


2) We Are Now A Team Not A Group Of Individuals

A common criticism of the club in the past has been that City have been merely a group of individuals and there have been questions about how much the players 'want it'.  I hold my hands up and say that at times over the past couple of years that attitude has been totally understandable, there have been some players that pulled on the City shirt with their mind on the money, not on the team or 'project'.  I think those claims can now surely be put to bed, the idea that there is no team spirit in the camp is now quite frankly laughable.  The celebrations at the end of the last minute victory over Villareal were fine evidence of just that, and the win yesterday has further underlined it, the collection of hugely talented players is becoming a team.


3) Nothing Is Won In October

As soon as the final whistle blew yesterday, Sky announced that City were now favourites for the Premier League title, a similar sentiment was portrayed by Alan Hansen on MOTD claiming it was our title to lose, apparently Collymore on TalkSport said the same thing...it's all a load of rubbish, we are in October.  Our form has been superb, played 9, won 8, drawn 1.  Five points clear of United, and 6 points ahead of Chelsea, there are no complaints from me, and we will be there or there abouts come May, but to claim the title race is over is farcical.  We must hold our hands up and say that before yesterday we had enjoyed a lovely run of fixtures, we past the derby test with flying colours but there are more challenges to come and nothing has been decided just yet so lets not get ahead of ourselves.  In many ways we need to ignore the pressure coming from outside and just focus on winning games of football, lets not worry about the title for a few months yet!


4) Just Who Is Our Best Striker?

A little bit of a stat attack for your, Edin Dzeko has hit 8 goals in 7 games, Kun Aguero has netted 9 in 8, and Super Mario has notched up 5 in 5.  All 3 are in absolutely devastating form, but if we just had to pick one, who would it be?  Going into the season Balotelli was probably 4th choice, but now he appears undroppable, the problem is so do Aguero and Dzeko.  The Italian linked up with the Argentine brilliantly at times yesterday, and Dzeko proved that although he may be a slightly erratic finisher at times he definitely knows where the back of the net is, in all honesty I still think Aguero looks the most prolific, but it is a very difficult quandary to ponder, one this is certain though, who needs Carlos Tevez?


5) How Good Is James Milner?

A lot of City fans feel the need to have a boo boy, someone to make a scapegoat for disappointing results and for long spells last season that man was James Milner.  At times I got sick of being one of the dissenting voices, insisting he was a top player.  He is starting to prove that now, and it may have been some time coming, but it has certainly been worth it.  He has managed to demonstrate not only his immense defensive skills, he has also shown his supreme work rate as well as some fantastic work in the final third.  It was not worth forgetting that he kept Nigel De Jong out of the team yesterday and that is no mean feat.  If he continues with this great form it is going to result in some real selection issues for Bob.