Transfer news...

Transfer news...

[h=1]Sunday's gossip column - transfers and rumours[/h]
gossip_466.gif
TRANSFER GOSSIP
Manchester City are considering making a £60m move for Wayne Rooney.
Full story: Sunday Mirror
Although Rooney is not for sale, he has warned manager Sir Alex Ferguson that Manchester United must buy world-class players or he will leave.
Full story: Mail on Sunday
Manchester United have emerged as late contenders for the signature of Bolton defender Gary Cahill.
Full story: the People
Chelsea have told Frank Lampard they will not allow him to join a Premier League rival - but he can move abroad.
Full story: the People
Marek Hamsik's agent has revealed the Napoli midfielder would be interested in a transfer to Chelsea.
Full story: Metro
Left-back Eric Abidal has emerged as a free transfer target for both Liverpool and Manchester City as the France international approaches the end of his Barcelona contract.
Full story: Metro
Manchester City are weighing up a move to recruit Ivory Coast midfielder Cheick Tiote from Newcastle, pipping rivals Manchester United and Chelsea.
Full story: Sunday Mirror
Queens Park Rangers manager Neil Warnock says he needs to bring in five players to keep the club in the Premier League.
Full story: talkSPORT
Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish has claimed that Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish told him personally that he is not interested in signing striker Darren Bent.
Full story: ESPN
Tottenham are ready to offer cash plus Roman Pavlyuchenko for Marseille striker Loic Remy.
Full story: Inside Futbol
Germany international Marco Reus could still be in line for a big-money move to Arsenal despite confirming a summer transfer to Borussia Dortmund this week.
Full story: talkSPORT
OTHER GOSSIP
Carlos Tevez is facing a £1m fine from Manchester City for going back to Argentina in November and failing to return to the club.
Full story: the People
Neil Warnock fears the sack this month after QPR's run of just two points from their last eight Premier League matches.
Full story: the People
Michael Essien, who has not played all season because of a knee injury, could be set to make his return for Chelsea reserves this week.
Full story: Sunday Mirror
AND FINALLY
Paolo Di Canio called for a memorial to be erected to his Swindon Town players after the League Two team pulled off the shock of third-round day with a 2-1 FA Cup win over Premier League strugglers Wigan Athletic.
Full story: Guardian
 
[h=2]Manchester City v Manchester United, FA Cup third round, 1pm Sunday 8 January[/h] [h=1]Manchester United face slow death if City turn the knife in FA Cup[/h] More than the possibility of an FA Cup run is riding on this Manchester derby for Sir Alex Ferguson and United




Wayne-Rooney-and-Sir-Alex-007.jpg
Wayne Rooney's relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson has come to the fore in the run-up to the FA Cup third-round tie against Manchester City. Photograph: Scott Heppell/AP

Wayne Rooney is overpaid and overweight, and fast becoming the most overrated player for club and country since David Beckham. Manchester United are heading the same way as Liverpool did in the 90s, and Sir Alex Ferguson and the owners are in denial about the club's shocking decline. Fergie cannot keep saying there is no value in the transfer market when his side have just been stuffed by a Newcastle team who picked up Demba Ba, Cheik Tioté and Yohan Cabaye for around the same amount he wasted on Bébé last season, or less than half the sum he spent on a goalkeeper he no longer appears to trust fully. And now for the good news. At least United do not have to worry about catching Barcelona any more. Working out how to beat Blackburn should be much easier.
A week is a long time in football, especially one that includes two unexpected defeats, and trawling the extensive comments section that followed the Manchester Evening News's online match report from Newcastle there was scant evidence of the eulogies or the universal admiration that had greeted the beloved leader's 70th birthday a matter of days earlier.
Even if allowance ought to be made for the possibility that some of the more caustic observations had been posted by Manchester City fans, in a derby week anything goes. Particularly when the derby is in the third round of the FA Cup, and United have already made ignominious exits from the Carling Cup and the Champions League. Particularly when Ferguson is hoping to avoid a run of three defeats in meaningful, mid-season matches for the first time in almost 20 years, since a losing spell that predated Eric Cantona's arrival and the manager's first English title. "Never has a derby match meant so much to the Reds," the MEN's editorial rather grandly proclaimed. "This Cup game is the most important in living memory for United."
Ferguson does not see it quite like that. "You want the FA Cup to be a break," he says. "You don't get that if you are playing your local derby, but this is exactly what happened in my first season in England. We drew City then, but at least we were playing at home." United won that tie 1-0 with a goal from Norman Whiteside. The neighbours back in 1987 featured Perry Suckling in goal, Mick McCarthy at the back and Imre Varadi at the front, and under Jimmy Frizzell, the first of 14 City managers Ferguson has encountered in his 25 years in Manchester, were heading for Division Two.
The difference now, not that Ferguson likes to admit it, preferring to praise Tottenham's football whenever he has the chance, is that City's rise has put United's shortcomings under a ruthless spotlight. You would not know it to listen to the moaners and the doubters, but United still have a chance of the title this season. They are much better placed than Arsenal or Chelsea and, though their injury problems are real and their financial situation seemingly unhelpful, they have all the experience in the world upon which to draw if it comes down to a face-off against City or Spurs in the run-in. Despite the six points dropped in the past two games this is still one of United's best starts to a Premier League campaign, and in only one previous season had they scored more goals by this stage. Yet even though they have form over course and distance and a reputation for growing stronger after the turn of the year, the perception remains that they will enter some sort of meltdown should City inflict a third successive defeat.
On the whole any meltdown appears unlikely, if only for the simple reason that it is usually a mistake to base any sort of prediction on the result of a derby. United survived being beaten by City in the FA Cup last year and still ended up champions, and, though it may take another month or so, they will eventually get most of their missing midfielders back. "We've enough experience to cope," Ferguson says, although he does admit to being shocked at how comprehensively his most experienced available side had been outfought at Newcastle. He was not alone.
There has been something untypical about United's past two defeats: they seemed to accept their fate without protest. There was no barnstorming of the Blackburn goal in the final 10 minutes at Old Trafford, and there was no fight and therefore no prospect of recovery at Newcastle. Ferguson claimed only last week that United were good at losing, in that they usually respond to setbacks and disappointments with a firm statement of intent, but the normal level of feistiness has lately been missing. They are in danger of becoming meek losers, which would be so un-United and un‑Ferguson. The mere possibility of displaying insufficient appetite for a derby has City fans abuzz with excitement.
Ferguson complained after the 6-1 Premier League humbling that his players had been too naive in chasing the game when there was no realistic prospect of gaining a result, leaving opportunities for City to score more goals instead of accepting defeat and organising themselves for damage limitation. That may have been a realistic appraisal, but it was an unusual one, and the first of a series of un-United events this season. It was followed by the sequence of one-goal wins, with Rooney deployed conservatively in midfield, which in turn was followed by the low-key performances against Benfica, Crystal Palace and Basel. Those were expensive opportunities lost, though at least United could cling to the flimsy excuse that they did not see the danger until it was too late. That will not wash with a Manchester derby.
The big game on Sunday afternoon has been billed as such in flashing lights since the moment the Cup draw was made. At almost any point in the past 25 years United players and fans would have been looking forward to it with just as much enthusiasm as their City counterparts, away from home or not. If that has changed in the past week, and one senses that it may have, it would be the most un‑United development at all.
United were so unrecognisable against Blackburn a few boos from home supporters were heard as early as the end of the first half. Should they lose their swagger to the extent of failing to get up for the most important derby in living memory (copyright: MEN) then Ferguson cannot rely on a three-year love-in before handing the reins to someone else. It is already being suggested that he has stuck around too long, by the same bloggers who were remarking even before the club released a statement on the matter on Friday night that Rooney's body language practically screams that he is no longer happy in his work or enamoured of his manager. Contrary to popular opinion, United fans do not demand the earth from those who wear the shirt, though they do expect them to look as if they are enjoying it. Several pointed out that in addition to being the bargain of the season, Newcastle's free-scoring Ba plays with a smile on his face instead of a scowl.
"You will get criticism in this job, but you learn not to take it personally," Ferguson says. "People are entitled to their opinions but I don't have to read them." Quite so, and if Ferguson is in need of support, his rival manager is more than willing to provide it. "We are very close to United now, but even if we finish on top this season I think Sir Alex can stay for many more years," Roberto Mancini says. "When you have won 12 titles you can do anything you like. Nothing that happens now can damage his reputation. After 25 years, it would be impossible."
Maybe so, but a third defeat in three games would, at the very least, make Ferguson feel his age. Back in the mists of time, it was an FA Cup win that kept him in his present job. "It can be a useful break from the league," he says. "But only if you get a result."
 
[h=2]Manchester City v Manchester United, FA Cup third round, 1pm Sunday 8 January[/h] [h=1]Sir Alex Ferguson powerless to stop Manchester United empire crumbling[/h] Manchester United may go on to win the Double, but there can be no happy ending for a decaying club




Alex-Ferguson-007.jpg
Sir Alex Ferguson looks on as his side suffer a 3-0 defeat by Newcastle United on 4 January. Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images

It did not take a couple of spineless defeats to Blackburn and Newcastle, or a reminder of the apparently inexorable breakdown in the relationship between Sir Alex Ferguson and Wayne Rooney, to confirm that Manchester United are on their knees ahead of Sunday's FA Cup tie at Manchester City. The defeats and the latest Rooney story barely registered. After a while, you stop noticing the nails going in the coffin.
There is a perception, born of ignorance or sandyheadedness, that United fans complaining about the state of the club are just spoilt brats who can't handle the odd bad result. Poppycock. You would be surprised how many fans welcome defeats, even humiliations, on some level, because they hasten an industrial cleansing of the club that has been necessary since United embarked on the road to ruin with the Glazers on 12 May 2005. The sooner United hit rock bottom, the sooner the club can regain its identity.
Every significant aspect of the club is decaying. The squad is riddled with uncertainty. The star player, Rooney, has gone from having a sulk every football season to a sulk every calendrical season and seems certain to have one fallout too many with Ferguson sooner rather than later. The fans have been replaced by consumers, people who see no contradiction in draping a green-and-gold scarf over a replica shirt and who seem to take their attitude from Nirvana: here we are now, entertain us. The wall of silence against Blackburn was a shocking nadir.
The Glazers are siphoning money in such staggering quantities that, in the past three years, United's net spend is lower than that of Hull City, Blackpool and Burnley. There are now rumours of a move for Frank Lampard and a return for Paul Scholes. Lampard, Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Michael Owen and Rio Ferdinand. All hail the geriátricos.
Then there is the manager. In terms of results, Ferguson has arguably never been better than in the past few years, manipulating limited resources and imposing his obscene will to stunning effect. Last season's title was almost entirely down to him. Ferguson is a miracle of longevity who has emerged triumphantly from deeper holes than this in the past, and may do so again. Yet all genius is finite. It is not just all political lives that end in failure.
Ferguson has looked weary in the past two games, slumped passively in his chair when before he would have prowled the touchline, liberally applying the fear of God. His often eccentric selections have started to verge on the wilfully perverse. He is also picking more fights than usual, almost bringing to mind the last days of Tony Montana and Tony Soprano as they burned bridges with humanity.
Ferguson often says nobody is bigger than the club, yet there are signs that he has started to believe in his own omnipotence. His greatest strength – the absolute conviction that no challenge is too great – may become his defining weakness. It's a textbook tragedy: a genius unwittingly presiding over the excruciatingly slow ruin of the empire he created. United may beat City on Sunday and go on to do the Double; it does not matter. There can be no happy ending here.
 

[h=2]Manchester City v Manchester United, FA Cup third round, 1pm Sunday 8 January[/h] [h=1]Sir Alex Ferguson powerless to stop Manchester United empire crumbling[/h] Manchester United may go on to win the Double, but there can be no happy ending for a decaying club




Alex-Ferguson-007.jpg
Sir Alex Ferguson looks on as his side suffer a 3-0 defeat by Newcastle United on 4 January. Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images

It did not take a couple of spineless defeats to Blackburn and Newcastle, or a reminder of the apparently inexorable breakdown in the relationship between Sir Alex Ferguson and Wayne Rooney, to confirm that Manchester United are on their knees ahead of Sunday's FA Cup tie at Manchester City. The defeats and the latest Rooney story barely registered. After a while, you stop noticing the nails going in the coffin.
There is a perception, born of ignorance or sandyheadedness, that United fans complaining about the state of the club are just spoilt brats who can't handle the odd bad result. Poppycock. You would be surprised how many fans welcome defeats, even humiliations, on some level, because they hasten an industrial cleansing of the club that has been necessary since United embarked on the road to ruin with the Glazers on 12 May 2005. The sooner United hit rock bottom, the sooner the club can regain its identity.
Every significant aspect of the club is decaying. The squad is riddled with uncertainty. The star player, Rooney, has gone from having a sulk every football season to a sulk every calendrical season and seems certain to have one fallout too many with Ferguson sooner rather than later. The fans have been replaced by consumers, people who see no contradiction in draping a green-and-gold scarf over a replica shirt and who seem to take their attitude from Nirvana: here we are now, entertain us. The wall of silence against Blackburn was a shocking nadir.
The Glazers are siphoning money in such staggering quantities that, in the past three years, United's net spend is lower than that of Hull City, Blackpool and Burnley. There are now rumours of a move for Frank Lampard and a return for Paul Scholes. Lampard, Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Michael Owen and Rio Ferdinand. All hail the geriátricos.
Then there is the manager. In terms of results, Ferguson has arguably never been better than in the past few years, manipulating limited resources and imposing his obscene will to stunning effect. Last season's title was almost entirely down to him. Ferguson is a miracle of longevity who has emerged triumphantly from deeper holes than this in the past, and may do so again. Yet all genius is finite. It is not just all political lives that end in failure.
Ferguson has looked weary in the past two games, slumped passively in his chair when before he would have prowled the touchline, liberally applying the fear of God. His often eccentric selections have started to verge on the wilfully perverse. He is also picking more fights than usual, almost bringing to mind the last days of Tony Montana and Tony Soprano as they burned bridges with humanity.
Ferguson often says nobody is bigger than the club, yet there are signs that he has started to believe in his own omnipotence. His greatest strength – the absolute conviction that no challenge is too great – may become his defining weakness. It's a textbook tragedy: a genius unwittingly presiding over the excruciatingly slow ruin of the empire he created. United may beat City on Sunday and go on to do the Double; it does not matter. There can be no happy ending here.
 
[h=1]Man City ready to outbid United and Chelsea for Toon star[/h] Published 22:57 07/01/12 By Oliver Pickup

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...wcastle-star-Cheick-Tiote-article850250.html#
Liverpool-v-Newcastle-Premier-League-Cheik+Tiote+cropped


Manchester City are weighing up a decisive move to recruit Cheick Tiote from Newcastle.
In the last month the Toon midfielder has been linked to City's neighbours Manchester United and Chelsea, who are understood to be willing to lodge a bid in excess of £25million.
But City boss Roberto Mancini would love to outmanoeuvre them, and is close to making a shock bid for the 25-year-old Ivory Coast star who is off to the African Cup of Nations.
Mancini is sending scouts out to the tournament in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea to watch how Tiote plays alongside countryman Yaya Toure, midfield kingpin of table-topping City.

The former Barcelona midfielder, used by Mancini in a more attacking role than he played during three seasons at the Nou Camp, was one of the reasons that Tiote moved to the Premier League in August 2010.
Yaya and elder brother Kolo, along with Chelsea striker Didier Drogba – another Ivorian – convinced the combative Tiote to leave Dutch club
FC Twente believing that his raw physicality and ball-winning skills would be a hit in England.
The £3.5m Newcastle paid for Tiote now seems a bargain – he has become a fans' favourite in the North East, and is one of the reasons Alan Pardew's team have been riding high in the Premier League this season.
Mancini must now decide whether to outbid Chelsea. The City manager has been reviewing his squad and one concern may be that City need more guile than drive from their midfield as opponents sit deep against them.
That's why Nigel de Jong has made so few appearances this season.
If the Ivory Coast, whose solitary success in the competition was in 2006, do well in this campaign there is a high likelihood that City's oil-rich owner Sheikh Mansour will sanction a bid for Tiote.
If he were to sign for City, another familiar face would be centre-back and skipper Vincent Kompany, who was a rising star at Anderlecht when Tiote joined the Belgian club in 2006.
The Ivory Coast squad met in Paris yesterday before flying out to Africa, and the Toure brothers – as well as Tiote and their national team-mates – were not allowed special dispensation to remain in England for longer.
Mancini had hoped that he would be able to select the brothers for today's FA Cup third round clash with bitter foes United at the Etihad Stadium.
 
[h=2]Arsenal v Leeds United, FA Cup third round, 7.45pm Monday 9 January[/h] [h=1]Thierry Henry alone cannot save Arsenal's season[/h] Arsène Wenger may have re-signed a legend, but should be looking for more firepower if his side are to challenge come May



Thierry-Henry-007.jpg
Thierry Henry celebrates one of his 226 goals for Arsenal in his previous spell at the club, from 1999 to 2007. Photograph: Carl De Souza/AFP/Getty Images

If the restart of his Arsenal affair is to begin against Leeds United on Monday night, it is almost impossible that Thierry Henry's mind won't at some stage drift back to a rendezvous with the same opposition what must feel like a lifetime ago.
"I've seen most things in this league in the last 25 years. I haven't seen anything like him." So gushed Andy Gray on a warm April evening in 2004, having just witnessed Henry, in all his finery, placing four goals past Leeds. To give an idea of how comfortable this particular footballer felt in his own boots at the time, one of the goals was a cockily chipped penalty which sailed straight into the middle of the net.
For another he seared past three defenders at such pace he lost his balance, but while he was actually in the process of falling over he improvised to steer a shot round the goalkeeper. Considering even gravity couldn't stop him from scoring it was clearly quite a task for Leeds's keeper, Paul Robinson.
Some context: this happened during a season loaded with meaning for both clubs. Leeds tumbled out of the top flight, the consequence of the reckless financial gamble they are paying for to this day. As for Arsenal, having swamped Leeds, they went out in their next game to clinch the title at White Hart Lane and eventually finished the league campaign undefeated.
Henry's statistics over the season reflected his dominance. He scored 44 goals in 63 games for club and country. He was voted double player of the year for the second consecutive season. He was almost flawless.
Well, almost. If there was any criticism to level at Henry when he was in his Arsenal pomp it was the notion that he was not the man for the biggest occasions. Rewind just a couple of weeks before his quartet against Leeds, and his team had been aiming for a treble. In four harrowing days their targets were slashed as they were knocked out of the FA Cup and Champions League by Manchester United and Chelsea respectively. When they got back to business in the league, they stumbled against Liverpool. Losing 2–1 at half‑time, Arsenal looked like they were on the verge of nervous breakdown. The choke of all chokes was on the cards.
Come the second half Henry shook old Highbury's rafters with a hat‑trick to reignite the title charge. It took what one of Arsenal's coaches could only describe as "big balls" to clamber back up from the floor. "When you are a winner, you are never in doubt," Henry proclaimed at the time. "We came out with such hunger and I have never seen the team feel such vibrations."
Henry's attacking accomplices that day were Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg. As soon as Arsène Wenger feels ready to pick his old protege again he will be part of a very different Arsenal, with considerably different pressures and aspirations.
In analysing the usefulness of this loan deal, much has been said about how Henry has changed in the five years he has been away. Clearly the turbo charge he once possessed has been replaced by a slower engine, but if the other qualities of touch and intelligence have remained intact, he should be able to make an impression.
But it is just as valid to talk about how the club have changed. Henry has been training with the team for months now. He knows their strengths and weaknesses. He only had to watch the flaws exposed in the defeat to Fulham and the inability to dispatch Wolves to see that whatever help he can muster will be very welcome indeed.
Ask the Arsenal crowd who they would like to see if Robin van Persie is unavailable or needs some assistance. Is it: a) a 34-year-old former legend on loan from the MLS?, Or b) a Morocco striker with one goal all season? Or c) a South Korean who has not been trusted to have one minute of Premier League football since signing in August? We can more or less guess that the answer to the power of 60,000 would be unanimous, save for a any members of the Marouane Chamakh and Park Chu-young families.
And that scenario explains why the most important aspect of Henry's signing is that it should not be the be-all and end-all of Arsenal's attacking reinforcements this January. As cover for Gervinho and Chamakh during the Africa Cup of Nations this renewal of footballing vows makes plenty of sense. But what happens when Henry jets back to the States?
What happens when the season hits the kind of crunch time that saw Arsenal shudder in the cups back in 2004 and they need the instincts of a world-class striker to see them through? What happens when the Champions League resumes and the key games in the chase for a top‑four finish are in front of them? Who will share the goalscoring burden with Van Persie then?
To sustain the recovery Arsenal made from their abject start to the season, Henry needs to be the beginning of the January transfer story, not the end of it.
 
[h=2]Arsenal v Leeds United, FA Cup third round, 7.45pm Monday 9 January[/h] [h=1]Thierry Henry alone cannot save Arsenal's season[/h] Arsène Wenger may have re-signed a legend, but should be looking for more firepower if his side are to challenge come May



Thierry-Henry-007.jpg
Thierry Henry celebrates one of his 226 goals for Arsenal in his previous spell at the club, from 1999 to 2007. Photograph: Carl De Souza/AFP/Getty Images

If the restart of his Arsenal affair is to begin against Leeds United on Monday night, it is almost impossible that Thierry Henry's mind won't at some stage drift back to a rendezvous with the same opposition what must feel like a lifetime ago.
"I've seen most things in this league in the last 25 years. I haven't seen anything like him." So gushed Andy Gray on a warm April evening in 2004, having just witnessed Henry, in all his finery, placing four goals past Leeds. To give an idea of how comfortable this particular footballer felt in his own boots at the time, one of the goals was a cockily chipped penalty which sailed straight into the middle of the net.
For another he seared past three defenders at such pace he lost his balance, but while he was actually in the process of falling over he improvised to steer a shot round the goalkeeper. Considering even gravity couldn't stop him from scoring it was clearly quite a task for Leeds's keeper, Paul Robinson.
Some context: this happened during a season loaded with meaning for both clubs. Leeds tumbled out of the top flight, the consequence of the reckless financial gamble they are paying for to this day. As for Arsenal, having swamped Leeds, they went out in their next game to clinch the title at White Hart Lane and eventually finished the league campaign undefeated.
Henry's statistics over the season reflected his dominance. He scored 44 goals in 63 games for club and country. He was voted double player of the year for the second consecutive season. He was almost flawless.
Well, almost. If there was any criticism to level at Henry when he was in his Arsenal pomp it was the notion that he was not the man for the biggest occasions. Rewind just a couple of weeks before his quartet against Leeds, and his team had been aiming for a treble. In four harrowing days their targets were slashed as they were knocked out of the FA Cup and Champions League by Manchester United and Chelsea respectively. When they got back to business in the league, they stumbled against Liverpool. Losing 2–1 at half‑time, Arsenal looked like they were on the verge of nervous breakdown. The choke of all chokes was on the cards.
Come the second half Henry shook old Highbury's rafters with a hat‑trick to reignite the title charge. It took what one of Arsenal's coaches could only describe as "big balls" to clamber back up from the floor. "When you are a winner, you are never in doubt," Henry proclaimed at the time. "We came out with such hunger and I have never seen the team feel such vibrations."
Henry's attacking accomplices that day were Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg. As soon as Arsène Wenger feels ready to pick his old protege again he will be part of a very different Arsenal, with considerably different pressures and aspirations.
In analysing the usefulness of this loan deal, much has been said about how Henry has changed in the five years he has been away. Clearly the turbo charge he once possessed has been replaced by a slower engine, but if the other qualities of touch and intelligence have remained intact, he should be able to make an impression.
But it is just as valid to talk about how the club have changed. Henry has been training with the team for months now. He knows their strengths and weaknesses. He only had to watch the flaws exposed in the defeat to Fulham and the inability to dispatch Wolves to see that whatever help he can muster will be very welcome indeed.
Ask the Arsenal crowd who they would like to see if Robin van Persie is unavailable or needs some assistance. Is it: a) a 34-year-old former legend on loan from the MLS?, Or b) a Morocco striker with one goal all season? Or c) a South Korean who has not been trusted to have one minute of Premier League football since signing in August? We can more or less guess that the answer to the power of 60,000 would be unanimous, save for a any members of the Marouane Chamakh and Park Chu-young families.
And that scenario explains why the most important aspect of Henry's signing is that it should not be the be-all and end-all of Arsenal's attacking reinforcements this January. As cover for Gervinho and Chamakh during the Africa Cup of Nations this renewal of footballing vows makes plenty of sense. But what happens when Henry jets back to the States?
What happens when the season hits the kind of crunch time that saw Arsenal shudder in the cups back in 2004 and they need the instincts of a world-class striker to see them through? What happens when the Champions League resumes and the key games in the chase for a top‑four finish are in front of them? Who will share the goalscoring burden with Van Persie then?
To sustain the recovery Arsenal made from their abject start to the season, Henry needs to be the beginning of the January transfer story, not the end of it.
 
[h=1]Arsenal ready to offload flop forward[/h] Published 22:57 07/01/12 By Bill Mills

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...shavin-in-January-for-12m-article850308.html#
Arsenal-Olympiakos-Arshavin-Champions-League+cropped


Andrey Arshavin holds the key to Arsene Wenger's spending in the January transfer window.
The 30-year-old Russian striker who cost £17.5million when signed from Zenit St Petersburg three years ago is regarded as surplus to requirements at The Emirates.
He has failed to reproduce his best form on a consistent basis and manager Wenger would listen to offers, in the region of £12m, for the man who will captain Russia in Euro 2012 this summer.

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[h=1]PSG set to land Lampard - and they want Rooney[/h] Published 22:58 07/01/12 By David Jeffs


England-Wayne-Rooney-Frank-Lampard-Ashley-Cole-cropped


The full version of this story appears in today's People.
England ace Frank Lampard is on the brink of joining a mega rich French club – who are also targeting Wayne Rooney.
The move to Paris Saint- Germain would reunite Lamps with ex-Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti.
The Italian, now leading PSG backed by £37billion of Arab oil money, is also a huge fan of Rooney, said to be ready to leave Manchester United after falling out with manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
 
[h=1]David Silva benefits from second season syndrome at Manchester City[/h] The Spanish forward has enjoyed a superb second half of 2011 – 2012 brings the promise of even greater possibilities




David-Silva-007.jpg
David Silva's performances this season have changed the way he is perceived in Spain. Photograph: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images

When David Silva returned home for duty with the national team last October, he sat down for an interview with the Spanish media to reflect on what his admirers in England regarded as an oddity. Yes, everybody the world over acknowledges that Spain is overflowing with gifted footballers and there is only room for 11 in any starting selection, but was it not possible for space to be found for such a beguiling bundle?
Silva, who had been one of Vicente del Bosque's picks for the opening game of the 2010 World Cup triumph, which resulted in a shock defeat to Switzerland, saw barely any action in the tournament after that. Contemplating his place in the Spanish footballing constellation, Silva chose his words carefully. He felt resigned, he admitted, to a secondary role in the national team. "I was the only victim of the loss against Switzerland," he explained. "The manager doesn't count on me. I think the fact I didn't sign for Real Madrid or Barcelona has counted against me."
Out of sight and out of mind? Too much of a luxury? Just not trusted enough? Whatever the player thought of his chances under Del Bosque, everything was about to turn 180 degrees. Silva started both of Spain's October fixtures in European Championship qualification. He excelled in wins against the Czech Republic and Scotland. Most intriguingly, he played in what Spaniards call the "false striker" position, the role currently defined by Lionel Messi at Barcelona. Silva placed himself at the forefront and showed his compatriots the combination of relentless playmaking, dribbling, a precision final pass and an eye for goal that has become such an expressive part of Manchester City's make-up.
It might just be that events have conspired to give Silva a role in the Spanish team that few would have envisaged for a small and slender craftsman who specialises in providing. The world champions have something of a striker crisis at the moment, what with David Villa's injury, Fernando Torres's form, and Fernando Llorente's fitness causing an array of worries beyond the usual suspects. Mind you, Spain being Spain, Silva even has competition for the new slot. Cesc Fábregas has also auditioned impressively as a false striker.
Silva's point about struggling to be noticed because he signed for Manchester City and not one of Spain's superpowers when he left Valencia is an interesting one. But you could argue that his consistently high-calibre displays this season in England have actually changed perceptions of Silva for the better.
Nobody is surprised by the technique, which was always there in his Valencia years, but seeing Silva responding to the mammoth levels of expectation at Eastlands, and producing every week in the physical world of the Premier League, does no harm to the reputation of a boy from the Canary Islands, where the people are stereotyped as laid-back and easy going. Silva was never exactly renowned for mental toughness. Yet he has played more minutes of Premier League football this season than any of the other attacking players at Roberto Mancini's disposal. In fact from the whole squad, only the strongest of the spinal players - Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, and Yaya Touré - have spent more time in the fray.
Silva believes the difference in his game this season is a by-product of the team's evolution. City are by nature more adventurous. The arrival of an attacker he clicked with instantly in Sergio Agüero, and the fact that Mario Ballotelli and Edin Dzeko are, like him, more settled, into the rhythm of the team, reap obvious rewards. Silva already has more goals for City this term than he did all last season. That fruitful October got even better for Silva when he returned, after his Spain appearances, to a City team making their most powerful statement yet in the 6-1 demolition at Old Trafford, the Spaniard named man of the match.
Looking back on that astonishingly slick team performance, Silva contributed something that made him stand out even though every player scored high marks that day. The box of tricks he took out on to the pitch for the derby was the glitter on the icing on the cake. The Spanish have a word for it. They would call him a jugones, someone who loves to play. An entertainer.
There are not many national teams in the world who would not find room for one of those in their first XI. If 2011 looked like Silva's turning point for club and country, 2012 brings the promise of even greater possibilities.
 
[h=1]Sneijder to United! Donnelly to Liverpool! 10 transfers we expect to happen in the window[/h]
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By Darren Lewis in Mirror Football Blog
Published 09:52 28/12/11



http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opi...t-to-happen-in-the-window-article846816.html#
moves.jpg



Incredibly, it's that time again already when clubs desperate to achieve their goals start scouting around for the players they can pinch mid-season.
Don't believe anyone who tells you it will be a quiet one.
The clubs at the bottom of the Premier League are bang in trouble and need urgent reinforcements.
At the top, Manchester United need fantasy in their midfield, Arsenal need back-up for Robin van Persie. Liverpool need an alternative to misfiring Andy Carroll to support Luis Suarez, Chelsea need a clearout to make way for fresh blood and Spurs will be hunting the "mega-signing" that Harry Redknapp believes will put them in with a shout of the title.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, Martin O'Neill needs more striking options at Sunderland. Everton and QPR too are a touch light up front.
And Newcastle need to sell to fund moves for a new striker to back up Demba Ba and a new defender.
A quiet window this January? No chance. Here are 10 moves we expect to happen...
1. Gary Cahill: Bolton to Chelsea
Only 26 years of age and Chelsea want him to recreate the effective central defensive partnership that has done well for England alongside John Terry.

2. Jan Vertonghen: Ajax to Newcastle
Alan Pardew needs a central defender badly with Steven Taylor out for the season. Vertonghen looks a good player. He's only 24 but he has already won 35 caps for Belgium and won the Dutch championship.
The only problem for Newcastle is that Spurs are also interested as well.

3. Carlos Tevez: Man City to AC Milan
We all know what Tevez can do in front of goal. We also know the problems that come with him but Milan want to sign him.
The only problem is City only want to sell and Milan only want to take him on loan.
Again, watch out for Spurs with this one. Harry Redknapp has been making noises about being interested in taking Tevez.
If Spurs were to get him they would have a real, real chance of being up there in the fight for the title in the second half of the season.

4. Wesley Sneijder: Inter Milan to Manchester United
Forget what everyone is saying about his injury record. I think United will sign him and I think United will get him right and I think he will be fantastic for them.
He's 27 and the word is that Milan will have sell to raise funds to rebuild at the club.

5. Thierry Henry: New York Red Bulls to Arsenal
He is 34 but he can still do a job. He knows the club, he knows the players and the way Arsenal play suits him down to the ground.
Arsenal lose two strikers to the African Cup of Nations and Henry would be a great move even at his age.

6. Nicky Maynard: Bristol City to Fulham
Everton are also keen on the striker whose contract expires at the end of the season but Martin Jol looks set to move in first this January.

7. Rory Donnelly: Cliftonville to Liverpool
Seen as the best player to ply his trade in the IFA Premiership for years and has a stack of clubs from England after him. The reason? Goals.
In total the 6ft 2in battering ram has 17 for the campaign and, at around £100,000 he will be a bargain if he can make the jump to Premier League football.
Scouts will have seen he has pace, strength and a good work rate.
Swansea and Everton have been joined by Liverpool Arsenal and Manchester United, no less, in running the rule over him.
Swansea have moved quickly to try and tie up a deal but Liverpool have stepped up their interest. Kenny Dalglish likes him. A lot.

8. Salomon Kalou: Chelsea to PSG
At 26 still got a lot of football in him. Has always known where the goal is but has more fashionable footballers ahead of him at Chelsea.
His contract runs out of the end of the season and billionaire French club PSG are keen to give him a new home. An approach has already been made.

9. Sebastien Bassong: Spurs to QPR
A fine squad player for Spurs but Bassong wants to play more regularly.
The Hoops almost completed a move for him on the last few days of the summer transfer window but were beaten by the clock.
Since then Bassong has been performing well for Spurs but has still been a fringe player at the club. The move beckons.

10. Andy Johnson: Fulham to Blackburn
Can't agree a new deal at Fulham where the brutal truth is that boss Martin Jol just doesn't fancy him.
Blackburn need more firepower up front and, at £2million or thereabouts, are willing to do the deal.
 
[h=1]Rooney now on Ferguson list for revenge[/h]
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By Simon Mullock in Mirror Football Blog
Published 22:40 07/01/12



http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opi...Ferguson-list-for-revenge-article850765.html#
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Sir Alex Ferguson doesn't care how his revenge is served up. He likes it hot or cold.
So, from the moment Wayne Rooney found the courage to question Manchester United's ambition in October 2010, you can be sure that his name was added to a list that also includes Norman Whiteside, Paul McGrath, Jaap Stam, David Beckham, Roy Keane and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Forget it was Ferguson who was instrumental at keeping Rooney at Old Trafford by telling the Glazers to pay the striker £250,000 a week to resolve a contract issue.
Fergie knew he could not afford to lose his best player when he was hell-bent on winning a 19th championship that would finally shove Liverpool off their perch.

But Rooney may have just crossed the boss once too often with the Boxing Day dinner that cost him his place in United's team on New Year's Eve.
United needed Rooney to fire them to a victory over Blackburn to take them top.
Instead, they lost 3-2 and although Rooney was recalled for the trip to Newcastle, he was a shadow of his usual self as United were beaten 3-0.
No player is supposed to be bigger than Manchester United. Yet Rooney seems to be and something has to give.
Unless football has finally worn Ferguson out completely, there will be another showdown.
And, as usual, it will be a 70-year-old Scot choosing the time and the place.
 
[h=1]It is as if the Manchester United players have realised what an ordinary side they are[/h]
Mirror+Football+Blog+profile+pic

By Martin Lipton in Mirror Football Blog
Published 22:30 05/01/12



http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opi...enge-facing-Alex-Ferguson-article849566.html#
manchester-united-dejection-newcastle-cropped



If you spend three months spinning plates, eventually you fail to stop them falling off the poles.
And on Tyneside on Wednesday, the sound of crockery crashing down around Sir Alex Ferguson was deafening.
All season, even when Manchester United were flying and the emergence of Tom Cleverley, Phil Jones and Danny Welbeck had the nation talking, Ferguson's team were something of a high-wire act.
The goals were flying in - never more than on that remarkable afternoon when Arsenal were splattered for eight - yet, even then, the creaks and cracks were there.

Everybody bought into the glory of the Emperor's New Clothes. Until people started spotting the truth.
That a staggering nine of the 16 players United used in winning the Community Shield in August - plus Darren Fletcher, Javier Hernandez, Antonio Valencia and Michael Owen - have had long-term absences.
That central midfield, once the engine-room dominated by Roy Keane or Paul Scholes, is now a position of vulnerability.
That the incredible run of injuries have forced chopping and changing, rather than the consistency of selection any team needs.
First came Manchester City (ominously, next up for United at Eastlands in Sunday's FA Cup tie). Then Basel. Then Crystal Palace.
And now, in the space of just five days, we have had Blackburn and Newcastle.
Ferguson, a man who would have found chewing a wasp more palatable than his side's limp surrender in front of the Gallowgate, counselled his players not to "panic" in the face of adversity.
"We've got the patience and experience to cope," he said after Wednesday's game. "But we need to get the show on the road for the run-in, particularly March and April."
Ryan Giggs, too, opted to downplay the significance of the 3-0 defeat.
"You can have these nights, nobody likes them and nobody wants them but it can happen," said the Welsh veteran. "We have a great scoring record this season so hopefully this is just a one-off and we can get back to scoring ways on Sunday.
"It is obviously a big game against City in the FA Cup. The atmosphere will be good, we'll take a load of fans there and hopefully we can get back to winning ways."
Suddenly, though, it doesn't feel or sound like United.
Ferguson will not accept the stringent critique of former Old Trafford goalkeeper Mark Bosnich, who claimed allowing a birthday serenade before the Blackburn game was a sign of Fergie "self-indulgence" and added on talkSPORT: "I know a lot of people are too scared to say it, but it starts with the manager.
"I don't think he's got anyone around him anymore, or that any of the players are strong enough to challenge the decisions he's making and what he's doing."
Ferguson, of course, does not need telling how to do his job.
The fire still burns as strong as ever and the one guarantee is that the United dressing room will have been told their last two displays have simply not been good enough. Were unacceptable.
Yet when City showed the first real signs of a wobble in the draw at West Brom and defeat at Sunderland, the old United, the one that felt supremely confident, would have taken advantage, pushed down on the accelerator and sprinted to the front of the pack.
Against Newcastle, it was almost as if the team looked at itself in a new light, in the wake of the Blackburn embarrassment, and suddenly realised just how ordinary it is.
City, without doubt, will have been doing cartwheels as Jones' own goal confirmed United's fate. Aware that, despite their own modest festive results, they gained points on all of their rivals - except the one club that nobody, seriously, thought were genuine contenders - Tottenham.
Yet at White Hart Lane, now, there is a new attitude.
The upper echelons are not talking about Spurs as champions. Not yet. But for the first time they think it is, truly, possible.
With three of their next four games at home - the match in hand against Everton, then Wolves and, after a massive trip to City on January 22, Wigan - Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will bankroll a January strengthening exercise, believing that the previously undreamed is now within reach.
Spurs remain outsiders, as do Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger's response to the defeat at Fulham suggested he felt a victory at the Cottage would have made his men serious contenders, and while Kenny Dalglish is having to cope without Luiz Suarez, Andre Villas-Boas is not giving it up for dead yet.
Indeed, the Chelsea boss suggests the results in the second half of the season in the mini-league between the top six, of which his men are currently second bottom and City top, may yet prove decisive.
Villas-Boas said: "Bearing in mind the six teams that are so close together in the Premier League table, I would say those top clashes between them can have a big impact on how the league can end. But first of all we have to do our job and show our competence and consistency."
Competence, consistency. But most of all, courage. That will be decisive.
For the first time, though, United look vulnerable, and others look stronger.
***
FESTIVE FIXTURES LEAGUE TABLE
P W D L F A Pts
1 Sunderland 4 3 1 0 9 3 10
2 Tottenham 4 2 2 0 5 2 8
3 Man City 4 2 1 1 6 1 7
4 Arsenal 4 2 1 1 5 4 7
5 Everton 4 2 1 1 4 3 7
6 Bolton 3 2 1 1 5 5 7
7 Man Utd 3 2 0 2 12 6 6
8 Newcastle 3 2 0 2 8 6 6
9 Swansea 4 1 2 1 4 3 5
10 Chelsea 4 1 2 1 5 6 5
11 Norwich 4 1 2 1 5 6 5
12 Liverpool 4 1 2 1 4 5 5
13 Stoke 4 1 2 1 4 6 5
14 Fulham 4 1 2 1 4 8 5
15 Blackburn 4 1 1 2 6 7 4
16 Aston Villa 4 1 1 2 4 5 4
17 WBA 4 1 1 2 3 4 4
18 Wolves 4 0 3 1 5 6 3
19 Wigan 4 0 2 2 3 11 2
20 QPR 4 0 1 3 4 7 1
 
[h=1]Why Liverpool have stopped fighting the Suarez verdict but not the way it was reached[/h]
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By David Maddock in Mirror Football Blog
Published 23:00 04/01/12


http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opi...hed-David-Maddock-opinion-article849190.html#
Liverpool-QPR-Luis-Suarez-Premier-League+cropped



It is the most controversial case ever to come before the FA, and certainly one with more mud-slinging than any in modern football history.
But on Wednesday, after months of accusation and counter-accusation, of claims of conspiracy and contempt, Liverpool finally offered a hint of a conciliatory tone amid the outrage of the racism row that has reverberated around the world.
In offering a public apology, Luis Suarez has at least acknowledged his words - or word , as he maintains - could have caused offence, even if he insisted he "never, ever" intended anything derogatory.
The striker has accepted his eight-match ban, and will sit out the next month with the intention of rebuilding a reputation that has been severely damaged by the case brought against him by the Football Association.

Liverpool, too, will quietly begin the process of restoring an image they realise has been tarnished by an affair which has so seriously polarised football.
Senior officials at the club accept mistakes were made - and certainly the whole case, from the very beginning, could have been handled differently.
But they also maintain that the issue of racism and the accusations against Suarez were so gravely serious - and the potential for widespread condemnation so dangerous - they were faced with little alternative but to defend their player with such vehemence.
That point forms the heart of the case they will make to the FA as they move forward this week, and begin the healing process that is so clearly required following one of the most unsavoury recent chapters in football's chequered history.
While Liverpool now accept Suarez was guilty - in the sense of using the word negro towards Patrice Evra, and also accept its use could be considered derogatory, even if it was never meant to be - they believe there should be serious changes in the way such important cases are heard.
They will approach the FA for talks in the coming days and push for a full inquiry into the disciplinary process, which currently calls for only a "probability" of guilt, even for cases as serious as accusations of racism.
In the UK, using inflammatory racist language is a serious criminal offence which can carry a prison sentence.
Liverpool argue Suarez has now essentially been condemned for such an offence by many people, without a proper trial.
They will ask the FA to consider a more vigorous procedure which demands more concrete evidence than what they claim is merely a balance of probability in judging one man's word against another.
The club will also question the use of a disciplinary committee that is selected by - and beholden to - the FA, when the governing body may be subject to the political agenda of the time.
Reds manager Kenny Dalglish raised the idea, on Tuesday evening, that Suarez was a man in the "wrong place at the wrong time", because the FA had a political agenda which was set in motion by their stance against Sepp Blatter's outrageous comments on the issue of racism.
While that seems a fanciful idea, Liverpool will argue that, in matters of such a serious nature, there should be a very different disciplinary procedure.
Yesterday, they argued not against the verdict, but against the process which arrived at that verdict.
Dalglish had spoken of evidence that was ignored or dismissed by the disciplinary committee, which, he says, proves his player's innocence.
Liverpool have shed some further light on that evidence, pointing to the fact that Evra's evidence did not appear to be subjected to the same level of scrutiny as that of Suarez.
In particular, they argue their own player was asked for his own version of events without having recourse to a video of the two-minute period where the two players had an angry exchange.
Evra though, was allowed access to the video, and was, Liverpool claim, "coached" through the incident.
Suarez's testimony was changed after he was allowed to see the video, but his club argue that is only natural, as no one has total recall, and video evidence can have a powerful prompting effect.
There is also a suggestion on the Liverpool side that Evra's testimony changed frequently - most notably when his claim he was racially abused "at least 10 times", was changed to five times.
Liverpool maintain this was one of the most inconsistent aspects of the whole case - of fundamental importance to the credibility and accuracy of the accusation - and yet it has been barely given weight by the commission.
They also feel the fact Evra admitted provoking Suarez with abusive language of his own should have led to disciplinary procedures, but was again ignored, as was the issue of why their player pinching the Frenchman was given so much importance by the committee, when Evra himself didn't even recall the incident.
Liverpool accept their case could certainly have been handled better, and there are those within the club who believe they were naive to admit anything when the issue was first raised in the referee's office immediately after the game.
One senior figure suggested they had been "too honest", in cooperating so openly. Next time, he said, there would be no such cooperation.
The club will also consider asking the FA if they will back a move to take the case to the Court of Arbitration in Sport to gain a definitive verdict.
Officials at Anfield though, essentially want to move on, and they hope the belatedly apology can be the first step towards restoring the tarnished image of player and club.
Despite the feeling of support towards their player, there is an acceptance Suarez should not have used the word, and, in that sense, is guilty of the charge, if not of the wider accusations of racism that followed.
 
[h=1]Man United face losing top starlet for just £300k[/h] Published 22:30 31/12/11 By MirrorFootball

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...el-Morrison-for-just-300k-article847806.html#
Ravel+Morrison-Manchester+United+cropped


Manchester United are in danger of losing teenage attacking *sensation Ravel Morrison to Europe's *biggest clubs for just £300,000 compensation.
The 18-year-old is acknowledged as the best player to emerge from the Old Trafford academy in a generation.
Yet United are dragging their heels on a new deal as his present contract expires in the summer.
That will alert foreign clubs to the England Under-19 international.
 
[h=1]Fergie predicts transfer window spending bonanza[/h] Published 22:45 31/12/11 By Derek Allsop

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/new...r-window-spending-bonanza-article847855.html#
alex-ferguson-empty-seats-cropped


Football clubs will defy the shadow of recession and carry on spending in 2012.
That is the stark prediction from Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson on the day the transfer market reopens for mid-season business.
Ferguson maintains he is in no rush to join the sales, but he suspects others may take the plunge in the never-ending scramble for success - if the right players are available.
The Scot, 70 on Saturday, said: "I don't think the recession seems to apply to football. I haven't seen it yet. Transfer fees seem to escalate, agents fees seem to escalate - it just seems to get more and more. So I don't think the recession hits football for some reason.
 
[h=1]Liverpool and Arsenal target Toon star[/h] Published 22:57 07/01/12 By MirrorFootball

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...Demba-Ba-s-release-clause-article850770.html#
demba-ba-newcastle-manchester-united-goal-cropped


The full version of this story appears in today's People.
Liverpool and Arsenal are keen to trigger Demba Ba's transfer release clause.
A £10million bid is needed from a club finishing in either the top six or playing European football to talk terms with the Premier League's in-form striker.
Read the full story here
 
[h=1]Man United target Bolton defender[/h] Published 22:58 07/01/12 By Steve Bates

http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...sea-in-hope-of-late-swoop-article850775.html#
gary-cahill-bolton-cropped


The full version of this story appears in today's People.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was last night keeping tabs on Gary Cahill's *proposed move to Chelsea.
And he wasn't the only one as Bolton boss Owen Coyle aims to use the cash from Cahill's *impending departure to fund an audacious bid for Blackburn *contract rebel Junior Hoilett.
Bolton and England *defender Cahill, also being tracked by Tottenham and Arsenal, looked set to

complete an £8million move to Stamford Bridge after the two clubs agreed on a fee.
But Cahill's personal terms – thought to be around £120,000-a-week – have held up the deal.
Read the full story here
 

[h=1] [/h]
[h=2]Manchester City 2-3 Manchester United[/h] [h=1]Roberto Mancini's tactical revision was not enough for Manchester City[/h] The manager's half-time changes gave his side an attacking mentality and self-belief but his 10 men could not quite make up the ground they lost to Manchester United in the first half




Manchester-City-v-Manches-007.jpg
The athleticism of Pablo Zabaleta, centre, helped Manchester City's midfield in the second half against Manchester United. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

The holders are out. Despite a wonderful physical effort by a weary Manchester City, they could not make up the lost ground caused by the events of the first half. Wayne Rooney's first goal was superb but Chris Foy's decision to send off Vincent Kompany, in keeping with his erratic decision-making during the Stoke City v Tottenham Hotspur game last month and QPR's win over Chelsea in October, was the main reason two heavyweights were unable to serve up a lunchtime feast of football.
With Sergio Agüero a lone forward for City and Rooney dropping to aid his midfield, United comfortably dominated the first period with their one-man advantage. Danny Welbeck's pivot and technique and Rooney's penalty appeared to give United an unassailable lead. However, Roberto Mancini's tactical revision, which was reminiscent of André Villas-Boas's rejig against QPR for Chelsea, kept supporters on tenterhooks. Moving Samir Nasri closer to Agüero, introducing Pablo Zabaleta's athleticism and Stefan Savic alongside Joleon Lescott, he sacrificed his two cleverest creators, David Silva and Adam Johnson. I wonder if City might have snatched a dramatic draw if Silva had stayed on instead of the casual Nasri.
Regardless, City's back line now contained two attacking full-backs, with Aleksandar Kolarov forcing Antonio Valencia to defend, but were vulnerable when United attacked down the right. United should have had a penalty when Kolarov fouled Valencia – another error by Foy. City's midfield, which was supported at every opportunity by Kolarov, transferred an attacking mentality to the home side and gave them some self-belief. James Milner's indefatigable effort from central midfield was noticeable.
City had to move the ball steadily. The longer passes allowed United to win the ball back on a day when their defence was nervous despite their lead. The changes initially suggested Mancini had come to terms with a fait accompli, accepting a 3-0 defeat and settling for damage limitation. United were composed when they had possession in midfield, as Rooney intelligently dropped deeper to help them keep the ball. When City did regain possession, they had to build moves with care.
When Agüero's sharp finish brought the score back to 3-2 it was still a mammoth task for City, provided United used their experience. With Rooney further forward and Danny Welbeck replaced by Anderson to give the midfield fresher legs, City grew even wearier but continued to battle bravely.
I have long thought that when teams are reduced to 10 men, they must keep forwards upfield or they give unopposed possession to opposition defenders and it is impossible to stop a stream of attacks building up. Here Mancini kept two men forward and gambled his defence would stay firm. In truth Costel Pantilimon had little to do in the second half and United were not looking to increase their lead, rather to make the most of the fortune they enjoyed in the first half.
Many years ago, Wimbledon, who were the kings of direct football, were often reduced to 10 men, but more than one of their managers kept the opposition at bay by using two or three players in attack and, in effect, playing a 3-4-3 formation. One could not expect City to suddenly play direct football and bypass midfield like Wimbledon; that style is foreign to them, but also they did not have the attacking personnel required to implement such a system.
This was a fascinating game because of City's rally in the second half, and both teams will take positives from it. However from a neutral point of view, Foy's decision to send off Kompany changed the dynamic of the contest and frustration for City is understandable when defeat comes about in such circumstances.
 
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