Tag Archives: Mancini

Mancini makes double swoop claim

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Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is confident that Mario Balotelli and James Milner will have signed for the club on Thursday ahead of their Premier League opener at Tottenham (City 7/4, Spurs 5/4, draw 23/10 – 90 Minutes Betting) next Saturday.

Aston Villa boss Martin O’Neill revealed on Friday evening that Milner had virtually sealed a big-money switch to Eastlands.

However, as the versatile midfielder is part of Fabio Capello’s England squad for the friendly against Hungary at Wembley on Wednesday, Mancini expects to tie up the loose ends on his move the following day.

Balotelli is also due to feature for Italy in midweek, so City will wait until the back end of the week to get him officially on board in what could be the final pieces of the jigsaw in their bid to muscle their way into the title race (City 5/1 Premier League Outright).

“We are close with both players but now they are going with their national teams,” said Mancini. “We hope that we can have these players by next Thursday.”

“For now we have two days off and we are not going to talk about the market. Next week we will see. These deals could happen but we need to wait.”

City continued their preparations for the new campaign with a 2-0 friendly win against Valencia on Saturday, with Gareth Barry and Jo scoring the goals.

Craig Bellamy (7/1 Top Man City Goalscorer) did not even feature in the game sparking more speculation that he could be on his way out of the club, while there were no clues who would start in goal as Shay Given and Joe Hart were both handed 45 minutes.

Mancini added: “I am fortunate that I have two strong goalkeepers. This is important when you have a long season with three matches every week.

“I have an idea who I will play but I still have a week to decide. I know whoever I pick, the other one will help that person. It is not a problem for us.”

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Mancini closes in on City targets

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Manchester City (9/2 to win the Premier League) boss Roberto Mancini believes the club are closing in on their big transfer targets ahead of the new Premier League campaign.

City have been strongly linked with Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli and Aston Villa midfielder James Milner during the off-season.

The Eastlands club have already added to a squad which looks like one of the strongest in the Premier League on paper.

Barcelona midfielder Yaya Toure, Jerome Boateng and David Silva are three of the big signings that have joined the club this summer.

Mancini is also hoping that the former Real Madrid playmaker Robinho, who left City on loan last season, will return to the club for the Premier League campaign.

He said: “The situation is that Robinho will finish his contract with Santos. After that he will stay in Brazil for another week, play for the national team and after that he will return to Manchester City.”

The Blues boss has stated that whether or not Robinho stays at the club is up to the player, but the manager will hope the player returns after the 26-year-old performed well at this summer’s World Cup.

City have been trying to bring in former Leeds and Newcastle star James Milner to the club after the midfielder had a strong campaign with Aston Villa (7/1 to finish in the top four) last season.

Villa boss Martin O’Neill has stated that the two clubs are at a stalemate over the valuation of last season’s PFA Young Player of the Year, but he does not know whether their key man will be at Villa Park at the start of the season.

O’Neill said: “The latest stage of play seems to be Man City feel as if they have gone as far as they want to, but we will wait with baited breath on that one.

“I think obviously the overriding opinion of all Villa fans is that they would love James to stay at the football club. But as I speak here now at this minute, my honest opinion, I cannot guarantee that but we will see.”

Speculation has suggested that Milner would welcome a move to the Premier League’s big spenders as they push for a top four finish in the league.

City will begin their campaign against Tottenham as they look for revenge against the London side, who beat them to the final Champions League place last season.

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Mancini issues taunt to rivals

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Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has taunted the Blues’ Premier League title rivals by claiming the established ‘Big Four’ are “running scared” (City 4/1 – 2010/11 Premier League Outright).

The Eastlands outfit will be the biggest spenders this summer by some distance, with the likes of Yaya Toure, Jerome Boateng, David Silva and Aleksandar Kolarov all arriving for mega-money.

City are also trying to tempt Spain ace Fernando Torres away from Liverpool amid continuing speculation over the 26-year-old’s long-term future at Anfield following their failure to secure Champions League football.

Accusations of making the Premier League an unfair competition have been levelled City’s way, but Mancini claims the Blues are only playing catch-up with his comments sure to raise eyebrows at Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge and the Emirates, as well as Anfield.

He said: “Are they scared? I think so. At the moment only Manchester City are buying players.

“But that is normal because Manchester City want to improve and the other teams are just big teams who would like a lot of people.

“All the other teams are trying to put pressure on us because for 10 years there were only four teams challenging for the title.

“This year, there are five. I think all these teams over the years have spent a lot of money – Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool but now City do.

“There isn’t a difference.”

Mancini has made no secret of the fact he is looking to win the Premier League in his first full season in charge of Eastlands.

After succeeding Mark Hughes in the Eastlands hot-seat last December Mancini guided the club to fifth place in the Premier League, losing out to Spurs for the coveted fourth place and with it the chance of Champions League football.

But he has no intention of languishing off the pace this time around (City 13/10 – Premiership Without Man Utd & Chelsea 2010/2011).

“If you remember a few years ago Manchester City were in the Championship, then it is clear every year we must improve,” he said.

“Last year, we fought for fourth place until the penultimate game against Tottenham – the aim this year is to try to win the Premier League.

“That must be our target.”

As well as Torres, Mancini says he has his eye on other strikers including Inter Milan starlet  Mario Balotelli.

In a twist of fate, City kick off their season with a trip to Tottenham on August 14 (13/2 – Opening Day Fixtures – Game With Most Goals).

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Mancini closes on left-back

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Manchester City’s bid to sign Lazio left-back Aleksandar Kolarov is still on track, according to the Serbia international’s Italian club (City 13/10 to win Premier League without Chelsea and Manchester United).

Blues boss Roberto Mancini is adding to his squad for a tilt at the Premier League title having joined City midway through last season when Mark Hughes was sacked (City 4/1 – Premier League 2010/11 Outright).

Mancini has so far drafted in David Silva, Yaya Toure and Jerome Boateng, and the arrival of 24-year-old Kolarov is imminent.

Lazio sporting director Igli Tare told Sky Italia: “Kolarov to Manchester City – there are no problems.

“Lazio has already done what it had to do. We are waiting for developments in the coming days.

“It is not important if the figure is £20million or not, what counts is the willingness of both parties to close the deal.”

Kolarov’s arrival at Eastlands raises question marks over the future of former England left-back Wayne Bridge who is being linked with Liverpool.

The Reds released Fabio Aurelio at the end of last season while Emiliano Insua is poised to join Fiorentina any day now.

New Anfield manager Roy Hodgson has already snapped up Joe Cole on a free transfer and has also persuaded captain Steven Gerrard that his future lies on Merseyside (Reds 7/4 – Top 4 Finish).

Those factors will work in Hodgson’s favour if he decides to make a concrete move for Bridge – while the former Fulham chief is now hoping to persuade striker Fernando Torres and midfielder Javier Mascherano to follow Gerrard’s lead.

Hodgson told Sky Sports: “(Managing director) Christian Purslow has been talking to Fernando Torres for the last two days so I think there has probably been lots of words from Fernando Torres but I haven’t actually spoken to him.

“Mascherano is on holiday. He’s not due back until August 5 so when he returns to the club I’ll be speaking to him, not before then.

“Steven wanted time to consider a possible option that he had but I was always optimistic that he would stay with Liverpool because he’s the heart and soul of Liverpool and it would have been a major blow to lose him.”

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Mancini wants trophies at City

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Roberto Mancini is expecting his Manchester City (5/1 to win Premier League title) side to be a real success and win trophies this season after his summer spending spree.

Twelve months ago, his predecessor Mark Hughes had spent huge sums of money bringing the likes of Gareth Barry, Emmanuel Adebayor and Joleon Lescott to the club.

City were expected to battle for the title but a few months on Hughes was sacked, Mancini brought in and the club ended the season outside the Premier League top four.

After a long battle they were pipped to fourth spot and Champions League qualification by Spurs (33/1 to win the Premier League) though the club’s fans can take solace in the fact they lost the same amount of games as their rivals Manchester United throughout the season and it was too many draws which led to their downfall.

This summer, Mancini has already spent around £60 million bringing in Jerome Boateng, Yaya Toure and David Silva and claims all three are “good players” and a real “investment for the club”.

The Italian manager knows his side will battle both domestically and in the Europa League next season and he has issued a rallying cry by declaring he wants his players to bring silverware back to Eastlands next season.

“I think it will be a good season for us. I think we have a squad for success, and our supporters deserve this,” said Mancini.

“Up to now we have got Boateng, Yaya Toure and David Silva, all three of them good players. And Yaya has fantastic experience with Barcelona, where he won a lot of trophies.

“We need to have the players if we want to reduce the gap with the other teams. We need to bring in players with good quality. Now it is time that some trophies came to this club.”

Mancini has been linked with a number of players this summer and it looks like his spending may not end anytime soon.

One of his reported targets is Lazio defender Aleksandar Kolarov, also a player known to be admired by Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid, however the Italian club’s president has said he wants £18.7 million for the Serbia international.

Another player strongly linked with City is Inter Milan striker Mario Balotelli, who Mancini managed during his time at the San Siro.

City and also neighbours Manchester United (12/5 to win Premier League title) are interested in the 19-year-old, but if it came to a bidding war between the two rivals it is likely that Mancini would win the day.

Whatever happens, it seems City are prepared to spend big to go for the Premier League title, which could see a lot of their rivals nervously looking at Eastlands come the start of the season.

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Mancini planning City future

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Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has insisted that his future at Eastlands does not depend on beating Tottenham (13/5 to beat City in the 90 minutes market) and qualifying for the Champions League.

The Italian leads his side into the game against Spurs on Wednesday night knowing that defeat will curtail their hopes of finishing fourth and joining European football’s elite in next season’s Champions League.

City (10/11 top four finish) have been battling it out for fourth for the majority of the season as they look to establish themselves amongst England’s elite.

The club and their mega-rich Arab owners are desperate to secure Champions League football in order to continue attracting the big names to Eastlands as they plan for another summer of lavish spending.

Having failed to attract some players to the club because they were not in the Champions League City now see the competition as a vital aspect in their development.

With so much on the line should Macini fail to get City into the top four it seems inevitable he will get the chop.

However, the former Inter Milan (8/15 Champions League outright winner) boss doesn’t believe his future as City manager depends on where the club finish this season and claims he would be happy should they only be in the Europa League next season.

“My future does not come down to this game,” said Mancini.

“We have qualified for the Europa League next year, that is important.

“I have worked here for five months. I can build a good future here. We are trying to change the history of the club.”

While Mancini claims not to be feeling the pressure Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is adamant that it’s City who need a result more than Spurs.

Should the north London outfit lose they could still catch City on the last day of the season, but only if West Ham do them a favour and take three points from the Eastlands club.

However, Redknapp admits he is keen to wrap up their place in the top four as quickly as possible and not have to rely on other sides doing them favours.

“At the start of the season, we would have been delighted with a European place or being in the top seven, so to have a chance of making the Champions League is great for us,” said the former Portsmouth boss.

Spurs fans will be keen to avoid another last day play-off for fourth having faltered at the final hurdle in 2006 when the majority of the squad had food poisoning and were beaten 3-1 by West Ham, handing local rivals Arsenal the last Champions League spot.

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Mancini ready for must-win game

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Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini believes his side are ready for their must-win encounter with Tottenham (9/4 to win on the midweek coupon) on Wednesday night.

The midweek clash could decide who gets that fourth and final Champions League spot with the two sides seemingly having cut a drift LIverpool and Aston Villa.

Spurs’ win over Bolton kept them one point ahead of City while Mancini’s men ended any hopes Aston Villa had of a top finish by beating them 3-1 at Eastlands.

Liverpool’s hopes could be extinguished should they fail to beat Chelsea on Sunday with the Reds five points behind Tottenham with just two games to play.

Mancini believes no matter what else happens the winner of Wednesday’s match will be the team that makes it into the Champions League next season.

“I think we must beat Tottenham,” said Mancini. “It will be a massive game and we need all the supporters.

“It will be a fantastic game on Wednesday.”

City looked to be back to somewhere near their best on Saturday with the front three of Craig Bellamy, Carlos Tevez (28/1 top goalscorer) and Emmanuel Adebayor all getting on the score sheet for the home side.

However, the majority of City supporters had their eyes on debutant Marton Fulop, the Sunderland goalkeeper joining the Eastlands outfit on an emergency loan following Shay Given’s shoulder injury.

Fulop looked out of sorts at times, flapping at a number of crosses, although Mancini put it down to nerves and has backed him to come good.

While City’s goalkeeping situation shows no sign of improving Tottenham have their own concerns over their shot stopper.

Spurs (4/5 top four finish) number one Heurelho Gomes was visibly limping towards the end of their game with Bolton and manager Harry Redknapp has since revealed the Brazilian picked up a groin injury coming for a cross.

Gomes will now have a scan to determine whether he will be fit to start with Redknapp prepared to turn to England under-21 goalkeeper Ben Alnwick should his number one be ruled out of action.

Redknapp says he would be happy to turn to Alnwick, despite admitting that Wednesday’s game will be ‘massive’.

“We’re right there. We have two big games to come,” said Redknapp.

“It’s a massive game and we would have taken this at the start of the season.”

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Mancini confirms Torres interest

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Roberto Mancini could flex his club’s considerable muscle in the transfer market at the end the season by bringing in marquee signings – including Fernando Torres of Liverpool – in his efforts to transform Manchester City into title contenders (11/8 Man City – Top 4 Finish).

The Eastlands boss went public on Thursday with his admiration for Spain striker Torres and described him as belonging to the top bracket of the world’s best footballers.

The Italian said his capture would put City firmly in a position to challenge for the game’s big honours.

However, he did admit failure to qualify for the Champions League this season could affect the club’s chances of pulling off an audacious swoop for the 26-year-old.

“We are a top team and I think all the top teams are interested in Torres but sometimes it depends on the player because they want to play in the Champions League,” he said. “If we don’t get into the fourth position I think it will be difficult.”

City remain in the hunt for the coveted fourth spot but face another big test of their credentials when they travel to take on title-outsiders Arsenal (10/11 Arsenal 12/5 draw 11/4 Man City – match betting) at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Mancini believes bringing in a player of Torres’ undisputed ability would give his club the lift it needs to move up to the next level.

He added: “For me, he is with Carlos [Tevez], [Wayne] Rooney, [Lionel] Messi, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, [Cristiano] Ronaldo as the best in Europe. Fernando is a fantastic striker; all the teams in Europe would like him.”

City are one of the few clubs – possibly the only club – in world football who could afford a move in excess of £50m and Mancini believes a summer of possible upheaval at Anfield could work in his favour.

The Merseysiders were recently put up for sale and uncertainty surrounds the future of manager Rafael Benitez off the back of a disappointing season in which winning the Europa League is his only chance of silverware.

The Spaniard was understandably defensive when asked about the prospect of Torres leaving after his side’s 1-0 semi-final first-leg defeat by Atletico Madrid on Thursday.

“We’ve said repeatedly that Fernando is not for sale and he still has three years of his contract remaining. So how can they sign a player who does not wish to leave?” he said.

Mancini is unlikely to be put off by Benitez and is adamant in his view that City must recruit a recognised world-class signing to shake up the stranglehold enjoyed by Chelsea and Manchester United at the summit of English football.

He added: “If we want to win the Premier League ahead of Chelsea and Manchester United we must sign some important players. All the top players want to play in the Champions League. But next season I want to win the Premier League; this is my desire even ahead of the Champions League, and I want players to understand that.”

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Mancini wants the goals to rain

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Roberto ManciniRoberto Mancini has urged his free-scoring side to continue slamming in the goals, believing that the number of goals scored could be crucial in the race for fourth place. City are currently 4/9 favourites to finish fourth.

City face Manchester United at Eastlands on Saturday with both sides looking for the points for different reasons. City are hoping to consolidate their current standing of fourth in the League whilst United will be hoping to keep the pressure on Chelsea at the top of the table.

United will be hoping to bounce back against their local rivals after picking up a disappointing point in a goalless draw at Blackburn last Sunday. This has seen United’s title odds lengthen to 13/2 after Chelsea posted a 1-0 success against Bolton at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday evening. The Blues are now 1/8 to secure their first League title since 2006 as they are now four points ahead of United at the top of the table.

Tottenham Hotspur kept up the pressure on City in the race for fourth by beating local rivals Arsenal in the North London derby on Wednesday evening. Their 2-1 success propelled them to fifth in the table, one point and one place behind City.  In the process, they severely dented Arsenal’s title hopes as the Gunners now lie six points behind Chelsea. They are 20/1 outsiders to win the League.

Many see the race for fourth being between City and Spurs, with some citing the clash at Eastlands between the two sides on May 5 as being pivotal in the battle for the final Champions League spot. However, both City and Spurs face tough run-ins, meaning that Liverpool and Aston Villa could mount a late surge if they can improve their consistency. Those two sides are 20/1 and 25/1 to finish fourth respectively. Meanwhile, Spurs are 2/1 second favourites to secure Champions League football for next season, with City 4/9 favourites.

City have scored 14 goals in the last three games and Roberto Mancini feels that goal difference could be crucial in the final reckoning. City have a current goal difference of 28, whilst Spurs have 27, and Mancini is hoping to retain this advantage.

Speaking to the Manchester City website, Mancini stated; “We know that it is vital we have a good goal difference because that could possibly decide who finishes in fourth place.

“We have been scoring a few goals in recent weeks, which is good. There is no reason we cannot continue to keep scoring if we play in the manner we have been of late, no matter the opposition.”

The big news ahead of Saturday’s Manchester derby is the potential return of Wayne Bridge. The left-back has missed the last five matches after undergoing a hernia operation and could bolster City’s back line. Meanwhile, England fans will be waiting to see if Wayne Rooney is on the team sheet after missing the last few games with an ankle injury.

Manchester City are 17/10 to get the win they need to consolidate fourth place whilst United are 11/8 to increase the pressure on Chelsea with a three point display. The draw is 12/5.

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