TOP 100 SOCCER SITES
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| Mancini promises goals and concentration Roberto Mancini began his reign with a win that hinted at the start of a more settled era at Manchester CityFirst a 50-50 challenge went uncontested, then a tidy pass bounced over his boot into touch. Roberto Mancini twitched, jabbed a finger at Craig Bellamy on the bench and imposed his rule on Manchester City.In his fine Milanese threads, City's 14th manager of the 23-year Sir Alex Ferguson era offered a stark counterpoint to Stoke City's Tony Pulis, who, in his old-school tracksuit and white trainers, might have been a holidaymaker passing through Gatwick in search of a bit of winter sun. But Mancini is expected to be cruel as well as cool. The first test of his reign is to work out which of the 16 players who joined at a cost of £220million in 18 months can propel them into the top four, and which are along for the ride.As opening statements go, leaving out Bellamy in favour of the dilettante Robinho was a victory for reputation over application. Even City's hardcore fans are confused about the Brazilian bought for £32.5m as a kind of provocation to the rest of the Premier League.At the start they chanted "We've got Robinho", but there were abusive hand gestures when he allowed a pass from Gareth Barry to trickle off the pitch. His extended wave to the crowd when Mancini ran out of patience after 70 minutes had a valedictory feel. The new man might not have understood the difference between Robinho and Bellamy when he strode into Carrington last weekm, but you can bet he does now.Mancini has inherited a team whose "results trajectory" (copyright: Garry Cook, the chief executive) marked them out as a Kevin Keegan kind of side: 33 goals scored before this 2-0 victory over Stoke and 27 conceded. Senior judges think City are a gang of talented individuals who have yet to coalesce into a team. Even in this comfortable win there was no consistent pattern of play and an absence of real authority at the back.In Italy, Mancini was said to be "baciato valla grazia" – kissed by good fortune. It was in that tradition that he took over a squad who cost £500m in transfer fees and salaries. But there is nothing deferential about the latest elite Italian coach to take an English wage. A measure of his political cunning is that he has already rebutted two of Cook's dubious claims. The first was that the change in management was conceived after the 3-0 defeat at Spurs 11 days ago, when the reality is that Mancini met the club's owners in the first week in December. Then came Cook's assertion that Liverpool had also spoken to the former Internazionale coach about Rafa BenÃtez's job. Mancini called this "false".To this snowy north-western landscape he has carted a fine wardrobe, and he topped his first-day outfit off with a sky-blue and white City scarf. He is sufficiently limelight-conscious to have paraded himself on the pitch before kick-off. Then it was down to the serious business of fending off his new assistant, Brian Kidd, in the technical area. Kidd, who has the pedigree to justify his eagerness, was more enthusiastic in his interventions than Mancini would have liked. After half an hour, with City leading through a Martin Petrov goal, the No1 raised a hand to his No2 to say: enough.Kidd assumes the lone-Englishman role filled by the former Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce in Fabio Capello's England camp. City's new leader used anodyne programme notes ("you cannot win games without scoring goals") to confirm additions to his backroom staff. They are Ivan Carminati (fitness), Fausto Salsano (coach) and Massimo Battara (goalkeeping specialist).So begins a tale of two Cities. The Italians must impose their will on the team at the same time as asserting their sovereignty over Sheikh Mansour (owner), Khaldoon al-Mubarak (chairman) and Cook. Point one is that City are diminished by the absence of Emmanuel Adebayor. At the back, they conceded nine times in three outings before this clean sheet on Boxing Day. Richard Dunne, culled to Aston Villa, has brought defensive ballast to a side now riding higher in the table than City. Kolo Touré and the injured Joleon Lescott are no diagram of impregnability, and at full‑back the side have lacked defensive rigour. Touré was befuddled here by a simple Stoke ball over the top and then collided with his own keeper.No wonder Mancini promised to "improve their concentration" in his pre-match message to the fans. City's league opponents before the end of January are Wolves, Blackburn, Everton, Stoke again and Portsmouth. Plenty of time to correct whatever the owners thought was wrong under Mark Hughes. Modern convention dictates that the dishonour of that sacking will be washed away by wins.Roberto ManciniManchester CityPremier LeaguePaul Haywardguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Liverpool defender Glen Johnson ruled out for a month with knee injury Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has been ruled out for at least a month with a knee injury. telegraph.co.uk |
Kilmarnock turn to Tommy McLean in their hour of need • Veteran leaves Scotland Under-17s training for Rugby Park• Chairman to meet possible investor to raise crucial £200,000Tommy McLean will be confirmed as the interim manager of Kilmarnock as supporters of the troubled Scottish Premier League side continue to express their fears over the club's future.Kilmarnock, who have dwindling crowds and debts of £9m, parted company with their manager, Jim Jefferies, on Monday. Jefferies had grown increasingly frustrated by cost-cutting, which has seen the team doctor and video analyst depart already, a matter which led to a serious decline in his relationship with Michael Johnston, the chairman.The arrival of McLean, who could be in place until the end of the season, is noteworthy given he has not managed a club since leaving Dundee United in 1998. Jimmy Calderwood, the former Aberdeen manager, is thought to be among 20 others who have expressed provisional interest in the post.Fears over the financial position of Scotland's oldest professional club refuse to subside, however. Johnston, the sole director at Kilmarnock, was accused by Barry Richmond, the chairman of the supporters' trust, yesterday of presiding over "death by a thousand cuts" at Rugby Park.In a dramatic turn of events, Johnston arrived unannounced at a supporters' meeting on Monday to inform them of Jefferies's departure. That pleased a section of the audience – Kilmarnock are second bottom of the SPL – who believe Jefferies had outstayed his welcome in Ayrshire after an eight-year tenure.Yet Johnston has also been the subject of scathing criticism owing to his inability to attract meaningful and fresh investment into Kilmarnock. Half of the club's debt can be explained by the construction of a hotel adjacent to Rugby Park, which was built with the intention of at least partly offsetting the expenses incurred by the football club.As things stand, the sale of that hotel may be the only reasonable way to ease short-term burdens. The chairman, who took control of 91% of Kilmarnock for a token sum, has admitted that relegation would potentially be ruinous."Until some multimillionaire comes forward wanting to invest in Kilmarnock football club, I will keep doing my best to keep the business going," Johnston said.Johnston told supporters that he has a meeting arranged for Friday with someone who could offer financial assistance. That could be Kenny Alexander, the London-based chief executive of an internet gambling company and lifelong Kilmarnock supporter. Those close to the club believe Alexander could provide the £200,000 guarantee to the Lloyds Banking Group which is required to write off a £1.8m soft loan from the former chairman Jamie Moffat, before gaining outright control. However, no concrete offer has so far been forthcoming.The onset of Kilmarnock's financial troubles can be traced back to the death of Moffat's father, Jim, in 1998. He had bankrolled the club from his own pocket, including the contribution of major funding to oversee the development of Rugby Park into an all-seat stadium and the purchase of the £340,000 record signing, Paul Wright, without any return.The appearance and words of Bill Costley, another former Kilmarnock chairman, at Monday's meeting are also potentially significant. The successful hotelier claimed that Jefferies had earlier offered to undersign £50,000 towards that £200,000 guarantee if Costley and two others would do likewise.McLean was last night making his return from Malta, where he was part of the coaching staff of the Scotland Under-17 team's winter training camp. A member of the Kilmarnock team during their finest hour, when they became champions of Scotland's top division in 1965, the 62-year-old will promptly discover that he is starring in an altogether different movie.KilmarnockScottish Premier LeagueBusinessEwan Murrayguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Win When You're Singing Australian Idol's Ian 'Dicko' Dickson is the special guest on Hyundai Matchday Saturday this week - so what else to do but test the singing skills of A-League stars? foxsports.com.au |
United must ignore Manchester derby distractions, says Ryan Giggs • Players and fans must focus on Wembley, says Giggs• 'We're the holders and we want to defend our trophy'Ryan Giggs says Manchester United's players and fans must forget the distractions around tonight's Carling Cup second leg derby match and focus on reaching Wembley.Giggs, speaking ahead of what could be a volatile match given the events on and off the field during the first leg – which today led police to make more arrests – said fans should focus on the bigger picture."Of course, it's a derby but it's also a cup semi-final with a place at Wembley at stake and a trophy at the end of it. We're the holders and we want to defend our trophy."City take a 2-1 lead into the match, and Giggs believes home fans have a key role to play in turning the deficit round."They are going to play a massive part. It was a great atmosphere at Eastlands and we need them to get behind us again because it really does make a difference. It's not often you play City in a night game – it'll be like a European match in some respects which is obviously something we're used to and something which we usually thrive on."Ryan GiggsManchester UnitedManchester CityPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |