Siege of the City: Ferguson launches an attack

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has begun a stinging war of words on big spending local rivals Manchester City.

The master of mind games has launched an astonishing verbal tirade on several fronts and claimed within the space of a week they are “not a threat” and labelled them “a small club with a small mentality”.

Manchester City’s spending has been well documented this summer, making the eye-catching signings of Carlos Tevez, Roque Santa Cruz, Emmanuel Adebayor and Gareth Barry for a total of about £80 million. Mark Hughes’ side is also chasing Joleon Lescott and tried to prise John Terry from Chelsea, but Ferguson does not believe they will challenge at the highest level.

“It won’t be easy for them to win anything, even with the players they have bought. I can’t look at them as our main competitors. Liverpool and Chelsea are our main competitors.”

However, the United boss still admires old rival Arsène Wenger’s ability to shape a team and suggested the Gunners are more of a force to be reckoned with, despite struggling last season and their apparent lower budget than the top three.

“Arsenal have the biggest job to do because they have sold Adebayor and don’t seem to have the money the rest have. How Arsène develops his team will be his biggest test.

“The one thing we know about Arsenal is that they will play some of the best football you will see and create chances. They could easily re-establish themselves and challenge for the league again.”

City have may been outranking United in terms of media attention recently, but Ferguson questions whether Mark Hughes will be able to fit so many egos into the dressing room, although he would follow a similar policy if he had such resources at his disposal.

“They have bought a lot of high-profile players but they have 10 strikers”.

“That is a hell of a lot. I have not spoken to all the managers but the one or two I have are saying ‘Who are they going to leave out?’ How does he pick a team? We are all interested.”

His outburst may serve as retaliation to the provocative poster of Carlos Tevez, whom Manchester City recently acquired from the Red Devils, displayed in the city centre with “Welcome to Manchester” written on a sky blue background.

“It’s City, isn’t it? They’re a small club with a small mentality. All they can talk about is Manchester United; they can’t get away from it,” he flamed.

“They think taking Carlos Tevez away from Manchester United is a triumph. It is poor stuff.”

Despite claiming Manchester United made an offer for the Argentinean international that was never acknowledged, the 68 year old says he was not willing to meet the financial demands of agent Kia Joorabachian and later stated City paid an inflated price.

Ferguson recognises Tevez’ unquestionable value and does not deny his popularity at Old Trafford, as supporters clearly wanted him to stay, but Ferguson, not easily swayed by anyone, has a reputation as a ruthless boss and this has proven to be true once again.

“The fans quite rightly have their heroes and I respect them, so I was happy to go along with a deal as long as it was the right one – but he was simply not worth £25m.”

Ferguson also alleged that Adebayor’s only option was to sign for City.

“At the last minute, from what I can gather, either Emmanuel Adebayor or his agent phoned us after they had agreed a deal with City and then did the same with Chelsea. He was desperate to get to either Chelsea or us.”

Continuing to occupy the headlines, Ferguson finally suggested that Ronaldo may eventually return to Old Trafford.

“He may come back, you never know… He loved United.”

In one final piece of Manchester United related fun and games, Gary Neville reportedly welcomed former Liverpool striker Michael Owen to the Carrington training ground by introducing him to academy graduate old Danny Wellbeck. Neville said of the youngster “This is Danny. He’s 18 and he’s won the league”.

Fin de la Tour de France 2009

Alberto Contador took a substantial lead into the Paris stage.Picture courtesy of Kevin Foley.

Thousands of people crowded the streets of Paris to watch Alberto Contador seal the second Tour de France victory of his career on Sunday in the 21st stage.

The Spaniard had a comfortable lead going into the final stage and was ultimately not troubled by Luxembourg’s Andy Schleck (+ 4 minutes 11 seconds) or veteran American team mate Lance Armstrong (+5 minutes 32 seconds), who retained their positions and just beat surprise package Bradley Wiggins to the podium by 37 seconds. Frank Schleck, brother of silver medallist Andy, finished 5th.

The extent of Contador’s lead was such that 2007 champion enjoyed a toast of champagne upon entering Paris for the last section of the 3500km route. Spanish riders have dominated since 2006, as Contador’s second victory follows Oscar Pereiro’s in 2006 and that of Carlos Sastre last year.

Contador did not enter the 2008 competition due to the ban against Team Astana in light of their recent doping record, but lined up as one of the pre-race favourites.

“It was a tough tour and hard one to overcome but it brings me great honour and joy to record victory this year. There was always a risk I could lose right up until the end, but I held on.

“The Tour is the hardest race in the world, but this year it was particularly difficult. That’s why I am so happy.”

The 21st stage was sensationally won by the Isle of Mann’s Mark Cavendish and marked an extraordinary tour for 24 year old, who broke the record for individual stage wins and also became the first Brit to win on the Champs Elysées, adding 6 victories in the 2009 tour to 4 last year.

Cavendish had aimed for the Paris victory before the tour started and said he valued it the most.

“I’ve always wanted to win on the Champs Elysees and the feeling doesn’t disappoint. To cross the line here in Paris with your hands raised at the front of the pack is every sprinter’s dream and I wanted it so badly.”

Having been penalised for dangerous riding, Cavendish suffered a narrow defeat by Norwegian Thor Hushovd, who scored 10 points more, but will be aiming to put his disappointment aside next year.

“I’m happy with six stages, but next year I’ll be fitter and stronger and hopefully the green jersey will come with that.”

The Tour also concluded an outstanding performance from fellow Brit Bradley Wiggins, who admitted that he had not aimed as high as the podium

“I really didn’t expect to be in this position this year. I thought I could get in the top 20. But to finish fourth changes everything for the future now, whether I even go back to the track.”

The polka dot jersey was won by Italian Franco Pellizotti.

Beckham booed on Galaxy return

David Beckham received a hostile reception from the LA Galaxy fans on Saturday as he played in his first match since his loan spell with AC Milan.

The England international, 34, rejoined the Galaxy mid-season for the friendly match with a capacity 27,000 crowd, ironically against AC Milan, but was jeered every time he touched the ball by a section of his own supporters.

Many fans had brought banners to the stadium with slogans such as “Go home, fraud” and “Repent” and Beckham needed a security escort at half time as he went to confront his tormentors.

“The majority of fans have been great. It was only one or two that, you know, it was to be expected”, Beckham explained.

“Sometimes it goes beyond it. I tried to shake one of the guy’s hands but he didn’t want any of it. That’s the way it is.

“I’m not disappointed because it doesn’t affect me,” he said. “A lot of people predicted the vicious kind of reaction that would be here, and they were right.”

Manager Bruce Arena condemned the fans’ reaction.

“We regret the incident that happened at the end of the first half. While it is important that our fans remain free to voice their opinions, they must do so in an appropriate manner.

 ”We appreciate our players’ and fans’ passion for the team and the game, but we all must aim to hold ourselves to higher standards.”

Beckham had been warned by team mate Landon Donovan that certain fans might not take too kindly to his reluctance to return to the MLS and had earlier in the week accused him of lacking professionalism.

He reportedly tried to buy his way out of his Galaxy contract to further extend his spell with AC Milan, who paid a loan fee of £5 million.

His work for the team ultimately paid dividends as he was involved in both goals, making a cross field pass for Landon Donovan who then set up Alan Gordon for the first goal from which Bryan Jordan headed in the second.

Beckham ironically shrugged his shoulders at the fans that had criticised him following the second goal and applauded those that had supported him when he was substituted towards the end of the game. Donovan also welcomed his value to the team.

“There’s not another player on this team or in this league who can make those kinds of plays,” stated Donovan. “That’s going to be crucial for us.”

Beckham’s future beyond the end of the current MLS season, which finishes in October, is very much in the air and he has made it clear what is likely to be his final tournament in South Africa 2010 is a priority.

“I will do everything possible. I’ll always regret it if I didn’t do everything to give myself a chance to be involved in that.”

Fabio Capello has suggested Beckham would improve his chances of making England’s world cup squad with a move back to a European league. Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti will make a move for him while the Sun speculates on potential offers from Tottenham and Manchester City, despite Mark Hughes dismissing alleged interest.

 Neither did Leonardo do much to quash rumours linking Beckham with a return to the San Siro and the new AC Milan boss had nothing but praise for the former loanee.

“His charisma is very important for other players. We are really happy with his situation.”

A farcical friendly

Primera Liga side Villareal played their first a pre-season friendly against Catalonian minnows Navata, a tiny club on the Spanish side of the border near Perpignan.

Needless to say, the Yellow Submarines, who qualified for the Europa League by finishing 5^th last season, were convincing winners and notched up an astonishing score of 27-0, which equates to a goal approximately every three or four minutes. Jonathon Pereira was top scorer with 7 goals.

New manager Ernesto Valverde, recruited from Español to replace Madrid bound Manuel Pellegrini, elected to play an entirely different set of players in each half.

Vilamalla, another regional side, are next in the firing line and meet Villareal on Wednesday.

Pellegrini’s Real Madrid also take on lesser opposition this week with a training programme and friendly in Ireland to play Shamrock Rovers.

Barcelona and Inter Milan agree an extraordinary swap deal

Barcelona have made an agreement with Inter Milan to sign striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in exchange for Samuel Eto’o plus a fee of around £35 million and a one year loan deal for Alex Hleb.

Both teams won their respective leagues last season, but with heavy spending rivals Real Madrid making waves in the transfer market, Barcelona are now looking to make their first big signing.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta said that all the remains is for the players to agree terms. “The signing depends on Ibrahimovic, on Eto’o and all parties.”

The agreement seems a remarkable imbalance: given Manchester City’s bid of approximately £20m for 28 year old Samuel Eto’o, some may argue that the combined fee for Ibrahimovic, just one year younger, is highly inflated and not justifiable.

Inter boss Jose Mourinho describes the Ibrahimovic as “the most talented player he has ever worked with” and “better than Cristiano Ronaldo”. Ibrahimovic has impressed at Europe’s premier clubs, which boasts spells at Ajax and Juventus after beginning his career in his native Malmo.

However, many remain unconvinced by the Swede, despite finishing top scorer in Seria A last season with 20 goals and a goals-to-games ratio higher than 1 in 2 in the last two seasons, due to his failure to shine in European competition In contrast, Eto’o has a proven track record on every level, scoring more than 100 goals in five seasons at Barca as well as goals in two Champions League finals.

But the Cameroon international, whose contract expires in 12 months time, had been strongly linked with moves away from the Champions League winners, notably Manchester City before they ran out of patience at delaying tactics.

Another player the Catalans are being strongly linked with is Valencia’s David Villa, but they may well face competition from Real Madrid and Liverpool.

This is the second deal arranged between the two clubs this year, as full back Maxwell has also joined Barcelona for £3.9 million.

Pardew in at the helm of the good ship Southampton

Southampton will begin life in League One with Alan Pardew in control at the St Mary’s Stadium. The former Reading, West Ham and Charlton boss has signed a three year contract and was looking forward to returning to football, having left Charlton in November 2008.

“I’m proud and very excited to be joining a club with an immense history and huge potential,” said the 47 year old.

The appointment seems a solid one in naming a manager with has a proven track record. He led West Ham to the 2006 FA Cup final, although his popularity at Charlton came into question as the club struggled and were eventually relegated after his departure.

Nevertheless, fans can be pleased with the quality of manager that the new owner Markus Liebherr has recruited, since Pardew, whose principles generally produce teams that have played good, attractive football, has wealth of experience in the Premiership and Championship and will surely be aiming for an eventual return to those heights.

The chairman confirmed “We are delighted to have been able to attract Alan to St Mary’s from a very strong field of candidates.”

The Saints’ future had looked in doubt when a consortium headed by Matt le Tissier fell through, but the Swiss businessman saved the club from very nearly going out of business and made rapid changes, immediately replacing Dutchman Mark Wotte upon his arrival.

Southampton will start the year at bottom of the table as 10 points have already been deducted as a result of having gone into administration. Pardew’s first game will be a friendly against Ajax.

Be ready to raise your eyebrows: the Manchester City show has opened!

Manchester City have made a clear statement of intent this summer by capturing Carlos Tevez, with Emmanuel Adebayor likely to follow and John Terry a possible further addition.

After a high profile takeover last summer, Mark Hughes swiftly added Craig Bellamy to his ranks and has this year acquired Roque Santa Cruz, whom he coached at Blackburn, following a drawn out transfer saga, in addition to the sensational last minute capture of Robinho for a British transfer record. However, it is City’s renewed quest this year for the biggest household names that have set the wheels in motion and worried some of the biggest names in European football.

An audacious £100 million bid to purchase Kaka in January was not far from becoming a reality, although the player rejected terms, and had Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o accepted the contract offer, he would have become the highest player in the world. Despite these rejections, it showed that City can compete for the most sought after names and suddenly football’s superstars are turning their heads towards Eastlands. City’s galactic ambitions are materialising.

Carlos Tevez, 25 year old Argentinian international, feared by defences across the Premiership and wanted by Liverpool and Chelsea for around £25 million, if sources are to be believed, was lured away from bitter rivals United in favour of the blue half of the Manchester.

Emmanuel Adebayor has today passed a medical at Manchester City and looks to be leaving the Emirate Stadium in the coming days, provided he is granted a work permit. Arsène Wenger rarely unwillingly releases his top players, and it remains to be seen whether the departure of the Togo striker, whose suitors twelve months ago were allegedly Chelsea, AC and Inter Milan, is a welcome one.

Gareth Barry’s story is a similar one: Aston Villa managed to block the England international’s transfer to Liverpool a year ago but he now moves for £12m.

Chelsea, having practiced similar tactics when Roman Abramovich took over, no longer enjoy such superior wealth and now find themselves in the unusual situation of fighting to keep one of their most valuable assets to stay. City’s £30 million bid for captain John Terry has clearly unsettled the player and doubt has crept in where none was before.

It is an ominous sign that the Premier League’s wealthiest club is flexing its financial muscles and with seemingly limitless funds, the trend will most likely continue. Having successfully prised two high quality players from England’s top clubs, Tevez and Adebayor will be precisely the calibre of player that Mark Hughes is looking to attract, and it may now become easier to bring more to Eastlands.

The challenge for Hughes will be managing a dressing room that contains several high profile players whilst satisfying his chairmen. An improvement on last year’s 10th position will surely be expected, or the Welshman may find some heavy pressure being exerted upon him.

England draw does not paper over the cracks

England 435 & 252-9; Australia 674-6 declared 

England avoided defeat in the first Ashes test at Cardiff by the skin of their teeth. The hosts looked to be heading towards certain defeat until Paul Collingwood’s determined 74 and the last wicket pairing of Monty Panesar and Jimmy Anderson miraculously came to their rescue.

Chasing Australia’s first innings total of 674, England were in massive trouble from the beginning of their second innings, already having lost two wickets at the end of the third day for 20 runs.

Matters worsened in the morning session of the fourth day when Australia struck a severe blow by taking a further three wickets in the space of an hour and a half, leaving England on a precarious 70-5.

England still trailed by 169 runs with 70 overs remaining. Faces were gloomy, England were staring down the barrel and optimism for the series as a whole was stifled.

Then came Paul Collingwood. The Durham man defended resolutely, hitting 74 runs in a total of 245 balls over nearly 6 hours. Collingwood hardly played a risky shot, which is more than can be said of his teammates, who had fallen rapidly before him.

Just as England fans were beginning to believe that something could actually be salvaged from the match, Australia made the breakthrough. Siddle eventually removed Collingwood, who nicked his shot to Hussey at slip. It appeared England’s last defence had fallen with at least three hours and 40 overs left at 159-7.

However, with nine wickets down, Panesar and Anderson managed to frustrate Australia for the last 69 balls and cling on for a famous draw that had scarcely seemed possible and keep the series level.

Although Australia played the better of the two, it is the hosts who will be delighted with the result. Andrew Strauss admits rapid improvements are needed if they are to challenge Australia at the next test at Lord’s, which begins on Wednesday. 

“We got away with it, we know that, and we must come back and play better. We were outplayed in this match, we know that”, the England captain said.

“We had our chances, especially on the first day, but we didn’t take them. We must play better than we did this week, but thankfully it’s still 0-0 in the series. 

“We must sit down with the selectors, get away from the emotion and pick a team for the second Test.”

Whilst opposite number and man of the match Ricky Ponting can be pleased with the manner of his side’s performance, he will be extremely disappointed not to have capitalised on the opportunity and taken the match Australia deserved to win. 

“It’s pretty quiet in the dressing room at the moment and there would have been a bit of celebrating and jumping up and down in the England room, I’m sure,” he admitted.

“We haven’t really done anything wrong and we’ve got a lot to take out of this game. I’m disappointed we didn’t win; I thought we played well enough.

“There are four tests to go in the series and we will have to play at this level if we want to win.” 

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A draw is also on the cards in the one test series women’s Ashes: a result which would see England retain the trophy as current holders. Australia posted 309 in their first innings before bowling England out for 268 and will continue batting at the start of the fifth day on 128 for 1, a lead of 169. England had looked in danger of slipping to defeat at 116-5, but made a safe recovery. A draw now looks the most likely result, since nearly two innings must be completed in one day if either side is to obtain victory.

All to play for at the Nurburgring

Sunday’s German Grand Prix marks a pivotal point of the season.

Mark Webber claimed his first ever pole at the Nurburgring and looks in good shape to earn his first victory in an eight year Formula 1 career, after Red Bull took control in Saturday’s rain affected qualifying session.

Webber’s success again raises the issue of who should be Red Bull’s number one driver, as he trails team mate Sebastian Vettel by just 3.5 points in the standings. Red Bull have so far insisted that they are not favouring either driver at this stage in the championship.

Brawn again struggled, and they must now surely be looking over their shoulder at the sustained challenge from Vettel and Webber. Jenson Button has won 6 out of 8 races this season, but had to settle for fourth, and is in danger of being caught by the Red Bulls.

The biggest talk of the qualifying are the vastly improved McClarens, who recorded a respectable 5^th and 6^th. Hamilton was understandably delighted by this result, as it equalled his best performance of the season.

At the other end of the scale, the talented Robert Kubica continued with his failure to impress, albeit with an uncompetitive car, fuelling speculation that he may be set for a different team next season.

Rumours are rife that Torro Rosso’s Sebastian Bourdais is soon to get the axe and the Frenchman did not help his cause, finishing in last place. Torro Rosso have just recruited Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari as reserve driver and it is thought he could even replace Bourdais before the end of the season, should Torro Rosso run out of patience.

In other F1 news, Ari Vatanen has indeed confirmed that he will stand as a candidate for the FIA presidency as expected, whilst Bernie Ecclestone believes Max Mosely will stay true to his word and not run for a fifth term.

The biggest transfer in world history…and the biggest ego

So, Cristiano Ronaldo has left Manchester United for a new galácticos era at Real Madrid, orchestrated by recently re-elected president Florentino Perez.

Ronaldo commented on his departure that he now believes the Spanish league will have a slight edge in superiority over the Premiership. Real Madrid are to pay United a staggering £80 million, which in this current climate means you can run a Formula 1 team for a season and probably still have some change left over to buy Newcastle United. 

The fee to be paid is new world transfer record, surpassing the Kaka transfer a few days beforehand. Much has been said on the subject, so here is a selection of quotes that took my fancy.

 ”I think it’s a fair figure” – Cristiano Ronaldo

 The great players cost a lot of money and if you want them you have to pay it, I’m happy to be the most expensive player in the world” – Cristiano Ronaldo

 ”Special players are maybe worth that. When you are good, when you are a special player, you are more expensive than the other ones. That’s normal.” – Cristiano Ronaldo in an interview with the Mirror.

 ”It’s true lots of people hate me, but there are even more who love me and who support me. I feel bad only when I play badly. Fortunately that happens rarely.” – Cristiano Ronaldo

 ”I felt the love of the people.” – Cristiano Ronaldo mixing with the 80,000 at the Bernabeu, after some of the crowd attempted a pitch invasion.

 ”When you fall out with Sir Alex, whatever reason […] you’re on their way.” -Tommy Docherty (former Man Utd player) 

 “Footballers are like construction machines. When I buy a new digger, I buy the best quality, the most expensive I can find, because it is a good investment that will last me many years.” – Florentino Perez, Real Madrid President

 ”The hair-gel industry in north-west England suffered a catastrophic blow on Thursday.” - The Los Angeles Times demonstrates its acute awareness of the English game.