Manchester City

mrbojangles · September 1, 2009

I think I remarked at the time that you got your new M.East money that Tal Ben-Haim.was going to have problems - but going to Pompey, isn't that going out of the frying pan & into the fire ?

Yeah, I forgot about that Ken. You did say a Jew in a club with an Arab owner could cause an issue. And your'e right, Pompey will be the same.

MSingh · September 1, 2009

City in talks with Bentley with Petrov going the other way SS understands..

Hope not..

alfieconn · September 1, 2009

City in talks with Bentley with Petrov going the other way SS understands..
Hope not..

Don't understand singhy , explain your thinking old boy.

mrbojangles · September 1, 2009

City in talks with Bentley with Petrov going the other way SS understands..
Hope not..

Don't understand singhy , explain your thinking old boy.

Yeah. Why not Singhy? Although I don't know if we really need Bentley, Petrov is a cracker and his pace is blistering. I'm personally hoping he stays at City and gets in favour with Hughes.

mrbojangles · September 1, 2009

From skysports:-

Hughes calm over expectations

City boss insists club are comfortable with new found expectation

Manchester City manager Mark Hughes insists he and his players are comfortable with the expectation that now surrounds the club.

It has been exactly a year to the day since City were transformed overnight into the richest club in the world thanks to the Abu Dhabi takeover.

Hughes has since put the owners' millions to good use by bringing in over £200million worth of talent.

Having opened their Premier League campaign with three straight wins expectation has risen among the blue half of Manchester with fans daring to dream of a sustained title challenge.

Such heightened expectation has derailed other clubs' title aspirations in the past but Hughes is adamant that his squad are more than capable of handling the pressure.

"A year ago I went to the board and told them what was needed, what was wrong with the team and how we needed to address it," he said.

Huge effort

"Obviously that process was accelerated. We've probably done in nine months or so what should have taken two or three years so it's been a huge effort by everybody.

"But you can never tell which way it's going to go, whether or not you can get players through the door or players out.

"Worry surrounds football and now there's a demand and an expectation about what we can achieve.

"But we're comfortable with that. I know I now have a group of players who can compete at the top end of the Premier League, which was my remit when I took over."

In the 12 months since the takeover, City have seen 32 players leave the club - including loans - with 13 new players coming in, resulting in a combined total of 45 incomings and outgoings.

The City boss is conscious of the staggering turnaround of players and accepts that the remarkable upheaval will not be happening again.

"It's unprecedented, the amount of business we've done and we won't go through this process again because we won't need to," he added.

"Hopefully the future for us will be like it is at other clubs, where we target certain individuals for certain parts of the team.

"It won't be wholesale change like we've had to do this time, because we feel we have the blocks in place now that we needed to progress.

"We're really excited by what's ahead of us. There's been a bit of pain, but with that you hope there are real gains to come."

MSingh · September 1, 2009

City in talks with Bentley with Petrov going the other way SS understands..
Hope not..

Don't understand singhy , explain your thinking old boy.

Cos Petrov is a good Player & David isn't so if David stays with you & Petrov doesn't sign for you i'll be happy, i am a very predictable Creature Mr C...

mrbojangles · September 1, 2009

Ah, got ya

mrbojangles · September 1, 2009

I think I remarked at the time that you got your new M.East money that Tal Ben-Haim.was going to have problems - but going to Pompey, isn't that going out of the frying pan & into the fire ?

Yeah, I forgot about that Ken. You did say a Jew in a club with an Arab owner could cause an issue. And your'e right, Pompey will be the same.

Well that's completed

mrbojangles · September 1, 2009

City in talks with Bentley with Petrov going the other way SS understands..
Hope not..

And that wasn't

alfieconn · September 2, 2009

City in talks with Bentley with Petrov going the other way SS understands..
Hope not..

Don't understand singhy , explain your thinking old boy.

Cos Petrov is a good Player & David isn't so if David stays with you & Petrov doesn't sign for you i'll be happy, i am a very predictable Creature Mr C...

Am i correct in thinking that the playing with his hair thing was the deciding factor of him going down in your estimation and i take it that you dont play with yours while strutting your stuff on the pitch

MSingh · September 2, 2009

City in talks with Bentley with Petrov going the other way SS understands..
Hope not..

Don't understand singhy , explain your thinking old boy.

Cos Petrov is a good Player & David isn't so if David stays with you & Petrov doesn't sign for you i'll be happy, i am a very predictable Creature Mr C...

Am i correct in thinking that the playing with his hair thing was the deciding factor of him going down in your estimation and i take it that you dont play with yours while strutting your stuff on the pitch

I tend to find myself playing with mine an awful lot these days but i never touch my braids....

rixalex · September 4, 2009

chelsea and city just throw ludicrous amounts of money at greedy clubs and greedy players, haven't seen any evidence of the underhand tapping up employed by united over the years yet.

Give it time mate.

My case is officially rested.

MSingh · September 4, 2009

Thank you very much for your long service Dunney. You'll be very much missed

Not in Mr Cooke's eyes it seems BJ, from BBC..

Dunne accuses Man City over exit

Dunne feels he was not told the truth by Man City

Richard Dunne has accused Manchester City executive chairman Garry Cook of trying to sell him behind his back. Dunne, 29, moved to Aston Villa on transfer deadline day after nine years at Eastlands but was disappointed with the manner of his departure.

"From June I was getting calls saying Garry Cook has been trying to sell me behind my back," claimed Dunne.

"I've been honest with them - they should have been the same with me rather than doing it behind my back."

Dunne, who is on international duty with the Republic of Ireland, said he had gone to Cook earlier in the year and told him if he had any problems to come and deal with him directly.

He added: "I'm disappointed with people who say one thing and then completely do the other.

"Garry Cook has come in and he doesn't really understand football. All he wants is big-money players. He doesn't understand the core of the club and where it begins.

"I'm not a baby, I'm not going to cry just because the club want to sell me. I don't mind, just don't do it behind my back."

606: DEBATE Thanks for the memories Richard and good luck

PBACity spent £118m in the summer transfer window on the likes of Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure and Joleon Lescott.

But they told Dunne they had to sell him, for a fee of £6m, to balance the books.

"They told me they have a certain amount of money they have to recoup each season to make things look better on the books," said the defender.

"I could understand if I was getting sold for 200m euros but it was a bit strange really.

"It just needed people to be honest with me, there were a lot of things going on throughout the summer."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/t...ity/8237605.stm

mrbojangles · September 5, 2009

Yep I read that one Singhy and I'm not very happy with City, if it is true. I doubt many other fans will be either. Dunne has been a brilliant servant for 9 years and to be treated this way is not on.

mrbojangles · September 6, 2009

I hope Hughes is right and the players do understand. It's the first time in my memory that we've had enough quality players to be able to rotate them, don't know how it worked at other clubs keeping everyone happy. We'll just have to see.

From sky sports:-

Hughes - Squad accept rotation

City boss insists his players don't sulk when squad is rotated

Mark Hughes has pointed out that all of his Manchester City squad understand the importance of rotation.

The Welshman has already had to make tough decisions this season, for instance when he left Robinho out of his starting line-up for the trip to Portsmouth last time out.

The City boss explains that there will come a time for every player to sit out, but he is confident there will be no sulking from his superstar players as a result.

Summer signing Roque Santa Cruz is also expected back within the next month giving Hughes more selection headaches upfront, not that he is complaining.

"There's an understanding that at times the next game or opposition might not be the right one for them to be in the side," he told the club's official website.

"I look at the opposition and the threats our players can make - against different teams you need different threats.

"That will always come into my thinking, and the players understand that. It's about making sure we have the right team for the right opposition."

Hughes also highlighted that those players not getting into his starting XI took part in more strenuous sessions to ensure that when they are called upon their fitness levels will be up to scratch.

"We ensure that if they don't get significant first-team action, they get more work in training than the ones who have played 90 minutes," he added.

"It's important they have the ability to make an impact when called upon. They understand how my staff work - it's not a punishment that they have to do extra work out of the team, it's because we want to give them the best chance of being successful when they do get called upon.

"They understand that, that work has to be done - they know it's a long season, that there will be times when they have to have an impact, so they have to be ready."

MSingh · September 7, 2009

Chaps, got to say, i watched Slovakia V The Czech Republic last nigth on Astro & there was one of your Kids playing for the Slovaks & i noticed him before the Commentator mentioned he was at City..

Surname was Weiss i think ??

What a little Player he looks, 17 Year Old, little pocket Rocket he is & looks if not a little raw, that he's gonna be mustard..

mrbojangles · September 7, 2009

Chaps, got to say, i watched Slovakia V The Czech Republic last nigth on Astro & there was one of your Kids playing for the Slovaks & i noticed him before the Commentator mentioned he was at City..
Surname was Weiss i think ??

What a little Player he looks, 17 Year Old, little pocket Rocket he is & looks if not a little raw, that he's gonna be mustard..

Yeah he does Singhy. This is an article i posted after we beat Barcelona, a few weeks ago.

Looks like this young lad, Vladi Weiss is a good prospect
From the city website:-

Vladi brilliant

Hughes so proud of lads

Mark Hughes was celebrating a job well done last night in the shadow of the Nou Camp - and not just because his mix-and-match Blues had turned over the reigning European champions.

Manager Hughes wanted his fit players to see how it feels to face the best in their own lair, but maybe he also thrust a star of the future into the spotlight in young Vladi Weiss.

The young Slovakian winger, not 20 until November and with just 18 minutes' senior playing time in his locker, was a revelation on the big stage before an audience of more than 94,000.

Hughes was so pleased with Academy graduate Weiss' debut, he interrupted the press conference translations to namecheck the right winger in case his Spanish inquisitors missed the point.

He said: "I've been able to give some young players the opportunity to play in the Nou Camp, a night they will never forget.

"Barcelona have great depth and great young talent, as we saw. But the most outstanding young player was probably Vladi Weiss for City, and it was great to get Kieran Trippier on the pitch."

Barcelona, unable to crack City's magnificent back four and goalkeeper Shay Given after Martin Petrov's cool 27th-minute strike, were without a good few of their European final stars.

But City were missing Robinho, Emmanuel Adebayor and others, and Hughes added: "We also had probably seven or eight senior players unavailable so we were not at full strength either.

"I felt it was an experience that we needed. We are developing as a team and having the opportunity to come to the European champions and try and compete was vitally important.

"You expect to concede possession to a team of Barcelona's quality, but you have to take your chances when they come. We were calm, organised and understood what we were trying to achieve.

"We're very proud, it was a great evening. To have a good night and win at the Nou Camp doesn't happen to many teams, so when it does happen, you have to enjoy it. It doesn't get much better.

"We're told it's the first time an English team has won the Joan Gamper trophy. OK, it's a friendly, but it's still a feather in our cap. Barcelona aren't allowed to lose friendlies, especially on their own patch."

Hughes already had one eye on the home opener with Wolves as the squad tucked into a late meal. He said: "It was always going to be a big crowd ... I'm sure they'll be swinging from the rafters after this."

mrbojangles · September 8, 2009

It looks like the froggies are all jumping on the bandwagon. And with Plattini's blessing I should imagine.

From skysports:-

City reported over Helan capture

Eastlands outfit could be in hot water over signing

Rennes have confirmed they have reported Manchester City to Fifa over the alleged poaching of French youngster Jeremy Helan.

City boss Mark Hughes snapped up the teenage defender earlier this year after he reportedly opted against seeing out his first professional contract with Rennes.

The Clairefontaine academy player had been wanted by Manchester United in 2008, but the Ligue 1 outfit dug in their heels over his departure.

With The Red Devils out of the picture City moved in, much to the anger of Rennes who insist that his pre-contract agreement tied both him and the club to a contract if he represented France at youth level.

If found guilty of inducing a youngster to break a contract City could well find themselves in hot water with football's governing body after Chelsea were recently banned from signing new players until January 2011 over their pursuit of Gael Kakuta

Although Rennes' technical director Pierre Dreossi does not expect a decision to be made anytime soon, he fully expects big-spending City to face ramifications over their actions.

City are understood to be adamant in their belief that they have not induced a breach of contract in a case which is further complicated by the fact that Helan and Rennes are at odds, legally, over what he initially signed up to.

"Manchester City must now realise the consequences of their attitude in the Helan case as it is even more illegal than Kakuta," Dreossi told The Independent.

"We have referred this to Fifa. For us it was strange to have no discussion from City and now, in the week after the Fifa declaration on Chelsea, I would hope that it will be the same thing for Manchester City.

"Kakuta signed up for just a possibility of a full contract. For Helan there was definitely one there, under the terms of the pre-contract agreement, because he had played for his country.

"Manchester United said it was not possible to negotiate with us but for City now this is dangerous, though we are not expecting a decision from Fifa for perhaps several years."

Jockstar · September 8, 2009

Robinho admits Barca admiration as rumours grow

By Soccernet staff

September 8, 2009

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Robinho has done little to quell reports that he could join Barcelona in January by admitting it is "not easy" to turn down Pep Guardiola's Treble winners.

GettyImages

Robinho: Once touted as the new Pele.

The Brazilian was Manchester City's star acquisition last summer when joining the club from Real Madrid in a British record £32m deal, but recent reports have indicated that Robinho could well return to Spain to join Madrid's great rivals, Barca.

Despite signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter Milan, the Spanish champions are believed to be searching for another forward and Robinho would be a natural replacement for the ageing Thierry Henry in Barca's talented squad.

The 25-year-old boasts 14 goals in 33 league games under Mark Hughes but has left his suitors in no doubt that he would welcome the opportunity to move to Camp Nou.

"It's not easy to say no to a club like Barcelona," Robinho is quoted in the Guardian. "They are European champions, they're in a lovely city and I like Spain a lot.

"I have always wanted to play at clubs like Barcelona. It's a great club, any player would be happy for them to show an interest. I'm happy that Barcelona have taken notice of me.

"Who wouldn't like to play alongside Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta, [Lionel] Messi, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic and all the rest? I like Barcelona; they're a great club."

Robinho is a doubt for City's game against Arsenal at the weekend after sustaining a thigh injury as Brazil clinched World Cup qualification with a 3-1 victory at arch rivals Argentina on Saturday night.

MSingh · September 8, 2009

Robinho admits Barca admiration as rumours grow
By Soccernet staff

September 8, 2009

Comment

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Robinho has done little to quell reports that he could join Barcelona in January by admitting it is "not easy" to turn down Pep Guardiola's Treble winners.

GettyImages

Robinho: Once touted as the new Pele.

The Brazilian was Manchester City's star acquisition last summer when joining the club from Real Madrid in a British record £32m deal, but recent reports have indicated that Robinho could well return to Spain to join Madrid's great rivals, Barca.

Despite signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter Milan, the Spanish champions are believed to be searching for another forward and Robinho would be a natural replacement for the ageing Thierry Henry in Barca's talented squad.

The 25-year-old boasts 14 goals in 33 league games under Mark Hughes but has left his suitors in no doubt that he would welcome the opportunity to move to Camp Nou.

"It's not easy to say no to a club like Barcelona," Robinho is quoted in the Guardian. "They are European champions, they're in a lovely city and I like Spain a lot.

"I have always wanted to play at clubs like Barcelona. It's a great club, any player would be happy for them to show an interest. I'm happy that Barcelona have taken notice of me.

"Who wouldn't like to play alongside Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta, [Lionel] Messi, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic and all the rest? I like Barcelona; they're a great club."

Robinho is a doubt for City's game against Arsenal at the weekend after sustaining a thigh injury as Brazil clinched World Cup qualification with a 3-1 victory at arch rivals Argentina on Saturday night.

To be honest i'd expect any Professional Player to say the same thing as Robinho...

mrbojangles · September 8, 2009

To be honest i'd expect any Professional Player to say the same thing as Robinho...

I concur. Sometimes (well, probably all the time) journalists ask leading questions just so that no matter what the outcome, they have a story.

rixalex · September 9, 2009

"It's not easy to say no to a club like Barcelona," Robinho is quoted in the Guardian. "They are European champions, they're in a lovely city and I like Spain a lot.

"I have always wanted to play at clubs like Barcelona. It's a great club, any player would be happy for them to show an interest. I'm happy that Barcelona have taken notice of me.

"Who wouldn't like to play alongside Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta, [Lionel] Messi, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic and all the rest? I like Barcelona; they're a great club."

To be honest i'd expect any Professional Player to say the same thing as Robinho...

Privately perhaps. In public no. Not what fans want to hear their players saying, even if it is true.

When players are asked these sorts of questions, why not simply state that they are focused on their career at such and such a club and that they are happy where they are? To say otherwise is a very unsubtle way of giving the other club the green light to pursue them. What happens then? The player gets unsettled and we go through all the <deleted> in the media of will he or won't he leave - with the outcome 99.9% of the time being yes he will, once his agent gets his pound of flesh. It's a nonsense and a nonsense that's within the control of the player. They are the only ones who can stop these silly rumours, and when they don't, they are being anything but professional.

Put it this way Singhy, if your missus (assuming you are burdened with that joy), asks you if you'd like to shag some young Latin hottie from Spain, how would you answer?

MSingh · September 9, 2009

"It's not easy to say no to a club like Barcelona," Robinho is quoted in the Guardian. "They are European champions, they're in a lovely city and I like Spain a lot.

"I have always wanted to play at clubs like Barcelona. It's a great club, any player would be happy for them to show an interest. I'm happy that Barcelona have taken notice of me.

"Who wouldn't like to play alongside Xavi, [Andres] Iniesta, [Lionel] Messi, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic and all the rest? I like Barcelona; they're a great club."

To be honest i'd expect any Professional Player to say the same thing as Robinho...

Privately perhaps. In public no. Not what fans want to hear their players saying, even if it is true.

When players are asked these sorts of questions, why not simply state that they are focused on their career at such and such a club and that they are happy where they are? To say otherwise is a very unsubtle way of giving the other club the green light to pursue them. What happens then? The player gets unsettled and we go through all the <deleted> in the media of will he or won't he leave - with the outcome 99.9% of the time being yes he will, once his agent gets his pound of flesh. It's a nonsense and a nonsense that's within the control of the player. They are the only ones who can stop these silly rumours, and when they don't, they are being anything but professional.

Put it this way Singhy, if your missus (assuming you are burdened with that joy), asks you if you'd like to shag some young Latin hottie from Spain, how would you answer?

Thanks Rix...

Errrrm, i'm not burdened any longer with a Missus ( there's more chance of me cheering the Spuds than getting another Thai one ) & i pray to the good Lord & thank him every day for that...

Rix, this is all about the Media Mate, you know that, you know how they work & how they can work..

Who knows where the story came from, what Language the interview was done in, by who, being pubslished for what audience etc etc etc..

It's not as if we're talking about honest Men with bundles of integrity anyway, neither the Media or Professional Footballers so for me, you have to take Interviews such as this, with a Pinch of Salt as at least Robinho is telling teh truth..

It's better than many over the previous few Years who kiss the Badge, assure Fans how much they love the Club etc then have fcuked off 2 weeks later in the first week of January...

Any real Football Fan, in my opinion, could not begrudge any Footballer & even one who plays for their Club, the opportunity to play for Barcelona & to think they'd be better off at their Club would be very short sighted & would be kidding themselves.

rixalex · September 10, 2009

Who knows where the story came from, what Language the interview was done in, by who, being pubslished for what audience etc etc etc..
It's not as if we're talking about honest Men with bundles of integrity anyway, neither the Media or Professional Footballers so for me, you have to take Interviews such as this, with a Pinch of Salt as at least Robinho is telling teh truth..

It's better than many over the previous few Years who kiss the Badge, assure Fans how much they love the Club etc then have fcuked off 2 weeks later in the first week of January...

Any real Football Fan, in my opinion, could not begrudge any Footballer & even one who plays for their Club, the opportunity to play for Barcelona & to think they'd be better off at their Club would be very short sighted & would be kidding themselves.

Bit confused mate. First you seem to blame in on media spin, and then you go on to say that anyway you see no problem with players opening their hearts and revealing that in actual fact, they'd happily leg-it out of this <deleted> hole and head for pastures new given half a chance - or words to that effect.

And you have no problem with that because you like the fact that they are being honest. Personally, speaking for the players at my club, i couldn't give a <deleted> whether or not they are being honest when they answer these sorts of questions. At the end of the day we all know that players have their careers and their families to consider when making any decision, and if a good offer comes along, most reason-minded supporters wouldn't begrudge them moving on. But all the time they are on the payroll and playing for my club, i expect either genuine loyalty or feigned loyalty. Prefer the former obviously but at the end of the day, if they are doing a good job for the club then that's enough - any more is a bonus.

It's about players having a bit of respect for the team and the fans.

And it's not like they even should have to lie. For example, if they get asked "Would you like to play for Barcalona at some time in the future, rather than stating all the obvious crap as follows, like Robinho allegedly did:

"I have always wanted to play at clubs like Barcelona. It's a great club, any player would be happy for them to show an interest. I'm happy that Barcelona have taken notice of me. It's not easy to say no to a club like Barcelona. They are European champions, they're in a lovely city and I like Spain a lot."

why not just say:

"my mind is focused on playing well and helping Manchester City to success - i'm not thinking about anything else at this moment in time."

None of that should be a lie, and if it is, and if it troubles their conscience so terribly to tell a white lie, then just say nothing. How difficult can that be? To keep you mouth shut surely doesn't take that much effort.

Maybe i'm a bit sensitive to this nonsense thanks to Ronaldo. My heart never fully opened to him, partly to begin with because of his theatrics, and then because of the way he kept batting his eyelashes towards Spain without even being subtle. And what really did it for me was when he was being questioned right after the Champions League victory. He gets asked by that pitchside knob "can you respond to all the speculation and tell us that you won't be leaving Man United" - or words to that effect - and all he has to say is "come on, this night is all about the club - not about me - this has been a fantastic season and i'm very happy to have been a part of it" - that's what he should have said, instead he comes out with some <deleted> like, "i can't answer that because nobody knows the future". Far from being honest, it was a flat out lie and we all knew it. He knew exactly what the future was holding for him.

And so of course the following day, all the back pages were full of stories about Ronaldo and his future, rather than Man United's success.

Completely unnecessary and unforgivable in my book.

Knob.

Edited September 10, 2009 by rixalex

MSingh · September 10, 2009

Who knows where the story came from, what Language the interview was done in, by who, being pubslished for what audience etc etc etc..
It's not as if we're talking about honest Men with bundles of integrity anyway, neither the Media or Professional Footballers so for me, you have to take Interviews such as this, with a Pinch of Salt as at least Robinho is telling teh truth..

It's better than many over the previous few Years who kiss the Badge, assure Fans how much they love the Club etc then have fcuked off 2 weeks later in the first week of January...

Any real Football Fan, in my opinion, could not begrudge any Footballer & even one who plays for their Club, the opportunity to play for Barcelona & to think they'd be better off at their Club would be very short sighted & would be kidding themselves.

Bit confused mate. First you seem to blame in on media spin, and then you go on to say that anyway you see no problem with players opening their hearts and revealing that in actual fact, they'd happily leg-it out of this <deleted> hole and head for pastures new given half a chance - or words to that effect.

And you have no problem with that because you like the fact that they are being honest. Personally, speaking for the players at my club, i couldn't give a <deleted> whether or not they are being honest when they answer these sorts of questions. At the end of the day we all know that players have their careers and their families to consider when making any decision, and if a good offer comes along, most reason-minded supporters wouldn't begrudge them moving on. But all the time they are on the payroll and playing for my club, i expect either genuine loyalty or feigned loyalty. Prefer the former obviously but at the end of the day, if they are doing a good job for the club then that's enough - any more is a bonus.

It's about players having a bit of respect for the team and the fans.

And it's not like they even should have to lie. For example, if they get asked "Would you like to play for Barcalona at some time in the future, rather than stating all the obvious crap as follows, like Robinho allegedly did:

"I have always wanted to play at clubs like Barcelona. It's a great club, any player would be happy for them to show an interest. I'm happy that Barcelona have taken notice of me. It's not easy to say no to a club like Barcelona. They are European champions, they're in a lovely city and I like Spain a lot."

why not just say:

"my mind is focused on playing well and helping Manchester City to success - i'm not thinking about anything else at this moment in time."

None of that should be a lie, and if it is, and if it troubles their conscience so terribly to tell a white lie, then just say nothing. How difficult can that be? To keep you mouth shut surely doesn't take that much effort.

Maybe i'm a bit sensitive to this nonsense thanks to Ronaldo. My heart never fully opened to him, partly to begin with because of his theatrics, and then because of the way he kept batting his eyelashes towards Spain without even being subtle. And what really did it for me was when he was being questioned right after the Champions League victory. He gets asked by that pitchside knob "can you respond to all the speculation and tell us that you won't be leaving Man United" - or words to that effect - and all he has to say is "come on, this night is all about the club - not about me - this has been a fantastic season and i'm very happy to have been a part of it" - that's what he should have said, instead he comes out with some <deleted> like, "i can't answer that because nobody knows the future". Far from being honest, it was a flat out lie and we all knew it. He knew exactly what the future was holding for him.

And so of course the following day, all the back pages were full of stories about Ronaldo and his future, rather than Man United's success.

Completely unnecessary and unforgivable in my book.

Knob.

Reading over what i wrote, i think i counfused myself a little bit there too..

Basically Rix, i thinkl they're all Whores & that's not to say that i wouldnt' do the same & go for the best deal available which would obviously me the best deal for my Family, but they're still ultimately Whores who JUST follow $$, have virtually no allegience to any Club ( even the ones they " supported " as Kids which isn't the same as how we support our Clubs as they were playing Football when we were following our Clubs accross the Country's so it's not the same anyway )..

I think if you have the outlook that a very, very small % of Footballers can be viewed as " loyal " & that the rest are Mercenaries, Whores or just in it for the $$ ( which again, if people/Clubs are foolish enough to offer that sort of money who could blame them ? ) you won't go far wrong or be let down..

Add to that Foreign Footballers who don't know our Culture, can't even dream about it, haven't a clue about loyalty, Players like Robinho who come from Poverty like we can't imagine & who come from a Country where the mos successful are Shipped off to Europe before the reach Pubity in order to go for the $$$$$...

Why should he have respect for the Club, fellow Players & Fans ??

Because they pay his wages ?? Don't make me laugh, he could walk away & someone else will pay his wages, plus a little bit more probably for good measure..

These Players do not give a flying <deleted>, period & the sooner people accept that & realise it, the more we wouldn't get wound up by the Media who fool uneducated Whores like Robinho & Hundreds of his fellow Professionals into having Interviews like this & saying what they say..

I'm sorry, i've got a very bitter outlook to modern day Footballers & think you're in Cuckoo Land for thinking they should show some loyalty to be honest Rix as it very, very rarely exists in this " Business "..

BIGTOE3 · September 10, 2009