Hes considered to be a legend, Dennis Tueart believes the biggest challenge for Manchester City is to develop their OWN talent instead of spending big bucks on other players!

Tueart says in the book: “The next challenge is to develop the academy, which this club can now do with the right investment, because not just City but every club knows it is of paramount importance to nurture your own youth talent with the Financial Fair Play coming into force.”

Tueart says: “City were 2-0 down to Gillingham at Wembley in the Division Two play-offs, and in those five minutes of extra time, City forced the game into extra time and eventually won on penalties and gained promotion.

“I dread to think what would have happened had City not got back into the second tier and been left in the third tier of English football, carrying the amount of debt I was aware of at that time. There would have had to have been a fire sale of the best players and the only way to put it was that City were at their lowest ebb.

“I would hate to think of the club’s future, if indeed it would have had a future.”

Of this year’s dramatic title success, he added: “My box is behind the goal where those two goals were scored and I nearly fell off the balcony. I didn’t sit down for the last 30 minutes it was so exciting. It was very, very rewarding to see City win the title, and it was based on so much that the club did right on and off the field.

“Off the field they showed they are capable of being at the highest level. I was so pleased on the field that the team came through, especially pleased that it was Aguero who scored that late, late winner, as he was one of the team’s leading lights, so reliably consistent when the club had to go through so much with Tevez and Balotelli. It turned the entire season into pure theatre, pure drama.”

“Mancini: Diary of a Champion” will be published in early June but you can pre-order a copy direct from the publishers for £8 (UK) and £10 (Rest of the World). http://www.empire-uk.com – Empire Publications, 1 Newton Street, Manchester M1 1HW Tel: (44) 161 872 3319 Fax: (44) 161 872 4721

Related posts

• No related posts.

Aston Villa job is still up for grabs, as Molde boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has turned down the offer!

“Molde FK have a contract with Ole Gunnar and Ole Gunnar has a contract with Molde FK,” chairman Oystein Neerland said. “We see no reason to change this now.”

Solskjaer added: “I have an ambition to be a manager in the Premier League, but I’m not seeking a new job. In football, and in life in general, things turn up that you have to make decisions about. I have a contract for two more years and I’ll stand by that.”

We strive for personal development and players who do well get requests all the time,” Solskjaer said. “I was asked by a friend whether I was interested in speaking with Villa. I called Kjell Inge straight away. We agreed that I could speak to them on Wednesday – that it was okay.

“I don’t feel that I have lost anyone’s confidence. I had a good chat with Molde this morning where we agreed that we should look forward. We have some challenges we need to tackle. I will also speak to Kjell Inge as I must apologise for the way this came out.

“Roberto Martinez has been given permission to speak to Liverpool, who are a fantastic big club and you know he has ambitions – not a problem.

“The communication could have been better and clearer, we see that with hindsight, but now we are where we are, it’s obvious that we have to work together. The players are used to speculation about me. What is new is we have lost the backing from Aker ASA, which I understand has been discussed at length.

“Whether it’s coincidence or not, it’s happened now. We’ll get answers. I received a text from Rokke today and we’ll discuss it with each other soon.”

Molde managing director Tarje Jacobsen said on Saturday: “It’s important for us to stress that there was a request Ole Gunnar put to me on Wednesday, from Aston Villa, who wanted to speak to him. We had a short conversation about it and it was decided that Ole Gunnar would fly over on Friday and speak to them, but that it would be done as quietly as possible.

“On May 17 we felt we no longer had control over the situation, when we learned through the media that the plane had been spotted in Kristiansund. I then made it clear to Ole Gunnar that, if things had become public, we didn’t want him to go.”

He added: “Co-operation between Molde FK and Aker ASA has lasted for 20 years and has been good. Aker ASA stands by its obligation for 2012, so we have time to find funding for the club. It’s a situation that we are confident we can resolve.”

Related posts

• No related posts.

Roberto Di Matteo is looking forward to Gary Cahill and David Luiz playing for the Champions League final, and is hoping they will be fit for the finals!

“Cahill and Luiz trained all week, so we are very hopeful, and Malouda will join the group today,” Di Matteo said ahead of Friday’s training session. “We have called up two players from the ‘B-list’ – Kane and Chalobah, just in case, but I will wait for the final session in the Allianz Arena to assess all my players and I will make the final decisions about the team selection.”

“I’ll have all the information I need for a penalty shootout but I think this will be decided in 90 minutes,” Cech said. “I’ve been watching the tapes of Bayern’s games. I’ve seen everything I can but in the end it’s all about the moment and whether the penalty taker is strong enough to keep calm and place it well. If he does that then the keeper has no chance, so in a shoot-out you try to force people into mistakes.

“In 2008, we had plenty of information about Manchester United penalties. We’d lost to them in a shootout before but you can’t always rely on what you’ve seen. You need to rely on your instincts.”

“If I get a cup, I don’t need a cake,” he added.

Related posts

• No related posts.

Manchester United got very lucky with an increased sponsorship income of £3.5 million which will help make up for the loss of revenue caused by the club’s poor Champions League and FA Cup campaigns.

“This increase largely relates to growth in player remuneration, driven by new player acquisitions and further contractual negotiations together with increased costs and headcount arising from the continued growth in our sponsorship and commercial operations,” United’s quarterly financial report read.

“Media income has been impacted by our exit from the UCL, thus no Round of 16 match played and our subsequent participation in the UEL [Europa League], for which, despite one extra game, the income per game is lower than for the UCL. In addition, we earned lower revenues for the FA Cup in 2011/12 due to our fourth-round exit, compared with reaching the semi-final in 2010/11.”

Related posts

• No related posts.

Samir Nasri has recently admitted that he was unsure whether to join Manchester United or Manchester City and was swayed by Roberto Mancini’s greater desire!

“I thought for a few months before making my decision, with my parents and my advisors,” Nasri is quoted in a recent interview. “Patrick’s [Vieira - City's football development executive] argument was that United are used to winning everything.

“Last season they won the league title and got to the Champions League final and if you sign this season and you play less well, it won’t have been a success for you. Whereas City is a club that’s building, which has recruited smartly with the likes of Sergio Aguero, and if you win the title you’ll be part of history.

“I weighed up the pros and cons, Roberto Mancini was calling me every day and I decided to go there.”

Related posts

• No related posts.

Andre Villas-Boas isnt disliked by everyone! Liverpool’s legend John Barnes still believes Andre Villas-Boas would be a “Fantastic” replacement for Kenny Dalglish.

“Andre Villas-Boas is a fantastic manager but he wasn’t given the support from the Chelsea players, which meant what happened at Chelsea happened,” Barnes recently said.

“Coming to Liverpool, it would be a different circumstance, because the problem he had at Chelsea was handling the older players and he wouldn’t have that problem at Liverpool because there aren’t as many older players, and the older players would probably have more respect for the club to do whatever the manager says.

“I think he would be a fantastic manager and still is a fantastic manager – whether he comes to Liverpool, who knows… Andre Villas-Boas was a good manager at the wrong time for Chelsea. Under different circumstances at the right time, he could have been very successful.”

“It was a bit of a shock but once the rumours start you know the inevitability of what’s actually going to happen,” Barnes said. “I feel a bit sorry for Kenny because I think with him Liverpool would definitely have improved on the last year.

“The new manager coming in will come in to a better Liverpool but I’m sure had Kenny stayed that would have been apparent anyway. It is a shock but we have to look forward and hopefully get a man in who is going to be given the support of the fans and the time by the fans and the owners to keep Liverpool heading in the right direction.

“I think had Kenny stayed, Liverpool would have improved and I think a new manager coming in will improve Liverpool. In terms of the players he signed who had not done it at the start, they have shown a marked improvement. I’m hoping for big things from [Jordan] Henderson, [Andy] Carroll and [Stewart] Downing next season and I’m sure they will produce. Unfortunately for Kenny, he won’t be there to oversee it.”

Related posts

• No related posts.

Yaya Toure is always known to be the type of player who enjoys challenges, thats according to his agent Dimitri Seluk.

“He has done all he can do at City and he needs new motivations,” Seluk said. “Toure could sign for many big clubs like Chelsea and Bayern Munich. We would like to see Barca join the race.

“I have not spoken to Barca but they know the situation. I do not know if Real Madrid are interested but Jose Mourinho has liked him since he [Mourinho] was at Chelsea.”

Related posts

• No related posts.

Queens Park Rangers captain Joey Barton sent in a request to be given additional time for a response for the violent conduct followed by his dismissal. And the Football Association has accepted the request!

Related posts

• No related posts.

Joey Barton accepting one of the charges from the Football Association but denying others! The second charge was for the alleged incident of Vincent Kompany.

A statement released on the FA’s website read: “Joey Barton has accepted an FA charge against him for violent conduct against Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero.

“The Queens Park Rangers player has denied a second charge of alleged violent conduct against Manchester City’s Vincent Kompany. The player has requested a personal hearing, the date of which has yet to be set.

“Both charges against Barton are in relation to Sunday’s match against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

“Following the player’s dismissal in the 54th minute of the fixture, there followed two incidents involving Aguero and Kompany. As Barton had already been dismissed, both of these incidents fell outside of the jurisdiction of the referee.”

Related posts

• No related posts.

Roberto Mancini is ready to dig deep into the pockets of Manchester City, for this summer as they look to march Barce and Real Madrid.

Chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak recently said the club now “have a nucleus” and “are not starting from the same point as in other pre-seasons”.

“Barcelona and Real Madrid every year buy two or three players and spend a lot of money,” he said. “I think for Manchester City it will be the same. We need to improve. We need to have the strength to play Champions League and Premier League.”

“It’s not difficult to manage Tevez,” Mancini said. “He’s a good guy. We had a good relationship always. I don’t know why we had that situation in September but in the end he’s a good guy and a fantastic player.”

Related posts

• No related posts.