'I almost cried I was so upset with myself' – Samir Nasri hard on himself this season

Samir Nasri has admitted some of his performances for Manchester City have not been good enough, with certain moments making him want to cry.
The French midfielder has often struggled for the form he showed at Arsenal since moving to City nearly two years ago, and was heavily criticised by manager Roberto Mancini earlier this year.

It was initially suggested Nasri had disagreed with the Italian's assessment of him, but in the build-up to todays FA Cup Final - which a now-on-song Nasri is expected to be involved in - the 25-year-old claims he understood Mancinis comments.

Speaking to The Times he said: "I didn't take it the wrong way. I agreed with him. I knew. Sometimes I don't need him to tell me because I'm professional. When I go home, I watch the games again.

"I know if I've played well or if I've played s*** and for eight months I wasn't good. I understand what the manager was saying, because it must be frustrating when you have a quality player and he doesn't perform and you don't know why because you try to play him there, play him there, but he still doesn't perform.

"So at some point you have no choice but to put him on the bench and you go to the press to try to get a reaction. And it worked.

"Before, I wasn't very good at accepting public criticism. But he (Mancini) just wants the best from his players on the pitch because he has to win. If he doesn't, he gets fired."

One particular incident which drew criticism was Nasri`s decision to turn his back on a Robin van Persie free-kick during December's Manchester derby.

City had recovered from 2-0 to be level but, as Nasri turned away, the ball went where he would have been and on into the goal.

"I don't know what went through my head," Nasri said of that moment. "I don't know how many times I was thinking about it afterwards. Eventually I had to turn off the TV. My dad said, 'Why are you scared of the ball, do you think it's going to burn you or something?'

"At the time I almost cried I was so upset with myself. How could you do that? It was a derby and with a draw we'd have stayed a few points behind them but they won it and it was a big moment in the title race."

Man United's Scholes to follow Ferguson into retirement

Man United will bid farewell not only to their iconic manager next week, but also one of their most iconic modern day footballers as Paul Scholes is expected to retire for the second time, reports The Mirror.

Jose Mourinho rejected Manchester United offer

Portuguese press say Jose Mourinho rejected Manchester United five-year deal due to family reasons

According to Portuguese newspaper Record, David Moyes was only the Old Trafford club’s second choice after the Real Madrid manager declined an offer.

It claims Manchester United officials had a five-year contract ready to offer to Mourinho but he declined for family reasons, so the Premier League champions then turned to their next choice in David Moyes.

Mourinho has been heavily linked with a return to his old club Chelsea this summer and the report claims his desire to relocate his family to London was behind turning down the offer from Old Trafford.

Sir Alex Ferguson announced he would be retiring from his post after 26 years on Wednesday, with both Mourinho and Moyes cited as possible candidates to succeed him in the immediate aftermath.

The Everton boss was eventually announced as the next Manchester United manager on Thursday afternoon, with the club and Ferguson claiming he was their number one choice.

Chelsea Closest to Signing Wayne Rooney

With the appointment of Everton boss David Moyes at Manchester United, Red Devils are in danger of losing one of their stars in Wayne Rooney. Numerous clubs are interested in signing the ex Evertonian forward and it seems that Chelsea are perhaps the closest to sign the England International.

Tensions between Rooney and his former boss are inevitable and Abramovich is ready to pounce on the opportunity of signing one of the best players in the league. Rumors suggest that Arsenal have shown interest as well but Rooney will most likely prefer a move to Stamford Bridge.

Jose Mourinho is expected to leave Real Madrid and take over at Chelsea once the season ends. The Portuguese tactician is a long term admirer of Wayne Rooney and will be granted funds to lure the United forward much to the delight of Chelsea faithful if the deal goes through.

The only dilemma for Chelsea which is not a bad one is that they have so many play makers around such as the likes of Mata, Oscar, Hazard etc. and what they actually need is an out and out striker. Adding to that, the blues are also close to signing Leverkusen forward Andre Schurrle.

Having so many stars at disposal, Abramovich may still be ready to sanction a deal for Rooney as the owner and fans are desperate to snatch the premier league title from the grabs of Manchester clubs.

Rooney has enjoyed his best days in the red shirt of Manchester United having won it all. United must do all to persuade him to stay but working with his ex-manager after the controversial remarks he made about him plus the different proposals in front of him are likely to weigh more.

Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and French giants Paris Saint-Germain are also reportedly keen on signing the England forward but staying in his homeland may as well be Rooney’s priority and thus Chelsea appear as leading the race to sign him.

Mourinho and Rooney at Chelsea will be an exciting prospect for the club and its supporters and it might just be the combination that will help the blues win the title next season.

For Manchester United, they will have to sign a world class replacement if Rooney does depart. A potential return for Cristiano Ronaldo seems unlikely for now. Nevertheless, they will have enough funds from Rooney’s sale to sign a top quality forward.

http://soccerisma.com/2013/05/chelsea-closest-to-signing-wayne-rooney/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chelsea-closest-to-signing-wayne-rooney

Benzema's anthem snub riles National Front

France’s far-right National Front party have demanded French international striker Karim Benzema be barred from playing for the national team after he insisted he would not sing the French national anthem before matches.

 The far right National Front party has demanded that Benzema, 25, who plays for Real Madrid in Spain, be sacked from the French national team for declaring he had never sung the French national anthem - the Marseillaise before an international game, and would continue not to.

Eric  Domard – sporting advisor to National Front leader Marine LePen – said in a statement on Tuesday that “[Benzema] shows an inconceivable and unacceptable contempt for the jersey he has the fortune to be able to wear.”

Labeling him a “footballing mercenary paid €1484 an hour,” Domard further declared that “since Karim Benzema sees no problem with not singing the Marseillaise, the French people should have no problem with him not playing for France anymore.”

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Hero or Villain: Greg Dyke

Ex-BBC TV DG to FA. Lovers of acronyms across the country will no doubt be cheering the news that Greg Dyke is to be the next chairman of the Football Association.

As for the rest of us? Surely Joseph Barton, that great sage of the modern game, summed up popular opinion when he offered via Twitter, "What the fuck does Greg Dyke know about football? Yet, another bureaucrat, placed in a position way to [sic] large for his domain expertise ... Football needs football people right now." Well, quite.

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Mourinho hints at stunning Chelsea return as Madrid boss ponders next move

Jose Mourinho has hinted he may return to one of his former clubs, claiming his next move could be to "somewhere I've already been".

The Portuguese's future has been the subject of speculation despite leading Real Madrid to the Primera Division title last term and the fact they are still going strong in the Champions League this season.

Mourinho won two Premier League crowns in three years with Chelsea before leaving in 2007 and has often been linked with a return to Stamford Bridge, where there will be a vacancy in the summer when interim boss Rafael Benitez departs.

And, speaking at the opening of an exhibition in Setubal, Mourinho did little to dampen such talk.

The former Porto, Chelsea and Inter Milan coach was quoted by Football Italia as saying: "I have an adventurous spirit and do not know what will happen next season.

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Manchester City fan banned for using electronic cigarette

Football stewards are renowned for being a touch heavy-handed and pedantic

However, stewards at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium have surpassed themselves for taking away the season ticket of a fan they believed to be smoking, when the guy was simply chuffing on a perfectly legal electronic cigarette.

The fan explains the story below:

    I was on the concourse at half-time having a drink with a few mates. I took a drag of it and was asked by security to come into a room. I just thought I was going to be asked to explain what it was.

    I was told they were banned and asked for my season card which I handed over. I was then escorted out of the ground by police.

However, it appears that City offer warnings that e-cigarettes should also not be smoked in the ground. So despite there being no evident reason for such a rule, that might be that. With only a few games left and the title race over, maybe it was a deliberate ploy?

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Plans at exhibition show how landscape would radically alter

The pictures show that the scheme, which could potentially have ten tall towers the tallest of which would be 14 storeys high, would radically alter the landscape for residents in Chiswick. 

The Football Club is planning to move from its existing stadium at Griffin Park to a new purpose built ground close by. The plans being developed will provide a modern 20,000 capacity stadium and they hope to have it completed by 2015. According to Saturday's Daily Telegraph, London Wasps are in discussing with the Brentford F.C. about a ground share at the stadium. 

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NEW GLASSES SHOW HOW GOOD A FOOTBALL FAN YOU ARE

Scientists have invented glasses which show how good a football fan you are. We sent STEVE HUGHES to the Championship clash between Charlton and Millwall – with former England boss Graham Taylor in tow – to investigate.

Wearing a massive pair of specs ­attached to a laptop, while sitting next to one of the most ­famous faces in football in a ­stadium of 18,000 fans, I felt a tad self-conscious.

But however silly the equipment I was wearing looked, there can be no denying its technological brilliance.

The glasses track tiny movements in your cornea – the part of the eye which does the focusing – and records on to the laptop, inset, exactly where your eyes are looking.

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Olympics deal ‘is a pig’s ear’

A DEAL to allow West Ham Football Club to move into the Olympic Stadium should be ripped up because taxpayers will be paying for it for years to come, it was claimed last night. 

 The Hammers are set to move into the east London venue after it was agreed the club would pay just £15million towards the estimated cost of £190million to refurbish the stadium, making it a suitable venue for football matches and athletics.

The rest of the bill will be met by taxpayers.

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England fan in coma after bar fight in Italy

An England football fan has been arrested in connection with a fight outside an Italian pub ahead of the match against San Marino that left another England fan in a coma.

Police said a 65-year-old man defended himself with a bar stool in a fight, was punched, fell and hit his head. He is now in an induced coma and his condition was described as “very serious”.

A 21-year-old man was arrested. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We can confirm the arrest of a British national in Italy on 21 March.”

Best News I have had in a long time

Chelsea transfers: Atlético’s Simeone hints at summer move for Torres

 

Chelsea transfers: Atlético boss Diego Simeone hints at a summer move to bring Fernando Torres back to the Vicente Calderón

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Club statement on recent events

Statement on behalf of Coventry City Football Club (Holdings) Ltd
 

As fans will know, Coventry City Football Club Limited was placed into administration on Thursday.

This subsidiary of the Club held the lease and licence for the Ricoh Arena. This covered the permission to play home matches at the stadium as well as the rental of the Club shop and the Club offices.

Given this subsidiary is now in administration, the Club has taken the decision to protect its staff by moving them from the stadium to the training ground at Ryton, before finding a more permanent base.

 

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David Beckham dodges China corruption questions

David Beckham continued his tour of China in his role of “global ambassador” for the country’s youth football and Super League in Qingdao insisting he was not there to help clean up the sport in the country. 


After arriving flanked by suited officials, the former England captain signed autographs and had a brief kickabout – still wearing his shirt, tie and shiny formal shoes – with students at Qingdao Jonoon football club in a brief appearance attended by a large crowd of fans.

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Football world focuses on Istanbul draw

This coming Monday evening, the focus of attention for the global footballing family turns to Istanbul, as the Turkish metropolis hosts the eagerly-awaited group stage draw for the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2013. Exactly 88 days before the tournament kicks off, and after the ceremony at 19.00 local time (18.00 CET) in the banqueting hall of the Grand Tarabya Hotel, the competing teams will finally learn who they must overcome in their quest to claim the most prestigious prize in youth football.

Eager anticipation, mounting tension
The 19th edition of the highly anticipated FIFA tournament takes place between 21 June and 13 July this summer. A starting field of 24 teams will contest a total of 52 matches in the seven host cities of Antalya, Bursa, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Kayseri, Rize and Trabzon. The eventual winners will succeed Brazil as world champions, as the winners of the last FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia two years ago surprisingly failed to qualify for this summer's showdown in Turkey.

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I was a football thug.

“I was a football thug. Some people are murderers and rapists, but they don’t admit it. I am not ashamed of what I did."

Former Blues hooligan Barrington Patterson reveals the story of his battles with life in new book 


 Former Blues hooligan Barrington Patterson lifts the lid on his extraordinary life in a new biography. The Brummie hardman talked about his colourful past of soccer violence, boxing champions and the Gladiators to MIKE LOCKLEY.

“I was born to fight,” growled Birmingham’s most notorious soccer hooligan, Barrington ‘One-Eyed Baz’ Patterson, his gold tooth glinting as the scowl succumbed to a smirk.

“I came out of my mother’s womb fighting,” the Handsworth hardman insisted, stretching his bulky, 18 stone frame in a show of indifference.

“I’m not the kind of person who walks away. If you don’t want trouble, don’t lay it on me.”

The 47-year-old former leading light in Birmingham City’s feared Zulu hooligan crew has paid for his penchant for punch-ups, with a record so crammed with violent offences it’s a veritable criminal double album.

“I’ve lost count, to be honest,” the nightclub bouncer muttered with a shrug of his broad shoulders. “Maybe 20 - all for violence, but none football related.”

He stared into space for a second, wringing his shovel-sized hands for inspiration before apologising. “Oh yeah - there’s one robbery... and a burglary.”

“Am I violent?” he hissed, stung by the enquiry, his heavy gold chain swaying in a show of disapproval. “Don’t ask other people what I’m like, ask me what I’m like.”

I pointed out, diplomatically, I was asking him.

Barrington slumped back in his chair and mulled over the question. “I am what I am.

“But I don’t regret anything. The only thing I regret in life is having five kids by five different women.”

The bonds that tie thrice-wed Barrington to his extended family are loose. “Am I a grandfather?” he mused. “Not to my knowledge.”

Barrington, who channelled his blood-lust into a highly successful kickboxing and cage-fighting career - he held world titles in both, has paid for the self-imposed stains on his character. 

The man who bared his soul on TV hoodlum series, Danny Dyer’s Deadliest Men was within a whisker of exploding on our screens as a Gladiator: one of the muscle-bound, leotard clad athletes who pummelled contestants in the popular 90s show of the same name.

Possibly for the best. Get clobbered with one of those oversized cottonbuds by Barrington and you’d have ringing in your ears for a year.

“Your past always catches up with you,” he sighed. “I went to the Gladiators audition and they said I was ideal, the right build and everything. It was done and dusted, they said. All they had to do was a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check.

“I knew that was it straight away.” It was.

The one-man army has again been thrust into the limelight, thanks to his new autobiography, One Eyed Baz. It has been penned by reformed West Ham hooligan Cass Pennant.

The tome is launched at Birmingham’s Irish Centre on Saturday night.

“It doesn’t glorify what I did,” he was at pains to point out. “It’s my journey.”

Stubbing a finger in my direction he announced: “I did what I did with one eye - that’s the story.

“I was a football thug. Some people are murderers and rapists, but they don’t admit it. I am not ashamed of what I did, but I have a story to tell. There is more to life than being a football thug.”

Contrary to Second City folklore, Barrington did not lose his optic on the terraces or in the street. It’s a war-wound received when, as a seven-year-old, his sister threw a can at him.

Yet despite the handicap, he fought around the globe in martial arts tournaments, facing the very best - including current world heavyweight boxing champ Vitali Klitschko - and lifting a raft of titles.

It’s the handicap that shaped this brutal being. “It made we what I am today,” he said. “At school they called me cyclops, stuff like that, and I’d do battle with them.”

Barrington simply never stopped battling. The self-styled Handsworth ‘rude boy’ so impressed a band of Birmingham City skinheads called the Apex crew, they invited him to a match. A clear case of, if you can’t beat ‘em, ask them to join you’.

“The first time I went to Blues - 1982 or 83 - I didn’t know anyone. I was looking around thinking, where are the brothers?’’

Barrington’s thirst for violent action soon earned him admirers. “The size of me,” he put forward as a probable reason for his popularity, “people do feel intimidated by me. I stand out a mile.”

He speaks matter-of-factly about those shameful years of soccer mob rule. “We earned our reputation. There were people like Millwall, they thought they were top, but we wanted to be the top hooligans. You are there with your friends and you are outnumbered 20 to one and you think, ‘I ain’t running nowhere’.

“You get up in the morning, you want to go to that town and you want to take the p*** for the day. You want to take over that town for the day. But we didn’t just beat anyone with a Liverpool scarf - the lads know who the lads are.

“At the time, it was all about Saturday, Saturday, Saturday.”

“I got done a couple of times,” he conceded.

Leeds and Millwall’s thugs provided particularly tough competition, though Barrington singled out West Ham’s infamous Inter City Firm as, in his words, the best: in the eyes of the general public, the worst.

Scuffles? There were more than a few, though the mid-80s St Andrew’s pitch invasions that marred matches against Leeds and West Ham stand out.

Barrington clings to a perceived code of conduct among thugs and laments the behaviour of the new breed of bad boys. “There are young people calling themselves Zulus who are tarnishing the name. They are ruthless young ****ers. Years ago, you saw an old person, you stopped what you were doing and let them go past.”

At the end of our interview, he encased my limp hand in a vice-like grip, looked deep into my frightened eyes and demanded: “I didn’t sound like a t**t, did I?”

That’s a question linked to diet. Say ‘yes’ and you’ll be tucking into hospital food for the forseeable future.

 

sites down for the moment

will be back up in two weeks

posted 26/2/13

Uefa reduce 2013 Champions League final ticket prices

 Uefa has responded to growing concerns over the high cost of watching football in England by reducing the cheapest ticket for this year's Champions League final at Wembley to £68.

European football's governing body was accused of exploiting supporters when the match was last staged in London two years ago - Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1 - by charging £176 for the cheapest ticket.

Uefa will announce later on Friday that it has listened to that criticism and lowered prices for the showpiece match, which takes place on 25 May, after consulting football fans across Europe.

 "It is correct we should give the opportunity to everyone to go to the match irrespective of their financial conditions," a spokesman said.

But many supporters may still view the entry level price of almost £70 as too high - even for what is arguably the biggest game of the season.

Only 13,000 of the 59,000 tickets on general sale will be priced in this new low category. The rest will be sold at much higher prices ranging from £140 to £330.

This year's competition resumes next week with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Celtic, Arsenal, AC Milan and Bayern Munich all involved in the last 16 ties.

And some fans may still question why 20,000 seats are not being put on sale to the general public. Uefa hold back these tickets for sponsors, commercial partners and officials and administrators from European and world football.

Uefa's response is nevertheless a sign that football's authorities may be aware of the increased sensitivity around the cost of watching football - particularly in England where some Premier League clubs have been accused of ripping off away supporters.

In January, Manchester City fans returned nearly a third of the ticket allocation for their game at Arsenal, saying the £62 price was too high.

Supporters groups have warned the Premier League it risks alienating a generation of fans by charging too much to watch games.

The Premier League says it cannot tell clubs to reduce prices but argues many have become more sophisticated over the past decade, introducing stretched ticketing policies where higher-priced tickets help subsidise more cheaper tickets for fans on lower incomes.

Despite that, some campaigners want to see a greater commitment to reduce prices especially at a time when Premier League clubs are poised to see a huge increase in income thanks to the competition's new improved TV rights deals, which take effect from this August.

Four arrested as police attempt to curb football disorder during Leyton Orient match

At least four people were arrested inside and outside of a football stadium last night.

Two were detained on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon and two more on suspicion of public order offences as police attempted to prevent trouble during Leyton Orient’s home match against Southend United at Brisbane Road Stadium.

Police have not yet provided the ages and sexes of the four but confirmed three were arrested outside the stadium and one inside.

The news comes after nine pubs in Leyton and Leytonstone agreed with the Met’s request to close at 9pm yesterday in an attempt to prevent public disorder related to the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy first leg tie, which the Os lost 1-0.

The Red Lion in High Road, Leytonstone, shut its doors at 4pm.

Police took the measures after two drinkers at the Walnut Tree in Leytonstone High Road were attacked by a group of 10 to 15 men on January 26 at 10pm, following an O's match with Notts County.

A 44-year-old man and a 26-year-old man suffered head injuries.

No-one has been arrested.

The football club would only accept tickets booked online or in person from the ticket office prior to the game.