Luka Modric v Samir Nasri

Crowd reaction

SAMIR NASRI had a chuckle when he was booed by the home crowd before kick-off — hardly surprising given his move from North London rivals Arsenal to City last week.
The jeering subsided as he took the game by the scruff of the neck and was replaced by stunned silence.

Luka Modric even got stick from a few Spurs fans unhappy at his demands to leave for Chelsea. 

Team reaction
PLAYERS are professional and, as Spurs left-back Benoit Assou-Ekotto explained, there is no problem in the Tottenham dressing room with Modric's desire to leave.
But Nasri, new on the scene at City, fitted in the more comfortably of the pair, playing like he had been at the club for years.
He set up two first-half goals as Modric was simply overshadowed.

Attacking flair
NASRI was simply a joy to watch — eclipsing his silky team-mate David Silva, who is one of the best dribblers in the world.
The former Gunner started the moves for both of Edin Dzeko's goals in the first half with some eye-catching technique.
A subdued Modric showed a couple of flashes of skill but they were few and far between.

Verdict
NO Contest. Nasri was instrumental in a swashbuckling City win away from home at a team which ran them close for fourth last season.
Two assists and an all-round display of skill and industry had City fans rubbing their hands.
The match and result was not a great advert to try to keep the ambitious Modric happy and contented at White Hart Lane.

source: Thesun.co.uk

Chris Smalling says Manchester United’s kids can top the class

Alex Ferguson fielded his second youngest Premier League line-up on Monday night as a Manchester United side with an average age of 23 beat Tottenham 3-0. 

Only three players in the team were over the age of 24.  And Smalling, 21, said: "There is an excitement in terms of the endless potential.

Boss Fergie fielded a younger side in the last game of the 2008-09 season but United had the title in the bag and were saving players for the Champions League final. Still, they went to Hull and won.

This line-up was in a big game against a top-five club and they tore Spurs to shreds.

The exact average age was 23 years and 191 days.

But if 30-year-old Patrice Evra had not recovered from an early-season injury, Fabio, 21, would have played and that average would have been nearer 22.

Evra said: "The boss is not afraid to use young players.  "They have such composure. They want to prove to the manager they are ready to play on the team. It's good for us because we need some energy and they have that.

"I'm not surprised because they played well during pre-season and they are confident.  

"We have lost experienced players like Edwin van der Sar, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville but you can see now that the team is very fresh."

This is as dramatic and exciting a change-around as Ferguson has inflicted on the Premier League since the 1995-96 season.

David De Gea, 20, Phil Jones, 19, Ashley Young, 26, and Tom Cleverley, 22, made their top-flight Old Trafford debuts in a United shirt.

The way Cleverley set up 20-year-old striker Danny Welbeck for the opening goal was a joy for Ferguson.

Cleverley spent last season on loan at Wigan, while Welbeck was at Sunderland before both were recalled in the summer. 

Wayne Rooney, at 25, is now regarded as one of the senior figures at Old Trafford.

Smalling added: "Rooney is young in terms of his age but is one of the more experienced players now. The young players try to learn from players like him."

Ferguson gave his players two targets at the start of the season - to hit the ground running and sort out their away form.

They played intense football to win all five games on their pre-season tour of America and continued that in the Community Shield with a brilliant second-half comeback against Manchester City.

In the league, they have beaten West Brom away and now thumped Spurs at home.  

Smalling revealed: "Everyone's smiling. The manager tells us to concentrate but he also tells us to enjoy it.

"And if you're not enjoying your football, you shouldn't really be here. This is a venue that should please anyone.

"You could see that in the performance against Spurs."  

Source: Thesun.co.uk

Man Utd considers partial Asian flotation

Manchester United's owners, the Glazer family, are considering a share sale in Singapore to help raise money to reduce some of their debts.

The BBC's sports editor David Bond says an initial public offering (IPO) is one of a number of refinancing options the American family is examining.

But, he says, they are only considering selling a minority stake - perhaps no more than 25%.  

If successful, such a move could raise £400m ($657m).  The Old Trafford club was listed on the London stock market until it was taken over by the Glazers in 2005.

A partial sale share would mean that no outside person could take control of the club.

At the same time, it would provide the Glazers with much needed revenues that would help pay down some of the debt that was taken on to finance the takeover. 

Growing market

United has more than 300 million fans around the world and more than 190 million of those are in Asia. The region has become a growth area for the club and other Premier League teams.

"Tottenham Hotspur are coming through here prospecting; Chelsea is setting up management operations," Fuse Sport's Mr Heyhoe Flint explained.

"All of them want to engage with the fans out here, find partners, increase their TV distribution and increase their commercial partnerships."

Analysts said that the rise in football's popularity may help Manchester United get a better price for its shares by tapping into this new fan base.

In March, Manchester United's parent company said it made a loss of £108.9m in 2009-10. Red Football Joint Venture is the Glazer family parent company that owns the Old Trafford club.

Its loss, for the year to the end of July 2010, included one-off costs from setting up a £526m bond scheme last January to replace outstanding debts of £509m.

There was also a drop in player sale income, compared to the previous summer when Cristiano Ronaldo was sold.

source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/

Why Arsenal and Barcelona hate each other – and it’s not just about Cesc Fabregas

It was a bitter transfer war that raged for more than a year, sparking hostility between two of Europe's grandest clubs. 

The source of the hostility is simple - the Spanish giants have never forgiven Gunners boss Arsene Wenger for spiriting Fabregas away at 16.

But that 2003 swoop was just the start of the incredible rift that now exists between these European titans. 

The loss of four more starlets to Arsenal since then has led to a total meltdown in relations - a chasm only widened by Barca's bid to take Fabregas 'home'. 

Arsenal have been dismayed at how the Spaniards pursued their captain since last year and the stunts that were pulled to try and force through a deal. 

Like Nou Camp stars using Spain's 2010 World Cup-winning celebrations to try and parade Fabregas in a Barcelona shirt. 

Like Spanish team-mate Xavi hailing Fabregas as his 'successor' and revealing how Fab was 'suffering' because his dream move to his boyhood club was being blocked. 

Yet Barcelona vehemently claim they are the injured party, arguing Fabregas was the first of five youngsters they groomed only for Arsenal to controversially whisk them away. 

Fabregas was followed by Fran Merida, Ignasi Miquel, Hector Bellerin and Jon Toral - much to the dismay of the Spaniards who had invested heavily in their development. 

So no wonder the protracted negotiations for Fabregas have been so acrimonious.

A Barcelona source said: "It's true the negotiations have been fraught and full of recriminations. 

"Arsenal keep complaining, they say we are trying to sign Cesc on the cheap and keep asking for more cash. 

"But we feel we have far more reason to feel aggrieved. 

"The reason we won't pay any more is because so many of our youngsters have been ghosted away on the cheap by Arsene Wenger - after years of being developed and trained by us at great expense."

source: Thesun.co.uk

The next Chicharito' - why Real Madrid and Barcelona are fighting for Carlos Fierro

Carlos Fierro's rapid ascent to stardom could not have been possible without the splendid summer that he has enjoyed along with the rest of Mexico's star-studded Under-17 World Cup-winning roster.

While originally billed in Mexico as a Jared Borgetti-type striker - lanky, powerful and most likely to add to his goalscoring tally via his aerial ability, Fierro showed the world that his speed, instinct and finishing qualities were second to none in the recent youth championship on home soil.

The youngster's understanding with fellow Chivas product Giovani Casillas, who was also close to signing with Real Madrid in 2009, is unique. The wide man Casillas can easily exchange positions with Fierro on the pitch to provide a confusing yet lethal combination for opposing defenders.

With four goals in Mexico's seven-game road to the championship, Fierro raised eyebrows from the beginning, attracting reported interest from teams such as Premier League rivals Arsenal and Tottenham. His speed, skill set, tactical flexibility and killer instinct made him hot property over the summer.

 source: goal.com


Video showing Fierro's skill

Pele: Neymar should snub England move

BRAZIL legend Pele has told Neymar to reject any move to the Premier League.

Pele reckons Santos wonderkid Neymar can be as good as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have tracked his rise into the national team, along with Chelsea and Manchester City.  But Pele believes his talent will suffer if he decides to switch to England.

Pele, who also made his name with Santos, said: "He can be a great player.  "He can be like Messi or Ronaldo, no doubt.

"But I think it's a little complicated for him to move to a club in England or Italy at the moment. The marking is very tight there.

"He would find that a little difficult because he's very young.

"The game is very physical in England and Italy. Maybe in Holland or France or even Spain it would be better for him."

Santos have always insisted they want to keep hold of Neymar and make him the best player in the world. 

But Pele added: "I think it is very difficult to keep him in Brazil. Santos is my team and he started there with us.  "I hope he stays there until more or less the 2014 World Cup but it will be a little difficult to keep him here.