Mancini takes a cheap shot at Tottenham.

During the history of the Premier League, there have been many famous
moments where managers have lost the plot when under severe pressure,
and have hit out at rival players and managers. There was of course
Kevin Keegan’s “I would love it…” interview, and more recently, Rafa
Benitez was at pains to point out some “FACTS” about Manchester United.
However, this week’s feud started by Manchester City boss, Roberto Mancini, with the white half of North London is one of the strangest episodes in recent times.
Mancini’s claim is that without Gareth Bale, Tottenham
would be half the side they currently are – a strange statement to say
the least. Whilst Bale has put in several high-class performances in a Tottenham shirt
over the last twelve months, the main reason for Spurs’ continued
success is their ability to rotate their squad, with quality
replacements in every position.
The Welshman has excelled this season, however his displays have
mainly been in European fixtures – the consistent week in, week out
Premier League performances have come from other players – particularly
earlier on in the campaign. Rafael Van der Vaart has been a revelation, and the creativity of Luka Modric
has been a joy to behold. The scary thing for Mancini is, that could
Bale find a greater level of consistency in his league performances, the
Lilywhites could be even stronger domestically.
Were Mancini to locate a realistic weak point, he may have looked at the obsession with bringing a 35 year old David Beckham to White Hart Lane,
or the poor fitness record of the Tottenham back line, but his attack
on Tottenham’s squad depth is laughable, particularly looking at the
resources available at Chelsea and Liverpool.




Mancini’s comments are sure to rile Tottenham fans all over the
country, but why do it? Bearing in mind it was this exact Spurs side
that forced Manchester City out of the Champions League
spots at the end of last season, the Italian tactician is making a rod
for his own back should his team slip up in the coming months.
A bigger concern for the former Inter Milan boss is that his own
players have caused enough difficulty over the last few weeks. From Carlos Tevez’s
insistence that he would never play for the club again, to training
ground bust-ups amongst his expensively assembled squad, you would have
thought the Italian would have used the time away from the spotlight to
quietly strengthen his hand rather than get involved in a needless
squabble.
Throughout the course of a season there are inevitable verbal jousts
between rival managers, particularly as we move towards the business end
of the campaign. Mancini’s comments may be simply washed over in the
coming weeks as the battle for Champions League qualification takes its
most significant turn, however if his remarks result in a dramatic
backlash when the two sides meet in a couple of months time he will only
have himself to blame.

Tottenham Fancast.

Mancini has stated that Bale will be his main summer transfer target. Read into his statement what you will (dumb Italian cock) . .. . . . ..


Gareth Bale is Man City's top summer transfer target - Roberto Mancini
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has admitted left winger Gareth Bale will be his top transfer target in the summer window - despite Spurs stating categorically that the player is not for sale.


Mancini has said the signing of forward Edin Dzeko will most likely be the beginning and end of his spending this month as he looks to bolster his squad for the pursuit of domestic and European honours this season.

However, the Italian has already been speaking about his lofty plans for some summer spending - admitting highly-rated Bale is at the top of his list of targets for the end of the season.



'Last year Bale had already proved his value and now he has improved, so you'd need a lot of money to sign him,' Mancini has told the Italian press.

'He will be our strongest target - if Tottenham decide to put him on the market in the summer.

'He will be possibly the only player who is not a striker that can make a difference [to our squad].'

Bale is also said to have been a target for Italian giants like Juventus and Inter Milan, ever since his star-studded performances for Spurs in the Champions League group stages earlier this season.


However, manager Harry Redknapp - who was also forced to deny speculation linking the Welsh international with City's Manchester rivals United last year - has dismissed the talk as lacking any basis in reality.


'I can't see how it will happen,' he told Sky Sports News.

'Gareth wants to stay at Spurs and we want to keep him. If you're a club with high hopes you don't sell talented young players like Gareth Bale.

'I hope he'll stay with us for a long time yet.'

Meanwhile, Mancini has also dismissed any talk of the club bidding for Italian international goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

'He [Buffon] remains one of the best goalkeepers in the world but we've decided to choose Hart.

'We have already sacrificed one of the top goalkeepers in Shay Given to make Hart our number one [so] I can categorically say we will never make an offer on Buffon.'