Tuesday gossip

Tue 25 Oct 2011, 8:44AM
Posted by Tim Oscroft

The shockwaves from Sunday’s stunning result at Old Trafford are still reverberating around the footballing world, with opinion and reaction a-plenty.


Mario Balotelli is the centre of attention, no surprises there given his quotes from mcfc.co.uk yesterday now being picked up and used all over the place. The Independent’s Ian Herbert gives you a bit more background to the enigmatic striker in light of A: that t-shirt and B: that firework incident on Saturday night.

“The 21-year-old certainly needed to be as swift of mind as of feet to dream up "Why always me?", which he pulled over his head 36 hours after leaving his smoke-damaged home in the hamlet of Mottram St Andrew, though a capacity for satire is an aspect of Balotelli's repertoire far less appreciated here than in Italy.

“One of his most memorable TV appearances back home was in the show Le Iene, whose presenters doorstep celebrities and send them up. The Italian sports press had been reporting how Balotelli was completing his exams while playing for Internazionale so the programme tested his general knowledge at Inter's training ground.

“We see Balotelli reciting lines from a Giosue Carducci poem while jogging and answering on the life and times of Napoleon in the midst of press-ups. He does it deadpan. The presenters are creased up.”

So how do we follow a reference to the first Italian to win the Nobel Prize for Literature? With Ian Wright in the Sun, obviously. Wrighty reflects on the derby with a warning for Roberto Mancini along the lines of nothing being won in October.

“City, and I don't like this term noisy neighbours by the way, are in a terrific place right now. But they know that if they make any slips, then United will be right there breathing down their necks.

“Mancini's men still have to go to Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal and win. And Mancini faces a battle to deal with the fact that many City fans now EXPECT to win the title even though there is a long way to go.

“A bit like Jose Mourinho, I think Mancini has a lot of respect for Fergie so I'm not sure whether they'll have any verbal spats over the season. But you can be sure, when the time is right, Fergie will lob the odd grenade towards City's training ground.” – not literally!

On the wider implications of Sunday’s win, David Fox has written a well-balanced piece on the State of the Game site, which kicks off with a Bob Dylan quote!

“Money doesn’t talk, it swears”. –Bob Dylan. "As the dust settles after Manchester City’s seismic derby victory, many are heralding the 6-1 thrashing of the champions as proof that the balance of power has finally shifted across the city. Time will tell if that proves to be true, but in the meantime something else has shifted too: public opinion.”

“Mancini's men still have to go to Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal and win".

Really?.......Why?

Only the Sun could employ Ian Wright as a columnist. FFS!

....many City fans now EXPECT to win the title even though there is a long way to go...I wonder how many City fans he has spoken to who EXPECT to win the title....................... TWOT !!!

I for one, will have that nagging feeling of doubt, forever nuzzling up to my ear, so even on sunday, when the Fletcher goal went it, feared the worst, so unused I am to winning against Utd in games such as these. Saying that I did have a similar feeling as the one when I was at the semi, where I told the bloke next to me not to stress, as we were going to win!

When Fletcher's goal went in ......3-3 came to mind.......the 'old City Fan' in me just won't go away. At 6-1 though with 1 minute to go.....I kinda relaxed, a little.