Manchester City manager David Platt has spoken positively of Mario Balotelli's behaviour off the pitch, describing him as an ‘enigma' and praising his improved maturity. The Italian striker was in fine form at the weekend, scoring two goals as City hammered Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford, and he has certainly appeared to be more consistent at the start of this campaign.

Sunderland got their first win of the season this afternoon, beating Bolton Wanderers at The Reebok Stadium. Two late goals was enough for the Mackems' with Sessegnon turning sharply in the box before firing hard and low and he then setup featured player Nicklas Bendtner on the left side, before N.

Boca Juniors are hoping they can agree a deal to sign Manchester City's outcast striker Carlos Tevez, according to reports. The Argentine forward was suspended by the club earlier this month, following his refusal to come on as a substitute in City's Champions' League defeat to Bayern Munich. After that incident, Roberto Mancini has made it clear that Tevez will never play for the club again.

In the build up to Denmark's vitally important qualifiers against Cyprus and Portugal, N.B-52 has joined a new club on loan in the Barclays Premiership Sunderland Afc, he's done well there thus far, getting his first goal on the weekend, and having 2 assists already in his name, one of them a fine assist cutting in from the left side before whipping in a telling cross for his Sunderland team-mate Elmohamody to head in, building up a telling partnership with Phillipe Sessegnon.

Sturridge refrained from celebrating for both of his goals. Chelsea has been having problems getting into their groove this season while Manchester City is surrounded by the maelstorm of the Tevez fiasco. Yet both clubs displayed dominance this weekend, winning by four goal margins away from home. Chelsea defeated Bolton 5-1 while Manchester City broke down a dispirited Blackburn side 4-0.

Sunderland were left shell shocked earlier on when West Bromwich Albion took a 2 goal lead in the first 5 minutes. Firstly a foul was given middway through the Mackems half, It was swung in by Chris Brunt and Scotsman James Morrison got on the end of it with a header to put the visiting side in the lead.

Sunderland went down 2-1 when they travelled to Carrow Rd, Norwich on Monday evening, where N.B-52 played the 90 mins. Sunderland are in action in the Barclays Premier League again tomorrow afternoon when they entertain West Bromwich Albion. It could be an interesting game with both sides playing positive football.

Nicklas Bendtner was starting for the third time in a row when Sunderland travelled South to take on newly promoted to the Barclays Premiership, Norwich City. You could tell that Nicklas and co were getting a little more used to their roles and how each other play with some nice crisp passing and some nice movement between all the new signings.

So, it went to the last minute but featured player Nicklas Bendtner is gonna be playing week in-week out in the English Barclays Premiership for the Black Cats', Sunderland Afc. This move is only a positive thing for Nicklas and to all his supporters. Just as the Danish manager Morten Olsen said the most important thing for NB is to get solid playing time in a highly competitive league.

The slightly controversial Joey Barton could leave Newcastle United
Joey Barton has been told he can leave Newcastle on a free transfer. The midfielder's controversial stay at St James Park looks to be nearing a close as the Magpies have placed the former Manchester City player on the transfer list.

By: Ram GurungColumnist: Nepalifootball.com

Rohit Chand may finally play in Europe but in different country and different league than speculated. The Ligue 1 i.e. the French A division League Champions Lille OSC have been monitoring the progress of young Nepalese prospect Rohit Chand.

This article was written by Pete South, follow him on Twitter @peterwsouth.
Carlos Tevez will stay with Manchester City according to Roberto Mancini despite intense speculation the Argentinian forward would be leaving Eastlands this summer. Tevez was being chased by Inter Milan, with Mancini said to be keen on bringing Samuel Eto'o to Manchester as part of the deal, but now the Italian has revealed that the move stuttered because the Serie A side were unwilling to sell Eto'o.

This article was written by Pete South, follow him on Twitter @peterwsouth.
Aston Villa winger Ashley young has finalized his move to Manchester United in a five year deal believed to be worth around £17 million. The 25-year-old passed his medical at United's training ground on Thursday before putting pen to paper to sign for the reigning Premier League champions.

**This week's guest post comes courtesy of Tony, who's been commenting regularly as Tropics Red. He discusses the impact that the surge of young talent might have on Liverpool's transfer strategy and the squad in general, as well as a look towards next season.

Image from The Guardian
Every season there are players which light up the Premier League. This season there have been quite a few, some performing consistently and others maybe a little less. The PFA awards shortlists of the season were announced, and they seem to contain all the necessary players, even if they had to do some last minute adding on.

Image from The Guardian
Every season there are players which light up the Premier League. This season there have been quite a few, some performing consistently and others maybe a little less. The PFA awards shortlists of the season were announced, and they seem to contain all the necessary players, even if they had to do some last minute adding on.

David Luiz scored the opener against Manchester City
Unless you hit the ground running, life can be very difficult as a new signing. At Chelsea we saw two Brazilians join, Ramires in the summer and David Luiz in January, and they've both had very different stories with the Blues so far. But recently they both proved very useful to an underachieving Carlo Ancelotti when they both scored to defeat Manchester City.

David Luiz scored the opener against Manchester City
Unless you hit the ground running, life can be very difficult as a new signing. At Chelsea we saw two Brazilians join, Ramires in the summer and David Luiz in January, and they've both had very different stories with the Blues so far. But recently they both proved very useful to an underachieving Carlo Ancelotti when they both scored to defeat Manchester City.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp
At the start of the season, Harry Redknapp told Tottenham fans that despite the obvious potential for distraction which comes with participating in the Champions League, his mission brief was simple: to finish in the top four and to continue the club's development from mid-table also-rans to genuine title contenders.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp
At the start of the season, Harry Redknapp told Tottenham fans that despite the obvious potential for distraction which comes with participating in the Champions League, his mission brief was simple: to finish in the top four and to continue the club's development from mid-table also-rans to genuine title contenders.

A man in a difficult position, Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti was a made man. He sat at the top of the Premier League having seen his side score more than 100 goals in a season – the first time since the great Spurs side of the 60's –, a £9 million contract in the bag, and the promise of a serious assault on the Champions League in the 2010/11 season.

Is Rooney finally at peace with himself?
Watching Manchester City this season, they've grown on me. They aren't the most likeable of clubs, yet somehow they have an amiable feel about them.
Maybe it's because they make everything more interesting, with their big spending accompanied by big aspirations.

Speaking after their loss at Anfield last week, Stoke City manager Tony Pulis was quick to defend his side, stating that the main difference between his team's 2-0 home win back in November and the match he had just witnessed was the venue. Perhaps it was a case of sour grapes, or maybe he was just trying to pick his side up before their game against Sunderland this weekend, but there was clearly a massive gap in quality – not just between the two sides on the pitch, but also the two performances on display from Liverpool.

This mid-season transfer window has been exciting! While I expected a couple of minor signings here and there, I would've never imagined the deals which went on this January. Here's what went on in the English Premier League, Serie A, and La Liga.
In England Chelsea were the biggest spenders, snatching Fernando Torres and David Luiz for a total sum around 70 million Pounds.

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti spoke of "turning corners" and of having brought to an end a "difficult moment which went on too long", following their much-needed victory over Bolton Wanderers. The Blues won in a one-sided affair at the Reebok Stadium with unanswered goals from Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, Nicolas Anelka and Ramires, and the result marks the first time that they have won back-to-back Premier League wins since the end of October.

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti spoke of "turning corners" and of having brought to an end a "difficult moment which went on too long", following their much-needed victory over Bolton Wanderers. The Blues won in a one-sided affair at the Reebok Stadium with unanswered goals from Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, Nicolas Anelka and Ramires, and the result marks the first time that they have won back-to-back Premier League wins since the end of October.

It was just a matter of time. Mourinho was unhappy at Real Madrid, and the Portuguese had been whining consistently for a center-forward after Gonzalo Higuain's back injury. Emmanuel Adebayor didn't fit into Roberto Mancini's plans at Manchester City, especially considering that Manchester City went out and bought Edin Dzeko in this mid-season transfer window.

It was just a matter of time. Mourinho was unhappy at Real Madrid, and the Portuguese had been whining consistently for a center-forward after Gonzalo Higuain's back injury. Emmanuel Adebayor didn't fit into Roberto Mancini's plans at Manchester City, especially considering that Manchester City went out and bought Edin Dzeko in this mid-season transfer window.

It wasn't all bad under Roy Hodgson. Despite the former Fulham man's troubled time in charge of Liverpool coming to an abrupt end earlier this month, his presence was felt in a game which ironically signified the club moving on from his time as manager.
Kenny Dalglish's first win in charge of Liverpool was somewhat of a departure from the manner that Liverpool fans have gotten so used to this season.

It wasn't all bad under Roy Hodgson. Despite the former Fulham man's troubled time in charge of Liverpool coming to an abrupt end earlier this month, his presence was felt in a game which ironically signified the club moving on from his time as manager.
Kenny Dalglish's first win in charge of Liverpool was somewhat of a departure from the manner that Liverpool fans have gotten so used to this season.

An imperious display from Dimitar BerbatovThe Bulgarian is a goal machine. Dimitar Berbatov has scored another hat-trick, his third this season in the Premier League. It was another routine home-win for Manchester United, a 5-0 thumping of Birmingham City with all of Old Trafford revelling in Berbatov's predatorial grace.

An imperious display from Dimitar BerbatovThe Bulgarian is a goal machine. Dimitar Berbatov has scored another hat-trick, his third this season in the Premier League. It was another routine home-win for Manchester United, a 5-0 thumping of Birmingham City with all of Old Trafford revelling in Berbatov's predatorial grace.

Although Chelsea have blown a massive opportunity to be well clear at the top of the table, in a Premier League season where everybody is dropping points – in Manchester United's case, even without losing – they do seem to have turned their season around in time to save their boss from the sack. Had their dismal run of form continued then it would have been almost inevitable that Roman Abramovich would have wielded his managerial axe once more, but three wins in a row following the 7-0 FA Cup rout of Ipswich has breathed new life into a campaign which seemed to be circling the drain.

Although Chelsea have blown a massive opportunity to be well clear at the top of the table, in a Premier League season where everybody is dropping points – in Manchester United's case, even without losing – they do seem to have turned their season around in time to save their boss from the sack. Had their dismal run of form continued then it would have been almost inevitable that Roman Abramovich would have wielded his managerial axe once more, but three wins in a row following the 7-0 FA Cup rout of Ipswich has breathed new life into a campaign which seemed to be circling the drain.

Jean Makoun when he played for LilleAston Villa have signed Jean Makoun from Olympique Lyonnais for about 6 million Pounsa. The Cameroon midfielder joins Villa in 19th position, and he should be able to bring some solidity to the midfield. Makoun is a dynamic defensive midfielder, he's seen in front of the defence spreading passes around and offering an extra layer of protection in front of goal.

Jean Makoun when he played for LilleAston Villa have signed Jean Makoun from Olympique Lyonnais for about 6 million Pounsa. The Cameroon midfielder joins Villa in 19th position, and he should be able to bring some solidity to the midfield. Makoun is a dynamic defensive midfielder, he's seen in front of the defence spreading passes around and offering an extra layer of protection in front of goal.

Roy Hodgson's presentationAfter Roy Hodgson left Liverpool, this question sprung immediately into my mind: was Roy Hodgson destined to fail at Liverpool? If you look at it, there are few other jobs which entail a bigger revival needed than Liverpool's. When Roy first joined the Liverpool project, there were fans burning American flags to spite the incompetent owners, there was a shattered group of players searching for a saviour, and there was Roy.

Roy Hodgson's presentationAfter Roy Hodgson left Liverpool, this question sprung immediately into my mind: was Roy Hodgson destined to fail at Liverpool? If you look at it, there are few other jobs which entail a bigger revival needed than Liverpool's. When Roy first joined the Liverpool project, there were fans burning American flags to spite the incompetent owners, there was a shattered group of players searching for a saviour, and there was Roy.

Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor being separated by teammatesThere has been much criticism aimed towards Roberto Mancini's Manchester City. Although the Italian has guided City to third in the Premier League table, he still has a lot of work to do. This hectic month is the window for City to get rid of a few problems, and buy a talented Bosnian forward.

Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Adebayor being separated by teammatesThere has been much criticism aimed towards Roberto Mancini's Manchester City. Although the Italian has guided City to third in the Premier League table, he still has a lot of work to do. This hectic month is the window for City to get rid of a few problems, and buy a talented Bosnian forward.