Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has played down the current form of one of his star players in typical fashion, suggesting that goalkeeper Joe Hart still has ways to go before being compared to the world's best.

Hart, 24, is having a brilliant stadium with the Premier League leaders and made a couple of brilliant saves to ensure that City walk out of Villa Park with a vital 1-0 win yesterday.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has played down the current form of one of his star players in typical fashion, suggesting that goalkeeper Joe Hart still has ways to go before being compared to the world's best.

Hart, 24, is having a brilliant stadium with the Premier League leaders and made a couple of brilliant saves to ensure that City walk out of Villa Park with a vital 1-0 win yesterday.

Rumours of Jose Mourinho wanting to leave Real Madrid for the Premiership would mean only one thing: he is heading for Manchester. Since his famous Champions League win with Porto in 2004, Mourinho has had no desire to manage any side lacking truly world-class pedigree. For this very reason, a return to a depleted Chelsea side is not on the cards.

Carlos Tevez could make a sensational return to Manchester City to boost their bid for the Premier League title. The league's best striker last season has been in Argentina for nearly 4 months after falling out with manager Roberto Mancini ... Continue reading →

Aston Villa v Manchester City Preview, Prediction, TV Listings, Betting Odds EPL 12 February 2012 - The 90th Minute Soccer Blog

Manchester City can go on top of the table with a draw or win as they travel to face 14th Aston Villa in the English Premier League. The match will take place at Villa Park in Birmingham, England on Sunday, February 12, 2012.

szólj hozzá: Liverpool Tottenham HIGHLIGHTS

Who let the cat out? A tabby provided the most excitement in the Liverpool vs Spurs match, a cagey affair. Luis Suarez came on in the 66th minute after his nine match ban and promptly plonked Scott Parker on the abdomen with a scything foot, an accident more than anything else, but with Suarez the line is finely drawn.

Manchester City moved three points clear at the top of the Premier League thanks to a convincing 3-0 win at home over Fulham.

Heading into the Fulham match a lot of questions were being asked about a City side that had lost four of their eight matches in 2012, exiting the FA and League Cups and seeing Manchester United draw level with them on points at the top of the Premier League.

By Alan Duffy

Manchester City 3-0 Fulham Premier League 4th February 2012

Manchester City put the disappointment of that midweek defeat against Everton behind them at a snowy Etiahd Stadium on Saturday, coasting to victory against a Fulham side who rarely threatened Jose Hart's goal.

Manchester United's best chance of beating Chelsea - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

With the Manchester clubs tied on points at the top of the table and only Tottenham with an outside chance at the title, this year's Premier League is almost guaranteed to be Manchester-bound.

But it's not an easy road Manchester United still have City, Tottenham and Chelsea (this weekend) away, plus Liverpool home.

Stamford Bridge hasn't been a pay hunting ground in the league for United in recent years, but they look overpriced at 2.9 with Betfred to beat their arch rivals Chelsea and bag a vital three points to maintain their title challenge.

Having played Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool in quick succession, and with Liverpool coming up again, United are now at a crucial stage of their season having hauled themselves level on points with Roberto Mancini's men at the top of the Premiership.

A weekend for remembrance The Premier League and Football League are enthralling, wonderful spectacles, but sometimes a greater force overtakes our love for all things football. On Wednesday afternoon, 80 people went to a football match in Egypt to support their team. They could never know that they would never come home.

An ode to Mario Balotelli: his notorious on and off-field antics (to date) - originally posted on Soccerlens.com

Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli is without doubt one of the most interesting, but controversial players in the current game. Flashes of brilliance for the Etihad Stadium outfit, Inter and Italy testify to the 21-year-old's ability, but scandal and strange off-field behaviour have never been too far away in the attacker's short career to date.

Manchester City lost their 3 point advantage at the top of the Premier League after a 1-0 defeat to Everton with In The Stands' Rolly Pelovangu arguing that boss Roberto Mancini should bring back Carlos Tevez asap It is a well known fact that most people have very short memories not least where football is [.

Manchester City lost their 3 point advantage at the top of the Premier League after a 1-0 defeat at Everton with In The Stands' Rolly Pelovangu arguing that boss Roberto Mancini should bring back Carlos Tevez asap It is a well known fact that most people have very short memories not least where football is [.

The transfer window came to a close yesterday with some very interesting signings across Europe. Once again attention was centred on the EPL where a host of clubs were keen on bolstering their squads for the remainder of the season.

However, it was to be a bitter sweet day for league leaders Manchester City who despite capturing Roma midfielder David Pizarro on loan, suffered a 1-0 away defeat to Everton.

There was some fond hope that the man handcuffed to the goalpost was making a grandiose statement about the unholy sums of money destroying football (read City). Or maybe he had tried handcuffing himself to a badger the previous evening with unsatisfying results and wanted something different.

A few months ago, everything was going swimmingly for City. All they seemingly had to do was to show up for win after lopsided win. But then there was a gradual slide in theor fortunes. At the end of January their season is but a litany of thwarted ambitions. Out of the Champions League in December and by last week, the Carling Cup and the FA Cup, their accelerated program to win the Premiership title seems to have hit a wall and in danger of being snatched by those other pesky Mancunians and the upstart Spurs.

By Alan Duffy

Everton 1-0 Manchester City Premier League 31st January 2012

Roberto Mancini's nouveau riche Citizens just can't seem to put any decent daylight between them and their Manchester rivals in the race for the title.

Former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes has told the Premier League leaders that his Queens Park Rangers side can help them claim the Barclays Premier League title if they loan out-of-favor striker Carlos Tevez to the West London outfit.

Hughes has entered the bidding for Tevez's services after the links to both Milan clubs, PSG, and most recently, even Liverpool, broke down without significant progress.

Speculation intensified over the weekend about a potential swap deal involving Liverpool's Andy Carroll and Manchester City outcast Carlos Tevez, and with the transfer window closing in about 15 hours, there's still time for a sensational (but improbable) deal to go through. Kenny Dalglish has insisted that Carroll is going nowhere, but what is Roberto Mancini's take on the issue?

There's a slim chance Carlos Tevez (in sparkier times above) will be joining Samuel Eto'o's Russian playground, Anzhi, before the transfer window closes at 12am tonight. But don't bank on it chicos! Milan, PSG and Inter all held discussions with him in the past months and everyone basically snapped their fingers and said "NO", except for Anzhi who're apparently willing to pay £15m for him.

According to the Daily Mirror on Sunday, Manchester City have rejected an offer from ­Liverpool to swap Carlos Tevez for Andy Carroll.

According to the exclusive in the newspaper, Liverpool approached Man City's Football ­Administration Officer Brian Marwood with the offer 48 hours ago, just hours after beating the Blues in the Carling Cup semi-final.

Carlos Tevez's advisor, Kia Joorabchian is quoted in the English newspapers as saying that Tevez will not be sold in the January transfer window:

"We've been in negotiations with three big clubs but I don't think they have reached the figures Manchester City want. Carlos will remain at Man City until the summer.

Carlos Tevez's advisor, Kia Joorabchian is quoted in the English newspapers as saying that Tevez will not be sold in the January transfer window:

"We've been in negotiations with three big clubs but I don't think they have reached the figures Manchester City want. Carlos will remain at Man City until the summer.

Italian champions AC Milan have stated that they will be making a decision on signing Carlos Tevez today. Tevez who has been making headlines since he infamously snubbed Roberto Mancini's request to come on as a substitute in their Champions League fixture against Bayern Munich last September, remains AWOL in his native Argentina.

Manchester City have officially went out from another competition, this time it's the Carling Cup after Roberto Mancini's side only managed to get a 2-2 draw against Liverpool in the competition's second leg, while getting beaten 1-0 in the first meeting.

Mancini himself was very disappointed at that failure but once again he put the blame on refereeing decision instead of his team's own performance, which the manager though already pleasing enough.

Manchester City have officially went out from another competition, this time it's the Carling Cup after Roberto Mancini's side only managed to get a 2-2 draw against Liverpool in the competition's second leg, while getting beaten 1-0 in the first meeting.

Mancini himself was very disappointed at that failure but once again he put the blame on refereeing decision instead of his team's own performance, which the manager though already pleasing enough.

Come era nell'aria così è stato. La stangata per "Super" Mario è arrivata. Balotelli è stato squalificato pr 4 giornate dalla Federcalcio inglese. Gi scontata una (ha saltato la sfida di Carling Cup con il Liverpool, terminata 2 a 2) dovr saltare altri tre turni per la "condotta violenta" nel match di Premier League vintoContinua a leggere .

Liverpool set up a Carling Cup final against Cardiff after playing out a thrilling 2-2 draw with Manchester City at Anfield to advance 3-2 on aggregate.
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, City quickly drew level on aggregate thanks to a superb long-range strike from defensive midfielder Nigel de Jong that flew into the top corner.

Kenny Dalglish paid tribute to a 'fantastic performance' from Liverpool after watching his side book their place in the Carling Cup final.
The Reds held a 1-0 lead going into the second leg of their semi-final at Anfield but still displayed a positive attitude to finish the job and set up a Wembley showpiece against Cardiff.

Roberto Mancini was left to bemoan a couple of refereeing calls that went against Manchester City after seeing Liverpool go through to the Carling Cup final.
Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, City had a lot of work to do at Anfield and opened the scoring thanks to Nigel de Jong's stunning strike from distance.

By Alan Duffy

Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City (Aggregate 3-2) Carling Cup Semi-final 25th January 2012

Liverpool came from behind twice against Manchester City at Anfield to secure a place in the final of the Carling Cup, and their first appearance at Wembley in 16 years.

Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry has sent a strong message to the club's doubters, asserting that for all the criticism over their massive spending spree and unproven title credentials, the Citizens have delivered on the promises made to him.

Speaking ahead of the decisive leg of City's Carling Cup semifinal against Liverpool tonight, Barry revealed that he strongly considered moving to Anfield in 2009 before choosing the Eastlands based largely on a commitment to build for the future.

Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry has sent a strong message to the club's doubters, asserting that for all the criticism over their massive spending spree and unproven title credentials, the Citizens have delivered on the promises made to him.

Speaking ahead of the decisive leg of City's Carling Cup semifinal against Liverpool tonight, Barry revealed that he strongly considered moving to Anfield in 2009 before choosing the Eastlands based largely on a commitment to build for the future.

Mario Balotelli never seems to stop making the headline as despite being Manchester City savior in previous match against Tottenham Hotspurs, Balotelli caught himself involved in another case on that game.

The Italian striker was caught stamping Spurs' midfielder, Scott Parker, on Sunday and now are facing a disciplinary act by the English FA, who already confirmed their stance, only waiting for the forward to respons.

Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has acknowledged that Manchester City's continued hold on the Premier League's top spot is impressive but warned the Citizens that "funny things can happen" between now and the end of the season.

Scholes, 37, came out of retirement earlier this month and has since played a part in each of United's three victories, the latest being a substitute appearance in the 2-1 win away to Arsenal yesterday.

Manchester City could be without striker Mario Balotelli for four games after he was charged with violent conduct by the Football Association.
The controversial Italian appeared to stamp on Scott Parker's head during City's dramatic 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and despite the incident going unpunished at the time, has been charged retrospectively.

Former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore has launched a scathing attack on the foreign players in English football, arguing that they brought the 'curse' of diving into the English game.In his column weekly column for The People, Collymore attacked Man City Manager Roberto Mancini's 'pathetic card-waving antics', and insisted that 'the Italian needs to be stopped before this nasty disease begins

szólj hozzá: Man City v Tottenham 3:2 MOTD

The first half was as dull and dragging as the Utd vs Arsenal match. The second half was just the opposite - a high voltage pulsating encounter between 1st placed City and 3rd placed Spurs. Roberto Mancini's squad went ahead in the second half through Samir Nasri and Joleon Lescott, both goals within minutes of each other.

Manchester City maintain their lead at the top of table and also widen their gap with third place team, Tottenham Hotspurs after Roberto Mancini's team edged passed Harry Redknapp's boys this Sunday.

Controversial Italian striker, Mario Balotelli arrived as City's savior in the match after scoring the winning goal deep in injury time.