SOCCER ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE:ALEX FERGUSON believes Manchester City are ready to make an authentic title bid and has identified Everton as being equipped to reach the Champions League and be the surprise package of the season.
The Manchester United manager retains his belief that Chelsea will be his side’s most formidable opponent, but he has also recognised this could be the first time in his 24 years at Old Trafford when City could conceivably sustain a challenge with the top clubs.
“They have to be in the top four,” Ferguson claimed. “They have spent that money, expectation increases with that and they will be challengers, there’s no doubt about that.
“Roberto Mancini has settled into the job, he will know the strength of his players from last year and he’s added Silva, Toure, Boateng and now Balotelli, and Kolarov as well. I said last season they could easily go out in the summer and buy another team, and they have to be in the pecking order now.”
Nonetheless, United finished 18 points ahead of City last season and Ferguson said they still have a clear edge, particularly now he has increased his squad with the additions of Javier Hernandez, Chris Smalling and Bebe. “The advantage for us is that we haven’t sold any players,” he said. “If you’re saying that Man City, with a year extra under his [Mancini’s] belt, will be better, then surely Man United, with the present squad and the younger players a year older, will have improved too.”
Ferguson said he expects Liverpool to improve under Roy Hodgson but he expressed misgivings about Aston Villa now that Martin O’Neill has left the club. “I would have said Villa, because Martin’s done a significant job, but now there seems to be uncertainty there at the moment.
“The interesting one for me is Everton. They have all their players back, whereas the first half of last season was a nightmare for them, with injuries to the likes of Arteta and Jagielka – big losses. Now all of those players are fit they could be an interesting prospect. Spurs have already shown you can break the monopoly of established teams like ourselves, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, and I expect Everton to do very well.”
As for Bebe, the 20-year-old recruit from the Portuguese club Vitoria de Guimaraes, Ferguson does not believe the transfer, at €9 million, represents a gamble. “It’s a fairytale when you look at the background of the boy, starting off in an orphanage and then playing in a homeless league,” Ferguson said.
Bebe can play either as a striker or a wide player but United’s supporters will have to wait for their first chance to see him, with the new recruit not expected to be involved when the team begin their season against Newcastle United on Monday night.
Ferguson admitted he was happy United’s opener against Newcastle has been moved back for live television coverage. “It is a blessing for us to have this game on Monday,” Ferguson said. “We have had quite a few players travelling during the week.”
Mario Balotelli, the talented but problematic Italian striker, has taken City’s spending for the summer to the €122 million mark, with the player flying into England yesterday to complete the formalities of a deal Mancini insists does not represent a gamble.
With Internazionale dropping their asking price to €27.5 million, on the proviso of several performance-related add-ons being included in the package, Balotelli becomes the fifth major signing to arrive at Eastlands ahead of Mancini’s first full season in charge, with the prospect of Aston Villa’s James Milner being added in the coming days.
“He can play on the wing, as a first striker, a second striker,” Mancini said. “He’s a fantastic player and I genuinely believe in one or two years he will be one of the best players in the world.”
Mancini has already signed Jerome Boateng, Aleksandar Kolarov, Yaya Toure and David Silva, with Milner the last deal to be concluded. Boateng, however, has a knee injury from playing for Germany in midweek and there are doubts about Kolarov’s involvement against Tottenham in today’s lunchtime kick-off. Mancini seemed unsatisfied with Carlos Tevez’s fitness, saying the Argentinian had “worked only five days”.
The arguments continue in Manchester over the scale of the pay-off demanded by Stephen Ireland to be part of the €31.7 million player-plus-cash exchange for Milner. Ireland, with four years on his contract, is asking for €2.4 million, whereas City believe that to be exorbitant. Until the issue is resolved Milner will not be able to conclude the deal, despite having already agreed everything on his side. “I think we will need another two or three days,” Mancini said. “When a deal like this happens it has to be right for everybody. But I don’t know about this situation. I know I don’t have £2 million for Ireland.”
Ireland has become disillusioned in the extreme, but Mancini believes a move would help the midfielder to regain the form that made him player of the year two seasons ago. “I think Stephen is a good player but he has played here all his life and he needs a change.”
Guardian Service
