Can Man City do a Chelsea next season?

WITH Gareth Barry joining Robinho in the Eastlands and possibly Carlos Tevez on the way, Manchester City are starting to look the way of Chelsea at the start of the Roman Revolution just a few seasons back.

We all knew how that turned out didn’t we? Chelsea won the Premiership title for two seasons in a row under Jose Mourinho, with stars such as Arjen Robben, Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko (still considered a star at the time of signing at least).

The Citizens are attempting to flood their dressing room with the same embarrassment of riches in footballing talent this transfer season, although Mark Hughes is definitely no Mourinho, based on last season’s results.

Furthermore, the Blues were nearly there (i.e. already in the Big Four) when Claudio Ranieri in charge, Abramovich’s money and Mourinho’s managerial nous arguably proved to be the final boost needed for the London club to clinch their first Premiership title in 50 years.

City, however, do not have the same foundation to start with, finishing 10th in the league this season, even with additions such as Robinho and the return of Shaun Wright-Phillips.

But can City do one better than Chelsea and jump from mid-table mediocrity to the Big Four next season, with all the money available for big-money players and maybe even a new high-profile manager?

Transfer season: who will emerge the biggest winner in three-cornered ‘fight’?

THE transfer season has opened with a bang as Real Madrid looks to have claimed Kaka’s signature, with Chelsea launching a late and desperate bid.

Meanwhile, Manchester City has ‘stolen’ Gareth Barry from right under the noses of Liverpool, even though the Citizens are not even playing in the new Europa League, much less the Champions League football the England midfielder had previously said he craves.

The scene seems set for a three-corner battle among the cash-rich clubs Chelsea, Manchester City and Real Madrid in the transfer market, making the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool look like paupers.

New Real president Florentino Perez is keen to revive his infamous Galacticos project at the Bernabeu, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso in his crosshairs.

On the other hand, City are continuing their rebuilding, following last season’s influx of oil money from the Middle East. On top of Robinho and Barry, the club is hoping to persuade Carlos Tevez to defect to the blue side of Manchester, along with Everton’s Joleon Lescott.

And meantime in London, Roman Abramovich has once again loosened his purse strings for Carlo Ancelotti, in an attempt to revitalise his ageing squad to clinch the Champions League trophy that he so covets.

It will be an interesting three months of transfer activity ahead, as big money gets thrown around carelessly by these three clubs. The question is – which of these three will come up tops by the end August?

Tevez: too little too late for United?

CARLOS Tevez has shown Manchester United once again what they could be missing if he really does leave Old Trafford this summer.

The diminutive striker scored a cheeky equaliser against Wigan on a night where the champions lacked inspiration and fluidity on a greasy pitch.

While Tevez had earlier publicly stated his love for the club and its fans, his recent outbursts have shown his frustration at not valued as a first-team player, nor as an essential player in the team, with his future hanging in the balance for months.

How frustrated had the Argentinian been? Well he has now gone to the extent of saying that he will not hesitate to move to bitter rivals Liverpool and Manchester City or Chelsea at the end of the season.

And now Sir Alex Ferguson has come out to say that he wants Tevez to stay, and the wheels of his permanent deal are set in motion after last night’s 2-1 win over Wigan.

But would it be too little, too late to make the Argentinian stay?

Classic Manchester Derby from 1971

One of the most exciting Manchester Derbies (85th meeting) from when most from the current Manchester United and City sides weren’t born yet. A little something to whet your appetite before the weekend’s 140th Manchester League derby and the 151st meeting of the two in all competitions.

How would you stop the Barca juggernaut?

How to stop Lionel Messi? (Picture: AP)

CHELSEA face an in-form Barcelona tomorrow morning (Singapore time) in the Champions League semi-final at the Nou Camp, and for the Blues, the match could not come at a worse time.

While the Premiership club have been revitalised with the appointment of interim coach Guus Hiddink, chalking up 11 victories in the Dutchman’s 15 games in charge, they face a Barcelona that had all but swept aside Bayern Munich in the previous stage of the competition.

A particular area to note would be Chelsea’s left flank.

Leftback Ashley Cole is suspended for the first-leg, after receiving a yellow card in the second-leg quarter-final against Liverpool. That flank just so happens to be the favourite hunting ground for Barca’s wonderboy Lionel Messi, who has grown from strength to strength this season, and surely a shoo-in for one of the contenders for the World Player of the Year award this season.

Without Wayne Bridge, who has since departed for Manchester City, Hiddink seems to be thinking of using Bosingwa to keep the mercurial Argentinian in check.

Problem is, Messi isn’t the only problem that Chelsea have to face. Strike partners Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry have been prolific in front of goal this season as well, scoring 27 and 17 goals respectively.

Given the situation, what would be your strategy if you were Guus Hiddink?

Where should Mourinho go from here?

A Guardian report mulls over the possibility of Jose Mourinho returning to Chelsea after the end of this season, where he “is expected to leave Internazionale after a year in Italy, most likely with a Serie A title to his name but having failed to his primary objective of bring the European Cup to San Siro following elimination at the hands of Manchester United.”

The report said that the charismatic manager is still warmly regarded by Chelsea’s senior players, and the man himself have spoken publicly about his love for the London club and his desire to return one day.

However, just a week ago he also left open the possibility of managing rivals Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson eventually retires.

“Who can say no? Nobody could say ‘no’,” he said then. “Manchester United belongs to a small group of clubs around the world where nobody can say ‘no’.”

His possible exit from Inter may attract the interests of cash-rich Manchester City and Real Madrid, or he may even just stay on at the San Siro to make amends for the Champions League exit this season.

But where would be the best destination for the Special One, should he leave the Italian club this season?

Are Villa starting to choke?

ASTON Villa’s charge into the Big Four seems to be stuttering right now, after their 2-0 loss to Manchester City early this morning.

With the defeat, they have now dropped seven points in their last three Premiership games, allowing Arsenal to come within three points of the fourth-placed Villans.

After a sustained good performance for much of this season, are the Villans starting to run out of gas as the Premiership heads towards the final stretch?

What makes a captain?

WHILE Ledley King is to remain as Spurs captain, Harry Redknapp has entrusted with Robbie Keane with the task of leading the team in games, according to a Soccernet article.

This came just a day after the Irishman completed his transfer from Liverpool, barely six months after moving to Anfield from White Hart Lane.

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: Call me old-fashioned, but I can never understand how young or new players can be put in such an important position – the person who takes charge of his team on the field.

While these players may have the leadership abilities and the ability to inspire through their performances, the most important things that a captain should have is respect from his own team-mates, as well as the ability to communicate with them.

Robinho in trouble again…

MANCHESTER City and Brazil striker Robinho is in trouble again, after being arrested by the West Yorkshire Police over allegations of a “serious sexual assault”.

This is not the first time the talented player got into trouble with the authorities.

In 2007, he was dropped from Berd Schuster’s Real squad when they faced Espanyol in the Primera Liga, coinciding with rumours of the Brazilian team’s excessive partying after their 5-0 victory over Ecuador in Rio de Janeiro.

An O Globo report then quoted Robinho asking the security guard at a Rio de Janeiro disco “for 40 condoms”, adding that the baby-faced player left at 5am.

The player was also involved in a transfer wrangle between his former club Real, Manchester City and Chelsea before the start of this season. Robinho, whose full name is Robson de Souza, eventually signed for City for £32.5m, a British record transfer fee.

Is the English Premiership doomed?

NEWS has emerged that a wealthy Kuwaiti family are in talks for a possible takeover of Liverpool from its American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett Jr. At the same time, a group of German investors are interested in buying out Roman Abramovich at Chelsea.

THE POSTMAN LIM SAY HENG says: The English Premiership may just start to decline if and when these takeovers materialise.

Already, there is a gap between the Big Four clubs and the rest of the Premiership, in terms of financial muscle and reputation around the world, which directly affects the quality of players that they are able to attract.

And we have seen how clubs – newly rich from the takeovers – have spoilt the market when it comes to transfers.

Chelsea have shown this with Abramovich’s entry in 2003, and Manchester City are now threatening to up the London club’s ante.

While this may mean good news for fans of these clubs, neutral football fans will rue the widening gap between rich clubs and the rest.