Platt mask cannot hide Mancini's thoughts
Source: Agencies |
November 17, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
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MANCHESTER City manager Roberto Mancini turned up for his weekly media conference wearing a mask bearing the face of his assistant David Platt yesterday - but there was no hiding how he felt about the issues surrounding his club.
Platt took last week's conference, saying his manager had other things to do, but Mancini was his usual charming self this week, laughing as he took the mask off, a gesture that defused some of the tension that had grown between Mancini and the media recently.
Speaking at the club's training ground at Carrington, near Manchester, he said City had no interest in buying Luis Suarez from Liverpool, that Mario Balotelli was not in the squad against Tottenham Hotspur last week because he did not train hard enough but was not being sold, and that his own future at the club was not in doubt.
Mancini, clearly tired of speculation that he is leaving the club he piloted to its first title for 44 years last season, said: "It is not true, I do not know where you get this from.
"For two weeks we talk about Monaco, after (Pep) Guardiola, after another manager, now Suarez, now Mario.
"We have a good team and we don't need to buy another player in January.
"We can't buy Suarez or any another player because we have four strikers. Suarez is a top player but he plays for Liverpool."
Mancini also dismissed rumors linking Balotelli with a move back to Italy.
"No, he is not (going). He did not play last week, but that was my choice," the Italian said.
City is the only unbeaten team in the English Premier League and should preserve that record when it faces erratic Aston Villa at home today.
Despite not playing well, it is second in the table, two points behind Manchester United.
Platt took last week's conference, saying his manager had other things to do, but Mancini was his usual charming self this week, laughing as he took the mask off, a gesture that defused some of the tension that had grown between Mancini and the media recently.
Speaking at the club's training ground at Carrington, near Manchester, he said City had no interest in buying Luis Suarez from Liverpool, that Mario Balotelli was not in the squad against Tottenham Hotspur last week because he did not train hard enough but was not being sold, and that his own future at the club was not in doubt.
Mancini, clearly tired of speculation that he is leaving the club he piloted to its first title for 44 years last season, said: "It is not true, I do not know where you get this from.
"For two weeks we talk about Monaco, after (Pep) Guardiola, after another manager, now Suarez, now Mario.
"We have a good team and we don't need to buy another player in January.
"We can't buy Suarez or any another player because we have four strikers. Suarez is a top player but he plays for Liverpool."
Mancini also dismissed rumors linking Balotelli with a move back to Italy.
"No, he is not (going). He did not play last week, but that was my choice," the Italian said.
City is the only unbeaten team in the English Premier League and should preserve that record when it faces erratic Aston Villa at home today.
Despite not playing well, it is second in the table, two points behind Manchester United.
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