'Robinho-gate' rumbles on |
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'Robinho-gate' rumbles on and depending on what paper you read, you'll
have a different story to tell whoever will listen...
The Daily Express open with...
'CITY HIT ROBINHO WITH A £320,000 FINE'
MARK HUGHES had the backing of Manchester City’s owner Sheikh Mansour as he slapped a £320,000 fine on Robinho yesterday.
And the City manager spelt out to his £32.5million record buy that he will not tolerate any further breaches of club discipline.
Hughes
had clear-the-air talks with Robinho when the player returned to
training after going AWOL from the squad’s mid-winter break in Tenerife
last week to spend five days in Brazil.
Apart from fining Robinho
two weeks’ wages, Hughes made it clear to his 12-goal leading scorer
there could be no special treatment for any players, regardless of
status, reputation or transfer valuation.
Hughes knows he had to
act because if he had not, his reputation for rigid discipline would
have been left in tatters and he would have been open to accusations of
favouritism from the other players.
Before the meeting, Hughes
said: “I will deal with Robinho in such a way that I absolutely would
not expect this to happen again. I feel confident that if there was a
longer problem with any player, even Robinho, I would have the go-ahead
from Sheikh Mansour to deal with it in whatever way I saw fit.”
Hughes is angered by suggestions he constantly needs to reassure Robinho of City’s ambitions.
Hughes said: “People talk about making assurances to Robinho but any reassurances would just be repetition. He knows how I feel.
“I
have always felt that top players are easier to control because they
have a professional maturity and a winning mentality. That is why they
are at the top.
“Now it seems a bit bizarre to be talking like
this considering what has happened with Robinho. But it will be
addressed mainly because I expect certain standards from my best guys.
“I
have no problems with good footballers. The ones that are a problem are
those that have a higher opinion of their ability than is apparent and
a higher opinion of their worth to the team.”
One of those players is Gelson Fernandes, who yesterday threatened to quit the club unless he gets regular first-team football.
Given
the fact he has only started three Premier League games this season,
Hughes is likely to open the door and send him packing with his good
wishes. Fernandes, a £4m signing from Swiss club Sion during Sven-Goran
Eriksson’s reign, said: “I will be 23 in September, and if I see that I
no longer have first-team opportunities I will head for another club.
“I
have lost my place in the Switzerland national team. The coach, Ottmar
Hitzfeld, has made it very clear that I have to play regularly for my
club in order to get into his first XI.
“I never anticipated such a frenzy when I signed for City two years ago.”
Fernandes
has only met Sheikh Mansour recently but is well aware of the Abu Dhabi
billionaire’s plans to transform the club into a European force.
“I
have just seen Sheikh Mansour once, after a training session,” he said.
“He was wearing a suit rather than Arab robes. He just said one thing
to us, ‘Good luck’. But the Kaka affair is a sign that the Sheikh plans
to take things to the limit. Everything is falling into place at the
club. We travel in the best aeroplanes, and when we get off we check
into the smartest hotels.
“I am now at the richest club in the world. It is a nice experience, but not an easy one to deal with.
“You
can sense the impatience around the club. The fans are simmering with
excitement, and dreaming of us deposing Manchester United.
“We
lose some stupid matches. But we win others 4-0 or 5-0 thanks to our
amazing attacking potential and, above all, thanks to Robinho. He is
completely unpredictable on the pitch.
“He is just two years older than me, and we have become friends. We often have meals together.”
One player who will not be leaving, according to club sources, is Micah Richards, despite interest from Arsenal.
Hughes,
who has already splashed more than £4m on Wayne Bridge, Craig Bellamy
and Nigel de Jong this month [I'm guessing it was more than £4m - Ed],
is still hoping to add Roque Santa Cruz and Shay Given before the close
of the transfer window next Monday.
Meanwhile the Sun 'exclusively' bring us...
'Robinho NOT fined by City, says advisor'
MANCHESTER CITY ace Robinho was NOT fined for his unsanctioned trip to Brazil.
Boss
Mark Hughes had vowed to lay down the law after claiming the striker
went AWOL from the club’s Tenerife training camp without permission.
But Robinho's advisor has confirmed to SunSport that Sparky did NOT dock the 25-year-old a fortnight's wages.
Chris Nathaniel of NVA management said: "We would like to clarify that Robinho has not been fined."
After a week away in Brazil, Robinho did not have a care in the world as he laughed and joked at the training ground.
The pair had what was described as a “brief grown-up conversation” and Robinho, 25, was not fined.
Then the Brazilian departed for a meeting with a group that included his father Gilvan, his lawyer and accountant.
A source close to his advisors said: “There was no showdown between Robinho and Hughes.
“He doesn’t feel he has done anything wrong.”
The Daily Mirror give us two variations on a theme with their thoughts...
'Robinho is all smiles as he returns to Manchester City training ground'
Robinho
strolled back into the Manchester City training ground yesterday
looking anything but a man who had just dropped £300,000.
City
boss Mark Hughes dished out the Premier League record fine of two weeks
wages on the Samba star, who walked out of a training camp in Tenerife
to return to Brazil last week.
But Robinho was happy to meet City's new striker £14million Craig Bellamy, signed from West Ham, and meet up with his old mates.
Hughes, meanwhile, insisted he has the full backing of owner Sheikh Mansour as he lays down the law at Eastlands.
Number 2...
'Robinho will behave after I read him the riot act, vows Manchester City boss Mark Hughes'
Mark Hughes claims Robinho won't step out of line again after clobbering him with a Premier League record £300,000 fine.
And the Manchester City boss claims owner Sheikh Mansour backs his tough line over the Samba star.
Hughes laid down the law to Robinho for going AWOL to Brazil last week when he finally sat down with him yesterday at training.
Despite
Robinho's apology, Hughes told his £32.5million British record signing
he would not tolerate such a flagrant breach of club rules and fined
him two weeks wages of £300,000.
He sympathises with Robinho's
personal problems, which caused him to quit City's training camp in
Tenerife, but made it clear to him he could not let such indiscipline
go unpunished.
The Welshman claims he is in step with Sheikh
Mansour over his handling of Robinho, who jetted back to Britain on
Sunday night, and says the billionaire would fully support any action
he takes.
"I've dealt with Robinho in such a way that I absolutely would not expect this to happen again," said Hughes.
"I
also feel confident that if there was a longer problem with any player,
even Robinho, I would have the goahead from Sheikh Mansour to deal with
it in whatever way I saw fit."
In another put-down to Robinho,
Hughes is not prepared to pander to the former Real Madrid star by
reassuring him over the club's plans following their failure to land
Kaka.
Robinho, 25, is disappointed he has not been joined at City
by his compatriot or any other big names, but Hughes claims he already
knows the club's ambitions.
"People talk about assurances to Robinho, but any reassurances would just be repetition," he said. "He knows how I feel."
Hughes
is keen to draw a line under his spat with Robinho and plans to include
him in his squad for tomorrow's crunch clash with Newcastle at
Eastlands.
Robinho is the latest of City's Brazilian stars to fall foul of Hughes, but he insists they are not troublemakers.
"I
have always felt the top players are easier to control because they
have a professional and a winning mentality and that is why they are at
the top," he said.
"Now it seems a bit bizarre to be talking like
this considering what has happened with Robinho, but it has been
addressed, mainly because I expect certain standards from my best guys.
"I
have no problem with good footballers. The ones that are a problem are
those who have a higher opinion of their ability than is apparent and a
higher opinion of their worth to the team."
Midfielder Stephen
Ireland, who has been City's outstanding player with nine goals in 29
appearances this season, insists all is well with Hughes and the City
camp.
"I enjoy working under him and all the others do as well," said Ireland. "Even Robinho is smiling back in training!
"We just need to get on a winning streak."
The Guardian state...
'Newcastle to leave goalkeeper Given out of City match'
• Newcastle resigned to lose goalkeeper to City
• Harper prepares to stake his claim at St James' Park
Shay
Given is unlikely to play at Manchester City Wednesday's . Newcastle
United seem resigned to losing their goalkeeper to Mark Hughes's side
and, although any deal will almost certainly be concluded after the
game, all parties would prefer that Given was not involved.
Steve
Harper will consequently make a rare first-team appearance and seek to
emphasise why Newcastle should abandon thoughts of recruiting an
experienced replacement for Given such as Portsmouth's David James.
The
not entirely unrelated facts that Carlo Cudicini has joined Tottenham
Hotspur and that Harper is finally close to signing an improved
three-year contract extension on an agreement due to expire in June,
indicate that Joe Kinnear will place his faith in Given's long-term
understudy.
Meanwhile Newcastle hope to complete the signing of
the £3.5m Toulouse right- back Albin Ebondo and have made an improved
offer for a midfielder, believed to be Stéphane Mbia of Rennes.
If
things proceed according to plan the 24-year-old Ebondo could make his
debut at City, where Colin Calderwood will be in the away dug-out. The
former Nottingham Forest manager was appointed as Newcastle's
first-team coach yesterday and will work alongside Kinnear and the
manager's assistant, Chris Hughton, with a specific brief to tighten up
the team's defending.
Kinnear is bracing himself for a bid from
Portsmouth for Joey Barton but is determined to hold on to the
midfielder, who is keen to stay. Charles N'Zogbia could leave before
next Tuesday, though, and may join Aston Villa.
Elsewhere within the Mirror today...
'Blackburn line up Nikola Zigic to replace Manchester City-bound Roque Santa Cruz'
Blackburn
boss Sam Allardyce is scouring Europe to find a replacement for Roque
Santa Cruz before selling him to Manchester City.
Allardyce flew
to Spain to look at giant Serb Nikola Zigic as he scored his third goal
in three games since returning to Racing Santander on loan from
Valencia.
Zigic, 6ft8in, could be the shock solution to his
problem after Rovers were priced out of buying Austrian Marc Janko by
his club Red Bull Salzburg.
Allardyce's No.2 Neil McDonald watched £7million-rated Standard Liege striker Milan Jovanovic at the weekend too.
North of the border, The Daily Record tell us...
'Celtic face fight with Cardiff to sign Manchester City rookie Ched Evans'
CELTIC
have been given the green light to snap Manchester City young gun Ched
Evans on loan - but face competition for his signature from Cardiff.
Record
Sport revealed last week Parkhead chief executive Peter Lawwell was
attempting to secure a short-term deal for the 20-year-old rather than
pay £1million to buy him outright.
That will suit City boss Mark Hughes who believes Evans has a long-term future at Eastlands.
Cardiff
have joined the chase for the Welsh international with chairman Peter
Risdale insisting he wants Evans to help fire his club towards the
Premiership.
Ridsdale said: "Evans is a player we're keeping a check on."
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