Football Quick fix. JOEY BARTON CALLS BALOTELLI THE BIGGEST MYTH IN FOOTBALL Joey Barton has entered dangerous waters after labelling Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli the ‘biggest myth in world football’. The former Manchester City man joined Liverpool for £16m this summer from AC Milan and has scored one goal in his opening five matches. And after a below par display in last night’s (eventual) Capital One Cup triumph over Championship side Middlesbrough, Barton took to Twitter to offer his opinion on the Italian – and it probably won’t prove popular among Liverpool fans. ‘Balotelli? He is the biggest myth in World football the fella. Fair play to him he’s had everyones trolleys down…,’ he wrote. ‘People now realising just how good Luis Suarez was. I mean how do you replace that quality? Certainly not with MB. He does take a mean peno!’ There is no love lost between the pair of Premier League pantomime villains, who clashed during the final game of the 2011-12 season when Balotelli won the league with Manchester City. On that occasion, Barton was sent off for violent conduct and subsequently received a 12-match ban and £75,000 fine. Balotelli has scored one goal since his £16million move from AC Milan in the summer but will have more opportunities to impress with Liverpools leading striker Daniel Sturridge currently sidelined with a thigh injury. BARCELONA FAIL TO MUSTER A SHOT ON TARGET IN A GAME FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2001 On the same day that Luis Suarez scored twice for a Barcelona B team XI, his club were reminded just how much they need the striker available for the first team as they failed to register a single shot on target in a tame goalless draw against Malaga. On a frustrating evening for the visitors Lionel Messi was grabbed by the throat and pushed to the ground by Weligton, only for the defender to be given a yellow card. I grabbed Messis face because he called me a son of a b****, he claimed to reporters after the match. LIVERPOOL SET TO BE INVESTIGATED FOR BREACHING FINANCIAL FAIR PLAY REGULATIONS Liverpool are being investigated by UEFA for possible breaches of their financial fair play rules. Liverpool, Monaco, Inter Milan and Roma — who were all absent from European competition last season and have recently submitted accounts to UEFA — are due to be asked for further information about their finances. No financial sanctions will be imposed at this stage, though a provisional sanction to withhold Champions League money is possible as a next step. MICHAEL CARRICK COULD STEP IN AT CENTRE-HALF AS MANCHESTER UNITEDS DEFENSIVE CRISIS DEEPENS Manchester United’s defensive disasters have prompted Louis van Gaal to consider using Michael Carrick as an emergency centre back. Central midfielder Carrick is still waiting to make his first appearance for the new United manager as he recovers slowly from an ankle injury he suffered in the summer. But the 33-year-old is now doing some training at Carrington and has already had a conversation with Van Gaal about possibly playing in the centre of defence. The Dutch coach is trying to steady the ship at the start of what is proving to be a traumatic Barclays Premier League season. Van Gaal has lost Phil Jones and Jonny Evans to injury while young central defender Tyler Blackett was sent off on Sunday at Leicester. Evans, who has a history of ankle trouble and needed surgery two years ago, is still on crutches after limping off in the first half at the King Power Stadium. The Northern Ireland defender had a scan on Monday and the initial assessment among United’s medical staff is that he will be sidelined for four weeks.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 08:34:17 +0000
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