EPL ~ Mancini fears De Jong's a marked man
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Mancini fears De Jong's a marked man as he prepares to play for first time since Ben Arfa tackle
Marked man: Nigel de Jong will take to the field for the first time since his tackle broke the leg of Hatem Ben Arfa
Sunday, October 17 2010
Blackpool v Manchester City
11:00pm Mio Channel 102 / 110
Roberto Mancini fears Nigel de Jong will be a marked man because of the storm which exploded after his leg-breaking challenge on Hatem Ben Arfa.
Tackling will come under intense scrutiny this weekend as the Barclays Premier League resumes, with particular focus on De Jong, playing for the first time since Newcastle’s Ben Arfa was injured at Manchester City.
City manager Mancini, whose side face Blackpool on Sunday, said: ‘He must pay attention in the next two or three games because referees could see him in a different way.’
De Jong’s aggression has attracted criticism since a kung-fu kick on Xabi Alonso in the World Cup final, and he was dropped by Holland manager Bert van Marwijk as a direct result of the tackle which ruled Ben Arfa out for months, even though referee Martin Atkinson did not give a foul.
‘Nigel is very sorry for Ben Arfa,’ added Mancini. ‘It was very unlucky because it was a normal tackle. The referee was one metre away. All the players were there and none of them said anything like it was a bad foul.
‘I’ve spoken with him and he wants to play. He is not worried. He is a strong man. He is a hard player but a lot of midfielders are like Nigel. They can tackle hard but he is an honest player. Every week there are fouls worse than Nigel’s, not just here but in Italy and Spain.’
Reputation: De Jong's infamous 'tackle' on Spain's Xabi Alonso caused outrage in South Africa
Van Marwijk’s decision to axe De Jong and Danny Murphy’s comments, accusing Sam Allardyce, Tony Pulis and Mick McCarthy of whipping up their players to hurt opponents, have fuelled debate on tackling in the Premier League.
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Blackpool boss insists City will look silly asses if we win.
CHUCKLE VISION ... Ian Holloway hopes the joke is on City at Bloomfield Road
IAN HOLLOWAY reckons mega-rich Manchester City will be a laughing stock if they lose to his team of "donkey-lashers".
And the Blackpool boss insists the animals offering beach rides will not be the only asses in town if his side follow their 2-1 win at Liverpool with their first Premier League home triumph.
He grinned: "I'd like to get that first home victory. And if we get it against Man City, it would be absolutely laughable, wouldn't it? Look at them donkey-lashers - go on!
"We have the best scenario of anyone in the league. No one is expecting anything of us, apart from ourselves.
"Liverpool found that when we turned up there. We're not really expected to beat anyone and when we do, watch out.
"The fans aren't going to accept that because you have just been beaten by Blackpool - that bunch down there, them Seasiders, that tangerine mob.
"But what was nice was the Liverpool fans stayed and clapped us, because they appreciated how well we played."
Blackpool and City move in different universes financially. Holloway has an annual wage bill of £6million compared to £133m at Eastlands.
Yaya Toure - signed by City chief Roberto Mancini from Barcelona for £24m - is on £220,000 a week and in six months will rake in almost as much as the entire Blackpool squad earn in a year.
The Seasiders' top earner, skipper Charlie Adam, is on a mere £10,000 a week. But Holloway insisted: "I suppose to outsiders this will be the biggest mismatch in the history of football but let's see what we can do.
"It's live on TV, which will suit them but may not be so good for us. Their players will be used to being on telly but I'd rather it were nice and sneaky, so we could catch them on an off-day.
"When that boxer's ready, he's the favourite and already has the title. It's hard for us underdogs to land a punch.
"And if it is a fighting thing, then how big is that bloke we're up against? Well, he's a giant and we're this little bloke saying 'Come here, we're going to kill you'.
"We're like a leprechaun. We're going to be hitting him around the ankles and hopefully we'll get him down a bit so we can hit him on the knees and, eventually, the chin."
Holloway will serve a one-match touchline ban tomorrow.
But he feels that has its perks, adding: "At least I won't be outdressed by Mancini!
"I was a bit worried by the style of his clothes the other day and now you won't be comparing me to him.
"You can tell his coat is Italian and expensive, so I'm glad I'm not going to be outdone with my Burton mac."
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Funny comments by Ian.
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Blackpool playing very well... Almost score against City.
I find Blackpool and West Brom are just amazing, they lack technic and skills but they make up with unwavering fighting spirit... It's actually quite nice to watch them play too for their last few matches... Not boring at all...