Robinho return delayed by setback
English Premier League News : Robinho return delayed by setback
Manchester City forward Robinho faces another fortnight out as he continues his recovery from a stress fracture.
“The area where the stress fracture is hasn’t healed as quickly as we anticipated,” said boss Mark Hughes.
“He could join in with the group, but if he got a direct bang there’s a chance he’d re-break the leg.”
Robinho faces a battle to play against Burnley on 7 November and due to an international break should be ready to play against Liverpool on 21 November.
Robinho was injured playing in a World Cup qualifier on 5 September and in his absence Craig Bellamy has hit a rich vein of form, scoring four goals in four league games.
While Robinho has been recovering there has been speculation that Barcelona will try to bring the former Real Madrid star back to La Liga in the January transfer window.
However Hughes insisted Robinho would not be sold.
Hughes said: “It doesn’t really surprise me because I knew that was the case anyway. It’s a non-story from our point of view.
“Nothing has changed in respect of Robi. He won’t be leaving us, and that’s the top and bottom of it.”
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Martin Petrov – Man City Midfielder
Martin Petrov – Midfielder of Manchester City F.C. – English Premier League Football Club
Martin Petyov Petrov (Bulgarian: ?????? ?????? ??????) (born 15 January 1979 in Vratsa, Vratsa Province) is a Bulgarian football player currently playing for Manchester City in the Premier League. He is famous for his lightning pace down the left wing and his powerful shots.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Martin Petyov Petrov | ||
| Date of birth | 15 January 1979 (1979-01-15) (age 30) | ||
| Place of birth | Vratsa, Bulgaria | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Winger | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Manchester City | ||
| Number | 17 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps (Gls)† | |
| 1995–1996 | Botev Vratsa | 18 (4) | |
| 1996–1998 | CSKA Sofia | 19 (3) | |
| 1998–2001 | Servette FC | 61 (20) | |
| 2001–2005 | VfL Wolfsburg | 116 (28) | |
| 2005–2007 | Atlético Madrid | 49 (3) | |
| 2007– | Manchester City | 46 (6) | |
| National team‡ | |||
| 1999– | Bulgaria | 75 (19) | |
Manchester City Football Club
Martin Petrov left Atletico Madrid for the blue half of Manchester on 26 July 2007, and although having big reputation on European stage, was a relatively unknown talent to the Premiership. That soon changed after he participated in his first Premier League game on 11 August 2007. He played an important role in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over West Ham at Upton Park, making long runs down his favoured left flank, wreaking havoc among West Ham’s defence, and never shying away from taking a powerful long range shot at goal with his trademark left foot. He had to wait until 22 September 2007 to score his first goal in Manchester City’s sky blue colours, minutes before netting another one at Fulham’s Craven Cottage. One of the goals was a superb individual effort, and the other a one-two combination with Elano. Since then Petrov has scored 2 more goals, one in the 3-1 win over Newcastle United the other one in the 2-1 win over Reading F.C. and also notched up 6 assists. Making himself well known for his blistering pace, brilliant runs down the wing, and a great eye for a pass. He was sent off by referee Rob Styles in the home loss to Everton F.C., for kicking Leon Osman. The challenge earned him a straight red card which banned him for 3 games. The Bulgarian added to his tally with a goal against Portsmouth. A goal hit with his weaker right foot, which managed to go between the legs of Sol Campbell and into the net.
It has been announced that Petrov’s number will change from 15 up to 17 which is his international number. During the first round of the UEFA cup in the 2008/09 season, Petrov scored a rifle of a shot after a Michael Johnson dummy against Faroe side EB/Streymur in Citys 2-0 away win. He also scored a goal in the home leg against EB/Streymur along with Darius Vassell’s late goal. He scored another trademark rocket from just inside the area against Celtic in a pre-season friendly for Manchester City. He returned back from injury to compete in the reserves game away at Newcastle United, playing 45 minutes. He marked his return to Premier League action in Manchester City’s home clash against Fulham FC on 12 April 2009, playing 63 minutes before being substituted by Robinho.[4]
Following the influx of new players at Manchester City such as Carlos Tévez and Emmanuel Adebayor, Petrov was linked with a move away from the City of Manchester Stadium. On 1 September 2009, Transfer deadline day, it was speculated that he would transfer to Tottenham, in a move which would see David Bentley heading to Eastlands.[5] Tottenham would also receive £10 million as part of this deal,[6][7] however Manchester City later denied they would be signing Bentley, either on-loan or permanently.[8] Luchezar Tanev, Petrov’s agent, later stated that the move broke down “because, in the final reckoning, Manchester City rejected the deal mainly due to manager Mark Hughes’s unwillingness.”
Source: English Premier League Football club, Premier League Midfielders, Manchester City F.C., Man City Midfielder, Martin Petrov information at wikipedia.org
Wigan 1-1 Man City
English Premier League News : Wigan 1-1 Man City By Mandeep SangheraMartin Petrov fired in an equaliser for 10-man Manchester City as they earned a battling draw at Wigan.
Charles N’Zogbia had put Wigan ahead when he beat Wayne Bridge to the ball and slotted in after keeper Shay Given had parried a Hugo Rodallega shot.
But Petrov latched on to a Carlos Tevez cross before beating keeper Chris Kirkland with a left-foot strike.
City had defender Pablo Zabaleta sent-off for two bookable offences after 65 minutes but held on for a point.
The visitors had been forced to sit back to consolidate their position after right-back Zabaleta was dismissed and will feel they could have won the game if a penalty had been awarded for a Maynor Figueroa challenge on Shaun Wright-Phillips.
But referee Alan Wiley, whose fitness was criticised by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson earlier this month, waved away their appeals.
City also had Given to thank for a late save from Rodallega to preserve their point in a frantic finish to a game which had slowly stirred to the boil.
The match was a test of City’s steel as they aimed to stay firmly in with the Premier League pacesetters but, in the end, they showed their character in dealing with adversity.
A durable Wigan, who have not lost at home against City since 1998, had stifled their opponents as they chased and harried them all over the park before taking the lead.
Wigan so far this season have proven either insipid or inspirational having beaten Chelsea and lost to Hull in their last two games. This time they were more of the latter.
They blended the neat passing manager Roberto Martinez is striving for with a determined work ethic and N’Zogbia’s opener sparked the game into life.
Given did well to parry a well-struck Rodallega shot only for N’Zogbia to pounce and slot in the loose ball.
City took only 63 seconds of the second half to equalise when Petrov let a low Tevez cross roll across him before guiding in a shot.
The visitors had come out with more purpose after the break and, after an excellently-timed tackle by Titus Bramble prevented striker Emmanuel Adebayor getting a shot off, Kirkland tipped over a follow-up strike by Wright-Phillips.
However, City’s prospects suffered a setback when Zabaleta was dismissed and this allowed Wigan to take the game to City.
Mohamed Diame sent a shot inches just high of the City goal, while Martinez brought on the creative Jordi Gomez to try to unlock the visitors.
But, despite Rodallega having a far post stabbed shot saved late on, City fended off the Latics to stay fifth in the Premier League table.
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez: “Not getting the three points is the only disappointment. The attitude of the players and approach towards the game was very good.
“I thought the level of performance was worthy of a win.
“When you say that playing against a team like Man City it speaks volumes. You can see the progress and every game is a step forward – that’s pleasing.”
Manchester City boss Mark Hughes: “The ball was just toe-poked out of play (in the penalty incident) so the referee thinks it was the defender.
“It was Shaun who got the last touch and the guy has just taken him out. That should have been a penalty.
“Going down to 10 men made things more difficult. We showed quality in getting men behind the ball and making sure we got something out of the game.”
Story from BBC SPORT: English Premier League Football Club news, Wigan Athletic news, Manchester City news, Man City News at BBC Sports http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/8304532.stm
Charles Joseph Hart – Goalkeeper – Manchester City
Charles Joseph Hart – Goalkeeper – Manchester City
Charles Joseph “Joe” Hart (born 19 April 1987 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire) is an English football goalkeeper with Manchester City. He is a regular for the England Under-21 team and has been capped as a full international for England.
Personal information
Full name : Charles Joseph Hart
Date of birth : April 19, 1987 (1987-04-19) (age 21)
Place of birth : Shrewsbury, England
Height : 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Playing position : Goalkeeper
Current club : Manchester City
League : English Barclays Premier League
Manchester City
With Hart in Belgium preparing to make his fifth appearance for the England U19 squad, in the Elite qualifying round for the 2006 UEFA U-19 Championship,[3] it was announced that the move to Manchester City had taken place.[4] England lost the match to Serbia and Montenegro and failed to qualify.
On 22 May 2006, City paid an initial £600,000 for Hart, but, depending on appearances, the fee could rise to a total of £1,500,000.
Hart made his debut for City on 14 October 2006 after injuries ruled out Andreas Isaksson and Nicky Weaver for the Premier League match against Sheffield United. He kept a clean sheet in the match, which finished goalless.
Hart was selected by Stuart Pearce in the preliminary England Under-21 30-man squad for Euro 2007, and later made the final 23. In the team’s final friendly before the finals, Hart was selected for his first Under-21 start, and played the full 90 minutes in a 5–0 win over Slovakia at Carrow Road. However, Hart took no part in the finals, with Scott Carson playing in all of England’s four fixtures. Hart will be eligible for the U21s until the end of the Euro 2009 finals.
Former Manchester City manager, Sven-Göran Eriksson named Hart as Manchester City’s number 1 ahead of Andreas Isaksson. After his performance against Newcastle, Eriksson touted him as “one of the biggest talents in this country as a goalkeeper”, and that he had the potential to become an England international in the future.[5] Only months later, he made his England debut against Trinidad & Tobago on 1 June 2008.
After The Departure Of Andreas Isaksson Joe Hart Took the vacant number 1 jersey when the official 08/09 squad numbers were announced on 05 August 2008.
Tranmere Rovers
Hart spent the whole month of January 2007 on loan to League One club Tranmere Rovers. He made 6 appearances and conceded 8 goals. He was then named in his then-club manager Stuart Pearce’s first squad in his part-time role as England U21 coach, alongside another goalkeeper uncapped at U21 level, Ben Alnwick. He was not chosen to start the match on 6 February 2007 against Spain, but did come on as a substitute late in the game.
Blackpool
In April 2007, Hart joined Blackpool on loan as cover for the injured trio of Rhys Evans, Paul Rachubka and Lewis Edge. He kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 win for Blackpool at Huddersfield Town on 9 April 2007, in his first game for the Seasiders.[6] Blackpool won all five games in which Hart appeared, including a 6–3 win at Swansea City in his final game,[7] and he helped them claim a place in the end-of-season play-offs.
Source: For more information on Joe Hart, Man City F.C., Manchester City Goalkeeper, English Barclays Premier League Football Club, visit wikipedia.org
Leslie Mark Hughes – Manchester City Manager
Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE (born 1 November 1963 in Ruabon, Wrexham, Wales), nicknamed Sparky, is a former Welsh international football player and currently manager of Manchester City. As an international footballer, he made 72 appearances and scored 16 goals.
During his playing career, he was most notable for his two spells at Manchester United, but he also turned out for FC Barcelona of Spain, Bayern Munich of West Germany, as well as the English clubs Chelsea, Southampton, Everton and finally Blackburn Rovers, before retiring in 2002.
His reign as Wales manager was his first managerial post; he was appointed in 1999 and remained in the role until 2004, failing to reach a World Cup or European Cup finals during his reign of the National team.
Personal information
Full name : Leslie Mark Hughes, OBE
Date of birth : 1 November 1963 (1963-11-01) (age 44)
Place of birth : Ruabon, Wrexham, Wales
Height : 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position : Striker (retired)
Current club : Manchester City (manager)
Manchester City
On 2 June 2008, Manchester City sacked manager Sven-Goran Eriksson. Hughes was reported to be the first choice of City owner Thaksin Shinawatra to replace Eriksson. However, interest was also reported from Chelsea, who had recently sacked their manager, Avram Grant. Despite the reported interest from Chelsea which never culminated in anything, Blackburn Rovers confirmed on their website on 2 June that they had “reluctantly” agreed to allow Hughes to talk to Manchester City.
The following day, Blackburn confirmed that they had agreed a compensation package for Hughes to take over as manager of Manchester City, and he was appointed as head coach on 4 June 2008 on a three year contract. [1] Following the appointment, Manchester City’s executive chairman Garry Cook stated that “The Club intends to invest in new players as well as securing the long term services of key members of the current first team squad. Mark has already identified some of the players and backroom staff that he wants to see here at City, and we will begin the process of recruiting them immediately.”[
Source: For more information on Leslie Mark Hughes, Manchester City Manager, English Barclays Premier League Football Club, visit wikipedia.org