Glamour tie against Faroe Islands side encounters problems

Yesterday we told you how Manchester City’s forthcoming UEFA Cup home tie has been moved to Barnsley’s Oakwell Stadium because soft rockers Bon Jovi tore up the pitch.

The July 17th away leg against Faroese side EB/Streymur has also had to be moved, as their tiny picturesque Við Margáir stadium holds just 1,000 people. This is obviously not enough to cope with Manchester City’s travelling army, plus the expense fishing all of Darius Vassell’s wayward shots out of the sea was deemed far too high. As Mark Hughes was less than happy about kicking off his City managerial debut in a location where the most viable means of transport is a mountain goat, the tie will now be played at one of the bigger grounds of the tiny Danish province.

More pictures of their charming little stadium after the jump…

Blackburn not good enough for inexperienced MOTD pundit

The Daily Telegraph are today reporting that Alan Shearer may turn down the chance to succeed Mark Hughes because he “is not convinced that Blackburn would be the right place for him.”

Yes that’s right, a man whose post-retirement career has relied on professionally stating the bleedin’ obvious (and making Mark Lawrenson’s analysis seem groundbreaking in comparison) on Match of the Day could turn down the seventh-best team in the Premier League because they aren’t ‘right’ for him.

In comparison, the candidates who could miss out because of Shearer’s apparent God-given right to a top job are Sam Allardyce, who took Bolton to a League Cup Final and into Europe, and Paul Ince, who since retiring has knuckled down and spent 18 months overachieving with Franchise FC in League Two, winning two trophies.

Shearer also appears ignorant of the opportunities afforded to Blackburn managers - the last two

Has someone been sniffing a bit of glue?

With his soft voice and white hair, Mark Hughes has the look of a thoughtful gentleman - the kind of man who makes informed decisions about jobs. It’s all quite a transformation from the days when he was a sturdy centre-forward with a bubble perm and a snarl.

And yet, perhaps the barking hound from the pitch still lurks somewhere behind the kindly eyes, making weird decisions for no apparent reason. Such as, for example, choosing to manage Man City.

All of today’s rumours…

Casting a double act correctly is an exact science. The great ones - Morecambe and Wise, The Two Ronnies - relied on their hilarious differences to make people laugh. Ronnie Corbett was a tiny little thing, while Ronnie Barker was a big fatso - brilliant! Morecambe wore glasses, while Wise stood silently beside him with a straight unbespectacled, haunted, face. Some double acts, however, are just far too similar to work. We are, of course, referring to Hoddle and Waddle in the 1980s. It was never going to succeed. Not a single person could tell them apart. One unlikely double act that might shock us all, however, is the zany pairing of old man Hughes and little David Bentley…

David Bentley to Manchester City
The barking mad word on the street is that wherever silver haired Hughes goes, blabbermouth Bentley follows. Today, it’s destination Man City, but everyone knows they’ll both be at Chelsea come next week.

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: Chelsea beckons

Roque Santa Cruz to Manchester
With the walls tumbling down at Blackburn, Sir Alex is looking to slide in and pick up the tearful foreign players - starting with Santa Cruz for £15 million.

Sven-less Eastlands all set for Sparky’s arrival

Mark Hughes would do well to listen to the parable of Big Sam. Sam Allardyce was one of the most promising managers in English football and one of the leading contenders for the national team job at one point until he decided to leave his club Bolton for a team who finished lower in the table and had an impatient chairman. Now poor Sam finds his reputation in tatters.

For Hughes, a wrong move could prove even more costly because right now his future looks even more promising than Allardyce’s did. He’s a leading contender for the Chelsea job, and second favourite to take over at Old Trafford when Sir Alex Ferguson retires. Would he really throw it all away by going to their local rivals?

The bookies seem to think Hughes’ next paycheck will be stamped by Shinawatra - take a look at the frontunners for the City job below, then place your bets with chickendinner

Mark Hughes - 4/11
Despite being considered a contender for the Chelsea job, Hughes is now the odds-on favourite to take over at Manchester City. But Hughes’ Blackburn finished above City this season and have a much more patient chairman so would it really be a step in the right direction for the former Wales manager?
Verdict: Could be career suicide

Luis Felipe Scolari - 9/1
Scolari’s odds on

All the big news written down in a list

Something about Paul McCartney taking his Beatle’s stage show to Anfield suggests that people all over Europe might be standing back and hailing Liverpool as the European Capital of Culture around thirty or forty years too late. That said, anyone who doesn’t erupt into tears at the thought of drunk Liverpudlians weeping Yesterday in their thousands should be seriously investigated. In other moving news…

Mark Hughes to Manchester City
Suddenly everyone wants Mark Hughes to take care of their boys - first Abramovich, now these guys. His white hair demands respect, but could a man destined to manage United really do a job at City?

The Spoiler Truth-o-meter: Surely not.

Michael Essien to Inter Milan
Of course, everyone has been bigging up the chances of Lampsie, Drog-drog and Carvalho heading East to spend quality time with his special highness, but now it seems young Essien has bounced to the front of the queue brandishing a big red apple.

The Spoiler meets the patriotic front at Soho Square

Earlier today, The Spoiler was alerted to a huge fuss being made down at Soho Square. A mass of xenophobic yobs were said to be protesting at the FA’s decision to put another foreign manager in charge of the national side.

Naturally, we ran down as fast as we could, taping up jewellery and getting ready to windmill in, all in the name of