The Footy Mumble: Rich boys struggle, Milan clubs plead with fans!

Rich boys struggle in UCL

It was a bad night in the Champions League for the nouveau-rich Man City and PSG as both struggled against teams with much lesser pockets but who were determined to teach a lesson to the big-spenders.

Man City escaped with a 1-1 draw after winning a penalty in the 90th minute, which was, in reality, a very harsh decision by the referee. Dortmund had numerous chances to score, characteristic of their all-out attack tactics, but Hart kept City in the match till the end with some superb saves.

PSG, on the other hand, lost 1-0 to Porto, who dominated from the start.

James Rodriguez, who was linked to Manchester United earlier this summer, did his value no harm by scoring a brilliant left-footer towards the end of the game.

All in all, a bad night for the wealthy clubs, while their opponents will grow in confidence in their quest to make it to the knock-out rounds.

Solksjaer distances himself from Blackburn job

History repeats itself for Blackburn as the club continue to get linked with various managers after their manager Steve Kean quit earlier this week.

When Venky’s first bought the club, Blackburn were linked with high-profile players like Ronaldinho and now it seems like a similar drama will play out, with the club linked to Man United legend Ole Solskjaer.

The Norwegian has done excellently in his first managerial stint with F.C. Molde, leading them to their first ever League title last season and qualifying for the Champions League play-off rounds.

But now that Solksjaer has distanced himself from the job, Rovers fans seem set to endure disappointment under the new ownership, though hope remains that club legend Alan Shearer will take over soon.

Bari defender scored own goal deliberately!

Former Bari and Atalanta defender Andrea Masiello has admitted that he was involved in match fixing, and even deliberately scored an own goal in a league match in May 2011.

That goal helped local rivals Lecce to avoid relegation. Lecce themselves, however, have been demoted two divisions as punishment for their involvement in the match-fixing scandal that has rocked Italy in the last two seasons.

Masiello, on the other hand, has escaped a prison sentence after working out a plea bargain with prosecutors.

Borussia Dortmund want City out of Champions League

Borussia Dortmund chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke has asked UEFA to not be scared and throw out clubs like Man City, if necessary, to ensure Financial Fair Play rules are effective.

Watzke said deals signed by clubs with parent companies of the owners, like City’s shirt deal with Etihad for £350 million, would undermine the new FFP rules, which try to curb excessive spending by clubs.

Watzke gave the example of Malaga, whose new Middle-east owners seem to have lost interest in the club, and said no tycoon should be allowed to pump in money, which would lead to the failure of FFP.

FFP seems to be working at the moment with spending on transfers having come down by a considerable extent in the transfer window earlier this summer.

Milan captain pleads fans to buy tickets!

That Inter and A.C Milan fans are disappointed, we all know, considering their respective teams’ poor form so far this season.

But it seems the disappointment has such new lows that even tickets for the usually high octane filled derby clash between the two teams just aren’t selling!

And that has forced A.C Milan captain Massimo Ambrosini to publicly plead fans to buy tickets for the match, scheduled for this Sunday, but with around 25,000 tickets yet to be sold.

Even midfielder Stephan El Shaarawy has pleaded with fans, even posting a video on the club’s website, claiming a derby without the fans would make no sense.

Unless, the two clubs’ performances pick up, it is highly unlikely that fans will flock to the stadium like before.