Roberto Mancini has reportedly given his Manchester City players a severe ticking-off after their abject performance in Wednesday’s 3-1 defeat against Ajax in the Champions League.

But many members of the squad feel Mancini should shoulder some of the blame, with the Italian deciding to use just three defenders in their back line; a formation which the players found difficult to adjust to.

City now have just one point from their opening three games and must win all their remaining matches to stand any chance of progressing into the knockout stages.

The relationship between manager and players is reportedly strained, but apparently this is not highlighted when the team wins on a regular basis; although is this lack of unity threatening to undermine City’s chances of success this season?

Mancini himself made a good point in stating that good players should be able to adapt to any formation; but it could be argued that his constant tinkering with the side is not helping matters, especially in defence.

It is not the first time this relationship between player and manager has been tested, when Joe Hart gave a heartfelt post-match interview in City’s last-gasp defeat to Real Madrid, claiming that the result was unacceptable after twice leading the match.

The City gaffer responded in his own post-match press conference that it was his responsibility to assess the team’s performance, not Hart’s in an obvious dig at his goalkeeper.

Mancini also does not appear to have anywhere near the same respect as the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United enjoys; especially when players such as Mario Balotelli are allowed to get away with murder and Carlos Tevez can go on a self-imposed exile and return just in time to act as hero in City’s title triumph.

Therefore, there is a strong belief that the star players are much more important than the manager at the club and of course, this should not be the case.

But at least Mancini is beginning to stamp down his authority at the club; after previously shouldering the blame for any defeat in the past and putting all the pressure on himself in City’s successful quest for the Premier League title last season.

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This is the first real time where Mancini has publicly criticised his players and recognises that he needs to be tougher in order for City to stay at the top.

The prospect of early elimination from the Champions League is not simply down to tactics, but to complacency and a degree of naivety; with the players needing to recognise that now is the time to listen to their manager and be prepared to adapt in order to stay apart of Europe’s elite.

You can follow me on twitter: @JamesHilsum

Confidence is key. In any given situation, having confidence in your abilities improves your performance. For the modern day footballer self-belief is imperative should you want to become one of the world’s best.

There is no one who promotes this better than Cristiano Ronaldo, who, for all intents and purposes, believes he is the best in the world. While this may not be true in some Argentinian’s eyes, scoring 165 goals in 162 games allows you to have an overwhelming large ego.

However, not every egotistical player has either the abilities or goalscoring record of Ronaldo and these are the players who are on a knife edge, in danger of ruining their careers due to their unwarranted egocentricity.

From the player who believes they are too good for their club, to the star caring more about their looks than their performances on the pitch, this list of ten footballers highlights why some of them, should let their feet do the talking.

Click on Mario Balotelli to reveal the full list of egocentric footballers

Tottenham are monitoring the situation of Inter Milan playmaker Wesley Sneijder, according to the Metro.

The Dutchman has not played for the Serie A giants since September, as a dispute surrounding a pay-cut rumbles on.

Sneijder is reportedly unwilling to agree to the terms being put forward by his employers, which could see him make a cut-price January exit.

Premier League rivals Manchester United, Manchester City and French big spenders Paris Saint-Germain were thought to be leading the race for his signature, but Spurs have emerged as latest team to register an interest.

Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport believe that Andre Villas-Boas sees the 28-year-old as the ideal man to fill the void left by Luka Modric, who joined Real Madrid over the summer.

AVB drafted in the likes of Moussa Dembele and Gylfi Sigurdsson to replace the Croatian, but, as of yet, the duo have failed to provide the required creativity.

A bid of £8m is thought to be enough to tempt Inter Milan to part company with the midfielder, a fee considerably lower than the speculated cost of Joao Moutinho, with whom the White Hart Lane club have been strongly linked.

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Sneijder began his career at Ajax, before joining Real Madrid in 2007.

A turbulent two-year spell in the Spanish capital was brought to an end during 2009, as Inter paid just over £10m for his signature.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger faces a selection headache ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash with West Brom.

The Gunners’ chief will be without four of his top names for the home clash with the high-flying Midlanders, despite hopes that some of his stars may make a return.

Theo Walcott, Lukas Podolski, Bacary Sagna and Laurent Koscielny will all be absent according to the Frenchman:

“Lukas Podolski and Theo Walcott (calf) are out,” Wenger is quoted by ESPN.

“Bacary Sagna and Laurent Koscielny are not back.

“From Tuesday night in Greece there are no new injuries so we have a selection from the combined squad of Tuesday and Saturday.”

This will come as bad news to the North Londoners, who will be looking to recover from their worst start to a domestic league season since 1996.

Last time out they suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Swansea, leading to criticism of Wenger form some of the clubs’ fans.

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Wenger is expected to recall a number of his big names following his decision to field a team of fringe players in their mid-week Champions League clash against Olympiakos.

It’s unclear as to whether the likes of Tomas Rosicky, Marouane Chamakh or Andrei Arshavin will be able to force their way back into the starting XI, following their 2-1 defeat in Greece.

It was all about hope and not much expectation wasn’t it?… It was confirmed on Boxing Day that Chris Wood would sign for Leicester City after rejecting the chance to sign for Millwall.

Now, the large majority of Lions fans were so disappointing by this but we’ve got to remember he wasn’t our player, it was hard to take. Maybe because this was the first time in our history that we were willing to break our transfer record and try and compete with the big boys.

Even though we did not sign him I am still happy with how the club handled this. John Berylson matched West Brom’s evaluation of Wood three times, only for the Baggies to change the price. We bid to nearly double our transfer record, for that I am happy.

To be honest, if you were a footballer with no emotional connection to either club, you would chose Leicester, where he’s rumoured to now be paid 20K a week.

Yes Wood was a big player for us but he wasn’t the be all and end all of the team. He wasn’t the main cause of the form, our defence was unbeatable at times, Forde was starting to find form, Trotter was becoming more and more consistent, Wood was just a good part of that.

Realistically we are one of the smallest clubs in the division, we are seen as a shop window for the bigger clubs, for example, I remember seeing on a Leicester forum after we beat them in December “That Trotter looked decent, lets sign him, maybe Shittu as well” ‘Wall fans could only dream about saying this about their players.

It’s now up to KJ to see where we go next, but we know this, we need strikers and quick!

With Reading’s Simon Church being the main target, a decent player, but whatever signing we make, it’ll feel slightly underwhelming compared to Wood. Another rumoured target is David McGoldrick from Nottingham Forest, currently on loan at Coventry and is the top scorer in League One with 16 goals in 21.

Martyn Waghorn moving from Leicester to the Den is also among the gossip, maybe a goodwill gesture after them after beating us to Wood?

Whatever happens in January I’m proud of how the club tried to sign Wood, it may not have come off but at least we are starting to spend money. I trust KJ to get the right players in, look at January 2012, we were desperate, and we brought in Andy Keogh and Shane Lowry….

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‘Wall fans, what strikers would you like the club to sign in the transfer window to replace Wood?

COYL

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AC Milan are willing to sign Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli, but only if the Premier League champions drop their asking price.

There has been much speculation surrounding the Italian’s future at the club recently, with a series of off-field incidents and poor performances frustrating his manager Roberto Mancini.

Milan are rumoured to be highly interested in the front-man, who could be tempted to end a turbulent spell in England and return home.

However, the San Siro club are unwilling to break the bank for his signature, despite losing a number of established stars, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Alexandre Pato, for big money.

The club’s vice-president Adriano Galliani is hopeful that a deal can be reached in the near future, but he believes that the decision will ultimately be down to Manchester City:

“It all depends on Manchester City, ” he is quoted by Sky Sports.

“Should our request fail, we will move on. At the moment we will stay where we are. We must wait and see what happens.

“Could we play in instalments? It is possible if we can agree on a sum to be paid.”

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Milan are believed to in the market for top, young talent and Balotelli, 22, appears to fit their plans. They have also been linked with Newcastle full-back Davide Santon.

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Brazilian legend Pele has warned Neymar to reject a move to the Premier League in favour of Spain.

The 21-year-old has been linked with both Manchester City and Chelsea in recent months, with the duo rumoured to be willing to spend big to secure his signature this summer.

As well as the English pair, clubs in Germany and Italy have also been linked with the Santos star, who has become one of the most sought after young players in world football.

City are reportedly leading the race for the Brazilian international, but Pele believes that a move to Barcelona would be the best option:

“The game is tougher in England, Italy and Germany, because the referees usually let play go on, Barcelona would be ideal for him.” He is quoted by The Mirror

“Santos need him and for that reason I don’t think he should leave but if he must go it should be to Barcelona.”

Despite the reputation he has gained in his homeland, Neymar has failed to produce the sort of form expected of him on the world stage.

He was criticised for his performance against England in a recent friendly, a game in which he made little impact.

Pele, who has previously compared Neymar to Lionel Messi, admitted that the youngster is still developing and may need time to reach his full potential:

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“He is an excellent player but he doesn’t have any experience outside Brazil.

“In every game he plays outside Brazil, he doesn’t do well. Everybody thinks Neymar can solve the national team’s problems, but he isn’t ready for that burden.”

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Samir Nasri declared that Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke forced the club to sell him, The Mirror reported on Monday.

The Frenchman, who was sold to Manchester City in the summer of 2011 in a £24 million move, claimed that Arsene Wenger was put under pressure to make the sell by Kroenke.

“Wenger told me that, if Cesc [Fabregas] left, I would stay but Kroenke wanted the money,” said the 25-year-old midfielder.

He defended Wenger, who he said is “the greatest coach I have worked with”.

“[Arsene Wenger] made me who I am. I am very grateful. I only regret not having more discussions with him before I left.”

The midfielder insisted that he does not regret his move to the Etihad, which he stated was “purely for sporting reasons”.

“When you compare Arsenal and City, it’s not the same. With City, I’m playing in a better team. I didn’t leave [Arsenal] for money.”

After playing a vital role in City’s league title last year, Nasri has been criticised by Citizens’ manager Mancini for “playing at 50 per cent” this season.

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After his exceptional outing in Saturday’s 4-0 victory over Newcastle, the player admitted: “I am aware that I am not having a good season. There are many reasons. But when Mancini said that I am training at 50 per cent, this is not true.”

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Sunderland have sacked boss Martin O’Neill following the 1-0 defeat to Manchester United on Saturday.

The Stadium of Light outfit are now just one point clear of the relegation zone and have not won since their victory over Wigan on January 19.

O’Neill’s departure was confirmed just hours after the home loss to United.

A club statement said: “Sunderland AFC has announced that it has parted company with manager Martin O’Neill.

“The club would like to place on record its thanks to Martin and wishes him well for the future.

“An announcement will be made in the coming days regarding a successor.”

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Sunderland are without a win in eight league games and face a real battle to remain in the Premier League, with a tough seven final fixtures ahead of them including games against European champions Chelsea, fierce rivals Newcastle and fellow strugglers Aston Villa, Stoke and Southampton.

The Wearside outfit are expected to name a successor before next weekend’s trip to Chelsea, with Steve McLaren, Alan Curbishley and Mark Hughes already linked with the now vacant role.

Richard Dunne could stay at Aston Villa despite him missing the entire season because of a groin injury, according to Paul Lambert.

The Villa chief was expected to free up some space on the Villa Park wage bill this summer when the 33-year-old Republic of Ireland international central defender’s current deal expires at the end of June.

However, despite being unable to call upon Dunne’s services all season because of the injury he picked up last summer, Lambert insisted that ‘the door is not closed’ on the player staying at the club.

On the prospect of Dunne, who is training with the academy youngsters and is unlikely to be fit for Ireland’s summer internationals, being offered a new deal, Lambert told the Birmingham Mail: “I haven’t spoken to him at all about that.

“I need to see how his fitness is. He’s doing really fine at the moment, training with the kids.

“He’s not played for nearly a year so to ask the lad to go and play for his country this summer is too much. He’s got to be comfortable with himself with the injury. The most important thing for me is that he can keep playing.

“He’s a top international player, who has just been unfortunate this injury has been an absolute nightmare for us.

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“Once I know he’ll be all right we can look at it. The door is not closed, not at all.”

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