Maa Ka Doodh

Manchester City have revealed their search for top talent to Eastlands in the January transfer window is already well under way.

City are now one of the heavyweights in the football transfer market following the arrival of billionaire new owners, the Abu Dhabi United Group, in August.

Backed by new found riches, boss Mark Hughes signed Robinho in a British record deal from Real Madrid on deadline day of the summer transfer window, while he also bid for Stuttgart striker Mario Gomez and Valencia star David Villa.

And Hughes' assistant manager Mark Bowen has now revealed that City, who have also been linked with Bayern Munich forward Lukas Podolski, already have their 'private detective' scouts working abroad in preparation for when the transfer window reopens in 2009.

"We have people out there looking at names already, we will be travelling Europe over the next few months," Bowen told City's official website.

"We also have the chance, because we know what the budget is, to target players at the very top so if you think you can get them maybe they will come."

Bowen, though, insists Hughes is determined to maintain harmony at City and is eager to secure a strong dressing room spirit.

"You can also do a lot of background work, a lot of our scouts might almost be like private detectives to see if a target might settle in with us," Bowen added.

"Are they likely to embrace what we do, not just on the pitch but on the training ground as well?

"The gaffer puts a lot of emphasis on training and if you are asking players to perform at the highest level of intensity, then bringing people in who just want to stand around at training counting the hours to Saturday might upset the balance as well.

"That homework has to be done. Possibly the hardest job will be careful selection of the players we bring in, but also moulding them into a team. We have to make sure that we have a team.

"You can't just point at the best players in the world, it does not work that way. You have to man-manage them and motivate them, you have to carefully select who you bring in and who they will work around."

Manchester United ace Wayne Rooney has dismissed Liverpool's chances of challenging for the Premier League title.

The former Everton star has taunted Rafa Benitez's men by claiming they will struggle to finish in the top three.

Despite suffering defeat at Anfield with United earlier this month, Rooney feels Liverpool are still some way off challenging United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

"It will be hard for Liverpool to challenge the top three," Rooney told The Sun.

"Third will be an improvement for them.

"But I still think it will be ourselves, Chelsea and Arsenal."

A Football Association arbitration hearing has ruled in favour of Sheffield United in their claim for compensation from West Ham over the Carlos Tevez affair, the Coca-Cola Championship club have confirmed.

The South Yorkshire club were relegated in a dramatic end to the 2006/07 season, when a Tevez-inspired Hammers beat Manchester United on the final day of the season to clinch top-flight safety at the Blades' expense.

The Premier League fined the Hammers a record £5.5million for fielding Tevez and Javier Mascherano when they were ineligible to play under league rules regarding third-party ownership.

United initially wanted to have their Premier League place reinstated and appealed that the monetary fine was insufficient.

Having failed in that regard they then turned their attentions to achieving a financial settlement.

And the club have issued a statement on their official website claiming success in that case, although the exact nature of the compensation is as yet unclear.

Newspaper reports suggest the Blades could be looking for a figure of around £30million, while chairman Kevin McCabe is on record as saying that relegation cost United at least £50million in lost revenues.

McCabe said: "I can confirm that both clubs have been notified of the ruling.

"The arbitration panel has awarded in our favour.

"The matter is still legally in process so I do not wish to comment any further until we have completed that process."

Intriguingly, the club statement also raises the question of a further intervention by the Premier League.

It read: "The Blades began their legal fight for reinstatement some 16 months which also included an arbitration hearing against the Premier League. This award could now pose a question as to what the Premier League will do."

A West Ham spokesperson told BBC Radio 4: "We need to digest the full findings of the arbitration panel and will consult our lawyers on the next steps we might take before making any further comment."

Tevez and Mascherano are both long gone from Upton Park, earning lucrative moves to Manchester United and Liverpool respectively, while Kia Joorabchian, whose MSI company were judged to have partially-owned the Argentinian pair, is now a transfer consultant with the Hammers.

He had originally taken legal action against the east London club, claiming he was owed £7.1million, but the parties agreed an out-of-court settlement earlier this year.

For their part, West Ham are now considering whether or not to appeal against this latest ruling through the Court of Arbitration for Sport, although that decision may hinge on the level of compensation that is fixed when the arbitration panel meets again to determine a figure.

Like Sheffield United, West Ham signalled their intent to withdraw from the debate while they consult legal representatives, adding: "It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage."

A motivational sheet handed out to Arsenal players ahead of their game with Bolton has been leaked.

While managers like Jose Mourinho and Sam Allardyce famously overload their players with details of opposition players and ProZone stats, this document is a simple A4 sheet of just 224 words.

The document was apparently drafted by a sports psychologist and was designed to motivate a team that had already played two difficult away games in the space of a few days.

Emphasis is firmly placed on the 'team' and advices the players to 'stay grounded and humble as a player and a person'.

The full advice is as follows...

CONFIDENTIAL

Team meeting 19th September 2008-09-22:

The team:

* A team is as strong as the relationships within it. The driving force of a team is its member's ability to create and maintain excellent relationships within the team that can add an extra dimension and robustness to the team dynamic.

* This attitude can be used by our team to focus on the gratitude and the vitally important benefits that the team brings to our own lives. It can be used to strengthen and deepen the relationships with it and maximise the opportunities that await a strong and united team.

Our team becomes stronger by:

* Displaying a positive attitude on and off the pitch

* Everyone making the right decisions for the team

* Have an unshakeable belief that we can achieve our target

* Believe in the strength of the team

* Always want more - always give more

* Focus on our communication

* Be demanding with yourself

* Be fresh and well prepared to win

* Focus on being mentally stronger and always keep going until the end

* When we play away from home, believe in our identity and play the football we love to play at home

* Stick together

* Stay grounded and humble as a player and a person

* Show the desire to win in all that you do

* Enjoy and contribute to all that is special about being in a team - don't take it for granted

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits he is stunned by UEFA president Michel Platini's attack on him in an interview with a French newspaper.

Platini, the head of European football's governing body, fired a couple of broadsides at the Arsenal manager during a frank interview with Grenoble daily Dauphine Libere, which was published on Tuesday.

The former France international slammed Wenger for having a business mentality rather than a football one.

And he also tore into the Gunners boss for calling for the introduction of video replays to rule on questionable refereeing decisions.

Wenger has been taken aback by Platini's criticisms.

"I am stunned by the aggressive content of Platini's words," he told L'Equipe.

"I am effectively a supporter of video assistance for referees, like all coaches, and I believe UEFA have an important role to play in this.

"I am for sporting justice and UEFA must be the guarantor of it."

Wenger added: "I am a supporter of good management of clubs, for financial equilibrium.

"And UEFA must equally support this idea. I am fighting for the future of the game and of football.

"I don't see why UEFA should take umbrage at ideas that are different from theirs."

In Platini's interview with Dauphine Libere, Wenger's name was raised during a question about the introduction of video technology.

Platini replied: "I like to talk about football, him (Wenger) about business. We must stop with Wenger and all that."

Platini then said he hoped video assistance would never come into football, adding: "It would make me happy that Arsene Wenger never sees it."

Later in the interview, Platini again targeted Wenger when asked about his thoughts on Romanian side CFR Cluj's unexpected victory over Roma in the Champions League last week.

"That is what makes football so great," Platini said. "It is what people like Wenger do not want, little clubs beating the big clubs, because they want their business."