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THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015 SPORTS LONDON: Manchester City players line up before the English Premier League soccer match at the Etihad Stadium in this file photo. —AP Man City set for upheaval after season of struggles MANCHESTER: Proof of the struggles at League title. Twelve months later and Pellegrini In 2012-13, City endured a slump in the sea- this happen is another question. players expected to leave. Lampard is moving Manchester City this season arrived when the could be thrown out the door at Etihad son after winning the league title and it cost Some of City’s key players - like Pablo to Major League Soccer and the contract of Premier League’s team of the year was Stadium. then-manager Roberto Mancini his job. The Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure - versatile midfielder James Milner expires this announced on Sunday. Second - at best - in the league and the last same has happened under Pellegrini. haven’t reached the level of last season in this season. The biggest call City needs to make, Chelsea had six players included. 16 of the Champions League sounds like a City’s signings last year were strategic, post-World Cup campaign. The future of the though, is on Pellegrini, the Chilean who has Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and pretty good season to City fans of a certain vin- intending to bolster areas of the squad that 31-year-old Toure, who has been at the heart of brought serenity to the Etihad since replacing Tottenham all had representatives. City? Not tage, who recall the club’s slide to the third appeared light - like at goalkeeper, right back, City’s growth as a domestic force since 2010, is Mancini and has a playing philosophy that fits one player. division in the mid-1990s. Not, though, to center half and defensive midfield. As Chelsea under particular scrutiny amid reported inter- the holistic approach favored by City’s Spanish Before the end of this season, the manager Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al was signing Diego Costa, Arsenal was bringing est from Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan. executives, CEO Ferran Soraino and director of is under severe pressure and speculation is Nahyan, the member of Abu Dhabi’s ruling in Alexis Sanchez and Manchester United was The average age of City’s squad is nearly 29, football Txiki Beguiristain. mounting that the best player could leave. family who has invested more than $1.5 billion spending $250 million, Willy Caballero, Bacary which reportedly is the highest in the Premier But is Pellegrini’s laid-back style leaving Even the atmosphere inside the stadium is flat. since his 2008 takeover. Sagna, Eliaquim Mangala, Fernando and an League and one of the highest in Europe. There players in the comfort zone? Is he tactically Just what has gone wrong at the soon-to- “It is impossible for any club to progress aging Frank Lampard were arriving at City. is a general feeling it could do with an injection astute enough to go head-to-head with Jose be-usurped English champions? For the first always,” Pellegrini said after a last-gasp 3-2 win Hardly names to set the pulse racing. of youth. Mourinho and Louis van Gaal next season? time in five years, City is heading into May over relegation-threatened Aston Villa on In fairness to City, the club was restricted to “Now it seems like because we have not Juergen Klopp will be available once he without any silverware to play for in the final Saturday. “We cannot win trophies every year.” a net spend of 49 million pounds ($75 million) won something, it’s a disaster and we have to leaves Borussia Dortmund and has already month of the season. While Chelsea is prepar- These comments are unlikely to go down after breaking financial fair play rules, but it change seven or eight players, the manager,” been linked with City. Pep Guardiola appears ing to hoist the Premier League trophy and well in Abu Dhabi, where Pellegrini faces a didn’t stop them from splashing out a reported Zabaleta said in quotes carried Tuesday in the City’s dream manager but has pledged his Arsenal has an FA Cup final looming, all City post-season debrief when his future will be 42 million pounds ($64 million) on Mangala, British media. “That’s what people say.” City has immediate future to Bayern Munich. Real has ahead is an offseason of major rebuilding decided. the France center back who has failed to been linked with Belgium winger Kevin de Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti and Napoli coach work. Sustaining success in England’s top division impress since joining from FC Porto. Pellegrini Bruyne and Paul Pogba - the in-demand France Rafa Benitez have also been mentioned, while City manager Manuel Pellegrini finished last has proved beyond every manager except Alex said in a recent interview that his team needs a midfielder who could be a like-for-like replace- Patrick Vieira - City’s head of youth develop- season by being thrown up in the air by his Ferguson, who retired in 2013 after winning 13 “crack” player that “gives you a kind of ascen- ment for Toure - while Aleksandar Kolarov, ment - is also a possible option. It’s set to be a jubilant players after winning the Premier Premier League titles at Manchester United. dancy, status.” Whether he’ll be around to see Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko are among the busy, intriguing offseason at City. —AP Former EPL player jailed in fixing plot BIRMINGHAM: A former Premier League Facey played 10 games for Bolton in player was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail 2002 and for many other lower-league yesterday after being convicted of plotting clubs in an 18-year career. He retired in to bribe lower-league players in England. 2013, and said he agreed to become a foot- Delroy Facey, who played as a striker for ball consultant for Matchworld Sports Ltd. - Bolton in England’s top division and also a firm run by Singaporean national Chann for the national team of Grenada, was Sankaran, one of the businessman jailed. found guilty by a jury at a court in The court was told that Facey urged one Birmingham. A former non-league player, player at a struggling non-league club to Moses Swaibu, was convicted of the same make some “easy money” by fixing the charge and jailed for 16 months. result of a match. He also told a contact Sentencing both men, judge Mary that some fifth-tier Football Conference Stacey said their behavior was “like a can- teams would “do” a game in return for pay- cer.” “Fairness is at the heart of football,” she ment. In one text-message conversation in said, “and the opportunity of everyone to late 2013, Facey tried to corrupt a player by do their best, and your behavior has struck offering him 2,000 pounds ($3,000). right at the heart of that.” Facey said in court that he thought the Two Asian businessmen were given five- two businessmen who were offering him year prison sentences in 2014 and another up to 15,000 pounds ($23,150) for his part lower-league player was sent to jail follow- in the plot were “clowns” who he decided ing an investigation by the National Crime to “humor.” Agency that focused on matches in League The NCA was alerted to corrupt activity Two and the Conference South - the fourth by British newspaper Daily Telegraph, and sixth tiers of English soccer. which had conducted its own undercover HULL: Liverpool’s Serbian midfielder Lazar Markovic (left) fouls Hull City’s Senegalese striker Dame NíDoye (right) during the nglishE Premier “The NCA is in no doubt that this was investigation. League football match. —AFP the beginning of a concerted attempt to The NCA deployed surveillance teams to build a network of corrupt players in the watch and listen to the men involved in the UK,” NCA officer Adrian Hansford said in a plot and say their “meetings, conversations Rodgers clings to top four hopes statement. “That network included Facey, and messages built up a picture of a con- who acted as a conduit for potential tar- certed effort over seven days to engage gets, and Swaibu, who was recruited to and corrupt footballers to influence the group that can get through the rough waters.” threat all night and defended well, which you have expand the network further. score line of matches, and pass information Whether they will be able to lure them to Anfield to do against Liverpool,” he said. “They deliberately targeted lower to a wider overseas network to make mon- Hull 1 without the attraction of the Champions League is “We have 34 points but I don’t think 34 is leagues believing that because players ey by betting on the outcomes.” “You have debatable, but the fact that Liverpool require at enough, so we still need a couple of results, but we earn less, they could be more susceptible been a role model,” the judge said to Facey, least two of those ‘marquee men’ was obvious in are certainly in a better position that four days ago. to taking a bribe.” “but you have abused that position.” —AP their latest setback at the KC Stadium where The job isn’t done and got to stay resilient for the Liverpool 0 Michael Dawson scored the 37th minute winner for next four games.” Dawson said: “We really needed Hull. Dawson’s goal was his first in 16 months and this win because back-to-back wins are so hard to Hull manager Steve Bruce insisted that it earned get in this league and we’ve done it against a top them a success that their performance warranted.