Whilst Spanish papers have been full of reports claiming Robinho is on his way to Barcelona, a piece on Guillem Balague’s web site says the Catalan club have made no contact with City since the Summer regarding Robinho.
Balague is more reliable than most when it comes to possible transfers between Spanish clubs and City. He points out that Barca don’t have the £30+ million it would take to sign Robinho in January. Barca’s debts are often overlooked as many tend to focus on the spending bby Madrid, but some estimates claim it is over 400 million euros (which is not a figure the Barca bean counters are prone to confirm in public).
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Given – A spectacular diving save in the first half, and a crucial deflected one at the end were the highlights. He’ll be disappointed not to have kept a clean-sheet on his first outing as captain. 7
Zabaleta – His tackling can be his strength, but a degree of recklessness can also be Pablo’s downfall and so it proved with the needless challenge that saw him sent off. Was also caught out of position for Wigan’s goal, when Richards was left two against one. 4
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Martin Petrov struck as City came from behind to gain a point with a mixed performance that was divided by Pablo Zabaleta’s sending off. Prior to the Argentine’s dismissal, there was a disjointed look to Mark Hughes’ side with stray passes and a lack of cohesion in our attacks. Reduced to ten men, City found their focus, looked compact and could even have snatched a win.
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City look to consolidate their place in the top four this weekend with a trip to Wigan. With so many players having picked up knocks in the past couple of weeks, the options for Mark Hughes are unclear. The same squad who went to Villa could all be available, or injuries could take take their toll on Zabaleta, Toure, Lescott, Bridge, de Jong, Bellamy and Petrov.
Added to that, Carlos Tevez has only just returned from Argentina, though he was hardly overworked with Diego Maradona’s team selections giving him just the final four minutes of a possible two matches.
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