The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Aguero aims to erase Bolton blot Posted: 18 Aug 2011 04:17 PM PDT  Aguero celebrates after scoring against Swansea City at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, August 15, 2011. — Reuters pic Aguero was 19 when he played for Atletico Madrid against Bolton in a Uefa Cup tie in February 2008, coming off the bench in the second half but lasting just 12 minutes before he was sent off for spitting at Bolton's Matt Taylor. He could not have imagined then that his next appearance there would be for City, currently sitting joint top of the Premier League alongside Bolton — albeit after one match — after both produced 4-0 wins in their season-opening games. Bolton scored their emphatic victory at promoted Queens Park Rangers while City beat another promoted team, Swansea City, by the same score at home Monday when Aguero came off the bench to score twice. Along with champions Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, they are the only four teams with maximum points after the opening games, although Tottenham Hotspur and Everton are yet to play. Their match at White Hart Lane was postponed last week because of the London riots with Spurs not starting their League campaign until Monday when they visit United. Everton kick off their season at home to QPR tomorrow. In other key games this weekend, Arsenal, facing up to life without the departed Cesc Fabregas and probably Samir Nasri who seems set for a move to City, face Liverpool. The Gunners, who also have Gervinho and Alex Song suspended following last weekend's bad-tempered draw at Newcastle United, are at home, with both sides on one point after the Merseysiders' draw with Sunderland last Saturday. Chelsea will be without goalkeeper Petr Cech for three or four weeks after the keeper suffered a knee ligament injury but will be looking for their first win after last week's 0-0 draw at Stoke City. They play West Brom at Stamford Bridge. While all the title challengers will be concentrating on their own games, they will also be keeping a close eye on City, who demolished Swansea with a fine performance Monday night at the start of a campaign they hope will end with their first league title since 1968. Aguero, who since that night at the Reebok 3-1/2 years ago has matured into a world-class player, said he remembered the incident well. The 23-year-old Argentine striker recalled: "I spat in the direction of the player but not at the player himself. "However, the officials thought I had, and they suspended me. I don't know what it will be like when I go back, but hopefully I can make City's supporters happy," he told the Manchester Evening News. He certainly made them happy Monday when he came off the bench at around the same time as he had against Bolton, but this time scored two goals on his first appearance since becoming City's record £38 million (RM182 million) signing. The first was an opportunistic close-range effort, the second a thunderous 30m drive. His performance drew lavish praise from the media and his manager Roberto Mancini, who said he was already a fantastic footballer and would be an even better player for City in the future. Aguero has also this week urged his Argentine team mate Carlos Tevez to abandon his intention to leave the club and work alongside him in attack, and Mancini has hinted that Tevez could play for the first time this season Sunday. Bolton, who top the table for alphabetic reasons as they have an identical goal tally as City, have never won the league and are 1,000-1 outsiders to do so this season, according to the bookmakers. But Owen Coyle's side, embarking on their 11th successive season in the top flight after two relegations in three seasons in the late 1990s, are now an established hard-to-beat side, capable of effective football. It is unlikely they will still be top after City's visit on Sunday, especially if Aguero continues his stunning introduction to the English game — and if Tevez is alongside him in a City shirt for the first time. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Man United applies for Singapore IPO Posted: 18 Aug 2011 04:12 PM PDT  Manchester United supporters hold anti-Glazer banners at Old Trafford in Manchester, March 10, 2010. — Reuters pic The club, which sources have said hopes to raise as much as US$1 billion (RM3 billion) from an initial public offering (IPO) by the end of the year, has appointed Credit Suisse as the global co-ordinator of the deal, the source said. A second source said the owning Glazer family plan to use some of the funds raised from the offering to reduce the club's huge debt pile, a burden which has made the Americans deeply unpopular with many fans. United's 2010 full-year results showed gross debt attached to the club of £522 million (RM2.5 billion), with a net loss of £84 million. The Glazers have been criticised by supporters who are uncomfortable with the club's debt, despite continued on-field success, inspiring slogans such as "Love United, Hate Glazer" brandished by some supporters. "The proceeds will be used to pay down debt in the business and further grow its Asia business," a source familiar with the deal told Reuters. As with many other English soccer teams, Asia has become an important growth area for United and is home to more than 190 million of its estimated 333 million fans. Listing in Singapore could provide a further boost to the development of the club's Asian fan base and marketing potential in the region, said Chris Searle, Corporate Finance Partner at accountants BDO. This would be a second stock market incarnation for the club, which was listed in London before being taken over by the Glazers in 2005. More bookrunners are expected to be appointed shortly, with Morgan Stanley and UBS also in the running, sources have said. The Singapore Exchange and Manchester United were not available to comment. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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