Dowd decision infuriates Mancini

Roberto Mancini left Anfield raging at more perceived refereeing injustices after his Manchester City side had crashed out of the Carling Cup.

Mancini: Unhappy with referee Dowd

A 2-2 semi-final second-leg draw with Liverpool on Wednesday night condemned City to elimination as the Reds progressed to a Wembley meeting with Championship outfit Cardiff on February 26.
But, on a day when City were forced to accept a four-match ban for Mario Balotelli which Mancini is convinced should not have been levied, the Italian also felt his side had been wronged by two major mistakes from referee Phil Dowd.
First Mancini felt Dowd should have awarded a penalty for Charlie Adam's tackle on Edin Dzeko when the game was still goalless.
Then, after Nigel de Jong's brilliant curling effort had put City in front, Dowd did award a spot-kick for handball against Micah Richards when Daniel Agger's shot struck the visitors' skipper on the leg, then shot up onto his arm.
"It hit his leg before his arm," said Mancini, before addressing Dowd's clear indication that Richards had made the initial block with his arms raised.
"He could cut his arm off.
"It is my opinion. I didn't think it was a penalty."
Richards also expressed his unhappiness at the decision, saying on his Twitter account: "Not happy! How can I stop it hitting my hand if it hits my foot first!"
Conversely, Mancini felt Adam should have been punished, adding: "If you watch the game, it was a penalty on Dzeko by Adam."
All this, and Balotelli as well.
Mancini feels referee Howard Webb changed his mind over the Italian's stamp on Tottenham's Scott Parker, robbing him of the forward for Wednesday night's game as well as clashes with Everton, Fulham and Aston Villa.
"I hope tomorrow they can change tonight's result because they decided about Mario after the game," said Mancini.
"The referee was there. He saw everything.
"If he felt it was correct, he should send him off during the game, not after."
Earlier on Wednesday, FA chairman David Bernstein released a statement offering his personal backing to Webb, who insisted in his report of the game that he did not see the Balotelli incident, offering an opportunity to raise the violent conduct charge.
Evidently, that cut little ice with Mancini
"Everyone watched the game," he said.
"The referee was there, 10 metres from the tackle. He could have sent Mario off at that moment, not after the game because he watched the video.
"That is easy. I can be a referee in the next game."
Mancini added the alternative was the widespread use of video technology, which has been consistently vetoed by world governing body FIFA.
"He (Webb) can't say he didn't see it. He saw everything," said Mancini.
"Now it is finished and Mario can do nothing. We lost Vinny (Kompany) for four games for nothing and now we are without Mario for four games."
Nevertheless, even after Steven Gerrard's spot-kick, City still got themselves into a position where they could have taken the game into extra-time thanks to Dzeko's close-range effort.
That the goal was cancelled out by what turned out to be a decisive strike from Craig Bellamy must have been particularly galling for Mancini, who fell out with the Welshman not long after his arrival at the club, sanctioning a loan move to hometown club Cardiff, and then, last summer, his sale to the club he supported as a boy.
"What do you want me to say to that?" said Mancini, when asked if the downturn in his personal relationship with Bellamy made the outcome of Wednesday night's encounter worse.
"I am disappointed because I didn't get to the final. What changes if Bellamy scores, or Gerrard or (Andy) Carroll?
"I am happy with the players I have got. Bellamy scored. I am also happy for him."

Fergie reveals Robin van Persie could have joined Manchester United

 SIR ALEX FERGUSON has revealed that Robin van Persie could have been a Manchester United player – but the Dutch destroyer slipped through the net ­despite a top-level ­scouting mission to Holland.
But the Old Trafford boss confesses it could have been a different story had United followed through their interest in the kid from Rotterdam when he was just a young, ­up-and-coming star.
Fergie dispatched his spies to watch Van Persie play for Feyenoord ­reserves. But the striker – who had a wild streak then – was sent off and United’s ­interest in him fizzled out.
Arsene Wenger and Arsenal stayed on the case and eventually snapped him up after a series of clashes with Feyenoord coach Bert van Marwijk.
Fergie doesn’t often miss out on players he really wants.
But Van Persie can now be added to a list that includes two other stars who infamously got away from United – Paul Gascoigne and Alan Shearer.
“There’s no doubt Van Persie’s goals have helped Arsenal ­tremendously this season,” said Ferguson. “The lad has matured, but I ­remember us going to see him in a reserve team at Feyenoord way back.
“I think he got sent off that day in the first half – or he walked off, I can’t quite remember what happened.
“We left it alone at the time but he’s turned out to be a fantastic player.
“It wasn’t anything to do with any disciplinary problems – it was just that we didn’t see enough of him at the time and Arsenal were closer to the situation than we were.
Carrying
“He’s scored 18 goals in the league and his form is fantastic this season.
“He’s carrying Arsenal in terms of goals, but you could say the same about Barcelona, in that if you stop Messi they aren’t the same team. Or if you stop Ronaldo at Real Madrid they aren’t the same team either. All the top teams have a player who makes the difference, like David Silva at City. For many years, it was Didier Drogba at Chelsea.”
United demolished Arsenal 8-2 at the end of August and Ferguson comes to London seeking goals – with wing star Antonio Valencia on fire.
“Antonio is back to his best form now, there’s no doubt about that,” said Ferguson. “It took him a bit of time to get over the couple of injuries he’s had. The latest one, it took him longer than we thought.
“Also, Nani’s form was so good at the time I was having to play Valencia at right-back so he’s had to cope with that and probably thinking ‘am I going to get to play in my normal position at right wing?’
“But his form has got better and better and now I have moved Nani to the left hand side we’ve seen Antonio come back to his best form, which is pleasing. If you can identify good wide players, I think they are important.
“I think it is always the way we have been at United and as long as the wide players have the appetite to work, then fine.
“The ones we have always had like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Ashley Young and Nani, have a ­fantastic work-rate. They have always ­contributed in that respect.
Threatening
“With Antonio, he can go past his man and he tries to do that most of the time.
“But he’s got enough to also come inside and he can pass the ball well.
“He has a lot going for him. Last week against Bolton, he was starting to show his real top form.
“He has been threatening, you can see gradually he is getting to that point and he is in really good form now.
“He is effective like Ronaldo was but in a different way, of course.”

Exclusive: Basketmouth hits the music scene!!! Out with first single as ODDZ “Where You Dey” feat. Wizkid & eLDee

Comedian Basketmouth hits the music scene!!!

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Official Press Release

If you call him- Mr. Multi-talented you might be right – He raps – very well at that, he is a Comedian and finally a Compere extraordinaire. Some have even come to refer to him has the Crown Prince of Comedy; whether that’s a right assertion is a topic for another day. But we can tell you for a fact that he is good at his job.

The new deal with him right now, is that he is remembering what majorly brought him to the entertainment scene in the first place-Music. He had fallen madly in love in the 90′s with Rap Music better known now has Hip-Hop. His many influences or inspirations then were the likes of Wu Tang Clan – made up of the likes of Method Man, Ghostface Killah, RZA, Raekwon, GZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastards, Inspectah Decks & U-God, Buckshot and many others.

He took his love a step further by collaborating with his elder brother-Godwin and a few other friends to form a Rap Group they named-The Psychopaths made up of 8 members, they experimented in the studios bringing all the 8 elements together, but never released an Album or any of the singles.

While Godwin & Bright who later became popular by his moniker-Basketmouth got admitted into University of Benin, the other members of the Psychopaths went their different ways, thereby putting a temporary stop to their group. Bright & Godwin continued at Uniben and formed an affiliate group which later collaborated with the likes of Faze of Plantashun Boyz, Dare Art Alade & others, but like before they didn’t release any single or body of work.

Recently Godwin who had gone on to live in the UK with family came to Nigeria and out of fun, both brothers decided to enter the studio and see what they could make of their latent talent, they had a collaboration with Eldee D Don & the Prince of the moment-the one & only Wizkid and what they came up with is titled- Where You Dey?

But the main deal-the full body of work, a complete album at that is now in the works. Tentative release date is sometime in April of 2012, and both brothers are collaborating with Africa’s pride Tuface, the one & only Egberi Papa 1-Timaya, Dare Art Alade, Davido, Terry D Rapman, Flavor, Nigeria’s number one lyricist-Mode 9, OD & many others.

Not to worry at all, Basketmouth is not retiring from comedy, he is only giving a voice to a talent he had always toyed with, to see how the people would accept or view his 1st love- RAP MUSIC!