Mancini taking no chances

SOCCER EUROPA LEAGUE FC Timisoara v Manchester City:A TRIP to Timisoara and the roofless Dan Paltinisanu Stadium, with its barbed-wire fences and peeling paintwork, probably did not figure too highly on the Abu Dhabi United Group's blueprint for world domination but for Manchester City it is still progress of sorts.

Whereas Aston Villa have taken a youthful and experimental squad to Austria for their Europa League qualifier against Rapid Vienna, Roberto Mancini is placing so much emphasis on avoiding the kind of embarrassing result that was once synonymous with the club he has brought his strongest pool of players with the exception of Robinho, left in Manchester on the basis that his transfer valuation would decrease were he to play in Europe.

The game has come too early for James Milner, who will make his debut against Liverpool on Monday, and two more of Mancini’s signings were also not on the plane yesterday, with Jerome Boateng still struggling from a knee injury and Aleksandar Kolarov out for up to six weeks because of an ankle problem aggravated against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

Otherwise, though, Mancini has chosen against resting players, not just to send out the message that he is taking City’s opponents seriously but also because he wants his new-look squad to spend some time together and foster a spirit of togetherness. Robinho’s absence speaks volumes about where he fits in and the official explanation that he is concentrating on fitness work in Manchester is merely a smokescreen to the true story, with City speaking to several potential buyers, including Besiktas and Schalke 04.

Equally, nothing too much should be read into the fact the most expensive player in English football was named in the 25-man squad submitted to Uefa for these qualifying stages. His inclusion was purely because City thought it would look churlish if he returned from his six-month loan arrangement from Santos, possibly with a new mindset, to discover he had been excluded. As it has turned out, Robinho is still devoted to the idea of leaving, and Mancini will not stand in his way. “I think in the next five or six days he will decide his future,” the manager said.

Mario Balotelli, is in contention to play in Robinho’s old position on the left side of attack, although Mancini would not confirm whether the Italian would start.

He was, however, willing to confirm that Joe Hart will continue in goal, a decision that has left Shay Given seriously considering a loan move to be reunited with the former City manager Mark Hughes at Fulham. A source close to Given said: “Shay is confused and torn about what to do. He wanted to win things at City after 10 years at Newcastle without a trophy. He just wants to play and he doesn’t see Mancini leaving out Hart now, even if he makes a mistake. The last thing Shay wants to do is risk his place in the Ireland team.”

That fear appears to be unfounded, with the Republic of Ireland’s manager, Giovanni Trapattoni, already contacting Given to assure him he will keep his place. “It’s not a hard decision for me because we have other players who are not playing regularly for their clubs,” Trapattoni said.

“Shay has a good mentality, he is a strong man, and there are teams not only in England but also Italy where he could play,” added Trapattoni.

Timisoara, fifth in Romania’s Liga 1 last season, have the advantage of having already played six times this season, whereas Mancini believes his own team could still be a month away from clicking. The home players also have a financial incentive with the man who finances the club, the Balkan Petroleum owner Marian Iancu, reputedly offering €100,000 (£82,000) a man to get to the group stage.

Milner’s arrival has taken City’s spending to €152 million and Mancini, confirming it would be his last signing, laughed off Alex Ferguson’s criticisms that the most powerful spenders in football were guilty of “kamikaze” spending.

“All the other big teams have spent a lot of money in the past and I don’t mean 15 years ago but the last one, two, three years. “It’s normal when you want to buy a good player that you have to spend money,” said Mancini.

Venue: Dan Paltinisanu Stadium Kick-off: 7.45pm

Guardian Service