Manchester City
Manchester City have announced that Carlos Tevez has withdrawn his transfer request after clear-the-air talks with the club. The Argentine striker had handed in a formal transfer request on December 11, which City rejected. A statement on the club's website said: "Manchester City can confirm to its fans that 'clear the air' talks have been held with Carlos Tevez. During the meeting Carlos expressed his absolute commitment to the club and formally withdrew his transfer request." Manager Roberto Mancini added: "Carlos is a world-class player whose contribution since he joined the club has been invaluable. I am pleased that we are now able to focus on pure football matters and to be able to look forward to Carlos continuing to play a significant role in the club's progress."
Liverpool
Dirk Kuyt, the Liverpool forward, is confident the Merseysiders can make a significant move towards the top four over the festive period. Liverpool's four matches in 11 days see them host Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bolton Wanderers and travel to Blackpool and Blackburn Rovers. They are nine points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea. "This period is one of the most important of the season," he said. "If we can produce a good run I'm sure we will be up near the top four. I'm sure a lot of the top teams will drop some points this month. If we could get four good results in a row, then who knows?."
Chelsea
Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, is confident Didier Drogba will be back to his best when the champions resume their league campaign after Christmas. The striker has struggled for consistency and fitness this season, but showed glimpses of his best in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in their last game, even though he missed a last-gasp penalty. And Ancelotti believes he will be ready to fire when he faces Arsenal next Monday. He said: "We need Drogba to come back to the performances he had last year and the goal against Tottenham was very good for his attitude … He had a good reaction after coming on as a substitute in the last game, this is the important thing and following the goal against Tottenham he will show us a different Drogba in the next game."
Blackpool
Karl Oyston, the Blackpool chairman, has said undersoil heating is "not a financial consideration" for the club at the moment despite the postponement of their last two scheduled home games. The Seasiders' clashes with Manchester United and Tottenham at Bloomfield Road had to be called off due to freezing conditions, but Oyston said there are no immediate plans to address the problem by installing a new heating system beneath the pitch."It really is not a financial consideration," Oyston told Sky Sports News."These games will be played and we will only know the financial implications once the season is over and we know how many games have been picked for television. At the moment, it is not at the forefront of our mindset - spectator and player safety are."
Manchester United
Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, says he has shelved all thoughts of retirement. Ferguson this week became the longest-serving manager in United's history and on New Year's Day will celebrate his 69th birthday."The older you get the more worried you are about retiring," he told MUTV. "You start to realise that whilst you have got your health and good fitness, you should carry on in your job. All thoughts of retirement are in the back of my mind."
