Robinho: City can emulate Manchester United

By Soccernet Staff

Robinho believes Manchester City can emulate neighbours United as the teams prepare to meet at Eastlands on Sunday.

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Robinho thinks City are destined for glory.

The Brazilian also claims Chelsea messed up a potential switch from Real Madrid which instead saw him make a shock move to the north-west for a British record £32million at the end of the summer transfer window.

The 24-year-old has already made an impact at City, scoring eight league goals including an audacious chip against Arsenal last week.

Now Robinho believes the team can become as big as the Red Devils following their takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group, which has seen the likes of Kaka show interest.

He said: "In football, nothing is impossible. Manchester City might be classed as a small club but in two or three years' time, who knows?

"Three or four years ago Chelsea were considered a small club, but now they are a big club. Anything can happen. The project here is very ambitious and Manchester City will grow very quickly over the next few years.''

The forward pledged his future to the club, saying: "The only thing in my mind is to stay here for many years. Next year we will try our best to reach the Champions League.''

Robinho had been expected to move to Stamford Bridge but he claims they undermined the move by putting a picture of a shirt bearing his name on their website before the deal was finalised.

"It was Chelsea's own fault,'' he continued. "Everything would probably have been okay but Chelsea put that picture of me on their website and Madrid were upset about that.

"They didn't want to sell to Chelsea because they are in the Champions League and with me they would have been even stronger.''

Robinho claims he was badly treated by Real after reports he would be a makeweight in the deal to take Cristiano Ronaldo to the Bernabeu with the Brazilian going in the opposite direction.

"Things didn't end well in Madrid because the directors didn't behave properly,'' he added.

"I know what I'm worth and I don't feel I should be talked about as currency for someone else. Once a player finds out that he is seen as the bait in a part-exchange, how else can they feel? It's not the way to treat people.''

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Driver hits 7 cars in 13 minutes

By Associated Press

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - Police say a man driving away from a Spokane bar hit at least seven cars within 13 minutes, including one driven by an off-duty detective, before they arrested him for drunken driving.

Jason G. Cross, 32, was booked into the Spokane County Jail on Saturday on a charge of driving under the influence and seven charges of failure to leave information at the scene of an accident.

Police said they were alerted by someone at a bar in Browne's Addition, who told them a drunken driver was leaving in a pickup truck at 3:28 p.m. Saturday.

Cross was arrested at 3:41 p.m. after his pickup struck cars and then wedged between two vehicles stopped at a red light. Off-duty detective Neil Gallion was in one of the cars and followed Cross' pickup. Officials said the pickup hit other cars before they caught up to Cross.

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Resolution at last as Burke is introduced as Maple Leafs' GM

TORONTO -- Brian Burke took over as president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.

"You're talking about the Vatican if you're Catholic, you're talking the center of the hockey universe, you're talking about one of the most important jobs in hockey running the Toronto Maple Leafs," Burke said at a news conference. "It's a dream job."

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Maple Leafs fans are hoping GM Brian Burke can work some of the same magic he did with the Anaheim Ducks.

He got a six-year deal, worth a reported $3 million annually, to replace interim general manager Cliff Fletcher after John Ferguson was fired in January.

Burke spent the past three-plus seasons managing the Anaheim Ducks, leading them to a Stanley Cup title in 2007.

He stepped down from the post Nov. 13 after declining to sign a contract extension that would take him beyond this season.

During previous management stops in Hartford, Vancouver and Anaheim, the 53-year-old has been unafraid to make bold moves, though he has no plans to make any immediately.

"I don't think players should get traded at Christmas time unless they ask to get traded," Burke said. "So for me to evaluate this team, make some judgments and do something before Dec. 9, is probably going to be hard to do. So anyone who's waiting with bated breath for that first deal might wait past that deadline. Because I believe players deserve to spend the holidays with their families."

There were no timetables offered for turning around a club that hasn't been in the playoffs since 2004 or specifics on how he planned to get the city its first Stanley Cup championship since 1967.

"We require as a team proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence," he said. "That's how our teams play."

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press

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