4/12 The Sports Pages

“QUACKERS” is writ large across the back page of the Mirror, accompanied by news that Qatar want to stage the 2022 World Cup Finals in January.

This is fine if you’re playing in the League of Ireland, but we’re guessing that most players who get called up by their country will be playing in the top flight leagues of England, Germany, France, Spain and Italy, for whom the timing doesn’t exactly work.

The Star and The Mirror both have the picture of Manchester City’s petulant striker Mario Balotelli throwing a strop and taking issue with a tackle by Man City defender Jerome Boateng during a training session.

If the images are anything to go by, this wasn’t so much as fisticuffs as the sort of thing you see when two drunken girls start rowing about the same man outside a nightclub on a Saturday night, i.e. it was all a bit lame.

Keeping the focus on Man City, there are more of the almost weekly reports that Shay Given is desperate to leave when the transfer window next opens in January. The Republic of Ireland international made only his third appearance of the season this week, when City beat Salzburg 3-0 in the Europa League.

The Sun lead with news that melty-faced manager Harry Redknapp has cleared the way for Robbie Keane to pack his bags and leave Spurs, probably to join Aston Villa.