Bad boy Bernado gets a break

December 16, 2006

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BERNARDO Corradi has been given a week's holiday in his native Italy by City boss Stuart Pearce.

But the Blues striker, red-carded in last week's derby defeat for a blatant dive, will face a lecture from the manager when he returns to training early next week.

He must serve a two-match ban which means he is not available for selection until the Boxing Day trip to Sheffield United.

Pearce's honesty in condemning the player's attempt to cheat was greeted with pleasant surprise by football fans everywhere, but reports from Italy suggest that the player was upset at the criticism from his manager.

Pearce defended his straightforward words and hinted that the matter will be resolved when Corradi flies back to Manchester.

Italy

"I have given him the week off, because he is suspended for two games," said Pearce. "He was going back to Italy anyway so I will have a chat with him when he gets back.

"I will back my players to the hilt because I love every one of this squad to bits, but when I get asked the question whether I thought Bernardo went down cheaply, am I going to say 'No'?

"People would think I was an idiot when it is there for all to see. It is no criticism of my players, just an honest assessment of what I see in the football match."

Pearce is waiting on fitness tests to Didi Hamann, Micah Richards, Nicky Weaver and Claudio Reyna before finalising his team for tomorrow's home clash with Spurs.

What do you think? Have your say.

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gerry long lawford blue, Rugby (16/12/2006 at 13:25)

Mr Pearce -- worry not about the fitness of Reyna and Hamanan neither offer enough positives on the park ..least of all Mr Short Pass It Backwards Everytime,Reyna !! As for giving Corradi a holiday .. speechless !!

Hampton Skraczer, ny (16/12/2006 at 15:14)

The salford game may well be the last time we'll see of Corradi in a City shirt if the rumour's turn out to be true. I think thing's may have turned out differently for the guy had Andy Cole not jumped ship. That proposed partnership may have been part of the reason we brought him here in the first place, whatever the case its become fairly obvious that it's not working out. Just hope the Cisse rumour turn's out to have some weight to it.

Dave, Middleton (16/12/2006 at 15:30)

Cheat in The Derby, let down your team mates and fans.
Punishment, a weeks holiday in Italy on full pay. The life of the modern footballer is hell !

Gareth, Reddish (16/12/2006 at 15:36)

Good decision by Pearce. Doubtlessly people will moan about him having time off when he is being paid good money by the club, but if this serves to make the player happier then it's for the greater good.

Victor, Droylsden blue (16/12/2006 at 16:23)

What a life!!!

Steve the blue, Manchester (16/12/2006 at 17:37)

So,we have a manager who has been promising to "have a chat"with the player for a week now,then gives him a "holiday"and then says he'll deal with him "when he gets back."Absolutely appalling man-management...what Corradi did was wrong but it seems that Pearce's naivety in failing to deal with the situation behind closed doors is going to cost City a transfer deficit that we can ill-afford....does anyone else believe Corradi is on "holiday"unless the "holiday" involves the player engineering a cut-price move in the transfer window...?I wish Pearce would stop conducting his disciplinary business in public,in his PATHETIC attempt to be seen as "the worlds' most honest/fairest manager."Shut up and BACK CITY for once!

Phil, Sheffield (16/12/2006 at 20:18)

This should all have been handled ehind closed doors - not through the media. It is rather naive man-management or lack of it by Pearce.

The Pope, Rome (16/12/2006 at 21:02)

I reckon he's going to be sorting a move back to Italy for Jan - apparently he's homesick. What this roumer re Cisse? Isn't he still out with a broken leg (as usual)?

Jan, Manchester (16/12/2006 at 23:54)

I think Pearce is wrong. I think Corradi was fouled - his shorts did get pulled - it may not be enough for Pearce but for Corradi it was enough to lose his balance and fall over.
It was a penalty.
At least we want our manager to support our team in front of the cameras. Behind closed doors he may say what he likes!
We have to win tomorrow. If the players dont think the manager will support them, they may not be so keen to do their best. In which case even 5 million is too much for Pearce to have to spend in January.
Are we bidding to get Sibierski back??

Phil, Sacramento, CA U.S.A. (17/12/2006 at 04:48)

I guess we're now officially in
the market for a striker in the
window. Ivan Klaznich is the
guy we ought to go out and
get. I think it's a much easier
and quicker adjustment moving
from Die Bundesliga to the
Prem than moving here from
any other Euro league. Too
bad we don't have Miroslav
Klose to pair him with! But
seriously, Klaz is a just what
we will need: a good all-around
striker who can finish and play
with or off the ball. He'll be an
asset in the air, just as Corradi
was. C'mon Stuart, snap him
up quick and prove your mettle
in the transfer market.

Simsim, Finland (17/12/2006 at 09:59)

There must be bigger issues to fuss about than Corradi's case, don't you think? So he went down easily apparently during a match, so what? He's not the first player to do that, plus if he can't handle the occasional negative feedback then that's his problem, not Pearce's. I saw the game myself and you didn't need to be all the way in Finland to see the truth. However, why he's gone public about his opinion all the way is not something I fully understand, so there's a good point. I think that if a player and the gaffer have something to talk about then they should meet behind closed doors, not in front of some reporters. Corradi has improved as a player but this is just bad publicity, nothing less. Now let's just beat the Spurs shall we?

Dave Evans, Zuerich,ch (17/12/2006 at 10:27)

Somehow we've managed to scrape together 20 points with a very unattractive formation, that is all of Pearce's doing.
No doubt Corradi will be talking to other clubs in Italy. What nonsense is this ? give him a week off ? He can train twice as hard whilst banned, to be seen to part of the 'Team'.
Honest Stuart proving once again why we need a change at the top. I just hope we get something out of the game today. I am beginning to convulse at Pearce's after the match comments.

Joe, Old Trafford (17/12/2006 at 10:31)

Well done-reward the cheat with a week off! Hopefully that will be the last we see of him.

Prophet of Doom, Heaton Moor (17/12/2006 at 11:28)

Lets hope his visit home is to sort out personal terms with Chievo. Absolutely appalling signing. Never in a million years is he quick enough for the English game.

dave, OLDHAM (17/12/2006 at 11:32)

hi all, i feel bernardo should go in jan and i also would like to see theese leave aswell hamman,reyna,dickov,beasley and danny mills this would free up wages for better players i would bite the bullet if i was jw and get darren bent, thomert, and danny murphy this would bring the fans back ie more revenue, shirt sales we would have pace and creativity aswell as grit.

frank swifts gloves, watching (17/12/2006 at 13:57)

Steve the blue, Manchester --Its always easy to criticise the manager- especially when you dont know the full story.

I am sure many of us true City fans on here would love to know just how you would handle this situation. Also to know the extent of your own "Man-management" skills.

I dont always agree with everything the manager does, but I do appreciate that things arent always as straightforward as we see them.

The fact we have to face up to is that all the power in these situations is in the players corner!

Matt, Italy (17/12/2006 at 14:34)

I live and work in Florence and my girlfriend's brother called me Friday lunch time to tell me he'd just seen Corradi coming out of the Gucci store in the centre. He's from Siena which is about 45mins away. When I speak to locals about him they all say the same thing, "great work rate, good with his head, but doesn't score very often", well that's certainly true isn't it!

frank clarke's guitar tutor, corner of city dressing room (17/12/2006 at 18:36)

Our strike force is completaly ineffective. Therefore, the solution is simple-change it. Our long suffering fans know that neither dickov, samaras,corradi or vassell score any number of goals, so drop them completly and play someone else. It's simple. Play Miller and Sturridge up front. Or Richards and Miller, or Sturridge and Richards. The result cannot be as ineffective as Messrs Dickov, Corradi and Samaras. Trouble is Pearce lacks any vision and that could mean the championship for us.

Jack Thorley, Timperley (18/12/2006 at 00:02)

Let us hope that Bernardo will feel even more home sick when he returns from Italy and asks City if he can return there permanently.

Paul, Bolton (18/12/2006 at 09:35)

He should have been dragged in every day to train. Are we supposed to believe there is no area of his game that needs to be worked on (apart from cheating, obviously).

Pathetic!

Karl Pilkington, Ashton (18/12/2006 at 10:03)

People do think you're an idiot anyway Stuart, so I wouldn't worry too much.

Harry Skinters, All at Sea (18/12/2006 at 10:57)

Please take Samaras and Dickov with you and stay there.

Same old, Same old (18/12/2006 at 14:15)

Always the same - when we win everyone can't praise the players enough, when we lose suddenly everyone's a waste of space. Against Villa and United I thought Corradi and Samaras were excellent - I thought it was harsh on Corradi to be booked and sent off - for instance, no action was taken by the same ref against BM for Blackburn at the weekend. The crux of the matter is that the Premier League is full of a lot of ordinary sides of which we are one. Some sensible investment could change that - but it ain't going to happen in January, and it ain't going to happen quickly.

Steve the blue, Manchester (18/12/2006 at 17:09)

Frank Swift....Lets just say that in your office an employee commits an "offence" on a Friday afternoon that is deemed serious enough to warrant a "disciplinary" hearing... do you as a manager then (a)lambast the employee in public to all that will listen,telling everyone that you will "have a chat" upon his return or (b)deal with the matter internally,defending the employee until a fair and decent outcome has been reached?If the "facts"of the case aren't obvious,then SP and MCFC have the legal right to challenge the authenticity of the reporting by the MEN,but

Steve the blue, Manchester (18/12/2006 at 17:10)

...I trust you understand the point I'm making by now...

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