City prepare to go for Kidd

Manchester City want Brian Kidd, the No 2 at their rivals Manchester United, as their new manager and are prepared to offer Alex Ferguson's right-hand man pounds 500,000 a year to move back to Maine Road.

The new power at First Division City, Stephen Boler, is ready to make an official approach and has already put out feelers. After a season of managerial upsets, he does not want another embarrassing rejection by either United or Kidd.

City are confident that Kidd, a former player at Maine Road, would welcome the challenge of being a manager in his own right after a long apprenticeship under Ferguson. Boler has earmarked pounds 10m for new players and Kidd can be expected to spend it wisely, but the timing of the approach is awkward with United in the last eight of the European Cup. There is also a difference of opinion at City, with the chairman Francis Lee preferring Howard Wilkinson for the position held at the moment by Phil Neal.

The West Ham board has thwarted a bid to take control of the club by a millionaire tax exile. The former bookmaker, Michael Tabor, who sold his Arthur Prince chain of bookies to Coral for pounds 30m, had wanted shareholders to reject the re-election of the chairman Terence Brown and vote in his representative at yesterday's annual meeting. Tabor's attempt failed, despite his intention to make pounds 30m available for new players.

Liverpool have made a pounds 2m bid for the Swede, Andreas Andersson, after missing the chance to sign him for nothing. The IFK Gothenburg striker was available on a free transfer when he came to Anfield on trial but was not taken on. Derby County are also chasing a Swede - the 23-year- old Marino Ramberg, Sweden's young player of the year, who plays for Degerfors IF.

Bristol City have been charged by the Football Association with failing to control fans after the crowd violence at Sunday's derby with Bristol Rovers at Ashton Gate. Rovers players were allegedly assaulted by home fans at the end of the 1-1 draw. Rovers supporters spilled on to the pitch and mounted police had to help restore order.

Scott Davidson, the City chairman, was "very disappointed" by the FA's action, claiming that the Second Division club had met safety requirements and had more than 100 police on duty along with the club's stewards.

"We ourselves were victims of the hooligans who clearly came along to cause trouble," Davidson said. "The faces we are seeing on the videos [of the match] are not faces we recognise. They are troublemakers from outside the club."

The FA will watch video footage of the mass brawl at the end of Saturday's First Division game between Norwich City and Crystal Palace. Palace had two players dismissed after the flare-up at the end of the 1-1 draw.

Mark Bosnich could be back in goal for Aston Villa against Wimbledon on Sunday after spending the last seven weeks on the sidelines following knee surgery.

Jurgen Klinsmann's falling out with Bayern Munich looks to have reached a point of no return with the 32-year-old former Tottenham striker asking to be released before his contract expires next June. Klinsmann has criticised the tactics of coach Giovanni Trapattoni and has had a bitter feud with the captain, Lothar Matthaus.