Tevez Snub is Mancini’s Blessing in Disguise

The refusal from Carlos Tevez to come on and play for Manchester City against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night, is exactly the same as an ordinary worker refusing to get out of bed and go to work. We all have those days and the vast majority of us just get on with it and earn an honest living.

Carlos Tevez most certainly does not fit in to this category and quite frankly he is an embarrassment to himself and an embarrassment to football. One man he is not an embarrassment to however is Roberto Mancini, who now has a reason to stand up to the sulky Argentine and let him rot in the reserves before shipping him off in January.

It’s hard to believe the fall from grace that Tevez has endured in the past few months. This time last season he was the hero at City and without his goals and work rate Mancini’s men would most certainly not be in Europe. But in the midst of all this Tevez decided he wanted to take his ball and go home. He blamed family reasons for not being happy in Manchester and as reluctant as they were in letting him go, Manchester City agreed to let him leave, solely for family reasons.

The arrival of Sergio Aguero in the summer provided clear evidence that Mancini was planning for life without Tevez. However, when the Argentine’s summer transfer dealings broke down, Mancini was left with the striker at City. But things were not all doom and gloom as Tevez appeared to have a smile on his face once again and his family had now joined him in Manchester.

The feeling among City fans and the media was that Edin Dzeko was keeping Tevez’s position warm until he was fully fit and could form a formidable partnership with his fellow Argentine team mate Aguero. The blistering start City has made this season with Tevez on the bench is frightening to say the least, and there was talk of them being genuine contenders for the Champions League.

However, with one point from their opening Champions League games and Tevez now certain to leave the club, it looks all that more of an uphill challenge now for Mancini’s men. On the other hand, the actions of the Manchester City manager following Tevez’s snub, shows that he is firmly in control of what goes on at the club. This whole saga will only make Mancini stronger particularly in the aftermath of Gary Cook’s departure from the club.

Tevez is one of the greatest strikers and footballers in the world at the moment and there is absolutely nothing he can’t achieve. However, he is not a one man club and he is certainly not a loyal player. Everyone asked questions when Sir Alex opted not to sign the striker on a permanent basis and just one year after he signed for the blue side of Manchester the cracks were already beginning to show. He is now in his third season and look at the mess he has caused.

It’s hard to believe that this man was also captain of the club. Manchester City and Mancini can together grow stronger from the Tevez saga, in particular the latter who needs to show that he is the boss and no player is bigger than the club. There is life after Tevez for City, particularly with Sergio Aguero up front and also an unlimited check book.

United Too Good While Europe Halts City Progress

Following the opening fixtures of this year’s Champions League, all eyes were on Manchester City to see how they would respond to playing midweek against Napoli. A 2-2 draw away to Fulham this past Sunday will bring the City fans back down to earth a little bit.

It is too early to say whether or not Mancini’s men will struggle every time they play after Europe, but the manner in which they threw away two goals against Fulham to drop two points, could have a psychological impact on the team.

Arsenal went down 4-3 away from home to Blackburn and it looks as though they will continue to struggle in their fixtures after playing midweek games in Europe. The same cannot be said however for Manchester United who eased past Chelsea this past Sunday.

They were a different class against Chelsea and they never really looked like they got out of second gear. After scoring early in the game, United did not create too many chances and it was Chelsea who had the more attempts on goal. However, after soaking up a bit of Chelsea pressure, United out of nowhere found themselves 3-0 up at half time and left everyone wondering whether Rooney would fire home another hat-trick.

Although Chelsea were stronger in the second half and Fernando Torres finally looks like he is finally getting somewhere near being back to his best, the London side still look nowhere near as strong as Manchester United. Sir Alex’s men travel to Elland Road to face old rivals Leeds United tonight and the Scotsman has an embarrassing array of unused talent to call upon.

Berbatov, Owen, Giggs, Carrick, Valencia – these are just a few of the names of players who need some much needed game time after struggling to break into Ferguson’s squad so far this season. This is where United most definitely have the edge over Chelsea and Arsenal, while it remains to be seen whether or not the City squad will be strong enough to compete on all fronts this season.

Mancini is already pointing to his lack of central midfield options as he has as couple of injuries in that department. But Mancini is the only man to blame for this as he had an open check book all summer. It is therefore that I believe Owen Hargreaves may prove to be an important signing for City after all. 

Mancini has stated that Hargreaves will play 45 minutes in the Carling Cup this week, should he come through unscathed, he may find himself thrown right into the mix of things at Manchester City. Heaven knows he deserves a break.

The games are starting to come thick and fast and this is where the squad depth of the top four teams will be tested to the max. The Carling Cup will provide much needed game time for the players struggling to fit into the top teams in the Premiership. However, it is hard to see any squad outside of Manchester not struggling to cope with the upcoming fixture list.

Torres Comments Could Signify Beginning of the End

Following the apparent recent criticism by Fernando Torres of his Chelsea team mates, we could be seeing the beginning of the Spanish striker's attempts to end his nightmare spell at Chelsea. 

Although the Spaniard has not set Chelsea alight, nowhere near in fact, it was surprising to see him as an unused substitute against Sunderland this past weekend. With Didier Drogba ruled out through injury the onus would have been on Torres to finally step up and make his mark at Chelsea. 

The feeling around Stamford Bridge at the beginning of the season was that this season would see the striker find his scoring touch once again. After all he looked incredibly sharp and back to his old ways against Stoke on the opening day of the season, and how a goal against the Potters would have helped him now. 

Andres Villa Boas's main concern when he came to Chelsea was always going to be the Torres and Drogba saga. However, his ageing squad and lack of pace in the Chelsea side is also a major issue. Villa Boas has gone some way in rectifying this; the introduction of Josh Mceachran and most recently Daniel Sturridge into the first team shows the manager is willing to give youth a try. 

The decision by Villas Boas to choose Sturridge ahead of Torres against Sunderland payed off and the young English man scored a wonderful back heeled goal against Steve Bruce's men. Then came the allegations of Torres referring to his team mates as 'old and slow' in a Spanish interview. This is no surprise following Torres's nightmare spell at Chelsea. 

Something has gone drastically wrong for the Spaniard at Chelsea; he has lost his confidence and self belief. He has also lost his touch and positioning abilities which are what made him the player he was at Liverpool. Whether or not this is down to the Chelsea personnel and type of play is debatable, one thing thats for sure is his time at Chelsea is entering a penultimate stage. 

This is it for Torres; he has been dropped from the first team and he has criticized his team mates, the fans have been patient enough as have the managers and the owner. On the eve of Chelsea's Champions League opener at home to Dortmund, Villa Boas has a massive decision on this hands. Does he start Torres in the hope of a reaction or does he go with Sturridge who was in fine form at the weekend?

A European game may suit Torres better than Sturridge and it may allow Chelsea fans to finally see a reaction from the disinterested looking Spaniard. Villa Boas knew he would be thrown in at the deep end at some stage; it’s now time for him to show off his 'Special' qualities. Torres on the other hand is running out of time and this may be his last chance. 

Udinese Victory Could Prove to be the Biggest of Wenger’s Career

It’s hard to imagine an Arsenal victory over Udinese as possibly being the most important of Wenger’s career, but this is the situation Arsenal are now in.

When Arsenal went down 1-0 before half time, it really did look like the inevitable for Wenger’s side. However, credit has to be given where credit is due, as it is not easy to come back from a goal down and win away from home, let alone in Europe but also in a game that had so much riding on it.

If United, Chelsea or Manchester City were to get knocked out of the Champions League then they can concentrate on winning the Premiership, this is not the case with Arsenal. Their sole priority this season will be to keep up with the chasing pack, and remain a top four team.

It is easy to jump on the Wenger bandwagon and highlight his faults and possible stubbornness, just listen to Piers Morgan on Twitter. However, this victory over Udinese could be the turning point Arsenal fans have been waiting patiently for season after season. 

The Fabregas saga is finally over and most Arsenal fans would not speak too harshly of him, as he did stay on an extra two seasons after all. The Nasri transfer is different, yes he is a top player, but he is not irreplaceable and if anyone can replace him it is Wenger. 

There are already reports that Wenger has moved for the highly rated Eden Hazard, and that he is also considering a bid for Scott Parker. It is no secret that Arsenal are interested in Scott Dann, while a reported move for Everton’s Tim Cahill has also surfaced. 

It is these types of signings that will make the difference for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger has been thrown a lifeline with this result, and who’s to say that the likes of Walcott, Ramsey, Wilshire, Gervinho and Van Persie, won’t step up to the plate all the time and take games by the scruff of the neck for the Gunners.

One thing is for sure, these players need reinforcements and they need them soon as the transfer window is coming to an end. He may not like it and he may not agree with it, but Arsene Wenger must get the check book out and save Arsenal’s season before it even begins. 

Don’t write the Frenchman off just yet.