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.

Manchester Set to Dominate Premiership Title Race for the Foreseeable Future

Following the whitewash by the two Manchester teams over Arsenal and Spurs this past weekend, it is difficult to see the title leaving the city of Manchester in the near future.There’s an old saying that goes ‘anything you can do, I can do better’, and this is most certainly the case between Manchester United and Manchester City at this moment in time.

Just as little as three years ago, it would have unthinkable to put the blue side of Manchester possessing a team in the same ranks as Barcelona and Real Madrid.  It has to be sad that the same team is now easily placed within the top five teams in the world.

In the aftermath of City’s emphatic 5-1 victory away to Spurs, it would have hard to imagine United topping that result, and Sir Alex would have been more than happy with a solid hard fought 1-0 victory. However, the labouring and ageing United team of last season, now appears to be old news. 

It is no secret that United were not at their best last season, particularly their away form. While everyone huffed and puffed about replacing Paul Scholes with a similar type player, Sir Alex had different intentions.To the untrained eye, Sir Alex began his rebuilding process last season, when he signed Smalling and Hernandez. This past summer he added De Gea, Young and Jones, and these five players have injected  pace and youthfulness that even has Barcelona watching over their shoulders.

This is in contrast to what Manchester City has been up to this past summer, where all the talk was focused on whether or not Carlos Tevez would stay. A few weeks on and now look at the position Manchester City are in. They are top of the league, have two new stars in Aguero and Nasri, are in the Champions League, and Tevez can’t even get a game.

It’s ironic how Sir Alex has always relied on youth and patience over trying to buy success, the resistance in paying over the top for Sneijder highlights this. On the other hand, Manchester City have no problem in buying the title, and the way things are going it may not be long before it happens.

To return to the Sneijder matter, it will be interesting to see if the midfield of United, i.e. Anderson, Cleverley, Fletcher, Carrick and Giggs, will be strong enough to retain the Premiership and over throw Barcelona as European Champions. Sir Alex has signed players in the January transfer window before, and don’t be surprised if he gets out the check book once again come January.

With regards to the rest of the chasing pack, it would not be fair to rule out Chelsea all together from the title race. However, Villas Boas certainly has his hands full in getting the most out of his side, in particular Fernando Torres. The addition of Mata will help Torres as he is a creative attacking player. However, Luka Modric does look like the final piece of the jigsaw, but old timer Harry Redknapp is willing to battle to the death to keep his star man.

Exciting Season Ahead after Premiership Curtain Raise

If the first weekend of the Premiership season is anything to go by, then the season ahead may prove to be the most entertaining yet. In week one, we saw a potentially new Liverpool, the solidness of Chelsea with a sharp Fernando Torres, the return of hair on his head and a goal for Wayne Rooney, and to top it all off, the debut of a new Premiership sensation.

So the Premiership is back and once again our lives can feel fulfilled, as we have plenty to talk and argue about. Jamie Redknapp is back looking as well as ever, and he is joined by his new colleague, the infamous and not so handsome Gary Neville. However, everything is not rosy just yet in the Premiership garden, as wrinkles and grey hairs may be soon be appearing on certain Premiership managers.

One man who does not have to worry about that is Kenny Dalglish. His Liverpool side were very impressive in their first half performance against Sunderland, and it would be foolish to read too much into their tired second half performance, as it is the beginning of the season. Charlie Adam and the impressive Luis Suarez look like excellent signings, however, Liverpool still look a bit short in numbers, particularly in defence. Also, it should not be forgotten that Stephen Gerrard is yet to return to the side.

Chelsea kicked off the Super Sunday action away to Stoke City, which was always going to be a tough place to begin the season with. Tony Pulis is assembling a good side with Stoke; with the returning Jonathan Woodgate looking like an excellent purchase should he stay fit. New Chelsea manager Andres Villas Boas will have had a rude awakening at what the Premiership can muscle up after visiting the Britannia stadium. There are plenty of positives for Chelsea fans to take away from the game, with the sharpness and movement of Fernando Torres up front, being the main talking point. Chelsea has a sleeping giant in their camp, and should he wake, along with the imminent capture of Luka Modric, then they will once again be a force to be reckoned with in the Premiership.

Manchester United showed glimpses of brilliance against West Brom, and in the end it could be argued that they were lucky to come away with all three points. However, they never really looked like they got out of second gear, and they lost both centre halves to injury. Wayne Rooney looks to be nearing his best, while Ashley Young continues to look like he has been in the United squad for years. It looks as though Sir Alex Ferguson is content with his squad, and it remains to be seen whether or not he is correct. Tom Cleverley looks a real talent, and who’s to say he’s not good enough to step up to the plate for the United first team. Anderson also played well against West Brom, and this could finally be the time for the Brazilian to step up to the plate. The ever present Ryan Giggs and the returning Darren Fletcher, have also yet to kick a ball this season.

All eyes were on the Etihad Stadium Monday night, as the big spenders Manchester City got their season underway against the Premiership newcomers Swansea. The game was hyped up to be a real David versus Goliath confrontation, but Swansea played very well up until the hour mark. The resilience of Brendan Rogers’ side was finally broken, as the class of Manchester City proved to be too good for Swansea. However, it was a debutante and super sub that stole the show, as Sergio Auguero made his much anticipated debut for Manchester City. The silky Argentinean came off the bench to score twice, with his second strike an early contender for goal of the season. Before the game, all the talk was about whether or not Carlos Tevez would be staying at the club.The question is now, does Manchester City really need him, and how good will they be if he actually stays? The red half of Manchester must be at least a little bit worried.

To return to the topic of managers under pressure, Arsene Wenger could arguably be facing the biggest two weeks of his career. The Cesc Fabregas saga has finally been put to bed, and it looks likely that Samir Nasri will also be following him out of the club. Wenger has always been one to rely on youth and his patented worldwide scouting system; surely now he is going to splash the cash before the end of the transfer window. His side were lucky to overcome Udinese last night in the Champions League qualifiers, and surely now the Frenchman must be aware that his side is lacking seriously in all departments. Arsenal play Liverpool at the weekend, and if Dalglish’s side play anything like they did in the first half against Sunderland last weekend, then Arsene Wenger may get his wake up call a lot earlier than expected.

There’s an old saying, ‘don’t fix it if it isn’t broken’, this is most certainly not the case at the Emirates Stadium.