Joe Hart: 'All I'm interested in is how we can win the league.

Joe Hart has come a long way since his £600k transfer to City from Shrewsbury Town. From being largely unknown outside Manchester City 3 years ago, he is now England's number 1 keeper and regarded as one of the best in Europe if not the world. And at 24 years old, he isn't anywhere near the peak of his ability.

One thing that has helped him along the way is his that he has a steady head on his shoulders, knowing when to relax and have a joke and when to get his game-face on. Right now, as far as football is concerned, it's strictly game-face.

When asked about the possibility of City not winning the league this year because of either Mancini or a negative influence from Tevez, his reply is one  of a person who is fully aware of the responsibilities he and his teammates possess.

"A lot of people will say that (with reference to blaming Mancini) but, personally, I won’. If we don’t win the league, it will be our own fault. That includes Carlos, myself – everyone.

“I’m not interested in what’s perceived outside of the club. All I’m interested in is what’s going on inside the club and how we can win the league."

As for the possibility of Tevez returning to first team action, it is a subject that has divided City fans but as most players, Joe takes a more pragmatic stance;

“If that means Carlos coming back, scoring a hat-trick and everyone saying he’s the greatest player in the world, so be it. I couldn’t care less.

“I just think you’ve got to look further than your personal feelings,”

“Maybe it would be different if we were sat in fifth place and didn’t know where we were going.

“But we know where we’re going, and we haven’t got time to get hung up on individuals. We’ve got to be focused on our goal."

Joe doesn't feel Tevez will be walking straight back into the starting 11 when he is fit though. With Aguero being the new main striker with Balotelli and Dzeko all still scoring goals, Carlos may find it difficult to get a place on the bench, let alone in the starting 11.

Not forgetting either that it has been these 3 players that have contributed to where City are now and to drop either of them for a player who may or may not fit back in would be terribly harsh on them;

“I’ve not trained with Carlos personally [since his return], because of games and recovery, but the lads assure me that he’s firing.

“I’m sure it’s difficult [for the manager] and I’m sure other people are way ahead of Carlos in the pecking order, and rightfully so.

“We’ve been working hard whilst he’s been away for whatever reasons and I’m sure he understands that and appreciates that.

“So he’ll have to earn his place back. But if Carlos can play anything like we know he can, he’ll be an asset to the team.”

He isn't resting on his laurels either, with the end of the season looming it is still all to play for, especially with only 2 points separating 1st and 2nd place;

“It’s gone great so far, but we’ll judge it by where we finish at the end of the season.

“It’s nice now, but we need to win the title for it to be a good season." 

There has been much talk of the pressures of being involved in a title race, and Joe Hart is one of the players at City never to have gone through such an experience. But he doesn't believe this will have a negative impact on the squad.

“There’s been pressure on us for a long time. But the pressure is put on ourselves by ourselves, in the dressing-room, because we want to win things.

“There’s obviously a lot of talk and hype around what we do, but we put ourselves under positive pressure to win every game.

“The Premier League is the most competitive in the world. I don’t think anyone is ever going to romp it by the start of March.

“We’ve got the most successful club in England, especially in Premier League terms, snapping away at our heels.”

“We can’t look to next season or try to hold onto a title we haven’t even won yet,

“But I’d love it to happen. I see myself as a part of City and I want to keep winning, I don’t want it to be a one-off.

“First and foremost, though, we have to keep our eyes on the prize this season and not lose sight of that.”

Sustained success is certainly what Sheikh Mansour was looking to achieve when he bought the club, and it's certainly looking like a very strong possibility when you have the players of the calibre the we have now. Just as important though is their desire to stay at the club and Joe is one who openly admits that he wants to stick around for a while.

When finding out that Alex Ferguson and United were apparently interested in him before City came along, Joe had this to say;

"For someone who I respect greatly and who I grew up admiring in football to say that is a great honour. I'm not quite sure what he meant by it but he's got fantastic goalkeepers there with [Anders] Lindegaard and David de Gea. And I'm quite happy on the other side of the city.

"I love Manchester City, I love playing for them. I'm really proud to have signed a long-term contract last summer and hopefully that can continue for a long time to come."

Manchester City v Blackburn Rovers: Post-match thoughts

Have you ever witnessed a more one sided game in all your life? I don't think I have in my reasonably short 27 years of it. For around 70 minutes of the game, City had about 86% of possession. It ended with 78% possession, 28 attempts on goal.

City barely had to get out of second gear as Blackburn came with the sole intention of limiting the number of goals City scored. Yakubu cut a lonely figure as the ball was often hoofed in his direction with either Kompany or Lescott waiting to take it back from him.

If there is one negative to take away from the game, it's that despite having 28 shots on goal, only 9 were actually on target. Mancini will no doubt be unhappy with this despite the overall performance. In tougher games, less than a 30% hit rate could cost  City.

The shots that City did have on target (apart from the goals) generally brought pretty good saves out of Paul Robinson, who is said to be reconsidering his international retirement. I'm not entirely sure why though, as he still wont be playing ahead of Joe Hart.

Robinson had to make a fine save very early in the game with barely a minute gone. Silva put through Johnson making a run on the wing who then whipped in a low cross which found. Balotelli. Mario's first time shot towards the bottom corner was parried away though.

Silva was causing all sorts of problems on the edge of the box, keeping the ball close to him, waiting for a teammate to make a run, and almost always finding them.

Zabaleta and Kolarov were chosen as the full-backs for this game and they both played admirably, with Aleks getting man of the match. Both provided the width that was required to get behind the Blackburn defence out wide and each put in a number of good crosses.

It was once again Silva who played the ball into space for one of the full-backs in the 30th minute, this time Kolarov. The cross was driven into low into the box and once again found Balotelli who had drifted into space between defenders. Mario struck the ball across the keeper who could only watch it fly past him into the back of the net.

Balotelli unveiled another message on his under armour, declaring his love for his girlfriend, Raffaella Fico. He had learnt his lesson though and only lifted the shirt high enough to see the message instead of pulling it over his head, avoiding an unnecessary booking.

Kompany nearly made it 2-0 6 minutes later when a corner came towards the near post. Vinnie peeled away from his marker, and in a move not dissimilar to Mancini's famous back-heeled goal during his playing days, clipped the ball towards goal. Once again, Robinson was equal to it and Yaya put the rebound wide of the goal.

City came close again seconds before half time. Balotelli hit a 40 yard pass with the outside of his right boot which Aguero had to chase. And despite having 2 defenders around him and receiving a push in the back, Aguero's tenacity got him to the ball before either of them. It was unlucky that his shot across goal went wide of the target.

Sergio made it 2-0 just 6 minutes into the 2nd half after another City corner. Robinson parried away the initial ball into the box, but it fell right in front of Aguero who fired it into the net.

Dzeko came on for Balotelli on 79 minutes and managed to get himself on the score sheet after only 2 minutes on the pitch. Kolarov again the provider after collecting the ball from substitute Pizarro, crossed the ball into the box and into the path of an oncoming Dzeko. His header powered low to the ground and beat Robinson with ease.

Joe Hart was required just the once in time added on. Yakubu hit a tame shot from outside the 18 yard box to mark Blackburn's only shot on target in 94 minutes of football. Hart easily collected it down at his left.

It has to be mentioned that Yaya was magnificent. With Blackburn rarely attacking, Yaya was able to pass the ball almost at will, completing 101 of his 103 passes. He hit several long range passes that found the target with pin-point accuracy, one of his outstanding qualities as a player. And when he did stride forward, Blackburn simply didn't know what to do. It is hoped that the injury that saw him limp off the pitch 5 minutes from the end isn't serious.

Balotelli also has a great game, showing fantastic attitude throughout. Pizarro looks like he's been with City for years, such is his quality of passing and ability to read the game as though he's looking at it from above. I'm certainly wanting to see more of him before the season ends as he looks a quality signing.

With Tevez returning to training, many fans will no doubt be pleased that Aguero, Balotelli and Dzeko are all back in scoring form and looking likely to keep Tevez out of contention of even an appearance on the bench. It wouldn't surprise me if after all that has happened Mancini isn't happy for the same reasons, if only behind closed doors.


Twitter: @MikeWalshMCFC or @mcfcDSLeftFoot
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

Tevez interview transcript

The following quotes were independently translated directly onto Twitter by Sebastian Garcia @MundoAlbicelest at the time the Tevez interview aired in Argentina. Three of the quotes were originally out of sync and have been replaced by myself into the areas where they best fit.

I will not be offering any opinion on what is said in this interview during this article, basically because I'm tired of the whole damn affair. I will leave you to make your own judgement. Feel free to leave a comment at the end of the transcript.

"I decided not to talk to the media for the last four months. Last time I spoke was right after the Bayern Munich game.

"It was a delicate situation. I decided to say nothing about it during all this time.

"I want to go back to Manchester and win over the City fans back. People turned their back on me but it's normal. I didn't understand.

"I didn't understand City fans burning my shirt. It hurt. It's normal they react like that because they read all sorts of thing.

"I was grumpy and upset because MANCINI had stripped me of the captaincy with no reason.

"I've decided to return to City. I know I have what it takes to revert the situation. I know it'll be hard, but it's a nice challenge.

Re the Bayern episode: "I have warmed up during the 1st half. Then went to dressing room. For 2nd half I was ready.

"In that 2nd half MANCINI decides to replace DZEKO with DE JONG. It was a defensive sub. I didn't understand. DZEKO argued w/MANCINI.

"I decided to sit. MANCINI was upset for arguing with DZEKO. Then he looks at me and asks me to warm up.

"I told MANCINI I warmed up & was ready to play. He was upset w/another player. Treated me like no player deserves & insulted me.

"MANCINI was upset after arguing with DZEKO, he turns around and sees me. Then he sends me, like a dog, to warm up.

"MANCINI told me all sorts of things there. I don't know why. I was relaxed. I was talking to ZABALETA. I had no problems.

"I never refused to play. I refused to keep warming up. The club investigated and then they fined me"

"I was worried about my future after that 2-week fine. That fine was OK. But I want people to know the truth. They didn't want to.

"The club statement protected the manager. I got a lot of heat from the media in England, Argentina, everywhere.

"Everytime I wanted to take my daughter to school I had 5 journalists on my back. Trained with the reserves. It was uncomfortable.

"I was affected because of this situation. I wanted to find shelter with my family.

"It is true that AC Milan had an interest in me. City didn't want to lose $. It wasn't good for City having me away in Buenos Aires

"I have been training on my own. I know I can be back on the pitch in 2 weeks. I'm willing to play

"It was really emotional being back at La Bombonera (Boca Jrs stadium) for the Martín PALERMO testimonial. It was moving

"If it's true that MANCINI said he will welcome me back if I'm fit, then I like those quotes. But if he only said it for the media...

"But he also said I was never going to be playing for him again. So I don't know. I'll do my best to be available and play

"MANCINI's position got stronger when Kun AGUERO arrived. I don't know if he would have done the things he did if this was last season.

"Last season we almost exchanged punches! But he never said anything. He got a better team this season & felt like making the decision.

"Now that I have a cooler head, I understand City fans. Back in the heat of the moment I didn't. I did a lot of things for City.

"To be insulted by fans after what happened in Munich was something I didn't deserve.

"I was very upset by everything and maybe I wasn't seeing things clearly. That Bayern episode could have been avoided.

"They could have kicked me out of the club without saying all the things they said. Deal with the situation in a different way.

"I think that's where MANCINI got things wrong. If we had a problem, we could have sorted it out in a different way.

"Last season, after a home game vs. Newcastle, we almost hit each other in the dressing room. But we spoke the following day.

"MANCINI is a winner. And I'm a winner too. None of us like to lose.

"My first few months in England (West Ham), I felt terrible. I wanted out. I wasn't playing. But I worked hard & turned things around.

"I love the English league. I think it's the best in the world. I have a problem with Christmas and New Year's Day. You have to play.

"Going to train on 24 December, sometimes play on the 25th. It's tough. I didn't like that.

"There's no need for City to make me have 2 training sessions a day. I'll do it myself.

"I picture myself going back on the pitch and I know I have to play better than I ever did.

"Mauricio MACRI (former Boca Jrs president, current Buenos Aires mayor) asked me to come to Boca for free in 2 years.

"I have to thank Coco BASILE and the people at TigreBoca.

"I train in the mornings. I play a lot of golf. In England it's the middle of winter now so I won't be able to play much. I love it.

"My first goal now is to be back at full fitness. I have trained on my own but lost contact with the ball. Gotta get that back.

 "It's tough to talk about City's title challenge now. I feel like I'm out the squad. I wish I can go back there and help them win.

"I know FERGUSON really doesn't want to lose this title race. I think FERGUSON and BIELSA are the best managers.

"I know FERGUSON didn't have the best relationship with me but together with BIELSA, those two are the best managers I had.

"Paul SCHOLES is the best professional. Him ROONEY and GIGGS...I have no words. They were excellent to me."




Twitter: @MikeWalshmcfc or @mcfcDSLeftFoot.
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

Sergio Aguero = Carlos +1

In the wake of recent comments by England's #1, Joe Hart about Sergio Aguero and the remote possibility that Tevez may actually have to play again for City I thought I'd run a very quick comparison of their on pitch performances.

There was much excitement and anticipation when City splashed out £38m on Argentine forward, Sergio Aguero. It's widely believed that he was brought in to replace the still AWOL Carlos Tevez after several transfer requests and high profile bust ups last season.

Some questioned whether Aguero was really 'all that' and the usual statements were made about his stature, the fact he was used to warmer climates and was he really going to be as good as Tevez? From the moment he stepped onto the pitch for the first time against Swansea, I think the majority of the doubters may  have changed their minds.

Replacing the injured Nigel De Jong, Aguero burst onto the pitch with a simply outstanding debut, setting up and scoring two goals himself showing great instinct, positioning sense and accuracy.

The assist perhaps showed off his ability more though. Tipping the ball up in the air and away from the oncoming keeper to then flicking it back over his head from the byline into the path of the oncoming David Silva. It was a real display of agility and desire.

There is no doubting that Tevez, when fit, not sulking or playing golf, is one of the best strikers in the world. At 28 he is now (or should be) at the peak of his physical and mental abilities, being young enough to still run around like a 21 year old rookie, and old enough to have gained all the necessary experience to have developed his game fully.

However, as good as Carlos can be, I feel that Sergio is already ahead of him in almost all aspects despite being over 4 years his junior.

As far a physical attributes go, Sergio is quicker and more agile while the two are very close in physical strength. However these are just opinion and speculation because unless you sit down with each player and scientifically measure strength, speed etc, you will always get differing views.

I don't want to go into great detail so lets just look at some basic statistics.

TEAMWORK

Carlos is a goal scorer, and is almost single minded in that aspect. There are many times he has foregone the better option of passing to a teammate to have a go himself (even Jo may have bagged a few more had Tevez passed to him, maybe). Despite that, Carlos has provided 18 assists in 91 appearances (1 every 399 minutes and averaged 79 minutes on the pitch per game) for City, which makes the number of times he chose to take the shot on himself even more frustrating.

Sergio currently has 7 assists in 33 appearances (1 every 323 minutes and averaged 68 minutes on the pitch per game) which if the trend continues will provide 22 assists in the same time as Carlos. Now that might not sound like a massive difference but consider those 4 assists could be the difference between 0-4 or 4-12 points (and several combinations between), it's those seemingly insignificant differences that make the difference in challenging for a league title.

GOALS

For all the other attributes a forward has and what he brings to the squad, his success and ability are basically measured in how many goals they contribute to the squad over the course of a season. With this in mind, both are top class forwards. Neither are out and out strikers despite sometimes being played in that role (more so with Tevez last season), but they both get (or got) more than their fair share of goals.

Carlos Tevez has scored a rather impressive 52 goals (in all competitions) in his relatively short City career, averaging a goal every 138 minutes of play. He pretty much bore the brunt of goal scoring duties for a while and for all his bad points, he was the go-to-guy when the squad needed a lift.

Carlos has 5 years more experience than Sergio in England, after joining West Ham in 2006, Manchester United in 2007, and then Manchester City in 2009 and has progressively improved in that time culminating in last season's impressive goal scoring tally last season earning him joint honours with Dimitar Berbatov for the Premier League's Golden Boot award.

Sergio has been in England and with City around 6 months and is already averaging more goals per game than Tevez. 18 goals in 33 appearances for City and an average of a goal every 125 minutes. Once more, if that form continues then he will have scored 57 goals in the same time Tevez scored 52.

One thing that Aguero is averaging lower than Tevez is minutes per game.  Carlos averaged 79 minutes per game before deciding not to get up from the bench. Sergio currently averages only 68 minutes. So not only is he assisting and scoring more per minute he is doing it whilst having less time on the pitch to do it in.

DEVELOPMENT

Just to remind you again that this is his first season with City, and he is also over 4 years younger than Carlos with another 5 or so years of improvement before he should reach his peak! That to me is simply staggering.

It's no secret that City have got themselves a world class player here. And after a relatively quiet couple of weeks and several murmurs about the rigours of the Premiership finally getting to the small Argentine, he reminded everyone just how good he really is with a man of the match performance against Fulham.

The talk was of how City's highly paid stars would cope with a proper winter and whether they would shirk their duties and fade away once the temperature dropped. Sergio clearly had other ideas.

He skipped about the pitch like an excitable child on a snowy Christmas day (I know we haven't had many of those recently so you'll just have to use your imagination). Rather than freezing to the spot, he was on fire with his drive, determination and athleticism.

Of course their are aspects of his game that have yet to develop fully, and he can sometimes rush his shots when he has a little longer on the ball, and visa-versa. But despite this, he is one of the most complete forwards in the league, if not Europe, and is still only 23.

The Premier League is certainly a classier place with him in it.




Twitter: @MikeWalshmcfc or @mcfcDSLeftFoot.
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

Khaldoon: Stop congratulating one another and meet our terms

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; Khaldoon Al Mubarak oozes class and authority. He doesn't often speak to the press about anything, and the last time he spoke publicly was exclusively for mcfc.co.uk at the end of last season.

But now, with under a week to go in the January transfer window, Khaldoon has broke his silence and spoke in no uncertain terms about Carlos Tevez's dream move to AC Milan. But before I go into that, let's just quickly recap the transfer saga over the last couple of months.

Milan made their approaches quite public saying that they had spoken to the player and his advisers in December and that he was going to Italy on loan. Milan's vice-president Adriano Galliani spoke on Italian TV saying;

"We have an agreement with Tevez and we have recently sent an email to City with our offer (loan with option to buy for £19m at the end of the season).

"We hope City says yes, there were other European clubs interested, but we are in pole position.

"Tevez wants to come to us. Half of the agreement has been reached. Now we await City's response."

In addition to this, Tevez was quoted in Argentina as saying, "I see myself only in the red and black shirt, I am hoping for Milan." And his greasy adviser Kia Joorabchian was quoted as saying, "We are only in talks with Milan."

This has gone on for several weeks now with Milan saying he's going there and City saying he isn't unless they buy him. And now, sorry to burst your little bubble, Carlos, it doesn't look like that's going to be happening despite your handler's best efforts and having already agreed personal terms with the Club before they ever approached City with an offer.

Khaldoon Al Mubarak told The National;

"As things stand AC Milan isn't an option for Carlos Tevez,

"Mr Galliani and his advisers have developed a misplaced sense of confidence from their premature discussions with Carlos and his advisers. If they want to be a consideration in this transfer window they would do better to stop congratulating one another and begin to look at how they would meet our terms."

City made there position perfectly clear from the beginning of the transfer window that they were not willing to loan Tevez out, and that only a transfer offer that met their valuation (reportedly £25m) would even be considered. However AC Milan have only put forward loan offers with the option to buy at the end of the season.

I don't believe AC Milan have/had any intention of buying Tevez even if City had agreed to the loan deal. I fully believe they would have sent him back at the end of the season when they had Cassano fit again after his minor heart surgery in November.

Khaldoon also made a point of praising the other 2 clubs that have been in the running to sign Tevez. PSG were reported to have agreed a fee with City but were unable to reach an agreement on personal terms with the striker. No doubt this is because Tevez doesn't want to go anywhere else and Joorbachian believes the rubbish Gilliani has been spouting about buying him at the end of the season.

"Paris St German and Inter Milan approached discussions with us in good faith and it is always a positive experience to deal with people with such a professional approach,"

Tevez and Joorabchian seem to be doing their utmost to get away. Refusing to play/get off the bench.warm up, buggering off to Argentina without permission, and the public statements that he wants to go to Milan are all tactics to try and force City's hand into selling him on the cheap.

Did they really think this would work? They have misread and underestimated the resolve of Al Mubarak and Mansour.

"Carlos remains a player with contractual obligations to Manchester City for the next two and a half seasons. Unless we receive an offer that we deem appropriate, the terms of his contract will be enforced."

With Tevez clearly not wanting to play for City again and Mancini unwilling to let him play, City are quite willing for Tevez to miss out on what should be the best years of his career should AC not meet their valuation or if Tevez rejects negotiations with other clubs like he has done.

There were fears that Tevez was getting away with his ridiculous and childish behaviour, but we have recently found out that is not the case. Tevez has lost out on a total of £9.3m worth of earnings through loss of a loyalty bonus, club fines, and not being paid since his November walk-out. This is likely to continue as long as Tevez stays away.

As tired as I am with it, I'm actually slightly looking forward to seeing how this pans out now we know Khaldoon's stance on the matter. As I said after the Munich debacle, this is going to cost Tevez and his career. The question is, how much?

3 months without football, 3 months without being paid, loss of reputation, £9.3m and counting.




Twitter: @MikeWalshmcfc or @mcfcDSLeftFoot.
Facebook: David Silva's Left Foot

Just when you though it was safe to look back in the papers...

Is there something mentally wrong with Tevez? Seriously, no one can be this stupid and not have some deficiency upstairs. In case you weren't aware, it has been reported that he has gone back to Argentina without getting permission from the Club.

Carlos was given a full three weeks to recover from the Copa America, unlike Pablo Zabaleta and Sergio Aguero who both returned early to training after City's American tour. Needless to say, when Carlos did eventually return he wasn't match fit and there was the whole "I've got an eating disorder" thing going on in the press at the time.

There was no secret that he was overweight (for a footballer of his physical stature), and he had been so since the back end of last season. So the natural and right thing to do for City was to reintroduce Carlos gradually, and to put him on a strict training plan, which they did. That training plan has not yet been completed.

A club spokesman informed the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail "Carlos returned from his trip to Argentina and was not match fit. The coaches therefore devised a training plan to return him to full match fitness. Carlos is part way through that plan and is due to resume training this morning (09/11/2011) at Carrington following a rest day."

It looked as though everyone might be able to draw a line under the Munich episode, but this fresh twist in the Tevez saga comes after the player decided not to appeal his fine, which was reduced from 4 weeks to 2 weeks by Gordon Taylor of the PFA. However this is now likely to land him with yet another, and automatic 2 week fine on top of that for breaking club rules yet again.

I can only imagine what Bobby Manc is thinking now after offering Carlos a way back into the team as yet again his and the club's efforts to help the Argentine have been thrown back into their face. But what is the reason for the sudden return to Argentina? It must be a good one, surely. Carlos wanted, and I quote, to "rest a little". The less said about that the better I think.

I know I said Carlos had to be mental to do this, but let's not pretend that this is all his doing. Of course it isn't. Where there's Cash Cow, I mean Carlos Tevez (an honest mistake), there's always Kia Joorabchian riding coattails behind him. I suppose that description of Joorbollockchin is a little unfair, he's not just a passenger in all of this, he's more like the ring master of the Cirque du Carlos, controlling his every move in order to get maximum publicity and get what 'they' want is quick as possible.

Make no mistake about it, this is a cu.. (stop it), a stunt designed to reduce Carlos's stock in world football even further than it already has. This in turn will allow potential suitors to be able to afford him and will force City to accept a reduced fee for a player they are desperate to get rid of.

And who are interested in him the most? I'd have to say Corinthians, and if I was a betting man I'd put money on them releasing another statement in the next few days saying they're still interested but worried they wont be able to afford him. Just like they did after the Munich debacle.

Carlos made no bones about wanting to return there once they showed a little interest, however Corinthians just couldn't afford the asking price, and even that was reduced for their benefit. Now however, especially if Carlos keeps up these ridiculous stunts, City are more likely to accept a knock down fee for him just to get rid of the aggro he's causing.

Expect him to be playing in Brazil by the end of January. But do I really care where he goes? No, as long as he's not in Manchester.




Twitter: @MikeWalsh1880
Facebook: David-Silvas-Left-Foot

The first of many...

Well it didn't take them long did it? I said to get ready for announcements and stories in the coming weeks. I didn't expect the first to be only hours away, however.

You will find in most places the story that Tevez and his representatives are mulling over suing Mancini for defamation of character. To be honest, he's done a pretty good job of it himself over the last 12 months without any help.

What has come as music to my ears though, after initial thoughts that at some point the club may attempt to influence Mancini's team selection in the hope to gain more interest in Carlos, is the report that Khaldoon al Mubarak has spoken to Mancini to offer Sheikh Mansour's unreserved support in what ever decision he makes regarding Tevez.

In fact it appears City's hierarchy are more than willing to let Teves sit and stew for as long as it takes to get a reasonable offer for him, and (reportedly) state that no offer will even be considered unless it represents true market value for the striker, which in the summer was around £50m. What it is now is anyone's guess.

Most of the reports are also saying that 6 days before the game against Bayern Munich Tevez was informed by the club that he would forego his loyalty bonus, believed to be around £6m, and that there as absolutely no chance of an extended or improved contract. This is due to the transfer requests and the fact City initially accepted to lower their asking price for him when Corinthians came knocking. That transfer eventually broke down because City were not provided adequate evidence that Corinthians could even meet the lowered valuation.

We've seen the official statement provided by City but Tevez's representatives are claiming the letter Carlos received informing him of the Club's decision states he 'refused to warm up with a view to playing'. They're basically saying what was reported last week that the club were backing down on the refusal to play and were instead charging him with refusal to warm up. What the real difference is between those can't amount to much as if you don't warm up, you can't play.

They're also saying there was no mention of the 4 other charges found on City's website. So despite Carlos getting off very lightly in the end, he and his representatives are still going to fight the decision and drag this on as long as possible in the hope to eventually get their own way.

Oh how I hate Kia Joorabchian...

Thankfully I think those at the club, especially Mancini couldn't care less what he does now and I doubt this will have much, if any affect on the way Bobby goes about his daily work with the rest of the squad.




@MikeWalsh1880

What now for City and Tevez?

So the club have released an official statement declaring the conclusion of disciplinary procedures against Carlos Tevez. The full statement can be found on mcfc.co.uk.

As you can see the initial charge of effectively failing to play is charge 1 on the list, despite what the media said otherwise. This along with 4 other charges of course.

And what is his punishment? A suspension that is deemed to have already been served and 4 weeks fine which may be around £1.5m in total. He has also been given a written warning regarding his future conduct. Carlos has the right to appeal this decision and knowing his 'advisor' I think we may just see at least one, although I think only a fool would do so as to many, even those outside the club, this appears to be very lenient on Carlos.

Where does this leave City, and Mancini who initially stated Tevez would never play for him again. However the last time he was questioned regarding whether Tevez would play for City again his answer was "I don't know".

I still don't want to see him play for City again, and I'm pretty sure there are quite a few to say the least who share that view. But if he does, and that's a big if, it has to be Mancini's decision and only Mancini's decision. If he is forced into choosing Tevez in the squad then it's time for him to walk away, which I personally don't want to happen. Not only that, the potential damage that would do to the Club's reputation and the message that would send out to the rest of the football world could be pretty devastating and humiliating.  

Lets face it though, why would he be forced into it? We've got 3 strikers who are each scoring at a rate of more than a goal per hour of play! We've certainly not missed him, if anything, we've flourished without him.

This leaves Tevez in a tricky situation, does he knuckle down and try and get in the team knowing there is very little chance and potentially have a few more clubs seriously looking at taking him? Does he continue to throw his toys out of the pram, and hope lets him go on the cheap in a January move? You just don't know, but you can bet we've not heard the end of it. Prepare yourselves for numerous media announcements and interviews from Kia Joorabchian as well as stories from mysterious 'sources close to Carlos' in the coming weeks.

The statement today really suggests the Club are trying not to devalue Carlos too much and are looking to recoup some money for him in January. But 2 questions remain, who is seriously going to want to pay for him, and how much are the club willing to take?



@MikeWalsh1880

FIFA Vice-President Backing City.

I'm pretty sure you're all aware of the latest stunt to be pulled by Tevez by now, and less than 24 hours  has passed before Fifa's vice-president Jim Boyce voiced his own personal views on the situation that City now find themselves in.

When I listened to the interview on SKY Sports I was more than pleasantly surprised at what Boyce had to say as he is wholly in support of Fifa itself taking action against Tevez if Manchester City wish. Jim started the interview stating; "If he has done what has been said, and it appears there is no doubt about it - no matter what has been said this morning - then I think his club would be better off with him not being a part of it."

Tevez released a statement this morning saying exactly what you would expect it to say. He's always professional, he always gives his all, he is ready to play in the future and all this is just a big misunderstanding. This 'misunderstanding' according to Carlos is that he felt he didn't need to warm up any more before taking to the pitch as he felt fine. However Mancini took this as though he refused to play - according to Tevez of course.  


Of course if you rewind back to last night for a moment when Carlos spoke to the press after the game against Bayern he specifically stated that he didn't feel right either physically or mentally to take part in the match and had said this to Mancini. Now correct me if I'm wrong but there is a slight discrepancy there don't you think?

Anyway, back to Jim. After being asked whether the Argentinian's contract should be cancelled, his answer was; "Without a shadow of a doubt." I don't think many people will disagree with him on that one.

What Boyce says next will be music to the ears of fans and indeed managers everywhere. The fear is that if Carlos gets his contract cancelled (like he probably wants) he will be a free agent and may be able to move to any club who will take him almost immediately. If that happened it would pave the way for any player to do exactly the same to engineer a move away from the club they're at without reprisals.


"If Manchester City Football Club prove it, write to Fifa and state the exact circumstances that happened last night then I believe Fifa should have the power, as they do for drugs-related cases and other cases, to ban the player from taking an active part in football."


You can catch the video of the interview here on SKY Sports.


It appears Tevez and his 'advisor' Kia Joorabchian have finally met their match with City, especially as they now appear to have the full backing of football's governing body. Joorabchian is already barred from setting foot in the Etihad Stadium, Mancini wants nothing more to do with Tevez, Sheikh Mansour is reported to be 'very disappointed' about what transpired in Germany, some of Carlos' own teammates and fellow countrymen appeared to blank him during the remainder of the game last night and now to top it off he is suspended until further notice or until City come to an agreement on suitable and legal punishment.


The end is nigh Carlos, the only question that remains is how much will your mistakes now cost your career?


@MikeWalsh1880

Carlos Tevez. An utter disgrace.

I've taken a short time to calm down after the revelation by Mancini that Tevez did indeed refuse to come off the bench and play against Bayern Munich.

I'm not going to go into the game as losing the Bayern Munich away from home is no disgrace. What I do have a problem with is the fact that a player refuses to pull on the shirt of the team that pays him upwards of £200k a week and play half an hour of football in one of the biggest games in its recent history. It's absolutely and utterly disgraceful.

Carlos Tevez has tested the patience of City fans and manager to the absolute limit and his latest stunt has pushed it too far. Mancini spoke to Sky Sports after the game and said; "Tevez refused to come onto the pitch.

"I can't accept this one player refusing to go on."

I have already voiced my opinions on Carlos a number of times (you can find all the articles here) and made it quite clear he had a long way to go before regaining any sort of respect from me and indeed many of the City faithful. He has just blown any chance of that out of the water in what is a blatant stunt to get himself out of City, which is what he wanted last December.

The difference this time is that there were no lame excuses about missing his family (as they're now with him) or that he doesn't get on with Garry Cook (who has now gone) or that he has no one in the City he can talk to (Aguero and Zabba both have partners living with them and a number of other teammates speak Spanish). No this time he point blank refuses to play after being asked to come off the bench to try and help his teammates get a result from a game.

The only hint of some sort of reason was that he didn't feel right to play. Really Carlos? Couldn't you have said that before Mancini named you as a sub? Or was it because you were named as a sub?

It's not just a betrayal of the City fans and his manager, it's a betrayal of the players he plays with, his supposed friends. It's quite clear that Mancini has had enough going so far as to specifically say "he is finished" with Carlos and that "he can't play - never" in a very prickly post match press conference.  

What happens now is any one's guess, but Carlos has been given enough chances by everyone at the club. Whether the Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak decides to fine the player or worse is yet to be seen but a decision needs to be swift and it needs to be decisive. No player at any club should get away with that.

The sad thing is though, Carlos wont care one jot and he has the cheek to say that he has been "professional" whilst at City keeps "trying to do [his] best". The guy is on another planet completely. He will likely get the move he wanted in January and Kia Joorabchian will be pleased because he gets another bit pay day along with the transfer. That is unless City really want to make an example of him and leave him unused and unwanted until the end of the season, and maybe even beyond.

What is clear though, the disruptive influence of an unhappy player is potentially devastating to the harmony in the dressing room. Tevez can not be permitted to poison the friendships that have been nurtured within the club.



@MikeWalsh1880

Tevez: Mancini, "he's fantastic"

Tevez's most recent interview (given in Buenos Aires two days after his master, I mean representative spoke to talkSPORT) gives a little ray of hope for City fans. Then again it could have been orchestrated by Kia in an attempt to patch things up until the next transfer window.

We've heard it all before though to be fair and nothing really comes as a revelation;

"We had clashes with Mancini in every language but it's a love-hate relationship"

I'm not entirely sure it's been translated correctly as although Tevez doesn't come across as the smartest guy I'm pretty sure he doesn't have multiple personalities to warrant saying "we", or maybe he does!? There were plenty of very public bust ups between the two last season and I'm not entirely sure City fans, or even Mancini will put up with any more of them.

Still speaking about Mancini he says; "He's fantastic, he wants to win and me too."

No surprises there, Mancini is well known for his ridiculously high standards and tendencies towards perfectionism. The post-match interview from the Spurs game speaks volumes about his desire for his team to be the best they can be. When asked if City could have done any better his reply was a simple "Yes" as he went on to describe the single goal that was conceded during the 5-1 win.

"He left me out of the first few matches because I told him I needed to get in shape.

"I'm happy at City and I'm not moving from there."

I think Mancini would have been well aware of his condition and the fact that Aguero had spent more time training with the squad as he cut short his holiday to come and train with City after he signed. He could have quite easily stayed away from the club and recovered from the Copa America like Tevez did but he chose not to.

I'm hoping it was a translation error and that Tevez doesn't actually think he has told Mancini when he's able to play. Or maybe he's just trying to save face (and his ego) by saying it as he must know that he is not the main man anymore. Whatever the case is that, lets not gets started on the "I'm not moving from there" part.

What's plainly obvious now is that we have Tevez at City until December at least, and there is little doubt that Mancini will utilize him as at the end of the day he is still one of the best strikers in world football. What happens between now and then is any one's guess but if he wants to gain the fans' trust again he's got a long way to go.

Tevez never wanted to leave... apparently

Carlos Tevez's representative has been keen to make sure he gets the right quotes out there in an attempt to patch things up with City fans after the striker blatantly said he wanted to leave... twice!

Honest Kia's football dealings make Delboy look legit.

Anyone that has followed football for any length of time will no doubt be familiar with Kia Joorabchian, the man who isn't registered as an agent but manages to 'represent' a whole load of players throughout South America and Europe. The man is a snake, a devious, self serving weasel that represents many things that are wrong with the beautiful game today.
Speaking to talkSPORT he a once again manages to talk a truck load of verbal excrement, but this is something that we're used to.

After speaking about the failed bid from Corinthians, Kia goes on to say; "We couldn't quite match what City wanted (for Carlos to leave)

"But at the end of the day - as Carlos said at the end of last season - professionally, he is happy at the club."

Oh really? I've no doubt he had no problem with his teammates, but "professionally" happy at the club? I don't think so. If this was the case then why did he put in a transfer request siting irreparable differences with Club executives Brian Marwood and Garry Cook? Or was that just a load of lies in the first place Kia? Was it just more of your backstabbing weaselly ways to get what you and your most expensive asset wanted?

"He is happy with the situation," Kia continues "it was more to do with his family really.

"He has managed to convince his wife to come over for a while at least.

"If she manages to settle in hopefully in the next four or five months, maybe he will settle down and things will be fine."

Oh joy of joys, Mrs Tevez has to be convinced to live in Manchester "for a while at least." So can we be expecting another transfer request in December or January then? Mind you there isn't much excuse now for not settling in the area. There are plenty of Spanish speaking players at City (not that there weren't before mind you) who Tevez and his wife can hang about with, some of them even have partners who will have more in common with Vanesa (Mrs Tevez).

I suspect that it possibly isn't just the language barrier that prompted Vanesa to leave Manchester in the first place. The fact that Carlos couldn't keep it in his pants probably had quite a bit to do with it. You get the sense, especially after the Argentinian chat show clips, that she wont be fully forgiving Carlos in a great hurry and who could blame her really?

The next part of the interview is hilarious for the amount of verbal defecation this snake of a men is able to produce from what I can only (politely) describe as an oral sphincter. After he's spoke about City's possible swap deal for Sneijder which was scrapped after Nasri signed he goes on to say;

"Carlos is the kind of player who adapts wherever he goes.

"He adapts to every league and has won every major domestic competition he has ever played in,

"He himself has no problem with it but, culturally, Milan or Spain would be easier for the wife to adapt to."

Deary me, adapting to a league is completely different to adapting to your surroundings outside of football. And I'm sorry, Tevez has proven he can not adapt to England. After 5 years of being in the country he is still struggling with the basics. This hasn't been helped by the fact that he couldn't be bothered to keep up his English lessons even when he was made captain at City!

David Silva on the other hand has kept up his English lessons and although not yet able to converse confident enough for an interview, he understands almost perfectly what people are saying after just 12 months in the country. Pablo Zabaleta is the same, although he's been here for 3 years, he still has English lessons and is now fluent and even has a Mancunian twang to certain words and phrases!

We're not stupid Kia. Unlike the sheep who simply believe everything they read in the tabloids we're not as gullible, we know the way you operate as you've been involved in our club since the days of Thaksin Shinawatra, who oddly enough also turned out to be as bent as nine bob note. We all know by now that you just just say whatever it is you think will be best in the long run for your clients, which in a way is admirable of you. However, it only serves your ultimate purpose of leeching ever more money off them and the clubs they're involved with.

The quicker parasites such as Joorabchian are out of the game the better.

Who gets the nod when everyone's match fit?

It's the million pound question at the moment after Mancini added Samir Nasri and Sergio Aguero to his already formidable attacking options. Just who will be in the 1st choice front 4 when everyone is match fit?

Now of course we have to allow for squad rotation and because of this the front 4 (in a 4-2-3-1 formation) will inevitably change many times throughout the season. But lets just list who Mancini has to call from (or who is most likely to be left) to fill the 3+1;

Adam Johnson
Carlos Tevez
David Silva
Edin Dzeko
Mario Balotelli
Sergio Aguero
Yaya Toure

That's 7 players who Mancini has used as part of the quartet in his favoured and highly flexible 4-2-3-1 formation. Each player brings something different to the table, and therein lies the beauty of Mancini's problem. I don't think there is a manager in the world who has quite as many options at his disposal.

Last season, with Balotelli and Dzeko new to the Prem, and without Aguero and Nasri in the side, pundits and journalists alike would have said Tevez was an automatic starter. And even at the beginning of this season before he returned from his holidays they were still banging on about how City will miss Tevez's goals.

It was as though the media was gearing itself up for City's almighty crash and burn as Tevez was to be sold and if he wasn't they stuck the knife in by using inaccurate quotes of Tevez never wanting to step foot in Manchester again. One media outlet (not naming names, they don't deserve the publicity) even went to far as to say that he would only be available for away games if he wasn't sold. Yes that really is what they published. Stupidity of the highest order which is laughable and contemptible in equal measure.

In all honesty though, and this is in no way me taking away from what he has done for City on the pitch, Tevez's form dipped at the back end of last season but City still managed to win the FA Cup and finish joint 2nd on points in the Prem with Chelsea. So did City really miss his goals at that time? It'll be a what if at best I suppose.

Fast forward a couple of months to this season, no Carlos Tevez in the side in pre-season and no chance of him starting for the first few week in the Premiership due to match fitness and have we really missed Tevez? Errrm, no.

Without Carlos being the focal point of City's attack it has given other players the chance to grow into the team in ways that simply weren't possible last season. We'll look at the main 2, David Silva and Edin Dzeko.

David was fantastic last term and was a deserved candidate for Player of the Season. But for as good as he was (and he was good) he always seemed as though he was being held back by something, always seemed as though he had to find someone to pass to rather than take the shot on. When Tevez played, Silva was always looking to get the ball to him, and to be fair they had a good understanding but no real connection was made with the rest of the squad. Was this simply down to the language barrier and him feeling more comfortable with Tevez? Maybe.

When we got to pre-season David looked as though he'd clicked with the rest of the squad, his movement had got even better, his understanding with the rest of the squad seemed to have grown dramatically even more than it had done towards the end of last season. To top it off, he no longer looks afraid to shoot. Without Tevez, Silva has grown into the team and visa-versa in a way not possible when the Argentinian was there.

Then to Edin Dzeko, the man the media was calling a £27m flop, the man the media managed to convince the majority of fans was a waste of money. Sluggish, heavy first touch, and clumsy were all ways of describing the 6ft4 Bosnian, and they were a fair assessment. However what wasn't fair was that none took into account any of the circumstances as to why he looked that way.

Moving from the Bundesliga to the vastly more physical and quicker paced Premier League after a winter break, with no prior training with the team, being played out of position several times, with Carlos Tevez the only focal point of the majority of attacks... it was all stacked against him right from the start. However there were a few who saw past this, who saw that he could adapt and could prosper with the right service.

And how right we were (yes I don't mind gloating that I was one of them), Edin must feel like the cat that got the cream when he looks behind him and sees the creative influences of Aguero, Silva and Nasri. At Wolfsburg he thrived off a partnership, a partnership that if we're truly honest with ourselves is unlikely ever going to be created with Tevez. Instead he had 3 truly class players behind him against Spurs and look what the end result was.

At this moment in time I can't see past Nasri and Aguero as being the right players to complete the quartet. Nasri has as much creativity as Silva and both can interchange positions, drifting into the centre, out wide, swapping flanks. Having two players like that is a nightmare for defences as they get pulled inside then back out trying to cover the movement of the attackers. Then Aguero, although he isn't quite as involved in games as Tevez is, his movement behind Edin, fading left or right depending on Silva and Nasri provides not only space for himself but for Edin to position himself in the 18yard box.

The combination of those 4 was absolutely devastating against a side that was playing Champions League football last season. The defence didn't have an answer for it as they couldn't predict what kind of play they were up against. Was there going to be a one-two between players and a perfectly weighted first time cross? Was it going to be whipped in close to the ground or high up for a header? Or was there a searching through ball followed by a piece of individual brilliance? How about a lay off for a belter from outside the box?

Yes this game had each one of those, and it's just a taste of things to come as that was the first game they had all played together as an attacking unit. This is why the 4 that started against Spurs simply have to be the first choice. I understand that they will be rotated and wont all play together all the time, but for sheer versatility and attacking ability they would be my first choice.

How that affects the team behind them is for another time, and what about the others in the list; Toure, Tevez, Johnson, and Balotelli? Each will no doubt get a number of games this season, there is no doubt about that, as City try to put a realistic attempt together to compete for 4 trophies. And of course each one of those players has abilities suited to certain types of games which will allow Mancini to cater his team to the opponent.

After, and even during the Spurs game, commentators, pundits and journalists alike were comparing modern day City to City's past 'Holy Trinity' of Colin Bell, Francis Lee and Mike Summerbee. Of course, as has always unfortunately been the case, the media and commentators failed to mention one of the most unsung heroes of the era, the late, and truly great Neil Young. But City fans will now be daring to wonder whether this quartet can be as successfull, or even moreso than those 4 City legends .

We just need a catchy name for them now... Unfortunately, it has already been pointed out to me that if you take the first letter of their surname you get the word NADS. But shouting Go NADS will probably get you a few funny looks, although with the sense of humour City fans have I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if that caught on and was incorparated into a new terrace chant.

And just in case you want to see them in action again while there's a break for the Euro 2012 qualifiers here are the highlihgts of Spurs v City again. Enjoy.