Carlos Tevez throws his toys out of the pram and the football world unites in sheer disdain at the actions of the Argentine forward. Am I the only one who saw this coming – given the fractious relationship between the player and the football club?
Tevez is something of an enigma in football, a complete one off and a player who in my opinion has no real love for the game. He wouldn’t be the first who plays the game simply as a living and the Argentine himself has suggested more than once that he is considering quitting the game for good. The very fact he initially joined West Ham and then had the sheer audacity to cross the Manchester divide tells you everything you need to know about a player who clearly has no emotional attachment to the game. He will kiss the badge and all that to appease his fans, but as he showed with United and now City, he will happily look after No.1 as and when it suits him.
The reason I wasn’t surprised at the events in Munich was that for the first time this summer, what Carlos Tevez wants he didn’t get. The Argentine was on a one man mission to get himself out of the Etihad Stadium and used every medium possible to let everyone know how unhappy he was in Manchester. I guess the sheer arrogance of the player thought that there would be a queue of teams as long as his arm willing to buy him, but everyone steadfast refused to pay the reported £40m asking price on his head and the player had to remain at City. Unfortunately the player and his advisors had no one to blame as the Citizens put him on the market and were prepared to take a £7m loss on the player to grant Tevez his move. The fact is no one wanted him and he had to return to City with his tail firmly between his legs.
What Tevez couldn’t have bargained for is that City have moved on without him and he returned being stripped on the captaincy and another Argentine had stolen the love and affection of the City faithful. Suddenly the player who thought he was untouchable in these parts was no longer needed, leaving the player well and truly up the creek without a paddle. It was only a matter of time before he cracked and that came out in Munich last night – I’m just surprised it hasn’t happened sooner.
So where does Tevez go from here? I am sure City will look through his contract and see if there are any loopholes within that allow them to further their punishment. I am sure Carlos is privately thinking ‘job done’ and he will force his move, however I hope for football that Manchester City hold firm and let him rot in the reserves. They are probably the only football club who can afford to do so and I hope they do and make a stand against these parasites within the game. It is about time the clubs took control once again and put these multi-millionaire prima donnas in their place once and for all.
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After the two week international break, where England have put themselves on the brink of qualification for the Euro Championships, a welcome return to the Premier League action is nearly upon us. It seems like an eternity since Rooney was sticking three past Arsenal and Dzeko hammered four past Tottenham, but in just over 48hrs the battles will resume.
Three games in, the Premier League has been exciting and at its entertaining best with goals aplenty. While the usual suspects remain at the top end of the tree, few would have expected the likes of Wolves, Newcastle and Wigan making up the top 8. Mick McCarthy (ever the optimist) claims that all he cares about is where the next 30pts are going to come from to ensure Premier League safety.
Elsewhere it has been a bad start in North London – with both clubs in the bottom four and suffering heavy defeats at the hands of the Manchester Clubs and Messrs Wenger and Redknapp will be hoping that their NEW transfer window signings will kick-start their stuttering starts to the season. Arsenal could have no fewer than five players making their debuts at the Emirates this Saturday, as Wenger finally puts his hand in his pocket, to freshen up his squad.
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It promises to be an absolute feast of football, but to give you a taste of the thrills and spills we have witnessed so far in the opening weeks of the Premier League season – go to the excellent ESPN Goals App for a review of season so far.
Click here to download the ESPN Goals App – a must have for every football supporter!
The Premier League, for as far back as I can remember, appears to be going through a real dearth in terms of the overall quality and standard of the league. Now, more than ever before, games are won by the collective as opposed to individual moments of brilliance. After attending the Merseyside Derby at the weekend and seeing first-hand the teething problems that Liverpool’s central midfield partnership of Charlie Adam and Lucas are going through, it brought one thing to mind – who can lay claim to having the best central midfield partnership in the Premier League?
Man Utd this season have started with all attacking bluster, yet they still retain a degree of frailty at the back. This is in part due to the forward-thinking attitudes of the likes of Anderson and Tom Cleverley. Both make similar runs at the same time and as such, they leave the Utd back line exposed. Darren Fletcher has come back and done reasonably well, but as yet no real ‘partnership’ has emerged as such.
Man City can certainly lay a strong claim. They predominantly operate with a midfield triumvirate of Yaya Youre, Gareth Barry and Nigel De Jong. Toure is given a free role to attack the opposition, but De Jong and Barry usually sit in front of the back four and keep it simple. While there may be an understanding positionally, it’s rare that they dominate the opposition. They’re decent, but little more than a platform for their supremely talented forward line to build upon.
Chelsea are still going through a change in style and formation under new manager Andre Villas-Boas. He appears to chop and change depending on the opposition, which in turn makes a mockery of the media circus surrounding Frank Lampard. Ramires has shone brightly on occasion so far this term, but he still looks to be lacking a settled partner.
Liverpool are still most certainly a side in transition too, struggling between the sublime and the abject. Inconsistency has dogged Dalglish’s charges this season and while Lucas could most definitely be said to be one of the finest central midfielders in the league, easily the most improved, I still have my reservations about Adam. On no more than 3 separate occasions during the Derby match alone did I catch Lucas shaking his head in disbelief at another attempted Hollywood pass by Adam, when a simple 5 yard-ball was comfortably the best option available – The Scot clearly infuriates the Brazilian.
Newcastle have begun the season in excellent form and not enough credit can go to manager Alan Pardew for the superb job he’s done under difficult circumstances. Step forward our first major contender – Cheik Tiote and Yohan Cabaye. The pairing have dovetailed excellently despite their ‘partnership’ being in its’ relative infancy.
For the first time in a long while, the Newcastle defence is not the joke that keeps on giving. A lot of credit must go to Tiote for the job he’s done patrolling the space just in front of the back four. His ferocious tackling ability, while it may over step the mark at times leading to the Ivory Coast international currently in possession of a terrible disciplinary record, is exactly what the side needs.
Cabaye has adjusted to the English league fantastically well. Many were surprised that Newcastle were able to lure Cabaye away from current Lique 1 champions Lille, in what many saw as a sideways move at best for the French international, with Cabaye missing out on Lille’s Champions League adventure. However, he offers them real drive from the centre of midfield and excellent delivery from dead balls. Joey Barton who, I hear you cry? They’re certainly my nomination for best midfield partnership.
Spurs can also lay a strong claim. Scott Parker has settled into the Spurs midfield alongside Luka Modric excellently. So in tune are they with each other’s game, that they are the only side in the Premier League to complete more than 600 passes in two separate fixtures this season (Wigan and Liverpool).
Parker keeps it simple and plays the short, easy passes and Modric is granted the platform and freedom to express himself. The greatest compliment that you can pay them is that Redknapp’s overdue return to 4-4-2 has gone relatively smoothly and now it’s Van Der Vaart that’s struggling to secure a place in the starting eleven, with the Dutchman having to be shoehorned into the side on the right of midfield – a tactical switch that is fraught with danger, as Arsenal’s goal on Sunday clearly served to highlight. A close runner-up in my eyes.
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Everton certainly have the talent at their disposal, but with Moyes often forced to plump for a striker-less 6-4-0 or 4-5-1 formation, it leaves the players little time to settle into the same position. There may be potential further down the line in a Jack Rodwell/Marouane Fellaini partnership, with the Belgian mightily impressive in the Derby and Rodwell desperately unlucky to even be given a card by the ridiculously out of his depth Martin Atkinson. Ross Barkley also looks quite the talent to keep an eye on too.
Arsenal’s central midfield has been one that’s gone through a degree of upheaval over the last few months. Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere showed on occasion last term that Arsene Wenger may already have found his replacements for Fabregas and Nasri, but they’ll have to wait until February now with Wilshere out for the long haul.
A crisis of confidence has affected Alex Song’s game just when he was beginning to emerge as a player of great quality and Arteta will require a bedding-in period. One bright spark of their defeat to Spurs, though, was the performance of young Francois Coquelin and a bright future awaits him.
Casting my eyes around the rest of the league, the only other side that catches my eye is Swansea – with the likes of Mark Gower, Joe Allen and Leon Britton’s impressing for their ability to keep the ball under pressure.
There are of course other midfielders that stick out as being exceptional – Wigan’s James McCarthy, returning Bolton man Stuart Holden, Joey Barton at QPR, Aaron Ramsey at Arsenal and Danny Murphy at Fulham – but whether they are part of a ‘partnership’ yet remains to be seen.
Much in the same way as there appears to be a lack of genuine out and out strike partnerships in the league at the moment, the lack of central midfield partnerships is notable. Newcastle’s Tiote and Cabaye, for the time being, hold the mantle for me, although Parker and Modric look to have more potential going forward. It’ll be interesting to see whether Newcastle can continue their rich vein of form throughout the campaign, because if they can, a lot of it will be down to their dynamic duo Tiote and Cabaye.
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Last season in brief: Pre-season expectations were very high, we had two of the SPL’s top goal scorers in modern history in Boyd & McDonald and on paper looked like a very good hard working team and of course all of this under the guidance of the ‘wee ginger man’ Strachan.
The bookies fancied us, the wee man had been given the customary financial backing by the ever reliant Steve Gibson. What could go wrong?
Strachan had invested in players from a league that was to be fair, no better than league one standard. They didn’t gel, we got some unlucky injuries i.e. Willo Flood on the first day of the season and Strachan was persistent in attempting to make ‘his’ players and system work some times to the detriment of our own promising younger players, a good example of this would be young Joe Bennett who he nearly destroyed when subbing him when he’d came on as sub then farming him out loan.
So left flirting with relegation and facing a real possibility that it could happen, Strachan did the decent thing and admitted defeat walking away without a severance package from the club.
Once the fans had heard that ‘mogga’ Tony Mowbray was in the frame to take over, there was no going back. Mogga was and is a cult icon hero amongst theAyresomeParkregulars during the 80’s.
So in came Mowbray who tried to influence his footballing style on a rigid and poor performing team. In short, Mowbray did bring stability and at times fans could see the attacking football that he is has promised.
He wasn’t afraid to blood the youngsters once relegation was avoided, with young academy products such as Joe Bennett catching the eye and showing promise for the future.
2010/2011 Final Finish: 12th
Who’s New: Malaury Martin 22 year old French midfielder on the books atBlackpool, however injury put pay to any impact, capped at every level Martin could be a real interesting addition.
Curtis Main, released byDarlington, Mowbray offered the 20 year old striker a trial and was impressed enough to offer him a contract.
Who’s Out: Boyd to a Turkish league team I’m not even going to attempt to spell- Free.
Finally Digard has got his permanent move to Nice-Nominal Fee.
Andrew Taylor to Cardiff- Free
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Who to Watch: Young Joe Bennett, after being shot on the proverbial football scrapheap by the ‘ginger’ one, ‘Mogga’ came in and rejuvenated the player who in turn repaid the faith showed in him to put in some classy performances which in turn attracted the attention of a number of premier league clubs.
Merouane Zemmama he maybe no Juninho, but hopefully this season he can wave his magical wand and conjure us up much needed victories. I suspect that if fit, most of the play will be coming through this little Moroccan.
Who’s going up: It’s hard to look past Leicester & West Ham really, though I think McClaren will be there or there abouts with Forest. But I think I’ll plumb for Leicester.
Who’s going down: Peterborough, Doncaster and Bristol City. For no particular reason but to just pick 3 teams I feel will struggle.
Where will you finish: Heart: 2nd, Head: 10th. If we are pushing for a playoff space come late May, I and many other Boro fans will be delighted.
Liverpool welcome back Luis Suarez last night for the visit of Tottenham Hotspur, as they look to get their push for fourth place back on track.
The Uruguayan hit-man has completed his eight-match ban for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra, as well as a further one-game suspension for a gesture at the Fulham crowd, during Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat at Craven Cottage in December.
His return will serve as real boost for the Merseysiders who, despite excellent results in both domestic cup competitions, have seen their league form stutter in the absence of Suarez. The Reds have secured a meagre seven points from a possible 15 during his spell in the stands, finding the net just seven times. Only the inconsistencies of their rivals have kept the Anfield outfit within touching distance of the much-coveted fourth spot.
But now, with the return of their talismanic striker, there is once again an air of optimism around the club, with fans and players alike believing that a challenge for Champions League football is a genuine possibility.
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And there could well be method behind the renewed confidence, with all of the pieces falling into place for Reds chief, Kenny Dalglish. The return of Suarez will finally enable the Scot to link up his first choice attacking trio, with Steven Gerrard back to full fitness and Andy Carroll beginning to find his feet, after some impressive recent displays. The two developed an exciting understanding initially, but injuries and suspensions have seen the skipper pushed into a deeper role, limiting his link-up play with Carroll. Now Suarez is once again available, Liverpool’s lack of cutting edge could well be addressed, with the Uruguayan’s ability to find space between the lines hinting at more fluid attacking displays.
Although he has been missed, Suarez’s recent rest from first team duties may well prove to have been a blessing in disguise. The month off will have come as a welcome break for the striker who has not had a full pre-season since 2008/09, at his former club Ajax. Uruguay’s recent successes on the international stage have restricted the 25-year-old’s recovery time, with the South Americans finishing fourth in South Africa 2010, and going all the way during last year’s Copa America. Although he has not looked jaded during the beginning of the campaign, burn-out remained a source of concern for the Anfield medical staff.
Perhaps the biggest source of optimism for the Reds remains the stability of their opponents during the end of season run in. Chelsea and Arsenal offer the most realistic challenge, but both are dogged by inconsistency, and face fixture pile-ups due to Champions League commitments. While the season’s surprise package, Newcastle, may fall away as a result of a lack of depth and experience at the business end of the season.
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It’s obvious that the return of Suarez will have a positive effect on the Anfield club, and with other factors coming into place, King Kenny no longer has an excuse, it’s time for the Reds to deliver.
Wayne Rooney has stated that Manchester United’s experience and persistence in the second half of the season will stand them in good stead in the race for the Premier League title.
The Old Trafford outfit are three points adrift of cross-town rivals Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, as the pair fight it out for superiority in the English top flight.
Despite the players at Roberto Mancini’s disposal, Rooney feels that his side have the necessary track record to overtake City in the title race.
“We relish this part of the season,” he told reporters at a press conference, which was covered by The Daily Mail.
“Once we get into the new year we can see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. Every game is massive and we don’t want to be dropping points.
“But I always feel we are at our best around now because we can see the end of the season and that there are trophies there to be won.
“That’s why we stay focused and, more often than, not we’re always there at the end.
“The next three or four weeks will be exciting.
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“We understand and know what we have to do. We need to prepare ourselves the best way we can and hopefully get the results we need,” he stated.
Here is a list of the key players from every club in the Premier League. Some are goalscorers, some creators and some will have to step up and be leaders but all of them will play a pivotal role in the success of their clubs over the course of the season.
As every one of these players would no doubt tell you in a post match interview, ‘it’s a team game and i’m just really pleased for the lads and glad we got the three points and you know obviously it’s nice to get praise but it’s a team game….’ They are right, but some players are more important than others and they all know this. So here is one player from each club who is more important than the others, who’ll be driving a fancier car and earning more money than all the others by the end of the year and demanding to move to a bigger club unless the owner buys some of the others players on this list.
Click on Tim Cahill to see the Premier League’s MVPs
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Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia has admitted that Carlos Tevez has the ability to have a real impact on the title race.
The Argentina international has been away from the game due to continued controversies, however after returning to action against Chelsea, where he set up the winning goal, Valencia has spoken of the South American’s threat.
“If Carlos plays against us, I’m sure he’ll be motivated. He’s an excellent player, able to change a match in an instant. What he did against Chelsea was no surprise,” the Ecuador international told The Sun.
“But for Tevez to score the winner? I hope it doesn’t happen. And for us to fail and lose the title will bring pain for months. But I’m confident in my team.
“There’s a lot of pride in Manchester that our two clubs are the best in England. Our challenge is to win all our matches and to arrive with an advantage over City on derby day.
“I’m not saying whether that game will decide the title but it’s clear the winners will deliver a morale blow to the other club. So I expect a big battle and for us to avenge our 6-1 defeat at Old Trafford,” he concluded.
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Last week Steven Gerrard claimed that the players were to blame for Roy Hodgson’s unsuccessful spell in charge of Liverpool last season, with numerous aspects of the club captain’s comments standing out’. Gerrard was quoted as stating, ‘It was the players underperforming and not delivering. That was the sad part.’
Indeed, Gerrard was keen to remind people that when Hodgson got the sack he was ‘one of the players who came out after he left and made sure people knew it wasn’t just Roy Hodgson’s fault’. However, quite simply the club was not a happy place to be while Hodgson was at the club with Gerrard declaring that under Kenny Dalglish there were now ‘happy faces from top to bottom of the club now and we move forward.’
Gerrard’s comments make for an interesting debate over the importance of a manager’s relationship with his players. When Dalglish returned to the Anfield hotseat in January, the clubs fortunes dramatically improved in the second half of the season. Granted Dalglish managed to ship out the misfiring Fernando Torres and bring in the inspirational Luis Suarez, yet were Roy Hodgson’s motivational skills really that poor in comparison to Dalglish’s?
Hodgson was not helped by the fact he replaced Rafael Benitez, a man who had stamped his own identity on the football club. Following on from the Spaniard was always going to be difficult.
It is not the first case of professional footballers underperforming for a manager of proven pedigree. Arguably the most high profile case in history is Brian Clough’s doomed 44 day tenure at Leeds United, a story of such significance that it had first a book then a film dedicated to it.
In 1974, the England manager’s job had just been given to Don Revie, a man who had spent 13 enormously successful years at Leeds United. Clough, despite regularly stating his aversion to the club, would be the man to take the job.
Clough alienated key players such as Johnny Giles and Billy Bremner by reportedly telling them ‘You can all throw your medals in the bin because they were not won fairly.’ Clough’s short spell at Elland Road included just one victory, giving him the unwelcome record of being Leeds least successful permanent manager.
Upon leaving Leeds Clough would go on to have enormous success at Nottingham Forest, twice winning the European Cup and once the league title amongst other honours. Clearly Clough was an enormously talented manager, yet in the same manner as Hodgson, the players were not performing, or not willing to perform at their best. Without that, any manager is doomed.
Player power at football clubs is fascinating. Avram Grant, Jose Mourinho’s successor at Chelsea came within inches of managing Chelsea to the Champions League. Yet, stories have long been abound that in reality the clubs senior players such as John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba were as much involved in the decision making that season.
The most recent story surrounding the relationship between player and manger is at Manchester City. The Carlos Tevez and Roberto Mancini fallout is a debacle that continues to rumble on. The relationship between the former captain and the authoritarian boss is at an all time low, following the forwards alleged refusal to come off the substitute’s bench in last month’s match against Bayern Munich.
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Tevez’s seemingly had no future at the club, yet there are now hints that he may be offered a lifeline by Mancini and City, only time will tell.
The truth is, a manager is only as good as the sum of his parts. If players are motivated, willing and ready to take a manger’s ideas on board then success will follow. The best manager’s have proven that time and time again. However, looking at the above examples, we should not forget even the manager’s at the very top can fail if players are more concerned with their bottom line than putting everything in on the pitch week in week out.
What are your thoughts on the important relationship between player and manger? Comment and follow me on Twitter @CamHumphries
Corinthians will entice Manchester City with a bonus clause in an improved bid for Carlos Tevez, according to a report in Lancenet.An initial bid of 40 million Euros for the Argentine international was rejected by City earlier this week.
However, Brazilian Serie A side Corinthians, where Tevez played from 2003 to 2006, have made another push for the 27-year-old’s signature.
Brazilian football publication Lancenet reports that on top of the 40 million Euro transfer fee, a bonus clause has been added to the proposal which will see City receive an unspecified fee if Tevez’s stint at the club proves successful in terms of results, marketing and shirt sales.
Corinthians have given City a deadline of Sunday to answer to their offer as the Brazilian transfer window closes on July 20.
Reports in England claimed Corinthians had increased the transfer fee in a bid to persuade City to part ways with Tevez, but the Brazilian club have rejected such stories.
“That is not true. We did not alter the figure in the offer. I cannot reveal details about the negotiations,” Corinthians vice-director of fooball Duilio Alves told Lancenet.
“What I can say is what I have said before. We are still in negotiations with City to bring in Tevez. Talks are still ongoing.”
Tevez, who joined Manchester City in 2009, has voiced his desire to leave the club as he wishes to be closer to his family, who are residing in Buenos Aires.