I’m finding this quite tough to know what to write. As a blogger, the words should flow, painting a literary picture of what is happening, but it’s difficult to explain my feelings. At the moment, they are a mélange of confusion, disappointment and utter bewilderment, leaving me in a state of shock, combined with a generous dash of anger.
I apologise now if this article seems a little disjointed, but after the events of the past couple of days, it’s not the easiest task in the world to think rationally. As anyone who reads this blog regularly will know, I’m usually so restrained and realistic, but in light of the weekend’s happenings, emotion can take over, pushing rational thought to the back-burner.
There are so many ideas, theories and thoughts swirling around in my head, I haven’t the time, nor the space to scribe every detail. It’s a complicated issue, one which will attract copious amounts of speculation, yet, in reality, the truth of the matter won’t be revealed for quite some time yet.
We have known for a while that not everything was rosy with Carlos Tévez. He has given numerous interviews in which he has stated his homesickness, his desire to return home in order to be with his children. If this were the only issue at stake, I have no doubt that there would not have been as much interest in this story. But I don’t believe this is the sole cause of the trouble.
Any father would sorely miss the time spent away from his family. That is why Roberto Mancini and the club have been especially lenient towards Tévez in allowing him time off from training in order to return to Argentina to see his family. Both before and after the spectacular Chelsea victory, in which Tévez scored the only goal, the Argentine was given special dispensation to return home, as has happened on numerous occasions.
And following his booking against Bolton last weekend, which meant he missed the game on Saturday against West Ham, City allowed him to take four days leave under the agreement that Tévez would fly immediately to Argentine to see his kids. Unfortunately, it turns out that our captain instead decided to travel to Tenerife and to ignore the club’s orders. Whether this was indeed Tévez’s idea because he needed a break, or whether it was down to the influence of his notoriously dodgy agent Kia Joorabchian in creating a rebellious act, I’d lean towards the latter.
After all the support given to Tévez, namely in allowing him to return home and by awarding him the captaincy (an act surely done to appease him), Mancini understandably feels let down by the actions of the striker. Everyone connected with the club realises that Tévez is a hugely important figure and we would be loath to lose him, but no player, in any circumstances, is bigger than the club.
Problems have been festering for a long time and it has been revealed this week that Tévez wanted to leave City in the summer but was persuaded to remain at the club. We have all seen the quarrels and heard about the squabbling between Tévez and Mancini, most notably the half-time joust against Newcastle and the disgraceful reaction of Tévez when he was substituted at the end of the Bolton game. But it must be noted that in his statement, the striker clearly stated he has no issue with Mancini.
Another thing that struck me as odd was how, in the space of a mere 24 hours, the reason for Tévez desiring to leave changed from homesickness to an untentable relationship with certain executives. He claims that “my relationship with certain executives and individuals at the club has broken down and is now beyond repair”. With a hint of inference, that can only point the finger at Garry Cook and Brian Marwood, which again leads me to question the involvement of Joorabchian.
That last statement from Tévez truly baffles me, especially considering what he said earlier in the speech, when he declared that he “resents suggestions that I have been unduly influenced by others.” This was in response to City’s official club statement which suggested that the Argentine had been guided by Joorabchian.
Then, for Tévez to say that this is his decision only, it begs the question what involvement does he really have with Cook that would force him to hand in a transfer request. The striker needs to remember that he plays for Mancini and the other players, not the Chief Executive. Even as captain, I don’t expect Carlos to have too many dealings with Cook. Tévez is a football man, not a financial analyst. Surely that is Joorabchian’s realm.
Indeed, Tévez has just paid for a two year rental for a house in trendy Mottram, with plans to build a three-hole golf course, sure signs that he had no immediate plans of leaving. He even hoped that his family would join him in England, although that now doesn’t look likely. In fact, there has been talk of Carlos moving to Real Madrid, where he would be living in a country that is much more similar to Argentina than England. He would be speaking his native tongue, the culture would be closer to home and he still harbours hopes of his kids living with him. But he would make few friends if he moved to Spain, having repeatedly stated his desire to be closer to home!
Everything I have mentioned leads me to point the finger of blame firmly at the door of Kia Joorabchian. He advises Tévez on every matter, and it must be noted that the Iranian businessman would receive next to nothing if Tévez remained at City. It is in his interest to force the striker into moving so it should be with extreme caution that anything said by Joorabchian is taken seriously.
For me, this debacle has all the hallmarks of the Wayne Rooney saga at Manchester United. Fantastic player has dodgy agent. Agent tells player to demand a move. Large public backlash. Player gets offered new, improved contract. Player signs contract. Agent happy. Fans less so.
My personal view is that we should force Tévez to stay until the summer, meaning that we wouldn’t have to pay ridiculous prices for replacements in January, although I’d still expect us to bring in at least one striker then. In the summer, we could then let him leave, with the agreement that he return to Argentina, having had the time to scout possible replacements. Oh, and remove the captaincy from him. Our club deserves better.
Please let me know your views below. What do you think about the situation and how do you think it will be resolved? Thanks for reading.
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You’re absolutely right about the captaincy. This should done immediately (if it hasn’t already). I think a win/win would be to sit down with Tevez and say, “look, you play your heart out until the summer and we’ll let you go to Argentina”. If Carlos throws his toys out of the pram (again) and refuses to play, or retires then we should sue the arse off him. If he decides to play ‘badly’, then maybe a stint in the reserves will help him appreciate the relative comforts of the English Premiership. All in all, I am befuddled by all of this and I can’t help but think that poor Carlos Tevez has gone mad.
personally, i’d like to punch tevez in the chops. failing that, i think we should make a conciliatory gesture like offering tevez captaincy of the reserves until the end of the season. what a fucking idiot.
I am disgusted by this story. Like the Rooney debacle, this is ridiculous and shows the typical attitude of footballers nowadays. Money comes first. They need to eb brought down a peg or two.
Let him go no, no player is bigger than the club but if he does go then its on our terms not his or his agents, or he buys out his contract simple as.
I totally agree. I understand the trappings for the modern footballer so lets not forget that it was tevezs’ own fault that his ex packed up and moved back to argentina because of his actions. Carlos was given the armband not to only represent the players on the pitch but also the club off it. If he wanted to go in the sunmmer why accept the armband? If he indeed turn down the supposed bonus at the start of the season then why has his representitives felt the need to contact the club about anything let alone about trying to get a new contract as stated in citys response? When rooney played his hand at old trafford, they had no alternative but to offer him more money because their coffers are empty and could not replace him where as we are in a unique position to leave the little argentinan think about his motives while training with the reserves for 1 year. That’s right i would leave him there for 1 year unless he publishes a total explination of his actions to us city fans. He wears the shirt which means so much to us and we ultimately pay his wages, tevez owes us that much.
I have said it for ages, give vinnie the captaincy there is no one better.
I would give it too vinnie as well, however kolo is vice and de jong appears to be next in line so I doubt it will happen.
I agree with you he should be stripped of the captaincy immediately and send back to Argentina. I think he is still thinking of the Falklands send the ingrate. LONG SHALl CITY LIVE. Mascherano did it and Now Tevez somebody once told me don’t trust the Argentinians I believe he is right.
You can’t level that at the Argentinians, If only we could bottle Zabaleta’s attitude and have the rest of the squad drink it in training!
Utterly bemused, saddened and I wonder if we really have been betrayed by someone who was, until now, a City idol. Does the club obviously means so little to him now? Does he realise the damage he has done and will continue to do to our Beloved City until the truth of the matter is known? I think we must give him more time to think through how lucky he is to be at such a club where the fans have loved and admired him so much. I am sure there is more to this than meets the eye. If his agent is the instigator of his unrest he needs his balls cut off.
The most important thing is Man City FC. No player is bigger than The Club. Tevez must be relieved of the captaincy as no player can hold such a position whilst threatening the stability of the team. Give the captaincy to the ‘gentle giant’, Big Vinnie Kompany. He shows his worth by the example of his workrate, his total commitment and loyalty just like Tevez used to do. If Tevez goes, he will be a sad loss but he will soon realise that he will be the bigger loser.
I am totally shocked and bitterly dissappointed, having said that I am utterly convinced the club should take a firm stand. I keep hearing on the ‘phone ins’ that Tevez can leave and live happily a rich man in Argentina without kicking a ball again, and the the player holds all the power. Well I don’t agree.It may be so with a less wealthy club that would be in need of a transfer fee when the obvious lesser of two evils would be to cave in to the player’s wishes and sell, but City
should refuse his transfer request, treat him like all the others, drop him if he fails to deliver, refuse his absences to Argentina, and the moment he fails to stick to HIS CONTRACT sue him, and I mean for millions, his worth to us for instance in the transfer market, £35m or so. City have the wherewithall to do it, to stand up to idiotic overpaid prima donnas like him and redress the balance in favour of the Clubs. I just hope they do it
I have had the same conflicting feelings about this situation ever since I became aware of his transfer request on MOTD. My first feeling was one of disgust at the media trying to cause unrest at a time when we had totally thrown down the gauntlet to the rest of the title contenders. Upon reading the confirmation of the request on the website I was in disbelief that the situation had come to this so soon after Tevez had commited himself to the club just days earlier on the very same website. Now, after a couple of lesser feelings had swept over me I have suddenly become cold to the reasonings and the future of one Carlos Tevez. Apart from wanting him to continue to show the same passion and commitment in his remaining games for City, I would now prefer it if he left as soon as possible for no less than £45million, which is the absolute least we should accept for him. The man who I proclaimed on this very website to be the best City player I had ever seen play in the flesh in 28 years of doing that has just become a classless idiot, one whom I do not want to see play in the premier league ever again. The signs have been there for all to see but I have kind of decided to ignore this, mainly due to his ability to score almost seven goals to every ten games he played. But it has to be sais that the guy has a major issue with any type of commitment, as his career and as of late, his personal life have shown. We have been more than accomodating concerning the position he put himself in with the mother of his children, and his recent jolly to Tenerife with his little gold-digger shows he is not missing his kids that much. I just hope Tevez and his odious agent do not come out of this looking good, because for all the claims and counter claims that are yet to come from this, it is surely greed which is the real motivation behind this. One final thought on his replacement, what about Mauro Zarate at Lazio who was on loan at Birmingham, the guy just oozes class and goals and has absolutely f**k all to do with that Joorbachiann character. P.S. Does anyone want to swap a medium home shirt with Tevez on the back?
I’ll swap it for an away one from a couple of years ago with Hatem Trabelsi on the back?
Dear Sir/Madam
I cannot believe the news about Carlos Tévez. As a fan of Manchester City for several years it was a real pleasure to see my countryman, a well known and respected world class player, moving to Manchester City. As a southamerican I have to say that it was with pride I saw Carlos making a move to a club so much in need of a boost to become a real threat in English soccer. I noticed the admiration that City’s fans felt for Carlos from the moment he moved in to the club. I recall the early days, during an autograph session organised by a proud Manchester City, a smiling father who had come with his son and who confessed to be as thrilled as his boy for being there just to “see” the “great Carlos Tévez” It mistifies me, on the other hand, to see this player saying one thing during some recent interviews and showing a bewildering behaviour during the last 48 hours. What the hell is going on? Are we dealing with another PRIMA DONNA type “star”???!!!. To Tévez I tell him: just look at the sad faces of the City fans, men, women and children who trusted your commitment to the club, who week after week rejoiced through your skilfull dominance on the football pitch, your tireless pursue of the ball and your quiet and likeable personality. You have rubbished their trust. You have a lot of growing up to do, mate. NOBODY is indispensable at the club. As a fan of Manchester City, but mainly as an argentinian I apologise to the Fans for your unacceptable behaviour and I can assure you that you will not be remembered for the good that you brought to Manchester City but for being a weak human being without a vestige of gratitude towards those who mistankingly put their trust on you. You are a disgrace Carlos. I say GOOD RIDDANCE!!!. Just in case you can’t read English(…this would not suprisse me) let me put it to you in our native Spanish. ANDA A CAGAR BOLUDO!!!!! Cheers. Long Live City!!!!
Gracias César, pero lo preferiría si no utiliza toma de juramento. Gracias para la mayoria de tu respuesta, era muy interesante.
Estimado Señor/Señora,
estoy totalmente de acuerdo con Ud. Insultos no llevan a ningún lado… El problema es que no puedo concevir que un jugador, en especial un compatriota, muestre muy poco sentido común cuando representan a un club que, como City, lo ha tratado con tanto respeto y admiración. Porqué Carlos Tévez actúa de esta manera? Despues de las que pasó en Manchester United uno tiende a creer que la bienvenida a City sería lo ideal para este extraordinario jugador. Aparentemente Carlos es una persona simple y, como muchos jugadores argentinos, fáciles de manipulear. Su manager parece ser una rata. NADA justifica lo que ha hecho. El daño es irreparable. No lo imagino a Tévez jugando nuevamente para el club. La adoración de los hinchas de City se convertirá rapidamente en odio. Aún así, en un rincón de mi corazón guardo la esperanza de que Carlos cambie de idea, se deshaga del manager, pida disculpas en persona al club y fans y que salgamos campeones!!!”Soñar no cuesta nada………” Saludos
Muchas gracias otro tiempo César. Voy a enviarte un correo eleectrónico porque quiero hablar más consigo. Pero gracias para su contribución!
You have got to be the most articulate blogger I have ever come across, I will be honest it doesnt work for me, the grammar that you use may isolate people that are not of the same intelligence as yourself.
I enjoyed the article dont get me wrong, but as a successful blogger myself for I would maybe drop the ‘stuck up’ (for the want of a better phrase) approach.
Seems a little harsh the way my comment reads, but I totally respect your intelligence and it is a really good article. Just a little bit of friendly advice.
Thanks Duxi. I take on board and appreciate what you say, but not all blogs can be the same. It’s good for people to have choice and variety. Each to their own.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Tevez’s statement where he describes his major problem with certain executives was actually written by his agent. Nor would it surprise me if the Real Madrid president is lurking in the shadows, orchestrating a move (with Tevez’s agent) much like the way he did getting Ronaldo off Utd’s hands. Homesick my ***, what’s he doing in southern Europe then, Xmas shopping?
I’m gutted that he wants away and that he has destroyed the high regard in which all City fans held him. I hope he at least stays playing and giving 110% until the summer. So dissapointing. 😦
“As anyone who reads this blog regularly will know, I’m usually so restrained and realistic….”
>>>> Hahahaha!!!
Ive not got much to say really on this, I totally agree with what you say and would just be repeating you. One thing I must say however is that your finale is absolutely spectacular and what an appropriate way to end the blog…it’s brilliant…
“For me, this debacle has all the hallmarks of the Wayne Rooney saga at Manchester United. Fantastic player has dodgy agent. Agent tells player to demand a move. Large public backlash. Player gets offered new, improved contract. Player signs contract. Agent happy. Fans less so.
My personal view is that we should force Tévez to stay until the summer, meaning that we wouldn’t have to pay ridiculous prices for replacements in January, although I’d still expect us to bring in at least one striker then. In the summer, we could then let him leave, with the agreement that he return to Argentina, having had the time to scout possible replacements. Oh, and remove the captaincy from him. Our club deserves better.”
You wont find a better blog out there
p.s loving Cesar’s comment, and also the comment left by Duxi who sort of has a point by your choice of words.
Devastated about this. He was my hero. Why?
It can surely not be about more money? And why do this now when we have regained a stability and progression in the league.
Its a shame as it does have “Rooney Saga” written all over it. But luckily for us we have the resources to buy better players. I know some people may not think so as Tevez works so hard, but Edin Dzeko is 1 of the best goal scorers out there. Even with Tevez playing at his best and loving City, id prefer Dzeko anyday.
Then theres Luis Suarez, he looked quality in the World Cup. Get Dzeko and Suarez up top. A proper partnership.
Anyone who desires to leave OUR club should be shown the door. Just like Robinho was.
Dont get me wrong, id love it if Tevez wanted to stay, but listening to all the contradictions…just watch his interview on the MCFC website, which was done less than 2 weeks ago!
The future is still bright for us. Pains me to say it…Fergie was right haha.
CTID!!!