IF we are to believe what we read in the press, then Carlos Tevez is becoming frustrated at the lack of progress regarding a permanent Old Trafford deal. United have reacted to the speculation by stating that there's no problem and that they will conclude the Tevez deal by the end of the year. Ironically that will be when would be suitors like Man City could make their move to capture the Argentine, which would be hugely embarrassing for United and our supporters.
If Tevez is sold to another club, it would be a tragedy given what the former West Ham star has for the United so far - it would also be seen as an act of betrayal by the Champions, given the player clearly wants to stay if at all possible.
As ever with these contractual situations it cannot be ruled out that this latest story has been leaked to press via an agent, with a view to moving the deal along, because according to the club - Tevez remains cool about the current state of affairs.
However, one thing that is surely beyond any doubt is the fact that Tevez will not be happy about being constantly left on the bench, because since the arrival of Dimitar Berbatov the Argentine's role has been reduced to that of bit-part player.
Any sensible Red will tell you Fergie has to find a way of accommodating Tevez, Rooney, Berbatov and Ronaldo into his team. So how exactly does Ferguson achieve result? The answer is simple.
Ferguson needs to be bold; he needs to ask Rooney to drop back into the old Paul Scholes role, the one earmarked for him when Veron arrived at United. Rooney needs to be given license to drop back into midfield when required and to launch forward when the Reds are attacking.
The facts of the matter is, and love him as we rightly still do, Scholes is too slow now, this was self-evident in the defeat an Anfield where our midfield was swamped for long periods of the game.
Ferguson has been hampered by the loss of Carrick and Hargreaves through injury and until such times as they are both fully fit, the manager will have to make do with the likes of Fletcher, who has done pretty well when given a chance.
If and it's a big if, Fergie took the bull by the horns and went for it with the following formation, it could be devastating:
...................Van der Sar
Da Silva.........Ferdinand.....Vidic......Evra
.......Hargreaves or Anderson.....Carrick......
.................. .Rooney.....................
Ronaldo...........Berbatov............Tevez
I fear that Ferguson will not take the bull by the horns and make the necessary changes due to the manager being sentimental regarding his favoured son in Paul Scholes. The fact of the matter is that both Rooney and Tevez have better engines than Scholes, they can tank up and down the park all day long and so United will lose nothing by way of work-rate by selecting the above formation.
Tevez will not put up with being a bit-part player for any length of time, this coupled with the lack of deal progress could open the door for an Old Trafford exit, Ferguson must realise this too and it is why he needs to take decisive action.
That would be a brilliant formation, and it is inevitable, if Tevez is to stay, which he is most likely to, that it becomes permanent for Scholes cannot stay fully fit forever, and Ferguson might be emotional but not 'That' irrational (at least we sincrely hope he isn't). What would stop such a formation from coming about is the renewed vigour with which Giggs has been playing, he still wants to keep putting in games every weekend and makes a good account of himself every single time in his commitment and skill.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Ferguson wants to conserve his best players and so Fletcher, Park, Giggs and eventually Scholes would be conserving Carrick, Hargreaves, Rooney and Ronaldo in more games than previously (not Tevez, for that man never seems to tire).
The great thing is that both Rooney and Tevez are brilliant tacklers for their position, and Berbatov is ready to give his 120% and track back. Only Ronaldo would be a frailty in off-the-ball situations, thus we would have the best attack in the world, and practically ten men behind the ball; always an onerous proposition (especially in the Champions League) regardless of the players.