If we are going to judge players on their body language then Fergie should be very worried following his decision to substitute Carlos Tevez at Parkhead last night. The Argentine has, in the view of many United supporters, been treated unfairly since the arrival of Dimitar Berbatov. More often than not, the former West Ham striker has been left on the bench by the United manager. Fergie knows that Tevez is unhappy, because last weekend he took time out to write an apology in the United match-day programme explaining that the player is an important squad member. Words of consolation alone are unlikely to appease the Argentine, who is a big favourite with the fans and players alike.
Against Celtic last night, Tevez was given a rare starting place, but from the beginning it looked like a pretty hopeless task, given he was paired with Ryan Giggs who will never be a striker as long as he has a hole in his backside.
United pretty much out-played Celtic from start to finish, but they created few clear cut chances from open play in the first-half which ended with Celtic taking a one-nil lead into the break, McDonald's goal was scored against the run of play, but there was no question about its quality.
Fergie had predictably left out Wayne Rooney and Berbatov ahead of the weekend trip to Arsenal. It came as no surprise that Berbatov was brought on at half-time when replacing Nani, who was once again totally ineffective - it begs the question why Tevez cannot be deployed wide left as he often was at West Ham?
Midway through the second period Fergie replaced Tevez with Rooney and judging by the look of the Argentine when he came off, he will be seeking urgent talks with his agent about his future. We have been led to believe that at least one meeting has already taken place between all parties. Tevez has yet to sign permanently - the door could be about to open for one of several rivals to move in for Tevez. If it happens, it will be totally down to Fergie and his decision-making concerning how to get the best out of his mega-talented squad, keeping everyone happy, is by no means an easy task with so many talented players.
United face Arsenal at the weekend, lack of goals aside, if they play like they did against Celtic at Parkhead they should be ok, Ryan Giggs scored the Reds’ late equaliser following an Alamo like siege on the Celtic goal, however, it's doubtful the Welshman will start at the Emirates on Saturday, chances are he will be on bench warming duty alongside Carlos Tevez, unless Fergie sees the light and starts with the Argentine wide left.
This might be shocking from a United supporter, but it wouldn't bother me much, to be honest. I like Tevez a lot, he tries very hard for the team and is a great, tenacious presence on the pitch. However, he hasn't done enough to cement his place in the team. Before Berbatov came in, he had done nothing to convince anybody he was going to be a regular scorer alongside Rooney. If the goals aren't coming then your place as a striker is going to be open to change.
ReplyDeleteAs such, Tevez leaving would probably be a blessing... are we honestly going to say that the £32 million fee is really worth it for a player that won't realise that kind of fee from anyone else in football right now? Not for me. If Tevez isn't happy with rotation, especially when he is blatantly out of form, then he doesn't deserve a place at United in the first place. We all loved Solskjaer... why? Not only cos of a wonderful talent, but cos of his professionalism. He was offered a way out to first team footie with another club... turned it down cos he wanted to be a United player. If Tevez doesn't exhibit the same kind of passion for the club then I for one will not shed a tear if he leaves.
I do not agree, because I believe that United would live to regret allowing Tevez leaving, because there's no obvious replacements who are currently available.
ReplyDeleteThat said and to completely contradict myself, I note that St Michael is once again being linked to the Reds' is he available on a free?
Owen would not bring anything new to the table, as he's more or less exclusively a penalty-box man whereas Tevez operates everywhere in the opponents half.
While your point about the size of the fee is a concern, I do wonder if United are trying to drive down the asking price by not playing Tevez, thus trying to argue that he's merely a squad player...
Football is a game of opinions in many ways, so you're entitled to your views, I just do not agree with them. What's more, I think you'd be in a minority on this issue in wanting to see the back of Tevez who remains a big fans favourite.
Ole was a one-off, sadly we cannot realistically seriously expect others to be like him - footballers are to a large degree mercenaries and we have to accept that...
That's the thing... I'm not saying I want Tevez to leave... but if he were to try and force an exit for himself cos he gets his knickers in a twist due to not playing every match from the start then I don't think he would have proven himself to be a United player.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I believe all of this is moot. I don't think Tevez is thinking about moving on at the moment. He realises more than we do that he is not in form and has said as much (although blaming the way he has to play for that). The fact is... if he is not up to scratch right now, he won't get played simply cos he scored a few goals last year. This is all about how he plays right now and an out of form Tevez versus a coming into form Berbatov will only end in one result.
Plus, Fergie has said he is after the same situation he had in '99, with two pairings of strikers to work with. At the moment we really only have three, unless Manucho can manage the step up to partner Tevez in a double strike partnership situation. Rooney and Berbatov are proving to me that they are a more fitting combination than Rooney and Tevez (both do much the same job, coming deep or wide to receive the ball). Tevez and Berbatov is one partnership we've not seen a lot of though, so I wouldn't be surprised to see that in the next week or so either.
If Fergie deployed Rooney a bit deeper as an attacking midfield player he could include all of his top players (Tevez on the left of a three with Ronaldo on the right) and have say Anderon and Carrick (perm any two from six) in front of the back four, this is LFCs formation but United have the players to adopt it too.
ReplyDeleteI believe this system is worth a try because Rooney likes dropping deep and he can run all day long. He does more running than Scholesy...
Tevez is regarding as a top striker and the big difference between him and say Ole is that clubs like Real Madrid would probably pay top money for him, whereas only Spurs showed any real interest in Ole. Don't get me wrong I loved Ole and rated him, but Tevez has more options.
Rather than attack Tevez for even thinking about wanting to leave, we have to be realistic about top strikers with options.
He will not put up with being bench fodder for long and we cannot and should not blame him. IT's not as if he grew up in Oldham or Salford.
Im sorry guys but tevez is being treated unfairly. At the start of the season he was bang on form and much much better than rooney. If he was on form then im sorry but he should have carried on playing. In england rooney is the "golden boy" and thats the only reason. We cant start saying that if Tevez is not on form now then he whouldnt get a starting place because Rooney has been off form for a long time until recently and no one ever dared to mention that. Tevez isnt playing so ofcourse his form has dropped and then we ask him to play alone against Celtic at Parkhead and expect wonders. Im sorry its unfair! He is better than we like to admit because of another player in our team!
ReplyDeleteWell put Jamie... I agree with most of that...
ReplyDeleteIm sorry jaime but i have to disagree with you. Rooney only started playing when ferguson benched him for lack of form. Thats when he picked up the pace and went on his goal scoring spree. So maybe this is just a wake up call for Tevez and im confident that he will step up to challange and he will be a vital part of our season.
ReplyDeleteI agree with spoonofmilk, I like Tevez but don't think Tevez is worth anything near 32 million, he doesnt score enough. Replace Tevez with an up and coming youngster and bring back Frazer Campbell??
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