Like most football fans I’ve always had a lot of time for Carlos Tevez. He is a hard working and loyal player who gives absolutely everything for the cause of the team he is playing for at the time.
Former players returning to Upton Park to play against West Ham are given a torrid time by the East End club’s fans normally, but he was given a standing ovation by the Hammers fans when he went back there.
Move
Now, ahead of his expected move across the city of Manchester the Argentina international is doing what he can to try to make sure that the United fans treat him in a similar manner.
“If I play for Manchester City I don’t think the United fans will feel I am a traitor. They have to remember that at least as far as I know I have been thrown out of the club and I have to study the best offers available. Leaving came about because I could not stand my sporting situation at Manchester United any longer. My first year was good in all senses. I played in the games and felt respected by the coach but in my second year some strange things happened that I still do not understand. After the game at Old Trafford where Liverpool beat us Ferguson ignored me almost as if I was to blame for the defeat when really Liverpool dominated us all over the pitch. After that the fans called for me to be in the team but he never took the advice on board because he always knows best. I gave everything for Manchester United and people know that. For that reason I don’t deserve the way things have ended up.”
There is no doubt that Tevez had made himself a fans favourite at Old Trafford, but that surely more to do with his attitude than what he actually produced on the pitch. In terms of ability on the ball, not many people would have selected Tevez ahead of Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov.
Forced out
Tevez says that he was ‘forced out’ of the club, yet at the end of his two year loan deal United agreed to pay the £25.5million fee required to secure his services permanently, and offered him a five-year contract that would set him up for life. I wish I could get ‘forced out’ of somewhere like that!!
Tevez looks set to sign for Manchester City and seems pretty sure that the United fans won’t hold a grudge. I’m not sure he is right. His efforts will always be appreciated by the Old Trafford faithful but going to City for the money and claiming that he was forced out of United when he clearly wasn’t is not the way to retain his cult status.
He uses the phrase, “He never took the advice on board because he always knows best.â€Â
Achieve
Well, Sir Alex Ferguson’s record suggests that he does know best more often than not and selecting a player because the crowd like him is not the way to achieve what he has achieved.
Finally, Tevez says that his position at United was untenable because of the lack of first team action he saw in his second season. He says that the first season was great. Let’s look at his appearance record over the two seasons.
Appearances
In season one, he made a total of forty-eight appearances for the first team, scoring nineteen goals. Last season he appeared fifty-one times, scoring fifteen goals. I appreciate that many of his appearances in the second season were as a substitute, but it is clear he was very much part of the squad.
Tevez was the player Ferguson turned to at half-time in the Champions League final, not Berbatov.
Respect
My respect for Tevez has been slightly diminished by this whole situation. He wanted more money than United would pay him and he wanted away from the club. He is going to choose to go to United’s rivals and neighbours because they will pay him more than anyone else. I don’t blame him for that, I just wish he wouldn’t bleat on about how badly he thinks he has been treated.
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