Manchester United: The Tevez Debacle

Why has Carlos Tevez been allowed to leave Old Trafford??

Whilst nothing is yet 100% certain in the yet another Carloz Tevez transfer saga, its 99.9% certain he will not be pulling on a red shirt at Old Trafford next season. One of the most popular players of the last 10 years, Tevez is as hard a worker as you are ever going to find in this age of Prima Donna strikers who are more connected to their own reflection than they are to the fans who help pay their wages!!

Everywhere Tevez plays he develops a connection with the fans that only comes from playing with your heart, and showing a commitment to the cause equalled only by the fans themselves! Gone are the days of footballers living at the end of your street (unless your a bigwig or rich bod yourself!) and having a kickabout with the local ASBO dodgers, now if you even dare ask for an autograph your glared at with contempt.

Tevez is different, he acknowledges the fans on and off the pitch and feeds off their energy, indeed I remember a game last year where United were struggling with Berbatov playing up front. Tevez began to warm up, and with a chant of "Fergie sign him up" ringing in his ears, the man thumped his fist on the United badge and blew a kiss to the crowd......it didn't need explaining, he was telling us the fans that he wants to stay but its out of his control!! I'll freely admit that his substitution against Arsenal in that last home game and the subsequent spontaneous ovation was one of the most moving moments i've ever had at Old Trafford.....Carlos has a GENUINE connection with his fans.

So what went wrong that has led to his exit?

Firstly I think you look to Dimitar Berbatov, his arrival for £30 million meant that suddenly Fergie has 3 strikers that he needs to find playing time for and unfortunately his demeanor and work ethic lacks a lot when compared to Tevez. Put yourself in Tevez's shoes watching Berbatov arrogantly stroke that penalty at the keeper in the Carling Cup final, or watch him game after game make a half hearted effort to chase someone down only to give up after 10 yards.....meanwhile Tevez busts a gut in every minute but can barely get 2 games in a row under his belt! It must hurt to know that your manager thinks that an overrated mopey poser is more worthwhile to his team than you are.

Secondly we have to look at Tevez himself, unfortunately the choice he has made in dealing with Kia Joorabchian is an unwise one. Joorabchian looks and acts every inch the shady dealer, shielding the truth with one arm whilst manipulating his clients into doing what suits him best with the other. The simple fact that he technically OWNS Carlos Tevez is a problem South American football is coming up against more and more, and to be honest its very very wrong....in fact it borders on slavery.

How Carlos Tevez cannot have the biggest say in where he plays football is beyond me, but thanks to Joorabchian thats the situation he's in.

Finally we look to Sir Alex Ferguson and the realisation that he simply didn't rate Carlos Tevez as highly as the fans/media does. Being honest I can see his point, he's not a pure goalscorer like Ruud Van Nistlerooy, and he's not the genius passer/creator of a Rooney or Cantona.....its simply his work ethic that makes him worth his place!

When you imagine United paid in the region on £15 million to secure the 2 year loan deal Tevez was on, and now Joorabchian wants £25 million more for a permanent transfer of his playing rights, can anyone reading this honestly tell me they think Tevez is worth £40 million plus?

There is also a rumour that Tevez has not acquiesced to Fergies demand that he learn English, and this has caused a rift as teamtalks and instructions have to go through a translator slowing down Sir Alex's valuable time during games.

If you look at the above three contributors its clear to see that Carlos simply didn't feel wanted at Old Trafford, at least not by the management anyway! When you score 4 splendid goals against Blackburn in a Carling Cup tie and still don't get selected for the next game you have to wonder what the criteria is!?
Fergie says that players have to realise that at clubs like United, Barca, Chelsea, Liverpool, Madrid and more, you cannot play every game because other have to be kept match sharp in case they are required.

However sometimes my I think Sir Alex forgets that players like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer come once in a lifetime, no longer will players score goals regularly and settle for a place on the bench.....especially when they see another player (in this case Berbatov) struggling to find his place in the side and play well!

He has openly admitted that he simply wants to be in the starting line-up more often that he isn't, and at United you just don't get guaranteed that kind of thing.

Carlos you will be missed by all the fans here in Manchester (although the Bluehalf may well be cheering your name next season!) and no matter who you return playing for, even if it is the hated Liverpool, the mark of your popurlarity is that you will still be welcomed and cheered to the rafters. We as United fans can only hope and pray for that 00.1% chance that you might still come back......if not I envy the fans who will no doubt love you as much as we do!!