Will Tevez row cost Mancini his job?

It's unlikely the truth about the row between Carlos Tevez and Roberto Mancini affair will ever be known, but if at the end of the season the blue side of Manchester were to miss out by say a point or even two, some hard questions may well be asked of the gaffer.

Unsurprisingly, his opposite number at Old Trafford, Sir Alex Ferguson, at one congratulated him on his handling of a mess from which nobody has emerged with any great credit, as those betting Premiership money will know.

The manner of his departure from United wasn't exactly written in any script the footballing Knight had written when he snapped him up from West Ham so his praise of Mancini was perhaps predictable.

Now we are led to believe that the workaholic Argentine is on his way back to aid City's Title cause and he may indeed make the difference.

If he doesn't and the cash mad City board fail to emerge with a trophy from a season of such rich promise, Mancini could pay the ultimate price, especially as the Premiership betting odds mad them strong favourites at one point.

And that would leave him lots of time to ponder why he didn't solve his problem with the striker a little earlier instead of walking into an ambush which saw his term in charge killed stone dead.

Thoughts will then turn to his successor and the name Jose Mourinho will spring off most lips as it has done in relation to Chelsea, Spurs, Arsenal and even Liverpool this season.

However, this time there seems little doubt that despite his protestations to remain at Real Madrid and become part of its history, City is his most likely destination.

Manchester United is strapped for cash, Spurs can't give him the amount he needs and Liverpool are happy with Kenny Dalglish.

City, however, want the best and most expensive players everywhere – the same is true of their manager and Mourinho has the sort of charisma and pedigree they crave.

As they go about their business seemingly murmuring “Recession, what recession?” the smart money is piling on United to take the Title, Mancini to be sacked and Mourinho to arrive in a head to head with the man he most respects, Sir Alex.