After spending the first four months of his Manchester City career struggling to find the back of the net and being slagged off by the fans (“a poor man’s Dickov”), Carlos Tevez has found the back of the net plenty of times recently.
After being questioned about the Argie forward, Sir Alex Ferguson has nonchalantly dismissed any feelings of regret, claiming that we have moved on. With Wayne Rooney the highest scorer in the league and Dimitar Berbatov the 11th, the manager is happy.
“I read somewhere that they were going to bid for Messi,” said Ferguson. “They could offer a billion for Messi and it wouldn’t affect them too much. Whether that would give them any joy or not, I don’t know, but given the amount of money they’ve got, anything’s possible. We made a pitch (to Tévez), he didn’t take it, he went to Man City. It’s no problem for us, we move on. It’s not the end of the world for us. He’s done well, so be it. I’ve got issues at all about it and I’ve got no regrets about it.”
Man Utd News 24/7
I still feel, 7 goals in 5 games or 0 goals in 5 games, that £25-£30m we were being quoted for him was too much.
Our attacking play would never have been built around him at United like it is at City and he wouldn’t be the first choice penalty taker here either so yeah… 30m? No thanks, we have ROOOOONEEYYYYYYYYYYYY for that
Diouf diouf diouf diouf diouf diouf!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tevez brought more to the team than just goals.Typically Feruson refuses to accept he made a huge mistake in letting him go and relying on Berbatov who has the work rate of a tortoise.
And I think City probably paid more than the £25million we refused too.
Hello everyone.
Battered and bruised after todays exploits of running 21kms.great that we won yesterday.didnt see the game but a win was all that mattered.
For the tevez thing i would have loved had he stayed but the relations had soured so much that there was only going to be one outcome.both parties were at fault.he is gone now so lets forget it.hope diouf does well.
You get bruises from running? Really?
@Vass
That’s what I was thinking about recently. He is starting to look good at City, but the play revolves around him there(i.e. he never reached 15 goals by January for us). Quite a difference from his role at Man United. And for that role, it wasn’t worth it forking out 25 million.
At the end of the day, great players have left the club and we have persevered. Can’t wait to see more of our new number 32!
@Dom
It seems so mate. 47 million is the rumored sum, althouth City and Joorabchian deny it. I wonder why…
@AIG
Hi mate. How did you do? Did you set a new personal record?
He’s still a headless chicken from what I saw yesterday. Frantically chasing after every Everton players that got the ball.
Vaas
yes.in the sole region of the foot.you can apply petroleum jelly to prevent it but it makes you feel uncomfortable
Costas
hi mate.
Did pretty ok.Knocked off 10mns from last year.took 2hrs 20mns this year.
diouf, diouf, diouf is on fire! we dont need no tevez, let the motherf*cker burn!
@AIG
That’s good. Congrats. It means that you are fitter this year.
Yesterday you mentioned that last year your marathon was the day after the Bolton game. That game must have been a great inspiration. To be fair to Carlos, he had a big hand in our winning goal in that game. It was a lovely move on his part.
he’s perfect for City. Good against poor teams, crap against anyone with class. We know that, we saw it last season, we saw it again last night, Carlos against a half decent team will fail.
I’m confident that our defence, even in the state it’s in, will keep Carlos out on Tues.
@stretfordendole
Again, to be fair to him. He has scored goals against Chelsea this season. The problem with Carlos is that he is a good worker, but if the rest of the team is struggling, he can’t shine like Ronaldo do, or Rooney(to a lesser extent) do. He works his socks off, but he if those around him are crap, he can’t take the team on his shoulders.
@Costas
thanks mate.wont say fitter but i was more determined to knock off a few minutes from last year.
Remember tevez somehow getting past 2 bolton defenders and crossing for berba to head in.first time we went top last season. He always gave everything and scored some very important goals but his attitude let him down
Sorry. I meant “he scored a goal against Chelsea”
“Manchester City after Manchester United hot prospect Mame Biram Diouf, Roberto Mancini is lining a bid for the senegalese-born youngster, it has been rumoured that Manchester City are willing to pay up to £26 million for Manchester United player, who scored in his Old Trafford debut on Saturday.”
He was no where near worth the money we were being quoted for him, but I do get annoyed when people saying about the 5 goals last season, it was actually 15 in all competitions and that will probably be more than Berbatov manages this season.
What ever anyone says about Tevez he had a knack of scoring important goals and he was still a big part of us winning the double in 2008, he scored countless important goals, opener against Chelsea, winner at Anfield, last minute levelers in Lyon and at Spurs. He is also never went hiding even when things weren’t going well, you could see his commitment in the champions league final when he squared up to Terry and the Chelsea mob over the not giving the ball back incident.
Not worth the money we were being quoted, but he’s no where near as bad as some United fans like to say he is.
@AIG
Well done mate, 2hr20min – fantastic!
all i have to say is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC2B0JwSYik
@AIG
You are a fast runner mate ! 2h20 is pretty quick – nice one.
Tevez was worth keeping at the right price and using as an impact sub.
He was definitely not worth the huge sum City had to pay to get him, I dont know for sure how much but I would not be surprised if it was 45million – they had been turned down by Kaka and the like and were absolutely determined to “prove a point”.
They did prove a point – They have more money than sense and less class than money.
Tevez had ample opportunity to show he was a goal a game world class striker – he didnt.
Berbatov needs to score a lot more now. I love his style, flicks, touches and control but there is one thing and one thing only that wins games and that is goals. He needs to burst the net a bit more often all the assists in the world do not a legend make.
Diouf – ? He scored a goal yesterday that was very,very encouraging not only because of it being a debut but because it was thetype of goal a REAL natural scores and makes look simple.
“Tevez was worth keeping at the right price and using as an impact sub.”
Do me a favour. With the selection of strikers at our disposal that is of some cheek to say that. He started pretty much all the time in the 2007/08 season and he seemed to do pretty bloody well. I didn’t hear anyone complaining when we won the double that year.
RCWIS and bchilds
Thanks Guys.
Any of you Ladies and Gentlemen read this:
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/152201/MANCHESTER-UNITED-FOR-SALE-AS-SPLASH-SHEIKHS-LINE-UP-1-2M-TAKEOVER-BID
I would only say yes to that if it meant that the owners stay out of the manager’s affairs.
Better than the Glazer’s?
I would think so
@aig alex is god
Mumbai Marathon by any chance?
haha i hoped that would be a misprint. ‘Sheikhs line up 1.2m takeover bid’ dont worry guys, turns out its 1.2 billion. There doesn’t seem to be any substance to this ‘Sunday Express Sport can reveal that while Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson took advantage of the warmth of Doha to fine tune his players, there was feverish work going on behind the scenes.’
Then no evidence follows as usual and they only have quoted SAF saying that there is no problems with Rooney referring to the contract speculation.
I wrote two years ago that ferggie is sacrificing Tevez because of the amount he paid for bebatov. Fans were fast to dismiss Tevez, but on simple analysis who is worth; more Bebatov or Tevez? Scoring freely with a midfield like city (not so strong) shows what the lad is capable of. I believe it was a colossal mistake letting Tevez go when they knew all the while that Ronnie was going.
Bebatov simply has not delivered, and if you say you don’t regret Tevez leaving then don’t talk about it………
@Gary
I dont fully understand?
“At the right price” is intended to mean that he is only worth what an impact sub is worth and not a fortune like City paid.
Had we kept Tevez, I doubt Sir Alex would have got Owen on board and therefore we would have the same amount of strike options as now and they would be employed in the same way – 2 main strikers, an impact sub and several young-bloods.
When Tevez DID start all the time he DID NOT prove himself to be a goal-a-game striker did he ? Nobody was complaining during 2007 and 2008 as there were plenty of goals coming from Ronaldo in particular which served as a distraction from Tevez`s shortcomings.
The point I am making is that Tevez had a role to play at United. He performed that role well but impact sub was not the role he had envisaged.
We realised he was not a goal-a-game striker but could come on and give you a goal in the last half hour. That was worth keeping but only at a price that represented the value of that type of player. The player himself had to want to stay and perform that role – Tevez didnt and nor did his agent once a better financial offer was on the table.
City then showed us all that they were “a small club with a small mentality” by putting up a very big poster.
We showed just how cheaply a quality impact sub can be brought in – Michael Owen. He showed how big our mentality is by firing home the late winner against – Yup, Manchester`s MASSIVE club. Inshallah !
Tevez had a little purple patch at City recently – but that will prove to be all it was – a patch. I doubt we will be crying over Tevez at the end of this season or any other.
Regrets, I am sure Fergie has a few – but then again – TOO FEW TO MENTION !
One run of form and not signing him is suddenly the end of the world.
Why doesn’t everybody just move on. Even if Tevez turned out to be the league’s top scorer, what good will incessantly bemoaning his departure do.
When we were being asked for £25 million, how many fans honestly thought that was good value for money. It wasn’t. Fortunately, city wanted to show off their penis extension, so we got rid. The bitters initially thought he was terrible value for money.
@Bebeto
Exactly. He is on a good run of form, but my opinion doesn’t change either. Darren Bent has scored a lot this season too. Why don’t we buy him?
And in case some people forget, lets remember a couple of things. In the summer of 2009, we made the offer Tevez wanted and he turned it down. In the summer of 2008, we could have used the Berba money to sign Tevez, but let me ask everyone this: How the hell were we going to go through a 66 game season with just 2 strikers? At that point, there was no Kiko and Welbeck was in the same spot he is now: Unreliable. So we had to buy a striker and Berba fit the bill better than anyone at the time. I guess we could have kept Saha, but lets be honest. We were all tired of his injuries at the time.
MG- If that’s true, and the Sheikhs buy us (PLEASE OH PLEASE), they should pay off the debt and then we should only spend within our income, unlike our MASSIVE neighbours, so even if the Sheikhs leave us, we won’t have any problems.
Doubt it’s true though.
One thing i dont really understand is that Fergie has openly said that Rooney and Owen are too Simular to play together.
Although when i watch berbatov and rooney its Berbatov that looks to be the player playing most forward. ( i might be totaly wrong!)
With regards to Tevez i feel hand on heart if there was one player on the planet that was a direct replica of rooney it would be tevez. I dont mean in talent but in type of play. Both Come deep, Both play high tempo, Both hassle defenders, Both are not clinical infront of goal but score some great goals (hopefully something that changes!!! Fingers crossed well for rooney that is!)
If we had kept tevez we would have been left with a difficult situation, Rooney and tevez both trying to fit into the team – Simular to lampard and gerrard for the international team. Both looking to take up the same positions and making the same runs!
In addition the biggest fundemental flaw is that both are no good in the air. I am a very big beleiver that you need a striker that is good in the air. I know we all want pretty football but Crosses and long balls to the strikers is a high percentage of the game play. Im not after a Hesky or some plonk like that but more of a as i hate to say it Drogba, Shearer, Imbraihaveabignose.
Strike partnerships have to compliment each other!
@Costas
I really like the look of bent, When i look at rooneys strengths i think both would compliment each otehr fantasticaly.
With regards to the other Sunderland strker kenwen Jones i wouldnt touch him with a barge pole!… He is too inconsistant and goes missing in games! Not what we need at united!
I know berbatov scored yesterday and i have defended him to the hilt in the past but if i am brutaly honest his performances are starting to bug me!
I know he is not fully fit but by the end of the season if he still is putting in the same level of performances enough would be enough!
With regards to Nani yesterday, i honestly thought he did all right! He put in some good crosses and although did a few things that infuriated me he still did all right!
Lets not compare him with Giggs but when we look at the other teams around us he would get good game time with them. Who else would we exchange him for… Maluda? Riera? Benayon,
There are 2 left sided players i would have at united in the league at the moment! Arshaven & James Milner!
Milner might be a supprise but that lad is a very very tidy player who i think would fit straight in with our style of play!
i don’t get what the fuss is about, for once Fergie decided to listen ot the fans and made a bid for Tevez and he rejected it, i mean come on £25m for a player who we have given a champions league medal and 2 EPL medals thats quite fair.
Tevez and his agent were up to no good and they definatly wnated more money, it would have been nice if he stayed, but honestly with the direction United want to take i’m happy he’s not here, at least with the squad we have there is still a chance of going out in the transfer market this summer and splashing on a proven goalscorer. i wish him well and all the rest, blah,blah,blah. More intersted in seeing our new 32 play alongside rooney, IMHO that pair have a good chance of forming a lethal partnership, its like a better heskey and rooney partnership
@trevor
Here’s the thing with Bent. He has been around for a while now, but Sir Alex has never been interested. Now, of course Sir Alex’s judgment is far from perfect, but I think he realizes that performing for teams like Sunderland(Bent), Tottenham(Berbatov) and City(Tevez) is entirely different to performing for Man United. The reason why he wanted Berba at the club, as opposed to the other two, was his belief that Berba would bring a different dimension to our play.
Watching yesterday’s game, I must admit that I am as confused as you are about Berbatov and Rooney. It was obvious(and the first goal was a proof) that we are better off when Berba plays high up the pitch. Rooney has to be the one that tracks back and makes things happen because he is a harder worker and more explosive. That’s why I have never understood why Rooney and Owen can’t play together. In the post match interview, Fergie himself admitted that you could see the difference when Berbatov played in a more advanced role and close to Rooney.
About Nani, I thought he had a very good game considering his injury and all that’s happened. As you said, there aren’t many good alternatives out there. The two players you mentioned(and I like both of them too) would be way too expensive for us.
Smelly socks
yes.half marathon.
Trevor – James Milner is a good player with a great attitude but I don’t think he is left sided naturally is he?
James Milner’s is pretty much two footed, he’s played left wing a lot for Villa. I love him, he’s like the midfield O’shea.
agree with many posts on here. tevez @ city: hard worker, attack is built around him, he should have scored even more goals by now than he already has.
tevez with united: hard worker, chases every ball around him on the pitch like either my labrador retriever or rottweiler when i take them to the park, but would never be united’s 1st or 2nd attacking option.
i think we do miss someone who works as hard as him on the pitch, as it always seemed to give the other players a shot of adrenaline when he chased down a ball the full length of the pitch, or when he went in full blooded over 50-50 balls. but he will never be worth the money that kia wanted.
it’s all about our new #32: dioooooooooooooooooouf!!!!!!!
will diouf start against city? owen/diouf or welbeck/diouf i say!
Arent we tired of this Berba v Tevez thing already? It was happening when Tevez was here, and its still happening when he’s gone. Bottomline is, i’d prefer a guy who wants to play for us readily, and not if they’re getting paid the right amount of money.
And Berba is pure joy to watch..
@Gary
Everything you mentioned about tevez was in his first season when he was great for us. If he’d kept that up the following season he would still be here, but he didnt. He took the hump when berba was signed and played like dung.
At the end of the day it was a mistake on United’s part bringing in Berbatov, we disrupted a winning side that had just won back to back titles and the European cup. We were playing our best football since 1999 with a real high work ethic and directness of our play that teams feared. Berbatov came in, hasn’t shone since day one, has slowed down our play and has floped on every big occasion since he’s been here.
Tevez > Berbatov
There isn’t a manager in this league who would choose Berbatov over Tevez. Tevez is younger,faster, scores more and he has bags of self belief unlike Berbatov.
Gary – I would not call tevez fast its just his movement is the difference which his impact is of greater effect. He fits more into a fluid system than berbatov does and the 07/08 season did prove that, but people forget uuniited ttactially in attack lost 2 quality players I admit that even though Iam not a huge fan of tevez.
- But people like gary seem to forget is tevez bar his purple patch in december to now tevez has been really average at best. I still think there is that gem in sergio aguero out there which would be an outstanding signing, he is tevez times 10 and is has good as rooney, rooney and aguero has a patnership would be something very special aguero is miles better than berbatov, he is 8 years younger than berbatov.
bigphil2003 – tevez was not great in the 07/08 season rooney and ronaldo were in attack not tevez. for me there were better options united could have got like aguero torres or villa. lets be frank both tevez and berbatov are not good enough for united they are step below the worlds best forwards.
Was he worth the money ? no
Would we be a stronger team and squad if we still had him ? yes
didn’t see the game yday , how does diouff look?
Good Morning guys
@ AIG
Congratulations on completing the Mumbai half-Marathon mate…
Great work. I had a few other friends competing in that….Yous is the best time I’ve heard so far!!
Well done!
Red Devil
Thanks mate. Glad i could improve on my previous years timings. This was my third time. Its a great experience and gets better every year
If we are talking about a left sided player, Modric would be ideal in my eyes. Top player with plenty of creativity.