Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
Heroes can be hard to find in modern football. It's difficult to feel any connection to a teenage millionaire when he signs a contract large enough to fund a hospital wing before he's even scored his 20th Premier League goal. It's impossible to respect a man who passionately expresses his desire to play Champions League football before leaving his team in the lurch to join a club that aren't even in the Europa League. Footballers are constantly letting themselves down. That's why I loved Carlos Tevez so much. With his tireless determination and willingness to give everything to the cause, he was one of my few present day heroes. The little Argentine was everything that modern football isn't. He was always delighted to be playing, unlike so many players who seem aggrieved that matches get in the way of their nightclubbing time. But he's no hero now.
Tevez was the man I used to want to be, but in recent weeks he's been more like a girl I used to date. "Sir Alex never called me or sent me a text," he wailed pathetically at his press conference yesterday. "Having a coach that wants me...an environment in which I'm happy...these are the most important things to me." Yikes! How needy is that? No wonder Sir Alex stopped phoning him. I bet he's screening his calls and drinking in a different bar now as well.
Let's not forget the significance of his signing for Manchester City either. Tevez couldn't be clearer about his motives without suddenly deciding to date Sir Alex's best friend. He's really only one step away from snogging complete strangers at the PFA dinner to make his old boss jealous. Let it go, Carlos. Move on.
It's a searing indictment of the game today that Tevez opted not to sign for Liverpool out of respect for the Manchester United fans, but saw no problem in signing for their local rivals. Was there really nowhere else that he could have gone? How does he think that the United fans will feel when he lines up at Old Trafford in a sky blue shirt? Any legacy, any lingering reputation that he may have had on the red side of Manchester has been obliterated in the last week by this move.
This is a man who attempted to dive and block a clearance with his face last season. Granted, a heavy impact couldn't have made him any uglier, but it would still have caused excruciating pain and it was only the fifteenth minute! A man who single-handedly saved West Ham from relegation by refusing to accept the laws of probability. A man who was loved by the fans with more passion than Cristiano Ronaldo ever received, despite only scoring a fraction of his goals. And he's left his club for their rivals after a row about text messages?
I hope Tevez finds happiness at Eastlands, but I wouldn't count on it. The sight of a beaming Kia Joorabchian at that frenzied introductory walkabout bodes ill for all concerned. If Tevez can walk out on the biggest club on the planet over a perceived personal slight, then how long do you think he'll last at a club like Manchester City? Besides, with Craig Bellamy, Roque Santa Cruz and perhaps Emmanuel Adebayor in the side, he'll need to start scoring from day one to cement his place in the side. What are the odds that he's simply swapped one Manchester bench for another? Heroes shouldn't be this stupid.
Tevez was the man I used to want to be, but in recent weeks he's been more like a girl I used to date. "Sir Alex never called me or sent me a text," he wailed pathetically at his press conference yesterday. "Having a coach that wants me...an environment in which I'm happy...these are the most important things to me." Yikes! How needy is that? No wonder Sir Alex stopped phoning him. I bet he's screening his calls and drinking in a different bar now as well.
Let's not forget the significance of his signing for Manchester City either. Tevez couldn't be clearer about his motives without suddenly deciding to date Sir Alex's best friend. He's really only one step away from snogging complete strangers at the PFA dinner to make his old boss jealous. Let it go, Carlos. Move on.
It's a searing indictment of the game today that Tevez opted not to sign for Liverpool out of respect for the Manchester United fans, but saw no problem in signing for their local rivals. Was there really nowhere else that he could have gone? How does he think that the United fans will feel when he lines up at Old Trafford in a sky blue shirt? Any legacy, any lingering reputation that he may have had on the red side of Manchester has been obliterated in the last week by this move.
This is a man who attempted to dive and block a clearance with his face last season. Granted, a heavy impact couldn't have made him any uglier, but it would still have caused excruciating pain and it was only the fifteenth minute! A man who single-handedly saved West Ham from relegation by refusing to accept the laws of probability. A man who was loved by the fans with more passion than Cristiano Ronaldo ever received, despite only scoring a fraction of his goals. And he's left his club for their rivals after a row about text messages?
I hope Tevez finds happiness at Eastlands, but I wouldn't count on it. The sight of a beaming Kia Joorabchian at that frenzied introductory walkabout bodes ill for all concerned. If Tevez can walk out on the biggest club on the planet over a perceived personal slight, then how long do you think he'll last at a club like Manchester City? Besides, with Craig Bellamy, Roque Santa Cruz and perhaps Emmanuel Adebayor in the side, he'll need to start scoring from day one to cement his place in the side. What are the odds that he's simply swapped one Manchester bench for another? Heroes shouldn't be this stupid.
