Liverpool FC Forum

by **aCe'** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:48 am

good piece...

Tevez a sound deal for Man City

Phil McNulty | 11:04 AM, Monday, 13 July 2009

Manchester City's prolonged pursuit of England captain John Terry has almost allowed Carlos Tevez to creep in under the Eastlands radar - but the Argentine's imminent arrival will be portrayed as a defining moment by the club's hierarchy.

Robinho's capture was a stunning statement of intent by the Abu Dhabi United Group hours after they took control at Manchester City and they will regard Tevez as another significant marker in their mission to reach the Champions League.

Mark Hughes and Manchester City's millions have attracted big names since their elevation to the game's financial elite, but Tevez is a name known on a more global scale than Gareth Barry, Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bridge or Roque Santa Cruz.

And the fact that Tevez added gloss to that worldwide reputation at Manchester United - and where he was idolised to an exaggerated degree by the Old Trafford crowd - will only add another layer of satisfaction to this deal.

This is not a guarantee that City will gatecrash the top four, but it is an indication of how far they have come in 12 eventful months. The mere suggestion a year ago that City would spirit Tevez across Manchester would have been the cue for laughter or perhaps a short period of incarceration.

Finance will have been a huge driver in this deal for Tevez and to suggest otherwise would be naive in the extreme, but City can afford this deal and plenty more besides.

And they will regard it as an investment well made if he can accelerate their progress in line with the demands of chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.

How Tevez adapts to finding out how the other half lives in Manchester after his success-soaked seasons at Old Trafford will be key to the move.

Tevez, in my opinion, will not be a huge loss to Manchester United and his very obvious milking of Old Trafford's affection to apply pressure to Sir Alex Ferguson and the club's board towards the end of the season was lacking in subtlety and occasionally bordering on the provocative.

He did not produce the goals to justify the extent of this adulation - affection he is unlikely to see or hear replicated on his return with fierce rivals City. No-one can ever doubt his application and effort, but United need more if they are to repeat their Premier League title triumph and return the Champions League to the trophy room.

United insisted they were willing to pay the £25.5m to secure Tevez's services, but in reality he was never coming back to Old Trafford at that stage. The point of no return had already been reached.

The absence of Tevez, as well as the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, makes more room in the middle for Wayne Rooney - a superior talent and goalscorer to the Argentina international.

This, however, does not make him a questionable purchase by Hughes. He is an upgrade on what City currently have and he will be at a club where - and even Eastlands fans must recognise this - aspirations and expectations are currently on an entirely different level.

Would a huge outlay on Tevez have taken United on to another level? No. Will a huge outlay on Tevez improve City and help them towards their eventual target? Every chance. This alone makes perfect sense of City's new signing.

He fulfils two time-honoured transfer criteria. Is he better than what City currently have? Can they afford him? Yes, and most emphatically yes.

In the wider context, Tevez's arrival and the deadly serious pursuit of Terry, Everton's Joleon Lescott and even the failed attempt to buy Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o is a reflection of a new reality in football.

Manchester City, and the billions that make them major players in the market, are not going to go away. And they may just be revelling in the discomfort of established heavyweights as they exert their muscle.

Chelsea have not appreciated City's attempts to strongarm them into selling Terry while Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez made veiled references to Gareth Barry ending up at Eastlands as opposed to Anfield.

Benitez - with his new £17.5m full-back Glen Johnson in very close proximity - complained: "The market is now crazy. It is all money, money, money now."

Which begs the question: If Liverpool's owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett suddenly produced £100m for Benitez to spend, would he insist on handing it back to them on the basis it would advance the game further towards insanity? Possibly not.

Chelsea had no second thoughts about preying on those poorer than themselves and rightly so. It is the financial law of football and always has been.

The problem comes when, as invariably happens, someone bigger eventually comes along and you are on the receiving end. Tough to take when you have had a taste of that power.

There is an element of delicious irony in the boot suddenly being on the other foot - and you suspect there will not be a howling mob gathering at the gates of Eastlands to complain about their club's twisting of the transfer market.

Every supporter of every other club in the Premier League would love to be in City's position now. There will be stumbles along the way - the botched Kaka deal being a prime example - but these are more exciting times then when home-produced talent such as the now returned Shaun Wright-Phillips was heading for the exit.

The so-called "Big Four" is not a cosy private members' club and there is no law against Manchester City, or indeed anyone else, trying to muscle in by whatever means they have at their disposal.

Tevez may not be missed at United but, as a club in the process of major transition, he will enhance Manchester City and this makes the deal sound business for Hughes.

by **Scottbot** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 2:44 pm

I think most of you (and fans in general) are seriously under-playing the impact City could have this season. They are changing the face of football with the money they have been spending. The money they are rumoured to be offering John Terry and the fact he has gone straight back to Chelsea and asked for more of it to stay tells you everything you need to know about most footballers, that money TALKS. If they land John Terry and Adebayor and suddenly you are looking at a pretty strong spine of a team there:

Given, Terry, Richards, Barry, Ireland, Tevez, Adebayor....

If this lot get off to a good start and either ourselves, Arsenal or Chelsea struggle it will get very interesting next season.

by **fowler4ever** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 3:20 pm

no doubt they will have a strong squad with talented players, but all I can see is a big headache for hughes and city trying keeping those lot all happy,
lets face it all of them have had a bloody good moan at their previous clubs about money, who the club should sign, im here for life, how the team should look, i would love to play for this club, that club and the other club, im leaving, im staying. Apart from Given, all of these players have held there fair share of column inches in press and none of them in a positive light, and if you add robinho in the mix, ooh what an ego filled dressing room you have there.............they are individuals and will struggle to be a team................its only my opinion but far to many I love me players in there...............

by **Scottbot** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 4:01 pm

fowler4ever wrote:no doubt they will have a strong squad with talented players, but all I can see is a big headache for hughes and city trying keeping those lot all happy,
lets face it all of them have had a bloody good moan at their previous clubs about money, who the club should sign, im here for life, how the team should look, i would love to play for this club, that club and the other club, im leaving, im staying. Apart from Given, all of these players have held there fair share of column inches in press and none of them in a positive light, and if you add robinho in the mix, ooh what an ego filled dressing room you have there.............they are individuals and will struggle to be a team................its only my opinion but far to many I love me players in there...............

I agree with a lot of what you are saying there but if you can sign the likes of Terry, Barry and Tevez (regarldless of the money they're on) you are talking about 3 players who will work their socks off in every game. They're not just signing big-time charlies and the fact everyone on here has flippantly written them off seems a little crazy to me.

by **JamCar05** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 4:13 pm

Scottbot wrote:I think most of you (and fans in general) are seriously under-playing the impact City could have this season. They are changing the face of football with the money they have been spending. The money they are rumoured to be offering John Terry and the fact he has gone straight back to Chelsea and asked for more of it to stay tells you everything you need to know about most footballers, that money TALKS. If they land John Terry and Adebayor and suddenly you are looking at a pretty strong spine of a team there:

Given, Terry, Richards, Barry, Ireland, Tevez, Adebayor....

If this lot get off to a good start and either ourselves, Arsenal or Chelsea struggle it will get very interesting next season.

Agree with this. It should be very interesting next season. Hopefully not TOO interesting for our part though (RE our position in the top 4 of course). Will also be interesting to see what signings Wenger will come up with for Arsenal, if indeed they do sell Adebayor to City (which I happen to think is a good move by Wenger if they receive 20+ million).

by **ElNino9** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:42 pm

Oh dear...

Emmanuel Adebayor To Have Work Permit Hearing Tomorrow Ahead Of Manchester City Move - Report

The striker's move away from Arsenal seems to have edged a step nearer...

14 Jul 2009 16:38:44

Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor has moved closer to his potential switch to Manchester City, it seems, with Sky Sports News reporting that a hearing has been scheduled in Manchester tomorrow to determine whether the player can be awarded a work permit.

City's capture of another striker, Carlos Tevez from Manchester United, was confirmed today, as the club's bid to become a European and global powerhouse moves into overdrive.

Manager Mark Hughes had earlier confirmed to reporters that the Citizens were in discussions over a move for the Togolese, with reports yesterday suggesting that a bid of £22million had been prepared, with the Eastlands outfit prepared to offer the player £170,000 a week in wages - double what he is reported to earn at Arsenal.

Hughes has already signed Roque Santa Cruz as reinforcement for his forward line, and,with the likes of Craig Bellamy, Robinho and now Tevez at the club, it looks as though the Welshman is seeking the depth needed in a squad serious about challenging for a place the top four and beyond.

Zack Wilson, Goal.com

http://www.goal.com/en....w-ahead

by **Madmax** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 9:37 pm

Too many forwards...Mad feckers.... Anyhow they will still make an impact in the season. Dont think they will win but if they play consisten could see a top four finish.

by **dawson99** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 8:13 am

I love what they are doing. They are taking the important players of Manure, Arsenal and chelsea, and they still wont do anything. Cant be anything but good for us lol

by **SouthCoastShankly** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 8:38 am

dawson99 wrote:I love what they are doing. They are taking the important players of Manure, Arsenal and chelsea, and they still wont do anything. Cant be anything but good for us lol

How can you be so sure?

At some point the players they sign will create a side with quality throughout, exactly how Chelsea did.

Although I think its too much of a push this season, I can see 4th place being fought for heavily this season. Its clear that City need Champions League to promote themselves into a permanent top 4 place.

City will surprise people this season. Only the naive ones wont see it coming.

by **dawson99** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 8:50 am

SouthCoastShankly wrote:
dawson99 wrote:I love what they are doing. They are taking the important players of Manure, Arsenal and chelsea, and they still wont do anything. Cant be anything but good for us lol

How can you be so sure?

At some point the players they sign will create a side with quality throughout, exactly how Chelsea did.

Although I think its too much of a push this season, I can see 4th place being fought for heavily this season. Its clear that City need Champions League to promote themselves into a permanent top 4 place.

City will surprise people this season. Only the naive ones wont see it coming.

come back to me when they've brought someone who can defend. until then, i think they are signing some of the weirdest players possible, 10 strikers and a keeper?

by **tubby** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 9:22 am

This is all very worrying. I remember when Chelsea done this (granted they were already a top 4 side at that point) the next thing they won the league 2 years in a row. Is this what football has come to?

by **aCe'** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 10:04 am

they need 2 CBs before they'd even consider challenging for 4th spot imo...
Given is quality... ill give them Richards as a RB and Bridge as a LB... Barry in the middle with one of (Kompany, Dejong, maybe even Ireland or Elano if they're desperate)... when it comes to wide players they seem to be lacking... unless Robinho and Teves play the wide positions i cant see anything else working out for them... Petrov and SWP are very good players but not quite the top top class wide players you'd want to have in your side if you have that much money to spend... Upfront theyre as good as they come atm...

so for now they have a team that looks a little something like this...

Given

Richards XXXXX XXXXX Bridge

De Jong Barry

Teves Robinho
(Ireland)/
Adebayor SantaCruz

subs:
Dunne (Kompany)
Zabaleta (Onuoha)
Garrido (ben haim)
Ireland (Johnson)
SWP (Petrov)
Bellamy (Benjani)

**********************************

They have great depth to their squad and some of the players they'll have on their bench and quite honestly too good to be sat on a bench for a team that isnt winning titles... If i was Hughes id be doing whatever it takes to try and bring in Terry and Kolo Toure... if not then the Italian league is full of top defenders who would do well in the English league imo... Terry though would be a great buy for them.. they still need a leader for that side and they dont seem to have anyone who would dtep up and pull them out of sht if they cant get going at some stage... they'd need someone to organize their backline with all the attacking talents they have and they dont come much better than Terry...

On a side note... read somewhere that they're looking to do what Madrid are doing... in terms of developing a worlwide marketing scheme, selling jerseys around the world, having transfers pay for themselves in the long run..etc etc.... all long term stuff but if they can make the Cl in the next couple of years then they could very well turn into a forced to be reckoned with for years to come... if they arent one already

by **Greavesie** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 11:51 am

it won't be long before at least 10 of their players want away for first team football. My only fear is if they manage to get John Terry and a decet partner for him. Then I might worry a bit. Till then its just fecking funny

by **LFC2007** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 4:46 pm

aCe' wrote:they need 2 CBs before they'd even consider challenging for 4th spot imo...
Given is quality... ill give them Richards as a RB and Bridge as a LB... Barry in the middle with one of (Kompany, Dejong, maybe even Ireland or Elano if they're desperate)... when it comes to wide players they seem to be lacking... unless Robinho and Teves play the wide positions i cant see anything else working out for them... Petrov and SWP are very good players but not quite the top top class wide players you'd want to have in your side if you have that much money to spend... Upfront theyre as good as they come atm...

so for now they have a team that looks a little something like this...

Given

Richards XXXXX XXXXX Bridge

De Jong Barry

Teves Robinho
(Ireland)/
Adebayor SantaCruz

subs:
Dunne (Kompany)
Zabaleta (Onuoha)
Garrido (ben haim)
Ireland (Johnson)
SWP (Petrov)
Bellamy (Benjani)

**********************************

They have great depth to their squad and some of the players they'll have on their bench and quite honestly too good to be sat on a bench for a team that isnt winning titles... If i was Hughes id be doing whatever it takes to try and bring in Terry and Kolo Toure... if not then the Italian league is full of top defenders who would do well in the English league imo... Terry though would be a great buy for them.. they still need a leader for that side and they dont seem to have anyone who would dtep up and pull them out of sht if they cant get going at some stage... they'd need someone to organize their backline with all the attacking talents they have and they dont come much better than Terry...

On a side note... read somewhere that they're looking to do what Madrid are doing... in terms of developing a worlwide marketing scheme, selling jerseys around the world, having transfers pay for themselves in the long run..etc etc.... all long term stuff but if they can make the Cl in the next couple of years then they could very well turn into a forced to be reckoned with for years to come... if they arent one already

Onuoha will be a sub at the very least I should think, but I agree they need a couple of CBs except they aren't easy to come by.

I'm not entirely convinced by their midfield either really, Barry's obviously a brilliant signing for them but Kompany, De Jong and Zabaleta aren't gonna steam-roller anyone. Elano's a quality player, but more an attacking CM - and they have plenty in attack as it is, and while Ireland's a good player he isn't anything like what people have built him up to be.

Feck knows how they'll juggle their midfield let alone their attacking options. A Santa Cruz/Tevez partnership would be ideal, but why then sign Adebayor? You can't play with what is effectively four strikers in a sustained run in the Premier League. Where does that leave their superstar signings who expect to play regularly? Where does it leave the balance of the team?

by **Toffeehater** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 5:09 pm

I think they will line up something like this . Given as their goalkeeper , they need a left back as wayne bridge was sh!te for them last season when he signed , he really isn't the player he once was , so going by their current squad , i'd say they will play Richards at centre back with kompany , while dunne will be sold or on the bench with onouha . Their right back will be zabaleta . Their midfield will be a challenge , barry and de jong playing in the holding midfielders role with barry joining up whenever he can . Ireland on the left as he was their best performer last season , robinho on the right as he's versatile enough to play on the flanks and upfront . As for the strikers i'd go with tevez and santa cruz , cruz to hold the ball up for others to join in the attack . Tbh it does looked like a very very good city side , and even if they don't sign anyone else , they should be able to qualify for the europa league , maybe even champions league depending on the big 4 .

Given

Zabaleta Richards Kompany Bridge

Barry Dejong

Robinho Ireland

Tevez

Santa Cruz

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