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Tevez helped City to a 2-1 win last night but can the events of the past really be forgotten?
What a difference a month makes. Four weeks ago and Carlos Tevez had just returned to Manchester after his lengthy AWOL period in Argentina. With his tail between his legs, he made a grovelling apology to the club, the fans and manager Roberto Mancini. Last night Tevez returned to action, ironically coming off the bench, and set up Samir Nasri for the winning goal against Chelsea. It was the final step of Tevez’s reintegration with his team and the talk is now of Tevez powering City to their first Premier League title. My question is, do they really need him?
I can’t imagine many of the City first team welcoming Tevez back with open arms after he deserted them last September. That tension permeated the club and may have cost them against Swansea a couple of weeks ago. Tevez is not a different person, he is just back because he realised that no other club could afford to take him away from the Etihad. He needs to prove that he is willing to give 100% for the club, he needs to show passion and commitment whenever he steps on the pitch. I’d still treat him as if he’s ready to throw his toys out of the pram at any second and if it does then Mancini’s big gamble will have backfired spectacularly; what’s more is that any whiff of conflict between Tevez and his manager or teammates and the momentum swings back in United’s favour. Mancini is going to have to manage a very delicate balancing act here.
Don’t get me wrong, Tevez is a great player and any team would want him on their books but City coped perfectly well without him for the last six months. They became a solid unit and despite losing the lead in the title race, they were still favourites to be crowned Champions come May. Mario Balotelli was finally getting his head down and putting in some important performances, will he now be left to rot on the bench while Tevez steals all the glory? Will Tevez himself be happy to be used in a rotation system when that was what got him all riled up six months ago?
We’ve seen clubs throw away their title chances time and time again: Newcastle, Arsenal, Chelsea and even Manchester United. The most common factor in their decline was over-tinkering and Manchester City could easily find themselves going the same way. Aguero, Balotelli and Tevez could in theory fill the slots in a 4-3-3 but City have been brilliant with their fluid 4-5-1 all season and who then would Mancini drop from the midfield in order to placate Tevez? The little Argentinian (Tevez, not Aguero) isn’t even at full fitness yet and a yard of pace could be the difference between 1 point and 3; with United looking so strong at the moment, every point counts.
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Expect Mancini to go greyer before the end of the season
Yet Mancini could still turn Tevez into the most important player in the team. If I was Roberto, I’d use Tevez as a distraction. Take last night for example, the cameras were focused on Tevez even if as much as coughed and no-0ne remembers Aguero’s equalising penalty as well as the number of other chances he had. If you have the threat of Tevez on the bench, teams will have to come up with a plan to stop him just in case he comes on – that removes time for them to be focusing on your actual starting XI. Let Aguero and Balotelli get the early goals and bring Tevez on as an impact sub. If he impresses, give him a start here and there. Simple.
What interested me though about last night, and gave an insight into how little Mancini trusts Tevez’s fitness right now, was when he substituted Balotelli for Gareth Barry at half-time. You’ve got a world-class striker on the bench who is raring to go and he brings on a central midfielder. Maybe it was used to show Tevez that his road to regular football won’t be an easy one to walk but clearly there is still some resentment from Mancini to Tevez. The fans won’t forget what he did and unless he starts banging in the goals, they’ll be on his back straightaway.
Tevez doesn’t really change anything in regards to where the Premier League trophy is heading at the end of this season. The deciding game will still be City vs United on Monday 30th April but he could provide that extra talent that gives City the advantage. Conversely, he could just decide that Manchester is not really his scene and head off back to Argentina again. City have to face Stoke, Arsenal and Newcastle away before the end of the season while United have a much kinder run-in. Sir Alex Ferguson will be eyeing the return of Tevez intently, looking for any sign of trouble that he can exploit. Tevez cannot expect to waltz back into first team football and the affections of the City fans and Mancini has to ensure that he stays in control, that the players do not become distracted from their goal. Like I said, Tevez is a gamble but the rewards are enormous if it pays off.