The Guardian posted a poll asking its readers whether Manchester United should have kept Carlos Tevez. A surprising majority said ‘yes.’ Can this be chalked up to the fickle feelings of fandom? Or is it sincere affection for the man who scored 37 goals in all competitions while wearing red? For all of the Glazer family’s debt-loading, and for all of Man United’s injury woes, they lay only a point adrift of the top of the table with Hull City visiting Old Trafford this Saturday. And while the club cannot be considered Champions League favorites, they are certainly in position to make a deep run.
Re-signing Tevez would have cost Man United tens of millions of pounds at a time when Cristiano Ronaldo had not been sold yet. With both goal-scorers gone, many supporters clamored for a big name signing, such as Franck Ribery, to fill the void. Their biggest summer signing ended up being the skilled, but hardly dominant, Antonio Valencia. At the time, Sir Alex Ferguson, in discussing his transfer philosophy going forward, said the club would focus on acquiring players under the age of 26. A supporter who sees his pint half empty may curse the American buccaneer hands that have clasped the purse closed. A supporter who sees his pint half full may relish the opportunity to see raw talent mature from Carrington cub to Stretford End star.
Federico Macheda, Danny Welbeck, Darron Gibson, Gabriel Obertan and Mame Biram Diouf, who just scored a hat-trick in a reserve game against Sunderland Thursday, are several Man United prospects who could give the club a new identity in the near future. Of course, none of those players are currently contributing to the first XI on a regular basis, leaving the scoring burden mainly on Wayne Rooney as even a haircut hasn’t helped Dimitar Berbatov’s inconsistent form. And Michael Owen is, well, we’ll always have St. Etienne.
The eternal supporter debate is Win Now versus Build for the Future, or put another way, overspend for established talent or save to spread amongst several smaller signings.
What say you, EPL Talk readers, should Manchester United have kept Carlos Tevez?
he’s shown no respect for the gaffer nor the club. he is dead to real red supporters.
Thats nonsense…Tevez laid his life down for United every time he played…I would rather have sold off Berbatov after his first season and lack of attitude…Ronaldo on the other hand was never really committed to the United cause..He saw United as a stepping stone to The Bernabeau…The gaffer got it wrong big time by letting Tevez…Another player who I feel he should have kept was Pique…He would have slotted in easily during this injury crisis..
There’s only one Carlos Tevez….
Legend.
I think they “kind of” did, didn’t they? They certainly loved the player, but didn’t want to pay him and Kia the huge money. I think it is better they let him go in the end, especially considering his behavior at the end of last season and during this current one.
BTW, here’s an article that FSC tweeted this morning. Funny!
http://tinypic.com/m/732nhs/1
he did nothing but cry like a baby when he was on the bench last season. maybe he was deluded enough to believe he was as good as rooney?
25 million for a sulky sub? great idea! lol
Carlos is as good as Rooney, and even better. He had a hard luck with transfer and stuff. but still he is the only one who won the player of the south america three years in a roll. he won the olympic gold medals for his country. This year he and argentina will win the WC and rooney will again eat shit. It’s funny that people in EPL consider Carlos as same under dog, in here he has the same status as messi. Argentina will beat england again in WC, Carlos will show u who is your daddy.
@Alistair, they didn’t exactly show him respect by showing him the door. Carlos is all effort, and unlike Berbatov who sulks around the pitch. And Gary ( can’t grow a moustache) Neville is a prick of the highest order, and everyone knows that already.
I can’t stand City, well really what its become, but Carlos is the exception.
United met his asking price. Tevez and Kia have admitted as much. He left because he didn’t want to be part of a squad. Listen to the things he’s saying about Argentina now, too — that he’ll quit the national team if he doesn’t start more often. His true colors are shining through. Good riddance.
Didn’t Moneybags pay 47 million pounds for Tevez?
47 mil #s for El Apache? No way.
No mate it was about £25m a lot less than a you lot paid for Veron!!
Tevez is a good footballer, not a great one. He’s not worth what City paid, but then they have limitless supplies of dosh. We have greater problems to worry about right now. The Glazer family has just about bled us dry. Yes they have the bond issue but will any of that money be used for new players or help the Glazers only???
Carlos Tevez for 47 million pounds? Yeah, f*cking right.
Problem is that they didn’t replace him.
Ronaldo/Tevez -> Valencia/Owen is a MAJOR dropoff.
Tis a major dropoff, true. But that’s this season. Man United won’t be dropping out of the top 4 anytime soon, and if their youth pan out, which they are showing signs of doing, they will stay on top. Provided of course, the club and ground are not liquidated in some insane bankruptcy within the next 2 years.
everyone who says he wasn’t worth it are bitter Manure fans. he wasn’t right to go public wth his displeasure on the bench, but with the tabloids doinging what they do: what’s private anymore. we all know saf should’ve started him in the ucl final. tell me Manure supporters: how’s Berbatov working out for you?
I think some things need to be said here. I’m going to try and keep my opinion out of it and base my points on facts in interest of a good and fair debate.
1: We know Tevez was unhappy about not getting enough play time when he was at United. I am wondering how many people are aware he threatened to quit the Argentina team if he doesn’t get more play time? Threatening to quite your national team shows how much loyalty you have. Tevez as good as he is couldn’t tie the shoelaces of some of the Argentina squad so hes obviously being used sparingly but how would you excuse that behaviour City fans?
2: Tevez is a good player but United did not want to deal with Kia. If you deal with a player then you have no baggage to manage with the conmen who want their own cut of the money.
Kia Jaboochirans end goal wasn’t the £25 million he was asking for around £47 million when everything is done and said.
The FA and UEFA are trying to eliminate people like Kia from football for a reason. When somebody is whispering in your ear you don’t play for the team you play for money. Ferguson quite honestly had no choice but to get rid of him because of Kia. I mean come on guys lets not play dumb here if somebody is humping an athletes leg his interest is likely to be monetary.
Out of curiousity I wonder if City fans would prefer to deal with players or business men who claim to represent players.
3: Carlos Tevez at £47 million is not worth it. Damn Kaka didn’t cost much more than that and you could probably buy Ribery for that amount. It’s just way too much for a player like Tevez.
Theres a reason Tevez doesn’t get played a lot in the Argentina team. Simply put hes good but not that good.
Another question for City fans. If you had to pay £45 to £50 million for a player would Tevez be your first choice out of all the players in the world available for that much(I’m guessing Kaka, C Ronaldo and Messi would be the three guarunteed no sales at that price).
All in all Tevez was a good player but he wasn’t a Rooney or Ronaldo. He scored in short bursts but was incredibly inconsistent(the stats prove this by the way it’s not something I’m pulling out of my hat) and simply over the season his tally didn’t end up enough to give us a Premier League or Champions League title.
I think he will do well for City and I wish him the best but I don’t think he has what it takes to propel City to a Champions League title or a PL title as opposed to say like C Ronaldo, Rooney, John Terry, Drogba etc.
Just some real facts for all those wallys like Tyson.
1) Utd DID meet the asking fee for Tevez FACT! (believed to be £25.5m which was accepted ) The player turned them down because it had taken so long for a contract to be sorted out that he stated that they treated him with little respect, saying that other players at Utd would never be allowed to get in there final year of a contract without a offer (Never mind the last 6Mts) FACT!
2) Utd had already dealt with kia joorabchian as they took Tevez there in the first place never mind when they agreed the £25.5m fee. Both the F.A and UEFA encourage representatives etc to act on behalf of players just as the clubs have people who deal with player contracts so it looks like Tyson’s 2nd fact is proven to be crap as well a his first! Oh bye the way all players have agents you silly man!
3) Oh dear his 3rd is the funniest, Tevez cost £47m did he? The F.A would have to release a statement saying that there was a new British transfer record if this was the case, also why if the asking price is agreed at around £25.5m with one club would city offer nearly twice as much as the asking price? (maybe because the owners are total business failures, eh) use that pea in between your ears man! The only ones who say the price was £47m are nuggets like you or the odd gutter press hack with not one shred of evidence To back it up! but quite to the contrary everything points in the opposite direction!
Neither Ribary or Rooney have won as much as Tevez FACT! Also Tevez has won in different counties as well. The stats your not pulling out of you hat are clearly being pulled out of you arse! as there isn’t that much difference to Rooney and Tevez in the goals to time played ratio, its the same this season (Tevez has taken 1 penalty how many for Rooney?) He was not a automatic choice for his country because of a lack of form for a short period, but that’s not the case any more is it brains!
The truth is that Tyson HAS totally used his only own opinion and not ONE single fact. Tyson is a very bitter red (the bitterest I have ever read. FACT!! ) read some of his previous posts about City owners and how they will soon be broke (well he has his little fingers crossed anyway) as well as many other sly made up comments about any other team he obviously sees as a fret.
Now go and press your favourite thumbs button Tyson!!! Lol
how can anyone make an arguement for manU not keeping tevez. not signing him resulted in losing a great player, and handign a great player to their crosstown rival.
people can argue whether or not he was loyal enough to man you, did he deserve it, etc . . . but i don’t think a case can be made that puts a positive spin on losing that great of a player (for nothing) and allowing your rival to grab him.
tevez worth 25million. what he was saying is correct. but scolding between player is worst act so everyone must be punished.
It is obvious that for all his greatness Sir Alex missed on this one. Tevez is a winner. He won at Boca and Corinthians, has Olympic gold, rescued West Ham from relegation and was important for United. The club blew it by not signing him. Now that he is getting games as a featured player he is showing exactly what he can do. He has more goals than Rooney this year now.
@ Tyson
Great comment mate.. I totally agree..
Yeah i miss Tevez ( probably even more than i m missing ronaldo who was a “transfer-to-madrid ” waiting to happen) , but i dont find that i care anymore for him being let go by United. His attitude in the last season was terrible at best. Players like Fletcher , Wes brown had been on the fringes for a long time. They didnt complain much. Tevez thought he was somehow Maradona and didn’t deserve the bench.. For all the criticism aimed at the Gaffer , SAF has managed football more than half the people here have lived on this earth. So i don’t criticize him ever on his tactics… He did very good letting tevez go. A player that thinks he s bigger than the club is negative for every player in the dressing room.
He did not get much gametime because of that Bulgarian Berbatov…Fergie thought he was going in for another Van Nistelrooy..(like we all needed another one like him)…
@JLC21
Agreed…
I was an out and out teves fan.i wanted fergie to sign him up.but, after i saw him nagging so much in the press i started to feel a sense of dislike. Especial last season when roony got injured and carlos played quite alot, and the stats showed that he had more minutes on the pitch then roony and berba.but he continued to nag
‘Should Man United Have Kept Carlos Tevez?’ They had no choice as they were turned down by the player.
Your headline should be ‘Do United fans wish they could have held on to Tevez?’ and your poll ‘would you like to see Tevez still in a Man U shirt?’
Q:Should Man United Have Kept Carlos Tevez?
A: ManU couldn’t afford to do so.
Q: Is Tevez worth £25m
A: Depends on the market, but he is definitely worth much more than berbatov