Manchester United Blitz Blackburn As Tevez Scores Four

Manchester United made 10 changes from the side that beat Manchester City 1-0 at the weekend, but they weren't really troubled by a bedraggled Blackburn Rovers until the closing stages of this match.

Carlos Tevez bundled home a free kick as he tussled for posession with Aaron Mokoena put United ahead in the 36th and four minutes later, Nani played a one-two with Tevez before slotting under goalkeeper Paul Robinson. So add one assist to Tevez's four goals. Not surprising really as Tevez was his usual powerhouse with non stop hard work throughout the game.

Blackburn striker Benni McCarthy took just three minutes to make an impact after coming off the bench at half time. Roque Santa Cruz flicked on Robinson's deep goal kick, and after outmanoeuvring makeshift centre back Gary Neville, McCarthy fired past Ben Foster however, Tevez quickly restored United's two-goal lead in the 51st and made it 4-1 three minutes later.

Blackburn threatened a late comeback when Matt Derbyshire slotted under Foster in the 84th and McCarthy scored a second in the second minute of injury time.

Tevez further pushed his claims to a regular first-team place by finishing off Rovers before the final whistle when latching onto Anderson's lofted ball forward.

Another major boost for United was the return of midfielder Paul Scholes in the 66th for the first time since damaging knee ligaments in September.

Tevez said of his performance: "I was looking forward to this game and since I have not been playing often and it was a good night and I'm happy with my performance," Tevez said through Brazil midfielder Rodrigo Possebon, who was translating. I'm very proud to score four goals for the first time in my career and to do it in a United shirt."

This match will set up a semi final with either Spurs, who knocked Watford out 1-0, Burnley, victors over Arsenal having already beaten Chelsea or Derby County who got rid of Stoke City.

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Manchester United WILL Lose Carlos Tevez In January

Well that is to say, Manchester United will lose Carlos Tevez in January if you believe everything Real Madrid say. According to them, Tevez is Spain bound because United have delayed for so long over his permanent signing.

Madrid failed miserably in their attempt to lure Cristiano Ronaldo during the summer and now seem to think they can get Carlos Tevez to join them. I guess with the injury to Ruud Van Nistelrooy they are desperate for a striker now. I'm baffled as to why they don't follow the traditional route in their transfer dealings. That is to say, call the manager of the player you are interested in and then see if you can strike a deal. Using Marca and other half baked newspapers to do your dirty work and alenating everyone seems pathetic to me.

They'd like to see a deal done in the January transfer window, but as United have him on a 2 season loan deal, he's just not available to them. Unless of course they show some good manners and call Fergie, eat some humble pie and realise they are just a club from Spain to us.

Tevez is understandably a bit upset he has started so many games on the bench and now Real have seized the opportunity and are confident of signing him. The part of this rumour was the fact they said it was "In a complicated arrangement with MSI, who own the economic rights of the player". What on earth that is supposed to mean is beyond me and just makes Real look foolish in their games., United have paid a total of £6 million to loan him for two seasons. They would then have to part with a further £26 million to buy him outright. Talks about sealing the permanent deal have been put off and then put off some more and I feel Tevez is resigned to a move. In my mind £26m is just too much, that kind of cash will buy Karim Benzema. Add to this the fact Fergie has been talking about the buy back clause for Giuseppe Rossi as well as bringing Fraizer Campbell back from Spurs along with the recent signing of Zoran Tosic, I think the writing is on the wall for Tevez here......Back To Home Page...

I'm Forever Blowing 30 Million Quid

The end of the saga involving Manchester United's Carlos Tevez saga could finally be in sight after Sheffield United won a High Court battle with West Ham. Mr. Justice Teare granted a temporary order preventing the Hammers appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over a ruling they had breached Premier League rules when they played the Argentinean. Sheffield United now have the green light to pursue their arbitration claim for damages over the Premier League relegation in 2007 and could be in line for a £30million pay out.

The full court battle over whether West Ham can appeal the arbitration tribunal's findings will be heard in the High Court next year, where the Yorkshire club will seek a permanent injunction. An independent panel ruled that Tevez was ineligible to play for West Ham during the 06/07 season - a campaign in which he was deemed to have played a crucial part in their survival.

Sheffield United were relegated at West Ham's expense and their claim for damages will be assessed at a future arbitration tribunal meeting in private.....Back To Home Page...

How Can Tevez Possibly Stay Now ?

Carlos Tevez has clearly been relegated to 4th choice at Manchester United so is it really worth Manchester United spending £30 million on making his move permanent ? After starting just one of the last six Premier League games he is clearly fourth in the striking pecking order behind Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov.

The deal to turn his loan into a £30million permanent move was supposed to have been completed by now but so far all we have heard is excuses after excuse from Fergie about how the cash is available but the deal will be done in December, January, February etc etc. If they reached the summer and said "No thanks" it would not be a big surprise to any of us really.

While his penalty finally ended QPR’s resistance in the recent Carling Cup game, his all-round play hardly suggested he was grasping this opportunity with both hands. His finishing was awful, which is why United needed a late penalty to sink the Championship outfit and make it to the Carling Cup quarter-finals.

Right now Alex Ferguson has been linked with bids for Karim Benzema. He has also mentioned the possibility of recalling Frazier Campbell from Spurs in the January transfer window and we have Danny Welbeck impressing everyone too. Add to this the talk of the buy back clause for Guisseppe Rossi from Villareal and to me it seems Fergie isn't placing much emphasis on a United future for Tevez.

Alex Ferguson has spent big, big money to get his team back to the top - £29 million on Wayne Rooney, £32 for million Dimitar Berbatov, £19 million on Anderson, £29 million on Rio Ferdinand, the list goes on. With all these expensive signings some might argue what is one more? But with the credit crunch biting even Chelsea, Manchester United will need to make cutbacks. Can they really justify spending £30 million on a 4th choice striker ? That puts them in the leagues of Chelsea in terms of profligacy – so will the fans appreciate the success as much when it has clearly been bought ? .....
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Sign Tevez Or Sell Him, But Get On With It !!

Manchester United really need to get their arses in gear now if they have any REAL intentions of signing Carlos Tevez long term. Ruud Van Nistelrooy has crocked himself long term and is out for the rest of the season so guess who will come knock knock knocking on United's door again - yes Real Madrid !! I've had about all I can stomach of their nonsense in the press so I can't be bothered going through all that again. Either sign him or get rid of him. I personally think £30m for a 4th striker is silly money so I'd sell him but there we go, the final choice is Fergies.

United paid between £6 million and £10 million to sign Tevez on a two-year loan deal, which expires next summer, and those costs are expected to be included in the final fee, which could total as much as £30 million. That would leave United with about £20 million left to pay to Joorabchian, who owns the economic rights to the player......Back To Home Page

Carlos tevez On His Way ?

Carlos Tevez has clearly been relegated to 4th choice at Manchester United so
is it really worth Manchester United spending £30 million on making his move
permanent ? After starting just one of the last six Premier League games he is
clearly fourth in the striking pecking order behind Wayne Rooney, Cristiano
Ronaldo and Dimitar Berbatov.

The deal to turn his loan into a £30million permanent move was supposed to have been
completed by now but so far all we have heard is excuses after excuse from Fergie about how
the cash is available but the deal will be done in December, January, February etc etc. If they
reached the summer and said "No thanks" it would not be a big surprise to any of us really.

While his penalty finally ended QPR’s resistance, his all-round play hardly suggested he was
grasping this opportunity with both hands. His finishing was awful, which is why United needed a
late penalty to sink the Championship outfit and make it to the Carling Cup quarter-finals. (The
Sun)

Alex Ferguson has spent big, big money to get his team back to the top - £29 million on Wayne
Rooney, £32 million Dimitar Berbatov, £19 million on Anderson, £29 million on Rio Ferdinand,
the list goes on. With all these expensive signings some might argue what is one more ? But with
the credit crunch biting even Chelsea, Manchester United will need to make cutbacks. Can they
really justify spending £30 million on a 4th choice striker ? That puts them in the leagues of
Chelsea in terms of profligacy – so will the fans appreciate the success as much when it has
clearly been bought ? .....Back To Home Page

The Fat Argy Visits Manchester United

That big fat Argentinian bloke has paid a visit to Manchester
United's training ground as part of a whistle-stop tour of the
north-west as he takes the first steps in his role as national
team coach. Maradona was the shocking recent appointment
as Argentina boss but has already identified United striker
Carlos Tevez and Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano as
key men in his revolution. Hardly rocket science is it so he is
doing well so far ! His mission begins with a friendly against
Scotland at Hampden Park on November 19.

It is expected Maradona, who has never been forgiven in
England for his 'Hand of God' goal en route to Argentina's
1986 World Cup triumph, will meet both players, plus their
respective managers Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafael Benitez,
having already visited Real Madrid's Argentinian stars this
week.

Warm welcome: Sir Alex Ferguson greets Maradona at United's
training ground

The arrival of Maradona in Manchester will no doubt delight
Ferguson, who spoke warmly of his talents last week. However,
the United manager's biggest concern ahead of tomorrow's
meeting with Arsenal will be to reassure Tevez of his Old
Trafford future.

Maradona meets the rest of Manchester United's line-up

The former West Ham player has been consigned to a bit-part
role in United's season so far and looked distinctly unimpressed
when he was replaced by Wayne Rooney in the Champions
League draw at Celtic on Wednesday.

Maradona meets the Roon

Tevez keen to impress new boss

Maradona wants to speak with Tevez about his
role at the club, although a contract is yet to be
confirmed with the striker......Back To Home Page

The "Cheat" Is Coming To Watch Carlos Tevez

Now that Argentina have chosen a big fat bloke who cheats and takes drugs as their new manager we can all make up the standard jokes that will no doubt follow. One out of every ten people in Argentina are happy about this appointment so he isn't a too popular chpoice at all it seems.

Personally I can't stomach the guy !!! He is no advert to kids on how to behave. His most famous, crowning moment was when he used "The Hand Of God" nonsense to cheat England out of a World Cup Final !!

Now he is coming to England to check out Tevez and Mascherano, and will no doubt be given free tickets and treated like royalty.

“I am going to the country against whom I scored two goals [a 2-1 victory in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final] and also to Scotland,” Maradona, who has no top-level coaching experience, said yesterday. “I am travelling to England to watch Tévez and Mascherano play. And in Scotland I am going to make my coaching debut.” Good riddance to bad rubbish I say !! .....Back To Home Page

"We Can Do The Double Again" - Carlos Tevez

CARLOS TEVEZ, talking to the Sun newspaper, has said Manchester United are dead certs for another Double. Even though they are currently trailing behind rivals Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal in sixth in the Premier League. But Argie ace Tevez, 24, expects United to be on top come the end of May and let's be honest, the end of May is the ONLY time it counts for anything when you are on top.

"I am convinced the entire squad is capable of maintaining the challenge throughout the season and staying at the top of the Premier League. After Christmas we have to play teams like Chelsea and Liverpool at home. We are going to be up there all the way throughout the season because we have the quality throughout the squad to be doing that. I think we have the squad capable of retaining the trophy [Champions League]. Whether we host teams here in Manchester or away we are capable of giving anyone a game and of beating anyone in the competition. The usual suspects - Real Madrid, Inter, Barcelona, Chelsea and Liverpool - will always be there. Retaining the trophy is a challenge we are looking forward to." .....Back To Home Page

Kia Gettimg Impatient With The Tevez Deal

Manchester United, apparently, must move quickly to tie up a permanent deal for Carlos Tevez according our beloved Sun newspaper. They claim Kia Joorabchian is a bit unimpressed with the United board as he was promised a deal would be done pretty quickly and now United say it will be the summer. I was under the impression the cash was in place to sort this out but who knows !!

Joorabchian, who owns the striker’s rights, is not prepared to wait until the summer before sounding out other options with interest from both Real Madrid and Inter Milan — and no doubt across the road at Al-City.

He fears Tevez’s price is being driven down by his lack of first-team starts. There are also question marks over whether the money is there for the deal right now with the club £600m in debt in the middle of a credit crunch.

Tevez, 24, has started only one of the last seven games since the arrival of £30.75m Dimitar Berbatov. He was also upset at Louis Saha’s No9 shirt being saved for the Bulgarian......Back To Home Page

Manchester United To Sign 'Everyone'

Manchester United Football Club are in the running to sign Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi and Fernando Torres !! Ooops, I forgot David Villa too.

Despite having Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov and Cristiano Ronaldo at their disposal, the Reds will join Barcelona and Real Madrid in the hunt for the £35million-rated Lyon striker. Well that's the latest of a long string of reports I have read today anyway. I find it amazing that anyone would think Fergie would even consider deals such as this. It's not like £140m grows on trees to just snap these guys up. Then there would be the small problem of putting six of these eight superstars on the bench every game and they wont put up with that.

Benzema's agent Karim Djaziri is at the centre of all the rumours anyway, pimping his guy round Europe to wring every penny out of a possible deal ! The scourge of football is what these agents are, they should be shot !!

“Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United are not the only clubs following Karim because all the big European clubs are,” he told France-Football. Our contacts with the clubs are constant and our contacts did not start last year but since Karim is 16! But we are transparent with Lyon on every point and they are aware of everything happening.” .....Back To Home Page

Sir Alex Dismisses Real's Tevez Taunts !

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has dismissed talk of losing Carlos Tevez to Real Madrid. Not that many people actually believe the continued nonsense that Real Madrid continuously bellow from their buttocks !

"I don't have to send any message to Carlos," said Ferguson. "He knows where he is and how well we have treated him.

"He's been a smashing player for us and I wouldn't want to lose him. I'm quite confident he will be staying.

"There's no deadline. Originally, we were looking at the end of the season, but that's been brought forward and we have been having negotiations for some time.

"Hopefully, it will be resolved soon - we are ahead of things.

"I don't know if it's true Madrid want him. It could be, but I am not worried about that.

"I think we will be OK. I don't have any worries about him going." .....Back To Home Page

Real Madrid And Carlos Tevez - Here We Go Again

Real Madrid have now decided it is time to go after Carlos Tevez now with some limp, lame excuse that Manchester United are dithering over the deal. These so called Spanish giants are pathetic !!!

They have no ethics, no morals and they are really tedious in the way they conduct their business. Not unlike their newspapers actually, they are not averse to scraping around in the dustbins for any scraps of rubbish they can print.

United have expressed their intention to take up their option to sign the 24-year-old for £32million, but delays have left the deal in doubt. Now Real are monitoring the situation and will make their move if the English champions fail to sign Tevez before January 30, claims Madrid-based newspaper Marca, good old Marca, one story in 50 might, just might, approach reality !

Argy bargy: Carlos Tevez is fouled while on international duty for Argentina

The former West Ham striker is owned by an off-shore company and advised
by controversial Iranian agent Kia Joorabchian. Bernabeu coach Bernd Schuster wants to add attacking players after losing Robinho to Manchester City on the last transfer deadline day and also missing out on main target Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer. Sporting director Predrag Mijatovic has been charged with finding a world class striker and Real could be ready to do battle with United again after the Old Trafford club won a dirty summer tug-of-war over Portugal star Ronaldo.

The Spanish champions could be encouraged by Tevez's comments that adapting to the English game has robbed him of the kind of flair he used to show when playing in South America.

‘I’m not as dangerous, I’m not as effective in the penalty area anymore. 'That is something I have lost, and I have to get that back. I used to score better goals, great goals. But something strange has happened. I think it has to do with the fact that the person up front (in England) has to do a lot more for the team than just score goals. They have to play more for the team and I think I have sacrificed myself recently with regards to that aspect.’.....Back To Home Page

Slim Hope For West Ham In The Carlos Tevez Affair

The Court of Arbitration for Sport has offered hope to West Ham's appeal against a tribunal decision ordering compensation to Sheffield United. Sheffield United were relegated in 2006/07 and a tribunal ruled West Ham broke Premier League rules to sign Carlos Tevez, now with Manchester United who had a key role in keeping them up.

It all stemmed around the fact that Kia Joorabchiamclaimed to 'own' Tevez and West Ham were 'renting' him, a system the FA don't want any part of and have decided it was unlawful for this to have happened. Now the CAS is to hold a preliminary hearing today, 10th Oct 2008 to decide if there is any case to be heard at all.

West Ham have already appointed an arbitrator and submitted a 12-page legal document to CAS which argues that they haven't had the chance of appeal. West Ham are desperate to avoid such a large payout as they face now, believed to be around £30m given the current financial climate and the fact their Icelandic owners are on the point of bankruptcy anyway.

West Ham are saying they are not affected by the Icelandic bank situation and are dressing matters up as business as normal, despite admitting players must be sold before they can buy, they are saying manager Gianfranco Zola always intended to trim the squad.

These are difficult times for football clubs in general and West Ham certainly don't want to have pay out what could be up to £30m for something that happened two years ago....Back To Home Page

Why The Delay Over The Tevez Transfer ?

Carlos Tevez is now into the second year of his two year loan deal at Manchester United and none of us have heard any word of him being signed permanently, have we ? No, I didn't think so. So what is going on ? Surely we're not going to kick our hells, talk, talk and then talk some more only to suddenly realise Manchester City of Chelsea have nipped in through the back door, done a nice deal with Kia Joorabchian and our star man is off to play for somebody else.

Manchester United have denied there is any delay to their plans to sign Argentina frontman Carlos Tevez on a permanent deal. Tevez has expressed a desire to commit himself to the Old Trafford club, with his advisor Kia Joorabchian recently rejecting any interest in overtures from Manchester City but we all know things can change very quickly !

Sir Alex Ferguson also wants the deal done, believing Tevez to be part of his long-term plans for United. However, with no conclusion in sight, reports have emerged that Tevez is getting frustrated by the situation and is wondering why United are taking so long, it can't be a nice situation for him.

The Glazers have already said the cash for this deal, which should be around £30m is not a problem, despite the rather bleak financial outlook in the States.

Apparently United have denied there is any delay and that the original plan was to conclude the deal this year. A spokesman said: "The Chief executive David Gill told the papers in South Africa in July that we would hope to conclude a deal with Carlos before the new year. That is still our aim. The clocks haven't even gone back yet, so to talk of delays is nonsense. Both the club and Carlos are relaxed about the situation."

Well, let's hope they're right !!

That's Typical That Is, Just Typical !

There was me, writing in my Manchester United Blog how Rooney should get his bottom in gear and get fit again or he may find it hard to get his place back. Imagine my confusion when he actually started the game, huh. I made the fatal error of actually listening to the newspapers as they told us he would be out for 3-4 weeks.

He's in a rich vein of form right now too, scoring in his last three games. But it wasn't just Rooney impressing me against Blackburn, virtually the whole team has suddenly sprung into life, like a slumbering giant. Ronaldo was majestic on the wing as he bedazzled the defenders. Berbatov had his best game for United so far, he really does have such great vision as he showed with a couple of the passes he slipped through, one especially, to Darren Fletcher, that just made the whole Blackburn defence surplus to needs as they were all left to watch Fletch scuff his shot wide.

Tevez was his usual self, he he hit the post after some great work by Ronaldo and his work rateas again amazing. Overall, it was a walk in the park for United today. Blackburn just didn't seem to turn up. To be honest though, even if Blackburn were on the top of their form they still would have struggled against United today.

Just as Manchester United hit form and start to look good, we now have a 2 week break for international matches. Don't you just hate it when that happens ?

Hurry Back Rooney Or It's The Bench For You !!

I think Wayne Rooney's injury is badly timed. Not for Manchester United but more for himself !

I'm one of his biggest fans but it has to be said if he is out for a few games he might struggle to get back in the team and the main reason for that is Carlos Tevez.

Tevez linked up with Dimitar Berbatov is a mouth-watering prospect for me. We all know what Tevez is like, he never stops running and he gives 100% every single game. If he loses the ball he is not one of these guys who will stand there with his arms in the air, he is up and after the culprit who took the ball from him. He is always there, snapping at the ankles of defenders and annoying them. If they try passing it to one another he will run between them ready to pounce on the slightest of errors. To play against him must be every defenders worst nightmare come true.

Once he does get the ball back, that's the hard work done for him. With Berbatov in the middle, marked by one or two players, it doesn't matter to him, all Tevez needs do is get the ball into him, he has such a perfect first touch and a lightning fast footballing brain, he can turn defenders inside out and get his shot off. Theoretically, these two, Tevez and Berbatov, are a match made in heaven. If they do hit it off and form a good partnership while Rooney is away, would Fergie break it up again to accomodate Rooney ? I'm not so sure he would !

Of course, there is another option which I am keen to see Fergie experiment with. Play all three of them, Rooney, Berbatov and Tevez, add to that Ronaldo as well and can you imagine the opposition defenders then ? They would see the team sheet and go home. The only bad part of this formation is the fact Ronaldo is so lazy. If he is tackled the hands go up and he stands still looking at the ref. If he got his act together and tracked back then yes, go for it but it would be a gamble right now.

To play a 4-3-3 I would want Hargreaves and Scholes there too actually. Without those two forget it. With Scholes injured for 10-13 weeks it looks like Rooney better get fit again and quick, or he might be left out in the cold !!