Reuters Soccer Blog

Manchester City will struggle to offload pricey Tevez

It is quite conceivable Carlos Tevez will still be at Manchester City in February.

For all the talk of his City career being over, after the Argentine was accused by manager Roberto Mancini of refusing to come on in a Champions League game in September, no concrete offer has been forthcoming.

AC Milan are interested in cover for Antonio Cassano, out for months after heart surgery, but are keeping a lid on spending and only want a loan deal in the January transfer window.

City only want to sell Tevez and Milan’s proposal does not appeal. But City don’t have many other options if they want to recoup tens of millions of pounds in transfer fees.

Inter Milan could do with another forward and president Massimo Moratti said “we’ll see” when asked about Tevez.

Inter too are reining in costs with Financial Fairplay on the horizon and Moratti doesn’t want to spend big, seemingly ruling out his club in the pursuit of Tevez unless City relent and accept a loan with a view to a permanent move.

Juventus have yet to show their hand but with the side finally riding high in Serie A again after two seasons of woe, it could be dangerous to upset the apple cart in January by recruiting a personality like Tevez. How much Juve have to spend is also in doubt.

Soccer Break Thursday

So there were no incredible comebacks after all. Sorry Tottenham and hapless Heurelho Gomes, but the neutrals have got their Real Madrid v Barcelona semi-final and expect the hype to be greater than almost any two games ever played.

In the other semi-final Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson will be able to take a close look at Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who was largely untroubled by departing holders Inter Milan last night.

With Edwin van der Sar set to retire, United are on the lookout for a new keeper and many reports say Neuer is top if the list although Bayern Munich will also be sniffing. Atletico Madrid’s David de Gea has also been linked to Old Trafford.

Now Inter are out, what about a cheeky bid for Julio Cesar? Gianluigi Buffon may also be available from Juventus while Liverpool’s Pepe Reina may want to quit if they miss Champions League football again.

If you were Fergie would you instead try to persuade the giant Dutchman to play one more year? Look at how Ryan Giggs and Raul get better and better with age.

Van der Sar wont have to worry about Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez as the Argentinian is out of this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final while back in his neck of the woods Deportes Quindio, who fielded a junior side swamped 5-0 while their professional players were on strike over unpaid wages, have been handed a suspended 30-day ban by the Colombian government’s sports regulator.

The realities of world soccer are sometimes a long way from the riches of the Champions League.

Man City look to steal a merry march in the snow

Mother Nature has handed Manchester City the perfect chance to spend Christmas on top of the Premier League and with a decent fixture list over the next month their title prospects should start being taken seriously.

City have been underwhelming at times this season and the future of leading striker Carlos Tevez remains in doubt but with all their rivals grounded by heavy snow, Roberto Mancini’s millionaires will go top if they beat Everton on Monday.

With their next three matches against Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Blackpool, City could head into the New Year as the team to catch — although neighbours United still look best-placed in what is looking like an intriguing title race.

That said, whatever happens to Tevez, City will no doubt be eyeing the January transfer window eagerly.

While their squad is already bulging with big-money signings, several of whom like James Milner and Adam Johnson are struggling for a regular game, such is the wealth of the club’s owners that a few more cannot be ruled out.

City’s over-reliance on the goals of Tevez will worry Mancini and adding more firepower will be his priority.

Uruguay’s Luis Suarez, currently with Ajax, would fit the bill as would Wolfsburg’s Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko who by all accounts has set his heart on a move to City.

What next for pampered players — overcoats?

I blame the late, great Keith Weller of Leicester City.

He started the trend for “cold-weather clothing” when he pulled on a pair of white tights one winter’s day in the 1970s.

He did not know it at the time, but that began the wimpish drift towards gloves, hats and now the ridiculous snoods, or neck warmers, being worn by the likes of Carlos Tevez, Emmanuel Adebayor, and most fetchingly, Marouane Chamakh of Arsenal in the last few weeks.

At this rate, with winter now drawing in, they will be turning up and playing in overcoats by Christmas.

Things have deteriorated a long way since Weller’s heyday.

Players have been wearing gloves for years — some, bizarrely with short-sleeved shirts.

But the snood takes matters down to a whole new level. Tevez began the recent trend for them with a kind of roll-neck number while his Manchester City team mate Adebayor looks as if he is going out for a cross-country skiing expedition across the frozen tundra rather running out for a football match in Manchester.

Tevez provides sweet headache for Maradona

Carlos Tevez has quickly gained the love of supporters wherever he has played, first at Boca Juniors, then Corinthians, now in the Premier League, with his never-say-die attitude added to considerable ball skills.

On Monday in Buenos Aires, he played as if he were facing Brazil in the World Cup finals and not Canada in a friendly. He chased and harried for 70 minutes, laid on the second goal in a 5-0 win for Maxi Rodriguez, passed to Angel Di Maria for his celestial third goal of the night and got on the scoresheet himself.

Tevez will provide Diego Maradona will a headache at the finals in South Africa fighting for a place in the starting line-up among a quintet of strikers good enough to get into any top international team in the world.

“Diego’s got to open his head. I know he has an idea for his team and (playing) system, but he has to open his head and try other options too,” Tevez said last week when the squad began their World Cup preparations.

Maradona, too, has admitted to the difficulty posed by a forward section in his squad that includes Lionel Messi and Gonzalo Higuain, the top two scorer in La Liga, Champions League winning striker Diego Milito and Sergio Aguero, who needed just a minute on the River Plate pitch to score the fifth goal on Monday.

“It’s tough leaving Carlitos out, eh,” Maradona was quoted as saying over the weekend.

Argentina’s fans left the Monumental stadium confident they have a team to fight for the title, regardless of any misgivings some may have about Maradona’s ability to coach them on the practice field and, more importantly, when the chips are down on the pitch.

Argentina’s World Cup squad falls into place

After the century of call-ups and largely meaningless tests against mediocre opposition in friendlies, not to mention the lack of direction in the qualifiers, talent and form look set to win out in the race for places in Argentina’s World Cup squad.

Most if not all 20 of the players picked by Diego Maradona for the warm-up against Germany in Munich on March 3 would appear to have booked their ticket to Argentina’s Pretoria World Cup base in June.

Of the wide range of players considered in the Argentine league, only experienced defender Clemente Rodriguez and Juan Sebastian Veron of South American champions Estudiantes and Velez Sarsfield centre-back Nicolas Otamendi are in the friendly squad.

So, given that the World Cup squad will probably have no surprises, perhaps a team can emerge capable of mounting a decent challenge for Argentina’s third world title.

But there are several key questions Maradona needs to address, notably in midfield.

At the back, having apparently discarded 136-cap Javier Zanetti and Pablo Zabaleta, he has a good right back in Rodriguez and his Estudiantes team mate Marcos Angeleri, who damaged knee ligaments early last year, may recapture the form that earned him a call-up. 

On the left, Maradona would appear to be happy with Gabriel Heinze, who is also a reserve centre back. But Argentina need another option at left back. Will Emiliano Papa of Velez Sarsfield, Luciano Monzon of Boca Juniors or Liverpool’s Emiliano Insua sneak in the back door?  

We predict the worst … you show us how it’s done

It seems like ages since we last managed a proper weekend programme*  but at last, here we are, with an all-singing, all-dancing snow-free extravaganza, with the dubious attraction of Arsenal v Man Utd’s traditional handbags at 10 paces highly competitive fixture being shown in 3D at select boozers across the land.

Below you will find the Reuters Soccer Blog standings and predictions for the week but remember, we’d like you to join in as well. If you’re a newcomer, you get 10 points for correctly predicting the exact score from the weekend’s Premier League game, or two for getting the right result. (If you’ve been with us for a while, it’s five points and one point).

Being on double-bubble means you can catch us up in no time, especially with huge bonus points on offer for incidental details like scorers, penalty misses, substitutions, or indeed anything else. So please send in your scores and have the satisfaction of out-predicting the stat-obsessed football nerds here at Reuters Soccer Blog Towers.

Reuters Soccer blog panel: Patrick Johnston 194, Mitch Phillips 182, Paul Radford 181, Neil Maidment 166, Kevin Fylan 148, Mark Meadows 142, Simon Evans 142, Julien Pretot 137, Mike Collett 132, Asia Sports Desk 115, Martyn Herman 109, Miles Evans 107, Sonia Oxley 71, Justin Palmer 41

Here are this week’s matches … leave your predictions in the comments.

Birmingham City v Tottenham Hotspur: Patrick Johnston , Mitch Phillips , Paul Radford 1-0, Neil Maidment 1-1, Kevin Fylan 0-2, Mark Meadows 1-2, Simon Evans 1-1, Julien Pretot , Mike Collett 0-2, Asia Sports Desk 2-2, Martyn Herman , Miles Evans 1-3, Sonia Oxley

Fulham v Aston Villa: Patrick Johnston , Mitch Phillips , Paul Radford 1-0, Neil Maidment 0-1, Kevin Fylan 0-2, Mark Meadows 0-1, Simon Evans 1-2, Julien Pretot , Mike Collett 1-1, Asia Sports Desk 1-2, Martyn Herman , Miles Evans 1-0, Sonia Oxley

Can Manchester City win the Premier League?

Fuelled by millions of petro-dollars from the apparently bottomless pockets of their Abu Dhabi owners Manchester City have spent the summer accumulating what is beginning to look, on paper anyway, a squad that will challenge for the title.

Significantly, the players bought by manager Mark Hughes are tried and tested in the Premier League which augurs wells for City’s chances of shaking up the established pecking order in English football.

Opposing managers must have watched with a growing sense of awe and no doubt a little envy as Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers), Carlos Tevez (Manchester United), Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal) joined to form a formidable looking strike force while defender Kolo Toure (Arsenal) was recruited to beef up the back four and England midfielder Gareth Barry signed from Aston Villa.

Consider the likes of Robinho, Craig Bellamy, Shaun-Wright Phillips, Wayne Bridge and Micah Richards, who were all part of last season’s team, and City already boast arguably the strongest squad in the Premier League with the transfer window nowhere near closing.

But can they win the league? Are the new recruits going to bridge the 40-point gap between champions Manchester United and City last season or eben the 20-odd extra points they will need to challenge for a Champions League spot.

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill certainly thinks so.

“City might not be favourites to win the league, but they should be,” O’Neill said last week. “They have as good a chance as anybody of winning it.”

Tevez is a game changing signing for Manchester City

Manchester City are finally shopping at the luxury end of the market, as befits their status as the richest of the rich, and as a result the fans can start to get excited about the new season.

Back in January I blogged about the depressingly familiar rollcall of mediocre players being linked with City: the likes of Scott Parker, Roque Santa Cruz, Craig Bellamy and Matthew Upson.

I suggested they aim a bit higher and sure enough they went in at the nosebleed end of things with a bid for Kaka. As we all know, it didn’t come off, and no one of that quality came in in January, but with the arrival of Carlos Tevez (and to a lesser extent Gareth Barry, who was wanted so badly by Liverpool) things have changed.

Now Tevez is there, I’d expect more big names to follow. Togo striker Emmanuel Adebayor may be among them, and there’s still an outside chance that John Terry could fellow.

Whether those moves come off or not, things are already looking up for City fans. The arrival of Tevez means they are players at last. Watch out Real Madrid!

PHOTO: Argentina’s striker Carlos Tevez smiles as he leaves after a training session at the squad’s camp on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, June 4, 2009. REUTERS/Marcos Brindicci

Transfer fee and salary caps edge closer

Manchester City’s failed 100 million euros plus bid for AC Milan’s Kaka now begs the question: should there be a limit on the amount of money a club can pay for a player or should there be a salary cap?

Some of Europe’s top soccer clubs and the game’s European governing body UEFA seem to think so, with the news that they have started talks on curbing the amount of money that can be spent on player transfers or wages.

Sources familiar with the discussions have told Reuters that the European Club Association (ECA) — which represents the continent’s leading clubs such as Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan — has proposed clubs should only be allowed to spend around 51 percent of their revenue on transfers or salaries.

Under the ECA proposal, revenue would be determined as money received only from ticket sales, sponsorship, merchandise and television income. It would not include any financial investment by owners or major shareholders. (more…)