PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS ROUND-UP:ROBERTO MANCINI has taken the extraordinary step of instigating peace talks with Carlos Tevez by inviting him to his house for a clear-the-air meeting that could represent the first move to repair their working relationship at Manchester City.
Mancini, who had previously described Tevez as “finished”, rang the striker on his mobile phone on Wednesday night to suggest both men could benefit from a face-to-face discussion away from the legal process that has provided the biggest controversy of the football season to date.
Tevez was driving back to Manchester after flying into Heathrow from his holiday in Buenos Aires, but diverted to Mancini’s house in Alderley Edge, arriving at 1.30am, and the two men stayed up into the early hours discussing the events that had seemingly fractured their relationship.
The meeting ended with the two men shaking hands but, crucially, Tevez did not accept Mancini’s request for him to apologise for what had happened in the Champions League match at Bayern Munich on September 27th.
Mancini had promised if Tevez said sorry the player would be allowed to return to first-team training, though he stopped short of suggesting he would also bring him back into consideration for a recall to the side.
Tevez said he could not apologise, reiterating his story that he was guilty of refusing to warm up but had not declined to go on the pitch as a second-half substitute. He argued it was a simple breakdown in communications and aired grievances about losing his place in the team and no longer being the captain. Mancini, in turn, told him the coaching staff did not think Tevez was fit or focused and blamed him for returning so late from the Copa America and missing almost all of pre-season.
Despite the sensitive and political nature of the talks, the meeting took place with Mancini serving coffee and both men showing a cordiality that represents a remarkable change of direction given the antipathy that had existed.
Until now, Mancini had given no indication whatsoever he was willing even to entertain the idea of a reconciliation. But the scene in Alderley Edge was of Mancini asking his former captain about his state of mind and how the last two weeks had affected him, and the conversation even veering into other general football topics and small talk.
Where they go from here remains to be seen but Tevez’s decision not to apologise ensured he began his first day back at the club’s training ground yesterday working apart from the rest of the senior players. The former Manchester United striker spent 90 minutes doing one-on-one drills with a fitness coach and that will continue until he is deemed fit enough to start training with the club’s youth-team players.
In the meantime Tevez is preparing as normal for his disciplinary hearing and the only thing that has changed in terms of that process is confirmation it will now be next week.
Mancini is no longer directly involved and Tevez will be informed at that meeting that the club’s initial findings have found sweeping evidence against him.
He faces a possible four-week ban to add to the fortnight he has just served, plus the maximum six-week fine permissible under Professional Footballers’ Association guidelines – the equivalent of around €1.7 million. Tevez intends to appeal, first through the club, and if the decision is upheld he will take the matter to a second appeal, this time via the Premier League.
There is also still a desire on both sides for a transfer to be arranged in the January transfer window, though the latest developments will inevitably invite speculation that there may yet be a reconciliation between two men known for their pride, ego and stubbornness.
That is certainly the hope among the club’s owners in Abu Dhabi but it would need a climbdown on Tevez’s part and that does not appear to be coming.
Guardian Service
HENRY WAS INITIALLY AGAINST APPOINTING DALGLISH
JOHN W HENRY, the principal owner of Liverpool, has suggested his Fenway Sports Group has overpaid for players, particularly in Boston and also in Liverpool, since they bought the football club a year ago this Saturday, writes DAVID CONN.
Kenny Dalglish, appointed Liverpool’s manager in January – which Henry described as “a calculated gamble” because he was not initially convinced Dalglish should return to management after an 11-year absence – has since spent €126 million on players. Asked whether Liverpool achieved value in the transfer market or overpaid for Andy Carroll and the other players, Henry suggested they felt they needed to show fans of both clubs they were prepared to make signings for big money:
“There was a lot of criticism in Boston we weren’t going to spend money on the Red Sox after we did the LFC transaction. We spent something like $300m (€343m in the off-season in Boston [on salary for hitters Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez], and then there was the fear we wouldn’t spend in Liverpool.
“It is really surprising, ironic, to be now accused of overspending. Usually owners are accused of the opposite. Hopefully the fans of both clubs will eventually see what we see clearly – there is nothing to fear from the existence of the other club and Fenway Sports Group is much stronger financially because of Boston and Liverpool.
“Choosing players in any sport is an imperfect science. We certainly have been guilty of overspending on some players, and that can be tied to an analytical approach that hasn’t worked well enough.”
Henry said he had not wanted to appoint Dalglish.
“Kenny is certainly charismatic and beloved by the fans,” Henry said. “I wasn’t convinced when we arrived that Kenny should be back managing and I wanted things to work with the manager we inherited.
“But the fans knew much more than I did. Then Ian Ayre [whom Fenway appointed Liverpool’s managing director] was a catalyst. Damien (Comolli, director of football strategy) was a gamble. Kenny was a gamble. But they were both calculated gambles. They both have the advantage of being passionate about their work and are both very clever.”
Guardian Service
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