Archive for the ‘Twisted Thoughts’ Category

Deconstructing Dimitar

May 9th, 2010 by Twisted_Woody

Note: For those statistically brained folks out there, these are the stats that I used in this piece.

Games Started, Games used as a Sub, Goals, Assists, Shots, and Shots on Goal. Goal per cent is defined as the number of goals divided by the number of shots on goal times 100%. Shot Accuracy is defined at the number of shots on goal, divided by the number of shots times 100%.

Also, I am only using statistics for the Premier League. I am excluding all Cup competitions, friendlies, and Internationals. The statistics are up to and including May 4, 2010.

Preface

The majority of us want Berbatov gone because he isn’t scoring goals that we feel a 30 million pound striker should score. Well, some of his misses are quite amazing so we could generalize that even further and say that he isn’t scoring goals that we feel we could score.

Just to set the record straight, when I perform a comparison with Berbatov, I am omitting Rooney from the analysis. I consider Berbatov to be a support striker to Rooney and am comparing him with the other members of the supporting cast, this season Michael Owen, and last season Carlos Tevez.

Now, to get everyone angry at me I’m going to make an audacious statement: Berbatov is not playing badly. He is doing exactly what he did at Tottenham, and exactly what the statistics say he can do. The statistics tell the real story.

Berbatov vs. Berbatov

Before I drag in other players, we have to understand Berbatov’s overall performance in the Premier League.

The only story with regard to Berbatov’s appearance record is that the 2009/2010 season has seen him start less than in any other season in the Premier League.

Since it is the cornerstone of the argument, lets talk about goals. With Tottenham, he scored 12 goals in his first season, 15 in his second season and gained 11 assists each season. With United he bagged nine goals in his first season and 12 in his second. At first glance these numbers are fairly consistent. He is still scoring as much as he ever did, so what’s the problem?

The first problem is assists: He has nine assists in his first season with United, which is respectable given his history at Tottenham, but only four assists this season. For a player who relies on his first touch and finesse with the ball he seems to have stopped giving passes that lead to goals.

I don’t have a statistic for who scored on each of Berbatov’s assists. If it was Ronaldo, perhaps that explains the assists drought.

Fac(h)t number one. Berbatov has assisted less this season.

That is hardly a deal breaking statistic though. We’re only missing five assists from last season so the problem must be somewhere else.

If you don’t shoot, you don’t score

We have established that Berbatov has consistently kept up his scoring record.

The record, however, is meaningless if he requires a million shots to get those dozen or so goals each season. In his first two seasons with Tottenham he had 81 and 98 shots respectively, with 48 and 58 hitting the target. Of those 48 shots on goal he had 12 goals In his second season he had 15 goals from 58 shots.

This corresponds to a goal percentage of 25 per cent in both seasons.

That is incredibly consistent. He had a shot accuracy of 59 per cent in his first season and 59 per cent in his second season.

I’m not making this up.

He was that consistent.

These numbers are what (I hope) persuaded Manchester United to fork over 30 million pounds for him in the summer of 2008.

His first season at United saw him score nine goals. He had 56 shots with 24 on target. Nine goals from 24 shots on target make a goal percentage of 37 per cent. That is over 10 per cent higher than at Tottenham.

This season he has 12 goals from 34 shots on target; a goal percentage of 35 per cent. Once again, he is proving to be consistent.

So what is the damning statistic? It’s one I didn’t expect: Shot Accuracy.

With Tottenham he was remarkably consistent over two seasons. In 2008/2009 at United he had a 43 per cent shot accuracy. With one game to go in 2009/2010 he has a 37 per cent shot accuracy. Obviously, a vast majority of his shots are going wide, or over the bar, or both. This will kill anyone’s confidence.

Perhaps the heckling United supporters aren’t helping. We are quite demanding and players are expected to perform regardless of their surroundings. I know many people will say something about his pay packet and how he should perform as a result. Well, to them I have this to say: Money doesn’t buy happiness, nor does it buy confidence. He is only human after all.

Berbatov vs The Others

Round 1: Berbatov vs Owen

This is going to be short and sweet since Owen hasn’t featured much this season. Sadly for Michael, he has only made five starts and 14 substitute appearances. He has three goals and no assists. This season, Owen managed 20 shots and put eight on goal, with three resulting in goals. This gives him a goal percentage of 38 per cent and a shot accuracy of 40 per cent. Although his numbers are comparable to Berbatov’s, the small number of appearances and consequently shooting opportunities limits ones’ ability to find a meaningful comparison. Interestingly though, despite the small numbers, the goal percentages and shot accuracy are fairly similar to Berbatov.

Goal Percentage: Berbatov 35 per cent vs.  Owen 38 per cent
Shot Accuracy: Berbatov 37 per cent vs. Owen  40 per cent

Round 2: Berbatov vs Tevez. The Final Fight.

Right, so who performed better last season?

Tevez only had 18 starts last season, and made 11 substitute appearances. Despite the difference in starts, both had a similar appearance record (Tevez at 29 and Berbatov at 31). Tevez only scored five goals. However he had more shots than Berbatov (66) and almost as many on target (21). Many people, including myself, wanted Berbatov gone and Tevez to stay. Tevez had a goal percentage of 24 per cent (Berbatov had 38 per cent). Tevez’s shot accuracy was 32 per cent compared to Berbatov’s 43 per cent.

Many point to the fact that Tevez would have done better had he had more starts and acquired more confidence from a presumed increase in goal output. Let’s look at Tevez’s first season at United (pre-Berbatov).

Tevez had a goal percentage of 25 per cent; 57 shots on goal, and 14 goals. That goal percentage is incredibly similar to his last season with United, so why did we all interpret him to have a good first season, and a poorer second season?

That statistic is back; shot accuracy. In Tevez’s first season he had a 62 per cent shot accuracy. In his last season that number was down by half. Something shot dear old Carlos’ confidence and his performance suffered.

This tells us something interesting about us as supporters. We view shots on goal to be an indicator of performance as opposed to number of goals, or importance of goals. I definitely thought Tevez had a better first season, and that Berbatov was better last season when, in fact, the only statistic about either player that worsened in their second season was their ability to put the ball on target.

Interestingly, Tevez has a 42 per cent goal percentage and 46 per cent shot accuracy with Manchester City. This is a marked improvement on his last year with United, but still short of his accurate days of 2008/2009 (albeit he is scoring more for City, but that is probably due to the change in position).

Berbatov in Context

My last point stems from a comment I read some time ago: Berbatov scores as much as he ever did, but his goals were never as important as the one’s Tevez scored.

In essence, this is saying that Berbatov doesn’t score important goals, others do. This is a good point, potentially. 12 goals a season sounds nice, but if they are at the end of 5-0 drubbings then they are hardly useful unless the title comes down to goal difference (which it almost has several times).

First, let us define what an Important Goal is. It is one that wins a game, gives a team a lead (go ahead goal) or equalizes. With that established, I will now compare Berbatov, Owen (again, briefly), and Tevez (last season).

2009/2010 – Berbatov and Owen

Once again, this will be short since Owen only scored three goals. Of Owen’s three goals, one is deemed important (winner vs. City). Berbatov currently sits on 12 goals and has exactly five Important Goals, and seven ‘other’ goals. He has no game winners, which is something that removes luster from his spectacle.

Every single one of his Important Goals has been the first goal of a match, and the go ahead goal in four of them, and the equalizer in one of them. Of his twelve goals, 42 per cent are important compared to Owen’s 33 per cent.

2008/2009 – Berbatov and Tevez

Of Berbatov’s nine goals, four were Important, or 44 per cent. Tevez scored five goals and three were Important, or 60 per cent.

Given how few goals were scored between them it is hard to point fingers and say who is better. Perhaps simply saying empirically that Berbatov had four Important Goals compared to Tevez’s three is sufficient.

I have noticed something interesting though.

Berbatov scored fewer Important Goals (ok, only one less) but we deemed him to be a better player last season. Perhaps it is this: three of the four goals were game winners, with one in the last minute of play. Two of those winners were the only goal to be scored in the game and were also go ahead goals (in other words, 1-0 wins).

Since Tevez does not have enough goals during his second season to really give a good comparison, I thought I’d try to compare Tevez’s first season to Berbatov’s first season. Tevez had 14 goals in his first season. Six were considered Important giving an Important Goal percentage of 43 per cent. He had four go ahead goals, two of which ended up being winners, and two equalizers. Percentage wise, Tevez and Berbatov were fairly similar in their first seasons (in terms of Important Goals).

The Deal Breaker – Who steps up in big matches

Ok, so it’s been established that Berbatov slightly out-performed Tevez in goal percentage and shot accuracy, likewise when you compare to Owen. Also, the Important Goal breakdown is slightly inconclusive, it just supports my argument that Berbatov isn’t playing badly with respect to what he’s shown in the past. The last question to address is; which of the important goals are scored in big matches?

Definition of a big match: a match against Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, or Liverpool.

Owen has one goal against Manchester City, a crucial game winner. Tevez has three over his two seasons (two in the first season, one in the second).

Berbatov has zero.

In fact, in big matches Berbatov has only one goal in his two seasons here (the third goal scored against Chelsea last season), compared with Tevez’s total of four goals. This points to a lack of confidence, as well as an inability to perform in high-pressure situations. Even Michael Owen has one “big match goal” and he only has three goals to look at.

What to do with Berbatov?

After all this painstaking analysis it points to one fact: Berbatov is lacking confidence. A number of factors could be the cause of this. I can only guess, really. If it is the environment that he is in, then he should change clubs and move to an environment better suited to him. If it is something to do with him personally, psychologically, then perhaps a sports psychologist is the answer to his woes.

Unfortunately his woes are United’s woes. Luckily enough though, he isn’t underperforming in terms of goal output and his output matches what it did for Tottenham, it’s just the process of getting there that is suffering. His shot accuracy has dropped by almost half and he is matching his goal output. One can only imagine how many he’d score if he could hit the target more readily.

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The England Captaincy since 1992

September 5th, 2009 by Twisted_Woody

For the purposes of this blog, writing about every England Captain isn’t possible,  but to cover the last decade and a bit seems reasonable. Essentially, I’m writing about the England Captains after the Premier League came to be. The demands that I feel should be made of an England Captain in 2009 would be unreasonable to ask of a captain in, say, 1953. For this reason we cannot compare over such periods of time.

I feel that an England Captain should not only be an excellent player who displays leadership and command abilities on the pitch, but also be a good role model for all his supporters.

Typically, when we look at the decline of a person or an office, we see a slow, steady regression. But the England Captaincy seems to have fallen off a cliff.

For this reason, I have a problem with John Terry being captain.

Since 1992, the following players have held this prestigious title:

•    Stuart Pearce (1992-1993)
•    David Platt (1993-1995)
•    Tony Adams (1996)
•    Alan Shearer (1997-2000)
•    David Beckham (2000-2006)
•    John Terry (2006 – present)

Before I can rant about John Terry I should discuss in brief each of the above captains, and any areas they may have faltered in. Playing ability is not an area for consideration. Essentially I’m looking for any reason the above players may have been poor role models for those who looked up to them.

Stuart Pearce< is not my favourite person in the world. This is mainly due to his Manchester City connections, but regardless, the closest he has come to controversy was when he left Theo Wallcott on the bench earlier this summer. I suppose his brother’s connections to the British National Party raises a few questions about Pearce’s personal life, but he has come out and said “My brother's views are his own and do not in any way reflect mine.”

David Platt is currently a pundit and writer for 442 magazine. I did some digging on him and really didn’t find anything relating to controversy. He seems a rather boring fellow to be honest (sorry David). I can speculate he just keeps a low profile, perhaps doing charity work behind the scenes, I really have no idea.

Tony Adams was not the shiniest apple in the barrel. He is known to have had a problem with alcohol and drugs. However, in response to this he founded Sporting Chance Clinic, a charitable foundation aimed at providing rehabilitation to athletes who suffer from alcoholism and/or drug addiction. He wasn’t the best example of a good England Captain, but you could say he redeemed himself in the end.

Alan Shearer was one of England’s top strikers. He went to Newcastle United instead of Manchester United and as a result Sir Alex brought an unknown player in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. For this reason alone I like Alan Shearer, as does anyone else who remembers May 1999, not to mention every other appearance made by Solskjaer. Like the England Captains before him, Shearer was mainly known for his performance on the pitch, and such performances have left him joint 5th on the England all time goal scorers list. He is also a family man, opting to remain in England despite overtures from teams such as Juventus and Barcelona, simply because he didn’t want to uproot his family. Furthermore, his long list of charity work and charitable donations should not go unmentioned. He raised £1.64m during his testimonial match and donated it to fourteen separate causes. I could go on, but due to the poor attention spans of most posters I’ll stop here. If you want to read about him I suggest using Google and appending “charitable work” to the end of his name.

David Beckham is an interesting captain to look at. I fear I might be writing this with a bias. David Beckham is a celebrity as well as a footballer. During his prime, he was one of the best right sided midfielders in the world. The problem with Beckham, some felt, was his celebrity brought undesired attention to the England team and Manchester United, and he was often thought of as “too big for his boots”. However, he didn’t do much wrong as England Captain, both on and off the pitch. He was accused of having extramarital affairs with two women – Rebecca Loos and Sarah Marbeck. There has never been any proof of such affairs taking place, but this controversy is the closest Beckham came to being a poor role model during his time with the armband. He is a supporter of UNICEF and is a goodwill ambassador for them. On January 17th, 2007 he made a phone call to a cancer patient, Rebecca Johnstone (passed away January 29, 2007), in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and sent her a signed Real Madrid shirt.  He also participates with U.S. related charities such as MLS W.O.R.K.S.

One moment that stood out for me was that while several England players were being photographed getting piss drunk at a bar (I believe it was Shawn Wright Phillips and some others), Beckham was getting publicity by doing work for UNICEF in Sierra Leone (I’ll be honest, I can’t remember the country, I think it was Sierra Leone, but I could be wrong). I felt that moment showed the difference between the current crop of England players, and the last generation (Scholes, Beckham, Owen, Shearer).

It was at this point that the aforementioned “falling off the cliff” fiasco took place.

I give you: John Terry, England’s Lion and resident Big Man. To begin, I did some searching around for John Terry and charitable work he has done. I can’t find any. Perhaps he keeps it under the table as to not draw attention but somehow I doubt it. Big Men like attention. I searched around the Internet for the positives and negatives of John Terry. All I have found are negatives. Here is a headline from the Daily Mail, August 10th 2006: “Gambler, womaniser, drinker, and brawler. So that’s why John Terry has been made England Captain.” Another one from people.co.uk April 25th, 2004: “Soccer ace cheats on lover with vice girl”. It was alleged that during a match against Tottenham, John Terry told Ledley King to “shut up you lippy black monkey”.

These types of reports go on and on and on. I don’t feel it will serve anyone’s interest for me to continue to rhyme them off. I just found one that reads “John Terry cheats on fiancée for 9th time”. Some of these reports may be true, some may not be. Nowadays tabloids will do anything to sell their papers, but you’d think if there was no truth in any of these stories that John Terry, Big Man, might sue after the 9th report of infidelity.

I sincerely hope the next England Captain is a good rock climber.

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Prematch Rituals

August 27th, 2009 by Twisted_Woody

Disclaimer: Do not read if you suffer from the following conditions:  hypothermia, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, Weaste, diminished sense of humour, weak stomach, sunburn, asthma, intelligence, a university degree from a university that isn’t mine, geebs, head injury, body injury, 20/20 eyesight, weak bowels, or are currently eating something that you would not want to spill on your monitor or keyboard.

I’m just having a think right now (what a change). United next play on Saturday, against Arsenal, this is going to be a huge match. I must follow my prematch ritual to the letter.

Come to think of it, I don’t have a prematch ritual for this season. Perhaps I should look at other prematch rituals that I am aware of.

Last season I made sure to wear my Solskjaer shirt (black, 07/08 away kit) each match day – rather simple really. Oh, and I had a resident deity, but more on that later.

I have heard of some weird ones though. For example: Absolutely no orgasms of any kind before the match ends, beginning 24 hours before kick off. The theory being you bottle it so they don’t. That sounds like a bit of a painful ritual, actually. Especially when United can play up to three days a week, combined with normal life stuff that leaves no wanking time; although you could follow a “when my team scores, I score” policy to the best of ones’ ability as a human being. I tried it once but no more. As Fergie said, it’s time for a change in tactics. It’s cocks-out time.

Ok, so I’m going to create a new ritual that I’m sure the café will enjoy: orgasm as much as possible 24 hours before a match. That way we, the supporters, are relaxed. So, in theory, through our amazing and proprietary transatlantic telepathy (well, only transatlantic if you are in the Americas), the players will be relaxed as well, and thus keep their cool. I’ll maintain the Solksjaer shirt ritual just because it’s easy and doesn’t involve ridiculous amounts of self control. I’m also going to develop a new policy: When I score, my team scores more than whoever they are playing!

Alright so that’s enough for bodily functions. On to Effigies!

A good prematch ritual is NOT complete without proper use of an effigy, or something designated as a deity.

In my case we have this walking stick with a lizard carved at the top. It is present at every match, schedules permitting. The only games it has missed are the 0-0 draw with Inter and the loss to Liverpool in March. Yes it was there for the Champions League Final and Community Shield, but the ways of the deity are mysterious, and other than those misses it has been a fairly consistent deity.
It works like this. The game kicks off and everyone in the room with the Lizard rubs its back for good luck. At random time intervals (usually quarter of an hour, 30 minutes, 40 minutes etc.) we rub the Lizard again to ‘recharge’ the good luck. This is then communicated via the previously-mentioned and highly proprietary transatlantic telepathy, to the match in progress. The Lizard is generally good for wins with a margin of one goal. The Aston Villa game is a prime example. Macheda should worship this staff.

Another good effigy is a necklace, bracelet, or photograph. On my trip to England I took a photo of the Lizard. I can provide copies for anyone who chooses to partake in this ritual. Just put the picture into your wallet (print a wallet sized version, duh), then sneak your hand into your pocket casually and rub your very own Lizard. No one will ever know! And if they do find out, tell them the success of the team rides on it and to shut the fuck up.

Ok, I think I’ve covered – and uncovered – enough. I was going to get into the random urination on side streets during the quarter moon but I’ll leave it at this for now and see what everyone else has in the way of prematch rituals.

Go.

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Where are the goals going to come from? Part 2

August 13th, 2009 by Twisted_Woody

I can’t believe we’re at this again. In 2006, when Ruud left, the big question was “where are the goals going to come from?” We got an answer didn’t we? That answer was everywhere.

Now Ronaldo has, ironically, moved on to the same place Ruud did. A direct comparison is pointless as this is a different team than the one Ruud left, but there are still a few similarities such as the promising youth players coming through the system.

Youth Players

This is probably the first time in recent memory that I can identify so many youth players who look like they could be first teamers in a few years. Unfortunately we need some ‘here and now’ goal scorers. When Ruud left, Ronaldo was already an established first team figure, as were many of the other players who stepped up. This time around, the younger players who have been on the fringes and look to make their breakthrough this season also have to step up. I do not envy them their task.

Welbeck

I’m going to point fingers now. Welbeck will make an impact this year if he listens to Sir Alex. I noticed in his performance against Hull City at the end of last season he looked excellent, except he didn’t know when to pass or shoot. If this improves he will be a contender for a starting place.

Macheda

Now we have ‘Kiko’ Macheda. Someone is going to have to refresh my memory but I can’t remember the last time a player as young as seventeen had so much pressure on them. Oh wait yes I can – Wayne Rooney. Macheda isn’t even half the player Rooney is today but hopefully with some development and time he’ll make a similar impact. He’s a bit slow, and his first touch is weak. During preseason he scored a goal that had many posters excited, but for me all I could see was that he dithered on the ball before the shot. In a competitive fixture this would not have gone unpunished. In short, he has a lot of raw ability, but has a lot to learn. I have hope, but next season will be more telling. This season will be another year of development and learning and the supporters will have to have patience, as will Kiko.

Tosic

It’s time to have a look at Mr. Tosic. This signing confuses me. He looked excellent for Serbia’s U-21 team this summer. He had a few nice moves in preseason, notably against Valencia and a goal during the Asia tour. I still can’t figure how a 21 year old can be so light weight. In terms of his build, he looks similar to Ronaldo did when he arrived. To compete in the English Premier League, and in the Champions League you need to have some serious muscle to avoid being hounded off the ball easily. He needs to work on that before he has any chance of a starting place. Anyway, feel free to post your thoughts as I don’t know what to think. As I said above, it confuses me.

So those are the most promising youth players who, realistically, will participate in the attack. I know Fabio and Rafael will dash down the field and contribute but they are, at least on paper, defenders.

Senior Squad

Our current ‘senior’ attack is looking half decent. Rooney seems ready to resume his normal service, hopefully with more goals. Owen stands ready in the wings and I’m sure he can perform at the highest level if his body cooperates. The player that I’m curious about, and that I’ll probably write a future blog post about, is Dimitar Berbatov.

Berbatov

Last season I was less than impressed with him. Last season was a constant battle between the Tevez supporters and Berbatov supporters. So I think it’s time for another prediction; Berbatov is going to be one of the players who steps up. Some here are pegging him for an immense season. I don’t think that will happen. I just think he will fill a part of the void. I wasn’t impressed with him during preseason but his performance during the Chelsea game had to have been his best in a United shirt. He clearly has the ability; all he needs is to increase his speed, slightly improve his finishing (he should have scored vs. Chelsea) and to maintain his desire for the entire match. I felt last season, at times, his desire to play flagged in comparison to Tevez. If he does improve then he will be one of the players who shoulders the burden created by Ronaldo’s departure.

I was just thinking that if you combine Berbatov’s footwork and touches with Valencia’s speed and power then you have a player in the Ronaldo mold. These two, properly combined, could be the right fit for the attack.

Owen

I feel for Owen. If Rooney-Berbatov-Valencia click then he will be a bit-part player this season (at least in big games). My instinct tells me that Berbatov will improve on everything but his desire, which will leave room for Owen to make an impact, as I doubt Sir Alex will allow a half hearted Berbatov to play in place of Owen who wants to get back in the England squad for the World Cup.

I haven’t even touched on the rest of the squad. I’m not going to as posters never read a wall of text so I’ll leave it at this. For the past two years we’ve had an out and out star in Ronaldo. We’re back to being a team that relies on every squad member for a contribution. I think if the rest of the squad stays the same or improves on their performances last season, and the above mentioned players make those improvements, then United will be in fine shape.

Bring on the season and bring on your thoughts.

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I’m still wearing my Tevez shirt, and you can too.

August 9th, 2009 by Twisted_Woody

So on May 17th I was in downtown Manchester standing at the counter in JJB Sports. I had in my hands a blue Manchester United away top that I wanted to get printed with the name and number of a player. For those of you who are insane like I am, you should know that this is a huge decision. The player I pick has to be worth my money. I asked my girlfriend for advice. Why I did that I have no idea.

Seriously, all due respect to my girlfriend, but how many people think to themselves “deciding what name to get put on the back of my shirt is hard, I’ll ask my girlfriend -that’ll be enlightening”.

Anyway, let’s move on a bit shall we. I narrowed it down to two players – Vidic or Tevez.  This was a tough choice. Both players proved valuable to the defence of the Premier League title. Vidic with his defending and goals from set pieces and Tevez with his cheeky back heels (see United vs Wigan) as well as an all around never-say-die attitude. Keep in mind the sales clerk was looking at me like I was an idiot as I had this internal debate. The only thing that set either of these players apart in my eyes, as I stood at the counter of JJB Sports, was the fact that Tevez was most likely going to leave. I thought that having a shirt of a player who contributed so much over the past two seasons would be a nice memento.

For those who have forgotten, lets have a review of some ‘Tevez moments’. He scored a critical goal vs Lyon in the Champions League. He scored the first spot kick against Chelsea in the Champions League final – the significance of that goes without saying. This season he scored against Manchester City and Wigan during the title run to help United to three points in those fixtures. These were exceptionally important goals since, as we all know, United looked a bit shaky since the unmentionable defeat at the beginning of March. These are just a few moments that popped into my head. I’m sure you all have a few, so rather than dig up all the Tevez moments, feel free to post your own thoughts.

Anyway, here we have a player who seemed fairly certain he was leaving but who continued to give us his all. The old clichéd argument is that players “do their talking on the pitch”. While the media was sensationalizing his interviews (“I don’t feel part of the United family” etc.) he was telling a different story on the pitch. This is quite a contrast to the behavior of Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Now, before I begin this and ignite some flames, I want to go on record as saying Ruud was, and still is, one of my favourite players. Let’s backtrack now to, I believe, March 2006 (I just tried googling it and I can’t seem to find a reference to it so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong). What I remember is that Ruud looked apathetic during his last half season at Old Trafford. It culminated with a ‘lazy penalty’ against Middleborough which he missed. I recall him be lambasted by just about everyone. He has since moved on to Real Madrid and is remembered fondly (or as some put it, as a legend*). So, in a quick summary, Ruud looked like he couldn’t be arsed on the field and was shipped off and we remember him well. Tevez, on the other hand, works his tail off, spouts his mouth off to the media, and we want him to burn.

Now I know the Tevez and Ruud sagas are different. Tevez went voluntarily to Manchester City, a local rival, whereas Ruud went to Real Madrid and the club received a transfer fee. This is the first difference that led to outrage and disappointment amongst the United faithful. I read in one of the many news stories posted here on the Redcafe that he wanted to stay in Manchester for his family. This I can understand and at least respect. We all assume that if City didn’t offer him a huge chunk of change then he’d be off to London or Madrid, but I have chosen to give him at least some credit for keeping his family in his thoughts. The next issue that raised ire among supporters concerned his comments about United’s management, and specifically his promise to score against United, run to Sir Alex, pull down his shorts, and relieve himself all over the United coaching staff, Sir Alex included. Well, he really said he’d just yell at them, but you get it.

This is inexcusable and unprofessional behavior but I take it with a grain of salt because sports media especially like to sensationalize stories to sell papers and raise interest in a given story. I mean really, sports would be considerably duller without sites such as Tribal Football, and Football-Rumours. I think these two sites alone powered the Benzema thread (or as I like to call it, the long thread to nowhere). Now, assuming the worst, and that Tevez did say that, I’ll still reserve judgment for the pitch. If, heaven forbid, he scores against us, we’ll see what his reaction is and judge him from there. Until then he’s simply on notice.

His performance, even while he “wasn’t a part of the Fergie Family”, shows he at least has some semblance of professionalism about him. I can only assume that this will continue if and when he steps onto the Old Trafford pitch in City colours. This is also why I will wear my Tevez shirt from time to time (never on a match day mind you) and remember the good times. As I have posted before I wish him neutral success at City – I don’t want him (or City) to win any medals, but I don’t want to see his career ruined by injury.

If he comes to Old Trafford and proves me wrong by acting like a total spoilt prat then I might have to revisit this post, or at least write a new one entitled “Why I’m burning my Tevez shirt”.

I hope this has been a well reasoned argument, and at the same time the most epic justification for being a total tit at the counter of JJB sports on May 17th 2009.

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