Manchester United, Premier League, West Ham
Adding the brilliance of Tévez ensures Ferguson’s side will be irresistable
Carlos Tévez may have scored only seven goals in 19 Premiership starts for West Ham last season, but he still made a profound impact. The Argentinean displayed tremendous resilience in responding so strongly to the most tumultuous of seasons to save the club from relegation through, it seemed, sheer force of will. As a footballer, Tévez [...]
Carlos Tévez may have scored only seven goals in 19 Premiership starts for West Ham last season, but he still made a profound impact. The Argentinean displayed tremendous resilience in responding so strongly to the most tumultuous of seasons to save the club from relegation through, it seemed, sheer force of will.
As a footballer, Tévez is a wonderful fusion of power, tenacity, creativity and raw skill. His commitment to all his clubs has invariably been beyond doubt; what separates him from other equally gifted players is his indefatigability, passion and palpable will to win. It was these less glamorous qualities that prevented him losing heart as West Ham – a club he knew he would almost certainly stay for only a season at – crept, seemingly irrevocably, towards relegation, while many even had the temerity to make him the scapegoat for their woes. Tévez, however, responded with seven goals in their last 10 encounters and was indisputably the catalyst for their great escape.
Sir Alex Ferguson has wasted no time in attempting to improve last season’s title-winning squad; it seems he is a believer in the footballing maxim that “staying still is moving backwards”. Already, he has signed long-term target Owen Hargreaves to bring solidity to the midfield, and the exciting young duo of Nani and Anderson as, he would hope, long-term replacements for Scholes and Giggs. While there is a clear logic in the signing of this trio, it is a little harder to see where Tévez would fit in.
Manchester United palpably need a new forward, with Saha, Smith and Solskjaer, for differing reasons, unable to provide the support Rooney needed last season; too much goal-scoring emphasis was placed on Ronaldo, a winger, albeit a phenomenal one. Tévez, hard-working and superb in running with the ball from deep, bears strong resemblance to Rooney; yet, what United appear to need is not another ‘second striker’ but a poacher who can lead the line and whom their other attacking players can play off.
This is the role Ruud van Nistelrooy fulfilled for five seasons, and the more mobile Saha, until injury, fulfilled last campaign. Saha will probably stay, but given how prone he is to injury and question marks over whether he possesses the quality to be an Old Trafford regular, it seems Tévez will be made to play as the leader of the line.
Although this is a position he is unaccustomed to, and some may question the wisdom of forking out so much for a player who it seems Ferguson wants rather than genuinely needs for Man Utd, Tévez has sufficient footballing versatility and intelligence to adapt to this. The attributes he displays from deeper – his strength and ability to hold onto the ball under intense pressure from defences – seem equally suited to being utilised further forward. Equally, he hardly lacks confidence or composure in front of goal, and was lethal in his last two months for West Ham, while he scored 25 goals in 38 games for Corinthians.
The most fundamental point to consider, though, is Ferguson seems to be moving away from playing with a conventional poacher, as the replacing of the brilliant goal-getter van Nistelrooy with the more rounded Saha last summer illustrated. Rather, his vision is for a fluid, interchangeable attacking quartet free from the more rigid positioning typical of the modern game. A snapshot of how effective such football can be came when United, playing with a ‘front four’ of Ronaldo, Giggs, Scholes and Rooney – not a conventional poaching forward amongst them – combined spectacularly to win 4-2 at Highbury in February 2005, the home side reduced to near-helplessness, unsure of whom they were marking.
So while some will claim Rooney and Tévez are too similar to play together, that is not necessarily a bad thing. As well as their exceptional talents, they are versatile and tireless in their tracking back. Together with Ronaldo, they make for an eye-watering trio – all, remarkably, under 24 - and could each contribute in excess of 20 goals a campaign in a dynamic and fluid attacking outfit, with no need for an out-and-out centre forward. But pity opponents’ poor defenders.
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horrified by your original comment that united need a goal poacher, as it is exactly what they moved away from last year, and what won them the title playing the most attractive, effective (unlike arsenals overplaying for example) attacking football seen in england for years. united want players that score goals, but ALSO create goals and opportunities for others. the team is now to be built on pace, movement, skill and power. why do you need to goal hanger like v.man became in his last season to get 25-30 goals a season, to the detriment of everyone elses chances to score, when you can have rooney and ronaldo getting 20 each, tevez and saha getting 15 or so, and nani and anderson (in the coming years in particular) getting 10 or so each. a static man up the middle is exactly what they dont need. this swashbuckling style can also be effective defensively because of the willingness of tevez and rooney in particular to drop into midfield and chase back like we see them do week in week out for 90 mins. united to run riot this year, break the goalscoring record in the prem, AGAIN. even if they dont win anything, im guarateed to be entertained in every game of the season, unlike watching chelsea or liverpools really drab style of football, which makes the price increase for my season ticket instantly worth it!!!!!!
Tim- you are very good at advertising. please get a job with a leading advertising agencies. On the other hand you might have already been offered a temproray position by Man Utd to blab about how good they are. Please put the money where your mouth is. Either way teams do no win on paper.
Tevez wants to win trophies(and he will too),as manutd now have got a class playmaker now in anderson and gifted winger in nani two out of the world strikers and a winger who has exhausted all superlatives.Combine that with one of the world’s best defensive midfielder, a “super-passer”two(or three) resilient defenders and a really BIG goalie.On paper this team looks FRIGHTENING (even more tHAN BARCA)