Golden chance for Tevez

WE will learn a lot about Carlos Tevez in the coming weeks. Maybe not to the extent of what his favourite Michael Jackson song is – Man in the Mirror, I’m guessing - but more importantly, how seriously he takes his football career. If rumours are to be believed, the Argentine striker’s next club will be either Manchester City or Chelsea. A year ago, there would have been no choice; Tevez would have simply emptied his locker at Manchester United’s Carrington training complex, and been sipping cocktails on the Kings Road with John Terry et al within hours.

So, what’s changed? In a word, nothing. Chelsea are still the attractive proposition they were a year ago; hungry, determined, successful and with more than a decent shout of winning one of the major trophies, whilst City, for all their financial muscle flexing are, ultimately, the same proposition they were this time last year, albeit with a couple more decent players thrown in; ambitious, deluded, success-starved and with a decent shout of…..winning the Carling Cup.

The diminutive forward has a divine opportunity to show football supporters everywhere that a bulging trophy cabinet is far more precious than a bulging bank account. Don’t let us down, Carlos.

Hats off to Arsene

ARSENE WENGER, the Arsenal manager, is reported to have turned down a £6m per-year salary to join Real Madrid. The Frenchman met with Madrid officials on more than one occasion but, in the end, the opportunity to oversee his young side come to the fore proved more appealing than being able to spend £150m on the world’s finest talent in a matter of days.

Wenger accused the Spanish club of wanting to create a “spectacular team” at any cost, before reiterating his desire to stay in North London, saying: “I want to have success by building a team with a style, with a know-how, with a culture of play specific to the club and its fans and with young people. My intention is to take that project to the ultimate end.”

Having had to work within a strict budget for a number of years at Arsenal, few could begrudge Wenger the opportunity to play fantasy football with unlimited funds at the Bernabeu. However, once again, he has proved that you can’t put a price on loyalty. Let’s hope those same fans that were deriding him for Arsenal’s lack of success in recent years a few weeks ago, appreciate what they have got.

Hope and glory.....and failure

ENGLAND’S under-21s should be applauded for their efforts in Sweden. The fact that they were the first side from this country to reach a football final in 16 years at any level tells its own story, yet there are lessons to be learnt, nowhere more so than in the mentality of the players.

England went into Monday’s final as favourites, but you would never have guessed that by watching the game. Germany may not have set the competition alight in the group stages – as England did – but, ultimately, they came good when it mattered most. Overall, the tournament was a relative success, with Kieron Gibbs and Jack Rodwell in particular, catching the eye, but Stuart Pearce’s claim that “we need to produce more creative Mesut Ozil types” should not fall on deaf ears. The German number 10 was a joy to watch, and this time next year could be lighting up South Africa.

Robbie thrown to the sharks

ROBERTO DI MATTEO has been confirmed as the new manager at West Brom after only one season in charge at the MK Dons, and he will hope that the move doesn’t prove to be too big a step too soon, as Paul Ince found during his brief tenure at Ewood Park last season.

The former Chelsea and Italy midfielder has taken to management like a duck to water, steering the Milton Keynes outfit to the League One play-offs in his debut season as a manager, but in the Baggies, he takes on a side that will be expected to bounce straight back into the Premiership at the first time of asking.

The Championship is a notoriously tough division to navigate, and with the likes of Newcastle and Middlesbrough joining the party, it doesn’t look like getting any easier. Di Matteo was a fantastic player in his pomp; cool, calm and clinical. He will need all of those qualities and more if he is to avoid the same fate that befell Ince, who is now, ironically, in the running to return to the MK Dons.