Critically Acclaimed

Let's start with the Tevez situation, and this from The Times:

Tévez’s treatment has served only to heighten the resentment towards Berbatov and the Bulgaria striker conceded yesterday that the ill-feeling had affected him. “I have to thank my team-mates and especially Sir Alex for their help after the criticism,” he said.

Which is certainly unfair on Berbatov. The Telegraph have some quotes from Sir Alex from an interview with France Football in which he says:

"The easiest way to win a match is still through having the ball. Possession gives you control of the game. Berbatov is a fantastic link between the midfield and attack. He has that sense of space and senses this space in the last third. Also, he's 6 ft 2 in. We needed someone of that height alongside [Carlos] Tevez and [Wayne] Rooney. You cannot rest on your laurels. Despite our successes we lacked strikers last season. We only had Tevez and Rooney because [Louis] Saha hardly played. Two strikers is not enough, you need three at the top level."

And of course he's right. On The Guardian Blog there's an article by Kevin McCarra in which he looks at the depth of our squad and the choices it gives Sir Alex when it comes to implementing different game plans:

Arsenal were overrun during the 1-0 loss, particularly in the first half.

That reflected United's ability to tailor their line-up to a degree unequalled anywhere else. If the cultured minimalism of Dimitar Berbatov would have been incongruous on an occasion when the plan was to overwhelm the visitors, then Sir Alex Ferguson had the perfect alternative in hyperactive Carlos Tevez.

There was a theme to the side, with the power of Anderson preferred against ­Arsenal. Assessments of the Brazilian have fluctuated since he arrived from Porto, but his forcefulness is beyond question. ­Ferguson introduced him with moments left of last year's Champions League final and the then 20-year-old crashed his spot‑kick into the top corner with indifference to the stresses of the situation.

Of late, the likelihood of him ­making the starting line-up has been at its ­greatest in the FA Cup and Carling Cup, tournaments that are a lesser priority to ­Ferguson. Nonetheless, he met United's specific needs on Wednesday. Since the 1990s the dream of a varied squad that teems with talent has superseded the notion of ­assembling an outstanding line‑up. United are getting closer than most to fulfilling the ambition.

And yet we come to this, from The Telegraph:

Tevez's latest disappointment for United came in their Champions league clash against Arsenal this week when, following his impressive performance, he was replaced by Dimitar Berbatov in the 66th minute.

Mystified by the decision, Tevez chose not to hide his feelings and was seen walking towards the touchline shaking his head in disbelief.

Why was he mystified by the decision? I really couldn't understand his reaction. 24 minutes left, Tevez had ran about in his usual way, what is so strange about making a change, trying to freshen up the front line, trying a different type of player, Arsenal were getting a little more possession, put Berbatov on to try and hold the ball up better and he couldn't really take Rooney off who was still needed to do a job on the wing. And also, The Times says this of his performance:

It was Tévez’s first start in the Champions League knockout rounds and he responded with a typically industrious display that might easily have yielded a goal had it not been for the heroics of Manuel Almunia in the Arsenal goal.

I'm not so sure that's true. Yes he played well, but I'm not sure that only heriocs from Almunia stopped him from scoring. In the same way that Ronaldo should have placed his header where Almunia could get nowhere near it, Tevez had a chance that he should have given him no chance with. Perhaps, for all his great work, there's a feeling that he's not quite as clinical a finisher as he could be.

All of this Berbatov or Tevez thing is ridiculous. I'm not sure Berbatov deserves all (actually most of) the flak he gets, and I while I understand why Tevez has become a cause celebre, I'm not sure why he's escaped anything like criticism for the way he reacted to his substitution. Imagine the column inches and photos we'd see in the papers if it had been Ronaldo reacting like that.

Anyway, onto what he said yesterday:

Tevez said: “It’s true I’ve spent a lot of time on the bench and I’d like to play more. But every time I’m given a chance I do all I can to do well and take full advantage.

“Yes, it’s like that, it’s true I see myself more leaving United than staying here.

“I don’t see why I should lie to people or anything because the fans support me a lot as you can see. So I don’t have any reason to lie to them.”

He added: “While I wear the United shirt I will leave my life on the pitch. You can see that in every game I play. I respect people a lot and I’m grateful to them.

The important thing comes before all that though:

soon after United’s 1-0 win in the first leg of their semi-final, the striker dropped a bombshell by claiming he is set to quit at the end of the season — and would love a switch to Spain.

It is no coincidence he chose Madrid’s leading radio station Cadena COPE to say he would like a move to La Liga.

Let's use the example again - imagine if straight after a game, a very important game, the first leg of a semi-final that is still finely poised, Ronaldo had chosen to speak to a Madrid radio station and announce that, really, he thought he'd probably like to leave the club. I'm sure that would go down well. I'm a big Ronaldo fan, but frankly I might consider that pretty inexcusable. And yet Tevez gets to show his disdain for Sir Alex's decision, in the most public way imaginable, after Sir Alex has just shown faith in him by picking him for the most important game of the season - which is apparently what Tevez wanted all along - and get's away with it? Here's my theory. Tevez has been told, or realised, that Sir Alex isn't going to sign him up at the end of the season, so Tevez, to save face, has done the classic, well, I never wanted to stay anyway trick. Like the guy getting rejected by a bird and going, "well, I never liked her anyway". Brilliant move.
Elsewhere. Some confusion over the Rio injury, will he be OK for the second leg? No, say The Mirror, Yes, say The Guardian. More news should come today, they say.
Rooney and Ronaldo want Tevez to stay.
Rooney and Ronaldo talk confidently of the second leg:

Rooney said: “I don’t know how Arsenal will be feeling, but they know what a difficult game they’re in for on Tuesday. They know they can’t really afford to concede.

“We had a few chances and should have taken some of them, but we would have taken the win and a clean sheet before the game.

“We know we can go to the Emirates and score. And if we get a goal, they’ll need to score three, so we’re in a good position.

“The Emirates is always a difficult place to go to, but I thought we limited them to very few chances at Old Trafford and if we do that on Tuesday, we’ll fancy our chances.”

“I’m very confident,” said Ronaldo after United outplayed Arsenal at Old Trafford but gained only a 1-0 semi-final first-leg advantage.

“It’s going to be difficult against Arsenal, but I’m dreaming of Rome. The Olympic Stadium is a great stadium and I would love to play there again.”

And that's the lot.