A few others think he`s a blue
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/footba ... guson.htmlCarlos Tévez's comparisons to Eric Cantona return to haunt Sir Alex Ferguson
For all of the verbally-polluted water that has flown under the bridge since Carlos Tévez parted company with Manchester United last summer, it is a matter of fact that, just a year earlier, Sir Alex Ferguson felt compelled to compare the Argentine with Eric Cantona.
By Mark Ogden
Published: 7:30AM GMT 21 Jan 2010
High praise: Sir Alex Ferguson's comments in 2008 that Carlos Tevez (above) was similar to Eric Cantona beg the question: why did United sell him? Photo: GETTY IMAGES
"Carlos reminds me of Eric Cantona in the way that he has a knack of rising to the occasion with a goal just when it's needed," said Ferguson, 24 hours before naming Tévez as a substitute for Manchester United's Champions League last 16, second-leg victory over Lyon at Old Trafford.
High praise followed by relegation to the bench. Tévez became accustomed to that sequence of events during his two years at Old Trafford, so much so that he pointed to his second-tier status as one factor in his decision to swap United red for Manchester City blue.
Man City 'can finish job' at Old Trafford But the Cantona comparison is an interesting one on numerous levels. While the Frenchman provided the catalyst for United's transformation from nearly men into champions and English football's pre-eminent force, Tévez is performing a similar role reshaping the mould at Eastlands.
Ferguson plucked Cantona from Leeds, the reigning league champions, when he secured his services in Nov 1992. And while United never looked back, Cantona's departure sparked a downward spiral at Elland Road.
Cantona was Man United's missing link, the final piece in a title-winning jigsaw that had taken 26 years to complete. He scored decisive goals, injected charisma and became an iconic figure. His face adorned billboards (1966 was a great year for English football – Eric was born) and United supporters relished the delicious irony that he had come their way having been carelessly discarded by a bitter rival.
Eighteen years on and history is beginning to repeat itself at Eastlands in the form of Tévez. The 25 year-old might lack the regal presence of Cantona, but his two-goal performance in Man City's 2-1 Carling Cup semi-final first-leg victory on Tuesday emphasised just what he has added to City and what United are missing.
Goals, energy, passion and the elusive knack of being in the right place at the right time to, as Ferguson remarked in March 2008, "rise to the occasion with a goal just when it's needed". Wayne Rooney has that ability too, but without Tévez alongside him, he is being forced to shoulder a heavy goal scoring burden at United.
Cristiano Ronaldo's £80 million sale has left a crater in the heart of United's team, but the loss of Tévez is also being felt. Had he been wearing red on Tuesday, United could pretty much have booked their hotel for Wembley yesterday morning.
United's loss is City's tremendous gain. Until recently, their supporters relied on the likes of Shaun Goater, Paul Dickov and Georgi Kinkladze to act as modern-day successors to Bell, Lee and Summerbee, but Tévez is the real deal.
Not only on the pitch, but off it too, the boy from the Buenos Aires slum of Fuerte Apache has given City the sprinkling of stardust that Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan craves.
Just as with Leeds in 1992, United are having to grimace as a former idol helps transform a loathed competitor. Cantona started something at Old Trafford and Tévez, a likeable character who enjoys his Mars bars and Coca-Cola as much as scoring goals, is doing the same at Eastlands.
No wonder Ferguson was so irked by the infamous 'Welcome to Manchester' billboard that accompanied Tevez's image following his cross-city move last July.
The United manager claimed that it exposed City as a "small club with a small mentality", yet Tévez is helping change that perception and Ferguson, after all, is the man who did not think he was worth fighting to keep.
by Hinch's 5 Fingered Salute » Tue Jan 19, 2010 8:48 pm 
