Mancini deserves more praise over Tevez - Ferguson

Posted Saturday, October 22, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

By Sonia Oxley

MANCHESTER, England, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Manchester City
manager Roberto Mancini has shown his mettle in the way he has
handled the Carlos Tevez debacle, an impressed Manchester United
boss Alex Ferguson said as Sunday's much-anticipated derby
looms.

The table-topping sides meet at Old Trafford on Sunday
although Friday's news was dominated by off-field events at City
who are taking disciplinary action against former United player
Tevez over an alleged breach of contract.

Ferguson said he applauded Mancini's conduct, especially in
an era when highly-paid players generally get what they want.

"It's about the decision-making of a manager. I don't think
there's been enough praise for him (Mancini)," Ferguson told a
news conference. "He actually did his job, he did it well. (It
was a) difficult situation which he has handled really well.

"Management today is quite a complex situation in terms of
the type of player we have to deal with today.

"A lot of players today are dominated by their agent, agents
who buy their groceries, book their travel, polish their boots,
you know that's the kind of human being I'm having to deal with
nowadays with some agents."

He said that while other players were encouraged by their
agents to sort out their own business, such as buying houses or
cars, that was not the case for all of them.

"Some (agents) dominate their lives. Any manager coming into
the game today, it's not an easy job nowadays," Ferguson added.
"It's different to when I started, much, much more complex and
more difficult to deal with."

Tevez's advisor Kia Joorabchian, a familiar name in the
previous sagas that have followed the player around three
English clubs, has been involved in the latest one.

He said earlier this month that Tevez was a victim of
mistranslated comments and that the Argentine never refused to
play for City against Bayern Munich, as Mancini has alleged.

Mancini said at the time Tevez was "finished" at the club,
while Tevez says he merely declined to warm up as he felt he had
already done so sufficiently.

The Italian has since avoided speaking about the matter
while a disciplinary hearing is taking place. The player served
a two-week club suspension immediately after the incident.

While it is still unclear what will happen next for Tevez,
he is highly unlikely to feature at Old Trafford on Sunday,
where City hope to build on a two-point lead they have over the
champions at the top of the table.