Several months of speculation was confirmed by Carlos Tévez when he handed in his permission to leave Manchester City in the January transfer window. For now it looks like manager Roberto Mancini will keep his captain, with the club insisiting they want him to stay and honour his contract until July 2014.

There had been rumours that he wanted to retire all together. There had been rumours that he wanted to go back to Argentina to finish his career with Boca Juniors. There had been talks about Chelsea, Italy and Spain. A troubled relationship with City manager Roberto Mancini was cited as one of the main reasons.
Tévez now confirmed that he wanted to leave already before this season commenced but was convinced to stay. Despite some public clashes with Mancini, Tévez says he is not to blame. However his relationship with certain executives and individuals at the club was “beyond repair”. Tévez at first described the club’s owner Sheik Mansour to be understanding of his problems, which would indicate that he wouldn’t stop the player from leaving. However the club have refused to sell him for now and after their “clear-the-air-talk” Tévez made another u-turn and agreed to stay on.

Tévez might not leave in January, however this chapter of his transfer sagas might not be at rest until 2014. Missing his family and daughters in Argentina could be a strong indicator for a return to Boca Juniors. Should he decide on staying in Europe, the strongest club candidate will be Real Madrid. In the meantime we’ll wait and see what happens at the end of the 2010/11 season.

UPDATE – APRIL 25th 2011:
The possibility of losing Tévez again seems imminent for Manchester City. Tévez, who at present is injured, might in fact already have played his last match for the club. The relationship between him and manager Roberto Mancini remains strained and the club board are gradually accepting that he will leave at the end of the season. Credible sources have revealed that a £40 million bid from Internazionale is expected.

NOTE: Since this article was written Martin Jol turned down the job as Newcastle manager. Instead Alan Pardew has been appointed.

Despite his achievements with the club and despite having the backing of players and fans, a devastated Chris Hughton has been sacked by Newcastle. Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is expected to announce Dutchman Martin Jol to take over. Jol has just left Ajax Amsterdam with immediate effect. The irony is that here are a lot of parallells and paths crossed.

Former Irish international Chris Hughton has earned his credibility through hard work, wherever he has been in his career in football. Born and bred in London, he came through Tottenham’s youth system and established himself as one of the best left-backs the club has ever had. He played 13 years for Tottenham, winning two FA Cups and the UEFA Cup. He was capped 53 times for Ireland (qualified through his mother to play for the country) and finished his career with two seasons at West Ham and one at Brentford.
Hughton returned to Tottenham while taking his coaching badges and took charge of the reserve team. His talent was soon recognised and he was appointed assistant manager for various Spurs managers. At one stage he was also assistant manager for Ireland. He was David Pleat’s assistant when they won the 1999 League Cup and he was there with Martin Jol when Spurs had two consecutive 5th placings in the Premier League (2005/06, 2006/07). In the latter season Spurs also reached the FA Cup quarterfinal, the League Cup semifinal and the UEFA Cup quarterfinal. In November 2007 Jol was suddenly sacked by the Tottenham board and Hughton had to leave with him. It was shortly after this Hughton became assistant manager at Newcastle. He also functioned as caretaker manager twice before he was given the top position.

In Hughton’s first season as Newcastle manager he led the club back to the Premier League in their first attempt, by winning the Championship. At the time of his sacking on December 6th, Newcastle was positioned 11th on the table. They had just suffered two consecutive away defeats, in a season where they’ve also pulled off some incredible wins. Newcastle thrashed Aston Villa 6-0, Sunderland 5-1 and beat Arsenal 1-0 at the Emirates. They also knocked Chelsea out of the League Cup. It appears as if the results hasn’t been the issue. The Newcastle board have refused to give Hughton a permanent contract and have aired their view that they would like a manager with more experience. The two consecutive defeats to Bolton and West Bromwich was the excuse they were looking for. A statement from the club thanked Hughton for “his considerable efforts during the club’s transition from Championship to Premier League football”. Chris Hughton’s replacement will be the club’s sixth manager in three years.

Chris Hughton and Martin Jol during their time together at Tottenham.

Arsenal’s young Frenchman has been a rising star for a while already. However the 2010-11 season seems to be orbiting Nasri truly into international stardom. After having been Arsenal’s best player in the pre-season he has continued this in the Premier League, Champions League and domestic cups. From having been accused as a diver and young primadonna, he has stepped up his game by taking control in midfield for his team, while he is also turning out as a prolific goal scorer. His manager Arsene Wenger has praised how Nasri now has more variation in his game. He has become a player who can take charge and change a game. His dribbling skills, light-footed as a ballet dancer, came on full display when he scored two spectacular goals in a 2-1 win against Fulham on December 4th.
Nasri himself believes he has developed further after having been left out of France’s 2010 World Cup squad. He feels less pressure and keeps his head cool in front of the goalkeeper. He has vision, touch, runs well with or without the ball. Combined with talented team mates like Fabregas, Arshavin, Chamakh and Van Persie, Nasri is a main component for Arsenal turning into a genuine contender for the Premiership title. Arsene Wenger insists there is still much more to come from Nasri and his team. For now Nasri’s brilliance, most recently against Fulham, has taken Arsenal to the top of the table. The Premier League will pass the half way mark of the season on December 26th (Boxing Day).

It was never a contention beyond the first few minutes, as Barcelona beat their rivals Real Madrid 5-0 on Monday night. José Mourinho’s brilliant start as Real Madrid coach came to a brutal stop at the Camp Nou stadium. After the match he conceded it was one of the worst moments for the club. It was also the worst defeat of his career.
Barcelona’s midfield dominated from the outset, with Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández and Sergio Busquets on top of their game. On the top of the world. For which team can possibly deal with them when they play in such an imperious way?
Then there was Lionel Messi. The Argentine magician consistently delivers above and beyond any other footballer on the planet. That includes Ronaldo, who was reduced to a frustrated and contorted, average man without the ball and without opportunities.
Barcelona play their game of clever passes, accurate passes, imaginative runs, with technique and physique all the way – from their back row to their man on top. David Villa played in his first El Clásico, since joining from Valencia, and netted twice. His seventh and eighth of the season. When Sergio Ramos was red carded in the last minutes, after an ugly attack on Messi (followed by frustrated pushes and punches against the rallying Barca players), it was the final nail in the coffin for Mourinho’s men.
Another chapter of El Clásico written.

Goals:
1-0 Xavi (10 min.)
2-0 Pedro (18 min.)
3-0 Villa (54 min.)
4-0 Villa (57 min.)
5-0 Jeffren (90+1 min.)

AC Milan beat their local rivals 1-0 at San Siro on Sunday evening. It appeared as the most one-sided 1-0 victory you’re likely to see for a long time. Current European champions Internazionale were second best at just about everything in a match which was much more than a local derby. It marked AC Milan back on top of the Italian Serie A. It might even hint towards a return to former European glory for them as well.
The only goal came from a penalty, awarded to and executed by Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the 5th minute. Ibrahimovic was just as emphatic against his former club Inter, as he previously has been towards former club Ajax. If he felt any pressure when he stepped up to the penalty spot, he certainly didn’t show it. Even with a laser light from the stands flickering over his face, Ibrahimovic resolutely slammed the ball into the bottom-left corner.
The clash of the Milan giants was not by any means pretty. It was never a beautiful game of football but AC Milan had come out to deal with their rivals, whatever was thrown at them. They even played the last half an hour with ten men, when Abate completely unnecessary earned his second yellow of the match. AC Milan still continued to control the game. Internazionale were disappointing but it is to AC Milan’s credit how they were in charge from start to finish. They are now favourites to win the title which they last won in the 2003-04 season.