Player Focus: Carlos Tevez (Manchester City)

Carlos Tevez has not exactly won the hearts and minds of Manchester City’s fans this season after the debacle at the Allianz Arena in the Champions League. Sir Alex Ferguson refused to keep him on his books at Old Trafford, and many tipped his signing for rivals City as an accident waiting to happen. After two seasons of 20-plus Premier League goals for the Argentine, it seemed that the wheels might just have come flying off.

Tevez had a bust up with Roberto Mancini that had seen him outcast from the City fold until recent weeks. For many months it was unproblematic for the blue half of Manchester, with Tevez barely able to get a look-in as City trotted along at the top of the Premier League. However, with Edin Dzeko’s drop in form and Mario Balotelli missing countless matches through suspension, the supposedly want-away Tevez finally donned the City shirt once again.

Many had said he should never play for them again, but with City stuttering, Mancini responded by recalling Tevez and he had an immediate impact, coming off the bench to set up the winner against Chelsea. With City chasing down rivals United in the title race, questions have to be asked what might have been had Tevez been playing all season. WhoScored.com takes a closer look at his performances and the effect he has on his team.

Striking Statistics

The Argentine may have only made four starts in the Premier League this season, but his effect has been profound enough, with City winning all four of those matches, scoring a total of 15 goals and conceding just one. Three of those games were City’s three latest matches, as Mancini recalled Tevez to the side after 3 games without a win, while his other start was a home win over Wigan earlier in the season when City were flying high. In those four Premier League starts, Tevez has scored 4 goals as well as picking up two assists.

His effect from the substitutes’ bench is also rather impressive. Of the six times he has been called upon (and agreed) to come off the bench in the league, on three occasions City have been trailing at the time when Tevez entered the field of play. In each of those three matches, City have gone on to win something from the game – the aforementioned comeback victory over Chelsea at the Etihad, as well as draws at Stoke and after trailing 3-1 at home to Sunderland. In the 72 minutes Tevez was on the pitch in total in those 3 games, City scored 5 goals, conceded none and won themselves an extra five points in the title race. Clearly, it is not Tevez who single-handedly won City those points, but his contribution should not be underestimated; without them, the title would be as good as United’s.

Having played only 387 minutes of Premier League football this season, one could not really expect that he would be able to keep up with the English top flight’s frantic pace.  However, he has found his feet increasingly in recent weeks, and if he carries on his current form, could play a huge part in the run-in.

His stats, in terms of the minutes he has been on the pitch this season, are outstanding. He gets into goalscoring positions more often than any other player in the league that has started at least one game, averaging an attempt at goal every 16.8 minutes, narrowly ahead of teammates Dzeko (16.9) and Balotelli (17.4) who are second and third, respectively, in the league. However, having found the back of the net 4 times, he has the sixth best minutes per goal rate in the whole Premier League this season, having scored every 96.8 minutes he has played – better than Dzeko’s 112 and Balotelli’s 100.5 minutes per goal. Clearly the strikers at City get chances with a striking regularity and while Tevez’s stats are impressive, he stands out yet further in the creative department.

A striker like Edin Dzeko or Mario Balotelli will often be criticised for being too selfish in their play. Carlos Tevez, on the other hand, simply cannot be criticised so. The Argentine forward tops the charts in the Premier League for minutes per key pass, creating an opportunity for a teammate every 17.6 minutes. Juan Mata’s rate of 25.5 minutes or David Silva’s 28.1 are not far behind, but for players that pride themselves on their playmaking to be behind a striker like Tevez in this regard is some achievement. The next striker to appear on the list is Arsenal’s talisman Robin van Persie, who makes a key pass every 35.6 minutes – less than half as often as Tevez. Furthermore, Tevez is behind only Syvain Marveaux, who has only played 91 minutes all season, in terms of minutes per assist. Tevez has picked up an assist every 129 minutes this season, which is way ahead of the likes of Valencia (148), Silva (196) and Mata (219).

If Tevez played the full 90 minutes of every game in a full Premier League season, picking up goals and assists at the rate he has managed so far this term, he would reach a total of 35 goals and 26 assists.

The Argentine Effect

Tevez has also had an impact on the play of strike-partner Sergio Aguero; with the Argentines clearly understanding each other and working well together as a result. Aguero is City’s top scorer this season, with 22 Premier League goals – 9 more than any other player at the club – and has been one of their most consistent players all season. However, the fellow countrymen have been on the pitch at the same time for just 304 minutes together all season, spread across 5 matches. In those 304 minutes, Aguero has hit the back of the net 7 times and picked up a single assist, which was, incidentally, for Tevez, while Tevez himself has scored 4 goals and got 3 assists, with one of those assists setting up an Aguero strike.

Aguero’s 22 goals this season have seen him score at a rate of a goal every 105.9 minutes, which puts him behind Tevez or Balotelli in that regard. However, when playing without Tevez he averages a goal every 135.1 minutes, whereas when playing alongside his compatriot, he has scored, quite incredibly, every 43.4 minutes. The need for the two of them to be playing together regularly could not be clearer.

Carlos Tevez is undoubtedly a talented footballer, and despite the difficulties that come with his being a member of your squad, he has shown his worth to Manchester City, not only in recent weeks, but over the last 3 seasons. is Hismasd His statistics speak for themselves and now that push really has come to shove, City would do well to forget their differences and make the most of him in the run-in.