There's no substitute for success

Who would be a football manager?

With salaries inflating at the same rate as egos, it is no easy task to keep these sporting celebrities in line and Manchester City gaffer Roberto Mancini has found this out in dramatic fashion.

When Carlos Tevez allegedly refused to go on during Man City’s Champions League clash with Bayern Munich, shockwaves echoed around the footballing world.  The row has since escalated to seismic proportions with the Argentinian striker currently serving a two week suspension until the outcome of the club’s investigation on Wednesday.

Tevez has now blamed the incident on a misunderstanding and apologised to his team’s fans saying that he did not actually refuse to play, rather that: 'There was some confusion on the bench and I believe my position may have been misunderstood.”

The million pound a month footballer claims that his comments were not translated properly, although independent analyses do not corroborate this.  At the very least he could certainly invest a little more of his huge salary in a better interpreter.

Mancini made the point that this behavior would not be acceptable in any other of the top European clubs but, although this rebuttal was rare in the extreme, it is not the first time it has happened.

Keiron Dyer refused to play in a right wing position when his team Newcastle took on Middlesbrough in 2004.  Boss Sir Bobby Robson was sacked just a few games later and Dyer says “I can’t believe now that I acted the way I did” and that he took some of the blame for Robson’s dismissal “on his shoulders”.

It is hard to imagine Tevez showing such remorse and there is talk that the club will attempt to offload him at a cut price during the January transfer window.

Mancini now has a fight on his hands to regain control of his dressing room and the footballing prima donnas that occupy it. With even the player Tevez was intended to replace, Edin Dzeko, throwing a tantrum at his retiral the former Lazio manager must now stamp his authority.

The City manager has made it explicitly clear that he will never play the striker again while he is boss, so what will happen then if the investigation does not rule in his favour?

Hopefully unlike Carlos Tevez, Mancini is prepared to put his money where his mouth is.