Kenny Dalglish has demanded that clubs be allowed to conduct
their business in confidence, 48 hours after the leaking of details
of Liverpool's exploratory telephone call to Manchester City in
which the notion of swapping Andy Carroll for Carlos Tevez was
broached.
Dalglish yesterday refused to discuss whether the swap deal had
been floated, in a call from Anfield to City's football
administrator, Brian Marwood, last Thursday, though he did not deny
that the conversation had taken place. The Liverpool manager
may encourage his director of football, Damien Comolli, to
establish fresh contact with City if the possibility arises of a
loan deal for the Argentine, in the last day of the transfer window
today.
That remains extremely unlikely, though The Independent
understands that Tevez lodged an appeal late last night against the
City disciplinary action that has cost him £9.3m in salary, bonuses
and fines. The appeal will cast the club into at least two more
months of disciplinary procedures and make City keener than ever to
see Tevez out of the door before the transfer window shuts at
11pm.
Dalglish's demands for privacy reflected the annoyance which is
bound to be felt at Anfield about the disclosure of details of the
call, from someone with the necessary authority within the Anfield
hierarchy to Marwood, proposing a no-cash Tevez/Carroll swap.
"We're not talking about any specific incident, but if you are
going to do business in any way, shape or form, no matter what life
you are in, you don't need to disclose it until it's done," said
Dalglish. "We're not going to get involved in justifying what
people are saying. Get them to justify it, not us"
Liverpool's call may initially have been an inquiry about
Tevez's availability on loan, before discussion turned to the
Carroll swap, which was rejected. But any thoughts Dalglish may
have of pursuing a loan deal again today would need to be
accompanied by a guarantee to meet City's asking price, either now
or from the end of this season. It is highly doubtful Tevez would
want to move down the M62, in any case.
Milan, who have offered no cash so far, may seek to tempt City
with a low cash offer before the window closes, in the knowledge
that the club badly want the 27-year-old off their books. Milan
will be encouraged by Tevez's representatives' decision to appeal
to a Premier League independent arbitration panel against the fines
and salary deductions imposed by City, following Tevez's
unauthorised departure to Argentina in November. These disciplinary
proceedings will drag on until the title run-in. It will take the
Premier League around two months to constitute the three-man panel,
which will be headed by a senior legal figure – possibly a former
judge – and, typically, also include a former senior football
administrator and a third individual of high public standing. The
Premier League's first task will be to act with urgency, first
writing to both parties, asking for observations on the
dispute.
Despite the proceedings, City's Abu Dhabi ownership will not –
on a point of principle – allow Tevez to back them into a corner.
The view of the club last night remained that Tevez will not be
loaned out and may only leave the club if a cash offer, payable now
or in the summer, is tabled.
City's manager, Roberto Mancini, did not dispel the idea
yesterday that he would have welcomed the chance to discuss a
Carroll/Tevez swap, which surfaced in Thursday's telephone
conversation, if Marwood had put it to him.
The Italian, speaking two hours before Dalglish was asked to
address the issue, said that he admired Carroll as a player but
declared that Marwood had not put Liverpool's ideas to him.
"Carroll is a good player, he is young and strong, but it would
be difficult and I don't think [it is going to happen]," Mancini
said. "There was no phone call to me. I don't know if Brian Marwood
was involved. I just read it in the newspaper. I didn't speak to
Marwood about this." Both managers said they expected no business
to be concluded by their clubs on transfer deadline day. "Nothing
is happening at all," Dalglish said.
The Liverpool manager, whose side have scored fewer goals than
any other in the top 10 bar Stoke, knows Tevez's work rate is
unquestionable when his mind is right. In their call, Liverpool
were actually doing no more than following up on the manager's
suggestion after Craig Bellamy had helped defeat his former club in
the Carling Cup semi-final, that "If Man City have anyone else like
that, they know where we are."
Everton v Manchester City
Everton: HOWARD; NEVILLE; DUFFY; HEITINGA; BAINES; DONOVAN;
GIBSON; FELLAINI; DRENTHE; CAHILL; STRACQUALURSI
Man City: HART; CLICHY; LESCOTT; KOMPANY; RICHARDS; BARRY; DE
JONG; NASRI; MILNER; SILVA; AGUERO
Kick-off 8pm (Sky Sports 2; Highlights BBC 1, 10.45pm).
Ref P Walton (Northants). Odds: Eve 7-2; Draw 5-2; MC 5-6
Comments