It's very simple. There can be no rapprochement, no forgiveness, no way back and certainly no excuses from Carlos Tevez, not credible ones anyway.
The two-week suspension must be made permanent. The finisher has to be finished at Manchester City. Adios Carlos.
City's statement detailing the decision to suspend Tevez for a fortnight, pending a full review into embarrassing events in Bavaria, must be the beginning of the end.
In his own statement on Wednesday, Tevez echoed that plaintive chorus from The Animals (or Nina Simone depending on your musical tastes): "But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good; oh lord, please don't let me be misunderstood."
Unlike the lyricist, whose brief spat with his girlfriend had a happy ending, it is impossible to see Tevez and City heading up the aisle — unless there's a judge waiting at the top, not a vicar.
United in outrage
Football is a broad church, encompassing many opinions, but rarely has the congregation been so united in outrage at one individual's affront to a famous shirt, to loyal fans, a highly respected manager and generous employers.
Some sadness needs expressing as the Argentine is a terrific footballer but what happened on Tuesday tarnished a sport that has largely treated him well.
Amid the outcry, solutions have been proposed, such as sack Tevez and persuade Fifa to retain his registration or leave him to rot in the reserves. However tempting, such options are riddled with risk.
City officials, examining the fine detail of Tevez's contract, can make the right decision only through ignoring all the emotions swirling through them. As galling as it may be to rip up Tevez's contract, City cannot allow him to stay within the fold.
Exasperatingly, Tevez will benefit financially: after the mutiny, the bounty. But as much as it risks setting a precedent, City must realise the perils of not frogmarching him through the exit door.
If they decide to tear up Tevez's contract, City may glean some long-term satisfaction in that Tevez's reputation has been damaged; all that belief that he was the model of determination on the pitch, that he loved playing, has been tempered by that image of his refusing to leave the bench in Bavaria.
Would a serious European club really want to take a gamble on a star, however good, who keeps leaving clubs under a shadow? The game's chronicles show that his time at West Ham ended controversially, his stay at Manchester United finished with acrimony and long goodbye from City seems just a descent into darkness. He has brought those clubs joy and pain.
The photographs of Tevez walking through Manchester Airport yesterday were fitting — he comes with baggage. Would Inter Milan take the risk?
City will survive without him. They have Sergio Agüero and David Silva. They have Mancini. They have good fans. They have a very simple decision to make. Adiós Carlos.
The two-week suspension must be made permanent. The finisher has to be finished at Manchester City. Adios Carlos.
City's statement detailing the decision to suspend Tevez for a fortnight, pending a full review into embarrassing events in Bavaria, must be the beginning of the end.
In his own statement on Wednesday, Tevez echoed that plaintive chorus from The Animals (or Nina Simone depending on your musical tastes): "But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good; oh lord, please don't let me be misunderstood."
Unlike the lyricist, whose brief spat with his girlfriend had a happy ending, it is impossible to see Tevez and City heading up the aisle — unless there's a judge waiting at the top, not a vicar.
United in outrage
Football is a broad church, encompassing many opinions, but rarely has the congregation been so united in outrage at one individual's affront to a famous shirt, to loyal fans, a highly respected manager and generous employers.
Some sadness needs expressing as the Argentine is a terrific footballer but what happened on Tuesday tarnished a sport that has largely treated him well.
Amid the outcry, solutions have been proposed, such as sack Tevez and persuade Fifa to retain his registration or leave him to rot in the reserves. However tempting, such options are riddled with risk.
City officials, examining the fine detail of Tevez's contract, can make the right decision only through ignoring all the emotions swirling through them. As galling as it may be to rip up Tevez's contract, City cannot allow him to stay within the fold.
Exasperatingly, Tevez will benefit financially: after the mutiny, the bounty. But as much as it risks setting a precedent, City must realise the perils of not frogmarching him through the exit door.
If they decide to tear up Tevez's contract, City may glean some long-term satisfaction in that Tevez's reputation has been damaged; all that belief that he was the model of determination on the pitch, that he loved playing, has been tempered by that image of his refusing to leave the bench in Bavaria.
Would a serious European club really want to take a gamble on a star, however good, who keeps leaving clubs under a shadow? The game's chronicles show that his time at West Ham ended controversially, his stay at Manchester United finished with acrimony and long goodbye from City seems just a descent into darkness. He has brought those clubs joy and pain.
The photographs of Tevez walking through Manchester Airport yesterday were fitting — he comes with baggage. Would Inter Milan take the risk?
City will survive without him. They have Sergio Agüero and David Silva. They have Mancini. They have good fans. They have a very simple decision to make. Adiós Carlos.
