Utd sub Neville could be in trouble after Tevez scored the winner

The ex-United icon, who earlier had been labelled as being “over-priced” by United club captain Neville, made the journeyman defender eat his words as he scored from the spot before heading home the winner.

United took the lead with a Ryan Giggs strike, before Craig Bellamy was felled in the box. Argentinian Tevez hammered the ball down the centre of the goal to pull level.

Tevez again headed home to seal the victory for the Eastlands club, before running to the dugout area cupping his ear – reminiscent of his celebration against City in his last derby as a red.

Former team mate, Gary Neville, was warming-up at the side of the pitch when Tevez scored and the FA will be keen to see video footage that showed the substitute gesturing with his middle finger.

United were the better side by far for most of the game, and City had to hold out for the last 25 minutes to seal the win and a potential Wembley Cup Final.

Trying to play down the incident after the game, United manager said: “It is just the way these things happen. Football can be like that. It can bite you. We have had a few players leave the club and score against us. There is no issue. I am happy with the players we have got.”

The embarrassing defeat comes alongside further financial heartache for the Salford Reds, as latest accounts reveal swollen debts of £716.5million.

The company “Red Football Joint Venture Ltd”, which is owned by the American Glazer family, filed accounts for the year ending June 30 2009 which increased by £17m from £699m.

Old Trafford is the venue for the return leg of the Carling Cup Semi-final, next Wednesday in what will no doubt be a nail-biting encounter for both sets of supporters.

Signing Tevez provoked anger from United manager Ferguson

A trip to Wembley for the winners, possible silverware (the first for some time for one of the clubs), but more importantly in thi sday and age – cash. Cold hard, cash from the revenue that a Wembley trip brings.

It is alleged that Manchester United owners, the Glazers, are said to be struggling to maintain their loan repayments, after plunging the Salford club heavily into debt when they acquired them.

Gambling on future revenues is a tricky business, as Leeds United found out. With refinancing made even more difficult in the current climate, supporters of the reds have been muttering over the club’s huge debt management problems.

Rivals City, couldn’t be more different.

Since the arrival of mega-millions at Eastlands, in the form of Sheikh Mansour, Manchester City have signed many top flight players including Arsenal stars Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure, along with pipping Chelsea to the signing of Brazilian wonder-kid Robinho.

They also angered red’s manager Alex Ferguson when they poached Carlos Tevez from United, before announcing his signing with huge bilboards across th ecity stating “Welcome to Manchester”. This an attack at the rivalry that Manchester City are the ONLY club that is truly from Manchester.

Only Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona can compete with United at present across the globe, which is the challenge that City must face.

The semi-final first leg tonight could be a starting point for City’s new manager Mancini, and the blues hope that this could propel the club to even greater riches (both on and off the pitch).

Sacked Mark Hughes

Manchester City chief executive Garry Cook has insisted this morning that his chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak treated manager Mark Hughes with total transparancy throughout the year and a half he was in charge at Eastlands. Hughes was dismissed on Saturday evening, immediately after the 4-3 victory over Sunderland, but his body language at the game suggested he already knew the axe was falling.

Roberto Mancini has already been installed in Hughes place, and it has emerged that Mancini was formally asked on Thursday to take the job and the deal was sealed within 24 hours.

Given the decision to get rid of Hughes was common knowledge long before the final whistle was blown on his last game in charge, it poses the question why the former Welsh International had not been told earlier.

“The chairman has been nothing but transparent with Mark throughout his tenure,” said Cook. “He was adamant he wanted to do this in person, but he did not arrive until 10:00 a.m. on Saturday. There seems to be an overwhelming theory that there was a conspiracy. There was no conspiracy. Like any other business we have plans and targets; and we have contingencies for when those plans and targets are not being met.”

As an outsider looking in, it strikes me that the whole process was poorly handled by the club who appear to have been going behind Hughes back for some weeks searching for his successor. With support like that I am sure Sparkey’s lawyers will make sure he is suitably compensated.

The way many managers are sacked in football needs looking at, I am convinced that most could probably go to an industrial tribunal and win – if they hadn’t already agreed suitable payoffs in their contracts.

Hughes was building for the future and needed to be given time to achieve the success craved by the long suffering City fans. History tells us that Rome wasn’t built in a day; where would United be now if their board hadn’t given him the time he needed to develop the club? By contrast with City the time being given by Aston Villa to Martin O’Neil is increasingly looking like a good investment.

Hughes discovered sacking in The Sun

Despite working morning, noon and night for eighteen months to steer the Premier League team through the biggest changes in the club’s history, Manager Mark Hughes had to find out he had been sacked by reading Saturday’s back page of The Sun newspaper.

The pressure was on for Boss Hughes and his assistant, Mark Bowen, following last Wednesday’s 3-0 defeat at Spurs.

Unknown to either man was that Roberto Mancini had already accepted the job on December 2 – the night City reached their first cup semi-final in 28 years.

The Sun was the first paper to break the news on Saturday morning that they were finished, Hughes immediately confronted Garry Cook the club’s chief executive to find out if the story was true.

Cook has revealed it was an angry exchange, with Hughes ready to walk out.

However, after receiving advice from the League Managers’ Association he remained to take charge for the match against Sunderland – which City won 4-3.

Hughes then met with chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak after the game, in what was undoubtedly a frank exchange.

Hughes, undoubtedly, left behind a trail of duplicity and betrayal when he departed the club’s Eastlands stadium late on Saturday night.

Manchester City is now to be managed by a man who has not worked for 2½ years and cannot speak a word of English.

46 year old Hughes believes he has been made a scapegoat by Cook and Brian Marwood, men he did not want at the club in the first place.

A close source to Hughes said: “Mark believes Khaldoon had faith in him but he has been totally undermined by Cook and Marwood.

“He holds them wholly accountable for the disgusting way he feels he has been treated.”

The greatest betrayal is that of Former City player and ex-Manchester United assistant manager Brian Kidd, brought in three months ago by Hughes to run the youth academy, who has been aware for three weeks that he was being lined up to be Mancini’s assistant.

Conflict between Hughes and Cook came to a head in February 2009 after the appointment of Marwood. Cook was determined that he would be named as Director of Football with Hughes insisting that this would undermine him so instead he was designated Chief Football Operations Manager.

Cook’s reason for the appointment was that he needed a football man in the boardroom as he did not know enough about the game he was insistent Marwood was also there to help Hughes.

Hughes rarely saw Marwood, but now believes he and Cook were acting together behind the scenes, urging chairman Khaldoon to sack him.

This is one of the shabbiest days in the club’s history.