No player is bigger than their club

• Former Man United skipper Neville wrote in his book of the troubles Tevez would cause to any dressing room

Some sports are for the individual. Singles tennis gets a much higher profile (and the prize money is greater) than doubles.

We watch the Olympics mainly for individual performances in the 100 and 200 meters sprints and to confirm (again) Kenya’s World dominance of middle and long distance running.

But many other sports are team games. The most obvious example is rugby. In the Rugby World Cup, some players make headlines – Johnny Wilkinson of England’s victorious team in 2003, or, possibly, Dan Carter of the All Blacks in the current tournament in his home New Zealand.

Cricket is also a team game, although the individual performances of Sachin Tendulkar as a batsman for India and Shane Warne bowling for Australia contributed hugely to the supremacy of their respective countries over long periods of time.

Football is probably somewhere in between rugby and cricket in the “team or individual” comparison.

Currently, we are seeing the effect of the absence of Wayne Rooney with injury for Manchester United. After a flying start to the season for both player and club, things have slowed down considerably.

In the Champions League against Basel - a game that many thought the home side would stroll through – Manchester United were lucky not to suffer a rare home defeat in European competition.

United’s performance in that game, might have been casual (the manager, Sir Alex Ferguson’s comment in after match interviews).

It may also have had something to do with a defence in which Rio Ferdinand is not the player he once was as time and layoffs through injury have taken their toll.

For the future

And Phil Jones is not all some have built him up to be. Rather he is a young man with a bright future but not the finished article currently, as Fabio Capello has recognised by including him in the England national team squad but not in the starting lineup.

Injuries are a natural part of the game, and the big names are geared up to cope with them.

Manchester United have a squad in place that can, just about, help to get them through the loss of one player.

The club with the most impressive squad in the Premiership, fuelled by unlimited spending power, is Manchester City. But one player is now causing serious issues and poses a real threat to their ambitions.

I said in a recent article that Manchester City’s Champions League tie away at Bayern Munich was a real test of their progress and status. If so, Roberto Mancini’s men run the risk of events last Tuesday in Germany derailing their season as early as September unless they are very careful.

It’s well documented what happened during the second half of that game. It was apparent to all that Carlos Tevez refused to come on as a substitute; the player himself giving a different interpretation of events. He blames “confusion on the bench”.

Whatever, it is clear that this is a major falling out between player and club.

Roberto Mancini has a reputation as a strict disciplinarian, and his mood won’t have been improved by the petulant behaviour of striker Edin Dzeko when he was substituted just before the Tevez incident.

But when we think of our own situation, we will all have the greatest of sympathy with Mancini.

If you are paid by an employer to work (and Tevez is supposedly the best paid player in a team with a crazy wage bill), that is exactly what you do.
An example from another type of job.

Many years ago, I knew someone in financial services in London. He came into work as usual on a Friday; he was told that he was on an assignment in Hong Kong for four weeks from the following Monday and that he should travel at the weekend to the Far East.

He refused to go, and within 24 hours his employment was ended and he was looking for another job. His boss felt that it was in his contract to travel, and that not going undermined the whole working team.

Lessons learned

There are three things this teaches us. You can’t refuse a genuine request made by the person who pays your wages.

If you do refuse, don’t expect to keep your job. And keep your bags packed if you are working in financial services in London.

What is also clear is that Mancini has got to make a stand against this outrageous flaunting of player power, and that Manchester City must back him. Otherwise the Italian’s job becomes impossible.

Mancini has already made it clear that Tevez has no way back; indeed, he told Tevez to “go back to Argentina” in the dressing-room after the game.

Now the player has been suspended until further notice for a maximum period of two weeks. He will not be considered for selection or take part in training.

An internal review of the incident is taking place. It’s possible that under Tevez’ contract, there is a way to bring his relationship with City to a quick end.

But this is unlikely, given the protection players have managed to get in their legal relationship with clubs after bad treatment in the past.

The last thing any club (or indeed any business) wants is to get involved in a lengthy court battle; there is a risk of this happening unless a measured approach is taken and City are confident they have the law behind them.

One thing that will be in City’s favour is public opinion.

Gary Neville, a former Manchester United captain, wrote in his book of the troubles Tevez could cause, as he went from being motivated and focused to losing interest.

Many will agree with that.

United showed that they wouldn’t tolerate a non-committed trouble maker at the club; Manchester City must now do the same, and demonstrate that no player is bigger than their club.

When not thinking about football, Guy Maughfling (Facebook Group: “Premiership Chat”) is a director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Advisory business in East Africa. The views expressed here are his own.