Mancini envious of Moyes, but Toffees just can’t buy a goal

WHEN Roberto Mancini, the Manchester City manager, looks across to David Moyes, his Everton counterpart this evening in the opposite dugout, do not bet against the duo casting envious glances at each other.

That is because if anything encapsulates the weird and wonderful world of the Premier League, then it is this encounter at Eastlands.

Mancini, who will guide City to top spot at Christmas for the first time since 1929 with victory tonight, must look at Moyes and gaze in jealous wonder at a manager with unlimited public backing from his chairman, something close to subservient adoration from the club’s fans and a man who has had eight years to impose his vision on the Merseyside outfit.

Moyes has no money to spend — literally nothing — in this upcoming transfer window, or any other for that matter, but what would Mancini do to have such long-term job prospects, such boardroom support and such devotion from both his players and supporters.

The Scotsman, who took over at Goodison Park in March 2002, will look at Mancini with an equal longing for some of what the Italian has; money that is, oodles of it.

Moyes is a decent enough man to know he has hit the jackpot in every way other than financially at Everton and that many a manager has been sacked a lot sooner than he has because despite his fine rebuilding job at Goodison Park, Everton’s trophy count still registers a zero under Moyes’s tutelage.

But that is what the Premier League is like these days. It is a place of extremes. With ludicrous money comes ludicrous expectations, trigger-happy boardrooms and a job expectancy roughly similar to a kamikaze pilot.

At the other end of the spectrum, where Everton currently reside, it is a place of make-do-and-mend, loan signings and a heaving acceptance that the haves will keep getting richer and the have-nots will have to keep looking to the top table, begging for extras, Oliver Twist style.

The similarities do not end there as both managers are going into this game while having to deal with chronic striker problems, even if those problems are of an entirely different nature.

Carlos Tevez has outlined to the club’s board his desire to leave City, citing terrible homesickness and a wish to return to Argentina as his main justification although the club have now told him that will not be happening under any circumstances and it will therefore be interesting to see how he copes tonight.

“I’m confident he will stay here,” team-mate Micah Richards said.

“He’s a big part of our team. If you ask anyone, they will tell you that. I think they will get it sorted out and the sooner, the better.

“He’s got his opinions and stuff, but I’m sure we can keep him until the end of the season at least. We’re doing well in the league, we’re top of our group in Europe. It’s going well for us and he’s a big part of what we’re trying to do, so hopefully he’ll stay.

“I don’t think it’s anything to do with Man City to be honest. He’s said previously that he’s tired and stuff like that. He made his debut when he was 15 or 16 and I think he’s missing his family back home. But I’m sure the situation will be resolved sooner rather than later.”

And what of Mancini? Will he last longer than Hughes? “We always said, give him time and he would produce the goods,” Richards added.

“He’s come in last year, changed the club around and he’s done ever so well. The team are doing well and we’re getting results. He’s happy, the players are happy and we’re just looking forward to the future. We’re all excited about what we can achieve together.”

Moyes’ problems with his strike force are of a more old-fashioned nature: they are just not scoring goals.

Yakubu, Louis Saha and Jermaine Beckford have just five goals between them all term and Tim Cahill leads the way this year with eight goals but the crowd favourite will be playing for Australia in the Asia Cup in January so Everton will have to look elsewhere if they want to improve their current lowly position.

Moyes would love to bring in either City’s Emmanuel Adebayor or Roque Santa Cruz to bolster his faltering goal tally but, as he honestly acknowledges, he would happily accept goals — any goals — from anywhere.

“I hope somebody other than Tim Cahill can score goals for us and he leaves in early January so we need others to step up to the plate,” Moyes said.

“We are not getting centre halves scoring for us or wingers cutting in and scoring so we need to find someone who will score. It is not just the front players.”