Summerbee: City will thrive without Tevez

Manchester City legend Mike Summerbee is convinced the club will prosper no matter whether Carlos Tevez decides to leave or not.

City are still coming to terms with Tevez's obvious desire to quit, even if they are somewhat confused as to his reasons.

The 26-year-old has claimed his relationship with senior executive figures at Eastlands - thought to be chief executive Garry Cook and football administration officer Brian Marwood - is broken beyond repair.

However, it has been asked how often Tevez would have actually come into contact with the duo and, as relations with manager Roberto Mancini have also been frosty - quite apart from the obvious distraction of his two young daughters living with his estranged partner in Argentina - City are anxious to discover exactly what the problem is.

Saddened as Summerbee is by Tevez's actions, and the timing of them given City moved level on points with league leaders Arsenal with their victory over West Ham at the weekend, he is confident the Blues remain on an upward curve.

"Bert Trautmann was a great player. Francis Lee and Colin Bell were great players. Bobby Johnstone was a great player," Summerbee said.

"They all left but this football club continued. The club will be there forever. It doesn't matter what the situation is.

"It is a bit upsetting it has got to this situation because he (Tevez) has been such a good player for us, but Manchester City will go on and we are only going one way - upwards."

Tevez is due back to training tomorrow after being given an extra day off by Mancini.

Given the deterioration in his relationship with the club, it was questioned whether the 26-year-old would actually turn up.

However, it is understood he will be at Carrington as City begin preparations for Thursday's Europa League trip to Juventus.

Whether Tevez is on board the flight to Turin is another matter.

The Eastlands hierarchy are solidly against a January sale and the financial resources at their disposal mean City are the only club who could conceivably dump Tevez in the reserves and let him stew.

Such a scenario may not appeal to Mancini though, given he seems to be permanently fire-fighting problems with senior players.

Although Tevez said in his statement yesterday he had "no personal issue" with Mancini, he did leave open the possibility for conjecture about his professional relationship, which is thought to be rocky at the very best.

The prospect of having someone so disaffected around the training ground may not appeal, even if Tevez continued to give his all for Manchester United even when it was obvious in his final few weeks at Old Trafford that he would be leaving.

Indeed, as Tevez first expressed a desire to quit City in August, he has done a pretty good job in masking his problems given he has been a major influence in propelling the Blues into a Champions League spot.

"It is a little bit upsetting for this to happen when things are going so well," Summerbee added. "We are in such a good position and played ever so well on Saturday.

"That win in itself shut a few mouths because it proved we can survive without Carlos."

Like the majority of City fans, Summerbee is content to let Mancini deal with the matter.

Wolfsburg's Edin Dzeko has already been lined up as a potential replacement for Emmanuel Adebayor, while Mario Balotelli will be a very valuable asset if the flaws in his character can be sorted out.

"We have a good manager who knows exactly what he is doing," Summerbee said. "He knows creating a winning football team is not just about one person.

"They used to speak about Lee, Best and Summerbee in the same way as they did about Law, Best and Charlton.

"But none of us could be the players we were without others around us. It is exactly the same with Manchester City now.

"Carlos Tevez is a wonderful player and a nice person, so I really don't know where all this interference is coming from.

"But long-term I really do not have any worries about us at all."