BILLY BUNTER

Weblog: The football punter

Tevez should be grateful for mild Mancini

IF memory serves me right I've only ever once clocked a substitute refusing to go on – and there were mitigating circumstances.

Inevitably, it was in good old Sunday League days and the sub in question hadn't got any boots.

A few too many Oranjebooms the night before and he's bowled up in trainers. On an absolute quagmire. We went down to ten, my mate was summoned but no sooner had he put his fag out he was on his backside so he rightly declined the invite to join us.

The fine was he had to buy the first round and that cost him a few quid. Can't quite see that having the same impact on Carlos Tevez somehow, not unless City snap up Jermaine Pennant on an emergency loan.

Wonder how that scene in Munich would have panned out had Paolo di Canio been in charge rather than the more mild-mannered Mancini.

Last seen going toe to toewith one of his (ex) strikers at Swindon's County Ground, you get the impression young Carlos would have been hitching a lift home from Munich on his lonesome – and quite possibly without the use of either of his thumbs.

Mind you, Swindon get the thumbs down from me at Macclesfield tonight.

Swindon's away form is poor and reputations don't count for a lot in the basement.

Game of the night, though, has got to be Southend and against Shrewsbury, third v second.

I'm on Southend. If the Essex lads can stick four past Rotherham away from home they can breach any defence and Shrewsbury's isn't as solid as it was a couple of seasons back.