Yaya Toure’s agent is not exactly the most tactful man on the planet. But that has only served to make Dimitri Seluk’s current feud with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola all the more entertaining.

The two men are having a very public war of words over Guardiola’s decision to leave Toure out of his Champions League squad. Seluk said his client had been humiliated by the move and that he expected Guardiola to “have the balls” to apologise to Toure if City don’t win the Champions League.

Guardiola responded by saying Toure won’t play for the club again until Seluk says sorry.

All very childish up to that point; then it got a bit more entertaining when Seluk decided to up the ante in an interview with a British tabloid last week.

In a display of professional bridge burning, the Ukrainian agent belittled Guardiola’s achievements at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

“The team he took at Barca had been built by Frank Rijkjard and then he was lucky to have Lionel Messi,” Seluk said.

“It was Messi who made Barca, not Pep. Luis Enrique has shown that Barca’s success was not down to Guardiola.

“It was the same in Munich. He couldn’t fail. My grandfather could have won the league with that team. If Pep wants to prove himself as a great manager then he should go to Zaragoza or Sunderland. Let’s see how good he is when he doesn’t take over a great team and hasn’t got half-a-billion pounds to spend.”

Harsh words, although I have to say I think Seluk has pretty much hit the nail on the head there. In fact, it is pretty much what I have been saying all along about Pep – he can’t expect to be considered a great until he has created a team rather than just maintained or improved one.

But I digress. That’s an argument for a different day (one that I shall never tire of having, by the way).

So back to the slanging match in question and I find myself wondering how Guardiola can justify dropping Toure on the basis of what his agent has been saying in the newspapers.

I understand the City boss may not be happy with Seluk’s comments and that he may even find them rude and offensive. But they are Seluk’s comments, not Toure’s.

Punishing one man for another man’s crimes can’t be right, no matter how obnoxious both men happen to be

Yes the two men are closely linked, but unless the player has actually said something himself, imposing a ban on him seems highly unjust.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have much time for Toure. A great player in his day (which has probably passed) but one of the most high-maintenance stars the game has ever created.

But punishing one man for another man’s crimes can’t be right, no matter how obnoxious both men happen to be.

Respite for Neville

Is it possible that Gary Neville might not be such a bad manager after all?

The former Manchester United player’s first proper coaching job ended in tears last season when he was sacked by Valencia after just 21 games in charge.

But now his replacement, Pako Ayestaran, has also been sacked by the Spanish club, four games and four defeats into the new season.

Could it be that Valencia’s problems run far deeper than whoever is sat in the managerial chair? Like who is sat in the owner’s chair, for example.

This latest sacking means Valencia are now looking for their ninth manager in the last four seasons. Which gives the impression they are a club that doesn’t have a plan or, if it does, isn’t very good at sticking to it.

Neville has pretty much ruled out a return to management over the next couple of years. But I am relatively sure he will have another crack at it one day.

Next time, however, he might want to do a bit more research into how a club operates before he gets involved.

Stoking the fire

If you had asked me a few weeks ago who this season’s first top-flight managerial casualty would be, my list would have been pretty short.

Watford’s Walter Mazzarri would have been on it, as would Swansea’s Francesco Guidolin. And Tony Pulis would also have made an appearance based on his deteriorating relationship with the club’s hierarchy.

However, one man who wouldn’t have been on my list is Mark Hughes. In fact, the only way I would have expected him to leave Stoke this season would have been if he had been head hunted.

Yet here we are, just a few weeks into the campaign and Hughes’ job is hanging by a thread.

Stoke haven’t made a stuttering start to the season, they have made a shocking one. I watched them get slaughtered by Crystal Palace last week and the contrast with last year’s composed and organised team was incredible.

Their defence was porous, uncoordinated and panic-stricken. The back four didn’t just look short on confidence, they looked like they had had their self-belief surgically removed.

It certainly wasn’t hard to see why Stoke have conceded 14 goals in five games to shoot to the bottom of the table.

Normally at this stage of the season the clubs that are struggling at the wrong end of the league are doing so because they have been unlucky with fixtures or because they are newly promoted and still trying to adapt to the top flight; or because they have moved into a new ground which is totally unsuitable for football…

In Stoke’s case it is none of those things. They are simply defending like people who have never seen a football before.

I have always been of the belief that Hughes was a very good manager who deserved a bigger club. Whether or not he is capable of turning this round may just prove me right or wrong once and for all.

Out of Toon

Newcastle United fans, please accept my sincere apologies for last Sunday’s column.

I did, indeed, write the piece in advance of your 2-0 home defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers. But I promise it wasn’t a deliberate attempt to jinx you. Nothing could have been further from my thoughts.

I suspect that defeat was just a minor aberration, a blip, a stumble on a marathon run towards promotion.

In the greater scheme of things the odd defeat is not entirely bad for a promotion-chasing team – being reminded you aren’t invincible is the best way to stay focussed on the job at hand.

Complacency was probably one of the only real dangers Newcastle faced this season. Wolves have ensured that should no longer be a problem.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade