Manchester City v Manchester United: Carlos Tévez ready to pen final chapter of his Mancunian odyssey As Monday's title decider looms into view, there is an inescapable sense that the final chapter in Tévez's Mancunian odyssey is about to written. Picture the scene. It is 0-0, the clock is ticking down to the final five minutes and City need the goal that could transform them from also-rans into champions. Thirty-eight years on from Law's back-heeled goal for City which coincided with United's relegation, would you bet against Tévez flicking the ball beyond David de Gea to score the goal which ultimately signals the shifting in the balance of power from red to blue? For all of the trouble and strife he has generated - the messy divorce from United, the bust-ups with Mancini, the repeated demands to leave - there have been highs. Two titles and a European Cup with United, an FA Cup as City captain and 90 goals in five years. But he remains an enigma. Throughout his five years in Manchester, few have been able to fathom out the real Carlos Tévez. This is the man whose generosity once saw him treat low-level staff at City's training ground to 42-inch plasma televisions at the end of his first season at the club, but the flip side of Tévez is the story told by a United employee who recalls the forward dismissively tossing an expensive watch in her direction as he trooped past following a sponsorship launch at Old Trafford. On the pitch, he is a dervish, committed to the end, yet an unconvincing trainer and problem child when it comes to his fractious relationship with Mancini. At times, it would have been no surprise to see the pair pitch up on The Jeremy Kyle Show alongside the usual array of dysfunctional partners desperate to see the back of each other. Mancini admits, however, that pragmatism influenced his decision to backtrack on his assertion that Tévez was "finished" following his defiance in Munich and the Italian insists that restoring him to the team has been the right thing to do. "I had no problem in forgiving him," Mancini said. Club officials never forced me to do anything - to bring him back was a logical choice, given that he was not sold in the January transfer window. As he is a player of great quality, one of the best strikers in the world, I thought that he could lend a hand. But with Monday's game set to decide who wins the title, did Ferguson actually lend City a greater hand by passing up the chance to keep Tévez three years ago? Such is the mystery which still surrounds his defection in the summer of 2009, estimates of the full extent of City's outlay for him range from £32 million-£47 million, depending on your point of view. United, having an option to sign him for £25.5 million at the end of his two-year loan arrangement, declined to complete the deal, with chief executive David Gill calling the cost of the package "a bit toppy." City, desperate for an impact signing following Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan's takeover the previous September, happily agreed to pay him £198,000 a week and the deal was done. Then came the "Welcome to Manchester" poster, which riled Ferguson so much he dismissed City as a "small club with a small mentality," setting in motion a war of words centred around Tévez which has barely abated. He has been the man who gave the noisy neighbours their voice. Tomorrow, only a fool would bet against him having the final say. City divided So where is the Mancunian divide and is England's leading football city red or blue? Ask any Manchester City supporter and they will insist that their club draws more fans from the city than Manchester United. But the reds claim that Manchester has always been red and that the blues have become a diminishing breed during 20 years of Premier League dominance by United. However, using data supplied by both clubs in terms of which areas of the city they regard as red and blue, it appears that Manchester is pretty much split down the middle. City draw the majority of their supporters from the east and south of the city, while United dominate to the west and north. Out of town, Salford is a red stronghold, while Stockport is a well-populated blue enclave. So is Manchester red or blue? It is too close to call - just like the race for the title.