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Manchester City: Mancini sacked, but are City right to go for Pellegrini?

  By O-Posts Team | May 16, 2013 - 22:23 | , , , , ,
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Perhaps the most startling aspect of Roberto Mancini’s sacking as Manchester City manager on Monday evening was the speed of it, coming just over 48 hours after the Qatari owners watch their side produce a sluggish display in defeat to Wigan in the FA Cup final.

Rumours that the Eastlands hierarchy held a lack of faith in Mancini’s reign had been circulating in the build-up to the final, in tandem with City’s relinquishing of the Premier League title back to neighbours Manchester United, and the bubbling prospect of Mancini’s overhauling had almost over-shadowed City’s presence at Saturday’s showpiece event.

A fine Wigan performance subjected Manchester City to a trophy-less campaign and it proved to be the final scene in Mancini’s eventful three and a half year act in English football. The lack of success proved to have had little affect on the thinking of his employers however, hinting that as Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the City chairman, stood alongside his manager to convey the Wembley pitch in the build-up to Saturday’s kick-off, he was well-drilled in the Italian manager’s fate.

Having woke up on Saturday to intensified speculation that Manuel Pellegrini, the Qatari owner’s reported choice to succeed Mancini, was on his way in, City fans were vocal in their support of the manager at Wembley. Many also lined the streets of Manchester on Tuesday to remind the outgoing manager the high regard he was held amongst City fans who watched him deliver their first league championship in 44 years. A managerial sacking after a season which delivered a second-place league finish and a runners-up spot in the FA Cup seemed not to sit will with a fan-base still familiar with the trips to Grimsby and Stockport that illustrated the era of mundane failure at the turn of the millennium.

The statement which accompanied Mancini’s removal did mention that “he had failed to achieve on of its targets for the year”, hinting at the lack of silverware, but the meat of the parting prose came in identifying his successor as somebody who would “ensure a more holistic approach to all aspects of football at the club”.

A summer in which Mancini was restricted in the transfer market, adding just Scott Sinclair, Jack Rodwell, Javi Garcia and Matija Nastasic to his championship-winning squad whilst their city neighbours got significantly stronger with the acquisitions of Shinji Kagawa and Robin Van Persie, saw the Italian blame the board for his struggles to defend that title. From then on, there was a suspicion the writing was on the wall.

Frayed relationships have appeared not to have eased as the naturally abrasive and polemic Mancini has also publicly criticised his squad on numerous occasions as well as entertaining the circus of lunacy accompanying Mario Balotelli, before he was left with little choice but to jettison the young Italian back to Milan in January. Communication problems with the board seem to have passed beyond the point of repair as City have produced a laborious struggle on the field.

Whilst Mancini wrestled with his volatile nature and an unsettled squad, Sir Alex Ferguson managed to keep a tight reign on his despite the bitter failure of the preceding campaign and was fully-focused on retrieving the title, becoming his 13th of the Premier League era. The importance of maintaining an almost-autocratic reign on a club to ensure long-term success has been emphasised by Ferguson’s recent retirement and it is something City are looking to replicate, starting with the ousting of their quarrelsome coach.

It seems like Pellegrini, the Chilean coach of La Liga club Malaga, does seem to be Manchester City’s preferred choice to takeover as news of his talks with the clubs has emerged in the aftermath of Mancini’s passing. The 59 year old has built a reputation as a superb tactician during his time in Spain with Villarreal, who he guided to a Champions League semi-final in 2006 as well as a second place league finish in the midst of the Real Madrid, Barcelona duopoly in 2008, and now Malaga, whom he led to the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history last season.

The rise of the Andalusian club has been heavily funded by the riches of Sheikh Al Thani, though the financial turbulence caused by the benefactor’s possible withdrawal in the summer that sparked the sale of Santi Cazorla, Joris Mathijsen and Salomon Rondon as well as Nacho Monreal in January,  has failed to significantly hinder Pellegrini who has kept the club in the hunt for another Champions League qualification (though UEFA rulings have barred the club from competing in Europe next year due to financial irregularities) and came within seconds of eliminating finalists Borussia Dortmund from the quarter-final stage of this year’s competition.

The mitigating presence of the rich owner can be excused when it is considered Pellegrini was forced to spend nothing in the summer but has still churned out a year of relative success. Yet critics will point to his trophy-less year at Real Madrid, when he was backed to the tune of £200 million by president Florentino Perez, signing the quadrant of Karim Benzema, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Xabi Alonso, as a foreboding aspect of Pellegrini’s arrival in Manchester, though one should expect less interference from the Qatari ownership in contrast to Perez, who prohibited Pellegrini from picking Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben and refused to speak to his coach when he did. The relationship with his president was further skewed by the decision to pick Gonzalo Higuain ahead of the £30 million signing Karim Benzema.

Despite the counter-productive political battle with Perez and the board, Pellegrini led Madrid to a 96 point finish, a club record, but finished runner-up to a Barcelona side the Chilean referred to as the “best Barcelona in history”. Bemoaning the reckless Galactico philosophy of Madrid on his way out, Pellegrini was duly sacked after just one year, but it is rather harsh to overlook the context which has caused the coach to be without any silverware outside of his native South America. Mancini has dictated that City should look to somebody who offers far more than just results and Pellegrini ticks that box.

The way in which Pellegrini has kept his side motivated in this season’s La Liga despite the prospect of no European football for next year has shown his ability to keep tight control over his players, whilst the impressive form of Javier Saviola, Julio Baptista and Joaquin, all players previously discarded on the continent, suggests the extent of what he can force out of stretched resources. His record in Europe is also already more attractive than Mancini’s, whose limitations were exposed most drastically on the continent with two-group stage exits during his spell at Eastlands.

With an FA Cup win and a Premier League title to his name from his time in England, there was possibly enough to draw a valid argument for Mancini to be given another year in charge of Manchester City, though the owners have chosen to dispense with the manager who struggled to grasp the aspects of football coaching other than simply getting results.

Pellegrini’s trophy cabinet is bare, but that should be irrespective to his possible succession, a manager’s validity should go deeper than that, something that City’s owners have shown their appreciation of.

 

Written by Adam Gray

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Roberto Mancini: Why City handed him his marching orders

  By O-Posts Team | May 15, 2013 - 18:48 | , ,
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The sacking of Roberto Mancini has raised many an eyebrow these past 24 hours as to why exactly he was sacked. Are we the new Chelsea or Real Madrid? Do our owners know nothing about football? Of course not.

The reasoning behind the Mancini departure expressed by the club is that they needed to develop a holistic approach. Mancini certainly has not been holistic at City. He often criticised the board members such as Brian Marwood and even City’s PR Vicky Kloss. Regardless of whether they have actually done a bad job or not, in criticising these members of the board, Mancini makes City look weak and therefore makes the image of the club look bad.

If he has a problem with these members of City’s boardroom and PR he should speak with them quietly and individually, rather than publicly shaming them. It’s embarrassing for our club.

Mancini also seemed to have lost the faith of the players, I don’t know when this happened, but performances like the one against Wigan have occurred far too frequently throughout our season. Games like the Aston Villa (Capital One Cup) game, the Borussia Dortmund away game and the dismal away game against Southampton spring to mind.

Clearly, Mancini seemed to be unable to inspire and motivate his players to the extent by which he should of been doing. It is the manager’s job after all, to motivate and bring the best out of his players. For the last few months, even stretching back sometimes into last season, Mancini has failed to do that.  Mancini’s constant failure in Europe – albeit having only a couple of cracks at it – also comes to mind.

We couldn’t get past an average Dynamo Kyiv or Sporting Lisbon side in the UEFA Europa League and we failed, despite our “Group of Deaths”, to get out of the Champions League Group Stages two seasons running.For our board with their aspirations of City being as good as Bayern are now, or Barcelona were just a few seasons ago, this is just simply not good enough. Real Madrid should have been beaten by City twice in the Champions League, they were there for the taking, and we didn’t do that.

Performances matter to our board as much as results do. Claiming a 2nd place in the Premier League whilst being FA Cup Runners Up may have been good enough for Mancini, had the team looked like a World Class side frequently this season. The game against United away and the first 65 minutes against Chelsea aside, I don’t think City have looked anything like World Class this season.

The board has wielded the axe now, in order to make sure next season is a much better season on and off the pitch. Manuel Pellegrini, the man in line to take the job at City, has many of the traits City may be looking for. He has been known to be a man of principle, one who will not criticise the board, and he will take a more “holistic” approach to Manchester City Football Club.

He has stayed at Malaga despite the numerous crises throughout this season. He has dragged a side, who sold most of their best players last summer, to 6th in the Spanish La Liga and very nearly to the Semi-Finals of the UEFA Champions League, barring two offside goals in added time from Borussia Dortmund. He did the same with Villarreal in 2006, lifting them from obscurity to the Semi-Finals of the Champions League.

In his one season managerial stint with Real Madrid, Pellegrini was deprived of his wishes as coach and forced to work with players given to him by Florentino Perez. Whilst Pellegrini wanted to keep Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben, Perez sold them off and bought Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Kaka. Pellegrini had seen Robben and Sneijder integral to his plans and even though Pellegrini did get one of the world’s best players in Cristiano Ronaldo, he failed to convince Perez to get the defensive players he wanted.

A famous quote by Pellegrini at the time; “It’s no good having an orchestra with the 10 best guitarists if I don’t have a pianist”, meaning that Perez was obsessed with buying attacking players, rather than the players he actually needed. However, in that season Pellegrini got Real Madrid’s highest ever points total of 96 points. He was second, only to the greatest ever Barcelona side of 2010, who amassed 99 points. Consequently, Pellegrini was sacked, as is Real Madrid’s hostile approach to managers.

Mancini is still loved by most of the City faithful, me included, for what he achieved during his 3 and ½ year stint here. Despite the dismal way Mancini has been treated and sacked in the last week of his tenure, it should be remembered that the board, including ex-Barca chiefs Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano will have thought Mancini’s job through extensively and won’t have made any rash decision.

City were in an impossible position on Monday, in that if they hadn’t sacked him, they would have been slated as “classless” for allowing a dead man walking to carry on his job. (What City should have done is squashed the rumours of Mancini’s departure on Saturday morning by releasing a statement along the lines of “It is entirely false that Man City have sacked Mancini and both Roberto and the club are committed to winning our third major trophy in as many years”. If that had been said, I believe we would have won the Cup Final).

However, as they did sack him, they were branded as “classless” for the way Mancini was sacked, it was a no-win situation. Nevertheless, at City, Pellegrini will be given time to develop and integrate his ideas into the City side. Pellegrini has repeatedly said that the idea of playing entertaining football is non-negotiable and so expect a much more exciting, early 2011-12 season like, City next season.

Don’t worry if Pellegrini hasn’t won any major trophies in Europe, he hasn’t had the proper platform to be able to. At City, he will get just that.

 

Written by Henry Francis

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Special Feature: The Top 10 Best Premier League Matches Ever

  By O-Posts Team | February 1, 2013 - 18:42 | , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Over the last 20 years, we have been privileged to see so many brilliant players and wonderful goals illuminate the Premier League, leading to a plethora of breathtaking football matches. But which of these games stand-out, leaving an ever-lasting imprint on our memories?

The following is a list of my top 10 games of the Premier League era. As with previous lists, there were a mixture of commodities to determine the rankings, such as how defining the game was in relation to the season, for one or both teams, the shock factor, the dramatic element and, of course, the goal-laden excitement.

 
10. West Ham 5-4 Bradford City: February 12, 2000

A memorable game that saw the talented, but controversial Paolo di Canio play the leading role.

The drama started after just 5 minutes, when the Hammers ‘keeper Shaka Hislop was stretchered off with a broken leg. He was replaced by third choice custodian, Stephen Bywater, who was making his Premier League debut. He went on to have a nightmare afternoon.

Bradford arrived at Upton Park deep in the relegation mire, but their attacking efforts were rewarded after 30 minutes, when Dean Windass headed home from a Peter Beagrie corner, with the young Bywater left rooted to the spot. Trevor Sinclair and John Moncur quickly reversed the scoreline, before the somersaulting Beagrie levelled it up for the Bantams on the stroke of half-time.

In a dramatic second half, the error-strewn Bywater gifted Jamie Lawrence two goals to give Bradford a 4-2 lead, but it was then that Di Canio stole the show. He was denied three penalties (and to be fair to him, he would have won all 3 on any other day) in the space of just a few minutes. After the third had been turned down, the Italian made his way over to the dugout in a petulant demand to be substituted by manager Harry Redknapp.

A few minutes later, West Ham were finally awarded a spot-kick, after a foul on sub Paul Kitson. Di Canio, who had now returned to the action, then engaged in a comical tussling match with a young Frank Lampard, who had the ball ready to take the penalty. After a minute or so of jostling, the reluctant Lampard stepped aside and Di Canio converted from the spot.

The promising Joe Cole made it 4-4 on 70 with his first ever Premier League goal, and Di Canio made amends to Lampard in the final minute by setting him up for the winning goal to cap an eventful day’s play!

Despite the defeat, Bradford went on to survive relegation (for one more season at least!) following their last day win over Liverpool.

 
9. Manchester United 1-6 Manchester City: October 23, 2011

City’s title-winning credentials were emphatically displayed as arch-rivals United were crushed in their own back-yard. And, like the previous game on this list, the mood was set by an enigmatic Italian.

City had started the campaign with a more attack minded mindset, and took the game to United. Mario Balotelli started the fireworks (not literally, thankfully, this time!) by opening the scoring on 22 minutes, before famously revealing his ‘Why Always Me?’ t-shirt.

Jonny Evans was sent off just after half-time for bringing down Balotelli 20 yards from goal, and City took advantage. Super Mario and Sergio Aguero both netted from close range following fine work from the brilliant David Silva, and although Darren Fletcher pulled a goal back for United, sub Edin Dzeko added a 4th, before City notched twice on the break in stoppage time; Silva and Dzeko completing the rout.

It was a significant statement of intent from City, who duly went on to win the title. The defeat was United’s joint worst in Premier League history.

 
8. Tottenham 3-5 Manchester United: September 29, 2001

In one of the best comebacks in Prem history, United stunned Tottenham with 5 second-half goals on a scintillating afternoon at White Hart Lane.

Spurs started strongly, and the late Dean Richards marked his debut in fine style with an early goal, before Les Ferdinand made it 2 with a clinical finish, following a fine through ball from Gus Poyet. Just before half-time, Christian Ziege headed home from close range, after being left unmarked at the far post by everybody’s favourite Sky Sports pundit, Gary Neville.

United were transformed in the second half, though. Andy Cole reduced the arrears with a header, before Laurent Blanc met a beauty of a David Beckham corner to score his first United goal. The visitors were rampant, and it was no surprise when goal machine Ruud van Nistlerooy made it 3-3, again with a header.

Spurs were stunned, even more so when United completed the turnaround; Juan Sebastian Veron, with probably his finest moment for the club, smashing home from inside the box following good link-up play with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The icing on the cake came with 3 minutes left, as Beckham made it 5 with a stunning strike from 25 yards.

 
7. Liverpool 4-4 Arsenal: 21 April, 2009

Fernando Torres (when he was good) was the catalyst for the home side, netting twice in a game that see-sawed like none other seen in the Premier League.

Andrei Arshavin, who also used to be quite good, outshone him with a 4 goal blast that was still somehow not enough to seal the 3 points for Arsenal. It was the Russian who put the Gunners ahead on 36 minutes, side-footing home a cut-back from Cesc Fabregas, though Torres levelled matters with a fine header just after half-time.

Yossi Benayoun scrambled Liverpool into the lead on 56 minutes, though Arshavin feasted on their defensive ineptitude with a quick-fire double (67,70). With one of his best ever Prem goals, Torres made it 3-3, superbly controlling a cross before twisting to hit a 25 yard strike past Lukasz Fabianksi, but Arsenal retook the lead in stoppage time, Arshavin combining with Theo Walcott on the counter attack to score his 4th.

That still wasn’t the end of the drama, though, as Benayoun hit goal number 8 of an eventful night just seconds later.

The draw did put Liverpool momentarily back on top of the table, but any realistic ambitions of winning the title had gone.

 
6. Man City 2-3 Fulham: 26 April, 2008

Fulham were mathematically relegated at half-time of this fixture, but a superb second-half comeback was the catalyst for a remarkable great escape.

City were yet to establish themselves as a force at the top of the table, but still had a bunch of talented players. Stephen Ireland opened the scoring with a fine 25-yard curler, and Benjani (remember him?), doubled their lead following a sumptuous through ball from Elano on 21 minutes.

Half-time scores elsewhere were not looking good, and with a woeful away record, the Cottagers looked doomed. But they continued to attack, and were rewarded when Diomansy Kamara scored from close range, past a fresh-faced Joe Hart on 70 minutes. Fulham were then awarded a penalty nine minutes later, following a shove on sub Erik Nevland, and Danny Murphy stepped up to score at the second attempt after Hart had saved his initial effort.

After Fulham ‘keeper Kasey Keller had miraculously denied Martin Petrov, the visitors came forward looking for a winner. In dramatic fashion, it arrived in the last minute, Murphy playing the perfect through ball to Kamara, whose rifled finish sent the away fans into delirium.

The win gave fresh belief to Fulham, who survived the drop with a last day win at Portsmouth. It was a fine achievement by Roy Hodgson’s men, who built on their escape to qualify for Europe the following season.

 
5. Wigan Athletic 3-2 West Ham: May 15, 2011

Wigan came from 2 goals down to relegate West Ham in this crucial relegation dogfight at the DW Stadium.

Going into the game, the Hammers’ survival prospects looked slim, but not insurmountable. Failure to win would be fatal, but Wigan themselves needed the points to keep their hopes of staying in the division alive.

It was the visitors who made the better start, Demba Ba glancing home a free-kick on 12 minutes. He doubled the lead on 26, notching on the goal-line after Thomas Hitzlberger’s free-kick has been headed towards goal by James Tomkins.

With Birmingham losing, West Ham fans began to believe, but their hopes were dashed after a second half-collapse. Charles N-Zogbia halved the deficit for Wigan with a wonderfully pinpoint free-kick, before substitute Conor Salmon equalized on 68 minutes.

With a point no good for either side, the finale was end-to-end, and it was Wigan who nicked the crucial 5th goal on 94 minutes, N-Zogbia cutting inside onto his left foot before firing underneath the body of Robert Green, to the delight of Roberto Martinez and the Wigan fans.

Wigan went on to secure survival on a dramatic final day with a win at Stoke. West Ham, at least, bounced straight back by winning the Championship play-off final the following season.

 
4. Arsenal 4-4 Tottenham: October 29, 2008

Two stoppage time goals gave Harry Redknapp’s Spurs a share of the spoils in this thrilling North London derby at the Emirates Stadium.

It was Redknapp’s first game in charge since leaving Portsmouth, and his new charges were off to a great start when David Bentley opened the scoring with a sensational 40 yard volley. Arsenal were level on 37 minutes, though; Mikael Silvestre heading home a Robin Van Persie corner, with the erratic Heurelho Gomes caught in no man’s land.

Arsenal took the lead a minute after half-time through skipper William Gallas, and Emmanuel Adebayor poked home on 64 minutes to increase the lead. Darren Bent capitalized on a Manuel Almunia error to make it 3-2, but the two goal margin was quickly restored through Van Persie.

The real drama came in stoppage time. With the Spurs fans flocking to the exits, Jermaine Jenas scored what looked so likely to be just a consolation with a fine left footed strike. But, unbelievably, just seconds later, a looping 30 yard volley from Luka Modric cannoned off the post, and Aaron Lennon was first to the rebound to send the home crowd into stunned silence.

 
3. Newcastle United 4-4 Arsenal: February 5, 2011

Newcastle became the first side in Premier League history to come back from a 4-0 deficit with a sensational second-half comeback against Arsenal.

The Toon were blitzed in the opening 10 minutes, with goals from Theo Walcott, Johan Djourou and Robin Van Persie, and the Dutchman netted his second on 26 minutes to put the Gunners in total control.

But the balance of play changed in an astonishing second period. Abou Diaby was sent off on 48 minutes, following a clash with the lovable Joey Barton, and it was he who scored from the penalty spot to give Newcastle a consolation on 68 minutes. After seeing a close-range strike wrongly ruled out for offside, Leon Best finally got on the score-sheet on 75.

The unthinkable became possible when Barton converted his second penalty, following a questionable Laurent Koscielny foul on Mike Williamson, with 7 minutes remaining to make it 4-3, and the unthinkable fight-back was complete with a stunning first time volley from 25 yards by Cheick Tiote with just 3 minutes remaining.

 
2. Manchester City 3-2 QPR: 13 May, 2012

“An amazing, amazing day, the like of which we’ve never seen!” – so said an understandably excited BBC commentator on the most dramatic afternoon of football in Premier League history.

Both Man City and QPR went into the game at the Etihad with something to play for. QPR needed a draw to cement their place in the Premier League, whilst City needed the three points to cap a remarkable turnaround in fortunes to win the title.

In a game of such magnitude, despite it looking, on paper, to be a home banker, no City fan was expecting it to be easy. But surely no-one could have predicted the eventual conclusion would play out as it did!

There was little goal-mouth action to speak of, until ‘keeper Paddy Kenny spilled a Pablo Zabaleta strike into his net 5 minutes before half-time.

To QPR’s credit, they started the second half well, and Djibril Cisse equalized following an error from Joleon Lescott. Despite going down to 10 men, when Joey Barton was sent off for a kick at Sergio Aguero, QPR moved into a shock lead on 66 through Jamie Mackie.

City continued to attack, but Kenny was equal to everything. It seemed destined that the title was going to elude them, as Man United were winning at Sunderland, but a headed goal from sub Edin Dzeko and a calm finish from Aguero, both in stoppage time, won the title and sparked mass hysteria on a truly unforgettable day!

 
1. Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle United: 3 April, 1996

This surely has to be the greatest game in Premier League history. Matches the City-QPR game for drama, and the quality of the two sides was of the highest standard.

Both teams went into the game with title aspirations. Newcastle had slipped from the summit after holding a large advantage for the majority of the season, but still had games in hand over Manchester United. Liverpool, meanwhile, were outsiders for the trophy but would increase the pressure on the top two with victory.

Liverpool struck first. Stan Collymore received the ball on the left wing, before crossing superbly for Robbie Fowler to head home at the far post for goal number 27 of his extraordinary season.

The lead was short lived, however, as Les Ferdinand equalized on 10 minutes. Faustino Asprilla waltzed into the box and squared the ball to Ferdinand, whose shot on the turn had enough power to beat David James in the Liverpool goal.

The visitors expertly hit Liverpool on the counter attack for their second goal just 4 minutes later. Upon receiving the ball in the middle of the park, Ferdinand sent David Ginola away with a superbly clipped through ball, and the Frenchman outpaced Jason McAteer to clinically convert past James, to the delight of Kevin Keegan in the opposing dugout.

Three goals came in quick succession in the second half. Liverpool equalized through a Fowler rocket after a cross from Steve McManaman, but Newcastle were soon back in front, Asprilla netting with a beautiful chip after James decided to rush 30 yards from goal. Liverpool were undeterred, and Collymore levelled an absorbing contest at 3-3, netting from close quarters following a teasing ball from McAteer.

Both teams chased a winner, and it was Liverpool who got it in the final minute. After a period of interplay between John Barnes and Ian Rush, the ball was laid off to Collymore, who smacked it past Pavel Srnicek to send the Kop into ecstasy, and leave Keegan slumped in despair.

The defeat had huge ramifications at the top of the table. Newcastle’s form suffered and Man United went on to reclaim the Premier League title.
Games that just missed out

There was a long list of games to choose from, meaning that some classic encounters have missed the cut. Man United’s dramatic 4-3 win over rivals City, their goal-filled 8-2 thrashing of Arsenal and their last gasp 4-3 win over Everton in 2004 were close omissions. Staying with United, their back-to-back defeats against Newcastle and Southampton in 1996 were considered, whilst Arsenal’s 9 goal North London thriller with Spurs, their 3-3 draw with Leicester and the Kanu-inspired 3-2 win over Chelsea were not far away.

Other close calls included Wolves’ dramatic comeback against Leicester in 2003, the 11 goal bonanza between Portsmouth and Reading, Spurs’ 4-3 win at West Ham in 2007 and the 4-4 between Norwich and Middlesbrough in 2005.

 

Written by Nick Wolf

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Manchester City: What is wrong with the Citizens?

  By O-Posts Team | December 14, 2012 - 13:07 | , ,
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6 points off the top of the league. Out of the Carling Cup to Aston Villa and out of the Champions League at the first time of asking, things don’t look good for Roberto Mancini.

You have to ask yourself though, is it really Mancini’s fault for Manchester City’s failures so far this season? At the start of the summer, Roberto Mancini drew up a list of players he wanted to build on Manchester City’s successful title challenge and to compete – at least past the group stage – in the Champions League. His list included then AC Milan defender Thiago Silva, Lille midfielder Eden Hazard, Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi, Athletic Bilbao midfielder Javi Martinez and Arsenal Striker Robin Van Persie.

He also drew up a list of players he wanted sold which rumoured to include Kolo Toure, Nigel De Jong, Adam Johnson, Roque Santa Cruz, Emmanuel Adebayor, Vladimir Weiss and Edin Dzeko. However, as we now know, Mancini did not get one of the players he wanted as he couldn’t sell the players he didn’t want. If Emmanuel Adebayor had joined Tottenham earlier in the summer (and therein his £150,000/week wages off the wage bill) it is more than likely Robin Van Persie would have been a Manchester City player by the start of the 2012-13 season. But Adebayor was actually sold after Van Persie signed for Manchester United and Mancini missed out on one of the signings of the summer.

Brian Marwood is the man largely to blame for Manchester City’s unsuccessful summer. To be in line with the new Financial Fair Play rules set out by UEFA, Marwood decided that players would not be bought, until players were sold. However, players were not sold until very late in the transfer window where Adebayor, Weiss, Santa Cruz, De Jong and Johnson all left with 2 weeks or less of the summer transfer window to go.

Mancini then had a problem, all of the targets he wanted had joined other clubs and so he panic bought to replace. Scott Sinclair was signed to replace Adam Johnson and Javi Garcia signed to replace Nigel De Jong. So far neither transfers have been successful to say the least.

Other signings such as Maicon were bought to turn Micah Richards into a central defender and allow Kolo Toure to leave, for which Kolo (while being heavily linked with many Turkish sides) didn’t actually leave. Matija Nastasic, while a great player isn’t really an improvement on Joleon Lescott, not regarding being 11 years younger.

Jack Rodwell, signed from Everton, has barely played due to injury and Richard Wright was just a like for like replacement for the departed Stuart Taylor who left for Reading. Manchester City didn’t improve over the summer, it could actually be said that they weakened, but not due to Mancini, due to Marwood.

Since then Brian Marwood has been moved sideways to the Academy and Txiki Begiristain has replaced him. Strong rumours saying that the likes of Isco of Malaga, Benat of Betis and Klaas Jan Huntelaar of Schalke 04 are probable additions in January.

Regardless of transfer activity in the summer, you can point the finger at Mancini (who still has an incredibly talented squad at his disposal) for some of Manchester City’s failures this season. Some decisions have been actually quite bizarre. The persistence with Mario Balotelli (who actually didn’t play that badly v Manchester United on Sunday – all City’s attacks were through him in the first half) who often seems uninterested and lazy most of the time is given far too many chances in the starting XI, especially in big games where he rarely performs to the heights of his Italy v Germany performance.

Picking Edin Dzeko in the starting XI when it is clear he is much better when he comes on and the fact that Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero – Manchester City’s best partnership – is barely ever played are also other crazy decisions. The change to 3-5-2 was initially welcomed but once criticised Mancini changed his mind and changed his team’s formation back to 4-4-2.

This confused the players and meant a lot of goals were conceded in the opening few weeks of the season as the players had spent the whole pre season using 3-5-2, only to change back to 4-4-2 when the actual season started. 3-5-2 actually wasn’t all that bad. City beat Chelsea in the Community Shield and beat Tottenham Hotspur at home using the tactic.

The togetherness of the team compared to teams like Manchester United has also been questioned it recent weeks and to be fair it can actually come down to the squad in question. If you look at Manchester United’s squad their team has a core of players in their prime (Rooney, Van Persie, Kagawa, Carrick etc), a bunch of players who are getting on a bit but can still do a job (Scholes, Giggs) and a bunch of young players who are being bled into the team (Cleverley, Welbeck, Rafael).

The core group of players expect to play regularly and do so, whilst the other two groups, not expecting to play every week, do get games and get to be on the bench as viable back ups. This creates less tension in the squad as the players who expect to play every week in their prime do and the players on the fringe don’t actually expect to play every week and therein aren’t unhappy.

Compare this to City. City have a massive core of players in their prime and a backup in nearly every position. However all these players expect to play every week but this is not possible. The group of older players who don’t expect to play every week is actually just comprised of Maicon and the group of younger players is still quite small compared to United (Nastasic and Rodwell – Balotelli would be included but he does expect to play every week).

Therefore, these players all in their prime but on the fringes (Kolarov, Lescott, Garcia etc) start to get unhappy with playing time at the time of their career where they should actually be playing every week and playing the best football of their career. Tensions rise and the togetherness of the team starts to decrease.

Mancini.... under fire.

Mancini…. under fire.

Mancini needs to bring in more youth, but with the whole City academy in a bit of a mess at the moment and only one player, John Guidetti, actually ready for first team action, Mancini can’t do this and so City’s young part of the team is still quite small. This should rise though with players such as Denis Suarez, Jose Angel Pozo, Karim Rekik and Abdul Razak coming through in the next few years.

The older part of the team should also rise too with players like Gareth Barry getting older and therefore less game time. What Mancini should actually do is sell players such as Joleon Lescott, Aleksandr Kolarov, Javi Garcia and Edin Dzeko and replace them with young up and coming talent who can be bled into the team whilst deputizing for the core players.

With time, Mancini should be able to turn Manchester City’s fortunes around. The transfer policy should change with Txiki Begiristain in charge and as time goes on City will have a much more balanced squad. Mancini, I still believe will eventually change City’s system to 3-5-2 but that will only happen once City have the players equipped to his system (Lescott can not play in 3-5-2).

This is not a time to panic, even if City don’t win a trophy this season, Mancini should be given another season with the players he wants and try to win it then.

 

Written by Henry Francis

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Manchester City: Mancini continues to falter on the European stage

  By O-Posts Team | November 9, 2012 - 14:52 | , ,
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On paper, it is hard to ascertain a team with the resources of Manchester City. There’s Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United. Their players attracted to being adulated the entire world around. Then it has to be Manchester City.

Manchester City has been turning around its own fortunes in the last three years. But yet when it has come to Europe, they have failed miserably. Mancini admitting that they are not ready yet for a European title seems to be a cheap shot in lowering expectations. But yet you cannot, when you boast players of the quality that currently fills the City ranks.

Telling the fans not to expect any glory in Europe just yet is merely an indicator that comes next round, we might actually be out of Europe.

So who has to be blamed for this? All eyes are on the manager now. This is not questioning the skills of Mancini, but there is no doubt he’s had his disasters in Europe, with a lot of wrongful tactics. The difference is when you play the cream of Europe and you get it wrong even for a span of fifteen minutes, you might be punished. I have seen Mancini get it wrong over and over again. From the time against Bayern last year to that crazy finale against Real to while he was managing Inter against a Liverpool side that was well on their way down.

So although with the depth Manchester City currently carries, Mancini has the opportunity to experiment and learn from the span of a Premier League season and run out Champions – it becomes a completely different ball game when the opposition teams have players as good as yours, and one breach, one mistake, one tactical fault can be the end of the things. Obviously mistakes make the man, but how many will be too many?

I have a feeling he might realize soon that there are not many room available for errors on his part as he expects the same from his players. How much ever commendable it is to accept one’s faults, ‘the fault is mine’ line that I have often heard repeatedly might run out of listeners in the City boardroom.

 

Written by Shuaib Ahmed

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Champions League: Matchday 3 Preview – Part 2

  By O-Posts Team | October 24, 2012 - 15:53 | ,
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Group A

Porto v Dynamo Kiev

After a huge win at home to PSG in their most recent Champions League encounter, Porto will host the Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev hoping to make it nine points from nine. However, Dynamo Kiev will be looking to take all three points after they lost to PSG in match day one 4-1.

Their win at home to Dinamo Zagreb last time out will give the Ukrainian side hope, but to get something from this game will be the desire of their coach Oleh Blokin.

Key clash: João Moutinho v Miguel Veloso

 

Dinamo Zagreb v PSG

Super rich Paris Saint Germain’s second away game in Europe this season will take them to Zagreb as the face Croatian champions, Zagreb.

PSG haven’t won away in the Champions League since 1998, but with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva and Ezequiel Lavezzi in their ranks, they’ll expect to get all three points and recover from their disappointing 1-0 loss against Porto last time out. Zagreb will have to get a result here, having lost both their opening games.

Key clash: Josip Simunic v Zlatan Ibrahimovic

 

Group B

Arsenal v Schalke 04

When the Champions League group stage draw was conducted, many expected these two teams to comfortably progress to the knockout stages. However after Schalke’s disappointing 2-2 draw against Montpellier, the group is looking quite tight.

After Schalke’s 2-1 win away at Dortmund this past weekend, and Arsenal’s 1-0 loss to Norwich, this game could be an unpredictable one. Expect fireworks.

Key clash: Oliver Giroud v Benedikt Höwedes

 

Montpellier v Olympiakos

With two games gone both these sides have work to do if they want to progress to the round of 16. Montpellier’s 2-2 draw away at

Schalke however has given the French champions hope, especially considering how well they played against Arsenal in a 2-1 loss first time out.

With both teams looking to win, this should be an interesting one.

Key clash: Konstantinos Mitroglou vs. Hilton

 

Malaga v AC Milan

An emphatic 3-0 destruction of Zenit St Petersburg on match day one surprised many at just how good Malaga can be. Away at Anderlecht, Malaga put in another solid performance winning 2-0 leading to many calling them favourites to get through group C.

European giants AC Milan currently have 4 points and are slowly improving after a poor start to their Serie A campaign.

With the exciting Malaga side hosting the experienced and adjusting Milan side this game could well be one of the best of match day three.

Key clash: Martin Demechelis v Robinho

 

Zenit St. Petersburg v Anderlecht

Pre match day one, there was a certain level of expectation surrounding Zenit St. Petersburg, heightened by their signing of powerful Brazilian striker Hulk. But with the Russian champions having lost both their Champions League games this season, this game at home to Anderlecht is essentially a must win.

The Belgian champions got an impressive 0-0 draw at the San Siro first time out but lost at home to Malaga, meaning they’ll need to try and win this.

Key clash: Hulk v Cheikhou Kouyaté

 

Group D

Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

An excellent and fearless away performance away at Manchester City mean Borussia Dortmund will be going into this fixture with plenty of encouragement about their Champions League hopes.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid are now back to their best after a slow start to their La Liga campaign. They have won both their Champions League fixtures so far too so they are in a great position to qualify from the “group of death”.

With Dortmund being the German champions and Real Madrid being the Spanish champions, this is a dream match that I’m personally very excited about.

Key clash: Mario Götze v Sami Khedira

 

Ajax v Manchester City

The always united and determined Ajax will represent a tough challenge for the Premier League champions as they travel to Amsterdam needing three points to get their so far disappointing Champions League campaign back on track.

Having lost both of their games so far, the Dutch champions are also needing a win or it could be a swift exit for Ajax.

Key clash: Christian Eriksen v Vincent Kompany

 

Written by Joshua Sodergren

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Feature: Being Manchester City Football Club

  By O-Posts Team | September 22, 2012 - 17:26 | , , ,
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If you chat with any seasoned Manchester City fan, they’ll be able to give you an in-depth description of what are more commonly known among Blues as ‘the dark days’.

As a sixteen-year-old, I may be somewhat unqualified to write this article, but, here it goes.

If you search ‘Manchester City 2-2 Liverpool 1996′ into Google, you’ll be presented with over 2 million results. Clawing back a two goal deficit to Liverpool may be considered to be no shame given City were fighting relegation, however.

“I am confident we will stay up, because we have prepared well and we are ready.”

These were Alan Ball’s words prior to that fateful match. Having gone two-nil down, to two own goals, City score two at the right end through Uwe Rosler and Kit Symons.

We were level on points with both Southampton and Coventry going into the game, but both had superior goal difference, so not even a win would guarantee City’s safety.

The feeling was though that, in all likelihood, a win would have sufficed. And it would have done.

Word made its way to City’s bench that Southampton were losing! If I were to attempt to paraphrase Alan Ball, ahem, “Whack it in the corner, boys! And don’t let the f*cker out!”

If Southampton had lost, then of course a draw would have been enough for City, but comically, both they and Wimbledon drew blanks at The Dell. 0-0. Coventry also drew. City needed a win. They didn’t get it. City were down.

It seems that despite all his preparations, Alan Ball had forgot to put “Buy a radio” on his ‘to-do list’. Typical City.

Ball was sacked not long into City’s 1996/97 campaign, only for his successor, Steve Coppell to resign just 33 days into the job. To this day few know why. After Phil Neal’s sacking in the same year, the former Nottingham Forest boss, Frank Clark took his place in the hot seat, and led City to a fourteenth placed finish – in Division One.

Clark was sacked the following February, replaced by Joe Royle. Although, by that time, most of the damage had already been done. Losses to local rivals such as Stockport and Bury must have hit the Blues hard. Football is an escape from problems, but I don’t think any quantity of cans could rid fans of the gutting feeling caused by these results. And the mockery in the media that often followed.

At home to QPR, in the penultimate game of the season, the score was 1-1 and the stage was set for what, in brutal honesty, was a ‘majestic’ goal. Jamie Pollock clipped the ball over a Rangers’ player and headed the ball over the goalkeeper, into his own net. Although, Lee ‘anticlimax’ Bradbury levelled for the Blues, their fate was out of their own hands, and on the final day, despite winning 5-2 at Stoke, we were relegated.

This time to Division Two – the third tier of English football.

Eye-witness accounts and tales of the 1998/99 season are not for the faint-hearted with losses to the likes of Wycombe and Lincoln…and York. There is somewhat of an ongoing joke about ‘York away’ among older City fans. It’s that when asked, most will jokingly, vehemently affirm “YES!” It’s a light-hearted test of how Blue your blood is.

Even Noel Gallagher has since claimed to have been there. He said in an interview on Q Radio; “I was there. York away, Friday night.” It was a Saturday, Noel.

Although, the official attendance was 7,527, really that figure is about 100 short. Truly dark days.

Man City during the ‘dark days’, in the third tier of English football.

However, on 30 May 1999, City were to play Gillingham at Wembley Stadium, with a place in the second tier of English football at stake. Two very late City goals took the tie to penalties, where Nicky Weaver was the hero, saving two penalties.

My earliest memory is indeed a memory of a football match. 7 May 2000 – last game of the season at Ewood Park. We were battling for promotion, and we achieved it, winning 4-1.

Goodness knows how, they absolutely peppered Weaver’s goal in the second half, but we did. I can hazily recollect fans on ‘the hill’ and masses of Blues on the pitch come the final whistle. And I mean masses. Christ, there were a lot of fans that day: The Darwen End, Jack Walker Stand, and Blackburn End – all full of Blues.

Although, the season that followed we were again relegated.

Kevin Keegan then took over from Royle, and spiced things up a bit. With players like Ali Benarbia and Eyal Berkovic, we were playing some really nice stuff. The season climaxed with Stuart Pearce holding the Division One Champions trophy aloft.

Although, ‘Pyscho’ as he was affectionately known in English football, missed a penalty that would have brought up a ton for career goals, in his professional last game.

After a couple of pulsating years in the Premiership under Kev, Stuart Pearce took over and what followed were some of the dullest and most lifeless displays I’ve ever seen from a top-flight team, and we’ve all seen Steve Bruce’s Wigan and Birmingham teams.

We had some good players: A pair of centre-backs capable of playing in some capacity for about 70% of other Premier League teams, and behind them the England international goalkeeper in David James. Yet, Pearce had the most defensive, long-ball reliant tactics I’ve seen; really, really awful stuff.

We did ok, I suppose, but this is a man who had spent six million pounds on a striker in Georgios Samaras, yet decided to keep him on the bench against ‘Boro in 2006 when we were in search of a goal. Instead, he subbed on Nicky Weaver and thrust David James up front. Sure, James won us a penalty (that was missed), but that’s just dumb luck.

These were my dark days. Horrible for me as I’ve no idea how older City fans coped during the nineties. A lot of lager? I suppose though, once you’ve selected a faith, it takes a lot to deter you from that faith. That’s what supporting a football team is like, having faith.

Good things come to those who wait though. I needn’t educate you all on our recent history: An FA Cup and League Title – Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero. It’s fantastic. That’s why, on Tuesday night, no result, no number of goals conceded could have deterred me from the romanticism that football fives you.

From Bootham Crescent to the Bernabeu, against Franco’s boys in Madrid – it’s romanticism that no other medium can give you, not even literature and cinema can give you that feeling because – in the main – your disbelief in the stories has foundation. It may take moments to comprehend moments like Aguero’s winner against QPR, or even Dzeko’s goal on Tuesday, and I’ve heard Blues say that they found themselves on their knees, crying at that moment.

The good times.

But in the end, the scenes are real, the emotions are real.

There’s no doubt that moments like Andrew Dawson’s goal, and Steve Lomas in the corner flashed before the eyes of many City fans on Tuesday, but it’s with good reason. In midweek Mourinho referenced the DNA of his team.

All of these moments, all of these emotions contribute to the DNA of a Manchester City fan: The humour, the loyalty, the frustration, the joy. They’re all part of the DNA and they’re all characteristics inherited by young Blues like myself.

Again, although these words may seem somewhat empty given my age, I can only thank older Blues for their commitment to City fourteen years ago. Because without those fans, the club wouldn’t have the identity it holds today.

 

Written by Josef O’Brien

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