Today’s announcement that Roberto Mancini has been relieved
of his Manchester City managerial duties comes as no surprise to anyone who has
been following sports news over the weekend, and especially after the events of
Saturday evening. I must admit, when the news of his ‘imminent sacking’ hit the
headlines on Saturday morning, I thought it could have been a ploy by Wigan and
Manchester United fans to de-stabilise the team before the cup final. If it
was, it worked, and in the most spectacular fashion. Not only did City lose the
FA Cup final, they proceeded to sack Mancini two days later! That explanation
now appears to be a tad too coincidental for me. When we consider the earlier,
unexplained, meetings with Malaga officials, and the reluctance of the
Manchester City board to deny the rumours after the news broke, Mancini’s
sacking should come as no great surprise.
However,
the reasons behind Mancini’s sacking are not particularly usual. It was
recently confirmed what I had previously considered to be true: that Mancini
was not sacked for his lack of results. An FA Cup and a Premier League title is
hardly a poor return for a side that had not seen the like for 3 decades
previously. And yes, some fans may be saying, with the amount of money he had
to spend it is unsurprising, but as I mentioned in the United title-winning
blog, the trick is to gel players, not merely to buy them. The very fact that
Mancini prevented Mario Balotelli from killing anyone during his tumultuous 3
years at City is impressive in itself! It is also worth noting that both Sven
Goran Eriksson (under Thaksin Shinawatra’s ownership) and Mark Hughes (under
both Shinawatra’s and Sheikh Mansoor’s ownership) had failed to provide any glimmer
of a trophy whilst at City. His overall statistics also provide further
ammunition for those claiming he was hard done by. In his 133 Premier League
matches as City boss, he had a win percentage of 61.65%, a rate only bettered
by Jose Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson and Carlo Ancelotti. A rather illustrious
group to be involved in, I think most would agree. However, there is one area
where he has seen to have failed: Europe. Whilst I would argue that I cannot
recall a pair of groups harder than the ones City have faced in their two years
in the competition (bearing in mind that City have certainly had at least one
winner and one runner up in the last two years, no matter who the winner of the
final), the results this season in the Champions League have been poor. To not
get out of the group last year with 10 points was understandable but highly
unfortunate, but the abject displays this season, especially against Ajax, have
clearly played on the board’s collective minds. Success in Europe seems everything
these days, and that is why it is unsurprising Mancini has gone.
I do
not believe that was the primary reason, however. Mancini has had a rather
unfortunate habit of criticising board members, and even the owner himself,
particularly this season. His comments immediately after the Wigan game may
only have been the final nail in the coffin, as he has complained on more than
one occasion of the board not being quick enough to secure his transfer
targets. This is especially true of the missed signings of Robin van Persie and
Eden Hazard last summer, both of whom were top of his summer shopping list.
However, complaining about a man who has recently invested over a billion
pounds in the squad, training grounds and the community surrounding Manchester
City is probably ill-advised, especially when you consider that City were a top
10 team at best before his investment. You can hardly accuse the owner of not ‘putting
his money where his mouth is’! Also, with regard to my title, I believe that
Mancini has also been given plenty of time to achieve results by the owners,
especially when comparing City to recently taken-over clubs like Chelsea (3
managers in 2 seasons) and Blackburn (4 managers in 1 season). Whilst, as a
City fan, I believe his results are sufficient, even with the cup final aberration,
to keep him in a job, his outspoken comments about the owner and the board is
probably justification for his dismissal.
As for
his replacement, much has been said about current Malaga manager Manuel
Pellegrini. His European pedigree is certainly something that will attract the
Manchester City board, and I wouldn’t be too surprised to hear about his
appointment at some point in the next few days. However, his recent comments
claiming that he has no agreement with City and he has an agreement with Malaga
not to talk to other clubs, whilst it makes Malaga look like the equivalent of
a controlling spouse, certainly throws doubt onto the appointment. As I said
with Ferguson’s retirement, it has come too late to secure the services of Pep
Guardiola, and quite possibly too late to secure Jose Mourinho, as he appears
certain to return to his spiritual home of Chelsea. Jurgen Klopp, the other man
linked with United, certainly has sufficient European pedigree to attract the
City board, with his Dortmund team in this season’s final. However, his recent
comments that he will not be leaving Dortmund appear to close that particular
door. It seems as though City have picked a rather inconvenient time to sack
their manager, as most of the talent around Europe appear to have been snapped
up. Other than those mentioned above, inexperienced but talented managers such
as Roberto Martinez and Michael Laudrup are alternative options, though I
believe they will be considered too inexperienced to take the helm. I still
believe that one of these two will fill the recently vacant spot at Everton. As
for City, Pellegrini looks the preferred option, but his recent comments
suggest that a deal is far from being complete.
Roberto
Mancini, based solely on domestic results, can certainly consider himself
highly unfortunate to have been sacked. His FA Cup victory in 2011, followed by
the League title 12 months later, have led Mancini to be guaranteed a place in
Manchester City folklore, and the fans will continue to love him and sing his
name heartily at games for many months to come. Whether he will be so revered
by fans only because he delivered City’s first trophies in decades, and
therefore would not have been had City been more accustomed to winning, is
impossible to tell. Based on Mancini’s European results, and his outspokenness,
he should not be surprised to have been relieved of his duties. Whoever follows
Mancini will have to deliver in both domestic and European competition, and
quickly. Otherwise I fear that City may be scouring the job applications again
fairly soon.
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