Will Mancini last the summer?

There is no way to avoid it, Manchester City have literally fallen to pieces in recent weeks. The disastrous performance at the Emirates on Sunday summed up their fortunes since Christmas; there was no significant goal threat, their passing was laboured in midfield and without Yaya Toure (who was injured early on) or David Silva there was no thrust to their play. The side was screaming out for width and for their manager to make a tactical change that could have hurt Arsenal, neither happened and they lost.

Whilst much of the criticism has centred on Mario Balotelli’s controversial behaviour (yet again) a sizeable percentage of the blame must lie at Roberto Mancini’s door. A manager, it must be remembered, who enjoyed most of his managerial success in an almost unopposed Serie A following the Calciopoli scandal. There is nothing worse than a knee jerk reaction to sporting outcomes and Mancini is certainly a competent manager but there must now be serious doubts about his ability to revive City for next seasons’ challenges.

It has not been a straightforward season for the Italian manager; firstly he has had to deal with want away striker Carlos Tevez and then in recent weeks has attempted to control the troubled Mario Balotelli. I seemed to be one of the few people that genuinely believed the Tevez saga benefited Mancini and City; he had been outstanding the season before and at points had lead the club single-handedly to qualify for Champions League football. However, the rumblings of his unhappiness in Manchester etc had not gone away and it seemed almost inevitable that something would come to a head at some point. The situation would also help Mancini to deal with Balotelli who you could see snarling on the bench at the start of the season. With one striker less he was then able to play them all enough to ensure they remained content at the club.

However, dealing with Balotelli has proved to be one step too far for Mancini. He has an unbelievable knack of grabbing headlines for both the right and wrong reasons but it seems his luck has finally run out. With the threat of a long ban looming it may prove to be more beneficial for City to cut their losses and let Mario return to Italy; just imagine a front line at AC Milan of Balotelli, Cassano and Ibrahimovic – that would be worth watching and would certainly keep Massimiliano Allegri on his toes!

In all seriousness though these situations have been undermining Mancini and have resulted in Manchester City falling apart so dramatically. The early season form of David Silva has disappeared and the Spaniard has looked absolutely shattered in recent weeks and didn’t play at Arsenal on Sunday. He was sublime at the start of the season but Mancini did not protect him enough and also underplayed Samir Nasri which has slowed up his progression at his new club. When Nasri made the move last summer he appeared the obvious choice to step in for Silva if tired/injured but when you consider he has only started 21 league games this season the picture becomes clearer.

The loss of Yaya Toure to the African Cup of Nations and the injury/suspension to Vincent Kompany have also been key factors in City’s decline. However, the key decisions have still been with Mancini and it is why it seems unlikely he will be in charge next season. Some of his tactical decisions and game strategies have been puzzling to say the least; going to the Emirates for a point when Arsenal are there for the taking was foolish and underlined his negativity, his overuse of two defensive midfielders at various stages again this season has stifled the side and some of his substitutions have been simply odd; bringing on Kolarov to sure up the left was fine but why were his attacking options only introduced with minutes remaining. The game had been crying out for Tevez to make his introduction against an Arsenal defence that still gifts the opposition several clear cut chances a game but it came too late again.

One factor that may help Mancini is that Sir Alex Ferguson has been his counterpart; very few have got the better of him initially. He has seen off every manager the Premier League has thrown at him (apart from Jose Mourinho – but one feels that battle could restart in the not too distant future) in his 20 odd years at Old Trafford and his experience and nous is what will win United the title this time round. Despite what the inventors of modern day football (Sky) tell us this Premier league season has been unbelievably poor at points and City being unable to raise the bar has been a big letdown. It would be refreshing to see Mancini given time to correct his errors this year but it seems hard to believe at this stage.

Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona??

The transfer saga that dragged on throughout last summer is set to rear its head again in the coming days. Spanish newspaper Marca published an article over the weekend claiming that personal terms have all been agreed but the deal still hinges on whether Arsenal and Barcelona can agree a deal.

The fee Barcelona are willing to pay appears to be around the £35 million mark with a possibility over player exchanges to lower the cash amount. Their valuation appears to be comparable with David Silva who moved from Valencia to Manchester City last summer for £24 million. Silva is a year older than Cesc and struggles to hold down a regular starting place for Spain, which is similar to Fabregas.

However, with some of the astronomical transfer fees that Liverpool in particular have paid in recent months Arsenal’s valuation is considerably higher. They see their captain valued around the £45-50 million mark which would almost certainly price Barca out of a move. The key issue remains whether Fabregas really wants to leave Arsenal.

There is no question that he would like to return to Catalonia in the near future and play for his beloved Barcelona. Questions have been raised about how much he would play but modern day football is all about squads. The physical demands on the top players these days are far greater than at any time in the past. Previous championship winners used to be able to win trophies using 15 players; this is simply not possible these days. When you consider Seydou Keita made 56 appearances for Barca this season this question is put into perspective; although many were as a substitute late on in games.

The player exchange rumour is one that could interest Arsene Wenger. Last night showcased Thiago Alcantara’s ability and he certainly looks like another talented prospect who has graduated through Barca’s academy La Masia. However, losing his captain would be disastrous for Wenger. Since his arrival in 2003 he has been nurtured and developed into being the player he is now. The natural ability he possesses was always there but playing with the likes of Vieira has made him the player he is today.

It would represent a massive blow to Arsenal if Fabregas does decide his future lies in Barcelona. However, with the varying degree of valuations floating around it seems unlikely a deal will be agreed, unless Barcelona pulls out all the stops. If Ibrahimovic signs for AC Milan they will receive €24 million after the fee was agreed last summer. Although they have already made moves to sign Guiseppe Rossi from Villareal there should be just enough money to sign Cesc.

The pressure being applied from the Barcelona players must be difficult to ignore for Fabregas who has stated he would only move to Barca if he indeed leaves Arsenal. It will be an interesting few weeks but I for one hope it is resolved one way or the other quickly. It would be a great shame for the Premier League to lose one of its real genuine talents but on the other side it would be interesting to see him progress at the best club in the world.

Milan a disgrace

Last night officially saw the end of Italian football as we know it; the performance from Milan in the San Siro was quite simply a disgrace. I really do not want to take anything away from Tottenham as they played well enough to deserve their victory but the game was a non-event.

Expectations for the weeks Champions League ties were high going into last night; Spurs have been very entertaining in their debut season in Europe’s elite competition and Milan had been playing open, attacking football under their new manager Massimiliano Allegri. Unfortunately for many neutrals the game was terrible; it resembled a Europa Cup game not a last 16 encounter in the best competition in the world.

The Milan team is still full of ageing players who simply cannot compete with any of their fitter, stronger counterparts throughout Europe; this is also a sad indictment of most of the Italian teams at the moment. The only players who still looked able to play at the top level on last night’s evidence were Nesta and Pato. In all honesty I felt sorry for both of them with some of the dross they had to play with. The incredible thing about top defenders is that they always have time to play the ball out from the back and although Nesta does not possess the speed of old his reading of the game and technical ability remains higher than most defenders in Europe.

It is strange how cycles exist in football; I grew up without a Sky box and watched Serie A when it was the best and most entertaining league in the world. On current evidence it remains well short of what it was and it is hard to see how it can recapture the glory days again. Many of the stadiums remain from Italia 90 and they are decrepit and rarely reach capacity. I find it a real shame that Italian football has sunk to these depths and really hope they can rise again – but it is getting harder and harder to see.

I have not touched on the Gattuso – Jordon incident as it was plain for everyone to see what a disgrace he was; UEFA should punish him to the full extent of their powers, there is no place in football for that behaviour!

Let us hope that tonight’s game at the Emirates is better than the garbage on display last night.

Ronaldo – El Fenomeno

Whilst weighing up which topic to pick for my hundredth blog something occurred to make any other options futile; the announcement that Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima was retiring from the game. Ronaldo was the best striker of my generation; he had everything – great technical ability, was two footed and was blessed with great strength and speed.

He first caught the eye in an incredible season for Barcelona when he scored 47 goals in 49 games in the 96/97 season. The man was simply unstoppable and completed a move to Inter Milan for £19 million where he enjoyed a successful first season. In the summer of 1998 Ronaldo became known world wide after some incredible performances at the World Cup which saw Brazil progress to the final against France in Paris.

What follows was to remain one of the most debated things in football history, for whatever reason (and there are many varied theories) his performance in the final was non existent; he was there in body but not in mind. On his return to Italy following the defeat to France he picked up an injury against Lecce which saw the beginning of his injury nightmare. He did not feature again regularly again until 2002.

The summer of 2002 saw the World Cup played in Japan and South Korea where a Ronaldo inspired Brazil went on to win their fifth title. El Fenomeno scored 8 goals including 2 in the final to win the Golden boot. The memory of those goals will remain etched in my memory for many years; it was an incredibly fitting way for such a genius to triumph in the face of adversity. Following the tournament he then sealed a move to Real Madrid for €39 million. He enjoyed considerable success but the last memory in this writer’s mind was off him being given a standing ovation at Old Trafford following his hat-trick in 2004; it was an incredible occasion.

Whilst his talent remained his body began to betray him more and more frequently which saw the later stage of his career fade away. In 2009 he returned to Brazil where he played for Corinthians who aided by Ronaldo qualified for the Copa Libertadores. Following elimination from the same competition this year he announced his retirement. It was the end of an incredible career that saw many high points and Ronaldo will be remembered and idolised by many for being one of the true football greats.

Some of Ronaldo’s achievements:

2 time World Cup and Copa America winner

2 time Ballon d’Or winner

3 time World Player of the Year winner

European Golden Boot winner

La Liga top scorer

Serie A player of the season

A career record of 352 goals in 515 games

Clubs represented:

Cruzeiro, PSV, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Corinthians

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2NHqSXftzU