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.

City to be serious title challengers

It has taken a little longer than Sheikh Mansour may have envisaged but Manchester City will begin this season as one of the clear favourites for the Premier League. Having won the FA Cup last season everyone associated with the club will be determined to lift more silverware this season.

The club has assembled an incredible squad due to their limitless financial resources but have begun to purchase more wisely than they did initially. The addition of Sergio Aguero should take them onto the next level; no matter whether Carlos Tevez remains a City player or not. He is exactly the type of player they needed to attract to cement their status as one of the biggest teams in Europe. Although it has come about through a lack of financial restraints the manager Roberto Mancini deserves a lot of credit.

However, this season will prove to be pivotal for the Italian manager. For too long last season his side were far too defensive and were over reliant on Tevez for most of their goals. The purchase of David Silva only really began to bear fruit towards the end of the season; he ended up producing nearly every attacking opportunity City created. He needs to be utilised in a far more effective way this season in a midfield that should boast such talents as Yaya Toure, James Milner, Adam Johnson, Nigel de Jong amongst others.

Last season the side was set up too often with two defensive holding players which meant the side lacked any real attacking cohesion. The new addition Yaya Toure was often played as the creative midfielder which is not really his strongest attribute. If City can adapt to playing with one player in that position it will free up their more creative players to ply Aguero, Balotelli and Dzeko with the service they flourish on. One player I have intentionally not mentioned is Gareth Barry. There is a good reason for this as he stifles their play too frequently to remain a part of the regular first team. He is not a bad player but offers little, apart from five yard passes. I can appreciate the need to have a player you can depend on sitting in front of the defence but with their array of talent there has to be someone more capable than him.

There is still another four weeks remaining in this transfer window and much will hinge upon Tevez’s future. It certainly appears that he will be on the move and City could do with adding another couple of players on order to consolidate their position as title challengers. It seems highly likely that whoever they will buy will already be a well-known player in world football. They could do with another commanding centre back to play alongside Vincent Kompany, who was outstanding last season.

Manchester City have not been domestic champions since 1967-68 but this season could be the one they regain their place at the summit of English football. The Beatles once sung that money can’t buy you love, it can however buy you a winning football team, I’m sure the Manchester City fans are not complaining.