MR MANCINI?????

[Ted Hughes]

Bob will be under just as much pressure to deliver next season; that's just the way things are at City & at most top clubs now. Managers who win the league get a certain amount of leeway but, make no mistake, until then, Bob is in the same position Ranieri was in at Chelsea; he's almost built a title winning side but if it doesn't actually win, his job isn't safe.

Personally, I was more interested in seeing progression rather than just looking at the results. I would have kept him if we finished 6th & looked great for next season but sacked him if we finished 4th & looked shit. Until recently, I wasn't seeing pregression but recently, imo, we've gone up a level. I think he'a answered most of my questions but will now have a new set.

More improvement & a decent challenge will be enough for me next season though; we don't have to win it for me, just be thereabouts & be positive, with less foolish mistakes.

[ronk]

No i don't. I defend criticizing him at the time because the football was negative and boring. The way we played in the home derby vs United was one of the most pathetic displays considering the caliber of players we have.
I still disagree with playing more than one defensive midfielder in a game.
However he has turned it round fantastically and won me over so fair play to him.

Funny, but I enjoyed that performance. We got the blame for not playing attacking football but that wasn't the way I saw it. I thought they were afraid of us, and not in a anything can happy come derby time way, in a real this is a tough match and we'll play for a draw. They could have attacked us, they didn't, they settled for containing us and they didn't really have another option. The reason is that they expected us to throw caution to the wind and expose ourselves, when we showed we weren't mugs, they had nothing. From there we were just as likely to win a derby as any other time, but less likely to lose.

We've beaten them lots of times, but that was the first time they ever really respected us. It laid the foundations for the win in Wembley.

On the subjects of Mancini's targets for next season: they've very simple and they're very obvious. We need to get 4th or better and we need to qualify from our group in the CL (or at least put in a good showing if we get a tough draw), other stuff would be a bonus. The next phase is becoming regular competition is the CL and regulars for the top4. This is not a challenge to be sniffed at, Liverpool and Spurs are both aiming to be challenging for that spot from next season and they could mount stronger challenged.

There's big money for CL, but the really big money only kicks in when you reach the groupstages. Then you start earning fast, but the way everything is structured means that regular qualification brings seeding and higher coefficients which increases the share. That's the way it's been working for years, if you're not challenging for the title this year then you just do enough to get the top 4 and you make sure you do well in the Champions League.

[BobKowalski]

I think he has done what he was employed to do.For that he has my congratulations and for me has bought himself another six to seven months.If we start dropping out of cups and are not challenging for the league from the begining his position should be in danger.For me with the backing he has there are no excuses.
Mr.Mancini as long as he keeps delivering wins is safe but if we do not progress to at least 2nd next year or win two cups should be sacked IMO.
If we are not where we are supposed to be at christmas I would sack him.
I think the reason why we have won stuff this year is because of the players we are now in a position to buy keeping Roberto has had nothing to do with it.Any half decent manager would have been able to do what he has done this year and I am still open to the idea that change won't do us any harm.Not with the squad we have.

He bought himself until november? How very gracious of you.

Not to mention he has to win 2 cups. I'd settle for the PL title personally :)

Truth is Mancini, or any manager, will only be retained if the seasons targets are met and there is demonstrable improvement on the pitch. Sacking Mancini if we go a close 2nd in the PL and lose an FA Cup final may be pointless especially if we are playing well and have momentum. Equally if we fall back to 4th (assuming we finish 3rd this year) with inconsistent performances but bag a lucky Carling Cup win then the board may be more inclined to sack Mancini even with another trophy in the bag. Giving it our best shot and just falling short is not the crime but failing to maximise our potential is.

And no 'any half decent manager' could not do it. You need a leader with relentless drive and ambition to keep pushing the team and the squad. My take on Spurs is that they and Redknapp almost treated qualification to the CL as an end initself rather than a means to an end which is ultimately to challenge and win the CL. Qualification was Spurs ultimate goal whereas for us and Mancini it most certainly isn't. Qualification and even FA Cup wins are just stepping stones albeit very satisfying ones! Mancini will deliver bigger and better prizes because a) he is never satisfied and b) he has a palpable hunger for them as indeed do most of the very top managers. Add in the fact he has iron clad self belief and knows more than a thing or two about football then bob's your uncle so to speak.

The stuff you talk about happening on the pitch I feel is irrelevant to the board.Its the results at the end of the day that affect any money that has to be spent.The team can look to be moving in the right direction and putting in scintillating performances but if the results are not there then I think the board won't really care.If giving it our best shot makes us fall short leads us to failing it is a crime.
The drive you say Bobby has is a part of the character of all winners and Bobby is not the only one.
Mancini has to start delivering from the first game of next season for me.
Spurs are a totally different to us so their reasons for the CL are not the same as ours.
Demonstrating improvment on the pitch is for the fans and the people who watch.
Demonstrating improvment in the table and trophy cabinet is what is important to the board.

Its not irrelevant to the board but results do ultimately have more relevance although there is a direct correlation as in the more times you play better then the opposition the more prospect you have of winning the match. Also by performance on the pitch it is not always measured in 'free flowing attractive' football.

Taking Mancini as an example I knew next to bugger all about him prior to him joining and consequently he would not have been my choice. But it didn't take me long to see that he brought something to the table that Hughes conspicuously lacked and that was organisation. Mancini can actually coach and drill a side which was like fucking hallelujah for me. Obviously this did not lend itself to open entertaining games at times and its no secret that a lot of fans were less than enamoured. But I know it did impress the board if only by the amount of times Khaldoon used the word 'organisation' in his pep talk to the masses after the Spurs defeat. The board did not get its desired result which was CL football and Mancini did fail in his immediate objective but he was retained because in their eyes there was demonstrable improvement on the pitch even if it did bore the arse off a lot of fans.

Chelsea got of to a flying start from game 1 this season and fell short. Manu started slowly as always and peaked at the business end of the season as, incidentally, have we. Guess who has silverware on the table. Spurs are different to us? Why? Is that down to attitude or just money or both? Arsenal can't compete money wise with us but do you think Wenger will be sitting back playing golf and chatting to every media outlet in the country or do you think he is already obsessively plotting ways and means to make his vision work with the intensity of someone with a compulsive disorder. Wenger will die trying to make it work. Harry will have anther round of golf and try and buy David Beckham.

[michaelcityfan]

Bobbie is a top manager and has done the business for us all. I want him given all the time he wants like bacon face was, and F.F.S. who would you want instead Mourinho?, i would not pay to watch the S*** his sides play.

I think this nonsense is rag talk , you are a blue and pissing on our parade. The blues are here now for the long run and it should include this brilliant manager who delivered a team out of the disaster that was mark Hughes time with us. We finally get something and there's moaning about the guy who delivered I am totally disappointed, its more like spurs with their "Redknapp should be sacked" bollocks .

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Tell me something I don't know

Contravariant and covariant numbers are equivalent in Euclidean space.

Beautiful.

Brought nasty flashbacks of this. I still see nightmares of those 1200 pages.

http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Engineer ... 0471154962

P.s. I love the fact that people have actually rated it. 3.5 stars it seems. Nice read, not quite as good as his previous work but still enjoyable.

[Patrick]

My dream has always been to have manager longevity, even if he had not delivered this sea on I would still want him to carry on.

I'm always shocked that we feel we are different somehow and should dominate every game, it just doesn't happen, not to scum, arse or chelski, the things that make footy so good is that all teams have their ups and downs and I just dint understand the fans who after a shit game fel the need to start hanging the culprits from the rafters

In my books we are now a year or so ahead of my expectations, but I also know that we could have a poor season next year.

Thing I truly believe is that no matter what, when sheiky took over ,things would happen. When was the only question. Without him, nowt really

We are here now and the next decade is going to be sublime

[Blue Since 76]

pearce made two mistakes. The first was doing so well when he took over. The end of season was so good it raised expectations of what a full season could provide. If he'd carried on like keegan, no one would have blamed him with the poor team we had.
Second mistake was, once the club had had a whip round and sold some old stuff on ebay, he blew the full budget on Samaras, a diamond so rough, he was basically still a tree. He wasn't worth £6m of the loose change we have now, nevermind when you're skint.

[Bridge'srightfoot]

No i don't. I defend criticizing him at the time because the football was negative and boring. The way we played in the home derby vs United was one of the most pathetic displays considering the caliber of players we have.
I still disagree with playing more than one defensive midfielder in a game.
However he has turned it round fantastically and won me over so fair play to him.

Funny, but I enjoyed that performance. We got the blame for not playing attacking football but that wasn't the way I saw it. I thought they were afraid of us, and not in a anything can happy come derby time way, in a real this is a tough match and we'll play for a draw. They could have attacked us, they didn't, they settled for containing us and they didn't really have another option. The reason is that they expected us to throw caution to the wind and expose ourselves, when we showed we weren't mugs, they had nothing. From there we were just as likely to win a derby as any other time, but less likely to lose.

We've beaten them lots of times, but that was the first time they ever really respected us. It laid the foundations for the win in Wembley.

.

Thats bolloks im sorry mate. We were utterly pathetic. We played a home game with ten men behind the ball, we never put them under any pressure. We played for a draw, it was a disgrace. I hate seeing us play that boring and that scared against anyone yet were cowardly. At home we should of been looking to take the game to them.

No one is saying we should of gone stupidly attacking but we should of at least come out our shell and took the game to them.
If we try and win a game and don't I have no complaints, if we play for a draw against anyone it's pathetic and i'll standby that argument.

[ruralblue]

Who gives a fuck what so and so said last week / month most of it said when we had slipped up or been fucked over. Just enjoy the wonderful freaking moment!!!!

[markuse]

My dream has always been to have manager longevity, even if he had not delivered this sea on I would still want him to carry on.

I'm always shocked that we feel we are different somehow and should dominate every game, it just doesn't happen, not to scum, arse or chelski, the things that make footy so good is that all teams have their ups and downs and I just dint understand the fans who after a shit game fel the need to start hanging the culprits from the rafters

In my books we are now a year or so ahead of my expectations, but I also know that we could have a poor season next year.

Thing I truly believe is that no matter what, when sheiky took over ,things would happen. When was the only question. Without him, nowt really

We are here now and the next decade is going to be sublime

Cannot agree more with you. My thoughts exactly

[ronk]

Tell me something I don't know

Contravariant and covariant numbers are equivalent in Euclidean space.

Beautiful.

Brought nasty flashbacks of this. I still see nightmares of those 1200 pages.

http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Engineer ... 0471154962

P.s. I love the fact that people have actually rated it. 3.5 stars it seems. Nice read, not quite as good as his previous work but still enjoyable.

Fucking A, €13 including postage 2nd hand. I'm there.

[Dameerto]

Thats my kind of item under 'things you may also be interested in' - something to do the maths for me