Original Dub wrote:uwe's_skyblue_duvet wrote:Aye to the thread: stability was definitely the answer we should have come up with.
The fact that Mancini or A.N.Other manager would seem to absolutely need a top four finish to be employed by us next season, is for me, precisely the reason we should have stuck with the previous manager (what's his name again?) til the end of the season. It's a ridiculously short amount of time to build your own team, squad, playing style etc.
I was totally crestfallen when we gave in to the pressure in exactly the same way we always do, the revolving door just doesn't stop spinning does it. It absolutely stunk of panic, an ill concieved reaction from people for whom desperation won the battle with footballing common sense, and the current situation is bearing that out big time in my view. If we capitulate further and fail to break the top four, we are going to look like a right set of nobs, and for good reason.
I'm behind Mancini in that I really wanna back him, but he's given precious little reasons for me to be enhusiastic so far- quite the opposite in fact. Before him, even though we endured the odd dire performance, and an annoying amount of individual player mistakes, it was interspersed with some terrific attacking football, something that really gave me hope, and kept a fierce belief inside that we were capable of going that step further whcih we so crave. That feeling's all but evaporated now, and it's back to the old stiff upper lip and blind hope.
I'm wondering is there anyone out there who was calling for a change in manager who now thinks that it was a daft idea?
Of course there is mate, there are plenty of folk like that, but the ones who really really called for it have football and the future figured out because they already know Mancini is what we need. What he has done in English football so far has more than impressed them.
Or at least they have to say that because they look like fucking idiots lately.
I'll admit to "really really" calling for a change of manager, as I just thought Hughes was not the man for the long term. However I didnt particularly want us to do it when we did as at that time I was reasonably happy with how things were going. I would only have changed managers mid season if I thought the incoming bloke thought he could coax more out of the players we had, with a remit to build on the foundations Hughes had laid, which was a team full of good players with an attacking mentality.
After my intial disbelief at the way it was handled, I thought at outset though it was a no lose scenario, Mancini achieves top 4, great - if not we move onto the top target. However I had no idea just how dour we would become under Mancini, and missing out on top 4 is one thing, but having to watch that shit week in week out is torture. I personally think that with what has transpired we would be much better off with Hughes than with a caretaker manager. However to succeed, all businesses have to take risks and it seems this one from a footballing perspective is not paying off, but as for the original aim, it is very much still on, and we are despite all the negativity completely in control of our own destiny.
If they wanted Mourinho, they should have waited till summer and avoided all the upheaval. As a "hater" I would have been happy with that, althought I did get to dispair stage after the spuds game.