Not a bad little article for a journo. Gave us a 7/10 rating as a success for the season overall. Red Scouse got 3/10 btw.
Manager:
Roberto Mancini – Five months into the job at Eastlands, Mancini deserves, and will get, more time to mould the team into his image. The Italian has made improvements since succeeding Mark Hughes in December by ironing out defensive flaws and improving the mentality, but there is still work to do in convincing some of players to sign up to his ethos.
Best player:
Carlos Tévez – Where would City be without Tévez had he not swapped Old Trafford for Eastlands last summer? Twenty-nine goals in his first season at the club underlines his impact, but too many of his team-mates have failed to match his output. Some doubt over whether Tévez will be happy to settle for the Europa League next season, so Manchester City must address that quickly.
Worst player:
Robinho –- It would be easy to single out the injury-prone Roque Santa Cruz or the likes of Stephen Ireland, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Micah Richards, who have all flattered to deceive this season. But Robinho has been a disaster at Eastlands – an expensive one, too – so his January loan to Santos only emphasised the magnitude of his failure to succeed. If he never comes back, City will not miss him.
Moment of the season:
Losing to Spurs in the ‘Champions League play-off’ game defined City’s campaign because the top four was the ambition of the club’s owners and the players failed to deliver. But City reached their first major semi-final since 1981 before crashing out of the Carling Cup to Manchester United, so progress has been made. League wins against Chelsea and Arsenal worthy of note too.
Big issue:
Money – City have plenty of it and they will spend, spend, spend this summer in a bid to recruit the players required to take them into the Champions League. But despite Mancini’s talk of the City ‘project’ being enough to tempt the best players, will it really? Will the world’s best really give up the Champions League to play for Manchester City? At that end of the market, players put trophies and glory before money.
Verdict:
City are clearly getting there and, with more new signings, they will get closer next season. Was it realistic to expect a top four finish this season? Perhaps, but City are building from a weaker base than Chelsea under Abramovich, so progress will be slower. This campaign has been a success, despite the ultimate failure to qualify for the Champions League. 7/10
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