My Views On Mancini So Far

[Lees Alter Ego]

Thought I would share this with you all...its a long one so if you cant be arsed with reading then the utilise the back button now. Anyway, a month or so again I read an article on http://www.keepupfootball.com (decent website by the way. check it out) after the Sunderland at home game arguing Mancini had to go. I decided I was going to respond at the end of the season as i disagreed with a lot of what he had to say. Anyway hes my response for anyone thats interest. Link to his article below (hes an ex prem footballer btw)


I am writing in response to your article written on the April 2nd, entitled 'Time up for Mancini' (http://www.keepupfootball.com/time-up-for-mancini/)

I know you will think this response is conveniently timed, given City just snatched the title a few days ago, however I can assure you this response was coming either way, like yourself I didn’t want to make a knee jerk reaction off the back of a few disappointing away displays.

I don’t want to get hung up on his past achievements - which you simply belittled due to the Calciopoli scandal - it’s a debate that could go on all day. But let me just say, winning any title is not easy and to do it three years on the bounce is still no mean feat especially for someone who had been in management for only four years at the time of his first title.

Anyway, on to his time at City. Every aspect of Mancini’s repertoire seemed to be questioned in your article back in April, so lets break it down and start with his tactics. Mancini was seen to flatter to deceive in his first full season, with City constantly being accused of “boring negative football”. I have to agree, the football was far from breathtaking but this was just the start, Mancini was putting his hallmark on the team which proved crucial in the long run.

He first set about tightening up the defence. This may not provide the fans with the most inspirational of football but this was just the beginning of the process, the building blocks if you like - a task all good managers undertake. Under Hughes City would play football which was much easy on the eye, but often fell short (The thrilling 4-3 defeat at Old Trafford just one example). This style is both naive and outdated and rarely comes out on top in the modern game, take Newcastle in 95/96 or at the other end of the scale Blackpool in the 10/11 season.

Now I am not for one minute suggesting attacking football cant be achieved, Barcelona are the obviously role models for superior passing and attacking play. I am simply saying that a shrewd manager builds from the back. Jose Mourinho, the man you said City fans should be praying for, did exactly that when he took charge at Chelsea.

And this tactic worked for Mancini, in his first full season, City had the tightest defence and keep the most clean sheets. Perhaps he fell short of many peoples expectations, but things simply don’t happen over night. An FA Cup, a 3rd placed finish and Champions league qualification was without question a successful season and a positive step forward from the previous year.

So now we move on to this season and wow, we all agree it was a fascinating spectacle. It had more turns than Lionel Messi or Graham Le Sauxs sexuality and it kept us all gripped right to the end. Mancini played his part in this fantastic theatre and for me handled most things that came his way very well.

In your article you questioned Mancini’s management style particularly his handling of the players. Taking over a club which had already spent a significant amount of money and had more egos than TOWIE (The Only Way is Essex to me and you) would test any manager. Mancini, though, didn’t flinch when sending fans Player of the Year Craig Bellamy out on loan as well as shipping out Emmanuel Adebayor - both bold decisions. It was this short of character City needed, one that would show he could handle these egos. It was these sort of decisions which I believe gained Manicni respect from within the club…..this guy takes no nonsense, he means business.

Then we move on to Tevez and what better place to start with than the Munich incident. In your article you say you saw this incident differently? I am not sure what else you could have seen. At the very least he refused to warm up, a disgraceful act at any level, I'd be interested to hear how you would've reacted had you been in the City squad. What would his team mates have been thinking?

In what clearly was a tense and volatile situation, Mancini kept his cool and got on with the job - with the exception of the one comment immediately after the incident when emotions were running high. He also let the media and squad know who was boss, even if this meant sacrificing a world class player and the clubs top scorer for the last 2 seasons. Tevez only returned on Mancini's terms.

And what about the reaction on the pitch? It has to have an impact on morale doesn’t it? Mancini guided City to 9 straight wins, scoring 33 goals, including the incredible 6-1 thrashing of Utd at Old Trafford, something which wont happen again in my lifetime. This incredible run had to end, as all unbeaten do.

Which brings me onto your criticism of City's European campaign. Yes, it was disappointing to exit at the group stage, but come on! It's our first season dinning at Europe's top table for over 40 years. It's a relatively new team, Wenger said it took his side something like six seasons to get used to the rigours of challenging Europe's best. Our total of 10pts would have been good enough for qualification from the other 7 groups.


“Time up for Mancini” you shouted following a draw against Sunderland, but lets look at the stats. As I mentioned earlier, success was never going to happen overnight, City & Mancini are building for the long term. (We have remember jumped from 10th to title challengers in just four seasons). Post Emirates City had 71 pts, the same amount we finished on the previous season and there was still another 7 games to play, a further 21 points.

He kept his team focused and galvanised them after falling 8pts behind Utd. He played it cool with the press and arguably won the mental battle. Utd knew that any wobble would see City pounce like Joey Barton in a pub brawl.

In amongst the six straight wins to finish the season was the derby, a game in which Utd didn't have a single shot on target, something which hadn’t happened for over 3 years I believe. Surely a little bit of love for Bobby was due from your good self?

Newcastle away highlighted his tactical nouse, which you so heavily criticised him for. Pushing Yaya further forward with 20 to go won City the game. Again, we're was the love for Bobby? I'm not even going to mention the steely determination and calmness which he had instilled in the players - oh I just did. City, remember, are a club were failure and disappointment are tattooed on the club crest, yet we played the high stakes games with a never say die, play to the end, attitude that takes years to install. Sir Alex himself never saw his heavily invested side show there trademark belief until 7 years into his tenure. Remember the crumble in 92?

The 'typical City' tag was never more appropriate than on the final day, 2-1 down and into injury time against the leagues worst travellers. What happened next is another example of the belief instilled by Mancini at the club, one which meant city never gave up, they would fight till the end, and boy did it pay off. As i say, it wasn't a fluke, Utd have mastered it. If they had won the league, Fergie would rightly have been praised. But they didn't.

City ended up champions scoring more and conceding less in comparison to any other premier league club. Not bad for a manager with overly negative tactics. Time was up for Mancini on April 2nd 2012, a mere month and a title later, it seems his journey with City is only just beginning. Any love for Bobby?

[The Foggy Blue]

Yeah, fair enough, but all that money....


;)

[Ted Hughes]

It's a good response but I don't understand why so many neutrals were trying to get Mancini sacked anyway.

2nd place would have been a decent result this season provided we didn't fall apart at the end; we needed momentum for next season.

I think Bob has dropped some absolute howlers but he's also done stuff that's brilliant & on average, he's been as good as anyone. He's really gone up onto another level since the Arsenal debacle though; the absolute highest echelon.

After that game, he could easily have presided over a losing streak, in which case he would probably have been better off leaving, as it would have hung around next season. Instead, he achieved greatness by pushing us to the title; imo one of the best spells of management the league has ever seen & he deserves some kind of award for it.

He was doing a perfectly good job prior to the Arsenal game anyway though.

[gillie]

It's a good response but I don't understand why so many neutrals were trying to get Mancini sacked anyway.

2nd place would have been a decent result this season provided we didn't fall apart at the end; we needed momentum for next season.

I think Bob has dropped some absolute howlers but he's also done stuff that's brilliant & on average, he's been as good as anyone. He's really gone up onto another level since the Arsenal debacle though; the absolute highest echelon.

After that game, he could easily have presided over a losing streak, in which case he would probably have been better off leaving, as it would have hung around next season. Instead, he achieved greatness by pushing us to the title; imo one of the best spells of management the league has ever seen & he deserves some kind of award for it.

He was doing a perfectly good job prior to the Arsenal game anyway though.

I think the Arsenal game was the catalyst for what eventually happened.I think the big players told him Balo has to sit ban or not they were totally pissed off with him as was Bob.Bob imo formulated his plan for the title at the Emirates that night.

[getdressedmctavish]

Its pretty obvious Bob cant be faulted over the last six games. To my mind however, what he stopped doing was pissing the team about. He sent out a well balanced team and where possible stuck to it. As I've argued many times(trust the players) the players responded for the simple reason they weren't thinking"what the fuck is going on?" as they clearly were at Arsenal, as indeed were we.The key to this was removal of the Clown and bringing back Tevez who the players believe in, and ceasing to rotate Clichy. When Zab excelled he kept his place, another good message.There is no doubt Bob set up the template for our solidarity on the field in terms of tactics. What had gone missing was common sense and belief. Events transpired to give us the latter because once the Rags cocked up v Everton we knew exactly what we had to do and the players responded. Strangely it was Ferguson who cracked. Could any one else believe the team he sent out for the Derby second half? So well done, Bob. i am sure you were about to drop Balotelli anyway even if he hadn't been banned. Well, pretty sure....lol

[Wonderwall]

To err is human, Mancini will continue to learn in the premiership, he has proved himself a quick learner so far.

[Nigels Tackle]

lees alter ego speaks...

[Clowncrete]

I have fairly positive views on Mancini. We got 10 points from a group which was easily the toughest in the UCL. Some of his decisions like bringing in De Jong against Newcastle have won us the league. He is a tactics master.

[Lees Alter Ego]

lees alter ego speaks...

I'm more of a back grounder, then reel of an essay. Back in a year or so...

[Lees Alter Ego]

It's a good response but I don't understand why so many neutrals were trying to get Mancini sacked anyway.

2nd place would have been a decent result this season provided we didn't fall apart at the end; we needed momentum for next season.

I think Bob has dropped some absolute howlers but he's also done stuff that's brilliant & on average, he's been as good as anyone. He's really gone up onto another level since the Arsenal debacle though; the absolute highest echelon.

After that game, he could easily have presided over a losing streak, in which case he would probably have been better off leaving, as it would have hung around next season. Instead, he achieved greatness by pushing us to the title; imo one of the best spells of management the league has ever seen & he deserves some kind of award for it.

He was doing a perfectly good job prior to the Arsenal game anyway though.

Good post. He was far from faultless but what manager is. He proved his worth in the last six games...and what better time to do it!!