by carl_feedthegoat » Sat Oct 27, 2012 12:31 am
I really enjoyed reading this article..some home truths TBF.
The finger of blame will only point at you, Roberto
By DES KELLY
PUBLISHED: 22:06 GMT, 26 October 2012 | UPDATED: 00:00 GMT, 27 October 2012
The trouble with accepting your share of the blame is there is always someone ready to serve you another helping. The problem with telling everyone it’s entirely your fault is they will believe it.
Roberto Mancini offered up a very public mea culpa this week. After a miserable night in Amsterdam, the Manchester City manager confessed the defeat against Ajax and the crumbling Champions League campaign were down to him.
'I take full responsibility,' he said. 'I didn’t prepare properly for the game'. This seemed a startling admission. At best, it sounded as if he was trying to draw the flak away from some dismal performances by key players. At worst, it made him sound distinctly unprofessional.
The blame game is certainly a dangerous business. Owen Coyle also said recently he took 'full responsibility' for Bolton Wanderers' woes - and was duly sacked. When boxer Amir Khan lost his fight to Danny Garcia, he declared: 'I'm taking the whole blame' - and promptly dumped his trainer Freddie Roach. So, as Oscar Wilde said, 'It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you place the blame.'
Mancini knew exactly where he wanted to dump his. He didn’t mean a word of the guilt trip and the ‘I Messed Up’ headlines belied his true feelings. These were laid bare by one pointed post-match remark. ‘I don’t know why Joleon Lescott doesn’t jump for the second goal,’ he said. ‘Blame me. I am the manager’.
That is Mancini saying: I am carrying the can for this squad’s inability to perform. And that uneasy resentment bubbled to the surface again in yesterday’s press conference.
Having heard Micah Richards express bewilderment at a late switch to employing three defenders against Ajax, Mancini responded: 'If you are a top player it is not important what system you use. If you don’t understand a system like that, you cannot play for a top team.’
It is a clear accusation that some of his players are too stupid to adapt to a different system during a match. He has a point, too. But whether the manager should be saying it out loud is another matter entirely.
This is where Mancini shoots himself in the foot. He says tactics don’t matter, but makes wholesale tactical changes. He says spirit is more important than ability in the Champions League, but then insists quality players are the key. He says the team should understand what he is being asked of them, but brings in a new defensive coach — Angelo Gregucci — who struggles to speak English.
It’s a muddle of emotional and tactical contradictions. Players always seize on any excuse for their failings. Not enough of them are personally accountable and the only time the buck stops with certain footballers is when it’s jammed into a pole dancer’s G-string.
But even so, Mancini cannot resist stirring up the tension in his dressing room. His touchline gesticulations and histrionics, slating the likes of Joe Hart for daring to express his disappointment after a match, the jokes about how Balotelli's psychiatrist needs two psychiatrists, the solemn pledges never to use Carlos Tevez again and subsequent U-turn, the public dressing downs for players he believes are under-performing — they all drive a wedge between him and the team.
Let us not overstate the case. Some of the reports that a 'mutiny' is under way are exaggerated. Mancini has also won three trophies since he arrived at City and his club remain unbeaten in the Premier League this season, with an opportunity to make up ground this weekend with Chelsea hosting Manchester United.
But the fact the City boss still appears to find it difficult to communicate with his players, either because he doesn’t trust or like them, is an ongoing concern. It’s bearable if results are good.
But if it means his title defence starts slipping in the same direction as his Champions League campaign, everyone will know exactly where to point the finger of blame.
THEY SAY SWEARING IS DUE TO A LIMITED VOCABULARY. I KNOW THOUSANDS OF WORDS, BUT I STILL PREFER "FUCK OFF" TO "GO AWAY"
.gif)
