Has Mancini already failed at City?

Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, might not be a bad coach but has failed to maintain his winning streak at Manchester City. The multi-million club performed well earlier this season by beating Chelsea 1-0 at City stadium, but have since lost games against Arsenal and Wolves. Though City lost to Arsenal with one-man down, they still had potential to take gunners up to the last whistle if Mancini had made right reinforcements to overcome the void of the red card. It is not so easy to withstand pressure after a red card, but these are moments when coaches have to show their superiority. For example, last season, Inter Milan was a man-down and still managed to hold Barcelona, even Bayern Munich went on to win at Olympic Lyon after Frank Ribery was sent off after elbowing Alesandro Lopez. Here you can believe that perhaps Mancini’s tactical approach is no where close to Mourinho or Louis Van Gaal of Bayern Munich. Yet City’s 2-1 loss to Wolves further exposed Mancini’s weaknesses. the Italian manager will have to revise his tactical approach if they are to win or avoid embarrassments in the Manchester derby next Wednesday.With so many hot talents at the Manchester City, the club needs to be more successful this season than last season, especially if the Italian is to retain his job. Although fifth place was the club’s finish in the Premier League last season, there was a sense of disappointment around Eastland’s as they failed to grab a Champions League place. Last season, the owners invested a lot of money in the club under the provision that they would get into the Champions League and would, thus, be able to attract the world’s best players as Chelsea had done when Roman Abramovich took over. Looking at the perspective of consistency in terms of performance, had Mancini been City’s manager at the start of last season, he would undoubtedly have been fired. But having already got rid of Mark Hughes, the Man City hierarchy would have risked their reputation had they sacked two managers in one season. This season Manchester City have not started poorly compared to the previous season. Mancini will take ultimate responsibility for the club’s fortunes. If the Italian does not bring success to Eastlands after a huge summer spending spree, Mancini will have nowhere to hide and will not last. Fundamentally, what Manchester City need now is Champions League football. This will be seen by the club’s owners as a minimum requirement. The fans will have more patience, but given the amount of quality players Mancini has at his disposal, they will be expectant too. There is an outside chance of Man City challenging for the Premier League title this season, but it is a lack of Champions League football that is currently holding them back from mounting a serious challenge. Being in the Champions League brings money into a club, and it is also a major attraction for possible transfer targets. When a club starts playing Champions League football, the caliber of players it can attract is greatly increased. Not until Manchester City achieves this, they will not be considered as European elites. There is no doubt that Champions league football attracts good and experienced players to the club. For example, City wanted to sign Brazilian playmaker Kaka and the deal collapsed, perhaps, due to its lack of champion’s league football. This time around Manchester City need to finish in the top four in order to progress and become a major force in English football, and the owners are more than aware of this fact. Having not tasted any silverware for many years, City supporters are also be keen for the club to end their long trophy drought. Manchester City has not won a major honour since their League Cup triumph in 1976, and this is 34 years ago. josephmunich06@yahoo.co.uk