Mancini was well-liked by the fans, even on the day of the
FA Cup final, numerous banners were seen around Wembley expressing their
support for the manager. This was amidst growing rumors that a deal had
already been struck with Manuel Pellegrini to take over next term. City would
go on to lose to Wigan Athletic in that final and a couple of days later,
Mancini would go on to lose his job. The FA Cup final disappointment to many
may have been the final nail in the coffin for Roberto, but contrary to that
belief the Italian had dug himself a deep pit out of which there was no getting
out.
The official line post Mancini’s sacking talked about the
Italian’s failure to “meet objectives” as the reason for his exit. A 3rd
place finish in his first season along with the capture of the FA Cup, League
Champions the next with that dramatic last gasp winner from Sergio Aguero and 2nd
this season will tell you that the results on the pitch have been anything but
underwhelming. Mancini though paid the price for a bucket full of other factors
that came to be a constant during his tenure at the Etihad.
SQUAD MANAGEMENT & DISCIPLINE
‘Confrontational’ would be one word that could best be used
to describe some of the fiery Italian’s ways during his stint. Numerous
incidents, most notably the highly publicized ones with Carlos Tevez and Mario
Balotelli showed the Italian’s man management skills in poor light. He would
come out and openly slander his players in the media and was never reluctant to
engage in fisticuffs with his charges. There have also been reports of a
fallout with Micah Richards, Joleon Lescott and Kolo Toure.
The Italian failed to instill a healthy team culture at the club and towards the end of his reign, it was
apparent that he had lost the faith of the dressing room. So much so, that after City’s game against
Reading last Tuesday, 2 City players joked that they could not celebrate the
event of Mancini’s dismissal as they had a game coming up against the Royals.
Obviously, the Italian’s departure has brought about some joy in sections of
the City squad. Balotelli came out to say that he was the least bit shocked
that his former manager got the boot.
The tussles didn't end with just the players, the Italian would
often come out and pan the management like the innumerable number of times he’s
pinned the blame on City’s lackluster title defence on the work that was done
in the summer transfer window. The saga of how the signings he desired didn't come to fruition became a constant thread of admonishment for Mancini.
FAILED TO GET THE BEST OUT OF HIS PLAYERS
The lack of a strong team unity in a group with some very
headstrong personalities meant that City came to resemble Real Madrid, a team
with a lot of talented individuals who failed to bring it together
collectively. When each of these players hit their strides, the team played
well, but they failed to do it on a consistent and regular basis.
Last season, City should have been out of sight with the
Premier League title instead of putting their fans through the nerve-wracking
tension that came their way during the final day fracas. The Sky Blues had a
much better team than their city rivals and started off the season brilliantly
only to stutter towards the end and hand Manchester United the advantage which
they in turn ended up surrendering. And this year, the less said about their
abysmal title challenge, the better.
The fact is that Man City are a team that’s been put
together with plenty of heavy investment – player fees alone have totaled in
excess of £200 million – as a result of which they will play well and will
always be up there in the Top 3, but it is the coaching that has made the
difference between just 1 Premier League title and possibly 3. Just imagine for
a moment, Manchester City in the hands of Jose Mourinho, Alex Ferguson or
Arsene Wenger. With the kind of squad at their disposal, the title may have
been well sewn up with daylight in between them and the chasing pack.
Sadly, Mancini hasn't been able to create that sizable gap
between City and the other contenders that with the resources available could
and should have been done.
EUROPEAN STRUGGLES
Finally, their woes in the UEFA Champions League were always
going to come back to haunt Mancini. Two years in a row they have failed to get
out of the Group stage. Of some consideration is the fact that on both
occasions they were pitted in the Group of Death, but to not even register a
single win is something that a club of the magnitude of Manchester City simply
could not accept. And, this wasn't a first; even when at Inter Milan, Mancini
received his fair share of criticism as Inter suffered early exits many a time.
Ultimately, by the time that Roberto Mancini received his
P45, it was evident that he had lost the confidence of the dressing room as
well as that of the Man City hierarchy. Pellegrini, widely tipped to be the
next manager has made it clear that he would not shy away from putting his foot
down to quell squad indiscipline.
A failure to address precisely that, sometimes contributing
to it even, and the inability to build on City’s success from last year and
push them further ahead of their rivals coupled with their continued struggles
in European competition made for a heady concoction, one that ultimately forced
the powers to be at City to wield the
axe and opt for a fresh brew next season.
