As Manchester City faced defeat following a home loss to Ajax last month Roberto Mancini was bemoaning his team’s lack of defensive concentration.
Then on Tuesday night, with his team’s fate as the bottom placed team in their Champions League group sealed, the Italian manager found himself acknowledging the “big problem” they have scoring goals.
Broad strokes from Mancini and indeed there hasn’t been many aspects to City’s play in the Champions League this season for him to be content with.
A common theme from the English media is to lament City’s bad fortune in drawing such difficult groups because of their low seeding by UEFA.
Yet, after two seasons of ineffectiveness against teams ranging from the mid to top tier of Champions League football, it would appear the Citizens are more or less in their place.
The real problem for City goes back to their greatest achievement under Mancini.
The Italian’s goal after securing City’s first Champions League qualification two seasons ago was to find success on the domestic front. Last season with that gripping piece of sporting drama that was Sergio Aguero’s injury time goal he achieved that.
So City’s team is one built with the Premier League in mind and this is where the transition into the Champions League has had problems.
Just as it happened to Italian football earlier in the millennium, after a period of continental dominance, the Premier League’s cycle has passed its apex. In fact it do so a couple of seasons ago.
City put together a team capable of consistently strong-arming most teams in England, but that’s no longer enough to guarantee at least some success in Europe.
The answer isn’t to go out and splurge vast amounts of money, but to accept the margins for error are much smaller in a six game group stage and adjust accordingly. Often only one or two different players or factors can bring a team forward in their development.
Which brings us to the issue of Mancini’s future.
To paraphrase another Italian tactician, managers can’t make a team better than their potential, but they can make them worse.
As the Manchester derby looms this weekend – a game that last season provided one of the highs of the 48-year-olds time at Eastlands – this is where the question on Mancini lies.
With it appearing increasingly likely the two most successful coaches of this current generation – Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho – will be on the look out for new clubs in the coming European Summer, Mancini may well not get another chance at City. It would hardly be unfair.
With a European record in which his teams have lost a higher percentage of matches, scored fewer goals per game and conceded more often than those of Arsene Wenger, Rafa Benitez, Jose Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola, Mancini can’t yet claim to be amongst European football’s coaching elite.
How much longer will City’s owner Sheikh Mansour be willing to trust such an expensive squad to someone outside of this esteemed group of tacticians?
Neuen
Roar Rookie
here are additional performance prizes for each further stage reached: quarter-final €3.3 million, semi-final €4.2 million, final €5.6 million and winners €9 million. So if you go all the way and win the damn thing, you would earn a total of €31.5 million (not counting the TV pool share), which is serious money in anybody’s language. The principle is the same in the Europa League, though the sums involved are considerably smaller. Each of the 48 clubs involved in the group stages receives a participation bonus of €640,000 plus €60,000 for each match played in the group, giving a total of €1 million. In addition, there is €140,000 for each win and €70,000 for each draw in the group stage. Turning to the knock-out stages, clubs competing in the round of 32 will receive €200,000 each, clubs in the last 16 €300,000, the quarter-finalists €400,000 and the semi-finalists €700,000. The Europa League winners will collect €3 million and the runners-up €2 million. The winning club could therefore receive a maximum of €6.4 million (around 20% of the Champions League). Chelsea’s total revenue for the 2011/12 Champions League was at least €55.6 million, comprising €26.5 million prize money and €29.1 million TV pool. That is €11.1 million higher than previous season’s €44.5 million, when they exited the competition at the quarter-final stage. So how much are City going o lose? Cheers
Neuen
Roar Rookie
Man United build their squad over a period of time. Yes you do need money. Just to compare United spend in 20 years less than what City spend in 3 years. Yes there is more to that than just buying a team. That is buying a huge team will make you successful. Do you think going out the Champions league i s nothing and what is all the fuss is about? Football is a business and the owners want to see returns on their investment. There is no competition in football that will give you such huge returns as the Champions league. That iis where United make a lot of its money to buy players. From going as far as possible in Champions league and gaining from the extra match day funds. They learned this from Madrid and Barcelona. Unfortunatetly they can't make money of shirt sales with big names like Madrid and Barca is doing due to the deal they have with the shirt manufacturer
Freddie
Guest
Money money money. In the late 70s, Malcolm Allison was given millions to spend as Man City manager. He wasted all of it, and the club didn't win anything. There's more to building a trophy-winning squad than just money, although clearly it helps. The hilarious stat from the last Manchester derby in April was that United's starting eleven actually cost more than Citys!
Freddie
Guest
Youre obsessed with the money argument. It still takes time for a team to compete at the higher level, and the fact remains that few City fans are calling for Mancinis head. It's a complete and utter myth.
Colin N
Guest
"Utter rubbish. Mancini has turned an under performing club into trophy winners." No he hasn't, the money did that! According to wiki, Arsenal didn't get to the Champions League until 1998. They then went out in the group stage for the first two years of competing before qualifying for the quarter-finals in 2000-01, so not 10-15 years as you were saying. I suppose the key thing here is the money factor. With the amount they have available they shouldn't be going out in the group stage.
Neuen
Roar Rookie
Well Arsenal did not spend 560 million in 3 years on players or did not have a huge squad like City have. Plus you want to compare teams who played in the pre Bosman ruling era? Have you forgotten eons ago team was permitted to only play 2 Foreigners compared to today where there is no limit?
Freddie
Guest
Utter rubbish. Mancini has turned an under performing club into trophy winners. Competing in Europe takes time - look at Arsenal 10-15yrs ago. It took them almost a decade to get out of the group phase. The pressure on Mancini is almost entirely media driven and based upon money. Hardly any City fans are calling for his head. The last thing they need is to become another Chelsea, sacking managers at will with no long term plan.
Neuen
Roar Rookie
They do not counter and will almost never hit you on a counter. Which is a essential part of ones game playing in Europe. You can not go to Madrid and Germany and think you are going to control possession or dominate. Against Madrid at home they were opened up too s loy by Real Madrid’s counter-attacking strategy. Ronaldo was given far too much space down the left, constantly dribbling past Zabaleta with Maicon too high up to provide any assistance. But Mancini know his tactics although he started with a back 3 against Madrid he changed quickly when it wasn't working out and City played much better but Marid held on.
Justin Cormick
Roar Guru
I don't think Mancini can control the egos in the dressing room, players like Tevez and previously Robinho do not respect Mancini enough. Look at Mourinho at Chelsea and Real Madrid, although there are players with big egos, the biggest ego is Mourinho's so they know he is in charge.
Roger Rational
Guest
Average manager and too many players only there for the money.