"There's something wrong with the world today,
I don't know what it is,
Something's wrong with our eyes"
The opening lyrics to Aerosmith's "Livin on the Edge" could have applied to Arsenal going into their Champions League qualifier second leg in Udine. They were, in theory, living on the edge - elimination from Europe's elite competition so early would have not only resulted in a loss of revenue, but may also have been the start of a vicious downward spiral for the Gunners.
But was there "something wrong with our eyes"? Given the lack of recognised first-teamers in the lineup, and the relative youth of the team, Arsenal ended up producing a very mature display to come away 2-1 winners on the night (3-1 on aggregate). And this after Antonio Di Natale, Italy's most prolific striker for 2 consecutive seasons, had put the hosts ahead in the first half. Had Arsenal been underestimated, not just by their opposition but by the press and football fans in their own country?
Of course it could have been so different. Gunners 'keeper Wojciech Szczesny made a brilliant save to deny Di Natale from the penalty spot, which would have put the Italians 2-1 up on the night, and needing just the one goal to go through. However, imperious performances from Szczesny, Walcott and Gervinho helped Arsenal secure the vital win.
But what does this mean for Arsene Wenger and his club? For a start, now that they are guaranteed Champions League football at least until Christmas (and probably beyond given how much of a farce the group stages are these days) they can start attracting players who may have been delaying a decision until this tie had been settled.
The big question of course is will Wenger spend, and bring in players to replace the departed Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri? He loves to promote from within of course, and even hinted that this might continue - although that was before the Udinese game and may have been a face-saving comment should the worst have happened. Really Arsenal should be using this victory to propel themselves forward and not let themselves slip back into their routine of the last few years - i.e. not being quite good enough.
They've been here before, actually. They've had some magnificent and inspirational results in Europe over the last few years - for example their 2-0 victory in the San Siro against AC Milan in 2008. Many claimed Arsenal had "come of age" that night. Yet of the starting XI then, only one player (Sagna) started the game against Udinese. Incredibly, eight of the eleven players have left the club. In the wake of this Udinese victory, I have heard several comments from Arsenal supporters that ring eerily familiar to those we heard three years ago.
This result in Udine was a very good and important one for Arsenal; but there is a huge element of caution that I would offer to Gunners fans. If Wenger continues with his policy of the last few years as regards player transfers, then this result will just rank alongside the victory over Milan as yet another false dawn.
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Saturday, 13 August 2011
Premier League 2011-12 Season - Best of the Rest
Okay, so having looked at the title contenders and the relegation candidates, what of the rest of the Premier League? Here are my opinions on several other teams this season, and what they can expect:
Fulham
The resignation of Mark Hughes from Craven Cottage in June was a surprising one, but Fulham have not rested on their laurels. They appointed former Spurs boss Martin Jol, who brings with him a wealth of experience from around Europe having recently managed Hamburg and Ajax. The Cottagers have managed to hold on to players such as Brede Hangeland, Clint Dempsey and Bobby Zamora, as well as bringing in several players including ex-Liverpool and Roma full-back John Arne Riise. I anticipate that Fulham will surprise many people this season and finish in the top eight.
Stoke City
Tony Pulis' Potters are something of a success story for promoted teams. Not really given a chance by many upon their promotion to the top flight, Stoke have gone from strength to strength. They now find themselves competing in the Europa League thanks to an FA Cup Final appearance last season. Their signings are ambitious too, having bolstered their defence with the arrival of Matthew Upson and Jonathan Woodgate, who both have points to prove for different reasons. They may yet sign Wilson Palacios and Peter Crouch from Tottenham. I believe Stoke will easily finish in the top 10 this season, or maybe even higher.
Arsenal
The Gunners' problems have been well documented of late, so I won't dwell on them. If, as expected, they lose Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri then the main question is can they replace them? A deal for Valencia's talented playmaker Juan Mata appears to be dead, and they do not yet have a guaranteed place in the Champions League group stage having been handed a tricky qualifier against Italian outfit Udinese. Many times in the past I have written Arsenal off for a top 4 finish, and time & again they have proven me wrong. I really do fear for them this time though.
Tottenham Hotspur
Right, here's an opinion you won't hear in many media outlets - Harry Redknapp messed up last season. With the squad that Tottenham had, finishing outside the top 4 and failing to present the title challenge their manager suggested they could, was disappointing for them. They've gone backwards. With their best player, Luka Modric, wanting out and their other stars of last year, Rafa Van Der Vaart and Gareth Bale primarily, dropping out of form, I don't see Spurs kicking on this season either. And a second successive season outside the top 4 will see their pulling power wane, and further stars wanting to leave. I feel that, without drastic change, this season will be the start of Spurs' inevitable downward cycle.
Final League Table prediction:
Fulham
The resignation of Mark Hughes from Craven Cottage in June was a surprising one, but Fulham have not rested on their laurels. They appointed former Spurs boss Martin Jol, who brings with him a wealth of experience from around Europe having recently managed Hamburg and Ajax. The Cottagers have managed to hold on to players such as Brede Hangeland, Clint Dempsey and Bobby Zamora, as well as bringing in several players including ex-Liverpool and Roma full-back John Arne Riise. I anticipate that Fulham will surprise many people this season and finish in the top eight.
Stoke City
Tony Pulis' Potters are something of a success story for promoted teams. Not really given a chance by many upon their promotion to the top flight, Stoke have gone from strength to strength. They now find themselves competing in the Europa League thanks to an FA Cup Final appearance last season. Their signings are ambitious too, having bolstered their defence with the arrival of Matthew Upson and Jonathan Woodgate, who both have points to prove for different reasons. They may yet sign Wilson Palacios and Peter Crouch from Tottenham. I believe Stoke will easily finish in the top 10 this season, or maybe even higher.
Arsenal
The Gunners' problems have been well documented of late, so I won't dwell on them. If, as expected, they lose Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri then the main question is can they replace them? A deal for Valencia's talented playmaker Juan Mata appears to be dead, and they do not yet have a guaranteed place in the Champions League group stage having been handed a tricky qualifier against Italian outfit Udinese. Many times in the past I have written Arsenal off for a top 4 finish, and time & again they have proven me wrong. I really do fear for them this time though.
Tottenham Hotspur
Right, here's an opinion you won't hear in many media outlets - Harry Redknapp messed up last season. With the squad that Tottenham had, finishing outside the top 4 and failing to present the title challenge their manager suggested they could, was disappointing for them. They've gone backwards. With their best player, Luka Modric, wanting out and their other stars of last year, Rafa Van Der Vaart and Gareth Bale primarily, dropping out of form, I don't see Spurs kicking on this season either. And a second successive season outside the top 4 will see their pulling power wane, and further stars wanting to leave. I feel that, without drastic change, this season will be the start of Spurs' inevitable downward cycle.
Final League Table prediction:
- Manchester United
- Manchester City
- Chelsea
- Liverpool
- Arsenal
- Tottenham Hotspur
- Bolton Wanderers
- Fulham
- Stoke City
- Everton
- Sunderland
- West Bromwich Albion
- Newcastle United
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
- Aston Villa
- Blackburn Rovers
- QPR
- Wigan Athletic
- Norwich City
- Swansea City
Premier League 2011-12 Season - Battle for Survival
This season the Premier League welcomes back Norwich City and Queen's Park Rangers, whilst it also for the first time will see a Welsh side compete in it - Swansea City. For all three clubs, simply avoiding relegation would constitute a successful season this time around. So, what are their chances? And who from the current crop of league teams will they be competing against?
Swansea City - The Swans defeated Reading in a thrilling Championship playoff final to earn the right to play in the Premier League for the very first time. The team that comes up via the playoffs is usually a favourite for immediate relegation; indeed of the last five to win promotion this way, only one survived their first season in the Premier League. That was Hull, who were relegated in their second year.
Rodgers has brought in a couple of Premier League journeymen in Wayne Routledge and Leroy Lita in the hope that they will provide the experience the Swans otherwise lack. They did, though, lose Darren Pratley to Bolton. Though Swansea play good football, and it has been proven that this approach can work in the Premier League even for lower-table teams, I do not expect them to still be in the league in 12 months' time.
Norwich City - Norwich's great advantage is their good upcoming young manager, Paul Lambert. He got the job after hammering Norwich 7-1 with his Colchester team on the opening day of the 2009/10 League One season, and hasn't looked back since. Successive promotions has seen him lead the Canaries into the Premier League, and it could be argued this form will serve them well.
Norwich have been trying to bolster their defence with loan signing Richie De Laet from Manchester United, and have tabled a bid for promising youngster Daniel Ayala from Liverpool. Although these signings should help them out, I feel Norwich's lack of experienced Premier League players will eventually show and they will drop from the league late on, perhaps in the last week or two of fixtures.
Queen's Park Rangers - Huge financial backing, and a very experienced manager in Neil Warnock, has allowed the Hoops to return to the top flight for the first time since 1996. Warnock, though, has always struggled with the demands of the Premier League and now that QPR are there, you can be certain that their owners will demand that they stay there. Over the summer there were rumblings that they wanted Warnock replaced with someone who has been proven at this level. Don't be surprised if Warnock is shown the door should things start to look grim.
Jay Bothroyd and DJ Campbell have been brought in to score the goals, and they still have their talented playmaker Adel Taarabt, although he himself failed to make an impression last time he plied his trade at this level. Come January though, QPR will find they have the money to attract players should it become necessary. I expect that Loftus Road will be hosting Premier League football again in 2012/13.
Other sides in danger - I'm picking three other Premier League teams to struggle this season: Wigan Athletic, Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa.
Wigan have flirted with relegation ever since arriving into the league, and somehow always survived in spite of selling their better players time and again. Though, at this time, they still have their primary goal threat in Hugo Rodellega, they have sold Charles N'Zogbia to Villa (more on them shortly), and they are still wildly unpredictable week-to-week and prone to bouts of shipping bags of goals. This is never good and I feel that this season the Latics' number might finally be up.
Blackburn Rovers were, in many respects, lucky to avoid relegation last season. The baffling decision to replace Sam Allardyce with Steve Kean probably should have backfired, and only a last-day win at Wolves ensured their safety - and that of Kean's job. They have signed David Goodwillie, who showed great promise in Scotland but recent history suggests that this does not necessarily translate to Premier League success. My prediction? Blackburn will survive, but Steve Kean will not.
Finally, Aston Villa. Let's get one thing straight - Alex McLeish is not in danger of being sacked any time soon. The board knew that his appointment from Birmingham would be a controversial one and I expect them to give him their full support for as long as possible. But the loss of arguably their best two players last year, Stewart Downing and Ashley Young, and a failure to bring in a proven goalscorer may hurt them badly. They have done well to replace outgoing Brad Friedel with Shay Given, but this will only serve to save them a few points here and there. N'Zogbia is a good player on the wing, but who does he provide for? I think Villa will survive, but it will be a long and difficult season for the Villa Park faithful.
Bottom six prediction:
15. Aston Villa
16. Blackburn Rovers
17. QPR
18. Wigan Athletic
19. Norwich City
20. Swansea City
Swansea City - The Swans defeated Reading in a thrilling Championship playoff final to earn the right to play in the Premier League for the very first time. The team that comes up via the playoffs is usually a favourite for immediate relegation; indeed of the last five to win promotion this way, only one survived their first season in the Premier League. That was Hull, who were relegated in their second year.
Rodgers has brought in a couple of Premier League journeymen in Wayne Routledge and Leroy Lita in the hope that they will provide the experience the Swans otherwise lack. They did, though, lose Darren Pratley to Bolton. Though Swansea play good football, and it has been proven that this approach can work in the Premier League even for lower-table teams, I do not expect them to still be in the league in 12 months' time.
Norwich City - Norwich's great advantage is their good upcoming young manager, Paul Lambert. He got the job after hammering Norwich 7-1 with his Colchester team on the opening day of the 2009/10 League One season, and hasn't looked back since. Successive promotions has seen him lead the Canaries into the Premier League, and it could be argued this form will serve them well.
Norwich have been trying to bolster their defence with loan signing Richie De Laet from Manchester United, and have tabled a bid for promising youngster Daniel Ayala from Liverpool. Although these signings should help them out, I feel Norwich's lack of experienced Premier League players will eventually show and they will drop from the league late on, perhaps in the last week or two of fixtures.
Queen's Park Rangers - Huge financial backing, and a very experienced manager in Neil Warnock, has allowed the Hoops to return to the top flight for the first time since 1996. Warnock, though, has always struggled with the demands of the Premier League and now that QPR are there, you can be certain that their owners will demand that they stay there. Over the summer there were rumblings that they wanted Warnock replaced with someone who has been proven at this level. Don't be surprised if Warnock is shown the door should things start to look grim.
Jay Bothroyd and DJ Campbell have been brought in to score the goals, and they still have their talented playmaker Adel Taarabt, although he himself failed to make an impression last time he plied his trade at this level. Come January though, QPR will find they have the money to attract players should it become necessary. I expect that Loftus Road will be hosting Premier League football again in 2012/13.
Other sides in danger - I'm picking three other Premier League teams to struggle this season: Wigan Athletic, Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa.
Wigan have flirted with relegation ever since arriving into the league, and somehow always survived in spite of selling their better players time and again. Though, at this time, they still have their primary goal threat in Hugo Rodellega, they have sold Charles N'Zogbia to Villa (more on them shortly), and they are still wildly unpredictable week-to-week and prone to bouts of shipping bags of goals. This is never good and I feel that this season the Latics' number might finally be up.
Blackburn Rovers were, in many respects, lucky to avoid relegation last season. The baffling decision to replace Sam Allardyce with Steve Kean probably should have backfired, and only a last-day win at Wolves ensured their safety - and that of Kean's job. They have signed David Goodwillie, who showed great promise in Scotland but recent history suggests that this does not necessarily translate to Premier League success. My prediction? Blackburn will survive, but Steve Kean will not.
Finally, Aston Villa. Let's get one thing straight - Alex McLeish is not in danger of being sacked any time soon. The board knew that his appointment from Birmingham would be a controversial one and I expect them to give him their full support for as long as possible. But the loss of arguably their best two players last year, Stewart Downing and Ashley Young, and a failure to bring in a proven goalscorer may hurt them badly. They have done well to replace outgoing Brad Friedel with Shay Given, but this will only serve to save them a few points here and there. N'Zogbia is a good player on the wing, but who does he provide for? I think Villa will survive, but it will be a long and difficult season for the Villa Park faithful.
Bottom six prediction:
15. Aston Villa
16. Blackburn Rovers
17. QPR
18. Wigan Athletic
19. Norwich City
20. Swansea City
Friday, 12 August 2011
Premier League 2011-12 Season - Title Contenders
With only a few hours to go before the new Premier League season kicks off, I thought I should take the time to write down a few random musings and predictions. In separate blogs I'll look at the top 4 contenders, surprise packages and who will be scrapping against relegation. I'll not analyse transfers too much at this stage, since that will be a separate blog when the window closes.
The Title
Right, let's get straight to it. Realistically I see three teams - Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs - competing for the title this season, with my very own Liverpool somewhat of an outsider. So how do they shape up?
Liverpool - much as I would like to say otherwise, the Reds are not really cut out for a title tilt this season. One main reason for this is that they have brought in several new players, many of whom will expect to play a lot of games, and it might take time for the team to click. Another major factor is the lack of title-winning experience in the side; which is something you can rely on when other things go against you.
Manchester City - I wrote a blog on the Citizens last week asking about their title aspirations. Since then I have seen them blow a 2-0 lead to their city rivals in the Community Shield, and some of Mancini's old habits reared their ugly heads. That is, he replaced several attack-minded players with defensive ones and did not go for the win, even in such a game as this. I fear, from a City perspective, that he will be unable to get out of old habits and this will be to City's detriment as they fail to win games they easily could have.
Chelsea - The Blues' major signing this summer was the manager, Andre Villas-Boas. A man who accomplished incredible things with FC Porto last season, and who has spent his career learning from the likes of Sir Bobby Robson and Jose Mourinho, "AVB" brings a fresh tactical approach to Stamford Bridge. But what of the tools at his disposal? Lampard, Terry, Anelka and Drogba are ageing, Essien is injured (and isn't the player he was), Ramires is taking longer to adjust than he should, Cech still hasn't recovered his best form, and Torres is looking dangerously like a superstar past his peak already. If Chelsea stick with Villas-Boas in the long term I am confident he will rejuvenate them into a trophy-winning side. But that will not be this season.
Manchester United - The defending champions remain the team to beat. Some say that their title-winning squad last season was poor; but that doesn't wash with me because it is of course all relative. You don't need a truly great team to win the title, you just need to be better than everyone else that year. Of course they have lost Van Der Sar and Scholes, and not replaced them like-for-like with quality, but the champions have retained their real MVP - the manager. Sir Alex Ferguson knows how to win; it could be said he knows little else. And with some interesting young signings, he looks to be on his way to building yet another title-winning team.
Conclusion
I would expect the race to look reasonably close for the majority of the season - given Manchester United's opening fixtures it is feasible they could be off the pace going into October. In the end though, their title-winning know-how will show through and I'd expect them to finish a good four to six points clear of Manchester City.
Top 4 prediction:
1. Manchester United
2. Manchester City
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool
Next up.....a look at the relegation candidates.
The Title
Right, let's get straight to it. Realistically I see three teams - Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs - competing for the title this season, with my very own Liverpool somewhat of an outsider. So how do they shape up?
Liverpool - much as I would like to say otherwise, the Reds are not really cut out for a title tilt this season. One main reason for this is that they have brought in several new players, many of whom will expect to play a lot of games, and it might take time for the team to click. Another major factor is the lack of title-winning experience in the side; which is something you can rely on when other things go against you.
Manchester City - I wrote a blog on the Citizens last week asking about their title aspirations. Since then I have seen them blow a 2-0 lead to their city rivals in the Community Shield, and some of Mancini's old habits reared their ugly heads. That is, he replaced several attack-minded players with defensive ones and did not go for the win, even in such a game as this. I fear, from a City perspective, that he will be unable to get out of old habits and this will be to City's detriment as they fail to win games they easily could have.
Chelsea - The Blues' major signing this summer was the manager, Andre Villas-Boas. A man who accomplished incredible things with FC Porto last season, and who has spent his career learning from the likes of Sir Bobby Robson and Jose Mourinho, "AVB" brings a fresh tactical approach to Stamford Bridge. But what of the tools at his disposal? Lampard, Terry, Anelka and Drogba are ageing, Essien is injured (and isn't the player he was), Ramires is taking longer to adjust than he should, Cech still hasn't recovered his best form, and Torres is looking dangerously like a superstar past his peak already. If Chelsea stick with Villas-Boas in the long term I am confident he will rejuvenate them into a trophy-winning side. But that will not be this season.
Manchester United - The defending champions remain the team to beat. Some say that their title-winning squad last season was poor; but that doesn't wash with me because it is of course all relative. You don't need a truly great team to win the title, you just need to be better than everyone else that year. Of course they have lost Van Der Sar and Scholes, and not replaced them like-for-like with quality, but the champions have retained their real MVP - the manager. Sir Alex Ferguson knows how to win; it could be said he knows little else. And with some interesting young signings, he looks to be on his way to building yet another title-winning team.
Conclusion
I would expect the race to look reasonably close for the majority of the season - given Manchester United's opening fixtures it is feasible they could be off the pace going into October. In the end though, their title-winning know-how will show through and I'd expect them to finish a good four to six points clear of Manchester City.
Top 4 prediction:
1. Manchester United
2. Manchester City
3. Chelsea
4. Liverpool
Next up.....a look at the relegation candidates.
Saturday, 6 August 2011
Manchester City - title contenders?
I want to talk about that big sky blue elephant in the room.
There is no doubt that Manchester City, over the past two or three years, have become a massive talking point in English football. Their spending power has overshadowed everybody else in the league, including previous holders of the title "Moneybags FC", Chelsea. They almost overshadow every club in Europe. If it weren't for Real Madrid spending £140m on two players, they probably would have.
Whether you think such spending power is "good for the game" or whether you believe that the Citizens are trying to "buy success" is, by and large, irrelevant. The only question that needs answering is this: will they do it?
The Liverpool sides of the 70's & 80's and the Manchester United sides of the 90's & 00's achieved success through creating a dynasty. It starts with a league title or two, and then being able to use your success to create pulling power which enables you to buy top players. Manchester City, and Chelsea before them, did and do not have this luxury. They have therefore taken another approach.
Clearly Manchester City are also building something - but they have had to do it, more or less, without trophy success. A domestic cup win is all well and good, but consider that Portsmouth won that trophy recently and you realise that this alone will not attract the best players.
Last season, their aim was clear for all to see. Achieve a top 4 finish at all costs. A place in Europe's elite competition, the Champions League, was the next step in building the Manchester City dynasty. Narrowly missing out to Tottenham the season before, this time around they finished 3rd, only behind second-placed Chelsea on goal difference.
And, perhaps tellingly, that goal difference says a lot about how they went about things. Mancini employed a very cautious approach to a lot of games last season. None were more evident than their trip to the Emirates Stadium. This was an Arsenal side that was there for the taking, and there is no doubt that City could have beaten them if they'd tried. But they didn't. It seemed that Mancini was happy with a 0-0 result even before kick-off. If they nicked a goal on the break, great, but otherwise a point was the "safe" result.
Their midfield trio in many games consisted of Gareth Barry, Nigel De Jong and Yaya Toure. Whilst Barry & Toure are both capable of getting forward, all three are primarily defensive-minded players. And this set-up made City extremely difficult to beat. They ground their way to a 3rd-place finish, that probably would have been 4th but for the inexplicable, yet predictable, late-season collapse of Arsenal.
Make no mistake - this year should be different. If Mancini has designs on kicking on further in the league there is only one place to go: a title challenge. To do this, he must forsake his cautious approach.
No doubt Manchester City have the players. Any team that can boast the names of David Silva, Edin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero, Adam Johnson and possibly Carlos Tevez must surely have the capability to go out and outscore any other team in the league.
But will they? Is Mancini capable of altering his mindset to the point that Manchester City are taken as seriously as their squad list suggests they should be? If he does, then the Premier League should consider itself put on warning - Manchester City mean business.
And if he doesn't I'm sure the men at the top will not hesitate to find a man who will.
My personal opinion is that the title will be one step too far this season. Another top 3 finish beckons, I think. Whether that is sufficient for the owners remains to be seen, but I feel that would depend on the manner of their season. If they grind their way to a Champions League place like last season they may lose patience. If they make a serious title bid but just fall short, then perhaps Mancini will be given another year.
There is no doubt that Manchester City, over the past two or three years, have become a massive talking point in English football. Their spending power has overshadowed everybody else in the league, including previous holders of the title "Moneybags FC", Chelsea. They almost overshadow every club in Europe. If it weren't for Real Madrid spending £140m on two players, they probably would have.
Whether you think such spending power is "good for the game" or whether you believe that the Citizens are trying to "buy success" is, by and large, irrelevant. The only question that needs answering is this: will they do it?
The Liverpool sides of the 70's & 80's and the Manchester United sides of the 90's & 00's achieved success through creating a dynasty. It starts with a league title or two, and then being able to use your success to create pulling power which enables you to buy top players. Manchester City, and Chelsea before them, did and do not have this luxury. They have therefore taken another approach.
Clearly Manchester City are also building something - but they have had to do it, more or less, without trophy success. A domestic cup win is all well and good, but consider that Portsmouth won that trophy recently and you realise that this alone will not attract the best players.
Last season, their aim was clear for all to see. Achieve a top 4 finish at all costs. A place in Europe's elite competition, the Champions League, was the next step in building the Manchester City dynasty. Narrowly missing out to Tottenham the season before, this time around they finished 3rd, only behind second-placed Chelsea on goal difference.
And, perhaps tellingly, that goal difference says a lot about how they went about things. Mancini employed a very cautious approach to a lot of games last season. None were more evident than their trip to the Emirates Stadium. This was an Arsenal side that was there for the taking, and there is no doubt that City could have beaten them if they'd tried. But they didn't. It seemed that Mancini was happy with a 0-0 result even before kick-off. If they nicked a goal on the break, great, but otherwise a point was the "safe" result.
Their midfield trio in many games consisted of Gareth Barry, Nigel De Jong and Yaya Toure. Whilst Barry & Toure are both capable of getting forward, all three are primarily defensive-minded players. And this set-up made City extremely difficult to beat. They ground their way to a 3rd-place finish, that probably would have been 4th but for the inexplicable, yet predictable, late-season collapse of Arsenal.
Make no mistake - this year should be different. If Mancini has designs on kicking on further in the league there is only one place to go: a title challenge. To do this, he must forsake his cautious approach.
No doubt Manchester City have the players. Any team that can boast the names of David Silva, Edin Dzeko, Mario Balotelli, Sergio Aguero, Adam Johnson and possibly Carlos Tevez must surely have the capability to go out and outscore any other team in the league.
But will they? Is Mancini capable of altering his mindset to the point that Manchester City are taken as seriously as their squad list suggests they should be? If he does, then the Premier League should consider itself put on warning - Manchester City mean business.
And if he doesn't I'm sure the men at the top will not hesitate to find a man who will.
My personal opinion is that the title will be one step too far this season. Another top 3 finish beckons, I think. Whether that is sufficient for the owners remains to be seen, but I feel that would depend on the manner of their season. If they grind their way to a Champions League place like last season they may lose patience. If they make a serious title bid but just fall short, then perhaps Mancini will be given another year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)