As reported in the Echo, Mancini says that many of his players returned from overseas matches jaded. Who would have thought that your International players might be required to play International matches? However, it got me thinking...it must be a bad idea to overload your team with South Americans and Africans as they will be faced with long tiring journeys and arrive back later than European players.
My heart bleeds for him! He has a big squad of proven international players, if he is honest, he'd say he has not had this team playing to their potential all season long. City were fortunate to win the EPL last season, & I fear he's been dining out on that for many a month.
Yoshida didn't seem to be particularly Jaded.....So Mancini is saying then that his alternative players are not up to the mark for including in the team against "lil ol Southampton!" He could have rested these players for at least an hour but had to put out his "strongest" which were jaded but were expected to do over "lil ol Southampton". Where do these managers get off with saying things like that........How embarrassing and how unsportsmanlike to blame it on anything else than they were the poorest on the day. To not give the other team credit does nothing for his reputation........Even Fergie with all his protestations will give other teams credit. Mancini is a poor manager which is beginning to show up now. He does not have the ability to improve or motivate by all accounts.
It's like the legend of the man who has untold riches but can't spend them on anything. Mancini has all these ridiculously expensive, highly-paid players but can't get them to play as a team. Balotelli has gone because he fell out with the manager, Nasri will go at the end of the season because Mancini doesn't know how to use him, Milner will probably go because Nasri gets picked ahead of him, and as for Tevez, where is he now? Basically Mancini has been spoilt ever since he went to City, and now he doesn't know what to do.
Just watched a brief review of game on Sky (can't see that too often)...verdict: we outplayed City all over the pitch for 90 min. City couldn't handle us. Cork and Schneiderlin were magnificent and outplayed their City counterparts. Also mentioned that although this style is Pochettino's, Saints were a good team before that and hard to beat. Cork has just said that he loves the new style but you need two hearts to play at that pace...he also loved the atmosphere with the fans at the end of the game and likened it to that after promotion.
I said a few months ago Mancini has to win a trophy or he may well be out of a job in the summer. I think he will be sacked if city don't improve.
There was a poll on the Manchester Evening News site yesterday which was asking what Mancini had to achieve this season to keep his job. Most people said he had to win the FA Cup and qualify for the Champions League. Wouldn't it be funny if he did neither?
If I were a city fan, I'd want the special one, I reckon he'd get results pretty darn quick. But, even he might want a club with more spirit, rather than just infinite cash.
It's not really a surprise to see City so far behind. Ferguson added Van Persie, City stood still, and at the top that means going backwards. But who was it that decided not to add any first team players to their squad? If Mancini, then he probably needs to step down at the end of the season. Fortunately for them, the teams behind are not really good enough to take second off them.
It does prove that there is more to a team than lots of expensive players...they are necessary if you are aiming for the top, but you also need a plan, you need to get the players to buy into that plan, and you need them to play for each other. Don't like Ferguson as a person with all his moaning, but have to say that the players always give their best for him, so he must be doing something right
I think Mancini should blame himself. It's just an excuse. I didn't see his players jaded when Dzeko, Zabaleta and Silva broke out of defence, sprinting up-field to score on the counter attack. At that point, they were as deadly as we know they can be. For the rest of the time they were out-thought and outplayed.
About two thirds into the match it became clear that Man City weren't really interested and thats when we could have pushed on an won by a greater margin. That said, I don't think for one minute they were tired from their internationals. Its more to do with desire. What I love about the Saints team is that half of them were playing together in Division One with a couple more coming through the ranks. That just has to mean we have a team spirit second to none in this league, with no one wanting to let anyone else down. It was what worried me about losing Adkins but fair play to Mo Po it is still there and getting stronger. We need to be very careful when it comes to new signings not to lose this spirit (like Man City for example).
A very, very poor manager. My dislike of Mancini grows by the week. He spends all that money and then criticises his own players publicly and/or looks for any excuse going to avoid taking blame himself. The guy is clueless tactically, and simply cannot control players egos, because he has the biggest of the lot. And his hair is just stupid. I look forward to the day he fecks off out of English football, he is a moron.
Ermm, while on African Cup duty the most games played was I believe 3. The players left at home played 4 - 5. So they should've been as fresh as bouncing bunnies on speed.
Last time I looked, City were still second in the League. Not too shabby really, except that the team above them are United, who are also still in Europe (for a little while longer). Anyway, reports of their inexorable decline are a slight exaggeration.
City bought poorly in the summer: Rodwell and Sinclair with the former being bought for 12 million? Pfft. And why does Mancini seem to bring on a full back for a midfielder/striker when he's in need of a goal? He's done it in the CL a few times.
