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On paper, it is hard to ascertain a team with the resources of Manchester City. There’s Barcelona, Real Madrid and Manchester United. Their players are attracted to the adulation the entire world around. Thereafter, it has to be Manchester City.
Manchester City has been turning around its own fortunes in the last three years. But yet, when it has come to Europe, they have failed miserably. Mancini admitting that they are not yet ready for a European title seems to be a cheap shot in lowering expectations. But when you boast of players of the quality that currently fill the City ranks, you just cannot take that route.
Telling the fans not to expect any glory in Europe just yet, is merely an indicator that in the next round, we might actually be out of Europe.
So, who has to be blamed for this? All eyes are on the manager now. This is not questioning the skills of Mancini, but there is no doubt he has had disasters in Europe, with a lot of tactics being wrong. The difference is when you play the cream of Europe and you get it wrong even for a span of fifteen minutes, you might be punished. I have seen Mancini get it wrong over and over again; from the time against Bayern last year, to that crazy finale against Real, and while he was managing Inter against a Liverpool side which was well on their way down.
With the depth Manchester City currently carries, Mancini has the opportunity to experiment, and learn from the span of a Premier League season. In Europe, it becomes a completely different ball game, when the opposition teams have players as good as yours, and one breach, one mistake, one tactical fault can be the end of the things. Obviously, mistakes maketh the man, but how many will be too many?
I have a feeling he might realize soon that there is not much room available for errors on his part as he expects the same from his players. However commendable it is to accept one’s faults, ‘the fault is mine’ line that I have often heard repeatedly, might run out of listeners in the City boardroom.
