Why Mancini Sacking Is Harsh

Looking from the outside the decision to relieve Roberto Mancini from his position as Manchester City manager seems incredibly harsh.

 

In fact analysing the statement issued by City which seems like more of public apology than dismissal only makes me more convinced that ending the tenure of the second most successful manager in the club’s history is a major gamble.

 

Only Joe Mercer, a city icon and League, FA Cup, League Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup has won more than Mancini while Sam Cowan (1946-47) is the only post-war Blues boss with a higher winning ratio than the Italian.

 

"Despite everyone’s best efforts, the club has failed to achieve any of its stated targets this year, with the exception of qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League,” read the club’s statement. A clear message that a Premier League runner-up spot and reaching an FA Cup final is now deemed unacceptable.

 

If that is the case, what is the barometer of success on which Mancini and indeed any incoming manager should be judged on?

 

Surely a successful season for City or any of country’s elite clubs is first and foremost to secure a top four finish and if possible compete for the Premier League title. A domestic cup run should be looked upon as a bonus while the Champions League remains a challenge that few newcomers conquer.

 

If City’s dismal European form was a factor in Mancini’s removal those that made the decision ought to remember the progress made by others in their group – with Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid facing off as semi-final opponents little over a fortnight ago.

 

Could that have been City? Maybe but it is rare for a club in its infancy of sitting at Europe’s top table to contest the latter stages of this competition. Last season group stage defeats to Napoli and Bayern Munich proved fatal while this year genuine optimism for a prolonged involvement in the tournament was vanquished in the space of 190 seconds in The Estadio Santiago Bernabéu on matchday one.

 

The manner of that 3-2 loss to Madrid and the impact of Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo’s late goals, with City on the verge of a famous victory, cannot be underestimated. It seemed to inextricably damage all that followed.

 

Poor relationships with his players and other staff within the club have been cited as the rationale to the former Inter Milan man’s exit with the club identifying a "need to develop a holistic approach to all aspects of football at the club".

 

However while the problems Mancini encountered with Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli were remarkable both were coaxed into playing pivotal roles in the title winning run-in.

 

Similarly, public admonishments of others including Joe Hart and Samir Nasri have been jumped on as damaging for morale - yet his counterpart across Manchester, the outgoing Sir Alex Ferguson, regarded by many as the greatest manager ever has not been shy in delivering public rebukes to several of his stars. Ask Roy Keane, Jaap Stam, David Beckham and Ruud van Nistelrooy about their Old Trafford exits.

 

If Mancini had lost the support of his players and the club hierarchy there has at least been audible support from many fans, seemingly as bemused as the Italian in the approach taken to remove him. Many chanted his name during Saturday’s disappointing FA Cup Final display recognising the success he has brought them goes beyond a simple trophy count.

 

Yes he’s spent money and been generously supported in the transfer market - making a mockery of some of his own claims but at a time when United and Chelsea are changing their men at the helm, perhaps many recognise that Mancini's departure may be more detrimental than advantageous as City head into 2013-14.

Wolves boss Saunders hits out at League

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Dean Saunders has hit out at The Football League after claiming that the Easter programme unfairly disadvantaged his club.

 

Wolves played out an exciting 3-2 win over West Midlands rivals Birmingham yesterday just 48 hours after another hard fought 3-2 victory over Middlesbrough – their fourth win in five matches in their bid to maintain their Championship status.

 

However despite the joy of earning all three points at St Andrews for the first time in 12 years, Saunders questioned the league’s attitude to fairness with relegation rivals Blackburn, Blackpool, Bristol City, Huddersfield and Peterborough all receiving an extra day off between their Easter fixtures.

 

“It’s ridiculous we’ve had to play on Saturday/Monday when some teams are playing Friday/Tuesday,” said Saunders.

 

"Some of the teams down at the bottom near us are playing teams that haven’t got anything riding on it and it has to be looked at because it was a definite disadvantage for us.

 

"We weren’t recovered and in the first-half we came out of the traps well and banged three quick goals in. It’s lucky we did get three because they came back at us and we were hanging on at the end.”

 

“You get a dead leg on a Saturday and sometimes you can’t get over it by Monday so I had Jamie O’Hara on the pitch today with a dead leg and he was still struggling from Saturday. I had a massive dilemma over whether I picked the same team to keep some continuity or whether to make changes. I stuck with the same team and luckily we won."

 

The result which lifted Wolves out of the Championship relegation zone and up five places to 18th in the table did come at a cost. Goal-scorer Sylvan Ebanks-Blake left the fray with an ankle problem while Jamie O’Hara and David Davis also picked up groin injuries that Saunders fears may rule them out of key games during the run-in.

“I’ve got a couple of groin strains in there and Sylvan might be out for the season and it’s just fatigue. He’s gone over on his ankle but it was through tiredness stretching for the ball and he was out on his feet. You get injured when you’re tired.

“Dave Davis was shouting at me to come off with 20 minutes to go and I couldn’t bring him off. We didn’t buckle though and the lads fought their way to the win.”

With six of the bottom seven teams in the division separated by just three points the Wolves boss admitted that a record points tally may be needed to stay up.

“Normally 50-51 points would keep you up,” continued Saunders.

“I think 52 points is the record so normally after winning four out of five at this stage you should be out of it needing maybe one win but I think we’ll still need another two or three wins. It’ll only take a draw and defeat to be right back in it again. It’s uncanny everyone seems to be winning.”

Yesterday’s 3-2 reverse leaves Birmingham sitting just four points above their near neighbours. Blues boss Lee Clark admitted his own frustration at the events of the afternoon and the need to cast an anxious eye over his shoulder for their final few games.

“I’m not ignorant or arrogant to only look at the top of the table. There are teams in the bottom half of the table on ridiculous runs but with Middlesbrough and Bolton playing the day after us there was the chance to go eighth,” said Clark.

"We’ve just got to get back on it and make sure when Millwall come here on Saturday we’re right in amongst it and not living off the memory of last Friday – in this game you have to move on quickly, you can’t effect the past but you can have an effect on the future and we need to do that.”

 

Man Utd v Real Madrid: Player ratings

Manchester United:

David de Gea

Good first-half save from Gonzalo Higuain and a couple of smart stops late on for a keeper whose stock continues to rise. Helpless to prevent either goal. 7

Rafael da Silva

Removed the defensive impetuosity that caused him problems in the Bernabeu. His surging run led to United’s goal but lucky to escape censure for blocking a goal-bound effort with his arm. 7

Rio Ferdinand

 

Let Higuain run off the back of him to force De Gea into a good first-half stop but otherwise steady alongside his old sparring partner Nemanja Vidic. 7

Nemanja Vidic

Surprise starter after featuring at the weekend but the United captain did not put a foot wrong at the back and was unlucky to see a first-half header rebound off the post. 8

Patrice Evra

Rash challenge on Angel Di Maria earned the Frenchman a caution before the break. More disciplined than in recent weeks but still question marks over his positioning and communication with other members of the back-four. 6

Michael Carrick

After an uncertain start, grew in confidence as the game wore on. Selected his moments to harry the Madrid midfielders and used the ball better than two weeks ago. 7

Tom Cleverley

Picked for his energy and propensity to produce a box to box performance, Cleverley’s display showed promise until his 73^rd minute substitution. 7

Nani

Caused Alvaro Arbeloa problems with his searing pace and did well to outmuscle Raphael Varane in the lead up to Sergio Ramos’ own-goal. Harshly dismissed after 56 minutes for a challenge on Arbeloa. 6

Ryan Giggs

A fitting match for the Peter Pan of English football to reach his 1,000^th career appearance. Utilised down the right to nullify the threat of Ronaldo, a couple of sloppy early passes were forgotten as he teed up van Persie with an exquisite outside of the left-foot cross. 7

Danny Welbeck

Justified his selection ahead of the dropped Wayne Rooney by showing the energy and pace to get beyond Real’s backline. Should have done better though when Robin van Persie’s shot was parried into his path by Diego Lopez. 7

Robin van Persie

Good and bad moments for the Dutchman. One attempted overhead kick was woeful but led the line with purpose and linked well with Wellbeck. Fierce right-footed drive forced Lopez into a smart save after Modric’s equaliser. 6

Subs:

Wayne Rooney (for Cleverley 73)

Will have been disappointed by his omission but did little to suggest his manager’s decision was wrong. A glaring miss in the 83rd minute won’t have helped his mood driving home last night. 5

Ashley Young (for Welbeck 80)

Little time to make an impact on the game after replacing the tiring Wellbeck. 5

Antonio Valencia (for Rafael 87)

Brought on to replace the hobbling Rafael. Added pace down the right but with time running out could not help United grab an equaliser.

Real Madrid:

 

Diego Lopez

Called into action to deny van Persie and Wellbeck in the first period. Then  in the right place at the tight time to save headers from Carrick and Vidic late on as United searched for an equaliser. Did struggle with crosses though as shown by his attempt to punch clear that nearly knocked Vidic out in the 33^rd minute. 7

Alvaro Arbeloa

Struggled to cope with Wellbeck and Nani’s runs in behind him but United failed to expose him often enough. Booked for a foul on Evra after trying to retrieve the ball from his own error. 6

Raphael Varane

Superb performance from the 19-year-old defender that United were keen on two summers ago. Only blot on his copybook was being outmanoeuvred by Nani in the build up to United’s goal. 8

Sergio Ramos

Marshalled the defence and read the game well but could’ve conceded a late penalty for cleaning out Evra with the ball out of sight. Unlucky to score 47th-minute own goal. 7

Fabio Coentrao

Not as effective as two weeks ago largely due to the wily Giggs. Allowed Rafael to surge down the right for the United goal but always willing to receive the ball. 6

Xabi Alonso

Kept Madrid ticking in the centre of the park despite being put under pressure from a combination of Wellbeck, Carrick and Cleverley. 7

Sami Khedira

Neat and tidy and mopped up well in front of Ramos and co. 6

Angel Di María

The skilful wide-man was unable to get into his rhythm before limping off just before half-time. 5

Mesut Ozil

Kept under lock and key until Nani was dismissed but the German international took control of the game once United were stretched. Surprisingly substituted, as he was the fulcrum to Madrid’s dominance in possession when replaced. 7

Cristiano Ronaldo

Largely subdued but great players have a knack of still producing vital moments in a game and the Portuguese star popped up to score the winner against his previous employers on 69 minutes. 7

Gonzalo Higuain

Preferred to Karim Benzema by Jose Mourinho, the Argentine repaid his managers faith. A constant thorn in the side of the United defenders it was his cross-shot that allowed Ronaldo to tap in the winner. 7

Subs:

Pepe (for Ozil 71)

With Madrid a man and a goal up and completely dominant in possession the defender replaced Ozil to shore up the Madrid backline however the change nearly back-fired as United gained a midfield foothold. 6

Kaka (for Di Maria 45)

Tidy in possession but not the player that once scored three goals against United for AC Milan in the 2006-07 Champions League semi-final. 6

Luka Modric (for Arbeloa 59)

With Real on top the Croatian was the perfect man to bring off the bench. Scored the equaliser six minutes after entering the fray. 7