This article will ultimately cover two questions. 1) Is Roberto Mancini currently the best manager in England, and 2) will he be replaced by Manchester City’s owners come the end of the 2012/13 season.
After Sunday’s 4-0 FA Cup victory over leads, Mancini stated: “In the last 15 months I am the best manager in England,” However, I don’t believe this statement to be true.
Obviously if we consider this claim based on the club’s trophy success, then this is true. Unfortunately, the vast sums of money spent by the club discredits the work of the Italian.
Claiming to be the best manager in England is an outrageous shout, especially considering Sir Alex Ferguson is still achieving huge things with United.
In my opinion, a vast number of managers have proved more impressive within this time period, each of which have operated within a considerably smaller budget when compared to Manchester City.
For me, the huge wealth at Mancini’s disposal limits the credit he should receive for the club’s success – a side willing to spend huge sums of money always stand a good chance of winning the league title. We only have to look to Chelsea under Jose Mourinho for further evidence of this.
Within the last three seasons, Mancini has spent £285 million on bringing players to the Etihad; this factor alone creates huge pressure for the club to succeed. This leads nicely to our second topic of discussion.
The club’s owners inevitably want to win the Premier League for a second time and it’s imperative that the club becomes a strong force on the European stage. Currently Mancini is failing to achieve either of these targets. If this form continues will he face the sack at the end of May?
In his first full season in charge, the Italian led his side to third in the Premier League and Champions League qualification.
Last season Manchester City closed an eight-point gap on United to win their first Premier League title with a dramatic 3-2 final day win over Queen’s Park Rangers.
But this season his side have been left behind by United in the league, they also exited the Champions League in its first stage, finishing bottom of Group D after failing to win a match. This also meant the club failed to qualify for the Europa League.
It seems City have blown their chance of retaining their Premier League title, as the gap at the top of the table has now reached a huge 12 points. With as many games to play it seems a miracle is now needed for the Blue side of Manchester to finish first for a consecutive season.
The FA Cup now rests as Mancini’s only hope of silverware this season, but even success in this trophy will not suffice. If a suitable replacement becomes available this summer, I believe we’ll see the end of Mancini’s stay in Manchester. After all, football is a results based industry – if the club’s investment isn’t paying off then changes are going to be made.
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