Hardly very surprising news coming out of Manchester at the moment, I think the only slightly interesting aspect is the timing – just a few hours after City played out another enthralling match against Sunderland which they eventually won 4-3, they have decided to sack manager Mark Hughes and have opted to go abroad for their replacement (hardly surprising really), with Roberto Mancini coming in to take over for the rest of the season.
Many people expected Hughes to go at the end of the season, a season which started off very brightly but which has gone downhill recently with a series of draws denting their original hopes of winning the Premier League for the first time in their history. City’s form has improved recently, but throughout the season they have been very “gung-ho” at times, playing exciting attacking football whilst also leaving themselves very open at the back.
Perhaps Roberto Mancini will stamp an Italian style on the Premier League with his new City side, who are bound to play at least a little more conservatively for the rest of the season. He has inherited a hugely talented squad, but it may be a little unbalanced with much of the emphasis being on the many strikers who are now at the club. Mancini has been out of work since leaving Inter in 2008 to make way for Jose Mourinho, but he already has quite a good reputation for the managerial work that he has carried out.
He will be under immense pressure at Man City, perhaps less so than Mark Hughes who hadn’t had much top-club experience, and having spent so much money on new players in the summer was bound to be expected to at least trouble the top 2 this season. Still, you must feel sorry for him, he’s still a great manager IMO and hopefully he finds himself back in management soon, albeit at a club with a much smaller budget…
Popularity: unranked [?]
