As followers of the Premier League contemplate a near two-week break from competitive club action, a period of navel-gazing at both ends of the table is in full swing.
Manchester City are one side to be looking at this time away with no little trepidation. The usual worries about potential injuries sustained on international duty aside, the club’s hierarchy will be reflecting on a disappointing period for a side that began March with genuine interest in three separate competitions.
A frustrating end to the Europa League dream was followed by an incredibly negative performance against defending champions, Chelsea – themselves a side struggling for fluency. A number of City’s main protagonists paid a heavy price for European endeavours just over 48 hours earlier as the Blues leapfrogged Roberto Mancini’s men for the first time since December.
Nevertheless, the club remain short odds with bookmakers to qualify for next season’s top European club competition, but with a series of challenging assignments ahead for the blue half of Manchester, questions will inevitably be asked about the effect another season outside of the ‘Promised Land’ would have on the City project.
Only Sheikh Mansour will be able to gauge whether another fifth place finish is a decent return on player investment that now totals over £300 million.
City fans may not be so forgiving. At times this season, Mancini’s tactical decisions have been punctured with surprisingly negative selections and tactical alterations that have brought derision from the Eastlands faithful- the mind drifts back to the booing surrounding the decision to replace Carlos Tevez with Gareth Barry when chasing a win against Birmingham in November.
The desire to keep Tevez focused on life in England would not be helped by the club’s failure to secure Champions League football. The Argentine has already attempted to manipulate a move away from Manchester once this season, and one may be forgiven for asking how long the City hierarchy can keep the former United striker focused without European Cup stimulus.
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So too, Mario Balotelli. The former Inter Milan striker has looked an enticing prospect over the last six months has displayed the sort of petulant side a three year old girl might be ashamed of- not to mention said three year old girl could probably put on a bib. The mercurial Italian is likely to be a bone of contention regardless of where City finish this season, however his rash challenge last week and perceived behavioural issues have been the hallmark of the recent downturn.
Frustratingly enough, this current campaign has brought numerous positives, but the stifled nature of progress since Christmas has meant the previously assured Champions League qualification has slipped back into the balance, and an increased risk of the highly ambitious Manchester club ending the season empty-handed.
Of course, it would be unrealistic to expect success of the magnitude many in the press are anticipating, overnight and few City fans would have honestly expected silverware this season, as much as last week’s European exit will have wrangled. However, being amongst the top four sides in the country was always a pre-requisite.
Mancini may find that an FA Cup triumph over city rivals United in April, followed by triumph in the resulting final might dull the pain of another year in the Europa League, but then again a second campaign of stunted league growth may well be too much when there have been so many negative performances across the course of the season.
Of course, Tottenham catching City remains a stiff ask for a team that has recently dropped points at Wolves and West Ham. Harry Redknapp’s charges are also still very involved in their first ever Champions League campaign, and there is every chance that both could qualify if Chelsea slip up during what is a tough run in for the defending champions.
That said, last season’s closing weeks saw a remarkable end of season finish from the North London club, resulting in a Champions League slot slipping through Mancini’s fingers. Then, as now, City appeared to have done the hard graft required to land a coveted qualification berth, only for the Mancini’s men to drop points as Tottenham beat Chelsea and Arsenal before travelling to Eastlands and winning there to confirm their seat at Europe’s top table.
This time around, Redknapp has managed to create a situation at Tottenham whereby the fans and boardroom would accept failure to qualify for Europe’s premier cup competition next season. Such is the perceived financial imbalance between Spurs and the remainder of the division’s big players that the focus of Redknapp’s men that the Champions League quarter-finalists have been cast in the role of underdog, and that is one that suits them very well.
Should results and performances continue to falter over the coming weeks, there remains a distinct possibility that almost exactly a year to the day since the two clubs last met at Eastlands for a Champions League eliminator, the 10th May 2011 could yet again prove D-day for both the Manchester club’s season ambitions and many involved in the City enterprise.
If you still haven’t seen Mario Balotelli’s attempts at bib-ing up or Edin Dzeko’s parody of last Thursday’s events, find me on Twitter.
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