Pellegrini isn't a problem... neither was Mancini. There's an attitude amongst the players that they are bigger than the manager and until that's stamped out, players will continue to put in half arsed performances. Too often has there been passengers in the side.
People on here are way too critical of management level but are incredibly defensive of players. It was the same with Adebayor, he walked all over the club and people continued to kiss his ass. It was only until he left did people finally admit what a twat he was. I'll probably get shot down for this, but I think it's a good example, THEM across the road. Anyone who pissed Ferguson off was instantly in the fireing line... Rooney being the obvious and look at the shit Bebe got. Chelsea are a club that also share the same problem as us, perhaps even worse for them as they seem to have the holy trinity (Terry, Lampard & Cole) calling the shots. Endless amounts of managers come and go but the game never changes, even now for Chelsea, Mourinho has returned but Terry, Lampard and Cole will always come first, despite their inconsistant performances. Load of new tactics, new management, new players brought in but the core of the problem always around like a bad smell. I think longetivity is the solution, if a manager is around for a good solid eight years... he instantly has a presence. Wenger at Arsenal is another, there's no way they'll ever have the balls to sack him... not just because he is the core of the club, but despite Arsenal being pretty damn crap, they still manage to blag their way into the top four no matter how mediocre they look. Liverpool also currently share our problem, probably worse as they don't have the financial muscle to compete with us, Saint Gerrard or some racist twat comes before the manager. Dalglish had to go through all sorts of sh*t to defend Suarez, still cost him his job and Suarez sails on happily.
Barcelona? Another core of players, however, they've benefited from it. Xavi, Messi, Iniesta, Puyol etc. Piss any of them off and you're probably out the door... not such a bad thing as the only way you'll be out the door is if you're not pulling your weight.
Real Madrid? Things not what they once were for them. Zidane, Raul and Casillas once the core. New signings were always monster fees hence putting them under the spotlight, they HAD to perform or once again, they're in the sh*t. Probably similar to ourselves right now.
I think we're building some sort of core, but we have to stick to them. Hart, Kompany & Zabaleta are the big ones. But the club has to keep hold of them aswell as the manager. We've got to have expectations and aim high, but it's down to Pellegrini, Hart, Kompany and Zabaleta to enforce them. If you feel someone isn't pulling their weight, you call them out. Mancini did the same last season with Nasri, even getting to a point where he made it public. It's evident that behind the scenes no player backed him or supported his motion, instead they all turned on him and drove him out the door. Yet Mancini was right, Nasri was being lazy and as soon as Mancini did call him out, he finally got his finger out. As I said, people on here and even the stands are too defensive of the players.
