The title is almost certainly lost simply as a result of there being a better team in the league during the entire course of the season. Pure and simple.
There are moments in the season when virtually every player 'didn't quite perform' and moments when those players 'stood out for praise'.
On balance, Mario would be lower down the list of stalwart performers, and for that reason, when you come to 'improve a team' you do so separating the wheat from the chaff. Mario is chaff.
If this was 3 years ago, and we were hovering around top 6. then there might be an argument for having a little more tolerance, but we are TRYING to compete with the best teams in the world now (and we are total novices), we simply can't afford to carry 'learners' or 'wildcards' in the same way a more experienced team might be able to.
I've watched James Milner these last few days - he's no world beater, but he's a fine player. He works hard. He shows passion (but not at the expense of a hot head).
I've looked at United.... They have grafters of the same ilk
City have an imbalance of stars vs grafters. We're not far off the right balance, but not quite there yet. And for me, Balo's not a grafter, and he's not really superstar either. And worst of all, you just can't depend on him.
He needs to go.
How many City players, in the backs of their minds must be distracted, worrying about HIM? If you have a player by your side that you just trust and rely on, it means you can focus on your own game. If you're having to babysit another player, it means you're less focussed on your own job.
With Milner - you know what you're getting week in week out. It's decent, it's dependable, and across a season probably adds up to more 'value' than Balo.
United have won the league many times by playing 'percetage football' - solid, week in week out perfomances (this season a prime example)... plodding along, until eventually, you've got more points than the rest.
Balo out, Kolo out, Savic out, Tevez out, Johnson out. Too 'mad', too unfit, too inexperiences, too disruptive, too disinterested.
We HAVE a decent team spirit. We just have a few too many 'issue' players that need to go
