From day one I have been a very ardent Mancini supporter, he is in my opinion without doubt a very decent and gifted football manager and I have a great deal of respect for him as a man.
However I no longer hold the view that he is capable of clearing the final hurdle and moving further forwards to achieve true greatness in a managerial role.
The acid test of any would be world class football manager does not really come until he has eaten at the very top table and has been seen to not only hold his own, but to stand out as being exceptional.
Unfortunately having taken his seat amongst the very best managers of Europes most elite clubs, he has evidenced that good grace and aptitude are simply not enough, and to merely survive is not what being there is ultimately about.
I felt from the very begining, he was possibly the man who would take us to the promised land and do it with honesty, dignity and integrity, although the number of times over the past 9 months where I have witnessed tactics which appear to be either completely absurd, overly negative or just plain naive have caused me to think he has maybe reached a level beyond which he is not capable of moving.
His man management abilities have caused me to re-think my allegiances to him, and though I don't really feel another change in manger is something which will help us in the short term, it's now a case unfortunately where we have to reconsider our possition and maybe take one step back in oreder to take two steps forwards.
I have always wanted to see a team, and especially my team City, win things in the right manner, through hard work, honesty, decency and with an overall team ethic, but though Mancini has clearly ticked all of the right boxes from this perspective, I think that my dream is maybe something that is not even possible in the context of our present corrupt, media driven and very twisted game.
Mourinho is a very complex character, who can be a complete **** at times, but though this is the case, he is without doubt a better all round manager than Mancini and is plainly a better judge of character, certainly in the case of Balotelli.
We have done tremendously well under Mancini, and progressed beyond recognition, he has certainly brought in some very good players and also improved many of an already tallented squad, but we have seen several examples of bullishness and favouritism which have probably been the root cause of much of the discord we regularly see reported amongst elements of our squad.
So, though it irks me now to have to admit it, I feel the time has now indeed come to consider a change at the helm, clearly the timing and manner of this is crucial, it should be something which is done in a calm and considered manner, and should only be undertaken when the man chosen, who in my opinion can only be Mourhino is ready to take the reigns, and not another embarrasing debarkle like the exit of Mancinis predecessor.
Though Mancini has been and still is respected by many in the footballing world, he seems to have been unable to boss some of the bigger egos at our club and this is where I believe he has shown his limitations and has ultimately lost both his and our way.
