Villan10 said:
From a neutrals view, I'd say he's done a pretty poor job. To be 13 points behind a pretty poor player for player Man United side compared to other years is really bad given the money spent. Based on pure squads, I'd have City 1st, maybe 2nd to Chelsea, yet you might even struggle for a top 4 finish which should be the absolute bare minimum. He had half last season and a full pre-season and still can't get it going.
City are a club now that could attract just about any manager in the world, probably bar Ferguson/Wenger. Sticking with Mancini would be pretty daft when there are plenty of other managers out there who could do a lot better and play much better attacking football with the players you have at your disposal. It's actually quite frustrating, I love football, I love great football even more. City should be taking the game to likes of United/Arsenal etc...not looking to simply go there for a point and look to keep it tight. That's for the likes of Blackburn, Stoke, heck even us at the minute.
You should be challenging for the title, not trying to hold onto 4th place. Which is even worse because you don't play attacking football, pretty football at times but not aggressive.
Getting bored of saying this, but...
We're 4th in the league, the players have had less than a year to gel, and we were better than Utd at Old Trafford recently. We won 5 nil last week, playing some good stuff.
We've lost (admittedly playing poorly) at Anfield, where not long ago so did Utd (ableit playing slightly better than we did).
End of season is the time to judge - and be realistic when doing so (or stick to Champ Manager where you assemble a squad and get instant results...)
Impatient, vain kneejerkers are the worst kind of fan.
Stop listening to the press.
If creating a team to challenge the best were that easy, and since money is the main criteria, look at all the millions other clubs have "wasted" on players over the years.
It all takes time, which means patience, realistic expectations, and possibly most importantly, continuity.