Manuel Pellegrini (cont)

[BlueRockape]

Time to put PV in beside him ?

Not convinced. Would send out the wrong signals regarding MP's position, and then he could end up by default in the hot seat. Could you imagine the furore if he were overseeing the current run of form? The press would have a field day ('inexperienced', 'out of his depth', 'too much too soon') let alone the server problems on here.

I don't think Kiddo is doing a bad job just probably out dated. And I am not advocating Paddy taking over, just some fresh ideas a new way to look at things a kick up the arse and maybe some new blood.

As for the press they have a field anyway fuck em

 

[BillyShears]

I think this will probably prove to us what type of boardroom we have.

I'm not so sure about that because I think ultimately the boardroom can only react to what's going on on the pitch. It may well be that Soriano and Begiristain and Khaldoon would prefer to leave Pellegrini in charge for the remainder of his contract, but if the players aren't putting the requisite efforts in to ensure that the results are coming they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. It's a cliche but the manager always carries the can no matter what the players end up doing.

For me I'd like Pellegrini to arrest this slide more than anything. He's a top top manager who's conduced himself with nothing but class. In Khaldoon or Begiristain's shoes I'd be selling 7/8 first team players next summer and giving Pellegrini a totally refreshed squad for the final year of his contract.

The problem is that so much of football is driven by narrative and the narrative around Pellegrini is bad and is only going to get worse no matter what results come now. He's pretty much been a non entity for the media from the day he walked in the door. For a lot of supporters he's just the guy who replaced Mancini. There isn't enough love around for him for me to envisage a scenario where he can turn the tide in his favour. I also don't know what i'd think if the players turned up after the International break and suddenly were playing back to their best.

As Moomba says there's an underlying problem we'll have to root out at some point. So many shades of Chelsea and the various managers who ended up being ousted because of certain factions in the dressing room not putting it in when required.

 

[blueinsa]

We could give the job to anyone right now and he will face the same issues 12-18 months down the line.

We have fundemental issues in our squad and recruitment policies that need to be addressed going forward to give anyone a chance of really becoming succesful.

Khaldoon and Mansour have some thinking to do.

 

[Blue Hefner]

Has it occurred to anyone that it may not be soley due to the manager's ability and players attitude?

Perhaps it is something to do with the club set-up post tournament? Both league wins have been followed up by an international tournament?

Just an idea

 

[TonyBookEnd]

I think for whatever reason / reasons the players have lost focus and are not working hard enough. This has lead to a collective loss of confidence. I refuse to believe this is entirely the managers fault.

The management and the players need to roll their sleeves up and work harder. If we match the opponents workrate our superior ability should see us win the majority of games. I believe the tactics argument is a red herring as they play a very small part in the overall make up of a team when compared with ability, workrate and confidence.

I believe we should stick with Pellegrini as he has earned the right to fix our current malaise. If he can't then he will come under increasing pressure.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

But at least we are not far away from rock bottom, after that it must be better, maybe with a new manager from around middle of December.

If he doesn't pick up maximum points in his next two league games then his 'trajectory' is going to look very very bad. Worrying parallels to the end of Hughes' reign.

I still can't imagine a mid season sacking though. Would just be such a sad state of affairs. Then again one thing I am an advocate of is that once that decision is made, sack the guy straight away. Don't do what they did with Mancini and leave him in charge for another four/five months just to do it at the end of the season. It'll be messy either way, so once you take the decision, do the deed.

There's no need to sack Pellegrini unless: 1) The wheels come off totally and a top 4 finish is under threat. 2) A suitable replacement is available. When you bear in mind that it's highly unlikely we're going to finish outside the top 4 and there's a very limited pool of potential upgrades, an early sacking is very unlikely. Give the man an opportunity to turn this round, but get talking to Klopp/Simeone just in case.

Nail. Head.

Sadly, such pragmatism is hard to display by anyone when a week in football is considered a long time.

For me, unless you can guarantee Pep, Ancelotti, Klopp or Mourinho, it's not even worth exploring.

Simeone has already let it be known through his agents he wants to work in Italy next.

The biggest mistake our club performed was off the pitch. Handing contracts to players who had served their purpose but was time to move on.

 

[BlueAnorak]

Sacking the manager alone does nothing. We're in a worrying cycle at the moment and I think how we deal with it defines the club in a way. Good year, players down tools, sack manager, rinse, repeat. It's not the way to build the club.

I'm not saying that MP has to stay, he'll live or die on the results he gets. But to me theres more to it, and I reckon it's unacceptable that we have pissed away two seasons of the past three by Christmas.

When Mancini was sacked it was pretty clear that it wasn't his fault alone. Yet the players were allowed to get away with scot free, with no penalty for downing tools, the players were always liable to repeat the act.

You reap what you sow.

That said Pellegrini is clearly pig headed. The problems that are obvious to all for most of this season are quite easily solvable yet he does nothing to resolve them. Like Hughes before him: "It will come right" is NOT an acceptable course of action. In my opinion he has continued with his current inaction for too long and If he continues to be clueless he should be dismissed.

 

[Damocles]

The biggest mistake our club performed was off the pitch. Handing contracts to players who had served their purpose but was time to move on.

Disagree. We lowered their wage which allowed us to bring in new signings, and we ensured that we're not in a position where a potential £20m player like Dzeko or Nasri could just walk away on a free after a year.

Those new contracts were the finest piece of business this club has done post-takeover. We actually acted like a competent business for once.

 

[hgblue]

We could give the job to anyone right now and he will face the same issues 12-18 months down the line.

We have fundemental issues in our squad and recruitment policies that need to be addressed going forward to give anyone a chance of really becoming succesful.

Khaldoon and Mansour have some thinking to do.

Not so sure I go along with this. Take a look at what Mourinho has done at Chelsea. Fans favourites like Luiz and Mata sold. Top quality additions like Matic, Fabregas and Costa. Just look at them now.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

Sacking the manager alone does nothing. We're in a worrying cycle at the moment and I think how we deal with it defines the club in a way. Good year, players down tools, sack manager, rinse, repeat. It's not the way to build the club.

I'm not saying that MP has to stay, he'll live or die on the results he gets. But to me theres more to it, and I reckon it's unacceptable that we have pissed away two seasons of the past three by Christmas.

Agree..What is it about winning the league that we struggle with? Won it twice and the year after it goes wrong? Down tools, arrogance, competency?

I agree where you are coming from.

But the very biggest clubs do actually operate in the way you are wary of.

Madrid, Barca, Bayern, Chelsea.

All are decisive when it comes to a season where results are crap, regardless of the season before.