My belief

[Marvin]

The Barca boys wanted out and out control and they got it. Therefore they have to take responsibility for this season also. We should have bought quality players after winning the title to strengthen and improve the squad regardless of if Mancini was staying or going. They didn't. Those chose to play games instead and we ended up with a bunch of less than mediocre players right at the death of the window instead.
They put their own ambitions and desires in front of those of the club by doing so.
You reap what you sow...

Absolute rubbish.

Mancini had butted heads with Khaldoon the two previous seasons with regards the transfer policy, as with Cook, as with Marwood.

The club told him we had to cut our cloth and to get the best out of some of our higher-profile signings, hardly an unreasonable request when you consider a title-winning team.

Mancini had to be informed by Sheikh Mansour in Abu Dhabi what the club needed to do as they made their moves towards balancing the books.

Mancini was on the verge of the sack AFTER the title winning season simply because he held the club to ransom over his demands and delayed his contract renewal, the club knew they risked a fan meltdown after a title season.

Khaldoon had become sick and tired of playing piggy in the middle and was tired of the games. Hughes would not accept Cook, Marwood or the rest of the 'transfer advisory team' to help select targets.

Mancini was more than happy to accept this situation. Soriano and Begiristain were not even in the club the summer we recruited Sinclair, Garcia and co.

The problem for Mancini became when he had someone he was accountable to who actually knew about football, what was happening on the pitch and in the dressing room.

He could gild the lily no longer with our 'wet behind the ears' owners, who have only ever tried to do the very best with the man they had in charge.

Begiristain had been in the job a matter of weeks but we were already out of the Champions League and Premier League equation.

Mancini took this club for an absolute ride, playing people and the fans off against each other for his own end, even negotiating with other clubs after a title season.

Spin the story to suit your agenda all you like tolmie - that's fine by me.
The fact is by not strengthening when we had won the title has in reality cost us 2 more titles - last season and this season. Both of these titles were there for the taking and we have allowed them to meekly to slip from our grasp and the question needs to be asked WHY?
If we had brought in a few quality players after the 2012 win we would have won it last year of that I am convinced. Instead we brought in a bunch of average (at best) 'squad players'. It was a fuck up of monumental proportions and we are still paying the price for it.

There's truth in the City bought badly argument, but the reason we have not win the League title is not to do with lack of spending, but with the inevitable costs that come with changing manager.

We have a good coach now, and we have great players.

There are 2 issues going forward.....

1) World Cup Summer and players like Silva, Kompany, Aguero, Yaya are all carrying injuries. WIll there be a post World Cup hangover?

2) Our rivals. Chelsea and Utd all changed manager too, and were at weak points. They and Liverpool will all rebound strongly, or are capable of doing so. The top 4 next season will be formidable.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

And this is his greatest achievement. Establishing his bullshit narrative well after he has gone.

To the detriment of our team, our supporter base, even to the point that our owner and chairman get very little credit for running the club.

This is attempting to cut your cloth both ways.

You can't say that you take issue with fans downplaying the achievement of Khaldoon for running the club successfully whilst downplaying the achievement of the manager for winning the league successfully.

That's a bullshit narrative all of its own.

Call it how you see, but I think it's borne out in numerous threads that Mancini occupies the higher ground, whilst Khaldoon and owner have kept their own counsel.

12 months, however, elapsed between that title and the following season.

As you have quite rightly posted, elsewhere, decisions have been made in the best interests of the club, both on and off the pitch.

Mancini thought he could dine out on the strength of that title victory, indefinitely, irrespective of what was happening behind the scenes and on the pitch.

Which is strange, because he is a political footballing animal, schooled better than most.

He knew he had over-reached, and spent the last four months of his tenure establishing a 'bullshit narrative', quite brilliantly so, to serve a variety of ends, which also included taking the victim card and using it in his top pocket.

 

[Bozzie]

The Barca boys wanted out and out control and they got it. Therefore they have to take responsibility for this season also. We should have bought quality players after winning the title to strengthen and improve the squad regardless of if Mancini was staying or going. They didn't. Those chose to play games instead and we ended up with a bunch of less than mediocre players right at the death of the window instead.
They put their own ambitions and desires in front of those of the club by doing so.
You reap what you sow...

Absolute rubbish.

Mancini had butted heads with Khaldoon the two previous seasons with regards the transfer policy, as with Cook, as with Marwood.

The club told him we had to cut our cloth and to get the best out of some of our higher-profile signings, hardly an unreasonable request when you consider a title-winning team.

Mancini had to be informed by Sheikh Mansour in Abu Dhabi what the club needed to do as they made their moves towards balancing the books.

Mancini was on the verge of the sack AFTER the title winning season simply because he held the club to ransom over his demands and delayed his contract renewal, the club knew they risked a fan meltdown after a title season.

Khaldoon had become sick and tired of playing piggy in the middle and was tired of the games. Hughes would not accept Cook, Marwood or the rest of the 'transfer advisory team' to help select targets.

Mancini was more than happy to accept this situation. Soriano and Begiristain were not even in the club the summer we recruited Sinclair, Garcia and co.

The problem for Mancini became when he had someone he was accountable to who actually knew about football, what was happening on the pitch and in the dressing room.

He could gild the lily no longer with our 'wet behind the ears' owners, who have only ever tried to do the very best with the man they had in charge.

Begiristain had been in the job a matter of weeks but we were already out of the Champions League and Premier League equation.

Mancini took this club for an absolute ride, playing people and the fans off against each other for his own end, even negotiating with other clubs after a title season.

Spin the story to suit your agenda all you like tolmie - that's fine by me.
The fact is by not strengthening when we had won the title has in reality cost us 2 more titles - last season and this season. Both of these titles were there for the taking and we have allowed them to meekly to slip from our grasp and the question needs to be asked WHY?
If we had brought in a few quality players after the 2012 win we would have won it last year of that I am convinced. Instead we brought in a bunch of average (at best) 'squad players'. It was a fuck up of monumental proportions and we are still paying the price for it.

Everybody has their own Mancini theory and/or opinion so bollocks to it here's mine. I think that Mancini was the right man for the job, short term, but he brought with him the kind of baggage and publicity our owners don't want. His style was confrontational, almost 'Fergie like', and not in line with the Abu Dhabi image requirements and it's their bat and their ball, so they choose the game. The Tevez saga had a major impact on the club and turned into a damage limitation exercise for the PR team. None of us know what actually happened that night but it could have, and nearly did cost us the title. Balotelli, despite being some fans favourite, was a disaster waiting to happen most of the time, both on and off the pitch. Personally, despite us winning in the most dramatic of circumstances, I was appalled at him shouting "fuck you" at the players when we went 2 - 1 down to QPR. Some may argue it had the desired effect and maybe it did, but I do wonder what effect it had long term and, whether we like it or not, the skill of the modern day manager is to control, coach and motivate a group of enormously wealthy young men to play for him, and each other, for 90 minutes each game.
With regard to the close season after we won the league, it is my understanding that the club had two transfer targets, Van Persie and De Rossi. The club believed that they had secured Van Persie sometime in the March of the title winning season but that De Rossi didn't want to move to England. In a classic case of over confidence the club started to play silly buggers with the Van Persie transfer in an attempt to reduce the fee and Van Persie took it as a sign that the club did not value him as highly as he valued himself. At that stage Mancini told the board that he would personally deliver De Rossi and that they should sort out the Van Persie fiasco. As we know, neither scenario happened and so each side had little to castigate the other about and there was an uneasy truce.

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

He demanded Van Persie, De Rossi, Thiago Silva, Hazard, best part of what? £140m

Not bad players, I'm sure with them in tow we'd be looking at 3 in a row.

Looks like Mancini was right.

Hardly managerial genius, though?

Ask the club for £140m a season to buy some of the best players in the world?

Anyone on the terraces could do likewise.

Maybe Pellegrini should go to the board this summer and tell him that buying Messi, Ronaldo and Bale would guarantee a quadruple.

 

[skybluepete]

He demanded Van Persie, De Rossi, Thiago Silva, Hazard, best part of what? £140m

Not bad players, I'm sure with them in tow we'd be looking at 3 in a row.

Looks like Mancini was right.

Hardly managerial genius, though?

Ask the club for £140m a season to buy some of the best players in the world?

Anyone on the terraces could do likewise.

Maybe Pellegrini should go to the board this summer and tell him that buying Messi, Ronaldo and Bale would guarantee a quadruple.

But pellegrini has spent in excess of £100 million in the summer , does he need to spend that again ??

 

[Anonymous]

He demanded Van Persie, De Rossi, Thiago Silva, Hazard, best part of what? £140m

Not bad players, I'm sure with them in tow we'd be looking at 3 in a row.

Looks like Mancini was right.

Hardly managerial genius, though?

Ask the club for £140m a season to buy some of the best players in the world?

Anyone on the terraces could do likewise.

Maybe Pellegrini should go to the board this summer and tell him that buying Messi, Ronaldo and Bale would guarantee a quadruple.

But pellegrini has spent in excess of £100 million in the summer , does he need to spend that again ??

There's a large difference between Mancini wanting players to add to his squad, and Pellegrini buying players to replace outgoing players. Navas replaced Sinclair, Dinho Barry, Jovetic Tevez, and Negredo Balo.

This is why continually saying Pellegrini has spent 100 million to add to the squad is simply spin. He spent 100 million to replace 4 players who themselves cost around 100 million.

 

[skybluepete]

Hardly managerial genius, though?

Ask the club for £140m a season to buy some of the best players in the world?

Anyone on the terraces could do likewise.

Maybe Pellegrini should go to the board this summer and tell him that buying Messi, Ronaldo and Bale would guarantee a quadruple.

But pellegrini has spent in excess of £100 million in the summer , does he need to spend that again ??

There's a large difference between Mancini wanting players to add to his squad, and Pellegrini buying players to replace outgoing players. Navas replaced Sinclair, Dinho Barry, Jovetic Tevez, and Negredo Balo.

This is why continually saying Pellegrini has spent 100 million to add to the squad is simply spin. He spent 100 million to replace 4 players who themselves cost around 100 million.

Garcia replaced de Jong , Sinclair replaced Johnson, nasty replaced savic
Balo went when Mancini was in charge.
Barry is on loan.
Not really sure the point youre making??

 

[Anonymous]

But pellegrini has spent in excess of £100 million in the summer , does he need to spend that again ??

There's a large difference between Mancini wanting players to add to his squad, and Pellegrini buying players to replace outgoing players. Navas replaced Sinclair, Dinho Barry, Jovetic Tevez, and Negredo Balo.

This is why continually saying Pellegrini has spent 100 million to add to the squad is simply spin. He spent 100 million to replace 4 players who themselves cost around 100 million.

Garcia replaced de Jong , Sinclair replaced Johnson, nasty replaced savic
Balo went when Mancini was in charge.
Barry is on loan.
Not really sure the point youre making??

I was making reference to the earlier post in which Hazard, Van Perise, and Thiago Silva were mentioned. Those players would've added to an already top heavy wage bill because Mancini wasn't prepared to sell Nasri, Balo, or Lescott. He wanted the players on top of what he had.

I take your point about Sinclair, Nasty, and Garcia - but I'm not arguing that Mancini spent a lot or a little that summer. He clearly had money to spend - the fact he could only identify the players we signed as being within the budget he was given is a shame as Txiki showed last summer you can buy very good players and not have pay ridiculous transfer fees or insane wages.

 

[cookster]

He demanded Van Persie, De Rossi, Thiago Silva, Hazard, best part of what? £140m

Not bad players, I'm sure with them in tow we'd be looking at 3 in a row.

Looks like Mancini was right.

Hardly managerial genius, though?

Ask the club for £140m a season to buy some of the best players in the world?

Anyone on the terraces could do likewise.

Maybe Pellegrini should go to the board this summer and tell him that buying Messi, Ronaldo and Bale would guarantee a quadruple.

It wouldn't have been 140M a season though. With those players in the squad we could have spent very lightly this close season.

Mancini spent 50M, Pelle spent 100M - we just should have let Mancini have the 150M earlier!!!

Both are tactically weak, but at least Mancini could setup a defence and if we'd had added Silva......

 

[tolmie's hairdoo]

He demanded Van Persie, De Rossi, Thiago Silva, Hazard, best part of what? £140m

Not bad players, I'm sure with them in tow we'd be looking at 3 in a row.

Looks like Mancini was right.

Hardly managerial genius, though?

Ask the club for £140m a season to buy some of the best players in the world?

Anyone on the terraces could do likewise.

Maybe Pellegrini should go to the board this summer and tell him that buying Messi, Ronaldo and Bale would guarantee a quadruple.

It wouldn't have been 140M a season though. With those players in the squad we could have spent very lightly this close season.

Mancini spent 50M, Pelle spent 100M - we just should have let Mancini have the 150M earlier!!!

Both are tactically weak, but at least Mancini could setup a defence and if we'd had added Silva......

Seriously?

The wages alone for those four players would have pushed us into chaos.

All £10m a year players.

It's like the same people who say we shouldn't spend £200m on Messi because we can spend it on five top players.

Wrong.

Five top players also come with five £200k a week wages.

Messi costs one set of wages.

Mancini had proved previously that the money was never enough.

We are already starting to see that City have been planning at least 18 months ahead, the particular monitoring period in question, when it comes to FFPR.