Progress (longish post)

[woolleyback blue]

Is anyone going to come on here and say we haven’t made progress this season?

We will have our highest points total in the PL ever. We will have our highest finish in the PL ever. Not finishing 4th isn’t a disaster!

It was unrealistic to think we would just walk into a top 4 spot regardless of what we spent last summer. The old top 4 are well established and used to fighting for their places in it so they weren’t going to give up without a fight. Add to that a resurgent Spurs and already established Villa and Everton teams, top 6 wasn’t going to be easy and if we achieve that then we have done well.

We need stability to progress. We have an owner who is reasonably patient, yes I know he sacked MH half way through the season but that was a necessity. We need to keep building foundations and one cornerstone of any team building is managerial stability. Look at Chelsea, for all the money they have spent and the world class players they have they haven’t won the title for 3 years. Why?? Because they chopped and changed managers so often. The most important thing is not to damage that progress with another knee jerk reaction.

Mancini is a quality manager, given time and money he will build a successful team. A team that is top 4 by right and not by default because one of the old top 4 has a bad season. i.e.Liverpool and Everton of a few yrs ago. I want a team that is equal to or better than the old top 4, who can sustain being there year in year out and can challenge for the title and if I have to wait a few more years for that then fine, I’ve waited long enough as it is.

 

[masterwig]

Last season: 36 points behind Liverpool
This season: Likely to finish above them

Last season: 18 defeats
This season: 6 defeats so far

Last season: 13 points behind Everton and 12 behind Villa
This season: Likely to finish above both teams

Last season: 2 away wins
This season: 6 away wins so far

There is no doubt we are improving at a good rate. I just hope we can sustain that rather than mess around de-stabilising things again in the summer.

 

[BL2blue]

Good post and along my lines of thinking.

The great start we had (in terms of wins/points but not performance) immediately raised expectations as has the recent run of form. Maybe Bobby has been a slight victim of his own success there.

We can still finish 4th but it wont be a disaster if we come 5th or 6th and I feel we have to keep Mancini. He has worked well with players he may not neccesarily have bought himself and will no doubt keep the better ones whilst adding his "own" players in the summer. His tactics sometimes frustrate me but I cant think of a City manager who hasn't had that ability!

Finishing 5th this season would show a substantial improvement on last season (evidenced by Masterwig's stats) and with Mancini in charge our power and ability to attract top players in the transfer market would be greater than last summer in my opinion.

I have the belief in him to buy the right players to make the top 4 next season whilst we will have another European tour to look forward to. We are definitely still going in the right direction and perhaps a bit quicker than expected! Changing manager again would be a backward step. This guy has the credentials to do the job.

We really do need to look at the bigger picture rather than the last result, however depressing it was!

 

[BlueBas]

To further add to the debate the results from the last 12 matches from the last few seasons - all under different management!

Season 2006-2007 - Manager Stuart Pearce - W3 D3 L6 - points 12 from 36

Season 2007-2008 - Manager Sven Goran Eriksson - W3 D2 L7 - points 11 from 36

Season 2008-2009 - Manager Mark Hughes - W5 D0 L7 - points 15 from 36

Season 2009-2010 - Manager Roberto Mancini - W5 D1 L2 (4 to play) points 16 from 24

My point is, this is the first season, under a host of managers, that we have a manger that looks capable of motivating the team to play until the end of the season, and not just tail off. Every year we've come into the final 3 months poised and capable of winning a EUFA cup spot, and tailed off to mid table obscurity. Yes, to get to 4th we will have to be more consistent over the entire season to avoid the scrap of the last 4 games this season are likely to be, but under Mancini, I truly believe we are on the brink of greatness.

I know everyone holds up the like of Baconface and Arsene Wenger as to what's achievable when you stick with a manager. Remember, Baconface was nearly sacked from ManU at the start of his career there, as the results did not go to plan at the start. I know hindsight is a wonderful thing, but who on here believes that ManU would have been anywhere near as successful, had they stayed on the mangaer merry-go-round?

Also have a look at Chelsea since Mourinho left. They may win the title this season, but they may not, & if they don't, I can't see Anceloltti staying! I'd really like to get off the merry-go-round of managers and establish a bit of stability. Let Mancini establish his training methods and style of play throughout the fabric of the team, from the youth academies to the reserves and into the first team. That way, as the talented players come through, they are living and breathing the formations and tactics Mancini wants and we should see the talent not just break into the first team, but establish themselves as City's stars of the future. It's no surprise in my book that players like Ireland & SWP have struggled this year, as they have struggled to adapt to Mancini's methods. Give Mancini and the others time to learn and adapt, and I believe we'll see the benefits for all over the next few seasons. Then we can get to the situation of having an established squad and just turn over a couple of world class players every so often, ala Barcelona. The reason Barca have done so well is because Pep is Barca through & through & all the players are aware of his methods & tactics, so adapting them was only a small step. Every time we change manager we put the club back 18 months to 2 years, as the new manager needs to bring in some of his own players and the old guard have to learn and adapt to new training methods, formations and tactics.

Yes, we have progressed since last year under Mancini. Allow that growth to continue. Allow Mancini breathing space to make a few mistakes, learn from them and grow with the team. Allow his methods and tactics to permeate through the fabric of Man City & he, along with the good Sheik's money will really take us places over the coming years. Who knows, in 20 years time we could look back at this period and wonder why so many of us were baying for his head!