So, if we don't win the Prem..

[adrianr]

Would you regard the season as a failure?

There is a long way to go, but do you personally regard winning the league cup and gaining CL football for next season as a successful first season for Pellegrini?

For me, its a no, for all that talk a month or so ago after trouncing Spurs away about how we could potentially score close to 200 goals, domestic treble's (which I believe a lot of us thought was doable) and how Pellegrini had us playing some of the most exciting football in the world. I wouldn't want to see the manager sacked, but I think one league cup in two years is simply not good enough for a team possessing this much quality. Plus, I believe it will only get more difficult once Mourinho buys the top class striker his team craves.

Its all very hypothetical, but do the rest of you think we have to go on to win the league to regard this season as a successful one, or would you regard it as a good start under our new manager?

Need to win the league IMO, but if we don't there won't be (and shouldn't be) any change in manager. We've had annoyingly consistent injuries to key players, once again refused to address centre back in the transfer window, and had a few new things to straighten out and settle..

That said, we were still in a better position than anyone to win the league this year. There's no way a team with Mikel and Lampard as two of their first choice midfielders (until January at least) should be anywhere near us at all. We've lost way too many games, haven't managed to steal points at the death in almost every (any?) situation that required them, put far too much emphasis on the Champions League, and despite hopes that we'd start seeing this team perform as one greater than the sum of it's individual parts it simply hasn't happened with any consistency.

Teams like Bayern, Barca, Real, Chelsea, etc - Are any of them happy with a season of just a league cup? No. And that shouldn't be the case at City either. People really need to get this idea of being spoilt out of their heads - We're a commercial entity that needs to win high profile trophies as part of the business model. The expectation of success is simply part and parcel of that. Being completely impartial, should this team have won more than it has? You can answer yes without being a 'spoilt ****'.

I still think we're the best placed to really take a strangle hold of English football, we just need to stop pussyfooting around and smash it out of the park. It feels like we've limply gone about our business since signing Aguero TBH.

 

[Clevers]

Yes, because I fully expected us to win the CL, FA Cup, Capital One Cup and end the season as champions with 114 points in the Premier League.

 

[Damocles]

It's a question with a few interpretations.

I think the board would regard it as a failure if we finished with only a League Cup to our name, but I also don't think that Pellegrini's job would be under any scrutiny at all. I shouted this from the rafters when Mancini was here and I'll do it again now; expecting year on year progress in terms of league points or trophies won is totally unrealistic and has never happened with any manager in the history of football who has been at a club for longer than a few years. Football just isn't as simple as this.

From my perspective as a fan, I'd be disappointed if we didn't win the league but from a wider view (a more holistic one one might say), I'm pleased with our progress as a club this year. We've extended our reach into the major commercial markets of New York and Melbourne. Our Under 18s and EDS have both broken their modern unbeaten streak records and did so whilst playing City Football. Our under 13s and under 14s are both national champions. We've brought in the extremely highly respected Rodolfo Borrell to help with our youth development system. The City Football Academy construction is on time and looking good. We've refocused on City Women and are attempting to bring a professionalism to the Women's game that is previously unseen. We made it out of the CL group stages and had a Round of 16 game against Barca which was the best watched game of the season so far shown in over 70 countries. I think the game time given to Lopes is a sign of things to come and young Huws is making big waves over at Birmingham to the point of Vieira comparing him to Busquets. We're playing a style of football that is extremely attractive to watch and we have built the recent philosophy of the club around this, which is something that I've always wanted to happen since the takeover in 2008. Our manager seems personable and the players seem to like him; there are no rumours of training ground bust ups or falling outs and there seems to be a friendlier atmosphere around the place in general. Txiki Begiristain did an excellent job in the summer transfer window, bringing in players who have played an important part of our season and he did so within the first week rather than the last day. I thought the fact that he walked away from Porto in January rather than paying an extraordinary fee is something that may have hurt us for 4 months but have helped us over the next 5 years and showed that we're no longer a team that will pay over the odds. The FFP period ended with City (and all the analysts who aren't twats) believing that we've passed which sidestepped a potential hurdle.

All in all, I'm happy with this season taken in full context. It feels like we're on Year 1 of a new era where the club is being reshapen and expanded in a very particular way. After Mancini left I thought we had made an extremely poor decision but the more that I see the announcements unfold this year, the more it makes perfect sense why he had to leave and we needed a man like Pellegrini. I don't think anybody is under the illusion that Pellegrini will be our manager for the next 20 years, he's more likely to be a man brought in to bring a breath of fresh air and positivity to the players for the next 3-5 years which I'm okay with. I'm confident that he'll win us a league title or three within that time period and confident that he actually understands the vision of what City is attempting to be which I don't think Mancini ever did and ultimately cost him his job.

So as I say, it depends on how you interpret the question but I'm happy that we've progressed as a club

 

[Mattyc55]

It's a question with a few interpretations.

I think the board would regard it as a failure if we finished with only a League Cup to our name, but I also don't think that Pellegrini's job would be under any scrutiny at all. I shouted this from the rafters when Mancini was here and I'll do it again now; expecting year on year progress in terms of league points or trophies won is totally unrealistic and has never happened with any manager in the history of football who has been at a club for longer than a few years. Football just isn't as simple as this.

From my perspective as a fan, I'd be disappointed if we didn't win the league but from a wider view (a more holistic one one might say), I'm pleased with our progress as a club this year. We've extended our reach into the major commercial markets of New York and Melbourne. Our Under 18s and EDS have both broken their modern unbeaten streak records and did so whilst playing City Football. Our under 13s and under 14s are both national champions. We've brought in the extremely highly respected Rodolfo Borrell to help with our youth development system. The City Football Academy construction is on time and looking good. We've refocused on City Women and are attempting to bring a professionalism to the Women's game that is previously unseen. We made it out of the CL group stages and had a Round of 16 game against Barca which was the best watched game of the season so far shown in over 70 countries. I think the game time given to Lopes is a sign of things to come and young Huws is making big waves over at Birmingham to the point of Vieira comparing him to Busquets. We're playing a style of football that is extremely attractive to watch and we have built the recent philosophy of the club around this, which is something that I've always wanted to happen since the takeover in 2008. Our manager seems personable and the players seem to like him; there are no rumours of training ground bust ups or falling outs and there seems to be a friendlier atmosphere around the place in general. Txiki Begiristain did an excellent job in the summer transfer window, bringing in players who have played an important part of our season and he did so within the first week rather than the last day. I thought the fact that he walked away from Porto in January rather than paying an extraordinary fee is something that may have hurt us for 4 months but have helped us over the next 5 years and showed that we're no longer a team that will pay over the odds. The FFP period ended with City (and all the analysts who aren't twats) believing that we've passed which sidestepped a potential hurdle.

All in all, I'm happy with this season taken in full context. It feels like we're on Year 1 of a new era where the club is being reshapen and expanded in a very particular way. After Mancini left I thought we had made an extremely poor decision but the more that I see the announcements unfold this year, the more it makes perfect sense why he had to leave and we needed a man like Pellegrini. I don't think anybody is under the illusion that Pellegrini will be our manager for the next 20 years, he's more likely to be a man brought in to bring a breath of fresh air and positivity to the players for the next 3-5 years which I'm okay with. I'm confident that he'll win us a league title or three within that time period and confident that he actually understands the vision of what City is attempting to be which I don't think Mancini ever did and ultimately cost him his job.

So as I say, it depends on how you interpret the question but I'm happy that we've progressed as a club

Good, balanced post. You make some excellent, valid points about the progress of our youth teams. There is definitely progress occurring every day around the club as a whole & I agree with your other points about the manager probably not being our Wenger/Fergie. Do you think these type of long term legacies don't really happen anymore, and it's more a case of finding the right man for short 3-5 year stints. It seems like that across many of the more successful clubs at the moment.

 

[Cheesy]

If we don't win it (which I don't think we will) it's all about how we fail to do so. If we go on a good run from now until the end of the season but just get pipped to the title then, whilst it would be a disappointment, I wouldn't particularly view it as a failure because we'd have been in with a genuine chance right up to the end. That's all that can be asked for really. Sometimes (in sport in particular) you do your very best but shit just happens.

However, if we fall away badly and come the last few games we haven't got a chance if winning the league or (God forbid) don't even get second then I would definitely see it as a failure in the respect that we wouldn't have achieved what most of us would have thought were realistic targets at the start if the season.

 

[Blue Is the Opposite of Blue]

It's a question with a few interpretations.

I think the board would regard it as a failure if we finished with only a League Cup to our name, but I also don't think that Pellegrini's job would be under any scrutiny at all. I shouted this from the rafters when Mancini was here and I'll do it again now; expecting year on year progress in terms of league points or trophies won is totally unrealistic and has never happened with any manager in the history of football who has been at a club for longer than a few years. Football just isn't as simple as this.

From my perspective as a fan, I'd be disappointed if we didn't win the league but from a wider view (a more holistic one one might say), I'm pleased with our progress as a club this year. We've extended our reach into the major commercial markets of New York and Melbourne. Our Under 18s and EDS have both broken their modern unbeaten streak records and did so whilst playing City Football. Our under 13s and under 14s are both national champions. We've brought in the extremely highly respected Rodolfo Borrell to help with our youth development system. The City Football Academy construction is on time and looking good. We've refocused on City Women and are attempting to bring a professionalism to the Women's game that is previously unseen. We made it out of the CL group stages and had a Round of 16 game against Barca which was the best watched game of the season so far shown in over 70 countries. I think the game time given to Lopes is a sign of things to come and young Huws is making big waves over at Birmingham to the point of Vieira comparing him to Busquets. We're playing a style of football that is extremely attractive to watch and we have built the recent philosophy of the club around this, which is something that I've always wanted to happen since the takeover in 2008. Our manager seems personable and the players seem to like him; there are no rumours of training ground bust ups or falling outs and there seems to be a friendlier atmosphere around the place in general. Txiki Begiristain did an excellent job in the summer transfer window, bringing in players who have played an important part of our season and he did so within the first week rather than the last day. I thought the fact that he walked away from Porto in January rather than paying an extraordinary fee is something that may have hurt us for 4 months but have helped us over the next 5 years and showed that we're no longer a team that will pay over the odds. The FFP period ended with City (and all the analysts who aren't twats) believing that we've passed which sidestepped a potential hurdle.

All in all, I'm happy with this season taken in full context. It feels like we're on Year 1 of a new era where the club is being reshapen and expanded in a very particular way. After Mancini left I thought we had made an extremely poor decision but the more that I see the announcements unfold this year, the more it makes perfect sense why he had to leave and we needed a man like Pellegrini. I don't think anybody is under the illusion that Pellegrini will be our manager for the next 20 years, he's more likely to be a man brought in to bring a breath of fresh air and positivity to the players for the next 3-5 years which I'm okay with. I'm confident that he'll win us a league title or three within that time period and confident that he actually understands the vision of what City is attempting to be which I don't think Mancini ever did and ultimately cost him his job.

So as I say, it depends on how you interpret the question but I'm happy that we've progressed as a club

Perfect.

 

[aguero93:20]

It's a question with a few interpretations.

I think the board would regard it as a failure if we finished with only a League Cup to our name, but I also don't think that Pellegrini's job would be under any scrutiny at all. I shouted this from the rafters when Mancini was here and I'll do it again now; expecting year on year progress in terms of league points or trophies won is totally unrealistic and has never happened with any manager in the history of football who has been at a club for longer than a few years. Football just isn't as simple as this.

From my perspective as a fan, I'd be disappointed if we didn't win the league but from a wider view (a more holistic one one might say), I'm pleased with our progress as a club this year. We've extended our reach into the major commercial markets of New York and Melbourne. Our Under 18s and EDS have both broken their modern unbeaten streak records and did so whilst playing City Football. Our under 13s and under 14s are both national champions. We've brought in the extremely highly respected Rodolfo Borrell to help with our youth development system. The City Football Academy construction is on time and looking good. We've refocused on City Women and are attempting to bring a professionalism to the Women's game that is previously unseen. We made it out of the CL group stages and had a Round of 16 game against Barca which was the best watched game of the season so far shown in over 70 countries. I think the game time given to Lopes is a sign of things to come and young Huws is making big waves over at Birmingham to the point of Vieira comparing him to Busquets. We're playing a style of football that is extremely attractive to watch and we have built the recent philosophy of the club around this, which is something that I've always wanted to happen since the takeover in 2008. Our manager seems personable and the players seem to like him; there are no rumours of training ground bust ups or falling outs and there seems to be a friendlier atmosphere around the place in general. Txiki Begiristain did an excellent job in the summer transfer window, bringing in players who have played an important part of our season and he did so within the first week rather than the last day. I thought the fact that he walked away from Porto in January rather than paying an extraordinary fee is something that may have hurt us for 4 months but have helped us over the next 5 years and showed that we're no longer a team that will pay over the odds. The FFP period ended with City (and all the analysts who aren't twats) believing that we've passed which sidestepped a potential hurdle.

All in all, I'm happy with this season taken in full context. It feels like we're on Year 1 of a new era where the club is being reshapen and expanded in a very particular way. After Mancini left I thought we had made an extremely poor decision but the more that I see the announcements unfold this year, the more it makes perfect sense why he had to leave and we needed a man like Pellegrini. I don't think anybody is under the illusion that Pellegrini will be our manager for the next 20 years, he's more likely to be a man brought in to bring a breath of fresh air and positivity to the players for the next 3-5 years which I'm okay with. I'm confident that he'll win us a league title or three within that time period and confident that he actually understands the vision of what City is attempting to be which I don't think Mancini ever did and ultimately cost him his job.

So as I say, it depends on how you interpret the question but I'm happy that we've progressed as a club

Perfect.

Nah he forgot about us hammering the scum ;)

 

[Statt0]

It's a question with a few interpretations.

I think the board would regard it as a failure if we finished with only a League Cup to our name, but I also don't think that Pellegrini's job would be under any scrutiny at all. I shouted this from the rafters when Mancini was here and I'll do it again now; expecting year on year progress in terms of league points or trophies won is totally unrealistic and has never happened with any manager in the history of football who has been at a club for longer than a few years. Football just isn't as simple as this.

From my perspective as a fan, I'd be disappointed if we didn't win the league but from a wider view (a more holistic one one might say), I'm pleased with our progress as a club this year. We've extended our reach into the major commercial markets of New York and Melbourne. Our Under 18s and EDS have both broken their modern unbeaten streak records and did so whilst playing City Football. Our under 13s and under 14s are both national champions. We've brought in the extremely highly respected Rodolfo Borrell to help with our youth development system. The City Football Academy construction is on time and looking good. We've refocused on City Women and are attempting to bring a professionalism to the Women's game that is previously unseen. We made it out of the CL group stages and had a Round of 16 game against Barca which was the best watched game of the season so far shown in over 70 countries. I think the game time given to Lopes is a sign of things to come and young Huws is making big waves over at Birmingham to the point of Vieira comparing him to Busquets. We're playing a style of football that is extremely attractive to watch and we have built the recent philosophy of the club around this, which is something that I've always wanted to happen since the takeover in 2008. Our manager seems personable and the players seem to like him; there are no rumours of training ground bust ups or falling outs and there seems to be a friendlier atmosphere around the place in general. Txiki Begiristain did an excellent job in the summer transfer window, bringing in players who have played an important part of our season and he did so within the first week rather than the last day. I thought the fact that he walked away from Porto in January rather than paying an extraordinary fee is something that may have hurt us for 4 months but have helped us over the next 5 years and showed that we're no longer a team that will pay over the odds. The FFP period ended with City (and all the analysts who aren't twats) believing that we've passed which sidestepped a potential hurdle.

All in all, I'm happy with this season taken in full context. It feels like we're on Year 1 of a new era where the club is being reshapen and expanded in a very particular way. After Mancini left I thought we had made an extremely poor decision but the more that I see the announcements unfold this year, the more it makes perfect sense why he had to leave and we needed a man like Pellegrini. I don't think anybody is under the illusion that Pellegrini will be our manager for the next 20 years, he's more likely to be a man brought in to bring a breath of fresh air and positivity to the players for the next 3-5 years which I'm okay with. I'm confident that he'll win us a league title or three within that time period and confident that he actually understands the vision of what City is attempting to be which I don't think Mancini ever did and ultimately cost him his job.

So as I say, it depends on how you interpret the question but I'm happy that we've progressed as a club

Spot on.

 

[Tourist since 1971]

Will you all please stop posting sensible contributions. I come on here to read emotional, rabid, and incoherent claptrap from people who don't really understand City or how football tends to work.

While I was disappointed last night with the result and the pathetic ref (for both teams) I was really impressed with the initial tactics and application of the team. We passed and pressed incredibly well in the first 20 minutes and if we had scored early, as has happened in many of this team's best performances and could easily have happened here, the world's view of City this morning could have been considerably different. Obviously a team like Barca are going to get their own opportunities in the game and the tale of both legs is that when they had chnaces they took them and we didn't. All the rubbish about conspiracies and bent refs is hogwash - if Nasri or Zaba had scored as they should have done I firmly believe we could have gone on to win. But as a former custodian used to put it 'Eeeez football'.

So, as far as the CL is concerned I am pretty content with the efforts this season. We won a League Cup in which we've tripped up in the semi final twice in recent seasons and the League has gone pretty much to my expectations of the season with Chelsea the main danger - our position being a direct result of progress in the cups with fewer games played rather than through poor results. It is only really the FA Cup where I've felt let down. A bit by the selections, but more by the complacency/lack of effort by the team on the pitch in the first half; the result was fully deserved and for a squad game with a squad like ours the performance was unforgivable.

If anyone thinks this season has been a failure, get used to it because there are going to be many more like this one (with one trophy won and a few disappointments) than a season where we walk the league, trounce all lower league domestic teams in the cups and parade serenely to the CL final.

 

[Anonymous]

Winning a trophy and qualifying for the CL is a successful season.

It may seem a disappointment after some of the great football played up to the Spurs away game (when I think we were top of the league briefly), and being in the hunt for 4 trophies for so long, but overall this would be fine I think.

Only real disappointment was going out of the FA cup to Wigan at home, as a domestic Cup Double was definitely on, outside of that, the season would have been good if we can now get at least a top 3 position (and hopefully that includes beating Man Utd at Old Trafford).

If we finish 5th say that would be a bad season as now so much seems to depend on CL qualification for each club.

Ironic isn't it that Ueafa (in particular Mr. Platini) are all very keen on FFP so that clubs do not go overboard with spending, and yet it is their competition with all its money that has distorted success from being winning a trophy to CL qualification.

Personally winning trophies is the most important thing and ideally it would be better to have less emphases on the CL
and that would be better without seeding and a 2 legged knock out competition (which if course it will never revert back to again) .

After complaints about the Europa League (i.e. teams qualify and then the following season blame their performances\struggles on it) would it not be good to put that back to no seeding and a 2 legged knockout competition. It would make it more exciting for fans and mean potentially fewer games (so no more excuses about player tiredness and travel), and lessen some of the dullness of early matches in the League format that exists now perhaps ?