As much as I hate to admit that I was wrong and Dave was right, after considering this for a bit, he IS spot on.
Mancini doesn't have a job for life, and if he fails to sustain a title challenge he will be gone in the summer. And rightly so.
I'm one of Mancini's staunchest defenders and always have been; I probably will always continue to as a right him highly as both a manager and a person.
However, we must examine the realities of exactly what Manchester City has become since September 2008.
In almost every area, from the boardroom with Gary Cook, to the management with Mark Hughes, to the scouting and the Academy with a variety of new "leaders", to the playing staff with too many to list; City do not tolerate failure and are ruthless in chopping those who do not meet the standards expected of them.
This is the reality. If people fail to deliver, they get the sack.
Mancini will be no exception. He MAY be saved by his pre-existing relationship with Khaldoon and the Sheikh but I cannot imagine that he can get more than half a season out of this.
I don't think the Sheikh has closed the purse strings at all, and I disagree that Mancini has ever had less than 110% backing from the board.
This seems to be the Sheikh's MO. Back them to the hilt and immediately cut them if they fail.