Will Manchester City reinstate its glory this time?
Everything is going great for Manchester City. Simply great. Massive pumping of petrodollars is materializing into buying some of the best players of the world. This has helped them register some mind boggling upsets throughout the season and at the same
time has stabilized their position on the points table. But the million dollar question remains, will they be able to live up to the expectations?
In a recent poll conducted by The Guardian, 68.8% respondents believe that Manchester City has the potential and capability to lift the trophy this season whereas 31.2% believe otherwise. Man City’s boss, Robert Mancini, has already declared that the final
months of his club’s venture in the Premier League are extremely crucial and they are all geared up for it.
So, what has happened in recent months that led to such drastic shift in perceptions and opinions regarding Man City? The most obvious reason has been in the form of money which has been injected for the restructuring and reorganization of the club. Money,
where on one hand has rejuvenated the glory of the club, has concurrently diminished the capricious nature of the game. It was more or less predicted that Arsenal’s performance would spiral down and City would approach its zenith. All of this was predictable
due to the spending differences of the two clubs. According to information revealed by Bloomberg, Man City has paid approximately 9.7 million pounds ($15.2 million) to various agents this year. The difference in spending accounts for the difference in performance.
Apart from the finances another important aspect to highlight is the squad that Man City has been able to line up this season. With players like David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Nigel de Jong, Man City is all set to regain the status and position it once possessed
during the 60s and 70s. Moreover, it is important to understand that City has not just filled its team with lots of wealthy football ‘stars’ like Real Madrid, instead it has also tried to develop a sense of coordination and cohesion between the players
despite of the linguistic and cultural barriers that prevail between them. In simple terms, its players are skilled and well-prepared to easily counter any strategy of its opponents. It has been the autocratic leadership style of Mancini which needs to be
accredited for this particular development. The ‘my way or the highway’ theory of leadership has certainly worked in the benefit of Man City, at least for this season. The flawless chemistry we see among the players and the exceptionally commendable
performances Man City has delivered, testifies the efforts Mancini has made for the team.
Another prominent demonstration of Mancini’s despotic behavior emerged with his one-on-one confrontation with Argentinean forward, Carlos Tevez. Tevez refused to come as a substitute in the second half of the game against Bayern Munich, resulting in a 2-0
defeat for the club. For Mancini, it was the end of Tevez with Man City until the situation was neutralized by timely intervention of owner, Sheikh Mansour. The situation, if left uncontrolled, would have undoubtedly affected team performance. Nevertheless,
the example does provide the entire team with an idea about the mindset of their team manager.
Things are currently working in favor of Man City and the stringent management style of Mancini has an immensely pivotal role to play in it. In case of his early retirement, this coordination between players may experience a severe blow that may benefit
other teams. However, at present the Blues of Man City are all ready to sweep it all in the most destructive fashion.
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