Naive, stubborn and arrogant: Pellegrini falls short again
Manchester City’s ineptitude in this season’s title race was laid bare on Saturday. As they imploded in 3-1 defeat against Leicester City at the Etihad Stadium, they once again took a giant backwards step in their bid to reclaim the Premier League title and simultaneously handed a huge boost to a key rival. Thanks to a combination of their own brilliance and City’s incompetence, Leicester established themselves as firm favourites to take the crown in May.
It’s important to acknowledge the quality of The Foxes. In Riyad Mahrez, N’golo Kante, Jamie Vardy, Danny Drinkwater et al, they have a team of players that are on their way to writing one of the greatest chapters in the story of English football. Manager Claudio Ranieri has taken the foundations laid during the barnstorming run at the end of last season and built a great big shiny palace on them. Their style of play is simple; at least, that’s how it looks. Sit deep, win the ball and burst forward, taking advantage of the pace in the team. That boils it down too much though.
Ranieri has fashioned a style and a mentality that allows the Foxes to always play their game. Rarely does he have to change that basic model and tailor it to the opposition. It is incredibly effective – the most effective tactic in the league, as the table currently proves – and nobody is living with it. It is here where we can see the starkest contrast with City boss Manuel Pellegrini. The Chilean has long possessed a stubborn streak. He has such an unshakeable trust in his own ‘philosophy’ and ideas that he seems to steadfastly refuse to actually plan for whoever City play.
Saturday should have seen a show of humility from the boss. There should have been an acceptance that to allow Leicester to effect their preferred style could result in carnage. Plans should have been made to deal with Mahrez; the Algerian is storming towards a clean-sweep in the various Player of the Season awards. That’s not to say man-marking him for the full game should have been the answer, but nobody appeared to be assigned to even watching him. He subsequently ran riot, as all the best creative players do, given the opportunity. The evidence that has been presented across the season tells us that Leicester win most of their games playing how they want. The Blues, however, have yet to beat a side in the top six of the league; is it arrogance, naivety or incompetence that allows the manager to continue making the same mistakes? In truth, it’s probably a mix of all three.
Here’s a head-scratcher; why does Yaya Toure continue to start games as often as he does? This is not an anti-Yaya question, it’s just one that needs asking. In the 4-0 win over Crystal Palace in January, the Ivorian was introduced off the bench in a masterstroke that allowed Fabian Delph to run the game, before Yaya came on and refreshed the team. It was City’s most controlling performance in months and the decision to use Toure as a substitute was the catalyst for it. Has Pellegrini done it since? Of course he’s not.
City have failed to win back-to-back Premier League matches since October. Now, with only one league game remaining in February, that run is guaranteed to extend into March. That statistic is a shame upon this team and upon the manager. They may only sit six points off the top of the table but at this stage, they are failing badly.
Defenders of the managers will tell you, “We’re still in four competitions,” but what does that actually mean? It means they’re in the Capital One Cup final – that’s fair and it’s a great achievement. However, it would be a disaster if they were out of the Champions League, an embarrassment if they were out of the FA Cup given the ties they’ve been handed and nothing short of a catastrophe if they were out of the title-race. Being in four competitions in February is not something to celebrate; it is the bare minimum that is acceptable for City these days.
The fact is the Premier League is the bread-and-butter and it’s where City are falling most short. The world has been full of sympathy for Pellegrini this week as he announced he would make way for Pep Guardiola in the summer. We were told of his dignity and his class, traits he holds in spades.
The reality is that he is a football manager and he is coming up short for the second consecutive season. There is no reason to feel sorry for Manuel Pellegrini, merely marvel at how he has remained in place this long.