They have the strongest squad in the Premier League. They have appointed a title-winning manager. The spine of their team has already won the league title, and since then they have only added to their strength in depth. So why can’t Manchester City seem to reach their full potential on a consistent basis?
They currently trail leaders Arsenal by six points, and are outside the top four. Man City have gone from the absolutely outstanding to the inconsolably horrific and back again during their first 11 Premier League games, losing four matches. One key factor will concern Manuel Pellegrini more than anything though: after six away games, City have lost four, and only managed one win and one draw.
The difference between their home and away form is astounding. At the Etihad, the Blues look invincible, putting on such spectacles as the 7-0 bashing of Norwich, and the solid 4-1 hammering of neighbours Manchester United. Away, however, they inexplicably lost 3-2 to Aston Villa and 1-0 to relegation-fighting Sunderland. The easy answer to this issue is that City have been unlucky mixed with a below par start, but will pick themselves up over the course of the season. The reality, though, is a little different.
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Manuel Pellegrini was brought in to promote what the City board dubbed ‘a more holistic approach to football’. Although it might seem like Sheik Mansour came up with this hippy-expression in a haze, there was a few legitimate questions to be asked of Roberto Mancini at the time, and Pellegrini is a good choice of manager to take the club forward. His CV is strong, and he comes from a successful spell at Malaga. But the Chilean is underestimating the competitiveness of the Premier League.
After 11 games, City has played 11 different back-four combinations. This is partly due to injuries for Kompany and Richards, and the signing of Martin Demichellis, but when challenging for the Premier League title, organising a settled back four and sticking with it simply can’t be emphasised enough. In home games they get away with sloppy defending because they outplay their opposition in every area of the pitch. But on the road, teams tend to have a go at City, and the goals they conceded against Chelsea and Sunderland were all down to questionable and hesitant defending. Pellegrini must acknowledge that there is no cruising to victory away from home, regardless of the opposition’s position in the table.
Another factor is that Pellegrini’s City don’t appear to have a Plan-B in games where they struggle to break through. Granted, Sunderland were lucky to take all three points last weekend, but the manager got the team selection wrong. Javi Garcia has yet to perform since his £15million transfer a year ago, and was taken off at half-time after a less than encouraging display. City looked disjointed and uninspired. Jesus Navas came on and James Milner went into the centre of the park in the last 45, and they probably should have had a goal after creating a few chances, but the performance was still less than encouraging. The reliance on Kompany and David Silva is understandable, as any club would build their play around such prolific characters, but with the squad depth Pellegrini has at hand, they should be expected to be in control against bottom half sides.
I also can’t get my head around how, with the summer signings City have made, they drop easy points like this. Even though Negredo has formed a formidable strike force with Sergio Aguero, Fernandinho is by my estimates the pick of the crop. He was signed to let Yaya Toure off the leash and release him in attack, which has worked brilliantly. Toure has five goals to his name, and all of a sudden he is a free kick specialist. In City’s best games, Toure and Fernandinho dominate the middle of the park. However, there seems to be an element of inconsistency, which might just be down to the transition the team is going through at the moment. The holistic approach might not be as easily achievable as Mansour was hoping for.
The top flight seems tighter than ever this season, and Man City can thank their lucky stars that they haven’t fallen further adrift. Teams will keep slipping up, and I believe the title will come down to the two Manchester clubs and Chelsea, like most of us predicted before the season.
But if Pellegrini is to feature in this battle, he must take the club’s travels seriously.
Can Manuel Pellegrini turn City’s away form around?
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