Manchester City’s defeat at Burnley on Saturday has left manager Manuel Pellegrini facing the prospect of a trophyless season at a club demanding success.
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Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea now have a major advantage in the Premier League title race and City, who face Barcelona in the Champions League this week, have shown few signs of being able to turn around their current malaise.
Our #360debate today is: Is Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini finished?
Steve McKenlay, Editor, thinks YES
Manuel Pellegrini is a nice guy and therein lies the problem.
He was brought in as part of a new holistic approach after Roberto Mancini was shown the door, probably because he was too much of a maverick, went his own way too often, and was confrontational with some of his players in an attempt to keep them hungry and force them to operate outside of their comfort zone.
This style of management, whilst it can be effective, is also high risk especially with highly paid, big ego players who believe they have a right to play every week without having to prove anything to a manager who is constantly on their backs.
Mancini obviously overstepped the mark in the eyes of those players and the club’s owners got rid of him, despite the success he brought to the club.
Pellegrini is the antithesis of Mancini. Unlike most of the best managers in football, outwardly he never shows any real emotion. He seems gentle, understanding and is never visibly rattled, even in the face of ridiculously poor results like the defeat to Burnley.
He has a hangdog expression when his highly paid stars fail to deliver but there is a complete lack of real emotion on the touchline no matter how bad things get.
Ok, that’s his style but can you really imagine Jose Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, or Diego Simeone sitting there quietly with a look of puzzlement? Of course not! They would be jumping around like cats on a hot tin roof trying to motivate some kind of positive reaction.
There is no question that some of his players only perform when it suits them and that is a disgrace but it seems to me that he is being run by them, rather than the other way around.
Kind of feel sorry for Kompany, he has been overrated but he is clearly better than his current form. But atm his every error is punished.
— Dezil Dez (@DezilDez) March 14, 2015
Dressing room rows between captain Vincent Kompany and Fernandinho and rumours of other unrest behind the scenes point to a lack of firm control.
His stubborn determination to stick with 4-4-2 was incredibly naive against Barcelona in the first-leg of their Champions League clash, and suggests he doesn’t have a Plan B.
Maybe the players have let him down and lack any real hunger but at the end of the day that’s down to him. No more Mr Nice guy. Bring on Simeone!
Alam Khan, Reporter, thinks NO
It would be far too predictable to blame Manuel Pellegrini for Manchester City’s current malaise.
A stubbornness to change from a 4-4-2 formation to a system that better suits his players, particularly Sergio Aguero and David Silva, has become a major bone of contention as they struggle to find form and winning results. But come on, who would have expected a virtual full-strength side to surrender so timidly against Burnley?
That expensively-assembled team at Turf Moor, the one that Pellegrini put his faith in, let him down. He will not say this publicly of course, but there is no doubt City are under-performing and underachieving.
It is not just about a fragile confidence or bad fortune. It is a scenario all too familiar at the Etihad. After Roberto Mancini led City to the title in 2012, he was left frustrated and forlorn when his players failed to follow that up in the following season.
There were similar questions then about their commitment and desire, but it was their manager who paid the price for an abrasive approach and, ultimately, failing to win a major trophy in that disappointing campaign.
With City now six points behind Chelsea and facing a massive challenge to overturn a 2-1 deficit in Barcelona to continue in the Champions League, they could well be trophyless too after last season’s title and League Cup win.
But it would be wrong to blame Pellegrini. His players keep saying they have the hunger for more success, that they have the quality and fear no one, but they have to prove that. Right now their performances are passionless and somewhat pitiful, and well below the standards they have set, and are expected by Pellegrini, the fans and even themselves.
Too many went missing at Burnley. Curiously, Fernandinho and Vincent Kompany – recalled after their dressing room row – were among the better performers. Under scrutiny, they did not hide. Others need to follow suit.
There needs to be change this summer, but it may well be among the playing personnel rather than the manager. They are fighting for their future and need to realise that before it is too late.
