It can creep up on you when you don’t even realise. One moment, you are
cracking open the champagne and celebrating a historic title. Six months
later you’re still talking about that same memorable victory, watching the
repeats of Sergio Agüero’s goal, while the game is moving on, your rivals
have stolen a march on you and that crown has slipped before you’ve had
enough time to wear it.
It is clearly too soon to suggest Manchester
City will not repeat their success of last season, but the warnings
have been evident in their first two games. Against Southampton they battled
back to win, and they were fortunate to leave Anfield with a point
yesterday, thankful for a couple of defensive mistakes.
I’m staggered a manager who won the title by playing with a consistent, flat
back four has now opted to go for three at the back, with one of those –
Pablo Zabaleta – not even a recognised centre half. City ought to have
targeted escaping from the traps swiftly to push ahead of Manchester United.
Instead, they’ve scrapped away to a win and a draw.
Mancini has been sending out the message loud and clear for months that he’s
not happy with the squad. Whether reports of disharmony within the club over
transfer policy are accurate or not, there is usually no smoke without fire
and if there is no unity you are already handing your opponents an
advantage.
I sympathise with Mancini’s view that it is essential to strengthen in the
aftermath of a title win, so you have an opportunity pulverise your rivals’
hopes before they’ve even had a chance to think about how they’re going to
catch you.
Mancini said after the 2-2 draw with Liverpool
it was an important five days for his club, before the closure of the
transfer window, defining whether they will be capable of challenging for
the title again. He has said previously City are third or fourth favourites.
I find such statements incredible given the financial power City possess, but what is more astonishing is that the kind of meetings the club will be having now regarding new additions were not held in May.
As soon as the last sip of champagne had been supped, there should have been a high-level review to not only assess how the title was won, but also discuss why it was nearly lost.
I maintained all along City should have won the Premier League more comfortably. It should never have gone to the dramatic finale. Everyone at the club must have recognised this, and understood that while they possess some of the finest players in Europe, you can never rest on your laurels – otherwise it can become an isolated success.
There is no area of the team that can’t be improved, although some parts clearly need more attention than others. The left side of City’s defence needs reinforcement, and perhaps the three at the back tactic is a ploy to highlight this. There’s no point feeling reassured because you have Vincent Kompany and Yaya Touré. The trick is to go out and buy two more players of the same calibre, because then the rest of the league can forget about trying to prise the title from Mancini.
I am certain Sir Alex Ferguson will have sat down last May and worked out his strategy to win the title back. What I’m also sure about is he did the same after those seasons when he won the league, mastering the art of keeping players hungry, motivated and enthusiastic.
At Liverpool when we were collecting titles, there was another incentive. In less financially excessive times, the win bonuses were an issue too. For the modern footballer with his bumper contract, that may not be so much of a motivating factor, so the greatest challenge Mancini has is to reignite the fire in the belly that inspired his side to that elusive first win.
Football has many truisms. Winning your first title is tough, but winning the second time — when everyone runs that extra yard and drips that extra bead of sweat to beat you — is even harder.
If Manchester City don’t realise that already, they have a few days of the transfer window left to understand it and then make sure they’re equipped in every area to counter what is coming their way.
Should they not do so, it won’t just be Manchester United responsible for taking their Premier League trophy away. It will be Manchester City’s own complacency.
I find such statements incredible given the financial power City possess, but what is more astonishing is that the kind of meetings the club will be having now regarding new additions were not held in May.
As soon as the last sip of champagne had been supped, there should have been a high-level review to not only assess how the title was won, but also discuss why it was nearly lost.
I maintained all along City should have won the Premier League more comfortably. It should never have gone to the dramatic finale. Everyone at the club must have recognised this, and understood that while they possess some of the finest players in Europe, you can never rest on your laurels – otherwise it can become an isolated success.
There is no area of the team that can’t be improved, although some parts clearly need more attention than others. The left side of City’s defence needs reinforcement, and perhaps the three at the back tactic is a ploy to highlight this. There’s no point feeling reassured because you have Vincent Kompany and Yaya Touré. The trick is to go out and buy two more players of the same calibre, because then the rest of the league can forget about trying to prise the title from Mancini.
I am certain Sir Alex Ferguson will have sat down last May and worked out his strategy to win the title back. What I’m also sure about is he did the same after those seasons when he won the league, mastering the art of keeping players hungry, motivated and enthusiastic.
At Liverpool when we were collecting titles, there was another incentive. In less financially excessive times, the win bonuses were an issue too. For the modern footballer with his bumper contract, that may not be so much of a motivating factor, so the greatest challenge Mancini has is to reignite the fire in the belly that inspired his side to that elusive first win.
Football has many truisms. Winning your first title is tough, but winning the second time — when everyone runs that extra yard and drips that extra bead of sweat to beat you — is even harder.
If Manchester City don’t realise that already, they have a few days of the transfer window left to understand it and then make sure they’re equipped in every area to counter what is coming their way.
Should they not do so, it won’t just be Manchester United responsible for taking their Premier League trophy away. It will be Manchester City’s own complacency.
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