A Successful System?

I've been saying throughout Mancini's reign that I've felt any of the wins we've had have been in spite of him rather than because of him and more down to us having a talented squad of players. I think this squad could achieve great things given a manager who could produce a successful system which galvanises them and allows them to consistently fulfill their full potential, along the lines of the one Ferguson has at the swamp.

That's the only difference between us and the likes of United for me.

These things take time and I felt Hughes was part way down that line, which is why I was so upset that he wasn't allowed to see the big plan through having put together the squad himself.

However, I certainly don't think this scenario can be achieved by continually chopping and changing the manager before the system is in place, or by giving a manager six months to 'see what he can do'. I deplore that situation.

In fact if the owners had given Mancini a four year contract I wouldn't have felt as bad as I have recently about performances. I'd be saying give him time. It is his short term appointment and all the rumours about what will happen in the summer that has really unsettled me and made me feel impatient about the status of our club if i'm honest. Of course that isn't his fault. That's the situation he has accepted from his employers.

The manager that takes us forward might be Mancini given time and some money to bring in a few more of his own players. It might be Mourinho if Bobby doesn't get us into fourth.

Personally, I don't think I'm going to enjoy watching City under either of these managers though. Certainly not in the same way as I enjoyed watching a Hughes team when they played well.

But I guess if either of them brought success to the club, albeit in an unattractive, grinding sort of way, I'd forfeit the entertainment factor for a while.
~Spike~

This entry was posted on February 28th, 2010 at 12:36:09 pm and is filed under News.

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5 comments

Comment from: Warren Dawson [Visitor]

Why are we all talking about Mark Hughes all the time. He would have never been accepted by all the fans every time he did well Utd fans took credit for it. I am glad to see the back of him. During a match Mark Hughes was one dimensional.The ability to outfox all the know-it-all commentators with a change of tactics makes Mancini infinately better.

28/02/10 @ 18:18

Comment from: spike [Member]

In response, I think some people over rate Roberto's tactical ability. Up until the Chelsea game I'd seen nothing to admire at all.
I liked Hughes's no-nonesense approach. He didn't worry too much about the opposition, but more about what his own side could do. He always put out a side which on paper should have been better than the opposition if they played to their potential.
Bacon face has become a legend doing the same thing.
They play to a system which suits all occasions.
In short, they are a talented bunch of players who crucially never stop grafting and making themselves available for each other for the full 96 minutes.
Simple really.

01/03/10 @ 01:44

Comment from: pjdemers [Visitor]

I am in agreemnt with Spike re:Hughes. When you look at the most successful and most consistent sides, they all have a system which is the foundation for the players to build. It was no coincidence to me that Hughes was a system-style manger given his experience at Bayern and Barcelona (who both surprise,surpise play a system. The system he seemed to be trying to implement at City looked quite similiar to the system Klinsman & Low implemented successfully for Germany. Trying to grab the game by the scruff of the neck by playing at a High tempo with constant movement while defending high up the pitch. Say what you will but we were never boring under Hughes.

Don't get me wrong about Mancini, he's a very astute tactician and his tactical nous is well suited to CL-league and EPL teams like Arsenal,Chealsea et al, but over-elaborates against physical side likes Stoke and Hull who going to scrap for everything. That might be part of the learning curve to the EPL though in his defence. Even the the lower teams of Serie A teams try to build from the back, something which many a relegation threatened EPL side do not do.

01/03/10 @ 22:39

Comment from: pjdemers [Visitor]

Wow,apologies about all the spelling errors. I really should remember to proof-read.

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