Former Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has been very vocal towards his successors safety in Manchester. He has expressed his belief that Manuel Pellegrini benefited from a squad created by him, and that the Chilean should be winning a trophy a year at least. He has also claimed that Pellegrini’s job is far from safe despite the Chilean’s statements this week that he has never felt that his job is under threat.
Now another former City boss, Peter Reid, has come out to express that his former side have shown no desire to defend their title. Speaking on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast, the former City boss said:
“There's no desire when they lose the ball to get it back, to zip it around the park.
“We can all have off days in any walk of life, but that desire, fighting for the shirt, not wanting to get beat, I’m looking at City and I don’t see that.
“The players have got a big responsibility to show what they can do. At this moment in time, it doesn’t look as if they are doing that. They are real top, top players and they are not doing the business at the moment.
After the Citizen’s 1-0 defeat away to Burnley, I do not think that there is a single person out there who can confidently refute Reid’s claims and what is worse is that Pellegrini may be to blame. The Chilean is a very calm and mild mannered man. He has made some big decisions in leaving out Joe hart last season and Vincent Kompany this season. But, it does not seem that his reign has inspired his side this season. They are very one-dimensional. They do not keep the ball well, and when they do their play is much too negative, opting to pass side to side or god forbid backwards, instead of being direct. Manchester City has become an Arsenal of old in a way in that they are attempting to pass the ball into the net. It did not work for the Gunners and it is not working now. Three wins in nine says that. If things stay the same then it will not be a trophy less season, or a last 16 exit from the Champions League that gets Pellegrini sacked but a finish outside of the top four.
Source: DSG
