It is almost certain we will see the back of Manuel Pellegrini before the end of the season, just 12 months after leading them to title glory. Memories are short in football. But after Sunday’s 4-2 loss to United in the Manchester derby continued their recent downward spiral, it seems City’s lacklustre season will see Pellegrini shown the door with reports that reserve team manager Patrick Viera is in line to replace him.
To be fair, the sheer scale of city’s slump in 2015 has been amazing. The club sat alongside Chelsea at the top of the table on New Year’s Day, but have played so poorly since that they now trail Jose Mourinho’s men by 12 points, have slipped to fourth behind Arsenal and Manchester United and are even in danger of missing the top four altogether with Liverpool just four points behind. Imagine if the Reds hadn’t started the season so slowly!
The problems for Pellegrini – much like Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool – stem from his terrible transfer decisions in the pre-season. The Reds spent millions on players who are not even regulars in the first team squad – Mario Balotelli springs to mind – while the Chilean could have found far better centre backs for City than the £30 million Eliaquim Mangala. Pellegrini also paid big money for Álvaro Negredo last year who has barely been sighted in 2015. Rather than bring in reinforcements to cement their position, he was too lax in the transfer window with their key player, Sergio Aguero, well below his best. The result has been City claiming just 15 points in their past 12 games!
With City’s riches, silverware is expected and the prospect of missing the top four altogether is a terrifying one. Given the re-emergence of United as a force and Liverpool’s aspirations to climb back into the top tier, playing in the Champions League next season will be a crucial lure when it comes to attracting players in the summer. Pellegrini will almost certainly be sacked whatever the outcome but there is still a whole lot to play for over the final six games of the season.
