At last...a positive article from a Journo

by blueboy Sun Aug 24, 2014 9:49 am

No-one is laughing at Manchester City anymore - thanks to Manuel Pellegrini

What is Manuel Pellegrini’s greatest achievement as Manchester City’s manager?
Is it to harness the prowess of a forward line that is as potent as any in world football?
Is it to have taken the club one stage further in the Champions League, establishing them as significant players in Europe?
Or is it the triumph of a second Premier League title? Creating the winning mentality that is becoming second nature at the Etihad.
Yes, the cool Chilean, the master of the understatement, can be praised for all of the above.
But the real skill in Pellegrini’s current class of players has been two-fold.
First, he has managed to keep a dressing room of Galacticos all singing from the same hymn sheet.

More importantly, he has turned Manchester City into one of the most boring clubs in the Premier League.
That’s not a criticism. And I’m not talking about ‘boring’ on the pitch – far from it.
It is a sign of a healthy club when they don’t occupy the front pages of our national newspapers.
Obviously, it hasn’t always been this way. For football folk approaching their middle age, Manchester City were always good for a laugh.
Observers used to look back with fondness at the really good stories which made the rest of the watching football world smile.
You’ll remember them. It started with former chairman Peter Swales, who almost bankrupted the club at the turn of the ’80s with his purchase of a string of players who weren’t really capable of living up to their price tags. Steve Daley, Kevin Reeves and the rest.
That sparked a downward spiral at the club which spawned some memorable tales.
Indeed, it was Franny Lee, shortly after taking over from Swales, who claimed: “If there were cups for cock-ups, then Manchester City’s trophy cabinet would be bursting.”
Me? Well, I particularly admired the one about Steve Lomas.
You’ll remember it. Last match of the 1995-96 campaign. Manchester City came back from two-down against Liverpool, thinking it would be good enough to save them from the drop. Manager Alan Ball orders the midfielder to take the ball to the corner flag, having been given some erroneous information.
Cue a desperate Niall Quinn charging down the players’ tunnel, telling a startled Maine Road that they needed to win the game.
Too little, too late. Manchester City are relegated. Ho ho! We all had a chuckle at that one. There’s been several since then. In 2003, Manchester City became the first team to lose a Premier League game without the opposition (Middlesbrough) having a direct shot on target – Sun Jihai putting through his own goal.
We had the sight of Stuart Pearce taking a stuffed toy – a horse called ‘Beanie’ – to sit on the sidelines with him for good luck. (A man nicknamed Psycho with a teddy?)
The whole episode with Thai owner Thaksin Shinawatra ended with former chairman John Wardle having to pay the players’ wages.
It didn’t stop after the Sheikhs took over, either. Chief executive Garry Cook firing off distasteful emails about Nedum Onuoha’s cancer-stricken mum ... to Onoua’s mum.
Then we had Roberto Mancini’s ‘my way or the highway’ dictats. Fireworks from Mario Balotelli on and off the field. And Carlos Tevez driving while disqualified.
Now? Twitter accounts celebrate ‘Boring James Milner’.
The dressing room is filled with high-class players who appear to enjoy playing for the club – the best of whom have been signed to long-term contracts.
The club means what it says regarding community involvement.
They do not appear to be merely paying lip service to it – although, with a bottomless pit of money to splash around, they don’t have to.
And now they have landed Frank Lampard – the current England captain – on a free transfer from their biggest title rivals. Gift-wrapped.
Pellegrini has either instigated – or been part of all of that.
No nonsensical spats in public, despite Jose Mourinho’s goadings.
A happy camp that knows how to grind out victories. And one that is set to have a decent crack at the Champions League this season.
And you know the best thing of all for England’s champions. Now that Mr Ferguson has departed, their biggest rivals, United, just cannot get it right, can they?.
So, yes, the club has been through the mill. But if there is such a thing as a higher being, he’s currently sat upstairs wearing a sky blue scarf.
Laughing with Manchester City. Not at them.

by skyblueoz Sun Aug 24, 2014 4:11 pm

love that. What a good read. We certainly have put up with a lot over the years. One thing made me laugh was how franny lee mentioned the bit about cups for cock ups then appoints Alan Ball as manager????

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At last...a positive article from a Journo

At last...a positive article from a Journo

Re: At last...a positive article from a Journo