1. What has been your route into sports journalism and has it always been your aspiration?
Pretty straightforward, really. Went to college after school and, as part of my English course, was given a week of work experience at the Rochdale Observer. Within about a month of that, I applied for a job as a trainee sports journalist at The Weekly News and got the job, so took that instead of going to university.
Those days of walking into journalism at eighteen, without getting a degree, are long gone, sadly.
Was it always my aspiration? Not really – the first choice would have been to play for a living, but this is probably second best.
2. As a journalist, just how hard is it to break into the industry and get to where you are today?
It’s not an easy trade to get into and it is a hard one to stay in when you get there.
The industry is shrinking. Journalists are losing their jobs, entry salaries are low and there is a lot of uncertainty as to how newspapers can survive in the online era. Nobody has the answer.
From my point of view, I’ve been doing this job now for twenty years, so it’s just been a slow progression and that is generally how it works.
If you are looking to be a journalist, don’t expect to be working on a national title and covering Champions League games straightaway.
3. What has been your best moment as a journalist?
Spending a month in Cape Town during the 2010 World Cup wasn’t bad. There are a lot of downsides to the job – long days, no free weekends, boring flights, crap hotels – but that was one of those times when you realise you are actually pretty lucky to be paid to watch football.
4. Do you think City are represented in a certain way in the media, and if so why?
I think City get treated the same way as everybody else, but every fan or press officer will argue against that.
Big teams get lauded when they win and scrutinised when they don’t and the scrutiny is always greater when you are champions.
You just get judged to a higher standard, but because City are a club that is still growing and adjusting to their position as one of the world’s most powerful clubs, there are times when the criticism generates an over-reaction.
Some clubs get higher praise and heavier criticism – United and Chelsea spring to mind – but that is because they have been around at the top a lot longer and have learned how to roll with the punches. In City’s defence, I do think Arsenal and Liverpool get an easier ride and I can’t explain that. Considering the repeated false dawns at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger somehow seems untouchable.
5. After the eventful yet successful campaign last season, what do you think has gone wrong at City this season?
Several things: A failure to recruit better than mediocre squad players in the summer – the same failing that led to the problems under Roberto Mancini after the title win.
Also a number of players appear to be suffering a World Cup hangover, which is understandable. Another issue is Yaya Toure having his head and maybe his heart somewhere else, and there is also the predictability of Manuel Pellegrini’s tactics. Opponents are pretty smart and they have learned how to nullify the strengths City displayed last season.
I also think that too many players are coasting along and, at the moment, lack the fire and desire they showed last season.
6. Many are comparing the current campaign to the disappointing, trophyless season in 2012/13, do you think the owners would be more patient with Pellegrini than they were with Mancini?
There are some similarities – the poor form in the Champions League being the obvious one – but I don’t see them as being insurmountable. Under Mancini, the players and club staff became so fed up with his approach that it was always going to end badly.
In hindsight, perhaps too many egos were bruised by Mancini, when his demands were actually what the club needed in order to maintain the success. But he didn’t help himself. Pellegrini is not such an abrasive character – he is the polar opposite of Mancini – and that will help his case.
But I don’t see how he will survive if City win nothing this season and fail to make the Champions League knock-out stages.
The club has set the bar high now and they want progress, which at this stage, looks unlikely to materialise. But while Pellegrini is the manager, you cannot under-estimate the role of Txiki Begiristain in terms of player recruitment and strategy. If Pellegrini is ultimately judged to have failed, Begiristain will have to accept equal responsibility.
7. What are your thoughts on FFP and how do you think City are coping with the sanctions?
City are confident that they are now in the clear on FFP and that last summer’s fine and squad penalty will be a one off.
But in terms of the fairness of FFP, it has come about because the established elite – Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona etc – were fearful of clubs like City, Chelsea and PSG becoming too powerful and a threat to their historical success. It is all about self-preservation and those powerful clubs now have the system that they want.
I do think that there has to be some sense of club’s being run as businesses and not funded merely by a rich owner, but the danger of FFP is that clubs like City will ultimately suffer because they cannot generate the same revenues as United, Bayern, Real.
Which, in the end, means that the same old clubs will win every time.
8. Why do you think City have had such difficulties in the Champions League and struggle to hit the heights they reach in the Premier League?
The Champions League situation is weird, inexplicable. City have the squad to challenge for the quarter-finals at the very least, but for whatever reason, they fall short every time.
There seems to be a Champions League malaise at the club, from the players through to the fans, who clearly have not embraced the competition like their English rivals.
The players can’t raise themselves for games, neither can the fans, and it has become a Catch-22 situation. But I still believe that, if Jose Mourinho was the manager, City would be contenders to win it. Why? Because he knows how make players and teams better. Pellegrini just does not look or act like a Champions League winning manager.
Tactically, I cannot think of one example of how he has turned a game in City’s favour with a selection, change of formation or substitution.
The Premier League is different. By the end of the season, City will be pushing Chelsea all the way.
9. Matija Nastasic has been frozen out this season, seeing no game-time whatsoever. What do you put that down to?
He has had an injury, but even prior to that, Pellegrini had made it clear that he doesn’t rate.
The view seems to be that he is not good enough on the ball. It’s a shame because I think he is a real prospect and could become a top defender if guided properly.
10. Much has been made about Pellegrini’s obsession with 4-4-2. Do you believe that it is the best system for the players he has at his disposal?
He just lacks imagination when it comes to tactics. As I mentioned earlier, a Mourinho would have this team challenging for everything.
Rafael Benitez is another coach who would get much more from this squad of players.
11. It’s clear to see that in Aguero, City have one of the elite players in world football. Do you feel that they are using his talents enough off the pitch in terms of marketing?
Aguero, David Silva and Yaya Toure should be megastars and spoken about in the same bracket as the likes of Thierry Henry, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Suarez as being some of the best players ever to play in this country. But they slip under the radar too often and I think City could do more to project them as the stars they are.
Maybe they are doing this, but you see little evidence of it. They can’t all be like Vincent Kompany and have the strength of character to put out strong opinions on Twitter, but they do need to project their personalities better.
Sometimes the players don’t help themselves. City had arranged for Aguero to join Zabaleta, Marcos Rojo and Angel di Maria at a community event prior to the derby, but he just didn’t turn up.
Spurious reasons were given for his non-appearance, but the truth is that it was weeks in the planning and he just couldn’t be bothered. Six days later, he was more than happy to turn up for the launch of his own book.
12. The January transfer window isn’t too far away, what sort of player do you think City will be looking for?
They need another striker. You can’t argue with the decision to loan and sell Negredo to Valencia because was injured and also wanted to leave, but it had left City short up front.
Jovetic is too injury prone and Dzeko’s form fluctuates too much, so that places a lot of pressure on Aguero to deliver. A fourth striker is crucial if they are going to catch Chelsea in the new year.
13. Finally, do you think City can shackle off Chelsea and retain the Premier League title?
Definitely. One thing you learn after covering many title run-ins is that the first half of the season often creates a false impression.
Look at Arsenal. They generally start well, have people backing them to win the title and then fall away in March. Always happens.
City have the quality and experience and they also know how to stay the course and capitalise on the slips of the leaders.
It is still very early days and I fancy City to push Chelsea all the way. If Diego Costa or John Terry suffer injuries, Chelsea would be in trouble, so don’t give up on the title just yet.
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Thanks to Mark for giving up his time to answer these questions. I’m sure you’ll agree he gave some great answers. If you don’t already, you can follow Mark on Twitter here: @MOgdenTelegraph
