‘The Engineer’; ‘the man to fix all of City’s problems’; these were just a couple of the tags Manuel Pellegrini found himself with when he joined City back in 2013. Many City fans were excited to witness a manager in charge who prided himself on fast-flowing, attacking-minded football. Some would say that this was the fresh new start we needed, given Roberto Mancini’s supposedly more defensive tendencies. His incredible achievement to guide Malaga CF to within minutes of a Champions League semi-final two seasons ago, as well as his seven honours at previous clubs in Argentina and Spain, was enough to convince the majority of the City faithful that he was the man to rejuvenate a City side who had just come off the back of a runner-up finish in the Premier League and an FA Cup final loss to Wigan Athletic the previous season.
Before the start of the 2013/14 season, Pellegrini brought in Fernandinho, Alvaro Negredo, Stevan Jovetic, Jesus Navas and Martin Demichelis to add to the current crop of City stars; many of which had been purchased by former manager Roberto Mancini. These five players did not come on the cheap, however. City had to shell out in excess of £90 million for their services but the signs were there to suggest that the future at City was looking bright.
Pellegrini’s employment of more attacking minded tactics was certainly evident in his first competitive game in charge, as City ran riot with a 4-0 win over Newcastle in August 2013. City fans must have been rubbing their hands together at the prospect of this style of play in every single game and, despite a rather stuttering start in which City struggled to find their feet away from home, Pellegrini’s different approach resulted in a Capital One Cup triumph over Sunderland at Wembley and City’s second Premier League title in three seasons. Pellegrini was held aloft by his players at the final whistle of the game that ultimately confirmed City’s league success, and it seemed that Sheikh Mansour had made the right appointment by opting for the Chilean over a host of other names.
After a hugely successful first season at the helm, Pellegrini’s offensive tactics looked to be doing the trick. His high-line ensured City put pressure on rival defences, and this showed in the stats: City managed 102 goals throughout the whole of the last campaign; a league high. In the summer of 2014, the Chilean secured the signatures of Fernando, Eliaquim Mangala, Frank Lampard, Bacary Sagna and Willy Caballero for a combined total of over £50 million. The defence of our title began.
Despite being the only team to challenge Chelsea at the top of the table so far this season, there is no getting away from the fact that it has been a very disappointing one for the Blues (although, as City fans, we know more than anyone how quickly that may change). City have suffered early exits from both domestic cup competitions; have a mountain to climb in the Champions League and have been trailing Chelsea in the league standings for quite some time now, with the likelihood of Mourinho’s side slipping up looking increasingly unlikely.
And, as strange as it may seem, this is more to do with Pellegrini’s naivety in his tactical approach.
City’s 2-1 defeat at Liverpool on Sunday afternoon was the latest instalment in a number of questionable tactical decisions made by Pellegrini this season. The Chilean started with two strikers in the form of Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko (which had worked against Newcastle in the previous league game), but only included one attacker on the bench, with Bony being the only recognised forward amongst the substitutes. It seemed strange that Stevan Jovetic had been completely left out of the squad altogether, but Pellegrini seemed assured in his options. This formation paid dividends as City responded well to Liverpool’s opener with Edin Dzeko combining with Aguero to equalise mid-way through the first half, but after the break, and with City weathering a brief Liverpool storm, Pellegrini looked to play out for the draw, with defensive midfielder Fernando next in line to come on. But after Coutinho’s sensational winner, Pellegrini instead opted for new-boy Wilfried Bony to try and salvage a point for City, yet he failed to do so and the defeat consigned City to their fourth loss of the season. Question marks began to centre on Pellegrini’s approach, and it is becoming evident that Manuel is yet to gain consistency from his players.
And this isn’t all. Pellegrini went for a very brave 4-4-2 formation in the Champions League against Barcelona, and up against a team of the Catalans’ quality this was extremely risky. Inevitably, City were left outnumbered in midfield and it allowed Barcelona to find their danger men far more easily than if City had opted for an extra man in that area of the pitch. Having said that, Pellegrini did not change his tactics for the second half, in which City really started to play with more intent, and were awarded a goal for their efforts. But Pellegrini’s strange 4-4-2 approach to the game against one of the most dangerous sides in world football was a debatable one, and left City’s Champions League hopes hanging by a thread, with a miracle win in Spain now our only hope of success in Europe this campaign. Certainly, after the game, Pellegrini’s tag as ‘The Engineer’ was slowly altering to that of ‘The Tactically Naive’. Not the sort of reference City fans were expecting after Pellegrini’s success just the previous term.
Another apparent problem with the Chilean is his inability to cope with the tactics employed by other sides. A good example of this is Arsenal at home, in which the Gunners played deep in their own half, not allowing Pellegrini to play his usual fast-flowing game. Manuel’s response to this was minimal, and despite a number of changes in personnel, nothing changed in the way of tactics, and City suffered a title-damaging 2-0 home defeat to Arsene Wenger’s men.
There is no denying the positive side to the Chilean. At times, City can be a joy to watch, with our attacking flair blowing teams apart on occasions, but these occasions are not as regular as we’d like. His calm and controlled approach is different, and perhaps better for the dressing room, than Mancini’s more bullish presence, but his naivety and unpredictable nature of his tactics do not get the most out of his players, and there has been a sincere lack of consistency from them this season. He does not seem to have an answer to the question of other teams figuring out his tactics, and sometimes his choice of formation against certain teams can raise significant question marks over his management of a City side who demand more.
Something needs to change, and it is looking more likely that Pellegrini may be included in that. However there is still plenty of time for Pellegrini to prove himself at City, and I’m confident that he will do that. His tactical approaches may be questionable at times, but his style of play has got City playing some incredible football.
The next move lies with the board, and their decision is the one that counts.
