Even the most ardent, headstrong Manchester City fan will struggle to admit that this last week has been anything other than a complete disaster for the club. The Blues are on the brink of yet another premature Champions League exit, and have all but given-up on their domestic aspirations, after failing to take advantage of Chelsea’s involvement in the Capital One Cup. As a result, much has been written in criticism of Manuel Pellegrini in the week, with many questioning his attacking philosophy. Tonight’s game against Leicester then, is arguably the perfect opportunity for him to answer those critics, and show he still is the man for the job.
With all this in mind, I think there’s a very strong case to be made for City to revert back to a 4-2-3-1 tonight. Pellegrini lamented his players after both the Barcelona and the Liverpool games for failing to carry-out the high-intensity pressing approach that he wants. However, when things aren’t going as you want them to, your job as a manager is to take control of the situation, and do something to rectify the problem. So in this case, if the players aren’t responding to high-press 4-4-2, then Pellegrini needs to accept this and alter his tactics accordingly, making City more compact.
But tonight’s game is against Leicester City I hear you say. Well, that’s beside the point for me. Personally, I feel Pellegrini can learn a lot from the man who out-thought him on Sunday: Brendan Rodgers. When Liverpool were in a dire run of form in the early winter, Rodgers was pragmatic enough not only to recognise his own mistakes, but to rectify them. He altered a system that had previously given him so much success, in favour of a more compact approach.
He made Liverpool harder to beat, and looked to build gradually from there, slowly gaining confidence and momentum. The result: his side are now the form side in the division, taking the most Premier League points of any team in 2015. Therefore, although tonight’s game is against Leicester, and although we’ll probably brush them aside playing the 4-4-2, I think Pellegrini could do himself a great deal of good by displaying some pragmatism. However, if you’ve paid any notice to his recent comments in the press, you’ll know this won’t happen. Which is a shame, as I’d love nothing more than for Pellegrini to turn it around and prove he’s learned from his mistakes.
