Were Manchester City justified in sacking Roberto Mancini?

The curtains came down on Roberto Mancini’s three-and-a-half-year Manchester City career, a tenure during which he won one English Premier League title, 1 FA Cup and 1 FA Community Shield, a tally that would have been impressive for most clubs. However, at City, considering the millions that have been spent, a trophy-less season is not acceptable, which was the primary reason why City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak decided to axe Roberto Mancini.

These are the possible reasons why Mancini got fired:

Empty cupboard this season

For City fans, Mancini will always be the messiah who delivered City their first championship in 44 years. Agreed, it was too much to expect them to defend their title, particularly with a resurgent Manchester United looming and Robin Van Persie in their ranks firing all guns blazing. However, considering the talent available to him, his failure to follow it up with any sort of silverware this term is what has irked the owner, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The listless display against Wigan in the FA Cup final was the final nail in his coffin, confirming Sheikh Mansour’s belief that change was required.

Continental Failure

A win percentage of a mere 25 percent over two Champions League campaigns was baffling for the City faithful. For a man who has plied his trade in Italy and managed teams like Sampdoria and Lazio with some distinction, his tactical naivety in Europe was baffling, while City’s exit at the group stages for the second season in a row confirmed that the Italian was not learning his lessons.

Deficient man-management

The one thing Mancini never mastered was managing his players. His confused approach towards the players was highlighted from the fact that he was often defensive of Mario Balotelli’s antics. The boss, though, never displayed similar parental instincts towards others, with heated situations between players like Carlos Tevez, Samir Nasri and Joe Hart, all indicative of that fact. The Tevez saga and Mancini’s subsequent U-turn, allowing the Argentine to play for the club again, exposed once again that Mancini was all at sea as far as player management was concerned. The sale of Balotelli would prove that his initial faith in the striker was misguided.

Lack of transfer activity

If you asked Mancini what the primary reason for a trophy-less season was, he would point to the summer transfer window, suggesting that it was there that they lost out on the title. Had City managed to attract Robin van Persie and Daniele De Rossi to the Etihad Stadium last summer, how different would the season have been for them! But their failure to attract such big names meant that they had to make do with the likes of Maicon, Jack Rodwell and Scott Sinclair, and that was a big reason for Mancini’s downfall.