Roberto Mancini has insisted that he still needs to add ‘two or three more players’ to his Manchester City side before they can mount any serious challenge for the Premier League title. Prior to their Community Shield defeat at the hands of their Manchester rivals, Mancini had claimed his side were still ‘five yards’ behind United despite the heavy investment that has been made in to the club since the Abu Dhabi takeover back in 2008. Last season saw the Citizens crowned FA Cup winners, and they also qualified for the UEFA Champions Leaguefor the first time.
Since taking over in December 2009, Mancini has been building a team that he feels can compete on both the domestic and European fronts and his club have often been at the centre of the tabloids’ back pages during the transfer window periods. This summer, the club record £38m signing of Sergio Aguero has been brought in to take some of the goal scoring pressure off wantaway forward Carlos Tevez, but Mancini remains adamant there is still business to be done in this window if his side are to come close to winning the league.
City were outplayed by United for most of the game on Sunday and despite taking a 2-0 lead just before half-time, Mancini’s men allowed United back in to the game before Nani scored the winner in injury time after some sloppy defending gifted him the opportunity to race through on goal. The Italian conceded that while United had probably been the better side on the day, it was important for his players to ‘understand’ and learn from the mistakes that were made going in to the new campaign.
Mancini claimed that while United ‘have 29 senior players’, Manchester City have only 20. The likes of Craig Bellamy, Emmanuel Adebayor, Wayne Bridge and Roque Santa Cruz have all been told they will not be a part of City’s plans this season, despite concerns that his side may struggle to adapt to the demands of European football while also mounting a challenge for the league title. These are players that a number of clubs would love to have in their side; players who have proven their ability in the top flight of English football, and some even in Europe. It seems rather strange for Mancini to suggest his squad is ‘too small’ while such names are still on the books at Manchester City, but the Italian would clearly rather spend big than work with what he already has.
Even if we exclude those names mentioned above, City still actually have a senior squad of 24 players. With the future of Carlos Tevez still very much in the balance, the signing of Sergio Aguero was to be expected at some point, however to suggest that City still require ‘two or three more players’ seems somewhat strange for a side that should surely be looking to find consistency rather than looking to chop and change once more.
While United have brought in Ashley Young, Phil Jones, and David De Gea, they have also seen the likes of Owen Hargreaves, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville leave Old Trafford. City seem to be intent on bringing in players despite the futures of many of their current crop being unresolved. On the other side of Manchester, Mancini is looking to bring in Samir Nasri, Fiorentina winger Alessio Cerci, and another central midfielder to help bolster his squad, with only two or three senior players leaving the club so far in this window.
As they are, I see no reason why City cannot compete for the Premier League title. While there are certainly areas on the field that require improvement, this does not necessarily have to mean bringing in new faces. City could surely benefit from using those that Mancini has refused to involve in his plans, especially if nobody is willing to match the club’s valuation of these players. Competing on both European and domestic fronts will certainly start to take its toll on the City players, but the current squad size is more than adequate to cope with such demands. To say the squad is ‘too small’ to compete for the title seems odd of Mancini. The quantity is there, and arguably so too is the quality, the Italian is just refusing to use it.
Written by Thomas Kenny for FootballFancast.com.
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